A Grave Problem

30. Carmine's Hunt

Mia, Anna and Carmine walked casually down the street. Normally, Mia and Anna would try to walk quietly in the shadows to avoid being seen. But with Carmine in tow, there was no point in trying to be subtle. Carmine didn't have any of the special abilities that either Mia or Anna had; with her along, they'd lost all of the advantages that usually went along with sneaking up on any potential prey.

Instead, the girls walked down the street, talking casually. Carmine had apparently decided it was a good time to go window-shopping, and kept pointing out things in the various displays they passed. Anna responded to Carmine's every comment, keeping alive a conversation she looked like she had absolutely no interest in. Only Mia remained silent; she was too busy watching the people walking by, trying to see who would make a nice target.

After spending what felt like way too much time looking around, Mia finally spotted a couple she thought had potential. They were in their early thirties or so – perfect. Mia had already passed up several groups for being either too old or too young. Usually she wasn't so picky, but with Carmine along it was a different story. She didn't want to pick anyone that might be seen as weaker – she didn't want to give Carmine the impression that she just went around picking on helpless little children or the elderly.

Mia tracked the couple with her eyes. They stopped at the corner and Mia realized they were going to cross the street. The girls were going to have to hurry if they wanted to catch up. Carmine was saying something about a particularly hideous mannequin in a store window they were passing, but Mia wasn't paying attention. Instead, she grabbed Anna's arm, effectively ending whatever conversation they were having.

"You see that couple up there?" she asked.

Anna looked in the direction of Mia's gaze.

"The lady in the black skirt and the man with the jacket?" she asked.

"Yeah."

Anna thought for a minute, sizing them up before answering. As she looked, a small smile graced her face.

"Good choice."

Carmine didn't say anything, but Mia could see her stiffen just a little as she realized it was time.

The girls casually crossed the street, still a block behind the couple, and Mia started feeling better. She was glad that it hadn't taken too long to find the right people for their attack. She concentrated all her energy on the couple, planning out exactly what to do. She started going through all the ways they could approach – what would work and what wouldn't. She went meticulously through every detail in order to avoid thinking about Carmine; as much as she liked Carmine, she still kind of wished she wasn't there.

Carmine had told both Mia and Anna that she'd be fine – that she wanted to come just this once. But Mia still wasn't sure it was a good idea. It wasn't just the way Carmine reacted last time she saw a vampire attack that was bothering Mia. As bad as that was, her bigger problem that she was starting to feel incredibly self-conscious. There were just some things she really didn't want to do while someone else was staring at her, judging her.

They silently stalked the couple, doing surprisingly well at blending in – especially since there were three of them now. Maybe Carmine was more subtle than Mia gave her credit for.

They walked past the shops, neither the man nor the woman stopping much to stare at anything in the windows. Mia saw the rather large bags each was carrying and her heart started to sink; she realized that they were heading for the parking garage about two blocks away. Mia just hoped they'd be able to get these two alone before they got into their car and drove off.