CHAPTER XVI

Mary McQueen and John meet with an old friend of Mary's a few blocks away from the vast land owned by You know who.

She made a few calls to get him to bring weapons for them, to rescue Rachael and the twins.

Steven Gerard stands at 5'11ft, he has broad shoulders that carry a thin neck and a bald head.

He has light brown eyes and greybeards that beautify his sturdy-looking face.

His fair skin is tainted by a tattoo that covers the entirety of his upper arm.

He is an arms dealer but not the ordinary kind, the supernatural kind that sells stakes, wolfsbane and things like holy water.

His inventory is not limited to these kinds of weapons as his arsenal ranges from pistols to rocket launchers.

He stands with a stern face as he eyes John who returns his gaze with the same energy.

He is accompanied by Philip, also an old friend of Mary's.

Philip looks quite frantic as he helps ready the weapons.

Philip is 6ft tall, his hair is a mix of grey and brown, he has dark eyes and he is fair in complexion.

His face is clear and hairless but the energy he emits is quite visible as he moves swiftly and purposefully while wearing an excited look on his face.

Both men wear black leather jackets like bikers, they look like they are prepared for anything but John is not amused.

Mrs McQueen checks out the weapons alongside Philip while John and Steven stare at each other like they share an unknown history.

"What are you staring at, pretty boy?", Steven asks, feeling agitated.

John looks at him and grins, he moves closer about to give a rebuttal but suddenly falls to the ground and begins to vibrate violently.

"What the fuck is wrong with your friend?", Steven asks Mrs McQueen as they surround John.

"I have no fucking idea," she says, "Are you guys blind? He is having a seizure?" Philip says, "What the fuck are we going to do with him?", Steven asks.

Mrs McQueen is confused, all her years with John, she has never known him to have as much as a cold but right now before her eyes, he gets a seizure attack.

Like a human.

All of a sudden, the blond man stops moving and just lies still, "Is he alright?" Steven asks, "How I'm I suppose to know, Steven?" Mrs McQueen says with a hint of vexation.

Philip bends down to listen to his heartbeat but hears nothing, "I think he is dead", he says. "I only came here to deliver weapons, I'm not down for this shit", Steven says.

"Then fuck off", John says as he suddenly opens his eyes, the two men jump backward in shock.

Steven pulls out a gun and points it at John, "What the fuck?", "You were dead," Philip says, "Boy, I have been dead since the 1950s," John says as he stands up.

It finally dawns on them; this man is a vampire.

"Mary, what the fuck is going on? I thought you wanted to hunt down some vampires" Steven asks feeling very uncomfortable with the present development, "Yes," she answers, "Then why is he here?".

"He is not like the rest and he is on my side. I can vouch for him," Mrs McQueen says, "Look, you can be wary of me but right now we have a job to do" John says.

"I'm out of here" Steven says as he walks to his mustang and gets in, "Are you coming?" he asks Philip.

The 6foot man looks at the ground before he looks back at Steven and shakes his head, "Suit yourself, I'm out of here", Steven says and drives off.

John turns and looks at the slender-looking man, he can sense his wariness; "Don't worry, I won't bite" John says.

"What the hell was that John?", Mrs McQueen asks.

"It's Gabriel, I know where they are but we are going to need a distraction. A big one", he says.

Philip and Mrs McQueen glance at each other and share a smile, forgetting how strange John's statement sound.

"Why are you two smiling?", John looks at them, perplexed by their expression.

"We have a goddamn rocket launcher", Mrs McQueen says with a smile and John can almost feel the excitement wriggling in her bones.

Crazy old lady.

The trio, Mrs McQueen, John and Philip, concoct a plan to distract Dracula's guards while John goes to the dungeon to rescue Rachael and the twins.

It isn't easy for John to take Mary and Philip seriously as they seem overly excited about using a rocket launcher on a bunch of vampires while John wonders how the situation developed into its present state.

"Let's hope this works or we are fucked", John says.

Mrs McQueen brings out an EMP device from the trunk of the car and hands it to Philip, "Let's do this", Mrs McQueen and Philip enter the car and drive towards his lair, Count Dracula's lair.

"Give me the dagger," John says to Mrs McQueen and she pulls it out of the car's pigeon hole. She gives it to John and he screams in pain as the heel of the dagger burns his hand.

"What the hell?" he laments, "Looks like vampires can't hold the dagger. Quite convenient," she says.

John pulls his jacket and covers his hand, "I can hold it this way". He collects the dagger and covers it in his jacket.

"Now, let's get going".

John stares at the car as they move towards this historical obstacle and a being he has sworn to see die.

Dracula's Lair.

Dungeon.

Gabriel and Samuel lean against the wall opposite each other, Samuel stares at his brother as he slipped into a trance. He looks at him and wonders why?

Why does Gabriel want Rachael? Is it because of guilt for her father or does he have feelings for the human?

He wonders why he stalked her in the shadows the first day she and John walked into their club.

He must have sensed Frank's scent on her but he did not want to believe it. He should have known Rachael, after all, he had a little history with McQueens.

Or did the McQueens hide her from him?

"Why are you looking at me?", Gabriel says as he wakes up and feels Samuel's gaze.

"Do you like Rachael or do you feel pity for her since you practically led her father to his death?", Samuel asks bluntly.

"What is your problem, man?", Gabriel is not amused.

"First, you are cold to Frank. You let him do some stuff for you and he gives good results then you entertain him expecting him to die.

He dies but he still delivers anyway but you can't fulfill your part of the deal because he is already dead.

Rachael comes along and once you are sure she is Frank's kid; you start treating her nicely.

So, I am curious brother", Samuel says.

"What game are you playing at?" he asks Gabriel.

"What the hell are you talking about?", Gabriel asks as he wonders what led to these questions.

Samuel pauses and holds a gaze with Gabriel, "I want to take her", he suddenly says, "Take her where?".

"Well, that's none of your business", "If you touch one hair on her body, I will fucking kill you", Gabriel threatens and Samuel giggles.

"So, you have feelings for her", "I didn't say that" "Good".

Gabriel is confused.

Why is Samuel being nosy about this? Is he interested in her?

No, it can't be. For as long as Gabriel knows, his brother has always been one to use people only when he deems it fit.

Most of their acquaintances think Gabriel is the dangerous one because he can be direct but he knows that's not true.

His brother is a psychopath who just puts the nice guy look as a front when in reality everyone else to him is an object.

Could it be that meeting Rachael has done something to him?

"You are acting weird, Sammy," he says, "O, am I? Don't blame me when you've lost" "Dickhead".

Samuel may not be far from the truth, after all, I still do feel guilty that I sent Frank to an early grave but does that have anything to do with the way I feel about Rachael?

Gabriel ponders.

Actually, what do I feel for Rachael?