The sun rising drifts Eleanora and Katherine to sleep on the couch, nestled into one another. Hours pass and an alarm goes off, bringing Katherine back to consciousness in a sharp moment, noise blaring from the cellphone nearby, an alarm two hours before she has to be anywhere. She picks it up off the charger, and puts it in her coat pocket before quickly grabbing a heavy breakfast. The new medication now leaving a long famished Katherine a return of the sense of hunger. She weights chicken, avocado, and even the bread each marked off by weight, calorie per gram, and nutrient per gram.

Director Belltower had made it seem like a waste of company resources to get food tested for their actual nutritional value, but she was finding tech nerds agreeable for raunchy stories about her vampire love life. The quick breakfast is logged and recorded, before a quick shower, putting her hair up in a hair fork that has a pretty mushroom carved into the handle. She checks the magazine, barrel, and safety of her weapon, including each additional magazine, again making sure that each weapon is in its place, logged, and put away.

She continues onto her medication, each one taken off its scale, into a travel pill case where they are weighed a second time, stored away into a container with a small plastic piece with two toggles, One for taking the med, one for ending the day. Again, it goes into the spreadsheet logged. Checking her phone, she still has a half-hour before she leaves. The surveillance tapes are sent to her phone via a private media server that she hosts through its own secure network with only three points of connection. The computer, the outbound server for back-ups, and her phone.

A final check of her spreadsheets, and as she walks out of the house her phone beeps. She looks at it, and winces, as she realizes it had gotten too far from her car keys and wallet, which she had almost forgotten, forcing her to check everything again to make sure. Still, she had plenty of time to spare, as she got into her "new" car, a complete non-descript Honda Accord from two thousand eight or nine, in steel gray. The entire engine block, and innards having been ripped out and upgraded with a hydrogen burning engine, but still looking almost invisibly casual on the outside.

Though, to a gear head, the roar of the engine would give pause. Katherine had also been taking driving lessons from Estelle, and that combined with latent precognition created a quick and nearly lethal path through LA traffic, as she duck, swerved, cut through alleys and around cars, only slowing moments before intersections to avoid speed limit cameras.

Then, she was at the helipad, the pain from her new piercing now just a slight tingle as she walked up and down stairs, or moved in just the right way. Something had told her it was a great decision. Before going upstairs, she checked her phone, which connected to NFC tags on all of her gear, each taped, that told her she had everything. Then she manually checked again, but this was more of a casual thing, and didn't need logging.

Belltower's smoking in the rotorwash, hair and clothes rippling as waves of air hit him. He's just wearing a suit and tie, a handgun holstered to his side under the suit. Much more casual, much less prepared at least on the very surface. There's no doubt he's as ready as Katherine in his own ways. "You're early." He shouts over the helicopter, grit in his voice that's not normally there being forced out by the volume.

"Flying makes me nervous. Never been to the helipad before, haven't left the city before. Wanted time for more casual checks." She shouts as she enters the helicopter. "If I can perfectly time everything, why not show up five minutes early for a bit of peace and quiet?"

The interior is spartan, metal and padded cloth covering up the internals of the continuous explosion that is a rotorcraft. Belltower hops up, closing one of the doors and sitting at the lip of the other, dangling his feet as it rises up suddenly, going deathly quiet, the loud blades and rumbling avgas engine dying out to be replaced with a barely audible rush of air.

"Luckily for you, these have silencers on 'em." He nods to the flying machine, smirking as he feels the air hit his legs and face, obviously enjoying flight in a way that even the dulling of the cigarette can't stop.

She pulls her own cigarillo from her pack, very very grateful that she had made them the night before. The instant relief as a puff hits her allows her to settle into the seat. Though she wonders if Belltower can tell what she's done, or if Sophia mentioned it. Which set her mind on a conversation path, "This anxiety drug or whatever? Blood with it makes vampires feel full, as in… They've had enough."

"It's top of the line psycho-pharmaceuticals, well, was, twenty years ago." Belltower chuckles.

She looks at him, "Do you get how important that is?"

The Director nods, "Yeah, not a chance we can help all of them even if any amount of the Union would agree. A bottle runs a cool hundred million."

"Okay, but you're saying that like a hundred million means something." Katherine was pushing, but more for conversation's sake. "Unless you grind up actual people in it, it's all resources and man hours at it's base. There's something here that could make life easier for…"

"One million, two hundred thousand, six hundred and twelve as of last December." He finishes for Katherine, "Still, rounding error. Same guys that make this cure things like that zombie virus that slipped out of the Amazon, and even if they did have free time, well, gonna be really honest with you." Belltower takes a puff, "They couldn't give a fuck less about vampires."

The reality hit her, and the logic makes sense. She cared because they were close to her, but looking at the resources and toys being played with it probably wouldn't make a difference. "So you think even if I phrased it as 'Blood Analogue that saves human lives,' there'd be no play?"

He's got a sour look on his face, "They hear about vampires in statistics. How they alter the murder rate, how they commit most organized crimes where they're dominant. They don't see them as people, just something that drags down local quality of life. You'd have better luck arguing for a cure to vampirism."

"Do they not take sociology classes?" Katherine said with a dark laugh, taking another puff on her altered black and mild, "It's fine, mine are taken care of, and I feel like a cure for vampirism would be cultural… Genocide? That doesn't sound right, it's like if you cured all the deaf people. You take away their community as well."

"Well, I would equate immortal superpowers with being deaf." Belltower chuckles dryly, "But I see your point, yeah. Here's the big issue." He points at a skyscraper, "The people who make all these? The rifles and silent helicopters and fighters and tanks and whatever other fucking sci-fi bullshit? They live in those, in the nicest places on planet Earth, surrounded by more money and power than you could imagine."

He puffs at his cigarette, letting the wind take the smoke, "They got no idea what it's like outside, and they've got one half of the vote."

"Oh good, I was hoping for a bit more normalcy in my life." Another weak laugh, and a deep sigh. "You're going to make a career girl out of me, I can feel it. I want to change shit and help people. Makes my life easier, wish other people'd see the bigger picture. Like…" Her jaw clenches a bit, but she's just having conversation, "You live what, five hundred plus years right? And you see society grow. New shit keeps getting made, better. That only happens because there's more healthy people able to try creating new things, safe enough to fail. Which gets you something even better. There's things we haven't invented yet that'll change how we can conceive society out there."

Belltower nods, "You wouldn't believe how much is already there. Just…out of reach. You wanna know something wild? Like, actually fuck you up wild?" He turns, a smirk on his face still.

That sounds interesting. "I'm always up for new existential terrors."

"We have a fucking moon base." He spits, "And we haven't made the Sleepers catch up to that. One asteroid, one unlucky cosmic coincidence and we're all gone. Its like we're fucking around keeping things from getting worse so much, that were not getting better." This is a passion point of his, drilling through the dullness to let something that, at one point, might have been Jacob.

"Just keeping the machine ticking along, shaving off rust and keeping parts on instead of building something new." He growls, smoking heavily, moving to a second cigarette that vanishes in three puffs.

"Why?! What use is there for us to have a moon base?" She laughs grabbing her temples, "Terraforming a planet seems like something that's only useful if it's shared on a societal level. What's even in it six guys playing grab ass with space cheese?"

"It's a dead end assignment. Like fifty people I think." Jacob grumbles, "They use high precision industrial machinery up there, spit out the really cutting edge stuff while going crazy from gray on gray on gray." This is definitely getting him angry, but that shot of emotion seems refreshing, making him lively.

"What's fucking me up, I can't tell anymore when things go right because of who I am, what I plan, or precognition." Katherine says, "Like my first instinct is to send them some fucking dyes and paints and maybe like… Anime cat stickers or something."

Belltower snorts, "We've also got a deep sea base, but that's pretty much par for the course. We're Bond villains." He looks at urban landscapes turn to rural and then wilderness as the city limits are exceeded. "It's just…I'm NWO, you don't have a Convention and probably won't for a couple years. Neither of us get the new toys, the new info, the new anything. Yet I'm one half of the whole effort on keeping society together in a globally important city."

"It's tiring after a while." Jacob admits, staring out into the green of woods and light gold-brown of dry grass fields.

Katherine could see the ocean where the stars met the sea. Watching it's stillness with a smile, the… Stability of it bringing a sense of calm. Or it was the second Black and Mild. "I'm going to sound very old, but I live with a six century vampire, and was around for a couple myself. It's always tiring, no matter what. Tiring is the default. Energy, like social, physical, it's in the things you assign meaning too. I couldn't give a shit about anyone most days. I make meanings, write down thoughts and things even if they're not always true. Reading stuff like that, you can gaslight yourself into finding hope."

This story has been stolen from Royal Road. If you read it on Amazon, please report it

"That's depressing as fuck." Belltower comments, not particularly affected by the words.

"Ah I was going for hopeful," Another puff as she laughs, "I'm going to write down that you were very touched by this speech. Expect more in the future."

"Yeah, I hope I get to play with a laser gun again." He admits, "That was fun. Though they docked my pay for a year when I broke it."

"Did you break it, or did you 'break' it." Katherine asks, updating her log in her phone stopping only to do air quotes. "Also how much do you make?"

"Like two mil a year. Most of it goes back to the budget though, I think I still keep sixty." Belltower says off-handedly. "Not much for my rank, but I don't ask for raises, or stock options."

"Wouldn't you be able to raise your budget if you ask for raises then send it back through? I think I make… Three point six mil gross, but I don't know what to do with it. I can't get rid of it fast enough." She admits

"Yeah, ask Mari, she can get you up and coming tech and defense corporations we're funneling advancements through. Something to blow money on." Belltower shrugs.

"Am I allowed to just… Help people?" She looks at him.

"It's your money, do whatever." He answers, "We've got you on Google books. So you're money's real."

"I guess I could just build my own strip mall at that point…" That didn't sit right with her though, something about it just… It was different when things were gifts or favors once the money was real, a product of her own decisions it suddenly made everything feel unnecessary. What was life past your basic needs? Once you had food, meds, love, time for art, time to study, time to create what was she actually doing with it. "Tell me if you need more in the budget I guess, I'm probably going to blow it all on chocolate."

"If you can slip a cool ten million into the budget. I can finally get Rachel her full body resleeve or whatever." He answers with a groan at thinking of his budget.

"So… Like five years? Sure whatever," Katherine says finally putting her phone away, "Ah fuck, this is why people go and fight for their country isn't it?"

"Yeah, this and patriotism. That's why I did." He looks at the landscape, still hours away from Fresno. "By the way, Iraq sucks to fight in. It just sucks." Belltower reminisces the place fondly as he complains, "Everything about that place hates Americans. Especially the local magic types."

"Well it's not like they don't have a reason," A moment passed where she felt like she might be getting a bit too comfortable. Not entirely sure what it was about, she decided to check her guns again. The new med should be blocking out random paranoia.

"The whole invasion thing was all us, yeah. Dunno if that covers turning people to glass, but eh." He shrugs, "It was like six layers of conspiracy, and we were only two of them." Belltower does suddenly realize something that has a perturbing effect on him.

"Holy shit. I'm old." He stares blankly into the air outside the helicopter. "I just talked about something that happened two decades ago." There's a very mild dread in his voice, very mild.

"If it makes you feel any better, I think I was like… Ten, at the time." Katherine says, looking at the safety again.

"Fuck you too, respectfully." He leans back, closing the doors and letting the inside of the helicopter warm up. "By the way, we've got a fashion budget. You know how to buy club wear? I haven't been in one since I was twenty three."

"I watch a lot of fashion tiktok yeah, I could probably throw something together. You taking Doctor Sophia to a club?" Thinking back to the phone call, but not entirely remembering what Eleanora said about it.

"Hmm? No, why would I?" Belltower asks, confused at the question. "We're going to do some ground work before we go for them. Make sure it isn't a network, or if it is, track the network down."

Katherine looks at him, "You… Look fourty." She said very pointedly, "We may not want to dress you specifically in club wear. Maybe high-roller type stuff, while I can dress a little younger."

"We can get a facelift on site, if that helps?" Jacob asks, turning to face Katherine fully, "Shave off some decades, looking twenty will probably help."

"If we both do it, yeah. A thirty year old and fourty year old walk into a club like military ops, they're going to smell cop a mile away." Though looking at him, he did age pretty well, even if it dulled the edges a bit. "I could never get LAPD to understand they needed to lean back a little, I don't think they even realize they do it."

"Yeah, gait's what usually gets you. I can change that easy enough, just need a day to practice." He answers, tapping at his phone, "I'm scheduling mine, you want a lift? It's reversible if you're attached to looking your age."

"Um… Yes? Please?" Katherine says, excited to shock Estelle and Eleanora by finally looking their age. "Can we do like crazy stuff? Can I turn my hair weird colors so it just grows that way?"

"Yeah? I know a guy who went under, like, a gene therapy. He grows bioluminescent hair. People think it's UV paint." He shakes his head, "Seemed like a waste of time to me, but I only rarely care what I look like after thirty-five."

"I think… I"m going to get it turn violet and make it shimmer like car paint." Katherine says touching her chin, "Which would actually help with the club aesthetic. Maybe have it fade off into a white ombre."

"I'll settle for getting the gray out." Jacob chuckles at the exotic desires put before him, "God, I haven't seen myself like that in years. I'm gonna be so baby faced." He's complaining at the idea, "Couldn't even really grow stubble back then."

"We're turning tanned leather back into veal, it's great." Though now that Katherine checked one gun, she felt like she needed to check all of them, when suddenly, she noticed that one of her ankle Sig Sauer was now double fed. That wasn't right. She very quickly cleared it. "That's… Concerning."

Belltower looks at it with a frown, "Hmm." He doesn't comment any further, turning his head to stare back out of the window, watching it carefully for anything odd.

"Maybe I'm fucking around with time too much, but I didn't do anything since last night, and that I just shattered a glass fireplace with a remote on accident." She starts to check her logs on that as well.

"You'll learn the balance eventually, its always a little different for everyone." The helicopter shifts to a new angle, continuing to move. "Something I've been meaning to ask, you're living with two vampires, right?"

"Yeah, it's great." She responds, picking the rounds up and considering whether to put them back in the magazine or not. Just staring at the bullets in her hand. On the one hand it technically wasn't the bullet's fault. On the other hand the bullet's did betray her. She eventually decided on loading them again, triple checking everything, before re-holstering the sig.

"Is there any political troubles you're involved in? Its a lot more important now that you're affiliated." Belltower asks.

She shakes her head, "No I largely stay out of their affairs by choice, I don't ask about their world, I don't interfere. Though, I'm hoping the life insurance package does cover me going on a hellish rampage if someone touches one of them."

"I'd prefer if you asked me for help, first." He admits, "But just…don't start a war I have to win. Because I will win." There's a grim surety to his words, Belltower's certain.

Her head nods there's no panic to take away after the black and mild, but that still feels right. "Global panopticon right? Can you show me what Estelle's doing right now? Is it like a google search?"

Jacob gets his phone out, typing something before turning the phone over, a live feed of a warehouse is present. Estelle can be seen lurking in the night, barely visible eyes in the dark sneaking up behind someone with an inaudible snarl before pouncing. Snapping teeth in his neck, he shivers, paling in seconds before he dies.

Taking out her phone she texts Estelle, "You are so cute when you murder. Good luck on your boons, love you. Stay safe. Warehouse looks scary."

Standing up from the corpse and pulling out her phone, Estelle smiles with blood on her mouth, replying. "You can see me? Cool. Just about done I think. Love you more."

"I'm out of town, but I'll see you when I get back. I told L about it." Then quickly adding, "Don't forget, the cat gets fed a small can of wet food 2x /day 1 when you wake, and 1 before you sleep. Automated toys on timers during day."

She's still smiling, doing a little giddy shuffle as she texts Katherine, adorable. "Awesome, waiting for u! I'll get L to get someone to make sure it happens during the day. How long u think u are gone??"

"Week max, told a few days, padding in case complications. Thinking of getting hair surgery. Violet Ombre to white? Shimmering maybe." She's folded her phone into an L her thumbs a rapid blur as she types.

"Sounds sexy. I'll be waiting." Estelle texts back, before looking at a direction annoyedly, still bouncing.

Feeling mischievous Katherine then takes a saved image on her phone and sends it, "Piercing healed nicely. Good luck."

Estelle looks at the phone, her grin appearing before, suddenly she has to duck when a gunshot goes over her head.

"I should probably stop texting her now, Thanks Director. I was concerned for some reason." Belltower pulls the phone away at that, disconnecting from the link.

"Remind me to get you the access code to the VIGIL satellites. So you can do this trick." He adds, leaning his head back, closing his eyes behind the mirrorshades.

She looks at him before opening her surveillance footage from the house, taking notes in a separate window on the phone. "I don't know if I can be trusted with that to be honest."

"Neither can I. Yet here we are." Belltower chuckles dryly. "Just don't abuse your power obviously and no one cares."

Another odd feeling, and she checks her Sig again. This time, the safety is off. She puts it back on with a small harumph.

The flight is not as long with the conversation. It starts lowering suddenly, landing on a pad somewhere outside of a major city. Belltower rises to his feet with a sigh, opening the door and jumping out onto the isolated concrete construction surrounded in wilderness. A highway visible a few miles away.