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Hunting Vampires: An Age Old Christmas Tradition

Andrew Thompson had managed to make a decent career out of being a vampire hunter. It hadn't been his first choice, and really he'd stumbled into the job, but as the years went by, he'd managed to make a living out of it, and found some enjoyment in it (at least the hunting bit if not the other parts). Certainly, his career wasn't as illustrious as some of the others in the Hillingdon Clan, but he had a name for himself at least. It's too bad that he bit off a little more than he could chew with his latest target.

He'd tracked the vampire to Greenwich, using the lawlessness of the territory to hide himself and wait for the moment to strike. The Vampire, however, was well aware of this and the hunter became the hunted. Unable to cope with the sudden change, Thompson retreated in Lewisham, desperate to hide himself and try to sort things out. This, however, did not stop him from leaving chaos in his wake.

--

And that brings us to Sirius Black. Who, upon looking at the job board, noticed this particular bounty. Being a shapeshifter, he was never fond of vampires, even as his worldview expanded but at the same time, he did believe in second chances (and even vampires weren't exactly monsters). If he could catch this rogue vampire, maybe he could bring him back to Hillingdon, and get him the help he obviously needed. (and 500 pounds to do it wasn't a bad payoff either).

With a quick note that he'd accepted the job, Sirius headed off to Greenwich to fine some clues as to where Thompson might have gone. He was pretty good at sniffing things out after all.

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Newborn vampires, especially without a sire to guide them, were dangerous creatures. And Coward highly doubted that the sire of this one had been keen to stick around. Especially since Millicent knew nothing about the turning of a new vampire. Which lead to her wanting more information.

Coward had... Well. He'd half volunteered himself. It had also been suggested that it might help his standing if he did it.

So, he started in Greenwich. The last thing he needed was tensions coming to a head over something stupid. Which was basically the definition of anything a newborn might do. Besides, as Commissioner, he also needs to be seen to be doing something (even if it's from a procedural standpoint of paperwork) about the havoc being caused there. It's not just the new vampire who has something to answer for, oh no. The sire will be subject to as many penalties as he can think of.

It's not the most effective search in the world. Sirius isn't really used to working alone, and he's not all that sure where to start. He has an idea of Thompson's scent and is hoping to use that, although it's a little harder as a human.

He considers ducking down an alley to change shape. While he's fond of being a shapeshifter, the changing has always been a bit frustrating.

He hears it first. Then smells it. Human? At least mostly. He can't be completely positive. Still, it's enough for him to raise his head, glance in the direction of the figure he can make out.

"Who's there?"

Yup, dog probably would have been better, Sirius thinks when he catches the scent. It's easier to act dumb as a dog, but at the same time, this could be an advantage.

"Hello, nice day isn't it?" Sirius says in response.

"Very."

But, well, there's something interesting. He knows that face. Still, it might be far more interesting if he plays that he doesn't. If he acts oblivious.

"Do you live in this area? I'm obliged to say it's a bit dangerous to be out right now. Some sort of killer on the loose."

"So I've heard, but I'll be careful," Sirius replies, not answering the earlier question. The killer is likely his target, but he doesn't need to mention that. And it's not like he wasn't planning on being careful (he's alone, he can't afford to be reckless, much as he wants to be).

"Thanks for the warning though."

Coward smiles a bit to himself. The smell tells him he's not dealing with a human, and the evasion says enough. Still, he can think of a good way to test the waters.

"Good luck in your hunt," he says casually.

Sirius tenses, entirely confused as to how he's going to respond. He didn't think he was being that obvious (he'd dressed relatively normally for the situation and it's not like he went around advertising himself as a member of Hillingdon.) Unless, of course, heightened senses.

"Sorry?" Sirius knew he was running out of rope, but figured he would give one last go at playing oblivious.

"It isn't hard to guess," Coward murmured with a smile. "A stranger who doesn't smell quite human in an area where a vampire not part of the Islington nest has been hunting."

He bowed his head politely.

"We're after the same quarry."

Though likely different results, Sirius thought, but didn't voice it. But might as well come clean in the meantime.

"Well, you've got me there. So what happens now?"

Because he's not going to leave so easily. There's a man's life (and 500 pounds) on the line.

"Tell me who you're working for, and we'll see if we can't help each other out. Or go our separate ways."

After all, this was a Nest problem as much as it was anything else. And he wanted to prove himself to the Nest, which meant he looked into enforcing things. At least for now.

Sirius pauses for a moment, weighing his options carefully. It probably wouldn't do well for him to continue hiding the facts since he's already been found out. In for a penny, in for a pound as they say.

"Hillingdon. The target was a hunter, and well, it's my job to bring him back. You?"

"Islington," Coward said. "The target is a rogue vampire not following the rules, and it's my job to stop him."

Ultimately, they wanted to same thing. To stop the killings. And it wasn't unheard of for Islington to work in their own interests with other factions.

"Would I be wrong in guessing there's a bounty? I know how Hillingdon tends to work."

Vampire. Figures, though Sirius doesn't voice that fact. He can work with a vampire, and finding the hunter should be his priority.

"There is, though it's more about getting him back." And is absolutely the reason Sirius is doing this.

"I have no interest in money. Just in seeing him stopped. So, I think we can agree that our tasks don't conflict." After all, Millicent doesn't care, he knows, how he accomplishes what she asked of him. Just that he does it.

"Indeed." And all the better since Sirius wasn't exactly up for sharing in this situation.

"So, truce, for the time being at least?"

"A truce," he agreed. "I can speak for the northwest part of the borough. He's not there."

Sirius nods. One less place to search.

"I've been trying to follow what scents I can, and this is as far as I've gotten. So...mostly the southern bit I think is covered."

He'd been following the path laid out by the various smells, and hadn't really paid attention to his exact location.

"Difficult to tell scents apart here," Coward acknowledges. "But that eliminates a good deal of the borough, hopefully."

Unless the shifter had missed something, which wasn't impossible.

"Explains why I haven't gotten any further," Sirius concedes. He'd been debating switching to the other form, not that it would make much of a difference but it was easier to think like a dog when he was a dog.

"But yeah, it should do that at least. Do you have any other leads?"

"A newborn vampire, likely without a sire. Formerly a hunter, so likely resentful toward vampires. But nowhere near the strength to hunt them now. So--"

He shrugged his shoulders, considering it.

"I'd wager he'll be going after the food supply they prefer."

"So, we find that and we'll likely find him, is what I'm getting," Sirius said, somewhat resigned to the whole thing. He knew what would likely be found, but that didn't mean he had to like it.

"An area with a lot of people, or somewhere more secluded? I can't say I know the hunter in question, but word is he was a bit of a loner. Don't know if that helps any."

"It depends how much sense he has." Which, without knowing the hunter, was debatable. "If he's going after those who actually feed vampires, then it would be smarter to lure one away. Rather than cause a scene. But depending on how much trouble he wants to attract..."

"He had a decent reputation in the clan, so I'm assuming he had some. I doubt he'd want to attract much attention, given everything going on. Is there a way to tell if someone's being lured away by a vampire?"

"For a hunter, you're rather uninformed, aren't you?" Coward murmured as he smiled. It was almost amusing, really. If this was the calibre of the average Hillingdon hunter nowadays... Well. He had less to worry about from them than he thought.

"It's been a while," Sirius snapped back, probably more than he meant to. Technically not a lie, since it had been a while since he'd run missions for the HIllingdon Clan, and even then, he typically didn't do hunts like this. And he'd wanted the money.

"I suppose," Coward said casually, "prison will do that."

After a moment, his smile extended a little further.

"Perhaps I should introduce myself. Lord Colin Coward, Commissioner of the Police of the Metropolis."

Well shit.

Sirius froze, caught right in the middle of fight and flight, wishing that he could just rip himself in two and do both. He here was, having avoided the police for months and now he was in the middle of an investigation with the Commissioner. Just his luck.

"You obviously know who I am, so no need to introduce myself. So what happens now? We do have a truce."

A million ideas are running through Sirius's mind and he hasn't quite landed on the right one, but he's tense and ready to run if he needs to.

Coward simply smiled for a moment.

"What happens now is that one or both of us take care of the vampire we're both after. And then, you be careful that you don't make yourself too much of a nuisance for the Islington Nest. I think that's more than fair, don't you?"

The words take a minute to make sense in Sirius's mind, coming through like a weak radio broadcast. He's not getting automatically arrested? And he'll be able to go free provided he doesn't cause trouble?

"Extremely," he says, finally, "I try to keep my distance anyway."

Not a lie and he'll just be careful with the jobs he picks. He's holding his breath, trying not to laugh away his relief.

"Let's just get this done, then. I'll try to pick up the scent again."

Mortal politics, well. They come and go. What matters far more is the Nest and keeping his ducks in a row there. Having someone in Hillingdon who wants to keep their liberty? Well, that might just help him out quite a bit.

"Very well then. I'll follow your lead."

For now.

It is kind of embarrassing to start actually sniffing around while someone was watching, but sometimes you just had to bear it (he wasn't exactly in a mood for grinning anymore). It would be easier to do this as a dog as well, but that always required the extra step of finding a place to change and store his clothes. So instead he headed down the alley, trying to sift out the various scents and wrinkling his nose at more than a few of them.

"Think I've got something," he said finally.

"Excellent," Coward replied.

He took a whiff of the air himself. Without having a good indication of the scent he was looking for, tracking that way was hard. But, at present, he didn't smell a good deal of fresh blood. So, that was certainly a plus. For now.

Sirius pauses for a moment, making sure he's got the scent and knowing that he can filter it out now. He continues forward, pausing every so often to make sure he's still on track and it's getting stronger.

It continues this way for a good while longer, at least until Sirius stops suddenly and covers his nose.

"Really strong in there. Think we're close."

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Hunting Vampires: An Age Old Christmas Tradition

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