Julius looked to his left and saw Marco’s Rolls Royce standing ready.

With Biggs’ hand on his arm, just above the elbow, the two of them ascended the steps to the front door. The guards let Julius pass with a nod.

Entering the foyer, going from the brightness of day into the dimness, the two men paused.

“Good. You brought him.” Marco’s voice was a pained wheeze that made Julius flinch.

Beside him, Julius felt Biggs snap to attention. “Yes, sir.”

From the gloom at the other end of the hallway Marco’s wheelchair rolled forward, being pushed by Peter, Marco’s assistant.

Marco’s makeup was smeared with sweat, and he was hunched over, making him look like a carved demon. Julius studied his brother, but for the moment. Marco’s attention was on Biggs. “I understand how difficult it must have been For you to carry out your orders,” he said. “It’s not an easy thing to take your boss’s authority away from him. Rest easy, though. I will reward your loyalty upon my return.”

Marco’s eyes flashed to Julius.

Well, there’s life in the old boy yet, thought Julius, as his brother’s piercing gaze locked with his own. “Little brother, I apologize for the inconvenience. Unfortunately you gave me no choice. Until I can return and explain things to you fully, you’re just going to have to trust that this is for the best. You’ve jeopardized matters of which you have no comprehension, and I can’t take the time right now to show you the error of your ways.”

Julius let his head fall forward. “Actually, I do understand. I disobeyed you, thinking of nothing more than my son. I was blinded by my fear for him.”

Marco nodded his vulpine head as Julius looked up at him I. “I too understand, little brother. Still, I do have good news. I’ve discovered Warren’s whereabouts, and I’m going now to secure his release.”

This is it. thought Julius. He forced all the surprise he could his voice. “Warren? You know where he is?”

Marco nodded, and chuckled. “He is safe and well and should be returning to the fold in a few days. When he does, he will be in charge until I can return and clear things up with you. I expect you to give him the same good counsel you have given me all these years, though you will not have the same authority. He is the future of Fratellanza, Inc., little brother.”

Julius nodded. “Let me go with you. I want to see my son. I promise I wont do anything… rash.” Julius held his breath.

Marco shook his head. “If you have proven anything in the last twenty-four hours, it is that you cannot be trusted where your son is concerned. No, you will remain here for the duration.”

Julius let his head fall forward again. hiding the small smile that tugged at the corners of his mouth. “I accept the wisdom of what you’re saying, though my heart doesn’t agree.”

“Sir,” said Peter. “We had better be going if we’re going to keep to our schedule.”

Julius felt Biggs’ hand tighten on his arm, and he looked up. Marco waved to Peter, who rolled his chair forward. As they approached, Julius asked, “While you’re away, who’s going to take care of business?”

Marco smiled, showing his black gums. “That’s the Julius I know. Don’t worry. Everything has been taken care of. All current contracts can be handled by staff. You just rest, and know that your son will be back soon.”

With that, Marco was past him.

Julius looked at Peter, young, dark-haired, and pretty in a masculine sort of way. Peter shot a glance at Julius, and that look was so full of terror that Julius felt his heart break. He knew the poor kid probably wouldn’t be alive for more than another hour, and he sensed that Peter had come to the same conclusion. Still, there was nothing he could do about it.

Then they were out the door and into the sunshine. The last sight of Peter that Julius ever got was of the young mall extending the wide black umbrella and then attaching it to the chair. The light was too strong for Marco to face directly.

Biggs closed the door behind them.

“This way,” he said, staying in character. Julius had told him that Marco’s senses were heightened beyond belief, so they had agreed to continue until ten minutes after Marco’s car had left the drive.

Biggs guided Julius to his room on the second floor, then stood by the door as Julius went to check the window. Julius watched as the modified Rolls Royce pulled down the drive and out the gate.

A wave of bone-heavy anger stormed through Julius as he stepped over to the bed and sat down on it.

Biggs looked at his wrist chronometer, then pulled a small black box from his suit pocket. The box was twenty centimeters square and it had a simple switch on the top, just to the side of a small red light.

Biggs set the box on the small, intricately carved table and flipped the switch. For a moment, nothing happened, and then the red light blinked twice. Julius looked up as Riggs said softly, “Room’s clear.”

Julius nodded, and went back to waiting. At exactly ten minutes, Biggs looked over at him and smiled. “Time.”

Julius pulled a small portacom from his pocket and tapped in a series of numbers he’d been given by the decker-boy the shadowrunners called Sandman.

There were two clicks as the signal was bounced from host host, then the call connected.

Killian’s voice came through strong and without delay. “Yes?”

Julius smiled. “Elvis has left the building. Begin Operation Dracula.”

With those words, Julius was setting two events in motion. One was the legal proceeding that would finally give him sole control of Fratellanza, Inc. The other was the assault that would be his last chance to get Warren back before his son was changed into a vampire.

30

A vampire that can move at will in sunlight is a fiend with power beyond measure. It can travel wherever it wants to, whenever it wants to; it can hunt at any hour of the day; and it cannot be easily distinguished from a normal metahuman because it lacks the very weakness that once defined it. If the Ordo’s plan succeeds, they will gain total control over all of our lives in the blink of an eye, and we will be unable to lift a finger to stop them.

– 

Martin de Vries, Shadows at Noon, posted to Shadowland BBS. 24 May 2057

The assistant, the one called Pakow, watched emotionlessly as Marco drained the last of the blood from Peter’s body, letting the limp thing, which only moments before had been so full of life, fall to the floor of the loading dock.

His hunger sated, Marco straightened painfully and looked at the small man and grinned. “I’m ready, now. So if you’ll be so good as to have this mess cleaned up, we can go.”

The man called Pakow nodded curtly. “If you’ll just follow me, your room is prepared.” He gestured vaguely at the mess “I’ll have this taken care of.”

Sitting back down in his wheelchair, Marco nodded, then waited until the man took the hint. Coming up behind Marco Pakow pushed his chair into the building.

“Where is Doctor Wake?” Marco demanded. “I had expected him to meet me when I arrived.”

“He’s resting.” Pakow said. “He needs to gather his strength for the last part of the procedure on your nephew. It takes quite a bit out of him. Though I’m not totally versed in these matters, I understand that the magical aspects of the procedure are some of the most extreme to be found in the field of the arcane.”

Marco grunted his understanding. “How is it going? Have there been any complications?”

There was a short pause, then Pakow said. “As far as I know, everything is progressing beyond Doctor Wakes expectations. We’re using the latest strain of the virus on your nephew, and initial testing shows an unprecedented breakthrough.”