by Nigel Henry
"I thought he was. The 34th Precinct did a background on him."
"So then how'd they miss this?"
Perkins strokes his chin for a moment before banging his head against the wall. "Shit."
"What?" Dad asks.
"I don't know why I didn't think of this before."
"What?"
"If Foster is the guy, then it's possible someone at the 34th is protecting him."
EIGHTEEN
WE LEAVE the Fords shortly after Perkins' revelation and Dad and I meet up with Mom to start canvassing the rooftops of Washington Heights in search of the bastard vampire that tried to bite me. We figure it's a long shot that we'll find him, but we can't just leave him out there, not if he's dropping bodies in Northern Manhattan.
Mom brought along our work clothes, and Dad and I both change in a McDonald's bathroom before heading out. Let me tell you, if you think troll juice is disgusting, you haven't tried to balance on one foot while half-naked in a pee-covered McDonald's bathroom.
There's a new part to our outfits tonight. In addition to the typical leather jacket, pants, and boots, Mom's packed eyelet masks for us. You know, the ones that superheroes wear that cover your eyes. "After yesterday, it's probably a good idea for us to keep our faces hidden," she explains.
After we finish changing, it's up to the rooftops on 186th Street. That's as close as Dad's comfortable getting to the site of my last run-in with the vampire. Tonight the place is swarming with undercover cops. Fortunately, they all stick out like sore thumbs if you know what to look for.
We each take different rooftops, but earpieces are on, so help is only a shout away. Once we're in position, it's time to look around and wait.
I can't get Inspector Perkins' words out of my head. Someone at the NYPD might be helping cover Mr. Foster's tracks. It makes sense. How else would the NYPD's background search pull up nothing? For that matter, why else would it pull up nothing on any of the teachers? I'm pretty sure that you'd find some dirt on a nun if you dug deep enough.
So now we've got two issues. We've got to find out who the traitor at the NYPD is without them getting wind that we're on to them, and we have to put a stop to Foster.
I'm sure it's him. I just don't understand why, or what he's doing to these kids. How has no trace of them shown up yet?
I guess I'm afraid that Foster isn't a monster. I'm scared he might just be a really bad human. Like on Staten Island. I don't know if I can go through that again.
And then there's this goddamn vampire, who has the nerve to keep me waiting.
Dad's voice sounds in the headset after an hour. "I've got nothing on my end."
"It's all clear on my side, too," Mom replies.
"Yahtzee," I say.
Mom sounds confused. "You found something?"
"No, I mean we're all coming up...nevermind."
I groan and stretch my legs, which are starting to fall asleep. I guess it was too much to hope that we could take him down easily. Every night can't be the win of the week.
"Big, bad vampire," I scoff. "More like chicken little. I bet you're running scared."
"On the contrary," a voice behind me says, "I'm coming in hot."
I don't even have time to turn around before a shoulder barrels into me, knocking me down and sending me rolling toward the edge of the rooftop. I bang into the side painfully, scraping my hands on the brick. I'm trying to catch my breath when a foot comes toward my face. I catch it and shove it backward before getting to my feet and sizing up my opponent.
The vampire's facing me, squared up and ready to fight. "So you came looking for me, did you? I'm flattered. Didn't realized I'd left that much of an impression on you."
"You didn't, but I'm about to leave one on you."
I reach into my pocket and pull out a stake. This one is proper-sized and, hopefully, sharp enough to punch through this asshole's heart.
"Aww, you're a grower," he taunts.
"Oh, for fuck's sake, kill me or shut the hell up," I growl.
He pounces, and he's even faster than I remember. I barely avoid his grasp and try to return the favor by slamming the stake into his heart. He catches my arm and pulls me in close. This time I knee him in the groin and he lets out a shriek of pain and stumbles backward.
"Dropped by a shot to the balls." I taunt. "Just like any other dick."
He recovers and takes a swing at me, but this time I'm ready. I pull out my collapsible baton with my free hand and extend it, cracking him on the wrist before he can hit me. I follow with another shot to the jaw and then try to sweep his legs out from under him. He jumps and kicks me in the nose, sending me sprawling.
"You are a pain in the ass," he says. "No wonder they want you out of the way."
He charges again, but this time there's a crack of metal on bone, and the vampire drops. Mom's standing over him, her crowbar in hand.
"Get the hell away from my kid," she shouts.
The vampire gets up and stumbles toward the edge of the rooftop. "This isn't over, sweetie," he says to me. "I'll be seeing you soon."
He dives over the edge. Mom and I race over, but there's nothing there when we look down.
The bastard got away.
Mom takes a look at my face. "Are you okay? Did he hurt you? Did he bite you?"
"I'm fine," I say, touching my hand to my nose and wincing. Actually, it hurts like hell, but I've been through worse.
"How did it know we were looking for it?" She asks. "How did we not see it coming?"
"Because," I wheeze as I rest my hands on my knees, "he's been looking for me."
"What?"
"Mom," I begin, "I think someone sent that vampire to kill me."
NINETEEN
"OW!"
I wince as my mother rinses the cuts on my hands in our bathroom with hydrogen peroxide. That stuff stings like...well, like a mutha.
"You should be happy that this is the worst of it," Mom says as Dad looks on from the doorway. "That thing could have killed you."
"I'm pretty sure that's what it was trying to do," I say, probably unhelpfully.
"What were you thinking, trying to fight it?" Dad asks.
"I didn't really have time to dial out," I say. "One minute I'm standing by myself, the next I'm on my butt and it's coming at me. It's not like I could've asked for a timeout."
Dad pounds his fist on the doorframe. "This is unbelievable. I can't believe you're being targeted."
"I can. I've been poking around some serious stuff, and whoever is behind this doesn't want to be found."
"But how would they even know to come after you?" Mom asks. "You said you're being careful at school?"
"I am, but they're setting up Mark Bell to take the fall for this, and I've gone to see him twice. Maybe they've been keeping an eye on him and noticed me."
Mom pours more peroxide on my hands, causing me to wince again. She passes me a clean towel. "So what do we do now?" she asks Dad.
"We take these assholes down?" I offer.
"Language."
I roll my eyes. Truth be told, I'm in a bad mood. Foster and whoever is helping him at the NYPD is kidnapping kids and setting up an innocent boy. That's bad enough, but then they had to go and send a vampire after me. And not just any vampire, a cocky, asshole vampire.
I'm going to stake a lot of things before this is done.
"Sorry," I say, taking a moment to calm down before I continue. "Why don't we use this to our advantage?"
They both look at me like I've grown a second head, but I keep going. "We know this thing is trying to come after me, so why don't we, I don't know, fake my death and then follow the vampire back to whatever ass...er...jerk hired him in the first place?”
Mom's shaking her head. "No way. Absolutely not."
"I'm not saying we actually let it kill me, obviously! But we have to do something."
"We're not going to put you in the path of that thing again, Ria. Case closed!"
I look to Dad for s
upport. He's always had a bigger tolerance for risk than Mom. "Daddy?"
He scoffs. "You're asking me to overrule your mother and let you serve yourself up as bait to a vampire? Good luck with that one."
I huff. "You guys are so unfair!"
"We'll figure out another way to take the target off your back," Dad says. "For now let's all just get some sleep. I'll do some digging tomorrow."
"You want me to sleep? What if it comes in and gets me while I'm asleep?"
"It won't," Dad assures me. "I did some research on vampires. Most of the legends are true; sunlight burns them, garlic gives them hives, and they can't enter someone's home without being invited. It can't get to us tonight.”
"Sure, but it can burn the whole house down!"
"Go to sleep," Mom urges. "We'll solve this without putting you in harm's way."
I groan as I shuffle past them to my room. Somehow, I'm not quite as sure of that as they are.
SO, of course, all of my confidence is gone by the time I wake up for school. Even with the knowledge that daylight and vampires don't mix, I'm still nervous as I make my way to the car in the morning. Just driving to school is difficult, as I'm watching my back the whole way to make sure nothing hops out from the back seat.
What happened to lead to my sudden crisis of confidence, you ask? That's a great question, I'll let you know if I find an answer. I don't know what it is, for some reason I'm just freaking out. It's like I can see the vampire around every corner, just waiting to pounce, and kill me with either a stupid pun or...you know, his fangs.
I'm virtually a wreck by the time I get to school, so worried about the possibility of a sneak attack that I'm like a coiled spring, ready to unload at the slightest provocation.
Which is, of course, a terrible way to go into a day at any high school.
I find a parking spot a few blocks north of the school building. I get out from the driver's side and reach back in to grab my bag when I hear a breath behind me. I tense.
"Yo—"
I don't give the vampire a chance to attack. I whip my stake out from my boot and I pivot, sweeping the feet out from the vamp before bringing the stake back for a killing blow.
Except it's not a vampire, of course. It's Marisol.
"What the fuck is wrong with you?" She shrieks. "Get off me, you fucking psycho!"
Shit.
Shit shit.
Damnit, Ria, think before you stake.
I lower the weapon and offer her my hand. "Oh my God, I'm so sorry, Marisol," I blurt out. "I thought—"
She shoves my hand away and gets up on her own. "You thought you were going to stab the shit out of my with a jagged piece of wood? Why the fuck do you even have that?"
"I, uh—"
"Save it," she yells she as she pushes past me. "You're fucking crazy! Stay away from me!"
I watch her storm off and sigh. Good one, girl. You're totally in control.
"WHAT THE HELL'S UP with Marisol?"
Will's whisper gets me to glance to the seat to my left in English class. Marisol is staring at me with a stink-face that you only reserve for someone that tried to kill you. I know, because I'll be giving that vampire the same look next time I see him.
I flash an apologetic smile and wave. She gives me the finger.
"The hell did you do to her?" Will asks.
"You don't want to know," I mutter.
"She looks like you tried to kill her dog or something."
"Or something..."
He stares at me for a moment, then his brow creases. "You okay? You don't look so good."
"Gee, thanks."
"Oh come on. Does it have anything to do with that thing you had me look up?"
"No, I just had a rough night."
The bell rings, and Will and I walk out together. I try to put Marisol's death stares out of my mind.
"Did it help?"
"No," I lie, "but thanks for searching anyway. I appreciate it."
Will turns red. "It was nothing," he says as he flashes a bashful smile. Boys; pay them a simple compliment and they turn into mush.
We spot Ariana coming toward us from down the hall. "Hey!" she calls out.
"Hi Chica," I say. She looks at me like I've got a third head.
"Did you just say 'hey chica'?"
"Yes? Should I not have?"
"We'll just stick to English until you learn to pronounce words properly." Now it's my turn to blush.
"Where were you, anyway?" Will asks. "It's not like you to skip class."
"I didn't skip, I was excused. I was helping Ms. Birch."
"Helping?"
"Yeah, we were finalizing tomorrow evening's science club trip to the Museum of Natural History."
"Which museum is that again? The one with the art?"
"The one with the dinosaurs and the big globe."
"I thought they all had dinosaurs."
She slaps her forehead and looks at me for help. "You see what I have to deal with?"
I shrug and she continues. "You coming tomorrow? You told Ms. Birch you'd be there, so I saw your name written down on the attendance list."
I groan. "Crap, that's tomorrow? I thought it wasn't till like next month or something."
"That’s because you don't pay attention."
I pinch the bridge of my nose. Great, so I've got to kill a vampire, find out who hired it to kill me, take down a kidnapping ring, and make it to science club. Guess I'd better wrap everything else up tonight.
This should be easy, right?
TWENTY
MY PARENTS ARE WAITING for me in the living room when I get home, monster-hunting clothes already on. Which means I'm already nervous, because A) they're never home before me, and B) we're going to have to be in action tonight.
I drop my bag in the doorway upon entering and stare at them both, sitting on the couch while wearing masks and looking like they're straight out of a comic book.
"I'm guessing this isn't going to be good news," I say.
"Good guess," Mom replies.
"What's the plan?"
Dad turns over his hand and opens his fist. There's something silver inside his palm. I take a step closer. It's actually two things. They're each about the size of an aspirin and metallic with a single blinking red light on each.
"Cellular trackers," Dad says, closing his fist. "Let's just say that Steve knows some people who sell very useful, but very questionable supplies."
I look from Dad's hand to his face and back. "Trackers? Does that mean..."
Dad nods. "We talked to Steve; asked him what he would do in the situation."
"And?"
"And he said your plan was sound."
I'm pretty sure that if black people could turn pale, I'd be as white as a sheet of paper right now. Great. I've been losing my mind all day thinking about facing that vamp again, and the only thing that's been kept me from going all the way crazy is the idea that my parents would rather eat glass than let that happen again. So, of course, they decide to mix things up and listen to me for a change.
Mom seems to see my nervousness. "You don't have to do this. We can come up with another plan."
I look to them both. That's the thing with my parents, when it comes to me and monsters, they think I'm safer knowing and facing the threats that are out there than hiding in fear. But that doesn't mean they'll throw me out to die if I'm not ready. One look at them and I can see that. They'll call the whole thing off if I say so.
Goddammit.
I close my eyes and take a deep breath. This vampire is our best shot at finding who else is involved in the disappearances. We follow the vampire, we probably find the traitor at the 34th Precinct, and we probably find what happened to the missing kids.
I can't back away from that. Not because of fear. I wouldn't be able to live with myself if I did.
Goddammit.
I exhale. "No," I say finally. "I'm in. Let's play pin the tracker on the bloodsucker."
"REMEMBER TH
E PLAN, everyone. Outkast, you won't be alone. The moment he shows up, say the word."
I nod my head, knowing full well my Dad can see me from his perch a couple of rooftops away.
"Let's just get this over with," I reply.
I glance over the edge of the roof and spot the unmarked squad car below on 188th Street. Mom and Inspector Perkins are inside it, ready to follow the cell tracker once I put it on the vampire. Assuming I get the chance.
I sigh and run my fingers over the Kevlar collar that sits around my neck. Dad insisted we all wear them tonight. Perkins says they're tough enough to protect you from a knife to the throat. I think that means they're vampire-proof, but to be honest, I'd be sooo much happier if I got to go the rest of my life without finding out.
"You sure it'll show?" Mom asks.
"I'm sure," I answer. "I think he's got a crush on me."
"Well then I definitely have to kill it," Dad says.
"Really, Dad? Boys aren't allowed to have crushes on me?"
"Hell no. And a double-hell no for undead boys."
"You know that I'm not a little girl anymore, right? You don't have to protect me from boys."
"That's literally what I'm about to do."
Mom cuts in. "Can you two please focus?"
"Err, sorry," I reply. "Outkast out."
Okay, so let's recap what we know about vampires. They're stronger than a human, faster than a human, and they've got those fangs. Being stabbed by wood seems to hurt them, as does getting kicked in the nards. Not to mention that whole sunlight, garlic thing. So if I want to take one down, I just have to stab it in the heart with a wooden stake at high noon after delivering a swift kick to the balls.
Easy, right?
Movement from a rooftop across the street catches my eye. I squint and see a shadowed figure as it hops from roof to roof with ease. And remember, these are the distances that required me to build a shitty ladder bridge.
"I see him," I say. "He's across the street and coming my way."
"Copy that," Dad replies. "I've got a visual. Stick to the plan."