The Red Guard: Vampire Hunters of Vatican City

Chapter Twenty-Six - Trading Secrets

After a long day of training, Chloe was glad they didn't have a target for the night. She would be free to go and see Derek earlier than she would have with a hunt thrown in. She packed a bag with some fresh clothes, her Visa and her cash. She was careful to leave her cell phone behind, knowing it had a locating app installed. She brought the clothes so she could change after their meeting, before she came back... home. Yes, she thought, it is home now. She looked around her room, which really had become home. She was reasonably sure she had some privacy in here. There was no indication that anyone had heard any of the more risky conversations that had taken place within this space, though she'd been careful to have some background noise when necessary.

She put a light layer of make up on and looked at herself in the mirror. She wore a pair of light blue jeans with a rip in the thigh and a white lacy shirt. She'd left her curly brown hair down and it fell just below her breast. She thought she looked nice for Derek.

She jumped when there was a light knock at the door. After a quick, calming breath, she skipped to the door. She peered through the spy hole and saw Felicity and Quinn standing there. They looked like they were ready for a night on the town. She opened the door and let them in. Felicity walked in first and Quinn closed the door behind them.

"Hey Chloe. Are you ready to go to the club? We need to go and celebrate your first two kills," said Felicity sounding totally pumped. 

Chloe looked at Quinn who had a finger pressed against his lips with raised eyebrows. Ah, thought Chloe, they're giving me an alibi, just in case. She smiled at them in gratitude.

"I wouldn't miss it," she said, "I'm all ready to go!" She grabbed her bag and they all headed out. Once past the gates, the walked for a while, heading towards a club that was not popular with the Red Guard. It was a good way to ensure they didn't bump into anyone who might contradict their story if they ever needed to give one.

"It was an impressive night you had last night," said Felicity.

Chloe smiled a little sadly, "It was scary. I felt like a million bucks by the end of that hunt. I thought for sure the boyfriend was going to kill me. I thought you guys were right behind me."

"You didn't tell us you were going. We realized you were gone and then we had to track you down. You freaked us out," said Quinn.

Chloe tilted her head in confusion, "But I did call out to you," she said. But she shrugged, "Sorry you didn't hear me."

"How Canadian of you, to apologize for us not hearing you," laughed Felicity. "We should be the ones apologizing to you. We weren't there to get your back. I'm really glad you're alive."

"Me, too," agreed Quinn. They had been walking for a while and saw the club up ahead.

When they reached the club, they all walked in and found that there were lockers along one side of the wall, instead of a coat check. They threw their coats and Chloe's backpack inside and inserted a Euro to lock it and take the key. Then they made their way to the dance floor as they started to party it up a little bit, dancing to the music, enjoying the crowd.

As they danced, they searched the crowd for familiar faces, but found none. Quinn and Felicity gave Chloe a nod and she set out towards the Colosseum and then on to the hotel where she hoped Derek would be waiting for her as promised. She went into a hotel a few doors down and climbed the stairs to the roof. She went from one roof to the next, noticing a couple of broken CCTV cameras along the way. She smiled at the tell tale sign that Derek had beat her to the room. She saw the open window to their old room and climbed through with no trouble.

Derek's form sat on the bed in the darkness and even with no light, they made eye-contact and smiled at one another. She climbed down to the floor and took two steps to the bed where she snuggled into Derek's waiting arms. "I missed you," she whispered softly, closing her eyes as she breathed in his scent.

"I missed you, too," he said, inhaling the smell of her hair.

"How have you been surviving? Have you spoken with many vampires about what's going on?" Chloe asked.

"Mostly I've just talked with Ethan. He gives me lots of information." Ethan, thought Chloe, Ethan was the one who had been waiting for Derek when he'd woken from his transformation. Chloe knew that Ethan was important to Derek, so perhaps she should know more about him.

"Do you and Ethan live together?" she asked.

Derek smiled, "Believe it or not, we live in a church basement. There are about ten of us. Ethan is sort of our leader. There are some other groups within the city. Chloe, you wouldn't believe how many vampires there are in Rome. The city is over run with us. I don't know how we never run out of food."

Chloe worked hard not to roll her eyes. She wondered how he'd react if he knew. "Have you ever noticed all of the refugees? And, like, people living on the streets?" she asked.

He nodded with bright eyes, "I know! It's crazy. Thank goodness there's so many easy..." he looked at her awkwardly, "meals," he finished weakly.

"It's okay, I know what you eat."

"Yes, I suppose so," he said.

"What have you heard about the vampires rising against the Pope?" Chloe asked.

"Not much about rising against the Pope himself," said Derek carefully. "More like figuring out how he gets his information. There has also been some talk of taking out the Red Guard," he said. She felt herself stiffen at his words. He must have too, because he said, "Don't worry, I'm not going to hurt you. And nothing solid has been planned. It's just talk."

"I see," said Chloe. And she did. It worked for them the same way it worked for the Red Guard. If the Red Guard killed all of the vampires, then no humans could be hurt by them.... and if the vampires killed all of the Red Guards, then there would be no one left to hunt them down. "Similar thoughts have crossed our minds as well. However, we think we've located the main problem."

Derek pulled back from the embrace to look at her. "What is it?" he asked.

"We think the main problem is that the Pope is a vampire," she said.

Derek scoffed at her, "A vampire? Really? Why would he kill other vampires?"

Chloe filled him in on all of their theories and she watched his face carefully as she revealed what she thought. He sat back on the bed by the end, thinking about what it all meant.

"Maybe it would be good to take him out. But what replaces him?" wondered Derek.

"Isn't that the question," said Chloe with a dissatisfied look on her face. "Can you take it back to Ethan and see what he thinks? You trust him, right? Also, let me talk more to one of my friends. I've been thinking about his abilities. He's in charge of stopping the virus when someone is bitten. I wonder if he knows more about that stuff. I need to talk to him more"

"Who is this 'friend'?" asked Derek with an edge.

Chloe grinned and put her hand on Derek's chest. She looked up at him and fluttered her eyelashes, "Honestly, he's a friend. You have my heart, I don't think that will ever change. I love you, Derek. I would love to have forever with you, if it's possible. And 'forever' kind of means something different now, doesn't it? What about you, have you been drawn to any vampire ladies?"

Derek grinned and shook his head. "It's only been two weeks since we've changed, but my heart never changed, Chloe. I'm in love with you, and even though 'forever' has a different meaning now, I know that I will love you...forever." He leaned forward and kissed her lips tenderly. 

She breathed in his smell again and felt herself melt against his lips. He felt so good and she wished she could stay with him all night. She wrapped an arm around his neck and curled her legs up in his lap. He slowly sank back into the bed, laying her softly onto the mattress. She was laying on her side now and he was on his. He pulled back and looked into her eyes, "How much time have you got before you need to return?" he asked.

"Maybe an hour," she replied with a lick of her lips. He smiled in response and caressed her bottom lip with his thumb.

~~

A/N Do you think the vampire-Red Guard relationship can work? What about the power imbalance? Or do you think there is one? As always, I would love to hear your thoughts...and see your votes ;)