The safe house was on the outskirts of Paris, in Bobigny. Once again, our accommodations were underground while the tastefully furnished ground floor was for appearances only. The entire place was alarmed, of course; we let ourselves into the basement through a hidden door in the floor of a closet, using a keypad code.
There were three bedrooms; I would have been forced to sleep on the small sofa, otherwise. The sofa wasn't long enough for either Russell or Radomir to sleep on comfortably, so I was thankful for the third small bedroom. Radomir got the suite with the bath; Russell and I shared the second bathroom.
Neither of my companions offered information on where we were going the following evening, and I didn't ask. Russell did ask me after we were settled in if I wanted to go sightseeing in Paris. Humorous, I know—only vampires might plan sightseeing trips after midnight. I did want to see as much of it as I could, so all three of us went out into a warm Paris evening. I'd never been anywhere near France before; I'd lived in Oklahoma all my life and the closest I'd gotten to a foreign country was Mexico. My British driver's license listed an address in Kent; the U.S. license gave an address in New York. Also somewhere I'd never really been. A car was available at the safe house for our use, so Radomir drove us around for a while. At times, I caught a slight smile playing about his mouth but didn't say anything. I honestly believed that Radomir was enjoying himself, and Russell certainly was. I saw the Eiffel Tower, the Arc de Triomph and we passed close to Notre Dame de Paris; it was on an island, along with the Palais de Justice.
Radomir parked after a while and we walked along sidewalks where a few cafés and nightclubs were still open. There's a different smell to Paris. I was inundated with coffee, food, humans, perfume—all sorts of things. "It used to be a nightmare to walk down some of the sidewalks; the smoke from cigarettes would be so thick," Radomir informed me. "They passed a law recently banning smoking in all public places so the air has cleared up somewhat."
Since my nose is so sensitive now, it is difficult to stand near anyone smoking. The smokers at the courthouse where I used to work would congregate in an area outside and a little cloud would rise over their heads whenever several of them got together. The smell didn't bother me as much back then. "So, vampires don't smoke, huh?" I asked quietly.
Russell laughed. "Not unless they're on fire," he replied.
"Hey now, don't even kid about that," I swatted at him.
My shower was a little rushed the following evening so Russell could get cleaned up. Loading into the car quickly, we drove away from Paris, heading into the Champagne Valley somewhere. I watched the countryside roll past for an hour or so until Radomir pulled the car to a stop on a narrow lane. A charming (and rather large) chateau sat on a pretty hill off in the distance. "We can't give any names," Radomir told me as he unrolled a roughly drawn map of the chateau onto the hood of the car (or bonnet, as Russell says). "There's a vent here," he indicated a spot on the lower level. "It leads into the kitchen. We believe the items in question are locked away somewhere in a basement or underground storage area. You'll have to find the vault and extract them." Radomir handed over a velvet bag. It was perhaps a fourteen-inch square of black fabric with a heavy cord drawstring. Slipping the drawstring over my head, I allowed the bag to hang around my neck while I wait for further instruction.
"Now, turn to mist and see if you can do this," Radomir said. Russell was giving me encouraging looks so I concentrated, slowly turning to mist. Russell timed it.
"Four minutes, twenty-three seconds," he said. I floated over their heads, making my way quickly toward the chateau.
The designated vent was harder to find than I thought and precious minutes were wasted while I searched for it. It was past midnight already and time might become a larger factor before all was said and done. Once I located the vent and slipped inside, I swept through a kitchen that hadn't been updated in the past two centuries. The remainder of the chateau itself was richly decorated in Louis XIV furniture, with paintings appropriate to that period hanging on walls and luxurious fabrics covering windows. Somebody had a taste for obscene wealth, that much was certain. And Radomir had failed to tell me that the vampire in residence was not only at home, but entertaining guests. That worried me more than a little as I floated through the chateau quickly, searching for a means to get below ground level. Locating a locked door that led downward, I misted through an old-fashioned keyhole and sped down narrow steps. The vault where the tiaras were was underground, all right, with a thick, locked metal door sealed tighter than a hatch on a submarine. A tiny, oval window allowed me to see a part of what rested inside, and I could only imagine that some wealthy monarchs might be jealous of this vault's contents. The door would only open if I had the proper code to punch in on a lighted keypad to the right, and that stymied me. I floated up and down the impenetrable door's length, exploring it carefully, searching for a crack or some other way in. The better part of half an hour passed during my examination of the door, but I was still unable to find even a hint of a crevice to slip through. I might have had to go back to Radomir and Russell, admitting defeat by door, if the master of the house hadn't decided to show off his treasures to one of his guests. His voice filtered down to me as a key turned in the more conventional door above, so I hovered in a corner, waiting for him to come down the stairs.
He was handsome; no doubt about that, with dark blond hair that curled slightly, a sensuous mouth and warm brown eyes. If I hadn't known him for a thief, I might not have minded talking with him sometime. He spoke in rapid French; therefore, I didn't understand a single word he said as he punched a code on the keypad to allow his guest inside. I might pick my way through written French but my college French classes were mostly useless in the real world. What I did understand was the hatch opening with the same sound a very tight door on a freezer might make. Airtight, indeed. I floated inside, right above his head. His friend, not nearly as handsome with brown hair and eyes, dutifully admired the tiaras at length while I watched. After roughly ten minutes had passed the two vampires walked out again, locking me, the tiaras and a king's ransom in other treasures inside the vault.
If I could have gulped I might have, but one thing I noticed while I was there was that everything was alarmed. There was a small digital readout on the pad the tiaras rested upon, and right next to it was another pad with a necklace sitting on it that had enough rubies and diamonds to support me for a very long time. Many other items were spread around the room, all out in the open so their owner could come in and peruse them at his leisure. Every single one of them alarmed, of course. This vampire was taking no chances, but I was. I was taking a big chance. Taking a huge chance because if my plan didn't work, I was a very dead little vampire. Russell and Radomir would have to go back to England and explain to Wlodek and Merrill that I'd made a foolish mistake and died because of it.