He lit a cigarette and stood by the window, watching the night sky with only one thought in mind; how to get rid of the humans and claim the world for himself and his kind alone.
The obvious question came to his mind. What would happen to the others who like himself wanted to share in the glory of Earth forever?
He smirked as he drew a deep puff from the cigarette. They would have to die. Anyone who stood in his way would have to die. That was the way it would be. There would be only one winner at the end of the great war and he knew who the winner would be.
The sharp ringing of the telephone interrupted his thoughts at once. He twirled his back and walked to the telephone. He grabbed it with one hand while the other hand still held the cigarette.
"Is she dead?" The thick voice of the man on the other side of the telephone asked.
The man sniffed in the phlegm that was beginning to gather in his nostrils.
"No," He responded after a moment. "Something unexpected happened. Our man is down."
There was a moment's pause on the line.
He heard the heavy breathing of the man on the other side and guessed that he was still dealing with the impact of the words he had just said to him.
"This is bad," The man finally said. "Do you know if he got to question him before he killed him?"
The other man was silent. He had no idea how to answer that question. He was talking with a traitor and now, he had to be careful not to give the traitor the impression that Vanessa knew who he was. That would be bad for the both of them.
"You see, I was monitoring his movements," He began, choosing his words very carefully. "I don't think she had enough time to question him before he died."
"Hmm," The man on the other side grunted. "So you're saying that Vanessa did not kill him."
"That is what I think. Perhaps he followed through with the contingency plan."
The other man agreed silently. Still, there was an unspoken question in the air and they both knew what it was. Neither of them was ready to bring up the topic yet.
"We have to do something about her," The other man said, breaking the silence. "And very soon. You know what is at stake. You know what she plans to do with this city. Soon, there will be no place for us here unless we act fast and stop her. That is the only way we can save a spot for us here."
As he spoke, the other man grimaced. He was getting disgusted by his words. If only he knew.
"Yes," He said in agreement. "One way or the other, Vanessa will die. That is something I'm committed to seeing happening."
Those were the truest words he was saying tonight. The other man seemed pleased by his words. It showed in the way he answered.
"Certainly. I might have something to share with you," She added quickly.
The man took a sharp puff from his cigarette and swallowed the smoke. It was something he unconsciously did whenever he was stressed.
"Go ahead," He said.
The other man hesitated.
A moment later, he said, "I might know a way to stop Vanessa without killing her."
The man suddenly became interested. He put away the cigarette on the table beside him and clutched the telephone tightly to his ears.
"Go on."
"I don't know if this might be of any help," The man was saying. "But I heard from a very reliable source that Vanessa is a cougar. She preys on young men and makes them warm her bed whenever she's bored." He paused and waited, as if regretting his words.
The other man was listening, absorbing every word.
"This reliable source you got this information from, did he mention what kind of men she's interested in? Are they just humans or does it delve into other species?" He asked sounding eager.
"Not exactly. She doesn't have specifics. She preys on anyone who can satisfy her. I think you get the point now."
The man nodded. "Yes. As a matter of fact, I do. Thank you very much for this information. I have a feeling that you and I are going to be such great friends."
He slammed the telephone without another word and took the last puff from his cigarette. Then, he threw it to the ground and stepped on it.
Satisfied that the fire from the cigarette had been quenched, he moved away from it and went to his bedroom. He fetched his coat from his wardrobe and put it on in a hurry.
Then, he walked right back to the living room and stepped out into the cold night. He was heading to the club.
****
Vanessa was making her way back into the cool chambers of her private library in a mad haste. Her heart flew as she toppled through the stairs, too dazed to even consider using the elevator.
She weighed that option once already and had decided against it. The elevator may have been fast but it would not give her the serenity she needed to think.
Moreover, she had the bad habit of wanting desperately to be stuck in the past ways of doing things. The advancement in technology had brought more harm than good and now, all Vanessa could do to keep herself sane was to try to continue in the old ways of doing things.
In a way, it made her feel human, and not just some blood-sucking devil looming in the world.
She made a sharp turn from the other side of her house where she was coming from and stepped into the dimly lit hallway. It was lined with beautiful paintings which any museum worldwide would have gladly featured.
On ordinary days, the paintings and the entire aura of the hallway always had a soothing effect on Vanessa no matter her state of mind. But not tonight. Tonight, all hell had broken loose and she was about to lose her sanity to it.
She finally found her way to her private library and stood before it allowing the biometrics to process her face. The door had a retina scan security system in it. It would only open after scanning her eyes and confirming that it belonged to her.
The severity system was fool-proof and could not be hacked by anyone. Vanessa had made sure of that.
Five seconds passed and the scan was over. The door made a beeping sound and then a click. It was open. Vanessa drew in a deep breath and pushed through the door, opening it wider.