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"It didn't sound like a lie."
"Maybe. But can you really imagine Gautier allowing some other psycho free space to do as he pleased in what he considers his playground?"
"Well, no. He's not exactly the caring and sharing type."
"Precisely. So what the hell is he really up to?"
"Until we catch the bastard, that's really an unanswerable question." And a worrying one.
Rhoan shifted, his gaze going to the door I'd entered through. Undoubtedly he smelled the aroma of garbage and death, though it was nowhere near as strong here as it had been in the hall. "Jack's here."
And he wasn't alone, thankfully. I stepped aside as the emergency team from the mica-unit tended the little girl, watching for a couple of seconds to reassure myself she was still alive, then turned and walked down to the steps. Jack had squatted next to the young vampire I'd killed.
I stopped beside him and tried to ignore the smell of death. I felt no remorse over killing the baby vamp - not after spending so long tracking him down. Not after having to deal with the aftermath of both his and his master's feeding frenzies.
Jack looked up. "Did you read his mind before you killed him?"
I shook my head. "Didn't need to. Gautier is his maker."
"If you didn't read his mind, how do you know that?"
"Because Gautier himself confirmed it."
"He was here? And you let him go?"
Jack's voice held an edge of anger, and I held up a hand. "We didn't 'let' him do anything. We had the option of taking a life or saving one. We chose the latter."
"Which was the wrong choice." His gaze slid past me. "Your softer side is going to get you killed one day, Riley."
"Saving a child is never the wrong choice, Jack." And I couldn't have lived with myself if I'd done anything else.
"And yet, because you saved the child, many others may die."
He was obviously trying to make me feel guilty and, in some ways, succeeding. Truth was, it was very possible that others would die because of the choice we'd made here tonight. And yet, what other decision could I have made? None - not if I wanted to retain my sanity, my soul. Surely it could never truly be wrong to try and save such a young life, no matter what the price might ultimately be.
Though I had no doubt that Jack would disagree with such sentiments. Regardless of the fact he was a basically decent guy, he was still a vamp, and they all tended to have strange ideas when it came to the value of life.
"We did manage to have a nice little chat with the creep." I rubbed my arms as I spoke. It was becoming so damn cold in the warehouse that I might as well have been standing there naked. "He said he knows The Cleaver."
Jack raised an eyebrow. "And he offered you the information?"
"No," Rhoan said, as he walked up and stopped beside me. "He offered us a contest."
"What sort of contest?"
"We play a game - the first one to track down and kill the serial killer wins."
Jack raised an eyebrow. "Gautier does realize he's no longer a guardian, doesn't he?"
"Oh yeah," I muttered dryly. "And I think you'll discover he's relishing the fact if you take a little look in those back rooms."
"Then why would he make a deal like this? Especially when it benefits the Directorate rather than himself?"
"Maybe all he wants is the satisfaction of knowing he is better than us." I shrugged. "He said you used to rave about how good Rhoan is, and how good I could be. He wants to prove to himself and to us that this is not true."
"Yeah, right." Jack snorted softly and glanced at Rhoan. "Are you buying that?"
"Not in the least. He may well know the identity of our killer, but I fear there's a darker reason behind the offering of this contest. Gautier's a killer, and he's long believed in his own superiority. He doesn't need a contest to prove it He never has."
