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Back Log;

When; November 1st, late evening
Rating; R for language
Characters; Bill

likesuperman and Elle Driver

venomouselle
Summary; At last, the snake and snake charmer meet face to face.
Log;"When Will I See You Again" was Bill's favorite 70's soul song. Elle knew it well. It was Bill's pick those days when they dusted off the record collection. While putting on her navy blue coat and stepping through the door, it got stuck in her head. Likely because that was the question that had been going through her mind.

When would she see him again? Would she at all? The more days that passed the more unsettled Elle found herself. More cigarettes butts in the ashtray. More minutes on the network looking for a positive sign. Finally. Finally they would meet.

Elle Driver was something close to terrified. Fucking Budd already had everything starting off on the wrong foot. Being new to the City and a tactful bastard, Bill was not going to cause a scene. That much she could rest comfortably with. Just because of that, didn't mean that there wouldn't be any sort of retribution or punishment.

The Coliseum was closer in view. By the time she got there, Elle was on her second cigarette. It remained between her lips until she got to the door of the bar and tossed it aside.

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Bill had already been at the Coliseum when he sent Elle the invite to meet. He had found it to be a good place to blend in and think. He had certainly been doing an awful lot of thinking. No, he damn sure had not been happy to hear the truth behind Budd's death but now was not the time to move on that anger.

He had always been the methodical sort but now that he was in this strange City, that instinct had been tripled. Elle was a link to the City and someone that he did care about despite what she had done. For better or for worse he did need her and well he would have been lying if he had said he didn't want her. She was still his lady after all.

Bill sat at a booth facing the entrance waiting for his California Mountain Snake to arrive. He still needed to remind himself she had been in the City for a year, which likely meant she was eager to see him. That eagerness would be something he knew he could use if he needed too.

One slow sweep of the place and her blue eye found him. Still exhaling Red Apple cigarette smoke, as she stepped in. Elle's mouth was pulled into a congenial smile approaching the booth. Anxiousness hidden from her pace and demeanor but not from the curve of smile or eye.

"Hello, Bill." She stood beside the table of the booth, making no move to embrace him or touch him. Oh but Elle wanted to. Here was her man at long last. Murdering bastard and charmer that he was. "Expecting someone?"

Elle made it a habit to be early. She was ten minutes ahead of the time given. Still he was there first. They knew each other alright.

The moment she stepped in the door he instantly thought. There's my girl. It hadn't taken her long to spot him. Bill just smiled and leaned back in his relaxed sort of manner. It took years of practice to get to the point where he could be on his guard yet still look unaffected.

"Hello, Elle." Bill answered smoothly. "Heh, actually I was but you can have a seat until my company arrives," he added jokingly. He motioned for her to have a seat across from him.

Oh he could have greeted her much more warmly, but he was not about to give her the impression that all was forgiven.

"Mighty kind of you, I think I will." Bill had a smile of his own, but that wasn't telling much. With the safety of meeting in public could also mean that private talk had to be veiled.

Perhaps she could get him to understand that in this place they were little fish in a big pond. Perhaps. "It's nice to see you," that was an understatement.

Oh Bill had seen and experienced enough in his short stay in the City to know there were bigger fish than him. He also knew that with the right connections and the right words he could conceivably carve out a niche for himself.

"It's nice to see you too," Bill replied. It had not been that long since he had seen her last. Again he had to remind himself it had been a year for her or else some of the anger he had buried would climb to the surface.

Today was not about Budd's death or her choice to lie. This was in fact business of sorts. "So Elle, how have you been lately?"

Elle kept up her smile. "I've been okay. Considering." How did he think she was doing? "A lot has happened, I'm not completely sure of where to start."

Would that be a wise road of conversation to take? Destruction provided just the right kind of comfort earlier this week. God knows she needed it. This was like being a child again screaming at the top of your lungs for attention.

She had to say something. "I've been working. I'm sure I'm going to stop bouncing. It's not doing much for me income wise. My other job is a bit more fulfilling."

Where the fuck was the waitress? Drink. Now.

Bill was pretty sure she had been doing a little sweating. He would have tried to see her sooner had the City not turned him into an Inquisition member not long after his arrival. "Oh? What was your other job again?" he asked.

The waitress walked over and placed a drink in front of Bill giving him a playful wink. "Why thank you," he said to the woman in his usual charming tone.

"You're welcome, Bill. Now what can I bring your lovely friend, this evening?" the waitress asked with a bright smile.

Bill could feel the amusement bubbling up inside of him as he looked toward Elle with a light questioning look. "Care for a drink?"

Bill's lovely friend gave that waitress a glare that could freeze on a summer's day. "Gimme a scotch on the rocks." He's been in this goddamn city how long? Elle tossed her hair and looked to Bill. Bet he thought this was hilarious.

The waitress scribbled down the order and made herself scarce. "How nice of you to be supporting her." Sarcasm oozed from Elle's words. "I, on the other hand, have been helping some reporters keep their deadlines in the only way I know how."

Bill thought it was absolutely fucking hilarious but he kept his inner laughter bottled up. He cleared his throat in an attempt to get his mirth under check.

"Actually that nice young lady has been giving me free drinks since the first day I stepped foot in this bar," Bill replied coolly. "Ah, does that mean my lady has been cracking the whip on these reporters?" he asked a hint of amusement still in his voice.

Just because she had an eyepatch didn't mean she wasn't perceptive. Elle caught his attempts to be polite. At least he wasn't laughing openly in her face.

Elle glanced over at the bar, watching that nice young lady talk to a few other bar patrons. What was in it for her? "You must be doing something right."

Cracking the whip. She laughed lightly. "I don't usually use whips. But basically, yes. Mr. Styles calls it providing motivation. Almost makes it sound legit, don't it?"

The waitress was just a woman he flirted with to get free drinks nothing more, but he didn't feel the need to explain that to Elle. Perhaps it was a case of letting her stew a little while longer.

"I think she enjoys my stories," he said simply.

"Heh, this Mr. Styles sounds like someone worth meeting in that case. Just how long have you been 'providing motivation'?"

Bill took a sip of his drink and sat back resuming his relaxed demeanor.

Elle nodded and idly fixed the fall of her hair. "You do tell a good story." He had so many of them. The execution of each was wonderful too. Fuck. She was getting nostalgic.

"Only two months. I think. Mr. Styles is a good person to know. He and Mr. Brocklehurst have a sweet sort of business going on. Public relations and other shit." Of course it was natural for a former assassin to tap into a healthy opportunity. Especially with the taste she had. Definitely different from being generously employed with DiVAS.

Bill just smiled at that comment. Recalling how a certain blonde with one eye had not heeded his tale about Pai Mei. Ah well it had been a learning experience for Elle in any case and she was still one of his star pupils.

"Eventually I'll have to meet them. I'd like to know the men who are responsible for your employment nowadays." Both Elle and Budd were working for Styles and Brocklehurst respectively. It went without saying that the old Snake Charmer would want to see who was handling his vipers.

"From what I have read and have heard the whole job situation is something very new. So what were you up too when things were basically free?"

His interest in her, although flattering, was with purpose. Didn't everything Bill did have a point?

"Pretty nice guys, I like em. Styles is more of an ass. Nothing I can't handle. Brocklehurst plays the good cop of the pair, but that doesn't mean he's not an ass in his own way." Ah, at last Elle had her drink. The waitress didn't stick around for chat. She was glad. Stupid cunt.

"I went out to eat real food all the time. Obtained as many shoes I could want. Whatever really. It was like a vacation without spending anything. I liked it." Elle noticed there sure was a lot of ice in her drink upon her first sip. "I had a better apartment back then. That was a bit before everything stopped being free."

They sounded like the type of businessmen he has dealt with quite often. He was really going to have to make an effort to scope them out on the Network.

"Are they a couple?" Bill asked flatly. It seemed whenever he heard of one of those men, the other's name would eventually come up. Not that he gave a damn what they did in their private life but he was curious.

"You know the outlook could be better for all of us if the right connections are made. Obviously our old business can't really thrive in a place like this but there are variations that can be made," Bill said in a low voice. "I've noticed some still manage to live the high life."

"Right you are. I didn't see it at first." No sense at all in telling Bill of her briefly misplaced affections in Nicholas Brocklehurst. One thing at a time. After all, she hadn't even began to tell about the werewolf business or her attempts at relationships within the City. "I guess that makes them the best of business partners."

For now, Elle chewed on scotch flavored ice. If she was paying, she'd make it last. "A variation of old business," she repeated. "It would be nice to live the high life." She missed it. She missed the Trans Am that was out there somewhere getting rusty and dusty. She missed her nice big place by the beach. She missed the entire lifestyle.

"Lucky guess on my part but usually when two men become that interchangeable either they are family or they are gay," Bill replied with a smile.

"Hmm, I've been making observations even as I was cursed into that Inquisition thing. I noticed so many sorts of filtering techniques going on. It got me thinking that information is almost like gold in a place like this. There is always something that someone in the City wants to know. The trick is finding a way to be that supplier."

"I got to know Brocklehurst fairly well, he came first. But yeah. That would make sense," Elle looked to her glass. There should have been more goddamn scotch in it.

"It's a good angle to work from, Bill. But not an easy one that's for sure." One year and business talk was what was going on. She should be grateful and relieved. This was normalcy of some kind, wasn't it? The two of them would have done this back at home. B.B. handed over to the care of one of her nannies while they got to taste Patron.

Bill signaled for another round of drinks. "I'll get this round," Bill said, noticing Elle was focusing hard on her sip of scotch she had.

"Nothing is ever easy but some of these people are so sloppy with their information. I'm sure I am not the only one to notice this trend. I have also noticed that some of the best ways to gather information is not necessarily on the Network," Bill replied leaning back.

Bill's favorite waitress walked over and place two more scotches on the table and neither glass had ice. He nodded with a smile and offered her several orange coins but she waved the away.

"It's on the house," she said a with a smile before walking away.

At this point he had already forgotten about the waitress as he turned back to the conversation at hand. "I have visited quite a few of the businesses in the area. A few of them have potential for information gathering among other things."

Oh now there was enough drink. Obviously the waitress was making some sort of a point. Good for her, Elle thought while taking a full glass. "Thanks, babe," she said to Bill not bothering to acknowledge the waitress with a glance or any words.

"You're ready to open shop then?" He was a quick one. Hell, if there was one thing that could be certain about Bill was that his mind was always on the go planning or working out whatever needed work once the subject in question was settled. Their standing was not one of them.

The blond took long drink and briefly paused to get used to the burn. "So you're planning on joining everyone...at first."

Bill smiled as sat back with a slight nod. "It is a matter of getting established in this place before opening shop. But yes you got the gist of what I would like to do."

Starting a business or partnering up in a business would be a stepping stone to what he ultimately wanted to do. Learning about the other major players in the City would certainly help and if anyone knew the major players...it had to be his gal. "Since you have been in this place a year; I'd like to know about some of the more prominent folks."

With her index finger, Elle rubbed the smooth side of the glass. It was cold like her insides. Back home, a year ago, Bill was business. Bill was her world. There wasn't any need to worry, he had a way for everything and connections everywhere. Of course she could get along without him, Elle Driver was not the frail, mindless protege. Everything she had within the City was hers from her own work.

And now here was Bill with his own set of plans and ideas.

She took another drink. "Yeah," she said with a nod, "I know a few people." Why the fuck did they have to be speaking business? Elle was almost ashamed of the way the scotch kept on burning somewhere in her chest, or at least she told herself it was the scotch.

"I personally don't know many, to tell you plainly." That was the truth. She didn't know the big name vampires. Or any of the shinigami. Maybe an angel, on a good day.

Edited 2007-11-08 08:58 (UTC)

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