25. Unlucky

F oxx sighed, doing his best to ignore the dhampir glaring at him.

"I don't see why I can't go with you."

"You know exactly why!" he huffed. "For the final time, the answer is no. I am dropping you off at home, and you are to stay there until I get back. And once I do, we will call Tony."

"Why not just give the blood to Tony?"

"Because he is not a scientist, Doc is. We will tell Tony what we did, and I'm sure he will understand the urgency in getting it to the right person."

"Okay, but why can't I go?"

"For fuck's sake, Harlow, you can't go!" Foxx hissed. "Doc is older than I am. I may trust him with my health, and all things medical, but I don't trust him to keep your secret, and he WILL be able to tell! Hell, Oceana could tell and she isn't even as old as I am!"

Harlow grunted. "I could just wait in the car."

"You know bloody well why that wouldn't work!"

"Fuck!" Harlow growled. "Fine! You better be careful! And he better not tell anyone! If Maverick finds out, I highly doubt he would just sit back and let anyone take a look at that shit, after having the bodies blown up!"

"My kind is quite aware of how to keep shit to ourselves. We did hide from humans for literally thousands upon thousands of years."

Harlow snorted. "Right, and all the stories that went around about you fuckers were what? Just for the hell of it?"

Foxx glared over at him. "So what if a few wankers were running out doing dumb shit, humans were still too stupid to figure it out!"

The dhampir opened his mouth and then closed it with a shrug. "I was technically never human, and have a low opinion of the human race as a whole, so…I have no reason to argue in their defense."

"You are literally both, yet at the same time neither. Which is why your ass is going back to the apartment, and I am going to Doc's alone!"

Harlow went back to glaring. Foxx stuck his tongue out.

"Brat."

"Old man."

Harlow sat there in a plush gray chair, glaring at the ceiling as he listened to the pipes and the other random creeks of the apartment. Foxx had left him there ten minutes ago, and while his headache was finally gone, now that he was inside the soundproofed apartment, he much rather still be in the car, headache and all.

He stiffened at the sound of the apartment door unlocking. The footsteps he'd heard told him that it wasn't Foxx—the stride was too long. Not that the vampire would be back this quickly. Doc was thirty minutes out.

Remaining in his seat, Harlow stared at the entrance to the hallway, unsurprised when Alastair appeared. Foxx had mentioned last week about wanting to change the locks, but they hadn't stayed at home long enough for him to manage it. Eyeing the gray eyed man, with his asymmetrical curly dark brown hair, blue turtleneck and corduroy pants, he...sighed.

"Foxx isn't here."

"I'm not here to see him."

Oh…great… he thought. This could only go well.

Standing there in silence, the vampire began to eye him too closely. Mere moments later, the man's heart skipped before racing on ahead, his scent souring with fear as his eyes widened and his jaw dropped. Alastair took a hesitant step back.

"I have to say, Alastair, you don't have much of a poker face," Harlow mused.

"You…" the vampire rasped, his eyes starting to fill with tears as they narrowed in anger. "You'll get him killed!" the man hissed.

"I'd die first."

"Then DIE!" Alastair roared as he lunged towards him.

The drive to Doc Robinson's was uneventful. The vampire lived in the middle of a forest, thirty minutes south of Houndside Hazard, on the outskirts of Hollow Moor. As far as Foxx knew, Doc's nearest neighbor was miles away.

Slipping the infected blood into the belly pocket of his sunsuit, he eyed the large two floor house. The gravel drive that weaved through the forest towards the house opened up to a sizable circular drive, finishing at the back of the house.

Flat, irregularly shaped stones made a path, through the almost wild-looking grass, up to the backdoor of the structure. Siding made up of dark brown bricks in various shades, the roof was gray, and the window trims white. On either side of the back door, there were yellow rose bushes. Various other greenery and vine-like plants continued around the house. Size aside, from the outside there was no indication it was a clinic.

As it was still daylight, it would be hours before it officially opened. Yet, when he listened in, Foxx heard two heartbeats. One seemed to be in the front of the doctor's office, while the other, if he were to guess, was outside it. Both people were moving and awake. Both were vampires.

Foxx hesitated a moment before taking a deep breath, and walking past the back door, which he knew led into the clinic. Going around to the front, he knocked on the door there—the entrance, he assumed, led to Doc's living quarters. It could…only be Doc inside, right?

He didn't have to wait long. The door opened only a few seconds later. But then again, Foxx hadn't expected to wait long. He had heard the other vampire start moving towards the door when Foxx had.

Standing just out of range of the sun's rays, Doc stood in the doorway of his house in a pair of dark blue jeans, a green jumper, and black slippers. His long auburn hair was in a thick braid hanging over his shoulder, and Doc's pert freckled nose wrinkled slightly as the man's lips pursed while he eyed him. The vampire looked pretty awake, considering it was daylight outside.

Standing at least five inches taller than him, Doc's frame was muscular, but more on the slim, athletic side. It was likely nowhere near where it used to be when the man had been a highlander laird.

Head tilting slightly, a small smile slipped onto Doc's face. The smile almost hid the irritation Foxx had seen in the man's eyes on opening the door—almost.

"Should I have been expecting you, Foxx?" the vampire asked, his Scottish accent noticeable but barely. Give him time, and Foxx was sure he'd get the man speaking as if he had never left Scotland.

The man's gaze swept over him. "You don't look injured. And this is certainly not the entrance to my clinic…" The admonishment was clear, but Foxx was going to just ignore it, because he didn't care.

"I have something I need to show you," Foxx said vaguely.

"I suppose it would be rude of me to turn you away, uninvited or not." A small, and apparently sarcastic, smile still in place, the man backed up and waved him in. "Come in, come in."

He shrugged. "If you had been in your clinic, I would have gone there."

Doc let out a laugh of disbelief. "Oh? So sorry that me relaxing before opening my services has caused some inconvenience to you."

Foxx smiled on noting that the man's accent had gotten just a little bit thicker. "As long as you know."

Foxx eyed the place as he followed the man deeper into the house; the floors were wooden, while the walls were either a beautiful red wood, painted dark green, or brick. The man seemed to lean towards decorating his house in cool tones of gray-green, brown, and white.

The kitchen the man led him into was much the same, with gray-green cabinets, stove, and island, and matching speckled, gray countertops.

Against one wall, near a red wooden kitchen table that was slightly off center, placed a bit away from a large window, was a white display cabinet with glass doors that was full of dishes. Said kitchen table could probably sit eight, yet…there was only one green wooden chair.

Apparently, the man didn't like guests.

Sitting down, Doc picked up a yellow tea cup that he'd likely been drinking out of before Foxx had arrived. The vampire took a sip before raising a single brow and asking, "Well?"

"Have you seen the news?"

"Have I seen the possibly catastrophic breaking news that may lead to us once again being hunted down like animals? Is that what you are asking me?"

"No, I was talking about the dolphins they freed many states away! Yes, that fucking news, you ass." Foxx rolled his eyes. "Hold the snark for a second, Doc." Taking out his phone, he quickly pulled up the case email, scrolling to the videos. "What I'm going to show you hasn't been shared with the public."

Doc sighed, set his tea down and leaned forward when Foxx pressed play. The vampire started to frown. A frown that continued to deepen as Foxx moved to the next video once the first had finished.

When the last recording stopped, Doc looked up at him, his gaze narrowed and sharp. "Why are you here, Foxx?"

"Because I was one of the hunters that was sent there. And…in a moment of caution…I secretly…" He hesitated on thinking of the heartbeat he'd heard in the clinic. "Took something from the last vampire we came across," he finished vaguely as he pulled out the blood bag.

Doc eyed him silently, before reaching for the bag. Foxx stepped back. "It's all that is left, Doc." His gaze flicked in the direction of the clinic.

Sighing, the man stood. "Follow me."

Foxx pocketed the blood bag and followed the man through his house and into the clinic. Doc's clinic had white floors, sage green walls, and gray furniture. Those colors were an ongoing theme throughout. They sent a fake smile to the man's receptionist, who frowned in slight confusion as they passed her and headed into the back. It's likely she hadn't heard them talking at all, but the risk was just not worth taking at this point.

Foxx trailed behind the man as they walked down the hall, past the examination rooms, stopping in front of a silver door that looked…secure. It was marked Labs - Authorized Personnel Only . The man pulled open the thick metal door and waved him inside.

Foxx slowly walked in, eyeing the scripture that was engraved on the edge of the door where it met the wall. Doc's lab was on the larger size, and besides the walls being sage green, the rest was all white.

The outside of the room was lined with counters and cabinets, while in the middle there was a long island with chairs underneath. To the left of the island there looked to be an examination table, and to the right of that, in the only area where there wasn't counter space, was a sturdy-looking wooden desk, and a green desk chair. Medical equipment, and what he assumed was testing equipment, was everywhere.

Doc followed in after him. Closing the door behind them, the man turned no less than three locks before spinning to face Foxx.

"There, we are sealed in. It's soundproofed, and no one has a key except for me."

"You have to understand…the bodies were destroyed. No one knows. No one can know we have this. It's the only hope we have of stopping whatever Maverick is planning."

Foxx winced as the name slipped out. So much for vampires being good at secrets…

The man stiffened and crossed his arms. "So, I wasn't imagining the familiarity I felt on hearing that voice," the man said thickly, his accent out in full now.

"You've…met the man?"

"Unfortunately. But…" Doc smirked smugly. "Unlucky for him, I survived."

"Then I don't need to explain what would happen if the wrong people found out this exists, and that I gave it to you," Foxx said as he pulled out the blood bag and held it out to Doc—who took it without hesitation.

"Death and likely dismemberment, I'm sure." The man's smile grew. "Let's find out just how unlucky it was that Maverick failed to kill me in my moment of weakness, shall we… But first…" The vampire eyed Foxx, before dragging a chair over from under the island counter with his foot. "Take a seat. Tell me all that you saw, all that you know, and what you gathered from fighting these…infected vampires. Don't leave anything out. If we want to figure out what the hell they did, and how to stop it, I need to know everything."

Foxx took a deep breath as he sat down and started from the beginning.