by Al K. Line
Then Kim did the weirdest thing. She removed her suit jacket, slipped off her shoes, pulled down her skirt, undid her blouse, and stood there in her underwear.
"You lucky bugger," I congratulated Ivan, ogling Kim's awesome figure.
"He is very lucky," said Kim. "I do love you," she said, regret in her voice. Guess she didn't want it to happen.
"I love you too," said Ivan.
Kim sank in on herself, a rapid transformation from human to animal. A true Hound, an amalgamation of every dog you could think of and nothing like any of them. Huge limbs, short fur, stubby ears, bloody great big paws, and eyes that were all too human. How old was this woman, how long had she been in charge? There was such knowledge behind those large brown eyes, a depth of soul and a fierce loyalty to her true love. Cerberus.
She bolted for the door and loped down the hall, her claws tapping the floorboards.
With a shrug, I said, "Guess we should go after her."
"She's heading to the office," said Ivan, launching himself after Kim but tripping over Vicky who got in the way as usual. "She has access to everything. All of it. The entire structure. The servers," Ivan gasped, panic in his eyes as he tried to untangle himself from his sister.
"What fucking servers? What are you on about?"
"No time. Hurry, she can't get in there. She can lock herself inside. It's like a panic room but much safer. All the information is there, everything. Hurry."
Ivan was a blur as he left us in his wake. I chased after him with Vicky coming up fast behind me.
What bloody servers? Had Ivan gone high-tech? What for? He was a bloody vampire and a gangster, not a man who sat behind a desk pressing buttons and plotting world domination via a computer screen.
Or was he?
Cool Office
Ivan barged though a dark wooden door into his panel-lined office complete with a large oak desk with red leather inlay and a green reading lamp. The usual old-fashioned charm was eclipsed by the sight of Kim back in human form, hurriedly reaching between rows of books. There was a faint click as she pressed a hidden button then a section of the shelving pivoted and blue light streamed out into the room, making me shiver as a cold draft rushed to envelop me.
Kim's bottom clenched and two cute dimples appeared—damn but Ivan really was a lucky dude. Or had been until five minutes ago when everything went to shit.
A freaky silence fell, dulling sound, sucking air out of the office and muting the energy as the blue light seemed to spread and devour life with it. For a moment I thought it was magic, but it was just a typical server room, clinically clean, kept at a constant temperature, and with the peculiar lighting they always seemed to have, probably just because it made everything feel a little more high-tech.
"You had all this and you didn't tell me?" squealed Vicky as drool hung from the corner of her mouth.
"It's business," snapped Ivan. "Private. Hurry." Ivan shot across the room but slammed into the closed secret door as Kim darted though. I caught a glimpse of her standing there, looking regretful, but damn hot too.
"I think I should get a server room for home," I mused. "Then Penelope can wander around in the buff and I can ogle her bits."
"Idiot," said Vicky, eyes twinkling with the excitement. She loved all this, especially if it involved computers and the mysteries of the binary world.
"We have to get inside, and fast," said Ivan, looking about as stressed as I'd ever seen him.
"Chill out, dude, we have her cornered. Man, I can't believe she's one of Cerberus' leaders. Do you think she really is?" I wondered. "They're buggers for telling you fibs and misdirection. Maybe she is just a Hound really."
"I'm more concerned about Sunshine," said Vicky sensibly. "They want her, Arthur, and they'll get her."
"I know, I know, but for now they're safe. Don't say their location," I warned Vicky, just in case anyone was listening in, which was highly likely. If Kim had infiltrated this far you could bet the office was bugged. "But if they didn't pick her up yet then they weren't following us from you know where so they're okay for now."
"You sure?"
"No, not at all. I knew it had to be something, I knew someone had to be screwing with Sunshine for her to affect so many people. They were testing her out, I bet that was it, seeing what she could do now she was out in the world. Or maybe," I mused, "it was to get a location on her. Maybe they amplified her power so they could hone in on it."
"And how would they do that?" asked Vicky.
"An artifact, I assume. They have access to untold items that can do pretty much anything you want. Bound to be something in the collection that would work, boost certain signals, send shock waves around the epicenter, that kind of thing."
"You mean you don't know but you assume that's how they did it?"
"Yeah, exactly."
"Now isn't the time for this. We need to get inside and we need to stop her. I don't understand half of what you two are talking about but this girl is special and so is Kim. She's been spying, she knows my world, she has unlimited access now and can easily steal all the data. We must get in there." Ivan yanked at his dressing gown to keep it closed, probably annoyed he wasn't in his suit for something momentous like this.
"Then blast the bloody door down with your vampire skills," I said.
"It's a steel reinforced door with a lock on the inside. It's designed to withstand a bomb. I can't open it. The floors, walls, and ceiling are the same. It's the most secure location in the city and there's no way to unlock it unless the person inside decides to come out."
"Bollocks," I said, grinning. I'd yet to find a door that couldn't be opened somehow.
"You can't get in," insisted Ivan.
"What's so important?" I asked, unable to understand the urgency. We had Kim, she didn't have Sunshine, and whatever we decided to do with her, there was no doubt that we had ourselves a prized, and hot, bargaining chip. "Maybe the best thing is to leave her inside while we figure this mess out. Unless she can do something to Sunshine. Damn, yeah, you guys reckon she's manipulating her from here?"
"Could be," said Vicky.
"I don't know," said Ivan. "I still don't understand what's happening. This girl is a special shifter, and Kim is too, and she's been hidden away because of her powers? That happened to Kim?"
"Seems like it, that's what she said. So, can we leave her or not?"
"Not," insisted Ivan. "She has access to all the cameras, all the data storage, all the information on thousands and thousands of criminals not to mention the location of every vampire in the country, their personal history, and so much more it's making my head spin."
"You should be more careful," I warned. "Don't trust computers. Why'd you need all that anyway?"
"Because, Arthur," said Ivan in a bloody condescending tone, "this is how you run a business in the modern age. How do you think I control so many dangerous people? Why do you think the other gangsters tow the line? It's because I know everything about them. I have informers, many, and they report back. The information is collected, stored, and used when necessary. It runs smoothly because it's organized, under control. My control. I knew I shouldn't have let Kim take such an active role, she already knows way too much about the business and now she can take all that information. It's invaluable to Cerberus. Get us in there!" Ivan's dressing gown gaped open as he waved his arms around like a manic beanstalk.
"Ugh, dude, not cool." I averted my eyes from the sight of a mostly naked Ivan, and he glanced down.
"Wait, I'll be back. No, get us in now, hurry." Ivan was gone in a blur of movement and I heard him upstairs banging about, the vibrations loud through the ceiling.
"Get ready for some action, grasshopper," I said, smiling.
"This is so crazy. I can't believe all this. Kim's a shifter, was treated like Sunshine. Poor thing."
"Yeah, but she chose the dark side, or was indoctrinated into it. Doesn't matter now, we have to stop her. Ivan's a dick for having all this stuff h
ere, but I guess that's progress for you."
"You are such a dinosaur. How'd you think he ran things?"
"I had no idea. But you didn't know he had this, so nah."
Vicky poked a tongue out at me but we both smiled as Wand was brought aloft and the sigils activated as I focused on the countless spells he held within his tiny form. My will focused as energy built in my system, then the dam burst and a torrent of pure joy was unleashed on Ivan's nice office, soon to be little but rubble.
Awesome!
Stressed Vampires
"Arthur, hurry," shouted Ivan as he paused at the doorway to check it was safe.
"Just about to blast the buggery out of everything," I said with glee as the energy built again, more intense than ever, my arm tingled nicely, and Wand wriggled with excitement.
"I'm getting calls, people are being hijacked, stuff's being taken, others have been eliminated." Ivan's phone beeped and he stabbed at the screen then listened. Then he pressed it again, presumably to take another call, then again and again.
"She's ordering a spring clean, or passing the information on at any rate," I said to Vicky.
"Duh, I get it."
My phone rang and I answered, juggling Wand about and losing my momentum. "Hello?"
"It's me, Steve. What's happening, everything okay?"
"Um, could be better. I told you not to call. You need to get out of there, go somewhere safe. Ditch your phone, they're probably tracking it. Or they will. Is it a burner?"
"Always a burner, mate, you know me."
"Ditch it anyway. Go, um, go to where it all began. Where you saved me that first time. Remember?"
"Yeah, I remember. What's happening?"
"No time, just get out of there and fast. It's dangerous." I hung up.
"Are they okay?" asked Vicky.
"For now. But this is going down and chances are they'll try to pick them up, take Sunshine, kill Steve. We need to do this now. Ready?"
Vicky nodded, worry and excitement combining same as it was for me.
"Do it!" shouted Ivan. "Whatever you're going to do, do it now."
"Fine, I will."
So I did.
Getting Nasty
Wand spasmed and spurted a weak, ridiculous dribble of energy that hardly touched the wall before dying.
"Oops, sorry," he sighed. "False start."
"No, my fault. I need to focus." I let my mind empty, forgot what was happening, forgot the scared little girl, and focused purely on the feeling I had inside, of the magic. Of the things I'd learned, the way to hold it in until the right time. To let it build and the energy to consolidate, how words spoken or thought, some would say spells, can focus you and allow the all-pervading energy of the universe to manifest in such a special way. I was consumed by this energy, felt it become me and me it, and it expanded, grew into something more than either of us, and as Wand shone brightly and the sigils danced crazily, flashing in a very specific sequence like binary code that can become so much more than a series of 0's and 1's, the magic burst forth with wild intent.
I was shunted back, sliding on a rug, as power shot forth. It was all I could do to hold on to Wand who vibrated wildly as he further focused my will and my knowledge into a tight beam of deadly firepower that immediately turned the books and the bookcase to ash, revealing red brick and a wall of steel behind already beginning to melt.
The lights popped and the room was dark for a moment before magic lit up the place like a summer's day as the beam grew in strength and focus as I concentrated on the thick walls behind the molten brick that poured down the wall.
The steel burned red hot then white hot and began to slide like thawing ice. A pale blue light seeped through from the server room as the wall was breached. Darkness consumed us before the blue was replaced with emergency red lights that emanated a sickly, depressing hue, muting my power for a second before I regathered my focus and let rip with renewed purpose now I was gaining traction.
Steam hissed, things burst into flames, and I was vaguely aware of Vicky and Ivan spraying fire extinguishers around the office, dousing flames and coating everything in foam before the fire spread and consumed the building and us.
I left them to it and kept a tight grip on Wand as he shifted left to right, up then down, widening the hole and melting thick steel via directed heat that would incinerate a human in a flash but was so focused and controlled it went no further than was needed, didn't tear into the room, but merely incinerated the walls that nonetheless gave off such an intense heat I had to step back and adjust the power for fear of melting my own arm off.
Satisfied with the size of the hole, but not with the heat and the fact we'd never get through it alive, I paused for a moment, let a different kind of energy take over. My system cooled as the heat turned to cold and the energy became not the fierce intensity of a star burning bright, but of the deepest, darkest, coldest recesses of space. The furthest reaches of the universe where all is dead and empty, cold and lonely.
Blue energy more depressing than the server room coursed through the sentient stick in my hand and the office became an ice box as all heat was vanquished and all fires extinguished. Red turned to white as the steel solidified and hissed, wood became brittle and snapped into jagged shards, the steel likewise.
I shivered. A deep, bone-aching cold took over that made me long for the drizzle and to be standing in a muddy wet field rather than at the epicenter of this utterly bleak, miserable emptiness I had brought to bear to save us from burning up.
And then I was spent. The magic died, Wand's lights went out, and I gasped as the room temperature rose a few degrees, still so cold that my breath was thick in the air, what air was left after being eaten up by the fire.
Without a moment to rest, really wishing for a quick coffee for energy, I ran after Ivan and Vicky who were already through the wall and into Ivan's secret high-tech lair to try to catch the new face of Cerberus and once again do battle with those who would see all magic and wonder banished from the world.
Shame
"Aw," I moaned, as I caught sight of a very annoyed Kim. "You got dressed." She just scowled at me, looking impossibly smart in an almost identical suit to earlier. "Why'd you have clothes in here?" I asked, my inquisitive nature getting the better of me at an inopportune moment like it so often did.
"We, er, used to come in here and..." Ivan trailed off as he put a finger under his collar.
"Okay, yeah, I think I've heard enough. Now, where were we?"
"It's too late, Ivan. I'm sorry, my love, but I had no choice."
"No choice!?" Ivan hissed. "You betrayed me, you stole from me. You used me. Cheated."
"Not really. This is mostly information we already have. You aren't the only one with spies and vast networks. You have no idea how far our influence spreads. But yes, some was invaluable, and things have been put into place. You will find many changes sweeping the country as we speak, if you haven't heard already." Kim seemed way too calm and composed, and the fact she'd dressed was unsettling as it meant she had no plans to shift any time soon. That, or she didn't like old wizards perving over her bottom, which was understandable.
"I've heard," said Ivan as he studied the server room.
I took a look around too, impressed with what I saw. Not only were there banks of caged servers, there were several workstations, a huge wall of screens which I assumed received camera feeds but were currently dead, and there were wires and various bits of gadgetry everywhere.
"This is so cool," lusted Vicky, scowling at her brother for keeping it all secret.
"It was," sighed Ivan.
We all turned at a loud noise but it was just bits of Ivan's office falling down.
"How could you?" he asked Kim. "How could you cheat me like this?"
"I protect Cerberus, I help where I can, and you are an important man. You, and him," Kim pointed at me, and not nicely, "are always involved in our work, interfering, taking things. Destroying. You trie
d to ruin us, to take what we have spent so long collecting, safeguarding, so we thought it best to keep a closer eye on you. But I took a genuine liking to you, and things became complicated. My colleagues didn't know I had genuine feelings for you, I would have been removed if they did, but I must do my work, it's more important than anything else."
"You can't get away with this," said Ivan as he moved closer to Kim.
"Too late, my dear. Things are changing, you and the vampires have become a concern, more than ever since the incident with Mikalus' ashes. Nobody was happy about that even though it mostly played out as we'd wished, but it still rankled and I was given my instructions."
"And the girl?" I asked. I had to know what they'd done, so we could stop it happening again.
"Ah, the girl. Sunshine. So beautiful, so much promise. We will care for her, protect her, teach her, let her grow and control her gifts."
"Bollocks, she deserves her freedom."
"Freedom! Ha! Nobody is free, everyone answers to somebody else. She belongs with us."
"No way. How did you manipulate her power to change emotion? What did you do?"
"Oh," said Kim, her eyes widening in mock defeat, "is this the point where I reveal all because I believe I'll kill you all so it doesn't matter what you know?"
"Yeah, something like that," I mumbled, feeling like a bit of a dick for expecting her to tell me.
"I'm afraid not. I have no plans to kill you unless you make me, so I won't be giving away all the secrets just yet. And besides, it seems your little reunion has stopped her being so easily manipulated, as our artifact no longer appears to function."
"Because she's bloody happy, or happier anyway. She sees that there might be a chance so she's controlling things a little."
"But we will have her soon," said Kim with a smile, "and then our artifact will function again."
"You will never have her," shouted Vicky as she stormed forward ready to do whatever she could to protect Sunshine. "I trusted you with my kids!"