by Cas Martin
'Ivan, you know that I didn't ask for this position. I never wanted to be the leader of this family. I left that to people like you. But I was chosen for a reason, and I intend to take my responsibilities very seriously.'
'Something went wrong, that's all. Other people were just too weak to realise what was going on and change things before they got out of hand. You're a fool if you think otherwise.'
'Why do you think you can question the way things have been done for all of these years, just because you don't like the outcome? Nobody gave you that right, Ivan, and I'm not going to let you inflict it on the rest of my family. I may have done once, but I won't now. This ends tonight.'
Monica finally meant it. She was going to kill him.
55
'Where is he?' whispered the man furiously. 'Ivan was meant to be here thirty minutes ago. Doesn't he realise how vulnerable we are just sitting here? Something must have gone wrong.'
'Wait. What's that?' said the other man, pointing to a car pulling into the parking lot. 'Could that be them?'
'It looks like one of Ivan's vehicles. But I stand by what I said. Something feels wrong.'
'The most important thing is that we can do the transfer.'
'Let's wait and see what happens before we get too complacent.'
They sat in silence as the car made its way through the lot towards them, never going fast, its lights dimmed in a non-threatening manner. It stopped twenty feet away from them and the driver killed the engine. They both held their breath as a man climbed out of the passenger side and made his way towards them. They glanced at each other. Marcus Alexandrias would kill them both without hesitation if they failed.
'That's not Ivan.'
'No, but I recognise him. He's one of Ivan's men. You're right, something must have gone wrong. You stay here. I'm going to go out and speak to him.'
'Are you sure?'
'If anything happens, then don't hesitate. Get out of here and take the journals with you. If this is a trap, I won't give him the satisfaction of having the journals.'
'Watch your back.'
The man got out of the car and rearranged his coat, trying to look as casual and comfortable about the situation as he could. He knew he was fooling no one, but felt compelled to try.
'My name is William,' said the man in front of him. He didn't extend his hand. This was not a friendly meeting. 'Ivan couldn't be here tonight, so I have come on his behalf.'
'I recognise you, but that doesn't mean I'm prepared to let you take Ivan's place on the exchange. That was never part of the deal. I can end everything here and now. Ivan knew that. Marcus told him the rules and if Ivan thought he could change them then he was very much mistaken. You can tell him that.'
'Unfortunately, I am not sure that I can. Ivan is on his way to a duel.'
'What? This isn't the eighteenth century. Why?'
'If I know Ivan at all, then he didn't want to go. But he didn't have a choice.'
'Of course he did. You don't have to accept the offer of a duel. No one is idiotic enough to bet their fate on a single fight.'
'Apparently Monica Carletto is.'
'You're kidding me.'
'She was challenged do a duel, and she chose Ivan to be her second.'
'Are you lying to me? Ivan would have found some way to get out of it. He would have mentioned it to Marcus when they met last night if he was serious about this transfer ever taking place at all.' This was ridiculous.
'He didn't know about it last night. He was only informed about it tonight, in front of the Council of Elders. There was no way he could refuse. He had to accept the role of second. The duel is tonight and he's on his way there now. That's why he can't be here with you.'
'This makes no sense.'
'If it was anyone else I would be highly suspicious. I may agree with Ivan that I am not happy with our choice of leader, but her integrity has always been unquestionable.'
'Doing something because she thinks following the rules seems a bit naïve if you don't mind me saying.'
'I know, and I could be wrong. But I have watched Monica for months and she does seem to one to always do things by the book.'
'Oh, if only there was time for a little side wager on this. I would place very good money on the fact that Ivan will return tonight a little worse for wear. Either that or he will not return at all.'
'That is not a wager I would be willing to take you up on.'
'Because you think it is an immoral wager, or because you think that I may be right?'
'We've talked about this for long enough. Let's proceed with the transfer, as arranged? I speak on Ivan's behalf and other than his inability to be here tonight, all of the previous agreements will stay in place. Your representative is in the car with the journals?'
'He is. I'm not happy about this. I'm not sure Marcus will be either. I want you to know that this was not how things were agreed, and if things go wrong I will have every member of my family hunt you down and kill you.'
'I understand. But I am a man of my word, and I am merely following Ivan's agreements.'
The both paused for a moment before the man turned back to the car and gave a nod. He thought Ivan's man was stupid for not realising Ivan was soon to be a dead man. Still, it was not his place to judge.
His friend got out of the car and collected the large box from the back seat. He was walking over to them when all three stiffened. Someone else was nearby. Ivan's second man also got out of the car, his senses alert.
'It could just be kids,' one of them said in a hushed voice.
'No, wait, over there.' William indicated at a figure on the perimeter of the grounds. They could make out the dim figure of a man running towards them, his grey tracksuit giving him an almost ethereal quality. As he got closer they watched him, staring straight ahead, clearly in the zone. His earphones glowed a bright white in the darkness. 'It's just a jogger. Wait for him to pass. We don't want him to think we're up to anything.'
'He looks like he's too busy working his way through the pain barrier to care.'
'Even so, there is no good reason why four grown men would be in a high school parking lot at this time of night. Don't attract his attention.'
The man was level with them now, still staring ahead, his breath heavy, as though he had been running for quite some time. They watched him out of the corners of their eyes as he continued, finally running past them. They let out a collective sigh of relief as he headed away from them.
'So, let's begin the transfer shall we—' William began, before a loud crack filled the air.
'What the hell?' his companion turned around, dropping to his knees as a bullet hit him with deadly accuracy between the eyes.
'Move, it's an ambush—' came a voice, before it too was cut off by a lethally aimed bullet.
The man holding the box containing the journal stood frozen, torn between running for cover and the box he had been told not to let go of, even if his life depended upon it. He saw the jogger making his way towards him, gun extended, and noted somewhere distantly in his brain that the jogger was still was wearing his earphones. The man wondered what track you would listen to while you were killing people. Then he was dropping to his knees before his brain heard the crack of another bullet.
56
Jack LeTraub allowed himself to exhale as the last of the vampires went down. After a year of careful planning he could hardly believe that it had gone more smoothly than he had dared to hope in his wildest dreams.
He kept his gun extended in one hand as he took his earphones out with the other, amazed by the sudden silence of the night air. He knew that without a silencer the shots would have echoed over to the street. He didn't have much time.
Sweeping the gun between the four men just in case, he stepped forward to where the box lay. Its lid had come off as it hit the ground. A stack of journals had slid onto the tarmac.
Jack reached down, ignoring the first three and moving instead to a battered black journal,
less impressive that the rest, feeling the weight of it in his palm for a few seconds. He had been waiting a long time for this. He took another look around and, happy that the men on the ground really were down, he opened the book. He skimmed through the pages, smiling at the untidy script that he could just about make out in the darkness, before going to the last page. He ran his fingers carefully over the hard cover, his fingers tracing a pattern in the darkness. It was still there. He felt the thrill of relief and a shiver of anticipation ran through him.
Jack slid his fingernail along the spine of the book, sliding it between the last page and the thicker paper that attached them to the hardback cover, tearing the two apart. He tore the paper away and there it was. He had been praying they had not found it, hoping instead they would focus on the journals themselves.
He held the flat disc to the light, able to make out the faint marks on its surface.
Jack LeTraub had never believed in an afterlife. It seemed too much to hope that souls lived on, still holding onto a tenuous connection with the loved ones on earth they had left behind. But given the precision and ease with which he had achieved his mission tonight, he could not help but feel a little hope in his heart that Jonathan was still out there somewhere, looking down on him and looking out for him this one last time.
The sound of screeching tires at the other end of the parking lot jerked him back from his thoughts. Gripping the cool metal disk tightly he jumped to his feet, dropping the book in the process. He didn't need it. He was more than fluent with its contents. Without the disc, the journals didn't really matter any way.
He found the strength in his legs that he had spent the past twelve months training for and he put on a short burst of speed until he was back into the darkness of the park. The blood pounding through his veins as he ran for all he was worth, holding the relic in one hand and his gun in the other until he realised he was about to come out back into a street. Jack jerked open his tracksuit jacket and re-holstered the gun, decreasing to a slow jog as he did so. He took the opportunity to look around, and saw nothing unusual. Keeping the metal disk tight in his palm he picked up the pace again, heading back towards his apartment.
He jogged up the final few steps, nodded to the new doorman and made his way to his apartment, not feeling safe until the door was closed and triple locked behind him.
57
'Now,' said Elizabeth dryly, looking at the chaos through the windscreen, 'I've never been one to look a gift horse in the mouth, but this looks a little fortuitous for my liking.'
'I see what you mean,' agreed Garth. 'Are those what I think they are?'
'They look like my father's journals to me. Either that or someone has just happened to drop an oversized box of notebooks on the floor.'
'What the hell is going on here? And who was that dude running away?'
'I don't know. Maybe he was just passing by and doing the concerned citizen bit?'
'So should we get out?'
'I feel a bit stupid sitting here doing nothing.'
'Are we sure that this isn't a trap?' Garth didn't trust anything and she couldn't blame him, especially now they didn't have David for back up. But the anonymous tip off that had arrived at her hotel in an envelope, complete with a picture of her father, made her think it wasn’t.
'It could be,' she hedged. 'But they look pretty dead to me.'
The two of them sat there in uneasy silence for a few more moments, before Elizabeth reached for the handle and gently cracked the door. The bodies on the floor didn't move, so she pushed it a little wider. She stepped out cautiously, ready to either fight or flee, but the men lying in front of her weren't going to be moving again anytime soon.
Following her lead, Garth also stepped out. He walked towards the first body, while Elizabeth made a beeline for the box that lay open between them. The thought of seeing some little piece of her father again spurred her on, stronger than the fear of the bodies around her. For the first time, she had caught a glimpse of the light at the end of the tunnel.
'Um, Elizabeth,' said Garth behind her, quietly, 'I think we'd better grab the journals and get the hell out of here.'
'That's what I intend to do. Why the urgency?'
'These guys have all been shot. This wasn't some vampire smack-down that took place.'
'I don't care how they got it, as long as they're not moving and we've got what we came for.' It saved her from having to kill them herself as far as she was concerned
'I'm not telling you out of some sense of moral outrage. But we're talking at least four shots ringing out in a high school parking lot. That's a 'call 911' experience if ever I've heard of one. Get the journals and let's get out of here.' He looked nervously over his shoulder, waiting for signs of activity, human or otherwise.
'This one's been torn open.'
'It probably got ripped when they dropped it. Come on, just pick them up and let's get the hell out of here. I can't afford a run-in with the cops.'
'I don't just mean torn, I mean pulled apart. Like there was something inside that's been taken out.'
'We can think about that later. Come on, let's go.' Garth tugged at her sleeve, forcing her to think about moving. He was right.
'Okay, okay,' she huffed, picking up the rest of the journals and putting them back in the box. She grabbed the battered lid and placed it on top, feeling like she was finally walking away with a prize. 'But you mark my words Garth, that jogger wasn't some innocent passerby. I'd put money on it.' Elizabeth looked around one last time but the man was long gone. She wished David was still here to help her. He would know what to do.
So much of her father's knowledge and now a good man's heart had been lost to them forever.
Swallowing the lump in her throat, she made her way back to the car.
58
'Get out of the car Ivan,' said Dennis through gritted teeth. 'No funny business.'
Monica wasn't sure she had ever seen him so angry. It was almost as if there was a darker side to him that he had kept hidden all of these years. When tonight was over they would have to make a serious attempt to rebuild their relationship. He had been right when he said he was more than just a PA to her. He was definitely a friend, something that she had either taken for granted or just ignored when it suited her.
'Monica, on the back seat of your car there's a pair of cuffs. Get them and put them on him.'
'Okay, this is getting a bit strange.'
'Just do it.'
'I'm just saying I find it odd that you happen to have a pair of handcuffs with you. Not the usual thing to be carrying around on a dark night,' She knew her brain was making her talk because it didn't want to think about what they were about to do. She didn't get nervous before sealing a high-powered negotiation, but premeditated murder was a whole other level. Monica looked at Dennis properly for the first time since they had climbed out of the car. 'Dennis, what the hell are you wearing? Is that a wetsuit? You look a complete…ah,' it suddenly dawned on her, something that had been bugging her at the back of her mind. 'So that's why I couldn't smell you in the back seat. Not a fresh smell anyway.'
'Monica,' Dennis said again in a low warning voice, letting her know she just had to get on with it and do this. Delaying tactics and idle chit-chat would only work against them.
'Okay, okay. Where are we anyway?' She'd followed his directions for an hour, but once the city was behind them, she'd lost all sense of where they were.
'Near Harriman State Park. A little place I know from a long time ago. You don't need to know any more than that.'
'The plan wasn't supposed to happen like this.'
'The plan has changed. Elizabeth knows what I'm doing and she agreed.'
'Elizabeth isn't the head of this family, I am.' Monica bristled.
Dennis looked at her over Ivan's shoulder, and an unspoken conversation passed between the two of them. He knew that she had been taking Elizabeth's advice on everything that they had done recently. She was questioning h
im, not her. He had done all this to save her life and she was belittling him.
Monica felt a blush beginning to rise up her cheeks when she realised something else that was completely obvious to him. He had been the last person to see her the night of the attack. He had known, seen with his own eyes, just how close to death she had been. It wouldn't take a genius to work out that she had fed to heal. It wasn't exactly an imaginative leap to work out that it was on Elizabeth's blood.
For the first time it also crossed her mind that it was exactly what he had intended when he left them alone.
Deciding that now probably was indeed a good time to just be quiet and do what he said, Monica reached into the back of the car to find the handcuffs. From the corner of her eye she saw Ivan go to make a move, but Dennis spotted it just as she did and jammed the gun further into the base of his neck. 'Now, now Ivan, let's not try to get clever about this, shall we? Start walking.'
'You do realise that you're never going to get away with this, don't you?'
'We might not, but it's a risk that I'm willing to take. That we're both willing to take, isn't that right Monica?'
'I can't say that it's something that I really want to do, but you left us no choice Ivan. I was counting on the elders being there for me. Instead you try to screw me over and get me killed. I don't think I'll ever know what I did to make you hate me so much.'
'Please don't flatter yourself Monica. It's not that I dislike you so much I'm willing to die for it.'
'Apparently you are, because look at the situation we've now found ourselves in.'
'My entire life has been spent in the service of our family. I was supposed to take over it when my time came. When you were chosen I thought my time had only been temporarily delayed. That was why I tolerated you for a while, because I thought your stewardship would be over quickly. The leadership of the family was meant to be mine, I am sure of it. I have never wavered in that belief.'