"You have a plan?" Victor asked.
"Yes, you can't run, Felipe will forever be hunting you, and you can't stay, so it is best if everyone thinks you are dead. We will not have worry about anyone spying on you while we plan. You and your most trusted vampires will have to go into hiding for maybe a year while we plan. No one plans for an enemy they believe dead." Eric said nonchalantly.
"Okay, how do we do it?" Victor sat down for the first time.
"I have a warehouse on the outskirts of New Orleans. "Eric started. "There is also a tunnel that leads to a safe house. I will have travel coffins for you and the others. You will be transported to a farmhouse I have in Sweden."
"All that is well and good, but how do we make Felipe believe I'm dead," Victor asked.
"Felipe will avoid a fight if he has to, so any plan that involves him getting rid of you without him a losing any in his retinue will be welcome. I will suggest we confirm your entry into the warehouse, and then we blow it up with you in there." Eric sat back with a smile, as did Victor.
"By the time it blows we will be in the tunnel on the way to the safe house," Victor added with a chuckle.
"With vampire speed, you will already be at the safe house by the time the place blows," Eric added. "With Sookie confirming you are still in the warehouse as it happens why should Felipe believe otherwise?" Eric looked at Sookie with a wry smile.
"Now you have to get Felipe to agree to it." She muttered.
"Agree. No, no, no, Felipe is going to think it's his idea. All I have to do is get Felipe to decide he needs to do things in a way that doesn't start a fight with the rest of Victor's retinue."
"Ah, I see… by blowing up the warehouse, Felipe can deny all knowledge of my true death."
"Things blow up especially a warehouse that previously dealt with the packaging of lighter fluids." Eric grabbed a bottle of true blood from the fridge and popped it in the microwave. "Tomorrow night I need you and the vampires you want in Sweden with you to spend a few hours at the warehouse. You can use that time to start planning. After that quietly get your affairs in order. It doesn't matter if Felipe finds out your funds are gone. We can always say your second plan if your overthrow failed was to run. With me monitoring the warehouse we can tell Felipe what we want…"
"As to what took place at the warehouse." Victor finished.
"Precisely."
"Wouldn't it be better if you had some proof… like papers Eric's man can photograph that showed Victor plan." It was a stupid question and Sookie it. After all, Vampires had perfect recall and didn't need to write anything down.
"It isn't something I would do, and Felipe knows that." Victor said exactly what she expected him to say. "Look at Compton, leaving a paper trail was what led to his true death." Victor added smugly.
Sookie couldn't help but think so did blindly trusting you hated a few weeks ago.
We would be at the warehouse tomorrow." Victor said as he stood to leave. "Eric, thank you. You can have back Louisiana when the time comes." Victor offered.
"No, thank you, but I do have someone in mind for the position," Eric said with a laugh. Victor nodded before leaving.
"Felipe is an idiot." Eric groused knowing full well that Victor could still hear him.
"You can say that again, he clearly doesn't know what he has in Victor," Sookie added trying not to smile.
No longer able to feel Victor's void, Sookie relaxed. "Three nights can't come soon enough." She murmured.
"You have nothing to worry about. This is Felipe's worst nightmare and the idea that he has our support and more information than he thought works in our favor. Felipe needs us, and that is a good thing indeed." Eric assured her. "This was your plan, remember?" He added. "So far your plans have been spot on."
"It was also a spare of the moment type of plan." She reminded him.
"Sookie, stop worrying, we are good." He kissed her forehead before taking a seat next to her.
"What do you say if I said I had a plan for Felipe." Eric cracked up laughing so hard he had tears running down his face. "Let's hear it." He said after managing to compose himself.
"We should kidnap Sebastian." Eric looked at her in awe.
"Pam is right. You Stackhouses are scary." He chuckled. "I was going to ask you after we got rid of Victor to get Sebastian out of court the next day. We can't afford to waste time, Felipe will be back in Nevada that very night."
"So, I'm going to be kidnapped with him?" Sookie asked.
"I think it's best, if by some miracle he gets away, I want him to say you were also a target, not the mastermind," Eric explained.
"That makes sense," Sookie admitted.
Eric landed on the balcony that led to Sebastian's quarters and knocked on the door. "Sheriff." Sebastian greeted surprised by his sight.
"Call Felipe," Eric ordered taking a seat.
"Yes, of course." Sebastian quickly grabbed his phone and sent a text. Eric didn't have to wait long for Felipe to show.
"What do you have for me?" Felipe asked holding his hand out for the file Eric was holding.
"It's as we suspected." Eric handed over the file. Felipe looked through the pictures taken by Mustapha Khan.
"I've been watching Victor's coming and going, and earlier tonight he and these seven disappeared for several hours. I'm still struggling to believe Victor…" Sebastian scoffed under his breath, but in the presence of vampires, it was pointless as they heard him.
"You are not surprised by this." Eric turned his attention to Sebastian.
"No, I'm not surprised. I talk to the humans around the court, and none of them have nothing good to say about Victor. Most think he always thought he could do better…"
"Like be the monarch." Eric finished.
"Oh, he thinks he is so much better than his position." Sebastian's disdain for Victor was obvious. After it was all said and done he would have Pam turn Sebastian if Sebastian was okay with the idea. He knew the young man wanted to be turned and well, Sookie had taken a real liking to him. Of course, Sebastian could also hold a grudge when they kill Felipe, he might have thoughts of vengeance. He'd wait and see after it was all over.
"These seven and Victor almost single-handedly took this court." Felipe lamented. Eric was well aware of that piece of information. It was one of the reasons he hadn't encouraged Victor to disappear on his own. Second, these seven were also unlikely to believe Victor had faked his true death without their knowledge. Getting them hadn't been something Eric had expected, but it was a splendid bonus.
"Eric I would like you to personally monitor Victor's activities tomorrow night," Felipe ordered.
"I planned on it," Eric answered. "Sebastian you couldn't possibly keep Sookie company tonight while we work." He added.
"Not at all." He answered with a smile as he left.
"Excellent I will call her, she will soon join you next door."
"I can have some of my best here tomorrow night. We can get set up and take them in the warehouse in a night or two."
"No, It will be a bloodbath with those vampires. They are formidable Vampires. Victor spent decades getting them together." Eric was also aware of that. The oldest in that group was seven hundred years old, but was one hell of a fighter.
"So you don't them held…"
"No, I want them all destroyed," Felipe growled before he stood to pace. Eric said nothing and waited for Felipe to come up with an idea before he offered his own.
"Who does the warehouse belong to?" Felipe asked.
"I have no idea I believe it belongs to some company, but they closed it down over a decade ago. It still might belong to them." Eric answered.
"Are you thinking about taking them and the warehouse down? A fire would not spread fast enough to get them all. With vampire speed…"
"No, I'm thinking of blowing it up with them in it," Felipe said with a gleam in his eyes.
"That might also not get all of them," Eric argued playing devil's advocate.
"No, but we could have the warehouse surrounded, and any vampire that gets away can then be taken down.
"I believe you have two snipers in your retinue." Eric had to admit Felipe wasn't as clueless as he had first thought. He had thought in the end he would be the one to come up with the idea of blowing up the warehouse. He had also taken a chance offering his vampires to fight Victor and his men. In the end, Felipe had done just as Eric had wanted. This was the best outcome.
…
Victor and the seen other vampires sat around waiting for the ruse to begin. "Felipe is an ungrateful bastard," Shinji said to no one in particular. The Japanese vampire was the oldest of the lot and a deadly one at that with a katana in hand.
"In less than a year, Felipe would more than likely meet his true death at the end of your sword." Shinji facial muscles rearranged itself into something that resembled a smile.
"They are here." Shinji's progeny announced. His hearing was far superior to vampires his age even better than that of his maker, who had a quarter of a century on him. "The vampires moved to the tunnel, the telepath has confirmed our presence." With that, they all vamped through the escape tunnel and almost at the safe house when they heard a series of explosions.
As expected there were eight travel coffins waiting for them. Eric's day man Mustapha Khan will be there for them during the day and a private charter would take them to Sweden. They found bagged blood in the fridge and a microwave. There wasn't much of anything else, not that the vampires minded.
"You are back." Sebastian bolted up when Eric, Sookie, and Felipe walked into Felipe's office.
"Yes, It took all of ten minutes." Eric gloated. "Now, you are clear on the fact that you were with Felipe since sundown." Sebastian nodded with a beaming smile. He knew his turning was now round the corner.
"Yes, you can smile, your turning will take place tomorrow night. I believe it's best to get it out of the way before something else arises." Sebastian was practically jumping out of his skin with excitement.
"We should go out tomorrow, it's your last day in the sun." Sookie offered.
"Oh, that's a good idea," Sebastian uttered before Felipe could think to even nix the idea not that he was going to.
"Excellent, Sookie let's go for dinner, you haven't eaten. It's something when it's the vampire that has to continually remind you to eat."
"You are not alone there." Felipe cut in. "I am constantly reminding Sebastian to eat. Tomorrow afternoon you enjoy your favorite meal and your time with Miss Stackhouse as you won't see her for a long while." Sebastian looked around wondering why.
"Sookie smells exceptionally sweet, you will lose control in her presence," Eric answered.
"Oh." Was Sebastian's response.
"I swear to God if you tell me how sweet I smell when you see me I will kick you." Sookie threat earned a chuckle from Felipe.
"You better prepare yourself for that kick," Eric warned. "There is no way you won't mention her smell.
…
It was just after sunup when Mustapha and a few other weres came for the travel coffins. The coffins were transported to the warehouse and in the safety of the light-tight warehouse, Victor was chained to the table next to Bill. With a use of leather lined silver he remained dead. The other seven vampires were also wrapped in leather lined silver and left on the floor.
