Cadence was certain she had to be breaking at least a few weapons ordinances. Before he let her out the door, Aaron had strapped two Berettas into her long black coat. She had two Glocks in holsters at her side and a third strapped to the back of her leg. They were all armed to the teeth and dressed like they were going to a cosplay for The Matrix movies. Nevertheless, she felt like a badass, and she was more than ready to find Holland and finish this once and for all.

The French team was also tired of waiting, and they were descending on Le Doll as well. Aaron had made sure everyone had each other on IAC, and now Cadence was slightly distracted by the French-to-English translations she was getting zapped through her brain every few seconds. She heard the original message, and then the translation, and it was just a bit much. She had new resolve to learn all foreign languages so as to avoid this situation in the future.

There was a long line of patrons waiting to get in, and Cadence assumed those who were not armed would have a better chance of success. However, Aaron didn’t take them to the front entrance; he took them around the side where Sabin was waiting and let them in.

Cadence had actually never been to any strip club before, so having her first one be a French burlesque was even more of a shock. She was having a very hard time not gasping at every X-rated scene that her innocent eyes were suddenly exposed to, and she felt as if her face must be a deep shade of crimson. Though she felt embarrassed at her naiveté, she did happen to notice that their fearless leader looked fairly uncomfortable himself. A few of the other guys, however, were having difficulty concentrating for other reasons altogether. She made a point not to make eye contact with Christian at all so as to make sure he did not get any ideas.

They followed Sabin into a dressing area. Some of the other performers were a bit startled to see such a large group dressed in dark colors walk in, clearly packing and unbothered by who may notice. But this was Paris, and they had likely seen stranger things.

Sabin and Aaron were speaking French, and even with her mental translator sprinting along as fast as its little legs could carry it, she wasn’t keeping up. Essentially, they weren’t sure if Sebastian had gotten cold feet or if he had been found out. Either way, they suggested a full scope of the club, and if they had no luck here, a raid on the Vieux Moullin. If Sebastian had just gotten nervous and was still undetected, Holland may actually show. She had been in a few nights ago. While the idea of raiding a warehouse full of Rogue Vampires and burning it to the ground sounded appealing, the first and most important step was to cut off the head of the snake.

Genevieve and Chantal both addressed Aaron and the rest of the group topless, and Cadence found it quite amusing to watch him attempt to speak to them nonchalantly when he was clearly excruciatingly uncomfortable. They were discussing location around the inside perimeter of the club that would work well for optimal vantage points and as much camouflage as possible. The club was open from 9:00-3:00, and if Holland had not shown up by 2:00, the plan was to disperse and rendezvous at 2:45 at Location Two.

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As Aaron was discussing the details with the French Hunters, Christian approached Cadence. “Are you ready for this?” he asked quietly.

She glanced briefly in his direction, trying to prevent distraction at all costs. “I believe so,” she said, nodding her head.

“Good,” he said smiling. “I have a feeling you are going to kick some major Vampire ass tonight. Can’t wait to see the show.”

She couldn’t help but smile at that. “Thanks,” she said grinning.

“Sure. I know I’m not assigned to guard you tonight, but if you need anything, don’t hesitate to let me know, all right?” he said, gently squeezing her arm and stepping away.

Cadence nodded at him as he walked away, fully aware that Eliza was shooting her a questioning stare from the other side of the small circle the team had formed around Aaron and the informants. Cadence only shrugged at her friend and returned her attention to the rapid-fire translation.

Sabin had the night off, so she was armed; the other two were not. Therefore, they would be reliant on some assistance if things started to go down in the club. The rest of the team members were reminded to share their weapons if possible. Once the conversation with the dancers was finished, much to Aaron’s relief, Cadence imagined, Sabin helped him place his troops as inconspicuously as she could. Cadence had been given fairly strict orders to stay with Aaron at all times, so she got to walk around with him as he positioned everyone. Sabin was clearly intrigued by the striking foreigner, and Cadence noticed how often she put her wispy little hand on him when she spoke.

Once everyone else was in position, Sabin went off to find a vantage point that leant itself well to where she generally saw Holland hang out when she was in the club. Cadence wasn’t particularly saddened to see her go.

The main room of the club was shaped like a large oval with squared off corners. It was three stories high with balconies lining the sides and offering views to the main floor below which were ideal for observing but made deployment a bit trickier, especially when the club was full of innocent bystanders, as it was this evening. Despite the fact that the strippers were all female, there were plenty of women in the crowd, something Cadence found rather odd. Like most clubs, however, it was dark and smoky. Everyone on the team had night vision through their IACs, which could be useful when it came to tracking in the poor lighting.

She supposed Elliott had the best vantage point of anyone, poised in the rafters high above the crowd. Though he had the most experience at mounting the crow’s nest, Aaron mentioned he had considered putting one of the French team members there so that Elliott would be more accessible should they need his guns. But in the end, Aaron knew the importance of a good rooster, and he left him in a position where a quick descent wasn’t very feasible, essentially leaving them with one less pistol on the ground than he had planned on. Elliott said he was interested in checking his range from the rafters, however, and he may be of some help after all.

Placing Cadence was also of the utmost importance, he had explained. She needed to be able to see and to access her target quickly. He had settled on a location on the second story near the stairs. His plan was to stick as closely by her side as possible. Eliza was also assigned solely to Cadence’s protection, so he felt fairly confident that, between the two of them, they could keep her safe, though once her instincts kicked in, everyone knew it would be nearly impossible to predict what she might do or which direction she might head.

The rest of the team was scattered amongst the different levels, some on the main floor, with Genevieve and Chantal taking advantage of their time on stage to survey the crowd as well.