Path of the Vampire forum

Mona McGee: Mona had learned a long time ago dressing punk as she did had major advantages... she bent and slid the knife into the sheath that was on her boot the handle shaped like a pair of brass knuckles in plain view but anyone that looked at her garb with its chains and spikes would mistake it easily for a decorative item as she knelt there she saw a tall sandy haired man dressed remarkably well emerge from a nearby sewer access point . What the hell is a man in a suit then she got a closer look as he walked past a street lamp ... She froze She knew what he was ... maybe she should find out exactly who he was. She started to walk down the street very cautiously ... His kind were not easy to track and She might be damned in more ways than one if she were caught

Doc: The thing about people who dressed punk, they stood out, and they typically made noise that they, themselves become deaf too. No matter how quiet they tried to be, their pleather, leather, or chains always made noise. So it wasn't hard for Doc to realize he was he being followed. He paused to admire a dress in a boutique window. He knew someone that would look nice on. He pulled his cell and snapped a photo of it. Then he texted it to Ariadne. She loved dresses and she liked to have excuses to wear them as well. And since he had a 'tail' following him, he figured he would bore them silly with his meanderings.

Mona McGee: Mona leaned against a street lamp and lit a cigarette She watched as he took a picture of a dress and she cursed herself for leaving her camera in the side bag on her bike. She had her cell with her she could snap a picture of him with that but it would mean being close to him and him being very aware that she had taken it ... that was not a risk she wanted to take.

Doc: Doc wandered absently through the streets, his real destination forgotten for the moment. He was tempted to round a corner and melt into the shadows before she made the corner herself. But perhaps in time. First he wanted to see how determined she was at following him. So he headed to the Mall. People either loved or hated the mall. The fact he headed that way, may be enough to make the female decide to move on.

Mona McGee: Mona was growing weary he was headed to the mall looked like the guy had shopping on his mind and it would take hours for him to decided to head to wherever he called home or anyplace she could find out who he was. She watched as he went into the mall and cursed to herself ... Then decided what the hell at least she could check in at The Chop shop and see if Brock needed her for anything if she lost him in the throng of people .

Doc: Doc had to hand it to her, she was tenacious, her steps had slowed as she if she were rethinking going into the mall, but his smirk of amusement was short lived as her steps again quickened with a new sense of determination. Alright, so be it. He headed to Quartermaine's, picked out a jewelry bead for the spawn's bracelet, and made arrangements for it to be delivered, then he left the mall again. If she followed him out, he would confront her.

Mona McGee: Mona watched as he went into Quartermaine's and started shopping a bolt of inspiration Hit her she went around the corner and into the shop she was looking for she didn't bother with niceties she snatched a paint ball gun from the little boy and shoved a 100 dollar bill into his hand and she headed back out and found her vantage point by the escalators This shopping trip was about to be cut short, but before she could get her shot in he headed toward the exit.. She growled 100 bucks wasted for nothing ... She went out the mall exit and looked around he was already a good distance up the street but his pace wasn't what it was before Maybe she was pushing her luck, Then a thought hit her ... she dug into her pocket and found the wallet she had lifted earlier. She took off into a run and Started yelling “hey mister Hey mister..” Waving the wallet in the air like a mad woman toward him ...

Doc: Doc heard her calling, he lifted an eyebrow. She was tired of following him, and ready to take the bull by the horns as it were. Alright, he would play her game. He glanced over his shoulder as if he were unsure she were calling to him, like most anyone would do. Then seeing her waving the wallet, he made an obvious reach for his wallet and called back, "Not mine..but thanks." just before rounding the corner and melting into the shadows.

Mona McGee: Mona sighed as she rounded the corner and he was no where in sight Either he had caught on to her or had just did as they usually tended to do vanish ... Well now that she was on this side of town she could either check in with Brock .. Or better yet she pulled out the phone and dialed the number for the old man ... “Hey pops . Yeah doing good Hey i was just near Quartermaine's ... Some dude i was trailing bought something in there ... You wanna go take a break and we can get some Chicken at the Chicken Shack with me ?" She headed back toward the mall It would be good to visit with the Old man.

Doc: Doc now followed her. She headed back toward the mall. He heard her conversation with 'Pops'. He found out she had a penchant for chicken from the Chicken Shack. He moved in closer and blow softly at her ear. He then backed off to judge her reaction from relative safety. She wasn't stupid, she would know it wasn't a breeze. So what would she do?

Mona McGee: Moan stopped and looked around casually she found one of the benches that littered the area around the mall and took out her cigarette case, she used the pretense checking makeup as an excuse to give the area a good look over and see exactly how many fangers were lurking about ... aparently the area was relatively free except for the one she had been trailing, and now she was just paranoid enough to believe she had one as well ... So she sat there on the bench for a few moments ... and waited taking long drags off her cigarette .

Doc: He grinned ferally as he spooked her. He knew he had spooked her, because she was supposed to meet her ‘Pops’ for chicken dinner. She wouldn’t be nonchalantly smoking a cigarette as if she had nowhere to go, if he hadn’t. She was busy scoping out the area, trying to see what she could see. But Doc could be patient when he was stalking prey. There was something primal about the feeling he got when he picked one out and started the process. And he had just picked one out. She could wait until daylight, that was the only way he would back off her now.

Mona McGee: Mona had went into the forest and she was sure she had picked up a tick she could feel him crawling all over her but she couldn't see him .... It would do no good for her to go and meet Andy now She could have convinced him to look at the security tape for her and see if he recognized the dude or at least have gotten a picture of him to show around to some of the other paladins to see if they knew ... but if he was following her she had bigger problems to deal with she put her cigarette out in the receptacle they had provided for smokers She had wanted to know who he was and Now he wanted to know who she was . She knew how to fix this problem ... "I know you’re there ... Why don't you just come out so we can meet formally?"

Doc: Show his hand? Now, when he was having so much fun? No. She could think she knew he was there, but did she really know? No, she didn’t. Of course she would tell herself she did, until the doubts start. The doubts always started. Was there someone there? Or was she being foolish. And how foolish did she look now, talking to someone not there. Half the fun of the hunt was to make the prey react out of their normal patterns. So she ‘knew’ he was here now or at least she thought she did; but what about tomorrow or the next day? Would she know then, that he was there and when he wasn’t? No. But she would start reacting like she did, if she were smart. And that thought always amused him. Minx became so paranoid he was able to get her locked in the psyche ward. But now he owned an asylum. He grinned.

Mona McGee: She waited a bit then shrugged If he was following her he could follow her she knew how to cure curiosity ... She punched the number on her phone “Hey Pops I wont be able to make it ... No nothing's wrong I'm just going to head into work and tear apart a few clunkers that Brock drug in for parts ... Yeah if i get some spare time We will do the chicken or I’ll drag you out for a drink, Ok you stay safe too." She hung up and headed back into the mall.

Doc: The grin turned crooked as she set off for the mall. It would be harder to follow her in the mall, as he would have stay close to the walls where the shadows were more populated, but it could be done. He preferred a challenge; it made the kill all that more enjoyable. It wasn't as difficult as he thought it might be.. since her attire made her pretty easy to spot even from afar.

Mona McGee: Mona headed up the escalator and then took the right that lead her past Jasmines chicken shack She kept on going then hung a right that took her to the Chop shop it was an unassuming place up front They took old cars apart salvaged parts and detailed and saved the ones that could be saved The back was where all of the action happens Mona went through the empty public space and pushed through the door that said Employees only she took off her jacket her shoulder holster visible and slung the jacket on a old office chair she walked up to a crumpled up hulk of a car Brock had pulled in from a old salvage yard the body was totally wasted but a lot of the motor parts were going to be totally salvageable when rebuilt She opened up her tool box and leaned over the engine and started
to work.

Doc: Doc followed her to the Chop Shop. She had said on the phone that she was going to work. If she worked here, then there would be records, payroll, taxes, and those records would would list the employees, along with her name. Once he had her name, the rest would be easier. And he just happened to know a damn fine hacker. He had what he needed for the moment. Still in shadows, he sauntered out.

Mona McGee: Mona didn't hear the door open they kept a bell on the thing just so that it would ring if anyone breached the employees area after a couple of hours she assumed he had given up or was waiting to tail her at some other point ... Just to be safe though she picked her phone up and called Brock.

Doc: It was a few hours later, when he got what he was looking for, he had her name. (Quote: You have managed to get a mole inside The Chop Shop, with the purpose of stealing company secrets so that you can damage their potential future profits by releasing the information earlier than they had planned. Thankfully, the mole brings you valuable information without getting caught. )

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a few days later
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Mona McGee: Could Mona consider herself a Murderer? Of course she could but it was always in self defense; some of those so called hunters had went mad with their zealous vampire hunting. Staying in the sewers living on the refuse down there. She no longer considered any of them her kind even though the Paladins had taught her how to use their powers. Maybe god had a purpose for them she did not . She emerged out of the sewers and took a breath of fresh air not that this neighborhood was known for its beauty or freshness ... She looked around and spotted the building it had Genesis labs plastered on the sign in front. Why would a medical facility pick this slum . She didn't know but the abandoned factory and the old forge they had left abandoned was her goal.

Doc: Why would a medical facility pick the Newborough slum? Because it was about the location to the transit, a bank and the university. Yes. The University. However, that wasn't important. What was important was that the Goth girl was in his neighborhood. What had she discovered? Or was it a lucky byproduct that brought her here? He was pretty sure she hadn't spotted him. He had been out for a cigarette, when he saw her. He crushed the cigarette out, and followed her.

Mona McGee: Mona had on jeans for a change it wouldn't pay to get hot metal against the skin she had been working on a few things at the forge since she had discovered it Her walks in the forbidden areas of this city had become quite fruitful. She picked up all the old swords and things that others might consider junk some of the parts were quite beautiful and intricately designed she would put her experience at the chop shop to a new use by forging new items out of the old. She made her way through the dusty factory and she made haste starting up the equipment it seemed to take forever for it to reach the right temperatures. While she was waiting she pulled out her latest project she was quite pleased with the long sword she found her whetstone and unceremoniously spit on it and started to draw it up the blade slowly

Doc: Doc watched from the shadows as the girl, that had followed him a few night before, started working on sharpening a blade. The girl he had later found out was called Mona. Mona McGee. He had not followed up on it as of yet, because he wasn't inclined to run into her yet. Timing was critical when stalking someone. You started slow. So they didn't realize they were being stalked. However, he had not expected her to end up in his neighborhood quite so soon.

Mona McGee: Mona felt a sudden chill run through her despite the extreme heat of the forge... the sweat from her body had already soaked through the t shirt she was wearing . She went and flipped on the industrial sized fan that sat on the floor it blew a wave of dust in the air and she sighed a bit of relief but the chill wasn't from being overly hot it was the goosebumps you get on the back of your neck when you feel like you're being watched ... It wouldn't be the first time someone had watched Mona here usually it was a old bum come in from the cold or rain Most times they just left her alone and there were a few that she had gotten quite friendly with and Shared a bottle occasionally . She looked around and waited a moment while she cooled off . They would either show themselves or not

Mona McGee: but for now she was going to redo this old blade see if she could get some use out of it she picked up the forceps and plunged the old blade into the heat and watched as it turned cherry red

Doc: He watched her work. Occasionally she would stop and look around as though she expected to spot someone watching her. Granted this was not the best neighborhood for a single female to wander about at night. He wasn't planning on doing anything to her just yet. He had to sate his curiosity about her first. Why had she been following him? What did she know about him? And.. then his thoughts stopped abruptly and changed course. He saw what might be part of a Hunter tattoo. (cont)

Doc: He and Catherine skinned the dead hunters they killed.Skinned the areas that held their tattoos. Then they placed the skin in a solution to preserve it, then added it to the book of paladin tattoos. Most of the tattoos were different, but there were elements that they all shared. And although he could not be one hundred percent sure, he was seventy percent sure that was paladin tattoo hiding under her shirt.

Mona McGee: Mona pounded at the old blade then suddenly it cracked a stream of curse words left her mouth as she chunked the two pieces into the water to cool. She sat there a moment then thought **** it she had had enough for today and she went and powered down the forge and the rest of the equipment. Her shirt was soaked through and she wasn't about to wear it out she found her pack and rummaged around in it ... she slowly peeled off the sodden mass from her damp skin and stood in front of the fan for a couple of minutes before she donned her clean shirt. She sighed and took her completed work and wrapped it in a blanket it would have to do she didn't have a box or anything to conceal it in and headed out towards the exit it would be nice to maybe get a start on some work she had been doing

Mona McGee: for the Sun a series of murders had happened in Harper rock lately but Mona had been keeping records ...and something quite interesting had crept up every so often these bodies would have appeared to have been operated on ... Yeah the coroner had suspected that they were normal surgeries but each operation had been new and when Mona went to digging Not all of them had current medical records ... it may be nothing but it was worth looking into more closely.

Doc: Once she took off her shirt, he got a much better view of the tattoo. She was a paladin. Nodding to himself, he now knew why she was following him. He knew that the paladins shared id's much like vampires did. Needless to say, he was known by the paladins. So why did she want to talk to him? Sucker him into a conversation and then attack him? No that didn't make sense. Not out in the open like they had been. So what was she after? (cont)

Doc: Had she been an acquaintance .. or friend of Leo? And once Leo bit the dust, was that what was behind it? He followed her toward the exit, but then he decided to play a game with her. He beat her to the exit and put himself across the street, in full view as he lit up a cigarette. What would she do? Approach? or quickly evade?

Mona McGee: Mona let her eyes adjust to the dark as she left She saw the tall frame and sandy hair of the man in the business suit she had seen emerging from the sewers ... He hadn't improved his location much she thought to herself ... might as well bite the bullet she thought find out his name you know what he is be careful you stupid ***** Vampires sometimes like to play with their food . She looked around there weren't many people. The street was almost bare ... well she was carrying a sword under her arm and was loaded why not chat with a vampire? She pulled her cigarette case out of her pocket and placed it between her lips then pretended to have lost her lighter .... She walked across the street "Hey you mind if i get a light?" She looked at him levelly.

Doc: Doc pushed off the wall, that he had been leaning against. He reached into his pocket and pulled his zippo. He flicked it, lit it and held it out toward her, to use. His gaze drifting over her shoulder, out into the distance, noticing then looking back at her. He didn't say anything until after she was lit. "Rather late for you to be out and alone." He tone was not condemning, it was casual, like someone commenting on the weather. "This isn't exactly a good area. You be careful."

Mona McGee: She had to laugh "I’m not a good girl either…” She offered her hand "Mona McGee ...and you are?"

Doc: Doc had to smirk, "Charles Nilson." He said while taking her hand briefly. The coolness of his hand would tell her all she wanted to know, if she were looking for confirmation about his 'race'. "So you're looking for what.. Mona?" Again the question was evenly asked, he even glanced over her shoulder as he asked it, as though it was just him being polite by making conversation. But he was quite interested in what her answer would be.

Mona McGee: She held up her cigarette "Nothing more than a light and a name just wondering what a suit was doing around the area you don't see many unless they are college geeks and i don't think you are one of those, Mr Nilson, you just don't seem to fit the area."

Doc: He took a drag off his cigarette and pointed with his cigarette to the building behind her, Genesis Labs "I work there. Night shift." It was rather an odd sensation being called "Mister" instead of Doctor, but it could be her ‘just making sure she didn't give herself away’, if in case she knew more than she let on.

Mona McGee: She had been around nurses and technicians before none of them wore suits ... scrubs tee shirts that were required for the job and many didn't bother changing for just a smoke break ..."So what do you do over there that requires a suit?" she thought she knew the answer but having confirmation or maybe even a little more unexpected information when you asked the question was a plus . He had to be a doctor or something maybe even a Corporate pencil pusher. She smiled as she fished another cancer stick out of her case and lit it off her butt .

Doc: He shrugged indolently, "I wear a lab coat in there. But I don't have to wear a suit. I prefer to wear a suit. People respect a suit." It was true. People genuinely did treat someone in a suit with deference that they didn't even realize.

Mona McGee: she shrugged "What do they do in there ?" She was genuinely curious. "They really did pick a lousy place to put a medical facility. All the other hospitals and offices are on the other side of town."

Mona McGee: about the only medical facility she expected to see on this side of town was a free clinic

Doc: "DNA testing mostly. But we do some blood panels for the hospitals when they get backed up or if they need a rush on something." Doc crushed the cigarette butt under his foot, "Location isn't as critical as it used to be. Results can be emailed in seconds. So for the amount of space that's needed to do this type of work, it's pretty cheap here.."

Mona McGee: "Yeah but don't you have problems with all the druggies around here busting in looking for a quick fix or someone just trying to make a quick buck by looting the place ?"

Doc: Doc looked at her, "We did have someone break in once... " He didn't mention it was his wife. "But since we start running three shifts.. Not so much."

Mona McGee: She realized she was in interview mode and had ran across a interesting subject She might as well see how willing this vampire was about his work not that she would ever put what he was in the paper It wouldn't pay for her to go outing vampires one at a time that's how someone got themselves killed. "I run a small local news paper and we do stories on local business and people sometimes. This Dna Testing sounds quite intriguing and if I were to write a story about it might generate you a lot of business Do you think your boss or whoever runs the place would mind if I wrote a story about What you do here ?"

Doc: "DNA has made major changes in how we do medicine today. I don't think he would mind." He pulled out another cigarette, looked at it as if contemplating whether he should have another or not. He shrugged to himself and lit it up. He took a heavy pull off of it before adding, "Did you know.. the research that is being done in the respect of cancer DNA. You do a panel, and get the DNA of that specific cancer, and target only that DNA. It is in the early days yet, but I am thinking in ten years time, DNA targeted treatments will be common place."

Mona McGee: She nodded it was a trick she learned get people to talking about what they do instead of about themselves and the rest usually fell into place especially if someone was passionate about what they did and Mr Nilson here seemed to enjoy his work a lot . "That sounds great, curing cancer will do a lot for this world my mother died of cancer not too long ago. I really should quit these things but then there are some smokers that live in there s ... I started smoking pure tobacco without the additives. I don't know if it's any better but at least im going to enjoy myself while im here." she smiled at him while she took another puff. "So is that all you do is cancer research or do you branch out into public DNA testing?"

Doc: He nodded slowly, "We do paternity testing for the public. It's pretty reasonable. A little over a hundred dollars to find out if the kid is yours or not." He took another draw, "Down side, is the deadbeat asshole fathers out there that want us to fake the test results for them, so they don't have to pay child support. Or the mothers that use it as a weapon to get rid of the only father a kid has ever known. With the good comes the bad."

Mona McGee: She nodded. She guessed she was thankful for the old man he hadn't ever pulled such a stunt He had a hard time at first she knew when she laid it on him that he had a fully grown daughter that he had never known about but he had accepted her for his own and she adored him much as her mother once had. He was an ornery old cuss but he was hers and she wouldn't give him up for anything .... "That is kind of what my paper is known for it's a tabloid, but stories like this people gobble them up they like to know about the good things in the city along with the bad ...Do you work with the police department any or do they send all of their things to provincial labs?"

Doc: "We have done work for several police departments. Most of the time, it is to double check the results of their lab before they court. Two labs come back with the same results, tends to put the defense on notice that they need to deal or risk a longer jail sentence. However, we never know what the tests results are used for. They are just numbers to us. We do not get details of the cases. We get a sample, we run the test, we report the results."

Mona McGee: "Kind of like the anonymous tip system nobody ever knows who is telling, I get it " she smiled and put out her cigarette "Is there anything you have run across totally unusual genetically that you have found intriguing like odd diseases or malformations or maladies that are rare or unseen before ?"

Doc: "Me personally, no. But a colleague of mine had a patient who was shot.. and four days later.. she was completely healed." he shrugged, "At least that's what he said. He can't show any evidence or even produce the patient."

Mona McGee: "That happens a lot around here, people disappearing " She glanced at him her face not changing, "Lot of the transients or bums you might say go disappearing some just die unwanted and friendless ... but they have sort of started forming a community sort of taking care of each other they have a soup kitchen and many have started checking on each other ... and some of the churches have outreach programs that have been recording their comings and goings so it may have been one of them or just someone that didn't want to be known you find that a lot around here too." She shrugged her shoulders "So no elephant man DNA in Harper Rock though that would be more the type of news my readers would be expecting ." she gave a soft laugh.

Doc: "Sorry." He shrugged. Even if he had some interesting stories, he wasn't going to tell the press. There was confidentiality issues when dealing with DNA. More and more laws were being enacted that closed down what could be shared and what could not be shared. He wasn't about to put his lab in the cross hairs, just to have an interesting story in a newspaper. "Our work is mostly mundane. Blood panels. DNA paternity. Nothing really that your readers would find scintillating."

Mona McGee: "Ohhh but they will find it pretty interesting as is, would you mind signing a release form just giving me permission to use your statements ... it's not exactly a requirement but i like to have one for legal reasons ... If you find that i've misrepresented you in any way i will send you a copy of the article before i publish ... If that would be ok with you ?"

Doc: "Alright." He reached inside his jacket and withdrew a business card, and offered it to her with two fingers, "You can email the release form to the address on the card. "

Mona McGee: She looked at the card and raised an eyebrow she knew he didn't seem like the corporate pencil pusher or head hound Dr Nilson it said... "Hummm, Dr. Nilson forgive me, So You own Genesis labs?"

Doc: "Yes I do."

Mona McGee: "Well now isn't that a kick in the pants ... " she had said it before she thought about what she was saying "Sorry just wasn't expecting to be out smoking with such a big wig " she scuffed her boot against the sidewalk as a rain drop fell and hit her on the face "It looks like i better head for home or at least somewhere dry before it lets loose good and proper I will email you the forms and will include my fax number for their return or you can mail them to me ... Thanks for your time and the unexpected interview."