“What about our other little side project? Are there any more of them out there?”
Mark shook his head, “No. People of that description and forensics have not shown up for some time.”
That could either be good news or bad. “Mark,” Kenneth focused his entire attention on him, “your life is balancing on this one question. Have you and your team been following my protocol exactly, and have you been searching as diligently as you have in the past? Or have you let your standards and control over the operation slip and let things slide past you?”
Mark took a deep breath and sat down heavily at his desk.
“No,” he said to the desk. Then he suddenly met Kenneth’s eyes with his own. “No, I have not! My team has worked just hard as when my predecessor had when he was on the project, let alone six months ago. We’re proud of the work we do. And we know what’s at stake when it comes to these monsters.”
Kenneth stared hard at the man across the room from him. Mark was very tired, and fatigue made humans sloppy. But there was a steel edge to the man that Kenneth liked. It reminded him of himself so many years ago. That edge was what made Mark such a good officer and a valuable asset to him and his own efforts. If he had to kill him it would be a tragedy.
Kenneth nodded and stood up. He kept eye contact with Mark and took a step. “Mark…relax”
The man at the desk immediately lost all tension in his face and muscles. There was no resistance to his words. Mark was beyond exhaustion and already the man wanted to relax. “SLEEP.”
Mark immediately fell forward onto his desk; he was out cold, sleeping soundly. Kenneth exited the office and closed the door behind him.
He left the building without any more notice than when he came in. Michael held his door open for him, he got into his car, and they drove off. Kenneth looked out the window for some time not speaking. Michael seemed to know where Kenneth needed to go, even if he was distracted. Kenneth recognized the area and smiled to himself. He had trained his student very well. Soon Michael was pulling the car to a parking spot. His door opened and with he got out of his car.
He inhaled deeply the cool night air. It was around 2:00am and the stars shone brightly in the cloudless sky. He walked up to the building and passed inside.
His ears immediately rang with the vibrations of the cacophony of sound that assaulted him. The strobe lights overhead made him dizzy at first and he had to concentrate on not falling over. This was the one place on earth that his vampire senses were a serious detriment and hazard. The smells that assaulted him were a mix of alcohol, perfume, sweat, lust, drugs, smoke, and…was that human vomit? He almost turned around and left immediately. However, this was a safe club. The cops knew to avoid this place at all costs. His House paid well for security here. This was a double-edged sword. He and his House were free from prying human eyes, and the reputation of the place attracted more of the underside of society. With that said though, this place had turned into a cesspool of human drugs and crime. It was a tradeoff.
Find this and other great novels on the author's preferred platform. Support original creators!
Kenneth made his way through the gyrating crowd. The mob moved and jumped to the thumping of the music. He had to focus to not lose his balance. The sound was hypnotic by design, but the bass thump in his vampiric ears messed up his equilibrium. He felt drunk walking in this place. He finally made it across the room and stumbled against the wall. Thankfully a handrail was there and he steadied himself, as he ascended the spiral staircase to the top floor.
The upper floor was quieter, he didn’t feel so disoriented up here, but the music down below was still uncomfortably loud. He walked into the VIP lounge to see a small group of twenty something’s laughing and enjoying high end vodka chasers and what smelled like Jager bombs. He liked his alcohol, but tasting it in human blood was not very pleasant. Still, small sacrifices had to be made.
He sat down at the table in one fluid motion, enjoying the leather couch for a moment. The group had noticed him the second he had entered the lounge. The girls were eyeing his clothes, while the boys were sneering at him, sizing him up to see if they could take him in a fight.
Kenneth ignored the children and waved at the bar tender. The young woman there nodded and began mixing something behind the bar. Kenneth leaned back into the couch, trying to ignore the disgusting rot of human sweat and perfume. The conversation had died the instant he walked into the room and it had not restarted. Kenneth tilted his head up and looked at everyone else in the room. They were staring at him.
Kenneth stood up off the couch and walked over to the group, “My apologies, ladies and gentlemen” Kenneth said with a smile, “I’m part owner of this establishment. I hope I have not intruded.”
True to form as soon as he mentioned part owner the girls immediately started to smile at him, while the scowls from the boys only deepened. This was all part of the game. The girls were mostly drunk and one of them could have been very attractive, the other three of them were just scantily clad idiots with boob jobs. The men on the other hand were well kept, their clothes said they had money or had access to spend other people’s money, and they were all in pretty good shape. This was going to be a fun night.
Kenneth offered his hand to the attractive girl first. “My name’s Kenneth.”
The girl took his hand and he immediately twisted it over and bowed down to kiss it gently. The girl giggled a little and blushed. That destroyed any sense of attractiveness she may have had. There wasn’t a thought in her head. Somewhat disappointed he continued around the room, kissing the girls’ hands and squeezing the guys, a small show of strength. He smiled as each guy tried to hide their pain by clenching their fists or shoving them in their pockets.
After the introductions he sat back down again. The group seemed a little more relaxed now. A drink was offered to him and he gladly took it. The vodka martini was excellent. He ate the olive and savored the taste of the alcohol.
He turned to one of girls. “So, what brings a stunning woman like you to a place like this?”
The girl blushed and giggled; he corrected himself from his earlier though, this was going to be a very long night. She couldn’t even make eye contact with him. She kind of mumbled something that was so slurred even he couldn’t hear it. “I’m sorry, what was that?”
The girl shrugged and leaned her chin into her shoulder looking up at him through her bangs, “I don’t know. I just wanted to have some fun.”