by Garth Ono
Rocco laughed. "I love you, too, baby girl."
That hit her harder than she expected. Kate liked to throw an "I love you" at her friends every so often in an argument. It was a great defuser, and sometimes quite an emotional blow. She'd thought herself immune to it.
A pickup and a jeep slammed into the zombies to either side of them. Men piled out, swinging machetes, swords, and axes. She felt a surge of adrenaline, and renewed her attack on the zombies. A few moments later a dozen police SUVs full of cops arrived. A police helicopter swooped down and she heard automatic fire from it.
The battle was on in earnest.
Kate wasn't sure how long they fought. The carnage was the worst she'd ever seen. It was worse than she could ever imagine. Headless bodies were everywhere, stacked two and three high in places. Men she recognized as slayers lay dead, too, their heads removed after they turned into zombies.
Leaning against the side of her Land Rover, Kate surveyed the scene as she struggled for air and trembled from overexertion. Rocco leaned against the Defender to her left, with Axl on her right.
"That was the hardest thing I've ever done in my life," she gasped out. "I'm too tired to collect heads."
"You and me three," Axl replied.
"The late comers are the only ones with the energy to collect heads," Rocco gasped out.
Kate took a deep, deep breath, held it, and then released slowly. It helped.
"Over my undead body," Kate said, standing straight. She swayed a second, but regained her balance. "I fought too hard to be robbed like that. I'm getting my heads."
Kate began the bloody business of piling heads behind her vehicle. Her friends started their own piles near hers. Everyone around them was scrambling for heads, too, so they had to keep an eye on their piles. Slayers would steal a head in a heartbeat.
In the end, she bagged thirty-five heads. In truth, she didn't think she'd actually killed that many zombies. But the cops couldn't collect bounties so she was cool with collecting extras.
Chapter 18
As soon as she was behind the wheel, Kate noticed a dark sedan a block down the street pull away. It looked like the car Daphne was in when they snatched her earlier that day. So she put it in gear and took off after the car.
The car sped up, convincing Kate it was one of Simon's minions, if not Daphne. She followed them around a corner, and down another residential street. Their speed increased to 60 MPH. The sedan sideswiped a parked car, but continued on at high speed. Then they ran through a four-way stop and almost crashed into another car, but that car veered into a third car. The intersection was blocked. Kate hit the brakes, skidded to a stop, before turning right and going over to the next street over.
She was unable to find them. The minions escaped. Afterwards, heart racing, she prayed no one at the wreck thought to jot down her license number. Otherwise, she was going to get a visit from the police. So she headed back to the hotel.
There was a line of vehicles waiting to turn in their heads. Kate was number four in line. That gave her plenty of time to think about what she planned. Well, truth was her plans were pretty sketchy.
"Daphne being with Simon complicates things."
When it was her turn, Kate got out and spotted Axl and Rocco three vehicles behind her. Rocco caught her eyes, and their gaze was intense. It was so obvious what they wanted from her. It was kind of embarrassing, yet thrilling. But she still had hope her relationship with Randy would develop into something.
She didn't know the cops checking in heads, so Harris and Thomas finally got relieved. Kate was too distracted to banter with the cops. She turned her heads in, got her receipt, and headed over to the office to cash in. Yet, she took her time getting inside to allow Axl and Rocco to catch up.
"How many did you boys cash in?" she asked.
They looked exhausted, and a lot more bloody and ragged than she remembered. Kate wondered if she looked as bad. It was a rough morning.
"Eighty-three heads," Rocco said.
"Each?" she cried, shocked.
She didn't recall their piles of heads being any bigger than hers. Did they collect some more after she left?
"Together," Rocco said. "And you?"
"Thirty-five," she said. "I swear, I might've earned half a year's income in just three days." She remembered something, and stepped back with hands on hips. Her eyes narrowed. "You guys owe me for twelve heads, maybe fifteen now that I think about it."
They looked confused. She reminded them of that morning, when they fought zombies together and she became separated.
"You were gone when I returned, and didn't leave the heads I took," she said. "But I'm willing to compromise and accept $1200 cash. Pay up."
She thrust her open hand out. They looked shocked. And then uncomfortable.
"We didn't steal your heads," Rocco said, looking at Axl for support. "In the heat of the moment we just grabbed the heads and took off after the horde. I mean…"
"Are you sure you killed that many rotters?" Axl asked. "It seemed more like four or five kills for you."
"I'm sure it was fifteen," Kate said. She was pretty sure it was closer to ten, but needed some room to barter. "But I'm willing to be nice and take cash for twelve. For the sake of our friendship."
"I think $500, maybe $550 is fair," Rocco countered.
"Absolutely not, you jerk. Okay, I'll be nice and compromise. Give me $900 cash, but not a dollar less," she replied.
"We'll buy all the beer you can drink, and give you $600 to settle the head issue," Axl said.
She just stared at them. We're they serious? Did they really think buying her a few beers would compensate for $300?
"No, no, no, that's not acceptable," she said, taking an aggressive step towards them. For once they were the ones to step back. Kate grimaced, trying to act like it really hurt her to say it. "Okay, I'll take $850, but under protest."
Her back was against the wall. Literally. People were looking. The cops in the room looked dangerously suspicious. She didn't want to cause trouble, but she wanted her money.
"Split the difference," Rocco said. "We'll give you $750."
Their eyes locked. It was intense. Kate felt it all of the way to her bones. She could tell he was determined, but she wanted her money. Why would they admit to taking the heads, but dispute paying her what she was owed? Did they honestly think she took so few heads? Yet, ten heads for $750 was $75 a head, or what she'd make back home with the service call fee.
"Okay," she whispered. Kate felt like she lost that battle. "Give me $750 and we'll call it even."
Each of them counted out $375 into her hands. She folded the cash and stuffed it in her back pocket. Kate turned and headed toward the police offices to cash in her receipt.
"Nice doing business with you boys," she said. "But don't you ever take my bounties again. I won't be so forgiving next time."
"Let's us buy you a couple beers," Rocco replied.
Kate's phone rang. It was the Darth Vader theme song ring tone, indicating Mayor Gilbert was calling. She held a hand up, before turning away and answering the call.
"Hello?"
"Kate, this is Nicole Gilbert, what the hell do you think you're doing?" she demanded. "We had an agreement that you would not go to St. Louis."
She had to pause and think back. Kate sighed. Like always, the mayor tried to put her on the defensive to gain advantage. Very irritating. Of course, it worked more often than not.
"Can we talk about this later? I'm kind of in the middle of something here."
"No. I want you back in Tennyson ASAP," she said. "And don't even try to say you aren't in St. Louis. I happen to know thousands of dollars have been deposited into your account every day for the last three days. Paid by the St. Louis Police Department. Zombie bounty money."
Opening her mouth to defend herself, Kate paused. How did she know that? That was privileged information. The bank wasn't allowed to give the mayor her account information. And then she remembered the mayor's dau
ghter, Mercy, worked at the bank.
"You're daughter gave you my private account information," Kate accused. "That's against the law. It might be a felony."
"No. Don't be ridiculous," Mayor Gilbert said. Kate gave her credit, she didn't sound worried or defensive. Must be good to be a politician and have such self-control. "Back on topic, we have an agreement. We pay you a sizable retainer…"
"And if you have a zombie show up, I'll be there quickly to kill it," Kate said, not letting her finish. "St. Louis is within my sphere of business. I accept calls up to an hour away, so even if I wasn't here it could still take up to an hour to answer a call on any given day."
The mayor didn't care for that argument, but there wasn't anything she could do about it. Kate refused to accept any other view. She wasn't going to ignore all other calls and just sit there waiting for the city or school district to call. Though, she did worry they'd change their minds about keeping her on retainer.
"Lordy, that woman wears me out," Kate said after the call finally ended. She looked at Axl and Rocco, looking eagerly at her. The idea of socializing over beer no longer appealed to her. Maybe a nap. "Sorry, boys, I'm not in the mood."
Chapter 19
"What a beautiful day," Kate said.
She sat inside a Jack in the Box eating a burger and fries for lunch. Even better, she was washing it down with a small chocolate shake. Kate wasn't too far away from the hotel, and had just left there after turning in her morning take of eighteen zombie heads, so she could've stayed and ate for free off the sandwich buffet. But she was craving a burger and fries.
A Rolls Royce limo turned into the parking lot. Kate perked up at seeing a little slice of England. When the limo stopped outside the main entrance, she thought about going over to whoever got out and came inside. After all, she was wearing a Queen t-shirt with the Union Jack on it.
"Oh, that can't be good," Kate muttered, setting her half-eaten burger down.
Calista strutted around the back of the limo and straight through the entrance. There were ten other patrons enjoying lunch in the dining area, including a family of four. Everyone turned at the distinct sound of stilettos on tile. The stewardrix was walking in a way to make her heels strike the floor loud and proud.
The red-latex clad woman went straight up to her. Kate lifted her chocolate shake and sucked in a mouthful of cold deliciousness as she slowly looked Calista up and down. Calista struck a pose like she was Wonder Woman or something.
"Even in this autumn weather that outfit has to be hot as hell," Kate said.
"It is," she said. "But I like it hot. Lord Mordred has granted you an audience."
Everyone was staring at Kate, waiting for her response. Did they even know Mordred was Master of the City? She suspected the others were just fascinated by the lady in the latex catsuit.
"I didn't ask for an audience," she replied.
"He wishes to discuss your offer," Calista said. "Please come with me." When Kate hesitated, she continued with a wicked little smirk, "If you come with me, maybe I'll give you that spanking you requested."
The other patrons perked up. Kate felt her face heat up.
"Someone's going to get their bum whipped, but it won't be me," she said, eyes narrowing. "I know where Mordred lives. I'll come over after I finish my lunch."
Calista leaned in close. Kate turned her face out of fear the woman would kiss her. She had a very lusty look about her. When she spoke, Calista's hot breath caressed Kate's cheek.
"Lord Mordred is not home," she said. "He wishes to meet with you in private. Come. With. Me. Now."
It was getting quite uncomfortable with everyone watching and listening.
"Back off," Kate whispered. "I'm not one for public displays of S&M."
Calista kissed her cheek. "What a shame. I have the perfect leash and collar for you."
The stewardrix stepped back. Kate gave her the side-eye as she quickly finished her meal. Then she took the unfinished shake with her. As she followed Calista out, she noticed smirks on the faces of many of the patrons.
"It's not what you think, pervs," Kate said. Once outside, "I don't appreciate you making me look like a BDSM lesbian."
"Give me one night, and I'll make you a BDSM lesbian."
"Ewww," she said as the driver opened the driver's side backdoor for her. She paused, "How? Never mind, I don't want to know."
Calista just laughed.
Kate was driven to a business district of campus facilities. They drove up to a back entrance heavily guarded by men with automatic weapons. Indeed, the guards looked like soldiers. They searched the limo for several minutes before waving them through. The grounds were well-manicured and it was hard to believe she was at a corporate facility.
"Where are we?" she asked.
"Lord Mordred's corporate headquarters," Calista said. "He's a high-tech billionaire by day, Master of the City by night."
There were multiple modern style structures on the grounds. The limo turned into an underground garage below the central, largest building. Kate counted fifteen levels above ground before they plunged into darkness. There were five levels just in the underground garage, and the limo parked at the lowest level, which was sealed off by a large bay door.
"I've heard of private parking places, but a private underground garage?"
"Lord Mordred likes his privacy."
The Rolls Royse stopped in front of the brightly lit elevator lobby. The driver quickly got out and opened Kate's door. Calista led her into the only elevator.
"Is this his secret, private lift?" Calista just nodded. "Wow. It's good to be a billionaire."
"By the way, you should know Lord Mordred's real name is David Michaels," Calista said. "And only a handful of his employees know he is Mordred Moor, so be careful what you say and how you address him in front of others."
Kate worried her lip as the elevator rose quickly. Mordred was a lot richer and more powerful outside of his little Gothic subculture world than she expected. He had real power in the real world. No wonder he insisted he wasn't a vampire. If the Feds found out he was undead, they might declare him dead and execute his will. He could lose everything. That might make him even more dangerous.
Sebastian's offer to pay her an additional bounty on top of the territory's bounty came to her forethoughts. Technically, she could kill him in his own office and not face any charges since he was a vampire. But she better make certain he was a drac, or she could be thrown in prison for murder. Of course, his security force might kill her for killing him. In fact, she was sure of it.
The elevator opened into a small, but bright, white and chrome lobby deep within Mordred's suite of offices. An assistant was waiting. He was a tall, slim black man, wearing glasses and an expensive suit. Kate guessed he was late twenties or early thirties.
"Hello, Ms Brokenshire. I'm Theodore Foster, Mr. Michaels' executive assistant," he said. He gave Calista a disapproving look. "Mistress Calista will wait here for you. Follow me."
Theodore led Kate to a small sitting room with a private bath. There was a TV on the wall, showing some cable business network. A small bar was against one wall, with a comfortable leather couch and matching chairs. No windows. And the assistant locked her inside.
"That's just rude," she muttered. She checked the bar out, finding unopened bottles of expensive liquors and wines. She got a bottle of water and sat on the couch. "I could be making thousands of dollars right now hunting zombies."
The longer she waited the more that last thought crept into her mind. Before Calista showed up, she had excellent prospects of taking more heads in one day than she usually took in a whole month. Kate might not exactly enjoy killing rotters, but she did like the money and the lifestyle. It beat a nine to five job hands down.
After an hour, Kate was on her phone trying to find the phone number to his corporate headquarters so she could demand they let her leave. She even thought of calling the police to report being held against her will. Kate fo
und the phone number to the Executive Offices just before she gave up and called 911.
"Hello, this is Kate Brokenshire and I'm locked inside a room within David Michaels' office suite," she told the receptionist that answered. "If someone doesn't let me out of here in ten seconds, I'm going to – " The door opened and Mordred stepped inside. "Never mind."
While Master of the City, Mordred Moor, was a dark, brooding figure, all dressed in Goth black and despair, his business world David Michaels persona was the polar opposite. David was devastatingly tall, dark, and handsome. Really, the sight of him in that perfectly tailored suit took her breath away.
"Sorry about the wait, Kate," Mordred said. He smiled. She kind of melted a little. "My meeting ran long."
"You clean up rather well, Mr. Michaels," she said. "I'm almost embarrassed that I was about to call the police and report being kidnapped." She stood up. "I hope this meeting is fruitful, because it is costing me hundreds, if not thousands by being here."
He looked more bemused than offended or angry. She began to have very inappropriate thoughts. And then he spoiled it.
"You look a little ragged, but I kind of like it," he said. "I like the all black outfit, of course. The English flag isn't to my tastes, but I can appreciate your love of your country."
Why did he have to make her feel self-conscious? Anger and frustration bubbled up.
"Black hides the blood and gore," she said. "And I am bloody and gory right now." She leaned forward with an evil smirk. "I kill dead things."
"So I've heard," he said, not looking the least bit intimidated. "I've also heard that you've slayed at least one vampire. So you are as deadly as you are beautiful."
That made up for the "ragged" comment. The look in his eyes said he wanted to jump on her. In a good way. She ran a hand over her hair, tugged on her braid, and rubbed her lips together.
"I hate the fact I'm starting to like you," she said, and winked. "But as dashing and handsome as you look, I'm a busy girl. I pray you have a substantial offer to make on my proposal. Will you or one of your vampires help me round up the zombies?"