by Cas Martin
'Tell me,' she demanded.
'How about I wait until I am one hundred per cent sure? I believe that the facts are right. But I want to be just as certain on the name before I cause a problem none of us can get out of.'
'This source? Is it reliable? Is it anyone I know?'
'It's no one you know. But it's someone I've known for a very long time.'
'So you trust them?'
'I trust them.'
'In that case, I want you to tell me the name they gave you. If they are as reliable as you say, then there is every chance that they are just as right about the name as they are about the journals. In which case, I want a heads up. There's no point waiting for you to be sure if it's going to be too late by then.' She paused, seeing the shadow of hesitation and doubt in his face. 'Dennis, I need to know. Please. I promise you that I won't do anything with the information unless I really have to.'
'Okay,' he sighed, 'but you're really not going to like what you hear.'
'Of course I'm not going to like it, but I might as well know.'
'It's Ivan.'
'What?' Part of her, deep down, had been afraid right from the very start that he hated her this much, even though she had done nothing wrong. So, maybe their personalities clashed — no one would ever say that the two of them had gelled well together — but she always assumed it was because he loved the family so much he did not think that she was worthy enough to lead it. Which, at times, she could not blame him for, because she was having similar doubts herself.
For the first time since she had been chosen, for the first time in her entire life in some ways, she felt the importance and responsibility of who she was. She had been shell-shocked for a while. She had often tried to appear tough and strong but inside could not help believing that those people who had been sneering at her were actually right.
She took a deep breath, feeling the resolve grow within her. This was, perhaps, the incentive she had needed all along, and if this was what it took, then so be it.
'Why do you think he's doing this?' There were a couple of reasons she supposed, and a personal vendetta was only one of them.
'I'm not sure why. That was one of the reasons why I didn't want to tell you straight away who my contact said it was. I thought that if I could establish some kind of motive, then I would be able to get closer to deciding for myself whether or not it was true.'
'Do you think it's true?'
'I have no reason to doubt my contact. Let's admit it, Ivan isn't actually that good at hiding how much he dislikes you. Plus he's been whipping up animosity in the background with the other elders. That can never be a good thing.'
'I never dreamed that he would go this far though.'
'Neither did I. But if it's true then he's breaking pretty much every rule we have.'
'It also explains why he had me tailed all the time, and the fact that he was majorly pissed about the meeting I had with Elizabeth.'
'He probably knows that with your combined resources, there's a good chance you'll be able to put the pieces of the puzzle together. Even if you don't get anything incriminating to pin on him, I have a feeling he wants those journals himself. If you get them, then by default that means that he doesn't.'
'Great. Ivan is the kind of man that you don't want to be on the wrong side of.'
'Everyone knows he thought he was going to inherit the position as the head of the family, Monica. When he was passed over he was probably mad enough. But when it passed to you, someone who was too far down the social structure to even register on his radar, I think it kind of added insult to injury for him.'
'Next you'll be telling me that he doesn't like a woman being in charge.'
'Nothing would surprise me with him. The fact that you don't come from one of the more noble bloodlines is definitely a factor. Until this happened, I don't think anyone from your past had even made it to being an elder.'
'I can't help it if I came from the wrong side of the tracks.'
'I know, and it doesn't matter one bit to me. Or to most people. The reality is that we all belong to the same family. That Ivan doesn't see it that way says more about him than it does about you.'
'So what do we do now?'
'For the moment, we have no choice but to sit tight. We're not in a position to move, and without any real evidence we'll get laughed out of the room by the elders, whether you're the leader or not. Ivan still has far too much sway with them and to accuse him of treason is not going to be taken lightly by anyone. But you do need to watch your back. I have no idea how far he is prepared to go in order to make sure that he gets what he wants. I don't think that your untimely demise would actually concern him too much. You need to be careful Monica, from this moment on.'
'Should I warn Elizabeth?'
'Elizabeth? Why? You can't betray one of your own to her.'
'Seriously Dennis? I know she's not one of us, but from everything you've said, then she's probably more on my side than he is.'
'It just doesn't seem right somehow,' he shrugged.
'None of this seems right. This isn't how it's meant to be, regardless of whether or not Elizabeth Hastings is a part of it.'
'I keep telling you, we can't put all our trust in her just because we used to get on quite well with her father.'
'Well, let's face it Dennis, we're both putting a lot of faith on our gut feelings right now, and there is something that is telling me that we can trust her.'
'I wish I could share your enthusiasm.'
'You've just asked me to trust you and your judgement Dennis. And your sources for that matter, which could be anything or anyone, and I have taken you at your word. Now all I am asking is that you do the same for me.'
'I suppose.'
'Thank you. Honestly, Dennis, I don't know what I'd do without you. But I need you to carry on believing in me.'
'Hey, I've gone from being your crappy personal assistant to being your right-hand man in the world's leading vampire family,' he grinned, trying to break the tension. 'You've done wonders for my career.'
'Stop it,' she smiled, glad they could still have a light-hearted moment. 'I'd better get back to that meeting. I can only hope that they've somehow managed to tie it all up without me. I was starting to get bored and there's no way I can concentrate properly on it now. God only knows what I could end up agreeing to. I'll get in touch with Elizabeth later and tell her to watch her back. The only person from this family she should trust is me. And you, obviously. But no one else until I can work out just how much damage has been done. If this little coup goes beyond Ivan then I could be more screwed than we think.'
22
Elizabeth was about to enter the city's public library when her phone vibrated violently in her pocket. She looked at the display, surprised when she saw David's number. He hadn't told her he was going to be in touch. 'Hi David.'
'Hi Elizabeth. You busy?'
'You've only just caught me. I was about to go into the library. And I guess you're supposed to turn your phone off in there the same way you have to do back home.'
'Is it urgent? What you're doing I mean?' David's voice had a hint of anxiety in it, making its way down the line through the faint echo and crackle.
'No, just a little background research. Nothing that can't wait. What do you want?'
'I found something out last night. I figured I probably owed it to your father to give you the heads up.'
'Um, okay.' Elizabeth didn't want to be told anything just out of an old allegiance to her father, but she wasn't in a position to turn down free information.
'Is there any chance you can meet me in the pizza place on 124th and Lexington?'
'When?' Elizabeth looked around, making sure she had got her bearings right. She had spent all of the previous evening studying, but it was still tough putting it into practice in the field.
'As soon as possible. I'm on my way now. I'll probably be there in about 15 minutes.'
'If I catch a cab it'll pro
bably take me about twenty.' Elizabeth was already looking around for one.
'When you get there, try to be discreet until you come inside. There's a chance you could be watched. So try not to do anything to make yourself stand out.'
'Will do,' she said through gritted teeth. Like he was trying to teach her the basics of surveillance. She hadn't got this far on her own without learning some things for herself. He may have more experience, but that didn't mean that she was totally incompetent. She hit the screen, cutting him off without saying goodbye. She didn't feel the need to give him more opportunities to subtly insult her.
A notification popped up on the screen. Damn it, low battery. How had that happened? She could've sworn she put it on to charge last night. It was her own fault for not double checking when she left the room earlier, but that was little consolation now. In addition to David pissing her off, she had now thoroughly managed to piss herself off as well. This day was just getting better and better.
Luckily David redeemed himself slightly by making sure a coffee was waiting for her when she arrived. He remained silent whilst she took the first sip and casually looked around.
The place was quiet, and David had found a booth that was as out of the way as possible. The little alcove seemed dark in comparison to the rest of the room. She could tell by the way he slouched against the back of the seat as he flashed a casual smile at the waitress he had been here before.
'So,' began Elizabeth, 'what was so important that you had to see me straight away? Sounds like it could be something interesting.' She put the coffee back down on the table and unconsciously began to play with the pendant at her neck.
'You should be careful, wearing it out in the open like that. To the right people, it makes you stand out like a sore thumb. And part of what we do is not stand out. We don't stay alive by making ourselves a target.'
'You're not my father, David.'
'No I'm not. But if he was here I can assure you he'd be saying exactly the same thing.'
'Okay, okay, I'll be more careful from now on,' she said grudgingly. She knew he was right. Feeling thoroughly chastised, she remained silent and waited for him to continue.
'I had quite an interesting day yesterday. Well, night, since the sun was already starting to rise as I was walking home.'
'Sounds much more thrilling than being stuck in a hotel room.'
'It certainly had its moments. But to cut a long story short, the building opposite is an office block one of the local families uses as their main meeting place. They rent a legitimate unit there, which is secured day and night. I've been watching the place for over a year now. Even had a contact on the inside for a while.'
'What happened to him?'
'I'm not entirely sure. The past few times we met up, he was really nervous and reluctant. He wouldn't say anything to me, but it was clear there was something going on. Something big that had him all on edge. Then recently I stopped hearing from him, and I haven't been able to get hold of him using any of the methods we had agreed on. I don't think anything has actually happened to him, but there's something taking place over there that it's just too important to let me get involved with.'
'Do you think it could be my father's journals?'
'That was my first thought, but there's no way I can be sure.'
'But you're definite there's something going on? Something other than the routine family business?'
'Certain of it. And this is where last night got interesting. Something was brought here, while I was watching the place. A box. Heavily guarded. Whatever was in it, they were on guard in case there was an ambush. They had the big beefs carrying it.'
'Certainly sounds promising,' Elizabeth took another sip of coffee, feeling the anticipation rise within her. This could be just the break that they were looking for.
'That's not all of it. I wasn't the only one watching them.'
'Really?' Elizabeth sat upright, wondering just who else could have an agenda.
'Really. I met a maverick last night. A guy working on his own. I say a guy, he's actually little more than a kid all wrapped up in a man's body. Let's just say we had an altercation, and it made me pretty certain that he could take care of himself.'
'Are you saying he kicked your ass?' Elizabeth smirked.
'No, that's not what I'm saying,' David answered, perhaps too quickly. He looked away and Elizabeth suppressed another smile.
'So how did this kid know what's going on?'
'He wouldn't tell me the full story. When he was younger he saw some pretty messed up things and found out the monsters under his bed were actually real. He's not got the compassionate mentality that your father demanded though. He thinks they should all be killed, no questions asked. He just doesn't have the resources to do it himself. Anyway, he's been staking out the place for longer than I have and he thinks he knows a way in the back. It's all a bit Mission Impossible, getting in through air vents type of stuff, but it could be the chance we're waiting for if we do it right.'
'It sounds a bit risky to me. Are you sure it's not a set up?'
'Trust me, I met the kid and there wasn't a trace of vamp on him. He's not been enthralled by anyone. He's got entirely his own mind. And his own agenda, like I say, but there's a chance we can work together on this one. We can probably achieve more than if we're doing it on our own.'
'It still seems a big chance to take if we're not even sure it's my father's journals that they have. It could just be something important to them, rather than anything of use to us.'
'That was what I thought. But then my contact gets in touch with me earlier. Says he's sorry for lying low, but there's been too much going on. Says to me that he's taking the chance to get out of town for awhile. He made a reference, in passing but definitely there, to your father. It made me think there was a reason why he said it. Like it was playing on his mind or something.'
'Certainly sounds plausible. If it turns out to be true then it could be the break I've been looking for. That we've been looking for,' she amended hastily.
'I know. But if he's getting out of town so fast then we should think about making our move sooner rather than later. If they've got something planned, then there's less chance of them actually achieving it if we've already got the journals in our possession.'
'True. But do we have enough information to really do this?'
'We can with the help of the new member of our team.'
'And does the new member of the team want to go along with this? Didn't you say he was a loner? What's his name by the way?'
'Well, he was reluctant to tell me at first, but I finally got it out of him. Garth. No surname just yet. You know what kids are like.'
The rest of the day was spent pouring over charts and plans and Garth joined them to share his information. By the time ten o'clock rolled around, Elizabeth was starting to believe they had a chance. Everything seemed to slot into place quite nicely. The plan was to hit the place just before midnight. Elizabeth had decided that they would have to do a full re–con first; if there was any sign of something suspicious then they would abort.
Perhaps, if in amongst all the excitement of planning, Elizabeth had remembered that her phone was lying dead at the bottom of her bag, then they may have been a little bit more reticent about the whole event in the first place.
23
'I'm telling you Dennis, I haven't been able to get hold of her,' said Monica in a hushed whisper as they made their way through the doors at the back of the dance floor and into the quieter rooms behind. 'It's not even ringing out.'
'She's probably just asleep or something. Don't forget she's had to adjust to the time zone and she's been going pretty much flat out since she landed. It's bound to catch up with her sooner or later.'
'I hope to god you're right. I've got a sinking feeling about this…'
24
Elizabeth's gut told her that this didn't feel right somehow. She couldn't quite put her finger on what was wrong, but the feelin
g was definitely there and it wasn't going away.
Everything they had so carefully planned that afternoon had fallen into place, piece by piece, and David and Garth didn't appear to share her concern. Either they were really good at hiding it, or they simply didn't have the same feeling that she did.
The fear started the moment they had their first proper stroke of really good luck. Life had always told her that you shouldn't rely on luck and, if it seemed a little too out of place, it was okay to be suspicious of it.
Her father had taught Ancient Civilisations. She had heard the story of the Trojans more than once.
When they had done their initial re-con and drive by, it seemed like they were going to be guaranteed a quiet night. The security guard wasn't one either David or Garth recognised. If his 'hands resting on stomach, chin on his chest asleep' pose was anything to go by, he didn't take the job quite as seriously as some of the others.
They had parked the car a few blocks over, wanting to have an escape route nearby, but smart enough to know that if they needed to run, it would be better to vanish off into the night, rather than try to use it. It was why getaway cars had getaway drivers, and they were sorely lacking that fourth person.
They walked slowly, almost casually, down the back street, pausing only briefly to confirm they were all happy to proceed, exchanging no more than a look of determination. With something like this, there was no need for words. Elizabeth knew that if she was really having any doubts, now was the time to say something and stop it before they got any further. Once they had taken that sharp turn around the back of the building, there would be no going back.
When David stared at her, waiting for her nod, she thought she could see impatience in his eyes, just as he could probably see doubt in hers. She felt the words rise in the back of the throat but swallowed them down. She did not want him to think she was wimping out just because she was scared. She didn't really have any concrete reason behind her anxiety after all.
David led the way to the back of the building, making sure that, just as he had done a couple of evenings ago, he kept to the shadows. The other two dropped into place behind him, all of them moving at a cautious pace, eyes scanning for any signs of activity.