Amp was amazed that the Alaskan vampire lord had legitimate businesses. He was a blight on the race, a dishonor to all vampires, and she was anticipating Morgan’s offer of a takeover; and death to the Wilson tribe.
“Now my proposal is this, Amp, and please think about it carefully. Silas feels that your accelerated training has brought tremendous results. He has recommended that you join the warrior class of our coven, and continue working with him, not as a trainee, but as an instructor. He feels your talent could greatly benefit our coven.”
Amp was trying to follow the conversation, was pleased that Silas thought highly of her fighting ability, but the conversation was taking on a very careful tone. She had a forbearance of bad news.
“I know your hope was that this coven would go to war with you against Wilson, Amp. We talked about it, the costs in money, in lives, and the trouble of running the Wilson business in Alaska. We have decided…unanimously…that we are not willing to fight that fight. My offer instead is that you join our team, our family and that you take your place here as a warrior, therefore giving you a stable home, protection, and a sound foundation for your future.”
Her voice was calm and perfectly clear despite the inner turmoil and disappointment.
“No thank you, Lord Morgan. I told you when the time was right, I would be returning to Alaska to deal with Wilson. I appreciate your generous offer and your kind hospitality for the past year, but I’ll be leaving soon. I’ve got work to do, and then I’m going to complete my obligation.”
Lord Morgan spoke in a resigned tone. “I’m sorry to hear that, Amp…but certainly not surprised. Good luck on your venture, and we will always be here. And my offer will always be on the table for you.”
------
Amy tried one last time to talk Amp into staying, wasting her breath as the younger girl packed her things. She had a large canvas duffle filled with the clothes and personal items she had gathered since arriving in California, plus several small weapons that had been gifts from Silas during their training sessions.
Amy looked at the girl, amazed that such a young, innocent looking girl had become a lethal killing machine. Silas had mentioned many times over the past several months that Amy would hold her own against almost anyone in the world.
“I’m grateful to you guys, Amy, I really am. You rescued me, took me in, and trained me. My goal from the beginning was Wilson, and with or without you, I’m going back there and taking him out.”
“So where do you go from here?” Amy asked.
“Not sure. I have someone in Portland I need to see…and a place called Skagit Valley in
Washington.”
“I’m here for you, Amp; always will be. Call if you need me.”
A car pulled up to the door of the guest cabin, and Amp was surprised to see Silas get out of the driver’s side. She had requested a ride to the airport, not expecting her friend to be her driver.
”Hey girl, ready to roll?”
He held her eyes, maybe attempting to see inside her head. This girl was special, and Silas was scared that she was rushing toward a suicide mission. He knew from the first day she had shown up at his gym that she wouldn’t be staying. Most vamps would have called it a day with regard to Wilson, licked their wounds, and got on with their existence. Silas had recognized the honor within this one, and when she talked about taking Wilson on, he had no doubt that she would try it.
As the car pulled out of Morgan’s compound, Amp waved once to Amy, then settled back in the seat, not altogether sure where this adventure was taking her. Her heart told her to go back to Portland, and look for the girl that had been haunting her dreams. Her brain was going a different direction, knowing that she needed to find some allies if she were to have any chance in Alaska.
“No way I can talk you into staying?” Silas asked, looking at her in the rear view mirror. “We’d make a hell of a team.”
“It’s a great offer, and I’m probably a fool for turning it down,” she began. “I have an obligation, Silas. And for the life of me, I can’t understand Lord Morgan’s decision. Danner and Riley were friends of his, and aside from that, there’s money up there that would make it worthwhile.”
She was angry, but was carefully speaking in an even tone, having no desire to burn any bridges here in L.A. These vampires had been kind to her, maybe even had saved her from disaster. She wanted to part on good terms.
“Try to understand how the vampire mind works, Amp, at least the mind of a sire, the leader of a coven. Morgan has many obligations, and he takes each one serious. The one that is most important to him is the safety and prosperity of his people. The same feelings Danner had for you. It didn’t come down to Morgan’s friendships; it came down to numbers…how many warriors might he lose versus the amount of money he would be taking. The numbers didn’t translate to a large profit, and he passed. It was a fairly emotionless decision, Amp; nothing personal…just business.”
Amp didn’t trust herself to answer, knew that anything she said now would be taken out of context later. The two were silent the rest of the drive, Silas quietly pulling the car up to the airport terminal. Turning around in his seat, Silas spoke softly.
“In all situations, Amp, play the helpless little girl card. Make that a part of your persona. Do not broadcast the fact that you are a warrior. The surprise advantage will be priceless. Let people know you are a killing machine at the moment you take them, not a second sooner. Here, I don’t know how you’ll get it on a plane, but I know your glamour game is pretty solid. Stick it in your bag and check it through. A gift from me. Use it to send the bad guys to hell.”
Amp reached out for the ancient Samurai sword that had hung in Silas’s home. It was the most beautiful weapon that Amp had ever seen; a mixture of perfect craftsmanship and lethalness. Silas had explained to her one night that he had defeated a Samurai warrior in a long ago battle, and the warrior had requested Silas take his head with his own sword. It had been a different world, and an act of extreme honor.
“Thank you, Silas. I will care for it with my life.”
“I know you will, Amp. When you decide to go, would you please let me know beforehand? Maybe talk over your attack plan, allow me to point out any weaknesses?”
Opening her door, she smiled at Silas, nodding her head. “Sure, Silas, we’ll talk. Thanks for everything.”
She was gone in the crowd, leaving the teacher wondering if he would ever see her again.
------
Changing planes in San Francisco, Amp had but 25 minutes to catch her connection to Portland. As she jogged through the airport, wishing she could use her vampire speed, she passed a well built good looking man with a military buzz cut and the bearing of a soldier walking away from a gate, his mind on locating the baggage claim, but his eyes constantly scanning the crowd as if looking for trouble.
Anrio Peron had just returned from a successful mission in the Middle East, a freelance job funded by a group of anonymous Israelis. The job had gone well, and the money was excellent, but the former Army Ranger wasn’t sure where the next dollar would come from, although he knew there were many mercenary jobs floating around out there for somebody of his particular pedigree.
His problem with this type of work was he wasn’t fighting for a cause, unless one considered cash a cause. After eleven years in the Army, he was more soldier than man, and his separation from the military had left a huge void in his soul that mercenary work couldn’t come close to filling. Grabbing his suitcase, he caught the shuttle for long-term parking, finding his white SUV, and exiting the airport. He headed toward 580 east, on his way home to Sacramento.
California had no sentimental value to the former soldier, the house one his mother had left him upon her death. Rio had joined the Army the day he turned 18, and now at 29 he felt lost and abandoned without the U.S. Government telling him where to go, what to do, and when to do it. Living in a tiny bungalow in Sacramento, waiting for the next phone call with a tempo
rary job offer only added to the depression that had started his final day of active duty.
He had come to terms with the anger that had consumed him after the news that Congress was slashing the military budget. He hadn’t thought for one minute that his unit would be affected, had expected all the cuts to come from food and beverage, supply, maybe some base closings. The work that Peron and his comrades accomplished protected America, and without men of their particular bearing, the country would be vulnerable to the spreading threat of Middle East terrorists.
The only problem was that nobody bothered to tell the amateur in the White House; or maybe he just didn’t care. For whatever reason, many Special Operation units were decimated, the soldiers given opportunities to learn a new skill, or face separation, and a life without the military.
Peron could never have remained in the Army doing a menial job, waiting for his 20 years to arrive. If he couldn’t make a difference, he wanted none of their bullshit. He never regretted his choice; only that the choice had to be made. His faith in the United States was still intact, but his attitude towards the present administration, and the lame Congress was a different story.
That evening, sitting in a fake leather recliner in his living room, the television showing a muted Giants game, Rio sucked on a bottle of Bud and wondered if his next thirty years would be like this; and at what point he would eat his .45?
The next morning, not sure what his plan was, but knowing he needed to be somewhere else, he visited a local realtor, and listed his mom’s house, realizing that sitting alone every night in front of the tube was going to drive him crazy…or worse. He needed to be moving, to find some action that would satisfy his needs. Returning home, he started calling old friends, trying desperately to find something or somewhere he might fit in.
Somewhere out there was a meaningful spot for one of the finest snipers that the Army Rangers had ever had.
------
Portland was a bigger town than Amp remembered. A year ago, when she and Danner and Riley had made a quick stop for feeding purposes, she hadn’t noticed or cared about the town. Now as she walked out of the airport, the night traffic and hectic activity surprised her. She wasn’t sure where she was going, or what she was doing, only that the weight of loneliness was pushing down on her, and she felt like she was sinking into a dark hole; a hole she wasn’t sure she wanted to crawl out of.
Not knowing how she was to achieve her goal of destroying Wilson, having no real friends or allies that would stand with her, all these things were crushing her. Several times during the past 24 hours she had considered Morgan’s offer of a home and a position on his staff. It would be so easy to let others take over the worries for her, but her stubborn resolve to finish what she had started, and her breeding of independence, thanks to Danner, had forced her away from L.A.
She knew she probably shouldn’t be in Portland, but the nights of dreaming about Katy, and their few minutes together made Amp hungry for the lonely girl she had fed from.
Checking into a downtown hotel, Amp spent the rest of the evening trying to develop a plan. She knew her next stop must be in Washington, and her hopes were cautiously optimistic that she could recruit some allies from the crew of vampires she had met in the Petersburg bar. They had seemed to hold a great deal of animosity for Wilson and his crew. If that could be channeled correctly, Amp just might end up with some backup. She finally fell asleep at dawn, her mind a jumbled mess of despair.
That evening, it took an hour for Amp to find the teen club she had been in over a year ago. The atmosphere was exactly as she remembered. She sat at a round table and took tiny sips from a bottle of water, wondering if Katy still came to this club? She didn’t know anything about the girl, only that she felt a strange kinship with her. It was well past midnight when she caught sight of the girl, coming through the door alone, looking around as though looking for someone. She made her way to the bar, ordering a soft drink, then turned and scanned the crowd of loud and obnoxious youths. Her eyes met Amps and kept going, then jerked back, her mouth forming a word, a smile spreading across it that left Amp satisfied that this had been the right choice.
“You came back,” was the girl’s first words as she stood hesitatingly by the table. “Oh crap…I’ve…I’ve…”
“Sit,” Amp whispered, not wanting to draw attention.
Silently the girl took the seat across from Amp, the look of disbelief on her face changing to something akin to bliss. Amp stared at the girl, wondering where this was going? Finally settling on her plan, she stood and held out her hand.
“Can we go for a walk?” she started, in no way wanting to influence this girl with her glamour. At the moment, she needed a friend, not a conquest.
Katy nodded, joining her, and the two walked out of the club hand in hand, neither looking back.
------
Amp didn’t have a clue how to find somebody in Skagit Valley, Washington. She decided that she would find a place to stay, and then follow her instincts in her search for the crew of guys she had met in Alaska. She and Kate flew into SeaTac airport on an evening flight. The next night they took the late Amtrak for the two hour trip to Mount Vernon. They checked into the Tulip Inn, a nice hotel just off of Highway 5.
“So how are we going to find these guys?” Katy asked after they unpacked their few belongings in the nice suite Amp had rented for a week.
“We are not going to find them,” Amp answered. “You are going to stay right here. Showing up in the middle of a group of strange vamps with a cute little human would not be politically correct,” she laughed. “They would probably think I was bringing a treat.”
Katy looked a bit hurt, but nodded at Amp’s decision. “Okay, I can find something to do around here. You just be careful.”
Pulling on her long duster over her jeans and t-shirt, she checked herself in the mirror. After a moment, she took the duster off and threw it on the bed, replacing it with a hooded Jayhawk sweatshirt. Remembering Silas’s advice about playing the little girl card, the last thing she wanted was to look like a tough-guy wannabe.
She had looked in the yellow pages for forms of nighttime entertainment in the area, and had picked out a few clubs that might be beacons for vampires. It was midnight when she gave Katy a hug, then took to the street in search of friends. Pushing aside her thoughts about bringing Katy with her, she put her mind on high alert, knowing that walking the street of an area where vampires existed was dangerous. As she walked down the clean street towards the downtown area of Mount Vernon, she started to have doubts about her plan to recruit Ernie and his friends. After all, she had only spoken to them for a few moments in that bar over a year ago. Why would they even welcome her to their area, much less consider fighting with her against her enemies. There had been something there, she told herself. An offer of something; friendship, lust, she wasn’t certain. But considering her choices, any move forward was better than what was behind her.
The Night Train Bar was her first stop, and it was everything she had imagined; dark with red lights in the background high on the walls, a long wooden bar, and tables scattered in the shadows. An empty dance floor was off to the right, a lone pool table in the back to the left. Amp saw perfectly inside the establishment, her night vision as good as a humans perfect day vision. Knowing what tables were occupied, she walked casually to the bar, taking a seat with a view of most of the room.
“See an i.d., sis?” the large, black bartender demanded in a no-nonsense voice.
Turning to face him, catching his eyes, Amp spoke in a low voice meant only for him. “I have one and you’ve seen it. I’d like a bottle of water, please.”
The bartender paused for a beat, smiled at her, and reached back and took a bottle of water from his mini fridge. Amp laid a five dollar bill down and smiled back.
“Thanks,” she said. “Hey, maybe you can help me, I’m looking for a couple guys I met last year in Alaska, and they told me they were from around here. Names are E
rnie and Will. You have any clue who they are?”
“Not a bill collector or the law, are you?” the big man asked, more than halfway serious. His eyes were appraising her a bit closer now, wondering if she was legit, or a danger to two of his semi-regular customers.
“Just tell me how to find them,” she demanded, her eyes burning glamour into the man’s brain. She was wasting time, and this yahoo wasn’t helping.
“Sure, sorry…Ernie hangs around at the Blue Goose Tavern, right on the water, about six blocks east of here. Probably there right now.”
Without another word, Amp turned and walked out of the dive, the bartender staring after her, his mind wondering what she had wanted. Funny, he didn’t remember saying a word to her.
------
“You want us to what?” Ernie asked incredulously.
Amp had found the guys she was looking for rather easily, and thankfully they had remembered her from the brief time they had met. They were now sitting around the living room of Ernie’s house several miles outside of Mount Vernon, a three story farm house set back from the county road it was on. The exterior of the house needed painting, and several major repairs, the interior pretty much worse. The furniture was second hand, used, mismatched and broken, the wooden floors scarred and worn, the large round rug in the center of the living room worn to the thinness of a cheap motel’s bath towel.
From listening to the guys as they talked, the majority of the crew lived here off and on. There was only one other female vampire in the room besides Amp, a girl several inches taller than her, a wavy-hair blonde on the skinny side, but with a face that was, although not beautiful, was unique and lovely. She had been introduced as Nikka, and she didn’t say a word throughout the conversation that took place.
Kill Wilson (Petersburg Vampires) Page 6