A/N: It's been over a year since I published the first chapter. There wasn't a great response, so I put it to one side. I decided to continue it recently, so this is the result. Thanks to any that reviewed it last time. You probably need to re-read the first chapter before starting on this one.
Beta thanks go to my friend, MarkeyDeSad. I'm pretty sure he got tired of continually having to tell me that Sarah was carrying a flashlight rather than the British term, torch. Don't want any Americans thinking she had a flaming wooden stick in her hands.
So, back to the story. Once the daywalker and the slayer had agreed to work together, they needed to plan. Sarah's not good at long-term planning, just mission planning….
Vamped Up
Chapter 2: First strike
Sarah returned to her hotel room. Having learned Graham was working for Volkoff, Sarah established the video call with some trepidation.
"I take it you've slain him." It was Graham's usual way of asking a question without actually making it one.
"He was different," she responded, and not giving the answer he was seeking. He would take the past tense as an affirmative, though. The fact that Chuck was still different, and not slain, was obviously not stated.
"He was," Graham confirmed. "And possibly more dangerous because of it."
Had Chuck's attitude towards humans been the same as normal vampires, she would have agreed with him. A vampire who was not affected by the sun would have been terrifying. She shuddered at the thought.
Graham noticed that reaction as he looked upon her on the video link. He nodded. "Good that he's gone, then."
She said nothing, waiting to see if he had a new target for her. He seemed to relax a bit. "I have nothing for you at the moment. Take a break, Walker," he said.
That suited both her and her new partner. She was sure now that Graham was deliberately keeping her sidelined, and suspected that any missions he gave her were probably to take out vampires that 'inconvenienced' Volkoff. "I'm not good at breaks, as you know."
He chuckled. He did know that, only too well. "I'll contact you when there's something for you." He leaned forward and ended the call.
Sarah was relieved not to be facing him anymore and slumped back in the chair. This hotel room was less than desirable. She really needed to find an apartment.
She stood up and started pacing. She often did this when frustrated on her missions. Right now, it was more than that. She had been getting more and more frustrated with her life and after talking to Chuck Bartowski, also frustrated with what lay ahead, particularly working for Langston Graham.
She knew Graham wasn't a vampire himself as she had met him a few times in the park outside his office and had recently seen him there talking to another slayer. He never wore a hat, so his balding head was always exposed. She wondered if he did that specifically to draw attention to it.
Of course, taking him out of the picture would be sensible, but would definitely draw attention. If she did it, Volkoff would know she was onto his connection. The police would draw other conclusions and she would become a wanted murderer.
Chuck wouldn't do it because he didn't want to be associated with killing humans. He may also worry about his own body's reaction. He'd obviously gone out of his way to avoid drinking human blood. Would that change him in some way? She needed to ask him that.
No, she really needed evidence that Graham was working for Volkoff and had no idea how to get that. Hence the pacing.
She and Chuck needed to plan what they would do about Graham. He'd agreed to lie low for a week. He had supplies that made that possible.
However, taking new missions worked for both her cover and for Chuck's need to reduce the vampiric ranks. She'd wanted to ask for missions taking out more than one vampire at a time to speed up the process. Instead, Graham had given her nothing.
Of course, as she'd already surmised, when he did it would be after non-Volkoff vampires, but she viewed them as potential recruits and Chuck had agreed.
She also used pacing to help her plan, and did so now. She decided to go it alone. At least for the next week, as she was the only one of the pair of them 'reducing the numbers.'
She decided to contact Chuck, using the burner he'd given her before she left him. He might know of a lair of vampires where she could take a few out in one go.
Chuck answered immediately, "Miss Walker, how nice to hear from you. and so soon. Missing me?"
She found his teasing quite appealing. Hell, she found everything about him appealing! She was convinced that wasn't the vampire attraction affecting her. That never happened, it was Chuck himself. She was pretty sure that if he wasn't a vampire, she'd still be attracted to him. Still, she couldn't let him know that. "You wish."
His laugh was appealing too, damn it!
"What can I do you for?" he asked.
She told him of the outcome of her call with her boss, finishing with, "Graham has nothing for me. However, I need to slay. It's what I do, and it'll help you too."
"Thanks for letting me know, but why the call?" he asked.
She took a deep breath. "Do you know somewhere vampires hang out during the day? I don't know what it's called. A 'nest' or a 'lair'?"
He was silent for a moment and she thought he wasn't going to reply. Then he said, "You planning on taking out a few while they sleep?"
"Yes," she immediately answered.
"That'll make you a target," he replied.
She snorted at that. "You don't think I am anyway?"
He said, "And Graham won't be happy with you."
She had an answer for that. "Well, I'll say it's his fault for not giving me specific targets. He knows how pent up we slayers get when not on mission."
"You've thought this through, haven't you?"
She chuckled. "My hotel carpet can attest to that."
That obviously confused him. "Huh?"
"I pace when I'm either frustrated or planning," she explained.
He laughed. "I can imagine that." He paused again and then gave her a location. "There's five of Volkoff's minions there, but be careful. They'll have no light getting in. You'll be vulnerable."
She grinned. "I have a special flashlight I acquired some time ago. It emits the same ultraviolet rays as sunlight."
"Neat. You need to bring that to me. I'll make a lantern like that."
"Thanks, partner," she replied. "For that offer and for the location."
He chuckled. "Take care… partner." The way he said it sent a shiver up and down her spine. It felt almost intimate. She ended the call and sat imagining getting intimate with him.
Chuck had been thinking about his new partner ever since she had left him. He was glad he'd given her a burner so they could contact each other without Graham knowing. He wondered when it would be a good time to call to find out how the call with Graham went.
Thinking about her was a pleasant experience. He'd never expected to feel like he did about her. About any woman, let alone a slayer. She was gorgeous, he couldn't deny how that made him feel. He could still see her beautiful form. It was imprinted in his mind now. The tall, slim, but shapely form. Her lustrous blonde hair. Those lips that were made for kissing and those depthless blue eyes.
He desired her, but was also fearful his vampire side would kick in if he lost control around her. That wasn't just because he feared what human blood would do to him, but also what it would do to their partnership, or more particularly her feelings about being with him. He realized how much he wanted her with him. That was a surprise too. He never wanted others to be around him, but she was different. Oh, so different.
Now, she'd called him and was going after five vampires. He wasn't surprised to find himself worrying about her. This partnership was going to be a challenge.
Sarah crept into the lair as she now thought of it. She really should've pushed Chuck on what the vampires themselves called it and others like it.
From the outside it had looked like a house with drawn curtains, but on the inside she saw the windows were boarded up. Light was not getting in with them like that.
She'd come prepared for something like this. She opened her bag, taking out the mallet, then slung the bag back over her shoulders. So, with her bandoleer of stakes running from her left shoulder to her right hip, her wonderful flashlight in one hand and the mallet in the other, she entered the first room and hastily made her way over to the window at the front.
She was pleased the sun was out and no clouds would mask it. It was low, too. She had seen it beating down on this window outside.
A hand grasped her shoulder. She hadn't seen this vampire approach. I really am slipping, she thought.
The light from her flashlight made its face burn and it released her with a cry. She could hear movement and rushed to the window and broke through the board with the mallet.
Light poured in and she continued hitting until the window was clear.
The screams from behind her, not far away, showed she'd done the right thing. Turning, she found a pile of ash right behind her and three vampires still screaming. The burns on their hands, arms and faces clearly painful.
She dropped the mallet and flashlight and drew one of her wooden stakes and dispatched these three in seconds.
She then dropped down and grabbed the mallet and shoved the handle into one of the back pockets of her jeans. Clutching the flashlight and her sword, she left this room and proceeded down the corridor. There should still be two more vampires in here.
The whole house was silent. They were waiting for her somewhere in here, or maybe just hiding, hoping she'd leave. There was no way she would do that.
The next room, like the first, had boarded-up windows. This was facing the rear of the house and the sun wouldn't be on it from outside. The light would still hurt the vampires, but not burn as much.
She listened carefully. Even vampires breathed, albeit much quieter than humans. She heard nothing, but that didn't mean none were in there.
She bent and rolled into the room with her sword arm flicking out as soon as she was past the doorframe. Once in the middle of the room, she spun and shone her touch around. The room was empty.
She stood and strode to the window, sheathed her sword, grabbed the mallet and smashed the boarding, exposing the room to daylight. Then she left and crossed the corridor to the room on the other side.
Again, she heard nothing and repeated her roll. This time when she shone the flashlight around, two vampires were lit up, one either side of her. She sliced at the neck of the one to her right, the nearest one, feeling the cut. She then whirled around to the final one, but this one was preternaturally quick. Its claw sunk into her left shoulder causing her to drop her flashlight. Fortunately, it shone on the creature's bare foot when it landed, causing the vampire to scream and release her. She swung her sword around and felt it connect. Quickly dropping to the ground and grasping her flashlight she shone that on a head and body separated as they both turned to ash.
The pain in her shoulder was intense but she ignored it and moved around the rest of the house smashing the boards covering the windows. She knew this was foolish. They would just get boarded up again overnight, but it was satisfying all the same.
She left the building only an hour after arriving.
As she hurried away, she thought she should have set the place alight. Burning it to the ground would prevent it being used again. She berated herself for not thinking of that sooner.
"You were hurt?" Chuck asked. The concern in his voice was very clear. "That can go bad quickly."
She chuckled. "I have been doing this for ten years. I know how to treat it." She already had. "It'll be painful for a day or two, but that's all. Give me my next target, please."
"You should recover before going out again," he advised.
"If I didn't know better, I'd say you cared about me," she teased.
She was surprised by his response. "I do." 'Does he feel the same as I do about him?' she wondered.
The pause before he spoke again convinced her that he did at least care about her. "Our partnership is important."
She laughed. "Is that all?"
"No," he admitted.
"You know we can't be more than partners, don't you?" she asked unhappily.
The quietness of his voice spoke volumes, the unhappiness clear. "I do."
She was quiet too. Then her other phone sounded. "I guess Graham knows what I did. Have to go."
"Please be careful," he said. "Not just with him, but because Volkoff will also know."
"I will," she replied and ended the call.
She answered the other one. "Hi, Boss."
"You didn't rest, did you?" he shouted at her. "What the fuck were you thinking?"
"I told you I don't rest easily," she replied. "I'd spotted a vampire nest, so I took it out."
"You've stirred up a hornets' nest is what you've done," he yelled. "All the vampires will be after you, but also will want to take it out on all humans. It'll be a blood bath out there!"
She hadn't thought about that. He was right. "You caused this by not giving me missions!" she snapped. "Now, all your people will have to be out there. No more stupid hiding away for any of us."
He went apoplectic, then said, "You are fired!"
"Good," she shouted back. "No more stupid minor missions from you. I'll take this to them!"
"You do that and you'll be arrested!" he snapped.
"Just whose side are you on, Graham?" she growled.
He ended the call.
"Can I come and stay with you, Chuck?"
"What?!"
"Graham has sacked me, and is going to send people for me, I'm sure," she told him.
He groaned. "I told you this was a bad idea."
"It was a good idea." She paused and then added, "I've dropped a note to the mayor and the local radio station questioning Graham's loyalty."
Chuck groaned again.
"So, can I stay with you?" she asked again.
Chuck sighed. "I guess, but it'll be hard, Sarah. I am terrified of hurting you."
"Of losing control?" she asked.
"Just bring your stuff and we'll have to talk about this." He ended the call.
He wants me as much as I want him, she thought. It will be hard to control ourselves. Me as well as him.
A/N: Together even more after this...
I'm enjoying this again. Anyone else?