The next morning, I woke to find a text from Sarah waiting.
Sarah: We're professionals.
I stared at the ssage for a long mont, then replied.
: Agreed.
I pushed the thought aside and headed downstairs. The team was already gathered, Elena hunched over her workbench surrounded by what looked like modified flashbang grenades.
"Those ready?" I asked.
She looked up, dark circles under her eyes suggesting she'd been working all night. "Just finished. UV flashbangs – modified to emit concentrated ultraviolet light at an intensity that will temporarily blind vampires. Even old ones like rcier."
She held one up. It looked like a standard flashbang, but with a faint purple tint to the casing.
"How long will the blindness last?" Sarah asked, entering behind . Her tone was completely professional, no hint of what had happened between us the night before.
"Fifteen to twenty seconds for most vampires. Maybe ten for soone as old as rcier." Elena set down the device carefully. "That's your window. Trigger it, grab the blood sample, and get out before they recover."
"And if sothing goes wrong?" Marco asked.
"Then you're fighting blind vampires in the middle of a sex club filled with supernatural predators." Elena smiled grimly. "Try not to let sothing go wrong."
Tommy pulled up the club's layout on his screens. "I've mapped the escape routes. Once you trigger that thing, you'll have maybe thirty seconds before security locks down the entire building. I can give you a clear path to the service exit, but you'll need to move fast."
"We can move fast," Sarah said.
Viktor leaned against the wall, arms crossed. "What about collateral? You blind everyone in that booth, you're going to piss off more than just rcier."
"Can't be helped," I said. "We need the blood, and this is the fastest way to get it without a prolonged fight."
"It's also going to burn your cover at The Scarlet Room," Marco pointed out. "rcier will know you're not what you seed."
"By the ti he figures that out, we'll already have stolen from his vault. He can be pissed all he wants – we'll be gone."
Marco considered this, then nodded. "Fine. You go tonight, get the sample, then we move on the vault tomorrow. Elena will have the counter-wards ready by then, and we can bypass the blood lock with rcier's DNA."
"One question," Sarah said. "How do we get invited back to his booth? We can't exactly walk in and ask."
"You won't need to." Tommy pulled up a ssage on his screen. "rcier sent this an hour ago – an invitation for you and 'Rebecca' to join him tonight. Apparently, Isabelle gave a glowing report."
I read the ssage. It was polite, friendly even, inviting us to spend another evening at The Scarlet Room as his personal guests.
"Perfect," I said. "He's bringing us right to him."
---
That evening, Sarah and I prepared in silence. The professional distance was back, the easy partnership we'd developed over weeks of working together. Like the previous night had never happened.
Which was exactly what we both needed it to be.
Well mostly her.
"Earpieces in," Tommy said as we geared up. "I'll be monitoring the whole ti. The UV flashbang is in Sarah's purse – modified to look like a compact. When you're ready, just open it and press the center. You'll have three seconds before it triggers."
"Three seconds to get clear," Sarah confird.
"Or to warn Cain to close his eyes," Elena added. "The UV won't affect him like it will vampires, but the light intensity will still hurt."
I pocketed the small vial we'd use to collect the blood sample, along with a silver blade sharp enough to cut through vampire skin. "What about getting out?"
"Service entrance is here." Tommy highlighted it on the map. "Thirty-seven feet from rcier's usual booth. Once you trigger the flashbang, you run. Don't stop, don't look back. I'll handle the security systems and unlock the doors remotely."
"And if we run into resistance?" Sarah asked.
"Then you fight your way through." Viktor handed her a small pistol loaded with wooden bullets. "But quietly. The longer you can delay the alarm, the better."
We arrived at The Scarlet Room just after midnight. The doorman recognized us imdiately.
"Mr. Cross, Ms. Rebecca. Mr. rcier is expecting you. Please, follow ."
He led us directly to rcier's booth – larger than the one we'd been in before, positioned in a corner with a good view of the main floor. rcier stood as we approached, his smile welcoming.
"Alexander, Rebecca. I'm delighted you accepted my invitation." He gestured to the booth. "Please, sit. I took the liberty of ordering your drinks from last night."
We slid into the booth, and I noted the other occupants – two beautiful won who looked barely twenty, and a man who had the predatory stillness of an old vampire. All part of rcier's entourage.
"I wanted to thank you," rcier continued, settling back into his seat. "Isabelle had wonderful things to say about you both. It's rare to find genuine connections in places like this."
"We enjoyed ourselves," Sarah said smoothly.
"I'm glad. And I hope you'll enjoy tonight as well." He gestured to his companions. "This is Marcus and these are Celeste and Diane. They're all very interested in getting to know you better."
[Warning: Multiple targets in proximity]
[UV flashbang will affect all vampires in range]
[Recomndation: Wait for optimal mont]
The conversation flowed easily, rcier playing the perfect host. Drinks appeared, the atmosphere relaxed, and gradually the other patrons of the club faded into background noise.
I waited for the right mont. We needed rcier focused on us, his guard down, the other vampires positioned where they wouldn't imdiately interfere.
"You know," rcier said after about twenty minutes, "I have a proposition for you both."
"Oh?" I kept my tone casual.
"I'm hosting a private gathering next week. Very exclusive, very... adventurous. I'd like you to attend as my personal guests." His smile widened. "I think you'd find it quite morable."
"That's very generous," Sarah said.
"Not generous. Selfish, perhaps. I enjoy surrounding myself with interesting people." He leaned forward. "So what do you say? Will you – "
Sarah's purse fell open, the modified compact tumbling out.
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