*****
“Ten grand a piece!” John said, shaking his head. “By God Ben, when I quit it was only three thousand for grunt teeth! What the hell happened?”
“A new administration is what happened - one that wants some dead vampires.” Ben pulled their sedan away from the pawnshop where they’d met one of his government contacts.
“Man things have changed.” John looked in the backseat at the heavy artillery they had just purchased. “Shame the guy didn’t have any hollow points.”
“Yeah well, we’ll have to make do with what we got.” Ben said, adjusting his rearview mirror. “It’s almost sundown. We need to get holed up someplace for the night. They might still be looking for you.”
“At this point I could care less if they are. Let them come.”
“So now you’ve got a death wish?” Ben looked over at his friend. “You think that’s what Julia would have wanted?”
“No Ben, Julia just wanted the air conditioner to get fixed. She wanted to stop worrying about if the electricity was going to be shut off because I didn't pay the bill on time. She didn’t want any of this to happen. But it did. Now, one way or another, I’m going to deal with it. She’s still alive Ben, so don’t talk about her in the past tense.”
“John, I’d like to believe she is but . . .”
“Don’t but me Ben. She’s alive.” John said, in a tone letting him know the conversation was over.
“Regardless John . . .” Ben said, slowly. “We need to get someplace safe for the night. You need to get rested up. We can’t do her any good if we get ourselves killed.”
“I can’t just go get some sleep knowing she’s still out there somewhere! Scared, hurt, alone! Praying that I find her!”
“John, you need to calm down and get some rest. What’s the first thing Cort taught us? Use your head. How many times did he tell us that if you rush in without thinking you will just get yourself killed? Let’s go get some rest and I’ll call Billy and get a hold of Wes. Anyway, we can’t do anything until we’ve gotten word from Talon just where we’re going.”
John sat there silently.
“John?”
“Alright damn it!” He said, angrily. “You’re right, but that doesn’t mean I have to like it.”
Ben’s beeper started beeping at him. Pulling it off his belt, he looked at the number. “It’s Talon. I need to get to a phone.”
Ben pulled the car into the nearest 7/Eleven and used the pay phone to call Talon. It had been nearly twenty-four hours since he last ate, so John took the opportunity to run into the store and grab a bite. He came out munching on a hot dog covered in chili and mustard with a cold bottle of Dr. Pepper.
“Whatcha find out?” he asked through a mouthful of food.
“You’re not going to believe this.” Ben said, with a frown.
“What?” John asked impatiently.
“They are set up in the old Carver Estate right outside of town.”
“He’s sure?” John said, before shoving the rest of the hot dog into his mouth chasing it with a long swig of soda. Ben looked at him as if he had just asked the stupidest question ever. “Right. Talon.” John said, wiping his hands on his jeans. Pulling a bottle of aspirin from the plastic bag in his hand, he ripped off the cap and downed three pills then took another long swig of soda. “Okay, let’s crash at the Sandy Inn; it’s about two miles from there. We’ll hit them first thing in the morning.”
“Sounds like a plan.” Ben said, climbing back into the car.
Chronicles of the Vampire Hunters: Creation Page 9