The Deadly King

Chapter 11

Hawthorn dressed, and as he turned to collect his phone, he saw Seraphina rollover. Kneeling on the mattress, he lowered for a kiss.

"Stay, rest. That's an order."

"Back to your warmongering so soon?"

"Unfortunately. I can feel the tension. It's like Kohen is near the door, burning it down with his anxiety."

"He needs a holiday," Seraphina mumbled as she pulled the linen higher.

"Don't we all?"

Seraphina smiled at the joke, watching as Hawthorn left the bedroom. This was supposed to be a holiday, but Hawthorn was still working and creating havoc for a certain Prime Minister.

Glancing down the corridor, Hawthorn found it was empty, but knew it was only a matter of time before Kohen jumped out at him. Reaching the arch that led to the living room, Hawthorn stopped. Kohen was sitting on the armrest with a stack of papers in his hands.

"Oh," he said as he stood, wide-eyed and ready to continue. "Are you free?"

"Yes. Is there news?"

Kohen nodded, following Hawthorn to his office.

"We have completed the list of the abductors. Orin advises the teams are going through the list of the families."

"And does Orin get to keep his oath about not harming children?"

"I believe that so far, the teams have only encountered adults."

Hawthorn gave Kohen a stare that came with a lot of expectation.

"We both know Orin well. He will take your orders, and he will carry them out with the severity you desire, but he has a limit."

"I know, but I wonder what he will do when he faces a situation that goes against his desperate need to be the good guy. We are the evil of this world, Kohen. At least, according to Jack, we are. Who knows what the truth is?"

"Well, I'm sure that if there is a God, he will tell us if we are."

"Probably as he boots us to Hell."

The pair shared a chuckle before Kohen continued with the information.

"Those who are monitoring the taps on Jack have told me that he has been alerted to the deaths. Jack is trying to make enquiries while attempting to be as covert as possible. Clearly, he's not good at it."

"That is fast, but understandable. Jack should have expected this to happen. Anything else?"

"Yes. New York has advised that they found a decency clause for the son's workplace. They are gaining access to his social media accounts to continue with his fall from grace. The son is at Martha's Vineyard with friends for a small getaway. We have been advised that our friends in New York are efficiently utilising this time. They are posing as a removalist company, packing every single item in his apartment."

"And these items?"

"They will go to a warehouse. Then they will alter the truck to look completely different, and it will continue to another state. The items will be sold or donated, depending on the item. We've also heard from our hacker friend. He wants to know what you want to do with the money."

"Where is it now?"

"Sitting in an untraceable account."

"Did he clean out all the son's accounts?"

"He did."

"Then he may keep it as payment for his efforts."

Kohen nodded, writing his notes.

"Do you wish to continue with the son's death?"

"Yes, but let him enjoy his holiday. How is he paying for things?"

"We've been advised that he is utilising a credit card. I can only assume that he has tried to contact his bank, but we haven't received anything about that or that he's actually noticed. The hacker said he hasn't touched the credit card yet but can if you're interested."

Hawthorn waved his hand with feigned disinterest as he sat down.

"If he wants to add to his account, then so be it. My preference is for him to be draining the accounts of the rest of the family."

"He assured me it wouldn't be a problem when I mentioned it. I've received a lot of emails from coven leaders. Those who have not created treaties have approached the leader in their area. Some indicated a slight struggle with getting past the front line, but all have said they are now associating directly with the leader. They have also stated that these leaders are more than eager to ensure that their citizens are protected. Jack forced the leaders to execute his plan, even though they were initially hesitant, according to some reports. Overall, it has been met with positivity. They don't want vampires hunting their citizens and when they were told that we are not live feeders and that we consume donated blood, they were pleased. Some of our friends have even said that the leaders suggested a donation program that is public, but they hide the truth from their citizens."

"How intriguing. When this is over, we shall move forward with addressing that idea. I like that these human leaders are accepting. It suggests that the future is promising."

Orin entered the room, approaching the desk with a firm nod.

"News, Orin?"

"I've been listening to news chatter from New York. It seems the son has finally figured out that something is going on. He knows his bank account has been cleaned out and his social media has been hacked. There is no word about his employment status yet, but they have released the posts. It might be some time before we learn of his employer's reaction because there is a possibility that they have closed for the holiday season. There was no mention of a closure on any of their social media or their website. It was odd, to say the least. I thought everyone listed their opening hours."

"Well, that could be a problem. I suppose that long term, it doesn't matter, considering he will be dead soon enough."

"Yes. In the meantime, it would seem that Jack has received a flood of emails. He's not happy and is demanding answers from them. The leaders he's trying to contact are ignoring him, or the assistant is taking messages because the leader is in a meeting. Taking another path for a moment, did you remember General Lewis Harvey?"

Hawthorn's eyes lit up as shock filled his face. There was a smile as Hawthorn delighted in Orin's brilliant memory.

"Oh, I'd forgotten that treacherous snake. Add him and his family to the list. No survivors."

"Of course."

Orin stood, and with a dark smile, he turned andwalked out of the office.