The Halfbreed Threat

Part 3

I walked into the office and Manny was reading a book, his feet up on the desk.

"Comfortable?" I said suddenly.

"Damn, you scared the living daylights out of me!" He said jumping to his feet and panting. "How the hell can you walk with those heeled shoes on the marble floor and make absolutely no sound. It's unnatural!"

"That coming from a guy that turns into a giant kitty and sleeps in a tree." I answered.

"I'm a lion, not a kitty!" He said exasperated.

"That joke never gets old. Did I mention how unoriginal is to call your inner beast Leon when you yourself are a were-lion?"

"Yes. Many, many times. Your repeated "mentioning" of it is boring and lame and besides, he likes Leon. Anyway, what's gotten into you, feeling lonely again so you pick on others?" He winked at me. "You really should consider going clubbing with me and picking up some random girls."

"Ouch, low blow man. Let's move to the private office."

Through an unmarked door you could move to the private office. The air here couldn't be more different. There were no windows and all the walls are covered with bookshelves from the wooden floor to the cream colored ceiling. The office desk was placed in a corner facing the only door, and was made entirely out of light-shaded mahogany. The office chairs were all identical and covered in soft, comfortable brown leather. A cozy little fireplace rested in the lower part of one of the bookshelves making one wonder if a stray spark couldn't set everything ablaze. The main feature of the private office though was the soundproofing and the jamming technology meant to insure privacy at the touch of a button.

"And no to the clubs." Vincent continues. "By the way, I need you to get to the Moonpulse Nightclub, blend in and wait for me. I'm meeting with Peter." He informed him.

"When do I need to be there?" Manny asked, suddenly all serious.

"At 10 p.m. the latest. Tonight. Talk to Sam to get you a plane ticket."

"No way, dude. I'm taking the bike."

"Be reasonable Manny. You've got to do 510 miles in 6 hours or less. You'd have to get an average of 85 mph, which means going as fast as 130 mph most of the time."

His eyes lit up.

"Great! Bike it is!" One could see him virtually rubbing his hands.

"You are such a child sometimes. Fine. But you take care of your own speeding tickets and if you die, I'll kill you! And try not to get spotted this time. Kitties are supposed to be stealthy."

Manny stuck his tongue out at him and left the office.

"Sam?" Vincent buzzed his secretary.

"Yes, Mr. Gray?"

"Call the helipad, ask the pilot to get the helicopter fueled and the route approved. I'm going to Kansas after the video meeting. Oh, and get him here, I want to go from the roof, the drive to the airport at that hour is terrible."

"Yes, sir! Anything else?" she asked.

"You don't have to wait for me to finish the meeting to go home. You can leave at 17:00."

"It's fine, sir. I don't mind."

"But I do. There will be other occasions when you need to do overtime. Now is not one of them. At 5, you go home Sam. That's all."

"I understand. On it, sir."

*Author's Note

Many thanks for the reads, comments and votes (hopefully :D ).