Revenge of the Heir

Invitation

The next morning Eric found himself boarding a flight to Washington DC as he had to do this meeting in person. Normally it would be impossible to get a same day flight, but he found that he had access to one of only a few private jets, and he made a call he never expected too as he walked on and saw it could fit atleast a dozen people.

"Knight Attorneys at Law, how can I help you." the receptionist asked as he took his seat.

"I need to speak with Ms. Melissa Knight." he replied as the door of the jet was shut.

"May I ask who is calling?" she asked him.

"Eric Heinrich." he answered before he was placed on hold.

"We will take off in roughly 25 minutes sir. The pilots are performing their final checks now." the stewardess told him as he nodded. "Can I get you anything to drink?" she asked.

"Coffee please, hazelnut creamer." he replied.

"This is Melissa, now would this be Eric Christensen perhaps?" she asked knowingly.

"Yes Melissa, it would be. The time for hiding is past however, and I am taking the position." Eric replied as he smiled at the reminder.

"What can I do for you?" she asked him as she pulled up some files.

"Where would the personal assets of my parents be located?" he asked as he heard a gasp.

"s**t, I was supposed to give you that file weeks ago. When will you be in DC again?" she asked him as he heard her rustling through some files.

"I will be taking off within the next half hour, and should arrive within 2 hours." he said as the jet began taxiing to the runway.

"Excellent, call me as soon as you finish at the White House, and we will meet for a meal. Do you know what it is you are looking for? There are a few locations that the items are located at." Melissa said quickly.

"That I am not entirely sure on, my Fiancé is looking for something to do with our wedding so I would assume something along those lines." Eric replied as he heard a chuckle.

"That would be the residence here in Washington." Melissa answered knowing that was where Joanne had kept all of those items. It was where they had spent the most time, and most of her heirlooms were located.

"I guess you will get to meet her than, how about we schedule dinner around 1800?" he asked her.

"I will set the reservation and will text you the details." Melissa said as she hung up and Eric dialed a number.

"Hey, what's up?" Holly asked as she recognized his cell number on the caller ID.

"How long would it take for you to get to the airport?" he asked quickly.

"I am guessing it is let's go, so 15 minutes." she replied knowing her driver could manage it.

"Good, take off is in about 20 minutes." he said as he saw the door open and 3 people came on board. His security team entered and began sitting around him.

"I will be there." she said as she hung up and he put his phone in his pocket.

"I get the feeling that our job is going to get a lot harder very soon." James Hunter stated as they looked out the windows.

"What makes you say that?" Eric asked him.

"I get the feeling you are headed to DC to tell them you will be announcing yourself several weeks ahead of schedule." Hunter said as he looked at Eric.

"You're not wrong." he replied as he looked at the other two as they kept looking out. "Relax guys, once we get there you will have plenty of time to be jumpy."

Hunter chuckled as the other two sat back in their seats, as the plane made its way to the runway. They had just got to the next in line position when the door was opened and Holly came aboard with the other 3 man team that made up the rest of his personal security detail. "Right on time, we have a 70 minute flight ahead of us. Where will we be going once we arrive?" he asked Eric.

"White House, where we will likely be for a short time before heading to the Hall of Representatives." Eric told him as the others nodded.

"How long do we have before the ceremony?" Lucas Smith asked. He was carrying a sniper rifle across his back, and was still standing in the entryway.

"A week." Holly said as she sat down next to Eric where they could see all 6 of them easily.

"Yup, after that it is going to get real." Brian Titus said with a smile as the others agreed with him.

Eric laughed as he looked at them. "I would gladly trade any of you jobs for a week." he said making them all laugh. They all knew that despite how easy his job seemed so far, that it actually took a lot of skills to do what he had already managed to accomplish.

"Not a chance sir." Hunter said as the rest of them relaxed further as the plane took off.

2 hours later they arrived at the White House, and the Secret Service was surprised to see his security personnel arrive armed.

"You cannot bring weapons inside the White House grounds." Eric heard the gate guard say as he opened his door. The first car had his guard detail, and he had clearly posted his Lord Flag Decals on each of the corners of the hood.

"Since when are Lords Security required to disarm when entering the White House?" he demanded as he stepped away from the door and 2 of his guards got out of each of the vehicles to cover him.

"Members of the Lord's Council Security Details are permitted to enter with their weapons. However you must answer the challenges prior to us assuming you are indeed a Lord. As far as I was aware, Lord of the Heinrich Family has not risen yet." the guard said indignantly.

Eric chuckled as he looked at the man as the Voice of the Empire stepped out of his vehicle behind Eric's.

"Lord Heinrich, what seems to be the issue here?" he asked Eric as the guard suddenly wiped the smirk off his face.

"It seems I have not risen to the rank of Lord yet, and this guard was just about to explain why my security detail is not permitted to enter the White House with me." Eric said making the Voice laugh as he looked at the guard before he looked at Eric's vehicles and saw the diplomatic flags of the Lord's Council.

"Hmmm, he must know something I do not as I can see the flags myself from here. What is it you do know about this that I do not Master Sergeant?" the man in the Crimson Suit demanded.

"I know nothing sir, it was simply a misunderstanding." he said quickly knowing he was neck deep in s**t at the moment.

"THAN I suggest you quit blocking my access and clear my security team for entry immediately!" Eric said as his Aura slipped from his control and froze the man in place as the air seemed to chill dramatically.

"Yes sir Lord Heinrich!" the Sergeant said as he saw the Voice of the Empire shiver as he reigned in the effect of it. They watched as the Sergeant quickly inspected the vehicles to ensure that there were no explosives before clearing them for entry.

They all entered at roughly the same time, and Eric was quickly cleared to enter as they had witnessed his explosion at the gate guard.

"Well it is nice to see you again Lady Holly." he said as they entered the White House and were lead to the Oval Office for the President of the Empire.

"What is your name, it seems weird to just call you the Voice?" she asked him as the walked up the stairs.

The man laughed as the reached the level they were meant to be at, and began walking down the hallway before he replied to her. "Lady Holly, as much as I appreciate the gesture, it is not something I can reveal. You must see me as nothing more than the Voice of the Empire." he said as the 3 of them entered the Oval Office waiting area.

"Dear, it is something we cannot know. As much as I think he would be an interesting man to get to know, it is not permitted." Eric told her as the door opened and Chief of Staff Patrick Denver walked out of the office.

"Lord Heinrich, President Tycho will see you now." Mr. Denver said before he invited them both in.

They both entered and Tycho looked at them as they entered, both of them proud to be there.

"What brings you here today?" Tycho asked them from his desk.

"Well it was suggested that we should announce ourselves soon. We came to start the process." Eric said to him as he looked up.

"When would you like your ceremony?" Tycho asked as he finally saw Holly.

"We would like you to preside over our wedding next week." Holly said proudly as he had to do so for each of the Lord's and Ladies.

"I can think of no one better to ascend with him. Report to Congress with my blessing." Tycho said as he had not expected this development so quickly. He still had 4 weeks before he was announced regardless. The Congressional Vote was public record, as the Lord's Council split the duties of running the Imperial Armed Forces.

"Will do." Eric said as he bowed and the two of them walked out of the office.

They spent 5 hours in Congressional Hall, as three separate committees had to approve them both before the measure could be taken to the floor. Each of them had questions, as they had only reviewed his file thoroughly behind closed doors. Due to Congressional rules, after the Committee Votes had passed, it would be 3 days before the Vote could happen in both Chambers.

When they finally got into their cars with their security team, he had informed them where the dinner would be at, and he was pleased to learn that Chef Maestro was at this particular restaurant tonight.

He smiled as he showed Holly that he was cooking tonight, and Melissa had reserved the VIP table.

"We are so going to have to bribe him tonight." she said as she smiled making Eric laugh knowing what she was thinking.

"We will see." Eric said as Hunter looked at him in the rearview with a curious expression.

"You know I am going to try." she said defiant making all 4 of the men laugh.

They pulled into the restaurant, and two of the men exited the car with them as the other team was already on site. They walked right into the restaurant, and Eric smiled as Melissa met them at hostess stand.

"Welcome to Maestros DC, what is the name of your reservation?" she asked.

"Knight." Melissa said before Eric could say anything.

"VIP table is ready if you are." she replied as she had their reservation marked urgent.

"Is Chef Maestro doing tableside service tonight?" Eric asked.

"I could ask him if he would be willing." she replied knowing that the answer would likely be no.

"Tell him that Mr. Christensen has a proposal for him if he would be willing to hear it." Eric said as she nodded.

"I will ask him as soon as you are seated." she said as she took them over to the VIP table that was next to the station. The 3 of them sat down at the table and enjoyed the complimentary drinks while the hostess walked back to the kitchen while the waitress came and took their drink orders first as she had been informed to hold off on the question to the Chef.

The hostess quickly walked back and turned the station on as the waitress returned. "Chef Maestro said he will be preparing a special meal for the guest, and that he will have the pairings for the meal." she said as she looked at Eric.

"Chef Maestro says he would be delighted to hear your proposal." she said before she walked back to the front of the house.

It took 10 minutes for Chef Maestro to enter the VIP area, and smiled as he saw Eric and Holly sitting in his booth again. He saw the newcomer as well, and was a little surprised at how attractive she was.

“Mr. Christensen, Ms. Dawson, another date tonight?” he asked looking at them. “You must introduce me to your beautiful guest tonight.” He said as he grabbed her hand and kissed the back of it.

“Melissa Knight, may I introduce Chef Maestro. Maestro, my attorney Ms. Melissa Knight.” Eric said as he introduced the two of them to each other.

“Maestro Duncan Ms. Knight, and I must say the pleasure is all mine tonight. So what is it you wished to propose Mr. Christensen?” he asked as his assistants began moving the ingredients to the cooking area.

“Actually I would like to propose it, as our first date was in your restaurant. I was wondering if you would be interested in doing the catering for our wedding?” Holly asked him making Maestro chuckle.

“Are you sure you could afford such an extravagant dinner for your guests?” Maestro asked her as Holly smiled and Melissa about choked.

“I am sure that it would not be an issue for me, the question is more along the lines of do you think you could cook at your level for say 250 guests?” Eric asked him with a smile.

“Simple my young man, with my team it would take no time at all.” Maestro replied as Holly smiled.

“No Chef, the 250 would be for you. Your team can cover the other 750 guests.” Holly said as he looked at her.

“How long would I have to plan for this auspicious event?” Maestro asked her clear that he was entertaining the idea.

“6 days, the event is next Friday.” Holly said with a smile as he began cursing in French for a moment as he looked at her.

“What is in it for me? That level of preparation would be intense, and will cost millions.” Maestro asked as it was clear he was almost not interested.

“Well I was going to save this detail for a bit later, but how about the exclusive video rights to the wedding of Lord Heinrich? You are more than welcome to use it for your show, and even a live event would go over well.” Eric said as his assistants stopped what they were doing as Maestro's jaw dropped.

“Why would I be interested in the exclusive rights to a Lord’s Wedding?” he demanded as it was clear he was toying with the idea.

Melissa snorted as she looked at Maestro. “Is it you that retains the rights to the episodes of your show?” Melissa asked him and he nodded.

“Wi, the rights for the episodes from my show belong to me.” Maestro replied.

“Than that would give you exclusive rights to their first date, and their wedding. Surely that would be worth something, especially as you would be allowed to prepare whatever dishes you wish for the reception itself, as well as the cake for the Lord’s Wedding. Along with a considerable cash payment, what do you have to lose?” Melissa asked him.

“That would be fine and dandy, but I think I would remember serving a member of the Lords Council a meal on my show.” Maestro said indignant making both Holly and Melissa snort with laughter as Eric smiled.

“Chef Maestro, allow me to reintroduce myself. I am Lord Eric Heinrich.” Eric said as he looked at the man dead seriously. “Name your price, and it shall be yours along with the right to choose the dishes that will be served, and how many of them you prepare yourself. My only requirement would be for 10 people that their dishes would be required be prepared by you personally.”

Maestro looked at him like he had grown a other head, and he was at a loss for words of what he was experiencing in that moment. “Lord?” he asked Eric simply after he managed to close his jaw.

“Indeed, the rest of what we told you for the show was accurate.” Eric told him as Maestro’s phone rang.

“Imagine that.” He said as he answered the phone. “Your ears must be itching, because I was about to call you.” He said into the phone as he put it to his ear and listened.

“Not a chance next week, tell them we have a scheduling conflict. Get the entire team from all of the restaurants here for next week.” Maestro said after several minutes. “I don’t care what it costs, or who the hell they think they are. The person I am talking to is offering-“ he said before it was clear he was cut off.

“No contract is valid until it bears my sign-“ he began to say as he looked at Eric and a smile came to his face. “Fine, we will pay the fee. Tell them to never contact me again, and get my teams here now.” Maestro said into the phone and Eric could tell that this caused another explosion from the other end.

“Of course we will pay it. Per the contract we have 30 days to pay any penalties as a result of a failure to provide contractual terms. Until that payment is late they cannot reassign my crew, as they are under my direct employment. As such if they fail to send my crews to me, I will ensure the penalty in the contract I am about to sign on their behalf is 5 times what they just quoted me.” Maestro said as Eric heard the yelling from across the table.

“Put them on speaker phone.” Eric said as Maestro held the phone away from his ear.

“What the hell makes you think we would get another chance to get into one of the Lord’s Council’s good graces again?” the man on the end of the line asked.

“Let me guess, Kevin Heinrich is asking for his daughter’s birthday to be catered by Chef Maestro?” Eric asked and they all heard a clear grasp on the other end. “I assure you that catering that event if it is next Friday, will not get you into the good graces of anyone on the Lord’s Council.”

“I don’t know who you think you are, but Congress themselves announced that the Lord of the Heinrich family would be revealed next week. Almost everyone knows that the position belongs to Kevin Heinrich.” The person in the office said indignantly.

Eric chuckled as he heard that. “I would be willing to bet that Lord Heinrich would be very interested to learn that he was suddenly aged 25 years and had his name changed. Kevin Heinrich is not now, nor even been the Heir to the Heinrich Family Lordship.” He said coldly enough that the man got the hint on the other end.

“Funnily enough he just signed a contract with me that if we did his daughter’s birthday next Friday, we would also get his Ascension Ceremony at the end of the month. If he fails to deliver he owes us the $100 million for the contract fees. Why should I believe you?” the man asked Eric.

“Well you will have your answer in 3 days when Congress holds the Vote for who will be the next Lord. I guess I will offer my $500 million to another celebrity Chef to have Lord Heinrich’s Ascension Wedding catered by.” Eric told the man as he hung up the phone. “Can you sign on their behalf?”

“My brother signed on my behalf, as he is the only one with the authority. You really going to pay $500 million?” Maestro asked knowing that it was a lot of money.

“Yes, that is the offer. $500 million, 1,000 guests total, you select the menu, wines, everything. It is done by you, and includes exclusive video rights to the wedding. We get a personalized copy for us, as well as a still photographer.” Eric offered as Maestro got an idea.

“Would either of you be opposed to a documentary style recording as well? That way the entire day is captured for you?” Maestro asked knowing there was great demand for that type of access.

“That would be perfect Maestro.” Holly said with a smile.

“Final question, is that the entirety of the budget, or is that what I have to work with for the meal?” he asked as he rubbed his hands together as he thought of the possibilities.

“The $500 million will be your budget, and whatever is left over is yours to keep.” Eric told him with a smile as he stood up straight.

“You have a deal Mr. Christensen, I will have the contract drawn up and delivered to you tomorrow.” Maestro said as he looked at his assistants. “Let us give the happy couple a sampling of what we can do, so they can choose some dishes for the event next week.” He said as the three followed him back to the kitchen for more ingredients.