The Turning of Cecily Stewart

The Hunt

Cecily pulled up the collar on her leather jacket, glancing around the street around them, feeling slightly ridiculous in the short, brunette wig that Alice had loaned her. It was itchy and uncomfortable, but necessary if she wanted to be in Seattle. Demetri reached over and grabbed her hand, squeezing it as he pulled her closer.

"We shouldn't be drawing attention," he said softly as she frowned at him and then looked around the street again.

"You seriously think they'll be here?" she asked, looking over her shoulder at Edward and Rosalie, who were several feet behind them.

They agreed that Demetri and Cecily would go into the bar first, with the other two following a few minutes behind. They would sit in different places, though Cecily wanted to be the one to interact with the men they were after - she was the investigative reporter, after all. Not to mention, Demetri was curious just exactly how she was able to get information from people.

From there, they all seemed to differ on what to do. Demetri wanted to coax the men out with them - aka kidnap them - and question - read: torture - them until they told them everything at a more secluded location. Cecily was definitely against that option. Torture was definitely not on her list of interrogation tactics. And well, she was also against anything that might involve blood and chance losing control and slaughtering anyone.

Edward suggested they listen into their conversation and thoughts, avoiding any sort of interaction. Cecily didn't like this option either. Rosalie was leaning more towards Demetri's suggestion.

Cecily was of the mind that they play it by ear. Which is what she usually did with these situations. Rarely did she ever go into them with a solid plan.

For obvious reasons, Edward and Demetri were against this - worried she'd give herself away or something could go horribly wrong. Cecily told them they were being ridiculous. She knew what she was doing even if she hadn't been out on the job in months. This wasn't something you just forgot how to do.

So there they were, walking into the bar that Demetri had found while tracking down the dead source. Where he had unexpectedly come across the two men with tenuous links to the larger syndicate. Cecily pushed the door open and glanced around. She had long ago stopped breathing, partially because she was worried about keeping her cool in such close proximity of so many humans. The other part was because with her intense sense of smell, this particular part of town was a bit overwhelming. She had struggled to focus on one scent with the first whiff she had taken.

"You'll be fine," Demetri whispered in her ear.

She nodded as she walked in and took a seat at the bar.

"Jack and coke," she said, looking up at the bartender. She hunched over slightly, glancing at Demetri as he sat next to her.

"You know we-"

"Yea, I know. But it's weirder if we don't have anything," she whispered back so low that only he heard.

He nodded and then ordered his own drink, while Edward and Rosalie made their way to a table at the back of the bar. A raucous, blues song was blaring over the sound system as a haze of smoke filled the air. It looked like every other dive bar she had ever been to. She vaguely remembered the name when she had been in Seattle months earlier, but hadn't had the chance to look into it, her source wanting to meet somewhere a bit less public.

The bartender slid the drinks to her as Demetri pulled out some cash and handed it over. He had refused to wear the flannel shirt Cecily threw at him that morning, claiming it'd help him fit in more. Instead, he had on a pair of designer jeans, nice shirt and a leather jacket. Cecily had wanted to reproach him until she saw him in the get-up and decided not to. That combined with his usual demeanor had created an air of danger. Rosalie had forced him into a pair of contacts that he had complained about for the last 30 minutes. Cecily wasn't sure how he had made it through unnoticed when he came on his own - red eyes would definitely attract attention.