In typical human fashion, everyone in the hotel recognized Az and Sable as being different right away, and made sure to steer clear of them. Even the investigators and armed guards milling about around Senator Silvera's room made sure to give them all a wide berth. Frankly, Alain was surprised that none of them even tried to stop their group of four as they stepped into Senator Silvera's room, though he supposed it made at least some sense.

After all, at this point, everyone at the very least had a basic idea of what the average vampire was capable of. Alain could only guess, but he assumed that nobody wanted to be the one to risk pissing off someone as strong as Sable or Az for what amounted to a basic paycheck at the end of the day. Having Danielle there certainly helped as well, but when it came down to it, he was positive that what kept them unbothered more than anything was the fact that nobody in the entire hotel wanted to risk their lives against Az or Sable.

And, having known what they were capable of by this point, he was inclined to agree.

The four of them stepped into the room, and immediately, Alain was struck by how clean and orderly it was. Nothing looked out of place in the slightest; it hadn't been cleaned in a few days, the thin layer of dust across the furniture was proof enough of that, but that was the only thing that seemed out-of-place, and only because this hotel was so nice.

"Alright, does anyone else think it's weird that this place is damn near spotless?" Alain questioned.

"Believe me, you're not the only one," Sable replied. "Everything is so… immaculate. It's all right where it should be. The bed's even been made."

"My father did like to keep a clean home…" Danielle offered.

Alain shook his head. "If he truly was kidnapped like you said, then this place would be in complete disarray. Instead, it's downright normal, at least for a high-society, upscale hotel like this one is. The only reason it even looks out-of-place is because nobody's lived here for a few days, and because we know the occupant of this room is currently missing. If it weren't for those, you wouldn't be able to tell that anything was wrong here to begin with."

"So what does that mean?" Az questioned.

"Well, to me, it means a few different possibilities," Alain answered. "The first is that the kidnappers came back and cleaned the place up once they were done with it."

"Which is ridiculous," Sable pointed out. "They wouldn't have had the time to get it this spotless, plus there were guards all over the hotel."

"Right, which to me, at least, means one of two things," Alain said to her. "Either Senator Silvera walked out of here of his own volition, or he knew his kidnappers well enough that they were able to coax him out somehow, and then make their move."

"Wait, you're saying he knew his kidnappers?" Danielle asked, tilting his head.

"It's just a theory," Alain insisted. "My guess is that the detectives already checked it out, too. If he'd had any visitors the night he went missing, one of the guards would have seen them."

"Unless that guard is lying," Az said.

"That is true, as well," Alain admitted. "So our theories remain unchanged – either he knew the person or people who kidnapped him, or he walked out of here on his own and went missing afterwards."

"But that doesn't make sense…" Danielle said quietly. "My dad doesn't stay out late; from what I know, the guards said he went missing some time after midnight. He's a creature of habit, and he's always in bed before ten. He would have been asleep at the time he was supposed to have gone missing."

"Well, what about someone waking him up?" Alain asked. "Was your father close to anyone in town? Maybe someone he'd know, but who also might have held a grudge against him, for whatever reason?"

Danielle shook her head. "I mean, he was here on business, but that was to visit a business partner of his – I think his name is Steven Wicks? He runs a series of steel-making factories that run across the southern states, Wicks Metalworks."

"And he had a good relationship with your father?" Alain asked.

Danielle nodded. "They've been in business together for over a decade by this point. My dad was an early investor in Wicks' company – said he saw a lot of promise in what he was doing, and gave him some money to work with in exchange for a stake in the company."

"What kind of stake?"

"Thirty percent, last I checked."

Alain let out a low whistle. "Now, I'm no businessman, but I know enough to realize that a man's own company is his heart and soul. Thirty percent is an awful lot of your heart and soul to sign over to someone in exchange for some starting cash."

"But is it enough to kidnap them over?" Sable asked.

If you spot this narrative on Amazon, know that it has been stolen. Report the violation.

"I guess that depends on the person you're asking," Alain conceded.

Danielle's brow furrowed. "Steven Wicks is a multimillionaire at this point, even with my father taking a thirty percent stake in his company," she insisted. "What reason would he have for trying to get rid of my father if he's already so rich despite losing a third of the company? Millions of dollars is a lot of money, you know."

"Yes, I'm aware," Alain said dryly. "But if there's one thing I've learned in the past few months, it's that you shouldn't underestimate the depths of human greed. That's how we got Los Banos, after all."

He turned back to Sable and Az. "I vote we pay Steven Wicks a visit and see what he has to say. All agreed?"

"It's the only lead we've got," Az said with a grunt. "Might as well exhaust it before heading back to the drawing board."

Alain and the others nodded, and together, they stepped out of the hotel room and began heading for Wicks Metalworks, searching for some answers.

XXX

"And I thought the hotel was impressive…"

Alain couldn't help but stare as their group approached the factory. It was huge, stretching out for hundreds of feet in seemingly every direction. Tall smoke stacks lined the top of its roof, thick black smoke belching out of them and into the sky. Alain wasn't sure what was in it, but he could tell breathing it in wasn't good for him; he hurriedly took his bandanna and raised it to cover his mouth, then reached into his pocket and offered a spare to Danielle, who mirrored him.

"Is that wise?" Sable asked. "Between the bandannas and the guns you're carrying, you both look like bandits. If you're not careful, the guards might draw on you."

"Wouldn't be the first time…" Alain muttered, his voice coming out muffled. "And anyway, I'll take the barrel of a gun over whatever that shit is that's in the air, making my eyes water and my throat burn."

Together, they all approached the front gate, at which a group of armed guards were stationed. Alain expected to be hassled by them in some way, but to his surprise, they barely even spared them all a glance before stepping aside and opening the front gate for them. He blinked, then turned towards Az as they stepped through the gate and onto the factory grounds.

"I think Mister Wicks might have been expecting us," he ventured.

"I would wager that you're right," Az replied. Two more guards passed them by as they walked, and his eyes narrowed. "This place has a lot of security for a simple metalworking factory. Does anyone else find that suspicious?"

Nobody said anything out loud, but Alain knew that they were all in agreement regardless.

XXX

If being let right in through the front gate hadn't been proof enough that Steven Wicks wanted to speak with them, then the fact that the guards were content to just let them all wander through the grounds sealed the deal. For a place that was as concerned with security as this factory was, Alain simply couldn't believe they'd be allowed to walk around freely unimpeded unless the man in charge had specifically ordered that they be left alone.

After a few minutes of walking, they found themselves on the factory floor, where the noise and heat hit a crescendo. Alain wasn't sure exactly what the purpose was for the machines he was seeing, but they all looked to be very busy, churning out pieces of metal as fast the workers could operate them. Of course, he didn't get much chance to dwell on it before a tall, silver-haired man in a nice brown suit came striding over to them with a large grin on his face.

"Welcome, welcome!" he greeted. "I've been expecting you!"

"Steven Wicks?" Alain asked, earning a nod.

"Please follow me into my office, all of you," Steven requested. "We have much to discuss."

XXX

And so it was that, just a short while later, the four of them found themselves crammed into an office, alone with Steven Wicks. There were already four chairs set up for them, which made Alain raise an eyebrow.

"I knew you seemed to be expecting us, but I didn't think we'd get the red carpet treatment," he said.

"Anything for the daughter of the man who made me what I am today," Steven replied, standing over his desk as he fished out several shot glasses. "Do you all drink bourbon?"

"I do," Alain asked. "But don't worry about it."

"No, no, I insist. Any friends of Danielle's are friends of mine." Steven eyed her out of the corner of his eye, then gave her a small grin. "Your father speaks very highly of you. Some of my workers were chatting about how you made it into town flanked by a cowboy and two vampires, and I knew you were likely going to come here at some point."

Despite Alain's earlier comment, Steven poured him a glass of bourbon, which Alain reluctantly accepted. He took a tentative sip from it; he wasn't sure who made it, but it certainly tasted expensive.

"So, I suppose I'll be frank with you all," Steven said. "I have no idea what happened to Senator Silvera. We were supposed to have a business meeting the morning after he disappeared; obviously, he never showed up for it, unfortunately."

"Yeah, about that," Alain offered, setting his glass aside. "We heard that he took quite a bit of your company in exchange for getting you started."

"Yes, that's true," Steven confirmed with a nod. "I can even provide you with the tax documents myself, if you'd like. I have nothing to hide, there; if anything, I have every reason to shout it to the heavens, given how he's the one who's responsible for the man I am today."

"Sure," Alain said. "But however you look at it, thirty percent is a lot. Certainly enough to kidnap someone over, in any case."

Steven shook his head. "I can see why you'd suspect that of me, but it couldn't be further from the truth."

"Hm. And I suppose this is the part where you tell me you don't know anything, either?"

"Unfortunately, yes," Steven replied. "If it makes you feel any better, I've got my own set of private investigators looking through town for him as well. After all, he's my business partner – I can't let something happen to him."

Alain simply nodded. He reached for his glass and knocked back what was left in it, then set it aside.

"Well, thanks for your time, regardless," he said, offering Steven a hand. The two men shook before separating.

"Sure," Steven said. "I hope you find him. And, for what it's worth, if you four need anything while you're in town, please feel free to ask me."

Alain tipped his hat to Steven, and the four of them stepped out of his office before closing the door behind them.

"He's hiding something," Sable said the moment they were all out of earshot.

"Big time," Alain replied. "Either he's the single most generous person I've ever met, or there's something hidden underneath the surface that he's not showing us. But it doesn't really matter either way; we're going to have to search somewhere else for now."

"Where would you suggest?" Danielle asked.

Aalin looked out a nearby window, frowning as he did so. "It's getting pretty late. Might be best to call it a night for now; I doubt we'll find anything else out before tomorrow. Once we're up in the morning, we'll try to retrace your father's steps as best as we can. Sound good?"

Danielle hesitated, though she eventually gave him a nod, and the four of them began walking back to town.