The brief meeting held before the hunt was an essential part of the task. If the directives were not given, if all of the members of the team weren’t clear, if the objective wasn’t stated accurately, the entire mission could be thrown off just from poor planning.

Aaron liked to arrive early if possible so he could prepare his materials before he presented them. He wasn’t always able to do that, particularly if the location was far away. But tonight’s location was just a few blocks from LIGHTS, in downtown Kansas City, so he had plenty of time to prepare.

As he was finishing the last few tasks he needed to accomplish, Cadence arrived. On one hand, he was extremely happy to see her, especially since she looked amazing in the skin tight dark blue leather pants she was wearing. On the other, he was extremely cognizant of everything Elliott had said earlier, and he wanted to make sure that she did not let what had happened between them last night become a distraction. Instinctively, he went into “leadership mode,” even though he knew she didn’t particularly care for that tone. It was the only way he was going to ensure she realized that there could be no level of familiarity between them while they were working.

“Hi!” she said bouncing through the doorway. “Where is everyone?”

He glanced up at her and then returned to what he was doing, attempting to be completely professional. “You’re a little early,” he said in a matter-of-fact tone. “You can have a seat though, if you’d like. They should be here shortly.”

Cadence’s entire demeanor changed. “Okay,” she said finding a seat in the back where she would be out of the way of those active on the hunt.

He could feel how much she hated that he’d spoken to her in that direct tone. Considering what had happened last night, she likely expected him to be happy to see her. And he was; she just couldn’t know that. Her emotions told him that she thought he wasn’t happy to see her at all, and she was suddenly wondering what it was that she had done wrong. Was he mad at her or just being short because he was in a hurry? She wasn’t sure, but either way, the high she had been riding when she walked into the room plummeted toward earth. He sighed, realizing she wouldn’t bother to try to talk to him again, not now, not even through IAC, as she clearly thought he didn’t have time for her.

Despite the dismal emotions radiating from the back of the room, Aaron continued setting up for the brief in silence. Being aware that he had offended Cadence wasn’t enough for him to let her become a distraction just then. He would find a moment to speak to her before the action began, but for now, he would rather she gave all of her attention to the task at hand. Surely, once Meagan and the rest of the team arrived, she’d regain her cheery mood.

* * *

Cadence sat in the back of the room wondering what in the world she had done to make Aaron treat her so coldly. She thought, perhaps, this is just how he was when he was on a hunt; she had no way of knowing. Still, she didn’t like it. Arriving early should’ve given her a moment to speak to him before the crowd got there, not made her feel sick to her stomach and on edge more so than she already was but for a completely different reason.

The other members of the briefing party arrived just before 9:00. Seeing them file in made her feel a little bit better and gave her something else to focus on, other than the incredibly sexy man in the front of the room who seemed to be purposely ignoring her. One of the team members joked to another that they didn’t dare be late but no one wanted to be early either. The response was a whisper she only caught part of but the words, “piss off Aaron” were clear. They both had a chuckle, and she was certain he had to know what they were saying, though he didn’t make any indication. He seemed to know everything.

Cadence didn’t recognize many of these people, and that made her even more nervous. She was hoping that Eliza or Jamie would be there, but neither of them was. She did see Christian, who smiled at her when he entered the room, and she recognized Elliott, but he didn’t so much as glance in her direction. She found that rather odd since they had been amicable during Thanksgiving dinner, the last time she had spent any significant amount of time with him. Maybe he was upset she hadn’t said hi to him this afternoon when she came to thank Aaron at the simulator….

Promptly at 9:00, Aaron said, “All right, let’s go ahead and get started. Most of you know why we are here, but we do have a few items to go over.”

Aaron took about 30 minutes to explain who the Rogue Vampire was, what he was accused of, and what the plan was for catching him. Cadence listened intently. She knew she was just there to observe, but she definitely wanted to know as much about this particular Rogue’s background as possible.

His name was Henry, and he had been killing humans with no regard as to whether or not they were considered Innocent or not. Innocents were not to be touched while the others, criminals and the other lower echelons of society, were fair game to a Vampire. In fact, Henry had even killed some human children quite recently, and that was something the Guardians and Hunters both took extremely seriously. Three Independent Hunters had chased him into the Kansas City area a few days ago. All three were present, and all three looked rough to Cadence. Their names were Sam, Finn, and Camille, and they had worked together as a team for almost one hundred years. Sam was the oldest looking of the three. He had a large handlebar mustache and wore a slouch cowboy hat and boots. Finn was so angry looking; Cadence imagined that’s what someone must look like who just drank piss in place of orange juice. He had shoulder length blond hair and was very scruffy looking, though she did think he might actually be attractive if he didn’t scowl and considered purchasing a razor blade. The lone woman of the trio, Camille, was a middle-aged looking African-American woman with long black braids. She didn’t smile, not even once, not even a little bit, and Cadence thought they could all benefit from some play therapy.

Nevertheless, these three were the most familiar with Henry’s story. They knew what to expect, and they understood how he would react when he realized the position he was in. Aaron had given strict orders; his team was there to assist in whatever way Sam, Finn, and Camille needed, but they were in a supporting role here and were not to take the lead under any circumstances unless specifically directed to do so by him. All of the Guardians and Hunters in the room agreed, and Aaron stepped aside so that Shane could give some information about the location they would be traveling to.

The bar Henry was known to be frequenting was called What’s Happening, and it was located near a railroad track on Prospect Avenue. Though Cadence had grown up in Iowa, even she was familiar with the idea that you never went down Prospect Avenue at night, not if you were a human and valued your life anyway.

It was believed that Henry may have been utilizing the railway to travel from one state to the next, and they believed, if they were unsuccessful in his capture or termination this evening, chances were he would disappear on the next available train. Shane covered the exits of the bar, a front door, a back door, and the bathroom windows, which were big enough for Henry to escape through, and he went over the positions the team members would hold. There were only two other Hunters present, besides the visiting three, Meagan, and Cadence. One was a tall blond named Destiny and the other was an older looking man named Rusty. Besides Aaron, Shane, Elliott, and Christian, there were two more Guardians present. Their names were Paxton and Smith, and by the looks of them, Cadence wondered exactly how they’d ever passed the sim. Paxton had glasses and a bad complexion while Smith had a faux hawk and breathed through his mouth, his jaw hanging open.

When Shane finished, Aaron asked if there were any other questions, and there were none, so he gave the order to turn their IAC’s on to the current team members and to load up.