Fantasy Night Brings the Hunter by TMaskedWriter
#11
Stavro was still unconscious. He'd been moved from the city hospital to the embassy's infirmary. Helen stood by his bed, looking over him. One of his eyes was swollen shut, and an oxygen tube was pumping air into his lungs via his nose. She took his bandaged hand.

"Hi, Stavro," she said to him. "How's your first trip out of San Finzione going?" He wasn't awake to answer.

Helen had only known him for a couple of months, ever since her friends had played an elaborate prank on her. He'd worked as a butcher's assistant and made deliveries to the castle. He'd caught Maria's eye, but she was afraid to say anything for fear Helen would decide she wanted the handsome young man for herself. After the prank, she and Maria had talked for a while, and Helen had decided that it was time to stop making Maria live the life of her personal maid and occasional lover and bring her into the world she'd been meant to live in before Helen had married her great-grandfather and claimed the Noble House of San Finzione for herself. The girl had only had those two months to enjoy the life she was born into and the love of the man she'd dreamed of until now.

She leaned forward and kissed Stavro on the forehead. They hadn't talked much at all, and it struck Helen just how little she knew about him.

"Maria will be here when you wake up," she told him. "Even if I'm not."

She walked back to the now-empty conference room, opened up the ambassador's laptop that was still there, and logged into Skype. She brought up one of the few contacts on her list and requested a video call.

The call connected. A face that she was only partially expecting to be on the other end appeared. Sounds of construction could be heard in the background.

"Oh. Er, hi," Susan said to her. "They're out with the construction workers. I can go get one of them if you want."

"That's ok," Helen said as she lit a cigarette. "I sort of called to talk to you anyway." Susan looked puzzled at that.

"Why me?"

"Because there are times when what you need most is to talk to your oldest, dearest friends," she took a long drag. "And times when what you need most is to talk to someone who completely despises you."

"I never said that," Susan replied. "I said that it'll take more than some fancy trinkets for me to forgive you, but not that it couldn't someday be an option." Helen had sent her a large gift bag a couple months ago to apologize for their getting off on the wrong foot. It hadn't gone over as well as she'd hoped.

"Well, thank you. That gives me some hope. And hope is what I need. I'm in a situation, I can't say anything about it; but something is going on that I can't buy or manipulate my way out of, and innocents have already been hurt and might still be."

"From everything I've heard, people getting hurt is a common problem for you."

"This..." She took another drag. "This wasn't one of those. This was me trying to follow his advice and do something right, and now it's blown up in my face."

"And I'm sure it'd be really easy to just fix things the same old way you always have, wouldn't it," Susan asked. "Whatever Tom Clancy 'need-to-know' fine pickle you've gotten yourself into, Contessa Helena de San Finzione can just descend from the clouds and wave her hand and everything's solved, can't she?"

Helen put out the cigarette. "I think we're past that being an option. I didn't create the situation. It arose because of who I am; who they are, as well. And soon you, too. How's that going for you?"

"Oh, that's going all right. Brenda keeps begging me to practice on her; but that's not why you called. This actually sounds serious. Is this a 'you need me to get them but you don't want to come out and ask me to' deal?"

"Oh God, no! They'd insist on helping and be on the next plane here, and then THEY'D be in danger too."

Susan raised an eyebrow at that.

"Danger isn't a word I hear you OR them use often. So, what's really going on right now, Helen? Don't give me any of that 'classified by the government of San Finzione' shit, you ARE the government of San Finzione!"

Helen reached into the pack for another cigarette. It was empty. She didn't have another at hand, so she pulled out the worry beads and started playing with them quietly; "The way you do them in Church," Propappou had told her.
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RE: Night Brings the Hunter by TMaskedWriter - by Ramesh_Rocky - 30-03-2019, 07:05 PM



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