by AnonYMous
‘Stop bitching about what you deserve,’ said the Kid. ‘Tell me where the girl is.’
Bull glanced over at the staircase in the middle of the hall. ‘She’s upstairs in one of the rooms. You should hear a gunshot any minute now. As soon as my buddy in the control room sees you kill me on his monitors, he’ll waste her. And he won’t think twice about it. He’s already punched her in the face once today.’
The Kid raised half a smile. ‘You think by telling me this, I’m not gonna kill you in case your buddy sees it on a monitor,’ he said.
‘Yeah. You’d be a fool to kill me. He sees you kill me and she dies. Are you willing to take that risk?’
The Kid tightened his grip on Bull’s neck again. ‘Since I just shot down all your cameras, you bet I am.’
Bull suddenly realised what the earlier sounds of breaking glass had signified. All three of the CCTV cameras in the hall had been disabled. ‘What if you missed one?’ he suggested, a hint of desperation creeping into his voice.
‘I never miss.’
With that remark the Kid thrust the end of his crossbow further into Bull’s left nostril. He flicked the trigger. The silver dart flew out and vanished up into Bull’s nose, through the back of his eye and into his brain. The sharp tip of it pierced through the top of his skull as it came to a stop, blood spurting out of the top of his head like a volcano erupting.
Before allowing Bull’s dead body to fall he reached over to the light switch and flicked it off again, plunging the room back into darkness. Confident that the murder had gone unseen he released his grip on Bull’s throat and allowed his dead body to slide to the floor.
Out of sight on a balcony high above, Jessica the Vampire Queen had watched on with interest. So far, everything had gone exactly the way she had expected. She had the Kid right where she wanted him. Now she would finally have her revenge for all the pain he had inflicted upon vampires she cared about. It was time to put the final part of her plan into action: executing Beth while he watched.
Forty-Seven
Dan Harker had been parked across the street from the museum for thirty minutes waiting for William Clay to call him back. He’d left three messages on Clay’s cell phone and he’d also tried calling the police station numerous times. But Flake was no longer answering the switchboard. Maybe his trip to the local news station had backfired? Perhaps the vampires had gotten to the police station? Who knew? Certainly not Harker.
Thirty minutes of mulling over his options was long enough. There was nothing else for it. He was going to have to go into the museum with no back up and arrest Elijah Simmonds on suspicion of the murder of Bertram Cromwell. Arresting a murder suspect on his own wasn’t part of protocol, and for good reason. It was dangerous. Especially when the suspect in question was accused of such a brutal slaying.
There wasn’t a soul in sight as he stepped out of his car and trudged through the snow and up to the front doors of the museum. He rang the doorbell in the wall three times and waited for an answer. Just as he was about to give up and try to find another way in the doors were opened by James the security guard he had met on his earlier visit.
‘Hi,’ said Harker. ‘Mind if I come in for a minute? Wanna see Mr Simmonds about something.'
‘Sure. Come on in.’
James stepped aside to let him through and then secured the doors shut behind him. ‘Is it as cold out there as it looks?’ he asked.
‘It’s as cold as I can ever remember this city being.’
‘Want me to take your coat?’
‘Nah, that’s okay. Just tell me where I can find Mr Simmonds, please.’
‘He’s down in his office. Want me to walk you there?’
Harker shook his head. ‘That won’t be necessary.’
‘Okay. I’ll buzz down and let him know you’re on your way.’
Harker took a step towards the corridor that led down to Simmonds’s office. He hesitated a moment then turned back to the security guard. ‘Actually, would you mind not calling him? I’ve got some good news for him and I’d like it to be a surprise.’
‘Are you sure it’s good news?’
‘It’s good news.’
‘Good luck to you then, Captain.’
Harker continued on his way down the corridor to Simmonds’s office. As soon as he was out of sight of the security guard he hurried up his pace. If the guard decided to ignore his request and call ahead to Simmonds, he would lose his element of surprise. As he approached the large black door at the end of the corridor and saw the bright silver lettering that read SIMMONDS he pulled his pistol from its holster by his ribcage.
He stopped outside the door and considered knocking on it, but just as his knuckles were about to rap against it, he thought better of it. He needed every ounce of surprise on his side. He reached out for the doorknob and twisted it quickly. He pushed the door and flung it as far open as he could, keeping his pistol at the ready. Directly in front of him Elijah Simmonds was sitting behind his desk in his large black leather chair, counting money. Lots of money. On the desk in front of him was a huge mountain of cash. Bundles of fifty dollar bills were stacked a foot high. He looked shocked at the sight of Harker appearing at the door.
‘Captain Harker,’ he spluttered. ‘What can I do for you?’
Harker pointed his gun at Simmonds and stepped inside the office. ‘I’m gonna have to ask you to stand up and put your hands on your head,’ he said.
Simmonds raised his hands defensively, a nervous look across his face. ‘Don’t shoot,’ he said. ‘This isn’t what it looks like.’
‘Stand up,’ Harker repeated taking another step towards the desk.
‘Okay, okay,’ said Simmonds. He began to slowly rise from his seat, taking great care not to make any sudden movements. Harker stared down at the bundles of cash on the desk. It was more money than he’d ever seen. ‘What’s with all the cash?’ he asked.
Simmonds didn’t respond. Instead the next sound Harker heard was that of the door slamming shut behind him. He spun around to see who or what had shut it. Stepping out from behind the door was a giant of a man in a silver suit. He had a shaved head and wore a pair of sunglasses.
‘So you’re Captain Dan Harker,’ the man said. ‘You’re the smartass detective who’s been on the news warning the public about the possibility of vampires taking over the city.’
‘That’s right. Who are you?’
‘I’m Rameses Gaius, the leader of the undead army whose plans you tried to wreck.’
Harker could feel his fingers twitching on the gun. ‘Well, Mr Gaius, I’m gonna have to ask you to get on your knees. You’re under arrest.’
‘I don’t think so.’
Gaius raised his right hand. His palm began to glow a bright blue colour. A source of electrical energy seemed to be generating in the centre of his hand, and from behind his sunglasses a similar blue glow appeared around his right eye. Harker decided to take his chance and squeezed the trigger of his gun.
BANG!
The gunshot was deafening in the confined space of Simmonds’s office. The bullet ripped through the chest of Rameses Gaius. But the man didn’t fall. He stood there and smiled, his hand still glowing.
BANG!
Harker fired another shot into his chest. Again it seemed to have no effect on Gaius, other than to broaden his smile.
‘My turn,’ Gaius snarled.
Harker’s eyes bulged with fear as he saw the blue light in Gaius’s hand generate into a sphere the size of a bowling ball. With one flick of his wrist Gaius then unleashed a blue laser bolt from his hand. It struck Harker in the chest, lifting him off his feet and sending him crashing back into the wall behind him, The wall was made up of shelves of books and the impact of him crashing into them caused a bundle of them to topple from the higher shelves down on to his head.
Feeling dazed and severely stunned by the blow, Harker fought to regain his breath. His lungs felt like they had collapsed and his eyesight had tempora
rily failed him. He tried blinking furiously in the hope of clearing his vision and seeing what might be coming his way next. His gun had slipped from his grip and he scrambled around on the floor with his right hand hoping to relocate it.
As his eyesight slowly returned, the face of Elijah Simmonds appeared above him. The museum’s new manager had a smirk on his face. He had picked up Harker’s gun and was now waving it in his face, taunting him with it. Where Simmonds had looked terrified only moments earlier, now he looked smug and dangerous. ‘Looking for this?’ he asked, grinning.
Harker opened his mouth to answer, his lungs sucking in a huge gulp of air as he did so. Simmonds seized his opportunity and was upon him in an instant. He grabbed Harker around the throat and thrust the barrel of the gun into his mouth.
‘Not so tough now, are you, Captain?’ he jeered.
Harker stared back up at him with pleading eyes, hoping and praying that Simmonds wouldn’t have the guts to pull the trigger. In spite of the gun in his mouth he managed to splutter out a barely audible “please don’t”. The plea fell on deaf ears. Simmonds squeezed the trigger on the gun and blew his brains out.
Forty-Eight
Since Dante and Vanity had departed for the museum, Kacy had found it tough going sitting with the girl scouts. Her biggest problem was that her vampire instincts were hard to control. Each of the girls was beginning to look like an ideal snack, and Kacy was feeling hungrier with every passing moment.
One of the girls, a tiny little thing with long dark pigtails protruding from underneath her blue pom pom hat, had gone to find a toilet. Kacy remained with the others and tried to keep them entertained with a game of charades. Lucy, the head Sunflower Girl with the blond pigtails, was acting out the name of a film. Kacy sat in amongst the rest of the girls on the front pews, encouraging them to guess the answer. For the past five minutes they had been stuck on a film title and only had the words Butch something and the Sundance Kid. The girls couldn’t get the missing word from the actions Lucy was performing. Kacy wanted to just shout out “It’s Cassidy for fuck’s sake!” but the girls’ determination to work out the answer for themselves was keeping them occupied and therefore taking their minds off all the horrible things they had seen earlier.
Then came another problem. Veronica, the girl who had gone to the bathroom, returned with a concerned look on her face. She was hopping around from foot to foot too, suggesting she hadn’t actually managed to use the bathroom yet.
‘What’s up, honey?’ Kacy asked her.
‘There’s a man in the toilet,’ Veronica replied. ‘He’s locked himself in and won’t come out.’
‘What?’ Kacy stood up and walked over to her. She placed her hands on the girl’s shoulders and looked her in the eye. ‘Did he say who he was?’
Veronica shook her head. ‘No.’
‘Okay, wait here. I’ll be back in a minute.’
Kacy headed off in the direction Veronica had come from. It was the area Vanity had dashed off to earlier when he was supposedly securing any doors and windows to prevent anyone from getting into the church. The door marked “Toilet” was on the right. She walked over to it, glancing back at the girls to give them a reassuring smile. They were all now ducked down between the pews peering over them.
Kacy knocked on the toilet door. ‘Is there someone in there?’ she asked.
A man’s voice replied. ‘Who’s that?’
‘My name is Kacy. Who are you?’
‘I’m the priest, Father Papshmir.’
‘Why are you locked in the toilet then?’
‘I locked myself in here when the vampires came in. Have they gone?’
‘Yes, they’re all dead.’
‘Are you sure?’
‘Positive. It’s just me and a group of Sunflower Girls here now.’
‘Has Vanity gone?’
Kacy frowned. ‘How do you know Vanity?’
‘Has he gone?’
‘Yeah, he’s gone.’
She heard the sound of the toilet door unlocking. The door opened inwards and the face of an elderly priest peered around it. ‘Thank God for that,’ he said.
‘Hi,’ said Kacy stepping back to allow him to come out. ‘I could sure use your help out here. I’ve got some terrified little girls. They could use some guidance from God right now.’
The priest stared hard at her. ‘Are you a vampire?’ he asked.
Kacy felt herself blush. He’d obviously rumbled her and with him being a priest and all, he might have a crucifix on him, so she figured it was best not to lie in case he decided to use it. ‘Yes, but I won’t hurt anyone. My boyfriend Dante has gone with Vanity to find a cure to make us back into humans again.’
Papshmir stepped out and closed the toilet door behind him. He was dressed in his official black church robe as if ready to give a sermon. He looked Kacy up and down. ‘Well, you look harmless enough,’ he said. ‘But I can’t believe for one minute that Vanity would want to quit being a vampire.’
‘How do you know him?’ Kacy asked again, curious as to how a man of the cloth could be so clued in to the local vampire scene.
‘How do I know Vanity?’ Papshmir almost laughed. ‘Fuck me, that cunt,’ he looked up to the heavens and added a quick “Forgive me, Lord,” under his breath before continuing. ‘He’s been married in this church by me on no less than six occasions. He’s a serial bride killer. As well as a total cunt. Forgive me, Lord.’
Kacy was shocked at the revelation Vanity had been married so many times (and also at the fact the priest had used the word cunt). ‘I saw his wedding video this afternoon,’ she said. ‘With his wife Emma. He really loved her.’
Papshmir scoffed. ‘Did you see the film of the wedding reception?’
‘No, just a minute or so of the ceremony. I didn’t notice if you were the priest marrying them though.’
‘Well I was,’ said Papshmir. ‘And if I remember correctly, Emma was wife number five.’
‘He really loved her though didn’t he? I could tell by the way he was looking at her in the video.’
‘Oh yeah. He loved her all right. He loved her so much that him and his vampire buddies killed her and her entire family and friends at the reception.’
‘What?’
‘That’s the reason he gets married all the time. He comes in here at least once a year and threatens to kill me and my entire flock if I don’t perform a marriage ceremony for him and whoever he’s decided to slaughter at his next big wedding function.’
Kacy swallowed hard. Vanity had lied to her. If his wife Emma was dead, killed by him, then he would have no desire to become human again and return to her. If he’d lied about that then there was a very good chance he’d also lied about Gaius taking his eye to the museum for cleaning. Dante was most likely heading into a trap.
She grabbed Papshmir by the arm. ‘Can you look after the girls out there for me? I’ve got to go after my boyfriend. He could be in trouble.’
‘Sure thing,’ said Papshmir. ‘I’ve been listening to them playing charades for the last half hour. I’ll just carry that on. You go do what you have to do.’
‘Thanks.’
Papshmir walked off to the main hall where the children were peering out over the tops of the pews. Kacy grabbed her phone and began frantically sending a text to Dante, warning him that he could be in danger and urging him to get away from Vanity and call her as soon as possible. She considered calling him, but decided a text would be more discreet. As she was doing it she heard Papshmir addressing the Sunflower Girls.
‘Right then girls,’ he bellowed. ‘It’s Butch fucking Cassidy for fuck’s sake!’
There was a chorus of “Ohhhh” from the girls. Then Papshmir spoke again, much quieter this time. ‘What’s that smell?’ he asked.
One of the girls spoke up in response. ‘Veronica just shit her pants.’
‘Where?’
‘In your confessional box.’
‘Holy shit. Not again!’
>
Kacy hit send on her text and thought hard about what to do. Drastic action was required. A text to the Bourbon Kid might be a good idea too, she decided. But with Dante possibly in grave danger and the confessional box in the church filled with shit, she decided her best option would be to get out of the church and head to the museum as quickly as possible.
Forty-Nine
Normally the museum would be closed by five o’clock. And in light of all of the murdering going on in the city it made more sense than ever for the place to be shut. But as Dante and Vanity walked up the steps at the front of the building Dante was surprised to find the front doors were wide open.
‘That’s kind of odd, don’t you think?’ he remarked.
‘I’d say it’s a stroke of luck, personally,’ said Vanity coolly.
‘You’d think that security would have the place locked up though, right? I mean when I worked here the place closed on time every day. They were hot on that kind of thing.’
‘It’s under new management though isn’t it?’
‘I guess so. Rotten news about Professor Cromwell getting killed. I really liked him. I never quite got around to apologising to him for calling him a cunt last time I saw him either.’
‘You called the Professor a cunt?’
‘Yeah. In my defence, though, he had just stabbed me.’
Vanity looked somewhat perplexed. ‘I’d have done more than just call him a cunt.’
Dante reached the front doors and peered around them. The reception hall was empty. ‘I don’t like the look of this,’ he said. ‘Something’s not right.’
Vanity strolled confidently past him into the reception area. ‘Don’t be such a wuss. This is a good omen,’ he said. ‘All we’ve gotta do is find Gaius and we’re home. This couldn’t have worked out better.’