When Petra awoke the evening after the meeting, she mulled over Brandon’s suggestion of using Dominate to change the charged emotions of everyone involved in the latest debacle. She shook her head and closed herself up in her study, asking Nikolai that she not be disturbed unless it was Vince or a member of the Council. Brandon’s suggestion had some questionable merit – enough that it warranted bringing up to Vince and the rest of the Council.
She idled as she sat at her desk, mulling over the events of the previous evening’s meeting. Finally she reached for a notebook, and made a list of names. She was supposed to find a vampire to ghoul Michael, should he want it. The problem was, she didn’t know anything about him. I’ll just put Claude on the list of people to call and talk to – he should know how to get ahold of Michael, presumably.
She drew a line in the middle of the page, leaving the names on the left hand column, and writing another list of names in the right hand column. On the left, it was labeled “To Consider”. On the right, “To Call”. The call list was simple – Vince, Greg, Jasper and Claude. The left column was more tricky – it contained the names of every known vampire in the city. She mulled over the list of names, tapping the pencil eraser against each name as she mulled over potential options. She could narrow it down later, when she had a chance to interview Michael.
- Brandon – I can’t ask Brandon to take on another ghoul – I already had him take on Mandy and because of this drama he may drop her. I find it highly unlikely he’d want to be tied to the drama yet more.
- Charles- Most decidedly out of the question, as Michael wants nothing to do with him any longer. She crossed off Charles’ name. By that same token, I can’t consider Mercy – she’s too close to Charles. She crossed off Mercy’s name as well.
- Richard – The Tremere is definitely off the list because, well, Tremere. He’s also partly to blame for Blade. She crossed off his name as well.
- Jett, Lucas, Sergei and Timur – They’re too new – they need to focus on themselves first and foremost. ghouls can come after they’ve had some years under their belt. They were all crossed off as well.
- Alessandro, Luciano, Eric and Nicolae – They may have been a part of this city almost from the beginning, but they’re former Sabbat, and the twins especially come across as sleazy. I’m not even going to consider them as a last resort. Hell, I’ll ghoul him before I allow them to. With a vicious swipe of the pencil, she crossed off the names.
- Vince – She almost laughed. Vince doesn’t care to have ghouls, and he’s got enough on his plate running the city and training Jett and Lucas. Vince was thus crossed off.
- Hiroshi – She paused a moment to think. He’s new, recently from Las Vegas, if I recall correctly. A former Prince, he’ll be used to having his commands followed, and he is also of my clan. I don’t know much about him other than that. however, it is a possibility.
- Mihai – Another possibility, though he has Timur to train. Still…I’d trust him with the care. Vince seems to like him, after all.
After a few minutes, she added her name to the list and wrote LAST RESORT next to it. It seemed a pitiful list – only three names she was considering, and one of them was her own. Grumbling, she pulled out her phone to contact Greg first. Jasper would be next, followed by Vince. She paused though, and thought a minute. It would be easier to call the Council together to discuss what she had on her mind. Rather then call, she sent a simple text to the three of them:
Are you available for a meeting?
She set the phone down and waited for responses.