บท 23: Chapter 23 "Rose" your interest
*
You followed Boris to another room, he had signed the bartender to join him, the bartender nodded his head and followed you coldly, but he still had that little spark of anxiety in his eyes when he looked at you.
The room where Boris had brought you was isolated, you couldn't hear any more of the noisy conversations in the bar, it was really very quiet. It was small enough without being too oppressive. There was also an emergency exit hidden behind a pile of wooden crates.
There was a small rectangular table in the middle with 8 chairs around it.
Boris walked over to the chair of the master of the table and invited you to sit down, you obeyed with the same neutral face as the barman randomly picked a chair.
*
"Okay, little boss, this is Orso. He was my first friend in hell. He speaks English, but..."
"Not... very... um... good?" mumbled the bear with a Russian accent that horribly distorted the English words.
"I see. Приятно познакомиться Орсо. (pleasure to meet you, Orso) "
The bear nodded coldly. Boris laughed at his reaction and added.
"He's not very talkative however he's a good guy, I've already explained everything to him, he agrees to help you defend this territory if you let him have this bar. "
You frowned rather suspiciously, then you turned to the bear and asked him:
"Зачем тебе так нужен этот бар?" (Why do you want this bar so badly?)
"No stable home... money needed," Replied the bear in a slightly grumpy tone. "Trade... bad business... мошенничество (scam)"
*
You watched him for a while to see if he was telling you the truth. His face was slightly red, his shoulders tucked in, his fists and jaw was tight. He was really angry, you could tell.
"I see..." you replied. "Ну, я согласна отдать тебе этот бар, в обмен ты должен информировать меня обо всём, что происходит на моей территории. Я хочу знать всё: кто приходит, кто уходит, и почему." (All right, I agree to let you have this bar, in exchange you have to inform me of all the different things that are going on in my territory, I want to know everything, who's moving in, who's moving out and why.)
The bear looked at you for a moment to analyze your words, tapping at the same time the table in a steady rhythm, then, nodded his head.
"I accept," he said.
"Perfect," you answered with a big smile. The bear returned it to you very quickly and then got up to go back to the bar.
Boris took a chair and said, stretching.
"The others should be here soon."
"How many are there?"
"There are 3 of them, which makes a total of 4 with Orso, I'm really sorry that I couldn't find 5 people like you asked me but many of them didn't seem trustworthy enough." Boris replied.
"It's already a very good number."
Boris breathed a small sigh of relief and continued.
"They all know how to fight very well, but the best in fighting is Orso, he's not an Overlord but he knows a lot, he's an excellent spy because of his common status in hellish society, nobody suspects him more than another demon, and he's an excellent fighter, he wields many kinds of weapons brilliantly, but he prefers to use his fists. "
"Why?"
"he has a pretty impressive brute force, the kind of force that can blow a huge hole in the ground, smash a demon's head off, or almost bring down a building."
Your eyes widened in surprise and you couldn't help but imagine that bear punching the radio demon in the face...
"Oh? That's interesting..." You said in a small voice betraying your astonishment. "And who exactly was He?"
"A former member of the USSR, he was accused of high treason in someone else's place and was executed. He no longer believes in communism. He was sent to Hell because of the many crimes he committed under the USSR regime in the name of that ideology."
"I see, it's a very sad story"
As Boris was about to answer, the door opened and 3 demons entered the room and settled down at the table. Boris welcomed them warmly, on your side, you gave them a discreet little smile to put them at ease.
They all looked at you with fear, they were really not comfortable sitting at the same table as you, even with Boris's support.
You watched them all carefully. One demon looked quite humanoid except that his skin was blue, a deformed jaw with teeth as sharp as a shark's and several eyes on his face. The second one looked like a mutant rat with glowing white eyes, the third one was strange. He wore a beautifully elegant costume, nevertheless, his head looked like the lantern of a 19th century lamppost, finally the features of his face were marked by small red marks on it.
*
"Well"declared Boris to draw everyone's attention. "Thank you all for coming." He turned to you and gave you a smile.
"Little boss, allow me to make the introductions." He pointed to the humanoid demon with several eyes." "This is Mirar, he's a cameraman at the TV studio." The demon timidly raised his hand to greet you. You nodded silently and beckoned Boris to continue. He then turned to the rat "Here is Thénardier, he is in charge of collecting scandalous information, he works with Fos here" he said, pointing at the demon lamp post.
"Pleased to meet you Miss," he said in a smooth voice with a beautiful British accent...
"Likewise," you replied in an icy tone.
"Fos works in the print media, he has his own newspaper called "Hellish News", moreover he knows Vox and his allies very well, you can ask him any question you want, he'll be happy to answer."Boris explained
*
You nodded your head and then turned to the demons, scrutinizing each one of them with a critical look.
"Well, before we start this meeting, I'd like to get a little more information on all of you." You started, "It's a simple precautionary measure. I want to know exactly what kind of person you are. "For example, I'm an experienced killer who worked in the mob before coming to hell. Boris was one of my partners."
The demons looked at each other worriedly, not really daring to speak, yet the lantern-headed demon cleared his throat before speaking.
"I died in London in 1888, I was working as a journalist, my boss fired me despite my excellent work. I couldn't find suitable work, and my wife died of illness. Legitimately I decided to make him pay for this shameful affront by killing his wife in front of him, before finishing him off with my own hands. However, the police caught me and I was sentenced to death. When I got here, I have to admit I didn't really understand what I had done wrong."
You rolled your eyes. Yes, his sentence was just, but given the pride and haughtiness he had, you had better keep a low profile. You nodded your head and turned to the rat who spoke in a devious voice.
"I didn't kill anyone, but let's say I ... well let's say I was robbing the people I was sheltering with my wife and children, tI was telling them lies about some of the things I "did" when I was fighting in the army, and I was scamming those who asked me for favours, for example, a very long time ago, a widow asked me to keep her daughter until she could find a job and get rich, I accepted."
Your mouth twisted in disgust when you realized what he was getting at.
"You lied to her mother to get more money from her while you didn't really care of her daughter, didn't you? "You asked with a murderous look on your face.
The rat hardly swallowed his saliva and nodded his head. Its limbs trembled at a glance that you gave to him, the rat was so scared, so scared that you were asking sensitive questions, Boris had warned him that you wouldn't be insensitive to his story...
"I doubt it didn't end well, did it?"
"No...We'd spent all the money his mother gave us, we found ourselves broke, without a penny, because her mother lost her job... and... and... there was a hard winter..."
"I've heard enough. " You cut it with a cold tone.
Thénardier slumped in his seat when he saw your eyes glow with an aggressive red light.
"People like you disgust me... I'm willing to give you a chance to help me, but don't you dare betray me or brag about your unhealthy little exploits from your past life while I'm around..." You threatened
The rat nodded his head in complete panic...
"Y- yes! y-yes ! Sure boss! I promise."
*
You calmed down and turned to the last Demon. Who looked at you with shame. His many bulging eyes were looking in all possible directions in order to not look at you in the eyes.
"I-I was a tightrope walker, I used to seduce women, go to their houses, and after I slept with them, well, I'd steal their jewelry and money, some of them lost everything, their husbands abandoned them, for some of the others, they ended up with nothing and killed themself."
You watched it silently. Your eyes judged him, there was no question, but you weren't there to sue them. You had other things to do, and they weren't hotel guests either.
You nodded your head and then declared with a sigh.
"All right, thank you for your honesty."
*
You joined your hands and glued your mouth to your fingers, analyzing every story, every tone of voice, every detail.
Fos was a very useful ally with his newspaper but his ego could be a problem, he needed to be framed, Mirar looked pretty unreliable at first but he was so afraid of you that he wouldn't dare betray you. Thénardier was the one you liked the less, however his ability to find information was precious and he was under the control of Fos...
"Well, I think Boris has told you everything, hasn't he? As you know I work for the hotel of the Princess of Hell. A few days ago I proposed to Vox to interview me and he will give me his answer in the next few days. In the meantime, I wish to have all possible information about him, I want to know everything, I want to know about different scandals, information he might keep secret and the evidence that goes with it. "
"Why that, boss?" asked Thénardier.
"I want to take him down, I want to discredit his news channel, make him live a total humiliation as his employees did with Charlie. »
"Sweetie, What you're asking us to do is such a big deal." said Fos in a strangely serious tone. "Vox isn't one to forgive that kind of low blow. Besides, why do you want to help our... future sovereign?"
"Yes, that's right! " replied the rat "That stupid Bi- " He picked up quickly when your eyes locked with his as a warning "That chick is stupid! No one can redeem himself here! Why do you even bother to help her? "
"It's just to keep an old promise, I'm a woman of my word and I can't stand it when I can't guarantee what I promised. That's all you need to know. Moreover, I'm stuck here until I die again by the spear of an angel, so I might as well kill the boredom... "you sighed.
...
Now you were starting to talk like him? Disgusting...
The demons looked rather skeptical. Then they nodded docilely, not daring to get you mad.
"We're willing to help you," Fos said. "However, we'd like some guarantees."
"Yes I expected that, here's what I propose, you can stay on my territory as long as you like. Many demons wouldn't dare to attack you here. I will arrange for you to have the privilege of having more than fair rents, however I do not want to hear any case of treason against me, and I do not want to hear any case of rape, otherwise... you will have to assume the consequences. " The demons shuddered at the sound of your voice becoming deeper and more threatening. "You will be under the watchful eye of Orso and Boris. You'll also have weapons to defend yourselves, but take great care. We can't afford to supply those weapons every time.
If you ever have a big problem with an Overlord I will personally make sure that they leave you alone, however if you get into trouble with them through provocation or dealings I will not go to risk myself for that. You'll have chosen your side.
In the event of a frontal attack by several groups on my area, I want you to help me defend it."
"What about the radio demon? " Mirar asked shyly. "I-I mean you guys are... well, you don't get along too well, do you? What if he attacked as a retaliation? We can't defend ourselves against him because he's t-too much powerful."
"You're right, we don't get along, but he won't do anything against me or you as long as we work together at the hotel. He cares far too much about his entertainment for that. To give you extra protection, I'll talk to the princess about our little group. Alastor will not risk incurring her wrath and lost his toy"
Fos seemed to think for a moment and then nodded.
"It seems honorable to me... "he said.
"So Messrrs..." you said with a smile "Do we have a deal?" You asked.
The 3 demons looked at each other again and nodded their heads.
"Yes boss" they said in unison.
You put a smile of satisfaction on your face and then with a better mood you declared.
"It's a pleasure to do business with, you, I hope we get along well and our work will be excellent"
*
The discussion went on for a good half hour. You had finally come up with a little strategy. Mirar was going to film the interview and keep a copy of it in his possession in the case where Vox decided not to release it. He would also look for compromising information on his side.
Thénardier would also look for useful information that you could use against Vox Killjoy and Tench, Fos would take care of writing a good article in the newspaper selling your merits on television, Boris and Orso would make sure that Vox didn't interrupt the video transmission. As for you... you knew what you had to do. Keep calm, answer questions, pique the curiosity of the viewers and drive your interlocutors crazy. No matter what the cost, you had to undermine their credibility.
Afterwards, Alastor can do a radio show to attract sinners to Charlie's hotel.
You may not have had television with you, but at least you had radio and newspapers. It was better than nothing.
When the meeting was over Boris insisted that you go home to rest. Although you tried to resist him, the wolf-dog was convincing. It was true that you were still a bit on edge after what Alastor had told you and you needed to keep a cool head before facing him again.
So you listened to your friend and went home before make him promise that he would help Charlie for you and give you a full account of the day.
*
You went home and the first thing you wanted to do was take a bath.
Yes, a nice and hot bath. Boris was right, you had to relax, you were not going to do nything right with that state of mind, you had to rest your body and your mind so you could finish your work and keep your promise. You ran the hot water in your bathtub and started to undress. First your shirt, then your pants, and then your underwear.
You went into the water completely and took a deep breath to relax your muscles.
You had to admit that it felt good. You let your back rest against the bottom of the bathtub and closed your eyes, taking advantage of the heat and noise of the water.
You rubbed your legs together contentedly and began to wash yourself.
*
"No no no BF/N don't do that I'll have to clean everything up after no! Have mercy on me ha ha ha ha ha stop ha ha ha ha ha ha ha."
"And why should I pity my little snow rose? Don't worry, I'll clean all this up later, I promise."
*
You smiled at this memory, this idiot had joined you in your bathtub and the whole bathroom had ended up flooded...What a laugh you had had that day...
Suddenly your ears raised on your head when you heard someone knock on the door. You immediately pretended not to be there, unfortunately the knocking continued.
You grunted and shouted an annoyed "I'm coming!" and you came out. You shivered at the temperature difference and then dried off before putting on a white bathrobe.
"This had better be fucking important." you complained mentally
Usually, your neighbour would come over and ask you (not without difficulty) for some sugar or something else.
You adjusted your wet hair and then opened the door with a more than annoyed look on your face.
"What do you want, mada-"
SLAM!
You immediately slammed the door when you saw who was behind it.
"Goddamn it. Is he fucking kidding me. " You started bitching out loud. You were beetroot-red. Why of all the fucking people in hell did it have to be the radio demon right in front of your door. You'd rather have seen Vox or Lucifer instead. What a fucking shame...
You took a deep breath and opened the door with a stern look on your face.
*
"What do you want, Alastor? Be brief. I don't want to argue with you."
You almost raised an eyebrow when you saw that the deer seemed almost embarrassed all of a sudden ... He cleared his throat and answered you with his usual smile.
"Well my dear, I'm sorry to bother you but I absolutely had to talk to you."
"Yes and what?" you asked impatiently, tapping your foot lightly.
"Well," began the deer with a slight nibble on his lower lip. "I wanted to apologize. I admit I went too far, and it was not very gentlemanly of me. I don't want this "clumsy mistake" to affect our work at the hotel and hinder our "Cooperation"". He declared in a perfectly neutral tone, placing his hands behind his back and raising his chin slightly.
It took you a few seconds to "understand" what he had just said. The radio demon? Apologize? Yes, of course, and you were Batman's sister. You didn't buy that shit.
"Oh... that's it?" you asked, raising an eyebrow, surprising him. "Okay, fine, goodbye." You said dryly, slamming the door in his face again.
You looked up at the sky and grunted a little. Such a repulsive man. It was a "self-serving apology" nothing more, nothing less.
" I don't want this "clumsy mistake" to affect our work at the hotel and hinder our "Cooperation" " You repeated by imitate him and exaggerating his gesture. "Bullshit..." He just wanted you to be "more docile" at work after this provocation, to act as if you had a short memory.
Pathetic.
You were repulsed by it. What did he expect? That you needed a good charisma and a shitty excuse to buy yourself? Did he really think you were that naive?
Tears came to your eyes as you thought back on what he'd said to you this morning.
*
"You behave like a mother to him, don't you find that you are using him to replace your poor offspring whom you unfortunately have not been able to protect? "
*
No, a person like that could not sincerely apologize, there will always be something behind it, always! Their fucking ego was too oversized to admit a mistake, even though they knew their words were cruel... no, unspeakable!
You went back to your bathroom and rinsed yourself off, you were no longer in the mood to relax in your bathtub.
*
Alastor, on the other hand, was always at your door. His fingers were tapping the top of his microphone in a hurry.
He wet his lips while keeping his usual smile on his face. Well he had to admit it was already a little better than he had imagined, he expected you to stab him again, lucky for him, he was the last person you expected to see... which could explain your so ... "light" outfit...
However, a small static noise quickly testified to his dissatisfaction.
He thought you were going to be a little more "talkative" perhaps even take this opportunity to relieve your superfluous pain, but no, you had given him an abstract answer and slammed the door in his face as if he was nothing. As if he was one of the scum of the world.
*
Alastor didn't apologize, why should someone like him apologize? It was completely absurd!
Yet for his own sake, he had agreed to be "flexible" despite his principles, and despite the fact that he was irremediably right about you and this child.
Yet you had just ignored him without even hesitating. Who were you to treat him like a nobody? Who were you to consider him a being not even worth the trouble of bowing your head?
People would kill to get even a little of the attention and privileges he gave you. You, on the other hand, shrugged your shoulders, and slammed the door in his face without even responding clearly to his "apology."
His radio frequency readjusted when he heard you taking a shower.
Well, now the message was clear: that was all you had to say.
His smile flickered and a growl came out of his mouth.
"Ill-mannered woman." he mumbled angrily.
No one had driven him mad like you, no one had dared to stand up to him or even dare to attack him with such cowardice as you did this morning.
He walked down the stairs to the entrance of the building, his shadow was looking at him worriedly, he whistled something incomprehensible, but Alastor answered him.
"No, she didn't explicitly agree."
His shadow put his hand on her shoulder in the hope of comforting his master, but the latter quickly released it from his grasp.
How was he supposed to do that? How was he supposed to get a clear answer from you? What could he do to get you to bury the grudge? How could he even calm you down? There had to be a way... He'd met some tough women in his life, but none of them could hold a candle to you, often his charisma had done the work for him. You, on the other hand, seemed to be insensitive to it, it wasn't with that that he was going to hang his strings around your joints. He had to find another way to reach you.
Suddenly his ears pricked up when he came up with an idea. Oh, dear Lucifer, what a brilliant idea! Of course, his chance of victory was minimal, and the very idea repulsed him, but it was a bet that could get him out of this situation.
A sordid little laugh came out of his throat as he walked out of the building. His shadow stared at him confusedly, sometimes it was really hard for it to understand his master's sudden changes. The shadow then asked its master where the overwhelming enthusiasm came from.
"Oh, come on! "Alastor said as if it were obvious. "It's so simple! »
"No it isn't," thought his shadow. Watching his master move into his territory. This time the creature was completely lost, it obediently followed its master until it reached a shopping street.
Looking around the various shops the shadow wondered again, was he planning to buy something for you? What was he planning to buy then? A book? A cake? No, of course not.
Anything to make a voodoo doll in your effigy? Yes! That was it! All its master had to do was make a voodoo doll or give you a cursed object like a jewel to bewitch you and... and what the hell was his master doing in front of a flower shop ?
The creature's luminous eyes widened like saucers, and its mouth deformed, letting a small round of light pass through, thus marking its astonishment. He had seen his master pretending to apologize in order to get what he wanted, but falling so low, he never did such a thing for a woman like you. This kind of romantic thing had always made him sick, and seriously, offering flowers to someone who cannot stand the sight of you? There was no way that would work.
Out of curiosity the shadow looked at the sign of the shop that said "Say it with flowers". Yeah... it rolled his eyes in his boredom.
The deer looked at the different flowers through the window and then noticed with satisfaction a bouquet of red roses, oh yes they looked perfect. Without hesitation he rushed into the shop.
*
The manager who had gone to get some bags from the back of the shop came back with a big smile on his face.
"At last a customer!" he thought cheerfully, but his joy broke as easily as glass when he noticed Alastor, alone, in the middle of his shop. The man couldn't hold back a little scream of fear, but did his best to remain professional for fear of offending the radio demon. And by the way ... what was he doing here?
"Oh um, hello sir... w-w-what can I do to help you?" he asked tremblingly.
"Ah ! Hello sir! I would like to see those red roses please" said the deer pointing to the bouquet.
The man swallowed his saliva and then hurriedly grabbed the Roses that Alastor had pointed out.
"Yes, yes, yes! Of course, here they are, sir. "Said the salesman, giving them to him very delicately so he wouldn't prick himself. "I beg your pardon, I haven't... removed the thorns yet, but I can do that if you like. "
"Certainly not sir! " cried Alastor almost startled the salesman. "What would a rose look like without its thorns? You know ... nothing is sweet without a little spine."
"Um, yes o-of course, certainly, forgive me..."
Alastor carefully analysed each rose, taking his time to observe every detail, and also to see if there was an imperfection somewhere. Oh yes, it was just perfect.
"It's exactly what I'm looking for, it's perfect. I'll buy them all from you."
"Real- Really? I mean, yes, sir, I'll give you the bouquet right now."
The man took the flowers and went to great lengths to make a beautiful bouquet mixed with some decorative herbs. If he was honest, Alastor would admit that he had never seen such a beautiful bouquet of flowers. The mix of red and and green was simply sublime. It was impeccable.
His shadow, on the other hand, was looking at him quite taken aback.
"There it is" said the demon, handing the bouquet to Alastor with a trembling hand.
The deer's eyes lit up as he admired the flowers. Suddenly the rosebuds burst into flames, making the poor florist scream in terror. He knelt down and hid behind the counter, crying for his life.
"Please! Please don't hurt me, I'll give them to you for free if you want them! But please spare me! "He cried out desperately, protecting his head.
Alastor looked in amazement at the trembling florist. As the rosebuds finished burning, strangely leaving the stems perfectly intact, the deer leaned forward at the front of the counter with a big, sharp smile.
"For Free? Oh my dear friend! You are too kind! But I must refuse, you have done a perfectly exemplary job, I must pay you."
"Y-you mean it ? " stammered the demon as he timidly reached out his head from behind the counter...
"Of course! "said Alastor cheerfully as he took out a few bills and put them down in front of the florist. "Now can you give me a pen and paper?"
"Yes, right away, sir. " said the demon, giving him a small card and a pen...
"Thank you," said the deer, writing a few words and returning the pen to the florist.
"Um... if you don't mind... who's... um... who's the lucky girl ?"
"You don't need to know," replied Alastor "Besides, I've never been here, have I? "he asked in a threatening tone as his eyes turned into radio dials.
The man moved back and nodded his head.
"Yes, yes, of course, I won't tell anyone, you have my word."
"Perfect," said the deer, turning to his shadow and giving it the bouquet. "Bring it to her and tell me everything," he ordered.
The shadow nodded and disappeared. Alastor's smile widened and he turned one last time to the salesman.
"Thank you again sir, have a very good day."
"Likewise." stammered the still trembling demon as he watched the deer come out of his shop...
*
*
*
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