Grace stepped inside her apartment, and tossed her jacket on the back of the couch before heading over to the kitchen to make herself some dinner. Heck of a night, she thought with a sigh, massaging the back of her neck with one hand as she dropped her grocery bag on the small table.

She had been working late recently, investigating the vampire attacks that had been taking place in the last couple of weeks. She had just been made detective, so she wasn't assigned the most interesting cases. Her ambition was to make it to the homicide unit, like her father, but until then she was stuck with small battery or robbery cases.

But vampire attacks struck close to her heat, and the last one had taken place only streets away from her place, which only made things worse. So she had decided to sneak into the archives room after working hours, to get her hands on the files containing the reports on the attacks. Not that she thought she was so smart she could figure things out better than more experienced officers. But she probably knew more about vampires than any of them did, seeing as she had practically been raised by one since her teenage years, and there may be things in those files that she might pick up which would go unnoticed by others.

She hadn't found anything, though. And when she had left her workplace around midnight, she had remembered her very empty fridge, and her equally empty stomach, and had decided to stop by at the 24/24 grocery shop a couple of blocks away from where she lived.

That's when she had heard three men bothering a man for money. She had been standing at the entrance of the shop when they had approached him, and he had had his back to her so she hadn't been able to see his face. Only that he was wearing very plain clothes, was rather short for a man but quite muscular, and held himself with a straight back and and head, giving off an impression of quiet self-confidence.

That's why at first she had been rather surprised when he had simply handed over the money without so much as a word. But then she realized that doing as instructed had probably been the wisest option: better end up with a little less money rather than a little less blood. You never knew who you might be upsetting these days. And if vampires were quite violent, they weren't even the only ones. Humans were getting carried away too, reckoning they would get away easily with small infractions, since the police was already unable to cope with the increased number of vampire attacks.

From close up, she had been shocked to see how young the man looked, no older than twenty. And he had looked so... off. Very pale, unusually quiet, he hadn't seemed to need to blink quite as often as normal humans did, which she had found rather creepy. And his manners when he had addressed her had only added to his weirdness - he had been way too formal for someone so young. The thought had crossed her mind that he may have been vampire - but why would a vampire allow humans to rob him when they could easily fight them off, or glamour them away?

With a sigh, Grace poured the noodles that she had been cooking into a cup. She ate quickly, showered and went to bed with a glance to her alarm clock. 2:00 AM. Meh. She had a full week ahead of her and needed rest. She chased the young man away from her mind effortlessly and fell asleep immediately,

When she got to work the next day, she heard news that made her forget about him for good.

- "Park! Hey, Park!" she turned to see Detective Davis sprinting towards her. "I know you've been obsessing over those vampire attacks…"

- "I'm not obsessing, just want to put an end to them!" She interrupted quickly. She didn't want anyone to investigate her interest for the case.

- "… and you should come with me. I have something that you will probably find of interest." He finished, not bothering to acknowledge her protest. That made her smile. She liked Davis. He was always messing around and making jokes in a light tone, but he could turn dead serious whenever the situation called for it and was the best homicide detective in the station. Incidentally, he also happened to be the one investigating the attacks. She knew he'd have her on this team if he could, seeing as with barely 4 years as a cop and a couple of weeks as a detective, she had the best closing rates in the station for the cases she handled. But she was still just too green.

- "Here." He said, starting a video on his computer. A recording of the attack that had taken place 2 nights ago near her place, she thought, clearly recognizing the young woman whose body was now lying in the morgue.

- "Where did you get that, Sir?" She asked the older detective. "When?"

He shrugged.

- "A man showed up this morning." He said. "Before you arrived" He added in a light tone and with a look in her direction from the corner of his eye, innocently pointing out her tardiness. She knew he didn't really care, though, and was only trying to mess affectionately. He was like that with everyone, but with her even more. He had known her since she was a little girl after all.

- "He owns a jewelry store near the crime scene," Davis went on, "and the security cam took the recording. He was away on business the day it happened and yesterday, so we didn't get the footage right away. But he came back today and delivered this to us."

Grace wanted to play the video once more, to take a closer look at the vampire. But Davis refused point blank, telling her he didn't have all day to satisfy her curiosity.

- "Any chance I could have a copy of the recording then, Sir? In exchange for coffee?" She practically begged.

- "Come now, Park, you know I can't do that." She made a face. "Pssshh, be on your way now." He told her, shooing her away with one hand, and she knew she had lost this one. He was already doing her a favour by letting her in on the details of the case, and she really wasn't entitled to ask for anymore than that.

But when she reached her small desk in the open space, she saw a white envelope with her name on it. She opened it to find a black USB key. She searched for a note, but there was none.

She plugged the device in: it was the copy Davis had just refused her. He had known she'd ask, of course. She looked over to his office hoping to meet his eye, but he was busy filling in paperwork. She grinned to herself, making a mental note to bring him coffee later. That was the deal she had offered, after all.

She wanted to get started on the video right away, but she had work that she actually had been assigned to do. And as passionate as she was about this case, she was an extremely conscious cop, and put her duty before anything else. Which was why Davis had given her the record, she figured. He knew she wouldn't allow it to interfere with her job. And so with a sigh, she put the USB key away in her drawer, and got back to her current case. She worked straight until 8pm, when she remembered that her cousin, and best friend, was supposed to pick her up for a drink this evening. She grabbed her jacket, hurried back home and had only finished showering when her cousin knocked on the door loudly.

- "YEAAAAAAH, COMING RIGHT 'WAY", Grace yelled from the bathroom. Pulling on a plain white T-shirt over jeans shorts, she ran to the door and opened it to reveal her stunning cousin standing with her arms crossed, tapping her foot with impatience.

She raised a perfect eyebrow at Grace's outfit, before moaning that she'd never make anything of her cousin, and stepped into the living room. Grace only stuck out her tong at her, and slipped into a pair of ballerinas. She knew she wasn't exactly dressed for a night out, but she wasn't one for sexy dresses and high heels. She could wear those, and she enjoyed dressing up smartly at times. But she always felt more comfortable dressed casually. Besides, they weren't going to a club tonight, just a regular bar. She hadn't expected Hye Na to have had the same reasoning, though.

Her cousin believed in always being impeccable, even to go over to the baker's to get bread. Tonight she was dressed in a short, close-fitting dress that showed her long legs and emphasized her tiny waist, completed with stilettos and a black pouch. Her wavy jet black hair was falling freely over her shoulders, her lips painted blood-red, her emerald-green stare, so unusual in an Asian face, intensified by a smoky-eye make-up. She truly was impossibly beautiful, and stylish on top of it. But Grace knew that Hye Na wasn't in the slightest conceited about her beauty, and she loved her cousin's extravagant nature, as opposed to her more reserved one.

- "Ok girly! Let's get the party started! C'mon, c'mon c'mon!" Hye Na flashed her a perfect smile, bumping her hips against hers, and clapping her hands to hurry her up as Grace jammed her key, wallet and phone in her bag, along with her badge and silver handcuffs. The attacks hadn't stopped so she had taken to carrying the silver handcuffs that Han had given her two years before, right after the Great Revelation, instead of her regular ones.

The drive to the bar took around half an hour, during which Hye Na had music blaring in the car as she sung out the lyrics. Grace smiled at that, singing along her cousin occasionally. The last past few weeks had been rather stressful, and she needed to let the steam off. And her cousin knew just how to make that happen.

The bar was relatively busy, but not crowded, and the music was really good. They spotted the group of Hye Na's friends that they were meeting up with, and Grace smiled as she recognized the familiar faces. They were all really fun to hang around with, and after a couple of drinks she had forgotten about her week. Not that she was drunk – not at all. It took a certain amount of alcohol to get her so much as tipsy. But the atmosphere was just too enjoyable.

At some point she felt Hye Na nudge her in the ribs with her elbow, and followed her stare to a man standing alone at the counter. And very obviously drinking True Blood. Grace looked at his features, and although she could only see the right side of his face, her heart skipped a beat. Tall, he had black hair slicked back with a lot of gel. And a thin scar than ran across his lips. The very same scar that she had noticed the week before on the vampire who appeared on the recording of the attack, which she had played and replayed to gather every single detail it offered.

- "Think I'll go and hit on that one." She heard her cousin whisper to her ear, as she got up from her chair.

- "Wait!" Grace exclaimed. "Er… Leave this one to me?" She pleaded, not wanting her anywhere near the beast.

Hye Na's mouth fell open, and she fell back in her seat. They had grown up together, and shared 24 years of close friendship, and yet she had never seen Grace hit on a guy. So she was more than happy to oblige, and positively beamed when her cousin asked her if she could have the keys to the car. Although she didn't let go of said keys without a "Beware, Miss Detective, no drunk and drive!" Uttered in a mock chiding tone. Grace winked and blew her a kiss before turning her back to her cousin, feeling nervous.

As Grace approached the place where he was standing, she discretely retrieved the silver handcuffs from her bag to place them in the back pocket of her shorts, then accentuated the swing of her hips slightly, and, raising a hand to her pony tail, shook her long hair free, allowing it to frame her fine features. She addressed the bar tender with a smile, ordering a random cocktail. She could see the vampire looking at her from the corner of her left eye. She forced herself to keep her eyes away from him, placed her elbows on the counter, propping her chin on her interlaced fingers, and started chatting idly with the cute bartender, laughing as he made a show of preparing her cocktail.

When it was ready she grabbed it from the counter and made to take out her credit card to pay for it, when she saw a hand with long, pale fingers throw a couple of bills to the bartender.

- "This one's on me", she heard a voice say to her left, "and keep the change."

She looked up to see the vampire smiling down at her. His fangs were not showing. She allowed her gaze to rest on the bottle of TB in front of him, and his half-finished glass.

- "How gentlemanly of you."She said, raising her drink to her lips as her eyes found his. "Maybe even a little bit old-fashioned, I would say." She added, taking a long sip and giving him what she hoped to be an "intense and mysterious" look. She wasn't too great at seduction, and hadn't really bothered to practice her "intense and mysterious" stares, but Hye Na had told her they worked wonders on most men, and Hye Na knew very well what worked wonders on men. Grace considered twirling a strand of her hair around one of her fingers, but reckoned it may look just a bit too much if she did it all at once. She'd keep that trick in store for later.

The vampire laughed at her comment, and offered his name. Fréderic de Sauton. So he's French, she thought. Unless it was an adopted name. In any case, it sounded good, and after talking for a fashion, she had to admit that he was truly charming. Although a bit boring after a while – but then, she always tended to find flirting a bit boring after a while. Which was one of the reason why she didn't often engage in it.

At one point, he allowed his fingers to brush against hers, and she smiled, doing her best to look as if the touch turned her on.

- "How about we finish this conversation in a more… private place?" He asked, his voice lower, deeper.

She didn't answer, but caressed the back of his hand with her thumb. He seized her by the hand, gently pulled her to her feet, and guided her out of the bar.

She had no idea where he was taking her, and there was no one else in the streets. For a second, she felt panic. For just a second, before she forced herself to get in control again. She had to take him down now, before he started going full-vampire on her.

She focused her mind on the very first lesson that Han had taught her about defending herself against vampires, when she was still a teenager.

Your greatest asset is the element of surprise. Until you gain more strength and speed, you'll have to knock them out immediately so as not to waste this advantage. One strike, two max. Now, you're easily strong enough to knock out a human, but a vampire will recover from any blow in no time. So if you have silver or a stake, use it. Otherwise, you'll have to hit a weak spot. Imagine that you want to break a very big, heavy rock with a wooden stick. If you smash the stick on the rock, it'll shatter. But if you find a crack in that rock, and use the tip of the stick as leverage, you might be able to extend the crack.

She had found the metaphor very weird, but had kept that thought private.

If they're standing in front of you, strike the eyes hard enough to puncture them. Before they start healing, the pain will be so intense it will numb their other senses. If they have their back to you, hit the crook of their knees. And then, there's the back of the neck. There is a nerve that runs through the whole body. Human or vampire, it doesn't matter: you strike the correct place with the right amount of strength, and they'll be out cold for a good while.

Grace glanced sideways towards the vampire. Fréderic was too tall for her to reach the back of his neck. She'd need to bring him down first.

She stopped in her tracks and took a step backwards, just as he took a couple of steps forward. Then he tensed and she could tell he was about to turn and face her. So before he had the chance, she stomped her foot in the back of his right knee at full force. That didn't quite bring him to the ground, but that did bring his neck close enough for her to reach. She drew her elbow backwards as far as she could, to accumulate speed and increase the weight of her blow when she struck. Then in one swift, sharp motion, she slammed the edge of her hand against his neck.

For a second, nothing happened, and she feared she had hit the wrong spot. But then he fell to the floor. She gave a quiet but triumphant "Hah!" and secured the silver cuffs around his wrists, his skin melting and smoking where it met the metal. Yuck.

Now all that was left to do was bring the body to Hye Na's car. She looked in front of her, then to her back and sides. There was no one in sight. She bent over the tall body, and although he must have been weighing a good 200 lbs, she managed to pick him up. Gritting her teeth, she hoisted him onto her back, his head and limbs dangling lifelessly, and walked as fast as she could to where the car was parked, praying that no one would see her.

Slightly out of breath, she unlocked the back door of the car and propped the vampire's back and head against the right door window, tucked his legs in, then shut the door.

She settled herself behind the wheel swiftly. She needed to hurry. The station was a good 30 min drive from here, and then she'd need to get him to a cell. And if he woke up before that, silver handcuffs or not, she feared she was screwed.