After interrogating the former second in command of the Lance of Dusk, Hal Pollock, Anna Van Helsing barely escapes with her life during a brief shoot-out. She now sets out to find the group's leader Daniel Craig in hopes of finding any leads to Mina Harker.

Chapter 19

Man that was too fucking close! Who the fuck this guy think he is anyway? Does a low life piece of shit like him really need armed protection? Well, if you really take one hard look at the guy you can't really blame him. Moving on, the info I have is that the reason for the existence of the Lance of Dusk is not the motivation of most vampire groups. World domination is not why Peter Craig is hell bent on wiping out the human race and killing Mina Harker. I never knew Count Dracula had rivals. I mean, not even the strongest vampire could hold a candle the lord of all vampires. Then again, Dracula wanted to keep it that way, I guess. Two days after that night I decided to set out to west L.A. to search for Craig. The fact that he could be living in this area didn't surprise me at all. West Los Angeles was a breeding ground for the rich and famous. I knew one apartment complex that was sure to be his home: Christina Avenue. I guess I'll pay him a little visit.

It took a thirty five minute bike ride for me to reach the large apartment area. The buildings are about fifty floors high and painted in this cream-like colour. I arrived in the area disguised as an electrician carrying the devices that served me well when it came to sticking my nose in private affairs. I walked through the entrance and found a huge stair case. Then it hit me. That guy Pollock didn't tell what room Craig was in. Shit! I started to walk up the stairs until I reached the second floor. The moment I stepped in the hallway I saw a rugged good looking man with brown eyes and balding grey hair; dressed in a dark grey business suit, white shirt and a black tie walking briskly in my direction carrying a briefcase. "Excuse me, sir," I said stopping him. "Do you know if there's anybody by the name of Peter Craig who lives here?"

"Yes," he said. "Why?"

"I'm an electrician. He called me to fix some lose wires in his apartment. I'm kinda having some problems finding it."

"You're an electrician? I didn't know there were female electricians."

"This is the land of equal opportunity. Anything's possible."

"Well, it's about two more floors up in room 412. You'll have to take the stairs."

"Thanks."

I climbed the stairs until I reached the fourth floor. Walking down a long hallway I looked to my left and to my right until I spotted the numbers 412 on a door that was in the middle of ten doors to my left. I walked up to the door and twisted the doorknob. The door was locked. I then reached into my toolbox and took out my lock pick and tension wrench and proceeded to unlock the door. All I had to do now was to go through the five second process. As I was approaching the last three seconds I suddenly heard footsteps on the stair case echoing down the hallway. I started to move frantically and the lock made a click. I then looked down the hallway and saw on top of the heads of what appeared to be a man and a woman growing higher and higher. Their faces came into view showing a man apparently in his early thirties and a woman who looked seven years younger. They were talking and laughing, apparently unaware of my presence. I quickly grabbed my toolbox, twisted the doorknob and pushed the door open.

I shut the door behind me and discovered a living room with a view of the L.A. skyline through large glass windows. There were two white couches and one large single chair in the middle of the room. There was huge flat screen TV on the left and a large CD player next to it and a DVD player on top of the CD player. I took a little tour and saw a large bed in the bedroom and the kitchen was a spotless red haven. I knew that the longer I stayed in this place the bigger chance there was of me getting in dog shit. I took out two bugs placed them behind the pots and pans. I then placed one bug in the bedroom. I was back in the living room and I stood there looking around with three bugs in my hand trying to decide which would be the best place to put them. After seven seconds I made my decision. I placed a bug under the CD player, one in an arrangement of flowers on the table and strapped one on one of the legs of the small glass table that laid between the chairs and the entertainment centre with duct tape. In a space of just six minutes I was done. I then grabbed my tool box and hurried out the door. The moment I stepped out the door I was met by a man walking my way. He was a man with jet black hair dressed in a navy blue business suit, a white shirt and crimson red tie. He stopped next to me and looked at me with suspicious blue eyes. I stood there frozen in fear, but for some reason or the other I was able to crack a nervous smile. He began walking away still keeping his eyes on me as he entered his room right across the hallway and locked the door behind him. I then started to walk away briskly down the hallway, down the stairs and eventually out of the apartment.

That night I returned to Christina Avenue looking to dig up somebody's personal shit. I parked my bike a few feet away, sat there, pulled out my amplifier, clicked it on and started listening to the following conversation.

SPEAKER 1: Who the fuck left the door open?

SPEAKER 2: You tell me. You were the last one to leave.

SPEAKER 1: I know for sure I locked it. I'm not crazy.

SPEAKER 2: Mr. Craig why don't we focus on the matter at hand? As far as I'm concerned the demise of Madame Mina Harker is a far more pressing issue.

Craig? Could this be the Peter Craig I was looking for?

CRAIG: Fine. First and foremost I would like to know how we'll move ahead in making sure Mina Harker no longer walks this earth again.

SPEAKER: Look, Peter, the reason why you have me around is not for a big pay check. You need me. Mina is the reason I am who I am. Do you really think I like to walk around getting seizures because of the thirst? Do you really think I celebrate that day June 5th 105 years ago when I first met her?

CRAIG: I'm very sorry to hear that, Conrad. But it's something you'd have to deal with one way or other. So does many humans who will eventually become our kind.

CONRAD: I'm not surprised you'd say that. You have no idea what it's like, to become a new creature against your will. After all, you didn't become what you are, you were born a vampire.

CRAIG: Maybe. But think about how your powers and skills advanced along with the years. No vampire hunter would ever believe that you weren't born a vampire hunter.

CONRAD: Well, you'll have to thank the famous Bride of Dracula. It pains me to remember that day. There I was, 21 years old, New Orleans, Louisiana. I was at this bar with some friends when I spotted her sitting by herself in the corner. All of my friends encouraged me to strike up a relationship with her. I, young and arrogant, high on vodka took their advice and walked over to a beauty that was out of sight. She seemed tensed and afraid when I introduced myself to her. She told me that she was from Liverpool, England and she was reeling from divorce she had three years earlier. I saw that as good opportunity to make her my latest lover. We began seeing each other constantly since then. One night I took her to a Mardi gras parade. There I noticed something absolutely out of the ordinary. There was section where paraders were all dressed in black costumes and wearing white fangs holding up the banner Children of Dracula. All of a sudden Mina got into a fit of rage and lounged at a female parader and started beating her head on the ground. I pulled Mina away; the female parader was left bleeding from the back of her head. I asked Mina what the hell's gotten into her. She paused for a minute like she herself was surprised at what she'd done. She told me she was a passionate Catholic and that seeing people act like children of Satan deeply offends her. The next night I invited her to my house where had dinner. I kept in mind not to serve her alcohol. There was another thing I noticed about that girl. She always seemed thirsty. It was in that condition she always sounded hoarse. She always carried a vial and drank from it. She never told me what it was. I asked her to spend the rest of the night with me. She refused at first but finally gave in when I insisted. We slept together in the same bed. I was awaken big a piercing pain in my neck; then it felt as if someone was trying to tear of the skin of neck. I woke up to find Mina spitting out of my neck with teeth like a cat. She chased me all over the house until I got trapped in the bathroom. It was there she told me she was a child of the devil and that she needed my blood. The last thing she told me was that she hoped that I would be able to forgive her.

CRAIG: Well, I'm sure you can't. No one can ever forgive anything that evolves from Dracula.

CONRAD: But if you really think about it, we wouldn't have existed if it wasn't for Lord Dracula. He is the reason why we're far more superior over the humans.

CRAIG: Yes. But he's also the reason why I've been hunting down that cunt for years. Even though Dracula's dead, there's never a day when I don't think about him. When I found out that Mina carries the blood of Dracula in her veins, it's like Dracula came back to life in the form of a young woman. Mina has no love in her and she kills without mercy. Three years ago she killed my daughter. My daughter! Don't talk about the humans. They're always discriminating. Dracula used the humans to destroy my father's clan. He was very smart in doing it though. He hid the very fact that he himself was a vampire.

CONRAD: Are you sure it was Mina who killed Heather?

CRAIG: What other vampire you know uses a katana sword?

CONRAD: I understand. I never knew that Mina and I would end up having so much in common. There was one individual who guided me in this life. He's just like you, born a vampire. But there's something about him you just can't ignore. His wisdom, his strength, his skills with every art known to man. The only one that rivals this man is Dracula himself. He taught me all the martial arts and all the skills with the blade.

CRAIG: But you mostly use guns.

CONRAD: What I know from that man serves me well when it comes to using guns. My precision is unlike any other. I have all to thank Todo Hotsumi. That man just happens to be three years younger than Dracula. I first met him when I was lost, doing nothing but searching for victims and trying my very best to stave off unwanted attention. I thought he was just another victim when I lounged at him. He suddenly grabbed me by the throat and threw me aside. I was stunned and amazed by his strength and I began to think when he asked me what good is it for a person who is not of this world to feel inferior to the weak race that is known as the humans? He promised to show me the way to tap into my hidden strength if I promised to join his league. It was an offer I could not ignore. His league is a 1000 strong force that often operates in splintered cells. When they perform hyper speed all you can hear is their force pushing against the air. Hotsumi trained and mentored me for twenty years. When it was over he gave me two choices: to continue being in his league or to move on and set my own path. I wasn't sure what choice to make so I asked him what the better choice was. He told me that for me to further enhance my skills I must walk the winding road on my own because with time I would soon find good use for all I've learned

CRAIG: Very interesting. I don't suppose you know where Hotsumi is now, do you?

CONRAD: No, I don't. Like I said before he moves in splintered cells with his force.

CRAIG: But how did Mina get into all this?

CONRAD: I didn't know at first. It was when I would met her again back in '68 she and I were on the save level in terms of our skills. I discovered that she trained under Hotsumi when I she used a style known as the Hidden Twisted Arrow. Hotsumi demonstrated this style only once, but no one in our squad was able to perfect it. No vampire alive, in my view, would ever perfect such a style. Mina and her katana is a force to be reckoned with. I'm the first one ever to see it. The Final Dawn is the reason I have this scar across my face.

CRAIG: What are you saying? If I were to put together a force of thirty of my best men, it would ultimately fail?

CONRAD: Exactly. You can never win against an unconventional enemy with a conventional force.

CRAIG: I cannot believe I hired you to give me nothing but pessimism.

CONRAD: That's not true. What about that group that Mina belong to, Crimson Sun? That group only calls itself that to hide the fact that they're a weak force compared to other groups. They don't deserve anyone's respect. You had three of its most senior leaders killed because of my careful planning. That group's on virtual collapse because of what we've been doing for the past ten years. If we could get to 25 members we could eventually get Mina cornered. I've just got intelligence that three members are meeting at this fast food restaurant at West Hollywood tomorrow at 9:30 p.m. They are the ones who really keep track on their group's movements. All we have to do is when they're finished we corner them while their driving on the road: front, back, left and right. Then we shoot out the tires and snatch them away. There's no way it could fail.

CRAIG: I agree. I just want to get to Harker before the humans do.

I turned off the amplifier and drove off. Too bad I was only able to hear them; not see them. So, apparently this Conrad was Mina's first victim. Mina's vampire form wasn't fully developed; that's why she was only able to tear off the flesh of Conrad's neck in order to drink his blood. Listening to the conversation I could tell that Craig had absolutely no love for Dracula. I don't blame him if he wanted to destroy any remaining indications of Dracula's existence. I'd better get to this fast food joint before these guys do. These three guys could be the only source of information of Mina's whereabouts and current activities.