“It appears the sound of gunshots sent the two groups waiting above fleeing. Everyone is headed to the large gathering on the eighth floor,” Foxx noted.
Harlow grunted. “Good, all in one place. How many left?”
“There are seventy-five still standing.”
Two against seventy-five—he wasn’t liking those odds. But he did like them better if he planned to kill everyone. Which he did. If they intended on leaving here breathing, there was no other option. But could he get away with it without a major shitstorm afterwards?
“How many bodies do you think are here, Foxx?”
“I’m thinking close to the triple digits Charity was fearing. There are way more bodies than those listed missing. The drained bodies they found, I’m thinking those were ones they got lazy with. I’d say they have been killing for many months earlier than assumed. It’s possible the group grew bold because they hadn’t gotten caught.”
Well, that made this easier. “Then new directive. There are too many to fight at once. I’m authorizing you to take down our targets by any means necessary. No mercy. The only mercy they get is the one time you will be offering them the option to surrender. We can…” He gulped as his head swayed, his foot almost missing a step, but he covered it up well enough for Foxx to not notice. “It is imperative that we record us giving them a chance. Get your phone out.”
Foxx eyed him hesitantly, both of them pausing as they reached the final landing.
“Foxx, do it.”
The vampire shook his head and pulled his phone from his pocket, messing with it for a moment. “There, it’s recording.”
Harlow cleared his throat. “This is Hunter Harlow Blackmore of the Houndside Hazard Hunters Guild. My proof of identity code is 519372. My partner, Foxx Honeywell, is beside me. We have come across a situation, possibly a hundred dead, on top of what was assumed coming into our case. We are in the Moresy Hotel, about to approach a room full of an estimated seventy-five enemies. It is a mix of humans and vampires. Every single one is hostile. I am stating now, without reasonable doubt, that they are all guilty of the crimes committed here and in this area. My team and I have already sustained injuries. Due to the level of threat we are about to face, I am choosing to activate protocol 6137, which gives us the authorization to eliminate all threats after a single chance of surrender is given. Foxx, were you given an identity code for protocol authorizations?”
Foxx shook his head. Harlow grimaced. He supposed that while they were allowing paranormals to become hunters…they weren’t giving them the authority to make life-or-death decisions for the humans they faced…which was fucked up.
“Then I guess that’s it. Keep it running. L-let’s go.”
Foxx eyed him with a frown. “Harlow, are you sure you’re okay?”
“I’ll be fine.” He took a deep but very shallow breath, and then stepped forward, pushing through the door and walking into the hallway.
The minute both of them were on the other side, some creepy ass organ music started playing.
“Well, that’s fucking comforting,” Harlow rasped.
Foxx shrugged and started forward. Each step was becoming harder, and he feared he might not even make it into the room that all these assholes were in. Which sucked.
“Foxx…” Harlow gasped and cleared his throat. “Stop the recording and send it to Tony now. Then restart…just in case your phone gets damaged along the way.”
The vampire eyed him but started to mess with his phone, so Harlow figured he was doing as he asked.
“It’s done,” Foxx said as he slipped it into his front pocket, which should still work. They didn’t need to see everyone, as long as what was said could be heard.
Forward they went, and the closer they got, the louder the music. Suddenly a booming voice rang out.
“The unbelievers are coming! It will be their downfall. Prepare my followers, for we will claim the ultimate judgment this day against the true filth of this world. The true pestilence of humanity. Come, unbelievers. Come and meet your doom!”
Foxx huffed. “What dramatics.”
The sermon continued, but all of it just sounded like babbling to him.
“Just utter bullshit,” Harlow scoffed.
So close… His vision swayed again. “Foxx…I hate to do this to you…but—” On his next step, his knees didn’t hold, and the floor rushed towards him, his vision going black before he even landed. The last thing he heard was Foxx crying out his name.
“Harlow!” Foxx cried out, eyes widening as the human collapsed.
Fuck! He knew that the scent of blood was too strong to be just from the wounds he could see. Foxx tried not to panic as he crouched and picked Harlow up. At the feeling of warm, slick blood coating his hands, it didn’t take much to guess that the wound he hadn’t known about had been hidden by the man’s damn leather jacket and was on his back.
Harlow’s heart was still beating strong, but the longer Foxx listened, the more off his breathing was sounding.
