After much prodding, Madeline convinced Lydia to join her at a nice old world style restaurant that they had heard about while in town. Lydia called to make reservations, but the hostess said that they were booked for the next few weeks. Lydia sighed and was about to thank her for her time, but the hostess interrupted and said, "Hold on. I was just informed someone cancelled for later tonight. Will nine o'clock work?" Lydia was so happy; she eagerly scheduled the reservation and told Madeline the good news. Lydia got ready for the evening in anticipation. She wore a low cut, white, silk blouse with black pants that almost covered her black patent pumps. Her black hair was pulled up in a loose bun, fastened with a sapphire pin that mirrored her dark blue eyes.

Madeline was excited to finally convince Lydia to go out for a night on the town, and she was going to dress the part. She put on her favorite halter dress - the black backless one that hugged her chest at just the right height. She didn't want to give the whole game away, after all. She let her long wavy hair tumble around her shoulders with the effortless look that only an hour of preparation can make. It was always time well spent; she enjoyed the attention it brought. She smiled at herself in the mirror one last time before slipping on a pair of black heels, grabbing her clutch and heading for the door. She slipped into the driver's seat of her silver Mustang and called Lydia to let her know she was on her way. She could drive a Porsche or some other ridiculously expensive car like many of her business associates, but one doesn't stay rich by spending all their money. Besides, she liked the Mustang's satisfying thrust and ample power. She shifted into gear as the garage door lifted. It had a manual transmission, of course; she was ever the tease, and men love to see a woman that knows her way around a stick. She eased into the street before roaring away.

Lydia turned to Madeline. She knew of her identical twin as well, the one they must be mistaking Lydia for. Leta was always wrapped up in more than shady deals. As many times as it would happen, Lydia would never get used to being caught up in Leta's dealings. She was worried she would, of course, say the wrong thing to reveal that she was not her sister. At the same time, she was concerned if she and Madeline turned back now, it would definitely show that something was amiss. She looked to Madeline for guidance again. Madeline gave Lydia her best reassuring look. Madeline was confident that their supernatural abilities could handle any surprises they might encounter. Still, she had learned more than once the perils of being too confident. She stayed at arms length to Lydia, knowing that Leta valued her personal space far more than anyone's company and touch. She then expressed deference to Lydia, awaiting her decision; Leta would never tolerate even a lover taking the lead in her business.

She knew if she was going to pull this off, she would need to step it up, and get in and out as quickly as possible. She picked her head up and confidently started down the stairs. They walked down the lighted stairs as the man politely followed behind them. As they approached the last steps it was clear it was some type of business or command center. Office desks and people on computers filled the surprisingly large space. There were geographical land maps and paper work on several large free-standing corkboards with hand written notes and arrows.

The man stood nearby Lydia. She said strongly, "Update me on the progress." He stood straight up and reported, "We have selected the suitable spot and all equipment is in place. He have calculated that it would work best in that area due to its low population, but we still calculate that between five to seven with in the area will be eliminated due to the hazardous conditions." She quickly took note of his easy way of explaining how people would die. She swallowed her distain and said, "Five to seven individuals?" He almost laughed, but then quickly went straight-faced as not to anger the woman who he assumed was Leta. He said, "Families."

Lydia understood her mistake while Madeline spoke to her. She turned from her back to the man and said harshly, "Look, I don't care what has to be done, but any lives lost on this operation is unacceptable. Why do I keep you around if you can't even pull something like this off without collateral damage" Maybe I should take this whole thing over myself." His interrogative eyes subsided and he said easily, "Ms. Tolmay, you are right. It would bring more unnecessary paperwork for us to cover up. I will lead the group and we will try to come up with a better solution." Lydia glared at the man. He jumped up into his straight posture again and said, "Not "try". We will. We will come up with a better solution."

Madeline felt a wave of relief. One could never be sure how these Lydia-Leta mixups would turn out. She was pleased this one did not end with Leta needing a recruitment drive; after all, this is one of her favorite dresses. Madeline did her best to avoid fighting, anyway, especially since once the blood started to spill she enjoyed it far too much for her later comfort. She brushed the thought aside. There was work to be done. She moved into the background again (as much as she loved attention, she could avoid it almost as easily as gather it) and tried to ascertain what Leta was up to. Her vampiric eyesight allowed her to read from a safe distance, so she began to leisurely wander around the room, the click of her heels going relatively unnoticed due to the great tension and fear built by Lydia's last outburst. True, she was exerting a small measure of supernatural domination to keep the henchmen's attention away, but not too much. They served Leta, after all, so surely they would know what such dominance felt like after the fact.

Lydia just wanted to leave. She watched Madeline and said bluntly, "Come." She turned to the man and said harshly, "Just get it done." She began to confidently walk towards and up the steps, hoping Madeline would be able to follow safely. Madeline sighed, as though she were resigned to follow Leta's command but only begrudgingly so. She walked leisurely toward the stairs. As they came up the stairs, a man guarding the door held it open for them and shut and locked it behind them as they entered back into the restaurant. Lydia took a long sigh of relief. She turned to Madeline. "Well, I think after that, I've lost some of my appetite," she smiled and continued, "Although, whatever we order would most certainly go on Leta's tab." Madeline smiled. "I hear the wine selection here is excellent...?

END