New Wave

[Saiketsu]

continued from Adam and Eve and AINT

"Oh, Jean-Luc, why should you have such impeccable timing?" The vampire breathed through the newly-lit cigarette with a strong undertone of irratation as he replaced the lighter in his back pocket. "I\'m fucking starving," Nikolai half-lied to the Frenchman.

The gorgeous blonde only looked at him, grinning. "You could have finished before we left," he responded off-handedly, looking out at the purring water with granite-colored eyes, which prompted Nikolai to smile and say without humor, "No, I couldn\'t\'ve."

He really didn\'t expect Pierre to understand completely how Nikolai meant the statement. Nikolai knew that Pierre Jean-Luc DuSang had no idea what he was doing in that backroom with the man that reeked of power, arrogance, and conceit. From the bite marks in Nikolai\'s neck, there was only one assumption that could be made. But what Pierre Jean-Luc DuSang didn\'t know would never hurt him.

Nikolai bit down on his tongue, effortlessly getting blood which was tinted so delicately with Adam\'s living warmth. His jaw went rigid in frustration. He had been so close, so fucking close! to getting laid after an entire night of disappointment. And then along comes Jean-Luc to interrupt all his fun with the proposition of business, acting as the biggest temptation of the entire night. His body had begun to ache with literal disappointment long ago. But of course Nikolai could forgive his precious Jean-Luc, even if he wouldn\'t submit.

He inhaled on the cigarette, feeling the empty smoke inhabit his lungs and do little else. Nikolai Armani looked past Pierre and past the younger vampire, Jack, who, heretofore remained quiet and unabsorbed in the conversation between the other two vampires. All three of the Genuine Ones looked out at the ocean where the black water reached the blackened sky. There was no end to either blackness, only a thin line where the two expanses touched contently. The beach was as clear as it could ever be, the water-strewn driftwood spotted the sands and rocks here and there. Nothing fantastic or magical about it.

"What is up with you?" Apparently Pierre had been watching him for a moment or so, for when Nick turned his head, the blonde vampire was looking at him. He had the faintest French accent, something Pierre was used to suppressing for the ladies and his enemies. It made Nikolai want to smile. "Stop being so pissy."

"Fucking bite me, alright? I\'m fucking aggravated."
"Well, that\'s your own fault." Pierre smiled easily, flustering Nikolai more.
"Is it now? Last I recall, I never interrupted you when you--"
"Well, that\'s your own fault." He smiled wider, causing a greater reaction inside of Nikolai. Pierre was flirting with him whether he realized it or not. Nikolai shut his mouth around his cigarette, eyeing the blonde cautiously, secretly enjoying the torture.

"So," Doxy spoke, changing topics faster than was nessecary, "where\'s this Ace character of yours? You\'ve spoken so well of him and now where is he?"

Both Pierre and Jack looked up. "Right there." Pierre grinned and pointed at two figures closing in on their perimeter, a male and a female, both reeking of thick walls and cold shields. Nikolai turned to see the two figures within twenty feet of them.

He was beginning to wonder why he hadn\'t noticed them, when he smelled a similar scent that turned his stomach. The girl. His senses sharpened out of anger when he saw the same girl who had recently torn out his throat, standing right next to the would-be leader of the vampires.

"No fucking way." He never forgot the promise he had made her. It was only Pierre\'s grip on his shoulder that held him back from attacking right then. "You fucking, little cunt," he seethed, Judas swirling within him faster than he could react.

[The Cedar Witch]

Storm exhaled slowly through her nose, feeling the swell of the ocean before she even bothered to lay her eyes on the waves. She couldn\'t do much about the nervous butterflies fluttering around in her stomach, but she tried to calm them nonetheless. The girl snuck a shy glance at Damien\'s face, as though for reassurance that really, she didn\'t think she would need. Not that she was expecting him to smile warmly at her. Yeah right.

With false confidence, she set foot onto the beach, eyes glancing warily over the group at the shoreline. The trio she was supposed to command, eventually anyway. And to be honest, she still didn\'t understand quite why it was to be her command. Damien seemed like a more fitting leader, it made no sense that he would come chasing after her. It wasn\'t like she was the perfect Isabella replacement.

As the Akari drew closer to the group, she immediately recognized the blond as Pierre. He was pointing at her, saying something to another vampire who had his back turned. And it wasn\'t until that instant that Storm realized just who the other was. Everyone else, including Damien, disappeared to her. The Akari\'s hackles rose and her eyes became shrouded in a familiar infuriated black.

"I\'m surprised you\'re still standing after what I did to you!" she proclaimed loudly with a voice she rarely used. She quickly closed the distance between her and this vampire--Nikolai, she now realized-- her fangs bared viscously and skin darkening dangerously. His face was the last thing she wanted to see.

"I should have torn you to pieces when I still had the chance," she boasted, powerful wings ripping through her back. Her massive wingspan was exaggerated, the leathery black extended further with shadows swirling angrily around her body. Unafraid she came close enough to smell him.

"You smell like shit, who\'ve you been fucking?" the Akari hissed. It was the Captain. It smelled just like that fucking Zalmric. She wasn\'t wrong, she was never wrong. Storm wouldn\'t ever mistake that scent, the aura. Her aura sparked dangerously, bending and distorting the air around her. She made little effort to control her quivering body.

Her mind screamed at her to tell Damien what she smelled. He should know now. The Zalmric could be near by. But her own warnings fell on deaf ears as she stood in front of a man she thought she wounded severely enough to keep him down for a significant amount of time. Then again, he was a vampire. But she was much stronger now and would not make the same mistake as she did back at the lighthouse.

[Saiketsu]

Things began happening faster than he could keep up. “Storm!” Damien grabbed for her arm as soon as the wings broke out, gripping onto her arm with a preternatural strength. He didn’t have any idea if he could even stop her. He threw a glance at Pierre, who had now held the only vampire he didn’t know – assumably Nikolai – back from Storm by the arms. He smelled Pierre’s blood as he noticed this new vampire was digging into him full force.

“What the fuck is going on here?!” Pierre had no clue either; he only tried to rein the vampire under control without using too much force. Nikolai on the other hand had lost all composure, his green eyes focused completely on the girl. An ear-splitting shriek erupted from Nikolai. The sound went straight down Damien’s spine, but he kept his grip on Storm’s arm.

“The same fucking man you’ve been fucking for how long now?” The younger vampire seethed. Damien\'s blood ran inexplicably hot at Nikolai\'s words, his grip on Storm\'s arm becomming more vicious. "Only I wasn\'t strapped down on my back, how \'bout you?" Nikolai snarled, smiling maliciously, and tried to surge forward, met with Pierre\'s age and strength.

[The Cedar Witch]

"Get off of me, Damien!" the Akari shrieked, struggling against the one who held her arm.

The vampire\'s grip should have been a minor annoyance, and she turned to him, hissing angrily. Without thinking, she combusted the oxygen that bordered her arm, hopefully making Damien want to release her. She would not be held back. The girl wanted to tear out more then Nikolai\'s throat.

"Shut your fucking mouth! You don\'t have a clue what you\'re talking about!" the girl felt heat rise to her cheeks and if not for the darkness of her skin, she would have been a healthy blush color. She made a move to walk forward and sink her angry flaming claws deep into the throat of the smart-mouthed vampire she hated with such a fire.

How dare he talk of what she did when he hadn\'t the slightest idea what she went through. It disgusted her beyond explanation. Things Storm never talked about, much less even thought about when she didn\'t have to. The Akari would wipe his entire face off if it was the very last thing she did.

Shadows pulsed forward like a heart beat; drawing energy from the girl they were burrowed into. Some eager tendrils shot forward towards Nikolai\'s body with invisible teeth thirsty for his flesh. They fed from Storm\'s hate, growing larger and more powerful the Darker she felt herself become.

[Saiketsu]

The vampire saw the leader make an attempt at pushing her over, or holding her away from him, but he also saw the fire explode on her arm, and watched as Damien\'s hand seared audibly.

"Don\'t I?" he responded, the smirk lingering on his face. "He explained everything clearly, you know. I think his exact words were \'something I keep around for a nice fuck\'." But as soon as the words came out, there was a severe amount of pressure on his back and shoulders, as Jean-Luc, his precious Jean-Luc, decidedly bent both shoulders back to an inhuman degree.

"Keep your mouth shut, Nikolai," both Pierre whispered in his ear. His green eyes flickered around to see Damien turned around with his hand near his chest, his own eyes searing and looking for blood. Judas snarled at Pierre, his eyes focused on the Akari. He had not forgotten the previous engagement between the Akari and himself. He knew what she was capable of and he would not get jammed up this time. The vampire felt the darkness before he ever saw it, a swelling of the air so familar to him.

Even with Pierre at his back (in a position he may have otherwise enjoyed, all things considered), it wasn\'t extremely difficult for both vampires to avoid the darkness, the tendrils. Pierre, probably twice as fast as Nikolai had easily dodged the tendrils once he saw them.

[The Cedar Witch]

The Zalmric cursed as he stumbled on a tree root. He hated forests. If he had a choice he\'d have them burned. The man made an effort to slow his breathing, the sound of waves caressing his ears as he came to the edge of the accursed wood. He shifted into a black panther, blending with the shadows nicely and giving him more of an ability to keep silent.

And the hunter spotted his prey, the pretty little boy he almost had on his knees. But there were four others at the water\'s edge and only one of them he recognized. His heart (and groin) surged as his eyes locked onto the precious body of the girl he had bedded countless glorious times. She was in the beloved shape, which of course meant she was inexplicably angry. And she\'d taken up shadow bending again; oh she must have missed him. The man grinned maliciously as best a panther could.

He watched with great interest, ears picking up an argument between the boy he almost screwed and the girl he loved to fuck. They were talking about him, how touching. Purring with delight, the Zalmric witnessed his precious girl set her arm alight to make the other man let go. His eyes lit up as he reminisced on times when Storm had done the very same thing to him. Too bad he loved the feel of pain.

The shadows were beautiful. The air was soaked with her intoxicating anger and Laurent hardened just thinking about it. Well, thinking about her naked and angry. But that was a minor detail. He would not move to capture her now. Too many people. Laurent was not so careless. Besides, he would want to drag out her torment a little longer, make her want him and pine for his body as he ached for hers.

She\'s become so much stronger... The Zalmric mused, watching the ocean behind the five flex with each wave. He\'d have to be a fool to not see her bending the water and manipulating it into a massive tsunami. Oh, he couldn\'t wait to see it crash down onto Nick with full force and soak the entire company. She was so beautiful when she was angry and even more so when she was wet.

[Saiketsu]

It was a bad idea to think that he could stop her with his hand; he was paying for that with every throbbing heartbeat. Fuck, his mind screamed at him. That was really stupid. What else could he do? Everything was rapidly falling apart and he didnt benefit in any way whatsoever from the burns he was accumulating. A group of blood-thirsty vampires already divided along unforseen cracks because of her. It angered him just as much as the new knowledge surfacing about Storm did.

Damien\'s face hardened into the stoney countenance of the luitenant he had been before he died. The elder vampire turned back towards the group with the air of complete control and authority, showing perfectly his age. "Pierre! Get control of him or I\'ll kill him myself! Jack, help Pierre! I\'ll not have a rogue vampire in my regiment.” He had the gun in his hand before he even knew he was pointing it at Nikolai. He pulled back the thumb, all manner of by-stander gone from him. “You have a choice: calm the fuck down or get out, or you\'ll get a new concern for the night. Pierre will tell you that I\'m not fucking around, either, won\'t you Pierre?"

"Of course, Ace," Pierre replied submissively as if taking some kind of an order.

"And as for you, Storm," the resemblance to Isabella he saw, even in her gestures took him by surprise. Never had he taken such control over Isabella herself and the situation was utterly new to him. "You have much to explain. You gave me your trust, now don\'t do anything else. Just fucking listen to me! Have your vengence later," he said under his breath to her.

"Now," he turned his attention to everyone on the beach, commanding respect, "I want to know exactly what the fuck is going on, children, before anyone gets shot or bled to death!"

[The Cedar Witch]

Storm released the ocean wave, letting it flow as it was before. This was not her giving up the fight. She was merely stepping back so the goddamned piece-of-shit vampire would let his guard down so she could tear him apart. With a final threatening hiss at Nikolai, she called the shadows back to her and they retreated reluctantly.

It would be accurate to say that Damien\'s voice had a calming effect on her, at least to a small degree. But the girl wouldn\'t ever admit that out loud. She inhaled the ocean air slowly, shadows moving over her body like concerned subjects to an omnipotent goddess. She glared at Nikolai as she absorbed what Damien was saying, trying to decide just how she wanted to exact her revenge.

"Damien," she sent mentally in a strong, commanding voice "there are things we need to discuss, alone. But right now I can\'t think."

The Akari folded her massive wings behind her back, still keeping a watchful eye on Nick. Her eyes were tinting green in her efforts to meditate herself into a calmer state of mind. Later, she told herself, Later we will kill him. When she came to the point where she could think clearly, something electrocuted the back of her mind and it took all she had not to snap her head back to the forest. She could feel him close by. Almost accidentally she reflexively reached out and embedded her claws into Damien\'s forearm.

"We need to be done with this quickly. There is a strong possibility that we are being watched. Don\'t make a move right now, don\'t let them know." There was slight desperation leaking through her mind and transmitting to him. She was petrified internally but desperately wanted to hide all of this from the vampire. She forced herself to relax.

"Obviously we\'ve met before," the girl gestured stiffly towards Nikolai, speaking with authority. "He has a mouth and I almost destroyed him." she glared, wings fluttering with agitation.

[Saiketsu]

The quick pain of claws flickered his attention back to her as she spoke in a voice only he could hear. His innards boiled with rage at her words and without meaning to, his eyes flicked around to the surrounding area, his defenses heightened regardless of her warnings. "What the fuck do you mean we may be being watched? By who?" But when she didn\'t say anything more about it, Damien tried to return to his former state of mind, returning his gaze to Nikolai under Pierre and Jack\'s arrest, his arms restrained with a spring-loaded blade from Jack\'s sleeve held up to his throat. Good man, Ace thought bitterly to himself. At least one thing can be counted on.

"Storm, I will get answers later, understood? No more secrets. Period."

"Bull-fucking-shit you could have destroyed me," the vampire with the slanted hair spat at her as, Damien noticed, he eyed the barrel of the gun pointed at his throat. As the potential leader of the crew, the last thing Damien wanted to do was kill or even injure another vampire, especially one of the clan. But if he kept shooting off his mouth, Storm might actually flee. Keep him quiet, keep her subdued. For now.

Nikolai, on the other hand seethed. Her comments, however small they might be, ran directly down his spine. "You could\'ve never destroyed me, you twat. You think a little blood\'ll end me?" He snorted with indignation.

"Do you want I should humiliate you in front of everyone here, or should I allow Ace to put a fucking cap in your head, you fucker?" The threats received from Pierre did more than sooth the rabid Nikolai: they made him remember how much Nikolai missed his voice, his power, even if the statement was less than what he really wanted Pierre to whisper in his mind.

"What-fucking-ever, man." Extremely reluctantly Nikolai took his own reins away from Judas, trusting the strength of Pierre\'s arms to keep Judas in his place -- if only for the time being. He could see the same look in Storm\'s eyes as he felt in his own.

"Now," he addressed the group again, straightening himself up to his full grandeur, "can anybody be civil enough to stop the fighting for a fucking minute? There are other things more important here than a fued between teenagers." His countenance turned cold as he looked from Nikolai to Storm and back again.

[The Cedar Witch]

"I\'ll tell you in time. I\'m getting very tired of this. If Pierre can\'t control his fledgling, I won\'t have enough patience to deal with this anymore." her mind\'s voice was wary and she cut off the telepathic connection between the two for the sake of saving her energy. Her arm fell to her side as she made a strong effort to appear normal and un-frazzeled.

Storm stared blankly at Nikolai, trying to take his blunt disrespect a different way other then offensive. Her eyes were the only thing on her face betraying how she truly felt, keeping a steady hateful black locked on Nikolai.

"You are so childish." she stated simply, dismissing the restrained vampire for the remainder of the night. To be honest she had more important things to do then to pointlessly argue. She didn\'t have the patience tonight. Her eyes scanned the faces of the rest of the group, taking their auras into her mind for further reference.

The Akari sighed heavily; severely agitated with everything that\'d happened over the span of a few short hours. The fact that he was uncomfortably close by was not helping matters at all. All of the stress of the situation was making her extremely tired. One hour, the girl resolved, just one hour of sleep. That\'s all. Obviously Damien wanted her to talk, but she had no intention of going into detail. Tonight anyway.

[Saiketsu]

"It\'s not his fledgling, first of all." Damien made it clear that Nikolai was the only one in the group which was not personally fledged by his own fangs. His attention turned once again to Nikolai, whose face was a clear mockery of Storm\'s.

Slowly the leader put the gun back in his sweatshirt, speaking to Nikolai as he did so calmly. "Doxy. Nikolai. I was told of your superiorly cunning skills from Pierre here. He speaks quite highly of you and I have always respected his choices in character.

"However," Damien\'s voice shifted completely, into one that sounded much older than he looked. The voice, used on typically the youngest of fledgling, was something similar to a drill captain. Captain Obvious, Clear, and Understood, "that does not give you free rein to treat anyone as you please in my regime, understand? If you want to remain under my command, you will hold your temper and your tongue. She will do the same. I don\'t care about any form of malice either one of you have against the other. It will not exist here. And if it does," the gun was out of Damien\'s sweatshirt as fast as possible, allowing him to barely pause as his clicked the thumb back on the pistol and placed it roughly against Nikolai\'s chest, "I\'ll give you such a reminder of your place in this world that not even the humans will respect you."

Damien smiled without humor, taking the gun away from him and turning his back as Nikolai scoffed. "Now you, unlike anyone else here, are welcome to leave now if it so pleases you. Obey my orders, keep your mouth shut and everything will go fine for everyone."

As if reading Damien\'s mind, Pierre released Nikolai abruptly. Still filled with rage, Judas had half the mind to take a swing at the leader. The only thing stopping Nikolai was Damien\'s age -- Damien could have easily killed him and he knew that. Nikolai calmed himself, regaining his composure as if he had never lost his dignity to the situation. This was looking a lot less appetizing as the moment progressed. "What would you have me do, Caesar?" Judas mocked. His eyes barely flickered off of Storm.

Damien only smiled wryly, finding his humor less than humorous at the moment. "Now. Where do we begin? As you all should know, my name is Damien Evans to few, Ace to many. Out in the street, I\'m never to be refered to as Damien, Dame, or anything else besides Ace, by anyone. Is that clear?" Before waiting for a response, he signalled to Pierre. "This is Pierre Jean-Luc duSang. DuSang or Peter on the streets. Nothing else. Comprendez-vous? He is and always has been second in command. When I am not around, he is your commander, is that clear?"

"This is Jack. Only Jack unless he tells you differently. He is our inside man, the one hand inside the law which keeps us hidden and unnoticed. Don\'t underestimate him. Ever."

"Lastly, this is Storm. Her name is never to be used outside of this group. Never. She is to be referred to as \'The Key\' and nothing else. Her gender is not to be discussed, her boundries are never to be breached, her mind is never to be entered. She is the sole incarnation of Lady Isabella, the Mother of us all. Storm is to be treated with the same exact respect as I am. If she gives an order, follow it, no questions asked." He had been pacing the entire time. "Is this in any way unclear to anyone?"

[The Cedar Witch]

Laurent watched the violence dissipate almost as quickly as it came. His tail swished back and fourth in a casual manner as he took in the scene before him. The fact that it took two men to hold Nick--the scrawny little boy-- back from throttling Storm struck the man as rather humorous. If they knew any better they\'d be holding her back, he mused silently. His icy blue eyes studied the group before him, trying to pick out the weakest with a predator’s instinct.

The one that came with Storm seemed to be their leader. What could he possibly want with her? The whore is probably already fucking him. Laurent seethed at the thought of another man\'s hands touching his precious demon-flower. He couldn\'t help himself from growling deep in his throat and pawing at the ground impatiently. The leader was speaking softly, pointing a gun at Nick who didn\'t act as though he was very frightened at all. The Zalmric wondered where he got all of this strength all of a sudden, last time he checked; the boy was practically melting and begging for Laurent to fuck him.

The Captain only caught a few spare words, not enough to understand just what this meeting was all about. The only thing that was made clear was the fact that Storm was of some great importance to the leader, and Laurent didn\'t appreciate that at all. Surely, he scoffed, they haven\'t seen the extent of her power yet? At least, that is what the man hoped. It wasn\'t very convenient for the man to have others chasing his prey.

Laurent fixed his attention on the girl, studying her posture and reading her aura. She felt very tense to him. He grinned, sharp fanged teeth sparkling in the moonlight. Slowly he reached out to her with his mind, over the bridge created by her shadows. Just a push on her mind, nothing more. Yet anyway. He suppressed the urge to laugh when she tensed up almost immediately. It was all too obvious that she was already aware of his presence, even before he attempted to force himself into her mind. He knew how much she hated that. But the Zalmric knew even more how much stronger hate made her. And he grinned again.

[Saiketsu]

Again Damien couldn\'t prevent his eyes from scanning the beach, the nearby forests, even the ocean. He couldn\'t feel or sense anything over the strength of characters present. Whoever this guy is, he\'s good. Maybe this guy was something significant to concern himself over. She was so palpably tense and he hoped that the others would take this simply as tension between Nikolai and Storm, not that he ever expected to be that lucky.

Not allowing any time for any of the others to notice what Damien already had about Storm, the vampire moved quickly with the same drill captain voice; he was commander again, Commander and Chief. "I\'ll assume that everyone here knows our dear friend Nikolai Armani, named Judas for less-than-obvious reasons. He\'s basically here because he knows too much about us on his own accord. He\'s the best scavenger I have ever witnessed and he can bring in scores of money.

"Now that all introductions have been passed and the faces are put to names, I bid you all welcome to the regiment. You are the Genuine Ones, and without you and without Storm, there\'d be no hope for the growing race in a world of humans.

"Now," Damien said, commanding Nikolai and Pierre\'s attention back to matter at hand. Nikolai had thrown a smirk at Storm\'s tense position and Pierre had risen his hand to Nikolai\'s collarbone to keep him under control. "Is everyone ready to move forward?" He didn\'t pause for an answer. "I suppose what should be asked first is for the news from the outside world. How are we faring against the outside world? Is there anything new that anyone should bring to the table?" And then, as if to sooth Storm Damien added, "Strictly outside forces, s\'il vous plait."

"Whispers are on the rise, saying that the Brotherhood is becoming more and more powerful of late," Pierre cooed with a low voice. Ace nodded in response, understanding the severity of the situation.
"And what of the monetary situation?"
Jack responded. "We\'re not making as much as we need to. The technological advances we need aren\'t going to happen without hard, fast cash. If we could get in control of a powerful organization, if we could control a big business like Risk, or even get a member on the board, we could more than double our income."
Before Damien could respond, Nikolai had. "Push drugs. I make thousands in a few weeks. There\'s high demand and easy enough transportation. Sell at a resonable price and keep the people interested. I\'ve been trafficking since morphine was first invented and exploited."

Damien hated the idea of one more step of complication. "Fuck businesses --that\'d take months maybe," Nikolai continued with a cold countenance. "Maybe even longer than that. In the meantime there\'s money to be made elsewhere. Lots of it." Ace was surprised to see Nikolai retreive a moderately sized baggie of blow from his sweatshirt pocket. Stunned, actually.

[The Cedar Witch]

Storm couldn\'t help but let her mind drift. Whatever they were talking about really didn\'t interest her in the slightest. On any normal night she would\'ve tried to at least pay attention, but this was no normal night. She had much more to concern herself with then the details of this organization she was supposed to be a part of.

The Akari began to scan her surroundings with her mind, reaching out in a guarded manner and crawling forward slowly. If she could just pinpoint the location of the Zalmric, she would know what part of the wood they had to avoid. Briefly she brushed against Damien, keeping a small tendril of her mind attached to his as something of a safety net. She moved quietly between Nikolai and Pierre, reading them from a distance rather then contacting them directly. Jack was a mystery to her.

When the girl pushed her mind farther past the group, she had to force herself to concentrate more, eyes flickering purple in the effort. She began from the edge of the lighthouse and moved to the right, thoroughly scanning the area like a metal detector. The Akari moved slowly, as though afraid of what she would find in the wood, out of sight.

It was so sudden that Storm barely had the ability to keep her breathing normal. She found him. Reflexively she clung to Damien\'s mind, while at the same time willing herself to calm down so he wouldn\'t think that anything was wrong. The Zalmric was too close for comfort, really. He was looking at her, reading her. For all she knew, the man was perfectly aware that Storm was looking for him. And she pulled slowly away from the Zalmric\'s mind so not to cause attention to herself.

Breathing a heavy sigh, she realized how tired she really was.

[Saiketsu]

"It\'s an idea, Ace," Pierre reflected. "I mean you know as wel as anyone the money that can be made."

Damien frowned. "Yeah, but I also know the trouble it tends to bring, especially with the law. We get Elias mixed up in any of this and we can kiss our hand inside the police department good-bye."

"So we keep it away from the bigger hands. We never introduce Elias to Nikolai --"
"It\'s too risky. Affiliation would kill us."
"Bullshit," Nikolai chipped in finally. "I\'ve been pushing since I was sixteen and I\'ve never been even suspected."
"Granted. If any one person even smells something illegal inside of the law, say hello to a federal case. And as much money as trafficking would get us, the months wasted if a case were to be filed would kill us completely."
"Are you saying that you\'re going to limit my personal business?" there was a level of tension in Nikolai\'s voice.
"You know very well I\'m not going to be able to do that even if I wanted you to. Make your money. Just keep it away from my regiment while we\'re still relatively unknown."

And as the others conversed, Damien felt the abrupt pull at his conscience from the girl at his side. It were as if she were trying to hide behind him and the vampire fought with himself against the overwhelming urge to question her right then and there. "What the fuck is going on, Storm?"