Vampire Esquire's War (Book 2)

by Michael Wells Jr.

  Vampire Esquire’s War

  Book 2

  By: Michael Wells Jr.

  Buster B.’s Books

  New York, North Carolina, South Carolina, Virginia and Washington, D.C.

  Copyright © 2016 by Michael Wells Jr.

  All Rights Reserved.

  No part of this book may be reproduced in any form without the express permission of the author. This includes reprints, excerpts, photocopying, recording, or any further means of reproducing text

  For my wife and daughter, my eternal loves, always and forever.

  Table of Contents

  Chapter 1

  Chapter 2

  Chapter 3

  Chapter 4

  Chapter 5

  Chapter 6

  Chapter 7

  Chapter 8

  Chapter 9

  Chapter 10

  Chapter 11

  Chapter 12

  Chapter 13

  Chapter 14

  Chapter 15

  Chapter 16

  Chapter 17

  Chapter 18

  Chapter 19

  Chapter 20

  Chapter 21

  Chapter 22

  Chapter 23

  Chapter 24

  Chapter 25

  Chapter 26

  Chapter 27

  Chapter 28

  Chapter 29

  Epilogue

  About the Author

  Chapter 1

  As Vladimir Lenin watched the video screen where his progeny drained humans, buried them, and began the process of making new vampires, he recalled his first few weeks as a vampire. A mixture of desperation and excitement, he’d never felt so “alive” even when he was actually living.

  He remembered the aching hunger in spite of the voracious eating. Unlike while human, vampire hunger didn’t produce mild pain but piercing, unrelenting pain as if his nerve endings had been stripped and electrical currents sent through each nerve ending. His past existence as Marcellus seemed liked a distant memory.

  He knew his first few victims. He found killing acquaintances because he knew their habits and could more easily track and kill them discretely. Fear of detection often overwhelmed him, but hunger drove him and allowed him to overcome that fear.

  ___________

  Lenin could still see the young couple stumbling down the street, drunk, happy and in love, three states of being never to be experienced again for him. At that moment, whatever nostalgia for human life he may have had gave way to rage.

  “Marcellus,” the woman said, a sad recognition in her eyes. He tore her finely stitched toga and bit into her neck. Her lover tried to pull him away, but he grabbed the man’s throat strangling him. Before the man died, however, he drained him of blood too. Then he left the corpse lying on the street. I was so sloppy then, he thought.

  __________________

  Immortality meant no life––no kind of life that mattered—unless he conquered death by ruling the living.

  Lenin still found ways to stalk and ultimately drain his prey. If he felt the prey would advance the vampire cause, he made it a vampire.

  Lenin spawned thousands of vampire children over thousands of years. He found it difficult to tune in to all of their thoughts. He could feel the thoughts of some, and he knew the whereabouts of some. But most of the time it sounded like a cacophony of voices.

  And sometimes those voices fell silent. Vampires starved, committed suicide or were hunted down and staked. Such was their plight, but some survived. Fewer still thrived.

  He finally stopped listening to the voices after awhile because it overwhelmed him, although he longed to be reunited with his most successful and powerful progeny in the same way a human father wants to be with his son or daughter.

  This decision to isolate himself was not without regret. He thought of Drogba the most. What happened to Drogba? Does he still exist?

  Lenin knew his progeny consisted of thousands of strong, independent vampires, and this was all well and good. But it made them hard to control.

  Lenin spotted a couple sitting on a bench on one of the brown dirt paths running up and down the Tuileries. Immersed in their love, they did not notice anyone or anything other than each other. Perfect prey, thought Lenin.

  And they enraged him. Their life. Their vitality. It reminded him of the humans from early on in Rome. Life angered him. Humans were worthless except as a food source.

  He turned back to the potential victims, who were young and strong and therefore perfect victims. They were the kind of humans he wanted as vampires. He needed genetic superiority. Even though vampires possessed superhuman strength he preferred high quality humans because they made stronger, better vampires.

  In order to implement his plan, however, he needed weak humans too. There weren't enough strong humans. He would have to make do with the hand dealt him. Here he had no such concerns. At least he would make two superior vampires tonight.

  Lenin shot himself into the sky like a dart and landed softly behind the couple. They did not hear him. Entwined as they made out, they gave no indication they noticed him as he slinked forward.

  He pounced on the man first because he was the strongest. He snapped the man's neck (thwack!), and, before the woman could say anything, he snapped hers too (crunch!). Then he picked up each body and jumped hundreds of feet into the air. He landed on his balcony with each of them in his arms.

  He carried them into his special feasting room. Constructed of rubber with a drain on the floor to catch the excess blood the room provided a perfect place for him to feast without ruining his palatial penthouse.

  Other than baby's blood, the blood of young people in their prime tasted the best. He lived in Paris for many reasons. One of those reasons was the prevalence of young blood.

  Chapter 2

  Bridgett Myers feared Fletcher would come after her. The anecdotal information and her encounter with Fletcher in Georgetown worried her, but something deep inside her mind told her not all things could be explained with reason. He had changed for the worse. Fletcher had always wanted her, and she ignored him. She knew he would not let the repeated slights go unpunished.

  Her phone rang jolting her out of her reverie. She picked up. Silence on the other end. Then she heard breathing, not nervous, just breathing as if the refusal to speak carried more weight than words. It did, and it made Bridgett uneasy. Who could it be?

  After what seemed like a minute, but was only a few seconds, Bridget spoke. "This is Bridgett Myers, Assistant White House Press Secretary. How may I help you?"

  "I think you know exactly how you can help me," the voice said.

  "Jesus, Fletcher. Why are you being so cryptic lately? You speak in these vague ways, and you act like I'm supposed to figure out everything you aren't saying."

  She could picture the sadistic smile on the other end.

  "Bridgett, I’m sorry about last time," he said with silky coolness. Such a contrast with the nerdy and timid Fletcher she knew, and his newfound confidence unsettled her.

  "Majority Leader Inman believes in your abilities, and that's why he wanted me to turn you."

  "Fletcher, I don't know what's come over you; or should I say who turned you, but I'm not interested in working for Majority Leader Inman. And I'm not interested in working for whomever else is paying you now. I suspect you aren't being paid by just Inman."

  Again, silence. Bridgett had quieted the cocksure Fletcher for a little while.

  After a few seconds Fletcher shot back, "I'm sorry you feel that way, Bridgett. It is really unfortunate. I'm going to go on record saying you made a poor decision. I suspect you know why that is a poor decision. Unfortunately for you, you a
re one of the few people aware of certain forces gaining influence. I'm sure I will see you again. Adieu." Then he hung up.

  Something felt seriously wrong as vague, yet substantial, hit her. His stilted speech seemed like it was from a century before.

  Acid churned on her insides.

  She needed to talk to Agent Thomas Watson; he would tell her not to be such a type-A personality. She was overreacting. He would know what to do and how to handle everything, but he was in Paris. Bridgett had to wait until he got back from Paris, and she didn’t know if she could wait that long.

  _____________________

  Pierre called Hamilton eager to find out his opinion on the use of "other scientific uses" in their creation of the private blood banks. He knew some people would object to the sale of human blood much in the same way they would disapprove of the sale of human body parts. The anti-abortion crowd would cry it threatened the unborn children.

  "Hey there, Pierre. I know you are worried about the portion of the plan––the most important part––which says 'for other scientific purposes,' but I don't see that as an issue. I suppose Illinois will see it the same way."

  Pierre agreed. "I'm not worried about New York, Illinois, California, or Florida. Those legislatures will allow the private blood banks no problem. They won't see them as breaking their laws. In fact, I think they will consider them a benefit.

  "What concerns me, Hamilton, is when the evangelicals in Congress catch wind of this. They will try and block it through federal legislation. I know it will become some sort of social issue, particularly in an election year. The House will try and stop it, but I think any bill to stop it will die in the Senate. However, I'm worried they will use another tortured interpretation of a statute to get a preliminary injunction to stop the establishment of the blood banks."

  Pierre paused to consider his words. "And you know this is because the money people backing the Republicans are vampires. The Restoration vamps don't want there to be a food source out there that doesn't involve sucking the blood out of humans and making them vampires. If private blood banks are allowed, human trafficking abated and social welfare programs are extended, the Restoration vamps will never have a chance at taking over."

  Hamilton agreed. "I agree with you. We just need to bide our time and fly under the radar. Perhaps we can wait until the next election to push this?"

  "We can't wait that long. We need everything in place just in case vampires are revealed. Otherwise there will be a war between humans and vampires. This will be bad for all of us."

  "I agree, Pierre, but we need to lie low. I think we can do the private blood banks in the friendly states, but it needs to be done quietly. Otherwise they will run to conservative federal judges and get preliminary injunctions. Not just TROs."

  "I understand, Hamilton. I appreciate your thought as well as your work. We are moving in the right direction."

  “The blood banks are important. I know that. What worries me the most are these private prisons and human trafficking sites. We know that’s where they are putting the vampires.”

  “I know, I know,” said Pierre. He didn’t know how they would destroy the prisons. Although what went on in the prisons was a mystery, if they started destroying the prisons, lawsuits would be filed, and the national media would be on their asses. It appeared to be an intractable problem.

  _______________

  It was customary for a Democrat President of the United States to be the president of the Society of the Silver Stake if a Democrat; Abraham Lincoln and Teddy Roosevelt were the only Republicans who served as president.

  The Society met in a chamber under the Lincoln Memorial. This chamber had been built when the capital moved from Philadelphia to the Washington. And the chamber was built there because it was on the same axis as the White House. Building on an axis harkened back to Roman times.

  The meetings always took place late at night. In recent years, a tunnel with a high-speed tram was built so the president could be shuttled from the White House to the chamber.

  The chamber was an oak-paneled room with a large, round mahogany table encircled by green leather chairs. It contained flat screen televisions and could have been the war room at the White House.

  President Elder pounded a gavel to start the meeting. "The Society of the Silver Stake reconvenes the meeting." William Magnum served as vice president of the society, and it was customary for the vice president to speak after the president pounded the gavel, calling the meeting to order. Then the president would speak after the vice president called the meeting to order.

  Magnum said, "Tonight our president and the President will address the society in order to fill us in on the recent developments."

  President Elder sat at one end of the table. He began speaking.

  "I appreciate each of you being here. Here among us I see captains of industry, great lawyers, political leaders and medical professionals. The purpose of this meeting is to apprise the society of some recent developments."

  President Elder took a sip of water and cleared his throat.

  "I have taken it upon myself to utilize the Secret Service in the efforts to mitigate the threat posed by Restoration vampires, although I keep intelligence and the sources secret due to the possibility of leaks. Some of you are aware of this. Some of you are not. This is not unprecedented as Secret Service has worked closely with this society since its inception, but they do so only to the extent that they provide assistance for the more militaristic components of the Society.

  "I understand your concerns. Some of you say no vampire can be trusted. I disagree. That's why I have enlisted the services of a vampire in Chicago named Pierre Leblanc. His code name is Vampire Esquire, which is very accurate. He is a lawyer and a vampire."

  Heads raised. Apparently some members already knew about Leblanc or had heard the rumors about him, some of which were wildly inaccurate—in fact, most of them were.

  "Leblanc is almost two thousand years old. He is one of the oldest vampires on Earth, and he has striven to maintain the peaceful coexistence between humans and vampires for years; the most recent permutation of this effort is private blood banks."

  Ever the astute politician, Elder sensed the mood in the room changing. He felt the change in attitude, and he realized one of the strengths of the society was its ability to adapt to the environment.

  "Let me also tell you what concerns me. I have determined, though intelligence shared with me, that there is a Restoration Vampire in Paris named Lenin; many of you know who he is. I believe he wants to infiltrate our political system by buying off members of Congress. For some time, we have had CIA operatives placed in various governments throughout Europe and in leading corporations. Likewise, we have been able to determine Nero Corporation has invested in various building projects on a mass scale.

  “These projects are suspicious because they have taken much longer than usual for these kinds of projects. Much of it remains a mystery.

  “However, on a recent raiding mission, William Magnum, Roland Walker and an operative code name Valkyrie found written directives from Nero in the basement of a North Carolina compound speaking of human trafficking.

  “Now we suspected this before, but this is the confirmation we needed. Now we must stop the trafficking because we believe and because it is how we think they will grow the vampire population—they being the Vampire Restoration League and Nero along with Ronald Drum from the United States, who develops the projects.”

  Members gasped.

  “Drum is developing Nero projects in the United States and Canada, so more vampires are being ‘grown’ and more will be coming. We need to stop the threat before it becomes too great.”

  President Elder gazed out to view somber faces. Members of the society were used to talk of world domination. Vampires always spoke in a grandiose way. It was their nature, and this usually didn't cause much concern.

  “What’s different this time?” a voice cried.

 
“I’m glad you asked that.” President Elder pursed his lips. “The vampires are working together better. That’s the short answer. The more particular problem is the resurgence of Restoration Vampires. The European group is the most powerful one.”

  “I thought they were over,” said the same voice.

  “Oh no. They are very much operational. And they are more powerful than ever. In fact they already have their tentacles wrapped around many of our state legislatures. Why do you think private prisons are popping up with the over criminalization of drugs? Why are all these building projects allowed to lag and not be regulated? Why is there an effort to destroy government programs?”

  “Ronald Reagan started that.” Everyone laughed nervously.

  “Yes he did, but it was all under the guise of fighting crime. And it depends on how you define crime because creating arbitrary laws in order to create more ‘criminals’ to be thrown in a prison isn’t exactly justice.”

  Elder paused to let his words sink in. Silence. Then people shifted in their chairs.

  “And the people in these prisons are turned into vampires but contained until the time is right,” said Magnum. Until that time this thought had occurred to him.

  “That’s right.”

  President Elder paused to gather his thoughts. "Here is how we see the threat coming. The vampires will be made at these Nero built building projects and shipped in to the U.S. So we need to stop the growing here and prevent the intrusion.”

  More nervousness. Elder could sense the acceptance in the room. They knew it was serious.

  “But the Restoration vampires are also working with Nero Corporation. We had Lenin followed, and we have seen him make people. But we couldn’t stake him because then the Restoration vampires would get someone else. So we need to take them all out. To neutralize them together.”

  Following a vampire as powerful as Vladimir Lenin without detection wasn’t easy. It required utmost care and many people.

  “The plan is also political in nature too. A Super PAC or series of Super PACs will bet set up in the United States. These Super PACs will buy up very conservative Congressional candidates, although not directly. Then they will go about dismantling government programs. Now this will hurt people in need, but it will distract the media and everyone else. No one will notice Nero and the Restoration Vampires ramping up the private prisons over the next few years. And they won’t know about the vampire population’s expansion. Hell they won’t even know about vampires.