by Jamie Davis
———
Dean leaned back in the booth and let out a satisfied sigh. His plate was wiped clean as he mopped up the rest of the chipped beef gravy with a final piece of toasted wheat bread. He popped the last piece of toast into his mouth and closed his eyes as he chewed, enjoying the flavors. He opened his eyes as he swallowed, when his breakfast companion grunted in pleasure. Dean watched as Rudy dug into his second steak and eggs breakfast plate. The pack leader had put away more food than Dean had thought possible. He ate like a, well, wolf. He knew it was because the lycans burned a lot of energy, especially when they shifted and maintained their wolf forms. Their metabolisms were amped up well beyond the normal human range.
Rudy took a bite and looked up at Dean. “I had a long talk with that detective back there. Did he come out and talk to you?”
Dean nodded. “Yeah, he told me he was probably going to recommend dropping the charges against me. He sounded disappointed though, which bothered me.”
“Don’t get upset,” Rudy said, taking another bite. “It’s a side effect of the job, I think. Most cops get invested in finding a suspect for a crime, and when they find one they think is their man they have trouble letting go of their resolve that that person is the guilty one. Once he has a chance to pick up another suspect, he’ll let it go.”
“Any word on what they plan on doing with Chief Compton?” Dean asked.
“From what I heard, they already had a judge working on a warrant for his arrest, and to search his office and home,” Rudy said. “They may have already picked him up. They are also going after Mike Farver. The police collected all of the phones belonging to The Cause members in the warehouse. One of the idiots didn’t even have it locked with a passcode and it looks like there are pictures from the Barrens fire taken while they tossed the Molotov cocktails into the homes there. There are pictures of Mike on the scene with them. I’d say that these guys have a lot of explaining to do. They aren’t going to see the light of day for a long time.”
“What did the police officers say about the ones you had to kill on the way in?” Dean asked.
Rudy looked up and seemed shocked. “We didn’t kill any of them, Dean. What makes you think that?”
“Well, Mr. Gregory said that you had three of the humans ‘down’ and I assumed that meant they were dead,” Dean explained.
“No, Dean, we didn’t kill anyone. I made sure everyone knew that we had to be careful of that,” Rudy said. “They were all rendered unconscious with a knock to the head, or a quickly applied sleeper hold. They will need some medical attention, but will all survive. I suspect they will all start talking and will turn on each other once they are under police interrogation.”
“Well, that’s good news,” Dean said. “I wish we could listen in on their police interrogations. I’d like to hear what they have to say.”
“James and I have been promised a full report at the end of the day,” Rudy said. “It’s a perk of his position in the Unusual community, along with the nature of this particular investigation. We should know most of what the police know by later on tonight.”
Dean looked down and saw that Rudy had finished off his steak and eggs. “Ordering more?” he asked.
“No, that’s enough for now,” Rudy laughed. “Man, I was hungry. It’s good to get some food on board after a night like that. If you want to head out to the truck, I’ll get the check.”
Dean nodded and stood to leave, smiling as Daisy, the waitress, came by with their bill. The last twenty-four hours had been hectic. It was going to be good to get home and get some sleep, especially sleep that didn’t have him thinking about what a life in prison would be like. He left the diner to stand in the parking lot on a bright sunny day - a day that looked better than any day had for the last several weeks. Dean was looking forward to the change of pace.
Chapter 77
It took two days for all of the details to shake out following the pack’s raid on The Cause’s hideout and Gibbie’s rescue. On the second day, Dean and his lawyer, Mansel Hood, appeared in court before the judge where the district attorney officially asked that charges against the paramedic be dropped. Dean shook his lawyer’s hand and walked out of the courthouse a free man for the first time in over a month. He looked at Ashley waiting at the curb to pick him up in her little red sports car. Dean walked down the marble steps of the city courthouse and climbed into the MG next to his girlfriend. The two of them headed off to a congratulatory dinner that James and Brynne had arranged.
They arrived at the newly renovated and restored Sabatani’s restaurant a half hour later to actual applause. Dean blushed at the attention from everyone there. James had invited the whole CERT team, the Station U paramedics, including their spouses or significant others, and others Dean had become close to over the last few months. A cold glass of beer was placed in his hand, and then Brynne hushed the crowd and offered a toast.
“To Dean Flynn, station U paramedic, healer, and hero, it’s not so bad a world as some would like to make it. But whether good or whether bad, it depends on how you take it. Dean, you’ve taken the world, good and bad, taken what it has given you and left it a better place. May you continue to do so for many years to come. Cheers!” She raised her glass to Dean, and the others echoed with cheers and kudos.
Dean nodded in reply and mouthed a ‘thank you’ to his partner. He looked forward to working by her side again. She had been a good mentor and had stood by him through all of the accusations, attacks, and their aftermath. He respected her not just as a good paramedic, but as a good friend. He noticed James at her side. He realized that he didn’t harbor the feelings of unease about their relationship that he held for so long. They seemed right together. The two of them fit as well as any couple he had ever known. Dean didn’t realize when that shift in his viewpoint had happened, but he could see now that he had been wrong to distrust the vampire and his intentions with his partner. He would need to let them both know how he felt. He had not always been positive about how he felt about their relationship.
James had rented the back room at the restaurant, and the food was laid out buffet-style on tables all around the room. People gathered in small groups, standing and seated at tables and Dean was able to roam from group to group with Ashley on his arm. Friends and colleagues all greeted him, each offering their praise, and in some cases, their thanks for his actions. The whole evening was a blur of conversations that left Dean a bit overwhelmed. Eventually, the dinner wound down, and as the servers started to clean up the dishes and silverware, Dean found himself seated at a table with Ashley, Brynne and James looking at a room now empty of guests.
“James, I want to thank you for this,” Dean said. “It has been an amazing night. I never realized so many people were involved in this whole chain of events.”
“It’s the least I could do, Dean,” James said. He raised his characteristic white mug of blood. “You earned it.”
Brynne took a sip of her wine and said, “So, does this mean this is all over?”
“There have been more arrests, and Chief Compton made a full confession after he saw the evidence presented against him,” James said. “They found the knife he used to kill Zach hidden in his home. It still has blood residue on it. They are still waiting for the DNA testing to come back, but I suspect it will tie the chief to Zach’s death. It looks like The Cause’s whole operation has been rolled up. Artur left town without a word last night. I’m sure we’ll need to keep an eye out for him going forward, but for now, he’s gone.”
“I only wish they had caught Mike Farver before he disappeared,” Brynne said. Police had gone to arrest the fire academy instructor but had been unable to locate him. Dean heard that it looked as if he had left in a hurry, and all attempts to track him down had been unsuccessful so far.
“It might take time,” James said. “But they’ll catch up with him eventually. Compton exposed Mike as their leader, the man with all the plans, so he must be the one who ties everyth
ing to Artur.”
“Maybe Artur has something to do with his disappearance?” Dean surmised. “Maybe his body will turn up. Artur has to see him as a major loose end.”
“That’s a definite possibility,” James said. “Still, he’s gone and is the police’s problem now. For us, it is all in the past.” He looked around at the others. “I feel like celebrating some more, shall we wrap up the evening with some drinks and dancing?”
“That sounds like a great idea,” Ashley said. “Are you thinking of Sensations and the Loft?” She was referring to the popular and secret Unusual-only club that existed upstairs from the main human nightclub below.
James nodded and Dean was excited all over again. He had heard of the Loft at Sensations from his companions, but he had never been there. Only Unusuals and their escorted guests were allowed upstairs. It was supposed to be pretty spectacular. The four of them got up and left the restaurant together, turning right and walking down the night streets of Elk City for the few blocks it took to get to the nightclub. They joked and laughed. It all was very normal, and Dean was glad to experience it. The two couples had become close over the events of the past weeks.
When they arrived at Sensations, the bouncer nodded to James and unhooked the rope blocking the entrance to let them right in, jumping the line of partiers waiting outside to enter. James led them through the room to the back corner of the club. There was a nondescript door there guarded by another large muscular man. He nodded to the vampire lord and opened the door for the group. Beyond the door was a hallway leading to a broad staircase that Dean assumed led up to the Loft. At the top of the stairs, they were greeted by cheers again as the Unusual revelers above responded to their arrival. Dean saw many former patients in the crowd, and he nodded to them as he passed by. A waitress led them to a table in the center of the room, roped off with velvet ropes and brass poles. The group slid into the circular booth and ordered drinks.
Dean looked around in wonder. The Loft at Sensations was one of the few places where the Unusual community could be themselves, letting their true natures show through without fear of discovery by the humans who surrounded them most of the time. There were spiral staircases in each corner of the room leading up to a balcony that surrounded the room. A woman on the balcony leaned over the edge, and he thought she was going to fall to the floor. Just as she tipped over the edge, gossamer fairy wings spread out behind her, and she glided effortlessly to the other side. She climbed gracefully over the wrought iron railing to the balcony on the other side of the room.
Brynne laughed at his reaction. “I was the same way my first time here, Dean. It’s pretty amazing isn’t it?”
“Amazing doesn’t cover it,” Dean replied. “This is awesome.” He sat back and continued to look around the room, taking it all in. He tried to avoid staring, but he saw so much that caught him by surprise. He saw a vampire couple in a nearby booth, each feeding on a human of the opposite sex. He was concerned, but then they stopped drinking and the two humans, dressed in shorts and gray tank tops, just got up and walked back to a door set in one wall. He knew that they were paid very well for their donation of blood, and would be checked out medically before being sent on their way for forty-five days until they could donate again if they chose to do so.
He was still scanning the room when there was a commotion by the door. Then multiple pops went off, barely heard over the thumping dance music. Curious, he looked in that direction. His gut tightened. Lately he had heard plenty of gunfire and recognized it. His suspicions were confirmed when screams erupted, and more shots sounded. Dean saw bodies lying on the nightclub floor. People started running away, and the crowd between them opened up to reveal a figure walking towards the center of the room, holding a semi-automatic handgun stretched out in front of him. It was Mike Farver.
Dean started to stand up, but James was faster, his vampire reflexes and strength propelling him at the attacker. He’d almost reached Mike, and Dean was sure he would take the man down when Mike’s other hand raised and displayed a large silver cross in James’ direction. It was as if the vampire had slammed into an invisible wall. He bounced backward and slammed to the floor hard and stayed there. Dean stood up and moved out of the booth to stand in front of the two women.
“Mike, what are you doing?” Dean said. “Are you crazy?”
“No, I’m not crazy, Dean,” Mike said still walking towards them. “I’m disappointed in you, though. You betrayed your race, and your training to heal people. I mean real people, not these monsters. And now all the hard work I put in is done. Everything I did to keep us humans safe from these parasites is for nothing.”
Dean saw James starting to rise from the floor, but Mike did, too. He thrust the cross in his direction and it knocked the vampire back to the floor. Brynne started to move to her boyfriend’s defense, but Mike pointed the gun in her direction, and she stopped.
“I’m most disappointed in you, Brynne,” Mike said. “This all could have been avoided if you had just listened to me in the beginning. I tried to warn you what getting attached to this creature would do to you, but you ignored me. Not only that, but you got me fired from the job I loved, and they shuffled me off to the Academy. I was a laughing stock to everyone. Everyone knew you chose that monster over me.”
“Mike, there was never any you and me,” Brynne said. “We were partners. You were my trainer, my mentor, but never were we going to be anything more. You had to know that.”
“I soon realized that you were being brainwashed to turn your back on your humanity. There was no other explanation,” Mike countered. “I knew there was only one way to make it right. I had to get rid of James in a way that would make him leave - leave here and also leave you. The Cause was well on its way to achieving that goal. Then Dean here screwed it all up.” He swiveled the gun to point back at Dean.
Dean put his hands in front of him. He didn’t know why. It wasn’t like they’d be able to stop the bullets. Maybe Ashley could do something. He half turned to her behind him. Mike laughed at his reaction.
Mike sneered. “Do you think your little angel-girl can do something to save you from what is to come? She knows what I’m prepared to do. If she moves a muscle, I cut you all down.”
Ashley’s voice sounded from behind Dean. “I may not act in this case, Michael. This is a situation where human action and free will must carry out to their own ends. Know this, though. Your fate is not yet sealed. There is still time to change your path.”
Great, now Ashley decides to step back and let the humans play without interference, Dean thought to himself. He knew she operated under her own set of rules, and this situation was apparently one of those times she was unable to act or interfere. It was one thing to know the intellectual reasons for things to happen, but was something else to live in that situation and feel helpless to change the events happening to you.
Mike laughed after Ashley finished her announcement. “I don’t need your warnings, Eldara. I know my fate, and it is already sealed. My goal here is to finish something I could not accomplish when I started all of this in motion years ago. Brynne, I couldn’t save you from yourself no matter how many ways I tried. Now I only have one option left, and that is to save your soul.” Mike turned the gun back on Brynne and fired two shots, striking her in the chest with enough force to knock her all the way back into the cushioned booth behind her.
Chapter 78
It all happened so quickly. Dean never had a chance to stop it or do something heroic like jump in front of the bullets. He just stood there and watched it happen. He wasn’t alone though. As Mike took his attention off the cross in his other hand, James leapt from where he had been lying on the floor. He struck Mike’s back, knocking the man to the ground. With two hands, he snapped Mike's neck with a twist of his head.
The struggling body stopped moving instantly, and Dean knew that Mike was dead. The danger from Mike was gone, but that wasn’t Dean’s primary concern. He immediately turned
his attention to Brynne. There was dark blood staining the front of her green cocktail dress where the bullets had entered her chest. She was struggling to get up as she coughed up a mouthful of blood. Dean ran over and clamped two hands over the wounds in her chest, applying pressure. There wasn’t anything else he could do. He didn’t have any of his gear with him, and with chest wounds, there wasn’t much he could have done even if he had her in the back of his ambulance.
“Someone call 911,” he shouted. “Get help here now.”
James was kneeling at his side, holding Brynne’s hand. “Dean, do something. What do you need? Anything, I’ll get it.”
“There’s nothing I can do, James,” Dean said choking away tears. He turned his attention back to his partner, now his patient. “Brynne, you need to stay awake and hold on. Help is coming.”
“God this hurts,” she whispered, then she coughed again, and more blood came out of her mouth. “It’s alright, Dean. I know what this means and what you’re trying to do. It’s not your fault.” She blinked once and then closed her eyes and didn’t open them again. Her breathing became more ragged.
“Wake up, Brynne,” Dean said, shaking her a little. She didn’t move. She was breathing shallowly, and that was the only sign of life. Dean turned and looked at Ashley. She just shook her head.
“Dean, I can do nothing in this place and time,” Ashley said. “I’m so sorry. The time of your choice is upon you, and I may not interfere in any way. This is it. The choice is yours.” Tears fell down her cheeks as she held his gaze for a moment, a grim smile on her face.
Dean looked back to Brynne. What choice? He had no choice. There was nothing he could do to save her. The ambulance was not going to get here in time. She needed an operating room in a trauma hospital, and even then they would be hard-pressed to save her life given the location of the wounds. The bullets had almost certainly pierced her heart and lungs, and likely one of the great blood vessels leaving the heart. That would account for the amount of blood she had coughed up.