Marcus scanned the report as he heard his phone chirping and checked it, the message caused him to tense as the meeting he had been putting off was finally coming. Things were starting to come together, while the meeting with the other Patriarchs and two Matriarchs hadn't gone as well as he hoped, it hadn't ended in bloodshed or threats either.

  Marcus hoped that meant Victor would have their tentative support in the coming days, but only time would tell if that was certain or not. He got up, strode over to the window, and looked down at the pza, Marcus easily spotted the three vehicles as they pulled up to the curb and discharged seven figures that started walking towards the building he was in.

  His gaze zeroed in on the single, white-haired individual within the small formation of people. Marcus kept his eyes on the figure and immediately noted the odd pace he was setting; Marcus made a mental note to ask him about it as he disappeared.

  The Patriarch turned away from the window when he heard a faint, but distinct loud crack of a rifle and turned back to see what was going on. Below the pza was a mess of activity as people scrambled about everywhere, then a second crack of a rifle occurred just as the doors of his office nearly exploded off their hinges as some of his daytime security poured into the room.

  They barked at him to get away from the window as they moved towards the rge wall of gss, Marcus started cursing as he was dragged away to a safe location, all the while the Patriarch wondered who had unched the attack!

  While I had more than one encounter with the police during my divorce process, it paled in comparison to the response of a sniper appearing in the heavily poputed area of downtown Dals. Dozens of cops, including a S.. unit had been dispatched in response to the situation, but despite everything no one had been found after nearly an hour of searching.

  Worse, the security cameras had subspecialty gone down and the security personnel that had been running things had disappeared as well. Alive or dead, no one knew yet and the Patriarch of House Aldbridge was pissed. "You are hiding things Mr. Aldbridge, we need you to be honest with us so we can discover who was behind this attack." I remained stoically quiet since the start, a potential investor in Marcus's various businesses that had been caught in the heat of the moment.

  Yet I was losing my patience with the whole thing and based on the way Marcus was reacting, his eyes had started bleeding toward a bright blood-red color as his frustration mounted minute by minute. The man opened his mouth to yell at the detective when I spoke, "Enough!" while delivered softly, it cut through the tension like a hot knife through butter. The tension in Marcus started to bleed away instantly as he bowed his head slightly, "I was the target, it wasn't random but an attempted assassination." I told the detective as I eyed the room.

  While the lead detective was in the room with his partner, they were not the only people out of pce who were present. Several of the daytime security personnel, two assistants, an executive, and a few others that I didn't think should be present were. I looked pointedly at Marcus who nodded, "Clear the room!" he called out.

  I felt my stomach grumble and the Blood Thirst icon ticked up, "Can I get something warm and red." I told one of the P.A.'s before she fled the room.

  The smaller woman smiled and nodded her head before leaving, "Ok...Mr. Bck, why would anyone want to kill you?" the man asked, the disbelief clear in his voice.

  Aside from the detectives, Marcus, and I only two of the daytime guards were present, and based on their scents, they were not human, but they still studiously ignored us as they continued to study the surrounding cityscape, "If you do your research, you will discover five days ago I went through the Intergration process and became an Adventurer.' I held up my right hand revealing the tattoo there, 'What won't be in the records avaible to you is that it also triggered an Awakening as well, the Awakening made me a Pureblood Vampire a being of some importance within the Vampire community. This position is...contentious to say the least and others will either hate me outright for what I am, want to use me, or at best ignore me. They do this in theory because I have the potential to fill the role of a head of state. Or I have the strong potential to be one day." I expined.

  That was when Marcus reentered the conversation, "That is the reason why this is considered an internal matter, not for you to investigate. By the Demi-Human Act and Adventurers Treaties, internal politics that have not resulted in the lives of innocent humans will be out of the purview of all local w enforcement but may be recorded by federal observers. You are not feds and thus cannot investigate the shooting or observe anything about the assassination attempt." the bck Vampire stated as he looked between the two detectives.

  The lead detective quickly responded, "The two security personnel..." he stopped as I shook my head.

  While they may or may not be in on it, they had not been found. "You have no bodies, no evidence of their disappearance linked to the assassination attempt. Not yet anyways and your superiors will agree with that statement." I told them.

  Marcus nodded his head in agreement as he stared at the two detectives expectantly for a few moments in silence before they grudgingly agreed. The P.A. chose that moment to come back, this time it was obvious she was sauntering towards me, and while I didn't mind, I wasn't sure Marcus wanted his P.A. flirting with me. I didn't want to piss off the older Vampire, so I did my best to ignore the sway of her hips.

  "I expect you to turn over any information you have attained so far to my chief of security Veronica DeLuca, she is down on the ground floor at the moment coordinating our own investigation detectives." Marcus pointedly gestured for them to leave as I focused and brought up the notification that had popped up earlier.

  Spoiler<<< System Notice >>> Skill Unlocked: Blood SurgeSkill Tier: BeginnerSkill Level: 1Skill Type: Passive/ActiveSkill Description: Blood Arts come in many forms, with this Skill a Vampire can enhance their inherent ability to move as well as process information. As your mastery of this Skill increases, so too will the effects until you become an almost imperceptible blur of movement. Beware though, the cost of this power is high, and overuse can result in negative physical and mental effects. Passive Effect: Your perception and thought process are increased to match your speed. Active Effect: Increase your Attack/Movement Speed by 30%. Range: SelfDuration: Until CancelledCast Time: InstantCost: Initial 100 Mana, Duration 50 Mana/SecondCooldown: N/A <<< System Notice >>>

  [colpse]I frowned, no wonder I wanted blood and why my Blood Thirst had jumped from five to fifteen percent after using the Skill, while powerful it clearly was costly. "How?" Marcus prompted me after the detectives were gone.

  I smiled, "The first lesson I was taught about my life after Intergration and I became an Adventurer, was to be aware of my surroundings and my instincts about anyone trying to kill me. The lesson was hammered into us with paintballs and pellets to the back of the head and other sensitive areas. It honed the instinct to a fine hair, which is only amplified by my new Vampiric instincts." I expined as the PA came back into the room and handed me a rge mug of blood.

  I thanked her but it didn't stop her from loitering around, "Shandra, thank you. You can leave now." Marcus pointedly stated.

  The assistant gave herself a shake and almost ran from the room, "Sorry, not doing it on purpose." I told him.

  Marcus chuckled, "That's the only reason why I am not taking it personally, you have no control of it and my niece is still a young Vampire, so she is more susceptible." the Patriarch expined as he retrieved his phone. He typed away at it, "I am sending you three numbers, they are the personal numbers of the Purebloods that rule the east and west coast, as well as the Central American Region. I am calling Daniel Bell, she rules the Eastern Region of North America." he informed me before he tapped another few buttons my phone chimed again, but I continued to ignore it.

  The phone rang three times before a husky voice responded, "This better be good Marcus, I am busy!" I smirked at the response as Marcus sighed.

  "There was an attack, someone tried to assassinate the new Pureblood with a sniper near my headquarters, is that important enough!" Marcus snapped back.

  I heard the woman curse and shout at people off the phone before she returned, "Is the baby Pureblood alive?" Daniel demanded.

  I didn't contain my chuckle this time as I cut in, "The baby is fine, thank you for asking. The question is, did you or another Pureblood dislike the fact I exist?" I bluntly asked.

  While I couldn't see her reaction, I could almost feel it through the tone as she responded, "If I wanted you dead, I wouldn't tell you, I would just get it done! Now do you honestly think I or another Pureblood tried to assassinate you?" Daniel demanded.

  I could tell Marcus was slightly nervous, "No, but I wanted the question out of the way, in all honesty, my first instinct is one of the nearby Patriarch or Matriarchs reacted badly to my outing and just pyed for time to take me out. This attack was a quick and reactive response, probably with a disposable asset with little pnning involved as I am sure Marcus kept my whereabouts hidden. I would appreciate it if you would send any information you have on them to Marcus and me as we investigate the assassination attempt." I told her.

  I waited for a few moments in silence, "You are both infuriating and too smart, keep your wits about you and I will forward what we have to you two. Do you need anything else?" I smiled and gnced toward Marcus as I winked.

  "Sorry for annoying you, I was just trying to cut through the bullshit before it cropped up Daniel," I told her as I looked towards Marcus.

  "Can you inform the Twilight Council and see that all the Regional leadership is aware of what happened?" Marcus asked as he sighed and rexed.

  I just sipped my mug of blood, "Of course Marcus, do try to keep young Victor alive, he shows promise." with that comment the call disconnected.

  Marcus looked at me before chuckling, "Ballsy, not many people are brave enough to do something so, bluntly with a Pureblood, even among each other." I shrugged my shoulders.

  "We need the information, and I wanted to undercut any suspicion between us outright. Now if you don't mind, I want a copy of the dossiers of the other Matriarchs, Patriarchs, and anything Daniel has as well sent to me. While I don't know these people, I can provide a different viewpoint and unbiased opinion on them." I told him as I stood up and I downed the contents of the mug.

  Marcus frowned, "Are you sure that is wise?" I shook my head.

  "No, but you forget one thing, you are here as well. They may have been targeting you too and I just presented the opportune target, best not to keep all our eggs in one basket if they try something more...drastic." I told him my worries.

  Based on his reaction, he hadn't thought of that, and from what I knew the man's residence was below the building in a subbasement underground. "Agreed, stay safe and don't go anywhere you don't have to. I will be assigning additional security to your residence and that you have on hand if necessary. I will call you when Daniel sends the information, and I will have Veronica email you the information on the others within the hour." I nodded as I headed for the door to see what awaited me there.