She had to admit, as awful of an organization as the Syndicate were and for how dirty their money was, they spent it well in the Red Baron Inn, as far as she was concerned. The place was decorated in rich reds and deep blacks, and the place felt like a proper Victorian inn, something that was rather hard to come by, even in the Underground. The carpet was plush under her shoes and the walls were ornate without being tacky. As much as she hated the Syndicate, she had to concede to the point that they had very good taste in interior decorating.

“Ah, so good to see you again, Mister Marley,” said the bellman behind the counter with a smile that looked entirely too tight for her comfort. She subtly shifted closer to Victor, who wore a nearly predatory grin.

“Evening, Greer,” Victor said politely, placing a hand at the small of Leliana's back to reassure her. “I've come for the meeting. I even brought my 'plus one' this time.”

“Oh, how marvelous!” The man, Greer, said, his face stretching impossibly wider around his smile. Leliana's stomach churned at the sight, and already she was beginning to dread coming here. She hoped that John was going to stay out of sight and not try anything rash too soon. “Right this way, they've been expecting you!” He said, ushering them into a room marked, 'ballroom,' beside the door. He held the door open for them and bowed grandly. “Please, do go on in!” He leered at them, his gaze lingering on Leliana for far longer than would be considered appropriate as they walked past and into the room. All the while, Victor didn't remove his hand from the small of her back, and continued to guide her as they walked.

The room that they entered was far less of a ballroom and much more of a business suite, but she was hardly in a position to split hairs about it, she thought as they came to a stop just inside the room. The door clicked shut softly behind them, leaving them in the dim lighting of the space. In the center of the room was a plush armchair that seated the woman that Leliana knew as Veronique Lawson, the head of the Syndicate. The private eye's jaw tightened, and she mentally ticked the seconds it would take her to draw her pistol and end things. Then, she scanned the room, and found that it wasn't just the three of them in the room; the more she looked around, the more goons she saw surrounding the three of them in the dim lighting of the space. If Miss Lawson was looking to intimidate her, she couldn't deny that she was effective at the job.

“Ah, Mister Marley, Miss Tornbeau, how lovely to have you as our guests,” Veronique practically purred as she crossed her legs sensually in her seat. “And so surprising that you finally took us up on the offer to bring in someone with you, Victor,” she smiled like a snake about to devour a mouse. It was hard for Leliana not to squirm with discomfort. “You picked a pretty one. My compliments on your...” she licked her lips, her tongue playing over her elongated fangs slowly to accentuate them. “...Tastes.” Leliana suppressed a flinch and stepped forward.

“I think we both know why I agreed to come.” She said in a clear voice.

“My dear, I'm sure I don't-”

“Don't pretend, Veronique,” she ground out, her patience at an end. “I know that the Syndicate isn't so sloppy as to leave so much evidence behind. Not even the Excavators are that careless.” She knew she was baiting them, and it was clearly working; those in the room that were Excavators growled at her, baring their fangs at her. “And you knew that someone would come snooping. You knew that it would never be the cops, so you had every local private eye on watch to see which family broke and asked for help first.”

“Perceptive,” Veronique said, clearly surprised but somehow not even phased. “You're better than the other investigators I've had to deal with,” she leaned further into her seat toward them. “I like you.”

“Prove it, and let all the people you've kidnapped go.” She challenged. Veronique let out a surprised cackle, accompanied by the chuckles of the other men and women surrounding them.

“Oh, you're bold, aren't you?” Veronique sneered. “Tell you what – I'm feeling generous. I'll let them go and return them to their homes tonight on one condition.” Leliana didn't like the way that she was eyeing her, or the way that some of the goons around them were beginning to shift. None of it spelled good things for them, she thought as she recalculated whether or not she would have enough time to draw her pistol. She knew that if even one of the vampires in the room was armed that she didn't stand a chance of even getting her gun out of its holster. She cursed internally.

“Name it, and I'll consider,” Leliana said, hoping that it would at least buy her some time to think of a way to get out of this. Dammit, where had John gone? She hoped that nothing had happened to him. Veronique let out a low laugh as she leaned back in her armchair.

“You'll owe me a favor, one that I'll be able to collect wherever and whenever I want. One that isn't negotiable, and that you have to complete as I say, or I take your life.” She smiled low and cat-like, and Leliana's skin crawled. She didn't like this idea one bit. She knew that if she took it, she would most likely have to do something unspeakable in exchange; she may not have gotten to know Veronique for very long, but she didn't need to know that this was how she operated.

“Don't take that deal,” Victor said low in her ear, his breath caressing her face. “She's a viper, and one favor could ruin you.”

“Oh, don't listen to him, darling,” Veronique said in mock hurt. “It's just one itty bitty little favor, after all.” Leliana knew better, but feared what would happen when she gave her answer. She could certainly guess, and just hoped that these goons were all terrible shots.

“No deal,” she said in a clear voice. “I know better than to trust you.” Though she put on a brave front, she clenched her hands to hide the fact that they were shaking.

“Ah,” the Syndicate leader said with a pout. “How disappointing. And here I thought things were going so well between us.” She shrugged and waved a hand. “Oh well. It was nice knowing you.” Leliana saw some of the goons reaching for their guns, and knew already that unless something happened to disarm them, she was done for; even with Victor, he was only one vampire. Surely he wouldn't be able to help her, let alone assuming that he would even want to.

Everything that happened after that seemed to occur in slow motion. She pulled out her gun just as one of the goons took a shot, squeezing the trigger on her life, she was sure. Then, the next thing she knew, the gun misfired and she felt the bullet whiz past her, grazing her cheek but not fatally injuring her. When the shock wore off, she saw John and Victor whirring past her, claws bared, teeth gnashed, and taking out guards two at a time. They must not have been expecting it, or maybe not all of the guards were vampires like she originally thought, but she took a few shots at some of them. The ones that were vampires began to scream and writhe because of the blessing bestowed upon her bullets, but the others merely flinched and dropped their weapons. Veronique was shouting something at the few of her men that were still standing, but Leliana had no real chance to see it, as Victor scooped her up like a groom would his bride and dashed off out of the building, through the Underground, and into the night.