Vampire Assassin League Bundle Five - Loneliness Read Free Page A

enclosure. The blades started rotating, sending more air onto his backside. Good thing he was immune from tactile sensation. He couldn’t conquer the flush, however.
    “Can you handle Miss Carlotti?” Wystan turned his head to ask.
    “Solo? Oh, hell no. Get in. Your ticket is for two tonight.”
    Damn.
    Wystan pulled his chausses to his waist, slid into his seat, and closed the door. Then he fished a slim-phone from the seat pocket before him. He didn’t strap in. He might need to bail. He pressed the button with the “6” on it. He didn’t have to press the “call” button. These phones were coded just for him. Good thing. Wystan wasn’t a fan of technology.
    “VAL Headquarters. Nigel speaking. Who’s calling please?”
    “Is Akron in?”
    “Oh. Hi there, Sir Galahad. Nice of you to check in.”
    “Akron?”
    “Geez. Not one of you assassins has a bent toward small talk. Exchanging witty repartee. I’m telling you, it’s a wasted art. Completely wasted. Hold your pants up, bud. I’m connecting you.”
    Wystan pulled the phone from his ear and stared at it. It was just Nigel’s terminology, but it was too accurate by far. But loose tights were the least of his troubles. Akron’s voice came through the phone next.
    “ De Crecy? You there?”
    “Sir!” Wystan fumbled with the phone.
    “So. Speak up.”
    “I have a small problem.”
    “Checking. Nothing reportable from Cornwall this evening. Nothing from Rockcliffe Castle. Nothing about murder and mayhem. Actually...there’s nothing newsworthy coming in from anywhere on the coast. I suppose you left a mess. Is that it?”
    “Well ...there were fourteen of them. And they were armed.”
    “So be it. I’ll send a 4D Team. Send the Yellow one, Nigel. They have the most finesse. Ownership of Rockcliffe Castle might be in dispute, and it’s already a ruin...but I rather like it.”
    “That’s not why I called.”
    “Really?”
    “It’s...Miss Carlotti.”
    “She’s safe?”
    Odd . Akron made it sound as if the answer better be affirmative or someone was perishing. And doing it in a horrid fashion.
    “Of course. She’s right beside me. Bundled in blankets. Strapped into a seat. About forty minutes from touch-down.”
    “And this is a problem?”
    “It’s not that kind of problem.”
    “This should be good. Nigel? You listening?”
    “Oh, please sir. As if I’d forego hearing this. Of course I’m listening.”
    “You have eight seconds left, de Crecy. Want to call back?”
    Wystan slapped the phone closed against his thigh. He toyed with pitching it out the window before placing it back in the seat pocket.
    “Are you...in trouble?”
    Miss Carlotti asked it from beside him. Wystan slid a glance toward her. She’d intersected her query with a yawn. That was even cute. She was the epitome of cute. Why ...if cuteness had a ranking of one to ten, she was a twelve.
    “Not really,” he replied.
    “Oh. Good.”
    She just sat there, regarding him with sleepy eyes. If he was really lucky, she might go to sleep. And when she woke she’d be in the arms of her loving family, and all of this would be a forgotten.
    Maybe.
    What was he thinking? He wasn’t that lucky.
    He pulled out another phone, pressed “6” again, and turned slightly, putting a shoulder toward her. All the phones assigned to him tonight were set to the same number. This time it didn’t even ring before Akron was talking.
    “Well, Nigel? What did they say? Excellent. Oh. Hello again, de Crecy. We just sent the alert to Miss Carlotti’s parents. Needless to say, they’re thrilled. They can’t wait to meet you and thank you in person.”
    “Not a good plan, sir. I need to disappear. Fade from memory, if you wi ll. Vaughn can take the credit.”
    “Just what is going on over there?”
    “It’s Miss Carlotti. She, uh...she wants to marry me.”
    Nigel started laughing first. It echoed through the speaker. Wystan was frowning before Akron’s booming laugh came through,