Participants:
| Scene Title | Vessel |
|---|---|
| Synopsis | Kazimir allays Amato's concerns towards Adam and Gabriel, and saddles him with a troubling burden. |
| Date | October 30, 2008 |
The most notable business collapse in Queens was that of Eagle Electric, a major manufacturer based out of Long Island City for decades, comprised of acres of warehouses and manufacturing plants designed to produce electronic components to suit all sorts of needs. The western warehouse of the Eagle Electric lot is an enormous and foreboding red-painted building made entirely from sheets of ridged steel. Amidst the grass growing up through the cracks in the pavement and the burned out cars in the parking lot, it seems just as uninhabited as the rest of the area. A large and ruined sign at the top of the office and manufacturing building prominently reads, "Eagle Electric — Perfection Is Not An Accident."
"A velvet glove with which to delicately touch the issue at hand." Kazimir Volken's voice pierces the silence of the warehouse, his words punctuated by the soft click of his shoes on the concrete floor, and the tap of his steel-tipped cane. "Those are the words I roughly used to describe you to another, as of late." It is not odd for Amato Salucci to be directly contacted by Kazimir, he is one of two individuals privlidged to carry a sat-com phone capable of reaching the leader of their organization. But rarely does Kazimir make calls out to his own subordinates, espescially when plans have already been set into motion. Once the wheels begin spinning, they are not interrupted unless something remarkably new and unpredicted is thrown into the path.
"I have been meaning to speak with you in confidence for some time now," His approach from the side-entrance of the warehouse is an abrupt one, and his hurried pace makes him seem all the more rushed than his usual slow and patient gait. Clearly things have changed over the last few weeks, enough that Kazimir himself — despite having laid claim that Ethan is running the operations currently — has been up to more now, than even before.
"I saw concern and worry in your eyes, when I introduced Adam Monroe," By the time he comes to a stop behind Amato, Kazimir's tone of voice has grown more gentle, as much as is possible for the manner in which he speaks and the texture of his voice. "I afford you my patience," he lets his cane come to rest, both hands settled on the snarling wolf's head, "and my ear."
As he most often is when he finds himself in the warehouse alone, Amato Salucci is found by his master kneeling before the dais with the high-backed chair. As Kazimir speaks, Amato slowly rises, but he does not turn to face the older man until he has fallen silent. When he does, his face, set apart as an oval of paleness atop a thin pillar of black wool, his deep red scarf tucked elegantly around his neck and into his coat, is set with an amplified version of that same concern and worry it wore the last time Amato came to Eagle Electric.
"Master," the Italian begins with a grave sigh and a bow of his head. "You know I trust your judgment. I am yours until the end of this world comes and the new one dawns." There is a pause, and Amato swallows, searching for words as he is rare to find himself without them. "I have searched the hearts of this flock, those whom we fold into the Work to aid us in it…but I do not know the heart of Adam Munroe. But if he is a man…who can show /you/ such disrespect…then he is a man I distrust."
"Adam Munroe is a puppet who's strings are pulled by vengeance and opportunity." There is absolutely no love in Kazimir's voice, unlike when the grand introduction was given. "He is a wild dog with sharp teeth and a poor temperment, whom I allow to play the role of court jester only to sate his incomprehensibly large ego." Kazimir's eyes narrow slightly. "Any respect I show him, is out of the due necessity for his very existance, and my own remarkably profound inability to take his life." One brow raises slowly, "He is deceptively hard to kill, as I have come to learn with considerable regret."
Kazimir breathes in deeply, then exhales a heavy sigh. "I had concerns that you would be displeased by his addition, and I have come here to assuage your concerns. Adam, like one other, is a means to an end. One that I am very eagerly persuing while Ethan puts on a good show for the public." Blue eyes flit back to Amato, inquisitively. "Ethan has voiced concerns about Munin's morale." The way he says this is with grim displeasure, "Is this an issue that needs to be handled?"
It was this love in the face of Adam's behavior that had thrown Amato that night, but he is eased now. He nods, his expression softening until Munin is mentioned. He tenses then. "She is not as young as she was when we found her in England, Master," Amato says, quoting the obvious as a preface. "This brings with it a host of problems, for as much as we are agents of the Lord God, we are…unfortunately prey to human vices. I need not cite examples of this, in Munin's case." Nor, God forbid, his own.
After a moment's contemplation, Amato continues. "She is afraid, in some ways, I believe. We are taking a stronger stance in this city than in any other she has seen us in. And perhaps, to some degree, these…wild dogs we encounter, such as Adam and this… /Gabriel/ she found, are fueling that fear." There is notable disgust in Amato's voice when he utters the name of the serial killer who shook him as only Kazimir's own sins have ever done so to him, but it slides off his tongue as he continues his assessment. After all, Amato has already reported his own intelligence regarding Gabriel Wilkens to both Ethan and Kazimir, respectively. "I shall speak to her, if you wish."
"Gabriel?" Kazimir's voice remains level, but his eyes have an inquisitive expression to them as they survey Amato's face. "This must be the same Gabriel that Ethan had told me of…" The gray-haired leader of the vanguard walks past Amato, his shoes clunking as he steps up onto the dais, turning around to look back and down to his Conscience. "Gabriel Gray is with us now," but there is no pride of charm to his words, so much of that has a tone of contempt to it. "Ethan disclosed to me the nature of his beast, what you had seen, what you had felt…" He begins the slow approach to his chair, settling down in it with a creak of wood and the flexing of the cloth that shrouds it. "It is valued information."
Laying his cane across his lap, Kazimir levels his eyes back to his right hand. "Gabriel Gray is a pawn, a tool, a blunt instrument that I will used at the necessary time. You are my most trusted, my most loyal, and my most favored…" Kazimir tilts his head back, "You of all people know my darkest secrets." Those eyes narrow as he speaks, "So you will understand the gravity of what I will tell you." His lips press thin, a contemplative expression, before he finally speaks again. "I am grooming Gabriel Gray, to be my successor."
It is true that Gabriel Gray's own sins, given enough time to exponentially increase, would rival Kazimir Volken's own, but this news takes Amato by surprise. He steps back a pace, narrowing his eyes as a shiver runs through him. "Master," he begins to speak before he has to swallow to steady his voice. "Master, a…a blacksmith does not train his hammers or his anvil to do his work when he is gone. They are /instruments,/ just as you have said this…Gabriel Wilkens is to you. How can he be both a protégé and outil?"
Amato dares approach then, getting so close as to grip the arm of Kazimir's chair with his gloved hands. "His motives are far different, though the ends are similar," he continues in a lower voice. "He devours his prey, not to gain life, but to gain their strength. He does not destroy what they are for the sake of the world, but takes what they have in order to put the world below him. Angels, Master, are humble. Those who fell were weighed down by their hubris."
Even Kazimir's Conscience cannot openly challenge his Master's decisions, not when they are made, as this one has been, but he can do his best to plant those nagging seeds of doubt that may, eventually, turn his head; however, this is a case in which Amato's own passion threatens to undermine this subtle craft. "A tool he may be, but he is hell's most furious beast compared with the purity of our Work - one to be kept on a short leash of the strongest iron and disposed of with the same just hand that deals with those like him."
"This body, Amato," Kazimir leans forward, eyes narrowing, "Is a tool as well. Just as Gabriel Gray's body is." There is no humor or lightness in his voice, only gravity, "Just as Richard Santiago's was." Tilting his head to the side, Kazimir makes a firm eye-contact with his disciple, to ensure that the loyal man learn the full length and bredth of what he means. "The plan I have in play, may require me to change the tools in which I use, in which case, Gabriel Gray's body will become mine, and all the powers he has."
There is a certain strength to the way he emphasizes that, as if making a proclimation of further elevating himself. "I feel confident, that should this vessel be destroyed, the flame of my life will not be extinguished, but carry on. It is finite, this fragile shell of mine, and its time may not outlive the time needed to complete our work." He begins to sit back in the chair, slowly, "To that end, Gabriel will be groomed to become my successor." The full irony of the term seems almost obvious now. "Do you see?"
It takes a moment, but Amato's eyes widen as his master speaks. It is a cruel plan, but refashioning a demonic tool to fulfill the needs of the Work, nay, of his Master himself, is a wonderfully sweet one. A slight, twisted smile curls into the tightest corner of Amato's mouth before he sighs, adopting a more resolute and pious expression, and steps away from the dais. "Forgive me for doubting you, Master," Amato stolidly asks with a stiff, regimented bow. "And permit me to say that it is an excellent choice."
Kazimir nods slowly, now that the Conscience understands, "As for Munin…" His tone takes a colder, more calculating tone. Which, considering he was discussing grooming a man for possession of his very body and soul, is a testament to how serious the topic is. "I will entrust her behavior to you, Amato. Should she lose faith in this work, in this task we have been set upon," The level way in which he motions his hand towards his most trusted implies a firm resolution to the decision. "It will be you who is asked to silence her." He swallows, once, as if to leave that idea hanging in the air, punctuated at last with one word. "Eternally."
 October 30th: Strings Attached |
 October 30th: New Shoes |