Chapter 4

Paul waited in Santiago's office. His boss had said he return at 2:00pm it was now 2:30pm. Paul was a little worried; he did not like the idea of Santiago was meeting with the creature that Paul himself had learned about. What possible use could he have with that thing Paul did not know? Santiago entered the office interrupting Paul's thoughts. "What's up boss? Did the meeting go well?" Paul asked. "I met him at his apartment." Santiago replied. Noticing the recent wear on his employer's apparel Paul said, "I trust you came to no harm."

Santiago smiled warmly at his assistant hiding his still broken teeth saying, "Nothing permanent, but I have made some miscalculations in my original assessment." Watching his employer walk towards the coat rack Paul asked, "What sort of miscalculations?"

"They are far deadlier than I originally thought." Santiago replied. "What do you mean they?" Paul asked. Settling into his chair Santiago leaned back answering, "Anthony apparently has a child, a daughter to be exact. If I was to venture a guess I would say late-teens." Not liking this at all Paul said, "You mentioned deadly." Nodding Santiago said, "I made the mistake of testing her reflexes, she passed with flying colors but was understandably upset." At this he showed his broken teeth before continuing causing Paul to grimace as he imagined how much that must have hurt, "She also felt it was necessary to further demonstrate her anger by lifting me off the ground before dropping me at her father's command."

This surprised Paul. 'Amazing!' Paul thought, 'If it were not the boss telling me this I would not believe it.' With this new information also came a hint of danger. Individuals such these were hard to control. They had an unfortunate habit of making their own rules as they went along. "What do you want to do now Joseph? Paul asked. Santiago recognized the change from formality. Paul rarely used his first name unless he was deeply concerned. It touched Santiago deeply that the young man was so fond of him. Paul was a rare breed; he did not wish to imagine the world without the mentor who had taught him so much. Santiago knew that Paul was the one man one could depend on and who spoke his mind. His counsel had proven valuable in the past as it would most likely do so in the future.

"We will proceed as planned. Our chances for succeeding have only improved, but we must make certain not to cross them. When dealing with such individuals one must deal honestly if one wishes to continue living. Other than that the best thing we can do is simply aid them as much as we can, do our best not to hinder them."

"Forgive me sir for saying what I must but are you sure we can trust them? You were wrong at least once before when it came to Mary." Paul said. If it had been anyone else Santiago would have been angered to hear the name of his sire, but he knew Paul's mind. "My sources said that Mary trusted Anthony. In her organization he was second only to Ornado though he probably didn't care to realize it. She most likely tried to have Anthony killed because she rarely keeps someone she cares for around long, especially him. Mary if anything is a creature of habit and what she cares for is controlling the men in her life ruthlessly, unless they are equally ruthless which Anthony wasn't. In hindsight she signed her death warrant the moment she decided to betray him. While Anthony was a loyal servant that same former loyalty will inspire him to take his revenge. As to Mary I was human then and naïve Mary taught me much when she turned me, and that was who to trust and who not to trust, so you see I understand Anthony much more than you realize: Mary betrayed both of us. With me she slaughtered my family believing that it would making stronger and causing me to forget my old life as a human, with him she tried to have me do her dirty work. In the end betrayal can bring two former enemies together. Like two cards in a game of poker Samantha and Anthony can change or fortunes and allow us to save our fair city." Santiago said before turning the chair to stare out the window into the starry night.

Samantha decided to go out and test these new abilities for herself. She could sense her father's worry but she also knew he understood. Samantha had completed her home schooling and had received her diploma at a local school. She was growing up and her father could not watch over her ever second. Samantha had to spread her wings sometime. Now she was almost eighteen and soon she would be legally an adult and could make up her own mind. Right now she had to be on own for awhile to work things out. Her walk took her near the police station. Samantha watched a man exit the station. He was very handsome and clean cut. Probably a detective she decided from his plain clothes. An idea popped into her head. Samantha figured it was about time to have a little fun.

Nicholas Bane exited the police station and headed to the parking lot where his car was parked. The lot was fairly well lit. He was just about to open the driver's side door when he heard a voice behind him say, "Care to give me a ride stranger?" Nicholas spun around to face a gorgeous dark haired woman with curves that captured his gaze as his eyes traveled down her body. "I'm up here stranger." The woman said. Embarrassed Nicholas immediately moved his gaze back to her face, "Sorry about that." Flashing him a knee weakening smile the strange woman said, "It's okay my name is Samantha. What's yours beautiful?" Gulping Nicholas replied, "My name is Nicholas Bane I'm a detective here."

Looking into his eyes Samantha said in a husky voice, "A detective mmm. I like detectives. So how about that ride?" Immediately moving to open the door Nick said, "Sure hop in." As he moved towards the driver's side he couldn't help thinking how was this woman having this effect on him? Only part of his mind remained untouched by here charms. It asked the question 'Where did she come from? You didn't hear her approach, and you know she was not waiting by the car or you would have seen her. When he opened the door and slid inside his brain shut up after taking on look at her. She smiled at him and he found himself smiling back. Putting on his safety belt he watched her do the same trying to force himself not to stare at her legs that went up beyond the hem of her one piece black dress with pink outline. Focusing instead on the keys in his hand he managed to start the car and pull out of the parking lot.