"You were fifteen. You were helpless." Reuben's voice softened slightly. "That's not what you are now."
No, Simon thought. Now he was something else. Something Reuben had created in a laboratory with experimental procedures and illegal chemicals. Something that could hunt monsters because part of him understood them in ways normal humans never could.
"Take a dose now," Reuben ordered. "Before you leave."
Simon pulled out the bottle, shook two pills into his palm, and dry-swallowed them. Reuben watched to make sure he didn't palm them.
"Good." Reuben moved back to his desk. "Now, about Charlie Dracul. Tell me what really happened at that laundromat."
"The target didn't match the profile."
Reuben pulled out a tablet, swiping to what Simon recognized as the intelligence file. "Charlie Dracul. Suspected in three killings last month. Seen near the warehouse district where those bodies were found drained."
"Except there were no bodies. I checked the police databases. No missing persons reports matching those dates. No homicides with that MO."
"You think Intelligence fabricated the reports?"
"No." Simon had considered it, but it didn't make sense. "I think someone fed them false information. The witness statements are too detailed to be mistakes. Someone wanted us to think Charlie Dracul was dangerous."
Reuben set down the tablet. "And your actual observation of the target?"
Simon almost laughed. Almost. "He crashed into a wall trying to use super-speed, then bounced off a soap dispenser and left in a laundry cart."
Silence.
Reuben's gaze narrowed. "You're joking."
Simon wished he were. But… "I watched him ricochet around the laundromat like a pinball. He has the power but no control. Like he's never used it before."
Reuben was quiet for a moment. "New vampire?"
"Has to be. Weeks old at most. But that doesn't explain the Dracul name. No fledgling would dare claim that lineage without backing."
"Unless he doesn't know what it means." Reuben stood, pacing to the window again. "Tell me about the convenience store."
Simon blinked at the subject change. "What about it?"
"You went there and talked to the manager."
Of course, Reuben knew. He probably knew every step Simon had taken since leaving the laundromat.
"The manager said Charlie fainted when a customer came in with a nosebleed, that he dropped and they had to mop around him."
Reuben made a sound that might have been a suppressed laugh. "A vampire who faints at the sight of blood."
"It doesn't make sense."
"No, it doesn't." Reuben turned back to him. "Which means you're missing something. Either Charlie Dracul is the greatest actor in vampire history, or…"
"Or someone's setting him up."
"The question is why." Reuben returned to his desk. "And who benefits from us eliminating a harmless fledgling."
Simon had been wondering the same thing. "Could be vampire politics. Maybe he offended the wrong coven. Get the hunters to do their dirty work."
"Or setting you up." Reuben gathered the papers. "You're our most effective hunter. If someone wanted to test our capabilities or distract us from something else..."
"They'd send me after a nobody and watch what happens."
