by Elodie Colt
We made our way over to the girl, and she looked up when she saw us approaching. She had a sweet face with huge, chestnut brown eyes, black hair, and looked like she had an exotic heritage.
“Hi, what can I get you?” she asked us with a cute smile.
“Two bottles of beer and two tequilas, please,” Jimmy ordered for both of us, and we took a seat on the stools facing the bar.
For a moment, I had a flashback. I used to spend most of my nights in bars like this one—my strategy to cope with everything that had happened. Not that it had helped in any way.
Lit-up displays of all sorts were covering the back wall along with dozens of bottles containing different liquors. The girl put two bottles of beer in front of us and started to fill shot glasses with tequila. I used the opportunity to interrogate her.
“Hi, my name is Officer Dwight, this here is Officer Cornell. We’re looking for someone. What’s your name?” I asked her while quickly showing the front of my fake ID before letting it vanish in my pocket.
“Oh, okay. Lauren. Lauren Stanton.“
“Lauren, I’d like to ask you a few questions, if that’s okay.” She nodded before setting the shots on the counter while Jimmy gave her some bills in exchange. “Were you working here yesterday?”
“Yes, I was.”
“Did you notice something strange yesterday, anything that was out of place, maybe?”
The girl frowned at the question. “I don’t know. I’m working at a bar, strange things happen here every night. Could you be more specific?”
“We’re looking for someone who entered the bar a little after two a.m., a man with long blond hair, tall, looking like a bad guy… He wore a gray trench coat.” There was not much I could give her to describe him better.
“Um, no. I don’t remember anyone like that, but hey, I have a lot of customers every night. I don’t remember every face, sorry. There was a band playing yesterday, and the bar was packed. Why are you looking for him?”
“We assume that…” My eyes flew to Jimmy’s for help, but he just lifted his eyebrows in question while taking a few sips of his beer, waiting for the answer I’d invent, “… he mishandled one of the women from Jessica’s across the street,” was my poor excuse.
“Oh my God, that’s horrible,” Lauren exclaimed. “No, I don’t remember anyone like that. I mean, there was a strange guy here yesterday. He was drunk and rude, insulting one of our bartenders, so I kicked him out.” Why would Dorian insult a bartender? That didn’t make sense.
“What did he look like?”
“Like every man in his thirties who doesn’t do anything else than pumping his body with alcohol every minute of the day. He looked like one of the homeless with stains on his shirt and holes in his jacket.”
“Okay, that’s not the man we’re looking for.” My hope vanished. Roes were usually neat and cultivated in their appearance—evolution had seen to that. “Would he know anything about it?”
The girl turned to face the direction in which I was pointing. “Joey, the owner? No, he wasn’t here yesterday. It was just Haylie and me.”
“Who is she?”
“Haylie Bryceland, the other bartender. I could ask her tomorrow if you want. Maybe she saw someone who fits your description. She doesn’t have shifts on Thursdays, so she’s not here tonight.”
I nodded. “That would be great. Anything could be of help.”
I thanked the girl and gave her my card. Clinking glasses with Jimmy, we downed our tequilas. After returning the empty glasses back to the girl, Jimmy asked another question.
“One more thing… where’s the emergency exit?”
She continued polishing glasses and nodded her head to the end of the bar. “Behind the stage. We use it to get to the dumpsters.”
Jimmy nodded. “We’ll check that out if that’s okay.”
The girl shrugged. “Sure, no problem. But what do you think you’ll find out there that might help you?”
I shrugged. “Anything can be of importance.”
“I hope you catch the bastard. We know the clientele of Jessica’s over there. They come here to get plastered and go fuck the whores afterward. I don’t envy those girls.”
I was stunned for a second. Her cuteness didn’t match her choice of words. I guess whoever was working in a night bar in that part of town had to have a hard nutshell. I could only imagine what kind of customers were paying them a visit here.
“We’ll do our best,” I promised her. The girl turned back to the lonely customer who’d ordered another triple shot.
“Let’s check this exit out, shall we?” I suggested to Jimmy, and we both emptied our bottles in one gulp.
We made our way over to the stage and continued to walk through the black curtains which were hiding a chaos of microphones, speakers, and other musical equipment. A sign lit up in green and white over one of the doors indicated the emergency exit. Jimmy heaved the heavy door open, and we ascended the steps to get outside. We found ourselves in a little courtyard consisting of dumpsters, garbage bags, and broken bar stools. The yard was surrounded by apartment blocks several stories high.
“I guess this was his exit strategy,” Jimmy concluded, and my eyes followed to where he was pointing—a manhole cover on the ground was covering only half the hole underneath.
“Shit.” Dorian had gone underground. The countless tunnels down there gave him numerous exiting possibilities.
My phone vibrated in my pocket, and I pulled it out to see that Ricky was calling.
“You’ve got news?” I asked brusquely. My nerves were frayed. I was itching to find that bastard, and I was still pissed at Ricky for buggering this up in the first place.
“Yeah, we found a recording of him. I don’t have footage of the back door, but—”
I interrupted him. “Stay where you are, we’re coming back.” I nodded to Jimmy who understood immediately. “Did they find something?”
“Only one way to find out.”
~~~
Back in the compound, we made our way to the control room discussing what Dorian could be up to.
“Hey, my favorite boys are back,” a familiar voice shouted from behind, and we both turned to face Sarah. “I heard you were outside following a trace. Did you find anything?”
“Not sure. We need to see the footage first. We’re on our way there,” I filled her in.
“Sounds exciting. I’m going with you.”
“How were your classes today?”
Sarah let out an exaggerated sigh. “Awful. I healed two split lips, three sprains, and countless cuts. I’m so fucking tired.”
I chuckled in response. “I don’t understand why you even bother to heal them. They should learn to live with their wounds and know what it means to wait for them to heal the natural way. We didn’t have Regenerators and got through just fine. You could be a little rougher on them,” I muttered. Babysitting wouldn’t prepare them for what awaited them outside of these safe walls.
Sarah smiled back at me. “Oh, I’m sorry, General Dwight,” she emphasized in exaggeration. “This is a training compound where everyone can volunteer to live. We’re not in the military here. Besides, I’m helping the compound by saving money we would use for bandaging material otherwise.”
Jimmy snorted. “Oh, my lovely Sarah. How nice of you to see to my financial problems.”
“You’re welcome,” she replied sweetly.
I laughed at her response. Sarah was one of the few girls in the compound who was neither arrogant, bitchy, nor annoying. Her lightness and optimism always put me in a good mood. She was a decent fighter, but Jimmy mostly sent her in the field for defending and healing as those were her specialties.
Back in the control room, Ricky showed us the footage he’d found. Jimmy, Sarah, Phil, and I stared at the screen currently showing an empty alleyway at night dimly lit by a street lamp in one corner.
“Where is that?” Sarah asked, closing the distance to the screen to make ou
t the location.
“A few blocks further up. I assume he came here immediately after leaving the bar. It would match the time.”
At first, there appeared to be nothing unusual, but then a manhole cover on the ground started to move. Hands came out from under the hole pushing the cover away. A figure exited—it was Dorian.
He walked over to the wall of the nearest building, and another figure emerged from the shadows. Unfortunately, this one was standing with his back to the camera and had a hood over his head which provided no information about his hair or other prominent features. Dorian said something we couldn’t hear, the other figure nodded in response, and they both disappeared out of sight.
So, nothing at all that would be of any help.
“Well, that was unspectacular,” Sarah found it important to point out while pushing her chestnut brown hair back behind her ears.
I tossed the pencil I’d been chewing on the desk in frustration, angling my body away from the monitors.
“We’re at a dead end,” Ricky muttered, leaning back in his chair.
“Maybe he’ll come back. He seems to have business there,” Phil suggested.
“I guess we don’t have another option than to count on it, but that means we have to guard the area every night from now on to have a chance of catching him,” Jimmy explained.
I refocused on the monitors. “Ricky, can you rewind the recording to the part where Dorian is talking to the other one?”
“Sure.”
The video crawled backward, and Ricky hit the play button at the right moment. I fixated my gaze on Dorian’s lips, but couldn’t make it out clearly. “Zoom in and play it again,” I ordered. After a few tries, I was certain. “I found one,” I mumbled absently.
“What?” Jimmy asked with irritation in his voice.
“Dorian said ‘I found one.’ I’m sure of it.”
“What, are you able to read lips now?” Sarah asked in disbelief.
“Just watch for yourself,” I replied, and Ricky showed them all the footage again.
“You’re right. Those were his words,” Jimmy stated.
“So, the question is… What did he find?” Sarah asked no one in particular. We all continued to stare at the screens, none of us having a clue about what Dorian could have meant.
“It doesn’t matter for now. We know he’s here for a reason. The Hunters are planning something, which means Dorian will come back for whatever they were looking for,” I countered. “It also explains why he left through the back door. He accomplished his mission after he’d found it, and he wanted to get the message out as soon as possible. Lauren told us there was a band playing in the bar yesterday. It was packed with people, maybe even with security guarding the entrance, and he needed to get out of there quickly and undetected.”
Jimmy nodded in agreement. “Most certainly. We’ll track him down. Phil, print out a detailed map of the area with all possible exit paths. Ricky, make me a list of everyone available at night for the next few days. I want to have the guards organized as soon as possible. We need to be prepared.”
A few minutes later, Phil came over to us with a huge printout in his hands. “I’ve got the map,” Phil informed us and rolled the long paper out on a nearby empty desk, putting pencil holders on the edges to add some weight. Jimmy took center and scanned the map quickly.
“Okay, Joey’s bar is here.” He highlighted the bar sign on the map with a red marker. “And Jessica’s is here.” He made the same circle on the other side. “I want guards positioned in these four areas.” Jimmy highlighted the places, one above the bar, one under it, and one on each side. “This should cover the main area surrounding the bar as well as the place where Dorian was spotted when he came from the underground.” He also marked the place a few blocks above the bar before he continued with his strategy. “I want the guards to work in pairs from dusk till dawn, no switching shifts.”
“If you want good fighters, then there won’t be enough of us. We can’t leave the compound unprotected,” Sarah interjected.
“We’ll do splits. One Professional and one Intermediate for each pair makes four of each in total. That should be enough.”
“I could give you a few of my students. There are two or three who could be helpful,” Sarah offered, but Jimmy shook his head.
“No, I can’t send Freshmen in the field. It would only increase the risk of blowing our cover. I’ll take the others from Chris and Cassie’s classes. They should be up to the task.” Everyone nodded in agreement. “Okay then, Ricky and I will join the first shift tomorrow,” Jimmy ordered. “The second group will be Sarah and Phil, the third Cassie and one of her class, and the fourth Chris with one of his class. In every shift, there will be a Regenerator and a Catcher present. That should cover it up.”
“What about me?” I asked, already dreading the answer which annoyed the hell out of me.
“No, I need someone here to guard the compound.” I would have loved some action, but I guess as second-in-command, you have other things to do than fighting. “I don’t think we’ll be confronted with a fight soon. I just want to see what they’re up to. I’m sure that’s not the fun you’re looking for, Dylan.” I chuckled in response. Jimmy knew me well.
“All right. Sarah, please send Cassie and Chris to me, we need to discuss strategy. Everyone has to know the area better than their own room. Ricky, find me the best places for hiding… rooftops, bushes, dumpsters, or whatever else there is. Phil, prepare equipment for the first shift tomorrow. We’ll need headsets, binoculars, fighting uniforms, and whatever else you think could be useful.”
~~~
Sleep avoided me. The thought of the Hunters hitting the streets above me was making me toss and turn in my bed.
With a sigh, I got up, put on some jeans and a faded old shirt, took the package of cigarettes along with a lighter from my nightstand, and exited my room. I appreciated the silence of the compound at night. As the training area was bigger than a football field, I was used to the loud noises surrounding me during the day and sometimes even at night, but the wide space was silent now.
Heading to the northern end of the area, I crossed the tunnels leading to the exit, my footsteps echoing off the concrete walls. I ascended the metal steps and opened the trap door wide enough to get through. Fresh night air hit me, and I inhaled greedily.
The trapdoor was hidden behind a huge tree at the edge of a thick forest and next to a big cemetery covering a few acres, so the chance of being seen crawling up from the underground at night equaled zero. In the worst case, people would run away scared, probably doubting their mental state at having seen a ghost.
I took a seat under the tree and leaned back against the trunk. Owls and other nocturnal animals chirped in the woods. I took a cigarette from the package, lit it, and relaxed while watching the stars shine through the canopy of leaves.
The trap door suddenly flipped back, and Jimmy emerged. “Let me guess, you were able to sleep as well as I was,” he mumbled. Jimmy sat down next to me.
“You guessed right.”
We sat in silence for a few minutes before Jimmy inquired, “Will you ever stop chewing on those lung cancer stems?”
I grinned and took a big pull in response exhaling the smoke through my nose. “Old prison inmate habit.”
“Hmm.” Jimmy nodded, retrieving a metal flask from the pocket of his jacket.
“Will you ever stop swallowing that liver cancer liquor?” I fired back.
“Old compound leader habit,” Jimmy replied, and we both laughed at our jokes.
I sucked pleasurably on my cigarette, puffing out tiny circles of smoke while Jimmy took a huge gulp from his flask. “I can’t stop racking my brain about what they’re up to,” Jimmy mused after closing the lid.
I exhaled the smoke left in my lungs. “They won’t be up to anything good, that’s for sure. It’s been months since we last heard from them. We knew they wouldn’t be hiding in the shadows forever.”
I gnashed my teeth at pondering over that possibility. “I don’t know, I hope not. They’ve already killed two… one seven and one four years ago. If they get their hands on another one, they’ll be extinct soon. Maybe it would be better this way,” I added as an afterthought with a sour taste in my mouth.
Jimmy’s face fell. He didn’t share my opinion on that matter. I used to see things differently, too, but our attempts to protect them had been in vain so far, and it was still pressing down on me harder than I wanted to admit.
“But I doubt he was talking about that. If they’d found one, he wouldn’t have left.” I tried to cheer my friend up.
“What if they changed strategy? What if they’re recruiting them for their purposes now?”
“Maybe. However, this would turn out to be difficult. Naturals are powerful, more powerful than any of us can imagine, but they have good intentions. As far as we know, evolution has made them good people. Trying to get them over to the dark side will be in vain, I think. And if they don’t volunteer to join the Hunters, then they’ll have to force them. They would be playing with fire. If the one with power isn’t in control of it, nobody is. Force is not helping here. The Hunters would destroy themselves, and they know that.”
I took the last pull of my cigarette and snipped it away. The glowing stump flew in a perfect arc landing a few gravestones farther up. Jimmy’s gaze was still troubled, so I clasped him on the shoulder.
“Shit, I don’t know, man. But let’s not meet the trouble halfway, okay? You don’t even know if the guarding is going to help us. We could stand there the whole week without anything happening.”
“You’re right.” Jimmy sighed and changed the subject after a few minutes of silence. “By the way, Cassie asked me if she could get training lessons from you.”
My head shot to Jimmy. “You’re joking.”
Jimmy just shook his head trying to hide his laughter. “Nope, I’m totally serious, buddy.”