Here There Be Monsters (IC)

[Lyonesse]

The old door on the 1400 block of Monroe Avenue was an easy thing to miss. It stood halfway between the backsides of a carpet warehouse and an insurance agency, a simple steel door marked with nothing beyond the scrubbed remnants of graffiti. No one was sure who really owned the door and the staircase on the other side of it. Neither of the businesses in the old brick building wanted to claim it, so everyone seemed to acknowledge it as some sort of public property. As such, the door had no lock and it served as one of the few public entrances to Shanghai, the city beneath the city of Mayport, Washington. Behind the door a narrow set of concrete stairs led down to another unlocked door, which in turn led into the tunnels of Shanghai.

Detective Nick Callaghan paused just inside the second doorway as the lights overhead flickered down the long tunnel. The city had finally installed the lights two years ago—replacing a piecemeal generator system and handfuls of purple-tinted glass squares set into the sidewalks overhead—after complaints from the police department that the lack of lighting inhibited their ability to patrol the tunnels. The new system was still far from perfect though, and if the flickering, frequently burnt out lights actually helped make things safer, Nick had yet to see the evidence.

Half a step behind Nick, his new partner was gawking. It was Detective Moira Kaminski’s first time down in Shanghai, and she seemed to be equal parts horrified and fascinated by the grimy brick, exposed pipes and the occasional splash of graffiti reading “bite this bitch” or “KILL ALL HUMANS!” The first time they passed a reddish-brown stain on one of the walls Moira had frozen in her tracks and asked nervously if it was blood. “No,” Nick replied tersely, pointing to a dripping pipe overhead. “It’s rust.” By now Nick was so used to this place that newcomers annoyed him almost as much as they must annoy the vampires themselves.

Nick stopped when the tunnel they were following widened and split in two. At the entrance to the left hand branch a pair of vampires stood, talking in hushed tones. They stopped speaking as soon as Nick and Moira entered and gave the humans a very aggressive look over until they caught sight of the badge and the gun clipped to Nick’s belt. They hurried off without a word while Moira stared after them. “So,” Nick said, “This is really about it. The tunnel on the left goes down to the waterfront and the docks, and the other will take you beneath City Center and Chinatown. There are a few shitty bars and makeshift stores down by the docks, but the waterfront area is mostly private residences. Lots of tiny apartments, almost tenement housing really. A lot of the blood runners, the human traffickers, and the drug dealers come in through the waterfront, but most of their actual business is done in City Center and Chinatown. More people—human and vampire—there, plus more escape routes and holes for them to hide in.”

Moira nodded and continued to stare like a virgin in a whorehouse, as Nick’s father would have said. He wasn’t happy about having a new partner, especially one who was still so green she jumped at every shadow. Like it or not though, if Nick wanted to keep working cases in Shanghai he had to follow department policy, which said no officer of the Mayport Police Department went down into the tunnels alone. It made him curse his old partner’s retirement.

“Come on,” Nick said, leading Moira down the right hand tunnel toward the center of the city. This was where the graffiti started to fade and the tunnels got cleaner. The lights still flickered, but that was the city’s fault. This was the part of Shanghai that had been used during prohibition. When alcohol had been declared illegal all of the bars and brothels in Mayport had quite literally moved underground where they’d operated out of the basements of hotels and other businesses, joined together by the old tunnels, hidden behind heavy doors and false walls, protected by generous bribes to city hall and the police themselves. When the vampire community had first started to boom in Mayport and they began their own migration underground, the old speakeasies were the first places to be colonized and retrofitted into homes and businesses and quite a lot of bars and clubs.

It was still early in Shanghai, barely sunset, which meant most of the bars and clubs were still closed, the doors that lined the tunnels all shut and locked until the night truly began. Still, the tunnels became a little busier, a handful of vampires and even a few humans passed, all of them gave Nick and Moira wide berth once they saw their guns and badges. No one, not even the most law-abiding of vampires, welcomed the police in Shanghai.

“This is the Lord Ruthven,” Nick said, pointing to a scarred wooden door with a small slit at eye level. He paused to see if Moira would pick up on the small literary reference. She didn’t. “They’re the one of the few places down here with an actual liquor license. The owner usually works with the department without much fuss, so I try not to bother them unless we have a real reason to do so.” Because we need all the help we can get down here, he added silently. Some of the other cops who patrolled down in Shanghai didn’t have the same philosophy.

He started to move on and show Moira where a few of the less cooperative clubs could be found. Moira hesitated behind him. “We’re not going to go in?” She asked.

“No. It’s barely after sunset, which makes it morning for most vampires,” Nick said. “The Ruthven doesn’t open until nine. If you really want to see one of the places down here though, we can stop by the After Life. It’ll probably be dead—and for the record I never make that pun intentionally—but it’s usually open early for the human clientele.”

They ducked through a side passage and followed a few handmade signs that corresponded roughly with the streets above toward the After Life. They were almost there when the hair on the back of Nick’s neck stood straight up. He stopped in his tracks as a figure stumbled out of a shadowed nook ahead of them. Moira’s breath caught and Nick had to catch her hand as she went for the gun at her waist. Damn jumpy rookie. On some level Nick could sympathize with her, it was human instinct—fight or flight, but shooting off a gun in a narrow tunnel was never something you did unless you absolutely had to. If Moira wanted to work cases in Shanghai she was going to have to learn to fight the urge to pull her gun at every turn.

Of course completely ignoring your instincts could be just as dangerous. As soon as he was sure Moira wasn’t going to start firing, Nick let go of her wrist and shot her a quick glare before stepping in front of her to get a better look at the figure. The flickering lights overhead didn’t help any, but the man—it was clearly a male figure—was leaning heavily against the tunnel wall, shaking from head to foot.

“Shit!” Nick said, hurrying forward. He’d seen vampire victims before, the ones who’d been drained beyond what any willing donor would give, or what any single vampire needed at once. The poor bastard was probably lucky to be alive. “See if you can get a signal on the radio down here!” He ordered Moira as he moved to catch the man before he fell. “Call for an ambulance and a squad car. Tell them we’ll come upstairs through the After Life.”

Moira leapt to obey as Nick helped steady the shaking man. The lights stopped flickering enough for Nick to see that he looked like hell. His clothes—which looked to be a pair of hospital scrubs—were in shreds and he was practically skin and bones covered in bruises. Blood had dried on his skin along with a generous amount of dirt. His skin was deathly gray where it wasn’t burnt or cut and he stared at Nick through sunken, fevered eyes.

“It’s going to be okay,” Nick assured him. “I’m a police officer. We’re going to get you to a hospital.”

The man’s shivering increased, quickly turning into shudders that wracked his entire body. He opened his mouth to try and speak—giving Nick a glimpse of very inhuman fangs. He barely had time to process his surprise that the pitiful creature was a vampire rather than a human before the vampire began to convulse violently. A flailing arm caught Nick across the cheek with unnatural strength and he went flying. Moira screamed as he landed flat on his back four feet away from the seizing vampire. Shaking his head to clear the foggy feeling away, Nick rolled back to his feet, but he wasn’t quick enough to stop Moira from pulling her gun and firing three shots straight into the vampire’s chest.

“Oh, god!” She said. She stared at her gun and down at the now still vampire on the tunnel floor in shock. “I…I thought…” she stammered and swallowed compulsively. Her hands shook on her still raised weapon. “I killed him,” she finally whispered, the gun sagging in her hands.

“No, not unless you’ve got silver bullets in there,” Nick said as he wiped blood away from his nose.

“He’s a vampire?” Moira asked. The relief was tangible in her voice.

Nick nodded. “A few regular bullets won’t kill a vampire.” But Moira was definitely going to be in deep shit when they had to file a report on this. Even if the vampire in question wasn’t dead the vampire rights folks were going to be after both of their badges. Pushing those thoughts out of his head for now, Nick squatted down next to the vampire. He’d never seen a vampire suffer seizures before. He’d never even known such a thing was possible, and he’d definitely done his research on the subject. He gave the vampire a quick visual assessment and his confusion doubled. There was no mistaking that blank, open-eyed stare or that peculiar limpness in the vampire’s tangled limbs. Not even the undead could ape death so thoroughly. “I take it back,” Nick said quietly.

Moira’s eyes went as wide as saucers. “But, I thought bullets couldn’t kill vampires?”

Nick shook his head, just as confused, if not more so. “They can’t.”

[Crazy Hobo]

"We've got a 708 in Shanghai, requesting assistance." James perked up at the sound of his radio going off. A 708? Attempted feeding. Usually no one called for backup on a 708, just an ambulance. Maybe the tick was still in the area. James almost ignored the call when suddenly the dispatcher came back on. "Shots fired at the After Life club. Requesting all nearby officers." This time James paid more attention. It seemed like the blood suckers were getting a little bit feisty. It was his duty to get down there and help. Luckily his squad car was parked not to far from an entrance to Shanghai. It wouldn't be more than a few minutes before he could get there.

"10-4, Dispatch." James replied before stepping out of his car and quickly making his way to the nearest public entrance to Shanghai. It was lucky that he happened to be parked near an entrance, and even luckier that the entrance dropped him only a short distance from the After Life. Less than a minute of running brought James the the After Life, and the two officers standing over the body. They would have to take care of the situation quickly. A crowd of bloodsuckers was already forming, and the damned activists were probably already on their way. Vampire killings were always annoying to deal with. "What happened? Dispatch called a 708 then came back on reporting shots fired. Did you find the fucking tick that tried to feed?" James glanced at the body momentarily, noting the gunshot wounds. Certainly not enough to kill a vampire. "Why did this leech go down so quickly?"


Lexi's eyes scanned the dozen or so buckets of blood in front of her, her experienced eye overlooking the general quality of the blood. Not much else could be done until it was tested for disease and blood type, but Lexi liked to inspect new blood just in case anything was wrong about it. She was about to open her mouth to tell her lackeys to get the stock tested and out on the market when one of her 'scouts' slipped in through the back of her office.

"We've got cops. Their headed for the After Life, but who knows what they could be doing." Lexi sighed as the scout relayed the message. It seemed like the cops always came into Shanghai as she was conducting business. Someone ought to just feed off of any cop that came down to Shanghai. Food wasn't supposed to cause so much trouble. Lexi was simply going to send one of her men to watch the cops and leave it at that when three gunshots rung out. Lexi sighed again. The damn cops just had to start shooting again. It really put a damper on business.

"Fuck. Looks like someone has to play activist for a little while. Lynn." Lexi glanced towards the large man in the back, her tone indicating he come with her. It would be odd to see a vampire activist out and about without her bodyguard. Humans could get brave if they saw her alone. The idiots actually thought she was defenseless. Either way, Lynn was an asset. He did make more dangerous deals move a bit more smoothly. Lexi swiftly left her office with Lynn in tow, making it to the afterlife just after the crowd was starting to form. Most people made way for Lexi and her bodyguard, mostly because of Lynn, but they also knew it was best to get out of the way of a large scale blood runner. As Lexi moved through the crowd, she began to put on a pleasant, polite seeming face. It was a workable facade, but humans were still able to sense that inhuman quality vampires possessed even when Lexi was putting on a good face. By the time she emerged to see three officers standing over a body, Lexi had completely embodied her activist persona.

"Good evening, officers. I do hope that you have a reason for killing that man. We don't want you fine people to be painted in a bad light, do we?" Lexi said, all smiles.

James sighed in disgust when he noticed a woman cut through the crowd with a large man following. He recognized the face quickly enough, sneering in disgust as she opened her mouth. Lexi Palmer had been a leading activist for a good ten or fifteen years. Definitely not the person to be around at this time. Next thing he knew, that fucking tick would be trying to get James and the other two fired for what happened here.

"We are perfectly within our jurisdiction, blood sucker." James said, a sneer building on his face. He knew that he probably should tread lightly around the vamp, but they were within the law to shoot that vampire. The activists could bitch, but it really didn't matter to James. Besides, it was always hard controlling his feelings about vampires.

"Officer, I don't enjoy those comments. You can be sure that I will be speaking with your superiors on your conduct tomorrow." Lexi calmly replied. She quickly made a mental note of his face. While she couldn't do anything directly, she would see about having him killed in one way or another.

"I don't have to treat tick nicely. It's not like you fuckers are people." James spat, turning away from the damn activist, "You are slowing this investigation down, so can you please watch from a distance so that we can do our work."

"Very well, officer. You should watch your tongue, though. I can have you pushing pencils by tomorrow."

"I doubt it." Sighing, Lexi walked back into the crowd. She had done all that was really required of her public facade. The cops would be distracted by the vampire they shot, so Lexi could go back to business. Although, it was rather odd that a vampire had gone down after three shots. It wasn't standard for cops to use silver bullets, in fact it was quite rare for cops to spring for silver in their guns. Quite odd, indeed. Lexi stopped after she had moved through the crowd once again. Things really didn't add up. She needed information, and there was one woman who she knew would have it.

"Change of plans, Lynn. We're going to say hello to Easton."

[Squall Reyes]

The familiar scratching of a match being struck was soft but audible in the small but comfortable room. The flame that was lit found its new home on the wick of a candle with sat securely on it's candlestick. It's twin also found it's way to another larger candle which sat in its hold and filled the room with more of its light. Hector has found, since he arrived in Mayport, that the lighting of candles were much more pleasing than the flickering or hazy hue of the electric bulbs down in this hole. It also filled him with a sense of nostalgia, he had been born into his mortal life at the turn of the 1900's. It was a time of what he thought great innovation, (the new century was proving to provide more than he ever dreamed then) and light has begun to find their way into many homes. However, he and his long dead mother were poor and lived in shacks, much like the ones his people live in now in this city, and so they did not have the luxury of electricity.

It was always odd to Hector the differences between waking up as a human and vampire. He had thought very little about it for sometime but sometimes the quaint and subtle differences would sneak back into his mind. He could not remember for himself the last time he woke as a human to the warm beat of the sun, but his talks with humans remind him or how they sometimes awake with a longing to stay in the bed. Vampires, for all Hector could tell, all awoke with the same...snap. One minute the vampire was "asleep" if one could call it that and the next he was awake. Ready to go as one would say. Perhaps if the vampire had neglected to feed 2 or more nights they would wake up, shaken and uneasy. But most of the time the waking was quick and instantaneous.

It was probably thanks to this, that Hector was quick to get ready for another new night in his clinic. No doubt he would be received by a privy of new and exciting challenges for him to solve. And with each solved case, the mystery of his peoples conditions were revealed. The thought excited Hector so much that he had nearly forgotten to blow out the larger candle on the wall before heading to the door and blowing out the candlestick in hand.

Hector's fine 3 piece suit seemed a almost a comical mismatch to the dreary and dirty background of his new home and city, and was once a source of trouble for him when he first arrived as such suits made some those not as well adjusted to their new lifestyle jealous. Such a shame that indeed some humans had tried their best to be turned off false notions that the life would be one of castles and maidens as Stokers book had once portrayed. He thought the human media had done well in squashing such dreams but some humans seemed unable or unwilling to hear. Or perhaps it was the thought of immortality that drove them.

Whatever the case, it had brought him much scorn from some of his neighbors. All of which has long since passed in the months that have passed since opening his clinic for both vampire and human. Indeed some humans with little or no money would come to him, insurance and medicals being what they are top side. Others who are willing to part with some money however, he would go up and visit himself. Oh but don't get him wrong the humans who come down do not get treatment for free. He does have to make some kind of living and of course pay smugglers for medication and medical supplies. For vampires that means money, and for humans that means blood. A simple small donation for his own consumption.

Hector moved through Shanghai at a brisk but elegant pace until he arrived at his clinic which was located near the center of the town.

"Doctor. We have several patients waiting down stairs." Chris said as he stood by the door. He had a excited and confident air about him today. A complete change to the nervous jittery wreck who arrived at his door 4 months ago. Hector has put out an add in the human newspaper for an assistant, the chance to work with a doctor who had more experience than any other. It was meant as a joke, his name has spread quickly among the humans and vampires and he was quickly becoming overwhelmed with work. He had never thought of a human making his way down for the work. And yet Chris arrived at his doorstep, having found the courage. A intelligent young man with a bright young future and, though Hector would refuse to admit, the only friend of the vampire in nearly 60 years.

"Very good, all humans I suppose? They do tend to get down here early so they would only have to cross my people once." Hector said as he opened the door for his assistant.

"Can you blame them? I did the same for nearly 2 months." Chris said.

A good heart with this one, Hector had long deduced that Chris, though brilliant, was much too idealistic for the corrupt and disgusting state of medical insurance and hospitals top side. Hector was much the same when it came to his job as a doctor. Consider it a hold over from his time as a medic, you save who you can, however you can then you can worry about yourself. When it came to research however, Hector changed. Cold, calculating, and willing to do almost anything to make progress.

Gunfire erupted, and echoed through the streets. It stopped both Hector and Chris dead in their tracks, but only so they could pinpoint it's source. Not an easy task, in the confined city where one could nearly hear communicate with another from one end to the other by speaking loudly in a quite human afternoon. But a slow gathering crowd gave them their source and they quickly came up to the scene. Hector and Chris were quick to join the group.

The scene did not bod well and Chris took a sharp intake of breath. Hector was sure there was more to the scene that met the eye, but for those just arriving it looked very much like the human police officers had shot and killed a vampire. Hector knew the bullets would not do enough damage to kill the vampire, at first glance he had deduced that it was something else that had killed the kindred. But it was impossible to tell for sure, nor did he have much time to care. Hector turned quickly to his assistant and grabbed his arm pulling him away from the group whispering to him.

"This could be a spark to something, we both know how tense this whole city has been long before we arrived. Get human patients addresses, keep those locked in the safe, and then get them topside. I will not have my patients stuck in the middle of a potential riot. And do not come back down here till you hear from me. Now go." Hector said quickly as he let go of Chris' arm. Hector watched him disappear around the corner before looking back over to the scene. A spat between the familiar Lexi and a new cop on scene only served to raise the tension in the air and the blood.

[Lyonesse]

“Don’t—please be careful with that,” Eli Callahan amended himself when the airport security guard glared at him. The man went back to pawing through the contents of Eli’s camera bag, manhandling every delicate piece of expensive equipment with enough force to make Eli wince, but he bit his tongue. Complaining wasn’t going to help anything. He knew why the security guards had stopped him at the baggage claim, and it didn’t have a single thing to do with anything suspicious in is luggage.

He sighed and leaned against the wall of the small, windowless security office, waiting for the guard to finish tearing through his suitcases. He wouldn’t be surprised if they ordered a cavity search too. The hands on the wall clock ticked slowly as the guard moved on from Eli’s camera equipment to his suitcase, pulling out every article of clothing and riffling through just about everything Eli owned these days. It almost made him snap when the man pulled out Lucy’s old journal and started flipping through the pages. A few pictures trapped inside fell out and fluttered to the floor. Eli swooped in to grab them before the guard could dig even further into his private life.

“I’m going to need to see those, sir,” the security guard said. There was an undertone to his voice that let Eli know he was enjoying screwing with him. Eli gritted his teeth and glared, but he handed over the photos.

“Make sure you don’t miss the one where I’m sharing an ice cream cone with Osama Bin Laden,” he told the guard.

“This isn’t a joke, sir.”

“Because I’ve obviously been laughing about it for the past twenty minutes,” Eli shot back. The security guard gave him an “eat shit and die” look before he shuffled through Eli’s photos. Most of them were from his honeymoon, shots of him and Lucy at the Eiffel Tower and other touristy places around Paris. Lucy had never been to France, so despite the hassle of traveling internationally while undead—the joys of which he was currently sitting through again—he’d taken her there to celebrate their marriage. The guard looked through every single one of them, squinting carefully, probably trying to figure out if Lucy was human somehow so he could be doubly offended by the idea of a vampire-human relationship. You couldn’t tell it from the photos, but Eli had still been human then. A worn old sepia photo of Lucy and her older sister in genuine flapper dresses and bobs put any thought of her humanity to rest though. The guard handed the photos back to Eli without another word and shoved the journal back in the suitcase. “You’re free to go,” he said, sounding horribly disappointed. “Enjoy your stay in Mayport.”

“Yeah,” Eli muttered as he zipped his bag back up. “It’s great to be home. You can just feel the love.” Usually he wasn’t so testy, but it had been a long flight from Budapest and the few “vampire-safe” seating areas on most airplanes made economy class look wonderfully roomy and comfortable. Right now he needed a drink—both plasma and alcohol preferably. He was starving and could practically smell the blood pumping through the security guard’s veins. It was enough to make any vampire testy. As he hurried out of the office and back across the baggage claim area, Eli popped the lid on a bottle of iron pills and swallowed two of them dry. They didn’t do a thing to satisfy his hunger, but they helped replace some of the nutrients he missed by drinking synthetic blood instead of the real stuff. Knowing he wasn’t likely to find anywhere in the airport that sold synthetic blood, he resigned himself to waiting a little while longer before he could finally get dinner.

The cell phone in his jacket pocket started to ring, playing the chorus of a gratingly perky German pop song, the ringtone Mariska had programmed into his phone for when she called. It was funny that here he was, in the place he’d spent the first eighteen years of his life, and it was a phone call from halfway around the world that made him feel a twinge of homesickness.

“Good, your plane landed,” Mari said before Eli could even spit out a hello. “I got three emails back from distribution companies in the United States, they all said the same thing.”

“Let me guess: No,” Eli said sourly. He and Mari had been trying desperately to find someone to buy the distribution rights to their film for months, but so far all they’d found across the Atlantic was resounding disinterest. No one in America wanted to put out a documentary about the persecution of vampires during World War II.

Mari huffed angrily on the other end of the line. A historian herself, Mari was still having difficulties understanding the intricacies of the film industry. “I still say we should just upload it onto the internet. I’d rather not get money and let people learn than get no money and have our movie sit and collect dust.”

Eli had explained to her a dozen times how that would violate the contracts for the European distribution rights they had managed to sell, so he didn’t bother explaining it again. “Look, Mayport has a lot of vampire rights organizations. I’ll show the film around a bit while I’m here, see if anyone’s interested. Sound good?”

“Let’s hope,” Mari said without much actual hope. “So, how does it feel to be home?”

Eli, who had just stepped out of the concourse and into evening air heavy with the scent of rain, looked around him like he might find the answer hidden somewhere among the taxis and hurried travelers. “This place hardly qualifies as home anymore,” he said, a bit surprised at the truth in that statement…and the bitterness. “I’m just here for work.”

“Ah, yes, still chasing ghosts?” Mari teased. Ever the historian, Mari had denounced his new project as lacking in evidence, telling him over and over again that he was an idiot to start an entirely new project on nothing more than the word of a blitzed British vampire he’d met in a trashy pub. Eli hadn’t been able to shake the tale he’d been told though, that the experiments and incarcerations that so many vampires had suffered through in Nazi concentration camps hadn’t ended with the war itself. Instead they’d been carried on by the Allied Forces who had raided the facilities. While he didn’t have any real evidence of it yet, Eli had found enough to make him suspicious. Just enough evidence to lead him toward a decommissioned army facility twenty miles outside of Mayport, Washington.

“Yeah, well, who’s better equipped to chase ghosts than a vampire?” He asked, trying to keep his tone light. His turn in line for a taxi finally came and he slid into the back seat, awkwardly juggling his suitcases and his phone. He gave the driver the address for his hotel and promised Mari once more that he would talk to some of the pro-vampire organizations in Mayport and see if they would help buy the distribution rights for their film before saying his goodbyes. As the taxi headed away from the airport and toward downtown Mayport, Eli felt his chest tighten just a bit at the sight of the familiar skyline. “It’s not really home,” he reminded himself again. “Not anymore.” After all, there certainly wasn’t anyone here waiting to see him again.

[Guilty Carrion]

Onyx eyes snapped open, and he shot up with a jolt, a muffled shout dying on his lips. Sweat drenched his body, and his blankets lay strewn across the room from a night of violent thrashing. Taking a minute to slow his breathing, Lynn wiped the beads of sweat from his brow in a vain gesture. What vampire fucking sweated? Him, apparently. With a low groan, he flopped back onto the bed that was a size to small for him, his legs dangling off the bottom. Pulling a pillow onto his face, he wondered how much time he had till work. The splintering sound of his alarm going off moments later told him one hour.

It was going to be a shitty night.

Sitting up, the ex-soldier fumbled about for a moment, before fetching a pair of freshly washed black jeans and his black button up. A quick hot shower, a small blessing he had learned to induldge in, and a quick brush of his teeth, and the bodyguard was almost ready for his day. Pulling a holster from the closet, he strapped it around his chest, fitting snug underneath his arm, before pulling a small pistol from it’s case at the foot of his bed. A moment of inspection found it in order, and it was tucked into place with practiced care.

Sparing another glance at the clock, Lynn sighed. 15 minutes. Pulling on his worn leather jacket, he pulled his pack of cigs from his inner pocket and placed one in-between his lips. His hand paused, lighter half open as his dark eyes caught the gaze of the small form of Bruce. “What?”

“Mrow.”

The vampire blinked, glancing at his lighter, then back at the kitten. “What, this? It’s not bad for me, really.” The small grey rag doll tilted it’s head, before meowing again. “C’mon Bruce, I’m about to go, can’t I just-”

“Mow.”

“Alright. Alright. Wait till I’m outside.” Bending down, he gave the cat an affectionate rub on the head, before pocketing his lighter. “Food’s in the dish, water in the bowl. I’ll be home later, little man.” The rag doll mewed happily, before trotting off towards the newly vacated bed. “Oh I see how it is.” With one last light-hearted chuckle, Lynn opened the door, and stepped into the streets of Shanghai. The key fit snug in the lock, and the soft clack that sounded set his mind at ease for the safety of his few meager possessions and much more importantly, Bruce.

Flicking the chrome lighter back out, he paused to light the ciggerette still hanging from his lips, before starting off down the tunnel, face slipping into a cold stare that served him well in the harder parts of town. Blowing a plume of smoke casually, he moved briskly through the parted crowds off to work.

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For whatever reason, Lexi was possessed by the notion that she needed to personally oversee every little drop that came into her operation. Lynn leaned quietly against the wall, casually watching his charge as she examined the various types that lay in the buckets before her. This was always one of the more….boring aspects of the job, but tedious as it was, he wasn’t paid to complain, nor to run the business.

Soft, rapid footfalls reached his ears, and the vampire cast his gaze over to the sole entrance, cracking his knuckles softly at the prospect of a coming fight. That’d be a delightful pick me up for a boring day at the office.

The door opened quickly, and the former soldier pushed off the wall, ready for the worst to come through the entrance. When one of the scouts scrambled inside, he relaxed, but only slightly. Whenever they came around, something was up, and it usually meant there was work to be done. Cops. Great. This was going to get political then. Then the gunshots sounded, and his every muscle went on edge, eyes sharpening the details of the room to picture perfect clarity. Extermely political.

With a heavy sigh, Lexi spoke. “Fuck. Looks like someone has to play activist for a little while. Lynn.” He nodded quietly in response, falling into place at her side, one hand silently gripping the pistol’s grip. Never hurt to be prepared. They moved quickly through the streets, the crowd parting to allow them passage, with the eyes of the vampires flicking up to the bodyguard as Lexi passed. If any of them tried anything, they’d find themselves laid out on the ground with a broken arm before they could blink. Shooting a glare at one of the larger vampires present, Lynn’s black eyes snapped to the faces of the cops, and he settled into the stoic bodyguard role fluidly as Lexi began to speak.

The cop spoke harshly, and the ex-soldier had half a mind to break his wrist just to teach him a thing or two in manners. The hand at his side flexed quietly in displeasure, but he reigned in the desire to discipline the human. Bodyguards were meant to protect, not attack, after all.

Glancing at the very dead vampire that lay on the ground, Lynn’s eyebrow raised barely a centimetre in surprise, before his face slipped back into mild disinterest. Odd, but it doesn’t concern me. Keep tabs on the old one. Seems eager. Lexi’s ‘good’ intentions prevented anything from being done, but his own pride caused him to speak, however harmless it was.

“Kiss your mother with that mouth, cop?” With a flash of his fangs, and a fist on his chest, Lynn stepped away and back into place behind the blood runner. She was in thought again, which meant there was going to be even more work. Perfect. Good thing I left Bruce a second bowl…

"Change of plans, Lynn. We're going to say hello to Easton." All business. Good. No more activist shit for now. Still, this held the

“Alright. Here’s hoping she’s up this early.” Running a hand across his shaved scalp, the vampire looked back to Lexi, and motioned down the tunnel that lead to After Life. “After you, Ma’am.”

[Digital Muse]

In her office at the Night Life, Easton Frost, thumbed through the old-fashioned accounting journals she still used to transact her business. She could and did use computers daily and was comfortable with them, but some things just felt right. And besides, a back-up plan was never a bad idea. She lifted her dark eyes to the dark glass of the one-way mirror that made up nearly the entire wall opposite her desk so she could look out into the club proper.

Her office and the main portion of the club couldn’t have been any more different if she tried. The club was techno-modern. Stainless steel, bright red vinyl and glittering crystals surrounded the bar and dance floor. Enormous speakers from a state of the art sound system normally blasted hard driving modern techno dance music so loudly it could alter a Human’s heartbeat inside their chests. The long bar was fashioned to look like a long marble alter with the barstools fashioned to look like upturned pairs of wings holding the seats.

In contrast, Easton’s office was decorated with the lightest of touches. The walls were all draped with light cream damask curtains with several soft chintz chairs set before her small Chippendale desk. To the left, a small tatami chest acted as an improvised bar, holding a silver tray with lead-crystal decanters and glasses on its top.

Easton made some final entries of the previous night’s receipts and was about to rise to put the journals into her safe when she heard the gunshots just outside the club. She froze in mid-step and went through the possible scenarios in her mind. Robbery, mugging, murder, dispute over territory… Not here. Not in Shanghai. Guns simply weren’t used. That meant Humans and they were about to die messily. And that was bad for business. Putting the journals back onto her desk, Easton, ran a hand over her perfectly coiffed hair and headed toward the front of the club and the exit.

Striding elegantly and confidently out onto the street, Easton took in the scene. The Police. Already? She thought. Her eyes drifted to the body the officers were gathered around and was shocked to see that the body was a Vampire. He was emaciated and obviously sickly. But even so, bullets should never have killed him. The female officer was shaking and looked about to vomit. Easton fought to keep the sneer off her face. The fool should not have come here. The blond man looked far more competent and was calming the woman, though he too looked perplexed by the death.

And then, a familiar face arrived. Lexi. This time, Easton’s face remained impassive. She didn’t like Blood Runners. But, they were necessary and Lexi was honest in her prices, though Easton didn’t approve of her methods. The man behind Lexi was someone Easton had seen before in Lexi’s company, but they’d never met. Something about him seemed haunted. Lexi was in Activist mode, it seemed and the third cop was definitely not a diplomat. He would never last down in Shanghai. Someone would kill him within a week if he came down below much.

Easton watched the scene a few minutes, then decided there was nothing she could add but more tension to the crowd, so she spun on her heel to retreat into the club once more. She knew the cops would come to her and she was willing to wait.

[wakeangel]

BAM! BAM! BAM! BAM! BAM!

From behind boxes of Halloween and Christmas decorations stacked in towers beneath the basement stairs, the girl watched with terror-wide eyes and a racing heart as each loud clang announced a new fist-sized dent in the Door. Snatches of greedy male voices sometimes caressed her hiding place, little snippets of death a-coming that were soon cut short by the gentle Voice, the one that scared her most.

"Come, come, Poppet," the Voice cajoled in cultured tones rarely heard by American ears. "Open the door." His words dripped with promises of wonderful things to come, of Safety and Light and Hope. She pressed her hands to her ears, shaking her head in denial and hopelessly trying to block out the sound- and her desire to comply. "If I have to send someone in for you, I shall be cross, Young One. Open. The door."

She whimpered in despair, scrabbling backward in her hiding place until her back hit the cold concrete wall. All went silent on the other side of the Door for long enough that a pale, desperate hope shed its wan light on her soul.

BAM!

She screamed then, sobbing and hugging herself tight and hoping the end, when it came, was quick.

BAM!

BAM! BAM! BAM! BAM! B...


...EEP! BEEP! BEEP! BEEP!

Flailing free of tangled covers with a shriek, Jessa flung herself to her feet, spinning in search of threats, but he late afternoon sunlight that streaked through her bedroom windows, illuminated none. Slowly her heart slowed its trip-hammer pace, but her worried frown stayed. Wiping sweat off her brow, she exhaled a shaky breath and turned towards the bathroom to get ready for work.

That dream had haunted much of her childhood, but slowly faded as she grew older until she was sure they were gone for good. Tonight's dream was the second after so long, and less than a week after the first. Brow furrowed, she brushed her teeth and stared at the dark circles under her eyes. Why had they come back? Why now?

+=+=+=+=+

The faint edge of fear followed her from the house and down into the tunnels of Shanghai. Human and vampire predators of the tunnels, who normally barely gave her a glance, watched her pass with renewed interest, something in her body language rousing their instincts. Hiking her bag further up on her shoulder, she hurried down the tunnels to The After Life. Only when surrounded by the familiar equipment of her DJ booth did the last of the dream's hold on her finally ease. Tension she hadn't even realized she was carrying leeched from her shoulders as she began her preparations for the evening.

She was almost back to normal, lifting her headphones to her ears to warm up with out distracting noise from the employees and humans too wussy to brave the tunnels during full dark, when a shot rang out from outside, followed immediately by two more. Shit. So it was gonna be one of those nights.

Hanging the headphones back in their cradle, she followed the other employees to the door. Ignoring their excited speculation, she pushed her way to the front and opened the door, peeking out first to ensure the danger was over before leaving the safety of the club. Glancing back, she held the door for Easton before moving closer to the knot of people gathered around the body of a scruffy-looking man.

Easton's presence was a small bit of comfort to Jessa. In the time, she'd worked for the vampire, she'd been treated fairly and with respect. The After Life's DJ doubted that translated to a willingness to lay down her life for her employees or anything, but Easton was respected. People tended not to mess with those in her care, which as an employee on the clock, Jessa marginally was.

She recognized a few of the faces gathered around the body and could guess at others. The cops were immediately obvious, especially the one about to toss her cookies. Jessa pegged her as a panicky newb, and as the shooter. The guys with her seemed much better acclimated with Shanghai, though the one was acting like a total dick to a vamp she recognized as Lexi Palmer, the Vampire Rights Activist, which made the Hulk behind her that creepy bodyguard that followed her everywhere. L... 'L'-something. Whatever. She'd never spoken to either Lexi or Mr. Vamp-Hulk before, and although Lexi seemed nice enough, the bodyguard gave her the creeps, so she had no plans to change that anytime in the near future.

She couldn't see the dead man very well from her vantage point near the club, but word quickly spread that the dead man was a vampire. How a vamp could be shot to death without silver no one was sure, but it soon became easy to pick human from undead in the growing crowd by the knots of ugly muttering. Easton turned to go back inside, and Jessa quickly followed. The streets of Shanghai, it seemed, would be particularly dangerous tonight.

[Lyonesse]

“Dammit.” Nick swore repeatedly beneath his breath and wiped away more blood from his still dripping nose as Moira’s gunshots began to attract a crowd. Moira had already called for backup, but when it came, Nick almost wished it hadn’t. He knew Detective James Tyler more by reputation than anything else, but that reputation said he had a problem with the undead. Just what he needed right now. He waved off James’s initial questions as he quickly pulled off his jacket and tossed it over the dead vampire’s head and torso to hide the bullet wounds. “You can read the report later, Tyler, just keep the crowd back and under control right now,” he told James. Grabbing his own radio he made a few hasty additions to what he’d already called in.

Clipping the radio back to his belt, Nick turned back around to see James getting into it with a woman he recognized as one of the local activists. “God dammit,” he hissed again. Thankfully James’ arguments with the vampire woman—Nick had heard her name at some point, it Liza or something like that—was keeping the gawking crowd in check, which allowed Nick to check on Moira, who was leaning against the tunnel wall, her eyes still wide and her skin tinged almost green. She looked like she was going to be sick at any moment.

At Nick’s approach she looked up and sniffled wiping at tears. “How are you doing?” Nick asked, trying to keep the anger and irritation he was still feeling toward her out of his voice.

“I-I know I have to fill out the paperwork and stuff back at the station,” Moira said shakily. “But I quit.” Nick gave her a nod that he hoped came across as more sympathetic and understanding than approving. Moira was definitely not suited for this type of work. He was saved from having to continue comforting her though when two EMTs arrived with a stretcher and four uniformed officers. The rest of the scene was a blur of motion and action. Nick stayed in control, ordering three of the officers on crowd control and the last to take Moira back to the station. James he told sharply to keep his mouth shut and stay out of the way. He was going to have to go in, make statements, talk to the inevitable IA people, get his ass handed to him by his sergeant and probably his boss’s bosses as well. All of which meant ungodly amounts of paperwork and trouble that he did his best to typically avoid. Still, all of that paled in light of the utter confusion over what exactly had happened here.

Nick knew a lot about vampires, more than he was comfortable knowing when he was being honest with himself, and he had never heard anything that would suggest that standard, police issued bullets could actually kill one. He knew a lot of cops—James Tyler included—who would shrug it off or even joke about how they hoped regular bullets started working on vampires. Nick didn’t entirely disagree about that either. He’d feared for his life more than once when confronted with suspects he knew could shrug off his bullets like they were nothing. Even now he felt nervous about the fact that his nose was still bleeding sluggishly, like it was some sort of open invitation to dinner for all of the vampires who’d come to gawk at the scene.

Despite all of that, there was still nothing that got to Nick more than a mystery. He’d felt a compulsion to explain the things that happened around him since he was a kid butting heads with his preacher father, who insisted far too often for Nick’s tastes that certain things happened “because it was god’s will.” He could already feel the need for an answer swelling in the far corners of his mind.

While the EMTs finished zipping the vampire’s corpse into a body bag and loading it onto their stretcher, Nick wandered back over to the recess in the tunnel where he’d first seen the vampire. It was just that, a small recessed area in the tunnel, no doors or side tunnels or anything else, which meant he had to have come from somewhere else in Shanghai. Looking down the tunnel he was standing in, Nick tried to form a map of Shanghai in his head, but it was a futile gesture. The city had never paid enough attention to Shanghai to map its entirety, and with the place’s history as a Prohibition hotspot it was likely full of hidey-holes and secrets known only to a few.

The lights flickered overhead again as Nick squatted down to get a closer look at the ground. Nothing out of place there, just dirt and a few scraps of garbage—your typical Shanghai tunnel. Sighing, Nick braced a hand against the wall and swore as he stuck it directly into a half-dried patch of mud. Pulling his hand back he was startled at the sight of yellowish dirt streaked with blood. He’d seen that same color of mud on the vampire’s skin and stained clothing. Fumbling with his free hand he pulled out a pocket flashlight attached to a keychain and shone it on the wall finding a few more streaks of mud.

Nick waved over one of the uniforms and pointed out the mud, making sure the forensic folks took a sample when they showed up. He ran his flashlight over the rest of the wall and followed a smudge out of the recess along one of the tunnel walls. It wasn’t much, but it might be something. The tunnel had been cleared of bystanders in that direction, so Nick followed it until it led to a side tunnel winding back toward the waterfront.

[Digital Muse]

A collaborative effort between, Crazy Hobo, Plaguewalker and Digital Muse

Once inside the dark confines of the awakening club, Easton walked toward the bar. She smiled at Charles, a slender blonde that managed its day to day operations, “Pour me a glass. In a clear glass, please, Charles.” At the quirk in his brow, Easton’s smile bloomed, “I’m about to get a visit from the police. I do not want them comfortable.” Charles paused a bit, but nodded, “Alright, Ms. Frost.”

Once her drink was handed to her, Easton slipped onto a bar stool at the far end of the long chrome bar. “You may take a break if you’d prefer not to be seen, Charles. I know you would rather your family not have the police at their door.” The blonde man smiled and made his exit through the back delivery entrance.

Lexi pushed open the door to the After Life and let the scene hit her for a moment. It was relatively empty, which made sense for this hour, and Easton sat casually at the bar sipping at a glass of blood. Always the dramatic one, Lexi thought to herself before approaching the bar with Lynn in tow. Hopefully she could get what she wanted from Easton before the cops came in to question her, although it was doubtful. Without wasting another minute thinking, Lexi quickly slipped into the seat next to Easton.“Hello, Easton. Explain to me how the hell a vampire goes down after only three fucking bullets. And don’t just tell me silver.” Lexi tapped impatiently on the bar. She really wanted to get her information quickly. Police questioning was always an annoying procedure.

Easton’s dark eyes cooly watched the Blood Runner and her guard dog stalk into the club and approach her. She was a touch surprised that Lexi chose to stick around after her brief butting of heads with the cop outside. But she was curious enough to at least hear what Lexi had to say.

Easton took a deliberate sip of her drink, making Lexi wait just a bit before she answered. “From the look of the poor childe, I would have to hazard a guess that he was well on his way through death’s door prior to being shot. N’cest pas?” She ended in French, more to annoy the young woman than anything else. Her eyes slipped from Lexi to the entrance and then back to the large man behind Lexi momentarily.

“The question you should ask is what would do that, rather than how did ordinary bullets end his life.”

"Okay, I'll ask that then. Really, Easton, sometimes you are entertaining, but I really want to be out of here before the cops start asking me questions." Lexi stopped for a second, figuring that even if she left the cops would still question her. Oh well, it doesn't hurt to try, "On second thought, I'm not going to make it back to my office without one cop or another questioning me. Might as well get some amusement out of it. So really, what do you make of it?"

Easton, not about to be a poor host, slipped from her stool while Lexi spoke and stepped behind the bar to pour a glass for Lexi and her guard. She ignored Lexi’s jibe and taking them in each hand, Easton returned to her stool and then offered them to her ‘guests’. “At this juncture, my dear Lexi, you have as much information as I.” She shrugged elegant shoulders beneath her perfectly tailored suit jacket.

She studied Lexi for a short time, “Although…” Easton considered for a moment, then continued. “I wonder if it is related to some of the disappearances that we been experiencing in Shanghai?”

This is not going to end well... Lynn smiled and shook his head at Easton as she offered him a glass of blood. "No thank you, Ma'am. On the clock." It was better to keep his focus on them, not a nice cold glass of blood. Do not get paid enough to break up elder vampire catfights...

"What kind of disappearances? This can't be connected to me, could it?" Lexi sipped at her blood, pondering the situation for a moment, "I assure you, everyone we drain dies and is disposed of, and we inspect donors for any abnormalities in the blood."

Easton nodded slightly when Lynn declined her offer and she set his glass aside before turning her attention back to Lexi. She makes a small mew of distaste when Lexi boldly admits to murdering humans, so she holds her hand up to forestall any further utterances from the Blood Runner. “Spare me the details, Lexi. You know I do not approve of your methods. And I would prefer not to be charged with complicity if you are caught.”

Flicking an imaginary speck of dust from her sleeve, Easton continues, “To answer your question, no. The disappearances have not been Humans. They are Vampires. Perhaps a dozen that I know of, but I do not know how accurate that number is. It may be a new vigilante group, but ordinarily the Human like to make such killings very bloody to send a message.” She sips at her own drink while she speculates, “I also do not know of any turf wars that would account for the unrelated nature of the disappearances.”

"Could it be possible that they are experimenting on our kind again?" Lexi looked seriously into Easton's eyes for a moment before continuing, "Also, I won't get caught. I'm very good at keeping my business out of the law enforcement's prying eyes."

"No." Lynn's fist coiled tight at his side, clenching into a deep white that threatened to break his knuckles through his skin. "They cut it off. No results. Nothing viable." The glass of blood was snatched up and downed in the blink of an eye, and the vampire silently eyed the many assorted bottles of liquor arrayed on the bar's back wall. “Trust me.”

Easton didn’t move when Lynn’s hand darted out to snatch up the glass of blood he’d declined earlier. But her eyes searched his, noting the tension in his body and the tightness around the big man’s mouth. She dipped her chin ever so slightly as if confirming something in her own mind. Turning her attention back to Lexi, Easton murmured, “I prefer not to jump to conclusions so early.” The answer could have been for either of Lexi’s statements whether Easton was referring to the experimentation or Lexi’s assurances she wouldn’t get caught was unclear.

The elder Vampire did concede a point, however. “Given the fact that there have been a number of disappearances and the appearance of the childe outside, I would think it is time to dig a bit further into things.” She touched her chin with a forefinger in thought, “I think the Police should earn their salaries here in Shanghai. We can use their resources to lead the way.” She paused and glanced toward Lynn once more before adding. “If it is what we fear, we’ll cut its head off.” The softly spoken promise was all the more chilling as it came so quietly and from such an elegantly cool face.

"I'll get one of my people to shadow the cops investigating this death." Lexi glanced back to Lynn, "Don't worry. I'll personally kill any motherfucker who thinks he can experiment with our kind, if it comes to that."

Neither of you will get the chance. He wanted to say it, but...the elders presence forced him to silence, his fist slowly unclenching, but still tensed, ready for the slightest provocation to draw out the anger. "Yes, Ma'ams." Just like in the army, Lynn. Just like the army.

Easton sighed and shook her head at Lexi’s plan to trail the police. “Your role as peace-maker will serve us better than your role as hunter, my dear childe.” She rose from her stool and paced toward the front entrance to peer outside for a moment before returning to stand beside Lynn. “You will return to the Detective and suggest a joint investigation into this matter. It will be quite a coup in Vampire/Human relations and the first such joint investigation ever. The publicity will do wonders for your image and get what we want.”

Easton smiled as the plan coalesced in her mind. “I shall make a few phone calls to ensure it happens. And with you and perhaps another from our community given official sanction to investigate alongside the police, we will have complete access to all information learned.” She paused and smiled at Lexi once more, “And thus endeth the lesson.” She quoted. “Now, go back outside and make nice with the Police.”

Lexi watched Easton for several moments. She utterly hated working with the police. It meant she had to pretend that she was polite for just a little bit longer. It was hard to keep up. There was always the predator lurking behind. "Fine. Only because I want to figure out what's going on." Lexi sighed, it seemed no matter what she did she was forced back into playing activist. "Lynn, it's time to go and play nice with the stupid Humans." And get away from that bitch Lexi added silently.

Don't call them stupid when you're standing in the same room as some. "Yes, Ma'am." He looked to Easton, and nodded his head in gratitude. "Thank you for the drink, Miss Frost." His mother's ageless lessons on manners satisfied, the bodyguard started towards the door with Lexi.

Easton watched the pair turn to leave and after a second or two, she followed to look outside once more. The EMTs had arrived and were bagging up the poor childe’s body. The cop who had seemed in charge was lurking in a side tunnel looking for something and Easton’s eye lighted on a perfect second to Lexi’s joint investigation task force; Dr. Hector Rodriguez. She smiled again, Perfect.

[Squall Reyes]

A cooperative effort by Squall Reyes and Digital Muse

Hector felt uneasy in the tension, it was one reason he preferred the life of solitude and travel in his younger years. Why he preferred to stay away from his people unless it was for more scientific purposes. He knew he was not the only one who felt like this one a group of his people were tense. He had documented several cases of other kindred with similar experiences, a feeling of uneasiness when around a group of others who were angry or fearful. "Like an itch you can't scratch." As one had described it. Perhaps vampires are more attuned to others because of their shared genetic making? Ah a question for another time.

Hector curiosity of the scene before him was quick to remove that itch from the doctors blood. After a few moments he had seemingly forgotten all about the potentially violent crowd and looked over the body with a curious look. His mind was running like a hamster on caffeine, as he took steps left and right of the scene to get a better view through the crowd. He could only see so much, but the things he could fascinated him. He very much wished that he could examine the body himself, he knew it would never happen. So took whatever he could from sight only. After all, all science starts by sight.

Hector took what he could from sight alone and stopped his pacing for a better view. He stood still a moment holding his chin as he thought. Several scenarios ran thought the doctors mind as of the cause of the poor kindred's demise. Everything from starvation, (unlikely, the subject's blood lust would have surely ripped the humans apart) to sickness, (equally unlikely as if that were the case there would be other cases and he would have no doubt come to me before) and experimentation which Hector thought a bit more on than the others. Without properly look at the body however, it was impossible to narrow anything down. He'd need more information and as though on cue his eyes caught site of a well known and powerful figure. She gave him a curt nod and motioned for him to join her.

Hector exited the crowd which may had actually grown since he had arrived. He made is way over to the powerful information broker and gave a courteous bow. The nicety's must always be observed of course.

"Ms. Frost. I should have known you would be on or near by such a scene. It being so close to home and all."

Easton waited for the Doctor to join her, smiling at his bow. She offered her hand which he took and press to his lips in the old way. Dipping her chin in a soft nod, she acknowledged, “I could hardly ignore something such as this.” She glanced past Hector’s shoulder toward the two male officers, “I fear I have a rather large favor I must ask of you, Doctor.”

Easton slipped to Hector’s side and linked her arm through his, leading him into the club’s darkened interior. “I have noted disappearances among our people and now a childe has turned up dead by mysterious circumstances. It disturbs me.” She turned to look at the Doctor’s profile, “I am arranging for you and Lexi to join the investigation into this death and disappearances as representatives of the Vampire community.” Easton paused and lowered her voice, “Please forgive me for presuming to volunteer you, but you are a respected man of science in both the Human and Vampire communities.” She turned to look directly into his eyes, “Please. Will you help?”

Hector smiled as he walked arm in arm with Easton, it was always nice to be with someone who understood and appreciated the old ways. Many of those from his time and hers have returned to dust, Hector's own sire being one of them. It did upset Hector some to learn of his sires fate, though he was unsurprised. The man saw himself and others a predators in nature and predators do not live a long lives. Er after lives. Whatever. Point still stands.

Hector had an uneasy feeling at the information brokers "fear". Hector was no fool, he knew who he was dealing with. He would not trust Easton anymore than a scientist with a German accent. But he knew he the game was played and listened to her intently as well as kept up his gentlemen demeanor. After all even those you do not trust could be afford some respect. More so when they are people who are good at what they do.

“Please forgive me for presuming to volunteer you, but you are a respected man of science in both the Human and Vampire communities.”

Hector could barely contain a smile. Oh she is very good. Playing at my vanity. He thought to himself as he gave her a small bow. "Well with such kind words how could I say no?" As they reached a table Hector offered her to be seated first. And after she had, took his own and began to stroke his chin once again. "You must have more power than I gave you credit for if you can convince the humans to allow Lexi to join. Myself will no doubt be an easier sell." He leaned over and looked her in the eyes, "Any more information on those who went missing? Are they all fresh from the grave? Or shall I have to start watching my back?"

Easton knew Hector wasn’t fooled by her, but the game was still pleasant to play and unlike Lexi, the good Doctor wasn’t so crass as to call her on it. She slid into her seat and waited for the Doctor to join her before answering his questions. “In all actuality, my good sir, Lexi will be simpler to insert than you might think. Her reputation as a conservative who only wishes a peaceful co-existence between Humans and Vampires makes her quite suitable for this task. Her other….business, is naturally under the carpet.”

Without any obvious signal, a waiter delivered two black crystal glasses to the table for their refreshment. “With my compliments, Doctor.” Easton crooned before continuing. “As to the disappearances, there has been no discernible pattern that I could find. None were older than 100 years, but one was only a few days old from what I could gather. In truth, I do not know for certain that the childe who perished outside is even a part of this rash of disappearances or not.” Though she did not say so, Easton implied that she believed it to be true, but never spoke in absolutes. She smiled coyl, then and answered his implication that she wielded more power than he’d first thought. “I can be quite…convincing….when I wish to be.”

Hector smiled at his host and held up a glass in salute. "I never expected anything less Ms. Frost. " With that he took much of the drink in one go. After which he leaned back on the rather comfortable seat. He didn't speak for a moment processing the new information that was given to him. He looked over to the powerful being seated with him with a bit more of a serious tone. "While there is a chance the poor childe outside has nothing to do with the disappearances it is too much of a coincidence to be otherwise. I believe once I meet these human detectives, I will politely suggest we start there."

A small smile appeared on his face once again as he leaned over some. He couldn't help himself. He had to ask. "You seem very much like myself Ms. Frost. We are people who are simple observers. We have watched the world around us for centuries. Because we know knowledge is power, weather it be medical, political, or what have you. I feel I must now get involved because it is my duty as a doctor to investigate this as a possible biological attack on our people. What about you Ms. Frost? Are you taking an interest for our kindred. Or because it's good for business?"

While Hector speculated on the coincidence of the young Vampire’s death and other disappearances, Easton ran an elegant fingertip around the rim of her glass. “I feel you are on the right track there, Doctor. I might suggest keeping a close eye on Lexi. She is brash and entirely too bold.” She paused a moment, “Her man, Lynn, however appears to understand things better.”

Suddenly, the conversation turned to her and Easton studied the Doctor through lowered lashes as he spoke. His question made the elder Vampire smile. “Any sense of duty I might have to our people is based on simple survival. If we are being hunted, the young ones will grow restless and seek vengence. That will do nothing more than trigger a retribution by the Humans who fear us already. That retribution would be total and swift.” She lifted her eyes to Hector and lifted a shoulder, “A massacre is not in my plans for the future.”

Hector frowned a bit, "Well she's an activist. They all tend to be loud people. They wouldn't make very good activist if they weren't." He tapped the table with his hand softly. "Then again they are usually ones who did not last long in the old world. Maybe the fact someone her not only survives but thrives in today's society is proof that we Ms. Frost are relics." Easton words for once seemed genuine when it came to her reasons. Survival for a vampire was as equally important perhaps even more so to a vampire than a human. Perhaps some fear to the old legends of his kind being damned souls. For if they truly are damned, then he would understand why one would be much more fearful of the great beyond.

Hector lifted his glass once more in a salute, showing he was quite satisfied with her answer. "To the future then." He finished his drink and rose from the table. With a bow he said, "It shall be...quite the experience to work with someone of your power Ms. Frost."

"Please Doctor. Call me Easton."

"Very well Easton. I would offer you my card but I'm quite convinced you already have my number." A sly smile from the elegant kindred in front of him told Hector that he was quite correct. And with that he exited through the back to the surface. He had to find his assistant and give him the news. He may very well have to look over the human patients without him for sometime. Hector may be very busy, saving the damn kindred world.

[wakeangel]

Jessa ignored questions from curious employees as she made her way back to her booth, a troubled frown creasing her forehead. Things were usually tense down here- Mayport vs. Shanghai, vampires vs. humans, this group vs. that one, but violence usually tended to keep itself to a minimum, or at least to the dark alleys and back tunnels. She'd been coming down here long enough to know that this situation could easily blow up into something worse.

Snugging her headphones around her ears, she ran her final preparations for the night's music and tried to keep her eyes on her work and not on the vamps at the bar. Despite her natural curiosity, she didn't ever want to be the girl who knew too much. She couldn't help but notice the subtle tension underlying the womens' casual body language, though. They didn't seem to like each other very much.

'Eyes on the music, Jessa,' she warned herself, 'it's time to party.' Cue-ing up a pre-recorded mix on her laptop, she synced beats with the house music, and then faded it out and her mix in. She'd run it at bar volume for the next twenty minutes, and then anyone not looking to match heartbeats with the bass of her speakers had better clear out.

Normally she took this time to walk the floor, greet the early-birds and get something to drink at the bar. As a small job perk, Easton allowed her anything non-alcoholic she wanted. Some lemonade would go down really nice right about now, but a glance showed her that the vampires were still talking. Normally vamps at the bar wouldn't matter, but she didn't have to be a rocket scientist to know they were discussing the shooting and planning how to deal with it.

Just then, the big vampire, the one that made her nervous, tensed up. The movement was subtle, but took him from merely dangerous to death walking in a heartbeat. For the second time that night fear prickled the back of her neck and sent goosebumps chasing down her arms. Oh yeah, lemonade could wait.

[Digital Muse]

“Yes… Bu-….I und-…of course. I ne-…..” Easton pinched the bridge of her nose between a perfectly manicured thumb and forefinger. “Yes, dear, but….”

And so the mostly one-sided phone call had gone for the last 20 minutes. Calling Mary was always a trial, especially when she was in a hurry. This time, like all the others, Easton was forced to wait for the girl she’d called to wind down and let her curiosity get the best of her.

Easton’s titanic patience was finally rewarded when a bright chirrup on the opposite end of the line piped up, “So? Gosh! What did you need? I mean, I don’t have all day! Sakes!”

Despite herself, Easton smiled, “I need you to come to see me on this one, Mary. We need to arrange something a bit more delicate and…should be a challenge for your particular talents.” Her smile widened and she set the hook, “It involves City Hall.”

A long, low groan sounded over the phone, “Awww, don’t call me that. You know it’s so uncool!” Almost immediately, however, the girl on the other end perked up, “Oh? Seriously? I’m in! Come get me! Usual entrance?” Rustling crackled over the line, “Oh! Send David! So dreamy and….just my type!” More rustling could be heard followed by the beeping of a car door being unlocked. “Did you get a generator yet? Of course, you did. You’re so on top of shit. Honestly! You gotta let me get going! Send David!”

*click*

Easton leaned back in her chair exhausted as always after dealing with the tiny tornado that called herself Jinx. She reached out to press a button on the intercom on the corner of her desk, “David, please join me and bring a cognac, if you please.”

“Ms. Frost?” Came the pleasant baritone in confusion. “But, you….ohhhh. I’ll be right in.”

A tall, leanly muscled blonde man knocked and then entered Easton’s office a few moments later with a barely suppressed grin. He set the large crystal snifter on Easton’s desk. “Jinx?” He asked unnecessarily.

Easton nodded, “Indeed. If you would be so kind as to fetch our little snoop, I shall pay you double.”

David laughed, “I think she’s funny.”

“Bless you.” Easton murmured to the young Vampire as he headed toward the surface to escort Jinx back through the back streets of Shanghai.

A few hours later…

A skinny and frankly ugly girl sits cross-legged in one of Easton’s elegant chintz chairs. Her lap covered by a riot of colorful silk scarves with a laptop completely covered by stickers throws a glow of green against her pale face. A few final taps of her fingers and she looks up with an enormous grin. “There you go. Vampire/Human task force done. Lexi and Dr Rodriguez are signed up. I didn’t have much choice for cops, I’m afraid. But I kept it under the Mayport Police jurisdiction rather than the Feds.” She grins brightly, “Cause I’m just that good.” She peers over the side of the arm of her chair at the empty pizza box on the floor beside her with a wrinkled nose. “Darn.” She muttered. “Anyway! We got….um…Detective Nicholas Callaghan and a Detective James Taylor on board too.”

Through the entire hour and a half that Jinx had been working, she had kept up a continuous running dialog. Topics touched on included David, how much rain they’d had recently, the history of Mayport’s shipping port, David, how the Seattle Mariners were doing this year, and, of course David. Easton sat through it all with a bemused smile on her elegant face and toyed with the idea of sending Mary, or Jinx along with Lexi as a particularly fun and irritating joke. On second thought, however, she decided against the idea. Mary was unbelievably resourceful and useful. She would feel real remorse should the Blood Runner kill the girl.

[Squall Reyes]

Thanks to Digi for the small collaboration with the post.

"Do you really trust his woman Doctor?"

A loud laugh echoed through the cold emotionless buildings surrounding the only two figures showing any movement of life.

"I would be MAD to trust that woman my dear associate." Hector said after his laugh had died away though it's echo continued to ring, filling the area with a strange buzz. They continued to walk down the street, Hector having taken his suitcase from Chris when he found him above ground. The young man had a nervous look to himself, and seemed to had passed the time by helping some the more mild cases.

After a few moments of silence, Hector could sense his young assistant brooding. Hector had a bad habit of treating many as children, his friend included. Perhaps the many years he has lived had filled him with even more pride than his intellect. A frightening though, Hector mused to himself with a smirk. Still Chris has been a good man and had listened well to the good Doctor, and was considerably gifted. Yes, he had earned a bit more respect to know more.

Chris had a blank look on his face after Hector had told him all that was exchanged between himself and the powerful information broker. Then a curious look crept to his face, "So you believe that vampire to be a victim of scientific testing? I thought after World War II and the Germans that all testing on vampires were to be halted."

Hector gave Chris a sympathetic smile, perhaps he was much younger than Hector gave him credit for. Or too good hearted. Both dangerous. "My dear boy, the only people who stopped experimenting on vampires after World War II is the Nazis."

With that Hector continued on his way to the next patients house, Chris quick to catch up after absorbing the newest shock to his system.

------------------------------------------------

A cell phone rang in the little one bedroom apartment in which the post crying whimpers of a small child could be heard and a mothers soothing shushes could be heard.

"Dr. Rodriguez. Ahhh Easton. So good to hear you. Please just a moment, I am with a patient." Hector muffled the phones receiver into his shoulder, the doctor patient confidentiality must be up held after all. "As I was saying Ms. McLean the little one just seems to be suffering from ear infection that has steadily be growing worse. A good thing you came when you did, as I have just the thing to help. Don't worry, little Robert here will quite like it. It's bubble gum flavor. Chris here can give you the directions of dosage and use. I must take this call."

Hector gave a smile and nods, though in hindsight perhaps such a bright toothy smile was not the best of ideas as he noticed the young mother give a bit of a shiver, but returned the smile afterward with a rather honest thank you. "Chris I shall see you out in front." Hector made his way out of the little 5 story apartment complex and as he went down the stairs brought the phone back to his ear. "So sorry for the wait Easton."

Easton watched the club from behind the two-way mirrored wall that separated her office from the club. She'd sent Jinx out into the club itself to make the call and the brightly dressed bundle of sticks was happy to go 'shake it' on the dance floor.

The Elder Vampire waited for the Doctor to finish up with his patient before he was able to come back to the phone conversation with her.

"So sorry for the wait Easton."

“it’s quite alright, Doctor. I understand you have priorities.” Her tone was kind and solicitous. “I wanted to make you aware that the Human/Vampire Task Force has been established with amazing alacrity. You and Lexi Palmer will be working with the local police, specifically a Nicholas Callaghan and James Tyler. I fear Detective Tyler may prove…aggressive toward Vampires, I apologize in advance for Lexi’s behavior. For an advocate, she is remarkably incapable of diplomacy.”

Easton went on to provide Hector with Detective Callaghan’s telephone number. “I will offer the conference room of the club as a command center since you will be unable to venture above ground as often as needed.” Easton paused, “I’ve also contacted a singular individual to provide computer support. She…I also apologize in advance for.” The humor could be heard in Easton’s tone this time. “Don’t hesitate to call upon me should you need anything.”

Hector had reached the ground floor and was outside the building by the end of the conversation, having written the Detectives phone number on his pad of paper he kept inside his breast pocket. "Of course, Easton. A pleasure as always." He ended the call and leaned back on the wall next to the entrance. Opening his suitcase he ventured inside and pulled out a small booklet of blank pages. On the cover he wrote, "Easton's Request".

"So you're still planning on joining that 'task force'?" Chris had arrived at the exit as the doctor had put the booklet was put into her inner coat pocket. He made no effort to not wear his distrust of Easton on his sleeve.

Hector smiled and nodded his head. "I think it is about time, you'd handle more cases on your own and become a proper partner. Please give my regards to any old face you may encounter." With that he handed his suitcase over to Chris after retrieving his precious and fairly warn out research book. "Now I must give one of my compatriots a call." With a hand on Chris' shoulder he gave a smile, "Good luck Doctor. I shall give you a call when this whole mess is cleared up." With that Hector quickly left his new partner and made a call.

[Lyonesse]

Eli finished gulping his way through his second bottle of synthetic blood of the night and tossed the plastic bottle in the tiny hotel garbage bin. Feeling much better, he got down to business, packing his camera, equipped with a low-light telephoto lens, into a padded bag. A night vision lens and a small, hand-held video camera went as well, although he didn’t plan on doing any taping tonight, just some quick surveillance to get a feel for things at the site his shaky trail of evidence had led him to.

His camera packed away, Eli headed out of the cheap motel he’d rented on the outskirts of Mayport. It was well after midnight and the place was practically dead, his rental car was almost alone in the cracked parking lot. It had stopped raining, but the air still smelled like it. The smell made Eli pause for a moment and breathe deep. The smell was familiar and alien at the same time. He was convinced that rain anywhere else in the world smelled completely different than it did in Mayport. Yet, it wasn’t the same as it had been when he’d been young and human in Mayport either, his olfactory senses picked up new hints of chemicals, earth and garbage mixing with the rain smell. The rumble of an ice machine dumping more ice pulled him back to reality and he opened the car door.

About thirty miles down the highway, he pulled the car off of the road and killed the engine. Somewhere hidden behind trees and overgrown brush was a decommissioned military base that had been mentioned in relation to a Project Renaissance several times. If his suspicions were correct, then Renaissance was the offspring of another army project, St. Germain, which itself was closely linked through some underhand dealings with Project Einherjar, which he’d spent the last two-and-a-half years investigating with Mari for their documentary. It was one of half a dozen different programs Nazi scientists had been running during the war that involved vampires, but Einherjar was also one of the most elusive. The base it had been run out of in Poland had been blasted to rubble by Allied Forces, and, unlike a few of the other experiments run in other camps, they hadn’t found record of any survivors. Even Nazi internal communications seemed hesitant to talk about Einherjar, which had frustrated Mari to no end. In the end they’d been left with little more than the fact that in Norse mythology the Einherjar were warriors who had died gloriously in battle and who were taken to Valhalla. If Eli’s hunch—and his source’s intoxicated claims—were right though, Project Einherjar hadn’t died in flames. It had been carried back across the Atlantic and continued in another form.

Eli climbed out of the car, his camera bag slung over one shoulder, and headed into the damp brush toward the abandoned base. Half a mile later he broke through the trees into a scrubby area bordering a chain-link fence topped with coils of razorwire and frequent signs warning against trespassing on government property. Eli stopped short of the fence, at least for tonight—he wasn’t about to break the law unless he found something more substantial than his own instinct to go on. He opened the camera bag and began clicking, taking note of the buildings, their arrangement, anything he could find for now that he could sort through and try to connect the dots later on.

He had no way of knowing that as he was photographing the base, a small security camera hidden along the fence line was recording him.

[Crazy Hobo]

Thanks to Digi for the collaboration at the end

James sat down at his desk with a sigh. He had just finished being absolutely chewed out by his superiors, but it didn't phase him. Everything they ever said was simply idle threats that were only even mentioned to keep the vampire community happy. James honestly didn't even see why the police had to bother with trying to appease the vampires, they weren't even humans and didn't deserve anything even close to courtesy or respect. They were dangerous animals as far as James was concerned. Still, being yelled at for a good two hours by several different people took quite a bit of energy out of a person, and as much as James wanted to go home he still had a few hours left on his shift. It was made even worse because his superiors had limited him to pushing papers for the rest of his shift, so he couldn't even get out on patrol or anything. To make matters even worse, James had a surprisingly small amount of paperwork to fill out. He wasn't present when the shooting happened, so all that was really required of him was a statement of what he saw when he arrived, as well as the obligatory lecture from his bosses that he had just finished. It seemed like all that he could to for the moment was check his emails for anything interesting.

As James opened his inbox he noticed quite a few new emails, but most of them were simply spam or a chain letter with the exception of one message that appeared to be orders of some kind. Mildly interested, James clicked open the email and read through it. As James finished, he stared at the email with his jaw practically hanging open. It had to be a mistake. There was simply no way that an order like that would be given to him. His reputation made an order like that seem utterly ridiculous. As James read it again he realized that there was really no mistake. It had to be his boss's way of punishing him. Very clever.

"Well, shit." James said after a few more moments of staring dumbstruck at the email. He had to admit, though, that this really was one of the most perfect ways of punishing him. It was even more clever that he was being forced to join this Human/Vampire task force alongside Nick Callaghan. They hadn't had the best first meeting after all, and James was relatively sure that they wouldn't get along too terribly well as partners unless he was utterly mistaken. James sighed once more as he closed the email. There was no way he was going to enjoy one minute of this task force.


Lexi almost physically shook off her activist persona as she re-entered the After Life. She hated having to assume that identity for too long. There was something utterly wrong about it, at least to Lexi. That and she detested spending that much time around the press and the police. Humans were tolerable in many social situations, but there was something about the press and the police force that was completely repulsing. After spending hours making statements and playing the concerned activist, Lexi really needed a warm glass of blood before she bit someone's head off. She would have preferred actually hunting for her food tonight, but not only was there no time for that it would have been a stupid idea anyway. Everyone was on high alert after the shooting, and it would be relatively difficult to feed and dispose of the body discretely. There was also the fact that at some point Lexi would have to speak with Easton about the Vampire/Human task force that she was creating as a front to gather more information about the shooting, although Lexi really didn't want to talk to Easton after spending that much time with the press. She reminded Lexi far too much of her youth in the early 1900s. Lexi had evolved and adapted to the new world, yet Easton seemed completely set in the old ways, and it annoyed Lexi. Lexi had become a better predator, while Easton seemed to waste her time holding onto things that had long since become outdated, and therefor she was made weak. At the end of the day Lexi believed that Vampires were purely advanced predators, and if one couldn't adapt and change along with their prey then they were utterly ineffective, and therefore useless. Although, at the same time Easton did make herself useful, albeit in a much different fashion. There truly was no one better at gathering information than that woman.

Lexi shook her thoughts about Easton from her head as she arrived at the bar. No matter what she felt about Easton, Lexi was going to have to work with her. It was unfortunate that Lexi had shown herself in a negative light earlier in the night. If she was being completely honest the implications behind the dead vampire had threatened her greatly, and sent her into what would be considered by many a panic mode. She had pushed things a bit too quickly as she tried to gather information, and had utterly thrown any kind of diplomacy out the window. It was one of her flaws. When Lexi felt threatened, she became awfully rash and in some cases a bit stupid. That was one reason she had created Lexi the activist, and until the shooting, she had been able to control that shortcoming.

"One glass of blood. Real, and warm." Lexi said to the barkeep, turning and looking towards the two way mirror that indicated Easton's office. Lexi decided that as soon as she got her blood she would go up there and speak to Easton. There was really no sense in avoiding it. The moment arrived rather quickly as the barkeep slid her her drink maybe a minute after she ordered it. Lexi turned to Lynn, who had been with her the entire night. The man needed a break. It had been a long night for everyone. "Lynn, take a moment to relax in the club while I talk to Easton. Your drinks are on me." Lexi felt a bit odd being so nice to Lynn, but the man had earned it. He was the best bodyguard she had ever had, and it was good business to reward him for his work. Leaving it at that, Lexi quickly ascended the stairs to Easton's office, tapping at the door as she got there.

"Easton, it's Lexi. Can I have a word with you?"

Easton hangs up the phone from her conversation and motions to the Blood Runner to come inside. "Of course. What can I help you with?"

"I was just coming in to check on your progress with the task force. Also, I thought it should be worth mentioning that the press is taking interest in the shooting. I had to give hours or statements."

"I am working on it. We might have gotten some nominal personnel approved, but it is being buried as quickly as I can set it up." Easton pauses to show a rare mew of frustration on her perfectly cool features. "I have a rather rare...asset working on it at this time. But, for the moment, I am running into more road blocks than expected." She rises from her desk to pace smoothly. "For now it might be best to aim the reporters at City Hall and see if a bit of pressure might not do our work for us."

"I'll leak some information to the press to push them towards City Hall. That should give us some breathing room." Lexi took a sip of her blood and smiled slightly. She always took joy in manipulating reporters. "Also, I've gone ahead and put tails on a few of the officers investigating the death. I'll be sure to keep you updated on what they find."

Easton strokes her chin slightly. "That sounds good." Away from anyone else, she was almost pleasant to the woman. "As for following the police involved, I might just advise caution. While the second one seemed ready to start a fight, the first one, seemed far more considered. I might suggest he be a better option to follow."

"Point taken, although I'd still like to keep a tail on the second. He has a
reputation for getting shit done when it comes to investigations in Shanghai, even if he also has a reputation for hating vampires. We could get some useful information from him. By the way, who else is it that I will be working with. I'd like to meet them and start planning more on how we go about this."

Easton considered Lexi's determination to follow both cops and it fit with what she knew of the woman. She rarely let any stone unturned. She nodded, "Very well. But, keep in mind, he might be more of a hindrance than a help. As for the others involved, the good Doctor Rodgriguez will be directly involved. I will also make myself available if you should need." A sudden smile bloomed on her elegant face revealing her often hidden beauty, "Along with my computer expert. I will spare you her...frenzied personality as much as I can unless you feel you wish her with you."

"Hmm, Doctor Rodgriguez... Interesting... As for the computer expert, she will prove to be rather useful. I have to admit that for how much I've tried to understand them, computers are still quite difficult to use." Lexi finished her glass before continuing, "I think that's all I need for now. I'll send the leak later tonight, and I might as well try and get in contact with Rodgriguez. Goodbye, Easton."

Easton nodded as Lexi dismissed herself. But asked her to wait just a moment. Moving back to her desk, she took up a pen and wrote a phone number on the back of one of her own simple business cards. "This is Mary's phone num....excuse me. She prefers to be called Jinx." Again the old Vampire smiles. "She is human and rather skittish about entering Shanghai without an escort. She is currently in the club. If you need her call that number or use that email and she will help you." Easton handed Lexi the card. "She has my utmost confidence and..." She paused to look Lexi in the eye, "My protection."

"Don't worry, I'm not in the habit of killing things that are useful to me." With that, Lexi slipped out of the office and back into the club. She would have to find Lynn first, but Lexi fully intended to track down the good doctor in the next little while.

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