Taking No Chances :Amoura:

[Sparda]

Were it not for their incessant frequency, the defiant shouts and despairing cries of the civilians might've begun to irritate Demetrius Altor. Somehow he was already used to them.

This menial task was his latest assignment; to oversee the roundup and arrest of a number of civilians taking residence in the apartment block that stood behind him. Intelligence had suggested that one or more of its inhabitants had been harbouring wanted criminals, but none of them had given any pertinent information, so command had ordered that they all be imprisoned until someone came forward.

Though behind his intimidating helmet, the look upon his face was decidedly impassive, Demetrius watched the activity of the many bottom-rung soldiers around him with great disdain. They were too prone, in his opinion, to breaking out their batons and rifles when the civilians didn't comply; not that he expected a different response. General Vulture's rule had always been opposed in some way or another, from the heights of political power to the simple-minded defiance of bottom-feeders such as this.

Still... was this heavy-handed approach really necessary?

[Silver Eyes]

It was necessary but ill affective against what will happen next: the disappearance of the hostages. One by one, the panicking group was seemingly sucked down into the ground but there was no trace indicating anything gruesome entailed their vanishings. Soldiers that were stupid enough to make a grab at some of the prisoners got dragged down too only to be thrown back up with snapped necks and bloodied slashes in their throats. Amoura took great care to make sure that her opponents didn't know that a vampire was causing this and bite marks in the skin was always a dead give away.

Almost as soon as the rescue started, it ended with a few leftover soldiers that were baffled by what just happened. How on earth was that possible? Atop the building that was evacuated, she watched and waited to see what they will do next. The prisoners were taken to a safe location not too far from this place and were rapidly making their escape. At least they were being quiet but they'll start searching for them soon.

Time for a distraction.

The building to Demetrius' right detonated from explosives she had planted within the walls while everyone was being rounded up.

[Sparda]

The transport trucks into which the prisoners were being loaded had barely been half-filled when the rest began... well, simply vanishing into the ground. No explanation, no sign of a culprit, and those soldiers who attempted to keep hold of the prisoners were also dragged below - only to be cast back to the surface with snapped necks and slashed throats.

The soldiers left alive were beginning to panic, and understandably so. Demetrius alone remained still, eyes narrowing and mouth curling into a scowl beneath his helmet...

"Pull it together!" he suddenly barked out, silencing the grunts' confused shouts with a voice that demanded respect. "They can't have just disappeared! Shut up squealing and form -"

At that moment, even he was drowned out by the thunderous roars of explosions right behind him. The elite soldier whirled around, Hawkeye clutched firmly in his hands; just in time to spot a large chunk of a top-floor wall about to fall on him, and backflip away in a display of almost superhuman reflexes and agility before the mighty slab of brick and mortar crashed to the ground where he'd just been standing.

"What the hell-?" Backing away, the soldier watched the building begin to fall. It was collapsing inwards, at least, so collateral damage would thankfully be minimised; whoever had rigged it clearly knew their way around high explosives. But why a random building? Surely that kind of firepower would have been better employed against them - and he knew this display was someone's attempt at fighting back - by being used to rig their vehicles and heavier gear?

"Unless..." As the building collapsed in on itself with a deafening crash, the soldier gave a frown of annoyance. "A distraction." he turned around quickly, facing the remaining grunts. "Pack it up! Forget the escapees, secure the bodies and the prisoners we still have and get the trucks moving, now!"

Numerous scattered calls of "yes, sir!" heralded the much more coordinated movements of the remaining soldiers now that they had an objective. Almost within seconds, they had loaded the bodies onto their APCs, secured the gathered prisoners, and the convoy of transports was on the move, making for their designated drop-off point with all haste.

Demetrius alone stayed behind, Hawkeye loaded and ready, looking about himself at the blood spatters and debris.

Whoever this attacker is, Command is likely to gut me if I don't turn in their head with my report.

[Silver Eyes]

Those few moments of distraction was all she needed to get to her desired location: the vehicle. The Night Angel had put herself underneath the transportation, careful to wrap her cloak around her waist to avoid detection and waited for it to start moving away from Demetrius to make her attack. The upper portion of her body phased into the still cooled engine and her talons regained enough physical form to slash through portions; she mainly attacked the battery and forced the valves to go out of sync—the engine was immediately halted by her efforts.

The vampiress moved to the back where the prisoners were, immediately dispatched the guards by knocking them out rather than killing and a portal ripped through the air in front of the terrified captives. Amoura beckoned them through and they immediately ran in. There weren't many. Soon as it was done, she fell down through the floor, into the shadow cast by the vehicle and was back on the rooftop of a nearby edifice.

The remaining guards came out of the driver's portion, guns raised and ran to their comrade's side. They were relieved to see they were only blacked out this time and not brutally killed like the earlier ones. There was no point in draining those survivors because they knew nothing important other than their mission. One radioed someone in a panic.

Amoura remained flattened against the roof, blending in well with her surroundings, and waited to see what will happen next.

[Sparda]

First the vulnerable walking prisoners, and now those who he had thought secure. This rescuer of theirs clearly was not human, which almost certainly struck local resistance off the list of suspects. The problem was that they were succeeding in remaining undetected.

Demetrius watched from afar as the convoy fell into utter chaos, vehicles stopping every which way and their drivers and guards disembarking to check their passengers, only to find that the prisoners had simply disappeared. Even from this distance, his supernaturally keen eyes had no problem observing in perfect detail, as if he was there among them... so even from this distance, he was able to spot the dark shape that moved beneath the rearmost truck before vanishing into the shadow it cast upon the ground.

One creature with such an ability came to mind - a vampire.

With this lead, the elite soldier extended the reach of his senses, on the lookout for any trace of flanking movement, any unnatural scent that might be on the wind. It was not long before he found what he was looking for; the smell of a non-human body, apparently hiding upon the other, still standing apartment building, which was upwind of him.

Within his helmet, he allowed himself a smirk of satisfaction, before he would disappear from the interloper's sight... only to reappear directly behind and above her, Hawkeye's muzzle leveled at her heart.

"Found you."

He pulled the trigger, and a gunshot rent the air.

[Silver Eyes]

Coagulated blood splattered all over the place, torn flesh went flying and organs spilled out what remained of its contents. The first of the mess was hint enough that he did not kill a vampire but something that had been deceased for quite some time: it was a familiar that had taken her place. There had been plenty of attacks from behind and The Night Angel learned long ago to never stay in one place for long—that hard learned lesson payed off tonight. The half-blown creature twitched, looked over it's shoulder to stare at him with its rotted out eyes and turned to ash. The sight wouldn't be disturbing to the likes of Demetrius.

That wasn't the last of the familiars. More were crouched down on the rooftops as a distraction from the master, no, the Nosferatu. The Night Angel's mission to rescue the wrongly accused citizens was finished so there was no point in remaining around the fire. However, if he thinks she's gone, they will start the search for the prisoners; she had no choice but to remain until they fled. It was time for more diversions.

Explosions were out of the question since she only had a few left on her person and those were only to be used in case of an emergency. From within one of the complexes, she watched everything from behind a set of curtains that did well to conceal her if she didn't move too much. Her fingers flex and her "puppets" leaped down after the guards, screeching, exposing ivory canines, yellowed claws and skeletal frames with paper thin skin stretched over.

It was a terrible sight for those weak in the mind and stomach. The stench that radiated off their bodies was almost overpowering.

[Sparda]

A decoy? Why hadn't he considered this? Growling in irritation, the soldier quickly lashed out at the corporeal familiar, ripping its head off its shoulders with a vicious punt before it disintegrated. Whoever this attacker was, they were clearly well versed in stealth tactics, and their supernatural nature only made them more adept at remaining undetected while they picked this mission apart at their leisure.

Tracking them down by normal means wasn't likely to work. He needed to force their hand somehow...

[Silver Eyes]

There was only one known race that summoned this many to their aide; part of Amoura's identity was revealed and there was only one thing left to do.

Make them fear you.

The thought of striking that emotion into anyone's heart had been against her code for years. That Amoura had been dead for the past twenty-six years. She moved back from the curtains, spun around and fell into her shadow.

Minutes ticked by, the soldiers kept fighting off the familiars with difficulty but they were victorious against the small group. There was relief; the nightmares was over.

Until a corpse was thrown up.

This one's neck was not slashed but savagely bit into with his blood having been completely drained. The panic was back now that suspicions were confirmed: a Nosferatu was hunting them. But where was she?

From within another room, she watched while licking the blood from her lips. Demetrius was within her sights and she kept completely still to avoid detection. Should she risk going after the ring leader? These were all but pawns with statuses while the General was the King. She'll leave that troublesome lunatic to the others.