Parole (Hypernaturals 7)

Which Warehouse?

The warehouse at the address on the pen is not one warehouse but a set of interconnected buildings with unit numbers. The couples' two businesses are separate again, just like the calendars. Same street address, different unit numbers.

The import / export business seems to have been very, very good given the size of the facility. As if their house had not been a clue. There is also a reason so much space is needed as some things we could see through showroom windows are large, like couches and other hand-crafted wood frame items. It looked like a Pier One in there.

No stolen Lexus is anywhere in sight in the parking lot. We walked around getting the lay of the land. The parking lot security lights are bright. Cameras peek down off the light poles to monitor the entire area. I am getting really tired of security cameras here lately. I never really noticed how many of the damn things there are in our world now.

We are all six covered head to toe except for eyes. Long hair tucked away. There are obvious differences between the six of us in this much light but dressed this way, it's going to looks like the four big and/or tall people, the shorter person, and the shorter still person. The shorter two being Denise and Helen. Three of the six may be male, but there is no hiding the gender of Jessica, Morgan, or Denise dressed this way. Crew standard-issue Ninja clothes are tight-fitting and stretchy for movement reasons.

These types of warehouses do not have loading docks. They are all ground level affairs, with roll-up doors on the back of each building. Deliveries would need to happen from trucks that have a lift on the back, like the kind that delivers refrigerators to people's homes.

In a show of Vampire confidence, we split up. Two people per building. Imports. Exports. Showroom and sales.

"Adrian and I will take 'Imports'" Morgan said.

Jessica looked a little peeved by that pronouncement. "Two half-power Vamps together?" she said.

"I'm sorry my love: Do you need one of the better fighters to have your back against the not even half power male Vampire we are hunting?" Morgan asked back, stung.

"Touche." Helen awarded points. "Also: Ouch."

"Helen and I will take 'Exports' then." Jessica said, realizing her statement unintentionally had been hurtful. Morgan NEVER says anything about the fact she is not a normal female Vampire except when she complains about not having fangs to bite ME with.

"Jessica didn't mean it like that." I said to Morgan.

"I know. Let us go." Morgan said shortly, still miffed. It is not easy to get under Morgan's skin, but if anyone can, it is someone she loves.

The warehouse layout was well suited for the business. Two rows of warehouses back to back, with a building connecting across the ends for the sales and showroom areas. From the air, a big 'U' shape. The open end where delivery trucks entered and exited.

Denise made a note of the name of the security company and called Luciana.

"Luciana? I need you to reach out and delete or loop some video footage. We are about to do some B&E and need to not be seen." Denise told her phone.

"Got it. Give me what you have." I heard Luciana reply.

Denise read off the company name, the warehouse address, and a camera number low enough she could easily read it. "There will be other camera feeds that need to be dealt with. I think at least seven cameras so far we have come into range of."

"I'll find them all. Good luck." Luciana said and hung up.

Crew. Set up for the digital age. Nothing about the world is real...

We split up, Jessica looked our way with an unhappy expression. She did not like leaving it that way, but Morgan is now in business mode again, so they will have to hammer that issue out later.

We went to the open end of the buildings from the street and walked along the 'Imports' building backside. Morgan and I came to various steel doors, and rollups. Morgan picked one that is warmer on the presumption that it means it is warmer on the inside too. There is no Tommy-scent here. She checked the door, found the alarm sensor, bypassed it, and then picked the lock to the back door nearly as if she had a key. It was not even one of those home grade locks. It didn't matter. Morgan could pick locks when she was a human, and as a Vampire, she has found ways to use her high-grade senses to drop the pins fast.

I almost said that the reason Jessica wanted Morgan with her was to pick the locks faster. Jessica is good at it too, but nothing like that. I decided to not throw fuel on that particular fire. I have been in enough recent trouble for meddling in other people's relationships. I tried with my one sentence. That is far enough. Jessica really did not mean it that way, and Morgan will figure that out quickly enough.

The steel door we entered the Imports warehouse through is next to a roll-up delivery door, and inside the open, garage-like space we found the Lexus SUV.

Both of us scented Tommy immediately.

Tommy is not in immediate sight. This is obviously the warehouse for customer deliveries. Multi-tier shelving with large objects on pallets. Chest of drawers, couches, recliners, you name it. A forklift is parked by the end of one shelving unit. Standard warehouse model, with a propane fuel tank.

We stopped and listened. I could hear slow and even breathing. A sleeping person, off to our left. There is a melange of other human scents in this building, but its a warehouse so there would be.

Morgan pulled a steel writing pen out of her clothing and slid it into the tracks to the roll-up door. She did not want the SUV becoming a getaway car.

Morgan hand-signed for us to move to the breathing. We walked slowly and carefully, the room pitch dark other than exit lights here and there.

I would have thought there would be night lighting for humans. Human security walking the space. I stopped and looked up at a light on the wall, and pointed. Battery-powered emergency light. Off.

Morgan acknowledged that with a quick up-down nod.

Tommy turned off all the lights. He has no need for them. He was making sure a human could not sneak up on him. I could tell Morgan did not like the implication.

We moved on.

The sleeping sounds are from a security guard, stretched out on a couch, covered in plastic wrap as a way of binding him. The kind shipping pallets are wrapped in. Tommy had not killed him but instead, it seemed he Juiced him. I could see the fang marks on the neck. Tommy left the dosed body here.

We stopped again and looked around from our new position at the space around us.

I pointed at a door handle on a wall opposite. Slightly warm in IR. Morgan nodded.

We crossed the space and tried to listen for anything on the other side of the cinderblock wall, but there was nothing. This door looks like it is to an in-warehouse office or separate storage area. Perhaps for smaller or more valuable items.

Morgan turned the knob slowly and opened it. The door squeaked.

Fuck.

Off to the right, well on the other side of the SUV, we heard scrambling.

Stealth lost, we bolted back in that direction.