Jess Drake stood in the back room of Purgatori, the notorious fetish club, the smell of leather, sweat and blood nearly choking her as she faced off against a woman who was all too familiar to her. She tightened her hand on her wooden cane, readying the weapon while ignoring Modred and the woman who was bound up to the wall in a lewd pose. Coldly Jess said, "Do you think your being a bit too obvious?" The elegantly dressed redhead smiled back at her from where she stood by the door, her one eyebrow raising slightly as she posed with a casual sort of beauty. Me'erlyn said swiftly, "I thought it was all rather elegant, actually." Her smile grew wider as she asked, "What, are there no warm greetings for a old friend?" "How about a kick in the teeth instead, Me'erlyn?" Jess scowled back, her pose openly hostile. She tossed a look at the girl who was bound to the wall and demanded, "And where's Helen? We both know that's a changeling." Me'erlyn looked amused, "Well done, Jess. How did you know?" "I could smell the distinctive stench," Jess said flatly. At her mistress' silent cue the copy of Helen pulled herself free of the chains that secured her to the wall, her body shifting like flowing wax as she did so. Golden hair went midnight black, red scars on her body fading away as she filled out, flesh flowing back onto a thin frame. "M'lady," she bowed to Me'erlyn while ignoring Jess, "did I do well?" "Well enough," Me'erlyn nodded back to her, "go up front and tell Sal the truth, please, as well as where we put the real Helen." With a flash of smile she cautioned her servant, "She'll be angry, so be ready to duck." A faint smile crossed her eerily beautiful face then the changeling bowed respectfully, "Of course, m'lady." She swept out of the room with a unearthly grace, her gaze only falling on Jess' face a moment, but the hate in the eyes burned hot. "Wha' the hell...?" Modred started to groan from where he lay on the sticky floor nearby. Without even looking at him Jess kicked out, her foot striking viciously to the side of his head and making him slump unconscious. "Was that really needed?" Me'erlyn asked. "No, but it sure made me feel better," Jess growled, watching Me'erlyn with tense wariness. "And what's with that name? It sounds like the sort of thing that a magic wannabe would choose." "So does my birth name," Me'erlyn said as she closed the distance between them. Her green eyes glittered with amusement as she reached out to stroke Jess' collar, "But I have fond memories of you crying out Merlin." Jess carefully took a half step back to keep some room between them. "So why all this trouble, Merlin?" she asked. "All what?" Merlin asked innocently, seeming just a disappointed at Jess pulling back. "You obviously lured me down here," Jess said to her flatly. "You confronted Sal with a magic based problem, one that you knew she couldn't go in-house with." With a slightly regretful smile she said, "Sal may hate my guts but she knows that I'm principled enough not to stand for this, so she came to ask for my help." Merlin began to clap her hands dramatically, her eyes amused as she purred, "Oh well done... did you know it was a trap before you came?" "Cut the crap," Jess' eyes burned for a second with pure anger as she barked, "what the hell do you want?" She silently cursed herself, wishing she hadn't lost her temper with her. Merlin was quite good at that, bringing out the emotions that you might want to hide... like Jess' buried rage at the other mystic and her one time lover. "You haven't changed at all, you're still the one who would rage at the gods for their sins, if needed," Merlin mused. Shaking her head she said, "I've come to make you an offer, the same one I did for you years ago." "I'm not interested in helping you take over the Lady's organization," Jess answered, making a cutting gesture with her hand, "it's insane to even try." "Not necessarily," Merlin smiled calmly as she reached out to toy with a whip hanging on the wall, stroking the leather thoughtfully, "you know the streets better than most, you can hear all the rumors as well as I." Jess nodded reluctantly, acknowledging the point. There were rumors circulating, a buzz on the streets that seemed to jump from person to person like a virus. The Lady was in trouble, her operations being hit again and again by a demon that seemed immune to her punishments. The fact that the stories were exaggerated didn't matter much, they were still undermining the image of the Lady Diana's invincibility. "The street level mooks won't actually act against her, they aren't quite that stupid, but their loyalty to her is wavering," Merlin smiled, "if a strong figure swept in to depose the Lady, they'd follow in a heartbeat." "You can't think it'll be that easy," Jess said skeptically. "The Lieutenants with fight hard, their fates are tied up with the Lady," Merlin acknowledged, "but I think we can win." "And do you really have that kind of organization behind you?" Jess asked as she raised an eyebrow in pure disbelief. "My round table is nearly complete," Merlin answered calmly, not seeming to take offense as she continued, "it only lacks one thing." "Oh?" Jess had to ask. Meeting Jess' eyes Merlin calmly said, "I need an Arthur." For the first time Jess actually looked surprised, meeting Merlin's green eyes in disbelief. "You've got to be joking," she scoffed. "I'm quite serious," Merlin smiled, "I'm a organizer, a planer and tactician, but one thing I'm not is a charismatic leader." "You want a figurehead," Jess made a face, "even if I was interested I'd say no to that." "No," Merlin corrected, "I want a conscience." "What?" Jess blinked. A warm smile flickered on Merlin's face then was gone. "In the past we often talked about what we'd do with that kind of power," she said as she met Jess' eyes earnestly, "about all the good that we could do..." "You could do," Jess corrected, "at the time I wasn't too interested in that." Cruelly she added, "I was mostly concentrating on how good of a lay you were." Merlin winced just a bit. ""Fair enough," she acknowledged, "but you know my intentions have always been good." "And we both know what the road to hell is paved by," Jess answered flatly. "Precisely," Merlin acknowledged, "just acquiring the level of power I have now has involved a lot of moral compromise and difficult ethical choices. Right and wrong has become much less clear to me than it was when we were together years ago." "I'm not qualified to be your conscience," Jess thought of all her own ethical compromises, "I'm no paladin." "I disagree," Merlin smiled fondly. Taking a deep breath she made her voice business like, "I'm not asking you to decide now, but please think about it." "That I can do," Jess nodded, taking the card that Merlin extended to her. Looking down at the still out cold Modred she asked, "About the names..." "We're allies," Merlin said with some discomfort, "but the related names are just one of those odd coincidences." "Right," Jess didn't believe her but didn't feel like pressing the point. Almost as soon as Jess Drake stepped out into the main club there was a ripple of pure silence, the people looking at her with a wary sort of awe. Dressed in leather and lace, fine clothes or rags the customers pulled back in respect, clearing a route right to the exit. Their eyes searched Jess questioningly, wondering what had really happened in that back room, but no one dared speak as she staked through the club and out the armored front door. "Where's Sal?" Jess asked, seeing the changeling leaning up against the wall where Sal would normally been keeping watch. A bit of blood marked the changeling's face, but other than that she seemed unharmed as she used the wall to support herself. The black haired woman smiled grimly, "The warrior left to retrieve her lover from the hotel where m'lady left her ensourced." "She'd better not be harmed," Jess said as she studied the other figure thoughtfully, "or Sal will beat Merlin bloody." "M'lady is a romantic," the changeling said coldly, "she would do no such thing." 'When I knew Merlin years ago she'd never pull a stunt like this,' Jess thought. "There's anger in your eyes when you look at me," Jess decided not to be subtle, "and I don't think it's because of my past connection to Merlin." "I am her loyal servant," the changeling drew herself up in pride as she said grimly, "that is all you need to know." "Fair enough," and Jess walked off into the night.
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