Reign of Coins by Aiden James

said, praying our longtime friendship was still as strong as it had been one hundred years ago. “We were forced to leave our belongings at the Royal Garden.”
    “I’ve already taken care of that, and you’ll have your bags delivered in the next few hours,” he said. “They’ll pass through several hands before making it to the InterContinuental. I’m sure you understand how careful both of us must be at the present time.”
    “You won’t be accompanying their delivery?”
    “It’s better to stay apart until the smoke clears.”
    It’s the way things have always been handled between us. Separation that could sometimes mean years, decades, or even centuries was often necessary to maintain anonymity.
    “Michael is joining Cedric on a flight from Yokohama tonight,” Roderick continued. “They are looking for a quick resolution to the Morrow problem.”
    “And?”
    “They also intend to resolve the growing conflict between you and Kaslow.” His voice grew softer and solemn. “Be careful, William.”
    “Just spit it out, Roderick!” I hated the coyness, and I wasn’t about to let it replace the straight honesty we’ve always addressed each other with. “Don’t be like them.”
    “All right.” He released a low sigh. “You have caused them enough embarrassment to where they no longer care if you live or die. In fact, they no longer care if you take out Kaslow or not—they want you both out of the picture.”
    “They want me dead?”
    “If they can find a clean way to do it…yes.”
    That was comforting. All cynicism aside, my immediate worry turned to Alistair’s welfare.
    “I won’t let them hurt Ali,” I told him, evenly. “Even if it means I won’t see either of you again for some time, or even my beloved Beatrice again in this lifetime. As long as I feel my son’s life is in danger, I will kill them all. You know I can do it, so this is no idle threat…and not to you, but to—”
    “Them. Yes I know,” he said, interrupting me. “Perhaps you would kill them all in a single night—like Louis the Sixteenth’s personal guards the night before his arrest. I remember that night very well. Yes, you could do it again…but what purpose would it serve? What would it accomplish, since everyone in the United States government is completely replaceable? Things are not as they once were.”
    You would have to look past the face value of Roderick’s statements to catch his true meaning, delivered more by his vocal inflections than the words themselves. The bottom line was that the CIA—or some other federal institution with international tentacles stretching easily to Hong Kong—would eliminate whatever obstacles were in the way to stopping Christian Morrow. Viktor Kaslow, Roderick, myself, or any other immortal could only delay the U.S.A.’s objective. In the end, they would win. They always did.
    But they might be missing a few field people and their supervisors to boot.
    “So, is it a foregone conclusion that Michael and Cedric will seek to kill me?”
    “No…but it’s a serious consideration coming to them from the highest levels in Washington.”
    “The older families never know when to stop!” I said, disgustedly. “How do they propose to get to Christian Morrow with the equivalent of Spawn protecting his back? A squad of Navy Seals would be mere fodder for this one…I haven’t seen anything like him since Drakul.”
    “True…he has already killed two seal teams earlier this year, when they were sent to intercept him in Afghanistan.”
    Well, this was news. And, here I thought I was the guy to blow the very first whistle on our Russian immortal’s murderous activities. He must’ve gotten a head start right after Christmas.
    “Yes, my friend, I thought your advisory was the first as well,” he said, sadly. “You may be the best candidate to get to Morrow, since he admires your boy. I’ll continue to play that angle with my Washington contacts, and with Cedric and