For the Moving Finger writes. [Sam]

[Hazel 'Hobbs' Yeung]

It was dark outside, and the Hunter Compound was quiet. Light flakes of snow dusted the window panes and settled on the ground. Hobbs didn’t know whether it was late or early, and no longer trusted her own sense of time. What felt like minutes could be hours and what seemed to be aeons was only a few moments of reality. Things had seemed different since Stark’s death, as though the world around her was physically unchanged but she was just seeing it skewed, as if looking through dirty glass.

She had cleared up his room and put his worldly belongings into cardboard boxes, putting them away so that she could pass them onto whatever living family he had left. She’d changed the bed linen and paved the way for a new hunter to move into the space that had once been his.

But the ghosts of Danticus Stark still walked these corridors. Hobbs had gone about her grief in a perfectly non-way. She had replayed the message he’d left on her voicemail and as she’d listened, she had wondered if it was appropriate to be grateful. Being grateful would mean that she might not be going crazy.

Every time she would try to accept his death as something that completed him, the feeling would wither her into a faded bloom of regret. The jolt of his death had shaken her so that she wasn't sure if she could even remember him without feeling bitter.

She had taken down the Christmas tree he had once dressed, hid him in boxes, and stripped the compound of his memory only to find him hidden behind bookshelves or lurking in her tech lab. His words on her voicemail spoke to her from the grave.

Today she knew that she had to kick him out. He had to go. Letting him stay was driving her mad.

Although she had removed any trace of the man from her own life, she had returned to the foyer and did a double-take at the plaque on the wall, the one that displayed the names of those who had fallen doing their jobs as hunters. While he hadn’t been killed by an Immortal, he had still been their Lieutenant and she felt that he deserved to be remembered in such a way.

And so, settling down on the floor of the foyer with a glass of whiskey, Hobbs took a chisel to the plaque and etched in the name of the man she had loved. The man who had fought at her side, who had been murdered by their own Commander. When she was finished she had dusted flakes of metal from the grooves of Stark’s name, picked up her whiskey and set down the chisel.

She moved on. Walking into the main hub of the compound where the pool table and bar was, Hobbs plopped down onto a sofa, propped her sock-covered feet up on the coffee table, laid back her head and closed her eyes. It had been a long day.

[Sam Xavier]

Sam had been standing outside of the compound for awhile, he'd never been one to have nerves on his mind as he'd preferred to keep those thoughts reserved for either a new type of invention or for solving problems in his mind.. Finally stepping up the courage he'd walked into the main compound he'd heard some clanking noises from a chiseling echoing through the air, he'd figured it was just some one having a drink.. He'd proceed down the corridors looking at what appeared to be the living area for the hunters. Sam stopped outside one of the rooms with the door opened it'd obviously been used before as he could smell the use of some foul smelling cologne in his nostrils.

Sam placed his box down on the bed looking around the bare room, it had mild furnishings such as a Chester draws and a sofa with a table and small television.. Sam looked around the room and found he'd been overcome with a sense of belonging now he'd actually moved into his new place.. that being said it was a compound for hunters like himself.. He'd opened the box and began to unpack his belongings fitting them around the room and filling the draws with his socks and boxers..

Sam had been unpacking his stuff for around ten minutes, when he'd finally finished he felt a sigh of relief over-take him.. It was beautiful now he'd made it his own personal space.. On the table lay a broken phones and other technical devices.. He'd dropped his tools by the table, he'd work on getting himself a better work space once he'd been here longer. On the bookshelves stood various literature books, and a few bulky books filled with technical babble..

Sam walked out of the room and pulled the door to, he'd walked into the main foyer where he'd heard the chiseling sound coming from.. He'd noticed a woman walking around as she'd returned to the bar, Sam adjusted his glasses and continued walking up hoping to introduce himself to the lady.. Silently he'd assumed a bar-stool two seats away from here and looked down towards her..

"Hey, I'm Sam.. It's nice to see a friendly face around here.. Mind if i set and drink with you, it'd be a pleasure of mine.." Sam spoke with a gleeful smile as he awkwardly waved towards her.

[Hazel 'Hobbs' Yeung]

It was quiet and peaceful in the hub, for a time, until the silence became pressing and the peace became lonely. There was nobody around to talk to and presently, Hobbs was developing a headache. With her head still back against the sofa cushion, she lifted her glass of whiskey and kneaded the cool base of the crystal against her forehead, then pressed the cold heel of her hand into the eye socket behind which the ache was growing. It wouldn’t alleviate much of the pain, but it was as soothing as she could manage without bothering to get up for painkillers. Not that she assumed they would do much for her; Hobbs reckoned she’d developed a tolerance for it by now.

The silence was broken by the soft rhythm of footsteps. With her eyes still closed Hobbs could only hazard a guess at who it was; probably Cortes, or Moore, or someone else she knew. If it was Logan, she’d pull out a weapon right now...

But the voice that spoke was not one she recognised. Cracking open an eye, she rolled her head to the side to see a face she wasn’t familiar with. A new guy, then? They were pulling in new hunters every day, to replace the men they lost so frequently...
What the guy said made her frown. Friendly face? Hobbs wasn’t a friendly face even on good days, but of course he couldn’t know that. At least not yet.

"Yeah sure," Hobbs said, lifting her head a little to take a proper look at this new stranger who introduced himself as Sam. "I’m not stopping you." Hobbs sat forwards and cracked her back with a series of satisfying clicks. Then, rolling her shoulders she stood up and downed the dregs of her whiskey, before approaching the bar at which Sam sat. The socks on her feet muffled her mismatched footsteps and the long combat trousers covered the full length of her legs to keep warm. Therefore her left leg didn’t stick out like a sore thumb and she wasn’t going to have Awkward Question Time be her lasting first impression on the guy.

The new dude seemed like a peculiar one; Hobbs didn’t know many hunters who were so polite. Usually they walked in, said nothing, stole your booze and sloped back off to their rooms again. And that was on their best behaviour.

"So... Sam," Hobbs said, going around the back of the open bar and reaching up to the top shelf to pull down a half-full bottle of twelve-year-old single malt scotch. "How long have you been here, I don’t reckon I’ve seen you around."

[Sam Xavier]

Sam had reached behind the bars smooth service and found himself a can of something non-alcoholic, he'd leaned back in his seat and began to watch the woman walk towards the bar.. She'd had an awkward step to her but he wasn't one to judge he'd never ask about it as sometimes people like to keep things simple.. Sam popped the can open and took a cool refreshing sip of the cola.. He'd pushed his glasses up again and took a look back at the woman..

"I've never stepped foot inside of this actual compound, but i used to work in Brooklyn division before i'd left the area and moved up here, I've never had my own proper apartment so i called ahead to see if i could get a room down here.. It's quite a nice place i mean I've got my literature and my tools.. Its somewhere i can call home I'm guessing.." Sam spoke with a polite grin as he nodded towards her setting his drink down on the wooden surface..

He'd paused for a moment before looking back at her and opening his mouth, "Even though I'm not technically new it's good to meet someone like yourself who has experience with the place.. I was wondering if maybe we could hang out and you could show me around this part of town.. I'm in room 103, if you ever wanted to i suppose. " Sam said sheepishly and looked away before looking down at his feet.. Sam continued to make brisk conversation with her stopping for moments at a time to consume his drink..

"Would you be willing to tell "The New Guy" about yourself, you seem quite interesting and i'd like to get a name to match a pretty face like yours.." He'd blushed as he'd said that but he felt it was good to tell the truth mostly when talking to people.. Sam looked around the room as he'd began to look for things around the room to talk about.. He'd looked over to the wall and saw the fresh markings on the name wall, and he peered over and saw one of the couches had an indent in it from the previous occupant.. Sam felt the silence wash over him as he'd waited for a reply.

[Hazel 'Hobbs' Yeung]

Hobbs opened the bottle of Glenfidditch with a pop of the cork bung and poured some into her crystal tumbler. She sank down onto one of the bar stools on her side of the counter and propped her feet up on one of the shelves on the inside of the counter, being careful not to kick anything expensive.

"I didn’t even know we had other divisions. I thought it was just us against the world." She put the cork back into the whiskey bottle. Shows how much she knew. "But then I’ve been here less than a year myself. So I wouldn’t call myself experienced-experienced – you get some pretty grizzled veterans around – but I’ve got about nine months here under my belt."

Hobbs lifted the drink to her mouth and was already inhaling the fumes of the whiskey when she froze. He’d said what room he was in. "One-zero-..." That had been Stark’s room, and somebody had already moved in. It hadn’t taken long for the Lieutenant to be wiped clean from this place. "Huh. That’s a good room." Then she lifted the glass to her lips and took a larger than necessary swig.

He asked about her, and it was at that point that Hobbs realised she’d never actually introduced herself. She did, however, raise an eyebrow when he called her pretty. Nobody called her pretty, because, well, look at her. She was hardly the sweetest flower of the bouquet. He was probably just trying to get into her pants. She should show him her collection of prosthetic legs; that would make him backtrack...

"Oh, er, well, I’m Hobbs. Resident techie. Basically I make all the fancy gadgets and bombs and whatnot that help us bring down Immortals. I’ve designed everything from thermal imaging glasses to liquid UV bullets. In fact, I set up the security in the compound. I’m usually down in the lower levels if you ever wanna find me, the ‘Research and Development Department’," Hobbs said, marking the phrase with air quotes with her fingers. "I call it Candyland."

Hobbs spun her glass slowly between her fingers. "So, this is a pretty standard question around here, but what did you do before you got into... this?" she asked, waving a hand around at the compound.

[Sam Xavier]

"Candyland, that's a fun but unusual name for a lab." Sam laughed at her words as she'd proceeded to ask him about himself, he'd never really evaluated his life up until this point but he'd done a fair few jobs to earn himself a few odd set of skills. "When i was around eighteen, i'd worked at an auto-shop.. I'd fixed up a fair few motors and then after that i'd attended the university.. I'd studied forensics till graduating and from there i'd worked on various projects and technical projects.. I wouldn't say I'm at you're level of working but i know my way around a few simple devices.." Sam paused for a moment before taking a sip of his drink.

"Getting back on track, I'd read some old literature that spoke of those that be damned and feast upon the living, I'd never thought them true but it'd always plagued my mind to see what actually existed in the world.. I was taught how to shoot and fight before getting inducted into the Brooklyn division and worked within there for around two years before they.." Sam paused the smile loosening from his face.

"My previous Commander, he'd lost his mind and wasted the gang while they slept.. It wasn't pretty and he was my first proper human kill.. I've learned this job.. It isn't pretty.." Sam paused stopping once more to have a drink. Sam had already provided scarce details about himself and his circumstance.. But that's where he'd stop talking unless she'd pressured him for details.

Sam had finished his drink and he'd placed the can aside, he'd been filling the air with his nonsense, he'd only been around for twenty minutes and he'd spoken more than usual it was a weird occurrence but he'd felt good letting it out..

"I'm hoping this Logan isn't like my old Commander, Although i think i'd be more prepared this time to take a life to save lives.." Sam sighed but allowed the glow to return to his face as he looked back at Hobbs.

[Hazel 'Hobbs' Yeung]

Mechanics, forensics, and technology. Not a bad skill set. Most unusual was the fact that Sam had gone to university and not the military. Half the hunters around were military recruits, her included, but very few had university degrees to prove that they had brains, not just brawn.

Hobbs looked up at him as he spoke about his old commander, and her dark eyes shone in the dim light. Maybe Logan was going the same way. Hobbs had never bought into his ‘Immortals are misunderstood’ theory, and had always been ready to jump ship should he try to take them all down with them. If anything like that did happen, Hobbs was at least reassured by the knowledge that the main arsenal of the compound was in her lab, she had admin access on the systems and she could put the building into lockdown should anything like that happen. At the end of it, she may just be the one who stops whatever train wreck was heading their way.

"Yeah," she said, with a wan smile, the kind worn by a soldier to disguise the wound that is secretly killing them. She had to keep an eye on Logan. "Sometimes, even when you’re taking down Immortals, half the problem is with humans." She gave a hollow laugh as she reached for the whiskey bottle and uncorked it.
"Actually, there was this one hunt I went on, and we got in there expecting it to be your average Vampire nest and it turned out to be full of humans instead. Half-crazed blood junkies doped up on God-knows-what started attacking us. We had no choice but to kill them, and at the end of the night, exhausted, bruised, bleeding, we blew the place up with a makeshift timed bomb and a shit ton of Molotovs."
A ghost of a smile hung about her face as she remembered the explosion and poured out her whiskey. She set the bottle back on the counter. "We only came across a couple of Vampires the whole time. The rest were just blood junkies."

I'm hoping this Logan isn't like my old Commander, he’d said.

Hobbs sighed. "Yeah," she said, gazing down at the table but saying nothing. She hadn’t yet condemned Logan for what he did, because a part of her knew that he had to have a reason for his actions. The best possible part of Hobbs wanted to believe the best of the man, to honour the times when they’d gone on hunts together, the three of them, the times when she had once been able to call him friend. There had to be a reason... hadn’t there?
"Let’s hope it doesn’t come to that."

[Sam Xavier]

Sam had a slight smile while he turned in his chair and took his glasses off so he could look at the woman properly for the first time.. "I'd read about that explosion in the news-paper.. But that's interesting what you say.. Can you tell me more about these Blood-Infected Humans, from the sounds of it seems like a blood infection that has manufactured the brain causing a addiction to this compound element meaning that in the long run they have a hunger of their own for flesh.. Similar to the things we have to deal with on a basis..

" Sam spoke calmly as she'd caught his attention with her story of these new type of monsters. Sam had always wondered about what else could really lurk in the streets, it was a puzzling mystery that'd boggled his brain and he'd always liked a challenge..

"You have yet to tell me about yourself Hobbs, I'm interested to hear what i can know about you if you'd like to share but if you don't want to I'm happy with us just talking like this.." Sam spoke softer this time as his eyes wandered around before setting dead center and looking towards her.. He'd met someone and within ten minutes he'd hear about these people infected with some type of blood.. He'd wished he had a sample to study that would have proven quite well if he'd have been able to deconstruct the sample and find the cause and possible cure to it..

"Hobbs, this is weird enough already but i don't suppose you still have any samples of the blood from that night do you, they'd be quite interesting to research, but i believe you probably would have destroyed all trace evidence.. Which could be a shame.." Sam let out a nervous laugh as he'd waited for her to speak.

[Hazel 'Hobbs' Yeung]

Hobbs smirked to herself as she re-corked the bottle. She shouldn’t really be feeling proud of herself for blowing up a building, but she kinda was. It had been on the news, on the radio, and for a few days afterwards whenever she heard it mentioned it would make her chuckle to herself.
Good times...

She stood up off her barstool, shaking her head. "They weren’t cannibalising," she said, and put the Glenfiddich bottle back on the shelf and instead got a bottle of ginger wine down. "They never attacked each other, they were just acting like crack addicts. Given that we found meth labs in the basement they may have been ingesting some solution of Vampire blood and addictive agents to make them dependant. Why... I can only guess."She unscrewed the cap and mixed herself a Whiskey Mac.

"My theory is that they were trying to examine the effects of the Vampire blood on a human system, regenerative abilities and the like, or that they were trying to replicate the superior strength and speed of an Immortal in a being that can walk in sunlight. They were tricky bastards to take down, at any rate." She shrugged, sighed, put the ginger wine bottle back. "Fortunately, I haven’t come across them since so I can only assume, can only hope, that it was an isolated operation."

He asked about her, and Hobbs shot him a look. "I’ve already told you about myself," Hobbs said as she went to the fridge-freezer. She didn’t look back at him as she cracked a couple of ice cubes from the tray. "Everything that you need to know, anyway. Everything else is a no-go area." She shut the freezer door with her hip and stalked back over to her drink again. "It’s nothing against you," she reassured him, dropping the ice cubes into her drink with a couple of plops, "I just don’t talk about that."

When he addressed the blood traces, Hobbs glanced at him, a crease between her brows as she laughed. "Sammy boy, if I did have any blood traces you can bet your bottom dollar I’d have analysed the shit out of it by now." She spread her arms as if presenting herself. "They don’t call me a genius for nothing."