Log:A Gentleman Comes Calling

2019/12/11 Sasha The Gentleman 1

Sasha looks down at the thumbdrive in his hand as he walks up the stairs to the third floor. "I'll have to do something nice for Xander. I should've guesses Hunter would leave something behind. Just in case," he thinks to himself as his emotions begin to whirl from grief to wonder to pain to hope.

Hunter was almost always prepared. Or maybe just really good at improvising to make it seem that way. The drive is light and small, unassuming. The small black device has very little weight to it. Such a small thing is all he left to Sasha?

"It had better not just be a playlist of songs," muses Sasha mentally as he reaches the third floor landing and makes his way left down the hallway towards his bedroom. "It's not very heavy...so why does it feel like it is? Well, not physically, just...Get a grip, Aleksandr! Focus!" He shakes his head angrily at himself. "Get it to a player, set record and then play it! What's it going to say, 'Dear Sasha, if you;re reading this I've moved to Bora Bora?!?'

It could very well say that. Until it's plugged into a computer, it remains to be seen if he's made a tropical getaway and fooled everyone. Sasha's walk so far has been devoid of Little Wolves, who have gone off on their own to deal with the news they just received. "After all, you've got that message for him in the trunk...with multiple scenarios in it...Gods, did he go to Ziand as well to get this set up?"

Sasha heads past the Little Wolves drawn mural on the wall. It's been added to and changed over time, but each of them still has a hand in it from time to time. John's additions keep getting better and better.

Even Xander was cajoled into adding to the mural by Jordan. Though it's just one line. The bare minimum to participate in.

"Maybe I should get a drink before I..." thinks Sasha as he passes by the door to his sitting room. "I mean, it's not like I'll overindulge...it's just one..."

No one's there to witness Sasha snag a drink.

"Just one though...just to take the edge off..." Sasha mentally convinces himself. He steps into the sitting room and heads to the bar. While he rummages around for a single malt and glass, he says out loud, "Besides, it's not as if I need one."

"Really, you'd think you'd be better at this the second time around," says a familiar, smooth voice of the Gentleman. He's reclined comfortably in the chair behind Sasha, legs crossed as he sips a fine bourbon from a rocks glass. Sasha looks over with alarm for a moment as the Gentleman speaks then shakes his heads as he pours himself two fingers of single malt. As he swirls it in his glass, he says, "Isn't the classic response something like 'Redi retro, satanas'? Or how more directly, what do you want?" He ignores the Gentleman jibe for now it seems.

"Mm, that is my preferred position," the Gentleman quips as he smiles. "Did you lose something, Mr. Nevski?"

"Yes, I imagine it is, Gentleman," murmurs Sasha as he takes a sip of his drink. As the alcohol burns down his throat, he considers the Gentleman's words. "And no, I didn't lose something," he remarks. "I lost some/one/ who I love, loved. Come to offer him back to me?"

The Gentleman chuckles. "Semantics," he dismisses Sasha's correction of someone and takes a sip. "Offer him back? No, we'll be keeping him. I've come to ask after Ms. Justice."

A look of disbelief warring with reluctant possible acceptance of Hunter's final destination crosses Sasha's face. Then it shuts down at the mention of Frankie into a calm mask.

The Gentleman offers a sickeningly kind smile. "Please. Are you really surprised over where he ended up?"

"Hmm, to be blunt, yes, Gentleman. If gives me a much less favorable view of karma and intent and sin, Gentleman. Perhaps the system should be reworked," murmurs in a tone stripped of emotion. Or of emotion suppressed.

He sips his neat Scotch then adds, "And, just to be clear, I may bargain with all that I am. But, I will /never/ bargain with the lives and souls of others."

"I don't make the rules, Aleksandr," the Gentleman sniffs and swirls his glass. "Oh. You must think he's there just for what he did as a child, yes?" he smiles sharply.

"No, I think that if he's held accountable for actions taken while under the control of others, that some consideration for lack of free will should be taken into account, Gentleman," states Sasha after a moment. "But then, I'm willing to give him the benefit of the doubt. A weakness from your point of view, no doubt?" He smiles slightly, his eyes watchful.

"Certainly foolish. Naive. Misplaced trust?" The Gentleman sips his drink. "We didn't break the rules. Bend? Massage? Yes, but we cannot break them. He's there for things he did of his own free will. You can haggle all you want, soak in the waters of disillusion, but it won't change the stain on his soul that got him where he is now."

Sasha takes another sip of his drink before replying. "Oh, I wear a glamour of cynicism and disillusion well, sir. But, at heart, I'm my Baba's grandchild, so, I believe in forgiveness and angels as much as demons and damnation, yes? But then, I'm a bit mad."

He smiles sharply, his eyes suddenly bright.

"To be perfectly clear, Fairest and Fallen, I will make no deal with you at this time. Once I have exhausted past the point of all endurance all other options, including calling upon the Qlipothic for power, then and only then, will I consider a deal with you."

The Gentleman maintains his smile. "I'm not interested in making a deal with you for him. As I said...I'm here to ask about ever lovely Ms. Justice." The glint in his eyes betray his true intent has been thwarted.

"Her business and personal life seem quite well from what my, hmm, sources tell me. I'm not a close friend, really only an acquaintance, but I can, if you desire, let her know of your interest in her." The apparent youth nods to the Gentleman. "I'm certain she'd be intrigued or something."

"Frankie's business and personal life seem quite well from what my, hmm, sources tell me. I'm not a close friend, really only an acquaintance, but I can, if you desire, let her know of your interest in her." The apparent youth nods to the Gentleman. "I'm certain she'd be intrigued or something."

"I would think she was aware of my interest. I just don't think roses are her favorite," the Gentleman muses and finishes his drink.

Sasha nods as he tosses back the last of his drink. He then murmurs, "And, well, women are a mystery even to mortals." He then adds, "May I show you to the door, Gentleman?"

The Gentleman sets his glass down and smiles. "An ever constant in the universe," he agrees. "I can show myself out." The next time Sasha blinks, the Gentleman is gone.

Sasha murmurs to the empty air, once he's certain, or as certain as he can be that no one and nothing is listening. "Of course, /I'd/ send her bouquet coded in a language of flowers. Frankie's a detective, I'm certain she'd rise to the challenge if a card hinted that a message was contained in the bouquet."

He then reaches up and rubs his temples. "I can't put this off any longer. Time to get to my room."

As he leaves, Sasha summons up the domovoi to clean the room and give it a good saging. Especially where the Gentleman was seated.

The domovoi get to smudging the room and cleaning it, swarming the chair the Gentleman was in.

Sasha retires to his bedroom and goes to the laptop PDA he keeps in his corner desk. He eyes the thumbdrive for a long moment then sets it to one side of the PDa as he sets a record fucntion. This takes a bit of time as he's not the best with computers. Not the worst, but, well, his training never focussed on using them a great deal.

Sasha takes his time and thinks in the end that he's correctly set up the laptop to record, well, whatever is on the thumbdrive. He takes a deep breath, picks up the thumbdrive and slots it in. After a moment, Sasha hits the icon to open the thumbdrive.

The drive shows up with the name ERASTES on it. As he clicks on it, a password prompt opens to unlock the contents. The text cursor blinks, awaiting input.