Tonight, she was again holding one of such meetings to pass on the message she had received from the messenger dressed in a biker jacket who had visited her at her office.

She placed her purse on a dresser and walked over to the wine bureau, helping herself to a glass of Dom Pérignon as she awaited the arrival of the other members of the council.

A Mercedes Benz GLS 550 SUV pulled to a stop at the front of the hotel. Like most vehicles that arrived there, it was also chauffer driven. The back door opened even before the chauffeur could get down from behind the wheels, a large black man dressed in an expensive black, Italian suit opened the rear right door and got out of the SUV. In his right hand, he held a small wooden staff with a strange carving on it. He had one of the fiercest and meanest faces the doorman, who had seen him regularly, had noted.

The big man stared up and down the street with his searching eyes taking in every face and movement before he proceeded towards the entrance of the hotel, ignoring the doorman as he walked by.

The man boarded the same elevator that had taken Cathy up earlier and soon arrived at the door of the suite. He noticed the green light was on and saw the touchpad. He placed his hand on the touchpad and had it scanned before the door once again opened after several metallic clicks.

Abubakar Bello was the Nigerian owner of a multi-billion dollar telecommunications firm which had spread it's tentacles into almost every African country, and was gradually gaining grounds in the Middle East and Asia. For a man from the streets, he had done very well for himself in all ramifications. Abubakar had been a street kid back in Lagos many years ago, born to a Muslim family ravaged by poverty, Abubakar had learnt to do several un-Islamic things to survive in the tough Nigerian city. He had joined notorious street gangs, robbed, and on some occasions, killed to stay alive.

Robert had found him one day, after he had stood up to the leader of a rival gang and physically subdued the much bigger man, and had believed that the Nigerian kid could be of some use to the brotherhood. Recruiting a young man who had felt the ugly bite of poverty had not been difficult for the former leader of the brotherhood as the boy willingly gave his full allegiance to Lucifer, totally abandoning Allah and the ways of Prophet Mohammed; ways he had practically abandoned even before Robert came into the picture, and he had proved his usefulness to the brotherhood on countless occasions over the years.

His vast and ever present affiliation with the men of the underworld had proved of immeasurable benefits to the brotherhood, and they relied on him to get some dirty jobs done. Cathy knew that Abubakar also used his connections with the crime world in most of his business deals, intimidating and sometimes killing any opposition that stood in his way towards the achievement of a business goal. Even she, like many of the other members of the brotherhood, had used Abubakar's contacts at one time or the other to further a business deal, and in most cases, it had been successful despite the messy outcomes on the part of the rival.

Abubakar was a cold-hearted operator who she was glad to have on her side. He was also a master in the dark arts as he had been practising petty African juju even before he was recruited and had advanced with the help of Robert and later Karl into the study of real mystical powers and how to control the elements.

He was the next in line to her and, though he was ambitious, he never tried to stab her in the back as that could bring the wrath of Lucifer upon him should he go against his anointed.

He marched straight to where she stood beside the wine bureau and dropped to his knees as he reached her, taking her left hand in his and kissing the ring on her finger, the ring which signified her position and authority in the brotherhood. It was a ring once worn by Robert Devore and later Karl Finch. It was specially blessed with powers by Lucifer himself and handed to the first leader of the brotherhood and served to protect the leader, giving him or her as the case was, powers beyond human comprehension. The powers of the ring had come into play to her benefit on many occasions not concerned with the affairs of the brotherhood.

She acknowledged the greeting with a nod. Abubakar rose to his feet. He towered over his supreme leader by more than a head and was massive in build. He reached across and took the bottle of Don Pérignon from the bureau where Cathy had placed it and retrieved a glass from the stack. He filled the glass and swallowed the drink in one long gulp which surprised Cathy. He filled his glass again and strode over to sit down on one of the chairs around a table which served as a conference table. There were six similar chairs like the one he was sitting on around the sides of the table and at the top was a different, much bigger chair with some carvings on it. Abubakar eyed the big chair briefly and slowly sipped his drink without saying a word.

Cathy stared at him. She had always tried to read his thoughts even with the help of the ring, but somehow he had developed the ability to cloud his thoughts and she had given up trying. He had always remained the mystical man at the council and nobody dared cross him. Even she was courteous with her dealings with him trying as much as possible not to rebuke him frequently and never publicly.

While they waited, a red Aston Martin sports car pulled to a stop in front of the hotel. The car CD player was blaring at the loudest as the man behind the wheel moved the gear stick to park and climbed out of the car with the engine still on. He was a man in his late forties, and from his dress, one could already tell he was in the entertainment business.

Ruud Van Bommel was a big sensation in Hollywood. Since arriving in the United States of America over twenty years ago from his native country of the Netherlands, and making his debut in a small low budget movie two years later, Ruud had grown from stride to stride in the entertainment business, winning many national and international awards over the years for his performance in movies he starred in. Movie makers fought and scrambled over each other to have him in their movies and his fan base spanned all over the globe.

As he started for the big hotel door, several people had already started staring and pointing at him in excitement. He flashed one of his trademark smiles and before he could take another step, he was mobbed by admirers all demanding for his autograph.

He finally managed to get rid of them then turned to the doorman, who was beaming as the movie star approached.

“Hey Herbert,” he said with a slight accent which always endears his fans to him. “How has it been around here?”

“It's been ok Mr. Van Bommel,” the man turned red in the face at having a big movie star remember his name and speak to him like a friend. “Welcome to the Waldorf Astoria.”

Ruud handed the remote device of the Aston Martin to the doorman along with three one hundred Dollar bills, patting him in the back as he walked into the hotel. This has always been a ritual with the movie star whenever he visited. He always tipped the doormen well and everyone always wished they were on duty when he arrived.

The doorman knew where the movie star was going to and couldn't help wonder what a nice guy like that would be doing with a man like the scary African. But then, he'll never know what went on in that very secure suite on the third floor and he had learned to mind his own business around here.

Ruud strode through the lobby, acknowledging greetings from people as he went by, and gained the elevator. It was empty for which he was thankful. When he had made the deal years ago with the devil for fame and wealth, he didn't know fame brought with it so much stress. He had to put on a smile even when he was not in the mood for it and the crowd was beginning to choke him. He had started limiting his public appearances, but then it still didn't seem to help matters as they always found a way to pester him with their star worship.

As a boy growing up in a small Dutch village some miles from Zeist, born to a modest village farmer, Ruud had always imagined becoming a big-time movie star, living the flamboyant lifestyle that came with such career. He never saw himself continuing the age long family tradition of dairy farming.

Even before Robert came along, he had always imagined having a deal with the devil and, as if to answer his silent prayers, Robert found him one day when he had gone to Amsterdam to watch a rock group performing in the big city and took a liking to him. Recruitment, like in the case of Abubakar, was easy. Ruud had practically jumped at the offer of having all his dreams come true and had taken the deal, marking it with his own blood.

As promised, changes started coming in his life. He was offered roles in small theatres, then moved to America where he got another small role which shot him to limelight. Since then, things had been all rosy for him, except for the incessant attention demanded by his ever growing fans.

He never kidded himself into believing he got where he was on his own. He knew the deal he had agreed to, was the determining factor, that had opened doors in the entertainment industry for him, and he never for one day forgot that.

He reached the door of the suite and placed his hand on the touchpad and, once again, the door was opened for him and he walked in. Like Abubakar had done before him, he walked straight to Cathy and going on his knees, also kissed the ring.

She acknowledged the greeting and he rose to his feet. He walked over to Abubakar and patted the big Nigerian on the shoulder. Like most members of the council, he was always uneasy around the African. His stony looks did not make liking him any easier.

“How has it been?”

Abubakar simply nodded and continued his drink. Ruud nervously strode towards a chair far from the Nigerian, trying as much as he could to hide his nervousness. Cathy could see how uncomfortable he was and guessed Abubakar saw it too. She battled to keep a straight face even though she wanted to laugh as loud as she could. She did not blame the entertainer, his line of business despite his affiliation with Hell, did not prepare him for encounters with such characters, and besides, Abubakar had the same effect on virtually all the members of the brotherhood.

Next to arrive in a sleek custom Mercedes Benz S500 sedan was the German billionaire, Mesut Baumann. He was a big, blonde haired man also in his late forties. Dressed in black, well-tailored suits, he looked almost as intimidating and formidable as the African who had arrived before him.

The doorman stepped forward smartly and opened the rear door of the big German automobile as the owner of Baumann Group International stepped out from the car. He was almost as tall as the African, the doorman noted, with a big frown on his face and the doorman instantly knew he wasn't getting any tips from the big man.

Like the African before him, Mesut also had a very dark background. His grandfather had been a wanted former SS officer who had fled to Argentina after the defeat of Germany with his wife and son. The old man had been hunted down years later by Mossad, but he had gone down fighting rather than face a war crime tribunal of any kind. His father, already vast in the area of organized crime had returned to Germany after the wall was brought down, uniting East and West Germany, but had been slaughtered on the streets of Berlin when a deal had gone bad.

Mesut managed to stay alive with the help of a few of his father's former employees who were still loyal to the Baumann family, despite their dwindling fortunes. That was when Robert Devore had come into the stage. He offered Mesut a chance to avenge the death of his father, as well as regain the territories and all the wealth and affluence he had lost to his family's rivals, and more, if he agreed to sign a deal with his blood. Mesut had asked what kind of deal that was and had bluntly turned down the offer when Robert had explained what the deal required.

Persuasions, most of which had come in life threatening forms, had been used to help him make up his mind and accept the deal. As promised, he had been able to personally avenge his father, and had reclaimed all that had been lost from those who took them from his family. His employees, who had remained with him during the difficult times, he rewarded handsomely, and those who had joined the enemy, he had hunted down and dealt decisively with. He earned the reputation of a man who was not to be crossed, a very ruthless man.

With his fortunes changing for the better, he had ventured into many areas of business, achieving success wherever he ventured into. He had built a legally registered company which was gradually spanning all over Europe, dealing with almost everything ranging from electronics to textile. He had also gained considerable influence with the German government as well as some other European governments, and that had made business easier for him.

Despite his legal ventures, he still maintained close ties with organized crime in Europe and had brought his affiliations with these characters to great use on many issues, sometimes on issues concerning the brotherhood.

He barely noticed the doorman as he marched with long measured strides into the hotel. He gained the elevator as the door was about to close and rode up beside an evidently wealthy old woman, who kept complaining about the weather and how it had changed over the years.

Leaving the elevator with the talkative rich old woman still in it at the third floor, he strode over at the same pace to the door of the suite he had become accustomed to and after the mandatory scanning of his hand, the door opened and he walked in closing the door behind him.

He paused at the door for a moment taking in the occupants of the room, then walked over to Cathy and like the others before him had done, knelt down, and kissed the ring on her finger.

He straightened up immediately and also helped himself to a glass of Don Pérignon, then walked over to sit beside the big African. They exchanged handshakes and lapsed into discussion completely ignoring the movie star, who seemed more and more uncomfortable with the people in the room.