The Crime in Callahan's Morrow - being rewritten

Chapter 7: Vampires are scary

"People are like sharks. Let them smell blood and you're done."

~Jackal Smorotori, former criminal investigator, inventor, and a vampire;

VII.

Giuseppe practically pranced around as he led the others to his grandeur mansion. Not that they knew it was that big, he just told them they were going to his place.

He was quite pleased with himself because he'd managed to make them come to his territory. Adrian had been all too happy to state that he didn't want Giuseppe anywhere near the SIB's office except in handcuffs, yet they needed to discuss the recent happenings. Which had consequently led to him proposing to hold this little meeting in his home. It had been met with the approval of others before Adrian could protest. Oh, what a lovely picture had Adrian's angry expression been. Just like the old times.

Adrian had tried to make them go to the branch office after that but soon changed opinion as he'd seen Giuseppe's grin. He'd clamped up and let Giuseppe lead. But Giuseppe knew the truth - Adrian didn't want other members of his office to know that little fact about him. A fact that he was a vampire.

Why he'd kept it a secret was beyond Giuseppe's comprehension. It didn't matter, he only cared to 'play friends' with SIB officers and what better way to start than helping out with the hot crime case of kidnappings that pissed him off.

His reasons might've also included something else, some other motives, like actually wishing to pierce the kidnapper right through his rotten heart so the asshole couldn't do it ever again.

A few days ago, he'd found out that his vampires had also been attacked during his absence and that felt like a challenge to his unofficial rule of Callahan's Morrow.

He had lost some men to that 'villain,' many good men, not like Seamus – the idiot who blurted out Adrian's secret. Oh, whatever, he'll punish him later and he had just the right punishment in mind.

Giuseppe noticed Adrian giving him a wary look and realized he'd been grinning like a madman.

"I was thinking," Giuseppe explained unprompted.

"It's never good when you think," Adrian supplied dryly, one brow arched in skepticism. That particular expression reminded Giuseppe of an old relic from his past. The relic of comradeship. A friendship that had died out.

A laugh bubbled from his throat, an unconscious reaction he must admit. How easy it really was to revert into old ways, to pretend the last two hundred years hadn't happened. But they have and nothing could bring back the past. The past when only concerns had been where to find fun, where next to travel, which game to play, what job to take... the time lost to another life.

Like Adrian had already stated, they weren't friends in this lifetime. Too many things had changed, Giuseppe changed, Adrian changed; everything had fucking changed! That didn't mean he couldn't miss his friend from back then, the one he had once been inseparable from... Shit, he shouldn't go down the pity party road; it clearly wasn't the time for that.

He cleared his throat awkwardly - a new feeling for him - and continued walking.

It was a silent and clear night; a slight breeze shifted the air around them. The waning moon stood strong, bathing the streets of suburbs into the pasty light, and the shimmer of the stars alluded to a game of hide and seek.

It was early autumn. Nevertheless, everything was still green, but soon would fade into reds, yellows, and browns mixing with the evergreen, and the soft, dull mist would blanket the ground in the early mornings. For now, the heat had eased up comparing to summer's fervor, but some nights still held warmth while some grasped the air with cold fingers.