La Belle Gabrielle

[Cornelius Stone]

Stone got up from his computer in frustration. He had been looking into the personnel files of all Vincent's security that had joined him in his coup.

He wasn't surprised by what he found. Everyone had either resigned, been relocated, left because of family problems or just simply vanished.

It was safe to say that Stone was angry, not just that all the people that had followed him and in his eyes had stayed loyal to Vincent had been killed. It was the sloppy and obvious way that it had been carried out.

Then something occurred to him. Belle would know that he would look into the personnel files after coming back and seeing so few familiar faces. He guessed that she was playing some psychological game with him. Waiting to see his reaction, testing him.

With a calming breath Stone readjusted his tie, not that it needed doing, and once more settled behind his desk. Two could play that game. He would wait, like Vincent had shown him. Biding his time, waiting for the time to strike.

Once again settling behind his desk, though this time with an outwardly calm demeanor. Cornelius began to run his eyes over that mornings security report.

[Belle Thorne]

An hour or two later, Belle was reading a report of the previous night's activities from her various spies in the town - If there was one thing Vincent had taught her above others, it was that it paid to be up to date on current events.

The Night Watch, both Austin and Azrael had chased a female demon from the broken bottle pub to 22nd street, it occured to Belle that she must have been quite a prominent figure to get the attention of both Austin and Azrael, she made a note to get further information on the female demon.
The enemy of my enemy is my friend

There had been a few murders in various areas of the town - nothing particularly out of the usual, a few bus loads of new people had arrived, but no-one with much prominence and then there was the thing that caused her to curse out loud and throw the folder to the floor in disgust.

Morons! why do I employ morons!?

Cursing under her breath she reached for her phone and dialed a number - her fingers trembling slightly with barely controlled fury.

"Akara?"
She demanded as soon as the phone was picked up the other end
"what happened to keeping him under surveillance until we were ready to make a move?"
the woman the other end was hesitant, obviously dreading the arrival of the call
"I thought you wanted him-"
"NO" Belle cut her off mid sentence "I told you to watch him, not make a half assed attempt at offing him with an assasin armed with only half the information you fucking idiot - how could you make such a clusterfuck?"
Not intent to hear an answer she slammed down the telephone and dialed another number, speaking calmly when it was picked up

"I have a job for you - Akara's become a liability, usual method, usual money"
the voice the other end replied affirmatively and she replaced the receiver again and slumped back into her chair
"I bet Vincent never had to deal with this..."
she told no-one in particular as she slowly calmed herself down.

[Cornelius Stone]

Steeling his resolve, Stone left his private office, unusually locking the door behind him with his personal access code. Hurriedly he made his way down several well lit and elegantly furnished hallways past many men in Lémartes dress that he didn't know by sight. Fighting down his rage and his feeling of being a stranger in his own house, he carried on headed for Vincents Office.

No. He corrected himself. Belle's office.

The thought almost painful to Vincent's loyal subject.

He had put off seeing Belle for far too long already and if he didn't go there soon he was liable to incur her wrath, which he knew could be as vicious and painful as Vincents had been. She would be expecting him to make his customary daily report. The same as he used to do for Vincent, giving over information on all of the nights activity that concerned security both inside and outside the night club and his estates. The information in question was sent to him through various means from Vincent's network of spies that he had covering all of Edgehaven.

Though that spy network was now much diminished since Belle's take over and the news and information he was giving was not always as reliable as it once had been. Most he assumed had just switched sides, the same as a lot of Vincents other staff had.
The same as him. He thought bitterly.
The spies reporting to Belle and her agents the same as they had done for Vincent through him.
Stone had always known that Vincent's adopted daughter had had informants of her own, the same as Kana, and he knew that Vincent had let them both get away with such things.

The Vampyre apparently finding it amusing and liking the game he played with them. Placing false agents within there circle of trusted allies that would feed them misinformation and send them on wild goose chases. Yes Vincent had mostly done this with Kana because he trusted Belle to deeply. Letting the young Miss Thorne get away with almost every whim and desire she had.

Regardless of what he speculated or though Stone knew he must make his report no matter if Belle already had all the information through different sources.
At least that way the information was more than likely going to be true.

The idea of Belle trusting the security of the Lémartes family to someone other than him didn't sit well with Stone. Of course he knew that his master had had several other informants, Belle one among them. But that was Vincent! That was just how he was and how he ran his family! Belle doing it just didn't seem right to Cornelius.

Coming to a stop in front of the door to an office he knew all to well. Cornelius knocked politely and waited to be admitted.

Silently he prepared himself for the sight of seeing Belle sat behind Vincents desk and the other hundreds of changes that the petulant girl must have made to his masters chamber.

[Belle Thorne]

Belle was jolted to attention by the knock on the door. Judging by the politeness of the knock and the slightly apprehensive heart-beat outside her door, it could only be Stone.

Relaxing back into the chair, she took a moment to put her thoughts into order before facing him.

"Enter" she called out, moving Stone's personnel file to the top of the pile in front of her.

[Cornelius Stone]

As he heard Belle's voice summoning him from the room Stone briskly opened the door and strode in, closing the heavy oak door firmly behind him. In a move with took great effort he crossed the chamber to stand before Vincent's desk, as he had done countless times before. All the while trying to keep his demeanor pleasant and his expression and emotions as unmoving and unreadable as his name.

Locking eyes with Belle for a brief moment he nodded his head. "Miss Thorne." He acknowledged her just as he would have before Vincent's demise. Sealing all other thoughts away he wouldn't let her know that she had troubled him as deeply as she had. Most of all he did not want her to dismiss him as head of security. He had worked long and hard to get to the post he now held, and as all his mind burned with the hope that Vincent maybe alive and one day return he knew that his master would need allies stationed in high places in Belle's service.

Standing stock still Cornelius waited for Belle's response all the while his peripheral vision taking in his surroundings noting things both changed and unchanged. Somethings which angered him and some which cut him deeply as they spoke so strongly of Vincent and bringing to stark reality his absence. He took notice of the file baring his name sat atop a pile of several others. Unsurprised to see it.

Belle, Stone suspected, had taken very little interest in him before now. He guessed she had always viewed him as Vincent's petty functionary and so had had little or no care to what he did or anything about him. The only conversations that they had shared were either him passing on commands from Vincent to her or her communications to him. Their had always been a coldness toward one another as Stone did not approve of the freedom and devil-my-care attitude of her and he saw (or thought he saw) a dislike for him as he carried out Vincent's orders with a brutal efficiency making sure she understood what Vincent commanded and not what he expected she interpreted it to mean.

All these things washed over him in a moment as still he stood calm and ready to deal with Thorne in a duel of will and words.

((OOC: I know that Stone and Thorne's working relationship was probably not quite like I have written it, but as Stone is going through some trauma he his making wild leaps in his imagination. These are probably his personal thoughts and feelings that he has at the back of his mind but, for the time being, have come to forefront of his mind.))

[Belle Thorne]

"Mister Stone" She replied, a brief flicker of a smile crossing her face "Please take a seat" she added, gesturing at the seat in front of her, watching him carefully from the moment he entered the room.

In reality she had the utmost respect for Cornelius' work ethic and efficiency, having worked beside him on countless occasions, however she sensed his unease and this had in turn put her on her guard.

"Can I get you a drink?" she offered, in what she hoped wasn't a vain attempt to diffuse the situation.

[Cornelius Stone]

A brief almost unrecognizable look of startled confusion passed over Stone as Belle offered him a seat. In all the years that he had been in Vincents employ this had never happened. For a moment Stone stood staring at the chair unsure of what the gesture might mean. Then lifting his eyes back to meet hers, he very slowly pulled back the leather bound chair and sunk into it. With the look of a man waiting for something to happen, all the while keeping his eyes firmly fixed on the young Miss Thorne.

Another such moment happened when he was asked if he required a drink, another thing that had never happened to him before while he had been in this room.

"No, thank you." He replied in what he hoped was an unsuspicious and natural tone of voice.

Clearing his throat Stone began to explain why he had come to see his new employer.

"Miss Thorne, as you are probably no doubt aware I acted as Vincents chief of staff here and at his home. Looking after security, information and the day to day running of both the manor and this establishment. I am prepared to carry on doing these services for you to the same capacity that I did for Vincent, if of course you still have need of me."

Without waiting for a reply Cornelius opened the front of his jacket and reached into one of the inside pockets removing several sheets of folded paper.

"As you know, considering you were part of it, Vincent had quite a considerable network running throughout his empire, which since his... demise." He said hurriedly. "Is still relatively intact. I am aware that you have your own sources but I thought I should bring what news I have heard to you."

Once again without waiting for a response from Belle he unfolded the sheets of paper, which were plainly covered in what appeared to be gibberish, unless you knew the correct code to decipher it and he began his report.

"I have heard of several disturbing issues and rumors lately. It appears that the newly re-formed Edgehaven Police have discovered a vampire nest in Edgehaven similar to what used to be the norm for us centuries ago. As of yet we have no information on how long they have been here nor who there brood leader was. I have detailed a force to investigate and report back there findings. On top of this discovery the police are recruiting. It looks as if they wish to expand there force and perhaps become a match for the Night Watch, which maybe in our favor. As far as the word on the street goes both factions have little love for one another."

Flicking to the next page his eyes darted to the passage he required and he began again.

"As you already know Kana has returned to Edgehaven. His nightclub, The Edge, seems to be attracting some interest but not enough for us to worry about. Vincents shadow and that publicly you are known as his heir are enough to keep all but Kana's sycophants from going to this blatant copy of Lá Belle Gabrielle. The only worrying factor is that the Lycan, Leo Silver, Vincent's friend of old was seen entering Kana's establishment. We can only hope that he has gone to kill him and not join with him."

"It also appears that both Kana and a woman that used to work for Rino at the Devils Advocates Law firm, a Miss Carla Glenn, were seen in the outskirts of town just before the arrival of The Night Watch. As of yet there is no indication that Kana and the remains of the DA are working together but with the absence of Vincent, powers maybe shifting and new alliances being made."

"Other than that one incident the Night Watch seems to be quiet, it also appears that they are also recruiting new members to there cause. Either in an attempt to out match the EMPD or to re-coop there numbers we know not. Although one of our spies in Bellephrone has reported seeing one of there members, Jaden Kalen, acting for all the world as if he is on holiday. I have ordered to have him followed and anything he does which is overly unusual reported at once. But only to act in the most extreme of circumstances."

"Other than these matters, Edgehaven seems quiet."

With that Stone finished his report, refolded the coded papers and placed them back in his jacket pocket before refastening the buttons.

Once that was done he sat patiently waiting for Belle's response.

[Belle Thorne]

Belle sat back in her chair as she listened to Stone's report, she considered for a moment or two once he had finished before replying

"Well Mister Stone, you have just proven exactly why I still have need of you - as long as you are willing to stay, I will happily keep you on as Chief of Staff & Security-" she paused to glance at the top sheet of his file before continuing "-and I believe a pay rise is in order"

She paused for a moment to see how he would react before resuming
"As for the rest of the information, some I knew, some was news to me, however I will take this all upon consideration, we should see about getting an agent recruited into the EHPD, please provide me with the personnel files of oh... six candidates you would recommend for the task - I shall pay close attention to the other issues"

[Cornelius Stone]

Stone sat stock still for the torturous moments after his report had finished and he waited for Belle's reply. When she spoke he was surprised by what she said, but then again who else would be able to do his job like he did?

Without a moments thought he nodded his head and answered. "I will be happy to continue my duties, and I am thankful for your generosity but a pay rise is not required. I serve this family out of loyalty not for personal gain." Besides he never spent any of his money anyway, the Lémartes family gave him everything he needed.

"Miss Thorne." Stone said in a slightly more respectful tone. "If I am going to continue performing the same service for you that I did for Vincent then there is one matter that I must discuss with you. I understand that with the loss of Vincent, the betrayal of Kana and my... indiscretion before my absence things have been unsettled here and as such recruiting was required to prevent the system from collapsing. But I would like to vet each new member of staff, both security and otherwise and dispose of any that I do not feel fit the requirements to serve in the Lémartes organization along with those who pose an unnecessary security threat."

"I understand that you maybe wondering why I would ask you permission to do my job. But I need to know that I have complete and total authority in these matters. That being the case I need to know how many spies are in our organization presently, what factions they belong too, and what you don't want them to see. Along with what you do."

For a moment a predatory look came over the usually stoney faced head of security. But as quick as it came it was gone leaving no trace that it had ever been there.

"And of course I will have the list of names you require with you within the hour." He promised.

[Belle Thorne]

Belle smiled
"As you wish, you have my permission to act as you see fit in this matter"
She took a moment to glance at the sheets of paper around her
"I think that's everything Mister Stone, is there anything else you wish to discuss?"

[Cornelius Stone]

Stone allowed Belle's question to hang in the air for a moment before he answered it. "Yes Miss Thorne I believe there is." He said as a strange look came over him.

"I wish to know who it was you had doing my job while I was... absent. The fact that we are running as smoothly as we are means that it must be someone with some skill to manage so many, as they say, spinning plates at once." Stone was not often one to be overly impressed with anyone. When he hired someone to do a job he had already investigated them, thoroughly and knew what they could and couldn't do. He was never impressed when someone performed a task they had been hired to do to an exemplary standard. He expected that to begin with, that after all was why they got the job.

Stone didn't know of anyone other than Vincent, Belle and himself that knew the organization like he did and so no names sprang to mind.

He could use a person of talent.

Also it paid to know who Belle would trust.