Well our boys finally meet under less then ideal circumstances...
Van Helsing sat in a corner booth and nursed his beer. He knew he had to go back and face the music but he couldn't bring himself to get up and head back home. Food had eliminated his headache but the dull ache in his shoulder remained. Still, in another couple of days, even that would be gone. Unfortunately by then he'd have a whole new set of pains courtesy of Jinette – aka The Dragon.
Jinette had all the warmth of an iceberg and the cuddly nature of a pit bull. He had been running the Order for nearly 30 years and it was said that the bones of Hunters who crossed him were buried out back in the ceremonial rose garden the Order kept to promote relaxation. Ha! Like anyone could relax in that place. Everyone who worked there was wound tighter then a clock. Its why he avoided the place whenever possible. A couple of days there and he was ready to do bodily harm. Still there was nothing to be done for it. Van Helsing threw some dollar bills down on the table and walked out of the bar.
Carl was sitting in an unfamiliar bar in a slightly questionable part of town. It hadn't been his intention to eat here but when he tried to find the restaurant he remembered going to before, he had gotten lost and then when he tried to get unlost, it only got worse. Finally he just decided to stop at the first place he saw and then get directions back to where he needed to go. So here he was.
He had gotten more then a few looks when he walked in which wasn't too surprising. This wasn't a suit kind of crowd and even though Carl had lost the jacket and tie, he was still overdressed. He slid into the first open booth and tried to make himself inconspicuous. He didn't want any trouble. He just wanted to eat, get directions and then go home and go to bed.
When a bleached blonde waitress with teased hair came over, he tried to smile winningly. She looked at him over and, deciding that she liked what she saw, leaned over giving him a nice view of her cleavage. Carl swallowed hard and his smile faltered a bit.
"So handsome, what can I do you for?" She said in what she no doubt thought was a seductive manner. Carl cringed internally and began to wish he had never come in. "Ah… can I get a menu? I was hoping for something to eat." He unconsciously scooted a little farther away. Frankly her perfume was a bit overpowering and was threatening to make him sneeze.
She noticed the move and straightening up, became all business. ""Sure, I'll be right back with a menu. But it's nothing too fancy, just so you know." Carl just gave a hesitant smile and said "That's fine, I'm not looking for fancy just a burger and fries if you have it".
The waitress said, "Yea, we got that. How do you want it cooked?" Carl told her and she said, "I'll bring it over in a bit. Want a drink or something?" Carl thought about the milkshake he had hoped for and quickly dismissed it. This was not a milkshake kind of place. "I'll have a coke. I've got to drive home" She raised her eyebrow at what she no doubt thought was a sissy order and said "I'll be right back with your coke then". She turned on her heel and headed back to the bar to place his order. He sighed slightly and let his head rest back on the booth. This day just kept getting better and better…
Van Helsing stepped outside of the bar and paused to look around. After yesterday's little run in, he wasn't taking any chances. Especially since one of his Tojos was damaged and they seemed to be the only thing that could cut through the tough hide of the gargoyles. And clearly even they had a problem since one of them had broken against a really large gargoyle. Maybe headquarters had something new they had cooked up that might be more effective. The Tojos were lethal but they required being up close and personal and that is not a good position to be in with a gargoyle. Mean bastards!
He decided that before he went back to face the call to headquarters, he was going to restock his whiskey supply. He was going to need it after he got through talking to Jinette.
Carl finished up the last of the fries and let out a happy sigh. It was amazing what a big, greasy burger and fries could do for your mood. He picked up the bill and quickly calculated a sizeable tip for his waitress. He knew he had disappointed her but he really wasn't in the mood for company tonight. Still, he had directions and now he could finally head home and put an end to this horrendous day.
Stepping out of the bar, he tried to remember where he had parked his car. Looking around he remembered he had parked down that little side street. He walked down the street, his mind already on thoughts of his latest project. He hadn't been very pleased with the power output and was thinking about how he could increase its efficiency.
It was a strange scraping noise that brought him back to the present. The street where he had left his car was dark and narrow and he was beginning to realize it wasn't such a bright idea to have parked there.
Van Helsing was coming out of the liquor store when he heard a familiar noise coming from a side street. He pushed the bottle into his pocket and slowly headed towards the dark, narrow street. He drew his remaining tojo and carefully scanned the shadows. But when he reached the head of the street, all caution was cast aside. There were the gargoyles and it seemed that they had found a friend.
He sprinted down the street, tojo blade spinning. He wasn't exactly sure what he was going to do but he had to try to get the civilian out of there. The gargoyles, hearing him coming turned to see who it was. Recognizing him as the Hunter from the night before, they let out howling noises and split into two groups. The first stayed with the civilian while the second made for Van Helsing.
Van Helsing smiled grimly and waiting for the gargoyles to reach him. He had thinned the nest a bit last night but there were still 5 to be contended with and with only the one tojo, that wasn't exactly the best odds. He could only hope that he could distract them enough that the civilian could run. Then he'd make his own escape. Let the Order send someone else to tackle these guys.
The 3 gargoyles tried to circle him in but Van Helsing knew better then to let that happen. He carefully kept a wall behind him at all times while he dodged and weaved away from their attacks. One swipe came far too close and he had to do a rolling dive to get away. The gargoyle howled and tried to grab for him and Van Helsing brought the tojo up and sliced off the reaching arm. The gargoyle howled in pain and dropped back. This just enraged the other 2 who stepped up the attacks. Van Helsing knew that if he didn't end this soon, that they would wear him out so he decided it was time to get risky.
He feinted to the left and then made a diving roll to the right. This brought him close enough to the gargoyles guarding the civilian that he could take one of them out. This so enraged the remaining guard that he too turned to tackle Van Helsing. He managed to dive out of the way again managing to slice the gargoyle as he rolled. He came up onto his feet and looking at the civilian yelled, "Go. Now" The man hesitated for a moment and Van Helsing was going to yell again, when a swipe from a gargoyle made Van Helsing have to pull his attention back to the fight. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw the man move and breathed a sigh of relief. He'd give him a few moments to get out of the alley and then he'd make his own break. He continued to duck and strike, mentally counting the minutes.
He was maneuvering himself for a clear exit when the sound of a car horn filled alley. The gargoyles howled and covered their ears, backing away slightly. Van Helsing took advantage of their distraction to make a break for it. He sprinted down the alley and was surprised to see a car at the end of the street with its door open. He heard the driver say, "For god sakes, get in!"
Van Helsing threw himself into the passenger's seat and slammed the door. Looking over at the driver, he realized it was the civilian he had just rescued. The man looked at him with fearful eyes and "What the hell are those things?"
Van Helsing just looked grim and barked "Gargoyles. And unless you want to spend some more time with them I suggest you step on it." This seemed to shake the man out of his momentary freeze and he stepped on the gas and screeched out of the alley. He drove randomly for a while, always looking in his rearview mirror for pursuit. When he finally reached a brightly lit part of town, he pulled over and looked over at his passenger and savior.
The man had his eyes closed and was resting his head against the seat. He was bleeding in a couple of places and clearly looked the worse for wear. Carl had to admit that if the man hadn't just rescued him, he would probably think he was a criminal or something. He did look rather disreputable with his longish dark hair and leather jacket. But good looking in a "bad boy" kind of way. Bet he never had any problems getting dates. Carl's eyes went wide – where the hell had THAT thought come from?
As if sensing Carl's discomfort, the man opened his eyes. He looked over with a vaguely amused smile on his face. "So wondering if maybe you've picked up a criminal?" He watched carefully and saw a blush creep over the man's face. This one definitely didn't have a poker face.
Carl cringed slightly as he felt a blush redden his face. Does this man read minds or something? He tried to recover by shrugging and saying "Actually I was wondering about what happened back there. You said those things were gargoyles – what the hell are they doing in the city? I always thought gargoyles were those decorative statues people put on churches".
Van Helsing cocked his head and gave an assessing look at the man beside him. For someone who had just escaped being gutted by monsters, he was surprisingly calm. Moreover, instead of just running and leaving him to his own devices, he had gotten to his car and given them both a means of escape. Van Helsing gave another good look at the "victim". Reddish blonde hair and blue eyes in a rather pale face. Not bad looking in a slightly geeky way. He was wearing a dress shirt and slacks – clearly not the usual dress of people in that neighborhood. Van Helsing wondered what he had been doing there.
Carl watched the dark haired man as waited for an answer to his question. He could feel the man checking him out and felt a strange desire to straighten his hair and clothes. He knew he was filthy from the alley and he could feel his hair sticking up in spikes. He must look completely pathetic. Trying to rescue himself from his embarrassment, he decided that he should probably get the name of the man who rescued him.
He cleared his throat nervously and said, "I suppose introductions are in order. I mean we did just survive a gargoyle attack together so we should at least know each other's names, right?" He held out his hand and smiled nervously, not really sure what the proper etiquette in this situation is. Thinking of that, he had to fight the insane urge to giggle. Wonder if Emily Post has a section on what to do after you've been attacked by monsters and rescued by a dark haired stranger?
Van Helsing watched his companion get more and more twitchy. I suppose I can't really blame him. He has just faced down a nest of gargoyles and that's probably not something he's ever dreamed of doing in his pencil pushing life. He grunted and said "Name's Van Helsing" He didn't bother to shake Carl's hand.
Carl's smile faltered when Van Helsing didn't take his hand. He embarrassedly tucked his hand back in his lap and said "Mine's Carl. Carl Hamilton." He turned and stared out the front window. So now what happens? His companion didn't seem inclined to tell him much about those things that had grabbed him but Carl's curiosity was killing him. Maybe if I just wait him out?
Carl continued to look around and realized that he knew where he was. From here he could get to the highway and finally get home. God, he had no idea when he left the house this morning that it was going to turn into such a disastrous day. He realized that at this point, he wanted to go home and go to bed far more then he wanted to know more about those monsters. He turned to speak to Van Helsing when he realized something was wrong.
Van Helsing had closed his eyes to stave off the dizziness. Between yesterday and today, he had lost a lot of blood and he desperately needed rest. He also knew he needed to bandage his new wounds and the thought was enough to make him groan. He was just so tired!
Carl leaned towards his companion "Hey, Van Helsing? You don't look so good. Those cuts look pretty bad, I'm going to take you to a hospital, ok? He turned away to start the car when a hand shot out and grabbed his wrist.
"No hospital" Van Helsing ground out. "Just take me home, I'll be alright" Carl looked at him skeptically. "Van Helsing, you are covered in blood and that can't be good. You need medical attention and someone to watch over you to make sure you don't go into shock. You need to be in a hospital"
Van Helsing just shook his head "Fine, I'll walk from here." He made to move toward the door but he knew it was an idle threat. There was no way he could walk a couple of blocks, let alone back to his apartment. And in the condition he was in, no cab would ever pick him up.
Carl, however, fell for it and quickly reached out and grabbed his arm. "Alright, no hospital. But I can't just drop you off somewhere and leave you alone. You could bleed to death or go into shock. Is there anyone who can look after you tonight?" Van Helsing just let a bitter snort. Carl huffed and said "OK, I'll take that as a no. " He thought about it and realized there was only one thing he could do. "I know I'm probably going to regret this but you can stay with me tonight. I'll keep an eye on you and if you haven't died in the night, I'll take you home – ok?"
Van Helsing was surprised. This was the last offer he was expecting. Still, he was really exhausted and the thought of having someone take care of him was too tempting to turn down, "Fine. If that will make you happy" he said gruffly. He closed his eyes and settled back down in the seat to doze.
Carl looked at his new house guest and sighed. Just for once, it would be nice to have someone appreciate the offers he made.