Masquerade

It was seven forty one by the time I was able to leave my desk, all of the paperwork that had to be done was finished. Well most of it excluding the piles of manila folders and even after all of that I really wasn't looking forward to this. Sure I wanted to see Bianca and get the information on Voran, that the vampire archives wouldn't have but I had a bad feeling about tonight. Something just didn't feel right, you know the feeling when you have a tug in your gut because you know something will go wrong but your not quite sure what it'll be. I was getting that feeling and preparing for the worst. With this job it would make the eventual disappointment easier to manage, though if you died you wouldn't have to worry anymore. Then again it was the dying part that had everyone on edge, for we may all complain about how our lives are horrible or how our jobs could be considered the worst in the world, but it's that single point in everyday inwhich something good comes out. Like finding a twenty dollar bill on the ground or seeing that your in-box is lower then your out-box, it was those little miniscule moments in life that we all cherished and if we were to die we would lose that single moment that would remind us that life really isn't that bad, or maybe it's the fact that dying before your time really sucks. Everyone had that thought one time or another, a sad but true fact that came with this profession.en aen as I walked to my locker, I wondered who wouldn't return to their two point five kids, loving wife and a dog named Scotty or maybe this time it would be my turn. Though with my profession as a legal vampire executioner it was surprising to most that I wasn't dead, but from what I had learned from Bianca, everything started to make sense. Great my vampire girlfriend whos obsessed with having sex with me is beginning to make sense.

Those in the STF squad were preparing themselves for the confrontation with Voran and the unknown circumstances which would most likely arise. Their was a somber mood in the air as half hearted jokes that included sexual inuendos were made between all of us, we were all trying to take our minds off of tomorrow. A renegade vampire marked for execution gives no respite and they would kill without a seconds pause. All of us hoped that our training would make us faster and that we would all return intact mentally and physically, but in reality that rarely happens. Trauma in any form was always a scornful bitch. Reminding you of every little flaw and that you couldn't change what happened no matter how hard you tried.

This had started when the judge had approved the execution papers and then everyone learned of what would be done in the debriefing room. In a sick twist of fate Vincent spoke out and decided to give the operation a nickname, which was 'Goodnight'. Operation Goodnight, it had a morbid edge to it and hopefully none of us would be going to sleep anytime soon.
We all dreaded what was going to come this time tomorrow. There was no way around it, it was our job and we would do it.

Though the hardest thing that we would have to do was ask for help from the Supernatural Crime Unit Division, it was a sort of pride that only those who walked the streetbeat would only truly understand. The execution was in our jurisdiction, but Voran was a case on his own. Being the oldest vampire to ever be executed in the state, hell my oldest executed vampire had been around a hundred years old and she wasn't easy, then again she awoke with me straddling her waist and plunging a stake into her heart. I learned then and there that older vampires had the ability to react to any disturbance to their 'sleep cycle'. In all my three years as a legal vampire executioner they still kept on surprising me with new and frightening abilities, the worst was when the soon to be executed vampire possessed unparalled mind control. Though I really couldn't remember the exact events, except for a few glimpses inwhich I was straddling the vampire and preparing to stake it's heart, in that moment I believe I accidently gazed into his eyes, it should have been my last moment alive as well but somehow that vampire had been distracted by one of the squad members.
The only thing that I remember besides that vampires death was the fact that I woke up in the hospital a week later with two broken arms inwhich my shoulders were dislocated and all the other fractures I sustained. They told me that the vampire had embraced me in a bear hug and that the only thing that had saved me was the stake that I gripped in my hands. The vampire had broken my body and in turn he had killed himself.

The pain from that moment would come back from time to time, though it was usually during the winter months. The cold made my body ache and it felt like it was trying to remind me of moments that were clouded over in my mind, though I guessed it was better not to remember the pain and what had lead up to that moment. I stood infront of my openned locker and pulled out my black duffle bag which held my 'goodies' which seemed kind of sick to say silver tiped hollow points were goodies, oh and we can't forget the mallet and enough holy water to melt a vampire ten times over. It's not overkill, it's just be ready for the unexpected. Yeah.

I placed the stake holster in the bag as well, I planned on bringing my duffle bag in the Thunderbird tonight. I grapped the Teknys and shouldered the duffle bag.

"Going to war?"

I heard Malcolm's voice as I turned around, now personally he wasn't your average south african. I knew he was six eight, but you'd never think by his voice that he would be as muscle bound as Bruce. He had the type of voice that would make you think he was in the later stages of puberty, his voice deep but it would often threaten to crack. He had smooth facial features and his chin had a soft edge to it, I slight smile upon my face as I shrugged.

"Well with tomorrow..."

"Yeah... though I'm sure it won't be that bad." Malcolm spoke as if knew he was just lying to himself, but hoped that if he did it enough times he would begin to believe in what he spoke.

"It'll be worse..." I said with a grin, Malcolm had his eyes on me for awhile but in time he would laugh. It was on of those bad jokes that only those who would see death fact to face on a regular basis would get, and it fit in with the 'positive' attitude that you could feel coming from everyone in the room.

"Oh well." Malcolm shook his head slightly as the smile began to fade from his face, " I'm probably going to go home soon and spend some time with the family..."

Another ritual of ours well if you had any family or anyone that you cared for nearby, was that we would leave somewhat early and spend time with them. Each of us got something out of the interactions with those that we loved and cared for during that time, it was a type of warfare mentality. It reminded us of what we were keeping under control, for none of us wanted the next vampire victim to be anyone that we knew, that way of thinking might have been seen as selfish in its own ends to those hearing of it for the first time. But it made each vampire murder personal, for that person could have been someone that we knew in life and now they were taken away in some violent fashion.
Though for the most part those that were murdered didn't have any connections to anyone of us, sure they were just a body when we found them, but before that they had a name, family and thosat fat feelings for that person.

"Sounds like a plan, tell them I said hello... well I have to go home and do some maintenance on my family." I patted the bag holding the Teknys.

Malcolm grinned, "I'll see you later then Jacob, and I'll tell them when I get home."

I left the laboratory and passed the admissions desk, I was planning on saying goodbye to Sarah but she wasn't their. I shrugged it off and thought that she was probably called of for something else, I would see her tomorrow. I now had to go find Bianca and get the rest of the information on Voran, yet with everything that happened today I really didn't want to leave anymore. The manila folders stacked on top of my desk seemed really inviting at the moment. I took a deep breath and counted to three, I left the police station and tried to think happy thoughts. After all Bianca would understand and a snowball has a chance in hell. Yeah.