MERCH!

Tuesday, April 21, 2015

Holmes, Gillis, Baker, Savage, North, and Dean


If you roll towards downtown, you know, down where the government buildings are kept… You'll notice that nearly every nook and cranny that isn't downtown shopping or a depressing courthouse or bank building, is some sort of law firm. Some are very cheap and hole-in-the-wall, others take up floors in the enormous office towers. One might have a difficult time swinging a dead cat without hitting, and subsequently being sued by, a downtown lawyer.

This firm is upscale, but in a low-key way. They have their own building and it's just slightly off that beaten track. One of those old 3 story affairs, painted white with vaguely victorian accents. Decent parking lot though and the cars parked in it are very nice indeed.

Lots of law firms spend a great deal of time and energy trying to get noticed, so that they get work. Holmes, Gillis, Baker, Savage, North, and Dean does not. In fact, getting noticed is almost antithetical to every thing they do. Work comes to them precisely because they make every effort to protect the anonymity of their clientel to the utmost.

The practice is largely corporate law with a nice dash of tax law mixed in for good measure. Entertainment law is far too public for this firm and there is a robust rolodex of competent, high dollar defense litigators that work can be farmed out to, should the need arise. 

Some years ago, a vampire, No, I won't say who, You'd know the name of course…A vampire sunk their hooks into the firm.  In doing so, they introduced the partners to a twilight world of vampires and even less savory creatures who occasionally needed legal advice and proxies for their never-ending, and…It should be mentioned, INCREDIBLY LUCRATIVE influence wars.

The vampire in question; No. I still won't say the name. Eventually went the way of all flesh.   And you'd have thought that the partners of the firm would have taken the money and run for cover, Or killed themselves, as ghouls often do.

But the fact is. A taste of vitae, and a taste of real power, had merely whet the edge of their hunger.  No longer impeded by their domitor's likes and dislikes, they threw their doors open wide to creatures needing legal help and willing to pay in money or…Other currency.

Every supernatural faction has things they need to do in regular real world. Buying and selling companies, Buying and selling properties, moving money around in large amounts, Paying taxes on that money so that the government doesn't poke their nose in, seeing to it that the transition of money and power is orderly if someone should happen to die. Suing the living shit out of people.  Heck, sometimes its even down to cutting and mailing checks to cover the rent on a dozen bolt-holes all over the city.  

Meet the partners:

Roderick Holmes
Roderick Holmes is one of those men who looks like his tie has soup-stains on it, even when he is spotlessly clean.  He's balding, flabby, fish-belly pale, suffering from occasional outbreaks of tension-related eczema, and his dress sense is appalling. You'd think he was a vacuum cleaner salesman.
    He also possesses a 185 IQ. He is one of the most terrifyingly intelligent lawyers in corporate law practice today.  His firm makes money hand over fist. and he has a gorgeous wife, who loves him.
Oh sure, Marguerite does play around a bit on the side, But Roderick knows all about it and doesn't mind terribly. He's pragmatic that way.
    Roderick Holmes is a brilliant man. He knows that often the practice of law with creatures that stand outside the law or above it, can be much like having a tiger by the tail.  But frankly, there's nothing that provides the necessary mental stimulation like building and maintaining this firm.  While each of the various partners have some vice that they've entangled themselves in, Roderick kids himself that he's above all of that.
   He's not. Roderick is a power and influence junkie. His collection of materials for leveraging things, and his resources to make things happen is becoming quite formidable.  More than one vampire has attempted to bring the firm fully back under the sway of a single domitor, only to find themselves stymied by Holmes and his influence, Influence that reaches into the realms of Hunters.  Holmes has, on more than one occasion, put mil-spec weaponry and gobs of cash into the hands of hunter groups, for the purposes of jacking up a vampire or two who've become obstreperous. 
    Roderick lives for the deal. As long as the deal benefits the firm, and him personally.  Roderick has been to more than a few parties at The Vermillion House.

Cullen Gillis
Cullen and Roderick were room-mates in law school. Cullen's not nearly as dizzyingly smart as Roderick, but he's certainly no fool. Never as dedicated a student as Roderick, Cullen was used to coasting on his eidetic memory. But Roderick understood just how valuable a tool that could be, and one evening proposed the idea of starting a firm together.
   It was Cullen who was originally dragged into the clutches of THAT vampire.  That event changed something in the way he thought about the world and indeed it lead to big changes in his life. Never the most dedicated student, Cullen dove headlong into learning everything he could about the occult world. His office is a treasure trove of grimoires and tomes. Most of which he's committed to memory.
    While Cullen has largely foregone the practice of human law, (He's still licensed). He has made himself into an expert on supernatural jurisprudence and has earned himself a reputation as an arbitrator for various supernatural factions.
   Additionally,  He's turned some effort to warding and creating protective talismans for his fellow counselors. He's been under the thumb of a creature of the night. He also knows exactly how easy it is for them to get their hooks into the people around you. He remembers very very well what vitae tastes like.
   Personally, he'd like to forget all about this stuff. Disappear somewhere and never think about the twilight world again.   But the money's too good and some of the vampire clients are…grateful.
Cullen is a stocky black man in his mid forties with sharp eyes and a serious mien.
When he and Roderick get to drinking they revert to their old habit of telling one another racist jokes, a fact that is a bit off-putting to the other partners. Cullen is seeing a female hedge wizard he met online. They're actually pretty great together.

Illyana Baker
Yana Baker is 6'7". She's solidly built and will absolutely destroy you at squash any day of the week and twice on sunday. She's type "A" all the way, and makes no bones about it. She was the youngest person to ever make partner in the firm and she never misses an opportunity to mention this to the interns and associates. She has a kind of frosty remote glamour that one can find readily on the pages of magazines, but rarely in real life. She is, to put it mildly, a juridical shark and a heavyweight litigator. She is often the go-to choice for closing arguments unless Holmes is planning some twist. The slight tinge of Russian accent crossed with a rolling classical oratorical style is a potent combination. She's good at what she does.  Her own pride would accept nothing less. Cops fucking loathe her and get scarce when she comes to bail out a client on retainer. 
With Yana, it's all about the money. She likes her nice things. She enjoys the doors that her firm and her expertise open for her. She even enjoys the attentions of a few supernatural lovers of various types.(and sexes). But at the end of the day, there is a running ledger in her beautiful head. The second her firm stops being profitable, she'll be gone so fast it will make your ears pop.
   Occasionally, Illyana wonders if that's all there is to her. Is she really that cold blooded?  Is this really how she is? Deep down?
    Most of the people who know Illyana Baker, don't think she has a "Deep down".

Gilbert Savage
You could almost say that Gilbert was born for this kind of work. He's part Demon.  He seems to have a natural talent for contract law and drafting the sort of contracts that even experienced supernatural creatures have to look at twice, maybe even three times. There's nothing really supernatural about it. Gilbert just knows that there are rules. And if you follow the rules, then everything will be okay. 
   Sure, the money is nice. Sure, this particular business allows you all manner of opportunities for exotic drugs, upscale parties, depraved sex, and all manner of debauchery. And Gilbert tucks into all of that with a certain amount of gusto, but when you get right down to it, Gilbert really truly gets his best buzz from doing his work and doing it well. Contracts and contract law is the water he swims in.
 You wouldn't look twice at Gilbert Savage if you met him on the street. He's fairly slight. wears glasses. grows a hipster beard in november.(graying now.) and isn't anyone's idea of sexy or dangerous.  However, once he's got his clothes off, you can see his musculature is fairly wiry and corded and his tattoos…Anything that clothing normally covers is seemingly covered in Enochian script and alchemical symbols. Out of mild curiosity, Illyana had sex with him once and asked him about them. he simply smiled and said, "There are rules…It pays to follow them."

Victoria North
But for the occasional bit of plastic surgery and the occasional infusion of kindred blood, You'd never guess that Vicky is pushing 65. She does yoga and works at a stand up desk and is in fine shape. Vicky bought into the partnership during the point where the firm had been "Acquired" by that vampire person. But after that VP had gotten ashed. she decided to stay on, and the firm was happy to have her.  She may not be the best tax lawyer that money can buy, but she IS one of the most connected, and well respected.  Her advice has saved the supernatural community MILLIONS and she's a bit of a rainmaker in the spring months during tax season.
   If there is anything that is pressing to her at the moment, it is, that she's staring down the barrel of incipient old age. She's kept it together for a while now, but she's starting to worry that she's getting forgetful.  She's been pestering Cullen for any kind of material he can find on immortality and she finds herself looking very intently at the vampire customers and the occasional Magi.  Cullen gave her a book with a ritual in it that involves bathing in the blood of a human being to wipe away the encroaching years.  She wonders on long nights whether she could do it.  Could she get Cullen to help her?  This has gone from idle speculation to buying supplies in cash in far away towns.

Alejandro Dean
Alejandro is never going to be anyone's idea of "The Best Lawyer" He was a "C" student at best, didn't go to a prestigious school, likely, will never be a judge. Took three tries to pass the bar. But for all that, the firm would be utterly lost without Alejandro Dean and each of the partners know it.  Most of the lawyers in the firm know the law. Alejandro knows people. and he keeps the office running like a well oiled machine.  He's the one who interviews the associates and the interns.  He's the one makes sure accounting cuts the checks in a timely manner. He's the one who manages the bribes and baksheesh necessary to run this sort of business. He's the one that starts cursing in Spanish when meetings bog down. He's the guy with the robust rolodex and the small herd of C.P.A's and private detectives that think he's Jesus-Christo-almighty-i-shit-you-not.   Alejandro gets it done.  

All he ever wanted was a little respect from his colleagues. But it never really seemed to materialize.
    Which is why it's going to be such a shock to everyone's system when they realize he's been embezzling for years. One night, he's just going to disappear. The only question will be whether he'll have a head start with a fat load of bearer bonds, or whether he'll be in an oil drum at the bottom of a lake.
     Alejandro is a mixed race caucasian/latino male with relatively thin frame. He's greying at the temples and looks pretty decent for his early 40's.  He can salsa dance and has taken a run at Vicky North. They had a good time in bed but it got weird for some reason and now there is just a lot of hallway awkwardness. 



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