As a city that ran almost entirely on income from tourism, Starlight Bay's entertainment constructions were usually of high quality. There were many of them too, all built to popularize the town and in turn draw in more people into the economical loop.
Although most of the establishments in the urban part of the city were high class, there were still many that had yet to fall into that category. Small cafes, eateries and the like that were privately owned served to provide for people who had no intention of blowing hundreds of dollars on a ridiculously small meal.
In one of such modest restaurants, three people sat around a table. Though they were in a restaurant, none of them had a single edible thing in front of them. After all, food was the last thing on their minds at the moment.
Michael read through the list in front of him for what must have been the tenth time in the past fifteen minutes. A dark look had settled on his face and his eyes narrowed grimly as he returned the paper back to Antonio who sat opposite him.
"Are you sure of this?"
The Italian man nodded solemnly. "I couldn't believe it either when I first saw the list. Had my people double check too and it was the same thing. Everyone on that list hasn't been seen or heard from in weeks."
A sober silence fell on the trio once more. Mia stared at innocent looking paper on the table in shock and suppressed horror. There were more than two dozen names and pictures on both sides of the sheet, all of whom had mysteriously disappeared. There was no mention of any leads on their location and it was not for a lack of trying.
"What about the police?" Mia asked in a slightly agitated tone. "Shouldn't they have done something by now?"
Antonio let out a small laugh in reply. "You think they haven't tried? The police found nothing no matter how hard they looked."
"Of course they would find nothing." Michael's voice was gravely calm. He looked up at Antonio with an unsettling chill in his eyes. "Did your people find anything?"
"Unfortunately, no. You should know that although I might run a crime ring, I don't delve into these kinds of things. This is darker stuff. More dangerous and thus more profitable. I might not swim in those waters but I'm not the only one of my kind around here. Some of these city officials are more corrupt than you think."
Michael stood up and thanked Antonio for his help then he made his way out of the restaurant, sparing nary a thought whether Mia followed him or not. She did, after she had expressed her gratitude towards the Italian man for his information.
Mia had to struggle to catch up to Michael. When she reached him, it took several firm tugs at his shirt before she got him to finally face her. Her mouth went a bit dry at how cold and emotionless he looked at that moment but she pushed through nonetheless.
"What are you going to do now?" She asked gently, not wanting to risk agitating him even more.
"I need to talk with Dan." His reply was monotonous, something she found very unlikable. "This is escalating faster than I'm willing to tolerate."
Without even waiting for her to say another word, he went around the girl and continued onwards in the direction of the school. Mia stood there for a few seconds, at a loss on what to do, before she decided to first focus on calming down the Hunter's cold fury. She may not have known him for a long time but she had learnt something during her brief time knowing the supernatural world. An angry supernatural being was a very irrational supernatural being.
*********
Diane had never been a fan of hospitals. Even when she had been little she had always harbored a dislike for the uncomfortable atmosphere that filled hospitals. There was so much white everywhere that it made her eyes hurt and the smell of disinfectant that lingered in the air sickened her. The common apprehension most children had towards the place had done nothing to quell her uneasiness at the time.
Now after so many years she still found herself a tad uncomfortable being in one. But she was an adult now. It would be silly if she were to display such cowardice. Besides, there was something far more important that her personal comfort at stake at the moment.
Thus it was with a steeled mind that the brunette made her way to the receptionist's desk in the hospital's wide lobby. The nurse behind the desk looked a few years younger than Diane herself, with darker hair and a pleasant smile that was familiar with receptionists everywhere.
"Excuse me please," Diane began with a smile of her own. She pulled out her ID out of her pocket. "My name is Diane Stone and I teach at Starlight Central Academy. Some of our students were brought in some time back and I need to meet them immediately."
The nurse leaned in to inspect the ID presented to her for a while before nodding satisfactorily. Throughout the inspection, Diane had remained perfectly calm. It was not a forgery after all. The Church had been very thorough with its preparations for the program, going as far as acquiring genuine teaching licenses for both Exorcists. Acquiring legitimate degrees had been part of their training in Italy. They were not expected to spend the rest of their lives hunting monsters after all.
"Do you have a list with you?" The receptionist asked.
Diane retrieved a neatly folded note where she had compiled the names of every single student who had taken ill and had been reported absent for the past few weeks. The receptionist took the list and glanced briefly through it before moving to input the names into the computer.
The instant the lady frowned slightly, Diane knew something had gone terribly wrong.
"I'm sorry but none of these names are showing up on our database."
"What? Are you sure?"
"Yes Miss Stone. I've already checked every entry report over the last two months twice. None of your students were admitted in this hospital. If you would like, I can run a cross reference with other hospitals in the city to check with them."
"You can do that?"
The lady nodded serenely and folded up the note for safekeeping. "Yes, but it will take some time to get the results."
"How long?" Diane asked absentmindedly.
"Somewhere between a few days to a week." The nurse looked carefully at Diane's marginally distressed expression and her voice went down a few tones and became a bit more sympathetic. "Miss, would you like me to report this to the police? If it turns out to be a case of kidnapping, I'm sure they can help."
Diane's eyebrows shot up as she waved off the offer firmly but politely. "No thank you. I think I'll just have to speak with the school authorities first before we decide on what to do."
The nurse still looked unconvinced but she chose to believe the older woman. "Alright, but I will be needing your contact details so I can reach you if we find anything."
The Exorcist nodded understandingly and accepted the pen and note offered to her. As she inputted her number, the woman's mind ran rampant with the implications of her hospital visit. Now that she had confirmed that the missing students were not in a confirmed location, the danger level of the situation had definitely risen by more than a few notches. She wondered how Michael would take this newfound information. She did not know why but a shiver ran through her spine when she thought about the alpha Hunter's reactions.
Outside the hospital, a tall shirtless man stood hidden in the shadows of a dark alley in between two buildings opposite the hospital. Above the sun had already begun its gradual descent and a few stores had already began closing for the day. The poor illumination of the alley was barely enough to make the man's muscular form visible. Across his upper body, various tribal markings and tattoos covered his tan skin and the animal pelt hung over his back and head only served to add to his intimating appearance.
His dark eyes remained fixed on the blurry figure on the other side of the hospital's glass windows talking with the receptionist. After a while, the figure left the receptionist's desk and exited the building. The man watched the female professor leave the hospital and raise her phone to her ear presumably to answer a call.
A frown appeared on his face as he considered his next actions. He had been shown pictures of the ones they called the Hunters and had been told to treat them with extreme caution. He had even been made aware of the witches and vampires that had been noted as 'troublesome'. But no one had ever told him anything about this female. He knew her as one of the new teachers at the school but that was it. There was no other information they had on both her and her male colleague whom, like her had begun snooping around in places they should not have even noticed much less look into.
In the end he decided to take it as a teacher who was worried about her students. But that was where the trouble lay. He had been instructed to make sure nobody clued in on what was going on regarding the missing students. Committing the woman's face to memory, he made a mental note to deal with her if she got too nosy.
But this incident had showed him that their operations were starting to get a bit too obvious. If they were to ever proceed with the plan, some aspects would have to be sped up. In that vein, adjustments would have to be made. Which in turn meant more work for him.
A frustrated grunt escaped his mouth as he suddenly regretted not killing the female professor earlier.