The 3-Book King’s Blood Vampire Saga

by P. J. Day

  “So, how long have you guys been waiting here?” I asked, casually trying to break the ice.

  “Five...ten minutes,” Rebecca said, looking at Alan for a nod of agreement.

  “Oh, good, doesn’t sound like a long time, I’m glad. Where are you guys staying?” I asked, as I simultaneously waved at the waiter.

  “At the Intercontinental...you guys?” asked Alan.

  “The Peninsula, which I must say is pretty nice.”

  “Yeah, but it looks like they wasted their Wi-Fi budget on the handmade embroidery lining the small tables that are on the floor halls,” glibly remarked Ted.

  “What Ted is trying to say is that our internet has been down since we arrived, but they were nice enough to give us vouchers to an internet cafe a block away,” I said to Alan and Rebecca, hoping to deter the possibility of looking like ungrateful employees.

  “You can’t use the internet on your phones?” asked Rebecca.

  “Ted and I really haven’t had time to figure out how we can get a data plan out here. In due time.”

  Ted began to open the back of his phone and started playing with the SIM card on his phone. The waiter arrived at our table and was about to ask us what we wanted to drink. Ted looked straight at Alan and Rebecca.

  “By saying what I am about to say...I hope you don’t think I don’t want to get to know both of you more, but what the hell are we doing here?” Ted abruptly asked, just as the waiter was about to put pen on paper.

  Everyone at the dinner table let out an uncomfortable chuckle.

  I quickly looked at the waiter hoping to deflect Ted’s abrasiveness. “I will have a glass of your best Merlot.”

  Ted gave me a slight smirk. He knew that when I would order alcohol, it was purely for show. Alcohol does absolutely nothing for me. It passes through my body and comes out in the same form it was ingested. However, I drink wine and only wine in social gatherings because it’s the only alcoholic drink that does not make me want to puke out my innards. Everything else will just burn right through me, it’s a horrible feeling and without the positive mortal-like effects of a gentle buzz.

  “I’ll have the same,” said Rebecca.

  “Your best draft on tap,” requested Alan.

  Ted continued to fidget with his phone.

  “Get me a Red Bull Vodka and then I want you to bring everyone at this table the strongest drink in the house so I can get the truth out of everyone!” playfully remarked Ted.

  The waiter smiled.

  “Anything else?”

  “No, we’re good, thank you,” I said.

  The waiter flipped his notebook and proceeded to the table next to us.

  Ted’s energy began to rub off on me.

  “Okay, I don’t mean to be rude and I don’t mean to cut out the pleasantries, but what exactly are we doing here?” I asked Alan and Rebecca.

  As soon as I backed up Ted’s sentiment, he put his phone down and crossed his arms across his chest. Alan took a deep breath and put both hands on the table. All of his fingers spread out as he slightly leaned over the table.

  “We believe Guangzhou Jiyin Engineering has reverse engineered some of our code, and the government is using them to spread our technology throughout China. Breaking our agreement and possibly endangering our profitability in this region for years to come,” stoically explained Alan, taking a quick sip of his ice cold water.

  Ted immediately sat straight up into his chair. “Say what again?”

  “How come we were not made aware of this situation?” I asked.

  “Guangzhou has been complaining about the software we licensed them for almost three years now. Rebecca and I have been to Hong Kong ten times over the past two years helping them tweak their licenses to assist them with some new strains they have worked on since 1998 and Rebecca has assisted on the application side of the project as well. We are not 100 percent sure if this is really going on. This is why Rald hasn’t let you in on our suspicions. We didn’t want any of you committing preemptive communication with them while trying to be heroes, digging around for more information before we know what’s really going on.”

  “Rald doesn’t trust Ted and I? Does he really think we would give information away that could jeopardize this investigation? Really? I mean we handle some of the most advanced and sensitive Asian accounts for the company and he thinks we can’t handle this information?”

  The look of disgust was evident on Ted’s face. I was pretty angry that we were the last to know about this situation. There was plenty of time to let us in on what was going on, since it seemed that Schnell had been suspicious for months.

  “Jack, we anticipated this reaction,” Rebecca said.

  “This is one of those accounts that never used both of you guys as their point of contact. They consistently bypassed you both to get help from us. Guangzhou Jiyin Engineering is pretty much run top to bottom with engineers. They all speak a different language than your typical account executive or marketing manager,” Rebecca explained, in her very best preschool teacher tone, comforting, without a hint of condescension.

  “Basically, we’re worthless? Why don’t you guys handle all of the accounts from now on? Why even have account executives at Schnell?” asked Ted.

  The waiter arrived with our drinks; probably expecting the same jovial table that was the one for which he originally took the drink orders, except now, it was one that was full of clear tension. His loose demeanor quickly gave way to a tense formality.

  “One Redbull Vodka for the gentleman in the khaki suit, two merlots for our wine enthusiasts, and here is a glass of our finest draft on tap,” said the waiter, as he gently placed all the drinks on the table.

  Ted immediately pounded his Red Bull vodka in slovenly disgust. The waiter stood over a table for a couple of seconds. He absorbed the awkward silence that permeated the four of us. “Are you ready to order your dinner?”

  “Four filet mignons, mine cooked rare, the rest medium rare, with a side of vegetables, please.” I hastily ordered dinner for everyone. This meal was going on my expense account. I wanted the conversation regarding this ordeal to continue without further interruptions.

  “Are you sure, sir? Wouldn’t you want your guests to order dinner for themselves?” timidly asked the waiter.

  “No.”

  The waiter put his order in his shirt pocket, smiled and left to tend the other customers.

  “I wanted to try the crab,” said Ted.

  The table was completely silent. Alan and Rebecca could see the frustration and anger in my eyes.

  “We are all here, Jack. You and Ted are part of the team and are fully briefed. There are no further secrets. We promise. From now on there will be nothing but full disclosure,” said Alan, with a slight look of panic and concern.

  A part of me understood what Rald, Alan, and Rebecca were doing. They wanted to keep their suspicions limited to only a handful of people until the time was right to take the next step on finding out whether or not there was a breach of contract and if our technology was being proliferated throughout China by the government itself. However, I was livid that our position within our own company was not one of complete trust. Maybe it was Ted’s flakiness that prevented full disclosure, or something the company sees in me that would prevent them from having full confidence in my abilities.

  “I understand, but you need to let Rald know that both of us are not very happy about this whole situation; Ted and I have been nothing but the ultimate professionals when it comes to handling this region and its clients.”

  “We understand; if I were in your position I probably would not have handled it any different and probably would have reacted the same as you,” said Alan.

  I looked at Ted. He already finished his drink and was eying the waiter to order another round.

  “Since you guys seem to have everything under control, why have us here at all?” I asked.

  “The last thing we want to do is arouse any suspicion. W
hen the client and Schnell arranged for us to come to Hong Kong, they stated they were not happy with us and threatened to end our business relationship. Like I said before, Guangzhou always bypassed calling you guys and always wanted to get a hold of HQ. Rald got a hold of the company’s president and assured him that we would do everything to assist them. Including sending Rebecca and I along with both of you as a last-ditch effort to patch things up and make sure everything runs smoother,” said Alan, as he pleaded for some type of reconciliation.

  “Rald wants you to charm Guangzhou into greater access to their operations and wants Ted to use his linguistic prowess to make everyone feel at ease and extract as much information as possible,” said Rebecca.

  “This sounds like an episode of Mission Impossible. I don’t think I am in the best physical shape to be some sort of super spy. Why don’t we just cut our losses and call it a day—you know, end the contract?” said Ted.

  “It’s not that easy. If we can prove that this is really happening, we can recoup our losses and possibly get the German or U.S. governments to verify what the Chinese government is doing, possibly holding them in violation of international trade agreements,” stated Alan.

  “And how do you guys intend on getting solid, concrete evidence that would prove beyond a shadow of a doubt that this is what is really going on?” I asked.

  “Like I said, Rebecca and I have worked at their sites before. Having access to their servers, databases, and network won’t be a problem,” said Alan.

  “We have two ways of gathering evidence. Alan has created a software update that has covertly replaced some of the code in their licensed software with junk code that only we are aware of,” said Rebecca.

  Before Rebecca was about to say something else, Alan cut her off. “However, it is binding. If you remove the junk code, the string will cease to operate. It’s all written in Python. Basically it’s a newer software language that I am sure Guangzhou has no idea how to reverse engineer yet, but we are hoping they will take baby steps in doing so and proliferate the software throughout the region and we’ll see and identify the code marker in other engineering firms throughout China,” explained Alan with much enthusiasm.

  “That is going to take forever to identity,” I said.

  “We know, which is why we also want to set up a fake database that holds our software for various bio-engineering projects, that we think, based on our suspicions, will be hacked,” said Alan.

  Alan and Rebecca both had their eyes completely wide open as if they both drank three cups of coffee before our dinner. They were both extremely enthusiastic about their plan. Ted and I just sat expressionless. We both were exhausted and it showed. The company wanted us to lie and conspire against one of our accounts in order to confirm their suspicions. I was very uneasy about the whole plan. How do they know? Where are these suspicions coming from? What if we fuck up and get caught? Are our jobs on the line? I know Ted can find work, but me? How many graveyard shift jobs are available that pay enough money that can sustain my lifestyle? I have an $800-a- month car payment!

  “What is the plan tomorrow then? I still don’t know...where we are meeting them? Their place supposedly is an hour and a half from here,” I said.

  “Yes, it’s an evening meeting per your request and recommendation; they have been informed of your condition and are not at all thrown off by the change of schedule. They have an office here in Hong Kong and that is where we are meeting tomorrow night,” Rebecca said.

  Ted rolled his eyes and shrugged. “This whole thing seems so unnecessary but I’ll play ball. A man’s gotta get paid...Waiter!”

  Ted flagged the waiter down.

  “Another round of drinks please!”

  “Do you want me bring you all what you had before?”

  “Yes, and also please make sure to bring a shot of your strongest and most popular drink!” asked Ted.

  “He better not bring any absinthe,” said Rebecca.

  “Is it even legal in Hong Kong?” I asked.

  “Have you had a bad experience with the green fairy, Rebecca?” asked Ted.

  “No, it’s just that...well...kinda.”

  “Please do tell...” Ted folded his hands and put them underneath his chin for support. It was evident the night was starting to get a little more relaxed as his impish grin slowly returned from his carefree mind that just minutes ago was toiling in the pits of corporate hell.

  “My sophomore year in college, I had a Swedish roommate. It was a Friday night and we decided to stay in rather than party like we typically did on Friday nights.”

  “Oh, I like where this is heading,” said Ted.

  “I assure you it’s not like that...is your friend always like this?” Rebecca asked me, with a slight blush of embarrassment.

  “Just when he is feeling stressed out, and is asked to do something as absurd as spying on...I don’t know...China!” I added.

  “Well, I’m sorry he feels this way. It’s is pretty clear that he is not the only stressed-out individual sitting at this table.”

  Rebecca took a sip of her wine glass as the waiter arrived at our table with the pretty hostess, as she helped him serve the food and drinks.

  The filet mignon steaks glistened as if God had seared them himself. Everyone at the table eyed them like a pack of hungry hyenas surrounding a meaty, zebra corpse.

  “Anyway, so we decided to make it a movie night. My boyfriend left a copy of Pee Wee’s Big Adventure in our room that we were supposed to watch the night before.”

  “That is a such a great movie! I was obsessed with Pee Wee’s bike. I had this red bike that I always tried to trick-out. I added a couple of old motorcycle mufflers to it that I stole from my neighbor’s backyard. My neighbor ended up kicking my ass that summer,” said Ted, as he dove headfirst into his first cut of meat, juices streaming down the crease between his lips and chin.

  “Elsa also thought it would be a wonderful idea to have some drinks while we watch the movie. I wasn’t much of a drinker at the time but I wasn’t exactly a prude either so I said, sure, why not?”

  “This filet mignon is delicious...good call, Jack,” said Alan.

  “Thanks,” I said.

  The quality consumption had completely overtaken our business conversations; everyone seemed a bit more at ease with one another. The restaurant was also at full capacity, laughter, cackles, and spirits filled every corner of the Lotus Grotto, Lotus Den, or whatever it’s called.

  “What’s this place called again, Ted?” I asked.

  “The Lotus Pit,” replied Ted.

  Rebecca continued, as she speared one of the grilled squash on her plate with the fork.

  “So, she pulled out this green drink. I had never seen anything like it before in my life. I think up to that point in my life, the strangest drink I ever had was a Margarita.”

  While Rebecca continued on with her story for our amusement, Alan began to give me a funny look. He stared at me like how a biologist stares at a dissected animal, with morbid curiosity. “I don’t mean to be rude but your eyes look rather strange,” asked Alan, as he gave me a long stare while a piece of steak dangled from his fork.

  “What do you mean?” I asked, as I began to feel how I usually felt whenever I went weeks without a drop of blood.

  “Umm, yeah...that’s crazy,” said Rebecca, staring directly into my eyes.

  My eyes began to hurt, and without a doubt I knew right then and there that I had a sudden burst of magnesium coursing through my veins. I fed on Cassie a day ago. Why now? Why so fast?

  “It’s nothing really...it kind of happens in dark lighting. I’ll be okay. Pardon me guys I need to use the restroom.”

  I hurriedly got up from my chair and asked the waiter where the restroom was. I looked at my arms to see if there was any visible flaking. Luckily, my fingertips were not wrinkled and sunken. I even pulled on a finger nail to see if there was any slight movement.

  I made my way into the restroom. Th
e lighting in there wasn’t doing me any favors. I could see some of the veins on my temples beginning to throb little more than usual. I saw Ted rush into the restroom on the corner of my eye as I hunched over the sink.

  “Hey, man, you okay? When was your last feeding?”

  “Cassie...the night before I got on the plane...this shouldn’t be happening,” I told Ted, while carefully examining my arms again.

  I noticed a couple of hairs fall off my forearm. I couldn’t gauge whether it was the normal dryness in the air in Hong Kong that night or if I was beginning to fall apart prematurely after a somewhat decent feeding the night before.

  “How much did you get from her the other night?”

  “I...I...the usual. Ted, we need to go. I need to get some fresh blood from somewhere, or else our meeting tomorrow will be about the way I look and will mess up our plans,” I told Ted, as I moistened my arms and face with water from the sink, hoping to temporarily mask the crackling skin.

  “Dude, we are in Hong Kong which is technically China!” over-enunciated Ted, as he pulled back his hair with one hand stretching away the creases on his forehead.

  “If they catch us doing weird and strange shit here, we will never see the light of day. It’s going to be like one of those National Geographic shows where you are locked away in some bamboo cage for eternity for smuggling heroin up your ass!”

  I quickly took a picture of myself on my smartphone. My eyes were still very dilated. The white portions of my eyes were almost gone. It was very unpleasant, looking at myself on the phone’s screen. I looked like a demon.

  Ted looked at me and gave me a slightly nauseated look.

  “Jack, don’t look at me. You look warped.”

  “Sorry, I know, we need to get back to our room. Can you get my sunglasses? They are on the table.”

  “Sure, just sit in one of the stalls till I get back. I don’t want you freaking out any of the patrons.”

  I went into one of the stalls as Ted exited the restroom. As soon as Ted left, a man walked in to use the urinal. I began to think, all of this could go away if I grabbed him, fed on his neck and left him in the stall. No one would know it was me. I would walk out of the restaurant well fed, and ready to accomplish the company goals that were required for the rest of this trip. However, I don’t know if this man is a net positive for society. What if he is a father, a doctor, a philanthropist, or a researcher for the betterment of mankind? Hell, he probably is just another thieving asshole who takes advantage of people and their money, and beats his kids. I can’t panic. Goddamn these thoughts! I need to remain civilized.