Lesser Lurking

Butch

-I watched Z drive off with Piper and breathed out a sigh of relief. I didn’t want to add another problem on top of what could possibly be a dicey situation already. I turned back to Kisa and squared my shoulders up some.- Hope you gotta car cause I just gave up my wheels and I’m not too keen on running or riding bitch on a motorcycle.-I reached inside my suit coat and checked my guns, taking the safeties off and making sure they were loaded and ready to go.-

Kisa

~I pulled my keys from my pocket and aimed it at the Black Lexus parked a couple cars over and pressed the unlock button~ I don’t run unless it’s absolutely necessary Butch. ~I had barely paid any attention to the new coming as he took Butch’s sister away. It was of no importance to me unless it involved finding Sean. I walked over to my car and slid in behind the wheel. I sent up a prayer to the Virgin Mary for Sean’s safety before starting the ignition.~ 

Butch

Lemme guess, from the cops? -Laughing and shaking my head as I follow after you. Had to admit this was a damn strange situation that I found myself in but it wasn’t like I was going to turn a blind eye here either. This was was what it was about. Protecting the race against the lesser. If if involved some detective work along the way, well shit that was just up my alley. I wasn’t lying when I said that she wouldn’t find anyone else that would give a shit. Least not in ZeroSum unless some other Brother had dropped by. I was the best bet and I would at least follow all the trails I could. I sat down in the car and wiggled around a bit before closing the door. I had become entirely too accustomed to the SUV that much was for damn sure.-

Kisa

~I waited only long enough for Butch to get in and shut the door before I was pulling out heading towards Sean’s house.~ I do appreciate any help you can do here. I wasn’t sure what exactly to do, not that I come up on something like this much or hell if any. ~I took a left and barely made it through a yellow light and then took another left. I glanced around at the familiar houses and felt a wave pain at the thought of never coming down this road again. Shaking my head I turned into the last drive on the right and cut the motor. I looked through the windshield at the still pitch black house and then over at Butch.~ Well here we are, he’s lived here alone for as long as I have known him. ~I pulled the keys from the ignition and got out.~ 

Butch

-I leaned forward and glanced at the house while opening the front of my shirt so that I could get at my daggers if I needed to.- Uh huh. And how long have you known him? -I closed my eyes for a moment and let my senses roam wide and scan for whether there were any lesser in the area as we spoke. I wasn’t about to walk into some kind of huge trap. Which was always the possibility when you didn’t know who the fuck you were talking to. My head turned in a slow rotation before I’d satisfied myself that there was no lesser close by, at least at the moment. I glanced back at you and ran my own assessment of your character. I wasn’t a bad judge, I’d learned more than a few things while being a cop but I couldn’t sense anything but honest concern coming from you. So I opened the door and stepped out of the car. My eyes quickly scanned everything from the tire streaks on pavement to the well manicured lawn.-

Kisa

~I watched Butch closely and still yet thought the male might not be a cop now but all the signs were definitely there. It’s why my warning bells were going off back at the club as soon as I saw Butch. Guess it’s true I thought, a cop knows a criminal as a well as a criminal knows a cop. I walked up the trim walkway and and looked over at Butch.~ You want me to open it or do you want the honors of it? 

Butch

-I didn’t stop in my assessment of the place even though I knew you had said something. I just lifted my hand and mumbled.- Hang on a minute. -I circled around toward the back of the house with my hand at my dagger. It was easy enough to pick up on the smell of lesser even out here. I stopped and bent at the knees to look at some footprints. Following their track I could easily see that they led to the back door.- I’m surprised that a glymera son doesn’t have better security. -I put my hands on my knees and looked up at you.- And I’m also surprised that he had time to call you and warn you off… such as it was. -I pointed to the forced lock on the back door.- If he knew they were coming, then why didn’t he get the hell outta dodge?

Kisa

~I stepped away from the door when Butch started moving around the perimeter of the house and followed suit but staying upright. I saw the footprints and then the forced lock and shrugged my shoulders.~ I couldn’t tell you much about his security or lack of it. I can tell you that Sean if he had went to a Dr and had some one on one talks, we would be diagnosed as clinically depressed in my opinion. I hate to say it but if Sean knew trouble was coming that would bring about an end then he might not decide to run or even try to. But again this is my assessment of how and what I know of Sean, and of coarse none of it is factual. I’ve known Sean for a few years now, and I see him usually weekly, sometimes its monthly, just depends on schedules.

Butch

-I stood up as I listened to you, dusting my hands off before heading to the back door. Seemed to me that clinical depression ran rampant among glymera families. Maybe if they just pulled their heads out of their asses for one second they wouldn’t ruin the next generation of nobles. I grabbed the busted up door knob, not even worrying about finger prints since vampires didn’t have any, and pulled it open. I stopped just before entering and turned my head back to you as something clicked in my head.- And do you feed him as well?

Kisa

~I was just getting ready to step up close behind Butch to follow him in when that last question took my by surprise. I actually cracked a grin and looked straight on at Butch.~ Seems maybe you were exceptional at your job Cop, you have it right. It served us both. It was a mutual thing for us both but in no way was it more and undoubtedly his family knows little to nothing about me which was as I preferred it. Sean didn’t talk much about his family but when he did it was usually not a glowing conversation. 

Butch

-I smiled at the compliment- Detective Butch O’Neal of Caldwell’s finest ma’am. -I winked and tipped an imaginary hat. Of course that was all to hide the fact that we already had at our fingertips the way to track down this other vampire. The fact that it was closing in on sunrise either meant that this guy was going to be a crispy critter or we would have to go after him tomorrow night. If she didn’t know it already, I wasn’t going to volunteer that the blood they swapped would lead her straight to this male. I could just see her running off and I didn’t want that death on my conscious. I was just going to shut the hell up and learn what I could from the scene. As soon as I stepped through the door my senses were assaulted. The blood and the sick smell of lesser was a combination that wasn’t good at all. My fangs dropped down with a low hiss and I went even more on alert.-

Kisa

~My dark pony tail shook as my head nodded~ But of coarse, not just a street cop but an actual Detective. I am down on my game tonight. ~My head cocked a notch as it seemed for a split second that the very astute Detective Butch had a thought but no words came forth. I shook it off, right now Butch seemed good to go and he was all I had to rely on. I stepped through the back door after Butch and smelled the same scents that I had earlier except now it had more of a dull thickness to it.~

Butch

-It didn’t take me long to examine the entire layout of the place and form my own opinions on what had went down here. Surprisingly, Kisa’s assessment of the place had been rather accurate. I was in the guy’s bedroom when my attention was drawn to a spot on the wall. The closer I got to it the more certain I was that it was a bullet hole, which was odd considering there were none in the rest of the place. I stood directly in front of it and turned around to try to gather where it had come from. My eyes immediately zoned in on the window and from this angle I could see that there was a shot straight through one of the panes. The curtain had partially obscured it before but now I could clearly see that the shot had come from a house that was a good distance away.- Oh fuck! -My eyes widened and I had no more than a moments notice to duck before the shot rang out. I could feel the fucker whiz through my hair as I hit the floor.- Get down! Them fuckers have been watching your buddy for awhile now. -I army crawled across the floor and the hell away from the windows.-

Piper

~My heart sunk as each room we went through held little to nothing to go on. I took in all the over turned and broken things that once had been perfect and in just right the spots. Sean was extreme OCD and was always fidgeting around, and always moving things about only to end up putting them where they was originally. I smiled as I saw the picture I bought him for his birthday last year hanging on the wall opposite the wall his bed was on. I found it at an art gallery and knew it was just right for him. I now more had that nice little thought in my head then I heard Butch shout at me and drop down to the ground. I went on full alert and dropped down to the ground on my stomach just in time before the bullet embedded itself in the wall I had been just standing against. I turned my head and looked over Butch as he crawled across the floor.~ I’d say its time to escape and save our hides. When I was here earlier no one was here but I didn’t think about casing the place. ~I muttered a fluent roll of curses at my lapse and stupidity.~

Butch

-I had to smirk as I heard the litany of curses.- Gotta admire a chick that can curse with the best of ‘em. -I laughed as I made my way through the house being much more careful of the windows this time.- And yeah, it probably would be smart to leave now but I’ve never really been accused of that. -I went out the front door this time and I was running at full speed as soon as I was outside. I spared one glance behind me to make sure that you were okay before palming my daggers. I hooked it around a few houses until I got to the one that I knew the asshole was in. As soon as I got close enough, I knew that he was lesser and that he must have been some left behind lookout because it was just him up there. I didn’t even stop running, I just threw my shoulder into the door and bore down on it full tilt. I slammed into the wall on the other side of the door and turned immediately toward the stairs. I knew the lesser was upstairs, I could feel him and my feet were carrying me straight to him.-

Kisa

~It seemed a night to follow one Mr. Butch O’Neal as I stayed down on the ground and crawled along the hardwood floor. I almost laughed as I thought back to Christian asking about flexibility with lasers. A lot of jobs I ended up on the ground making my way to X marks the spot. Snorting at that line of thought, we had just breached the living room and right before my eyes Butch jumped up and went full on crazy. My eyes almost bulged out of my head and it took me a second longer before I pushed up off the floor and got to my feet and darted a glance at one fast vampire.~ I thought we agreed on no running tonight. ~Shaking my head I took off in the same direction and stopped when I came to the house that Butch dove head long into. I headed in through the busted open door and heard all kinds of ruckus upstairs. I didn’t think I just went upstairs. I might be a criminal but I don’t leave my partner behind and even though Butch wasn’t my partner in the traditional sense, he was there because of me. That alone deserved the respect of me having his back. I stopped short when I came to the doorway that was tore all to hell and back.~ 

Butch

-I bulled straight into the pale fucker as he was trying to make a phone call. No doubt he was trying to call in back up but that didn’t fly so well with me. His brain must not have been firing on all cylinders cause he tried to club me over the head with his sniper rifle. I shrugged off the few good hits he got and batted the weapon away.- Surprise fucker! Betcha didn’t expect to find me here. -I embedded my daggers right into his shoulders, pinning him to the wall.- Where did they take that vampire? -I pointed to Sean’s house with an angry finger and as I guessed the guy wasn’t volunteering anything. He shook his head wildly, eyes bulging. ‘He’ll kill me.’ I glanced at my watch and judged the likelihood of back up coming through the door at any minute. I didn’t have time to play around with this idiot.- What do you think I am going to do? -I waited until I had his gaze captured and he couldn’t look away.- Yeah… now you know who I am. -I grinned wickedly and opened my mouth wide. I exhaled all of my breath before drawing it back straight from the lesser. I could see in his eyes that he was trying to fight it as the cloudy black substance flowed out of him and into me. I held him lock in place until he simply disappeared in a haze of dust. I coughed and choked before weakly pulling my dagger from the wall and sheathing them. I bent over at the waist and held myself steady with hands on my knees.- Oh shit, I hate this part. -I spit up some before looking back up at you and instantly made a decision that I was sure would not be popular.- You mind giving me a ride home?

Kisa

~I stepped into the room as soon as the fighting started, ready to launch myself at the albino freaks back but before I could get close enough Butch already had him under control. Ok that wasn’t really what it was, more to the point he had the guy stuck to the wall like a wall hanging. I stood there and watched it all play out, it almost felt like I was in the front row at a play but the black oozing from the newly appointed wall decoration and the overwhelming sweet scent said this was all too real. I licked my suddenly dry lips, feeling out of my element here but one thing I could say, fear was not creeping up on me. No, I stood there in the middle of the room and watched in fascination at how Butch was handling the guy. Something caught my eye and I looked to the left of me where the rifle had landed and in two steps I retrieved it and planned to hand it off to Butch, thinking maybe it could be used as a threatening tactic to get the info from the guy. I soon realized that wasn’t going to happen and I found myself gripping the rifle in a death hold as I was sure as shitting watching something from the exorcist. My mouth dropped open and my eyes went wide as Butch leaned in and as easily as breathing sucked a black cloud of smoke from the guy and drew it into himself and that wasn’t the end, just like a magic show, the guy vanished from sight in a mess of dust.~ Holy fuck. ~That was all I could come up with. Yuup nothing else was coming forth in the way of common sense. My eyes finally came back down to somewhat normal size and I rushed to Butch’s side and hooked my arm around his back.~ I think a priest is what you really need but I am not even going to argue with you after that little scene. No way. You want home detective, you get home. ~I tightened my arm around Butch to give as much support as I could and pulled his arm over my shoulders.~

Butch

-I sputtered out a laugh and took your helping support gratefully- I need more than a priest, sista. And home is exactly where them heals are at. -I stumbled across the room at the quickest pace I could manage, cursing under my breath.- Sorry to lay that one on ya like that. I know it’s not the best thing for one’s sanity. -I eyeballed the stairs like they were the greatest enemy I’d ever faced and ended up just kinda trip/falling down them. I straightened up at the bottom like a gymnast that just completed a routine. I was even half tempted to throw my hands out.-Maybe I’ll just sit here on the curb and wait for you to bring the car around… -I coughed out another laugh and flopped down. Looking up at you with a half grin.-You should know something before you say ‘yes’ to all this. My brothers probably aint gonna be to hip to you coming around.

Kisa

~I more than just grunted under the weight of Butch, the male was big but it was east enough to tell it was all muscle. Somehow after much tripping on stair edges and almost falling straight down them we reached the bottom and I was huffing out some major breaths.~ If home is where the healing is then home it is. You must have some pretty good drugs in your medicine cabinet to be able to knock that out of your system. ~I helped Butch out the door and to the curb before assisting you in sitting down on it and standing back up to catch my much needed breath.~ Well your brothers can pull up their big boy underoos and deal with it. Not like I am going to leave you sitting here for the garbage trucks or worse yet the sun to finish you off Butch. ~I darted a glance up and down the street just making sure it was clear before I took off at a run to my car a few houses down. It freaked me out leaving Butch sitting there but they hadn’t yet come up with a car that would come to you by the press of a button. I made it to my car and in it, in record time and was peeling tires out of the driveway as I backed out and came to a smoking stop in front of Butch. I left the car running and went around to open the passenger door before crouching down to help get up and into the car. Hooking my fingers good and tight into your side I used my free hand and slung your arm over my shoulder once more and with much work I managed to help Butch get up and somehow curled his large frame into my car.~ Ok, I got this. ~Nodding I shut the door and ran back around to my side and jumped in and had the gear in drive before I even shut the door.~ You relax and just tell me where to go and I will get you there Butch. Soon enough you will have good drugs and happy.

Butch

Underoos!… -Coughing hard and holding my sides.- Damn it, stop making me laugh. -I watched you darting away and hoped to god I wasn’t going to get my ass reamed on this one. There wasn’t much time left for me to pick any other avenues at this point. I needed to get home and it wasn’t just to heal cause the sun was hot on our tail. I pulled out my phone while you were getting the car and shot a text to Vishous: ‘Ran into a lesser. Coming home with some yuck and a stray civilian that needs the Brothers help.’ I hit send and pocketed the phone when I saw the car come around the corner. I realized pretty quickly how shitty an idea it was to sit down because up was always ten times harder. I kinda felt bad for all the grunting and groaning I was putting you through just to get me back in the car but I sure did sink down gratefully as soon as I was there. I let out a heavy as hell sigh and tried not to think about the nasty shit rumbling around in my stomach.- I’ve got the best kind of drug waiting for me back there. -A huge grin crossed my face and I couldn’t think of anything better right now then getting back to my male. I gave some rather vague directions to start off with and narrowed them down a little bit more as we got closer. As soon as we hit the Mhis I made sure to reassure you just to drive straight through it. I stuck my head out of the window at the security gates and gave a tired wave to whoever was watching the cameras. I was a little worried that they wouldn’t let us through at first but when the gates finally opened I nudged your shoulder lightly and pointed ahead.- Go on in and welcome to the Brotherhood’s mansion. If anyone gives you a bad time just blame it on me.

Kisa

~I kept darting glances at Butch as I followed the direction, I was more worried about the state of health he was in and wished like hell he would let me take him to the hospital. But soon enough we was out on some road I had never been on even knew existed and pulling through something that was nothing and soon became something. At that point I was sure I was the one on drugs. I watched as Butch waved at a security system that was almost so obscure that if you wasn’t looking for it you would never see it. I drove through the first gate that looked like it had seen its better days in world war 1 but yet it swung open as easily as a butter knife cutting through warm butter. When the next gate came I didn’t even have to stop because it opened up just as the one after that did also. What set before me was something out of a movie. It was gran and enormous, mansion didn’t quite seem to touch on it. I felt like a kid at Disney Land looking out as I crept up to the front of the place. Everything that I could see was beautiful and perfect, the vast lawn was green as green could be and all the landscaping. I was simply in awe and it took a lot for me to be that way considering the priceless items I had taken over the years. But what I felt at just seeing a place such as this was nothing compared to what Butch’s words did to me. My foot shoved on the brake and bringing us to a screeching halt and I eyed Butch like he had gone completely mad.~ You have got to be fucking kidding me? This is… I mean…ugh you are one of those Brother people? ~My head almost dropped as I processed this info but I pulled it together and got out after I put the car in parked and actually remembered to turn it off. I went around to Butch side and I still couldn’t quit looking from the Mansion before me and through the windshield at Butch. I opened the door and bent down to help you out.~ Tell me this, will I leave here alive or in a pine box Butch?

Butch

-I struggled to get out of the car, grabbing every piece of the door frame and hand hold that I could find to pull myself from the seat. When I was finally standing I relaxed back against the car to catch my breath.- You make it sound like we are some kind of disease that you definitely don’t want to catch. You could look at this way: you hit the lotto when it comes to someone finding your friend. Granted we can’t do much right now but that’s just how it goes. -I pushed away from the car and gladly accepted your help to get to the door. I could hear the shutters closing down around the whole mansion even as I looked up at the camera.- Cuttin it a little close for my taste. -The door swung open and I stumbled into the foyer that never stopped amazing me. You would think that living here I had gotten use to the grandeur of it but I had to hand it Darius, he had an eye for the spectacular.- If you want to avoid that pine box sitch you better let me try to smooth this over with the big guy. -I tried to give you an encouraging smile but my stomach chose that moment to twist up on me and I ended up groaning instead.- Fritz here will take care of you. He’s good like that. -I pointed to the elderly doggen that was already hovering nervously.- I’ll take the heat for this, Fritz. Don’t worry about it. -I got to the hand rail that led up the stairs and shrugged you off.- I can take it from here. Thank you for helping a gimp out. -I gripped the rail like it was a life raft and pulled myself up the steps. I was panting so hard when I finally reached the top you woulda thought I just spent the entire night in the arms of my male. That would have been a much better night. I chuckled to myself before tapping on Wrath’s door and slipping inside. It didn’t take long before a resounding ‘WHAT!’ rang out through the whole manse. All things considered I thought the conversation went well though. No one was dead and I even got the King to help my sorry ass back to the Pit. Sure he grumbled and complained the whole way about how this was supposed to be a secret mansion and we all keep bringing people to it. I tried not to laugh because it hurt too much. I didn’t actually relax until I was flopped down on the couch in the Pit and that wasn’t exactly the best word for it, I just finally felt safe. I was home and back where I belonged.-