Chapter 375 - New Weapon

The weaponry the team had amassed for this hunt was impressive. Between the four different areas that were now involved, they were able to gather all kinds of firearms and even a few specially designed hand grenades that Christian had come up with, which sprayed a concentrated silver liquid that would potentially take out a Vampire without damaging the location of impact. While they’d never been used on a hunt before, the Guardian was clearly excited to try one out tonight, should the opportunity present itself, and as Aaron, Jamie, and Cale finished packing the last of the extra weapons into the back of one of Andrew’s vans, Christian explained how it had come about.

“It was really more of an experiment than anything else,” he said, holding one of the items in question in his hand. “I didn’t even know if it was possible.”

“And you’ve tested them several times in training?” Jamie asked as he and Aaron each pushed one of the van doors closed.

“Yes. They don’t affect the Hunters or Guardians at all. Of course, we haven’t actually tested them on a Vampire yet, but they’re bound to work. It’s virtually the same compound we use in the Berettas, just a bit less concentrated so it sprays better.”

“And it’s coming out under a different charge,” Aaron pointed out, not sure if he liked the idea or not, but he’d already approved it. May as well test it out, so long as they were certain it couldn’t hurt any of their teammates. Then another thought occurred to him. “I don’t want them anywhere near Cassidy.”

“Oh, right,” Christian said, a thoughtful expression on his face. “Honestly, that thought hadn’t occurred to me.” He put the grenade into the utility belt he wore that also contained two revolvers and a knife, all concealed by his long, black coat.

“Seems like everything is changing so quickly,” Cale said aloud, though it seemed like he might be talking to himself.

Aaron nodded, and placing his hands on his hips he said, “We’re going to have to start thinking about these things differently. Everything.”

“Who else has the grenades?” Jamie asked, sitting down on the bumper.

“Just Aurora and myself,” Christian assured them. “She has two, and I have three. I’ll talk to her and make sure that she knows not to detonate them near Cassidy. And since Elliott will be with Cassidy the whole night if things go as planned, I’ll just be sure not to use any if I get near them.”

While Aaron would’ve felt more comfortable having control of all of the grenades this first time out, he knew he couldn’t always regulate everything. “That should be fine. Just be overly cautious.”

“Yeah, I don’t want to have to put that little girl back together again,” Jamie agreed. “I’m going to go let Andrew know we’re loaded. Christian, want to come with me? Set to go in…” he checked the time, “ten minutes?”

“Yes,” Aaron nodded. “Thanks for your help, guys.” The Healer smiled and went on his way, Christian right behind, leaving Aaron and Cale standing alone, awkwardly. Neither of them said anything for a while, and finally, Aaron decided upon what might be the only safe topic to bring up. “So how long have you and Morgan been dating?” he asked, attempting to sound as nonchalant as possible.

“Not too long,” Cale said, a bit of a smile at the corners of his mouth. “It’s not easy with her being so far away, but we manage.”

“Yeah, Morgan’s great,” Aaron replied, looking down at the toe of his boot which he was using to chip away at an already forming crater in the concrete parking lot for some reason.

“Oh, yeah. She’s so smart,” Cale replied. “And energetic.”

Aaron thought both of those terms an odd way to describe one’s new girlfriend; not sexy or beautiful but smart and energetic? “Well, I hope everything works out well for you.”

“Thank you,” Cale nodded with a nervous smile. “And uh, just so you know…” he continued, also staring at the parking lot and then back at Aaron, his hands deep in his jacket pockets, “I had no idea that Cadence was even coming until she was practically there. I didn’t know about her plan or anything.”

“Oh, no, it’s fine,” Aaron said waving him off. “I know this was all her idea and that the people that helped her did so because… well, it’s Cadence. When she asks people to do things, they usually do it.”

“Yep,” Cale agreed.

“Especially men,” Aaron admitted more to himself than to the apprehensive doctor standing next to him.

“Um hum.”

“And it’s like she doesn’t even know the power she has.”

“Well, I don’t know about that,” Cale replied, and Aaron looked away from the drive and up at him, an inquisitive expression forming on his face. “I mean… I think she knows who she can get to do things for her and who she can’t.”

“You think?” Aaron questioned. He’d never thought of Cadence as manipulative before. Ever.

“Sure. I mean… look who she picked. A guy who showed up at her apartment with flowers a few days after she arrived at headquarters, a guy who she… kissed right after you said you didn’t want to see her the first time, and, well, me.”

Of course, Aaron was aware of all of those things, but he’d never made any sort of a romantic connection between Cadence and Jamie. If there had been any feelings on Jamie’s part, those had faded long ago, hadn’t they? And Christian was constantly trying to make up for what he had done—starting the whole situation with Eliza and nearly getting Aaron to kill himself—wasn’t he? And then there was Cale who, despite the fact that he had a new girlfriend still couldn’t help but stare at Cadence every chance he had and didn’t seem to hesitate for a second when she’d showed up at his doorstep needing help to get Elliott. Maybe there was more to this than he had considered before.

Cale continued, “I’m not trying to stir anything up, you know. I’m just saying, I’ve heard everyone going on about Eliza being a siren. Maybe… maybe she’s not the only one.”

“No,” Aaron replied, adamantly shaking his head. He even started to chuckle at the thought. “Cadence is definitely not a siren. She’s just very likeable. It’s hard not to want to help her when she’d do anything to help anyone else who needed it.”

Cale said nothing, only stared at him, his blue eyes slightly larger than normal, his mouth drawn into a line.

Before Aaron could continue the argument, either externally or internally, he heard the sound of Andrew’s, Christian’s, and Jamie’s voices coming near them. Looking back at the headquarters building, he could see several more people making their way to the launch site. Whatever Cale thought was going on with Cadence, it would have to wait until after this hunt. For now, he needed to concentrate on getting Gibbon and making sure that no one got hurt. Everything else would have to be continued.