Chapter 38 - Planning The Next Steps

"Alright, before we can even think about traveling across the Atlantic, we need to clear up some details first," Ted announced as they stepped into their room. "Namely, what exactly is our plan?"

"We need a concrete plan of action if we're going to get through this," Cody admitted as he sat down on one of the beds. "We're not dealing with some low-level street thug or an up and coming organization. . . We're going up against the Romanian coven for fucking sakes!"

"Not the entire coven of course," Ted reminded him as he sat down on a separate bed. "Just the coven's second in command, and everyone that agrees with his ideas for world domination of course."

"When you put it that way, I guess that makes things a little better . . . NOT!" Cody grumbled as he turned to Randy, who was leaning against the closed door. "But still, we're facing an enemy unlike any other. More money, more resources, more manpower, more connections . . . This is an entirely different ball game we're dealing with here guys. How are we going to get through this?"

"You sound unsure Cody," Randy quietly pointed out, his eyes never leaving the mustached vampire. "I've never heard you sound like this before."

"Well, I've never felt like this before," Cody mumbled, bringing his hands to his face. "Look, aside from the very first mission I've been on, I've treated all my missions the same, with cold, hard, sometimes sarcastic professionalism . . . This mission is unlike any other man. I got a personal stake in this thing. WE have a personal stake in this thing Randy!"

"I know, I know," Randy conceded, his thoughts going back to the curly haired psychic who was seemingly destined for him. "Amanda, Kaitlyn, and Kelly's lives are all in danger, and if we don't tread carefully, we would only be making things worse for them."

"We have little to no margin for error here," Ted agreed, nodding his head. "This is one of those times that we really need to think with our heads more than our fists . . . So, how do we do it this time around? What's the plan going forward?"

"For starters, we need to work under the assumption that Mr. S knows that we escaped JBL and his cronies," Randy mumbled, bringing a hand to his chin. "There's no way in hell that someone like Mr. S would immediately assume that everything was handled once his people brought us to JBL's property, especially people of our pedigree. . . He would have called in for regular updates."

"Which means that he would know something was up once JBL didn't make the next scheduled call," Cody mused. "He would have known that we had escaped."

"He would know that we escaped, but he wouldn't know exactly where we went afterward, or what kind of condition we would be in after our time in JBL's care," Ted added. "That should buy us some time, right?"

"It should, as long as he has no idea where exactly we headed," Cody added. "If Mr. S has some sense of what our employer is and how far his reach is, then he would figure that some of our likeliest destinations would be the major cities near JBL's place."

"The likeliest being New York City, which we're at right now," Randy pointed out. "It's possible that Mr. S knows about this HQ. However, I don't think he knows about the specific location."

"It's possible, then again, why would Mr. S continue to have his resources linger here in the States when he already got what he wanted?" Cody argued. "He could have people come after us to finish the job, or he could have recalled them all to Romania to consolidate his power base for the next phase of his plan."

"Cody makes a good point," Ted realized, shaking his head. "If Amanda ends up being the key to his plans being successful, he's going to keep his focus all on her rather than us. We could use this to our advantage, but we have to work quickly."

"Time is of the essence. . ." Randy agreed, knowing that they needed to move fast, but move smart. "Alright, we'll operate as if Mr. S knows that we've escaped JBL. We can't act like we're in the clear for whatever reason. We work fast, we move fast. No stupid moves from here on out. Do I make myself clear?"

"Crystal!" Cody agreed, both their eyes turning to Ted, who looked a little unsure for once. "What's with that look Ted?"

"I know you just said that there are no stupid moves from here on out, but do you really think that's something both of you can manage?" Ted asked, his face getting very serious as he crossed his arms over his chest. "Like Cody said before, you two have a personal stake in this mission. Your soulmates are at risk here, and we vampires tend to not be the most reasonable when our mates are the ones in danger. . . Do you two think you can keep your heads on straight knowing that Amanda and Kelly are in so much danger? Especially you Cody?"

"Especially me Ted?!" Cody asked, his scowl almost deepening as his eyebrows went up slightly. "What do you mean by that?"

"Aw come on Cody. Don't play with me here!" said Ted, shaking his head. "It's obvious that you've embraced your mate bond a whole lot more than Randy has. You're more up in your feelings than he is, which means you're the most at risk to lose their cool during this mission! If you see Kaitlyn get hurt in any way, you're going to go off the deep end. . . Tell me I'm lying. Say it if you think so; I won't mind it."

Cody angrily glared at him; his body stiff as he tried to come up with a response to his friend's words. Unfortunately for him, he had none, because Ted was right. On most occasions, Cody considered himself the straight man to Ted's comedic timing and Randy's harsh seriousness, but this time around, he couldn't think of himself in that light. His calm demeanor was replaced with the inner turmoil that a vampire faces when they're soulmate was in danger, and it wasn't going away until he knew that Kaitlyn was safe, and back in his arms.

"Well, are you going to say anything?" Ted asked, after a good five minutes passed by without any response. "What do you have to say for yourself Cody?"

"Well . . ." Cody mumbled, finally finding his voice, though it did sound tense. "What is there left to say but, you're right."

"Come again?" Ted asked, absolutely bewildered by the other man's response. He had expected Cody to blow up in his face, or deck him with a right hook, so hearing him say that he was right was definitely throwing him for a loop. "Can you repeat that?"

"I said that you're right Ted," Cody conceded, looking a little amused by his friend's reaction. "The more I think about it, yeah, I'm more up in my feelings when it comes to my mate compared to Randy. Yeah, I'm likely to go off the deep end if I see Kaitlyn harmed in any way. I'll admit to that. I'm man enough to say it. . . However, just because I'm feeling the pain of being separated from my soulmate, doesn't mean I can't let that pain motivate me that much more into kicking some Romanian ass!"

"Hmm, now that was the answer I was looking for!" Ted said, a grin starting to slowly fall into place as he turned his eyes to the third member of their team. "So, can I get your guarantee that you won't punch out any windows from this day forward until the end of the mission?"

"It was only one time. . ." Cody drawled out as he shook his head, but Ted didn't look convinced. "Fine, I'll try to keep myself levelheaded for the sake of this mission."

"That's all I wanted to hear," Ted conceded, turning his eyes to the other man in the room. "And what about you Randy?"

"What about me?" Randy was quick to ask, breaking out of his silent stupor.

"Will you manage to keep a level head during this mission?" Ted asked. "I know you haven't embraced your mate bond as much as Cody has, but still, I have to ask . . . After all, you did react badly after your nap vision on the way here."

"That I did, that I did," Randy quietly admitted as he walked over to a bed and sat down. "Look, I'm still not fully over Sam, and I'm still trying to get used to this whole 'soulmate' thing, but even I have to admit that I do feel something for Amanda. Maybe it'll grow into something more . . ."

"It's not maybe . . ." Cody mumbled, smirking.

"It's inevitable!" Ted finished, looking unapologetic in the face of the Viper's scowl.

". . . Despite all that," Randy growled, not liking the interruption. "I've seen what Mr. S has done to Amanda already and I damn well will not let it continue! I know I'm capable of flying off the handle, but my focus is just as dangerous, and right now, I'm focusing on getting the girls out of Mr. S' clutches and stopping that son of a bitch once and for all!"

"That's the Viper we've come to know!" Ted exclaimed as he resisted the urge to pat Randy on the soldier. "So, men, we all know we can't just bust into the Romanian Coven's headquarters once we land in Bucharest. Hell, we don't even know where it is exactly . . . We need a plan, and we need a good one."

"If Mr. S knows that we escaped JBL's compound, then he'll know that we'll be coming," Cody pointed out. "He knows what we look like and what we can do. If he somehow still doesn't, then Punk will certainly fill him in. . . If we're going to do this, we'll need to do this while not looking like ourselves."

"We're going to have to disguise ourselves," Randy agreed. "We'll get nowhere if we show up at the Bucharest airport looking like how we do now. Mr. S probably has eyes and ears in all the transport hubs in the city by this point. I know I would if I was in his shoes."

"I'm sure Finn can spare us some camouflage amulets for our mission," Ted mused, shaking his head. "Hopefully I don't end up being the girl again."

"Still upset about that mission in Rio last year?" Cody asked, holding back a chuckle as Ted started walking away. "You got to admit. You had those Polish tourists wrapped around your finger when we visited that mall by Ipanema Beach."

"I may have played my role to a tee, but that doesn't mean I enjoyed it!" Ted growled as he threw a pillow at Cody's head, which the other vampire promptly dodged. "Do you know how many times I got my ass touched that day?!"

"Seven, and all by one guy," Cody answered, not missing a beat as he picked up the thrown pillow before chucking it right back at Ted. "If it makes you feel any better Ted. We will check the camouflage amulets before we leave to ensure that the disguises they provide are up to snuff so that what happened in Rio won't happen again in Bucharest. Okay?"

"I can get behind that; no pun intended" Ted mumbled. "So, we know that we'll need to disguise ourselves for this mission, but if we're going to get any further, we need the info that the Romanian's database can give us."

"It would be great if the tech department can actually break into the Romanians' network, but you both heard Hunter," Randy reminded them. "They're coming up with nothing on their front, so we have to access their system through one of their own computers."

"That shouldn't be too hard. If we can find one of the coven's buildings, it shouldn't be hard to access their digital systems from there," Cody mumbled. "The obvious choice would be the coven's official public headquarters, but they likely won't keep all their information in all of the computers there."

"What we're mainly looking for is information on Mr. S' private holdings, pretty much any place that he has that he could be keeping the girls," Randy grumbled. "That kind of information is likely in the hands of Mr. S, his immediate family, or anyone that is closely associated with him. That whittles the number down somewhat."

"We need more info on Mr. S' inner circle," Cody realized as he started moving toward the door. "I'll head back to the command center and look into his friends and allies. . . If we can get a sense of who Mr. S is closest to, it'll be much easier to plan for what comes next."

"I'll go with you . . ." said Ted as he moved to follow him. "I need to ask Finn a question anyway."

"Would that question involve you asking if you can raid this building's weapons stockpile just to test out the camouflage amulets for yourself?"

"I'm being really obvious right now, am I?" Ted asked, his face falling into a blunt expression as the two walked into the hallway.

"A little. . ." Cody admitted before looking over his friend's shoulder. "You coming Ran?"

"In a little bit," said Randy, waving the two off. "I think I'm gonna rest my head for a little bit."

"Huh? You would get plenty of rest while on the plane," Ted mumbled, shaking his head. "A flight from New York to Bucharest is about 12 hours, well, if we're lucky to get a direct flight that is."

"Ted, just drop it," Cody ordered. Ted was ready to say otherwise, but his friend's expression stopped him in his tracks. "If Randy wants to rest his head, let him rest his head. . . It's been a long day after all."

Ted looked contemplative as he turned to Randy, who was already lying on one of the beds with his eyes closed. Conceding to Cody's point, Ted shrugged before walking away. Cody watched him go as he grabbed hold of the doorknob, ready to join him.

"See you in a little while Randy. . ."

"Bye. . ." Randy mumbled as he heard the door close shut. He turned on his side, the events of the day moving through his mind as he tried to think over all he'd seen, and all he wished he never saw.

"Hang tight girls . . . We will get you back!"


In Bucharest

"Why do I always feel the most stressed whenever the annual coven meeting rolls around?"

The man's blonde co-passenger looked up from his phone to look at him with a curious expression, a smile soon stretching across his face as the limo they were riding in turned the corner.

"I don't know why you complain about it," said the blonde as he put away his phone. "You have handled yourself well at every meeting since you took up the mantle as the coven head all those years ago. I'm sure it'll be business as usual this year Alexandru."

Alexandru Stoica did not look convinced. "I'm not too sure about that. There have been some issues brewing within the Cluj Napoca and Craiova branches of the coven in recent weeks. We've had almost next to no communication with the two wings in that time until fairly recently."

"Their representatives should be present for the meeting, right?" The blonde asked as he looked out to watch as the citizens moved along the streets to get to work, school, or wherever they had to get to that early in the morning.

"I just got confirmation last night," said Alexandru as he took out his phone. "Florin is coming in tonight while Elena is traveling in tomorrow morning. With them putting their names on the lists, that only leaves the representative from Timişoara as the only holdout Szymon."

"You can't blame them. The head of that branch died at the hands of a wayward werewolf while out hunting only a week ago. . . May his soul rest in peace," said the blonde as they felt the limo slow down. "Luca has only just taken on the role that his father Grigori held for decades now. I'm sure through all the grief and transitioning, he just simply forgot to tell his people to confirm his attendance."

"It's possible. . ." Alexandru mumbled as the limo came to a complete stop. "Hmm, you always had a knack for defending your friends Szymon."

"Just like you have a knack for defending the people of this coven," Szymon pointed out as he opened the door. "So, ready for work Alex?"

"Eh, more or less. . ." he grumbled as the two opened their doors, not bothering to wait for their driver to do it for them. The leader of the Romanian coven looked up at the multi-story building that was the main base for the coven at large, smirking at the old school architecture that has stood the test of time. He managed to reach the building's elegant glass doors when he realized that his brother wasn't following behind him. Turning his head, he saw that Szymon was on his phone again, standing off to the side of their limo. "Szymon, are you coming?"

"Give me one second!" He called out, not bothering to look up at his phone as he dialed a number. ". . . Go on ahead without me. I'll be there in a couple of minutes. I just have to take this call first!"

Alexandru only shrugged before walking through the open doorway. Szymon watched his brother go until he could no longer see him before walking toward the edge of the block, turning the corner into the alley that separated the building from the restaurant next door.

"I hope what you're telling me is good news Punk." Szymon stated, sounding amused as he moved at a slow trot.

"It's part good, part bad," said Punk, sounding amused, yet serious as he spoke to his boss. "Which would you like to hear first?"

"I've always believed that a serious phone call should end on a high note, so give me the bad news first," Mr. S ordered as he stuffed his free hand into his pocket. "What is it exactly?"

"JBL's dead," said Punk, pausing to hear his boss' reaction. When Mr. S offered no response, Punk moved on with his report. "When we called in, one of his lackeys answered instead of him. Everyone in his compound was wiped out. No survivors."

"If JBL and his men got wiped out, then that means Orton and his team escaped then."

"Indeed, and from what was already mentioned in the report, they have a better sense of what your ultimate plan is all about," Punk admitted, his words only getting the blonde vampire to grimace. He had been on the fence when it came to giving JBL details on The Scarlett Project, but he did it in the end to get the man's cooperation.

Now that decision wasn't looking so good. "I don't think it would be a stretch of the imagination to say that Orton and company will be making their way to your hometown pretty soon."

"It's a certainty at this point, however, we have planned for this. I trust you will implement the details to the letter Punk?"

"I already have men keeping an eye on all the transport hubs in the city right as we speak. As soon as they're in town, you'll know."

"Excellent Punk," Mr. S said, nodding his head. "Now then, what about the good news?"

"Progress with the psychic is going really well boss," Punk announced, not bothering to beat around the bush. "It looks like feeding from her to weaken her did the trick after all."

"If only I had come up with that theory sooner," Mr. S mused, shaking his head at all the previous psychics they ended up wasting. "How much progress are we talking here?"

"Usually the Scarlett Psychics have some sort of buffer that makes it harder for us to break through their walls, an entity that's meant to prevent any brainwashing attempts from our end. . . With less blood in her system, her entity has been less of a problem, so much so that Valentina and Beatrix believe that Amanda could fully be under control within another couple of days."

"Hmm, that's better than the week prognosis I was given before I left the compound," Mr. S admitted. "Excellent; what about her friends?"

"They have gone through the reconditioning quite nicely," Punk admitted with a chuckle. "The lightning elemental especially. You got yourself quite a nice fighter in that one, especially now that she's gone through the transformation."

"Hmm, make sure she feeds properly though. I don't want to worry about a wayward newborn on my hands Punk," Mr. S ordered, his tone making it known that he didn't want to be argued with on this one. ". . . I already have enough things to worry about as is."

"It shall be done boss!" Punk replied. "That's all that I have to report."

"Good; call back later tonight at 8:30. We'll go over the next phase of the plan then."

With a quiet 'Alright', Punk hung up the phone and Mr. S found himself moving back toward the building's main entrance, a smirk crossing his face as he moved past the threshold and into vampire business.

"Orton may have escaped, but there is no way he'll be able to find the girls in time to stop my plans from moving forward. . ." he thought as he nodded at the receptionist on duty before making his way to the elevator. "Everything's coming together . . . I can almost taste the victory now."

A/N: Please review!