by Tom Keller
Return of the High Fae
A Vegas Fae story
By
Tom Keller
Also by Tom Keller
Of Gods and Fae
Available on Amazon and other Internet retailers
Copyright
This book is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places and incidents are either products of the author's imagination or used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual events, locales, or persons, living or dead, is entirely coincidental. All rights reserved.
Kindle Edition © 2012, 2014 Tom Keller
Acknowledgements
I'd like to thank everyone that helped make this book possible, especially my incredible wife, Karen, without her support this book would never have been written.
I doubt any project is ever completed without help and support from a lot of folks, but as always, a few names stand out in the crowd; Paula Ludwig, my most vocal test reader, my best friend, Ray Flynn, for his comments and expertise, and Al Tobin, who pushed me to start writing again.
Special thanks to Abby Goldman and Greg George for help with editing, Meg Varhalmi, my critique partner, and Cara Michaels for help in writing the short description.
Cover design by Cory Clubb http://www.coryclubb.com
Dedication
In memory of Maria Hofstetter
1895 – 1985
Chapter 1
I really hate process serving, it pays lousy and people tend to get all righteous and indignant when you lay papers on them. Like it's my fault they got themselves involved in some legal mess. But a local lawyer who had referred me a lot of business asked me to do this one, so I took the job.
I knew the target, an old time casino boss by the name of Carmine Pontedra. Several others had tried but he'd slipped by them each time. But I had something they didn't, access to the private lot at the Neptune where he parked. You needed an entry card and code, something not easy to get, but I still had a few contacts from my police days.
I'd come in from the rear, off of Dean Martin Drive. The Neptune's Landing is a posh hotel and casino located just off the center strip. From the front, it's a beautiful property, with its statue of King Neptune holding his trident in the middle of the dancing fountains in a saltwater lagoon. His arm is outstretched, his webbed hand beckoning all to come inside.
Like most hotels, however, the rear is all parking lots and delivery bays. It takes a lot of products and people to keep a big property like this going. Vegas is like a magic show. The audience sees the end performance but all the real work happens behind the curtain.
I waded through the maze of structures and entrance ways and accessed the executive level parking garage. I lucked out and found a spot just across the bay from his Mercedes. My car was hidden nicely behind one of the hotel's executive limos. Now it was a waiting game. It was getting close to 8:00 p.m. I knew he worked the day shift but I also knew he seldom left the property before this time of night. Then I saw the elevator doors open.
I slipped out of my car and stood in the shadows by a pillar, hoping it would be Carmine. Instead it was Eddy Milagre who came out. Damn! Milagre was Carmine's boss and part owner of the place. He'd gotten his start running numbers for the mob and worked his way up the ladder before he became legitimate when corporations took over the Vegas scene. I didn't think he knew who I was and I wanted to keep it that way. I eased around the pillar and hugged the shadows as I watched Milagre walk toward his car. Suddenly he stopped and looked around. I thought for sure he'd seen me, and then it happened.
Out of nowhere three men appeared and grabbed him. He started to fight back but these guys were armed. I wasn't sure what they were carrying but I could see them pointing something at him. At first I thought they might be billy clubs or maybe some kind of short baton. When I heard the crackling sound, I figured they were some kind of modified stun gun or cattle prod. I saw a flash of blue light and he was down.
I drew my gun as soon as I heard the sound and jumped from behind the pillar. Before I knew what I was doing I reverted back to my police days yelling, "Freeze, drop your weapons!"
The guy who had first shocked Milagre stood up and turned toward me, firing. I didn't know what the hell he was carrying but it damn sure wasn't a stun gun.
I was a good twenty feet away when blue lightning struck me. As it hit me I felt the electricity, or whatever it was, surge through me. What the hell, since when do bad guys carry lasers? Ignoring the pain I fired back and he dropped like a stone. Then I grimaced; I had expected some type of electrical shock feeling. Instead, it felt like someone was trying to claw their way through me. I took a deep breath to block out the pain and then it suddenly stopped. Whatever it was hadn't been enough to kill me or knock me out like it had Milagre, but it did make me drop to one knee. Based on how fast Milagre had gone down I figured the shooter had just grazed me but it still hurt like hell. I didn't let down my guard. I ducked behind a parked car and peeked over the hood.
The second guy had started to move his weapon towards me as I had taken cover. After the first near miss, and the pain, I knew these things could probably kill me so I wasn't going to give this one a chance to do better than the other guy. I popped up and fired. I watched him go down as my bullet hit his chest. I started to run parallel to his direction to get to better cover when I saw the third guy move to square off with me. He was holding his weapon and just as I thought he was going to take the shot he suddenly turned and ran around the parked cars and disappeared. I would have gone after him but not knowing how bad Milagre was injured I stopped to render aid.
When I knelt down I was relieved to see he was still breathing. I rose and quickly checked the two shooters. My shots had been center of mass and these two weren't getting up again. Out of instinct I knocked the rods away from their hands. I scanned the area in case the third guy decided to come back.
The next thing I knew the elevator doors opened and the posse arrived.
Five black clad figures carrying M-4s and other weapons surrounded me as two others went to check on Milagre. I knew the drill. I put my gun down on the ground and my hands behind my head. There was no way I was going to argue with military grade weapons. Two of them cuffed me and yanked me up, not too gently I might add. I started to yell out that there was still a third guy out there. I never finished.
I felt a blow to the back of the head and my vision started to fade. Then I heard someone's voice saying, "No, he isn't one of them." Then the blackness seemed to swirl around me and I didn't hear anything at all.
When I woke up I tried to determine where I was. The last thing I remembered was being hit in the back of the head. Damn, it still hurt. I opened my eyes slowly and tried to compose myself. I was half afraid I'd been tied to a chair like a scene out of a bad movie; I mean, this is Vegas. But instead, my hands were free and I was on a couch. I knew there were people around but I couldn't tell who they were. It might have been because I was squinting.
It was a nice office, there were pictures on the wall and the place had an expensive look. I started to sit up but I was still groggy. At least I could move, even if it did hurt like hell. I took the pain as a good sign, I was still alive. I pushed myself up into a sitting position and leaned over and rested my head in my hands. "I have the mother of all headaches," I exclaimed." Would someone please tell me what the hell is going on?"
"Glad you're still with us," I heard a voice say. I felt a glass being pushed into my hands. I took a sip of what turned out to be ice water and looked around the rest of the room wondering how long I'd been out.
Then I heard the voice again. "Now, please tell me what you are."
My eyes rested on none other than Eddy Milagre. For someone who I thought had been grav
ely wounded, he looked damned good. There were two other people in the room. One was a lady I'd never seen before and the other had to be one of the guys who had knocked me out. Dressed in black camo, he was a tall blonde man with a Special Forces physique and that military air about him. "I'm Robert Hoskins, a P.I. I'm also an ex-cop. I was working a case."
Milagre leaned back against what I assumed was his desk. A mix of exotic woods, it looked expensive. The lady and the other guy didn't move.
Taking a good look at him I saw that he had an abrasion on his face and his eyes were red. But he still looked better than he had when I'd last seen him lying on the floor of the parking garage.
"Look, kid," he continued, "I appreciate you saving my ass back there but I need to know what you are." He stared at me as if he expected me to say something profound.
I had no idea what he wanted to hear. Calling me kid was something I hadn't heard in a while either. I was pushing fifty, but then again, I knew he was older than I was. He'd made a name for himself when I was still in high school. I still remembered my grandmother talking about the way he ran his casinos. Hell, even with the puffy eye and scratches on his face I could see the power the man commanded. Eddy Milagre wasn't just old Vegas, he personified it.
"Mr. Milagre, I was waiting to serve a subpoena on Carmine Pontedra when you came out of the elevator. Before I knew what was happening those three guys jumped you. I figured they were going to kill you when you went down, so I did what I had to do. I'm sorry the last guy got away but I was more worried about you at the time. They had some kind of weird weapons so when the first one fired at me I responded as I'd been trained, same with the second guy. Your SWAT guys got there after that and, well, here we are." I took a deep breath. "I know those two are dead. Where are the police? Where's my gun?"
"That's all you want to say?" Milagre asked dubiously, looking down at me from the desk.
"What else is there, Mr. Milagre?" I caught myself before I sounded angry. This was one man who I probably didn't want to piss off. What was I missing here? "I'm glad you're alright, even if it does surprise me a bit. To be honest, I thought you were in worse shape than you seem to be. So are the cops coming, or what?" I was starting to get a little worried. I mean, come on, I was sitting here chatting with an old Vegas mob boss and I had just shot two people, even if it was in his defense.
He looked like he didn't believe a thing I had just said and then he shrugged. "Ok, Mr. Hoskins, I'm being a terrible host. Let me offer you something stronger than what you have there. You did just save my life after all." He stood up and walked over to the bar behind the desk and opened a cabinet. "What will it be?"
"Tequila," I said, setting down the glass of water on the table in front of me. "Anejo if you have it," I chuckled, trying not to act like I was worried.
"Tequila it is then," he said, removing a bottle from the cabinet.
I watched him pour what looked to be at least a triple of Herradura Suprema into a tumbler. No shot glass for me. It was good liquor, too, around $300.00 a bottle at any liquor store, if you could find it. He walked over to me and set the glass down.
"Thank you, sir," I said, taking a drink.
"Let's take a minute here, shall we? There's someone I'd like you to meet," he said, turning to the lady who was still standing next to the desk. "Please bring Meredith down; I'd like her to tend to our guest."
The woman looked like he'd just asked her to jump out the window. "Meredith? Yes sir, but she may be busy."
Milagre cut her off. "Just get her," he barked.
She spun around and left the room.
I was starting to get concerned. How bad could this Meredith be? I looked over at the SWAT guy to gauge his reaction but he was a blank. Since my options were limited I kept my mouth shut. I decided to enjoy my tequila and let things play out.
Milagre turned to the SWAT guy. "Siegfried, where is our guest's weapon?"
Now I was a guest. I wondered what that meant.
"The tech unit has it sir. Do you wish me to see if they are finished?" the man asked. His accent was Swiss, or maybe Norwegian. This was starting to feel like a bad movie. Tech guys, since when do casinos have a CSI unit, or for that matter, a SWAT team?"
"Yes, Mr. Hoskins and I will be fine until you return," he said as he waved an arm at Siegfried, dismissing him.
Siegfried replied with a "Yes sir," and then turned and left the room.
It was just me and Eddy Milagre now.
"So, Mr. Hoskins, things must be a little confusing right now. Let me have one of my girls look at you and then we'll see if we can get things straightened out." He walked back to the bar and poured himself some cognac. Then he walked around his desk and eased into the oversized leather chair.
"Sure," I answered, taking a few sips of tequila. "Very smooth," I said as I put my glass down.
I needed a few seconds to compose myself. I had to think of this from both a legal and a "cover my ass" standpoint. I'd shot two people while trespassing at a major hotel and casino. Sure, it was in defense of someone's life, or at least I think it was. I was in a guy's office that used to run with the mob and had access to the guys in black. They not only have bigger guns than me, but they have my gun. To top it off, I didn't think anyone had called the cops. Not my best day if I say so myself.
"So, Mr. Milagre, who are the guys in black, are they the hotel's?"
"Siegfried and his men are part of my security team. They also serve as my bodyguards when necessary," Milagre explained, "and before you ask, they answer only to me."
"I see," I replied, catching the subtle hint. I figured it was time to lay some cards of my own on the table. If I was in trouble there were very few options. "So where do we stand, Mr. Milagre? You and me, do we have a problem?"
"A problem?" Milagre answered with a chuckle. "Mr. Hoskins, you saved my life back there. So if you mean our little incident in the parking lot, then no, we don't have a problem where that's concerned," he replied, putting down his cup and leaning toward me. "What we do have a problem with is what you are."
I looked up at him blankly. "I told you, sir, I'm a P.I. ..."
He put his hand up. "Stop, stop, that's not what I'm talking about, I just can't figure out why you are hiding..."
I cut him off in mid-sentence. "Okay, maybe I'm just dense. I don't understand your question." He continued to look at me skeptically, so I asked, "What do you think I am?"
He stood up from the chair and walked around the desk but before he could get around there was a knock at the door.
The door opened and a stylishly dressed woman in a dark pant suit and white blouse entered the room. Her hair was completely gray yet it shined like silver. I thought she might be Milagre's mother or aunt, as there was a slight resemblance, but that was silly, she'd have to be over 100 years old.
"Meredith, my dear, thank you for coming," he said, taking her hand. "You have been informed of what has transpired?"
Informed? Transpired? They were a little too formal for my taste, especially since two people were dead. Granted, they were bad guys, but they made it sound like it was a regular occurrence for them.
"I have already been working on it," she answered, closing the door and walking over to him "I was with Siegfried's people when I was asked to come down." She gave Milagre a hug and then turned toward me. "So this is the gentleman who came to your rescue. I must thank you. Edward is very special to me. I would have been very upset if he'd been hurt," she proclaimed, matter-of-factly.
Just doing my duty, ma'am, I thought to myself as I stood up to shake her hand. She gave me a hug instead. "My pleasure, ma'am, I was just lucky to be there."
"Please sit young man. I am sure you are still tired from the incident," she said in a pleasant voice as we sat down on the couch. "Edward, I am guessing that you feel there is still something missing and you'd like me to talk to our new friend?"
Milagre went back over to his chair and also sat down. "Please," he agreed, with a
wave of his hand toward us. "We were just getting ready to have that discussion."
I thought to myself that the office must have been bugged because Meredith obviously knew beforehand what Milagre had wanted. Well, at least I had graduated from a guest to a friend. I think that was a good thing.
She turned to me and took my hands in hers. "Mr. Hoskins, will you humor me a moment?"
"Umm, ok, sure, why not." I turned towards her as she grasped my hands. This was not exactly what I had expected.
"Edward, I sense no deception, mmm, interesting." She looked at Milagre. "I must ask you not to interfere."
Well, that was a weird thing to say. What the hell was going on? Maybe I was still unconscious and this was just a dream.
"Mr. Hoskins is it? May I call you by your first name?"
I nodded my head. "Sure, it's Robert." This was surreal. I'd gone from being a trespasser and knocked out, to a guest, and now we were friends on a first name basis.
"Robert it is then, thank you. Tell me, Robert, do you believe in the supernatural world?"
"Supernatural? Like Witches and Vampires or what are you talking about?" That one came out of left field, just where was this going?
"Yes, and myths," she answered.
At this point I figured I was dreaming or maybe these folks were just plain loony. But Eddy Milagre was real and had a lot of juice in town. Still, I couldn't resist. "Myths, like in Faeries? Well, my grandmother told me Faeries were real and she would never lie," I answered with a laugh. Ok, so I was being a little sarcastic, but things were definitely not right.
"Ahem, yes, humor," Meredith rebuked gently. "What if she was telling you the truth after all? What if such things do exist? What would you think then?"
"To be honest, I'd probably think I was still out of it on this couch. But what are you saying?"