23. it's raining men.

By then, my entire team was already in the cars, and the car transporting Damon and Mariella was about to leave. I set off to follow my victim, who was hurrying down the stairs into the secret passage.

I wouldn't kill this guy right away, not when he had another clue as to why those victims were important and everything else. I was in no hurry. This was a man in poor health, and I could hear his ragged breathing for meters.

This was the fun part. I was chasing my victim. This was Damien. He had this new little gadget that he had used to take over temporary humans, forcing me to kill innocents, but oh yeah, both of them, Damien and this bastard, would see what I could do.

My little crystal had trapped Damien permanently in that body, but that other man was still there, too. He was in the same situation as he had been in Damon, except this body, was old, and in terrible shape and this other one was as crooked as him. But this was purely human, meaning I had my kit with me, human sedatives. 

My plan was to snatch him, drug him, teleport him to one of my little places where I conducted my interrogations, and oh my god that I was good at keeping humans alive. I might give him to Damon then as a wedding present after I am done with him, but I had two victims, both full of information and I had time to ask questions. 

I watched him go out the door, jumped over the railing downstairs, and went after the man.

I grabbed him by the shoulder, turned him around, looked him in the eye, and said, "You're not going to kill yourself. "

Even though my vampire side was weakened, I could feel the exhilaration coursing through me. I exerted my power, forcing him to collapse onto the damp lawn, his breath ragged. The excitement of unleashing my darker self, which I had hidden from Damon and Mariella, surged within me as I prepared to play with my victim. Charles knew this part of me. He had been the one who had dug it out of me. 

Crouching near him, I held the crystal in my hand, its cool surface glinting in the dim light. It was almost nighttime, stars flickered in the sky, if you could see them.

I taunted him, showing him the remnants of his feeble trap. "See, Damien, your little contraption is destroyed. Our witches helped me shatter it. Now, you'll experience what I'm capable of, and I assure you, it will hurt. A lot. Do you enjoy sharing your fate with someone? I am no victim, not at all..."

His frightened gaze met mine as he struggled to find words, but I paid him no mind. Slowly, deliberately, I retrieved my kit from my pocket, locking my gaze upon him. My eyes held a malevolent gleam, conveying nothing but ill intentions. For him, it was a grim sight.

He tried to speak, but his voice was hoarse. "Please baby, this is not you.."

Oh, how my dark side enjoyed this feeling of power. It was almost addicting.

Meanwhile, Damon had found solace in Mariella's arms. He held her tightly, concern etched on his face as he asked, "Are you sure you're alright?"

Mariella nodded, her body still trembling from the lingering rush of adrenaline.

Her focus shifted to Mimi as she inquired, "How's Mimi? Wasn't she with you?"

Damon glanced towards the building, his worry clear. "Let's wait a moment to see if she's coming. Then, we can go."

They waited anxiously; the tension mounting. Everyone had gathered except Mimi, and suddenly, they felt the ground shake as the explosives detonated.

Rick interjected, "Flea warned us it was a trap. We shouldn't have entered. Mimi didn't send a distress signal, which means she's on the prowl. Damien and that other pharmaceutical guys are out there too."

Damon's frustration boiled over, and he cursed vehemently. "That stubborn little bastard!"

Mariella's voice was filled with determination as she spoke, "Mimi?"

Damon nodded, his expression grim. "Miss captured that scientist she was watching at the fair. She's truly on the prowl, revealing a dark and vicious side I never knew existed."

Mariella urged him, "Go after her. Deal with him as you did with the others and bring Mimi back. Make her share her prey, and perhaps you can harness that side of her."

Damon nodded and said, "I'd love to make that guy suffer, but we've got a wedding coming up at some point. Now's not the time. I would love to take him to a few places in Austria."

Damon teleported away.

Oh. I kept my victim sitting on the cold, damp ground, the musty smell of decay lingering in the air. Crouching down in front of him, I could practically taste his fear, a sickeningly sweet sensation that sent shivers down my spine. 

Leaning in close, I sneered, "This way for a change, Damien. I know your new little nifty trick of body jumping. You think I don't recognize you, no matter what body you're in? But this guy deserves all of this. You know what, Damien? I enjoy torture, too. Especially yours. And I can promise you, I know how to do it slowly."

With a sinister smile, I revealed a jewel in my hand, its vibrant colors reflecting the dim light. This precious gem was given to us by one of our witches. This was a powerful tool that prevented Damien from escaping the body he was trapped in. It meant I had the freedom to end his life.

Damien looked at me and said, "Here you are all alone, without Damon, I am so glad that you two are having so many problems. Each day that you two are apart and he spent with his precious Mariella makes that wound in your little soul deeper, baby, until you are just nothing that hollowed-out shell and pure killer."

In the depths of my mind, Damon's voice whispered, "Oh, you've caught yourself a real treat. I'm coming, baby. Let's show Damien just how far apart we are. I have a little spell to keep him in that body."

His voice was not so pleased. He had his darkness out, too. 

Confidently, and irritated too, I responded, "This is mine. He can't escape. He is trapped in this body with this other, meaning I get to ask questions from both of them."

As if on cue, Damon leisurely made his way towards us, a languid stride that exuded power.

He grinned and said, "Well done, baby. It's my turn to play, too. But come on over here, and I'll show you just how much you mean to me. Oh, you've trapped him inside this other one. This will be a thrilling exploration of their minds."

Standing up, I walked over to Damon, wrapping my arms around his neck. Our kiss was long and ravenous, a mix of desire and control.

In the back of my mind, Damon warned, "Miss, you better put that part away, or else you'll be taking a nap right here and right now. You need help with that part. I can sense it, but not now."

Damon's hands roamed sensually, yet with a careful touch. They were like those of a skilled doctor, examining my body for any signs of discomfort. His lips grazed my neck and mouth, drawing blood that sent waves of pleasure coursing through me. I concealed my killer instinct, knowing Damon was already taking care of it. Meaning he was stuffing it way down. Damien looked away, unable to bear witness to our twisted intimacy.

Finally breaking away, Damon whispered, "We have our Sark these days, a nice Sark. But I doubt he'll be so kind to you. You see, Damien, you won't understand where you're going when I teleport you to your destination. But first..."

Damon concentrated and watched Damien's nose bleed as Damon penetrated his mind and fished out a big pile of information. Damien groaned, holding his head. 

Damon's voice dripped with a dangerous edge as he said, "Oh, those sheds are going to be a pleasure to destroy. All 87 of them."

The sound of his chilling words hung in the air, sending shivers down Damien's spine. Damon's eyes gleamed with wicked delight as he continued, "And those backup plans... let's see, four warehouses full of your spare bodies. Oh, thank you, brother."

The scent of anticipation filled the air, mixing with the faint metallic tang of fear. Damon's attention then shifted to the other man, a sinister smile playing on his lips.

"Oh, what plans does he have for a baby? But he will never fulfill them," Damon taunted. The night air fell silent, except for the sound of Damien's nervous swallow.

Damon's gaze landed on my kit of human sedatives, and he murmured, "No need for those, baby. We want him to feel."

His hand reached out and effortlessly snatched the kit from my grasp, his fingers closing around it with a tight grip. The weight of the situation pressed down on me, causing Damien to squirm uncomfortably.

In an instant, Damon teleported Damien away, leaving me alone with him. He gripped me and spoke with a commanding tone, "Young lady, thank you for providing those victims. I've got your hideout, and Sark will interrogate them further."

The smell of determination filled the air, mixed with a hint of underlying menace. "But now, we are going to the base and from there to the castle. The wedding is less than two weeks away," Damon declared.

I nodded, my heart racing with a mix of excitement and trepidation. The thought of the reward I would receive for my efforts kept me motivated, despite the terrible gigs I had endured. However, the prospect of Sark taking the fleas for himself lingered in my mind, casting a shadow over my determination. Life without the constant struggle felt foreign, almost unimaginable. But then again, I felt this relief. Maybe it was time for me to step down and who knows what the future holds for me. Maybe someday I would make the next generation of fleas. 

As we teleported to the car, I found myself sitting in the same vehicle as Mariella and Damon. They occupied the seats beside each other, while I sat across from Damon. The hum of the engine filled the car, blending with the sound of our collective breaths.

Wanting to ease the pain and speed up my recovery, I reached into my thigh pocket and retrieved my first aid kit. Opening it, I caught a whiff of antiseptic, mingling with the metallic scent of the syringes. The smooth, collapsible syringe rested in my hand, providing a sense of reassurance and precision.

All I had to do was take the needle part out of its package and connect it to the medicine part so it would be ready to be struck. It had to hit the muscle with veritable force, and that movement made the medicine go to the right place—no piston, again, a space saver. I was tired, and in pain all over, and I called my state of being PME. Post-mission exhaustion, I knew that a lot of the guys shared this with me. 

At the same time, I took a packet of painkillers and reserved three capsules of them—also two capsules of Colin's super-strong general antibiotic. I had quite a collection of bullets in me and I knew it was more than likely that those two would end up mating somewhere, and even if Sark would take over the fleas paperwork had been mounting on my desk and it was faster for me to do it than explain to Sark what I was doing. 

Mariella was under Damon's arm and was pleased that so much information had been got from one of Damien's heads. Then she watched what Mimi was doing. She dug out of her thigh pocket for some kind of case, which she opened and began to prepare some kind of injector. She looked exhausted now, but her grips were firm and swift. She knew what she was doing. Mariella thought for a moment that was that adrenaline syringe. 

She dug into the next jar and opened it. Likewise, she reserved three capsules from one jar in her lap and two from another package. Mariella could smell that the pack did not make those and was now very unsure if they were even good for Mimi.

She asked Damon in her head, who had been watching the scenery, "Damon, what is Mimi taking? Do you approve of those? I know there are new misfits for the lady almost every year." 

Damon turned his head to Mimi and furrowed his brows.

"Do I approve of those, baby?" Damon asked me suddenly.

I looked at him and said, " These are fine with me, always have been. Colin's production. He recently made these for me, by smelling me. He had no time to test, but there was not much change in the formula. "

Damon sighed.

Colin had once saved Mimi many times, but Colin hadn't seen Mimi as a patient in years. Mimi was now multiple—a super shape-shifter. Smelling her, sure, but in the past, Colin had admitted that he did not catch everything that was iffy in Mimi just with smell alone, so they might not be so good for her. Besides, it was not too long to base, but she must have been in pain. 

Damon reached over and took the capsules and syringe for himself and said, "I'll take care of you at the base. And while we're there, we'll go over your prescribed meds. Colin does not know what you're demanding or tolerating these days. You'd better remember that, missy."

Damon put the drugs in his pocket and then reached over and took the entire first aid kit for himself and examined it. I then sat quietly for the entire drive, wondering what was going to happen next. Luckily, there is a scanner at the base, so I can see directly how many bullets I have in me. And if my healing ability was good, Mariella could pull them right out of me.

We got there, and I was tired—two jobs in one day and both demanding. The adrenaline rush took its toll, but I went in and put my gun and the rest of the explosives in place. I sighed in my mind as I knew a mountain of paperwork on my desk. 

Only to discover that Damon had returned none of my guns. He had already teleported them somewhere. He helped Mariella undress and took a change of clothes from my closet to her after I showed them where the showers were. I undressed then, as long as I always have everything written. I thought in my mind what to do first as I looked over my piles of paper. What I can delegate and what I need to do myself. 

I had taken the hard drive from the computer and put it on the table. Good Sark came up to me and said," You've certainly built an impressive network. But don't worry, it will be in expert hands. What's this? Don't worry about paperwork. As you see, I have little reinforcements here. We take care of them."

He made a gesture to his hand and in came the black-haired version of Sark. He shook my hand and collected most of my papers from my desk and from my printer, too. My laptop had gone somewhere as well.

I said," It's a hard drive from one of the machines that were in the room where they were releasing the people. There might be identities or something on it, just picking it up. "

Sark grabbed it for himself, and I noticed how he had already organized a hell of a lot of stuff. And in such a way that I could see it.

The fleas seemed to get on with it, and it could be that I found, or Mariella found, a successor to my job. I don't know what my next conquest would be. I got everything recorded and went to my closet to undress. I was so freaking tired and not in the mood for the flank wedding, but then I had not much choice here. 

I looked to see how many bullets I had in my vest and then how many holes were in my clothes. Well, some may have gone through, but I could feel a few quite clearly. I knew Damon might not handle me because of Mariella, but that was nothing new. I could take care of myself as well. It was what I was used to doing.

I learned that years ago. I got myself some spare clothes and went to the private shower I had equipped for myself. I also had an office room here. It hurt to wash when everything hadn't healed, and the bullets felt bad in a couple of places. I bit my lip, letting the stream of inventive profanities escape from my lips. 

I cursed Salvatore for not letting me take painkillers. My own teeth were useless because they made nothing but poisons, or if I tried to treat myself then velvet. I was not sleeping now. Once I get washed and dried, dressed, then I'll go to the scanner and see what's going on.

I was pretty good at describing Damon's anatomy, his relationship with Mariella, his looks, and everything else, but not in a nice way. My language was extremely descriptive.