“In order to remove the Director they need a scapegoat. You make a convenient target and catalyst.”
“Target, I understand. How am I a catalyst?”
“Your elimination would trigger a sequence of events favorable to the outcome they seek,” Solis said, peering at me. “The death of Iker the Unseen would send ripples throughout the Dark Council, not just the clans.”
“You overestimate my influence.”
“You underestimate it,” Solis said. “Your death, were it to pass, would cause instability in the Dark Council. The clan heads would use that to capitalize on dissolving the blood rule.”
“They would be free to move against the Director and what? Remove her from her post?”
“Remove her from existence,” Solis said. “You’re thinking politics when you should be thinking like what you are—an assassin. This is a zero sum game. You either remove them or they remove you. There is no middle ground.”
“No one survives attacking clan heads. The DCE would be on me in force.”
“What makes you think they aren’t mobilizing against you now?”
It was the moment to find out where he stood.
“Why?”
“I just explained why.”
“No. Why am I here?” I asked. “You’re one of the clan heads, and yet you’re telling me to be preemptive and eliminate them before they eliminate me. Why?”
“Director Nakatomi is only wrong in her approach,” Solis said. “Her tactic, while heavy-handed, will ultimately help us and the Dark Council.”
“Since when are you concerned with the Dark Council?”
“For now, our interests align. I want to make sure the Dark Council remains intact. For that to happen…”
“I need to remove the clan heads before they remove her.”
“Not heads, head. There is one in particular who seems to motivate the others. Remove him and your problems are forestalled.”
“I thought they all hated me equally. Which clan head is it?”
“Renault,” Solis said after giving me a long glance. “He pushes Garcia and Petrov against you. Remove him and the others will become more…malleable.”
“Renault…I’m dealing with the Triumvirate?”
“Yes, you will need to confront him.”
“You want me to confront one of the highest clan heads and remove him from the board?”
“While not dying in the process. Is this something you can do?”
Now I understood why I was here. He was putting a contract on the clan heads.
“Renault is a hard target. I would need weeks to coordinate this contract.”
“You have two days,” Solis said. “Any longer and you will be contending with the full might of the DCE. Right now he’s only able to mobilize the vampire faction. It will be difficult, but not impossible.”
“Dark Council Enforcer vampires are the strongest of the three factions. Not that I want to deal with mages and werewolves, but DCE-Vs are more than difficult. They’re psychotic. I should know; I was once part of that group.”
Solis nodded.
“Which means you know how to effectively neutralize them.”
I weighed my options. Two days was not enough time to mount an effective attack against Renault and the DCE. Not only was Renault the head of the Triumvirate, he was paranoid about his personal security. Out of the three members, he was the hardest target.
“If Renault is removed—”
“When Renault is removed,” Solis interrupted. “You have no room for failure here.”
“When Renault is removed, won’t his death galvanize the rest of the clan heads, especially Garcia and Petrov?”
“Overtly they will posture. Once Renault is removed I will make sure they listen to reason.”
There was something Soils wasn’t telling me. The subtext was more than he was revealing.
“Why do you need him removed?” I asked. “I imagine the reason has nothing to do with my well-being.”
“Astute, as expected. Actually, the reason has nothing to do with you,” Solis said, with a slight smile. “Can you do it?”
“And survive? Unlikely. There is a reason Renault occupies the position he holds.”
“I have every confidence in your abilities. Roze will provide you with the necessary details.”
He stood and walked over the balcony’s edge to take in the view again. It would be a simple matter to slide forward and assist him over the edge. The fact that he was turning his back to me was a deception. I’d get halfway to his position before he blasted me to oblivion.
I remained in the chair and focused on my options.
If I took this contract, I would be declaring open war on the Clans and the Dark Council. They would unleash their full resources on me. If I refused, I was going to be targeted by the Triumvirate, led by Renault, and eliminated.
“If I’m to risk open war with the Dark Council, I need to know where you stand,” I asked, finally. “You didn’t answer my question. How does crippling the Triumvirate benefit you?”
“If left to their devices, the Triumvirate will plunge the Dark Council into a civil war, starting with the vampires,” Solis said, turning to me. “A Clan war serves no one, despite what the war mongers would have us believe.”
“That’s very altruistic of you.”
“Altruism has nothing to do with this,” Solis said, with a small laugh, as he pointed out to the city. “I would prefer to have a relatively quiet city in addition to my other vested interests. Suffice to say, if you are successful, you will have a powerful ally on your side.”
“I can assume you will have no direct interaction?”
“Correct,” Solis said. “After today, we will not speak again. You will be free to act as you see fit to complete this task. If you manage to do so and survive, we will have another conversation. If you fail, it won’t matter. You will be dust.”
“Understood,” I said, standing. “How soon before the DCE is mobilized?”
“According to my sources, I’d say you have a day, perhaps two on the outside,” Solis said. “Make the most of it. Please see Roze on your way out.”
The meeting was over.
FIVE
Roze handed me a small USB drive as I reached the bottom of the spiral staircase.
“Do you know how to use that?” she asked, as I looked down at the small device.
“I’ve managed to keep abreast of technology despite my age.”
“It’s a temporary drive. Short-term use only.”
“I’m familiar, yes,” I said. “I’m sure Sabine will be able to retrieve the data it contains.”
“Once downloaded, memorize the data,” Roze said. “That data on that drive will self-corrupt ten minutes after download, rendering it useless.”
I examined the small drive I held.
“And on the computer it’s downloaded to?”
“Same thing, ten minutes,” Roze said. “Then it’s gone. No damage to your computer, but you won’t be able to access the information. It won’t exist.”
“Understood.”
“The usual cost for your services, plus an inconvenience fee has been wired to your account,” Roze said. “Mr. Augustus is counting on your utmost discretion regarding this matter.”
“I would expect nothing less.”
“If there is nothing else...?”
“There is. A question,” I said, pressing the call button to the elevator. “It is somewhat delicate in nature.”
Roze gave me a look, adjusted her glasses, and sat behind her desk.
“Of course,” she said, tapping several keys on her keyboard. “I may or may not have the answer, but you are free to ask.”
I glanced upward at the solarium and then refocused on Roze.
“What is his plan? Long-term?”
“His plan?” Roze asked, staring at me. “Why would you think he would share that with me?”
“Because you’re the person who has be
en with him the longest,” I said. “Over a century, if I’m correct.”
Roze raised an eyebrow and gave me an appraising look.
“Are you considering if he is an ally or enemy?”
“To put it bluntly, yes.”
“I cannot pretend to know the workings of his mind or the plans he has set in motion,” Roze said after a brief pause. “I can tell you that those he deems his enemies are never invited to the solarium, much less leave his presence of their own volition.”
“As I have.”
She gave me a slight nod.
“If that is all, Mr. Caecus,” she said, ending the conversation.“I wish you a good day.”
It was my turn to raise an eyebrow. Only Sabine knew me by that name, and I knew for a fact she would never divulge it. Apparently, Solis had an extensive information network. I made a mental note to investigate that further at a later date.
I paused and tipped my hat to Roze before stepping into the waiting elevator. The doors whispered closed, the elevator silently descending to street level as I reviewed her response to my question.
It may have appeared like Roze evaded answering me, but she had revealed enough. She had confirmed her tenure with Solis was at least a century, if not longer, and more importantly, she had shown me where her loyalties lay.
All information is valuable—if not immediately, eventually.
If Solis was willing to start a clan war, I would need to have contingency plans in place. When I reached the Scythe, I called Sabine.
“Am I reading this right?” she said when the call connected. “It’s triple your usual fee to take out…Renault?”
“He calls it an inconvenience fee.”
“More like a suicide fee,” Sabine replied. “Is he serious? The Dark Council won’t react well to this.”
“Not their concern…yet. This is being contained to vampires only for now.”
“The moment you retire Renault they’ll unleash the DCE-V.”
“Possibly before,” I said. “Renault and the Triumvirate are looking to remove me from the board. Seems I’m too good at my job.”
“Mistake…for them. Can you act before they unleash the Enforcers?”
“Yes,” I said, starting the engine and putting on my visors. “We have a small window of operation.”
“This is a hard target. In fact, it’s one of the hardest outside of Nakatomi right now. How much time before they mobilize?”
“Two days.”
Sabine graced me with a string of creative French curses before taking a deep breath and composing herself. I sped downtown on Lexington Avenue, the sun rising higher in the sky to my left.
“Feel better?”
“Not even a little bit. This job is suicide. Tell me he doesn’t want it done during the day.”
“He left that to my discretion. A daylight attack would be prudent. Renault isn’t exactly defenseless. He would be most vulnerable during the day.”
“So would you.”
“Occupational hazard.”
“I’m assuming the increase in the amount represents the increase in risk.”
“Yes. We’ll need to facilitate an extraction…just in case,” I said. “It’s not that I don’t trust Solis…”
“It’s just that you don’t trust anyone.”
“Exactly. That’s how I’ve managed to stay alive.”
“Anyone else, I would say decline, but this is Solis. I’m guessing walking away is not an option?”
“Not a viable one, no.”
“Two days is nearly impossible.”
“Two days before DCE mobilizes on me, thanks to Renault.”
“Did the Watcher provide information?” Sabine asked. “We don’t have time for a proper recon of the target. I’d rather not walk in blind on this.”
“In my possession on a self-corrupting drive with a ten minute expiration.”
“Ten minutes? Plenty of time to reroute the data.”
“It seems like Solis doesn’t want this information existing outside of his control.”
“And I don’t like you having two days to eliminate a clan head,” Sabine said. “If Roze went IMF with this information, it bears keeping.”
“Agreed,” I said as I heard the tapping of keys. “Try not to implode the computers while you retrieve the data.”
“Will never happen,” Sabine replied. “I have you on Lex with no hostiles on your tail. See you in fifteen.”
“I’ll be there in ten,” I said, accelerating the Scythe.
“Stay out of the sun.”
“I intend to.”
SIX
Ten minutes later, I headed to my base of operations.
I turned on 35th Street and headed east to 1st Avenue. From there I rode three blocks to the Corinthian, located at 330 E38th Street, and parked the Scythe underground. I took the stairs to the third floor and entered the spacious apartment.
This particular base of operations was located near Tudor City. I had chosen it because of its proximity to the Silver Terrapin, Director Nakatomi’s residence. It allowed me to monitor her activity without revealing my presence.
If I survived this contract, I would need a new location to work out of. It was clear the Director was hands-off at the moment. Being this close only invited conflict. The prudent thing to do would be to create some distance until I could strike.
Even though the building boasted 57 stories, unlike Solis, I had no use for ‘a view’. In a worst case scenario, exiting from a third floor window held a greater chance of survivability than an exit from the fifty-seventh. Sabine was behind a large desk with six computer monitors arrayed for easy viewing, hiding her from sight. She extended an arm without turning to look at me.
I placed the USB drive in her palm as I walked past her and into the darkened bedroom.
“Wake me by nightfall.”
“I’ll have the information transferred by then,” Sabine said. “The usual dossier?”
“No, we don’t have that kind of time,” I said. “Security, residence, patterns of frequency, if pertinent. A favorite club or restaurant won’t do us any good if he doesn’t visit it for three days. I’m going to have to do this where he lives.”
“Where the security is going to be the most robust,” Sabine said. “Well, that’s not going to be difficult at all.”
“What’s life without a little challenge?”
“A little challenge I can deal with,” Sabine said. “This is going to be nightmarish. You may not be able to solo this one.”
“Which is why I have you, my incredibly multi-skilled second.”
“Right. I’ll prep for dual entry and stealth approach.”
“If we can manage this without the Triumvirate finding out until after, it would work to our benefit.”
“If anyone can do it, it would be you,” Sabine said. “I don’t think it will remain a mystery for long. Your MO doesn’t leave much to guesswork. You get in where others can’t and manage to do it without leaving a trace. They’ll know it was you. Kind of lends weight to the whole ‘unseen’ thing you have going on.”
“They will surmise it was me,” I said. “I need them guessing until I confirm it.”
“How many extraction points?”
“Three.”
“I don’t remember adding miracle worker to my list of skills,” Sabine snapped. “Three, really?”
“I wouldn’t want you to get bored,” I said. “We need redundancies on this one. I don’t trust Renault, and I certainly don’t trust Solis. For all I know, this could be a sacrificial lamb contract.”
“The Terrapin is a fortress; there was no way to know she could had made those modifications,” Sabine said. “She kept them off every registry. It was a custom job.”
“Which nearly killed me,” I added. “I’m not in the mood to walk into a trap…again.”
“Got it,” Sabine said, and I heard her fingers dancing over the keyboard. “Three extraction points.”
�
�Good,” I said, closing the door. “See you tonight.”
I secured the door and made sure the room would remain in complete darkness before settling on the bed and closing my eyes.
SEVEN
Night fell, and I rose; fully rested.
Sabine greeted me as I stepped out of the bedroom. She was dressed in black, form-fitting combat armor, her black hair pulled back in a tight ponytail. As my second, she was imbued with many of my own qualities, but to a lesser degree.
Sabine was no longer entirely human, but she wasn’t a vampire, either.
She outclassed any normal human with greater endurance, healing, reflexes, and strength, but she was no match for a true vampire. The bond we shared protected her to a certain degree, but a determined enemy could end her existence. Her greatest advantage was her ability to move during the day.
The fact that I had saved her life without giving her any of my own blood made her a special kind of hybrid. Normals, while they couldn’t figure out what she was, always felt uneasy around her, while vampires despised her existence, thinking of her as a lesser being. I think the latter was attributable more to being my second than anything else.
She never requested to be fully turned, and frankly, I preferred her being semi-human. I have, on occasion, been accused of being cold and calculating. Sabine was capable of presenting a fresh, and not entirely annoying perspective, to the contracts I took. In several instances her insights proved valuable because she was able to assess a situation in a way I never could, due to her humanity.
“Do you want the bad news, or the worse news, first?”
“Worse news,” I said, moving to the special unit holding my current supply of blood. Synthetic blood never agreed with my system. Another reason the Dark Council forcibly requested I leave their ranks.
I managed to procure a fresh supply through my contacts at several blood banks throughout the city. Leaving a trail of drained bodies in the streets will make you wildly unpopular in short order.
“Renault recently updated his security system,” Sabine said, reading from her e-pad. “High-powered UV lamps positioned in and around the property on a timer, as well as guards equipped with LIT rounds. There is also a record of some mage work done to the perimeter of the place. I would assume runic defenses of some kind. Bottom line? It’s all lethal nastiness.”
Iker the Unseen (Iker the Cleaner Book 1) Page 2