Alessandro eyes softened and his grip loosened, but still the elder vampire did not move. “What is the meaning of your deception? What did you possibly hope to acquire?” His voice was dangerously quiet.
Again, Kenneth stretched out as much truth as he dared. If his master knew what his true intentions and goals were, he would be dead before he finished speaking. “I wanted to be free to invest the House capitol in very high-risk research and development with a few of the pharmaceutical companies in the city. If successful, the money returned to us would be at least four hundred percent, probably more. If it failed, I would lose everything.”
He allowed his gaze to drop, out of mock shame, “I wanted to bring these new investments to you as a trophy with new deals that would enrich our accounts and strengthen our hold on the city’s infrastructure. If it failed, I would rather you not know just how much money I had lost.”
There was silence from his master. He didn’t dare breathe much less move. For long heartbeats of time Kenneth wondered if Alessandro had some other deep mental ability that he had kept hidden from his surrogates for occasions such as this.
Then, without a word, Alessandro stood and walked back around to his side of the desk and sat down.
Kenneth let himself relax a little but he kept his body as disciplined as he could. There was no sigh of relief as he looked over at his master. He didn’t know just how close he had come to dying, and he wasn’t sure he wanted to know. Not trusting himself, even to break the silence that had stretched out between the two, he chose instead to remain as he was and allow his master to be the first to speak.
Alessandro did not wait long. “There is something you are not telling me.” He waved away any defense Kenneth could have spoken before it could be made. “Please, you and I both know the truth of that. What concerns me is not that you are hiding something but what it is. Is it something worth killing such a promising protégé over?” He swiveled in his chair to look out over the city once again.
Kenneth noted the strong profile of the older man. Aged in life as well as death, he still had strong features for a human. The underlying Vampiric strength also gave him a dignity that would far surpass any human of the same age. He found himself once more feeling a certain admiration for his master. If he lived to be as old as him and if he was ever able to secure a High House for himself, he would want to be able to measure up to this man.
Alessandro turned back toward him. “You have done well with what you have been given but you obviously have too much time on your hands. I wish there was more work for you to do but we have a surplus of House members. There is simply no work for you to do other than what you have already been given.” He paused and looked down at his desk, reading something through the glass top. “I want a full report on your day-to-day activities and true financial standings report from your district. I want to know exactly who you were planning on dealing with and what pharmaceutical companies you were planning on investing in.”
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The master regarded his surrogate, “I won’t tolerate this happening, Kenneth. If I get even a hint of deception from you again, I will end you. Do you understand?”
Kenneth maintained a straight face. He gave away nothing on the outside of the actual fear he felt. He hadn’t felt fear in a long time. It closed his throat and he had to force himself just to breathe. This was the most alive he had felt in a very long time, a decade at least, and he decided then and there that living as he had as a human was definitely inferior to what he had become. He forced his body to move casually, “I understand, master.” His voice too was surprisingly calm and even. The sooner he got out of this death trap the better.
Alessandro looked at him out of the corner of his eye and his eye lids narrowed to slits momentarily. “I want those reports by tomorrow night.” Kenneth nodded in assent. Alessandro waved him away, “You are excused.”
Fighting the urge to run at a full tilt back toward the elevator at the far side of the room he gracefully got out of his chair and moved with slow dignity back the way he had come. He knew that he wasn’t really safe until he was in his car and far away from this building.
As he entered the elevator, he turned to look at his master as the steel doors closed in front of him. Most people would have assumed that they were safe, and most people died that way. He was being watched, just as he had been when he entered the building, if he betrayed himself now in any way, he would be dead as soon as the elevator stopped.
The doors opened onto the clean parking garage and he once more fought the desire to run to his car. He had forgotten just how primal fear was. He hadn’t felt it in so long. It was not something that he wished to feel often, but for a time the sensation was actually worth exploring. His master could still make him feel fear. He knew that part of Alessandro’s power and prestige came from his ability to wield fear and instill it in others. He would have to learn how to manipulate that emotion as well if he was to be successful in his future endeavors.
He reached his car and entered through the door that Michael was holding open for him. His driver shut the door and Kenneth finally allowed himself to let go of that deep sigh of relief that he had been holding. He inhaled deeply the scent of clean leather, and polished wood paneling. Michael got into the driver’s seat and started the car.
“Back to my home,” Kenneth said a little rougher than he would have liked. Michael gave no hint of discomfort with his tone of voice but Kenneth had always prided himself on self-control and this was not a good showing of it.
The drive couldn’t have been over soon enough. He had spent it settling himself and focusing on what needed to be done. The beginning was always so delicate. The human mind was a marvel of labyrinthine constructs. He had been doing this for a while but still the beginning was always the most challenging, and the most dangerous.
Michael parked the car and dutifully opened his door. He stepped out of the car and regarded his home. For the first time since stepping foot in his master’s building he felt secure again. He walked up to the front door and entered. His home was exactly as he had left it. But he had a few guests waiting for him.