Tales of the Meridian Society! (TheCorsair, Madame Mim)

Anne Marie's heart fell when Yasmine confessed that she didn't know how her brother had met the Devil King. They would ask Ioseb, of course, but he was likely too smart to reveal his secrets. It was a relief that she didn't intend to return to the catacombs, however. Working would be easier without innocent--and not so innocent--civilians getting in the way then asking awkward questions afterward. She opened her mouth to speak again after Colin expressed concerns that they might not still be there when a voice interrupted her.

Kieran jumped and turned on his cushion and had a hard time not laughing. The man looked ridiculous, dressed as an ethnicity to which he didn't belong. Still, the pirate supposed he couldn't laugh too hard; he'd taken on much more ridiculous and flamboyant disguises before. Instead he simply shook his head and scooted over to make room. He was content to let the others talk: diplomacy and politics had never been his strong suit. It was much easier to torture for information and run a person through if they didn't tell you what you wanted to know. In situations which called for more finesse he was more than happy to let Anne Marie take the lead.

Madame LaMonte laughed a silvery sort of laugh as Ioseb plopped down next to her. "I think you were born to the wrong country, Monsieur," she teased gently. "You look quite handsome as a Turk." It was always good to flatter and, in some cases, seduce, especially in situations like this. She listened carefully as he described the lair they hadn't been able to get a good look at.

"Fortunately for us, they do not know where we are staying," she said with a smile. "And hopefully they did not get a good look at us. So tell us, Monsieur Jugashvili, how is it you wound up in such a place?"
 
"How did I wind up in such a place?" Ioseb repeated, taking a long drag from a pipe. "Why, Madame Giry, nothing could be easier to explain." He leaned back, gesturing vaguely around the table. "I believe that neither my political leanings nor my role in the failed Moscow coup are unknown? Ah, good. Fame at last."

He drew another lungfull, and sent a stream of blue-white smoke soaring heavenwards. "Well, I have spen the past decade largely on the run from the Czerka, who do not seem to accept my lengthy explanations that the weight of history is on the side of the Proletariat, and who are oddly unmoved by my offers to make them heroes of the revolution should they choose to betray their capitalist masters and support me. And the whole time, I have hoped to see the struggle take root somewhere - if not in Russia, then in Germany or Italy or France or even England."

Considering the pipe, he took another draught. "Agents of this Devil King contacted me while I was running guns to the Eusko Abertzale Ekintza, comrades in arms against the decadent bourgeois King of Spain. It was a most convincing contact, I must say. A small aeroship, arriving when I and several members of the EAE found ourselves outgunned by the Unión Militar Española. It unleashed a score of what I then believed to be clockworks automatons, who butchered the Spaniards in a matter of minutes. I was then invited to attend a gathering in Paris, to discuss the future of these automatons in the struggle for universal communism."

He shrugged. "What can I say? I agreed."
 
Anne Marie nodded when Ioseb confirmed whether she already knew who he really was. "Naturally. Such a charismatic and handsome leader would not be able to pass so easily under such a paltry thing as a fake name. Not from a citizen of the world, at least," she added with a smile. She listened patiently to his tale, nodding occasionally. Things were beginning to come together now.

"Well, hardly anyone can blame you for that," Madame LaMonte said after taking a long pull on her own hose. "Did he contact you further, between then and now? It is quite important, you know, to learn anything that has passed between you."

"Surely you can't think this Devil King as the right idea now," Kieran interrupted, wanting more to know where this Jugashvili stood in relation to the Machine Men. "I mean, turning people into automatons? I'm not what you'd call morally upright, mate, and even I think that's sick."

"It is a fair question," Anne Marie agreed, turning her gaze evenly from the pirate to the communist. "Do you have a mind to ally yourself with this man, if he is indeed a man?"
 
"Well, hardly anyone can blame you for that," Madame LaMonte said after taking a long pull on her own hose. "Did he contact you further, between then and now? It is quite important, you know, to learn anything that has passed between you."

Ioseb leaned back in his cushions. "I was provided with a street address here in Paris, which proved to be a hotel. I took rooms there, as well as elsewhere, and then received a message - oddly enough, inviting me to visit the club last night." Thoughtfully, he drew on his pipe. "I must confess that I do not recall having met anyone who was an agent of the Devil King there. But, when I returned to my hotel last night, there was a message informing me that the meeting would be today. I arrived at catacomb entrances near the hotel the Devil King recommended, met a silent guide, and I believe you know the rest."

"Surely you can't think this Devil King as the right idea now," Kieran interrupted, wanting more to know where this Jugashvili stood in relation to the Machine Men. "I mean, turning people into automatons? I'm not what you'd call morally upright, mate, and even I think that's sick."

"It is a fair question," Anne Marie agreed, turning her gaze evenly from the pirate to the communist. "Do you have a mind to ally yourself with this man, if he is indeed a man?"

"I believe in the revolution," Ioseb answered thoughtfully, watching Kieran. "In the eventual overthrow of the capitalist and monarchial powers by the people, and the equality of all men. And in order for the revolution to succeed, the people must be powerful." His attention turned back to Anne Marie. " But a powerful and vigorous movement is impossible without differences. True conformity is possible only in the cemetery." He sucked at his pipe. "So, no. The abominations offered by this Devil King are not a tool I will use."
 
Anne Marie raised an eyebrow and exchanged a significant look with both Colin and Kieran when Ioseb mentioned that he had received an invitation to the club last night. Had it been mere coincidence? Or had someone somehow known they were going to be there? She felt a bit more at ease when she realized perhaps it had been a trap set for him by the Russian police sent to kill him.

"Well, it is quite a relief to know you won't be joining his ranks," she said after a few moments' thought. "But you don't know for certain who the invitation was from? Yasmine, did you or your brother receive a similar invitation?"

Madame LaMonte turned her gaze to the pretty girl on the other side of Kieran. She was confident the girl wouldn't join the Devil Lord because of what had happened to her brother, but there was a need to establish any sort of theme amongst the Communist leaders in and around Paris. It seemed this Devil Lord was some sort of extreme Communist, but why was he targeting others of his ideology?
 
"Well, it is quite a relief to know you won't be joining his ranks," she said after a few moments' thought.

"Not voluntarily, at any rate," Ioseb answered cheerfully. "He seems to believe in high-pressure recruiting tactics, though."

"But you don't know for certain who the invitation was from? Yasmine, did you or your brother receive a similar invitation?"

"I had rather assumed it came from the Devil King," the small Georgian answered, sucking on his pipe. "It made certain allusions to 'things of the future' and to 'our arrangement'. Sadly, he didn't sign it."

Yasmine bit her lower lip thoughtfully. "I... yes. My brother received something similar, but had previous arrangements. Another meeting of the cause, you understand? And so, since I enjoy jazz and since I do assist my brother, he asked me to attend in his stead." Her cheeks colored a little as she glanced away from Anne Marie. "I very much fear I believed you to have been my brother's contact, particularly once I saw Ioseb with you."

Curious, Colin leaned forward. "And who did you think we were, then?"

Yasmine looked from Colin to Kieran and then to Yasmine. "Bodyguards." Her lips quirked up in a smile. "And, perhaps, dessert?"
 
Kieran grinned charmingly and straightened a little at the suggestion that he might be a bodyguard or eye candy. Anne Marie raised an eyebrow and he looked back defensively. "What? It could happen!"

"Oui, I'm sure."

"Madame! You act like I'm not attractive! I'm hurt." The pirate pouted a little, feeling a bit more like his old self again. Anne Marie chuckled and shook her head.

"You are very attractive, mon amie, but I do not fraternize." Turning her gaze back to the other two she looked from one to the other. "Monsieur I know that we said goodnight once you had escaped from the police, but Yasmine...did you ever meet with your brother's actual contact?"
 
"You are very attractive, mon amie, but I do not fraternize."

"What a pity," Yasmine smiled, leaning against Kieran and snuggling into his side. "But cheer up, Captain. I do."

Colin, stung with a sudden pang of jealousy gave her a reproachful look. Yasmine's response was to blow him a kiss. "Don't worry. I won't break him." A wink. "You can come along and make sure..."

Turning her gaze back to the other two she looked from one to the other. "Monsieur I know that we said goodnight once you had escaped from the police, but Yasmine...did you ever meet with your brother's actual contact?"

Yasmine allowed herself to snicker for a moment at Colin's suddenly startled expression, and then became serious. "I... think so." She thought harder. "It wasn't a formal introduction, mind you. But, I was the one who received the invitation on his behalf. I was alone in our flat, writing, when there was a knock at the door. A man - I'm certain it was a man from the voice, although he wore a large overcoat that concealed his figure - was there. He wore a mask, a plain white mask, over his face. And his voice was... stilted."

She shuddered. "At the time I assumed he was a veteran. There are many who wear such masks, to hide wounds that will not heal and scars that will not fade. He wore gloves, too. Thick leather ones, and he asked if my brother were home. I said he was not, and he asked me to accept a message for him. When I said I would, he handed me an envelope sealed with wax."

Frowning, Yasmine bit her lip. "I... don't know what else I could tell you. But I did get a good look at him."
 
Kieran flushed briefly at the idea that Yasmine of all people would share a bed with him and Colin. He glanced over the top of her head to Colin in an attempt to be subtly reassuring. In all honesty it had been a little flattering that he'd gotten jealous. Still, he figured he might want to figure himself out and the mechanics of everything and where he stood with Colin before inviting yet another in...if he even wanted another.

"Stilted how?" Kieran asked as Yasmine described the man who had come to their door. "Like he had a hard time with the language or...?"

"Or, I imagine," Anne Marie put in. She withdrew a watch from a pocket and consulted it briefly. "Enjoyable as escaping death with you all has been, I'm afraid we must depart soon. Our superiors will be interested to hear all of this information. Unless there are any other details it might behoove us to know?" She gave Kieran and Colin significant looks before turning her gaze to Ioseb and Yasmine and replacing her pocket watch.
 
"I can think of many details it would behoove you to know," Ioseb said, sitting up and leaning forward. "None further about this 'Devil King', but many about you and I..." He smiled, then chuckled a little. "But perhaps this is not the time?"

Yasmine shook her head, although whether she was indicating she had nothing further to contribute or whether she was expressing a weary sort of disbelief at Ioseb was unclear. "I will think on it tonight," she promised. "Shall we pass messages to you through this establishment?"

"That would be for the best," Colin answered. "We all know the location, now." He rose, grunting a little with the strain, then offered Yasmine a hand to help her rise as well. Then, when she was on her feet, he offered his hand to Kieran.

"I fear we must part then," Ioseb said, voice grave and expression dramatically serious as he offered Anne Marie a hand up as well. "Unless I may hope for the singular honor of escorting you home?"
 
Anne Marie didn't respond to Ioseb's advances, but merely smiled mysteriously and arched an eyebrow delicately before turning her attention to Yasmine. She was about to answer when Colin answered for her, standing up. She took Ioseb's hand and rose lightly to her feet before smiling at him again.

"I am afraid, Monsieur, that I do not allow near-strangers near my home," she said graciously. "It is nothing personal; it is just that one never knows the sorts of company one might keep these days, until getting to know them better. Additionally, I take my fraternization policy very seriously." Madame LaMonte winked conspiratorially. "But we shall be in touch. It seems that in even such a large, great city such as Paris fate deems it appropriate to draw us together. Until then."

Kieran took Colin's hand, thought better of it, then clasped his forearm in a very manly fashion before heaving himself to his feet. He bade Yasmine and Ioseb goodbye with suspicious looks at the two of them, each for very different reasons, before departing with his co-workers. The Fenian was silent until they were in the car on the way back to Anne Marie's--for lack of a better word--palace.

"Strange lot, those two," he said, shaking his head and glancing sideways at Colin for any sort of hint of a reaction. "And whaddya make of what's happened to 'em?"
 
"Very strange," Colin agreed. "An anarchist and a revolutionary than almost took down Imperial Russia." He glanced back at Kieran. "I'm surprised you don't like him more, to tell the truth. What with your Fenian leanings and all." A wink. "And the overly-protesting sister of an Algerian anarchist and revolutionary, who continues to swear she has no interest in her late brother's politics while being involved in her late brother's politics."

Settling back a little further into the soft leather upholstery, Colin looked out the window. "And it bothers me that both were contacted by this 'Devil King', and were both offered access to the insane technologies that spawned the Machine-Men. I don't recall anything in Eric and Sam's report on the Devil King indicating that he had much interest in socialism or communism or anything other than world conquest."

A little sigh. "And we're still no closer to finding out what the involvement of the Wings of Silence is in all of this." Turning to look back at the pirate sitting next to him, Colin rested his hand on the man's knee. "Unless... you know more about them than Anne Marie or I. Have you heard anything about them using automata as crew?"
 
"Leanings," Kieran scoffed. "And I don't like 'im coz he's shifty. That an' tryin' ta jump Anne Marie every ten seconds and all." He looked over at Madame LaMonte, who smiled.

"Your protectiveness is endearing, Captain," she said. "But I am quite capable of handling myself, thank you. In fact I have this Jugashvili right where I want him. Give a man what he wants too quickly and he is likely to lose interest, and I have a feeling he will be a valuable tool in the future. As for access to these technologies and the Devil King's interest in politics," she looked at Colin, "I don't think it's that at all. Notice he contacted revolutionaries: people who have the charisma and resources to lead revolts against the established order. I have a feeling any other he offers 'access' to will end up like Mademoiselle Yasmine's brother. I think he is biding his time and trying to eliminate competition before he enacts these plans for world domination. I find both of our informants suspicious so far, though; I think they are hiding something, and I though I know my ways are not your ways I would not discourage Mademoiselle's advances quite yet, either of you." She smiled knowingly before sitting back in her seat.

Kieran looked down at Colin's hand on his knee and felt his face burn. He shifted a little in his seat and Madame LaMonte stared out the window, pretending not to notice. "Me? No, I've told you lot all I know. Nearly lost me ship to 'em and they've got some sort o' technology to dampen sound, maybe something fer their guns I dunno. But that's it. Sorry mate, but I know about as much as you."

Eventually through the early-afternoon traffic they arrived at Anne Marie's mansion. She slid gracefully out, followed by Kieran clambering out of the seat, being unused to such vehicles. He waited for Colin before following the lady of the house inside. In the foyer she turned to the others with a small yawn.

"It has been a very eventful morning, Captains," she said, looking between the two. "I think I will take some time to freshen up. Please, feel free to go where you may. I think perhaps we need to give our brains a rest before pondering on this more."
 
Colin nodded at Kieran's answer. "I suspected as much. I was just hoping, you understand? Perhaps you had heard something, and it had simply slipped your mind. But, if you've heard nothing, then you've heard nothing."

The touring car pulled up to the stairs leading to the front door of Anne Marie's palace. The chauffeur opened the door, allowing first Anne Marie and then the two men to exit. Together, Colin and Kieran trooped up the stairs and into the foyer. "It has been a very eventful morning, Captains," she observed with a yawn.

"That it has," Colin answered. "I find it hard to credit that it is still before noon, to tell the truth."

"I think I will take some time to freshen up. Please, feel free to go where you may. I think perhaps we need to give our brains a rest before pondering on this more."

"A wonderful idea." He bowed slightly as Anne Marie left, then turned to Kieran. "Our brains may be in need of a rest, but my legs are still wound up. So, why don't you come with me? I've heard the Hôtel de Carnavalet has magnificent gardens, and I thought I'd go walk in them for a while."
 
Kieran seemed a bit startled at Colin's suggestion. He pushed down another flush and nodded.

"Er, alright," he acquiesced. Had he just been asked on a date of sorts? All of this new information--about both the Devil King and himself--still had his mind reeling. The gears finally clunked into place and he was able to stick work back into its mental box and open up the box for play. By the time that was done they had just stepped out into the gardens.

The pirate was quiet through the courtyard, which had interestingly-trimmed hedges and some flower beds though not what he would deem "magnificent." At the other end of the courtyard, however, was what seemed to be more of a private garden. Through the gate they walked through Kieran paused for a moment. He hadn't thought it possible to have such a large garden within city limits. After taking a few moments to blink away his surprise, Kieran recovered and continued walking. He noticed as the gravel of the path crunched under his feet that they weren't touching at all...and he wasn't sure if he was comfortable being the one to start it. This was just goddamn ridiculous! He was acting like some stupid schoolgirl with a crush! Still while they walked he was quiet, out of things to say.

"So..." The Fenian kept his eyes on a marble bench in the distance set beneath a willow tree.
 
"So..." Colin echoed, glancing at his companion before turning to look at the bench ahead. "This is, I've found, the awkward part. There are always questions like 'what do I want to do' or 'how do I actually feel'. Particularly if," and here he smiled, "you've been denying the reality of who you are."

Gravel crunched underfoot. Colin clasped his hands behind his back, and kept walking. "I had it easy, I suppose - Ihave an appreciation for the beauties of both genders. But then, I come from the aristocracy." A laugh. "If you're discrete, nobody much cares."

He looked at Kieran once more. "But you're obviously still coming to terms with this. So, if I may ask, why now? And why me? I think these past two says are the longest we've ever managed to go without starting a fight." He winked. "I'd rather decided you didn't like me."
 
"I don't know...and I don't know," Kieran admitted as they walked. This would possibly be one of the most awkward conversations he would ever have, and he didn't fancy having it with Colin Drake. He pretended to be very interested in some nearby snapdragons for a few moments.

"Because you're attractive, I suppose," said the pirate at length. "I'd decided I didn't like you either...guess I was wrong. Anne Marie's been saying it for years, but I never believed her. Raised a proper Catholic, me, and Ma'd be rolling in her grave." Realizing how much he'd revealed about himself, he clamped his lips shut. Attracted to Colin or not he still didn't like divulging much about his past, even if he did put him at ease and seem rather trustworthy. It was foolish to trust someone.
 
Colin smiled at the compliment from his Irish companion, but let him speak. When it was over, he nodded thoughtfully. "It is amazing how much influence our parents have, even as adults. I'm 32, and the idea of my father's disapproval still terrifies me."

He took a seat on the marble bench. "Enough so that, were I his oldest son, I've no doubt that I'd be married and have dutifully provided an heir by now. Fortunatly, as the third son, I had my pick of the clergy or the military as a profession." He shot Kieran a wink. "And I've never found unrelieved black to be a flattering color."

He sighed and then shuddered, as if visualizing the clerical life. "Still, they rarely cease trying. Every time I go home on leave, I'm subjected to a tedious round of balls and feres and dinners, where I'm introduced to all manner of wealthy heiresses and daughters of American bankers or Confederate cotton or tobacco magnates."

His voice trailed away, and he gave Kieran an appraising look. "Really, it makes me want to get back to chasing air pirates."
 
Kieran sat on the bench next to Colin, listening to how his life would have gone were he the eldest son. Kieran was the second eldest...he still was certain his Ma had thought him a disappointment before she died. Well, no use in changing now since she wasn't here to see it. He smiled a little as Colin insisted he'd rather be chasing air pirates.

"See, that was always an upside to the whole dirt poor thing," Kieran admitted. "If you got married it was usually for love coz your wife's family didn't have anymore than you had. Never had to deal with the French or Confederates or any of that nonsense and hobnobbing."

The pirate looked sideways at his companion and smirked wryly. "I've found you're not terribly good at chasing air pirates, though," he remarked. "I wonder what you would do if you ever actually caught one?"
 
"Marrying for love. What a concept." Colin's voice was just a touch wistful. "My older brother's wedding was, although not arranged, more of a business arrangement than anything else. Still, he and his wife seem happy enough."

The follow-up remark drew a noise of playfully wounded pride from the Englishman. "I have caught a decent number in my time, I'll have you know!" he insisted, laughing. "But, what would I do?"

His left hand snapped out, catching Kieran's wrist in a grip like iron. "Hold on and refuse to let go, I suppose."
 
"I have caught a decent number in my time, I'll have you know!" Colin insisted.

Kieran laughed with him. "Oh aye, I'm sure. But not any good pirates. See, good pirates don't get caught."

"But, what would I do?"

"Yeah. I mean, if you caught a decent pirate." His eyes shone mischievously. When Colin snatched up his wrist, however, and he threatened to never let go the pirate's heart quickened despite himself. He looked down at his captured wrist then back up to the captain, unsure where to go from here. "You assume I wouldn't fight you, though," he pointed out. "You seem to assume I would want to be captured. What sort of a man wants to get himself caught up by the likes of you, hmm?" There was a different sort of glint in his eye, a somewhat less identifiable one.
 
The follow-up remark drew a noise of playfully wounded pride from the Englishman. "I have caught a decent number in my time, I'll have you know!" he insisted, laughing.

Kieran laughed with him. "Oh aye, I'm sure. But not any good pirates. See, good pirates don't get caught."

"But, what would I do?"

"Yeah. I mean, if you caught a decent pirate." His eyes shone mischievously.

Colin's left hand snapped out, catching Kieran's wrist in a grip like iron. "Hold on and refuse to let go, I suppose." His own eyes twinkled mischievously in return. "But who said anything about catching a good pirate?"

Kieran looked down at his wrist, as if unsure what to do. "You assume I wouldn't fight you, though," he pointed out.

The mischievous look turned wicked as he raised Kieran's arm. "Actually, I was counting on it."

"You seem to assume I would want to be captured. What sort of a man wants to get himself caught up by the likes of you, hmm?" There was a different sort of glint in his eye, a somewhat less identifiable one.

With a gentle sort of pressure on his arm, Colin pulled Kieran closer. "Oh, I don't know..." he smiled. "The kind of man who knows what he wants, but can't decide how to get it?"
 
"Oh, I know exactly what I want and precisely how to get it," Kieran promised, his voice somewhat lower, huskier. His stare was intense as he looked into Colin's eyes. "See, what you don't know is that I'm right where I want to be and have you right where I want you."

These were uncharted waters for Kieran. He supposed something like wooing Colin ought to be no different than wooing a woman. Ought to be. The problem was that men and women are impressed by different things, and Colin for all his pomp and aristocracy was still rather...masculine. Simply flexing and posturing and telling him he was a dashing, daring pirate captain wasn't going to work as it had with the random women he met in pubs. It felt almost like he was competing with Colin...for Colin.

"You still haven't said what you'd do if you caught a good pirate," he reminded him quietly, still not looking away. "Because believe me, I am a very good pirate."
 
"You still haven't said what you'd do if you caught a good pirate," he reminded him quietly, still not looking away. "Because believe me, I am a very good pirate."

"It would depend," Colin answered, glancing at him sideways. "If I was in a generous mood, then it might depend on the pirate's actions. The Admirality doesn't encourage leniency with captured pirates, but the Admirality is often a long, long way away. But, if I wasn't in a generous mood, or if the pirate was willful and defiant..?"

He pulled Kieran closer still, close enough that their bodies were almost touching. His free hand stroked up the pirate's face, then cupped his cheek. "I suppose I'd have to keep that pirate close," he murmured, breath warm on Kieran's face. "Hang on to him, and refuse to let him go. Until he'd learned to properly submit to English law. Or," he added with a smile, "until he managed to turn the tables and escape."
 
Kieran couldn't breathe. It had been a very, very long time since he'd felt this way. Jack Donahue had pinned him in the mud once, when they were lads, and even then Kieran had noticed the way his eyes shone when he was angry. This felt similar to that...only much more intense. As Colin stroked his face and cupped his cheek Kieran had a hard time not leaning into the palm of his hand. It was so, so very hard to swallow right now and though he wanted to close his eyes and focus on the feel of Colin's skin against his, at the same time he never wanted to tear his eyes away from his. The pirate forced himself to breathe slowly, deeply, to control himself.

"No self-respecting pirate would ever submit to English law," Kieran murmured. "Or English anything else, for that matter."

Even in retrospect, he didn't know how it had happened. He didn't remember leaning forward, or grabbing Colin, or taking any sort of initiative. The next thing Kieran knew, he was kissing Colin and his fingers were tangled in his dark, curly hair. The officer's lips were soft and inviting as the Fenian's tongue slid against his lower lip, pleading for entrance.
 
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