Cadence landed silently, but she was sure he would know she was there. If nothing else, the change in room temperature from the now open window would be enough to give her away. He didn't move. He must not have realized she knew where he was.
Her Glock was in her side holster. She quietly drew it out and cocked it. She wouldn't use it unless she had to, but some Vampires were unpredictable. There was also the small possibility that he was armed. She quietly began to cross the dirty concrete floor that led to his hiding place. She was within 20 yards of him and could hear his heavy breathing. Just as she was about to replace her weapon and pounce on him, a loud noise behind her got her attention. Using her IAC to see in the dark, she realized it was Paxton falling into the room via the window she had opened. The noise was enough to get Ray's attention, and hoping Cadence might be distracted, he sprung from his hiding place and rocketed across the room, crouching behind a pile of boxes and an old stove.
"Dammit!" Cadence exclaimed. "What the hell is the matter with you?"
"Sorry, I lost my balance."
She said nothing else but continued to ascertain precisely where Ray might have disappeared to. She realized she was exposed and decided to duck behind one of the concrete pillars that held up the main floor.
"Do you want me to make entry?" Aurora asked.
"Negative," Cadence replied. "He may spring out one of those windows so be ready."
"Got it," she replied.
"Paxton, hold your position," Elliott ordered. It was the first direction he had given. Cadence wished he had said it a few seconds earlier.
She could hear the breathing again and knew he was near panic. The idea of coaxing him out entered her mind, but that would be cruel. She would rather rip his head off without pretending to feign lenience. Just as she was determining her next move, she realized that Aaron was requesting visuals. With anyone else, he could have just forced his way in, but Cadence had a glitch that prevented him from controlling her remotely. While it was tempting to ignore him, she realized she needed to act professionally, and she granted access. Luckily, he knew better than to say anything.
After a few seconds that seemed to span an eternity, Cadence realized there was a space between the pile of boxes nearest the stove and the one leaning against the wall. Acting completely on instinct, she decided to make her move. She placed her Glock back in her holster. Turning to her right, she spun around, leaped over a table piled high with discarded toys, and dropped down near the stacks of boxes. Before he could even look up, she shot herself between the two towers of cardboard, landing squarely on top of the Vampire who was crouched down behind the castoff appliance.
For a split second, she saw a look of utter astonishment and terror flicker across his face. However, he didn't have time to react, or even bare his teeth before she grasped the top of his head in one hand, his shoulder in the other, and balancing herself on her knees against the side of the stove and the filthy concrete, she jerked his skull to the right sharply, twisting hard enough to tear his head completely off of his body. "Merry f-ing Christmas," she whispered as she watched the body turn to ash.
"Nice work!" Elliott said over the IAC. "Stand by and I'll bring you the Extracto 9000, and let you suck that bloodsucker right out of there."
The Extracto 9000 was Elliott's ridiculous nickname for the device they used to get rid of the Vampire ashes. Cadence stood and crossed back over to the window where she had gained entry. She was suddenly aware that she had caught her leg on the edge of the stove and had torn the leg of her pants just above her knee. There was a small stinging sensation as well, but it was nothing major. As she walked past Paxton, she said nothing, only gave him a look that seemed to say, "Why the hell are you still on this team?"
As she approached the window, Elliott handed the small appliance through where the screen used to be. "Do you think the noise will wake up the family?" she asked.
"Possibly. Aurora, go ahead and open up that window over there so you can help extract Cadence if necessary," he continued.
Aurora opened up the window nearest to where the remains of Ray were scattered all over the floor, and Cadence climbed back behind the boxes to collect her prize. Meanwhile, Paxton clumsily exited through the same window that he had dropped through earlier.
From her location, Aurora could see all three of the bedrooms. If there was any movement, she should be able to get Cadence out before anyone could make it down the stairs.
Cadence scooped as much of Ray together as she could before turning on the vacuum, hoping to be as quick as possible. It only took a few seconds to get most of him before she received a message, "We've got movement," from Aurora. She quickly cut the device, tossed it through the window, and grabbed Aurora's hand, who pulled her through just as the light at the top of the stairs came on. Quickly, the LIGHTS team made their way into the shadows as a very confused family member surveyed the basement looking for Ray and wondering what happened to the windows.
Cadence, Aurora, and Smith had broken one way while Paxton and Elliott had gone the other. They met up a few blocks away where they had parked the black Escalade that had brought them to the site. "Well done," Elliott said as Cadence approached. "Nice job, everybody," he said to the rest of the team.
"That was awesome," Aurora agreed. "I'd heard how amazing it is to work with you, but now I've seen it for myself," she continued.
Cadence thought she might be upset to have missed out on the action. "Thanks," she said, climbing aboard the vehicle. "I'm glad you were there to get me out."
"No problem," Aurora said, striking a pose that showed her rather large biceps. "Happy to be of service."
"All right, let's go home," Elliott sighed, climbing behind the steering wheel.
As he began to head back toward LIGHTS, Cadence asked, "Can we go home, home?"
"What do you mean?" he asked, aware that she was speaking only to him.
"I want to go home for Christmas. Will you take me?"
Catching her eye in the rearview mirror, he said, "You got it, kid."
