Stalked By The Game

Chapter 9 - In Charge

::MICK::

    Ouch. Poor bastard.

    I watched from my vantage point on the roof, down near where they had first entered the alley. I didn't know the kid that she killed but I sure as hell knew Vincent. He was an asshole, I agreed with the male hunter on that. I also knew that if he was mixed up with this, things were not good. Nothing good ever came from him being involved but he always seemed to come out of things with a better reputation than he should have.

    I heard the sirens long before the three of them did but didn't move. No one would even think to look up here for anything. I learnt long ago that cops are stupid. They only believe what they feel is real. Also, the fact that if one argued with me he'd be dead in a second was a bonus. Hunters didn't have that luxury. They had to play by human rules, human laws. As the kid's death shot rang out, I knew that they didn't have much time and a moment later, they took off at a run.

    Jumping from where I was, I followed them, making sure I stuck to the shadows. They were arguing in the carpark. The blonde one wanted to head straight back to the safe house. Nicholls was telling him no, she wasn't going near the place until she knew it was safe. Smart move. She looked at the other hunter to back her up and he did. He had the same posture, same way about him that she did. Another baby hunter all grown up was my bet. Training a hunter was like training a dog. If you got in early, you could teach it anything and it would follow the rules. As far as I was concerned, fuck the rules. Rules were made to be broken.

'John needs this information,' blondie argued.

    'So, go tell him,' Nicholls said. 'I'm not stopping you but I'm not going anywhere near there until I know there's no one watching me.

    It was clear this was a dictatorship, not a democracy and it wasn't one of the men wearing the pants either. The fight went on for another few minutes before blondie got in the car and drove away. Nicholls looked like she wanted to punch someone or something. Fiesty little bitch she was but I can't say knowing someone was out for me put me in a good mood either. I had a feeling that now the two of them were alone, I was going to get the real stuff on the situation.

    They disappeared into the motel room and for a few minutes, there was nothing. I stuck to the darkness, moving closer even though I could hear them perfectly fine from where I was. There was no margin for error and I wanted to make sure I heard everything as clear as I could. I could hear their movements, unloading weapons, checking chambers and the usual crap I'm sure they did after every hunt.

    'So, were you telling the truth about that Vincent guy?' she asked him.

    'From what I know, yeah. John might know something different but that's not what worries me. If some vamp is offering five grand just to have some ass follow you and gather intel, this is serious business Ari.'

    She walked over to the window, pushing aside the curtain and looking out into the last patch of morning blackness. Her eyes were dark, serious and I could sense the slightest hint of fear. Idiot boy didn't have to tell her that, she was well aware of how this was. Crossing her arms, she turned to face him.

    'Tell me something I don't know. I should be out there hunting him, not running around in the shadows tracking down some vamp I know nothing about.'

    'Yeah? Cause chasing two dangerous vampires is really better for your health than just hunting one?'

    Gotta love the sarcasm. I didn't think Vincent would be much of a threat really. He was one of those vamps that was all talk and no action from what I'd seen in my time. Didn't surprise me he was working under someone else. He liked to throw orders without doing the dirty work so being the middle man was just the job for him. I'd had dealings with him in the past and he was a bastard. Well, a bigger one than me.