Chapter 223: Consider It Done
Using this thread, she\'d have a pathway to Ezra and she\'d be able to find something she could use to enter the soul bond. She\'d wanted to do this the slow and steady way. But with that door now firmly closed, she found herself back where she started, without anyone to manipulate.
"No need to play nice anymore." She muttered to herself, her voice a low hiss in the quiet room. If the slow and steady route was blocked, she\'d have to take the fast and dangerous road. One that leads to a whole lot of financial dealings.
She reached into thin air, pulling out a flash drive. She held it up to the light of the lamp. "Guess I\'ll have to use you after all." She tossed the drive back into her pocket dimension and this time, pulled out a thick file.
She went through the file, nodding at its contents. Account numbers, transactions, addresses and names. All linked to Ezra\'s slush fund. It was time to strike him where it hurts.
As she flipped through the file, there was a soft knock on the door. "Enter." Helena called.
The door opened and Lilith entered the office. "Captain." She saluted smartly before standing at rest before Helena.
Helena allowed herself a small smile. Lilith was her most trusted officer. Best of all, she was sharp, her instincts honed by years under Helena\'s tutelage.
"Lilith. I have a mission for you." Helena wasted no time. "No word of this must reach other ears, understand?"
"Yes captain." Lilith stood rigidly with an air of expectation.
"Here." Helena handed the file to Lilith, her movements deliberate. "You\'re to find our contacts in the city listed in there. They\'ll locate whoever is in charge of this fund."
Lilith opened the file, scanning the contents quickly. "Understood. And then?"
Helena leaned back in her chair, her fingers steepled in front of her. "They\'ll use them to create several shell companies. Then, they\'ll distribute the money through a series of transactions designed to create a complex paper trail."
"Now, here\'s the most important part. All those trails must lead back to Westside. They should create evidence of the Necromancer\'s hands in this transaction and hide it deep. If it\'s too open, they\'ll catch on quickly that it\'s a false trail."
Helena nodded approvingly at the hint of a smirk that played on Lilith\'s lips. She knew that Lilith enjoyed this kind of work. Complex, challenging, with a hint of danger. "Official looking contracts, legal documents. Everything we need to make it look legitimate?"
"Exactly." Helena nodded. "Once you\'ve established the trail, transfer the funds to any of the shell companies I control. After the transfer, cover your tracks. Erase any link that might lead back to us. Everything must point to Westside and not us."
"Consider it done, Captain." Lilith nodded. "I\'ll make sure there\'s nothing to tie us to the operation."
"Of course." Helena nodded, keeping the pleased smile off her face. "And for their services, they can have the standard ten percent of the funds."
"Yes Captain."
"Good. Now, go." Helena commanded.
Lilith saluted and left the office immediately.
Alone once more, Helena leaned back on her chair. She couldn\'t suppress the smug satisfaction she was feeling. This was the exact kind of maneuvering she excelled at. Operating in the gray areas where morality was flexible, and the outcomes justified the means.
She reached into her pocket space to retrieve the bottle and poured herself a glass of blood wine. She took a sip, enjoying the rich taste. Very soon, Ezra Matten would be like a fly caught in her web. Whatever she has to do to get herself into the soul bond, she\'ll do it.
The ability to use at least five six different tattoos at the same time was just too alluring to ignore. One vampire wouldn\'t have six tattoos as it makes it harder to ascend each subsequent ring but when the burden was shared among four people, that\'s a different story.
Helena couldn\'t help the smile on her face as she thought about the rewards of her plans succeeding. The power, the control, the influence. It would soon be hers.
All she needed to do now was wait, watch, and be ready to act when the time came.
**********
The Necromancer sat on his throne, his attention on the table in front of him. The room was brightly lit, undoing all the effort he had put into making it look shadowy and intimidating.
But that was the way he wanted it now that he needed concentration. "Fall. Fall. Fall." He whispered under his breath as the bone soldier in front of him slowly moved the rectangular blocks.
His fingers kept tapping rhythmically against the armrest in order to distract his opponent. A distraction he already knew won\'t work. He\'d created the sons of bitched himself.
The bone soldier rattled his skull in celebration as he successfully pulled out the block and the assembly didn\'t fall upon itself. The Necromancer groaned. "Come on. Can\'t you fail at jenga at least once?"
He sighed, searching the jenga blocks on the table. His face lit up as he found one to pull out. He frowned slowly pulling. "Yes. Yes. Ye-"
His concentration was broken as the doors to the throne room were flung open with a loud crash and Bella bursted in. "My lord!" She cried out.
The Necromancer startled at the sound, his hand shaking and scattering the tower of blocks. The bone soldier rattled his bones in celebration.
Bella rushed towards the throne, the sound of her footsteps beating a rhythm on the floor.
"This better be fucking good." The Necromancer snarled.