Drusilla DuPri sat alone in her Spartan bedroom looking at the information they had gathered on the Black Hand Assassins. It wasn't much, she knew their names of all seven Black Hand members that boarded the plane in Venice but the weaknesses of this sect of the Holy Blade were starting to become painfully apparent, they had no information of the Black Hands movement since getting off the plane at LAX. Drusilla sighed and rubbed her cross, she had no clue where even to begin. She wasn't an investigator she simply was an assassin, but she had no other options.
Drusilla drained her cup of tea and got to her feet. She slipped her long black coat on and left her room. It may have been hotter than hell but Drusilla cast a small spell that kept her cool. She felt her room and venture out into the hot Los Angeles night. She had never been out of Europe before this, she didn't want to go but Cardinal Delacroix asked for her by name. Guess her reputation as a trouble shooter had gotten too big, now she was really flying solo. She slipped her silver pocket watch out and looked at the time, the time should just about right to try.
Drusilla drove down Los Feliz until she was under the shadow of the Hollywood sign. She was still getting the hang of driving but found it was easier than she expected. Druislla looked up at the massive edifice and knew that would be a great place to try her spell.
Drusilla climbed over the fence and through the long grass slowly up the maintenance trail until she was behind the sign itself. She sat under the H and looked out at the city. Drusilla shook her head, this really was worse assignment, she would have preferred Mongolia. She laid out several bottles with odds and ends and carefully made a circle with salt. She closed her eyes and softly began to chant as she slowly added ingredient after ingredient into the middle of the circle. Drusilla took out the last ingredient and poured the thick red blood into the circle. Her cross began to glow as glowing orange ball burst from the circle and traveled out towards the ocean. Drusilla felt herself flying with her All Seeing Eye, swooping over the tops of all the buildings until the orange ball landed gently on top of a cheap Spanish style rambler in Venice. Drusilla smiled a broad toothy smile, a truely rare occasion. Not only did the All Seeing Eye spell work but it led her straight to their safe house first try. She made sure to remember the address, now it was time to put the other to work.

Mathew was sitting in his study when Drusilla walked in. " Yes" he said.
" I want you to send surveillance to 14875 Sea Breeze Avenue in Venice" said Drusilla in a flat tone, " members of the Black Hand are there I want intelligence before I strike."
" And how did you come up with this information?" asked Mathew.
" I cast a spell" said Drusilla, " you aren't here to question my ways, you are here to act on Cardinal Delacroix's orders."
" How am I supposed to believe that your pagan ritual actually worked?" asked Mathew.
" Faith" said Drusilla, " I expect that report by noon."
She turned and walked out of the study. He knew she was going to be difficult but she was right and that aggravated him more than anything else.

Malcolm was napping on the couch while Ophelia cooked dinner when her cell phone rang. Ophelia sight and picked up the cell phone, " I got something you might like to see" said Charity, " care to open the door?"
" Malcolm" Ophelia said.
" Huh?" asked Malcolm sitting up.
" Open the door it's Charity" she said.
Malcolm got up and walked over to the apartment door. He opened it and Charity and John walked in. " What's up?" asked Malcolm.
" Charity said she had information" said Jack climbing through a window.
" Doors were invented for a reason" said Ophelia.
" I know but I hadn't done that in years" said Jack, " I wanted to make sure I still could."
" Okay, what's up?" asked Malcolm.
Charity laid out a large map on the kitchen table, " There are 7 of them" said Charity, " they came in on a flight from Rome two days ago. One of them is Ricardo Venezzi."
" Great" said Jack, " I just hope I'm dead when he starts skinning me."
" I started digging through utility records on some of the property that Dante, or one of his six million shell companies own" said Charity, " I was able to get a definite on one, 14875 Sea Breeze Avenue in Venice. It is a little two bedroom rambler in a quiet neighborhood, now all seven can't be in there but I'm willing to bet two are."
" Clever" said Ophelia, " they spread their guys out so we can't get them all at one time."
" The Black Hand have had many centuries to work out their tactics" said John, " okay so me and Jack will do a little surveillance and let's meet at Jack's place tomorrow to get ready to bust them up."
" I'll keep on my tracing of the utilities see if I can get anything else" said Charity.
" Good work" said Malcolm, " and Charity you inform the old man?"
" First thing I did, after I finished my victory dance of course" said Charity.

Beth took a deep breath and walked in through the gates of the Highland Park Commons Apartments. This place a straight seventies style apartment complex, lots of open hallways that looked into the pool, and lots of ugly colours. Sadly the place didn't look like it had been renovated since then. Beth found a thin girl smoking a cigarette over by the pool, " Where can I find Chris Fontain?" she asked.
" Chris" she purred, blowing smoke out from nose, " Upstairs, 2-F" she said.
Beth nodded and walked up to 2-F and knocked. The door opened and a blonde guy answered. He was shirtless except for a large medallion that smacked of the occult, Beth had sold enough odd necklaces to almost be an expert. " Chris Fontain?" she asked.
Chris nodded and looked over her, " What do you want?" he asked.
" Christie Marsh, you knew her?" asked Beth.
" You some kind of cop?" he asked, " scratch that, no way a cop has that many tatts, okay yah I screwed her for awhile. She was fun and everything but I ain't no one girl guy and she was always taking about commitment. I took off pretty early, why do you want to know?"
" Curiosity" said Beth, it didn't take a genius to know he was hiding something.
" Really, well little girl I'll give you a little piece of advice, keep your nose out of other people's business" he said, " now fuck off or I call the cops."
" Okay" said Beth, wow talk about suspect number one.

" What are we going to do?" asked the huge man next to Chris.
" Nothing, she isn't a cop and she not a chosen one" he said.
" But how did she find us?" he asked, " we can't let her live."
" Let's sit on it" he said, " we can't deviate from his plan, if anything else comes up then we'll deal with her then."
" I still think we have to talk to him" said the big guy, " he should know."
" All right" said Chris, " let's go."

Drusilla walked out of the bathroom and found, much to her surprise, a folder laying on top of her clothes. She picked it up and opened it. It was a fairly competent surveillance report of the last 12 hours. They were able to confirm two men inside, but not much else. She was pleasantly surprised to find underneath the page were the blueprints to the house. Drusilla laid the blueprints down on the bed and took her towel off. She slowly scanned the rather simple house as she pulled her underwear on. She formulated a plan.
Drusilla spent the rest of the afternoon working out in her room. She was now full of energy, she wanted to go and hit the vampires now. She kept exercising trying to curb the urge to go out now. She dressed, black pants, black shirt, her favorite black vest, and her coat. She picked up the tools of her trade and gently placed them one by one in their places. She gently rubbed her silver cross, it was almost time to go to work.

Jenna and Melinda pulled up to the Highland Park Commons and got out. " Nice place" commented Melinda.
" Oh yah, I've always wanted to live in something cut straight from the seventies" said Jenna.
The pair walked over to the pool where three girls were lounging in the hot tub. " What do you want?" the first asked.
" We're looking for Chris Fontain, we were told he is here" said Melinda.
" We ain't seen him" said another.
" He's been gone for awhile now" said another, " probably found a better shit hole to live in."
" Thanks" said Jenna.
The pair turned and left, " Get a car to sit on this place, those girls were the worst liars I have ever seen" said Jenna.

" We have to tell him" said the first girl, " that tattooed cunt led the pigs right here."
" Cool it" said the second, " they aren't here about our pot plants, let Chris and that goon of his worry about his own problems, we aren't his bodyguards."
" She's right but we should warn him about that tattooed girl" said the third.
" Fine" said the second, " next we see him we'll tell him."

Drusilla drove from the Culver City stronghold of the Holy Order and casually drove on the freeway trying to clear her mind of everything except the job at hand. The moon was rising in the east bathing the quiet Venice street in silver light. Drusilla carefully slipped over the fence of the house at the end of the block and carefully made her way through three backyards until she reached the target house. Drusilla carefully slipped over the adobe wall into the backyard and over to the electric meter. She waved her hand over the meter and sparks crackled from the meter shorting it out. Drusilla could feel her hair starting to stand on end, she hated doing that but it was the best way. Drusilla opened the closest window and slipped inside.

Sergi Andrev got off the couch and went to the back bedroom for a snack, Lord Dante had been nice enough to deliver two tasty virgins for them while they stayed in his safe house. He was halfway down the hall when suddenly the lights cut out and the entire hallway became pitch black. Sergi pulled his pistol out, he knew something had gone wrong.

Drusilla carefully slipped to the door and looked into the hall. There was a vampire standing in the hallway in a half crotched position waiting for an attack. Drusilla carefully slipped one of her long silver daggers out of its sheath in her coat and slipped into the hall.

Sergi froze, he had heard a footstep, he felt that sinking feeling like someone was behind him. He turned and the sharp end of Drusilla's long dagger drove through his left eye straight into his brain. Sergi made a gurgle and pulled the trigger on his Beretta. The flash of the gun was blinding in the tight hallway. Drusilla felt the bullet rip through her clothes but didn't feel any pain. She heard the shouts of the other vampire and could hear his racing footfalls. Drusilla leapt up into the exposed rafters above them and waited. The other vampire raced into the hallway with a flashlight in hand, he saw the first vampire laying dead on the ground and immediately began to shine the flashlight into the rooms. He must have been new, he never once thought to look three feet above his head. Drusilla slowly drew out her silver piano wire and grabbed her legs around the beam. She carefully descended behind the vampire and with a swift move wrapped the piano wire around his neck and jerked up. He was a little heavier than Drusilla expected but it didn't matter. The vampire struggled for a few moments before his entire body jerked a couple of times before becoming limp, the flashlight dropping from his hand. Drusilla dropped the other vampire on the hallway floor not a foot from the other and slipped out of the rafters. She stretched her back, the last vampire was a little too heavy to be using that trick on. She stepped into the room she came from and checked her watch. Two minutes and fifteen seconds, excellent work. Drusilla was about to leave when she heard soft muffled whimpers echoing through the house, there was someone else in there. Drusilla drew her dagger back out of her coat and went in search of the source of the noise. She slipped past the bodies to a door at the end of the hall. It had a large lock on the outside of the door. Drusilla knew it had to be a feeding room, they must have had a delivery. Drusilla carefully unlocked the door and pushed it open.
Inside the room two terrified teenage girls lay huddled on a mattress in the corner. They were gagged and tied up but they didn't need to speak their eyes conveyed everything. Drusilla knew the rules, once touched they couldn't return to normal life. Drusilla knew she couldn't, she had never been able to. Drusilla sighed, the rules were made by a group of ancient men in some room far away from the dirty work. The rules were easy to make when you never had to cut the throat of terrified 16 year old girl. Drusilla walked across the room, the two girls starting to cry. Drusilla sheathed her dagger and gently untied the two girls' bounds. Drusilla sat them up both up on the bunk and waved her cross in front of them as she chanted a quick spell. They both blinked and had blank looks on their faces. They wouldn't remember anything from the past week, it would be cheaper than therapy. She slipped back out the window and drove her car down the alley behind the house. Drusilla gently took the gags from their girls' mouths and carried them both to her car. She would drop them at the nearest church, it would be the safest place. Drusilla returned to the house and poured holy water over to two bodies. She held her noise and watched them dissolve, two thousand years of doing this you would think they would find a way to make them dissolve with a mint smell.
Drusilla slipped back out the window and made sure to close it. She slipped back the way she came and disappeared.

" You sure you saw something?" asked Jack.
" Positive" said John, " come on, I think something is up."
The pair climbed out of their car at the far end of the block and casually made their way up towards the house. Suddenly a loud gunshot and bright flash illuminated the interior of the house making every dog in the neighbor start barking. " Shit" cursed Jack.
The pair quickly retreated to the car and casually drove away. They parked two blocks over and intently listened to the police radio as two uniformed officers approached 14875 Sea Breeze. After finding nothing suspicious the two officers left and Jack and John returned. Jack quickly picked the lock on the back door and the pair went inside guns drawn. " Lights are dead" whispered John.
" You smell that?" asked Jack.
" Yah, somebody did a Mr Clean on somebody" said John.
" I think somebody beat us to these two" said Jack.
" Who? You think the Holy Order would be able to pull off a job like this without blowing the entire house up?" asked John.
" Maybe they called in special help?" suggested Jack.
The two entered the hall and saw the two large stains on the carpet. " On the good side there are only six left" said John.
" And the bad is we didn't kill them" said Jack.
" Let's go and tell Malcolm, maybe the old man might know something" said John.
The pair quickly exited the house and drove away, debating the possibilities of who could have done the job under their noses.