Downtown Chinook, Undying Residence, Mid September

    Gregori was waiting. He was very good at waiting. After seventy plus years of practice he should be. Once, when he'd been the mayor of his Romanian village, he hadn't waited for anyone, they had waited on him. He'd been a large fish in a very small pond then. Now however he was a medium fish in a very large ocean. He was however, alive after a fashion, and that was a very fair trade in his book. Well, he was moving and breathing. Couldn't really say he was alive anymore now could he, after all if you were alive you could die and he couldn't die anymore. Didn't mean he couldn't be killed though and Gregori was well aware of that fact. Generally it took very special circumstances for an Undying to be killed. Disappointing the Beloved Lady and her chosen second in command was definitely one of them. The Beloved Lady had made the Undying and could definitely end them anytime she wanted. So here he was waiting, where and when The Beloved Lady's voice had told him to be. You didn't disobey the Beloved Lady, not if you wanted to live, or whatever it was that the Undying were, at least.

    Gregori had news to share so the summoning had come at a good time. He'd been about to call Mikhail for a meeting anyhow. The female that everyone had been searching for had finally been found. It had taken almost a quarter of a century but they had found her. The orders had been to find and follow her. They needed to know where she lived and if anyone lived with her. At first it had been assumed that she would go back to the Anvidai to live. The thief was Lushidai, a subspecies of the Anvidai, so the search had concentrated on the places they were known to live. That had been fruitless for the longest time. It wasn't until just a few weeks ago that any trace of her had been found. It had been a fluke of monumental proportions that had brought her to light. Sometimes the simplest things can bring the biggest changes.

    It was regular practice for the Undying to scope out any new clubs or bars during the day. Since the Anvidai couldn't handle daylight. They would be there well before any of the Anvidai would be out and about. This allowed the Undying to learn the layout of any given business before they encountered any Anvidai. The daylight look see  made it easier to know any possible escape routes so they could make sure they were covered. That way none of their targets could escape. Having your prey escape was so annoying after all.

    It had been on one of those forays that they had picked up on the female's trail. Last night the team trailing her had an opportunity to kill her without risk to themselves or the secrecy of the Undying. It was an opportunity that they had taken without permission. Not that Mikhail had cared over much about how or why the thief had died.

    The Undying that had been following her had run the thief down with a stolen car. Tomorrow Gregori himself was going to go to her apartment and retrieve the tome she had somehow managed to steal. He'd been heading out to do just that when he'd gotten the mental command from this Beloved Lady to come here. He could have just sent subordinates to get the book but there was no way he was letting anyone else go get it. The damn thing was dangerous in the wrong hands, and to Gregori's thinking any hands but his own were the wrong ones. Well, except Mikhail's of course. It wasn't good to keep anything from Mikhail. The Beloved Lady's chosen second in command could easily make those that disappointed him pray for the Beloved to Take back the life force that she gave them when they become one of her people. The suffering that he caused was far to much for even the most masochistic personality to cope with.

   The house that the Undying used for its headquarters, for both here in Chinook and world wide, had been built in the fifties but looked like something that was built in the late eighteen hundreds. Like many of the buildings in the area, it had been part of a largely unsuccessful attempt to gentrify this part of downtown Chinook. An attempt that the Undying had successfully kept from really taking off. It had been a small matter for them to make sure that the city council failed in its endeavor.

    Unbeknownst to all but a handful of people Chinook had an underground network of tunnels that ran through most of the downtown area. An underground that had been started almost from the first building being built in the mid eighteen hundreds. It had once been used predominately for smuggling of both people and goods. By the nineteen fifties when the house had been built the existence of the tunnels had been completely forgotten. As a result the Undying had complete and unrestricted use of them with no need of hiding anything from the Humans that they wanted to control. And while each area had it's own regional headquarters, overall command of the Undying had been here in Washington since the end of World War Two because that majority of the Anvidai had migrated to the states before or during the war. And once the seat of power for the Anvidai had moved to Chinook Washington in the late forties the Undying had followed suit. While the Undying wanted to control the whole of Humanity, their biggest fight was now was and always had been with the Anvidai.

  Gregori was usually amused when he walked the tunnels that ran under Chinook. No one remembered that the tunnels were even there. If the Humans knew that right under their feet a group was working to control every part of their lives it would be bad enough. That the group was unable to die and was fighting a war against what they would think of as vampires was the first part of the joke. The "vampires" being the good guys was the second part and almost too funny for words to him. On the very rare occasions where Humans did find their way into the tunnels they didn't live long enough to share the story with anyone else, and the Undying got someone to play with. Well for as long as they lasted at least and, unlike the Anvidai, Humans never lasted very long. The room he was waiting outside of was kitted up like a dark ages torture chamber. It looked like it belonged on a BBC documentary on torture techniques or maybe one on the Marquis De Sade. Now there was someone that would have fit right in with the group. Unfortunately he got arrested and jailed before he could be recruited. It was one of Gregori's favorite rooms but he wasn't here to play right now. He was here to meet Mikhail, the overall leader of the Undying and the Beloved Lady's second in command.

    The sound that came up from behind him was soft, quiet, almost nonexistent. It didn't sound in anyway threatening but nonetheless a chill ran up Gregori's spine. Reminding him that he could easily become the victim here instead of the victimizer. Gregori hoped that he wasn't here to feed the need for violence in the one behind him. It had happened before to other lower ranked Undying. Although usually it was one who had disappointed Mikhail or worse the Beloved Lady and he could think of anything that he might of done to warrant such a thing. Still it had happened before and it could happen again. Gregori had zero interest in being the plaything of anyone but especially not Mikhail. If that was the case all Gregori could hope for was that his report, if he was allowed to give it, would change Mikhail's mind before he got started. Because nothing would change it after he started.

    The voice that came to Gregori's ears was soft like a whisper. It even seemed gentle but Gregori wasn't fooled. He'd used it himself after all. Gregori dropped to his knees, lowering his head so far that his chin rested on his chest. Gregori fought for calm, well aware that to much fear could trigger an attack even if that wasn't why he was here. Especially with Mikhail, that cold son of a bitch would rather kill then almost anything else and as the Beloved Lady's right hand he got to indulge himself regularly. As far a Gregori knew Mikhail was the oldest of the Undying. He defiantly was just about the scariest thing he'd ever seen outside of the Beloved Lady herself. Mikhail looked like the vampire from the old German silent film Nosferatu except for the teeth that is. His fangs were in the usual place not all up in front like in the film. Those fangs were huge, more like those you might see on a lion or a tiger then anything found in a supposedly Human looking guy. Honestly, Gregori was often surprised that Mikhail could even close his mouth his fangs were descended down so far. The oddest thing was that Mikhail could look downright handsome if he so desired. He just didn't as a rule care so he didn't put in the effort.

    "I need you for a task," the quietly evil voice said from behind Gregori. "But before we get into that. give me your report."

    The deep voice throbbed with evil, positively dripped with the stuff. The cold dead voice sent shivers down Gregori's spine. Making him wonder and not for the first time if he really had picked the money side of the  equation. when he wasn't in Mikhail presence Gregori was certain that he had chosen the right team to fight for. But whenever he was with the other Undying it was a totally different thing. The primal fear that Mikhail inspired went beyond reason an into the most primitive parts of the Human brain. Being here in this torture room that the Undying used to feed themselves and their Beloved Lady on the pain and screams of those who were brought here mad that terror so much harder to control.

    Gregori started his report immediately, giving every detail about the automotive death that had been caused the previous sunset. He didn't leave his knees, didn't raise his gaze to see how the report was being taken. He just gave his report in a dispassionate, factual manner knowing after over seventy years better then to seem to care one way or another about anything he saw, said, or did. Nor did he care about any of the other Undying that had worked with him. There was no loyalty between the Undying. They didn't care what happened to any other Undying as long as whatever task that the Beloved assigned them was completed.

  "There is a girl that must be found. She is required by Me and more importantly by our Beloved Lady."

    The caps on both the me and the Beloved Lady were easy to hear. Menace oozed from Mikhail's every pore. It vibrated through his voice, almost coloring the air around him. An affect that Gregori was well used to after all of these years. It was also one that he never ignored. The danger that Mikhail represented was very real and should never, ever be ignored. Not if one wanted to walk away from the encounter intact at least. This was something that Gregori never forgot. After all he had managed to survive the Nazis by joining the Undying. He had every intention of surviving Mikhail as well.

       The dark form that was Mikhail circled Gregori, around and around. A predator circling it's prey. Gregori kept his eyes down and his breathing calm, or at least as calm as he could. His instincts were screaming at him to jump up and assume a defensive pose. But he knew that all that would accomplish was getting himself killed. Gregori could feel his heart pounding like a hammer and also knew that Mikhail could easily hear it too. After what seemed like forever but probably was at most a minute, Mikhail stopped in front of Gregori. Flicking his eyes up Gregori risked a quick glance. Fuck he cursed silently to himself. My day has gone from bad to worse. It was clear that Mikhail was in a foul mood. Keeping the thoughts behind a barrier that he hoped the other Undying had no way to pierce but feared he might. The ability to get into someone's head was not an Undying trait but rather one that Mikhail had had in his previous life as an Anvidai. All of that race could get into and affect the minds of Humans and the more accomplished ones could even do that to their own race as well. Mikhail had been very accomplished which was one of the many reasons that he was the Beloved Lady's second in command.

    Refocusing on what his superior was saying Gregori hoped that he hadn't missed to much. He wondered if he should ask a question, just to make sure. Not why the girl was wanted of course. Gregori had no desire to know that. Better her than him as far as he was concerned. No what Gregori was curious about was why this was the first he'd heard about her. After all if the Undying wanted the girl why hadn't she been mentioned before. On reflection Gregori decided that he wasn't going to ask that, or any question for that matter. It was never a good idea to ask why the Beloved Lady wanted anything. And Mikhail had already stated that this was Her desire.

    "Since you have finally found the thief it should pose no problem to find the girl," Mikhail's droll voice was clearly amused. By what Gregori had no clue and that was yet another question he wasn't going to ask.

    If it was so quick and easy, Gregori thought to himself, why the hell didn't Mikhail just go and get her himself. Gregori was careful that none of his thoughts showed on his face. He liked all of his bits and pieces right where they were thank you very much. There was of course only one correct answer that Gregori could give and he did so immediately.

    "I will find her for you my lord. But I will need to know what she looks like in order to find her for you. I will start right after I retrieve the Tome that the thief stole."

    "Don't worry about the Tome. Now that the thief is dead it can be retrieved at any time. After all you did say that you don't know which apartment that the thief lived in. They will throw out her stuff and you can get it then. Just keep an eye on the building so you can follow where her stuff goes. Then you can just get it at your leisure once it is no longer watched." Mikhail's cold voice dripped with contempt.

    The reply was followed by a sharp pain in Gregori's head. The pain was quickly followed by pictures of a pregnant woman. One that looked suspiciously like the thief. At first the face in the images seemed happy but the pictures became more and more wary the further along in her pregnancy she went. In the final vignette the woman was heavily pregnant and terrified. Her pinched strained face was so pale she almost seemed a ghost. It was clear that the thief had been more to Mikhail than Gregori had originally been told. Much more, Gregori still wasn't going to ask for any details as to the why and how the thief had gotten to be pregnant or get the book. Not the kind of info that Gregori thought was healthy for him to have.

    "The girl may take after her mother in appearance. So keep an eye out." Mikhail paused for a moment clearly not finished speaking. "It is possible that she may look like me." After that particular bombshell Mikhail vanished, dematerializing away in the blink of an eye.

    Gregori got to his feet. Not really seeing the room around him. He knew it, had been in it thousands of times over the seventy plus years since he himself had joined the Undying. The Anvidai had been in this part of the world for over a century and the room had been in use that whole time.  The house that he had entered the tunnels through had been built for just that purpose in fact. The house had been built along with the tunnels, giving the Undying a hidden place to hold their captives and anything else that they wanted to keep out of Human sight and control.

    But tonight none of it truly registered on his mind. Someone could have come in and painted it a bright pink and Gregori would have not have noticed the change. What the hell had Mikhail meant when he said the girl might look like him. The Undying couldn't breed, that was fact pure and simple. You had to be alive in order to breed and the Undying, simply put, weren't alive. Not in the conventional sense at least. Not unless... Gregori stopped the thought right then and there, not wanting to take it to the logical conclusion.It just wasn't possible for any of it to be true. and if it was then he really didn't want to know.

    Gregori refocused on the task at hand. He had a tome to retrieve and a girl to find. Neither Mikhail nor the Beloved Lady were known for their patience after all. Marshaling his thoughts Gregori started to lay his plans in case the girl wasn't with the book. He knew which building the thief's apartment was in but no one wanted to risk tipping her off by following to close. So they didn't know which unit it was that the thief lived in. Still it shouldn't be to hard to figure out especially since the thief was dead. Wishing that he could ghost out like Mikhail had, Gregori left, running lists in his head of which Undying he could use to help him. It was going to be a long night.