The dockside
warehouse was dark, the windows boarded up. The Vampire and his entourage moved
to the table. The man on the other side lit a cigarette. The Vampire gracefully
slid into the seat across from the man. They both nodded.
“Thank you for
coming on such short notice.” The man said.
The Vampire
looked around at the empty warehouse. “Such…luxury.” A broad grin drew across
his face.
Smoke hovered
like a ghost above the table between them. It glowed bright from the lamp
suspended above. The man laid his cigarette in the ashtray. He looked up at the
man standing next to him. He put out his hand and was given a small leather
satchel.
“I’m sorry that
better accommodations couldn’t be provided, Ambassador. This, as you can
imagine, was put together swiftly.” The man said.
The Vampire
Ambassador folded his hands. “So, what is so important, and secret, that you
felt compelled to meet here and now?”
The man reached
into the satchel and extracted a small jar. The clear contents inside gave
little hope to the Ambassador. The man slid it across the table to his
counterpart. The Ambassador studied it for a moment.
“What is it?”
The Ambassador said after a while.
The man took a
long drag. “It’s called Medreth. It’s a synthetic plasma. Straight from the
oven. Our people, working with your scientists, finally isolated the components
of blood that the Vampire physiology needs, the nutrients it draws, and their
uses. They were then able to synthesize the components in the lab. Medreth is
cheap and easy to produce.” The Ambassador continued to stare at the jar. “Go
on, “ the man said, “try it.”
The Ambassador
removed the lid. He sniffed the Medreth and then pulled it to his lips. He
drank it. His aides stood shocked. He drank it without fear. The humans
couldn’t be trusted. For centuries they had forced the Vampires into caves,
killed them with wooden stakes. Spread lies and fear, saying that they were the
undead spawn of evil. How could he drink it without thorough testing? Was he
insane?
The Ambassador
put the jar down. It tasted bitter. Something had to be done about that. But
the hunger was gone. The hunger that for ages had driven his people to drain
livestock, vermin and …others. It lifted. The reign of blood was over. He
looked up at his aides, who looked on in horror. He looked back at the man and
smiled.
“Can something
be done about the taste?” he grinned. The man returned the smile and nodded.
The Ambassador stood. “This is a great day, Mr. Johnson. A great day for all
the world.”
They shook
hands.
Frank Johnson put his hat back on and lit
another smoke. “Mr. Ambassador, I will talk to the mayor and prepare a press
conference. The negotiations can begin immediately.”
The two groups parted company like thieves.
Quietly. Each wearing its game face. But the joyous treble of history hung in
the air. Peace was finally coming. Frank thought of the changes he had seen.
The changes he had caused. His wife was soon going to give birth to his first
child. He smiled at the thought that his child would grow up in a world where
the fear of sorcery and Vampires would be a thing of the past.
Frank Johnson dropped his cigarette to the
ground as he stepped into the limousine. His mind was full of only one thought.
‘I hope it’s a boy.’
BIG CITY
“APHERESIS”
by Eric Schwartz
Needless
dropped from the window and bolted down the alley after the perp. As always,
his Elven blood wanted to pick up speed, but the dense human muscle and bone
kept him from reaching what he was sure was his top speed. Ahead of him, the
perp reached the open street. Needless’ legs pumped harder.
As
he emerged from the alley, he stopped for a moment to try and locate the
suspect. His keen night vision was rendered nearly useless by the blaring
headlights. The stopped traffic and blowing of car horns indicated that the man
Needless was chasing had crossed the street. Without a thought Needless headed
into the neon-lit, nighttime boulevard.
Stack
Fury reached the car and hopped in. The engine roared to life and the tires
squealed as he pulled away from the curb. He snatched the radio microphone and
pulled it to his mouth.
“This
is BC1138. The suspect is on foot, Sgt. D’Yen is in pursuit. I am following in
the car. This suspect is armed, but MUST be taken alive. They are heading west
on Prodane Blvd. We need infrared from the chopper. “
He
threw the lights and siren on and barreled through Prodane to the next street
that ran east and west. He rounded the corner. They had to take this guy. They
had to take him alive. He was the first real lead to Manzetti yet. A mag pusher
with a taste for Fleck and whores. Stack hoped that Needless could control
himself.
Stack
picked up his cell phone, pushed a button on its side, and spoke to it. “Smiles.” He said. A
hundred years of technological advancements dialed the phone.
A
moment later the phone rang and a familiar voice came out. “Yeah.”
“It’s
Stack. You get anything else?”
Across
town, Smiles was icing his hand. He turned and looked across the dimly lit room
at the goblin with a bloody nose, cuffed to the chair. “That’s all he’s got.
He’s just a small time Fleck dealer. He doesn’t know anything else. But I’ll
let you know if something comes up.”
Stack thanked him and hung up. Smiles closed the phone and put it back
in his pocket. He walked back over to the goblin, called Vsar. He crouched down
until he was eye level. “Hey! Vsar. Good news. Because you’re an idiot…you get
to go free.”
Vsar’s
eye was beginning to swell shut. He looked at Smiles and growled. Smiles
chuckled. He stood and walked across the empty room toward the door, his foot
falls echoing as he walked. Smiles pulled the cuff keys out of his pocket. He
turned back.
“Vsar,
thanks for all the information. I’ll make sure the word gets out that you
squeal under pressure. I’m sure your clients will love that.” Smiles chuckled
as he dropped the keys by the door. He turned and left the disgusting drug
dealer alone in the empty room.
*
Paul
Mest tried to fold himself into the dirt. The taste of Fleck still lingered in
the back of his throat. His minded raced. His breath came in fits and he
gritted his teeth. It must have been the bitch. She must have sold him out. He
thought about slitting her throat. Sweat raced from his hair line into his
eyes, stinging the homicidal thoughts from his mind.
He
looked up as the helicopter began to hover above.
Across
the park, Needless ran a line from his radio to his ear.
“Sgt.
D’yen, this is Blue 14. If you copy, wave your arm.” On the monitor in the
chopper, one of the luminous forms waved its arms. The other form sat perfectly
still in some under brush on the far edge of the park, near a building wall.
“All right Sgt. D’yen, the suspect is about 30 yards from you. Turn to your
left.”
Needless
extended his gun and peered into the dark, his night vision returning slightly.
The voice in his ear returned. "He’s not moving. Approach with caution.”
Needless rolled his eyes. Special Weapons loved their little toys. All the
same, he was glad for the extra set of eyes. He stepped quietly toward the
invisible suspect.
A
block away, black and whites had started to seal the area. Stack came to a stop
and stepped out of the car. He fixed the earpiece from his radio to his head.
He crouched and made his way toward the park, behind his partner. “Blue 14,
this is Sgt. Forray. I am entering the park. Does the suspect have a clear
means of escape?”
“There
is a break in the fencing about 20 feet to his right and a door at the far end
of the building to his left, your right.”
Needless
stepped closer and closer as he listened to Stack and the chopper discuss
possible exit routes for the perp. As the lights began to slip behind the trees
of the small park, Needless’ elven night vision returned, to a degree. He
strained to make out the form of the guy through the dark. Nothing.
Stack
slowed when the lights of the street began to go away. As things became clearer
he could make out the form of his partner about twenty yards ahead.
“I’m
right behind you.” Stack said quietly.
One
thought seemed to fill Needless’ mind. ‘Know your limits.’ Kali’s words still
haunted him. He needed to cool the human. This guy was too important to go
Needless Action on. He froze in his spot and shut his eyes. He pulled the
earpiece out and listened to the sounds. The chopper. The sirens. The distant
drone of the city. Each individual sound began to blend into a hum of
background noise. He waited for the subtle nuance of movement. The unexpected
pulse. His breath became shallow. He cleared his mind and listened.
A
twig broke. The bubble on the surface of the white noise.
Stack’s
ears were filled with Blue 14. “He’s moving! He’s heading to the fence.”
Needless’
eyes snapped open and he bolted toward Mest, who burst from the foliage in a
dead run. Stack also broke into run after his partner, praying that Needless
didn’t shatter Mest’s neck.
Calm
seemed to come over Needless. His breath never seemed to burn as he approached
Mest. In a Fleck-addled bid for freedom, Mest dove for the fence. Effortlessly,
Needless flung his leg around, catching Mest in the ribs. The crook flew back,
winded. As he hit the ground, he rolled backward, climbing to his feet and
extracting his gun.
Not
allowing the split second it would take Mest to kill him or Stack, Needless
leapt onto the criminal. He drove his skull into the bridge of Mest’s nose and
pried the gun from his hand. Mest’s knees went weak and he dropped like some
one had removed his skeletal structure. Needless pulled his radio to his mouth.
“The
suspect has been…apprehended.” He chuckled into his radio.
Stack
caught up a moment later, gun extended at Mest’s prone body. He looked at
Needless, “You didn’t…”
Needless
clicked his tongue. “Man. You have no faith.” He pulled a paper napkin out of
his pocket and wiped a spatter of Mest’s blood from between his eyes. He smiled
at Stack and chuckled as he walked back to the car.
Stack
looked down at the suspect who was groaning quietly on the ground.
*
Smiles
sat finishing another cigarette in the dim light and loud chatter of Tucker’s
Tap. His fist still hurt from questioning Vsar. The shots of Glonish Hollow
whiskey seemed to make the pain dull, but it eased his mind into thinking about
Gina. It had been two weeks since he had been given the photos of Gina at the
hospital. Someone was playing with him. Someone had arranged to put those
pictures in his hands. The whole thing stunk of one of Manzetti’s mind-fucks,
but still…
Four
years had aged the girl in the pictures. She was still young. The hair was
slightly different. Even though he didn’t have the pictures with him, he had
committed every detail to memory. In the photos she was crossing the street,
unaware that someone was taking pictures of her. Someone knew where she was. If
this was Manzetti, it could be a threat. A threat against Gina, wherever she
was. Either way, he couldn’t tell Stack.
Smiles
took another drink. If this was Manzetti playing another round with Stack,
Smiles couldn’t let him do that. Telling Stack is exactly what Manzetti would
want. Smiles needed to look into this further before he told Stack anything.
Especially if it was some kind of trap. He blinked slowly. The whiskey was
affecting him quicker than normal. He chuckled because he was sure his mind was
inviting the booze to take control. It needed the rest.
Smiles
had become fairly aware of another presence at the table. He glanced over at
the face smiling in amusement. Charlie chuckled.
“What
are you chuckling at, boy?” Smiles monotoned.
Charlie
nodded at the two cigarettes burning in the ashtray. “Heavy thoughts, old man?”
Smiles
looked at the two cigarettes. “I swear. Not 2 minutes ago there was a buxom,
red-headed elf girl sitting right where you are sitting now,” he deadpanned.
“You should probably find another seat. She should be back any minute from the
can.”
Charlie
laughed and shrugged out of his coat. Smiles reached over and stubbed out the
older of the 2 squares. A moment later, Stack and Needless appeared at the
table. Smiles raised his glass. Needless half-nodded his greeting. Charlie and
Stack clasped hands across the table.
“Nice
work tonight.” Needless said to Smiles. Charlie looked over at Smiles
quizzically. Smiles shrugged. Charlie glanced down and noticed Smiles’ gauze
wrapped hand. Needless chuckled. “Your boss got some information for us.”
Smiles’
eyes drooped slightly as the corners of his mouth turned up. He raised his
injured hand. “I cut myself shaving.” He looked back up at Stack. “So you get
anything from him?”
Stack
shook his head. “Nah. The guy is still detoxing from Fleck. And,” he nodded toward Needless, “Harry the
Head over here clocked the guy with a skull kiss. He’s a little out of it. We
should be able talk to him tomorrow.”
“It’s
a good thing I’ve been around you guys for a while. Other wise I would have no
idea what you were talking about,” Laura said, flopping down in the chair next
to Charlie.
The
waitress they all knew as Bev put a pitcher of beer and a tray’s worth of
glasses on the table. Needless looked up. “Bev. You know us so well. What would
have happened if we all had decided to change our drink tonight?”
“Right,”
Bev chuckled and moved on to some other patrons.
Charlie
finished pouring the first round of drinks. As everyone took their glass,
Smiles raised his whiskey.
“Hey!
Here’s to a blow struck,” he said, offering a toast.
The
others stared at him for a moment and burst into laughter.
“He’s
been here a while,” Laura laughed.
“Yep,”
Charlie nodded. “He’s bag bound.”
They
all clinked glasses and took long drinks. As a few more “pathetic drunk”
comments were flung at Smiles, Needless noticed Sioux enter the door at the far
end of the bar. He stood and waved her over. She moved gracefully through the
smoke and noise like she didn’t belong there. Her pale skin glowed red and
green from the neon beer signs that lined the walls. Needless met her a few
tables away. He took her hand and kissed her.
At
the table the others looked at each other. It was unusual for Needless to let
the machismo level drop. As they joined the table, the others all greeted Sioux
warmly. They seemed to sense that this was Needless moving his relationship
with Sioux to the next level without announcement. Sioux took the sixth place
at the table.
*
It
was a swirling, blue-purple vortex of sweat, flesh, smoke and sternum-pounding
rhythm. The mass undulated and swayed, rising and falling until all
individuality melted into a sea of youth. High above the Serenity dance floor
the master of ceremonies, DJ Bzjau, listened with his left ear to the crowd and
with his right ear, cued tracks with his headphones. He matched beats and set
levels until the night had become a singular vision. A night-long orgy of
sequencers, drum loops and low end bass.
No
one knew that the phone lines had been cut. None of the myriad dancers noticed
that the bouncer had been shot, or the management herded into a security
office. As the black hooded figures began to surround the dance floor, no one
panicked. There were forty in all who moved into positions around the room.
As
a colorless nerve agent billowed into the room through the vents, the cloaked
figures moved forward with precision, closing off all means of escape for the
patrons. The beats of the night reached a fast-paced keen, the computer
sequenced music flowing in and out of each other. As the jumping crowd worked
themselves into a delirium, the nerve agent began to hit their lungs.
When
the first patrons began to drop, several of the cloaked figures lowered their
hoods and sank their teeth into the necks of whoever was near them. Those who
were still aware of their surroundings screamed in absolute horror as the rest
of the hooded figures closed the circle.
High
above the carnage, Bzjau collapsed, tumbling down the flight of stairs to the
DJ booth, his unconscious mind unaware of his neck snapping during the fall.
*
“Last
call!” Tucker bellowed from behind the bar. As expected, half the patrons made
a noise like they had never heard the words before. As though the concept of
“last call” was completely new to them. Immigrants from a land where taverns
never closed and liquor flowed free like a river.
Smiles
threw his arm around Stack’s shoulders for support, the booze now firmly in
control. Stack chuckled.
“You
know you’re not driving home, right?”
Smiles
nodded. “I’ll just sleep upstairs in the office. “
“You
need help getting up there?”
Smiles
shook his head. He reached into his pocket and extracted the keys to the
office. He stood up. Stack and the late night street seemed to shift slightly.
He smiled and patted Stack on the shoulder.
Then he silently moved to the side entrance to his building, fumbled for
a moment with the keys, and entered. Stack watched the building for a moment.
Several minutes later the light in Smiles’ office went on and promptly went off
again.
Stack
chuckled and turned back to the others who stood under a street lamp, saying
their good nights. He was feeling good. Not so much from the capture of Mest,
but for the general feeling of the evening. This was not a group notorious for
getting along at all times. As the “elder statesman” of the group he watched
his partner, hands intertwined with Sioux, and Laura, her arm through the curve
of Charlie’s arm. He chuckled at how old he had started to feel. He never felt
quite comfortable in forty. But it was beginning to grow on him.
“Well,”
Stack said, putting his hands in his pockets. “I hate to be the old man here,
but I have a perp to interrogate tomorrow and I should get off to bed.” The
others nodded. Dad had just come into the room and reminded them that they had
school the next day. He chuckled at the thought. “Okay. I’m off.”
Four
pagers beeped to life. All but Charlie pulled out their pager and looked at the
read out. They all stared for a moment and then looked at each other
disbelieving.
“What?”
Charlie asked.
*
Skion
Avenue ran through some of the most expensive land in Big City. Six lanes lined
with hotels, night clubs, upscale eateries and theaters. The normal late-night
clubbing traffic was gone. Instead, the street was filled with hundreds of
people. Cops, EMTs, the fire department, reporters and mortified onlookers
crowded the streets. Dozens of police vehicles and ambulances surrounded the
entrance of Serenity, a night club. Charlie and Laura stopped at the police
tape as Stack and Needless continued on into what looked like a battle zone.
Charile
looked the building up and down. The glass facade was intact. No sign of fire.
Laura squeezed his hand.
“Sweetie,
I have to get to work and find out what’s happened,” she said.
Charlie
nodded wordlessly. He kissed her. “Be careful.” He said as he turned and left
the scene. Laura pulled a tape recorder out of her purse and began to scan the
crowds.
Inside
the perimeter, Stack and Needless stepped into a crowd of cops who had formed
around Lt. Avelo. He was talking with a Special Weapons officer. When the
officer moved away, Avelo looked at the crowd.
“Okay.
Here is what we have so far,” he yelled over the din. “At approximately 12:30
tonight, Bay Telephone received word of lines out on the 1200 block of North
Skion. When a crew arrived around one o’clock, they found phone lines cut at
sewer level. They immediately alerted their central control who contacted the
police. At 1:20 several patrol units were dispatched the local businesses for
signs of burglary. Officers found the doors to Serenity locked. After several
attempts to contact the management, the fire department was called to the
scene. At 1:45 FDBC broke into the club. Several officers and firefighters were
attacked by an as yet unknown gas which rendered them unconscious. At present,
Haz-Mat is clearing the building. The reports we are getting…” Avelo took a
deep breath. “Haz-Mat is reporting mass casualties. Possibly in the hundreds.”
A stunned silence fell over the cops. Stack and Needless looked at each other. “We
are currently taking Parallels bookstore across the street as a command center.
The Gold Rope night club two blocks away at Skion and Helchin is being set up
as triage. Once Haz-Mat gives the okay, we will begin removing the casualties.
Anything else any of you are working on is secondary. Finding the ones
responsible for this is your number one priority. The people of this city will
want answers. Do not talk to any reporters. Any information to the press will
come from myself or Commissioner Bledsoe. Clear any findings through me. Any
questions?”
A
patrol officer raised a hand. Avelo looked at him. “Any idea at all who might
have done this?”
Avelo
looked at the ground. He sighed. “Yeah. Haz-Mat is reporting signs of neck
injuries. Lacerations or bites. It is unclear at the moment. But we might be
looking at a Vampire attack.”
The
night squeezed in on Needless
*
Most
of Big City slept. Only new parents, shift workers and criminals seemed to be
aware of what was beginning to develop downtown.
On
a quiet street near the coast, the night was still. The hills and trees
protected the area from the noise of the city. Here on the Big City’s Diamond
Coast only one television was going at this time of night. The young Vampire
walked through the circular house, from one ring of rooms, eventually reaching
the lavish central sleeping chamber.
The
boy rapped on the lid of his father’s sleep box. A moment later, Venect slid
open the box and blinked at his son. “What is it Shilo?”. The boy stumbled for
words. Venect sat up and followed his son to the dining room. He sat on the
couch and watched it all unfold on television.
Early
reports, the reporter had said, indicated a massive Vampire attack downtown. As
usual details were sketchy but the network promised to keep the viewer up to
date as the story developed. The son looked at the father. Venect put his face
in his hands.
*
Stack
stepped on to the dance floor, his feet resting on the ground between two sets
of legs. He couldn’t talk. He couldn’t hear. The only thing he was aware of was
his breathing. His spine tingled and his vision hazed slightly like he was
getting gas for some dental work. He closed his eyes and shook his head.
Needless knew only that his gun rested in his holster. He wanted to shoot something.
He wanted to put his fist through something. He became aware that his hands
were shaking. The two looked at each other.
A
sea of bodies surrounded them. Young. Beautiful. Piled on each other like
lumber. The sheer horror was unfathomable. Neither of them had ever seen
anything like it. They wished they hadn’t seen it at all. Stack heard his
partner’s breath quiver and he looked over to see the eyes of the half-elf
become moist. Needless sucked in his breath and swallowed what he was feeling.
Stack put his arm around his partner’s shoulder. And they stood there together
for a moment, as if trying to transfer strength to each other.
Nothing
would ever be the same.
Needless
broke away from the clutch and stormed out the front door. Stack turned and
followed him.
As
Needless broke into the fresh air his gaze shot ahead a thousand yards. He felt
a rumbling in his chest. The rumbling grew until it became in inhuman roar of
rage. He drove his fist through the passenger window of a dead patron’s parked
car. He felt the pain. He felt the warm wetness of his blood. He didn’t care.
He ripped Penny from her housing. He didn’t know where the bullet would fall.
He didn’t care. Why did somebody do this?! Why did somebody make him see it.
His gut knew that he would never get that image out of his head. The Really Big
Gun shook in the cop’s grip.
Stack
reached forward and grabbed his hand and directed Penny into the air. His other
had wheeled Needless around and slammed him against the car. His eyes were met
with the a growl from Needless who struggled to breathe. He wrestled Penny from
her owner. Needless shoved Stack back. The older cop held tight to Needless’
lapel.
“Pull
it together!” Stack barked. Needless shook his head in response. Stack dropped
Penny and grabbed his partner’s other lapel. “Save it! John, save it!”
“Some
motherfucker is gonna pay, man!”
“Lots
of motherfuckers are going to pay, John. But later. Save it. We have a job to
do.”
Needless’
muscles relaxed. He looked up into Stack’s face. The two looked at each other
for a while as paramedics began to surge into the building.
*
The
group of men jumped slightly as the young man entered, the door shutting behind
him. The one they took orders from, the one they call The Mezo leaned on a
pallet of dry goods. The young man approached The Mezo and dropped a set of
keys in his hand. Whispers were exchanged. The Mezo nodded and looked at the
waiting men. He lowered his hood and smiled.
“We
are done.” A collective sigh was heard. “Go back to your families and homes.
You will all be contacted shortly.” He nodded to the small group of
individuals. “We would like to thank our Vampire brethren for their assistance.
When our true cause is finally known, we will stand with you at the end.”
The
vampire known as Kenvena stepped forward. “We are proud to be able to
participate in this great cause. Finally, vampires and elves will stand
shoulder to shoulder and face down the unclean. The tainted. Brothers again. As
we were in our Gnuph bodies. Together we will work to wipe the human and goblin
scourge from our city. And with them the tainted chosen…” Kenvena’s speech
slowed and stopped as he watched The Mezo slip dark glasses on to his face. The
other elves did like wise and circled around them. The small group of Vampires
looked around.
“Kenvena,
you’re right,” said The Mezo. “The tainted will be cleansed as will fulfill the
requirements of our return to M’halasia. But…” The Mezo pulled a small metal
ball out from under his cloak. He pulled out a pin. “…you first.”
The
vampires scrambled but were contained by the elves. As The Mezo dropped the
ball it burst into intense white hot light. Throbbing and pulsing in waves as
it expelled its fuel.
The
vampires shrieked as the intensity of the light and the ultra-violet radiation
caused their skin to bubble. As the 30 seconds of burn time wore on, each began
to bleed from the eyes. Their cries dried in their throats as their essential
fluids evaporated. When the grenade was spent, the charred, oozing vampires
dropped to their knees.
The
air began freezing their burns, each one slipping into shock and quivering from
the cold. The surrounding elves pulled out weapons and riddled their weakened
bodies with bullets. The vampire conspirators fell dead to the ground.
*
Laura
pushed her way into the crowd, her ever present digital recorder held aloft.
This must have been important, Laura thought. Bledsoe was there. Janet stepped
up to the microphone. She looked unwell. She took a deep breath.
“Ladies
and gentlemen. Please excuse me. We will not be taking any questions at this
time. Right now we have very few details. So far we have 47 confirmed dead. We
have another 15 at this time who are listed in critical condition and are being
rushed to area hospitals. Right now we are not releasing any names until the
families are notified. Before you ask we have no suspects. We do believe this
is an act of terrorism. At this time no group is claiming responsibility. We
have confirmed that the gas used to neutralize the victims was Gowtrex. This
did not kill the patrons, it was simply used to subdue them. We will let you
know more when we have more information to give you.” Without a word Bledsoe
and those with her walked back behind the police tape.
Laura
stopped her recorder. She sighed and thought of Needless and Stack and what
they must have been seeing. She found the nearest opening in the crowd and
called the night editor.
*
It
was like a gun-blast. Smiles bolted up on the green vinyl couch in his office.
He became aware that it had only been the shades dropping in the window. He
then realized that he was not alone in the room. Just as his eyes started to
adjust to the dark, his desk lamp was switched on.
He
was surrounded by Vampires. He looked around at the solemn faces. He reached
into his pocket and pulled out his now half-crushed pack of cigarettes. He lit
one and leaned back, fixing his best game face into place.
“Can
I help you gentlemen?” He said waving his match out.
The
central Vampire stepped forward. Smiles could tell from the cloak around his
neck that he was high in the Vampire hierarchy. A cloak, from what Smiles could
remember, was a sign of position. The Vampire spoke in a chilling calm.
“Do
you know who I am, Mr. Johnson?”
Smiles
exhaled his first cleansing lungful of smoke and coughed. He could still feel
his buzz. He hadn’t been asleep long. He shook his head. “Can’t say that I do.”
“My
name is Venect. I am the Vampire cultural advisor to the mayor.”
Smiles
raised an eyebrow and flicked an ash. “Nice to meet you. What time is it?”
“It
is nearly sunrise, Mr. Johnson. I am sorry to bother you at this hour, but this
is the gravest of emergencies.”
Smiles
finally stood. He walked behind his desk and sat down. “Well, what can I do for
you?”
Venect
motioned to the chair facing Smiles. Smiles nodded and the Vampire sat down.
“Mr. Johnson about four hours ago the Serenity nightclub was attacked by
terrorists. There are many dead. The police are now confirming that this was a
massive vampire attack.”
Smiles
blinked. “How many dead?”
“The
number has now reached over 90. Several more survived the attack but have died
in hospital. You understand that this is a terrible blow to the Vampire
inclusion movement.”
“Of
course.”
“There
are factions in our society, Mr. Johnson, who don’t want to be a part of Big
City or its laws. They feel that our race will be…” he paused, “muddied. They
are a minority but there are enough in their ranks to commit this crime. We are
making inquiries.”
Smiles
snuffed out his cigarette. “So why do you need me? Further investigation? I’m
sure the police are on top of it.”
“I
have no doubt. I am actually here less for what you can do, than who you are,”
Venect said. Smiles cocked his head. “In the next two hours, most of Big City
will know of the Serenity tragedy. They will want answers. They will want
justice. There will be riots. There will be violence against my people. I can’t
allow this, Mr. Johnson. I need to show the people of this city that we are not
monsters. That this was the act of a radical faction.”
Smiles
shook his head. “I still don’t understand.”
“Mr.
Johnson, I need you with me as the voice of your father’s legacy. His legacy of
peace and the Vampire Inclusion Movement.”
Like
a light switch was flipped off, the last thread of alcohol-induced euphoria
left Smiles and the headache rose. He lit another smoke. He stared for a moment
at his desk calendar. “Boy did you pick the wrong guy.”
“Mr.
Johnson?”
Smiles
chuckled. “Venect, you have no idea how tall an order this is.”
“I
understand how difficult what I am asking is. But I need some one there. Some
one who is not a Vampire like myself. Your father’s memory is still revered in
this city. He is one of the great cultural heroes of the past century. People
would accept his son. They would trust you as the caretaker of his legacy. As
his voice.”
“This
was Gina’s department. “ Smiles mumbled, rubbing his face. Venect looked
quizzically at him. “My sister…if she was …still around, this would have been
her thing. Look, I didn’t speak to my father for fifteen years before he died.
I wouldn’t even know where to begin.”
Venect
reached over and switched on the TV. The news showed helicopter shots of the
scene at The Serenity. Smiles stared at the image. “Unfortunately,” Venect
began, turning back to Smiles. “That decision has already been made.”
The
first streaks of sunlight split the sky over the bay.
*
In
Serenity’s upstairs office, power had been restored and the security computer
had been brought online. Happy to be away from the carnage below, Stack and
Needless sat in front and watched Tim Carnaby pound away furiously on the
keyboard. Tim had been called out of bed and was putting in a rare field
appearance. He leaned in close to the computer monitor as he typed. Finally he
stopped and turned around.
“Okay,”
he started. “There are 12 cameras total, each one shooting at 3 frames per
second. Every fifteen minutes, the footage from the cameras is automatically
compressed into an m-peg file and given a file number. The number indicates the
camera, the day and the starting time code, based on a 24 hour clock. I have
isolated files from that period.”
Needless
looked back at Stack who seemed to have some vague understanding of what
Carnaby was talking about. He rolled his eyes. “So? Do we have anything?” He
said, avoiding the obvious ‘I hate computers’ banter.
Tim
nodded and took a slug of coffee. “I’m not sure. Only five of the cameras
really showed anything. About ten minutes before the attack, each one of the
cameras was tampered with.”
Stack
leaned up. “Tampered with?”
“Yeah.”
Tim turned back to the computer. “I have isolated the 5 cameras, and have set
them to run at the same time.” Stack and Needless watched as each camera went
black. Tim paused the files. “We checked the cameras. Some were covered. Others
unplugged. Some had big magnets attached to them, which screwed up the image.”
Needless
scratched his head. “Did they catch anything before they stopped working?”
Tim
shook his head. “Nothing conclusive. There were a few people who went in and
out about fifteen minutes before. BUT, watch this.” He enlarged the front door
camera. The angle showed part of the street, the sidewalk and the door. The three watched a small group of kids walk
down the street and stop to open the door to the club. One of the guys yanked
several times on the door. It apparently wasn’t opening.
Stack
took a sip of coffee. “When was this?”
Tim
looked at him. “Thirteen minutes before the attack.”
Needless
looked at Stack. “Almost a quarter of an hour before the attack started? What
were they doing?”
An
investigator from downstairs poked his head into the room. “Sgt. Forray? Sgt.
D’yen? I think you should see this.”
Stack
patted Carnaby on the back. “Good work Tim. See what else you can find.”
Tim
nodded. “Some of the computer guys from downtown are going to be here soon.
We’re going to transfer the hard drive and all the back up tapes to the lab.
Check back with me there later.”
Stack
and Needless turned and followed the investigator back down stairs, following a
cordoned path across the dance floor. The investigator turned. “Okay it looks
like all the attackers wore the same size shoe.”
Needless
looked at him in surprise. “Really?
Stack
looked at him and shook his head. “No. He means that all the attackers all WORE
the same shoe size. They don’t all have the same size feet.”
Needless
nodded in understanding.
The
investigator nodded. “Exactly. It helped to hide their numbers. We’re still not
sure how many there were. There’s a lot of blood and mess on the floor so we
have tons of foot prints.”
“So
what did you need us to see?” Needless asked.
“
Well three things. First is this.” He crouched down and pointed to a splash of
blood on the ground. The blood had a curved line in it, roughly an inch wide
and a foot long.
“What
is it?” Stack said looking at it.
“We
weren’t exactly sure. It didn’t match anything else. Until we found this…” He
walked them along the sectioned off path to a section of wall. Part way up the
club wall, about 12 feet, was another smear of blood .
Stack
stepped up the ladder to look at it. “It’s about the same size,” he said. “But
from the spatter it looks like it hit the wall.”
“Somebody
threw something?” Needless asked.
“No.
There was no place on the floor near it where anything hit.” The investigator
replied.
Stack
was already looking to the ceiling. High above, another 20 feet or so, tucked
into the neon painted piping was a ventilation grid. He pointed up. “You guys
check out that yet?”
“You
think somebody pulled something up and it hit the wall on the way?” Needless
asked, knowingly.
Stack
climbed down the ladder. The investigator pulled a small plastic bag out of his
pocket. “Way ahead of you. We pulled this off some of the grating. “ The two
looked at it. “It’s a silicone shavings. Probably got pulled off when it was
dragged across the grating.”
“A
hose? Why would somebody bring a hose in here and then pull it out again?”
Needless looked at Stack.
Stack
shrugged. “The gas?”
The
investigator shook his head. “No. We found condensation in the ventilation.
That was pumped in another way. So looks like something was lowered from that
grating, dragged out onto the dance floor and retrieved before they left.”
Needless
looked at his partner quizzically. “What is going on?”
*
Smiles
looked out of the heavily tinted windows of the limo and watched the early
morning streets of Big City slide by him. Venect and his aides sat opposite
him, talking to each other in hushed tones. He didn’t want to be there. He
wanted to curl up in his bed with a carton of smokes and a bottle of Moonglow.
He knew that what he had to do was important, but why him?
He
hadn’t thought about his father since he’d gone to find Wyshock for Stack. How
odd that this would come now, when he was so focused on his sister. The split
between Smiles and his father had always been a bitter topic for Gina. It
always hurt her. He could still her yelling at him the day they buried his
father. She was furious that he didn’t go to the funeral. Even mom had gone. After
everything he had done, his mother had still gone to the funeral. She even
cried.
Venect
quieted one of his aides and looked across to Smiles.
“You
are thinking of your father?”
Smiles
chuckled. “Yeah.”
“He
was a great man, Mr. Johnson. You should be proud to be his son.”
Smiles
looked at Venect. His brow furrowed. “Look, I am doing this for the good of the
city and everybody in it. My relationship with my father is not the issue, and
will not become the issue. He may have been a hero to this city, but I grew up
with a completely different man.”
“I
do understand.” Venect said. Smiles snorted, disbelieving. Venect looked closer
at him. “It was my father who worked with your father to bring about The
Movement. He was the Vampire Ambassador at the time. It was he that your father
took the first sample of Medreth to. From that day forward my father was the
prime mover of the Inclusion. He was rarely home. Until the day he died, I
hardly knew the man. While our fathers changed the course of history, we
suffered as their children. So please believe me when I tell you that I
understand.”
Smiles
turned and looked back out the. “That would have been wonderful. The problem
wasn’t when he wasn’t there. It was when he was.” He looked back. “My father
cracked under the pressure. He drank. He yelled. Eventually he took a lover and
left my mother to raise my sister and me. And STILL I tried. I tried to live up
to his expectations. The day I became a cop he told me I was the biggest
disappointment of his life.” Smiles stopped and looked out the window. “Why was
this shit city worthy of his love and attention, and I wasn’t?” Venect fell
silent. “So please, let me do this for my own reasons. I don’t give a fuck
about my father’s legacy. I understand that I will have to invoke his name
during all of this, but I don’t have to like it.”
The
car fell silent as it continued through the streets that were just beginning to
come to life.
*
Sioux
took a deep breath and looked down at the beautiful young girl. Her skin pale.
Her lips ashen. Her eyes sunken. The contusion on the side of her head
indicated that she was already unconscious when she hit the floor. The girl
hadn’t even attempted to break the fall. The holes on her neck…vampire bites.
Sioux
snapped on her latex gloves and started the autopsy. She swabbed around the
bite wounds and dropped the swabs into a plastic dish for later examination. As
she turned the dead girls head to get a closer look at the wounds, she noticed
how puffy the wounds were. It was unusual, but not unheard of. She moved a
magnifying screen over the area. All around the wounded area, small blood
vessels had been pulled near to the surface. She took a scalpel and slit one of
the bites. She noticed that the artery wall had collapsed.
She
thought it odd, but didn’t have a chance to examine further.
The
door to the examination room flew open and a short man in a suit and two police
officers stepped into the room.
“Are
you Dr. Sioux Vliss?” He asked.
Sioux
stood up. “Yes?”
The
man stepped forward. “I am with the office of the mayor. The mayor, the Coroner
and The Commissioner have requested that you be removed from this
investigation.”
“I
beg your pardon?”
“It
has been decided that the city wishes to avoid any appearance of impropriety or
questioning of the evidence gathered and we ask that you stop your
investigation as of this moment.”
“Sir,
return to the Mayor and let him know that I am fully capable of conducting a
fair and unbiased investigation, and I will do so.”
“Dr.
Vliss, these officers have been instructed to remove you from the premises, by
force if need be. I can assure you that you will be reinstated as soon as this
investigation concludes.”
Sioux
stood, stunned, her normal grace giving way to anger. She looked at the cops. A
few of the other Medical Examiners had started to gather around the door and
watch. She looked at the floor and chuckled in anger. She snapped off her
gloves and removed her protective glasses. Regaining composure, she moved
toward the door. On her way past the man she dropped her gloves and glasses in
his hand.
Silently
fuming she moved out into the hallway and left the building.
*
Stack
and Needless were finally on their way back to the office. They smelled bad,
were exhausted and didn’t speak. They were still reeling from the events of the
last few hours. It was 7:30 in the morning and already they both needed a
strong drink.
Things
weren’t adding up. What had taken them so long at Serenity? It was obvious that
most of the attackers had been inside the club most of the night. What was with
the hose? And why gas them first? Reports were coming back that some of the
survivors were beginning to come out of surgery. Both silently hoped to get to
talk to them.
They
pulled up at the station and crawled out of the car. They climbed the stairs to
the office and stepped in. As they moved through the room to their desks they
noticed that the others on the floor were watching them with a look of pity.
They were met at their desks by Breen.
“Hey
guys.” He half mumbled. “How is it?” They simply looked at him and sat down.
“Look I’m sorry to hit you with this right now, but…” Breen stopped mid
sentence and looked toward the door. Needless looked over his shoulder and saw
Sioux enter the office.
“Shit.”
He said. Not now, he though. He stood up and went to greet her. He could feel
the glares of his colleagues as he met her. Normally, he would have said
something. Normally, he would have defended her. Right now, he couldn’t blame
them. He didn’t feel the same way, but he couldn’t find a compelling
argument against them. He was disgusted
with himself, but he couldn’t stop it.
All
he knew was that he loved her.
He
was surprised to find she had been crying. He stepped up to her and took her
hand.
“Sioux?
What’s wrong?”
“John,
I need to talk to you.”
Needless
looked around and caught a few disapproving glances. He looked at Breen and
motioned toward his office. Breen nodded. Needless moved her to Breen’s office
and shut the door.
“What
is it?” He asked closing the shades.
“They
removed me from the investigation.”
“What?”
“The
Mayor’s office asked me to step down until the investigation is over. I can’t
believe this. I have never given them any reason to think I would do anything
other than conduct a fair investigation.”
“Sioux,
they are simply trying to avoid complications. You should try to understand.”
She
stared at him. “John?”
“They’re
trying to cover their bases. They want to make sure that nothing is
compromised.”
“Compromised?
Because I am a vampire I am more likely to lie about what I find? I might
compromise the investigation?”
“That’s
not what I meant.”
“It
is what you said. Do you think it’s the right thing to do?”
Needless
thought for a moment. He looked at her. “Yes Sioux, I do. Just for right now.”
She
could only stare at him. He looked at her and finally looked at the floor. “I
am a Medical Examiner. More importantly I am a citizen of this city. These
killings are as repugnant to me as they are to all the non-vampires. Do you
think we all stick together? Lie for each other?”
“No!
I don’t. But I understand the decision. It’s an unfortunate fact that there are
bigots out there who don’t understand.”
“So
we cater to them. To save votes? To keep the peace? This city should stand
behind us and show their support, NOW! Not when things are peaceful. Now. This
is when we should be shown that we have the rights of all creatures. I…We need
to be shown that I am worth the fight. They shouldn’t avoid the fight.” She
pulled up the hood of her coat and moved toward the door. “And neither should
you.” She stormed out.
Needless
called after her, but she continued to walk until she was gone.
He
was numb. He couldn’t think anymore. He walked back to Breen and Stack. “Well,”
he said. “That didn’t go very well.”
Breen
sighed. “Look. The mayor has asked us to ready the riot squads. There is almost
certainly going to be some retaliation attacks. I need you to get briefed and
get your assignment.” Needless nodded. Breen looked at Stack. “Stack I’m
putting you with Callisto. He’s down with Tim Carnaby in the lab right now. Go
fill him in. I’m sorry, you two. I know it’s been a long night. It’s going to
be an even longer day.”
*
It
had been years since Smiles had walked down the marble hallways of city hall.
He and the vampires had avoided the press by parking in the underground garage
and taking a private lift up to the Mayor’s floor. Venect led the way to the
office. His steps were graceful and effortless, as were the steps of his aides.
Years of bodily abuse had already started to wind the aging P.I. .
The
Mayor’s assistant ushered them into the office with a polite nod from Venect.
“Mr.
Mayor.” Venect said as he stepped into the room.
The
Mayor rose and greeted Venect. The room was populated by advisors and aides to
the Mayor. A map of voting districts was propped up on a stand. Smiles finally
caught the eye of Janet Bledsoe. He smiled. Janet quietly stepped to him, her
look one of amazement and distaste.
“What
are you doing here?” She said in a low growl.
Smiles
shrugged and smiled. A moment later Venect turned around a motioned to Smiles,
who stepped toward the Mayor.
“Sir,”
Venect said. “This is Robert Johnson, son of Frank Johnson. He has agreed to
work with us to help keep the peace.”
A
young aide piped up. “The two sons? That’s really going to play.” A quick look
from the Mayor silenced him.
The
Mayor reached forward and shook Smiles hand. “Thank you, Mr. Johnson. We need
you right now. The city and I appreciate this greatly. Your father would be
proud.”
Smiles bit his tongue and
smiled back at the Mayor. Behind him Bledsoe swallowed her gum.
*
The
peace between vampires and the citizens of Big City had always been fragile.
For hundreds, if not thousands of years, vampires were persecuted and driven
underground. The myth was that they were the undead, risen with an evil
purpose. Their misunderstood religion and ancient cultural magic made them
feared and the target of hate.
Even
after their physiology and culture were more widely understood, the mistrust
continued. It was their need for blood, for nourishment, that caused others to
not trust them. The more industrious of the vampire population bred “bleeding
herds” and sold fresh blood to their kin and neighbors. Those less fortunate
still fed off cattle and for some, there was the unthinkable horror of bleeding
a “thinking creature”.
Medreth
changed all that. The development of Medreth meant that the vampires’ reliance
on fresh blood was a thing of the past. It was cheap to produce and easy to
distribute. As the Vampire Inclusion Movement became a reality, the government
rationed the Medreth. Within 10 years, Medreth production was privatized and
the market was flooded with hundreds of vampire Medreth products. It was a
malleable substance, and could be mixed
in with all types of products.
This
allowed many vampires to move out of the caves under the city and into housing
projects. Vampire housing above ground was generally circular. Rings of
connected rooms for particular times of the day. The night rooms line the outer
ring of the house with windows to look out on to the night. The kitchen,
bathrooms and recreation areas made up the inner rings. The center point of the
home was the sleeping chamber. This was a tradition in vampire culture. Family
was the center of their society and families all slept in the same room, in
protective boxes.
As
the years of the Movement passed, many vampires also abandoned the traditional
home for a more secular home. They began sleeping in beds and breeding with
others. Other advances in technology allowed them to move about easily in the
day.
And
still some vampires wished to stay close to their culture. The accepted Medreth
as a way of life, but continued to live in kintribes beneath the city. In the
deep cave system that led from deep in the mountains to the rocky cliffs that
lined the shore, thousands of vampire families lived and thrived.
But
the fear and hatred never left; it only shifted. Many of Big City’s other
creatures felt that the vampires got special treatment. Special night-time
schools for children. Medreth subsidies for the poor. While the majority was
accepting, or at least tolerant, the minority became more and more subversive
and underground.
As
news of the massacre spread, all those hushed conversations and silent thoughts
rose to the surface. The hatred grew. By early afternoon, when the names of the
dead, 178 in all, were released, the boil had started. The first rock was
thrown by some teenagers.
They
yelled “go home” and “sucker” until their throats were raw. They flung rocks at
a traditionally built, circular vampire community that had stood for 30 years,
a testament to the progress of The Movement. Their blind mistrust and anger
drove the stones through the air. Soon more people began to join. By the time
the police began to arrive to break it up, the group of stone-throwers was 40
strong.
It
had started.
*
Callisto
was younger than Stack and older than Needless. He was a good solid cop with no
desire to advance. He just liked his job. A little thick around the middle and
thinning on top, but still a good cop. Stack had never worked directly with
him, but knew his reputation. A good man to have watching your back. A good
man.
Earlier
that morning Stack had briefed Callisto on what they knew and the two had
returned to Serenity to see how things were progressing. Later in the morning
the two had been called to a warehouse, where the bodies of seven vampires and
a spent sunshine grenade were found. Stack wasn’t sure yet how it played into
all of this; he was just sure it did.
Now
they were heading back to the station to meet with Carnaby. He apparently had
found something on the security footage. Stack and Callisto didn’t speak much.
Callisto was also familiar with Stack’s reputation as a thinker and decided to
not be the one to break his concentration with small talk.
By
the time they arrived to the lab, Carnaby already had a some blown up photos
waiting for them.
“I
pulled this off of the front door security camera.” He handed Stack the photo.
The photo was of a truck. The kind normally used by independent landscapers out
in the ‘burbs. A flatbed fitted with a tank of fertilizer. Several hoses could
be made out on the grainy photo, fitted to the side of the truck. “I noticed
that about 20 minutes before the doors were locked, this turned off the street
into the alley beside the Serenity. I didn’t think much about it at first, but
then it struck me as odd. I enhanced the blow up and ran the plates. This truck
was reported stolen two weeks ago from a landscaping company out in Mistwood
Heights.” He slipped another photo to
him. Same truck on the open road. “This one was taken last night about 45
minutes after the doors were locked. The truck ran an on-ramp tollbooth on the
southbound bypass. The booth security camera snapped this as it left. Notice
anything different?”
Stack
looked at them again. Callisto looked over at them. “The tank was empty when it
got there. When it ran the toll, it had something in it.”
Stack
looked at it. Callisto was right. This
particular type of tanker showed the level inside. There was something in the
tank. Stack shuddered with a horrible thought. He looked at Carnaby. “You think
it was heading down to Ironton?”
“Can’t
be sure. Ironton is a good place to hide stuff.”
“Okay.
Put out an APB to Ironton PD. Send them this picture. Callisto and I are
heading down there. If they spot it, tell them not to go near it until I get
there.” He looked at Callisto. “Let’s roll.”
Wordlessly,
Callisto rose and followed Stack. He nodded to Tim Carnaby on the way out.
*
Smiles
looked down at his notes. His hands shook slightly. What had he gotten himself
into? In less than half an hour he’d be speaking to the entire city. He ran his
fingers through his hair. He sat quietly in the bathroom stall smoking,
dropping each butt into the toilet as he lit another one. The memory of his
father was strong today. It tore him up. As he glanced over the words that had
been written on the note cards, he could hear his father’s voice floating up at
him. He leaned his head back against the cubicle wall and expelled a lungful of
smoke.
He
jumped at the sound of his cell phone. He shook his head at disgust with
himself and opened the phone.
“Hello?”
“Smiles!”
Charlie’s voice blared out of the phone. “Where are you, man? Emily and I have
been worried sick. I’ve been trying to call.”
“Sorry.
I just turned my phone on a little while ago. Look, I need you and Emily to
take care of things today. Actually…I’m not sure, it might be a few days.”
“Is
everything all right? Where are you?”
“In
the crapper at City Hall. Look, it’s going to take too long to explain. Just
watch the news.”
“Okay,
boss. Just be careful.”
Smiles
nodded as though Charlie could see him and closed the phone. He took another
drag and let the filter drop into the toilet.
*
“We are EVUN. We are many.” The Elfnigma said. It was how she began all her
broadcasts. “Last night an Elf owned business, the night club Serenity, was the
scene of a violent hate crime. Vampire attackers slaughtered one hundred and
seventy-eight elves, humans, sirens, goblins and even their own kind. Now,
perhaps, you all now understand the hatred and repression that my people have
suffered for centuries. But this is not a time for recrimination. It is a time
for mourning and a time for action. I call on my brothers and sisters in the
elf community to join, hand in hand with our fellow creature-citizens, in a
protest. It is time that our leaders hear our voice and stop the repression of
ALL of us. This attack was a horrible, violent statement. The government keeps
us segregated in our communities. Goblin Hill, Elf Town, even the Vampire
Inclusion communities, are an insult to us all. The charter signed at the
founding of Big City stated ‘All Creatures Are Equal In The Eyes of the Law.’
Tonight, let us make them keep their word. Tonight we will march on City
Hall. Those of you who wish your voice
to be heard, meet in Center Park at sundown. From there we will march on the Mayor’s
Office. Solidarity. Action. Power. “
The
pirate broadcast ended. As usual the
Elfnigma had worn her symbol, a black hood with an ancient Elf symbol
representing solidarity. The Elfnigma, as she was known, had a reputation for
stirring up a shit storm. For poking the coals until they flamed up. It was
simply more publicity for the Elf Voices Union, EVUN, the action group she had
founded nearly a decade before.
Needless
rolled his eyes. He sat, geared up, ready to roll out with the riot squad. Now
he knew where they were going. He checked his watch. Three hours until sundown.
He sighed and thought of Sioux. She was out there, somewhere, hating him. He
wondered if things could be fixed, or had he messed them up completely.
He
leaned back against the locker room wall and closed his eyes. His short rest
was shattered by the Riot Captain striding into the room.
“Okay!
Listen up. I’m assuming that you all saw the broadcast a few moments ago, so
you know where we’re going to be headed. The Mayor’s office has responded by
saying that the protest march can go on as planned but, it must remain
peaceful. The local militia is on call in case things get out of hand. Unfortunately, we received a call about an
hour ago that a case of sunshine grenades was stolen from an army surplus store
this morning. We’re going to have to keep our eyes open. If we have live SGs in
the mix, things could get ugly.”
“What
is an army surplus store doing with sunshine grenades?” Needless blurted.
“I
don’t know D’yen. How are people still buying Fleck and Anticipation? The owner
is being questioned. Either way we have to take try to protect the Vampire
protestors.”
“Yeah
right.” One of the cops chuckled. Several of those around him laughed.
Needless
was too tired. He hadn’t slept in thirty hours. He was hungry and couldn’t get
Sioux out of his head. He leapt from the bench and slugged the cop. The others
in the squad jumped in and tore the two apart.
“Keep
laughing boy! I’ll send your jaw up through your fucking eyes!” Needless
growled as several cops dragged him backward.
“Screw
you Sucker lover!” The stunned cop shouted back.
The
Captain pulled his way through the armored mass. “Cut it out? What’s going on?”
The
cop wiped blood from his mouth. “D’yen’s just pissed off because he’s banging a
vamp.” He looked at Needless. “What’s up ‘Brainless’? Like pumping dead
chicks?”
Needless
roared and struggled against the cops that held him.
“Enough!”
The Captain bellowed. “Both of you! Enough! D’yen! Walk it off.” The cops let
go of Needless. He stood seething. “Go! Take a walk. I need both of you, so
pull it together.” Needless walked out into the underground garage. The Captain
looked back at the mouthy officer. “Let me make something clear. Another
comment like that and I’ll make sure your commanding officer suspends you and
you have to go to sensitivity training like a 14 year old girl. Got it?!”
The
riot squad relaxed and began thinking about the job ahead.
*
Laura
hadn’t slept. Her day had been spent running back and forth from the paper, to
City Hall to attend press briefings, and then back to the paper to write. The
main foyer of City Hall was still set
up with folding chairs, cameras and a podium for the press. She tiredly nodded
to some other exhausted reporters and collapsed on the folding chair. She
pulled out her recorder and sighed. The day had been awful. She became more and
more overwhelmed as the reports from inside the club has started to come out.
Now she was just numb. Her anger had subsided. She was barely aware when the
Mayor’s Press Secretary announced that the reporters should take their seats
because the briefing was about to begin.
She
took a long blink and watched as the Mayor and his aides stepped up to the
podium. She recognized most of them but…
She
rubbed her eyes and blinked. What the hell was Smiles doing up there? He had
cleaned up. She didn’t even know that the man owned a suit. Later, when she
reviewed her digital recording she could hear herself mutter “holy shit.”
The
Mayor stepped up to the microphone. “Hello. This has been a trying day for us
all. Especially for the families of the 178 souls who lost their lives this
morning. I wanted to extend to them the heartfelt condolences of the entire
city. You are in our thoughts and prayers. I would also like to let the
families of those 34 people who are fighting for their lives in the hospital
right now know that they too are in our hearts. This was an unspeakable act of
terrorism. The police force is still investigating the scene of the attack,
looking for any leads that may lead to arrests. This office and the people of
the city have demanded answers. Make no doubt about it, arrests will be made
and justice will be done. But this is a matter for the authorities. Vigilante
acts and acts of hatred and violence against any race will not be tolerated.
Already, hate crimes have been reported, and stopped, around the city. There
will be peace. We will not let these tragic deaths be the lynchpin for a wave
of lawlessness and anarchy. Standing up
here with me this afternoon, I have my personal friend and the Vampiric
Cultural Advisor to my office, Venect Sobzn, and twice decorated, former police
officer Robert Johnson. Nearly fifty years ago their fathers sparked the
cultural revolution that led to the Vampire Inclusion Movement and changed this
city.” The Mayor nodded to Venect and the vampire glided to the microphone.
Venect
cleared his throat. “My comments are very brief. I want to reiterate what Mayor
Denzien said before: This was an unspeakable act by terrorists, not a vampire
act of aggression. This was an act by an isolated group of individuals. My
office has been receiving messages from vampire citizens who wish to help in
some way. They are just as disgusted by the violence as any other race. So I
ask you, please, do not take your anger and grief out on your vampire
neighbors. This is a time for quiet understanding and mourning. Thank you.”
Venect stepped aside.
Smiles
took a deep breath. He wanted a cigarette badly. His hands fumbled with his
notes. He nodded to Venect and stepped forward. As he was about to speak his
eyes fell on Laura. She smiled slightly when she realized that he had spotted
her. She winked at him reassuringly. The quiver in his stomach subsided.
“The
day I was born, the first of many laws aimed at bringing vampires more into our
society was signed. With the signing of City Ordinance V1290, hundreds of years
of fear and hate began to draw to a close. It was my father, Councilman Frank
Johnson, and Mr. Sobzn’s father, Ambassador Vzlass, who brought forth Medreth
to the public and began this change. For forty-eight years this first step has
led to a better understanding and acceptance. This is our fathers’ legacy. The
murders at the Serenity were committed by individuals who don’t want that
understanding to continue. They want us to return to a time of fear and
violence. All I ask is that you don’t give them what they want. Please continue
to build the bridge that my father helped to start. Thank you.”
Smiles
stepped back and everything seemed to go quiet. Even though he saw Mayor
Denzien step back to the podium and begin taking questions, he heard nothing.
His mind was filled with wispy memories of his father speaking to crowds. He
felt himself back in a place he hadn’t thought about in decades. Under the
layers of anger and bitterness, Smiles still held on to a sweet memory.
It
had been a summer festival. Smiles sat on his mother’s knee. His father was
speaking to a crowd. He remembered how proud he was. How much he wanted to be
like his father. He remembered the childish stomach-twinkle of excitement. He
had yelled as the crowd applauded his father. He yelled to his daddy. And his
father heard him. His father heard his son’s cry through the crowd and looked
at little Bobby Johnson, sitting on his mother’s knee and smiled. He waved to
his son. Smiles’ greatest hero had waved to him.
Smiles
felt his eyes moisten. How had it all gone so wrong?
*
Ironton
was a poor town. All the industry had left over the last thirty years.
Warehouses and desolate factories littered the landscape. Stack and Callisto
had spent most of the afternoon combing the industrial areas with some of
Ironton’s finest. Nothing had been found. They arrived back at Ironton’s police
station disheartened.
“I
don’t get it.” Callisto finally said as they sat down next to a vending
machine. Stack looked at him. “What would they have been hauling?”
Stack
pulled some change out of his pocket and began to pile it by size on his knee.
“I don’t know for sure but I have some unsavory ideas.”
“So
the vamps come in, gas everybody, drain them and then refill the tanker with
something? What is it?”
“Hopefully
we’ll find out when we find it. Hopefully it’s here. Hopefully my gut instinct
hasn’t abandoned me completely.”
From
the reception area, the desk sergeant called out to them. They walked to the
counter. Another officer stood there.
“This
is Officer Brand. He is just coming in here for his shift. He says he saw this
truck last night on his beat.” The Desk Sergeant introduced the young officer.
Stack
held the picture out again. “You saw this truck?”
Brand
nodded. “Yeah over on Clairemont. It was about 3. I noticed it because it was
so late but, I see these things on the road. Lots of guys around here do
landscaping up in Burbdale and stuff. Wasn’t doing anything wrong. Just seemed
a little out of place at that time of the night.”
“Where
is this Clairemont?” Callisto asked.
The
Desk Sergeant pulled out a map. “It’s a residential area, kind of run down. You
want Officer Brand to go with you?”
Stack
nodded. “We’re going to need a few officers to help us search the area.” He
looked down at his watch. 6pm. It would be dark soon. They had to find this
truck fast.
*
Emily
knocked on Charlie’s office door. Charlie looked up from his computer.
“Yeah,
Emily?”
“I’m
out of here Charlie. I gotta get Dex home.” She said, motioning toward the
front door.
“Thanks.
I’ll lock everything up.”
“That
was really weird seeing Smiles on T.V.” She said as she rummaged through her
purse for her keys.
“Tell
me about it. Well, have a good night.” He yelled past her. “Good night Dex!”
Dex
yelled an indecipherable farewell from the lobby. Emily chuckled and waved good
night to Charlie. Charlie looked back at the computer. He had been reading
Laura’s articles on the Serenity massacre that had been running on the Herald’s
website. He leaned back in his chair and cracked his back. From the other room
he heard a noise. He switched off his computer and moved toward the lobby.
It
wouldn’t have been the first time that Emily would have come back to retrieve
some homework that Dex left there. Charlie stepped out of his office,
addressing Emily.
“Dex
forget something?” He was met with a familiar face. A beautiful face that was
now etched with concern. The woman he had met only in passing was now sporting
a ball cap and clutching the strap of a book bag over her shoulder. “Miss Danae?”
*
The
houses on Clairemont avenue were more like free standing efficiency apartments.
Small, rundown, but to the residents, it was home. It didn’t take long for the
cops, going door to door with the picture of the truck, to get a lead.
Several
of the neighbors pointed out that they had seen the truck come and go from the
garage of Warren Blevins, an old man who lived across the street. They hadn’t
seen Warren in a while but they had noticed the truck come and go a few times.
Apparently the truck had a loud exhaust system and had awoken the women they
were interviewing.
Brand
and the other officers immediately secured the area, as Stack and Callisto
moved up the drive toward garage. Mr. Blevins’ house hadn’t been taken care of
in a while. The grass grew tall in the front yard. Weeds nearly obscured the
basement windows of the house. It’s sea green paint job had long since started
to chip and peel. The two detectives slowly made their way toward the closed
garage.
Cautiously,
they moved to the side of the garage, where there was a door. Stack and
Callisto moved the sheet of tin that covered the door. They looked at each
other and drew their guns and moved into the building. The light of dusk
streamed in through the vines that had grown over the windows. A fine layer of
dirt covered the floor except for the recent tire tracks that lay behind the
truck.
Just
as in the picture, it was a large, beat up flatbed with a large plastic vat
secured to the back. The vat also sported a newer looking pump device and hose
attachments. The dim rays of the sun shone through the aged, semi-opaque,
yellowed plastic of the vat. There was still something in it.
“That’s
it. That’s our fertilizer truck.” Callisto mumbled under his breath.
Stack
slipped his gun back into its holster. “Yeah. But what have they been
fertilizing?”
Stack
stepped up to the small threaded spigot on the underside of the tank. He gave the it a turn. Blood plummeted
to the dirty floor and with a thick splup. Stack shut the spigot. The light
from their flashlights fell on the thick, dark puddle. Stack sigh. He was tired
of being right.
Callisto
looked up at Stack, confused. Stack started to shuffle a deck of cards in his
pocket.
*
The
last rays of the day sank into the bay.
Down
in Center Park two thousand activists had gathered. The group had started to
form an hour before. Excitement was high, but there was no violence. Riot
visors of the police reflected the last few moments of the day. Among them,
Needless Action tried to relax. ‘A simple march,’ he kept telling himself.
As
the time for the march drew near, the crowd became restless. Needless grew more
concerned. He had trained for this, but had never actually found himself in a
riot. As the half-elf assessed the situation he became aware that the crowd had
shifted their attention behind him. He and several other cops turned around.
From
over the hill came a line of Vampire protesters. They carried signs and could
finally emerge from the shadows, now that the sun had fallen. Needless
estimated nearly 200. As they neared the protesters, it became apparent that
the protesters didn’t want them joining. Some small shoving matches broke out,
some names were thrown. The cops quickly calmed them down. There were now 3
groups in the park, glaring at each other.
They
all waited for the signal to begin the march. Tension hung in the air like a
night fog.
Needless
held his breath. He closed his eyes as all sound seemed to go away. Time stood
still. The only sound was the distant rumble of the city. ‘How did it get this
far?’ he wondered. His muscles tensed involuntarily, the cop-muscle working
without the consent of the Elven heart. He quietly begged Sioux to forgive him.
Somewhere
a photojournalist blew off a picture. The flash popped. The tension snapped
like a rusted spring. And in a moment of confused panic, a live sunlight
grenade was lobbed through the air.
Hell
was unleashed in Center Park as the night became day for a moment.
