Cause of Death: Unnatural

Em made Nick stop for pizza before they headed off to the warehouse. She knew what that coffee machine in the office was capable of, and if Nick hadn't eaten he'd be strung out for hours.

She also knew, thanks to Jarek's little re-con mission, that they were unlikely to find anything usable at the warehouse, even if Nick had found the right one. If she thought about it, she had to admit she'd chosen to come along on Nick's little adventure at such a crazy hour of the night because she wanted his company.

She shared his meat-lovers with extra cheese, sucked down a Coke and watched Nick eat. He ate like he worked - with determination and with enjoyment. She envied him.

He looked up at her and caught her watching him.

"What?" he said smiling, a string of melted cheese stuck to his chin.

She grinned. "Nothing." She reached across and brushed it off for him. He smiled goofily and kissed the inside of her wrist as she drew her hand back.

"It's past midnight, Em. I hadn't realized. I totally lost track of the time. Sorry if I've spoiled your evening. You should have said no. We can always check it out tomorrow."

"It's fine. I wasn't doing anything."

"That family do I mentioned is on tomorrow - I mean, today. You still want to come with me?"

That puppy dog look was back on his face, Em noticed. She loved it. He really wanted her to go.

"Sure," she said lightly. "Of course I do."

After the pizza, they'd set off for the harborside again, passing Alina's club with a line out the door.

The warehouse was the one they were looking for, the one Will had 'told' her about. Em was impressed with Nick's sleuthing. Nice work, given he had so little to go off. She wondered what this 'random criminal vibe' was he was going on about.

The building was tucked away at the end of a battleaxe block, nearly wall to wall with the surrounding buildings except for one narrow, dirty alley running along its south side. Whoever was using it certainly didn't have to worry about visibility.

They found a door padlocked with a lock that looked so old Em was certain it would fall apart if she breathed on it. She dug a pick out of her handbag, and reached out to grab the lock. The instant her hand made contact with the metal, the all-too-familiar headache roared to the front of her mind. Em immediately pulled back her hand as if she'd been burnt. She stumbled back a little.

"You okay?" Nick peered at her in the dim light.

"Yeah," said Em, pushing back the hair that had fallen into her face. The headache had retreated as soon as she pulled her hand away. It was still there, throbbing in the back of her head, but the sudden flare up seemed to be over. "Yeah, it just ... there was a sharp bit, that's all."

Nick looked dubious. Em didn't want to touch it again and she held the pick up for Nick. He ignored it, took a few steps back and then gave the door a good hard kick. It swung open.

"Urgh!" Em immediately covered her nose. The stench that washed over them was almost unbearable. It was like a hot wave, the air thick with decay. In the back of her head, the headache pulsed and then bloomed like a rose, full and ripe all through her mind.

Em stepped up behind Nick and buried her face in his shoulder in an attempt to filter the air. He turned to her and they stood there, one hand over their faces, their other arms around each other, surveying the carnage in front of them. They could both handle a few corpses, but this, this was much, much more...

The warehouse floor was lined with bodies. Every single one of them was male, every single one of them was drained dry to an ashen grey pallor. Em shivered. No one vampire would ever have an appetite this large.

'A bit of a mess' Jarek had said. A bit of a mess? Surely even the Family's commander in chief would have thought this worth mentioning. At the very least it was a gross violation of the Family's cull protocols.

But this wasn't vampire...

"What does this mean?" said Nick, appalled.

Em could only shake her head. This wasn't a cull. This was mass murder.