Who: Katherine, Malcolm, Lucien What: Lucien goes to Katherine for answers after this Where Katherine's London flat When: 4th August, 1888 Rating: PG
Lucien’s mind was whirling as he and Malcolm made their way to Katherine’s flat.
When the wolf who’d attacked him had died with Peter’s name on his lips, Lucien felt the blow nearly as strongly as if the shot intended for him had hit home.
Peter. Peter, and possibly Katherine both…
It was enough to leave him breathless and furious, and disbelieving all at once.
He did his best to master his own hurt and anger -- this was pack business, and he wanted to keep it out of the front page papers if at all possible.
He knew a few things -- that the Night Watch would be mustering forces to track Peter down, and that he had to find his former friend and packmate before they did, and try, somehow, to get ahead of this damning story before it spilled wide open, even if it were true -- counter it for the sake of the remaining Fosters in his pack. A signed testimonial stating Peter’s innocence and explaining the other wolf’s motives, along with a quiet passage to the Americas, perhaps? He could claim the testimonial had been mailed to him… the need for possible falsehood pained him, as did the thought that Peter could have been behind this, but if it truly was a personal matter, then he couldn’t justify Peter being charged a traitor simply because of Lucien’s position in government. It would ruin the rest of the Fosters utterly.
The other thing he knew was that Katherine, his former packmate, the woman who claimed to hate the very sight of him, knew where Peter was -- he’d seen the letter she’d been writing to her twin. That, and based on the smell all over the wolf Malcolm had killed, she was wrapped up in this somehow. Perhaps he’d need to purchase two airship tickets, he thought grimly, his jaw working as the hansom rattled through the streets.
He’d asked the Night Watch for the courtesy of a few hours’ time to talk with Mr and Mrs Foster himself, and to keep it from the press until they were absolutely certain it wasn’t a set-up, but he knew how little a window he had to work with.
As they pulled into Katherine’s street, he realized with a start that he hadn’t said much of anything to Malcolm.
“Are you alright, lad?” Lucien asked, looking over at his aide, and then reaching for his shoulder, clasping it.
Malcolm was on auto-pilot as it were. He was following orders, keeping close to Lucien, and moving to the next point of concern - Katherine. Shooting the gun, killing someone even out of self-defense reignited some unpleasant memories from his time in the Army. His right hand was trembling slightly still. But it was ‘one foot in front of another’ and keep watching for possibly more ‘wolves who wanted to harm Lucien.
Blinking more at Lucien clasping his shoulder than the question, he turned his head to regard his Alpha without direct eye contact. “I’m fine. Are you...alright, my Lord?”
Lucien paused, and brought his hand to rest on the back of Malcolm’s neck, his other clasping his aide by the hand. “I am alive,” he said, quietly. “And so is Maggie. And while there is a great deal I don’t know, I know that I can trust you, and that…” he exhaled. “That is something I am beyond grateful for,” he said, his voice low.
He leaned up and kissed Malcolm on the forehead. “I need you to be my right hand a little longer,” he said. “I need to know what Peter and Katherine are up to, and I can’t walk in there alone, in case…” his face worked a little. “...In case things go badly,” he ended.
Malcolm was incredibly tactile and Lucien’s contact centered him along with his words. “Thank you, my Lord. As long as I can, I will protect you and Maggie.”
Exhaling at the kiss to his forehead, he listened. “I will be as long as you need me,” Malcolm echoed as he made eye contact with Lucien. “Nothing will go badly.” He swore.
“One, perhaps two of my childhood friends may have just conspired to kill me,” Lucien replied, a small, bitter smile on his face. “By my accounting, it already has. Quite.” He gave Malcolm’s hand a squeeze. “We’ll get it sorted,” he said, more for his aide’s sake than anything.
If his parents had been alive, they would’ve been able to better prepare him for the way his sudden change in leadership and status would impact his closest relationships. From where he sat, Katherine and Peter both had expected him to give them far more than he was able to, which led to bitterness and distance on their end -- that, and he’d found his responsibilities all-consuming, and had taken for granted that they would be a stalwart source of support until he was able to settle down some -- that their priorities would shift with his, that they’d understand what was required of him, his limitations, and that while it’d be difficult, they’d weather it -- they had time. They’d asked too much of him, and he knew now that he’d asked too much of them both as well -- but while Katherine claimed it was a lack of respect, he saw it as blind faith -- a misplaced trust that they were all in this together.
He’d had the scales forcibly removed from his eyes on that count, but the additional implication that they might wish him harm -- real harm -- was a shock he had yet to fully wrap his brain around.
“Mal,” he said, “it isn’t always easy to admit when I’ve been short sighted, and people seem to have a habit of thinking I’d rather not hear about it. Will you do me a favor? Will you tell me if something is the matter, instead of letting resentment build?” He frowned a little. “This is a rather extreme example, of course, but…” he sighed. “There’s only so much I can do if it’s all kept bottled in. And I’d so much rather hear about it than… well… let it get out of hand.”
At the hand squeeze, Malcolm squeezed back and shifted his stance slightly before reaching up to cup his free hand around the back of Lucien’s neck. The younger wolf did not envy his Alpha’s situation at all. So much was piled on Lord Black’s shoulders. And that was one big reason why Malcolm was so loyal, wanting to be his aide. But there were also the traditions and limitations that someone in his position, in how society and also the pack were that made Mal unhappy. But if one were to play the game, they must follow the rules.
“Yes, my Lord.” Mal nodded, gently running his thumb along the side of Lucien’s neck. “I will tell you, yes. You have so much on your shoulders. I would like to speak with you about something, but when the current matter is resolved.”
“Thank you for that,” Lucien replied. “Truly.” He gave his aide’s hand another squeeze as the hansom cab pulled to a halt, and the two men exited, paying the driver. Lucien told the man it might be profitable for him to wait for another hour -- that there’d be the likelihood they’d need another fare, and he’d pay well for it if the cab was still waiting when they came back down again.
They made their way up to Katherine’s flat -- the number Mr Foster had given him -- and Lucien knocked, unsure what he’d face when the door opened, but knowing his reception would be unwanted regardless.
For most of the day, Katherine had been unceremoniously tied to one of her chairs, bound up with rope, while a man stood watch inside her apartment. Damian had left quite a while ago, on his way to hurt Lucien probably, or even her brother. And here she was, tied up like some helpless damsel. It was annoying, and slightly embarrassing but mostly she was just angry. It pained her to know that she had given up the location of Lucien, even if she hadn't wanted to. They'd had silver, and had nearly choked the life out of her before she'd said anything, but still. She'd been working at getting the ropes off of her arms for quite some time, but to no avail, though her feet ropes had been going a bit slack.
That's when she decided to try a different tactic. Up until now, she'd not said a word to the man who was guarding her. He'd been mostly looking out the window, waiting for Damian to come back undoubtedly, after the deed was done. Using the gag that was in her mouth, she started to cough around it, flailing a bit like she was having a really hard time catching her breath, or that it was choking her. The man came over, a little skeptically and removed the gag but warned her not to make a noise or else she would be hit again. Instead she sputtered and coughed and whispered out that she needed water. Badly.
Surely a young woman who was tied up couldn't hurt a fly. Weren't women supposed to be tame, even if they were werewolves? The young man spotted a pitcher of water on the table and poured her a glass. He would have to hold it up for her, to get her to drink it. Shoot. As she went to take a sip of the water, acting so incredibly grateful, that's when Katherine threw back her head and headbutted the man as hard as she could against his. He staggered back, and she winced with pain. As soon as he grasped his head, she managed to maneuver herself onto her feet, bringing the chair with her as she basically bumrushed him into the wall, making the man hit his head and her to fly back. The fall broke her chair, and she hit her head considerably that time. As she managed to get to her feet, luckily before the other man did, she picked up a broken chair leg and hit him on the head as hard as she could.
Her head was ringing, and she felt a bit dizzy, so when the door rang, she stumbled over to it and threw it open. Was that Lucien and Malcolm?
"Lucien.. you're not dead.. good.." she managed, "Why are there four of you?" Her head was bleeding just a bit, and she'd clearly been more than a bit roughed up. There were some what looked to be knife cuts on her skin too that hadn't healed up yet.
“Katherine, good God,” he exhaled, his expression shifting from stiff wariness to worry. He could smell strange wolf in the room, and her own fear and adrenaline, and upon seeing the man crumpled in the corner, he nodded to Malcolm. “Secure him,” he said, decisively, before turning back to Kat.
His first impulse was to reach for her, to steady her, but her blood was up, and given how they’d last parted, there was a great deal he was uncertain about in terms of how she’d respond. He compromised and handed her a handkerchief. “You ought to take a seat. Are you badly injured? What on earth happened?”
Malcolm was a hair-trigger, flinching at Katherine’s throwing the door open. He reached into his coat to grasp his revolver, but did not unholster it as he stepped inside. Letting Lucien lead, he sniffed the air and smelling another wolf. Then he nodded, letting go of the firearm and circling round to take the rope that was once around Katherine and tie the unconscious man’s hands behind his back and his ankles and knees together.
Moving over to Katherine and Lucien, he reached into his coat pocket and produced a handkerchief. Mal moved closer and gently pressed it to the cut on Katherine’s head. “You need medical care.”
Katherine blinked several times, mostly to try and clear her double vision. She took the handkerchief, though it took her a couple of times to find his hand. “A seat would be nice. But I have to get to Peter..” Right. Peter. She had to get to him. And Lucien. But Lucien was here. God she was confused all of a sudden. That hit to her head had really done a number on her.
She went back inside and sat down on the couch though, rubbing at her wrists and putting the handkerchief up to her head. “The door knocked, they said it was the Constable, so I opened the door. They made their way in.. two of them. That one there..” she pointed to the guy that was getting tied up. “And another one. They wanted to know where you were, I tried to say I didn’t know, they didn’t believe me. I knew though.. Mother told me when I saw her last. I’m sorry. When I didn’t respond, they took silver to my neck and started choking me until I gave in. Then they tied me up in the chair and one man left, the other one stayed so I couldn’t rush off and get to Peter. He cut my hair. Why would he do that? I head butted that man.. I think I hurt myself.” She had a goose egg too. “Was that the man who tried to kill you?”
The smell was mixed up with Katherine’s, and the wolf Malcolm had killed earlier, but now he’d had some more time with it, he nodded, shortly. “I’m fairly sure that’s him, yes,” he said, lip pulled back in a bit of a snarl before turning to his aide. “Well done, lad. Perhaps a cool cloth and some ice from the box for Miss Foster? Some sherry, if there’s any in the cabinets?”
He took in Katherine’s story with a mix of horror and relief that was almost palpable to hear that she was still alive, that she hadn’t wanted this. He knew their kind was hardier than most, and her injuries didn’t look life-threatening, which was good to see, but her disorientation was worrisome.
“Katherine,” he said, sitting beside her and taking her by the hand, trying to speak lowly and clearly. “Kat, I know you’ve been through a great deal, and I’m sorry for it, but we haven’t much time. The man who left you went to attack me and Maggie, and Malcolm shot him. Before he died, he fingered Peter as responsible by name -- and there was a member of the Night Watch nearby who witnessed it.”
He exhaled. “I don’t know what Peter’s wrapped up in -- how deeply he’s in trouble, what he might’ve… what he might’ve intended, if anything, but Kat, your family -- they’re my pack, and this could ruin them. And Peter…”
There was a great deal he wanted to say about his former friend, his packmate, but there was too much unknown -- especially given the assumptions he’d made about Katherine. So he looked at her carefully and swallowed his emotions for the time being. “I’ve asked for it to be kept out of papers before it’s a sure thing, to give us time, but we need to sort out what’s happened, get in front of it, find out some way… some way through this. They’ll be looking for him, Kat. We need to find him first, find out what’s happened, give him… give him some options.”
As she was handed the glass of sherry, Katherine happily took a sip to calm her nerves. It probably wouldn't do a great deal, but it made her feel better. She tried very hard to concentrate on Lucien's words. Right. Peter. And an attack on Lucien, which thankfully had been stopped. "He's dead? Good. He did this to me.." The relief that a man like that was stopped was immeasurable. "Yes, he said.. he said Peter was getting my letters and telling them.. god, what has he done?" She was so angry with her brother, that she couldn't quite see straight. Or maybe that was her head wound making her unable to see straight. Probably a bit of both.
And now the Night Watch was after her brother? Katherine's face fell. "I have to go to him.." she said immediately, before she realized that Lucien was talking about going to find him as well. She frowned slightly and looked him over. Despite the fact that she was most certainly concussed, she wasn't sure that she trusted Lucien. How could she?
"You want to find him first.. are you sure that's not because you want to get your hands on him first?" she asked pointedly. "I won't let you hurt him, or put him away. I don't know what he's done and maybe he should pay for whatever it is, but how do I know that you won't be worse than the Night Watch?"
Lucien frowned. “I want to get to the bottom of all of this, and keep your family’s name out of the papers, and while it looks no end of damning, and I am… deeply disturbed, and, yes, angered by the possibility that he might’ve been involved in this, I don’t want him hung. If he tries to kill me, I will defend myself, but I’m not the one looking for blood in this situation, Katherine, believe me.”
He sighed, pinching his nose. “If… if he was involved as you say, I’m prepared to walk away with a signed statement that could possibly manage to keep your family out of it, and give him an airship ticket to New York, should it be necessary. I’d need an assurance he would never return.”
“If you go to him alone, you might be implicated in whatever mess this is should they find you with him,” he added, miserably. “If I’m there too, if we are all discovered, I can mitigate things somewhat as the injured party. I have leverage, Kat, and God help me, I’m willing to use it for the sake of your parents and younger siblings -- even if Peter… damn it all to hell. Even if Peter wanted to kill me. I’m not going to let one man’s mistakes ruin your family -- they’re my pack, they’re my responsibility.”
There was a bitter taste in his mouth at the thought of all of it. “I know you hate me, Katherine,” he said, frowning. “I know I am no longer your alpha, that you no longer consider me a friend, and you think I’ve mistreated your family. But I am trying… I am trying to do my best by all of you.”
His words were a nice story, but Katherine wasn't sure if she could trust it. Yes, she thought that he hadn't been particularly fair to Peter before. Still the fact was that Peter had something to do with his assassination attempt, and she didn't think Lucien could be willing to turn a blind eye. Surely he was furious with him, as Katherine was as well. She wanted to believe that he would do the right thing and not immediately kill him on sight, but she just didn't know. Anything could happen once Lucien actually looked Peter in the eye.
He was right though about one thing, if Katherine went to Peter by herself, she could be found with him and they'd both go to jail. She couldn't have that. She had no idea if she could even keep Peter out of jail, but she had to at least try. She was quiet for a moment, thinking and sipping her sherry. Finally she frowned. "I'll take you to him, but I'm coming with you. And I won't leave his side. To make sure that you don't kill him on sight. To make sure the Night Watch doesn't either."
Even if her head was splitting and she definitely need to be looked at, this had to come first. "Is that acceptable?"
“...Given this latest attempt could have led to the death of my mate,” here, his lips snarled involuntarily, “and that you’ve been hurt as a result of whatever this is, wanting to have certain assurances in place is understandable. I’m…” he exhaled, schooling himself. “I won’t lie to you, Katherine. I’m furious, but I’m willing to get to the bottom of this and have some sort of understanding of what’s happened despite what my instincts are calling for, and your presence would help ensure that we talk instead of fight.” He paused. “I am trusting you beyond, perhaps, what I ought,” he said, shortly, “but I am willing to take you at your word that you were unawares he was passing along information, that you gave my location unwillingly, and that you will not immediately turn on me once we’re all in the same room.”
He had Malcolm with him at least, and as long as Peter was alone, they might have a chance of having a conversation instead of ending things bloodily.
He looked at her, carefully. “Your injuries,” he said. “Can you manage to hold off seeing a physician for an hour or two?”
Completely and utterly ignoring Maggie being brought up into things, Katherine regarded him. She could tell how angry he was, but she wanted to trust him to do the right thing. The thing was that if Peter maybe had gone completely off the deep end, then maybe he did need to go to jail. She didn't know. She didn't know anything at all, and that was what worried her. When she had last seen him, he'd seemed tired and reluctant, but never had she thought he'd do something like this. She couldn't say that she was as angry with her brother as Lucien was, but she certainly wasn't happy about it.
"I will go with you, and make sure that this remains at talking. Besides if anyone is going to throttle my brother, it will be me." And maybe Lucien shouldn't trust her, but neither one of them had a whole lot of choice right now. "Then we have no choice but to trust each other for the moment."
Katherine got up to her feet, trying not to wobble so much and managed to stand upright. God her head hurt. "Yes, I'm fine," she said curtly. "Let's go before Peter finds himself into even more trouble.." She started to walk towards the door. "Someone has to figure out what to do about that man there.." she pointed to the unconscious one that was now tied up. "And oh god, I am extremely late for work. God I'm hours late, and I'll probably be fired for this. Is there anyone that could perhaps send a message and deliver it right away?" She was asking a lot, but really she wanted to make sure that Mr. Kessinger didn't come looking for her.
Lucien paused. He was walking into a possible lion’s den if he was going to show up to Peter’s without Malcolm -- it was a significant risk -- but this was the man who tried to assassinate him earlier, and having him in custody would possibly satisfy the Night Watch.
A more calculating man would’ve ordered Katherine’s attacker shot, so he wouldn’t talk -- but Lucien sighed, and shook his head. “Malcolm,” he said, “I need you to keep Peter out of this until we know more -- this wolf held Katherine prisoner, and forced her to give up my location, and was the one who attacked me in front of the Richardsons -- those are fact enough. Could you keep an eye on him? If he tries anything…” his face darkened. “We’ll get the hansom driver to send word to Night Watch so they can come by and take him into custody. And we can send a quick note to Dex as a second delivery. He’s a friend,” he said shortly to Katherine, “I’m sure he’ll understand.”
Once Katherine had taken the handkerchief, Malcolm began to shortly pace - watching the incapacitated attacker he had tied up and looking over Lucien and Katherine. But once Lucien had spoke his name, he drew closer and nodded. “I will watch him,” the younger wolf nodded again. “Do you need my sidearm?” Malcolm asked. “I would much rather keep you safe.” He would follow his Alpha’s orders, but he felt he could voice his opposition.
While Lucien talked to Malcolm, Katherine checked herself in the mirror to make sure that she wasn't bleeding any more. She wasn't, and since she doubted he wanted the handkerchief back as it was covered with blood, she put it in her pocket. She was glad that the wolf in her apartment was going to jail, though honestly if Lucien had shot him, she wouldn't have minded that much either. Of course he hadn't been the one to rough her up, but the one who should be paying for this was apparently quite dead.
Hearing that Dex was a friend though, gave her a pause. Couldn't she just have one thing that didn't involve him? Good grief. She couldn't get away from him. Maybe being employed by Dex wasn't a good idea after all. Of course maybe she wouldn't have a job after this anyway. After making sure that she had her orders, she went to the door and waited to go. "Very well. Thank you."
Lucien thought about the offer of the side-arm, and then looked over to Katherine before turning back to Malcolm and shaking his head. If he had to face Peter, it would be with tooth and claw.
He reached for Malcolm, clasping his arm. “You keep watch, lad. Take care he doesn’t get away. Wait here -- I’ll send word.”
There was a part of him who was fully aware that he was being foolish on many fronts, but this was personal.
Malcolm was still concerned for Katherine, but if she was with Lucien...she would be in good hands. He clasped Lucien’s shoulder, making eye contact with him and pushing that bit of protocol. “Yes, my Lord. He will not leave my sight. Please take care. Don’t let your guard down.” Malcolm wanted to go, but would follow Lucien’s orders. Hopefully things would turn out the way they needed to and without any more bloodshed or worry.