Rage took a backseat to practicality as she snapped open the tent, and taking Xavier first since he was covering Chuy, dragged and shoved him under its cover. Her back twinged at the awkward motion and Xavier’s dead weight. He was a big fucking vampire, and doing a good imitation of a giant bag of sand.
“What the fuck?” That was Brian, sliding to his knees next to her, while Kerry and River were methodically taking single pot shots, trying to hit elevator blonde without destroying the elevator itself. It hadn’t escaped anyone’s notice that only one elevator seemed to be still working, and that none of the guards had appeared from any as-yet-unseen stairway going to the basement. Unlikely as it seemed, that there wouldn’t be basement stairs, none of Layla’s team were inclined to risk it.
Keying her comm, Layla spoke to Kerry and River. “I know you two probably have a bet going, but fun time is over. One of you get back down here and sneak up on that elevator bitch, while the other keeps her in hiding.”
“Spoilsport,” Kerry muttered. But a moment later, she slipped quietly down what remained of the stairs, edged along the wall, and the second, closed elevator, then ducked down, edged her Glock pistol around the open door, and fired.
The blonde screamed weakly as she fell face first to the elevator floor, unable to remain standing with what looked like a broken leg from Kerry’s shot.
Kerry was on her feet in an instant, standing over the blonde before she’d finished falling. She shot her twice in the back of the head, then kicked her over onto her back, just to be sure. Staring down at the dead woman for a moment, she said, “Pussy. Nobody ever taught you, you’ve got two legs?”
Blowing out a relieved breath, Brian took in the situation with the vampires, then swore softly and immediately ran back for the second tent. Returning, he opened it quickly, gripped Chuy’s limp body, then scooted backward into the tent, dragging the vamp with him.
He had to crawl over the limp vampire, since the one-man tent was too narrow to do anything else, but he managed to stand just as Layla snapped open one of the waterproof ground sheets and draped it over Xavier’s tent. She then zipped the flap closed, while Brian followed suit to protect Chuy.
Layla didn’t know if the sheets were necessary, but since they had them, she wasn’t taking any chances, especially with all the bullets that had been flying. There was no doubt in her mind that once the sun rose high enough, no corner of this fucking circus arena of a room would be safe for a vampire, and the tents weren’t designed to achieve blackout conditions. Usually, when she and her team fell into their tents after a battle, they were so exhausted they’d have slept anywhere.
With both vampires reasonably secure, she and Brian took up their weapons again, and edged slowly into the main room, where the only sound was chunks of wood hitting the marble floor. Kerry and River had already stacked the dead blondes like firewood in the open elevator. With no way of knowing if enemy reinforcements were likely to appear from who the hell knew where, it made sense for them to clear the area, plus if the reinforcements tried to come up from the basement and called that elevator, they’d be in for a “bloody rude shock,” as River would have said.
There remained the mystery of the second elevator, and the need to clear the basement. If they found that asshole Sakal sleeping down there, Layla was going to say to hell with the courtesies of vampire battle and dust the fucker while he slept. She wasn’t a vampire, and she sure as hell wasn’t bound by their rules.
Brian walked over and stood next to her, blood soaking through the upper part of his sleeve on one arm. “You okay?” he asked, his gaze raking her over, head to toe.
“Not a scratch on me,” she said, which wasn’t completely accurate, but close enough. “What’s that?” she asked, lifting her chin at his arm.
“Well, my captain lost her fucking mind and ran into the open, so I had to cover her.”
“What an asshole she must be.”
“Nah, she’s not bad. Will the vamps be okay?”
“I’d like to get them out of here, but I don’t know how we can do it safely.” She turned to stare at the elevators. “Maybe we could move them downstairs, but we’ll have to clear it first. You catch sight of anyone except the blondes?”
“Nope. Who else is there? Sakal has to be in dreamland by now, right?”
“If it’s really him,” she complained. “How the fuck can he be two places at once? That sneaky bastard Joaquim was at the farm at oh-dark-thirty this morning, and he confirmed that Sakal was there until about an hour before sunrise. That’s just enough time for Sakal to get back here and into safety. Meanwhile Xavier came here earlier, thinking to surprise Sakal when he returned for the day, and somehow found himself ambushed instead.” She sighed. “That’s all I got out of Joaquim before he couldn’t form coherent words anymore.”
“Would Joaquim betray Xavier?” It was River who dared voice the question they all had to be thinking.
Layla scowled. “I don’t know, but . . . they’ve been together for a long time, like centuries. Besides, if he wanted Xavier dead, why would he have sent us here to save him?”
“Last minute guilty conscience? Or a nice alibi, if he hoped Xavier would be dead before we got here.”
“Shit, you’re right.” She bit the inside of her cheek, thinking. “Well, we won’t know anything for sure until sunset, so . . . ”
They turned as one to face the elevators.
“Fuck. Shall we take a trip downstairs?”
“Might as well. If nothing else, it would be safer to move the vamps down there,” Brian agreed.
“Your arm good to go?” she asked, nodding to where a fresh, white bandage stood out against the dark tan of his wounded arm.
“Barely a flesh wound. We should move the SUV into the parking lot across the street, by the way. Less noticeable by a mile.”
“Good idea. What’s the status on that fucking door? Is it useable at all?”
River joined her in studying the front door. “I could close it, Cap, but you’d never get it open again. We’d do better to block it with whatever we can find in this place, and set a guard.”
“Okay, you and Kerry take the SUV, park it across the street. Brian and I will see what we can find to block the door. Did anyone find another stairway in here, like one that goes down?”
“Nah, I looked while Riv was playing Florence Nightingale to our Brian there,” Kerry said. “Everything you see is all there is to this place, plus the basement.”
“This sure is a weird-ass building. Don’t they have fire regulations here?
“You Americans just aren’t used to old buildings,” Riv commented.
“Whatever. Let’s get to work.”
It wasn’t long before Kerry and River were slithering through the small hole Layla had left in the mostly blocked front opening, just so they could get back in. And while she and Brian then worked to plug that, as well, with materials they’d already prepared for that purpose, the other two reported how they’d tried to circle around behind the building, to check for another door, but had found their way blocked by a police investigation that had sealed off the alley at both ends.
“That’s awfully convenient,” Layla commented.
“Yes, and we have more,” Kerry mock-enthused. “There was a quite a crowd, including a few people who’d spoken to the person who was unfortunate enough to have found the body of a woman who’d been very brutally killed, her head practically torn off. And guess what color hair she had?”
“Blond,” Layla and Brian intoned together.
“Sakal’s losing his bodyguards fast,” Layla said. “You think he killed her, left her there for someone to find? Maybe even had one of the guards clue in someone, who then rushed off for a look and reported it to the police?”
“Too many questions,” Kerry answered. “And
the answer’s yes to most of them, but . . . does that mean there’s no one in the basement?”
Right on cue, a sudden whoosh of sound had them all turning to stare at the floor display above the elevator door.
“Well, shit,” Brian muttered. “Guess that’s our ride. I just hope it’s not filled with more bodyguards.”
They all checked ammo, then guns ready, waited while the damn thing made its slow way upward, and the door finally opened on . . . an empty elevator car. They stared, until Layla said, “All aboard, I guess,” and they walked inside.
With more than enough space for the four of them, they spread out, in unspoken understanding, so that they could all fire without worrying about hitting one another. It didn’t take long, since the damn elevator didn’t have to drop more than twenty feet, and that was being generous. Like the others, Layla had her weapon up when the doors opened onto a dark basement, but again there was no one waiting for them.
They stepped out to concrete walls and floor, and a hall—no more than sixteen feet long—that only went in one direction—left. At the end were two doors. The one on the right was an ordinary pedestrian door, with better locks than usual. But the leftward door was far more interesting. It was a vault, just like the one she knew existed in the basement of the Fortalesa’s vampire wing. She’d never actually seen it, but she knew it was there, and she’d overheard it being described by a friend of her mother’s in very disappointing tones, as a bank vault. And that was exactly what this looked like. Hell, maybe that’s why Sakal had chosen this building. Save some money on his hiding place.
Unfortunately, it was . . . Layla pulled on the door and jumped back when it responded by moving an inch or two outward.
“What the fuck?” she whispered, and glanced at Brian to find him regarding the door as if it was a live snake coiled to attack.
“Why would they leave that open?” he whispered back. “It has to be a trap.”
She nodded in silent agreement, but they had to take a look. Turning, she studied the other, more ordinary door, then looked at Riv, who was closest to it. “See if you can get through that lock.”
“Piece of cake,” he said confidently, then knelt and pulled out a small zippered case, which held a set of lock picks.
Layla and the others took a few steps back and spread out. There was a strong possibility that one or more of Sakal’s guards was waiting behind that ordinary door, ready to die for their master. But if that was true, then where was Sakal? He sure as hell wouldn’t risk himself to take out Layla and her people. Not when he’d be too dead to enjoy it. But the vault was open, so where the fuck was he?
“Captain.” She looked over at the sound of Riv’s voice, when he stood and said, “It’s done.”
“All right. Usual precautions. Everyone stand back.” She reached for the collapsible baton at her belt, but Riv beat her to it, snapping his own baton open as he took up a position on one side of the door. He waited until everyone else signaled ready, and then with his back to the wall, he reached out with one hand, gently turned the door knob, and with the same hand, used the baton to push it open about a foot.
Again nothing. Layla was beginning to think the whole damn place was empty.
Riv shoved the baton again, harder, until they could feel warm air rushing in through the open door. “Nothing there, Cap,” he said.
“Let’s see what’s behind it, but slowly.”
Riv didn’t move away from his safe position against the wall, but stowed the baton and stretched out his arm, giving the door a hard shove with his hand. When it swung to a full right angle position, he crouched low and rolled through the doorway, moving fast, and coming up with his MP5 in position.
Layla was right behind him, her own weapon up and ready to cover him, if necessary. “It’s a damn garage,” she said. “Look at the door.”
“You can smell it, too,” River said. “Hot tires and diesel. I bet the bastard left hours ago.”
“In daylight?”
“Why not? He’s got his team of bodyguards to move him around, and if they have the right vehicle, he’s in no danger. Not from the sun anyway.”
“Well, shit,” she hissed, then stepped back and over to the vault. “I bet this damn thing’s empty, too.”
“Let’s not bet on that,” Brian said, stopping her before she could pull the door all the way open. “Tactics 101, Cap.”
“Yeah, yeah. Standard entry. You and me.” She glanced at the others who didn’t need to be told what to do. They moved to covering positions automatically, while Brian waited for her signal, then she pulled the door open and together they ran inside in a lethal rush. Or it would have been lethal, if anyone had been there to die.
The vault was on the small side, just big enough to hold an unkempt bed that stretched from wall to wall, and left a bare slice of room to maneuver along its foot.
“Looks like Sakal wasn’t sleeping alone,” Brian observed dryly.
“I never thought he was,” she said absently, then found a light switch and flicked it on. There were two wall sconces above the bed that together emitted a low pinkish light. She sighed and said the obvious. “Sakal is officially in the wind. And I bet you were right, Riv. He left before we ever got here. Which means he could be anywhere.”
“Except the farm,” Brian said helpfully.
“Except the farm,” she agreed. “But I doubt he planned on going back there.” She kicked the stupid bed. “Fuck. Okay. Let’s get Xavier and Chuy down here.”
“I hate to think what might be on those sheets,” River said, staring at the messy bed.
“Oh, for the fuck’s sake. Fine. I didn’t see curtains anywhere—”
“They’d be filthy with dust anyway,” Riv commented in disgust.
“Riv, they’re vampires. They don’t get sick, okay? They drink blood. I’ll strip the bed and flip the mattress. Happy?”
“No, but as I’m not going to be sitting on it, it’s fine.”
A HALF HOUR LATER, they had both vampires more or less safely resting in the vault—and yes, the mattress had been flipped. After that, there was nothing to do but wait. Unfortunately, they didn’t have a comfortable place to do that, because everything resembling a chair had been broken into pieces to block the front door.
Layla texted Danilo to let her know that everyone was safe, without naming names, since no one but she and her team had even known why they’d rushed out that morning. And if there was a traitor, whether Joaquim or someone else, they didn’t want word getting out that the vampires were alive.
So, throughout the day, they rotated from the first floor to the basement, keeping watch on both the vampires and the front door, which while closed in the strictest sense, definitely wasn’t secure.
And while they sat—on the floor, because well, chairs—they speculated among themselves as to where Sakal might have gone, or what he might have been after, beyond Xavier’s death. Had he planned to kill Xavier and simply go home? Or had he somehow convinced himself that Xavier’s territory would be his?
Based on what Xavier had told her of his history with Sakal, Layla knew that was impossible. But maybe Sakal was sufficiently delusional to believe he could somehow rule vampires who were powerful enough to squash him like a bug.
“What are you thinking?” Brian asked, when she’d obviously been quiet for too long.
“When Xavier wakes—”
“He’s going to be pissed as hell,” he provided. “To say the least. Furious is probably closer. I’m not sure any of us should be here when—”
“He won’t hurt me.”
“Yeah? What about the other guy?”
“Chuy? I barely know him, but Xavier will wake first. He’ll handle Chuy.”
“Damn it, Layla.”
“I know. I’m a pain in the
ass. But you love me.”
“Yeah. Okay, Kerry and Riv will stay upstairs, but I’m staying down here with you. Just in case.”
“All right,” she said agreeably. She had no intention of going along with it when sunset arrived, but she didn’t mind company in the meantime.
“What about food?” he asked.
“Oops. I forgot about that. I guess Riv can go out through the garage and find something quick, while Kerry keeps watch on the front. You can rotate up and down until Riv gets back.”
AT 1100 HOURS, RIV returned with a rather delicious assortment of tapas, including bread and dessert, of course, along with soft drinks and a fresh supply of bottled water, since none of them trusted anything about the building they were stuck in. Once he was back inside, they re-bolted and welded the garage door, just in case.
By 1300 hours, they’d gone through every crumb of food. Riv had found a trashcan upstairs to dispose of the rubbish, and as it was summer, which meant longer days, they were contemplating their next meal.
At 1400 hours, they tossed a bunch of smoke bombs into the elevator with the dead bodyguards, then closed and welded shut the doors, in addition to turning the air-conditioner to its lowest temperature, since the bodies had begun to do what dead bodies did—decay, which in turn made them smell.
At 1700 hours, the smoke bombs and the welding had worked well enough that they’d begun to seriously contemplate their next meal, while obsessively checking their watches and phones for the time.
“For fuck’s sake,” Layla finally said, after Riv, who was sitting next to her on the basement floor, checked his giant-can-do-everything watch for the twentieth time in as many minutes. “Sunset isn’t until after nine, okay? That’s hours from now. Set your super-duper watch to go off fifteen minutes before that. Then you can just stare at it until sunset, okay?”
Riv just looked at her. “What bug crawled up your ass, Cap?”
Xavier: Vampires in Europe (Vampires in America Book 14) Page 28