Chapter 2: She's Good

“You shot Oprah?” Aaron asked through his IAC as he saw the Hunter he was working with, Aurora Howe, standing next to what used to be a wax figure in the form of the famous talk-show host.

“Not on purpose!” Aurora replied. “She... got in the way.”

They’d already taken out four of the five Vampires who’d decided a wax museum was the perfect place to hide, and Aaron was on the trail of the last one who seemed to think the famous villains special display area of the attraction was the best place to hide. He had to agree. He kept his footsteps light as he crossed in front of a replica of Jack the Ripper, noting it looked nothing like the man he’d thrown from the Brooklyn Bridge over a hundred years ago.

Up ahead of him, the Vampire sensed him coming and took off again, tossing over the form of another serial killer just as Aaron leapt up in the air, clearing it and landing a few feet away from the Vampire as he rounded a corner, headed back toward the escalators.

“Coming back your way,” he said to Aurora who should’ve recovered from her missed shot by now. At least her second bullet had taken out the Vampire she’d been aiming at.

The Vampire mistakenly jumped onto the elevator headed up instead of down, so when Aaron came around the corner, he had a split second to fire while the older man with a scraggily beard determined he was going nowhere. His shot grazed the Vampire’s abdomen, sending a trail of smoky ash pluming out as the creature rocketed himself backward off of the moving walkway. He landed at the bottom in a thud just as Aaron reached the opening of the escalator leading down. Rather than taking the traditional method, he propelled himself onto the center barricade, dropping down and sliding to the first floor as the Vampire regained his footing. It was too late for the bloodsucker, however.

Aaron holstered his Glock as he leapt into the air, grabbing ahold of the scrawny old monster from behind. The monster shouted in protest, but there was little he could do. He’d survived this long because he was a coward, hiding in the shadows while his cohorts took the brunt of the fight. Now, with his hands wrapped securely around the narrow neck, all Aaron had to do was twist, and the Vampire’s head popped off a few seconds before he turned to ash.

“Done!” Aurora exclaimed, rounding the corner.

Aaron sat back for a moment, catching his breath. “We might be, but Cadence and Jamie are still busy. And we need to get some locals in here to clean up this mess. Maybe see if they can fix Oprah’s face.”

“That was an accident,” Aurora reminded him, offering her hand. He took it and she pulled him to standing. “I like Oprah.”

“Who doesn’t like Oprah?” he replied, checking that all of his weapons were where they should be. Satisfied they hadn’t left anything behind, they started moving toward the exit, glad that at least the museum had been closed when the group they’d been chasing decided to take cover there. Cadence and Elliott had an audience to contend with, and so did Jamie and Ashley. For a moment, he wished he’d brought Brandon along to start the interference process because Elliott was still tied up, but there was nothing he could do about it now. “Let’s go pull the tapes. At least we can get rid of the video evidence.”

“Too bad Christian isn’t here to take care of that,” Aurora muttered, walking alongside him.

Aaron stopped. “Did you actually just say ‘too bad Christian isn’t here’?”

Aurora shook her head. “What is wrong with me tonight?”

Stifling a laugh, Aaron continued on his way. Christian Henry, the tech guru, had been left at home to help Hannah Robertson run things while he and Cadence were gone, or at least that’s what he’d been told. With each passing day, it seemed Christian got even more cantankerous, almost to the point that Aaron was willing to transfer him. Maybe he would’ve been better at pulling any video recordings they’d left around the strip, but Aaron would rather do it himself than put up with Christian any more than he had to.

“Are you sure we shouldn’t go help Cadence?” Aurora asked, following Aaron into a back office that had to be where they kept their surveillance equipment. Locks and alarms were no problem for them, and once inside, it only took him a second to see what he needed to do.

He had been watching Cadence the entire time through the IAC, a computer chip embedded in his eye, and knew she was making her way down one of the canals, the Vampire she was chasing only a few feet ahead of her as they neared the outer area where more gondolas were sitting, ready for early morning clients. “Nah, she’s got it.”

Cursing herself for not spending more time in the pool, Cadence pulled her way through the water, trying not to swallow any more of it. Not that the few gulps that had found their way down her throat had gotten there intentionally, but the Vampire in front of her had a way of kicking out so that Cadence was splashed in the face with nearly every stroke. She’d be happy when this was over and she could make her way back to her cushy suite in the Bellagio. A warm shower was sounding really good about now.

They were outside now. The canal opened up in front of them into what resembled a large pool. Dozens of gondolas were parked out here as well, advertising the rides to anyone who might be walking by. The woman was out of options, and she knew it.

The water wasn’t too deep, so Cadence stopped swimming, coming to her feet, watching to see where the monster would make her move. Over in the shadows near yet another marble wall that ran through the walkway, she could see her partner waiting. While she was glad to have Elliott’s help, she was in the mood to ring the head off of this one herself, especially since she was pretty sure her new leather boots were ruined from the swim.