Changes {Chris}

[Commander Katarina Foster]

The Witching Hour.

The darkest hour of the night when shadows moved earily on the floor and evil suppossedly stalked the darkness. The hour when all was silent and even the creatures that went bump in the night were quiet for fear of attracting the notice of something worse still than themselves. When silence reigned on all the lands and everything was still.

Sort of.

From the murky shadows, a figure crept unnoticed across the green lawns of the southern estate. Passing without trace, it raced towards the house and leapt with uncanny skill to an upper balcony deck. A quick check of its surroundings and scanning of the guards milling about lazily, the night stalker reached for the railing and vaulted itself carefully up the side, hiding in the shadows when detection might be at hand.

Finally, reaching the doors that it sought, the lithe figure in black leather landed with nary a sound outside the crystal glass patio doors on the upper level. Tinted black from the inside, the perpetrator knew it to be the entrance to the southern Vampire Kings quarters and almost snorted at the ease in which she'd reached it.

Reaching up, Kat Foster pulled the black hood from her head and crimson locks fell down around her even as emerald eyes narrowed on the security lock. A quick examination of the thing had her rolling her eyes even as she disarmed it with practiced moves and slipped inside.

“Really, for a vampire king.. Chris was totally lacking in the latest technology to keep himself safe. A baby could have taken that system down”, she thought to herself even as she checked the bedroom for movement.

Finding none, the redhead quickly made a detail search of the kings quarters and then returned to his sleeping area. Even though she tried to keep her eyes from the huge mahogony bed, she couldn't help the weird tremor that went through her as she pictured Savage sprawled with lazy grace upon the silky sheets. A warm that had nothing to do with the temperature of the room pooled in her stomach but she pushed it aside as she continued with her observations.

When her gaze landed on a crystal decanter set innocently by the fire, her eyebrows arched and she headed directly for it. Removing the stopper, she sniffed the brandy and, at first, smelled nothing. In fact, if she hadn't known exactly what she was looking for, she'd have missed it entirely. It was only the barest trace of collodial silver edging the rim that assured her that her suspitions were indeed correct. The brandy had been poisoned with liquid silver.

Son of a bitch.

If she hadn't returned from Anihiem at loose ends, she wouldn't have happened to overhear the little plot going down with the maid and the vampire in the woods. She'd been lurking about, deciding how to approach Savage without seeming like a begger when she'd stumbled upon the fools. She hadn't heard everything but enough to suspect another assassination attempt would happen this evening and, sure enough, it had already been in progress. Someone seriously needed to clean out this nest of vipers if Savage had any hope of surviving to his next moonrise.

And that someone was her. It was obviously not going to be the inapt guards he had now. The thought was laughable since they weren't doing such a fine job now. They obviously had no real loyalty to Chris since he'd taken over their clan but they were going to learn what it meant to betray the one who was responsible for them. Once and for all.

Putting the stopper back in the canter, Kat sighed and then turned towards the very chair Chris had sat in upon her first awakening as a vampire. Padding over to it quietly, she decided it would do for waiting. For now, she didn't want anyone else to know of her presence and she needed to speak with the ancient alone. Sinking down into the huge chair, she curled her legs under her and sank into the shadows to wait. It was a skill she accelled at after all.

Seconds trickled to minutes and minutes to hours as she waited. Finally, shortly before dawn, she heard footsteps approaching and the sound of low voices in the outer rooms. Pausing a with the book she was reading on her lap, Kat tilted her head and listened. The king returned. Finally.

As the bedroom door swung open and the tawny haired man stepped inside, the former military commanders breath frozen in her throat. Damn, he was a beautiful creature. As he took off his suit coat and laid it aside, she remained still. He loosened his tie and then cast that aside too before undoing the buttons at his throat and finally at his wrists. It was all Kat could do not to shout her desire to see more when he turned towards the tainted decanter and headed for it.

It was only once he'd poured a drink and picked up the crystal tumbler that she finally remembered herself enough to speak. When she did so, her soft, surprisingly gentle voice was like a caress on the night wind.

“I would not drink that if I were you.....”

[Christopher Savage]

If there was one thing in the world that Chris hated, it was board meetings. Groups of men and women dressed smartly, as if this day would be their finest hour; the determining point in their fast paced lives, all grouped together in one large, multi-windowed room. Pairs of eyes would lock onto the face of the VIPs- some hungrily and some not so much- chairs would make low creaking noises as slightly underweight bodies sank slowly into them, and sets of fingers would interlock gracefully on the polished table.

Lord. Talk about boring. And guess whose forehead most of those eyeballs would be plastered to? One had to love being the Head Honcho.

Not.

:But my Lord...that;s impossible," Jonas, the CFO of his New York branch said with a frown, said folded hands clenching a bit, as if they were picturing his neck between them. "We can't possibly divert that much funding to such miniscule project."

"You think giving money to a battered women's shelter is 'miniscule?'" Bella, the savvy Italian executive from the branch in Rome, replied back with one brow raised. "I think it's a wonderful idea. Think of how the media would eat it up! 'Billionaire's company gives back to the community.' Throw in another million to a children's hospital, and we'll be swimming in public support."

"Another million? I suppose the Rome branch would be happy to fund it, then,"Jonas replied with a sneer.

The battle lines were drawn, bullets were flying from side to side, and fifteen minutes later, it was a wonder how the table between them didn't melt from the hostility. It was like a tennis match, without the rackets and sagging with more backhanded insults than a good soap opera. Okay, maybe he'd rethink that opinion from before. Maybe meetings were fun, and not the equivalent of having one's eyeballs poked incessantly for all eternity.

An hour later, however, he was moving in the other direction once again.

"That's enough," He said loudly, startling the two combatants, who looked sideways at him with eyes bugging out of their sockets. Yes, little bugs, he thought with an inner smile, you have angered the master. Rising from his seat at the end of the table, he placed both palms on the tabletop and flashed them his friendliest smile. "The plan will go ahead as I've laid it out, but the amount will be lowered from 2 million to one. And that money will be split between the shelters and St. Luke's Hospital; the cancer research department, specifically. There will be no more discussion on the matter. Gentlemen, ladies."

Oozing class and a 'don't fuck with me' attitude, he nodded to each exec in turn before heading out of the boardroom; stride long and purposeful. It was only when he reached the closed confines of his very large office did he finally sag against a wall and knock his forehead against it.

Stupid people and back stabbers. Was there a world that didn't surround him with them?

Ah man, did he miss all the good old days; when he was just a gumshoe working on the next rent-paying case. When he'd managed to kill the insane King Malcolm of the Vampire Clans, he'd never imagined that he'd be stuck on the throne himself. All of the vampires inside of the boardroom- bloodsucking CFO's;yeah, not even he could make up THAT kind of irony- looked to him for guidance; for him to run their multi-billion dollar network. The same network that kept most of his people down south, as well as those in different Clans across the sea, from eating people as they had in the past. Sunrise Enterprises was one of the leading R&D companies, specializing in blood diseases and vaccines.

Or, as he fondly liked to think about it; The Fake Blood Shit. So that he and his people were able to get on without killing the humans around him, the company provided them with blood substitutes to ease the hunger. It didn't provide the same kind of nutrients as the real thing- his scientists were still working on that part- but it managed to keep them from going into a bloodlust, until bagged blood was available. And thanks to SE's side-projects, they made a pretty penny off of vaccines and new-market drug research. Their only real competitor was Montague Industries, but they got by rather nicely.

If anything, all the damn money he pulled in was making his leech-aristocrat class happy with him. And when the Aristo's were happy, he was happy, because he didn't have to deal with their sniping.

With a nod at his secretary, Chris made a beeline for the car; itching to get back to the mansion. He barely noticed the Guards and other staff as he made his way upstairs. The need to get out of his monkey suit and into something more comfortable was the first thing on his mind, and once inside his bedroom, he started to strip. Just a few more seconds, and he'd feel more normal. And use some of TFBS to take the edge off of the knives in his belly.

Shrugging out of his jacket, he tossed it carelessly onto the bed. The tie quickly followed and with a tired grumble, he made his way over to the liquor cabinet near the window. Ah, whiskey that was almost as old as he was. Now THAT was a nice start to a not-so-nice night.

Right about when he was going to down the drink and bask in the buzz of the booze, a familiar voice piped up, causing him to whip around. Almost instinctively, his lips had curled back, revealing sharp, nasty fangs. Jesus, all he needed to do was hiss, and he'd officially be a Carpenter extra. Wonderful.

Brows furrowed in confusion and surprise, he put the glass down and stared at the soldier reclining in his favorite chair. "What the hell are you doing here?" He barked, without thinking. "And how did you get into my room?"

[Commander Katarina Foster]

Ok, so it wouldn't really be nice to laugh at the vampire king but Kat couldn't help the slow smile that played about her ruby lips. Oh, yeah. She'd definitely caught the man off guard and it was obvious he didn't like it.

Good. Maybe he would take her warning to heart then. Nothing like a little shake up to nail home a message.

Pushing up from her sprawled position in his chair, the redhead set her book aside and stood up. Dressed from head to toe in black fatigues, she looked every part of the solider she was. Lethal skill lurked in the well balanced form as she glided forward in silent dispassion.

"I came in the same way a skilled assassin would. Right passed your guards and right under your household staff's nose." she drawled out dryily, before reaching for the decanter. "Question is.. are they merely lazy and inept.. or intentionally obtuse?"

Pulling the crystal stopper out of the liqour holder, she sniffed at it before raising emerald eyes to the kings. Without a word, she ran one slim finger around the rim and gathered just the barest trace of what she was looking for before holding it up to show him.

"Nothing like a bit of colloidal silver in your drink to kill a monarch without much suspicion. You'd have been dead before anyone would have ever suspected anything and there is no way to trace it. Clever of them really. The culprit could even have weasled in here and switched out the contaminated container before the alarm was raised if they had the proper clearance."


Watching his expression, Kat saw the moment the reality sank in and then she retreated. She knew better than to corner a proud man so she turned away and went to the balcony doors. With precise skill, she jammed the current on the security system and swung the doors open wide so that he could see for himself just how easy it would be for a professional to get into his rooms. Then, and only then, did she turn to face him.

"I think we have some work to do, Savage. By your leave, I will start here and secure your quarters first."

[Christopher Savage]

The assassin…what?! Instinctively, his eyes flickered around the room, as if searching out said shadowy trespasser. Hell, for all he knew, the woman herself could be the possible assailant, a little voice whispered in the back of his head. She was certainly well trained enough, and seemed to be in the right place at the right time. What if she’d been ‘gotten to,’ just like his Guards had?

But, just as the thought entered his mind, he dismissed it. With his blood running through her veins, he had an insight to certain…tells about her person. What he was getting from her end of the room was amusement and something akin to very unprofessional ‘I told you so,’ but nothing along the lines of deception.

”This staff has been with me for years,” He replied stiffly. ”They’re not trained to deal with assassins…that’s what my Guards are for. But obviously training has changed somewhat since I was younger.”

With a little curse, he tossed his tumbler into the fireplace. Silver…what a convenient way to kill a King. Shoving a hand through his greying hair, the vampire absently undid the top two buttons of his shirt and began to pace. Oh, but he wanted to destroy something larger than a glass. The bastards had corrupted a fine bottle of his best whiskey!

His pacing stopped when her voice piped up again, and he turned around to stare at her, surprised. ”You’ll do what?” He asked, cursing again at how stupid he sounded. Clearing his throat, he crossed his arms over his chest and faced her. His stomach was starting to gnaw at him, reminding him that he needed to get something inside it and soon, but he ignored it for the moment. ”As I recall, you’re time is owned by your friend, General Hawk. Are you saying that you’ve resigned heading the Shadow Team, in order to come work for me? I don’t remember offering you a job, Commander.”

[Commander Katarina Foster]

Ok, so maybe she could have broken the news with a bit more tact but.. Hell, he'd been about to drink the crap and she'd had a point to make. His security was severely lacking and if he wasn't careful... He wasn't going to see another year of monarchy. She'd foiled three attempts on his life now and this wasn't going to just go away on its own. It had to be nipped in the bud and nipped fast or he WAS going to end up dead.

However, he was right. He hadn't exactly offered her a job and this wasn't exactly her responsibility. To be completely honest, she wasn't even sure what she was doing here. After shit had hit the fan at headquarters, she'd been at a loss as to what to do with herself and coming back here had seemed the logical choice. She'd needed something to do and there was a threat to the man who'd given her second life. It hadn't been rocket science in her estimation.

"Your right. I suppose you can chalk this up to a friendly visit from a concerned citizen and go merrily about your way." she said, turned back to the chair where her black jacket lay. Picking it up, she slipped it on and then headed for the balcony doors once more. "The Shadow team has been disbanded. We are all under orders to scatter and under threat of US Court Marshall not to gather in any numbers until otherwise ordered. I was merely stopping by to say hello before heading off for the life of luxury and relaxation in Mexico."

Unable to keep the dry sarcasm completely out of her voice, Kat tugged her long auburn hair out from under the edge of the jacket before fixing Chris with her emerald gaze.

"Thanks for everything, your majesty. Have a nice life." she intoned, saluting him before heading out on the balcony terrace.

[Christopher Savage]

Well, didn’t she just know how to make a guy feel like a heel? But come on now, he was a king, here. It was already bad enough that she had to save him from his guards, assassins and now silver…what would that say to his people, if it looked like he needed a redheaded heroine to pull his ass out of the fire every ten seconds? He was already getting heat from the Aristos about the ‘fake blood’ his company had been pushing, and then there were the older families who thought he wasn’t fit to rule. THEN there was the new generation, who didn’t like having a ‘king’ to begin with.

All in all, he’d been seesawing from being yelled at, to almost dying and it was making him just a tad touchy, to say the least. Kat was pretty much lucky that she’d caught him early in the day; any later, and he’d probably have turned into the big, warty toad he was known to be.

He needed some kind of sign; some kind of show of power that would make sure the others didn’t try to take his throne away. Not that he wanted the damn thing in the first place, but…hell, over the years, he’d done a damn good job of making sure his kind lived peacefully with each other and the humans. Whereas his predecessor liked to let everyone do their own thing, as long as they paid homage to him, Chris had set up work schedules, payment plans, housing; everything vampires needed to reinsert themselves into the population. Sure, things were still really archaic- hello, KING, over here- but year by year, he was pushing his people into a new age. And the babies, who were just born into their race? With the money his company made through its stockholders, he was able to ensure that each one had a stipend of their own, to use to ensure desperation didn’t cause them to turn to attacking their human brethren. Sure, there were a few who might abuse the system- more than a few, if he wanted to be truthful- but he was trying. He, at least, cared.

But nobody else seemed to. Everyone was out for numero uno; he’d known that from day one. But now, with all of the attacking, the killing, the assassinating…man, if it didn’t hurt him just a little bit.

“Damn it, Katarina, stop,” He growled out, moving over to the balcony where she’d disappeared. He’d have expected to find himself talking to an empty terrace, given her training and was pleasantly surprised when he saw her standing there. “I apologize for my behavior. It’s been a…trying few weeks, to say the least. Please, come back inside. Let me thank you properly for saving my life, yet again.”

[Commander Katarina Foster]

Would wonders never cease? Kat had been fully prepared to scale down the walls the exact way she'd come in but had paused briefly to take in the lay of the land before doing so. The older vampires voice behind her was a surprise but she found herself drawn to the weariness in the deep baritones. Pivoting on her heel, she rested on hand on the cement banister even as her eyes sought his out and she gave a slight nod of acceptance. She made no move, however, to step back inside and simply lifted her face into the night breeze inside, breathing deep even though she didn't truly need to any longer.


"That is understandable, sire. Its not exactly been a walk in the park for me either. In a few weeks time, I've been tortured to the point of death, died, risen again as the undead, dealt with a bloodlust that constantly rides me, been handed my dismissal papers from the only life i've known and foiled three assassination attempts on a man that supposedly is my king. I, too, simply am trying to find some sort of balance in a world that makes no sense to me anymore. It seemed natural to try to work through your little issue than to wallow in a pool of self pity." she returned, rolling her shoulders just a bit to ease the stiffness there. "I was not my place to intrude, however, and I apologize for that. I've never been real good at towing the mark, even as a good little soldier. I'm used to making and calling my own shots so this.... this being cast at sea is a bit discomforting, to say the least."

Shaking her head as if to clear pesky, wayward thoughts, the lithe redhead glanced back at the sovereign before shrugging. Her entire manner was collected but a very thin crack was there on the surface for an observant being to see.

"I suppose coming back here was my way of trying to direct my life on some more even plain. Security and strategy is what I do best... Its the only thing I know, really. Its not like we played dress up and dollhouses in the world i grew up in. I'm not even completely sure I can function in the real world."

Brushing a lock of hair back from her face, Kat sighed again.

"I'm sorry..you have much more important things to occupy your time and my problems are minor. Believe me when I say I'm not in the practice of telling all my inner thoughts to anyone... I guess i'm just a bit off center at the moment. As I'm sure you are with everything.... Has anything else happened in the last few days? "