The Dark Edge Chronicles - Clan War

Close Call

Vulcrum let his eyes scan over the big screens as he strode towards Lash, Naryan, and the knot of liliths standing on the walkway overlooking the bullpen. In his hand he carried his omnipresent tablet, currently carrying notes from his team's more mundane attempts to elicit further operational details from a now conscious Kanter/Makarov.

To say the turncoat was dismayed to find himself in Qos Viran custody was a massive understatement. He was nearly frothing at the mouth as he demanded a release from his unlawful confinement, invoking the name of the Vorinov representative on the council in an attempt to leverage himself out of custody.

When that failed, he had gone silent for a moment, supposedly to ponder his fate. Until Vulcrum held up the cyanide capsule they had pulled from a false molar, thus depriving him of a quick way out. That induced another round of frothing and threats.

The shouting didn't end until, playing a hunch, the lean spymaster moved Anna into the cell with him. The result: instant silence. Then, with the team pulled back, they watched and listened from hidden cameras and mikes as the arch traitor did her best in whispers and gestures to assure her lover and handler that she hadn't given him up. And Kanter's icy silence in response spoke volumes.

Vulcrum had smiled as he watched the ploy work on both of them, and was musing on the possibilities if they got their hands on Romanescu as well when Hunter gave him Lash's summons to the command center.

"My lord Ingamon," he said in the way of greeting as he approached. "Honored mistresses, Captain Kingsguard." He came to a halt in front of Lash, bowing his head as he did.

"What can I do for you, young master? Hunt down another of your old teammates? Or perhaps a rogue High Lord?"

"A rogue High Lord," Lash said. "What do we know about Giancarlo Giovanni?"

Vulcrum looked down at his tablet and used a finger to swipe to a dossier he had been building. Then, without actually reading it, he began to answer, once again demonstrating his vast knowledge and understanding of modern vampiric governments and structure.

"Giovanni is a middle clan and House that usually made its own policy without interference from Toreador leadership," he said, looking at Lash. "Internal politics are fiercely contested, with a great deal of machination and assassination used to effect leadership change. In fact the current High Lord basically murdered his way through his family to take control."

"Well, that would certainly explain Sofia's fear of him," Lash said, his expression thoughtful. "She said he brought Houses in line through intimidation and fear, killing those that questioned or didn't comply with his orders."

He looked at Naryan and the liliths.

"Sofia wasn't reclaimed by Giovanni because Giancarlo hates liliths," he revealed. "He assassinated her patroness, High Lady Beatrice Cogliano when she resisted his rule. Then sent in the slavers to take her before Beatrice's successor could get her out."

"Day Witch burn that piece of filth," Dru hissed tautly, both Fiadh and Meredith nodding in agreement. "He'll be ash by the end of this, I swear on my unborn child's blood!"

"That hatred would've made him a good recruit for Demaskieros, who wants to destroy the Conclaves," Vulcrum said as he added Lash's revelations to his dossier. "Regardless, due to his tyrannical methods, he seldom leaves his relatively well-protected estate fear of an assassination attempt on him by his unhappy subjects."

A slight smile touched the lean spymaster's lips.

"Which means he'll be in the perfect place to be extracted by a well-trained covert team!"