"If he was in this area, he would already be killing vampires and the police department would have hired him," Adonis said.
"I agree," Danai said from the very back seat where she was sitting with Michael. "The police would have told us if they had hired hunters for the job so we could coordinate with them or stay out of their way. They'll want the money for the job and no interference from us."
"If they hire someone, it will most likely be for just Crichton." Pasha looked at her own phone and saw Crichton's image. "He looks like any middle-aged man on the street. Nothing remarkable about him except for the major cleft in his chin and the slight balding on his forehead."
"He doesn't look like he could have masterminded this whole thing." Danai brought up an image to look at too.
"He didn't. Rutherford did. And Crichton has made a real muddle of it for the vampires, and potentially us, if hunters come to take him out and we have the same notion," Pasha said.
"Well, they can have him." Danai snorted. "Any hunter can, just so he's eliminated and doesn't go anywhere else to pull the same thing."
"I agree," Michael said. "He needs to be eliminated. Even the vampires might take him down now after what he's pulled."
"Ohmigod, reporters are reporting live at the scene of the pub where the seven men disappeared. They've just returned to order meals and pay their bills at the pub and the press and police are all over them. The reporters are trying to get interviews from the men and...one just bared his fangs at the reporter, who immediately retreated."
"Sounds to me like Crichton turned them." Adonis pulled into the driveway of the house where Zachary and Pasha were staying.
"Yeah, and they're so newly turned, they haven't learned to control their fangs," Zachary said.
"Let's go watch some television," Adonis said, and they all piled out of the SUV and headed into the house.
Boniface and Victor greeted them.
"We've got the news on," Victor said, “if that's why you all are coming inside."
"Yeah, that's exactly why. If we have any hired hunters coming into the area, all of us need to know about it. I'm calling the police chief about it now." Adonis got on his phone while everyone else gathered around the living room to watch the TV.
"There you have it," one of the reporters said to the viewers. "One of our own people, baring vampire fangs at us. Once the rogue vampires begin turning us, where will it stop?"
One of the police officers was on his radio and despite all the talking, the hunters' hearing was so good, they could filter out conversations. "Yes, sir. At least one of them is a vampire. What do you want us to do? They can just vanish in a blink of an eye. Okay, we’re not to arrest them. Yes, sir. I'll ask them nicely." He ended the call and said, "Could I have you go with us to tell us what happened to you? We don't need for all of this to be on the news. You’re not under arrest or anything."
"I'm going to the police station," Adonis said, ending the call with the police chief, but he was still watching the situation on the TV before he left.
"Sure," one of the men said to the police officer on the news. Then all seven men left with the police officers, trying to make their way through the crowd of new reporters, three more of the men baring their extended canines when the reporters shoved mics in their faces.
The reporters were trying to quickly get out of their space and stepping on others who were bunched up behind them.
Then the seven newly turned vampires climbed into several of the police vehicles and the policemen took them to the station for interviews.
"I shall return." Adonis vanished.
"Don't you think someone should go with him?" Pasha asked.
"No, if there are too many of us, we might be seen by some of the ones we're after," Danai said. "We'll wait for Adonis to tell us what to do next."
That was so unlike Danai. Usually she was as stubborn as Pasha about listening to what their brother had to say.
"All right, well, I guess all we can do is sit and wait." Pasha took a seat on the sofa.
"Crichton was lucky he wasn't feeling a buzz after taking the men from the pub like that," Danai said.
"Maybe he has one." Michael and Danai sat down to watch the reporters speculate about what would happen next. "Ten years ago, we had an issue with an out-of-town vampire coming here and turning three men, but back then, we had a whole clan of hunter families living here who took care of the job, their turf, their way. No more problem. So what happens now? Some vampires come in to take over and they kill off the hunter population. No one does anything. Why didn't the police call in hunters to take care of the infestation right away? The vampires hadn't been turning us, that's why. Now look what happens."
"Exactly," Pasha said. "Though we wanted to take care of this too, as soon as the police found the vampires had decimated our families, they should have checked into hiring hunters to come in and do the job. Especially if none of us had been able to return. It would have been the perfect pest control before it got even worse."
"Right, but they didn't want to spend the money. Hunters are costly if they come from anywhere else. We took care of the threat ten years ago and it didn't cost the city much to hire our parents and grandparents and the others," Pasha said.
"At least Adonis is learning what he can from the newly turned vampires and from the police chief about who they're planning to hire. You know, it's even possible they're not hiring anyone else, but just saying so to appease the populace," Rachael said. "Since the police know we're here already fighting the vampire threat."
"True, and they might say so just to throw the vampires off our trail," Michael said.
"Or try and scare them into leaving." Which Pasha didn't want. She wanted to eliminate every last one of them who had killed her family members. Otherwise, it was like letting serial killers get away with it and possibly do the same thing elsewhere. Pasha listened for any sign Daemon would be up and about, but she didn't hear anyone in the back bedroom. "Where's Daemon?"
"Daemon and Ephraim and their mates are searching for any signs of vampires who could be in on the killings. Since Daemon and Ephraim are vampires from the early days, they have to do this during the night or on cloudy days." Boniface brought in water and sodas for everyone.
“Okay, so what do we do?" Pasha was wired. She wanted to do something more.
"Go to bed," Zachary said, smiling.
She frowned at him. She didn't want the whole world to know she and he were getting it on in bed.
He cleared his throat. "To sleep. We'll get up early and do this all over again. If we have a battle in the middle of the night, we'll be more rested."
"Right." She felt her face warm. She was sure her expression had clued everyone in as to what they were doing more than Zachary's comment had. Though the fact they were "rooming" together probably was enough to send the rest of them the message. She was glad they were staying in the same room so Daemon and his mate, if she joined him, could have one of the other rooms and the other hunters had the last two. "Well, I'm already for another fight, and to get some rest, after Adonis returns to tell us what he's learned."