i don't have a list yet whatever
He felt like a wild animal escaped from its cage, far too desperate and hungry to be himself, and he hated every god damn thing about it, but the leanness of survival instinct was what was keeping him going, keeping him free, and so it was what he was. For all of that, there were certain lines he wasn't about to cross, which meant he'd swipe clothes out of a laundromat dryer, but he wasn't drawing the attention of stealing a vehicle, even if hotwiring shit was something he'd learned in the desert. He blended in well enough to fall into a crowd - not too tall, not too striking, dark hair and eyes with neutral clothing colors - or to disappear from someone's memory fairly quickly after hitching a ride, and he'd gotten to the States by phasing into a container onto a ship and then slipping back out when it was convenient. Landing in port in New York wasn't all that surprising, given how much went through there, but it was good for him. The city was intensely varied in its people and cultures, and he was practically invisible as soon as he set foot. An illusion, because he knew damn well that there were still eyes, but he also knew ways to avoid them as much as possible, and so began the next leg of his survival.
Everything was pain, his body struggling against the injuries he'd sustained even after the actual physical evidence had long since healed. Whatever that weapon had been packing, it was potent, and all of their fancy research just wasn't a match for it without the genius behind the original procedure. That was why Rafi was in New York, to find the people who might actually have the ability to help him, instead of those content to study the effects of the weapon itself on a living test subject. He'd been real thorough in leaving his captivity, which he could at least be proud of, so he had names and pictures in his head, and he also knew that there were plans to get rid of those people because the lead guy was making a fuss about his work being used without his involvement and permission. Rafi didn't know this Dr. Cole, but he'd overheard mixed opinions about him being an eccentric genius, and he damn well wanted to get the chance to figure it out for himself before the guy was murdered.
It was strangely simple, since he knew where to look, to find an internet cafe and get into the local open jobs with a randomly chosen throwaway alias, but he wasn't sure how to feel about not finding Cole or Grancourt on the list anywhere. The closest associate he could remember from the files that was on the list was Orestes, an ancient vampire that he couldn't believe was even on the list, but he snapped it up, anyway. Obviously, he had no intention of trying to kill the guy, but it wouldn't do him any good if someone else somehow managed to succeed. Hopefully, Orestes was not aware that there was a hit out on him just yet, because Rafi wanted to sleep for about a week and he was only going to have time for a quick powernap before he made his move.
Was it a good plan? Hell, no. If he was actually going to make a move on this guy, he'd have gone for a sniper's nest a mile away and explosive rounds so that he could completely decimate his head and chest cavity without having to be anywhere near him, but that wasn't very conducive to a conversation. It wasn't like Orestes was advertising his presence, which meant that calling a number and scheduling a meeting wasn't going to work, either, so he did what he did best - completely ignored the obstacles in his way and walked right on in. He was armed, because he wasn't stupid, but he was really hoping that it wasn't going to be necessary, especially after putting out a hell of a lot of effort to even get to the damn place. There was a building not all that far away that seemed like it used to be one of those old, decadent hotels, but he got the impression was more for private use nowadays, and then there was this nice two story cabin-style house out in the woods, which Orestes surprisingly showed up at. It wasn't the kind of place he'd have expected out of a super ancient vampire, but then, he wasn't actually sure what he'd been expecting, either. Maybe something just as old, like some ancient castle or estate, or some really flashy modern thing that cost millions of dollars. Too many movies, he was guessing.
There were voices upstairs, a man and a woman who was talking quickly, even if he couldn't make out what either of them were saying, so he backed around the corner from the stairs, into the living room where he'd have room to move, but wouldn't be in direct line of sight if someone came down the stairs ready to shoot. He was phased out so that anything that did come his way as the steps came closer wouldn't actually hit him, but he wasn't taking chances. Surprising the vampire seemed like a better idea than being hit by surprise himself.
"Hold it, please," he said, tone soft and level, rifle drawn to his shoulder, but finger loose on the trigger as they came into view. He hoped they were smart enough to realize that he could have killed the woman before she even turned to see him there, and then he actually saw her face, and his jaw went slack for a dumb second. "What the fuck are you doing here, Zahra?"
It was a dumb, amateur mistake to get so distracted by her presence that he didn't finish what he was already doing, but his attention suddenly snapped back to the vampire with a visceral spike of fear, his eyes widening and then narrowing again against some near imperceptible movement. "Whoa, whoa, whoa, not here to hurt anyone, I just wanna talk!"
"Your hardware suggests otherwise."
"Yeah, it's about as useful as a teddy bear against the monster under the bed, but you are a level of pants-shitting terror that it makes me feel better to hug it at night," he snarked, eyes flicking back to Zahra because he didn't actually know what she was doing there or what she'd do, and he knew that he looked like shit. He was pale, far too pale from pain and exhaustion, unshaven and he hadn't had a shower in a few...days? He looked either sick, strung out or like the escaped animal he felt like, and Zahra had no reason to trust him, which made him clench his jaw, close his eyes in a silent prayer that he wasn't doing something even stupider than he'd already thought, and lowered the rifle. "See? Can we just talk? Zahra, you know if I was actually here to do this job, I wouldn't have walked in the goddamn door."
At the fact that he wasn't instantly attacked, which he wasn't even sure what would happen because he wasn't going solid until he knew the vampire wasn't going to splatter him, he took a breath. Zahra's face was more difficult to get a read on than he'd ever seen, like she wasn't sure she recognized him or was willing to vouch for him, but she hadn't made a move on him, either. "I'm looking for Dr. Cole, hoping he can unfuck my life since it was his research used to fuck it to begin with. I took the job that was posted on you because I know you're an associate of his, and frankly, the sooner you two stop looking at me like that, the faster we make sure someone's not taking him and his partner out, too. They just wanted you out of the way first."
Not what he had in mind for finding Zahra and his friends again, considering his plan had started with getting help from the doctor himself and then maybe not looking like he'd been hit by a truck, but that option was totally out the window. He wasn't sure if it helped or hurt that she looked fantastic.