Thread: Charlie's Angels -- ATTN: Amanda Winters & Emma Fitzpatrick only

Emma arrives in a black spaghetti strap tank, her arm healed up completely, cut off jean shorts, running shoes, her gold heart-shaped locket and a simple white gold and diamond band on her left ring finger. Her long red hair is pulled into a ponytail.

"Archon." She says simply, with a relaxed smile, as she walks in.

Benjamin sits, relaxed, in his office chair. "Why did you stop me from killing Maddalena?"

Emma looks a little surprised. "Attacking a citizen of the Prince's domain without his consent and right in front of him... well, it seemed out of sorts for you and it made me concerned."

"Stopping you in a way that others could see was simply out of the question. I couldn't do that without making you look weak and myself insubordinate. So, I chose to act the way I did so that no one would have to know but you and I."

"If I was wrong in my assumption that something was amiss and you really did want to kill Maddie right in front of everyone; you could have kept going with your intention and your image would not have been compromised. However, if an outside influence was messing with your mind I didn't fail to act in the interests of Tower as I've come to understand it's my duty to do."

"And all of that aside," She says with softening and concerned eyes, "...besides being your agent, I am your friend. If there was a chance that you needed my help, I felt I should act to find that out. I know that you wouldn't have and haven't ever left me hanging when I needed a helping hand."

"I see." He thinks this over for a few seconds before speaking again. "And why did you use your special ability in the Opera House?"

For an instant, there is a touch of sadness in Emma's eyes, and worry but she pushes it away beneath a look of an officer reporting to her superior. "To ensure that Malcolm, once 'dead' and leaving the scene, didn't somehow flee to another body or otherwise use the lands of the dead to escape as he did once before. Last time Cahill's sire was thought to be dead, that is exactly what he did; despite even elder Malkavians watching for his escape."

She pauses only a breath before continuing, "Since you ordered me to ask Tino to have his wraiths follow someone earlier that night, one could safely conclude that neither you nor Roland had the ability to see or command the dead. And, since we had no idea what powers Malcolm had at his command due to possible traffic with demons; my powers may well have been the only way to verify he wasn't escaping with super speed or through exceptional means which are unfamilar to any of us."

"In short, I was following your orders to ensure he didn't escape, Archon."

"Yet if he does possess exceptional abilities that none of us can track, then doing what you did was not only a waste of energy, but it also weakened us by effectively taking you out of action." There is no question asked, but Benjamin does pause, staring at Emma as if waiting for something.

Emma, having stood under heavy gazes of accusation from police chiefs, princes and archons before... when the question in their minds was already answered, knew better than to speak when given the chance but not request to do so.

Her explanations were not asked for, and so not required. To reply to his statement with excuses, before she was asked to do so, was tantamount to inviting his very large boot to a party in her mouth and that was the last thing she wanted tonight. In her superior's eyes, regardless of the end result of the affair, she had failed to complete her appointed task to the level of his expectations and for that there might be punishment or worse.

Ironically, despite her recent thoughts to the contrary, she knew he was right and so she deserved whatever was to come. She had no way of knowing what Malcolm could do... start time, stop it, bend reality to his whim... and she had taken a gamble going to confirm his death alone. No one, not even Kalie or Tino could have helped her if she had been wrong. Chavel wasn't here anymore. She couldn't afford to keep acting recklessly, as if some powerful elder would step out of nowhere when she needed it most of all.

She might have died doing what she did. Ben had every right to be furious both as her friend and her boss and, oddly, Emma felt a sudden wash of guilt for the recent thoughts she'd been having. He was acting as any ally of Chavel's might have when it turned out she'd done something gravely dumb. If Chavel had been here the lecture would last for weeks. The pain... nights at least.

Putting her hands behind her back, gripping the left in the right, she made herself appear as at attention; giving Ben her eyes and respect. Not an eyelash, not a thread of her clothing, positioned to be challenging or contradictory to his statements. Ben was the Camarilla's face at this moment and if the weight of the Tower she served was about to fall squarely onto her, crushing her to the earth, that was a price she agreed to pay long ago.

Silently she said a quick prayer to Mother Mary that if Ben felt an ass kicking or stint in torpor, would convey his true feelings on the matter; that Tino would be smart enough to know that she not only accepted this but, it was part and parcel to being in a relationship with her - just as his sick, arrogant and power crazed family was part of being with him.

Her body language said it all. About this, Ben was right, and she knew it.

((oc: If Ben dishes out some pain, Emma relents to such so feel free to write it up. Contact me privately if you want it to be more than just a severe ass kicking.))

Benjamin watches the play of emotions on Emma's face for a while. He continues to sit back in his chair, though Emma can now feel the weight of his presence in the room through his silence and his command of the blood.

"A lesson I learned very long ago: don't be a one-trick pony."

Now he stands, slowly, making no outward effort or desire to place his hands on her. His presence is almost a physical force as he walks around the desk to stand closer to her. It's much like what she's been familiar with before in regards to Majesty, but there's something else to it, too. To her credit, Emma stands firm and resolute, though her attention is clearly devoted to Benjamin.

"The Camarilla needs you, Emma. That is a fact. It is something neither of us would dispute. I was honored to have you assigned under my command. We work well together."

His presence continues to exude from him, filling her with the sense of his anger, his dedication, and something bestial and primal. Not sexual in any way, but commanding.

"You are tasked to make a decision, Emma. For one month, you will not rely on your unique power of the blood for any reason. You will learn to hone your other abilities to perform your duties. This is a difficult lesson, but one I believe you will learn. Additionally, no more wraiths. Ever. The Camarilla endures your relationship with Constantino, but would be less than thrilled to know he has wraiths follow you."

He walks behind her and leans in close to her ear, whispering, "Or you can quit." His presence envelops her at this point, threatening to topple her over. Before she has to break her stance to keep her balance, it is gone, and Benjamin is sitting in his chair behind the desk, as if he'd never moved.