"Very. We interrogated the attackers from three nights ago." Maximus brings up additional data. "They were reconnaissance.Konstantin wanted to test our response time, our defensive capabilities, and to verify rumors about personnel changes. He also sent a message demanding I hand over control of the blood network. An ultimatum I refused."
"Personnel changes? Meaning her," Julian says, nodding toward me. Not hostile, just stating fact.
"According to the prisoners we interrogated," Maximus continues, "word spread quickly through Atlanta's vampire community that I brought someone into the sanctuary. Konstantin sees Celeste as either a weakness he can exploit or a threat he needs to eliminate."
"Which is it?" Isabelle asks, watching me carefully.
I hold her gaze. "I'm here to help defend this network. Whether Konstantin sees that as a threat or tries to use me as leverage, that's his problem to solve, not mine."
Julian grunts approvingly. "Direct. I like that."
"Beyond the immediate threat," Maximus continues, "we have a larger problem. The contamination crisis is worsening. Yesterday we identified and resolved a new contamination source, industrial chemicals absorbed through skin contact. One of our donors works as a mechanic and was unknowingly contaminating his blood with chemicals from car fluids."
Dr. Sullivan nods grimly. "I've expanded our screening protocols to include industrial exposure, but there are hundreds of potential contaminants we weren't testing for. The crisis is evolving faster than our safeguards."
"Which plays into Konstantin's hands," Julian observes. "Desperate vampires make poor decisions."
"Do we know how he's maintaining his supply?" Nadia asks. "His network should be experiencing the same contamination issues we are."
"We don't know," Ethan admits, and frustration cracks throughhis rapid-fire energy. "Our intelligence on his operations has significant gaps. I've cultivated sources for years, run pattern analysis on his movements." His fingers tap against the tablet, restless. "Nothing. Konstantin's been building this for decades. He's patient in ways that make him hard to track. And he's got magical countermeasures on everything. Scrying attempts, surveillance, even basic reconnaissance gets blocked." He shakes his head. "I've never seen anyone this careful. It's like trying to map a building with no windows."
"Which is why we need a different approach," Maximus says. He looks at me. "Celeste, you fought in underground rings for three years. What do you know about the operations? The venues, the management?"
Everyone's attention shifts to me. I wasn't expecting to contribute this early in the meeting.
"I know the scene pretty well," I say, organizing my thoughts. "Or at least, I knew it as a human. But looking back now, things make more sense." I pause, thinking through the memories with new context. "About two years ago, there was a shift. New management took over several major venues. The operations became more professional, better organized, better funded, bigger payouts. They started recruiting fighters aggressively."
"What kind of recruiting?" Julian asks.
"Offering contracts. Training facilities. It was more organized than the usual underground scene. A lot of fighters moved to those venues." I lean forward. "I stayed independent because something felt off. Too much money, too professional. The people running it moved wrong, looked at fighters wrong. I thought they were connected to organized crime or something."
"You didn't know they were vampires," Maximus says. Not a question.
"I had no idea vampires existed until Valentina turned me. Butnow? Thinking back on how those managers moved, how they acted at night, never during day events..." I shake my head. "It was vampire-run. I just didn't realize it at the time."
"Konstantin," Marcellus says. "Has to be."
"He's been using the fighting rings for recruitment," Maximus agrees. "Young vampires looking for purpose, humans who are already comfortable with violence. It's strategic."
"How many venues shifted to this new management?" Nadia asks me.
I think back. "At least five that I knew of in Atlanta itself, maybe more in the suburbs. Each one running fights twice a week minimum. They were pulling in the best fighters, the ones with records like mine."
Ethan is typing on his tablet. "If they're recruiting even conservatively from those venues over two years…"
"That's a substantial force," Isabelle finishes. "And we had no intelligence on this."
"Because you weren't looking in the underground fighting world," I say. "Those venues don't advertise to the general public. They're word-of-mouth, cash-only, locations change constantly. You need to be part of that world to even know where the fights are."
"This is valuable intelligence," Maximus says, his eyes on me. "Ethan, I want you to prioritize finding these venues. Map them, identify patterns, see if we can determine where Konstantin's training facilities are located."
"On it," Ethan says, already making notes.
"Impressive." Julian leans back in his chair, studying me with new interest. "Three years in that world and you kept your head down, stayed independent, trusted your instincts when something felt wrong. That's not just survival. That's intelligence."
"Thank you." I'm not sure how to take the compliment. In the ring, praise usually preceded a request for something.
"Most humans wouldn't have noticed anything off about vampire-run operations." He stands and moves around the table toward me, casual, unhurried. "You've got good instincts. We could use more of that around here."
