When Jacob's gut told him to drop to the ground, he didn't give it a second thought.

He was moderately startled by how quickly his would-be attacker was on his feet again after colliding full force with the side of his truck. His previous experience with vampires on the drug offered once a month by the Order had been considerably different -- most of them had ended up passed out after a relatively short amount of time spent necking and pawing at one another. None of them had seemed particularly prone to violence.

When Tristan came at him a second time, a well-placed palm to the face was all it took to land him squarely on the ground, this time without another attack. A quick glance around the parking lot confirmed they were alone, though Jacob already knew instinctively the rest of the Order was still inside the club. With little effort, he swiftly hoisted Tristan's limp body into the back of the truck.

He'd been handed another oddity, a new idiosyncrasy to figure out, only this one was probably best studied in a more controlled environment. He quickly ruled out the lab he worked at -- while it had cells perfect for containing vampires, he needed to be sure there was as little chance as possible of being discovered.

He had another place in mind that would work nearly as well, even if it lacked any sort of lighting or equipment. It was close enough to the club that he didn't have to worry about his specimen waking up and leaping out of the back of the truck, yet far enough away to ensure no one would stumble on them.

Drake: "Just shove him in the corner over there. We need to get out of here soon -- it's nearly sunrise."
Vinnie: "We could have had more fun if Piper hadn't taken so long."
Piper: "Jealous?"
Vinnie: "As if. You're too skinny for my taste. I like a woman with some meat on her bones. Hey Drake! I betcha fifty bucks that retard doesn't…"

Very little had changed in the nearly two years since Jacob had been back to the abandoned factory. There was more graffiti and dirt and fewer unbroken windows, but overall the structure remained the same. He unconsciously avoided looking in the corner where he'd spent a hot summer's day cowering from the sun, instead focusing on getting Tristan inside an old elevator shaft. He quickly located and removed his cell phone, wallet, and keys before stepping out of the cage-like enclosure.

The gate closed with a loud screech just as Tristan's eyes flickered open, the irises glinting with violent red that matched the blood oozing from his nose. Jacob quickly rigged the gate to only open from the outside before settling back a few feet. Only seconds after waking up, his captive was struggling against the iron bars.

Tristan: "You little fucker! Let me out of here now!"
Jacob: "That would be very unwise of me. I'm going to keep you in there for a while."
Tristan: "You son of a bitch! If you hurt her I swear to god I will spend the rest of my days tracking you down and making your life a living hell!"

Jacob found a relatively empty spot on the floor and sat down slowly, never taking his eyes off the raging vampire in front of him. There was something driving him to madness, pushed there tonight by a series of purified proteins and a virus they both shared. If this was an example of what could happen to a seemingly normal vampire, he didn't want to imagine what would happen if he'd been exposed to the substance himself.

Tristan: "Are you just going to sit there and stare at me all night? Trying to burn your image into my brain so I see the face of her murderer every time I close my eyes?"
Jacob: "I've never killed a human being."
Tristan: "You'd happily start with her, and you know I'll do everything in my power to stop you. That's why you locked me in this cage!"
Jacob: "Actually I'm just curious how long the drug will last on you. My prior observations of its effects suggest you've got at least another two or three hours, but I've never seen a reaction like this."

Jacob didn't flinch when Tristan threw himself against the gate -- attempting escape was a perfectly natural reaction to captivity. He reached into his pocket and pulled out a cookie wrapped in a napkin, absently breaking off small pieces and slowly eating them. After what seemed like ages but by his watch was only twenty minutes, Tristan sat down heavily on the floor against the back wall and proceeded to glare with deadly intent.

Tristan: "You do know that when I get out of here I'm going to kill you."
Jacob: "Why do you seem so convinced that I'm going to murder Miss Laine?"
Tristan: "Don't try to act like you're innocent. Why the hell were you at that meeting tonight unless you see humans as nothing more than cattle?"
Jacob: "They offer free food."
Tristan: "So because you claim you were at that meeting for their chips and dip I'm supposed to trust you around Emily?"

Jacob: "I never said it was an irrational fear, in fact quite the opposite. I'm more than capable of hurting her, as well as any other human. So are you. So are other humans. I just wondered what your thought process was, that's all. I'm curious if I was just in the wrong place at the wrong time, or if it's personal."
Tristan: "And what if it is personal?"
Jacob: "I don't particularly care either way, I just want to know."
Tristan: "You're fucking the woman I love. Damn straight it's personal."

Jacob tried desperately to wrap his head around what he'd just heard. He couldn't be entirely sure if Tristan honestly believed what he'd said or if it was another effect of the drug he'd been slipped.

Jacob: "I can assure you that we're not sleeping together."
Tristan: "No one said anything about sleeping."
Jacob: "We're not having sex, either."
Tristan: "You can't possibly expect me to believe that there's nothing going on between you two. It may have been more than a hundred and twenty-five years ago but I damn well remember what it was like being eighteen!"

Jacob: "While basic human drives haven't changed at all since you were eighteen, I think my life is a little different than yours was."
Tristan: "You expect me to believe you're some kind of lustless virgin?"
Jacob: "I never claimed I was a virgin."

Jacob broke off another piece of cookie, letting the sugars dissolve on his tongue while he fought off a wave of distress brought on by memories that refused to stay buried. He decided when he finished he'd have a cigarette or two to calm his nerves, and maybe at some point get a book out of his truck. It seemed it would be quite a while before Tristan would be approaching rational again.

Tristan: "So what's your plan, then? Play the part of a poor lonely little boy to lure her to you?"
Jacob: "We've never discussed my age or my exact financial situation."
Tristan: "You think you're so damn clever, don't you?"
Jacob: "My IQ is well above average."

Jacob took a cigarette from a pack in his back pocket, lighting it and inhaling deeply. He watched Tristan continue to glare at him unblinking through a haze of smoke.

Tristan: "Why the hell are you dressed like that, anyway?"
Jacob: "Dressed like what?"
Tristan: "You look like a damned street urchin waiting for a flood. What the hell is it supposed to mean?"
Jacob: "It doesn't mean anything -- it was supposed to rain tonight. I don't like it when my feet get wet."
Tristan: "Well you look stupid."

Jacob idly pulled up his thick woolen sock, silently taking note of the continued aggression he was on the receiving end of. When the cell phone beside him started ringing he nearly jumped out of his own skin. Tristan was instantly on his feet, once again struggling against the gate.

Tristan: "You stole my phone! Give that to me!"
Jacob: "No."
Tristan: "God damn you, give it to me! Now!"

Jacob responded by turning the phone off and taking another drag on his cigarette, not even blinking when Tristan threw himself forward, screaming with renewed rage.