Clipped Wings

by J. P. Rice

  He was teetering on the crazy side again. Time to drop that subject. “So who are the Larimores?”

  “Timson, why don’t you tell him?” And hand me my water over there,” Jonathan said, pointing to the cupholder next to the glove compartment.

  Timson handed over his leader’s bottle of Fiji, and said, “The Larimores are one of the more powerful clans in Philadelphia. It makes sense that they would have it. They’ve been trying to take our blood by offering more to the Hustlers. Nothing worse than your own kind stabbing you in the back.”

  Fuckin’ Philly. Not that I had anything against the city, I just didn’t want to travel anywhere to get the portal.

  Jonathan said, “I am friends with the Larimores and as custom would demand, no vampire can turn away another vampire without insulting them. We will show up. If they refuse to let us in, then we will take action.”

  I recommended, “Why don’t you call first? Like you did with Mathias.”

  Jonathan swished some water around his mouth, swallowed and said, “I don’t want to tip them off. We need to catch them unawares. They have vast resources, so we have to act quickly, unexpectedly or they’ll take it out of Philly.”

  “When are we leaving?” I asked.

  Jonathan answered almost before I was finished, apparently still riding high, “Tomorrow morning. Mathias admitted that he had seen a few members of the Larimores recently and they were returning to Philly tonight. We don’t want to beat them there. I’ll make some calls to allies in Philly. We’ll know when the men with the portal will arrive so we can act quickly.”

  “Isn’t it like a five-hour drive, though?” I wondered aloud.

  “It is. But where we’re going, we don’t need roads,” he said in a husky voice.

  I appreciated the Back to the Future reference. We were getting back to good Jonathan again. “So we’re flying? How long’s that flight?”

  Jonathan waited to answer as he passed a car in the left lane. “Less than an hour. I have to think that the Larimores would like to keep the portal close for their own use and to charge others.”

  Timson spoke solemnly, “With Roydell down, we’re going to need some more manpower.”

  Jonathan added, “I’ll bring Roman and Del Rubio along this time. They are more than capable.”

  “Great, more guys who’ve tried to kill me. Don’t you have anyone else?” I asked.

  Jonathan huffed out a momentary chuckle. “I hate to burst your bubble, but there aren’t many members of my clan clamoring to be in your fan club. And these men can handle themselves.”

  I said, “Better than Roydell, I hope.”

  Timson snapped, “Have some respect for the fallen.”

  It was hard to have respect for someone who’d tried to kill me and would probably have done the same in the future. “Do you mind if I bring someone like Felix to help out? Someone that can handle themselves.” I tried to be purposely ambiguous.

  Jonathan thought about it as he passed another car. “Sure. But make sure he can handle himself.”

  “No problem.” I had the perfect person in mind.

  Chapter 16

  Glenda took a big bite out of her Primanti Brothers’ capicola and egg sandwich. She stuffed a few loose fries and some falling coleslaw into her mouth and then held her finger in the air. She chewed and swallowed the food and asked, “You want me to do what?”

  I answered nonchalantly, “Just do another job with me.”

  She rubbed her fingers on her napkin and played with her phone, which was on the table next to her food. “But why are you willing to pay double for this one?”

  “Each job is worth something different. This job is worth more to me and there is a high danger level. I mean, if you’re scared...” I let the word linger.

  Glenda rolled her eyes. “Shut up, you little bitch. I ain’t scared of nothing. What’s the deal?”

  I wanted to tell her as little about the mission as possible. “You probably will get a chance to kill some vampires. So there’s that. I could go through all the details right now.”

  “I think you had me at kill some vampires. Who are we going with?” she asked and guzzled some of her Iron City beer.

  I pretended I hadn’t heard her. “What’s that, now?”

  She repeated the question as she stared at her phone.

  I said, “We’re going on a private jet so the person has money.” I tried to be purposely ambiguous and hope that the intoxication of a Primanti Brothers’ sandwich coupled with her texting would keep her preoccupied.

  She took another big bite, and with her mouth still full, she asked, “Whose plane?”

  I bit into my Pitts-Burger and mumbled, “Jonathan.” I made sure she couldn’t understand and ignored her when she asked again. I kept stuffing my face without responding to her questioning. As soon as I finished chewing, I announced, “I gotta go to the bathroom.”

  I jumped up from the booth and rushed across the dining room.

  I passed the open kitchen where a cook was cracking open an egg and pouring it onto the sizzling flat top. Behind him, another cook was dropping a handful of fresh cut fries into the fryer.

  Someone was walking out of the bathroom so I grabbed the door from him and held it open. I peeked back at the table and Glenda was playing on her phone. Perfect.

  I hung out in the bathroom like a weirdo because I wanted Glenda to forget about whom we were going with. After a decent amount of time had passed, I went back to the table and slid into the booth. Glenda was texting with one hand and holding a beer in the other one.

  I told her, “So we will be leaving early in the morning. Are you in or out?”

  Still staring at her phone, she said, “I’m in. I guess we can go to the bank after the job this time.”

  “No need for a bender since we leave in the morning.” I ate a couple of fries that were peeking out of my sandwich.

  “Psshhh. Plenty of time for that.” She slammed her beer and waved her hand in the air to get the waiter’s attention. The waiter noticed Glenda making the universal ‘I need a drink’ symbol and nodded at her. “What are you going to do? Wanna party?”

  Two years ago, I would have said, Fuck yeah, let’s do it. I reminded her, “I still can’t do that.”

  She pursed her lips. “Still? Fuck that shit. I’d go crazy like that.”

  I explained, “That’s what I thought would happen at first. It helps to have a whole lot of crazy shit going on so you can take your mind off it. Even if the people around you are drinking like Barney from The Simpsons.”

  She looked up suddenly, her lively eyes meeting mine. “Did you hear about the rumble up in King’s Mountain?”

  I was glad she was staring at her phone screen again because she would have noticed my wide-eyed reaction. “No. What happened?”

  Glenda answered with a smile on her face, “I didn’t get all the details, but apparently it was a messy fight between the vampires and the shifters. Bears and wolves, I was told. Dead bodies all over the place.”

  Fuck. Word had gotten around fast. Only a few hours had passed since the incident. I knew this shit could get messy, but arrogant Jonathan didn’t want to hear about it. “That’s pretty wild. Do you know which vamps were involved?”

  “My source didn’t know. He said it could start a war.”

  The exact word I did not want to hear. Motherfucker. I had been with the vampires and although technically I hadn’t killed anyone, nobody knew that. The lawyer, Mathias, could finger me in a police lineup. I would remain safe if Jonathan kept his mouth shut. But if Jonathan needed to literally throw someone to the wolves, I could be the first to go.

  The entire situation made me uncomfortable and I regretted having gone along for the mission. However, if I hadn’t been there, the lawyer could have gotten away and Jonathan would have no idea where the portal was located.

  Glenda looked up from her phone. “So are we having a slumber party at my house again?”

  I
smirked and shook my head. “No. I’m going home to spend time with the family. Don’t get too drunk and don’t go too far. I’ll be picking you up around 4 a.m. Make sure you are ready to go then.”

  “When am I not ready?” she asked in a tone that insinuated I was an idiot.

  “Answer your phone.” I pointed at her cell sitting on the table.

  I planned to go home, spend a few hours with Burn and Dante, catch a quick nap and get on the road for Philly.

  Chapter 17

  I pulled up to the private hangar at Pittsburgh International Airport with a giant smile plastered to my face. If Jonathan wanted to bring his goons along, well then, game on. Jonathan, Del Rubio, Roman and Timson were waiting just inside the hangar. Glenda wasn’t aware of the situation, and I felt bad about it. I had to remain alert in case she got angry and attacked me.

  Glenda raised her eyes from her phone, peered through the windshield, and said, “Hell no. Are you fucking kidding me?”

  That was a more subdued reaction than I had anticipated. I assured her, “Don’t worry. They won’t do a thing to you.”

  “Fuck what they are going to do to me. It’s what I’m going to do to them. Those fuckers.” She grabbed the door handle and went to open her door.

  I held my hand up, giving her the stop sign. “Relax for just one second. You’re getting paid a lot of money. You can trash talk these guys as much as you desire, but you should carry out the job. I have a plan with you in mind here. Don’t doubt me.”

  “Yeah, whatever, motherfucker.” She slapped my hand away, kicked open the door with her stompin’ boots and stepped out of the vehicle.

  I grabbed my bag off the backseat and got out. Jonathan smiled. That was unexpected.

  Jonathan approached us, and said, “You’ve decided to turn her over to us.”

  I shook my head, my smile fading. “No. Not by a long shot. She’s coming with us on this trip. She’s the best bet to keep these twerps alive on this venture.”

  All three vampires tried to talk over each other in objection of Glenda joining us. I spoke over them, “Oh, you guys remember her. She was the one filling you with bullets.”

  Jonathan’s face turned purple, his lips pursed in anger. “This is an absolute outrage.”

  Glenda retorted, “Chill out, Bella Lugosi, before you die of old age.”

  Jonathan’s eyebrows rose up to the middle of his wrinkled forehead. His eyes were filled with rage and bulging from their sockets. The vampire buttoned his purple suit jacket calmly and walked purposefully toward Glenda.

  I jumped between them. “Whoa, whoa, whoa. I’ve got an idea. Why don’t we set up some rules?” Nobody really seemed very receptive to my idea, but I went on anyway. “Glenda. You will show Jonathan respect.”

  Glenda immediately responded, “The fuck I will.”

  I put my open hands up. “Let me finish. You can make fun of these jagoffs over here, but Jonathan is off limits. His position demands respect in Pittsburgh.” I turned to the vampires’ leader. “Jonathan. You will start doing some business with Glenda again, provided she can give you the best prices.”

  He scoffed at the idea, “This is absurd. You want me to treat her with respect and do business with this crook. She strong-armed the people at the blood banks, so she could play middle man and make money off us for doing nothing. Why do business with a person like that?”

  Glenda looked around me, and yelled, “And what do you do with the blood you sell to the other houses? I know vampires from every house. I know what you pay, and I know what you charge the other houses. Do you want me to go into specific numbers in front of your fuckwits over here?” She used three fingers to point at Jonathan’s underlings.

  A streak of alarm lit up Jonathan’s eyes. He spoke in a panicked tone, “No. Shut your big mouth for a second. I suppose there may be a chance that we can work together again, although I might need you to sign a contract.”

  “Contract?” Glenda asked.

  Jonathan moved me to the side so that he could make eye contact with Glenda. “Yes. A contract stipulating that you will do no further harm to any of my men or my precious house. You will also need to apologize to me for the property damage at my house.”

  Glenda avoided eye contact wisely and peered around the hangar. “Do you have anything large and phallically shaped lying around? Cuz if so, you can sit on it.”

  I jumped back in between them before something broke out. “Okay. Let’s relax for a moment here. Glenda. He’s only asking you to apologize for the property damage, not shooting these clowns.”

  Jonathan objected, “No. The members of the Purple House are my property. They belong to me and I pledged to protect them. That is why it doesn’t sit well with me when someone riddles their bodies with bullets. Capiche?”

  So Jonathan was going mob boss now. I turned to Glenda, “I still think it’s the same thing. Just apologize and you can open the business pipeline again. And you’re apologizing to Jonathan, not these stains. Jonathan is a good guy. Just say a few words, and we can relieve a lot of unnecessary tension in Pittsburgh.”

  Glenda exhaled through her nose and after ten seconds, I thought she’d never stop. She stood up on her tiptoes and looked at Jonathan, then turned away smartly avoiding eye contact with the vampire who could read minds. It was best not to give him an open gateway.

  She bounced up and down looking around the hangar at nobody in particular. “I guess...” she said and mumbled a few unintelligible words.

  Jonathan cupped his ear and turned to the side like Hulk Hogan working the crowd. “I’m sorry. Did you say something? You trailed off mightily toward the end.”

  Glenda bounced up and down on her feet, almost working herself up for the apology. “I said. I’m ssrury.”

  “Is that a word that just came out of your mouth? It sounded like you took Larry and Susy and mashed the names together. Or threw them in a blender. Is that what you just did?” Jonathan’s smirk told me he was having fun with this.

  Glenda’s face started to redden, and I didn’t want her to snap. I said, “Glenda. Just say it quickly and we can be done with this spectacle.”

  Glenda rolled her eyes. As she shook her head, she spoke in a monotone, void of any emotion. “I’m sorry I fucked up your house and shot these sorry assholes in the process.”

  Jonathan pushed me aside again. “Apology accepted.”

  Perfect. A backhanded apology. Both sides had won. Glenda had got to keep her edge by slamming the vampire underlings and Jonathan had received the apology a person of his stature deserved and needed to maintain his reputation. Now we could move on.

  Chapter 18

  The private jet coasted through the clouds en route to Philadelphia. Jonathan, Roman, Timson, Del Rubio, Glenda and I sat around a nice marble table with a rough sketch of the vampires’ house and surroundings. The vampires were all dressed in suits and wore sunglasses with thick lenses. Glenda was wearing camouflage pants and her leather coat.

  I felt a bit naked without my skintight protection suit that had been blessed by the Celtic Gods. It didn’t fit right with the suit I was wearing and would have slowed me down in a chase.

  Jonathan announced, “They live right in the middle of the city, those crazy bastards.” He pointed to a rectangle on the paper. “Mike and Glenda, you will be posted up on top of this building. We know people who work inside the building that can get you on the roof. We have planted sniper rifles with suppressors up there, so they won’t know where the shots are coming from. If it comes down to that. Hopefully, it won’t.”

  Acting as a sniper on a rooftop, I felt even safer without my bullet-stopping suit.

  Jonathan took a sip of his red beverage, and continued, “Roman will be in the getaway car up the street here. The three of us will walk up this entranceway to get to their compound.”

  I asked, “Why do they have a compound in the middle of the city?”

  Jonathan shrugged his shoulders. “They bought an old
hotel building and use it for their base of operation. There is a chain-linked fence on either side of the entrance way. Once we go in, we can’t just run back out. There are tennis courts on one side and a rose garden on the other. They set it up so this is the only way a stranger can enter the building.”

  We hit some turbulence and the plane shifted around, making me a bit uncomfortable. I wiped my sweaty hands on my pant legs.

  Jonathan went on, “We should be able to walk right in the front door without issue as per the Hospitality Accords. If they even stall us out for more than a minute, we’ll know something is wrong.”

  I asked, “Do they have an intercom system in the building?”

  Jonathan nodded. “I would assume so.”

  I had an idea. “I could cast a listening spell to tap into the communications device. I’m not positive it will work, but it might help to avoid an ambush.”

  “That’s a great idea. If you can do that from the roof, I’ll wear a Bluetooth earpiece and you can let me know what they are saying.” Jonathan took another drink of his beverage, washed it around and swallowed. “If things do go south, we can easily take out the guards outside the building. Mike and Glenda, you will need to watch the entrance door. If anyone pokes their head out, fire away.”

  Jonathan laid out the entire plan full of contingency actions. He knew as well as I that things never went according to plan. This was another role I wasn’t used to. I wasn’t the greatest shot even though my friend Dan Dougherty had been taking me to the Guys Run Armory for some target practice. We’d never practiced with sniper rifles, though.

  The short flight touched down at Philadelphia International Airport. We got off the plane and into a black Cadillac Escalade with tinted windows. At a quick glance, I assumed this vehicle was bullet proof too.

  Roman drove toward the city with Jonathan in the passenger’s seat and the rest of us in the back.

  I sat in the way-back with Glenda and the butterflies tried to escape my churning stomach. I had to be careful. All the men working for the Larimores should be vampires, which meant I could kill them with impunity. I could not take out any innocent humans. The fact that this was in the middle of the city meant I had to be super careful.