Chapter 9: Reunion
The ride back to headquarters gave her time to think about the impossible mess she’d stumbled into.
If she reported what she’d actually seen—a dead operative with gray skin moving like something out of a nightmare movie—they’d have her in psych eval before she finished talking. But staying silent about Kaine being alive? That came with its own problems.
What the hell had happened to him during those eighteen months? And why disappear instead of coming home?
The smart play was keeping her mouth shut until she could figure out what was really going on. Take credit for the vampire kills, deal with whatever punishment Steele had waiting, and find answers on her own terms.
Because if that really had been Kaine who saved those recruits, she needed to know what he’d become before deciding whether to protect him or turn him in.
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Shadowguard headquarters looked even more depressing in the harsh street lighting—all weathered art deco and institutional despair. Inside smelled like old coffee, stale cigarettes, and whatever industrial cleaner they’d been using since the eighties.
Her footsteps echoed off worn linoleum as she headed for the elevator. Other personnel were scattered around despite the late hour—night shift ops, admin staff, field teams coming and going. Their reactions to seeing her were all over the map.
Some stared like she’d grown a second head. Seven vampire kills, including high-generation hostiles, was legend-making material in an organization that fought monsters for a living.
Others looked away with that careful neutrality that screamed "I heard about your unauthorized deployment and I’m staying the hell out of it."
A few watched with obvious envy—career soldiers who’d spent years hunting vampires without achieving anything close to tonight’s body count.