2026-03-08 20:26 - 23:14 PST; 2026-03-08 9:17 - 9:27 PST
Gabriela took Sam on another hunt. Sam insisted they go after a drug dealer, but Gabriela steered them toward a man convicted of several counts of aggravated assault. The reasons were obvious, but left unsaid. Once they got there, the target was easy enough to take down, but Sam was more interested in his wallet and the drugs in his jacket than his blood.
Before they could discuss anything, though, they heard their car alarm outside. Gabriela went to investigate and saw her car partly broken into and a man in a trench coat carrying away the Nosferatu she’d ran into the other night1. She’d heard rumors about recent kindred killings, and hoped the culprit wasn’t who she thought it was. Either way, she and Sam left to drop off their victim at the police station.
Notably, Mordecai wasn’t there, so she asked Reyes to leave a message for her.
Sam and Gabriela returned home and after much questioning, Gabriela finally started talking about some of the things she was hiding.
“I don’t know if that’s a good idea.” The stress of everything, plus the questioning she’s not particularly accustomed to seems to wear her down. She speaks without thinking “If you’re just eating rats and getting high every night, I’m worried if something happens you won’t be able to protect yourself.”
Sam’s expression is a mix of shame and anger. “If you’re sick of me getting high, I’ll go. It’s not like it’s gonna kill me.”
“No, I’m not- I didn’t mean…” She sighs, frustrated with herself.
“For crying out loud, Gabriela. What do you want with me?” “What do you want from me?”
“I don’t want anything from you! I just don’t want you to get killed!”
“Then don’t take us on those stupid hunts! We’re not Batman and Robin!”
“You need to practice! You need to learn how to hunt! How to defend yourself! There’s lots of people out there who want to kill you, Sam! You need to know how to watch out for yourself!”
Instead of snapping back, Sam simply began to cry. She ran to the bathroom and slammed the door behind her.
That was when Mordecai called. She asked him if he’d been around the area she’d seen the dead Nosferatu, and after a pause he said he hadn’t. She warned him that it was the latest in a string of murders, and that she’d heard people would be looking into it soon.
Then, she checked on Sam. She told her to go away, and with Gabriela lacking any sort of emotional intelligence, she did. She left the Hallmark channel on and left to her room where she called Zora. They spoke of their mutual hatred of Sacramento, and their distaste for the Camarilla, which their joining of had only caused problems, despite what Kabir seemed to believe.
Then, she decided to warn Zora about Marouth’s intent to attack her. She said she’d encountered her in a parking lot and that she’d heard it from her, which wasn’t a lie in the direct sense2. Then, Zora issued a command:
“Gabriela, listen closely. If you find Marouth again, you need to stake her. She needs to undo whatever she did to Kabir.” Zora conveys with dead seriousness.
She tries not to think about what might happen after. And she has a hard time even bringing herself to consider driving a stake through Marouth’s chest. “I’ll do what I can. Just watch your back.”
“I already do.” At least Zora doesn’t ask any follow up questions.