"Anyone who isn't confused really doesn't understand the situation."

- Edward R. Murrow

                                                                           ***

Galloway knew Sirius was pissed even though she only saw him once over the next two days. Maybe she knew he was pissed because she only saw him once over the next two days.

The one time she did run into him, he smelled like expensive perfume, had deep red lipstick on his collar and the only thing he offered her was a lazy smirk that set her blood boiling. 

She didn't really think she could justify being mad. At least, not about the lipstick.

She was still a little on the fence about the Monica thing, though, the more she thought about it, the less sense it made.

The problem with Sirius, she mused, was that practically nothing about him made sense. Or rather, that was one of the problems with Sirius.

Galloway had other problems, though. Ones that had nothing to do with a homicidal witch or who Sirius was sleeping with. Of course...if she was being completely honest—something she tried stringently to avoid being—the second issue bothered her more than the first, regardless of how idiotic that was.

It turned out that the vampire she had killed had belonged to a nest. A nest that was currently dropping bodies all over the Strip, trying to lure the Hunter who'd killed one of their own back to the city.

Obviously, Galloway was still in Vegas and she felt responsible. But... she was more than a little nervy about the prospect of taking on a whole nest by herself.

She might be an immortal Soul Collector, but that didn't make her invincible. Galloway could still be killed since she still had her Soul, and that would be a no-stops ticket to Hell. They wouldn't let her skate twice. There would be no second chances.

So that left her with three options: wait until another Hunter took notice and work with them, which could potentially be more risky than just hunting on her own; they could always find out that she herself was a monster. She could ignore the problem and leave the city as soon as possible. Or...ask Sirius for his help.

It didn't matter which of these she would have liked to pick—all three were more or less impossible.

Which was why Galloway found herself deep in the city, far from the lights and lost money, in front of a condemned hotel. She was scouting potential entrances and exits, wondering how in the hell she was going to do this.

Eyeing the dirty plaster, chained doors and broken, boarded windows, she couldn't help but sigh. 

The problem with hunting, she decided, was that there were always more monsters. Killing one was sometimes like kicking the proverbial hornet's nest. And Hunters were forever going to be outnumbered.

Pursing her lips, she stared at the hotel. Part of her wondered why she was doing this. The other part knew there was no way she couldn't.

Galloway guessed that there were probably no more than five or six vampires here. Bloodsuckers didn't really like to live in huge groups. Too many egos floating around. But five or six vamps was still a lot of vamps.

She was good...but she didn't know if she was that good.

Galloway suddenly wished she knew more Hunters. Or any Hunters, really.

She checked her watch and swore under her breath. This was their last day in Sin City. They'd collect tonight, so she was fighting the clock before she needed to meet Sirius so they could find the Debtor on time.

"Awesome," Galloway muttered, looking up at the brutal mid-day sun. She wondered idly if she was going to find herself in Hell tonight as a permanent guest.

She flinched violently when something thumped against the roof of the car. Looking in the side mirror, her heart stopped when she found Sirius leaning against the car, watching her over his sunglasses.

He tapped lightly at the glass with a single, clawed finger, and she rolled down the window reluctantly. Raising an eyebrow at the dilapidated building, he said, "I wouldn't stay there if you paid me. That's a little run down even for you, darling."

She rolled her eyes, heart still beating too fast, and unlocked the car when he walked around to allow him in. He looked for a long moment at the hotel, taking in a long, slow breath through his nose. 

"There are eight of them," he said, voice flat.

"What?" Galloway asked, still in a state of shock. He hadn't spoken to her in days, then just randomly pops up?

Pops up when you need him, she thought. Then she frowned. Or because he's just following you to report back to Theron.

He stretched, ruffling his hair a little, undoing the first button of his collar, then the second. Messing with the air conditioning, he muttered, "I hate the desert."

"How do you know there are eight?" she pressed. Five or six had already been a maybe—eight would get her killed.  

Finally he took off his shades and gave her a droll stare. "Vampires, they stink like..." Sirius stopped, considering. "They stink like rotten fruit. A little hint of sweetness, but nasty at the core." He jerked a thumb at the hotel. "By the smell, I'd say there are eight of them in there."

Galloway closed her eyes, trying to kick start her brain. When she opened them again, she froze, startled into stillness by how close Sirius was to her.

He was close enough that all she'd have to do to kiss him would be tilt her head a little. It was something she had thought about more than once since she'd met him, even while the consequences listed themselves out in the back of her mind.

She stared at him, drowning in the pools of his eyes. He smelled like his usual mint and...something else. Something sharper, though Galloway couldn't put a name to the scent.

His voice a low growl, he asked, "Do you want to die? Is that what this is? Because I can think of a couple ways that are much more enjoyable than this."

Galloway blinked and leaned back quickly, her Sirius-induced paralysis broken by his harsh words. She shook her head, lip curling up in disgust at the very idea. "I don't want to die. I would never try to get myself killed."

He nodded sarcastically, looking out the window. "Right. So...you were just checking up on the vamps who've been sucking the city dry? Making sure they're all comfy-cozy in their nice little condemned building?"

Galloway was silent and Sirius huffed out a dry laugh. "You know?" he sighed. "Even when you don't say anything, I can still smell the lie."

With a weary sigh of her own, she said, "I don't really care how you think I smell." 

The only response that garnered was a knowing smirk.

Now she rolled her eyes. "I'm hunting, Sirius. You know. That thing I actually enjoy? That thing I'm not really supposed to do? That thing that relieves enough stress to keep me from strangling you a lot of the time out of pure annoyance?"

Sirius grinned. "I knew you liked to play rough." In a long-suffering sort of way, he said, "Fine. You got an extra whatever-it-is you use to whack peoples' heads off?"

Galloway felt like her eyeballs were vibrating. Biting down on her lip in an effort to rein in her irritation and confusion, she snapped, "Why?"

He rolled his eyes and deadpanned, "Because if vampires taste like they smell, I don't really want to use my teeth. That all right with you?"

She wondered briefly if confusion could cause a brain hemorrhage. "What are you talking about?"

"Is English your first language?" Sirius asked, sarcasm thicker than cold blood. Then, enunciating each word, he said, "I am going to help you kill the bloodsuckers. I don't want to bite them, though," here he paused, a wry smile tugging at his mouth, "I would appreciate the irony. Do you have something I can use?"

Galloway shook her head. "No. I mean, yeah, I do. But no...I mean, you want..?"

"To help you?" Sirius finished. He shrugged. "I don't see why not."

"Why?" Galloway asked again. She wasn't even supposed to be hunting. Why would he want to help her? With anything really, given his actions over the past two days, but mostly with this.

"I'm bored," Sirius groaned. "Bored I tell you! Languishing in a constant state of nothing to do. I'm like any other pet, Galloway. I need stimulation. Entertainment. And you've been neglecting me." He batted his eyelashes at her, but couldn't quite conceal that wicked smile she was kind of starting to love.

"Are you done?" she asked, a little aggravated by his dramatics. Last time she'd checked, he had been the one avoiding her.

"Maybe," he said primly. "I don't know. Are you going to let me play with you?"

Galloway resisted pointing out that he kind of already was. She groaned silently when a small voice in the back of her head reminded her that she actually, really could use his help. Especially if there truly were eight vampires in there.

She sighed and got out of the car. He followed suit. She dug through the trunk, neatly packed with all manner of supernatural killing equipment, and pulled out two machetes. Handing one to Sirius, she watched from the corner of her eye as he swung it expertly, getting used to the weight.

Really? an irritated voice in the back of her mind said. You accuse him of trying to help Monica kill you with a hex bag and then you're just going to walk into a nest of vampires with him?

Galloway quickly shushed the voice, even if it did send a thrill of unease through her.

Still digging through the trunk, she said, "So...what? You couldn't find someone else to fill your time with?" 

She cursed at herself silently. She'd meant to say something. Not someone.

Sirius made the machete's blade whistle through the air. "Jealousy doesn't become you, darling."

Galloway laughed, the sound more than a little harsh, and scoffed, "Who said anything about jealous? I'm just curious about why you're, oh, I don't know, talking to me? Much less helping me with something you think is ridiculous and against the rules to boot. It's been like forty-eight hours of radio silence with you, Sirius."

She knew that wasn't exactly fair, seeing as how she had accused him of trying to kill her. But the words came out anyway.

Sirius snorted. "You know it's not technically against the rules, right? Hunting? Hell just doesn't like that they don't get the Souls. That they go to Purgatory instead of Hell."

"Yeah, well, tell that to Theron," Galloway muttered. "Also, you're forgetting the fact that being a Collector is still technically a punishment. I like hunting, ergo, Hell doesn't want me to do it. Because it might just make my existence a little less, ah...hellish." 

Now Sirius laughed. "Right, because Hunters are always such a happy bunch. I do hear that homicide is wonderful for mental health."

She frowned, picking up a syringe of deadman's blood and tossed it up and down in the palm of her hand, considering. Eventually she just decided it might come in handy and tucked it into a loop on her belt. "You still haven't explained why you're helping me with this."

She turned, ready to go, then gasped when Sirius shoved her against the car, a hand wrapping delicately around her throat. He trapped her hands and leaned into her, pressing his body into hers so that she couldn't move.

Galloway looked up at him, furious, then paled a little when she felt his claws stab minutely against her neck. He didn't exert any pressure, didn't draw any blood, but she wasn't crazy about where his hand was. 

And that irritated voice was screaming something along the lines of I told you so, at her.

Sirius tilted his head, looking down at her through heavy lidded eyes and said softly, "Maybe I'm not helping. Maybe these vampires are friends." 

He growled the word and their last real conversation flashed through Galloway's mind. He lowered his head even more and her breath quickened. He brushed a still clawed thumb against her bottom lip and said, "Maybe, since the hex bag didn't work, I wanted to try my luck with vampires. Maybe they could get rid of this pain in the ass, suspicious-as-all-Hell Collector for me."

Galloway swallowed, her mouth dry. Nervously, she bit at her lip, confusion making her head hurt. His hold loosened, just letting his palm rest on her neck.

Sirius looked at her mouth, then brought his eyes back to hers. In a voice like velvet, he asked, "Do you really think I want to kill you, Galloway?"

She could only stare up at him, her mind battling with itself. She was silent, unsure, and he leaned in even closer, whispering into her ear, "Maybe this will help ease your paranoia." With a silken laugh, he said, "If I wanted you dead, sweetheart, I wouldn't resort to cheap tricks. I'd just do it myself."

His claws pricked at her skin, demonstrating his point. Still whispering, he said, "I don't want you dead, Galloway. Do you think I want you dead?"

She shivered at his cool breath in her hair, almost cold in contrast to the desert's heat, then inhaled sharply when he bit gently at her earlobe. He pulled back, only to where he could see her, and his gaze wandered again to her mouth.

Something about what he said rang true and, before she'd made the conscious decision to, she was shaking her head. "I don't think you tried to kill me, Sirius," she said quietly.

His eyes jumped back up to hers and he growled, "You have a rather funny way of showing it."

Slowly, he let her go, only to place a hand on either side of her, effectively trapping her against the car still.

He stayed silent and Galloway's heart stuttered, its beat erratic as she wondered just what it was he thought he was doing here. When the confusion became too much and discomfort pricked steadily at her, she made her voice heavy with menace and said, "I think you've made your point, Sirius. I know you seem to struggle with the whole 'personal space' thing, but would you mind backing up a little?"

A laugh sent a tremor through Sirius and he bent his head, nose skimming the skin of her throat.

"Let me guess?" she tried again, voice biting. "You're just committing your master's scent to memory?"

She knew that wasn't nice, but she was desperate to stop this. He was driving her crazy, whether he knew it or not, and that was dangerous. For both of them.

Her breath caught when he nipped lightly at her neck. "I don't have masters," Sirius said, voice low. Galloway's eyelashes fluttered as his lips brushed her skin when he spoke. She could feel his smirk when he murmured, "Don't pretend like you haven't wanted me to do this since we met. It's a tad insulting."

She placed a hand on his chest, meaning to shove him away. Instead, all she said was, "It's not allowed, Sirius. It's against the rules."

He laughed again, pressing even closer. "Please. Things like you and I don't follow rules. Come on," he whispered. "I'm not blind you know. I've seen those hot little looks you keep sending my way. Every time you bite your lip I've been dying to do it myself."

Galloway's breath came in shallow pants as his teeth scraped her skin again. "Sirius," she sighed.

"Mm-hm?" he hummed, kissing down her neck, weakening her resolve steadily. The metal of the car was hot on her back.

She closed her eyes for a second, her head tipping back of its own accord. The hand she had on his chest slid over his shoulder to his back, pressing him closer. She shuddered as his head jerked back up, his mouth teasing just at the edge of hers.

She jumped when someone wolf-whistled, quickly turning her face away from him.

Thank Hell for idiots, Galloway thought as Sirius looked up, his eyes glowing and a growl rattling in his throat as he glared at the culprit.

Using his distraction to her advantage, she looped her leg around his and slammed her heel into the back of his knee, dropping him to the ground. He looked up at her, expression innocent as an angel's, though the image was marred by the sharp teeth she could just see poking into his lower lip. 

The distinctively predatory way in which his eyes gleamed did nothing to help either.

Placing her hand around his throat, just like he'd done to her, she leaned in close and said, "It's against the rules. And we're already in trouble." She slid her hand up to where it gripped lightly at his jaw. Again copying him, she brushed her thumb against his bottom lip and said, "Now, I'm going to go hunt some vampires. Would you like to join me or keep screwing around?"

Sirius laughed, the sound full and thoroughly amused. Grinning, he said, "I don't really see why we can't do both."

At her irritated hiss, he threw his hands up in mock surrender. "All right. All right. Sorry. Just messing with you." He bounded to his feet and said, "Come on. Let's go kill the bloodsuckers."

He led the way across the street, Galloway shadowing his steps. He tugged lightly at the padlock and turned to find her already holding up a set of picks. He glared at her incredulously before holding out his hand for her to take.

Galloway pointed up at the sun. "Not enough shadow." She smiled when he growled and said, "It's not like I was going to take on a nest at night. That would be stupid."

Sirius had taken the picks from her and, while he worked, muttered, "Yeah. Sure. Because that would be the only stupid thing about taking on a nest by yourself."

Galloway put a hand on her hip, the machete tapping against her thigh while she made sure no one was witness to their little B-and-E. With her heart still going a million miles an hour from the episode by the car, and from the adrenaline that accompanied any hunt, she was feeling more than a little jumpy.

What had Sirius been doing? Was he crazy?

Galloway entertained that thought, then just as quickly discarded it. He didn't seem crazy. At least...not that kind of suicidal crazy.

It was strictly a business relationship between Collectors and Hellhounds. Anything more resulted in a punishment way more severe than firing.

The lock snapped open and Galloway pulled a flashlight out of her pocket, clicking it on as she followed Sirius inside. She swept the beam of light around, taking in the normal, if dusty, lobby. Cobwebs hung thick from any available surface and there was trash and evidence of junkies strewn around, but otherwise, it was empty.

Sirius pointed toward the stairs he had seen before her and she nodded, her mind still on the subject of Hound-Collector relationships. Or lack thereof.

You'd think Hell wouldn't care, she thought as they climbed the stairs. She winced every time they creaked and was annoyed by the fact that she was the only one making any noise.

She frowned then, reconsidering. Hell would care because that might make existence as a Collector just a little more enjoyable. Galloway almost laughed, amending the thought. More enjoyable, that was, if Hellhounds looked like Sirius. Which isn't very often.

Either way, it might be something not completely bad. And Hell was all about punishment.

That's what being a Collector was. It was still a punishment. At least, it was to Galloway. She had made a Deal expecting to pay with her Soul, except, she hadn't.

She'd pay with an eternity of guilt and blood instead.

At the time, being turned into a Collector had seemed like a pretty good Deal. And most days, Galloway would rather have her Soul than not, but... every now and then, she reconsidered.

She jumped when Sirius' voice floated through her head. They're close. I think they're asleep.

Galloway frowned, not really loving him being in her head without permission. She threw up several hasty walls between his thoughts and most of her own, relegating him to a very small, impersonal corner of her mind.

Sirius noticed and raised an eyebrow at her, but all he said was, Just pay attention, please. We're hunting vampires.

She rolled her eyes at him and he grinned, obviously enjoying himself way too much.

They went through a set of double doors into a common area and Galloway walked out a little in front of Sirius, looking around.

Her heart turned to ice when she heard the doors slam behind them.

Sirius was suddenly right next to her, his back pressing into hers and a growl thundered through the room, deep and threatening.

"Awesome," Galloway hissed when she looked around a second time and they were surrounded by vampires.

With a dry, sort of resigned laugh, Sirius asked, "So. Do you trust me?"

She shook her head. "No."

"Too bad," Sirius said under his breath, raising his free hand, curling his fingers in a 'come at me' gesture to the vampire directly in front of him.

He'd been right. There were eight of them.