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Coco is not particularly surprised when the Camarilla sheriff of New York City pays her a visit at the Stirling Hotel. He’s clearly heard about what happened and has come to get her side of the story. If Coco is concerned about this at all, she hides it well. She’s not afraid of or intimidated by the sheriff, but she’s aware that the Lasombra clan are on a short leash in New York. One can count the known members of her clan here on one hand, and all of them, including her, are heavily policed. Coco doesn’t think that’s particularly fair. She’s heard all of the excuses and arguments about what the Lasombra did in the past, before she was even born. It’s very… medieval of them. Coco is content for now to be patient on that issue however. All she has is time.
Qadir Al-Asmai is polite to Coco as he enters her office and sits. “Thank you for agreeing to speak with me tonight. I do not intend on staying long. I just have a few questions about what happened here and how you acquired this domain.”
“Of course,” Coco says, taking a seat at the other.
“Please explain to me what happened, in your own words.”
“The coterie I was in, such as it was, is no more. This hotell belonged to James Rafferty and his childe Khalida.” Coco resists the urge to call the Venture something nasty, but she makes no effort to keep the venom out of her tone. Qadir is more than capable of reading her mood. “They attacked myself and my sire, and we defended ourselves. My sire claimed this building in the fallout and now I run it.”
“Why did they attack you?”
Coco gives a half-shrug, maintaining a dismissive, but matter-of-fact air. “I think they were planning some kind of take-over from the beginning. To be honest, I’m not surprised or upset about it. I never trusted either of them. Rafferty is a snake. If I were you, I’d ask him about any connections he might have to other Kindred sects.”
Qadir narrows his eyes a little. “Noted. I also… cannot help but notice that there is something that still bothers you about what happened.”
Coco pauses, reflecting. She wonders how he could tell that there was something more, what it was about her stoic poker face that gave it away, and again wondering how much is wise to tell the sheriff. “Khalida compelled Brawn, the Nosferatu, to attack us,” she admits. “I do not have an issue with her attacking me, but bringing him into it in that way was… distasteful.”
“Hm.” Qadir accepts this answer and moves on. “Were there any breaches of the Masquerade?”
Coco shakes her head, her smooth, dark hair moving over her face. “Not that I am aware of.”
“And there were no casualties?”
“One security guard. That has already been dealt with in an appropriate manner.” Coco briefly wonders if she could get away with lying to the sheriff in order to sic him on Rafferty and Khalida and have them destroyed. She decides against it, not because she thinks Qadir would know that she was lying, but because she’s the one who wants to get sweet revenge herself. Sending someone to do it wouldn’t feel quite as satisfying.
“Do you know where the rest of your former coterie are now?”
“No,” Coco says honestly.
The sheriff stands. “If I have any further questions for you, will I be able to contact you here?”
Coco gets to her feet as well. She nods. “Yes, of course.”
“Every action has a consequence, as they say, and your co-operation has been noted.”
Coco nods again. “Thank you.” She sees the Sheriff out.
Every action has a consequence. Coco knows this all too well. She also knows through experience that more often than not, action is needed. Consequences can be dealt with later.