63: The Prey that Escaped

The car screeched to a stop and Rick Hudson emerged from it in a hurry. Sandra had ordered her men to have the auditorium evacuated. She didn't want anyone else to bear witness. What she wanted to tell Rick, needed to be open and unrestricted. Evacuation had been a piece of cake. Her henchmen had simply put off a fire alarm and the rest happened by itself. The people scrambled out of the establishment, without even sparing a minute to see if there was a fire to begin with while the owners of the flowers called their employees that brought their vehicles through the back door to retrieve the flora. When Rick entered the auditorium, all he could find was a wave of people running out of the building for safety. He saw the look on his wife’s face and got the hint that something was up. Her expressions gave away that he wasn't going to like what she wanted to tell him. Rick sighed and slowly walked through the oncoming crowd. He waited for the chaos to fade so that his wife could speak her mind. The place looked deserted in a matter of seconds. The vampires wearing all sorts of outfits dutifully gathered around the couple.

“He showed up, didn't he?”, Rick disappointedly asked without attempting to mask his unhappiness with the proceedings. Sandra had expected him to be uneasy with her decision but he was just straight up pissed. The vampires trembled in fear, dreading what was about to come. They had never seen anyone of the couple angry at the other.

“Please Rick, you need to hear me out”, Sandra pleaded but her husband was in no mood. He turned around to get back to his car. “There’s someone else who benefits from the war”, she added. It didn't seem to have much effect on Rick. Sandra was desperate to make him listen. “It’s the caller who got our Sam killed!”, she pleaded. It stopped Rick in his tracks. Sandra was at ease. She was sure that she could convince her husband now. Rick turned back to face her and her hopes shattered. He was angrier than before.

“Let me guess. You fucking bought it?”, Rick yelled and Sandra felt her throat dry up. She was out of words. “That murdering piece of shit fed you with lies and you want me to believe them? He ambushed our son and killed him! That‘s fucking it! There’s no third party! No benefactors of the war! And no one else but that Hal-Eck who killed our innocent son!”, he yelled at her wife who gawked back at him, wondering how she could possibly calm someone that angry. He was glaring into her soul. She was feeling extremely uneasy. She loved the man to death but he was not to be messed around with. “The murderer of our only son was at an arm’s length from you and you let him walk away breathing. Is there any universe where you can explain this shit to me?”, he inquired.

“Just like an anonymous phone call informed me of his coming, he claims to have received a similar call yesterday that told him your whereabouts”, she tried her best to explain it to him. Rick was shaking his head. “He says an anonymous call informed him when Sam was on his way to him”, she added to try and penetrate through his anger. He wasn't budging. Sandra hoped against hope that her husband would see the light. He stood there slowly shaking his head. Something told her that it was making sense to Rick but he didn't want to believe it. She awaited his response.

“They killed Ron”, Rick revealed, trying to ignite a flare of rage inside Sandra. He nearly succeeded. It was news for Sandra. Ron had been like family to the couple. It took all of her resolve to contain her emotions. He stared at her, awaiting an emotional fallout which never came.

“What was Ron doing when he was killed?”, she inquired, doing her best to muffle her emotions. Rick looked away. He knew that the answer would prove her point.

“You should have finished it when you had the chance”, Rick finally muttered and paced out of the building. Sandra ran after him to try and stop him but he quickly marched to his car and drove away. None of the vampires had the courage to interfere. Sandra stood at the parking lot in the middle of smoke and dust left behind by Rick’s car. She wondered if she should have used her powers to stop him but she discarded the idea. It would have made him angrier. She dreaded what he would do if not stopped. The rest of the vampires in the building finally grew some spine and followed her outside. They awaited her commands. She stood there silently for a while before finally ordering them to keep an eye on Rick to keep him safe. They spread out immediately.

Rick’s car darted through the streets and navigated the roads in a blur. He was fuming with rage. He couldn't believe that his wife could possibly do that. What was done, was done. He would not repeat the same mistake. The next time Hal-Eck appears in front of him, he doesn't walk out of it alive, Rick decided. ‘For fuck’s sake Sandy! Sam was your son too!’, Ricked screamed alone in the car and punched the steering wheel. He wanted to skin Aaron alive but his wife had wasted an opportunity of a lifetime. He had no idea where Aaron or his friends would be now. Rick had no leads and his best resource in Ronald was no longer available. The task that he toyed with a week ago, seemed impossible now. His phone rang and attracted his attention. He rolled his eyes in irritation as he was half certain that it was his wife attempting to stop him from having his son’s revenge. He reluctantly checked his phone and found it mentioning ‘Restricted number’ on the screen. Her wife’s words about anonymous calls echoed in his ears. He shook off the thought. He was convinced that it was another ploy of the werewolves to save their Alpha from his wrath. He picked up the phone and awaited the first words to fire back with all sorts of insults. There was a long silence. Rick was about to hang up when the silence was broken.

“Hal-Eck is staying the night at Hotel Rose Royale”, a dry voice spoke from the other side and hung up before Rick could even fathom what the voice had said. All the responses that Rick had kept at the tip of his tongue were rendered useless in a moment. He sat in the car motionlessly, clutching his phone in one hand. He wondered if it was another attempt to lure another Hudson into an ambush. He ditched the idea, thinking that it would take a huge moron to expect Rick Hudson to arrive at the location without backup. He didn't even need reinforcements. His powers were backup enough. He concluded that the call was not from the werewolves. Whoever they are, they want Hal-Eck killed and I won’t keep them waiting, he thought to himself.