Whatever discussion the bosses had been having came to a halt when we walked in. Cadence jumped out of the chair she’d been sitting at around a long boardroom-like meeting table and exclaimed, “HI! How are you guys?”
“Never better!” Brandon replied as Cadence hugged him and then stared at him for a second, like she was trying to figure out whether or not he was being sarcastic, before she turned to me.
Aaron had been standing at the far end of the table, but he came around to clasp Brandon’s hand. “You feel different?”
“Nah, I’ve always been like this.” Brandon looked down at himself as if to say he’d always been so awesome. Aaron shook his head at him and briefly rested his hand on my shoulder as a greeting. That was good enough for me. Hugging him still seemed awkward to me.
I noticed my sister rolling her eyes at Brandon as she gestured at us to take seats at the table. I thought it made the most sense for me to sit next to her, since she was my sister and all, so I sat in the chair next to the one where she’d been sitting, but she made a funny face when I pulled it out, so I waited to see if she’d say something. She didn’t, so I sat, and Brandon took the chair next to me. Jamie went around to the other side and sat next to Aaron.
Cadence looked at Brandon and I and said, “Everyone else should be here in just a few minutes. Remember, no talking during the meeting.”
“Yes, ma’am.” That time, there was a hint of attitude in my voice. I didn’t understand why they all insisted on telling us the same thing over and over again.
Apparently, Brandon also didn’t think we needed another reminder. “May we blink?” he asked.
Looking past me, Cadence replied, “As long as I can’t hear it.”
There were several stacks of papers on the table in front of Aaron, and one of them caught Jamie’s eye. “What’s all this?” he asked, turning his head sideways to look at the one closest to him.
“Oh, maps, mostly,” Aaron replied. “Pictures of the two victims taken from the scene as well as Gibbon and Giovani. We were also able to identify one of the Vampires fleeing the scene through that side door. Ex-Black Ops named Frank Howard.”
They continued to talk as I turned to Brandon, trying to keep my jaw from hitting the floor. He looked just as shocked as I did. Giovani had taken Gibbon last night, and no one had bothered to tell us! I really wanted to say something, but Brandon shook his head slightly, reminding me that I’d promised not to say anything. He was right. I had no case for demanding to be told anything at all, so instead, I trained my ear in on the conversation and decided to try to piece things together, based on what they were saying now.
“Interesting,” Jamie said studying the picture Aaron had said was of Frank Howard. “So, it was military then?”
“I guess you could say so, though it’s not as if these Vampires are still the war heroes they were before they Resurrected,” Aaron responded. He had his hands shoved down inside his gray slacks and I noticed he looked a little more disheveled than usual. His light blue shirt was unbuttoned at the top, two buttons instead of one. I thought he must’ve been up all night trying to help the Philly team and was probably irritated that he wasn’t on location to help.
Forgetting everything Brandon had just said, I asked “What do you mean? Oh, wait—can I talk now, before everyone gets here?” I hurriedly asked before I got in trouble.
“Of course,” Aaron answered. I was glad it came from him and not Cadence who looked at me like she about to say no. “We have a theory that Vampires are not really the same people they were when they were alive. There’s not much of a way to prove it.”
“Really?” Elliott had mentioned this to me once before, but I wanted to hear their take on it. “What do you think they are?”
“Some sort of demonic manifestation,” Jamie answered. “Something that takes on the same characteristics of the person but isn’t really them.”
This information matched what Elliott had told me. I thought on it for a moment and then broached the subject with my sister who had grown awfully quiet, “So, you don’t think you really killed Jack, then? You think you killed some demon who had taken over his body?”
I don’t think she was ready for the question. Maybe I was a little too abrupt with my phrasing. “I honestly don’t know,” she finally replied. “I mean—maybe it wasn’t Jack. But it seemed like Jack to me.” She studied the coffee cup in front of her on the table, and I wished I hadn’t asked. It seemed sort of rude now and derailed their conversation.
Before I could apologize, the door opened, and a large group of team members walked in. Meagan, Shane, Hannah, and Aurora greeted Brandon and I and welcomed us, which was cool. I was glad no one seemed to care that we were there. They were all very interested in asking Brandon how the Transformation had gone, and I listened while assessing if my sister was okay. She seemed better now, and when Aaron sat down, finally, at the head of the table, I imagined he’d been talking to her. Hopefully, none of it involved her idiotic sister who didn’t think before she blurted out questions.
There was a large plasma screen up in the corner of the room where everyone could see it, and when Cale’s handsome face popped up, I had to keep myself from gasping. I tried not to stare. Next to Aaron, he was the hottest guy I’d ever seen in real life. I remembered that my sister had dated him briefly and noticed a tinge of pink in her cheeks as everyone greeted the Guardian who was the Area Leader for some part of Nevada or someplace; I wasn’t exactly sure where.