SWNOVELXO Chapter 17: 17
It was a silly comment, but deep down she was right. Not all cultures have the same sense of rhythm, music, or sex. Now the girl accepted the coffee that Pablo prepared for her. The sex session had been good and the boy was handsome, a real wonder, rich and nice. For Angela, he would have been a perfect partner if it weren't for the fact that he was younger, and soon she would be leaving for another city, if she made the mistake of falling in love with him, she knew it would break her heart. She preferred to enjoy body to body, and if in the following weeks or when the boy came back to visit he looked for her, she would accept. No one turns down a sweet treat.
The girl was expected in Badalona to go dancing with some compatriots, so she didn't delay in impossible and absurd conversations. She gave him a warm kiss, and he responded by grabbing her ass and whispering in her ear.
"You know, Angela? Now you can boast that you are the first woman to make love to me like that..."
The girl laughed at the idea of the boy who had proven to be a real tiger in bed, she left with a certain trembling in her legs and with a smile.
Meanwhile, Pablo took a shower, it was time to think about what profit he had obtained. In truth, Pablo merged with Ashan's mind did not expect to have been so lucky on his first day since he took control. The unbridled passion of Laia, Gisela and now Angela, had given him a profit that he truly hoped to have earned in at least a week, perhaps this time was much more prone to lust than the rest of the times in which he had lived and cultures that vampires had tried to conquer in the past.
The time had come to pay a first visit to Mr. Masanet, Pablo did not think he could fulfill his mission at first but nevertheless he could take notes to prepare the blow.
Luck was on his side at that moment, as he pressed the elevator button, another possible victim crossed his path.
It was Laura, the neighbor on the third floor B, she was twenty-seven years old, it had been three years since her young husband had died in a car accident, after that the woman who had no children had gone through a strong depression, only a few months ago she had shown signs of taking care of herself again.
When Pablo opened the elevator door he already had an idea in mind, it was not the first time he had played at comforting the poor widow. It was an easy way to get corrupt women who were easy prey. Many vampires used it to guarantee themselves livestock to feed on safely, but for the Justicars it was more a matter of pleasure and contacts.
Laura was tall, five feet tall, with short brown hair and pretty eyes. However, years of depression had taken a toll on her once stunning body, she had gained weight, and had quit the gym. It wasn't that she was a bad catch, it was just that it was noticeable that she hadn't taken care of herself in a long time, however when Pablo entered the small elevator Laura was well groomed, smiling and looked like she at least had some plans for going out.
"Good night, Laura, everything okay?"
"Hi Pablo, you're getting taller and taller, you're quite the hunk, all good. I'm going now with my coworkers, they want me to leave the house..."
"That's good, if you need anything, let me know, my parents have gone to Madrid for a few days, and I'll be bored this weekend."
Laura had no sexual interest in Pablo or so she thought, she had seen him grow since his parents arrived at the building, however he was a kind and polite boy, and he was also turning into a strong and handsome boy.
"Hey, now that you mention it, could you help me on Saturday afternoon to take some boxes down to the storage room?"
"Sure, you let me know, I'll be at home."
They said goodbye normally, like two normal neighbors, however in Pablo's mind a plan was already emerging.
He decided to take the subway until he got off at the Francia station and take a shortcut through the terminal to get to the rabal, it wasn't the closest, but this way there wouldn't be any problems with the subway cameras, it was far enough away that he couldn't be linked directly.
After having lived seventeen years in Pablo's skin he knew that city as well as the boy himself, it wasn't hard for him to move around it with ease, although he was still surprised by the frenetic pace of this time. How would his peers, accustomed to laziness, opulence and being able to wait centuries to make a simple move, cope?
The vampires would have had to adapt to that world, and he had to find out how.
Even if it was sunny like those days in June and the night fell late, the rabal, the terminal and the gothic quarter were gloomy and dark places, the narrow streets and the houses stuck together made the perfect place for the heat not to pass, his senses were alert he had to control the moment so that no one could notice him.
Walking in the shadows was not only a skill that involved magic or dark powers, a shadow crossing in plain sight was as striking as going naked, but knowing how to move, how to walk so as not to make noise and how to position yourself in people's blind spots or appear in their peripheral vision for a short time was something that only centuries of practice could give.
It was true that Pablo's body was much larger than his original body, but it was also true that in this era, a young, reasonably well-dressed boy walking down the street would not attract anyone's attention.
When the pseudo vampire turned onto the street that had appeared in the news, he quickly located the indicated doorway. It was old, with those old double wooden gates. Woodworm and humidity had taken their toll on the entrance door, and it only took a small, discreet push for the boy to spring the latch open.
In the block there were only six floors, two on each landing and one on the ground floor, so he went to the mailboxes. He didn't know which floor the pedophile lived on, but it wouldn't be difficult. He looked at the seven mailboxes without finding the surname Masanet anywhere, however there were two floors that didn't have names on the mailbox, the third A and the first B.
Well, it wasn't a choice among many possibilities. Maybe he had removed his name out of discretion so as not to be bothered. Pablo went up the stairs, although on the first floor he didn't notice anything strange, he could hear noises in the houses, if he came across someone he would have to make an excuse.
He continued up until on the third floor he found what he was looking for, there was no graffiti, there was no big evidence, someone had simply rubbed dog shit all over the door. You had to have a lot of hate inside and a lot of rage to do something so disgusting to someone's door.
The boy's sharpened hearing told him that there was someone in the flat, it seemed like they were listening to music. On that last landing there was a third door that led to the roof, a simple bolt lock closed it from the inside. It seemed that the neighbors had long ago given up on the insecurity that a simple lock that could be forced from the other side could give, and had returned to more rustic technology.
Pablo, seeing that he still had time before his meeting with his friends, decided to continue exploring. The roof, like many in the old neighborhoods, was run down, poorly painted and sad and ugly, with clothes hanging here and there, and there was nothing negative about it.
Like in many old blocks, all the houses in the block had an interior courtyard, but in addition, in the block there was a smaller courtyard opening that seemed to lead to what must have been the bathrooms and laundry rooms of the flats.
Without worrying too much, Pablo looked out; the old windows of the bathrooms were mostly open to provide ventilation, as were the larger windows of the laundry rooms that must have led to the kitchen. From where he was, it wouldn't be difficult to get there; he just had to go to the other side of the wall of the roof, hold on with his arms until he could lean on the ledge that served as a laundry space, and then, using a little balance and strength, he got in through the open window.