American Horror Story, Starting from Falls Town

Chapter 362 Traitor
Reminded by Hodge, Claire quickly suppressed her excitement and began to carefully observe the environment in the picture.

In the footage, Jocelyn appears to be bandaging her wounds in a room.

It was clear that Claire's mother had just gone through an extremely difficult battle; she had many fine wounds on her body, and her clothes were tattered.

"I saw my mother in a room, but I don't know where that room is!"

Hodge further guided Claire.

"That should be Jocelyn's safe house. If you concentrate, you can observe the situation outside the room further."

Claire began to concentrate and, sure enough, discovered that the image in the water had expanded.

"I think I can see the Golden Gate Bridge! My mother must be in the Bay Area right now!"

The Golden Gate Bridge is an oversea bridge connecting downtown San Francisco with Marin County to the north. It is a landmark of San Francisco and has been bombed countless times in various movies and TV shows. It is an American symbol on par with the White House, and almost every American can recognize this red bridge.

"It seems Jocelyn has already hidden in the Bay Area. Ms. Frey, please memorize your surroundings carefully and confirm her exact location!"

"I'm trying now!"

Claire tried hard to memorize the buildings she saw that were memorable, and soon the images in the water disappeared.

"The effects of the ritual have worn off. Ms. Frey, do you see Jocelyn's approximate location?"

Claire nodded.

“Yes! Just give me a map of the Bay Area, and I can pinpoint my mother’s approximate location.”

"Very good, shall we set off to find Jocelyn right now?"

Hodge seemed very eager, but Claire still had some doubts.

"Aren't we going to wait for Roy?"

“Ms. Frey, you must have seen your mother’s condition, right? She desperately needs help right now, and there’s a risk she could be moved again at any moment. We can’t waste any more time!”

Hodge made some sense, but Claire thought about it for a moment and was still a little uneasy.

“Mr. Starkweather, may I call Roy and talk to him?”

Hodge did not stop Claire.

"Please!"

Claire left the ceremony hall and found a secluded spot to make a phone call.

However, after making several calls, he was only answered by a mechanical female voice saying that Roy's number was out of service.

"How could this happen? Where did Roy go?"

Claire was getting anxious when Francesca, who was possessing Smith Wesson M629, spoke up.

“Claire, you don’t need to worry too much. Maybe Roy is just held up by something. You can rest assured that Roy can sense my location. As long as you take me with you, he can find you.”

Hearing this, Claire was finally relieved.

“Okay, then I’ll send a text to Roy and then head to the Bay Area to find my mother. Hopefully, Roy will see the text and come over as soon as possible.”

Claire put away her phone and then found Hodge.

“Mr. Starkweather, let’s set off now.”

Hodge looked at Claire.

"Isn't Mr. Blake coming?"

"He has something to do and can't come."

Hodge smiled.

“Ms. Frey, you can rest assured. This time I will personally bring the most elite Shadow Hunters. Even without Mr. Black, nothing will happen.”

Claire took a deep breath; without Roy, she always felt somewhat insecure.

"I hope so."

"Alright, Ms. Frey, you can get ready to get in the car now."

Claire nodded and left.

Hodge then gave some instructions to his men.

"This operation is very important and must be kept absolutely secret. Bring that signal jamming device with you."

"Yes, Mr. Starkweather!"

San Francisco is only 600 kilometers from Los Angeles; you can leave in the morning and arrive in the evening.

As evening fell, Clary and the Shadow Hunter arrived at their destination, the area she had seen during the ritual.

This area is actually a poor neighborhood in San Francisco, a melting pot of all sorts of people, so it's not easy to be discovered if you're hiding here.

Following the route she remembered, Claire found a six-story apartment building and was about to knock on the door of Jocelyn's safe house when Hodge stopped her.

“Ms. Frey, what you’re doing will only scare Jocelyn away. You’d better say hello first.”

Upon hearing this, Claire immediately shouted out.

"Mom, it's me, it's Claire!"

After she shouted, Claire heard some noises inside the room, and then the door was slightly opened, revealing a familiar face.

"Claire? What are you doing here?"

Upon seeing her mother's face, Claire excitedly rushed towards her.

"Mom, I've finally found you!"

Hodge also showed a happy expression when he saw Jocelyn.

"Jocelyn, long time no see! Aren't you going to invite me in?"

However, Jocelyn, who was holding Claire, was not very happy. She looked at her former colleague Hodge Starkweather with a wary expression on her face.

"Only you are allowed in; everyone else must stay outside!"

Hodge did not object and followed Claire and Jocelyn into the safe house alone.

As you can see, there are many traps in the safe house. If you were to force your way in, you would definitely suffer serious injuries. However, Jocelyn has now deactivated all of these traps.

"Mom, why didn't you come to find me? Why are you hiding here all by yourself?"

“Claire, I don’t want to lure the vampires who are hunting me to you; it would only make things more dangerous for you.”

"But the vampire found me two days ago!"

Upon hearing this, Jocelyn's expression turned grim. She then carefully examined her daughter's body and, finding no wounds, breathed a sigh of relief.

"So how did you escape?"

"I owe it all to a friend I met at UCLA, Roy Black, he saved me!"

Claire's eyes lit up when she talked about Roy.

No one knows a daughter better than her mother, and Jocelyn immediately understood that Claire had some special feelings for this friend named Roy Black.

At this moment, Hodge coughed twice and then interjected.

"Ahem! Actually, the Shadow Hunters were also a great help!"

Claire rolled her eyes at Hodge. The Shadow Hunters had only helped a little when they were looking for Jocelyn; they hadn't done anything before that.

Where is that boy?

"He said he had some information about the Elders' Council, so he went to investigate alone and did not join the operation."

Claire was a little disappointed; she really wanted her mother to see Roy.

Jocelyn stroked Claire's hair, her face full of relief.

"I'm so glad you're alright! I'm so glad you're alright!"

The heartwarming scene between mother and daughter didn't last long, as Hodge interrupted the touching moment again. "Jocelyn, why didn't you tell me you were being chased by vampires?"

Jocelyn looked up at Hodge.

"I suspect there's a traitor within the Shadow Hunters!"

Hodge frowned and retorted.

"That's impossible! Shadow Hunters are seasoned warriors with unwavering wills; they would never side with vampires!"

"But the truth is, when I was attacked in my home and went to a public safe house to take refuge, the vampires found me very quickly!"

To increase the survival rate of Shadow Hunters, public safe houses for them have been set up in major cities in America. These safe houses are equipped with medicine and supplies, and are regularly inspected.

Hodge's eyes flashed, as if he had thought of something.

"There really was a mole? Jocelyn, don't worry, I'll definitely find out who the mole is! Wait a minute, you're not suspecting me, are you?"

Jocelyn looked at Hodge, one hand still on her holster, her attitude clearly wary.

Even Claire, who was holding her mother, sensed that something was wrong.

"Mother?"

Jocelyn did not respond to her daughter, but instead focused on Hodge.

"Until that mole is found, I will remain suspicious of all Shadow Hunters."

Hodge made a gesture of surrender.

“I understand how you feel, Jocelyn. But we should postpone the investigation for now. It's not safe here. Let's go back to Los Angeles first!”

Jocelyn pursed her lips.

"It was quite quiet here, if you hadn't suddenly appeared..."

Despite saying that, Jocelyn still got up and took her daughter out of the safe house.

This safe house is clearly no longer usable, so we have no choice but to return to Los Angeles with Hodge.

Even if there are traitors among the Shadow Hunters, they are few and far between. Most Shadow Hunters fight for lofty ideals.

The mother and daughter got into the Shadow Hunter's car, and the convoy began to split up and head towards Los Angeles.

When we were halfway through the journey, it was already late at night, and there was very little traffic on the highway.

"Strange, why are there so few cars on the road?"

There should be plenty of traffic between San Francisco and Los Angeles, but the highways are practically empty tonight.

Jocelyn sensed something was wrong, but Hodge in the passenger seat seemed completely relaxed.

"Maybe it's because no one wants to go out today; sometimes that's just how it is."

Suddenly, a large truck came from the opposite direction. To avoid it, the driver had to swerve sharply and narrowly miss the truck.

Who knew that there was another large truck behind the first one? This truck either pulled over and stopped sideways, blocking all the lanes of the highway.

The driver had no choice but to apply the emergency brakes.

After the large truck drove past, it also stopped across the road, blocking the Shadow Hunters' path.

This situation is very obvious.

"Damn it! It must be a vampire!"

Jocelyn immediately helped her daughter out of the car, and then tried to cross the guardrail to escape on foot.

Unfortunately, a large number of vampires appeared by the railing, blocking Jocelyn's last escape route.

"Jocelyn Frey, I've finally found you!"

A middle-aged man dressed in a magnificent robe appeared by the highway. From his pale skin and scarlet eyes, it was easy to tell that this guy was a high-ranking vampire.

"Valentine Morgenstein!"

"Yes, it's me!"

Valentine looked at Jocelyn and Claire with a smug smile.

At this moment, Hodge got out of the car, holding a fancy little knife in his hand, which was clearly stained with blood.

The Shadow Hunter who was driving the car had fallen to the side with his head tilted to the side, making it very clear what Hodge had just done.

"Well done, Mr. Starkweather, well done!"

"Mr. Morgensstein, where is the money I asked for?"

“Money is a small matter; the elders have plenty of money, enough for you to live on for several lifetimes. But I have a question: where is my daughter Abigail?”

Valentine's expression turned serious; clearly, Abigail was quite important to him.

“You mean that royal wolf girl? She was in the hands of a man named Roy Black. At the time, he was with Claire Frey, and my men, fearing complications, didn’t confront him.”

Hodge explained.

Valentine nodded and tossed a USB drive to Hodge.

"This USB drive contains the key to a Swiss bank; with it, you can directly withdraw $1 million in cash."

Upon hearing the number, Hodge's face lit up with a greedy expression.

Jocelyn, protecting her daughter, looked at Hodge with a face full of disappointment.

"I never expected the mole to be you!"

Having revealed his true colors, Hodge had no intention of continuing the performance.

“Jocelyn, I have no choice. The Shadow Hunters’ budget has always been insufficient and has long been unsustainable. I can only think about my own future.”

Jocelyn glared fiercely at Hodge.

"That's impossible! The Knights of the Round Table left behind so much treasure, how could they be short of money?"

"You mean the treasure in the vault? The treasure was actually used up by the previous leader more than ten years ago. Money is becoming less and less valuable now, and it doesn't last long at all. I had no choice but to gamble with the remaining money in the stock market, and I lost it all. The Shadow Hunters are just an empty shell now, and even the base has been mortgaged."

Hodge spoke eloquently, constantly shifting blame onto himself, but Jocelyn sensed his hidden meaning.

"You actually embezzled the Shadow Hunters' funds! So that's how it is. You must have been afraid of being discovered by the next leader, which is why you chose to betray the Shadow Hunters!"

Hodge seemed indifferent when Jocelyn exposed his true colors.

"Think what you want, Jocelyn. It's all over now. You're finished, and the Shadow Hunters are finished too!"

"Alright, Mr. Starkweather, let's talk about catching up later when we visit the grave. I have a lot of things to do and don't have time to sit here and watch you chat!"

Valentine started to shoo people away, and Hodge greeted him with a smile.

"I'm leaving now!"

Watching Hodge's departing figure, Jocelyn whispered something to Claire.

"I'll open a passage for you in a moment. Just follow my instructions and run straight ahead. Don't look back!"

"Mom, what about you?"

"Claire, don't worry about me! Listen, you are very important to humanity, you absolutely cannot fall into the hands of vampires! If you really can't escape, then kill yourself!"

Claire was completely stunned when she heard her mother even mention suicide.

"I'll count to three, then you start running!"

"Ms. Frey, what are you saying to your daughter? Why don't you tell me as well?"

Valentine began to walk towards the mother and daughter.

"3, 2, 1, close your eyes, then run forward!"

Another picture of Achina
(End of this chapter)