new orleans ♔ there's always a siren singing you to shipwreck

[dragonsclaw]

♫ Butterflies and Hurricanes - Muse

WHO || Buffy, Alainn, Rose, Sam, Dean, Faith, Felicity, Isabella  [closed]
WHAT || The Ex-Knights of Failboat head off to interrupt an auction for Rafael Giovanni's life...
WHERE || New Orleans, LA
WHEN || A couple weeks post-LA
HOW || Actionspam

Held in the grasp of the Knighthood's enemies for a stretch of time that has been an aching splinter in the heart of the ones who love him, Rafael Giovanni's life now stands up for auction.  Having made a number of powerful enemies in his days as the vigilante assassin The Black Scourge, including the secret Vatican police known as Iscariot, Draken Crombe's organization sought to capitalize on the many who sought revenge by sending out word that Eterna Jade was not, as his trial had seemed to prove, the Black Scourge at all, and offer the chance to kill or torture Giovanni to whoever would pay the largest sum.

The Knights, being made aware of this, did what they could to stymie this auction from coming to pass, and Buffy Summer and Jack Chessing managed to at least thwart it several times, leading to its cancellation and inevitable rescheduling elsewhere.  However, none of this led to Giovanni's actual location. 

The capture of Draken Crombe finally allowed them to learn of the latest plans for the auction - to be held at a location in New Orleans, a temple of some sort.  It seems that Crombe's other followers still intend to follow through with ridding themselves of Rafael, making it clear that even with Crombe in Knights' custody, the villains still have some organization or leadership.  Tia Ellison rattled out the plan by invading Crombe's mind, learning of the way that he had been psychically manipulated by the Mind Master for years, and doing what she could to start to heal his shattered psyche.  

Jack Chessing, eager to see Rafael rescued after their many efforts, cautioned however against sending too many on what might be a mission from which there is no returning.  To that end, they've tried to split the forces of their magic-users, fighters, and researchers.

Now, it's up to a few to save their friend... without losing any more.

Comments

[slay]

[ She nods. ]

They thought we were being manipulated. That we couldn't be trusted. Our only choice was to sit back and let the rest of the Knights handle the mission without us ... or find a way to do it ourselves.

[romanticidal]

And you could not do that. Of course you could not. [ there's a light of both relief and respect in his eyes as he nods ] I am sorry that it has come to this for all of you.

But you are right to keep fighting. We must.

[slay]

Some of us need to take a break from fighting. [ She looks meaningfully at him. ] You've been doing enough of it for long enough. When we get back to Krozna, maybe it'd be better if you took it easy for a while.

[romanticidal]

[ he looks uncertain, but not outright dismissive of the idea at least ] For awhile. Perhaps...

[ that's going to take him some consideration, and he stands now, moving to look out the window, fingers pressing the blinds aside slightly ] I just--

I do not wish to ever feel that powerless again. Trapped, in such a way.

[ he drags his gaze back to her, pensive, but something suddenly seeming to come to him ] We leave tomorrow, si?

[slay]

[ a while is enough. for her, she might be able to get used to it. she might be able to find some kind of peace knowing that he's safe for at least a while. this is going to chase them their whole lives, she realizes. a while is all she can hope for.

he pulls her from that thought, and gladly, with his question. she nods, puzzled. ]

Why?

[romanticidal]

This place we go to, I imagine there is not much freedom there either. [ a beat, before he looks back at her ] There is one thing I would do, while we have some measure of it.

[slay]

[ She gets to her feet then, easing up like her bones are too old for this. ]

What's that?

[ It's reasonable; he's been confined for so long. Maybe he just wants some gas station snacks. ]

[romanticidal]

[ sor t o f? ] I would like to go for a drive.

[slay]

I think that's probably a Dean Winchester question.

[ Buffy, after all, has certainly not been the one in charge of vehicles. ]

Unless you were thinking of a hijacking, which, not really a good way to stay on the down-low.

[romanticidal]

What about the one we took from the temple?

[slay]

It's not exactly sporty.

[ Which bears warning. Rafael's got a Brand, alright. ]

[romanticidal]

I thought you might frown on borrowing someone's without asking. I can make do.

[slay]

[ She nods then. ]

Alright. I'll see if I can figure out if there are keys around here somewhere, or if someone just hotwired it.

[romanticidal]

It would not be too difficult for me to do so again.

[slay]

[ Buffy looks around in that 'dad is going to be mad if we leave the house without permission' kind of way, but ... there is no Dad. Jack isn't here. In fact, no one here really has seniority over anyone else. They're adrift. She gets the door and pulls it open. ]

Alright. Then let's go.

[ No fussing about keys at all that way. No one can tell them not to go if they don't ask permission. :) ]

[romanticidal]

[ something about seems to perk up the slightest bit at the acquiescence to his request, and he follows her out to where the car waits in the parking lot. however, he forgot about... getting into the car, and his attempts to try and get the door open are not even remotely passable, which just seems to make him visibly frustrated ]

[slay]

[ She's not making progress either when she tries to help him with it, given her 9 disable device check. Honestly at this point the car might just be open and they're too dumb to try the handle. ]

[romanticidal]

[ they are not the brains of this operation.

without any warning at all, he brings his elbow at the glass on the driver's side, and ... manages to harm himself in the process, swearing in italian as he reaches to nurse the injury ]

[slay]

[ Buffy lets out a startled noise, then looks mostly ... irritated. ]

Seriously?

[ She shoots him a look. That was ... unnecessary. There's a key around here somewhere, probably. ]

[romanticidal]

[ he looks a bit sorry, at least, but rakes a hand through his hair, trying to think straight and coming up empty ] Maybe we must ask for them, after all...

[slay]

[ They don't, actually, because Buffy comes around to lean past the broken window and find the already hotwired set-up to twine them back together and get the engine going. Apparently she was watching that??? Or maybe just because it was already done once it made it easy. Either way, she nat 20'd the disable device to actually hotwire the car (or whatever other check?? I assume it was that), so they're fine now. She pulls open the door from the inside and then gestures for Rafael to climb in. ]

You sure you're up for driving?

[ This feels more irresponsible by the minute. ]

[romanticidal]

The day I cannot do that is the day you can really begin to worry. [ he'll slide into the seat and put that thing into gear... backing out with unnecessary dramatics before peeling out of the lot (drive 33) ]

[slay]

[ She's in the passenger seat in a second and buckling in, still, when he's pulling out of the lot. That's Rafael for you. At the very least, she does seem to trust him at the wheel; she doesn't look uncomfortable. She just rolls her own window down manually, to match the one he'd broken, and looks out of it. ]

[romanticidal]

[ as soon as they're on the open road, he floors it, letting out a whoop of exhilaration as the speedometer begins to climb. his hand squeezes around the wheel, enjoying even that simple sensation, and he cuts her an actual smile that lingers for just as long as he can get away with before his eyes need to be back on the road ] Now this feels like freedom.

[slay]

Really? [ She grips the handle of the door with one hand, trying to keep the other flat on her thigh. ] It feels a little like tempting fate to me.