Phase One, Pt. 2

Emily made her way through the crowd, miraculously not spilling a drop of her drink as she was jostled. Cameron had to give her props where they were due. If it had been him, that drink would have long been on the floor.

First, Emily walks through the crowd on the dance floor, gauging the crowd. Then, when she's satisfied with that, she walks the perimeter, playing the part of a buzzed young woman. As expected, no one really bothers her other than men trying to hit on her. She turns them all down, but not without flirting slightly first.

When she's spending too much time talking to one such man, Cameron quietly speaks into his own headset. "Emily, knock it off. You're on a mission remember?"

She leaves the conversation and whispers when she's away from prying ears. "Oh, is my Cammy jealous?"

"Not in your wildest dreams. How are we looking on guards?"

In the camera view, Cameron sees her looking around the edge of the club. Approximately every ten feet there's a guard standing up against the wall. They're pretty obvious about it, wearing suits and larger headsets. Just by looking at them, you can tell they're werewolves, simply based on their build. Werewolves were known for being bulky with muscle, due to the running they do while in wolf form. They were going to be an issue if anyone got caught during the big infiltration later on.

Emily walks around the club, drawing near the VIP lounge. She tries to get in, but the bouncer standing at the stairs to the raised balcony turns her down. Luckily, the spot isn't too high up, so she does get a view of how it's set up. Large private booths fill the space, most of them already occupied by groups of people. It was hard to make out faces at the distance though. Cam started chewing on his thumbnail, a bad habit from a few centuries ago.

Lawrence smacks his hand away. "Dude, stop. We're going good so far, okay?"

Cameron lets out a sigh and continues to watch the feed. Emily was going through the crowd again, drink gone, talking and dancing with various people. From what they could hear, she was trying to casually get information about the club. After about an hour of this, she finally walks out. Once outside, she gives the signal for the guys to meet her at the SUV. They quickly paid for their drinks, leaving a generous tip, and started back to the parking garage.

So far, everything was going smoothly. Once they made it back, Lawrence hopped behind the wheel, Cameron sliding into the passenger seat beside him, leaving Emily to sit in the back. They started the short journey back to the hotel, not saying anything until they were in the comfort of their suite.

"So," Emily started, tossing her heels across the room. "There are guards everywhere. When you guys go in, you need to be really careful. And I can tell you right now, Wolfsbane and Crimson will be in VIP, so one of you needs to find a way in." She unzips the back of her dress and slips it off right there in the living room. At first, Cameron was terrified that she'd be nude, but luckily, she was wearing a tank top and shorts. Granted, they were extremely short, but it was better than nothing.

Cameron directs his mind back to the task at hand. How to get into the VIP lounge? Then, a lightbulb went off in his head. "I'm a Demonte. My family is well known, even outside of the Vampire community. I think I can get in."

Lawrence considers the idea. " Yeah, good point. You've always managed to pull crap out of your ass"

Cameron shakes his head at Lawrence's comment. His friend was always the pure opposite of eloquent, but at least he got his point across.

Emily places her hands on her hips. "But what are we going to do about Crimson? You'd have to keep your distance."

"What do you mean,?" Cameron asks.

"Well duh, weren't you there when he turned that girl? What if he saw your face?"

Cameron hadn't considered that. She had a good point. But that night was dark, and he had just approached the man when he ran off. "I don't think he saw much. It should be fine. Besides, I'm a Demonte. No one would dare touch me."

Lawrence looked uncertain by this statement, but he didn't say anything. All Cameron could do was sigh. He wanted to be useful. If he were honest actually, he wanted to do everything himself. He wanted to be responsible for taking down the beast they were hunting.

"Listen," Cameron said, "This will work, we just need to be careful about it." He looked over at Emily. "Now, will you please go put something else on? I can't stand seeing so much of you. It'll ruin my night if you stay that way much longer."

Emily rolled her eyes but complied and walked to her room without a word. Cameron was grateful for that, he hated arguing with her. He knew it was harsh, but he just couldn't remember what he had seen in her.

Cameron pushed the thoughts aside and addressed Lawrence. "What's on your mind?" Having known him so long, Cameron could tell when he was thinking about something serious.

Lawrence gave him a serious look, his eyes filled with worry. "Cam, bud, I'm worried you'll do something stupid."

" What do you mean?"

" What do I mean? I mean if you come face to face with Crimson, you're going to lose your cool and try to take him down."

Cameron pauses before he answers. Lawrence had a point. Could Cameron control himself in that situation? Since bonding with Terra, only made his anger toward the situation grow. " I'll try my best not to. If I get close, I'll back away and avoid him. That's the best I can do."

Lawrence stares into his eyes, issuing a warning without saying a word. Cameron knew exactly what would happen if he messed this up. Lawrence had taken care of Cameron as they were growing up, so he knew exactly how to make Cameron regret certain decisions.

Cameron is the first to look away, admitting defeat. "I'll be careful to control my temper."

Lawrence nods, satisfied with the answer, for now. "Good. Now let's eat something. The smell of food at that dinner made me hungry as hell."

Cameron laughs for the first time since going on this trip. Only Lawrence could draw laughter from him in this situation. Cameron tosses a room service menu to Lawrence. "Here, go nuts."

Lawrence looks at Cameron like he's crazy "Are you sure," he asks. "Isn't your aunt flipping the bill for this?"

"Technically," Cameron says, a smile spreading across his face. "Yes, but the Council is in control of the operation. Either way, I don't care."

Lawrence practically cackles. "That's good to know because I've been ordering Pay-Per-View since we got here."

In a rare show, the two high five. It wasn't a common gesture for them, having grown up in a time where it didn't exist, but when the situation called for it, they just couldn't help themselves. At this point, Emily walks out of her room, still wearing a tank top, but at least this time she's dressed in long pajama bottoms. Cameron breathes an internal sigh of relief. He didn't want to have a fight with her about the state of dress she's in.

Lawrence picks up the hotel phone and, dialing the front desk, orders food for everyone. From the sounds of it, Cameron can tell that he's sparing no expense. This brought an unusual sense of pleasure to him. He couldn't wait to see President Knightwood's face when she got the bill.

All three of them sit down on the couches with the intention of talking strategy, but Lawrence turned on a movie instead. Cameron was confused. "What are you doing?" His friend had a habit of losing himself in movies or TV shows, and this would not be a good idea if they were going to talk about what to do next.

Lawrence sighs. "Chill out, we've had a very long night. We need to relax a little bit while we're here, otherwise, we'll blow ourselves out by the time the big part comes."

Cameron grumbles. He hates it when Lawrence had a point. If he were being honest, his shoulders were holding a lot of tension with all of the stress. He deeply wished Terra were here so that she could rub away the worry and fatigue. He rested his head on the back of the couch. "Fine, you're right. Just don't put on something stupid."

Lawrence glares at him. "How dare you? You liked the Muppets and you know it."

Emily's eyes grow wide and she starts laughing. "Wait, you? You of all people liked the Muppets?" She doubles over laughing. Cameron rolled his eyes. Between bursts, Emily continued. "You're like, the most brooding person I know! How could YOU like the Muppets."

Cameron groaned. This was going to be a very long night.