One of the great advances of being a vampire was the ability to get rid of hangover in a blink of an eye. No matter what he had drank yesterday, today he was completely sober, fresh, ready to go. Then again, he hadn’t drank that much yesterday because of today. A few glasses of good red wine, a few more of exceptional quality synthetic plasma.
This was a day like no other had ever been. Maybe a little bit like the one that had started with seizing the throne from the previous Emperor, and yet nothing like that at all.
He had been so much younger back then. Gosh, it had been two DECADES ago. Time flew when you had lots to do, he supposed. Now he woke up in the morning finding a whole bunch of new muscles he had never thought of before and wouldn’t have thought of now, either, if they weren’t aching so much.
East Tradewind Shipping Co. looked as completely normal as it always did. It waited there mids light mist, red sunset painting it’s tin roofs in the shades of orange and gold. Office lights were all down, but there was a small light coming out of one of the barracks buildings near the docks.
There, just like so often before, Beau headed.
He wasn’t alone. Just like during the past forty years or so, Gabriele was accompanying him. This time, also Alphonso came along. Opposite to Beau and Gabriele, he was clearly distraught, clearly tired and clearly pissed off by having to be present. Beau knew it was both because he worked during the days and also because he wanted nothing to do with these people. Unfortunately for a man in his position, it was not his call to make. Whether or not he liked it, he’d have to be here now and probably many times in the future, too.
They passed the metal gated that opened with a touch of Beau’s personnel card. Winds were still today and cargo ships layed still in the bay, waiting for the next day. The site was quiet as ever, empty, with the exception of them and a familiar man waiting in front of the barracks door. Beau raised a hand and Wogan answered with a wave, grabbing a hold of the door handle.
”One more time”, he said as Beau passed him, walking inside.
”One more time”, Beau answered and every word felt like a cactus inside his throat.
Gabriele seemed nervous in the dark room. He kept straightening his jacket, clearing his throat, muttering something only he himself could hear clearly. It wasn’t common to see him so tense.
”It’ll be fine”, Beau heard Alphonso said. ”The same bunch of filth as always. You’ve seen them all a thousand times by now.”
”Not like this”, Gabriele answered.
”Doesn’t matter. You speak, they hear. Nothing has changed.”
”Yet.”
Wogan shut the door behind the trio. Beau gave Gabriele some time, eventually walking to a door on the other side of the room. From under it slithered a weak stream of light that hit the toes of his boots. He could hear multiple conversations behind it. Some raspy laughter and sounds of glasses toasting.
”Just like always”, he said to his second youngest son. Gabriele stopped fiddling his sleeves, took a deep breath and nodded to him: ”Right. Let’s go.”
”You don’t need me.”
Gabriele stared at him for a while as if expecting him to open the door despite of what he had said.
”Excuse me?”
”You don’t need me anymore”, Beau answered and took a step back. He gestured towards the door and nodded: ”You are ready to go.”
”No”, gabriele replied immediately. ”You were supposed to announce that…”
”You can do it yourself. This is what you’ve been trained to do. This is what you were born to do, I might even say. Your destiny.”
”I haven’t…”
”You don’t need a speech to tell them they work for you from now on. You need a firm voice, enough people behind you and skill. All that you already have.”
Gabriele still seemed unsure, but after a moment he gave a small nod. One of those you could barely see. He walked to the door and Beau could see his hand shake a bit when he pressed down the handle.
”Alphonso, wait”, Beau said as the tallest of them all was about to follow Gabriele inside the now completely silent room.
Alphonso stopped, looking over his shoulder. Beau had always admired how Alphonso was able to fit all his immense loathing towards his adoptive father in a single glance.
”Keep him in control”, Beau said quietly. ”Power makes one blind.”
”First hand experience, I assume.”
”He’ll turn to you for guidance and support”, Beau continued, leaving the obvious insult seemingly ignored. ”As the head of the house from now on, your duty is to provide both. In times of need, you’ll have to be the one stopping him if things are going array.”
”Let us both hope, then, that I’ll do a better job than mother.”
A joyless laughter escaped from the lips of a now retired emperor of the underworld.
”Is it this hard for us to have a single conversation without getting onto each other’s throats?”
Alphonso scoffed: ”Pretty much.”
Alphonso pulled the door shut behind him, leaving Beau in the silent, dark room. For a moment he stared at the shut door, not really sure what he was supposed to think. He felt… surprisingly OK. Almost relieved. Two hundred years was a long time to lead an organization like this, and even longer to lead a whole society. One could’ve said it was such a long time getting yourself lost in the process was a realistic threat.
Who was he now? Not an emperor, that was for sure. Maybe it was time to find out.
”All OK?”
Beau took a deep breath and blew it out sharply: ”Yeah. I think so.”
Wogan smiled to him through the dark.
”What do you normally do during the meetings?” Beau asked, turning to his oldest friend. Wogan pulled out a pack of cigarettes from his pocket.
”You have a spare?”
”I might just have.”
留言