"So what exactly are we doing?" Cat whispered to Tara as they followed Faith into a deserted warehouse near the docks. It was dark, even the few security lights were burned out or broken. And it smelled like mildew and rotting garbage. Feeling completely out of her element, Cat unzipped her jacket in defiance of the cold and touched the butt of her gun.
Warm fingers entwined with Cat's other hand. "We're the cavalry. Well, I am." Cat couldn't see Tara's smile, but she sensed it. "All you have to do is hang out and enjoy the show. If something gets past Faith, I'll keep you safe."
It was hard not to argue. Cat was a cop. Standing back and letting someone else do the protecting... It wasn't natural. With ill-grace, she let her hand drop from her gun.
"Sweetie, vampires are faster and stronger than humans." Tara was always so perceptive. She'd easily guessed what Cat was feeling. "You'll see."
And Cat did. Faith managed to find a well-hidden door in the gloom. One powerful kick ripped it completely off its hinges, and light spilled from a crowded, smoky bar area. People (Cat wondered if they were all vampires) scrambled for boltholes behind the bar and at the far side of the room. A few made it.
The others weren't so lucky. Eyes wide, Cat stood just inside the doorway and watched the show. Tara hadn't prepared her. Faith was magnificent…and absolutely terrifying. She waded into the crowd and clouds of dust rose as she employed the stakes in both hands. Once the number of vampires thinned, Faith stopped the wholesale slaughter. Stuffing the stakes into the holsters strapped to her thighs, Faith grabbed the nearest vampire with one hand - and dangled him off the floor.
"Sorry to bust up the party," she said with a wide, patently fake smile. "I was a little upset you didn't invite me and my girls to this shindig. You don't like me or something?"
No one moved. Cat wasn't even sure they breathed. If vampires did that. Cat cursed her lack of knowledge about all things vampire and Slayer. Private education wasn't what it was cracked up to be.
"Maybe you just didn't remember," Faith continued in the same syrupy voice. "I bet that's it. Let me help ya' out. I'm Faith, a Vampire Slayer." With a casual toss, she heaved the vampire in her hand several feet across the room where he crashed into two of his brethren and a nearby table. "To make up for being unfriendly, I think you owe me some information." Stalking across the room, she stopped in front a heavy vampire. "You. What do you know about Master Phillip?"
"I don't know..." The vampire started to answer and then stopped when Faith backhanded him. His eyes burned with hatred, and Cat shivered and unconsciously stepped back. "Bitch! I'm not telling you anything."
A stake appeared in his chest before he'd finished speaking. "Who's next?" Faith peered around the room. "I can do this all night, boys."
A few of her potential informants made a break for the door. Two turned to dust with a soundless poof. The other...
Tara shifted in front of Cat, mumbled something in a foreign language, and waved her hand. A tiny blue ball zipped across the bar and landed on the vampire's chest. It exploded on impact, and his screams echoed in Cat's mind even after he hit the floor as a rain of ash.
"Master Phillip?" Faith repeated.
This time, the assembled vampires were more forthcoming. "He's a poser. Claims to be a Master," one of them mumbled sullenly.
Claims to be. Cat didn't understand the distinction. How did a Master vampire differ from the ones in this bar?
There was no chance to ask for clarification. Faith continued to question the vampires. "Huh. I'm guessin' you ain't impressed."
"He allies with humans." Growls of agreement followed the statement.
"Man's got no taste," Faith lamented. "Maybe I'll pay him a visit and explain the way this all works. What do you say?" Her smile sent shivers racing through Cat, and several vampires edged away from her. "Where can I find not-so-Master Phillip?"
There was a lot of shuffling feet – and no response.
"I thought we'd covered this?" Faith completed an impressive spinning reverse crescent kick, and the vampire in front of her crumpled to the sound of breaking bone. "Where the fuck is he? I'm not gonna lose any sleep if I have to kill all of you."
There is was. The thing that had been bothering Cat from the start. All the killing. The violence. Until Faith had begun interrogating the bar dwellers, they'd all appeared human. How did Faith know they were vampires? Had that been how she'd accidentally killed the man she'd mentioned?
Cat's instincts were to protect; Slayers were supposed to do that, too. It was clear that the definitions of how to do that differed greatly. Laying a hand on even the most violent suspect would cost Cat her badge and her freedom. Faith was waging open war and a whole lot of torture to get what she wanted. And no one, not even Tara, objected.
Superman. Now Faith's analogy began to make sense. The people (vampires, in some cases) didn't live by the same codes as Cat. They were superheroes and supervillains. No wonder Faith was afraid. She'd already made one mistake. And the risk of another… It had to be in the back of her mind every day, every time she played out a scene similar to this one.
Shelving her thoughts for later, Cat listened as Faith's new best friend talked about Master Phillip and a bar in Beacon Hill. The First Legion bar. It was their only concrete connection between the vampires and the Legion.
"Phillip using the humans for a food supply? Dangle the hope of being Turned to keep the blood flowing straight to his door?" Faith pressed for more details. She was good at getting information, and not just because of her tactics. Cat had worked with detectives with far less grasp on what was important and what questions to ask.
Even the chatty vampire stayed silent.
Faith took it in stride. "Guess I'm expecting too much. No way would you know everything unless you and Phillip were tight." She shrugged and stepped toward Tara and Cat before pausing. "Just in case you are a friend, though…" Her stakes were back. In seconds, the room was echoingly empty.
"Not a bad start, sweetie." Tara left Cat and walked to Faith. Tilting her head, she examined Faith closely. "Where to next?"
Cat had definitely missed something in the simple exchange. There had been nothing in Tara's tone or manner, but Faith flushed and her eyes grew heavy-lidded. They'd probably used their link to communicate, she thought enviously.
"Might have better luck if we hit a few more bars and vamp hangouts," Faith murmured huskily. "This was just a start. I really want to know more about that Beacon Hill spot. This is too organized to be something as stupid as a free meal for Phillip and his guys. What do you think, T?" Her head rose until she met Cat's eyes. "Cat?"
The inclusion surprised Cat. This was not her area of expertise. She returned Faith's stare blankly.
"We got enough to take back to Jane? Or do we need to push for more?" Faith clarified.
Why did Cat always feel like a rookie fresh out of the Academy when Faith was around? Clearing her throat and standing parade-ground straight, she thought for a moment. "More, if you think we can find it. We know a little more than we did before: there is a tie between Phillip and the Legion through the Beacon Hill bar. What, though? Stewart and his fellow founders are funneling way too much money and manpower to account for the chance to rub elbows with Phillip's crew."
"Then we hit the next hangout." Faith didn't even wait for Tara's approval. She strode back toward the car.
They hit two more bars. Cat lost count of the vampires who died (re-died?) at Faith's hands. Watching the carnage put her on edge. She couldn't reconcile this Faith with the woman from last night. The tender care and soft touches. Or the woman who had shared a glimpse into her painful past. How did Faith do this, night after night, and stay sane and in control? No wonder Faith was worried. Cat was worried for her.
Part of Cat, the part that still yearned to reopen their bond, wanted to throw herself in front of Faith. Wanted to keep her safe and take her far away from the fighting and the violence, the chance of another accidental death.
The more objective cop in her, though, watched with awe and appreciation. Faith was brutal and direct. She got results. There were no laws handcuffing her actions. No high-priced lawyers finding loopholes. Vampires were evil, killing machines, and Faith killed them to keep Cat, Tara, and the city of Boston safe. There would be no chance for recidivism.
Pulling away from her observations, Cat waited until Faith finished "convincing" the latest group of vampire informants to talk with them. Then she walked around Tara with as much confidence as she could muster and faced the vampire Faith held. "We know all about Master Phillip," she lied. This was just like any other interrogation, Cat reminded herself. It didn't matter that the perp was a vampire with forehead ridges, yellow eyes, and big nasty teeth. "We know he's using the First Legion and the bar in Beacon Hill as a food supply." Cat couldn't imagine anyone willing becoming vampire chow. "What is he giving the Legion in return?"
The vampire snarled, and Cat barely managed to stand her ground.
Then, because she was tired of being afraid, she lashed out. Putting all her body weight (and not a little martial arts training) into the blow, she backhanded the vampire in Faith's grip. "Want to try that again?" God, what was she doing? She'd just hit this helpless guy. Only he wasn't helpless. He lunged toward Cat so fast she would have been dead instantly if Faith hadn't held onto him. "Oops. Nice try. Better luck next time." Cat didn't know where the taunt came from, not when her knees were shaking so much that it was hard to stay standing. "How about answering the question?"
Faith decided to encourage his cooperation. She slammed him face first into a nearby table.
Bleeding and still clearly very unhappy, he snarled, "Humans are worthless. Phillip is no master."
"Yeah, we got that," Faith said. "But I'm thinking these humans are getting something. What is it? What is Phillip giving them?"
"Their leader wants to be one of us." The vampire's smile was all teeth and aggression. It was a truly frightening visage until Faith's stake appeared in his chest and he disappeared.
Cat frowned. "What if I had more questions?"
It earned her an electric smile from Faith as she cleared the room of the remaining vampires. "Think we got it all, tiger. Besides, if he'd blown you off again, I might have had to pull you back. You got an anger management problem. You see anyone about it? That kinda thing'll cause problems," she said with mock solemnity.
"I'll cope," Cat answered wryly. The whole thing had been therapeutic. She'd have to go vampire hunting with Faith more often.
"You'd better. I don't know if I can manage two of you at the same time." Cat had forgotten about Tara until she joined the conversation. Her right eyebrow had drifted upward as she regarded them, daring Cat and Faith to step out of line or lose control.
At that moment, Cat realized she had no desire to push Tara. Scary conversations and blue magical spheres were clear in her memory. She had no doubt Tara had even more skills as a Dominant. Cat admitted the horrible truth to herself: she was a coward.
Faith was made of sterner stuff. She sauntered up to Tara until she was in Tara's personal space. "That's what they make whips and chains for, T. And I know you know how to use them. Want to give it a try? Me and tiger all strung up for you?" Her voice was husky and rough, and Cat thought the air in the room would begin to spark.
She drifted forward, drawn by Faith's desire, by a need to serve so strong she couldn't resist.
"Hey, sorry to interrupt," a voice said from behind them. "Before you start with the chains and things... The Council wants an update on your activities tonight."
"The Council can fuck itself." Faith was not happy with the speaker, a young kid in her teens. She glowered and took a threatening step in that direction.
With that strange ability to be where no one expected, Tara cut her off. Pressed into Faith, Tara appeared to be rooted in the concrete floor. "Not one more step, Slayer." Her voice was so soft and yet so powerful. Cat shivered, and Faith came to an abrupt halt in response. "Have you forgotten all the rules, Faith? Do you need a reminder of who you belong to?"
Faith's head bowed and she dropped to her knees. "Yes, Tara."
Without looking away from Faith, Tara addressed the rest of the room. "Please inform the Council that they will have their report in the morning and not a minute sooner."
The younger girl and her two companions didn't argue, even though two of them wore Dominant markers.
"Cat, my apologies. Faith and I need to have a discussion. Will you please allow..." she paused and waited.
The young girl, a Slayer Cat figured, murmured, "Sam."
"Please allow Sam and her team to escort you back to the Council headquarters. Faith and I will meet you there later." Her words brooked no disagreement, and Cat moved quickly toward the three young women at the back of the room. "Sam, Cat's safety is now your responsibility. I shouldn't see even a single scratch on her when I arrive at the Council building."
Sam might wear her leather band on the left, but she still answered, "Yes, ma'am."
They exited quickly and quietly. "Son of a bitch! Your Domme's scary." One of Sam's companions gave Cat a commiserating look. She, too, wore a Dominant's marker. "Is she like that all the time? Or just when her Slayer's wound up after the kill?"