“Yes, I’ve seen it,” Haley replied. “I’m just … wondering if this is the right thing…”
“We’re here for you, Haley,” Jason said. “Just remember that. We’ve got your back.”
“Where are you?” Haley asked, looking around. “Where?”
“Just focus on the matter at hand,” Maurice answered. “Never mind about us.”
Haley waited to see if Jason was going to speak.
He didn’t.
“I swear you guys…” Haley grumbled.
She took a deep breath and walked into the car park, and approached the club’s entrance.
A burly bouncer was standing outside of it. She tried to not make eye contact before heading in.
“Sorry Miss,” he said, blocking her path. “I need to see some ID.”
“Oh…” Haley murmured. “Just a minute…”
“There’s a fake ID in your purse, Haley,” Maurice advised her. “Just get it out and show it to him.”
Haley fumbled about the purse and found the card.
She showed it to the bouncer.
“In you go,” he replied handing it back to her.
“Thank you,” she murmured.
Haley entered the club.
The front part of it was deserted.
A large dance floor with spinning lights was left unattended, whilst a few individuals were seated with drinks, some right up at the bar. No one her age. No one who looked friendly.
“Go talk to the bartender,” Maurice said in her ear. “Tell him you’re here for a meet up with the VDA.”
Haley looked down and saw she still had the ID card in her hand. The picture had been taken of her today, just after Luna had finished putting on the makeup. She hadn’t realized what it as for.
Her real name was on the card too, though it said she was twenty-two.
“Just up ahead. You see the bar?”
“Of course I’ve seen it,” Haley grumbled. “You can see it, can’t you?”
She put the card away and walked up to the bar.
A woman in her twenties walked over. “What can I get you?”
“I’m … I’m supposed to meet with something to do with…” Haley stammered.
“The VDA?”
“Yes! That’s it.”
“Just go through that exit door in the corner. There’s some people out there at the moment. You better hurry, they might be leaving soon.”
“Thanks,” Haley beamed.
She headed across towards the exit door.
“VDA,” Riley breathed into her ear. “We’ve only said it a hundred and fifty times today.”
“Shut up, Riley,” Jason snapped.
“You shut up –”
She was cut off.
“Sorry about that,” Maurice said. “You’re doing a great job, Haley. Keep going.”
Haley winced.
All these voices in her head were starting to give her a headache.
She pushed through the exit door which lead out to a small ramp outside. She strolled down it casually and found a small group of six or seven dressed up women mingling near the edge of the road.
“My goodness,” Haley said to no one in particular. “Am I the last one here?”
A few of the women glanced over at her.
“Who are you?” a tall blonde one demanded. “I haven’t seen you before.”
“I just signed up,” Haley said. “Isn’t there an influx of sign ups every … week … or –”
“Point taken. I’m Melanie.”
“Hi. Um… Haley.”
Her eyes shifted over the other women. They offered no such greeting.
“So how did you hear about it?” Melanie asked.
“About what?”
“The VDA.”
“I just … came across it…” Haley improvised.
“You know it’s not a joke right,” one of the other women said. “They’re fucking real vampires.”
“I know,” Haley nodded.
“How many have you been with?” Melanie asked.
“Me? What with –”
“I can tell,” Melanie said. “You might not have been here before, but you’ve been somewhere. Haven’t you? Tell me I’m right.”
Haley looked up into the corner of her eye, hoping Maurice would offer some assistance.
No such luck.
“I … may have had one or two encounters …”
All the women suddenly turned in her direction.
“Who with?” one of them asked.
“I …” Haley began. “I’d rather … not say…”
A few of them rolled their eyes, disappointed.
“I get it,” Melanie said. “My vampire would kill me if I said his name to strangers.”
“Would he?”
Melanie frowned.
Haley bit her upper lip.
A bald man in a suit carrying a clipboard walked forward.
“Okay, the bus is going to be leaving soon,” he announced. “Can I have everyone in a straight line please?”
Haley took a few steps back so that she was last, behind Melanie.
A shuttle bus drifted into the car park and drove until it was within range of them. Another similarly dressed man got out of the bus and conversed with the first guy.
Then they both walked over to them.
“Haley Watkins?” the guard called out. “Which one of you is Haley Watkins?”
CHAPTER FOURTEEN
Haley couldn’t believe they’d said her name. They couldn’t have. That’s not what she heard. She was … projecting her thoughts outward. This was really –
“Haley Watkins?”
“This one’s Haley,” Melanie said singling her out.
Haley looked from Melanie to the approaching men, her lips twitching nervously.
“Are you Haley?” he asked of her.
Haley slowly nodded.
“Listen, since you’re new, we have to go over a couple of things okay?”
“Oh,” Haley said. “Okay.”
He pulled her to one side. Then addressed the rest of them. “You can board now.”
He turned back to Haley. “Says you signed up today, just a few hours ago. What’s your thinking there?”
“My thinking?”
“Break up with some boy? Trying to get back at him?”
“What?”
“You understand this is private business and its run in a particular way. We need you to be polite, courteous. Speak when spoken to. That sort of thing. Don’t … don’t bring in any illegal substances. Are you carrying?”
“No, I swear –”
“Can I see your bag?”
Haley gave it to him.
He crouched down and spilled the contents out onto the pavement. His hands maneuvered around the items until he reached a small vial of perfume. He sprayed it in the air and sniffed it. Then looked up at her.
“This is acceptable.”
“Well. Alright.”
“Just follow our lead and you’ll be fine. But…”
“But what?”
“Don’t back-talk anyone, okay? Best behavior.”
Haley nodded.
The man smiled. “Good girl. Off you go.”
Haley stooped down to collected the contents up into her handbag. Then she hurried onto the bus.
Melanie motioned for her to sit with her.
Haley walked through and obliged.
“Thanks for ratting me out back there,” she muttered under her breath.
“Sorry,” Melanie said. “What did he want? Just giving you a talking to?”
“Something like that.”
“Don’t sweat it. I was worried you were an undercover.”
“An – a what?”
“Undercover. Paranormal Police.” Melanie leaned back and looked over the other girls. “They’ve been trying to get someone in the VDA for ages. Could be any one of them.”
“I thought … I thought you knew those women…”
“At this point no one is safe for suspicion,” Melanie confided. “I heard there’s a massive crackdown in progress. Someone’s leaking information. They’ve got to be stopped.”
“Okay, that’s us then,” the man said getting onto the bus. “On we go, driver.”
The bus drifted back out of the car park.
Haley held on tightly.
CHAPTER FIFTEEN
Nightfall. The sun fell from the sky with oranges and pinks and purples streaming through the bus, melting across their skin. Haley tried to keep her mind focused. Her attention alert.
“Breathe easy … you’re doing fine … we’re here for you…” occasionally broke the thoughts in her mind. She wanted to respond: We’re not fine! They’re looking for me – but there was no room for that. It was true there had been a point earlier where Haley could have backed out, just thrown this whole caper away and she’d be fine. Her life would still have some things to figure out sure, but then whose didn’t? She’d be more than fine. She’d be Grade A, Fucking Fantastic. Didn’t matter any second and third thoughts she might want to have now.
She was in this till the end.
“So how does it work here?” Haley asked the woman beside her. “Being new and all?”
“Don’t worry, they’ll cater to you,” Melanie replied. “You’ll be questioned of course. Your likes and dislikes. What you want in a man. What you can bring to a relationship. All that sort of nonsense. When that’s done you’ll have a few options on how you want to proceed. Were you thinking of just dating one or two guys, or are you more on the orgy spectrum of things?”
Haley coughed. “Orgy? That’s a thing here?”
“It can get quite busy at certain hours of the night, that much I can attest to,” Melanie confirmed. “Guess you’re … just looking Mr. Right then?”
“Maybe,” Haley. “Maybe I’m looking for Mr. Wrong.”
“Don’t worry. Mr. Wrong isn’t in short supply.”
Haley gave an involuntary chuckle.
Melanie smiled and turned back to face the window. “Almost there now.”
Haley looked out to the countryside. Field upon field of desertion. Sure enough, beyond the grass and the faraway trees, there was the old world that was familiar. She could list the faces of all the friends she’d had over the years, even the ones who were long gone by now. She could think about the boys she’d been close to. The insides of houses she’d never see again. All of it was still there, staring back at her. As if that world had known all along.
What lay on the other side of the mirror…
“What’s this?” Melanie asked wrapping her arms around the seat in front of them.
Haley peered forward. “Looks like some kind of road block.”
Melanie looked at her knowingly.
One of the security guards stood up at the front of the bus.
“Everyone remain in your seats, please,” he instructed. “We’ll be back on the road shortly.”
The bus was slowing down. The figures on the road were waving them to the side.
“Tell us what you can see, Haley,” Maurice’s voice buzzed in her ear.
“Looks like another VDA security team,” Haley murmured. “I wonder what they want.”
“They’re searching for the undercover, no doubt,” Melanie said.
The security guard exited the bus and stepped out to talk with the others on the road. Twenty seconds went by.
Haley crunched her teeth together.
“What are they doing, Haley? Do we have a problem?”
Haley kept her eyes fixed on the front of the bus.
“Haley?”
One of the men from the road climbed aboard the bus. He had a remote in his hand, with a flashing blue light.
“Is that some kind of scanner?” Haley whispered.
“He’s onto you,” Maurice declared. “Get rid of the necklace.”
Her lips barely moved. “Where…?”
“Anywhere.”
The man was moving slowly up the bus.
“You alright?” Melanie asked her suspiciously.
“Fine,” Haley mumbled. She touched the top part of her necklace. Her palm extended, trying to cover it.
The light on the man’s remote was flashing faster.
He was only three seats away.
“Just rip it off!” Jason shouted in her ears. “What the fuck are you doing, Haley?”
Haley’s gaze peered over her seat.
The security guard was staring right at her.
CHAPTER SIXTEEN
The guard looked down to the remote in his hand. The light was flashing faster and faster. He continued moving down the aisle, Haley’s body frozen mid breath. He walked by her. Further, further down the bus. Haley exhaled and glanced back over her shoulder, afraid he’d still be standing there.
But the guard was now at the back of the bus.
“Can we please have a look at your phone please, Miss?” the guard asked.
“No you may not,” the woman in front of him replied.
“There’s some things we need to clear up,” the guard said. “Would you please come with me now?”
“No, don’t touch me,” the woman protested.
Melanie climbed onto her knees to get a better view.
Haley could see everyone around them was doing likewise.
“If you don’t come with me now –”
“Vampire Lover!” the woman suddenly screamed, brandishing a knife. “Parasite!”
Three more guards ran onto the bus and up the aisle.
A struggle ensued, before the woman was taken to ground.
Her knife spilled across the floor of the bus, until it stopped beside Haley and Melanie’s seat. Haley could see there was blood on it.
“Get her arms,” one of the guards said.
There was the snapping of handcuffs.
The woman screamed inaudibly, and one of the guards struck her with a stun baton. Her body went limp, and they shoved a black bag over her head.
The guards carried the woman down the aisle.
Everyone’s eyes followed them out the bus.
The original guard reboarded. “Sorry about that. She was working with some wolves trying to infiltrate the VDA. Someone gave her up apparently. But you should all still be on the lookout for anyone suspicious. The Paranormal Police may also decide to send someone in. Not to say that someone is here tonight. We just … have to be on the lookout. For everyone’s safety.”
He sat back down and instructed the driver to keep going.
Haley turned back to the fields in her window, and saw the figures were marching the woman out into the middle of it. She wondered where they could be going.
Probably.
Nowhere.
CHAPTER SEVENTEEN
Crickets buzzed in the glow of dusk as a dark colored van stood stationary at the side of a residential street, daylight fading. The back of the van opened from the inside and Jason Freelaw stepped out onto the road, his hands shaking.
“It’s not her,” Maurice’s voice echoed behind him. “It’s not her. We’re still on. Good to go.”
Jason rubbed his hands together and took out a cigarette.
He lit it, and breathed in the smoke.
Riley climbed out of the van and stood beside him.
“Feeling nervous?” she probed him.
Jason didn’t answer.
“She’s not even in the VDA yet. At least if she did get busted now, it wouldn’t be too late for Dino to pull her out. Once she gets inside though…”
“It’s not just that,” Jason said. “It’s this whole mission.”
“What about it?”
“Sending in a bleeding eighteen-year-old undercover on her first day. I don’t give a fuck what her test scores were, she has no experience. None. It’s like Kendra doesn’t even care. Like she’s not even trying to solve these killings at all.”
“I suppose you would rather it was me instead?” R
iley replied.
Jason looked back at her.
“Wow. I guess I should have expected as much.”
“At least you’d know what you were doing,” Jason muttered. “At least you’d have a chance.”
“She has a chance,” Riley said. “She just has to be really, really good.”
“And what if she’s not?”
“Then Kendra made a cost effective decision in sending her off today, rather than investing time and effort into figuring out she couldn’t stand the pressure.”
“So you don’t care at all that if she fucks up she’s going to die? And that it’s our fault.”
“Jesus,” Riley exhaled. “When did you get so moral?”
Jason flicked his smoke away.
“Unless … You’re not crushing on her, are you?”
“No!” Jason shouted. “I have a girlfriend, remember?”
Riley took a step back. “Whatever. Just … keep your whining to yourself. We got a job to do in here.”
Maurice poked his head out of the van. “Guys?”
Both Riley and Jason turned towards him.
“What is it?” Jason asked.
“She’s inside.”
CHAPTER EIGHTEEN
The carpet was red. The walls, they were red too. In the upper left hand corner, a wide staircase with silver bannisters and pattern engravings drifted and turned upwards. To the upper right there was a large archway leading out to a crimson lit hall which flickered and gleamed infrequently. There were large black doors to either side of them. Chandeliers hung overhead.
“A straight line, girls,” the guard said clapping his hand. “You know the drill.”
Haley moved to stand at the left end of the line, with Melanie once again by her side.
The guard remained motionless in the centre of the room a moment, staring at them blankly. Haley tried not to watch him. Although her surroundings were rich and colorful, she’d felt a slight drop in temperature upon entering the estate. She figured they must have the air-con on for some reason. As far as how she was doing, she was mostly okay. Part of her wanted to keep going back to that woman with the black hood over her head, being marched through the empty field, but she knew that was her cowardice. Her skin was smooth. Her hair flowing. Her heart pumping. She had this. She looked just how they wanted her look.
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