Our usual place was the park. The sun was low and there wasn't anyone around. No joggers, pet walkers, exhausted parents, no one. So much for blending in, then again, most parents didn't want their children to go outside anymore. Vampires could swoop in and carry them off.
Luckily, I had the Sector Police to give me a ride and protect me. I'd called them asked for an escort to the park because I was meeting someone. I was afraid reporters had snuck in or paid someone to stalk me. All of it could be true so I didn't exactly lie. At least, the top brass had been kind enough to prohibit any kind of reporting in the area - mostly around my house - for safety purposes. From what happened to that girl in school, I could easily imagine something like that happening everywhere else too.
Walking towards the park, I waved at the SUV parked by the side of the road. They were going to wait for me.
Reaching the bottom of the hill, I picked one of the picnic tables and sat down. There was a nice, gentle breeze playing with some tree branches above me. I had brought a sweater with me in case the temperature dropped. Apparently, there was a high chance of rain but I didn't trust the weatherman.
The ice-cream shop across the street had closed for the day. In case someone asked, I was going to tell them I was enjoying a nice day and ice-cream but that plan was ruined. I fiddled with the zipper of my sweater, zip up, zip down, up -
I glanced around. Why wasn't Carlos here already? I told him an hour. Pursing my lips, I looked at my phone. No messages. He better not leave me hanging, I thought. I'll murder him. Then again, he probably had ties to larger terrorist cells so I couldn't exactly be seen. In this day and age, there was bound to be a hitman for hire, right?
"You waited long?"
The voice came from behind me. My heart lurched in fright. Forcing a smile on my face, I looked at Carlos.
"H-hey," I stuttered out. Oh, gosh. Someone smack me. I cleared my throat. "I was wondering where you were at. Didn't think you were going to make it."
Carlos shoved his hands into his grey sweater. With a smile, he walked to the other side of the table and sat. I tucked both legs underneath the table.
"I have to admit," he began. "I was surprised when you sent me that message."
I shrugged. "I don't know. It's just that the whole thing freaked me out, you know? That could have been anyone. It's terrifying."
Carlos nodded. "I know what you mean. I thought the same thing when that bastard attacked you at school." His voice darkened. "He should have been punished."
I dropped my gaze to the table. The wood was faded, worn away. Parts of it had been chipped off.
"He's the Prince," I said quietly. "He has immunity."
"Yeah? Well, not for long."
My heart lurched again. Was this it? Was he going to tell me that the Purists had been behind this all along?
"I'm glad you came around," Carlos continued. "Pat thought you couldn't be trusted but see," he gestured to the space between us, "here you are, wanting to do something about the Prince."
"Yup," I supplied.
I waited for him to say anything else but he didn't. Carlos looked off at the horizon with a strange look on his face. I cleared my throat.
"So," I said, pushing an imaginary loose hair behind my ear. "What's the first move? Are we going to grab some posters and have a protest march?"
Ugh, saying it made it sound weird. He had to be able to tell that I didn't sound right. Maybe I could blame it on a cold or something.
"There's already going to be a march," Carlos said after a while. "We're aren't involved in that."
I frowned. "What are you involved in?"
He looked at me.
"I mean, well, yeah. I asked you to meet me because I don't want the Prince highjacking another car and crashing it into places." I shrugged. "Pat seemed like the person who had big plans. I mean, that video. It did the trick."
Carlos frowned. "What about the video?" he asked suspiciously. "Are you saying that you don't believe what you saw?"
"What? No, that's not it."
I swallowed thickly and tried to gather my thoughts. He wasn't admitting to anything. Smart, but also extremely frustrating.
"You know the vampire supporters are going to call the video fake. It's obvious. As long as it's not fake -"
"It's not."
"O-okay," I said hesitantly. "As long as you're sure. I hate to be the devil's advocate but if the video was fake -"
"Why do you keep saying that?"
He knows! I cleared my throat. Get it together Rin. Distract him!
"That it's fake?" I said. "I don't want to frame someone, that's all. We all know the Prince is guilty, but I don't want to prove that to everyone by any underhanded means."
"Pat says it's real. She has some witness that saw it. You heard the news. Everyone who was there confirmed it was the Prince."
"Alright," I said. "The video is real. Good to know."
The only problem was that I still wasn't close to figuring out the truth. Maybe the Prince lied, a voice whispered in my head. He has lied before. But this time, the Prince seemed desperate. He doesn't have any support from his family.
"Just let me know what I can do," I told him.
I glanced at the darkening sky and stood. "I should go, it's getting late."
Carlos simply nodded and waved. I waved. Plan D . . . probably didn't work out the way it should. But no matter. Infiltrating took time. Unfortunately, the Prince didn't have a lot of time and my patience was also wearing thin.
I needed to get back into that base. They probably were still stationed there. A smart group would have moved as soon as they let a stranger into their base. The only way to get in there was through Carlos. Somehow, I had to convince them all that I was on their side. Easier said than done.