Chapter 12: Chapter 12

Mornings were the worst time of the day for me or any vampire for that matter. Despite what various folklore espoused, not all vampires hid in coffins at sunrise. Most of us could still function normally, albeit sluggishly, as long as we didn’t get exposed to too much sunlight. Being dead robbed us of certain bodily functions we took for granted before. Like regulating body temperature, for example, hence, our skin burned much more easily than a living person would. Sunblocks helped a bit, but not by much. There was also the problem of oversensitivity to light. Since our eyes had become more accustomed to the dark, too much sunlight could adversely affect or even destroy them. While other nocturnal creatures like cats could squeeze their pupils into tiny slits to keep out light, vampires couldn’t. But thanks to the ingenuity of one doctor in 12th century China, quartz lenses, now known as sunglasses, made it possible for us to venture out even in broad daylight.

As I sat at an outside table at Starbucks, I couldn’t help but thank that Chinese doctor enough. Torres had set the meeting at 7 AM, the time when I usually went to bed. My body would’ve been protesting by now, but the powerful aroma of coffee was enough to keep my senses awake. At least for a few more hours. Boris would also arrive soon. If not for the recent development Torres wanted to discuss personally with me, I would’ve passed this meeting off to Boris. I glanced at my watch and grimaced. 6:45. Fifteen minutes left. I was too early again. If only Mira hadn’t started nodding off, I wouldn’t have left her place so early. I couldn’t blame her, could I? The wine and adrenaline rush of her first ride in a convertible had depleted her energy. She confessed she hadn’t had a wink of sleep since our first kiss. Neither did I, but I was more used to staying up for over twenty-four hours than she was.

Taking pity on Mira, I told her I needed to go home to get some sleep. She kissed me goodbye and saw me out the door, hiding an enormous yawn behind her hand. She looked so cute I almost didn’t leave. Only a reminder of this early morning meeting sent me on my way. I promised to come back later to escort her to her office. Mira assured me I didn’t need to and that as she would be okay walking alone, but I wouldn’t have any of it. I’d already been doing it for almost a week. Why should I stop now? Of course, she didn’t know that. I always remained in the shadows as I followed her from a distance. Although I knew she would be fine since she usually left her home at around 5:00 PM, too early for vampires to go hunting. Yet, I couldn’t pass up the chance of holding her hand and kissing her again.

“Boss,” Boris said, interrupting the explicit thoughts going through my head.

“Where’s Torres?” I replied with a grunt. Boris sometimes really had bad timing.

“He’ll be here. He’s never been late before.”

“He better not be. I need to get some rest.”

“Here he comes,” Boris said, tilting his head at the approaching man. Torres looked more like a retired athlete than a policeman. He nodded at Boris and took the seat next to him.

“Mr. Roman. It's nice to meet you in person at last,” he said, offering a handshake.

I took it and said, “Same here. Coffee and some pastries?”

“A tall cappuccino, please,” he said.

“Boris, would you mind?”

“Not at all, boss,” Boris said, going inside the coffee shop to get Torres’ order.

“I’m sure you’re wondering why I asked to meet with you personally.”

“Yes, I am, actually.”

“When you came here seven years ago to handle the...mess...some of your people got involved in, we agreed to keep matters between myself and my immediate superior. And we did. No one questioned our findings, and we wrapped things up quickly. However, as Boris must’ve informed you, we’re again investigating the mysterious deaths of several young ladies.”

“Yes, Boris has kept me up to date,” I said.

“Unfortunately, two more bodies turned up this morning. This time, behind a dumpster near one of your bars. Both had their blood drained, but this time the perpetrator did not put them on display. It was like whoever did it left in a hurry.”

“Or they did it intentionally to cast a shadow of doubt on me or my business,” I said, not liking the implication. Was someone trying to set me up? As an Enforcer, I had made a lot of enemies, yet this seemed too much trouble to go through just to get even.

“Maybe. But one of my informers told me that this was also happening in other cities. The police found five bodies six months ago in Antipolo. Then, another three turned up three months later in Muntinlupa. The two in Quezon City, you already know about.”

“Why weren’t we told about this?” I said, glancing at Boris. He just came back with the police officer’s cappuccino.

“We didn’t have contacts in those other places, Boss.”

“We should work on that, then. Can you help us with this?”

Torres looked thoughtful. “I’ll try, but I didn’t know about the other cases until my informer approached me. He works in one of our morgues and had recently met up with a friend from another city morgue. This guy told him in strictest confidence about these mysterious deaths. Everyone wanted to keep it hush-hush. They did not even discuss the cases in their precincts.”

“Are you sure they’re all related, considering these dead women were in different cities?” I asked, even though I already knew the answer. The manner with which these women died was too distinct; it couldn’t be mistaken for anything else.

“Based on my informant’s description of the bodies, yes. And pardon me, but only your people can completely drain their victims of blood.”

I noted the bitterness in his tone, but it didn't offend me. Torres was only stating the obvious. I felt ashamed of my kind at the moment. Or at least of the ones who were acting like uncivilized animals. It took centuries of negotiations and concessions to achieve a modicum of peace between our two species, a fragile peace that could easily be destroyed in the blink of an eye. Things could escalate into another all-out war if the humans find enough proof to accuse us. The Council created the Order of the Knights to pacify the humans and stop them from hunting our kind. They could revert to the old ways when provoked and start burning vampires at the stake again.

“Believe me, we also hate what's happening lately. I’d like to see the reports on these other victims if it's possible. I might recognize something that could help us track down these criminals,” I said.

“I’ll see what I can do. There’s also something else I’d like you to know. Top brass is forming a special investigation team. For now, I’m taking the lead, but they’re bringing in the officer involved in the...incidents...from seven years ago. He assisted in one case, but because of some internal office politics, they dismissed him before the investigation was over. I’m not really familiar with the details since he’s from a different precinct. The name’s Lance Chavez. I’m briefing him this morning, which is actually why I wanted to talk to you first.”

“Is there something you want to clarify?” I said, appreciating the unexpected consideration.

“How much can I divulge to him? I mean, about names and your own hierarchy, or own hidden government?”

“What did your superiors say?”

“They want to keep this close to the chest, but gave me a lot of leeways to decide. They said nothing about how much of your world I should reveal to Chavez.”

“I’ll leave everything to your discretion. If you think it’s necessary for him to meet with me, just send word to Boris and we’ll set it up.”

Torres seemed to sigh in relief. “Thank you for understanding my dilemma. Chavez is a bit of a bulldog. He’s not one to get satisfied with half-baked facts. I’m afraid I might have to ask for that meeting sooner than later.”

“We’re here to give full support and do our part to end this at the earliest possible time. There is one thing that puzzles me, though. These women must have had families. When you released them to their care, didn’t they ask questions? Especially after seeing their bodies?”

Torres shook his head as if puzzled as well. “That’s just it. No one claimed them. Due to advanced decomposition, when discovered, a few remained unidentified. The ones we could identify turned out to be without family or close connections. It’s like someone chose them specifically and not just victims of chance. The perpetrators picked women no one would look for or miss.”

Boris and I exchanged knowing looks. What Torres said was unnerving. It meant that someone organized them and had a plan. These had not been mindless attacks. They did these for a purpose.

“There’s also something they all shared in common. Their type of blood.”

“Their type of blood? I thought they were all drained of blood,” I said, not liking where this was going.

“Yes, but remember when I told you about the ones we could identify?”

Boris and I nodded in unison, hanging on to the edge of our seats.

“They were all blood donors. Two of them were O-negative, one was A-negative, and one was B-negative. They all had—”

“Rare blood types,” I finished for him.

Torres nodded, his face looking even grimmer than before.

Rage boiled inside me at the realization. They had hunted those women down because of their blood. And this wasn't the handiwork of crazed Newborns. They were just a distraction. The killers wanted to throw us off to hide what they were really doing. Ever since the Royal Court regulated feeding, a lot of vampires had turned to Blood Banks for much of their sustenance. I, myself, had become a patron of these ‘convenience stores’ as we liked to call them. Could someone be stalking these blood banks and targeting those with rare blood types? But why display their bodies in public places? And why go after those who didn’t have families?

My rage turned to dread when another realization hit me. Mira had a rare blood type, too, possibly one of the rarest. She didn’t have any existing close family, either. And if she was a registered blood donor, someone could hunt her down right this very minute.

What if the recent attack on her hadn’t been random, as I thought before?

I badly needed to feed and get some rest, but my fear for Mira's safety far outweighed all my physical needs. I must find out if she was a registered blood donor. Her answer would determine my next plan of action.

But first, I needed to see her. Right the fuck now!