Stakeout

    Rich winced at the sloppy enchantment the goth band wannabe tried (and failed) to direct over the girl he had been stalking since 11:45PM while she was bar hopping with her friends. This had been his fourth attempt to use magic to lure her away, and every time, the girl's unbending willpower had torn the magic to shreds. Since Rich had been stalking the stalker since 11:00PM, he was getting tired of evidence gathering and the rookie who had been sticking to him like melted chocolate on shag rug all night.

     "So, is he like, a real vampire?" Asked Mitch, the aforementioned tag along. "Are real vampires even, like, real?"

     Rich sighed, tempering his irritation with the bonus this particular job granted on his paycheck, and gave Mitch a side glance. He was nothing to really look at; dangerously thin and short with strait black hair and smart square glasses, the skinny jeans, messenger bag, and black tee (giant white letters screaming NERD across his chest) gave the impression he had googled his fashion sense into being after being a gigantic DnD nerd had been popularized.

     There were a lot of people like him in the Special Circumstances Division, people who though sheer accident or blundering intent gained enough magical power to garner the Magi Groups attention. Very few with the ability to push their gifts passed "It's just this weird thing I can do." Mitch was one of the very few who seemed like he could truly become a mage, hence why the Magi had 'requested' Rich to take him on a low level task, to find a fake vampire that has put three women in the hospital.

     "No, goth-head just thinks he is... Some dick taught him enough Enchantment, Biothurgy, and Transmutation to make him believe that he is. A real vampire doesn't use magic like us living folk." Rich replied, his sentence elongated as his scholarly half took over. " And yes, vampires are real. But their queen has a hard core screening process so there aren't that many running about."

     "Cool," the lore nerd beside him said, soaking up the information like a sponge. It was one of the few things about this mission that made it slightly more tolerable for Rich. "So, whats the plan? Do we have enough evidence to take him down?"

     The seasoned mage snorted. "I suppose so, Mitch. I hope you're ready to play hero because I have a plan."

=OvO=

    Malciour, (real name Malcolm) had finally found someone to feed upon. She had appeared almost magically after he had reached the boiling point with this one woman who stubbornly ignored everything he threw at her. But this one fell into his hold quickly, his power finding purchase in her mind like the ergonomic handle of a knife. He had planned on bringing her back to his place, taking his time before burying his fangs in and draining her of enough life essence to feed himself and his Master. It was getting late, and prey would begin to dwindle the closer it came to sunrise. He thought of the rumor among the ranks of 'Vampire Hunters' attacking those of his brood.

     He knew he would be fine, as he was of the 'first' generation, having grown into a true vampire where others of his generation had failed and sunk into mortal obscurity. He had more power than the underlings of the newer generation; No talent with glamours, and having to use what mundane tricks they had in their previous life to get them by. They were unlike him, dragging his prey down the alleyway, stress from the previous prey melting away as he cornered the giggling fool...

=OvO=

    Mitch was worried, but then again Mitch had always rode the line between just being worried and full blown panic attacks for most of his life. It started with him being worried about how he would be mocked about his messenger bag, seemingly cheap leather etched with odd symbols his aunt has gifted him. But when he found out one pocket was seemingly endless and the other could conjure three items per day (simple things, like food and figurines) he stopped giving a shit about the nonexistent bag jokes made in his expense.

     He was now worried about Rich's plan, as it involved him taking out a crossbow and shooting a man in the heart with it. His attention was caught between listening to the explanation of this plan and Rich summoning a being made of clear melted plastic that quickly morphed into a beautiful stereotypical horror movie-victim woman(A mimic, Rich would later explain to him).

     "Why do I have to do this?" Mitch watched the mimic go bouncing off, getting ready to run into the 'vampire'.

     "Because, it will notice me gathering enough power to hit him, while you can just pull a crossbow out." the mage said, watching as the 'vampire's' simple charm stuck to the equivalent of an animated doll. "Plus his body has been altered, his 'Master' made sure his minions can regenerate and have a cluster of nerves right above their hearts in case he needs to assert his dominance."

     "How the fuck do you know all that?" the young nerd asked.

     "Because we are but one pair of grunts working toward cleaning the dregs of a larger problem." Rich motioned him closer. "Now get ready he's on the move."

     The vampire eagerly led his 'prey away from the busy club and down the streets, traffic and security cameras growing scarce until he turned into a darkened ally. With a nod from his supervisor, Mitch reached into his bag and focused. His hand grabbed hold of something and he pulled it free, a modern carbon crossbow, a bolt already loaded. It was a lot heavier than he imagined, and he began to worry as he had never actually fired one of these outside of the realm of pen and paper.

     He didn't have that much time to really think it over as a shout echoed off the grimy walls. "What the fuck?!" Malciour screeched as his prey melted like cheap ice cream the moment tooth touched skin.

     " Now!" Rich shouted loudly, making the pale, sharp-toothed human to turn about with higher than average speed.

     Mitch steeled himself and aimed as best he could, praying video games had at least helped him get this stance half right, and pulled the trigger. The bolt flew threw the air with a hiss, before lodging itself directly into the artificial vampires knee. He howled in pain and dropped like a sack of bricks, clutching the wound as his still human brain was clouded by shock. Mitch was kept from being shocked himself by Rich's burst of laughter. "Oh my god, you just knocked over fake-ula with a Skyrim meme!"

"I don't know how to fucking aim a crossbow dude!" He shouted back indigently, watching as the still laughing mage produced a wooden dagger and a cellphone from his pocket.

     "YOU SHOT ME!" Screamed Malciour, still not registering what was going down as Rich approached. " WHAT THE FUCK IS WRONG WITH YOU TWO?!"

     "A lot," Was Rich's reply as he stood over the man made monster, and shoved the dagger into the cluster of nerves just above his heart.

     It was rather instant, one moment he was screaming and in the next his whole body was paralyzed, seized up in his current position and unable to move. Rich took a few photos before texting them and their location to their handler. Mitch sat down on the curb, crossbow carelessly tossed to his side.

     "That was...anticlimactic." he said after Rich joined him in sitting.

     "Yup." Was the reply.

     "Is it always like that?" Rich scratched his chin thoughtfully, " When it comes to magic," he began, "mages new to the game think that there is some unwritten code of honor among them, that magic will be the only weapon used to fight one another. Hell even some seasoned mages believe this. But there are those who are wise enough to exploit this. Your opponent is prepared for you to throw magic and monsters at them, not tear gas and stun batons."

     "Yeah, but we used magic to capture him." Said Mitch.

     "We used a little bit of magic yes, but in the end an arrow to the knee and a sharpened wooden prop knife is what got him in the end." Rich replied, chuckling. "If he wasn't a woefully under educated grunt then things would of been more interesting."

Mitch pulled open his bag and produced two cans of soda from a 12 pack he had put in, the inter-dimensional pocket kept things at just the right temperature. he handed one off before opening his.        

    "So, I dunno if I want to work for the Magi's..." he finally said.

     " Understandable," replied Rich, rolling the can in his hands.

     " I would suggest taking up some of their magic courses. Those bags only work if you've got a little bit of magic in you."

     "Why? I have my magic bag what more could I need?" he looked over to the grinning mage.

     "Well, I know an Illusion major who runs some seriously kick ass DnD Games."