Chapter Ten

Beni's eyes followed Jessica around the room, ever since she had came back from that little picnic with her new boyfriend a couple of days ago she had been happily humming and smiling to herself.

He was happy for her, would be happier when he met the guy as well maybe. Jessica had invited him around tonight for a quiet family dinner.

There were two types of 'quiet' dinners in Beni's family. One where half the family were invited and was quiet to the respect that you had to walk down the street for a couple of blocks just so you could hear yourself think and the normal one, where him, his wife and son would be there.

He had invited Rick along as well; knowing that any father would like to interrogate his daughter's boyfriend, but he had silently shook his head. Even after Beni's spirited words of before, Rick had not been moved and had spent most of his time vigilantly ignoring his daughter.

Beni could only guess the amount of torment Rick was in; it was always a parent's nightmare for their children to make the same mistakes as them. But with Jessica, well the one mistake her Father had been put in prison for, she was doing as a full time career. Something like that would keep any parent up at night.

But Beni had simply accepted it, sometimes that was the only thing you could do. Beni loved the girl as much as his own son, but with some things as ridiculous as it sounded, you needed to make allowances.

"So where is this lad then?"

Jessica looked back at him as she waited at one of the window seats in the restaurant, "he's not due for another half an hour uncle, calm down."

He wanted to, sure he did but Jessica's happiness for some unknown reason meant a lot to him. She didn't think he saw, but he did, it was hard not to notice that look in her eyes.

The way she would look away when everyone else was happily chatting away beside her and that was when he would catch it. That partly tormented look and what was left was filled with sorrow.

He should never had let Linda take Jessica away, but that such a long time ago now and at the time it had seemed to be the right thing to do.

But people made mistakes and this was just going to have to be another one he would have to live with.

Jessica looked out of the window anxiously, Zeke would come, he had promised her that but she still couldn't keep the feeling down that this could all turn out like it did with Ryan. She was going to fall in love with the guy and then he was going to break her heart in the worst way.

It had been bad enough last time; she didn't think she could stand it again.

He turned up ten minutes early and seemed to charm his way into Beni's good books. He looked good, maybe that was what sold him to Beni's wife, Zeke was wearing a smart black shirt and pants, he seemed not to have made any real effort at all, yet looked stunning.

Beni was the first one to start the interrogation, "So Zeke, how long have you known our Jessica?"

He smiled, having been forewarned of their tactics, "first about two months ago, Jessica bumped in to me when I was staying with some friends in Vegas."

"Vegas, hey?" Beni was smart enough to know what was really happening under the glitz and glamour of Vegas, with its bright lights and casino's. "So what type of friends would these be then?"

"They're Day breakers." And Zeke had said it so easily and their eyes met in a momentary streak of panic.

"Day breakers?"

Jessica interrupted Zeke before he dug himself any deeper.

"They're a type of commune Uncle, you know the type. Free love, happiness… mere hippies."

"And your boyfriend associates with these type of people?"

"They're friends, aren't they Zeke," she said giving him a stern look, she turned back to Beni, "he likes mixing with people with such diverse beliefs."

Beni nodded slowly and continued munching his food, Jessica glanced at Zeke and his relieved expression, she would have to get them both out of here soon, for Zeke benefit more then her own.

"So Zeke what do you do for a living?"

Jessica and Zeke had rehearsed this all before they had accepted the dinner invitation and right now; Jessica was just hoping Zeke remembered it all.

"I work for a charity."

"Really now," Beni didn't sound that impressed, "and what do they do?"

"We strive for racial equality."

It wasn't that far from the truth, Daybreak did strive for racial equality, it was just between the nightworld and human world was all.

"And I guess you don't get paid for this?"

Jessica laughed, "Uncle!" she reprimanded, "Zeke was left a small fortune from a relative and is happy enough helping others."

Beni returned to his meal and shrugged, "well what can I say, it's a very noble job."

"Thank you sir."

Beni looked up and smiled, "call me Beni."

And that was the moment Jessica knew Zeke had just been accepted into the family.

They had fled with as much dignity as they could after the desserts were handed around. A beautiful smile was planted on Zeke's face as she pulled him away with as much strength as she could muster.

She had forgotten how emotional draining her family could be and for one fleeting second during the meal she had thought her Dad had come out to reconcile things, but her hope had dropped as he glided towards Beni and said something into his ear, he had left the room without looking in her direction once.

"You okay?"

She slowed down and looked over to him, "yeah fine," she pulled him closer and kissed him, "and thank you for coming."

"No problem, I couldn't have let you down now, could I?"

She laughed and shook her head and kissed him again, "no, no you couldn't."

"So," he ventured, "when are you going to accept my little invitation?"

Jessica froze, when she had mentioned Beni's request to meet him, he had too invited her around the daybreak place he was staying. But she had thought he had been joking, she was an assassin. It would be like inviting a lioness into a playpen.

"I didn't realise you were serious about it."

"Why wouldn't I be?"

"Let me see, I kill people for a living and am a culmination of all the immoral things that they stand against."

"You're my girlfriend."

She looked at him for a moment and shook her head, "you haven't told them what I do, have you?"

He shook his head, "no."

She felt something twist inside of her, could she take this as an act of betrayal, because that was what it felt like, but would she really tell her friends she was dating a Day breaker?

"Okay, you survived my hell so I might as well do yours, when do you want to go?"

"Now!"

She sighed and looked down on her self, "now? Have you seen what I'm dressed like?"

His eyes drifted down her body and she contained a blush, she was wearing the clothes that Maria supplied her with on their shopping trip. As this was just casual she was wearing some jeans and an indigo top.

"You look good enough for anything."

She slapped his arm, "Oih," she still blushed though. "Are you sure you want to go now?"

"Yeah I do, they know I'm going out with someone and have been berating me about it for a while now, so it'll be good to put an end to their nagging."

She let him take her hand and stood silently as he hailed a cab, he gave an address Jessica faintly recognised and sat in blissful silence with him in the back.

"So how many hearts have you broken now, telling them that you're unavailable?"

He brought her hand up that he still grasped in his and kissed the back it, "you think too much of me," he let go of her hand and rested his on her leg.

The familiarity between them felt weird, she had only been dating him for five days and yet felt something for him that made her stomach do back flips. She had it bad; she knew that and didn't care in the slightest.

The cab came to a halt outside a dingy block of flats; grabbing some money out of his pocket Zeke paid the driver and pulled Jessica out. He waited until the cab took its leave and motioned her to the building.

"Welcome to my abode."

"Nice," she said dryly as she looked at it sceptically.

"You should know by now to never judge a book by its cover."

He pulled her in, literally, she wasn't that happy about this. But for his sake she was going to give it a go.

The place looked like on of those horrible half way houses; a guy was in a glass security box on the way in, a chicken wire sort of fence barring the entrance.

"ID please," the guy behind the screen grunted; he had the stereotypical small TV in there with him and the horrible grimy plastic screen between him and them.

Zeke produced a plain plastic white card with a bar code on it; he slid it under the slot and waited.

The guy took it, skimmed it in something beside the TV, suddenly his TV programme was replaced with Zeke's details, a serious looking photo of him included.

The guy smiled at him, "you know the protocol," he sighed and handed him back the card, "and the girl?"

"A guest, my guest," the man still looked at him blandly, "my girlfriend;" Zeke finally admitted.

The guy smiled and beeped something under the desk, making Jessica jerk back, the front door locked in a regimental clunking noise and the chicken wire gate mechanically moved aside.

Catching her unease Zeke took her hand, "it's just our security Jessica, don't worry."

She tried not to but suddenly she felt like a wild animal trapped, ever since being locked up in those cells with Ryan. She hadn't taken a fancy to enclosed spaces, especially anywhere with locks.

He motioned her on and the only place to go was into a lift, he pressed a button and something beeped and the doors opened. He stepped in and dragged her along as well.

"That just scanned my finger print," once they were in he pressed the button for the basement and waited, he lifted his head up and nodded to a dome sort of camera set in the ceiling of the lift, "wave, promise this is the last stage and then we can go meet the others."

"So what do they use upstairs as?"

"Oh, that's just the sleeping quarters, everyone hangs out here." And as he said that the lift started moving and seconds later the doors opened and they were presented with a white washed hall way."

"Come on," he said pulling her along, "I can't wait until they meet you."

Not surprisingly, Jessica could.

There were doors that lined the hall way and Zeke opened one right at the end, when they walked in; it was like one of those bazaar scene changes you have in dreams. Suddenly they were in a polished, almost hospital hall way and then as the door opened and closed behind them they were in a common room.

And from the looks of it about fifty people were hanging about in it.

She stood beside Zeke, his hand in hers. Her other hand started to fidget though, unused to being unarmed with so many people around.

Why hadn't she tied a knife to her leg or something? Finally someone noticed them and silence suddenly seemed to descend upon the room.

"So who's this then?"

A girl with long blonde hair stood up, she was petit and pretty and most probably nightworld. Jessica was in a room with a whole lot of dangerous night worlders and weaponless.

Zeke smiled, oblivious to Jessica unease, "this is Jessica."

The girl smiled back, mischievousness pasted on her face, "so this is the girl who stole our man away, chucks," she offered her hand out politely to Jessica and she shook it, "my name is Nidra"

"Hi."

Some of the women in the group were giving her suspicious glances and the men admirable ones. There were humans in the room as well, mixing fearlessly amongst the rest.

They got themselves a spare little sofa and sat themselves down, they soon enough gathered themselves a little audience.

"So how long have you two known each other?" it was Nidra who was heading the firing squad.

"Not long," Jessica admitted, "we met fleetingly a couple of months ago and then again a few days ago."

"Ahh, how romantic," someone swooned at the back.

Jessica just rolled her eyes and Zeke laughed, "Oih, cynic," he jibed.

They all chatted amorously about Zeke and how much he had helped everyone over the years. He was blushing dangerously and Jessica felt like she was sitting next to a saint, there wasn't anyone in the room, who didn't owe their life to Zeke.

Jessica took lives; she didn't save them.

A guy made his way from the back and stood there in front of her menacingly; Jessica suddenly wanted her weapons.

"Not wanting to ruin this little liaison, but being what I am. I just want one question answered. Jessica is human right?"

Zeke nodded, "yeah."

"Right," the guy laughed, "Because I'm not the only one who's noticed this," he paused as if he had difficulty with his words, he finally spat it out, "why hasn't she got a life force?"

Jessica turned to Zeke, knowing now that Zeke's little ruse would never had worked, "Yes Zeke, explain." She sat patiently waiting.

He sighed, "There was some stuff I left out."

The guy smiled and the others settled back as they realised it was just getting exciting.

Jessica shook her, "Yeah, only a little."

"And those bits were?" Nidra pushed.

"She is human, her life force was witched a way."

Nidra nodded, "Zeke that is a very illegal spell, no Witch would even try, I know I wouldn't. So why and how?"

Jessica sat back, waiting for the tornado to be released; she knew she had gotten too much of a nice welcome for it to last.

"Jessica," Zeke seemed to stumble in his explanation within the first couple of words, "she was kidnapped when she was a child and then trained."

Nidra sighed, "Elaborate please."

"I'm an assassin," Jessica supplied, knowing Zeke would take all day, "Everyone I was trained with, had their life forces witched away. We're assigned to both humans and night worlders, so the Company found that it was necessary at the time."

"And now?"

Jessica looked at Nidra, "and now what?"

Nidra smiled and sighed, "I had always thought that Zeke would have some moral code as he's been here so long. For some reason I can't see him going out with a killer."

"Well he is," Jessica stood up and turned around to Zeke, "I knew you should have told them, how naive were you to even try?" she shook her head and went to head out the way they came in.

"Jessica wait!"

She stopped outside the door, his hand came and rested on her shoulder and she turned around.

"I don't care what they think, I love you and I want you to know that. I hadn't been able to stop thinking about you since we met in Vegas and I'm not letting you go again."

"You know as much as me, everyone will be hoping that we'll fail."

"I don't care, you hear me," he pulled her closer and she rested her head on his shoulder, "I love you and I don't care what they think."

Finally relenting Kyle pulled the crumbled piece of paper of his pocket and handed it over to Elizabeth.

"This is what you want."

Elizabeth unravelled it in her hand and took a deep breath, "this is it?"

He nodded, "yeah, I was going hide it until the time was right, but then I realised, there was never going to be a time when it was right."

She seemed to stroke the paper in her hand, "I have waited centuries for this and never thought I would feel this much elation over something so miniscule. It's just a piece of paper, yet it holds everything."

"Will you make him bring down the Company?"

She nodded determined, "I'll do what I must. I'm sure Tristan hasn't even realised what he has created, but as all things, this must end. When our chapter is closed, so will the Company's."

Kyle tried to smile, tried to feel relieved, but what ever he did he couldn't. From major ambition to betrayal, he had turned against the only life he had known and now, knowing that the end could be so near. He was lost in a sea of uncertainty.

What ever he had done, it had always concerned the Company. From him leading the way with the recruits to him planning it's down fall.

He felt almost lost and watched silently as Elizabeth left. He would learn to survive, exactly as the assassins would.

Jessica smiled and shook her head, "Uncle Beni, do you really expect me to wear that?"

"Yes I do, that was picked out by my dear wife and if I don't say so myself is rather beautiful."

She had come in late last night and gone straight to her room, as soon as she had woken up Beni had snatched her and taken her to show her what she was going to wear to the Ball at Sequoia's tomorrow night.

It was a black dress that was strapless and flowed to the ground, the shoes were even neatly supplied next to it, Jessica shook her head, she hated wearing high heels, and it was going to be worse night for her feet in a long time.

Sheila, Beni's wife came in half way through her protests, it wasn't that she didn't like the dress it was just that she didn't wear clothes like that. They were too pretty, too feminine, Jessica had never been dainty and never in her life did she want to be.

Things like that showed too much weakness and she had spent too much time over the years hiding all of hers.

"Ahh, Jessica."

Jessica turned around at Sheila's voice and smiled; she was a lovely woman and had somehow kept her patience over the years with all of Beni's dealings.

"Hello Auntie."

"So you've seen the dress, you're going to have to try it on darling, I wasn't sure about your size, I talked to Maria and all but well, tomorrow night is going to be an important night, especially for Beni and future business transactions."

Jessica nodded and resigned to the fact, "okay Auntie," and she pulled the dress of its hanger and slunk out of the room.

Gunner burst through the front door and scoured the house; he knew he shouldn't have left her. She had been silently sleeping as he had slunk out of the house. He just wanted to figure out how he could ask the Company for compassionate leave, but now with Mia disappearance, he didn't really need to make up an excuse now.

A piece of paper caught his eye that was resting on the tabletop in the kitchen; his name had been pasted along the top with Mia's scrawl.

He read the words again, just so he could digest it more.

'Gunner

Gone out to save people, see you when it's all over

Love you lots,

Mia'

He shoved the table across the kitchen and smashed glass sprinkled along the floor.

Gone to save people, what did she mean by that?

And that was when it dawned to him.

Circle Daybreak.

Now he would have to get her and bring her back before the Company realised where she had gone and he paused, was there anyone he trust?

Jessica's face flashed in his mind's eye, but she had chosen the Company over Ryan and over the last year she had distanced herself, there was no chance for him to know where her loyalties laid.

So Hira was the only one he could trust, the others would doubt and bicker among themselves, Hira was always the one with the straight answers and actions. He took out cell phone, dialled Hira's number and waited as it rung, Hira's hypnotic voice sounded at the other end.

"Hira, it's me Gunner. I have a big problem…."

The phone rang incessantly at the other end; she waited another five rings and put it down.

Jessica paced around her room, she was nervous, it was stupid, the last time she felt like this was just before they let her out of the Company compound. But now she had to go to that stupid Ball and Zeke wasn't at the other end of the phone to tell her that it would be all right.

Beni entered the room in his best tuxedo and looked at her without patience this time, "love, we're running out of time, you can ring that boyfriend of yours when we get back."

She stroked down her dress and nodded, "okay Uncle, let's get this hell over and done with."

She didn't want to have to do this, a big business function with only a dagger tied to the inside of her leg for protection. She followed her Uncle out of the house and into the limousine that sleekly waited in the driveway.

They drove in silence, Beni's excitement at the situation over spilling as he twiddled with the electric window beside him.

Ten minutes later they had arrived and Beni's smartly dressed chauffeur open the side door, being ever the gentlemen Beni exited first and extended his hand to Jessica to help her out.

All Jessica could do was marvel in silence as they followed the gentle stream of people into the house, each person as elegant as the other and not to mention hardly any of them over thirty. She wanted to take Beni back now, shove him back in the Limo and take him home, protect him from these people somehow.

But if she did that she would have to explain why and explaining her self, was never one of Jessica's best qualities. It was hard enough Beni accepting Jessica as a killer; she didn't want to push the reality of the Nightworld onto him as well.

The mansion was elegant and the hall they entered into was even more so, soft whites and silvers seemed to be hanging everywhere and candles littered the side of the hall in a magnificent flickering beauty.

Her hands started to sweat in the soft long gloves that Beni's wife had given her just before they left, something to finish the outfit she had added.

"How long are we going to be here?"

Beni looked at her with sympathy, "long enough to mingle my dear and long enough to show Sequoia that I'm making an effort."

"You're here, isn't that enough?"

"Nothing is ever enough my dear, you'll soon learn that," he straightened himself a fraction, "and here comes our host," he said to her quickly under his breath.

Jessica looked to her right, Beni seemed to have noticed more then her tonight, the crowd seemed to have thinned and Sequoia was heading in their direction with an aristocratic smile on his face, nodding at people as he passed.

"Beni, how nice to see you made it and yes, Jessica, looking beautiful if I might mention."

Jessica bit down on her tongue before she said she'd of preferred it if he hadn't, his charm, wasn't working on her and Jessica realised that he was slowly realising it too. He smiled at her as if amused.

"This is a beautiful building," Beni supplied, easing the tension, "have you lived here long?"

Sequoia looked at Jessica, "decades," he laughed, "well maybe not, lets just say it feels like that, it's a pity my age belies the fact."

"Well what can I say," Jessica didn't want to be here and wasn't going to be polite about it, "you could have paid a plastic surgeon a hefty load and have been here that long," she looked him dead in the eye, the playfulness gone, "but we'd know it'd be a lie, wouldn't we?"

"Yes, yes we would."

Sequoia turned to Beni, "well I hope you enjoy your evening and I might have to steal your charming Goddaughter off of you later, to give her a tour of the idyllic gardens."

"It would be my pleasure," Beni nodded at him as Sequoia turned and left.

"I'm not property that you can lend out you know."

Beni looked at her and smiled, "Jessica I know that, it'll do you good to spend time with an attractive man."

"I have a boyfriend."

"I have realised that my dear, I'm married you might notice but I still sample other woman."

Open-mouthed Jessica looked at him in shock, "you've sampled other woman on Sheila?"

He rolled his eyes, "I have never cheated on my wife, you hear me? I mean sample with the eyes, okay?"

She nodded at him, "I don't like him though."

"Well this will give you a better chance."

"What to hate him more?"

"To get to know him," he shook his head; "the youth of today, now will you give me the pleasure of your first dance?"

She smiled at him and followed his lead.