Let's Make a Deal

The door creaked softly as Nicolai opened it. He had made arrangements to meet the hunters, but he wasn’t sure they knew exactly who had made plans to meet them.

A group of men were seated in the corner, most of them with their backs to the doors. Nicolai could see that they were all armed, but he still approached the table. Stopping in front of it, he said, “I’m looking for Chase Archer.”

The men looked him up and down, examining him. Nicolai knew what he was seeing, a slender man with dark blond hair that was dressed nicely in slacks, a vest, and an open collar shirt. He was aware of the picture he presented to the world, but he also knew what lurked beneath the surface. “Archer doesn’t see anyone without us clearing them,” one of them said.

Nicholai smiled, baring his teeth at the men. “My name is Nicholai Costa. I have an appointment with Signore Archer.” Casually, he put his hands in his pockets. “Of course if you don’t want to convey my arrival… I can just leave and let him know that his… friends denied me access.”

The men exchanged glances before one of them shoved back his chair and stood. “I’ll see if Archer really has a meeting,” he told the group before stalking away.

While they waited, the rest of the men stared at Nicholai. He suspected that their plan was to attempt to unsettle him, but he had faced tougher men than them. After a few minutes, he pulled one hand out of his pocket, glancing at his watch in boredom. He’d been on time for the meeting and now it was a few minutes past. While he had time, he didn’t want to be late for accidentally running into Elena. His plan wouldn’t come to fruition if he missed that meeting.

Finally, after he’d been standing there for ten minutes, the man walked back out of the room he’d disappeared into. “Archer wants to see him.”

Nicholai smiled in response, crossing the room to meet the other man at the door. The man opened the door, motioning for Nicholai to walk through before following him and shutting the door behind them.

Nicholai found himself in a hallway, just wide enough for two people to walk abreast. The other man didn’t move up to join him though, instead saying, “Door at the end of the hall.”

Nicholai didn’t like having the man at his back, but he knew that he could move faster than the man could conceive and could easily stop him if the man got it into his head to attack Nicholai. When he reached the door, he knocked sharply, waiting until a deep voice called, “Enter,” from inside.

The escort followed Nicholai through the door. Raising an eyebrow, Nicholai said coldly, “This is a private conversation.”

The man looked towards the desk, as if silently asking the man behind it what he should do. After a moment, Archer nodded and the escort left, closing the door behind him.

“I don’t appreciate being dictated to in my place,” Archer said. “But I did agree to meet with you so state your business.”

“May I sit?” He took the chair in front of the desk as Archer nodded. “My name is Nicholai Costa. I understand that you’re looking for a certain young man. That he escaped one of your… teams.”

At his words, Archer set his pen down, giving Nicholai his full attention. “I have no idea what you could mean.”

Nicholai smiled at him, this time allowing his fangs to peek out. “I think you do, Signore Archer. And I think you would appreciate my help because you will not only get the boy, but also another entire family.”

The man leaned forward at his words, clearly intrigued now and Nicholai’s inner predator growled. He had the other man in the palm of his hand and could enact his revenge.

“Tell me more,” Archer said and Nicholai began to plot.