Two days had passed since the message had been sent. It was thirty minutes before ten o' clock, the meeting time. Dimitri waited in the sky loft above the basement in which many of the city's vampires had already assembled. He stared out at the lights of downtown Houston, a scowl on his face. The situation had been escalating quickly. He had known of this HUNTER group, but he had not expected for them to be so efficient in their quest. This fact and the blatant stupidity of his own people infuriated him. None of this would be a problem if his vampires would keep a sufficiently low profile; he planned to address both of these problems tonight.<br/><br/>"Excuse me sir, but it's about time for me to leave. All the preparations are in order."<br/><br/>Without turning to his secretary Dimitri responded, "Leaving? I had assumed you'd stay by my side, Regina."<br/><br/>"With all due respect, sir, I have no intention of being around your mosh pit of leeches. I will have that meeting you wanted with the CIA arranged and ready by the morning. Night."<br/><br/>With a small smile he nodded, thus dismissing her from the building. One day he'd have to turn her; she was just too interesting to let go. With that thought he walked to the elevator, made his way down to the basement, and stepped up to a podium overlooking at least 600 vampires. "Welcome friends..." The chatter that previously filled the room died down instantly as Dimitri's grave tone spread across the room. Everyone could tell that what came next wouldn't be any fun.