Old 'Friends' Who: Valen and Tobias When: Very late Where: A bar
Work was much more... enthusiastic than usual. With seven missing teenagers, the entire department was doing what they could to track the kids down. Which wasn't much of anything. At least nothing effective. Blood hunters knew how to cover their tracks, and if they were selling the teenagers to private buyers. Good luck. Valen didn't much care whatsoever. Maybe a body or two would be found, and he could finally get his hands on the case. He wanted to know who was responsible. A part of him felt like they were intruding on his turf.
Now it was well past the end of his work day, but rather than go home, Valen stopped at a bar to have a drink or two. It was getting harder to go home with Isadora simpering over her daughter every passing second of the day. If Valen had been lucky, Charlotte would have been one of the missing teenagers. Then he could have gotten rid of those fleabags that roamed about, and he wouldn't have to deal with her any longer. If only.
Tobias couldn't partake in the drinks in the establishment, but that meant little to the man as he stepped through the front door and scanned the customers within. He often found new customers for his illegal arms dealing this way. People spread the word within the crowd and today would most likely be no different. Someone would see him in the bar and make their needs known and he'd do as required.
Of course tonight was different as Valen happened to be at the bar when Tobias entered. Taking a few slow steps over to the man, he put on a bit of a smile. "Fancy meeting you here, old friend." he said. 'Friend' of course being a term used loosely with the man in question.
Valen glanced up, assessing his company briefly before he lifted the glass of whiskey to his lips. He wouldn't exactly call Tobias an 'old friend', but he was positive Tobias knew that already. "I wouldn't think this would be your kind of bar," Valen replied, once he set the glass back down on the bar top. "There's more gin here than AB positive."
"Perhaps I just come for the stellar company." Tobias said, his calm demeanor not flickering in the slightest. Valen was an asshole, that was nothing new and certainly not something that Tobias would allow to get him all riled up.
Cocking an eyebrow lazily, Valen glanced over his shoulder at the patrons of the bar. "You must mean me then," he said with a humorless chuckle. "Since I don't think you would be caught dead sharing a drink with anyone else here." Valen nodded toward the bar stool beside him. "If you're going to sit, sit."
Tobias did indeed sit, sliding onto the bar stool beside the other man and waving the bartender on when he tried to ask him for an order. Technically Tobias was caught dead no matter who he was sitting with. Sliding a hand through his hair, he arched a brow right back at Valen. He wondered if he knew much about the kidnapping. He was after all part of the law. If you'd really want to give him credit for that. A shady character at best. "You're out late." Tobias assessed. "Does your wife approve of such hours?"
That got the tiniest of smirks in response, and he glanced at Tobias. "The missus is aware of the kind of job I have. And the long hours it keeps." He didn't answer to Isadora. He was her husband. She answered to him. "And what about you?" Valen asked. "Did you come in here looking for something specific? Dinner, perhaps? A late night snack?"
A little grin slowly made it's way across Tobias's lips. "Perhaps. Why? Are you interested?" he asked. Oh wouldn't it be lovely to feast upon the bastard beside him. But Tobias wouldn't of course. While he might be a bastard, Tobias was of the mind that bastards sometimes found ways of being quite useful.
"I wouldn't taste very good to you," Valen said with another smirk. The vampires who knew him, or had heard of him, knew better than to try and sneak a taste. He knew people. A lot of people. And those people knew how to cause pain, even to the undead. "So tell me, Tobias, how has society been treating you?"
"Society treats me just fine, thank you." Tobias said. "What about you, Valen? Does society irk you presently?" he questioned, a teasing bit of a smirk playing on his lips, trying to decide between sticking around or vanishing completely.
"I find society to be as entertaining as ever," Valen said simply. "Of course, it's going to continue to change, though I won't go as far as to say it will evolve." Not with a whole slew of races to be sensitive to. People who are afraid, or fear the unknown are not going to be as cooperative and accepting. That was just fine with Valen. The more chaos the better. "I imagine business will be booming for you soon enough."
"Mmm." Tobias nodded. "I'm sure it will be quite easy to find buyers indeed." He could already envision an influx just because of people who didn't like being sensitive to new races. It was almost as bad as the civil rights movement. Tobias doubted it would take long for it to become worse.
Business would no doubt hit a steady stride in the upcoming weeks. Valen had his hands in just about everything that went on underground in Scarlet Oak, and beyond. Hell, he was in charge of more than half of it. "You know anything about those missing kids?" Valen asked Tobias, casting the man a mildly suspicious look. He didn't think a man like Tobias had the balls to pull off something of that magnitude, but that didn't mean he didn't know people.
Tobias had heard plenty, but he wasn't about to talk to the law, especially when the law consisted of Valen. "Nothing." he said instead, keeping a straight face and looking surprisingly truthful. "What about yourself? Has any new information slid through?"
The suspicious look didn't ebb, and instead Valen took another slow, deliberate drink from his glass. "Nothing," he said finally, mimicking Tobias's expression. "I'm just waiting for the case to be turned over to my department." Homicide would be much more tragic. Valen was already foreseeing more pathetic candlelight vigils. "My step-daughter was the one who organized the trip. She is, as to be expected, beside herself with worry." Which pleased Valen more than he would ever let on.
"I see." Tobias said. He wondered what the girl was thinking at this very moment. If she was concerned for her friends lives, since he assumed she wasn't herself taken, or if she was just happy to be alive and not wherever those friends were. "I take it she made it out then. I'm glad." Glad wasn't really the word to be used, since Tobias didn't care, but he could at least pretend to be polite.
Valen made a noise in his throat in agreement, though it was less than sincere. "I can assume that if you happen to hear anything, you'll be sure to tell me." If the kids were being sold for their blood, he knew the vampire would hear something, since the majority of blood hunting cases were because vampires were too lazy to go out and hunt on their own. Vampires and blood magic witches. Valen knew them well.
Though he knew he'd give Valen little if any information about the missing teenagers, Tobias nodded a little. "I will." he said. "Good luck in your efforts until I do hear anything." he said. "I can't imagine how difficult a time you must be having with all your step-daughter's friends missing."
"Yes. It's incredibly hard," Valen said, looking incredibly earnest. His desire to know what had happened to the teenagers were for purely selfish reasons than anything else. But he had a facade to maintain. "And you know that information is always rewarded," he added before finishing off his drink. Information was rewarded, and lies were often punished. But Tobias was sure to know both.
Oh yes, information would be rewarded, but perhaps being silent was just as rewarding. Tobias nodded. "Yes. I'll keep that in mind." he said.
Valen pulled out his wallet and grabbed some cash to pay for his drink, and cover Tobias's. "Pleasant to talk to you again," Valen told Tobias. "You know how to reach me, should you come into any useful information." And if Valen found out Tobias knew more than he was letting on, Valen was not going to be happy. Not at all.
Pleasant. Ha. That was so entertaining that Tobias could barely keep in the laughter that wanted to bubble over. "I'll be sure to let you in on anything should I be so lucky as to come into that type of information. Have a good evening, Valen. I'll see you again, I'm sure."
"I have no doubt," Valen said, though he didn't sound particularly enthusiastic about it. Pocketing his wallet, Valen have Tobias a small nod before he headed out of the bar to get home.
A little smile drifted across Tobias's face as Valen left the bar. He was certain plenty of people knew about the missing teenagers. Letting out information on them however, especially to law enforcement, no matter how crooked, wasn't going to happen.