Psychics Vs. Vampires Episodes 1-4 (Psychics Vs. Vampires Collection)

by Shawn Wiseman

  "It will carry over, and besides, if you bring my mother back I'm sure that she'll cover any repairs."

  All three of the ladies laughed. Even in that brief time since they had met Stephanie, Kara and Olivia both felt nice in seeing her smile again, if only for a moment.

  They said their goodbyes, and took the car parked in the garage of the apartment building. They travelled to the location that rented the van out. When they arrived, Kara noticed the time.

  "Hmm, I hope that we can get the information soon, I need to get back home to make Mr. Montgomery something for supper," Kara said.

  Olivia frowned. "That old fart should make his own damn supper."

  "You know he can't." Kara had a sad look on her face. "I'm seeing the shadow of death on him more often."

  "You said it always goes away, though."

  "Yeah, but it didn't use to be this frequent, and each time the visions get more vivid. I don't know why it goes away, but I think he's really going to pass away soon."

  Olivia glanced over to Kara, who looked troubled. "You worry too much about everyone. He's too stubborn to die."

  Kara smiled. "Thanks."

  "Besides, he's food. Don't think of him as your friend."

  Kara frowned. "Let's go," she said, releasing her buckle and exiting the car.

  They left the car and went inside the rental dealership. Olivia approached the counter. "Hello, an employee of mine rented a van here yesterday, but forgot to bring in the receipt. We kind of need that for tax purposes. Would you be able to print off a copy for me?"

  The man at the counter appeared annoyed. "What name was it rented under?"

  "Sorry, I don't have the name. I do have the license plate though, will that work?"

  The man sighed and rubbed his forehead. "Sure, what's the license plate?" Olivia gave the man the license plate number, and as he entered it into his computer, his expression changed. He seemed to wake up and raised his brow. "Wait, what company did you say you worked for?"

  Olivia missed a step. "Uhh, From Dusk Till Dawn Enterprises."

  "I'm sorry, but according to my records that vehicle wasn't rented yesterday."

  Olivia raised her brow. "I am certain that it was. If you'll please just check your records again. We need that receipt for taxes. It's a business expense."

  The man shook his head. "I've already checked, miss. Perhaps it was rented a different day, maybe you should check with your employees. Besides, we can't just give out copies of receipts to anyone, miss. It has personal information attached to it."

  Olivia forced a smile and a pleasant tone. "I understand, but I need that receipt."

  "Unless you can bring in the person who rented the vehicle so we can sort this out, we won't be able to help you, miss. I'm sorry."

  Olivia gritted her teeth. "This is unacceptable. Let me speak to your supervisor."

  The man smiled smugly. "I'm the owner," he declared.

  Olivia was taken aback. "If you don't resolve this then I'm going to make a complaint to your head office."

  The man laughed. "This isn't a franchise, miss. I'm the owner."

  Olivia clenched her fist and teeth in a rage. Kara could see what might happen next, and as it was in the middle of the day it was no time for people to see vampires. She grabbed Olivia's arm and tried to take her away from the counter.

  Olivia pulled away and pointed at the man and said, "You just lost a customer." She turned around in a huff and walked towards the exit.

  "I'm not even sure if you were one," the man muttered.

  Kara had to use her psychic powers to keep Olivia from turning around and biting the man's throat. After they left, Olivia let out a muffled scream.

  She made a gesture. "I was this close. This close!"

  "What can we do now?" Kara asked.

  Olivia went back to the car to discuss it further. Once the doors were closed she started talking. "We'll have to break in to look over their records."

  "Wouldn't it be password protected?"

  Olivia bit her lip and leaned her head against her hand on the door. "Can you read his mind?"

  Kara's eyes widened. "No!" she nearly screamed. "The last time it happened when I was sucking that detective's blood, and I don't know the cause. I have no idea if I'd be able to control it even if I wanted to try. And you know my feelings on draining the living. The only reason I did it the last time was because there was no other way."

  Olivia looked away. "I know. I'm sorry. I shouldn't have asked you to do that." Olivia chewed on her thumb. "That guy just pissed me off. I wanted to win."

  Kara spaced out for a moment.

  Olivia peered at her with a raised brow. "What is it?" she asked.

  "I was just thinking how odd it was. He seemed to be working with us at first, but then something happened. Why did he change his attitude?" Kara and Olivia mulled it over for a bit, and then after a moment they both looked at each other and simultaneously said, "The license plate!"

  "As soon as we said the license plate number he looked suspicious. Why though?" Olivia pondered.

  "He must be in league with the kidnappers," Kara suggested.

  "Maybe not directly, but indirectly. He must be supplying the vans to them, but why would he be wary of anyone finding out?"

  "It must be because it's off the books. He's not listing the income he's receiving from them because they don't want there to be a record of the rental."

  Olivia smiled deviously. "Tax fraud."

  "Tax fraud," Kara repeated.

  They left the vehicle and went back into the rental dealership. The owner was talking with another employee with a big smile on his face, no doubt retelling how he "humiliated" Olivia. When they approached the desk, he did a double take upon seeing them, but still wore his smirk when he approached the front desk.

  "Welcome back, miss," he said with a wide grin. "How can I help you? Have you managed to find the person who rented the vehicle?"

  Olivia smiled as well, hiding her fangs, and it threw the owner off. "No, but we can tell you that we have video footage of one of your vans being used to kidnap someone."

  The owner lost his smile and sweat appeared on his forehead. "S… So? If anything illegal took place, I can't help that. This is a matter for the police, miss, and I think I'd like you to leave now. I'm going to call them so they can discuss it with you." The owner reached for a phone on one side of the desk.

  Olivia leaned forward on the desk and gently placed her hand over the owner’s to stop him from making the call. "You wouldn't want to do that," she warned, looking at his name tag. "Greg, let me tell you why you want to work with us. Let's say we do take this to the police. If that vehicle wasn't rented according to your records, and you didn't report it stolen, what do you think will happen? The police will start asking some questions that we both know you don't want raised." The owner gulped. "Give us the information, and we walk away, no more trouble. Or, you can call the police. Your choice." Olivia took her hand off the owner's and folded her arms. Kara did the same, with a big smile directed at Olivia, which she returned.

  The owner was sweating, and looked like a deer caught in headlights. He clenched his teeth and gripped the receiver tightly. After a moment, he let go of the phone and his hands fell to his sides. He pulled out a piece of paper and pen, wrote a phone number on it, and then handed it to Olivia.

  "This is all I have," he said. "They don't give me any information. All I have is the number they call me on."

  Olivia took the paper in hand, glanced at it, and then looked at the owner. "There's nothing else you can give us that will help us find them? What about where they meet to get the vehicles? Have they already returned the van?"

  "The van's been returned," he replied, his head hung in shame. "They change the location each time, so it wouldn't help. That's all I have. Please don't call the police," he begged.

  Olivia glared at him. "We won't, but you'd better not rent anything to them again, or else."

 
Olivia and Kara turned around and left the rental dealership. After they exited, they burst out laughing as they walked back to the car. After they entered they were still chuckling and in high spirits.

  "Did you see his face? Oh man, that was exhilarating," Kara yelled.

  "Yeah, I'm glad we got to stick it to him. What an ass. He knew. He knew right from the beginning we were after him."

  "But we got him, and now we have another clue."

  Olivia pulled out the paper with the number on it. "With this, we can find the people that took Anne."

  Kara nodded. "We'll find her, and bring her back to Stephanie." We'll be back soon, Stephanie. Just hold on a little longer.

  4. Force Majeure

  Olivia called Vasha once again and had her trace the number. The GPS indicated that the phone was on and it was at a vacant office building. The two of them headed straight there, and parked a few blocks away just in case.

  "I think we have the right place," Kara stated. "I can feel a lot of psychic energy from that building."

  "Good, now I just hope we've made it in time."

  "I'm having trouble understanding why they would kidnap or kill Dr. Barker-Wilson in the first place. It seemed like the research could have some sort of repercussion to psychics’ brain waves if that was her focus, but according to Stephanie it didn't seem like that's what the research was for. And she was at a loss when it came to what pulled her mother out the window, so she doesn't seem to know psychics are real. Or, at the very least, she doesn’t believe in them."

  "Maybe they're afraid that someone will point Anne in that direction, and wanted to stop her before that happened? Vasha seems interested in the woman now," Olivia postulated.

  Kara scratched her head. "Yes, but that's a result of them kidnapping her, not the other way around. Unless Vasha is the one funding her research?" Kara speculated, looking at Olivia.

  Olivia shook her head. "Vasha would have mentioned something if that were the case. If this was an affront to her business, psychics or no, she would rain fire on them to set an example. She wouldn't have just sent me to get the job done."

  "Mmm," Kara mumbled. Why then? Why paint a target on her back to bring Vasha's attention to her?

  "It's no use thinking about it right now. The more time we waste, the more time these fuckers have to do whatever it is they want to do."

  Kara came out of her thoughts. "Right."

  "One thing though, Kara," Olivia started while giving Kara a serious look. "We don't know how many or how powerful these people are, if we're going to do this we have to go for the kill. I'm not saying we must kill them, but we can't hold back or hesitate. Are you prepared to do that?"

  Kara frowned. "I don't like it, but these people aren't innocent. I won't hesitate when the time comes."

  Olivia nodded. "Glad to have you with me, Kara," she said with a smile. "Let's go."

  Kara and Olivia left the vehicle and headed down the street towards the building. Kara pulled her hoodie up over her head and covered her face a bit. Olivia was wearing jeans and a loose jacket with a tight t-shirt, so she would stand out no matter what she did. As they approached they could see two men standing outside the door smoking.

  The men noticed Olivia and Kara immediately, and began eyeing Olivia, though for a singular reason. "Hey baby, how you doin'?" one of them said, looking her up and down.

  "I like that pale skin you got goin' on. You want some colour in you, though?" the second one asked, a lewd look in his eyes.

  Olivia didn't miss a beat and sauntered over to them. She let out a girly laugh. "Aww, you guys are sweet. You wanna come back to my place? Me and my friend here will do you right."

  The men looked surprised and glanced Kara's way. Kara had trouble acting, so she settled with a smile through her hood and a wave. They grinned ear to ear and became excited like dogs at the sight of a bone.

  "You serious, girl?" the first man said.

  Olivia chuckled again, and took on a seductive tone. "Of course. We just need a drive and we'll get a party started. You got wheels?"

  The two men looked at each other, obviously unable to contain their excitement. They lost all thought of their job to the pull of their loins. "Yeah, we got wheels. Follow us, we'll get you sorted."

  They whispered and snickered to each other as they walked down the alley next to the office building. Olivia glanced back at the alley entrance to check if there were any passersby, and once it was clear she nodded at Kara.

  Kara focussed her mind, thrust her hands out and slammed them together. As her hands moved, a psychic force slammed the two guys’ heads together. It was so sudden there was nothing they could do. They fell to the ground, unconscious.

  Olivia picked up the bodies and ran to the other end of the building into a private parking lot. She dumped the bodies next to the back wall of the building one on top of the other.

  "So far, so good," Kara commented.

  Olivia and Kara examined their surroundings, and noticed an unguarded door at the back for employees. "We can enter the building there. If you see anyone, bind them and I'll handle the rest."

  "Got it," Kara replied.

  They broke the lock and sneaked into the building, using their fleet feet to avoid making noise. They entered a large open area with elevators on either side and a glass wall separating the front entrance and front desk from the back. Another glass wall on the right led to a dining area with a kitchen. At the front entrance there was a large set of stairs to go to the second floor.

  Olivia went to the elevator and tried to push the button, but nothing happened. "Looks like the elevators are busted," She said.

  "I can sense two more people on the stairs, but the main energy I'm feeling is on the second floor."

  "We'll have to take the stairs then."

  They opened the glass door and could hear two people talking above them on the stairs. Olivia motioned for Kara to go on the left side of the stairs, and she was going to take the right.

  Kara hunched over as she approached, moving beneath the steps to stay out of sight. She could see two sets of feet, one on either end of the stairs, and she could see her mark leaning against the railing. She looked at Olivia, and Olivia motioned that she was ready.

  Kara jumped, reached her arm around her target's neck, pulled him back over the railing to the floor and began choking him. She used her psychic powers to increase her vampire strength. Because he was caught off guard he wasn't able to put up a barrier on his neck to stop her. He struggled psychically and physically against her arm, pulling on it and pushing against it with his hands and mind. She pulled her arm tighter and gritted her teeth as she poured her strength into her choke. Time passed slowly, and every kick of the man's legs and gasp for air was like a slap in her ears. After what felt like an eternity, the man went limp, and Kara loosened her grip. She was breathing through her mouth, sweaty and shaky, but unharmed.

  Olivia came over and helped her up. She was also sweaty and breathing hard, but she didn't seem to be shaking from what Kara could tell.

  "You alright?" she asked in a whisper.

  "Yeah, I wasn't hurt. Are you okay?" Kara asked in return.

  "I'm just winded."

  Olivia and Kara went around the bottom of the stairs and walked up them in silence. Kara could see the other psychic's body lying prone on the stairs, blood dripping from cuts on his lip and forehead. It looked like Olivia had used her superior strength to punch him until he was knocked out. She watched as Olivia nonchalantly wiped her forehead of sweat while she climbed the stairs.

  On the second floor, there were hallways lined with offices on the left and right sides of the building, and another set of elevators in front of them.

  "Can you tell who's on this floor?" Olivia whispered.

  "No, I just feel a general sense of strong psychic energy. They could be clustered together or suppressing their powers somehow."

  "We'll just have to be cautious then."

  Olivia moved
first, heading to the right side of the building down the hallway of offices. As she moved she first peeked through the windows of each of the offices before passing in front of them. Each of the offices they passed was empty. They went around the corner on the far end, and continued their search.

  The hallway they were in now went all the way to the back of the building, and had a fire exit at the far end. It was just empty office after empty office.

  "Wait, did you hear that?" Kara said, stopping.

  Olivia stopped moving and perked her ears. She pointed to an office a few feet from the fire exit. "There," she exclaimed.

  They rushed over to the office with the source of the noise. As they approached, it was clear that the noise was a woman's muffled scream. Olivia went up next to the window of the office and peered inside, then went to the door and opened it.

  Inside, Dr. Anne Barker-Wilson was tied to a chair with tape covering her mouth. Her eyes were wide and she was afraid of the newcomers entering the office.

  Olivia motioned for Anne to be silent. "We're here to help you," she said.

  After a moment, Anne stopped screaming and struggling, and Olivia took the tape off her mouth. "Please help me, these men somehow… they kidnapped me and…"

  Kara placed her hand on Anne's shoulder. "It's alright, we know what happened. We're here to rescue you, but in order to get out of here we need you to stay silent," she explained. "Can you do that for me?"

  Anne nodded as tears formed in her eyes. "Thank you," she whispered over and over as Olivia removed her bonds.

  Once she was freed, Anne stood on trembling feet. "Can you walk?" Kara asked.

  Anne nodded. "Yes, I'll be fine. I'm just bit shaken up by all this."

  "It's understandable. We'll have you back to your daughter in no time," Olivia reassured her.

  "We can use the emergency exit to leave," Kara said.

  Olivia left the room, glancing back and forth, but then jumped back into the room and pushed the others in as well. "There's a huge motherfucker at the end of the hall," she exclaimed.

  "Shit," Kara replied. "Can we get past him?"