"This is Raymond Gilmore. He's a paranormal investigator, currently working on the Pine Ridge case. Ray might not be one of our own, but for tonight you will treat him with that respect. He has seen, and done, things most of you have only seen on TV, so I suggest you take what he says seriously. I won't make him repeat it more than once." There was a moment of silence while the agents at the tables all looked at each other, glancing at the expressions of their neighbors. When nobody objected, they all nodded their heads and Cummings continued on.
"Most of the activity tonight will be around Woldenberg Park, though I suspect a large crowd just south at the Spanish Plaza. Nearby there are some nearby parking lots as well as streetcar stations, meaning we expect a rather large crowd. Most of which will have trouble making it out of the area once the attack begins. Most of you are going to be stationed in the crowd, watching the people while making sure nothing suspicious is going on. If you find anything, call it in, and we can get someone else in to help investigate."
"What are we looking for?" one of the officers, a female with short brown hair that couldn't be more than a few inches long asked.
Cummings looked at me and nodded.
"The woman we are after is named Abby Cartier. She is the great granddaughter of archaeologist Oliver Leclair, who was buried in Pine Ridge cemetery. While she is an astute businessperson, she is also a very powerful witch. Saying she is dressed like she was when I last saw her, you can expect to be on the lookout for a woman wearing long dark robes with a hood, carrying a glowing green broom."
The room burst into laughter that only stopped when Cummings held up his hand. The woman who asked the question spoke up again. "Witches really dress like that?"
"Not all of them. She must just like the classics. But she isn't your garden variety witch. Before you go out and grab your kids' water guns, you should know she isn't going to be affected by them. But she is susceptible to the same things the rest of us are. While she isn't much of a threat on her own, she is also capable of controlling the bodies of the dead. She didn't have any with her when I met her personally, but the two times before that, she had a fairly large group."
"This is real," Ross chimed in. "I've seen them with my own eyes. Hundreds of them wandering the streets, biting anyone unfortunate to get close. You can unload a magazine or two into them and they just keep coming."
"How can we kill them if they can't shoot them?" a man asked from the back of the room.
"You shoot them in the head, or sever the spinal cord in the neck. Just like they do in the movies," I said. "Bites are lethal in minutes. Anyone that gets bit, will turn to one of them, so it is vital to keep them from biting anyone if at all possible. The first wave of the dead will consist of mostly well decayed bodies, as she just raised a group from Cedar Ridge Cemetery just last night. There hasn't been anything on the news about it, so I suspect she is keeping them somewhere safe, giving me time to give her my response."
"Your response on what?" Cummings asks.
Suddenly, I remembered I forgot to fill him in on the necklace. I masked my surprise and answered the question. "The attacks at Pine Ridge and Cedar Valley were both linked. She was looking for something." I reached into my pocket and pulled out the necklace. "I believe it is this. My team has been unable to determine what it is, or what it can do, but if she wants it, it must be important. She has given me until tonight to hand the necklace over, or she will attack the city. I don't intend to hand it over."
"We wouldn't ask you to either," the short haired woman said, standing up to address the other agents. "If she thinks she can come in here, to my city, and threaten it, she has another thing coming."
The room broke into a round of applause that Cummings struggled to contain, so he let it go for a few minutes before whistling loudly to break up the noise.
"Now that you are onboard, here is the plan."
- 29 -
As the sun faded off to the west, I sat on the steps to the St. Louis Cathedral waiting for my signal. Nearby I noticed Cummings and Ross casually leaning against two different trees in nearby Jackson Square.
The square was full of people sitting on blankets or on lawn chairs scattered all around the park. Even the street outside of the cathedral had a few groups of people, mainly position in areas where the trees wouldn't block their view.
Most of the agents were station closer to the riverfront, positioned a few hundreds of yards apart in a desperate attempt to watch over the crowd that seemed to grow by the minute.
My part of the plan relied on me being close enough to the crowd to be able to help control the hordes of dead in case she decided to attack early, yet far enough away that I could lead the dead away if she specifically came after me. Of course, the hope was that the area wasn't nearly as crowded as it proved to be, but it was too late to change things now. Other officers and agents were positioned close, waiting for part two of the plan which I enacted by pulling out my phone.
The phone rang three times before Abby picked it up, laughing as she did. "Nothing like waiting until the eleventh hour to turn in your homework. I take it you are prepared to return what is rightfully mine?"
"What's so special about the necklace, anyways?"
"Why should I tell you? So you can decide if you are willing to give it to me or not?" her voice changed from cheerful to angry in a matter of moments. "Time's almost up. Either tell me where you are or I attack."
"St. Louis Cathedral. Sitting on the front steps."
"You're that close to my house and couldn't return the necklace yourself?" she asked. "How pathetic."
She could second guess me all she wanted, the last thing I intended to do was to return to her house. At least until after this was all over. Even then, I knew it wouldn't be me going there, but instead a group of agents and police officers searching for information about other attacks. Sure, Cummings might bring me in to point out what's what, but it wouldn't be nearly as thorough as any search I would do.
"That's the best I got. You going to back down on your deal now?" I asked.
"I'll be there," she snarled. "You better have the necklace on you, or I'll kill your precious skinchanger first."
"Stacy?" I asked.
"Didn't believe I could get to her, did you?" I held my breath during the silence, unsure what to do. Suddenly, I wanted to run down the street and meet her at the house, to give her a piece of my mind. Before I could do anything rash, she spoke up again. "Go ahead, speak to your precious boss."
"Ray?" she asked, voice heavily strained, almost sounding like she had been crying.
"It's me. Are you OK?"
"Where am I?" she asked. "I don't know how I got here."
"What are you talking about?"
"That's enough," Abby said, now back on the call. "Can't have that girl telling you everything now, can I?"
"How'd you get her here so fast?"
Abby laughed. "You aren't the only one with friends to call on. She arrived at my front door just this morning. A pleasant surprise she was. I knew it would take someone important for you to give me what I wanted."
"You so much as lay a hand on her and I swear..."
"You'll kill me?" she asked. "Then how do you expect to get her back? She is my contingency plan. I needed to make sure you handed over the necklace without a fight. You hero types are all the same. Jumping in head first, never paying attention to the growing danger around you. Just like ever hero that has come before you, and that will come after you, you were so concerned with what the necklace could do that you didn't even consider what I was capable of doing. Do you remember the way you saw the officer die in the station? Getting mauled by a half dozen of my walking corpses until he finally succumbed to his wounds? Your precious secretary won't get the pleasure of going so fast. But don't you worry, she will hunt you down with the others, just the same."
I could feel the heat as it poured from my face, turning it a bright shade of red. Abby had one up on me and I didn't have time
to return the favor. For the first time, I felt my resolve crumble beneath the weight of her threats. My mind raced, just trying to think of a way to get Stacy back as well as keep the city safe, but I was out of time. In a few scant minutes the streets were going to be lined with the pus and gore of the long dead and newly deceased. And it was all due to my arrogance.
Before I had a chance to even respond, I felt the subtle slicing of my mind from the flow of essence around me. She was close, which meant there was a chance I could find her. Unless she was in a car, a doubtful proposition due to the amount of traffic already in the area, she was getting around by foot, and unless she sent Stacy in another direction with someone else, the pair was somewhere in the French Quarter.
I didn't want to give Abby any clues that I knew she was around, so I maintained a somber tone of voice when I asked, "where do you want to meet?"
"Finally," she said with the slightest hint of excitement in her voice, "you are ready to play. Here's what you need to do. You need to ditch your new phone and take a hike up St. Peter Street until you reach Bourbon. On the southwest corner, near the Krazy Korner, there is a trash can out front. Drop the necklace inside and walk away. From there, you will keep walking north until you reach Basin. Make a left and cross over two streets and walk to the St. Louis Cemetery. There will be a cab waiting for you out in front. The fare has already been paid. All you have to do is hop in, and it will take you back to your suite at the Hilton."
"How do I know you won't attack the people?"
"You don't," she said, calmly. "Call it an act of faith. As long as you follow directions, the attack will not happen and your precious skinchanger will be returned to your hotel room before you get there. Make one false turn and I call everything off. The city will go down screaming, Raymond, and it will only be the first. With the army I create here tonight, I'll march it up the Mighty Mississippi, killing everything in my path. Once I reach Missouri, there will be a slight detour. Only after I kill everyone in St. Louis, of course. I'll march my army to Colombia and make it my new home. How many college kids live there now? Thirty or forty thousand? By the time I reach there, they will die within a matter of hours."
"Enough," I said, resigned. "I'll do it."
"I'd hoped you'd play along," she said. "One last thing. Your federal agent friends have to stay where they are. The only eyes that are going to be on you are going to belong to my people. If one so much as walks in your direction..."
"They'll stay put," I assured her. "They are just here to protect the people."
"Good. Time is of the essence. I'll give you five minutes to ditch the phone and tell your two friends whatever it is you intend to tell them, then you need to be on your way. If you stall..."
"I'll be on my way in two."
"Hmm," she said, before hanging up.
Ross and Cummings were both giving me concerned looks, waiting for me to fill them in on the conversation. Instead, I pulled out the phone out of my pocket and walked across the pavement to the park where I handed it to Cummings.
"I need to leave," I said, trying desperately not to look them in the eyes. "She has my assistant and has threatened to kill her if I don't follow her plans."
"Follow them, Raymond, but keep the phone so we can see where you are headed."
"That's the first part of her plans. She wants me out of here for some reason, and I'm not sure why."
"So she can attack the celebrations without having to worry about anything. The way I see it, you are the only one capable of stopping her. If you leave, these people, our people, are going to die tonight."
"I know, but you need to trust me."
"Trust," Ross said, cracking his knuckles. "I should take you in right now."
"My ties to magic were cut while we were on the phone."
"She's close," Cummings said, giving Ross a glance.
"Within a couple of miles. Do you have any agents wearing civilian clothes?"
"Most of them are," Cummings said. "Why?"
"Send them north. Search the streets. Tell them to look casual. Abby has eyes of her own on the city tonight. One false move and the attack will begin. If one of them catches a glimpse of her, have them take her down if they get a shot." Which I doubted they would as she would be leading an army of the dead this way already.
"What about you?" Cummings asked. "What are you going to do?"
"She wants me to go north. To drop off the necklace in a trashcan in front of the Krazy Korner. One of your agents should head that way, just to see who comes by to claim it."
"You don't intend on actually dropping the necklace off, do you?"
I nodded. "I don't like it anymore than you, but I don't see another option."
Ross reached out, palms upward. "Give it to me," he said.
"I can't do that, big guy. If she doesn't get this back, she will attack too."
"She can have it back," he said as he slammed the phone I handed back to him on the pavement, sending pieces of it across the ground. He reached down and grabbed the battery pack, then carefully removed something off of the back. He held it up and used his phone to illuminate it. "The tracking chip. It will work for a few days without access to power."
"And it's small enough she wouldn't even notice if it was jammed between the iron links of the chain. Did I ever tell you that you are a genius?"
Ross grunted as he took the necklace from me and slid the microchip between the links of the chain closest to the medallion. He shook it around a bit to make sure it wouldn't move. Once he was content it wouldn't, he handed it back.
"I know it's not what we planned, but it's the best we got." I pulled out my wallet and handed the agents a handful of my cards. "My cell is on there. If you see anything out of the ordinary, give me a call." I turned around and started walking away, knowing I was closer to her five minute limit than I intended to be.
I made it to the corner of St. Peter Street when I heard Agent Cummings yell from the trees, "be careful, Ray."
I turned my head and nodded before continuing up the street.
- 30 -
Walking north on St. Peter, I was the oddity in the crowd. Most of the people were heading towards the riverfront, wanting to get a better view of the fireworks, while I was heading away. It garnered a few odd looks from a few of the groups I passed on the way. I ignored them the best I could as I dodged the ever growing crowds heading south.
As I made the trip, I looked around desperate to see if I notice anyone watching me. Anyone, that is, but the people who were passing by. But as I scanned the area the closest I came were a group of people sitting on a second floor balcony that had an American flag on either side of the banister. They may have made me uncomfortable, but I doubted they were playing a part on this little game of cat and mouse.
The sweet sound of jazz music filled the air as I continued my trip, getting louder the closer I got. Before long, I found the source of the music. The same place I was heading.
The corner of St. Peter and Bourbon was a crowded, jumbled mess of people, mostly standing around drinking beer and having a good time. Most of which, I gathered, was overflow from Krazy Korner itself. The crowd was dancing and singing, while dozens stood out in the street, watching the view to the east as the first explosion popped from behind me.
I felt the panic fill my body as I realized I was running out of time. Quickly, I walked to the trash can and tossed the necklace inside, along with a pair of empty beer bottles that were sitting on top of the can, hoping nobody noticed my play.
Before heading towards the cemetery, I gave the area one last glance, hoping to see anyone who was watching me a little too close, but unless they were being subtle about it, I didn't see a single set of eyes on me.
The further away from the riverfront, and Bourbon Street, the quieter things got. The only exceptions to that were the small handful of bars I passed though none of them were nearly as lively as the activity on Bourbon.
Two blocks from where I'd drop
ped off the necklace, the smell of death and decay grew strong as I approached Burgundy Street. When I reached the intersection, I glanced off to my left, wondering if she was foolish enough to return home. If she had, all I needed to do was make a quick detour and there was a chance that I could've ended this without so much as another incident. I was still cut off from my power, so I decided to keep on my trip, hoping she kept them here, away from the crowds.
Crossing over Rampart, my phone vibrated, causing me to jump until I heard the familiar 'unknown caller' ringtone. I nearly let it go to voicemail until I realized it might be someone important making the call. I reached in and flicked the phone to life. "Raymond."
"The necklace has been picked up," Cummings said on the other end of the line. "Short, thin girl with blond hair, wearing black. Sound familiar?"
"Short girl with blond hair? That's not Abby. That's..."
"There's a man walking up behind him. I didn't get a good look, but he is tall, kinda slender, and bald."
Cedric? Was he here looking for the necklace too? Or was he the person Abby intended to send to retrieve the necklace. Without a better description, it was all speculation. As far as I knew, she could've sent some big Mr. Clean looking guy to pick it up. The vicious, revenge oriented, side of me wanted it to be Cedric though. If he is foolish enough to follow Rachel, he deserves what he gets.
"The girl is one of the good ones. She is well armed and dangerous, so have your men keep their distance."
"What about the man?"
"Let him go too. She is a big girl and can take care of herself."
"What's your status?" Cummings asked.
"Getting close to the cemetery to take my cab ride back to the hotel."
"Really going through with it?"
"Don't have a choice. Stacy's been there for me for too many years to leave her to whatever fate she has in mind."
"But you don't even know if she'll actually return her."
Dead of Night: The Nephalem Files (Book 3) Page 18