Disposable Heroes

[Chase Paxton]

|Continued from Through the Never|

Rafael appreciated her efforts to help him maintain what little dignity he had left in this situation, and he DID try to walk on his own, even if she ended up supporting most of his weight.  He just couldn't muster up much in the way of strength, his muscles having been abused as they were and his body lacking in proper nourishment, not to mention the pain that was wracking his body with every little movement on his part.  His back was just one huge area of agony, bones having broken with the violence of having his wings ripped free by Kiyoshi and his wings broken by Niall, which made breathing painful and difficult, but he wasn't going to let himself drop.  He walked, he accepted Katherine's help, and he breathed out a short, barely audible 'Thank you' when she told him her name.  He was grateful, infinitely so, and he wasn't about to refuse to walk if she was going to help him.  He wanted out of there more than anything, and he couldn't even muster up enough concentration to worry about Gabriel currently.  He would as soon as he had time to pull himself back together.

He'd also be grateful, even though he was swimming in and out of consciousness by then, that she'd told Cerberus that he was out of commission.  Getting pounded in the face on top of everything else that had happened would just be ridiculous.  Cerberus seemed to believe her, and that was fine.  Even if Rafael dipped in and out during the ride, he had no idea what was going on.  Besides, he already knew where Midnight was.  He had no intention of ever going there again, so Cerberus didn't have to worry about that.

If it hadn't hurt like it had, he probably would have been completely immune to the treatment he received in getting out of the vehicle, and really?  What difference did a few more bruises and agonized movements make?  He was already completely wrecked.  He almost lost whatever was in his stomach (not much) when she teleported them to Onyx, but he actually managed to refrain, which was good.  He definitely dealt with a bout of dizziness, but she had a good, strong grip.  He vaguely wondered if she was the girl that Gabe had mentioned, but that would be something he put more thought into later.  For now, getting inside was the important part.  Even responding as she spoke wasn't something he managed, just barely remaining conscious and slightly aware.  He was trying, but he was failing miserably.  He was out of Midnight, though.  Even if he fell right there, that was one thing in his favor.

Of all the people that Katherine could have run into bringing a battered and abused member of the Onyx guild inside, Chase was probably one of the wiser choices.  She and Erik had helped with a situation that had been planned for both Crimson and Onyx operatives a few days prior, and had shown up to collect payment.  They'd had excellent timing, apparently, so they were on their way out when Katherine was trying to come in, and had the opportunity to head off the other Onyx members.  Considering how quickly some of them were prone to flying off the handle, Chase made sure that she stepped forward immediately.  True to form, she gestured for Erik to stand back, knowing that he would step in without hesitation if she needed it.  He was her cover here. 

It wasn't like it took a psychic to understand what was going on, even without the details.  Katherine didn't look like she'd been involved with the damage that had been dealt, if only from her appearance and body language.  Chase was willing to bet that she was looking paler than was normal for her, but she still intended to check the information she received out.  "Someone call Victor, now."

No, she wasn't up to date on this situation, but she recognized Rafael just from inter-guild work.  He was hard to miss, what with that bright hair.  She hadn't known he was missing, or that he was involved with a dangerous case, though.  "You're going to need to explain, but right now, can you help me get him inside?" she asked.  Really, she didn't need to, because as soon as it looked like they were going to get moving, Erik was at her side, taking whatever weight of Rafael's she'd been planning on.  Kat wasn't even really necessary, what with the tiger taking over, but he wasn't going to chase her off.  She smelled of blood and vampire, yes, but she also smelled of fear and anger. 

"The fuck happened to him?" Erik hissed.

Chase took that moment to glance from the tiger to the macaw and finally to the vampire who'd brought him in, then set a hand on Erik's shoulder, just to keep herself moving.  It usually took a little concentration to focus on someone else's past and future, but not this time.  Rafael's recent past was so disgustingly strong in both his mind and in Kat's imagination (though she was more focused on Gabe) that it practically leapt out at her as soon as she was willing to see it.  It was fast, flashes and impressions and painpainpain, with the soundtrack nothing but screams, but it was enough.  She didn't need more, and actually choked on her next breath. 

"We need Victor, and Cobriana.  Who is Gabriel?"

[Katherine Summers]

Katherine couldn't say anything; she didn't know what to say. She'd opened her mouth to explain when she realized that them not knowing what had happened to him obviously meant they had no idea where he'd been. She released him as Erik and Chase took him off of her arm, and she put her wrists to her temples for a moment, trying not to get blood on her face or in her hair. She hadn't realized she'd had blood on her until just now, and now she realized that it was all over her, all over Rafael.

  "I need to talk to Lucien," was all she said firmly. She said it like she'd just asked for her lawyer.

  She stood in the middle of the room, time slowing around her as hunters converged. There was shouting and surprised cries, and a man she'd never seen before came rushing into the room with another woman, pushing a gurney along. They had Rafael moved and out of the room in what seemed like hours, but in effect had only been about five minutes. The lucky thing was that Victor had been visiting Dr. Watkins for some last-minute file updates of new hunters, so the both of them were there - and shapeshifters were Colleen's specialty. The clipping British accent chirped along, a blur of sound against Katherine's ears as she felt hunters running into her and swarming around her.

  It was Erik and Chase, in the end, who probably saved her ass. The large man fenced most of the questions with brief answers that had a lot of "I don't have that information at his time" sounds to them. Chase looked concerned, but every question she had struck a nerve with Kat, and Kat continued to respond with a very simple, "I need to speak with Lucien," every time. Eventually Chase did take her to Lucien, instructing Erik to follow behind. She didn't think Katherine was there to hurt anyone, but people were ready to hurt her.

[Chase Paxton]

As soon as Victor and Colleen were on the scene, Chase knew that there was very little she could do to help him.  If those two couldn't handle this situation, they'd call for help, and it wouldn't be from Chase, so the fact that Kat wouldn't answer any of her questions definitely suggested that getting her to Lucien would be for the best.  Maybe then, Chase would get the information she needed to fill in the gaps in what she'd seen. 

What really scared her, and what had made Victor give her a grim look while Colleen somehow managed to push ahead as though what she was seeing didn't shock the hell out of her, were Rafael's wings.  It wasn't exactly a secret that he was a macaw, or that they weren't common.  Really, anyone who worked with him or spent time with him ended up knowing, if only because the question about his crazy hair came up.  They all knew it, and anyone who knew anything about shapeshifters knew that only certain kinds could take that half-form.  Parrots were NOT one of those kinds, yet there he was.  Yes, you could certainly say that Chase was eager to find out what had happened, and not in a pleasant, excited sort of eager.  This had, 'huge mess' written all over it, and Chase got the impression that Katherine wasn't with any of the guilds.  She was something, but not a hunter.  That she knew to bring Rafael here, and to ask for Lucien, were important details.

"Lucien, there's a serious problem," she warned the man, knocking twice in quick succession before just pushing the door open.  The cobra gave her a look like he didn't appreciate the practice, but what was he going to do?  He knew her brother, and it wasn't like the Crimson leader had ever refrained from busting in if he felt like it.  Chase was usually more respectful, though.  Naturally, all he needed to see was Katherine covered in blood to take his mind off of Chase's practices, and he was on his feet and around his desk in just a few seconds.

"What's happened?" he demanded, already wondering why this woman was being brought to him instead of seeking medical attention, but scanning her form suggested that it wasn't her who was injured.  Seeing a red feather stuck to some of the blood that was drying on her didn't hurt, either.  It definitely gave him pause, his mind shooting off to consider the issue with Rafael and Gabe.  He was on the right track, at least.

It was actually a situation he'd been trying to work on.  That was a process that had to be handled delicately, since he didn't know for sure if they'd been compromised.  Yes, he'd lost contact with them, but he'd never been informed of any sort of ransom, or even a threat.  There had been complete silence out of them and Midnight on the issue, which struck him as odd.  Jeshickah had always been the sort to show off her punishments, so what was the deal?  If he contacted Midnight about it, he was concerned that he might blow Gabe and Rafael's cover, which would be a serious blunder if they just couldn't check in for whatever reason.  It was a tough call, and the sources he had available for information just weren't helpful enough for him to make that call.  He'd been at the point that he was assuming the worst, though.

This was basically confirming it.

"I think I need the three of you to update me as completely and quickly as possible."

[Katherine Summers]

 "Uh, yeah," Katherine said. When the door was shut, Lucien started talking almost immediatly. Katherine had thus far been non-receptive to much of what other people had said to her, but almost instantly she could smell the lie in the snake-man's words. Not that he was lying directly, but that he was leaving bits and pieces out. She stayed where she was by the wall, arms folded over the dark purple and black striped sweater she wore. She looked up through her eyebrows, aware that her emotional state had been elevated from 'shock' to 'anger' the further along he got in his little speech.

  She looked on the surface of his words and followed them to his head, but she was blocked. Any further prodding would most likely be noticed, but now Erik and Chase were distracting him with questions - perhaps Chase could see the omissions like Katherine could, but was unwilling to exploit them. Katherine had something a bit more personal invested into this fine mess Lucien had been the forerunner for, though, and she wasn't about to walk out of there not knowing the real reason as to why her entire family was in danger should the Master of Midnight ever intend to make her suffer.

  She concentrated on Lucien as he tried to answer Erik and Chase as diplomatically as possible. It was like feedback from a microphone; she'd never tried to read a mind that was well-shielded, because as a practice she didn't try. Now, though. Now it was quite necessary. As she tried again, she pushed forward with her power, trying to do as Gabriel had taught her. She was young and had a lack of experience and it showed, but with as heated as her mental state was, she was going to get something out of this one way or the other.

  White Viper........kidnap.........Tsunai........baby.........refuge......Midnight..... Pieces of his thoughts came in and out, fragments. He was suddenly aware she was listening in as he tried to fence questions from Erik and Chase, and his head snapped up just as blood began to run down Katherine's left nostril. Her head felt like it had a compound skull fracture, but she was willing to suffer it for what she'd just heard.

  "And you need to stay the fuck out of my head," he said suddenly, throwing the two hunters in the room off. Well, Erik more than Chase - it only took her a second to put two and two together. She looked a little shocked on Katherine's behalf, more or less because it was a bold move to do that to a Guild leader, let alone on his home turf. Katherine, though, had already shown Chase indirectly that she either had nothing left to lose or a lot to fight for.

  "Tell them why they were really there," she said, keeping her head high now. She had enough information to be dangerous with it; if Katherine walked out of the room right now and speculated that Lucien had sent a rare shapeshifter and a vampire that wasn't even in Bruja into Midnight for some personal vengeance quest... it wouldn't matter how many people believed her. The damage would be done.

  Lucien's phone rang at that exact moment, and it was a brief exchange later that he was facing Katherine again. "You'll be happy to know that Gabriel is on his way here, now. We're going to make sure he gets the medical attention he needs," he said smoothly. He hoped that the thought of Gabe would stave her off enough for him to fix this clusterfuck. It didn't.

  "I'll decline to that on his behalf," she sneered. "I think you've already done enough. You may not know me or anything about me, but believe me when I say that I don't appreciate my family's lives being put into danger along with my own because of your personal quest for revenge, and that I'm as likely to forget that slight as the Master of Midnight is to forget where he can find them when he feels like twisting their heads off in their sleep - if they're lucky."

[Lucien Cobriana]

It was difficult enough to field questions from Erik AND Chase, neither of which was stupid (particularly Chase, who always seemed to know way more than anyone was telling her, which made him wonder about the rumors he'd heard), but feeling the sudden pressure and what could only be described as punctures in his mental shields was just the last straw.  It was amazing that he was as 'friendly' as he ended up being when he told her to stay the fuck out of his head, especially considering how little he needed a headache right that minute.  His surroundings were going to be extremely unfriendly for awhile, and he needed to be able to handle it. 

Problem was, she'd already said enough to put Erik and Chase on alert, as if Chase wasn't already.  He could see that in her eyes, that she was planning on attacking him after there wasn't such an audience.  So much for diplomacy.

"They both knew the risks and agreed to go, Ms. Summers, because of the number of people who have been lost to Midnight," he said simply, and it wasn't a defense.  He didn't have one, and frankly, he didn't think he needed one.  He wasn't happy with these results or with the fact that they'd nearly lost both of them, but he hadn't been the one at fault.  Actually, he had to do some investigating to find out what had gone wrong.  The whole 'Master' of Midnight thing was important, as well.  "You can decline all you want, but he was under my employment when he was captured and I will be supplying initial medical care, at the very least."

If he was anything like Rafael was, that would be for the best.  This was where he put his foot down, whether she thought he was a dick, or not. 

[Katherine Summers]

 Katherine made a sort of snorting noise, the only other thing indicating how angry she really was, though the people in the room didn't know her well enough to know that. She went back to smoldering against the wall with her arms crossed, an ominous, "We'll see about that," the only thing she had to respond to Lucien. She didn't care if he felt like he needed to explain himself or not, all of this bullshit could have been avoided if he'd taken the high road and not agreed to let it happen in the first place. Had this man been born yesterday? One does not simply walk into Mord... Midnight. People had tried and failed, and if there were so many people who agreed with him, why had the guilds not banded and made a siege of it?

  She didn't have the full story even now, she was sure of it, but she was done asking questions.

When someone knocked on the door, it opened immediately afterwards, and a tall, dark man stuck his head in the room. "Xander, Verde, West and I'm guessing the second part of your dynamic duo have arrived," he said. His eyes flicked to Katherine for a second, something incredibly... absent about them, and then he was gone. Katherine hesitated for about a tenth of a second and then went for the door.

  "I'll go and get him my damn self," she snapped, flinging the door open to a crowd of people now gathered in the hall/waiting area. She wasn't in the mood for questions, though, and as physically small and demure as she looked, she radiated anger like a dead body in Europe radiated the plague.

[Lucien Cobriana]

Seriously, the girl was pissing him off, but one doesn't pull off being leader of a guild of hunters AND the monarch for a group of shifters without having some self-control.  He clenched his jaw, forced a smile that wasn't really pull off 'pleasant', and nodded curtly to Zaine when the man announced the arrival of the second group.  Just seeing the man right then made him wonder if he shouldn't just try out the Mamba's methods for dealing with people.  It'd be lacking in diplomacy, but it'd be so much simpler.

He'd have been fine waiting for the three hunters to arrive with Gabriel, except that Katherine was bitching about getting him herself and out the door, which was preceded very slightly by Chase putting her face in her hand.  She'd probably known, and not said anything.  Why?  Lucien was pretty sure that it was because she thought they needed to work this out on their own, which he wasn't pleased with.  She wasn't his hunter, however, and her brother wasn't going to say a damn thing about how helpful she chose to be.  He'd have appreciated her letting him know what was happening sooner, but he'd have had to update her on what exactly he wanted to know, and he'd been trying to play this close to the chest.  He didn't know how it had gotten out that Sullivan and Ortega were in Midnight, but he needed to find out.

He hissed rather than yell as he went after her, and he grabbed her arm in a firm, but still surprisingly light grip.  She was a vampire, but it wasn't about hurting her.  It was him attempting to appear as unthreatening as possible.  As irritating as she was being in her blind anger at him, he wasn't looking to provoke her needlessly.  "Ms. Summers, you can't teleport out of here, so you might as well just let Dr. Batten and Dr. Watkins see what they can do for him before you try moving him again.  There are three hunters assisting him.  I'm sure they can get in without your help."

He probably should have taken into consideration which three hunters that was, but he had his fingers crossed that there was nothing even MORE insane going on.

[Katherine Summers]

  "I didn't say anything about teleporting," she replied as calmly as possible. It was amazing that she wasn't screaming in his face for how mad she was, but Katherine's job depended on her ability to keep her head straight. Lucien may have thought she was being a pain in his ass, but she really wasn't worried about what he thought at the moment. He didn't seem to realize or accept that his folly had put she and everyone she and Gabriel knew in danger, and that included a lot of more uncommon shapeshifters that were employed with the police department. She didn't even want to get into it now, but she'd already figured out that Chase had a mystical whozit, so she was willing to bet she was feeding Chase the information without necessarily saying it verbally.

  That ought to be a nice kick in the ass when she set to grilling Lucien later, which was the impression that Katherine had gotten from her. She decided she liked her. To Lucien, she opened her mouth to say something again, removing her arm from his grip slowly and finding that he didn't fight to keep it, but there was a commotion further down the hall that gave her a pause - that and a very familiar, and very weak, aura.

"What the fuck is this shit, the welcome wagon? Do you people not have other shit you could be doing?"

  Katherine ran down the hall, thankful that the main area of Onyx wasn't as cluttered as she'd originally believed it might be. There was still a large amount of people, most of them looking significantly disturbed from what was unfolding, but no sooner had she had the thought than did they begin to disperse. Obviously the large man held some sway. It wasn't until she realized he was nodding at someone else than did she turn to see the same Serpiente man from before literally grabbing people by the back of their necks and shoving them out of the room.

  "Anyone still rendering a trainee status needs to vanish pronto, or you will have to answer to me," he instructed. Whatever power he seemed to have within the guild made itself known as more than half of the room suddenly became very empty. He looked back at Xander and nodded once just as two more people arrived in the doorway. They followed Xander in and fanned out, one female and another male. They looked... annoyed.

"Shannon, what a surprise," the Serpiente said. He looked amused. "How on earth did they land this job on you three? He walked across the room to meet them, giving a slight indication to Verde as a greeting. Zaine wasn't big on group hugs, after all.

  "Don't even fucking get me started. Where's your exalted leader?" she asked, shoving Zaine in the chest as she continued past him. She wasn't surprised when the shove actually moved her more than him. "God, you could at least act like it bothered you," she snapped, already having spotted Lucien as he came towards the mess. "Oh HI," she exclaimed. "I believe this is addressed to you," she added, holding out the note to him with a flat expression on her face. Shannon wasn't known for bedside manner, but she wasn't nearly as unlikeable as Zaine or Verde.

  Katherine cut through the fray of people and made her way to her target. "Gabriel!" she screamed. She couldn't help herself. She'd been trying not to scream this whole time, but now she felt like she'd waited long enough. She ran at him and stopped just short of plowing him down, trying to be mindful of his injuries. "Listen," she said softly, "I want to take you out of here right now. This is the most fucked up thing and the more I hear the worse it gets. I just want to get you home."

[Carlos Romero]

The one thing to have gone right so far had him proud of the people who were being forced to handle things, including Zaine, who had just stepped up and done what needed to be done.  He and Xander cleared out the unnecessary audience without him having to say a word or even reach the group, and he nodded his acknowledgments to both of them for the effort.  It was good to at least know that he had a few people who weren't about to lay into him, since he could just see it in Paxton's eyes that she was storing up information from everything she had access to so that she could corner him later with it, and then there were Shannon and Katherine.  He just hoped that Verde wasn't going to be a hassle, as well.

Surprisingly, the Spaniard did nothing more than manage an intentionally mangled salute in everyone's direction in greeting before pulling out a cigarette.  Normally, Lucien would get on him about smoking inside the building, but he was at the point that he'd have been bumming one if he thought it would do anything for him.  He could feel Paxton step up beside him, and she fixed him with a rather unpleasant look once Katherine reached Gabe.  Excellent. 

Frankly, he was amazed that the vampire was walking, considering Rafael and the seriousness of the situation, but he was more than willing to blame that on the people who'd been trusted to bring him in, namely Shannon.  He didn't think Verde would have wanted to do anything to get a vampire to walk, and Xander would have wanted to smash his skull in, so his bets were on Shannon having something to do with it, and he was grateful.  He hadn't wanted to see the full effects of their torment on the vampire that he actually DID call a friend, so the blood that Gabriel must have gotten somehow and the time he'd had to put it to use was appreciated. 

"Gabriel, I would like to talk to you after you've gotten medical attention," he said simply, his voice less authoritative and a little more...guilty might be the word, than it should have been. 

"I hardly think that's necessary, Cobriana," Chase pointed out quietly, and she met his less than pleased red glare without a flinch.  She just needed a minute with each of the two men, and she'd be able to tell Lucien everything he needed to know about the situation, and give him holy hell on their behalf.

"He needs blood, at the very least," Lucien pointed out, not sure what exactly Chase had in mind, but he needed to talk to Gabriel and Rafael both, anyway.  It was going to happen at some point, though he'd prefer it was done sooner rather than later.  That was just his personal opinion.

As for Dom, he didn't give a shit about anyone's personal opinion.  He edged up next to Shannon and whispered something quickly in her ear about her filling him in on anything he missed, and then he was slowly approaching the vampires.

"Batten will have blood for him in the infirmary, senorita.  We got him some to keep him from becoming too desperate, but he needs more.  Come with me, and then I don't care where you two go," he told her, and he actually was willing to make eye contact with her, which just went to show that he really was making an effort to help her out.  Normally, she'd have been classified 'vampire' and he wouldn't have given a shit, but this situation was just plain ridiculous.  He hoped someone took a video when Lucien tried to explain all this, because he wanted to see it. 

Gabe just wanted to be done, really.  Go home, feed, whatever.  He didn't care.  All he really cared about was that Kat was there and she was safe, which meant that nothing had happened to her after she left.  She'd taken Rafael and she'd gone, and they were both fine.  It made him feel that much better just to know.  He hadn't even had the chance to think about the other threats that Niall had made, regarding everyone from Kat's family to everyone they worked with, and that was plainly because he'd been way too concerned with Niall knowing how to find her.  The rest of them just didn't matter as much to him. 

He'd have probably appreciated her being mindful of his injuries if she'd actually run into him (since the pain would have reminded him that he wanted her to be careful), but she didn't, and when she did reach him, it was he who wrapped her up slowly and pretty weakly in his arms.  He couldn't manage much, but he was still a vampire, and he'd had some blood to kickstart his healing, so he was going to start pushing his limits again. 

You have no idea how good it was to see you, even there.

Less effort to project thoughts than speak was a good thing, especially since Kat wasn't likely to go apeshit and shoot him in the head.  I want to go home, too, but I don't want to hurt anyone.  I'll take the blood and we can leave, I promise.  How bad is Rafael?

Yeah, he'd definitely just decided that Lucien could wait because Kat wanted to leave.  He'd never been one for authority, though.

[Katherine Summers]

  Katherine cradled what she could of Gabriel, supporting him so that he didn't need to put all his weight down on two legs, even if he was going to try to do it anyways. She would blatantly ignore whatever machismo he'd try to put out, but Gabriel was smart enough not to put on a show at this point, or so she believed. When the hunter closest to her, one who had come in with Gabriel spoke, she just looked at him, her mouth opened slightly like she didn't know what to say.

  She was trying to simultaneously listen to both he and Gabriel, because she'd been about to tell him to get out of her way, but Gabe had encouraged her to go along with what he said. She got a sense of trust from him - not implicit, but present at the very least, and so with a sharp breath, she nodded to Verde.

  "Okay," she whispered. "Which way?"

  Well, at least that crisis was averted. Anyone holding their breath could have released it then as some of the pressure in the room suddenly went away. There was something to be said about the absurdity of the situation, because the idea that Domingos Verde had just exhibited more bedside manner than Lucien Cobriana was liable to explode some heads. Katherine didn't seem to know the oddity of this, though, and so she simply motioned for him to lead the way.

  He's bad enough, she responded, walking with Gabe as quickly as his pace would allow. I'm fairly certain he would have died had I not gotten him here when I did. She had a lot of other things she wanted to say to him, especially concerning all of this bullshit, but she let it go for the moment. A good decision on her part.

  Shannon, it seemed, was willing to play every bit as dumb as she'd told the boys she would. "So, want to explain to me why I got a vampire of my very own today?" she asked, folding her arms and mostly blocking Lucien's view of Gabriel, Domingos and Kat as they went to the infirmary. She looked at Chase, knowing that the other Crimson operative would know more than she was saying - you didn't work around Chase and not figure that out. She managed to smile at Lucien and await her explanation all the while concentrating on giving Chase a quick recap of the conversation in the truck, including the part where she was playing dumb.

[Carlos Romero]

It really was sad that Dom was displaying better bedside manner than Lucien, but the issue there was that so few ever saw him in a situation like that.  Usually, he'd caused the injury in question, and that was when he had absolutely no sympathy.  He could grasp what Sullivan and Ortega had gone through, and he hadn't even seen the Macaw, yet.  That wasn't something he was going to tell them to man up about. 

Ironic, considering how much he hated vampires, and that here were two in front of him that he was helping out. 

Yes, the situation was absurd, and that was alright.  He was getting Kat and Gabe out of there before everything went further South than it already had.  If Lucien was smart, he'd be going to his office instead of handling the other hunters in the hallway, and as soon as Dom saw the man gesture them all to follow him, he was at least satisfied that he wasn't being lead by an idiot.  He might have petitioned to move to Frost if that happened. 

"Follow me," he said simply, obviously oblivious as to their silent conversation.  It wouldn't have surprised him, but he didn't know and didn't much care.  Right then, getting the guy who'd been held and tortured in Midnight to the doctor was a good idea, and making sure that they didn't have a crazed, mostly starved vampire on their hands was even better.  Dom didn't know how long that 'rest stop' they'd taken would last, and he didn't want to see what would happen if Gabe went off on them the way he'd gone off on those thugs.  This was way too many hunters in one place for there to be much success to it, but it would be a ridiculous way to go, both for Gabe and any unlucky hunter who didn't see it coming. 

"Batten," he greeted when he entered, gesturing with a thumb over his shoulder at Kat and Gabe.  The surgeon looked up briefly from Rafael, where he and Colleen were working to ensure that none of the shifter's bones were going to heal back wrong, and Colleen's son was actually monitoring Rafael's IVs, probably out of something to do as well as to get the man as much nourishment as was possible.  The young man looked up and nodded to Victor's instructions to get Gabe one of the blood bags.

"Tasty."

God, he hoped that Kat wasn't paying as much attention to him as he would have been paying her in this situation.  He knew that she wanted nothing more than to help just from the way she'd been supporting him as they walked and how eager she was to get him home, but he'd been so very, very determined to be as in-control and capable as was possible ever since she'd been turned.  He didn't want her to see him desperate and weak like this.  So much for promising that he'd keep her safe.

He'd nodded at her information regarding Rafael, not really surprised at hearing it, but it actually made him feel worse.  Rafael probably would have died if Kat hadn't gotten him to help, and Gabe had managed to walk in on his own.  He was weak and still very hurt, but he'd walked.  There was something wrong with that.

Thank you for getting him here.

Now, to not look like he wanted to tear that bag apart.  Fortunately, Onyx had a better set-up than just letting a vampire rip into one, and there was no transfusion mess to deal with.  Instead, a piece that Gabe could use to drink from the bag was fitted to the bottom, right where a hose would have been attached for an IV.  He was grateful.

"Thank you."

Dom just stood back, wondering what the others were discussing.

Beating the hell out of Lucien was starting to look good, though it wasn't even because Chase particularly blamed him for what happened.  Well, she did, but that was because she wanted someone to blame for the nightmares she was going to end up having.  Gabe entering the situation had given her way too much insight into what both of them had endured in that dungeon, and she had to admit something, at least to herself.

Niall scared her.

She hadn't 'seen' from Rafael's point of view, yet, and she was working incredibly hard to keep her face from showing anything other than displeasure as she 'felt' around the others around her, but there were a few select creatures that could make her worry that they might realize when she was seeing something about them.  Niall had become one of them, between what she'd gathered from Katherine, and what she'd gotten from Gabriel.  Lucien never should have thought that they could take on Midnight, though she was prying, now.  She knew what he'd been planning, and she could see the strategy in it, but the risks were way too high.  That had been proven.

Of course, who could have expected Jeshickah to walk off and leave someone else in charge?  Even she wouldn't have thought it unless she'd seen it, and she hadn't had any reason to even look.  Lucien didn't even make an attempt at speaking until the door was shut, and he was near his desk.  Not behind it, because that would have looked like he was hiding from them, but near enough that he could fiddle with something on it while he composed himself.  Chase settled against the wall next to the door, just watching.

"I honestly don't know why you were chosen, West.  I plan on looking into that as soon as I can," he told her, because that was a simple answer.  He didn't know, but he wanted to find out.  As for the rest, it was a little less clear-cut, but waiting for them to ask the 'right' questions just seemed ridiculous.

"Nothing said here leaves this room.  We found information that suggested a weakness in Jeshickah's defenses in Midnight.  I needed a vampire who wasn't formally a hunter to go in, and that vampire needed someone that could convince the trainers there of his place among them.  Ortega was both willing and able to do the job, so they went.  We learned a lot of valuable information about the way Midnight was run, but Sullivan apparently wasn't among the select few at that time who were privy to information about the new Master taking Jeshickah's place.  Her weaknesses obviously aren't his."

Obviously.  As though that wasn't obvious.

"I don't know what went wrong, yet, but once I have time to speak with Ortega and Sullivan, I'll hopefully have more information."

"They were ratted out."

Chase pushed off the wall finally, watching Lucien because she knew what he'd left out, and she'd read some information off of Shannon regarding their discussion in the car, and Gabe's feeding, so she knew that she wasn't the only one.  "Niall told them, while..."

She trailed off, her eyes drifting away from Lucien for a moment.  Niall had told them they'd been tattled on while he was up to his forearm in Gabe's blood.  She could almost feel it, and it made her want to be ill.  "He told them, and he had no reason to lie at that point.  He'd already won.  He has sources that know things about guild activity."

Lucien looked at her like she'd done something he didn't believe, or like he didn't believe what she was saying, but he didn't refute it or put anything down.  He knew because anyone who had worked with her knew that something was up, but she wasn't usually very vocal with him about what she knew.  She did that on purpose, and nodded to him.  "Keep going.  You have more to say, and you want to say it before anyone asks."

It would help his reputation.

He stared at her a little longer, but he understood.  She saw it in the set of his jaw and in his red eyes.  He just didn't like it.

"We didn't get Victoria.  One of the objectives was to bring her out, but Sullivan never saw her while he was there," he admitted, and he really wasn't stupid enough to think that none of them knew anything.  "Besides being responsible for kidnapping Tsunai and shooting Katherine Summers, we've connected her to a number of other disappearances and murders.  The intent was to collect as much information as we could so that an all-out assault could be organized and put into action.  The problem with a siege on Midnight is that it's impossible to get within the fortress.  Sullivan and Ortega were analyzing weaknesses and making them known to us so that they could be exploited in an attack.  Essentially, we're back at square one, because we have no way of knowing what Niall gleaned from their minds and what he'll do with it.  He learned of Sullivan's connection to Summers, and somehow decided to target West."

He didn't want to admit that they weren't just forced back to where they started, but that they were now a few steps behind it.  Niall had hit them hard, and he knew far too much.  If there was a rat, they were in even worse shape. 

At least he admitted it.  She didn't think he would have if she hadn't pushed a little, but he did.  Points for him.  She didn't say anything further, though he looked at her cautiously, as though he expected her to.  Nope, she was going to let someone else grill him for a little while, and just observe.  He had a resigned sort of way about him currently, as though his anger had melted into something resembling acceptance.  He knew he was going to be jumped for it, and he knew he couldn't do anything about it.  She wondered how long that would last, and couldn't even get herself to try to get a look.  She had enough thoughts and images floating around in her head from the past few moments that weren't her own.  She wasn't even going to try to manage any sort of delicate work right that moment.

[Katherine Summers]

Katherine didn't ask a lot of questions of Gabriel then, just walking silently with him and the other hunter. When the doctor had him set up with his 'meal', Katherine gave him a gentle kiss on the cheek. "I'll be right back," she said softly. She squeezed his shoulder lightly, and then walked the few feet where Verde had distanced himself. She folded her arms, as though she were cold - it was strange how many human mannerisms Katherine had. She wasn't even a year old yet, though.

  "Listen," she began slowly. "I can pick up that you aren't fond of vampires, and I... wanted to say thank you. For taking care of my Gabriel, for helping us now." She paused. "You are acting far more diplomatic than I think you're obligated to, and I'm not sure why. I know you don't see us as human, so I won't get into a discussion on that, but... thank you. I really was losing my patience with Lucien. I feel like..." she paused again, searching for what she wanted to say.

  "I feel like I'd have gotten the real story from you. I respect that, and I won't forget that you're obviously outside of your comfort zone even now. If you ever need anything within the NYPD, just ask for us," she added. She didn't hold her hand out to him, because she figured he'd probably rather not touch her. Katherine was okay with it; she was suddenly beginning to come to terms with her immortality.

  Meanwhile...

  "So there's a rat, we know that much. Now we just gotta find him," Shannon was saying. Lucien had left his office to deal with the mess, and Shannon was parked on his desk with her feet dangling off. She played with a snow-globe that his girlfriend Rhona had given him as an Easter present. It had little bunnies and balloons in it, and she really thought it was the cutest thing ever. She shook it a few times and let the snow and glitter swirl around before she glanced back up at Chase.

  "You think it's his girlfriend? She's a stripper at that club. I don't think Eden would go for anyone who was affiliated with Midnight, but maybe since she's a human nobody suspects her." Yeah, Shannon would point the finger that the girlfriend first and then go from there in wider and wider circles until she found what she was looking for.

[Carlos Romero]

He didn't feel guilty.  Really, he didn't.  He thought it was somewhat wrong that she was thanking him for taking care of 'her Gabriel' and helping them, and not because she was a vampire.  She was offering help if he ever needed anything, acknowledging like she knew him that he must not like vampires or feel comfortable where he was, and he couldn't deny that he appreciated the offer (and might take her up on it) or that she was correct in her assumption.  Funny, he didn't think he was usually that transparent.

"Senorita, you would have received the real story from me because I very rarely lie, even when I should.  Cobriana is a king, whether he's my king or not, and I think that inability to be up front is bred into his type," he said honestly, and it was sad that he was probably right, not to mention that he even thought about it instead of just blindly being angry with Cobriana for it.  That was the most straightforward response he could give her for anything she'd mentioned, so it was good of him to hit that one first, but now he could either ignore everything else she'd said, give her an awkward sort of thanks, or throw it right back at her.

Was he capable of managing some kind of graceful middle ground?

Probably not.  "I will keep your offer in mind, but do not think that any of us brought him here just because we wanted to help.  Ulrich and I suggested killing him until we found the note for Cobriana.  I am glad that we didn't, for your sake," he admitted.  It was strange, but perhaps it was because she was so newly dead?  She seemed too human, even though he knew she was a vampire.  Her boyfriend didn't, and Dom didn't think he would to a trained eye even if he wasn't ill, but she did.  He didn't want to, but he almost liked her.  A little. 

It was strange, liking a vampire, and he was actually able to admit that.  "You are the first vampire I haven't hated on sight, I think."

Chase was actually glad that Lucien left to go see about Gabriel and Rafael, because it left her with nobody personally involved with the situation in her presence and therefore meant that once she'd decided to stop picking as much up from her surroundings, she didn't have to block it all out quite as hard.  Shannon wasn't projecting as much nastiness.

Yes, there was a rat, and they were going to have to find whoever it was.  Chase didn't like it and really didn't want to be picking up any kind of job that involved this situation, but the rat had to be found.  What if it was Connor who was ratted out next?  What if someone got him killed for it?  Or Sitara?  She didn't want to risk someone else's life, knowing there was a rat, without trying to stop it.  She dreaded telling Jonathan about it.

"It could be his girlfriend.  I don't really relish the idea of poking my nose around that place, but if it's her, something needs to be done," she agreed, sighing.  She knew exactly who Shannon was talking about, and it made sense.  "In any case, it's the smartest place to start until something else comes to light."

God, she hoped it wasn't a hunter.

[Shannon West]

When Domingos confessed that he and Xander had debated on just shooting Gabriel, Kat's facial expression didn't change. Either she'd anticipated that bit of honesty or she was unlikely to be shocked by anything again, at least not for a while. In truth it was a little of both, though, but she didn't press that issue. With a deep breath, she shrugged.

  "Regardless of what transpired, you did get him here in one piece, and for that I am grateful." Her lips twitched a little. "You make it hard for me to be diplomatic, sir," she admitted. She was on the verge of smiling, only at the inconsistencies of the day. Katherine would never again complain about being bored, and she'd be more than happy to sit on her couch and do nothing for hours on end as long as Gabriel was with her.

  She turned to Gabriel, raising her eyebrows. How much longer, do you think? Have they said anything about the bi - about Rafael? She found it easier to speak like this as opposed to calling across the room at him.

  She turned back to Domingos, brushing some of her hair out of her face. "I don't think I've ever given anyone a real reason to hate me. Well, except for working with the department. That earns me some hatred." She managed a laugh. Katherine had about all she could handle of 'serious', and it showed on her face. She looked tired, worn out - like she'd been up for a few days. Gabriel may have been able to hide it when he was up to par, but Katherine still operated as a human would.

  "I don't really want to go digging either, but I bet if we go in there someone's bound to think something incriminating. We might get lucky - or it could be a dead end. It's the only common denominator I can think of where a lot of people are and a lot of information can easily be passed. I'm sure Eden's got a strict No Midnight policy, but if nobody ever mentions it..." she trailed off with a shrug.

  "I've seen people hide it for months, even years. There were even people in the Guilds at one point who tried to have it both ways - clearly, they're no longer with us," she said, waving her hand a little. "We can get one or two more people together if you want - nobody too imposing though. Zaine I would enjoy bringing, but the obviousness of his purpose there would outweigh the fun I'd have watching him fail to enjoy himself in yet another 'happy' establishment."

  She paused. "How about.... Sitara and her cousin? They're pretty petite, normal females. They'd suck all the attention right off of us, too, with their 'exotic' looks." Clever Shannon.