Harlow followed his boyfriend down an alleyway, away from their Jeep where Foxx had just stashed his sunsuit. He stretched his arms up, grunting when his joints popped. Apparently, swinging a fucking club repeatedly for hours could, in fact, cause aches to someone who wasn’t human.
“Feeling putt-putt, huh?” Foxx adjusted his puffy cap over his black curls with a snicker. The man waited for him to catch up, before they continued on side by side.
“You seem fine.”
“Of course, but then again, I wasn’t tense the whole time, or swinging my club hard enough to send balls flying through cement, trees, and electronics.” Foxx smiled. “Don’t worry, the aches will be gone in about thirty minutes, I’d assumed.”
“Question is, what will we be doing in thirty minutes?”
As it turned out, Wacky Jackie’s Putt-Putt Palace had been smack dab in the middle distance-wise between Houndside Hazard and Sunfall. Meaning their location had allowed them to shave an hour off their drive.
Tony must have left before calling them, because they’d arrived around the same time. After a brief conversation about the number of infected they suspected, followed by picking their team’s name, they’d grabbed an earpiece, a tracker, and had loaded up with automatic injectors filled with the joint counteragent. That was two hours ago…
So far, the only thing they’d accomplished was getting some exercise in, while gaining an overview of the types of calls that the police of Sunfall dealt with. Police scanners…were not as entertaining to listen to as some may think.
At least they weren’t alone in their boredom, as all the other teams had been doing the same damn thing as they had… Well, the hunter teams and the…werewolves. Based on what he smelled during the meet up before setting off…at least forty of Santiago’s pack was here—Santiago included.
They drew to a stop when there was a clicking noise from their earpieces. Soon after, a woman’s voice that he didn’t recognize spoke over the line. “Disturbance near 21st and Grant Street, in Sunfall. Team Ball Buster advancing.”
Foxx snorted. “We got to pick our team names and that’s what they went with?”
His brow rose at that. “Foxx, you named ours The Sadistic Sunshine Brigade.”
The vampire huffed. “Well, I mean, it’s your cute nickname for meeee! Though I did drop the ball part as it didn’t fit.”
Harlow frowned. Had he ever told Foxx that… “How do you know I call you that?”
Foxx’s head tilted. “You said it on the video.”
“Ah! The torture video. I did say that out loud, didn’t I?”
“Mmhmm.” The vampire nodded, a wide lopsided smile on his face, the man’s dimples were flashing, along with one of his fangs.
“Like the nickname, do you?” He chuckled.
“I do!”
They went quiet when their earpieces clicked once again. The woman who spoke last time sounded out of breath as she said, “Team Ball Buster checking in. Two targets…neutralized. Civilian injuries…but no deaths. Pick up and medical needed.”
Tony’s voice came on the line straight after. “Houndside Hazard Guild Director Tony Varley here. Pick up and medical is on the way. As for the rest of you, this shit show has officially begun. Our warning notice to the public will be delayed, but the cities of Sunfall, Hastings, and Jorden are now on lockdown.
“As I speak, light barriers and solid silver fencing is being set in place to keep all infected contained in those areas as best we can. Hunters and groups assigned to Hastings and Jorden, be prepared to branch out in case some have managed to spread beyond the borders.
“As of now, your job is to keep your eyes and ears open, and head to any questionable 911 calls that are nearest you. Keep an eye on the location of other hunters. We stuck a tracker on your asses and provided you with a digital map showing them all for a reason. Do NOT bunch up. We want you to be where you are needed as quickly as you can be.
“Be aware that as you inject the counteragent, the target will likely fight until it has time to take effect. At which time, due to how long the poison has been coursing through them, they will pass out. Like Team Ball Buster did, call in for a pick up, and medical if needed, once target, or targets, are neutralized. The goal is to keep casualties low on both sides. Is that clear?!” There were a bunch of clicks, hunters using the button to talk to confirm they understood. “Good, get your asses moving then!”
“Let’s go!” Foxx chimed, skipping forward as he did.
Shaking his head, Harlow followed.
“Wait.”Foxx held his hand up. “Do you smell that?”
Before the dhampir even had time to answer, Foxx took off. As he ran, he retrieved an injector from his dungaree pocket.
Running alongside him, Harlow asked, “What do you smell?”
“Rot.”
