Tires screeched. Alex cut off a car trying to make a left turn. The driver flipped them off.
The balls on that guy, flipping off a cop car. People nowadays.
“True. I will grant you that. All right, the people behind the club,” Marcus conceded.
“Yeah, so they are creating trouble for the smaller less-organized juice dealers so Filip sends a couple vice cops their way. We’ve covered that.”
“Only he didn’t,” Marcus said.
“Didn’t what?”
“Send a couple of vice cops their way. He sent a former UMBRA team their way. A team which, without bragging, has accumulated quite the legendary and notorious list of exterminations. A team he counted on being recognized.”
“Yeah, but Filip knows that UMBRA’s gone. He knew that when all our extra kickback money dried up. He’s not on a payroll anymore; his information is his only payday now, and only while it’s good and worthwhile, which is just barely enough not to get him hauled in. One thing is really bothering me.”
“Only one?”
“Figure of speech. What the hell is the meat all about?”
Marcus didn’t respond. Alex was sure he knew, or at least suspected something, but it was always about secrets with vampires, even in a work situation like this one. When any secret might come back to haunt someone, decades or even centuries later, they tended to keep things prudently close. He pursed his lips and jerked the steering wheel a little more forcefully.
Marcus changed the subject. “If instincts serve us well, there is an Ancient behind that club. Which, based on Aguirre’s intelligence is my current theory of preference.”
“Or, someone who knew us from UMBRA made you,” Alex said.
“Far less likely.”
“There’s a third possibility,” Alex said.
“Yes. An Ancient, who also knows of our activities in UMBRA, recognized me.”
“There’s no upside to this, is there?”
“No. Certainly not for Filip. He’s underestimated whom he’s dealing with.”
“Yeah on both sides. Those guys will kill him outright just for sending us down there and alerting us to their operation. They can’t be that stupid. They’ll find out it was Filip who sent us.”
“And us?”
“Well, after he tells us what he’s going to do with the meat, I’m inclined to kill him myself. Depends really. I’m kind of on the fence about that one. Cross that bridge when we get to it.”
They were approaching Filip’s bodega. Alex killed the police lights and the siren. He slowed the Explorer down and blended in with traffic.
“Okay, how do you want to play this? Go in all Machiavelli like we already know everything? Or go in buddy-buddy like we’re there just to check up?”
“You know, Machiavelli wasn’t such a bad sort. Zorzi was good friends with him.”
Alex made an exasperated face at Marcus.
Marcus conceded, “Oh all right. I think it’s high time we scare the shit out of that little man. Your other idea, how did you put it? The ‘Prince of Darkness’ treatment. I’ve grown rather keen on that idea.”
“I’m getting the itch to start cracking heads.”
Marcus pointed out two Lincoln Town Cars parked near the bodega. “Damn them all.”
The bad guys had one car parked in front of the entrance, the other around the corner along the high wall that blocked visibility into the rear lot.
“Your head-cracking antics may have to wait.”
“I hate it when you’re right.”
Marcus lowered his passenger window and craned his head to try to hear anything. Alex knew the drill. This maneuver was old hat for them. As he drove past the front of the bodega, he put the Explorer in neutral and killed the engine, coasting by as quietly as he could without letting the vehicle lose much speed.
When they reached the end of the block, he turned the engine back on and popped back into drive. He pulled around the corner, and then turned off the Explorer.
“What have you got?”
“It is as we feared. There are at least six individuals inside, mostly on the upper story. There is blood and the smell of death, although that may just be Filip’s trade. I cannot tell. There was some screaming and crying and other sounds—blows being struck?”
“Well, hopefully Filip’s still alive.” Alex paused. “Never thought I’d say that and actually mean it.”
Alex picked up the radio’s handset.
“Dispatch, this is fifteen Nora forty-two, requesting immediate backup to the corner of Fifty-third Street and Sixth Court. The grocery on the corner. Two-eleven in progress, possible two-oh-seven. Nocturns involved. Two officers on scene.”
“Roger, forty-two. Stand by, one.”
Marcus opened the car door. “I don’t think there’s going to be enough time. It sounds like some people are leaving. I heard one of them say, ‘Stay behind and take care of it.’”
“Shit.” Alex considered his options. “How badly do you think we need Filip?”
“That’s cold, even for you. But I would say, badly.”
“Yeah, unfortunately I agree. Can you hear him? Can you tell if he’s still alive?”
“Sorry. There’s too much yelling going on.”
The police radios squawked through their conversation. “Fifteen Nora forty-two, stand by for backup. ETA is about eight minutes. Non-nocturn units. Other nocturn units occupied. Copy?”
Alex wondered why other nocturn units were occupied. He’d have to get his answers later. He acknowledged the radio, “Copy. We’re going in. Officers in plainclothes.”
Marcus was already at the rear of the Explorer. “Pop the back.”
Alex did. Marcus opened the metal case and grabbed one of the shotguns.
“Those youngbloods in there could use a few hits of shot, I would warrant. In fact, I think they deserve it.”
Alex picked up two Taser pistols; fifty thousand volts would drop a vampire just as easily as a human, and more easily than gunfire. He took off his jacket, threw on an ultraviolet-flash vest, and checked the power pack. The vest looked similar to the reflective kind that crossing guards wore, except that along the sides and the back, where the reflective strips would normally go, were strategically placed banks of superbright ultraviolet LEDs. A rip cord extended from either side like on the life vests flight attendants demonstrated on every flight. The idea was that if a vampire grabbed you, you could pull one of the two rip cords and it would set off a bright ultraviolet flash, which would hopefully cause the vampire enough pain that you could break free. The concept was dubious at best, but it was simply another tool. Like many things when dealing with vampires, it was probably better than nothing.
The power pack’s indicator showed he had enough power for two bursts. He hoped he wouldn’t need any. He made sure his sidearm was secure, more out of force of habit than anything. He threw his jacket over the top of everything to hide the vest for the initial approach and used the buttons on the outside to hold it closed rather than zipping it up.
“Let me guess. I’ll be the scapegoat.”
Marcus smiled his tight-lipped smile at him.
“Yeah, what was I thinking? I’m always the damn goat.”
“A singular benefit of having your unique talents.”
“Yeah, just because I’m not as easy to kill as everyone else doesn’t mean it doesn’t still hurt.”
Marcus’s eyes flickered as he heard something. “One of the cars is pulling away. They’re starting to go to work up there. It’s now or never.”
“Okay,” Alex said, “I’m going in John Wayne style. See you inside.”
With a light run of several steps, Marcus vaulted straight at the building wall opposite the Explorer. His right foot hit the wall about four feet off the ground and he pushed off in the other direction, planting a foot on the Explorer’s roof and leaping onto the corner streetlamp. One arm outstretched, he caught the streetlamp and planted a foot roughly halfway up a
nd swung around the pole, using his momentum to slingshot himself back around. With practiced ease, he let go at the right time and vaulted onto the second-story rooftop of the building, leaving the streetlight vibrating like a tuning fork. He looked down, gave Alex a thumbs-up, and then he was just another shadow.
17
2:42 A.M.
Alex moved into his part of the plan. He stepped around the corner and walked briskly down the block to the bodega. He had one of the Taser guns up the sleeve of his coat, palming the front so no one could see what he had in his hand. The car that had been in front of the store was missing. That meant that the one around the block might be gone as well. Safer to assume it was still there.
He did some quick math, given what Marcus had heard and how many people could fit comfortably into two Town Cars. He was guessing there’d be about eight maximum. That could get very ugly. One car gone, left about four of them if luck was on Alex’s side. Hell, Marcus could handle that by himself. If they were all youngbloods …
Alex caught himself smiling.
He approached the storefront. He didn’t need Marcus’s hearing to hear the racket coming from upstairs. He took a deep breath and hoped Marcus was in position. Then he threw himself into his role.
He sauntered up to the storefront glass door and gave it a tug. Locked. He saw movement inside.
They had left a lookout, one of the club vampires from the look of him. He pretended to be working the register. The man was wearing a thick gold chain; it was so big and gaudy that it looked like something you’d lock up a bicycle with. It glittered and called too much attention to the wearer.
Alex tapped lightly on the glass door.
The vampire looked up, curious, but trying to look like he was not even interested. Then he looked back down to whatever he was doing behind the register.
All right, if that was the game he was playing, Alex would play along. “Hey man. Door’s locked.”
The vampire called back, “We’re closed. Come back after daylight.”
“Listen, all I need is some milk. Just off the graveyard shift. Open up, will you?”
“Are you deaf? We’re closed. Beat it.”
Alex heard a car engine slowly approaching. He didn’t like this. He had nowhere to go.
In his peripheral vision, Alex saw the car pull around the corner. He turned his head and confirmed the make and model: Lincoln Town Car. He noticed the driver, pale face, probably a youngblood vampire. Worst-case scenario, the first car hadn’t left. It had moved. They were doing some kind of patrol and he’d missed it because he was concentrating on the inside of the store. Now who was the amateur?
He instinctively understood how exposed he was in the front of the store. His eyes flickered back to the man behind the counter. Only he was no longer behind the counter, he was moving toward the front door, and was about halfway there.
Just then, there was a shout from the upstairs. Someone screamed, “It was nothing like that! I didn’t know!” That last word stretched out, changing its meaning from “know” to “No!” Then there were two quick gunshots.
The vampire walking toward the door looked right at Alex and they both knew what he’d heard. No chance for more talking now. Talking hadn’t really been a part of Alex’s plan anyway. As the man’s black T-shirt passed in front of the door, it made the glass act like a mirror and Alex could see the Town Car behind him, the two side windows lowering.
Alex dropped and let the Taser gun slip out of his sleeve into his hand. He used the butt and smashed it into the door. Glass shattered. He heard the telltale “pfup” sound of a suppressed weapon and the snap of the bullet passing right over him, where his head had been just an instant before. He heard the vampire inside grunt in pain.
Alex dove through what was left of the glass door. He hit the vampire inside right in the shins. The man, already off balance, fell forward, his heavy body falling on top of Alex, who was already scrambling through the shards of broken glass and farther into the store.
Another couple of “pfup” sounds and the glass cabinets holding the cold beer and energy drinks had spiderweb cracks spreading from new holes.
Alex struggled on all fours to the end of one of the aisles. He’d lost one of the Taser guns. He switched the one in his palm to his off hand and drew his sidearm. It wasn’t loaded with the right ammunition to end a vampire—that wasn’t allowed on the police force yet—but they’d know he’d hit them.
The vampire inside the store crunched broken glass as he got back to his feet. Alex needed to make it to the back. If he could make it upstairs and regroup with Marcus, they could hold a slew of them off, at least long enough for backup to arrive.
It reminded him he had to play it straight. This wasn’t the old days. There were rules now.
He identified himself: “Police officer! Drop your weapons and place…”
He never finished. A flurry of bullets peppered the back of the store, shattering more of the refrigerated compartments and this time breaking through a case of Hemotopia bottles directly above Alex’s head and drenching him in sticky synthetic blood.
The vampire in the store screamed, “Hey assholes, you know you’re hitting me, right?”
Laughter came from the ones in the car, and then Alex could hear the car doors opening and closing.
A voice outside the store: “Quit being such a pussy. It’s not like you’re going to die.”
Glass crunched underfoot as the store vampire moved down the aisle. Then the “bing-bong” chime as the ones outside walked through the shattered door and stepped inside. These were all youngbloods, newly turned; they were still moving and still thinking like human thugs. He put the Taser down for a second, unbuttoned his jacket, and pulled his left arm out of the sleeve. He needed to get this jacket off. His hand reached back down for the Taser. Just as he grasped it, a large hand grabbed him by the throat and yanked him out into the aisle.
Alex choked as the store vampire lifted him clear off his feet like a small child. The vampire’s other hand knocked Alex’s pistol from him. Synthetic blood splashed everywhere. Alex was drenched in the stuff. It dripped onto the floor.
“Hey, look, guys, he’s gone and marinated himself for us!”
Laughter from all of them. Now Alex could see there were four. His throat ached. His lungs started to burn. Three more upstairs?
He heard a crashing noise from upstairs and a surprised exclamation. He hoped that was Marcus’s doing.
Alex smiled through the pain. If there was one thing he was certain of, it was that you never let a vampire know when you were afraid. He thought about the Taser; hitting the vampire while it was holding him wasn’t part of the plan, but then neither was getting grabbed. Any way you cut it, this was going to hurt. The Taser would have less effect on him than on the youngblood.
The vampire gave him a puzzled look.
Alex’s hands clawed at the hand holding him up. “You were faster than I thought,” Alex managed to squeeze out. Then he tried to shoot the Taser into the vampire’s neck. Again, the vampire was too fast. He intercepted Alex’s arm with his elbow, all without releasing Alex. It was enough to send the two wires and their leads shooting harmlessly into the air.
“You little shit!” The enraged vampire cocked his other arm back in preparation to deal Alex a horrific blow.
Alex squeezed his eyes shut and turned his head away, as if he didn’t want to see the blow coming. Then he pulled the rip cord on the UV vest.
He could see the bright flash even through his closed eyelids. The vampires, who were all looking in his direction, and with eyes designed to see in low light, never had a chance.
They all howled in pain. The vampire holding Alex reflexively dropped him to cover his eyes. Alex would only have a second, maybe two. He opened his eyes, punched the larger vampire in the throat, and then spun him around to use the larger man’s bulk as a shield. He reached up around the taller man’s collar and grabbed hold of that large gaudy chain.
He gave it a quick half twist as he yanked on it and simultaneously punched the vampire in the small of the back. With his hands clutching at the chains, the man bent over backward.
Then the shots started, just as Alex had suspected. They were firing blind. Alex didn’t want them to. He had a shield, so he might as well use it.
“To your right, you cocksuckers!”
He shuffled backward, toward the stairs, towing the larger vampire back in front of him. More shots came at him and he felt the vampire shudder with several impacts.
He heard Marcus actually laugh from upstairs. Well, at least someone was having a good time. He stole a glance behind him: a few more feet and he’d be able to make a run for it. He passed the counter with the cash register. He risked a quick look. What had the vampire been playing with earlier? Despite himself, a wicked smile crossed his face.
Lying on the counter next to the register was a snub MP5K-PDW submachine gun. The kind high-end bodyguards defending ridiculously important clients dream about. Alex started to consider the problem of how to release the vampire he was holding to make a grab for the weapon.
A blur of motion fell screaming outside the front of the store. There was a tremendous crash as a body smashed down onto the Town Car, shattering the rear and side windows and pancaking the roof. Marcus had hurled someone from upstairs, and it looked like it hurt. He felt a brief glimmer of satisfaction.
The vampires in the store whirled toward the noise. They saw one of their companions feebly trying to climb out of the crater his body had made. Alex saw his chance and made his move.
He changed his grip on the vampire, reached over the counter, and snatched the submachine gun. Once it was in his hand, he raised his right knee almost straight to his chest, let go of the chain he was using to choke the vampire, and kicked out his leg. It sent the choking vampire sprawling into the nearest shelf. It toppled over with the vampire on top of it, strewing all manner of snacks, chips, and onion dip across the floor in another loud crash.
The other four vampires turned again. Alex snapped the bolt back on the machine gun. He absently noticed that an unspent round ejected from the chamber, but better safe than sorry. He let fly three short bursts.
Graveyard Shift Page 15