Drew D'Amato:Bloodlines:02 Read Free

ball point pen that he had used to sign the papers for the Ferrari F430.  He also used this same pen to sign the papers for one of the first Corvettes ever off the assembly line in 1953.  He purchased the pen, which also debuted in 1953, a few weeks earlier.  He sold the car over the years when he had to change aliases, but has kept the pen on him every day since.
    The entrance to Altitude was close to the customs office.  Access to it was from the public zone on the bottom floor even though the restaurant itself was located on the top of the airport.  The restaurant had their reasons to be open to the general public and not just to air travelers.  The restaraunt had walls of glass windows giving off a panoramic view of the tarmac and the Jura Mountains.  It had a minimalist décor like the rest of the airport colored with blacks, beiges and browns.  Its menu changed often.  It screamed high-end, which was why locals went to this place and businesses held meetings here.   
    Peterson texted Jericho during the flight and told him to meet in the bathroom of Altitude.  Jericho asked why, but Peterson told him not to worry, he would explain everything then.
    Vlad found this very suspicious.  An armed man could be in Altitude since entering it did not require passing through a security check, as long as the person came in off the street and not from a plane. 
    From the public entrance of Altitude it was a straight shot in the elevator to the restaurant proper, above the top floor of the airport.  As soon as Vlad got into the restaurant he told his men to wait, and he went into the bathroom alone.  Moments later he came out.
    “What was that about?” Michael asked.
    “Just checking if they had anything planned for us in there.  It was empty, all clear.”
    “Okay, but when it’s time to meet, I’m going in there first,” Jericho said.
    “Absolutely, don’t even let him know I am here until it seems the deal is legit.”
    “All right enough worrying, let’s get a drink,” Michael said.
    They sat down at the bar and Jericho got a text.
    “That was Malachi,” he said.  “They got a table at The Caviar House.”
    “Good,” Vlad said.  “Now all we have to do is wait.”    
     
    6
    D eacon felt out of place sitting with Vlad, Jericho and Michael at the bar, but Vlad had said on the plane he wanted someone more experienced leading the group with the weapons.  Malachi was given that role.  He also wanted Peterson to think it was just Jericho and Vlad.  He didn’t want to leave Michael alone, fearing it might look suspicious. 
    It made sense, but still Deacon felt like some small-time associate having lunch with the big dogs.  It reminded him of his life before Vlad had made him a vampire.  He worked on Wall Street during the 1920’s.  He was a fast learner, a hustler, and there was no celing—but then the bottom fell out.  The great crash of 1929, Black Tuesday.  By Thursday of that week he was standing on a windowsill in New York City, ready to take his last fall.
    It was nighttime.  Vlad was in the city visiting Richard.  The crash hurt most of America, but not Vlad.  Now he was going to buy everything very cheap and triple his empire.  He saw Deacon and gave him another option than falling to his death—the life of a vampire.  He took him up on his offer and has been on Vlad’s side every since.  With the reduced number in Vlad’s bloodline, he was now the youngest of all the vampires. 
    He sat in the restaurant and let the three of them talk.  He was nervous about not messing up.  He knew this was one of the most important missions ever.  His interior monologue was too much for him to focus.  He appeared to Vlad and Jericho as though he was in a daze.  Michael was much better at keeping his internal thoughts unnoticed. 
    Michael saw the excitement hidden in Vlad’s eyes at the prospect of possessing the coffer.  He knew there was no way to get Vlad to change his