Author's Note: Per Doctor Winter's review and his confusion over the last chapter's ending, I've went back and made the last section known it was an omake, an extra, and not part of the story's canon. Hope this helps alleviate any confusion about the last chapter, because it was sorely lacking in reviews.


Chapter 49 – A Slow Night

October 7, 2004 = Thursday

~Eliza Flores~

The shower stall was somewhat clean, and it felt great to wash the tanning cream off my skin as it now felt grimy. With the water as hot as it could get, I cleaned every inch of my body, only stepping out when I felt I had everything. Thoughts of my body rejecting the tanning cream had me wondering about tattoos, but I had to imagine that my body would force the ink out as well as it healed the wounds.

Wrapping a towel under my armpits, I stepped out to the sink to brush my teeth. It was disappointing to see nothing in the mirror, so I concentrated on brushing, making sure to go the extra mile and extend the fangs and clean them too. Once I had the toothpaste out of my mouth, I started to get dressed, putting on a red lace bra and panty set.

I then began rummaging through my recently bought clothes, coming out with a green pair of slacks, a black button up blouse with long sleeves and my lowest heels at two inches. I brushed out my hair, helping to dry it after my extensive scrubbing and pondered the night's list of things to do. I needed to see Michele about that lease, and also had to see Walsh to sign off on buying the golf course. I also needed to see Venus tonight, maybe round up Diamond and show her the building so she could get things started on a remodel.

Once I had my hair somewhat dry and a pair of round blue tinted shades covering my eyes, I stepped out to see that only a few people were out and about, among them Meredith. I eyed the new kindred as she walked up to one of the club's bouncers, a wiry older man named George, and started a conversation with him. She was dressed in a frilly dress that seemed to tease her nudity, but one good look should have told any guys that the bottom most layer was thick enough to hide her figure on its own.

Seeing the new kindred out and about had me looking for Eloise. I found her a moment later, hiding in the hallway. I smiled at seeing her fuss over what had to be borrowed clothes; a short leather mini and tube top, constantly pulling the tube top up as if she were afraid it would slide so low her nipples would show.

I walked over to her, not being noticed as she kept her eyes trained hard on her new charge as if she were watching for the slightest mistake. I figured it was likely she was watching for masquerade breaches, so I turned and faced her myself. It seemed as if Meredith was trying to seduce the guy by getting intimately close and pressing herself against him.

"How is she not able to seal the deal, already?" I voiced, watching the former stripper slip a hand between George and herself in what had to be a play for his manhood.

"He's gay," Eloise said simply, her eyes unwavering from the pair.

"Reading his thoughts?" I asked her, and she smiled.

"Yes," she said, and I gave her a curious look.

"How does that work?" I asked her, wondering if auspex was another power Lucian left me. I thought Dracula was a myth, but the more I learned of kindred, it was entirely possible for a kindred to possess all the powers of a mythical vampire.

"Look at George," she said, finally breaking eye contact. "Like with domination, but look into him, not just his eyes." I followed her words, seeing a silver cloud form over George. "Can you see the silver cloud?"

"Yes," I said, seeing a purple one form around Meredith.

"Good," she said, her words seemed to be contained a din. "Now, push a bit past the cloud, and listen."

I did, and then I heard George talking. "Hands off already!"

"Huh," I said, realizing it was his thoughts I was listening in on. "That's a new one on me."

"You can hear his thoughts?" she asked, giving me a sideways glance.

"I don't even know what all I can do, anymore," I told her, looking around the few others around me. I saw Sugar laying out catching a tan, but her aura was the same as George's. "Do ghouls have a different aura than kine?"

"Half and half," she told me. "Blue base with waves of purple through it."

I looked closer at Sugar's aura, seeing no purple at all in it. "You sure?" I asked, staring hard at Sugar.

"Positive," she said. "The purple only fades with the blood, so either they returned to being normal, or they are about to go into withdrawal. It's how Toreador know when to feed their ghouls."

"Huh," I said, deciding to ask Sugar about it later. It'd be easier if she were already through her withdrawal. Maybe she slept through it.

Turning back to Meredith, I saw her leading George towards us, but there was a purple wave ring in his aura now. They passed between me and Eloise without a word, going around the corner, though I could still see their auras they walked a little way before stopping, though their aura's did sharpen drastically around their bodies giving me the somewhat ability to see them through the walls.

"The red ring that was in his aura?" I asked her, watching as Meredith began feeding from her victim.

"A sign of dominate forcing him to act against his will," she said, seemingly watching as well. "Black streaks like that are a sign the kindred has committed diablerie."

"So if someone did do the deed..." I asked, somewhat glad I had a way of proving my innocence at my wealth of kindred powers.

"It would leave a mark that won't wash off for years," she confirmed, moving forward as Meredith broke apart from George and dropped him to the ground. His aura had dimmed, but remained steady. I followed her around the corner, letting my auspex fade as Meredith and George came in sight.

"Oh, hey," she said, easing the man to the ground. "Come to sit in on the lessons?"

"Well, I can give you pointers on what I've learned living on the streets," I told her, as we all began walking towards the stairs.

"Actually, now that I'm fed, Eloise is going to start teaching me how to use my powers," Meredith told me as we walked up. "First up, familiars."

"Well, at least Keenan won't be lonely," I joked with them, climbing with them as Meredith led the way, with Eloise right behind her. Though I wasn't paying much attention, I had the idea that she wasn't wearing anything under her mini as every time she stretched the material it didn't have any pantie lines showcasing where her underwear lie.

"Surprisingly, there's a lot of truth in that," she told me as she climbed. "Familiars can talk to each other, even if they are cats, and since we can hear our own, they can form a bridge of sorts to other familiars. It allows them to act as messengers."

"Can the gargoyle familiars understand cats as well?" I asked and Eloise nodded as we climbed the next set.

"Yes, and since everyone can understand them, they are the first type most students want to make," she told us.

"Doesn't hurt that you can remake them to look like living Barbie dolls," I said, remembering the fairy-like creatures from the chantry.

"Really?" Meredith said, and Eloise gave a nod as we reached the top of the stairs.

"Just a bit of alteration," she informed us as we continued into Meredith's room, which as I stepped into, was more like a suite of two motel rooms joined together. She had a kitchenette in this rooms bathroom area, and a couch where the bed went. Plus, in the kitchenette was the door that led to the other room and supposedly the bathroom.

What struck me after taking it all in was blond haired Dominique sitting on the couch, watching TV. She didn't take her eyes off the TV, seeming to find the newscaster very interesting. A quick check of her aura with my newly discovered auspex powers told me she was under dominate.

"Your meal?" I asked Eloise, who nodded as she turned to face me.

"And I'm yours," she said, standing in the middle of the room. "How do you want me?"

I walked up in front of her, taking in her in my arms. I give her a smile, even as she shivered. "You want it quick or slow?" I asked her, and she looked away.

"Quick," she said without missing a beat. I nodded, sliding my fangs out as I nuzzled under her ear. I bit deep, her blood flowing free across my tongue. It seemed to sizzle on my tongue, and Eloise moaned as I fed.

When I pulled my fangs out and stepped back, Eloise shook her head slowly. She seemed to zero in on Dominique, quickly pouncing the blond and pinning her down on the couch while she straddled her stomach, Dominique's arms held above her head by Eloise. Dominique didn't even have time to scream before Eloise leaned forward and sank her teeth in, the fabric of her mini stretched tight for me and Meredith to see.

I was afraid I was going to have to peel Eloise off her victim, when she finally pulled her fangs out and began to sit up, her movements slow as she ran pale hands over Dominique's limp form until they rested on her breasts. She held that pose for several long moments, savoring the fresh blood before she realized where her hands were kneading Dominique's lady lumps and quickly dismounted.

If I didn't know better, I'd say Eloise batted for the other team by her actions, and she seemed horrified at being caught with her hands on the proverbial cookies. "I'm not gay," she said quickly hiding her hands behind her as if she were afraid they'd show something.

"It's the twenty-first century," Meredith said, sniggering a bit herself. "We call it being a lesbian now."

"I don't have a social disease!" she insisted, and I couldn't help a full laugh.

"It's not a disease, sweety," Meredith said, smiling as she continued to snigger. "Medical science has long since ruled that lesbians and gays are just part of the natural order of things."

"So, this is nothing?" she said, and I nodded.

"I'm hoping when I get Sammie home I can start a relationship with her, myself," I told her, helping to ease the elder kindred's fear. "I even bought a toy to share with her."

"Hope she likes it," Meredith said, and we turned to see Eloise calming down finally.

"It really is nothing, now?" she asked, her tone serious. I nodded, and she very visibly relaxed. "When I was alive, you didn't dare act gay in any way. At best, society would kick you out."

"And worst," Meredith asked, and I shook my head.

"They might try to cure you," she said, hanging her head. "Barbaric practices even at the best of times."

"Barbaric?" Meredith breathed, looking to me for an answer.

"Ever seen 'But I'm a Cheerleader?'" I asked her, and she shook her head no. "Little movie where a high school cheerleader is sent to a rehabilitation camp for gays and lesbians. Back in the eighteen hundreds, those camps were probably run by state ran psychiatric institutions, who probably raped the women until they decided to conform to society to escape or died of their abuse."

"That's horrific," she said, disgusted.

"It's history," she said, wrapping an arm around herself. "So what's life like for us now?"

"Accepted, but still working on marriage equality," Meredith said, glad for the change of subject. "Also, somewhat protected, but that just means they'll find other excuses to get rid of you."

"But that's in life," I said, seeing her panic. "Remember, our sexual preferences don't even matter except for intimate moments. It's not like we're getting married for eternity."

"True," Eloise said, panic fading from her face. "So, let me get rid of the snack," she said, then used dominate to rewrite Dominique's memories to hide our activities, making Dominique think she had fallen and laid out on Meredith's couch to make the world quit spinning, but that she was alright now and could go about her day.

After she left, I had to raise an eyebrow at how easy that seemed to do given Eloise wasn't as powerful as me at dominate. Eloise just smiled, then motioned for me to sit next to Meredith on the couch while she sat in a chair on the other side of the coffee table.

"Now, Eliza, I know you've learned a few things, but I doubt you have the big picture on everything," she began, making me feel like I was in a lecture hall. "So, I'm going to start this off by asking, have you ever heard of Cain?"

"Biblical Cain?" I asked her and she nodded.

"He's presumed by kindred legend to be the first," she said, continuing on. "Whether this is true or not is unclear, but we have historical evidence of thirteen different kindred existing just after the deluge."

"The deluge?" Meredith asked, and I shrugged.

"Another name for the flood that Noah survived," I told her.

"Correct," Eloise said, pulling up a chair and sitting in it. "We know that when they started what's referred to as the Second City, presumably built after Cain's Enoch, there were thirteen. Each member spawned their own clan; Assamite, Brujah, Set, Gangrel, Lasombra, Malkavian, Nosferatu, Ravnos, Toreador, Tzimisce and the Ventrue surviving, and thriving up till recently. Clans Cappadocian and Salubri were supplanted by the Giovanni and Tremere, respectively, by diablerizing their third generation founder."

"So, what happened to the others?" Meredith asked.

"The Giovanni wiped out the Cappadocians while we Tremere wiped out the Salubri," she answered. "From our founders act of diablerization, we founded our clans, even if the early Tremere mucked it all up."

"What did they do?" I asked, and she grimaced.

"When Tremere, the man, was still alive, he led an order of mages," she explained. "He had access to a hermetic form of magic, but wanted immortality, which is something his magic couldn't provide without fatal flaws. When he learned of vampires, he used his magic to turn himself into vampire, starting our clan with stolen blood."

"I bet the other kindred liked that," I said sarcastically, making Eloise shrug.

"We were stupid like that," she said, shaking her head. "The early clan gained their immortality, but found that their avatars were shattered breaking their link to human magic. Our attempt to get it back with the help of the still human mages friendly to the clan led to our memory problem, which is why we have the same memory capabilities we had in life while you, Eliza, have near perfect memory. The clan then launched an extensive research program that led to thaumaturgy, something we guard both zealously and jealously."

"I figured that when you asked me about Strauss training me in it," I told her.

"Something I can't do either, I'm afraid," she said sadly. "I might have walked out, but I could always join another chantry somewhere else. I can't do that if the first question they ask me is if I taught clan secrets to an outsider. Not only is it forbidden, it's a death sentence."

"I have my own books to learn from," I said, thinking of the small library Celeste had stolen and I now claimed.

"We have them here," Meredith told me. "Jean gave us everything that you left with her."

"I can let you have them without any problem," Eloise said, preventing an argument. "All I have to say is I didn't teach you any secrets. Which I won't if you learn them yourself. I'm just the librarian, you do your own research. What you find is your own damn problem."

"Fair enough," I said.

"As I said," she continued. "Tremere found legitimacy by diablerizing Saulot, head of the Salubri clan and we subsequently wiped them out. That one act also neutralized our clan head, leading to the clan being ran by the council, to which all Tremere are bound to, even me."

"So what about the other clan heads?" I asked her.

"Each one is either dead or has disappeared," she told me. "None of them gave any clues to what came before, so we don't know how accurate it is to say that they are third generation, if there were once more that died off or who spawned them."

"What about fourth generations?" I asked her.

"Not many of them left, either," she told me. "The most prominent in my lifetime was Mithras, who was the Prince of London since the death of Christ. Roughly."

"What happened to him?" I asked, curious as to what killed him.

"He went into torpor at the beginning of World War Two," she said with a shrug. "When he awoke, he was weak from his exhaustive sleep and subsequently diablerized by a young Assamite."

"Hmm," I said, thoughtful. "So, how long until I enter torpor?" I asked, but Eloise shook her head.

"Maybe not for a couple of millennia, maybe next year, maybe never," she said. "It seems to happen when kindred become lethargic to living, meaning you could forestall it if you reground yourself to the world around you. My advice would be to sleep, because while in torpor you lower your blood potency, meaning you could go back to drinking from humans after sleeping a century away."

"That's nice to know," I said bitterly. "In the meantime, no telling what improvements I'd miss out on."

"Like wearing computers instead of keeping them at home?" Meredith joked and I shook my head while she sniggered.

I shook my head, deciding to change the course of the conversation. "Just try not to bite the wrong neck."

"Why, what could happen?" Meredith asked, her voice rising in concern.

"Nothing," Eloise said, giving me a curious eye. "Whomever told you that was obviously young and inexperienced themselves. There's no blood disease you can drink that won't either die in our bodies or be cured by vampirism."

"Really?" I asked, leaning back into the couch. "What about that plague I wiped out in downtown?"

Eloise got up at that, then went into the bedroom. I thought I'd made her mad but she came back with a red binder and flipped it open, then handed it to me. The page she was showing me was filled with hand written notes and diagrams, but the writing dictated how to create the plague in all its stages and how effective it was at spreading.

"Celeste Evans engineered that plague to bring down humans and ghouls," she told me as I read some of the page. "Without its thaumaturgical components, it was useless against even ghouls."

"Talk about being wrong," I thought.

"Most kindred refuse to listen to the scholar clan," she grumbled, sitting back down in her chair while hitching her tube top higher again. "A few brave souls risked their unlives to put it to the test, and not even a patient's blood in the end stages of AIDS survived in their system. We've since worked with doctors to discover that AIDS and HIV, like rabies, dies with the body. It might take longer to die than rabies, but it does die. Since we're walking corpses..."

"It can't live within us," I said, nodding in acceptance. "Guess that makes feeding easier."

"For us, anyway," Eloise conceded. "Also, since you don't transfuse any blood back into your blood doll, or feeding victim, it's not like you're transferring anything to them."

"So, what else can you teach me?" I asked her.

"Um, well, you have good control of your presence, right?" she asked me. "That display at the trial wasn't Lasombra?"

"All me," I told her, and got a questioning look from Meredith. "A Brujah inadvertently broke the masquerade when he got caught feeding during frenzy. When they held his Trial, the prince tried to use his presence to cow me, but I forced it back at him and made him yield the issue."

"What are you?" she asked, shaking her head without taking her eyes from me. "The most powerful kindred in the city?"

"I'm beginning to wonder," I told her, getting a shrug of 'who knows' from Eloise.

"You pretty much know everything I do, except thaumaturgy," she said, sighing. "For that, hit the stacks, but I'd recommend starting with Celeste's Grimoire, that binder you're holding. I'd also recommend starting your own, if for no other reason than to keep track of what you can handle. You'll find thaumaturgy a strange discipline, requiring a strength of will along with blood. Spells often require a certain potency to fully function, so cataloging a spells results can make it easier to chart your successes to a teacher."

"And I thought you weren't going to teach me thaumaturgy," I prodded, but Eloise smiled.

"Who said I'm teaching you anything?" she said cattily. "I'm just charting your success. Think of it as a class where I'm not so much your teacher, but a guide as you search for your own answers. You need to learn to lie to someone who auspex."

"As Samantha would say, 'It's all in how you phrase the truth,'" I told her and she nodded.

"Say it right, and people assume the wrong thing," she agreed. "It's why older speech such as Romeo and Juliet sounds like talking in circles," she told me. "Getting to the heart of a matter so both understand the subject."

"Well, that works," I said, leaning back in the couch. "So, how do you stay up during the day?"

"You have to fight it," she told me, leaning in close. "Think of it as staying up late. You have to keep yourself going, moving. Letting yourself stop makes you just as tired. Also, remember you're going to weaken during the day, so try not to get into any fights."

"So, if a kindred wanted to attack me, during the day I'd be vulnerable?"

"To any and everything," she agreed. "It's one of the reasons we keep familiars to watch over us. Protecting us until we can rise on our own. Also, you can train yourself to rise earlier than the sun, but you won't be at full power until the sun sets. It can be useful if you want to meet someone during the day. Just stay out of the sun."

"Like being hit with a flamethrower," I grumbled, absently rubbing where I'd been burned trying to get home once.

"Flamethrower?" she said, face contorted in confusion. "Last time I was burned by the sun it was more like touching a hot skillet. How bad was it?"

"Second and third degree burns wherever the light touched me," I told her.

"Must be the a clan thing," she said, looking down. "Is that why you where shades all the time?"

I chuckled, removing my shades to let her see my missing irises. "Been that way ever since I got burned. That and the light's are like spotlights, everything is so bright."

"It has to be connected to your clan," she said, thinking it over. "I've never heard of it before."

"Well, anyway, I got to get things going for tonight," I said, putting my shades back on and standing up. "My bag and rifle?"

"Be right back," Meredith said, going into her room for a moment before coming out with the items I asked for. I slung my bag over my neck, stashing Celeste's Grimoire inside, then took the rifle, holding it as if I were getting ready to use it even though it was out of ammo.

"If you two need me, here's my cell number," I said, giving them my cell's number. "I can get back here in the blink of an eye if it's an emergency."

"You have celerity too?" Eloise asked, astonished.

"Yes, but I can step from shadow to shadow," I told her. "Apparently housing Lasombra has amazing perks."

"I doubt there's much that can happen if we stay inside," Eloise said, my number now written in a leather bound book that bore her name in faded gold print. "I have a lot to teach my student."

"Best of luck," I said, ghosting out the door to allow the pair the chance to learn.

I was glad there weren't anyone standing around outside, going straight to the car to stash the bag and gun in the trunk. I made my mind up about seeing Fat Larry for ammo for the big gun, maybe ammo for my other guns too.

Getting in the car, I decided to head for Confessions first, see how things were going there. The number of cars had doubled since the last time I had been here, and things were more lively inside with a number of girls partying their hearts out. The music was definitely better, with a fast beat electronica mix playing while everyone danced.

Venus looked much happier, doling drinks out at the bar with Four-Play's bartenders while a bouncer carded me with an exasperated look in his eye. He was about to ask for a cover when he seemed to recognize me, then sheepishly motioned me on through. I gave him a playful smile, knowing the guy was likely bored and my face was lost in the blur of people coming and going.

Still, Venus didn't even notice me in the livelier club until she went to serve me as I sat to the bar. She smiled at seeing me, and I took in her attire for the night. Venus was dressed in a netted top revealing the black leather bra underneath it that matched her mini, or what I could see of it.

"So, still alive," she said with a smile. "How'd it turn out?"

"Me one, Sabbat none," I told her. "I find the rest, I'll keep adding tally marks in the win column."

"Good," she said, then looked around us. "Step this way, please?" she said, leading me towards the room that held the staircase. Once we were inside, and away from prying eyes, she raised her netted top and fished my check out of her bra.

"I found a lawyer, he has the unsigned one," she told me as she handed me the check for two hundred million dollars. "He said we might 'plead it out,' since it's my first offense, but I might have to go through some drug rehab."

"That sounds best case," I said, shredding the check into tiny pieces. "What's the worst case?"

"Several years in prison," she grumbled. "I'm hoping it doesn't come to that."

"I think I can help, just keep me in the loop," I told her, putting a calming hand on her shoulder. "If nothing else, I'll fix the judge so that you get the bare minimum."

"I appreciate it," she said, giving me a wan smile. "Other than that, your party pack has things jumping around here. I've got guys coming in to dance with the girls, so I put the cover back on this evening. It's starting to look like I might turn a profit as long as you subsidize their end."

"Which I will," I said, smiling back. "I'll check back in tomorrow briefly to make sure it keeps getting better."

"Good," she said, as I turned for the door. "Oh, one last thing. There's a woman here, name of Patty. She's looking for a kindred name of Kent. Seems adamant to find him."

"She called him a kindred?" I asked her.

"Yes, she did," Venus said, cracking the door a bit to point her out to me. I used my newfound auspex abilities to see her aura, finding a faint wave of purple running through it. "What are you going to do?"

"Report her," I said simply. "Not my problem yet."

"Then I'll leave you to it," she said, slipping out the door.

I pulled my phone out, calling Walsh. He answered almost immediately. "Walsh, it's Eliza."

"To what do I owe the pleasure?" he said.

"I got a ghoul who's looking for their master, someone named Kent," I told him. "She's getting pretty lippy about it."

"Kent Alan Ryan," he said, sighing. I could almost picture him relaxing into his chair. "He is, up until two weeks ago at least, a Toreador kindred who was heavy into clubs. I haven't seen anything of him in some time. He was known to be an Anarch, so you might try with them and where he might have gone."

"Thanks, Walsh," I said, and he disconnected the line. I couldn't help think that Damsel would know what had happened to him. Sighing, I shadow-stepped to the upstairs area where only kindred were allowed, and looked around. I needed to get close, so I reached out with my shadow abilities, finding the redhead in her usual spot by the stairs. A quick look around told me the area was empty, so I stepped in on the other side of the stairs.

"Whoa!" she said, seeing me come out of the shadows. "Hell of a trick."

"Hey Damsel," I said, giving her a smile. "I'm looking for a Kent Ryan, of clan Toreador."

She shook her head, leaning back against the stairs. "You're a few weeks too late. He bought it in a Sabbat raid."

"Damn," I said, leaning up on the other side. "What am I supposed to do with his ghoul?"

"Patty?" she said, raising an eyebrow. "I knew she'd be trouble in the end. Is she looking for her fix?"

"Yea," I told her. "She's getting pretty blabby about kindred, too."

"Damn," she said, echoing me. "Care to do me a favor?"

"Besides the one I'm calling off, already?" I said, and she smiled.

"Yeah, Michele told me you won that silly bet. I'm also glad you're calling off that boon, but this is more of a personal favor. Patty, I don't much like her but what those damn Cammies will do will be horriffic."

"Public beheading?" I said, making Damsel nod as she moved closer.

"If she has to die, make it peaceful, okay?" she asked, giving me a hug and putting her head on my shoulder. "They don't ask to be ripped away from their lives."

"I'll make it as peaceful as I can," I promised her, hugging her back. "Now, so people don't see me leave," I said, then stepped back to the stairwell in confessions.

Stepping out of the stairwell, I locked my eyes on Patty. The ghoul seemed to sense me coming, turning to face me before I had taken more than three steps. She was dressed in a

"I knew you'd talk to me," she said, her voice high and nasally. "I swear you are all like, totally drawn to me. I'm surprised I don't know you. I usually meet all the LA vampires out on the scene."

"So you're Patty?" I asked and she smiled. "Kent said I might find you here."

"I really need to find him," she said, and I could almost hear the plea in her voice. "I can usually just go straight to him, but it's not working anymore."

I nodded my head, but wanted to get her outside so I could handle her better. Catching her eyes, I pulled my shades down and hit her with dominate. "Go outside and wait for me in the alleyway down the street."

Patty just nodded, then walked towards the door. I followed her, stopping by my car to get my bag and the pistol it carried. I kept following her until we were in the alley. She walked pretty far in, then turned to wait under a light. When she caught sight of me, she jumped as if realizing we were no longer in the club.

"What are we doing out here?" she asked, raising her hands as I reached into my bag and put my hand on my Glock.

"You're going to make a choice," I told her. "Kent is dead. It's why you can't find him. Now, you can either accept that, and me as your new kindred domitor, or I'll end you, here and now and spare you the Trial and a public beheading."

"Bitch!" she screamed, swinging a right on me. She was fast, but I raised a hand and blocked it, then pulled my Glock and shoved it under her ribcage and pulled the trigger. The resulting crack of the pistol was loud in the alley, the heavy punch of the bullet ripping through her and stopping any future attacks.

She fell back against the wall, looking at me with shock across her face. I raised the gun, stepping back a bit, then shot her several more times in the chest. After she slumped to the ground, I checked her pulse, finding it gone.

Putting the Glock back in my bag, I shifted into a shadow just as a couple of kids rushed into the alley. Hiding in a shadow, I drifted along a drain pipe until I was on the roof, then allowed myself to reform my body and look down. They seemed to be calling the cops, so I decided not to hang around to be found.

I turned back into a mist, floating through the empty air and across to the other rooftop. I didn't want to shadow step back to Confessions, it was hard enough to get blood as it was, so when I got to the other side I returned to my body and kept walking away from Patty's death scene. When I hit the next alley, I hopped over the side and landed on my toes, walking the rest of the way back to my car before driving away.

Since it was on the way, I decided to stop by Fat Larry's van, but the van was missing when I arrived. I kept on driving, as I had the feeling of being watched, then turned down an alley before stopping. Taking my phone out, I called the arms dealer.

"Hey ya girl!" he said when he answered his phone.

"Hey Larry," I said, glad he answered his phone. "Where ya hiding?"

"Nearly got caught last night so I had to take some time off," he told me, giving me directions to his hangout. "Just stop on by, I know you're tight. Just go right in the garage if the doors open. If not, circle a few blocks until it is. Don't want no cops driving by and writing your license plate down."

"Be right there Larry," I told him, then hung up. It was a quick drive to his place, and the door was open on his garage so I drove right in. He had the door half down before I even stepped out.

"Hey, girl, I am so glad you stopped by," he said with a big grin across his face. "You always seem to have the biggest guns."

"Oh, you might like this then," I said, opening the trunk. He stood in awe when I pulled out my latest in heavy firepower.

"That there is a SAW," he said, looking at it.

"I thought saws cut wood," I said, getting confused.

"Not a saw," he said, and I looked at him funny. "A SAW. Squad Automatic Weapon. An M249 to be precise. Shoots 5.56 NATO rounds in a metallic belt feed system."

"Got any ammo?" I said, giving him a smile.

"He he," he said, laughing. "Do I have any ammo? Well, you can say that. Follow me."

I followed him through a door and down a set of stairs. When he opened another set of doors, I was met with a gun enthusiast's dream. Rack upon rack of rifles, shotguns, pistols and ammo were packed down here, along with a rack that movies told me were rocket launchers and bazookas, though why one had two triggers and a computer system on it was beyond me.

He led me over to a rack and pulled out a few cans and opened one up. Larry then pulled out a belt of ammo, showing me the line of brass. "This here is pure poison for kindred. Feed this end into the rifle, and you got eight hundred pure rounds of hell to give them. Should be enough to cut any kindred down to size."

"I'll take a few boxes at least," I told him, then looked at the gun again. "Mind showing me how to reload it?"

"Not at all," he said, motioning for me to give him the weapon. "The SAW has a big advantage of most other guns. She's open bolted. Means you cook off a full eight hundred rounds and chamber a fresh belt, she won't cook the bullets and fire off unexpectedly. Let me show ya," he said, opening the top back of the gun up. "See, this bolt stays back when it's loaded," he said, pulling a lever on the right to move the bolt back. It locked in place, then he released the lever so it could snap forward. "Just take a belt, slide it in here, and lock this back down," he said, snapping the cover back over the bolt, "and you're good to fire again."

"So easy," I said, liking it. "I thought it'd be harder."

"Pfft," he said, scoffing. "Ever seen the kid that uses this? He just got out of high school, too dumb half the time to have much of a real job, so they dumb the gun down so he can use it. I heard they have to teach half the kids in the military now how to drive."

"Is a Hummer that hard?" I asked and he shook his head.

"Na, that simple," he said. "First off, it's an automatic. Second, there's no key."

"Is the Army that basic?"

"Consider this," he said. "An MRE has everything a soldier needs to survive in the field, including toilet paper."

I laughed at that. "Toilet paper?" I managed to get out. "Going off to war but heaven forbid we send soldiers without toilet paper."

"Sounds funny for damn sure," he said, getting a good guffaw out of it himself before he pulled a gun off the shelf and showed it to me. "Back when I deployed in Saigon, we used this here, an M60. It fires a bigger round, a 7.62 NATO, and weighed a full pound more. Not many differences, but the SAW was made for one soldier to carry around fire. The M60 really needed two men, one to carry and fire it, the other to carry ammo and reload it."

"So, for little old me, it's the best I can hope for?"

"Little old you wouldn't be caught on the wrong end of this bad boy," he said.

"Close," I said, shrugging. "The Sabbat thug I took it from tried but I managed to get it away from him and use it on his buddies."

"Now that's what I like to hear," he said, stowing the M60 back in the rack. "I've seen lots of customers coming through lately with the latest in high grade fire power. This is the first I've seen a SAW, but plenty of M16's, M4's, UZI's, and Kalashnikov's. I even get a few of these, every now and then," he said, picking up a small rifle, or one very large pistol. I wasn't sure which. "An H&K MP5."

"Is it a pistol or a rifle?" I said, looking the gun over.

"What they call a submachine gun," he told me. "Technically a rifle, but can be fired by one hand in a pinch. It fires single, burst and full auto. They go for three hundred, but I can let you have it for two."

"Sold," I told him. "Give me a few extra clips and a box of ammo."

"Clips? You mean magazines," he said, holding up the ammo holders. "Common mistake. Most people don't learn the proper terms for weapons. Hell, you probably bought your first gun from me."

"I did, actually," I said, shaking my head. "My first guns I just took from the dead after I beat them with my fists."

That made Larry laugh, as he picked out a few magazines for me. I looked at his MP5's, and the various models he had. "So, what are the differences?"

"They all can fit silencers," he told me, "but this one would probably be my best. It has a forward grip for better control under fire, a built-in silencer and collapsing stock for easier hiding."

"I'll take it," I told him. "How much for the ammo on that SAW?"

"Hundred a can," he said.

"Wow, ammo doesn't come cheap, does it?"

"No, but it's high grade hollow point ammo," he told me. "It'll rip holes in whatever it hits."

"Good," I told him, counting out the bills. "I don't want whatever I shoot at getting back up to shoot me."

"If you ain't sure, shoot 'em again," he told me. "If you ever need work done on that SAW, let me know, I got people."

"Fair enough," I told him as we took the weapons up the car. I was quickly liking the idea of having a car to carry stuff around.

"So, how long you going to hang out here?"

"Oh, month or two," he said as I shut everything in the trunk. "Then I'll get a van together and start it all over again."

"Best of luck to you," I said, getting in the car. He raised the garage door and I backed out into the darkness and headed for Michele's. I needed to get things rolling, and I'd like a moment to read some before I went to bed.