How to Start a Fire

CH3 [Take Care]

Aleksander Ivankov made a surprisingly good job. His first mission was to catch a vampire who has been hanging around at a bar without a disguise, he managed to just walk in there and mysteriously managed to walk back out only minutes later while putting a wristlock on the vampire who just looked terrified. The next mission had been to catch one that had already killed, he had to fight this time while Millicent watched him in order to step in in case it got too wild, but he also seemed to have an easy game with this one. He followed the plan properly at all times and when I reminded him of what to do next he would interrupt me to say he knew. This kind of confirmed my theory that vampires continue to work as humans after they transformed until they are forced to live as vampires. So far Aleksander hadn't drawn any blood- just as I did. Because I never experienced it myself yet I had no idea if drawing blood from a living body was so much different than drinking it from a glass. Maybe it had something to do with some kind of euphoria, making you overly excited after successfully hunting down your prey, but I personally considered the thought of it repulsive. I simply couldn't imagine biting into a body part of a living human being.

While I didn't exactly remember how it hurt me back then at the gas station, I remembered what else I expected her to do and how scared I was. I don't think I've ever been as scared as back then. All I wanted was her to let go and when she did let go I couldn't move, everything hurt and I had no strength. The last thing I wished for was to do this to any living human being, it would break my heart before I even started.

I don't know when this started, but one night Selem went to smoke a cigarette and came back only a short moment later to get me.

"You have to see this." He said, rather calmly. "I don't want to show Millicent, she would freak out." Since he looked rather serious I decided to follow him, whatever he wanted to show me.

We ended up on the balcony and he lighted his cigarette, pointing down at the parking lot. "Do you see that McLaren down there?" He asked while exhaling some smoke.

"That what?" I asked, staring down.

"That expensive looking Mercedes car in the parking lot." He explained, pointing a bit harder.

"Why, yes, I see it. And?" I said. That car sure did look like a ton of cash.

"It shows up almost every night these days but nobody gets out of the car... It's like they were just watching us. The car usually follows Sasha's car." He said, staring at me.

"...Why didn't you tell anybody yet??" I asked, sounding a bit terrified. What IF someone was spying at us?! This could end in a disaster!

"I didn't want to disturb anyone, I mean, nothing happens..." He said, looking down at the car again. "I already spent one whole night watching the car, they always leave right before Sasha gets off work, apparently they don't want to be seen by him..." Selem exhaled some more smoke. "...wanna go and say hi?"

"...what?!" I looked at him, kind of terrified. "You want to go down there with me? No. Not even if you beat me up for it."

"Come oooon it will be fun." Selem begged, flicking some ashes from his cigarette off the balcony. "We grab some guns so we are ready in case it gets hot!"

I shook my head. "I really don't wanna do this..." I said, backing off in an attempt to sneak back up into the office.

"What? Are you scared?" Selem laughed. "What's going to happen? You are already dead!"

"What if they have silver bullets? What if they are anti-government vampire hunters who are trying to track us down?" I asked. On one side I didn't feel like I belonged, I didn't really enjoy living in the station and working for people who wouldn't want to have a decent conversation with me, but I was also scared of being exterminated.