The two vampires stood there in the middle of the room, staring at one another. There was a long and rather uncomfortable silence that even made the wolves in the room slightly uneasy. Gabriel on the other hand had been staring down his brother for thousands of years and had never backed down from him during that time. He's likely the only person to stand up this defiantly to Cornelius and lived to talk about it. That had given Gabriel a reputation of his own, one that he didn't really care for since most of his rep was based on his brother's status as well. It was one of the many reasons Gabriel had left Europe and the jurisdiction of the council to seek out a life of his own, far away from his own species. Cornelius was looking rather casual about it, which was surprising considering the serious matter at hand. He cracked his knuckles while looking back at his younger brother.

     "It feels like it's been a few decades," he told Gabriel.

     "That's because it's been few decades," Gabriel confirmed, "Time flies when you're doing the council's dirty work and being their garbage man."

     The other wolves stood there in silence, some with gaped jaws at what they were hearing as both men stood off with one another. Cornelius turned to face Clive when that moment passed.

     "Leave us," He barked, as it clearly wasn't a request.

      Once the wolves were out of the room, Cornelius walked over to the table and took a seat. Gabriel remained standing as he knew the lecture that was coming his way. He had heard it often since he moved to the Americas many centuries ago.

     "I have the right to exist," Gabriel started, "And so does the people who are my friends. I would wipe out of all of California to protect them."

     "Well, at least you don't deny it." His brother replied, "Not like that mattered, as we already verified where every other Vampire in the country was when this incident occurred."

     "How did you know it was a Vampire?" Gabriel asked, and then he figured it out himself, "It was the one I nearly drained, wasn't it?"

     "It was," Cornelius confirmed, "You nearly sucked her dry. Did you experience the rage after you did it?"

     "Only briefly," Gabriel said, "It passed almost as quickly as it started."

     "Thankfully no one was alive to see it." His brother added, "You need to be more careful if you want to stay out here in this wasteland."

     "It wasn't a wasteland when I got here," Gabriel countered, "It was a nice place and it could be again."

     "I actually prefer it this way," Cornelius said, "I like that we are free to be so open and proud of what we are here."

     "If clean food wasn't so hard to find, I might agree with you." Gabriel replied.

     "I think you've done well with that," his brother disagreed, "Is that why you did it? They're your clean supply?"

     "Pretty much," Gabriel lied, "I thought they were safe in Denver, but I was clearly wrong. The Charter says anyone I feed on is my property. Those fools tried to kill them. I was within my rights."

If you discover this tale on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen. Please report the violation.

     "Yes, you are." Cornelius confirmed, "I just wish you didn't drain one of them. We could have denied it and even pinned it on something else.

     "My apologies," Gabriel finally said, turning his back. "I got caught up in the moment. It hasn't been easy out here."

     "You can always come home," Cornelius offered, "We don't have this problem back home. You don't have to keep this struggle up if you don't want to."

     "Didn't you just say you liked it here?" Gabriel countered.

     "I don't like the undead," Cornelius replied, "We're working on that."

     "Are you now?" Gabriel said, curious about that statement. "How so?"

     "That's not your business." His brother answered. "And don't bother trying to talk me into telling you any of it. The council is keeping this one close to their chests. I know very little myself and yet they send me here to gather Intel."

     "That's unlike them," Gabriel noted, "They like to be in the spotlight, not dashing in the shadows. Why the secrecy?"

     "Fear of failure, I suppose." Cornelius guessed, "Not wanting to get hopes up only to fall flat on their faces and let the world down."

     "Since when did the council care about the world?" Gabriel asked.

     "Since it started to end," Cornelius answered, "It takes an apocalypse for even the most stubborn monsters to realize we all share this world together. That the demise of one species can affect the others, and even wipe them out as well."

     "No humans," Gabriel surmised, "Means no food."

     "Precisely," his brother concurred, "This is our problem now as much as it is theirs, and so we must also act."

     "So what do you want of me?" Gabriel asked, "I know you... you're here to ask me for something."

     "You have a good rapport with the humans," his brother started, "I was wondering if you could use your contacts to gather information for the council."

     "What kind of information?" Gabriel asked.

     "Intel on the undead," Cornelius replied, "Especially from those who remember when it all started. I have lists of queries you can take with you."

     "I know a few humans that can help," Gabriel added, "One of them can talk people into sharing anything, he'd remind you of Horace."

     "I miss Horace," Cornelius recalled, "And he'll help us?"

     "I saved him and his friends from Denver so he owes me," Gabriel said, "but what am I going to get out of it?"

     "We'll inform the Californians that the matter is closed," Cornelius answered, "Since they never bothered to inform us of their attack on Denver, we cannot control assets that might respond. This is as much their fault as it is yours."

     "Seems fair for now," Gabriel said, "I'll see what my people can do, maybe even try to reach out to older friends in other cities on the east coast."

     "I appreciate your efforts," his brother added, as he stood to hand Gabriel a document with the questions they want asked. "As does that council."

     "I'm not doing this out of the goodness of my cold heart," Gabriel informed his brother as he took the document from him, "My friend and I are leaving and heading back to her town. I want assurances from you and the council that her small part of the world will be protected from threats that you can control, like those crazy pricks from California."

     "If your sources reside in this town, they will have it." His brother conceded.

     "Then we're done here," Gabriel said, "See you in a few decades."

     Gabriel didn't even need to ask for directions as he could subtly feel what room Alyssa was being held in. As he pushed the door open, Alyssa couldn't help but smile as the guard watching her was less than impressed with the intrusion.

     "What are you doing here?" the Lycan asked.

     "We're leaving," Gabriel said, "If you have an issue with it, take it up with my brother. He's brooding just down the hall."

     The Lycan gave no further protest as Gabriel took Alyssa's hand and led her out of the room. They would head back to the pharmacy in the mall like outlet to grab the medical supplies before leaving early to head back for her small town... completely unaware of the chaos that waited for them when they returned.