Return of the High Fae (Vegas Fae Story Book 1) (8 page)

"Why are you telling me this, Siegfried? I have no
quarrel with Milagre," I asked, not sure what he was getting at,
especially after the loyalty speech.

"I did not mean to imply that you did," he said
matter-of-factly. "But you know little of the Fae. You will need a guide,
and possibly a friend."

"Why?" Should I trust him? Hell, could I trust
him?

"Robert, you know nothing of the Fae," he said
with a grin." This is not the human world with its laws and rules. Nor are
the Fae here in the new world like the Fae of the old. The lines between clans
blur here. Here, the Fae live as they always have. It is a world where
alliances are formed through strength; the strength of magic. Have you not read
your history? The Greek and Roman Gods were not benevolent. They were vain and
jealous. They fought one another continuously. My Gods were no better. Thor,
Loki, Odin... always battling one another, pitting one against the other. Even
magic is not always enough, as the Gods themselves found out. You must not only
know when to wield it, but also when not to. Such is the world of the
Fae."

This did not bode well. I'd already seen some of that when
battling the Werewolves. Sure, I was able to defeat them. But I had no idea how
I did it, or if I could tap into that power again. He was right, I would need
some help. "Thank you for the offer, Siegfried. I will consider it."

"That is all I ask."

"I'm still confused though. What was the deal with
Meredith?"

"Magic knows magic," he answered. I must have had
a blank look on my face. "You sensed her, did you not? I saw it on your
face."

"I suppose I did."

"She is eldest of her clan, a powerful Fae, yet she did
not know you were there. I have never heard of that happening before. It is
most unusual."

"But what does it mean?" I asked, still not sure
of the significance.

"It means that you are dangerous," he answered,
again watching my reaction.

Just frigging great. Now I had more problems.

"Magic is what binds all Fae," he continued.
"Most Fae can feel magic in the air, or the lack of it. In most creatures,
the sense is limited. But Meredith is a very powerful Fae. She should have
sensed you. That she could not means that you are different. Do not confuse
what I say. Meredith would not seek to harm you, but she would want to use you
for her own benefit. As kin, I needed you to know that your power is unusual.
You can choose how that information should be used. Be careful who you trust
with this knowledge. Others will want to use that power, and not all will be
for good."

It seemed like the more he said the less I understood.

"What about you, Siegfried? Can you sense me?"

"No, but I am not like you. My gifts lend themselves to
doing battle and I have never been bested." He pulled out the seax again
and I watched as he twirled it around several times in an elaborate display. It
danced in his hand before he thrust it into the table. It was pretty slick for
a guy sitting down.

Note to file: Don't get into a knife fight with Siegfried.

"Hey, hey, watch the table boys!" the waitress,
Shayla, commented as she walked up. The mood lightened as she replaced the
carafe and filled our mugs. Maybe this was normal behavior in a place like
this.

"Nice knife work," I remarked as she left.

We talked for several more hours and not all of it was about
magic. But get this. The most interesting part was how the Fae took over the
mob in this town. But that's a story for another day.

The noise of the alarm clock was only part of the reason I
was awake. The big dog licking my face was the other.

"Charlie, down," I said, pushing him away.

Waking up to dog slobber isn't pleasant, but you have to
admit it's effective. Looking over to focus on the time, I saw that it was 8:32
a.m. Why would I set the alarm for then? There was another ring. It wasn't the
alarm. It was my cell phone.

"Hoskins," I said, trying not to sound like I just
woke up.

"Robert, it's Hailey," said the voice on the other
end. "Did I wake you?"

"No, Charlie did that for you," I said.
"What's up?"

"Oh, that lug. Give him a hug for me." She had a
soft spot for Charlie and always brought him a treat when she visited.

"I will Hail. So why the early call?"

"Well, I have Mr. Carmine Pontedra on the other line. I
thought it would be a call you'd want to take."

"Oh thanks. Can you transfer him?" I got out of
bed and headed downstairs to the kitchen for coffee.

"Of course," Hailey responded. "By the way,
are you coming in today?"

"I plan to, unless this call changes things. Probably
around 10:30 – 11:00. Why, anything up?"

"No, just wondering. All right, see you in a bit,
here's Mr. Pontedra." I heard the click as the call transferred.

"This is Robert Hoskins, is this Mr. Pontedra?" I asked
as I pushed the button to start the coffee brewing.

"Yes, Mr. Hoskins. I believe you have something for me."

"Yes I do. I have a subpoena for you. I was wondering
if you would be available sometime later today. I can bring it by the
property." I hadn't expected him to be so pleasant. His reputation had
made me think he was going to be difficult despite my new found friendship with
his boss.

"That won't be necessary. I have some business in the
downtown area. I have your address from the card Mr. Milagre gave me. Will you
be available around 11:00?"

"11:00 would be fine, Mr. Pontedra, I'll see you
then."

"Please, call me Carmine. I'll see you at 11:00 then.
Oh, and Mr. Hoskins, Mr. Milagre told me about what happened the other night.
Please allow me to express my thanks for your intervention. Mr. Milagre means a
great deal to me. I would like to return the favor. If there is ever anything I
can ever do for you, please let me know."

"Thank you, Carmine; I'll keep it in mind. I'll see you
soon."

"Goodbye," I heard him say as the phone
disconnected. Well that was interesting. Now I've got more folks that wouldn't
give me the time of day a week ago offering me favors. What's next?

I poured myself a cup of coffee in a
General Dynamics
mug as I watched Charlie push his bowl around the tile floor. I distinctly
heard the word "food" in my mind. He looked up at me and the word was
repeated.

Great! I could actually hear him. I guess I had found out
what was next. I filled his bowl from the bag in the pantry and set it down in
front of him.

"What, no thank you?" I asked, watching as he
gulped down his food.

He stopped and raised his head, his eyes watching me. I
heard a bark and the words "thank you" as he went back to eating.
Well, at least he could be polite.

I went upstairs, showered, then dressed in my standard
business casual attire. Tan pants and a long sleeve collarless shirt. After
heading back downstairs, I refilled my mug, dumped what was left and got the
pot ready for the next time.

I told Charlie to guard the house and waited to see if he
was going to say anything else. I guess not. He just headed out the doggie door
without looking back. I wondered if any of my days would ever be normal again.

I got in my car and headed toward the 95 to downtown. Aside
from talking dogs, it was a nice day. Although the morning weather report said
it was going to rain today, it sure didn't look like it yet, but that's the
desert for you.

It was almost 10:00 a.m. by the time I pulled into the back
lot of the building where my office was. Once inside, I spent a minute chatting
with Hailey, then retrieved my mail and messages. With that done, I poured
myself a fresh cup of coffee and sat down at my desk.

After I looked over my mail and caseload, I got the
paperwork ready for my meeting with Carmine. Looking over my messages, I saw
that I had one from the attorney who had asked me to serve him. I figured that
one could wait. The rest were return calls or calls from other business
acquaintances. I was trying to decide who to call back first when Hailey came
in to tell me that Carmine was here.

I grabbed my file and went into the small conference room.
Placing it down on the table, I went out to greet Carmine. As I entered the
front office area, I was a caught off guard when I realized that Carmine wasn't
alone. He was with another well-dressed man carrying a flapover leather
briefcase. He turned and introduced himself.

"Mr. Hoskins, Gerry Cornwall. I'm Mr. Pontedra's
attorney. I hope you don't mind that I've tagged along," he responded,
giving me a business-like smile.

"No, not at all," I replied, finding this meeting
even more interesting.

Gerry Cornwall was probably the leading civil attorney in
the Las Vegas area. His client list represented most of Vegas' movers and
shakers, including the mayor, who was his old business partner. He probably
also represented over half the other casino owners as well. Frankly, I'd never
been able to get any of his business. I just didn't move in his circles.

He was wearing an impeccably tailored business suit. Custom
tailored, I might add. Probably a
Gary Franzen
. He was Las Vegas' most
sought after tailor. I knew that because I had one myself. Of course, I only
had the one, and I was guessing Cornwall had a bigger wardrobe than I did.
There was one other thing. I felt it the minute they walked into the office.
Although I couldn't detect anything from Carmine, Gerry Cornwall smelled like
magic! I knew he was Fae. I was a little startled by my ability to detect it,
but I figured it was best to act as if I wasn't aware of it.

"Let's move on into the conference room, shall
we?" I said, gesturing to the hallway that led to the rest of the office.
We all sat down at the table and I removed the subpoena from my file, handing
it to Mr. Cornwall.

"You may consider Mr. Pontedra served, Mr.
Hoskins," he said, handing the paperwork to Carmine who glanced over it
and placed it down in front of him.

"Thank you. I appreciate you taking the time to come to
my office with your client."

"Not a problem. Carmine and I had other business this
morning so this wasn't out of our way," he said, giving me one of those
smiles that always made me think of a used car salesman. "Actually, since
I am here, why don't we call Mr. Lagisto and try to resolve this right
now?"

"Ok, although to be honest, I didn't work this
investigation. I merely handled the subpoena for him." I was surprised at
this turn of events. This wasn't the usual way things like this worked.

"Of course, but since we're here and I know Andrew
would like to get this resolved, let's get him on the phone."

Andrew was of course, Andrew Lagisto, a local attorney for
whom I did a lot of work. He had offered me a considerable fee for this
service, so I figured he'd really be amazed at this turn of events. Since I had
nothing to lose, I grabbed the phone on the table and dialed his private
number.

"Andy," was all he said when he picked up the
line.

"Hey, it's Robert Hoskins, how are you?" I asked,
looking over at Carmine and his attorney.

"Robert, I'm fine. What's up? Any problem getting that
subpoena served?"

"Actually, that's why I'm calling. I have Mr. Pontedra
and his attorney, Gerry Cornwall, in my office. Do you mind if we go on
speaker?"

"You're kidding. You have Cornwall in your office? What
the hell did you do?" He sounded more surprised than I was. "Go
ahead, this should be interesting."

"We can go over it later. I'm going to put you on
speaker now," I said as I reached over and switched the phone to the
conference speakers.

"Andy, can you hear me? We're on the speaker now."

"Yes. Mr. Cornwall, Mr. Pontedra, thank you for
contacting me. What can I do for you?"

"Andrew, it's Gerald. Carmine and I received your
subpoena today. Do you have a moment to discuss?" He said
"discuss" like it was an event, and it probably was. A billable
event.

"Absolutely, Gerald," he replied.

"Well, Carmine and I were aware that you were going to
subpoena him in this case." Cornwall looked over at me and winked.

I almost fell to the floor.

"After some discussion with Mr. Hoskins, it is
Carmine's wish to try and resolve this. Have you given any thought to where you
stand on this issue?"

"Well, Gerald, simply put, my client feels that he was
unfairly treated by Mr. Pontedra in his employment ratings and at the
termination hearing. There's also the fact that he feels he has been
blacklisted. I'd like to see him get reinstated, if that is a possibility. As you
may be aware, he had a stellar reputation prior to the Neptune and this matter
has severely damaged that in the industry."

I saw Pontedra shake his head and start to say something
while Andy was talking. Cornwall put his hand on his arm to stop him. Carmine
didn't look happy, but he didn't say anything either. All I knew about the case
was that it involved a long time Vegas host that used to work for the Neptune.

"Andrew, you know that is impossible. However, in an
effort to be fair, we are willing to allow your client to resign. Instead, we
will offer him a considerable severance package. One that should remove the
stigma of the termination and allow him some breathing room until he can secure
employment. Would that be agreeable?" Cornwall asked, keeping his hand on
Pontedra's arm.

"That might work," Andy replied. "What type
of severance are you thinking?"

"Well, since there wasn't a contract, I'd say a year's
base salary would be sufficient, but rather than argue the matter, we'd be
willing to go two."

"Two year's salary at 250k a year. Is that your
offer?"

"That's the best I can do, Andrew, and you know as well
as I do that it is more than fair. That assumes, of course, that your client
provides us with the letter of resignation immediately so we can get this
matter resolved." There was a moment of silence on the speaker. Cornwall
looked over at me and I almost broke out laughing when he winked again.

"I believe I can convince my client to accept that
offer. When can I get that in writing?"

"I'll have my office run the papers over this
afternoon." Cornwall replied, sifting through some paperwork in his
briefcase. "I will have a check ready when they are signed and we are in
receipt."

"I'll get a hold of my client this afternoon and see if
we can get this resolved then," Andy said. "Thank you for contacting
me."

Cornwall started to get up, so I took the phone off speaker
and told Andy I would call him back. He leaned over and said something quietly
to Carmine that I couldn't hear, but I could clearly read Carmine's lips when
he said "bullshit."

"Lawyers," he remarked, shaking his head.
"It's days like this when I miss the old Vegas." He was clearly not
too happy with the negotiations.

"Times change," Cornwall replied. "And I did
have clear instructions from Mr. Milagre."

Carmine still didn't look happy, but he didn't seem to want
to argue, either.

"Carmine, can you give me a moment with Mr.
Hoskins?"

"Sure, I'll be in the car." Carmine said as he
stood up. "It was a pleasure meeting you, Robert. Remember what I said. If
I can ever be of service, don't hesitate to call."

"I won't, Carmine, and thank you again for your
cooperation today."

I got up and walked him out of the conference room. When I
saw him head toward the front door, I turned and walked back to Cornwall.

"Is there something else?"

"Robert, may I ask if you have any other interests in
this case?" he asked as he put the papers back in his briefcase.

"No, as I said, I merely handled the subpoena. Why do
you ask?" Hmm. Now we appeared to be on a first name basis. I wondered
what was coming next.

"I wondered what you had to say about what you just
witnessed, but needed to make sure there wasn't a conflict before we
talked"

"Well, Mr. Cornwall, I guess I am a little surprised. I
know Carmine's reputation. A payout that large doesn't add up. Then again, I've
met Mr. Milagre and I'm sure he has his reasons. I'll also admit curiosity as
to why you handled this from my office."

"Consider it an act of good faith on Mr. Milagre's
part. I am not completely sure why, but as you said, he has his reasons."

"Good faith?" I commented. "How would giving
500k to someone else's client show me good faith?"

"Come now, Robert. You can't tell me that this doesn't
put Andrew in your debt. Besides, his client will never work in this town
again, not without an endorsement from Carmine. The money? Well, the money will
keep him from being an inconvenience. Our kind must show others that we have
influence. Wouldn't you agree?"

"I guess that's true." Our kind. Now I saw where
he was coming from. I could see the world was changing for me. I just wasn't
sure if it was for the better.

"I wish I had known of your lineage earlier," he
commented, as he picked up his briefcase. "It was foolish of you to hide
it. We could have sent a lot of business your way. We will of course attempt to
remedy that in the future," he said, walking out of the conference room
toward the front door.

"I also had my reasons," I remarked, walking along
side of him.