It pissed him off that he had to meet his followers here. But deep down, he knew that Alessandro knew that he had lied and deceived him. He knew that his Head of House was just waiting for him to peek out of hiding so he could publicly kill him in front of all of House Dukart. Kenneth was not going to give the old man the pleasure.

He heard a car engine off in the distance. He melted back into the shadows of the large store house. The engine grew louder till it pulled up outside and stopped.

Soon the small side entrance door swung in and a lone figure stepped into the dark room.

“Kenneth?” Brian called out, “Kenneth, are you going to play hide and seek or tell me just why in the hell I now have responsibility for two unconscious and kidnapped scientists on my hands.”

Kenneth stayed in the shadows, “Are you alone, Brian?” he asked deeply, forcing his voice to echo off the walls of the place making it hard to pinpoint the origin even to vampire hearing.

“For the love of…” Brain muttered softly to himself. Then with a sigh he called out in an exasperated monotone, “Yes, I am alone and no, no one followed me, oh great and powerful Oz.”

Kenneth stepped out of the shadows. Brian acknowledged him and stepped up to Kenneth shaking his hand.

“You did well,” Kenneth said. He looked toward the closed door that Brian just entered through. “What has been going on?”

“Outside you mean?” Brian asked. He looked behind him as well and then scratched at his neck, “One of House Brandt’s warehouses got hit tonight.”

“The same as House Himura?” Kenneth asked.

“Yeah, seems that way. The reports are sketchy at best,” Brain replied off handedly. “Well, I guess we can rule out House Brandt attacking House Himura now.”

“Or this was in retaliation for House Himura’s losses,” Kenneth mused. “Could this be someone inside House Dukart?” he asked suddenly.

Brain shook his head, “No way! Nobody moves in House Dukart without you or Alessandro knowing.” He shook his head, “Why would Alessandro want to hit House Himura? He’s allowed peace between the three Houses for decades, why break that peace now? What’s in it for him?”

“It was just a thought,” he replied idly. “Definitely makes things more interesting though, doesn’t it?” Kenneth asked with a smile.

“If you say so, boss,” Brian answered nonchalantly. “By the way, what do you want me to do with them, the scientists I mean?” he asked.

“Oh, them,” Kenneth said, “They have information that I don’t want anyone else knowing, not even them.”

Brian looked at him quizzically, “How far back are we talking here?” Brian asked.

You might be reading a stolen copy. Visit Royal Road for the authentic version.

“Not so far back that they lose their intelligence or skills, a few months should do.”

“Okay, then what?” Brian asked.

“Then, you can either keep them, or free them. I may have need of their scientific minds, so whatever you do don’t take them to a place you can’t lead them back from.”

“Please,” Brian retorted, “I haven’t forgotten what you taught me. I know the value of human minds.” He looked back at them, “Might we turn them?” he asked suddenly. “They may become useful assets to House Dukart.”

Kenneth rubbed his chin in thought, “I had considered one for that purpose,” he was quiet for a while, then, “Maybe. I have planned everything perfectly and things are proceeding more or less as I had designed them to. I don’t want to throw too many variables into the mix, not now when I’m so close.”

Brian looked at him skeptically, “This,” he said gesturing to the store house, “Is your idea of everything going according to plan?”

“It serves my needs at the moment,” Kenneth answered without skipping a beat.

“And why is that?” Brian asked, not letting it go.

Kenneth grabbed Brian by the shoulder and held him rigidly in place, “Suffice it to say,” Kenneth said evenly as his fingers exerted more and more pressure on Brain’s shoulder, “I wish to stay out of sight for the moment.” He maintained his grip till he heard a painful pop echo through the store house.

“You bastard!” Brian said backing away, holding his now dislocated shoulder. “What the hell did you do that for?!”

“To remind you of your place, Brian. Oh, stop being a baby, come here!” Kenneth commanded.

“No thanks,” Brain said walking to a nearby steel girder and slammed his shoulder into it with enough force to bend the girder. He rotated his arm above his head and tested the reinserted joint.

“Brain, I’m hungry,” Kenneth stated.

“Sure, back here?” Brian responded.

“No, not here, at the other place,” Kenneth said.

“Jesus Christ! Are we really going to play this “cloak and dagger” game all over Los Angeles?” Brian asked in consternation. “How long are we going to keep doing this?”

“Till I’m satisfied that the game is well and truly over, with the last move only needed to be performed.”

“Yeah?” Brian asked, “What game is that?”

“I will tell you when you need to know, no sooner,” Kenneth replied. “I will tell you, don’t play with those two, too long,” he said referring to the scientists, “They will need to be seen soon. I can’t afford to have police looking into a missing person’s report with me being so close to them.”

“Yeah, I said I would take care of it, didn’t I? What are you going to do in the mean time?” he asked.

Kenneth smiled, “I am going to wait till after the baptism.”

Brian smiled and shook his head, “Whatever, boss. I’ll be seeing you,” he said as he left the store house and let the door shut behind him.

Kenneth stayed in the shadows till he couldn’t hear the car engine anymore. Brian may well have been followed. He was good, but he sometimes thought his age and experience were enough to protect him for everything. He had to be reminded, every now and again, that age wasn’t everything.

He silently moved from the store house and keeping to the shadows made his way back to where Michael waited with his car. The ride was a quiet one. Kenneth needed to collect his thoughts.

Learning of House Brandt being hit was unexpected. His plan was still intact that much was certain. The pieces were falling into place. He just needed to wait a little longer. He could no longer do anything. That he had to leave to the few people he trusted even these small tasks was infuriating, though.

He was hungry and that was making him irritable. He wasn’t thinking clearly. He would just have to wait to meet Brian at the other location. Soon these precautions wouldn’t be necessary.

* * * * *

It had been a few days. Kenneth was still operating out of the Zoo and through Brian to take care of minor issues. Brian attested that no one in House Dukart was looking for Kenneth at all. He knew that had to be a mistake or Alessandro was being particularly cunning. No, there would come a time for him to act, but now was not that time.