Vampires Among Us [Vampires Among Us 1] (Siren Publishing Classic)

the work of her human imagination?” He might as well ask the question flying through every one of his teammates’ heads.
    “Yes, it could, however, she had too many details. She had a perfect description of the house, and I know for a fact she had no prior knowledge of that.”
    With that news, Kevin took a deep calming breath, and quickly decided to reassess the situation. “Okay, you have my attention. What do you suggest?” he replied back to Charles.
    “Send in the robotics first,” Charles replied smoothly. “They can be replaced easily enough. If they come back out again in one piece, then proceed as planned.”
    Well, that would be the safest thing to do, and it would only cost the team a bit of time. Even if there was a remote chance of something hazardous waiting for them in the house, the robotics would be a good choice. Always better to be safe than sorry, Charles had hammered that into Kevin’s head since day one.
    The robotics that Charles spoke of were two sets of robotic birds, which the team used on just such missions. Through the birds’ computerized “eyes” the team could see everything inside the house using a laptop. The team quickly activated the birds, and within minutes Marshall was guiding them into the house through an open window using commands given to his laptop.
    The birds had just entered the house when the explosives were sighted. Kevin only had time to give a quick command for everyone to move back when an explosion went off so violently it knocked everyone off their feet.
    Wood, glass, and other debris rained on the team for what seemed to be an eternity. When the smoke finally cleared enough to allow them to see, there was nothing but a slab of concrete where the house had stood just a few short minutes ago. Kevin found himself breathing a huge sigh of relief, grateful that the team had been able to move back just a little before the explosion went off. Although they all had plenty of debris rain down on them, the only injuries he could see were a few minor cuts that were quickly fading as he observed.
    The entire team needed a moment just to allow relief to course through their veins. Everyone seemed too stunned to move for a long moment, while the realization hit that if Charles had not listened to Erica and taken her seriously, there would have been a good chance they all would have perished. That was not something any member took lightly.
    Kevin finally stood up and walked over to where Marshall was sitting on the ground, attempting to reestablish communications with Charles. Yes, Kevin thought, he and his entire team owed this man hugely. They also owed one little human female, who for whatever reason felt the need to go share her disturbing dream with Charles. If she had waited another five minutes, it would have been too late.
    As communications came back online, Kevin spoke into his earpiece. “Charles, you were right. The house was a setup. Birds destroyed, team is fine.”
    “Thank God, son,” Charles replied. “I am working on new coordinates for your suspect. If you can give me about five minutes, I should have you with the necessary information.”
    “Sure,” Kevin replied with a wry chuckle. “Take your time, I think we need a moment here, anyway.”
    “I bet you do.” Charles chuckled in reply before the line went silent again.
    Charles was back three minutes later. “Kevin, I just sent you the coordinates as to where I believe your guy is hiding. I sent it to Marshall’s laptop. If my heat-seeking radar equipment is correct, your guy is due south about a mile.”
    As Marshall quickly retrieved the information from his inbox, Kevin glanced at the map and then replied to his father. “We’ve got the coordinates. Thanks for your help.” Kevin then gathered the team together once again for a new game plan.
    This time they were not taking any chances, so the team fanned out, just in case their suspect made a run for it, or had any other nasty surprises waiting for them.
    After dealing with problems ever since landing earlier that day, the actual capturing of their drug lord turned out to be easy. The man was hiding up in a tree. He found himself face to face with a cheetah, which was almost enough to give him a heart attack. The remainder of Kevin’s team quickly contained their suspect, and they were able to call the mission a success shortly after, as they started making plans to deliver him to the U.S. government and return home.
    As his