62: Abort Mission

The conversation with Sandra Hudson was turning out to be more fruitful than either party’s expectations. The mention of the anonymous phone call had spun all sorts of webs in Aaron’s mind and when he had spoken about the anonymous calls he had been receiving, Sandra’s expressions weren't too different from that of Aaron’s.

“If your people don't call you on your phone who can it be?”, Sandra asked. Aaron shrugged. He had no guesses left. Sandra was puzzled as it was and Aaron hadn't even told her about the latest one yet. “How many of those phone calls have you received?”, she asked, sounding genuinely curious.

“Only a handful of times but I didn't think much of them at first. I thought they were from our elders”, he responded and Sandra was in deep thought. Sophie sneaked a peek and got the hint that the interaction wasn't going on as bitterly as it had begun. “The latest one was received last night”, he added grimly. Sandra stared at him in shock.

“What?! What did it say?!”, she forcefully inquired. Aaron understood the urgency in her tone. But he feared that she wouldn't believe him.

“It only spoke for three seconds before hanging up but in those three seconds it gave me the most dangerous piece of information that could destroy the balance of the underworld if it fell into the wrong hands”, he answered gravely. Sandra awaited the precise answer restlessly. Aaron decided to kill the suspense. It wasn't going to do him any good. “It gave me the exact whereabouts of your husband just when I was contemplating something stupid”, he revealed and as expected, Sandra’s jaw was on the floor but she seemed to believe it. “It was the phone call that made me ditch my suicidal plans and seek you out”, he added.

“Someone wants YOU to kill Rick, that’s for sure. But who? Who stands to benefit from this fight?”, she spoke to herself. Aaron shrugged gullibly. “And it’s probably the same caller who wants ME to kill you!”, she added without looking into his eyes. That remark hit Aaron like a truck. ‘Same caller?!’, Aaron thought to himself. Sandra caught the look on his face. She had intended to let him in.

“An anonymous phone call informed me in the morning that you were on your way to me”, she revealed. Aaron stared at her with his eyes about to pop out. “You’ve walked right into an ambush Mr. Alpha. Your three friends are not the only ones keeping an eye on this conversation. Half the crowd in this auditorium is vampire, including the girl who gave you that obnoxious brochure”, she added.

“Why am I still breathing?”, Aaron asked, sounding defeated.

“Because I believe you. The moment I saw that bloodthirsty werewolf with you, I was sure that you had come to attack me but what you’ve told me says otherwise”, Sandra expressed.

“Everyone nonviolent on my side has been killed by your husband”, Aaron responded.

“Fair enough”, Sandra said and nodded. They stood there silently for a while. The interaction had gone better than Aaron’s wildest dreams.

“Now what?”, Aaron asked curiously about the future.

“Now we need to keep our differences aside and find the anonymous benefactor of the bloodshed”, Sandra suggested. Aaron couldn't agree more.

“I’ll share everything with you”, he told her and Sandra was grateful. He turned around to leave and found everyone in the auditorium staring at him. He stopped in his tracks. Sandra realized that she should tell the vampires about the change in plans. Before she could speak one word, a dozen vampires lunged at Aaron at a blinding speed. Aaron could barely see them. Their true monstrous forms were visible in the brief window of sight. The gray skins, red eyes, intimidating fangs and long nails were unmistakable. Aaron was convinced that Sandra had played him. He helplessly covered his head with his hands. Without his powers, he was as strong against the vampires as the next man. He braced for impact. Sandra stepped in front of him and signaled the vampires to stop. They needed more than a signal to stop now. They had already thrown their hands at him and it was only a matter of milliseconds that the blows landed on him. She decided to act. Sandra grabbed all of them and hurled them at the wall to her side in a blur. Aaron caught a glimpse of a shining silver form in her when she made her move. The strength was unmatched. It was more than anything he had ever seen before. Boris, Sophie and Mike stared at the scene in disbelief. They couldn’t believe what they had just seen. Boris was still contemplating turning into a werewolf when the entire fight started and ended. He had never witnessed something that fast. He was glad that he didn't turn. Nobody would’ve seen the blurry vampires but a werewolf among the people would have been a spectacle that he wanted to avoid. The rest of the auditorium stared in Sandra’s and Aaron’s direction because of the noise. The vampires were lying behind an abandoned stage, obscured from the common eyes. The people soon went back to their business. Sandra looked back at Aaron and found him staring at her in shock.

“You’re the High Lord?”, Aaron asked, failing to mask his surprise and confusion. There were no doubts in Boris’s mind either. Sandra simply nodded. It was apparent in her sad expressions that she wanted to keep it behind the curtains.

“Rick will be here anytime now. You need to be gone before he arrives. I’ll try to explain everything to him”, Sandra said and suggested Aaron to leave. He didn't think twice. He waved to his friends and paced out of the auditorium. He and his friends ignored the shunning glares and hateful stares on their way out. The vampires in the auditorium were too many to count. It was sheer dumb luck that Sandra had decided to hear him out beforehand. If she hadn't, the vampires would’ve made quick work of them. Aaron took his friends out and they went to the car as soon as they could. They sat there silently for a while with their eyes stretched wide.

“What the hell just happened?!”, Sophie abruptly asked. Mike had the same question in his mind but he couldn't get himself to speak a word.

“Rick Hudson isn’t the Vampire High Lord, Sandra is. What you just witnessed was the power of a hundred adult vampires in one body”, Boris explained and spared Aaron the uneasiness. “Did she just save us?”, Boris asked Aaron. Sophie and Mike stared at him and awaited a response. Aaron nodded in affirmation without looking at them.

“She also got an anonymous call and so did Sam before he met me. She suggests that we look for the caller”, Aaron spoke in a hushed tone. Boris was shocked to hear about the phone call. The one that Aaron had received in front of him had pulled Boris’s legs from under him. He didn't look forward to seeing another player in the dirty game. He still had no idea who could gain from such a war. An over-decorated car entered the parking lot and attracted everybody’s attention. It didn't take them a lot of time to recognize the white clad man inside it. Rick Hudson had arrived. It was their cue to disappear.