The Prince, The Business man.. {Open}

[Iota]

Silence, The over sized pent house suite office that holds with in the Prince of NEw York City, Julian Hartford. Silence as the Kindred performs his duties, the only noise echoing and bouncing from wall to wall is the sound of his fingers meeting the keyboard of his laptop computer as he mercilessly types away, sending emails off to various suppliers. It was his daily routine almost, replying to all the emails sent to him during Kine's working hours. He leant forward to press the intercom to his secretary.


"Susan, my dear.. can you please bring in a bag of the batch from..oohh.. 1988?" Julian spoke through the intercomm in a regal manner to his secretary "Of course, sir.. right away" Susan knew what Julian was, she was a ghoul after all. Julian writing to typing up some emails for a few minutes, until Susan had arrived with his "drink". "Ah, Thank you kindly Susan.. before i forget, it's your monthly treat tomorrow if i remember correctly?" Susan nodded with enthusiasm "Very well, you have done well recently, so it shall be one of the first things that occurs tommorow." Julian smiled slightly before sinking his teeth into the refined, upper class blood that he had on tap. For he is Ventrue.. vegabond and animal blood is undrinkable for his kind.

[IronWolf]

A slender, fair-haired figure slipped into the crowd unnoticed. Grey eyes watched the traffic, a steady stream of flesh and steel. Keeping in close proximity but without touching those around him, the fair-haired silhouette moved in silence with the rest of the crowd as they surged across the street. Eyeing his destin-ation -the iconic skyscraper known as the Empire State Building- the grey-and-black clad figure dove into the next stream of New Yorkers, stepping lightly. It was almost a dance, requiring twists and turns, and percise timing if you were in a hurry and needed to make the best use of your time. And in the City-That-Never-Sleeps, everyone is in a hurry. After halting at the next street corner, the fair-haired man again took part in the age-old tradition of New Yorkers, making a break for it as soon as a pause in the traffic lanes presented itself.

Reaching his destination, the slender figure stopped at the skyscraper's corner-stone and peered up into the night sky. The moon was full and bright, though somewhat obscured by the smog of the city. There were few clouds in the sky, but a smell was on the air, telling him that would be changing soon. Brushing the bangs from his eyes, he rested his gaze on the moon once more. The look of deep, agonizing pain slowly took hold of his features just then, a single tear brushing his cheek.

I know my dear, I know. We'll be together soon. I swear it.

With that, the silhouette scaled upwards, making slow but steady progress up the side of the building. It was time to pay Julian Hartford a visit.

[Iota]

Julian had barely finished his "drink" before a rather young looking brash kindred stumbed into his pent house office, he looked about 18 and was fairly freshed faced, a fledgling, no doubt. He straightened himself up before addressing the Prince.

"h-h-hi there..er..sir!" He said, it seemed he was rather scared, Julian raised a slight eyebrow before letting the man continue. "i...i.. i was informed that you need an 'errand boy' sir... i wish to help out!" The young kindred stated. Julian paused for a few moments, he took this time to look the man up and down before finally addressing him.

"Welcome to MY City, neonate.. i had actually some what been expecting your arrival.. i had hoped you would of come sooner.. obviously not a Ventrue.. evidently." The Prince showed a slight smirk before sliding over some documents over his desk towards the kindred. "I do ot suffer fouls gladly and it is not often that i accept mere fledglings to barge into my office unannounced.. If you wish to see me again, do make yourself known at the front desk, or atleast through my secretary.. i cannot have all the riff raff storming up here.. i am not a charity service!" Julian responded in a tense tone.

"These documents are to be delivered to an agent of mine in Albany, his name is 'Dante'. These are for his eyes only and he will be able to tell if you have tampered with the seal. Deliver these to him in an efficient manner fledgling.. Do not come back, until you do...Good evening" Julian simply nodded and directed his attention back to his emails.

[IronWolf]

"Still letting others do your dirty work for you I see."

Liet stepped down from the window-sill and quietly closed the portal to the
night air behind him in one smooth motion. He slowly opened his presence to the Prince's mind, his opaque form becoming gradually more solid to the Ventrue's eyes. He sat himself down gingerly on the edge of Julian's desk, idly running his fingers across the polished (and regally expensive) wood surface. He was fully visible now, a mischievous gleam in his eye and a rarely seen playful smirk on his lips. He knew well how cranky Julian could get when his preferred formalities were disregarded. Which is exactly why Liet made it a point to do so.

"That had better not be porn," he said with a nod to the laptop, suddenly dead-pan once again. "And if it is, I want in." The playful smile returned and Liet left his perch to seat himself in the well cusioned chair across from Prince Hartford, laying the small backpack he had been wearing on the floor beside him.

[Iota]

Julian continued writing his emails, one of the problems fof being the top dog of a mass organisation that has enough money to buy an entire country is that he gets a fair few emails and then of course, being a Prince in the Camarilla only means he gets more emails. When he wasn't responding to emails, he would be introducing the new kindred to the city who, by the rules of a Camarilla City, were supposed to make themselves known to the Prince, it would be extremely rude otherwise and the Prince would most likely deny any request from any Kindred who did not make themselves known initially.

Julian hadn't flinched or even acknowledged the arrival of the Malkavian Primogen, it was as if he wasn't actually there. Julian wasn't being rude of course. He just knew that Malkavians and Nosferatu had no real concept of uper class social ettiquete, but he didn't hold it against any of them. It would take more time than he had to even think about ohow to go about in educating them and, to be honest. trying to tame a Malkavian is like trying to put out a fire with a bottle of vodka. Liet Queried "I hope that isn't porn?". Julian, after a few moments, raised his head in liet's general direction, he raised a slight eye brow as he continued to type. "Good evening, Liet.." The Prince simply said as he continued with his work.

When the Primogen eventually moved away from the desk, Julian took out a hankerchief from the inside of his jacket, he took this silk like cloth and wiped the desk where the Malkavian was sitting "Whats in the bag, comrade?" he asked as he went back to writing some emails.

[IronWolf]

The Malkavian grinned. He and Julian had known each other for close to eighty years now, since the era of the Great Depression. And still, he never tired of the endless game of chess that had become of their interactions.

Liet answered the Prince's query without a word. Reaching into the backpack, he fished out a small bottle. Holding it up for Julian to see, Liet admired the blood-red glow emanating from the antique crystal. The liquid contents of the bottle spoke for itself.

Rising from his seat, as if about to offer the container to the Prince, Liet contin-ued to stare into the dark glow. Suddenly Liet was grasping the blood-filled crystal with both hands, looking as if he wasn't sure whether he had just seen his worst enemy or his best friend. Or perhaps he had simply been reminded of something he had wished to forget.

Liet turned towards the window, bangs falling over his face and shadows masking his expression in a way that most would find intimidating. "Wrong bottle." he said finally, reaching into the backpack a second time. "Ah, here we are comrade," he said conversationally, knowing full well that the Prince had picked up on what had just transpired.

"Just a little midnight snack." he smiled, lightly placing a tall, slender bottle and a pair of wine glasses on the Prince's desk. This container was deceptively similar to a champagne bottle, except that its dark, green-tempered glass masked its true contents. "This is the stuff! You must try some. I find it helps ease the mind and rekindle one's focus." he said, looking upon the bag of blood Julian's maid and secretary had just brought in with a certain amount of disdain.

"I had it bottled in 1688, just before I took the Sleep of Ages for the first time." Liet poured a glass for himself and the Prince, his expression taking on a more serious edge. Moving aside, he allowed the woman Susan to move by. Losing track of the present, Liet fell back into the past, his thoughts spiraling away from him, delving into the cobweb that was the Malkavian Madness Network. That he was lost in thought was obvious, as his eyes lost the piercing quality they possessed when his mind was clear of distractions. But he soon recovered, his apparent lucidity returning, although now he seemed somewhat less energetic.

Not bothering to further invite the Prince to share in this treat with him, he retook his (ever-so-nicely) cushioned seat with a small sigh. It seemed his attention -most of it anyway- was once again fixed on the present, and perhaps even the near future.

"And focus I must. I've been having this feeling Julian." he said, meeting the Ventrue's eyes. He knew Julian could already see where the conversation would be headed. Coming from the Malkavian primogen, I've been having a feeling meant I've had a glimpse of the future, and you're probably not going to like it.

[Iota]

Julian kept a close eye on Liet, he trusted him, they had been friends for many years but old habbits die hard, as they would say. Julian wasn't the kind of person who gave trust out, you had to earn it. But he acted too all kindred the same despite whether he trusted them or not. He is Ventrue afterall, keep your friends close and your enemies closer. Business and manipulation was his game, naturally.

"1668, you say? a good year, i hear." Julian reached forward for the glass, he picked it up. The Prince looked back to Liet for a few moments as he motioned his hand to mix the contents of the glass before sniffing it and eventually taking a sip. "ah, if only you had a warehouse full of this..almost puts the blue blood i get to shame...tsk tsk.." Julian smiled softly as he leant back in his chair for a moment.

Julian scanned over his emails, using his free hand to respond to some of the more important ones as Liet made himself comfortable on his chair. The Prince kept tabs on Liet and his expressions. The thing about Malkavians, they may be mad, but are incredibly insightful and their visions should never be ignored if they are clear enough to decipher.

"And focus I must. I've been having this feeling Julian." Liet expressed himself, which caught the undivided attention of the Prince who immedeatly placed his class on the desk and closed the lid to his lap top before leaning on the desk with his elbows "Comrade, you and i have been friends for longer than i can remember..tell me what you you feel or have seen?" Julian asked with a slight look of concern on his face.

[IronWolf]

Liet's eyes closed slowly as he drained the last sip from his glass. He heard Julian's voice, noted the interest and concern. The Malk's eyes reopened, but his eyelids suddenly felt heavy and he settled into his seat as if he were asleep. Delving into the psychic network just out of reach of his conscious mind, Liet connected to the Malkavian hive-mind, sounding out queries and sifting through answers. Yes, many of them had felt it as well, a general sense of foreboding. Voices, countless voices touched his mind, often accompanied with images and sometimes even sounds and smells. They examined the evidence and found themselves in agreement. It was a threat to the Masquerade. It would be dealt with most severely.

The Primogen sat upright once more, his half-opened eyes no longer staring off into space. "Well there you have it." he stated, forgetting that the Prince had no way of knowing what went on in the Cobweb. One of the more detail-oriented slices of his psyche soon realized his mistake however. "Oh, yes... well, you're not going to like it. It seems a growing number of Hunters has started to appear, or will I should say. They seem to be more organized than usual. And someone out there is harboring a lot of hate for the Kindred. They think it might be a Caitiff." Liet put a hand to his temple, squeezing his eyes shut as if in pain.

"Damned headaches..." he mumbled under his breath. Liet's mind was racing, taking each little fact he had uncovered and throwing them together, calculating all of the possible outcomes and what would be needed to counter-act them. He unhooked himself from the Cobweb, keeping the incoming thoughts and percep-tions at bay with sheer willpower. The effort was making him cranky. It was hard for him to play nice when his more natural state of cranky came back to him, even for one he truly held respect for, such as the Prince. Liet's visage now mirrored his mood. He slouched in his chair, his expression one of grim acceptance, as if he was in pain or waiting for the pain to start.

"I'd look into getting you more information, but frankly I don't think it would be worth the effort. I'll probably end up dealing with this myself anyway." Liet's head lolled back until his eyes faced the ceiling. "If you want something done right..." he began.

[Kiala]

The wind blew through Violets hair as she rode her Indian Motorcycle through the steets of New York City. She was on her way to her weekly meeting with Julian. It was something they did. It was unusualy organized for the unpredictable Brujah. Then again she wasnt your typical Brujah. She was far more inteligent than most. She thought ahead she planned, she scheemed, she had even had thoughts of trying to over throw the prince. They were day dreams and nothing more realy. She knew she wouldnt last long. Besides, Julian was easy to work with.

She pulled into the parking garage of the Empire State building, and parked in her usual spot on the upper level. She accesed the elevator and went to the apropriate floor and exited. Upon looking at the princes secretary she nodded.--"evening Sarah"

The secretary smiled at her--"hello Miss Sarah"--they both shared a smile. It was a private joke between them.--"I'll ask the prince if he will see you"

"thank you dear"--Violet replied, adjusting her black cow-girl hat, and duster. As she was emited she smiled at the pace the doors opened. ""-Violet thought to herself. As she entered Julian's office she smiled at the prince. She actuay liked and respected him, even if he was an upidy arogant . She opened her duster revealing her rather expensive clothing. It was one of three outfits she had for her meetings with prince. Expinsive black slack's, Italian leather cowboy boots, a purple silk blouse and a black leather vest. It is an outfit many western Ventrue would be proud to wear.

On her black leather belt hung two SAA's. They are not her typical miss matched pair, they are both pollished to a near silver sheen, with engravings of vines. The grips are made of carved iviory, each depicting a single violet. These were he dress revolvers, they functioned just the same as her preffered set, but appearnces must be kept. She took a seat when offered and then pulled a silver flask from within her duster and removed the top and took a long drink.

"Hello, Julian...and Liet. Didn't expect to see you hear my friend"--Violet turned an upraised eyebrow toward Julian--"This is the right night isn't Sug', or am I early"--She set the flash carefully on the desk infront of her. She made the custimary offer, knowing Julian would refuse the drink. It was Yager, and made with inferior blood.

[Iota]

"Caitiff" Julian said with an ounce of mild hatred as he shook his head slightly "They'll be the final death of us all at this rate" Julian took a sip from his glass of bloodwine. They both sat in silence for a few moments in light of this vision, Julian would never ignore the foresight from a malkavian, especially from a trusted source and friend.

A few moments had passed before Julians intercom buzzed, somethat was rather unexpected and broke the silence, julian pressed on the intercomm button with his little finger on his right hand after Sarah have said her peice "Let her in" he said. Julian was pre-occupied to remember about the usual appointment withe brujah primogen, you had to keep it sweet with them as they had teenager tendencies of rebellion with out thinking things through..usually.

Julian gave a slight nod as Violet entered the room. He never commented on Violet's attire, she was trying afterall even though an upper class looking cowboy was a humourus sight to him, he kept it well hidden, he offered Violet a seat before sipping from his glass once again. Julian also was rather annoyed at the informal approach some kindred would have to him, He is their Prince and should be treated so. But another minor detail that he kept to himself, he wasn't about to go on a rant over semantics.

"Liet, as usual, came by unannounced.. if it were anyone else, i might have them publicly humiliated.. but Liet is an old friend and due to his malkavian inheritance, he can be quite 'random' to say the least" Julian smiled and laughed softly before his facial expression turning almost instantly to a negative tone "Liet has 'seen' something.. it is believed that a Caitiff who has rather a not so sunny disposition regarding the rest of us feels like he has the need to oppose us.." julian shook his head slightly as he raised himself from his chair and walked over to the window interlocking his arms behind his back in a regal manner.

He spoke to the two Primogen as he watched the kine wander the streets "Caitiff.. never underestimate them, comrades.. they can do alot of damage." Julian sighed softly "The problem is, he or she would need connections.. to recieve connections of a high calibre, they would need a decent job...now, if you were to search every single business in this city..." Julian shook his head as he was still looking out of the window "sufficed to say.. it would take far too long...But, Liet will loook into it further for us.. let us hope they are caught before any damage is done..." Julian remained looking out of the window.

[IronWolf]

Liet stared at the ceiling, not really paying attention to Julian. He knew all too well how the Prince would react, what with his particular dislike for troublesome riff-raff such as Caitiff. A second later, the Brujah Primogen known as Violet joined them. She had a weekly meeting with the Prince, and several of the personae floating about in Liet's mind were vaguely aware of the fact that that very day was the day they had their meetings. And while some of his better-mannered shards recognized the social repercussions of his unannounced visit, most of them didn't care.

Liet tilted his head in the Brujah's direction as she greeted him, his eyes catching up a moment later. "Well met." he said simply, reverting to medieval habits of speech. He watched her for a second longer as she seated herself and then returned his attention to the pent-house decorum all around him, his eyelids feeling heavy once again.

[Kiala]

Violet felt Julians annoyance at being called 'Sug'. She repressed the smile. It was a slip of the tongue on her part. She normaly took great care in chooseing her words in the presence of the Prince. But his aura showed annoyance. She decided to give him the gift she had brought for him now. She reached inside her duster and withdrew a package wich she layed upon his desk--"A gift for you my Prince". After opening Julian would find an esquisitly crafted webley revolver. The metal was polished to a silvery sheeen, and the grip was of a dark, almost black hard wood. The case included a cleaning kit, and the right hand corner was filled with silver bullets. It was not a cheap gift. Julians initials were ingraved into the grip.

When the caitiff was mentioned her black eyebrows knit together.--"that was something I was meaning to bring up. I've heard a few rumors. One of my brujah claims to have seen this caitif. Before you get onto me for not telling you sooner, I just heard of it tonight". Violet crossed on leg over the other and picked up her flask again and took a drink of the potent blood.

"I'll have my brujah keep an ear to the ground as it were. We hear things most others dont"

[myrkal]

Meiko walks confidently into the room, weaving effortlessly the throngs as she moves in a direct line towards the prince, her eyes vacant, as if she doesn't view all those about her as worthy of her presence.

Striding up to the prince, whom she had seen many times from afar, but not as a Primogen, she stands before him and bows her head in her typical japanese form of respect.

"My Prince, I am Meiko MatsuoNaga, the new Primogen of clan Tremere. I wished to meet you without all the pomp and what not and speak more on terms as equals than with all the eyes around already prepared to size us up..." she glances around the room noting the eyes of those watching them and remembering their faces she smiles. "... I am here to strengthen the clan my Prince, and the further the goals of the Camarilla. That is my purpose, my explicit purpose, to make us all stronger through my efforts and those of my clan, and thusly making you stronger. I will not try to disguise my intent though. I plan on becoming a justicar sometime soon, that is my penultimate goal, and to do that we will need to work together, so I am your humble servant in the efforts of the Camarilla and in the protection of the Masquerade, but I will be frank..."

She pauses a slight playful smile coming over her lips. "... I tend to put my clan before all things, so it would be in the best interests of us all if the recent deaths of those in my clan would be the last. I am not sure who has killed those of my clan. But I will find out. If it stops now, then whoever who did it may escape my wrath, but if it continues, then I will have more information to hunt them down by. But my prince, I ask your permission, as my first act as Primogen, I ask you for the authority to seek out this threat to my clan, and thusly the camarilla as a whole, and bring them to you for judgement."

She smiles sweetly at him, the wording of her small speech carefully thought out and said in a voice that projected enough to be heard throughout the room. The venom in it barely masked as she talked of the 'threat' to Tremere.

Looking at him expectantly she spends several seconds using her skills of perception to analyze the Princes facial expressions and gesticulation, noting them for later use in conversation, trying to already formulate patterns. A habit of hers, incorporated by her manipulative assassin mother. She waits calmly, as if her voices vehemence was but a figment of everyone that heards mind.

[Iota]

Julian remained by the window as Violet placed the package on the desk, he took a few moments to thinka bout what the possibilities of the this caitiff could ensue and he was not happy, but he didn't let it show. Afterall, he was british born and bred and was taught to repress such emotions and not let them be seen. The past few years had been relatively quiet and things were going Julian's way but all of a sudden, it seemed that the sh*t was hitting the fan and although Julian could handle it, he didn't like the possiblitiy of what may come.

After thinking to himself and calculating the possibilities, something all Ventrue were masterful at, he turned and returned to his chair behind the desk and leant forward for the package. After looking the package over for a few seconds he removed the packaging, this revealed an old Webley revolver that had been well kept over the years and would mostly likely still be as good as it was when it was first created, a rarity indeed in these nights. Julian held the gun in both his hands as he sat back in his chair, deep in thought as to when he last held a gun like this. It was in fact when he was still an officer in the Boer Wars and he would go over in his mind of those days he fought against an enemy who still used spears, it was a massacre and something Julian hadn't thought about for a long time. "Thank you." he simply stated in a lowered tone. Julian placed the gun softly on his desk as he still looked at it.

A few minutes had passed, it was relatively quiet as Julian, Liet and Violet were just sitting there, as if waiting for something to happen. And, it did, a young looking Kindred stormed into the room and acted as if she was the big man on campus, Julian stood up and straightened out his clothes to present himself and hear their story, it always involved a story. The Prince let the woman speak, she seemed to know what she was doing and she wasn'ty a neonate by any chance, so he would listen and finally speak when she had finished, it seemed to be some story. Julian could catch the smirk from Liet out of the corner of his eye. He remained calm and civil as he spoke, as always, not giving away an ounce of emotion

"I am Prince Julian Hartford, this is my kingdom.. i am The Judge and the jury..abide by the rules i have set in place and that of the camarilla and your stay here will be welcomed." Julian took a moment to pour some blood win into a glass and then took a sip from the glass. "We are not equals, no matter where we speak.. i am your superior and you are just advisors of your clan to me." The Prince was somewhat amused by her story in general, to waltz in and stat so much would be considered, by some, suicidal. But she was Tremere and her wanting to be a Justicar was of no concern to him "The likelihood of a newly appointed Primogen to be considered for a justicar position is slim, at best... The position that is only offered to those who have served and proved themself for many a centaury.. but, in time.. i'm sure you will try to prove to the inner circle that you have what it takes. But you have the entire world population of Tremere and most of whom probably have such an aspiration and there is only one spot open and you just missed the election in venice, so you will have to wait another 13 years to be considered and even then you still wouldn't have achieved enough significance.. that is of course, if you can exceed the current Justicar of the Tremere who has been doing his job and re-elected many times over.. you have a steep hill ahead of you, my dear." Julian took another sip from his drink, he stood up perfectly straight and had an aire of authority about him.

"It was generally assumed that the Tremere deaths were in house fighting amongst themselves, as no other kindred of other clans had reported such fatalities, but if that is not the case, bring the perpetraitor to me and i will deal with him.." The prince adjusted his suit jacket and straightened out the bottom of the sleaves that poked out from the bottom of the arms of the suit jacket. "And another thing, Never barge into my office unannounced, if you wish to see me in person.. you have to book yourself in.. unless i call for a meeting.." Juian took a sip from the glass as he awaited a response, he reamined cool, clam and colelcted as he went through his speech. It was difficult to evoke any kind of emotion, psyically, for the Prince.

[myrkal]

Meiko listens intently to Julian a teasing smile coming over her lips as he speaks sternly towards her.. Instead of getting flustered or showing even the slightest glimmer of irritation she merely takes it in stride and smiles sweetly.

"I agree Prince, we are truly not equals, that much remains to be seen, hopefully we learn to work together rather than butting heads over who is more powerful. It is a wasted effort, we both know that you have more power in the Camarilla than I do. Yet the time will come when we might have a chance to spar and find out..."

The last part of her words is said slightly lustier than before, but so slight and low was it that it was barely discernable, pointed directly at him. She looks him up and down appraisingly, "... Which i will be honest I am looking forward to. I will do as you ask Prince, as is expected one of my station and origin, and I will despite the slights you have visited upon me be a stone upon which you can lean to help you as Prince. I am your humble servant..." the word humble is said almost in mockery of humility and those watching note how humility seems to strike a deep note in her.

"... It has been a pleasure." She says before turning to walk out. "Oh, "she says as almost an afterthought, "I will be bringing the attacker of my Tremere to you in the relatively soon future, I hope that you are as honest a judge as you are at being intimidating." She winks playfully before striding out.

At the bottom of the elevator one of the Tremere who had accompanied her waits handing her her ancient wakizashi. Turning to the assistant she smiles, "Let us go, we have need to meet at the chantry. Make it so..."