Dying Bites: The Bloodhound Files-1 by DD Barant
Authors: DD Barant
Tags: Fiction, General, Suspense, Romance, Fantasy fiction, Fiction - Fantasy, Fantasy, Fantasy - Contemporary, Contemporary, Mystery & Detective, Women Sleuths, Occult fiction, Mystery & Detective - Women Sleuths, Vampires, American Science Fiction And Fantasy, Horror & Ghost Stories, Werewolves, Serial Murders, Criminal profilers, Serial Murder Investigation
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aggressive—and human. That’s a combination he finds both rare and irresistible.”
“Why?”
She manages to shrug while only moving her eyebrows. “Who knows? It’s like the old joke: Why do vampires date humans?”
“I give up.”
Dying Bites – Bloodhound Files 01
Page 49 of 370
“Yes, but not without a struggle.”
Great. I’m going to have to deal with “human being” jokes, too.
“David is loyal to a fault,” Gretchen says. “Give him your best—professionally, I mean—
and he’ll put his very long life on the line for you. Cross him and he’ll wait twenty years for his revenge.”
“I’m not planning on being here that long,” I mutter. “But thanks for the whole carrot-andstick pep talk.”
The elevator shows up, disgorges an agent in a business suit and a golem in a shortsleeved white shirt, his hairless head and exposed arms a dull yellow. His ears are just bumps. He nods at Charlie, but doesn’t say anything as he steps past.
“How about you, Charlie?” I ask as we step inside. “Do you agree with Gretch? Is Cassius all she says?”
“The Director knows what he’s doing. If that means making sacrifices to get the job done, that’s what he’ll do.”
“Yeah? Sacrificing himself, or just other people?”
“Whatever it takes.”
The forensics lab is on the top floor, a warren of rooms both large and small, all lit by fluorescents and as windowless and claustrophobic as a subbasement. My new colleagues guide me through the maze to a lab the size of a classroom, stocked with equipment that at first glance seems comfortingly familiar: comparison microscopes, glass doored cabinets, centrifuges and computers. My laptop is on a long, wide table, Dying Bites – Bloodhound Files 01
Page 50 of 370
plugged into an outlet with a new power cord, and my gun lies in pieces on a white piece of cloth next to it.
The man studying those pieces is perched on a stool next to the table, peering intently at a bullet he holds with a pair of forceps. He wears the standard white lab coat, but his hair is even whiter, as short, thick, and bristly as a toothbrush. His eyebrows are the same, dense and snowy over eyes so ice blue they look artificial. His face is wide and ruddy, and when he notices us he grins and springs to his feet.
“Hello, hello! You must be the new hire!” He puts out an enormous hand, his fingers short and stubby. He’s built like a weight lifter, his smock bulging across the chest and at the biceps, his legs just a little bowed. “Damon Eisfanger, very pleased to meet you.”
He shakes my hand gently, as if afraid he’ll break it.
“Jace Valchek. I think that’s my property you’re vivisecting.”
“Hmm? Oh, yes, yes, the weapon. I haven’t damaged it, I assure you. I just couldn’t pass up the opportunity to examine such . . . unusual technology.”
“Can I have it back?” Despite what Cassius promised, I didn’t really believe they’d ever let me hold my gun again; these people weren’t stupid, and the minute someone with an engineering degree understood what they had—
“Yes, of course. It may take me some time to reassemble it—”
“Don’t bother.” I grab pieces with both hands before he can change his mind. Click, snap, chunk, click, and I’m armed once more. Even though I know it’ll be ineffective against most of the locals, it still makes me feel better; if someone ticks me off, maybe I can shoot their car.
Eisfanger is looking at me with admiration. “That was quick,” he said. “I take it this is a hobby of yours?”
Dying Bites – Bloodhound Files 01
Page 51 of 370
“Not really. All law enforcement officers are expected to maintain their firearms where I come from. That includes field-stripping and cleaning them on a regular basis—I’m just a little faster than most.”
“So all police agencies use these?” He sounds fascinated and a little incredulous, as if I’d just told him we also fly
“Why?”
She manages to shrug while only moving her eyebrows. “Who knows? It’s like the old joke: Why do vampires date humans?”
“I give up.”
Dying Bites – Bloodhound Files 01
Page 49 of 370
“Yes, but not without a struggle.”
Great. I’m going to have to deal with “human being” jokes, too.
“David is loyal to a fault,” Gretchen says. “Give him your best—professionally, I mean—
and he’ll put his very long life on the line for you. Cross him and he’ll wait twenty years for his revenge.”
“I’m not planning on being here that long,” I mutter. “But thanks for the whole carrot-andstick pep talk.”
The elevator shows up, disgorges an agent in a business suit and a golem in a shortsleeved white shirt, his hairless head and exposed arms a dull yellow. His ears are just bumps. He nods at Charlie, but doesn’t say anything as he steps past.
“How about you, Charlie?” I ask as we step inside. “Do you agree with Gretch? Is Cassius all she says?”
“The Director knows what he’s doing. If that means making sacrifices to get the job done, that’s what he’ll do.”
“Yeah? Sacrificing himself, or just other people?”
“Whatever it takes.”
The forensics lab is on the top floor, a warren of rooms both large and small, all lit by fluorescents and as windowless and claustrophobic as a subbasement. My new colleagues guide me through the maze to a lab the size of a classroom, stocked with equipment that at first glance seems comfortingly familiar: comparison microscopes, glass doored cabinets, centrifuges and computers. My laptop is on a long, wide table, Dying Bites – Bloodhound Files 01
Page 50 of 370
plugged into an outlet with a new power cord, and my gun lies in pieces on a white piece of cloth next to it.
The man studying those pieces is perched on a stool next to the table, peering intently at a bullet he holds with a pair of forceps. He wears the standard white lab coat, but his hair is even whiter, as short, thick, and bristly as a toothbrush. His eyebrows are the same, dense and snowy over eyes so ice blue they look artificial. His face is wide and ruddy, and when he notices us he grins and springs to his feet.
“Hello, hello! You must be the new hire!” He puts out an enormous hand, his fingers short and stubby. He’s built like a weight lifter, his smock bulging across the chest and at the biceps, his legs just a little bowed. “Damon Eisfanger, very pleased to meet you.”
He shakes my hand gently, as if afraid he’ll break it.
“Jace Valchek. I think that’s my property you’re vivisecting.”
“Hmm? Oh, yes, yes, the weapon. I haven’t damaged it, I assure you. I just couldn’t pass up the opportunity to examine such . . . unusual technology.”
“Can I have it back?” Despite what Cassius promised, I didn’t really believe they’d ever let me hold my gun again; these people weren’t stupid, and the minute someone with an engineering degree understood what they had—
“Yes, of course. It may take me some time to reassemble it—”
“Don’t bother.” I grab pieces with both hands before he can change his mind. Click, snap, chunk, click, and I’m armed once more. Even though I know it’ll be ineffective against most of the locals, it still makes me feel better; if someone ticks me off, maybe I can shoot their car.
Eisfanger is looking at me with admiration. “That was quick,” he said. “I take it this is a hobby of yours?”
Dying Bites – Bloodhound Files 01
Page 51 of 370
“Not really. All law enforcement officers are expected to maintain their firearms where I come from. That includes field-stripping and cleaning them on a regular basis—I’m just a little faster than most.”
“So all police agencies use these?” He sounds fascinated and a little incredulous, as if I’d just told him we also fly
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