The Ian Dex Supernatural Thriller Series: Books 1 - 4 (Las Vegas Paranormal Police Department Box Sets)

by John P. Logsdon

  “They’re not going to fight,” Zack replied before either Silver or O could say a word. “First off, they’re too far away from each other, and secondly we’re all in this together. Let’s act like it.”

  I hadn’t expected that from the werewolf, to be honest. He was usually bouncing off the rest of the Directors while avoiding taking sides. It was nice to see him step up.

  “The fact is that you’re right about the zombies,” I said as the tension mellowed. “We can’t handle this. We can’t even handle one fifth of it, and that’s because there’s more to this incoming army than meets the eye.”

  “Such as?” asked Silver.

  “They’ve kidnapped Paula Rose, for one.”

  I thought O was going to fall off his chair at that. “What?”

  “He stopped The Spin’s van on their way back from Freemont, knocked everyone out, and took Paula.”

  “But why?”

  “My guess is because he knows that she and I used to date.” I shrugged because I wasn’t certain if that was the reason, or if Fred really even knew about my past with Paula. “I could be wrong about that, but it doesn’t matter anyway. The fact is that he’s got her and that makes this even tougher to deal with.”

  “Why?” said EQK. “It’s just a wacky normal chick who you’re not even banging anymore. She’s just fodder now. What’s the problem?”

  “Don’t even bother answering that,” Zack said before I could respond. “EQK obviously has issues with understanding the intricacies of human relationships.”

  “No, I don’t,” EQK argued. “I watch a lot of nighttime TV about you weirdos. The shows make your handling of relationships very clear. It always goes something like this: A chick sizes up a dude. If she digs him, he gets in her pants; if not, he doesn’t. About a year goes by and they get married. He no longer gets in her pants and she keeps his balls in her purse.” He paused. “Did I miss anything?”

  Silver actually chuckled at this.

  “Right,” I said while squinting toward the pixie. This was one of those rare times that I just wasn’t in the mood. “Anyway, on top of the fact that her life is in jeopardy, our fun little necromancer has also given the zombies the ability to speak.”

  “So?” said Zack.

  “So they can be instilled with power words,” O stated. “It’s a means of allowing them to do magic, to a point. Nothing major, but they could conceivably heal each other, launch minor pain spells, add strength and agility, and numerous other annoyances.”

  Silver grunted. “There’s no way a single necromancer could instill all of that power into that many zombies while also playing the size-up game with the Las Vegas PPD.”

  Something told me to keep my mouth shut about the vision I’d had. Normally I’m pretty open with the Directors, but I couldn’t shake the feeling that I had to keep this little tidbit from them. The details, anyway. My gut said that the Directors had to be kept in the dark on this one.

  “Maybe he’s not alone, sir,” I said cryptically, thinking that he may have multiple magic users working with him. I was basing that deduction on my vision. And Silver was right, there was a lot of magic being spent here and one person being responsible for all of it was unlikely. “He could have apprentices or accomplices helping him out.”

  “Yes,” O mused. “That does seem reasonable.”

  “Sounds to me like we’re going to need to step in here,” said Silver.

  “We can’t make it all the way there in time.”

  “No, Zack, we can’t,” agreed Silver. “But we can call on the supernaturals of Las Vegas to get off their butts and help out.”

  “Now you’re talkin’,” EQK said with a high level of excitement. “I can get the pixies out there to kick some ass, for sure!”

  Silver’s shadow turned. “Good. I think. Anyway, unless other members of the council disagree, we’ll get you help.”

  “It’s the only thing to do,” O stated. “I don’t like it, and Mr. Dex will have to be in charge so that things don’t get too far out-of-hand…”

  “You mean like, say, a zombie-invasion level of out-of-hand?”

  “What I mean, Silver, is that whenever we’ve had to use the people in the past, there have been repercussions.” O cleared his throat. “The fact is that we’ll be awakening the fighter in a lot of people who should not have it brought to life. Once that happens, it’ll make for difficulty in controlling them for a while.”

  “Okay, that’s fair,” Silver replied, sighing. “You’re right, O.”

  “Thank you.”

  “Based on that fact,” Silver continued, “I think vampires and werewolves should stay out of this. Fae can manage. Pixies can manage. Mages and wizards can manage. But I would assume Zack would agree that our two people should not taste blood and flesh, regardless if its dead or not.”

  “I definitely agree.”

  EQK started doing a slow clap. It was one of those mocking claps that you heard whenever someone said something really dumb, offensive, or just downright douchey. It was a clap that was often implemented whenever EQK spoke.

  “Nice, nice, nice,” the pixie said in a grandiose voice. “Why is it that whenever we point out that vampires and werewolves are huge pains in the ass you get all up in arms? But whenever we need you to stand by us and fight, you turn around and state that you can’t because you’ll end up being huge pains in the ass?”

  As if sensing another round of verbal lashing was about to ensue, O quickly said, “There are many things that the vampires and werewolves bring to the table that we cannot, EQK. They would be exceedingly powerful at aiding us in crushing this foe, but they are also wise enough to know their limitations.”

  “Yeah, yeah, yeah.”

  “Actually, sirs,” I said, not believing I was about to suggest what I was about to suggest, “I have a better idea.”

  Chapter 32

  The fact was that we didn’t need or want a ton of supernaturals pouring out of the woodworks to destroy zombies. We needed a select set who could be trusted to handle themselves properly, stand up to the tide that was rolling in, and be able to get back to being who they were in the first place.

  Unfortunately, they didn’t exist en mass, and we didn’t have time to handpick the ones that could handle things.

  And so I decided on a different angle entirely.

  “Post-apocalyptic zombie festival goers?” Rachel said, leaving her mouth agape after finishing her question.

  “Yep,” I replied without delay. “The Directors had suggested that we use vampires and werewolves and pixies and…. Well, you get the idea.”

  “That would be bad.”

  “Exactly what I thought.” I took out Boomy and sat it on my desk. “But then I had the idea of getting Turbo to enhance a bunch of these Eagles to make it seem like they’re nothing but glorified paint guns…”

  “You realize this is insane, right?” she interrupted. “What if they shoot at each other?”

  Turbo, who was also in the room said, “They couldn’t. Well, I mean, they could, but the bullets are full of paint.”

  “Paint?” Rachel’s forehead creased severely. “You’ve both lost your minds.”

  “Probably, but tell her why it’ll work, Turbo.”

  “Because the paint contains nanites,” he said as if that had explained everything. He clearly recognized it did not because he added, “You know, microscopic machines?”

  “I know what a nanite is, Turbo,” she said.

  “Oh, sorry. It’s just that you were looking at me funny and so I thought…”

  She snapped her fingers, shutting him up. “What I don’t understand is why putting nanites in the paint matters. Can you explain?”

  “Ah, right!” His wings started buzzing, which signaled he was rather pleased to be in lecture-mode. “When the paint hits the uniform or whatever, it will immediately seek out flesh. It will then determine if the host is living or not. If it turns out to be alive, it’ll leave it al
one; if not, it’ll shred all the cells, completely eradicating the creature.”

  I laughed and slapped the desk. “Rachel, it’ll turn the damn things to dust!”

  The gears in her head appeared to be spinning at full tilt. That meant she wasn’t buying the plan. This was worrisome because I’d learned to trust her gut instinct over the years.

  “What’s the matter?”

  She pursed her lips and spoke slowly. “What you’re describing would need to go deeper than a simple flesh check. People have cells dying all the time, but that doesn’t mean the person is dead.”

  “Very impressive,” said Turbo while clapping his hands so rapidly that it sounded like maracas being shaken at full speed. “Unfortunately, I can’t use the same technology I’m using with the zombie-detector glasses, either. So, even though I’m loathe to do it, I had to bring in Warren on this one.”

  She sat back and nodded. “You’re infusing the pellets with magic.”

  “Griff and Serena are helping him get everything underway,” I pointed out. “Between the three of them, and you, of course, we can build an arsenal of weapons to hand out before dark tomorrow.”

  One of the many benefits of having a diverse team was found in times like this. Everyone had their role. There was overlap in many areas, certainly, but each of us had a particular skill or skills that the others couldn’t quite match. Magic, though, could be funneled, allowing any of the mages to act as a conduit for Warren’s spells. It wasn’t quite the demon-battery notion that had been employed by Reese, but Warren had explained that it was similar to the concept of power words that we feared Fred would employ.

  “I’d better get back to it,” Turbo announced. “Is there anything else?”

  There wasn’t.

  Rachel sniffed and a thin smile appeared as Turbo zipped from my office. Her eyes were half-closed while she shook her head.

  “Only you could think of something like this,” she said.

  “I have my moments.”

  “Oh, that’s definitely true.”

  It was either a slight or a compliment. Probably both.

  “Chief?” Jasmine said, knocking at my door.

  “Come on in.”

  Felicia joined her and they just stood there staring at me. They didn’t have to say anything. The looks on their faces said it all.

  “Yes,” I answered their unasked question, “Lydia has put out a ‘Zombie Party’ blast to every post-apocalyptic zombie festival goer within the area. Turbo’s outfitting them with…”

  “Eagles carrying paint pellets infused with magically enhanced nanites that shred zombies on contact,” interrupted Jasmine. “We know.”

  Their dark expressions changed to laughter.

  “It’s frickin’ brilliant,” Felicia said.

  Rachel’s eyes opened wide and she spun around. “Wait, you like this idea?”

  “Are you kidding?” answered Felicia. “I love this idea. We’re going to allow people to have a blast while destroying zombies, and they’ll think it’s nothing but a game. I think it’s fantastic.”

  I was feeling a hint of pride at their reaction.

  Rachel was always pointing out the stupidity of my ideas. It was kind of her job. Not one she was hired for, but one she’d morphed into over our years together. So to have some support from others on the squad made her cynicism a little easier to manage.

  “And what if one of the zombies kills a normal?” she asked, attempting to sober our joy.

  “Already thought of and planned for,” I answered smoothly. This clearly confused her. “You see, our job is to make sure that doesn’t happen. We’ll be allowing people to shoot at the zombies from a distance while we spend our time making sure none of the rotting corpses gets close to the normals.”

  “Fair enough,” she said with a slow nod. “And what if Fred starts casting spells at the normals?”

  Shit.

  Chapter 33

  We’d spent the entire night and the next day building out the plan.

  There were eighty-three people signed up to our “zombie bashing party,” which started at six. Shooting wouldn’t commence until after dark, of course, and Turbo was keeping a keen eye on zombie movement to make sure we’d be ready in time. We had to have all the weapons set, bullets made, and a plan in place to make sure that everyone was certain that this was nothing but make believe.

  Having Paula on the team would have been perfect, but she was in the hands of Shitfaced Fred.

  My mages had been working with their contacts at the Crimson Focus, and also the Vampire Historical Records Department in order to build some of these amulets that Silver had mentioned to me in the last Director’s Meeting. I didn’t know what level of protection they would afford us, but I hoped it’d be decent.

  Per EQK’s recommendation, Turbo built out a bomb detection system. It was keyed to the same glasses that we wore for spotting zombies, so we’d be able to tell in an instant if there were any mines lying around. He’d also had a machine churning out paint pellets by the hundreds. There were already 20 barrels of the things at the ready.

  Portman had brought over a fleet of vans to help us carry everything to the site. He needed his team to be there to clean up the carnage anyway, and I promised he could take part in the battle.

  Everything was loaded up and ready to go.

  “We’ve got a problem, Chief,” said Chuck as he walked up holding a clipboard.

  “Why?” I replied irritably.

  “Huh?”

  “Why do we always have a problem? Can’t we just do something one time without a hitch?”

  “Well,” he said, shifting in place, “it’s not like it’s a huge problem or anything. It’s just that the mages were only able to put together four amulets for protection.”

  “That’s it?”

  “Yeah. They wanted to do more, but…”

  “No, sorry,” I interrupted, “I mean that’s the problem?”

  “Oh, yeah.”

  “If that’s the biggest issue that rears its ugly head tonight, Chuck, I’ll be the happiest man in Vegas.”

  So we had four amulets and seven officers. I wasn’t counting Warren as these were zombies we’re going to be fighting, not skeletons. He apparently had a few spells up his sleeve to protect the civilians against magical attacks anyway.

  We headed off toward the Tule Springs Fossil Beds on the outskirts of town. The zombie army was on track to overrun the subdivisions in that area within a few hours. I assumed that Fred was smart enough to steer clear of the Clark County Shooting Complex.

  “I’ve been thinking about something,” I said to Rachel as we led the way to the event. “You’ve probably heard that we only have four amulets. I think we need to take them and sneak around behind Fred.”

  She nodded. “Not a bad idea, actually.”

  “Thanks.” I checked my rear view mirror to make sure everyone was with me. It was pointless because they all knew where they were going, but I was a creature of habit. “You were right about Fred casting spells at the normals. We have to take him out.”

  “Warren has built up some shielding to help protect them.”

  “And that will definitely help, but I think we both know that Fred has next-level capabilities.”

  “True.” She drummed her fingers on her knee. “But we can’t pull four officers off the front either.”

  “Agreed. You and I are going to go alone.”

  “What?”

  “There’s no other way, Rachel. We have to get behind the lines and take out Fred and whatever other lackeys he’s got, liberate Paula, and then lay down fire on the zombies from the rear.”

  “That’s nuts,” she said with a laugh. She then followed that up with, “I’m in.”

  One of the many things I loved about Rachel, and most of my crew, was that they rose up in the face of a challenge. They’d often grumble and complain about it, but they were built for this…literally. The genetic enhancements every PPD of
ficer received made them adrenaline junkies. Skydiving, base jumping, fast cars, hang gliding, and chasing bad guys was a way of life for them. This was less so for the likes of Serena and Griff, but that’s because they were both older and more in control of themselves. Warren was also an outlier, unless there were skeletons around, apparently.

  “What if he has apprentices with him?” Rachel asked as we continued our trip. “He could also have full wizards or mages, for that matter. Possibly even werewolves, vampires, fae, pixies, and so on.”

  I winced at the thought of pixies being there. They were as irritating as gnats, and far more powerful.

  “Could he really control all of that and the zombies?”

  “Not easily,” she admitted, “but, again, if he’s got help from apprentices and other mages, they could be dealing with the beasts.”

  That was a sobering thought. I had the feeling he’d have a few apprentices along, similar to the vision I’d had back on Freemont, but I didn’t take into account him stocking muscle. It made sense. Why would he leave himself unprotected?

  A thought struck.

  “He won’t have higher-level magic users,” I declared.

  “Why not?”

  “They’d be a threat.”

  She turned to look at me. I glanced over to see that she was surprised at my deduction.

  I winked.

  “Well done.” She said it as though she were impressed. “Mages work together all the time, but our demon-powered pal Reese had no other magic users on staff.” She paused. “He did want to bring you in on his plans, but he probably figured your magic was too low of a level to be worrisome.”

  “Yep.”

  She was about to continue when I held up my finger. I wanted to check in with base to make sure everything was a go. We couldn’t have any flub ups right now.

  “Lydia,” I called out through the connector, “how are we looking?”

  “Turbo reports that the zombie army is still en route, love muffin,” she answered. “There are also a bunch of normals gathering at the prescribed party location.”

  “Thanks, babe.”