Zane walked to the table. "Jay is still sieving through the stuff he brought back from Valentine's apartment. The place was a pigsty. Not everybody is back from their patrol yet, but they've been notified. Eddie is in the computer lab downstairs, cracking the pa.s.sword on a second cell phone we found in Valentine's place." Then he jerked his thumb in Thomas's direction. "Thomas is trying to get us camera feeds for the outside of the building."

Oliver stepped closer. "How?"

Thomas briefly looked over his shoulder. "The address you gave us is an old warehouse in one of the less savory neighborhoods of Oakland. There might be some surveillance cameras in the area, maybe a gas station, or some other business. I'm scanning the area for it."

"What else do we have?" Oliver looked back at Zane.

Zane curled his lip up. "You running the show now?"

Oliver squared his stance, but refrained from fisting his hands at his hips, not wanting to look like a puffed up peac.o.c.k. Instead he simply glared at his colleague. "Remember, I was the reason we got this break."

The standoff took several tense seconds during which n.o.body spoke and only Thomas's tapping on the keyboard was audible. From the corner of his eye, Oliver noticed that even Quinn tensed. Was his sire rooting for him?

Then Zane relaxed his shoulders and looked at Samson and Gabriel. "Guess the kid will have to run point eventually. Might as well do it with a case he cares about."

Surprised that Zane had conceded, Oliver was speechless for a moment. Then he kicked into action.

"Cain, tell Eddie to lay off the cell phone for now and get us blueprints of the building."

Cain nodded and picked up the receiver, dialing a two digit number.

For the next few hours, they set up surveillance of the warehouse and brainstormed ideas on how to attack without endangering the women and what to do with any clients found on the premises. They were in agreement about what the fate of the vampires who ran the brothel would be: they would be destroyed on sight. The punishment for the clients was a little less clear cut.

"We have no idea how many clients they even have," Amaury said. "We can't just go around and dust them all."

"Hmm." Samson rubbed the back of his neck.

Oliver paced. "They must have a client list. Otherwise they couldn't have contacted Corbin to let him know about the new address. We'll have to find the list. It's the only way to find all affected vampires in the city."

Gabriel sighed. "And then what? Bring them in and lock them up until they've gone through withdrawal and are clean?"

"It might be the only way," Oliver mused. "Samson, how about we talk to Drake about it? He might be able to help us there. After all, addiction is in part mental. As a psychiatrist, he might have some ideas."

Samson gave him an encouraging look. "That's a good idea. I'll talk to him."

That problem dealt with for now, Oliver brought the focus back on the main task: how to get the women out safely.

"Thomas. Pipe the feed into the large screen so we can see what we're dealing with."

Thomas did as he was asked, and a moment later, a grainy black and white image appeared on the main TV screen in the room.

"What are we looking at?" Oliver asked.

Thomas stood and used a laser pointer to project a red dot onto the video image. He moved it over the screen as he spoke.

"That's the warehouse. There's an entrance door to the right here, but from the blueprint we know that there are two other doors in the back. There's been no activity, which would be consistent with the information we have: since it's still daylight, n.o.body is going in or coming out. And even if it were night already, this video wouldn't help us. Unfortunately as we all know you can't tell on a video feed whether you're dealing with a vampire or not. Their auras can't be captured on camera. So we'll need to send somebody there to confirm first."

Oliver shook his head. "And waste more time? No. Corbin said that this might only be a temporary address. We can't risk them slipping through our fingers."

"I agree," Samson said. "Nevertheless, let's send over a couple of our best human guards while it's daytime and have them do some reconnaissance for us. That won't cost us any time."

Oliver nodded. "Fine."

"And I think to be cautious we should get confirmation of the address from another source." Samson turned to Thomas. "How's Eddie coming along with breaking that pa.s.sword on Valentine's second phone?"

"He said he's got it under control."

"Okay, then let's go over weaponry," Oliver suggested. There were many ways to kill a vampire, and while he would love to see those b.a.s.t.a.r.ds suffer the most horrible deaths possible, he was smart enough to know that Scanguards had to employ the most efficient methods to ensure the safety of the women.

Small caliber handguns with silver bullets were still the most effective way to kill a large number of vampires without having to get too close. Several of their group were sharpshooters, Thomas being one of them. While everybody discussed the merits of one weapon versus another, Quinn leaned in, speaking quietly.

"I'm very proud of you. And I'm sorry we doubted you. I always knew that when push came to shove, you would pull through."

"It's not over yet."

"I know. But it's a good start." He tossed a look at the screen and the blueprints that were spread over the table. "When all this is over, we'll talk about Ursula."

Absentmindedly Oliver nodded. s.h.i.t, he hadn't told Ursula yet about the latest developments. And he had to tell her that he wouldn't be able to stop by tonight since they would be going on the attack tonight. He didn't want her to wait for him in vain and possibly worry.

It was almost sunset by the time Oliver was able to slip out of the situation room and find a quiet office where he could make a phone call without being overheard.

He dialed the pre-programmed number while keeping an eye on the door.

"Oliver?" Ursula's voice came through the line.

"Yes, baby, it's me."

She sighed.

"I have exciting news. We know where the blood brothel has relocated to. It's over in Oakland now. We're going to attack tonight and get the women out."

"Oh my G.o.d! I can't believe it!" Excitement colored her choked up voice.

"It'll all be all right soon."

"What will you do? It's going to be dangerous, isn't it?"

He chuckled. "Are you worried about me?"

"What if I am?"

Pride made his chest swell. Ursula cared about him. "I promise you I know what I'm doing. And my colleagues do to. We're discussing strategy right now. Don't worry, we're going in with guns blazing."

Her breath hitched. "But the girls. You can't hurt them."

"We won't. We have some excellent sharpshooters on our team. None of the girls will be harmed. I promise you."

"It's so good to know it'll soon be over. How did you even manage to find the place?"

"I got a call from Corbin, the vampire you stole the wallet from."

"He found out where they moved to?"

"Yes, he got an email notifying him of the new address. d.a.m.n lucky too! Since he'd only been to the place once, he didn't think they'd even notify him."

"What?"

"I said d.a.m.n luckya""

"Oliver, Corbin didn't just come once. I saw him many times. He was a regular."

Surprise flooded him. "But he said . . . are you sure?"

"Believe me . . . Oh d.a.m.n, I think Vera is at the door. I've gotta go."

"Waita"" But the line went dead. "f.u.c.k!"

Why would Corbin lie about the fact that he'd been a frequent client at the brothel? Why pretend that he'd only been there once and didn't like the special blood? Was it possible that Ursula confused him with another client? No, he couldn't allow himself to doubt her words. Whenever he'd done so, it had turned out that he was wrong and she was right.

He had to follow his gut.

Oliver stormed into the situation room just as Eddie entered too.

"Corbin is lying."

All heads turned to him.

"I just got off the phone with Ursula. She confirmed that Corbin was a regulara""

Zane interrupted him. "You spoke to Ursula? I specifically ordereda""

"That's not important now!" Oliver cried out. "I found her. What she told me makes me believe that Corbin is lying. He was a regular at the blood brothel while he told me he'd been there only once and didn't like it. He's been deceiving us! The warehouse in Oakland has to be a trap."

"There are many reasons why he wouldn't want to admit that he was a regular client," Samson cautioned.

"I agree," Gabriel said. "That doesn't mean the blood brothel isn't where Corbin says it is right now. Besidesa"" He motioned to the monitor where the live video of the warehouse was still showing. "Our human guards have confirmed that they found evidence of activity there. There must be at least a dozen guys holed up inside."

"But no evidence of the women," Oliver noted. "That makes it a trap."

"We should still go in," Zane said. "We'll just take more men with us."

"No! Corbin first."

Amaury shrugged. "It doesn't hurt to send a few people to his house and check on him while the rest of us make our way to Oakland. It'll take us a while to get there anyway." Then he looked at Eddie. "Anything from that second phone Valentine had?"

"I cracked the pa.s.sword," Eddie replied. "But he didn't get any texts or emails about the blood brothel."

Oliver pointed to Eddie. "See, even more reason not to go to Oakland. Why would one client get an email with the new address, but not the other? And Valentine was definitely a regular, considering how addicted he is." He stared at his colleagues, whose expressions had darkened.

Samson and Gabriel exchanged a look. Then Samson stood up. "Change of plans."

35.

Paul Corbin put the finishing touches on his impeccable outfit. He loved dressing well, and for tonight's occasion he'd outdone himself.

As soon as the sun set, he sped away in his black Mercedes. Everything was arranged. It took him less than ten minutes to reach the address on n.o.b Hill. He parked on the opposite side of the street and killed the engine.

When he got out of his car and shut the door behind him, he smoothed the creases from his black suit, while his legs ate up the distance to the entrance of the large building. Next to the bra.s.s sign was an intercom system. He pressed the bell and didn't have to wait long until a crackling and the voice of a woman came through it.

"Yes?"

He bent toward the speaker. "Paul Corbin. I'm a new client."

There was a slight hesitation, then the buzzer sounded. He pressed against the door and entered. The foyer was lush. He quickly a.s.sessed his surroundings: a lounge to the left, two doors to his right, then a large staircase at the end of the hall. One of the doors to his right opened and an Asian woman dressed in a smart business suit exited and walked toward him.

She stretched her hand out in greeting. "Mr. Corbin?"

Corbin shook her hand, not at all surprised that the woman was a vampire. "Good evening."

"I'm Vera," she introduced herself. "May I ask who referred you?"

Prepared for the question, he answered evenly, "Oliver was so kind."

She smiled instantly and relaxed seemingly. "You know Oliver?"

He nodded politely. "Charming young man."

"He is, isn't he?" Then she looked him up and down, sizing him up.

Corbin kept his cool. He knew he would pa.s.s muster.

"What may I offer you for your pleasure? We cater to all tastes."

He smiled nonchalantly. "I'm a man of many tastes. Surprise me." He tossed a glance to the lounge where several women entertained the men present. "All I require is some privacy, away from all the . . . uh, entertainment, shall we say?"

"A private room, of course. This way," Vera directed him.

He followed her along the hallway until she knocked at another door then entered. Inside the comfortable living area sat half a dozen women, all beautiful in their own right, and all tastefully dressed, some showing more flesh than others.

Vera motioned to the girls and gave him a sideway's glance. "The choice is yours."