"Hmmph," I said. "That's old news. They caught the guy."

"Yes, they did," he grinned. "I thought you might like to read it anyway." I took the folder and dropped it on my bed.

* * *

Gavin was spending the day at Wlodek's home since dawn would arrive in half an hour. He sat in his usual seat before Wlodek's replacement desk; this one was also a priceless antique. Gavin had watched silently while Wlodek destroyed the last one in a furious fit of anger.

"We were too focused on following Sebastian and ignoring the human," Wlodek sighed. Charles was sitting in the chair next to Gavin, tapping notes into his laptop.

"Sebastian always preferred to work alone," Gavin nodded. "I imagined that the description of the human was a compulsion that he'd placed to throw us off the scent."

"And it did throw us off," Wlodek agreed. "We concentrated our efforts on Sebastian only, employing our usual investigative techniques. How many humans did you speak with, Gavin, attempting to find information on him?"

"Many, and placed compulsion on more than a few. None had seen him—that they remembered, anyway." Gavin watched Charles's fingers as his words were printed quickly on the laptop's screen.

"And the meetings threw us off, too. We had several newly scheduled meetings during the disappearances. Meetings that Sebastian knew nothing of since we were no longer passing information off to him. I never thought to check the dates of the kidnappings against any of the previously scheduled regular meetings. We weren't thinking, Gavin." Wlodek toyed with his gold pen.

"Lissa was." Gavin growled out the words. "And we had not used many of those caves or abandoned safe houses for centuries—most were no longer habitable and had no electricity. Lissa's questions pointed Charles in that direction. She was solving this from a continent away."

"That is something that I wish to discuss with you before we retire," Wlodek said. "Lissa orchestrated this from the U.S.; that much is certain. Unfortunately, we cannot encourage her in this as she might consider it our permission to leap into something equally as dangerous next time. Sebastian's disappearance was the final and deciding factor in sending her to the U.S. when we did. I know that normally we would issue a commendation from the Council, in appreciation for assistance rendered in a situation such as this. It will be withheld for the reasons I've mentioned."

"And the reward money?"

"You know that a fledgling vampire is never allowed to earn money as an individual during the five years spent with their sire. Merrill is accepting the money and investing it for her."

"She doesn't know she earned it," Gavin pointed out.

"Should we tell her, this might also encourage her," Wlodek said, not meeting Gavin's eyes. Gavin disagreed strongly but didn't refute the Honored One's words. "We sent a portion of the reward to the werewolves involved in this. They are setting up a fund for the families of the murdered children."

"May I speak?" Charles lifted his head.

"Charles," Wlodek inclined his head slightly, acknowledging his assistant.

"If Lissa knew about the money, she'd want all of it sent to that fund," Charles said. Gavin stared at the younger vampire, knowing he was right.

"I know this as well," Wlodek agreed, his nearly black eyes focused on Charles. "Nevertheless, she does not know about the money and will not be informed about the money. Merrill will invest it for her." Wlodek gave Charles a hard look. Charles nodded and went back to his laptop, tapping on keys once more.

* * *

"Have you ever been to a State Dinner?" Tony tossed one of my special agent uniforms across the bed when I woke. He's not impatient or anything. I heard his words before I could even crack an eyelid. "And why can't you wake earlier?"

"If you guys would stop f**king with daylight saving time and just leave it alone," I grumped, unwillingly sliding out of bed.

I didn't even get a shower. Tony chased me around the bedroom, handing clothing out to me while I ate and dressed. Man, when he was on the job, that's all he was. I felt like smacking him on the head with the folder he'd given me—the one I hadn't bothered to open yet.

"Your hair is fine," Tony grabbed me by the arm and dragged me out of the house. A car was running in the driveway and Agent Bill Jennings was waiting inside the car with the driver.

"Nice to see you, Bill," I said, sliding into the back seat with Tony. Bill was up front in the passenger seat and offered me a handsome smile as I buckled up. The driver left rubber, I think, getting us out of the driveway. Geez, we were in a hurry.

"Lissa, wear this," Bill handed an earpiece, along with a small device of some sort, over the seat. Tony had to show me what to do with all of it. The earpiece went in my ear while the tiny transmitter/receiver was clipped to my lapel. Tony showed me how to adjust the volume and put it on the lowest setting for me. I wouldn't need more than that—he and I both knew it. This was the first time I'd been wired for anything and wondered what I'd be hearing. There was a good chance it wasn't Secret Service jokes.

"We're not giving you the ability to send anything, that requires a third piece," Tony informed me, straightening my jacket a little. "You should have heard the head of the Secret Service squeal when we wanted to do this much." Tony smiled a little. He was dressed in a tux again and looked really good. Dinner with the Prez brought the monkey suits out, I guess.

Bill was dispatched to the State Dining Room; Tony and I went toward the living quarters to pick up the President and the First Lady. They're hosting the President of France, Tony sent to me as I trotted to keep up with him and two Secret Service agents we'd picked up along the way.

Parlez-vous Francais? I returned.

Oui was the only word I understood of the spate of French he rattled off.

Okay. You heard the only French I know, I grumped mentally. Maybe I should invest in language lessons.

You need to learn, was his terse answer as we came to the door of the First Family's living quarters. Two more guards stood outside it. Tony may have been pissed when the President and his wife both said hello and smiled at me, all while ignoring him. Who knew that a sing-along in the back seat of their limo would put us on a near first name basis? I told the First Lady she looked amazing and she did. The President teased and asked if I wasn't obligated to compliment him, too.

"Not with your wife standing right there, sir," I said, and smiled. He laughed. Tony was completely stiff as we walked down the hallway toward the dining room. Now I knew why his boss had sent him on a forced vacation the year before. He was in desperate need of another one, I think.




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