Inevitable, Snyder/Davis

[NCPanthersgurl]

Name: Phoenix Kelling

Nationality: Vampire

Age: 21 {{247 lol}}

Hair: Flame red

Eyes: Crimson when she's hungry, amber otherwise

Build: Average, 6' even.

Occupation: Scientist in the Medical field. Highly intelligent.


I think that's enough to be going on with.

[Shadowmaster762]

Name: Dexter Ford (Dex)

Nationality: Zombie (NOT THE GAY KIND; full explanation of what this means later)

Age: 27 (true age unknown)

Hair: Black

Eyes: Gray

Build: Tall and lean for a zombie, and unusually quick in movement.

Occupation: Man-for-hire (general mercenary)

[NCPanthersgurl]

Phoenix rubbed her temples lightly, closing her eyes to enjoy the moment of silence that had taken over the lab. They'd been incredibly busy all day trying to help an elvish merchant recover from some odd flesh eating disease and the strain was incredible.

Glancing at her white coat Phoenix sighed, tucking a pen in the only unstained pocket left on the thing. She could hear the nurses in the next room whispering about some gossip or the other, and she tried to block it out. Her mind kept racing over the rumors she'd been hearing that the Lycan lord Vladimir was on the move again. She wanted to know if it was true, and more importantly if he was going to pose a threat to her people.

She'd called a man, a Dexter Ford, who was supposed to be able to get into anywhere under any circumstances. Maybe, hopefully, he could tell her something at least. Glancing at her watch Phoenix started scrubbing down the lab.

[Shadowmaster762]

Dex was sitting upright on the edge of his bed, having been abruptly woken from his very deep sleep by his contract manager, a sketchy and often grumpy dwarf by the name of Bernard Mannigan. Apparently, a vampire scientist had called in a couple favors here and there and Bernard had procured Dex another job.

It's about damn time. Six months with no work is too long. Rubbing his face roughly, Dex stood from the edge of his bed and stretched, his skin pulling tightly over his frame and refusing to give in certain places. There were definitely more than a few perks to being physically dead but there were a few downers as well. Some days, it was really irritating to have to haphazardly stitch up an open wound just because he'd stretched a bit too far. Dex's body was covered with a few of these stitches that could never be removed. Thankfully, they were all on his back and easily hidden by his clothes.

Not lingering another moment, Dex quickly pulled on a pair of clean jeans, his standard pair of black boots, a t-shirt, and his signature leather jacket. He snapped his father's watch around his wrist, grabbed his bag of gear from the corner of his one room apartment, and quickly exited via the window. An eight floor leap was nothing for him these days and it was the quickest way to get from his room to the ground.

Looking around him at the city, Dex slung his gear bag onto his shoulder and set off toward the inner city, using the directions given to him by Bernard to find the vampire lab where his newest client waited.

-----------------------

It took him all of fifteen minutes to reach the entrance to the lab. As Dex reached to knock on the glass of the door he crinkled his nose: vampires had a smell about them that he didn't altogether prefer. It wasn't that they smelled bad; it was just that it didn't appeal to him. It was like a woman wearing perfume he didn't like.

Making every effort to relax his face, Dex raised his hand and knocked lightly on the door before taking a small step back onto the sidewalk. He waited.

[NCPanthersgurl]

Finishing her task, Phoenix scrubbed her own hands clean, glancing out the windows as she did so. A rough looking man on the first floor was being led in by Bentley, the senile old dwarf that watched the door.

Stepping from the lab, Phoenix hung her lab coat on it's appropriate hook. The fitted black pants and pale blue blouse underneath were much more flattering to her, but she found she preferred the coat on days like today. She moved in front of the mirror by the emergency wash and examined her reflection. Her skin was pale, typical of her people. The purple under her eyes might have concerned her when she was living, but more pressing was the crimson color that tainted the iris' that stared back at her. She just hadn't had time to eat, though she knew better than to let it go. Sighing, she glanced at her watch again. Almost.

One last look in the mirror, and she tucked a loose strand of hair behind her ear. The bun on her head was tightly in place; she looked reasonably still professional for this meeting. Another glance at her watch, another long sigh, and Phoenix headed down the hall to her small study. She unlocked the door, then sat at her desk to await her guest.

[Shadowmaster762]

Dex quietly followed the dwarf that had answered the lab's door as he wound his way down a nicely paneled hallway. The wood was of a dark hue and all the doors looked exactly the same. He chuckled a little as he walked.

Does everything always have to be a labyrinth with them? The dwarf tottered faithfully along in front of Dex, never saying a word to him the entire time. Finally, they came to a door in the middle of the long hallway that was identical to all the rest, just like the rest were identical to it. The dwarf stood to the side and motioned for Dex to go in before disappearing into the dim light of the hall. Dex frowned slightly before knocking on the door.

"Come in." The tone of the voice was feminine with a strong undertone but overall sounded timid, almost shy. He frowned a little. He'd always had a fixed image of vampires as control freaks, wanting to plan out every last move he was to make and allowing no say from Dex himself. It had been his experience in the past that they liked to be the leaders when it came to working in pairs or teams. This voice, however, had a different quality. The tone wasn't precisely firm but it wasn't completely tentative either. Instead, it was an odd harmony between the two, an otherwordly synthesis of two opposing traits.

Honestly, it had him confused.

Gently, he wrapped his hand around the doorknob and pushed the door open.

[NCPanthersgurl]

Phoenix rose swiftly and smiled,

"I'm Phoenix Kelling. You can call me the Chief Surgeon if you wish, though sometimes I think I run everything." she laughed lightly, the sound as fluid as running water. "But sit, I have much to discuss with you and very little time."

She watched the man's face twist in confusion as he sat, resting his bag beside him. Her movement to her chair seemed to have happened in a thought, her speed unbelievable even for her kind.

"I know I'm a little blunt, my apologies. And I apologize again that I haven't allowed you to introduce yourself, but considering I know your name is Dexter Ford, and that we both know why you're here, I feel there's no need. A waste of time." Phoenix swallowed hard, her nerves taking over her speech. A deep breath, and she slowed herself down, "I'm not sure what you know of the Lycan empire, or of their past, but I need you to find out what they're up to now. It's a high demand, I know, but I'm willing to pay top dollar. Vladimir is a worthy foe I have to admit, and I'd like to keep an eye on him before he gets ahead of us. Are you interested?"

[Shadowmaster762]

Dex carefully eyed the vampire woman before him.

By God, she was stranger than most.

He considered her offer for a moment and then leaned back in the chair he'd seated himself in, getting comfortable.

"That depends, Ms. Kelling," he replied, purposely neglecting to call her by the title she had suggested. Chief Surgeon just didn't seem appropriate.

"On what?" she asked, raising an eyebrow. Dex smiled.

"On what you mean when you say top dollar."

[NCPanthersgurl]

Phoenix felt her lips tighten. It was always the same with these people, they didn't care about anything but the payouts.

"You can call me Phoenix." she said lightly, smiling. A mild subject change, but she saw the slight annoyance flicker over his face. "As to the payout I'm thinking a solid mil just for the basic information. Where he's going, what he's doing, who he's with. Not a hard job. Hopefully not for one within your..." Phoenix hesitated, eying him carefully, "talents."

[Shadowmaster762]

Dex smiled and scoffed, leaning forward to rest an elbow on Phoenix's desk.

"How about I call you Fee," he said with a grin, waggling his eyebrows at her. He was sure that if she'd been human, she'd have blushed. "And a mil is fine when you're working with your standard dirty politician or mobster, but I've heard stories about this Vladimir character. A mil will only get you rumors and hearsay when it comes to Vladimir Loup-Garou." Dex leaned in closer. "Now, if you're willing to, say, triple your offer... well, then I'd be diving in and out of Lycan hideouts with the ease of a cat." Suddenly, he smiled and leaned back into the chair, his expression content and amused. "So? Are you willing to part with three or will you call someone else? Someone you know is less qualified?"