"They Don't Just Come Out At Night"
Chapter Four: Stalkers, Guns, and Land Rovers.
"Dammit, this isn't street legal, is it?' No. 'Oh wonderful, I was hoping it wouldn't be."
Author's Note: This one is written a little weird. She starts off talking about the night and how it went, and then I'll put in a divider, and after the divider is the night leading up to her statement. Hopefully it won't be too confusing to read. It's like she's going back and telling us about it after the nights happened, if that makes sense. However, there are in between sections that are in the present. Don't worry; I put in time markers for your comprehension.
~2:45 AM~
Honestly, this had to be the worst anniversary ever. And that's not really something I wanted to add to my list. I've had bad anniversaries before, isn't that enough for Fate already? Is it so much to want a little careful planning, or in Emmett's case, them actually remembering when the fricking thing is?!
One would think it wouldn't be too much, but apparently in this day and age, that notion's shit. Complete bull.
It's the one year anniversary of me dating my Teddy, and quite honestly, I never pictured it ending up like this. Here I am, standing back at headquarters --- we're off to a marvelous start already, having to go into work in the middle of the night by the way --- drenched in blood, which I'm just sure got in my hair and is matted there... perfect, right? Now I'm gonna have to take one hell of a shower, not to mention a strong nightcap so I can get some sleep.
Buffy the Vampire Slayer is an inglorious bitch. How does she stay so nice looking while I end up like this? Bitch, please. That is so T.V. it is not even funny. You try slaying vampires in the real world, and see how it goes for you. Let me tell you, Mike Rowe would get a kick outta my dirty job. And he can have it too, because I do not appreciate gore smattered all over my attire, even the dastardly-boring running shoes I bought recently. Clothes don't deserve that, period.
So as you can see, not only am I covered in nasty liquid, I'm pissed off and tired as hell. All I freaking wanted was dinner, maybe a movie, and then a go at it in bed. That would have satisfied my lust for a nice anniversary. However, what I ended up with has not measured up in the least. Did I mention I hate Buffy? And vampires? Why do they have to exist; it's not like we don't have enough problems in the world to deal with... seriously.
Oh, and I'm about to go into an autopsy of sorts. I really don't like dead bodies; they make me squeamish.
Best anniversary ever, right?
~10:00 PM that night~
"Hey baby, that dinner sounds amazing," he whispered in my ear, his breath tickling me slightly, "but are you sure you don't want to work up an appetite first? I think we'll be able to enjoy it more if you know, we're hungry and everything. Besides, I can't wait to see what you have under that dress of yours; I've wanted to get you out of it all day."
"Oh," I decided to tease him a little bit, "but isn't it pretty?"
I had to hold back a laugh when he winced. I could tell what he was thinking. Pretty? Hello, mood-killer. I'm sure he was also wondering how he was going to swing the subject back over to sex. Luckily for Emmett, he was rather gifted with words when it came to several subjects: our job, sports, sex, and grilling. Though he did appreciate my rather un-eloquent grilling apron I got him for his birthday, which reads only: I fuck the chef, so keep your hands off the meat. Needless to say, the outdoors were particularly thrilling that night.
"Yeah it's pretty, Ali. I suppose you don't have to take it off, if that floats your boat. Wouldn't be the first time we've done it like that," Emmett added, winking suggestively at me. I grinned, totally appreciating the flashback that time. Let's just say it involves a dressing room, one smoking hot dress, and him getting various parts of his body under that skirt. What? I didn't want to take the dress off; it was hot, so sue me. It was one of the few times he had gone shopping with me, and therefore it was plenty memorable for many reasons.
"No it wouldn't, but I think first we should watch a movie. I'll let you pick..." I trailed off. An ear-to-ear grin popped onto his dimpled face, and he rushed off for the living room, ostensibly to go about choosing. He was such a kid sometimes... honestly.
I followed him a little bit later, after I'd made popcorn and grabbed drinks out of the fridge, Coke for me, Dr. Pepper for him. I even had to divvy up the popcorn into two bowls because we liked ours done up differently. I liked a bit more salt, he liked to overload on butter, which was way too gross for me to eat. We both were strange creatures of habit, and I think that's why we got along at least eighty-percent of the time.
Oh, and we both like Fight Club, which coincidentally enough is the movie he's chosen. I knew there was a reason I loved him....
And Brad Pitt. I love me some Brad, especially when he's fighting, and honestly, the Narrator having his apartment furnished with IKEA furniture? Classic and hilarious all in the same instance. Not to mention Helena Bonham-Carter, who is quite possibly the only woman I would swing to the other team for. She's a sassy fox, gets me every time. Emmett of course was well aware of this by now, and liked to provoke me, claiming how I just wanted a piece of that "tenacious twat," or other more ill-reputed names. It was all in joking though, but had he been inclined to speak to me like that in bed, well it wouldn't be badly recieved, let's say. I love a dirty mouth on a man.
So by the time Helena's character Marla starts coming to the semi-abandoned, fully decrepit house, he has his hand down my shirt and the other slowly creeping up my thigh, all while I'm laying on my back on top of him. Consequentially my back is subjected to feeling the rather large tent in his trousers, and it doesn't completely abhor said duty.
We continue fooling around with favourable results, two for me so far, and very close to the second for him when we are forced to pause the movie right after one of my favourite parts, the one where Marla says she hasn't been fucked like that since grade school. I love the way she says it... god I'm horny, but then like I said, we had to knock it off.
The phone starts ringing, and by the tone I know it's important. What tone, you might ask? The Mission Impossible theme, of course. Needless to say, Teddy picked the ring tones. My ringtone for when he calls me is "T.N.T.", while if I call him, he hears Whitesnake's epic tune, "Sweet Cherry Pie." Somehow I wasn't surprised by those choices at the time. Anyway, I jump up, secure the phone with one hand, and press the 'talk' button before holding it up to my ear.
"Jemma here," I say, using my codename.
"Hey, it's David. We have a situation."
No really, Davie? Because whenever you call, it's just to shoot the breeze.
David is one of the "operators" who man our call center, keeping out the wrong people and also communicating with those who have a genuine mission for us. In fact, Davie's the head operator, so if it's really dire, he's the one to call Edward and me at home to let us know we're needed.
"We got a call from someone, a male for sure, but he didn't identify himself. Sounded right creepy on the phone, and he just casually let us know that vampires are supposedly going to be taking down a campground full of people tonight. Or feed, as he put it. So I verified the story with the Doc, and he said there were... vampires? I thought they didn't exist?"
"They do, and believe me; both you and I wish they didn't. Carlisle's there? Okay, that's good. Ring up the techs and get an update on the weapons progress," I instructed.
"Ah Jemma, they've got some guns up and runnin... it's just they only have a limited supply of 'munitions on hand. But Angela said they did come up with a different weapon, some sort of claw thing, I wasn't really too sure what she was going on about, but that's what they told me earlier after I talked to Dr. Cullen."
"Okay. Um, thanks David. You can let them know that we'll be into headquarters as soon as we can."
"Will do."
I hung up the phone and set it back on its cradle. Still stretched out on the couch, Emmett was looking at me questioningly.
"Stupid vampires are going to feed tonight on a full campground of people. Apparently some John Doe called it in, so we'd better get moving, or well... shit's going down, and it isn't going to be pretty. The public will find out, and like Edward said, it'll cause mass chaos. It's best just to stop them so that their existence never leaks out to the general population."
"They have some really bad timing," Emmett commented, frowning down at his lap. He got up from the couch and headed off somewhere into the apartment. I headed to the bedroom closet quickly, hustling to pick out clothes and shoes. Nothing seemed to be jumping out at me, and I could hear the beginning sounds of cascading water. Shower. Sigh.
I pick up something, it looks promising, and so I set it aside somewhere. I strip down quickly, and then I can't seem to recall what I wanted to wear, not with all the strategies going through my brain at the moment. It seemed an impossible mission to slay or even capture a vampire, weapons or not. And we'd have to watch our supply of ammo... this was not going to be simple.
"Fucking hell! Emmett, where is my...?" I trail off, my mind completely blank. I cannot even remember what I was looking for in the first place. Great time to take a sabbatical, I remark sarcastically towards my brain, my right fist clenching slightly. Teddy comes strolling into the room, all nonchalant.
"Oh good, you're already naked. Let's hit the shower babe. We can share," he says, still managing to get suggestive in light of all the sudden hoopla tonight. Seeing as how my brain is still hanging in Neuro-Margaritaville, looking for the lost shaker of cranial salt... I agree to his demand; I'll worry about the mystery piece of clothing later. As he said, I am already naked. Might as well get some fun in before we get into action mode. Well, I will, he'll be in his boss mode. But whatever... semantics sha-mantics.
We quickly hop into a steaming hot shower and I feel approximately eight-and-a-half respectable inches of someone's-happy-to-see-me pressing into my back and wetness is dripping slightly down my thigh in anticipation. I'm hoping he'll just fuck me like this, but he surprises me, turning me around and scooping me up into his arms. I wrap my legs around his middle, and he's in me in one smooth motion. His hands grip my ass none-too-tenderly, and he has me backed up against the shower wall as he begins slamming into me.
I'm desperately trying to enjoy this, but the weight of what's waiting for us at work, and the fact that every second we're still here could be potentially crucial is killing the experience for me. It's not him. Damn my brain tonight, seriously. You'd think it'd be chugging along at full speed, what with the promise of thrilling danger and...
"God... oh yeah," he groans, gripping tighter onto my ass as he holds me up, thrusting harder now that he was close. It's a tough job, with us both being so slippery and all, but a horny man tends to be incredibly talented in such situations.
Two minutes and three seconds later, he lets me down, big grin on his face, and a forced one on mine. I quickly rinse off, and get out of the shower, running around in my towel as I frantically search for some functional clothes. The search only reminds me that whatever my love of clothes, I seriously need to reorganize my closet. It's times like this that little things like that always find a way to come to you in an epiphany. So for about the next few minutes, I'm toweless, dressed in bikini-cut panties, a sports bra and trainers, trying to find something I can run in if I need to. Nothing... constraining.
I settle for black trousers that are tight, but still aerodynamic, and pair them with a charcoal-coloured, long-sleeved tee. This night officially already blows.
But I mean, this is lovely... we're relegated to rushed, non-orgasmic --- on my part anyway --- shower sex. Did I mention it was rushed? I barely got any friction, and I was pretty pissed, I mean usually, Emmett's a great lover, but apparently only when he has time to do it properly. I forgive him, but still... I'm unsatisfied and that sucks. Really, really sucks. And I don't have time to take care of it myself, so I find myself unconsciously pressing my thighs together while he drives like a maniac back to headquarters, god fucking bless the speed bumps on the way. Without them, life would be a lot rougher, and not in a good way....
When we arrived, most everyone was there, bright-eyed and for some of them, coffee-mugs-in-hand. I have to say I wasn't surprised. Trust vampires to pick their time of attack to be when most people are either sleeping and/or trying to get laid on their anniversary.
No one was wasting time though. I went to meet Edward, and we got out our new guns and weapons of the cabinet in our locker room of sorts, a caffeinated Angela explaining to us that they'd also come up with a harpoon-like thing that shot a claw made of the silicon carbide. I thought it would be useful, because as Edward soon suggested, we could easily use it to snare us a vampire, by shooting a few claws through its limbs or something to that effect.
All in all, another astounding job by Tech. My only regret? That we didn't have nearly as many bullets as I would've liked to have had. But you do what you can with what you got; it's just how we were trained.
Edward and I loaded our gear into the transport, and made sure we had it all before we jumped in and set off on the task at hand.
Our vehicle was an amazing Land Rover Discovery, but there were naturally a few modifications on the engine and other parts of the S.U.V., all in the name of practicality and speed. Hooked to the top of the car we had a converted-sort of platform, whereupon you could climb up there and shoot while your partner drove, and not worry about falling off, thanks to the side walls that kept you in place. Also up there were bright spotlights going around three of the four sides, that way you could see at night, like this particular situation. Going up to the roof was a ladder hooked to the side of the Land Rover, where the second row of seat's door should be on the passenger's side. All in all, very practical for us.
But that was just the exterior of the car.
Inside we had a huge-mongous first-aid kit, courtesy of our neighbouring friendly doctor, Carlisle, which even included a portable defibrillator and some simple poison antidotes. Personally, I'd never been poisoned, but Edward had once, and it hadn't been pretty. Let's just say I got much too friendly with his anatomy in the crusade of saving his ass from toxic substances which clearly didn't agree with his body. But best friends do know everything about each other, so that's just another thing checked off on the friendship list, or at least that's how I like to look at it. Not that I liked looking at it... him I mean. Agh, whatever, by now I've seen most of my coworkers naked, so it shouldn't be a big deal... right?
Hopefully.
Anyway, we two weren't the only ones heading out on this mission, there were several other people who'd been designated as "evacuators" whose job was to head off to the campground that was being targeted, and evacuate anyone staying there. I believe the excuse our organisation had come up with was that it was an unsafe zone with a high risk of landslides. That usually convinced people, so I wasn't worried about that. I was worried about what Edward and I were going to be doing, dealing with the would-be massacre perpetrators, who also happened to be undead and damn strong. Stupid vampires....
But now wasn't the time for such thoughts, it was time for action, as I was reminded when Emmett saw us off, a caravan of three cars of which Edward and I led --- he was driving --- and we finally left Headquarters to head to the scene.
I was so not enthused.
~12:45 A.M~
The cars branched off at the fork in the road, Edward and I heading to the left and towards the forest while the two with the evacuators headed to the right, on the campground access road to go stir up the campers to leave, posing as agents for the government, something to do with geology, I think.
Once we were in the forest though, things started getting really scary, to the point where I felt like I was on the set of a genuine vampire flick, and of course, I was the hunted.
Scary, huh?
A few bodies littered the area, mostly off to the sides, and one would think they were sleeping as the only marks that could be seen on them was a large gash at the neck. It must be what turned into those scars we saw during the autopsy Carlisle did on that guy I found at the mall, but there was no blood, no mangled limbs... they were just dead, and that was almost more frightening than if they had been mutilated.
The people were just dressed for camping, most wearing sweats and ratty old tee-shirts. The only thing I could be relieved about was that I spotted no children among the deceased, but you had to be prepared for such things. I very much doubted that vampires cared to leave kids alone if they were truly thirsty....
I was suddenly wishing that anyone else could have gone in my place, but on the other hand, would I subject anyone to this sort of task? No, I wouldn't.
Around there was the sound of rustling foliage, and about twenty yards in front of us, a woman was bent over a man, and I don't think she was kissing him, if you get my drift. So naturally, I was a bit concerned.
"F... fuck!" I exclaimed smartly. Edward glanced pointedly at me as if to say, come on let's go already, and I shook my head mildly. Grab the gun and go, Alice, I told myself. You can handle those creatures, or you'll try... no... you can do it! No negative thoughts; get yourself together!
Once I had at least half a grip on my dismal thoughts, I climbed out the passenger side window slowly, taking care to grab the side of the ladder tightly in one hand, the other holding on to the car. My gun I had already tossed up onto the roof so I could have both hands free. Once I was steady enough --- which for me didn't feel perfect, but I went with it --- I swung myself out onto the exterior of the Land Rover and onto the ladder, which I climbed with a sense of urgency. I didn't like my back being exposed and unprotected first of all, and second, I wanted to get up to the platform so that I could start shooting. Behind me Edward sealed the window back up with a press of the automated button.
This was it. There was no do-over.
I ambled finally up on the platform, grabbed my gun and sank down into a shooting crouch, my eyes scanning for the nearest target, which was a feline-looking redhead off to the right side of the SUV. Her eyes flamed as bright crimson as her hair, and she seemed to me to be extremely volatile. I fired off a round of silicon carbide at her, but she pranced out of the way, throwing back her head and cackling at my miss. Bitch, I thought errantly as I gave it another go.
She seemed to tease me, running alongside the Land Rover. It must be giving Edward a heart attack or something, because he kept swerving away from her, and she kept prancing along, sometimes close, and then far off whenever I aimed at her. It was like the two of us were dancing, but a fatal dance at that. I was sorta hoping she'd be the casualty in this one, naturally.
We were passing through a copse of trees with low-hanging branches when the redhead grinned suddenly, as if she'd heard something encouraging. I hope she was just bluffing, for anything good for her was probably really bad on my end.
My suspicions were true, of course.
Not a second or two later, there was a loud, sickening thump behind me, and cursing, I turned around to find a man's corpse had landed on the platform, and from the looks of it, was just newly dead. Have I ever mentioned I don't like dead bodies? I'll kill 'em, but I usually let Edward or someone else handle the actual uh... "clean-up" stuff. So to see that was making my stomach strike up a revolt; in other words I wanted to puke my effing guts out.
And if that wasn't freakish enough, another man leaped down from above, but he was fully alive, alive as the undead are, I suppose. On top of it all, there were still flecks of blood around his lips, which were turned up in a sadistic grin that sent chills down my spine about the same time I screamed like a freaking banshee. Mystery man seemed to enjoy that, and so his smile got wider.
"You interrupted our meal," he began, "but I thought I'd still be polite. Want to share?" he added, gesturing nonchalantly at the corpse before us. I gagged in response, and then took the opportunity to raise my gun, but the vamp just reached forward and knocked it out of my hand, sending it to the corner of the platform, a little over an arm's length away. Dammit, I thought as I kept an eye on him. These fuckers don't mess around, do they?
"After you," he said, more serious this time, and his eyes narrowed a little. I stood stock still, my left foot inching to the side, my mind praying he wouldn't notice before I could reach my weapon again and kick it nearer to me, but of course, no dice. He saw what I was attempting to do.
"Fine, let's do this the hard way. Enjoy your meal, sweetling," he encouraged silkily, and I swear before I even noticed him moving, his hand was on my back, forcing me onto the floor of the platform, my head coming nearer to the neck of the dead man, and my horror growing with each motion. I was shoved forward, and my whole being cringed when my face hit the blood pooled at the base of the man's neck, feeling the grotesque texture of it getting all over the lower half of my face, nose included. Had it been deep like a pool, I am certain I would've drowned at the vampire's hand.
I struggled vainly, trying to pull my head up out of the gross blood, only to be forced down again by hands many times stronger than me as a whole. Soon it was getting harder to get a ragged breath in, so I was left with only one option, to open my mouth. A disgusting option, but at least I could somewhat breathe. The blood tasted unappetizing, metallic like putting pennies in your mouth, and the aftertaste was just as undesirable as it gets.
"Delicious," the vampire muttered above me, and by the way he'd been looking at me earlier, I sure as hell hoped he was talking about the man's blood and not mine, because it could be either, and well, I didn't really want him anywhere near my jugular.
The hand that had been keeping me down yanked me back onto my feet, and still I was only half relieved when he spun me around to face him. I looked up and gulped at the lustful expression on the vamp's face, and surmised that yeah, maybe it was mine he was after, which caused a string of curses and thoughts of violence to go through my mind simultaneously.
The man bent down, and suddenly, cold lips were pressed at the side of my mouth, and slowly, his tongue tasted a little of the blood smeared there, to my utter revulsion. I yelled out again, and was silenced only when he closed over my mouth properly, and an icy tongue was shoved down my throat. My hands balled up into fists and pounded on his chest, arm... anything I could reach, which wasn't saying much thanks to my less-than-helpful height.
I stomped my feet loudly, hoping that would alert my partner that I needed back-up, and pronto. Errantly I mused about how I'd describe this to an outsider. "Well it was another tough mission, there was this bloodsucker making out with me, and I was T.E.R.R.I.F.I.E.D. and his tongue was fucking cold so I stomped my feet and..."
Ugh....
The Land Rover mercifully shuddered to a stop a few unbearable seconds later, and I heard the slam of a car door being opened and closed. Mystery!Vamp heard it too, and he pulled away, grinning down at Edward, who had his pistol already drawn, good man that he was. I did all I could to give him a clear shot, and he fired off two rounds, clipping the vamp on the shoulder, which sent him leaping out of the way, and eventually he jumped onto the nearest tree's bough and evaded any more silicone carbide bullets in his ass.
I grabbed my gun and shot a few off after him as if to warn him not to come back, but it didn't look likely.
After a tense moment of watching for any signs of movement, I looked down and gagged again at the corpse that was still on the roof with me. Edward noticed it finally after following my line of vision, and grimaced.
"So that's why you're all covered in blood," he spoke finally.
"No Edward, not at all," I responded sarcastically, eyeing my attire unhappily. I felt so gross and dirty, it was not even funny. A shower would be top-priority whenever we could get the hell out of this voodoo forest. Hopefully soon.
There was a rustling of something pushing through the greenery nearby, and both of our eyes snapped around, searching for where it was coming from. Not a second later, another red-eyed vamp stepped out from the shadows between two evergreen trees, grinning eerily at us. This one had olive-toned skin and glossy, cropped black hair, but his eyes were just as crimson as any of the others.
"Claw," Edward said tersely.
I went into action immediately, finding the harpoon launcher while the vampire played his game with us, slowly circling us and the car, coming closer with each orbit he completed. Meanwhile, I fitted a claw into place, and tried to get a good aim on the vamp. In response, his revolutions grew quicker, making it harder for me to see him, as he'd begun to blur with his speed.
"Just shoot!" my partner urged, eyeing warily the blur around us.
I sank down into my shooting stance, and watched him go around once more before I guessed at his speed, and how soon I'd have to pull the trigger. When he got to the desired point, I fired off a shot, and the claw sprang forward, and there was a high, unpleasant noise quite similar to a vehicle collision, and I knew I must've hit him. I worked quickly, securing the chain of the claw onto the ring at the corner of the platform.
Edward hopped back inside the Land Rover, and I heard the engine rev up, and then before I knew it, I was shook a little bit when Edward pressed down on the accelerator a little too eagerly and we shot forward, quickly swinging around as he turned us back the way we came. I sat down finally, still in a state of shock as I grabbed my pistol tightly in one hand, hanging onto the platform's side wall with the other.
It was a quick ride back to Headquarters....
~2:30 A.M.~
It was late, and so far I'd learned only one thing about our infamous guest. He thought our interrogation room was akin to a sadistic playroom. Charming.
"Well I've never really been into S & M, especially not with humans. You'd probably have to see James about that, he and Victoria..." the vampire continued in his ultra-bored tone of voice, which was slowly but surely beginning to grate on my last nerve. I begun to tap my foot impatiently. Ever since we'd hauled him in here to interrogate him, he's been annoying the hell out of me, just with his voice.
"Okay, punk, let's be straight here. We're not here for fun and games. What we want is information, and you're gonna give it to us," Emmett started off the interrogation, using his "big boss" voice, which usually did the trick, but it didn't seem to faze this bloodsucker any.
"My name is Laurent, not 'punk'," he stated primly, glaring at the lot of us. In my mind, I was wondering where he got off, insinuating none of us had any manners. I mean, Edward is so polite, it's almost overtly so! And as for myself... well I'm not a total bitch either. Can't really give a definite reading on my boyfriend though, he goes through stages of manners, ranging from goodly mama's boy to a total, macho I-don't-have-to-answer-to-you persona. Carlisle is like Edward, and well... Esme's a sweet little cougar. Ugh... flood of unpleasant memories....
"Oh I'm sorry; I didn't know we were having a getting-to-know-you session. Forgive me, but I thought you were going to spill the beans already. We could always just cut off your leg or something, unless you're feeling up to talking."
Laurent chuckled eerily, but then gave us a truly unsettling smile.
"I suppose I could tell you... something."
He's playing games with us, I thought instinctively, my eyes narrowing. Edward seemed to pick up on this as well; we exchanged looks while Emmett plowed on with the questioning. He asked a bunch of questions to see if what we already knew about vampires was true, and Laurent said it was. That time I don't think he was lying, because we had gotten him in here; and what vampire would willingly turn themselves over to someone who wanted to get rid of them? Even to play mind games? I don't think one would... but maybe this one's more twisted than we previously thought... god, maybe they all are. What if there is no way to defeat them? What if they're just letting us think we have a chance? Fuck!
"So, how many are there in your... coven?" Emmett asked, throwing out the word casually, as if it was one he used in everyday conversation.
"Oh, I'd go with about nine at the moment, including myself. We are always looking for more, though we do have to keep it fewer than fifty, or some foreigners will have a problem with it. They are rather easily provoked, the Italians. And judging by what happened to the Southern covens last time, I do believe James can be persuaded to at least follow that rule. He's no martyr and neither am I," Laurent concluded, confusing the lot of us quite considerably.
"Okay, all I got out of that is fifty fucking vampires? Why so many, isn't there... damn, how many of you even exist in the world?!" Emmett cursed, I think speaking for us all.
"A good couple hundred, mostly in Italy though is where they have the numbers. Most of us are nomads, but even so, we usually stick to a particular region or as some like to call it... our territory. We are very territorial creatures, as I'm sure you can understand. We need to have the monopoly on food in our own area. Some like to fight over it, and for that, they need armies, which means numbers. Well, the covens down South got a little out of hand; the humans began to notice, so the Italians swooped in and... dealt with it."
We all looked a little aghast, and well, wouldn't anyone if they'd just heard there were hundreds of undead monsters stalking the planet?
"They killed the ones in the covens," Laurent added as further explanation.
"So, how do we kill them?" Edward piped up, and if you notice the wording, it was very smart of him. We could get that valuable information, while at the same time making it seem like we're not just going to off Laurent as soon as we've squeezed all the knowledge out of him. That stroke of genius pretty much explains why Edward does a lot of the talking. I just like the adventure of this job, not making speeches or other such nonsense.
"Dismember them... and the standard stake through the heart, only I think you know that a wooden stake won't work in our case. Better you use the material you used for your bullets... or maybe even a laser would do it; I confess I have no idea," Laurent sighed, his dry voice still in full force.
"Well if people weren't able to use wooden stakes, then how in the hell were they able to slay vampires before now?"
"Simple," Laurent said, "They didn't."
"That's reassuring," I said, piping up for once in this conversation, "no wonder there's so many of you."
"I suppose that would account for our numbers, yes. That and the whole army aspect. We have to keep up our population for practical reasons. We lose some in battle, mostly ineffectual newborns, which is a pity as they are stronger during their first year than at any other time."
"They are? Damn. How many in your coven are newborns?" Emmett wondered.
"Six. James, Victoria, and I are the elders, as it is."
My boyfriend promptly started to pace the sterile room, cursing under his breath, which seemed to amuse our unwanted guest more than was probably a good thing. Then the cursing turned to muttering, and apparently this made him determined, and a little impatient. He turned back to our guest.
"Where are the covens located? You said they had a general territory, so where are those territories?"
"One is up North, in Alaska. The Denali's. Our closest rivals, four women, two men, meaning two pairs of mates. It's very dangerous to deal with mates in the disposing of a coven. Mated vampires generally fight harder than any other, and you don't even want to know how vengeful they can be if you dispose of their mate. I very much doubt anyone, human or not has survived the retribution of such a thing. My coven has only one pair, and that's James and Victoria. However... James is more fickle than Victoria. For instance, he very much liked this little human right here," Laurent said, pointing one ashen finger at me. Fuck, was all I could think. Fuck no.
"Was he the bastard who was tailing her the other day?" Emmett demanded to know.
"Yes," Laurent answered. "He thought her quite delectable smelling, or her blood, I should say. Might as well be proper. He remarked to me that she'd make a beautiful vampire as well. I do think he wants to change her. It would solve both of his... dilemmas. He'd get to taste a little, which would sate him, and then she'd be around for awhile as a bonus."
"Hell no, I am not going to be some eternal pleasure slave to a sadistic vampire! That is bullshit!" I cried, totally pissed-off at this point.
"Calm down, A... Jemma," Edward said soothingly, just barely remembering to use my code name in front of Laurent, "we won't let that happen to you." He patted my shoulder fondly, and it worked... but only a little. I was still not very happy about this newest revelation.
"Oh, really? Well we are the closest coven to you, so you might want to get on that," Laurent noted, smirking. "Wouldn't want us to greet the public around here, would you?"
"No. But I think it about time you shut up," Emmett replied, nodding to Edward and I, who still had our weapons on us, just in case something went wrong during the interrogation. We advanced on the vampire and as per his instructions, quickly separated his limbs from the torso and shot a few silicon-carbide bullets where its heart should be.
"Carlisle, feel free to do the autopsy on our... guest. See what you can find out about their species, if anything. We're going home," Emmett continued.
He, Edward, and I then got our stuff put away in the weapons lockers, and I was pretty excited to get to go home. What I'd seen tonight had been terrifying. Exhilarating, yes, but very horrifying. And the whole blood thing I wasn't so fond of either. Edward seemed to harbour similar sentiments on the evening from what he'd told me while we were putting everything away.
"Thanks for having my back," I added as we shut the lockers, turning to look at him. He flashed a crooked smile like usual.
"No problem Alice, because if I didn't, Boss'd have my hide," Edward joked.
"He just might," I played along, "but then I'd rise up from the dead and kick his ass for being a jerk."
"I know you would." He chuckled.
We talked a bit more, calming the other down a little bit, then we hugged once and went our separate ways, him home to his ahem, McMansion --- Edward comes from money, the lucky schmuck, yet the inside is very spartan, which is his style --- and I met Teddy at the front door. We got our coats out of the hall closet, and he felt the need to bring a little extra lightness to the situation in true Emmett fashion.
"In other news, I was right; they would keep you as one of them. You are one dangerous little minx, Alice Brandon. Not going to turn all vampy on me, are you? I rather like my blood staying where it's needed, in my body. Especially right about... here," he said, gesturing unabashedly to where his cock would be.
And honestly, covered in blood, tired, and confused as I was, I laughed my fucking ass off.
Author's Note #2: Hey-lllo folks! The link to a picture of the car Edward was driving is on my profile; just imagine it black, with a side ladder, and a modified rack on the top. The lights on it however, are there in the story. Anyhow, tell me what you liked/didn't like about this chapter. And well...hope you enjoyed it!
-Movie Laurent had dreadlocks. Book Laurent didn't, and so I described him as the book version.
-Now we know it was James following her in the mall, and not Jasper. Jasper comes in a bit later... though I won't say how or when exactly. *grins*
This was a big, long fucker of a chapter to write (7,300 words). And even so, I love it. Maybe since I wrote so much, you'll review? -Looks innocent yet persuasive-
Also, P.S--- Don't believe everything Laurent says.... His capture was a bit easy... wasn't it? That alone should set off some warning bells.