Erin once again thanks God in his mind that this flees ridden motel had been the only one in the vicinity. Sure, Mark might have an apartment somewhere close, but that was unlikely. He was, after all, nicknamed the Wanderer. There was no sense in him having something more than a car.

They were searching the rooms. So far, they had come by three addicts, which the police had taken out, and two dead drunk people. But no Daphne. Erin was just about to get worried that he was discovered, when a head pocked from a room at the end of the hall.

“Over here, jail bait, fangs!” Erin smiled, relieved. There was only one person who used these nicknames.

They rushed to the room to see that Daphne’s hair was damp and that Mark was naked on the bed, handcuffed to the bed board.

“Daphne, really?” Asked Erin with a raised eyebrow.

“I might visit him in the lab. If they need to see how good he is in bed,” she said with a wink and let them in. She was dressed, for which Erin was thankful. Daphne was a beautiful woman, but, as far as Erin was concerned, she was one of the boys. He didn’t want to see her naked.

“Agent Socros, do you require consoling?” Asked one of the suited agents from behind. He had a worried expression on his face.

“No, I am a good girl and this was consensual. His castration was only consensual on my part,” she said with a chuckle and went out of the door. “He can regrow body parts. Don’t bother to be gentle, and don’t write him off as dead. He is just pretending.”

They heard a sigh from the bed and the black skinned man opened his eyes.

“Really, Daphne? You castrate me first and then rat me out? What, was my performance wanting?” Daphne turned to look at Mark, who was looking at her with furrowed brows.

“It was good, but you are a killer. And I catch killers,” Daphne got out of the room and went down the hall, Erin and Andrew following.

“How did you get captured, Daphne?” Asked Andrew. He still couldn’t wrap his mind around the mystery of the sleeping police officer.

“He has this power where he can put people to sleep with his mind. But, he can’t use it too often. There is a cooldown. He tried to get away and got me to unlock the door. Silly man should have made me unlock the cuffs,” Erin grinned at the man’s oversight and rushed back to the agents.

“Gag him. His voice has magic powers,” the suited agent closest to Erin nodded and pulled out tape from his pocket. Erin was disturbed that the man had it.

“You are a vampire?” Asked Mark, and Erin nodded. There was no use in hiding. “Why do you work with the government? Surely, you know where non-humans go?”

“I have a deal with them. They don’t cut me open, and I catch people like you,” said Erin as the agent reached Mark.

“Once you outlive your usefulness, you will be strapped to an operational table. Mark my words. I used to be an agent too, once. About twenty years ago. It is all fun and games until they send your best friend to capture you,” and the agent began placing the tape around Mark’s mouth.

Erin couldn’t get Mark’s words out of him mind, even when he reached Andrew and Daphne. Could it be true? But, then, Mark was probably immortal. Far more than Erin. He looked calm, too. As if he…

They heard screams from behind and turned around to see a bloody agent fly down the hall. Erin pulled out his gun and ran back in the room. Mark was holding the agent that had taped his mouth shut by the neck. The cuffs around his wrists were gone. So was the tape.

“You will listen and obey,” said Mark, and Erin stood still. He couldn’t do anything but wait. “You will aim your gun at this man, and you will shoot him in the head.”

Erin cocked the gun and took aim. His hands were shaking. He wanted to avoid killing. But, something was causing him pain the more he fought back. Suddenly, someone grabbed the gun out of his grip and pushed him to the side. It was Andrew. He looked from Mark to Erin, and then he took aim at Mark’s head.

“Ah, shit,” said Mark as Andrew shot him in the mouth. Then, for good measure, he shot him in each of the man’s eyes. In a better marksmanship than he had ever shown, his aim probably righted by adrenaline.

Mark fell down, and the agent scrambled to his feet. Mark began to twitch, and they saw how his flesh was knitting together. It was a slow process, but it was happening.

“Quick, cuff him. Put tape over his mouth,” shouted Andrew, and the agent quickly did so. Then, he injected Mark with something and Mark stopped twitching.

“Lethal injection,” supplied the man, looking afraid. “And yet, this thing is still alive.”

Andrew and Erin took a hold of Mark and dragged him out. They would not trust the agents with this work. There was too much at stake. By the time they had gotten to the van, Mark’s eyes looked healthy. That unnerved both of them.

If Mark could heal himself so fast, how were the agents going to keep him in custody? Another agent came with a syringe and injected it in Mark. Then, Mark was wrapped in chains, old school, medieval, chains, and thrown in the back of the van like a sack of potatoes.

“Agents Hudson and Jackson, thank you for your work. We will be taking former agent Ulcer from here. Agent Hawk will be waiting in your home. You have three days of leisure time before you need to report to him. Enjoy Fort Piers,” said the agent Mark had held by his throat. Both Andrew and Erin looked for Daphne, only to see her chatting up a police officer. They shook their heads. Some things never changed.