Jewel of the Nile {Tag Tsunai, Angelica}

[Victoria Kelly]

Odessa had followed the woman from a very far distance, using a quick interference to determine her location via an interesting cell phone interception device she'd borrowed from a source. She got out of the silver BMW 7 Series, a vehicle not uncommon for the area so close to Midnight, and tossed back her white-blonde hair as she inhaled sharply the cool autumn air around her.

Ahead, her mark walked several paces facing her, and Odessa glanced around, expression somewhat confused. She looked lost, actually. As the woman approached her, Odessa turned abruptly to head down the covered walkway that lined the downtown sort of area of Pyrige, and brushed against her. Fingers contacted to bare flesh, and it was but the faintest scratching sensation that the woman might have felt.

"Oh, I'm sorry," she said politely. "I didn't see you there!" She smiled warmly, though in those sapphire and emerald eyes there was not even a hint of remorse. She took a step back, and turned to continue her path, though her steps were very slow as she glanced over her shoulder.

The Viper's Tooth was a powerful weapon when wielded correctly. Fashioned as a ring, two 'fangs' ran alongside the finger, tiny prongs dipped in the poison du jour - Odessa's choice was naturally a sedative strong enough to take down even a large feline shifter. What it would do to a Serpiente was just as efficient, and very much the sum of her dealings just now. What felt like a mosquito bite to some, and even went unnoticed to others, was some of the fastest working mojo on the market.

[Tsunai Feleon]

Tsunai was happy to be up and about.  Finally the leader of Frost had given her permission to go on some errands.  She might be close to delivery but she felt almost better then ever.  She had a lot of energy that she knew was driving everyone insane.  As soon as the morning sickness had stopped she was ready to be up and about.  It might just be paper work and delivery but it was fine by her as long as she could get out.

Well, she knew Lucien would not be happy about it.  She had convinced her leader to keep in under wraps not to worry her soon to be husband.  He had enough stress to deal with, this little job would not hurt to do.  Besides it would keep her from getting cranky.  She hated to be cranky especially with Lucien since she is a large cause to him being miserable.

Pulling her coat around her a little tighter as a cold wind blew she moved forward.  She hated the cold but at least she was finished and could go home.  Not watching where she was going she bumped into a woman and felt a slight scratch.  Probably just a ring or something, nothing to worry about.  "It is all right.  I was not watching where I was going."  She replied apologetically before continuing to where she had parked her car.

As she continued on though she began to feel strange.  Her mind began to blur and her walking became unsteady.  This had never happened before, what was going on?  Slowing down she leaned against the nearest wall to keep herself upright.  Something was terribly wrong though she could not place what it was.

[Victoria Kelly]

Odessa turned slowly, pausing her steps as she watched Tsunai walk away like nothing had happened. She held no facial expressions whatsoever, preferring not to let her emotions involve themselves in her work until the task at hand was completed. She didn't like partial victories or defeats - she wanted to celebrate it all or have nothing at all. No in betweens, here.

She hurried back to the woman all at once, suddenly, as though time had snapped back into place for her. She had waited a good thirty seconds before moving at all, really, which was the allotted time for the sedatives to work their way through her system enough to eliminate any cause of a threat for Odessa, not that she had to worry in the first place. Her backup was more than capable.

"Are you okay?" she asked, voice so stunned, so alert. She grabbed Tsunai gently by the arm, and for all intents and purposes, and to any passerby that so happened, she was a concerned woman helping an expecting mother. "She's just exhausted," she explained as a concerned patron slowed his steps. Luckily nobody stopped to help, which was just grand.

"Can you stand up?" she asked, though she was already pulling her lightly to her feet, knowing that she would indeed be able to stand though she'd feel lighter than a feather when she finally got there. "Come on, let's get you somewhere warm so you can sit down."

What a sweet, helpful girl.

[Tsunai Feleon]

Tsunai turned to look at the girl through misted and spinning vision.  It was the girl she had just bumped into.  She was sure it was...but she could be wrong.  Her mind was spinning and she felt as the girl helped her to stand and right now she could not fight if she wanted to.  Her body just followed along with the support that was given.  "What is happening?"  She muttered as a hand went up to her forehead.  She had never felt like this before.  What in the world was going on?  Had her mind been clearer she might have been able to figure out the signs but it was too far gone into the oncoming sleep.

[Victoria Kelly]

Odessa blinked rapidly, leading Tsunai to the BMW that had dutifully waited on the corner. "You fainted, of course," she said matter-of-factly, knowing that she could tell the shifter just about anything at the moment and she wouldn't be able to argue it. "I'm going to get you into my car for a minute and let you get warmed up, and we'll get you something to drink, okay?"

She opened the car door, and the driver glanced back as Odessa helped Tsunai into the back seat. The interior of the car was somewhat different than most of the BMW's Tsunai may have been in - this one was separated by a large wall of bullet proof glass that fell to a custom-laid center console, dividing the front and rear of the car sufficiently from each other. It was acting as both privacy glass and containment glass, one could bet.

"Is that better? Good," Odessa purred. She shut the door and hopped in the passenger side. "Let's take her somewhere more... accommodating, shall we darling?" she asked the driver sweetly. The man, again, made no facial expression whatsoever, and the only sign that he'd even acknowledged Odessa at all was a flick of his eyes in her direction before he pulled the car off of the street corner.

He merged into traffic and headed straight to Midnight.

[Tsunai Feleon]

Tsunai just let the girl lead her to the car though it probably was not an easy task since she was extremely wobbly.  "Fainted?"  Well that worked for her drugged mind.  She just felt so sleepy and was not really sure what was real and what was not.  Her eyes were probably dilated giving her the look of someone that was high.  Well, in a way she was not that she really knew it.  She had to lean against the girl helping her at the end and was happy to sit back down.  "Such a nice girl...thank you..."  She stated getting comfortable as the door closed and the warmth surrounded her.  After being so cold the warmth was welcome.  Closing her eyes and settled in and fell asleep not knowing where she was being taken.  All she could think of was the warmth and the inviting sleep that took over.

[Victoria Kelly]

Just as Odessa had promised, the heat was turned on and Tsunai would be nice and toasty in the back of the car, though not uncomfortably so, whether or not she could even register it. She looked at her glass-like nails idly, and let her eyes scan the road as they continued in silence. Once they reached the outer-most area of Midnight's property, she pulled out one of the many ghost copied cellular phones she had, and dialed undoubtebly another ghost number.

When the voice on the other end answered, all she said was, "I believe I've got a lovely sack of gemstones for you to appraise, my dear. Be there in just a jiff."

She hung up the phone and sighed a contented little sigh.

[Remi Smith]

Angelica caught the phone on the second ring, flipping it out of her pocket after scanning then number briefly. Blocked. Well, that wasn't so surprising, with this phone. It was one of her ghost phones, used for Angel's business. Unlisted, and difficult to trace. Illegal as well, for what it was worth, as technically speaking it was stolen. But what would the normal, human police do to her anyway, should she be found by them? Lock her up? Honestly, the idea was almost laughable. She could vanish from under human notice easily enough, unless they were prepared for a shifter. The idea had amused her at times.

Now, however, was business.

Angelica flipped the top of the slim, black, fashionable phone and put it to her ear, tossing her fair hair over a shoulder. "Hello?"

"I believe I've got a lovely sack of gemstones for you to appraise, my dear. Be there in just a jiff."

Angelica smiled a little, slowly. "I see. Discussed location?" At the other's confirmation she nodded a little to herself. "I'll be there soon." And she would be. It was, admittedly, not exactly walking distance... but then wings were faster then feet. And she didn't exactly have to depend on them either - a paycheck the size of hers meant you deserved to buy yourself a few treats. Sports cars. Motorcycles. A few less flashy vehicles (mainly silver, which every car and it's mother was these days) for when she needed not to draw attention. She preferred her pretty little toys, however, and used them when she could.

Angelica exited the department store, fishing around in a pocket for her keys, and had slid into the drivers seat of a pale, silvery blue jaguar and was pulling smoothly out of the parking look less then a minute later. And it didn't take too long for her to find Odessa.

The road was empty as far as the eye could see in both directions - and she could, she understood, see a bit farther then normal humans. Which was all well and good, if not surprising. You didn't get much... hm, non-business traffic this close to Midnight. She drew over to the side of the road and then climbed almost sinuously out, crossing over to the other car and casually peering into the back seat as she passed.

She recognized the woman passed out on the back seat. Angelica paused a moment, almost not believing her eyes, and then was tempted to burst out laughing. She didn't, of course, but her voice was richly amused and satisfied as she turned to the other pale mercenary.

"My congratulations. I believe you have procured an item of some value," she said, something between a purr and a laugh in her voice. "A cobra brat and the intended Naga of the Serpiente." She was forced to shake her head in admiration. "I am impressed."

[Victoria Kelly]

Odessa stepped out of the car to greet the alabaster raven, and smiled a small smile at her approval. Odessa wasn't jumping for joy just yet. As the driver picked up Tsunai's unconscious body and began walking towards the entrance of Midnight, Odessa lingered behind him a few paces, walking with Angel.

"So, my little find might be worth a good spot of cash, eh?" she asked coyly. "And me oh my, here I was thinking I'd just found a random taipan wandering the streets." She giggled a little, thrusting her hands into her the pockets of her black wool peacoat. "Do you have any idea for a buyer, though? She's so... pregnant."

She paused a little. "If that child she carried wasn't the moneymaker, I'd say we could string her up and pop her like a pinata, but sadly I don't think it's an option. Supposedly she's due up any time now, so maybe we'll get lucky. We don't really need her, not unless someone requests a 'Mommy and Baby Matching Set'."

Odessa was.. disturbingly disturbing.

[Remi Smith]

"Hmm. There are a few I can think of that might be interested in the cobra, but none off the top of my head who would jump for the woman. She's only a taipan, after all - and while they aren't really the most common breed... well." She shrugged. "I'm sure we could still find a buyer, of course, which would be best - we could kill her, but it seems something of a waste.

"I doubt many would want the mother and child together, either way we go at it. A few might, I suppose, especially if we put it up for sale as soon as it's born. It might be best to wait a few weeks, so that it can survive without her." The funny (and disturbing) thing was that, had it been anything less then a cobra she was carrying, Angelica would have done the same as Odessa. Possibly chained her spreadeagle to a wall and then beaten her across her middle, probably with a board or rods, which would have killed the child easily enough. They were so fragile when still in the womb. They could have crushed it. It would make her throw up and it would bruise her, of course, and doubtless emotionally crush her, to have her child beaten to death before it was even born but... ah, what of it? She was attractive enough to still fetch a pretty sum, and bruises healed. A trainer would be messing with her mind shortly enough anyway - why fret over a little extra mental damage? Then again, if it was due shortly... well, that might have saved it anyway. Why kill it if you could wait a few weeks and sell it?

Most vampires wouldn't want a pregnant slave. A mother and child... possibly not. Either-or? She was sure they could find a buyer. A cobra child? It would be snapped up.

"You'll need somewhere to hold her, for a little while. Unless you plan to try selling her now."

[Victoria Kelly]

Odessa's line of thought was synonymous with the raven's, as usual. She'd actually dealt with pregnant slaves before. It was never anything to give them a solid beating to relieve them of the problem, although Odessa wasn't the one to exact the beatings.. she was merely just there to suggest ideas to masters and mistresses.

Not that anyone had ever been able to prove it.

She smiled glibly, tilting her head to the side to inhale the scent of death that surrounded Midnight. "Just dump her in a cell. I'd prefer it if it were at least heated. Serpiente don't react well to the cold, and if the demon spawn is the meal ticket, I'd rather it come out as well as possible. As soon as it can live without her, it will be suitable for sale. In the meantime, we could always have a private audience of possible buyers, but I want to keep the numbers to an absolute minimum. Nobody needs to know she's here just yet, or her idiotic fiancé might try some pathetic crusade attempt to fetch her, and I'd really hate to have to resort to violence on a larger scale."

[Remi Smith]

Angelica glanced over, expression rather dry and ironic. "Of course," she said. "If the general public was made aware of her position, word of it would doubtless reach the Diente sooner or later. Life tends to get more complicated when there is royalty out for your blood." She knew; she'd seen examples of such. She'd never had such an experience herself, of course - she was meticulously careful in such matters as these. But it always paid to be such when dealing with such things. It allowed one to retain one's anonymity - something she greatly valued.

"And violence on a larger scale would be so... messy." Angelica made a slight expression of distaste.

[Tsunai Feleon]

Tsu was not sure what was going on.  All she knew was that she was hearing voices through her slumber.  She was still too tired to open her eyes much less move.  All she wished to do was sleep but being shifted from the car into the arms of the driver had jostled her enough to bring her sleeping mind to slight attention.  The conversation would drift in and out as she attempted once again to go back to sleep.  She caught little words that would make things incredibly clear later.  Making a small uncomfortable noise as she shifted slightly to get into a more comfortable position she let herself go back to sleep.  Her mind was hardly concerned with the outside world when the wonderful sleep was calling for her to return.

[Victoria Kelly]

"Mm, you're so right," she said, reaching up to brush some of Tsunai's hair from her face. "God, I love my supplier. It's amazing what a strong dose of tranquilizers can do," she cheered, a bright smile on her face. She glanced back to Angel, and held her hand up, revealing the ring that she'd used to catch the Taipan.

"See? It's actually called a Viper's Tooth. It's like it was meant just for me," she said with a giggle. "I've actually got something called a Raven's Claw, too, come to think of it, though it's as much a claw as this is a tooth. If you're interested I could bring one by. I don't know about you, but I'm always open to new weapons."

Oh, yes. Odessa liked to keep a variety of them on hand. She looked so frail and harmless, and yet... It would be funny, she thought, as they entered, if she crossed paths with that Stefan character. Given the fact that she was with the gilded Angel, she doubted very much that he'd decline to stop for a moment and at least greet them.

"Let's get her to a cell, and then we can draw up some sort of arrangements about the sale."

[Remi Smith]

The serpiente could piece things together all she liked - she didn't know Angel, or know of Angel. She and Angelica had never met, being in different guilds as they were. It would be her fiancé, if anyone, Angelica would be wary about. But he couldn't track down what he didn't know and it was hardly certain that he'd ever even see Tsunai again, let alone be able to gather a description of Angelica from her. And that, in the end, was all she was really concerned with. Herself. The Diente wouldn't have cause to cast his gaze her way. Angelica could almost hear the taipan try to wake up and then become lost again, drug-addled senses pulling her down.

She glanced over as the viper held a hand up, displaying the ring she wore, and laughed a little. "I'm always ready to try out new toys," she assured the other. "I have a few of my own that I doubt you will have seen, if you'd be interested." Angel had some... unique contacts, after all. Ones who she could convince to give her all manner of goodies not widely available, in return for some service done for them. Angel didn't only work for money, after all.

The pale raven nodded easy agreement to the proposed plan - bold of the other, to waltz so easily into Midnight when she'd just acknowledged herself to be armed. Admittedly, however, not with anything that would affect vampires. Angelica herself was carrying weapons as well, and she ground her teeth as she thought of it. She should have considered that earlier. At least she wasn't traveling heavily armed - though going without anything always made her feel horribly exposed.

"It sounds like a plan. First, however, as we're headed in to Midnight I should probably deposit this," she said, holding up a gun. Not that it was her only weapon. She wasn't going to reveal all their locations; heaven no. "Just a moment, please." She jumped into the air, turning into a snowy raven as she did so, and flew back, slipping in and grudgingly shedding guns and knives and darts. There was that loophole taken care of. She knew enough unarmed combat that anyone who tried to take her any other way would probably be surprised, and in case they used poison... well, she was at least partially immune to all sorts of nasties at this point, and was carrying a mild anti-toxin anyway, just in case. It wasn't very strong but counteracted to some degree most things - hopefully long enough for her to get away.

This was one of the downsides to having the unusual coloration that she did. Collectors - the kind who would appreciate that cobra - would also doubtless enjoy adding her to their collections. That wasn't something she was planning on letting happen. She had tricks hidden up her sleeve as well.

She sighed. Going into Midnight with a relativly unknown element was, admittedly, risky. But she'd done all she could, and if Odessa tried to take advantage of her....

Angelica shifted again and flew back.

"My apologies - do you have connections here was well, then?"