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

be home again coming through his voice.
    She cut the conversation short at this point. She simply couldn’t interfere with the task that was at hand. Soon after, Charles returned to the tour of the office. Erica found all the equipment, both communications and tracking, all very fascinating. This office, in full set up, reminded her of the bat cave in the Batman movies she had seen. Although Charles worked in an extremely large office instead of a cave, the similarities were still there, especially with all of the expensive, high tech computer equipment sitting everywhere.
     
    * * * *
     
    The plane arrived in Brazil and the local authorities had been alerted to the team’s arrival. They seemed to want the team’s intended target off of their hands almost as much as the U.S. government wanted to get their hands on him. It seemed their drug lord was well known for being a badass. While the remainder of the team started unloading gear, Kevin and Marshall assured the local authorities that they had everything under control, and nicely told them to go home. It was impossible for the team to use any of their powers when the locals were watching their every movement, so ditching them became priority number one.
    Back at the office, Charles sat down at his desk, finished with the tour for the time being. Kate had told him that Erica had come up with a good idea for their elderly that he needed to hear. He was curious as to what it was about.
    “So, Kate tells me you have an idea regarding our seniors. I am curious to hear what this is about,” Charles now stated, as he sat back comfortably in his chair.
    Erica took a seat across from him before beginning. “I was surprised to learn your society doesn’t have some type of group home or recreation center set up for your elderly. I understand they can’t go out in public, however, the ones I met last week are extremely lonely, and I suspect some are dealing with depression.” She took a quick second to catch her breath, before continuing. “I just thought it would be nice if they had someplace to be able to get together once or twice a week. Set up some type of activity, or provide a comfortable environment where they can socialize with one another without fear of being discovered or their health suffering.”
    “That’s a rather interesting observation,” Charles replied, and Erica could almost see the wheels turning in his mind as he thought about her suggestion.
    “You are correct that most of our elderly simply can’t go out in public. First, they are very concerned that their skin will draw questions about our kind. Second, they really must remain out of the sun. Sunlight on elderly vamps is extremely harmful to their health,” Charles continued.
    “But, we have a whole underground society going strong. Some of our elderly are already living down there. It is specifically set up for situations in which we don’t want the general human public to know about, and would be too hard to cover up if anyone stumbled upon it.”
    “Are you talking about where we went for my divorce and where I was taken for medical treatment?” Although Erica had been underground twice, she hadn’t bothered to notice too much either time. She certainly hadn’t realized there was an entire underground society! And here she thought she had these vampires figured out!
    Charles smiled over at her. “Yes, our medical, judicial system, and research labs are all located in our underground society. You’ve given me something to think about, Erica. Tell me, what is it you envision for our elderly?”
    “Well, I would think the ideal situation would include a community, so they could live close to one another. I would also include a recreation building and offer activities. The socialization among each other would certainly help lessen the loneliness and depression. Another good advantage to having most of the elderly living close to one another and underground would be the benefit of receiving better medical care. They would be close to the hospital, should anyone have a need, and it would be easier for your doctors to check on them also,” Erica finished.
    “My dear, you are definitely on to something.” Charles replied enthusiastically, accompanied by a booming smile. “Let me do some thinking and put a plan together. The council board is meeting Wednesday. Would you consider joining me and presenting the plan?”
    “Me?” she replied nervously. Had this vampire sitting in