“It is remarkable to me that you were able to find so many volunteers,” said Maroun. “I do not believe my people would have been so enthusiastic.”

“My understanding is that the Blacklight Operators were not given any choice in the matter,” said Tán, and smiled. “Isn’t that right, Major?”

Turner stared at the Chinese Director, his grey eyes narrowing. “You are correct, Colonel Tán,” he said. “PROMETHEUS was mandatory. And if the rest of you had followed my lead we’d be in a better position than we are now.”

“What you have done is an abomination,” said Maroun, his voice a low rumble. “It is a disgrace.”

“Fine,” said Turner. “In which case, I will order my vampire Operators to stand down and let your Department take the lead. How does that sound?”

Maroun scowled at him, but did not respond.

“Enough bickering,” said Allen. “Aleksandr, are you going to tell us your plan or not?”

Ovechkin nodded. “It is very simple,” he said. “A frontal assault that engages Dracula’s army while a small strike team enters the medieval city to take out the first vampire himself. I asked Major Turner for an update because I would propose selecting the strike team from Blacklight’s vampire Operators.”

“How large a force are you referring to?” asked Schmidt. “For the main assault?”

“Everyone,” said Ovechkin. “All of us, all at once. I do not believe we will get a second chance, and I therefore see no point in keeping Operators in reserve.”

“Major Turner?” asked Tán. “What do you think?”

“I completely agree with Aleksandr,” he said. “I think it represents our best chance of success. And I think we need to do it quickly.”

“How quickly?” asked Allen.

“Forty-eight hours from now,” said Turner. “Sunset, the day after tomorrow. I think sooner would be better, but I don’t think gathering our forces together any quicker is realistic.”

“Sunset?” asked Guérin. “Why not send everyone we have into the city now, when we have the advantage of daylight?”

“Because Aleksandr’s plan relies on drawing Dracula’s followers out into open ground,” said Schmidt. “Inside the old city, in the narrow streets where the sunlight does not reach the ground, they’d swarm all over us.”

“What about the hostages?” asked Guérin. “Have we forgotten about them?”

“Of course not,” said Allen. “As far as the public is concerned, their safety remains our highest priority. But their best chance for survival is for us to kill the vampires holding them captive, because I don’t believe Dracula has any intention of ever letting them go. Do any of you?”

Silence.

“All right,” said Allen. “In which case, let’s—”

Turner’s console beeped into life. He snatched it up from his belt and thumbed it open as the NS9 Director stared at him, his eyes narrowing.

“I’m sorry, Paul,” said Allen. “Are we distracting you from something important?”

“My apologies,” said Turner. “I left a Priority Level 1 investigation in progress.” He opened the message that had arrived and quickly scanned it.

FROM: Bennett, Major Alison (NS303, 47-E)

TO: Turner, Major Paul (NS303, 36-A)

SSL terminates at Rusmanov Holdings Limited. Registered in Grand Cayman in 1982. Sole listed director Valeri Rusmanov.

Turner stared at the screen.

Jesus Christ, he thought. How deep does this go?

“Can I have your attention for a moment?” he said, raising his eyes and looking around the table.

“Go ahead, Paul,” said Bob Allen.

“Are you aware of a vigilante group that has been operating in Blacklight jurisdiction known as the Night Stalkers?” he said.

There was a low chorus of agreement and a series of nods from his fellow Directors.

“There have been more than a dozen vampire murders in the last three months,” he continued. “The British press has been all over the story, and public opinion has been split down the middle. Half the populace believe the Night Stalkers are criminals, while the other half seem to think they’re heroes. There have been protests and counter-protests. Violence. Rioting.”

“We get the picture, Paul,” said Allen. “Most of us have similar groups operating in our territories. What’s your point?”

“Sorry,” said Turner. “I have a man who survived a Night Stalker attack in the Loop’s infirmary right now, a man who was able to identify his assailants. Several of them worked for a recently founded UK charity called SSL, the Supernatural Survivors League. It operates a helpline for vampires and their victims, which the Night Stalkers used to identify their targets.”

“That is horrible,” said Schmidt. “But I do not see what it has to do with what we are discussing.”

“I ordered my Intelligence Division to investigate SSL,” said Turner. “I wanted to know who was financing it and, presumably, bankrolling the Night Stalkers. They’ve just informed me that the charity’s financial trail ends in the Cayman Islands, with a limited company called Rusmanov Holdings. The company has a single director listed. Valeri Rusmanov.”

There was a long moment of silence, before everyone started to talk and shout at once.

“Why?” asked Schmidt. “Why would Valeri do this?”

“It is not Valeri,” said Ovechkin. “Valeri is dead. This is Dracula, or someone acting for him.”

“Why, though?” demanded Schmidt.

“To create fear?” said Tán. “And unrest? To distract Blacklight?”

“But this group was killing vampires,” said Schmidt. “He was financing the murder of his own kind.”

“That should come as no surprise,” said Turner. “Dracula wouldn’t think twice about killing a million vampires if their deaths served his ambitions. The lives of others mean nothing to him.”

“The attacks as he took Carcassonne,” said Allen, his voice low. “The planes and the massacres on the subways, attacks that must have taken months of planning. The videos. And now this. What the hell else has he got in store for us? What else don’t we know?”

“I have no idea,” said Turner. “But if the rest of you really do have similar groups in your own countries, I’d suggest you investigate them immediately. Because I don’t see any reason why Dracula would only try to destabilise the UK.”

“No,” said Ovechkin, his voice low. “Nor do I.”

Silence descended over the table. Turner raised his console, tapped REPLY, and typed rapidly on its screen.

FROM: Turner, Major Paul (NS303, 36-A)

TO: Bennett, Major Alison (NS303, 47-E)

Leak this to the press immediately. Be unequivocal about the link between SSL and Dracula. Hopefully it will flush Greg Browning out.

“All right,” said Allen. “Thank you, Paul. I’m sure we now all have calls we want to make, so let’s talk about the implementation of Aleksandr’s plan. Thoughts? Problems?”

“I will not bring my entire Department,” said Tán, immediately. “I know without even asking that Beijing will not sanction it. But I will commit seventy-five per cent of my Operators, which, I should remind you all, is more fighting men and women than any two of your Departments combined.”

“Excellent,” said Allen. “Thank you. What about the rest of you?”

“I will match Colonel Tán’s contribution,” said Maroun. “Seventy-five per cent of my Department. I will not leave my homeland entirely undefended, as I’m sure you can all understand.”

“Of course,” said Allen. “Who else?”

The other Directors quickly gave their figures: seventy-five per cent from Canada, India and Brazil, eighty-five from Japan and South Africa. Turner listened, greatly heartened by the response; he had been bracing himself for at least one of his counterparts to either refuse to endorse Ovechkin’s plan or claim geographical isolation, that what was happening in southern France was not their problem. The look of profound relief on Bob Allen’s face suggested he had been expecting the same thing.