They neared the driver's side window and the Vampire in the back opened fire. It was not a machine gun this time, at least, just a hand gun. Nevertheless, Cadence ducked back inside, fear of getting shot temporarily quelling her bravado.Aaron slowed down a little bit, partially to give her time to regroup and partially because they were approaching another car. He glanced over at her and could tell she was ready to try again, so he cleared the uninvolved minivan and accelerated.

Aaron had just completed his pre-flight check list when Cadence caught up to him. Somehow, he had known she was coming, despite the fact that her IAC was off, and there was no other way he could have known; he just knew.Part of him had hoped she would miss him, that he'd make it off the ground before she arrived. But now that she was here, he was also a little relieved. Better to get this conversation over with now than to let it continue to linger.

Eliza Wrath was enjoying her new gig as Leader of the San Francisco Area. It was a pretty easy job. San Fran had its share of Vampires, but most of them had the same relaxed attitude as the humans, and the ratio of Rogues to Compliants was relatively low. Every once in a while she'd have to organize a hunt, but she had a very experienced team, and much of what she did involved nothing more than calling in various members. She actually had a Hunter Leader, as well, something most Guardians couldn't count on anymore, and Daniel had been doing his job so long, he didn't seem to mind making most of the calls. Ultimately, she had all of the power, and none of the work. For her, it was a win-win. She spent a lot of time in her office pretending to look busy while she shopped online.

"You don't even need a titanium bullet to kill me," Eliza shot back, trying to be smart."Oh, I know that," Laura responded, briskly.Eliza seemed to think again for a moment before asking another question she had been instructed to ask. "What if he wants in? What if he wants to cooperate with you, too?"

Despite her more cheerful disposition, Cadence still didn't sleep well that night. She had awoken around 8:00 to a message from Cale asking if she was free for dinner, to which she promptly replied an enthusiastic yes, and then tried to go back to sleep again. After several attempts at obtaining more than an hour and a half of consecutive sleep, she finally got up around 10:30. Even though the exhaustion was still there, she was happier than she had been in a while, and she found herself humming some of the songs from the concert as she showered and got ready for the day.She towel dried her h