by Sharon Green
"Oh, Taz, that was priceless," Oldon said as soon as he stopped braying, still grinning from ear to ear. "The wrong vampire training… But in a way you're absolutely right, isn't she, Felippe? Our stories are different from almost everyone else's, aren't they?"
"They certainly are," Felippe agreed, his own grin just as wide. "We have the same sire, and that's what makes the difference. Fleur doesn't believe in catering to what you called the image, which is one of the reasons he chose the name he did. You'll definitely have to tell her about him sometime, Oldon, but right now we need to check up on the hotel. Unfortunately, though, we don't have transportation for all of you."
"Then you go ahead and we'll take the bus," Oldon said with a small shake of his head. "The prisoners are all loaded into the van now, but you'll have to do something to make sure they don't buy their way out of jail again. Someone took their money when they were arrested earlier today, which is why they were able to attack us tonight. I wanted to tell you that earlier, but we were … distracted."
"Pleasantly distracted, but this is something I do need to know," Felippe answered, sounding disturbed. "I'll find out who the fool was, and then we'll have one less fool in a position to do harm. I'll see you folks back at the hotel, and once the emergency is over I'll expect some introductions."
He smiled briefly in my direction, and then he was striding toward the car he'd come in. A couple of minutes later he and his group were gone, and Elaine had come over to join Oldon and me, Todd right beside her.
"You guys are really good," Elaine said with a grin as she looked around at the team and Oldon. "I don't remember ever feeling this well protected. Do you, Todd?"
"Nope, not ever," Todd agreed with his own grin. "And on top of that, watching was a lot of fun. So what happens now that the bad guys are taken care of? We going out on the town or what?"
"What we're doing is heading back to the hotel," I told Todd and Elaine both. "Those fools hired thugs to burn down the hotel, but hopefully the problem is already taken care of. There may still be a chance of some action, though, so–"
"Burn the hotel?" Elaine echoed in what was almost a screech, while Todd shouted, "No, they damned well better not!" Then Elaine added, "You better believe we're going back with you. We'll get the others and follow you to the bus stop."
Oldon and I nodded, then joined the rest of my team. The others were completely ready, not to mention completely up to date. Eric had heard everything, of course, and he hadn't wasted any time passing the word to Freemont and Amiol. George had also been told, but I had the distinct impression that George had already known.
Crossing the street to the bus stop we needed didn't take long, and a minute later Elaine's group had joined us. None of the Hunters people looked very happy, but that wasn't very surprising. Their possessions were in the hotel right along with mine and the team's; even if no one died in any fire that was set, all our personal things could end up lost.
It was a good thing buses came so quickly in that city. I was one step short of deciding to run back to the hotel when our ride showed up, and I had the distinct impression that Eric would have been right with me. When the bus stopped we all hurried aboard, paying as we went, and when the rush stopped I found Oldon sitting next to me.
"I think George went to check on what's happening at the hotel," Oldon said, and I had the feeling the vampire was trying to be calm and soothing. "I also think that Dan and his people have everything under control, and that's why I didn't make the effort to move on foot."
"Yeah, I noticed George disappearing," I agreed, still not very happy. "My partner will let us know if we need to be at the hotel faster, which can be accomplished more easily in this bus. If necessary, the driver can be … convinced to keep going until he reaches our stop."
"I agree with that thought, even though I'm going to pretend I didn't hear it," Oldon answered, faint amusement in his tone. "Felippe would be upset if he heard talk like that, mostly because this is his area to protect – including bus drivers."
"Oldon, what happened to Felippe that he keeps his face covered?" I asked. "I know I may be intruding where a stranger has no business to go, but…"
"No, it's all right," Oldon said quickly, holding up one hand. "Felippe doesn't consider his condition a secret, and he even makes fun of it by wearing that silly mask. What happened was that Felippe was attacked and badly burned and cut up before he was turned, so the terrible scars didn't disappear once he was turned. He hates the idea of looking like a monster, so he keeps his face covered."
"I don't blame him," I said, then had another thought. "But I still don't understand why he doesn't do something about the scarring – unless he's tried and the try didn't work."
"What kind of something are you talking about?" Oldon asked, turning just a little to look directly at me. "What do you think can be done about a condition carried over from when he was human?"
"The fact that he's not human now is the idea," I said, wondering why the explanation was necessary. "I think you know even better than I do that vampires are able to heal almost any kind of wound short of having his head cut off or his heart carved out. Why doesn't Felippe go to a doctor and have the layers of his skin removed down to where there's no more scarring? He should then heal the removal, with healthy skin and flesh."
Oldon sat and stared at me with such complete lack of movement that I began to worry. Had I said something wrong? Had I intruded so badly that–
"I don't believe it's possible to be this stupid," Oldon finally stated in a mutter, and he seemed to be turned inward in his thoughts. "I know all about cosmetic surgery, but not once did it occur to me… I can't figure out why it didn't occur to me."
"It probably didn't occur to you because you didn't grow up in this culture," I pointed out, trying to soothe his very obvious self-condemnation. "Knowing about something and considering that something as usual are two different things, you know. So you believe that Felippe will want to try the idea?"
"I'm certain he'll want to try it," Oldon answered, now looking happy and eager. "As soon as this nonsense is taken care of, we'll have to talk to him."
I nodded to show I agreed, then gave more than partial attention to our trip. Our driver wasn't stopping at every sign with a bus on it, not when there wasn't anyone waiting at those signs. The heaviness of the traffic was also less than it had been earlier, so we were making visible progress in the return trip. We were more than half way back when George suddenly appeared in the seat behind Oldon and me.
"They've located and stopped most of the fools sent to set the fire," George reported when we – and everyone else in hearing range – turned to him. "Mio found out that there's still one of them missing, but so far no one's been able to locate that last man. I tried my own hand at it, but I couldn't find him either. When Felippe showed up, he started to consider that the last man simply ran away."
"I'm not comfortable taking guesswork as fact," I said while everyone relaxed a little. "What do you think, Freemont? Am I being too paranoid this time?"
"I'd love to say yes, but I can't," Freemont answered, his gaze unfocused as usual. "This trouble isn't over with yet, but I can't reach any details. As soon as we get there we'll have to take a really good look around."
The small amount of relaxation everyone had felt was now gone, and wasn't that a crushing shock…
Chapter Six
It wasn't long before we reached the bus stop in front of our hotel. I made sure to tell the bus driver where we were getting off, which was probably a good thing. With no one at the bus stop, our driver might have gone right past it.
We jogged up the drive to get there faster, seeing all the lights and activity clearly even before we reached it. There were large groups of people standing around in different places, but most of the groups were composed of those who'd been inside the hotel. A separate, larger group held Dan and his people, a smaller group they surrounded, and Felippe and some of his people near all of them.
<
br /> "Hey, Taz, glad to see you and the others are okay," Dan greeted us as we came up. "We got all the firebugs but one, and that one might have left."
"Might have left, but I'm not so certain," Felippe put in, all his earlier amusement gone. "His friends there tell us that the man had two incendiary devices, and they don't consider him someone who would just run away. My people have done some looking around and are still doing it, but so far they've had no luck."
"But we can't find the being," Mio put in as he joined our group. "I'm getting an odd resonance of some sort when I reach for someone not in our groups, but I can't resolve the resonance. Even George can't find the miscreant."
And Mio was the strongest vampire there, possibly one of the strongest anywhere. If he and George were stymied…
"Okay, I just got a really weird idea," I said slowly, interrupting even more comments from almost everyone. "I have no idea if the weirdness will work, but it's worth a try. Eric, let's take a short walk into the dark."
"If you two start necking, the rest of us are leaving," Elaine said when Eric nodded and began to join me. "But if necking isn't on the schedule, let us know if we can help."
"Damned straight I will," I agreed before leading Eric back down the drive into deeper dark. Once we were far enough away I put a hand on Eric's arm.
"What I'm wondering about is if our senses will be sharper if we use our link," I murmured to Eric. "The try may not work but there's no sense in not making the effort."
"And if our try doesn't do it, maybe Amiol can use a spell," Eric murmured back with a slow nod. "But first let's try your idea."
I could feel that his mind was … open to me, so I dropped my mental paper bag and joined my mind to his the way I had when we'd faced two cheating shapeshifters. Our combined strength more than doubled, but it wasn't strength we were after right now. It was sensitivity, and that seemed more than doubled, too…
I was about to direct our senses toward the hotel, but something took my attention in the opposite direction. The impression was very slight, not to mention surrounded by heavy dark, but…
But there was something out in the deep shadows, a something that was insisting it wasn't there. I got the taste of another shapeshifter, and then Eric and I were moving as fast as we were able to. The suggestion in the shadows hesitated until it was sure we were heading right toward it, and then it tried to run. But happily for us it had waited just a little too long, and then we were jumping on someone who held a sack in his right hand.
"How did he do that?" Eric demanded once we had the fool down on the ground and the sack pulled out of his hand. "If I'd been searching on my own, I would have sworn there was no one there."
"I think that's what he did, decide he wasn't there," I suggested after thinking for a moment. "He put up the idea with such conviction that no one was able to get through to see that he was there. I'd say this weirdness needs to be looked into very badly."
"And I agree completely," Felippe said as he and some of his people – and a crowd of others – reached us with the flashlights they were holding. "We do need to know how he managed this, to make sure we're prepared if we run into the same thing again. Now that my people have taken custody of him, we'll send him and the others to our facility."
Two of Felippe's vampires had taken the arms of the man Eric and I held, so we let go and straightened up, then watched the captive being pulled to his feet and walked away.
"I think it might be wise to question all of those people again right now," I said to Felippe. "Just to make sure there aren't any plans we might have missed finding out about because we didn't ask."
"I believe that's what Oldon is doing, over there with the others," Felippe answered, nodding toward the place where the questioning was going on. "Once we're sure we're not turning our backs on any other plots, we can all relax for a while."
That sounded good, so we walked to where Oldon stood with the other would-be attackers. When we reached him, Oldon turned to us.
"Okay, people, that's it," he said with his usual smile. "There are no more of these thugs to worry about, and nothing else against us was on the schedule."
"That's good to hear," Felippe said with his own smile. "I'll get most of my people going back to our facility, and then I'll rejoin you. I'm going to leave a few of my associates to stand around in the dark just to make certain no one else comes to visit."
"We'll be on the terrace at the back of the hotel," Mio put in before Felippe walked away. "It's a beautiful night so we might as well spend some time enjoying it."
Felippe nodded and walked off, and then Dan stepped forward.
"I'm going to have a few of my people join his people," Dan decided aloud. "I'll feel better if I know for sure that no one is trying to sneak up on us."
"You know, you folks might do better if you invest in some surveillance equipment," Amiol suggested, mostly to Dan. "I have a feeling that last one's trick might not have been able to fool a camera."
"I'll definitely look into that," Dan said, obviously interested in the idea. "In fact, I think I'll ask Felippe's people to check once they get to their facility. That way they won't have to take the chance of losing the slime."
Dan took his own turn walking away, which meant the rest of us were able to follow Mio into the hotel and through it to the door leading to the terrace. It was a really pretty night, and when waiters came over to our table and the table Elaine and her teammates took, the night got even prettier. Those at our table all ordered coffee, except for Mio and Oldon. Those two ordered Whippes for themselves, and an extra for Felippe.
"Before Felippe joins us, there's something I want to tell you and your team, Taz," Mio said, his expression suggesting he was about to have some fun. "I've arranged an interim reward for you people, until we can come up with something really fitting for what you did for all of us."
"We were hired to do what we did, Mio," I said after exchanging glances with my teammates. "We appreciate your intention to add to our usual fee, but –"
"No, we're not really going to add to your fee," Mio interrupted with a wider smile. "That fee is set, and any additions would be subject to the usual taxes. We're just going to throw in a small bonus."
Before I could ask what he considered a bonus, he produced a stack of small cards from his jeans pocket. Oddly enough, the cards looked like –
"These are prepaid credit cards," Mio said as he began to hand out the cards to us. "As you can see, your names are on the cards. All you need to do to use them is produce the usual picture ID after you sign the back. And don't worry, George, we haven't forgotten you. Since ghosts can't use cards and don't need things even if they could use the cards, we've arranged to have a card sent to your wife. We learned that you're back in touch with her and your sons, but we won't deliver the card until you tell her it's coming."
"That's … incredibly thoughtful of you, Mio," George said, for once almost looking stunned. "I'll be sure to let my wife know - what? How much is the card prepaid with?"
"You folks have to understand how much money you saved us," Mio said, his amusement gentle but still definitely there. "We discovered that Verna meant to demand billions from us, and not just once. She kept a journal, and her writing made it clear that making us obey her was her greatest pleasure. She would have waited a short while and then killed more humans before demanding the same payment a second time. And maybe even a third."
"The woman was completely insane," Oldon put in, none of the same amusement to be seen in him. "If she hadn't been stopped, thousands of humans and vampires would have become her victims."
"So we decided to make our first thank-you somewhat memorable," Mio continued, his nod showing he agreed with what Oldon had said. "Those cards you're holding have been primed with a hundred thousand dollars each."
I stared at Mio for a moment before shifting my stare to my teammates, not in the least surprised that none of us had said a word yet. I felt so stunned that my mind had gone co
mpletely blank, and strangely enough Freemont looked just as poleaxed. He hadn't seen the gift coming, which made it a complete surprise for the whole team.
"Mio, I don't know what to say," I finally managed to get out. "That's not just generous, it's … How do we say thank you for something like this?"
"You don't need to say thank you," Mio answered, his grin very clear – as clear as his fangs. "We're the ones saying thank you, and I'm delighted that you all like our effort to please you."
"But … What about Oldon?" I found myself saying without having any idea the words were coming out. "He's the one who brought us here, and also worked with us. How can we –"
"Oh, don't worry about Oldon," Mio said with something of a laugh and a glance for the vampire next to him. "He does what he does for the fun of it, don't you, Oldon? If we tried to give him a gift he'd probably never notice."
Oldon's grin looked a bit on the wry side, but there was also something … strange in his expression. As though something had happened that he hadn't expected…
"Besides, Oldon doesn't need the money," Mio went on happily, apparently unaware of Oldon's reaction. "My old associate here isn't as well off as those of us in the business world, but he's certainly not hurting for funds. To say the least… Ah, here come our refreshments, right along with Felippe."
The masked vampire had come out onto the terrace, pausing only a moment before he had us located. Then he headed for us with a grin, taking the chair on Mio's other side without hesitation. The waiter with our coffee and the Whippes had begun to serve us, and when a bowl of Whippe was put in front of him Felippe chuckled.
"It was thoughtful of you to order for me, since I seem to need a boost right now," Felippe told us all. "I'm sorry you didn't order coffee for me as well, though, since I'm definitely addicted to the drink. I can't tolerate much of it, but a few tastes is better than none at all."
