North American Vampire Council & Past Calling (Hypernaturals 12 & 13)

East Coast Call

I am a single-minded man when it comes to love. Once we were in the back seat of the Jeep and rolling, Morgan and I started necking. Nothing more. I can kiss a woman I love all day and be utterly happy with that. It's like snuggling or cuddling. Love it. Fortunately, in the Poly world of Vampires, I am involved with a bunch of snugglers.

Also Vera, but she isn't here right now. Besides: Her wife loves snuggling, so Vera is coming around to it. It just took forever. The other men in my Poly world turn out to also be down for a good snuggle, so Vera is surrounded. Maybe being a mother-to-be and a Vampire also helps.

After a few minutes, Morgan tapped my chest lightly, pulled back, and said lovingly: "Call Victoria."

"Oh. Yeah. Doh." I pulled out my phone.

"He has his priorities." Denise commented from the front seat.

"I like them. I encourage them. Victoria needs to get the news from him, not the rumor mill." Morgan said.

"You are not wrong. Also, a better person than me. I would have gone with the kissing all the way to Dallas." Denise said.

"We are not driving to Dallas. We are headed home." Morgan told Denise reasonably.

"Babe: If I am getting to smooch like that, I'm telling the driver to drive on to sunset. You can be professional all you like and have some track in your amazing multi-track mind going on the note analysis and shit. I'll take the lip-lock. All my tracks focused there."

"Hmm." Morgan grumped. Denise just pointed out she knew Morgan was thinking about other things than love.

I knew she was too. It's Morgan. I just did not call her out on it. She let me distract her, so that was something.

Morgan will get nothing from the papers, and she knows that. At best, the spectroscopic analysis of the ink will tell her what kind of pen they were written with. Cert will have used a cheap pen available anywhere. 1000 years as head of Crew. She'll know all the modern forensic stuff. If we found a hair, well, so what? We know it's Cert. It is not as if the hair will have been recently washed with shampoo available in a hotel chain, because Cert will use unscented products she brought. Even if Cert ran out of unscented products and used something identifiably sourced, and we found a hotel she was in, she won't be there now. We'll find a room where the headboard was banged into the wall by two Vampires screwing their hearts out. Cert is gone to ground. We have been looking for her with full Crew resources, and she has stayed out of sight. She won't make a rookie mistake during something critical, like a body drop.

"Adrian?" Victoria was not expecting me to call.

"That's Adrian?" I heard Helen ask. The ambient noise in the background told me that they are at breakfast in the hotel they are in. I could hear silverware clinking onto plates. The ambient sounded like a big room.

"Hi, Victoria. Helen. I assume Rachel is there too." I said.

"I am." Rachel chimed in.

"Well, my loves and fellow council members... We got Alexander back. That is to say, Cert made a present of him last night. Wrapped him up and put labels on him and everything."

"Alexander..." Rachel said. She and Helen are in the background of the call since we are not on the speaker-phone on either end. That does not keep them from hearing.

"Where is he now?" Victoria asked.

"On his way to Cell Block A, being dragged in literal chains by Anne." I said with audible satisfaction at the mental picture.

"Where is that?" Victoria asked.

"What Adrian calls the detention facility. The underground facility out west of town." Helen translated me-speak for Victoria.