by Greg Ballan
"A perfect irony, Senator McMahon. It's been a pleasure doing business with you."
McMahon tilted his head. "I don't follow you, but you work cheap and get the job done. My associates will be pleased."
The waitress returned with a delicate wine glass filled with red fluid. She carefully placed it in front of Lazarus and backed away nervously. He picked up the glass, gently caressing the brim with a scarred fingertip. "What sweet nectar." His eyeballs turned black as coal and incisor teeth grew into sharp long fangs protruding from a pale, thin upper lip. Lazarus hissed happily and downed the blood in two gulps. He licked his lips and sighed happily. "A good vintage and still body-temperature warm. You should try some instead of that fermented juice your kind obsesses over."
"To each his own, Mr. Lazarus." McMahon raised his champagne glass and toasted their success.
As the vampire raised his empty glass in celebration, a sickening crunch accompanied a fist bursting through his ribcage, spraying dark fluid on the table, soaking the senator and his two companions.
The fist held Lazarus's still beating heart captive. Lazarus, however, was decomposing into a pile of ash.
"What the Christ!" McMahon exploded looking up at the being that'd rudely interrupted their celebration. The women screamed, leaping from his lap, fleeing in abject panic.
Lazarus' heart stopped beating and disintegrated. Ash fell from his assailant's fingers falling like snowflakes upon the blood-stained tablecloth.
"You idiots! I should kill you right here for what you've done!"
The senator turned his head as three bouncers approached his table. He nodded and waved his hand in a dismissive gesture. The three men turned and left.
"Good evening, Nicadaemus, to what do I owe the honor of a personal visit?" McMahon pointed toward the blood splatters. "Was that really necessary? Lazarus was a good 'flunkie' and an excellent thief." He gestured toward the case with a casual glance.
"What possessed you to steal the Ruby Crucifix of Christ, and why would you send a vampire of all species to get it? Do you realize what you've done? What you've instigated?"
"My employer wanted the Ruby Crucifix and I tracked the item and obtained it for him. I fail to see the problem."
"Because you're a mere human, you have no idea the forces in play and the balance you've just upset. You can tell me how you found the relic before I snap your neck." The being reached hungrily toward the senator's throat, fingers curled like lethal talons.
McMahon produced a large revolver from his jacket. His associates mirrored the action. "Get back, now! Your puffed-up self-importance annoys the piss out of me. Your people are locked in another time playing by old rules guided by prophecy from some wrinkled, forgotten parchment. This is a new era, Nicadaemus, and you're an old Model T in a land of Ferraris and Porsches."
"You think mortal bullets will kill me?"
McMahon shot his foe an evil grin. "One thing humans do that your kind doesn't. We study, we learn, and we adapt. God gave us that ability, something he seemed to have left out with you and yours. The bullets are talithum-coated hollow points blessed and dipped in holy water. The talithum will pierce your flesh and burn your insides while the holy water and blessed metal will cook you like a mini bonfire."
Nicadaemus took a step back from the table, his eyes reassessing the threat. "Kill me and your life will be short and your death an eternal agony beyond imagining, human." The inhuman gestured toward a chair assuming a passive posture. "Forgive my overzealous reaction. May I sit and explain the chain of events your acquisition has just disturbed?"
The senator nodded. "Please, enlighten me."
The inhuman sat. His eyes spotted the white cloth sack and he casually opened it. His face formed a half smile. "Lazarus, you are indeed an ever constant source of irony." The being emptied the silver coins on the table. "Thirty pieces of silver. He escalated a holy war for thirty pieces of silver."
McMahon looked puzzled. The inhuman explained. "Here is perhaps a failing of your kind, Senator, your lack of appreciation for history, Biblical or otherwise. Your species seems doomed to repeat the same mistakes over and over." The inhuman brushed more of the ash off the chair and sat. "Jesus was betrayed by Judas for thirty pieces of silver." The inhuman picked up a coin studying it. "Were you aware that Lazarus killed three clerics at Vatican City, slaughtered them in the process of acquiring that trinket?"
The senator's faced went pale and he poured himself a glass of hard liquor, downing the shot in a desperate attempt to calm his nerves. "Imbecile. I told him stealth was of the utmost importance."
Nicadaemus continued. "One of the men he slaughtered was the son of a high-powered CIA operative, one Martin Denton. Denton will be on a plane to Rome bringing someone with him, a recently deactivated CIA cooler—a being we don't want involved in our affairs."
"What can one CIA operative do? I know Denton. He's a dedicated suit for his firm, but he's not a player in the larger scheme. He has no idea of the bigger picture. He's strictly a low level player involved in human affairs."
The inhuman nodded, reaching for the bottle of hard liquor. He started to poor himself a glass. He looked toward McMahon. "Do you mind?"
"Help yourself."
Nicadaemus downed the shot in one gulp, slamming the glass on the table when he finished. "Denton contacted the hybrid two days ago, and they're on their way to Vatican City. That Esper/human genetic cocktail has the ability to sniff out Lazarus and anyone involved with him. Though Lazarus is a dead end now. I assume you're aware of Special Agent Erik Knight and his abilities."
McMahon nodded, growing even paler. "I read the classified report on the Observer Incident. Denton wasn't mentioned, we had no idea there was a connection. Lazarus wasn't supposed to kill anyone."
"Lazarus had his own agenda. Had you studied your history you'd have realized that. He used you to get his own revenge for past slights by the Catholic Church. You gave him the reason to return to Rome and he decided to go on a killing spree. He killed Martin Denton's son and now Denton is bringing in a big gun. The hybrid has a role to play, but we're just not sure what. We're watching him, discreetly for now. We don't want Erik Knight getting involved in this war, especially now that you've gone and escalated it beyond either sides' liking. Mankind was on a slow, happy road to Hell, oblivious and ignorant of its damnation. In a few decades, maybe even half a century, we could have made a move of this magnitude, but you went and jumped the shark. You stole the most coveted relic of the Lords of Light and committed murder in the Holy City. They will be coming for you, Senator."
McMahon shook as he downed another shot of hard liquor. "Lazarus is a low level blood sucker, what kind of beef could he have with the Vatican?"
Nicadaemus smiled. "Since your kind is so fond of learning, Senator, I'll let you investigate that for yourself. I hope you and your faction enjoy your trinket. You've just unleashed a holy war of epic proportion, maybe even escalated Armageddon itself." The inhuman laughed a chilling evil cackle. "Well done, human, well done. I don't know who'll come for you first, Michael or Lucifer. You've single-handedly escalated an eons-old simmering conflict up to a full boil. I suggest you find the deepest hole and crawl into it as soon as possible."
The inhuman stood, slowly, still watching the two weapons trained on him. "I'll leave you and your advanced sense of learning to contemplate what we've just discussed. Good evening, Senator, and good luck."
McMahon looked at his colleagues. The three men contemplated the inhuman's revelation.
"Gentleman, we may have just jumped into water way over our collective heads. Mr. Bishop, get on the phone and get me all the background on Lazarus. Keep your search off the grid. We don't want the inquiry traced back to us in any way. Alex, I only have some limited knowledge of Special Agent Knight. I need a dossier on this man like yesterday." McMahon stood, grabbed the case and the silver coins.
"Where are you going, Paul?" Bishop asked, holstering his gun.
&nbs
p; "I'm gonna find me that deep rat hole and stash this thing, then I'm gonna call our boss and enlighten him as to how this whole escapade just went fucking nuclear on us. We need to know how to proceed. I'm not bailing on you guys. We go back too far and you've saved my ass on more than one occasion. We just need to get this hot potato out of our possession and eliminate any traces leading back to us which means I have to visit a certain coin dealer at the downtown mint and have the manager there remind his employees how much I pay for confidentiality."
◆◆◆
Milford, MA, Knight Household
Shanda and EJ were coloring in the kitchen while Erik stared at his basement gun safe. He pondered carrying a weapon on his upcoming trip. Denton was already en route. The two days of packing and preparation flew by. He didn't feel the need to be armed in the Holy City, but his detective and military training as well as his agency training had drilled into him always better to have his weapon and not need it than to need it and not have it. The ex-CIA cooler hadn't opened the safe or fired a weapon in two years. Erik knew he'd require at least a few hundred rounds to feel comfortable enough to brandish any of the weapons in his arsenal.
"A whole bunch of guns and I don't feel comfortable carrying a single one of them." An incessant drone came from inside the safe, his skin tingled as a part of his being responded to the call.
"The Sentient Staff," he mused. "Why not? Easily concealed, lethal, and portable." Erik smiled as he dialed the safe's combination. The buzzing sound grew louder as the weapon anticipated being reunited with its wielder. Erik opened the safe's heavy door and reached for the satchel that held the Esper weapon. He gently freed the chrome, metallic cylinder and held it in his left hand. His body tingled as bio organic energy cracked through his body. The hybrid took a step back giving himself room. His thoughts focused, AHNS-SOH-LAK!
The staff purred happily and began to expand in size and shape. On one end, two fearsome blades formed from the liquid metallic substance. The other end of the staff formed a savage J-shaped hook. The weapon Erik held was over six feet long and crackled as blue-white arcs of power danced along the mirrored surface. Erik's mind saw flashes of his alter ego: the massive seven-plus-foot alien soldier, bred to be the ultimate powerhouse and war machine. Something happened in the Esper genetic engineering. His powers and abilities kept growing over time, surpassing those he was modeled after. Erik remembered the kind of power he brought to bear against the Observers several years ago and how the very elements of the planet were his to control and command. The kind of power the hybrid had under his command was unimaginable.
"Yeah." The detective smiled. "That'll work just fine." He focused his thoughts on his alien weapon. Do you remember when we traveled by plane several years ago? How we worked to conceal you from the prying eyes? The weapon purred and responded. It seemed to melt and stream toward his waist. The staff flowed around his heavy leather belt and covered the large metal belt buckle. Erik looked down and smiled. "Absolutely perfect, well done!"
The weapon seemed pleased at his praise and the positive response to his compliment echoed through his mind. Erik closed his safe and spun the combination lock. He turned and went back upstairs to make the most of the remaining time with his wife and son.
"Well look at the two of you, coloring up a storm. Are there any crayons left for me to use?"
Shanda and EJ looked up and laughed. "Shall we let daddy join in on the fun?"
EJ nodded happily selecting three crayons and some paper with outlined pictures. He offered them to his father and smiled a wicked grin that mimicked Erik's own smirk. "Daddy you have to stay inside the lines this time."
"Yes, daddy, sloppy coloring is not tolerated in this house," Shanda echoed.
Erik knelt down on the floor laughing. "Critics, I live with a house full of critics. No one ever told Picasso or Rembrandt to stay inside the lines."
"Picasso and Rembrandt?" Shanda laughed. "That's who you're comparing your scribbling to now?"
Erik's poor coloring skills had become the focus of much light-hearted teasing. Try as he might, his skills at coloring were awful whereas Shanda could shade with crayons and make a simple two dimensional outline come to life with depth and clarity.
"You guys just don't appreciate real art."
Shanda burst out laughing. "Is that what you call it?"
The Knight family happily spent the next hour coloring and laughing. Erik kept his eye on the clock, each minute passing seemed to bring a sense of despair. He'd become accustomed to being home with his family, living a normal life with normal worries and challenges. The life of a CIA cooler and special investigator seemed foreign now. Erik wondered if he'd made a mistake accepting this job. He didn't need the firm or their money. The detective wondered if he'd let his sense of friendship overrule his obligation to his family.
Stop it hun, you're broadcasting your bad vibes inside my head. Shanda's thoughts pulsed inside his mind. His wife was telepathic—a latent gift she'd used in order to break through Erik's pent up wall during the Hopedale Mountain incident. Both husband and wife shared Esper genetics, but Shanda lacked the metamorphic capability and extreme powers he possessed. Shanda's gifts were more empathic in nature.
"Sorry, I'm not comfortable leaving the two of you alone."
"Don't worry about us. Martin needs your help right now and you need to get back in the saddle. You're a detective, and a damn good one. It's what you were meant to do. You're happiest when you're helping people in genuine need which is why you feel comfortable at that gym. But that's not who you are. Don't get me wrong. I'm extremely happy with our life and the way things are, but I can tell you're not totally fulfilled. Help Martin, do what makes you happy and that will make me happy. EJ and I will be here when you get home and you can tell us all about Rome." She grinned, "And bring home presents!"
Erik tilted his head. "What will they have at the Vatican gift shop?"
"Here's a chance to use that Picasso-like creativity you claim to have. Surprise me."
"I'll see what I can do." Erik heard a car door close. He stood up looking out the living room window. "My ride is here, and it looks like Martin decided to pay a social call."
"I haven't seen Martin since our housewarming party." Shanda stood and went to the doorway greeting the elder CIA operative as Erik gathered his duffel bag.
"Martin!" Shanda wrapped her arms around the elder agent. "I am so sorry for your loss."
Denton returned the embrace and smiled warmly. "Thank you, Shanda." The elder agent stepped back studying the young woman. "Good lord, you haven't aged a day."
Denton spotted EJ peeking out from behind a chair. "Well hello there young man." He looked over at Shanda. "He has your eyes."
"You can come say hello. Mr. Denton is an old friend."
EJ walked forward and extended his tiny hand. He looked up and smiled, "Hi, I'm EJ."
Denton smiled and gently shook the boy's hand. "Hello EJ, I'm Martin. I'm a friend of your father's."
"You and Daddy are going on a plane ride."
Denton raised an eyebrow. "Yes, yes we are. We'll only be gone for a few days and I'll have him home as soon as possible."
"Daddy and I put a new door in my room. Wanna see it?"
Shanda rolled her eyes but Denton laughed. "You helped? I'm impressed, that's no small feat." He pointed into the house. "Lead the way."
Erik excused himself and went down to his basement office. He came up a moment later carrying his bag and heard the commotion in EJ's bedroom. He walked down the hall and could hear his son talking nonstop to Martin. The boy was showing him his Lego collection, his toy cars, and model airplanes. Erik looked in and Martin was actually sitting on the floor with EJ building with Lego's while Shanda looked on smiling.
"You keep spoiling him, Counselor, and he'll never let you leave."
Denton looked up and laughed. "I spent many a time building with these blocks, Erik. It's nice to see in the age of electronics and video games so
me of the old favorites haven't gone out of style."
The detective caught a slight sense of longing in his friend's voice. He imagined Martin, as a father, doing all the things he enjoyed doing with his son. Erik wondered how he would feel if EJ was taken from him suddenly. The pain his friend was enduring was something he hoped he would never feel.
"Times change, Martin. Kids are into video games, digital downloads, and computers. That's a far cry from anything we had growing up."
Denton slowly stood up and patted EJ on the head. "Time for me to go. I hope you'll allow me to come back and play again?"
EJ smiled happily. Erik walked over and picked up his son. "You be good for mom while I'm gone. Okay?"
The young boy promised and kissed his father goodbye.
Erik shifted his son to one side and lifted up his duffel bag with his other hand and walked down the hallway. He gently placed EJ on the floor and turned toward Shanda. "Time to hit the road."
"I know." She kissed Erik deeply one last time. "Have a safe flight guys and good luck."
Both men nodded and headed toward the door. Erik tuned back and mouthed 'I love you' as he headed out. Shanda repeated the gesture as the front door closed. She held back the sudden feeling of emptiness and focused on the ever-present psychic link they shared. Shanda looked down at EJ. The child kept staring at the door. "Do you miss daddy already?"
"Yeah," the child muttered. "Wanna go with daddy."
"I know baby, me too, but daddy and Mr. Denton are doing big boy stuff. Why don't we go to the park for awhile then we can order pizza for dinner, would you like that?"
EJ smiled and nodded.
◆◆◆
Washington DC, Office of the Speaker of the House of Representatives
Senator Paul McMahon paced nervously outside Speaker Andrew Collins' office. He'd passed the requested artifact on to the speaker as ordered and now had the required follow-up data on Special Agent Erik Knight and the deceased vampire named Lazarus. Nicadaemus' doom-filled proclamation was accurate. The inhuman warned that they'd kicked over a hornet's nest.