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tampered2007-05-30 01:11 am
flammenschwert.livejournal.com) wrote in tampered2007-05-30 01:11 am
Log; Complete
When; May 22, 5 pm
Rating; PG13 (very little language, some violence and violent thoughts)
Characters; William Walter Wordsworth![[profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png)
prof_wordsworth , Radu Barvon flammenschwert
Summary; A talk between former enemy parties, about quite some unpleasant topics. Mutual manipulation galore.
Log;
Radu was rarely late to appointments; it was one of the things one had to learn quickly as an Imperial Boier, even more so as one of low rank. Even if the business was not important, a Duke or Countess or Marquess weren't likely to wait happily for a Baron's late arrival. Punctuality had become more a character trait than a habit, and maybe when dealing with an impatient Terran superior or administering terrorist attacks, that was a really good thing.
It seemed almost too much of a coincidence to be one that the AX agent had chosen this building; under one roof with his old university rival and sworn enemy, Panzermagier. Whether or not it had been a concious decision on the Professor's side, for a moment Radu hesitated to enter. It was not the meeting was anything but an extremely stupid idea anyway. It was likely that his superiors would not exactly welcome the idea of him secretly meeting the enemy. Maybe he should have told Dietrich after all, though Dietrich would likely not have agreed; if he had reported to Panzermagier directly, his leaving his own directly appointed superior out would have been noted, and neither Panzermagier not Contra Mundi were persons he was looking forward to dealing with. And one of them was living in the very building his meeting was supposed to be.
Five minutes and a couple of stairs later, the decision didn't seem a bit wiser than before, but he had decided to stop bothering. There was not really anything that spoke against gaining information from the enemy, and if there was, then that meant Dietrich was aiming at punishing him for something or the other anyway, since Dietrich made the rules. Radu reached in his pocket and then knocked on the Professor's door, freshly lit cigarette - was he so nervous? - clamped between his teeth.
The flat was a mess. That was the only way to put it. William stood in the middle of his sitting room and scratched his head. With a sigh he took out his pipe and lit it. Still so much work to do and the enemy closer than ever, William knew that time wasn't really on his side. What he needed was to keep the enemy on it's toes and with Radu Barvon paying him a visit soon, William would know enough to come up with a plan.
He rather liked the Baron of Luxor. William had read the mission reports and discovered a young man who was both cunning and easy to manipulate. He sensed that the Baron was not at ease within the Orden, if true, William could play that card when needed.
He moved to a box and looked inside. Books, going through a few more boxes, he found more books. Perhaps he had gone a little over the top with the book buying. What he needed was a pool table, playing pool was a wonderful way to get rid of stress.
He was pulled out of his thoughts at the sound of a knock. That would be the Baron, right on time too. William smiled, he knew there was something to like about the boy. Walking towards the door, he knocked over a stack of boxes, books fell out and William almost joined them on the floor.
"Blast it!" He shouted as one heavy tome hit his foot painfully. Bending down, he picked up the books and put them in a jumbled pile back in the boxes. He made it the rest of the way to the door without anymore mishap, pausing for a moment, he ran a hand down his clothes to make sure all was in order. Then, with a broad smile, he opened the door.
For an instant, the door to the Professor's apartment seemed like a gate to a dimension of chaos. Radu's gaze fell upon the smiling face, wandered over to glance behind the Terran and after a second or so returned to meet William's, eyebrows rising ever so slightly - a rather harmless expression of his utter disbelief at the scene. This was unexpected, and it caught him off-guard for a comment. A bad beginning for this operation.
He took a drag from his cigarette, throwing a quick glance back, making sure nobody had seen him, before he entered and with a polite smile suggested, "Just moving in?"
It was no different from the Imperial Court. Smile while you think about slamming an axe into your best friend's face. At least he had had years to learn this sort of "etiquette".
Still, disorder made him aggressive when he was not too preoccupied with other things in his mind. Looking around, he could hardly restrain the urge to put his cigarette down and start cleaning up this mess. Which he was certain William - eccentric scientist that he was - would rather not appreciate. Just how did the man treat his books?
Looking out for an ashtray, Radu scooped down and picked up one of the books William had knocked over before. The title was not familiar, but he regarded it with fake interest, before putting it on the table surprisingly gently.
William had not missed the look in Radu's eyes as the younger man looked around the flat. Good, William had taken a guess and it had paid off. Always catch them off-guard was William's motto.
He nodded and smiled, "Yes, I moved in yesterday. I found a most wonderful bookshop and couldn't help myself."
He watched as Radu walked around and observed him study a book. William's eyes narrowed as Radu placed the book back down gently. A book lover, perfect. He walked over and picked up the book, looking over the title, A History of the North Kingdom. Yes, a book about one of the many alternate worlds that William knew people inhabiting the City came from.
He ran a hand down the front cover, appreciating the design and the feel of the leather. Looking up, he saw that Radu was watching him. William smiled and put the book down. So many boxes and far too many books to organize. He looked back at Radu, a cheeky grin lit William's face, "Would you like to help me sort these books out? At least we can talk and stay busy at the same time."
This was it. What a nerve to ask a Boier from Ţara Methuseluth to clean up his room for him! Radu's eye narrowed ever so slightly, and he turned to open the window, and - in absence of an ashtray - flicked the ash from his cigarette outside, purposely avoiding the Professor's eyes for a moment to calm down. He took another drag from the cigarette, back still turned at William, and suggested with mild politeness, "You should visit the library at some point."
When he turned back to face the AX agent, Radu's gentle facade was renewed. Having waited for an offer to take a seat in vain, he nodded his head in the direction of a chair. "May I?"
He did not wait for an answer but sat down, eying the smile William presented. So far, the middle-aged Terran seemed quite secure about his position, completely disregarding the fact that he was alone in his room with a far younger, and - thanks to the Bacillus - far stronger and swifter man from the enemy party. It was time to stop playing around and to come to the topic.
"I think you wanted to ask me some questions," Radu stated calmly, raising the cigarette to his lips again and inhaling slowly.
Oh dear, so prideful. Mentally, William was laughing, as if I've asked him to clean my whole flat. With a sigh, William began to sort through the books that he had knocked over.
"Yes, just a few small questions. What's the last thing that happened before you found yourself in the City?" He asked.
Seeing the Terran starting to sort his books, Radu made no move to help him. If he cleaned up by himself, even better. Radu had spent long enough of his life as practically a servant, and this elderly Vatican agent he had never met before was nobody who deserved his subservitude, not through a rank or title, and certainly not just by his own volition. Radu leaned back, eyes evading William's on purpose and coincidentally falling on the book he had picked up earlier.
"I died," he answered the question briefly and as casual as possible, although he could all but feel the trembling of his hand. It was one thing to convince oneself to be prepared to die; and it was a completely different thing to really face death. And death in the form of a raging monster queen who had been a distant, almost fictional mother figure, a mystified puppet ruler in his mind, was an especially mortifying experience.
Radu took a short drag from his cigarette to brush those thoughts aside, and still without looking at William, added with a smile of fake politeness, "Now I have a question or two for you. See it as a test."
He died, William gave a mental shake of his head, such a waste. Willam didn't look up, he carried on sorting through the books.
"You may ask any questions you like." He said.
Radu stood up, taking a last drag from his cigarette before crushing it on the window board and snipping the remains out. With more composure this time, he asked with a curiosity that was just as fake as his calm, "What happened with the traitors in the Empire? The ones involved in the coup d'état; the Duke of Tigris and the Countess of Babylon."
William stopped sorting through the books and looked at the younger man. Behind his well put together composure was something that might crack, William didn't like the look of it.
"The Duke of Tigris died and the Countess is on the run from the last report I read."
Radu did not progress the words at first. Something in his mind refused to let this new information in. And when it did, when it slowly dawned him what the AX agent had just told him, he was torn between stubbornly claiming it a lie, and asking again, in the faint hope of having misheard. For an instant, his grip against the window board tightened, leaving his knuckles protruding white under the skin.
It was ridiculous, of course. He had not misheard. The man could have lied, of course, to see his reaction. Radu had learnt to disguise his feelings better than he had learnt anything else, but he caught himself reaching for another cigarette and froze. This was too suspicious a reaction - or was it just more suspicious now that he had stopped? Maybe he had stared out of the window for too long without answering, or maybe - he should really answer now.
But what was there to answer? The Duke of Tigris was dead and his niece had fled the Empire. It was not just that he had died and sunk deeper into dependency on the Orden, but all their sacrifices and ambitions had been crushed in one approach. The assassination of the Empress had failed, she had turned out to be an undying monster, the traitors' names were known publicly now, the one man who could have been able to make a change was dead, and he was an undead toy of a maniac; all hope was lost. The relevation came crashing down on him surprisingly devastating, even if he had - as he had thought - been prepared for an outcome like this.
He realised he had been silent for far too long now, and secretly cursed himself for having asked without being prepared. "Is there anything else you want to know?" he asked with the calmest voice he could manage.
William saw this and more, poor boy, it had hit him that he was alone now, William fought the urge to comfort him. Instead, he moved a little closer to Radu and spoke softly, "You should sit down."
After a moment he spoke again, "I have two more things to ask and then you may leave...Why do you hate humans so much?"
You should sit down.
Then he had shown his shock far more openly than he had feared. Radu mentally cursed himself but managed to hide his anger at both the suggestion and himself, and chose to just ignore the Professor's offer. The question brought a cold, bitter smile to his lips, perfect to hide how shaken he was.
"I don't hate humans," he answered with almost languid calm. His eyes, finally meeting William's again, made his following explanation gratuitous. "I hate you cattle."
William shook his head, he walked over and stood beside Radu, looking out the window, he spoke in a cold tone, "And if this cattle could return you to your own time, before you were killed, what would you say to that?"
The Professor's question was only answered by a cold, almost stubborn glare this time. Was he implying that he really knew a way back to their own world? To the time before he died, even? Was this Vatican agent offering him a second chance? It was too good to be true, and the possibility alone made Radu speechless. But even if it worked, would it matter? They were bound to go down. The Empress had known their actions for a long time, or so she had claimed. But maybe, if they gave up and repented - no, that was impossible. And finally, Radu managed to form an answer.
"Don't mock me, Terran. You wouldn't bring a traitor back even if you could."
William nodded, "I can't yet but I will and if you stop being foolish, I'd help you to get out too." For a long moment he didn't say anything more.
William didn't know what he was really trying to play with the boy, maybe it was because he didn't like to see him being used the way the RCO were clearly using Radu. William wasn't going to look too deeply into it now.
He looked Radu in the eyes and spoke, "It's a lot more then what the Orden are offering you. Your just a toy now, " he turned and walked back to the boxes, looking through the books again, "Your dead now Baron, what's the point of following them still?"
The instant their gazes had met, Radu had looked away again. But now he could hardly hold back anymore. His brows were furrowed in anger, teeth subconciously gritted, and he barely managed to answer without having his voice shake in aggravation. "So this is what you really wanted to discuss," he hissed at the older man, eyes carefully avoiding him and staring at the floor instead. "The Orden is nothing you just quit. Joining was a final decision, and I knew it was. You know nothing, Terran. Igne Natura Renovatur Integra. That is all that matters."
William slammed the book he was holding down and turned around, his eyes were blazing, "I am tired of having that bloody motto shoved in my face, through fire shall the Earth be renewed, do you truly want that to happen Baron?"
He walked until he and Radu were face to face but noticed that the younger man wouldn't meet his eyes, "I don't care about your loyalties or your beliefs, I've had people look down on me before but I won in the end. What I hate is this resigned way your just living life, your allowing yourself to be used by those people and yet your proud enough to call me cattle."
Radu all but jumped at the sudden smack of the book hitting the table. Finally raising his eyes again, he tensed involuntarily. Through gritted teeth, he snarled, "Don't you dare to judge how I live my life, Terran."
His anger was over-boiling at the moment, but he kept his posture stubbornly, not flinching for a second when the angry priest approached. It was not like William could keep up with him should it come to a fight. So he stood, eyes flashing with rage, jaws tense, and shouting back at the priest, "Of course this is what I want to happen! This is what I always wanted! What you miss, Terran - I joined the Orden by my own volition. I knew what it meant and I wanted it."
It was not like William's words were completely new ideas to him. In fact, this was exactly what he spent a good amount of his time thinking about. Did he really want everything to be destroyed? Did he want to allow those people to use him as a puppet? But in front of the enemy was not the place to follow or admit to these doubts. Radu was not that stupid, but still, his right hand had slipped down, resting unsuspiciously next to his body, wrist half turned to the front and fingers half bent to a fist. It was a mere matter of caution, nothing more. He had been given orders, but his anger threatened to take over, and for just a moment, he would possibly be able to forget about the orders and the impending punishment - and just burn the priest's face off.
William didn't say anything for a long moment. So, that's how it was. The stupid boy really wanted to burn the world, turn it to ash. William wondered if Radu had really thought the whole thing through, that by the very act of fulfilling the Orden's ideal's, people would die, and since William knew that Radu was friend's with the young girl Lyra, William wondered if the stupid boy had even thought that killing everything, meant her death as well.
"Very well. I see no point in carrying on this conversation."
He moved to the pool table and began to arrange the balls. When next he spoke, his voice had returned to it's normal, careless tone. "Thank you for your visit Baron and for asking my questions."
Radu stood for a moment and stared with inscrutable stubbornness. After a moment of consideration, he decided not to give William the triumph of dismissing him so easily, and not making a fool of himself by stubbornly staying and asking questions of little significance. He put on a smile again and turned to the door. "My pleasure."
"A word of warning Baron, if Lyra Silvertongue is hurt in any way, either by the Orden or yourself, I will take swift action."
William hadn't turned around as he spoke but having finished, he turned and leaned against the pool table. The Baron could make of that what he wanted, William didn't care. But it would put the young man on edge, at least for a while or he could make the mistake of thinking William a weak human, either way, William was ready.
Radu froze. For a moment, he considered the possibility that he had misheard again or even made this warning up. He turned, slowly, pulse pounding hard in his ears. His eyes narrowed in quickly building rage. This Terran had not just-
He had. Before he could grasp another thought, Radu had charged at the man, supported by his race's tenfold speed, gripped William's throat and let a glaring blue flame flare up from the palm of his free hand. "WHAT ARE YOU IMPLYING, TERRAN!?"
William didn't even flinch,"So you are capable of protecting the innocent, instead of just killing them."
He could feel the heat from Radu's palm and at the back of his mind, William knew that there was a risk that he might get badly hurt in this fight but he meant it, if Radu or the Orden hurt Lyra or anyone else for that matter, William would hurt them, painfully.
William's eyes were narrow and his tone cold,"Tell me, if the Orden found a reason to hurt Lyra, would you go against your masters and protect her or would you let her be hurt in the name of the greater cause?"
Radu did not answer. Instead, he flung the professor across the room and against the wall. It was easy to fight an old Terran man, and he should have enjoyed this or just crush the insolent bug, but he should not be as angry as he was. He hardly gave the man time to collect himself or react; a blue flame shot out of his open palm, directly at William's direction.
William felt the impact with the wall deep in his ribs, but he didn't allow any thought to the pain, he raised his right hand, and turned the ring on his index finger counter clockwise, a second later the blue flame that Radu had thrown at him made contact with the activated shield. Panting, William slid down the wall. He raised his eyes and stared at Radu.
And Radu stared back. Things normally didn't survive a direct attack with his fire, and things certainly didn't look unmarred after being burnt by fire of the eightyfold strength of Napalm. But the surprise held only for a moment. He had other ways to kill a person - and he charged again, this time with his hands transformed to claws.
They stared at each other for a moment and then William's eyes widened as Radu charged. Oh dear, that's going to hurt. Radu made impact with the still active shield and a second later screamed as his body become engulfed by a powerful charge of electricity.
In the first instant, the electrical shock knocked Radu breathless. With a strangled gasp, he pulled away from the shield and - visibly shaken - tried to regain his composure. What on earth was this thing!? Teeth gritted, both in anger and in pain as his muscles still ached terribly from the shock, Radu took a few steps back to get out of the counter-attack's range. Then, his eyes narrowed slightly. Whatever it was, it probably needed energy. And thus, couldn't possibly stay active forever.
Once again, Radu let flames emerge from his hands. He threw William a hateful glance, and then he attacked. To hell with his orders. This man was going to die now.
Seeing that the electrical shock hadn't stopped Radu, William knew that he had to go to plan B. Wincing at the pain in his chest and back, William got up. The wonderful thing about the shield was that William could move around. Without bothering to look and see if Radu had stopped throwing fireballs at him, William slowly made his way towards the pool table. Everything he needed was there.
In fact, Radu had not stopped. The thought that he was exhausting the nanomachines crossed his mind for a moment, but it was impossible that this man could oppose him for much longer. And if he could, maybe it was time to try something else. But for the moment, Radu was perfectly content throwing fire at the fleeing - as he thought - man. He stopped only for a moment.
"You are not getting away."
William reached the pool table and picked up a small book he had left there, a book that the Baron had not taken notice of. He opened it, a small compartment inside held a simple gun. Hearing Radu's words, William took the gun and held it in his right hand. He turned around, with the pool table supporting him, William leaned against it. He raised the gun and pointed it at Radu.
The fire stopped immediately. He would have to be stupid to continue with a gun pointed at him. As long as he could not reach his opponent, he was at disadvantage, superior reflexes or not. But so long, he still had a chance; the shield had to run out of energy eventually, and then it was just a matter of the right timing to decide the fight for him. The professor was a Terran and visibly still burdened with the aftermath of Radu's earlier attacks.
Maybe he should have taken his earlier chance to just leave, ignoring the man, but it was too late now. Having started the fight, there was no way he could turn around and leave before his work was done here.
William brought up his left hand, not to steady the gun, but to be close to the ring. He watched as Radu stopped and stared at him, clearly planning another line of attack, William wasn't going to give him the chance. He moved his left hand and turned the ring clockwise, the instant he felt the click of the ring, William fired the gun.
Radu realised too late what was happening. He barely had time to flinch, wide-eyed in surprise and shock, before the projectile hit him. He was caught so blatantly off-guard that he all but stumbled backwards a step, close to falling to the ground. He should have been falling, it dawned him, if he had been hit by a silver-bullet - from this distance even by a normal bullet. Confused, he looked down on himself, but he found no wound; only a small dart deeply buried into his skin. An anaesthetic injection? For a moment he almost wanted to laugh. The dose in such a small projectile could hardly have any effect on a Methuselah. However, his amusement soon ceased. He was starting to feel unfamiliarly sick and dizzy, and for an instant, his vision threatened to black out. He struggled to remain standing on his feet, but the burning sickness in his stomach increased, and he felt cold and hot shivers running down his spine, and a dry pressure tightening in his throat. His eyes shot up, meeting William's, and with an efford to breathe calmly, he hissed, "What-"
He was cut off by another wave of nausea, shorter this time, but no less intense. He steadied himself with a hand against the wall. No matter what it was, it probably couldn't kill him anyway. And either way, he could not let the Terran get away. With a sudden, violent motion, he raised his arm and thrust his hand forward, throwing another ball of blue fire at William - or trying to. It took him a second or two to understand that nothing was happening. His eyes widened in disbelief, and he made another attempt. Nothing. Through the nausea, he felt his heart pounding fast and hard. And slowly, it began to dawn him what the Professor had injected him.
William pushed himself away from the pool table and slowly made his away towards Radu.
"I do apologize Baron. The silvernitrate will last for the next 12 hours, I suggest you walk away from the fight now."
He looked down at Radu, seeing the affects of the silvernitrate. He was now as weak as the humans he professed to hate. William bent down and looked Radu in the eye,"I hope the lesson has been well learned Baron."
William walked past him and made his way to the bathroom. "You may see yourself out." He said over his shoulder. A moment later the bathroom door shut behind him.
Radu threw a hateful glare after the man and shaking by now, not only from the sickness, but from the cold feeling of being defeated - and spared. The humiliation stung uncomfortably. He wanted a quick revenge, another attack against this Vatican agent or at least a hateful remark to counter this shame, but he was too drained of energy to even stand up without problems or think deeply enough to start another argument. William had long since disappeared behind the door when Radu finally found the resolve to pull himself on his feet again - when had it last been so hard to just stand up? - and walk unsteadily towards the door.
Rating; PG13 (very little language, some violence and violent thoughts)
Characters; William Walter Wordsworth
prof_wordsworth , Radu Barvon flammenschwert Summary; A talk between former enemy parties, about quite some unpleasant topics. Mutual manipulation galore.
Log;
Radu was rarely late to appointments; it was one of the things one had to learn quickly as an Imperial Boier, even more so as one of low rank. Even if the business was not important, a Duke or Countess or Marquess weren't likely to wait happily for a Baron's late arrival. Punctuality had become more a character trait than a habit, and maybe when dealing with an impatient Terran superior or administering terrorist attacks, that was a really good thing.
It seemed almost too much of a coincidence to be one that the AX agent had chosen this building; under one roof with his old university rival and sworn enemy, Panzermagier. Whether or not it had been a concious decision on the Professor's side, for a moment Radu hesitated to enter. It was not the meeting was anything but an extremely stupid idea anyway. It was likely that his superiors would not exactly welcome the idea of him secretly meeting the enemy. Maybe he should have told Dietrich after all, though Dietrich would likely not have agreed; if he had reported to Panzermagier directly, his leaving his own directly appointed superior out would have been noted, and neither Panzermagier not Contra Mundi were persons he was looking forward to dealing with. And one of them was living in the very building his meeting was supposed to be.
Five minutes and a couple of stairs later, the decision didn't seem a bit wiser than before, but he had decided to stop bothering. There was not really anything that spoke against gaining information from the enemy, and if there was, then that meant Dietrich was aiming at punishing him for something or the other anyway, since Dietrich made the rules. Radu reached in his pocket and then knocked on the Professor's door, freshly lit cigarette - was he so nervous? - clamped between his teeth.
The flat was a mess. That was the only way to put it. William stood in the middle of his sitting room and scratched his head. With a sigh he took out his pipe and lit it. Still so much work to do and the enemy closer than ever, William knew that time wasn't really on his side. What he needed was to keep the enemy on it's toes and with Radu Barvon paying him a visit soon, William would know enough to come up with a plan.
He rather liked the Baron of Luxor. William had read the mission reports and discovered a young man who was both cunning and easy to manipulate. He sensed that the Baron was not at ease within the Orden, if true, William could play that card when needed.
He moved to a box and looked inside. Books, going through a few more boxes, he found more books. Perhaps he had gone a little over the top with the book buying. What he needed was a pool table, playing pool was a wonderful way to get rid of stress.
He was pulled out of his thoughts at the sound of a knock. That would be the Baron, right on time too. William smiled, he knew there was something to like about the boy. Walking towards the door, he knocked over a stack of boxes, books fell out and William almost joined them on the floor.
"Blast it!" He shouted as one heavy tome hit his foot painfully. Bending down, he picked up the books and put them in a jumbled pile back in the boxes. He made it the rest of the way to the door without anymore mishap, pausing for a moment, he ran a hand down his clothes to make sure all was in order. Then, with a broad smile, he opened the door.
For an instant, the door to the Professor's apartment seemed like a gate to a dimension of chaos. Radu's gaze fell upon the smiling face, wandered over to glance behind the Terran and after a second or so returned to meet William's, eyebrows rising ever so slightly - a rather harmless expression of his utter disbelief at the scene. This was unexpected, and it caught him off-guard for a comment. A bad beginning for this operation.
He took a drag from his cigarette, throwing a quick glance back, making sure nobody had seen him, before he entered and with a polite smile suggested, "Just moving in?"
It was no different from the Imperial Court. Smile while you think about slamming an axe into your best friend's face. At least he had had years to learn this sort of "etiquette".
Still, disorder made him aggressive when he was not too preoccupied with other things in his mind. Looking around, he could hardly restrain the urge to put his cigarette down and start cleaning up this mess. Which he was certain William - eccentric scientist that he was - would rather not appreciate. Just how did the man treat his books?
Looking out for an ashtray, Radu scooped down and picked up one of the books William had knocked over before. The title was not familiar, but he regarded it with fake interest, before putting it on the table surprisingly gently.
William had not missed the look in Radu's eyes as the younger man looked around the flat. Good, William had taken a guess and it had paid off. Always catch them off-guard was William's motto.
He nodded and smiled, "Yes, I moved in yesterday. I found a most wonderful bookshop and couldn't help myself."
He watched as Radu walked around and observed him study a book. William's eyes narrowed as Radu placed the book back down gently. A book lover, perfect. He walked over and picked up the book, looking over the title, A History of the North Kingdom. Yes, a book about one of the many alternate worlds that William knew people inhabiting the City came from.
He ran a hand down the front cover, appreciating the design and the feel of the leather. Looking up, he saw that Radu was watching him. William smiled and put the book down. So many boxes and far too many books to organize. He looked back at Radu, a cheeky grin lit William's face, "Would you like to help me sort these books out? At least we can talk and stay busy at the same time."
This was it. What a nerve to ask a Boier from Ţara Methuseluth to clean up his room for him! Radu's eye narrowed ever so slightly, and he turned to open the window, and - in absence of an ashtray - flicked the ash from his cigarette outside, purposely avoiding the Professor's eyes for a moment to calm down. He took another drag from the cigarette, back still turned at William, and suggested with mild politeness, "You should visit the library at some point."
When he turned back to face the AX agent, Radu's gentle facade was renewed. Having waited for an offer to take a seat in vain, he nodded his head in the direction of a chair. "May I?"
He did not wait for an answer but sat down, eying the smile William presented. So far, the middle-aged Terran seemed quite secure about his position, completely disregarding the fact that he was alone in his room with a far younger, and - thanks to the Bacillus - far stronger and swifter man from the enemy party. It was time to stop playing around and to come to the topic.
"I think you wanted to ask me some questions," Radu stated calmly, raising the cigarette to his lips again and inhaling slowly.
Oh dear, so prideful. Mentally, William was laughing, as if I've asked him to clean my whole flat. With a sigh, William began to sort through the books that he had knocked over.
"Yes, just a few small questions. What's the last thing that happened before you found yourself in the City?" He asked.
Seeing the Terran starting to sort his books, Radu made no move to help him. If he cleaned up by himself, even better. Radu had spent long enough of his life as practically a servant, and this elderly Vatican agent he had never met before was nobody who deserved his subservitude, not through a rank or title, and certainly not just by his own volition. Radu leaned back, eyes evading William's on purpose and coincidentally falling on the book he had picked up earlier.
"I died," he answered the question briefly and as casual as possible, although he could all but feel the trembling of his hand. It was one thing to convince oneself to be prepared to die; and it was a completely different thing to really face death. And death in the form of a raging monster queen who had been a distant, almost fictional mother figure, a mystified puppet ruler in his mind, was an especially mortifying experience.
Radu took a short drag from his cigarette to brush those thoughts aside, and still without looking at William, added with a smile of fake politeness, "Now I have a question or two for you. See it as a test."
He died, William gave a mental shake of his head, such a waste. Willam didn't look up, he carried on sorting through the books.
"You may ask any questions you like." He said.
Radu stood up, taking a last drag from his cigarette before crushing it on the window board and snipping the remains out. With more composure this time, he asked with a curiosity that was just as fake as his calm, "What happened with the traitors in the Empire? The ones involved in the coup d'état; the Duke of Tigris and the Countess of Babylon."
William stopped sorting through the books and looked at the younger man. Behind his well put together composure was something that might crack, William didn't like the look of it.
"The Duke of Tigris died and the Countess is on the run from the last report I read."
Radu did not progress the words at first. Something in his mind refused to let this new information in. And when it did, when it slowly dawned him what the AX agent had just told him, he was torn between stubbornly claiming it a lie, and asking again, in the faint hope of having misheard. For an instant, his grip against the window board tightened, leaving his knuckles protruding white under the skin.
It was ridiculous, of course. He had not misheard. The man could have lied, of course, to see his reaction. Radu had learnt to disguise his feelings better than he had learnt anything else, but he caught himself reaching for another cigarette and froze. This was too suspicious a reaction - or was it just more suspicious now that he had stopped? Maybe he had stared out of the window for too long without answering, or maybe - he should really answer now.
But what was there to answer? The Duke of Tigris was dead and his niece had fled the Empire. It was not just that he had died and sunk deeper into dependency on the Orden, but all their sacrifices and ambitions had been crushed in one approach. The assassination of the Empress had failed, she had turned out to be an undying monster, the traitors' names were known publicly now, the one man who could have been able to make a change was dead, and he was an undead toy of a maniac; all hope was lost. The relevation came crashing down on him surprisingly devastating, even if he had - as he had thought - been prepared for an outcome like this.
He realised he had been silent for far too long now, and secretly cursed himself for having asked without being prepared. "Is there anything else you want to know?" he asked with the calmest voice he could manage.
William saw this and more, poor boy, it had hit him that he was alone now, William fought the urge to comfort him. Instead, he moved a little closer to Radu and spoke softly, "You should sit down."
After a moment he spoke again, "I have two more things to ask and then you may leave...Why do you hate humans so much?"
You should sit down.
Then he had shown his shock far more openly than he had feared. Radu mentally cursed himself but managed to hide his anger at both the suggestion and himself, and chose to just ignore the Professor's offer. The question brought a cold, bitter smile to his lips, perfect to hide how shaken he was.
"I don't hate humans," he answered with almost languid calm. His eyes, finally meeting William's again, made his following explanation gratuitous. "I hate you cattle."
William shook his head, he walked over and stood beside Radu, looking out the window, he spoke in a cold tone, "And if this cattle could return you to your own time, before you were killed, what would you say to that?"
The Professor's question was only answered by a cold, almost stubborn glare this time. Was he implying that he really knew a way back to their own world? To the time before he died, even? Was this Vatican agent offering him a second chance? It was too good to be true, and the possibility alone made Radu speechless. But even if it worked, would it matter? They were bound to go down. The Empress had known their actions for a long time, or so she had claimed. But maybe, if they gave up and repented - no, that was impossible. And finally, Radu managed to form an answer.
"Don't mock me, Terran. You wouldn't bring a traitor back even if you could."
William nodded, "I can't yet but I will and if you stop being foolish, I'd help you to get out too." For a long moment he didn't say anything more.
William didn't know what he was really trying to play with the boy, maybe it was because he didn't like to see him being used the way the RCO were clearly using Radu. William wasn't going to look too deeply into it now.
He looked Radu in the eyes and spoke, "It's a lot more then what the Orden are offering you. Your just a toy now, " he turned and walked back to the boxes, looking through the books again, "Your dead now Baron, what's the point of following them still?"
The instant their gazes had met, Radu had looked away again. But now he could hardly hold back anymore. His brows were furrowed in anger, teeth subconciously gritted, and he barely managed to answer without having his voice shake in aggravation. "So this is what you really wanted to discuss," he hissed at the older man, eyes carefully avoiding him and staring at the floor instead. "The Orden is nothing you just quit. Joining was a final decision, and I knew it was. You know nothing, Terran. Igne Natura Renovatur Integra. That is all that matters."
William slammed the book he was holding down and turned around, his eyes were blazing, "I am tired of having that bloody motto shoved in my face, through fire shall the Earth be renewed, do you truly want that to happen Baron?"
He walked until he and Radu were face to face but noticed that the younger man wouldn't meet his eyes, "I don't care about your loyalties or your beliefs, I've had people look down on me before but I won in the end. What I hate is this resigned way your just living life, your allowing yourself to be used by those people and yet your proud enough to call me cattle."
Radu all but jumped at the sudden smack of the book hitting the table. Finally raising his eyes again, he tensed involuntarily. Through gritted teeth, he snarled, "Don't you dare to judge how I live my life, Terran."
His anger was over-boiling at the moment, but he kept his posture stubbornly, not flinching for a second when the angry priest approached. It was not like William could keep up with him should it come to a fight. So he stood, eyes flashing with rage, jaws tense, and shouting back at the priest, "Of course this is what I want to happen! This is what I always wanted! What you miss, Terran - I joined the Orden by my own volition. I knew what it meant and I wanted it."
It was not like William's words were completely new ideas to him. In fact, this was exactly what he spent a good amount of his time thinking about. Did he really want everything to be destroyed? Did he want to allow those people to use him as a puppet? But in front of the enemy was not the place to follow or admit to these doubts. Radu was not that stupid, but still, his right hand had slipped down, resting unsuspiciously next to his body, wrist half turned to the front and fingers half bent to a fist. It was a mere matter of caution, nothing more. He had been given orders, but his anger threatened to take over, and for just a moment, he would possibly be able to forget about the orders and the impending punishment - and just burn the priest's face off.
William didn't say anything for a long moment. So, that's how it was. The stupid boy really wanted to burn the world, turn it to ash. William wondered if Radu had really thought the whole thing through, that by the very act of fulfilling the Orden's ideal's, people would die, and since William knew that Radu was friend's with the young girl Lyra, William wondered if the stupid boy had even thought that killing everything, meant her death as well.
"Very well. I see no point in carrying on this conversation."
He moved to the pool table and began to arrange the balls. When next he spoke, his voice had returned to it's normal, careless tone. "Thank you for your visit Baron and for asking my questions."
Radu stood for a moment and stared with inscrutable stubbornness. After a moment of consideration, he decided not to give William the triumph of dismissing him so easily, and not making a fool of himself by stubbornly staying and asking questions of little significance. He put on a smile again and turned to the door. "My pleasure."
"A word of warning Baron, if Lyra Silvertongue is hurt in any way, either by the Orden or yourself, I will take swift action."
William hadn't turned around as he spoke but having finished, he turned and leaned against the pool table. The Baron could make of that what he wanted, William didn't care. But it would put the young man on edge, at least for a while or he could make the mistake of thinking William a weak human, either way, William was ready.
Radu froze. For a moment, he considered the possibility that he had misheard again or even made this warning up. He turned, slowly, pulse pounding hard in his ears. His eyes narrowed in quickly building rage. This Terran had not just-
He had. Before he could grasp another thought, Radu had charged at the man, supported by his race's tenfold speed, gripped William's throat and let a glaring blue flame flare up from the palm of his free hand. "WHAT ARE YOU IMPLYING, TERRAN!?"
William didn't even flinch,"So you are capable of protecting the innocent, instead of just killing them."
He could feel the heat from Radu's palm and at the back of his mind, William knew that there was a risk that he might get badly hurt in this fight but he meant it, if Radu or the Orden hurt Lyra or anyone else for that matter, William would hurt them, painfully.
William's eyes were narrow and his tone cold,"Tell me, if the Orden found a reason to hurt Lyra, would you go against your masters and protect her or would you let her be hurt in the name of the greater cause?"
Radu did not answer. Instead, he flung the professor across the room and against the wall. It was easy to fight an old Terran man, and he should have enjoyed this or just crush the insolent bug, but he should not be as angry as he was. He hardly gave the man time to collect himself or react; a blue flame shot out of his open palm, directly at William's direction.
William felt the impact with the wall deep in his ribs, but he didn't allow any thought to the pain, he raised his right hand, and turned the ring on his index finger counter clockwise, a second later the blue flame that Radu had thrown at him made contact with the activated shield. Panting, William slid down the wall. He raised his eyes and stared at Radu.
And Radu stared back. Things normally didn't survive a direct attack with his fire, and things certainly didn't look unmarred after being burnt by fire of the eightyfold strength of Napalm. But the surprise held only for a moment. He had other ways to kill a person - and he charged again, this time with his hands transformed to claws.
They stared at each other for a moment and then William's eyes widened as Radu charged. Oh dear, that's going to hurt. Radu made impact with the still active shield and a second later screamed as his body become engulfed by a powerful charge of electricity.
In the first instant, the electrical shock knocked Radu breathless. With a strangled gasp, he pulled away from the shield and - visibly shaken - tried to regain his composure. What on earth was this thing!? Teeth gritted, both in anger and in pain as his muscles still ached terribly from the shock, Radu took a few steps back to get out of the counter-attack's range. Then, his eyes narrowed slightly. Whatever it was, it probably needed energy. And thus, couldn't possibly stay active forever.
Once again, Radu let flames emerge from his hands. He threw William a hateful glance, and then he attacked. To hell with his orders. This man was going to die now.
Seeing that the electrical shock hadn't stopped Radu, William knew that he had to go to plan B. Wincing at the pain in his chest and back, William got up. The wonderful thing about the shield was that William could move around. Without bothering to look and see if Radu had stopped throwing fireballs at him, William slowly made his way towards the pool table. Everything he needed was there.
In fact, Radu had not stopped. The thought that he was exhausting the nanomachines crossed his mind for a moment, but it was impossible that this man could oppose him for much longer. And if he could, maybe it was time to try something else. But for the moment, Radu was perfectly content throwing fire at the fleeing - as he thought - man. He stopped only for a moment.
"You are not getting away."
William reached the pool table and picked up a small book he had left there, a book that the Baron had not taken notice of. He opened it, a small compartment inside held a simple gun. Hearing Radu's words, William took the gun and held it in his right hand. He turned around, with the pool table supporting him, William leaned against it. He raised the gun and pointed it at Radu.
The fire stopped immediately. He would have to be stupid to continue with a gun pointed at him. As long as he could not reach his opponent, he was at disadvantage, superior reflexes or not. But so long, he still had a chance; the shield had to run out of energy eventually, and then it was just a matter of the right timing to decide the fight for him. The professor was a Terran and visibly still burdened with the aftermath of Radu's earlier attacks.
Maybe he should have taken his earlier chance to just leave, ignoring the man, but it was too late now. Having started the fight, there was no way he could turn around and leave before his work was done here.
William brought up his left hand, not to steady the gun, but to be close to the ring. He watched as Radu stopped and stared at him, clearly planning another line of attack, William wasn't going to give him the chance. He moved his left hand and turned the ring clockwise, the instant he felt the click of the ring, William fired the gun.
Radu realised too late what was happening. He barely had time to flinch, wide-eyed in surprise and shock, before the projectile hit him. He was caught so blatantly off-guard that he all but stumbled backwards a step, close to falling to the ground. He should have been falling, it dawned him, if he had been hit by a silver-bullet - from this distance even by a normal bullet. Confused, he looked down on himself, but he found no wound; only a small dart deeply buried into his skin. An anaesthetic injection? For a moment he almost wanted to laugh. The dose in such a small projectile could hardly have any effect on a Methuselah. However, his amusement soon ceased. He was starting to feel unfamiliarly sick and dizzy, and for an instant, his vision threatened to black out. He struggled to remain standing on his feet, but the burning sickness in his stomach increased, and he felt cold and hot shivers running down his spine, and a dry pressure tightening in his throat. His eyes shot up, meeting William's, and with an efford to breathe calmly, he hissed, "What-"
He was cut off by another wave of nausea, shorter this time, but no less intense. He steadied himself with a hand against the wall. No matter what it was, it probably couldn't kill him anyway. And either way, he could not let the Terran get away. With a sudden, violent motion, he raised his arm and thrust his hand forward, throwing another ball of blue fire at William - or trying to. It took him a second or two to understand that nothing was happening. His eyes widened in disbelief, and he made another attempt. Nothing. Through the nausea, he felt his heart pounding fast and hard. And slowly, it began to dawn him what the Professor had injected him.
William pushed himself away from the pool table and slowly made his away towards Radu.
"I do apologize Baron. The silvernitrate will last for the next 12 hours, I suggest you walk away from the fight now."
He looked down at Radu, seeing the affects of the silvernitrate. He was now as weak as the humans he professed to hate. William bent down and looked Radu in the eye,"I hope the lesson has been well learned Baron."
William walked past him and made his way to the bathroom. "You may see yourself out." He said over his shoulder. A moment later the bathroom door shut behind him.
Radu threw a hateful glare after the man and shaking by now, not only from the sickness, but from the cold feeling of being defeated - and spared. The humiliation stung uncomfortably. He wanted a quick revenge, another attack against this Vatican agent or at least a hateful remark to counter this shame, but he was too drained of energy to even stand up without problems or think deeply enough to start another argument. William had long since disappeared behind the door when Radu finally found the resolve to pull himself on his feet again - when had it last been so hard to just stand up? - and walk unsteadily towards the door.