by Garth Ono
As expected, Simon headed for I-64. His home was equal distance between I-64 and I-170, so he would've headed for I-170 if he was going north. She was confident that Mehlville was his destination.
Kate expected the vamps to take I-64 to I-44, and then I-55 south to Mehlville. He didn't. Instead, they drove over to Brentwood and headed south. She had to text Axl to get them moving. Brentwood was heading in the right direction, but Kate didn't know the city well enough to know if it would go all of the way to Mehlville.
Kate drove with her lights off as she followed, just keeping Simon's taillights in sight. As soon as Rocco caught up and passed her, she fell back. Rocco had his lights on. He tailed them until they turned east on Newport. Kate sped up and took over at that point, lights on. Every time Simon turned, they swapped out tailing him. It wasn't long before Simon drove up on I-44 and headed for Kirkwood on the corner of I-44 and I-270.
Simon exited the highway and continued on Cragwold Road. They passed by the road to the Powder Valley Nature Center, and went under I-270. Cragwold turned right, paralleling the highway. The ten-foot tall chain link and razor wire perimeter fence was on the other side of Cragwold Road. The minivan stopped at the T-intersection.
Kate, Rocco, and Axl stopped short of I-270. She snuck through the underpass, while Axl and Rocco split up and headed up on top of the highway to have the high ground.
Use ur phones to record them cutting fence, Kate messaged her friends.
Dropping to one knee in the nightshadows of the underpass, Kate video-recorded Simon getting out with large red bolt-cutters. Brandy and a big Latino minion also had bolt-cutters. The last minion remained behind the wheel, engine running.
Come on, baby, commit the crime for Mummy, she thought. Aloud, she whispered for the phone to record her narration with the video, "That is Simon Williams with his vamp minion Brandy. I don't remember her last name. I suspect the other two are just minions, not vamps. And they are about to cut holes in the perimeter fence here in Kirkwood, off Cragwold Road."
Her heart raced. Kate struggled to keep herself calm and her phone steady. With that evidence she would condemn Simon and seal his fate, just in case he escaped. She felt a little giddy and lightheaded when Simon, Brandy, and the Latino walked up to the fence, well lit by the minivan's headlights. Simon made the first cut and passed through. Brandy followed, while the Latino stayed to widen the hole.
Once Simon was out of sight, she stopped recording and sent what she had, including her GPS coordinates, to the police TOC at the hotel. She also requested the police come as quickly as possible through a message, afraid to speak at that time. Any noise would reveal her presence.
Her phone rang. The sound echoed through the night.
"Buggers," she snarled. "Who the bloody hell… The police?"
The minivan horn started honking over and over. The Latino was already heading back, pistol in hand. Kate pulled both 9mm pistols and took off running toward the minivan. As she reached the driver's door, Kate fired three shots and shattered the window. Then she swung the other pistol around into the driver's face. Kate reached in, turned off the engine, and threw the keys away.
"Die pig!" the Latino man cried.
Kate wondered for the briefest second if he thought she was a cop, or if he was just calling her a pig. She ducked behind the vehicle, firing over the short hood as his shots slammed loudly into it. Axl and Rocco came screaming down, distracting the minion. That gave her an opening. Rising up, she fired and hit him twice, leg and arm.
"Don't kill him," Kate shouted. "He'll become a vamp." She ran up to the breach in the fence. "Make sure the two minions are disarmed and guard them. I'm going after Simon and Brandy."
Kate charged through the breach. There were three lines of fences in some areas of the perimeter, and two in others. Any fencing along the Missouri River was just one line of defenses. She heard the two vamps before she saw them. Brandy was urging Simon to hurry.
"Give it up, Simon! The police are almost here," Kate shouted. "It's over."
He stood just outside of the last line of defensive fencing, arms lifted and head back. That was the first time she'd ever seen a vamp Calling zombies. Brandy stood back to back with him, but she was pointing a pistol back the way they'd come.
"You better get out of here, Brokenbitch," Brandy shouted. "If I get my fangs in you…"
Kate scowled. There were a few mean girls when she was growing up that called her that name. Of all the nasty names people called her that was the one she hated the most. So she dropped to one knee, took careful aim, and shot Brandy center of mass. The vamp was knocked back into Simon, who stumbled forward.
"Take that, stupid bitch," Kate muttered. And then she shot Simon. Maybe too late. Zombies appeared. Lots and lots of zombies. "Buggers."
"Get her! Kill her!" Simon shouted to the zombies. He pointed right at Kate. "Kill the mortal bitch."
Zombies came pouring through the hole in the fence. Kate replaced her magazines with full, before holstering both. She loosened the machete in its sheath, and then pulled up Lupara.
"Time to take some heads," Kate said, and charged towards the incoming zombies.
"Wahoo!" Axl cried as he came running out of the dark. "Rotters galore! I'm going to be rich!"
He was running downhill, and slammed into the lead zombies. Two were down and dead before Kate wrapped her head around his arrival. She hit them a second later, pressing Lupara to the throat of one and pulling the trigger, before releasing that weapon and pulling the machete. Slash. Slash. Slash. And two more zombies lost their heads, and one lost her hand.
Axl was a killing machine. She stopped twice to watch him work. The man rarely missed the neck, and then only because an arm was thrown up to block his blow. What he missed, Kate got.
"Slicing and dicing, baby!" Axl shouted. "Give me a vamp. I want a new car!"
Kate spotted Brandy swinging around behind him. Simon was trying to sneak up on her. She was keeping a close eye on him, wanting him to get closer. Kicking straight out into a rotter's chest, knocking him back into three others, she pulled a pistol with her left hand and emptied the magazine into Brandy. The vampire looked stunned, jerking as the bullets ripped through her undead flesh. Vampires healed quickly, and didn't feel pain as far as Kate knew, but being shot always messed them up for a few seconds.
"I will kill you!" Simon cried and lunged at her.
Dropping the pistol and machete, Kate turned as she pulled Lupara up and around toward Simon. Boom! Simon's arms flew wide as he was knocked backwards. Snatching up the machete, Kate charged him. He kicked at her, forcing her to dodge aside. The pistol was still in his hand, so she swung at it.
"Shit," he growled when his hand and weapon were lost.
Simon tried to roll away from her, but Kate expected the move. She jumped on his back, bringing the machete down on his right shoulder. He grunted, but it wasn't completely severed. Instead of attacking her, he half-crawled, half-lunged forward.
"He's going for the gun," Axl shouted.
Kate's eyes locked on the pistol with his severed hand next to it. His remaining hand wrapped around it. Simon rolled to the side, bringing his weapon to bear on Kate. She kicked his hand. The pistol fired, missing her, though Kate was sure she heard the bullet pass within inches of her face. Residue blasted her face.
"This ends…" Kate snarled as she stomped on his forearm, driving it into the ground. She lifted the machete high, caught and held his startled eyes. "Now!"
Kate brought the inwardly curved kukri machete down on Simon's neck, taking off his head. She looked at Axl, who was cleaning his machete off on a dead zombie. Brandy's head was at his feet. There were a dozen dead zombies scattered around the area. And then suddenly the whole area was lit up with flashing red, white, and blue emergency lights.
She looked down on Simon's slack, upturned face. Kate thought she should feel some kind of victory. Vindication. Triumph. Or just relief. Instead, it occurred to her that h
e was probably a pretty decent man before a vampire bit him and put him on that path.
Chapter 28
The police took over the scene. All three of them were interviewed, but when one of the cops finally checked Simon's head they conceded it wasn't a murder scene. Fangs trump dead bodies. The cops wouldn't let them take the heads, but they gave Kate a receipt for two vampires and twelve zombies.
Simon's surviving minions were arrested, and the Latino rushed to a hospital. Kate managed to get their names first: Hector Torres and Phil Park. Upon Simon's death they were freed from his control. She felt bad for them, since they were compelled to help Simon against their wills, but too often minions were prosecuted and convicted anyway. They would be victimized again, so that was two more lives that Simon destroyed.
Axl and Rocco wanted to return to the hotel and cash in. Kate resisted, afraid they'd vanish into the beer garden to celebrate. The beer garden was open and busy all day and night. Some head hunters preferred working at night. Some just liked to drink all night.
Kate led the two men back to their vehicles so the police couldn't overhear.
"There's one more vampire and her big ass minion," Kate said. They perked up, eyes filling with mercenary glee. "This is not a head hunt. Daphne is my friend. She's been my best friend since time began. I want to save her."
Their enthusiasm went away.
"Daphne's minion has been trying to kill me since well before he was bitten," Kate said, regaining at least their attention. "If he doesn't behave…"
"Shoot him. Wait for his fangs to pop out," Axl said. He drew a line across his throat with a finger. "Claim another drac head. Bam. I like it."
That sounded terribly unsavory to her, but as long as they killed him in self-defense it was okay and legal. She couldn't just kill Brody because he threatened her.
"Three drac heads in one night," Rocco said with a beatific look on his face. "Oh man, one each for the full bounty. Wow." Then he wagged his brows at Kate. "After that, Axl and I are definitely going to get your ass drunk, Kate."
She smiled and nodded, but said, "You can try."
There was no way she'd let herself get drunk in the beer garden. Getting drunk was never a good idea for her.
"I can't guarantee anything, but I need you to guard my back if I can arrange a meet and greet with my friend tonight," Kate continued. "She was a follower of Simon, the male vamp we just killed, so she might be a little upset."
Kate called Daphne. As usual, she didn't answer and it went to voice mail.
"Daphne, it's Kate. I just killed Simon and Brandy. The police have the house address and are on the way," Kate said. "Meet me. I can fix it if you agree to help. You have to make a decision tonight."
She waited five minutes. Kate told Axl and Rocco she'd try again later when Daphne didn't call back. They promised to provide backup whenever the meeting was arranged, if it ever happened. She could see the doubt in their eyes. She felt it in her heart. Maybe Daphne was too far gone to save.
Her phone rang.
"It's Daphne," she said, suddenly excited. "Shhh. Hi Daphne. Thanks for calling me back."
Kate put the phone on speaker so the guys could listen. She did remind them by shushing with a finger over her mouth.
"Did you really do it?" Daphne asked quietly. She sounded upset, voice a little hoarse like she'd been crying. "Did you really kill Simon?"
"Yes. He was trying to kill me. Brandy's dead, too. Hector and Phil have been arrested by the police. Now that they aren't under Simon's power, they are talking and telling everything they know to avoid prosecution." Daphne remained silent. "I've spoken to senior officers in the St. Louis Police, and they are working on a way to give you amnesty. If you help round up all of the zombies let through the fences then you'd be the city's savior and hero. No one will kill you and you'll be free. If not…"
She was silent a long moment before answering. For a fraction of a second Kate heard Brody's angry voice, like they'd been arguing as she took the phone off mute.
"I'll meet you by the Galleria, where we met yesterday," Daphne said.
"Where you tried to ambush me?" Kate said. "No, we'll meet on I-64, just east of the I-170 merge. It's nice and open so neither side can hide in ambush."
Daphne agreed to that. She ended the call and they jumped into their vehicles. Kate took the same route back, up Brentwood. As soon as she drove up on I-64 she spotted Daphne's dark blue Suburban half a mile up the road and parked next to the medium. She and the boys parked on the other side of the eastbound highway.
She knew it would look bad, but Kate got out fully armed and ready. Axl and Rocco followed her to the middle of the road, staying a few feet behind her. Daphne came out to meet them with Brody and the black female. Brody still had a pretty bad limp.
Her friend had changed her hair color and look yet again. Her hair was a dark blue, with purple highlights. She wore a black latex catsuit that covered her from chin to feet to wrists. It looked terribly hot and uncomfortable, but since Daphne was cold… Over the catsuit Daphne wore a black leather corset with tiny gray skulls etched in it. Her skirt was a black tutu looking abomination, while her feet and legs were sheathed in a pair of strappy black thigh boots.
"Love your kinky vampire outfit," Kate said, hoping she heard the sarcasm and disapproval. "Who is your new friend?"
The minion was tall and athletic, with a spectacular head of blonde-dyed hair. The black woman looked Kate over with contemptuous eyes. She was dressed pretty sexy, but not totally kinked out like her mistress: black leather pants, ankle boots, and blood red leather corset.
"Ayssa Brady," Daphne said. "Ayssa, meet Kate Brokenshire, the bane of your former mistress's existence."
"Pleased, I'm sure," Ayssa said.
Kate paused. Didn't Brandy greet her exactly the same way? Was that a St. Louis thing?
"Not your minion?"
"She is now," Daphne said and shrugged. "It was her choice. Ayssa rather likes being a minion. I completely understand. I liked being a minion, too."
That made Kate cringe. How could anyone want and enjoy another person having absolute power over you? It had to be some aspect of the curse. She wondered what the other people in Tennyson that Alexander bit thought and felt. Did Sheriff Coleman and Randy also yearn to be a minion again? She'd tried to speak with Randy about that experience, but he refused to talk about it.
"You have a knack for taking minions with cause to hate me," Kate said.
"I don't hate you," Ayssa said. She looked Kate up and down with appreciation. "I think you're cute."
"Okay," Kate said, turning back to Daphne. "Have you thought about my offer?"
"It's a death sentence," Brody said. "You'll lead Daphne to her execution."
"I would not," she replied. "Besides, why do you care? You'd be freed of her control if she died."
"Maybe I like being hers," he said. He looked Daphne over with lusty eyes. "She's amazing in bed."
"Ewww, I'll never get that image out of my head," Kate said. "Shut up."
Everyone, including Axl and Rocco, laughed. Kate didn't think it was funny. Daphne used to be such a good girl. She always did what her parents told her. Kate and Daphne went to church and Sunday School every week when they were kids. Kate stopped going to church as a teen, but not her friend. Daphne even sang in the church choir up until the day she was bitten.
"Maybe I could serve Mordred. He's the real Master of the City, and a Goth," Daphne said. Kate looked her friend's outfit over again, and shook her head. She would fit in with his followers with her vamp-Goth style. "I don't think I could fit back into normal society. I couldn't get a job. I'd be lost without someone to guide me."
"Well, maybe," Kate said. "But Mordred has kind of put a bounty on your head. If you offer to serve him, then maybe he'll lift it. Maybe he'll just kill you. I can't promise anything where he's concerned.
"What about working for the police to fight zombies and other vampires? The city is in the
Zombie Lands, so there will always be a couple rotters roaming the streets," Kate said. Taking a step closer to her friend, "I've already proposed to the police that they hire you fulltime to help in their constant zombie problems. You seemed open to the idea when we met by the Galleria."
"The police will never agree," she said. "Will they? I've done some really bad things."
That momentary look of hope was all Kate needed.
"Your family has a long history of police service, including here in St. Louis," she said. "That, and a willingness to help with the zombies, I think could sway them to hire you. I can't say if they'll make you a full cop, but you'll have their protection."
"I don't know. Sometimes the police lie to get what they want," Ayssa said.
Daphne nodded. Kate felt she was losing her. Brody was even starting to relax.
"The police are arresting all of Simon's minions at the house as we speak," Kate said. "They technically haven't done anything illegal, that I know of, so probably won't be prosecuted. But the prosecutors might convince them to testify against you. We have to make a deal with the police before that happens."
"I didn't let any zombies in. It was always Simon," she said.
"You're a vampire. Who do you think they'll believe?"
Daphne squirmed and looked so terribly distressed. Kate's heart went out to her, but she had to be strong. If she became soft, she might lose her friend forever.
"There's still hope. Help us clean up the rest of the zombies," she continued. "Call them at a time and place we chose, make them kneel and submit like you did for me the other day. The slayers will dispatch them, and you'll be the hero of the day. That will prove your value to the police."
Daphne rubbed her lips together, while hugging herself. She looked at Brody, who shook his head. Ayssa surprised Kate by nodding. Then Daphne caught and held Kate's eyes for a long moment.
"I know the police. I understand them," she said. "I kind of always wanted to be a cop, like my daddy. Mostly, I trust you. Make the deal if you can. I'll help in any way I can."