"You're absolutely sure?" asked Elias, but he didn't move any closer to the body. Morgan was doing her best not to disturb the corpse too much - the coroners always snapped at anyone who messed around - but she twisted the head this way and that.<br/><br/>"Yeah, definitely sure. Unless she got stabbed by some thick needle or splinter, these are definitely fang wounds," she answered, swallowing down some bile threatening to rise from her stomach. She could withstand the sight of blood; any Enforcer had to be able to do that. But this... this just seemed wrong. The presence of vampires was no secret in Onyxport. Every major city seemed to have some crazy, supernatural creature living amongst its shadows. For Archelm, it was werewolves, and for Plumere, it was tengu. Morgan had only been to those places, but she was sure some of the smaller cities and villages had their own litany of things to worry about. All Morgan knew for sure was that wherever vampires were, bad news - and death - followed.<br/><br/>"Dammit all," Elias huffed, running a hand through his thinning hair. Normally, Morgan might have made fun of him for pulling out what little was left, but now wasn't the time for jokes.<br/><br/>"I know. This isn't good," she started, but Elias scoffed.<br/><br/>"This is more than just<i>not good</i>," he said. "This is beyond bad! We need to tell the Commander right now! The body's still fresh and--"<br/><br/>"Yes, the body's still fresh, and if we don't hurry up and find the vampire who did this, they'll be gone by the time the Commander gets here!" Morgan retorted, finally standing to face her partner. "I know we have to follow protocol--"<br/><br/>"You're damn right we do, Morgan." Elias rarely called her by her first name, despite how often they worked together. "You know better than most that we need a plan. A<i>solid </i>plan. We can't just run in there and hope to defend ourselves against those bloodsuckers!" Morgan bit her lip and glanced at the ground, carefully breathing through her nose. Elias was right; she was more than aware of that. It simply felt wrong to leave the dead woman here and run with their tails between their legs back to their Commander.<br/><br/>"One of us should stay with the body then. We can't risk any more vampires coming to remove the evidence. If they do, we'll have nothing to go on," she said, looking down at the corpse once more. Her neck was still twisted in a grotesque angle, and Morgan forced herself to look back at Elias's face. If nothing else, it was a familiar sight that helped focus her mind. "You go. You're faster than I am."<br/><br/>"Morgan," he said, watching her gray eyes harden with resolve, "...be careful, alright? Shoot your flare if you're in trouble. You know that."<br/><br/>"Of course I do. It's protocol, remember?" At that, they both grinned just a little bit, despite the severity of the situation. Elias started to jog away, the rain forcing him to go slower. "Elias, wait!" He turned to look back at her, a questioning look on his face. "Where's the closest vampire club? I just... I just want to know what direction to pay attention to. If anyone's coming to remove the body, it's from one of those places. They have dumping grounds," she explained.<br/><br/>"The Coven, back that way," he stuck his arm out to the east, toward another narrow alley, "but those vampires don't do much of anything. Not that any of them would care anyway. We're just food to them," he growled, trying to maintain his composure. He shook water off his face and huddled into his coat. "I'll be back soon. Stay safe." Morgan nodded, watching him dash off into the night.<br/><br/>It took about 10 seconds for the Enforcer to confirm that her partner was truly away before she jogged forward, right into the direction where the Coven was. The vampires had to know something there, and if they didn't, they could at least rule out some suspects. Maybe it was a terrible idea to wander into a vampire club alone, but she had her weapons. Silver bullets slowed them, and every Enforcer was equipped with a quart of holy water blessed by the highest priests of whatever religious order was most compliant.<br/><br/>Morgan bit her lip, but she steeled herself as she neared a dimly lit building with hooded figures wandering in and out. Two hulking figures guarded the entrance, and the woman fixed her jacket to make sure that the symbol of the Enforcers was clearly visible, no matter what. The sword symbol seemed to gleam despite the lack of light, the silver fist gripping the hilt glinting. The scale balanced on the guard glowed gold, displaying the idea of balance and justice all in one complex piece of metal fastened to her coat, just over her heart. It gave her some kind of determination, allowing her to walk forward to the two bouncers.<br/><br/>"I need to speak with your club owner," she said, doing her best to keep any wavering out of her voice. "It's urgent Enforcer business."<i>And it's damn cold out here, </i>she added silently, but she didn't try to hide away in her coat. She had to be strong in front of these vampires or risk being ridiculed, or worse, bitten.