Day Three:

After work and a relentless half an hour of staring at Sammy's ass in her too short leather mini-skirt, I came out of the store to find that some moron had broken the back window of my Honda POS. The fact that the doors weren't locked hadn't deterred them, although I wondered what they thought they would find inside. It was probably just kids.

And now I was going to have to get that repaired. Fuck! At least I had Claude's cheque to take care of rent, but if he hadn't been that thoughtful I would have been completely fucked. It's one of the disadvantages of being as broke as I was. I went from paycheque to paycheque, barely making it through most weeks, and any sudden expense like some moron breaking the windows of my car, tended to be catastrophic. I didn't have any savings and all of my credit cards were completely maxed and two of them were already in collections, so there was literally no safety net.

I had time to wonder just how things had gotten so truly fucked up but then shook it off and drove home with the wind buffeting at me from the back of the car.

I somehow managed to make it home without getting a ticket, glad for being able to drive at a time of day when the cops weren't interested in you unless you were really fucking up. I was going to have to get some plastic to put over the hole in the window before it rained.

I went home and passed out for a bit. When I woke up, the Gentlemen had come to pay me a visit.

***

When they come for you, you are almost always asleep.

Wakefulness comes slowly, the pain in my joints a reminder of the awkward position in which I had somehow managed to fall asleep. I am still on the couch, and I can feel the tingling sensation of my nerves waking up and screaming at me, from the formerly numb side of my body. I have fallen asleep in front of the television again, some long ago battle being fought and discussed on the History Channel fuelling my hazy and horribly detailed dreams. So I guess the first thing that I notice is that the television has been turned off.

It is entirely the wrong order of priority for me because the very first thing that I should, in fact, be noticing is that there are three extremely scary looking men in the apartment with me.

One of them is currently making tea.

The small one, the one I will later come to know as Mr Flynn, he is simply scaring the shit out of me.

The really fucked up part is that I'm not even sure if I'm actually awake or still dreaming some half-formed dream where my nightmares have followed and have manifested in the forms of three extremely well-dressed men who I am dead sure are vampires.

I turn my head slightly and realize that the third one is perched on the back of the couch like an animal, intently studying my every move, his eyes dark, his teeth sharp and pointed and ready to bite.

This definitely has the feel of the dream to it and I will myself to wake up, to fight it, just close my eyes and open them again and it will be okay because these men are not real. This is how the dream always goes, where I'm not sure if I'm dreaming at all or if it is possible to ever wake up again.

I close my eyes and count to five. When I open them, the men are still there and yes, they are still scary.

I freeze and slowly look back to the small man, the one who scares me the most and is not inches away from ripping my face off.

I know that if I attempt to move without his permission, I'm probably a dead man. In fact, I'm already dead but for the grace of Mr Flynn. I don't know how I know, but the fact is that I do, and that is enough for me.

"This is most unfortunate that our presence be required here." Mr Flynn's voice is refined and extremely British. It speaks volumes of his years of experience and wealth, more so than his very expensive suit.

"You Mister Diego are an accident. Not meant to be."

He pauses as his second henchman returns with a cup of tea. It is a delicate china cup, with an equally delicate saucer, and the only reason I notice this is because I do not, or have not ever owned a delicate china anything.

"My employer does not like accidents and neither does he tolerate them."

He sips, his little finger held out ever so delicately.

"It is in your best interests that from this point forward, you will act deliberately, and you will be extremely careful in your actions. Every single action. You are a vampire now, accident or not, and you will not bring dishonour onto our old and esteemed house."

He smiles at me now, and I can see his fangs, long and sharp.

The large one reaches under the couch and pulls out Julio's bag of drugs as if he has always known that they were there. He places the bag onto the kitchen table and opens it but I don't care; I only have eyes for Mr Flynn.

"Do we have an agreement Mister Diego?" He asks and nods his permission. "You may speak now."

"Just so you know, those aren't my drugs," I manage to mumble and instantly regret it. Apparently, some part of me is aware of just how fucked up my entire life is about to be and how much of a bad dream this isn't, no matter how much I want it to be.

"The drugs do not matter. The attention they may bring to you and thusly to us... well that is entirely our concern. Do you wish to bargain for their return, Mister Diego?"

"No," I whispered even though I had wanted to say yes.

Mr Flynn, smiles broadly. He is, after all, a reasonable man.

"Now, that wasn't so unpleasant as it could have been, was it?"

He smiles and sips at his tea. I watch numbly as he takes his time to finish the cup, smiling as if we were at a dinner party instead of my crummy old apartment. And every moment he is there, I pray for my life.

When he stands, it is crisp and deliberate. He hands his teacup to one of his associates and in one fluid motion, produces a business card from his coat. He holds it out to me and barely concealing my fear, I reach for it.

"Your presence will be required at nine tomorrow night. Do try not to be late. My employer dislikes tardiness in any form, and if you are late, one of the gentlemen here will have to have a word with you about it. I assure you that you will not enjoy it.

"Should you let fear take hold of you, and decide to absent yourself, you can be rest assured that I will be the one who will be having a few words with you."

The gorilla holds Julio's bag loosely in his hand as he stops and looks down at me, a terrifying figure. He watches me as Mr Flynn exits; he leans over me, his breath rank and foul like the lair of some horrendous beast.

"Be late. We'll have fun, I promise."

******** AUTHOR'S NOTE **********

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