Sui Generis – 25

 

Antton nodded. "Sorry, but yeah, you're right, Brand. Before you think we're total asses, catching Fedor is and always has been—what did some TV show call it—our prime directive."

"Star Trek," Mag told him. He pulled out a chair and sat down hard, scowling at them. "So Brand be damned when it came right down to it. If he led you to Fedor, that was all that mattered. And now you want me to be the bait to bring the bastard out of hiding." He paused, frowning deeply. "If you were tracking Brand, why didn't you see Fedor that night in the alley when Brand did? And since you know where we live, why didn't you have someone watching the house. Fedor's been there at least twice."

"I did see him in the alley," Vesper said quietly. "Unfortunately, he spotted me at the same time and retreated. Possibly he was afraid I and the others were guarding you."

"I thought the cops showing up was why he ran," Brand said.

"Do you really think he'd be afraid of a couple of police officers?"

"Well… no. I guess not."

"Exactly," Vesper said.

"We have been watching your house, waiting for Antton to decide it was the right time to talk to you," Randulf told Mag. "However, Fedor is very old and very wily. He can be in and out of a place before you know it, if that's how he wants to play it. And in this case, it is."

"His reign of terror, as you two put it," Antton pointed out.

"Which isn't working," Brand stated with a confidence he wasn't certain he really felt. He pulled out the chair next to Mag's and sat, looking squarely at him. "Is it?"

Mag smiled ruefully. "It's beginning to. The more I hear, the more I wonder if we—" he glanced at the Enforcers, "—if they can really stop him."

"We're going to try, but it will take all of us, and that includes the two of you," Antton replied. "You're…"

"The bait. Yeah, yeah, we know." Mag reached for Brand's hand, holding it tightly while looking at the other men. "So what do you want us to do?"

"Eat dinner," Antton told him, chuckling. "We're all hungry. Ulrik's here now, we have a good meal fixed, and I, for one, am not going to let it go to waste."

*****

"That was good," Mag said half an hour later.

Dante laughed. "You sound surprised. Didn't think vamps and werewolves could cook?"

Mag snorted. "Until a couple of days ago, I didn't know you existed, so what do you think?" He started gathering up the dishes, taking them from the dining room table into the kitchen with Brand's help. When they finished, they went into the living room to join the Enforcers.

"I now call this meeting to order," Antton said, smiling briefly once everyone was seated. "We need to come up with a way to keep our young friends here safe while at the same time putting Mag in a position to be captured by Fedor."

"Without Fedor knowing we're around," Randulf pointed out. 

Vesper nodded, looking thoughtful. "As I said earlier, he does know I'm in the city. He might suspect I'm not the only one who is."

"I'd say that's a given at this point," Antton said in agreement. "It doesn't mean he's going to give up. He's just going to be twice as cautious, especially if he knows we found where he was holding Brand."

"How would he?" Mag asked.

"He'd be a fool not to have someone checking on the house occasionally. Probably a lesser vampire who could sense that we'd been there. We didn't do anything to cover our tracks."

"On purpose?" Brand wanted to know.

"No. There wasn't any real reason why we should have. As Vesper said, he has to know at least some of us are around."

"Then setting up a plan for him to try to come after me or Brand is pointless," Mag said. "He wouldn't dare go up against the five of you."

"Don't count on it," Dante said. "He's old—bordering on ancient—evil and thinks he's invulnerable. He'd love to show us how clever he is by grabbing you right from under our noses."

"Which we won't allow," Ulrik stated firmly.

Brand shot him a look of disbelief. "If he's that clever, how can you stop him? I've seen him, once, since I escaped, and you know he's been to our place. You said… well, Randulf said, you all have been watching our house and yet Fedor managed to tear up Mag's garden and the next day he left the dead puppy. Somehow that doesn't make me feel as safe as you'd like me to think I am."