Snippet #2706324

B L A K E 0 K A N S A S
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New York City, Presbyterian University Hospital of Columbia and Cornell

“Can I get a reading on his blood pressure please.” Doctor Blake Kansas asked, his hands preoccupied with attaching a graft to bypass a blocked artery in his patient’s heart.

“128 over 88 Doctor.” The nurse replied, although Blake didn’t stop or even make any indication he heard her.

“A little high, apply 5 cc’s of nitro and monitor. Pump status?” Blake asked once more, at this point he was only doing it to keep his mind busy. Over the countless centuries he had done surgeries like this plenty of times, almost to the extent as to call it monotony. His hands moved without any hesitation or shaking, as steady as the ticking of the clock.

“No problems on this end.” Blake gave a nod, finishing up the second of three grafts needed for the man on the table. He took a moment to peer over at the man’s face, completely passed out as the gas being pumped in through the mask kept him under for the duration of the operation. He would have to admit, this guy was a caveat of fear when Blake had given him his primary diagnosis. He hadn’t let him know that he could perform this operation until he had filled up his reserves of power for at least the foreseeable future. He had had to pull some parts of the man’s saphenous veins from his legs in order to perform this surgery, and to be honest this patient was a complete mess. Blake could see evidence of long time smoke inhalation consistent with a smoker lifestyle. His lungs looked like someone had thrown them on a brisket BBQ, black and basically charcoal. Not to mention there were several other factors to consider, his ripening age and sedentary lifestyle among the top. Regardless, he had a hippocratic oath to help the man.

With the ease of hundreds of years worth of practice, Blake finished up the triple heart bypass and stood back. ”Alright, sew him back up and get him to post op. Monitor him closely and pay special attention to his blood pressure. If he hits 130 over 90, you let me know immediately. Keep him attached to oxygen for as long as possible, this man’s lungs look like they were torched with a flamethrower so he may start complaining about shortness of breath. Questions?”

“No Doctor, we’ll take care of him.” The nurse replied as the others in the room went about finishing up the surgery. Blake made his way towards the door, removing his gloves and masks and placing them in the sterilization bin. He walked out the door, moving towards the waiting area. He tugged at his blue scrubs slightly, surprised at himself that he managed to keep the blood at a minimum. Usually those kinds of surgeries were a lot more messy, so that was a definite plus in his mind. He opened the door to the waiting area and saw it was about three quarters full of people either waiting for a doctor to look at them or to hear the verdict of a surgery such as his. He recognized the family of his patient, an aging wife and two daughters who were well into their twenties. He walked up to them, his hands clasped behind his back as they noticed his approach.

“Doctor Kansas.” One of the daughters stated, her flowing brown hair draping her shoulders as creases of concern marred an otherwise attractive face. “Are you done the surgery?” A stupid question that Blake had been asked so many times he couldn’t even muster up the will to be irritated by it.

”Yes, and you will be relieved to know that it was a complete success. They’re finishing up the post op now and your father will be wheeled into a recovery area.” Blake saw the relief wash over their face, but he held up a hand. ”Yes, it’s a good thing, there’s no doubt about that, but there’s something you should be made aware of. While I was in there, I managed to poke around a bit and saw the effects of your father’s lifestyle. While I have prolonged his life with this surgery, it should be noted that it won’t be for very long unless you can convince him to have a healthier lifestyle and to give up smoking.”

“We’ve tried in the past, but he’s addicted to those things.” The other daughter, younger with a multi-color short pixie haircut that screamed ‘rebel’. She wasn’t as attractive as her sister, at least in the refined sense, but she made up for it in spunk if her chopped up attire was anything to by.

”Well I would suggest trying harder.” Blake stated, his tone coming across as a disapproving father rather than cold or heartless. ”We’ve already taken precautions to minimize the risk, but even now he’ll have to be attached to oxygen for far longer than any other outpatient because his lung capacity has been severely reduced. At this point, I would suggest a very tough love approach to this situation. I wouldn’t want to see him on my table again so soon after such a successful operation.” The family seemed to look down and slowly nod.

“We will do our best Doctor. When can we see our dad?” The first daughter asked once more, to which Blake checked his watch.

”Well, like I said their patching him up now...including the time to get him into the recovery area...a nurse should escort you to him in about half an hour or so, so hang tight.” They all seemed to nod, looking around for a clock.

“Alright, thank you.” The oldest daughter stated before turning back towards her family. What they didn’t know was that they had just given Blake a little bit of a top up in his power reserves with the fear of loss and failure now permeating around them. They didn’t want to lose their father and they didn’t want to fail in getting him to quit his smoking and standard mode of living. It wasn’t major, but it was the equivalent of eating a couple of cookies. Blake made his way out of the waiting room, walking down the halls and removing the cap from his head as he did so.

A lengthy walk later had him at the door to his office, his name and credentials posted in gold lettering on the door. He opened it up to reveal a rather simplistic albeit sizable room. A glossy and well maintained desk, several file cabinets, a few more chairs...and a person standing inside. He paused for a moment, staring at the Demon as he slowly stepped inside and closed the door, locking it behind him and making sure the blinds were shut. ”You know I don’t like to be interrupted while I’m at work. Make it quick.” Blake stated, his voice low and the threat very much implied as Nazeer handed over a letter. Without so much as a word, the demon disappeared into smoke as Blake gave the letter a once over.

He walked over to his desk, grabbing a letter opener and peering at the contents inside. After reading it, he rubbed his chin with his hand before reaching for his phone. A couple beeps later and he got the rather overly optimistic voice of his Head of Department.

”Doctor Candine, I think I’m going to need to take a sabbatical.”

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Blake tugged at the black suit jacket he was wearing as he stepped out of the taxi, his other hand carrying a silver suitcase filled with a number of things, chief among them being weapons for his personal use. The suitcase was lead lined, preventing x rays from peering inside or metal detectors from sensing their presence. Even though there was the underlying mention to not be armed in the presence of the council members, Blake had long ago ignored that rule after one too many accidents between boiling blood and headstrong alpha males and females. Inside his suit was a single .45 pistol, non-descript and all identifying markers such as a serial number filed off. The rest of his luggage had already been moved to another hotel, a less notable one off the beaten path. Nothing of any real importance, mainly clothing and the like. Either way, he wasn’t stupid enough to believe that he was going to stay in this hotel with every other important member of the Dark Species in attendance. They were basically asking for someone to come kill them all if that was the case. Plans for plans, that was Blake’s basic mentality.

He made his way inside and walked to the front desk. There, a cheery woman gave her speech about the building, a smile so wide and frustratingly warming that Blake had trouble giving a smile of his own as he politely waited for her to stop talking. ”Morior Invictus” He stated, and her demeanor changed entirely. She pulled out a penthouse key, looking at the briefcase that Blake was carrying.

“My lord has made specific instructions as to what to do with your luggage sir. If I may?”

”You may not. There’s no need for you to take this, I will be fine.” Blake stated, starting to make his way towards the elevator.

“Sir, I must insist. It is my duty…” She made to chase after him, as he sighed and turned around.

“You have your duty, and I have mine. If your ‘lord’ gets angry simply say that Blake was a handful. He should understand completely.” Blake stated, giving a quick flash of a smile and leaving the woman wondering what she should do. Blake stepped onto the elevator, pressed the appropriate button, and within a few seconds was on the correct floor and standing in front of the door where they were to meet. He could hear the pleasant sounds of a piano being played as he stepped through into the room.

Inside were a few people already. Naturally, there was Mephistopheles, the right hand of Lucifer. They knew each other, at least on a professional basis. They’re personalities matched when the job was the focus point, but everything else about the fallen angel and the demon was conflicting. Not to mention there were the multiple fights about Blake’s chosen earthly profession, and the constant bickering that he was ‘helping’ the enemy. They seemed to have found a neutral ground when it came to keeping the Dark Species alive, and whatever M’s thoughts on Blake now, there had to be some begrudging respect for Blake’s abilities and innate skill in staying alive for over 1500 years.

Over to the side was a new addition to the council. Ducissa Ardeleane, the leader of a very rapidly declining shapeshifter population if memory served him right. He had had no prior contact with this woman before now, but if reputation preceded her, he doubted they would get along at least past a professional sense. Her guard seemed somewhat twitchy though, and that worried Blake at least inwardly. He didn’t want things to escalate because someone overreacted, but he guessed that’s why he was here. He could sense when fear was taking over and act accordingly.

The last person in the room was the Incubus leader Claudius Kim, and was the one filling the room with pleasant music. He could remember meeting the being a couple times before, and had actually enjoyed his company although Blake was worried that this was merely a byproduct of Kim’s nature. Regardless, he didn’t mind the Incubus and found that he got along with the creature well enough.

As for himself, Blake considered himself the oddity in the council. He wasn’t in charge of a species, at least not in a leadership capacity. He was the council’s answer to extreme problem cases that required a deft touch. He was their weapon, an assassin of the highest caliber and healer should the need arise. Aside from M, he was one of the longest running council members and had seen other members rise and fall from the ranks, although the latter was happening a lot more frequently as of late. Regardless, he was used for his strategic mind and cold efficiency in the face of threats to Dark Species both inside and out.

”Good evening.” Blake stated, a slight smile on his lips as he made his way to the table and placed his suitcase beside the chair he planned on occupying. He gave a nod towards M. ”A pleasure as always my lord, although I wish the circumstances were more optimistic.” Blake stated, giving a simple nod to Kim as he walked past him towards the Ducissa, stopping just short and extending his hand for a shake. ”We haven’t been introduced. I am Doctor Blake Kansas, Nightmare and Enforcer for the council. It is a pleasure to make your acquaintance.”

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Somewhere in the Mojave Desert

”What’s wrong with bein...what’s wrong with bein...what’s wrong with bein confident?” Lucas sang along with his ipod, one earbud in and his feet up on the dashboard. His seat in the car was fully reclined, or at least as close as he could get it as he made hand gestures to go along with his singing. The scenery, dry and dull as it was, was doing its best to put Lucas to sleep, and so he had resorted to being that passenger asshole for a good duration of the trip to keep himself from passing out due to extreme boredom. That’s all this was once they had taken out the Gorgons; bitchy snake heads. He took a moment to glance over at Ari, who was stoic as usual. He was about as much fun as slamming a rock onto one’s foot. Why couldn’t Lucas have driven with Rusty? At the very least she was easy on the eyes and would have made the trip bearable. Instead, Lucas flopped in his seat with his mouth agape as he started counting the notches in the ceiling out of sheer lunacy.

”Is there a reason we couldn’t take a plane? Or, you know, a party bus? Anything that would have doing something else aside from staring at your blank face.” Lucas complained, knowing full well Ari would fire back with something that would sting emotionally for awhile. At least they had that sort of rapport between them, even if Lucas wouldn’t necessarily call their relationship a ‘bro’ level. After having taken off for Vegas because of a letter, Lucas couldn’t help but feel like they were just firing shot after shot without stopping to reload. He wasn’t necessarily against going to Vegas in order to figure out what was going on, but he couldn’t help but feel underprepared. They had stocked up before heading out sure, but if the leader of the Gorgons was being summoned to Vegas, who else was?

Lucas snapped up when Axel, in all her refined glory, ordered for them to pull over for a quick meeting of the minds. Lucas yawned and stretched, putting his seat back into the upright position. He looked out at the scenery, a dreary sight of sand, sand and more sand. They were in Nevada alright. As the car rolled to a stop, Lucas hopped out, stopping only long enough to visually reassure himself that his sniper was still in the back seat. Naturally he had a 9mm pistol in a underarm holster, hidden underneath his jacket and filled with dark metal rounds, but there was just something reassuring about that massive rifle of his.

They all made their way to Axel, who then went on her little ramble about the note and it’s intent. Of course it was addressed to Medusa, it was literally on her person when we killed her. Lucas said, his eyes wandering towards the desert as Axel stepped in front of him and snapped him back into focus man. ”Yes ma’am, always paying attention to you ma’am.” Lucas stated in an exaggerated soldier tone. As she continued on, Lucas could only feel an incredulous look on his face as she expected some form of gratitude. ”You got all of this...from an M?” Lucas asked, looking around at the others to see if he was in some form of crazy town. ”Again...an M! M could mean McDonalds for all we know and you pull the right hand of Lucifer out of your ass?”

To put it bluntly, Lucas wasn’t good in dealing with authority figures.

”But let’s say you’re right...for the simple sake of embracing insanity for a moment...You think all 4 of us can take out every single leader of every single Dark Species ever? We need to call this in, get some back up, maybe a nuke?” Before he could even finish his sentence, Axel was already driving off down the road with a quick order to find a motel and that Lucas was paying. Of course he was, his family was rich, ergo he was rich, ergo he had to pay for everything because these guys were life sucking parasites. Lucas stared as she went, looking between Ari and Rusty. ”Cmon! I’m not the only one thinking about this shit, am I?” Whatever answer he got wasn’t going to be enough to make Lucas feel anything near comforted as he kicked some dirt.

”Fine, whatever...I call shotgun with Rusty for the rest of the ride then!” Lucas stated, looking back at Ari. ”No offense buddy, but you lack one thing that makes travelling bearable...And that’s being attractive.” Lucas gave a wicked smile and a thumbs up, turning towards the truck only to see it peel off after Axel. Lucas stood there for a second, his face solemn as he watched the vehicle go. ”Well that’s a right kick in the nuts...Guess I’m stuck wi-” Lucas turned back towards Ari who was already in the car and starting to pull away. ”Shitfuck!” Lucas yelled, sliding slightly on the dirt as he ran to the car and managed to pull open the door and climb in before Ari truly got going.

There was a moment of silence between the two of them before Lucas looked over. ”I stand by what I said.” That was all he said as he plugged his ipod into his ears once again.

”If you like it you shoulda put a ring on it!”