Chapter 2

One hour later

The office is surrounded with crosses of all shapes and sizes. On the desk there is half a dozen holy water bottles. Davis has just taken Tru's blood pressure and is now un-wrapping the measuring device's cuff off of her arm and returning it back into the case. She tried to explain to him what happened, knowing that it all sounds too strange, but not nearly as strange as what he has just told her.

"Vampires?" She asks.

"I know how it sounds. But they're very much real. You've just seen one yourself." He says.

"Two." She corrects him. "That other guy was a vampire too."

"The one who saved you?"

"Yes."

"Ugh, you're so lucky!" Davis surprisingly says. "I spent all these years in the morgue waiting to see just one vampire. You've only been here one year and you've already met two?"

"I'm sorry, Davis, if I knew you were that keen on seeing Dracula I would've saved you a seat at tonight's show!"

"Sorry... uh… very inconsiderate of me. But I still don't get it. Vampires are supposed to be criminally mean; why is he different. He certainly wasn't here by coincidence. My guess is he wants something from you."

"Something like what? My 140/89 value blood in a golden goblet?"

"Well, I don't know, but from what you described to me, your blood is not the only thing on his agenda."

"What is that supposed to mean?"

"I wish I knew. But for the time being, you have to be extra cautious, Tru, vampires are extraordinarily smart, especially the older ones. You can never predict their moves."

"What makes you think he's old? I mean he looks young, quite good-looking, and his complexion is surprisingly well preserved."

"Careful, Tru! Women over history have had a nasty habit of falling for vampires. Their dark, mysterious, on edge characters for some reason makes them look charming."

"Don't worry, Davis. Once I got a look at his vampire face I lost all interest in asking him out for coffee. But how come you know so much about vampires? Weren't they supposed to be an urban myth?"

"Tru, you know me enough to know how interested I am in urban myths. Darn, my favorite show on television is Myth Busters."

"So, are you telling me that those guys in Myth Busters proved that vampires actually do exit?"

"No, unfortunately, they busted that myth. But I got my information a long time ago from a much more direct and reliable source. The Watchers' Council."

"The what?"

"They warned all morgues around the world about the existence of vampires and the means and ways of protection against them. But only few ever took them seriously."

"You being one of those few."

"Yes. But only out of curiosity. So I kept digging and researching, until I met Giles."

"Who's Giles?"

"He's the latest Slayer's watcher. I forgot her name… uh… Bailey or Bonnie…. Anyway, he had answers to all my questions. And he gave me a few books that helped a lot as well. You know how most people would usually be hanging Christmas ornaments at this time of year? I'm usually decorating the morgue with garlic!"

"OK, one thing at a time. I'm just starting to accept that fact that there are vampires, and now you're saying something about slayers and watchers?"

"Sorry to drop all this on you at once, Tru, but it would do you a lot of good to know, now that you have a vampire probably stalking you." Davis tells her and gives her an old and worn out book about vampires that Giles had given him.

"So, when did you meet this watcher guy?" She asks while checking the drawings in the book.

"About five or six years ago. The last I heard from him was about a year ago, just before you started working here. He told me that the Hellmouth was closed for good and all vampires perished."

"Hellmouth?"

"Yes, the one in Sunnydale, California."

"Wait, did you say Sunnydale?"

"Yeah, why?"

"Nothing. Never mind."

Tru hides her pepper spray in her purse when she notices a business card that wasn't there before. At one side it says: Angel, CEO of Wolfram & Hart, Los Angeles, California, in addition to his phone number. On the other side there's handwriting that says: "Please call me, it's urgent."

"Wolfram & Hart? Tru, that's like the evilest of all evil corporations." Davis explains.

Tru looks very intrigued.


"Hello?" Angel answers his ringing cell phone.

"I know who you are. I know what you are. But what I need to know is what you want from me?" Tru says on the other end.

"Tru, you don't have to be afraid of me. Yes, I am a vampire, but I'm not evil, and I don't feed on people. I have a soul."

"Yeah sure! And you just tripped into the position of CEO of the world's worst evil law firm."

"It's not what you think. Look, I'm staying at Sunset Motel. Please, I need to see you, I'll explain everything."

"You can start by telling me how you know my name."

"Well, I'm a friend of Faith." Angel briefs up.

"And what makes you think that a friend of Faith is a friend of mine? Just because we're twins doesn't mean we're the same. She made it perfectly clear when she dropped out of high school and ran away from home years ago that she wants nothing to do with this family. And I don't care what kind of sick twisted relationship she has with a dead guy…"

"It's not like that. We're just friends." Angel interrupts.

"Whatever!"

"Tru, Faith needs your help." He tells her.

"Faith never cared about anyone but herself, why should I care?"

"Because she's dead."


TO BE CONTINUED IN CHAPTER 3 ….