Repeat

[Clio Jones]

 Clio Jones had spent enough time on this rock hurtling through space to learn a few things. After her last life was cut rudely short by a supernatural creature (fucking faeries), she'd decided to spend this lifetime somewhat more protected. As it was, she had positioned herself in one of the safest places on earth she could have possibly been, short of some stronghold somewhere (although the Excelsior may as well have been one itself), and with that positioning came employment by one Mr. Salvatore "Sal will do" Godric, a man who had made quite a reputation for himself back "in the day".

Sal was reputable indeed; he hadn't gotten this far in life not knowing a good thing when he saw it. He couldn't quite put his finger on what about Clio he liked, but he never regretted taking her in. She was a fine assistant and more or less was able to soothsay some of his best and most influential clientele without ever losing an ounce of class herself. It was only a bonus that she was sporting a nasty Fae curse, the likes of which he hadn't seen in - well, ever. Whatever had jinxed her, it had been mighty powerful, and it was mighty old. He wasn't saying that he couldn't do something about it, but he definitely wasn't going to blindly take a crack at old fairy magic.

He also thought it was funny that his little golden girl was absolutely, one-hundred percent incapable of not hating Fae. He had them pass through from time to time and she always maintained herself well, but afterwards he knew she'd probably wash her hands a few dozen times and throw some iron tacks on her floor for good measure. He was still trying to get a handle on precisely the nature of her curse, though as far as he could tell and as far as she would say, every lifetime something else changed. Like a game. A game where nobody ever fucking won.

"Mr. Godric, your usual table is ready for you," came her smooth voice, interrupting his brain as it worked out a possible solution for a new and different problem that his protege had presented him with not too long ago - how had he amassed so many proteges? "Will Eli be joining you tonight as well?"

It would normally bother him that someone knew so much, but Clio wasn't just someone. If Eli was the closest thing to a son he had, than she a daughter indeed.

[Salvatore Godric]

'Reputable' was an interesting term, especially in the case of one Salvatore Godric.  He had a name that was widely known in certain circles, feared in some and revered in others, but always respected; there was a reason the rules of his house were so rarely tested and still managed to maintain the concept of true neutral ground.  The triste's place was considered the same, but was less welcoming to those who ran some of the darker circles, more like a sanctuary to those who sought aid.  The Excelsior didn't discriminate, so long as the rules were followed, and all who paid their bill were welcome to a space.

Not that it was just a hotel.  It was a hub of activity, located in the middle of the city, and a place where news and information could be bought or gained, deals could be made and truces struck.  The hotel bar (the real one, only accessible to a certain in-the-know crowd that excluded the 'normal' floor's inhabitants, who were fond of a lounge bar that was easy to find) was a common place to find Sal, who was widely known there as Management, though actual ownership of the place was under constant speculation.  Some thought he was the owner, while some assumed he just maintained the peace for some other, possibly even more terrifying, individual. 

"Thank you, Clio, my dear," he told her as he joined her, thoughts pulled from the current issues at hand, and issues they were.  Lucifer himself running loose in Tim Browning's son?  A very serious problem.  "Indeed, he'll be along in just a few moments.  Set an extra place, if you would, we'll be having another guest.  You remember Mr. Darling?  It'll be someone of his caliber, sharp-dressed and dark, just as polite and just as dangerous.  You'll know him when you see him, just send him along to me."

He was conversational about his instructions, completely unconcerned, but he really had no reason to be.  His rules stood, and Clio was delightfully smooth with even the most worrisome of the clientele The Excelsior could invite through those front doors.  She would do fine, and Walker had never been anything other than professional.  It was Eli that he was a little worried about.

[Clio Jones]

 Fortunately for Godric, Clio worried less of Eli. It was unfortunate that she had seen more of him lately than ever before, not because she disliked his company because Eli was always the perfect gentleman to her; it was because something was seriously wrong and his presence had been necessary to formulate a plan to correct certain... situations. It was unfortunate in this regard specifically because it had Fae-related dealings, although Clio didn't know that yet, and Godric hadn't even told her Tim Browning was in town, let alone that his son had been borrowed.

"Of course," she said. She glanced down at the small tablet in her hand, reviewing his schedule. Fire and ice, these two were - whereas Godric had a very low drive to adhere to any sort of strict regiment, Clio seemed to thrive on it. For her, though, lifetimes of experience taught her that order was very much key to success. It just so happened that in this lifetime, she had a small device that could track her day, or his for that matter, down to the absolute second.

"Hm, if he's anything like Mr. Darling, I'm sure we'll get along just fine." She paused. "He's not a Fae, is he?" she asked cautiously. "Or would you rather I 'accidentally' hit him with the fireplace poker like I did to the last one? I still don't think he bought that I was merely clumsy," she added. It was funny because it was true - Clio was far too graceful to ever fake being anything other than.  She was already putting in the order to the staff to set a third place at the table - Clio, of course, would not be joining them for dinner. She rarely did, finding that her own penthouse-style suite within the Excelsior provided more ambiance than Eli's rather dry wit ever could.

He was such a gem.

[Salvatore Godric]

Make no mistake, it wasn't Eli's interactions with Clio that Sal was worried about; his protege was a perfect gentleman to her and appeared to like her quite a lot.  If Sal was honest about it (and he had been, to both of them, once or twice), he thought that Eli could have liked her enough to love her, but both sides of the equation had individually made it very clear that it was not an option.  Clio was waiting for someone specific, apparently, and Eli was a very good judge of character - whereas Sal knew she was waiting for someone, but was uncertain who or if she even knew, Eli had understood almost immediately that it wasn't him.  Sal had dropped it, but he still watched them both and wondered why the hell they were alone.

Eli had a few interesting stories along those lines, he was now aware, but really, he'd been itching to get Eli to talk to him about some of what had happened before this whole mess since they'd gotten back in touch.  They'd talked only business the night before, but damn it, he was far too curious not to ask tonight.  Maybe before Marcus arrived.

"Of course he's not a Fae, do you think I'd surprise you like that?" he asked, a tease in his tone, but the last time she'd 'checked', it was because he'd flat out told her he didn't know.  He tended to warn her, just to prevent surprises and ensure she could maintain her role in this.  "I know for a fact that he's not Fae, you don't need to hit him with iron unless he really offends you, which I doubt he will.  You'll like him well enough, though Darling might be more of a conversationalist.  I would suggest you take a place at the table, but it's grave business we're discussing, and I don't think either of them will have much of a mind to pay you much attention."

[Clio Jones]

 His last statement caused her to actually laugh, which was surprising because what he said wasn't really as funny as her laughter dictated it had been. "Sal, when has my presence ever distracted anyone from business?" she asked. Not that she could ever recall. Part of the reason she enjoyed what she did and where she was, was due to the fact that she greatly appreciated her solitude and, for lack of a better term, anonymity. Not that nobody there knew who she was; they knew that she was one of Godric's closest employees, possibly even related somehow, but that was all that they knew. She worked around some of the most beautiful and fearsome supernatural creatures, and humans, that walked the earth from time to time - she was mediocre in a room of them at best. And she liked it that way, considering half of the reason she was in this stupid recursive life-cycle was because she'd stood out a little too well against the Queen of Air and Darkness. Fucking Fae.

After she was done laughing about something that wasn't really funny to anyone but her, she pressed forward with plans. "What time do you expect him to arrive? I assume he's already booked and otherwise taken care of?" She didn't generally handle any of that; mostly she was there to make Sal's life easier, although sometimes she made it harder by forcing him to make appointments he didn't otherwise want to keep.

She was relieved to know that he'd dropped the idea of she and Eli. Just- no. Eli fortunately had better sense than the old man did regarding matters of the heart as far as she was concerned anyways - she'd tried to give him a brief overview of her situation, but Eli had already figured out from being around her for only a few hours that she was very much not on the market, despite being otherwise single. He could empathize.  At least Sal hadn't tried to set her up with anyone since that had failed miserably - although it was probably because he levied a different type of trust to the men and women he employed and housed. Plenty of them could have been fine suitors for Clio, but they also weren't going to get within 10 feet of her if Sal had anything to say about it.

[Salvatore Godric]

The look on his face was so flat that it plainly said everything he could possibly be thinking about exactly how not funny that was.  Not that he'd meant it as her needing the attention, seeking it out or distracting anyone, because it had been his way of pointing out that she didn't want anything to do with the conversation (he hadn't told her it had to do with fae, but he knew it wouldn't appeal to her) and that the quality of her company was likely to quickly deteriorate with the gravity of the topic.  Eli was charming enough, in his own way, and Walker would be polite, but Eli got more sarcastic the more irritated he got (and he was not happy with this situation) and Marcus could be...intense.  Of course, Sal had never refused Clio the opportunity to stay, if she pleased, either.  She was certainly his most trusted employee, perhaps more than a mere 'employee', and he would deny her very little, if she requested it.  That she asked for so little may have had something to do with that, in its own way; he respected her independence and capabilities.

"Clio, you are a very attractive young woman and the only reason you don't distract anyone from business is because you're actively trying not to, a facet of your performance I usually find to be preferred, but I do know that it's intentional."  She was, at all times, actively trying not to be found desirable in any way that might be considered sexual or romantic.  She was beautiful, but she was professional. 

"His room has already been settled with the desk, yes.  Eli's on his way to the doors, would you be so kind as to accompany him through the building?  He's strictly to have no physical contact with anyone, yourself included," he instructed, and he didn't necessarily think that anyone within the hotel would be the type to bump into him, but Sal wanted no chances to be taken.  If Eli had someone who could do something other than trying to dance away from a body that got too close, it limited potential mishaps.  "Especially yourself."

[Clio Jones]

 "They need to keep their minds on their jobs, not on me," she reminded him firmly, a thing she'd said many times before when people would ask why she never socially interacted with anyone. Honestly, it was strange that they found it strange she was borderline reclusive with her personal time. It wasn't as though she was inaccessible; on the contrary, she was often seen in the hotel, not even always by Godric's side. But she was a very private person, for good reason - after a few lifetimes, she figured out that people were absolute garbage given the opportunity. She'd seen what trouble ancestral magics could bring, and she had no doubt if someone knew she had comprehensive knowledge without being truly immortal they'd want details that she wouldn't want to give.

"No physical contact?" she repeated, her eyebrows raising. Even if Sal hadn't said Fae were involved, her brow immediately furrowed because that definitely sounded like Fae involvement. Of course, that particular 'gift' wasn't Fae at all, it was Infernal, but it all tied back to Fae in the end, didn't it? She'd be thrilled to learn more, if she deigned to stick around to hear it, which at this point was looking like it wouldn't happen. Sal was good at selling her on disinterest. Most things disinterested her, so she took his assurance at face value that she wouldn't enjoy it. "Fair enough, I'll make sure of it."

She reached out to straighten the collar of his shirt, patting his shoulder gently as she took her leave. For so many lifetimes, Clio had just stopped becoming attached to people in her life. Her parents didn't matter, relatives otherwise of no consequence. She had to find one person specifically, and everyone else was just fodder. Sal was different, though - perhaps because he sensed that she was different. She went to the lobby to find Eli already being his usual charming self, and smiled in spite of herself.

"Eli," she cooed, holding her hands out. "I'd hug you but I've been instructed not to," she informed him. "Do I want to know?" she asked, squinting at him. She resisted the urge to ask him if he'd angered any Fae royalty, knowing that joke would be old to everyone but herself - and also very lost on them.

[Eli Sterling]

She was never going to get an argument out of Sal about what the people around her needed to be focusing their minds on, which was why he'd said that he preferred that she didn't try to distract, but still made it clear that he knew it was intentional on her part not to.  He often wondered exactly what it was she was waiting for, or who.  Being so private didn't make sense for a young woman who looked the way she did, was as smart as she was - she had everything going for her, so why be so reclusive?  He knew that it had to do with the fae curse, but not the details, not yet.  He was picking things up about it little by little.

Eli, on the other hand, got a bit more information right off the bat, namely because Sal thought putting them together might accomplish something, and Clio seemed concerned that if she didn't put him off of the idea quickly, she'd have to fend off his advances for the foreseeable future.  That wasn't going to be a problem with Eli, of all people, but she had no way of knowing that until they actually talked about it; after he made it clear that he got the idea that she wasn't interested almost immediately and then she went on to explain that she was literally looking for her specific someone due to this fae curse, they were on pretty open, even ground for future interactions.  No awkward at all, surprisingly, and he was prone to removing himself from potentially mortifying situations, just out of habit.

Since then, he'd actually found Clio to be pleasantly charming, in a comfortable, friendly sort of way.  There were no expectations, just that shared understanding for both having involvement with Sal and an overall amicable bit of smalltalk anytime they ran into each other.  Since Eli actually tried not to spend too much time around Sal, that made their talks even more pleasant, simply because he never really wanted to be at the Excelsior and she was a bright point in the whole experience.  This time really wasn't much different, but as usual, she made it seem more bearable instantly with the understanding, lack of judgment and lack of that careful beat-around-the-bush niceness.  Of course, it wasn't like there was a nice way to say, 'I touch people and they die'.

He gave a sigh and a smile that really didn't meet his eyes too well, keeping his hands in the pockets of his coat.  He was fairly certain that multiple layers of fabric would keep someone safe, but he wasn't about to test it out, especially on her.  "Not unless you want to hear stories about Lucifer, reapers and some serious nasties.  Your instructions were on-point, trust me," he said, already assuming she didn't actually want to hear and wondering why the hell it looked like she'd come from the bar.  Not that there wasn't anything else in that direction, but Sal knew he was a walking death count waiting to happen, so why meet up in a place where someone could run into them?  "Is the hotel pretty empty, or is Sal just not worried about a crowd?"

[Clio Jones]

  "Both, I think," she said, answering his question about whether the hotel was busy and whether or not Sal cared. He knew what he was doing; Clio long ago learned that he'd almost always have a plan, and doubting or deviating could warrant unintended results. "The usual table is more or less apart from the would-be crowd, and it's still early, so I imagine by the time it picks up, you'll be long gone. Unless you have a lengthy discussion ahead of you." When he let out a sharp laugh at her remark, she raised her eyebrows - but then, of course, he went on.

As he mentioned Lucifer, her face remained mostly expressionless - polite interest, of course, since Eli was the closest thing she had to a brother, but she had to carefully hide the reaction that she'd seen him once or twice. Of course, he wasn't borrowing bodies of people she knew back then, but he did have a knack for jailbreaking, and she wondered if that would be pertinent information. "Careful he doesn't try to skip out on the bill," she said cryptically, walking alongside Eli through the massive lobby. She held an arm out to gently stop a rushing bellhop from bumping into him, proving once again how useful she was, if not curiously subtle.

"Reapers, though? That's new," she commented. She resisted the urge to ask if good ol' Lucy had given him a one-for-one swap on abilities. She was betting that was why Sal told her not to touch him. Sal usually tried to smash them next to eachother in a refusal to abandon hope that they'd just fall in love. "And Heather?" she asked carefully. She knew Harvey had come home and that Eli had been otherwise replaced for the original model, but she couldn't say she blamed Heather. Soulmates were soulmates - it was exactly why she didn't even bother giving interest to anyone anymore. More heartbreak for all parties involved, and things got messy. Once upon a time, when she'd had a lapse in judgment and was overall fed up with things, she'd had a murder-suicide by a jealous lover who didn't want to go away once she'd found her partner. Messy, indeed. The roaring 20's were not her ideal era.

[Eli Sterling]

Clio's answer made a lot of sense, honestly, and knowing Sal the way he did, he figured the old bastard was mostly relying on Eli not wanting to murder anyone accidentally.  That, or he was expecting trouble and wanted Eli to be front and center, which was also absolutely something that man would do, but trouble seemed unlikely in The Excelsior.  It just didn't really happen.  Her remark about Lucifer and reapers was a lot more interesting, like she might actually know a thing or two about him beyond the basic 'Father of Lies' religious bullshit (especially if reapers happened to be 'new'), but how would she?  Not that he immediately called her on it, considering the bellhop that came careening towards him putting him in high-alert, only for her to effortlessly alter the guy's flight plan.  Eli relaxed minutely, a rush of gratitude along with relief for Clio's presence, but that was exactly the kind of accident he was afraid of here.

"I think Tim Browning is actually hoping he'll skip out, since the bastard is holed up in his favorite son," he muttered, but he still side-eyed her with some additional measure of interest. Maybe she should sit in on this conversation.

The switch in topic to Heather made him sigh, though not necessarily in a bad way.  It had all worked itself out, however messy it had gotten for awhile there.  "I'm not sure how much you've heard, but it's evened out.  Harvey's been home awhile, she's settled back into her marriage and I tried to keep the drama to a minimum.  Harvey and I are on surprisingly good terms, actually, better than we've ever been," he said, and his voice even reflected some of that surprise because he hadn't actually really thought too deeply on that, but they were.  Guess there was something to be said for keeping the man's wife and child protected, happy and also not taking his place.  "That crazy team of his came through for me not too long ago."

[Clio Jones]

 If any of them knew that Tim Browning hoping he would skip out would come back to bite them all in the ass, the remark probably would be in far poorer taste. As it stood, none of them could see the future - at least nobody who had a hand to play in this game. One would think by now they'd get their paws on a seer of some sort, but the only two that seemed to hang around were Guildies, and not fucking likely to lend their abilities out to this magnitude.

"Favourite? I hope he didn't say that to the other one," she quipped. Knowing Tim, he probably had, and knowing Tyler, it probably hadn't affected him in the least. You didn't have that kind of up-bringing and get upset when someone said something that wasn't nice.

"I haven't heard very much," she admitted, stopping someone with her forearm by deftly sliding between he and the doorway, where a server with a tray full of martinis had come around the corner without calling it. She smiled, her heels putting her much closer to Eli's eye level than normal, but the smile was more of how close that one had been. "But it's good to know it worked itself out. I always thought she was nice, but Eli.. she wasn't yours." She didn't say it to harshly remind him of that fact, but more like... He knew she'd be speaking from a place of truth and experience. The lack of bias in her commentary regarding that should have been better to hear than Sal's thoughts on the matter.

"I am pleased to know they came through. I think I've only really seen one of them. The Siren? She's very interesting, indeed," she laughed. Ketevan was something else entirely. As they approached Sal, Clio clasped her hands together. "Isn't that right, Sal?" At her prompting, he glanced up over his drink with a Hm? "The Siren. Pink hair? What did you say? In your day, you'd have charmed her in an instant?"

[Eli Sterling]

Oh, the remark was going to be in very poor taste when it was realized what Lucifer skipping out was going to do to them all, but Eli didn't know and he wasn't wrong - Tim wanted Lucifer out of Trevor's body very badly.  "He doesn't have to.  Everyone except Trevor knows that he's the favorite, because Tim's hardest on him.  That kid is his perfect little soldier, trained just short of Vida style all his life.  The other one Tim raised is trying for a normal run of things with law school and Tim doesn't think the youngest is his, but Tyler is the spitting image of his older brother, so I'm betting Tim's in denial because the boy only knows how to hold a gun because Trevor's taught him," he explained, but it was so much easier to discuss someone else's problems than his own, and Tim had enough of them right about then. 

Honestly, he and Clio really ought to have a sit-down for coffee or something at some point, just to give them someone unbiased in their usual messes to chat with, because there wasn't a single person who could have (and may have) told him that Heather wasn't his without it digging in deep and stinging like hell, but there was that smile as she kept yet another person from trying to accidentally murder themselves on him, then the comment, and there was nothing about the way she said it that spoke of anything except honesty and....experience.  He'd gleaned very quickly from her that she knew a thing or two about soulmates and who she was looking for, but this just sounded like more of the same.  "I know."

Finally, they came to Sal, and while Eli wasn't typically the sort to seek out the man's company, he sure as hell wasn't complaining about swiftly taking the most protected seat at the table right then.  It was usually Sal's, but he noticed very keenly that the old bastard had left it open.  "I'm not that sure you'd really want to.  She's possibly the craziest of the bunch, with one potential exception.  She can land any aircraft on anything, though.  It's impressive, not that I was paying too much attention the last time she did it."

[Salvatore Godric]

"There are many different levels of crazy, Eli, and hers is more fun than most," he pointed out, but then, he also knew that Ketevan had more history than he wanted to tangle with, even if he didn't quite have all of the details.  The sentiment behind his remark remained, but given the 'what if' nature of it, it ended up being all bluster. 

"About that last time she did it, what had your attention so occupied that you weren't watching such an impressive landing?" he asked, setting his drink down with an appraising lift to his eyebrows that only got a dry look out of Eli.  This wasn't the first time Sal had tried to find out what happened during that whole thing, but it was the first time in front of Clio.  He wasn't sure if that would help his case or not, but he was intrigued to find out.  Even if he knew by that point that they were not going to get together, he could recognize that introducing them and pushing them at each other had formed some sort of closeness.  Good.

In that regard, he really was being something of a meddling old man, just trying to look out for their best interests, which was pretty ironic when one considered Eli's general assumption that anything Sal was trying to talk him into was bad news.  He had his moments, but he honestly thought both of them were far too 'alone in the world' for their own good.  "Was that the time I felt your spirit wandering around the city a long way from home?  Tricky business, that.  Wouldn't want to do it unless I was desperate.  You usually have too much sense for those kind of moves, Eli."

He knew better.  Eli had helped him deal with someone who'd wandered too far from their body and let something else take it over, so he knew for a fact that his protege would never do it lightly.  His assumption?  Eli had to be in very grave danger to attempt it, possibly even dying to get that kind of distance so quickly, and he wanted to know what the hell had been happening.  That he'd gotten into contact with souls that had been in the helicopters and in that warehouse to die in Eli's presence didn't help his curiosity, since there was no actual reason for any of it to have happened; the helicopters following them hadn't been shot down and the men in the warehouse had simply died.  Now Eli was walking around with a death touch.  Color Sal incredibly curious about what had been going on with his almost-son. 

"It was," Eli offered mildly, and that was it.  Sal waited, and Eli looked at a menu like there was nothing else to add.  Little shit.

"We're going to talk about that situation sooner or later."

"Most of that situation is classified, Sal.  The rest is personal."

"The dead don't care about classified, I already know all of that."  Eli's eye roll at his dismissive annoyance would have been more impressive if Sal hadn't been training the kid since he was still in grade school and gotten the full brunt of his attitude for so many years, but he leaned forward, pointing a finger at his student.  "You're in over your head.  Either you picked up a few new tricks that I should know about, or you have some dangerous friends."

[Clio Jones]

 Clio kept her lips pursed when Sal accused Eli of being both in over his head and having dangerous friends - the former wasn't entirely true but the latter most certainly was. Kes may have been crazier than a bag of cats, but she was old Fae, and old Fae came with old problems. Honestly, Clio could have been a Therrayan for as much as she knew about the Fae in general, let alone what she knew in specifics. There weren't too many who existed that had any sort of power that she didn't at least know about, but if they ever stepped foot into the Excelsior, best believe she had an entire dossier on them.

And nobody knew that she knew. That was the fun part. Of course, you didn't spend your entirety of existence simultaneously searching for your other half and planning to take down the rulers of the Light and Dark Courts without learning everyone's secrets.

It became kind of obvious that Sal was lacking some key details about Eli's life - Claudia, namely. She'd asked about Heather because she knew that was a hell of an adjustment period. She hadn't asked about Claudia because as far as she had been told, things were fine - Lucifer knifing her at the Masquerade and swapping her power on Eli would be new, but they hadn't even begun to scratch the surface of that yet, and ironically it was part of the reason for Eli's visit to begin with.

"Okay, maybe save your interrogation for another time," she said gently, before Sal and Eli got into another one of their 'which one of us is more stubborn' matches. She glanced over her shoulder, snapping for someone to bring drinks. At least that they could all agree on. Someone brought over the 'usual'; a bourbon rocks for Eli, gin and tonic for Sal, and a dirty martini for Clio. One thing she did enjoy - being supernatural without being supernatural meant that she could still have just one or two drinks and be good for the rest of the evening. Of course, since she'd gotten into the habit of a martini with dinner on a regular basis, just one didn't cut it much anymore. But she still liked the taste. Eli said it tasted like she was drinking salt water, and that was mostly true.

"Well, gentlemen, I think I'll leave you to it, and take my drink to go," she suggested. She leaned down to give Sal a kiss on the cheek. "None for you, I'm afraid," she said, smiling at Eli.

[Eli Sterling]

Sal was indeed at a bit of a loss when it came to anything to do with Claudia, and that was intentional on Eli's part.  He didn't necessarily trust Sal with a reaper as a 'daughter-in-law', or whatever the man might get into his head, even though Claudia wasn't technically a reaper anymore.  Since Lucifer had yanked her powers, she'd been human, and they'd been trying to come up with a solution for that, but it hadn't stopped the two of them from getting close.  Considering how complicated that was, he wasn't about to tell his sometimes dangerously opportunistic mentor about the situation.  Sal wasn't quite on Papa Aristide's level, but he played his own games, and Eli wasn't a fan of being a pawn.  It made this shit with Lucifer extra annoying, actually.

Annoying enough that he was at The Excelsior, talking with Sal far too regularly and trying to figure out what the hell to do about it all, and he didn't even know what was about to be, in his opinion, the worst part of the whole ordeal.  That didn't come until after Clio had broken up Sal's attempt to gain information Eli didn't want to give him and had drinks arranged, though without her presence, Eli wasn't sure how the rest of this conversation was going to go.  If he could keep Sal on the topic at hand, maybe not too bad, but he really didn't want to get too deeply into who Claudia was with the man.  He managed a smile along with a shrug that sort of said 'such is my life' without looking too broken up about the lack of a kiss, but someone approaching the table very quickly took the majority of his attention.  Sal hadn't mentioned anyone else joining them to Eli, probably for a reason.

"My apologies, I hope I didn't leave you waiting too long."

The wide-eyed look on Eli's face fortunately didn't come complete with his mouth hanging open, but it still wasn't a terribly flattering look on him, but frankly, he'd never seen this bastard outside of some pretty serious, confidential files.  Marcus Walker, affectionately referred to as 'Baba Yaga' by the monsters and criminal world alike, in a sharp white shirt and black suit, was taking an open seat and their table.  A glance at Sal showed positively no surprise, and the look on Clio's face was honestly the most unreadable he'd ever seen, so he was back to staring at the terrifying bastard, instead.

"You've got to be kidding me.  Sal, you did not fucking invite him here, tell me you didn't," he hissed, turning to the man in question and just getting a smug sort of look in return.  Jesus Christ. 

"Agent Burress, how good to finally meet you.  Or do you prefer Sterling?" If possible, the look on Eli's face soured further, but he smiled again, sharper and absolutely fake.

"The pleasure is all mine, Mr. Walker.  Or do you prefer Boogeyman?  Monster under the bed?  Do you actually go bump in the night?" he asked, tone gone playful in that dangerous sort of way when he knew shit was getting serious.  This man shouldn't be in this country, nevermind city.

"Sterling, then, I see.  No, I'm usually fairly quiet, I'll admit."

"Well, I see you're both fucking acquainted, that's nice," Sal cut in, leaning back in his chair with an irritated sigh and glance between them.  "Clio, this is Mr. Marcus Walker.  Mr. Walker, this is Miss Clio Jones, my assistant.  She was just on her way out, other business, you understand."