Today we finished up a case! Here's last time.
Our heroes (minus Emily, who got it into her head that this plan was going to fail and bugged out) gear up and head to the parking garage, as described last time. They set up in the bottom level. Jordan draws a circle in motor oil, and just saves the last little bit so she can activate the Line of Defense discipline and hopefully trap Ti Papa. Jennifer gets her bow and posts up behind a car with a clear shot of where they hope to lure the vampire, while Dylan finds a similar vantage point and prepares to use his protective disciplines. Samantha stands out in front as bait, and BB lurks behind a car near her. They pour salt in a line to block the stairwells, and then they realized that even if they catch Ti Papa...then what do they do with him?
They go back over what they've learned about the vampire, and figure that a stake through the heart might work, burning him might work...but Dylan also discovered that old Louisiana legend about spinning someone at a crossroads to prevent them becoming a vampire. They don't have the time or the means to obtain a casket, but BB and Samantha are pretty handy so they head to a Home Depot, buy some lumber, and build a coffin. It's not fancy, but it'll work.
It's a few hours - Ti Papa apparently plays his set - and then they see him walking down the ramp. He spots Samantha and asks what she wants signed, and whether she plays an instrument - he needs to rebuild his band, after all. Samantha pulls out a handkerchief that her grandmother gave her, and Ti Papa approaches...and then time stops.
Samantha is the only one that sees him move, but she's powerless to move her body. He flows up to her and bites her neck, and she stumbles, but is not badly hurt. Time restarts and the envoys leap into action. Jordan closes the circle, Dylan throws a Mental Shield over everyone, and BB zips over and pours out a line of salt across the ramp to this level, just to add another barrier. Samantha reaches into her pocket and crushes a handful of mint, but her ring gets caught on her jeans and she isn't able to throw it in Ti Papa's face.
BB runs into the circle and tries to shove Samantha out of the way, but she misreads his cue and plants her feet. Ti Papa laughs and knocks their heads together, but he's not laughing long.
Jennifer takes a moment to aim, gets herself into position, and fires.
The arrow flies right between Samantha and BB's heads, strikes Ti Papa in the chest, and pierces his heart. He falls, and lays immobile. The envoys, a little surprised, pick him up and put him in the casket, throw a bunch of mint, garlic, and salt in there with him, and load the casket in the back of the truck. They head back towards the ranch, and find a lonely crossroads.
They unload the casket, carry it like pallbearers, and spin it around. As soon as the casket spins 360 degrees, it gets a lot lighter. Worried that Ti Papa has turned to fog again, they put it down and Jordan draws a Line of Defense around it. They open the box and find his clothes, the arrow, the mint/garlic/salt slurry (ew), and a handful of dust. The vampire is gone.
They take the box back to the ranch and burn it, just to be on the safe side. Darnell comes out and asks what they plan on doing with the guy in the silo, and they go down to check on him. They discover that Aaron has aged - he looks maybe in his 80s now, and is weak and frail. He refuses all help, though, and walks out of the ranch and off down the road.
The envoys have done pretty much everything they can to keep themselves out of trouble. BB leaves the country and heads to his native Australia for a bit, while Jennifer and Dylan head to Chicago (Dylan is thinking of getting a job out there and just coming back to Boise when necessary). Samantha takes a trip to Louisiana to visit family, and Jordan...well, she's a fixture at the ranch.
A couple of days later, a deputy shows up to ask if anyone at the ranch knows the old guy they found dead in the woods a mile or two down the road. They're having trouble identifying him (the animals got to him before anyone found him), so the picture is a little upsetting. Jordan looks at the picture of Aaron and shakes her head. "Can't help ya," she tells him, taking perhaps a little solace in the fact that it's not a lie.
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