Chapter 2 (Revised Version)

Gabrielle walked out of the cool mouth of the cave and into the hot and humid jungle night. She paused for a moment to listen to the other nocturnal creatures beginning their day: a chorus of chirps and croaks from thousands of insects and frogs; the intermittent breathy growls of a nearby leopard; the cries of birds and squeaks of bats in search of their first meal. The sounds of life surrounded her, blending together, forming a single symphony she normally found irresistible and she sighed, longing to simply stay there and listen until the sun rose again.

However, tonight she was on a mission. She'd gone too long without feeding on a human. The blood of the large cat she'd heard would do nothing to ease the madness she could feel creeping up on her, which was why she'd walked all last night to get to this cave, so she could wake up with only a few miles between her and the nearest village.

With night vision clearer than any of the other monsters roaming the jungle, Gabrielle picked her way through the trees strewn with thorny vines and headed north, looking for one tree in particular near the edge of a trail. She came across small streams and broad thickets of brambles, but they did nothing to slow her down. She leapt twenty feet into the air and used the nearest trunk as a temporary landing, hooking one arm around its circumference while letting her bare feet grip the rough surface. She considered climbing higher so she could look out over the jungle canopy in the moonlight, but then her hunger reasserted itself and she pushed off, jumping another thirty feet towards her destination.

The trees ended much sooner than she'd expected. A few large vehicles sat idle among stacks of logs in a dirt clearing. Gabrielle gasped as she suddenly remembered what century it was. By her reckoning, the year was somewhere around 2040AD according to the modern Gregorian calendar, not the twentieth-something year of some reigning king of an ancient realm.

Is she still alive?

Anxiety filled her even as she quashed the thought automatically, but the fear lingered as she scanned the area, hoping to see the distinct shape of the tree she was looking for. After walking around to try different vantage points, she gave up. Her buried cache of clothes and local currency were no doubt long gone. They'd probably been destroyed during the logging process, or perhaps found and kept by some lucky worker.

"Hey!"

The site guard ran towards her as he continued to yell at her. It took a moment for her to register he was speaking Portuguese. More memories came back. Though she'd been searching for the cache in the right place, she'd confused where that place was in the world. She was currently in Brazil wandering around the Amazon rainforest, not the Congo in sub-Saharan Africa where they spoke French or Bantu or one of their local tribal languages.

That was a jaguar I heard earlier, not a leopard. I should've known that.

The guard was only a few dozen feet away. If she waited another few seconds...

No! He's just doing his job.

Gabrielle darted back into the trees, positive he wouldn't follow her into the dark jungle. He might even believe he'd imagined seeing her, since the speed of her movement would have made her seem to disappear right before his eyes, while her appearance lent itself quite well to the notion of a wild demon of the jungle. Her short blonde hair was surely a matted mess and the dried mud she'd smeared all over her body the previous night to give her a few extra moments in case she got sidetracked and accidentally stayed out too close to sunrise still coated her skin.

Now that she better understood when and where she was, Gabrielle was fairly certain she was still south of the Amazon River. If she continued heading north, she was bound to run into one of the many cities that bordered the river. There might still be ramshackle houses on the outskirts, but she was looking for skyscrapers now, not torchlit grass huts.

Soon, she could see the light pollution of a large city. She picked up her pace as she thought she recognized where she was. Her suspicions were confirmed when she came to a large expanse of water. This was where the Rio Negro met and emptied into the Amazon River, which meant the bright city on the other side had to be Manaus. She'd provisioned a small temperature controlled storage unit there with everything she would need to reenter human society, but she'd have to take care of the basics in order to get to it. Manaus also hosted an international airport, one that could take her all the way home.

In that moment, Gabrielle realized that was exactly what she wanted.

She took a few minutes to bathe in the river, washing off the mud and running her fingers through her hair, leaving it spiky, and then headed northeast towards the small port town where she would be able to steal some clothes and cash for one of the ferries.

Small rundown shacks lined the shore of the river, most with several canoes tethered to their docks. She considered whether to attempt to steal one of the boats and continue on her quest for clothing and money on the other side of the river. She would need such things either way, but it would be more difficult to run around naked in a major city.

Gabrielle left the small shacks behind and kept to the shadows as she made her way towards the open market. Most of the vendors were hawking local fruits and handmade trinkets for the tourists, but a few were selling mass-produced items, including T-shirts and shorts with eco-friendly slogans regarding the rainforest or pictures of local wildlife pasted on them.

Gabrielle dashed forward, slipping a hooded sleeveless sweatshirt and a pair of cargo shorts unnoticed from one of the tables, and moved away again in a blur. Her small frame accommodated both with room to spare. As she meandered barefoot through the crowd, she slipped a wealthy-looking man's wallet from his pocket and removed several bills. She made a mental note of the name and address on his ID, so she could anonymously reimburse him later, and then passed by him again to return the wallet to his pocket. She left one of the bills near the cash register of the unsuspecting clothing vendor and then made her way to the nearest docked ferry.

Half an hour later, she was in the heart of the city, threading her way between hundreds of tourists and locals who were enjoying their evening out on the brightly lit streets. As she walked, she could sense other vampires nearby and knew they must be able to sense her as well, as one by one they each moved to the edge of her range.

Gabrielle ignored them as she looked for an alley to slip into on her way to the darker sections of town, so she could begin her hunt. Then her gaze passed over a flashing marquee outside of a travel agency and she stopped in shock. She absently took several steps to the side to get out of the way of the people bumping and jostling her as they tried to walk around her, but her eyes never left the sign as she waited for it to cycle through the advertisements and the current temperature. Finally, it flashed the date again and she leaned against a nearby lamppost for support.

Friday, August 23, 2047

She shook her head as if to clear away the image, but the date remained the same. Marking time as the ancients had by only the moon and stars clearly hadn't been enough. With nothing to anchor her in real time, she'd spent too many nights lost in centuries long past.

She'd been gone for ten years, not the mere three she'd thought.

She'll be thirty now. I wonder if...

Gabrielle stopped the thought before she could finish it, though all the possibilities still flitted through the back of her mind. She did her best to sidetrack herself as she moved in the general direction of the long-term storage facility. Once she arrived, it took several tries, but she finally remembered her pin number, which was simply the year she'd left, and the unmanned security gate slid aside. She entered the code again at the door to the 10'x10' storage unit and heard the lock click open. She hit the light and looked around.

Everything was as she'd left it. There were several sets of vacuum sealed packages of clothing, along with a handheld steamer to remove the wrinkles that had surely set in after all this time. A sealed 5-gallon jug of water and several towels and toiletries would let her wash up better than she had in the river. And the few pieces of tech she would need to update her identity all seemed to be plugged in and ready to do her bidding.

The first thing she did was use the wireless tablet to securely log in to a hidden encrypted server, which took her through a simple wizard twice. The first time was to access her corporate account so she could issue herself a new credit card. The second was to update and reissue her New York State ID. The wizard automatically passed the updated information to the associated banking and official government databases through a backdoor, making it appear as if everything had come through legitimate channels. The wizard also grabbed the latest templates for both the ID and credit card and imported them into the card printer's software program.

She had to set the printer up twice, since they each used different blank cards and printing ribbons, but in just a few minutes, she had brand new cards that were indistinguishable from the government and bank issued ones, having been made using the same techniques on virtually an identical machine. She put the cards with her passport and money clip, which was already filled to capacity with local currency. Then she used the cell phone that had been plugged in next to the rest of the tech to call the appropriate number to activate the new credit card.

Next, she changed out of the stolen clothes and into a pair of black jeans and a black silk shirt, leaving the topmost buttons undone for a more casual look. She pulled on a pair of black boots and took several steps, trying to get used to the confinement of the tight clothes after so many years of running around without any restrictions. She shrugged her shoulders, knowing she'd acclimate soon enough.

Gabrielle drew on a long black hooded cloak and checked herself in the mirror that was leaning against the wall to her right. She'd chosen the articles of clothing because they were fairly generic and non-descript, making them timeless. The cloak was a little more conspicuous, but the last time she'd been among humans, she'd been dismissed as a harmless goth, so she hoped it would continue to provide her with the anonymity she sought.

She tucked her personal items into the interior pockets of the cloak and left the same way she'd come in.

At the first cell phone store she came across, she ordered a replacement for her outdated model, receiving a few odd looks at the decade-old device. She left and hailed a cab to take her to the airport. On the way there, she tried to order a jet from one of her holding companies, but the nearest one she owned wouldn't arrive until the following morning, so she bought a local jet and hired a flight crew at twice the going rate. At the moment, she didn't care how much it cost. She just needed to get home.

It wasn't until she was halfway through her seven-hour flight that she realized she still hadn't hunted, but there was nothing she could do about it.

While en route, Gabrielle accessed a hidden site to request clearance through customs, adding on that if there were any other vampires needing similar services at the same time, she wished to be kept separate from them. It was a common enough demand and her private key code was accepted immediately, though it didn't identify her to the person overseeing the request.

When the jet landed, three servants specially placed within airport security for just such occasions escorted her through customs and all the way out to a waiting limo. They were all new, so no one recognized her and she felt no need to indulge their curiosity. The driver dropped her off in the middle of Queens at her insistence and then sped away.

One look at the sky told her it was far too close to dawn for her to do anything but descend underground and head for the one place she was sure to get a meal: the Arena.

She found the nearest access point and dropped into the darkness. As she moved silently through the secret tunnels beneath the city, her body unconsciously navigated the twists and turns even after so long away, and she couldn't help hurrying.

Which was why when the tunnel came to an abrupt dead end, she nearly slammed right into it.

Gabrielle stepped back and tried to orient herself. She was sure this passage continued several more blocks before she would need to turn left into another section of tunnels, but clearly she was wrong. She pulled out her phone, entering several passwords to access the encrypted network, and loaded the current map of the tunnels.

A notation on the map dating from several years ago warned that this section of tunnel had collapsed, forcing them to close it off to avoid human detection. If she wanted to get to the next section of tunnels, she would have to go above ground for one block. A second notation reported that rerouting of the tunnel deeper underground was in the planning stages, but construction hadn't begun yet.

Gabrielle entered her location and destination to try to find an alternate route, but it was no use. Due to two other collapses in the past decade, this section of tunnels was completely cut off from the tunnels connected to the Arena.

Gabrielle felt the madness clawing at the back of her mind, urging her to make the mad dash above ground to get to the other set of tunnels. Though exposure even to indirect sunlight was extremely risky, she was fairly certain she could survive the run as long as she kept herself covered. That was the other reason she always wore a cloak.

The real danger was if she got sidetracked by the lure of a human. In her current mental state, she feared she would attack despite the consequences of prolonging her exposure, quite possibly long enough to kill her.

Gabrielle took a deep breath, holding the madness at bay by sheer force of will.

Distraction. I need a distraction.

She considered where she was and then headed for the nearest of her many private sanctuaries to wait for the sun to go down. She sat in the middle of the chamber and started where she'd left off on her messages while on her flight. She didn't reply to any of them since they were so old, but the content of the emails was steadily bringing her up-to-date, grounding her in the current time. She managed to get through several years' worth before finding the task no longer adequate as a diversion, so she moved to the internet to catch up on world events.

Eventually though, even that couldn't hold her attention and she spent the last few hours beneath the city in a battle of wills with herself, each moment an eternity as the sun made its inexorable crawl across the heavens, until finally she felt it dip below the protective edge of the earth once again.

Gabrielle exited the chamber, slipping through the small space she'd opened, and then pushed the section of wall concealing her secret tomb back into place until it appeared as if the stone wall was continuous. She also made sure to scuff the dust on the ground to eliminate the scraped tracks in front of the wall before she left.

She climbed up to street level, found the next section of tunnels she needed, and dropped back down. She held her breath the entire time to keep from scenting the blood of the humans nearby.

Gabrielle continued towards her earlier destination and exited the last tunnel into the basement of what appeared from the street to be an average office building. She came to a bank of elevators and pressed the button to call one to her, entering her access code to disarm the alarms that would alert the servants to an unauthorized entry.

She rode the elevator down and exited into a cavernous room ten stories beneath street level and seven stories high. The solid bedrock walls were reinforced by steel girders and concealed by concrete. She wondered how much longer they'd be able to secretly steer the humans' drilling around their subterranean structures. So far, they'd managed well enough through politics, bribes, and bureaucratic red tape, but the humans were getting more and more sophisticated and ambitious with their projects. Another hundred years and she didn't think they'd be able to do anything to keep the humans from expanding into occupied areas. When that happened, collapsing tunnels would be the least of their worries.

She quickened her pace around the enclosed central fighting ring at the bottom of the stadium until she reached the side entrance leading to the holding cells. The scent of the human servant inspecting the various weapons along one wall was overwhelming.

"Excuse me," Gabrielle said quietly, her jaw clenched to keep her fangs from extending.

The servant turned and bowed as soon as he saw her. He was new, so she didn't think he'd actually recognized her, just that she was a vampire.

"How may I be of service, Mistress?"

"Do you know the backgrounds of those currently in the holding cells?"

"Yes, Mistress, of course. We keep detailed records on all of the gladiators. I just finished writing up today's reports myself an hour ago."

"Are there any who have committed the crimes of rape, assault, or murder?"

"Yes, Mistress. There are several such criminals among those who were taken today. We figured they wouldn't be missed."

"Bring them to me."

"Mistress?"

Gabrielle stared at him impassively when he raised his gaze to peer at her in confusion, but he must've recognized the hungry look in her eyes because he suddenly nodded and turned on his heel, first walking quickly, then breaking into a jog.

The servant returned in record time with three other servants, all of whom pointed guns at seven handcuffed prisoners, who were attached to a single steel chain being led by the first servant.

"Mistress? The gladiators you requested."

Gabrielle looked them over. None of them stood out as being particularly more worthy of death than the next, and she strained against the urge to take them all, including the four servants.

"State their crimes."

The servant nodded as he stepped forward.

"This one killed her husband, then both her daughters before attempting to commit suicide and botching the job. She got off on a technicality and had been living on the streets for the past four months until one of our teams picked her up."

The servant moved on to the next one in line.

"This one is a serial rapist, but none of his victims have been willing to testify against him, so he's never been convicted. Unfortunately for him, his latest victim's sister is a servant for a member of the Eighth Order and we were able to track him down within a few days.

"This one shot his girlfriend when he caught her in bed with his best friend. He was released yesterday after two years on good behavior.

"This one molested his daughter and his niece, but his wife and her sister dropped the charges before he could be brought to trial. An informant at the police station was able to tip us off and we picked him up on his way home from work.

"This one beat her son until he suffered permanent brain damage. She was released from prison a few days ago after serving seven years.

"This one was beating his wife for the past few months, but one of her friends is a servant here, so we picked him up so she wouldn't have to deal with the police.

"And this one set his ex-wife's house on fire, killing her and their three children. He's been on the run for a month, but one of our scouts spotted him and picked him up before the police could."

Gabrielle assessed the captives again and made her choice. She was running out of time.

"Him and him," she said, pointing to the rapist and the arsonist.

"What do you want us to do with them?"

"Let them go."

The servant looked like he was about to question her again, but then obviously thought better of it. He brought out the keys to the handcuffs binding the two men and released them. As soon as they were both free, they took one look at Gabrielle and bolted.

The servant seemed about to shout for the others to go after the escapees, since they hadn't even moved to take aim, but then Gabrielle saw him stop and follow the gaze of his fellow servants until he was standing just as frozen as they were, just staring.

At her.

She realized the look on her face must've been quite frightening to bring out that instinctive prey response in the normally predatory humans. The servant looked like he might pee himself at any moment. A nudge from one of the others caused him to break eye contact. With shaking hands, he quickly led the remaining prisoners away, the other servants following with their guns steadily trained on their captives.

Gabrielle watched them go and then turned her attention to the men practically flying up the aisles in their attempt to reach one of the exits. She continued to watch them for another few seconds and then took off after them. She moved so quickly, she doubted they even knew she'd gone by them until they saw her standing in front of them. They skidded to a halt.

"Do you deny your crimes?"

The two men looked at each other. Gabrielle was sure they'd both heard the stories regarding vampires and their ability to detect lies. They were probably trying to decide how much truth those stories held.

The arsonist slumped to his knees, apparently realizing he wouldn't be able to escape death. The rapist didn't give up so easily.

"They wanted it. That's why they wouldn't lie about me in court."

Gabrielle stared at him. He almost believed what he was saying, but she could see the truth in his eyes. He was desperate to see himself as powerful and even now he was finding it hard to believe that he wasn't in control of the situation.

"You should've accepted the consequences of your actions. It would've been a lot less painful for you."

Unable to restrain herself any longer, Gabrielle grabbed him, pushed his head to the side, and bit down on his neck, her long fangs piercing his skin with ease. Gabrielle let the blood flow over her tongue and course down her throat, the thick liquid infusing her body with energy and power with every swallow.

As she continued to feed, she got a blast of his memories, an unfortunate side effect of hunting such filth sometimes, and his sins were laid bare in her mind. How he'd stalked the women, tormented them for an entire night in their own homes, then threatened them all with being gang-raped by his friends if he ever went to jail for it. Pure evil.

Before she could think better of it, she extended her claws and stabbed them into his groin, lifting his body up and away from her, needing to cause him the same kind of pain he'd inflicted on so many others. Part of her knew it was a waste of his blood as it poured out of him at both ends, soaking the front of his jeans as if he'd pissed himself, but she still felt a sense of satisfaction as his screams increased in volume at being impaled in such a way. She was vaguely aware that he was struggling against her with all his might, much as the women he'd tortured had fought against him, but it was short-lived, his strength evaporating as he lost more and more of his blood.

She drew a little harder to bring more of the wonderful substance into her mouth. The fear she felt coming off him in waves did nothing to hinder her enjoyment of it. Another piece of evil was dying in order to sustain her life. As it should be. As it had always been.

When she'd completely drained him, she retracted her fangs and then her claws, wiping her hand off on his clothes, and then let him fall to the floor in a crumpled heap at her feet. He deserved nothing better.

She turned around and found the other man still on his knees, patiently awaiting his fate.

"You're not going to fight?"

"No."

Gabrielle nodded.

"Good."

Gabrielle stepped over to him and raised him to his feet. She gently turned his head to the side and lowered her mouth to his carotid artery. Her fangs were so razor sharp, she doubted he even realized he'd been bitten until she started pulling on the wounds, slowly drawing his essence out of his body.

In an instant, she understood why he was so willing. He hadn't known his family was in the house. He'd thought they were at his ex-wife's new boyfriend's home. He'd just wanted the insurance money and a little payback against the woman who had destroyed his world. He'd never meant for anyone to get hurt, especially not his children. He'd been trying to get up the courage to end his life ever since. She was doing him a favor.

Gabrielle heard him moan and realized he'd probably caught a wave of pleasure from her enjoyment of his blood. The telepathic transfer worked both ways sometimes.

Gabrielle gripped the man tighter and sucked at the wound even harder. She was still in need, still hungry. She continued to draw out the thick hot blood from the man's body until only a wisp of a stream came at her insistence. The man had died at least a full minute before, his body giving out as too much of his life's blood was taken from him.

Gabrielle lowered his body to the ground and stood back up. She looked over at the servants she knew had been watching her and gestured for them to take the bodies away. One of them offered her several cleansing wipes, which allowed her to get the last of the blood off her hand.

As the fresh blood coursed through her, she felt her control slipping back into place and breathed a sigh of contentment. Now she could safely go out and enjoy the rest of her evening in the city without fear she'd attack an innocent human in desperation. She might even hunt for another meal or two if the opportunity arose, but it would be her choice now, not an act dictated by her bloodlust.

She turned, intending to head for the elevators to leave, but stopped as she came face to face with the second most powerful vampire in the world. Her preoccupation with her hunger had previously concealed her awareness of him, but now her senses exploded with his presence.

"Blake," she said by way of greeting.

"First Born," he said stiffly, barely nodding his head in a pale imitation of a bow of respect. "I didn't realize you'd returned."

"I just arrived this morning."

"You should've let me know. I would've prepared an honor guard to escort you in."

"It was shortly before dawn. I hardly had time to find a place to sleep. Besides, you know I don't like such pretentious public displays."

Blake shook his head in frustration.

"It has nothing to do with that. Following protocol isn't about you. It's about showing respect for your position. Your subjects expect a certain level of decorum from their rulers. As your Regent King, my responsibility is to both you and your subjects, but how am I supposed to serve you properly when you pull stunts like this, showing up unannounced? It makes it look like you're either checking up on me or I'm being disrespectful."

Gabrielle frowned.

"I'm not trying to make you look bad, Blake. And I don't want you to serve me. I've never wanted that."

Blake clenched his jaw and seemed about to show his fangs, but then took a deep breath and spoke through gritted teeth.

"I will say it again. Leadership isn't just about what you want. It's also about giving your subjects what they want. What they expect. What they need. I may be your Regent, but the Order still looks to you for guidance." Gabrielle kept her face expressionless and Blake sighed. "I suppose reminding you that you can't just go gallivanting around the world at a moment's notice anytime you like won't mean anything to you either. So, where was it this time?"

"South America."

Blake nodded and then seemed to study her.

"But now you're back. May I assume this means you've resolved whatever this most recent existential crisis was about? You know you do this every hundred years or so. It's always a toss-up whether you'll be gone for one year or twenty. So what was it this time? Anything special or just your usual antisocial proclivities getting the better of you."

Gabrielle narrowed her eyes and spoke carefully.

"The subject is off-limits."

"I'll take that as a no then. So, why have you returned? I assumed when you disappeared, you'd gone off to sort yourself out once again."

Gabrielle looked away. She had in essence left to do just that, though not for any of the reasons Blake had implied.

Out of long practice, Gabrielle pushed the unwanted memories away and refocused on the present.

"I'm sorted just fine, thank you. Now, if you'll excuse me—"

She started to brush past him, but Blake called after her.

"Wait! You can't leave, not when you just got here. Everyone will want to see you."

Gabrielle sighed and stopped. Blake walked around her to face her again.

"Everyone needs to see you, see that you're okay. I know you pretend not to understand this, but your subjects need you, even if you don't think you need them. It's been ten years. Let them rejoice at your return."

Gabrielle rolled her eyes and sighed again.

"Fine." She held up a finger. "But I'm not staying all night."

Blake grinned.

"Your terms are acceptable." He nodded formally, but there was a hint of mischief in his eyes. "Why don't you take your reserved seat up there? I have a few things to attend to and a match to prepare for. If you need anything..."

"I'll flag a servant." As he turned to leave, she called after him. "Good luck on your match."

He nodded again and turned away, a definite bounce in his step as he headed for a set of stairs leading underneath the floor of the Arena to the locker rooms.

Gabrielle moved up into the stands, taking a seat in a cordoned off section of the topmost row above the Arena's main battlefield. As far as she could tell, nothing had really changed while she'd been gone.

At the bottom of the underground amphitheater was an enclosed space with a dirt floor, which was what gave the Arena its name. It was a circular area with a twelve-foot-high chain link fence around it—topped with three lines of inverted barbed wire to dissuade combatants from trying to escape—and plenty of tiered seats for spectators.

The fights began two hours after dusk and went without interruption until two hours before sunrise. For tonight, that meant they would begin around 10pm and end by 3:30am.

Sometimes, humans fought one another for the privilege of becoming some vampire's servant or to settle an argument. Other times, a challenge was issued from one vampire to another and they would fight until one of them could no longer defend themselves.

Most of the time, however, it was just a chance for the vampires to get together and chase humans who had been abducted from their homes or the streets—anyone who was unlikely to be missed for one reason or another—for sport. Bets were made, both of money and servants, on how long the human or group of humans could survive against different vampires, or whether they would be able to injure the attacking vampire before dying, or even whether or not the human might be allowed to live and become a servant.

Gabrielle found the whole thing a little tedious, but she'd thought it was better than letting the world at large continue to be the 'arena.' Steering the conversation towards the gladiator games of ancient Rome one evening, she'd been able to subtly plant the seed for the Arena's construction. Now, nearly all of the Upper Order vampires in New York City came to the Arena to hunt, effectively getting them off the streets and into a more controlled environment. Gabrielle had learned early on how to choose the lesser of two evils. The Arena was one such compromise.

Gabrielle went back to checking her messages while she waited, but it wasn't long before she found it nearly impossible to concentrate as more and more vampires arrived and took their places along the rows of bleachers in anticipation of the evening's entertainment. As soon as they stepped off the elevators, Gabrielle saw most of them immediately look up to her position in the stands, only to look away again just as quickly. She pulled the hood of her cloak further forward to try to obscure her face, but she knew the gesture was in vain. Where other vampires twinkled like stars in the night sky, she shone like a supernova. Or so she'd been told.

"You're like the rays of the sun, Gabrielle. Everyone wants to bask in you."

Until they get their first sunburn, she'd thought, but hadn't said aloud.

Eventually, she began sensing the arrival of stronger vampires, those in the Sixth and Seventh Orders, and finally the highest of the Upper Orders, the Third Orders who sat on the Council. Gabrielle sat up a little straighter, nodding politely to those who nodded or bowed in respect to her presence.

A few minutes later, a vampire walked to the center of the ring holding a microphone in his hand.

"Welcome, brothers and sisters, to the Arena!"

A responding cheer rose up and filled the stadium for a moment before dying down to allow the announcer to continue.

"I can't tell you how excited I am about what we have in store for you tonight. But first, I have the great honor to announce," and the vampire paused, letting the tension build for several moments. "The First Born has returned!" He gestured grandly to where Gabrielle was sitting, her section almost completely empty, the other vampires having given her a wide berth.

Every head turned in her direction and reverent applause bounced off the walls, echoing around the chamber. Gabrielle stood stiffly, uncomfortable with the spotlight that had literally been placed on her, and then sat down again after what she hoped had been a sufficient amount of time.

"What's more," the announcer continued and the crowd quieted to hear him. "Even though he fought only days ago... Even though he suffered many grave injuries before triumphing over not three, not four, but five armed Eighth Orders... In honor of the First Born, and for our very first match of the night... Taking on twenty, count them twenty, armed humans... I give you... None other than Blake! Our undefeated King and Master of the ring!"

As applause and shouts of excitement roared all around Gabrielle, she suddenly understood Blake's intentions. He'd probably been trying to figure out from the moment he'd first sensed she was back how to turn her unexpected presence to his advantage. He'd succeeded, judging by the crowd's thunderous approval as he stepped out into the ring wearing only a pair of skintight black shorts.

Blake peered up at her and bowed deeply before standing erect again and giving her a wink. He then turned and began jogging the perimeter of the ring to enthusiastic shouts, especially from the younger vampires.

Gabrielle rolled her eyes in the darkness provided by her hood.

Always the politician.

Though she didn't appreciate being used in such a fashion, in truth, Gabrielle could see why so many of their people idolized him. In addition to the power and authority he wielded as Regent King, Blake was the definition of a Greek god, with short, wavy black hair, bronze skin pulled taut over a muscular frame, and dark brown eyes that Gabrielle swore were sparkling with amusement as he worked the crowd. He waved confidently to his most vocal supporters, his wide smile flashing his bright white fangs to even louder cheers.

Blake finally finished making his rounds and took up position at one end of the ring, crouching in readiness and then signaling the announcer. The announcer nodded and addressed the packed auditorium, slowly turning in a circle to face everyone as he gestured broadly.

"And now, without further ado... Bring out the gladiators!"

The announcer ran for the exit as half a dozen human guards forced the twenty human combatants into the ring from the opposite side with jabs from what looked like cattle prods. Once they were far enough in, a barred gate locked them inside with Blake.

A wall next to the gate slid aside, revealing various weapons, including swords, knives, clubs, spears, and even a few handguns. Gabrielle knew from past experience that none of the guns had more than a few rounds in them, and given that even skilled humans tended to have abysmal accuracy under stressful conditions, especially with weapons they hadn't previously trained with, it was likely the crowd was in more danger than Blake was should one of the humans try to take a shot at him.

The gladiators rushed for the guns anyway and Gabrielle tensed in spite of herself at the possibility of having to dodge a stray bullet.

The few gladiators who managed to wrestle one of the guns from their counterparts fired wildly at Blake, emptying their magazines in no time. Blake spun and darted from side to side even though Gabrielle could see the bullets hadn't come anywhere near him. In fact, Gabrielle was pretty sure he'd moved closer to some of them in order to make it appear as if he could've been hit and had only narrowly escaped injury.

Gabrielle sat back again and sighed. Blake was actually a highly skilled warrior, quite capable of handling multiple threats in a real life or death situation. There had been several incidents over the centuries, times when younger vampires had decided they would make better leaders than Blake and had called him out, and he had triumphed over all of them without help or artifice. But this contrived battle...

Gabrielle shook her head. She'd seen it all before. It was just a show, a spectacle to entertain the masses, and they ate it up. Blake just wanted to show off and the smirk on his face made it clear, at least for anyone who cared to see, just how much he was enjoying himself.

Gabrielle pulled out her phone again and picked up where she'd left off. An advertisement for a new tool for her phone made a welcome distraction from the monumental task that was her inbox, so she spent a few minutes flipping through the store's contents. She selected a dozen apps to add to her account and finalized the transaction. She played with each of the programs, getting used to the latest software that had become fashionable in her absence. The new apps were useful, but most of them turned out to be the same old programs, just in a newer, prettier package.

She went back to her email. So far, she hadn't felt the need to respond to any of the messages, most of them being out of date by about ten years. However, she had sent an email to Chris, her financial manager, to inquire about the current status of her various holdings, and to Kevyn, the closest thing she had to a best friend, to let him know she was back.

Her newest messages showed responses from both of them. Apparently, her portfolio had surpassed even Chris's expectations, a feat for which he was quite pleased with himself. She smiled and wrote back, congratulating him on his expertise and thanking him for his excellent work with a 5% bonus to his regular commission. She added new instructions and then hit Send. Since Chris was in Chicago, only an hour behind her, she expected he would probably open the encrypted message within the next few hours, if he wasn't already up and at his computer.

Kevyn's response was a bit more involved. In her rush to leave that night so long ago, she'd neglected to inform him of her plans, or anybody else for that matter. Not that disappearing for years at a time was odd for her, but she'd always taken the time to tell Kevyn she was leaving. In fact, he was usually the only one in the world who could be expected to know where she was at any given time. He was naturally hurt by her lack of communication and Gabrielle realized she had some mending to do.

She started composing her reply, beginning with a profuse apology and working her way back from there to the events that had led to her unexpected departure. She was so engrossed with her tale it took her longer than it should have to notice the presence of one of the Third Orders coming closer. She recognized the sense of him as he stopped a few feet in front of her, but she continued working on her letter until it was finished. She sent it off and deliberately took her time putting away her phone before finally looking up.

As she'd suspected, it was Victor, Blake's most powerful supporter and closest confidant.

"Good evening, Gabrielle. Welcome back."

He smiled, but Gabrielle remained expressionless. While she normally disdained the various titles she'd acquired over the millennia, there were a few individuals she would have preferred use them.

"Victor. To what do I owe the displeasure?"

He smiled wider.

"Come now. It's not as bad as all that, is it?"

He sat down, leaving only one empty seat between them. It wasn't nearly enough.

"I simply wanted to extend my well wishes and perhaps inquire as to the success of your travels? Did you accomplish what you set out to? Or at least enjoy yourself? I asked around and while no one would admit to seeing you, they all implied they had. Of course, you know how it is among us. Implication is never confirmation. So, I've been left wondering all this time—"

"I have no intention of discussing my personal activities with you."

"Ah, but they're not personal if they have to do with Order business."

Gabrielle studied him, trying to figure out what his angle was.

"My personal activities are just that. Personal."

"Of course." He seemed to relax at her answer, but then tensed again. "So you've returned now because..."

Gabrielle shifted to face him.

"I was unaware I had any need to answer to you. Why are you so interested, anyway?"

Victor abruptly stood up and then bowed, a smile plastered on his face.

"I do apologize. I'm obviously intruding. You probably need time to settle in. Enjoy your evening."

He turned and walked away, his steps slightly faster than Gabrielle thought they should be.

What was that all about?

He was hiding something, of course, but that was hardly news. There were always dozens of various plots and conspiracies going on at any given time among the Upper Orders. They seemed to revel in such intrigues, though they rarely came to anything. Strangely enough, because she stayed out of it, she was often dismissed as a non-threat when conversations took place within her hearing range. Or maybe it was because no one knew what her true range was. Either way, she usually knew more about what was going on than those involved. However, she was currently ten years out of the loop and had no idea what Victor's current schemes might entail.

She replayed the conversation in her mind. He'd wanted to know what she'd been doing and why she'd returned. Was he worried Blake was plotting something with her and hadn't included him in on it? Did he think whatever it was had been accomplished, hence she'd come back to inform Blake of their progress?

Gabrielle shook her head. The very notion was absurd. She wasn't Blake's errand girl and she had no need for such subtleties. As First Born, if she'd wanted to rule as Queen, she could've done so millennia ago. Even now, she was sure all she would have to do is stand up and state her intentions and that would be the end of it, but she had no desire to rule. Guide, yes. Govern, no.

Her musings were cut off as she caught movement at the locker room entrance. Blake was dressed again, impeccable as always in one of his black designer suits accented with a bright purple silk tie and matching shirt.

The color of royalty.

She watched as he slowly made his way up the stands towards her, smiling broadly and graciously pausing to shake hands or chat with those who stopped him. Gabrielle became bored after just a few minutes and went back to her old emails. She'd managed to get through an entire year's worth by the time Blake was taking the seat next to her. She tucked her phone inside her cloak.

"I see you haven't lost your flair for the theatrical," Gabrielle said.

Blake smiled and shrugged his shoulders. When he spoke, his voice was so low, Gabrielle knew he didn't intend for anyone to be able to eavesdrop on their conversation, especially with the background roar of the crowd who were watching the next bout.

"I just give the people what they want. You should try it sometime. For example, the Council—"

"Is there something going on with you I should know about?" Gabrielle cut him off.

Blake's eyes appeared to harden for a moment at the seeming non sequitur, but his smile remained in place.

"There usually is, isn't there? Why do you ask?"

"Victor seemed especially interested in what I was doing while I was gone. He seemed to think I was on secret business for the Order. Have you two had a falling out?"

Blake frowned and shook his head.

"Of course not. He was probably just... curious... like everyone else. No one knew where you were, not even Kevyn, though he did his best to imply that he did. Trying to hide the fact that even I didn't know wasn't easy. When you do these things, do you even consider the effect they'll have on those around you? I do care what happens to you, you know."

Gabrielle sighed. Kevyn had said much the same thing. She softened her voice when she spoke again.

"I know. And I'm sorry I caused you such trouble. It wasn't my intention."

Blake nodded in acceptance.

"Let's just move on, shall we? Now, as I was saying, about the Council meeting tomorrow night. There's one issue on the agenda I think you should—"

Gabrielle shook her head.

"Oh no. You're not dragging me into your political problems. You've been handling everything while I was gone just fine. I trust you to handle whatever new issues have arisen in the same fashion. I'll be there of course, but I have no intention of talking politics with you all night. In fact, I think it's time I go out and reacquaint myself with the city."

Blake seemed to be considering a protest, but then nodded.

"As you wish. Until tomorrow then."

"Tomorrow," Gabrielle confirmed, and then took her leave.

No one tried to approach her on her way out, for which she was thankful, so it wasn't long before she was stepping outside into the night air.

After a few minutes of casually strolling along the street, Gabrielle fell into her old habit of pulling out her phone and logging into her private network. It only took a few taps to bring up the appropriate map showing her where all the VHA patrols were at any given moment. She hesitated, then checked on one hunter in particular and breathed a sigh of relief when she saw the woman's name marked as 'Active.'

Then she noticed the job title and number of kills listed and her eyebrows rose in surprise. The hunter had been promoted quite a few times over the past ten years, far more than any of her contemporaries, and Gabrielle didn't think she'd ever seen another hunter with higher scores. Gabrielle shook her head in amazement as she automatically selected the map icon next to the woman's name to find out where she was.

It appeared the hunter's current location was at a major raid she had ordered to take place in Washington Heights. Most likely she would be busy there for another few hours, if not all night, which meant Gabrielle was free to hunt in Lower Manhattan until she heard otherwise from one of her alerts.

Gabrielle put her phone away and took to the rooftops to scan for likely prey.

It wasn't long before she came across her first potential meal. Two men were yelling at one another, the first trying to grab the other to keep him from walking away, but the second pushed him back. For a moment, Gabrielle thought one of them had been seriously injured as the voices went quiet, but as she floated her way silently down several flights of a fire escape to get closer, she finally made out the words of the heated argument.

Only a lovers' quarrel.

As the men passionately made up, Gabrielle climbed noiselessly back to her lookout and walked to the other side of the roof. She lightly hopped to the next building over, scanning for any new disturbances on the street below. When she found none, she flitted to the next rooftop.

Every now and then, some sort of conflict would draw her attention, but never anything serious enough to warrant her involvement. After an hour, she decided to call off the hunt, but she wasn't ready to retreat underground just yet. She wanted to enjoy the city's nightlife a little while longer.

She used the cover of a dark alleyway to drop to street level, causing only minor damage to the asphalt upon landing. She doubted the thin radiating fractures would be noticed among the rest of the cracks and potholes no one had bothered to repair yet. She checked the hunter's location again to confirm she was still overseeing the raid, and then left the shadows to join the many twentysomethings making their way from one club to the next. Being after midnight on a Saturday night, there were a lot, and Gabrielle merged into the shifting crowds with ease.

^~\/^^^\/^~

Dana Clark crouched in an open doorway, using it to partially shield her body from the dingy white door she faced near the end of the narrow hall. Another hunter was similarly positioned behind her on her left with two more in front of her on either side of the door with a battering ram held between them.

"Okay, this is it," Dana spoke quietly. "Last room. You know the drill. On three. One... Two..."

"Beckett to Clark. Hold your position. Repeat. Hold your position."

Dana grimaced as she felt her adrenaline spike with nowhere for it to go. She used her chin to hit the button on her shoulder mike, not lowering her gun or looking away from the door for a second.

"Clark here. What the fuck is going on?"

She heard the captain sigh.

"We got a hostage call."

"You what? Are you kidding me?"

"Wish I was. You know the rules. We gotta check it out."

"Fine. I'll be out in a minute. Clark out. Clark to Madsen."

"Madsen here. Go."

"Hold your fire. I'm comin' out."

"Thought you did that your first day on the job."

Dana heard laughter coming through the mike from the hunters around Madsen and grinned.

"Yeah, right after I met you. Wonder if that was a coincidence?"

She heard more laughter and a few snickers from those next to her as she clicked off her mike and turned to the three hunters lining the hall.

"Watch that door. Anyone tries to leave, you give 'em one chance to hit the deck and then you take 'em out. Got it?"

"Yes, Ma'am," Sergeant Fletcher replied.

Dana stood, bouncing on her feet a little with excess energy as she turned around and headed back down the hallway. She passed the open doors of the empty basement apartments they'd already cleared out and then turned the corner to head up the steps to street level.

She pushed through the doors and glanced around at the scene. Scattered on the street in front of the building were half a dozen black VHA cars, while yellow barriers with red reflective tape blockaded the street on either end, holding back the many curious spectators and TV news teams that had gathered since the hunters had first arrived almost two hours ago.

Dana thumped Madsen's helmeted head and he grinned up at her as she passed by him and the others guarding the entrance. They'd been cycling the extermination teams to keep them fresh. When one went in, another acted as backup, while a third rested. Three other teams guarded the rear and side exits, and two more teams were in the sewers looking for signs of digging in case the vamps had installed any access tunnels from their apartments.

So far, they'd suffered only a few minor injuries, no deaths, and they'd captured 39 slaves and staked 22 vampires, half of those by Dana herself. Now that they were on the last apartment, Dana having purposely timed it so she would be leading the team, she was ready to get the whole thing over with.

Dana headed for the mobile command center tent where the captain was waiting for her. He was hard to miss. According to his last physical attached to his employee file, Captain Sebastian Beckett was 7'2" and weighed 357 pounds. Having sparred with him many times, Dana knew it was all muscle.

She stopped in front of him.

"This'd better be good."

Sebastian pressed a key on the laptop sitting on a folding table and started the recording.

"This is Captain Beckett. I was told you have a message for me?"

"Yeah. We're in apartment 17A in the place you're bustin' up right now. We're warnin' you, if you—"

"You're warning me? I ain't the one gettin' dusted at the moment, so—"

"Shut the fuck up! We have three hostages. You tell that bitch hunter to back the fuck off or we'll drain 'em all. You hear me?"

"Yeah, I hear you. So what do you want in exchange for the hostages?"

"What? Oh..."

Dana heard the sound of a hand trying to cover the mouthpiece, but she could still hear muffled voices, which got louder as what sounded like an argument broke out. Another voice came on the line.

"You let us go or we'll kill the hostages. That simple enough for ya, hunter? You got one hour and then we start drinkin'."

Sebastian stopped the recording and Dana shook her head.

"That's gotta be the stupidest hostage threat I've ever heard. You don't really think they have any, do you?"

"No, but if they do, and we go in there and get 'em killed... You think our funding's bad now? Wait 'til that sound bite hits the 'Net."

"Well, I don't plan on waiting for them to make good on their threat either way. You've got almost your whole goddamned precinct out here, instead of on patrol."

"No shit. My chief has already had to call in most of our off-duty hunters to pick up the slack. We've just never hit a nest this big before. I think it might be a record."

"For your precinct, maybe," Dana said and then grinned.

"Yeah, well, not all of us can be as lucky as you."

"Luck had nothing to do with it."

"I remember. So, do you have a plan for this one, too?"

Dana nodded.

"Get the radar unit. We'll just see who's being held hostage."

A few minutes later, Dana, Sebastian, and several other hunters stood in one of the bedrooms of the apartment adjacent to the vampires' apartment.

Dana leaned over the shoulder of a cadet hunter where the young woman knelt at the wall with the large VHA-issued radar unit pressed up against it. Dana checked the reading. Three bright globs, indicating the higher physical density of vampires, and three normal globs, representing humans.

"They're moving around pretty freely to be hostages," she muttered.

"Proof enough for me," Sebastian agreed quietly as he checked his watch. "And forty-five minutes to spare."

"Good. They shouldn't be expecting an assault so soon."

Dana gestured for everyone to move into the living room so they could talk at a more normal level without risking alerting the vampires to their presence. She focused on the group of hunters waiting impatiently for her orders.

"We're back on. Get ready for—"

"Uh, Sir?" the cadet hunter interrupted, addressing Sebastian.

Sebastian glanced at Dana, catching the frown, but then nodded to the cadet.

"What is it, Brayden?"

"Well, I was just thinking. We've confirmed it's just the three vamps and a few slaves, and you said us cadets could go in on that many as long as we had a master hunter with us, so..." she trailed off expectantly, glancing furtively at Dana.

"You wanna clock some field time with Clark," Sebastian concluded for her and she nodded hopefully.

Sebastian understood why she was asking. It was a great opportunity to learn from the undisputed master in the field. Considering how rarely Dana worked with other hunters, let alone a cadet, he also understood how unique a chance it would be for the kid. But Dana tended to be rather particular about who she went on hunts with. She expected a lot from her teammates and if they didn't deliver, there were no second chances. On the other hand, the kid wouldn't even get a first chance if he said no.

Sebastian looked at Dana, the question clear in his eyes. She shrugged minutely and lifted an eyebrow in expectation. As per her usual, she wasn't going to undermine his authority by making the decision for him in front of his people, but he could tell by the look in her eyes she didn't want anything to do with the cadet. It probably didn't help that Dana had seen the cadet with her master trainer. The guy tended to go for kills at the risk of his fellow hunters just to improve his own score, which didn't fly too well with Dana.

Sebastian mentally shrugged. He had to do what he felt was in his people's best interests. He knew Dana was going to be pissed, though.

He turned to Fletcher and the other hunters.

"Take a breather, guys. Brayden and her group are relieving you."

Fletcher grinned and saluted.

"Whatever you say, boss."

"And you, get that extremely expensive piece of equipment back to the van and suit up," Sebastian told the beaming cadet. "And don't forget to grab Saunders and Yablonsky. They should be primed and ready to go."

Dana watched them all leave and then turned back to Sebastian.

"Why was Fletch grinning like that? He should've been pissed you took him off the hunt. They all should've been. Hell, I am. What's goin' on?"

"I think he's just interested to see what you make of Brayden."

"Evan's trainee? Why? Who is she?"

Sebastian smiled.

"Yeah, I didn't think you'd heard of her yet. Name's Vanessa Brayden. She hasn't really made any claims to fame outside Manhattan North, but she's climbing the ranks like there's no tomorrow. She just made it to Cadet, First Grade, and she's only been on the job for a year and a half."

Dana looked to the ceiling and sighed.

"Great. Another mini me." She looked back at Sebastian. "I did it in a year, by the way."

"And the rest of us took two and a half, I know. I'm not saying you're in any danger of being replaced. I just think she could learn a lot from you. So could the rest of them. These kids need the experience and you're one of the few people I trust to keep 'em safe in there."

Dana groaned.

"Perfect. Now I'm a babysitter?"

"Oh, come on, they're not that bad. In fact, they might surprise you. Brayden graduated top of her class at the academy."

"This just keeps getting better and better. Fuck, Bastian. You know I don't trust anyone who went through there. You get a bunch of hotheads who think they're hunters just because they staked a couple dummies on the obstacle course. You and I both know real life's never that easy."

"Brayden's not like that. She's totally by the book. And she's not in it for the glory. The kid actually thinks it's an honor to be a hunter."

"Great for her."

"Look, humor me, all right?"

"Fine. You know, I could pull rank—"

"But you won't." Sebastian grinned. He looked away as he heard movement coming from the hall. "Just show 'em how it's done, oh Great One."

"Fuck you," Dana groused.

"If only," Sebastian replied with a wink.

"Better not let your girlfriend hear you say that."

"Aw hell, one look at you and I could probably convince her to go bi."

Dana shook her head and followed him out into the hallway. They retreated back to the entrance for safety and Sebastian introduced the two awestruck cadets while they waited a few more minutes for Vanessa to return in her gear. Then he got out of the way and Dana was back where she'd started, more than ready to do some damage.

"One... Two... Three!"

The two cadets standing on either side of the door swung their heavy steel battering ram, busting the door wide open just as Dana threw in a flash grenade. It blew with a loud bang and a blinding light and she rushed in right behind it with Vanessa right behind her.

In the time it took to register where everyone was, Dana had assessed the situation. Her two main goals were killing the vamps and keeping the cadets out of harm's way, so Dana went to work.

She punched the nearest slave in the face, sending him unconscious to the floor, and then performed a roundhouse kick, nailing the nearest vampire in the head and sending him to the floor as well.

"Stake his ass and secure the slaves. I've got these two," she ordered Vanessa over her shoulder, never taking her eyes off the two vampires at the back of the room as she left the cadets to take care of the easy staking she'd given them.

She aimed her gun at the two vampires and started firing, alternating back and forth between them until her magazine was empty, but they moved too much to give her a clean shot at their hearts. The suppressed pops were louder in the enclosed space, but Dana didn't care. She didn't need to hear in order to move in for the kill.

Deciding her knives would be more useful than her sword in the close quarters, she tossed her gun and pulled the two six-inch black tactical blades from the hard plastic sheaths strapped to her upper arm and waist. She flipped them to hold them underhanded, the blades facing outward along her forearms as she took up a boxer's stance. She unconsciously flexed her fists inside her armored fingerless black leather gloves and began bouncing on the balls of her feet, a wicked grin spreading her lips and baring her teeth. She jerked her head at the two vamps, who were still trying to recover from the pain of their bullet wounds.

"What are you waiting for? Bring it on!"

The vamps had no finesse. They both charged her at the same time, but neither one seemed to know how to coordinate their attack with the other. Dana pretended to brace for their impact, but then twisted out of the way at the last moment, helping the female to slam headlong into a wall, while she swiped one of her blades across the male's cheek, slicing it open from the corner of his mouth all the way to the back of his jaw. The move was meant to distract him rather than cause him serious injury and it worked.

The vamp roared and tried to tackle her again, but Dana sidestepped him, tripping him up and pushing him into a dresser. She followed up with a strike to the back of his neck with the pointed tip of the glass breaker on the hilt of her knife. He collapsed instantly and she turned around just in time to see the other vampire attempting to sneak up on her.

Dana spun and blocked the blow aimed for her head as she used her other hand to slip inside the opening the overhand strike had created and thrust her knife into the vampire's chest. The vamp screamed and jerked away, but Dana moved with her as she felt the blade glance off a rib and begin to slip to the side. The vampire tried to claw at the hunter's hand, but she couldn't get past the armor on the backs of Dana's gloves as Dana quickly angled the knife upward, feeling it slide between the vamp's ribs, and then slammed it home. The vampire looked shocked for a moment and then slumped to the floor, unmoving.

Dana saw movement out of the corner of her eye and instinctively dropped to one knee as a baseball bat swung through the air where she'd just been. From her crouched position, she lashed out a booted foot, nailing the vampire in the shin, and heard the bone crack. The vamp yelled in pain and grabbed for her as he fell on top of her. Dana dropped her knives to grapple with the vamp and kept them rolling until she was on top of him, straddling his waist. She tried to pin his arms so she could stab him, but he managed to set one free and landed a hard roundhouse punch to the side of her jaw. The force knocked her to the side and he quickly reversed their positions.

"Time to die, hunter!" he snarled as he held her down, baring his fangs and lowering his head for the kill.

"Speak for yourself," Dana mumbled as adrenaline surged through her body, and she head-butted him hard in the nose.

He cried out, rearing back from the blow, and Dana took advantage of his distraction to pull one of her arms out of his grasp. She punched him in the throat, collapsing his windpipe. The vamp gagged, instinctively reaching for his neck, which released Dana's other arm. She grabbed the front of his shirt and pushed up, reversing their positions once again.

Dana pulled a stake from the arsenal strapped to her back and before the vamp knew what was happening, she jammed it down into his chest. He reached up to stop her, but it was too late, and his arms fell back lifelessly to the musty carpet.

Dana let out a breath and sat back on her heels.

Well. That was fun.

Dana got back to her feet, replaced her knives in their sheaths, and retrieved her gun, making sure to replace the empty magazine with a fresh one. She holstered it and then glanced around the wreck of a room and assessed the situation. She estimated not more than five minutes had passed since they'd entered the room. It looked like the cadet hunters were holding their own for the most part, having handcuffed the three slaves, but their master vampire, instead of having already been staked as Dana had expected, was cornered near the door.

Oh, just kill him already. Fucking newbies. Afraid to get a little scratch.

Dana moved forward, prepared to stake the vamp to the wall, when one of the slaves suddenly yelled and rushed the line of hunters, knocking one of them into a second and sending them all to the dirty floor in a heap. Dana automatically drew her gun and aimed for the vampire who was taking advantage of the confusion and heading for the door, but Vanessa, who had managed to dodge the tackle, went after the vamp, running into Dana's line of fire.

"Get down! You stupid little... Damn it!"

Dana rolled her eyes as the vampire easily evaded the cadet's grasp and dashed out the door. Dana took off at a sprint, pushing the cadet out of her way as she ran past her. Dana stopped to brace herself in the doorway, barely taking a moment to aim as she brought her gun up and fired at the vamp retreating down the narrow hallway. She quickly emptied half her magazine, some of the shots ricocheting off the walls and sending bits of drywall in every direction, but several shots landed in the vamp's back and at least one hit him in the calf.

The vamp stumbled and turned to snarl at her, but then he recovered and continued around the corner towards the exit. Dana raced down the hall to catch up, but the vamp was fast and she heard a volley of shots ring out and then yelling before she bounded up the stairs and burst out of the front entrance.

Madsen and his team were scattered around the sidewalk, but they appeared to be merely dazed and bruised, so Dana didn't stop as she scanned the street for the vamp. She saw him leap onto a car and run across several more before jumping back down to the pavement. The rest of the hunters were busy wrangling the slaves and taking statements from the neighbors, so only a couple of them had started to react to the vampire barreling past them and down the street.

"Everybody down!" Dana yelled as she tried to take aim, but too few people obeyed the command and the vamp turned at the next street and disappeared out of Dana's view. "Shit!"

Dana jogged across the street, ejecting the partially empty magazine from her gun and stuffing it in a pocket before loading a full one as she made her way to the Beast. She decocked and holstered the weapon before pulling herself up into the driver's seat and thumbing the security scanner set in the center of the steering wheel. The instrument panels lit up and she hit the button for her command center, causing her laptop to flip down from the passenger side dashboard and swing over to lock in place next to her. It was already on, so she tapped several keys, using her clearance as Assistant Chief Hunter to access the city's street camera surveillance network.

She brought up a map of her current position in Washington Heights. All the camera locations were marked as yellow dots and she clicked on the one for the street the vampire had turned onto. An inset window opened with the current video feed of the camera. She rewound it several seconds and caught the vampire running down the street. She saw him turn south and quickly clicked on the next appropriate camera. The inset changed to the new camera's feed and she caught the tail end of the vampire's passage as he broke down a door and entered a building.

Dana zoomed out and then punched her steering wheel in frustration. It was a mall. The place probably had dozens of exits, never mind the potential for sewer access. By the time she hacked the mall's private security network and set up a watch on all the exits, the vamp could be on the other side of the city.

She sat back in her seat and looked out over the scene. The three cadets who had gone with her into the last room were coming out, escorting their charges in single file to the row of processing vans. There were six vans, five of which were already full of slaves waiting to be taken to the precinct for booking. Sebastian stood at the entrance to the last van, waving the final group towards him.

Dana watched as Vanessa brought up the rear of the procession across the barricaded street. She was an attractive young woman with dark brown hair, which Dana had been sorely tempted to shoot through when she'd gotten in her line of fire a few minutes ago. Dana let her gaze scan up the line as the first slave looked her way. Dana recognized him as the one who had facilitated the vamp's escape and she immediately hopped down from the Beast to stalk over to the group.

Dana reached them just as one of the cadet hunters was helping the slave to step up into the back of the empty van. Dana jumped up alongside them and without warning grabbed the handcuffed slave around the throat. The hunter holding him reflexively let go as Dana dragged the slave deeper into the van. She hardly spared a glance to Fletcher, who was chatting with Madsen through the driver side window in the front seat as she pushed the slave up against the metal mesh door that separated the front from the rear compartment. She formed her hand into the shape of a claw, using the tips of her fingers to apply pressure at specific points along his neck.

"Where the hell is your master headed?"

She felt a hand land on her shoulder as a voice spoke up from behind her.

"Hey, you can't—"

Dana reacted instantly, releasing the slave to bounce onto one of the metal benches lining the van's sides, and reached up to grab the hand on her shoulder. She yanked the arm around, throwing the attached body over her hip and causing the woman to land hard on her back on the metal floor of the van, the woman's arm twisted in such a way as to give Dana all the leverage. Dana glared as she recognized Vanessa and leaned down into the woman's face.

"What the hell is wrong with you? Are you suicidal?"

"He's human. He has rights," Vanessa wheezed out.

Dana snorted and released her, shaking her head in disgust as the young woman gingerly climbed to her feet and dusted herself off. Madsen and Fletcher entered through the metal gate to keep an eye on the slave, though he was huddled in the corner, trying to stay out of the line of fire. With the two trusted hunters there, Dana felt secure enough to turn her back on the slave to face Vanessa.

"Just because he's human doesn't mean he isn't responsible for his actions," Dana said. "He's an accomplice to vampires who've committed multiple murders. They're in it together."

"We don't know that. What if he was being held against his will?"

One of the other cadet hunters laughed from where he stood outside.

"Oh, so that dive and tackle back there was an accident? He just slipped an' fell into me an' Saunders? Come on, Brayden, be serious."

"He could've been confused. It was a chaotic situation."

"I think you're the one who's confused," Dana said. "In case you missed it, we're here to protect the innocent, not the ones who prey on them. Oh, wait. What am I saying? You're an academy brat who's barely two years out. Why would I expect you to know a damn thing?"

Vanessa's chin jutted out at the insult.

"So I'm new. That doesn't mean I don't know what I'm doing."

"Yeah? You ever seen a hunter get his guts ripped out? Or how about watching your family get murdered right in front of you? Ever done that?" Dana's eyes glittered in the low light, daring the woman to say something, but Vanessa remained silent, only giving a slight shake of her head. "No? Well, until you do, don't try to tell me how the fuck to do my job."

"I wasn't trying to, Ma'am. But I can't stand by and watch you abuse someone in my custody. We're vampire hunters, not vigilantes. If we're not bound by the law, then how are we any better than the vamps?"

"We're not the ones murdering innocent people," Dana spat back. "In fact, we're the only thing standing between them and the general public. We do what we have to, to keep the people safe. If we have to bend a few rules, then so be it, but we don't put a fellow hunter at risk, and we never ever put the public at risk, and letting that vamp escape puts the public at risk. How would you feel if your family was that vamp's next victims? Would you still be defending this lackey's rights to protect his master?"

"It's the law," Vanessa argued, but she didn't sound so sure. She shook her head. "It doesn't matter what I think anyway. It's not our call. He's invoked his right to council. He has the right to remain silent."

"So he can give his master even more of a head start than you already have?" Dana stepped closer and narrowed her eyes. "That vamp kills again before I find it and put it down? I'm sending it to your house next." Dana looked past Vanessa's shoulder at Sebastian, who was still standing by the exit just listening. "Get her the fuck outta my face. I have a job to do."

Sebastian stepped up into the van, causing the vehicle to sink several inches, and took Vanessa's elbow.

"Go on, kid. You got plenty of other 'hostages' to take back to the station. Go on," Sebastian said again, pushing her towards the rear doors when Vanessa didn't move right away. "You guys, too," Sebastian added to the remaining cadet hunters, who still had their charges to deal with, but had paused to watch the show.

"But the other vans are full," one of the cadets protested.

"I'm sure you can squeeze those two in somewhere. This van's taken," Sebastian said, the tone of his voice and the look on his face permitting no further dissent as he pulled the rear doors closed.

Dana watched the cadets' departure through the windows as they turned and left, presumably to find room in another van. Then she turned her attention back to the slave, who was now being held by Fletcher and Madsen, while Sebastian remained hunched over in the cramped space behind her.

"Now, where were we? Oh, right," Dana said as she wrapped her hand around the man's throat and dug the tips of her fingers into his flesh. "Where the fuck is your master headed?"

The slave looked to the hunters on either side of him, his eyes fearful as he tried to yell, but his constricted throat made the sound a whisper. Dana leaned in and stared into his eyes.

"Nobody's gonna help you. These pressure points won't leave any marks, and if by some chance they do, I've got a dozen hunters here who'll all back me up that you attacked me. I was just defending myself."

"That other hunter... She'll report you," the slave rasped out.

Sebastian moved in, adding his considerably bulky presence to Dana's as he caught the slave's gaze over her shoulder.

"Maybe... Assuming she makes it back to the station. I mean you assholes kill us hunters all the time. What's one more? Maybe she was tragically lost during the raid... Killed by you, perhaps. You really think you could convince a jury that you care whether one of us dies? You think anyone's gonna believe you if you tell them a hunter killed her instead of you? And if I'm willing to kill one of my own hunters, what makes you think you'll even make it to a courtroom? Now, tell us where the fuck that vamp is going!"

It was a complete bluff, Dana knew, but Sebastian sold it for all he was worth and the other hunters never batted an eyelash.

Dana decided to press the point home and gouged her fingers into the slave's throat a little harder. Tears streamed from his eyes, but she could tell it wasn't quite enough. She shot out her other hand, grabbing his balls through his pants and squeezed, twisting slowly. She knew he'd broken by the look in his eyes an instant before he cried out in a congested gurgle.

"Okay, okay! I'll tell you, I'll tell you!" Dana eased up enough for him to talk a little easier. "He's going to our safe house."

"Which is where?"

The slave went silent again and Dana pulled on his crotch.

"Okay, God, please stop! It's on Broadway at West 72nd! Building 2098!"

"You sure?"

"Yes, I'm sure!"

"If you're lying, I'll make sure you're released and never heard from again," Sebastian warned.

"I'm not lying! I swear, I swear! Oh God, please, make her stop!"

Dana let him go and nodded to the hunters holding him.

"Keep him separate until you hear I caught the vamp. And send a bag n' tag team to that address. They might have leads on other nests."

"You got it," Fletcher promised.

Dana hopped down from the van and ran for the Beast, Sebastian hot on her heels. She considered telling him to stay put, but he'd only gotten to go in on one of the raids, which had only given him a single kill, so she figured he was itching for some action. She said nothing as he crammed his massive bulk into the passenger side, while she climbed behind the wheel, automatically reaching for the hard pouch attached to the upper right side of her armored vest to pull out her shades.

She hadn't needed them in the brightly lit apartment building, though she'd been tempted to wear them anyway with all the cameras and reporters nearby, but she'd made do with keeping her hair in front of her face whenever she'd been outside. Now, though, she slipped them on and activated night vision in order to see into the shadows while she drove.

She started the Beast and took off, the squeal of the tires the only sound to mark their passage as the hybrid electric engine came on without a sound and ran just as silently. They raced down Broadway, weaving in and out of the many cars still on the road at two in the morning, though Dana left the siren off to maintain their silent approach.

Dana glanced to her right to see Sebastian silently white-knuckling the 'Jesus' bar. It had been a while since he'd ridden with her and he'd clearly forgotten what it was like. Dana smirked.

Less than ten minutes later, just as they were crossing West 75th Street, Dana saw the vampire running between the trees of the park-like center divider half a block ahead. She hit the button for the driver side window and then reached for the metal bolas secured to the front of her right thigh. As the window finished its descent, she turned to Sebastian.

"Take the wheel."

"Right."

As Sebastian took over steering, Dana pushed her upper body outside the window, though not so far she couldn't still press on the gas pedal.

She held the bolas at the center point of the synthetic rope that connected the gray metal balls and began twirling them. She eased up on the gas and carefully aimed at her prey, waiting for just the right moment as Sebastian maneuvered them between several cars and the vamp weaved in and out of the trees.

Dana saw her chance and released the weapon. The bolas flew through the air, instantly expanding as the centrifugal force of the spinning balls pulled the rope taut. As they connected with the vampire's calves, the spinning balls continued on their path, wrapping the rope around the vamp's legs and sending him to the ground in a tumble.

Dana slid back inside and took control of the wheel again. She stepped on the gas to accelerate ahead of the vamp and swerved left up onto an open grassy part of the divider just before it ended at the intersection of West 74th. They skidded to a stop and she and Sebastian jumped down from the Beast just as the vampire finished untangling himself from the bolas and got to his feet. He threw the bolas at the ground in anger and then looked around. As soon as he saw Dana and Sebastian, he began stomping towards them.

The two hunters simultaneously pulled their guns and began firing. As the vamp went down, Dana heard cheers from a few of the pedestrians who had stopped to watch the show. Some of them had their phones out capturing video and Dana was thankful once again for her long hair and shades, which obscured her face for the most part.

A moment later, Sebastian tried to stake the tattered remnants of the vampire, but the wooden shaft kept falling over. He looked at Dana and pouted.

"That wasn't very fulfilling."

"Guess we'll just have to find some more vamps to kill."

"Now you're talkin'. So whose kill is this?"

"Take it," Dana said. "I'm gonna have enough paperwork with the others. Make sure to tell Fletcher we got him."

"Right."

Sebastian took the vamp's vitals as best he could and called for pickup, but since they were still within Manhattan North's boundaries, the cleanup crew was delayed due to the massive raid that had just taken place. Dana pulled out her trusty flamethrower and Sebastian just rolled his eyes as he put a second call through to Fletcher, leaving the phone on speaker, so Dana could listen in.

"Yeah?" Sergeant Fletcher answered, sounding more than a little distracted.

"Hey, it's Bastian. We got the vamp, so you can take that slave off ice."

"Great. Nice work. You comin' back now?"

"Well..."

"The thing is," Fletcher broke in, his voice lowered as if trying not to be overheard. "Travis just showed up and he's having a hissy fit."

Sebastian cringed at the mention of his well-known control freak Chief and Dana offered him a sympathetic look as Fletcher continued.

"These slaves are rolling over on each other like you wouldn't believe, so he's ordered every goddamn hunter in the precinct to check on all the leads, even the cadets. Apparently, those vamps were a well-connected bunch. So anyway, that means no one's patrolling right now, but I just got a call from one of my informants about a group of vamps near where you reported a pickup call, so assuming you'd rather go play with the Great Vampire Hunter than deal with Travis..."

Sebastian and Dana shared toothy grins over the flames of the burning vampire.

"What's the twenty?"

^~\/^^^\/^~

Gabrielle had missed this, missed the sound of laughter, the boundless energy of carefree young people out for a night on the town. She'd missed the lights of the city, the crowds and all that came with them. She'd even missed the smells of the food vendors and the honking horns of drivers impatient with oblivious pedestrians walking in front of their cars.

Well, maybe not so much those last few things, but perhaps what they represented. They were the sounds of home.

Gabrielle toured every street and alley of Lower Manhattan, something she would need to do with all five boroughs of the city, to see what had changed in the last ten years while she was away. Most of the buildings were the same, though quite a few had changed functions.

It seemed to be the way of things. Commercial buildings constructed in the mid-1800s had been abandoned and later transformed into residential spaces a hundred years later. Now, those same buildings were changing once again to keep up with the current needs of the area's younger demographic, which demanded more boutiques, dance clubs, and artists' galleries.

Gabrielle noticed the crowds had thinned significantly and checked the time. It was nearly five in the morning. Last call for most clubs had ended an hour ago. It was time for her to call it a night as well. She sensed the sun would crest the horizon soon and she couldn't afford to be above ground when it did.

She looked around to determine her location and then considered her options. The closest of her sanctuaries was only a mile away, which she could reach in less than a minute if she hurried, but her favorite hotel, privately owned and operated by several Upper Order vampires and their servants, was only a few miles further and would let her sleep in a proper bed. They also had a valet service that would allow her to order a fresh set of clothing, and their big screen TVs would be a welcome change from the small display on her phone, which had been a pain to use as she tried to catch up on world events.

Decision made, Gabrielle turned to head towards the hotel.

Her phone chimed and for an instant her heart sped up at the thought it might be regarding the hunter, but no. The tone had been the one she'd set earlier to notify her of the impending sunrise, which was only forty-five minutes away. She dismissed the alert. The hotel was a mere ten minutes away at most, so she didn't bother to hurry as she tucked the phone back inside her cloak and continued on, enjoying the cool early morning air.

Gabrielle was only half a dozen blocks from her destination when she heard a faint cry sounding like a bird carried on the breeze from her right. She stopped, completely still, and tilted her head, trying to catch just the right angle to bring the sound to her ear. A moment later, she heard it again. A scream, this time recognizable as human, that abruptly cut off.

She didn't stop to think as she immediately lightwalked towards the sound.

^~\/^^^\/^~

The slide on Dana's gun locked open, indicating it was empty, and she rolled her eyes and shook her head as her last vamp attempted to run away.

There had been four of them, along with five slaves, which the two hunters had tranqed using sniper rifles from their position on top of the cinderblock wall enclosing one side of the small private park the group had taken over in order to party. The slaves had dropped as soon as they'd been hit and their remaining vampire masters had finally realized they were under attack, but by then it had been too late as Dana and Sebastian had tossed their rifles aside and gone in for the kill.

Dana ran after the fleeing vampire, confident Sebastian could handle himself against his own remaining vamp, and grabbed for her bolas. The bolas did their job and Dana caught up to the vamp just as he was trying to sit up and untangle himself. She kneed him in the face, sending him back to the ground and out for the count. She staked him and then reached for the bolas around his ankles, using the rope as a handle to drag his carcass back to the others.

She dropped his legs and removed the bolas, while Sebastian continued with the afterkill routine, staking each vamp and taking their biometrics.

Dana snapped her bolas back into their specially designed holder, which kept the metal balls from rattling against each other when she needed stealth. She ejected the empty magazine from her gun, stowing it in a pouch on her vest for later refilling, and reloaded her gun with her last magazine before holstering it. Then she retrieved her sunglasses from where they'd gotten knocked off earlier in the fight and put them on. She tapped the side button, but nothing happened. She tapped it again several more times, but the screens remained black.

"Son of a bitch. That's the third time this month," Dana muttered as she took them off and went to her vehicle to switch them out for her backup set, slipping the damaged ones into the pouch on the back of her seat for later repair.

Sebastian straightened from where he'd been crouching over the bodies, obviously finished with his task. He called in for cleanup on the vamps and a bus for the slaves, who were lying on their sides in the dirt, still unconscious, their hands zip-tied, and received an ETA of an hour.

"Looks like we've got a bit of a wait," he said after he ended the call.

"Or we could burn 'em and bring the slaves in ourselves."

Sebastian laughed.

"Wouldn't that take about the same amount of time? The only difference is you'd be sitting on your ass in that Beast instead of here."

"What's your point?" Dana asked, her tone serious, but the sparkle in her eyes let him know she was kidding. "Fine. What do you propose we do to kill the time, since we won't be killing vamps?"

"I'm guessing strip poker's out?"

"Like I wanna see your tiny dick."

"In your dreams."

"More like my nightmares."

"On the other hand, in my dreams—"

"I really don't wanna hear about your—"

Dana stopped as the radio in her vehicle crackled to life, announcing the location of an assault in progress. The code used meant it could be a possible vampire attack.

"That's only a few blocks over," Sebastian said.

"Shit. Did we miss one?" Dana asked.

"I don't think so. Fletcher said it was just the four and their slaves."

They listened as both VHA and police patrols replied they were en route, but the ETA was at least ten minutes.

"Seriously? If it's a vamp, they'll be dead by then," Sebastian started, but Dana was already on her feet, only pausing for a moment to turn back to him.

"Can you take care of—"

"Don't worry about me. I got this. Go!"

Dana took off as Sebastian radioed in that she was responding to the call. His voice disappeared quickly in the wind and in only a few moments, she was using her momentum to propel herself up and over the chainlink fence blocking her path at the other end of the park. She dropped over the side, hitting the ground solidly, and then sprinted past the brownstone apartment buildings that towered on either side of her, until she neared a wide intersection. She sensed a vampire's presence nearby, so she slowed to orient herself towards it, taking a moment to put her replacement shades on and activate night vision, since the street lamps were few and far between.

A distant shriek, frantic and unmistakably feminine, sounded on her right.

Dana started running again in the direction of the sound, her sense of the vampire's presence growing stronger with every step she took. It was a good bet the vamp was involved in whatever was making a woman cry out like that. Dana stopped just before she rounded the next corner and drew her gun. She held it down in ready position as she put her shoulder to the brick wall of the building and peered around the corner.

^~\/^^^\/^~

Gabrielle was on the scene in an instant, pulling a tall, muscular man away from a young woman. As soon as the man's hands left the woman's mouth and throat, the woman shrieked and grabbed at her torn dress to drag the tattered pieces back up over her exposed chest.

"Run!" Gabrielle said, but the woman merely collapsed, half-crawling her way along the sidewalk in an attempt to seek shelter against the nearest building.

Gabrielle decided it would be better to ignore the woman for the time being, since the man was trying to hit her in the head with his balled up fists.

"You should stop that or I may consider making this more painful for you than it needs to be."

The man paused his attack, but only to change tactics and grab the front of her cloak. He seemed to be trying to pick her up, probably so he could throw her, but his human strength was no match for her preternatural leverage. Gabrielle grinned, holding the man with an iron grip and pulling him slowly to her, even as he used every ounce of his strength to try to push her away, but it was impossible to break free.

Her fangs sunk easily into his neck. All his struggling had his heart beating a mile a minute, which forced the blood out of his body and into Gabrielle's mouth almost faster than she could swallow, but she managed from long experience.

She pulled back just before she'd taken too much to cause his heart to stop. She wanted to prolong his agony at knowing he was going to die. The visions she'd received of his crimes, the sheer number of women he'd attacked, and not a single memory of consequence for the many lifetimes of pain and suffering he'd wrought...

Just as Gabrielle was considering how best to go in for the kill, a commanding voice yelled from the street corner.

^~\/^^^\/^~

Dana took in the scene. Only a couple dozen feet in front of her, a young woman lay on the sidewalk, partially curled up against the building, where she whimpered and clutched at her torn dress. Two other figures, a short blonde female in what looked like a black Scottish cape and a burly dark-haired male in a T-shirt and torn jeans, stood near the edge of the sidewalk. The man appeared to be restraining the woman, and Dana concluded the male was the vampire she'd sensed.

Dana stepped out from behind the corner of the building, aiming her gun at the man.

"You! Let her go! Do it now!"

The blonde turned her head, but instead of fear, Dana saw irritation and then surprise. Then their gazes locked and Dana's heart skipped a beat, her surroundings fading away as her world narrowed down to a single point: the blonde's angelic face.

...beautiful...

Dana's heart pounded in her ears, blocking out all other sounds, and she lowered her gun as a feeling of absolute peace washed over her. She instantly forgot where she was and why she was there and simply stood transfixed. It was as if she was inside the calm center of a storm, blissfully protected from all the evils of the world, while she watched the storm rage all around her. It just couldn't touch her. Nothing could touch her. Dana hadn't felt so protected, so safe, since before she'd lost her family.

Have we met before?

Even in her less than lucid state, Dana realized how cliché that question sounded, and yet, the longer she looked, the more she felt like she knew the blonde from somewhere and she was desperate to know where. She wanted to introduce herself, say hello, ask the woman's name. The feeling was so strong, Dana unconsciously licked her lips in preparation to speak.

The blonde mirrored her action and Dana dropped her eyes to the recently moistened lips. It was then that she noticed the fangs protruding from the woman's mouth and her tunnel vision instantly cleared as she saw the man's throat, blood dribbling onto his shirt from the two small holes in his neck.

Dana raised her gun again, pointing it at the blonde this time.

"Drop him!" Dana ordered as she quickly moved forward, taking better aim, though she wasn't sure if she intended to fire.

If she hit the man and an autopsy proved he would've lived, she could always claim she thought he was already dead, despite the fact she knew his heart was still beating based on the blood she could see pumping rhythmically down his neck.

The vampire seemed to come out of her own daze as she realized she was in trouble, but instead of running, Dana was horrified to see her viciously twist the man's neck before dropping him on the sidewalk. With the man out of the way, Dana fired half a dozen shots, but the blonde somehow dodged them as she ran in the opposite direction. Dana cursed and sprinted after the retreating vamp, trying to close the distance between them, but as the blonde headed around the corner, the hunter lost sight of her quarry.

^~\/^^^\/^~

"You! Let her go! Do it now!"

Gabrielle turned to see who was foolish enough to interrupt her hunt and then went completely still at the sight of the hunter standing only twenty feet away.

She's even more beautiful than I remembered.

Gabrielle couldn't take her eyes off the woman, though a part of her mind was busily running through all the different ways this unexpected meeting could play out. The hunter seemed uncertain what to do and had even let her gun drop to her side, but that only lasted a few moments. Gabrielle wasn't sure what had brought on the confusion in the first place, nor what had caused it to dissipate, but the hunter was suddenly in control of herself again, bringing her gun back up to point squarely at Gabrielle.

"Drop him!"

Gabrielle tensed as the woman sighted down the barrel of her gun and took several steps forward. The hairs on the back of Gabrielle's neck stood up and she realized she'd run out of time. She needed to leave, but first she had a loose end to take care of.

She turned to see the man dazedly watching her, barely conscious, but aware enough of the hunter's presence that a small smirk had pulled up one side of his mouth. He must have thought he was saved. Gabrielle's eyes hardened and his smirk faltered.

It was his last expression as Gabrielle reached up and twisted firmly, his head forced so far around he was practically looking behind himself. She let him go, his lifeless body still standing for another second before falling as she turned to run. She couldn't lightwalk in front of the hunter—that was a secret she wasn't yet ready to reveal—but she did make sure to avoid the bullets the woman sent her way now that the man had ceased to be a concern.

She heard the hunter's boots pounding after her, but Gabrielle was a dozen feet ahead of the woman, which was more than enough of a lead. As soon as Gabrielle rounded the corner, she leapt up to the nearest fire escape, and then lightwalked up to the roof. To safety.

^~\/^^^\/^~

Dana rounded the turn and immediately pulled up short. She'd expected to see the vampire a few feet ahead of her, but the street was deserted. She lowered her gun to ready position and cautiously walked ahead, glancing down the road and then up at the apartment buildings as she looked for a hiding place or some kind of exit point, but she couldn't sense the vamp anywhere. She jogged forward, checking for broken windows and busted doors, but everything was in place. The blonde had just disappeared.

"Shit," Dana mumbled in frustration as she holstered her gun and turned around to jog back the way she'd come.

^~\/^^^\/^~

Calm down! Just calm down, Gabrielle told herself.

She placed her hand over her racing heart and willed it to slow, and though such mental effort was normally enough, at the moment, her heart refused to recognize her mind's commands.

She looked down onto the street from half a block away. In truth, she hadn't been able to take her eyes off the woman still searching for her some twenty stories below. The distance was more than enough to be outside what Gabrielle knew to be the human's approximate one-hundred-foot range for sensing vampires, but Gabrielle couldn't help thinking the woman would look up at her at any second. Still, she didn't move or look away until the brunette gave up on her search and left.

Gabrielle turned and half-leaned on the wide capstones of the parapet guarding the edge of the roof. She pulled her phone from her cloak and did her best to ignore her shaking hands as she brought it to her ear.

"Dial Kevyn, Australia," she said, allowing the voice-activated phone directory to dial the appropriate number for her as she impatiently ran a hand through her hair.

The phone rang only twice, since the time difference made it early evening—morning for vampires—and Kevyn had always been an early riser.

"Gabrielle?"

"She saw me."

The words came out in a rush and Gabrielle knew they revealed a lot more about her state of mind than she would've normally allowed. If it had been anyone else, she would've hidden behind etiquette, said hello first, asked how he was doing. Of course, if it had been anyone else, she wouldn't have been calling to discuss the hunter.

There was a pause on the line, but then he spoke.

"Did she recognize you?"

"No. I don't know. I don't think so."

"How did this happen? I thought you were trying to stay away from her."

"I was. I am. Her schedule said she was supposed to be in Washington Heights on a raid. I thought hunting Lower Manhattan would be far enough away, but apparently I was wrong."

"Wait, you know her schedule?"

"It's not how it sounds. I only check her posted route to make sure we won't accidentally cross paths."

"You never told me you were doing that."

"Well, how did you think I was avoiding her?"

"I... I guess I never really thought about it. So, what happened?"

"I don't know. The raid must've ended, or maybe she was called in for some other crisis. I haven't checked the reports yet."

"I meant when she saw you."

"Oh." Gabrielle pulled up the memory of the woman's face and was immediately lost, unaware of the tiny smile curving her lips. "She was... amazing. She's so confident now, rather than merely cocky. She's really grown into herself. And she looked... incredible... magnificent... gorgeous..."

"Luscious, delectable, edible?"

Gabrielle couldn't help smiling wider.

"Not in that way."

"And which way would that be?"

Gabrielle blushed and cleared her throat.

"Use your imagination."

"Well, I have to say that's not really my cup of tea." She heard him take a breath and felt the change in tone even before he spoke. "So, judging by your reaction, I take it you still feel the same as you did before?"

Gabrielle didn't respond right away. She wasn't entirely sure what to say, but it seemed foolish not to say out loud what she'd been thinking since the first moment she'd laid eyes on Dana Clark again.

"I think it's gone beyond that."

"I see." She heard him sigh and waited. "What do you intend to do?"

"What do you mean?"

"Well, I don't see how this is any different from ten years ago. I told you then, you basically had two options. Woo her or forget her. And you told me her anger at vampires was too strong for her to even consider being friends with you, let alone lovers, so you decided to forget her. You stopped stalking her—"

"I was not stalking her. I was merely watching her—"

"For two years, Gabrielle. You watched her and followed her around for two years."

Gabrielle remained silent.

"You told me you even got to the point where you could recognize the sound of her truck."

"SUV. And it was the sound of the tires. They're specially reinforced to be bulletproof." Gabrielle waited, but there was no response. "They make a very distinctive sound on pavement."

"Are you trying to make my point for me?"

"And that point would be..."

"That unrequited love isn't healthy. Wanting what you can't have will only ever bring you heartache. I'm glad you've finally fallen in love after all this time, but... At least, I'm assuming this is your first. You've never mentioned any others..."

"She's the first."

"But as I said a moment ago, how is this any different than before? You're still a vampire and she's still a hunter. A hunter who doesn't just do it for the money or even the supposed glory, but because she genuinely hates our kind. You're setting yourself up for a lot of pain and heartache."

"I know. But it's not as if I can choose when and who I fall in love with. Or even make it stop if I wanted to. But the truth is, even if I could turn off my feelings, I wouldn't. My love isn't contingent upon whether she loves me back. Yes, it hurts that I know she'll never feel for me the way I do for her, and she'll probably hate me with her dying breath, but... I'll still love her."

There was a long silence, and then Kevyn finally spoke.

"Do you know how many people wish they were loved like that?"

"No."

"All of them. The hunter doesn't know what she's missing."

^~\/^^^\/^~

Dana squatted down to check on the fallen man, but there was nothing she could do for him. She clicked on her shoulder mike to contact Control to request a DB pickup and then issued a standard bulletin.

"Relay to all available units. Confirmed kill by a confirmed vamp. Vamp is a white female, approximately five-four, with short blonde hair and wearing a long black cape, indeterminate clothing underneath."

She finished by giving the last known location and heading of the vamp and waited for confirmation.

"Copy that. All units have been alerted. Paramedics are en route, ETA five minutes. Medical examiner has been notified, ETA unknown. NYPD is ETA two minutes. VHA backup is ETA five minutes. Control out."

"Is he dead?"

The woman's tremulous voice instantly reminded Dana she wasn't alone. She moved away from the man and knelt in front of the woman.

"Are you hurt?" Dana asked.

"Is he dead?" the woman asked again and Dana could hear the hysteria rising in her voice.

"I'm sorry," Dana began, unsure how to break the news. "Was he a friend or a relative...?" Dana paused when she saw the look of horror take over the woman's face.

"God, no! He tried to... He was going to... But she saved me. She saved me," the woman whispered, and then suddenly looked around in alarm. "Where is she? Where did she go!"

"Hey, it's all right. You're okay," Dana said hastily as she reached out to prevent the woman from standing up. "Just sit down. You're going to be fine. I just need you to stay calm, okay? Why don't you take some deep breaths for me, all right? Deep breaths," Dana soothed as she inhaled slowly and then exhaled, the woman naturally mimicking her.

This is why I prefer it when they attack me. I don't have to do any handholding afterward.

Dana sighed in relief when she heard sirens in the distance getting louder with each passing second. A moment later, a light blue patrol car screeched to a halt in front of her. Two officers jumped out of the vehicle and hurried over.

She decided to let them deal with the witness for the time being and returned to her visual inspection of the dead man. One of the officers followed her.

"So, did you get him?" the policeman asked.

Dana frowned, but didn't look up.

"It was a 'her,' and no, I didn't."

"You lost her?"

"It happens," she replied shortly as she looked over the man's injuries.

He still had the two puncture wounds on one side of his neck, indicating a standard vampire attack, but he also had several white vertebrae sticking out of the other side, where they'd torn through his skin during the vampire's violent display of strength.

Why the hell did she kill him?

With both Dana and the other woman as witnesses, there was no point in taking the time to kill the man, especially with a hunter hot on her heels. Not that a vampire couldn't kill for fun, but it wasn't as common as most people seemed to think. Their kills were typically related to feeding, not recreation.

"Is he going to turn into one of them?" the officer interrupted her thoughts.

"No, he's dead."

"But I thought that's how it worked."

Dana snorted in disgust.

"You watch too many fucking movies. If he was a vamp, he'd be healing and not just a little bit pissed off right about now. Did you even read the fucking manual they gave you?"

She looked up at the sound of another vehicle pulling up to the curb, this one the signature black and red of the VHA.

"Hey, I was just asking," he said, but she was already turning away, effectively dismissing him, to walk over and greet the arriving hunters.

An ambulance arrived moments later and two paramedics immediately went to the woman to begin treating her for shock.

Dana's attention was drawn back to the hunters exiting the car as one of them called out to her.

"Is that Dana Clark I see? But that's impossible, since she was listed as covering some massive raid up north until about ten minutes ago."

Dana grinned at the blonde woman walking towards her.

"Hey, Debbie. Yeah, I kinda forgot to check in. Bastian wanted to go hunting, you know how he is." She shrugged and offered a crooked smile.

"Right." Debbie turned to the young sandy-haired man walking a step behind her. "Close your mouth, Ben."

The man snapped his mouth shut and looked away, but he couldn't help darting furtive glances back at Dana every few moments. Dana had met Ben Murphy before when Debbie Johnson had first taken him under her wing three years ago and he always had the same awestruck reaction to her. She ignored him and began a rundown of recent events to bring them up to speed.

After mentioning Sebastian, Dana took a few moments to call him and let him know he could leave with the bus when it arrived to pick up the slaves they'd captured as long as he locked up the Beast. With the sun coming up, their night of hunting was over, so there was no need for him to stick around, especially since Dana knew he had plenty of work waiting for him back at his precinct regarding the raid. With that done, Dana continued with her summary.

The medical examiner arrived while they were talking and Dana was peripherally aware of the ME handing over the dead man's wallet to the officer who had spoken to her earlier. A few minutes later, the officer came over and filled them in on the names of the deceased and the witness, George Harding and Joyce Reynolds, respectively. Then he went back to help coordinate with the newly arrived CSI team. The sky had lightened considerably in the last half hour and it was paramount they gather as much evidence as they could before the place got too busy with a new day.

"Come on. Let's go talk to the witness," Dana said as she led them over to where the woman was sitting with the other officer in the back of the ambulance.

"...And then she told me to run, but I couldn't. I was so scared. God, I can't believe this is happening," the young woman cried.

"It's okay, Miss Reynolds. It's over now," the cop soothed.

"Did you know that man?" Dana broke in.

"No. I already told her," she said, looking to the female officer. "He tried to attack me. If it hadn't been for that woman, he would've... He almost... I was almost... Oh my God, and he would've too, if that woman hadn't come and stopped him. She was amazing," she whispered.

"The woman? Wait, you mean the blonde?" Dana questioned in confusion.

"Yeah. She just came outta nowhere and pulled him offa me like it was nothing. She was like an avenging angel. I thought I was gonna die, and then—"

"She was a vampire," Dana informed her, carefully watching the woman's reaction.

"What? No way. I mean how could she be? She didn't even try to hurt me. She... She saved me," the woman insisted.

"Right. You just happened to be out here at five in the morning when this guy attacked you, and some vamp came along and rescued you? I don't think so. Let's see your neck and arms," Dana ordered.

"What? I was just waiting for the bus to go to work."

"Then you won't mind rolling up your sleeves," Debbie seconded.

"Why?" she asked warily.

"Because I happen to think you're that vamp's slave, and if I find even one bite mark on you, I'm taking you in for accessory to first-degree murder," Dana replied, ready for the woman to bolt.

"I don't mess with vamps," she responded sullenly.

"Then what's the hold up? Show us your neck and arms," Debbie insisted.

Miss Reynolds reluctantly let the top of her torn dress fall apart and Dana was surprised to see dirty, but intact skin.

"Satisfied?"

"Now your arms."

"Oh, come on."

"I can take you down to the station, if you prefer."

The woman's downcast eyes showed what she thought of that idea. She finally pulled up her sleeves, revealing long track marks up and down her arms, but no scarring from vampire bites.

"Can I go now?" the woman asked impatiently as she put her sleeves back down to hide the evidence of her drug addiction.

Dana considered asking to check the woman's thighs for bites along her femoral artery, but decided against it. Vamps regularly kept addicts as slaves, since the drugged blood had little effect on their preternatural constitution and the human's addiction allowed them to be more easily controlled, but the woman seemed more worried about being arrested for her drug use than as an accomplice to murder.

Dana turned to the police officer.

"She's all yours," Dana informed her, and then walked off a short ways so she could speak with Debbie and Ben more privately.

"I take it you're keeping this one for yourself?" Debbie asked.

"Yeah, looks like it," Dana confirmed.

"All right. Guess we're done here then." Debbie glanced at Ben, catching his disappointment, then turned back to Dana. "Sorry we missed that raid earlier. I heard it was one for the record books."

Dana grinned.

"Don't worry about it. I'm sure there'll be plenty of others."

"Yeah, so call me next time." Debbie glanced at Ben again and smiled as she bumped his shoulder. "This one's gotten a lot better since the last time he tagged along."

"Well, considering how bad he was, I'm not sure how he could've gotten worse." Dana smirked as she looked at Ben, quickly running her eyes over his lanky form, noting the subtle changes that coincided with the reports she'd skimmed regarding his steadily improving kill score and increased muscle to fat ratio on his last few physicals. "But if you think you're ready for round two..." Dana trailed off expectantly as she stared challengingly at the young man.

Ben stood up straighter, unconsciously puffing out his chest as he met her gaze with his own.

"Yes, Ma'am. I won't let you down."

"Good."

The hunters said their goodbyes and Dana made her way back to where she'd left the Beast. Cleanup had already come by and Sebastian had reported he'd left with the slaves, so Dana climbed into the Beast to return to her home precinct, the 64th, otherwise known as Brooklyn South, the North American headquarters of the Vampire Hunters Association.

The VHA was an international organization with offices all over the world dedicated to learning about, hunting, and killing vampires wherever they could be found. Those goals were met in different ways in different countries. In the United States of America, the VHA was structured much the same as the police, complete with a shiny silver badge and lots of paperwork. Dana hated the paperwork, but she'd decided a long time ago that it was worth it as long as she could kill plenty of vamps. New York City had one of the highest vampire populations in the world, so it was perfect for her.

Dana walked into the station, nodding to the few hunters who ventured to greet her. She stopped off to enter her bag full of kill cartridges into evidence for the lab to process and then headed directly for the locker room. After a full night of hunting, she needed a shower, not to mention less gear, before she'd be comfortable enough to sit at her desk to write up her shift reports.

She went to her locker and brought out a large black duffel bag, setting it on the slatted wooden bench that ran between the rows of gray painted metal storage lockers. Her black combat boots, black stretch jeans, and standard issue black T-shirt, with its red VHA logo emblazoned on the front and back, were a mess, but she first had to remove all her weapons and armor before she could take off the soiled clothing.

The first items to go were her shades and armored gloves, which went back into their respective pouches on her vest as she made a mental note to remember to take her other shades in for repair, and then her sword, which she hung on the inside of the locker door. They were followed by her VHA-issued 9mm handgun, a matte black SIG SAUER P226 X10, which she locked in a metal strongbox with her personal gun until she could put it back on after her shower.

Her shin guards were next, along with her forearm guards, the left one of which received a refill of bo-shuriken—miniature steel throwing spikes—for all six empty slots, since she'd used every last one of them that night and never gotten a chance to retrieve them. When she was done, she shoved the guards into a side pocket of the bag.

Then she reached up to remove the six-inch steel bladed combat knife that was still locked into its hard plastic sheath where it was secured upside-down around her left bicep for an easy right-handed draw. It went into the bag next to the guards, and then she began working on her thigh rigs. The right one held her bolas and her holster, which itself had a case for handcuffs on its side and a magazine pocket on the front, while the left rig held her second tactical knife, a pouch containing the VDC unit, along with its refill cartridges, and another pouch for two more ammo mags.

Next, she unbuckled the straps of her specially armored black leather hunting vest, which was fastened along her sides. There was only one stake left in the loops lining the back of her vest, and the pouch for extra magazines was as empty as all the others. It was a testament to the many vamps Dana had killed that night.

Dana automatically refilled all the loops with stakes and replaced the empty magazines before stuffing the vest into her bag.

She finally sat down on the bench to take off her boots. The rest of her clothing quickly followed.

She was soon standing under a hot spray of water, reveling in the heat suffusing her tired muscles. If she'd been willing to wait, the spatters of vampire blood would have eventually turned into a fine dust that she could have simply brushed away, but a shower was so much faster. It also felt a hell of a lot better.

However, when she heard a couple of her fellow hunters talking and laughing as they entered the locker room, she decided it was time to finish up. She shut off the water and returned to her locker, pulling on a clean black T-shirt and jeans. She spent several minutes braiding her hair to get it out of her face and give it some curl later on, while she listened to the women's teasing banter. She was tying up the laces of her second boot when they walked past her row on their way to the showers. The two women didn't stop, but Dana hadn't expected them to. Very few people had the nerve to approach her without the excuse of a case to talk about.

Dana clipped her gun to her hip, and then replaced her duffel bag in her locker before making her way to her office. She logged into her computer and began the boring task of writing up the various reports regarding her night's activities.

She was one of the few hunters who didn't have a set beat. She simply went where she was needed most, based on her reviews of the previous week's incident reports from all the precincts. Most of the time, it worked, with fewer attacks being reported after she'd spent a night or two cleaning out the area, but there were other times, like tonight, when she left her self-assigned patrols to lead unscheduled raids or joined in on a raid with other precincts after hearing about it over the radio.

Unfortunately, her special status meant she had to be a little more detailed about where she was, what she'd done, and how she'd done it. She would have much preferred to just write, "Killed fifteen vamps," and then gone home, but the Chief also needed to be able to validate the extra ammunition and supplies she went through on a regular basis. As long as he could prove the excess wasn't going to waste, they wouldn't have a problem with their funding getting cut the way some of the other precincts had recently.

There were eight precincts in all, one for each borough of the city plus three extra ones for Manhattan, Brooklyn, and Queens, which were divided into north and south because of their greater size. However, even with the extra precincts, estimates put the ratio of vamps to hunters at around three-to-one. She and the Chief were constantly lobbying for more funding, but even when they got it, which was rare, it was always a tough decision figuring out where to spend the money. Should they put more hunters on the streets or buy better equipment for the hunters already out there? Both were important, but there never seemed to be enough money to do both.

That was one of the reasons Dana tended to buy her own equipment. She still used the reimbursement plan the VHA offered, but she always kicked in her own money to make sure she got the best equipment she could. It wasn't like she had anything else to spend her money on.

Not when there are vampires that need to be killed.

Dana shook her head and got back to work, but two hours later, she was still at her desk. She'd finished all her incident reports, but she hadn't been able to bring herself to go home yet, even though her shift had ended nearly an hour earlier. She just couldn't stop going over that last 'incident.'

In twelve years of hunting, Dana had never heard of a legitimate case of a vampire helping a human, unless that human happened to be the vamp's slave. Even then, it was rare, since slaves were so easily replaced.

Reports of supposedly benevolent vampires invariably turned out to either be from slaves who were lying to protect their masters or the vamps in question were revealed to be groupies: people who, for one reason or another, enjoyed pretending they were vampires. A few of them were clinically insane, believing they really were vampires, though most of them had never even met a vamp, let alone tasted the blood of one. Dana supposed the blonde could be a groupie. She could even account for the blonde's strength by attributing it to massive amounts of drugs in her system, which would've allowed her to hold the man without feeling any pain from straining muscles or broken bones.

However, Dana didn't buy it. She'd sensed the vampire and that wasn't something that could be faked. There was nothing like it in her experience. It was just this feeling of otherness. Many hunters had the ability, which was what allowed them to track vampires in the first place, but Dana seemed especially sensitive. Also, the way the blonde had just disappeared pointed to vampiric abilities, so Dana was pretty sure she was dealing with a vampire and not a groupie.

Dana sighed as she stared at the wall behind her desk, absentmindedly playing with the end of her braid. She'd brought in a sketch artist while taking a short break from her reports to do a rendering based on her description of the vampire and he'd created a fairly accurate depiction of the blonde, which she'd posted on her wall next to the sketches of all the other vampires who had managed to escape her over the years. For over a decade's worth of hunting, there were relatively few drawings. Less than thirty.

Dana gazed up at the blonde's beautiful face, trying to bring up that feeling of recognition again. It didn't come. She didn't know why she'd felt such a strong sense of familiarity when she'd first seen the vampire, but it was gone now. She wondered if she'd met her when she was still human, maybe as a slave, but nothing came to mind.

Her thoughts were interrupted when her computer beeped. She let go of her hair and swiveled around in her chair to see what her search had turned up.

Dana had run her preliminary incident report, along with the blonde's image, through the VHA's database of unsolved cases to see if the vamp had been involved in any prior attacks, though she was still waiting on the lab reports for the saliva sample the CSI team had collected from the victim's bite wound. Since all cases were considered unsolved until the vampire in question was staked or burned to ashes, there were a lot, and the search had been running for over half an hour. Dana had also selected the date range to search through the past twenty years, which was the maximum allowed, since once a case reached twenty years old, it was removed from the local system and permanently archived at the Learning Center in Salem, Massachusetts.

Dana stared in dismay at the list of results. Over a hundred different cases had been returned, but only the top one was marked as a perfect match. It was also the only one with an attached sketch, so Dana clicked on that one first.

She grinned as a nearly identical rendering of the blonde appeared on her screen. The hair was slightly longer, nearly shoulder length, but it was definitely her vampire. Then she began reading through the report and her grin slowly disappeared as her confusion and disbelief returned.

Fourteen years ago, an elderly man had been outside his store getting ready to close up, when a group of teenagers belonging to a local gang had come along with baseball bats. The two boys and one girl had smashed up his store, while they made him watch. When they had finished, they'd moved on to beating him. Then the blonde vamp had reportedly intervened, killing all three teens, but letting the old man live. She'd been gone by the time the police had arrived. The hunter who had taken over the investigation had put in his notes that he thought the old man was most likely protecting a vigilante neighbor, even though he couldn't prove it and the attached medical reports all substantiated that a vampire had killed the gang members, not a human.

Dana sat back in her chair and tiredly rubbed at her eyes as though it would help erase what she'd just read. Vampires did not help humans. It was a fundamental fact, immutable. Yet, she clearly had two cases of the same vampire... rescuing... a human. It didn't make any sense.

Dana frowned as she sat forward again and clicked on the next link. There was no picture to confirm whether the report involved her vamp, but a quick scan through the specifics of the case told her it was highly unlikely, not to mention the vamp's hair had been described as long and dyed with blood-red stripes.

She went through another fifty cases before coming across one that seemed to fit her vamp's modus operandi. It dated back to nineteen years earlier and contained a report of a blonde female vampire protecting a young man from two armed muggers who were linked to five previous incidents, three of which had ended in fatal shootings of their victims. At first, the young man had refused to give a description of his savior. It was only after the hunter in charge of the case had stated unequivocally that she knew it was a vampire who had killed the two muggers that the young man had finally admitted he'd seen a vampire at all and that she'd been blonde and female.

Dana went through the rest of the links, but didn't find any more matches. She thought there were probably more, but without the lab results to verify possible cases or a physical description to at least narrow down the search, she'd have to wade through too many misses to get to the hits. Instead, she decided to see how far back the reports went. She would just have to run the search again once she got the labs back.

She clicked the link to broaden her search to include the Learning Center's archives, starting from twenty years ago and going all the way back to the mid-1800's, when the current incarnation of the American VHA had been established as a special task force of the New York Police Department shortly after its creation.

With the advent of computers, there had been a huge effort to get the old paper reports moved to the latest technological medium, which had been quite successful thanks to advances in optical character recognition. The reports had been scanned in and transferred to the current format for standard reports with almost no loss of information, even though the originals had been mostly handwritten. Otherwise, Dana would've had to look through the scanned images of the reports herself, a daunting task to say the least.

Dana watched the status bar indicating the search's progress as it began its slow journey across the screen, and then glanced at her watch and cringed. She'd already stayed two hours past the end of her shift. Though it wasn't rare for her to come in on her off days in order to continue an investigation, Dana knew it was more than that. The blonde intrigued her and nothing grabbed her attention like a mystery.

She turned around again and stared up at the face of the blonde, overlaying her memory of the vamp's expression in the instant she'd looked at Dana. She'd appeared to be absolutely shocked by Dana's presence.

Dana smirked. The vampire had probably recognized her black hunter's uniform and black sunglasses and correctly guessed she was about to face off with the most well-known vampire hunter who ever lived. Though her face remained largely unknown to the public, since she'd never appeared without her shades on television and almost always wore them whenever she went out, not to mention most of the vamps she'd met she'd ended up killing, the image of her in her uniform and shades, as well as the name Dana Clark, was rather famous.

Dana looked away, trying to put the blonde's face out of her mind. She checked the status of the search and groaned. The bar had hardly moved.

"Fuck it," Dana muttered as she pushed the button to turn off her monitor, leaving the search to continue on its own.

She stood up and grabbed her leather jacket off the back of her chair, and then paused. In a moment of impulsiveness, she snatched the drawing of the blonde from the wall and quickly folded it up and shoved it into her pocket. Then she headed home.