[MetalJon]

Thanks Chopper - good point.

I hope you're all enjoying it so far! This has been a really interesting journey for me so far, as I normally tend to start writing high fantasy stories instead (I might post a chunk of my high fantasy epic I've started as well, at some point).
Anyway - here is a bit more of the `Water of Life' story if anyone would read further:


“Nicolai Inecatu, you are under arrest!” bellowed Jeff into the flat, before marching into the hallway. The flat was exactly what he expected from this sector; grubby, unkempt and in a state of disrepair. As he trod down the hallway on the mouldy carpet, he listened for the occupant, hoping he would give himself up without a fight. As ever, it was not to be.

The red haired vampire ran screeching down the hall at the five men, arms outstretched and fangs exposed. Jeff nodded at a quaking Officer Jones, who thrust the glowing metal collar out in front of him, gripping the long handle hard with whitened knuckles.

Inecatu did not see the collar until it was too late. His screeching cry ended in a choking gurgle, as his neck was embraced by the metal device. The small blue lights around its perimeter winked on one at a time, and the vampire’s shape-shifting powers were neutralised.

With a sharp twist of the handle, Jones brought Inecatu to his knees. The vampire looked up at them all with glowing, hate-filled eyes.
“You got nothing on me!” he spat, in his heavily accented voice.

Jeff ignored the irate blood sucker and began searching the poky lodgings. Inecatu was a poor criminal; he had made almost no effort to hide the stolen goods. Jeff marched right into the unkempt bedroom, complete with open coffin resting on filthy mattress, and found the stash in seconds. The idiot had only hidden it in his coffin! It was a curious thing to steal though, Jeff mused to himself, as he scratched his stubble-covered chin. Most petty thieves stole vehicles, designer clothes, other people’s expensive belongings… Instead, this time, Inecatu had stolen high-powered laser syringes, some gas compressors, and an odd assortment of industrial equipment from the water plant where he worked the night shift.

Who would be stupid enough to steal from their own workplace, under the constant cyclopean gaze of security cameras? Who would want to buy this stuff? Jeff was left with a lot of unanswered questions, a situation which made him tense and itchy. He strode back out into the hallway, where the sweating officers were struggling to contain the thrashing vampire. With one swift punch, he knocked the red-haired thief out cold.
“Get him into the van” he said, grimly. It was time for some answers.