Let the Sun Shine (Evelyn)

[Alejandro Cepero]

It was just after sundown. Alejandro knew that the hours of operation at EAI were to only last about an hour or two until they would close. Luckily for him, they happened to be a short, if slightly awkward, cab ride away. It would have been just fine if he had only had his concealed pistol, but he decided to make it interesting, as wrapped up in a small blanket he was carrying was his silver-embued sword. As the cab stopped in front of the tower, Alejandro thanked the man, payed him, leaving a kind tip, and headed for the front door.

Alejandro was well dressed today, as he usually was. His blonde hair was combed, his face clean shaven, and wearing a grey brooks-brothers two piece suit with polished black shoes and a black button down shirt with a white tie. He walked through the door and approached security, which immediately eyed him with confusion.

"Pardon me sir." Alejandro spoke to the already wary security guard. He was a portly fellow, his hair graying and balding at some points. "I need to speak with Ms. Evelyn Van Buren, perhaps, you could point me in the direction of her office."

"We-Well sir, I don't think she's takin' any business calls at this hour... Not without an appointment."

"I have an appointment. Now where is she?"

"Uh... Top floor... But first sir... What do you have in that bundle?"

"A sword. Why? Am I not allowed to take it up?" Alejandro asked non-chalantly, knowing the answer full well. The man's eyes widened and he shook his head no. Alejandro sighed, placing the sword on the table, as well as drawing a pistol and placing it with the sword, and three magazines of silver-nitrate ammunition. By this point, the guard's eyes were as wide as dinner plates, and he appeared to be having a mild heart attack. Alejandro then gave an almost unsettling grin, knowing full well he was giving a taste of who he was to the guard. Charming the man, his eyes glowing a soft, dark red, he spoke. "Would you kindly call up her secretary and let her know one Mr. Cepero is coming up the stairs to see Ms. van Buren? And take care of those weapons for me." The charmed man nodded and picked up the phone to call Evelyn's personal secretary as Alejandro walked to the staircase, his eyes returning to their natural grey-blue state. It would be a lot of flights, but that didn't bother Alejandro. He was a vampire after all. And he hated elevators... Too damn constrictive.

Looking up the stairs, he took quick, bounding leaps, clearing a flight at a time. It would not take long for him to reach the top, and meet the woman he needed to speak with.

[Evelyn van Buren]

The waning sunlight glinting off the thick panes of glass in her floor-to-ceiling windows had been giving Evelyn a headache for the past two hours. She'd had her window blinds removed to make room for new ones, but the new set was still unavailable.

The brunette eased herself back into her plush leather office chair, lifting slender, tanned legs up to brace her bare feet on her desktop. Her heels were lost somewhere under her chair, and she could care less. She loved the feel of cool wood on her bare feet.

She wasn't too worried about someone walking in on her less-than-professional moment. As far as her secretary knew, Evelyn's schedule was clear for the evening. It was late on a Friday. She just wanted to be done and go home.

The only thing keeping her from throwing down the pen she was twirling between two thin fingers and dashing to the elevator to escape was the added weight she'd been carrying lately. She was now, for better or for worse, the de-facto Alpha. She still felt more like a Beta, but the Lycans who looked to her for a figurehead didn't care about that.

Evelyn blew out a breath, chewing absently on one end of the pen. Tasting ink, she grimaced and tossed the pen onto the sheaf of printed pages before her. Licking her lips and pulling a slight face, she ran both hands through her now well-tousled hair, feeling its usually glossy waves tangle. It was a calming maneuver -in the absence of anybody to take her frustration out on, Evelyn had been rumpling up her hair all day.

The rogues. The damn rogues. On top of managing the outbreaks of street fights that seemed to break out between Lycans and Vampires every day, she had to deal with this latest menace, a gang of Lycan rogues. And as if her inability to squash this problem wasn't bad enough, she'd been alerted to this rogue gang by none other than the Vampire Duke himself. At the thought of Adrien's stony face, Evelyn gritted her teeth and straightened up slightly.

She tugged down the hem of the dark grey silk skirt she wore over a button-down short-sleeved dress shirt. On the back of her chair was a black blazer embedded with tiny silver disks. She'd set off the outfit with glittery black platform heels. Hardly office plainclothes, but Evelyn had never been discreet in her clothing.

As she returned her tired eyes to the page in front of her, she heard distant feet outside her frosted-glass office door. Hardly listening, she tried to tune out her sensitive hearing as the steps drew closer.

The phone on Evelyn's desk rang. She answered and was informed by her secretary of a Mr. Cepero. He had been disarmed, her secretary assured her. Whoever he was, he hadn't made an appointment.

"I don't take unsolicited clients," Evelyn informed her curtly, thinking it was someone else wanting media relations with the company.

"I understand," the secretary began, and then cut herself off. "He's here! Shall - shall I send him in?"

Evelyn's eyebrows arched in disbelief. The man had some nerve. Knowing she had seconds, she said, "Yes. Get me some intel," and hung up just as her office door swung open.

Instantly, she could tell what she had ignored earlier. He smelled like a bloodsucker. This would be interesting.

She lowered her bare feet off her desk with an air of unhurried calm, slipping them gracefully into her shoes as she sat up in her chair, examining the newcomer. Bracing her elbows on her desk, she steepled her fingers under her chin. Her golden-brown eyes held only inquiry, belying none of the inner confusion and alarm.

Her tone was decidedly frosty, however. Vampire or not, the man could do with some damn manners. "Can I help you?"

[Alejandro Cepero]

Within a minute or so, Alejandro was finally at the top of the stairs. Alejandro had barely worked a sweat, but in truth he was surprised at just how long it took to reach the top. What was it with people and building upwards these days? Always reaching for the skies... When Alejandro was young he thought that was simply a metaphor. Now? With technology these days it was really almost too literal. The skyscrapers were so densely packed and created such light pollution you couldn't even see the stars at night... And you were lucky to see the moon. But such was the way of human progress... And long flights of stairs was now a part of it.

He really should just use the elevator. No. Those things were damned death boxes.

Fixing his suit and straightening his tie, he opened the stairway door and immediately heard the sound of a young woman talking to another on the phone. Undoubtedly, he was on the right floor. Walking towards her with a quiet air of confidence about him, his posture straight, his shoulder's squared off, his face neutral and business like. As he approached her desk, she spoke into the speaker how he was here, and asked if he would like to go in.

"Yes chiquita. Would you kindly?" He asked, in a voice that was gruff, yet still kind sounding, pointing to the door. As she opened the door for him, he thanked her and walked into the room, where sitting before him was the acting Alpha of the Lycan pack.

"Miss Evelyn van Buren. It's a pleasure to meet you." Alejandro said, his voice thick with a deep Spanish accent, "My name is Alejandro Cepero. I apologize for not making a proper appointment, but due to the nature of my... Occupation, it was best that I did not have to answer a lot of questions."

He looked at her with his grey-blue eyes with something that was not a smile, but was not a frown by any definition of the word. It was simply one that was speaking in a highly professional manner, and one who was here because he needed to be. Though in his mind, he thought the woman in front of him was clearly much more attractive than the last alpha. It appears both vampires and lycans were headed by women who were as deadly as they were beautiful. Let's hope I didn't kill this one's family too he thought to himself. I've had enough lamenting over my past mistakes for the week.

"I'm here on behalf of the hunters. May I take a seat?" He asked, arching his eyebrows a bit, his hands behind his back, keeping a respectful distance and posture. It was her office, her rules. He understood that. Hopefully, this meeting would go well.

[Evelyn van Buren]

She tried not to let on that she was just as taken aback by his words as by his presence. A Vampire in her office out of the blue was one thing. A Vampire in her office, professing to act for the Hunters was something else.

She gave his polished appearance a swift onceover and silently approved. Because she was, after all, still half a human, she found it easy to appreciate the human sides of her supernatural colleagues. The accent was well-tailored to be appealing, she noted wryly. This was clearly not the first time he'd tried to be charming to a woman.

She lowered her gaze to her paperwork for a moment. Crossing her legs, she picked up her pen and marked a lavish X on the marketing plan in front of her. Shoving it aside and twirling the pen between her fingers once more, she turned her full attention on the Vampire.

This was definitely unforeseen. Had she so terrified Logan in their last encounter that he was sending a Vampire to do his work? She had difficulty believing that. What Vampire would lower himself to serving humans anyway? They were all prouder and snobbier than the entirety of France.

Nevertheless, Evelyn was a lady before even her distaste of Vampires, so she inclined her head slightly in response. "Please do." She was normally not so accommodating to most of his kind, but if he was going to play nice, she was willing to go along with it, even if he had just barged in.

She wondered idly how long this civility would last.

She hesitated a moment, till he was seated, and then asked cautiously, "You're here on behalf of Vaughn Logan? I must admit, I had no idea he was in alliance with Vampires, Mister, ah, Cepero? What can I do for you?"

[Alejandro Cepero]

Alejandro most certainly noticed her quick once over of him, but remained silent and professional. Judging by the way she inclined her head and allowed him to take a seat, he at least passed the first test of approval in her mind. He was no fool though. He knew he had a long way to go to earn her trust and actually make the deal happen. She was a lycan, and he a vampire. There was bound to be some almost instinctual mistrust he could not do anything about.

Taking a seat, he sat upright, his shoulder blades only lightly touching the back of the chair. He clasped his hands and placed his hands on his lap, his elbows on the arm rests. His attention was squarely on Evelyn as she asked cautiously why he was here. Her caution was understandable. For all she knew, he could be fooling her, trying to let her guard down. After all, he hadn't been thoroughly searched for weapons. Not that he had any, he wasn't the kind of man to break that kind of unspoken truce, but he could see how she might think that.

In a calm, relaxed voice, he replied. "Well madam, let me start by saying that no, Mister Logan is in no means in an alliance with the vampire coven. Nor am I. I have no relation to the vampire coven. As a matter of fact, their current elder had a personal vendetta against me for a long, long time. But that is a discussion for a later time. No, I work with the hunters as their liaison. Mainly, dealing with the black market, and procuring their supplies. That is why I am here."

Alejandro leaned forward slightly, his hands moving to his chin momentarily, eyeing her paperwork, then looking back at her. "I can see you're a busy woman, so I'll cut to the chase with you. The hunters have no steady source of income. They are not government funded, and they are often scrapped for cash. That being said, they still need the UV ammunition your company so willingly sells to them. The only problem is price. At the current prices, they can't afford to maintain operations and purchase more ammunition to hunt down rogue vampires. Needless to say, I don't have to go into how that would be bad for everyone if the hunters weren't out there controlling the rogue vampire population, would I?" He asked calmly, leaning back into the chair, his hands returning to his lap, trying to gauge her reaction. He took a deep breath, and continued. "Is there any way we could work out a deal in which you lower the prices you sell your UV ammunition to the hunters? They desperately need any edge they can get against the vampires, and I'd hate to see them have to resort back to stakes and regular ammunition against my... more uncivilized kind..."

He sighed lightly as he looked off to the corner for a second. He hated admitting to himself he was a vampire. If there was a way to cure the curse, he would. However, all he can do now was spend what years he had left trying to right his wrongs, and hopefully atone for his past sins...

He looked back at Evelyn, any trace of his misgivings about his condition gone. He hoped she didn't catch it.

[Evelyn van Buren]

Evelyn watched him, feeling increasingly suspicious because he wasn't showing any of the characteristic behaviours she'd seen in so many Vampires. He hadn't shown any visible disdain around her and that kind of restraint was harder every day that the city maintained the farce of a Treaty.

She watched impassively as he talked, observing his very professional manner of speaking. He didn't sound like he was particularly uncomfortable being in the presence of a Lycan and in the very heart of a Lycan-run organization.

No relation to the Vampire coven, he said, and Evelyn straightened clasping her fingers together on the surface of her desk. A Vampire liaising on behalf of humans? Why on earth?

She tried to figure out his motivation as he talked. Evelyn had always been the kind of person who did her homework before she tackled the next objective in her life. But she doubted that even if she'd had time to research him, she'd have been able to understand well. To her, there was nothing stranger than wanting to turn your back on your own people.

Unless he had a good reason to. Perhaps he'd disagreed with something they'd done, had perhaps been disgusted by them? No, if that were the case, he wouldn't be so adamant about aiding the underdogs.

Did he feel pity for the humans? She supposed there were sympathizers out there besides her. But she hadn't turned on her own, so clearly his actions had less to do with affection for humans and more with his disgust or hate for Vampires. They must have wronged him, she decided.

"Needless to say, I don't have to go into how that would be bad for everyone if the hunters weren't out there controlling the rogue vampire population, would I?"

She gave him a sudden, humorless smile at that and then it slipped away instantly as she resumed mentally gauging him inside her head. She liked to debate the discrepancies between what people were saying and their intents and motivations before she made any verbal calls on them. He could easily be lying, but why would he? He hadn't asked her to meet him in a shady setting, so she didn't think he was about to attack her. And he didn't look psychotic enough to try something like that. He hadn't even asked her to give him anything more than a verbal deal.

Her sharp eyes followed his straying gaze, her ears clocked his hesitation before his last few words, and she stored that away to mull over later when she was alone.

A second later, he was wearing his business face again, and she almost lifted her eyebrows at him, but caught herself in time, one corner of her mouth curling into a wry, little half-smile.

She considered his offer for a moment. It wasn't something she could immediately grant or deny him. She'd have to talk it over with the guy who ran the R&D department and some of her own advising group.

She would have loved to hand over more ammunition to the Hunters that would eradicate Vampires, but she knew it worked both ways. If she did that, the Vampires would retaliate by offering the hunters equally good deals on Lycan-specific weaponry. It would be a loss to both sides and a loss of money on top of that.

She pursed her lips and picked up the pen beneath her hands, mentally mapping out the expected consequences of agreeing to this deal as she twirled it.

"I can't give you a final answer right away, you understand," she replied after a long minute of silence during which she stared unseeingly at the pages on her like she was hoping to find the right answer on them. She lifted her gaze to his again, sitting back in her seat and letting the pen drop with a loud clink to the glass desktop. "I'd have to consult with some people. This sort of move at a delicate time like this would have...consequences."

She didn't bother to elaborate. He seemed intelligent enough to pick up on her train of thought. As much as the idea of an out-and-out war appealed to her, she didn't think she was quite ready to ignite the sparks between Lycan and Vampire just yet. Maybe soon.

"Give me two days," she said. "I'll consider it and see what kind of discount would be feasible, and give you a call if that would be more convenient than meeting in person." Truth be told, she was not looking forward to more meetings with Vampires. She was already obliged to sit through enough torture with Adrien. If she could avoid another face-to-face, she'd damn well avoid it.

Before he left, however, she did have to clarify her misgivings. "You wouldn't mind, I'm sure, if I spoke with the Hunters about this themselves?" She flashed another disarming smile, this one somewhat frostier. "Just to verify things." Surely he couldn't expect her to trust his words blindly.

The phone on her desk beeped twice. She glanced at it and then at the Vampire seated before her. "Excuse me."

She picked it up and her secretary informed her that her meeting with an associate from one of her many clandestine investments wished to speak to her via conference call. Evelyn asked her to set it up tomorrow - she really just wanted to get home - and let the phone drop down somewhat tiredly.

"I'm sorry, where were we?" she asked, turning back to Alejandro and pinching the bridge of her nose to keep off an oncoming headache. "Oh, right. If that is all, I think we're done here. Please feel free to leave in a less obtrusive fashion."

That last bit didn't come out as politely as she'd meant it to. She was just so on edge. It was hard to relax around strangers for one as paranoid as her. Especially given his race, whatever he might feel about it. That would always disquiet her.

But then again, he had barged in. For such a professional, he had rather skewed ideas about what was proper. One did not simply waltz into her office without receiving a sharp remark.

[Alejandro Cepero]

Alejandro noticed the small smile. He had at least perked her interest. Whether or not anything of actual value would come of it was another story, and wasn't set in stone yet. She had danced around his question, saying she'd get back to him after contacting her people, he knew she was trying to give him the runaround. Using language that was ambiguous and didn't tie down to a promise was like that, sent the message without any obligation. She was playing the game. Well, Alejandro could play too.

She upped the stakes with two comments. First, she asked if she could speak with the hunters, just to verify things. "Of course," Alejandro responded immediately. "I never thought you wouldn't. I'm only surprised you informed me first as though I would be hesitant." He looked at the woman with the same, neutral, businesslike face he had maintained throughout most the meeting, and his tone of voice was one of calm, bordering on serenity. The new commander still wasn't so fond of having Alejandro around, but he had been smart enough to not deny his friendship.

When she picked up the phone, Alejandro paid careful attention to her facial features. It was something about business... Or perhaps more. He noticed the stress marks flare momentarily, and it may have been something that was unpleasant or dangerous to deal with. Wouldn't surprise him. There had been many hounding for war amongst both factions, and he had heard word that the Beta, now acting Alpha, wasn't one to sit around and wait for the vampires to strike first. Typical bunker mentality.

When she asked him to leave in a manner that wasn't rude so much as simply cold and biting, Alejandro simply nodded, held up his finger as if to ask her to wait, and pulled out a single 5.56 mm silverite bullet, putting it onto the table. The ring around the primer had the initials "L.L." stamped into them. "First, I'll have you know that the vampire coven has already lowered its prices. We've started to purchase silverite bullets in bulk after the incident in the zoo and the rise of the rogue lycan group led by one... What was his name... The crazy Irishman with black hair. His name escapes me. Not important though. To counter him, the vampires have been more than willing to give us a discount..." His face was calm and businesslike, again showing no visible trace of emotion. Whether he was bluffing or not would be very difficult to discern. Which was exactly what he wanted.

At that, he left a light, knowing smirk, and stood up from his chair. Speaking politely, he began. "Again, Miss van Buren, I apologize for barging in unannounced. However, I regret to inform you I do not own a cellular phone. I find them so... What's the term... Impersonal? If you wish to speak with me, I shall be here." He put his hands into his pocket once more, and pulled out a business card. It was of the restaurant Asia de Cuba, on Madison avenue. "For the next three nights in a row, I will be on the second floor, far left hand corner, from 8 until 11. We can discuss the terms of the agreement there. My treat."

He then turned and began to walk out, his smirk grew into a light grin that he did not allow her to see. "Think of it as a form of apology Miss van Buren. I look forward to seeing you there."