Trinity Blood Fan Fiction / Weiss Kreuz Fan Fiction ❯ Darker Angels ❯ Assassinition Attempts and Bondage ( Chapter 23 )

Star went carefully to answer the pounding at the door. She paused for a moment, trying to sense who was on the other side. When it registered who it was, she immediately swung the door open to reveal Cardinal Sforza along with Esther and . . . the Pope? It was hard to recognize him as anything other than a completely terrified teenager in civilian clothing.

 

“What the hell?” Star said, not being able to quite contain the confusion and shock.

 

“Someone attempted to kill him,” Catarina said grimly.

 

Star stepped aside and allowed them entrance. “When?”

 

“A few hours ago.”

 

“How did you get here? I know you didn't bring the Iron Maiden.”

 

“No, we took a personal airship. I can fly one, you know,” she said with a small smile.

 

“That doesn't surprise me. I think we need to get your brother settled into a room. He looks like he's ready to fall apart at any given moment,” Star said, putting an arm around the boy's shoulders and steering him toward one of the empty bedrooms. “Are you all right, Alessandro?”

 

He looked at her oddly considering she had used his name rather than his title. “N-no.”

 

“Hmm. Should have put that different. Are you going to be all right?”

 

“I . . . don't know,” he said honestly.

 

“We'll burn that bridge once we cross it,” Star said. She opened a door to their right and ushered him inside. “Esther, could you stay with him for a little while? He's still shaky and who the hell could blame him.”

 

“Of course I'll stay with him,” Esther said, making herself comfortable in a seat next to the fireplace.

 

“Good. Thanks. Cardinal, if you would follow me so we can get the dish on this?”

 

Catarina nodded and followed her out of the room with one last glance over her shoulder at her brother. Star had a million and one questions to ask but all of them were stifled when she caught sight of Blaze striding down the corridor with Skye.

 

“Manage to escape the husbands?” Star asked jokingly.

 

“More or less. This IS a bit of an emergency, even the suit can't argue that,” Blaze said, starting to open the door to the library.

 

“Um, you might not want to go in there,” Star began.

 

Blaze paused with her hand on the doorknob. “Do I want to know?”

 

“Probably not.”

 

“I'll just ignore the damage and injure whoever did it later,” she said, walking into the room. She brushed some of the rubble off of the couch and waved Catherina onto it. “Star, can you create a doppelganger for Alessandro until we can get this all sorted out?”

 

“Already done. Though I hope the Cardinals don't want him to vote on anything just now,” she said, looking to Catarina.

 

“No. This more or less has everyone in a state of shock,” she smiled faintly. “Our brother is a little scattered at the moment as it was someone who had infiltrated the Inquisition Squad who attempted to kill Alessandro. I think Petros killed the person with his bare hands.”

 

“Not surprising,” Star said. “He's wound way too tight as it is.”

 

“As you say. We have no way of knowing where he came from or if he was connected to anyone in the Empire. I don't really think so unless he was being used as a puppet considering he was Terran.”

 

“We were aware that there might be an attempt on Alessandro's life but we had no idea it would be so soon. That was an error on our parts and I'm sorry, Catarina.”

 

“It isn't entirely your fault. There should be a stricter screening policy for the zealots but I doubt my brother would listen to anything remotely resembling rationality on that score. Though maybe he'll listen now.”

 

“Doubtful.”

 

“True. At any rate, there was a meeting of the Inquisition Squad just as we were finishing the final preparations for the Methuselah negotiating party to arrive. Francesco, was of course, his usual quiet and controlled self concerning any kind of meetings with the Empire.”

 

“Meaning his screaming about it could be heard all the way to Belgium,” Skye said dryly.

 

“Sicily at very least,” Catarina said. “As we were preparing to leave, this young man just . . . attacked. I don't think there was any soul left in him, his eyes were blank, like there was nothing going on inside.”

 

Blaze shot Star an inquiring glance.

 

Dietrich?

 

Not possible. But we still don't know who else or what else Cain has at his disposal and this definitely smacks of the annoying bastard.

 

Well, let's hope Taka and the rest can come up with some solid information tonight at the club.

 

“Perhaps we should just have the meetings here,” Skye suggested. “Considering it's a secure place and the Methuselah negotiating party and now the Vatican negotiating party are both here.”

 

“I think that's a good idea,” the Pope said from the doorway. He was still looking shaky and pale but seemed to be doing better than when he had first arrived. Esther stood to the side of him looking disapproving. “I feel safe here,” he said, coming into the room and sitting down next to Catarina.

 

“I'm glad that you do. That was the whole point of this place,” Blaze said. “We'll try to arrange formal meetings in the next couple of days. Though I'm sure you'll all run into one another before than. The place isn't that big. If we can spin it out to where whoever tried this thinks the Pope is still planning on going through with the meetings at the Vatican, it might give us enough time to figure out for certain who it is and what to do about it.”

 

“What about Abel?” Catarina asked. “I understand his injuries were extensive in his last fight and that he isn't healing properly.”

 

“Correct on both counts,” Skye said. “We are working to remedy that but it will take some . . . unusual methods. At least it would be unusual as far as anyone from the Vatican is concerned.”

 

“Which reminds me,” Blaze said. “I need to go check the sites since this needs to be altered slightly.”

 

“What needs to be altered? What are you planning to do to Father Nightroad?” Esther demanded.

 

I'm beginning to see Taka's point.

 

No shit.

 

“Oh, not much. Just a ritual that will reboot his system and heal him,” Star said, sounding supremely annoyed. “He'll be taken to first Stonehenge then Woodhenge. I presume you have some objection to that.”

 

“Yes! I have an objection to it! It's . . . it's . . .” Esther blustered, not being able to find the words to sufficiently express her outrage at the mere suggestion.

 

“Pagan?” Star suggested.

 

“I have no objections to it if it helps Abel get well,” Catarina said, staring hard at Esther who was looking livid.

 

“Well, I suppose that's settled then. Please feel free to make yourselves at home. I should be returning within the next few hours. If any of you need anything please don't hesitate to ask,” Blaze said, turning to leave.

 

“I'd like to go with you,” the Pope said nervously. “That is, if you don't mind.”

 

Blaze's eyebrows shot up almost into her hairline. “You do realize where I'm going, don't you?”

 

“Yes, I do.” He looked at Catarina. “Shouldn't I at least know what the principals of other religions are before condemning them as evil?”

 

“I think that's a very healthy point of view,” Catherina said.

 

 

 

From her perch on Tres' shoulder Takara could see the crowd milling around the entrance to the club, waiting for the doors to open. Most of them clad in various leather, PVC or rubber gear. What they thought were the trappings of the scene. According to their information, there were two parts to the club. The standard “show” part for the more vanilla members of the population and the actual club that catered to the more refined tastes of pain.

 

“Leashes,” Takara said, waiting while Hunter and Leon handed them to her. “Keep your eyes down at all times and don't speak unless you're spoken to. I know that's damn near impossible for both of you but at least try. I'd really rather not be thrown out of here before we can get information simply because you two can't remember you're supposed to be submissive.”

 

“Yes, Mistress,” they answered in unison.

 

Takara sighed and rolled her eyes. “Okay, let's go.”

 

Any worries about them getting into the correct part of the club were quickly dispelled. As soon as they approached, one of the front door guards made eye contact with Takara and pointed them around the building to a side door. They found themselves in a long, narrow corridor with a high ceiling. At the end was a girl, obviously the doorkeeper for this part of the club. Takara knew better than to underestimate anyone here as some of those with the most meek demeanor were the most vicious fighters.

 

“Welcome!” the girl beamed as they neared her. “What a beautiful harem you have, Mistress. All you need is a blonde for it to be everyone's fantasy.”

 

“The blonde is sulking at home,” Takara said with a wink to the girl. “Thank you for the compliment.”

 

“Just stating a fact. You do know that I'll have to search you,” she said apologetically.

 

“Of course,” Takara said, instantly thankful that they had left any weapons behind. This was a fact finding mission and they didn't expect to have to fight their way out of anything. Even if they did, Hunter was capable of making a spork a deadly weapon and with Takara's command of fire and shadows there really shouldn't be any problems, plus she was pretty sure that Leon and Tres could improvise weapons if needed. “Tres, put me down.” Tres immediately sank to his knees and allowed her to slide off of his shoulder. She didn't take the time to ponder how he had known to do that. “It's probably a good thing you're doing searches by hand. This one would set off every metal detector in the place,” Takara said, laughing.

 

“Really? I would have never guessed he was a companion, I've never seen that model before. He's beautiful though.”

 

“Thank you. You have to love custom builds.”

 

The girl finished searching Hunter and Leon, giving Leon's butt an additional squeeze just for good measure. Takara could tell he was fighting back some lecherous comment.

 

“Okay. You're all good. You're lucky tonight, Mistress. A harem of three or more gets in for half price.”

 

“Hmm. I am lucky then aren't I,” she said, paying the girl and gathering up Hunter and Leon's leashes. Tres followed behind her without benefit of one.

 

When the door to the club opened Leon was rather shocked that his senses hadn't been assaulted by the darkness and loud music that was usually prevalent in a club. Instead the lighting was soft and there was only the clink of glasses, the low hum of conversation and the occasional sound of a whip strike. With the exception of the long mahogany bar, the tables and chairs seemed to be alive. The living furniture was all male with the exception of a few women who were being used as footstools. Over all, the atmosphere was calm and relaxed. However, the floor seemed to be vibrating and when he glanced down he could see that part of the floor was made of Plexiglas, allowing one to see down into the other half of the club, where the décor and feel was a completely different subject. It was so dark in there he could barely make out the cages hanging from the walls along with a stage where someone was currently having the hide flayed off of them from the look of it.

 

A young woman walked up to them as they came in. She was carrying a clipboard, looking very professional in the dark suit she was wearing. She didn't make eye contact and Takara noticed the thin gold chain she wore had a small lock on it and knew she was someone's submissive. Probably belonged to whoever owned the club.

 

“Welcome, Mistress. This is your first time here?”

 

“Yes. A friend recommended it and since I was bored . . .”

 

“I quite understand, Mistress. Would you like for me to show you around the club?”

 

“Certainly,” Takara said.

 

“Would you like for your slaves to be stabled until you return or do you prefer them with you, Mistress?”

 

“I'd prefer them with me. Two of them tend to wander if left to their own devices.”

 

“Ah. But the willful ones are so much more fun to train, Mistress.”

 

“True,” Takara said. The young woman falling in slightly behind her as she began to walk.

 

“The downstairs is reserved for the Vanilla wanting a show, Mistress. You may go down there if you wish but it's a sordid affair and my Master doesn't recommend fraternizing with the riff raff, Mistress. There are private entertainment rooms for your enjoyment as well as scenes being played out in various places, the scenes are labeled on the door, Mistress.”

 

“Example of the scenes?”

 

“There are many, Mistress. Did you have something particular in mind, Mistress?”

 

“I do favor suspension whipping and bloodplay,” Takara said thoughtfully.

 

“We do have one scene of whipping while suspended currently going on, Mistress. The blood and edgeplay scenes usually don't start until after ten or so, Mistress.”

 

“That's fine.”

 

“Very good, Mistress. Will one of your slaves be carrying you to a table or would you like one of the staff, Mistress?”

 

“Since they're here, they might as well make themselves useful,” she snapped her fingers and pointed to the floor. “Hunter, down!”

 

Hunter dropped to his hands and knees again and waited until she sat on his back.

 

“Will that be all, Mistress?”

 

“Yes. For the moment.”

 

“As you wish, Mistress. Please feel free to call on me if you have any questions or are in need of something, Mistress.”

 

“And your name is?”

 

“The name my Master has given me is Ann, Mistress.”

 

“Thank you, Ann. You are dismissed.”

 

“Pleasure to serve you, Mistress,” she said, before backing away with her hands folded in front of her over the clipboard.

 

***

 

“I'm going,” Esther said. “You can stay here if you like.”

 

“I wouldn't let you go to a place like that without an escort,” Ion said. “It's too dangerous.”

 

“Then we both need to find suitable clothing. I'll meet you back here in a few minutes.”

 

Ion nodded but still felt very uneasy about letting her talk him into going.

 

****************Author's Notes*******

Most but certainly not all upscale BDSM clubs are very private and divided into Members only and general population sections. The general population sections tend to be garish, the intent being to shock, while the Members sections are designed for privacy and entertainment. By no means is this all BDSM clubs, I've seen them go completely one way or the other. However, since I wanted this to be portrayed as a place for more affluent members I took this model. Most Masters/Mistresses do not allow their submissives to be touched or used except by consent.

 

Lingo:

Vanilla: Someone with “normal” sexual practices, not into the BDSM scene. Usually said in a derisive tone.

Scene: 1. An individual SM encounter, as in 'I had a scene with x last night'.

2. The SM community, particularly the more organised and commercial social spaces, as in 'I don't go out on the scene very much'.

Slave: Once used more generally for an SM bottom, this is now becoming limited to submissive in a long-term dominant- submissive relationship.

Suspension: An advanced variety of bondage in which the whole body is lifted off the ground and hangs free in space.

Bloodplay: Bloodplay is the BDSM practice of cutting or inflicting injury onto a consensual partner in order to cause the person to bleed (e.g. with razors, knives, safety pins). The blood is often licked, or ingested.

Edgeplay: See above.

 

By no means am I an expert on all things BDSM and many things vary from community to community so I am trying to keep this as general as possible to avoid confusion.