In the living room he sat down at the table, took a clean sheet of paper, and began writing short notes:
"Container 47.
Gray vial, no visible effect.
Ethan drank the entire contents.
Symptoms: absent (for now).
Observation continues."
He set the pen aside and looked out the window, where a gray, cold dawn was breaking.
"What the hell are you…" Flash whispered, staring at the empty gray vial.
"And why did Laurent keep you like the most dangerous weapon he had?"
He stood up, walked over to the window, and stared at the empty street for a long time.
In the bedroom Ethan was still sleeping peacefully, clutching the black stake to his chest.
Flash was the first to get up. He had barely slept, he had spent the entire night sitting on the old chair by Ethan's bedroom door, watching him through the narrow crack.
Now he moved quietly into the kitchen, switched on the coffee maker, and started brewing a strong pot of black coffee. The bitter aroma slowly spread through the apartment, mixing with the smell of old wood and dried blood.
A few minutes later Gideon woke up. Groaning, he climbed out of the armchair, winced at the pain in his side, and limped toward the kitchen.
"Coffee?" he asked hoarsely, rubbing his face.
"It's coming," Flash answered without turning around.
Bruno was the last to rise, moving with obvious effort. He was still weak from his wounds, but he could move on his own now.
Holding onto the wall for support, he made it to the kitchen and lowered himself heavily onto a rickety wooden chair.
"Is Ethan still asleep?" he asked quietly.
Flash nodded.
"I'll get him."
He walked to the bedroom door, knocked twice with his fist, and called softly.
"Ethan, come out. Everyone's already in the kitchen."
Half a minute later the door opened a crack. Ethan stepped out, still wearing the same clothes from the night before. He hadn't let go of the stake, he held it in his right hand like a walking stick.
Ethan walked into the kitchen and sat down at the table last. Four men. Four mugs of hot coffee.
Flash set his own mug down and swept a long, heavy look over everyone. Blood was still seeping through the bandage on his wounded shoulder, but he paid it no attention.
"While you were sleeping, I was thinking," he began without any preamble.
"To reach Gérard de Milieu, we first have to get through his people. He has an entire network, security, informants, cops, officials. You can't just walk up to him, and he's buried too deep."
He nodded toward the weapon Ethan had placed on the edge of the table.
"Now we have this thing that can absorb souls."
"It's our biggest advantage, but…"
Ethan immediately shook his head. The fingers of his left hand trembled slightly; sometimes they clenched on their own, then relaxed again.
"I can't keep absorbing souls," he said quietly.
"Every time the stake takes another one, I get worse. The voices get louder."
"I can already feel them… settling inside me. If I start using it like a regular weapon, I'll stop being myself soon."
"I'll just… disappear."
Gideon nodded in agreement.
"Then we need a different plan," Flash continued.
"First we have to neutralize the most dangerous man in this chain, Police Chief Richard Hale."
Bruno raised his eyebrows in surprise.
"Hale? The one who covers for every vampire in the city and keeps the whole police force under his thumb?"
"Exactly him," Flash confirmed.
"As long as he's in that position, any move we make will reach Gérard immediately."
"Patrols, cameras, raids, it's all in his hands. We need to put someone of our own in his place."
"Someone who won't work for the Corvins and won't turn the department's resources against us."
Ethan slowly set his mug on the table. His left hand twitched again; for a moment his fingers lost all feeling.
"And how exactly do you picture that?" he asked.
"Just walk into headquarters and say, 'Hi, we'd like to install a new police chief'?"
Flash gave a faint, crooked smile, the first of the morning.
"Not quite."
"We have Laurent's key and the documents from his office. Names, connections, dirt on a lot of people."
"We can find Hale's weak spot. Or find someone who can replace him. An old hunter who used to fight vampires but went underground."
"Or someone who hates the Corvins enough to take the risk."
Gideon leaned back in his chair and folded his arms across his chest.
"It sounds risky, but doable."
"First Hale, then the rest."
Bruno nodded, though his face remained tense.
"The main thing is not to let Ethan use the stake too often. We have to cover him while he… holds on."
Ethan stayed silent, staring at his hands. In the morning light the black lines on his neck were clearly visible.
He slowly ran his fingers over the skin; the lines felt hot to the touch.
"I'll try," he said at last, quietly.
"But if it gets really bad… you have to tell me."
"Honestly, I don't want to turn into what Roy was. Or become another vegetable standing in the depot with the rest of them."
Flash looked at him for a long, heavy moment. There was exhaustion in his eyes, but also firm resolve.
"I promise, if I feel you've had enough, I'll be the first to say it. We're all in this shit together."
Silence fell over the kitchen again. Only the coffee in the mugs slowly cooled, and somewhere outside the window the waking city made a quiet noise.