Chapter 5: Conflicting Opinions

"What's with old man Walter?" the young man asked Greer when he returned to his office. He sat with his back to his uncle, looking out the window.

"Nothing to worry about, Gavin," Greer told him, sliding behind his polished steel desk. "I persuaded him there was no point in pursuing his grievance, then sent him on his way with half a million dollars."

"You're too soft," Gavin said, swiveling in the chrome and Italian leather chair to face him. He was strikingly handsome, with chiseled features and a thick swirl of dark hair. He crossed his long legs in front of him like a spider. "I would have snapped his neck and been done with it."

"That's not the answer to everything," Greer said with disgust. "We can't have bodies piling up around us on our very first day in our new offices."

Then you should have at least had him arrested. His lease is up, and we were well within our rights to occupy the space. Especially since we own the building."

"Still, there's no point in attracting unnecessary attention," Greer said. "This way, he won't bother us again." He leaned forward in his seat. "Speaking of unnecessary attention, do you know anything about the woman in the elevator this morning?"

Gavin grimaced. "Oh her. I meant to notify house cleaning, then I forgot. My bad." He grinned at Greer. "She was a feisty one. Put up quite a fight."

"How long do you think it will be before the police arrive to investigate her disappearance?" Greer asked icily. "Do you ever consider the possibility that your victims aren't just prey? They're people. They have lives with friends and family who care about them. You can't just pluck them out of the world and expect no one to notice."

"They'll get over it," Gavin said, studying his manicured fingernails. "They always do."

"Meanwhile, you put everyone in this office at risk," Greer said, struggling to control his temper. "Do I need to remind you that while most people dismiss vampires as imaginary creatures that only live in novels, there are many others who take the threat very seriously? History has shown us that we can't afford to be careless."

"I couldn't help it,” Greer said, running a finger across his bottom lip at the memory of it. "She had a plump blue vein just begging me to take a bite."

"Who was she anyway?" Greer asked. "Please tell me she didn't work in the building."

Gavin rolled his eyes. "I'm not that careless. She worked in a coffee shop a few blocks down. I invited her up here to see the view."

"You realize there are probably a hundred cameras between here and there."

"Unfortunately, they weren't working," Gavin said. "I saw to it."

Greer sighed with relief. "Can I at least ask you to keep your bodies away from the office? Why did you have to kill her, anyway? Isn't it enough for you to drink from your prey? You don't have to drain them. Just wipe their memory, and no one will get suspicious."

"I got carried away," Gavin said. "It's easy to get lost in the moment."

"Well, I'm telling you that you need to rein it in," Greer said through gritted teeth. "Your carelessness puts us all in danger. Plus, it sets a poor example for the others. There are many other employees, like you, who are still new to the curse, and who revel in the thrill and power. We need to show them a better way. We have to encourage them to evolve."

Gavin stood up and walked to the window, studying the pile of pigeons drained of blood and left on the ledge. "But, my dear uncle, that is where we differ. You deny yourself the pleasures of the vampire life, settling instead for a diluted version stripped bare of the pleasures of the hunt. You hide up here hunting pigeons and drinking bagged blood. And for what, the privilege of moral superiority?"

Gavin crossed the room at lightning speed, stopping within an inch of Greer's face in a split second. "After two hundred years, you may be haunted by the thousands whose blood you've stolen, but I'm not." He pulled out a photo from his jacket pocket and thrust it in Greer's face.

Greer took a long look at the picture, saddened by the frail child with misshapen limbs in the wheelchair. Despite his circumstances, the child smiled mischievously into the camera, the belt from his purple bell-bottom pants almost reaching his chest.

"I keep this with me to remind me what life was like," Gavin said, his face hard. I never want to forget how pathetic and weak I was. Bullied and abandoned through no fault of my own. Left to rot in a system that cared more about money than me."

Greer's expression softened. "I'm sorry that happened to you. It was cruel and senseless. No one had a right to treat you that way."

"Then don't tell me I don't deserve this," Gavin spat. "I've relished every second of the last fifty years since you saved me, and I have no intention of giving it up any time soon." He stood up, away from Greer's face. "Look at me. I'm young and strong and rich. I'm not embarrassed to admit that I like hunting humans down like animals to steal their blood. They deserve it for what they did to me."

"You didn't always feel that way," Greer said.

"You're right," Gavin said. "But that was because I listened to you. I believed in your father's misguided mission to save vampires from themselves, to find a cure for the very thing that saved me. But then, over the years, I realized it wasn't coming. That SanguinX was just another drug company dabbling in DNA research."

"That's not true," Greer argued. "We've made huge strides. We developed LuminX. It's what allows us to stand here in this room without fear of the daylight. We’ve transformed the way vampires experience the world."

"Precisely," Gavin cried. "So why are we hiding in the shadows if we don't have to? Why aren't we taking over the earth? Humans are weak; their only value to feed us. Who cares if we reveal ourselves. Let them quiver in our presence."

"You underestimate humans," Greer argued. "You always have. You've seen the devastation their wrath can wreak on a small scale. As a group, they have decimated our clans over the years. So trust me when I tell you that keeping a low profile is in our best interests." He put his hands on his nephew's shoulders and looked him deeply in the eyes. "Please, trust me."

Gavin stared back for a moment, then smiled, letting his body relax. "You know that hypnosis stuff doesn't work on me. So save it for the humans. But I'll tell you what; I promise to keep my extracurricular activities outside the office if you promise to stay out of the rest of my business. I took a tour around Central Park last night, and the hunting looks promising."

Just then, there was a knock on the door. Both men turned to see a long-legged woman with unusually bright blue eyes standing in the doorway. "Is this a bad time," she asked, trying to read their expressions. "I brought those research papers you requested."

"It's fine, Amanda," Gavin said pleasantly. "My uncle and I have concluded our business." He nodded at Greer, then turned to leave. "Oh, by the way," he said, addressing Amanda again. "Can you write up a memo for my uncle reminding all pertinent staff that no blood-sucking is allowed anywhere in the building. They'll have to save it for after hours."

"Yes, sir," Amanda said, making a note ."I'll get that out this afternoon."