Oh, oh, oh it's magic (Xie and Kevin)

[xie_er]

Zhao Jing used to be a nobody, born into influence and wealth but always in the shadow of those around him. In magical circles he was even worse, a barely-remembered witch that didn't have enough power for any familiar to even consider looking twice at him.

Somehow, though, after many years (and a few suspicious deaths), he's managed to climb his way to the CEO of Five Lakes, his power - of both kinds - growing exponentially.

The previous CEO was surrounded by some unfortunate rumorus before his death, so Zhao Jing has been focused on repairing the reputation of he company and solidifying his support, mundane and magical, which means it is far too delicate a moment for Xie to be in the spotlight, even if he was promised he'd be allowed to stop hiding when the position was in Zhao Jing's hands.

He just has to wait a little longer, that's all, and it's not like it's difficult to only appear in his animal form whenever Zhao Jing is in public, just uncomfortable, and the last thing they need is for somebody to recognise Xie for any of the things he's done to help his witch get where he is today, when his position is still so precarious...

He tells himself all the excuses he's heard from Yifu, repeats them in his head like a mantra as he sits through all the meetings and negotiations, a little black cat and Zhao Jing's feet, watching the men and women he's speaking to for anything Yifu can use. He hangs around when Zhao Jing steps out the room, listens to what they say behind his back - that's his job with normal people, to be a pair of ears they don't realise are there. Even paranoid types who scan for bugs would miss him, which he finds funny, privately, because he is a bug of a sort.

Not that he's allowed to take his original animal form - a scorpion would be out of place if anybody caught sight of him, and Yifu doesn't like the idea of him hiding in pockets or anything like that. He says it's dangerous, that something could happen to him, but Xie privately thinks he just finds the form creepy. Even around other magical people, the cat is preferred - his job with them is to be a reminder that Zhao Jing has a familiar, and a relatively powerful one at that.

It's hard for familiars to change the form they can take, but he did it, for Yifu.

He tells people the cat is called Scorpion, and that somebody else named him - which is technically true, Xie does mean scorpion, and his parents named him - and that he's vaguely embarrassed to have such a fiercely named cat.

(He doesn't tell magical people anything at all, they know Xie isn't a pet so they're less likely to ask, at most they will wonder why his familiar always stays in animal form. Zhao Jing just tells them he's shy. He isn't, he doesn't care about people seeing him, but it's easier to do the things Yifu wants him to do when nobody knows what he looks like)

Xie hadn't always known he was powerful - when Yifu had taken him in he'd been told he wasn't much, but that maybe he could be useful. Later, when some witch had made an offhand comment about it, the story had become that Yifu recognised his power and took him in before anybody else could steal him away, that he just wanted to protect Xie from the people who would use him for his power. Xie was already so far gone by that point that he accepted it, that he told himself he was lucky he had Yifu to protect him, to guide him.

It's funny how easy it is to lie to yourself.

When the meetings are over for the day he finally shifts back to human form, spending a few minutes stretching out the kinks that come from forcing himself into a form that isn't quite his, especially with how much he's had to do it over the last few weeks, and then going in search of something to eat. He could probably just head back to his own apartment since he doesn't think Yifu needs anything else from him, not today, but the outsiders have all left and everybody in Yifu's manor at least knows Xie, even if they don't know that Xie and Scorpion are one and the same, so it's safe to be around them.

He likes to spend as much time here as he can get away with, likes to remind Yifu he can be useful in other ways... and maybe he likes to keep an eye on this new apprentice Yifu has taken on. He doesn't understand why he needs anybody else when he has Xie, but the last time he'd questioned somebody new in the house Yifu hadn't spoken to him for a week, so he doesn't voice that thought out loud - he just watches the guy suspiciously every chance he gets, and wonders how easy he would be to get rid of.

He's halfway to the kitchen when something makes him stop. A tug of power, the vague echo of chanting, there's a ritual happening and something about it is drawing him close. He frowns, confused, and follows the pull...

Comments

[weird_cop]

"You look okay." Kevin says quickly, wanting to soothe over any of his startlement. "You look good. I just haven't seen you like this. Well, I probably have, but you know."

Now he's second guessing himself.

Fortunately that's when Tony and Lisa show up again, and they have also put on a costume of sorts. In fitting in with the kind of vintagey, pseudo-Victorian London based attitude that Xie will have seen at the New Age fair, they've both leaned into that garb. In Lisa's case, this is a vintage waistcoat over a white shirt and tweed trousers. Tony, though, has swapped his leather trenchcoat for an antique tailcoat, and wears it with the kind of attitude that suggests he's dying to finish the look off with a top hat.

He grins at Xie, admiring his look in turn.

Kevin had expected them all to be dressed for the occasion, he just wasn't sure what to expect.

"Now I'm really sad that I'm going to miss out on this."

[xie_er]

Xie gives Tony a disparaging look, letting the formerly-familiar smug superiority settle over his face as he gives him a once over.

"Well." He says "At least we know there's no way anybody's going to think I'm there with you."

He keeps it up for a beat longer before allowing a hint of a smile through so Tony knows he doesn't really mean it (or, he does, but not in the bitchy way it came out), he's just... practicing.

He feels a bit weird, letting Kevin see that side of himself when he doesn't already remember it, but he wants to get used to the act again.

"You look lovely, Lisa." He adds, haughty expression dropping again.

[weird_cop]

Tony rolls his eyes at him, because he happens to think he looks pretty snazzy in this getup thank-you-very-much, and he knows the act at this point.

Lisa just grins a bit self-consciously.

"Not as good as you," she says.

They both check in on Kevin, confirm he's doing okay, before Tony flashes his car keys. "We'll give you a lift to the area, drop you off and then turn up a bit later, so we don't show up at the same time. In case the clothes don't get the message across strongly enough."

[xie_er]

Xie is actually starting to enjoy sniping at Tony, it feels more like banter these days than anything malicious, and it's kind of nice to get to be bitchy from time to time.

He thanks Lisa, then nods in agreement with Tony's plan.

"Sounds good."

He's pretty sure they could be convincing enough even without separating their arrival times, but he's not going to object to any extra precautions.

"I'll keep you updated." He promises Kevin before they leave.

[weird_cop]

The auction is taking place at the old British Museum tube station, which can only now be accessed by access tunnels from Tottenham Court Road, so Tony and Lisa drop Xie at Centrepoint with directions before driving off to park. When he goes to the unmarked door in question, there's a man wearing an old bus conductor's uniform holding the door open for people who approach him.

As it happens, no one checks Xie for weapons, nor do they ask for an invitation - just the fact that he knows where to go is enough. The crowd walking down the tunnel are as unchatty as any crowd of Londoners who happen to be going in the same direction; some dressed in the strange tattered vintage style Lisa and Tony had opted for, but a number of people in modern dress, sometimes oozing wealth in ways that make them stand out.

Some of the crowd look at Xie and recognise him, some don't give him a second look. A couple of people throw the barcode gesture at him and raise their eyebrows.

[xie_er]

Xie feels much more comfortable with his weapons in place, so he's glad they don't bother to check - it does mean he reassesses, slightly, his estimation of the possible danger. He's hardly going to be the only person here with penchant for concealed weaponry.

(Not to mention the probable magical threat)

He lets himself fall back into the old patterns, saunters along and shows people as little interest as they show him - if he recognises them and deems them worthy, he greets them with a nod, but otherwise people get ignored. The first time somebody does the barcode gesture he just gives them a cool stare, almost daring them to act on the information they've learned. Internally, he's a little concerned - he should have had them check, before they left, that there wasn't anything in it (now) that would ruin their plans. He doesn't think there should be, but it's a concern - he'll get them to check later, just in case.

Mostly, he just projects exactly what he wants to project - bored heir waiting for something interesting to happen.

[weird_cop]

The auction itself is set to take place on one of the platforms in the disused station, and the crowd start assembling there before the auction, in a mass that gets a bit tighter with the crowd.

There are a few more people who recognise Xie there, and one man in particular gives him a knowing smile. He hasn't thrown up a barcode gesture, but he still sidles over in order to introduce himself, a sly grin on his face.

Except before he can say anything, he looks past Xie and changes his tone.

"Watch out, mate."

He nods quickly in a gesture to encourage Xie to look behind him, where Tony and Lisa have just entered, neither looking in their direction.

"Fucking filth," Xie's new acquaintance says, gesturing so they can put some distance between them and the cops. "Don't worry, the pact is in place."

[xie_er]

Xie just watches him - cool, but vaguely curious. He doesn't return the smile, just waits expectantly for the introduction.

He glances over his shoulder and allows his lip to curl into a sneer before turning his back to them.

"Good." He says, moving with him as he heads away from them "Still, best avoided. Thank you for the heads up...?" he trails off expectantly, waiting for that introduction.

[weird_cop]

"Al," he says, nodding in greeting.

"Don't worry, I know who you are." So there's no need to say it out loud, is the meaning. "You here looking for anything interesting, or just scoping the scene?"

[xie_er]

Xie inclines his head slightly, acknowledging the implicit meaning behind his words. He smiles faintly at the question.

"Let's say... scoping the market." He says slowly "I'm interested to see what sort of appetite there is for certain lots."

[weird_cop]

Al raises both eyebrows at that. He'd be interested in seeing what lots Xie is interested in.

Before he can answer though, all attention is turns to the stage at one end of the platform, where a woman wearing an antique wedding dress is taking stage and starting her spiel.

She introduces herself as Miss Haversham - emphasises the er and scoffs at Dickens. From the reaction of the crowd it sounds like she's done the same thing at every auction previously. She reiterates the pact - no one can be harmed, or followed from the auction, so everyone is safe. Bids can be made in the form of money (some people boo) or the more traditional barter system, and everything will be fairly considered.

The first item, for example - a bell from a ship salvaged in the Docklands, with some power people in general seem to already be aware of - is sold to a woman who offers a week of insomnia.

[xie_er]

Xie turns his attention to the stage with the others, though he only really listens with half an ear - his actual attention is on the link, and he reaches out to check in on Kevin and let him know that nothing terribly exciting is happening.

He watches the lots with a kind of bored detachment, the occasional flicker of genuine interest sparking at some of them, though he doesn't bid.

(He will, at some point, when he can be sure he's being watched - not to win, just to demonstrate that he does have the money and assets from yifu's estate)

When the first lot that used to belong to Yifu comes up, that's when he shows more obvious interest - not in the lot, but in the buyers. He's subtle about it, since he wants to take stock of them without them noticing, but not as subtle as he might normally be, since he's also putting on a bit of a show in case Al is the very person they're looking for.

[weird_cop]

"The cake," Kevin tells him bluntly, without context, "is a fucking lie."

Al's attention is mostly on Xie, and he makes a couple of comments as the auction progresses that serve no real purpose other than an attempt to make conversation. He makes an effort to point out a few people in the crowd he thinks Xie might be interested in knowing - some of the bigger players in the scene.

(Many of them are names Kevin already mentioned in his work.)

When Zhao's estate starts making its way to the lots, Al's interest is caught by the auction. It soon becomes obvious, however, when he bids on a few and loses, that he is not really in the leagues required for much of this. He's interested, and he's expresses that interest to Xie, but it's not that he's here for the lots. He's just identified Zhao's heir as a potential ally, and wants to network.

"Now, this is interesting," Miss Haversham says finally, reaching into a box. She pulls out a set of chains, which at first looks like a mess of heavy silver and steel, but as her assistant untangles them, they start looking quite nasty.

There's a massive collar, from which four heavy chains drop in four directions, with long stakes welded to the end of each. The collar could fit an adult human, but the size of the metal would keep their neck stretched and their shoulders cramped. Two heavy clamps from the chains bear two sharp screws - if someone was to be in the collar, the clamps could be physically screwed into their shoulders.

"The chains of Long Yuan," - her pronunciation is terrible - "a device which, allegedly, if you could find a witch devoted, or stupid, enough to don voluntarily, would allow a person to draw on that witch's internal power. The next best thing, perhaps, to bonding with a real familiar."

The silence that fell over the room when the chains came out starts to deepen. A very few people glance in Xie's direction, but most, like Al, seem to be saying did you know about this? rather than we know you were his Familiar.

"Ladies and Gentlemen," Miss Haversham continues, "the house would like to reiterate that we sell these items as collector's pieces only, and do not endorse their use at home."

[xie_er]

Xie, luckily, manages to keep the baffled expression off his face when Kevin responds, and he hopes that it's a reference to something and not an indication that something worse is going on.

He makes a note of everything that Al is telling him so he can report back later, although a lot of it isn't really new information, some of it might still be useful.

He can feel the glances his way when the chains come out and he keeps his face impassive, unsurprised, as though he was aware of their existence. He wants people to think he knows everything, that he even knows all the things that have made it to the auction, because it means somebody looking for something related to Yifu's estate is far more likely to come to him.

Truthfully, however, he's never seen this things before in his life and he's vaguely horrified by them. He's also slightly ashamed by the flash of jealousy he feels. Yifu must have used them, he would never have something like that without using them, and despite everything there's still a tiny, bitter part of Xie that thinks why wasn't I ever enough for you?

They're a compelling enough item, though, that it makes him slightly more alert, watching carefully for who is bidding on it - and what they're bidding with.

[weird_cop]

The bidding on the chains starts in earnest and rapidly gets high, as people are clearly interested in them... as collector's items. Money hits the hundreds of thousands, people start bidding body parts, digits. Many people drop out very quickly.

It's obvious that more than a few people have turned up specifically for this item.

Just when it looks like it's going to go to one of a few people bidding with money or proportions of limbs, a clear voice calls out from the back. A female, cut-glass accent drowning that has the effect of bringing the house into silence.

"The memories and knowledge of one of the Shadow Police."

[xie_er]

It takes all of Xie's self control for his head to turn slowly, to glance back towards the source of that voice with a kind of speculative interest that he should have in such a situation.

He almost holds his breath, waiting to see if she's going to be outbid. Perhaps it would be best if she wasn't, if the memories end up with the auction house they'll probably be much easier to get back, but it will also make it much harder to track down (and punish) the people who took them in the first place.

Either way, he's going to approach her as soon as he can reasonably do it.

[weird_cop]

"Well, how the fuck did she get hold of those?" Al says as he follows Xie's gaze, looks over at her. The woman is white - like nearly everyone else in the room, her hair died black and slicked off her face and she's wearing a long black evening gown. She's visually aligned with neither the Dickensian fetishists nor the 'new money' in the crowd, and is clearly trying to forge her own look.

She could be accused of trying too hard with the Morticia look, except she can genuinely pull the look off.

When the bidding stops, and a whisper ripples over the crowd in waves, she looks smug and self satisfied for a second. Until the whispers get louder, and the mood of the crowd turns disapproving and angry.

And somehow, almost like they've come to the conclusion together, the crowd parts: the people in front of Xie step back, into him and Al, as a spaces opens up in the the middle of the hall. At one end is the woman who just placed that bid.

At the other, looking directly at her, are Tony Costain and Lisa Ross.

The Detective Sergeant lifts his hand, jabs two fingers at his own eyes, and then points firmly at her.

"The pact is in place," Miss Haversham repeats, "but that don't mean that you all can't see who each other is now."

The woman keeps eye contact with Tony, and steps back, cautiously towards the door Then she turns and pushes her way into the crowd, towards the exit.

Lisa turns away, back to the stage, and raises her own voice.

"She withdraws the bid," she says, and no one objects. "I offer an hour's worth of interview time - any questions you want to ask one of the Five of us, and the truth in return."

[xie_er]

Xie melts back with the rest of the crowd, mostly to avoid somebody stepping on his (very expensive) shoes as they step back towards him. He watches the spectacle and holds back a smirk, instead focusing his attention on the woman he can now see much more clearly - until she starts heading for the exit, at which point he immediately starts moving through the crowd towards her.

He'll stick to the rules, he won't follow her out, but if he can catch her before she reaches the exit that's all he needs. As soon as she's close enough that he can call out quietly without attracting too much attention, he does.

"Wait... I want to talk to you."

[weird_cop]

He catches her just as she's about to disappear, and she nearly ignores him in her rush to escape Costain's wrath. When she glances over at him though, it's enough to make her pause long enough to recognise him and decide it's probably worth staying.

"I didn't know you came to these," she says, her voice lowered as if it was still possible to hide from the law, despite the crowd having shown its not on her side.

[xie_er]

"I don't, normally." He says smoothly, intrigued that he doesn't seem to need to introduce himself. It would make him worry that she's somehow seen what's in Kevin's memories, but he guesses that she would't be stopping to talk if that were the case, she'd be running even faster.

"This one held some interest, though." he explains, then casts his gaze over her and smirks faintly "Apparently more interest than I initially realised. But you have me at a disadvantage, it seems you know who I am, but I'm afraid I can't say the same, miss...?"

[weird_cop]

"Westcott," she says quickly, still a little flustered from being spotted, her voice a little less confident. But she flashes an ingratiating smile at him. "Mina.

"I've been following your case. I hope you sued that pig out of a job."

[xie_er]

"Unfortunately they made sure I didn't have a lot of legal recourse," he says, slipping a little venom into his tone - he's harnessing his dislike for her to make it convincing. "but who needs legal?" He adds with a smirk.

He glances back at the crowd, like he doesn't want to be overheard, and then back to her.

"I have a feeling you and I might be able to come to a little... arrangement..."

[weird_cop]

She looks relieved when he smirks at her, and returns it with one of her own as she reaches to open her handbag.

"I won't be staying in the city long tonight. Do you have plans later?"

[xie_er]

"Nothing I can't cancel." He says smoothly "Especially if you're about to make me a better offer."

He's glad that he has the excuse of wanting revenge, because he doesn't think he'd be able to play it much cooler - as it is, he wishes he could just draw his knives and demand she give him the memories, but he knows that wouldn't end in his favour. Even outside of the auction he's pretty sure it wouldn't go down well, they don't tend to like you threatening murder when you're doing community service.

[weird_cop]

Mina Westcott smiles at Xie, and pulls from her handbag what looks like a tube of lipstick. When she pulls off the top, though, she reveals it to hold a stick of chalk before handing it over.

"You know how to draw a door, yes?"