Kai opened his eyes, and initially gasped as he tried to suck air into his lungs. Pain shot through his body, and it dawned on him that he could die if he didn’t move. He flipped over onto his side, intending to climb to his feet, but another surge of pain caused him to collapse again. He looked up, only to be met with a swift kick from a shoe into his ribs. He struggled to push himself onto his knees, but other kicks came, swiftly, and hard. Falling onto his hands, he coughed, feeling a wetness at his mouth that tasted all too coppery for his liking.
Another foot lashed out, and this time he grabbed it, yanking it hard toward him, punching upward. He didn’t know what part of the body he hit, but he knew he had hit something. The body had hit the floor, and he was on it, punching and scratching for all his worth until the wonder of the body stopped moving. He was grabbed roughly from behind, and pulled up, though he were still attempting to fight.
The man on the floor got up, looking annoyed. “You ruined my suit.” he said.
Kai looked around at the broken glass conference table and overturned chairs; the broken phones and other equipment. Funnily enough, the only thing intact was the coffee pot. He looked down at himself, noting his own suit was bloodied and torn.
“Fucking chink.” the man he’d beaten said, and took another swing at him. Kai took the hit – there wasn’t much he could do. He could be hit by Antonio, the guy in front of him, or Diego, the guy behind him.
Antonio stood back, and pulled the silk pocket square from his suit pocket, and began to wipe his hands, looking disgusted at Kai. It wasn’t the first time, and wasn’t likely to be the last. Diego took the opportunity to wrench Kai’s arms upward roughly, and then back sharply, before taking both arms and jerking them against the side of a large column in the office. Kai felt at least one arm break, and when Diego let go of him, he co lapsed again, clutching his arm to him.
“Pathetic.” Diego muttered, stepping over Kai to his brother, Antonio.
Kai closed his eyes. He had to think of a way out of this, before they killed him. There was little he could do that would affect them, however. They were vampires, childer of his Domitor, ergo, higher in station than he. Yet he had things he needed to do for Niccolo, important things that he had been entrusted to. So he waited. He took more of a beating, until the two brothers grew bored, and left the boardroom, calling for the night janitor.
Once they were gone, he propped himself up, then closed his eyes, using the blood to heal what he could, without running out, thankful – once again – that Niccolo overfed him regularly. He slipped the janitor a fifty dollar bill and an apology on his way out, then headed to the parking garage to his car, letting out a breath of relief when he saw it still intact. Diego and Antonio would have destroyed it for sure had they suspected it was his.
An hour later, he was sitting handily on board a private plane in a clean suit, on his way to Mexico to pick up his boss’s latest drug shipment for import. Three days after that, he was on his way back, with the cocaine well hidden in the plane, and the pilot none-the-wiser about it. It was guaranteed customs would check, he knew by this point, but he had to get it to the distributor after landing. After some casual talk and a bit of charm, he was allowed to be on his way.
He bypassed the corvette he’d taken to the airport three days ago, and loaded up an Acura. It was simple, unassuming, and unlikely to be pulled over. He checked over all the details, carefully checking weight distribution and the false plates, before making the drive to the distributor to hand over the shipment and get Niccolo’s payment. The distributor knew better than to pull a fast one, so he handed over the case, and Kai took the long drive through Malibu to get to Niccolo’s place, and wait for him to wake for the evening.
He stood out on the balcony that overlooked a private beach, and watched as the sun set over the ocean. The colors were amazing, he thought to himself as he sipped at his drink. Niccolo could take time to awaken, and he wasn’t allowed to leave until Niccolo had counted the money personally. He wasn’t too worried. He’d counted it himself, and was keeping it next to him at all times until he saw Niccolo. After the sun had fully set, he went inside, keeping the duffle bag with him.
“Look at what we got here, Diego. A motherfucking Chinee.” came a laugh from the shadows. Kai froze slightly, his grip tightening on the handles of the bag he carried. A light flared in the darkness, orange flaring up to touch what would become a red ember, glowing in that same darkness. The sound of what he knew to be an expensive lighter closed, and then was presumably pocketed before Antonio stepped into the light, his sharp, angular Dianic features to focus of the eye. This was what he wanted, as, after a moment, it became clear to Kai that he was manipulating the shadows.
Not far from him stood Diego, but whereas Antonio was tall and lean, Diego was a little shorter, and stockier, the two of them the very definition of brains and brawn if you were to think of the Mafia stereotypes.
“Give that to us. We can hand it over to our Father.” Antonio stated, reached out a hand for the bag. Whereas Antonio was trying to be…delicate, Diego simply tried to grab for it. “Don’t know why he trusts a goddamn chink over us.” the other man grumbled.
“Maybe because I know how to get shit done.” Kai said. This was apparently the wrong thing to say, as Diego took a swing at him. Kai dodged the meaty fist easily, though the bag swung from his hand, and Antonio tried to catch it.
“Until your father wake sup, no one touches this bag, but me. Those are the orders.” he growled, preparing to defend himself and the bag this time. Normally, he didn’t bother fighting back. But this time? He would not allow the ugly twins to screw up his perfect record with Niccolo.
“Fucking mook.” Antonio snarled.
“That will be quite enough.” came a calm, almost soothing voice. Three heads turned to take in the man that now stood in the doorway to the room. He was of an average height, with dark hair and eyes; his once Olive complected skin now pale. His suit was black, with a black shirt and clerical collar, and in his hands he held a rosary.
“Mi dispiace, Padre.” they both muttered, and slunk out of the room. Once they were gone, the man turned to look at Kai, and then broke into a smile.
“How was Mexico, my boy?” he asked.
“Business as usual, sir.” he said, breaking into a smile of his own, though with some reservation. He had been kind of hoping to try and kick some ass, but he also understood that wasn’t his place. He took the duffle bag in hand and presented it to Niccolo, who took the bag and set it down on a nearby table, then began pulling out stacks of cash and began to count. Kai remained silent as he did so.
“Well done, my boy!” Niccolo smiled as he finished counting. He gestured to the room at large, and after a moment a servant came to take the bag of cash and do…whatever they did with it. “I’m very proud of you, you’ve been doing very well.”
“Thank you, sir.” Kai said, trying not to break into a smile.
“Come now, my boy. I have something for you.” Niccolo said, reaching an arm out to Kai. Kai stepped closer, and Niccolo put an arm around him, ushering him to a different part of the house to talk business.
It was closer to midnight when he once again found himself lying on his back on a floor of plush carpet, opening his eyes and gasping as he tried to suck air in through his lungs. Panic began to settle in as he couldn’t breathe, and in his scramble to get to his feet he realized something his brain didn’t acknowledge until he’d stood – that he didn’t need to breathe any longer. After sixty-three years, Kai had been given the Gift of the Blood.
“You may now rank yourself amongst one of the elite.” Niccolo told him, raising a martini glass with a blood-red liquid to him as a servant brought in a victim for Kai to feed on. While he fed, Niccolo continued to speak. “Keep on the path you’ve been running, and you’ll find yourself a member of the Amici Noctis in no time. Enjoy it – you’ve earned it.” he stated, sipping at his drink.
Kai watched him as he spoke, then turned his full focus to his meal.
He had done it.
He was Lasombra now.