The trip to Russia's northern region took the better part of the night and they cited exhaustion on arrival to be left alone for the better part of the day until the skies clouded over and threatened a rain that never came. Vladimir took a seat across from their hopefully new partners and opened up the file that was handed to him. They didn't bring any electronics with them except one set of cell phones that had been wiped clean of any of their information; nothing was left to chance to reveal anything about them or who they knew. They didn't trust anything around them from the moment they boarded the aircraft. Scarlett and Liz left before them and were back home in a few hours; there was no roundabout trip in the skies for them this time. Even as he sat there reading the papers in front of him his mind was elsewhere, many streams of thought were on her; the last several hours they were together and the weeks that lead up to it. It was her eyes that he was mostly focused on, how they quivered and swelled with tears that she bravely fought to hold back for him when they departed. Every fleck of colour in them was like a precious gem that he wanted to seek out and give to her. "These seem to be in order, Stephan, can you outline our terms." He sat back and let his brother take over, he was more the diplomat than him. They knew exactly what they wanted, the payout, but it hardly seemed important to him as his priorities had been shifted so strongly. He had to keep telling himself that it was all for the better good of all and their continuance that he and Stephan worked for; what good was what he had if there was a threat of it being prematurely taken from him? "The company my brother speaks of, although long running though many generations of management has, what we have been observing, grown stagnant over the last twenty years. You have their history in your records as do we to review but this is why you must act now. To allow your interests to gradually deplete or not remain profitable for the next ten, twenty years is a waste of your time when money can be made. What we offer is a steady growth rate with a solid portfolio of profitable companies as well as a guaranteed profit, that is, if we fail to reach a mutually agreeable rate then we will compensate the difference in underperforming assets. This we would back with hard assets of gold and platinum as well as precious gems." After a century of planning this out they had accumulated enough 'hard' wealth to buy every developed country and even built up a bank, stronghold, to physically house it. Stephan continued as he flipped a few pages to look absorbed in what was before him. His Scarlett would be home, she would be having lunch by now he pictured; he could hear her heart beating in his mind. It was several more hours that they sat there discussing things. / When they returned to their hotel, a considerably nice one from the state of the surrounding area, it was a welcome relief. Vladimer could see the small signs of discomfort of thirst growing in his brother after two days; his own was being overshadowed by his grief. "I don't think we will ever grow accustomed to the food here I'm afraid brother." The chatting was necessary between them as they did discover a few bugs in the room but should they remove them then their hosts would suspect something; best to remain seemingly ignorant.
"It's all very good but it's odd that it will not stay down, well, enough is staying so we don't starve to death." Stephan let out a laugh then headed to the bathroom with a bottle of whisky to go throw up what he had to consume that day then use the alcohol to mask any trace of venom. From what they learned over the years their venom, once expelled would dissipate quickly in alcohol and water. For four days Stephan had already enough of the vodka and trashy 'high class' whores that their guests were making available to them. His brother was getting away with refusing them; news of his mistress had reached the Russians and they were not too insulted at his refusal in enjoying the women. Stephan wasn't so lucky but fortunate for him he could fake just about anything, even an orgasm. No fluids were being left behind and he was even holding up the whores long enough after they were done to be sure no trace of his venoms was left their mouths. "I will tell you though, other than the stomach issues it's rather nice here, we should consider investing in property and building a house?"
Vladimir rolled his eyes at him and stayed silent by the window. They hadn't heard from the local immortals yet but they didn't wish to appear to be hiding ether. "I don't think we are allowed according to their laws but renting a place is certainly an option." He never wished to come back here, their cover would be too easily found at one slip up and that would not be acceptable. Vladimir's eyes picked up two glints of red in the distance; he bowed his head and scratched his ear. "I think, who was it that you met from here on your vacation a few years back, Mark? He might be able to find a place for us?" The immortal in the distance gave a nod; he understood the situation. "You did get a hold of him before we left?"
Stephan was at the window and looked where his brother was focused on. "Of course I did, I'd never hear the end of it if we came and didn't visit him and his family." His eyes pierced through the darkness to see 'Mark' and give him a nod. His real name was Anton but nether of them mentioned it to help him maintain his cover. "I told him where we were staying and if he had some time that we'd love to meet up with him." The eyes vanished and the men moved away from the window to carry on their human appearances. It'd be exhausting if they were prone to feel it. It was an hour past their seeing Anton that they heard a knock a the door. He answered it and so it went, the cover story, so they could exit the room without any issue. The next morning they would need to pretend to be suffering from a hangover and such. Anton made no hint of keeping quiet as they left the hotel, right out the front door with everyone watching, Stephan trusted the immortal to know that the more you hid the more insistent the humans in this area became about finding out your business.
"Scarlett, open up!" Liz hated raising her voice but her friend had left her no choice. "I will use my key in five, four, three…" The door opened up to the most pathetic looking woman Liz ever saw. "Oh no, don't you dare think you can do that to yourself because he's not here. No, not on my watch." Liz pushed past her to let herself in. Scarlett's apartment was different now, they discovered it when they arrived back home three nights prior. V had told them that he made some changes, that 'your retreat from me should be more comfortable' but they didn't imagine that he'd go to such an extent or cost to make it so. The bachelor's apartment was now a one bedroom two bath one with all the comforts one could ask for. The neighbour next door got a huge payout to vacate the place to make way for it. There was even so much as a stocked fridge and pantry; Liz had learned that he took Scarlett's nourishment very seriously. In her own place she found her fridge had been cleaned out and all fresh items restocked in it. It was overwhelming at the time but now it was settling in. "We are going out and I will not have you looking like that or being a wet towel around me." Scarlett narrowed her eyes at her and pushed off to go get herself cleaned up. Liz arranged the several National Geographic magazines on the coffee table and fan them out properly to busy herself. "I need to find new ladies to replace you with and it helps to have another set of eyes with me." She looked around and picked up a few stray dishes and brought them to the kitchen; at least she was eating she thought. It was a good fifteen minutes before Scarlett emerged from her bedroom cleaned up and looking drastically better. "Well, I need coffee and a bite so let's go and hunt for lovely women I can employ."
Scarlett picked up her purse that contained her keys and wallet, and followed Liz out. Every part of her body felt awful but mostly her heart. The void it contained was palatable now. It was only when the airplane took off that she allowed a tear to fall; until then it was an uphill battle to contain them. She missed him, she missed him holding her the most. "I'll have some herbal tea, something to settle my stomach." As much as she liked coffee it was his dislike of tasting it on her that motivated her now to kick the caffeine habit. Liz was looking at her as they sat down at the bar in the coffee shop. "I'm fine, really. I'm just sad."
Her friend was ever a perplexing puzzle over this man, this vampire. "I'm sure he is sad too even though he tried to hide it, I could tell. He will be back soon and you two can go going back to what you do and it will be all happy again." Liz had returned back to work the following day of their arrival and not so much as an eye was batted at her. All her girls were well taken care of by the other consultants and she made a point to call each of them to let them know she was back. She sifted through dozens of requests for her friends services and wrote back to all those that were asking and suggested a few other of her girls for them to consider as 'S' was no longer employed by the company. "How about her?" Liz had her eyes on a couple of women a few tables down from where they were sitting. "If they had jobs they'd be at them now and I don't see rings." Liz eased off of her bar stool, pulled S beside her and walked over.
Scarlette watched and listened to her friend and what most impressed her was that nothing Liz said was sinister. She was true to her word because she had witnessed and experienced what she was proposing all herself firsthand.
"...and by only working two days a week you can earn enough as if you were working full time."
They asked if Liz was a pimp at which Scarlett laughed and Liz prompted her to speak. "No, it's not like that at all. I was often propositioned but if they don't take your 'no' the first time you walk away and they are still billed. I think, I had five clients suspended and two banned for a year for being too insistent. The company gets you to the event and back home safe so there is no chance of them trying anything alone with you."
Liz was pleased with her friend as she saw the body language of the two start to soften to the idea. "Here is my card with the address of the office. Ladies, it's a chance to go out on someone else's dime and get paid for it. The worse that could happen is that you meet Mr Right as my friend has and not need to work ever again." The two women looked at Scarlett and she showed them her ring and bracelet that still sparkled as brightly as the day she got them; not to mention the diamonds in her ears. "Her man was so happy to have met her, through me, and his brother has given me several tokens of gratitude that his brother is finally hitched." Liz guided Scarlett back to where they were sitting and signalled over the waitress for a refill of their drinks. "That went well, thank you for the backup. I think the one will try it and then get her friend involved." Liz trusted her sense of these things and was always right. "If I can get two more by next week I'll be set for a little while." Her friends earlier brightness from chatting with the two women faded quickly.
"I can't be grateful enough to Anton and his hospitality." Stephen and his brother were back on their way home. "I will see to it that a token of it is sent, perhaps several sets of contacts that they have limited access to would be sufficient?" His brother gave him a nod but he was still in a state of anger. It was understandable even though they were still consuming the feast that Anton had supplied them days before. "I'm guessing that you will stay in town for the next little while," a nod "good, I'll pay Liz a visit to see how she is and then I'll be off home. You should bring S there soon to see it." Stephan was liking his brothers human more and more each day that he was in Russia; the women there helped convince him of S's superior qualities.
Vladimir was brought out of his grim state at the thought. "I like that idea, I think I will if you don't mind the company for a little bit." Vladimir also considered Liz. She was his rock for S this last little bit as well as an outlet for his brother to pass the time. He was considering several tokens of gratitude for her as a thank you for her friendship and continued silence. A more pestering urge was coming to the surface. He would have to feed again before he saw Scarlett, as he could feel his possessiveness of her growing and the wanting to sink his teeth into her get stronger. "I need to go find a sandwich before I head home, I'm starved." The flight attendant was in earshot of them and he felt listened to. It would be nice to be back in a safe place, he thought, where he could just 'be' and not be bothered with the illusion of being human. He wanted his woman, he wanted her calm and unfiltered presence pacing him. The plane started making its descent to the airport where it was diverted off to a private hanger; customs could not be avoided but even if they were bringing contraband into the country from this trip, it would get a silent pass from the agent. Money solved many problems before they would start for them. Their liaisons from their local firm were quick to hand over all their personal items, phones, identification and the cars were waiting for them not too far off. It was after sunset but appearances needed to be kept up. He considered having S fetched and brought to him but they were a day sooner than expected. "Yes, they accepted all of our terms, as is, and we didn't need to offer any more than we had anticipated." The blow to the Italians would soon be felt now in a few months by them and by then it would be too late, they had positioned themselves, though so many shell companies and false identities that it would take several months if not several years for them to find out who was behind the dismantling of their financial empire. The web they took a century to weave would need the Italians revealing themselves in order to save a considerable amount of their assets. The immortals that served them had been spoiled for hundreds of years and this would cause discourse and anger though the ranks; how many sports cars and high end properties did it take to keep the peace as well as the little witches threats. If they knew and learned anything in their time an immortal army is difficult to keep; they are selfish servants to their masters. There would be chaos in the ranks and that was exactly what the brothers were banking on. This last step was the key one and now they just needed to carry on appearances of their more open and public companies and watch. "I'm going to find my girlfriend and I will be unreachable at times for several hours." Vladimir smirked to the aid that was with the representative that was briefing him; she was young and her heart was racing, she was blushing hard, he could taste her in the air. "If you will excuse me brother." He steadied his pace to the car and was sped off.
"You never said how your date went Liz, was it that bad or do you now regret it because of, you know, things? Scarlett had been avoiding the topic for over a week now but had to know what happened. She was not the type to ever pry into one's personal but the circumstances were different now.
Liz had insisted her friend join her for dinner that evening and although it was rather late it wasn't like either of them needed to be anywhere at the crack of dawn the next day. Scarlett's question set her back a bit but she realized she was just as much curious as what happened between her and Stephan as she was with her and Vladimir. "Well, it was nice and all. I think I was overly nervous over nothing really. We got to the place and were greeted by the school directors and shown our seats. He was a perfect gentlemen the whole time, he didn't try anything sneaky." She took a sip of her espresso. "I was really comfortable around him even when he took my arm afterwards," Liz smirked. "He asked me to 'protect him' and I thought it was funny then but now, after Germany it's quite hysterical. The instructors and principal of the school swarmed us and I noticed a few of them getting very doe eyed and taken with him. I guess he must had figured I wasn't interested in him or something, but they wouldn't have known it, so he could fend off any of their advances." Another sip of espresso and Liz then spotted a perfect candidate if she wasn't already with a date walking off. "He told me after they were quite bold in their advances, slipping phone numbers in his pockets. He also said he suspected they did it to get more money or guarantee his patronage." Liz shook her head. "If they only knew he just liked the art of the dance they wouldn't have embarrass themselves like they did." Scarlett gave her a questioning look. "I watched him during the show, it's rare to find a straight man so in love with ballet as much as he is, he watched the performance so intently." Liz looked around, they were relatively alone. "So you and V?" Her tone wasn't one of a schoolgirl wanting gossip but one of a concerned friend; she was in the know and it was a serious topic.
Scarlett pulled her shoulders up in a big shrug and sighed. "I love him for all that he is. After everything I don't think he'll ever let anyone or thing hurt me. I couldn't ask for anything more." Scarlett paused, she considered the future and it's complicated implications. She looked around, "I don't want to leave him, ever." The idea of growing old while he remained the same was haunting her terribly. She knew he'd never break his word to her so she considered a plan that would take her back to Paris to the vampires there. She'd beg Yvette to change her; Scarlett felt like she would after their talk. "I'm not sure what's going to happen when he's back but I hope I get to spend as much time as I can with him. I like that I can be with him and still have space. I like sometimes how he challenges me, not to see if I'd fail but to show me, prove to me, that I'm stronger than I think." She did indeed feel like a stronger person than she did when she first met him. He empowered her as much as he loved her and that was what she loved the most about him now.
Liz wasn't following what S was saying but it probably was par for the coarse. "He's been around so I guess he'd know, be able to size people up easily. Tomorrow will be a big day then, you'll go off with the man of your dreams and I'll be all alone again. Please think of me when you're not having mad sex and call?" Liz gave her a most pathetic look. "Why do I feel like we are being watched?"
Scarlett glanced around and all their usual 'watchers' that V employed were in place but then she saw the eyes that were on her. "Oh no." Why she did what she did next was beyond her; her hands slipped down under the table and she slipped off the ring from her forefinger on to her left hand ring finger.
All Liz had to do was see her friends expressions drop and hear the tone of her voice. She whispered, "Say less and very little and he will get the hint." then sipped the last of her espresso. She didn't recall if she ever had the talk with Scarlett, the one instructing her what to do if she ever came face to face with someone outside of a social event. Such situations were not what the agency wanted but were out of their control. At least she was here so there was that. When her friends hands re-emerged from the table she noticed the ring and the silent visual communication between them put them on the same page.
Josh almost didn't recognize her from the quick glimpse he first saw but then on the second look. He never did see her smile when she was with him but now seeing her happy in this setting stirred up his desires for her. He was confident and still felt that when he last was with her, so long ago, that they did part on good term; he was still convincing himself of that when he approached them and spoke. "S?" Even the action her raising her eyes to him got his heart beating faster. "I thought it was you. You remember me right? Josh. I subbed for Jane that one time and…." Her eyes dropped to her drink and he felt like he was already being dismissed. "... and anyway she mentioned you the other day and was saying that she missed the one on one training because she teaching classes now and it not as rewarding." Josh noticed how distant her friend seemed just then; ignoring him. Women never ignored him he thought, no, he'd be the head rooster in the coop. Failure wasn't going to be an option, not when this woman, what was an eleven out of a ten. "Hi madam," He turned his attention to the friend, he thought he could score some points with her. " I'm Josh and you are?"
Liz could be rude, she loved being rude but the sympathy for this man, knowing he didn't stand a chance in hell, made her speak. "Liz." She felt superior to him even with him staring down at both of them but she needed to get him to push off; she returned her attention back on Scarlette. "Did you have any ideas for the ceremony? Location? Dress?"
Scarlett took a drink of her tea, stall tactic that Liz taught her. "I like the idea of a winter wedding, in the snow. Dress trimmed with fur and my lips bright red. I'll leave the dress design to Mia of course, she'd throw an epic fit if she didn't get a say in it." Scarlette watched Josh's features drop and his eyes find the band around her finger.
It clicked in Josh's head and he paused before he deflation in his ego register as major news. He wasn't going to let one defeat, a impending wedding, to get the better of him. "I'd say congratulations but that's not much of an engagement ring. I mean he could have done better than that." He felt better, he got across a compliment on how she was worth more and insulted the guy in the process.
Scarlett's eyes narrowed slightly, V had given her diamonds and other gems so she didn't appreciate the implied insult. Her and Liz had talked of it, the little band of silver around her finger so she knew what Liz did about it. "It's a promise ring, that was made just for me, by a family member." She scoffed. "He'd be lowering his standards if he bought one from a store." She held his gaze as she sipped her tea. "Its material value is nothing but the sentiment and care to detail behind it is priceless."
Vladimir had been listening to them; long before the male approached him. He had taken only a few moments to track her down though his security detail to the restaurant that was near their residence. Why did he wait, had he approached them on discovery this male wouldn't be bothering them; he was angry at himself but he also valued their open unhindered conversation. The heat from his meals was still warm inside of him when he approached the male that was intruding on the ladies; fortunate for Josh that there were too many witnesses.
Liz saw V first and when she looked to Scarlett she noticed her shifting around as if she was trying to pin down a thought or feeling that was escaping her. It was when her eyes darted up to hers and then over to where V was it all made sense; she had felt him. Josh's expression was one of shock, utter disappointment and defeat. Scarlett was up on her feet and in Vladimir's arms in an instant. "Well that's that." Josh was still staring at the lovers in disbelief. "Josh, we shouldn't be keeping you any longer." He didn't get Liz's polite hint to leave. Liz noted how Josh was a few inches taller and more muscular than Vladimir but Vladimir was, in no doubt, the Alpha male as far as S was concerned. "Were you here with someone Josh?" His attention was finally pulled away from V and S back to her.
"Uh yeah, I" Josh sat down across from Liz and glanced back to S asking himself what she could possibly see in the guy; he was so rigid, old in his demeanor and odd. They moved off to a corner and were whispering to one another. "She never showed so I just stayed and was going to eat alone." He looked back to Liz who was clearly unimpressed which him sitting across from her. "I don't suppose you'd like to join me?"
Liz's eyes grew at the proposition. "No I've already eaten and I want to get home before it gets too late." She looked over to her friend, S was nearly tucked completely inside of V's trench coat and his arms were holding her so protectively. They were whispering to each other and as S stifled a giggle in his lapel as he was smirking ever so sinisterly. There was love. Liz saw it in Germany and Paris, it was ever present like a shield around them, an ora. Liz signalled for her bill and turned her attentions back to Josh. "I'm sure you will find someone else to spend your time with tonight." The waitress came over just then and said the check was taken care of for her and her friend and if there was anything else she'd like. Liz shook her head and gathered her things. V was already gone with her friend at that point and was ever thoughtful of taking care of their bill. "Good night Josh." ...and I hope I never see you or a pitiful man like you again. Liz hated seeing a sulking man, it made her want to strip him of his entitlement to the name of 'man'. She stepped outside and realized the security detail was still hovering around her so she decided to walk the few blocks back home, it wasn't far and the air wasn't so chilly that she felt cold. It'd give her time to come to the terms she'd have to have turns to the one person she felt any kind of friendship with at a level so deeply. It was when she noticed the lack of people around her, she was that deep in thought, that brought her back to her surroundings. Stephan stood at the steps to her building and gave her a nod as she approached.
Stephan, from the airport went directly to where Liz lived; he had ever detail of her life since Paris now so it wasn't a difficult task to find the place. The earbud in his pocket that allowed him to listen to the watchers he and his brother had on the women alerted him to her arrival. He felt a hint of nervous creep up. It wasn't for anything such as trivial as her feelings; he was settled with the truth, the woman didn't care for him anymore. His anxiety was for not wishing to hurt the feelings of his brother and Scarlett should he need to dispose of this human; as well as his own feelings for her. "Madam, good evening." Liz's shiver was apparent but hie knew it wasn't for the slight chill in the air. "I was just stopping by to see if you were well and if you had any concerns at all."
"No. Um." Liz shook her head. "I mean I'm very well and no I don't have any." She gathered her wits about her; she was better than this. "Sorry I wasn't expecting to see you so soon and I," …'should have known'. "I mean I'm just still trying to process that guy in the restaurant who though he had a chance with S and then with me." Stephan's brow raised in question and Liz feared that she just may have sentenced Josh to death. "He's nothing, I'm sure he got the hint that we, er S was taken and he wasn't my type. So did your trip go as expected?" Liz allowed herself to give herself a pat on the back for recovering the conversation and hopefully not have someone die because of her.
Stephan noted how he did indeed catch her off guard and decided the best, most palatable actions, was not to further her discomfort and change the subject. "We arrived back earlier than expected as things went very smoothly and as planned. The friends we had there were looking forward to our next visit so that is very good on that front." She was following his meaning. He didn't like the thought of another male attempting to interfere with her but as it was, he knew Liz's type quite well; nonexistent, as her standards were quite high. He still preferred her as he thought back over the past week and the women who were trying desperately to catch his attentions so he'd take a fancy to them and liberate them from their meaningless existence. Stephan rather liked Liz's resourcefulness and independence from others. He didn't for a moment believe she was antisocial but rather very socially selective of who she associated with. He reached for a card in his lapel pocket and handed it over to her. "I will be in town for a few days and then going back home for a while. My business here has concluded but should you wish or need to contact me I can be reached at those numbers or emails."
LIz took the card and held it to her chest, it was worth keeping should she need to track down her friend. "Thank you, I'll try not to disturb you unless it's important." He wasn't upset from what she gathered and she wasn't sure what to make of that unless it was him realizing she was not interested; that set her back slightly as she had a high opinion of her desirable qualities. Stephan gave a curt nod and turned and walked away as Liz just stood there watching him fade into the night. Was she that easily dismissable to them? No. She was the one who turned men away in droves so it was an awaking to her that perhaps these men had exceptional standards to which her simple, yet extremely attractive, friend had achieved. She scoffed at the notion and went inside to take comfort in her warm home.