Chapter 5 (Revised Version)

Marcus Graves sat in his office looking over several reports that had been waiting for him on his desk when he'd come in that afternoon. He shook his head in frustration as he gathered up the papers and put them in order again. He shoved them into a folder and set it on the stack of papers already in his inbox.

Mark picked up his tombstone-shaped paperweight, ready to put it back on top of the stack, when he paused instead. It read, "R.I.P. Chief Hunter Marcus Graves 1999-2044." The department had gotten it for him as a joke for his forty-fifth year with the VHA three years ago. He traced the gold letters engraved in smooth black stone and leaned back in his chair with a sigh.

Sometimes, it seemed like only yesterday he'd made the decision to join the VHA, handing over his ID as proof that he was eighteen and old enough to apply despite his boyish looks. Of course, that was back when it had still been part of the state police department, but when the VHA had finally been granted its own separate powers under the law, he'd been given the 64th precinct to run as he saw fit, and considering the prejudice against his Arabian heritage at the time, that had been quite a coup. But despite all his accomplishments, he usually thought accepting Dana Clark into his department was one of the smartest decisions he'd ever made.

Then there were days like this.

Mark put the paperweight back where it belonged and moved to his computer. He pulled up a login window and used his superadmin clearance to bring up Dana's computer screen in a separate window. She had a search window up, which looked like it was just about finished, but there didn't seem to be any current activity, so she probably wasn't at her computer. He checked the digital login sheet, but she hadn't signed into the precinct yet. He set a bot to alert him when she signed in and left the monitor window open, so he would know as soon as she was at her computer.

Then he went back to reading reports.

^~\/^^^\/^~

Dana walked into the 64th precinct just as the sun was setting behind the city. She signed in at the front desk to start her shift and then headed towards the back and down a side hall. She entered her office and sat down at her computer, pleased to find the search she'd started that morning had finished while she slept during the day. She was about to start going through the thousands of hits the search had kicked back when her phone rang.

"Clark. Go."

"Get your ass in here," a gravelly voice ordered, and then she heard a dial tone as the speaker hung up.

Dana carefully put the phone back in its cradle and then pushed away from her desk.

Shit. That didn't sound good.

Dana stoically readied herself for whatever was coming and headed for the Chief's office. She knocked on his door and then waited.

"Come in," came the muffled reply.

Mark sat with his arms crossed as he watched his best hunter enter his office. He worked hard not to let his deep brown eyes warm upon seeing the young woman he sometimes thought of as a daughter.

Mark remembered the first time he'd ever seen her face. Her senior yearbook picture had made the front pages of most of the local newspapers, as well as several national ones. Headlines like 'Teen Girl Slays Vamp Who Killed Family' and 'Vamp Kills Family, Girl Kills Vamp' had accompanied the image of a wholesome-looking girl who still had the last vestiges of baby fat plumping her cheeks, though it might have just been the beaming smile making them seem so cherubic.

A month later, he'd hardly recognized the young woman who had entered his precinct looking for a badge and a purpose. There hadn't been a trace of baby fat in the hard angles of her face, and the piercing glare in her eyes had been unsettling coming from someone so young.

He'd known the moment he'd seen her that she wouldn't be going through the six-month academy training program, and he'd been right. She'd immediately signed up for the fast-track: a day of physical aptitude and combat tests combined with her high school diploma. Since she'd graduated two months earlier and had taken martial arts classes since she'd been a kid, she'd passed with no problems. She'd received her badge, ID, uniform, and equipment and had hit the streets that same day, starting at the entry-level rank of Hunter, Cadet Sixth Grade like any other rookie, which was the last time he'd ever compared her to another hunter.

Rank in the VHA was based on the system used by the NYPD, but with one major difference. Instead of being forced to wait to move up based on time on the job and merit, hunters were graded solely on merit from the very beginning. Nevertheless, the VHA merit-based grades, which essentially boiled down to a hunter's kill score and overall killed vs. escaped ratio, were so demanding that they rarely helped hunters achieve higher ranks sooner than their police officer counterparts, keeping the two organizations' ranking systems roughly equal with one another.

However, in Dana's case, the merit-based grading system had allowed her to jump from one rank to the next in less than half the time it took most hunters. She'd set new records at every step for being the youngest person, not to mention female, in VHA history to ever achieve each rank.

She'd most recently earned the rank of Assistant Chief Hunter, placing her only a step below Mark, though he made sure she didn't have to carry out most of the duties generally associated with the title. He had concluded early on that the only reason Dana didn't already have his job was because she didn't want the paperwork, and he intended to keep it that way. He wasn't ready for retirement just yet. Besides, her time was much better spent hunting and killing vampires, so he made sure she was always free to do what she did best.

Unfortunately, she didn't always make it easy for him.

Mark retrieved the folder from his inbox. He tossed it at Dana and she caught it reflexively. She opened it and began scanning the top page.

"That's a report from a cadet who says you physically assaulted a suspect in her custody, then physically assaulted her and verbally threatened her and her family with a vampire attack."

Dana looked up, but Mark could tell by the expression on her face that she didn't have a good response, so she was keeping silent.

"On the other hand, I have another half-dozen reports from regulars, leads, and masters countering the cadet's statements, explaining that you were attacked by the suspect and were defending yourself against him, and that the cadet was merely reprimanded for interfering in a standard interrogation. One report goes so far as to suggest the cadet may be working for a vampire to discredit you."

Dana couldn't help the slight smile that turned up her lips.

"Wouldn't be the first time."

Mark smacked his hand against his desk.

"Damn it, Clark! This is serious. Do you really want to ruin this girl's career just because she wouldn't go along with your... tactics?"

Dana lost her grin.

"Well, it doesn't look like she cares very much about mine. Not to mention she almost let a vampire get away. What the hell are they teaching at the academy these days?" Dana asked rhetorically as she sat down and put the folder on his desk. "What are you going to do?"

Mark sighed.

"I'm gonna bury it, what do you think? She has to realize by now she's gotten in way over her head. She's gonna be joining her suspect in prison for aiding and abetting at the rate she's going. But Clark, you have got to stop with the strong-arming, at least of your fellow hunters."

"She got in my way," Dana argued.

"She was just doing what she thought was right, which, by the way, she was. If you're gonna break the law, could you please not do it where I have to do something about it? By all rights, I should put you on suspension," he threatened, somewhat enjoying the look of alarm on her face. "Fortunately for you, I really can't afford to have the VHA's poster child go rogue," he continued and Dana visibly relaxed.

She stood.

"I'll try not to do anything you have to do something about," Dana promised vaguely as she began to turn away.

"Hold on a minute. I'm not finished with you yet. Just because I'm not willing to put my best hunter on a time-out doesn't mean you're getting away scot-free. There are consequences for every action."

"What do you mean?" Dana asked warily and Mark smiled. "Oh, no. Not that again. Please?"

"I've always believed the punishment should fit the crime. Since you seem to think the cadets aren't getting enough instruction at the academy, you're going to come with me and help our latest recruits during orientation today."

"I'd rather the suspension," Dana muttered.

"I'm sure you would. But that little speech you gave last time was perfect. You know, we tracked their progress and that group has had a fifteen percent increase in their survival rate compared to the other groups that came through here last year. You really helped them, Clark. And now you're going to help some more."

"But I can't. I have a patrol tonight, plus I'm in the middle of an investigation—"

"Which will wait until you've given the cadets the benefit of your wisdom. Now, come on. They're waiting for us in the locker room."

Dana reluctantly followed Mark out of his office and down the hall. He paused at the door.

"I want them to see you in your gear, so get dressed like you're going hunting. I think it'll make more of an impression."

"I'm not taking them hunting," Dana warned.

Mark frowned and stared hard at her.

"You will if I say so. You may have killed more vamps than me, but I still outrank you." Mark lowered his voice, making it that much more powerful when he spoke. "Don't try to get into a power play with me, Dana. You will lose."

Dana was surprised at the use of her first name, but she tried not to show its effect on her as she looked away, feigning nonchalance.

Mark watched Dana's face, suppressing a laugh at the spanked puppy look she was trying so hard to hide.

"You really are a brat sometimes, you know that?" Mark said, trying to lighten the mood. "Here I am saving your ass and all you can do is whine about how much you hate playing with the newbies. Just go put your damn gear on, impress them with the brilliance of your techniques, and then you can go back to playing with yourself."

Mark pushed through the door and then held it open for her, turning back to watch as Dana struggled not to smile, but she eventually gave in.

"You are one sick old man. You're old enough to be my grandfather, for Christ's sake."

"Oh, older," he replied enigmatically and then smiled as she continued past him to go to her locker.

Dana dressed quickly as she listened to the Chief greet the new recruits several rows down and explain the basics of how things were done at Brooklyn South.

When she was finished, she tossed her duffel bag back in her locker and closed and locked the door. She walked to the end of the lockers and then turned to pass the next few rows until she found Mark with one of the precinct's master hunters and nine cadet hunters variously leaning against the lockers and sitting on the central bench. They all looked like they could be members of the SWAT division, except for the red VHA logo emblazoned on their chest patches and the backs of their armored vests.

Mark glanced at her and gave her a wink, then turned back to the recruits.

"Everyone, this is Assistant Chief Hunter Dana Clark. You may have heard of her." Mark grinned at his own joke and the cadet hunters dutifully smiled back. "Now, you probably won't work with her very often, if at all, but if you're lucky enough to get the chance, you do whatever she tells you. She's the best in the biz. In fact, Harper here is the one who trained her."

Dana glanced at her former training partner, but he just as quickly looked away.

"You really trained The Vampire Hunter?" one of the cadets asked, his voice full of awe.

Steve Harper folded his arms across his chest.

"Yeah."

"But doesn't she outrank you? How's that possible?"

Dana answered before Steve could respond.

"I've killed more vamps. Didn't they tell you how rank works in the VHA?"

"Remember what we talked about earlier," Mark quickly inserted. "Rank and promotions are based on your kill score, until you reach the level of Master Hunter. Then promotions are at the discretion of the senior ranking hunter... That would be me, by the way... Because most hunters who reach that level have been hunting for twenty years, so they retire from the field, which would make it impossible for them to achieve a higher rank, if we didn't factor in something other than kill scores. However, there are still rules on the books that require mandatory promotions for certain kill score levels just like the previous ranks. Clark's kill score has hit those levels, so she's earned those mandatory promotions."

"So, what's your kill score?" a cadet directed at Dana.

"I just passed seven thousand a couple weeks ago."

"What's yours?" another recruit asked Steve.

"I was injured a few years ago, so I haven't been able to go out and hunt as regularly as the Assistant Chief."

Dana refrained from rolling her eyes. As if he would've been able to match her kill score even if he hadn't been stupid enough to go hunting after a weekend bender four years ago. At least no one had gotten killed, and from what she'd heard, he'd been attending his meetings regularly since then. She knew it was that and the fact he had a wife and three kids to support that had made the Chief approve his promotion to Master Hunter, Second Class, even though he was short nearly 200 kills out of the 3,200 that rank was expected to have achieved.

"What about you, Sir?" another cadet asked and Mark smiled.

"Oh, I stopped hunting years ago when I hit five thousand. It was a nice round number and I'd been asked to take over the Six-Four as Chief Hunter, so I figured it was time to accept the desk job. Now, enough about kill scores. They're all posted on the boards anyway, if you wanna look 'em up later. I'm sure you young pups can come up with a better use of our star hunter's time than to ask about her kill score. So, who's got a question?"

Mark nodded at one of the recruits who had raised her hand.

"Is it true the VHA gets most of their tips from funeral parlors where vampires buy their coffins?"

Steve stifled a laugh as Dana shook her head and answered.

"No. Where did you hear that?"

"My brother said he read it on some news site."

"Well, it's not true. We get tips from all kinds of sources, mostly private citizens, but a lot come from police investigations. And then of course, there's our own investigations based on attacks."

Another cadet raised his hand, so Dana pointed to him.

"I just wanted to know about crosses. I'm Jewish, but my dad told me the Star of David would work just as well, as long as I believed."

Dana turned to Mark.

"Please, tell me they're kidding? This is worse than last time."

Mark shrugged apologetically.

"Why do you think I wanted you here? They just teach 'em how to use the equipment to kill vamps. They don't see the need for a 'debunking the myths' class."

"And they wonder why there's a forty-percent attrition rate for the first year," Dana muttered.

She turned back to the recruits and took a deep breath as she stepped forward and squared her shoulders. She tried to remember everything she'd said the last time Mark had roped her into a question and answer session with a group of cadets. After the first few, she'd gotten pissed at the obvious lack of knowledge and just started listing off the most common vampire myths.

Well, if it worked before...

"All right, listen up. First things first. Forget everything you've ever seen in the movies. Vamps don't sleep in coffins. They were never buried in the first place, though they do prefer to sleep underground to protect themselves from the sun. And wearing a cross, or any other religious icon, isn't gonna stop a vamp from gutting you with his bare claws, just like dousing them with holy water doesn't make their skin melt like it's been hit by acid. It just pisses them off. They don't need you to invite them into your house in order to break in and kill you and the rest of your family, and they have no problem following you into a church.

"Garlic goes in your food, not around your neck.

"Cutting off their head won't kill them, but it'll definitely make it easier to put a stake through their heart, which will. So will a bullet, and it doesn't have to be silver either, just like the stake doesn't have to be wooden. A knife or sword'll do just fine, as long as you either do enough damage or leave it in their heart long enough for the vamp to start decomposing.

"You can also set them on fire, but the public tends to frown on us burning down entire buildings, so unless you can keep the flaming vamp contained, it should probably be your last resort.

"And if you're lucky enough to catch one close to sunrise, just keep him busy and the sun'll do the work for you. We still don't know why, so don't look in your kit for those UV flashlights they use in the movies. They don't work.

"Vamps can't shapeshift or fly. They're not going to suddenly turn into fog or a bat and fly away, but if you lose them in a crowd of humans, you're gonna have a problem because they can blend in, even if you switch to infrared. They have the same heat signature a human does, even when they haven't fed for several days, so forget about trying to pick them out that way. They're not reanimated corpses, so they're not cold. If you stake someone just because they forgot to put on a jacket, you're gonna go to prison.

"They're not always pale either. There are plenty of Black, Latino, and Asian vampires and they didn't suddenly lose all the melanin in their skin just because they became vamps.

"They can't digest human food, but that doesn't mean they won't eat in front of you to blend in. They'll just throw it up later. Their fangs can retract, too, so you're pretty much not gonna know a vamp's a vamp unless, and until, he wants you to know, and that'll probably be a split second before he's sinking his fangs into your neck. Your best bet's to patrol with someone who can sense them. We still don't know how that works either. We just know it does.

"But most of the time, the way you're gonna know a vamp's a vamp is when you interrupt their feeding, which is all the proof you'll need to have the legal right to kill them. The rest of the time, you'll be going in with a team as part of a raid on a particular location based on surveillance. If you're lucky, your team'll be issued a wall radar unit, which is one of the only ways we know of to passively check for vamps. Their body density is twice that of a human's, so they show up twice as bright on the display.

"Oh, and vamps do have a reflection, as well as a shadow, and they can be photographed just like anything else. In fact, you're required to use the VDC unit you were issued to take a headshot of every vamp you kill, as well as fingerprints, blood and saliva samples, and dental impressions, if possible, so we can close past cases."

Dana turned to Mark to let him know she was done with her impromptu lecture, and he just smiled and shook his head.

"Any other questions?" Mark asked the group.

One of the cadets raised her hand and Mark nodded to her. She pointed at Dana's lower right leg.

"You mentioned cutting off vampires' heads, so I was wondering why we didn't get issued a sword like you."

"Do you know how to use one?"

"No."

"Then that would explain why you don't have one. As a hunter, you're allowed to use any weapon—within reason—that you can show proficiency in. I trained with the katana as part of the martial arts classes I took when I was a kid, so it made sense for me to use it as part of my hunting, but it wasn't issued to me."

Dana drew her sword and twirled it through the air a few times, causing several of the closer recruits to quickly back up.

"This is actually a double-edged version of a ninjato. The blade is shorter and straighter than a katana, which makes it easier to carry and use in close quarters, but the style isn't too different from the katana, so my training was able to cross over with a bit of practice."

Dana slid the sword back into its scabbard.

"All I had to do was prove to the Chief here that I knew what I was doing with it. The same for my bolas," Dana said, patting the weapon on her thigh.

"That goes for the rest of you, too," Mark continued the thread. "If there's a weapon you want to use against vampires that isn't part of your kit, talk to your training partner and they'll set up a demonstration time for you with one of the master hunters. If they approve, you'll get to do it one more time for me, but I have final say. Just remember, you'll have to pay for it out of pocket, including replacements, since the VHA only has reimbursement plans for required equipment."

Mark pointed to another recruit who turned to address Dana.

"Why aren't you wearing all the stuff we are, if it's required?"

Dana smiled.

"Actually, I am, for the most part. I'm just wearing it a little differently. For example, my vest and forearm and shin guards aren't standard issue. I used the reimbursement plan towards buying my own armor. It's called Echelon Defense. It's thinner, lighter, completely flexible, and exceeds all the minimum body armor requirements, something you should keep in mind if you decide to buy something that isn't standard issue. The Echelon armor also costs about five times what the VHA will reimburse you, so if you want it, start saving your pennies. I also had the vest custom-made, so I could carry my stakes on my back instead of in the standard issue thigh holders," she said as she turned around and showed her back.

There were loops up and down her vest, all filled with stakes. The slots near the top of her shoulders were placed diagonally, the stakes positioned with their sharp tips pointing down towards her hips, so that she could easily reach for their blunt ends over either shoulder. The slots along her middle and lower back were horizontal, the placement staggered, so that her hands could just as easily be re-armed from underneath and either hand could reach for the safe end of a spike. Dana turned back around to face the group.

"I can carry twice as many stakes this way as the thigh holders can, and the stakes also act as a kind of extra armor, which deflect blows that would normally snap my spine or punch through to my kidneys."

Dana turned to each side to show her belt and thighs.

"As for the rest of the stuff, what you carry in the pouches on the front of your vest, I carry in these extra holders on the fronts and sides of my thighs. I've just found it works better for my style of hunting. You'll have to figure out what works best for you, too, but I'd use the standard setup for at least a month before making any major changes."

Another recruit raised his hand and Dana pointed at him.

"How is it that you're wearing shades in every picture I've ever seen in the paper, even at night?"

Dana drew her sunglasses from the hard pouch on her vest.

"These are actually night vision glasses. There are night vision video cameras in the frame arms that relay their signals to the lenses, which are actually LCD displays. They're perfectly aligned, so it's just like looking out of a normal lens. Pressing this button here switches between normal and infrared vision, so I can wear them during the day," Dana said as she pointed to the button on one of the frame arms.

"Why don't we have those?"

Mark laughed.

"Because the VHA would rather pay half a year's worth of your salary. But if you'd rather do this for free..."

"Uh, no, not really."

"Besides, the night vision goggles you've been issued work just fine. Clark just likes to look cool," Mark said as he elbowed Dana in the side and she pretended to be hurt, much to the amusement of the recruits.

Steve pushed off from where he'd been leaning against the lockers.

"Well, this has all been really interesting, but unless anyone has a question specifically about hunting, we should probably get out there and actually do our jobs."

"Sounds good to me," Dana agreed as she turned to Mark hopefully.

He smiled and nodded minutely as he turned back to the recruits.

"Well, I think we should all thank Assistant Chief Clark for her time. I just hope you all learned something."

The cadet hunters nodded and dutifully thanked Dana.

"No problem," Dana muttered as she nodded to the cadets and then silently left the group to return to her locker so she could ditch the majority of her hunting gear and go back to her office. She had a hunt to continue.

She was still a little irritated with the Chief for making her get dressed up in the first place when she had no intention of going out just yet, but as she removed each item and quietly stowed it away, she was pulled from her mental grousing by the large group of cadets clattering past her row. She rolled her eyes at their complete lack of stealth ability and watched them go by, but none of them looked her way, apparently oblivious to her continued presence as they went on with their conversations taking place over the louder sounds of their movement. Even with all the noise, her ears pricked as she caught a snippet from one of the cadets walking next to the Chief bringing up the rear.

"Sir? Why didn't we get trained by her?"

Dana couldn't help straining to listen and wasn't disappointed when she heard her Chief's reply.

"You know that old saying, 'Those who can't, teach'? Well... She can."

Dana smirked and then the racket was abruptly cut off, leaving her in welcome silence as the main doors closed behind the loud group.

Dana finished with the last of her gear and shut her locker. She checked her gun out of habit even though she'd done that before she'd even left the house that evening, and then went back to her office. She had a lot of reports to wade through, judging by the search results she'd glimpsed before the Chief had interrupted her.

Dana sat down at her desk and began the tedious process of skimming the old reports for anything that stood out as possibly being related to her vamp before moving on to the next one. After several hours, she'd only found three more cases that seemed to match the blonde's MO, but she was also only a tenth of the way through the thousands of hits her vague search had returned.

She was getting frustrated and realized she needed a break, so she got up and went to the large touch screen on the wall next to her desk to bring up a map of the city. She zoomed in to the locations of the two reports she'd already found and added digital pins with the dates and case numbers, then did the same for the new cases before she finally remembered to add one for her own incident report. Then she zoomed out again and stood back to look at the map, trying to find a pattern.

Most vampires had territories they regularly hunted, areas either close to home or full of fresh targets they'd had success with in the past, so they kept going back. Circumstances could certainly push them outside of their preferred hunting grounds, but those were the anomalies and usually stood out as such on a map like this.

But with only six suspected cases that appeared to range randomly over all five boroughs and across multiple decades, Dana couldn't even begin to see how they might all fit together.

Dana sighed and went back to her desk, determined to find more incidents. She wasn't going to let this one get away.