Daphne had, after being told she faced a life sentence, snitched on them. So, here they were. In their apartment with a disgruntled Daphne and a government official.

“I am from the Office of Supernatural Affairs. My name is Hawk,” said the white haired man before them. Andrew sent Erin a concerned look. There were people outside their door and a van parked in the parking lot. There was no running away for them.

“You all face charges. You, Mr. Hudson, are a vampire. We hand those to government laboratories,” Erin gulped. He briefly considered jumping through the window to get away. But, he remembered the van, and reconsidered.

“You, Mr. Jackson, are accused of knowing of two vampires and keeping it to yourself for quite a bit. While you could be excused that normally people don’t report such creatures, you knew that one of them is a killer. Yet, you waited for weeks before exposing him. All the deaths between the moment you walked out of the Little Martini club and the day when the vampire Frederik was caught are as much on you as on him,” then Mr. Hawk turned to Daphne, a distasteful expression on his face.

“And you, Miss Socros, should be on death row. I don’t need to tell you why, do I?” Daphne snorted, clearly unrepentant.

“So, why are we here instead of in prison or, in his case,” she pointed at Erin. “On the operational table?”

“Excellent question. We, from the Office of Supernatural Affairs, believe in second chances. We could make use of the three of you. Seeing as one of you know of vampires by the virtue of being one. And the other two have both been attacked by the deviant Frederik,” Daphne rolled her eyes and Andrew sent her a look. Did she want to get them behind bars?

“What are our options?” Asked Andrew. His blue eyes found the stack of papers Mr. Hawk had placed on the table. He wondered what they were.

“You can agree to work for us,” said Mr. Hawk, and he pointed to the papers. “Or you can all be dealt with. I told you how, already. I do not enjoy repeating myself.”

Erin, with shaky hands, reached out towards the topmost paper. He read it and his eyes widened.

“You want us to hunt the things that go bump at night? Do we look like superheroes to you?” He snapped, and Mr. Hawk raised an eyebrow. “I mean, sorry.”

“You are excused. You will have a two-month training. Real papers for you, Mr. Hudson, not the cheap fakes you have now. We will make sure that your bank account is straightened out, so you wouldn’t lose your money. And you, Mr. Jackson, will have to continue being the manager of the Antique Elegance shop. Just like Miss Socros would have to show up in her bar, from time to time. Everything must appear normal. Am I understood?” The three nodded.

“Sign, then,” ordered Mr. Hawk, and Erin signed with shaky hands before handing the contract to Andrew. “And don’t forget to put the date in the correct slot.”

They signed the first paper and Erin reached out for another one from the stack, but found that it had nowhere to sign. He flipped it. It was just a wall of text.

“This is all we know about the non-human inhabitants of our country,” said Mr. Hawk when Erin began to read. “You are encouraged to add more to the information. As all our agents do.”

Daphne barked a laugh.

“What? Should we bring scalpels with us on hunts? Vials?” Mr. Hawk leveled her with a look that told her to shut up, but she was having none of that. “I won’t poke and prob anyone. That is inhumane!”

“And leading people to their death was very humane, was it?” Snapped Mr. Hawk, and she looked down at her hands.

“I always tried to hook them up with someone to take care of the problem,” suddenly Andrew knew why she had been speaking to that man at the bar. It hadn’t been another snack for Frederik. It was someone for him. He blushed deep red and looked at Daphne accusingly.

“What? You are so gay it practically pours out of you in waves, jail bait. It is not a girl saved you, is it?” She looked pointedly at Erin, and Andrew had to admit that she was right. At least for the latter part.

Erin looked at Andrew and his eyes travelled over his form.

“You have to admit, Andy, you have no macho in you. You have this calmness and goodwill to you too. They are both endearing, but girls don’t dig them until they are forty and raising two kids by themselves,” Erin finished and Andrew sent him a betrayed look.

“Back on topic,” Mr. Hawk interrupted their conversation. “You will be paid two thousand dollars per month. Five, after a successful catch. If the convict is alive when you catch them, seven,” Andrew’s eyes threatened to bulge out his eye sockets. 

That was a lot of money. More than what he made at the shop. He could see himself making one hundred grants worth of savings faster that way. Suddenly, the whole situation wasn’t so bleak.

“That sounds impressive,” said Erin, looking weary. “But, it is not like the crazies are going to line up to be captured. We will be risking our hides.”

A bucket of cold water washed over Andrew. He had forgotten about that. Frederik had looked like a super villain to him. And the things they were going to be going after would be just as dangerous, if not more so.

But, what choice did they have? It was either this or prison. Or the lab, for Erin. Mr. Hawk had them and he knew it.

“We will do it. We signed already. When does the training start?” Mr. Hawk turned to Andrew with a satisfied smile.

“Tomorrow. You have today off. Use the time to read as much as you can about the non-humans,” with that, Mr. Hawk stood and collected his briefcase. He left, but the people before the door didn’t. Andrew supposed that was so they couldn’t run. With nothing better to do, he picked up the first available sheet of paper as Daphne and Erin did the same.

Wait, banshees existed?