Naked Came the Vampire (Hypernaturals 1)

Cleaners

Nova is Council. She knows all the North American Cleanup Crew members, and that meant she also got to pick which ones she wanted for this job. This one is not as much about which women are her favorites, but which ones have the skills for this job. Even on the Crew, there are specialties. That is the way of the world now. No matter how good or how smart or how educated, you can not know everything.

The Crew members pulled up to curb where Nova stood in a moderately recent vintage road dirt colored Jeep. There were two of them, and they were dressed for work. Practical clothing, to blend into the others around here. Nothing bright or memorable. Even the Jeep is practical and nondescript. Standard Brush bar and winch. No decals. No bumper stickers.

Both gave Nova deferential nods of the head and they walked up to her.

"Councilwoman." greeted Anne "How are you?"

"Very well Anne. Very well. Yourself?"

"I won't complain. If nothing else this job is going to be more interesting than average."

"Indeed." Nova agreed then addressed the other woman "Anita. How are you?"

Nova knew that Anita recently changed her name to westernize it. Her original name is Anahita. Her middle eastern looks disguised with her hair up in her hat and a white smear of zinc sunblock across her cheeks and nose. Standard for these parts during the summer.

Nova liked Anne. The short dark haired woman is extremely intelligent, imminently practical, and widely versed on many of the skills of her profession, from hand to hand combat to forensics. She is well read and has experience working in museums.

Anita is a slightly different story. She is new to the country, having arrived here less than ten years ago from Egypt. Nova worried that her exotic looks would gather attention. Nova did not envy beautiful women their beauty. Nova wanted nothing to go wrong here and being notable is bad in this context. She also did not know Anahita / Anita as well as Anne. What could not be argued is her experience for this mission. She worked the tombs of Egypt for a very long time. She understood almost as well as Nova the importance of the job, and the way it needed to be done to keep the edits to the site undetectable by modern science. They also needed the modifications to tell the story they wanted to tell.

Cleaners do not only clean, but they can also leave things behind to change the tale. Move the attention to where they wanted it to be. It is required to be utterly realistic, and fit all the known facts, and yet not tell the real story.

What Nova knew about Anita from various conversations is that she is sincere in her job and focused on the mission. No Cleaner could be otherwise. For all that Nova might have asked for a lesser experienced member of the North American Crew that she knew better, but for a conversation she had with Anita a few years ago at a Conclave lecture Nova gave about the real history of the Pueblo People. That lecture had been well attended. They usually are. Nova is a good speaker and of course a subject matter expert on the Pueblo People. Anita is a fellow Archeologist and stayed behind to chat. They talked about the job, and it moved on to the need. The hunger. How to manage it during the job. Anita told Nova "You don't shit where you eat. If the need is unmanageable, I will leave before I mess up the local situation. It has never happened to me, however. I make sure before I start a big job I am sated first."

Nova assumed that meant Anita would not be looking around here for prey, and that is what she wanted. Anita is too pretty... No... Beautiful. She would be noticed in a small town full of horny college students and their professors.

That is the way of that job. Nova made a habit of not being very memorable except when she wanted to be. All Andy would remember is the time he met the girl who taught him all the things that he could use to his benefit later in life. His memories of Nova might be wistful, but they will not be frequent.