Chapter 27: Pay

Back at the mansion, Matthew was inside the entrance hall and up the stairs to the first floor where he was greeted by Zacharias.

"It's confirmed now that some of the evidence in the archives did indeed belong to S.M.E.," he said as they hastened inside. Shade and Nathaniel followed the wake of their lord, who now allowed himself to show his uttermost frustrations. His face was grim, a sneer at the lips revealed the pointed fang and his gaze was stone cold with bitter rage.

"I can't believe they did this!" he hissed. "We need every available agent in the streets to show them that we will not tolerate anything like this again! Zacharias, call the Embassy of Darkness and issue a code red warning. This is not to be taken lightly!"

"Of course my lord."

"Shade, I want you to assemble and brief your best team and then you go to the docks. I have a feeling that we might be able to find someone there because their previous hide-out was located by the piers where the container ships load and unload."

"As you wish, my lord."

"And Nathaniel, check the database on surveillance cameras to see if we can identify anyone on them. I want names and I want them now!"

"My lord, if I may inquire, the S.M.E. don't usually attack, do they?" Shade asked quietly as if the whole situation was a solemn tea party.

"No, and that's why I want those names! I'll bet my soul that they were Butterflies and not S.M.E." They stopped outside the grand office where both Vladimir and Isobel stood waiting. "And would someone please get Lucius on the phone!? I can't believe he's not even contacted me yet!"

The two agents and the lawyer left in a hurry and Vladimir and Isobel followed Matthew inside the grand office where he strode through the room quickly and sat down to log into the database himself, cursing and swearing. Isobel and Vladimir exchanged worried glances but before any of them could say or do anything, the phone rang. Matthew picked it up quickly.

"Lucius? What in the name of Darkness is going on?!"

"Matthew, I have no idea. I've just gotten the news myself!"

"You know what's going on. You could damn well be conspiring with those bastards! You tell me straight away what's happening or you'll be receiving a declaration of war before the night is over!"

"As I told you," Lucius' voice was calm but insisting, "I don't know. I'm not in the league with these people."

"But you do have contacts inside S.M.E. right?"

"Don't you have that too?"

"I do, but they can't just go around and ask whether there's going to be an attack. Your contacts should be able to do so!"

"Matthew, if I may suggest this, have you considered that someone is making it look like this was S.M.E.?" Lucius asked kindly. Matthew was about to rage even more but took a deep breath and immediately calmed down.

"Well, if it is, and if it is perhaps even the Butterfly Order, you still have a very good reason to back out of your businesses before we declare war on them - and on you."

"Is that a threat?"

"No, it's a tea party invitation. I'm celebrating my many thousandth anniversary and you're invited - as the meal!" Matthew hammered the phone back in its stand and buried his face in his hands taking five long, deep breaths before looking back at Vladimir and Isobel, who just stood quietly in front of him.

"All right, so what've we got?" he asked. Vladimir found a small notepad and looked through some notes he had received before the delegation had returned to the Mansion.

"People say that they saw a helicopter land on the roof, but we don't have any footage just yet. I made Alaniea look through the reports and the live-feeds are streaming in on the internet. Marcus said that there were eight black-clad people, which means there must have been at least one or two more to handle the helicopter. How many that were behind the preparations are at present unknown."

Matthew nodded. "Good, thanks," he said and looked at Isobel. "Did you have time to see anything?" he asked this time in a more kind tone.

"No, nothing," she said. "I was actually about to leave when the windows were shattered, but I saw the breach on the upper floors. Must have been 15th or 16th."

"Which means they knew what they were looking for," Matthew said. "I wonder why they didn't attack us at the lobby, because it would have been a fine opportunity."

"Too many people to keep track on? Too difficult to get inside? The roof was easier because the news stations had permission to land up there during the coverage," Vladimir suggested. "These people could have been anyone."

"But if they wanted me dead, like the Butterfly Order does, they would have gone straight for me. I couldn't have used any powers in public without destroying my entire reputation," Matthew answered.

"Perhaps, I mean..." Isobel hesitated. "If they wanted it to look like S.M.E., they did a good job. S.M.E. would go straight for your files instead of just you or any one of us. But they failed with an action such as this, because S.M.E. is fairly passive. Aggression is not their style, and that's what triggers my suspicion at least."

There was a knock on the door and the shadows opened it to reveal Aenriques stepping in.

"Sorry, I was late, I was held up in the administration," he said. "I heard what happened. Do we know who did this?" he asked as he approached the desk.

"No, not yet, but would you be so kind as to find Alexander for me?" Matthew asked and rose slowly.

"Yes, I'll bring him in," Aenriques turned to the door.

"No, don't bring him here," said Matthew and turned to look out through the panoramic windows. The sky was getting cloudier by the minute. "Bring him to the panic room."

"Yes my lord," Aenriques said and left.

"Isobel?"

"Yes?"

"I want you to come with me."

"As you wish, my lord," she answered.

"Vladimir?"

"Yes, Matthew?"

"Go and help Zacharias. And check the status on the footage with Alaniea."

"Right away, my lord."

Gabriel had not bothered to follow his father and went to see how the young ones were doing. They were seated in the 1st floor parlour. Paris, Agribel and Tiger had joined them.

"So, suddenly all we heard was this big crash and shards of glass were falling outside the windows," Patrick accounted for the whole incident. "And the next thing that happened was the agents going up to get a hang on things." He nodded to Alexander who sat in a couch with Eli hugging him tight. He was pale like a sheet of paper and stared holes in the air.

"Weren't you the one with the responsibility for all this?" Paris asked and tilted her head. Alexander did not even bother to look or answer. His expression said it all. They all fell silent.

"So..." Rachel began. "I guess Matthew wants to see you soon?" The others glanced at her darkly. Jacques even hushed her down.

"There's no escape," Alexander mumbled. "I failed and I'm going to take my punishment."

There was a knock on the door and Aenriques stepped into the room.

"Alexander? The Lord wants to see you," he said. Alexander rose. "In the panic room."

It was like seeing boughs being chopped and broken by firm hands. His limbs immediately gave way under his weight and he bumped back into the arm chair, trembling all over. Aenriques walked closer and extended a hand. Alexander took it slowly and they left without another word. The young ones looked after them and when the door closed, they looked away.

"It's not fair," Rachel whispered.

"What's ever fair?" Agribel asked and sat down in the arm chair where Alexander had just received his death sentence. Gabriel sat by the fire looking around at them. Nobody said or did anything but everyone thought alike. He looked into the flames that licked a log feverishly. Perhaps this was how things had been in the time where he had not been there, in the time of his escape to Paris back in those days. He sighed heavily and knew that Rachel was watching him. Before he knew of it, he had left the room without saying anything. He heard rustling behind him but something stopped it.

"No, Rachel, let him go. You'll just make it worse," Jacques said at a distance. Gabriel shook his head as he walked the corridors and came to the stair that would take him to the 2nd floor.

Here, at the end, he saw a door close. Aenriques exchanged quick words with Isobel before he went back, gave a short nod at Gabriel who had just ascended the stair, and disappeared. He could not go further, fearful of what he might hear. Isobel approached him slowly, her steps were cautious and her voice low.

"I don't think you should be here now, Gabriel," she said kindly worried, and put a hand to his shoulder. He stared past her at the door to the little room. He imagined dark threads seeping out from underneath the door and out into the corridor, searching along the walls; searching for him. He was shaken out of the trance when they heard footsteps and saw Jonathan hastening up the steps, having just arrived. He was an elderly looking vampire with dark brown hair and grey eyes, a gaunt but noble face, and he was usually clad in grey flax pinstripe suits. Today was no exception.

"Where is he?! Where is my son?" he demanded firmly. Isobel let go of Gabriel and turned to Jonathan.

"He's receiving his punishment," she said.

"Not in a million years!" Jonathan raged but Isobel stopped him with hardly a touch of her hand against his chest.

"Jonathan, leave it. There's nothing you can do. This is procedure as always and you can't change it," she explained. "It would be direct refusal of the lord's wishes if you interfered." Jonathan looked past her to the door before he turned on his heel and left. Gabriel sighed heavily. It was not the fact that he closed his eyes, accepted the system and abandoned his son, it was more the fact that he was helpless even if he had tried, that made Gabriel shiver. Isobel put an arm around him and tugged him closer. A faint sound reached their ears: crying.

That night very few people in the mansion slept. The young ones barricaded themselves in the bar and pool area on the 2nd floor where they tried to forget what had happened. Gabriel, however, waited with Isobel outside the panic room when Matthew finally came out wiping his hand in a white tissue. Alexander was still in there. Gabriel walked closer.

"Do you need anything, father?" he asked trying not to sound too affected by the fact that his cousin was in there in deep, troublesome pain. Matthew looked at him with an expression bereft of emotions.

"Let me see you in half an hour," he said quietly without even bothering to take notice of Isobel, who stood just a few paces away. Gabriel nodded and bowed his head and his father left for the grand office. Isobel approached the door and went inside.

The room was dark and rather small, no windows were seen, and the light bulb was turned off. She switched on the lights and saw Alexander bruised and beaten, his clothes slashed into threads across his back, where the black blood had soaked the sheets. It had also stained his face and he was black and blue all over. His lip was bleeding; his belt had been used to tie him to the bed, and his trousers hung loose and unbuttoned around his hips.

Isobel went in and opened the little purse she had in her hand. With a small spray she showered his skin with a light mist. It smelled fresh and almost like a small light in the middle of total ruin. The wounds began contracting and closed faster and with a moistened handkerchief, she was able to remove the stains of blood from his skin. However, he did not seem to regain consciousness.

Gabriel emerged from the doorway, one step at a time. Isobel turned around and shook her head to tell him that he should not be there, but he stayed.

"Shall I fetch something?" he asked.

"Find a glass of water for him please," she said as she unpacked a few pills from their wrapping and looked back down at Alexander. "He needs it." Gabriel left to find what she needed. Back in the room, he helped her loosen the kid from the bed.

"Careful, I think he's broken a rib or two," she said softly. The young apprentice groaned and his eyelids fluttered as he came back to life slowly. Isobel forced him to swallow the pills and drink the water. He regained consciousness but with that, the numbness dissipated and his face contracted in a painful grimace. Isobel stroked his hair and hushed him down.

"Shh, love, I'm here," she said. "Your father is downstairs waiting for you. And see? Gabriel is here too."

Alexander tried to direct his rather dizzy gaze to Gabriel. He reached out with a trembling hand and got hold of Gabriel's fingers. Their eyes met though they said nothing. Gabriel tried to smile reassuringly, telling him that everything was going to be all right, but he knew it would be useless to try and promise something like that in a world like theirs. He held his hand and watched as he drifted off to unconsciousness again.

Isobel bound his wounds in bandages, and finally they carried him off to his bedroom where they tucked him in. Isobel sent for Jonathan who came and watched over him the entire night with Eli.

Gabriel went to the master bedroom and waited patiently. He had no idea what to expect, but as soon as he saw his father he knew it was not going to be pleasant. The eyes had that gleam. That despicable gleam.

And as he feared, it was hard and rough. Mostly he felt like gliding away, a gooey substance melting into the cracks between the floor boards, but he could not get away from his father's fierce grip and the monster that raged over him was not the man he knew or loved. Perhaps some kind of forgiveness lay in these thoughts as it ended and he was left to sleep as his father again left to go to the office and work through the night with the press statements. He knew that when Matthew returned it would repeat itself.

He pondered the night. The celebration, which had turned into a disaster. His cousin's now mangled body and the other Darklighters in the mansion. He knew so well that no one would do anything about this. This was Matthew's way of controlling his family, and unfortunately it worked. The fear was too strong. Perhaps also the love. One day, maybe, it would be different, but Gabriel could not say when he would be ready to take over from his father. And would he manage to keep the family on track if he did not use the same methods?

He shivered at the mere thought as he drifted off. He was awakened when his father came back to satiate his lust again. Gabriel tried to sleep on. He was too exhausted to register anything, and luckily, this time was not as bad as the first. They fell asleep beside each other as the birds were waking up.