17. Amber Hart, reprise anew
Hernan Salazar's yacht takes up a berth at a private marina that would probably cost more than a mortgage on a small house. No living below his means to keep under the radar for Mr. Salazar, it seems. Amber doesn't know much about yachts, but it's big, white, and has several stories - decks, rather - crammed with people under the moonlight. The music is obnoxiously loud and even down the pier Amber can tell her ears ears would be numb if they could still be damaged so easily. As it is, it's just annoying.
Velo is dressed... Amber would hesitate to use the word skimpily, because she has slightly more skin covered than usual, but the overall tone of her outfit is different. With her normal dress, you get the impression Velo is lightly dressed for speed and comfort. Now her barely-there thin tank top over a tiny swimsuit top seems more deliberately enticing than accidentally, and her usual cutoff shorts barely cover a matching set of bottoms. Her extensive assortment of tattoos is on full display, though after their last encounter Amber is aware that one or two still remain hidden. But despite all of this, Velo still wears running shoes - never one to be caught off-guard, it seems.
At the gangplank, though it's more like a boarding ramp with a ship this size, stand two men in proper suits. They obviously have guns in their coats, and are barely even bothering to try to conceal the bulge of the weaponry through their clothes. They give Amber and Velo appraising looks that only barely scuff the edge of their professionalism, but when Velo tells them who she is, they relax and let her and Amber in.
Amber, unlike her companion, is dressed more for business than pleasure, keeping in mind Velo's words that the man she's here to see would rather grab her ass than listen to her words. While her jacket doesn't exactly hide her bust (that would require a miracle of textile engineering), it doesn't emphasize her femininity, and almost matches the two thugs in appearance. Or it would, if she had the same air of 'hired muscle' about her. She doesn't. Her majesty is on full display, her powers let loose and already crawling in the dark corners of mortal minds. She completely ignores the guards while Velo introduces them. Not her concern. She is Here. Everyone who isn't giving her respect and attention is Making a Mistake, her attitude announces.
Despite Amber's regal bearing, only a few heads turn her way. The loud music, attractive people wearing just enough to be more titillating than nudity, dancing, and drugs are all occupying most of the attention at this little event, and even Amber's distinguished arrival is just another source of cognitive noise that demands attention. She pouts a bit at the relatively cold reception - not at all what she was hoping for - and assuages her wounded pride with a grope of Velo's ass. It'll help her fit in better anyway
"His events always this loud?" Amber yells to be heard over the music, moving her hand to wrap around Velo's waist so they don't get separated. And for other reasons. She needs more practice, if all it takes is loud music and drugs to make mortals oblivious to her presence. Siveri would never be ignored like this.
"Every time!" Velo shouts back, giving Amber's ass a playful squeeze of her own. "It's quieter inside! Sound damping in the walls!"
Rather than attempt a response, Amber leads the way towards the door. She may not be able to make waves like she expected, but at the very least crowds remain easy to navigate. No one wants to stand between her and where she's going. Once inside the yacht, having to press her way past several knots of people, the noise instantly cuts down to a dull roar, rather than an ear-blasting cacophony. The people in here are a bit more obviously of a seedier type, and the drugs on display are much more blatant.
Amber bumps Velo's hip as they walk past some of the women very obviously being taken advantage of. "I liked it better outside," she says in a low voice, which, given the still pounding baseline, ought to make it no further than her companion. Several hard-eyed men and women watch the proceedings, while pretty young things with dilated eyes talk a mile a minute, or else lounge on couches, gaze focused on nothing and heads lolling back. "I use people, but not like this." She remembers some of her own thoughts earlier that evening about Velo, how easy it would be to addict her to Amber's presence, with an unpleasant taste in her mouth.
Velo shrugs, obviously a bit uncomfortable. "S'the Cartel." She says it with the tone of someone who tries not to think about how powerless they are in the face of the thing.
"I just need to speak with Salazar for a few minutes, then we can get going." Amber is a touch uncomfortable herself, though she does her best not to let it show. Glassy-eyed addicts are never pleasant to see, whether it be cocaine or vampiric blood that fuels the daze. She prefers to give her partners - and prey - a more honest sort of bliss.
The two proceed deeper into the ship, following the sounds of laughter and conversation. They also pass several rooms and hidden nooks where party goers, or perhaps employees of Salazar, are engaged in more intimate settings. But after a minute or three, they find a shut door with two more guards outside, both women with impressive biceps and well-tailored suit coats who give Amber and Velo searching looks. Velo smiles and gestures to the door. "Bossman in? Got someone here looking to chat for a bit." One of the woman speaks in accented English. "He's in a mood, Velo. Might be best you turn around." It doesn't sound like a threat, more a warning. Velo tosses a glance to Amber, eyebrow raised.
"I have some news that might cheer him up. About Qualified Management," she adds, to give a hint about the subject of the meeting and entice him into speaking with her. Her hand leaves Velo's waist, and she shrugs her shoulders noncommittally, as if to say that his bad mood doesn't worry her overmuch.
The woman frowns, but chatters to her companion in Spanish, and the other woman heads into the room. A few moments later she returns and nods. "Salazar wants to see her." The first guard shrugs. "Alright Velo." She says with a clear 'I tried' tone. She opens the door for Amber and Velo and ushers them in.
The room is what could be described as a conference room in another setting. But with the current occupants, perhaps 'bordello' would be more appropriate. Or 'opium den.' The central table is still present, but instead of business documents or computers, there's currently a woman bent over one edge of the table, her muffled cries being mostly ignored as she's roughly pounded by a heavily muscled man behind her. Scattered around are cushions as places to sit, all chairs removed from the room. People gather in small groups, talking, doing drugs, and mostly undressed. A bald man with piercing eyes, unmarred by any obvious substance use, stands at their entry. He's stripped to the waist, and unlike many other people present, is completely clean of any ink that Amber can see. "Velocemente, so good to see you around." He says, grinning lecherously. "You know it pains me to see you go, even when I love watching you leave." Several people chuckle at the lame line, and Amber can immediately see the power dynamic of the room unfold. Even those in the room high out of their gourd are paying attention to this man. Must be Salazar.
Velo smiles a bit weakly. "Hey Hernan. You know me, always gotta keep moving."
"A pretty sight that too, when she keeps moving," Amber chimes in. Though that's obviously not the way Velo meant it, she's not above a bit of shared lechery to establish some common ground with the man. Is Velo's outfit a bit of camouflage, Amber wonders, to keep the powerful men here from noticing her separate from the background? Beyond that observation, she waits for Salazar to acknowledge her. She's not here in a submissive role, but neither is she going to intentionally offer him a chance to snub her by ignoring an introduction.
His eyes flick to Amber, and she knows that she's skirted the line on challenging the social dynamic, but with her smile, managed to make it look bold, rather than disrespectful. Tension fills the air as the others don't seem to know quite what to do. And then Salazar's eyes slide down from Amber's face to her chest, and back to Velo. He walks closer, something dangerous in the lithe energy of his stride. It sets off the parts of Amber's dead brain that warn her of other vampires. Not that he is one, of course... but her instincts recognize a fellow predator. One hand smacks Velo's ass with an audible whap and he laughs at Amber's commentary. Velo flinches a little, but the tension drains out of the room like water in a sink.
"Damn if you ain't right, chica. This ass on her must cause car crashes! You the one who knows something about QM, huh? Come to give me something interesting to think about?" The leering insinuation is evident and a part of Amber, the part of her that clings so tightly to the crimson-slick bond between herself and Siveri, feels a moment of shivering, white-hot contempt. Dangerous Hernan might be, skilled at working the room with the quiet intimation of threat even, but so artless, so vulgar. Siveri could accomplish the same goal without making a fool of himself, without needing an audience of drugged-up sycophants. And he would do it gracefully.
They're all paying attention to her, but it's not playing out at all the way she'd imagined. She'd best drop her imagination then, and start reacting to what's actually happening, rather than what she hopes will happen. There's a way to get what she wants, an open role for herself to fit in here. "I know a few things about QM, yeah," Amber instinctively drops to a less formal register so as not to stand out like a sore thumb college grad. "Owner's running with his tail between his legs, going to leave the state as soon as he finishes unloading." It's what he wants to hear, she guesses. A subtle complement to his power and ferocity.
Amber's honeyed words must have struck the right chord, because Salazar's attention slides over to her immediately. "That so?" He turns and suddenly snaps at the man bending the young woman over the table. "Hey! Handle your shit somewhere else. I'm talking business." Both immediately stop and hurry out of the room, and the tension of the room spikes before relaxing again. How these people stand it is beyond Amber. Salazar keeps them constantly on edge, it seems, never sure when his mood might turn. But when he turns back to Amber, he's all smiles. "So what brings you to me with all this information, hm? And what's your name?" He doesn't wait for her response. "Hey, you, make her more comfortable." He snaps at one of the people gathered around on cushions. The woman hops to her feet immediately and hurries behind Amber to slide the jacket off her shoulders. It's hard to miss the look Salazar gives her breasts, since he isn't trying to hide it at all. Velo stays a step or two away from Amber, quiet and seemingly relieved to no longer be the focus of Salazar's attention.
Amber tilts her head just slightly as the jacket comes off, sending his eyes looking towards her pale neck. Wouldn't it be just so perfect, to bury his nose in there and watch her squirm as he bites? Leave a mark, let everyone know she's his? The moment passes, and she answers his questions directly. "I'm Amber. I'm buying one of the places QM's dumping on the cheap, and heard you were involved in scaring them away." Amber looks at one of the cushions, wondering if she should take a seat, or if that would be too bold again.
"Ain't too hard." He chuckles, wrapping an arm around Amber's shoulders, fingers brushing against her neck more than coincidentally as he guides her through the room towards the back, past the table. "Bunch of scared paper pushers don't know what to do when you show up and make 'em understand business. Now, as happy as I am to have made your life a little easier, that still doesn't explain what you're doing here, you feel?" They reach a little circle of cushions in the back of the room, out of reach for anyone else though certainly not out of sight, and Salazar motions for her to sit, sinking down a bit too close to the one she picks.
"Well, I wanted to see what I was getting into," Amber answers without actually giving any information. Clearly she's getting into more than she bargained for, but she's not trying to back out yet, so says her expression as she watches him inch closer to her with wide eyes. "Why are you bothering with a bunch of paper pushers?" Keep the focus on him, his victory, and be a ready vessel into which he can pour his motivations. What will she do for him when he makes her understand business?
"Ahhhh, it's simple. See, everyone's got a weakness, if you know where to look. And paper? That's a weakness for a lot of people. Even people who wouldn't be touchable otherwise." He boasts, clearly very impressed with his own sagacity. "Like you, for instance. I'm thinking you got a weakness for Velo. Why else would you be showing these off-" Salazar suddenly cups Amber's breasts, grinning, "Once I start getting all close to her. You wanting her all to yourself?"
Amber's wide eyed expression grows into a small smile. He's already halfway there, it takes just the barest push of will for her to freeze him up completely. Their eyes lock, and he simply drowns in her steady gaze. Some of the vital spark in his hands dies. They stay on her chest, but without any force or intention, just two lifeless objects. They might as well be her hands at this point. And something about that thought - it sounds like something Siveri would say. His voice, even the imagined memory of it, sends chills down Amber's back.
"Why are you fighting with the Dominiguez's?" Turf and respect. Some crazy bitch took over their whole operation, and she's expanding. They sell guns to both sides of every fight now, run drugs in my territory. No respect anymore. Mendoza's crew is waiting to pounce. Have to show them they can't take advantage.
"We spoke pleasantly about nothing, but you have business to attend to." Ok.
Amber leans over to kiss his cheek, and gently takes his hand off her chest, putting it back in his lap with a small smile. "It was lovely meeting you," she releases her hold on his will. "Maybe I can come back another night?"
"Yeah... ask Velo, she knows all the dates." It takes him a moment to properly resurface, talking mostly on autopilot at first. "Always happy to have more folks around at the party."
As Amber leaves, Velo joins her, hurrying from the room. She looks at Amber, talking quietly. "What did you do to him? I'm pretty sure I'd have noticed if you'd fucked his brains out, and that's the only way I see someone getting all of those rotten brains out of his skull."
Amber laughs, confident now that the noise of the party will hide her words. "Watching us, were you? Keep hanging around and maybe I'll show you the trick sometime," she gives Velo's shoulder a friendly slap.