Hunting Nightcrawlers

In the streets of a city like Las Vegas, it was too easy for a creature of the night to hide, to stalk, to feed. And it was up to people like Kris to stop them. The vampire hunter stood on the main strip, garbed in bright colors that glowed in neon and lcd lighting. The chains hanging down his legs in 'decoration' were really perfect weapons, able to be used in a multitude of battles.

Glancing down the strip towards the Luxor, he spotted a partner of his giving the signal he was going inside. He returned it and glanced at the nightclub he stood before. Just recently opened, all the young adults old enough to party would be inside, and would be the perfect prey for any wandering vampire.

Flexing his fingers slightly, he flashed the bouncer his id and entered. Immediately pulsing lights, music with ear popping bass, and writhing forms greeted his eyes. Inside the club was much larger than it appeared, and the vampire hunter bit his bottom lip. Tonight was going to be much more difficult than usual, even with five years experience. But he had to find the sire, and so capturing one was imperitive.

Ana sat in a shadowed table, slightly away from the dance floor. Spring break was a wonderful time to lay claim to a club on the Vegas strip, even for one night. It was tedious going through college for the third time, but that's what happened when one was eternally nineteen. She listened absently as her two companions chatted, and watched the already-half-drunk people filter into the club. There were plenty of people inside already, more than enough to satisfy three vampires for one night without anyone noticing.

That's when she saw him. On the surface, he didn't look any different from the other college students in the club. But at a second glance, she could tell he was very different, although she couldn't place how. Leaning over, without taking her eyes off of him, she nudged her two friends.

"Veronica, Mary, watch out for that one," she said, keeping her voice low. The two stopped talking and looked to where her eyes were pointed. "There's something about him, but I don't know what." After a moment, her companions relaxed again.

"I think you're paranoid, Ana," Veronica replied. Mary nodded in agreement.

"Maybe," Ana agreed, "but that paranoia is what kept me alive for the last three and a half centuries. Just be careful."

Shrugging, the other two turned back to their conversation. Ana only half-listened again, occasionally glancing back to the man who had caught her eye.

Kris manuevered his way through the gyrating mass of bodies, occasionally slipping into dancing to make his way through. All the while his eyes searched for anything out of the norm, anyone who remotely gave the idea of being different. Unfortunately this wasn't working. Too many people were different, too many different smells, and possible tastes (not like he would know).

He raised his arms above his head, stretching slightly. The movement caught the attention of a dancer, one who immediately pushed herself close and began some kind of bump and grind. The hunter easily danced along, gradually moving her and him towards the bar. Once he reached the end of the dancefloor, she seperated herself and he was free to speak with a bartender.

Kris lifted his head slightly in a jerking motion, the bartender sliding up to the bar. "How you been Kris?" The voice was raised so it could be heard over the pumping music.

"Been better," he gave a charming smile. "Have you seen anything odd tonight? I'm having a hard time doing my job."

The bartender nodded and gave a quick glance around. "Not much. There was a fight earlier over some college student." He gave a small smile. "Sorry, maybe try the other club across the street?"

Kris shook his head. "Nah, I think I'll stay here." The hunter pulled out his wallet, "Give me a Jamacian Zombie and I'll be out of your hair." He gave the bartender the necessary amount and leaned against the bar, his eyes searching once more. He found his gaze resting on a group of three females, odd in the fact none were dancing and none appeared to have dates. Kris tilted his head to the side thoughtfully. He probably should watch them.

Ana kept her eye on the newcomer, watching him out of the corner of her eye as she chatted with her friends. Well, 'chatted' might be a strong word, since Veronica and Mary were doing all of the talking. Being the oldest of the three, Ana probably had the most stories to tell, but she also felt like the unofficial caretaker of the two younger vampires. After all, you had to listen to the advice of your elders to stay alive in this world.

"Ana?" Veronica's voice broke into her thoughts.

"Hm?" Ana replied smoothly, covering up the fact that she hadn't been paying attention.

"I asked if you did that stupid family tree project for anthropology," Veronica replied. Ana shook her head.

"Not yet, but it won't take me long," she replied. Mary blinked at them. She wasn't in their classes, so didn't have the assignment.

"Family tree?" she asked. "How in the world do you build one of those?"

"I have my ways," Ana replied. After a moment, she grinned. "I told you both that I had a daughter before I was turned... I've kept an eye on her family, so I can technically trace my 'family tree' back to the colonial times."

"That's because Ana is anal about security and keeping her cover," Veronica teased. Ana just shrugged and turned her attention back to watching the unusual man at the bar.

Kris sighed almost happily, finishing his 'foo-foo' drink and collapsing against the bar in relaxation. His eyes darted back over to the group of three, particularly on the one who seemed to rarely speak. And the way it appeared she kept looking in his direction only influenced his thoughts more. She was most likely one of the few he was looking for.

Giving the bartender a smile, the bartender mouthed 'Good luck', and Kris began the gradual movement towards the trio of females. He probably should have called for backup, especially if all of them were vampires, or any other form of supernatural being, but something told him (that little voice in the back of his head said) he could do it himself; he needed no assistance tonight.

Ana's attention sharpened when she saw him move away from the bar. Only one drink? That was unusual, especially on a Thursday night in a college bar. It wasn't Thirsty Thursday for nothing. She kept an eye on his meandering path, and tensed slightly when it brought him closer and closer to their table. That, added to the way he moved, made her wary, although she didn't say anything to Veronica and Mary. She wasn't even sure something was really wrong.

Casually, she took a sip of the drink in front of her. It was a special blend from the bar specifically mixed for her kind, though it wasn't advertised. As she sipped her drink, she glanced every so often at the man coming closer until he stopped at their table.

"Yes?" she finally asked. Veronica and Mary fell quiet.

He came to the table and stopped, his gaze quickly running over the trio. "Yes?" It was the girl who drew his attention the most. He nodded in acknowledgment and gave a charming smile.

"Evening ladies, mind if I join you?" The hunter didn't even bother waiting for an answer before he sat down. Kris gave a vague gesture towards the bar. "I know that place is about to get slammed, and I'd rather not be caught in the middle of it. You know how it is." He 'relaxed' against the backing of his chair, observing the girls more carefully.

If he did this correctly, he could come across as slightly drunk, the rambly kind; possibly one of the girls would take the bait (highly unlikely, but he was willing to take a chance). And when they went to stick him, Kris would bring out his own weapons of choice and make them submit to his will. Or something of that nature. Kris was a guy who did things on a whim; setting out plans never truly worked for him before so why now?

"Have you been here before? I'm here all the time and I swear I would remember if I saw ladies as gorgeous as yourselves." Okay, maybe he was coming off a little strong. He didn't want to be seen as a bigot; totally off the mark.

Ana watched as he sat down without invitation. If she didn't know better, she would say he was a bit buzzed... But one drink just didn't make someone as drunk as he was acting.

"No, I don't suppose you would see us here that often," she said carefully. "We're just here on spring break." Now that he was sitting next to her, she could definitely tell that he wasn't as drunk as he pretended to be. He didn't smell like alcohol. Discretely, she moved away from him so that they didn't touch at all. Not that she didn't like human contact once in a while... But there was something off about him, something she didn't like.

Kris nodded, "Ah, yes. Spring break." He heaved a sigh, grinning. "I miss those days..." Not like he ever truly had a Spring Break; growing up in a small town of Hunters didn't really allow vacations. The Hunter leaned on the table slightly, meeting the gazes of the other two girls, scanning them fairly quickly. They didn't seem to be as powerful as the girl beside him. He needed to find out their names and quick.

"Oh, I've been so impolite. My parents would smack me silly if they found out how rude I'm being." He held out his hand toward one of the three girls. "I'm Kris. What's your names?"

"I'm Veronica," Veronica said, giggling a little. Mary giggled as well, shooting a conspiratorial look to Veronica.

"I'm Marian, but everyone calls me Mary," she said. Inwardly, Ana sighed. They were going to try to pick him up. Children. She shot the two a warning glance and then gave Kris an appraising look. The other two would call her paranoid, but she knew there was something off about him.

"Ana," she finally offered. She wasn't going to give him more than that. While it wasn't her birth name, it was close enough, and it was the name she'd gone by for nearly two hundred years. It would do.

Hearing their names, Kris quickly ran through his mental catalogue of known vampires. With only their first names there wasn't really much that he could distinguish from that; there were so many Veronicas and Marys and Anas. He nodded and smiled. "Pleasure to meet you all. Can I buy you ladies a drink?" He kept his eyes on Ana, she was definitely the one to watch Especially with how withdrawn she seemed to be acting. Definitely suspicious.

Behind him, a sound caught his attention. That particular type of whistle. Sure enough he spotted his partner by the door, lounging and trying to appear inconspicous. Why was he here? He was supposed to be in the club down the way.

"You're too kind," Veronica giggled.

"I think we're alright for now, though," Ana said. "But thank you." It wouldn't do for him to get them drinks... They wouldn't be able to drink anything he would think to get them, and it wasn't ask if they could ask him to get them the special Sanguine blend. All three of them jumped every so slightly when they heard the sound and looked up to find the source of the strange whistle. Ana's gaze followed Kris's and her eyes narrowed the slightest bit.

"Meeting a friend?" she asked innocently.

Kris couldn't help the scowl that crossed his face. "No... He and I were supposed to meet at the hotel later." He shook his head, forcing an easy smile across his face. "If I ignore him maybe he'll go away." And the whistle sounded again. Kris dropped his 'happy' face and slipped out of the chair. "If you'd excuse me ladies, I have to go put my friend in his place."

Easily the hunter weaved in and out of gyrating bodies and made his way to his partner, Zechariah. Zechariah was his senior, his master/trainer, a dhampire as well. And annoyed the hell out of him. "What?!" Kris hissed, glowering at the older.

Zechariah rolled his eyes at Kris's hostility. "There is no vampire at the other club. I can't smell them at all."

"Could it be because of all the sweat and alcohol?" Kris began pacing, practically shoving people out of his way in his anger. Zechariah caught him by one of the chains hanging from his waist.

"No, its not." The dhampire gave a quick sniff, his eyebrows knitting together. "You smell of vampire."

"I found three of them, just over in the corner I was sitting at. Mary, Veronica and Ana. Haven't been able to get a last name out of them yet." Kris huffed, tugging on his chains, trying to get Zechariah to let go. "I would invite you but I they are already iffy with just my presence. The longer you keep me here the longer they are going to have time to contemplate my interest!"

Zechariah let go of the chains, chuckling slightly at Kris's stumbling. "Fine, go. I'll watch from up here."

"There's something off about him," Ana murmured to Veronica and Mary as Kris stalked off. "I don't know what it is..."

"I still say you're paranoid, Ana," Veronica scoffed, taking another sip of her drink.

"Maybe..." Ana replied vaguely as she tried to listen to the other conversation. It was a lesson in futility, though. The pounding music covered anything that Kris and his friend might have been talking about, and as good as her eyesight was, she couldn't read lips from behind. "Something tells me he's looking for something..."

"Yeah, probably a good lay for the night," Veronica said matter-of-factly. "Loosen up a little, would you?"

"Veronica, the Strip is well-known for having... mixed company," Ana said. "You can't be too careful."

"But you CAN be too paranoid," Mary chimed in. Ana rolled her eyes and took a sip from her own glass.

Kris glanced back at Zechariah, torn between two choices. How should he go about capturing one of the girls? There really wasn't any way to go about doing this... at least not in training. He fumbled with the chains slightly. "Zech, how would you go about doing this?"

Zechariah smiled, eyes sparkling in the lights. "Very carefully Kris. Now go catch us a vampiress." Scowling, Kris maneuvered back through the writhing mass of forms, hoping the combination of sweat and other bodies would override the smell of a dhampire. Probably no such luck with the fact Zechariah could smell the girls even after all that body mass.

Schooling his face into something amiable, Kris smiled at the girls and took his seat. "Sorry about that, Zech was being a bit overly enthusiastic." He gave a small shrug. "I hope it hasn't ruined my image for you or anything." He winked playfully, fingers itching for a glass or something to hold onto. Maybe he should order another drink, and possibly get the girls something as well. If they ordered the special brew, then it was guaranteed.

Ana watched carefully as he came back. He didn't seem drunk at all this time, which confirmed her suspicions that he was never drunk to begin with. And now he smelled different... It was more than obvious as he sat down next to her again.

"Over-enthusiastic?" Veronica repeated. "About what?"

Ana half-listened to his reply, glancing around the club. Something caught her attention from the corner of her eye and she turned to look. She saw Kris's 'friend' near the other wall, watching them. That was strange... She went to take another sip of her drink, and realized her glass was empty.

"I'll be right back, I need to get another drink," she said, standing up.

Kris gave a cheeky grin. "Supposedly he found himself a place to stay for the night." He chuckled, and began fiddling with the coasters. Now that Zechariah was watching he felt like he was back in training again. But instead of feeling comfortable with the setting, Kris knew he was so going to screw this up.

His eyes followed Ana, and once she stood up he immediately jumped to his feet. "Would you like me to come with you? If you're going to go, why not get drinks for your friends too?" He winked at Veronica and Mary. "You'll need help carrying them back."

"I could totally use another drink," Veronica said cheerfully. Pulling out a five, she handed it to Ana. "You know what I like," she said. Yeah, no kidding. There was only one thing the bar made that they could drink.

"I'm alright for now," Mary disagreed. This didn't surprise Ana, Mary had never been much of a bar-drinker. Ana looked at Kris, pretending to be surprised.

"I couldn't possibly ask you to come with me," she said. "It won't take me long, perhaps a couple of minutes." That, and she didn't want him figuring out that she was going to order the special blend for both of the drinks.

Inside Kris practically growled at the fact Mary didn't want anything thereby making it a bit more difficult for the hunter to go with Ana. However, it wasn't anything he couldn't work with. "Oh, that's no problem. I can't expect you to carry my drink, can I?" He tried to hold back just how pleased he was. Maybe, just maybe this would be his chance.

He gave a small bow and gestured to the bar. "After you milady?" He could feel Zechariah's gaze stay with him and not the two others already. Must the dhampire be so obvious?

Ana would have bitten her lip if it wouldn't have exposed her on the spot. There was nothing she could say to make him stay behind that wouldn't be taken as rude or downright suspicious. She stepped around both him and the table.

"If you must," she said, when he said he would go with her. At least he was enough of a gentleman to let her go first... Though it didn't set her at ease at all. She hated having unfamiliar people at her back. Call her paranoid, but she didn't want to get shot or staked any time soon. She was rather fond of the world at the moment, she didn't want to leave it quite yet. Gracefully, she made her way over to the bar.

Kris managed another smile for the two other vampires before following his current target. Ana seemed to be the head of the three girls, so capturing her would definitely benefit him. He allowed himself to speed up a bit, if only to walk slightly behind her and to the side. He didn't want to be too far behind when she ended up ordering her drinks.

Making their way to the bar, Kris strategically pushed party-ers out of the way and leaned against the bar. He motioned for Ana to move nearby, where he had pushed people out of the way and made room for her. When the bartender nodded in his direction, Kris called out, "Acapulco's Malibu for me!" and glanced at Ana. "Your turn."

Ana pretended to make a show of looking at the list of drinks on the board. Some of them honestly sounded interesting, but none of them were any good for her kind. Discretely, she pulled out a twenty from her bodice, ignoring the five that Veronica had given her. She needed to break the larger bill anyway.

"Two specials," she said. She didn't call them by name, but she knew the bartender recognized her from earlier, and would know what she meant. After all, it wouldn't do to be ordering Bloody Virgins by name, not with humans around. People would get suspicious.

As the bartender turned around to mix their drinks, Kris leaned back against the bar and surveyed the view. With the writhing mass of bodies covering them, very easily Kris could threaten Ana and the others would be oblivious. Plus no one was bothering to look in their direction; they were too busy getting frisky or trying to feel someone up to look at the not-couple at the bar. From a hidden compartment in his belt, he quickly withdrew a knife which edges were lined in silver. It was small, less than 4 inches in length and maybe half an inch wide, but it would do the job if he needed to exercise force.

He pressed the blade slightly against her pelvis, putting just enough pressure to alert Ana to its presence.

Ana tensed when she felt the sharp, burning edge of the silvered blade against her skin. She could feel the tingling as the silver just barely put pressure on her skin, and she knew there would be at least a burn there later. If Kris didn't cut her with it first, at least. Now she knew why he seemed so off to her earlier.

"Hunter," she hissed. This was exactly why she always told Veronica and Mary to be careful. She wondered briefly how he knew what she was. She'd been careful, to the point of paranoia. So how had he figured it out?

Kris withheld the smug grin that wanted to cross his face. He wasn’t ‘out of the woods’ just yet. “Vampire,” he gave a nod in greeting. “You know if you hadn’t reacted I wouldn’t be pursuing this, right? You could have gotten you and your friends away.” He glanced back towards the table with the other two vampires. He moved around her, blocking the blade more from anyone’s view.

“If you come with me, I won’t harm you. You don’t hurt me, I don’t hurt you.” Kris could feel the adrenalin begin pumping through his veins once more. Just a simple interrogation, one that the higher ups wanted him to end with a vampire being slaughtered, but that wasn’t the point. Kris just needed the information necessary, death for no one but the sire and anyone who got in his way. “Look, I just need some information. I’m not supposed to let you go but if we can fake a fight both of us will get away virtually unscathed.

“Plus, if you keep supplying me with information, I’m willing to help you out in other ways.”