by Hall, Ian
“Yes, I know!” she laughed. “It’s been a few days for me too.”
“Yeah, far too long,” I grinned, looking up the entertainment section of the newspaper. “It would be unprofessional if we hit the prospective Senator hungry, right?”
That night, being a Friday, we hit a New York night spot: Flannigan’s.
I walked in with such a swagger of confidence, I got approached immediately. Well, it may have been the short hemline of the dress, or the stockings, or the low cut neckline.
Keeping to Ivan’s non-smoking regimen, I looked around the smoke filled room, feeling a little smug when suitor number one approached using the offer of a cigarette as his opening gambit. I rejected his offer, and relaxed at the table while the band played a few dance numbers. Valérie took a few men onto the floor, then latched on one. “Do you mind if I take this one somewhere quieter?” She asked.
I looked around the room, “Have fun,” I said, seeing nothing that would give me alarm being left here on my own. I felt confident that my own Prince Charming would arrive soon enough.
Slipping her arm into his, Valérie swayed out of the large room, giving me a finger wave and a cat-got-the-cheese grin.
I got caught up in the singer’s voice, doing some old dance numbers, but also some new stuff, more rocky, more foot-tapping. But of course, when drinking cocktails, even vampires have to pee and soon off I toddled off to the restroom, small clutch bag in hand.
On my return, I paused at the edge of the ballroom, and took in the whole ambience. I’m glad I did.
Near the cloakroom area, a group of men had gathered, and two in particular made me step back into the shadows.
They all wore double breasted suits, wide ties, and fedoras, but even the hat couldn’t hide the bald head of Tomas Lucescu. Amos stood at his side, preening himself.
“Damn,” I mouthed quietly. I dashed back inside the restroom, slipped my high heels off and shimmered myself invisible.
When I returned to the main ballroom, the men had already been seated at a table facing the dance floor, Tomas, Amos, and a goon on either side of them.
I decided to chance a walk past, and wove round the tables.
“… no chance yet, he’s still stinging from his last slap…” I caught from Amos, his voice raised over the noise of the band. Ready to eavesdrop some more, I turned to repeat my move, when Tomas’s head turned towards me, a curious, searching look on his face. I froze. Now he wasn’t looking directly into my eyes, but his gaze was directed at my precise area.
I raced across the room lightning fast, skirting round tables and waiters, and planted my back flat against the wall, breathing heavy. I hoped that the whole thing had been a coincidence. The men looked to be in conversation, then slowly, Tomas scanned the room. I readied myself for flight, and I swear his gaze lingered on my position. Then he turned back to the company.
I took to the streets immediately. I ran a few blocks before considering it safe to get inside a taxi and got out a block from our hotel, racing the last bit. Only when I’d gotten inside, locked the door, and located my Bãtrane did I feel safe.
The bald man’s eyes still burned into the backs of mine.
Valérie Lidowitz, March 1959, New York
“Do you really think he could see you?” I asked, Finch sat back on the bed, her back hard against the headboard.
“I don’t know,” she shook her head. “He looked in my direction but never seemed to lock eyes. He seemed to sense me, rather than see me.” She’d been spooked alright, and all the time I’d been getting my rocks off in a nice apartment on the east side.
“We have to get this information to Georgie and fast.”
“There’s a phone at reception,” She said, flicking her Bãtrane at the door. “I’ll come with you.” She looked me right in the eye. “I’d like to propose a new law until we get through this.”
“Okay,” I said.
“We stick together, whatever we do, for the next few weeks.”
I nodded, seeing the logic in her caution. “I can do that. But I’ve fed, you’ve not. What do you intend to do about that?”
“Oh, I’ve given it some thought while you were gone. I’m going to pay a visit to an old friend on the way to Ithaca, that old teacher of mine. He’ll set me in the right mood to work on this new politician.”
“That sounds good.” I would have agreed with anything right then; Finch looked as scared as I’ve ever seen her. The two times I’d seen Tomas, he’d creeped me out too, so I wasn’t passing judgment. “You’ve had a bad experience; you just need time to calm down.”
I saw her shiver. “I need a shower.” She said. “I was waiting until you got back.”
“I’ve got the door.”
She sighed deeply. “Thanks.”
I listened to the noise of the shower for a while, then she walked back into the room, a towel wrapped round her chest. “Can I sleep with you tonight?” I nodded immediately. “I don’t mean…” she looked flustered. “I wasn’t suggesting anything like that.”
“It’s okay, dearie,” I stepped forward and held her for a moment. Her slim body felt warm from the shower, but the poor girl still shook from her ordeal. “Let’s just get through the night, huh?”
We both fell asleep facing the motel room door, me spooned into Finch’s back. Slowly I felt her pulse rate drop, and by the time an hour had gone by, she snored lightly.
We decided not to use the phone, and reported in person to Georgie the next day. His expression remained dark and broody for the whole of our visit. Then he sent us on to Ithaca; despite the sighting of Tomas and Amos in New York, the mission was still on.
“So we tell Georgie that we’ve seen Tomas in New York, and he just sends us off to Ithaca anyway?” Finch sat in the passenger seat, her legs pulled up under her.
“You still think we’re being side-lined?” I asked.
“Oh, maybe. I just think he could use us better.” she said. “What’s the point in putting us through that training if he’s not going to use us?” We passed fifty miles or so in silence. “I think I’m going to cancel my trip to see Raymond.”
“Who?”
“My college teacher,” she said, “maybe it’s a bad plan to go so deep into Amos’s territory, you know, just for a quickie.”
I patted her knee. “In the cold light of day, it’s probably a good idea. Let me arrange a picnic.” I grinned wide. I took a detour into the next town, and parked downtown. Twenty minutes later a far brighter Theresa sat in the front seat again. I sniffed the air. “You didn’t drink deep, good girl.” I waited for a moment. “Well! Tell me about it!”
“Oh,” she almost blushed, “a quiet book store owner. I just pulled him into the back of the store and sat on him for ten minutes.” She laughed. It felt good to get my old partner back.
Ithaca proved as much of a waste of time as the Senator’s mansion. We whisked in and out of the people gathered to hear his speech, but couldn’t detect any vampires in the crowd, and there certainly weren’t any in his immediate retinue.
So we’d checked both candidates, and came up short.
We stood a hundred yards away, a fair bit behind the crowd, visible again, just two girls listening to Holloway Grant’s speech. He moaned platitudes, promised things would be different. I was already bored out of my mind when Finch put her hand on my sleeve, giving it a tug.
“The guy who’s just walked onto the stage,” she said. “The man in the long black coat,” His eyes skimmed across the crowd, then he whispered into Holloway Grant’s ear and the prospective Senator paused in his speech for a small cheer, then gave the man a curt nod. “Do you recognize him?”
“He does look familiar.” I said.
“That’s the guy who attacked the spa; Roy Immitras.”
I looked again, but could not be certain. “Are you sure?”
Holloway Grant wound his speech up, and waved to the crowd from behind the thin steel lectern, allowing himself to be pulled away by this n
ew addition.
“I humped him against a tree, I remember these things.”
I smiled. At last we’d met Amos’s vampires in the political campaign, and had something concrete to report. “Let’s follow.” We trotted off to one side, until partially hidden by trees, and shimmered invisible.
Behind the stage a large charter bus was parked. Holloway Grant walked briskly to the open door, but we sped much faster, holding hands as we did so.
Then, we both stopped in our tracks.
Tomas Lucescu stood inside the doorway of the bus. As Grant approached, Tomas shifted position slightly, but Grant had to really push hard against the old vampire aside to get inside.
“Tomas knows we’re here.” I said quietly.
“How?”
I watched as Roy approached, and Tomas also made him squeeze past. “He’s taking no chances of anyone invisible getting on the bus.”
To make it even more disconcerting, as the bus slowly moved away, Tomas looked directly at me.
Beware of the bald man. His thirst for vengeance endangers us all.
Different Stages of Invisibility
Theresa Scholes, March 1959, New York
Roy Immitras looked very handsome, and the reminder of our encounter, added to my new just-fed high made me grin widely.
Then I felt Valérie’s hand pull us to a halt; Tomas Lucescu standing on the step of the bus facing outwards, how fucking creepy he looked.
As the bus pulled away, Valérie gripped my hand really tightly and I heard a small cry of anguish. “Are you alright?” I asked.
“Yes,” she replied, but her voice sounded strained.
“Valérie, what’s wrong?”
She paused before speaking. “I heard my mother’s voice again, but it was so loud, it hurt my head.”
I felt the anguish in her words. “What did she say?”
“Oh, it was the same old thing, only louder this time, telling me to beware of the bald man, and his thirst for vengeance.”
I didn’t doubt the words. The look of malevolence on Tomas’s face had been enough to stop me even thinking of getting on the bus. Heck, I didn’t even want to follow it. “Let’s get back to the car.”
We returned to New York in subdued spirits, traveling most of the way in silence. Valérie never opened up any more regarding her mother’s words, and I felt too timid to press her.
We changed hotels just in case we’d been compromised, and reported to Georgie immediately on our return.
“So we have proof,” he said, “Amos is trying to orchestrate a run at the Senate.”
“We have proof of his involvement,” Valérie said, her expression diminishing Georgie’s words somewhat. “It’s hardly an orchestration. I’m not certain that Amos could concoct a plan on his own.”
“Maybe Lucescu’s the brains behind it all,” I postulated.
“Yes, we’ve considered that,” Georgie said, then began to write on a small piece of card. “Go here, present yourselves officially at the door, and don’t try any scouting first. There’s another Căluşari team there, and I don’t want an accidental collision, we’re all on the same side.”
“Another team?” I asked, feeling quite deflated by the news. The feeling of exclusivity suddenly paled.
“Yes Theresa, we’ve been training them as you’ve been operational. They’re just finishing this weekend.”
He handed the card to me. “Texas?” I squealed, annoyed at both the remoteness of the meeting, and also the point that we were being sent away once more. “But we’ve just got our noses in front here. I know Immitras already, that’s a possible way in for us.” I looked at Valérie for support, but she remained tight-lipped.
“You’ll have time to get there before the weekend,” Georgie said, stoically. “We’re not going to hit Amos for a few weeks.”
I saw little point in arguing with him. We walked outside to Valérie’s car. “We’re getting sent away again, you know that don’t you?” I pressed.
“Just obey the orders,” Valérie said. She’d become submissive, and I didn’t like it.
“But Valérie! The action is here, and Immitras is in my pocket.” I stared at her over the roof of the car, but she made a wrinkled face at me and got inside. Shaking my head, I decided to go back to the house and confront Georgie.
I passed the man at the door, and heard Georgie’s voice ahead of me.
“Yes, I’ve gotten them out of the way for the weekend.” I stopped in my tracks, and looked back at the guy at the door. He faced away, so I winked invisible and moved slowly onwards into the room. Georgie had relaxed into a chair, the phone in his hand. “They’ll be met on site and find themselves far too busy to be thinking of coming back here.”
I slinked real close, trying to hear the other end of the conversation. The floor was polished wood, I had to try real hard to keep my movements quiet. I leant low, close to Georgie’s ear.
“If it’s going to happen this weekend, I want them as far away as possible.” A woman’s voice, and accented too, probably European, but it proved difficult to tell. I prayed he’d call her by name.
“It’s all arranged.” Georgie said. “The guys in Texas will keep them occupied.”
“Excellent.”
“Our effort will be lighter for their loss.”
“I know,” the voice said, but this is a Council matter. I will supply two of my own as compensation.”
“Thank you, Madame,”
“You are welcome.”
Georgie hung up the phone and roared past my head. “Brad?”
The man at the door came bustling in. “Yes, boss?”
“Go get the car ready, will you? I’m going out for a bit.”
I made my way outside and crossed quickly to our car and got inside. Leaning low, I re-appeared myself.
“Where have you been?” Valérie asked, her face full of concern.
“Drive,” I said sharply, needing to be out of the driveway and gone from Georgie’s line of sight.
As she pulled out of the neighborhood, I told her about the phone call.
“So some mystery woman wants us out of the way because something big’s going down.”
“That about sums it up,” I said.
“Tell me about her,” Valérie said. “Everything you can remember.”
“She had an accent,” I said.
“What kind?”
“European, I think. The line wasn’t that great, and I couldn’t get my ear that close to the speaker.”
“But she definitely said she wants us as far away from here as possible this weekend?”
“That part couldn’t have been made any clearer,” I said.
“So what do we do?”
I didn’t have to think about it. “I’m all for staying here.”
“We see it out.” Valérie looked resolute.
“We fight for ourselves, and we’ll make the difference.”
Despite Tomas’s looming shadow, we were both determined to see the weekend through, no matter what the outcome.
Valérie Lidowitz, March 1959, New York
Finch and I had agreed to turn rogue. That meant working outside the group, detached from the safety in numbers, and from some of the information. It also meant being able to act individually.
“Our strength is our invisibility.” Finch said, back at the hotel.
“But it’s a weakness if we get separated or injured.” I countered.
“Then no matter where we go, we’ve got to have a place to meet up, a rendezvous point.”
“That makes sense.”
Finch began to undress. “But first we need to get inside Georgie’s house to find the plan. And that means stealth vampire mode. I’m showering first.”
I had no problem allowing her first dibs, I wanted a bit of relaxation before the new mission.
In full Căluşari gear I drove to his house, parking a couple of blocks away, thankful that tall trees blocked a lot of the street light. We shi
mmered and began the invisible walk to his house, hand in hand.
“If we get split up, we meet back at the car,” I said.
“Got it,” Finch replied from right beside me.
We soon rounded a corner, bringing Georgie’s house into view. Two cars sat in the driveway, Georgie’s was one of them.
“It looks quiet enough,” Finch observed. “So we get inside and take a good look at the wall.”
“That’s all we need, but we have to be careful, and I mean super careful.” I squeezed her hand to emphasize my point. “The last thing we need is to get caught at the first hurdle.”
“Gotcha,”
“We do an external check first, there’s probably a goon behind the front door, we need another way in.”
We circled the building, checking every window and door.
“Nothing much,” I said into the darkness.
“I couldn’t even hear anything,” Finch replied, “maybe they’re out for the evening?”
It felt a little sticky, working against our leader, but I reasoned that we weren’t actually working against him, we were just making certain he hadn’t been got at.
“Now we just have to get inside,” Finch said, “any ideas?”
“Let’s try the upper windows, if we can’t find anything, I’ll crack one open,” I set off to climb the corner and heard Finch’s mutterings below me. Sure enough, the uppermost window on the south side proved loose, and didn’t take much prying to get it open. The attic room looked pitch black, and I headed in first, letting myself down carefully until my eyes became more accustomed to the darkness. I carefully felt around, finding the room as empty as the rest of the house.
The hallway beyond looked deserted, and I popped my head round the corner, looking downstairs.
Fearing leaving an unknown at our back, we made certain the upper floor was deserted. “Take my hand,” I said, then slowly moved downstairs towards the goon on the door. As we got to ground level, I could hear Georgie’s voice. Brad and Frankie stood outside the conference room
“We’ve got company!” I hissed, hardly able to contain my excitement. “We may have to do this when Georgie’s here.”