Moonlight, the Next Chapter: Darkness

Chapter 5

TENSIONS

Intro Song: Do You Feel It?, Chaos Chaos

The vampire crept quietly into the study, eyeing her prey. He was, as she had expected, buried in his work and hadn't looked up when she'd entered. She smiled, pleased at having caught him off guard, and flexed her legs to pounce...

"Don't even think about it. I know you're there, Livvy."

Olivia Lucas brought her hand to her chest, breathing rapidly. "Jesus, Eli. You scared the hell out of me!"

Elijah Lucas looked up from his tablet, a broad smile on his dark, handsome face. "Oh, I scared you, eh? Well, turnabout is fair play!" He laughed at the chagrined look on her face. "Come here, Olivia." He held out his hand to his wife.

She strolled over, pausing for a moment to savor the iconic Chicago skyline in the gathering darkness. "I love that view," she sighed, taking her husband's hand and plopping down in his lap. She picked up the notepad on his desk, covered with a scrawling script, and then tossed it back down with a shake of her head.

"Honestly, Eli, when are you going to join the 21st Century and use a laptop for your notes? No one can read these scribbles except you and I."

"I like writing by hand, Livvy. It clears my mind," he confided.

"Well, that's a good thing," she drawled sarcastically, allowing her native New Orleans accent to slip into her speech.

"Cute. Real cute."

"Yes, I am actually." She smiled up at her husband and kissed his chin.

Yes, you are. Elijah could still remember the first time he'd laid eyes on her. Her sweet face, her wide smile, framed by full, sensual lips, her dark eyes under perfectly arched eyebrows, so expressive, so full of life...

"So, did you have a plan, my dear? Besides distracting me from my writing, that is?"

She put her arms around his neck. "You have another call tonight, don't you?"

"You know I do."

"I want to be part of it."

Elijah sighed. Of course she did. Olivia was definitely not geared for life on the sidelines. "Not possible, my dear. I'm sorry."

She pouted attractively. "I don't understand the secrecy, Eli. You and I don't keep things from one another. We run our business together. I'm on the Council. And even Julian is on the damn call, for crying out loud!"

"Sweetie, you are preaching to the proverbial choir..."

"Then why-"

"...and you are wasting your breath," he stated emphatically, wrapping his arms around her. "It isn't my decision. For reasons I cannot fathom, neither Josef nor Victoria want to involve anyone else yet, not even their closest advisors - and, of course, it goes without saying that Julian cannot involve Thea. That means I can't bring you into it, council member or not."

"What's their problem?"

"As I said, Livvy," Eli repeated patiently, "I have no idea." He paused. "Although, to be more accurate, maybe that isn't correct. I have my ideas, I just have no confirmation."

"And?"

"Well, Josef's right-hand man was almost killed - probably by an organized entity, maybe even Crucis, although we don't yet have definitive proof. Kostan's being oddly protective of him. And Gabrielle Sinclair..." He paused, shaking his head, his dark eyes full of concern.

Olivia sighed loudly. "I heard."

"That she's a loose cannon?"

"Something like that." Olivia grinned impishly up at her husband. "Worse than me, do you think?"

"Compared to her, you, my dear, are a god-damned saint."

Olivia Lucas threw her head back and laughed, a throaty, sexy sound. "In that case, I can't wait to meet her!" Sobering, she kissed her husband again and hopped off his lap. "Okay, I'll withdraw my request - for now. But I want a full accounting of the call afterward."

"Absolutely." His eyes followed her to the door, lowering them as she walked. Even after all these years together, Livvy's backside was still one of his favorite sights. For a moment, he was tempted to follow her. Glancing at the clock, he picked up his pen with a heavy sigh. Veggies before dessert, Elijah. The call would be in an hour and he needed to put that time to good use.

"Yes, I met Beth Turner this afternoon. A shame, really. She is actually a lovely young woman." Christophe strolled around his spacious suite at the Beverly Hills Hilton as he talked. Contributors to the non-profit cover organization, CHOIR, would be appalled at the luxury they were subsidizing for the CEO, but to Durand, things like private jets and upscale hotel rooms were his just due for all his efforts.

He plopped down on the oversized sofa as he listened to his son. "No, I don't! Once a woman has lain with these monsters, she is damned. Quod salvari non potest inquinari, Adam. That-"

"That which is sullied cannot be saved. Yes, I know." There was a hint of impatience in Adam Durand's voice. Christophe and his damned Latin quotes... "All I'm saying is that rather than make a sweeping decision that anyone and everyone associated with vampires needs to be destroyed, perhaps we should decide this on a case-by-case basis. It would be a shame to kill someone that might be useful to us and-"

"No, Adam. This is not negotiable!" Christophe snapped. "Beth Turner and all those like her have chosen their side - and their fate."

We'll see. Adam was smart enough - and had sat through his father's rants often enough - to know that the Crucis leader was intractable on this issue. He had to ask himself why he'd even tried to talk to him about it. When the time came, he'd make up his own mind about what should happen to the Turner woman - and handle his father when that time came. For now, he would play the role of dutiful subordinate.

"How has the rest of the trip gone, Christophe?"

"Good. We have a strong network here already, as you know, now that we have our hand-picked DA in office. I've also met with three new recruits that are very promising. One works in the mayor's office as a top aide and another on the L.A. Times staff. The third is a very interesting choice - runs the L.A. County morgue."

"We hadn't thought about that before, had we?"

"No, and I have to commend Hartley for coming up with the idea. Since I'm turning the network management and recruitment over to you after this trip, I would suggest that you come up with a suitable reward for him."

Adam frowned into the phone. Durand's 'suggestions' were never optional. He chafed not only at being told what to do but also at the idea of being saddled with riding herd over a bunch of complaining Crucis underlings. He had no tolerance for whining and incompetence - and to him, it seemed as if most humans excelled at both. He much preferred to spend his time fine-tuning their master strategy and planning for any unexpected contingencies. He resented what he saw as Christophe's attempts to marginalize him and hand him what he considered to be scut work. Work that his father deemed important to his development. Well, fuck that!

The young man could feel his pulse pounding in his temples as his anger built. Don't lose control. Play the game, Adam. With a sigh, he relaxed, the vision of killing his father working to calm his ire. "I'll think of something, Christophe. What about that ADA?"

"Well, let me know what you come up with. As for your question, I have lunch tomorrow with Edward Garfield and his protege, Ben Talbot, the ADA. I may have a better idea on whether he has real potential after that. It's always useful to break bread with someone to get a true measure of them. Now, how is John doing?"

"I have to say, you might have miscalculated the effect that killing his wife would have on him. I think your plan backfired, Christophe. The plain truth is, he's obsessing over his wife more now than he did when she was alive. The man's only focus is torturing and killing vamps. He's out right now, stalking another one." Adam's voice was tinged with disdain. He had little patience for men who couldn't control their impulses. There was a time and place for everything - including murder.

"Dammit! In New York?! Adam, how could you let him?" Durand was furious. He had the entire organization on stand-down in order to lull the vamps into a sense of security and here his lamebrain son allowed his unstable second-in-command out to hunt them down!

The younger Durand rushed to assure his superior. "No! Relax, Christophe. I'm not that stupid! I sent him to Baltimore - it's far enough away that disappearances there won't be tied to New York, and there are still enough vamps there for him to hunt."

"I still don't like it. I don't want there to be vamps on alert anywhere."

"Then you take that up with John. He won't listen to me."

"Adam, you disappoint me. You agitate for the opportunity to be a leader in this organization - yet, when I assign you a slightly challenging task, you give up. That's not exactly inspiring me to want to give you more responsibility." The older man's tone was dripping with acid.

"If I were allowed to handle it the way I want..." Adam muttered from his spot behind Christophe's desk in New York. As an act of defiance, he was lounging with his feet up on his father's desk - an action he knew would drive the fastidious man into a frenzy if he could see it.

"What?"

"I said..." Adam repeated, deliberately enunciating each word loudly and crisply, as if Christophe were hard of hearing, "that if I were allowed to deal with the situation the way I want to, I wouldn't have any difficulties handling it!" He sat upright in the desk chair abruptly, dropping his feet to the floor with a thud.

"When you have proven your abilities to lead, you will be allowed to lead. Until that time, you will follow my direction. I run Crucis and Giles stays. Period. Now, get John back to New York. Tell him I'll be there by Monday night. We'll talk then."

Durand closed his flip phone with a snap, disconnecting the call. He had adamantly resisted upgrading to the iPhone, despite all of his subordinates recommending it. He had an inherent mistrust of modern technology - and right now, of his son as well.

Fucker! Adam felt a moment of blind rage that he quickly swallowed. His time would come. And, when it did, Christophe would be taking orders from him - if his father was still alive at all...

"V, what aren't you telling me?" Gabby's voice betrayed her impatience. She had seen the reminder alert on Victoria's calendar for a conference call with Josef Kostan and Elijah Lucas later that evening. She did not remember having seen a call like this scheduled before and, with full access to her mentor's calendar, she would have noticed it. At least you thought you had full access...

"What are you talking about, Gabrielle?" The New York vampire leader's beautiful face was twisted with confusion.

"This call tonight, V. I'm talking about the call with Josef and Elijah. And who knows what else..."Why had Victoria not told her about this? What else was she keeping from her? Jesus, you sound paranoid as hell, Gabby. She crossed her arms and scowled at her mentor, waiting for an answer.

The elegant vampire put her glass of wine down on the glass-topped coffee table with an audible click before straightening and glaring at the younger woman.

"Gabrielle, first of all, let's get one thing straight. I do not answer to you - nor will I ever. Secondly, this is just the latest in a series of calls between Josef, Elijah, Julian and I. And thirdly, you might have noticed that no one who isn't a community leader is on the list for the call - not Mick St. John, not even Olivia Lucas. They are no more being excluded than you are."

Gabby bit her lip. She hadn't noticed. Dammit. "I'm- I'm sorry, V. I don't know what my problem is these days."

"I do. You are on edge and stressed. We all are." Victoria sighed and took a seat on the exquisite loveseat in her music room, her favorite spot in the spacious New York apartment. "Sit down, Gabrielle. You make me nervous with all that pacing."

Victoria waited for the younger vampire to sit, wincing as she plopped down on the antique Hepplewhite chair across from her. "Do be careful, Gabrielle. That chair is over 200 years old! Look, I admit, I have not been completely forthcoming - but right now, there isn't much to tell. We decided it would be prudent to have a weekly call to update one another on any new developments in our respective areas. That's all. And..." She held up her hand to forestall the comment Gabby seemed about to make. "And so far, there have been no new developments. Anywhere."

She felt a twinge of guilt over lying to her protégé. Gabrielle still didn't know that Marie Santiago was missing. Maybe Julian was right. Maybe it was time to bring them all into the loop. Still, there had been no incidents since then, and who knew - Marie may have just taken one of her periodic sabbaticals. She had a history of disappearing unexpectedly and without warning.

Victoria's gut, however told her differently. Marie was dead, she was sure of it - and her death was connected to the attacks on herself, Durin, and Mick St. John. She had no proof - but she knew.

"I don't believe you, Victoria," Gabby stated flatly. "I think you are hiding things from me - and I'd like to know why." She leaned forward. "Is it because of what happened at the Council meeting?"

"You did yourself no favors there."

"I know I didn't, V!" Despite her mentor's admonition, Gabby jumped back up and started pacing again. "If I could take it back, I would, believe me. But I can't." She stopped in front of the older vampire. "Does that mean you don't trust me anymore either?"

Victoria rose, smoothing down the fabric of her Chanel suit. Grasping the younger woman by the shoulders, she looked her in the eye. "Gabrielle, I trust you with my life - and I certainly trust you more than any other vampire I know. You will have to trust me, however. I'm head of this vampire community, which means that you will not always be in my confidence - but, when it is needed, I will share information with you."

The Asian woman crossed her arms angrily and opened her mouth to speak.

"Gabrielle, be sure about the words you choose. I have told you what I can - but if that isn't good enough for you, we may have to make other arrangements."

Gabby was so startled by Victoria's words that her mouth wordlessly snapped shut. They had disagreed before, but her leader had never suggested that they go their separate ways. The thought left her feeling untethered, rudderless...alone. Finally finding her voice, she whispered, "Jesus, V. What are you telling me?"

Releasing Gabby's shoulders, Victoria bent down to pick up her wineglass, then straightened to face the younger vampire. "I'm telling you to grow up," she snapped. "I love you, Gabrielle, but I'm the leader of this community, not you. I will tell you what I want, when I want - and you have to accept that."

Gabby didn't trust herself to speak. Her eyes filling with tears, she just nodded silently and left the room, headed for... Where? Where are you going to go?! She wasn't sure, but she knew she couldn't stay under this roof. Not tonight. Grabbing her jacket, she headed out into the balmy summer evening.

End song: Pursuit of Happiness, Kid Cudi