Finally I was closing in. I was in Buffalo finishing up a case of a vengeful spirit when one of my contacts filled me in on my next hunt. A nest of vamps was wreaking havoc in Indiana city. There had been two murders so far, and the body count will only continue to climb. As soon as I got word, I booked it down south to Evansville. It took a day and a half to drive my (slightly beat up) Ford F150 down there. I've dealt with vampires before, but only in small numbers. The only ones I've come across were a mated pair. According to my sources, this is supposed to be a larger infestation, maybe ten or so vamps. It's a little daunting but if I plan it out well enough, I think I can handle it.
Once I arrived I got to work. I interviews family, friends, and witnesses. I got the police reports and visited the morgue to confirm this really was the work of vampires. Once I'd covered all my bases, I went in tracking mode.
I checked into the cheapest motel I could find, and started to scope out where the nest might be holed up. I'd spent a couple days looking into various abandoned places and eventually narrowed it down to a few: a old, run down apartment complex in the bad part of town, a decaying hotel that was once grand and opulent, an unused factory on the outskirts of the city. I'm at more of an advantage here than usual though. My home town is in the rural area outside the city, so I know of many places the vamps could be hiding.
I staked out each of the places I thought their nest could be and found activity in the old hotel. It's downtown, surrounded by vibrant nightlife and drunk people, so there's plenty of prey for them to choose from. After a day of watching their base, I decided to take a breather for the night and go after them in the morning.
I walk down the street a few blocks, happy to be out in the cool fall air. Tired of being on my own for last several days, I'm out in search of a more lively place to take a load off.
A neon sign around the corner draws me in, shouting out "Hammerhead Bar" in glowing, bright blue letters. It looks interesting enough so I make my way over.
Stepping in the doors, I can feel and hear the music blasting. It's definitely not a sleek, hip downtown club. The interior is dark and smokey, and the classic rock blasting probably won't attract many young downtown folks. But this is like the dozens of taverns, bars, and hangouts I've been in around the country and I feel right at home.
I head over to the bar and order myself a screwdriver; it's my favorite thing to keep my mind off everything. The blonde bartender pours out my drink over ice and slides it down the bar to me. I take it and sip on it as I meander around the bar.
A favorite pastime of mine is to strike up conversations with the most interesting people I can find, wherever I go. In all likelihood, I'll never see any of them again, so there's no worries about making a bad impression or coming off as crazy. It's like remaking yourself over and over.
I lay out my choices in my head. There's a very attractive, very curvy brunette in the corner arguing with some guy I assume is her boyfriend. I could swoop in after her fuck-up of a guy heads out and convince her I'm the thing she needs to heal her heart. That could make for a fun night. Or there's the elderly, sorta rough looking couple dancing together in the middle of the dance floor. He's got a beat up old biker jacket on and is twirly her around like they're half their ages. I bet they'd have some interesting stories to tell. In one of the grimy booths, two guys are leaning over it, whispering quietly to each other and stealing glances around the room every few seconds. They look like they've got secrets and I decide that I'd like to find out what they are.
I wander on over to their booth, not directly. I want to make this look natural, like I didn't pick them out as my subjects to study. My boots click softy on the sticky dance floor as I close in.
I stand confidently in front of the booth as they both silence themselves.
"Hi there boys" I say with a sticky sweet smile.