"How's it going, Cale?" Aaron asked as the doctor got within a few feet. He offered his hand, which Cale accepted, the questioning expression still on his face. "I just happened to be in the area, and I heard that you had a pretty significant hunt going on tonight, so I decided to stop by to observe."
Cale nodded and then finally spoke. "All right," he said. "I wish I would have known you were going to be around. I feel like you should know the plan."
"It's okay. I'll get up to speed pretty quickly," Aaron assured him.
Continuing to nod, Cale asked, "What do you need from me?"
"Nothing," Aaron assured him. "Just do your thing."
Still feeling quite skeptical, Cale turned back to his team. He began giving directions, reminding them of their assignments. Once he was done, the team began to head out on foot the half block to the location.
Cadence glanced at Aaron and saw the look of confusion she expected. "Why?" he asked simply, and she immediately gathered his meaning.
"Noise," she replied. She could see him shaking his head. She shrugged her shoulders and followed Cale's directions.
Aaron hesitated a moment. He had given his word that he wouldn't interfere, but he was also not about to take an unnecessary risk, nor was he prepared to watch Cadence take one. There was little he could do to protect her in the last few months they had been apart, short of constantly praying and checking in with his fellow Guardians who were at her location. However, if she was in danger tonight, his vow not to interfere would quickly go out the window. Once the brigade of infantry closed in on their location, he made the decision to move his car to the site. There was a freeway nearby that made plenty of noise. There were also cars passing by on streets outside of the mark. The noise factor just didn't make any sense to him.
Cadence tried to ignore him the best she could, but it was difficult. When she heard the engine, she glanced in Cale's direction. She could see a hint of his reaction in the tightening of his jaw, but he said nothing. The noise was not a problem; it was the undermining that was the issue, and Cadence didn't blame him for being upset. She sent him a quick message, "Focus. We've got this." He turned and gave her a small smile. They were standing outside of the warehouse now, the rest of the teammates taking their positions outside of the building before Cadence and Cale entered. The familiar feeling of tangling dragons in her stomach confirmed that Cale had been right in his prediction that the Vampires would be home. They were definitely here.
Cadence had access to Aaron's IAC, and she could see that he had remained in his car, which was angled in front of the warehouse, nose toward the street, as if he was anticipating a hasty exit via vehicle out the front of the building. It was smart--in fact, it was exactly what she would have done if she had been in charge. But she had conceded that in the discussion they had, had the night before. She was hopeful that there would be no escaping and it would be an unnecessary precaution.
She took a moment to go over the photos she had taken the night before as the team got into place, which was actually more for Aaron's benefit than her own, though she wouldn't admit it. She was armed with two Glocks, both in holsters on her hips. She decided the Beretta, their other typical weapon of choice, would be too cumbersome under the circumstances. Once she realized everyone was in place, she pulled a Glock out, and clicked the after-market safety off. She was just waiting for Cale to give his signal.
Aaron had been paying careful attention as Cadence flipped through the pictures. "You going to light that second story?" he asked her directly.
"No," she replied shortly, eyeing Cale.
"Because...?"
"Stop interfering!" she shot back. He didn't say anything, but she realized he was no longer sitting idly in the car, and the promise of quiet observation had gone out the window.
"You ready?" Cale asked, not seeming to pay any attention whatsoever to Aaron who was now accessing the small trunk of his sports car.
Cadence nodded at Cale. He gave the signal, and she approached the front pedestrian door. This time, rather than kicking it in, she turned the knob slowly, easing it open, and slipping inside, Cale following. Even though she was the first through the door, he immediately stepped in front of her to shield her, his Glock drawn and ready to fire. While she appreciated his aggressive approach at guarding her, he was impeding her line of sight, and she felt constricted. She changed her IAC view so that she could primarily access what he was seeing in order to compensate.
She had been hopeful that the bloodsuckers would be obvious when they entered, but she was having trouble locating them, even with her night vision, which meant they were either currently dormant--or hiding. She slowly began to make her way across the room, hardly making a sound, knowing she would feel it when she was close. Cale attempted to stay in front of her at first, but he couldn't possibly anticipate her every move, and ended up running into her a few times before she finally said, "It's all right, you can follow me, at least until we find them."
He didn't seem to like that idea, but he complied. Just then, a creaking sound caught her attention. She put her hand out, intending to tell him to freeze. Cale bumped into her hand, and she grabbed him to steady his movement so that she could listen. She heard it again, this time a bit closer. Suddenly, the lid burst off of the crate directly in front of her, raining shards of wood down on them. She threw her arms up to protect her face as Cale leaped between her and the Vampire who exploded out of the box, firing what seemed to be a heavy duty machine gun.
