Wolf and Red: Monster Hunters
Chapter Sixteen
Dr. Sophia Gardnier (LONG list of academic titles) was not whom Red was expecting.
The redhead looked good for her age, (fifties? At least?) and was dressed in a woman's business suit. She certainly didn't look like some vampire loving quack.
"Thank you for agreeing to see me," Sophia said as she shook both their hands.
"Yeah, well we haven't agreed to take the job yet," Wolf quickly noted.
"Understood," Sophia winced slightly but then continued, "Lets get some coffee, then we'll talk about it."
"So, you want to meet with vampires, with us along as bodyguards?" Red clarified as they sat at a corner table.
"You realize that's nuts, right?" Wolf added.
"ONE vampire," Sophia corrected, "whom I've interacted with before."
"Still!" Wolf made a face.
"Yeah. Vampires are probably THE most dangerous human shaped monsters," Red noted. "Why would you even want to mess with one?"
"Knowledge. They've lived multiple human life times, and can give us a view of history that's unmatched," Sophia said firmly.
Both hunters looked dubious.
Sophia sighed, "Heathens."
"Where are you meeting this vamp?" Wolf asked.
"I understand you don't visit the US," Sophia checked. When both nodded she continued, "Anywhere in southern BC should be fine."
"IF we agree to do this, we'll want backup," Red said thoughtfully, "and it's not going to be cheap."
"The foundation that I'm associated with will cover any reasonable cost for your services," Sophia said firmly.
"Define 'reasonable' please?" Wolf noted.
"I know what Monster Hunters Inc. usually charges," Sophia said firmly, "we'll may more, but we won't be gouged either."
Red nodded, "Okay, fair."
They banged around various details around what the job would involve. Finally Sophia noted, "So, you sound... less dubious about the job, now."
"Somewhat," Red conceded.
"We'll need to discuss this with an associate of ours," Wolf cautioned, "as well as the team we intend to have as backup."
Sophia sighed, "I can't delay this contact forever. When will I hear back from you?"
Wolf and Red exchanged glances. "Give us a few days," Red decided.
"Let me know if you can't go through with it," Sophia said. "I'll need to either cancel the meet, or rish going in alone."
"Will do," Wolf nodded.
0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0
"Are you out of your minds?" Mimi demanded.
Red chuckled, well used to their manager/assistant's reactions. She said, "The money involved is really good, though."
"Money vs out lives seems an easy choice," Mimi noted.
Wolf nodded as she said, "Agreed. But I think we can handle a single vampire..."
"One vampire can wipe us out, if it's an older one," Mimi sighed.
Mind you, Wolf and Red had fought vampires before. But they had been relatively 'young' vampires and nowhere near as strong as vampires could get. Even experienced Hunters were very nervous about fighting a older vampire...
"Are you two determined?" Mimi asked with a sigh.
Red and Wolf exchanged a glance, silently communicating. "If you're REALLY opposed," Red finally conceded.
Mimi sighed, "I won't stop you if you really want to do this. Have you talked to Dolores about doing this, yet?"
"Yeah, she's on board," Wolf said. She added thoughtfully, "I don't think she's actually faced a vampire, personally."
"No, otherwise she'd be going, 'Oh hell no' probably," Mimi said grimly.
"Well, she and the Butchers won't be on the front line anyway," Red mused. She looked at Mimi, "I'm thinking you and them, as long rang snipers with explosive bullets?"
"I like the way you think," Mimi smiled grimly.
"Agreed," Wolf nodded, "and one of you with an anti-tank gun. If you can get a shot off, it might disable a vamp long enough to kill it."
"Hopefully," Mimi nodded. "What do we do next?" she asked them.
"Get together with Dolores and her people, figure out our equipment and weapons load out," Wolf said briskly, "then meet with Dr Gardnier before going off to see the vampire."
"Whee, fun," Red grinned.
0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0
"Vampires. The is so AWESOME," Nic Carter grinned, the slim, boyish looking blonde bouncing excitedly.
"More like, 'oh FUCK, vampires,' you mean," Gail Ward said darkly, the redhead scowling at her fellow rookie.
"Vampires are goddamn dangerous," Dolores Clark agreed, "that's why we're feeding them Wolf and Red, first."
"Ha!" Nic smiled.
They were in the office building that Bishop's Butchers (GOD they needed to change that name) was based out of, waiting to meet with Wolf, Red and Mimi. All of them were armed, as you never knew when something might jump you...
The door buzzer went off, and Dolores answered it, "Yeah?"
"It's us," Wolf said gruffly.
"I'll go down and let 'em in," Gail said briskly.
A few moments the whole group was in the meeting room, sitting around the table. "Okay," Dolores said briskly, "what's the plan?"
"Pretty much what we already discussed," Red admitted, "me and Wolf as personal guards, you guys and Mimi sniping from at range."
"We could help with the guarding too," Nic added eagerly.
Gail kicked her in the shin.
"Ow!" Nic grunted.
"No," Wolf shook her head, "if shit does deeply wrong, we'll need heavy fire support to try to extract the client and survive."
No one brought up that if a powerful elder vampire decided to go on a killing spree, even the heavy weapons wouldn't be THAT much help.
"Do you think we could get some firing range time in, together?" Dolores asked them after a moment.
"Not enough time," Mimi said regretfully, "the client wants to go soon."
Dolores made a face as she said, "That's too bad. I'd really like us to practice coordinating our shots and so on."
"If wishes were horses everyone would ride," Gail quoted mildly.
"We'll manage," Nic said confidently.
"Do we have the location of the meet, yet?" Dolores asked, ignoring that.
"A farm in the interior, near Mission," Red said. She added, "Normally I'd be worried about being in the local team's territory, but they're out of town on a job."
"I'd have liked the added backup," Mimi noted.
"Ditto," Dolores sighed.
"So we'll meet with the client, confirm the time of the meet then scout the location," Mimi said, "and figure out the best firing position."
"We'll also need to look out for Renfields and vampire thralls," Red noted dourly. "They're usually not a big issue, but they could complicate things."
"Aren't they just normal people, mind controlled?" Nic asked.
Gail sighed, "They're controlled to the point they don't care if they're hurt or killed. So they'll keep attacking us even if we butcher 'em."
"Oh," Nic said.
"We'll check with the client again on that," Mimi noted, "but other than that, we'll just have to be ready if it comes up."
"Got it," Dolores agreed.
To be continued...
Notes: I don't remember the Mom's canon name, so I made something up. Also couldn't find it online, annoyingly.