The Heist (15 page)

Not wanting
to lie to the little vampire, he answered without hesitation.
“Well, lass, I am a very auld man, so ah only need tae feed once
every three months, although ah dae like tae snack!”

Shuggie let
the information that Alicia was imparting process. It was obvious
that she didn’t realise how unique she was. It also made some sort
of sense to him that if she was a
Sangulis-solis
that her intake of
blood would be far in excess of what would be deemed normal for any
younglings of her age.

“
Dae ye huv a
preference? Male or female blood?” Shuggie enquired as he spotted a
young courting couple about five hundred meters ahead of
them.

“
Males, only
ever males. Females are too bitchy and I can’t be bothered with the
mesmerisation of them. I never kill them, just drink and send them
on their merry way!”

Alicia wanted
to ask him his preference but her Madre’s words rang in her head to
not interrupt when someone was trying to converse with
you.

Nodding in
understanding, Shuggie led Alicia towards the couple who were in
their early twenties. The street was deserted but for them, and he
wondered how skilful she was at mesmerisation as he remembered her
telling him that she had had no tutelage from her Maker. “Dae ye
want tae compel both o’them, Alicia?” Standing back and giving her
an encouraging look.

“
I’m sorry
what do you mean Hugh? That’s not even possible… is it?” Alicia
looked up, her brown eyes full of confusion and thinking Hugh had
lost his marbles.

Just as I
thought
, Shuggie mused,
this little vampire has been self-taught on
everything, and has no notion of her true capabilities, never mind
how unique and special she was
.

“
Aye, Alicia
it is possible, an ah will teach ye if ye will permit it?” Taking
her enquiring look as acceptance of his offer, Shuggie leaned down
to speak into Alicia’s ear. “Always start wi’ the human who is more
dominant. In this case, ye kin tell the male is henpecked. The
woman hus him wrapped aroon her wee finger. Start to mesmerise her,
but jist afore you complete it, turn yer attention tae the weaker
one. Fully mesmerise him then finish the mesmerisation oan the
dominant one, an then ye are free tae take yer time wi’ yer
feeding.” Giving a small nudge to her lower back, he stood and
watched as she hesitantly took her first steps forward.

Alice felt
her self-confidence leave her and she froze momentarily. What the
hell was she doing? She was not prepared to feed in front of
anyone, especially her new friend.

“
Please could
you turn around Hugh?” She whispered so that Hugh could hear
her.

Shuggie gave a reverent
bow and did as she bid, a sense of pride suddenly catching him
unawares.

Alicia
discreetly undid the catch to her bracelet and holding it in the
palm of her hand, she made her way towards the couple that were
heading in her direction.  She moved her hand to present the
bracelet in front of her.

“
I’m ever so sorry to bother you, but my bracelet has come
off! I don’t want to lose it, could you help me secure it back on
my wrist please?”
Her sweet
demeanour was enough to get the couple to stop and as they looked
at the gold in her hand.

Alicia had
initially stumbled across the fact that she could mesmerise people
by accident. It took her a good year after discovering that she was
a vampire, to master what she referred to as ‘
ipnotizzare
’ and it all started when
her bracelet fell from her wrist and she almost went into meltdown.
 A passing male had heard her shrieks of despair and came to
her aid.  As he rose to his feet with the eighteen carat
antique piece balancing in the palm of his hand, he handed it to
her, but as Alicia was about to thank him their eyes met and she
saw his pupils starting to go larger in size.
After muttering some instruction to him, she became aware
that he was like her puppet, doing everything she commanded. She
often did wonder what happened to him and the others that she
‘
ipnotizzared
’ in
the early days.  She only learned through time that you
actually need
to tell the puppets to
forget her when she was finished or else the poor mortals would
have ended up in a mental asylum

It was after
that she realised that her bracelet was like a beacon to mortals.
 They were drawn to it like a moth to a flame. And soon it was
how she reeled her dinner in.

Shaking her head to bring
her attention back to the couple before her, it was the female with
the look on her face that could kill as she possessively moved to
stand in front of her male to assist Alicia with the
clasp.

Hugh was
right!

As the female glared at
Alicia she started as she always did, a look to the bracelet then
up, mortals never failed to follow suit and that’s when she
captured their stare with hers.  Doing as Hugh had told her,
she had the female in a semi-hypnotic state then turned to the
male, and once he was fully mesmerized she turned back to the
jealous blonde.

She preferred
not to take her sustenance from females. Most were full of
chemicals, their hormones were elevated and the taste lingered on
her lips for hours afterwards. She also observed that when she
struck a females neck it was more painful for them. Over the years
she realised that when she struck males on their neck, even under
mesmerisation, they got turned on. So she always went for the
wrist.
Sealing the wounds with a kiss,
Alicia was finished and prayed that when she turned around, Hugh
had not been watching.

“
Is it
alright tae turn around noo?” Shuggie gave a short laugh before
turning to see Alicia grinning up at him, the couple walking away
quite content and oblivious to what had just happened to them.
Taking out a clean handkerchief, he dabbed the corners of Alicia’s
mouth. “Ye dribbled, ya big wean!” Laughing as he offered his arm
to her. “An ye cud huv offered tae share some wi’ me!”

“
I did it! I
really did it!” Alicia’s smile was wide as she looked up, bursting
out laughing. “I apologise Hugh, would you like me to catch you
some dinner? I got carried away there I’m afraid.”

Patting his
flat torso, and giving a bellowing laugh, Shuggie looked at the
youngling “Nae lass, ah’m watching ma weight.” He gave a wink as
the pair continued their stroll. As the night was coming to a
close, Shuggie knew he needed to make his excuses and head for
shelter before the sun started to rise.

“
Alas,
Alicia, I must be away fur the night,” patting her hand as he
spoke. “But afore I leave, I wud like tae invite ye tae ma
dwellings the morra night - unless ye huv plans?”

Shuggie would
not lie to the youngling, as his paternal bond for her had grown
this night, but he was very keen to find out about her life story
and also clear up the misunderstanding between her and the
Commander.
She may be the thief they were
after, but he sensed that there was a lot more to her than just a
penchant for petty crime. A woman of Alicia’s intellect would have
a bloody good reason for doing what she was doing, and he knew that
once Xavier had heard her out, between them they could assist the
youngling in her endeavours.

“
Are you asking me out on a date Hugh? Of course I shall meet
with you tomorrow eve, seeing your dwellings would be wonderful.”
Alicia laughed as she teased him, confusion again showing on her
features as he mentioned the sun.
He must have allergies
she mused
internally. Looking around to check the coast was clear, she bid
her friend a farewell and flashed herself to London.

There was an
uneasy stillness in the air, the silence heavy and oppressive as
Ricardo and Martinez watched Snr Belcastro slam down the
phone. The call had lasted less than ten minutes, but the
implications of that call, Martinez mused, would last the lifespan
of several of his men — albeit that their lives were about to come
to an abrupt, and grisly end.

They had been
summoned to Snr Belcastro’s mansion to discuss the progress or
otherwise of Commander Raige’s efficiency in tracking down the
thieves who had been targeting them.  In reality, Martinez
knew that the suspicions and doubts as to Commander Raige’s
trustworthiness had been growing. The latest rumours from his own
spies in Belcastro’s inner circle were that the old man was
becoming increasingly convinced that Raige was actually the
mastermind behind the attacks himself. As Martinez was the one who
had initially hired Raige, and convinced the old man that he was
the man for the job, his personal safety and position within the
organisation was inextricably linked to him downplaying this rumour
and trying to keep the old man calm and focused.

All that went out the
window, however, the minute Snr Belcastro took that damn
call.

Neither Ricardo nor
Martinez wanted to be the first to break the silence, as Snr
Belcastro stared at them, his face running the gamut of colours,
before settling on a peculiar shade of purple.

“
You heard
what was said,” Snr Belcastro barked. Actually, the two men had
only heard his side of the conversation, but unless they were
suicidal it would not have been politic to point this out to
him.

“
Well
?”

Belcastro
slammed a chubby fist on his desk, making the papers and
paraphernalia jump in unison. Martinez was used to the old man’s
tantrums and remained impassive. Ricardo, however, made the rookie
mistake of flinching ever so subtly, and that was enough for
Belcastro to hone in on him.
Thank
fuck
, Martinez thought to himself. Ricardo
would be the one to take the fallout from the old man’s mood today
for that reaction alone.

As Ricardo
stuttered under the glare of Belcastro, it bought Martinez time to
mull over what was going down. From the pieces of conversation he
gathered that the latest shipment had been compromised — and that
the Russians were still wanting paid, even though it was defective
goods.  Martinez knew that it was important for Belcastro to
keep good business links with the Russians, but he also knew that
the old man would not hand over money just for the fuck of
it.

As Snr Belcastro stopped
to wheeze in between berating Ricardo, Martinez seized the
opportunity to speak up.

“
Boss, I
think that you should consider some damage control in light of
these defective shipments.” Not giving Snr Belcastro time to
interrupt, Martinez continued, “This situation is not beneficial
for you or the Russians, and it may be worth, in the interests of
business you understand, taking the higher ground.”

“
If you told
the Russians that you will pay them for the soiled goods but, tell
them that in light of the condition of the product it would be good
business for them to send the next batch earlier than scheduled.
Further, tell them you want it at a discounted price for the
inconvenience you have had? That would let the Russians know that
you honour your word, but also that you are not to be messed with.
If you start arguing over this shipment, it could compromise the
entire operation. At least give them the impression that you
are giving them the benefit of the doubt, just until our men in
Poland and Romania can finalise the operation from their
end. By the time that is done, we will not rely on the
Russians, and it will be up to you whether we continue our
arrangement with them or not?”

Martinez sat back in his
chair, giving a small snake-like lick to his dry lips, and held his
breath to see which way his words would fall with the old
man.

Snr
Belcastro’s left eye twitched, and Martinez knew that was his
‘tell’. The old man was no poker player, and that small
betrayal of his body let Martinez know that he had successfully
defused the situation.  He could also hear the sigh of relief
from Ricardo as he realised that he was now off the
hook.

“
So, I tell
the Russians this, and they respect me for it?  They get paid,
but I deal with the disposal of their faulty goods?” Snr Belcastro
lit up a cigar as he did his trademark reaction, taking his goddamn
time, before giving a final answer.  It was as though he had
watched too many reality TV shows or quizzes on the television — he
had to build up the suspense. After a long, overstretched dramatic
pause, he pursed his lips, nodded and said, “Yes, I like this.
 Do it.”

Martinez
closed the door behind him as he grabbed Ricardo by the throat,
slamming him against the wall.  Through clenched teeth he
warned him, “Act like a pussy in front of the old man when I’m with
you again, and I’ll make sure you’ll be thrown to the
dogs.” Martinez dropped hold of Ricardo, pulled out his
handkerchief and wiped his hands, before stepping over the slumped
body and walking out the mansion to where his chauffeur was
waiting.

Once inside
the car, Martinez flicked open his cell and waited for an answer.
 “It’s Martinez. Shut the fuck up and listen. The last
shipment of prostitutes was delivered last night,” he paused,
nodded, then spoke again. The recipient of the call was as much a
conversationalist as he was.