In Shadow - Ch 15 - Safe Spaces

"I can't believe you did that!" Jordan hissed, trying to keep their voice down. 

It was late, far later than the couple had planned to get home. The house on Olde Mill Lane was quiet and still in the warm end-of-summer night. Upstairs, Jordan knew, little Amber would be long asleep, and they really didn't want to wake her.

"It was a fake," Aadi said, cheerful voice bursting with energy despite their own struggle to keep it down. "I couldn't let them hang a fake in the gallery, could I?"

"So, you thought the thing to do was write 'This is a Fake' on a priceless painting... with a felt tip marker!?" Jordan choked out.

"It was all I had," Aadi smiled. "Besides, it's not a priceless painting. It's. A. Fake." 

"Let's not fight about it," Jordan sighed.

"Come into the living room," Aadi suggested. "We'll sit, relax, maybe watch a little TV before bed."

"Yeah," Jordan agreed. "Oh... looks like Abbey and Amber are packed."

Aadi kept a smile on their face but ached a little inside.

"Hey, you two," Abbey called from the couch. "How was the gallery show?"

"You're still up," Aadi said brightly.

"Aadi got arrested," Jordan put in.

"Detained," Aadi corrected brightly.

"Oh, I have to hear this," Abbey laughed.

"... so, then gallery security tackled Aadi and took them away," Jordan finished the story.

"Kevin was a lovely man," Aadi smiled mischievously. "Such nice muscles."

"They took you to jail!?" Abbey asked, balanced halfway between laughter and shock.

"I've been to Big House," Aadi said dramatically. "I've seen things. It changed me."

"You spent two hours in county jail," Jordan laughed. "Then the gallery figured out that the painting was actually a fake and agreed not to press charges. I think they're hoping to just sweep the whole incident under the rug." 

"So, you're all packed," Aadi said, trying to keep their customary good cheer.

"Yeah," Abbey said. "Jake's coming tomorrow morning to take us to my cousin in Evergreen Harbor. I'm sorry Aadi but..."

"Lions and tigers and gangsters, oh my," Aadi said with a laugh. "Not exactly the quiet, peaceful artists' community. We understand."

"Completely," Jordan agreed.

"In fact," Aadi said, turning to their lover.

"Nope," Jordan said simply. "Abbey has to go away to take care her baby, and I'm staying to take care of my boo... and that's final."

--------------------

"You've got everything you need?" Aadi asked.

"Thank you," Abbey said. "You two are the best. I still feel like I'm running out on you."

"Girlfriend, don't even," Aadi said firmly. "You have to look after our little niblet."

"And you know you're welcome back once things blow over," Jordan said.

"Oh, I have to go," Abbey laughed. "Bye, you two."

"Aa'hii bye," Amber babbled sadly.

"They're going to be OK," Aadi said, a little sadly, watching Abbey and Amber head down the walk.

"They'll be OK," Jordan nodded.

"I'll make sure of it," Jake said firmly. "Moonwood Mill looks after its own. Which brings me to some people I want you two to meet," he added, waving over a couple Aadi had taken for wandering tourists.

"Aadi, Jordan, this is Lux Demarco," Jake said as the couple came up onto the porch. 

"Pleased to meet you," the tawny-haired woman said with a smile. "Everyone calls me Demarco."

"And this is Etta Blackwood," Jake said, nodding to the other.

"Hello," the fair-skinned blonde nodded curtly.

"They run with my sister, Rory," Jake continued, "and they're going to be staying in the area. Like I said, we look after our own... and that includes you two. Now, I need to catch up with Abbey. Don't want her and Amber sitting in the truck too long. You've all got my number. I leave you in Demarco and Etta's capable hands."

"So... you two are, like, werewolves then," Aadi said brightly.

"Aadi, really." Jordan shook their head at their lover's insistence on such fantastical notions.

"'I'm telling you, I heard it. Howling. Those werewolf tales are true,'" Aadi quoted.

"Sorry, Aadi's been playing too many video games lately," Jordan laughed.

"It's OK," Demarco smiled. "I used do that too... 'then I took an arrow in the knee.'"

"I knew Rory letting you guys get a computer was a bad idea," Etta chuckled, rolling her eyes. "Don't encourage her."

"Anyway to answer your question Aadi - I am, Etta's not," Demarco said, "but she knows more about both spooky stuff and shady stuff than almost anyone I know. We've got your back."

"Right," Jordan said skeptically.

"So, where are you staying?" Aadi asked.

"We were going to rent rooms in Finchwich," Etta said.

"Or maybe just set up a tent in the woods," Demarco added.

"No, no, no," Aadi said. "We've got plenty of room here in the house. I mean, if you're going to be 'looking after us' you may as well stay here. Am I right?"

"Yeah," Jordan nodded after a moment. "We've got plenty of room. Stay."

"It would be easier," Etta allowed cautiously.

"Deal," Demarco smiled. "And we'll only need one room."

"Lux!" Etta gasped, her fair skin suddenly blushing furiously.

"What?" Demarco laughed. "They don't mind." 

"Consenting adults, girlfriends," Aadi grinned.

"So, we're going to look around the place," Demarco said. "Then we'll grab our things and get settled in. Cool?"

"Cool," Aadi said. "Lunch is at noon. I'm making veggie pasta salad."

"You've been warned," Jordan said. 

"Everyone loves my veggie pasta salad," Aadi said, as the couple disappeared inside.

"Checking the perimeter?" Etta said softly.

"Yeah," Demarco nodded. "I want to know what we're dealing with, if we have to defend this place."

------------

"We've got a room all ready for you," Lilah McGee said. "Marty has been puttering around putting the finishing touches on things, and Arthur is thrilled to see his little cousin."

"Thanks for making a place of us," Abbey said.

"Don't think twice about it," Lilah said. "The pack looks after its own."

"Always," Jake nodded.

"Are you staying for dinner, Jake?" Lilah asked.

"No, thanks, I need to get back," Jake sighed. "I swear, I can't leave the Mill for a day without something coming up."

"The burdens of leadership," Lilah smiled.

The burdens of leadership. That's what Kristopher had always called being pack leader... a burden and a privilege. Now, Jake's burden and privilege. He sighed. He was doing his best. 

Lilah would look after Abbey and Amber. Aadi, Jordan and Mill Lane couldn't ask for better than Demarco and Etta, if Jake couldn't do it himself. It still rankled a bit, having to leave the house... his house... to be guarded by others, and Wildfangs at that. The burdens of leadership. 

Lost in thought, he almost missed it. A familiar scent, buried under the stinks of Evergreen Harbor, but there, nonetheless.

Well, he thought, isn't that interesting. Better to say nothing. Better to go and leave what hasn't been seen remain unseen. What hasn't been said, remain unsaid.

When the time came, he would be ready.

Moonwood Mill looks after its own. 

---------------------

Author's note: It's. A. Fake. :)

In Shadow - Ch 14 - More of a Tenth Date Thing

"Hey, Jenny, I... crap," Genie said as her friend opened her apartment door. "You're not up yet?"

It was Sunday morning. Genie had spent a fair bit of Saturday on the train back from Willow Creek and then worked through rest of the day and into the night trying to collect her notes and prepare the outline of her exposé to present to her editor on Monday. Sometime in the night, she'd realized she was stuck and decided she needed to talk things through. After waiting until what she felt was a reasonable 9:00AM, she'd headed over to Jenny's.

"I'm up," Jenny said brightly. "See, this me... standing up."

"In your nightshirt," Genie pointed out.

"Well, I decided opening the door naked makes things too easy for the paparazzi," Jenny said with a teasing smile. Genie couldn't tell if she was joking or not and decided it was better not to ask.

"Anyway, get in here," Jenny continued. "Where have you been? I've been calling you for days, but you didn't pick up."

"Oh, sorry," Genie said. "I was on a kind of research trip, and I turned my ringer off. Interviews and stuff, you know. I guess I forgot to turn it back on."

"That's cool," Jenny smiled. "Big story?"

"Yeah, I actually wanted to talk to you about it," Genie said.

"Cool, I have something I wanted to talk to you about too," Jenny said brightly. "Come on in and..."

She was interrupted by the bathroom door swinging open, revealing a towering form. 

Water glistened on rich brown, powerfully muscled arms and dripped down a sculpted chest to slide in a smooth arc down chiseled abs and disappeared into a fluffy white towel that strained across athletic hips and toned thighs.

"Oh," Orange said a little weakly. "Hi Genie."

"Umm... hi, O," Genie stammered. Wow, she thought. She'd forgotten how good he looked mostly naked.

"I... um... yeah," Orange stammered. "I'll just... go... put on clothes. Now."

"Soooo," Genie said as Jenny's bedroom door closed, blocking her view of Orange's retreating... back.

"I said 'yes'," Jenny said with a pleased smile. "A lot. Loudly."

"Right," Genie breathed. "Can we talk about that later?"

"Sure, we can do your thing first," Jenny smiled.

-------------------

"... So, that's what I've got so far," Genie concluded, having laid out the whole situation with Uncle Max, what she'd found out from Morgan and her planned exposé. "Which isn't much, now that I say it out loud."

"Sounds like a lot," Orange said. Having traded his towel for jeans and t-shirt, he seemed more comfortable sitting in Jenny's living room, politely listening while Genie set out her story.

"The problem is it's all old news," Genie said. "Morgan ran with Max's crew almost ten years ago. She doesn't know anything about what he's up to now... and is glad of it."

"I don't blame her," Orange said. 

"I know, I know," Genie sighed. "Still... Jenny, what do you think? Hey, are you OK?"

"Oh God," Jenny groaned.

"Jenny, what's wrong?" Orange asked gently, concerned. 

"I didn't think... I didn't realize," Jenny practically sobbed. Turning to Genie she added, "We didn't meet until years later and I... I just didn't put it together. I wasn't hiding it. I swear, I wasn't. I just wanted to put it all out of my mind... and I didn't put it together."

"Jenny, what are you talking about?" Genie asked.

"You're a really nice guy, Orange," Jenny said, turning to him. "Really nice... and I haven't dated a lot of nice guys. Genie and I joke about it sometimes. How we've both dated gangsters... like genuine gangsters. Remember."

"Johhny Pretty," Genie rolled her eyes, remembering. "Charming, hot, totally narcissistic asshole who was just using me to spy on Mariah and Miranda."

"Well, mine was Max," Jenny cried. "Max V."

"Max V'Oh my God," Genie gasped.

"We met in Sulani about four years ago," Jenny continued, "while I was filming Pirate Queen. He was so suave, charming and confident and wicked. He actually told me he was a gangster... right off, just told me. God help me, I thought it was hot.

"He was just using me too. He only started dating me as part of a plot to kidnap Miranda... and they used me to do it. Used me to lure her out to a nightclub one night. I didn't know! Honestly, I didn't. Cassie was my mentor. Miranda was my friend! I just thought we'd all get together and go dancing. Then Max and his crew grabbed us both."

"Right, that was about a year after the Mill Lane Incident," Genie said, her brain spinning as she tried to put the facts together despite her shock. "There wasn't much about it in the news at the time, and Miranda doesn't really talk about it. I didn't even realize you were involved."

"Cassie's PR people kept it all pretty quiet," Jenny said. "After... well, I was OK with keep my name out of it in the press. You know when they say 'there is no such thing as bad press' ... this kind of thing is the exception."

"I thought the Landgraab Syndicate was behind the kidnapping," Orange said. "Revenge for Bella Goth taking down Nancy and Malcolm after Mill Lane."

"That's just what Cassie's press people leaked," Jenny sighed. "They didn't want the media looking too closely at things. It was Max. He grabbed her and took me too... to... to... 'silence the witness.' He would have killed me... killed us both. We only escaped because one his crew turned on him and helped us get out."

"That's awful," Orange said softly.

"I know," Jenny said, leaping to her feet and turning away.

"I guess we jumped to the 'talking about our bad exes' phase," Orange said gently, following her. "That's probably more of a tenth date thing for you."

"I put my friend in danger," Jenny sobbed. "I'm weak and stupid and just awful and I totally understand that you never want to see me again... I just..."

"Jenny, you're not weak, or stupid, or awful," Orange said. "You got manipulated by a guy who, by the sounds of it, has been manipulating and using women professionally since he was a teen. That's on him, not you. As for wanting to see you again," he continued gently, "I'll go if you want me to go, but know that I want to stay. I really want to stay."

"Where did you come from?" Jenny whispered. "Where did they make a guy like you?"

"Del Sol Valley," Orange smiled.

"No way," Jenny said, huffing out a little laugh. "I know too many guys from Del Sol."

"Orange is right," Genie said as he drew Jenny back to the couch. "It's on Max, not you. He's the asshole here."

"He is absolutely the asshole," Orange nodded.

"You guys," Jenny gave a shuddering sigh. "OK... I'm OK."

It was a lie, Genie knew, but it was a lie Jenny needed right now. She could guess that the same thought was going through Orange's mind and knew that they would both be there for her when she needed them.

"So, now I'm going to go and work on taking my asshole of an uncle down," Genie said aloud.

"I'm in," Jenny said.

"Wait... I didn't mean..." Genie stammered.

"Of course I'm helping," Jenny said. "That bastard kidnapped me and now he's after my friend again. We're going to stop him."

"I'm in, if you'll have me," Orange said. "Just tell me what you need."

"Alright," Genie said. "Alright. We're doing this."

In Shadow - Ch 13 - Shadows

"The budget debate became heated today, when the leader of the Axis party, Representative Friend, challenged senior Unity party Representative Bridges on funding for the Strategic Intelligence and Multinational Security Agency," anchorwoman Lynda Cho said brightly.

"Representative Friend has been vocal in calling for changes to the Agency's leadership, citing their lack of transparency and globalist focus," anchorman Walter Daniels added in his signature deep, reassuring tone. "Bridges, herself a former Agency director, insisted that the security and intelligence gathering body was instrumental in maintaining peace for the Republic.

"With both Axis and Unity trying to gain a majority in the Lower House, many political commentators believe the recent floor debate is a preview of what we can expect in the coming general election," Daniels concluded.

"Turning to regional politics, there has been a shake up in the upcoming San My Council elections," Daniels said. "Councilor Baxter of the Unity party has dropped out of the race."

"Viewers will doubtless remember Councilor Baxter's eccentric performance in the recent debate," Cho added, her amusement obvious, "during which he wore a llama costume and insisted that the Republic was being secretly controlled by vampires, aliens and other unnatural beings. 

"In an official statement, party leaders did not comment directly on the Councilor's bizarre fantasies, saying only that Mr. Baxter is suffering from fatigue and has chosen to step down in order to spend more time with his family. All of us at SNN wish Mr. Baxter a speedy recovery," Cho smiled. "There is no word yet as to who Unity may tap to replace Baxter in the Council race."

"In entertainment news," Cho continued, "the stars were out yesterday at the GLAAD Media Awards, celebrating LGBTQ+ performers in the arts. The Raven Witch herself, Cassie Goth, put in a surprise appearance alongside co-parents-in-law Londyn and Danielle Huntley. 

"Cassie and Londyn spoke briefly about the recent legal victories for their new media company, Iris Productions, in contract disputes with rival Symphony Entertainment. Both superstars ignored questions concerning their conspicuously absent newlywed daughters, Miranda and Mariah. The young couple haven't been seen in public since they were violently assaulted during their Tartosan honeymoon." 

"Turning to the weather," Daniels said, "meteorologists remain baffled by the unseasonably dense fog that is snarling travel in the Granite Mountains..."

--------------------

"Because meteorologists can't handle the idea that it's probably witchcraft," Max V chuckled, clicking off the television.

"Fucking witches," Marco snarled. "You know, sometimes I fucking envy normal people who don't believe in all this magic and monster bullshit."

"The price of knowing the truth," Max huffed out a little laugh.

"Why don't we just grab one of those dyke actresses and squeeze 'Riah B's location out of them?" Marco grumbled. "They must know."

"Apart from the publicity concerns, and the fact that the Huntley's security is considerable," Mr. Grey pointed out smoothly, "it is unlikely they do know where Mariah is."

"And you should ask George T about the dangers of going after witches. I've seen his scars," Max smiled. "Trust me, we're better off poking around in the fog."

"You think Miranda and Mariah are hiding somewhere in that fog," Mr. Grey put in.

"It's possible," Max said with a cagey grin. "The fog covers the mountains from Henford to the Moonwood. You've got the house on Old Mill Lane at one end and Moonwood Mill at the other, both places they might go... and somewhere in the middle you have Glimmerbrook."

"Which poses a challenge," Mr. Grey said coolly.

"That's one way to put it," Max smiled. "GPS can't plot a route there, and... did you know this... no two printed maps seem to agree on the town's exact location. Everyone knows Glimmerbrook is in the mountains above Windenburg, but no one knows where. They say you can only find it if you know the way, or if you're not looking for it."

"Fucking witchcraft!" Marco snarled.

"And if they are hiding there..." Grey said seriously.

"Well, lucky for you, I happen to have someone who knows the way," Max said confidently. "So, I've got people watching Glimmerbrook. I've got people watching Mill Lane. Hell, with George T's help, I've even got eyes in every pot farm and meth lab in the mountains watching for them. If they turn up in any of those places, we'll get them."

"... but you don't think they will," Grey astutely pointed out.

"Too obvious," Max said. "A huge 'oh please don't look here' fog bank... it's all misdirection. Besides, those mountain towns are tiny. Everyone up there is kissing cousins. A couple of strangers, much less a Tartosan punk and the blue-haired daughter of a superstar, would be spotted immediately. Oh, they'll be close... those are safe havens they can run to. So, still worth watching just in case they get scared or stupid... but they won't be there.

"Windenburg, Britechester, Brindleton, maybe the Harbor," Max mused. "That's where we're looking. I'll find them. It's just a matter of time."

"Well hurry it up," Marco snarled. "This is taking too long already. It's making me look weak to the other bosses, 'Riah B staying out there."

"Marco, come to bed," Candi purred, as she swayed into the room.

"Don't worry, Marco," Max said soothingly, seeming to take little notice of Marco's latest mistress. "I'll take care of it. Go, relax a little. No one's going to stop us."

--------------------

"Max Villareal. Marco Tennari. George Tobar. Vladislaus Straud," Genie muttered to herself as she typed up her notes and started outlining the article proposal for her editor. 

An exposé, Genie thought. The truth about Max Villareal and his criminal associates.

"I'm going to find everything I can about all of you," she said, staring at the list of names. "Bring it all to light. I'm going to stop you, Uncle Max, because monsters can't stand the light."

------------

Author's Note: Once again, many thanks to DaniRose for her characters Shantel Bridges and Londyn and Danielle Huntley. 

In Shadow - Ch 12 - Disreputable Youth

Genie had slept on the train ride down to Willow Creek.

She'd been there only once before, in the summer before university, on a party trip with friends. So, her memories of Willow Creek mostly involved warm, sultry nights spent dancing to jazz music, eating Cajun food and drinking way too much. 

Still, she always thought of it as a place of lush greenery, warm hospitality and a kind of understated grandeur and mystery that stood in stark contrast to Windenburg's stuffy antique nobility and San My's bright, noisy modernity.

That quiet grandeur and mystery, especially the mystery, had always been reflected by the Goth family and their ancestral home - Ophilia Villa. Looking at the old mansion, Genie could well imagine Miranda's mom, the famous Cassie Goth, growing up here.

The woman who answered the black door of that dark house couldn't have fit the image less. From her flame-red hair and easy smile to her rumpled, casual clothes, Morgan Goth, née Fyres, certainly didn't look grand or mysterious. She had the warm hospitality down, though.

"Ms. Elderberry?" she asked. 

"Yes," Genie nodded. "Thank you for agreeing to speak with me."

"Of course," Morgan smiled. "Please come in."

"Can I get you anything?' Morgan continued. "Coffee? Tea? We have some fresh beignet... a personal weakness. My diet would be thrilled if you helped eat some."

"I'm fine, thanks. I had breakfast at the station," Genie said, though the idea of fresh pastry that didn't taste like the plastic bag it came in was making her regret that. Still, nerves had her stomach unsettled enough she didn't think she could eat. 

"Oh, of course," Morgan smiled. "How was your trip down? I heard on the news this morning about this fog in the mountains."

"We had some delays, I guess," Genie nodded, remembering the thick fog that had slowed the train as they moved through the Granite Mountains last night. She hadn't been able to see anything out of the window. Someone had said the fog extended from Henford all the way up to Evergreen Harbor. 

"I'm sorry. I'm rambling," Morgan said with a little laugh. "I do that when I get nervous. You said on the phone you wanted to talk about Max V... This is for an article for the Herald?"

"Partially," Genie said. "It's also a bit personal. You see... he's my uncle."

"Elderberry! Of course, you're Luna's daughter," Morgan gasped. "I'm sorry. I should have remembered. Really please do come in. We'll sit down and talk. I'll try to tell you everything I can." 

"Xander, this is Ms. Elderberry," Morgan said to the pale, serious looking man, as they took a seat with him on the long couch. 

"Genie, please," Genie put in.

"Genie, this is my husband, Xander Goth," Morgan said, adding, "I told you she'd be coming this morning."

So, this was the reclusive Alexander Goth, Genie thought, famous tech developer and younger brother of superstar Cassie Goth. He didn't look like the typical head of one of the oldest and wealthiest families in the Republic, but the Goths were anything but typical.

"Nice to finally meet you, Mr. Goth," Genie said. "I know your niece, Miranda."

"You're a reporter from the City Herald," Xander said, making it clear it wasn't a question. "You want to interview Morgan about Max V."

"My disreputable youth," Morgan smiled.

"I won't tolerate you dragging my wife's good name though the gutter," Xander said fiercely.

"Xander," Morgan said, soothingly.

"That isn't my intention at all, Mr. Goth," Genie put in, firmly. "If anything, it's my family's name that I want dragged through the gutter. My uncle Max is a criminal and he's threatening my friends, including your niece. I intend to I do whatever I can to put a stop to him... but to do that I need to understand him." 

"Any plan that involves taking down Max V is a good plan," Morgan said earnestly. 

"Can't disagree with that," Xander said, unconsciously rubbing his hand across his chest, just below his heart, as if to soothe an old ache.

"So, let's get started," Morgan said. "Genie, how do you want to do this?"

"If you don't mind, just begin at the beginning," Genie said. "How did you get involved with Max?"

"Oh, that goes way back," Morgan began. "We started out a bunch of dumb punk teens in Windenburg. Me, Ulrike, Wolfgang, and Max.  We thought we were so cool, with our little gang of renegades, bosses of the Bathe de Rill. That's how it started out... just a bunch of kids making trouble. Max was the youngest, but he was always the brains.

"As time went on, and no one stopped us, things started to escalate. Pranks and bullying turned into something more. Max had Ulrike and me stealing stuff out of lockers and Wolfgang beating people up if they didn't pay. After he pounded on a few, most people paid up. Wolfgang was always Max's muscle. Max's loyal henchman.

"Because Max was our leader. He told us what to do and handled the money, selling the stuff we stole and passing out our shares of the take and the 'protection money' Wolfgang collected. 

"I was totally in his thrall, in those days. He has this... charm... when he wants to use it. He could convince me to do anything... and he did. 

"We'd been sneaking in beers since the start. Somewhere along the lines that turned into selling them. That turned into then selling pot and having little parties in the locker rooms. I don't really know when Max started charging guys for hooking up with me and Ulrike. When I realized it, I got mad, but he just handed us our share of the take and smiled. Stupid kid that I was, I would do anything for that smile. Even that.

"So that was pretty much how I spent my teen years... stealing, dealing and hooking for Max V."

"Was he working for the Altos then?" Genie asked.

"Back then, Max didn't work for anyone but Max," Morgan said. "When we started out, we were pretty small time, and he was able to use the Villareal name and his father's reputation to keep his independence from the local crews.

"Eventually, we expanded beyond Bathe de Rill. Max was working his way up in our little corner of Windenburg. He started arranging "dates" for me, or Ulrike, with prominent local figures and then threatened them with the pictures after. He was collecting protection from businesses, clubs and restaurants around Lykke Centre, and forming his own little smuggling ring moving stolen goods through the harbor. 

"That was when he started attracting attention from the Families, but Max was Max. He was never anything but absolutely sure of himself. For a while at least, he managed it... staying independent and doing deals with representatives of both the Altos and the Landgraabs, playing the big Families against each other."

"Do you remember any of the people he dealt with?" Genie asked. "Anyone from the Families he might have had close ties to?"

"I do. I wish I didn't," Morgan grimaced. "There was Marco Tennari. He was an underboss for the Altos back then. Then there was a drug dealer, George Tobar. A real slimeball."

"You said Max stayed independent 'for a while,'" Genie prompted, clearly seeing that Morgan wasn't comfortable saying any more about either of those men.

"Yeah, he couldn't keep it up forever," Morgan smiled ruefully. "Looking back, I think he knew it too, but he wasn't willing to give in. His father, Jacques Villareal, had managed to keep himself independent of the Families and Max wasn't about to fail where his father succeeded. 

"So, he did something unexpected. He offered his services to someone else entirely. I still remember that meeting, at a crumbling old estate in Windslar... Max dressed in his best and looking confident, with Wolfgang at his side looking tough, and Ulrike and me, dressed in white, like some kind of virgin sacrifices. I remember thinking that was kind of funny at the time."

"Who? Who did he do a deal with?" Genie asked eagerly.

For a moment, she thought Morgan wouldn't answer. Then, with a deep breather she said softly, "Count Vladislaus Straud and the Dark Court."

"Oh," Genie said. "Who?"

Xander laughed, the first time Genie had seen him not scowling since she'd arrived. It was nice but a bit embarrassing, which must have been obvious to him.

"Sorry," he said. "We shouldn't be surprised you haven't heard of them. They don't exactly advertise."

"I've heard of Count Straud," Genie said. "Miranda mentioned him once when... Well, anyway wasn't he implicated when the Landgraab Syndicate was taken down a few years ago."

"He was," Xander nodded. "But Count Straud didn't work for the Landgraabs. If anything, it was the other way around."

"So, who is he and what's the Dark Court?" Genie asked.

"That really depends on who you ask," Xander said wryly.

"And how much you're prepared to believe," Morgan added cautiously.

"The simplest answer is that the Dark Court is a group of decadent old aristocrats and their retainers," Xander explained. "They trace their origins back to the fall of the First Empire. Their leaders claim to be members of the oldest noble families in the realm, going back in the Dark Ages. 

"These days, they're mostly concerned with their own pleasure, wealth and security," he continued, "and they're involved with the Families. In fact, since the Families claim to be descendants of the knightly classes of the Empire, they have historical ties to the Dark Court."

"We might be getting off topic," Morgan suggested. "What important is that the Dark Court are a secretive, influential and dangerous group... powerful enough to deal with the Families as equals and wicked enough to want to. They consider themselves above the law and, for all practical purposes, they're not wrong."

"So, Max works for the Dark Court and Count Straud?" Genie asked.

"He did," Morgan said. "I don't know if he still does. I haven't spoken to Max in years."

"How did you get away from him? How did you get out?" Genie wondered.

"I got arrested," Morgan said brightly. "Served two years for blackmail. After I got out, I managed to stay straight, keep out of it all, and eventually met this guy."

"That wasn't exactly a storybook ending," Xander said ruefully.

"What part of my life sounds like a storybook?" Morgan smiled. "I take my happy endings where I find them. 

"Anyway, I'm not sure if any of that helps you, Genie," Morgan added. "Like I said, I really don't know what Max has been doing for the past few years. The fall of the Landgraab Syndicate, and the arrest of Nick Alto, will have shaken up that world a lot. Still, it wouldn't surprise me if he's still working for the Dark Court. They've survived centuries of upheavals."

"It helps," Genie said. "I'm not sure how yet, but the more I know, the more it helps."

"Word of advice, Ms. Elderberry," Xander said. "If you're going to keep looking into these men, and especially into the Dark Court, watch yourself. They're very powerful and very, very dangerous." 

"I'll be careful," Genie said, already considering her next steps to learn more about Marco Tennari, George Tobar, Count Straud and the mysterious Dark Court.

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Author's Note: Because I have too many friends in the Society for Creative Anachronism, I feel the need to say this... The Sims 4 doesn't exactly have a lot of historically accurate Dark Ages attire (there is some fan made custom content, but I've had bad luck with it not playing well with my graphics card). I do the best I can with what I have. Besides since Xander, Morgan and Genie were not there during the Dark Ages, and certainly no one there had a camera, if you prefer you can consider the image of the Court "an imaginative representation" of the scene. :)