A/N: Jump back a couple minutes, before the phone call last chapter. This is Abner's point of view from that bit. Progress is being made.

God, I hate allergies. I'm a mess.

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The Vampire nodded furiously. Abner was again surprised at the utter lack of hesitance. He could ask the Mr. Achenleck to build a ladder to the moon he would likely sprint to the Home Depot that very second. He decided to slide his finger away from the trigger and just hold the shot gun. He highly doubted there would be any use for the weapon at this point. He was just far too agreeable.

But then… Ah. Something seemed to have sunken in through the man's head as at last, there seemed to be an expression of second guessing. Abner wondered if he was finally gathering the nerve to fight or…

"I- There's this kid at my apartment. He- He's been needing a place. I-"

A kid? His eyebrow raised in further curiosity. This was getting very interesting.

"I need to make a phone call. Just-"

Abner nearly jumped at the sudden blast of music, and secretly was thankful that he had taken his fingers off the trigger just seconds before, because god knows not to spook him while his finger was on a trigger. Abner nearly gaped at the iPhone the vampire suddenly pulled out.

What?

What?

How can… Did Mr. Achenleck completely forget he was a vampire? Why did he still have his phone? He remembered what he said earlier about a kid being in his apartment. Surely, surely he wasn't still clinging onto his human lifestyle? Was he still listed as a living breathing human? Did he still pay taxes, pay bills and remain a functioning member of humansociety? Did this man work a night shift or from home- where was he getting his money?

Didn't he know living as he did now made it so, so much easier for people like him to find him and kill him? Sure, he hadn't yet, but only because he was focusing on the more dangerous creatures of the night. But had he or another hunter decided to turn their attention to a mysterious snaggletoothed man wandering the streets at night, he wouldn't last a day. No, an hour at best.

Just… Jesus CHRIST, not even he, a human, dared risk owning a traceable phone! It was stupidly reckless!

Abner tuned in onto the conversation, learning that the vampire shared his apartment with a boy named Veser. There was a small argument, as Conrad ordered the boy to stay with a person named Ples. He wrote these names to memory, wondering if Conrad had any sort of idea of how much sensitive information about his life he was throwing around carelessly, like it was popcorn or something.

This man… Abner was at a loss of how he was even still alive.

Or as alive a dead man can get.

When he hung up, Abner sighed at the string of apologies, still staring at the phone. Just… goddamit. He couldn't turn into a bat properly, he obviously couldn't fight, he couldn't defend himself, he couldn't… And he was taking care of some kid? By the sounds of it, the kid wasn't a vampire. If he was, why would there be any human food in the pantry? He was taking care of a non-vampire.

Which in itself was incredibly out of the ring of what was considered normal for vampires.

Abner got to his feet, nodding to the mentioning of Veser leaving the apartment. "In that case will you please get up and follow me to my car?" he asked. Though, asking was just a formality. He didn't have to ask, he could force this trembling creature to do whatever he wanted, but that would be barbaric. No need to force the willing.

At the sight of the hunter getting to his feet, Conrad felt another surge of relief flow through him, from somewhere in his gut (which was still painfully twisting from the hollowness). The grip on the phone loosened as it was nearly forgotten, his hands sliding down onto his lap. He didn't realize the confusion he stirred from the man; he was a bit busy worrying about his own skin at the moment.

A question was asked, and it took Conrad a moment to process.

He… he had a car? Conrad knew that, of course; after all, the man had rammed it into Lamont's. But to have it fixed so quickly… Being a vampire hunter must have actually paid pretty well. Conrad cringed inwardly at the thought of just how many "pests" the hunter had taken down.

But the vampire shoved that thought away and rose gratefully, eyes locked on the gun that was pushed away hastily. Now that the apartment was empty, all he really had to worry about was his own hide. Oh, and the sharp pain in his gut. That too.

Suddenly a thought hit the hunter. This wasn't his first stakeout, naturally. He had an emergency duffle bag in the trunk for just so an occasion. But he hated to leave his home inhabited for lengthy periods of time. If he was gone for too long, a layer of dust would surely build over all the surfaces! And the plants- they would die of thirst. And he couldn't, wouldn't risk leaving Conrad a chance to flee as he made trips back to check on everything…

This option, his only option wasn't a foreign one. He'd done it before. But he hated it. He hated her. But his niece, his tactless niece was the only one he could trust to house-sit for him. She was just as obsessive over organization and cleanliness as he was, but dear god was she ever a bitch.

He looked down at Conrad and set the shot-gun onto his back holster. "And if you don't mind, this is a bit short notice for me as well. Give me your phone, I'll need to make certain arrangements." He said this in a bit more of a demanding tone. He wasn't asking. Mostly because he reallyjust wanted to get this out of the way. As quickly as possible.

He was still holding the phone when the gun-wielder (he still didn't know his name) spoke again.

Conrad nearly gaped for a moment. "Wha- Why my phone? You don't have your own?" But the tone was rather clear, and, eyes narrowing, Conrad wiped the screen on his shirt and handed it over reluctantly. He muttered a few dark things under his breath, none of which were really directed at anything, but still giving him a small slight sense of satisfaction.

"Careful with the damned thing, I need to get a new one anyway. If it's not in a good enough condition I can't return it and get my money back." The artist felt a bit idiotic, saying it. Who was he to tell a gun carrying assailant what to do?

Yet the whole phone ordeal had left Conrad rather bitter anyway. He liked the iPhone, it was simple enough to use. Ever since he'd been Changed, though, he hadn't been able to use it as well as he used to, and it bothered him.

Sometimes he really wished he could take it all back, make it so he'd never asked Hanna Cross to deal with the damned vampire in his apartment. Had he had this man's card, he would have called him first for sure. Because now everything just seemed so off. He felt human, for the most part, he really did. But all those little factors that knocked him down kept reminding him just what he was. Just how unnaturalhe was.

He hated it. Hated how he had to survive on blood, hated where he had to go to get blood. Hated that at this point he was on speaking terms with a werewolf, a half-selkie, a zombie, and a few other vampires. Hated how sunlight burned, how his fang stuck out, hated it all. It made him so angry.

And he couldn't act on his anger because he didn't want to be a threat, he didn't want to hurt anyone. He just wanted… he didn't know what he wanted. Just not this. Not what he was.

He missed normalcy. He missed having that natural feeling of fitting in one's skin, a feeling he had only just gotten recently before he died.

But now…

He could never be normal again.

'No, no I don't Mr. Achenleck. Unlike you I'm actually aware that this sort of lifestyle requires some sacrifices', were the words the snapped up in his mind as he took the phone. The goggles hid the twitch in his eye as Conrad then decided to complain about the cost of the phone.

Really? Really Mr. Achenleck?

He wanted to raise his arms in frustration and demand to know just how he was even still able to exist. He was literally being taken hostage by a vampire hunter- and the onething he chose to complain about was this stupid phone?

But he kept his composure and examined the black thing over- only to realize that this… this was one of those touch screen phones. He'd be required to remove his gloves and touch the damned thing with his bare hands. He'd have to touch a personal item of a dead man. And true it did look shiny and devoid of filth. But that didn't make it any less… disgusting.

Grunting in visible disgust, he pulled the vampire by his collar and pushed him to walk ahead of him while he tried to come to terms with his current dilemma. He wiped it down again with a hand cloth he kept within his coat pocket, and removed his right glove. Wincing slightly, he dialed the number with of course adding a (*) in the start of it so it'd only show up as UNKNOWN on his niece's phone. He rubbed his bare hand against his pants leg as he held the phone a slight distance away from his face so he again, wouldn't have to make any more skin contact then he needed too.

Conrad tried not to stare as the man very disgruntling took his phone, tried not to protest as he was grabbed by the collar and shoved forward, where he couldn't actually seehis captor. It unnerved him, not being able to see what was going on. He very faintly heard the tug of fabric, but continued walking, frowning darkly at the pavement.

The phone made slight beeping sounds as its keys were pressed, but Conrad tried not to listen in. It was rather hard not to eavesdrop, however, when the phone was answered on the other line. Vampire senses did that to you.

The phone rang three times before she answered.

"Mmmph… Wha- who is this!" The voice of a tired and angry girl was faintly heard, but the artist heard it as clearly as though he were standing beside the speaker. He winced, trying desperately to turn his attention elsewhere; he of all people understood how important privacy was.

The hunter spoke in a low tone, yet again, Conrad heard it clearly. He couldn't help it; he had nothing else to focus on, to draw his attention away. It was nearly impossible.

Oh right. Of course she'd be asleep at this hour…

"Jenifer, I ne-" he started talking to her, using the coded language he had talked over with her in order to protect both of their identities in case of eavesdroppers. She wasn't fond of the system then, and she wasn't fond of it now, while it was two in the morning.

"Jeni- oh. Oh Fuck NO."

He was quickly interrupted, and Conrad resisted a smirk as the girl cursed at the hunter.

She wasn't fond of it at all.

"You realize it's 2:00am old man? I have class tomorrow! What the hell wer-"

"I need you to take th-"

"To HOUSE SIT for you again! Do you understand how much of a hassle it is to move my things there?"

"Jenifer..." Abner's voice was sharp, and warning. But a terrifying tone of voice was completely ineffectual against the half awake spoiled brat.

At this point, Conrad was resisting the urge to laugh. But that tone, that tone, caused him to silence and swallow. That tone was really rather terrifying.

"No! Stop, no more codes UNCLE. That's not even a GOOD code name! God damn it- you realize this is why no one takes you seriously? While WE'RE off making a name for ourselves, you're off playing Indiana Jones!" Conrad resisted the urge to wince from the tone, from the words themselves. Gah, it sounded so much like his mother when he went into the drawing career. It was never a pleasant tone, when directed at anyone.

But enough about that. Conrad had heard a key word there. Uncle. The man had family? For some reason, Conrad couldn't see it. Though, at this point, he would have guiltily admitted to eavesdropping. It was shameful, but he may actually gain something. Something that may keep him alive.

Abner twitched again. This phone call was supposed to be short. "Just listen to me, something came up and I need you to-"

"I'm not doing that!" she interrupted, "…Where are you calling from anyways! Why are you even using codes anyways? You always kill your hostages in the end so it never matters!"

Abner wondered if Conrad could hear what she was saying. Vampires were supposed to have good hearing, but they were also supposed to be good at a number of other things that he clearly wasn't. That aside, he fell back on the guilt strategy to convince Tamie.

Conrad clearly winced at this, sharp and obvious, yet he was unsure if the man had noticed. He just kept putting one foot in front of the other, swallowing silently and gripping his shoulders nervously.

He didn't want to die. He knew it was inevitable, but to actually hear it from someone else's mouth that he could die in this situation gave him another sharp pain in his stomach, along with the ache that was already there.

"You know what, you're right. I'll just go home, and let this vampire go free. People's lives may be in grave danger but as long as it makes you happy…" For some reason, hearing this did not help Conrad relax. At all.

Tamie made an audible sound of frustration- a sound signifying she was giving up. She was surprisingly easy to manipulate. "I hate you Uncle Abner. I hate you so much…" There was silence on her side of the conversation before she spoke again. "Fine." Conrad tensed. "A-" he froze for a moment. A name? He actually had a name for his captor? This was… wow.

Not that Abner was a bad name. It was really rather nice. Unaverage. But not bad at all.

Abner fiddled with the thing as he deleted the call from the phone's history, not thinking much of what just happened as the approach the little dark blue compact car until he re-placed his glove on his hand. She had used… She used his real name.

Okay, surely, surely Conrad didn't pick up on that. Or he was too scared out of his mind to even pay attention.

He paused went over Conrad's persona in his mind once over. Aside from name calling, he realized that the vampire wouldn't know the first thing about how to use his name against him. He couldn't go to the police and didn't seem to have enough nerve to threaten his family.

He turned off the entire phone and slipped it into his coat pocket as he unlocked the door.

As they approached the car, Conrad heard "Abner" hang up, and he turned to retrieve his phone, only to watch it be turned off, the black screen darkening in a rather forlorn way, before disappearing into the hunter's pocket. "Hey-"

"You'll be getting this back after I lay some ground rules with you," he said. It was better safe than sorry right?

Conrad frowned. Well that was a bit rude! A little warning would have been nice! "What rules?" His tone was bitter, much like that of the girl's on the phone had been. "I have absolutely nothing to gain from fighting you!" He turned away from the man in annoyance, down to the car.

He blinked, studying it, studying the insides. It was immaculate. Just from the outside, he could see the clean and neat perfection that was the interior of the car. It was beautiful, from an artist's point of view. He was almost afraid to touch it.

It was so perfect. Conrad studied the hood, arms clasped behind his back. He could almost see his reflection (if he had one).

Was this really the car that had all but destroyed Lamont's? It was hard to believe.

Abner wondered if the phone had some kind of sentimental value to the vampire- he clearly seemed to value it over his own life. "I try to make it a habit to not trust my hostages," he said dryly. He opened the driver's door and looked back up Conrad, wondering what was taking him so long to open up his door. Was he hesitating? Was he afraid of entering a hunter's car- that would be reasonable. That would be expected.

But no.

He seemed to be… admiring the car.

Abner pressed two fingers up to his temple and sighed. This man… this undead man was just… Where should he even begin?

"Mr. Achenleck… Just get in the car." Abner's voice wasn't as so much as intimidating as it was just tired sounding. Like he was scolding a child. He was used to struggling, angry vampires that fought, to cowardly, begging vampires that ran for their life… Conrad was neither of those things. He belonged to no clan, his sire borderline abandoned him, and he hung out with humans. True, this would make things easier for him, but it was still a bit strange to get used to.

He waited for Conrad to get in before entering the car himself. Paradox jumped off his shoulder and nestled himself in the back seat. "Where do you live Mr. Achenleck?" he asked. He gave up on assuming where the vampire would live – should live. He wouldn't be surprised if he lived in a condo with huge windows, and surrounded by people.