Stalk, Strike, Silence. [M] [Reaper Six/soldierscowggirl]

[Reaper Six]

(M for Violence, and the blood and gore that accompanies it, excessive language, use of alcohol, and possible adult situations)

Midnight, seven months after the fall of humanity. At this time of night, the only things out were bats, crickets, and a hunter and his prey. Tonight, a hero to some and terrorist to others stalked, waiting patiently for a target. Michael Palmer used to hate waiting, sitting on the sidelines while the Defense worked, hated waiting for games, and now, hated waiting for a vampire to enter his killing ground. To pass the time, he often thought back to the last Saturday night before the war: Washington at USC in Pasadena, down by eight, fourth quarter with three minutes, thirty seconds left, third and five. Win it, go to a bowl. Lose, and go home disappointed. The call for a toss, setting up behind a quarterback whose name has been forgotten. The eerie silence of the crowd, the snap, feeling the pigskin, seeing that damn middle linebacker who'd given him so much trouble throughout the game. Faking him out at the last minute, seeing nothing but green open field in front of him...

Then his mind whispered target, and Michael snapped out of his reveire. From his third story perch in an abandoned apartment building, looking down an old Main Street, he sighted the first target of the night. Just some vamp, on a midnight stroll, probably thinking about his vamp girlfriend. Michael gave him a mil lead, compensating for movement, he let his breath out, and timed to fire in between heartbeats. The crack of the rifle startled him, but the results did not. The Three-three-eight hollowpoint entered the vampires skull, slowing and expanding along the way, creating a temporary wound greater than the actual one. But by the time Michael breathed again, the street, and part of a buisness, were covered in vampire memories.

Such was the nature of being a sniper. Not only a physical tool to eliminate targets, but as a psychological one. Being on the receiving end of a good sniper was terrifying. Those around you just died, as if plucked from the dirt by the hand of God. Because of this, snipers were always marked men, but it was different in this war.

[SouthernBelle]

Maia did her best not to roll her eyes as the council argued back and forth. She stood at ease with her hands folded behind her back watching argued reminding Maia why she hated coming to the council, shit she hated being around any being in general.

"He killed at least three more last night!" One of the women on the left hissed. "This is one fucking human! You are telling me no one has been able to catch him! You're supposed to be the best after your father passed, why the hell haven't you gotten him yet?"

Maia blinked once, she was talking to her not the other council members now. She thought about her 'father', he was the man that had changed her. She didn't remember much about her real family anymore, only that she had lost them long before she had been changed.

"There is no pattern to where he goes or who he kills." Maia replied looking the woman in the eye. "He may be a human, but he is different then the rest."

"I think you just are not capable of bringing him in!" The council woman screeched making Maia want to put a bullet between her eyes.

"I am very capable, but unless you want me to be his next target leaving you with no one to catch him then I suggest you let me do it my way." Maia hissed losing patience with this lazy old bat. She had been trying to find him and the closer she thought she was getting the more wrong she was.

"I want that human's head on a platter." The women hissed leaning forward. "Or I'll take your head."

The other council members started yelling back and forth again and Maia frowned. She wasn't even sure why they had called her in, she hadn't had any updates, but she was still working on finding him and knew she was getting closer.

Maia, he got another one. A voice said in her ear piece. Without saying anything she took off hearing the council yelling behind her. She didn't care, if he had just shot another vampire then maybe she could get there before he left and find him. She grabbed her rifle bag slinging it on her back as she ran double checking the pistol on her leg and then the one tucked beneath her waist band.

"Where at?" She said pressing the button on her ear piece.

Fourth and Main. Came the reply. She jumped in her car and sped off down the road. She weaved in and out of traffic rolling her neck as she tried to picture the area she was going to. There were tons of perfect spots for Ghost to be at and it would take to long to search them all. He would be long gone before they found him. She pulled down Fifth street and parked her car, grabbing her back pack from the passenger seat, she jumped out and ran up the stairs of the building next to her until she reached the room. She quickly pulled her rifle out and starting looking through the scope at the other roof tops.

"Come on, where are you Ghosty boy." She whispered as she looked.

[Reaper Six]

Michael worked the bolt, chambering a new round. He knew to recover his spent brass in twenty minutes, when he'd leave this perch for his next. Twenty minutes would give time for a few more kills. The smell of blood would draw vampires with their enhanced senses, and the curious would most likely die.

He didn't hate the vampires, they were just his enemy. Michael only fought because they did as well. Before the war, he'd studied Russian and psychology, hoping to join the State Department, or maybe the CIA... More likely the Agency, as he liked direct means of problem solving.

[SouthernBelle]

Maia scanned the roof tops coming up with nothing making her want to hit something. If she didn't know better she would think this sniper really was a ghost. She glanced down towards crime scene hissing as she saw vampires poking their heads out of shops and glancing at it. She saw a few that looked like they just may go investigate it for themselves.

"Probably to loot the poor bastard." She hissed quietly. She glanced down at her watch, the crime scene techs would be here any moment, remove all vampires from a mile radius of the scene and wait a few hours before going in themselves. They had learned the hard way that Ghost didn't always leave after the first kill. Civilian vampires didn't know that and would still go check out the dead body. Most vampires still thought they were indestructable and couldn't be killed. She was infuriated by the thought, they were just as vulnerable as a human, just a little more evolved. She glanced back at the roof tops moving slower this time her eyes checking for anything that moved. Any slight discoloration of a gilly suit, anything that could give her a sign of where Ghost was.

Find anything? She heard in her ear almost jumping out of her skin.

Damn it, Cole, you nearly scared me to death. She hissed back. No sign of him anywhere. I'm going to have to go to every roof top and search it.

Do you think that is wise? This is Ghost we are talking about here. Cole replied a hint of worry in his voice.

I've no other choice, the council wants results and I've searched every roof several times. I swear this guy can turn invisible. She replied as she put her rifle back in her back pack turning and taking a deep breath calculating the distance from the roof she was on to the one next to her.

Just please be careful. You are literally the only person that even has a shot of catching this guy. By the way Major wants you at the farm after you are done there. Something about making sure the humans are still glamored. Cole said.

She thought about that for a second. The farm was a huge underground facility where they kept hundreds of humans, each large city had one. Each floor had a different purpose, one was for breeding, another for raising the young until they were strong, and then another to harvest the blood. Every floor housed enough humans to feed the areas vampire population for a long while on it's own. But trying to keep from having any incidents they had more than they needed. They had a hundred vampires on each floor to keep the humans glamored into thinking they were happy and going on with their normal lives. That stopping by the 'doctor' once a day to donate two pints of blood was normal. But the process was working, well on it's way to work. They didn't have very many children in the childrens ward yet, but they had succeeded in impregnating a hundred woman with pure human children at the Seattle farm. She didn't know how the ones everywhere else were going, but theres had gone pretty well. Fake sun was set up in the majority of the rooms so the humans stayed healthy enough to donate the blood and they ran several real farms outside of the cities to keep food for the humans also. They had also managed to keep it a secret where they were getting the blood was for fear if the rebels found out about the facilities they would be the number one targets. For everything the rebels said, least what she heard the ones they caught say, they weren't heartless.

She shook the thoughts out of her head, she needed to keep her mind on the situation at hand. She pulled her S out of her holster and took a deep breath running across the roof and launching herself onto the other landing perfectly with a slight smile. She walked silently around the roof checking everything for any signs of Ghost.

[Reaper Six]

Fifteen minutes past, and he'd sighted a few more targets. One was in his sights, and he was squeezing the trigger to end him, when he heard a soft impact on the roof. Probably just a bird, he thought, and refocused on the shot. To concede, Michael decided to pack it in and move on after he confirmed the kill.

A grout of white flame burst from his SRS, revealing his location for a split second. Through his sight, he saw a puff of red and gray. Got him JFK style, back and to the left. Michael worked the bolt, safed and slung the rifle, and collected his brass.

[SouthernBelle]

Maia froze when she saw the flash from a gun and saw the bullet hit it's target. She took a deep breath and raised her gun slowly moving towards where the flash had come from. She saw a man snatching the two spent brass from the ground his gun slung over his shoulder. She swallowed before moving towards him a little faster hoping to get closer before he saw her. That way if he tried to run she would be able to catch him, and if he went for a gun she would be able to shoot him.

It would be such a waste to shoot a sniper that good. She thought. The man that made her had always taught her to respect those that were skilled at what they did. Especially other snipers.

"Don't move." She said firmly as she leveled her gun on the man's head her ears listening for any backup that he may have.

[Reaper Six]

As soon as he heard her, his mind shot into action, faster than light. Behind him was an old stove, and judging from the sound of her voice, not much cover for her. "Okay, okay," he mumbled, slowly bringing his hands up.

In a blur of movement, he used his legs to launch backwards, towards the relative safety of the stove, his hand drawing the Beretta and snapping off two quick, quiet, shots in her general direction. Michael hit his head against the wall, but recovered, leaning against the stove, gun ready

[SouthernBelle]

Maia hissed as one of his bullets grazed her shoulder the other whizzing past her neck yanking the earpiece she had in her ear and taking away her only way of contacting back up. She had a tiny vent that came out of the roof to her left which would be nearly impossible to take cover behind, but it would have to do. She quickly dove behind it and glanced around the rest of the roof. They were both equal distance to the door to get off the roof and she could not let him escape.

"There is no way off this roof." She called to him. "I've a clear shot to the door and honestly you couldn't make it to the edge of the roof before I cut you down."

She knew the same applied for her and without contact she was just as screwed as he was, but if she had to bluff so be it. He had looked bigger than what she had expected of him. Fit yes, but the guy was stouter than she had always imagined. The clothes he wore helped camouflage him, but she still kicked herself for not having seen him before. For not calling it in the second she did, but she knew if she had done that he would've heard her.

[Reaper Six]

"You think I survived this long with only one way out?" he asked back, crouch walking to the edge, where one floor down, was the fire escape. His pistol covered the vent, ready to suppress her if she moved.

[SouthernBelle]

Maia quickly wiggled to a better position aiming towards his legs so as not to raise her head and get herself killed. She knew he was a good shot and she wasn't about to become a sitting duck for him. She fired off three quick shots then wiggled to the otherside getting a little better view, he was facing towards her this time and she had a better view of him. She had been expecting the military hairstyle, but the rest of how he looked blew her expectations of him out of the water. He was built and when he had dove behind the stovepipe was definitely light on his feet. But what threw her were his eyes. They had to be the bluest eyes she'd ever seen. If he had been looking right at her she probably would've sworn he could see into her mind.

She swallowed once and focused again. Now was not the time to be getting a description of him, now was the time to catch him. If he tried jumping off the roof she would be after him in a flash, she couldn't let him get away, not when she was so close for the first time.