“If I could grab someone easily without notifying the rest, I would. But often, when they work in a group, they keep an eye on each other. There is always the risk that it would take too long for me to find the rest, and someone would take off. Then again, it’s just as likely that one would try to escape when I went after them all as a group.” He shrugged. “The risk is always there.”
“Right. The manual mentioned what to do after we capture humans, but I’m not sure which scenario applies here.”
“Are you asking what we do with them after we nab them, or what happens to them next in the legal system?”
Foxx frowned and thought about it. “Both?”
He was pretty sure he already knew, but it didn’t hurt to ask.
“I doubt I have to explain this, but the reason we travel so much for this job, even hundreds of miles away, is that in the entire U.S.A., there are only ten Hunters Guild branches, plus the headquarters. The headquarters is in Washington, D.C., while the ten Guilds are spread out throughout the country. It means there isn’t even one Guild per state. So, in the case where the closest Guild, or closest Guild with hunters available, is hours away—which in this case happens to be ours back in Hazard—we will utilize the local police department resources to contain and or transport the criminals to wherever they need to be to stand trial. And there will likely be a long ass trial in this case. These individuals are believed to be responsible for the deaths of at least ten vampires and two werewolves so far.”
Foxx grimaced at that. Bastards prayed on the young and inexperienced.
* * *
“Worry not,if they get a paranormal sympathetic jury, which is a little easier to find nowadays, they may end up dead themselves. The morons didn’t do much to cover their tracks. Most don’t. In this case, there is the added fact that most of the paranormals they killed were very young. Not a single one had reached twenty. It doesn’t look good for them,” Harlow said when Foxx started to frown.
He reached down and snagged a water bottle from the pack he brought in. Harlow drank it quickly, and when he was done, he forced himself to not reach for another, even though he really wanted to. Going into a possible fight with a full bladder was not a smart idea.
“I hope the trial ends in their deaths. Though they won’t be dying as violently as they deserve.” The vampire sighed. “Such a pity.”
Harlow chuckled. “A bit bloodthirsty, are you?”
Foxx smirked and sent him a wink. “Always.”
Ignoring Foxx’s flirting, which he was going to assume would be something he’d have to deal with off and on, Harlow asked, “So, what are you packing?”
The vampire’s brow raised in question, his eyes flicking down to Harlow’s crotch before quickly averting his gaze and asking, “Packing?”
“I’m talking about weapons, you perv.” Harlow snorted.
Maybe he shouldn’t ignore the flirting and try to get him to stop. It wasn’t that Harlow didn’t swing that way. The truth was, he had found plenty of guys attractive before. He just hadn’t found any reason to do anything about it. It all seemed too much of a hassle. So, up until now, he’d strictly fucked women.
Foxx was…cute, but he couldn’t really see much of him under those bulky sweaters and mom jeans to really gauge if he found him attractive or not.
Foxx's cheeks flushed lightly. “Right, I knew that!” He cleared his throat. “Well, I didn’t really bring anything. We were warned they’d be human. My claws will be enough, won’t they? Also, I’m not supposed to kill them, so I figured bringing anything else would have been overkill.”
Harlow would have taken offense at the downgrading of his species, but honestly, Foxx was probably right. Most wannabe hunters had little training, which is why many ended up dead at the hands of whatever paranormal creature they tried to attack. Though that wasn’t always the case. If one knew how to handle oneself…while most paranormals had some sort of advantage, whether it was in strength or a special ability, one could still come out on top.
“Keep in mind, this group has killed already.”
Foxx let out an almost bitter-sounding laugh before growling viciously. “The ones they are believed to have killed are just babies. Easy targets. I am not so easy to take down.”
Harlow shrugged, but the dark part of him that loved death and violence sparked to life, excitement filling him. Right now, Foxx had the feel about him. The feeling of danger that older paranormals gave off. He wanted to know if his hunch when they’d first met was correct. Was Foxx, despite his looks, as dangerous as his instincts were telling him?
“I can’t wait to see how ‘not’ easy you are to take down. Either way, like you said, no overkill. Yet…if your life is in danger, their death will be accepted. Just be prepared for a shit ton of questioning and paperwork.”
Harlow looked down at the list of names again. He swore when he found he had to lean forward to read it clearly, which of course, caused Foxx to giggle. Dammit…if he had to get glasses, he was going to be pissed.
“The house located on Way Avenue is most likely their base.” Harlow pointed towards a picture of an old, rundown three-story house. One of the windows was boarded up, the white exterior was now gray and covered in dirt, the shingled roof was in disrepair, while the yard was growing wild. It looked abandoned. “It’s the largest, and unlike the rest of the properties, it hasn’t been maintained at all.”
Foxx started tapping on his phone, scrolling a bit before saying, “It looks like the neighborhood itself is run down.”
Was…that how fast new phones worked nowadays?
“Then it’s the perfect fit for what they need. Because the neighbors would not likely snoop or call the cops at a scream. We could check out the rest first, but I doubt they’d risk killing in these other neighborhoods. Too nice. If we are lucky, we will catch them tonight. If not, we will probably have to stake out the place for a bit.”
Foxx nodded. “Let’s head out and hope they show up, I guess.”
