“That pixie is something else,” I said while peeling out and getting down the road. “It didn’t even take him until morning.”
“Yep.”
Engineers were an interesting breed. If they told you they could complete something in a week, it’d take a month; if they said it’d take a month—and they were dramatic about it—it’d take a week; and if they were noncommittal, then you’d likely never get it at all.
“How far behind are we on the others?” I asked as we got on the main strip.
“They left just as I was coming to your office. We should be right on them.”
I pressed the accelerator a little harder.
“Hey gang,” I said through the connector, “let’s not engage with the zombies until we’re all in place, understand?”
They acknowledged.
None of us had any clue what the necromancer had in store for us, but he’d been getting trickier with each encounter and I saw no point in engaging without first having a plan.
I closed off the broadcast and just spoke to Rachel. “Now that Fred has decided to finally tackle introducing the dead to the living, we’re going to have a shit storm on our hands.”
“Yep.” Rachel was cracking her knuckles. Most people did this as a stress reliever, Rachel did it as a way to signal she was ready for a fight. “I’ve already tasked Lydia with getting The Spin down here on this one.”
That thought made me shudder.
It was quite amazing to me how I could stand toe-to-toe with a werewolf who was hellbent on biting me in two, but I was not fond of facing a confrontation against a five-foot-two normal by the name of Paula Rose. She was a spitfire. If she’d been born a dragon, there’d only be one difference in what she was as a normal…she’d be able to fly.
I gulped.
“I know what you’re thinking,” said Rachel, “and let me just say…better you than me.”
“Yeah.”
We parked at the Downtown Grand, where everyone had agreed to meet. It was far enough away from Freemont to give us a quiet entrance. Plus, it gave us time to plan.
We padded over toward the old strip because that’s where the reports had come in from. This made sense seeing that it was one of the more populated areas this time of night.
“Obviously we can’t just start shooting these things,” I pointed out to the crew while checking to make sure Boomy was fully loaded. “Well, I guess we can, but you know what I’m saying.”
“What do you suggest, Chief?”
“Not sure, Chuck.” I tucked Boomy back into his holster. “Anyone have any ideas?”
“Use our small guns,” Felicia started, “get in close, and knock a few rounds into them. Then drag them off. Let The Spin handle damage control. That’s their job.”
“Ian’s afraid of Paula,” Rachel pointed out with a nod at me.
Felicia nodded. “Ah, right.”
“I am not,” I said with a frown. Then I shrugged. “Okay, maybe a little, but that has no bearing on this. We’re cops and our job is to protect the people, so we do what we have to do.”
I paused and scanned the area to see if I could spot any of the zombies with my new shades. The crowd wasn’t too congested tonight but so far I saw nothing.
“Anyone see any of them?”
“Nothing here,” said Jasmine. The rest of the crew didn’t see anything either. “When we do spot them,” she continued, “we could put together a gripping spell and pull them out of the main area.”
“A what?”
“It’s a solid idea, actually,” said Griff, ignoring my question. “We would have to couple it with a sense of compelling, too.”
“True,” said Jasmine.
“Anyone want to explain to the non-mages what the hell you’re talking about?” I asked.
Rachel spun me around. “Think of it like putting handcuffs on a person, except with magic.”
“I like it already.”
“Freak.” She grunted. “Anyway, it’s great to lock them down, but it doesn’t mean they’ll come along and jump in the back of the squad car…metaphorically speaking. To get the person to comply with following you, just tack on that compelling spell and you’re all set.”
“Ah,” I replied with a nod. “I get it. The handcuff one works, but you don’t need that second one.”
“Why not?” asked Griff.
“They’re already interested in ripping me limb from limb, remember?”
“He’s got a point there,” stated Jasmine.
We kept scanning the area, but nothing turned up. Maybe it was a false report? Just a helpful super who had been on edge lately with all of the activity going on. It’d happened before, back during the werewolf craze before I’d made it to the rank of chief. There’d been so many wolf attacks in my rookie year that people were calling in to report stray poodles and yapping chihuahuas. I think the entire PPD slept for a week when that fiasco finally ended.
“Uh,” said Felicia while pointing up. “I think I’ve found them.”
There they were.
Two zombies.
They were riding the damn zip lines!
Chapter 23
The zip line allowed people to put on a harness and fly above everyone else on Freemont Street.
I sent Chuck, Griff, and Serena to the launching tower while the rest of us bolted down to the receiving platform. We probably wouldn’t arrive in time to meet them at the landing spot, but since it would take a little time for the zombies to get the safety gear off, we could at least meet them on their way out.
“Keep an eye out for Fred,” I commanded through the connector, “and don’t take any chances with weird magic shit. We already know the guy is doing his best to find our weak spots. Let’s not give him anything to work with.” That’s when I glanced around and the blood drained from my face. “Where’s Warren?”
“He stayed back at base,” Serena replied through the connector. “He wanted to keep studying those runes that Fred put on that box.”
“Okay, good.” I sighed heavily and then opened a channel back to base. “Lydia, could you please have Warren work with Turbo on building us some amulets or something to help protect us against these weird wizard bombs?”
“What wizard bombs, honey pie?”
“He should know, babe,” I answered, throwing her a little of the Ian charm. “Silver and O had some information about them.”
“I just pulled up a few thousand articles on them myself,” she replied. “I believe Warren will have his hands full dealing with this, puddin’.”
“Well, that’s his job. Thanks, Lydia.”
We disconnected just as my crew got to the end of the zip line, over by North Main. The zombies were slowly working their way down the steps. If I were in as bad shape as those guys, I’d have taken the elevator.
“Magic ready?” I asked Jasmine and Rachel. They nodded. “Okay, everyone fan out. I’m going to back away so as not to draw their attention yet. I seem to be enough of a compelling spell all by myself.”
I moved backward while keeping my eye on the two dead guys who were struggling down the steps. We could have dropped them right there if there weren’t other people around. As it was, we needed to be somewhat chilled about this.
Right as I crested the corner of the Golden Gate, I bumped into someone and the word “flashes” went through my mind.
Everything stopped.
Everything.
Sounds, people, cars…nothing was moving.
Suddenly the world went dark and I found myself grabbing for the wall in order to maintain my balance.
At first I thought that maybe Fred had cast a spell on me, but something told me that wasn’t it. The word “flashes” was bouncing around in my head. I gripped the wall. No, this didn’t come from Fred. It came from that guy I’d talked to at the Three Angry Wives bar a couple weeks back. Gabe. He mentioned that the demon-powered mage we’d fought before was just one in the line of bad things to come. He then said
he would be able to help me. After that, he disappeared into the night, but not until after using that word ‘flashes’ in such a way that it stuck with me. I couldn’t explain it, but I felt it.
The darkness began to fade and sounds were reintroduced, but they weren’t sounds of a lively night in downtown Vegas. They were the sounds of battle.
I was looking through someone else’s eyes. I could see what he saw, smell the scent in the air, feel the touch of the rifle he was holding. Even his fear was gripping my brain as if it were my own. Fortunately, I had enough self-awareness to realize that this wasn’t me. It wasn’t my body. Hell, it wasn’t even my era. This was definitely the past. A dreary, lonesome, terrifying past. And it was nowhere near Vegas either. In fact, I had no idea where the hell we were.
As this soldier, whoever he was, crept along, I could see figures clomping around in front of him.
Zombies.
So this vision was a tie-in to my current situation.
The soldier kept moving until he was situated on the top of a small mound. It was covered in bushes, giving him enough cover to do whatever he intended. My hope was that he was just hiding. They weren’t looking in his direction and he appeared to be doing everything he could to avoid them.
Nope.
He attached a scope to his rifle and leveled it, scanning the area until his sights settled on his target.
It was Shitfaced Fred. He was younger, sure, but I rarely forgot a face—Directors notwithstanding. If he took out Fred here that would be that. Could that be what this “flashes” thing was all about? Killing a guy in a vision? That would kick ass.
Unfortunately, the soldier didn’t fire.
Instead, he moved the scope a little further to the left until he spotted another wizard.
This one was also hunched over, looking like a grim old man who’d had one too many whiskeys. What was it with wizards and booze? You’d think they used it as a power source or something. That thought made me want to grin, but this wasn’t the time.
The soldier lowered the scope away from the wizard’s head until it was focused in on a small box that was being cradled in the old man’s hands. It wasn’t one of those exploding type of boxes that we’d seen the other night. This one was silver with black etching. There were runes all over it. I tried to study and commit them to memory, just in case.
The soldier took a calming breath, set himself, and fired.
Everything exploded in a massive flash of bright light as the sounds of screams filled the air.
Present day rushed back in, mixing the screams with the sound of casinos and cars.
I felt drained, as if I’d just been through a real life catastrophic event. I thought for certain I was going to pass out. Plus, I had zero idea of what the hell just happened to me.
It had to have something to do with Gabe, but I couldn’t say what.
Still, that box in my vision clung to me. It was definitely important since Fred had been there. I assumed it was his former master who’d been holding it before the nameless soldier blew the shit out of him.
I glanced up and saw that the zombies were only a couple of steps down from where they’d been when I drifted off to la-la land.
That meant no time had passed.
What the hell was going on?
“Everyone back off,” Chuck called through the connector. “We’ve got a problem here. Do not engage with the zombies. I repeat, do not engage.”
Chapter 24
The rest of my crew backed off to give our two zombie pals a wide berth. They were heading back down to where they’d started their little zip line adventure. My guess was they wanted another ride.
“Chuck?” I said through the connector, “what’s going on down there?”
“Griff caught one of the dead guys in his gripping spell and it exploded.”
“Oh jeez,” said Rachel.
I shook my head as we slowly followed the other zombies.
“How bad?”
“The entire area is covered with zombie bits and goop.”
“Swell.” As if this wasn’t bad enough that Fred had turned them loose where the living were, now he was making them explode? What a dick. “Normals took notice, no doubt?”
“Oh yeah. They’re covered in it. Most of them are laughing, but there’s an old woman down here who is pretty pissed off.” He giggled a bit. “Serena told her it was a show.”
“Doing Paula’s job, Serena?” I said with a grin.
“Somebody has to.”
This wasn’t going to make my life any easier.
I don’t know what, if anything, Fred had against me, but it sure felt like I’d done something to irk the guy. It could also have been someone else on my team, or even one of the Directors. Actually, that was probably the most likely cause of all this, since they looked more his age. Then again, Serena and Griff had to have been around back during the time of my vision. The gun wasn’t that old.
“Right. How many more of them are there?”
“Three,” answered Chuck.
“Plus the two headed back your way,” I noted. “Okay, so we’ve got five exploding zombies.”
“And be wary,” Griff added. “Don’t forget the necromancer.”
The memory of the soldier on the field came back vividly, causing me to reach out and grab Rachel’s arm for help. She pushed in and held me up while giving me a concerned look. I could only hope that whatever it was that was happening to me would control itself soon. Fighting zombies was hard enough when I wasn’t struggling to stay upright.
“I don’t think he’s here anymore,” I replied to Griff with a gasp. “Something happened to me that I need to discuss with you guys. First, though, let’s take care of these zombombs.”
“Zombombs?” Jasmine snorted with a look over her shoulder.
“That’s technically what they are, right?”
“You’re so goofy, Chief.”
I gave her a tired wink. “Thanks.”
As we passed the Four Queens I glanced up to see two more zip liners going overhead. Fortunately, they were members of the living. That was good considering I didn’t have another chase in me at the moment.
We kept trailing the zombies.
It was amazing to watch how nobody even bothered to give the dead guys more than a passing glance. To be fair, the majority of people on this section of the strip were normals, so they likely just assumed our zombie pals were actors, drunks, or homeless. Truth was that I’d be hard pressed to argue the point with them considering the way these guys looked and smelled. In Vegas, most of the actors I knew were drunks, and many of them were homeless. It kind of went with the territory.
“Anyone got a containment plan yet?” I asked hopefully.
“How are you set for running, Chief?” Chuck replied with a question of his own.
I wasn’t set for it, but sometimes you had to push aside how you felt and do what was best for the team. It’d take a little work to get me back to full strength though. My legs were still a bit wobbly.
“I may need a helping hand from Serena,” I said, and then gave Rachel a naughty grin.
“Perv,” she whispered off the connector.
“Why?” Serena said. “What happened?”
“Again, I’ll explain later. Let’s just stay focused on getting these zombies out of here.” I shook my head to clear the cobwebs. “But I am going to need a boost of energy or something. I’m pretty drained.”
The zombies were getting closer and closer to the launch point. If they decided to go up again, that would suck. Again, I wasn’t in the running mood.
The area was too crowded to shoot them, though. Time was running out.
I could have Felicia and Jasmine head back down to the landing point and keep tabs on them. This would probably work since I had the feeling Fred just had these guys running on a loop while waiting for me. Of course they could also have been waiting for Fred to leave the area before starting whatever mayhem he had lined up for
them.
Again, that memory flashed into my head. What had triggered it? I had walked backwards to keep away from the zombies and I bumped into someone, and…
Fred.
So that’s what this “flash” stuff was all about. But shouldn’t it have showed me the world from his point of view and not from the view of some soldier who was at odds with him? The entire thing was confusing. Plus, it was making my head ache.
Again, I’d have to deal with that later. We had the more pressing issue of zombies on Freemont Street.
Another glance around the crowds in the area told me that this was going to end up being quite a situation if we didn’t take care of things. Yes, it was roughly four in the morning and therefore not as crowded as it would be if it had been midnight, but if even one normal figured out what was really going on, there’d be mayhem. Not just here, either. It’d go right back to the way it was during the werewolf craze.
I couldn’t have that.
“We can’t let them back on the zip lines,” I said after taking a deep breath, “so tell me your plan, Chuck.”
He did.
I groaned.
Chapter 25
We had to act fast, which was something I wasn’t feeling up to at the moment.
I stopped and moved to the wall, pulling Rachel with me. To anyone who didn’t know us it probably looked like we were doing a little hanky-panky, but the truth was that I needed her strength. Hanky-panky sounded good, too, of course, but in my current state of repair I doubt I’d have been much fun.
She looked at me and nodded as Jasmine and Felicia joined her. They were helping to stabilize her, though I’m sure that Jasmine was also funneling energy in as well. Felicia didn’t have that particular skill, so she would keep them both on their feet.
I closed my eyes and felt their energy flowing to me.
The Ian Dex Supernatural Thriller Series: Books 1 - 4 (Las Vegas Paranormal Police Department Box Sets) Page 21