Author's Note:
It's the long awaited next chapter! Seriously, we're sorry about the wait, truly we are. *looks unapologetic* All the exams are done (sort of; I have to retake one but that's more than you need to know) and while Sho-dono has to take some summer courses (and I have to study and drown myself in an online Biology 101 course – and maybe Intro to Psych…) we have time (and inclination) to actually write. Ah, the joy of summer vacation with a college that actually believes in summer vacation.
Greetings one and all, I, Sho-dono, have deigned to grace you all with my commentary once again thanks mainly to the darling comment from Never-Easy-Live, I'm back and plan on ripping y'all new ones with each successive chapter.
Chapter 28
Ambrose agreed to meet Sophie's 'friends' with very little prodding, mostly because he wished to postpone meeting with his sister and partially because the beautiful brunette was driving him utterly mad with longing. However...'this' was not what he'd been expecting.
Nathan glared as Sophie led the vampire into one of the hotel rooms the group had rented in order to keep an eye on things. He was not happy at the sudden change in plan... mostly because it was Yassen who had changed it, but this new plan added a larger amount of variables; it was starting to border on the point where Nate was going to shut it down and pull his team out. Eliot was feeling much the same way as Nathan about the changes but after Nate had thrown the phone across the room in irritation at the assassin's new plan, the hitter had picked it up and had the young dragon explain everything. He didn't trust Yassen, per se, but Eliot understood where he was coming from; the plan would make things easier and more efficient even with the added risks.
Sophie opened the hotel room door and allowed Ambrose to enter before her while glancing behind her to check for the familiar tow-headed killer; she entered only to find that the vampire had stopped mere feet from the doorway. "What in the world are you trying to pull?" Ambrose growled as he continued to glare at the two men within the room, "If this is some sort of gang rape..."
Sophie sputtered for a moment before practically snarling, "No, this is not some kinky gang rape, please, I'm trying to offer something important to you!"
"And that would be?"
"Your sister is trying to kill your sire while simultaneously starting the coup of the century and possibly becoming one of the Sages in the process," the mastermind answered, menace in his tone.
"We're offering you a chance to save your sire, stop the coup, and get out from under your sister's thumb," Sophie interjected smoothly. Ambrose shook his head slightly and backed towards the door.
"You're all insane," he muttered, "There's no way you could ever stop her, no way, none." He was stuck in a panicked loop and before any of them could stop him he turned and wrenched the door open, intent on fleeing, only to freeze at the gun pointed at his head held by the leather clad 'waiter' from the club's restaurant.
"Please, go back inside and sit down. You will listen, quietly, and rationally make a logical decision," the assassin coldly ordered. "Failure to do so will result in a great deal of pain."
The vampire backed away from the gun wielding man and ended up sitting on the bed when his knees hit the edge of the duvet. Eliot raised an eyebrow at Yassen and gave him a once over as the assassin put the Desert Eagle away...somewhere.
Eliot gave the Russian a questioning look and mouthed, 'Desert Eagle, really?' To which Yassen glared, mouthed back, 'Later', and turned his attention back to the vampire, subtly indicating the hitter should do the same.
Ambrose was still shaking and his wide eyes had not left the assassin even as Sophie approached him and gently laid a hand on his arm as she sat beside him. "Look, Ambrose, your sister is trying to cause a lot of harm to a lot of people. With your help we can stop her."
A bubble of hysterical laughter escaped the Scotsman and, when he answered, it was in a thick brogue that revealed his terror, "Ya cannae stop 'er; she'll akill all ya. She's too strong."
Yassen snorted and received a glare from the grifter before she spoke again, "She might at that, but at least we can say we tried to stop her, and who knows, we might actually succeed. But we need your help."
"Let me make this easier: Help now or die now. Those are your options," the blond killer deadpanned.
The brunette pressed her lips together and turned on the assassin, "You are not helping. Either keep quiet or go wait out in the hall!"
Gregorovich's response was to raise his eyebrows and smirk; the, "as if you could make me, idiot" was left to be silently implied. The Brit could only glower in response.
Ambrose huffed a desperate laugh even as his shaking started to calm down and his eyes began looking less wild, "You know that's exactly what my sister said to me when she started this whole thing." He laughed again and lowered his head.
"Ambrose..." The Scot held up his hand, took a deep breath, and quietly said, "What do you want me to do?"
It only took thirty minutes for Nate to outline the basic plan and explain Ambrose's part in it before the mastermind and Sophie escorted the shaken vampire back down to his car while Eliot and Yassen observed from the room's balcony. They were watching their newest assets Porsche drive down the street when the hitter started in on his earlier question, "A Desert Eagle, really? You couldn't have brought a smaller gun?"
The Russian frowned, "You bring a small gun when you're threatening a human. You bring a big gun when threatening a vampire. Larger gun with larger ammunition leaves a much bigger hole when you shoot something."
"Then why not a sawed-off shotgun? Much more practical than that hand-cannon ya brought."
The killer gave a pointed glare, "Can you even fathom how uncomfortably tight these pants are or is that beyond your comprehension?"
Eliot glanced at the leather pants appraisingly and admitted to himself that there was absolutely no way to hide a shotgun without it being overly obvious. "So then where do ya keep the Eagle?"
Yassen smirked and pushed himself from his slumped position on the rail and turned to go back in the room with a simple, "Wouldn't you like to know."
"You screwed up, Sophie," Nate growled out, clenching and unclenching his fists. A chill ran down the grifter's spine and she silently started praying that Eliot would appear to calm the sadist.
"Nate..." she took a surreptitious step away from the mastermind and crossed her arms.
"You were supposed to stick to the plan: Target the accountant, gain his trust, and get him to help us take down both siblings. Instead, you cozy up to one of our end goals and bring him to where we were staying. How stupid can you get?"
"Look, I saw a chance to take down the one who is actually causing the trouble. You saw him! He's terrified of his sister! What, were we supposed to take the innocent sibling down along with the evil one?"
Immediately the brunette realized her mistake when the look of insanity and unquenchable rage appear in Nathan Ford's eyes. He slipped his hand into his pocket and pulled out a syringe filled with what the Brit assumed was the infamous paralytic. She backed away, hands raised in the universal sign for "please don't hurt me" until Sophie's back hit the wall. "Please don't do this, Nate."
At that moment Eliot descended the stairs and saw what was happening, "Nate," he called calmly, catching the killer's attention. "Leave Sophie be, it's time for bed." The hitter let a suggestive tone slip into his voice and watched with a mixture satisfaction and dread as understanding dawned over the other's face.
Mastermind kept the manic grin and crazy gleam in his eyes as he approached the retrieval specialist, "You won't be able to leave the bed without help tomorrow, pet."
Eliot lowered his head slightly and sighed. "Figured that out already," he muttered as Nate lead him back up the stairs.
Elsewhere, Yassen was Skyping with Alex to inform the ex-spy about the impromptu plan changes and the 'close-call' he'd overheard with Mastermind. "This is the exact reason I never want you to be alone with Nathan Ford, Ангел мой," the assassin intoned.
Alex nodded in understanding, "I get it, Yassen, but at least things are progressing, even if it's not quite the way we thought they would." He paused for a moment and tilted his head slightly, "And I know it should be obvious to me, but why in the world are you wearing a leather vest?"
"The fetish club required it as uniform; there are even leather pants and leather boots. I'm not looking forward to removing them after six hours in a room with little A.C. exasperated by gyrating bodies."
A muscle in Alex's jaw twitched, "I want to see."
Yassen smiled indulgently, "Not tonight, Alex, Hardison is here," he shifted the camera slightly to show the hacker lounging on his bed before turning it back to himself. Goodnight, love."
Alex pouted slightly but agreed, "Night, Yassen, come home safe."
"I will." The assassin reached up and turned the camera off followed by the computer before turning around in the swivel chair to look at Hardison who gave him a silent once over.
"Any idea at all how you're getting that get-up off?"
"Not a clue."
