Supernatural Enforcement Bureau, Book 1, The Dragon and The Vampire: Book 1 (2 page)

Chapter 2

The walk to the locker room took longer than it should as they were stopped several times by agents, wanting to either tell them something, or ask for advice. It was nearly a full hour before they were kitted up and ready to go. Both dressed in full, black combat gear, with several weapons dotted around their large frames.

Ronan stood six foot six and Sam was a five inches shorter, six one. They were imposing and deadly looking in suits...dressed as they were now, most folk would run in the opposite direction, screaming loudly.

“
You ready?” Ronan asked and Sam nodded his head once.

“
Okay, Drake is downstairs and he’ll take us to the area that the hunters have been spotted… hope we find them.” Ronan’s voice tapered off as he remembered Josef’s words about it being Dragon hunters that had destroyed his town and everyone he had ever cared about in his human life.

“
Hey, what’s up?” Sam’s voice was low as he could see tension mounting in his friend and didn’t want to spook him.

“
What? Oh nothing––just something Josef told me and it’s kinda got me riled up a bit. Cac! I need to focus!”

“
Will you stop with the Irish swearing! I hate when you do that.” Sam gave him a playful punch on his arm.

If he had done it to a human it would probably have broken a limb, fortunately, Ronan wasn’t human. He tried to smile and let the tension out...found it damn near impossible.

“Shit...that’s what that meant.” Ronan liked to swear in his native tongue for a couple of reasons. One, it usually meant folks had no idea what he was saying, and second, it made him think of times long gone when it was the only language he spoke...and his loved ones were still alive.

“
I knew that one, and I also know you usually only swear in that Gaelic when you’re upset.” Sam did the head cocked to the side move, while staring intently at him.

“
Yeah, I am a little nonplussed, but I’ll get over it.” Ronan turned to head towards the elevator that would take them to their underground parking where one of his best agents, Drake, would be waiting.

“
What?! Did you just say ‘nonplussed’ what the fuck is that? Must be you talking to Josef that’s got you talking like that! ‘Nonplussed’, Christ that’s so...”

Ronan cut him off, “Shut up will you! Just ‘cause you don’t have a good grip on the English language doesn’t mean everyone is a Neanderthal. Try checking a dictionary out now and then.”

He heard Sam’s laughter as he carried on to the elevator, a smile now on his own face. His friend always had the knack to get him out of any funk he was in no matter how serious or upsetting his mood.

He pressed the button for the elevator and heard his friend approach, still chuckling. He knew if he turned around he would see the smile on Sam’s face and a twinkle in his almost black eyes.

He didn’t turn around though, wanting his friend to think he was pissed.

The elevator door pinged open and he strode in, stood tall, and crossed his arms...a scowl now in place on his features. Sam entered after him, and shot him a sideways glance, as if trying to figure out if his mood was for real.

“So, Drake saw this Dragon?” Sam asked, in an obvious attempt to break his supposed bad mood.

“
Nope, he didn’t actually see it, but Josef has seen them before and Josef wouldn’t lie to me about this. In fact he gave me a direct command–help the Dragons and keep them safe.”

Sam whistled through his teeth, a direct command from your Sire was impossible to ignore. Ronan knew his friend was aware of just how badly he took commands...from anyone.

“Yup, so we’ll go and see what we can come up with. Maybe we’ll get lucky and catch one of those hunters. We need to be careful though, they may be using dark magic and if they are, we are all vulnerable. In that case we need to get Esther on board, but I know she’s away on a mission just now. Whatever, we’ll just do some recon and see what we can find out. Just be careful Sam. Okay?”

The seriousness of his tone obviously impressed Sam. He sobered and nodded. “Okay boss, I’ll be careful, so long as you are too...I don’t want that office of yours,”

“Funny, real funny, Sam,” Ronan tried hard not to smile and was saved by the elevator doors opening in the garage.

They were both well aware of the kind of damage magic could inflict, Ronan already had a large, ragged, scar on his left thigh. A permanent reminder that powerful magic when used for evil may cause serious harm. A fight with a Witch some forty years ago left Ronan bloodied and scarred...Sam saved his life in that particular encounter. Neither of them took magic for granted after that.

As expected, Drake was waiting outside the elevator. Kitted out the same as they were, black combats and weapons, the only difference being Drake was a Wolf and they were Vamps. That, plus the Wolf was a good seven or eight inches shorter than Ronan. Not a small man by any means but standing next to Ronan made him seem small.

Drake, like the other Wolves, went through more of their combat uniforms than any Vamps did. If the situation arose they had to morph quickly, which meant their uniforms got ripped to shreds. They always carried extras in their vehicles to save them walking about naked afterward.

When he’d first taken the role of Director, Ronan had conscientiously dealt with several complaints of indecency. Now? Well, if he got any complaints, he ignored them. Would the humans rather see a naked man after his Wolf had taken out another Supernatural doing wrong or be the next victim of said Super? The choice was clear in Ronan’s eyes.

“
Hi, boss, you ready?” Drake asked as they stopped in front of them, his use of the nickname grating on Ronan’s nerves.

Biting his tongue, “Yes, let’s get going,” was Ronan’s only response as they moved to one of the large, jet black SUV’s they used as the norm.

“I’ll drive, I know where we’re going.” Drake got in the driver’s seat, waiting on them before starting up and driving slowly out of the parking area.

Once on the main roads he put his foot down and soon the city of Denver fell away behind them. The areas they drove through getting quieter and more deserted as they drove. It was still only early afternoon but Ronan hadn’t wanted to wait any longer before following this lead up.

“What’s the intel on where we’re going?” Sam asked as he checked and double checked his weapons, squirming around in his seat to make sure everything was where it was supposed to be. This was something that Ronan saw him do on each and every mission they had ever gone on...sort of like a ritual.

“
Our Witches have had several visions of these hunters and they seem to be chasing a girl, but then the vision changes and it’s a Dragon. They’ve managed to pinpoint the general area and that’s where my men and I went last night. We caught a glimpse of two males, who definitely looked like hunters, but then we lost them. No idea how, ‘cause my nose shoulda been able to find ‘em, but nothing, nada, zilch. It was as if they completely disappeared.”

As Drake finished it was obvious he was a little bemused as to not being able to track the men. Ronan wondered if magic were involved...dark magic.

“Drake, the other information about the Dragon blood and dark magic, I’ve been informed by my Sire that the information is correct. So we all need to be very careful. Dark magic is very dangerous, even to us. So if we even think there’s dark magic around we take things nice ‘n slow and very, very, carefully. Okay?”

Ronan saw Drake’s jaw tighten as he acknowledged him. “Okay.”

“I mean it, no heroics, if there’s dark magic involved. We retreat quickly and we’ll have to wait until we can get Esther involved.” Ronan’s tone was a little sharper than he had intended, but he didn’t apologize...if his tone kept them alive then that was all that mattered.

“
I hear ya, don’t go all Alpha on us,” Sam answered cheekily. Ronan turned his head and scowled at him in the rear. Sam just smiled back, raising his left eyebrow.

“
We’ll be careful, don’t worry.” Drake’s tone was far more serious than Sam’s and Ronan hoped that Sam didn’t go in for any of his antics on the mission. Dark magic was far too serious to mess around with.

“
We’re not far now. I’m gonna park a ways back so they don’t have any warning we’re there. We can all go in on foot and hopefully find something.”

“
That’s fine with us, we’ll go slow so you can keep up,” Sam quipped from the rear and got a growl in response from Drake.

“
Enough guys, no messing around on this. Remember...dark magic? We are alert and on point at all times with no wisecracking, no jokes, and no messing...that’s an order.”

Ronan’s clipped tone making sure the other two knew he meant business. Drake pulled to a stop and Ronan was out of the vehicle before he had switched the engine off. He stretched his long body and sent his senses out, trying to see if he could get a feel of anyone in the immediate area.

His abilities were more advanced than a Vampire of similar age, which was put down to his Sire. The older and stronger a Vampire was when, or if, they turned someone, then some of that strength seemed to be passed onto the newly made Vamp. As his Sire was indeed very ancient and powerful, Ronan now had some of that power within him.

Even with those powers he felt nothing. He hoped it was because they were too far away and started jogging in the direction of the deserted and dilapidated warehouses. Sam and Drake following behind and on his flanks.

They moved on silently, going at a pace that Drake could keep up with. A Wolf is not nearly as fast as a Vampire…something that Sam would normally joke about as they ran. This time he was silent as they moved onwards, and that’s just the way Ronan wanted it.

If dark magic was involved then they needed to be totally alert for the mission at hand. They could take no chances of being caught unawares or they could be destroyed.

As the buildings became closer, Drake moved to the point position, taking them to where he had been before. Once more Ronan pushed his senses out, his Vampire abilities trying to grasp even a hint of anyone or anything in the area.

There! He felt something in a warehouse off to their right but he wasn’t sure who or what was there. He whispered, “Stop,” and Sam and Drake pulled to an immediate halt, turning to him as they did.

He pointed to the broken down building, then he motioned for Sam to go right and Drake left...he would take middle and point. He motioned for Drake to go on; he and Sam would easily catch up. With only one approaching at first, if someone was keeping watch, they might just miss a solitary figure.

Ronan and Sam watched as Drake made his way to the side of the building before they set off. Using their supernatural speed, they reached their own entry points in seconds. As Drake and Sam watched, Ronan held his arm out for a split second before lowering it quickly. They moved at the same time, entering from three different positions.

He was in the building first, and almost recoiled from the stench. He scented urine, vomit, and other bodily fluids that he didn’t want to dwell on. What he did hone in on was a figure at the opposite end of the large space, the outline of a female clearly visible. He saw her jump as she realized she wasn’t alone and felt her panic, so great was it, that he could actually smell it in the air around him.

“
It’s okay, we won’t harm you.” He tried to calm the girl’s fears as he moved slightly forward, getting a clearer view of her.

She was tall, at least five eight or nine, with long jet black hair with what looked, in the dimming light, to be some purple streaks. What drew his own eyes were hers...the most striking violet color he had ever seen stared back at him.

“Why would I believe you, you bloodsucking leech!”

Ronan was taken aback for less than a second by both what she said, and with the speed she moved as she turned and ran, with incredible velocity, out the rear of the building. Ronan and his men were hot on her tail. However, when they got outside they saw hide nor hair of her...as if she had simply disappeared.

“You got her?” Sam asked him, knowing he was already sending his powers out again.

His eyes raked over the area all around them as he tried to get a hint of where she had gone. As his powers came back with nothing, he shook his head, wondering who she was and just how had she moved so quickly?

All three of them scoured the area and came up with nothing. No sign of the female and no sign of any hunters. They started back to their vehicle and Ronan stopped more than once, looking behind him, unable to shake the feeling that they were being watched.

*****

Starr kept watch from afar as the three men left, two Vampires and a Wolf. Not the normal hunting party, a Witch was usually with them to incapacitate her. So far she had been lucky, escaping time and again. She was tired of all the running, ten years since the last person she ever loved...her brother...had been captured, while saving her.

Her eyes filled with tears as she remembered her strong and honorable brother, Talon. Sacrificing his own freedom so she could get away. His screams as the dark magic invaded his body, completely and utterly, immobilizing his large body. His last words to her shouts and screams telling her to get away.