I laugh softly. "Maybe we can do something about that afterward. Thanks for coming."
"All finished," the nurse says, as she removes the needle. She has me press a cotton ball to the tiny wound and raise my arm until the bleeding stops. Then she slaps on a bandage.
"Okay, kiddo," Rachel says. "Good deed done for the day. Let's go celebrate."
She and Jeff take our little group to a Chinese buffet. Michael peppers Jeff with questions. It's no secret that he was a Night Watchman before he became a bodyguard for the Agency. After dinner, Jeff gives everyone a ride home. I'm thinking I'll get a chance to see where Sin lives, but he gets out of the car with Michael. Apparently they're going to practice some defense moves together.
As we drive away, Rachel says, "What do you know about Sin?"
"Not much. Why?"
"Just like to keep up with who you're hanging out with."
"Afraid he's going to get me in trouble?"
"He does give off that vibe."
I look out the window. Yeah, he does.
From the front seat, Rachel turns around completely to face me.
"So … speaking of who you're hanging out with … care to explain how you came to spend time with a vamp family?"
Busted!
"They were at Valentine Manor," I tell her, and wonder how many lies I'm going to have to spout. It seems like I've turned into a serial fabricator since Victor entered my life. "I thought mentioning them might be the best way to humanize vampires."
"Only they're not human."
"But we need the citizens to see them as not exactly monsters. Or at least, not all of them as monsters."
She studies me for a moment. "I'm impressed by how quickly you're coming to understand your role as delegate, but why didn't you mention meeting them when we were discussing everything that happened at Valentine Manor?" I was a little more freaked out by Victor Valentine's presence."
"You didn't seem freaked."
"Geez, Rachel, I'm not the enemy here."
"I just don't like it when I don't know everything that's going on. Yes, you've had two months of delegate training, but it takes years to become truly proficient at dealing with vampires—especially someone like Valentine. Don't kid yourself, Dawn. You're still a novice. I need to know everything, so I can advise you and keep you safe. And keep the citizens safe. So what else haven't you told me?"
A lot. I should tell her about Victor.
"Nothing."
Through the window I can see the lights of the Works. We're nearing home. I'm tempted to ask Jeff to drive a little faster.
When we get to the apartment, Jeff comes in with us. I sink onto the couch and turn on the TV. We're immediately greeted with the image of Roland Hursch outside the blood site we were just at.
"The Agency is making slaves of us all!" he shouts from a makeshift podium that I swear he carries around with him. A small crowd has gathered beside the raging warmonger. News cameras capture his rant, and flash photography bounces off his sweating, angry face. "Now they're targeting teenagers, our own children. They are asking them to trade their souls for a party. A party! The Agency isn't satisfied draining adults. No, they've moved on to our kids. This is a tragedy!"
"Wow," I say, "can you believe it?"
No answer.
I look behind me. Rachel and Jeff are in the kitchen, definitely standing closer than they need to be. I hear them talking quietly and feel like an intruder, or worse yet, some kind of roadblock for this blossoming romance. Muting the TV, I call out, "I'm going to my room. I've got some homework to do."
"Okay," Rachel says back.
Closing my bedroom door, I'm just as relieved at having a moment of privacy as they are. I tuck my legs beneath me on my bed and start writing a report that I can give to our public relations department about the Teen Initiative. If they can spread the word throughout the city, maybe it'll generate some excitement at the other schools. It should be a nice counter to that idiot Hursch.