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Ryan sat back down. “I have a plan.”
“Care to share it?”
“You won’t like it. You want blood, and I get that, but think of the odds. My parents have been doing this for over six hundred years. They’ve killed some big names, and they’re still alive, still killing the baddest of the bad. They manage northern Italy, and ya’ll have to know what that means.”
He’s telling us more than he should, I told Marco.
“What’s your plan?” Marco asked Ryan.
“Pull the Slayer Council and Apollonius in. Make it so my parents will have to face censure from the people who oversee our actions if they continue on this path. Slayers are given a huge latitude, but we do have rules. Our council and the Concilio negotiated terms that keep us from going to war against each other — Slayers against vampires. We can kill the bad supernaturals, vampires included, but if we go too far out of bounds, the consequences are harsh.”
I knew without asking, Marco wasn’t going to go for that.
“I know where they are,” Cora said.
Everyone looked to her, and she shrugged. “I still have access to the Drake analysts and geeks. Ryan’s parents rented a house on Missionary Ridge, not far from Jayce’s home.”
I could sense Marco’s rage.
“And you’re just now telling me!?”
She held her phone up and glared at him. “You should know me better than that. The text came through four minutes ago.”
“Do we know when the reservations were made?” Ryan asked.
“Five days ago.”
They were planning to take me out when I visited Jayce to watch The Matrix, probably. I telepathed Marco. Somehow, they found out about the meeting with Martin and tried something earlier. Do we think they know I’m here now?
Marco looked back to Ryan. “Etta is at Jayce’s. If they knew she was going to be there Sunday night, would they’ve found a place close?”
“Possibly. Who knows she’s there now?”
“The four people who live there, Venom, Patience, and me.”
“Attacking my parents tonight will be tricky. They aren’t likely to be home.”
“Agreed,” Cora said. “I propose Ryan and I scout the area now, in broad daylight. We’ll put cameras and sensors up on the perimeter. I should have a blueprint of the house in the next half hour, possibly sooner, so we should have it before we arrive.”
“I have an infrared scanner,” Ryan said. “If they’re aboveground and not screwing with their body temp, I’ll be able to tell where they are in the house. Assuming they’re on the premises.” Ryan sat back and the muscles at his jaw rippled. “It’s also possible it’s a trap. A honeypot put out to draw us in and kill us while we think we’re spying on them.”
“This is my fight,” Marco told Cora, “You don’t—”
“Our fight,” Cora interrupted. “Rogue Slayers in my town? Oh hell no. Besides, I’m the one who found them. My people found them when yours couldn’t. We only know where they are because of me, so don’t you dare try to tell me to butt out.”
I could sense Marco’s frustration through our connection, and I wisely decided to keep my thoughts to myself.
I sensed someone else, and then saw Mordecai and Kirsten, who’d apparently teleported in.
“Apollonius teleported in near the property,” Mordecai told the room. “He’s coming in through the gate, and he expects he’ll be invited into this meeting.”
Kirsten told Marco, “I can flash you home if you want to avoid him.” She turned towards Ryan. “Likewise, I’ll flash you wherever you want me to take you, if you’d rather not deal with him, but odds are, he’ll just flash himself to you there, and you’ll still have to deal with him.”
“I’d prefer to handle this through official channels. If it comes down to it and there isn’t another option that keeps Etta alive, we’ll take them out, but if we can stop them through other means…” Ryan sighed. “When I split with them, I had the sense it would eventually come down to me or them, a fight to the bitter end. Maybe we’re there, but maybe we aren’t. They’ve always bowed to the Slayer Council before, and I have no reason to think otherwise in this instance. They were with the group who went after Blade and Augustus, and the group backed away once ordered to.”
“How was Apollonius notified?” Marco asked Mordecai.
“Ryan’s analyst was duty-bound to report what she knew to her superiors, who sent it up the chain of command. I’ve double and triple checked — Ryan was not aware she did so.”
