by Primo, Jaz
He blushed slightly as she placed the figurine in her sack and rose from the bench. He followed, and they proceeded further up the street, turning down an empty alleyway between two shops that appeared to be used as a delivery lane to the rear of the buildings.
As they made their way out of the alleyway, they noticed an older man unloading small boxes from the back of a delivery van, though he ignored them as he traversed between the van and the interior of his small shop.
Dori signaled Caleb to follow her and led the way towards the empty field of grass stretching away from the back of the buildings towards a nearby forest.
Upon reaching the tree line behind the souvenir shop, they proceeded through the trees and made their way to the dirt path that Caleb had seen the night before.
“The van went that way,” he said while pointing in a direction that led deeper into the forest.
They proceeded along the dirt road at a leisurely pace so as not to draw undue attention if they were observed.
It was a beautiful day, and Caleb appreciated the fresh smell of the forest coupled with the sounds of chirping birds. They walked for about twenty minutes, and he noticed that the mountain overlooking the town loomed before them as they drew closer.
Finally, the road ended at a small clearing next to a rocky outcropping on a sheered-off portion of the mountainside. Butted against the rock facing stood a single-story, windowless shed constructed of stone and sporting a tin roof. A single wooden-planked door was secured with a newer-looking padlock.
Caleb surveyed the area and focused on Dori with a perplexed expression. “What’s a storage building doing out in the middle of nowhere?”
She shrugged. “Maybe for storing mining equipment?”
“What mine?” he countered as he walked further into the clearing.
While rocks had cascaded down the mountain to the base, there were no visible mine entrances to be seen. He scanned the area again, impacted by how the surrounding forest loomed around them like a natural wall. It gave the small clearing a claustrophobic feel.
“This is weird,” he absently muttered.
Dori moved to the wooden door and tested the lock, which was secure. “We need to take a peek inside here,” she insisted.
“Gee, and I left my lock picks back at the hotel,” he chided.
She offered him a withering look and walked over to the nearby rocks and stones that had piled up in places. After hefting a couple of larger stones, she selected one to carry back to the wooden door where he was standing.
“Here’s your lock pick,” she quipped while dropping it into his hands. “Start hammering, if you please.”
He nearly dropped the large stone and rolled his eyes. He used a series of rapid bashing motions, which included missing the lock on two occasions, only to hear her giggle as she covered her mouth with one hand. But after a few minutes, his ministrations were rewarded when the metal eyelet gave way around the lock, resulting in the still-closed lock’s dropping to the ground. He cast the stone to the ground and gaped at the still-secured device with frustration.
“That’s fine, Caleb,” she reassuringly offered. “You nevertheless dislodged the lock.”
“Hey, it’s one of those heavy-duty ones,” he pointed out somewhat defensively. “I mean, they’re supposed to be able to take a bullet and stay locked, you know.”
“I’m sure,” she temporized while pulling the door open.
The hinges groaned as the door swung open to reveal that the interior was lined with a solid sheet of metal, making the door quite formidable.
“That’s a deceptive-looking door,” he noted.
The interior of the ten-foot-square shed consisted of old wooden benches to each side, strewn with a variety of old gardening and mining tools. The entire back wall was comprised of wood and bore only a large pegboard with poorly-maintained hand tools hanging from utility hooks.
“This is strange,” she said.
She quickly felt underneath the benches and visually inspected the surfaces. Taking her lead, Caleb entered to assist.
After a few minutes of fruitless searching, Dori pursed her lips with a contemplative expression. “What are we missing here?” she asked.
He looked up and noticed a string hanging from a light fixture. He pulled it, and three bulbs illuminated the room through a single, dingy glass globe.
“Doesn’t it strike you as strange that an old storage building next to a mountain has functioning electricity?”
Her eyes widened and she rushed outside to look around the perimeter of the building.
“But there’s no electrical poles or exposed cabling anywhere,” she observed.
Caleb stood in the open doorway with narrowed-eyes. “That means it’s buried underground. But then, where’s the fuse box?”
She slipped past him and shifted around old crates. Meanwhile, he shuffled the items on the pegboard to see what he might have missed the first time. While clanging tools against one another he heard Dori yell, “Hey!”
He turned to see a mustached man wearing a local police uniform gripping Dori’s upper arm as he yanked her outside. His other hand held a metal baton, which swung downwards onto Dori’s thigh as she tried to wrestle from his grip. She yelped as her leg collapsed, causing her to slip to the ground.
“Asshole!” Caleb barked while lurching at the man.
As he cleared the doorway, another baton came out of nowhere, catching him in the lower back. He grimaced as pain shot through his midsection and had no time to react as another swing caught him across the upper shoulder. He managed to grasp the baton firmly before it could be retrieved for another swing, but he felt an immediate shocking pulse of painful electricity course through him. The crackling sound filled his ears as his body failed to respond, instead falling to the ground as he gasped for breath.
“You are under arrest for trespassing,” the man hovering above him announced in a thick Slovene accent.
Caleb felt the bite of metal as his wrists were cuffed behind his back, and he heard Dori protest, “You have no reason to attack us like this!”
“Shut up!” the other officer barked at her as handcuffs were applied to her wrists.
“What were you two doing here?” demanded the officer who was hauling Caleb to his feet.
“Identify yourself,” Dori insisted as she eyed the lieutenant’s insignia on his collar. “For a superior officer, you’re acting like a common brute.”
“I am asking the questions,” the man replied. “What are you doing here? I won’t ask again.”
“You’re making a bad mista –” Caleb began, but was cut short when the lieutenant slammed his fist into his temple, causing him to stagger to the ground again.
“Stop assaulting him!” Dori demanded. “We’re just tourists!”
“Bah!” the officer securing Dori countered.
“Take her to the car,” the lieutenant ordered. “I’ll follow with him.”
Caleb tried and failed to regain his footing as Dori was led away. She kept glancing back over her shoulder at him, but the officer repeatedly pushed her before him as they walked.
A moment later, Caleb was once again distracted as the lieutenant leered at him and balled up his fists. The first blows to the side of his head and midsection hurt the worst. After that, he felt only dull throbbing and retained awareness of little else.
* * * *
Chapter 6: Politics and Polemics
It was late afternoon as Paige strummed her fingertips against the desktop while staring at the displays before her. She clicked her mouse to switch between the various miniature surveillance windows, expanding one at a time to review the images. She momentarily lamented taking brief turns with the rest of the security staff to do the thankless task.
Still, my staff respects me for it, she determined, believing that it was the right thing to do. So very unlike the major, who wouldn’t be caught dead taking a turn at it.
She enlarged the image of the fr
ont lobby entrance and noticed the returning shuttle passengers filing onto the sidewalk. As she watched the faces of the arriving humans, something subtle nagged at her.
Then she perked up and used another camera view to look outside the front entrance where she had a clear view of the shuttle. She quickly scrutinized the images of the lobby interior and realized that something was missing, or rather someone.
“Where’s Caleb and Dori?” she wondered out loud.
She surveyed the small office, and her eyes settled on the auburn-haired female guard who was typing information into a computer.
“Hey, Enora,” she snapped. “Come over here and cover this station. I have to check into something.”
The woman got up with a nod, but Paige was already halfway to the door before the guard took two steps. She rushed down the hallway and through the lobby until she reached the main doors, though she stopped where the first set of doors stood closed; they were the ones with the UV-protective coating. She paused to await two of the human security guards who were entering.
“Problems, Captain?” one guard asked.
“Didn’t you count everybody before heading back from town?” Paige insisted.
“Yeah, I counted before we left,” the other guard replied. “We had twenty-three.”
The first guard looked at his partner with surprise. “Twenty-three? We took twenty-five with us.”
The other guard looked completely embarrassed. “Oh, shit.”
Paige shook her head and ordered, “You two get back to town with that shuttle right now. You’re looking for Dorianne Rousseau and Caleb Taylor. You probably remember Caleb.”
Both guards sharply looked up at the mention of Caleb’s name.
“Well, hell,” one guard cursed with immediate recognition.
“Yeah, hell, and it’s coming soon if you don’t bring them back now!” Paige confirmed with a flash of her bright blue eyes.
Both men almost ran into each other as they barreled back through the two sets of sliding glass doors to board the shuttle outside.
“Just great, all the guards in the world, and I get the Keystone Cops,” Paige muttered under her breath while shaking her head.
She paused and added, “Gawd, what an outdated reference. I must be getting old.”
She turned to cross the lobby in the direction of the security office then stopped, wondering if she should inform Katrina and Alton. Discarding the idea, she looked outside to the waning afternoon sun, wishing she had brought her leather riding outfit and cycle helmet.
“Get a grip, Paige,” she mumbled. “Kiddo probably just got distracted and missed the bus.”
Just after sunset, Paige made the fifth call asking for the status of the search for Caleb and Dori. She had sent two additional human guards to help inquire around town, hoping to expedite the process.
Then the radio buzzed to life.
“Captain, we just talked to a shop owner downtown. The lady said she saw Ms. Rousseau and Mr. Taylor being driven away in a local police car earlier in the day, but she didn’t recall the time,” the guard reported.
Paige frowned. Police car? What the hell?
“I’ll call the local police,” she said. “In the meantime, you head over there with another guard and find out what you can.”
“Well, that’s the problem, Captain,” the guard explained. “I called the police station a few minutes ago after we talked to the shop owner. They said they don’t have anyone there by those names, but when I pressed the matter, they said there were still people in custody that haven’t been processed. And they insisted that they won’t discuss detainees until they’ve been processed.”
Paige cursed under her breath and snapped, “Fine, fine. Keep trying to dig up what you can from anybody else who’ll talk. I’ll handle things at this end.”
“Yes, ma’am,” the guard replied.
Shit, she thought.
Hastily, she penned out a note for Katrina and Alton and barreled down the hallway to the conference room. The two suit-clad guards at the front of the hallway held out their hands as she started to walk past them.
“Uh, Turner, they’re still in session,” one guard tried to inform her.
She glared at him with blazing blue eyes and declared, “Too bad. I’m on a mission from God.”
The vampires reflected surprise from her response, clearly taken aback by her insistence. As if sensing something grim, they each stepped aside. She proceeded to the door, knocked twice, and entered the room before being invited.
The room fell silent as all eyes turned to her with a mix of curiosity and incredulousness at the interruption. However, upon seeing that it was Paige in a tense state, both Alton and Katrina’s expressions turned stony. The blonde vampire passed the note directly to Katrina, turned on her heel, and walked out of the room, closing the door behind her.
Katrina read the note: Caleb and Dori in trouble in town. Detained by police. Can’t get information. Three more minutes, and I’ll handle it.
She glared at Alton as she passed the note to him. He took a mere second to scan the note and immediately turned to address the group.
“My apologies, but we have an urgent matter requiring immediate attention,” he explained in a firm tone. “We’re adjourned until tomorrow morning.”
Katrina sprang from her chair before Alton was able to push himself back from the table, but he managed to catch up to her as she barreled down the hallway towards the lobby.
He caught one of the suit-clad guards by the sleeve and ordered, “Bring a vehicle to the lobby entrance immediately.”
Katrina could only contemplate dire thoughts as she scouted the lobby for Paige. Spotting the young vampire, she was at her side in seconds. Paige filled her in on what she knew, and Katrina listened even while she focused on getting to Caleb and Dori as soon as possible.
Dammit, dammit, dammit! What the hell happened?
Paige sensed her friend’s concern and gently touched her arm. “Whatever’s happened, we’ll fix it. I promise.”
Katrina forced a heavy sigh. “I know. Don’t worry. We’ll get to the bottom of this. Stay here.”
“Oh, no, I won’t,” Paige protested. “Our boy’s in trouble.”
“Yes, you will,” Katrina ordered. “I need you here to coordinate resources, if necessary. If you don’t hear from me in less than an hour, you bring everyone you can trust and meet us downtown.”
Paige nodded her assent with hooded eyes as she folded her arms before her.
Alton beckoned to Katrina from the front of the lobby, and she moved like a blur to the exit and the vehicle waiting outside.
Katrina barely contained her growing agitation as the SUV seemed to take a leisurely pace down the dark mountain road leading to town. In fairness, the vehicle was moving at a rapid pace thanks to the keen reflexes of a vampire driver, but any delay seemed unbearable.
Alton spent most of the time on his cell phone, which from the part of the conversation that Katrina could overhear, indicated that he was consulting with legal counsel on the finer points of Slovene law.
I don’t care about Slovene law, she darkly resolved while chewing the inside of her lip. I’m getting them out of there tonight.
The Podjelje police station was a two-story brick building with a small parking lot and a single police car parked in front. Their SUV barely came to a stop before Katrina opened the passenger door, but Alton managed to grab her by the upper arm as he held his cell phone in the other hand.
She glared back at him with a stern expression.
“Go in, but don’t attack anybody, for God’s sake,” he urged. “I’ll follow as soon as I finish this call. I’m sure they’re fine, Katrina.”
She tried not to slam the vehicle’s door closed too hard as she exited. The vampire guard observed her from the driver’s seat as she proceeded up the front sidewalk.
The building’s exterior lights cast a pale glow across the front entrance of the building as she ap
proached the dual glass doors. The door made a swooshing sound as she deliberately controlled her strength and speed. A short hallway led into a small waiting room where a lone, young-looking police officer stood before a long, high counter idly sorting paperwork before him.
The front part of the facility appeared to be devoid of other people, which she confirmed with her keen sight and hearing as she stalked to the counter and glared at the man standing there. He warily observed her.
“I understand you are detaining an American named Caleb Taylor and a French woman named Dorianne Rousseau. I want to know the charges,” Katrina commanded with authority.
The young man fumbled for a clipboard next to him and deliberately studied it for a moment. He moved to a small computer to his left, and following some quick typing, he regarded Katrina with a blank expression.
“We do not have people by those names processed here. Are you sure --” he said in English, but with a strong Slovene accent.
“Yes, I’m certain,” she insisted. “They were brought in earlier this afternoon. Check again.”
The officer raised an eyebrow and flipped some pages on the clipboard.
“Strange. The lieutenant mentioned two people detained, but I do not see any processing information.”
“And that is proper procedure?” she pointedly countered.
The young man swallowed and appeared slightly unsettled. “Actually, no. I’m sorry, but I only arrived within the hour. Please, remain calm, and I will call my superior, Lieutenant Boleslav. He is upstairs, I believe.”
He reached for the phone, but Katrina leaned across the counter to stare into his eyes. “Listen to me. I will see them now, and then you can call whomever you like.”
The officer shook his head as he regarded her with a sincere expression. “I do not think I can do that.”
Katrina steadied herself before asking in a lethally calm voice, “I know exactly what I’m going to do in twenty seconds. Do you?”
The man started to protest, but then frowned as if wrestling with conflicted feelings. “Things are already irregular. I will let you see them and then call my supervisor.”