Chapter One: Empire State of Mind
I looked over the Chevy suburban that Will had probably "borrowed" from a parking lot, or someone's driveway, last night. It would certainly hold all of our luggage, but I still hated American cars. For a country that was the best at just about everything, they definitely weren't the leader where automobiles were concerned.
The sun was just rising. It would take us a couple of hours to drive to Seattle. I watched as the Cullens exchanged goodbyes in the driveway. Bella and Jacob looked awkward as they wished each other well, and parted. No doubt, my comment last night about Bella wanting to jump Jacob had left the air between them uncomfortably thick. That was fine with me; someone had to say something about it.
I got into the driver seat after the Cullens got in. Will sat shotgun.
"You should turn your headlights on," Will told me as I was about to pull out. "I know you don't need them," he continued, "but we don't want to attract attention."
I searched the console for the headlights. Where were the damn headlights anyway? Finally, I found them and switched them on. "I hate American cars," I muttered.
"We're not in Italy anymore Dorothy," Will said with a smile. That was for sure. Though, the other thing I was sure about was that we'd all be in Italy before the end of the week.
The Cullens were too optimistic, which was unfortunate for them.
We made it to the Seatac airport and parted ways at the security checkpoint. "I'll miss you," Will told me as he cupped my face in his hands and kissed me lightly. I looked up into his glittering red eyes. I really did love William Luckey. He certainly was not the kind of man my father would have wanted me to be with; so, to this day, I'm not sure why Aro kept him for me—though the motive had to have been a selfish one. Aro never did anything for anyone else.
"I'll miss you too," I said to Will.
"Don't run off with Richie while I'm gone," he said playfully.
"Don't be silly," I said back. Then I turned serious, "Stick to the plan, okay?"
"Will do," he assured me.
After one last kiss, we parted and I led Edward and Jasper to our departure gate. We boarded the plane and settled into our seats in first class. I glanced at Edward, who was sitting to my right, looking out the small window at the hustle and bustle below. He looked preoccupied and anxious; I'm sure he was worried about his daughter and his wife. And I knew it was only going to get worse.
"What's our first move when we get to New York?" Jasper asked me from across the aisle, after the plane had reached its cruising altitude.
"We meet up with a friend of mine," I said as the stewardess placed the so-called "Italian" lasagna on my tray.
Edward had turned from the window to face me. "Who is this friend of yours?" he inquired.
"His name is Richie Moretti," I answered. "He's a vampire, and he has connections, so he'll be able to keep us under the radar while we stay with him."
"What do you mean by 'connections'?" Jasper asked.
I smiled to myself as I thought about how far back Richie and I went. "Have you heard of the Italian Mafia?" I asked Jasper and Edward both. "Of the Five Pointers Gang, more specifically?"
"Sure," Jasper answered.
"Did you know that the Italian Mafia had connections to the Volturi?" I asked.
"Are you serious?" Edward wondered.
"Let me give you a little background," I replied. "You've probably heard of Paolo Vaccarelli; also know in the States as Paul Kelly. He was a member of the Volturi guard way back when; but he eventually became disenchanted with the job. He got tired of doing someone else's bidding and decided to start his own empire of sorts in a somewhat virginal land."
"America," Edward offered.
"Exactly," I confirmed. "He took a hop across the pond and settled in New York along with other immigrants looking for the American Dream."
"But Vaccarelli died and the Five Pointers Gang is extinct," Jasper said.
"Maybe to the first one, and no to the second," I said. "Vaccarelli supposedly died in 1936."
"What does that mean?" Jasper asked.
"It means that there were a lot of attempts made to kill Vaccarelli, but it's unclear if any of them worked," I clarified. "It's widely known that he dodged a good number of bullets. Of course, no one knew the real reason that he was able to survive was because he was a vampire. However, people started to get suspicious as he miraculously survived every time." I shrugged. "I suppose it's possible that he really did die in 1936; or he could have simply gone into hiding. As for the Five Points Gang, they're not extinct, just underground."
"So Al Capone and the rest of them were vampires too?" Jasper asked with a hint of mirth in his tone.
"No, they weren't," I answered. "The Italian Mafia is composed of three different kinds of people, just like the rest of the world: there are vampires, those who know about vampires, and those who don't." I turned to Edward. "I'm sure you remember your visit to Volterra," I told him, "and who the Volturi keep as office staff. They keep humans: humans who are counting on the promise of immortality in exchange for their loyalty. I'm guessing Al Capone knew of our kind, though he wasn't a vampire. There are also plenty of innocents who never knew vampires existed at all."
"Sure gives new meaning to 'Gangs of New York,'" Jasper commented.
"Richie is Italian Mafia," I continued and then smiled. "Richie and I go way back. We met when we were both attending Columbia University years ago."
"So we're staying with him?" Edward inquired of me.
"Yes," I replied. "He's one of the few people that I trust implicitly."
"That's comforting," Jasper said with sarcasm.
"It should be," I retorted.
"Next you're going to tell us that Dracula was a real vampire too," Jasper looked sideways at me from across the aisle.
"Actually," I replied, "Dracula wasn't a vampire. He was just a sick and twisted human." I took a sip of the pinot that had also been placed on my tray. "Eventually," I continued, "the Volturi got rid of him; he became too much of a PR problem."
"Be sure to pass along my gratitude for the Volturi's vigilance," Jasper said sarcastically.
I turned my head to look at him square in the eye. "You should be grateful to the Volturi," I countered. "It's because of them that you can live your life freely."
"The Volturi have been nothing but a pain in my side," Jasper drew out the words.
"You shouldn't soon forget that it was the Volturi who bailed you out of a perilous situation with a certain vengeful, rogue vampire named Victoria," I pointed out.
"Well, thank goodness we saw eye to eye on that one," Jasper said. "The Volturi only get involved with anything that benefits them. They are power-hungry, not peace-keepers."
"The Volturi are necessary," I retorted. "Without them, there would be chaos." I leaned forward in my chair to get a little closer to Jasper. "Having the vampire world rule themselves would be like making the inmates of Guantanamo Bay your law-making congressmen—not a pretty picture. Not every group of vampires is as 'controlled' and peaceful as your little coven of vegetarians," I finished snidely.
"Though they say that absolute power can corrupt absolutely," Edward added. The sudden sound of his voice made me turn around in my seat to face him.
I held his gaze and said, "It takes a heavy hand to rule an already corrupt species."
Then, without saying anything else, I leaned back into the semi-comfortable chair, with my "lasagna" barely touched. I really could have gone for a stiff drink about then: a bag of AB positive, or a glass of vodka.
I must have dozed off, because I awoke to Edward's gentle shaking of my shoulder with his hand. "We're here," he told me. Similar I'm sure to Renesme: when I fell asleep, I was dead to the world.
We deplaned and collected our luggage. One man in a business suit offered, unnecessarily, to help lift my luggage off of the conveyor. I allowed him to make a fool of himself—wincing under the weight of my suitcase—that I could have easily lifted with my little finger.
I smiled sarcastically and thanked him insincerely, as he looked me up and down—which he thought went unnoticed by me. It was too bad that I had places to be and things to do; he looked pretty tasty, and I'd finish him off just for that once-over he had given me.
Outside, the rental car was waiting just as planned. Finally, something I could enjoy driving. We loaded up into the black, four-door, Ferrari 612 Seaglietti, drove out of the airport, and into a vampire's paradise: the city that never sleeps.