All the Right Things |TAG: Dantes|

[Nick LeCroix]

Nick had been careful about the jobs he'd been taking since Nico had been born, mostly because he didn't want to be out of town or draw too much attention his way, just in case.  The last thing Skye and Nico needed was for him to get into a mess that would lead back to them or leave them to deal without him.  Funny how having a kid could do that to someone, even though he knew that Skye could manage financially on her own.  The guilds paid well, so it wasn't the money.  He didn't want to leave it to her, though, so he was being more careful.

This job wasn't looking like it'd be too bad.  He'd been told to make a mess of the target, but it didn't have to be left like that.  They actually wanted the body so that they could show it off as a 'message' to someone else, and as far as he was concerned, that was fine.  He didn't like 'making a mess' in his human form because he wasn't into torture.  If he was going to kill someone as a human, it'd be with a gun or a knife, and it'd be quick and simple.  Things got messy when he killed as a lion, and the problem with that was the police force being so full of supernaturals.  It didn't take them much to figure out 'lion', and Jaime was a lion, so that wasn't good.  Sure, he could cover for Nick pretty well, but he didn't like to push that if he didn't have to.  The fact that his employer wanted the body removed from the place of death worked out just fine for him.

He waited in the man's apartment, seated on a loveseat that he'd covered completely in plastic.  The floor, walls and other furniture were in the same condition, and that was because he wasn't risking blood or any other evidence being left behind.  The guy was going to be reported missing eventually, after all.

Even for a messy kill, it happened fast.  He was seated there, watching the door, and the man didn't even notice when he first walked in and locked his door.  He was a few feet into the apartment when he stepped on the plastic and looked up, and by then, Nick was on him, shoving him further into the room.  The man hadn't even finished stumbling before Nick shifted, and no human stands a chance against a lion.

It didn't take long.  Claws and teeth made quick work of the frail human body, and he tore the body up pretty badly before he decided that he was satisfied, which really meant that he'd satisfied the part of him that was all lion.  He hated it, but he'd learned to live with it and channel it into something that didn't damage his life, like this.  This was a job, and one that he'd been told to make messy.  He'd completed the requirements, and shifted back to human to wrap the remains up in the plastic they laid upon like a rolled up carpet.  He took down the rest quickly, and left it for his employer's men to take care of, calling the man to confirm the death.

"It's done.  Your people can take their package."

That was that.  Now, he could go home to his girls and be as close to normal as the LeCroix household ever got. 

[Father Dantes]

Father Dantes had altered his usual feeding routine. Instead of prowling the roof tops looking for an available target and then judging them, he had started searching for those engaged in the most foul sins he could find, then he brought judgment and wrath upon them. And he had ceased his random killing of shifters as well. If he crossed paths with one, he tried to probe their minds to see if they were guilty of anything serious. His encounter with the angel had been most enlightening and he was sure that he was on the right path and in favor with his Lord.

Dantes stood in a dark alleyway, waiting. He had seen a man slip into an apartment after picking the lock, and Dantes had briefly and gently touched the mans mind. He intended to commit murder, and to make things even more distressing, he was a lion. Of all the shifters he had ever encountered, Dantes only held a grudge against Lions and Serpents. The first shifter he had ever judged and struck down had been a lion that was worshiped as a god..as a false idol..as Blasphemy. And ever since the day he killed that first lion, he had felt that their strength was not something the Lord intended to roam on two legs, wantonly killing whenever they pleased.

Father Dantes watched as the owner of the house unlocked the door and went inside. There was a slight commotion inside but whatever happened, it happened fast. Then the door opened again and the lion emerged with a bundle that smelled of blood. So murder had been committed. Dantes didn't see any need to take chances with this one, and reached inside his long jacket to cock back the hammers on his revolvers. Shifters, especially big ones like this were very, very tough and so he was probably only going to have one opportunity to put a bullet into this foul sinner.

As the man completed his phone call Dantes made his move. He slipped out of the alley with vampiric speed and closed on his target. He was at arms length away and behind the lion. He quickly drew one of his guns and leveled it at the back of his targets head. But he didn't squeeze the trigger yet, oh no, this one must know why he must die, and where he will be going.

"What part of Thou Shall Not Kill is unclear to you sinner? And why do you think you can strut around in a such a prideful way and wield that foul, cursed animal strength on men? Men have dominion over the animals...and I have dominion over the sinners of this Earth. Make your peace with whatever wretched excuse for a god  your kind worship and prepare to face the judgment of the all mighty."

[Nick LeCroix]

Nick would have been a pretty sad excuse for a lion if he didn't notice the approach of the vampire, and especially if he hadn't heard the gun being drawn from the man's clothing.  He heard it, understood it, and a rather displeased expression crossed his face that any readers need only look at Nick's icon to understand.  'Bitch Please' about covered it, and though Nick didn't jump instantly upon recognizing the man's approach, it didn't take him more than a second of annoyed disbelief at his luck to twist away from the gun and face his would-be murderer.

"Wow, and I always cut religious nuts slack for being hypocrites.  You killing is okay and me doing it isn't?  Not a very convincing sermon, preacher," he remarked, sounding almost bored and generally unbothered.  Currently, he didn't feel overly threatened.  Why would he?  The guy just called him an animal, which was insulting, but Nick wasn't the sort to let insults drive him into a fury.  Being called an animal meant that the guy didn't appreciate the intricacies of a human and animal mind working in sync with each other.  Nick had that on his side, and was .05 seconds away from shedding his human form and tearing a limb off of this freak. 

One movement, just one...

[Father Dantes]

The lions sudden movements surprised and frustrated Dantes. And his words enraged him. Of course his killing was ok, he was here to judge the wicked! Of course he didn't expect this beast to understand the divine force that stood before him. Dantes could tell that he was dangerously close to having to go toe to toe with an angry lion, because he didn't expect the beast to fight fairly in his human form. Dantes quickly holstered his guns and reached to his back to draw the Paladin. It would claws and teeth against cold steel if this beast chose to become a lion.

"My killing is blessed, I deliver the wicked unto him that sends them to their eternal place or joy or torment. It seems that you shall be headed for eternal torment. Come now, if we must do things the hard way...let's go ahead and get it over with shall we...beast..."

Dantes spread his feet slightly and brought the sword down in a proper two handed stance. He was quick and strong, but an angry lion is no small task to slay. As he assumed his stance and prepared for the inevitable pain and struggle that was about to begin he looked down at the ebony rosary on his wrist and whispered a quiet prayer. Hopefully the Lord would see fit to deliver him from this battle and bless his works.

[Nick LeCroix]

Oh, yeah, a totally brainwashed fanatic.  This was just perfect.  Nick almost wanted to wonder what he'd done to deserve one quite this bad, but he knew that was a stupid question.  He'd done plenty, but he liked to think that the guys he killed had it coming for something bad they'd done.  Otherwise, nobody would want them dead.  Usually, he even got a reason, so he didn't care.  Good people didn't get trouble like that thrust upon them.

Beast.  Was the leech trying to provoke him into doing something stupid?  Good luck. 

"Alright, leech, you're too caught up in your delusions to talk to, so let's make this fast.  I have places to be," he returned with another roll of his eyes, though he eyed that sword with something more related to downright displeasure.  Of course.  He had to run into the crazy religious vampire that fought with a damn sword.  A big sword.  Wonderful.  "Fantastic.  You have a sword.  That really makes you look less crazy, I'm sure."

Yeah, sarcasm FTW. 

He thought over a few potential strategies rather quickly, not putting more into any one of them right that second just in case the vampire was trying to glean his intentions from his thoughts, and he charged the guy instead of shifting right off the bat.  He didn't make contact, however, and used agility that a man his size really shouldn't have possessed to duck around and under that sword so that he could try for the vampire's back.  He drew his firearm in the same movement, and fired as soon as he had a clear shot.

[Father Dantes]

This one certainly liked to blaspheme. Dantes was not brainwashed, nor was he a fanatic in his mind. He was a holy judge, given the gift of immortality on Earth in order to serve the Lord. He was the one that delivered the wicked to God for the eternal judgment. He was the one that protected the souls of the pure and forgiven. His hand was the hand of divine wrath! Who was this...this..demon that thought he could speak such blasphemy and live. He would soon find out what the consequences of his rash words would be.

But Dantes was caught off guard by the sudden charge and was slightly slow in his reactionary swing of his sword. It smashed into the ground hard enough to shatter the pavement,and as he whirled to face his opponent he heard the boom of a gun. Less than a second later he felt the burning, searing, tearing pain as the bullet tore through his left shoulder and blew out the back. His left arm went disturbingly numb, and he knew bones had been broken and tendons severed. He was going to need time to hell from that for sure.

As his left arm dropped to his side, Dantes easily lifted the massive sword with one hand, and readied himself.

"If all you have are cowardly tricks and guns, I believe you will be sorely disappointed this day demon. For I shall slay you...It is my destiny to slay those that are wicked and trespass against the laws of the Father!"

Dantes was practically snarling his words. He readied himself for the next blow. He was going to make his prey come to him, from this distance, he stood a chance of escaping a bullet with his teleportation skill...it would be madness to charge a man with a gun, so Dantes waited for the others patience to collapse....

[Nick LeCroix]

Nick wasn't stupid, which was something this guy didn't get.  That was fine with him, really, but the fact of the matter was that he wasn't going to be provoked into doing something stupid, and his 'cowardly tricks and guns' had proved to be assets in the past.  He wasn't going to lose them because the vampire who'd totally just taken a bullet and lost the use of his left arm (even if it would heal eventually) thought it was 'cowardly'.  He thought it looked like winning.

The vampire still had that sword, and could still use it, however, and that meant that Nick was going to do what he could to keep his distance.  Just firing again was going to miss, he was pretty certain, but he wasn't going to be entering that thing's personal space if he didn't have to.  The problem was that he didn't have the element of surprise as he had with the first shot.  He was ready to fire again if he had to, but he didn't rush himself.

"You're pretty sure of yourself.  You're gonna have to try harder than this, though, Capo," he informed the vampire, tossing in a bit of slang from back home.  Usually, it was a very vague twang to his voice, the accent mostly covered due to the amount of work he'd put out to sound as though he blended in (much like all newscasters tried to sound like they were from the Midwest), but there was no denying that he was a Southerner and from an area that was a world unto itself.  He was calling Dantes a coward.

Waiting for Nick's patience to collapse would result more likely in Nick getting bored and making a slow backwards movement so that he could go home.  He didn't feel a NEED to fight, so he really didn't care.

[Father Dantes]

Dantes flared his nostrils as this foul demon continued to taunt him. He would show this foul murdering beast who was in charge here. Dantes possessed a power granted from on high...this shifter couldn't possibly hope to defeat him. The whole waiting for patience to expire idea was out the window at this point. Vampirism was a wonderful thing, and Dantes could feel the ligaments in his shoulder crawling back together. The bone hadn't quite managed to mend itself, but the ligaments could do what he wanted done.

Keeping the sword at ready, and in fact moving it around a bit, Dantes looked for his opening. His adversary was highly trained in the art of murder, this Dantes could see. The shifter was watching him carefully. So Dantes decided to to go for the most most obvious and direct approach. He lifted his great sword and lunged with his terrible speed toward Nick. But as he hit the half way point he abruptly stopped and using the tattered tendons and muscles of his other arm, he threw his gun and hand up, squeezing off a couple rounds before it fell back to his side, useless again for the time being.

[Nick LeCroix]

Yeah, Nick was going to take off if this didn't go anywhere soon.  He had his ladies to tend to, and hanging around to play games with some leech just didn't work for him, especially when he'd left a body behind to be picked up by his employer's men.  If the police got wind of things first, it'd be really annoying.  He didn't want to be present for that. 

Of course, just as he thought the freak was going to back off, he charged.  That big-ass sword looked as though it was going to be the weapon of choice, so Nick stayed put for the first few seconds of the charge, then twisted out of his path.

Just in time to miss the first round and take the second as the vampire moved to follow his movements.

There was a sharp intake of breath to suggest that it had struck home, but in the sounds of their various movements and the shots that were fired echoing, it would have been tough to hear that.  Fortunately, his clothes were dark and hid the dampness on his lower back for the instant that Dantes could have seen his back.  He continued to move as though he wasn't hurt at all, firing on his enemy himself, but he definitely didn't look as much like he wanted to just brush this one off.  He was going to beat this guy's ass.

[Father Dantes]

Nick may have thought that his wound would go unnoticed, but it didn't. Father Dantes could smell the blood in the air, even if he couldn't see where his round had struck. He grimaced as Nick continued to move and started returning fire. He heard the whistle of bullets passing his face. One creased his side and burned across his ribcage.  This fight was going to have be ended quickly if he was to triumph. This lion was an experienced killer, and even seemed to be enjoying the combat. What a filthy, vulgar creature. Dantes pondered his options has he tried to close to within striking distance of his great sword. But then again it struck him, Divine Inspiration!

Dantes continued trying to close on Nick, but as he did he sheathed his sword. He quickly teleported himself past the shifter. He spun as he reappeared and whipped on of his pistols out of its holster, but he wasn't going to give his position away if he could help it, he only had seconds to prevail. He twirled the gun so he could pistol whip the lion with the butt of it. Hopefully vampire speed would be better than kitty cat speed this time.

[Nick LeCroix]

Dantes wasn't the only one whose attacks had hit home, and Nick could see the almost-worry in the leech's actions and slight hesitation.  Dantes wasn't so sure who was going to win anymore, was he?  Good, because Nick wasn't about to let some preacher-leech deprive his daughter of a father.  It wasn't happening.

Having the vampire trying to close in on him to use that damn sword and then vanish wasn't enough to slip Nick up.  He hesitated just a moment, trying to ascertain where the vampire had gone, and was twisting around even as Dantes whipped his pistol around.  Nick took the blow to the side of his head and pitched sideways, knocked for a loop from the vampire-sized blow, and had a few seconds where up was down and everything seemed to just STOP.

That was when lion instincts kicked in.

Nick was a human first and foremost, but he was way too in-tune with the lion that he could become.  It had practically become an entity all its own by this point, and it wasn't ready to die.  The human may have been knocked senseless, but the lion wasn't going to just let this human-shaped thing end it. 

He went from his knees to his feet to a mid-lunge shift to his lion form in an instant.  Dantes was going to find this fight to be a little less finished than he'd expected.

[Father Dantes]

Father Dantes smiled as his blow struck true and the shifter went down. He moved to holster his gun and draw his sword and prepare for the judgment. But as he went to grab the handle of the sword he watched the man begin to stand. How could this be? He was even more taken aback as Nick lunged at him, and in the midst of the lunge became a very angry lion. Unfortunately there wasn't a car for Dantes to get into so he was going to have to fight the lion. He spread his legs and reached up to try and catch the big cat's front paws to keep the razor sharp claws out of his flesh.

Too bad that a male lion is massive and heavy. Dantes grunted as the impact, and surprisingly managed to keep his balance for a couple beats of the lions massive heart. Then he sprawled backward to the ground, though thankfully he kept his hands around the lions "forearms" and for the time being kept the claws in the front at bay. But he was going to have to figure out his next move and fast, because the weight of the lion was crushing down on him,and the mouthful of fangs was getting dangerously close.

[Nick LeCroix]

No kidding, a male lion is massive and heavy.  Nick wasn't surprised when the vampire went down under his weight, and even with the thing hanging onto his forelegs to keep his claws from getting up close and personal, he snapped hard enough with his jaws that the impact was actually rather loud.  Imagine having a body part between those teeth when that happened.

That was exactly what Nick was trying for.  He wanted something vital of Dantes between his teeth, and he wanted it NOW.  Too bad the guy was pushing upwards and using that vamp strength to keep him back.

Fine.  Fucker wanted to play?  He'd play.

With Dantes trying to hold him back, he pulled one of his hind legs up, claws out and ready to do business, and kicked at the man's lower body.  He was fully intending to tear the psycho vamp apart with his hind legs if he had to, and he would definitely manage gutting the guy like that.  It depended entirely upon what Dantes wanted, since he could make it a hell of a lot faster if he just tore his throat up or crushed his skull.

[Father Dantes]

Dantes was not about to let this foul abomination defeat him. He strained as he lifted the massive beast. He looked down and saw the claws extended on the rear paw. He mumbled a quick prayer in latin and made his move. He pulled his limb in as tight as he could and then PUSHED with everything he had. He had done it, he had tossed the lion up far enough that he could teleport.

Dantes reappeared about ten feet from where the lion had pounced on him. He quickly drew the Paladin. He was tiring of this game, and it must come to an end. No foul sinful beast such as this would stand in his quest for purity. He braced himself, and raised his blade. This was about to become a very rough fight for someone.

"Come ye foul beast, and taste the wrath and judgment of the Almight God"

[Nick LeCroix]

Okay, so getting pitched upwards wasn't really anything he expected, but vampires were crazy things, and they were strong.  It wasn't impossible, though most of them didn't manage it, especially with claws coming their way.  This guy got points for being insane, though.  Apparently, that counted for something.

Nick landed as effortlessly as any cat should, even being as large of a cat as he was, and stalked closer to the vampire with a short shake of his head to shrug everything off.  He was still bleeding and hurting from the bullet he'd taken, but the pistol-whipping was nearly forgotten by this point.  His tail flicked back and forth in annoyance and his mane shook from his movements, but those were just minor details when one took the rest into consideration; not only was he growling at the stupid vampire, but he roared his own response to the vamp's challenge, knowing that put a time limit on their fight (which he preferred).  That's a sound that draws attention, and quickly, not to mention making the target feel distinctly uncomfortable. 

For once in the fight, he did as Dantes asked, charging the leech with the sort of smooth movements that completely contradicted the wound he'd already taken.  He was willing to take further injuries to get rid of this idiot, too.  The issue here was that, while he rushed the vampire, he didn't keep to a straight attack.  Much like the first time, he dodged to the side instead of closing the distance completely, and most of his attention was on avoiding that damn sword, using his claws on the pavement to help with traction as he swept past and whipped around to slash at the man.

Taking a massive, two-handed sword on face-to-face was just stupid unless you had a massive, two-handed sword of your own.  Nick didn't.  This would have to do.