Chapter 77

Worried Life Blues

Intro song: Open Your Eyes, Snow Patrol

Josef stirred, glancing at his watch. Carefully, he slid his arm out from behind a dozing Simone, who mumbled sleepily & settled back down on the lounge. Springing to his feet, he spread a throw over her and stood, staring down at his lawyer for a moment. She was getting to him, there was no denying it. Couldn't happen at a worse time, he thought morosely. With a shake of his head, he turned to leave. "I'll be back in a minute," he said to the few remaining survivors of the night's festivities. Mick and Beth, engrossed in one another, barely looked up.

Gabrielle, engaged in a tutorial with Logan and Ryder over the nuances of World of Warcraft, tore her gaze away from the laptop the three had been huddled around. Something in the vampire leader's tone had set off her internal alarms. "Everything okay, Josef?"

"Fine, everything's fine. I just need to check on something. The world of finance never stops, you know. I'll be back in a few." With a disarming smile, he moved off.

Gabby watched him skeptically for a moment, then shrugged. If it was something he thought she should know, he'd tell her. In the meantime, she had other important matters to focus on. Taking a sip from the glass of blood on the slate floor beside her, she returned to her conversation. "So what happens when I kill this guy...?"

Josef paused in the doorway to look back at the small group, silhouetted against a sky that was just starting to lose the deep blackness of night, a lighter sapphire blue beginning to tinge the horizon. The party had been winding down for some time, as vampires and humans alike reluctantly made their goodbyes and took their leave. The band had packed up and left an hour earlier, leaving only nature to provide background harmonies for the conversations taking place on the terrace. The remaining core group of friends had resisted ending the night, lingering over blood and drinks, coffee and dessert.

The scene was far calmer than just an hour or so before, when Mick had snapped during the fireworks display. The sounds and smells had apparently brought back everything that happened to him in the desert. In usual St. John fashion, once he'd gotten his bearings, Mick waved off any worry or efforts to help, except for blood - and the comfort of Beth's presence. Despite his lingering concerns, Josef had left the couple to their own devices. That seemed to have been the wisest choice – they had been inseparable ever since, constantly touching, holding hands, kissing.

Josef scanned all the faces still present. The people he cared most about in the world were gathered on that terrace - and it was his responsibility to protect them. With a sigh, he slipped into the house to fulfill that obligation.

John Spector had watched the interplay with interest. What was Kostan up to? Something felt…off. He did his best to appear to be strolling casually as he made his way over to the guest of honor. "Is something going on?" he asked, inclining his head toward the door through which their host had disappeared.

Mick looked up and shook his head. "Josef always has some deal cooking in god-knows-what part of the world – he wheels and deals all night long. I've never seen anyone who can scheme and strategize the way he can - that's why he's the billionaire, I guess."

"And why he's the head of your community?" Spector asked curiously.

"One of the reasons," Mick replied cryptically. Turning back to Beth, he picked up her hand, lacing their fingers together. Whispering in her ear, he provoked a smile, followed by a lingering kiss.

The doctor had so many more questions he wanted to have answered, but thought better of it. Instead, he quietly observed all who remained, doing his best to ignore the disturbing sense that something more was going on than just another business deal.

"Good evening... well, good morning, I guess is more like it."

Victoria Silver nodded, her characteristic smile and flirtatious charm notably absent. "Good morning, Josef," she returned his greeting. "I'm sorry to have interrupted your party..."

Kostan waved off any further apology. "It's about over anyway - just the usual suspects and a few stragglers at this point. Gabby and John are out on the terrace with Mick and Beth." He could almost feel Victoria's tension through the large monitor. Stripping off his jacket and tie, he tossed them on the love seat before finally sitting at his desk. "Speaking of 'usual suspects' - did everyone confirm?" He checked his watch. "We should be starting..."

Within moments, another image appeared next to Victoria's on Josef's flat screen. The new attendee was a black-haired, dark-eyed man with a ruggedly handsome face sporting a small goatee and a slight smile, his white teeth standing out against his olive skin. "Bonjour, mes amis." His expression shifted. "Josef, I heard about what happened from Victoria," he expressed concern in a lightly accented voice. "How is your friend?"

"Mick is going to be fine, Julian, thank you for asking. In fact, he and Gabrielle are still partying." Josef regarded his virtual visitor with interest. Though he had known the New Orleans tribal leader for quite some years - a century, give or take - the Southern clans were, by and large, a mystery to Josef, as they were to anyone they deemed an 'outsider'. The Southerners didn't mingle much, and rarely sent any representatives to the rare major gatherings- quite possibly because the population in the Southern United States was paltry even by vampire standards. What the billionaire found most curious was why someone of Julian Coubertin's pedigree would remain in that god-forsaken swamp, especially after Katrina. France cleared out of that armpit a couple of centuries ago, Julian. Didn't you get the memo? "Are things any better out your way?"

Julian's eyebrow cocked. "Depends upon your definition of 'better'. None have returned to our fair city, but we are drier, if that's what you mean."

Josef grinned. It was good to see that the French vampire's sense of humor was still intact. "I hope you don't mean in the alcoholic sense - I have a hard time picturing you as a teetotaler."

"Oh, god no! I am not functional without a certain level of alcohol in my blood, Josef."

Victoria idly noted that Julian's accent on Kostan's name made it sound as if it were spelled with a 'z' rather than an 's'. It somehow made Josef sound more mysterious, more...cosmopolitan. She chimed in. "I'm glad Gabrielle is enjoying herself; she needed a break after everything that's happened here. And I hope that gorgeous body of Mick's is on the mend."

"Not healed, but on the mend finally, Victoria." Josef added wickedly, "I'm sure Beth will be happy when she can make use of it again."

Julian, sensing that Josef was needling the female vampire, gallantly jumped in to deflect the conversation. "Victoria, you are looking as lovely as always. Big city life certainly agrees with you. I take it you've fully recovered from your own attack."

Before Victoria could respond, a new participant popped up on the screen. To a human, he'd appear to be in his late thirties with his broad, handsome face. Josef well knew, however, that he was considerably older. His cropped hair was blond and thick, and his blue eyes sparkled with warmth. "Josef Kostan... how long has it been?!" Elijah Lucas had great respect for his fellow leader.

"Too long, Eli," Kostan responded warmly, his mind flitting briefly back to their initial meeting when he'd visited the Windy City some sixty years prior. A lifetime ago. "How is Olivia?"

Elijah smiled at the thought of his wife. "Olivia is... well…Olivia." He laughed, waving a hand in the air. "There are no other words to describe her." His expression turned serious. "But this isn't exactly a social call, eh?"

Josef caught sight of Julian's face on the screen at the mention of the Frenchman's former lover. It had been Coubertin that had turned Olivia all those years ago, at her request. He had been madly in love and the billionaire was sure he had done it to keep her with him. Things hadn't worked out as Julian had planned however, not after Olivia met Elijah. Still pining over her, are you? Kostan had briefly considered the case for inviting Olivia Lucas, but technically this was an informal, off-the-record meeting between community leaders - which Olivia was not. As a member of the northern vampire council, she was, however, an important ally. Given Julian's expression at just the mention of Olivia, he was glad he'd made the decision to leave her out. For now.

"No," Kostan finally said in response to Eli's question, "sadly, it's not. I take it Victoria has briefed you both about the unfortunate occurrences in New York?"

"Yes, I am aware of the 'unfortunate' business' as you call it." Julian quipped. Ah, Josef, the master of understatement, as always.

"Yep," Eli looked gloomily at the camera. "But, I'm guessing that for us to be meeting like this means something else has happened."

Victoria took that as her cue. "Marie Santiago has been missing for several days now."

Julian screwed his eyes shut, and rubbed his hand across his forehead, as if he had been hit with a sudden headache. On the screen, Elijah clenched his jaw, his eyes steely.

"As you know," Josef added, "established vampires don't just up and leave. Especially not council members. Especially not now… And especially not Marie." He exhaled heavily; he couldn't lie to himself any longer, much as he wanted to. "This is hard to hear, but I'm willing to bet she's been abducted and murdered." Kostan allowed the words to sink in. He glanced at Victoria on the screen, who nodded her gratitude. Those words would have been hard for her to utter.

"Vampires have gone missing here, too," Julian added. "Of course, it happened after Katrina, but the few of us remaining have been dwindling. I thought they left because of the threats of more hurricanes, just like so much of the human population. It took me a while to figure out what was really going on - and by then, it was too late. Myself and a handful are all that are left. In fact, one of my members is a survivor of an abduction - if you can call it that." A look of sorrow danced across Julian's face. "I'm still not sure I'd call her lucky."

None of his comments sat well with Elijah Lucas. "Why am I only now hearing about this?"

"Because we keep to ourselves and take care of our own problems," Julian said shortly. "I thought this was a uniquely Louisiana problem, one you northerners wouldn't understand or appreciate. How was I to know it was part of a larger plot," he muttered darkly.

Eli bristled. "Well maybe if you had reached out, you'd have known! You've always been too secretive for your own good – and the good of your community," Lucas added darkly.

"Alright, you two. This bickering doesn't help. Eli, none of us were talking when we thought it was just normal vampire behavior. It took Victoria coming to see me for me to become aware of the bigger picture – and even then, I was resistant to it, wasn't I, my dear?" He looked into the screen at his beautiful associate. "There was no point in alarming you without cause, Eli. Even I didn't believe it myself until..." Josef paused; the memories - and the pain they had caused - were still too fresh to be casual about them "... until Mick was ambushed and almost killed." He decided to spare the others - and himself – a recounting of the gory details. "I owe you an apology, Victoria, for not believing you sooner."

She waved it off. "Water under the bridge, Josef. Now we have to deal with what's in front of us."

"Shit," Eli hissed. He leaned forward, resting his chin atop steepled fingers. "Kidnapping council members, attacking leaders… Who has the organization – and the balls - to do that?!"

"Crucis."

The silence that followed Victoria's pronouncement seemed to grow and expand until Josef felt like it filled his room. He finally spoke. "As much as I hate to concur, the disappearances, the type of attacks on Victoria and Mick with such devastating weapons, these other disappearances - they are too organized to be random, yet Crucis is going to a hell of a lot of trouble to make it look that way." He frowned. "What I don't understand is, why now? What's set them off? And why come after us?"

"Crucis has always hunted vampires," Julian stated simply. "But that blood feud is focused in Europe - or at least it always has been. That is why so many of us came here - to get away from that madness." His snide humor asserted itself. "Inbred Europeans! What can you expect, I guess. I'm surprised they don't all have two-headed offspring!" As the laughter died down, his handsome face creased with worry. "I have heard no news from France about any increased aggressions, though I readily admit that living here has left me, as you say, out of the loop."

"That concerns me as well," Victoria admitted. "There has been no word from any of the councils, nothing from international connections..."

"Could one of you please explain to me who or what Crucis is?" Eli asked as calmly as he could manage, his alarm growing with every word. "I'm very familiar with vampire hunters, and I've heard them mentioned, but I don't know much about them. Remember, some of us didn't come from the Old World, as you like to call it."

Josef turned his attention to his New York counterpart. "Victoria, you're the historian. Please enlighten the man."

"The full story is long and sad and...bloody," Victoria began. "To be succinct and spare you the more gruesome details, Crucis is a humanist organization, headquartered in Europe - at least it always has been based there. They focused on population centers housing the largest and most powerful vampire communities. U.S. populations, in comparison, are much smaller, which is why, I believe, we had escaped their attention until now. It's also why our rules are so strict - to avoid detection and unwanted scrutiny. Centuries ago, they used to simply be watchers. But that changed, for reasons that have never been clear to me." She paused for a moment before continuing with a heavy sigh. "Now, they are sworn adversaries, and have openly embraced anyone who wants our heads. They are actively recruiting as well, which is not only dangerous for us, it threatens to expose our existence to the general population."

"Vamp hunters on steroids - great!" Eli exhaled loudly. "So, if Crucis is after the major groups here..."

"You're next, buddy," Josef stated bluntly. "So are Philadelphia, Boston..."

"If you believe that, why are none of those leaders on this call then?"

"Because they have their heads up their asses," Victoria retorted coolly. "I invited, they declined. It's as simple as that."

Eli rubbed the back of his neck. Sadly, this didn't surprise him. Stupid, stubborn, apathetic vamps – probably would deny anything was happening right up until they felt the blades on their own necks. "Figures. If what you're saying is true -"

"If Crucis is spearheading these attacks, and if they escalate - which I have every reason to believe they may - it could be a fucking vamp genocide. Or the end of our secret existence." All eyes looked to Josef as the gravity of his words sank in.

"Wow," Eli managed to squawk out. "Don't sugar coat things, Josef. So, what do we do?"

Time to get you in the game, Eli. Josef considered the Chicagoan's question. "The first thing is for you to secure your group. My people have dug up information that points to a possible Crucis operative in your area now. I'm sure there are more operatives there, but this person was responsible for the deaths of a vampire... and a human." He did his best to suppress the hurt and rage over the murders of Sara and Paula. "Have any of your people gone missing?"

"One or two I haven't heard from in a while, now that you mention it. I'd just assumed they'd gone off on their own as they tend to do. We don't babysit each other, you know that."

"Well you'd better start," Josef snapped. "Consider yourself on high alert. If I were you, I'd circle the wagons, get the word out. Especially keep an eye on your highest-ranked members - the ones you can least afford to lose. They will definitely be targeted."

Elijah's face was grim; he knew Josef was referring to Olivia, among others. "And what of this operative? Do you have a description?"

"We don't have much but I'll have my people send all of you what they've found. I've got them working on it to come up with more. We know a little bit about the person. It's a woman, a nurse - or rather, someone who at least passes herself off as a nurse. I'll provide more details as we track it down. For now, use your trusted contacts as eyes and ears to what's going on. Be suspicious without being obvious. There's something else you should know. Mick didn't remember anything about his attack at first - but his memory is starting to come back."

Josef hesitated, frowning at his friends. Tell them everything. "The person who shot him was a cop. That's problematic, in and of itself. I don't want to think about the trouble we'll be in if they have somehow infiltrated police departments around the country. Even worse, though - the douche bag used silver hollow point bullets filled with silver powder. Mick came about as close to dying as a vampire can and still survive. And I can't begin to describe the torture he went through."

The rumblings among the meeting attendees grew animated, the worry apparent in their voices. Josef allowed them time to vent; the possibility that Crucis could infiltrate human law enforcement carried dire implications that were understandably upsetting. "I don't have any more specifics right now," Josef finally began again, the sound of his voice silencing all present, "but suffice it to say, we need to take this seriously."

"Fuck me, can my day get any better?!" Elijah exclaimed in exasperation.

"Speaking of that, Eli," Victoria chimed in, "have you heard from Durin Scanlin?"

The Chicago leader let out a loud, theatrical groan. Scanlin was fun to visit and hang out with, even quite good at business, but... "Jesus, Victoria, you could have warned me about what I was getting into! I mean, he's my buddy and all, but, man! He and his cronies have already managed to irritate the crap out of Olivia. The only reason I haven't driven stakes in the lot of 'em is out of friendship with you."

"Don't hold back on my account," she snapped. "There's certainly no love lost between Durin and me. Why do you think he left New York?"

"Frankly, Victoria, I didn't want to know - and I still don't! Julian, got room for any more down there?"

The New Orleans leader grimaced. "Sorry, Eli... the bayous already have their quota of snakes."

Josef grinned; of all the vampire leaders he knew, this group was his favorite. "All right, kids. I need to get back to my merry band of revelers. I know we tend to be solitary, but I can't stress enough how deadly that can be right now. Whatever beefs you have with one other, squelch them. Make sure everyone in the tribe is on high alert and encourage them to buddy up with one or two others at the very least."

"Threesomes never work out," grumbled Julian.

"Then you must not be doing them right!" Victoria smiled flirtatiously. "Perhaps you'd better come to New York for a tutorial..."

Kostan groaned. "Oh, get a room! In the meantime, some of us have other things to do." He turned serious again. "Look, I want you all to check in with me next week. If anything - and I mean anything - happens out of the ordinary, you call me. I don't care how small it seems."

Each gave his or her agreement with a nod, or simple "yes". Then, one by one, the community leaders said their goodbyes, until, within moments, Josef's screen was clear. The vampire stood up and stretched, staring down at his dark monitor. I don't want this, he thought glumly. I don't want any of this. He liked his life - sure, there were down times, but overall he'd done well, and was living the way he wanted. His Los Angeles community was relatively laid-back and fairly well-heeled - all in all, a sweet situation. But now...

"This is why I never wanted to be on a council!" he growled aloud. The irony was not lost on him; he'd managed to avoid serious entanglements for over four centuries, only to have it plopped in his lap now. Being one of the oldest vampires in this part of the world - or at least among the oldest who were still engaged and involved - Josef knew it was only natural for other vampires to look to him for leadership, or at least knowledge. Asking for advice on business, relocation, and other matters, however, was entirely different than what had just transpired. Fellow leaders - successful and wealthy in their own right, two with communities far larger than his own - had solicited his opinions, and had readily accepted his advice. Like it or not, if the shit went down, they'd look to him again - and in his experience, shit always had a way of going down...Suddenly feeling claustrophobic, Josef powered off his computer. "I need to get out of here," he grumbled. He hurried out of his study to rejoin those who mattered most.

End song: Worried Life Blues, Eric Clapton & BB King