C.O.T.V.H. (Book 2): Judgment by Dustin J. Palmer Page A

Louisiana?" Buck asked.
    "Because I'm old as dirt boy!  I've got arthritis in my joints.  I can't go more than two maybe three hours without having to take a leak!  My days as a hunter are long gone. This is a young man's game.  No offense ladies."  
    Diana rolled her eyes.  Cort leaned forward picking a package of chewing tobacco from his back pocket.  He dug through it then stuffed a very large pinch into his cheek.  "Vampires are the most vicious killers on the planet.  Many of them have had centuries to perfect their technique.  They can't be bargained with, they can't be reasoned with, to them dealing with humans is the equivalent of us making deals with cows.  We are nothing to them but food.  And when was the last time you conversed with a cow?”
    Donnie laughed. 
    "Now, there are two different types of vampires.  The lowliest are what we call grunts.  They are mindless, brainless monsters that only care about two things:  Staying out of the sun and eating.  Grunts are fairly easy to find.  They will hunt in one general area until they are stopped; making them the most common type of vampires you will hunt.  Just look for areas where a more than usual amount of people are reported missing in a very short amount of time.  This usually takes some relationship with local law enforcement.  Chris, your dad is very good at this.  He has more connections than I could ever even hope to learn."  Cort spit into a small, white Styrofoam cup. 
    "Now once you find a general area where grunts are feeding, you will need a good tracker to figure exactly where the bastards are hiding.  It can be anything from a barn, an abandoned house, to an old school or even an old factory.  Once a tracker determines where they are feeding from, their den or nest, the hunt really begins.  A four to six man, uh person team.  Sorry girls.  Enters the house, makes sure there aren't any survivors and cleans it.  Once done, unless it's in a populated area, the house is torched to the ground."
    "Why do you torch the house?" Jake asked.
    "Well Jake, once you've hunted your first vampire den you will understand.  You will see things that will turn even the toughest man's, uh, person’s stomach.  Things no one should ever have to witness.  I've seen mutilated corpses, stacks of bodies.  The most God-awful things you can imagine.  The second reason is to make sure there aren’t any of the little bastards hiding somewhere we might have missed."
    “How much can you make off a grunt’s teeth?” Donnie asked.
    "Well now, it’s been a while since I’ve traded, but I believe the going rate is still upwards of ten thousand dollars apiece."
    "Grandpa I've always wondered where does all that money come from?" Jake asked.
    "The government mostly.  Hernandez has a discretionary fund set up under some D.O.D. bill.”
    “D.O.D. bill?” Diana asked.
    “Yeah, sweetie.  That’s Department of Defense.”
    “Sweetie?”  She raised her eyebrows.  “Sweetie?!”
    “Yeah, who you calling sweetie ?”  Amber cracked a smile.  “ Grandpa !”
    Cort chuckled then sat forward in his chair. “Along with the government funds, there are a few private investors that will pay good money for vampire teeth.  Some grind them up and use them as aphrodisiacs, others for medicinal purposes.  I heard one man say it cured his arthritis.”
    “Wait, does that actually work?” Buck asked.  “I mean, could you really use it as an aphrodisiac?”
    “How the hell should I know?” Cort spit into his cup again.  “I’m not about to put anything from one of those bloodsuckers into my body.  But if you need some help with the ladies, Buck, do what you got to do.”
    The group laughed turning Buck’s cheeks bright red.
    Whisper spoke up softly.  “Mr. Bishop?”
    “Yeah, sweetheart?  What is it?”
    “Why doesn’t someone just come forward and tell the world about vampires?  Wouldn’t it make our jobs a lot