FicWad

Chapter 14



They awoke the next evening, hungry and ready. The first thing they had to do was to start gathering information, and feed. After some discussion, they figured the best place to get both is to go into Paris' cabaret district. "So, once in there, what are we looking for?"

"In what?" asked Ryuu, "feeding or information?"

"I am certain that feeding should be no problem," said Ren, "In that area, you can find anything."

"I know one place I would like to go," said Ai, "I want to see the show at the Moulin Rouge."

"How can you be thinking about entertainment at a time like this?" asked Chiyuki.

"She may not be off base," said Ryuu, "because I could almost guarantee that we can find other vampires in there."

"Will they be in the audience or in the show?" asked Ren.

"They may likely be in both," said Ryuu, "In fact; I think some of the show people would be better for contacts anyway. They have connections."

"Then what are we waiting for?" asked Ai, "Let's do what we can-can!"

Everyone groaned at the bad pun, but they all headed out the door for the Moulin Rouge.



The area where the theatre rested was actually the red light district in the city. This meant open prostitution and peep shows-not the nicest place in the world! Basically, they had a license to do everything there. In such an atmosphere, there was everything for every vampire. In addition to that, in an area like this, finding vampires in the mix was common. People were more open, susceptible to suggestion, and easier prey. It did not take them long for them to find their preferences. For Ryuu, it was dark desires, and it wasn't hard to find some strange man in the mix that was loaded with them. After talking with him, he realized that this man was an evil pervert, and he felt like he would be doing the world a favor by putting him out of commission for at least a month. He thought, "If only Jean-Claude were here, he would love this guy! After he got done, he would never act this way again!"

Once secluded, he fed with relish. However, upon thinking about it, considering how perverted this man was, and all the evil crimes that he had committed, but had never been caught doing; he wiped the man's memory from day one. He didn't turn him into a vegetable, but he did leave him with a case of amnesia that would never be cured! Ai fed on guilt, and in an area like that, it was easy to find someone who felt guilt and regret for some of the things in which he or she indulged. It did not take her long to find someone like that. In fact, she found a tired business man who thought her a prostitute, but she played the sympathetic ear game, and managed to seduce him up to a hotel room. Needless to say, it did not get any further than feeding. After wiping his memory, she wondered if she had either took out of him the wish to indulge in guilt creating acts, or planted more license into him! Ren and Chiyuki were able to find a casino in the mix, and they discovered that, in that atmosphere, they could created both stress and hate in some person, because they were always able to play someone as to where both of those things arose in the person. Thus, they co-fed quite often. Sure enough, they took command of the poker that night, and Chiyuki deliberately fell out of the game to throw off suspicion, knowing that Ren could always win it back. Sure enough, he cornered some arrogant fool who thought she could charm the table, and charm Ren, into losing all to her. After cleaning her out, she made for a great meal! After all of that, they met at a preset time at the Moulin Rouge.



They met for the midnight show just in time. They were able to obtain the best seats in the house, which were dining tables right next to the stage. Since Ren was able to gain all that money, gaining these tables was no problem. At first, they were going to refuse them for the way Chiyuki was dressed, but about 1,000 euros silenced the captain about the attire. The show progressed, and it was a combination of classical performances, circus, burlesque, song, dance, and, (of course,) the can-can. For the average cosmopolitan, it was an excellent show. As they watched, they noticed about three vampires in the cast: all females. They were all dancers, and seemed to stay close to one another. Ryuu called over the garcon, and asked him who the three ladies were. Once he was informed about them, (but vaguely, not knowing the stranger's intent,) Ryuu wrote a note, and asked the garcon to take it to them when they entered the backstage. As a ballroom dancing sequence finished, the garcon gave it to a stage hand, explained that it was a bit urgent, and then he took it to the three. When they received the note, they were not sure how to deal with it. They though it might be another lovesick man hoping for ameeting that night, (which normally resulted in good feeding later.) However, when they opened the note, they noticed that it was written in a language that only their kind would understand. Now they knew it was serious. It was arequest to meet them at the casino down the road after the show. They were asked to make haste, because he was certain they were aware of the dangers that lay in the Paris streets. When they went out for the can-can, they were able to dance well and stay focused, but they also scanned the audience for vampires. There were a few in the back, but there were four that sat in the front who seemed to fit the description of those that would meet them later. When one fixed her eyes on Ryuu, he simply put two fingers to his brow, and gave a small salute as he grinned. She nodded, and they proceeded with the act as if nothing were happening. The show ended with a standing ovation, and Ryuu and co. gave the ladies time to clean up and change to meet them. About 45 minutes later, they all met in the casino foyer, and they all went to a table in the lounge. Ryuu got to business right away.



After ordering a round of drinks, the ladies were anxious to know what this was about. "I'm Fifi, this is Deborah, and this is Claudette," said Fifi, introducing everyone.

"I am Ryuu, this is my wife Ai, this is Ren, and his wife Chiyuki," said Ryuu,"Thank you for taking our letter seriously."

"It is rare that you meet a vampire that knows the old language," said Deborah,"So, what brings you to the city of lights?"

"We're trying to settle a matter for some dear friends of ours," said Ren,"many of them being family."

"Many 'matters' happen in Paris all the time Cheri," said Claudette, "So much happens that it is hard to track them all. I just gave up a long time ago."

"You had to have heard about the one that happened about late spring, yes?"asked Ai.

Fifi thought for a moment, and then looked at them, saying, "Are you referring to what happened in the cemetery?"

"That's the one!" exclaimed Chiyuki.

"But, what are you hoping to settle in that?" asked Claudette.

"Let's just say that we want to nip something in the bud before it gets hairy,"said Ryuu.

The three women stared at them, looked at each other, and then began to laugh. Ren, however, failed to see the humor in the situation. "Would you ladies care to let us in on the joke?" asked Ren.

"Certainly monsieur, you are not looking to do what we think you are planning?"asked Deborah.

"What do you think we're planning?" asked Chiyuki.

"You're not saying that the four of you are going to try to take /them/out, are you?" asked Fifi.

"We are not talking about every last one of them," said Ryuu, "We just want to cut off the head of the snake, and make it easier to go after the rest."

"You might as well as see if you can attempt climbing La Tour Eiffel without being arrested!" suggested Claudette, "Besides, it may not be a snake you fight-it could be more like a hydra."

"I don't think I follow," said Ai.

"What Claudette means," said Debora, "is that, if you cut off the head here, that could cause several heads to arise, and start acting independently. You would have to take them all at once, which would mean finding out where they all were, isolating them, and then doing them in. However,that would take a small army, and where would you find that, mon ami?"

Ren smiled, and said, "Funny you should mention that."

"Are you saying that you have an army?" said Fifi in disbelief.

"Well, it depends on what we can find out here," said Ryuu, "Have you ever heard of the Great Clan Revolution, or of the Great Bokor war?"

The three women then looked at each other in surprise, and they said, "Were you four there for that?"

"Two of us were in the heart of both fights," said Chiyuki, "and all four of us were there for the Bokor War."

"Madame!" exclaimed Claudette, "You four are the stuff of legends!"

"Hopefully not bad urban legends!" laughed Ai.

"Then perhaps you could do something," said Fifi.

"What can we do for you?" asked Claudette.

"We need to find out where they congregate here," said Ryuu, "If we can do that, we can then try to infiltrate, steal as much information as we can, kill who we can before we get out, and then get it to the people who need to know. Apparently, the original plan will not work, so we have to at least do what we can here, and further the situation for us as best we can."

"Where is the giant that I hear about?" asked Deborah.

"He is involved," said Ryuu, "but where you shall never know."

"You would not tell us fellow vampires?" asked Claudette.

"I wouldn't even tell the pope!" said Chiyuki.

After finishing the conversation, the ladies then gave a rough idea of some of the places where they were believed to meet, and what they may face. They thanked them, and then went back to the hotel.



At the hotel, they began to discuss the matter. They obtained a map of Paris, and began to look over the areas that were mentioned. They took a red marker and put an x on each of those spots. After doing so, they noticed that a few of the ex's seemed to be near both the cemetery and the place where Anjou and Francois had been living. They also noticed that the ex's formed the shape of a cathedral. What also stood out was the fact that all the other ex's formed aperimeter around that point. It was a clear pattern, and they knew that it was more than just meeting places. They determined that the next night they would go out and examine each of these spots and see if what they suspected was true, and then how it related to the cathedral shaped spot on the map. If it was what they thought, then they may have exactly what they wanted.



It was Friday evening, and it happened to be the evening where new members of the Rugby team were initiated. The next day would be a scrimmage within the team itself, and the first taste of live action for anyone that season. However, because the game of Rugby was introduced to Jean-Claude in a high school setting, he was unaware of something that was connected to Rugby that would rattle him-beer. Now, at the adult major league club level, there was the attendance at the pubs, but usually in those situations, it is somewhat mature, and in control. People drank in moderation, and usually had a good time after the game. However, and sadly, in the college setting, and at the level of what many English call "coarse Rugby, (low level, local clubs, with players having no hope of playing at the big level,) hard partying and binge drinking occur. Jean-Claude was about to get an education, but so were some of his teammates as well! His wife and kids met him, and he told them of the change. He did not know himself until he arrived at the practice pitch, and he thought it nothing at first. Thus, they all drove to the apartment where the team meeting was being held, and they went around the back. Jean-Claude cringed when he saw about three kegs set out, and a bunch of plastic cups. He shook his head, and said, "Take the kids home, because this is not the place for them. There could be trouble, and it could be my last night on the team."

She looked at him in surprise, saying, "What trouble do you think will happen."

"They're going to want me to drink, and you know how I feel about that," said Jean-Claude.

"Honey," she said, "Can't you just excuse yourself?"

"Baby," he said, "I have to stay for at least this, because I am going to have to instill a bit of maturity into them. I want to play, but I have to be comfortable. If I can't work some sense into them, then I cannot play, because I don't want to alienate my teammates."

She thought for a second, and she then said, "Okay, I'll have supper waiting for you, and your school clothes."

He kissed her forehead and said, "Don't worry about me. You know I'll be fine."

She left, and the members of the team that were watching saw her leave. "Hey, where's she going?" said Pee-Wee, "She might have made a good Rugby queen!"

The hairs on Jean-Claude's neck rose, because the connotation of what he said, and how he said it, sat very badly with him. He wheeled around and looked at him, saying, "Just what do you mean by that!"

His look was not one that was saying that he was amused! Pee-Wee now realized that he may have slipped up, remembering that this was just not some college girl, but the mother of two children, and his wife! He began to mumble and hedge, and then said, "Um...sorry," and skittered away like a cockroach that had the light turned on him. By the time everyone had arrived, the sun had just set below the horizon, but the even was not unobserved. A bat that was hanging on the edge of the roof watched intently, and it was causing a certain vampire to start to move. She hoped that she could get there before problems really started.



McQueeny came forward and said, "Okay, welcome to a new season, and another chance at the national title!"

There were cheers and whistles as this was announced. "Now, the first order of business is to deal with the new people!"

When this was said, a large silver trophy bowl was brought out, and it was set by one of the kegs. Another team member stepped in and said, "This bowl holds exactly six sixteen ounce bottles of the finest brew on the earth. Of course, we cannot afford that, so we have this garbage."

With that, he started to fill the bowl, and said, "This is the initiation: you shall drink the whole thing, and once you put it to your lip, you cannot take it away! It's okay if you upchuck, and that is the only time you can take it away from your mouth."

McQueeny then said, "Okay, who's first?"

They were actually looking to Jean-Claude, thinking someone as big as him could handle it, but they were surprised when he calmly turned away and began to walk away from the bunch. Some became indignant, and said, "Hey, where do you think your going?"

He stopped, and turned back to them, saying, "At first, I thought that, just maybe, I could forgo certain things like that, and things would not be crazy. Yet, by that initiation alone, I have to question my being here. First of all, I have never drunk alcohol that did not involve medicine."

Everyone looked at him stunned. They figured that, since he had in Japan, he would have drunk, because they figured that like most foreign nations, they were more relaxed about alcohol. Someone, to try to lighten the mood, said,"Hey, there's a first time for everything!"

He walked back and said, "Not for me, and I have reasons."

He then stood before them and said, "Some of you are a part of some fraternity or another, right?"

They pumped their heads up and down, and he then lifted up his right hand. On that hand rode the ring that marked one a member of the Clan. He said, "Well, gentlemen, (and for some of you, I use that term loosely,) I am a member of one where, in order to be a part of that, we must swear off alcohol forever."

They all looked at him stunned. Then someone said, "What kind of a messed up policy is that?"

"It is the policy of a group that, because of what they have pledged themselves to," said Jean-Claude, "we must remain sober at all points that we may be able to do what we must. That is all I can tell you, fellas."

Turlo, who happened to be a bit older than the rest of the team, said, "Drac, why are you leaving?"

He was going to try to break it to them as easily as he could, because he did not want them to think he thought himself better than they. He said, "I have awife, kids, and responsibilities to both. You guys are young, and for you, sowing your wild oats in binges like this is your thing. However, I have that family to think about. I cannot go home all wasted and smelly. I am trying to set agood example for them, and that's why I sent them away. I can also tell from some of you young, new players, you are only a part for this phase of things. However, I play to play the sport and nothing more. I play to win, and I want to win, and that means being a team player. Even if you were to accept this, it would still put a fissure between you and me, and that would hurt the team. I could not play like that, so I'll just say, 'Thank you for your time,' and go my way. Have yourselves a good evening gentlemen."

Bulldog then said, "You would sacrifice this game you love because of that?"

"If a man is a man with character," said Jean-Claude, "he has to stand on his principles. I'm sorry."

Some of the older men understood this, and they were trying to think of ways to compromise with him, considering that he was a good player, and they did not want to lose him. However, others were a bit more indignant than before, because by that one statement, he made them look at themselves, and they realized just how much character they lacked. They did not like how he made them feel, and they were going to let it be known that they were not happy. "Hey, are you saying your better than us?" snapped one of the younger players.

"I never said such a thing, sir," said Jean-Claude, "I just have to do what Ithink is the right thing."

"Hey, guys," said McQueeny, "We can't force someone to go against their beliefs. Maybe we can find another way of doing this. I know it sounds like he's messed up in the head, but I have to respect him for his stance."

"Shut up!" said another, "He's a stuck up snob, and I want to know where he gets off acting like that!"

That other then got between Jean-Claude and the gate, and said, "You ain't going anywhere until you tell us what you mean by that attitude!"

Jean-Claude was trying to handle this in the most Christian way possible, and he did not want to clobber the sot. It would go against everything he was trying. Turlo stepped up and pulled him away, saying, "Hey! I don't know where your head is, but I don't know what you think you'd do against him!"

Many of the other teammates wanted to know now what was going on, and one said,"Yeah, and what frat do you belong to that has such a whacked out policy, anyway?"

They were all milling around him, and he did not like the looks of it. He was afraid that it would not go without someone being hurt. At that point, the gate door opened, and a female voice was heard, saying, "He tells you nothing, and I suggest you leave him alone."

The sky still had light, but the sun had dipped below the horizon, and it was safe for her to be there. Jean-Claude was surprised to see Anjou standing there, and he thought, "Muff, what are you doing?"

The one that tried to prevent Jean-Claude from leaving got in her face, and said, "What do you think you're going to do?"

He then called her a female dog. However, she grabbed his shirt, and he then flew the length of the yard, just as three other members of the A-team walked in. Victor then said, "He said his fraternal order forbids drinking. It also says that we stand up for one another in times like this. Leave him alone if you all know what is good for you."

Another indignant one did not like Anjou's attitude, and said, "Outta my way, whore!"and backhanded her. That would be the last thing he would remember that evening. Instantly, Jean-Claude had him off the ground in one hand, fully vamped out. "Dumb move, mortal!" he hissed, and threw him hard into the wall. Suddenly, everyone was filled with fear. They had no idea they just kicked over a nest of fire ants. Those that were not willing to get into Jean-Claude's face had already went into the apartment and locked the door when they saw what Anjou had done. They watched in horror when they saw Jean-Claude vamp out and worse when those that wanted to fight panic, and then try to attack, thinking that they had numbers on their side. "No one dies!" hissed Jean-Claude, "But make them HURT!"

They then watched in horror when the five started to waylay into the group, fully vamped out. It was a mismatch from the start, and five of them even found themselves being fed upon before it was done. Neither Anjou nor Jean-Claude had their preferences there, but they were going to make their points nonetheless. It was not the greatest, but it did the job. After everyone lay unconscious, Jean-Claude was able to calm down, and said, "Sedate the lot of them-we have some damage control to do."

He then went over to the door of the apartment, and ripped it off its hinges. In there were McQueeny, Andre, Tree, Worm, Cream Cheese, Bulldog, and Turlo. He looked at them, saying, "Things would have been handled a bit better had they not laid a hand on Anjou. When they hit her, it was on! I told you gentlemen I had my reasons, and now you know. By the way, 'Drac' was not all that far off the mark as far as a nickname goes. If you have not already noticed, they are vampires, and I am a dhampir-half human and half vampire. The order is called the Clan. We are a group of vampires and humans that are working towards a goal of coexistence between our two worlds. I wished I could have been more cordial in presenting this to you, but things were what they were. Iam making to you a proposal: join us, and set things that would make it so I could fulfill my vows and still play without compromising my spiritual beliefs, which also play into this. It is time to see some maturity in this, because I doubt highly that they act like drunken fools at the high club and international levels, where winning means more than getting plastered after the game, where their health could factor between a Tri-Nations cup, and never seeing the international stage again. If they can act grown up about things, so can you. You can do what you like about drinking, but leave me out of it, and say nothing. Yes, you would have to swear off alcohol, but you would soon understand why. We will give you men 48 hours to give us you answer, or the mind wipes that we are about to give your friends we shall do to you. It's up to you. The point is, if you are as mature as I assume you to be, you should have stopped this before it got this far. They only came because they thought me in trouble, and they came to help their brother. I would have just left, but you had to touch my precious sister. That was a bad move! Remember, you brought this onto yourselves. I would then insist that you instill much more discipline into this team, because there are Clan members on campus, and an attack on any one of us is an attack on us all. We will bring the wrath of God on top of you, so I had better not hear of attempts of retribution during this time we are giving you to think things over. You wanted to know who and what I am, and now you know. You should have minded your business. When I say 'no,' I mean 'NO!' When I said, 'I don't drink,' that should have been it, and you should have said, 'Then he does not have to do this,' and left it alone. If people protested, McQueeny, then, well, aren't you captain of the team? You could have threatened them with being barred from the team if they made an issue of it. Instead, you let it escalate, trying to keep so-called friends, rather than insure team discipline and cohesion. Well, now's your chance to fix it. Think about this offer long and hard gentlemen. We will be watching. If you try to breathe any of this to a soul, prepare to have your mind wiped back to day one! Have agood evening, gentlemen."



With that, they went out to wipe the minds of the sedated, and to heal their wounds, lest they go crazy wondering how they ended up with a broken arm or leg. Anjou said, "Did it have to go like this?"

"When he hit you," said Jean-Claude, "I vamped out, and then it was too late. Too many saw, so we had to handle it like vampires would have-let them know where they stood, and let them know that disrespect to us is not to be tolerated. Igrant you, they will not remember, however, I let them go so that they may have a chance to make this team a great team by becoming a more disciplined team. On top of that, if we can make them Clansmen, and then the rest of the team in time, we can turn this violent time into a good thing. Besides, it gave me achance to see you guys in action. That was quite efficient! If not, we wipe their minds, and I leave the team-that simple. I wish it didn't go like this, but I had to defend you, and they attacked as a result. What else could we do? Let's just clean up and move on. Hopefully, things like this don't always have to happen."

"Perhaps it should have been just me, and then I would have just gotten you out of there," said Anjou.

"Hey, it's alright," said Gilbert, "Richard has been hoping to clean up the Rugby team, because they have had a habit of getting into trouble for their drinking binges, and being put on probation. If this does the trick, then what happened just now was justifiable."

That took some weight off Jean-Claude's heart, because he felt awkward in how it was all handled. He knew it was overkill when the four of them had shown, and when they hit her, and he lost it, there was still enough rationale in his mind to think, "This went very wrong somewhere."

However, now that Gilbert said that, he now realized that they were actually abunch of troublemakers with a few guys that could have been leaders, but who were afraid to flex a bit of muscle for the sake of the team, the sport, and for the sake of the school. It was one incredible way to rein the team in, but if did, and no one was hurt in the long run, then what happened got the job done.



After they had left, the others came out, and everyone began to wake up, and act like nothing had happened. Even the tables had been restored, and things went on as normal. However, those that were set aside were frightened now. They had seen that they had enough power to make things like nothing happened, so what else could they do. They then heard the squeaking of bats, and they noticed that seven bats hung on a tree, staring at them. They counted who had been in the room, and they now realized that it matched their number-one bat for each. Any thoughts about saying something went out the window! They would have to keep silent, and then ponder about the offer given. They knew that they would have to give up the drink as well, but was that too great a price?