Chapter 1

The fog lay thick around the knees of the four friends as they walked through the cemetary, the moon above made ghostly by thin streamers of clouds. The only sounds were the soft rustle of leaves and crunching of brittle grass under their feet, and the far off sound of cars passing by.

"Wow..." Jeremy whispered as he turned slowly in a circle, arms spread wide. "This practically screams ‘Vampires' !"

Leo and Jessie both cracked up laughing at that, earning a glare from Teddy. "Shut the fuck up, you assholes! Are you trying to give us away?"

Leo managed to stop giggling before Jessie did and he snorted at Teddy. "Oh yeah .. As if there's anyone around to hear us anyway."

Jeremy jumped onto top of a tombstone and knocked on it's surface. "Are we bothering you, Ma'am?" He asked the stone, his head cocked to one side as if listening for a reply. "What's that? Uh huh.... uh huh.... yes, ma'am.. I'll be sure to tell him, ma'am." He hopped down off the head stone and leaned back against it, looking at Teddy. "She wants me to tell you the lighten the fuck up."

That did it. Leo and Jessie cracked up again. Teddy just glared and strode off amoung the graves leaving the others behind.

Jeremy looked annoyed and kicked at something hidden in the fog."Aww come off it, Ted! It was FUNNY! ‘Vampires! Get it? WE'RE...."

"SHUT THE FUCK UP!" Teddy screamed at him as he whirled around and stalked back to where Jeremy stood.

Leo and Jessie both rolled their eyes, knowing what was coming. Jeremy and Teddy were always at each others throats about one thing or another. But they had always been like that. They were brothers... Teddy the older by two years. Ben had shook his head when he found out... relatives are a no-no amoung us, apparently. Looking at Teddy and Jeremy, it wasn't hard to could guess why.

Teddy had grabbed Jeremy by the front of his shirt and was holding him off the ground.  They were both screaming at each other.. So Leo and Jessie wisely backed off a distance and found a place to sit down. The thick fog was swirling around nose level on them and their pale skin blended in pretty well with the stones, because THEY never noticed the two of them.

It happened so fast. One minute Teddy and Jeremy were screaming  and pounding on each other, the next they were screaming and pounding on themselves, trying to put out the flames.

Dark figures seemed to fly out from the fog and tackle them to the ground where what happened next was hidden from view by the same thick impenetrable whiteness that protected Jessie and Leo from THEM.
But they could hear the sharp crack of wood being struck, and gurgling sounds that quickly ended in faint hisses.

Jeremy and Teddy wouldn't fighting any more.

Jessie froze.... shocked and sickened at seeing two of her ‘siblings' killed right in front of her. A part of her brain was still functioning enough to realize that they hadn't been seen. Yet.

If these guys were worth their salt though, they'd know Leo and her were there... they would've heard them laughing and joking around with Teddy and Jeremy....

Leo's hand gripped hers and she turned her head slowly to look at him. He was staring at the dark figures moving through the fog, obviously searching for them.

 *We have to get out of here, Leo.. They're looking for us.*
He nodded, his thoughts coming to her faintly, as always.. For some reason, Leo's thoughts were never as clear as the others. *Promise we'll get them for this, Jess! *

She looked back out at where a couple of the figures were shoving what remained of their 'brothers' into what looked like big black garbage bags. * Yeah, Leo... we'll get them.. Don't worry. Just not now.. We have to find Ben and the others.*

He nodded again, and the two of them slowly lowered themselves to the ground and crawled as quickly and quietly as they could to the edge of the cemetary, then they gathered themselves and leaped up into the nearest tree. The rest of the way to the road they traveled through the tree tops.

Chapter 2

"And then when we reached the intersection we thumbed a ride back into town." Jessie said, watching Leo hugging his knees and staring into the fire. She couldn't bring herself to watch the flames directly.... knowing that somewhere out there Jeremy and Teddy were probably being burnt the rest of the way.

"And you had no idea they were there?" Ben asked, poking at the logs.

Both tenagers both shook their heads. "I couldn't sense them at all... no smell, no....feel.....they didn't exist." Jessie said softly.

Ben stood up and put the poker back in the rack. "Oh they existed alright ... Ted and Jerry are gone, thats proof enough of that. Someone out there has decided to train Hunters a bit more seriously, it seems...."

Jessie stood up, looking down at Leo. He always seemed so small and weak compared to the rest ... not as strong, not as fast, .... she felt Ben's quiet call and turned, walking over to join him at the window.

"You did right in not fighting, Jessie.... if you had, you and Leo would have wound up the same as Ted and Jerry. This isn't the first kill by these guys."

She looked up at him, his warm brown eyes were locked on hers. "They hit the others tonight as well. Shortly after you all left. Nikki called me just before..." He choked and turned away from me. "None of them escaped."

Jessie felt her knees go weak and grabbed at the window sill for support. Gone.. The whole colony wiped out in a single night. The three  here in this small apartment were the only ones left in the entire town.

"It's not safe here for you two. Get out... head for the city.... they'll have a harder time tracking you down. Find and warn any others you come across. "

She nodded weakly, still overwhelmed. then his words hit her... "Wait! You're not coming with us??"

He shook his head, turning back to stare at the reflection of the flames on the window pane. "No. There is some one i have to speak with. some one who has to be told of this. Take Leo and go. There's money in the box on the shelf... take it all.. i don't need it."

Before she could say anything else, he turned, grabbed a jacket off the back of the door and was gone. A few seconds later the rumble of his car started and faded away into the distance.

Jessie sighed and turned back to see Leo still staring into the fire. He was rocking slowly back and forth, mumbling something over and over, so she walked over to the  book shelves and and got the money, counting quickly through it.... $437. She shoved it into her jeans and turned back to the fire. "Come on Leo... we've got to go. " She grabbed her jacket and pulled it back on. Leo didn't move except for the gentle rocking, so she called again. Finally, she walked over and squatted down next to him.

Now she could hear what he was saying and it made her skin crawl. "Burn baby burn ... burn baby burn ... all gonna burn ... burn baby burn ..."  Jessie swallowed hard at the knot of fear that was caught in her throat and gave Leo's shoulder a gentle shake. She hated when he slipped like this...  it gave her the creeps. "Come on, kiddo... we gotta go."

Leo looked up at her and nodded, dragging a dirty sleeve across his eyes to stop the tears. "K.... " he stumbled to his feet, and trudged along behind her, snifling. "Jessie...?"   She turned back to look at him as she opened the door. He was hugging himself. "I'm scared..."

 She pulled him close and held him for a moment, stroking his hair. "I know, kid .... me too."  

Chapter 3

The young man in the cowboy hat yawned and recrossed his ankles on the window sill ,while his friend kept watch out the other side of the car.

"Ye should try being less obvious, sometime, Nate.... th' idea is fer them t' NOT know their being watched..."

There was a soft snort from under the hat, which had been tipped forward to cover his face. "Do I look like I'm watchin' anyone, Eire?" he answered, the Scottish burr at odds with the biker-cowboy image. He smirked and tipped the hat up enough to glance in the rearview mirror at their passenger. "How're ye keepin' back there, kid?"

The 'kid' in question smiled weakly then went back to staring out the window. Nate sighed and let the hat fall back over his face. He'd agreed that Bull needed more 'mission' time, but wasn't sure 'vamp watch' qualified. The kid had more experience then this.. this.. was true newbie duty... the first level of training... take them out for a vamp watch...

"Anyone else bored out of ther flippin' minds?" Eire asked from his seat as he turned from the window. "Why are we doin' this, mate?" he asked softly in his Irish brogue. "We should be out huntin' th' buggers.. not watchin' them.. watchin' 'em is for training newbies..."

Bull snorted from his seat. "That's what you get for letting me tag along..." he said mildly, one hand absently tugging the  black and grey stocking cap a bit lower over his head.

Nate snorted in return. "Yer not a newbie, Bull.. ye can handle a hunt. Yer damned fine with tha' bow o' yers. Hell, man.. ye could be pickin' th' buggers off while we're sitting here..."

"Doesn't make much sense.... sending yer two most experienced hunters out on a watch with yer best bowman...." Eire said softly, his gaze back on the building across the park.

Nate smirked softly as he heard Bull shift in the seat behind them at Eire's comment. The kid just couldn't seem to accept that he was good at something, that he was a part of the team and not just the 'class clown'. "The Lady has her reasons... always does... just have t' sit tight till we figure 'em out..."

Eire made some small sound at that and Bull shifted in his seat again. "So...." came Bull's voice form behind them. "You're really going through with it? Marrying Meeks, I mean?"

Nate grinned. "Aye... I'm really goin' through with it. Ye sound surprised... we've been engaged fer almost four months now..."

"Yeah... but..." there was a pause and Nate imagined he'd shrugged or something similar. "I don't know... she just doesn't seem... right for you."

Nate tipped the hat back as he sat up, his feet coming back inside the car. "What'd'ye mean? Aiy's perfect fer me..."

Bull was blushing as he shook his head, not looking at him. "No... I mean... I just think...  you're too much alike... it's like... if you were a girl.. you'd be her..."

Eire cracked up in a sputering laugh beside him and Nate turned a look at him. "Sorry, Mate... but he's got a point... an' a right nasty image that I'm not goin' t' be rid of...."

Nate snorted and looked back at Bull. "An' what exactly is m' type, if Aiyla's not it?"

Bull blushed harder as he shrugged. "I don't know... you just seem... well.. kind of old fashioned hero, you know? Like you need someone you can take care of.... Meeks is the exact opposite of that..."

Nate snorted softly at that as he turned back around in his seat, Eire laughing as quietly as he could beside him. "Don' bloody say it, boyo... " he said, eyeing his best friend.

Eire just laughed a bit harder and sent Bull a grin over the seat before turning back to Nate. "He's right... been tryin' t' tell ye the same fer ages..."

Nate's reply was cut off by Bull suddenly leaning between them. "Runner." he said softly, pointing out the window past Eire's nose.

Both men watched as a dark figure slipped from a second story balcony and dodged across the lawn and into the park. "Eire.. what d' ye think.. one of our boys?"

Eire nodded slowly. "I'd say so... scents about right, what I can catch of it from here, anyway..."

Nate glanced at Bull. "So... do we split an' watch him an' th' others... or sit tight an' watch th' buildin' like our original orders said t' do...?

Bull smirked. "Well.. I'm the boyscout... as boring as it is, I say stick with the orginal plan... but you two are in charge..."

Nate and Eire exchanged looks, slow grins spreading across their faces.

   Chapter Four

Jessie  jerked awake suddenly, gasping for breath. The smell of smoke and charred flesh were strong, making her gag as she scrabbled to her feet. But there was no smoke... no fire... no burning bodies...

She was alone in a dark, dank basement... a pale reddish streak of light was painted on the wall farthest from her. A quick look showed a rip in the old blanket that they'd used to cover the only window.

A sudden rustle and a squeal made her jump in fear. Leo emerged from behind a stack of boxes grinning. "Look what I caught, Jessie!! Isn't he cute?!" He said, holding up a mouse for inspection.

Jessie sighed, trying to calm her racing heart. "Yeah Leo.. he's real cute." she had to calm down. She knew she was way to jumpy. They'd been on the run for almost a week now, but the dreams kept that night fresh in her thoughts. Every sound had her jumping out of her skin with the foreboding that this time it was Them.

"I'm gonna name him ... Kermit..." Leo said, distracting her from her brooding.

"Kermit? Kermit the mouse?" she asked, looking up at him... a smile starting to tug at the corners of her mouth. "Leo... Kermit's a frog!" The smile died as she saw Leo standing there staring off into space. "Leo?" Damn .. he'd slipped again. Why did Leo have so little control over his gifts?

Jessie sighed and decided the best thing was to try to find out what made him zone out. She closed my eyes and relaxed, reaching out like Ben had taught them.. letting her mind take her flying....

The sun was just disappearing below the horizon, leaving the sky a haze of purples and blues, spotted with pink-tinged clouds... a couple bums were passed out on the upper floors of the old building above them... mice and rats scurried through the walls and hallways.. the streets were mostly dark and deserted ...

*Nothing* she called to him.... *Leo.. there's nothing here...*

Satisfied that there was no immediate danger she let herself 'fall' back and opened her eyes to find Leo sitting cross legged on the floor playing with 'Kermit'. Jessie sighed again at the grin on his face as he glanced up. "Can I keep him, Jess? Please?"

"Yeah.. sure you can Leo..." she said as she stood up, knowing it was no good asking him what he'd seen .. he wouldn't remember... he never did. "Come on.. the sun's down ; we should get moving again. It feels like there's a small group a few miles to the north, maybe they can helps us."

"Hey Jess?" Leo called as she was about to head up the stairs. "I'm hungry. When can we eat?"

"Leo," Jessie said shaking her head... a small smile lifting the corners of her mouth. "You are always hungry." But her own mouth watered at the thought. They weren't used to living like this. Back home they'd had the farms to supply them with blood, but out here, there were no cattle waiting to be bled. They 'd been taught that human blood was only for special occasions and ceremonies, but Jessie knew that only the colony vampires believed this. To vamps in the outside world... humans were cattle.. the main source of blood.

One of the bums on the upper floor began to shout and curse at someone and she swallowed hard. "Come on Leo.. maybe we can find another stray dog... either that or catch some more rats" she tried to suppress my shudder.... she wasn't overly fond of rats.. but she wasn't ready to throw away everything she'd been taught and feed off a human either.

Leo sighed loudly as they climbed the stairs. "But Jess... there's not enough in them... they're so small... we kill them... we shouldn't kill them..."

Jessie knew he was right. They'd been taught that to kill to feed was wrong. But it was so hard with small animals... and they had to eat…

She stopped suddenly as a thought occured to her. "Hang on, Leo... I just thought of something..."

She closed her eyes and sent herself 'flying' again... searching.... then she found it. A slaughter house. With pens full of cattle and pigs. She bit her lips in frustration as she saw that it was to the east of them.... no where near the vampires she'd sensed before. She filed away the location and returned to Leo. Other vamps be damned.... they could wait. They hadn't had a decent meal since they'd left and they were beginning to weaken.

Besides.... she'd felt something at the plant. It was weak, but it could be a couple lone vamps...

"Come on Leo... lets go eat. I found us some real food." 

Chapter Five

There was something wrong... She could feel it. The cattle pens were full, and the place seemed to be deserted other then the animals and a security guard, so she helped Leo over the fence. "Eat... I'll keep an eye out..." Not needing to be told twice, he quickly vanished amoung the animals.

Jessie moved away from the fence and stood in the shadow of one of the big trucks used to haul the cattle. The feel of something wrong was strong... she couldn't shake it. And now the smell of the cattle and the blood so near was driving her nuts!

She waited ... after five minutes, she saw the security guard walk past one of the few lit windows, and then the light went out. Again that feeling of wrongness overcame her.

Another five minutes, and Leo climbed the fence and lept to the ground. Jessie quickly slipped out of her hiding place and went to the fence. * Keep an eye out.. something feels wrong* She called to him as she made the jump to the ground and lost herself among the herd.

God she was so hungry!! She took a bit from four steers and was on her fifth when Leo called her. * Jessie! Come here!! Quick!* She was over the fence and by his side in seconds, the full meal and fear lending her speed. The sight that greeted her made her immediately wish she hadn't just eaten. Leo had gotten bored and had went to snoop in the truck.... and when he'd opened the door the driver had fallen out. His throat had been viscously ripped out, but the only blood was the bit soaked into his shirt.

Jessie suddenly felt cold... very cold. She backed away from the body, pulling a horrorified Leo with her. * He's dead, Jessie!! They killed him!!* No need to say who they were... vampires were the only ones who'd leave so little blood... but the torn throat reminded her more of the werewolf victim she'd seen last year, not at all like the neat little punctures or cut that a vampire left behind when they were careless.

She shuddered at the thought that one of her own people did this... Vampires didn't kill.. and not like .... this... 'No,' I thought. 'That's not true... Colony vampires didn't kill... but this isn't the colony... and these weren't my people.' Jessie took one last look at the body before she turned and left. City vampires had just reached the same level as werewolves in her book... sick, viscous animals... animals that needed to be stopped.

Suddenly she remembered the security guard and just as suddenly she realized it was too late... the feel of him was gone too... whoever... no... whatever had done this was still here, and had already killed the only two humans here.

Another life lost...

She couldn't help but wish the Hunters had found these vampires instead of them, and then another thought hit her... if this was how city vamps left things, then they were the reason the Hunters had attacked... hell.. they were the reason the Hunters were around at all! Once again the innocent suffer while the guilty go free...

In those few moments her whole view of the world changed...

Chapter Six

“So… you just abandoned your assignment?” The delicate looking young woman asked from her stand by the window. She was dressed in a conservative yet stylish looking charcoal grey pant suit, with her soft white hair pulled back from her face, but flowing loose down her back. The three men watched as she crossed her arms over her chest, still not looking at them. “Abadoned your assignment and proceeded to follow one lone vampire half way across town where you eventually lost him…. But not until you managed to… I’m sorry.. what was that total again, Lex?”

An even more delicate looking red head adjusted a pair of reading glasses on a pert nose and checked the black leather bound book in his hands. He shot the three men an apologetic look before reading the list. “One hundred and forty three thousand dollars… roughly. We’ll have the exact amount when the insurance claims are finished.”

Nate sighed and sank a bit lower in his chair. Bull, he noticed, had his hat pulled as low as it could possibly go and was apparently trying to shrink in on himself to avoid being noticed. Eire merely snorted softly at the number and checked his nails. “Look, Kay… we had t’ choose an’ we did… fer th’ record, Bull recommended remaining with th’ assigned watch.. E’ an’ myself out voted him.”

Lady Chaos turned from her window and raised an eyebrow at him. “Nate. Shut up.” She said calmly and he winced. When she got calm and composed… things were bad. “I asked you guys to watch a building. WATCH a building. A simple, easy assignment.” She walked past them to her desk, running her fingers along the various blades displayed on her wall along the way. “Instead, you decide to leave the building unwatched and chase a vampire down… and then after causing considerable damage to three vehicles, two store fronts and a fire hydrant.. you loose him.” She turned a raised eyebrow to Eire actually causing the Irishman to blush slightly. “You… my best tracker… lost him.”

She raised a hand to cut off any protests. “No… I don’t want to hear any excuses. I thought I could depend on the three of you to do a job without my having to explain my reasons behind it… apparently I was wrong.” She sank down into her chair. “While you gentleman were away from your post, the building was torched. Nine humans either managed to escape or were rescued, but of the suspected twelve vampires we believed were holed up inside, none got away. I had a scan done and traces of their remains were there… but only traces.”

Nate exchanged curious glances with Eire and Lex, but Bull was too far gone. The half demon was slouched in his chair as far as he could, the stocking cap yanked down over his ears and brushing the top of his eyes as he stared resolutely at the floor. “Sorry an’ all… but.. so what? Tha’s twelve less vamps t’ worry about, ifn ye ask me…”

Chaos shot him a cold look and he realized just how pissed at him she was. “I didn’t ask you, Nate. You two… out. Nate ... stay put.” She said softly, motioning Eire and Bull towards the door. Eire opened his mouth to protest but Lex lay a hand on his shoulder and shook his head softly. “Out.” Chaos repeated and Bull quickly scooted from his chair and all but ran for the door. Eire cast a look at Nate, and at the small nod from his best friend sighed and stood. He turned back at the door and cast one last glance back at the decorative standing screen that halved the office and blocked the desk and the remaining three people from his view. With another soft snort, he shook his head before closing the door behind him.

Lex gave Nate an apologetic look before slipping behind the screen to the smaller desk in the front half of the room where he took a seat and finished transcribing his notes into the file, trying not to eavesdrop too much. If Kay had wanted him to leave, she would have told him to… but he had no intention of staying in the line of fire, either.

Kay waited until the two of them were alone and Nate had started to squirm slightly. “You fucked up, Nate.” She said softly. “I trusted you and you fucked up. It was a watch… a WATCH! Why is it so damn hard for you to just sit still for a couple hours and keep an eye on something without going all gung ho and charging off half cocked?!” She sighed and leaned back in her chair, her eyes never leaving him. “I suppose I should’ve known better then teaming you and Eire together on this… but I wanted my best there in case something happened. And it did. Just my best weren’t there to handle it any longer…”

Nate sighed and sat forward in his chair, but she wasn’t ready to let him speak. She jabbed a finger at him as she continued to speak. “And you dragged Bull into your crap! The guy needs some ego boosting and self confindence, Nate… you and Eire dragging him into shit and putting black marks on his file isn’t going to do that!”

Nate waited a breath or two for her to say more before attempting to get a word or two of his own in. “Look, Kay…I’m sorry things went in th’ shitter. I’m sorry fer th’ damages.. I’ll foot th’ damned bill m’self if it’s such a problem. But.. I just cannae see what th’ big deal about a bunch of dead vamps is.”

Kay sighed and covered her face with her hands and she leaned back in her chair. “Not all vamps are bad guys, Nate… just the majority of them…”

Nate raised an eyebrow. “Aye I know tha’… Rue an’ Sands are a case in point.. course, ther also th’ exception t’ the rule an’ not full vamps..” he said then leaned back in his chair, the soft sound of Lex typing away on the other side of the room oddly comforting. “So yer sayin’ the dozen tha’ got torched were good lil’ vamps?”

Kay gave a soft groan. “No… yes.. I don’t know.” She said with a sigh and sat forward, her hand dropping to her desk. “All I know is I received a message from an old acquaintance. I’m still deciphering most of it, but I did get the part about vampires being in danger. I did some checking and found out about this group that was living together and I thought they’d be an obvious target. Turns out I was right.” She sighed again. “Sometimes I hate being right.”

“So… we’re protectin’ th’ blood suckers now? Damned stupid idea  ifn ye ask me.” Nate asked incredulously and he heard the typing suddenly stop.

Lady Chaos sat up and shot him a glare. “Which is why I didn’t ask you, Nathaniel. I know you’ve been distracted with your up coming wedding and all… but please get your head out of your ass enough to do your job properly… or take a leave of absence so I don’t have to worry about you anymore.” She grabbed a file from the inbox on her desk and turned her attention to the paperwork inside. “Inform Lex as to whether or not you’ll be continuing leading this assignment, please. He’ll be supervising.”

Nate raised an eyebrow at the obvious dismissal in her tone. He didn’t know what was going on and he didn’t like the way the whole thing was starting to feel. A former vampire and demon hunter, Lady Chaos wasn’t one given to a soft heart where the welfare of bloodsuckers was concerned. That she was even looking into this bothered him. After a moment he sighed and pushed himself out of the chair, heading around the screen to where Lex sat, blushing slightly as he stared intently at the computer screen in front of him. “If yer goin’ t’ pretend ye cannae hear everythin.. ye might want t’ invest in a pair of earphones…” he said with a soft smirk. “Keep an eye on her, Lex… something ain’t right about all o’ this.” He added softly as he opened the door and slipped into the hall.

 The petite red head glanced towards the screen at his back, blushing a bit more. He wasn’t used to everyone depending on him for things… Chaos’s assigning him this case at first seemed like another attempt to keep him busy and out of trouble. But if he was really supervisor…

He nibbled lightly at his thumb nail and debated on whether or not he should ask her what that entailed. The thought sparked a soft smirk and he exited the file he was working on quickly going in search of something else.

Chapter Seven

The last touch of red was just vanishing from the darkening sky when Kylie stepped outside. She took a deep breath of the cool night air, savoring the leftover scent of barbeque underlying the sharp scent of fresh mown grass, tugging her jacket closer about her, the worn denim cool against her skin.

 Pulling the door shut behind her, she set off at a brisk walk down the walkway and across the deserted street. She didn't mind the cold.... hardly even noticed it. She only wore the ragged old jean jacket because it had once belonged to Jack.

 As she past the large old maple tree at the corner lot, she paused, looking up into the dark, whispering leaves, and rubbing the coller of the jacket lightly, remembering climbing this same tree with him when they were kids. It seemed like so long ago, but in truth it couldn't be more than a few years. Just a short time ago she was goofing off with Jack, skipping school, sneaking out with him to go to some party she'd been forbidden to attend, making out with him in the corner of some crowded room while their friends danced and partied around them.

She sighed, shoving the memories away, and forced herself to keep moving. Two blocks from her house, a car loaded with kids screeched past her, the blare of music deafening even with their windows up. She cringed at the sound, resisting the urge to cover her ears, and watched them disappear around the corner. They'd turn around and come back towards her, she knew. She'd heard the guys call out to her, and had even heard them yell at the driver to go back.

Kylie stuck her hands in her pockets, and kept walking, staining to hear the sound of their return. Sure enough, half a block later, the same car careened around the corner and slowed to a crawl to match her pace.

"Hey !" one of the guys called, sticking his head out of the window, a cloud of sweet smelling marijuana smoke wafted out with him. "Need a ride? "Another guy shoved him out of the way, and handed the joint out the window to her. "Heading to a party.. Wanna come?" A chorus of "yeah, baby, come party with us' and ‘come on, baby's" sounded from within the car, and Kylie stifled a smirk. She waved off the joint, but reached out to open the door. The first guy stumbled in his haste to let her in, falling out onto the sidewalk at her feet. His buddies cracked up laughing, one of them throwing an empty beer can at him. Kylie climbed into the backseat with the two guys already there, and the first one picked himself up and climbed back in.

Kylie, ignored the talk and jokes around her.. ignored the guys on either side of her who had their hands on her thighs. She kept running through how to do it with a minimum of fuss and mess. Jack had never bothered to think things through first, and he'd paid for his screw ups. She wasn't about to let the same thing happen to her.

The guy on her left, leaned in and kissed her, his tongue forcing its way past her lips. She let him kiss her, twisting around to face him better, and wrapped her arms around him. She could hear the guy next her mumble something, and felt his hands creep up under her shirt as his mouth found her neck.

She focused her attention on the kiss, sucking on his tongue to draw it into her own mouth. Then quickly bit down. He gave a yipe, stifled through the kiss, but quickly relaxed in her arms, moaning slightly. After a few minutes, she released him, letting him slump back against the seat, and turned her attention to the second guy. Using the same method as with the first she quickly fed, leaving him dazed and semi-concious slumped against the seat.

The other two would be tricky. She'd have to take them before the first two recovered from the stupor feeding caused. Already the first one was showing signs of coming around.

She leaned forward and pulled the passengers head back, capturing his mouth in her special kiss. His buddy behind the wheel none the wiser to what she was really doing. Just as she was finishing, a hand clamped onto her shoulder, pulling her away. It was the first guy, blood dribbling down the corner of his mouth, a shocked expression on his face.

"Hey man! You're bleedin' on my CAR!" the driver yelled at his friend as he caught sight of him in the mirror. Kylie took advantage of his distraction and grabbed the wheel, giving it a hard jerk to the right. The driver shrieked a curse at her as the car swerved sharply and he tried bring the car back under control. Meanwhile his buddy had been slammed into the window by her stunt and was slumped half on the seat moaning.

The car jerked to a halt and the driver turned his full attention on her, cursing at her. Kylie growled in frustration and suddenly snapped forward, grabbing him by the throat. "Shut up." she snarled, flashing her fangs at him. His eyes went wide at the site of the deadly points and he began to squirm, clawing at her hands. Her frustration grew as she heard both of the guys behind her beginning to come around. With a growl the opened the guys eyes even wider she suddenly tossed him forward at the windshield. His head struck the glass with a thud and a spider web of cracks appeared. With the driver out cold and the other three beginning to come around, she quickly exited the car. A quick glance around showed her what she needed. Kylie walked around to the front of the car and pushed, forcing the car to move until it faced the large chain link fence a few yards away. Leaning in through the drivers window, she shoved the unconcious boys' foot onto the gas pedal and popped the clutch.

Kylie jumped back and watched as the car squealed away and crashed into the fence.  She gently bit her lip and she watched the silouettes inside the vehicle. She hoped they weren't hurt too bad. They'd come too and find themselves smashed half through the fence and think it was a dream. At least, that's what she hoped. No one else would believe them anyhow... drugs and booze in the car and in their systems... they were hallucinating and crashed.

Kylie relaxed slightly as she saw movement inside the vehicle. She gave a sigh, shoved her hands inside her pockets and walked away. God, she hated living like this! Sure... so far she'd been lucky enough that she'd been able to stay at her home, but that wasn't going to last much longer. She glanced up at the sky as she walked, hoping to see some trace of the moon, but it hadn't risen high enough to be seen here yet.

Damn Jack for getting her into this! Skulking around, stealing blood from hospitals when she could, from people when she couldn't. Always on the watch for people who might recognize her for what she now was....Kylie sighed again, hunching deeper into her jacket as she returned her gaze to the street. God she missed  the sunshine!

God, she missed Jack...

Chapter Nine

Nate raised an eyebrow as he tipped his hat back, looking around before returning his gaze to the slim red head that had just climbed into the jeep beside him. “’Llo, Lexi… I’m actually expectin’…”

“Me.” Lex finished, cutting him off. “I’m your partner for the night. Eire and Bull have their assignment and are already on their way. You’re with me.”

Nate sat there for a moment, a smirk tugging at the corner of his mouth as he watched the young fire elemental stash his messenger bag under the seat and adjust his seat belt. When the car didn’t start, Lex looked over at him, one dainty red eyebrow raised. “Well?”

Nate snorted, the smirk breaking free as he fixed his hat, starting the car. He shook his head slightly, enjoying the young man’s nerve. Lex had been far more reserved and out of sorts lately. He knew the red head loved his new job as head of the Archives and was enjoying the challenge of getting the archives up and running, but he also knew that he wasn’t handling his exclusion from active duty very well. Lex was too much of a free spirit and needed to be out with the team… but thanks to a death curse barely being held in check, any use of his elemental abilities drained him alarmingly. Add in the fact that the kid was a walking target for every big bad out there, and it was understandable why he’d been taken off the active roster.

“Kay’s goin’ t’ have a fit, ye know…” Nate said as they pulled out onto the street. Lex ignored him as he set the GPS and leaned back in his seat, tugging at the collar of the black trench coat. It was almost odd seeing Lex dressed back in the gothic punk garb he’d worn when they first met. In the previous months his style had shifted away slightly, leaning towards a bit more color and less punk. At the office he tended to dress what Sylvie termed ‘business casual’ and more often then not had a feminine flair to his look. Which was fine. To be truthful, Lex looked damned good dressed as a girl and seemed to be a lot more at ease dressed that way. Most of the visitors to Chaos Inc. never realized the shy young red head with the inverted tear drop tattoos wasn’t a girl.

At Lex’s continued silence Nate sighed. “Kay’s already pissed at me, Lexi… don’ go getting’ me in deeper shite with her. Just because as a partner she cannae fire me, doesnae mean I want t’ be on th’ woman’s bad side…”

Lex snorted. “You won’t get in trouble, Nate. She appointed me as the supervisor to this case… you heard her. As supervisor it is within my rights to accompany the team on assignments. I checked. While our office doesn’t generally use supervisors, the New York office does and has the regulations on file.” Lex offered a sideways smirk at the copper haired cowboy. “If she didn’t mean for me to take a more active role.. she should’ve given it more thought before appointing me..”

Nate caught the sly look the red head shot him and chuckled softly as he followed the directions on the gps. “Lards boyo… “

Lex sighed and leaned back against the seat, a soft smile playing over his face. “Don’t worry. I’ll behave and take it easy… I won’t put myself in danger. I just…”

Nate shook his head. “I know, lad. Was wonderin’ when ye’d slip th’ yoke. At least yer with me an’ didnae slip off on yer own again. Guess yer learnin’.” He said with a wink.

Lex snorted, turning his gaze out the window. “Yeah… a person can only take so many kidnapping and torture sessions in one lifetime…” he muttered softly. In the past couple months Lex had been kidnapped and abused twice .. once during a case in early February, then again in mid march. There had been other attempts to get the kid that they’d managed to stop in time, but Nate wasn’t sure how many Lex even knew about.

“So, boss… what’s th’ game plan? Ye were talking about makin’ contact with some vamps an’ getting’ a handle on some rumors… I’m  guessin’ E’ an’ Bull are doin’ more recon…?”

Lex blushed slightly at Nate calling him ‘boss’. “Kay’s managed to decipher more of the message she received and it looks like someone’s trained some highly specialized hunters. The message was sent after what appears to be their first attack on vamps… a colony in a small town a few hundred miles east of here about a week ago..” He checked the gps as he spoke. “I’ve checked with a few vamp contacts and from what I can tell, there have been other attacks on vamps since then. Always a group of vamps... never solo attacks. “

Nate whistled softly. “Goin’ fer th’ hard kills. Tryin’ t’ prove somethin’?”

Lex shook his head, frowning slightly. “I don’t think so. The groups are all relatively peaceful and don’t kill human’s unless directly threatened or attacked. Rue suggested that the hunters see them as being weaker because of this and have singled them out…” He sighed and began toying with the ring on the slave collar he wore; a leftover reminder of his life as a slave in hell. One that might very well be with him forever if they couldn’t find a way to remove it. “I’m hoping the Kay can decipher the rest of the message soon and that it can give some clue to these guys… You know how hard it is to sneak up on a vamp and kill it… even with a team behind you. And yet in a week, these guys have taken out at least a hundred vamps! In a week! And not a single casualty from what we’ve been able to find…”

Nate gave a low whistle, almost losing control  of the car when Lex said how many these new hunters had taken out. “Shite… a hundred in a week… think we can hire ‘em?”

Lex shot him a look and he chuckled softly. “Jokin’ lad.. I know… this time round, th’ hunters are the bad guys an’ th’ vamps are th’ victims tha’ we’re out t’ protect…” Nate shook his head, smiling softly at the irony of it. “Just seems really fucked up…”

Lex snorted, smirking softly himself. “I’m not arguing.” He said simply. “Eire and Bull are checking out the west side of town.. there was a suspicious death out at a slaughter house on the edge of town last night. Cops are publicly claiming ‘ suspicious’, but is obviously para…  unofficially its been tagged as werewolf, but the lack of blood has it split fifty-fifty between the furry and a really viscious vamp kill. With all this, I’m betting vamp. Eire’ll swing by and check it out to be sure though.”

Nate rested one arm one the open window, enjoying the warm spring night. “An’ we’re checkin’ out th’ east side? Any leads or are we just out fer a drive?”

Lex smirked softly. “Just keep your eyes and what not peeled for anything out of the ordinary. If we spot any of our contacts we can stop and see if they’d heard anything that might help.”

“I’m impressed, lad… ye’re actually stickin’ with th’ ‘ keepin’ safe’ policy..” Nate said softly. “Takin’ th’ safer route fer yerself... that’ll look good when yer hauled in t’ Kay’s office with yer da an’ Faal glaring holes int’ ye…”

Lex simply snorted again and ejected the cd from the player to see what it was. “Nickelback?! Nathaniel!” he said in mock horror, slipping the disc back in with a smirk. “Planning on blaming it on some one else?”

“Of course. Damn Reese stealin’ m’ jeep an’ playin’  his crap.” Nate said with a smirk of his own.

Lex snorted again. “Shall I dig out something more along the lines of your usual?”

Nate shot him a smirk. “Fuck.. ye don’t see E’ or th’ other bastards around do ye? Hit th’ play, lad.”

Lex shook his head softly as he pressed play and adjusted the volume. He’d caught Nate listening to BonJovi one night a few weeks. Once Lex knew that Nate secretly was a big fan of some of his favorites on both sides of the argument and only argued to annoy the others, he’d found himself enjoying the arguments a lot more as well and often started them himself. He was pretty sure Eire knew the truth… and he figured Nate felt the same too… but neither said anything about it, preferring to play the game. He had to admit… climbing into a van full of tough bounty hunters and slipping in a cd of classical music was rather fun… you learned so many new words and phrases…