SNAP: The World Unfolds

CHAPTER THIRTY-THREE

Jean-Louis’ voice slid into my ear like warm massage oil.

“Have I given you enough time to get ready for bed?” he asked softly and most of my snitiness evaporated.

“I’m in bed, yes. How the hell do you know?”

“Paolo has orders to call Sandor every time he moves you. We don’t think you’re in as much danger in New York, which is why we wanted you to stop there first. We’re putting a whole new security network together and this is the first time we’ve tried it. From the tone of your voice, I‘d guess it’s working.”

“If you mean that I’m going to be watched all day, every day by demons, yes, I’d say it’s working. And I don’t like it!”

I could hear his sigh. “Stefan and I have been meeting with Sandor for hours over how to make this work, and you’re being difficult.  There’s a lot riding on this whole plan.  First, it’s to keep you safe.  Remember, you’re the bait, or what was the word you used—pal?”

“Not pal, chum.  It’s like seeding the water with a lot of bait.  It sets up a feeding frenzy.”

“That’s a much better word.”  Jean-Louis’ voice verged on laughter.  “It’s exactly what we want the Huszars to go into.  A feeding frenzy can get the predators to turn on each other or at least get confused about their targets.  It would be ideal.”

I couldn’t contain my disgust.  “OK, you want me safe so that the violent vampires can go after me.  Why does that make me feel like a tethered goat in tiger country?  It sure sounds safe to me!”

Jean-Louis’ voice hardened.  “Stop it.  You know that’s not the only reason I want your safety.  But right now, the future of you, me, the Baron, the Kandesky family, SNAP depends on how—if—we can get the Huszars to the talking table.  Stefan and I are doing everything we can to avert a war and you have got to help if you want to stay a part of us.”

There was silence.  Crap.  Had I pulled the hurt teen again?  I didn’t mean to, it just slipped out when I thought that he was only looking at me as a pawn in this blood-sucker power struggle.  If I kept this up, I wouldn’t be bait any more.  I wouldn’t be anything associated with Jean-Louis, SNAP or the vampires.  I’d go back to my humdrum life, looking at celebrities from behind the velvet rope, wearing knock-off gowns from a cheap seconds store and yelling, “Over here, over here..”. 

Maybe I was overdoing it.  I’d never stood behind the velvet rope or had to yell for attention, I’d always been the one behind the scenes, assigning reporters and photographers, contracting with freelancers.  I’d had the luxury of choosing what would get published, how it was played, what it would look like, because I wasn’t interested in the excitement and glamour of actually covering something or someone.  I had no burning desire to see my name in print—well, other than on the masthead—or my face on camera.

This vampire deal, though...it was giving me pause and opening up worlds of envy and want I never knew I had.  Working at SNAP was the top.  Just the intro, “This is Maxie Gwenoch from SNAP” was a golden key. People answered my calls, set up and kept appointments, called me with tips, invited me to lunch, dinner, opening nights.  I didn’t take many of them up on offers, but they still kept coming and it was heady stuff.   I had a career, a place in the sun and the possibilities of love and luxury beyond imagination.  And I was insisting on throwing it away with both hands.

I cleared my throat and Jean-Louis was back. “I wasn’t sure you were still there.  I can’t figure you out.  Stefan and I aren’t sure why the Huszars have focused on you, we just know they have.  And this has given us some potential we haven’t had since Matthias did in Felix.”

After a beat he added, “We have something they want and they want it badly enough to expose themselves. We have to take advantage of this exposure; use it as a wedge to break the Huszars apart.  They’re bound to fall out over the attempts to kidnap you; they won’t be able to agree on one plan.   I think that’s why we saw some inept tries; the attack in the woods was vintage Huszar but the probing and tapping on your window showed some ability to use stealth and cunning.  They’ve always gone for brute force and it works; they’ve been around for as long as we have.  Now it seems Matthias learned some guile from his Nazi cohorts and is using it in his hunt for you.  There may be internal disagreement about the hunt, and we can take advantage of it.”

I understood what he and the Baron were trying to do.  It made sense.  But I was still the bunny in the trap and it was scary and annoying.  I’d been on my own for years, never having to ask permission or tell anyone where I was going.  That was the annoying part.  The scary part was that I was in danger if somebody didn’t know where I was at all times.

“You’re right, I see why you need to take this tack.  I don’t like it; it makes me feel creepy and spied on and...”

“You are spied on,” Jean-Louis was short with me.  “Regardless of what we do, the Huszars are watching you.  I’m sure they know you’re in New York, but that’s not a place they normally keep any family members; they’re having to hustle to get someone to cover you.  We only have a few days breathing room.  It’s no secret where our New York offices are, so we have them under constant surveillance.  I’m not sure they know where the Baron’s townhouse is, but if they catch you coming out of the office, they follow you and, bam.”

This made me think.  The attack in the L.A. garage was frightening and I thought I was a goner when they grabbed me in the woods at the Baron’s castle, but  I really didn’t think they’d go after me in New York, wide open with plenty of witnesses.

“Do you know if they would attack during the day?”  My voice was quiet, and Jean-Louis picked up on it.

“We don’t know.  It’s not a typical method they’ve used in the past, but members of our family haven’t been their prey before.  With the peasants, the villagers and farmers around here, they’ve mostly hunted at night with no witnesses.  This is a different game and we need to develop different methods.”

“OK, I’m convinced.  Tell me what you want me to do.  How should I play this?  Should I throw caution away and just make myself available?  Should I try to sneak around and not go out after dark?  I’ve never been chum before.”

That one got a laugh.  “Oh, I imagine you’ve been someone’s chum before,” Jean-Louis chuckled.  “I suspect there’re quite a few pals, chums and exes in your past, but I don’t want to know.  Anyway, that’s a subject for another conversation, way down the road.

“The best you can do is just keep up your normal schedule.  We know that the Huszars don’t yet have the technology to tap our phones or hack into our servers and besides, they only want you and only for ransom.  It’s because of your position.”

“Is that all?”

“No, that’s not all.  But that discussion is for another time, too.  I’ll let you go to sleep now and I know that Paolo is staying with you in the apartment.  I’m more comfortable now than I was last night.  I’ll call you again, soon.  Keep well,” and the phone went dead.

Not even a chance to say good-bye.  He’d laid out logical reasons for me being in the eye of the Huszars.  He’d told me a bit more about their methods.  He’d made me understand the great risks that were involved in “the little Huszar adventure” that he and the Baron so lightly talked about.

And he’d said a couple of things that made me know I wasn’t valuable only because of my position.  He was interested in me.  If I was going to have that flicker of interest fan into flames, I needed to continue to keep Carola and Pen’s advice uppermost. and do  all I could to help the little adventure