I spent the next two days at work basically on autopilot. Things got done but it was the after work time that I just couldn't wait for. It was like this case was making me come alive. I couldn't wait to get started each day and had to make myself stop each night. I always thought nursing was my passion, yet now it felt like something I just had to do for a paycheck. I found myself wondering if I could make a living with my crusades as my friends liked to call them to keep supernaturals safe. I'm sure it is just a dream since Tony said he and the shifters were willing to pay for my help when Seslie and I had always just helped keep the balance not letting humans know of our world for favor and because it was the right thing to do. I wasn't even sure I could make myself take money for helping in cases like this. Well it was a nice dream though, I thought to myself with a sigh.

Wednesday night after dinner our group met up at my place to give and get updates as well as to find out who all was on side Leon. To our pleasant surprise we had a large group of Vampires as well as all the shifters that were employed by Leon. With myself, Seslie, Drew, Drena, and Tony we looked to be twenty-five strong. That included the Four Vampires and two shifters that couldn't get away without drawing attention. Even with those six unable to attend it was a tight fit with twenty people packed in my apartment. It was a good thing I Had opted for an open floor plan. The living room, dining room and kitchen all appeared as one room with hardwood floors throughout. With area rugs and positioning of the furniture forming the only separations to the large open area. The staircase to my bedroom ran up the outer wall that connected the apartment to the garage with an open balcony and vaulted ceilings.

Every available surface downstairs seemed to have an over sized male sitting or leaning on it. Seslie and myself made sure everyone present had a drink of some kind in hand before we got down to the business at hand. As Tony cleared his throat to get everyone's attention I took a moment to glance at the many faces around the room. The first thing I noticed was Seslie, Drena and myself were the only females in the group, second was that everyone of the males present was a treat to look at. It was like sitting in a room full of male models. I guess I'd notice as anyone would that the men of the supernatural community were always attractive, but with this many in one place the beauty was nearly overwhelming. There was every size,skin color and nationality present. The vamps weren't as bulky as the shifters were . That by no means meant that the vamps were small. In fact with them all here the room and the furniture seemed child size.

As introductions were made I realized I had only ever seen maybe five or six of the men present. Which gave me renewed hope that since theses weren't the people I was used to seeing as I came and went when dealing with vamp business in the past that just maybe we'd get lucky when it came to finding out what was currently going on and where Leon was being kept.

After everyone was done with intro's Tony asked me or Ses to take the floor. I let Seslie and Drew go first since chances were they would know more of the men in the room than I did since Drew likely worked with or was at least friendly with most of them at one point or another during his time serving as a general for Leon. Even with his position of authority Drew was easy going and well liked. According to what Drena was whispering to me as Drew talked she and Seslie had met most of the group in the room at Leon's christmas party last year. Not that it bothered me they had all went together. Drew and Ses had tried to get me to go with them . In fact I was asked by more than one of the shifters in the room to be their plus one at that party but I'd turned them down.

Drew went over our concerns about the take over and the changes being made. Seslie went over the issues with the failed transitions. That left me to address the concerns of most supers about exposure ,as well as how a change in management so to speak would affect us all. From the vampires being pushed out of positions of power that they had earned ,just so only people under their control had all the say, to the shifters being used as bleeders after all the struggles they had been through to make themselves equals instead of slaves as they are under English rule.

The three questions on everyone's minds seem to be. What we were planning to do? When and how would it all go down?

Needless to say I wasn't very popular when I explained we couldn't form a plan until we first figured out who or what was targeting vampires waking post transition. It seemed most of them thought it was the English vampire council behind it so they had a reason to imbed themselves in the Illinois vamp catacomb under the rouse​ of offering help. While that may well be my gut told me it was something else and that the English vamps were indeed using it to make a play for power. When I said as much Tony and several of the shifters were quick to agree.

After some heated debating between the vamps and shifters Drena was the one to get everyone's attention when she voiced the logical answer to solving that question. If the English vamps were indeed behind the deaths and using that as a way to get in and take over the transitions wouldn't still be failing. But they were. Because even though I hadn't been aware Leon had been removed from power three days ago. So the last two vampire deaths had been with Pierce in charge. It made no sense for him to takeover yet still be killing newlings since he was likely transitioning people loyal to him. That little fact silenced the naysayers in the room allowing us to get back on track.

Drena , Seslie and I took them through what we had researched so far and things that we ruled out. When I Told them about the links we'd been following on native american legends and myths a native american shifter spoke up about the great spirits stating not to rule them out completely until he could talk to his elders he felt there was something he remembered regarding them but couldn't quiet pull the facts up at the moment. I agreed and gave him my contact info to get in touch if he found answers he thought we needed to know before we met again in a week. After that Drew gave a few of the vamps tasks to look into and Ses and I spoke to Tony and a few other shifters including the native american shifter that wanted us to wait on ruling out the great spirits until he was able to look into it from his side. Turned out his name was Blue sky and he was not raised on a reservation but in one of the few supernatural communities that existed in the United States . Nosho was a town near the southern Missouri border that blocked humans from seeing it or entering without the required amulet which there were few of. Mainly because humans weren't welcome there. The town was made for supes only. A place where there was no need to hide who and what they were. While I'd never been there or to any of the hidden cities it was some place I really wanted to go. Problem With that being even as a supernatural I could not find where it was unless I was taken by someone who knew how to get there or if I was given one of the amulets. Both were scarce.

Once everyone but our core group was gone we all grabbed beers and sat down at the dining room table to iron out a few things. Tony thanked us all for agreeing to try to help and then handed me an envelope. Before I could inquire as to what it was he stated, " That's just a down payment for doing this. Most of the guys feel better not putting everything on the line in case you can't solve this and they have to relocate. Some of them have already sent their families away. I didn't know what to say but I didn't feel right taking their money for something I wanted to do so I attempted to hand it back. He wouldn't hear of it. I looked to Drew, Seslie and Drena for help. No one came to my rescue. Great. Just great. I tried again to explain I couldn't take their money when Leon had asked me to look into the same problem and I Hadn't asked him for payment.

Tony informed me he was not Leon and the job now was more dangerous than just research. Then he went on to tell me I needed to quit giving away my help and time for free. At this point I knew it wasn't an argument I would win . Well not tonight anyway.