Sharkbait Down Under Ch. 31-40

"We do," I answered as we followed her through the door. "Have you been in town long?"

"Three days," she said. "I lost the bet. I thought you would show up yesterday. I should know better than to bet against Cyprian; he's forgotten more than I know." She led us through the building to Cyprian's office. Two large vampires guarded the door, and one politely asked us to put our hands against the wall for a search.

"That won't be necessary, Louis. They are my friends," a familiar voice said from inside the room. I figured that since they knew everything else about us, they also knew we had knives and guns. They just didn't care, which meant they weren't worried about us doing any damage with them. I didn't know whether that should make me relax or worry more.

Master Pontalba opened the large wooden door and walked straight to me. "Luna Adrienne, it is good to see you again," Cyprian said as he took my hands in his. "I wish it was under more pleasant circumstances."

"Life sometimes does not allow for that," I said. "Are you and your people involved in Vicki's abduction?" May as well get to the point.

"I did not authorize or direct the kidnapping, nor is it sanctioned by the Vampire Council. It is, however, vampires that are responsible for it." I started to tremble as my wolf came forward; she wanted blood. "Please, come inside and talk. We have much to discuss."

I followed him into the room, smiling as I saw Nicholas at the table with five other men. Hammer stayed by the door while Brent moved until he was standing behind me. Cyprian pulled out a seat at the end of the conference table for me, then walked around to his place at the other end. Nicholas was to my left, and Master Emily took the spot to my right. "Masters, may I introduce Luna Adrienne Volkov of the Miesville Pack in Minnesota. Luna Adrienne is a former Council Mediator and is Vicki Lawrence's aunt."

"Thank you for having us here today," I said diplomatically.

"You already know Master Emily from Boston," Cyprian said. "Next to her is Master Christopher Dauntless from Toronto, and Master Monique Robinson from Atlanta. On my right is Master Frank Bongino from Chicago."

"And Master Vincenzo Milan from New York City, it is an unexpected pleasure to see you again," I said to the last man. Vincenzo had helped us in Boston with cleaning up the Alexander problem.

"Luna," he said with a small smile.

Master Cyprian sat down, and everyone looked at him. "First off, Adrienne, I owe you an apology. When Vicki disappeared, you called me for help, and I put you in touch with Master Vespucci. At the time, he was the vampire leader in the area who could respond the fastest. What I did not know was that he was part of the plot."

My wolf rushed forward; she wanted blood. It was Brent who came up behind me, holding me in my chair as he talked my wolf down. "These people aren't the ones you want between your teeth, Luna. We need to know what they know."

He was right. "We've had our suspicions, but we didn't know if we could trust you, Master Cyprian. After all, you had given us his name, and that implied you trusted him."

"It does, and that was my mistake. The information Vespucci provided me about the case didn't make sense, and your silence spoke volumes. We started checking into the Mexico City Coven, and what we found shocked us. Before we get into that, I'd like to hear from you why you were suspicious of Master Vespucci."

I glanced at the other men, raising an eyebrow. "Can I speak freely?"

Cyprian nodded. "I'll explain more later, but it isn't just your Werewolf Council that has a split in it. Each of these Masters at the table, I trust to have my back. They are here to deal with the problem."

It was time to put up or shut up. Did we trust these Masters with the truth? I looked at the other three werewolves, and each agreed I should continue. "Why don't I show you?" I pulled the flash drive out of my pocket; one of Cyprian's familiars took it and projected the video file I told her onto the screen. It took about ten minutes to watch Colleen's summary of what she found at the scene. When it was over, I summarized what we'd done since then. "We don't believe Lawrence Fenwick was the agent responsible for the kidnapping. Lawrence is a family friend, and I don't believe he would be a part of this."

"Couldn't he be blackmailed or bribed into doing it," asked Master Dauntless.

"His behavior did not suggest it," I replied. "Leo spent days with his widow, and we believe he never left Jamaica. Colleen's theory that the vampires planted his scent is the only one that makes sense to us. Vampires and werewolves both understand scent trails, and it's telling that bleach was only used around the parking area. If you were trying to get away with it, you'd burn or bleach it all."

"That makes sense," Emily said. "If they planted Lawrence's scent to frame him, then killed him so he wouldn't talk, what is the long play?"

I leaned forward a little. "We believe the Vampires who did this are hoping to spark a war among the Werewolves. My mate's reputation precedes him; by framing the Werewolf Council, they hope to trigger a war between Packs. That's what Leo is busy doing."

"You're starting a werewolf war when the Council didn't do it?" Cyprian was shocked at this.

"If the vampires don't think the kidnapping is enough to start the war they want, they might kill the girls to push it along. We'd rather it appear their plan is working for now." Cyprian and the others sat back, thinking about this. "Now, I'd like to know how you know Vespucci is involved."

Emily looked at me, her hand moving over to cover mine. "It's my fault," she said. "Vicki helped me, and that is what kicked this all off."

Ch. 40

Alpha Leo Volkov's POV

"You're a dead man," Leland said as I moved back behind his chair.

"Perhaps," I said. "I'm sure your Pack warriors are surrounding this house already, waiting for your son to arrive and tell them what to do. The only reason they haven't attacked is that they know I could kill the two of you before anyone can stop me, and they're right. You reinforced your office as a safe room, correct?" I'd felt how heavy the door was and could see the industrial hinges it swung on. "Concrete-reinforced walls, bulletproof windows, and an armored entry door. The telephone on a separate line from the rest of the house, and I bet if I opened some doors, I'd find an armory." He didn't have to answer; I knew by his reaction that I was right.

It was standard practice for Alphas to have a safe room. Mine was in the basement directly below the master bedroom, but Leland's home didn't have a basement. His office was next to the master bedroom. That meant a second entrance, likely in the back of a closet or off the master bath. "Where is the second entry, Leland?"

"What second entry?"

I pointed my gun at Bonnie. "Don't make your mate suffer for your stubbornness, Leland. The emergency exit from your bedroom." I clicked off the safety, and that was enough of a threat.

"The bar cabinet swings out," he said with his hands to his chest. "Don't hurt her."

I backed up and waved for him to open it. He swung the bar cabinet out, revealing a hatch that was open into his bedroom closet. "Close and bar it," I said. He complied, pulling the steel hatch closed and locking it with four dogs that slid into matching holes in the steel frame. Now we were secure; it would take a bomb to enter the room.

I needed one more person in here. The two couldn't link with their silvered handcuffs on, but the phones still worked. "Call your son. Tell him to come alone and unarmed to the door to your office." Leland picked up his phone. "If anyone else enters the room, your mate starts taking bullets. Make sure he understands that, Leland."

Lance answered, and their conversation was brief and to the point. Lance and his Betas were hesitant; it didn't make sense for them to add people to a hostage situation with a volatile Mantled Alpha. He relented after I mentioned that eight silver-core bullets were more than enough to make his mother suffer for hours. "I'll be watching on the cameras," I warned the Alpha.

"I'm coming in. Don't hurt Mom," he said.

I had Leland bring up the security video on the computer; as I suspected, dozens of wolves surrounded the house. Lance had a key, and he walked inside the house alone. When I confirmed Lance followed instructions, I told Leland to get up and let him in. While he moved, I went to the opposite corner of the room. From there, I could cover the doorway and Bonnie. Leland unlocked the door, and I could hear the magnetic bolts retract with a click. The door opened, and a furious Leland came into the room. His eyes went over to verify his mother was unharmed, and then he glared at me. "You've lost it, Leo. You won't leave this room alive."

"That could be," I said. "Still, we need to talk." I tossed Lance a handcuff key. "Release your mother, then have her place the cuffs on you with one of your arms through Leland's. Once you and your father are locked together, she can leave, and we'll have our talk."

His wolf didn't want to be silvered, but he wanted his mother out of danger. The two moved over to where Bonnie was sitting, and he released her and tossed me back the key before cuffing himself as I directed. "Sit and stay," I told the men. "Bonnie, this way." I checked the surveillance camera one more time before opening the door for her. "I'm sorry about this, but it was the only way," I said as I let her out. Once she was gone, I locked the door again. I moved back to his desk, where I could keep an eye on the surveillance system while we talked. Bonnie ran out of the house to her Pack warriors, who escorted her to safety.

"Sit back and relax, gentlemen. We have a lot to talk about, starting with Lawrence Fenwick. Tell me why you hired him."

"Vicki was not listening, and I'd heard rumors she was talking with the European Council about joining them. That was not acceptable; she is a North American Alpha, and she belongs in our Council." He let out a breath. "After that little stunt she pulled on the conference call, I was all for sending Enforcers down there to establish order. Our investigations showed her new mate and his extended family were a danger to us all. Marrying humans and not mating them? Unacceptable, both from a Pack and a security standpoint. One spurned lover, and our secret could be out."

"What did you do?"

"We had an emergency Council meeting a few days later after we knew more about what was going on. We reached no consensus on how to proceed. Some agreed with me that we should force her Pack into Council oversight and laws, while others wanted to give her time to agree to it, even if it was European Council oversight. Chairman Wolfe was the only one who wanted us to recognize the Southern Cross Pack as an independent entity."

I could sense he was telling the truth; the only shock was hearing Wolfe's support. "What happened out of the meeting?"

"We agreed to give her until the end of the year to decide before we took any stronger actions," Leland said. "Chairman Wolfe warned us about how stubborn Vicki should be; after all, she has Volkov blood."

"He knows her well," I said with a grin.

"Because of that, he recommended we try more carrot and less stick. I proposed sending him to meet with Vicki, but some of the other Chairmen vetoed it. We didn't want anyone to misconstrue this visit as being our recognition of her Pack or her Territory. Wolfe suggested sending Lawrence to meet with her on tour, unofficially. After some discussion, we agreed to let Fenwick take a shot at convincing her to do the right thing."

"What exactly did you give him to give to her?" If Leland lied about this, he was a dead man. He didn't know that as soon as the meeting was over, Vicki talked to Adrienne and told us everything, including sending us photos of the documents.

"Copies of the Council laws and bylaws, and a standard contract used to bind new Packs into the North American Council. I drove up to New Hampshire and met with Lawrence and Alpha Stan about it. Since it was Council business, we paid for the trip in exchange for his help. He was more than happy to meet Vicki and her friends in Jamaica."

"And did he contact you again?"

"Vicki contacted me first. I sent four Council Enforcers along with Lawrence. Vicki was traveling to Mexico for her next two tour stops. She was traveling with two female warriors as security. That isn't NEAR enough for a rich, beautiful young Alpha and her friends in THAT country. Vicki called me and refused my offer of men. She said if anything, she needed protection FROM me. Can you believe that?"

"Vicki's experience with you and the Council hasn't always been good. Your predecessor did silver her when she was five." Vicki had never forgotten the duplicity of the Council all those years ago. Adrienne and I had to get past it to work with them, but she'd found a way out. "What did you do then?"

"I called the Enforcers home. Lawrence called me after the meeting, saying that he'd delivered the information. Vicki hadn't signed it, but he didn't expect she would until her tour finished and she was back home. That was the last I heard from him; he and his wife were going to enjoy their vacation. I was shocked when I heard someone gunned him down."

He was telling the truth. I could feel that in my gut. I didn't like Leland personally; I disagreed with how he ran the Council, but he wasn't part of the plot to kidnap Vicki. "I believe you. Now I need you to listen to me. Vicki's abduction is one part of a much bigger plan, and one wrong decision can end up with hundreds of us dead. Understand why I have done the things I've done the way that I did them."

"You hurt my mate," Leland growled.

"I threatened to hurt her, but she didn't get a scratch. I need the two of you to put aside your anger for the good of our kind." I took the pistol and unloaded it, leaving the ammunition on the desk and tossing the gun by the door. Getting up, I unlocked one cuff from each man, leaving the other so they wouldn't be able to link. "It was the vampires all along," I told them.

"Vampires? FUCK," Leland said. "I knew Vicki was foolish in trusting them."

"Vicki had no intention of ever joining the North American Council," I told them. "The European Council was sniffing around, but she was leading them on as well. Vicki and Nicholas already made a deal in Australia. The Southern Cross Pack was joining forces with the Vampire Master of Australia and the Mermaid Families to form a Supernatural Council over the continent."

Lance's jaw dropped while Leland put his head on his hands. I gave them a minute to think about it. "I don't like this. A lot of people won't like this."

"Master Allesandro didn't do this on his own. The Supreme Vampire authorized it; he thinks that the Southern Cross Pack can prove that cooperation works. He hopes it will prompt a change in North America over time. After all, none of us were alive for the last War. My mate agrees with my niece; the best thing supernatural beings can do in the modern world is to band together and help each other. Not everyone wants peace, though."

"Other vampires?"

"Yes. We think the Master of Mexico City is holding the girls. They used Lawrence to frame the Council in her disappearance, then killed him to seal the trail."

Leland thought about it for a moment. "If all this is true, why not bring it to the Council? Why come here and threaten me in my home?"

I shrugged my shoulders. "You weren't the only one. Before I came here, I interrogated Alpha Stan and accused him of involvement in the plot. Hopefully, someone has found him by now, and he's getting treatment for the stab wound in his leg."

"By the Goddess, you are a bull in a china shop," Leland said. "It doesn't answer the why question."

"It's been five days since the girls disappeared. We don't know where they are, and no one has demanded a ransom. Adrienne, Nicholas, and Alpha Steven agreed that the kidnappers want to kick off a war among werewolves. It's not a secret how I feel about Vicki or the Council. I'm giving them the appearance of starting that war."

"Appearance? You're doing a great fucking job of starting a real war," Lance said.

"I did all this because it has to look real, Lance. These Vampires may have sources, even Alphas, who want to burn any bridges to other species that Vicki has built. I have to believe the girls are safe, but what if the Vampires who have her don't see wolves at each other's throats over this? Vicki is in an Australian Pack, but the other five are in Three Sisters Pack."

It took a minute for Leland to figure it out. "They start leaving bodies," he said softly.

"Yeah. Maybe my niece, or her friends, or maybe they start killing werewolves in the States in a way other werewolves get the blame." I went around and sat in front of the desk. "That's why both of us have to die here in this office, Leland. Everyone saw my threat, and everyone will believe Lance when he reports he killed me, but not in time to save your father. Battle lines will start forming, and it will give us time to find and rescue the girls."

"What do we do? Stay here and play dead?"

"Lance, you've got a big job here. You need to inform your Pack, then do another emergency Alpha call. Tell them we're both dead. Alpha Stan will support what you say about Leo going crazy, I'm sure. When the Chairmanship comes up, I want you to support Chairman Wolfe as the interim Council Chairman. Later today, we'll set up a private chat with Wolfe and fill him in. He's the only one on the Council I trust with the truth."

"And after that? I can't hide here forever," Leland said.

"You've got a fake identity, right?" He nodded. "We sneak out of here tonight and head to Mexico City. We're getting the girls back."