Xavier watched the officer hold the small hand-held device to the woman's neck as she cowered on the floor with two small children by her side. She flinched as the reader took a skin sample and analysed it. Her eyes were round as she anxiously waited for the result.

The screen flashed green and everyone in the room breathed a sigh of relief.

'Head down the stairs and to the police blockade,' he ordered.

She didn't hesitate. Picking up her two kids, she hurried out of the room and down the stairs. Their test results would already be with the team downstairs and they would take care of the family from here.

'Clear,' he spoke into the radio on his shoulder.

'We're clear here,' Dylan's voice replied.

He and the two officers moved into the hallway, where he saw his partner. Her forehead creased in concentration. She looked up at him and inclined her head. They'd been working together long enough that he knew she wanted to talk, but without an audience.

Creeping up to the next floor, he motioned for his team of four to proceed into the two flats as Dylan ordered her team to do the same.

'You seeing what I'm seeing?' she asked him.

'You're referring to the lack of bodies?'

'That's exactly what I'm referring to,' she whispered.

'We've found four flats with residents in. Not a single person has been bitten.'

'We found three. Same thing. Not even a scratch. And these buildings don't have the panic rooms that the new builds have.' She pressed a hand against the standard wooden doors. 'It wouldn't have deterred a hungry vamp.'

'There's still seven floors left.'

'But this doesn't look like a feeding frenzy. So what the hell is going on here?' she asked.

Xavier ran a hand through his coarse, curly hair. 'There's still the workmen outside.'

'Four workmen. But eight vampires. You know as I do it wouldn't have sedated their hunger, and yet they didn't touch a single human as they made their way through the building.'

'Clear.'

'Clear.'

Two voices called in unison, bringing their conversation to an abrupt halt as their teams emerged into the hallways.

Xavier pointed to the stairs and his team moved upwards just as a volley of shots echoed from the stairwell.

'It's coming from above,' he said, locking eyes with Dylan.

'Guns at the ready,' she called to her team.

Xavier made his way up the stairs, his gun trained high. He swung his gaze, trying to take in everything all at once. The gun shots had ended but the sounds of a scuffle continued and his steps became more determined.

He paused when he heard the sounds of the elevator spark to life and shoot to the bottom of the building.

'That shouldn't be working? Elevators are disabled in the event of a code 287,' an officer said shakily.

Dylan was already on the radio relaying information to the ground teams in case they escaped out of the main entrances.

'We can't see any movement from the front doors. The elevator doors are still shut,' a crackly voice replied to her.

'Does this building have a basement?' demanded Xavier.

There was a pause before a sheepish voice replied. 'It's used as a storage place for the heating system.'

Xavier swore before swinging back around to his team. 'We need to split up. We can't let them leave this building.'

'I'll take my team to the basement. You take upstairs,' Dylan said, already leading her team back down the stairwell.

He silently agreed and motioned his group upwards. The officers stifled their nerves and followed him, stepping carefully to avoid the traitorous echoing of their steps.

On the tenth floor, a door hung off its hinges, and a body lay propping it open. Xavier held up his hand, and his team paused as he crept forward.

Singe marks, melted plastic, and blood surrounded the bullet holes two feet above the body. The UV bullet must have passed straight through.

He didn't have to get close to know the vamp was dead. Already its body was decomposing. That was the funny thing about the undead; once they died for real, it was like their bodies raced to catch up.

He rubbed the powder residue between his fingers and watched the purple sheen glow under the overhead lights. A floral scent teased his nostrils; the telltale sign of a UV bullet. The only problem was UV bullets weren't available for the public. Their volatile nature required them to be kept in perfect conditions when not loaded. Conditions that many would find difficult to maintain.

'Weapons up. There's another player in the field.' Rogue public defenders, those who took the hunting of the supernatural into their own hands, were rare, but there were still a few remaining and they always had a way of ending up dead.

Onward they went, finding another rotting vamp and more bullet holes in the wall.

Screeching sounded ahead and a tall, lithe woman shot out of one flat and straight towards them. Xavier didn't hesitate as he pulled the trigger. The vamp dodged, but it clipped her shoulder and sent her tumbling to the floor.

'Fucking humans,' she spat, her red eyes glowing as her anger and pain mixed. 'You're getting in the way!' she screamed.

The door behind them ricocheted off the wall and a man barrelled into the first two officers before they could raise their guns. His fangs found their necks, and he tore into them before Xavier's bullet went through his skull.

'Thomas,' the female vamp wailed as his body collapsed on top of his would be victims.

'How many more of you are here?' he demanded as he trained his gun back on her.

'You're all pathetic. Weak.'

She screamed as another bullet thudded into her body. It wasn't enough to kill her then, but if she didn't dig the bullets out within the next hour, she'd die of UV poisoning, and she knew it.

'How many?'

Her lips clamped shut, and she closed her eyes.

Xavier sighed and fired a last bullet. He watched her body collapse to the floor before turning back to his team.

'We have two officers injured. Prepare for immediate transportation to hospital,' he spoke into the radio.

'Copy. Paramedics on standby to receive.'

'You two, get them downstairs and to safety,' he said to the other two officers.

'What about you?' the one asked as he lifted his bleeding teammate.

'Four vampires are dead. There's four more to find. Just keep your wits about you,' he ordered.

He watched their backs until they were in the stairwell and heading down before continuing to the other two flats.

'Why is this floor so special?' he wondered to himself.

He went to the flat on the left. The door was already broken down and lay in pieces in the hallway. He tread carefully over the debris before there was a creak behind the wall to his right.

There wasn't time to move as the wall exploded and plaster shot everywhere as a body moved through it, colliding with him.

Snarls erupted as the man tried to bite him, but Xavier held his gun under the man's neck. Even using all of his strength, the vamp's fangs inched towards Xavier's throat.

'Hey.'

The vamp turned, his eyes widening as the gun fired in his direction. The shot went wide, but it was enough of a distraction for Xavier to grab his pistol and take a shot at the man's heart.

The bullet found its target, and he pushed the dead vamp off him and stood with his gun trained on his unlikely saviour. The girl stared back at him, her own gun aimed in his direction.

'We need to go. There's more of them, and they'll hear the shots,' she warned.

'Who are you?' he demanded. She couldn't have been older than fifteen, and yet she was wielding a UV gun.

Her mouth opened, but the glass behind her shattered and a burned hand reached through and grabbed her backpack. She moved swiftly and ran towards Xavier, leaving the hulking vampire holding her backpack.

The creature climbed into the room, his body smoking from the sun damage he'd sustained, but he looked almost joyful as he watched them.

'Give me the girl,' he ordered.

'Not happening,' Xavier said.

'You're in way over your head.'

'Not from where I'm standing.'

The vampire smirked. 'It's a shame. You're rather amusing for a human, but the girl is worth more.' The man's smile widened further until it was no longer a smile but a snarl. He lunged forward and Xavier shot blindly, trying to block his path to the girl.

'Run,' he shouted.

The girl didn't have to be told twice. They both legged it as the vampire stumbled behind them, wounded but very much alive. But he wasn't the only one. Another two blocked their path at the one stairwell and the girl grabbed his arm and yanked him towards the other one.

'Come on,' she yelled.

He didn't argue. One on one, he could handle. But three was close to a suicide mission. Especially given the lengths they were willing to go to.

The vampires crawled on the stair railings above them, hanging off them like oversized bats as Xavier and the girl raced to the ground floor. Xavier fired upwards, and the girl did the same, trying to give them more time.

As they made it to the ground floor, a small metal cylinder rolled toward them and Xavier pushed the girl against the wall, shielding her with his body.

'Close your eyes,' he yelled.

She turned her head and screwed her eyes shut as the thing exploded, emitting a light ten times more powerful than the sun.

The vampires' screams were the signal as a barrage of UV bullets rained down on their burned bodies.

Xavier didn't look until all sounds ceased.

'Thanks for the backup,' he said as Dylan stepped forward.

'It looks like you had all the fun.' She watched as the vampires' bodies broke down into dust from all the UV damage.

'Nothing in the basement?' he asked, but his attention was focused on the girl as she bent to pick up the silver item that had fallen out of her pocket. His hand shot out, and the girl glared at him.

'Get off me,' she demanded.

'Where did you get this?'

'What's it to you?'

'I'll ask again. And it better be the truth.'

She twisted her wrist, but Xavier didn't release his grip. Her glare intensified.

'Marilyn gave it to me.'

'And why would Marilyn Le Bou give this to you?'

Her eyes widened. 'You know Mari?'

'My question is, what are you to her?'

'It's complicated.'

'Then uncomplicate it,' he drawled.

The girl looked at the silver flask. It was engraved with MLB and Mari would kill her if some stuck up guy took it.

'She's my foster mom.'