The Red Haze (The Webber and Ko Series Book 1)

by D. M. Wicks

  She thought for a moment then said, "I'll come with you. I would like to add my two cents."

  "Suit yourself."

  They pulled out of the alley and back onto the street. They were far enough from the scene that there wasn't much traffic, but it still took them half an hour to reach the branch of Dimitri. Cato followed Jack up to the elevator that took them to the top floor where Alphonse Dimitri's office was.

  "Hello, Jack. Cato. I take it you are here to inform me of the situation a few blocks from here?"

  Jack bowed then stood to his full height and nodded. "Yes, father. It seems I have made a miscalculation from the last time I visited and have in all respects failed to meet your expectations. You have my humblest apologies."

  Alphonse raised a hand from where he was sitting behind his desk. "No worries, Jack. We all make miscalculations on occasion. Would you fill me in on this particular one? I have limited information concerning it."

  "Yes Father. The Red Haze I have spoken with you about was some sort of virus or bacteria that a woman, a blue eyes, was carrying in her body. I still don't know much about it. We need to retrieve her from District Six who are sure to have her in custody by this evening. That is if they don't kill her. There were several hungry red eyes at the scene."

  "Either way, we will have the body," Alphonse agreed.

  "How will you do so, Father?" Cato said quietly. Both Jack and Alphonse turned to her as if they had forgotten she was even in the room.

  Alphonse smiled. "Child, I will speak with the chief of police, Chief Goldman. I am on tense terms with him, but I suspect he will be only too happy to hand the woman over. The real problem will be dealing with the House of Caeruleus and their vultures. They will want the woman for their own tests. We will have her first though. They may have what is left of her when we are through."

  Cato nodded and was silent once more. Alphonse turned to Jack. "Jack, I would like for you to prepare a room for the woman. She will be staying in the usual place. I would like her thoroughly inspected until the dogs of Caeruleus come for her. We will only have her for a limited time so inspect her quickly, but fully."

  Jack nodded. "There are some other things I wish to speak with you about, Father."

  "You may speak freely with me, Jack."

  Jack glanced at Cato, "Alone, preferably."

  Alphonse turned to Cato. "Child, will you please wait for your supervisor in the lobby? He will only be a moment."

  Cato nodded and left the room. As she was walking down the long stretch of hallway leading to the elevator a stray thought struck her. Why did Father always refer to her as child, but to her supervisor as simply Jack? What did that mean exactly? Father also referred to her family as children. What was so special about Jack and what did he have to say that he couldn't with her present? There was much about that man that was mysterious, but maybe she was better off not knowing. After all, the one thing he made very clear about himself was that he was dangerous.

  She climbed onto the elevator and pressed the button for the lobby. It descended and she realized she was playing with the silver ring on the middle finger of her right hand. It was beginning to look dirty, as she hadn't had the chance to care for it like she usually did. It was precious to her. She should take better care of it.

  The elevator stopped and she climbed off. Sometimes it didn't pay off to be curious. If Jack wanted to be an enigma then it wasn't her place to crack his code. He was her mentor. Her supervisor. He was the man who would ensure her progression up the ladder and, finally, officially into rank in the House of Roseus. That was all he was to her, a stepping-stone to power.

  She twisted the ring around her finger once again as she sat in one of the many leather chairs. A woman walked over to her and offered to serve her a drink. Cato asked for water. Then she relaxed in the chair and waited. All she had to do was play her part and do her job. Everything else would fall into place. The ring caught some light from the ceiling and it shone in her eye. Cato looked up at the chandelier and sighed. Just do your job, she thought. Was she just another puppet for the house? Just like the man who gave her the ring. The one she couldn't take off her finger even if she wanted to. Who was controlling her strings?

  "Who indeed?" she muttered as she saw the woman returning with a glass of water.

  ***

  After Cato left the room, Jack waited a moment, listening to her receding footsteps, then he turned back to Alphonse. "Father, the Benefactor is most likely behind this attack."

  "How sure are you, Jack?"

  "Very sure, sir. The men I had in the shadows looking for Patient X ran into many hurdles. Several of them have gone missing, while others have gone into hiding. They might not have been the most loyal of men, but I would say it would take a lot to make them react in such a way."

  "I see. So he is behind the Red Haze then?" He sighed. "You will take care of Patient X as I have instructed. Keep her in one piece, but do what you must to get information and samples. I want to know what I am up against. The Benefactor has been six steps ahead of us in this game of chess and I don't like to play catch up."

  "I understand, sir."

  "How are Cato and her team? She and her men showed the most promise out of the lot. That's why I put her in your care."

  Jack smiled. "She is a bit unruly, but I have high expectations for her. So far, she is living up to them, but only time will tell."

  "I see. Nurture her well, Jack. She is from good stock and I would hate to see her broken like that man."

  Jack furrowed his brow. "She was fairly close to him. Are you sure we should be pushing her along the same path as him? He didn't fare well after all. He was also from good stock."

  "Just because he was her brother doesn't mean she will follow in his footsteps. It will be different this time. We will make sure of that."

  Jack nodded. "That is all I had to report."

  "Keep me informed, Jack. I don't like being left in the dark. You are my best man and I trust you far more than the others."

  "Thank you, Father. I will not disappoint you."

  "I know you won't. You may go now. She is waiting for you." Alphonse smiled.

  Jack turned and left closing the door behind him. He found Cato in the lobby and walked over to her.

  "I'm ready."

  She stood. "Where to now?"

  "Now we prepare the room for our guest and then you leave the rest to my team and I."

  "Okay, when do we get our guest?"

  "She should be checking into her room later tonight. Let’s go and make sure she has a safe drive." Jack smiled and together they left the building.

  ***

  Oda

  By the time we reached the temporary District Six headquarters things hadn't quieted at all. The phones were ringing off the hook and Commander Drake was waiting for us.

  "What the hell is going on, lieutenant? Calls started coming in a few minutes ago about vampires tearing each other apart and you look like you've just been in a battle. I want answers and I want them now."

  "Sorry commander, but I don't have any as of this moment. I need a medic though. Can you send one down to interrogation room A?"

  Drake glanced back at Patricia and nodded before pulling out his phone. Declan was practically carrying me to keep up with Faye and once the commander was done on the phone he turned to us. "I think you two should wait up here. You'll only get in the way."

  Declan frowned. "With all due respect, sir, there is no way in hell I'm going to miss this. I want to know why my partner was practically mauled to death. So shove your concern up your ass and let me get my answers."

  Drake sighed. "You always had a way with words, Declan. Would you care to fill me in on what the hell happened?"

  We all filed onto the elevator. I looked back at Patricia. She looked worse for wear. Her heart shaped face was deathly pale and her auburn hair was matted with blood from her shoulder. I turned to Drake and nodded my head in Patricia's direction. "She has all
the answers, and we are in the dark as much as you, sir."

  Drake massaged the bridge of his nose as we all climbed off of the elevator and down into the offices that acted as the makeshift interrogation rooms. There wasn't any fancy two-sided glass, but there was a video camera in the room along with a microphone that led to the office next door. Faye dragged Patricia into room A and dropped her into the chair across from her at the other end of the table. Then she sat as well. We all entered the room next door and Drake turned on the monitor. Then we waited. It was a tense silence, which Patricia was completely immune to in her state of unconsciousness. When the EMT came running into the interrogation room I think there was a cumulative sigh of relief as the tension was broken.

  "Someone requested medical attention?"

  Faye nodded her head toward Patricia and he immediately began working on her. "I want her awake and alert. No sedatives. I don't care how much pain she's in.'

  The EMT nodded. "Yes, lieutenant."

  As he worked on Patricia, Faye thought about how she should approach this. Honestly, she partly felt like this whole thing was her fault. She was still kicking herself over it. Why didn't she pay attention to the text messages earlier? Maybe this whole thing could have been prevented if she had. Patricia moaning into consciousness interrupted her thoughts.

  Faye grinned. "Wakey Wakey, time to spill the beans, Patricia."

  Her blue eyes flashed in apparent pain and she groaned when the medic bandaged up her shoulder to stop the bleeding. He turned to Faye. "She's lost a lot of blood. I would recommend taking her to the hospital as soon as possible, but I know you aren't going to listen. I just needed to say it."

  Faye nodded. "Will she be good for a while at least?"

  He nodded. "A short while."

  "That's all I need. You can have her as soon as I'm finished."

  "Fair enough. She's all yours." He stood and was about to leave the room when Faye called out after him.

  "Yes?"

  "There are two men next door. They could use a little help."

  The EMT nodded with a soft smile. "Understood. I suggest you seek attention when you get around to it too, lieutenant. You look a little worse for wear."

  "I'll live." With that, he left and made his way to the room Declan and I were occupying. As the EMT worked on us we listened to the interrogation. Faye began.

  "So, Patricia?"

  "I go by the name Patient X now. Patricia died when the idea was born."

  "I'll call you whatever the hell I want, Patricia Xenia. What the hell was all that back there at the intersection?"

  I heard Declan mumble next to me, "Calm down, girl. You control this. Find your rhythm."

  The blue eyed woman laughed. "Liked that, didn't you? It was only the beginning."

  Faye kept a straight face, but I knew she must have felt the same twinge of fear that I felt at those words. She asked in a controlled, steady voice, "Are there more of you? More infected people?"

  "The whole world is infected!"

  I expected Faye to yell back, but, as though she heard my partner, I saw her relax and get comfortable before responding, "Is that so, Patricia?"

  "Please call me Patient X. I gave up that name when I became part of the idea."

  "And what might that idea be?"

  "The revolution, of course."

  "You didn't answer my question."

  "You're not asking the right questions, lieutenant. The idea is many things, none are simple. I don't think you are worthy to hear any of them."

  Faye looked down at her nails and began cleaning them. "No, go ahead. I'm listening."

  Patricia frowned. "You may be a human, but you have ignored me for so long, lieutenant. I have left you enough clues, yet you failed to live up to my expectations. You disappoint me."

  Faye faked surprise. "The only communication I had with you was your text messages. There was nothing before that."

  "Yes, there was the letters. I sent you several letters. Did you not get any of them?"

  The lieutenant shook her head. "I received no letters. Did you send them to the right place?"

  Patricia flushed. "Of course I sent them to the right place. I addressed them to you specifically."

  Faye shrugged her shoulders. "I must admit, the department gets a lot of letters from crazies threatening to blow shit up. It must have gotten lost in the mix. Sorry."

  "Lost in the… I'm special, lieutenant. I stand for an idea—"

  Faye interrupted. "An idea you have yet to explain to me."

  "You want to know? Fine, I'll tell you."

  "Yes, please do."

  "The vampires are an abomination. They were never meant to exist. They are imperfect because humans created them. Therefore, in order to restore civilization back on its course to evolution they must be terminated. All vampires must be killed for the world to be restored to its former glory."

  "I think you must be mistaken."

  Patricia frowned. "About what? There is no mistake in the idea."

  "Well, except for the fact that you are a blue eyes, a vampire. Would you exterminate yourself for this new world that you want?"

  "I am the martyr, the goddess in the flesh. When I die the domino will fall creating a chain effect that will be a revolution and the world will cry blood. Vampires are a beast in man’s form. That is what the Red Haze shows us. It allows the world to see our true form. When I die the idea will be realized. More will follow and a new world will be built upon the blood and ashes of the fallen. I am the beginning of the change—"

  Faye interrupted. "That's nice and all, but how does the Red Haze fit into all of this?"

  "It is the catalyst."

  "And how exactly is it that?"

  "Have you not been listening?" Patricia yelled.

  "Sorry, I'm not as smart as you. I mean, look how long it took me to realize how important you were to the big picture."

  Patricia nodded. "Yes, you're right. I shouldn't get angry with you. You do not know better. The Red Haze is a bacterium. It runs through my blood meaning that I am the origin of it, or rather my blood is."

  "Why doesn't it show up in any of the victims?"

  "Ah, so you do know at least a little about it. Well, it is dormant, a lot like tuberculosis can be. It creates a lot of what looks like a false positive, but is, in fact, the bacterium."

  "But how does it know when a blue eyes is near? I'm a little lost on that part."

  "Drool."

  Faye paused. "Drool."

  "It's quite sickening, but whenever a red eyes is in the vicinity of a blue eyes they immediately begin to drool."

  "Don't they also drool before they eat regular food though?"

  "It's not the same. When red eyes drool for blood a substance sort of like venom is produced, which is different from the regular drool for food. This venom activates the bacteria."

  "So whenever your blood is injected or smelt, the bacterium infects the red eyes making them attack the blue eyes in the vicinity. How did you manage to spread it?"

  "Simple. I donated."

  Faye paused, as several things became clear. "You donated to Samuel Blake Donation Center."

  "Yes, now you understand. It releases the inhibitors preventing the beasts from showing their true forms of hungry animals."

  "Where did you come across this bacterium that you were infected with? It couldn't have been a mistake, right?"

  "Why, the Benefactor gave it to me."

  "And who is the Benefactor?"

  Patricia was about to continue before she paused for a moment, and then smiled. "You are a sly woman, lieutenant. I should watch my tongue around you. Not that I know much about the man, but what little I know could cause problems later on down the road. So, I won't speak about him further. My purpose has been served. I have fallen, if not physically then figuratively. My message has been sent and the idea will blossom without any further interference from me.

  “The revolution has begun whether you want
it to or not. Blue eyes are frustrated with their federal checks being cut back making it harder to survive without being able to work. Once what happened today gets out how do you think the minority will react? Their fears and panic will simmer under the surface until one day the pot boils over. Then the line will be complete and the last domino will fall, creating the picture of the future. You can't stop it. You can only watch as it happens."

  Faye waited until Patricia finished then she leaned over the table and said in a low voice, "Watch me stop it, you sick fuck. I'll take all of your revolutionaries and lock them up in cages so tight they won't even be able to shit without me knowing." Then she stood and walked to the door and said for the record, "Interview with Patricia Xenia concluded. I'll see you locked up, Patricia. You won't be a martyr so long as I can help it. I'll save you a seat next to me. We can watch your revolution fail together."

  Faye walked out of the room and into the one next door where we were all waiting. She was scowling when she entered and said, "Talking to crazies always puts a bad taste in my mouth."

  Drake said, "Good job, lieutenant." He held out his hand.

  "What do you want a high five?" she asked, puzzled.

  "Your badge will suffice." Everyone in the room turned surprised glances to him, but Faye met his gaze head on even as she pulled her badge out and handed it to him along with her gun.

  Drake nodded. "It's a temporary suspension for disobeying a direct order to lay off this case. Let the record show this. Hold out your hand, lieutenant."

  Faye furrowed her brow, but did as requested. Drake placed both items back into her hand. "And that is for acting in a time of crisis and catching the one responsible for it. Once again, good job, lieutenant."

  Faye smiled. "Thank you, sir."

  Drake nodded and walked to the door. He turned back before leaving and said, "Disobey a direct order again, Faye, and it won't be so temporary."

  Faye nodded. "Understood."

  "Good." Then he turned and left.