Hell, In a Troy (Lopez Time Book 2)

by Phillip S. Power

  That was linked to the man he’d killed but in the whole thing, with four deaths, he hadn’t taken out even one of them.

  Three of them died, either in the fight, or killing themselves for whatever cultish dumbass reason they had. The last one, Carlos, had sacrificed his own life to try and open up a rift into the void. It had nearly not worked. It wouldn’t have, if Troy hadn’t been a line walker by training. Even at that he’d nearly failed to get the tiny bend in space inside the boy’s corpse to open up properly. The kid had worked out what was needed and killed himself, putting every bit of what he was into that one thing.

  Giving Troy a place to put the energy that the bad guys had built up. The other option was letting a portion of their state blow up. The mages, their whole group, or enough of them at least, had worked together to take the powers of the two women and one man away. That meant the explosion, only partly formed, had gone wild. He’d put it into nothing at all, which wasn’t harmed by it in any way. Nothingness was great for things like that.

  Honestly, nothing was, without being silly or ironic, one of his favorite things.

  The Doctor sighed then, just a bit. In defeat.

  “I can sign off on you then. If you need to talk about anything, I’m always here for you. Monday through Friday, from nine-thirty until three in the afternoon.” There was no sense of irony or joking in her statement. She was always there, for very limited times.

  “Thanks. Um… Here. Have one of my cards? Even if you don’t love the police, it can’t hurt to have the numbers. What if something supernatural comes up? Boom. You have someone to talk to about it. Here.” It was probably a mistake, being too manly of a thing to do but she didn’t take back the paperwork she’d just signed. That was on her little table and pretty much just said that he was sane enough to do his current job. No caveats were put on it about how he was a vampire or anything.

  Trying to consider what a woman would do, he got out of the place. Walking at a sedate speed.

  “Well, if I was Eve, I’d avoid the hell out of that woman. She’s annoying as all get out.”

  Holding his hard-won piece of paper carefully, Troy sped up, got to his car and drove home. Technically he was supposed to be off work for at least two weeks but that was on the provision that his mind would be warped by killing a person that had needed to die at the time. Guilt wasn’t a part of him now, thankfully.

  No, vampires did that differently. If you messed up too much, the others killed you. That worked just as well, and in many ways, better. For instance, he went directly to the Chief’s office, not playing around with things. At least after he went home and parked there, then walking the few blocks back to the station.

  The older man, who was trim and slightly tan, even if he spent most of his time inside, looked up when Troy got to the door. That had been open, which was how the man normally worked. So that his people could get to him at a moment’s notice for direction. It was a nice trick, actually. A way of getting them to feel like he was there for them, even if that wasn’t going to always be possible.

  “Officer Lopez. Isn’t your appointment right now?” There was a glance at the clock on his wall, over to the left.

  “Gone and back. Dr. Boyajian signed off already. A really sweet woman. All she asked of me was that I try to do away with violence and look at things like I was a woman. You need flowers in here. Maybe we could paint the walls a sunnier color? Nothing too oppressive.” It was a blue gray, in two tones. Some yellow might actually help.

  There was a strained, mainly incoherent, sound from behind the desk.

  “Really? Did you use mind powers on her or something? She normally forces the men here to jump through every hoop she can come up with.” The man actually looked up at him skeptically. So far it wasn’t illegal to use mental powers on people. Even if they didn't want it to be done. The law just hadn’t thought to address it.

  That didn’t mean the man would be in on the idea, all the time. Being that he was the slave of a greater demon, The Technician, Troy could understand that one.

  “Nope. I just told her that I’d try to be more girly and that, being a vampire, it wasn’t fair to try and push me into the human box that way. I don’t have the same emotions. She agreed. So… Flowers? What do you like. You seem like a carnation man, am I right?”

  He was kidding but the Chief nodded.

  “Tasteful though. Nothing too bright. I have a reputation to keep up.”

  “Got it. Anyway, I’m back, if you want me?”

  That got a nod.

  “Good. There’s a school assembly, over at Raintree at one today. Morgan Bauer is coming out as a shifter? It’s a bit tight but we should have a presence there. I’ll give you up to six officers. Do you think you need more than that?”

  It was after ten but not much. Troy shook his head then.

  “No. Tran and I can handle this. We need… Really, we need more shifters there. I wish I could get Avery but she’s actually in school right now. That’s a good call though… Can I get Santos? She’s more than enough cop for a high school. They aren’t going to riot or anything. We can out Morgan as bi-sexual and pretend that us old people think that will be the issue? I’m nearly certain that the kids do not care about that kind of thing now.” It was nearly funny, as an idea to try.

  Benson pulled over his computer screen, which was thin and new looking, instead of the ten-year-old thing Troy had in his office. After a few moments, the man nodded.

  “I put her on the schedule for that. She should be there. Anything else?” He patted the paperwork that was on his rather tidy desk. Troy had the same thing going on in his office space but it was rare at the station.

  “Yeah. How about Saturday the fourteenth, starting at two in the afternoon, running to two in the morning for the picnic. That’s long, I know but most of the vampires won’t be able to attend until after dark. Not the locals.”

  There was more tapping, the keyboard making a nice steady rhythm. Then there was a grunt.

  “I have it on the schedule. Keep on top of that. Karen offered to make some potato salad?”

  Troy nodded.

  “Great. She’ll need to get with Ann and Avery on that. The Rotted. She has special dispensation to work in the area. She’ll leave Karen alone on this, other than being herself of course. You’re both protected.” He didn’t think he was really. It was strange but Ann had kind of acted like he was hers, for some reason.

  More, like they were dating or something, rather than claiming him as a toy or slave.

  The Chief made a slightly disgusted face.

  “I know. It… It isn’t perfect. I have to admit, I do better work this way. Twelve-hour days, six days a week. I want to do it. I can’t stand the idea of taking a drink, either. Karen… She’d be someone very different, as well. We’re safe you think? If they go to war, there could be problems that way.”

  That was true.

  “It will be fine for now. The Technician actually manages to get along with Ann pretty well. So does she. The Rotted? She’s insane but that means different things for her people. We’re… I don’t know, friends, pretty much. For what that’s worth. It’s a bit like being friends with a lion, you know?”

  “Yes. Yes, I really do. Darla Gibson was a friend of mine, in high school. It’s how she recruits, more or less. Then, seventeen years later she found me sleeping under a bush, drunk off my behind. After that… I can’t even explain it. I stopped drinking, started working constantly and things fell into place. About a year later she came to my door with Karen and told us we were in love.”

  That was how slave deals worked with greater demons. If they weren’t evil. Which they all were. They didn't all seem like that all the time but it was true enough that they could be, at any moment. Some would just kill you with torture for giggles but even the gentler ones could do it, if it became handy.

  Not that vampires were much better that way. Half of them started off the rails. The rest managed to mainly fin
d their way off the beaten path by the time they were a few hundred. That wasn’t totally true, of course. Most didn’t live that long. Even being immortal, as in unaging and incredibly powerful, their tendency to get into trouble meant that most of them died before they reached a hundred years dead.

  Doing things like playing with greater demons and thinking you could handle it. Moronic bits of delusion like that. Not that most of them would have. That, his being around Ann and Alison, The Technician in her current kid-soul grabbing form, was a sign that he was headed toward an early end himself. Then, in some ways he was actually hundreds of years old, given all his time working and learning in the void between worlds. Most didn’t count that but it had happened.

  To him that counted. So did the time when he was younger. When he’d… Troy felt a wave come over him, making him think of something totally different.

  He snapped his fingers.

  “Right. So, flowers for in here. If I don’t get to that in a timely fashion, send a memo? I said that I’d work on being a woman, not that I’d instantly master it.” He shook his head. “I shouldn’t make fun of her. She believes what she does for a reason, like everyone else. It’s on me to try and understand where she’s coming from, if I want to know.”

  The man looked at him, rather blankly. Then, Troy had changed the topic suddenly, so that could be the reason there.

  “You do that. Just don’t let it get in the way of the job. One o’clock, at Raintree. Do what you need for that.”

  “Got it, Chief. Don’t worry. We’ll have this place looking fabulous in a few days.” He left, then winced.

  After all, fabulous was a gay thing. Dr. Boyajian had specifically said female. That was different. Still, if he was doing that, he was going with girl vampire, not lady human, as his template. They had a lot more in common, if nothing else.

  Like the whole being dead thing. Only, not really.

  Chapter two

  Walking into the office wasn’t the letdown that he’d figured it was going to be. After all, Denise Tran, his partner, who was a full detective unlike him, was supposed to be off work for psych hold just like he was. She was behind her desk though, smiling, when he came in. Rather than make a big issue of the whole thing, she just winked at him, her fifty-odd year-old face seeming fairly relaxed.

  “I was in with Elmhoff. I told him that I didn't shoot anyone and while the whole thing was sad, it wasn’t my fault, in particular. I didn’t kill anyone. He signed off after five minutes. Great man, Dick Elmhoff. Who did you get?” her grin was a bit wicked, meaning that she knew.

  Taking a guess, Troy smiled back.

  “Why, Dr. Boyajian. Who you signed me up for. How did you manage that by the way?” He expected a denial but got a sinister snicker. The woman looked like she should have an accent but didn’t. She’d come in on a boat, a long time before but had been a kid at the time. Probably in the late seventies or early eighties.

  The ages worked for that. She’d mentioned it. You couldn’t tell at all, from the way she spoke. Most of the time that was like a salty dock worker. At the moment, she was on her good behavior, it seemed.

  “Easy, I cleverly erased my name and put yours. Did you kill her? I can help you hide the body, if you need. It’s what pals are for. Killing the fucking man that’s trying to keep us down.”

  “What?” He made himself look concerned. “She’s a lovely woman. I mean, she thinks that I should be a female but after I agreed to try that, she was easy to get along with. A bit hard on that part of things. I mean… Sort of monotoned?”

  That got a snort.

  “She isn’t even that bad. The last feminist cunt had to be fired, since she literally thought that all men were mentally ill. Not a joke. It’s the colleges these days. Back when I went to school, you had to learn science, math and history. Now you learn women’s studies, no matter what field you try to go into. No huge thing. If you have to kill anyone else, we’ll get you in to see Dick. If you don’t stab him, he takes it as a sign that you’re doing all right. Easy going as fuck, that guy. I’d date him but he’s married. He has this wonderfully bald head… Dreamy, you know?”

  Troy nodded.

  “Ah. Well, then we’re both good that way. We have a one o’clock at Raintree. Morgan is officially coming out as a shifter. We get Santos to act as our face for this. The Chief offered us six uniformed officers but if we can’t take the kids of one school with the three of us, then we deserve to die.” Of shame but he didn’t add that part. They were only kids.

  The words got a snort. It was a bit derisive but not pointed at him. He could tell from what she said next.

  “No shit. The kids aren’t the problem. Their parents are. Even most of them won’t care. We have a good church going population around here but they aren’t loony Christians. Pretty normal that way. I mean, they don’t care if their kids are gay, that kind of thing? Not enough to have them electrocuted straight.” From the hand gestures, that was supposed to be done with a cattle prod. Probably in a very uncomfortable place.

  Troy sat. Even getting there early, he didn’t need to run to the car at that moment. Having extra time, he tried a bit of magic. Just gathering energy from the world. That was a new trick. One that he’d used to keep himself alive for about half an hour, the day before. Now he had ten links, to different donors. All cows. The modern, ethical, vampires mainly ate animals. Even at that, they were, ideally, left alive at the end of the whole thing. It was a load on them, sharing life energy with someone else but cows were large and had a lot of it. Human was better. Tastier, in a way. Smoother, really. Animals worked just as well though.

  Troy worked with the Council though, and had been at an embassy for a few years. He was still one of their main line walkers, even though that was being hidden. Except that it wasn’t. Still, he’d done his best to follow the rules on that one. It had been suggested he try to hide that part if he could. People knew about it, which meant the NSA would but that wasn’t the task he’d been set.

  No, he was playing the role of regular master vampire, for the time being. Until told differently. Even Bey, his maker, had backed that one up. With actions, as well as words. That reminded him that he needed to be in touch with people. Soon, if not that night.

  Almost as if reading his mind, a person came to the door. He was in camouflage fatigues, though all the markings had been taken off. Tan, with digital print on them. The boots were a dusty color that nearly matched. His hair was a plain black. The eyes were a boring brown. A lot like Troy had going on. Except that this guy was about ten years younger, and six points higher on the looks scale. As a rule, the Lopez boys hit a solid seven. Calling this guy a thirteen was about right, though.

  Like Dare Canton or Tor Baker. People he’d met, from a different reality. It sounded like a big deal but having been in their world more than once, he could set his awe aside. More interestingly, the guy had a mask on. It was made of energy but impossible to see through. Under that… The being there felt very different indeed. Almost like he wasn’t human.

  Troy didn’t stand, since the creature smiled at him, then waved, doing the same with Denise.

  “Hello. Delivery, for The Officer. Troy Lopez?” What was held out was a note, written on the outside of an envelope that was thick and about the size of a file folder. One that held a small book inside, as for what might be in it.

  “That’s me.” It was handed to him directly, as if the person there understood who he was, and had only asked to be polite.

  “Nice meeting you. This is from Troy Lopez. The human line walker?”

  “Ah. Got it. Thanks. Do I owe you anything for this? A tip or anything?”

  That got a chuckle.

  “Payment comes on the other end. If you need me to take anything for you, the rates are a hundred one-ounce gold coins for a legitimate package, or that amount in trade for something covert. I have been known to take payment in food.”

  That got a nod.

  “Nothing g
oing out right now. Can I… How do I get in touch with you, if I need to send something? I can’t take them right now. It’s the job here. Not allowed.” That wasn’t exactly right but the boy, if he was one at all, nodded, as if it made sense.

  “Can you get things to the Yoghurt World in Vancouver, Washington? Just attach the payment with it, or talk to Eve there, if you want to trade. I generally get by there every week or two. I’m Will Baker. I’ll need to have the directions on the package be written really clearly. I can follow the intent back to the target, so it works pretty well.” He turned and smile at Denise. “Nice to meet you. Both of you.”

  Then he walked out, as if they’d met for real already.

  “Wow. I wonder if he takes trade in bedroom traffic. Not hard on the eyes there. Not that I’m that shallow. Looks are only one tenth of what’s important in a man. The real question is, how big is his bank account? That’s what I really want to know.”

  Troy could see that, a bit. At least women had always acted like he was worth more when he seemed to have more money than when he didn’t. Then, he used to judge them almost exclusively by their looks. It seemed fair for them to have criteria as well. Honestly, it was hard for an ugly person to become good looking but a hard-working smart guy could get money, if he tried hard enough. Taken that way, the girls were being easier on the guys than the other way around.