#sadism hours ocurrinng somewhere between the annexation and now

[weirdnessxmagnet]

The Rule

Sometimes she does actually do her official day job from the actual office.

Mara's office, as she still thinks of it. Her office, the relic of her few years on hell's literal payroll, is a few doors down the hall, though she has changed the decor in this one a little. A display case filled with pristine ancient contracts was her personal favourite. It had also caught the attention of the hunter currently stood in her office.

"They look like they should be in a museum."

"I'm sure they should. The previous owner was something of a collector." She gave him a polite and thoroughly guileless smile before returning her attention to the computer. 

Of course, he hadn't told her he was a hunter. No, the block of scars and muscle in a cheap, ill-fitting suit was a lawyer, needing to review a decade old contract on behalf of a new client or some such. She'd gotten the cliff-notes version from the front desk. He'd bluffed quite well too, truth be told, for someone who clearly didn't have a damn clue what he was talking about. Experienced. Unfortunately for him, Antonia had seen this song and dance before. She had done this song and dance before, and she was by far the better mummer.

"I'm sorry Mr Moore, I can't seem to find any record of your client in our database." Not the business database, at least. Mara's meticulous records had delivered the information quite swiftly. "You're quite certain this deal was with SCI?"

"This was the address he gave me." Mr Moore gave an affected shrug, moving to take a seat on the other side of the desk. Toni hadn't quite worked out yet how he saw her. He didn't seem so suspect she was a demon, or he'd have found a way to test her by now. Surely he'd have smelled a rat if he'd realised the CEO herself was taking an interest in his seemingly mundane query. Perhaps someone's secretary? Or perhaps he was a bettor actor than she gave him credit for.

"A private deal, perhaps? Southern Crossroads has employed a number of freelancers over the years. It's not unheard of for them to use their company office space for private business."

"No. No, he said he made the deal with the owner himself."

"And you're sure he was a business client?" There's a way she said business that says that's not what she's asking, and she watched closely to see if he hears it. He frowns, eyes narrowing just a fraction, and she thinks this might be the first time he'd considered that the woman in front of him might not be some clueless employee.

"What other kind is there?"

"I think you know, Mr Moore." She blinked. Slowly. Deliberately. When they opened, the innocent blue doe eyes were replaced with the demon's smokey crimson.

She could practically see his heart near escape through his mouth. When a prayer rose to his lips she didn't so much as flinch, and that only made it worse.

While many hunters might try to deal with a demon-related job if the task is put before them, few are properly equipped to do so in any meaningful way. The best any without rare magical weaponry at their disposal can hope for is to exorcise those on the bottom rung, or to trap and extort them into breaking a contract and hope that the demon doesn't return for revenge before the end of the hunter's short life.

It was a sadistic sort of power, toying with the man like this, but he had broken the rule; No hunting in the city.

"Now," she dropped the glamour with another blink, "shall we try this again with just a touch more honesty? Deep breath, hunter." She grins as he glowers at her. "Why are you here?"

"What's this gonna cost me?"

"Well I don't know until you tell me what you want."

He huffed. "Albert Guidry made a deal with the Whore about a decade ago. That'd be you, I take it?"

Toni's smile only grew. "I'm flattered, but no." Not today, anyway. "Go on."

"He's old, doesn't have long left. It might not mean much to you, but no one deserves to go where he's going..."

"I agree."

The hunter blinks at that, confusion drowning out fear and hate both.

"Fortunately for you, the demon who made the contract no longer serves Hell, so I can tell you what I know. Unfortunately for you, that means the contract is also out of her hands, and therefore out of mine." 

"...Whose hands is it in?" He asks after an uncertain pause, while she busies herself with a flash drive.

"You said the contract was made here?"

"Yeah?"

"Duke Gremory. She claimed the territory before its annexation. If you're lucky, official ownership will have gone to someone in her service. If not..." she grimaces, retrieving the flash drive from the computer "...good luck."

"What's that."

"A copy of the contract, and relevant client information. Will that be all?"

"Why are you doing this?"

"Because I can. Do you have holy water?"

"Yeah?"

She holds out her hand expectantly. When, after significant hesitation, he finally hands her the bottle, she opens the cap and drinks directly from it while looking the hunter dead in the eye. "I'm also not actually a demon, I just wanted to see how easy it was to make the big tough hunter wet himself." She explains as she hands the bottle back.

"Bitch."

"Witch, actually. Go on, I have real work to do. Oh, and one last thing? The rule is no hunting in the city. You will not get a second warning."