Another Day

by C. L. Quinn

  The biggest of the two waved while the vampire only slightly shorter picked up a bottle of whisky from one of the tabletops and took a long swig. When one of the men that the bottle of whisky belonged to started to stand, the vampire glanced at him and tapped his shoulder. Xavier got a really good idea how compulsion worked in a vampire’s world. The compelled human sat quietly looking straight ahead. Damn, that skill was vile…and awesome.

  Tamesine showed up beside them, Koen just behind her. “Hi, Xavier.”

  Koen reached for Xavier and gave him an awkward hug. “Brother,” he said quietly.

  The other vampires walked closer. “I’m David, this is Bryn. Glad to see you’re all right.”

  Bryn, still carrying the bottle of whisky, put out a hand.

  “Ya helped rescue me and my mate in Brazil. I know ya don’t remember that, but I do, and I’m pleased to see ya well.”

  Still feeling overwhelmed, Xavier nodded to everyone before he turned and waved. “Follow me.”

  Once they all were in the kitchen, the door shut, he faced Koen. “I need ya to go to Margot’s apartment and use that compulsion skill to bring her and her guest back to my apartment. She wouldn’t come with me and I couldn’t bring myself to betray her and force her. I’ve changed me mind though, and I need ya to do it for me.”

  Koen and Tamesine exchanged glances.

  “What?” Xavier snapped.

  “Xavier, she isn’t there.” Tamesine curved her fingers over his wrist in an attempt to keep him calm. “Someone’s taken her.”

  “Fuck me! It’s my fault, I should have forced her to come with me before. This has all just happened so fast. Did they get the young girl too?”

  “If she was there with your lady, then probably. We just left her apartment half an hour ago and there’s no one there.”

  “Then he has them both. Fuck! What do we do now? How do I find Claude? He’s been huntin’ me, now I need to find him.”

  “Xavier, we don’t think it’s Claude that took them.”

  “What? It has to be. No one else would…” His mind reeled.

  Yes, someone else would…

  “Her boss. The man’s a leech, a sexual predator, and she’s been tryin’ to stop him. He shouldn’t have known she was on to him, but he might have. Fuck that asshole. This we can fix. He’s human. I know where his office is. I’ll go and see if I can find him.”

  Xavier removed his apron.

  “Do you know where he lives?” David asked.

  “Nay.”

  “I’ve a tablet in the car. I’ll see if I can find an address and head there.”

  “Thank ya. The man’s name is Michael Lipnicki. He owns a law firm called Lipnicki Law.”

  Nodding, David disappeared.

  Xavier turned to Tamesine and Koen. “There’s another man who might be able to help. He’s a local who’s well known in the district. He trades in drugs, guns, sex. He goes by the fixerman, but his name is Rodney. Lucky can tell ya where to find him.”

  “I’ll go,” Koen said.

  “He’ll have guards.”

  Koen smiled. “Not a problem.” He was through the door in seconds.

  Removing his apron, Xavier looked at Tamesine. “I’ll let Lucky know I’m leavin.’”

  “Go,” she said. “I’ve got this. I’ll keep an eye out for Claude or anything else around here that seems wrong. This location is a hot point, Xavier, because of you. Just go get this guy.”

  Bryn grimaced. “I’ll go with David if he finds that address.”

  “Okay, we’ll all meet back here as soon as we’re done. Xavier, we’ll find her.”

  “Tamesine, what were you guys doin’ at Margot’s place?”

  “That’s another story. Right now, let’s find your girls.”

  “Aye.” With that acknowledgment, he was gone too.

  Bryn’s eyebrows lifted as he watched Tamesine put the oversized apron over her head and wrap the long tie a couple of times around her waist. “Ye’re cookin’?”

  “Yep. I worked in a diner in L.A. and I can do this. Lucky needs help and I’m it. Care to help the help?”

  With caution, Xavier used vampire speed to get to the big glass and mirrored building where Margot worked one floor below her boss. With the education provided by his new friends, his skills now made the world highly accessible to him. It blew his mind that performing these vampire skills didn’t bring any of his memory back.

  For now, the only thing that mattered was Lipnicki. He found his office easily, but no Lipnicki anywhere or any clue where he might be. Fuck! He headed back to The Blind Spot, his chest heavy with pain. Where was his woman?

  Koen dispensed with the four guards who stood between him and the man he’d been sent to find. On an inside floor, the only room in the building that was really habitable, he found the man, Rodney, six armed guards, and at least as many pretty, but rough-looking women. They were all too young to be living this life, but he’d lived a lot in a thousand years and this was far from the worst that he’d ever seen.

  The man Rodney, impressive in height, long thick braids, intricate tattoos, wearing a leather vest that displayed muscled arms, stood and faced him from a pedestal of some kind.

  “It would appear the cavalry has arrived. How is our little counselor?”

  “Missing. You know who I am?”

  Rodney bowed his head and held his arms to his side, a gesture that could almost be considered a concession. None of his people believed that could be so.

  “I do not, sir. But I do know what you are.”

  Rodney raised a hand. “Scatter. All of you.”

  The women left immediately, but four of his guards held their positions, unsure that he wanted to be alone with this stranger.

  “Go,” Rodney said, his voice quiet, but this time the guards knew it was more than a request. They went.

  Coming down off the pedestal from where he stood, Rodney looked Koen directly in the eyes, unwavering.

  “I said nothing when the first one came with the prettier than pretty princess, but now there’s two of you and I have to wonder. Is this a trend? Vampires aren’t common in New York. Too little privacy, too many prying eyes and noses, too much noise. So I have to ask myself, why are you here?”

  Nothing much would have surprised Koen more. This man knew about vampires, and was comfortable enough to let him know it. When time allowed, he wanted to hear his history. For now, time counted down for the abducted women.

  “You’re familiar with vampires. Interesting. I think that is a story for another day. I have no problem telling you why we’re here, but, for now, I need to find the man called Michael Lipnicki. The counselor you spoke of and a young woman are missing, we assume because of him. Can you help me?”

  “So little Dikey Mikey got the balls to act? An unfortunate turn in the tale. I do not have his confidence, but I do have access to his hidey-holes, ancient one. If he’s taken them, he likely has them in one of three places. He’s a coward, but even a coward gets brave if he stands behind an army. The place where they’ll be will be guarded well. But that doesn’t concern you. Here, let me get the addresses.”

  Rodney turned to scan a book beside the chair on the pedestal, jotted down some information and handed a piece of white paper folded in half to Koen. As Koen reached for it, Rodney held on.

  “You’ll follow up with the promise, yes? Come and have tea and crumpets to discuss the situation? The Rodman finds you intriguing and would love to trade war stories with someone who has seen history first hand. I am humbled in your presence.”

  Koen pulled hard enough to free the paper from Rodney’s grasp. “How do you know about my race?”

  “Raised by one until I was ten. She was grace in motion and smelled like springtime. When I lost her, my life spiraled and what you see now is the wreck of that twist of fate. You would honor me if you returned. Please, vampire, let a child glimpse his glory days, for that is what they were, before father time takes me over
the rainbow.”

  Koen started to walk away, but stopped, turned back, and took another long look at Rodney.

  “You’re an odd one. I really don’t know what to make of you, but your aura reads as honest. If it is feasible, yes, I’ll return. But I do not know what the next few days will bring.”

  “I am your servant, lord of the night. If you need anything more, you’ve but to ask.”

  “I’ll, uh, keep that in mind.”

  Using his vampire speed, Koen disappeared. He didn’t see Rodney drop onto his chair, his eyes to the ceiling as a single tear tracked down a cheek.

  David and Bryn rejoined Tamesine and Xavier at the bar. At Lipnicki’s residence, which had been unoccupied, they found no leads for the kidnappings.

  Xavier had arrived through the back of the bar to see Tamesine slide a plate filled with sautéed onions and sliced beef onto the food window.

  “I told you I was good. Hopefully Koen will get something from this drug kingpin you sent him to.”

  “Kingpin?”

  “I don’t even know what that means. I must have seen it on television. Whatever he is, I hope he can help us.”

  “He did.” Koen walked in, a piece of paper held high. He handed it to Xavier. “Warehouses, owned by Lipnicki, places he’s had Rodney send women in the past. We hit them tonight.”

  Koen walked up to his brother and placed a hand on each shoulder. “Xavier, you won’t remember this, but we make a pretty unbeatable force. Have faith, we’ll get your lady back safe.”

  “Thank ya. Once we do, once we get the beast and stop this human trash, is there anythin’ ya can do to help me get me life back?”

  “This is my part.” Tamesine stepped closer. “Between myself and two other vampires in France, we can do just about anything, so the answer is yes. I think we can. Let’s get this done and go home, Xavier.”

  Claude shoved his compelled humans onto the floor with his full strength, the two men crashing into the concrete hard enough to knock the wind out of them.

  “Useless apes! So she was taken by some badass guys? Who?”

  One man, his forehead bleeding, tried to sit up. “I don’t know. They just showed up right after that huge guy left and before we could get in there. They were professionals, you could tell.”

  “So someone hired better people than I was able to get. Holy fuck, for the days when I had a trained army in the palm of my hand.”

  He paused as he stared at the two terrified men. “Well, did you follow them?”

  “Yeah, Ape 3 did. Ape 4 and I came back to tell you what happened.”

  “And where is Ape 2?”

  “Dead, sir. They shot him as he tried to take the woman from them.”

  “As well they should. The question is, who else would do this? And where is Ape 3?”

  “He’ll come back, if he can. If they catch him, he’s as dead as 4. These guys don’t mess around.”

  “You two go to the bar and keep an eye on the vampire. Ape 1, follow him, no matter where he goes. Ape 4, keep the bar under surveillance. Don’t act suspicious or go outside of my specific parameters. You are not to approach them, intercept them, or interfere with them in any way. Just keep me informed.”

  “Yes, sir.”

  Still rattled from the violent assaults, the two men supported each other as they pushed upright and finally stood.

  Claude, pissed, yelled, “Get out!” Terrified, the men summoned every ounce of their strength to make it up the stairs.

  Grinning, Claude turned back to the table where he continued to load rounds for his short stock M-4 he preferred. Using vampire hyper-speed, he could have had the task finished half an hour ago, but this, loading ammunition, had always been a pleasant, calming activity for him and he wanted to savor it. Yes, he needed to be gone from this city, but not before he had the satisfaction of removing Xavier’s head.

  He recognized that his rag-tag little human force was inferior and ineffectual. Even four properly compelled humans couldn’t take a single small female?

  But he could. Only one question remained. Who the hell was stepping on his plans?

  First on his list, visit the site of the abduction.

  “I’ll take this location. It’s the most distant, so I’ll use the car. The other two are close enough to access by foot. David and Bryn, you take the second and Tamesine, take Xavier and try the third. We’ll keep in touch by phone. If you find him, call the rest of us in. We don’t want to go in without back-up since it’s a hostage situation. Otherwise, I’d go in and blow them all back into Mother Earth.”

  “Koen, you’re right,” Tamesine said. “We need to be careful if we don’t want the women to get hurt. I have no doubt that this man would kill them if we confront him.”

  Koen was taking point as strategist. He wanted to protect Xavier’s girl and her guest, but mostly, he wanted to get his brother home and complete again.

  All three warehouses were in Hunts Point. Obviously, this is where the creep came to play, out of sight from his fine society friends and associations.

  What an evil pervert! There were endless numbers of sexual deviants in the world, a man couldn’t live for a thousand years and not know that, but Koen decided that before he left New York City, at least this pervert would be exposed.

  “Good luck everyone. We’ll keep in touch.” Tamesine snagged Xavier’s arm and took him out of the bar through the door that led to the alley. He’d already compelled Lucky to close the kitchen tonight.

  David punched Bryn in the arm and did the same.

  Koen walked slowly through the bar, grabbed a bottle of cheap bourbon, and out the front door.

  “You’re comfortable with your higher speeds now, aren’t you?” Tamesine hoped that Xavier was, it was one of their best methods of defense.

  “Better. Still adjustin’ to all the vampire abilities stuff.”

  She paused. “I’m still off-center about how completely unaware your injury has made you of your nature. I cannot imagine how difficult this has been for you. Xavier, you’ve been a powerful vampire for a thousand years and yet you have lived essentially as a normal human for months.”

  “It hasn’t been difficult. At our core, we’re all still human, right? Isn’t that what ya told me? Without the knowledge that I was something else, I just lived as I could. Tamesine, I’m happy.”

  She stopped moving, her eyes on his. “I don’t know if the Xavier you were before would have ever said that.”

  Xavier took her arm and tucked it under his, pulled her close, and kissed her forehead. “If that’s true, then it’s a shame, and even if I get me memories back, I won’t be that same man again.”

  “It’ll be interesting, my friend. Let’s find your Margot. Follow me and keep up.”

  Using hyper-speed, she moved through dark alleys only rarely inhabited by sleeping drunks or addicts, made sure that Xavier had kept up, and arrived outside the dark warehouse they sought.

  “No lights,” she commented. “It’s not a good sign.”

  “Nay.” Xavier’s voice betrayed deep disappointment.

  David and Bryn approached the large building from the front. No signs of occupation were visible, but they knew that the girls would be held in a hidden part of the building. Twenty minutes later, the building checked from top to bottom, they met back out front.

  “Let’s hope others had better luck,” Bryn commented.

  Koen watched a dark van pull up outside of the dilapidated building that, according to degrading lettering, used to make soap. Nothing about it was clean anymore. Half the windows were cracked or gone, boarded up, or covered with paint. A single bulb lit the door that the van stopped in front of. Three large men, human, stepped out and scanned the area. Dark shapes at their sides showed they were armed with rifles.

  “This is the place,” he whispered to himself.

  Backing away after the men disappeared inside, Koen started the car and headed back to the bar.

  The ringi
ng cell disturbed Claude, but he answered it anyway.

  “Sir, I followed one of the big men at the bar to a warehouse. I recognized the men there, they’re the ones who took the girl. I’ll text the address to you.”

  “Outstanding. Now, you and your companion, stay there until I tell you to leave.”

  Pitching the phone down, Claude hissed his excitement. The useless apes might have been some use after all! “Yes! This might come out well then.”

  Picking up his rifle, he stowed six extra mags and headed straight for the address in Hunts Point.

  Lipnicki stood in front of Margot, her hands chained to a metal rack, outstretched, her ankles secured to the bottom. He glanced behind him to the young girl he still wanted to play with, but not yet, not tonight.

  Tonight, he would fuck this beautiful attorney who had continuously spurned him. Sexually, he was proud of his prowess, and considered himself to be quite accomplished. She would know this soon.

  “I’m an expert in the art of making love,” he told her, and shifted his gaze to Robert, now secured in a heavy chair, handcuffed to a pole, unable to move his hands more than six inches from it. He’d been kidnapped just an hour ago in his home, still dazed from where he’d been beaten.

  Margot knew he would have fought his capture, and it hadn’t ended well for him. Her eyes moved from Robert to Cheeky and back to their thrilled captor.

  Michael Lipnicki shook with his excitement. This put all of his game pieces in place.

  “You’re finally mine.” Lipnicki lifted a finger to run it between her breasts, his eyes dropped as he pushed one button free, then another, then another. When he lifted his eyes back to hers, his smile froze.

  Margot spat at him and barely missed.