undergrounds | [Closed to Cooper]

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[Closed to Cooper]

Something was wrong. He knew something was wrong when one of his usual donors failed to meet up with him. He'd tried calling, but there was no answer. Days had passed, but she didn't try to get in contact with him. Part of him wondered if she'd simply lost interest in donating to him for whatever reason, but another part was worried that something was actually wrong, so he asked around. All her friends seemed just as worried about her being gone as he was, so it certainly wasn't that he was merely being avoided. There were two vampires in Islington that he believed would be both willing and able to help him. Jean-Claude was probably busy with all the responsibilities that being a new leader had brought him, however.

That was why he was standing there, knocking on the door to Cooper's home, hoping he'd answer.

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Cooper had been up and about since before the sunset and was just popping a packet of blood into the microwave for lunch. Some vampires weren't picky and could drink it hot or cold, but the Marquess preferred it to be the same temperature as a live victim would be. He poured it into a mug and answered the door. It didn't surprise him to see a vampire from the Nest there. At least once a week, someone was on Cooper's doorstep, either because they needed advice or for him to settle a dispute.

"Mornin', Thomas. Come in," he said, leaving the door open as he went back inside, a pair of fluffy slippers on his feet in the shape of seals. "Want something t'drink?" He asked.

Fluffy seal slippers were not what he was expecting, but still infinitely more respectable than what Thomas wore to various vampire related events, and so he ignored it and followed Cooper in.

"Yeah, thanks," he said in response to the offer of something to drink. He could smell the scent of the microwaved blood, and it was making him hungry, reminding him that he'd been so worried about this that he hadn't made arrangements to get something to eat before coming over here. "One of my donors is missing."

Of course, Cooper also might notice that Thomas wasn't dressed like a male stripper today, making it clear that he was, in fact, taking this seriously. At least, seriously enough to wear jeans and a t-shirt. His hair had already grown in enough that he'd finally stopped messing with the wig.

Cooper pulled another blood packet out of the fridge and poured it into another mug, setting it in the microwave while he listened to Thomas. Uh-oh. This didn't sound good. "I assume you've already made sure they didn't just up 'n leave town for a good reason or somethin' like that?" Thomas may have seemed like an airhead, but Cooper knew he wouldn't have been there in his home unless it was really serious. With Jean-Claude taking over, they needed good relationships with their donors, or the whole thing was likely to fall apart.

He already had his cell phone out and was busy texting. While it may have looked like a flippant gesture from the outside, he had good contacts among both the willing donors and the vampires that made up the Nest. He was seeing if anyone had any information they could give.

"I'm sure," he confirmed. "I talked to her friends, they seemed just as worried as I did."

Because while he figured there was a chance she might not tell Thomas if she was leaving, he doubted she'd not mention anything to anyone.

"Shit. I was afraid you were going to say that. Hold on, lemme make a call." He pushes one of of the numbers in the I's, waiting a moment until a woman answered on the other end. "Iona," he said before switching into rapid Irish Gaelic. He got up, pacing back and forth in his seal slippers, occasional phrases of English slipping back in as he spoke.

"Yes, I know, but--" Then back to Gaelic he went. This continued on for several minutes, long enough for Cooper to finish his entire mug of blood. "Uh-huh. Yes. Very good. I won't forget. Slán." He tapped the phone with his thumb and turned back to Thomas. "I now owe that woman a very large cat condo, but I think we've got a lead. Looks like a few vamps aren't takin' to the new rules well. According to Iona, there's a pair that are holdouts from Raymond's gang. Sounds like they might be takin' people as unwilling bloodbags."

When Thomas heard the microwave beep, he got his mug of blood out and took a drink, moving back closer to Cooper and listening, even though he had absolutely no clue what was being said.

Once the conversation ended, Thomas listened intently as Cooper explained the situation. He blinked at the mention of the cat condo (really? That seemed...like an easy price to pay), but he was very concerned about the rest of it. If that was the sort that grabbed his donor...

"Do we know where they are? Where they live?"

There was an advantage to having a crazy old cat lady as one of the vampires in the Nest. Iona would do anything for her precious kitties. Cooper knew how to use this to his advantage.

"Iona said they've been seen a lot in Barking & Dagenham. Makes sense. The last place anyone would think to look for rogue vampires is in werewolf territory." Cooper headed off to his bedroom, motioning for Thomas to stay where he was. When he came back, the slippers were gone. He had a pair of black combat boots on that helped give him a two inch advantage and a black leather jacket on. He looked very serious.

"I assume you're gonna help me out on this." But he didn't want to force Thomas to do anything he didn't want to. He'd already helped out his donor by telling the Marquess. He could walk away right now if he wanted to.

Thomas nodded when Cooper motioned for him to stay. He was glad they had a lead, even if it was somewhere he'd typically rather avoid. As he waited, he drank his blood, telling himself that if they were able to hole up there, the two of them could probably do okay in werewolf territory...although they might want to make their vampire hunting intentions clear if they ran into any of the canine persuasion.

Once Cooper returned, Thomas quickly finished the last of his blood and went over to put the cup in the sink. "Of course." He flashed Cooper a sharp grin that more resembled baring teeth than a smile. "No one messes with my food and gets away with it."

Especially since he generally liked his donors as more than food, even if he didn't always want to admit it to everyone.

"Good!" Cooper smiled at the younger vampire, glad to see that Thomas was willing to see this through. "We'll take the bike. It'll be faster than anythin' else." He grabbed the keys from a peg on the wall. The thought of taking weapons never crossed his mind. Old and strong as he was, Cooper was a weapon unto himself. Even Thomas, new as he was, could tear the arms off a person if he had a willing mind to do so.

Out on the street, Cooper looked his two bikes over, deciding which one was the better choice. He finally decided on the newer model over the little WWII BSA model that had been refurbished. He swung a leg over and sat down. "Hop on," he said, revving the bike up as he put on a pair of goggles. Helmets were for people whose skulls could actually get broken.

"Shouldn't we grab weapons or something?"

Sure, with Thomas's size and vampire strength (even if it was young vampire strength), he'd be a formidable force even without weapons, but he was still used to going into this sort of thing armed. Still, he hopped on the bike behind Cooper at his request, grabbing onto his waist for balance.

"Why? So you can shoot your own foot off?"

He liked Thomas, really he did, but he couldn't see the vampire taking anything like a gun along with him and have it end well. The bike roared to life and he took off, speeding through the streets of London like a maniac.

Thomas opened his mouth to protest that he did, in fact, know how to use a gun without harming himself, but when the bike roared to life, he decided to close his mouth instead, and just held on and waited for them to get there. There was no way Cooper would hear him over the sound of the bike's engine, after all.

Cooper sped through the city skillfully on his bike. It barely seemed to touch the road as he took corners without slowing down and going through at least one red light without bothering for it to change. Before too long, the pair of vampires found themselves in Barking & Dagenham. Cooper slowed the bike down as they switched territories. The bike came to a shuddering halt as Cooper parked it along the street.

Cooper slid his goggles off and hung them over the handlebars. "We'll need to do this quietly. If we get caught by the wolves while we're here, this could set off a powder keg." It could end in a fight at best and set off a war between the two species at worst.

Part of Thomas wanted to bring up that he could absolutely use a gun, now that they were stopped, but he didn't want to draw any unnecessary attention to them. Also, it was far too late to get any weapons, anyway. Thomas would have to prove his point next territory claim.

For now, Thomas simply nodded to show Cooper he understood and followed along quietly. If wolves showed up he'd try to explain why they were there, but he knew that there was a good chance that they wouldn't be inclined to listen, particularly after how rocky Raymond had made things between vampires and wolves.

Cooper walked along purposefully. If he had been holding humans hostage to serve as blood bags for a couple of vampires, he'd be looking for a large, preferably deserted building, something where they could be stored, and no one could hear them if they were calling for help. Ideally, they'd be wanting to keep their victims sedated, but that wasn't always a choice if they didn't have the right equipment. This helped speed up the process of looking for them, since it eliminated apartments, houses, and most shops that didn't have big storage areas.

After two deserted buildings that had nothing but rats inside them, Cooper begin to feel a little on edge. The longer it took them to find the vamps, the more likely they were to get jumpy, and just dispose of their humans by killing them. They'd already had them a few days. As they approached the third building, Cooper had the scent of blood hit his nose. Unconsciously, he licked his lips. "I think we're on the right track."

"Yeah. I can smell them," he whispered, his fangs extending as the smell of blood filled his nostrils. It wasn't intentional, but he couldn't help being a little tempted by the scent, and as he followed Cooper he reminded himself that he had to keep any of his predatory impulses under control if he wanted to save his donor.

Cooper crept inside the building, letting his nose guide him forward. He didn't know if both vampires were around or what the conditions they were holding their hostages was like. There wasn't enough blood in the air for someone to be seriously bleeding out, but clearly they'd already been fed upon.

He used the general odds and ends left over from whoever had abandoned this building to his advantage, using the crates and boxes to hide behind as the two of them crept forward. When he peered over one of the crates on his toes, he saw the missing donors. They were all tied up nice and tight to several chairs with no hope of getting free. The two vampires were lounging about, one dozing on a disgusting looking mattress while the other played around on his phone.

Cooper sunk back down below the boxes and discussed his idea of a swift attack with Thomas. "I've got a plan. I'm gonna go in 'n see how they react to being caught with their pants down. You cover me in case one of 'em makes a break for it. Sound good?"

Thomas crept silently behind Cooper, following his lead until the two were crouched behind the crates. At Cooper's question, Thomas simply nodded to show Cooper that he understood. Part of him hoped one would make a break for it, though. Seeing the donors tied up and miserable like that, Thomas was in the mood to tear something apart, and these vampires would do just nicely.

Cooper sauntered out of the shadows, giving the two vampires plenty of time to see him, twinned expressions of panic and shock on their faces. Cooper looked them over, his fury covered by a layer of faux casualness.

"Well, fellers, as far as hideouts go, this one rates a ten on the cliché 'o meter. Now, you two have been actin' in a shameful manner. You're gonna be getting punished for this regardless, but you can make it painless or hard. Your choice." Frozen during his little speech, the two jumped up. Cooper moved with vampiric speed, grabbing the one on the couch, and twisting his arm behind him. With a merciless Snap!, he broke it, producing a series of wails from his victim.

He watched as the other one ran right towards where Thomas was at. He'd grab him and then they'd have the pair of them caught with their hands in the cookie jar. And if they thought Cooper was dangerous before, they had no idea what he was planning to do.

Thomas didn't just grab the other vampire. He pounced. His vampiric features fully visible, any semblance of his usually friendly and harmless demeanor completely erased, and in it's place his true predatory nature emerged. Thomas snarled at the vampire pinned beneath his sheer bulk, mentally daring the other vampire to give him just one more reason to beat them to a bloody and unrecognizable pulp. Not that Thomas didn't fully intend to make sure he paid for what he'd done to the donors already.

Cooper looked over the pair of them with a grim look on his face. These two holdouts from Harris' reign couldn't be allowed to roam free. They'd just continue to make trouble. There was only one thing to do. Sometimes, being a leader in the Nest was a hard duty.

"Now, normally, I'm all for givin' second chances and being a good, forgiving sort. But you two have really pissed me off. So, bein' Marquess, I'm passing the sentence here 'n now. Execution!"

He dragged the vampire he had a hold of by his broken arm over to a nearby table. He snapped off a table leg, pointing the splintered end at the unfortunate vampire's heart. Any begging or babbling was ignored. Coldly, Cooper shoved the makeshift stake through his heart. He allowed the body to collapse against the floor before it was even cold. He turned to Thomas. "Bring that one over here."

Normally, Thomas wasn't big on things like executions and carnage, but with one more glance at the human victims that were tied up nearby, he realized his only regret here would be that he didn't get to kill them himself.

The second Cooper gave the command to bring him over, the vampire Thomas was holding suddenly renewed their struggle, kicking and squirming beneath him. Thomas hauled him to his feet, keeping both his hands firmly grasped around the other vampire's wrists. He became more desperate, even attempting to bite Thomas's throat, although Thomas was able to stop that by head-butting him. Hard. Letting go of one of the vampire's wrists, Thomas decided to punch him a few times to knock some of the fight out of him.

Cooper watched Thomas bring the other vampire over. He may have been a foppish dandy most of the time, but there was still some grit underneath the surface. It was a dangerous business they had been about and he had proved himself. Cooper snapped off another stake as Thomas deposited the vampire in front of him. Without another word, he shoved the stake through the second vampire's heart. The grimmest part of their business was over and done with.

"You did good, buddy boy. Real good." Cooper thumped Thomas on the shoulder in approval. It wasn't every day that things turned out in such a neat conclusion. If Thomas hadn't come to him, it might have been weeks before Cooper became aware of the problem. "C'mon, let's see to the humans. We might have to take 'em to the hospital."

Thomas nodded, forcing his fangs to retract, restoring his human appearance. If he was going to be helping the victims, he wanted to look as little like a predator as he could manage. He headed over to one of the donors and began to untie her ropes. As he did so, he noticed her eying him, terror in her eyes.

Unsure of whether it was terror of him, or just general fear of the situation, he said, "Don't worry. You're safe."

Cooper was busy checking the pulse of another victim. It was a bit thready and she looked awful pale. Still, she was conscious, so they'd gotten to her in time. "I think everyone could stand goin' to the hospital for a full check-out. Watch 'em all for a minute, Thomas."

Cooper pulled out his phone. There was going to need to be a couple of calls he had to make. One for a car to take the victims to the hospital. Another to bring a team to dispose of the bodies where the police wouldn't find them. He was going to make sure this turned out all nice and neat, not a trace of the vampires' presence left after he was done here.

Thomas nodded. He'd watch them, though he hoped any help Cooper called for would get there quickly. These women did not look good, and Thomas didn't really know enough to be able to provide even the most basic medical help. Still, he stayed near the women, trying to offer reassurance while he waited.

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[Closed to Cooper]

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