"You expect us to believe Dracula is some ancient mythical demon we have no proof exists in the first place," Baron sneered.

"Frankly I don't care what you believe," Mina replied, "as long as you stay out of our way."

Baron scoffed at that, but Lan was not so instantly dismissive.

"Why should we do that?" Lan asked in a reasonable tone. "We are the authority here."

"And you have no way of dealing with the threat with which you are faced," Mina replied. "We will be happy to share our insights into the supernatural with your organisation once this threat is over, but you will just get in the way against Dracula."

"How do we know you are not working with Dracula?"

Baron really was an idiot.

"You'd be dead by now if they were," Sorin said before Reggie could do the same herself.

"Please be quiet, Major Baron," Lan said before an argument could start over that. "Mrs Harker," Lan went on, "if you were in my place, would you be willing to simply step back from such an important enterprise. We both know Dracula is planning some sort of invasion. Whether it be tomorrow or in a hundred years, we cannot allow him to initiate it."

Mina looked around at each of her team. Reggie could tell her great-great-grandmother was considering something. When she got to her, the look in Mina's eyes gave Reggie a good idea what Mina was thinking about. A lot of things revolved around Reggie, since her particular talents had come to light.

"Director," Mina said eventually, "if I could have a moment of your time alone."

It was Lan's turn to share a glance with her people.

"You are all quite safe," Mina added, "you have my word on that."

Lan nodded.

"Sorin, please keep the peace while I am absent," Lan said, before indicating a door at the back of the room. "Shall we step into my office?"

That was an interesting development, and one that Baron clearly didn't like. What Reggie found most interesting, however, was Baron did not openly protest, just glared in Sorin's direction. Not only was Sorin part of Division 5, he seemed to have authority in it too.

"All surveillance is off," David assured their team over the private channel as Mina and Lan disappeared.

No one was lowering their weapons, but at least they seemed to have peace at the moment.

"Keep Sorin covered," Reggie whispered at a level no one without supernatural hearing could have picked up.

Magda shifted a little, where as her family members gave no outward signs they had heard. She knew they had though, they always did. Sure they had her back, she stepped up to where Sorin was now standing.

"You realise I never told you, you could take your arms down," Reggie said and stared pointedly at the vampire's hands for a moment.

"They were beginning to ache," Sorin replied, the faintest smile on his face.

Of course he knew what she had just told her team, even if the humans in the room had no idea. He didn't appear fazed by it, at least, not on the outside.

"Oh, shame," she replied in kind. "So, who exactly were you to Dracula?" she asked at a much lower volume.

Sorin raised an eyebrow at her directness and then turned away.

"I was the strongest of my brothers," Sorin replied, equally low, looking out across the room, "and when Dracula first returned to his lands he wanted only the strongest. He killed the rest of my family and made me his right hand."

"His hold on you must have been strong," Reggie said.

"I served him loyally for over two hundred years. Like your bitch over there."

Magda showed her teeth at that.

"Was that test your idea?" Reggie asked.

She was still annoyed about that.

"No, it was Baron's. I didn't find out about it until after they took me out of my cell."

"Baron is an idiot," Reggie concluded.

"He has his uses," was all Sorin said.

Only then did the vampire turn to look at her.

"What did you do to me?" he asked.

"I just used the blood connection to freeze you," she lied.

"I could ask again, louder, if you like," Sorin said, smiling a little more. "I'm sure Baron would find it very interesting."

She saw her father's gun twitch.

"That wouldn't be wise," she said.

"Then don't treat me like a moron," Sorin said. "I was made by Dracula himself, and even when he had his fangs in me I did not feel power like that. You didn't steal into my mind, twisting my thoughts, you took over my body. That was no blood connection."

Reggie hesitated. She glanced at Quin, after all he was the oldest and therefore the most senior in the room. He gave her a little shrug and a nod-it was up to her.

"It was for me," she said eventually. "We don't have a relic or a ceremony or an ancient weapon, I am the weapon. I can kill Dracula."

Sorin frowned.

"How?"

Now Reggie smiled, just a little.

"I'm not about to tell you." There were some secrets she would never reveal to anyone outside the family. "Just trust me when I say, I am the only one. I'm sure Mina is explaining that to your boss right now."

"Dracula would kill you before you can get close," Sorin said.

Reggie gave him a cool look for that.

"Maybe," she said; she wasn't stupid enough to give more away.

~*~

Director Lan and Mina returned about fifteen minutes later. Reggie did not miss the look Lan gave her.

"We've come to an agreement," Mina said and nodded at the Director.

"Dracula has been recruiting his army for months," Lan began, "and there is every indication he is nowhere near finished. Because of this and certain information Mrs Harker has provided, Division 5 will back her organisation's plan to attack Dracula. Even if they fail, this still gives us ample opportunity to carry out our own operation."

"You cannot be serious."

Of course that came from Baron.

"In the interests of cooperation," Mina added, as if Baron had not even spoken, "I have agreed that Commander Munteanu will join our team for the duration."

Reggie didn't bother to hide her surprise. They never worked with outside people, although that was usually because they couldn't keep up. Sorin was, after all, a vampire.

"Now this is going to be fun," Quin said, and Reggie guessed he was only being about fifty percent sarcastic.