From the perspective of Kate's watch, it was only twenty minutes before all the necessary papers had been filled out and signed and the Ghostbusters left the much worse-for-wear store. Kate thought it had taken a much longer time, subjectively speaking. Incident reports, damage estimates, listings of destroyed inventory and property damage… At long last, the pair of Ghostbusters left, with Venkman tucking a copy of their bill into the pocket just below his name patch.
"They go all over the city, don't they?" Kate spoke towards the shop, which still had water dripping down the shelves.
"Yes. We can be thankful that they only have the one location, and there are only four of them that go forth for their calls, and the receptionist, who remains at their building, is much more sensible and less inclined to blow things up or set them on fire," O'Rourke answered.
"Do they actually help, or are they an example of the cure being worse than the disease?" Kate murmured, looking around at the mess.
"That depends on the ghost," O'Rourke admitted.
"Lovely. Is there anything else here, or do we keep going, with the hope that the rest of the shift is quieter?"
"We're done here," he assured.
There were very few times that Kate had felt so glad to be on a street patrol. All of the ones that didn't connect to recovering from injuries could be traced to some bizarre situation involving Angel. Considering that Angel was currently on the other side of the country, the only thing that Kate could work out to explain tonight was that O'Rouke had to be related to that vampire somehow.
"Back at the apartment. You looked at the body and said it looked like the work of a vampire. Was that the result of too many horror movies, or something that we need to worry about?" O'Rourke asked, changing the subject.
"They're as real as ghosts. The normal vampire is a petty, vicious, predatory bastard that thinks people are tasty and can be amusing playthings. They're stronger and faster than a human, convinced that they're immortal and indestructible, and have the impulse control of a toddler," Kate explained.
"If that's the ordinary vampire…" Tashir spoke, back from wherever he'd gone before the Ghostbusters had arrived.
"That's the ordinary vampire in the same way that you can describe the ordinary petty criminal," Kate offered the comparison. "And, like with criminals, there are a few that can think big, plan for it, and try to stick with the plan. The ones who don't just want to take the sports car in the lot, but want to steal the whole shipment and the dealer's fourteen-year-old daughter at the same time."
"How accurate are their self-assessments?"
"They are stronger and faster. I've seen vampires do a standing vertical jump to the roof of a single car garage. They don't have to worry about getting old or diseases, bullet wounds will heal, though shooting them in the joints will drop them to the ground. Sunlight is every bit as lethal as anything Hollywood's shown, fire, holy water, beheading, and a wooden stake to the heart will kill them. I don't know about anything else, but I know someone who wanted to test out a chipper-shredder to see what that did to a vampire," Kate offered, remembering how distraught Ian Masters had been when a vampire had killed his girlfriend.
"Accurate enough to be dangerous, but still overconfident then," O'Rourke interpreted. "What about the whole invitation thing?"
"They need one for places that people live, not for stores, offices, stations and hospitals… or hotels. Which means that if it was a vampire instead of a vicious psycho that killed that woman, then someone had to invite the bastard in first," Kate explained. She could still remember Angel leaning against the invisible barrier of a doorway, the lack of an invitation barring him from entry. It had been a bit creepy and a bit amusing… especially when the barrier had dissolved and Angel had almost fallen on his face into the room.
"So far, you sound like our expert on vampires," O'Rourke commented.
"What else do we need to know and watch out for regarding vampires?" Tashir asked.
"As far as I know, the stuff in the movies about super special scary powers is bull. No shape-changing, no mind control, no walking up the walls. They don't reflect. Biggest thing to worry about is the fact that they can turn their victims into vampires, and no matter how nice someone was alive, they make nasty, hungry vampires that just has to figure out if they'd rather torture you, kill you, or eat you," Kate sighed, and then cautioned, "I can't be certain that there aren't rare, old, powerful vampires that can pull some of those scary tricks in the movies. But most of them can't do it."
"So tonight's victim?" O'Rourke prompted.
"Could possibly wake up as early as tomorrow night with sharp teeth and a thirst for blood," Kate finished.
"We'll need you talk to the CSI staff and the coroners as soon as we get back. They need to know this stuff," Tashir declared.
"That's going to be an awkward conversation," Kate sighed. Then she let herself consider the possible consequences if she didn't talk to them. "…but necessary."
"How will we handle this?" O'Rourke asked. "You need to make certain that information is passed on fast, but there's also the involvement of the Ghostbusters at the liquor store. And that mess at the apartment."
"You explain about the Ghostbusters and give the official reports about the apartment while I talk to the CSI and coroner. There's a chance that they've seen vampire victims before, so this could be less complicated then I expect," Kate suggested.
"That should work," agreed her partners.
To their mutual relief, the rest of the shift was quiet. No more ghosts, no monsters, no gruesome bodies. Just some parking violations, solicitation charges, people loitering being told to go somewhere else, and clues about a possible illegal party coming up in a few days.
Kate's talk with the coroners went far simpler and more disturbing than she'd expected. The body from the apartment was far from the first vampire victim that they'd had brought in to their office. In fact, they'd had several wake up and try to eat them, resulting in various injuries, the need to replace several pieces of equipment, and a semi-secret policy – bodies suspected of being vampire-victims were immediately drained, opened up and the hearts removed as soon as possible. With no heart in the body, they couldn't turn into a vampire.
Since she knew about vampires, they just asked that she let them know about any bodies that were suspected vampire victims, and it would be suitable handled. No additional fuss, and no disturbing reports that might cause the higher ups to send them to the psychiatrists. It was as close to a win-win situation that they figured they could manage.
End part 7.