So, just a heads up, the town I mention is a real place and a few years back they did report several vampire sightings which I like to think adds something a little more authentic to my tale which is steadily growing more and more insane... If you want a laugh, I can send you the link to the site I used :)

Thank you to those who are still taking the time to review. The past week has been painful to say the least and you've all helped to keep me smiling.

xx

Two hours later and they were almost ready to go. Henry had packed, Helen had been calling around to make arrangements for their travel while Rose, Kate, Nikola and John had been pouring over maps of what appeared to be rather unfriendly terrain.

"I can't pin point them now, there are too many," Rosie muttered as she traced a few random patterns on the table with a fingertip. Her eyes were scrunched shut, lips moving silently as she focused. Taking a deep breath, she abruptly scrunched up her nose before pushing away from the table.

"It's impossible. With you lot around my nose is too blocked up to pick up much more than a general idea of where they may be!" she exploded angrily.

"Rose, drop the melodrama," John said coolly.

"This mission can be completed without your assistance Jack," she snarled at him. "And killing you would lessen the stench that's blocking me."

"Woah!" Kate said, jumping in between them. A risky move, she knew but she was fairly certain that if John lost control and tried to kill her Rosie would most likely step in. Hopefully.

I make no guarantees girl. Move.

"The Doc will kill you," Kate tried, standing her ground, surprised at how calm she sounded.

"Helen doesn't frighten me."

Though you do have a point.

With one last snarl, Rosie spun on her heel and stalked to the open window. Her eyes were closed again but her brow was creased in annoyance.

Letting out a sigh of relief, Kate snuck a look at John. He sat, as he had before, stony faced but there was a tension in his frame that Kate supposed was only evident because he couldn't kill anyone or teleport away.

It's a mixture of both. Rosie's words were bitter but there was an edge of dark humour to them.

Kate chuckled appreciatively at the mental picture Rosie sent her. It was John, dangling off the edge of the highest tower in the Sanctuary, helpless and calling for assistance. It was ridiculous and improbable but the joy with which it was presented was infectious.

You really don't like him, do you?

Understatement.

There was a pause.

Nice work on standing your ground, even Helen can't manage that some days.

Really? Kate thought, shocked. I'd like to see that.

Never in a million years. Plus last time it happened was well over a decade ago.

Kate felt momentarily disappointed but then the image of John in her head morphed to one of him tied to the top of Big Ben, this time naked and Kate almost choked. The detail in the picture was a little more than she'd been expecting. Actually, a lot more.

Sorry.

It's just a little, you know? I mean, it's funny but that's Jack the Ripper and there are things you never need to know about some historical figures.

Even historical figures who regularly pop by for afternoon tea?

Kate laughed out loud at that one.

That's an even better picture than the Big Ben thing!

You know what Freelander? I think I like you.

Ditto.

I might even forgive you for that comment about jumping old Jack over there…

It was a good call.

That it was.

The two women shared a mischievous grin but Rosie, not to be outdone, added in a wink for good measure as she sauntered by the other woman, heading back to the maps.

"They're here," she said simply, touching the map in front of John.

"Are you certain?"

"Do you really think I'd tell you if I weren't?" she asked smoothly. Her voice seemed benign enough but something in her eye made John move back ever so slightly. With a small smile, Rosie walked away from him slowly, over to where Nikola was pouring over another set of maps. Sitting down next to him (a little closer than strictly necessary, Kate noticed) she smiled before pulling the map closer to her.

Nikola looked at her and she smiled mysteriously, the two obviously sharing a moment of silent communication. All they were doing was looking between each other and the map but something about it felt much more personal than if they'd been making out and Kate had to turn away.

I was just telling him about your thoughts regarding John's… endowment.

That she hadn't been expecting. Kate coughed and spluttered, looking guiltily at John before shooting Rosie a dirty look.

"You take all the fun out of it when you tell them," Nikola complained but Rosie merely chuckled indulgently.

"Well I could provide a comparison but one of you wouldn't come off so well," she said flippantly, winking again at Kate. Nikola leered at her and Rose put on her sweetest smile as she looked over the map again, letting out a light chuckle. There was a pause and then Nikola was chuckling smugly too. Rolling her eyes, Kate knew for sure that she didn't want to know what exactly they were now discussing. She heard Rosie's mental chuckle but was relieved when she didn't share exactly what was going on.

"So, the plane tickets are booked. Do we have a plan yet?" Will said as he strolled through the open doors.

"I think I'll take my leave," John said coolly, not looking up from the map.

"On one condition," Rose said softly, turning to face him. For several long moments the young woman gazed at John with unwavering determination, John staring back at her with something akin to hatred burning bright in his eyes.

"Of course," he said tightly, giving her one last malevolent glare. Kate didn't need to hear what their mental conversation had touched on to understand what had just gone down.

Rose had just threatened him with, by the looks of it, something worse than death.

"Druitt," she said curtly, nodding once as her eyes softened a little, the bitter hatred morphing into a determination that was more than a little intimidating. As much as they may hate each other, Kate could see a strange kind of mutual understanding. They were on the same side.

"Wait!" Will exclaimed, stepping forward. "Where are you going? I thought you said we'd need him!"

Druitt bowed politely to a confused looking Will before disappearing in a puff of red smoke.

"Helen will be along in a moment, how about I explain it all then?" Rose said gently, the kind smile on her face in complete contrast to the hostility that had been rolling off her in waves. Will nodded and a tense silence fell over the group, only broken when Helen came striding back in, her face set with determination.

"Right, I've spoken to Declan and he's prepared to take over things for a little while," she said. "And of course, someone is going to have to stay behind to watch over the Sanctuary."

At that, several cries of disapproval sounded.

"Helen," Rose said, cutting through the other complaints. "I don't think that would be a good idea. Nikola and I need to come, Henry too for the technological aspect. Kate I think would be good in terms of fire power which only leaves Will and if we need to split up, I know I can follow his mind easily unlike Henry or Kate which in terms of tactical organization will make life easier."

"Yeah, Doc, she's right," Kate enthused. "The Big Guy can watch the place."

Helen looked uncertain but when her eyes locked on Rose's, she nodded.

"He's not going to be happy about it but I see I don't really have much of a choice," she said with a sigh.

"'fraid not, my dear," Rosie said with a sad smile as she picked up the maps and headed over to stand in front of Helen's desk. The others quickly took their places and looked to Rosie who cast a nervous gaze over everyone.

"Right so, Serbia," she said with a small smile. "From what I can tell, they're somewhere in the vicinity of Gornje Stopanje," she said, pointing to the map spread out before them. "There've actually been sightings of vampires reported here in the past few years so it makes sense that, if they've found out that piece of information, that they'd set up camp there." Everyone eyed her sceptically and she sighed. "They'll be needing supporters or at the very least, people who are terrified enough to do their bidding so where better to turn to than a place that already has a number of people who believe in the stories. That and no one would think twice about another set of vampire stories from the area."

Her audience still wore disbelieving expressions but with another sigh, Rose powered on.

"Regardless, they're somewhere around here," she said, drawing a rather large circle before them.

"Somewhere?" Helen echoed uncertainly, never before had she known Rosie's abilities to be anything other than perfect.

"Yes, I was wondering about that too," Rose admitted. "I can't seem to narrow it down for some reason. It's like they're trying to block me out but I can only assume, because they've no idea I'm still here, they aren't taking all the usual precautions. Plus, with you lot in my nose, it's rather hard to track them," she said with a pout.

And then something hit Helen.

"Where's John?"

"He's gone on what we'll term a reconnaissance mission," Rose said delicately, grimacing only slightly.

"You let him go alone?" Helen asked, incredulous.

"He'll meet us in Serbia," Rose replied with a small smile. "And no, I know where you're going with this. You wouldn't have been any help to him where he's going. I may have been able to assist but you need me here."

"Rose," Helen began, eyes ablaze. "I am perfectly capable of gathering intelligence and, despite what you might think, not all my sources are particularly reputable."

"As seedy and criminal as your tendencies might be," Rose allowed with a slightly condescending smile. "You are Helen Magnus, something from which you shall never be able to escape. People know you and who you are and while the same may be said for John, his reputation as a stone cold killer means that those he works with are less likely to try and double cross him."

"I hardly think that's a fair assessment of the situation," Helen muttered, crossing her arms as she shot Rose a dark look.

"You're just too angelic," Rosie said with a sardonic smile but Helen only glared. "There are more pressing matters than your street cred," she said with a sigh, raising an eyebrow in a way that made her seem far older than she looked. "What news do the rest of you have to share?"

"Well, I've got us plane tickets that leave in four hours. And I've organized for a van once we arrive," Will said, uncertainly.

"And I've packed some stuff but I wasn't sure what the destruction of a budding kingdom of vampires required," Henry quipped.

"Kate and I will come help you with that," Rose said. "The rest of you need to go pack some rather durable clothes."

"What about accommodation?" Will called out as every started to leave.

"That's the least of our problems Will," Helen said, moving to gather up the maps. There was a grim determination to the moves of the three immortals, as if something about this trip would inevitably end in pain and it set Will on edge.

If they couldn't handle a few rouge vampires, then what hope did the rest of the world have?