Broken (Book 3 of The Guardian Interviews)

by Michael Clary

  So, I kept looking.

  As I was busy researching, the boys were still in El Paso, hard at work destroying the zombies. I was hoping to make some progress before they left the city. The awards ceremony was coming up, and I knew I wouldn’t get much done with them around.

  The team was due to arrive the very next evening when I finally gave up my own sad attempts at research. In the end, I simply asked Mr. Hardin how they found out about monster problems that weren’t on a grand scale. I never told him a word about my plan, and he was so busy he never even asked me why I wanted to know.

  “We ask Momo,” Mr. Hardin answered.

  “What’s a Momo?” I asked.

  “He’s the guy that keeps track of that sort of thing.”

  “Can I speak with him?”

  “Sure, if you don’t mind heading out to New York. Momo doesn’t come into the field with us, and he rarely returns phone calls or emails.”

  I hopped a plane immediately. It was a military plane, by the way. Traveling is not only free for me, it’s also hassle free. It’s just a job perk that working under Mr. Hardin and Miriam provides.

  It was well after dark when the plane landed, and my escort drove me to a questionable area in the city. I can’t give you the location. Momo doesn’t want people showing up at his work. However, I can tell you that the entrance to his facility is in an alley right off a main street filled with restaurants and shops.

  “That’s not really a lot to go on.”

  Of course not. Momo doesn’t want visitors. I only told you what I told you so that you would understand that the work he does goes on right under people’s noses.

  Anyway, from the back alley I went down a flight of stairs and rang the bell on a metal door. A spotlight came over my head immediately. A black orb on a metal arm emerged from the door and shined a red light up and down my body and a loud humming noise began to sound out from underneath me. I began to get nervous, and just as suddenly as everything started, it stopped. The spotlight was suddenly shut off, the humming noise vanished from underneath me, and the red light stopped scanning my body as the black orb retracted back into the wall.

  The door was opened by a cute, young woman in a white lab coat.

  “Hi,” she said. “I’m April. Don’t be alarmed by the scanners. We don’t get many visitors down here. We tend to take precautions but Mr. Hardin made sure you were cleared for entry.”

  “Do I look that unnerved?”

  “Yes,” April answered. “Not to worry though. It’s a pretty normal reaction. I still get pretty nervous when I stand where you’re standing.”

  “Why is that?” I asked after quickly moving into the building.

  “That entire grate you were standing on can put out a shock big enough to fry a blue whale,” April answered.

  “What the Hell do you need that for?”

  April looked confused.

  “What exactly did Mr. Hardin tell you about this place?”

  “He didn’t say much,” I answered. “I just asked him how they found out about monster problems, and he sent me here.”

  “Okay,” April said as she led me down a concrete corridor. “Well, we do track down problems. We try to nip things in the bud before they become big problems. However, we do a whole lot more than just that.”

  “Such as?”

  “Well,” April answered, “in addition to providing weapons and outfitting vehicles, we also try and study monsters.”

  We had reached the end of the dim corridor and came to an elevator. Inside the elevator, I noticed that there was only two buttons, up and down. April pressed down, and we were both scanned with that annoying red light.

  “Why do you need to study monsters?” I asked after I had grown bored of the silence. “I thought Miriam was pretty much an expert on them.”

  “She is,” April said. “She’s been pretty damn important to our research, but she doesn’t know everything. She doesn’t always know what attracts them or how to kill them, and that’s what we’re really down here trying to understand. We want to know how to kill the monsters.”

  The elevator door came to a stop and slid open. I stepped out onto a balcony overlooking an incredibly large room. Inside the room were machines and pieces of equipment I couldn’t even begin to identify. It was like the great big lab of some mad scientist. Actually, make that scientists, because there were about twenty or so people running around in lab coats down there.

  Along the walls were large glass cages. Some of the cages were occupied. I don’t even want to tell you some of the things I saw.

  “Oh, don’t tease me like that. You’ve got to give me something.”

  Ivana gave a little laugh at the expression on my face and took a swig of her beer.

  One cage held what seemed to be a giant spider. I couldn’t see it very clearly through all the webs, but I’m pretty sure it was a big-ass spider.

  “How big was it?”

  About the size of a compact car.

  “What else did you see?”

  I saw zombies.

  “You saw zombies outside of El Paso?”

  I did, and let me tell you, it scared the shit out of me.

  “Are you people crazy?” I asked April. “Do you know how dangerous those things are?”

  “Are you talking about the zombies?” April asked innocently.

  “Duh,” I replied. “All it takes is for one to get loose, and this entire building could become infected.”

  “And then what?”

  “New York could be next.”

  “Now, how is that going to happen when the complex has only one exit and only humans with the proper clearance can use it? Don’t give it another thought. Our security system is incredibly advanced. You would be amazed at how well it does its job.”

  “That’s why you have the electrified grate out there?” I asked. “You want to make sure nothing escapes?”

  “Yes, we also want to make sure nothing gets in,” April answered. “We’ve recently had some vampires attempt to break in and pay us a visit.”

  “Why vampires?”

  “After the Battle of the Sun Bowl, we were able to secure some vampire corpses,” April answered. “We’ve wanted to study them for years. Now we finally can.”

  “I see a lot of creatures alongside the zombies. Have you ever had a breakout before?”

  “This complex opened in 1965. In the early days there were some problems, but we have some really serious protocols to protect ourselves now. Also, you’re seeing us on a busy day. With the Guardian being so busy in El Paso with the zombie threat, other monsters have been able to rear up their ugly little heads and become a problem around the rest of the country. Once the zombie threat is neutralized, we will no longer be able to acquire as many live specimens. Guardians don’t tend to leave survivors.”

  “How many Guardians have you worked with?” I asked.

  “We don’t actually work with them. We track down where the monsters are and notify Mr. Hardin. Then, we study the corpses after the Guardians are finished, but to answer your question, I’ve only been doing this for eight years, so the only other Guardian that’s been around is Max.”

  “Speaking of Guardians,” April said as she led the way down a flight of stairs to the room below us. “I hear that you’re actually friends with the General. Is that true?”

  “Yes,” I answered.

  “What’s he like?” April asked, all googly eyed.

  “He’s a pain in the ass, but I love him anyway,” I answered.

  “Is it true that he fought a master vampire with only a knife?”

  A crowd of lab coated nerds had begun to gather around us. The scientists were evidently pretty curious about Jaxon.

  “I wasn’t personally there, but yes. Jaxon took him out.”

  “How bloody was the fight between the General and Max?” another scientist asked.

  “I wasn’t there for that one either.” I answered.

  “Have
you seen him fight?” The man continued. “I only ask because we know so little about Guardians, and I have a theory about how the General was able to defeat an older Guardian.”

  “I’ve seen him fight,” I answered.

  The question brought back some difficult memories. Right before Jax risked his life to save me, I had lost my girlfriend. I do my best not to think about what happened to Jill. It’s not that I don’t want to remember her. It’s just…painful.

  “What was it like watching him fight?” someone asked interrupting my thoughts.

  “It was frightening,” I answered. “The sounds of bones breaking, the noise the tomahawk made when it met flesh. It was pretty terrifying, and not just the sounds. It was also the way Jaxon moved. He was too fast. He didn’t even seem human. He was just too deadly.”

  If I had their attention before, it was nothing compared to the way they were all staring at me now. I was a rock star.

  “Have you ever held the tomahawk?” another scientist asked.

  “No,” I answered. “I try to stay away from weapons.”

  “I was wondering if what I read about a Guardian’s weapon was true. I found a passage in an old text that said a Guardians weapon will grow its own soul after it has claimed many lives.”

  “I can’t help you with that one, buddy,” I answered. “I’m not a fighter. I normally spend my days working with Miriam or helping out the wounded.”

  They didn’t seem to care that I wasn’t often involved with the action. The questions just kept coming at me. I didn’t know the answers to most of them. I’m sure they knew more about Guardians than I did, because I knew just about next to nothing.

  Most of what they asked was based off rumors they had heard. Perhaps they read something somewhere or heard a theory from a coworker. I don’t know. I could answer questions about his personality somewhat decently. I could describe in greater detail how he fought, which I did. Yet, when it came to questions about his abilities, I was hopeless.

  The questions were suddenly interrupted by a booming voice from across the room.

  “Is that the muff-diver?” the voice demanded.

  Everyone instantly broke away from April and I and went back to work. I was somewhat stunned by the question. It took me a moment to recover.

  “Did he just call me a muff-diver?” I asked April as a bespectacled man with a shaved head emerged from an office and walked confidently towards us. April just shrugged her shoulders and looked embarrassed.

  “Did you refer to me as a muff-diver?” I asked the man when he’d gotten close enough that I wouldn’t have to raise my voice to be heard.

  “No,” he answered while eye-fucking me to the point of ridiculousness.

  “I’m Ivana,” I announced. “And you can stop eye-fucking me. I’m not interested.”

  “I wouldn’t think you would be. Bull dykes don’t usually enjoy the boy parts.”

  “Do I look like a bull dyke to you?” I asked.

  “No, but you certainly act like one.”

  “How does one go about acting like a bull dyke?”

  “Well, you’re vulgar. Inside the first sentence you ever said to me, you used the four-letter-word.”

  “No I didn’t. It was the second sentence.”

  The man considered me for a moment. This time he was actually looking at my eyes instead of my body.

  “I think I’m going to like you. You’re okay for a lezbo.”

  He offered me his hand. Reluctantly I accepted it. You see, Momo is an asshole. Yet, believe it or not, the things that he says aren’t really meant to offend. He just likes to get a rise out of people. It would have been nice if someone had thought to give me a warning, but whatever.

  I followed Momo into his office. I expected to see pictures of monsters or paraphernalia for killing them. I was a bit shocked to see pictures of his nieces and nephews instead.

  “So what can I do for you?” Momo asked after taking a seat behind his desk.

  “I hear you guys are pretty good at tracking down monsters. I happen to be looking for one.”

  “We’re the best in the world,” Momo answered. “Then again, there are only like three other places in the world that do this kind of thing. What are you looking for?”

  “I want to locate a vampire.”

  Momo stared at me for a long moment before speaking up.

  “Why do you want to locate a vampire?” he finally asked.

  “It’s personal,” I answered.

  Again the man stared at me for a long moment.

  “Did you have an ex-lover get turned?”

  “I didn’t. I just want to locate the nearest vampire.”

  Again he stared at me.

  “Do you understand how dangerous vampires are?”

  “I do indeed. My friends had some rather violent altercations with them. Perhaps you’ve heard about it?”

  “I have heard about that. We have some of the bodies. It was pretty impressive. However, you are not the Guardian. Normal people, even hot rug-munchers, don’t go around looking for vampires. Not if they want to live.”

  “I have a theory that I’m working on. It may help us bring an end to what’s happening in El Paso.”

  “Do tell.”

  “Do you know what a ghoul is?”

  “A corpse eater?”

  “Yes, a corpse eater.”

  “I’ve heard of them. They’re pretty much off our radar since they aren’t a threat. So I haven’t really spent a lot of time studying them.”

  “They are massing underneath El Paso as we speak. All the dead zombies are attracting them.”

  “That makes sense,” Momo said. “It’s like an all-you-can-eat-buffet over there.”

  “What if the ghouls attacked the zombies?” I asked.

  “That wouldn’t happen unless the ghouls are attacked, and since ghouls spend most of their time underground, it’s pretty unlikely.”

  “I’ve heard that vampires can summon ghouls.”

  “They can. The ghouls dispose of the bodies for them.” Momo said.

  “Well, what if some ghouls were summoned right in front of a large horde of zombies?” I asked.

  “The zombies would attack them. The ghouls would fight back. A battle would ensue.”

  A big smile began to spread across Momo’s face.

  “Do you see what I’m getting at?” I asked.

  “You want to ask a vampire how to go about summoning a ghoul so you can bring them out of the ground in front of the zombies. You want to defeat monsters with monsters.”

  “So what do you think?” I asked.

  “I think it would work if you were able to summon enough ghouls. At least one ghoul for every twenty zombies, which is very possible if all the ghouls are indeed heading into El Paso. The real problem would be the vampire.”

  “What if I could offer them protection from the General in exchange for their help?” I asked.

  “Who’s going to protect you from them? That’s what I’m concerned about.” Momo answered. “Can you get Mr. Hardin to go along with this?”

  “I brought it to Miriam’s attention,” I said. “She wasn’t interested. She thought it was too dangerous. I disagree. I think we need to try it before it’s too late and the zombies try to leave the city.”

  Momo got up from his desk and began to pace around the room. I could tell that he liked the idea. He just wasn’t keen on sending me out to meet a vampire. I have to admit I wasn’t very keen on meeting a vampire myself.

  “I can’t do it,” Momo finally announced. “Miriam is right. It’s just too dangerous. Vampires aren’t normally something that can be reasoned with. They either kill or turn humans. To the best of my limited knowledge, there really isn’t a middle ground.”

  I expected his answer. I had powerful friends, and these friends wouldn’t be happy if someone allowed me to walk into danger, and I ended up getting hurt…or worse.

  “What if you came with me?” I asked.

/>   “I don’t do field work,” Momo answered.

  “So stay in the car,” I said. “If things go bad you can get us the Hell out of there.”

  “A vampire can outrun a car,” Momo said.

  “Any way you look at the situation, it’s dangerous,” I said. “Your entire line of work is dangerous. You have zombies in a glass cage. You have a giant spider in another one. Those things are accidents waiting to happen. Park a ways down the road if you want, or drop me off and run for the hills, but I need your help to find a vampire. It’s worth the risk.”

  “Why don’t you try and take this to Mr. Hardin?” Momo asked. “Try going around Miriam to get what you want.”

  “Mr. Hardin doesn’t like to play around with vampires,” I answered. “If I thought there was a chance he’d go for it, I wouldn’t be here.”

  “What about the Guardian?” Momo asked. “If you’re friends with him, he would hear you out at least.”

  “He might,” I said, “or he might just call me crazy and tell me to stay out of it. He’s slightly overprotective when it comes to me.”

  “You want me to put you in harm’s way when you have an overprotective Guardian watching over you?”

  “How about this,” I sighed heavily. “If you help me out, I’ll let you watch me make-out with the first hot chick I find.”

  Momo was a horn dog, of that I had no doubt. I was also probably the first lesbian he had ever met. Men tend to be very curious about attractive lesbians, and sometimes these same men are often very willing to do crazy things in order to attract a lesbian’s attention. I’ve seen that first hand many, many times. Judging by the way his eyes got all huge when I made my offer, I knew that Momo could be bribed.

  “I’ll need to see a lot more than making-out to convince me to leave this office,” Momo said with a smile.

  “Well, watching a make-out session is what I’m offering. However, you’ll have plenty of time during our trip to get me to change my mind. It’s just too bad we don’t have a willing participant already here. You’d have an appetizer.”

  Momo’s jaw hit the ground. I licked my lips slowly to push him just a little bit farther.

  “APRIL,” Momo shouted. “GET IN HERE!”