What made the estate truly remarkable were the elements no outsider ever saw. Above ground, the house was as lush and beautiful as you would expect. Far beneath the estate, however, were a number of chambers with the most precious objects one could imagine. On the first sub-level, artefacts of ancient civilisations were preserved. Below this room was a crypt housing over a dozen coffins. Sir Vincent could be found resting here, along with the rest of his family. Below this was yet another chamber, this one home to the most extensive range of computer equipment in the country. Over fifty screens were set up back to back, connected to a super computer modelled on the FBI and CIA’s counter terrorism measures. A light on one of these screens silently flickered red.
Nadia stepped off on the crypt level and walked past several of the coffins, keeping her eyes on one only. When she reached it, she placed a long stemmed rose on the second compartment of the lid.
The red bulb in the far alcove glowed bright, signalling the sun had just disappeared below the horizon. Nadia had not meant to cut it this close. She hurried towards the elevator, repeatedly jabbing the call button. The lid of the nearest coffin creaked open. Then another. Bony, claw like fingers extended out, curling around the edge of the lid, just as Nadia closed the elevator door, ascending to safety. Sir Vincent and his family were indeed dead. But that didn’t stop them from rising at sunset.
*
Alex pulled into the same driveway she had seen Dante’s car sleekly roll out of. His car wasn’t here right now, though. That might mean he wasn’t inside. Oh well. She checked her watch. It was just a few minutes before opening time. There were no doormen here yet, but a line was already forming.
Alex quietly walked to the double-door entrance and cupped each elbow with a hand, unsure of what to do. She caught a number of filthy looks from the group at the head of the line. Clearly, they thought she should get in line.
Just as she was going to move along towards the end, the main doors opened. The waiting crowd waiting cheered and the usual doormen walked out.
“Hey, Alex,” they said in unison.
“Hey...uh,” Alex smiled sheepishly as it became apparent she did not know their names.
The doorman who’d had a running battle with Lauren answered her look with a grin. “Tyson,” he said, pointing to himself, “and Bison,” he finished, pointing to his partner. “No we are not brothers and yes our names are real.”
Alex shook their hands in turn, and Bison jerked his head toward the door. “You can go on in.”
She realised Bison had never said anything to her before tonight, yet here he was being very friendly. Even for an owner, Dante obviously had a great influence over his staff.
“Thanks. I won’t be staying long. Just gotta get the bag I left.”
“Yeah, that’s cool.” Tyson dismissed her comment with a wave of his hand. “Head inside and then upstairs to the office. Can’t miss it.”
“Thanks so much, guys,” Alex said as she walked through.
*
Within minutes the coffins were empty. Those inside silently stalked their way to one of the elevators and took it upwards towards freedom, towards the blissful mother night. However, duty did call for Vincent. He took the second elevator to his information centre.
Silent to the human ear, but as clear as a telephone ring to a vampire, Vincent headed straight for the blinking screen, stepping off the elevator as the others continued on up. “Report!” Vincent demanded. There was a crash of paperwork and a mug of coffee at his words. Clive, Vincent’s human hacker had never gotten used to seeing the clan leader so soon after he woke.
Clive straightened his glasses and concentrated. “Sorry, ah… There’s this guy that’s checking out a vampire’s history, I think.”
“You think?” Vincent hissed, a hint of menace in his tone.
Clive shut his eyes for a second. Remember, he told himself, when around Vincent; assertiveness!
“I know. He’s only managed to access random personal data at the moment, but it looks like an in-depth search. This guy is going back through the years with birth certificates and so on. It’s pretty awesome how he bypassed secure government passwords and failed to trip anything until now, actually.”
“Which vampire?” Vincent spat.
Clive tapped frantically on the keyboard. Vincent had lived for more than eight hundred years and had no use for computers. Clive had tried to remind him carefully, that if he wanted to keep in control of his world, he had to stay up-to-date. Clive could easily outmatch him in knowledge of modern day technology and this was the only reason he was still alive. Regardless, Clive knew better than to take this in any way for granted.
As Clive’s fingers danced, Vincent leaned closer to the screen. The name being searched scrolled by and Vincent let out a low growl.
“What do you want me to do?” Clive asked softly.
Vincent folded his arms. “Impress me.”
*
“Exactly. What indeed?”
Lauren closed her eyes, holding her breath, trying to focus. A battle she was losing. “So his family history goes back a long way and a ship his great-great-great-great-great grandfather or whatever was on shit itself. I still haven’t heard anything unbelievable or fantastic that will get Matt to back off.”
“Bitch, you’re not getting
