Shrouds of Darkness

by Brock Deskins

  None of this makes sense and I am little closer to solving it now than I was before. At this point, all I can do wait for Marvin to get those security logs and for whoever is behind this to make another move, which I am certain they will. Despite my lack of clarity, I know am getting closer to the truth.

  I imagine they assume I am suspicious of the Sheriffs, therefore suspecting someone highly placed in the Council. That means I am a dangerous loose end and they will have to move soon to silence me, and every time I force them to act, they risk revealing themselves.

  I do not particularly like the idea of being my own bait, but unless Marvin comes up with some particularly damning evidence, it is the only strategy I have. Fortunately, being a pain the ass is what I do best, and the more I am a pain in the ass the more overt they will have to get to deal with me. I just hope I live long enough to move on whatever they reveal when they do.

  My phone starts buzzing in my pocket and I think it is Yuri and I’m surprised when Angel’s name is displayed on the screen. No way is this good news.

  “Malone,” I answer.

  “Leo, you have to help me here,” Angel says in obvious agitation.

  “I sincerely doubt that I have to help unless you want me to help you bury Castillo’s body then I certainly would want to help.”

  “Damn it; don’t screw with me right now.”

  “Fine, what can I do for you?”

  “When’s the last time you saw Yuri Poplonovich?”

  “What’s going on?” I ask, intentionally evading the question.

  The fear and frustration is evident in Angel’s voice when he answers. “I got a goddamn warzone here, that’s what’s going on. I have nearly a dozen charred corpses in a warehouse and what looks like a massacre of three major organized crime families along with two dead feds that were staking out Poplonovich’s primary hangout.”

  “Two dead feds, sounds like a rock band.”

  “Damn it, this isn’t a joke, Leo!”

  “Comedy is very subjective,” I reply dryly.

  “You work with Yuri. What can you tell me about his whereabouts or at least what’s going on?”

  “I am occasionally hired by Yuri and that’s as far as our relationship goes. The only advice I have for you is to keep your head down, wait for the smoke to clear, and then come clean up the bodies.”

  Angel asks, “You think there’s going to be more?”

  “I would almost count on it.”

  Thankfully, Angel gives up trying get specifics out of me. I just hope he takes my advice and stays out of the way. I can hear Marvin tapping away on his keyboard. Apparently, there is some occasional human interaction necessary to do what he does. I hate sitting around doing nothing so I decide to pay Katherine a visit. I feel it is safer if I see her at her office than her coming here.

  “Marvin, I’m stepping out. Don’t let anyone in and keep that shotgun close by.”

  Marvin gives me a thumbs up, too preoccupied with whatever is on his screen to give me any further recognition. I take a cab to the King’s County District Attorney’s office. There is a small business a block away where I can rent a locker to stash my arsenal. Even so, I pack light. It is daylight and I’m not going far. It is unlikely anyone will make a move against me in such a public setting.

  I manage to pass through security without a problem but getting to Katherine’s office suddenly proves problematic. Just as I round the corner, I run right into Castillo. She is so surprised to see me in the DA’s offices that it doesn’t register in her brain that I cop a feel when we collide.

  She quickly suppresses her surprise and snarls, “What are you doing here, coming to confess your crimes?”

  “Actually I came to file a complaint. I don’t feel safe walking the streets anymore with the sudden increase in violence, and it doesn’t seem to me that the police are doing a thing about it. The murders don’t bother me so much but then someone lit a bag of shit on fire on my doorstep and that’s just rude. It made it personal.”

  She leans in and sniffs me. “You smell funny, Malone.”

  “Funny how, like a clown fart? Sorry, I’m single and I probably don’t shower nearly as often as I should.”

  “Explosives were used in a massacre in a warehouse last night. I think maybe you smell like that. But I bet you wouldn’t know anything about that would you? Wait a minute. I seem to recall you saying something about having a demolitions license once. Now that is interesting. What do you think?”

  “I think you smell like cats. I think I’ll call you catwoman. Not Halle Berry catwoman, but old lady catwoman; just a mess of cats shitting and pissing all over your apartment. You clean it up and think the neighbors don’t notice the smell but they do. The whole hallway reeks but you don’t notice because you live with them; your cats. How many cats do you have, like five or six or are you more like a crazy hoarder with fifty cats?”

  “I will end you, Leo Malone, if it’s the last thing I do,” she promises me.

  “If it’s the last thing you do who will feed all your cats?” I ask and hiss at her as she stomps away.

  That was fun. I really did smell a cat but probably only one or two, but I needed to throw her off quick. I also need to burn these clothes as soon as I get home. Better make this a quick visit before she comes back with dogs.

  Katherine smiles as I walk in. She gets up and for moment I think she is going to embrace me, but she passes by me and closes the door—then wraps her arms around me and kisses me deeply.

  “This is a nice surprise. I need it too, given everything that happened last night. You wouldn’t know anything about that would you?” she asks me.

  I roll my eyes, curl my lip, and give a sort of grunt.

  “Oh dear. You weren’t part of it though?”

  “Just the warehouse,” I reply with a shrug.

  “Please be careful.”

  “I’m always careful.”

  She scoffs at my statement. “There were explosives and fire. That does not sound careful to me.”

  “You’re right, but it is damned exciting and a little fun if I’m totally honest here.”

  “What have I gotten myself into?”

  “I know what I got myself into the other night and I wouldn’t mind getting myself into it again.”

  She punches me in the chest hard enough to make me take a step back. “Pig.”

  She sits back behind her desk and I take a seat in a chair across from it.

  “I assume that disaster in the warehouse is about my father?”

  “It certainly pertained to the case, but I think from a grand plan perspective your father is a minor part.”

  “So you think the attacks on the mobsters are part of it?” she asks.

  “Most definitely, but whether that is a big part, small part, or just something to distract me I don’t know. There were vampires in all three attacks on the mobsters and at least two Sheriffs are involved. There is so much I don’t understand. You know they hit my computer guy last night too?”

  “Oh no!”

  “He got away though. The reason I came here, other than to see you, is to find out if you have any word on how the wolves are taking the sudden increase in vampire violence.”

  “They’re laying low but watching very closely. I don’t know how long they will stay on the sidelines if they think there is a threat to their identity. I imagine that means if there is a threat to the vampires revealing themselves as well. The hunt for one kind could easily uncover the other after all.”

  I think about that for a second. “I hope they stay on the sidelines. The last thing any of us need is for them to try to deal with it. Of course, I may welcome their help to clean up these new vamps afterward. I’m sure some of them would love to join the hunt.”

  Katherine looks at me quizzically. “What new vampires?”

  “Someone has gone through a lot of time and trouble to make new vampires to serve them.”

  “How many do you think there a
re?”

  “I don’t know. I’ve killed at least a dozen already. I can’t imagine there are that many more out there unless this has all been planned for a very long time.”

  “What makes you say that?”

  I ask her, “What do you know about making vampires?”

  “Not much. You bite them, infect them, and they turn into a vampire.”

  “Contracting vampirism is highly unlikely even if you are trying. At best, maybe one out of a hundred otherwise there would be a lot more of us. It’s easier to inflict someone with lycanthropy, but then you all don’t live as long so it pretty much evens out.”

  “Are you saying at least a thousand people died to make just the vampires you have killed in the last few days?” Katherine asks incredulously.

  “At least. And consider at least that many more attacked Yuri, Hanako, and the Italian.”

  “How can thousands of people just die and no one know about it?”

  I shrug. “It’s a big city, most of them are lowlifes with few people to notice and even fewer that care, and remember most of the ones that become vamps go right on acting as though nothing happened.”

  “You will have to kill them all?” she asks, obviously not liking the idea.

  “If they register with the Council and follow the rules, probably not. But from what I’ve see, these guys were chosen for the very reason that they are complete shit bags who revel in breaking rules and being a huge pain in the ass. Some of them may conform and I have no problem leaving them be if they do. Contrary to popular belief, I don’t take joy in killing—usually, there are exceptions of course.”

  She rolls her eyes at me. “So what now?”

  “I figure they are going to have to call in some skilled help to deal with me. I assume it will be one or two of the dirty Sheriffs considering how easily I laid waste to their younglings. I hope that I can take at least one of them alive and that should get me close enough to the boss to actually crack this case. The problem is getting them to talk. An experienced vampire can block most pain so physical coercion is difficult, but I have my ways.”

  “So you are just going to wait for them to attack you and hope you can capture one, assuming they don’t kill you?” Katherine exclaims.

  “Pretty much. I have other leads too, or will as soon as Marvin gets me a name or two from his end.”

  Katherine comes around the desk, puts her arms around my neck and kisses me. “Please be careful. I have a hard time replacing men once I decide to keep them.”

  “I am addictive. I better go just in case Castillo is serious about coming back with dogs.”

  “I was wondering what that smell was.”

  “Explosive residue and vampire bits. Cop dogs would look at me like a giant snausage right now.”

  She tells me to be careful once more before I make a hasty exit. I really don’t have anywhere else to go today and I would rather not leave Marvin alone any longer than I have to, so I return to my loft. They have already tried to take him out once, and as secure as I think my home is, I would be a fool to think it is impregnable—especially after Marvin already broke in.

  I watch Marvin pull his hand back from reaching for the shotgun propped against his desk as I come in. Good. That shows he is taking the danger he is in seriously. Something I wasn’t sure he was capable of until some vampire is showing him one of his own organs.

  “How’s it coming?”

  “I’m getting real close. I’m in their gateway router and that’s half the battle. Unless something really unexpected happens, I should be in their server in a couple hours tops.”

  Now could not be soon enough. I am getting tired of this game of waiting for others to make a move. I begin stripping off my clothes and toss them into the huge furnace.

  “Yo, Leo, whacha doing over there?” Marvin calls out over his monitors.

  “I have explosives residue on my clothes. I have to burn them before Castillo sticks her nose in them again.”

  “What the heck have you been blowing up?”

  “Just people who failed to meet my expectations. It’s my idea of a motivational speech,” I tell him and deliberate look his way.

  “Hostile work environment,” Marvin reminds me.

  I replace my jacket and clothes—I am going to have to do some major clothes shopping after this case—and decide to occupy my time in my armory. I find I do my best thinking breaking down my guns and designing explosives. I push the hidden button and the section of the floor lifts and rolls back to expose my armory.

  “Whoa,” Marvin exclaims and darts over to the exposed stairway, “what you got down there? Is that your bat cave?”

  I grab Marvin by the shoulder and propel him several steps backwards as I descend the steps. “It’s a very quick and painful end to our business relationship and possibly your life if you ever go near it.”

  “Hostile-work-environment!” Marvin calls down the stairs after me, enunciating each word.

  As I putter about my armory, I try to make sense of what is going on. The first thing I need to figure out is who gains from all this? Vincent is becoming increasingly unpopular with the Council and voting members of the enclave for a variety of reasons. He could have created this crisis and threat to the enclave simply so he could resolve it. It would show to the enclave that he could act with strength and decisiveness and perhaps shore up his declining popularity.

  It would not be the first time such a ploy has been used. But if he is behind it, why hire me? Vincent may hate me but he knows I am good at my job and could uncover the entire charade. Because he hates me. He calls me in, gets me involved, then kills me or makes me a scapegoat.

  Option two is someone else in the enclave smells Vincent’s weakness and decides to hasten his removal. They create this disaster, run it until Vincent is removed, then sweep in, makes it go away, and is hailed a hero. They gain strength in the enclave, maybe enough to be elected to the head of the Council.

  I really don’t care what the reason is at this point or who is behind it. My problem is that every scenario I come up with ends up with me dead at its conclusion. I really need to be more choosey of what cases I take. Then again, Vincent didn’t really give me a choice. At least I got laid before I die.

  Marvin calls me down to me several hours later so I put away my toys to see what he wants. I have to assume he has the information I want—either that or he wants to order another pizza. I can’t imagine eating that much pizza can be healthy.

  “You got something for me?”

  “Of course. Mo’ Money always delivers.”

  “Mo’ Money takes his sweet time. What do you have?”

  Marvin drops a stack of papers in front of me. “Dr. Sandra Johnston, senior biopharmaceutics researcher, all level access. Records show her card was used not only to access the biosafety-level 4 area but the secure storage system that contained nothing else but that sample. Here is her picture, her address, and her work schedule. Give me another hour and I will have her hobbies, turn-ons and offs.”

  I grab the stack of papers and cross the room to close the access to my armory. I’m not sure what tips me off, a sudden shift in the air perhaps. A black form drops from the ceiling and nearly takes my head off. My split-second dodge saves my life but I still end up with a vicious slash from my right shoulder to my left hip.

  I immediately block the pain as best I can without hindering my ability to fight. His weapon is vicious little thing. It has a punch knife handle but instead of a sharp blade for stabbing, it has a large, half moon-shaped blade made for the express purpose of popping off heads.

  The assassin immediately forces me into a fighting retreat, fending off lightning fast strikes and kicks with my bare hands. One mistake and I’ll lose some fingers at the very least. My own blade is tucked inside my jacket, but it may as well be on the other side of the room. The assassin’s attacks are so relentless I have no chance to draw it.

  I don’t recognize the face but it is quickly
apparent that he is a killer of exceptional quality and was probably quite expensive to hire. His fighting skills are at least equal to mine and he has a momentum he is not willingly going to relinquish.

  He slashes again at my throat with that unusual blade and I duck it then block a knee strike he launches at my face. I spin into a roundhouse kick and in one fluid motion pull Shalonda out of my pocket but he kicks it out of my grasp before I can bring it to bear.

  I earn several more slashes across my arms and chest as he forces me back across my loft. I need something to change the dynamics of this fight quick. No sooner do I think this than it happens, but not in a good way. Something rolls under my heel and I slip, just a little but it is enough to give my opponent the opening he needs.

  A monstrous kick to my chest lifts me from the ground and slams me into one the big support pillars. A new source of pain shoots through me. I don’t have the chance to look at what it is but I already know. It’s a piece of rebar protruding from the concrete support. I don’t know its original purpose; perhaps they hung tools or iron bars from it. I use it to hang my jacket up, and once again my jacket is hanging from it only this time I’m still in it.

  He uses his left arm to hold me against the pillar as well as pin my arms down. My assassin cocks his strange weapon back and prepares to relieve me of my pretty head. I realize I am well and truly screwed.

  Both of us, my assassin and I, have made the same mistake. We both discounted the other occupant in the room although for different reasons. I discounted Marvin as being any help in a fight, the killer apparently dismissed him as a threat. We are both mistaken.

  From my left I hear Marvin shout, “Break yourself, fool!”

  Partially blinded by the flash, I make out Marvin being blasted onto his ass by the recoil of the shotgun as he fires both barrels into the intruder from just fifteen feet away.