What he suspected were a pen and notepad sat just a foot in from the far end and a number of folders and papers were spread out across the rest of the surface at random. Wait...
Attached to the side of the counter just nearly out of sight, something poked out of the obscurity of that corner. Frank moved to get a closer look. It was some sort of electronic device with a mini keyboard and keypad and a small digital screen. With nothing else to use, Frank took his arm and wiped the thick layer of fuzz off of the device. A cursor blinked on the screen, barely visible. Frank looked around the room for a light switch, found one, flipped it on and nothing happened.
Worth a shot, I guess.
He went back to the device and ran his hands over the top and bottom and sides of it for any kind of hidden switch. Bingo! A thin plastic notch hid at the top right of the base. It gave some resistance, but he managed to flip it over to its on position and the screen glared into bright blue life.
Now fully visible, the cursor blinked next to the second of two choices.
Up
Down
Frank found the arrow keys on the keyboard and tried moving the cursor to the up position. The device beeped at him in agitation of his obviously stupid move. "Yeah, yeah..." He tried the letter U and without so much as a warning the large shipping door quickly scraped and screeched its way up until it was completely open, waiting for the next time someone would tell it to go down.
With the door now open, Frank suddenly remembered just how dangerous it was out there. Sure it wasn't fun being cooped up in this place, but at least there weren't thirsty vampires flying around in large numbers in here.
At least not anymore.
He slipped over to the opening and peeked his head outside. Fire off in the distance. Some street lights and half obliterated neon signs lit the occasional spot here and there, but otherwise it was darkness. There was no ramp from where he stood. Just one straight drop down as he had expected.
Frank scanned up and down the large open parking lot behind the facility. A busted up delivery truck sat parked just a few hundred feet out. Otherwise the lot was empty. The thing probably wouldn't start even if he had the keys but it was there, so Frank knelt down and then dropped flat on to the black top below. His ankles stung when he landed but more important things were at stake here than some silly little discomfort.
He ran over to the truck as quietly as he could manage and climbed up onto the outside step on the passenger side. His heart nearly shot from his chest when he saw the remnants of a face inside staring back at him from the driver side seat. The poor bastard's fleshless throat was spread out all over his chest and his face was frozen in mid scream.
When Frank could finally breathe again, he tried the door and it opened. The smell inside was almost reason enough to close it back up immediately. The key wasn't in the ignition, but given the tatters of the man's uniform, Frank was pretty sure he didn't get in this vehicle by mistake. From the looks of things, it was more likely he didn't manage to start the truck in time to get away whenever the vampires got to him.
The guy's hands were clutched tightly onto the steering wheel so the key's weren't there and there was no way Frank was touching the guy's body to check. He reached down and went for the obvious, spreading his hands blindly along the floorboard of the truck. He ran into some old fast food cups or something of the sort and when he moved it there was a jingle from deep under the seat. Frank dropped down on his side and shoved his entire arm under to try and reach whatever had made that sound.
The cold metal of the keys was like a spiritual awakening, he was that grateful when he got hold of them. He quickly scooted back up to a sitting position and then rose to his feet. "Sorry, pal, I kinda need to take your seat." Frank reached across the dead man's body and opened the door and flung it open. Cringing and hiding his face he reached one foot up and kicked the man's right shoulder and tried pushing the body out of the truck. The body moved easily enough but those hands were still solidly gripping the wheel and so Frank did what he had hoped he would be able to avoid. Taking a shred of cloth from the seat he grabbed the hands one at a time and pulled them loose.
It was hard hard work to break the fingers free from the first hand, but they eventually cracked open. The second hand was easy and when it came loose, the entire dry husk of a body rolled down the side of the truck and onto the parking lot, crumpled pieces blowing off in the wind.
Frank watched, still cringing, for a second and then closed the driver side door as quietly as he could. He then reached over and did the same with the passenger side. It was highly likely that as soon as he started the truck, vampires would come from near and far to find out what was making that noise. But he had to go. He took a deep breath and then put the key in and turned.
Nothing.
Frank fought back the urge to slam his fists against the steering wheel or scream out obscenities. Another deep breath and something akin to an atheist's prayer and Frank turned the key once more. This time it made a cranking sound but still didn't start. Progress was good. More progress would be better. Frank decided to give it another minute and try again. Maybe it just needed a gentle hand to lead it back across the valley of death.
"Come on this time, you son of a bitch," Frank whispered. Then he turned the key and the truck choked and rattled and choked and then roared to life. It was all Frank could do to keep from whooping and hollering into the night. He waited a moment before putting it into gear, trying to listen for any company headed his way. He heard nothing, so he put the truck in gear and it jerked forward before he even touched the gas pedal.
A minute later and he was on a road along an industrial park, he had no clue where, he'd never actually visited the city before now. Not that he would have wanted to for the last couple of decades or so. He did remember what the map had looked like and he was struggling to make it fit with the roads he saw around him and up ahead and failing miserably.
"Okay, just one goddamn familiar road and I can find this." He watched the street signs pass by with various unfamiliar names. Polaris Ave, Dean Martin Dr, Windy Rd. "Come on." The very next street, Las Vegas Blvd, rung a bell and it was all he could do to slow the truck down and turn around without burning rubber to do it. He hadn't gotten any unwanted attention yet, he wasn't about to do anything consciously that would do so now.
When he was finally turned around and headed down Las Vegas Blvd, the glow of that fire he had noticed before was straight ahead and a deep nervous weight in his gut told him he was headed the right way. The thought of Jackie in trouble gripped tightly on his heart. "Fuck it!"
He slammed on the gas and let out the tension in his chest with one big loud war cry.
Chapter 53
An Unexpected Ally
"All right, George. Thanks. We're nearly there. We'll get ourselves in position and once we have a good hold on the situation, we'll figure out a plan and get those kids out of there tonight. I'll call you when I have something to update. Okay. Bye." Jonathan hung up the phone and looked at Yusef and Jonny. "The old man got an update from the Imperial wire. Apparently they've been picked up by a local sheriff awaiting transfer to her local precinct tomorrow. And I'm sure I don't have to tell you what they'll do to the girl once they have her. The boys'll probably be put in an Imperial orphanage. But with attacking a soldier like that, she'll likely be next on the list for the Nightly Broadcasts."
"So what do we do?" Jonny said.
"We go and stake out the Jasper City Police Station and see exactly what we're dealing with. And then we get those kids out of there... tonight."
Jonathan put his full attention back on the road. "We'll be there in about an hour and a half, maybe two hours, so take some time to clear your heads and maybe even get some rest between now and then. I need both of you to be as ready as you can be. Whatever it takes. This is three young kids' lives we're talking about here. I intend to get them out of there no matter what. You guys with me?"
"Yeah," Jonn
y said.
"Absolutely." Yusef nodded.
***
Between the cold, the pale fluorescent lights, and the surrealism of exactly where they were and all that had happened to bring them there, the room was spinning all around Alexandria as she sat there, Jeremy clutching one side of her and Rudy clutching the other. She had been shushing them for some time, cooing and patting their backs and whispering all kinds of bullshit about everything being okay and whatever else would come to her head that sounded reasonably hopeful in the midst of an unreasonably hopeless situation. She still couldn't get that cop's face out of her mind. He had looked at her like a coy and hungry lion, approaching its prey with full lustful knowledge of its fear, as if the fear itself was more satisfying than the meat it needed to survive.
If the sheriff hadn't come when he did, she was sure she would be dead now. And who knew what that crazy fucker would have done to Jeremy and Rudy afterward. At least this way, the boys would have a chance. However, she had less than twenty-four hours before they would get transferred back to Shelby and then it was game over. The room around her took on new clarity as her eyes focused on something, anything, to try and take her mind off of this realization. She pulled the boys closer, trying to comfort herself now. She was resigned to the knowledge that there was no way out now. Miracles never happen and no one would come to save them. Alexandria let the sob building up in her chest release and she wept as she held her brothers for what she was sure would be the last time.
***
Braldon, Yusef, and Jonny sat in the rusty green truck parked behind an old abandoned house about a block down the road from the Jasper City police station. The fenced in yard and large leafy oak tree gave more than enough cover to keep anyone curious from happening along. Braldon had a small radio device with two long bunny ear antennas sticking up and out from it sitting on the dash. After about ten minutes of hearing an assortment of conversations from the surrounding houses, Braldon finally was able to tweak it to just the right setting so that the majority of what they were hearing came from the police station with a bit of static and cross talk from other places in between.
They sat listening as the officers went through a number of conversations that gave the impression they were routine to the point of boring for each officer. The Sheriff, however, seemed to have other things going on. The man was constantly scribbling away on a notepad of some sort and his heartbeat was nearly louder than the background static. At one point he whispered a short conversation to himself.
"They're just kids for Christ sakes..."
"I can't keep this shit up. I have to do something..."
There was some rustling around in the room and then the scratch of pencil scribbling on paper returned.
Jonny looked at Braldon. "You think we oughta try getting in touch with this guy and see if we can't work together?"
"How? If I had to guess, I'd say every goddamn government communication device in this entire country is tapped somehow."
"Maybe we could get a note to him somehow... Or one of us could get in there and talk to him in private somehow..."
Braldon sat there a long moment gazing blankly at the steering wheel in front of him.
"That's dangerous as all hell, but, you know what... It just might work."
***
Danny's hand ached from all the writing he'd been doing in the past half hour or so now. He'd written out long letters to his ex wife, his brother, and one to leave at his desk about why he was doing what he was about to do. Lying across the floor beside his desk were two shotguns full of shells and a dozen boxes with extra ammo both for the shotguns and his pistol. He knew it was safe to say he might not be getting out of here alive, but he was damn well going to give it a good ol' college try. His first impulse had been to send all the boys home early, but he knew that would just spark curiosity and one or more of them would start asking questions. He sat back in his chair and sighed.
Two of his deputies were great people with families and he didn't want to have to hurt them. Then there was Gage and Caruthers. Both men had a nasty temper and a fervor for Imperial law that scared Danny. So, after a lot of thought and working out scenarios in his head, Danny took a look at the work schedule. Gage and Caruthers were both scheduled for overnight. The rest of the men, Cox, Wiles, and Sprinkle, would be headed home by midnight. If he could hold out until 12:30 or so, he might have a shot at this without hurting anyone who didn't already deserve it. The thought of that almost made him laugh. Instead, his intercom buzzed and he nearly jumped out of his chair.
Sprinkle's voice replaced the buzzing. "Sheriff, we have a gentleman who wants to talk to you. Claims he has a complaint he'd like to file, but he won't discuss it with any of us. Says he only wants to talk to you. You want us to send him on back there?"
Danny cleared his throat and hit the talk button, looking down at the guns sitting on the floor beside him. "Uh, I'm in the middle of filing an important report right now. Can you have him wait in the break room while I finish this up and then I'll come and get him?"
"Sure thing, deputy. Let him know I'll be out to come and get him shortly. Thanks."
Danny turned off the intercom and quickly got to his feet. He picked up the two shotguns and put them in the large glass case where, up until the last twenty minutes or so, they had been on display for as long as he could remember. He opened the bottom drawer of his desk and stuffed the extra ammo in there, four to five boxes at a time, until they were all snuggly sitting inside and then closed it. Then, he took a deep breath.
Exhaling, he got up and opened the door and headed out toward the break room. He passed Gage and Caruthers on his way, both men all smiles as they shared rude whispered commentary on certain parts of Alexandria's anatomy. He put his hands in his pockets to keep them from shaking and turned to Gage with a look of complete and utter intimidation. "Deputies, I suggest you keep your gutter talk for your own free time. Right now you boys are on my clock and that means you behave respectfully, do you understand?"
Gage let out a rough, bitter laugh. "Yes, sir."
Caruthers simply nodded, his eyes just as fiery as his partner in crime.
Danny turned and walked into the break room to find a young man no older than his mid-twenties, about the same age as Gage, probably. The boy got to his feet as soon as Danny came in.
"Sheriff?"
Danny reached out his hand to shake. "Yes, sir. Sheriff Jackson and you are?"
"Jonny Smith, Sheriff. Can we speak in private?"
"Yes, of course, follow me to my office."
Danny turned and led the way back to the room where just minutes before he plotted the escape of three prisoners. Children, but prisoners nonetheless.
When they were both inside, Danny closed the door and sat down at his desk.
"What can I help you with, Mr. Smith?"
Jonny looked the Sheriff right in the eyes and said, "They're just kids for Christ sakes."
Danny stiffened. "I'm sorry?"
"I can't keep this shit up. I have to do something..."
Danny could feel his heart beating in his throat. "I don't follow what this is about, Mr. Smith."
Jonny took a deep breath and lowered his voice to explain. "About a block down the road, a couple of buddies of mine have a nice friendly specially sensitive microphone pointed in this general direction. We came here to do just what I think you're fixing to do and I risked my ass to come in here and find out. Now, do you want to do something, or do you want those three kids to go back to Shelby to what we both know is waiting for them there?"
Danny stared back at the boy in shock.
***
The tall black pyramid of the Luxor Hotel and Casino stretched up into the sky between twin explosions as Simon and Rosadelma ran toward it. The scattering vampires that were still up in the air began to swoop down at the two of them at random. Simon grabbed one by the throat and sent it back up into the sky into two others and the three went rolling in the air i
nto one of the large fires left behind by the explosions. He turned to find three of them grabbing hold of Rosadelma from behind as she struggled to pull their claws and their fangs from her skin. He changed direction to try and help, but before he could get there, three more vampires latched on to her body and they all began to lift her off the ground as one.
"Rosa!"
She screamed unintelligibly in reply, still struggling with arms and legs and Simon could see, even from that distance, that her skin was drying up as the bastards drained more and more blood from her body. Jackie was a dot on the horizon sending fire in long blasts from the explosions into huge black pools of vampires floating in the sky. Unable to fly and unable to jump nearly high enough to reach her, Simon screamed out for Rosadelma again. There was no response. A moment later Rosa and the six vampires disappeared from view and Simon knew it was too late. The next second her body came dropping from the sky right for him. He turned and ran for the Luxor, trying to keep the look of her open gazeless eyes in the back of his mind.
When he arrived in front of the main door, he turned and watched for Jackie for a moment. He knew, given her new command of her powers, she would be just fine, but he worried nonetheless. Then he turned and shattered the black glass of the door without a second's hesitation. The door opened easily, once unlocked from the inside. However, the alarms going off didn't encourage Simon very much. He took off running for the main casino and nearly tripped over his own feet when he saw what had been done. The entire place had been cleared out, walls knocked down, floors taken out, everything else scraped aside to make room for one large missile pointed up through the huge opening in the far angled ceiling toward the clear night sky above. "Holy shit."
Rising From Ashes: Empire of Blood Book Three (A Dystopian Vampire Novel) Page 27