"Behind Walmart."
Rachel face-palmed. "I know where we are physically, Ian. I'm asking where we are with your date being kidnapped…again.”
She had to add that little twist at the end of her sentence.
I grunted and pointed over at the blank wall.
“Null zone. Lydia said he took Isabel in there.”
Rachel cast a spell to check for runes before we walked into the null zone. We didn’t want to signal that we’d found the place just yet, though I had the feeling that Jack was well aware of our being here anyway.
She nodded the all-clear and we stepped past the zone border.
There was a door, but I wasn’t about to touch it. I’d learned the hard way that magically infused doors tended to cause a fair amount of discomfort.
Rachel launched another spell and a couple of drawings popped up. They looked a lot like the ones Warren, our resident PPD wizard, drew from time to time.
“Notification,” she said, pointing at the reddish rune that was at the top of the door. It was shaped like a circle with tentacles. She moved her finger to point at the blue rune that was a square with an integrated x-pattern. “Shocker rune.”
“Can you disable them?” I asked hopefully.
“Nope.”
“But Shockers suck.”
“Yep.”
I sighed heavily. This was my problem, not hers. Though, historically speaking, I was always the one to go through these painful events, even if it wasn’t just my problem.
The best way to handle one of these was to treat it like a Band-Aid. Rip it off fast, feel the sting, and move on with your life.
“Damn it,” I said as I reached out and twisted the handle.
A massive jolt of electricity shot up my arm and knocked me on my ass. It was like one of those static shocks you got when touching a doorknob after walking on carpeting, except maybe one thousand times more painful.
Rachel had her foot in the door as I pushed myself back up.
“You okay?” she asked.
“Peachy.”
I shook off the effects and thanked my genetics that I was a fast healer.
“There’s bound to be trouble when we walk through the door,” she noted as I took out Boomy.
“I have a feeling he’s going to draw us in a little before ambushing us,” I said while gritting my teeth against the pain radiating through my left arm. “He knew I would chase him. In fact, he’s gone out of his way to make sure I’d chase him, including pissing me off along the way.”
Rachel kicked open the door and I walked in like I owned the place.
It was a small foyer that had no business being in a Walmart. There was posh carpeting, cozy furniture, white wainscoting that offset nicely against the earthy green paint, and a few classy pictures hanging in key places on the wall. There was also a reception desk with a young woman seated behind it.
She had fair skin and long red hair that curved beautifully along her oval face. She was one of Kidnap Jack’s captures. I knew this because her pupils were green and her irises were black. Jack had somehow perfected this marking ability over the years.
“Good evening, Mr. Dex,” the woman said with a genuine smile, “we’ve been waiting for you.”
“Where the hell is… What?”
I lowered Boomy.
“Mr. Conners told us that you would be arriving soon,” she said.
“Then couldn’t you have made it so that your door wouldn’t have electrocuted me?” I more yelled than said.
“We would have, sir,” she replied coolly, “had you decided to knock.”
Rachel giggled.
I gave her a sharp look.
She stopped giggling.
“Where is he?” I demanded.
“Second door on your left,” the receptionist replied with a sweet tone of voice. I strode over purposefully and reached out for the knob. “I suggest you knock, though.”
I quickly pulled my hand away with a gasp, gave the receptionist a look, and then knocked.
There was a buzzing sound and the door cracked open on its own.
I opened it the rest of the way with my foot and saw a large room more befitting of that Walmart style. Boxes, shelves, concrete flooring…it’s what I had expected to see when entering the receptionist area I was currently in.
Standing in the middle of the room was Kidnap Jack.
Next to him was Isabel.
I zoomed my vision. Her irises were still blue, which meant he hadn’t fed on her yet. Just in case, I glanced at her neck. No marks. Phew.
“Hello, Officer Dex,” Jack said in a calming timbre. “It’s been a long time.”
“Not long enough,” I replied, leveling Boomy at him.
“Please put your weapon down,” he said with a wave of his hand. “There’s no point in things getting uncivilized.”
“I’ll keep it where it is, if it’s all the same to you.”
He shrugged. “Suit yourself.” He then glanced over at Rachel. “Ah, Officer Cress. Stunning as always.”
“Your charms won’t work on me, Jack,” she replied. “You know that.”
“You wound me, my dear,” he said with a hand to his chest. “I merely note that I’ve always found your beauty rather intoxicating. Would that I could drink of it until my days were at an end.”
“Oh,” Rachel replied, blushing and fanning herself. “Well, that’s sweet of you to say.”
“Seriously?” I said, giving her a sidelong glance. “That didn’t even take ten seconds.”
She shook her head and grimaced, obviously recognizing that she was put under Jack’s charm.
“Shit.”
“Yeah,” I agreed, nodding at her in a very condescending way. “Now you know how easy it is for him to steal my dates away from me.” Then I snapped my eyes back at Jack. “The question I have is why are you always fucking with me specifically, Jack?”
“Why, the competition, of course,” he replied in a way that indicated he thought me dense.
I squinted. “What competition?”
“Everyone knows that you’re a master of seducing women, as am I.” He grinned and nodded at Isabel. “However, I am up three on you now.”
What the hell was he talking about? I never knew about any competition between the two of us. Hell, I hand’t even known who he was until he’d swiped two of my dates in the past.
“Uh,” I said, raising my left hand, which was finally feeling better, “in order for there to be a contest, don’t all sides need to know they’re playing?”
He rubbed his chin. “Hadn’t considered that, to be honest.” He then shrugged and added, “Doesn’t matter now anyway, for I have devised the ultimate test to see who is best at luring the ladies.”
“What?” Rachel chimed in as her hands glowed. Clearly she wasn’t fond of this idea. “I’m not going to just stand around here while you treat women like playthings.”
“Nor would I ever expect you to, Officer Cress,” Jack said with a sincere voice. “You are far too good and true. Your purpose and strength are an inspiration to us all.”
She moved her foot around, blushing again. “You really think so?”
“Oh, for the love of…” I growled. “Rachel, snap out of it.”
“Damn it,” she said, wincing. “He did it again.”
“Clearly,” I replied while lowering Boomy. “All right, Jack, what’s the deal?”
In response, a number of mages walked out from behind shelves. There had to have been a good twenty of them, and their hands were all glowing.
“Not good,” Rachel said.
Chapter 5
The fact was that I could probably shoot all of them before they got their first spell off. Hell, if I employed Haste, I would definitely be able to win that quick-draw competition. Unfortunately, setting up Haste would take too much time.
With a roll of my eyes, I stuck Boomy back in his holster and crossed my arms.
Rachel was already standing
in a similar stance.
“So, what’s the deal, Jack?” I asked again.
“I plan to prove that I’m number one with the ladies,” he stated. “I already believe it to be true, but I need proof. I’ve never been one to settle for second place, you know.”
“Fine,” I said with a bow. “I concede. You’re the best, Jack. Now, how about you come with us down to the station so we can put you back behind bars?”
He chuckled and snapped his fingers. A young lady brought out a couple of chairs. Isabel took a seat in one and Jack motioned for Rachel to sit in the other.
“I don’t think so,” said Rachel with a look of defiance. All of the mages started doing the glowing hands thing. “All right, all right. Jeez.”
She sat down.
“Thank you, my love,” Jack said in his fancy voice.
Rachel twirled her hair for a moment and then shook her head.
“Stop doing that!”
“My apologies, fair maiden.”
“It’s okay,” she said, blushing. And then, “Damn it!”
Honestly, it was kind of nice to see how easily Rachel was being manipulated by him. It made it a lot tougher for her to continue making fun of me for Jack’s incessant hijacking of my dates.
That thought made me pause. The fact was that my nickname for Jack should have technically been “Hijack Jack.” I said it a few times in my head. Nah, I liked “Kidnap Jack” better. The other one sounded like I was saying “hi” to some dude named “Jackjack.”
“Now, here’s what we’re going to do,” Jack said, closing the distance between us. “You and I are going to head over to the nightclub of your choosing. Once there, we’re going to have a competition to see who can get three women to come back to their table first.”
I scrunched up my face. “Three women at the same time?”
“Well, no,” he said, blinking. “One at a time is fine. I suppose three would be okay, too, if you can manage that. Or maybe two and then one, or…” He took a slow breath in. “It doesn’t matter. Three is the number. That’s all.”
So this guy seriously wanted to go toe-to-toe with me on picking up chicks? That seemed pretty warped to me, and it was me we were talking about here.
“That’s messed up, you know that, right?” I said, getting an appraising look from Rachel. Isabel, who had been silent this entire time, even raised an eyebrow. “We’re talking about women here, dude.”
“Your point?” Jack said, seeming baffled.
“That we shouldn’t be treating them like playthings, maybe?”
“Oh, this competition is going to be far too simple if you continue that line of thought, Officer Dex.” He tsk-tsk’d as he walked behind the chairs the ladies were seated in. “I’m afraid I will need your concerted efforts. So, if I sense you’re going easy on me…” He sighed sadly. “Well, let’s just say that things won’t be so wonderful for your two friends here.”
“What?” said Rachel, spinning back to face him.
“Sorry, my sweet,” Jack replied, leaning toward her. “I’m sure you can understand the need for Officer Dex to fully comply with my request, though, yes?”
“Sure, of course,” she said, as if the captain of the football team had just asked her to prom.
“Rachel,” I barked, shaking her from his mental grasp.
“Damn it!”
I sensed that she was about to reach out and punch Jack in the nose. She’d likely never get that far, but knowing her, she’d try.
“Okay, okay,” I said, holding my hands up in surrender before Rachel ended up as a pile of ash on the Walmart floor. “I’ll do it on one condition.”
“I’m listening,” Jack said.
“You can’t use your sensual Voice and I can’t use my Jinglies.”
He frowned. “Your what?”
“It’s a stupid name,” Rachel piped up. “It’s his way of sending sexual energy through his body. The same as your Voice energy, but his is done via touch.”
“Ah, I see.” He rubbed his chin thoughtfully. “No, I think not.”
“Then it won’t be a fair contest,” I stated, “which means you’ll never truly know who is number one.”
“Why do you say that?”
It was my turn to pace back and forth. I had no real reason to do it other than it would make me look contemplative, and I guessed that would cause Jack to take my words more seriously.
“Think about it, Jack,” I said finally. “If you go in using your Voice and I go in using my Jinglies—”
“Just sounds dirty,” he said.
“Hmmm?”
“‘Jinglies.’ It sounds like you’re talking about your naughty bits.”
“Fine,” I said with a tight smile. “If you go in with your Voice and I use Touch…” I paused and looked at him. “Does that term suit you better?”
“Yes.”
“Good. Well, if we do that, then there really is no competition because we’re not allowing the ladies to choose. We’re simply putting them under a spell, and that’s not only wrong and highly illegal, it isn’t going to tell us who is better at the art of seduction.”
He chewed his lip. “You have a point there.”
“In fact,” I pressed on, “I’d go as far as to say that you have never bested me, even though you hijacked my dates three times now. You cheated. The ladies had no real choice in the matter, which means your technique is nothing but a roofie.”
“Using a roofie implies that I had relations with them.” He grew dark at the accusation. “I’m not that kind of guy.”
“You’re a vampire who fed on women without their consent, Jack,” I pointed out. “You even went to jail for it once, and will very likely be going to jail for it again.”
He maintained his dark stare for a few more moments before looking away.
“Fine, I did feed on them, but I never touched them otherwise. And they all gave their consent.”
“Only because you used your Voice on them,” I was quick to point out.
“Valid.” He waved a hand at me. “But so what? And, besides, vampires feed on normals all the time anyway. It’s what we do.”
“Which is why you go to prison,” Rachel said with a sneer. “Men are pigs, all of you.”
“What the hell?” I said with my hands up. “I’m being the good guy here.”
She tilted her head. “Hence why you’re about to go out to see which of you is better at picking up women?”
“I’m trying to keep you and Isabel alive, Rachel,” I countered. “Now, if you’d rather I didn’t bother, then by all means, speak up.”
Rachel rolled her eyes and set about studying her fingernails.
I knew it bugged the hell out of her to be in this spot, and it probably pissed her off even more that her life was essentially in my hands. But that’s the way it was. You’d think I’d get a little support from her on this, but nooooo.
“Fine,” said Jack, pulling me from my thoughts. “We shall do it your way. No use of Voice or Touch.”
I nodded.
“Now, what is your club of choice?”
“Hyde,” I answered.
“Bellagio, then,” he said with a nod to one of the mages, who nodded back. Jack clapped his hands together. “We’ll take my Bugatti.”
“Actually,” I said, gulping as I recalled what I’d done to his wheel, “that may be a problem.”
“Oh?”
Chapter 6
“I’m still baffled how you could do such a thing to my beloved Bugatti,” Jack said as we strolled into the Hyde. “It was patently uncivilized.”
“Worse than hijacking my dates?” I asked, thinking more and more that “Hijack Jack” was the better name.
“Touché.”
The place was bouncing and there were plenty of candidates around for the competition.
I wasn’t exactly thrilled with having to participate in this, but there were a couple of lives at stake here, so I forced myself to deal with it. St
ill, once this was said and done, Jack was going to jail whether I won or not.
“The tables here won’t exactly work,” Jack said, looking around at the layout of the place, “but I’ll secure a couple of chairs in the VIP area and we’ll go with that.”
“Yeah, whatever,” I said, psyching myself up.
“No starting without me.”
I nodded at him with a grimace and then waited.
There was already one lady who was eying me from a chair at the bar. That gave me one leg up, anyway. Not that I really cared to win. In fact, I couldn’t help but think that a better strategy would be to purposefully lose. But then Jack’s words came back to me about giving 100% or he’d do something nefarious to Rachel and Isabel.
I kept a roaming eye as Jack secured our chairs. He’d even gotten them roped off. No doubt he’d used that damn Voice of his to manage that.
He waved me over and I sat next to him.
“Right,” he said, looking rather smug, “so these seats are ours. Nobody else will be allowed here unless accompanied by one of us. That means we may roam freely without fear of losing them.”
“Fine.”
“When one of us scores and brings a lady back here,” Jack continued, “the other must acknowledge the catch in order for it to count, and that includes an introduction and questioning.”
“Questioning?” I grunted. “What the hell about?”
“I want to verify that you—”
“Wait,” I said, interrupting him while holding up my hand. “You think I’m going to cheat? I don’t even want to do this at all, you asshole. Why would I cheat?”
Jack adjusted his tie, seeming a bit unnerved by my attitude. But so what? This game was asinine, in my humble opinion, and now he wanted to question my honor?
“I just don’t know you very well,” he said evenly.
I scoffed at that.
“Look, Jack, if anyone needs to have their ‘catches’ verified, it’s you. You’re the one who goes around swiping dates, remember?” I stared right at him. “You’re the one known for cheating.”
He returned my cold glare.
“Like it or not,” he said in a measured tone, “verifications are enacted.”
Blind Date: An Ian Dex Supernatural Short Story (Las Vegas Paranormal Police Department) Page 2