Darkness has recently settled fully upon the city, and many businesses are closing up for the night. Out on the highway is a well-visited rest stop, the Gas'N'Gulp. Two gas pumps, a tiny little store where one can fuel up on Mt. Dew and Cheetos, and skunky smelling bathrooms to the side of it.
The important thing about this particular rest stop is the building extends a great deal, nestled right up against a forested ridge. Voices sound in the back of the building, one female, one male. Both trying to be silent.
"No way," comes the female voice. "I'm telling you he got killed 'cuz someone ganked Randolph. They're retaliating. Not like good ol' Randy particularly cared about dying, but it's not the point. We gotta be careful if you want the plan to work for Friday."
~
Turning over stones. The phone number led to a disposable cell; completely useless. The human intelligence, though… that proves to be a bit more useful. Hiro comes gliding soundlessly out of the trees, Fading as he comes. His mode of dress is subtly different as well; a broad brimmed hat that casts his face into shadow, and a long coat over dark, nondescript trousers and shirt. He may be approaching this with a touch of excess — the silenced firearm holstered at his back and the knives up his sleeves — but something about this whole situation reeks of hidden dangers. Quietly, he approaches the back building, looking for a door.
~
"G-ganked Randolph?" The male voice stutters back, fear evident in it's high-pitched whisper. Pale and sallow-faced, the man's eyes flash from side to side with the express paranoia and discomfort found in a person supremely uncomfortable within his own skin. As if that wasn't enough, his hands are being wrung quite nervously. "Well…wh-what do you think is going to happen?" He looks weak. A poor, unassuming chump with a healthy fear of the sun.
~
Two people are there, talking. Right at the back door of the establishment. Idly chit-chatting, while who knows what is going on inside. Guards, maybe?
"Don't know," says the woman with a sort of nonchalant shrug. "I mean it'll work out one of two ways, right? They'll either wind up dead at the carnival, or they'll wind up dead if we're found out." Careful eyes peer out into the darkness and she pulls something out of her pocket, showing it to the man in front of her. "Like my new toy? Got'em specially made down in Austin on the weekend. Careful now, don't touch."
~
There are several options for handling this, but Hiro just opts for simplicity. Accelerating from his steady, smooth stride, he comes out of the woods suddenly, like a ghost; before either can raise the alarm, one hand strikes at the woman's midsection, aimed precisely at her solar plexus, while the other strikes out at the man's throat; vampires may not need to breathe, but they still need vocal cords to speak.
~
You know what they say - do not judge a book by it's cover. Well, this pale, unassuming man, with his listless straw-colored hair, happens to be the book. You would have never guessed that he happened to be a World War II veteran by the way he comports himself. The sudden appearance of Hiro catches the southern gentleman off-guard, knocking him back for a moment, but he strikes immediately afterwards.
He does not even attempt to speak or coddle his female companion - he merely shoots his hand out to grab at the arm that had incapacitated his vocal cords, gripping down upon the limb with brutal, supernatural strength even for a vampire.
~
The woman, not a very strong looking thing to begin with, is easily doubled over by the hit to her midsection. Her left arm cradles her stomach as she falls to the ground, though her right hand clenches against something extremely tightly. The nice little new toy she was just talking about. As she struggles to breathe she wriggles the silver-tipped wooden bullet between her knuckles and punches at Hiro's shin. While his clothing will prevent his flesh from being seared, the location isn't likely to be comfortable should she manage to ram it in.
She may not be able to call an alarm, but she can damned well shriek loudly as soon as she manages to catch her breath. Which she does, at the very top of her lungs.
Noises within the back room can be heard, people shifting about and moving into position.
~
Well, this isn't going as well as he expected. Alright, then. Smoothly, Hiro twitches his free arm a certain way, and a knife drops into his palm — the triangular blade gleaming with silver as he sweeps it around at the grasping vampire. As the woman jabs at him with a… bullet? Huh? He makes a special point to 'accidentally' kick at her face, if only to shut off the shriek.
~
Were Hiro's opponent a human, or perhaps even a vampire of lesser skill, the fledgling's strike would hit hard and true. But, Steven, as he was once called, is not your everyday, typical vampire. Enhances reflexes prompt him to twitch backwards - and so, while the silver-tipped knife do slice through flesh, it is a very shallow wound, overlooked by the battle-hardened veteran.
Some might think that him fighting death would be ironic, considering his affiliation. But the truth is, Steven has a mission - and he is not to die until he completes it. And so, with a soundless grunt, he uses his exaggerated brute strength to jerk the man's arm to the side, twisting painfully in moving with practiced precision to side-step the man.
~
There is a sudden jolt of shock, then blood is spurting everywhere. "FUNCK!" Hands go to cover her nicely crushed in nose. The woman does not look at all pleased, but she can't really retaliate as she's trying not to pass out from the searing pain.
The movements inside the back room have stopped entirely. There is a very silent woosh sound as several slats in the wood open. The lights in the area go out completely - just like that the Gas'n'Gulp appears to be shut down for the night. And slowly, very slowly gun muzzles edge out. Several taking fire with your plain old garden variety bullets. Enough shots to try and bring down everyone in the tableau, even the woman should she dare try to get to her feet.
~
This is starting to get irritating. Hiro's expression hasn't changed a whit — even when Steven twists his arm — but instead of being sidestepped or resisting the pull, he flows into it, turning as he does to minimize the torsion force. Once he's got both feet dug in though, he simply exerts a little force of his own to lift the clutching Steven — after all, his mass hasn't changed! — and /sprints/ out of the way, just in time to avoid getting shot to blazes. Carrying the other vampire along, as he aims for a nice, stout tree at the woodline with a protruding branch stub.
~
Upon realizing that his opponent is not unskilled, Steven's expression darkens considerably. Still, the slight man remains stoic, refusing, even then, to lessen the pressure on Hiro's arm - in fact, he even tightens his grip. As a result, he ends up being drug along with Hiro for some time as the man does his sprinting bit - though the rest of the bounty hunter's plan falls shot. Steven is not a man to simply be outclassed so prominently when it comes to hand-on-hand combat. As he flies along behind Hiro, his free hand is curled into a fist and he jerks himself forward, landing a powerful, skull-shattering blow to the side of the bounty-hunters head.
~
Realizing that the shots have done absolutely nothing against the intruder, those inside begin moving. The slat remains open, faint light trickling from the building. Moving like that of a flashlight. Voices pick-up, though most remain murmurs, and from the distance the two outdoor vampires are they're not likely to hear what is being said.
The sounds inside the back room have died down completely except for a small crackle, the air suddenly filling with the acrid smell of smoke.
Her counterpart about to be slammed into the tree, the broken, bleeding woman pulls out a gun. A gun loaded with her specialty bullets. The trees are not so far off, and though it's dark she aims with a slightly shaky hand and fires off a few rounds.
~
He's not going to lose because Hiro's a better fighter. He's going to lose because Hiro is a dirty, dirty cheater. As the bounty hunter feels Steven coiling again, he abruptly slams on the brakes, throwing himself down as he slides like a baseball player. The punch grazes him, only rattling his skull instead of clouting him in the head outright, as he rolls. Inertia really takes over at that point, as using his clutched arm as a lever, he swings Steven at the tree — aiming for that branch. It's not just in Soviet Russia that tropes mock you.
~
Today, it seems, just isn't Steven's day. Sometimes the luck is simply not there. Hiro ought to be able to feel the pale stranger tensing and coiling up, preparing himself for his next strike, but before he knows it, he is being rammed into a broken tree branch.
Despite the strike to his vocal cords, Steven manages to gasp out in pain as the tree tears through his skin. And as the blood begins to gush from his torso, soiling the earth, the man's grip upon Hiro finally begins to loosen. "H-heavenly father," he grunts out, blood pouring from the corners of his eyes. "Hallowed by thy name…"
This is all he is able to say, all he is able to do before deteriorating into a pile of ashen goo in the darkness.
~
"NO!" The woman, seeing her partner, her friend, exploding into goo, does the only thing she can think of. She runs into the building that is quickly becoming engulfed in flames. Blood dripping in her wake, she starts to scream as the flames lick up her legs.
For a long moment there is silence but for the crackling of the flames. Then in a loud WOOOOSH, several explosions happen at once. Three in the back room, one in the main shop, and two around the outside of the building.
~
Some days, it just doesn't pay to get out of the coffin. Hiro's shaking his arm, wincing slightly at the grip the other vampire had, as he scrambles to his feet. "Alright," he says shortly, drawing his pistol, "I have officially had-"
Then the building catches on fire.
"enough," Hiro ends weakly. Realizing he's running out of leads, he sprints down towards the building… only to stop short at the detonation, forced back by the wave of heat. "…You've got to be kidding me!" he blurts out in shock.
~
Even small groups of gatherers like the Voluntary Vampire Extinction Movement have contingency plans. Often this equates to "When the strongest one among them is turned into a pile of goo, turn tail and run." This particular group not only turned tail, but took any and all info they had laying about with them when they went.
The fire continues to burn, several spots hotter than others, obviously where some sort of accelerate is still igniting and fanning the flames.
After several minutes of such a blaze, even out on the highway as it is, sirens can be heard making their way toward the once glorious Gas'n'Gulp station.
~
Hiro picks up his dropped hat, brushing it off and putting it back on. Putting away his tools, he grimly moves to the powdery remains of the vampire… sifting through them for anything of interest — wallet, ID, jewelry. While it could have been worse, this does tell him one thing; this bunch is very, very serious.
~
All that he will find is a small, plastic pendant of a hollow cross, the sort that can be forced open. Inside, he will find an excerpt cut out from a New Testament bible, John 3:16.
~
Hiro scoops up the cross, bemused by the lack of anything else. Then after scattering the ashes a bit with his boot, he's gone — vanishing back into the trees, wrapping his Fading around him like a cloak.
~
Sirens continue to get louder, now a mixture of fire, police and ambulance. Drawing ever nearer on route 75. Best to get the blaze out before the forest is destroyed by it.
