Fantasy FTK: Black Rose Detective Agency

[Jodyguru]

Aida turned her eyes away. “Please, say Dhampir. If the wrong person heard that, I could get shot.”
The sounds of Toby practicing his Holy Arrow echoed in her mind.
“I’ve had a good life all things considered.”
The dhampiress had blocked the torture out of her consciousness. It’s the only way she could function in society.
————-
“Gesswick, I’ll unban you if you take that rapscallion out back and teach him some manners.”
Lautrec nodded and grabbed the grabby hand guy by his neck and nutsack, roughly yanking him towards the back door. Once outside, he began hitting the man with a blackjack.
“Would you like a fresh drink, Madame?” Gagne asked.

 

[alwaystheOptimist]

Rheitz frowned, "Oh. Sorry 'bout that," she shoveled another mouthful of pancake into her mouth.
Stabbing some with her fork, she held out the piece of pancake, "Try some?"

....

Delilah turned, "Alright. Why not?"
The high of winning and the bubbly champagne made her feel light and slightly woozy.
She sipped her next glass of bubbly, a smile growing as she won the next round.
Despite the desire to go another round, Delilah remembered she had come for...other business. Lautrec wasn't anywhere to be seen so she assumed the job of finding info had fallen on her.
She caught sight of Gagne and sauntered over to him, looping her arm through his.
"Wanna talk somewhere else, doll?"

 

[Jodyguru]

Aida refused. She was fine with just coffee and toast. “Being immortal gets boring after awhile. People always invent new reasons to excuse crappy behavior. Plus Lautrec always treats me like a baby”
————
The man named Gesswick emerged in the casino again, having dealt with the surly patron.
“All is well now. How goes it?” He asked before seeing Delilah try to go off with Gagne.
“Oh, well I’m flattered. I have manager matters to attend to. Oh look, your friend is back.” He pointed to Lautrec. The dhampir folded his arms. Now he just felt hurt. He did that for her safety so she could enjoy herself.

 

[alwaystheOptimist]

Rheitz shrugged, "I mean...considering that you decide to stay at his home at random, don't have a job, and get high on elven wax a lot, I'm not surprised?"
She bit into the piece of pancake on her fork, "I mean, there must be some benefits to be immortal."

...

Delilah glanced back at Lautrec, grinning at his sour expression.

He was annoyed, huh? Good. He could feel how annoyed he made her feel.
She rolled her eyes, "The manager matters can always wait for later, doll. My friend can wait. Come on, I know you want to."
She winked slyly, biting her lip.

Delilah had a nice body.
A nice face.
She'd never liked to have all the eyes in the room stare at her, but she had to admit the physical aspects of her made investigations...easier and a little...fun?
Being a woman meant she could sweep any man off his feet, getting him to speak for just a kiss or a little more.
But once she'd got what she needed, she'd push them away, give them a punch for good measure and leave, ready to solve the puzzle.
It was harsh, she admitted, leading them on to believe they'd get something, but they were all worthless in her eyes so it never bothered her.

 

[Jodyguru]

Aida scowled and pointed her cigarette hand at Rheitz. "I didn't choose to hang out with you so I could be fucking judged. Working is for squares, and you saw yourself what elven wax can do. Fuck you and fuck this system, man. I used to ride horses and snipe man-slavers for bounties. Some asshole at Dominion headquarters decided roughriding was too hard so they built a big fucking city and took the land away from us, raised a bunch of little sissies who think answering phones is a rewarding career. You'd shrivel up and die if you lived in my time."

_______________

Gagne had beads of sweat on his head. He had his hands up, refusing to take Delilah with him. "Uh, I'm terribly sorry but it can't wait."
"Miss Cercei, would you like to try another game? They have craps here" Lautrec said trying to entice her to come with him. At this point she was starting to draw some suspicion from the security who were wondering why this man's date kept going off without him. "I can gamble again, and I feel like my luck is about to change."

 

[alwaystheOptimist]

Rheitz looked taken aback. "I'm not judging you!"
She sighed, guiltily, when Aida gave her a look, "Okay...maybe I am judging you. But honestly, I feel sorry for Detective Leore. Just because you can't find work, he has to deal with you on top of everything else he has to deal with. Don't you ever think about how he feels? Could you be a little more...I don't know...caring?"
She wiped her mouth with a napkin, placing her fork on the empty plate with a soft clink.
"So yeah. I am judging you. Detective Leore already has a hard life and your lifestyle isn't helping him. Times have changed, so maybe you should try adapting instead of complaining about what you lost."

...

Delilah glanced around, noticing the hard stares of some of the bouncers in the room.
She released his arm with an awkward chuckle, "O-of course I'd like to try another game! Sorry for intruding."
She backed away from Gagne, hooking an arm through Lautrec's.
"You're really enjoying this, aren't you? Seeing me get embarrassed," she muttered hotly, trying to match Lautrec's steps as they headed to the next game, "All I wanted to do was make you feel what I feel every time you go off and try to do things without me, but no. Karma has to come and slap me in my face."

 

[Jodyguru]

Lautrec chuckled. “Maybe because you tried too hard to make me jealous? I was feeling it the first time but after that it was just obnoxious.”
The craps table had a skinny man placing bets. Lautrec placed his bet and rolled the dice. 11, a losing roll.

————

Aida looked up from her coffee. “Has Lautrec been complaining about me?” She thought about it. He had always been forgiving and let her do as she pleased as long as she didn’t interrupt his life. “Bastard said I could stay as long as I like... what the hell?”

 

[alwaystheOptimist]

Delilah glanced at him in surprise.
Jealous?
She hadn't been planning to make him jealous but the idea that she'd managed to do that had her heart pounding a bit more.
Fighting down a blush, she gave him a confused look.
"Jealous? Why would you be jealous?"
She glanced up, frowning when Lautrec rolled an 11, "I thought you said you were good at this?"

...

"He's obviously not going to tell you anything because you're his sister! He loves you and wants to take care of you, but all you're doing is taking advantage of him! Tell me one thing you did for him, huh? One thing!"

Rheitz didn't quite understand what was making her angry. Maybe it was the fact that her Boss had grown to look more tired and depressed as the days had gone by. Maybe it was the fact that he never properly took care of himself but busily worried about others. She felt sorry for him. Sorry, he had to deal with everyone's problems but his own.

 

[Jodyguru]

Lautrec took the dice and placed another bet. “It’s a game of chance, Cercei. Why don’t you blow on them for good luck?” He held his palm open with the small ivory cubes resting there.

————

Aida looked down then out the window. “I don’t know... I clean up the house, buy groceries. Little things... why do you care so badly, are you fucking him? God that would make so much sense. You’re fucking my brother aren’t you?”

 

[alwaystheOptimist]

Rheitz blushed furiously, eyebrows shooting up in shock.
"I-I-I AM NOT SLEEPING WITH MY BOSS!" Her hands tightened into fists, hitting the surface of the table.
"I have a boyfriend! I wouldn't do something like that! There's a higher chance that Detective Waters is than I am!"
Rheitz glared at the girl across from her, "I care about my Boss because he's so kind to me! He's worried about everyone! Not because I-I'm doing stuff with him!"

...

Delilah eyed Lautrec's cool expression, wanting to slap that that smug expression from his face.
"Alright then," she bent down, lips close to the dice, and blew on them softly, "Good enough? Or do you want something more than that?"
She took a drag of her cigarette, blowing the smoke out slowly, watching as the whisps of ashen air danced through the room.

 

[Jodyguru]

Aida’s eyes flashed. There was a quick snap of light.
“Yes. For once you’re telling me the truth.”
Aida was used to lies by this goat. She sounded impressed that they didn’t shag.
“Okay so like... who the hell would hire me? Mental illness, vast criminal record, a bloodsucking bitch approaching seventy. Where dammit?”

—————
Stradler was in his office with a blood vile sitting on his desk. He had pills in his hand... and he was taking a handful of them.
“Are you boys ready?” He asked his team of armed goons, armed with pistols and metal rods.
Stradler cocked his automatic short rifle and exited the room. They started down the hallway and split up, leaving two upstairs to guard the office.

“Another seven! Oh Mitra he’s on a roll!” The craps dealer announced. Lautrec was laughing and pulling in a nice pile of gold.

“Gesswick!” Stradler yelled from the stairs and came around to the casino room. “Or should I say.. Detective Leore.” He winced with a big grin.

 

[alwaystheOptimist]

Delilah nearly choked on her next drag, coughing, eyes wide in surprise. She swore, putting out the cigarette. They hadn't even gotten any info yet, for Mitra's sake! How had they found out so quickly? Delilah pulled her gloves up her arms, adjusting the fur wrap. She glanced at Lautrec. Was she supposed to stay in the act or start knocking some heads? Delilah frowned slightly, grip tightening on Lautrec's arm. For the first time in a long time, she felt confused on how to react to this situation.
"What the hell do we do now, Leore," she whispered hurriedly, "pretend he made a mistake or start dealing with these goons?"

...

Rheitz frowned, tapping her chin.
"Oh! There's that sketchy place on the corner of 42nd Street that's hiring. I bet they'd hire you."
She pulled the cuff of her coat down, revealing a small, old watch around her wrist.
"We better head out, huh? Make sure we're not late to get Detective Waters and my boss."

 

[Jodyguru]

Lautrec was trying to hide his smile with a face of shock, but something in it was telling Delilah that this is exactly what he wanted. He saw that the best way to get info from Stradler would be to make him think that he had the upper hand. After all, dead men tell no tales. He'd do his best to keep Delilah out of this by not implicating her.
"You got me" Lautrec raised his hands. "What can I say, I love a good craps table."
Stradler growled. "There's no cops allowed in my casino. You bastards have turned over every decent gambling hall in the city!"
"You must not have heard, but I'm not a cop anymore. Private Investigator, and today I'm investigating the blood trade, not your rinky dink slot house."
Stradler laughed manically. "Ah, well then I'll feel good knowing I've turned a Private Investigator into dwarf cheese."
Lautrec's face lowered into a frown. "You've got the scent... the scent of ambrosia. Venrir has been giving you a fresh supply huh?"
"I got no idea what you're talking about" Stradler said.
"The blood vials and the pills. I've been trying to find out the connection. Mixing the two in your bloodstream must give you some kind of edge, or else you wouldn't have confronted me like this. The first dealer I knocked down had the same smell, but I thought little of it. He had a script but no pills. He must have finished his job before I got there."
Stradler looked visibly annoyed. He stepped closer and his goons followed.

"Venrir told me a couple hotshot detectives would come looking for me. Some clown cop at central grilled one of my boys. Neither of you know what's coming, do you? The Blood-Red Moon will soon arrive, and when it does, Dominion belongs to us."
"The Blood-Red Moon?" Lautrec asked, genuinely intrigued by what Stradler said.
"Boys, take him out back and show him some West District justice. I don't want holes in my fancy new craps table."
"Get down" Lautrec whispered to Detective Waters. After saying that, the Dhampir's eyes turned black, and his body dissolved into a dark mist that floated away.
"Hey, where'd that freak go?" Stradler asked.

Lautrec took shape behind the line of goons and attacked one, grabbing his pistol and firing a round into his spine, and then started firing madly at the goons. They turned around and started firing shots into the lobby while taking hits. Lautrec dissolved again. The gun fell to the ground. They were distracted. Delilah could either escape out the back door, or try something daring.
__________________

Aida paid for their meal and lit another cigarette outside the restaurant. A light drizzle of rain was starting to fall down. She would've cared more if she didn't always have an umbrella with her, though usually for the sunlight.
"There has to be another way I can be helpful. Working some stupid job at my age just feels wrong. Every day I wake up in the dirt I was buried in. Tomorrow I might not remember you, or anything for that matter. I could be five years old, ten, or thirty in my mind. I can't do anything because I'm completely fucked upstairs. Again, I'm already dead and buried. Somehow my body just keeps moving."
The hot embers of her cigarette burned deep as she drew on it with her lips. The rain started coming down harder.

 

[alwaystheOptimist]

Delilah stared at Lautrec, the hidden smile on his face indicating that he had hoped this would happen. What the hell?! He hadn't even told her the plan and now he was expecting her to go along? She gritted her teeth slightly, nails digging into the heels of her palms. Fine. They could do it his way. It wasn't like she had a plan or anything.

When she heard Stradler's use of "clown cop" to describe her, she prickled, suppressing the urge to run up and knock him down right where he stood. But she hadn't been expecting the firefight that ensued. She rolled to the ground, ducking behind the craps table as the men took it to the lobby.

Stradler was in the mix, though on the verge of running, eyes darting nervously past the backs of his bodyguards. Delilah laughed. Oh, he wasn't going anywhere, especially after that comment he'd made. Pushing herself up from behind the table, she pulled off the fur wrap, running towards the man. She kicked down a bodyguard, shooting another with her pistol and when she caught sight of the man in the chaos, she ran at him, throwing the wrap around his neck.

He let out a strangled breath, clawing at the fabric, and Delilah kicked him to his knees, pressing the pistol to his head.

"Make another move or your boss is as good as dead."

...

Rheitz tried to squeeze herself under Aida's umbrella, half of her body drenched by the downpour of rain.
They were waiting for Toby to show up and as the pressed themselves to the wall of the diner they heard shots.
"Must be some dumb shootout. Some goons getting their butts kicked, I'm pretty sure."

She frowned at Aida's comment, glancing up at the drooping dhampiress. She wrapped her arms around her, squeezing her in a hug.
"At least you get to live in the present. You get to remember what's happening now. The friends you make now. The life you get to live, now."

 

[Jodyguru]

Aida’s expression didn’t change much when Rheitz hugged her. Living in the present, huh? What a mortal thought, the Dhampiress mused in her thoughts. What did it even mean to live for the moment? She’d suffered so many dull, painful moments and hardly any of it mattered.
“Thanks for hanging with me, I guess. I don’t know what to say.” She was feeling uncomfortable, not used to affection the way Rheitz showed it.

————
The shooting continued, though Lautrec and Delilah made quick work of the goons. Stradler didn’t simply roll over and accept defeat. He struggled and pulled the scarf off. While doing so, Delilah’s finger pulled the trigger, grazing the man’s head and leaving an ugly red gash upside his head. He backhanded Delilah hard enough to knock her to the ground. Looking up at him, the gash was quickly stitching itself together and healing at an incredible speed. It was the kind of thing she’d expect Lautrec to pull off.
Stradler had his automatic pointed at Delilah and pulled her up to her feet. He started pulling her towards the back door. Lautrec finished off the last goon and quickly approached Stradler, pointing a gun at him.
“Let her go! You’re under arrest.” Lautrec said.
“Hehe, go ahead and shoot. You won’t kill me with that, but maybe she’ll take a hit for me.” He held Delilah in front of him, pressing the gun into her back. He inched closer to the back door. Once he had it open, he shoved Delilah into Lautrec’s arms and took off down the alley.
“Oof... are you okay?” Lautrec asked. Another shot rang out over their head. Looks like backup arrived.

 

[alwaystheOptimist]

Rheitz gave her a small smile. "I'm sorry for getting mad at you before. But seriously, maybe...maybe you guys should talk for a bit? Listen to each other's problems?"
She released the girl, seeing her obvious discomfort in the rigidity of her shoulders.
"Hopefully the detectives are okay."
She frowned at the pops of gunshots shaking the still, night air, digging her hands into her pockets.

...

Delilah clung to Lautrec, breathing heavily, fingers digging into the coat of his jacket. When she felt his arms loosen around her, she let out a shuddering breath.
"Please. Don't let go. Just...just don't let go for a little while longer," she breathed into his neck, face pressed into his shoulder.

The reality that she could have died in those few minutes was hitting her, the ghost of Stradler's arm still squeezing her waist, pushing the breath out of her. She could have disappeared, simply slipped off the face of the earth like a fleeting shadow, a bullet in her head, and her blood on the ground, soaking into the scuffed carpet of a mob-run casino. The fear of that reality gripped her tightly, squeezing her heart into a sporadic pounding that thundered in her chest.

"Gods, just don't let me go. I swear I won't ask for this again, but just don't let go right now."

 

[Jodyguru]

Lautrec did as she asked, holding her tightly in his arms. Stradler was going to get away, but maybe it’s for the best. If they followed him down the alley there would surely be a trap waiting.
”Freeze! On the ground dirt bags!” There was shouting in the lobby and sirens. The police had arrived. The goons, not rallied by their boss, put their hands up and surrendered to police.
Lautrec breathed a sigh of relief.
“It’s alright” he shushed gently and held the back of her neck. “You never had to ask. Just breathe” he said.
Detective Onsler was on the scene with officers who turned over the casino. Gagne told the police everything. It turns out he wasn’t in on the shootout and he named Stradler as the aggressor.
“Well, you’re a long way from home.” He said to the pair of detectives who were still embraced. Seeing Delilah frightened like that made his tone shift to more sympathetic.
“My men are scooping up the stragglers. Been trying to bust this joint for months... I think you may want to check out Stradler’s office. Whatever you find for your investigation is yours.” He smirked and stuck a toothpick in his mouth.
Aida and Rheitz headed back towards the casino, and seeing the barricade of squad cars around the building made the girls realize where those gunshots had been coming from.
“Shit! We missed the action!” Aida said aloud.

 

[alwaystheOptimist]

Rheitz rolled her eyes. "I don't care if we missed the action! We have to check if they're okay!"
She tried to push past the people surrounding the scene, reporters and photographers swarming the area as the flash of cameras lit up the night.
"Come on, would you?"

Lautrec's hand was cool against her neck and Delilah welcomed the chill that softened the burn of her heating skin. Her eyes snapped open at the sound of Onsler's voice, the realization that she was holding tightly to Lautrec like a weak woman washing over. She pushed the dhampir away in a sudden rush of embarrassment.

"I-I'll go check his office. Thanks," she muttered, walking quickly to the stairs.

 

[Jodyguru]

Lautrec hurried up and caught Delilah at the stairs. He had seen her walking tilted, unsure about her feet on the ground.
”Hey, take a breath first. Don’t overexert yourself.”
A shootout was a traumatic experience. A field of death weaving around like a spirit.
Aida shoved people aside and cleared a path for her and Rheitz to get by. The cops noticed and started yelling at them to get back.
“Let her through, fellas! Inspector Toccash is coming to take this off our hands.”
Onsler cocked an eyebrow and looked at Leore.
“Inspector...” he gave the girl the stink eye.
“What kind of joke is this? Sending this girl upstairs... without a notepad!” He handed her a blank note pad and a pencil.
Aida smirked. Was this her chance to slip into her brother’s line of work?
“And I am her assistant” Aida said softly.
“Aida, get behind the line. This is a crime scene.” Lautrec spoke flatly towards his sister.

 

[alwaystheOptimist]

Delilah opened her mouth to give him a snarky reply before closing it, studying his worried face. She did feel lightheaded and tired. Might as well take a rest and let the girls take over, right? She glanced back, rolling her eyes and Onsler's annoyed expression.
"Let them through, wouldya? Both of them are working with us. Best in the business, actually," she leaned against Lautrec, still unsteady on her feet, "Leore and I are gonna head out. I need a good smoke before I can do anything else."
She gave both Rheitz and Aida a respectful nod, tugging Lautrec behind her.

Rheitz gave Detective Waters an unsure look, glancing towards Aida.
"Let's head up then, huh? I gotta get some good notes, but make sure not to mess up the scene." She muttered to herself, clutching the pad and pen in her hand tightly, heading up the stairs to Stradler's office. Ignoring Aida's glare, she went on, a bit nervous about what she was going to see.

 

[Jodyguru]

Lautrec got in Aida’s way and glared down at her.
“You’d better behave yourself. If anything happens to Rheitz, I’ll hold you personally responsible” he said to his sister. Aida scowled at him.
“Well, I won’t have that put on me. Fuck this bullshit. Piggie pig” she snorted at him and turned tail. She went back outside into the pouring rain.
Lautrec groaned and followed Delilah outside. A cop car sped by with Tobias and his partner. They were hot on the trail of the reckless mobsters leaving the casino.
“This was a fun night.” Lautrec mused to himself, “Not every night I get to use my Mist ability.” He unfurled his umbrella and walked with Delilah back to his car. He pulled out a lighter just as Delilah pulled out a cigarette, and lit it for her.
“It’s not shameful to have nerves. I was pretty scared something terrible would happen. Sure, Stradler got away for now... I almost went to his office alone. Gods know where I’d be right now if I did that.”

————
Rheitz entered the office. There was a cop standing outside the room for her safety. Inside was a dark room with a desk and gaudy statues decorating the place. There was a dirty sofa with an ash tray sitting on the arm rest.
On Stradler’s desk was a prescription bottle with a few pills scattered around. He also had an empty whiskey bottle and a box of ammo on his table. The room was in slight disarray, but she could make this inspection happen.

 

[alwaystheOptimist]

Delilah quirked a brow at the sight of his lighter, allowing the dhampir to set the end of her cigarette ablaze. She put the roll of nicotine and paper between her lips, stopping his hand when he moved to put the lighter away. Pulling out a second cigarette, she lit it, grasping his chin with her other hand and pushing it past his lips.
"There. Smoke a bit and you won't feel scared anymore," she said plainly, looking out past the umbrella.
The rain splashed noisily on the ground, droplets pooling around the patch of dry ground shielded by the umbrella. She shivered slightly, the reality that her fur wrap sat in a pile on the casino floor brought to her attention by the chill in the air. She rubbed her arms, trying to warm them.
"Damn, it's cold," she muttered.

...

Rheitz walked over to the desk, studying the contents sprawled on the wooden surface. The bottle of pills looked similar to the bottle sitting in Alexis's apartment, though this one was half full. She made note of the red capsules, their round shape, and almost...sparkling appearance. There was definitely something magic about them. She made note of the booze on the desk, though she thought it unnecessary and slid open a drawer, a stack of wrinkled papers greeting her. On the top, the word "Debts" and she pulled the yellowed parchment onto the desk, scanning the list of names.

There.

So their dealer had owed a ton of money to this place.
She noted it down, pressing the pen into the pad.

But what did that mean?

Had he been dealing off his own accord or...?

 

[Jodyguru]

Lautrec didn’t really want a smoke, but accepted it anyway. He opened the passenger side door for her and got behind the wheel.
He took a drag off the cigarette and blew it out the window.
There was a brief silence of them sitting beside each other, just smoking and thinking. Eventually Lautrec turned the car on and started driving towards Delilah’s apartment.
The feeling in the air was awkward. He couldn’t explain it, and any attempt he could think of to break the tension wasnt in his head.
“Blood red moon...” Lautrec said softly, looking towards the dark cloudy sky. “I wonder what he meant by that.”

————
While taking her notes and looking after everything. Rheitz began to hear a noise outside the window. Grunting, things moving about. She’d inch closer to the window slowly. Suddenly, Aida appeared, climbing through the window drenched in rain.
“Surprise! How’s it going so far?” Aida asked.

 

[alwaystheOptimist]

Rheitz yelped in surprise, falling back on the floor.
"Aida! You're not supposed to be here! What are you doing?" Rheitz hissed, glaring daggers at the dhampiress, "You'll get us in trouble!"

...

The interior of the car was warmer, though the space between them was awkward and unsure. Delilah snorted when she heard Lautrec's muffled comment, blowing the smoke she had held in her mouth into the air. "Don't you vamps get all hungry during it?" she teased, "Dine on blood like fine wine?".
Honestly, the joke was based on superstitions, old wives' tales, and stories made to make people hate vampires and fear them.
"Better yet, you can get rid of me. I'm a thorn in your side, right? Invading your life? You can just suck the life out of me and bam," she let out a small laugh, "I'm dead! I'll be as good as gone and you can sneak around as much as you want, no one there to bother you."

 

[Jodyguru]

Lautrec’s eye looked her way. At first he wasn’t sure if she was joking, but by the end he figured it out and smirked.
“Yeah, a big thorn in my side. It would be a good cover story too. Lots of ravagers I could blame it on. Aida will be my alibi... I could give Rheitz a promotion to head detective.” He chuckled. It almost sounded like he had it all figured out. “Of course I never would... unless you asked me to.” He had thought about her at one time or another, thought about how pristine her aristocratic blood would taste. He could probably last a year on just a gulp of her essence.

————
Aida giggled and put a hand over Rheitz’s mouth.
“That big mouth will get us in trouble. It’s all good. These dummy cops don’t know anything.”
She looked around the room and sniffed. “Hey... I think I smell blood” she said. Rheitz couldn’t smell anything, but then again she was a prey animal and Aida was a predator. “It’s faint, but I smell it.”