Night Blessed

Chapter 2: Differences

The office for our agency, Supernatural Secret Services, was located on the 25th level of the government high-rise. This made for a long elevator ride, and today, a very silent one.

I was still annoyed with Duncan for trying, yet again, to lead my team. Duncan was annoyed with me, probably for not letting him entirely take the lead and Andrew never was a man of many words. In the two years I've known him, he'd never bothered to fill in the quiet times with useless chatter. This was one of my favorite things about him. Particularly today when my mind was still reeling from the mysterious eyes at the crime scene.

What was it about those eyes that unsettled me so much? With my extra senses, nothing was able to creep up on me as those eyes did. But there was something about them that I just couldn't seem to shake, no matter how hard I tried. Finally, when the elevator doors dinged open, I let out a small sigh of relief.

The sounds of the office washed over us as we slipped around the multitude of desks that were shoved into a small, open area. Each desk was full of our coworkers typing away and chatting on their phones. They were the people who shuffled through the many phone tips we received to give us the cases we needed. Not every dead body was the work of a vampire, after all. They dug through all the facts and managed to give us only the legit cases. How they figured that out, I had no idea.

I began walking to the team's private office, picturing the nice comfortable couch that was calling my name when I heard a door swing open.

"Thompson!" A deep, rumbling voice called out over the chaos. "Get your butt in here, now!"

Duncan and Andrew gave me sympathetic glances as I grimaced before changing direction and heading to the boss's office. I made my way across the large room, doing my best not to drag my feet along the way. I didn't even need to look at the doorway to see that Bobby had already gone to stand behind his desk.

I walked in and sat in a chair stationed in front of his desk, finally raising my eyes to meet his steely gaze. He was a tall man, around six feet, and bald, though I knew he shaved it rather than admitting defeat to nature's curse of hair loss. His gray eyes stared me down for a moment before he finally sat in his chair.

Many would think he was being chivalrous in allowing me to sit first, but I knew how he worked. It was all a play for control to him; a way for him to show his dominance, though it was always unnecessary. Being a measly 5'2" he would always be able to look down his nose at me. And he'd always be in control.

"Emily," he began, leaning back in his chair to cross his arms. Not a good sign. I began steeling myself for the tongue-lashing I was bound to get. "Walk me through your most recent case."

Seemed innocent enough, but I knew he was just waiting for me to put my foot in my mouth. That was the thing with Bobby. He couldn't wait to see me fall.

"I received a phone call from Duncan at 0250 reporting a male victim in an alley off of Division Avenue." I opened my mouth to continue when he waved his hand at me, signaling me to get on with it.

"We arrived on the scene and evaluated the body. He was a young male, late 20s, with two holes in his neck. There were signs of strangulation and he had been completely drained of blood."

"Yes, I know all that," he said sharply, annoyed. How was I supposed to know that he already had all the information? Had he not just told me to walk him through it? I shoved my own annoyance down, knowing that if he saw it on my face, this conversation would only get worse.

"I want you to tell me what you saw on top of the buildings before you loaded up the body."

I froze, wondering how in the world he'd caught wind of that. I hadn't mentioned it to anyone there, and it's not like I'd stood there staring for minutes on end, had I? Bobby's face darkened as the seconds ticked by without me answering.

"Sorry, sir," I said, shaking myself out of my reverie. "I thought I had seen something on the tops of the roof, but I wasn't sure. When I looked again, whatever it was, was gone."

"And what made you look up there in the first place?"

"I…" I hesitated for a second and watched his glare deepen. "I sensed it."

There it was. The abject disgust that I'd been waiting for since this conversation had started. One mention of my abnormalities and any amount of progress I'd made with the guy flew out the window. It had been this way since I was three years old. Shivering on his doorstep next to a caseworker from social services as she introduced me to my new father. To say he hadn't been pleased was an understatement.

"Obviously I was wrong," I began, only for him to wave another hand at me.

"If you think you saw something, then I believe you." The way he said it made me pretty sure he didn't believe me at all but wanted to change the subject. "As the leader of your team, it is your responsibility to investigate such instances. Standing in the alleyway, staring at the darkness, isn't doing anyone any favors. What if it had been the murderous beast who just got finished killing the poor boy? Hmm? What then?"

I shrugged. Was there a chance that he was right? Sure. But I didn't get the feeling that the creature, whatever it was, had been malevolent. The eyes had seemed to find the whole situation amusing. It wasn't a vampire who had just gotten done killing a man, that much I knew for sure.

"You were put in your position because of your bloodline. You have more abilities than any other human in the world. But if you get sloppy on the job, I will take that position away from you. To hell with what the higher-ups have to say about it. You remember that."

"Yes, sir," I mumbled. It was what was expected of me at this junction. Take the lecture on my chin and keep going.

"I took you in as a child because I believed I would be able to use your abnormalities to help the human race. Not so you could be lazy and ignore your gut. Not many foster parents would have put up with you."

I nodded, letting the words wash over me. I was used to them by now. After twenty-one years with the man, I should be. He may be my foster father, but that didn't mean he loved me. The exact opposite, actually. The man could barely stand the sight of me. It was beyond me why he'd insisted on me working for him when he could have washed his hands of me when I turned eighteen.

"I want you to get out there and do your damn job. Half-vampire or no, the second you're no use to us, you'll be out on your butt. Don't you forget it. Now get out." He said, pointing a thick finger at the door.

"Yes, sir," I said, allowing a bit of my own steeliness into my voice. I was so sick of being treated like trash just because my mother decided to procreate with a vampire. Bobby's glare darkened even further as I stood.

"Get. Out." He said menacingly and all I could think was that maybe vampires weren't the only evil creatures on this planet. Maybe I should find the owner of those eyes and find out.