An old waterfront warehouse converted to a bar, Vamp Techno could be heard a few blocks away. Surrounded by other warehouses, closed at night, it was a good location for such a vamp hangout. You really wouldn’t want to be in this area after dark, I thought as we parked a couple of buildings away and walked the rest of the distance with our shifter cop, a man by the name of Jackson. Small and compact, he had that werewolf gait, confident and determined. As we got close to the place Jade whispered to me that she could sense Clive’s scent in the area. There were so many people in the place it was just impossible to say if he was still inside.
Two bouncers saw us coming and the lead one with a pained look on his face said, “No weapons allowed inside.”
Ann Le and Waco led the way with Jade, Jackson, and me right behind. The rest of our security personnel, eight heavily armed men, were to both sides and to our rear.
“You in the mood to stop us?” Ann Le said and the bouncer shook his head. He was in a no win situation and he knew it. “Nobody in or out until we are done inside,” Ann Le said to our security and we entered the bar, a solid mass of vamps and human servants in front of us, moving insanely to the techno beat. I liked to dance, but this was ridiculous.
Some of the vamps parted ahead of us, the others, Waco and Ann Le just shoved out of the way. At the two ends of the warehouse were bars and in the middle ahead of us a raised platform with a band, if you could call it that.
“Waco, take care of that noise,” Ann Le shouted over the din of the music and crowd.
Waco shoved a few more people out of the way, and fired his shotgun into a couple of the large amplifiers on the stage. The bar went quiet and the crazy movement stopped with the sound of the shotgun and the ending of the noise. The band ran into the crowd, guess they could tell we weren’t fans.
“Which way, Jackson?” Ann Le asked, this time in a normal voice.
“Left bar,” he replied and Jade nodded, agreeing with that direction.
The crowd had started to mass near the entrance only to find it blocked by armed men. Ann Le and Jade both had their weapons out as did Jackson who dressed in plain clothes. Still, he was taking a risk because the cops had orders to bring us in. Two emergency exits had also been blocked. Our security was on the ball.
This time the crowd parted before us, as we looked in no mood to play games. The bartenders had stepped back, drinks and bottled blood left unattended as the crowd moved away. Behind the bar a weasel-like man stood, a shifter servant at his side. He also had a shotgun in his hands, and all our guns were pointed at him.
As we neared Ann Le said, “Tell your man to put the gun down or he is dead meat.”
“Miss Le,” he whined. “Your own rules allow me to have protection in your territory.”
“Not tonight, Bernie,” she replied. “I want the demon or your place will be permanently out of business. Now tell your man to put the gun down.”
“Gun down,” Bernie said towards his bodyguard and the man complied, placing the gun on the floor.
“Where’s the demon?” Ann Le said.
“I have no idea what you are talking about,” replied Bernie.
“Jackson?” she asked.
“There’s a room behind that door,” Jackson said.
There was a lone door behind the bar, possibly storage or an office of some kind.
“Everybody out from behind the bar except you, Bernie,” Ann Le ordered.
They went around one side as we entered the other.
“Is the demon back there Bernie?” she said grabbing him by the neck and lifting him off his feet.
“No demon,” he managed to choke out.
“Well you are first through the door so I guess we will find out, won’t we?”
From the front, sounds of gunfire rang out and some of the people near the entrance cried out as a few stray bullets came through. One of the emergency doors gave way under the pressure and people ran over each other trying to leave. Waco had one of those ear mic contraptions on and was listening. We could also hear the sound of sirens approaching, so somebody had called the cops.
“It’s Andre and his gang, maybe twenty men,” Waco told Ann Le.
“Andre is the head vamp that controls most of Southern California,” Ann Le said. “Greedy bastard. He will pay for this.”
“Tough shit,” gurgled Bernie. Ann Le still had him by the neck and was holding the little weasel off the floor.
“Get the door, Waco!” Ann Le shouted over the panicky screams in the bar.
Waco blasted the door knob with his shotgun and kicked the door in and Ann Le was inside, still carrying Bernie facing him but putting his back through the door first.
We followed close behind, weapons ready.
Inside was an office, computer and an area for storage. A throw rug had been moved aside and there was an escape tunnel with steps leading down.
“How clever,” Ann Le said and sank her fangs into Bernie’s neck, draining him dry in seconds. He slid to the floor and turned to ash immediately, a dark, slimy, stinky ash. Probably from the demon influence, I thought as we stepped around the pile to look down to the tunnel.
“Probably gone, not more than ten minutes ago from what I smell,” said Jackson.
“Our escape as well, it seems,” said Ann Le. “Waco, tell the men to get out of here but I want this place burned down next time it is vacant. Waco, you lead. Watch for traps and trip wires. Jackson, keep your nose on the demon and if you sense anything in the way of ordinance let us know. I have a couple of grenades and I am closing this tunnel as soon as we know we found the exit.”
CHAPTER TWELVE: NEAR DEATH EXPERIENCE
THE TUNNEL LED TO another warehouse a few blocks away and Ann Le closed it behind us. The sound of gunfire stopped and we heard people still shouting and screaming their way out of the bar. Waco lost contact with our group outside the bar and Ann Le suspected they had not been able to make their escape.
Jackson followed Clive’s scent and he was still on foot up to a point maybe a half mile from the bar where it appeared he either had a ride waiting or had stolen a car. We were standing around that spot in frustration. Ann Le was not happy.
“Fuck!” said Ann Le. “We need to find a car as well, and quickly, before Andre and his men find us.”
About the time she finished, a group of SUVs pulled up at our location and many vamps streamed out. Those in our group fired and we scurried to the door of the warehouse next to our spot. Jade shoved through it, splintering the frame without any problem. Andre’s group had not fired on us even though we saw they were armed. The goal was to take Jade alive.
Inside, crates were stacked in various groups and we split up and fanned out to find cover. There had to be at least twenty vamps following us close behind. I stayed with Jade. They would have to get through me to get to her.
Splitting up might not have been a great idea, I thought as the vamps streamed through the doorway, taking fire from our group. A couple went down, with others taking a few hits and yet still kept coming. They returned fire towards Waco and Ann Le to the left and Jackson to the right after seeing Jade and me taking cover further back. The warehouse was dark but we didn’t need much light to see.
Jackson took a hit and went down. I no longer felt his heartbeat and a group of vamps overwhelmed Waco and Ann Le’s location. A few more went down and turned to ash but about five of them made it through and they were fighting close in circling Ann Le as a few piled on in a group on top of Waco. One managed to sink his fans in his neck as the other two held him down.
“You need to shift, Jade!” I shouted but it was too late as another group of men jumped on us from behind. There must have been a back door, I thought as I swung my bat, crushing the skull and splattering the brains of one vamp almost on top of me.
I heard a witches’ triad chanting and felt magic crackling around us like static electricity. I could tell Jade had tried to shift but could not do so. The witch magic prevented her f
rom shifting. A couple of vamps threw a net over Jade as she managed to shoot another vamp in the head over her shoulder before her arms were pinned inside the net. Another shot her with a tranquilizer gun as she struggled to get free. A few of them dragged her across the floor towards the front of the building and as soon as we were apart the other vamps I kept away from me with my bat whistling through the air shot me at close range. Silver shot, I could tell as I staggered and fell.
I was on the floor, barely conscious, when I saw them go out, the warehouse deserted except for piles of ash and the dead or dying, including me. The night was quiet and still as I lay there, not really feeling the pain but knowing I had taken several shots to the upper body. I felt the silver inside of me, points of numbness spreading out from the bullets. Vamps are not as sensitive to the silver as shifters but if not taken out it would eventually kill us as well. I needed blood and I needed a doctor. I really thought about getting up, as the Angel of Death hovered over me. Maybe it was my time, I thought and I wished for a phone to call Jill. Maybe she could save Jade from a life of drug induced blood donor for Andre.
“No, not your time after all,” Death said. “Save Jade.” With that he was gone.
I sat up, surprised it was so easy. I was just numb and slightly dizzy as I crawled over to where Ann Le was. There were piles of ashes in a circle around her and she was laid out, a Japanese sword in each hand. She had taken so many shots her leather jacket looked like Swiss cheese. The blood flowing out from her was pooled all around.
“You look terrible,” she said as I looked down at her. I was on my hands and knees. Other than her lips she had not moved but her eyes took me in.
“Better than you, I bet,” I replied. “Need to get you to a doctor.”
“My cell phone,” she said. “Jacket pocket, push SMA in the contacts.”
“SMA?”
“Save my ass,” she said and attempted a smile that looked more like a grimace. “Tell them the code word ‘Seahawk’ and give them our location. There is a GPS function on the phone. Check that before you call.”
Her eyes closed, as that had taken all the energy she had left. She had not turned to ash, so she was still alive.
I did as she instructed and the girl on the other end said “ten minutes” and hung up after I gave her our location.
I managed to gain my feet as we waited. Shedding my leather jacket I saw I had been hit at least six times in the upper body and knew I had taken a couple hits in my left thigh as I was limping around trying to find out if our people had survived the attack.
Neither Jackson nor Waco was alive but one vamp had not yet turned to ash. It looked as if he had taken a blast from Waco’s shotgun right in the stomach. He was a mess, but still living. I looked down at him, seeing blood and guts, wondering why I had no desire to drink him dry. I should be craving blood right now but the sight of all the blood left me feeling a bit unsettled rather than hungry. He was unconscious and I dragged him over to Ann Le. Holding his wrist over her open mouth, I slit it with one of my daggers. He didn’t have much blood left in him but she got some down her and she swallowed, her eyes flickering open for a brief second before closing again. I hoped that would keep her alive long enough to get some medical attention.
I heard a vehicle pulling up outside and I lifted Ann Le up in my arms and carried her through the broken doorway where a van waited for us. Two female vamps and a human male got out.
As I walked I felt a tickle in my left side and a bullet came to the surface and fell to the ground with a slight clicking noise. It seemed I had gained Jade’s healing powers as well. I still had no desire for blood, however. I was craving chocolate, something that was also new for me.
They looked as if I was crazy as I carried her to the back of the van. There was a raised stretcher set up, IV drip full of blood waiting for her. I probably looked like a walking zombie to them. Another piece of bullet fell to the floor of the van as I got in and laid her down. The human doctor hooked her up and the two vamp females got in the front of the van. As we pulled out he looked at me and asked if I needed blood also.
“No thanks,” I replied. “Chocolate, maybe some coffee.”
CHAPTER THIRTEEN: THE A-TEAM
WE WERE IN A large wooden farm house out in the middle of nowhere. The entrance at the front gate said Nero Winery. It was run down on the outside and in need of painting and repair. Inside it was beautiful with nice furniture and gorgeous hardwood floors with some really nice throw rugs. They had two guest rooms and a room set up for medical emergencies, almost looking like an operating room at a hospital. I don’t know what Ann Le was paying for this but it was high tech all the way. There was a doctor in scrubs waiting for her as I carried her in and laid her on the operating table, one of the guys from the van carrying her IV drip to my side. A nurse, also in scrubs, cut her clothes away as the doctor prepared to remove the silver shot from her body. They strapped her down good and hooked another IV up to her. It looked as if they had blood going in from one IV and blood coming out from another. They were trying to clean her blood of the silver.
A young girl, no more than a teenager, led me to a bathroom with a shower and handed me a set of scrubs to wear. The clothes I had on were covered in blood. All of the residents were human from what I could sense.
As I showered I took a look at myself. I was full of holes that had partially healed over and as I watched I saw another piece of a bullet rising near the surface of the partially closed entrance hole. I saw it moving just under the surface with the hole opening up again and a little more blood coming out as the bullet fell to the shower stall floor with a clank. I still felt the numbness inside me at several locations but I could tell my body was winning, purging me of the silver.
Ann Le had to do this the old fashioned way. I cleaned up as best as I could, getting most of the blood off me, gingerly scrubbing myself dry. As I dressed in the scrubs, I grabbed Ann Le’s cell phone from where I had laid it near the sink. I needed to make some calls. I paused a moment, sensing for Jade. I felt her a good distance from me, south. I knew with our connection I could find her. It was time to call in the troops. I was not letting Jade go without a fight.
I debated with myself as to who to call first and then went with my gut. I would not have even considered calling Mom a year ago, as we had not parted on good terms. Things had changed recently and I knew she now considered Jade part of her family. It made me feel good. Mom would know what to do.
“There’s this vamp called Andre,” I said as she answered. “He has taken Jade, Mom. He is going to use her as a blood donor to gain day-walking ability. She is hurt, and I need your help to get her back.”
“Are you okay?” she asked.
“Good enough, Mom,” I replied. “I will be fine. I am just worried about Jade.”
“Ann Le?” she asked. I knew they were friends.
“Hurt bad, but still alive,” I said. “We are at her safe house and they are operating on her now.”
I could hear her pause, thinking.
“I have an extensive file on Andre,” she said. “I don’t even need to pull it out to tell you about him. He is not from a particularly strong line but has gained in power and influence through being ruthless and smart. Unfortunately, he is also quite mad. He has a small army of vamps and nobody has dared to take him on. He runs things like a dictator, and my information is that his group is almost like a cult. His followers worship him and will do whatever he tells them to.”
“With this he has gone too far,” I said. “He is going down. I will not let him have Jade.”
“Good,” she said. “Jade is now part of my family as well. I have a private jet, equipped for vamp travel during the day. I will bring some friends and time it to arrive at Seatac sundown tomorrow. We will have to make a stop on the east coast to refuel but I believe we can work it out.”
She paused, still thinking. “I am going to e-mail a copy of Andre’s file to your friend, Jill. Perhaps we can
pick her up at our stopover on the east coast. I will get with her and see if we can come up with a plan. Andre has probably a thousand or more vamps and has two shifter packs at his beck and call. It won’t be easy and we will have to take a more subtle approach. We will not be able to overpower him with the small group I can gather. Ann Le’s group of vamps is no more than eighty strong.”
“Thanks, Mom,” I said, starting to tear up.
“Don’t do anything rash,” she replied. “All I want you to do is to pinpoint where Andre is keeping her. Call me when you have that information. Help is on the way. We will make Andre pay for what he has done. I love you, daughter of mine. It will be okay.”
She used to call me “daughter of mine” when I was growing up, before I was turned. She had not said those words in many decades. I knew things were now good between us. “I love you too, my mother,” I replied, completing a childhood ritual and sealing our renewed bond before I hung up.
It was time to check on Ann Le. I hoped she would be all right.
They were still working on her as I walked in and the doctor had just dropped another piece of silver in a metal bowl beside the table and was proceeding to dig in another spot. They were still doing the new blood in, old blood out routine, trying to purge her blood of the silver as well. As I sat down in one of the small chairs against the wall a piece of silver rose to the surface under my scrubs and fell to the floor with a clacking sound. I bent over and picked it up and added it to the bowl. The doctor gave me a strange look and I just shrugged and walked back to my chair.
The nurse asked me again if I needed blood and I asked if they had some bottled blood I could drink. I was starting to feel a bit of hunger coming on. I missed Jade terribly. After drinking the blood I decided I needed to sleep before venturing out and looking for the place where Jade was being held. It would be crazy for me to attempt a rescue on my own and I had a feeling I would need to be well rested when we made our move.
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