Ten minutes later…

Minako stared down the street as she hid, keeping Beryl in sight. The reason she had paused in her pursuit was to answer her cell phone. She would have ignored the call if it had been anyone else, but she knew this one had to be answered. "What?!" She snapped, deciding that going on the defensive would be her best course of action.

She heard Luna laugh at her in response. After that initial reaction died out, she said, "Nice try. I'm a trained policewoman, too. You're not getting the upper hand."

"Can I call you back?" As she asked that, she moved from her hiding place and made her way down the block, following her target.

Luna said, "I know what you're doing. I'm tracking you, and before you ask, no, I don't have permission from anyone, and no, I don't care that it's illegal. Now, know that as soon as I hang up, I'm calling in reinforcements if you don't walk away immediately."

Beryl turned right at the next street, and Minako hurried to catch up. Once she was making progress, she said, "She's following Yamato!"

"We expected that. It's why we moved him. She won't attack him in the open, and right now, she wants to follow him to Mamoru."

"But I can follow her and find where she's staying! It will give us the upper hand."

Luna sighed, and it came as a puffing noise over the phone. "Minako. You're being reckless. She probably has someone following her to ensure she isn't being tracked! You're asking for trouble!"

Minako slid into an alleyway to ensure Beryl wouldn't see her if she turned around. As Minako was distracted by Beryl waiting at the light for the crosswalk signal to turn, she failed to realize that Luna was right. She was being followed. Instantly, her neck was snapped. It happened before she even realized anyone was next to her.

On her end of the line, Luna heard a horrible bone-breaking noise and the sound of laughing as Minako's cell phone clattered to the pavement.

Artemis was racing to the scene of the crime the moment Luna called. He hated that he had to report it immediately, but he didn't want to face an internal police investigation if he kept quiet and he didn't make it there before anyone else. He explained the emergency call coming from him by saying that his wife was talking to her friend, his co-worker when she heard something suspicious on the other end of the line. That prompted her to call Artemis, and he reported the suspicious activity to the dispatchers. As it stood, he was told to investigate and call in if there was any evidence of a crime.

As he briskly strode through the station to head for his car, he saw Detective Itsuki and breathed a small sigh of relief. He was trying to keep from drawing any attention to himself.

He motioned for Itsuki to follow him, and once the man joined him, he explained the situation as best he could. That included the possibility that Beryl was involved.

He regretted that since the short car ride was spent giving a very brief rundown of who exactly Beryl really was and why Minako would follow her, the answer to that consisted of him snapping, "Because she's being stupid!"

Itsuki frowned and watched as Artemis cut off yet another vehicle. "But she's a vampire and a policewoman, right? Why do you think she's in danger?"

"Minako is so bent on protecting those around her that she's not being cautious. That, and we suspect that Beryl doesn't only hire humans." Artemis turned the corner abruptly and stomped on the gas.

Two minutes later, they were rushing up to Minako, and things were way worse than Artemis had suspected. They found her with a broken neck lying in a dirty alley. He knew she would survive, so that wasn't the problem. The problem was the five onlookers recording the crime scene with their cell phones.

"We didn't touch anything!" one of the onlookers said proudly. "We will send you our video files too so you can have evidence of the crime scene too."

Suspecting that Artemis was feeling too exasperated for words, Itsuki said, "Well done. We will secure the area now. As my partner starts his work, I will take your witness statements around the corner."

He didn't feel guilty lying about Artemis being his partner. He just wanted to make sure he had led them away before Minako recovered from her broken neck. That would be quite the thing for them to record. He didn't want her to be seen being "resurrected" on X and the evening news.

Once the onlookers were taken away, Artemis covered Minako with a blanket and called in her murder. He knew he couldn't get away with not reporting that fact. The videos they took were probably already posted to social media.

He then called in Yamato. He knew he was off today, but that was his only option. Artemis hoped his friend would have an idea of how to hide the fact that she wasn't really dead.

Today was a horrible day.

Meanwhile, in Romania…..

Lucy was heavily displeased to have a young, beautiful woman brought to her by their butler. He knew them well and was wise; his family had been serving them for centuries, and all that knowledge had been passed down. He knew precisely what to do when the woman had shown up at the door.

Andrei bowed before Lucy with the woman trailing him and said, "She asked to speak with the Master."

Showing irritation, the woman said, "Apparently, you can't follow instructions. This isn't him!"

Lucy knew she was much more intimidating when she acted placid. Her vampire abilities made her relaxed demeanor appear much more threatening than showing visible anger. She stood quickly, in a way that wasn't natural, and said, "Human, you're mistaken if you think you can give orders in my home."

"I requested to speak with Dracula," the woman sassed, unperturbed by Lucy's words or demeanor.

Dismissing the woman entirely for a moment, Lucy turned to Andrei and asked, "She refused to tell you her supposed business, I assume?"

"She has your Ladyship."

"Based on her tight skirt and the cleavage she's showing, her purpose isn't hard to speculate over, is it?"

"It is not, Your Ladyship," he replied coolly.

Lucy turned her gaze back to the woman and said, "Let me guess, you want him to bite you, too. You're planning to offer him your body and your blood." The woman responded with quiet defiance. It was clear she was refusing to speak.

"I know what's going on," Lucy said. She reached forward and ran her fingers through the woman's long, beautiful brown hair. She did it again, this time grabbing on halfway down and pulling hard. "They all keep trying to kill me and failing."

"What?!" Andrei asked, confused, breaking protocol.

"Apparently, I've become a bit predictable. When a woman shows up dressed like a whore asking for Dracula, she is shown directly to me. And if I remember right, I have been known for showing my displeasure in the past."

Now following along, Andrei said, "You are correct. Usually, you drink their blood until they collapse." He stepped in between Lucy and the interloper and asked, "Is something in her blood? Do you think she has something in her blood meant to kill you?"

Lucy shrugged, not that he saw it, and replied, "We can run tests once she's dead."

Smirking, the woman said, "You can't kill me! The police know I'm here."

"Imbecile," Lucy responded. "You trust in your own cleverness too much. That won't save you."

"We've researched the police thoroughly!" The woman responded heatedly. "They aren't corrupt. You haven't paid them off!"

"We? Noted…," Andrei replied, pulling out his cell phone and snapping a picture of her. "It seems I have some research to do."

"Look up the file on Dorin Bucur," Lucy said to Andrei while smirking at the woman. "We can inform Dracula that he's making his play to prove he should be the next President now."

Andrei's first thought was that the man sent his daughter, but that died quickly when he pulled up the file Lucy had suggested. "He's having his mistress help him?"

Lucy smiled broadly and retrieved her phone from the end table by the couch she had been sitting on. "He forgets his wife's father got him his position."

"His cunning got him that far!" the mistress screamed back.

"Nina," Lucy said, proving she knew the woman's name. "Men always lie to their side-piece. He was a low-level grunt in the western Romanian local chapter. He wasn't even part of the worldwide group until his powerful father-in-law brought him before the council and ensured his current position."

Nina glared at Lucy, "You can't possibly know what you're talking about!"

Lucy sent a text and then placed her phone back on the table face down. "I am trying to decide what to do with you. Killing you would be satisfying, but watching his wife's family rip your world apart would be entertaining."

Nina protested that comment, "I told you. I know you can't kill me. You don't have the police in your pocket. And no one else can touch me. Dorin won't let them."

Lucy gave the woman a genuine smile. "You are so much fun to talk to. I can stand here and tell you everything exactly as it will happen, and you're too dumb and too cocky to believe me. I'm relishing this."

Andrei bowed slightly and said, "I will return."

"I don't need the plastic tarp!" Lucy objected, laughing, knowing exactly what he was going to fetch.

"Last time, you got blood on the priceless Persian rug in the dining room, and I was unable to save it. The one in here is Polonaise silk. I would prefer not to let this one be spoiled."

"What if I promise just to snap her neck?" Lucy asked sweetly, "After all, I'm apprehensive about what's in her blood. I don't think I want to risk spilling it."

Nina rolled her eyes, "Dracula won't let you kill me."

"Why?"

"It would cause the authorities to go after you!"

Lucy sat down, reclining on the plush couch, leaned back, and showed her unconcern. "Dorin thinks he's sooo clever. It's been a pleasure for us over the years. We love to sit back and watch him be arrogant and stupid. For example, why would he assume that we would pay the police when we can simply compel them to ignore everything about us? We can't even get a parking ticket."

"They're compelled?!" Nina asked, getting nervous for the first time.

"The Order of Van Helsing won't ever succeed because it insists on thinking like humans—a fact that's foolish when the ones it wants to destroy aren't humans."

Lucy cocked her head and then added, "Good. You're not pregnant."

"What does that have to do with anything!?"

"I don't kill the innocent," Lucy said, grinning wickedly.

Taking a half step back, Nina said, "You wouldn't dare kill me! Dorin's powerful, and he will come after you."

"He's already after us, and we're still alive. Also, his wife is soon going to be given copious evidence of his affair with you. Knowing her, and I have the research on her, so I do, she will quickly alert her father. Your lover will be dead before the sun goes down tonight. Everyone knows —a corpse isn't a threat to anyone."

"She can't have him killed! The order won't let that happen!"

"Because he's Vice President?" Lucy asked, scoffing.

"Yes! That matters in The Order!"

Andrei enjoyed the whole scene. He saw that the Nina woman was obviously embroiled in a dangerous game that she was unaware of. He didn't believe she was playing dumb.

Lucy said, "There is one thing I didn't bother to research when compiling information on Dorin. Frankly, it was because I didn't think you factored into anything. I assumed that he wasn't dumb enough to keep you very long—I overestimated his intelligence. How do you know about Vampires?"

"My father is part of the central Moldovan chapter."

"Was," Lucy amended.

"What?"

"As a woman, I have to say, I'm going to enjoy the revenge that will be rained down on your head. I haven't decided yet if I feel bad for your family. Does your father know about Dorin?"

"He doesn't judge me. He just wants me to find love," Nina replied.

"That makes me feel better," Lucy responded. "As I mentioned, I'm against innocent victims."

"What are you talking about?!" Nina snapped.

"The Grand Inquisitor," Lucy said, just stating a title.

"What does that have to do with anything? He's a myth!" Nina scoffed. "I've heard the rumors, but that's all they are."

Lucy laughed. "So your lover hasn't told you everything."

"I won't fall for it. I can't be tricked into believing he would lie to me. I know him too well."

"Trash humans are easy to predict, really. They live up to expectations. He doesn't disappoint on that front," Lucy said. She turned to Andrei and said, "She's done us a favor. We will be able to have that man arrested for ordering the murder of Dorin and Nina's father. Ensure you have someone tailing him and his associates to collect evidence."

As Andrei said, "Yes, Madam," Nina interrupted, asking, "If the Grand Inquisitor existed, why would he care about my father?"

"You've heard rumors about him, I suppose?"

"Ghost stories," Nina insisted. "There isn't anyone in the organization above the President."

"There is, and the Grand Inquisitor is Dorin's father-in-law. He is a man who is also very protective of his daughter, his one and only child."

"Whaaa…?" Nina screeched.

"Dorin and your father are about to be killed by the boogie man. It's my petulance that won't let the Grand Inquisitor have the satisfaction of having you killed, too. I plan to make it look like you ran. It will torture him to lead him to believe that you're living a happy life on the run."

Nina was truly scared for the first time. "He would have t-told me," she mumbled without any confidence.

Lucy shook her head and replied, "It's amusing to watch it dawn on you that you're incredibly outmatched at this game. Do you really think we would have let you in if you were a threat?"

"I didn't… realize…"

"You didn't realize how stupid you were. You thought you could trick me into biting you and have me die on whatever is in your blood?"

Nina didn't answer. She didn't need to. That was precisely what she had thought, and now she knew just how wrong she had been. Instead, she asked for one thing from the bottom of her heart, "Mercy…. Mercy, please," she begged.

"Is it mercy to let you watch your lover and your father be slaughtered? Is it mercy to let you suffer the consequences of your affair?"

"I-I don't know," Nina responded. Not knowing what to say.

Lucy's vamp sped to Nina and snapped her neck. It had happened so quickly the woman didn't even know it was coming. As she dropped the dead woman and let her fall to the floor, Lucy said, "That's probably mercy right there."

Andrei nodded and said, "He would have had her tortured to death. He's had that done for much smaller offenses than sleeping with his son-in-law."

At that moment, Dracula walked in. "You didn't get any blood on my carpet. Thank you, Andrei. I'm sure you insisted on that."

Lucy gave her husband a half smile. "Way to wait until you don't hear her heart beating anymore."

"I could hear that you had things handled in here. You're more than capable of that," Dracula replied. "And I partially agree. Her death was a mercy to her, but you weren't acting out of mercy. You want to torture the Grand Inquisitor with this."

Andrei typed on his phone, "I'm already making it look like Nina is on the run with a vast amount of money. He will believe she's off living the good life."

Lucy smirked at Dracula. "I was so right. Say, thank you."

"What?" Dracula asked, confused.

"When I met you, you didn't have a single servant in the house. I told you that the right people would be invaluable."

"And I have never had any trouble saying that you were right and I was wrong."

"Good. Otherwise, that would be wildly inconvenient for you. It happens too often," she replied, smirking.

Dracula replied, "You were right, but it's also true that none of them have been as clever and as helpful as Andrei. I am tempted to turn him into a Vampire to never lose his services."

Andrei flushed with pride and then set to work. He wanted to get rid of the body before Lucy and Dracula's daughter got home from school.