Damian's Assassin

Breathless, Dusty closed his eyes and leaned against the punching bag, unable to shake his first memories of Damian or his last memories of his sister, Trinka.

He'd trade all the powers Damian granted him after the Schism for his sister's life. He'd trade them for Bianca. He couldn't lose the only other woman he'd ever cared about.

"You need anything, boss?" Speck asked.

"Send Iggy in. I need to know how this happened." Dusty straightened, the pain of his memories subsiding.

"Vampire pigs," Iggy replied from the doorway.

"Talk to me, Iggy," he said and wiped his brow. Speck tossed him his shirt, which he donned as he listened.

"They infected the animals in the town with the vamp disease. Animals bit the people. People bit others. You tracking, boss?" Iggy paused.

"I get it. No cure?"

"Nope," Speck said.

Iggy hesitated, and Dusty's gaze sharpened.

"Boss, I heard you all turned a vamp into a human," she said. "Can you bring him here?"

"Why? We've never been able to transform a vamp into a human in thousands of years."

"How do I explain it to you …" Iggy said with a thoughtful pause. "They're vamps but they haven't completed initiation."

"So?" Speck asked.

"So, Speck," she said with an exaggerated sigh, "they're more like humans with some nasty disease that might have a cure and not like vamps, which are just good for pushing up daisies. As long as they haven't completed initiation … well, I don't know. Can you bring me one?"

"One what?" Dusty asked.

"Someone infected. And the guy you turned back into a human."

Dusty exchanged a look with Speck. "We'll bring 'em, but I'm leveling the place at dawn," Dusty warned.

"At least let me look at a couple of things. This is why I'm a Natural, you know."

"Hurry, Iggy," Dusty advised.

"Boss, you can have my room if you need to rest," Speck said as she darted past him.

"Thanks, but don't-- " His phone rang. Speck crossed his arms and waited as he answered. "Whatcha got, Jenn?"

"You remember a few days ago when we were talking about Talon and Czerno?" Jenn asked.

"That's been every day for the past month," he said with some impatience. "And for now, they're contained."

"Hold that thought. You remember how your condo building came down this morning an hour before you planned?"

"Yeah."

"It wasn't Jimmy," she said.

"What do you mean?"

"I mean, it wasn't Jimmy. He rigged the building but didn't blow it. I thought it was strange, since Jimmy's the last person who would veer off course from your orders because you let him blow up whatever he wants and he doesn't wanna lose that. We started looking into it and sure enough, it wasn't Jimmy."