"You want to do what?" Thorne asked not sure if he had heard Ethan right.
"Think about it," Ethan said. "You said it yourself. Olivia Saunders may not like us, but she doesn't want to kill anyone either. What if we were to make that work to our advantage? We could with her help make an agreement with the hunters. We have a common enemy-the rogues. Between us and the hunters we could get the problem under control."
"Do you realize what you're saying?" Thorne asked. "Not only are you talking about trusting our enemies, you're talking about assassinating the head of the hunter organization in order to put Olivia into place."
"I understand that," Ethan replied. "But I've been thinking about trying to make peace with them for a while. I never acted on it because Rufus would never go for it. He's crazy enough to sacrifice his entire organization in order to try to kill us off."
"I see another issue," Thorne said after a few minutes. "Not everyone on either side is going to go for this. The hunters will split ranks as will we. Both sides have lost friends and loved ones over the centuries and memories on both sides are long. The other issue is Olivia. What if she doesn't want to do this? She may be afraid of her father and she may even hate him, but does she hate him enough to help us kill him?"
"You haven't said no," Ethan remarked.
"I never said that it wasn't a valid idea," Thorne replied. "I just don't know if it's possible. We've been after each other for centuries and to suggest that we work together?"
"That sounds kind of familiar doesn't it?" Ethan asked. "We're proof that it can be done."
"We're a completely different situation," Thorne replied. "Our families started out as friends and allies."
"True, but Thorne; we aren't without our allies in the hunter ranks. I expect that there will be some dissension. I also expect that those vampires and other species who don't agree will go off and form their own group just as the hunters will. But let me ask you this, isn't it worth a shot? We could potentially save hundreds if not thousands of lives."
"There's still the issue of Olivia," Thorne said. "If she refuses, then what? And by the way, what in the hell are we going to do with her?"
"I suggest that we see what we can find out about her," Ethan said. "Who do you have watching her?"
"One of my female guards," Thorne replied. "No harm will come to her as long as she doesn't do anything stupid. I would like to suggest that we don't say anything about this until we've discussed it some more and talked to Olivia."
"I agree... Thorne, I know that this isn't the time to bring this up; but I want you to know that my family didn't betray yours."
"You're right," Thorne said. "This isn't the time to talk about that. How many teams are we going to have?"
****
"William," Rufus said calmly as he looked to see how far he was away from his weapons. "Where is the rest of your family?"
"Scattered," William lied. "I see that you've forgotten your cardinal rule," he said with a small smile. "Anticipate, but don't worry. I haven't returned to do you harm."
"Why are you here?" Rufus asked.
"Let's just say that I believe in fulfilling my obligations," William replied.
"Let me make sure that I understand this," Caleb said, "You really expect us to believe that you came here out of a sense of obligation?"
William looked at Caleb with disdain for several seconds before replying.
"I don't really care what you believe and I don't answer to you."
"No, but you will," Caleb replied.
William gave Caleb an icy smile and showed a hint of his fangs. He had already decided that Caleb was going home in a body bag. He turned his attention back to Rufus who had inched toward his weapons. William sighed, but didn't move. If he had wanted to stop Rufus, there was nothing that he or Caleb could have done to stop him. He knew how the game was played. He dropped his attitude a notch when Rufus reached his weapons. He wanted Rufus to think that he was afraid of him. It would lull the hunter into a false sense of security.
Rufus reached his bag and pulled out the gun that was loaded with wooden bullets soaked in holy water. William almost laughed, but instead held his hands up in surrender. After all of this time, Rufus didn't know that the holy water had no effect on vampires unless they were rogue. The wooden bullets would hurt, but wouldn't kill unless it was shot directly into the heart.
William sensed Caleb behind him, but didn't move. He would be gone before either man could move.
"We're wasting time," he said. "The longer we stand here, the longer they have to either turn or kill her if they haven't already." Personally, he had no problem with them turning Olivia; killing her was an entirely different matter. The next question was, had they already killed her?
"She isn't dead," Rufus said aiming the gun at him. "More than likely they've turned her and already fucked her hoping to knock her up."
William was always amazed at the ignorance Rufus showed about his kind. He never corrected Rufus's misinformation because it would have been pointless- Rufus hated to be proven wrong and- it suited his needs. As he listened too Rufus talk, William decided that he would share a body bag with Caleb. He fully understood why Rufus wanted to find Olivia. If she hadn't been turned, he was going to make her marry Caleb. If she had been turned, he would have her killed. William doubted that the man could do it himself. He had noticed the almost imperceptible trembling in Rufus's hands as he pointed the gun at him.
Caleb on the other hand was much smarter than Rufus. That alone made him more dangerous. He would take the time to learn about the vampire race and separate fact from fiction. William was sure that he had already begun to do that, but didn't say anything to Rufus. To do so would jeopardize his stepping into the role of the leader of the hunters. William already knew how cruel Caleb could be and that he followed Rufus's politics regarding vampires and other species to the letter. William pushed the thoughts of the men's demise aside and concentrated on the task at hand.
"I'll ask you once again," Rufus said. "Where is your family?"
"As I told you," William said patiently, "We scattered. I don't know where they went and to be honest, I don't care. I have no use for those who don't keep their end of an agreement."
"What were you doing at Blackwell's club?" Caleb asked from behind him.
"We didn't know that whose club it was," William replied. "My father did the research to see if it would be an acceptable place to go. He neglected to check to see who owned it. Olivia didn't realize it until she actually saw the owner. To be fair, even if my father had checked to see who owned the club, the name would have meant nothing to him."
"You're lying," Caleb hissed.
"I repeat," William said, "I don't give a fuck about what you believe or don't believe. The fact of the matter is that I'm here. Just as I don't care what you think, neither do I care where my family is."
