Chapter Three: Carry On Wayward Son

An exclamation of "Good morning sunshine!" awoke me the next morning, and was followed by a damp kiss on the mouth. I sat up to find Richie sitting on the edge of my bed. "That was a little too wet," I told him. "I'm engaged now, you know."

"Oh , that's right," he said. "You're in-gagged now. So what's this straight got that I haven't?"

"He comes home at a decent hour," I said with a smile. One might think Richie and I once had a "thing"; and they would be right. It had been a mutual break-up. Richie was a good, decent, and loyal friend, but he wasn't the commitment type.

"Decent hours are overrated," he replied. Then he held up some car keys. "I returned the rental," he said. "These are the keys to mine."

"Thanks," I replied as I took the keys. Just in case someone had seen us get into that car, we would switch out what we drove. I knew from experience of being on the "other side," that there would be a handful of spies trying to keep tabs on us and reporting back to Demetri. Though, anyone who ran the plates on Richie's car would be led completely away from him; this being one of the Mafia perks.

I ushered Richie out the door and got dressed in a leather jacket and dark blue jeans. In the living room, after a brief exchange of "good mornings," I led Edward and Jasper down to the private area of the underground garage. The keys Richie had given me were to his Maserati Quattroporte. The windows were tinted limo-dark for daytime driving convenience. I noticed Edward and Jasper looking at Richie's other car: a Maserati GranCabrio convertible. They also saw the motorcycle: a black Ducati.

"Richie rides motorcycles?" Edward asked.

"Actually," I said, "the bike is mine. Richie keeps it for me for when I come to visit. I find it makes driving through the crowded city easier."

"It's yours?" Edward wondered.

"Yep," I answered. "Just look at the license plate," I told him. It read "VLTR."

"Cute," Jasper commented, snidely.

We got into the car and pulled out of the garage. Traffic was slow, as usual, though I was still able to weave my way through easily. "We'll see Henri in her office," I told them.

"Her?" Jasper inquired from the backseat.

"Yes," I replied. "Henri is short for Henrietta."

"You never said she was a she," Jasper said.

"I never said she wasn't," I retorted. "You two should get along quite well," I told Jasper. "She's a southern belle of sorts." I saw Jasper's questioning look in the rearview mirror, so I continued. "Henri was the daughter of a very wealthy cotton-farming family in the South, at the time of the Civil War," I explained. "That was back when she was still human. Then the South lost the war, and the soldiers came through to pillage. At that time, there were a lot of vampires who impersonated soldiers on both sides. It was an easy meal: to chew on your comrade after he fell down dead next to you."

"Anyway," I continued. "One of those soldiers who came through the South was a vampire, and he stole Henrietta's heart. To make a long story short, he changed her into a vampire and then promptly cheated on her. Now, Henri is the CEO of her own textiles company here in Manhattan."

"What happened to the vampire soldier?" Jasper asked.

I smiled ruefully. "He's long since dead," I told him. "Henri made sure of that."

We continued to drive until we arrived at the grand office building. "How does a vampire work in there?" Edward wondered as he looked up at the skyscraper. I chuckled. This wasn't the sort of building one would expect a vampire to be comfortable in. I too looked up at the familiar building, which was entirely made out of glass.

"She's got a protective film on the inside of the windows," I explained. "That keeps her inconspicuous to her human employees, but still lets in the light. Henri loves the sun."

I pulled into the below-ground parking garage and then took Edward and Jasper into the building. The lobby was chic, and contemporarily decorated. We approached the massive, semi-circular desk and I regarded the receptionist with a smile. "My name is Anastasia," I said. "I have an appointment with Ms. Hamilton."

"She's expecting you," the young woman said without looking at her computer.

We took the elevator to the top floor. Henri's executive assistant waved us into her office. When we entered the large space, I saw my friend, Henrietta Hamilton. She was tall and thin, with slender hips and a flat bust line. Her reddish-brown hair fell pin-straight to her shoulder blades, and she wore a pencil skirt and suit jacket. She was "killer" on the side streets, as well as on Wall Street; she was a vampire to be reckoned with. Her smile for me was friendly and warm, but her body-language was all business. I introduced her to the two men that were with me.

"So these are the Cullens," Henri said in her confident, high-bred voice. "There's a buzz amongst the vampire community about your family these days." Her eyes were unwavering, like the New York, corporate goddess she was.

"Henri is the one with her ear to the ground when it comes to our community," I told them, referring to vampires.

"You have no idea of the shockwave your little insurrection last year sent through the air," Henri said to Jasper and Edward, as she continued to look at them. "No wonder the Volturi have it out for you." She then focused her attention on Jasper. "And I hear you and I are contemporaries," she said to him.

Jasper smiled politely. "I see you've kept up the family business," he said.

"I'm still doing well despite those damned Yankees," she said with a smile.

Henri then walked over to her desk, picked up a large envelope, and placed it in my hands. "Here's the information you needed, Ana," she said. Henri gave me the information as a hard copy, since electronic transmissions were so easy to trace. "I've heard from a good source that Demetri is the one here in New York," Henri continued. "And he has a young girl with him—most likely your target."

"Renesme," Edward breathed. Henri nodded as she glanced at him.

"In there," she continued, indicating the envelope, "is information on the whereabouts of Demetri's human contact who's helping him here. It will tell you where he'll be tonight."

"Thanks Henri," I said.

"You're welcome," she replied. "There's also info on another lead you wanted to follow as well." We then bid goodbye as Henrietta returned to her desk.

Edward, Jasper, and I got back into the car. By tonight, we would know where Demetri was hiding.