Ari had found Royce was sober. Thank god. It had been early enough in the night that his fledge hadn't disappeared into his normal, human circles, and had come at his sire's call. Royce seemed to know the difference between when Ari was summoning him because he'd broken a rule, or when it was dire. With his speed, the young vampire arrived before the others. Ari took him aside and got him up to speed. He wasn't focusing on their bond at the moment, and so wasn't sure what Royce thought about the whole thing. One thing all Sacrament members felt post Catherine's death, was that hunters needed to die; no mercy, no compassion, and no waiting for them to strike first.
Ari rarely used the massive power he held. He felt it was his responsibility to be conservative with such things. It helped one stay closer to the human parts of themselves. Tonight was not that night. His grandsire, who's power doubled his own, was here to oversee this. Ari knew he would give no quarter. Unlike his blood cousin, he did care he had to potentially take many human lives. His nature was to preserve life, not end it. Even as a hunter, he mostly caught animals to make them into pets, or for the sport. He almost never actually hurt them.
During the car ride, Ari mostly focused on the mental preparation for what was about to occur. He mentally touched his love, and placed his hand on the other's. Don't run off deep in the bowels of this place. Stay near me, please. When they got to the drop off spot, Ari's eyes indicated that a few patrolling guards would discover this position in about ten minutes. He would share this information with Hugh and Mr. Sullivan. In many ways, he was glad Felicia wasn't here to see this, or be a part of it. She'd taken Catherine's death so hard.
I managed to text McCloud that he better be ready to pay out my contract in full, but left it vague as to why. After a quick "I love you" to Zeph, my texting ended, and I tossed it in my jacket. I was able to navigate the two cars without much incident, forcing the driver to take the back roads, instead of the better lit, more well known, ones. I'd found him practical. At the end of the day, it was my information that exposed this place, my following of Nox that brought this all to a head, and my interest in Dreki's case that kicked off this whole mess. I was still livid the Adams family was rolling in like the damn cavalry. However, their mission suited my real mission, and so I decided the best thing I could do, for now, was to be helpful and a team player. Once we were inside, I'd find out what I came to find out.
The one called Hugh was apparently some tactician, and so I shared my knowledge of their guard patrols, where their spotlights shined, and knowledge about the fences. Those were our first obstacle. On the night I followed Dreki I watched a bird get turned into deep fried chicken when it went to perch on the fence. Electric, and likely a much higher voltage than a standard electric fence. I also explained that these hunters were not just humans with crossbows, that Nox had an imp tail, and Sheriff Luke had the weird shifter arm. Hugh seemed to take all this in, and didn't seem to be overly chatty. Thank fucking god for that fact.
Once we were assembled, I addressed the group.
"The side door can be reached without incident if we're stealthy. I can dim myself, and I figure a family as old as yours got your own ways of getting across. Since Ari said some guards will discover the cars, I vote we quietly snap their necks on route, maybe pull them to the side of the building so they won't be discovered right away. Once we're past the patrols and the outer lot, I know the side door we can enter into. I know it's tempting to rush the front gate, crack a few necks for show, but remember, they are expecting vampires, and made people like Dreki and other super soldiers. Imagine if every single one of them was Buffy was the Vampire Slayer. They will be strong, fast, and regenerate quickly. We also don't know what tech they might have, but I've heard rumors of bullets that will fragment inside us - making it harder to heal -, titanium doors, and possibly, magic."
"My point is, if you don't want to die, don't rush head first at shit."
With that, I vanished in front of them, dimming myself completely, and except for those with Ausepx or another form of second sight, I would appear as invisible. The Munsters could form the front guard. I'm a god damn specialist.
