Chapter 11

MONDAY 4:20 P. M.
Elfrealm Vankell, Hold of Lord Kalish

The call 'To Hunt' had gone out and now the best of the Feadh-Ree Clan were beginning to arrive at hold Vankell. In the van of this company were the major vassals to Kalish, followed by the minor houses and finally the individuals that had earned a name among the Clan. The only fly-in-this-ointment was the response from House Lentel.

Kalish had wanted to honor the four scions of this house for their historic update on the realm of men. But his call to this house had been returned by the sad news that these paragons could be found, nowhere.

Even Kalish's 'Liege-Link' to these four was somehow ineffective. This outcome was almost unheard of prior to this time and the only known instances of this tools failure was from death or being blocked. Kalish was not about to put any coin on these four being slain.

'Hum, if these are the 'Cat's Paw' it must be in conjunction with a larger game.' He brooded. 'Just remember, it's not paranoia if they really are out to get you. Do not let your guard down for a second.'

As these thoughts were ending the second wave of dignitaries arrived and the welcoming ceremony continued. 'This was going to be a very long two days, ' thought Kalish.

MONDAY 7:30 P. M

Alice Latham's Apartment, Chicago, IL

As Rick drove toward Alice's place he mulled over the new intel Mike and Stan had pulled from the gibbering mind of Samuel Greenly. 'Who would ever have guessed this many highly placed people were a part of the criminal merry-go-round. I can't even imagine how bad it will be at the State level. Thank God Alice's boss has no part in this garbage pile.'

Alice had said she was going to make her Grandmother's celebrated 'Beef Stroganoff' and had asked Rick to pick up a nice red wine to go with it. Since Rick knew close to nothing about wines, much less good wines, he stopped off at Brasserie JO and asked the wine steward for a selection of reds.

He was presented with a selection of fifteen wines ranging in price from fifty to seven hundred dollars per bottle. After explaining that the wine was to accompany an old world Beef Stroganoff, all but three of the candidates were whisked away. What was left ranged from two hundred and up. As he was served Rick used his Mage Sight to learn and memorize their patterns. He then noticed the distinct differences between apparently identical wines that to normal sight did not exist, the differences only becoming apparent in their taste. He left with two bottles of Chateau Margaux Margaux, much to the delight of the steward, staff and his Credit Card company, after shelling out fifteen hundred bucks to pay for the purchase and leave a hefty tip. Heading for his car, Rick thought, 'Well, there goes the last three months savings on food. But, what the heck, my girl is worth way more than this. Besides, I've got the patterns for all fifteen of those 'Reds' tucked away now.'

As he entered Alice's hallway and started smelling the delicious aromas escaping from her apartment, he thought, 'Thank God I took the time to do this right. Besides, now that I have the pattern, we can have Chateau M & M's anytime we want.'

When Alice saw what he had brought she had to sit down for a bit, saying, "You do know, that's seven-hundred-dollar-a-bottle wine, right?"

"Sure Dear, but we only had to pay for it once." Rick replied, while materializing three more bottles.

"Oh my God!" Alice about shouted, then added ruefully, "I had totally forgotten about that ability."

"That's OK, Dear. I'm just glad I remembered. By the way, I got the patterns for fourteen others while I was there." Rick replied with a grin.

"You rascal. OK, help me set the table, it's about ready." Alice said with a twinkle in her eye.

After the memorable meal was finished Rick helped Alice clean up and do the dishes. Standing over the sink and drying the last plate, he said, "You know something, honey? It's just amazing how permeated the City government is with links to organized crime. Heck, the only department at City Hall that looks clean, is yours. All the other heads must think Henry is a damn Boy Scout, but he's been around there so long that he's almost unmovable."

Then added, "I'm really pleased with the way this is turning out though. I just plain old like the guy, and I know you love him. I wonder if he has ever considered running for Mayor? I heard through the grapevine there just might be an opening soon."

"Hum, 'The Honorable Henry Donaldson' does have a nice ring to it, Love." Alice grinned back, then added, "I know the nepotism, corruption and graft make him nuts on almost a daily basis. I'm betting he'd like nothing more than to go through the 'machine' like an over-sized wrench."

"Now that, I'd pay good money to see." Rick quipped, then glancing at this watch, said, "Oops. I'd better scoot honey if either of us are going to get enough sleep tonight."

Taking his hand, Alice whispered, "Stay, Love."

Gazing into those bottomless eyes, Rick knew he wasn't going home tonight. He was already there.

MONDAY 10:45 P. M.
Southside, Chicago, IL

Alan Dupree had kept an eye on the street after his meeting with the minor families. The last week had seen an escalation in violence, that even the infamous nineteen seventies war between Black-P Stone Nation and Black Gangster Disciple Nation, could not rival for the amount of bodies turning up. He'd even seen eighteenth St. crew members start showing up in Southside. It was just time to leave.

As the local heads filed in, Alan greeted each by name. When all his people were assembled, Alan said, "Brothers, thank you for coming tonight. Now, most of you already know that the street is becoming a war zone and as much as I hate to say this, I don't see a way for us to turn it around. So, here's what I'm going to do. I'm taking my family and getting the heck out of here while we are all still alive. If this craziness ever lets up, we will return; until then, we are gone. Any of you that want to come with us are more than welcome. But, we are done here for now. Any questions?"

There were no questions and the second largest street gang disappeared from Chicago the very next day.