Darker City Streets

The drive had been quick. Sy had the "Family" send a cruiser to the station for him to drive. With as much care as possible, Sy helped the weary Sam into the car. He slid in next to her and drove her to where she told him. He circled the block several times, made various turns that sent them in the complete opposite direction, and finally pulled into where Sam lived.

Sy stepped from the car, his right hand went to the pistol that was on his hip. He everywhere, than opened the door for Sam. With ancient, knowing eyes, Sy watched Sam go through the motions of entering the home. She was on auto-pilot. Nothing would bring her from that state. Sy knew how weary she was, he had experienced that feeling thousands of times.

Once Sam was in her room, the door closed, Sy let out a sigh. He slipped his jacket off, folded it neatly, and laid it over the arm of a chair. Reaching into his pocket Sy drew a pack of cigarettes and a silver lighter. Sy quickly stepped outside. He lit the smoke, inhaled, and closed his eyes. The feeling of Seattle made the "man" think of his home. He hadn't been there for years.

His eyes opened up and the phone in his pocket vibrated. He saw it was "home". He hit the button and spoke.

"Yes?" Sy spoke in Latin. "No, I have not made contact. Yes. I will clean this situation up."

The voice on the other end was not pleased. With a click, Sy shook his head, slid his phone back into his pocket, flicked his cigarette out into the street, and went back in to the apartment. Sy locked the front the door, taking a chair and propped it up under the door knob. He checked the windows and than double checked everything. He wanted to make sure everything was secure. He definitely did not want to have his first encounter with his prey in an unprepared venue.

Sy slowly slipped his dark tie off, slipped his gun off of his hip, and took his white dress shirt off. He than systematically turned all of the lights off in Sam's home. Slowly, Sy sat down on a couch. His pistol was cocked, the safety off, and ready to go. He slowly closed his eyes. His hand slowly rested back on the firearm. Slowly, Sy's breathing became steady, deep. He wasn't asleep but he wasn't awake. His body could sense things that were happening all around him while his conscience self was not actually all there.

Cal paused the security footage and extracted a single frame. The frame she zoomed in until she could see clearly: it was Him, her master was approaching the house. Apparently "a few days" included a visit to the coven. She readjusted the zoom to his companion. Obviously a vampire, the speed at which she ran gave it away. For a brief second Cal wondered if he might have turned Samantha Adams. But then the face came into focus and Cal's brow crinkled. A young vampiress, one Cal had never seen, ran length for length with Him. The vampiress' face was a strange combination of anxious and comfortable. Her face showed signs of smudged out make-up and her blonde hair tangled out behind her. Blue eyes: Cal lifted a hand to her own face: blue eyes.

Cal began to advanced the frames in slow motion, watched the vampiress's face. The girl's eyes lifted to His face and the expression lost some anxious tension. Cal froze the frame again and an irrational fear rose like bile in her throat. He would not replace her. Would he?

The moment stretched on and she glanced to the real time footage a monitor to the side. They were slowing and approaching the front door.

Cal reached out a slender finger and pressed the intercom. "Brenden. I'm going to need a pot of tea and one of coffee, maybe some scones: surprise me." Her voice was terse and sharp. They would be here any minute. She stood and smoothed her dark hair over her head. It met and wrapped in a slightly messy bun at the nape of her neck. She'd found that the more severely she dressed, the older she looked, therefore more imposing and frightening. She checked her make-up, conservative and classic: elegant black liner and a nude lip, smoothed her long black trousers, straightened her purple chiffon top and sat back down. She pulled her glasses off the desk and put them on. There were reports on the desk, which she was now quite busy doing.

---

He paused at the door and turned to Joss with a smile. "There's no need to worry. I will take you up to meet Cal and she will take care of you." The girl's concentration was all inward and the Shadow turned and opened the door.

The few other vampires that they did see on the way up to the office were busy and only stopped to bow briefly to the Shadow. One or two of them gave Joss a once over, but on the whole they ignored her, for now. On the second floor in the back of the house, the Shadow opened the door to an office. The room was spacious, with big windows lining the back of the room. The light was slightly gray from the clouds outside, but the whole room was lit. The furniture was mostly low to the ground, square and microfiber, colors like rain. The walls were wood paneled and the decorations a dark green which made the space feel like an open and warm version of the drizly forests outside. Straight back against the big windows stood a desk with several monitors on it and a Newton's cradle, clacking away in the relative silence of the room. Behind the desk sat an apparently young woman, dressed in business attire, elegant and composed, she finished writing something and looked up through a pair of classy dark rimmed glasses. Her dark hair was pulled into a bun at the nape of her neck and her eyes were blue, like the Peugeot Sound. She stood as the Shadow extended a hand.

"This is Cal. She is my right hand, who I could not live without." Turning to the woman he continued. "Cal, this is Josselyn Stone. She will be staying with us as long as she wishes. Please make sure that she is well taken care of and don't bore her with the business." He turned back to Joss and took one of her hands. "I have some things to attend to, but I will see you again." Then he was gone, out the door, leaving the two vampiresses alone, with the clack of the Newton's cradle echoing in the room.

---

Cal stared at the girl unsure what to make of her. Don't bore her with the business, she thought, means the girl had no idea what the Shadow did for a living. The voice he had used was that of Edward Laughlin, she'd known him to use the character before. Well, no use in putting it off. She took off her glasses and walked around the desk with an over large smile.

"Hello, Miss Stone, please have a seat," she gestured to the chairs and walked over to them herself. "I've requested refreshments. Do you like coffee or tea?"