Abby woke to find Zoe curled up next to her. There were voices, hushed yet audible, coming from the direction of the kitchen. Silencing her own breathing, Abby listened, picking up the steady, low cadence she associated with King. An accented, stilted speaker, that was Caulder, so Alyssa was probably there as well. There was a pause in the conversation that must be someone speaking softly because there was a small cacophony of laughter right after. Gently, without disturbing Zoe, Abby slipped out of the bed and padded on the outsides of her feet towards until she'd closed the door.
"Whistler," King stage-whispered, gesturing for her to join them. Indeed, the Caulders had arrived, Alyssa reclining against the back of a dining chair, Caulder beside her. Eli leaned against the bar area, and a woman Abby recognized as Fox sat opposite King at the table.
"Nice to meet you in person," Fox extended a hand, which Abby shook. King nudged a chair out for her to sit on. "We've not started yet." Abby checked her watch; she'd been asleep three hours. There were only two and a half till sundown. "We wanted to make sure we were all here."
"Coffee," Abby grumbled, though sleep was fast departing.
"Gotcha covered," Eli said, reaching for a mug and a full pot behind him on the bar. "Cream or sugar?"
"Neither," Abby waved him off and sat next to King. "What's the word?"
All business, Fox nodded and began. "Shelters in the area haven't noticed any drops in attendance, as I'm sure Stone told you." Nods all around, and she continued, "I've been working all hours at Fisherman's Wharf, checking up on the tourist scene. A few people didn't show up who'd booked tickets on cruises, the usual, nothing new."
"So, all you can tell us is that nothing's changed?"
"Ah, ah, ah," Fox wagged a finger at her. "Just because nothing's 'new' doesn't mean nothing's changed. There are always more homeless where the homeless come from, especially in this economy, and likewise with tourists. Just because the level of business doesn't change doesn't mean the number of missing hasn't."
"With the economic downturn of late," Stone embellished, "we should be seeing more people on the street. More shelters with doors full to bursting. Conversely, there should also be more tourists--more people traveling within the US because they can't afford to go abroad with the exchange rates being what they are."
"Precisely," Fox's eyes widened quickly as she spoke, an excited tic. "And I've been missing some of my regulars. I have some friends at the shelters, but you can't get better info than from the people inside, the ones who have to sleep when strange people come prowling."
"Good to be a light sleeper," King mumbled.
"You bet," Fox agreed. "I've lost Ron, one of my old favorites in the Richmond district. He's a paranoid schizophrenic, so the Devil knows how they managed to sneak up on him. He already thought everyone was out to get him before I told him about the vampires."
"You told him?" Abby couldn't keep an expression of distaste off her face.
"Did him a favor, honey," Fox snapped, "and it made his day to know he was right. Anyway, the take home message here is that there is a definite turnover going on, more so than usual, more successful, too, if Ron is any indication."
"Is he?" King asked.
"I'd say so. Just because he's homeless and crazy doesn't mean he's stupid."
Alyssa cleared her throat. "Any new clues about the plant diagram you found?"
Fox shook her head. "Gidge still has nothing, and I have no new leads on Leung. Just his itinerary for this conference. Oh, and," Fox grinned, "the guh-va-nator is attending the opening."
"No shit?" Eli looked impressed. "We don't have to worry about him, too, do we?"
"Not as a vampire, certainly," Alyssa groaned. "I mean, just look at his tan. As a familiar…well, I guess we can't rule anything out, but chances are better that this is just political maneuvering. If this country would ever consider changing the Constitution to let a naturalized citizen run for President, it would do it for him."
"Maybe that's the grand vampire end game," King snorted derisively, "put a familiar in the White House."
"Right," Abby rolled her eyes, "make us more unpopular in the world than we are right now? Only a vampire lackey for a president could do that."
"We can't overlook the Governor's background," Caulder interjected. "He's from Austria, the old world, like me. We have a longer history of dealing with vampires than other nations." He had a point.
"Does that make him a bad guy or someone who would believe us?"
"Does anyone ever believe us?" King grumbled. "Blade didn't fucking believe us."
"He didn't fucking believe you," Abby reminded him.
"Either way," Fox brought the subject around again, "it's unlikely he will be either a target or a sympathizer for either side. I only brought it up because it means security the first day will be especially brutal. There will be civilian forces involved." Civilian, she meant, instead of just 'human;' there would definitely be human forces to protect the visiting vampires.
"So, no daylight action the first day," Abby shrugged.
"Remember we're also dealing with a major city post-9/11," Eli frowned. "Air-borne biological weapons are high on the shit list."
"We are not going to leave Daystar out of this," Abby said, firmly. "We tested another batch two nights ago, and it's still incredibly potent."
"How much stock have you got left?"
"Probably enough for the conference. If we used the AC, no problem at all. It would reproduce in the vampires, and we could take home the new particles they released."
"We need to examine the convention hall first," Fox cautioned. "It's possible that they'll have specialty venting systems to prevent just such a thing. Remember, this is a group of doctors as well as vampires, and the two could be one and the same. It's also possible that none of the purebloods will attend the conference but will wait from word from their familiars."
"Jesus, this is a logistical nightmare," Alyssa rubbed her forehead.
"No, we just don't have enough information yet," Abby reassured her.
"And we're coming at this city with two problems. One, the increased culling of the homeless," Fox ticked off on her fingers, "and two, the convention. They're unrelated, I think, unless an unusual amount of blood is being stocked for the visitors. Either way, the plant escalation fits with the vampire final solution initiative in general. We should focus on the conference first. That's a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity."
"I don't know," Abby disagreed, "I'd be willing to bet it's just the start."