Shaw walked casually through the small crowd that had lingered outside of the club. She could hear music seeping out from the partially opened doors as she approached.
The atmosphere from what she could see was nothing unexpected. Dark, dim lighting, mostly composed of varying shades of red and black.
She paused in front of the bouncer leaning against the front door and tried to ignore the sleazy way he was dragging his eyes up her body.
"First time here?" He asked, the 'I think I'd remember a pretty face like yours' spoken with his leering rather than his mouth.
"Yes, is it that obvious?" She asked, keeping the bored look on her face but bringing a more sweet tone to her voice.
He smirked, his lips pulling wide to expose elongated canines. "Barely. It can be a shock to the system if you re a first timer who comes alone."
"I think I can manage." Shaw shot back confidently, her own smirk slipping across her lips.
His eyebrows raised and he chuckled. "Good luck."
As soon as he nodded, giving her the okay to head in, Shaw walked through the door. She could feel several sets of eyes land on her as soon as she was over the threshold.
Shaw was a hunter, she had worked for a special unit for nearly five years that had hunted down any manner of inhuman beast that was a threat to the public. Never questioning the judgement of her superiors. Until now, that is.
It was Cole really, who had pushed the topic. Shaw would have never readily admitted that similar thoughts had started to creep into the back of her mind with every new mission.
Vampires were one of the most common and notorious of the beasts they took out. Young and old vampires were dangerous for their own reasons. The older they were, the less violent they tended to be. Their age gave them strength that far exceeded that of their younger counterparts.
They were wise, strong and some even had the ability to walk in the sunlight.
Younger vampires were slaves to their thirst, aggressive and sometimes bordering mindless. They lacked the self control needed to keep a human alive while feeding and were one of the leading causes of vampire related deaths.
Shaw hated baby vamps, her body was littered with scars from sharp nails and teeth that had caught her before she had mastered the art of killing them at a distance. (That required a lot of stealth and very, very good aim.)
Recently though, vampires had stepped out from the shadows. Or, as they liked to put it, come out of their coffins. Shaw rolled her eyes at the memory of that broadcast and approached the bar.
Her unit was still active and while the government had kept a political front of attempting to be peaceful with the vampires. She was still putting down beasts and definitely still getting checks.
She scanned the faces around her discretely as she slid onto an unoccupied stool. The vampires around her for the most part looked intrigued, not aggressive or angry.
Cole had been worried that her gruff demeanor and possibly her scent would tip them off to her being a hunter. She had just told him that he was paranoid. She loved being right.
"What can I get you?" A man asked from behind the bar.
Shaw glanced up toward him, quickly realizing that he was human. His neck had several healing puncture wounds as well as some hickies.
"Whiskey, no ice." Shaw mumbled out, bringing her eyes down to the wood grain of the bar.
"First time, huh?" The man asked, smiling knowingly as he grabbed the bottle from the shelf behind him. "It s not so bad, most of them are pretty gentle... Unless you like it rough."
Shaw quirked a brow and lifted her eyes back up to meet his. "How's it work?" She asked, genuinely curious.
"Well, some people like to meet up on the dance floor... Sort of like a normal club, I guess. Those pairings just sort of happen. Others, start a conversation up by the bar. Some of it is purely by looks, others, more of the typical connection. Or, if you re lucky... She notices you."
"She?" Shaw asked, her brows furrowing slightly.
"The owner, she's the oldest vampire on the East Coast. Or, that's what they told me, anyway."
Shaw narrowed her eyes, intrigued. "What if you re a woman who isn't into women?"
He paused after sliding her glass over to her, looking thoughtful. "Well, most people that come in here are open to experimentation... I've never seen her force herself on anyone though, if that's what you're asking."
"What about the others?" Shaw asked, side eyeing the vampire that had just slid onto a stool a few seats down. He winked at her, flashing his teeth.
The man behind the bar was already reaching for a bottle of synthetic blood for the newcomer, who was obviously a regular. "Root doesn't allow for that sort of thing. You've seen the news broadcasts, right? This bar was opened to allow vampires to meet and feed off of willing humans. Gives them real blood to run off of when the synthetic isn't enough." As he finished speaking he unscrewed the top from a bottle of the stuff before sliding it over to his vampiric patron.
Shaw stiffened when she suddenly felt another presence appear on just the other side of her. A rich and feminine smell accompanying it.
"Daniel, my ear is tingling Are you talking about me again?" Asked a smooth voice.
Shaw glanced toward the source and was surprised to find a tall and lithe brunette leaning on the bar.
The bartender, Daniel, smiled at the newcomer. "Speak of the devil."
"Hey now," the woman said, her lips pulling wider to expose her fangs. "This is your boss you're talking about."
It was obvious that Daniel had more to say but loud voices by the front door cut him off before he could get anything out. Shaw turned her head slightly, her eyes following a group of three male vampires.
The woman, Root, pushed off of the bar and walked toward them. She had crossed her arms over her chest and her smile quickly vanished.
"Peter... What a pleasure to see you."
"We want some girls, bring them to the back." The man in the front said, snapping his fingers. His eyes trailed down the curvaceous form of a blonde woman as he passed her.
Root smirked, her eyes darkening. "This is turning into quite the interesting evening... I thought I told you not to come back until you had money for me. For the repairs I had to make to my bar after your last visit."
The man slowed to a stop just beside her, fixing her with a glare. "What do you think I am here for?"
She held her ground and after a moment, the man handed her over a large roll of bills with a growl. "I think that more than covers it, and my meal for the night."
Root's eyes brightened and her expression and posture relaxed immediately. "Just please behave yourself this time, Peter. I'll be occupied enough with the hunter sitting at my bar. I don't need you causing trouble as well."
A slight gasp cut through the club and Shaw stiffened as she felt all but Root's eyes turn on her. She swore, realizing then that she was the only human seated at the bar who wasn't paired off.
Peter, who Shaw had quickly recognized as Peter Yogorov, turned toward her. His eyes swept the bar briefly before settling on her. His upper lip curved back, exposing his fangs.
Shaw's eyes moved for Root but the vampire was gone, already seated across the bar in a throne like chair overlooking the dance floor. She grit her teeth, her hand reaching for her modified USP. She kept a firm grip on her weapon as she was thrown back against the bar, the air rushing from her lungs from the impact.
Peter hung back, letting his lackeys do the physical work.
"Let me guess... You're here for me now?!" He cried, pacing a few feet away. "It wasn't enough that your people joined up with that rat Elias and took out my Father?"
Shaw's eyes flicked toward him, before moving back to the lug who had her pinned, leaving her gun arm useless.
"How much did he pay you?" Peter asked, stopping to turn and face her again.
She smirked, making sure to lift her head high enough for him to see the expression. "He didn't have to pay me a damn thing."
Shaw grunted, bringing her feet up between her and the vampire hovering over her. They landed heavily with a hollow sound but he barely seemed to register the blow.
The man's lips pulled back into a wide smirk and she could hear the vampires watching chuckle at what they believed to be a feeble attempt. He brought his free arm back, far behind his head to deal what would most likely be a blow strong enough to crack her skull.
"Fuck you." Shaw mumbled, her smirk returning as she flexed her toes in her boot, triggering a switch. A four inch sliver of wood shot from the heel of her shoe and straight into his heart. His body immediately went rigid, his veins turning black beneath his pale skin.
Peter screamed angrily as his man fell to the floor and dissolved to ash.
Shaw barely had time to react, immediately shooting the second man in his chest. The ultraviolet bullet tore through him, sticking fast somewhere in his torso.
The vampire cried out, a thick gurgling cutting off the sound as he fell to his knees, incapacitated. Shaw was about to finish him off with a second round when she felt her air supply disappear.
Peter lifted her off of the floor by her neck, throwing her into the center of the crowded dance floor. Most of the onlookers were quick enough to get out of the way, even the humans. Shaw grunted out as her head and shoulder hit the hard unforgiving floor before rolling another foot and coming to a stop.
She glanced up through her bangs, back toward the bar but Peter was gone. She gasped a second later as his foot pressed down against the back of her rib cage, forcing her into the floor.
"You stupid bitch... Did you really think you'd make it out of here alive?" He put more of his weight on her, her ribs and chest pressing painfully into the floor. It was hard to breathe, purposely so. The question was rhetorical. Shaw grit her teeth and glanced around at the many faces watching them. There was no one there who would step forward to come to her aid. The vampires wouldn't go against someone like Peter, who's family had money and power. Especially not for her, a hunter. The humans didn't stand a chance, just like she didn't.
Peter's foot left her back and he heaved her up roughly by her long ponytail. Throwing her again, this time into the wood of the stage that Root was seated upon.
Shaw hit hard, crying out softly as she crumpled to the ground. She was fairly certain she had a cracked or broken rib, which was doing nothing for her attempts to catch her breath. She couldn't see Root but she had no doubt that the vampire was watching the entire scene with nothing but amusement.
Cole had been right, although, she doubted that he would gain any satisfaction from that. She lifted her head, gritting her teeth as she watched Peter approach. He was walking slowly, making sure that she saw her own weapon in his hand.
"Get up." He growled, kicking at her once he was close enough.
Shaw remained still, glaring up at him with blank eyes.
"I said, get up." He repeated, pushing her into a sitting position with his foot. She remained there, back pressed to the stage and glared up at him.
He glanced passed her, presumably toward Root. "Are you going to cause a fuss if I kill this bitch?" He asked, his lip curling up sightly as he glanced back down toward her. "I didn't leave a trail of damage in my wake this time... And I'll have my men clean it up."
Root watched him silently, her expression completely neutral. He waited a moment, taking her silence as a pass to go ahead with whatever it was he intended to do.
Peter lifted the weapon, staring down the sight toward the human glaring up at him. His finger had barely brushed the trigger when he was thrown backwards and a huge gasp erupted from the onlookers.
Shaw didn't notice though, she was too busy with the bullet hole in her stomach. She gasped, clamping her eyes shut as she tried to stop the blood from seeping from the wound. If she bled too much, with this many vampires around her, she would be ripped apart. Not that it mattered much now, given her injury.
Meanwhile, across the club, Root was staring coolly down at Peter.
"What the fuck do you think you're doing?!" He cried, jumping back to his feet.
Root didn't respond, merely smiled as she separated his head from his body with a sickening crunch. She glanced around then at the shocked faces watching her.
"What? He had it coming." She said, brushing off her hands as she watched his crumpled form fade into ash.
Her eyes shot toward where several vampires were advancing on a barely conscious Shaw, "Would anyone else like to try and kill a human in my establishment?"
The question was asked with a hint of warning. Although it quickly became obvious through their obedience that she had gotten her point across already.
"Jason, take her to the basement. I'll be down shortly." Root said, nodding toward one of her men. "Daizo... Keep the order up here while we get this mess cleaned up."
The second man nodded, looking toward Daniel who had already moved to grab some cleaning supplies.
Shaw watched through half glazed eyes as a man with a beard approached her, she stiffened but remained still as he scooped her into his arms. She wanted to fight back, to do something but her energy was leaving her as quickly as her blood.
Her eyes fluttered open as they made their way down a flight of steps, it was cooler now and quieter. She struggled to keep them open but her eyes drifted back closed as she lost consciousness.