Despite some recent pitfalls, the Boss remained undeterred. When he and the Normal traveled into the past, there were two goals. The first goal was to eliminate the wizards and their allies. That goal led to mixed results, the fairy realm was decimated yet survived while eliminating the wizards proved more difficult than anticipated. This was how the Boss now found himself at a fundraiser.
The Boss realized that if he wanted control, he would need to integrate with people who had power. Politics, as loathsome as it could be, was the key to power. That was the second goal of the Normal, acquire power and it was proving to bare fruit. Adorned in a tuxedo the Boss now mingled with powerful businessmen and political donors, finding himself wishing for the event to end. Thankfully, it appeared he had a reason to step away as Rick made his way through the crowd. "Well this is a pleasant surprise," the Boss stated, taking a sip from his glass of whiskey. "Please tell me you have some good news."
"Casseus's attempt on the son of Life and Death didn't go as planned," Rick stated. The Boss nodded, taking another sip of his drink. The talk he had with Casseus about his girlfriend's daughter approaching Ann O'Toole motivated the dark wizard into action. The plan was simple enough, follow Ann O'Toole's daughter and her demigod boyfriend and take them out. The chance for success was minimal considering Travis's reaper status, but it was worth a shot. Better still, Casseus was careful enough to make the attempt look like an accident. "Well I'll give him a A for effort," the Boss shrugged. "Wasn't expecting it to work though, just needed to motivate Casseus."
Rick nodded, surprised by the Boss’s nonchalant response. Secretly though, Rick was happy. After stealing the Deer Girl Chenoa's powers, he had developed a taste for stolen magic. Rick wanted nothing more than to take the power of the son of Life and Death. As Rick gazed around the banquet hall, he paused for a moment. "I didn't realize you were a supporter of her."
"Oh I'm not," the Boss countered. "In fact, I could give two shits about either one of these candidates. No, I'm playing a more subtle game. I want influence and money gets you influence." Rick nodded, aware of the Boss’s master plan. There was a reason they had traveled back in time to an election year. This election would be close and the Boss was playing both sides. Donations were flooding to both sides, trying to get the Boss as close to either candidate as possible. In the end though, whoever won would lose. The Boss would murder the winner, using his magic to usurp power and rule the U.S. for the rest of his life. "Besides," the Boss continued. "Have you ever talked with some of these campaign workers? Some of these girls are absolute freaks in the sheets."
"Can't say that I have," Rick stammered, watching as the Boss offered a wave to a blonde woman in her late 20s. From what he could tell, the woman seemed interested in the Boss. "I did want to talk with you though about my plans for the Morelands." The Boss nodded, escorting Rick to a side room away from everyone. "What's the plan Rick?"
Rick now went into detail of his plan. After seeing the video of Connor Moreland and Lancelot working together, the Normal realized they needed to severe this relationship. Rick's plan was simple: the powers he acquired from Chenoa were nature related. After exploring those powers carefully, he realized that he could conjure forth various spores that could be used to control an individuals actions. "Mind control," the Boss asked. "Would that even work?"
"I'm confident it will," Rick continued. "I've been experimenting with spores that can compel individuals to act against their nature, similar to those parasitic fungi that make insects go against their nature. Over the last few months, I've perfected it to control humanoids, like vampires."
"I'm listening," the Boss said.
"We captured a few vampires when we assisted in overthrowing the Tepes family," Rick said, the Boss acknowledging this. Most of the vampires were converted into cybernetic creatures yet some remained unchanged. "The ones we didn't convert I experimented on. I eventually was able to control their minds, acting against their nature. The last one I forced to walk directly into the sunlight. Despite his screams of pain, he refused to take shelter because I told him to stand there."
"Interesting," the Boss stated. "So how would you drive a wedge between the vampires and the Morelands?"
"One of the Tepes family's elite advisors is in the area," Rick continued. "His name is Hannibal. He was the advisor for the former Tepes Lord Miro."
"So you're going to use Hannibal to kill one of the Morelands?"
"No," Rick smirked. "To cripple one. The way I see it, killing one of the Morelands will be too quick. People eventually recover from someone's passing. No, what I want is the current hunter to see what the Tepes family did to his little brother every, single, day. It's hard to forgive someone when you're reminded constantly what they did."
"Interesting idea," the Boss smirked. "I like that. So how would you pull this off?"
"After I take control of Hannibal I would set a trap for the Moreland family," Rick stated. "From what I've learned, the newest Moreland hunter likes to bring the whole family with him. When they arrive, I have Hannibal strike and have him make it clear he was doing so on the orders of the Tepes family."
"And I take it your puppet Hannibal won't live long enough to spill the beans on your little ploy."
"Demon Hunters are pretty thorough in their work," Rick grinned. "I know if it was my brother crippled by someone I'd take their head." The Boss nodded, a broad smile forming on his face. "I like the way you think Rick, just remember: Hannibal isn't a run of the mill vampire. Use a little more lethal force on him unlike your guinea pigs." he said, downing his glass of whiskey. "Dummy up some records to make it seem like the Tepes family ordered the hit."
Rick nodded, watching as the Boss now excused himself to mingle with the guests. If everything went as planned, the Normal would occupy two dangerous foes until their master plan was complete. Unbeknownst to either of them, Casseus has planted a bug on Rick's clothes and had been listening to them along with Melissa in a car a few blocks over.