Chapter 39 Cord #2
Since I’m not sure where to start, I head to the only place I know Thalium would frequent–his Park Avenue apartment. I doubt he’ll be up and about this time of night, but I need to find a place to observe without the Black Guild spotting me.
Turns out, the concierge at the building across the street isn’t as conscientious as he should be.
After parking down the street, I make my way up the block and observe him nodding off behind his desk.
His lack of focus is all I need to steal inside the lobby and make my way to the elevators, where I ride up as far as they will go.
Hopefully there’s roof access from the stairwell.
From there it’s just a matter of watching and waiting.
I know he lives in the penthouse, and lucky me all the windows are bare. The apartment is dark right now, but I can make out his bedroom in the corner of the building. It’s just after four a.m. and since I have no idea what time he gets up, it’s probably going to be a long, boring night.
I pass the time going over every scrap of information I know about the Python.
Dante wants me to observe, to get evidence that Thalium is guilty, though I’m not sure what he hopes to gain from that.
The Black Guild have taken over the investigation.
I wonder if that means they’ll simply confront him, relying on their identity to coerce him into admitting his guilt.
From what I saw of Thalium, I can’t imagine that working. He seemed pretty confident. Cocky, actually. Like he knew everything about us but didn’t care what we knew about him. The only reason he’d feel that way is if he believed we couldn’t touch him.
The sole thing tying him to the Python is O’Hara’s, and even that’s circumstantial. He could just say he had no idea a rogue outfit was using his bar for an uprising. Looking at it that way, our case seems flimsy at best.
But I know he’s guilty. I can feel it in my bones. And the way he taunted us at the benefit gives me all the proof I need.
Of course, convincing the Black Guild of that is another matter. Do they even consider gut feelings? Are they actually soldiers or just admin types? I don’t know anything about what they do or how they do it and the only person I can ask is being watched by them.
Even so, I’m not sure Dante knows more himself.
He seemed pretty surprised by their appearance, though there was that moment, when they first showed up, when his eyes registered recognition.
He was scared. He buried it quickly, but not quick enough to hide it from me.
I’m sure he knows what they’re capable of.
I wish I’d had more time to talk to him about this, especially since I’m risking my life by being here. If they catch me, after warning us all to stay away from this, I could face certain punishment, and I don’t even know what that entails. Would they send me away? Imprison me? End me?
I want to stop Thalium, but not at the risk of my own life. Maybe I should have listened to Asher when he suggested leaving the Crimson Guild. I–we?–could leave the city. Go somewhere far away. Start over.
Would he actually leave his business behind? He said he was thinking about it. Could I stop doing what I do? The truth is, I like it, and I don’t know how to do anything else. I’ve always been a fighter. Someone one who runs toward conflict. It’s who I am.
I suppose I could learn to change. It’s not like I don’t have time.
At six-fifteen, a light comes on in Thalium’s bedroom.
I can see him sit up in bed and grab his phone like someone called him.
He talks for a few minutes, then puts down the phone and stands up, walking across the room to what looks like the bathroom.
He disappears inside, but doesn’t close the door.
He’s in there for close to fifteen minutes.
Showering? Shaving? Whatever. He comes out in a robe and makes his way to the closet.
I watch him get dressed. Casual; slacks and a sweater.
He moves from room to room, going to the kitchen.
Pouring himself what looks like a cup of coffee.
He sits at the counter in the kitchen and opens a laptop.
Whatever he’s looking at keeps him engaged as close to thirty minutes goes by.
My mind is about to wander from the sheer mundaneness of his routine when he stands up and turns toward the front of the apartment.
I can’t see what he’s looking at, but he seems to be talking to someone.
Then another figure appears in the room.
This one is dressed in standard street clothes. Jeans and a jacket. I can’t get a good look at his face, but something about him seems familiar. Maybe I’m just projecting, looking for meaning where there is none.
The visitor pulls out a folded piece of paper and hands it to Thalium.
He looks it over and nods, then the two of them talk for several minutes.
I still can’t get a good look at the visitor’s face.
Thalium walks him back the way he came in, then he returns alone and comes over to stand in front of the window.
I duck down. If he looks this way, he’ll spot me.
I wish I could get a look at whatever was on that paper the visitor gave him.
Something tells me it was important. That the visitor is important.
Not a businessman in a suit, but an everyman.
A soldier? I can’t be sure of that, but my gut is telling me I’m right.
I move over behind a blower unit for cover and look down at the street, watching for the visitor. He appears after a minute and makes his way down the block in the same direction where my car is parked. Who is he and why does he seem familiar to me?
Is it someone in Dante’s organization? Someone I’ve met before? It’s bugging me that I can’t remember.
I watch Thalium for the better part of the day, but he doesn’t go anywhere or do anything more than work on something on his laptop.
No more visitors or phone calls. I’m starting to wonder how someone so boring could be the head of a rogue organization.
Does he know he’s being watched? And if so, how?
At seven Dante calls me. “Can you talk?” he asks.
“Yes. Can you?”
“I’m at my apartment. Where are you?”
“I’m sitting on the roof of the building across from Thalium’s.”
“Anything to report?”
“Yeah. This guy is boring as fuck. He got up just after six this morning, took a phone call, then had a visitor about an hour later.”
“You get a look at him?”
“Sort of. Something familiar about him, but I can’t place it. He gave Thalium a piece of paper then left. He’s been sitting over there on his laptop ever since. How long do you want me to watch this guy?”
“Until we find something we can use.”
“And how can we do that with the Black Guild breathing down our necks? Look, I’m all for hanging onto our position in this city, but I don’t want to land myself in hot water with those guys.”
“Are you scared of them?” he taunts.
“Damn right I am. I don’t know anything about them. All I have is rumors I’ve heard, and none of them are pleasant.”
“Just keep on him.”
“I’ll hang out for a little while longer, but I haven’t fed since a bag of blood yesterday morning.”
He sighs. “How many times have I told you to take better care of yourself?”
“When the fuck do I have time to do that, Dante? I don’t feed, I don’t sleep. This Python thing is eating up my life. I need a fucking break.”
“Go feed then. And get some sleep. We’ll pick it up tomorrow.”
“Just as well. He’s not doing anything over there.”
After I hang up with Dante, I glance over at Thalium to make sure he’s still sitting on his laptop, then make my way down the stairs to the elevator. The concierge seems a little surprised to see me when I appear, but I leave before he has a chance to say anything.
When I get to my car, the first order of business is nourishment.
I’m starting to feel my veins tightening up, which means I need to feed soon.
It’s too early to troll the bars, but I need live blood.
I decide to hit one of our own blood dens, this one close to the warehouse.
It’s certainly not up to Lupercalia status, but blood is blood.
After I feed I go back to my apartment and take a shower then climb into bed to grab a nap. I’ll feel better after a couple of hours of sleep. I set an alarm and am out as soon as my head hits the pillow.
I’m awakened by my phone before my alarm goes off. Half asleep, I answer before I look at the screen.
“Cord?”
“Asher? What’s up?”
“I know you’re probably busy, but Elaine was just here. She’s found something new on Thalium. It has to do with that pharmaceutical company he bought.”
I sit up and rub my eyes, trying to will my brain to catch up with what he’s saying. “What about it?”
“I’d rather show you. Do you think you could stop by my place?”
“Yeah. Give me a few minutes.”
“Okay, I’ll see you when you get here.”