by Aimée Thurlo
Diane looked over at the door just as the sound of light footsteps on stone reached her ears. Hearing someone fiddling with the lock mechanism, she grabbed the laptop, then motioned Lee toward the bedroom. He followed noiselessly, closing the door nearly shut behind them.
Diane was right beside him, holding her breath, as a minute, then two passed, and the faint scraping sound in the lock continued. Finally they heard the apartment door open. “Gotcha,” someone said softly. Then the door closed.
Lee and Diane made eye contact, then she smiled, a relieved look on her face. “Charles,” she whispered. “I’m so going to kick his ass.”
“Anybody home?” Charles called in a normal voice, obviously hoping it was a rhetorical question.
Diane stepped around Lee and swung the bedroom door open. “Charles, you’re such an idiot!”
Lee, two steps behind her, saw the stunned look on Alderete’s face. He held the handle of a bulging gym bag in one gloved hand, and some kind of electronic box in the other.
“Uh … what are you two doing in my room?” Charles managed, struggling to save himself.
“Weak, really weak. You know this is Victor Wayne’s home away from home. That’s why you’re here,” Diane said.
“So what? That’s why you’re here too, right?”
“Right,” Lee said, trying to get Diane’s attention as well. “And if you want to stay out of jail, Charles, you’re going to help us with this black bag job.”
Diane quickly saw the logic of the situation, and they all got to work. Charles had brought some hacking software he insisted he’d traded for discounts on legal gun purchases, so he and Diane began to work on getting through Wayne’s passwords.
Lee searched the rest of the apartment, and soon discovered a manila envelope in the pocket of a comfortable-looking old denim jacket that Wayne might have worn while off the clock. The envelope, folded into thirds, was one of those legal-sized ones that normally sealed with glue and a metal butterfly clip, but Victor had used a paper clip instead. The outside of the envelope had two stamped markings—“U.S. Air Force” and the other “Classified”—in red ink.
Lee had set the envelope aside while continuing his search, but finally, after running out of likely hiding places, he sat down in the middle of the carpet and slipped off the paper clip.
Inside was a black-and-white photo of a woman with Asian features who appeared to be in her early twenties, and two yellowed typed pages that appeared to be some kind of medical report. The report was dated April 24, 1955, and all names and agencies had been blacked out. After skimming a few paragraphs, Lee felt a wave of sadness for the woman in the photo. Then, as he continued to read, anger began to rise in his throat. “Shit. Patient Alpha.”
Charles was busy at the laptop keyboard, but Diane, who’d been watching the computer display from over the man’s shoulders, turned to look.
“What?” she asked.
Lee shook his head and held up his hand. This information wasn’t for Charles. He continued reading the report, considered keeping it for a moment, then reluctantly put it back inside the envelope, then back into the jacket pocket where he’d found it.
After checking a few more places, but finding nothing, Lee came over to stand beside Charles. He and Diane were browsing through file names, trying to guess which ones to display on-screen.
“I got in. Officer Hawk,” Charles said with a grin. “According to my source, this program can penetrate security programs and read the passwords directly. If you’re feeling particularly hostile, you can even change the password so the owner won’t be able to access his own files. The program capitalizes on a bug that nobody talks about because it can’t be patched. You’d have to upgrade to the next generation operating system—which is still in beta testing and not available yet. Damned handy.”
Diane kept her eyes on the screen. “Go to the L’s. I saw a file that looks promising.”
“Okay,” Charles said, scrolling up the screen.
Lee saw one that caught his eye. “Lazarus?”
“Yeah.” Diane nodded.
A minute later they were all silently reading a report that filled in more details about the experiments they’d run on Stewart Tanner.
“Dr. Wayne is responsible for all that?” Charles said with a growl as the information appeared on the computer screen.
“We’ve known he was directing the operation,” Diane confirmed. “And we’d suspected he’d come into the picture early on. But now we have written confirmation that Victor Wayne initiated the experimentation on Tanner. He secured the funding, established the lab, and hired all three researchers, including Lynette.”
“Wayne’s also responsible for the security. All this time he’s tried to make us believe he was just keeping an eye on the place. But apparently it was his baby from the beginning,” Lee concluded.
“He really believes in vampires, then. He knows the truth,” Charles said, his voice low.
“What truth are you talking about, Charles?” Diane asked.
There was a noise outside and everyone froze. Lee walked silently over to the window and glanced out from behind a curtain. “It’s just the older gentleman with his lady friends. But we’d better take this conversation up somewhere else. No telling when Victor and his people will be coming back.” Lee looked at his watch.
“And we don’t want to meet them on the way out.” Diane looked down at the computer display. “Or have our presence here compromised. Can you make copies of this stuff?”
“I can do better than that,” Charles said with a smile. He reached down into his gym bag and brought out a small device that Lee recognized as an external hard drive. “I can make a copy of everything on his computer within a few minutes.”
“Why in the hell didn’t you do that in the first place?” Diane grumbled, poking him on the shoulder.
“With you guys being here, I forgot about it.”
“Unforget, make the copy, and let’s clear out,” Lee replied. He looked over at Diane. “While he’s working, you and I need to remove any evidence that we were here.”
By the time they’d put everything back where they’d found it, Charles was finished backing up the hard drive. They returned the computer to its hiding place under the mattress, then straightened out the bed so it looked undisturbed.
“Wait a second,” Diane said, then walked over and sat down on the bed. “He’d sat on the bed and left a mark, I just remembered.”
“Nice touch. Glad you’re on my side,” Lee whispered.
“But is the butt width still the same?” Charles snickered as he checked his gym bag, then put the chair back in place before the desk.
“Dangerous words, Chuck. She carries a gun,” Lee cautioned.
Diane shot daggers at Charles, then looked out the window. “Clear.”
Then Lee held up a hand. “Wait. Charles, you’re going to have to go out the way you came in, and not with us. What’d you do, climb the wall?”
“Sort of. I found a blind spot where the guards can’t see, and parked my rental SUV there. I stepped across from the roof. There’s a fake gardener’s business sign on the door and tools in the back.”
“But you’re on the inside now,” Diane pointed out.
“I found a tree branch. I’ll just climb the tree, walk out, then use a rope I brought to slide down. I’ve picked up a few skills along the way.”
“We’re meeting at the coffee shop I told you about,” Diane said to Charles. “Be there.”
Charles nodded. “Count on it. There’s something you both need to know about Stewart Tanner. The truth.” Without waiting for a response, their companion opened the door and walked out, heading in the opposite direction they’d be going.
“What do you suppose he meant by that?” Diane asked as they stepped out onto the small porch.
Lee pulled the door shut, checked to verify that it was locked, then quickly pulled off his latex gloves and shoved them into a pocket. “I guess w
e’re going to find out,” he said as they walked quickly down the flagstone walk toward the gazebo.
CHAPTER 15
Diane stepped out the stairwell door into the parking garage, and Lee followed. “Where’s the security—”
There was a blur, then her voice was cut off by a forearm across her throat. Tanner stepped from around the corner, pulling Diane against him with his other arm.
“Thanks for the appetizer, Hawk,” the vampire whispered harshly, removing his hand from Diane’s throat as he felt for the handle of a big hunting knife at his belt.
Lee knew he was fast, but Tanner already had the long blade up to Diane’s throat when he fired. Lee wasn’t interested in any of that “shoot the knife out of the hand” crap either. He’d aimed for Tanner’s knuckles.
The force of the 9mm slug shattered Tanner’s right hand and he yelped in pain, losing his grip. As the knife fell Diane suddenly went limp, collapsing to the concrete and giving Lee a shot at the vampire’s torso.
But Tanner reacted instantly. He kicked out at Lee’s gun, knocking it up and away, then reached for the pistol he’d jammed into his belt.
Diane pulled her pistol out of its holster and fired immediately without aiming, striking Tanner in the thigh. He grunted again, spun around, and dove for the open door. Diane fired again, twice, her second bullet hitting the metal door with a thud as the vampire pulled it shut.
Lee had his backup .45 out now. “Cover the door!” Without waiting for a response he ran out of the garage. Across the street, he saw the security guard at the property gate crouched down low, yelling into his radio and looking in their direction.
“I’m a cop!” Lee yelled as he jogged across the pavement. “A man with a gun is going through the tunnel to your side. Call the police.”
Lee heard a gunshot, then another, and knew Tanner had been seen. Unfortunately, it was probably someone else who’d just been shot. The guard fumbled with his keys to open the gate for Lee, but there was no time. Lee hurtled the five-foot-high entrance, then realized that Tanner wouldn’t be able to run around in the apartment compound for more than a few seconds at a time. The vampire would be trapped within because of the light. His only escape would be by vehicle—the shaded garage.
Knowing he’d been faked out, Lee stopped and turned. “Diane, he’s got to come your way!”
There was a loud thud, then gunfire—several shots. Lee ran back through the now open gate, brushing past the confused guard, then across the street as fast as he could go. Ahead, he heard a hollow thump, shattering glass, then squealing tires and two more shots. A gold Toyota raced out the other side of the parking structure.
His stomach fell, but Lee continued into the structure. “Diane?”
“Shit, shit, shit! The bastard’s getting away again,” Diane yelled, stepping around from behind a tall SUV, disheveled and obviously very pissed off as she shoved a fresh clip into her pistol.
“At least you’re okay, woman.” Lee picked up his lost Beretta, checked to make sure it hadn’t been damaged, then returned it to the holster.
“Barely. Tanner ripped the damned door off the hinges and used it as a shield. Then he threw it at me! Knocked me down.”
Lee saw where she was pointing. A red Mercedes had three feet of metal door sticking out of its windshield. “Guy’s rough on cars.”
“I’ll get some city units looking for the gold Corolla,” Diane reached for her cell phone. She took a few deep breaths. “You’d better see if he’s hurt anyone else—tike the security guard.”
Lee turned toward the small structure that sheltered the tunnel entrance and noticed an arm dangling down from the flat-topped roof. “Call the EMTs. We’ve got at least one victim.”
The attack on them had been costly for bystanders. The security guard was dead from a broken neck and a woman employee at the other end of the tunnel had been shot in the leg as she tried to crawl beneath her desk. But they had Tanner on the run again now, and he’d have to find shelter or another vehicle quickly.
Lee wasn’t worried that Dr. Wayne would know they’d been up to something once he learned where the incident had taken place. The bigger concern was that Marci Walker would be meeting up with Tanner soon to provide him with even more resources and another hiding place.
They were now waiting for Charles to arrive at the coffee shop where they’d stopped for a fast lunch. Diane had called him a half hour ago, mentioning that they’d been delayed, but now it was Charles who was late.
“You’ve been fidgeting ever since we arrived, Lee. What’s bugging you?” Diane asked. “We know Tanner must have followed us from the dealership, or the flower shop. Don’t blame yourself for not spotting the tail. I didn’t see it coming either.”
Lee’s fist clenched, then unclenched. If he didn’t find a way to deal with his anger, it would probably eat him up inside a little bit at a time for the rest of his rife—which would be considerably long, if he had any say about it. “Sure we screwed up, but now we know Tanner can and will attack us in the daytime. We’ll be ready next time. But, no, that’s not it. I’m just really pissed off at Victor and the whole system he represents.”
“Okay. Could it be that old envelope you found in his apartment? I thought I saw a photo in there along with the papers you were reading. And if I remember correctly, you said something about Patient Alpha,” Diane pressed gently.
“Yeah. Just as we suspected, Stewart Tanner wasn’t the first vampire the government turned into a lab rat. Before, back in 1955, it was a young Korean woman named June—no last name was given. She was the wife of a U.S. Air Force pilot.”
“You’re kidding. The government has known about vampires all this time?” She lowered her voice automatically, though none of the other diners seemed to be listening.
“According to the report I read it was just that one instance. June was in an accident outside a remote air force base in Nevada. Her husband was killed outright, and all she remembered was the accident, and passing out while trapped in the wrecked vehicle. Airmen apparently found June later, outside the wreck, dazed but unhurt despite having bled all over her clothes.”
“She was injured, but rehealed? That does sound like a vampire.”
“Yeah, but there’s more to it. The accident was at night, and the airmen who came across the accident site saw someone running away in the dark as they approached the scene. Marks indicate that whoever it was had pulled June from the wreck.”
“A vampire, perhaps? A man or woman who used their blood to save—and turn her? That wasn’t you, was it?”
“No. Vampires have no right to turn anyone else into what we are. It’s a curse, not a blessing. I wouldn’t do something like that to anyone.”
“You did it to me,” she whispered.
“That was different.” He looked her in the eyes. “You know that, don’t you?”
“Yes. I also know you saved me from the consequences, you and John Buck. Unfortunately, this Korean woman didn’t have a Navajo medicine man down the road to bring her back from that … ‘curse.’” Diane smiled. “Still, it must have been a tough call for you. All I know is that I’m glad to be alive and sitting here now.”
“So am I. For you, that is.”
“So tell me the rest of June’s story.”
“Well, she certainly wasn’t a vampire before that night—according to her and neighbors who said she’d been real outdoorsy. But when doctors discovered she was vulnerable to light, and self-healing—the whole vampire thing—they confined her and called in their superiors. June was isolated in a wing of the hospital and studied for several weeks. By then, she was ‘classified.’ This was the Cold War, and June was suddenly an asset.”
Diane sighed. “That sounds like what I remember from history. Was it really that bad then, Lee? The fifties and sixties?”
He shook his head. “It’s true that some people were paranoid about the Communists, especially those in government and in the military. A few even dug fallo
ut shelters, but most of the civilians took it all in stride and got on with their lives. Me, I had my own version of paranoia to keep me busy.”
“So what eventually happened to June? Did it say?”
“After several months of tests she committed suicide. Jumped out a window in midafternoon. The research ended and the ashes were stored in a sealed container. Dr. Wayne must have tracked these records down.”
“So the son of a bitch lied to us once again. You should have thrown him down the stairs,” Diane said, reaching for a french fry now that she’d finished her green chile cheeseburger.
“Hey, don’t blame me. I wanted to. He’s a genuine asshole.” He looked toward the door. “Speaking of …”
Diane sat up straight. “Victor Wayne is here?”
“No. The other asshole. The kind-of-good one.”
Charles Alderete stepped into the foyer, spotted them, then walked over to their table. He was carrying a small briefcase, and his leather jacket concealed his pistol to the casual observer.
“Get tired of waiting for me, guys?” Charles said jokingly, then sat down at one of the extra seats.
“You obviously stopped by your motel to change clothes and strap on your arsenal,” Diane commented. “Want some coffee?” She waved toward the waitress and pointed to her cup.
“Been living on that stuff lately, that and whatever burgers I can grab,” he said, yawning.
Diane yawned back. “Don’t start with that. Nobody is sleeping since this business began.”
“Can’t afford to waste the time,” Lee added. “Charles, you mentioned something about Tanner—and the truth. What were you talking about? Is it something your sister told you in confidence?”
“Good hunch, Officer Hawk. But you aren’t going to like, or believe, what Lynette said.”
“Try us,” Diane urged. “We’ve seen a lot lately that’s been hard to believe.”
“Lynette wasn’t crazy, though she used to love playing tricks on us when we were kids. Remember Halloween, Diane?”