“Yeah. But a handful of razor blades for fingernails was a crazy idea.” Eric looked at his jacket again. “And dangerous. I don’t know how you talked me into it.”

Tanner held her hand up. “This was a useless lump of flesh that they were about to amputate. Not only did you give me my hand back, but you made it a weapon. Sure it’s dangerous, but it might also save my life one day. With the titanium skeleton it will probably never be broken again. And with the money I’m saving on rent, I can buy you another jacket.”

Eric looked at her hard for a moment then cracked a small smile. “Just make sure you wrap these things up when you aren’t using them.” He stuck his finger through the hole in his sleeve. “It will cut down on accidents.”

Inside one of the laboratories, Tanner examined a large model of the city while Eric searched for something on a computer terminal.

“Can I do a story on this new tracking system you guys built? How does it go…all living humans have an energy force in and around them. Some people call it an aura. You’ve been able to duplicate this living energy. Your equipment can project that energy in a beam to a point anywhere in the city,” she said clearly and concisely.

Eric got up from his chair and walked toward Tanner, who continued her explanation.

“Since vampires are dead they do not have this aura. In fact, if the aura energy beam were projected into a space occupied by a vampire, the vampire’s body would absorb the energy. This absorption out there in the field would register as a drain by your computers back here.”

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