Disclaimer: All characters from the TV series obviously belong to Toby Whithouse and the BBC

Author's note: A bit more scene setting here but please stick with me! The characters from the previous chapter haven't been forgotten about, they're just waiting their turn.

Reviews and comments are very welcome and always appreciated!

2 months later

Hal nodded in what he hoped were the appropriate places as Joseph carried on with yet another of his tall tales. The legend that the other vampire had built for himself was as brittle as the skeletons of the leaves which now littered the frozen ground, delicately constructed and fascinating to study. Picking it all apart was turning out to be even easier than he had anticipated.

He had known of Joseph Hughes by reputation before his own absence, he had originally seemed like any other run of the mill vampire bureaucrat. But somehow in the last few years he had risen to the highest office in London. The other vampire was charming and persuasive but lacking in vision and, in Hal's opinion, intelligence. His susceptibility to flattery had made him a surprisingly easy target . A few well-placed words and gestures and Hal had been rewarded with a seat at his right hand.

Joseph was a master of words but little else. He had however, been a very wealthy and highly placed individual when he had been recruited. It was as a result of this, and his considerable charm, that he had quickly become an influential figure in the vampire community which was precisely why Hal was now sitting by his side listening to his highly exaggerated stories of derring-do.

He glanced over at his Joseph who was still contentedly retelling his fables to the gathered vampires, completely unaware that he his newest companion was no longer listening.

'Bloody hounds.' Interjected one of the group, Petr his name was. From what Hal could gather, the only reason for his recruitment was the fact that he was the size of a bear. It certainly wasn't for his cunning or intellect. 'Any dogs round these parts?' Petr continued. Hal presumed Joseph's story must have finally reached its conclusion.

'I doubt it any longer. I killed hundreds of them, Snow couldn't thank me enough.' The look of self satisfaction that had spread across Joseph's face was making Hal feel rather nauseous. He took a sip of his ale.

'If Snow feels so indebted to you, why does he never grace us with his presence?' Hal broke in. He allowed himself a small smile as Joseph's jaw tightened. 'I mean, shouldn't he at least have given you a castle or something? Raised your budget at the very least?'

Joseph's face began to redden. 'Well, I…'

Hal cut in again, trying to sound as innocuous as possible. 'I mean, you've done all these wonderful feats,' he paused, '...or so you say. But here you all are, sitting round tables in public houses in the wrong part of town drinking the blood of over-ripened whores and reminiscing about feasting on carrion from battlefields like vultures. It's hardly a lifestyle befitting of a hero and his men is it? I thought this was meant to be vampire high society!' He could hear murmurs spreading around the table. All eyes were now on him and Joseph who now had a look of quiet fury spread across his features.

'What are you trying to say Hal?' asked Lucas with a detached curiosity. Hal had almost forgotten Lucas was there. He hardly ever spoke, preferring to sit silently observing the group. Lucas unsettled Hal. He needed to have a good idea which of the vampires he could rely on to be standing by his side when the dust settled, but with Lucas there was simply no way of knowing.

'Just making an observation.' Hal replied softly. 'It does seem rather odd, don't you think? Unless of course you have received rewards for your endeavours but you're choosing to keep the spoils to yourself…' He smiled at Joseph who was just about managing to contain his anger. 'This Ale is piss.' Hal announced as he stood. 'I'm going to find myself something a little stronger.' He didn't look back as he walked to the door.

It was a crisp night and the London streets were lit up by a blanket of freshly fallen snow. Hal pulled his coat snugly around himself, though it was a more through force of habit than necessity. He could still feel the cold, but it no longer bothered him. His breath no longer condensed into a fine fog in the cold air. He hadn't ever become used to that he mused as he studied the streets for a suitable victim. He looked down at his watch, he still had time for a hunt before his appointment.

He could hear his maker's voice in his head, still unwilling to leave him alone after all this time,'always go for the ones that won't be missed.' Fuck that he thought. Tonight he didn't want to slip away into the night unnoticed. Tonight he wanted to cause a scene. He looked down at his clothing. A smarter coat and he could easily pass for a gentleman. That would be simple enough to sort out.

He scanned the crowd for an appropriate candidate and spotted a young man of a similar build to him walking alone and dressed in a smart overcoat. Hal began to follow a few paces behind him until the man turned onto a quieter street. He glanced around for potential witnesses, a few drunks littered the doorways but he doubted they would cause him any problems. He stole up behind the man and swiftly snapped his neck. He carefully removed the man's overcoat and let the corpse drop to the floor. As he pulled on his new garment and headed out back onto the busy thoroughfare he glimpsed the ghost of the young man standing stunned in the doorway staring wordlessly at his body.

He came to a halt outside a grand townhouse in Mayfair. There was a party going on inside. A golden glow shone through the windows and at the entrance stood a gaggle of society ladies clad in jewel coloured dresses and heavy fur stoles. He was aware of his stomach churning as he listened to their cackles. He walked closer to get a better look and decided that they were a little older than was ideal for the plan.

He turned to walk away when he noticed a young girl leaning against the wall in the shadows. She couldn't have been older than nineteen. His stomach growled. She looked at him inquisitively as he came to stand beside her.

'My lady, why on earth is a girl as beautiful as yourself standing alone in the cold when there are such festivities to be had?' As her eyes met his he saw that they were wet with tears. Vulnerable. That was good.

'You are very kind sir.' She replied with a sad smile. She paused for a moment, 'I know that one shouldn't disrespect the wishes of one's mother…'

'But…' Hal urged her to continue.

'I don't know you.' She was hesitant

He looked around. There were too many witnesses to just grab her, much better that she follow him of her own accord. Her tears were now rolling down her cheeks.

'If I'm upset,' he confided, 'I sometimes find that it helps to talk to someone impartial about it. It can give one a fresh perspective, things are rarely as terrible as they seem in your head.'

This appeared to convince her. 'She me wants to marry a suitor she's picked out, but he's terrible! He's so old and so frightfully dull! The words tumbled clumsily from her mouth.

'How awfully sad for you,' He said, maintaining the eye contact between them. 'I've always believed you should do what you want, not what is expected of you.' He took a silk handkerchief he had found in his coat pocket and gently dabbed away her tears.

She met his eyes again. 'That's very easy for you to say sir. You are gentleman of means,' she said looking him and down, 'I am but a girl, there is what my parents choose for me and nothing else.'

'I don't believe that's true.' He took her hands in his, 'What do you want, right now?' he asked, hoping that she would take the bait.

'I want…' she hesitated and looked up to the night sky seeming to hope that it would contain all the answers. 'I want to be swept of my feet by a handsome gentleman and dance under the stars.' She looked at him hopefully

'I think I may be able to be of assistance to you there my lady.' He held out his hand to her to encourage her to follow him. She was still hesitant.

'My mother will notice if I'm gone for long.'

'One dance under the stars, now what harm could that do?' He smiled reassuringly. She was easily persuaded. Thank God for society girls and their sheltered lives, thought Hal. She took his hand and smiled at him in anticipation.

'One dance.' She agreed.

Hal glanced around to check that no one was looking their way and led her into the snowy streets. He guided her away from the bustling central streets to one of the communal gardens nestled between the houses. He wished she would shut up. She was blathering on to herself, something about her mother and all the other girls at the ball but he could focus on was her quickening heart.

'Where are we going?' she was trying to sound calm but failed to conceal the excitement in her voice.

'I know the perfect place.' They came to a stop as they reached a walled garden.

As he led her into the dimly lit garden she suddenly became wary as she realised she was all alone with a strange man in the middle of the night. She stopped in her tracks. 'I don't know about this.' She said quietly. 'I really should go back.' She looked at the ground, not willing to meet his eyes. 'I'm sorry.' She pulled away from him but he tightened his grasp around her wrist. The girl's eyes widened in shock 'Sir, please.' She said tearfully, 'I said I wish to go home.'

Hal pushed her roughly against the wall. She opened her mouth to scream but he covered it firmly with his hand before any sound could escape. He brought his lips close to her ear. 'If you scream, I will kill you, do you understand?'

She nodded vigorously, eyes wide and filled with tears. 'I'll do anything you want' she sobbed. He laughed at that. Part of him was tempted, but that wasn't on the agenda until later and he doubted that this girl would have the skills to satisfy him. She looked pathetic: all runny nosed and wet faced.

He pulled her towards him and moved his hand to the back of her neck. He felt a stirring as her heartbeat raced in panic and then plunged his teeth into her. She cried out in pain as he tore into the paper thin flesh of her neck. The rich aroma of the blood filled his nostrils, its smell was intoxicating and the panicked beating of her heart played to him like a seductive melody. Desperately he sunk his fangs further into the girl's neck as though stopping drinking would mean certain death. The girl's blood began to flow more slowly and he suddenly felt her dead weight in his arms and let the body drop to the floor. He glanced at her face. It wore an expression of surprise, as though she couldn't believe what had happened to her.

His appointment was only a few streets walk from here. He found a fountain on his way and splashed his face with water to wash off any remaining blood. He walked at a brisk pace, it was rude to be late after all.

The Harris's had a sizeable house. Not as grand as those in Mayfair, but its occupants obviously had a fair amount of money, all of which belonged to the man of the house. His young wife had managed to marry well. Susan Harris came from a respected family but her father had gambled away their fortune. She must have practically leapt at the much older Mr Harris once she realised his intentions towards her. Without him she would have had nothing and Hal knew she would do anything to protect her lavish lifestyle. He found humans almost depressing in their predictability.

He smoothed down his wig and checked over his clothes for blood stains. Once satisfied with his appearance he knocked on the door. It opened almost immediately. Susan had obviously been waiting for him.

'Mrs Harris' he took her hand in his and kissed it. 'Always a pleasure.'

She giggled and let him in.

Joseph took a sip of blood from the glass. It was passable but it didn't have the same effect drink straight from the vein. He looked across at the grandfather clock, it didn't look like he would have time for a hunt today.

He was still reeling from a meeting with Martin Harris, the chief magistrate. The youngest daughter of a prominent Member of Parliament had been found dead in a park in Mayfair in the early hours of the morning. She had bite marks on her neck and had been drained of blood. Harris had dared to suggest that maybe Joseph was losing his grip on the London vampires, that his long held authority was finally failing.

'It's one thing asking us to ignore the death of the odd whore that no one really cares about, but quite another to expect us to cover for you when your people kill prominent members of London society,' he had said. The threat was implicit and Joseph couldn't risk the collapse of his arrangement with Harris. For the first time in both his human or supernatural life he could feel his control slipping away from him

He spread all of his records from the last few months before him on the desk and began to pour over them to find some clue as to what was going on. As he looked over them a piece of the jigsaw fell into place. There, in black in white were a clear series of events. At the time they had occurred they appeared to be insignificant. But now as he looked at them together, it became clear that the ultimate effect of each and every one of them had been to damage and undermine the strength of his leadership.

There were the seemingly random deaths, both vampire and human which had widened the gulf between factions in the city. Legal sanctions imposed on crucial deals and important properties he held. It was as though someone was systematically deconstructing the empire he had so carefully maintained.

He shook his head. He was being paranoid, seeing patterns where there were none. He gulped down the rest of the blood.

A thought had been niggling at him all morning. Part of him wanted to leave the thought unaddressed, dismiss it as a small and harmless shadow at the edge of his conscious. He generally tried to avoid confronting uncomfortable truths. However, he had a feeling that if he ignored this particular hunch it would result in him being properly dead.

There was something someone had said, but he couldn't place who. His hangover from the night before was clouding everything in a thick fog. He slammed his fist down on the table in frustration and poured himself another drink.

He took a deep breath. First he needed to limit the damage. His empire may be teetering, but he would not let it fall. He knew from personal experience that vampires who fell from office tended to come to unpleasant ends. He needed help, he knew that he couldn't fix this alone.

Hal. Hal could help. Joseph had been so delighted when the younger vampire had first approached him had first approached him. The boy had been missing in action for a few years before he had arrived at Joseph's door but his reputation had preceded him and Joseph had welcomed him with open arms. For a vampire of his standing Joseph Hughes was extremely trusting.

In his short time with Joseph, Hal had slipped effortlessly into the role as his most trusted advisor. Admittedly he was also Joseph's most outspoken critic, but he got the job done which was what mattered at the end of the day. Joseph thought of Hal as a man of action whereas his own skills rested in words,charm and money. He couldn't remember how he had coped without him, the boy seemed to have solutions to problems that hadn't even occurred to Joseph yet.

He poured the glass of blood greedily down his throat and suddenly the fog lifted.

Shit.

Hal.