by Jeff Seats
Craig heard Alex and didn't disagree with him in principle, but to allow a vampire into the CSC? Well, that was unimaginable, and the higher-ups would never agree. “This is not going to happen Alex. I don't even have to ask to know the answer.”
“You don’t know Vladimir. He is formidable and his appetite voracious. It will take someone with an equal power to stop him. That someone is me, but for how much longer? My brother is still recouping his strength. But after he has consumed enough fresh blood...then even I may not be able to stop him, and the earth will not be safe after that.” Alexei looked Craig straight in the eyes which unnerved him a bit. “Agent Wright. Now is the time to take action against him.”
Alexei could see the gears working in Craig's head, and he continued with his well-rehearsed argument. “It's a new era. Locking away your monsters may not be all that easy anymore.”
“Wait, how do you know that?” Craig demanded.
“I have been communicating with the other 'mayors' on many of the reserves.”
Surprise spread across Craig's face.
“Please. Do not be obtuse. You know that I have always had the ability to travel the three-hundred miles from Vamp Town to stand here in front of you. As for the fences... Some of your, so called, specters are easier to keep inside established boundaries, others not so much. You know that my people stay where they are because I will it so."
“What leaders of the other reservations and I have been talking about is the general unrest of the inhabitants, our citizens. There is a real danger that your organization and your complacent world is about to be overwhelmed by vampires, lycans, mutants and the other unnatural entities you have been collecting and locking away.”
Craig was reluctantly beginning to see where Alexei was coming from. Still, he hesitated to accept the idea of a vampire, even a “good” one, on the team and he was positive that management would reject the idea outright.
“You will need someone like me with my abilities, strength, and powers. I am an asset, not a liability.”
Liz found an opening to insert a question. “I'm still not understanding what's happened with Cindra.”
“There is nothing more that can be done for her. She started the process of turning when she was bitten and consumed the blood of her attacker. She needs to continue the process. Otherwise, she will die. Believe me; I know of what I speak. I haven't always been the bloodsucking vampire you see before you today.” Alexei saw the furrowed brows of the humans. “LOL as you say today. Yes?”
The four humans smiled weakly at the potentially awkward joke, though not dissimilar to one that any of them might tell. Who would have thought that a vampire could have a self-deprecating sense of humor?
“Believe me; I am as concerned about her as you. I am easing her into the life she was not asked to be a part of, making her transition as slow as possible so that she ages a few more human years before becoming totally immortal.” He shook his head. “I have seen more than one of my people who were turned as children go insane because they carried a child's mentality in an immortal body.”
“We saw how Vlad behaved. If that wasn't insanity at work, then I'm afraid to see a real stark-raving vampire.” Paul interjected.
Alexei gave Paul a cautionary look. “Do not confuse insanity with cunning.”
“But back to that whole ‘vampire as CSC agent’ thing.” Craig inserted.
“Please. Even the Enterprise had Warf, a Klingon as a crew member.” Alexei said with a warm smile.
Everyone looked at him in astonishment.
“What? Is television only for mortals? Try living forever to learn what idle time truly means.”
Alexei could see that Liz, Ellie, and Paul were convinced but it was Craig that had to be fully on board with the idea. And even then he still had to convince the ones above him that this was good. “Know what I say is true. I am uniquely qualified to hunt my brother and rein him in before Vamp Town becomes irrelevant, if it hasn't already.”
Craig could only shake his head. A substantial part of him wanted to send Alexei back to the reservation and figure out how to lock it down, completely, but he wasn't sure how. The other part of him knew that Alexei was telling him the facts. All those recent breakout attempts from Site-Delta had sent up the red flags screaming of something serious happening. “Alex, you know it's not my call. There are others who run this agency, but I will make sure your request is noted.”
Alexei smiled. “Thank you, my friends. I honestly believe that this is the best thing for you and me and my people.”
Craig shook Alexei’s hand.
“Up until this moment I had no concept of what being a politician was really like.” Alexei mused. “Looking back I can see why my friend Theodore was so good at it. Walking softly while carrying a big stick is as exhausting. I have more respect for him now than I ever have had.”
“I’m, ah, not quite sure that was what TR meant…”
“Perhaps I misquote, agent Wright, but who knew him? You or me?”
Craig held up his hands in surrender. “I concede.”
Even though Craig could see Alexei's perspective, even agree that he might be an asset, he still had an uneasy feeling. Maybe it was the idea that the CSC system, as designed, was in danger of falling apart. But what could be done to fix it?
Alexei stood between Liz and Craig and draped his arms around their shoulders.
“My friends, I know that the times ahead are going to bring troubles that none of us are prepared for. But to quote from one of my favorite movies, 'I think this is the beginning of a beautiful friendship.'”
—— EPILOGUE ——
Seattle, Washington. Six months later.
THE RAIN HAD been pouring down all day, typical for fall in the Puget Sound. The bar had seen little business in the last hour which was not common at such a late hour, but most of the regular customers were at home studying for mid-terms. If, however, you had a desire to be out in this type of weather, this would be the ideal place, small, dark and cozy, a brick-walled basement hideaway with a retro 70s décor that the college kids liked.
The bartender wiped down the counter top for the umpteenth time waiting for the couple sitting by the fake electric fire to finish staring into each other's eyes and get the hell out so he could close for the night.
The front door opened. The little bell mounted to the top rang with a happy, light, dingling sound. A man and woman entered. They shook off the water from the deluge before they stepped all the way into the bar then hung up their coats on the hooks mounted in a dark niche.
Vladimir and Steph stepped out of the shadows and up to the counter. The bartender arched his eyebrows and nodded his head up over to the couple by the fire. Vladimir slowly turned and saw the man and woman as they softly spoke, smiled, giggled a bit and then continued to gaze into the other's eyes oblivious to the world around them.
Vladimir turned back and ordered two drinks. The bartender pulled down a bottle that was hidden from view and wiped off the dust. "Sorry, haven't had many orders for this vintage." He opened it and poured out a thick red liquid. He set it on the bar, and Vladimir picked up the bottle and studied the label. He sniffed the cork and nodded his approval. Then he picked up the glass by the stem and swirled the liquid around, held it up to the light inspecting the color and clarity of the drink as it clung to the side and watched as it slowly slipped back down into the bowl. Vladimir took a quick sharp sip and swished it around in his mouth then swallowed with a smile. “Yes, that will do nicely.” He handed the glass to Steph. “You will like this. It’s earthy with hints of copper and finishes with a slight sweetness.”
“A blend?”
“No, it’s a single source private reserve.” The bartender chimed in. “A nouveau.”
Steph took a sip and swished it around in her mouth making sure to coat her entire pallet. “Oh, yes, I think this will do nicely, for starters.” Her eyes glanced over to the couple who were now becoming quite intimate.r />
The bartender looked at the two. “It's what the college students do now-a-days. Can't they get a room?”
Vladimir looked back at the two love birds. “Now what would be the fun in that?” He moved the empty glass towards the bartender indicating that he wanted it filled it again. “And my companion will have another one as well.” Vladimir and Steph took their time as they enjoyed their glasses of the finest intoxicant that wasn't straight from the source. But these drinks were only a precursor to the coming event.
Vladimir looked at the bartender and nodded his head over to the entrance. He got Vladimir's drift and went over to the door, pulled the string on the neon OPEN sign switching it off and quietly turned the deadbolt.
Vladimir whispered into Steph's ear. She giggled as he spoke to her. Smiling with mischievous eyes, Steph crossed over to the table next to the couple and sat next to the man. As Steph sat, she brushed her knee against the man's leg. He looked down at the touch and saw a shapely leg going up into a very, very short skirt. The skirt was so short as to invite one's imagination to figure out what else Steph might have on under it. The man followed Steph's legs further up and saw an open blouse revealing just a bit more of Steph's breasts than would be considered “in good taste.” But, then, taste was in the eye of the beholder, wasn't it?
The man slowly looked up from Steph's décolletage and fell into her eyes, milk-white orbs with black pupils that reflected no light. The man gulped. He was hopelessly lost in Steph: her body, her eyes, her very being.
His girlfriend watched in a state of shock at how brazen Steph had been and was left speechless at how her boyfriend had just turned from her and now was a drooling idiot. Everyone in her sorority told her that all men were alike and she believed it up to a point but Bret? She thought differently of him, but apparently, she was wrong. Again.
The woman stood, disgusted at the display she was witnessing. Bret was so absorbed in the woman sitting next to him that he had forgotten all about her. She waited just a moment to see if he even saw that she was about to leave. A pause. A cough. Then another. She grabbed her coat off the back of the chair and turned. Vladimir appeared as a wall in front of her blocking her immediate escape. He looked across the room to the bartender and winked. The bartender walked over to the jukebox and pressed a button.
The woman wanted to say something to her boyfriend, but she could not work her mouth. She turned back, and Vladimir was still a looming presence between her and the door. The sound of a needle dropping on a record was heard and then Only You, sung by the Platters, played. Vladimir held out his hand to the woman. He looked into her eyes.
“My name is Vladimir. Would you care to dance?”
The woman was drawn to him instantly. Vladimir took her into his arms and swirled her around on the floor. He whispered softly to the woman “You are my destiny.” She became a puppet in his arms. They dipped to the music and swirled around the floor effortlessly. She had never moved this gracefully in her life. Holding Vladimir's hand she knew that she was falling for his magic, didn't understand...or care.
The woman looked over at Bret. Steph had him in her thrall. He was all but drooling as she lowered his head down to her breast and tilted her head back with a satisfied smile. Steph stroked the man’s cheek and leaned into his ear whispering something.
Vladimir looked to Steph as he moved his head towards the woman’s arched neck. He whispered into the woman's ear, “You are my dream. You are mine.”
Vladimir and Steph looked into each other’s eyes as they bit into the necks of the man and woman at the same time. They shared a moment of ecstasy then they proceeded to suck the life blood from their victim's.
««« ‡ »»»
THE VOICE AT the other end of the phone signal had an angry, irritated tone.
“Where the hell are you? Remember the weekly staff meeting? Or did your grandmother die, again?”
“Come on! You know I only miss those 'staff infections' if I’m following a story.”
“Seems like that’s one of your excuses every week. That and the dying relative, but I don’t recall the last time I saw a story as a result of your absence.”
“This time it’s for real. My police buddy called me around five this morning. They found two more bodies, university students, blood completely drained. They both have, what appears to be, puncture wounds on their necks.”
“That makes how many this month?”
T.C. checked his notes. “From what I can tell these two makes a total of six and we are only into the second week of the month. Over the past five months, there has been an average of three a week.”
“Serial killers are not our standard content. I hired you to cover city government and the occasional beer tasting event.”
“That whole tunnel digging machine stuck for months kind of turned me off to the scandals of Seattle government. Listen, Walt, after the third body was found, I did some Googling, looking for similar deaths. You know, to find a pattern or link of some kind. It looks like before this rash of murders here there hasn’t been another similar series of deaths going back as far as 1890, New York City when Teddy Roosevelt was commissioner of police. I didn't know that he was commissioner, did you? Jesus, he was only 36..."
"So your big story is a history piece on Theodore Roosevelt? Did you know he was president too?"
"Funny. New York had the exact same series of deaths, blood drained bodies, neck wounds, the works. The papers back then called it the Night Stalker Murders.”
“Wasn't that that Ramirez guy?”
“No! I mean yes, but he was in the 1980s. I'm talkin’ about the 1890s, New York. Not Southern California.”
“K...”
“Roosevelt set up one of the first detective unit dedicated to catching a serial killer.”
“They ever find the guy?”
“No, but the string of killings stopped after about a year. Every so often, though, a single murder happens somewhere in the world that has all the same tell-tale signs.”
“A cult?”
“Maybe. But why the concentrated killings a hundred years ago and then nothing much to speak of and then another concentration today here in Seattle?”
“Okay.” Walt considered what he had just heard. Real or a load of crap from the one reporter on his payroll who had a genuine gut instinct for this type of thing. “I want to see something in my email by the end of the day.”
“Got it.”
“And don’t miss any more of our Monday staff meetings. We’re a weekly paper. The meetings are the only way we can all stay focused on the upcoming issue. Got it T.C.?”
“Heard you loud and clear. You’ll have my first installment by the end of the day. And thank you.”
The publisher of the Emerald City Weekly looked at the screen on his cell. The signal had been disconnected. The screen went dark and he wondered just what T.C. might be getting the paper and himself into.
—— AUTHOR NOTE ——
Thank you for giving Vamp Town a shot. I hope you could wade your way through it all. I am not the first new author who has said this, but writing a novel is not for the easily discouraged. From the time I thought that it was a good idea to take a screenplay and turn it into a novel (hey I had it mostly written already, right?) to the point of self-publishing, over two years have come and gone.
A fair amount of my time was spent on just trying to learn how to format the damn thing so it could be available in both ebook and print. Hopefully, I will remember all that I have learned for when the second book of The Monster Keeper Series is ready to publish.
Big thank yous to my Beta readers. I had no idea what I was asking you to do at the time, but your individual input helped me shoehorn the first draft into ever-narrowing parameters which enabled me to be more concise in my story telling. Thanks to my editor Janet Tapper. Your questions and protestations and “gentle” suggestions were listened to though not always heeded. I did employ a lot of what you suggested. Honest! A pr
e-thank you to my audio book team. Rody Ortega as the audio engineer, Antonio Sonera, director and Todd Van Voris, voice talent; three of the best in their fields. And thanks to my buddy Steve Cridland for taking promotional photos of me.
Finally, a special thank you to my graphic designer brother, Brian, who designed the cover.
You can learn more about me and my book(s) by checking out my web page: www.VampTown.com.
And if you liked this story please consider leaving a review with Amazon.
—— ABOUT THE AUTHOR ——
Jeff Seats lives in Portland, Oregon where he has worked in the entertainment industry as a scenic designer, set decorator, and production designer for both stage and motion pictures. He is a co-writer of the feature film "Justice" set to be released in 2017. Currently, he is working on the second book in the Monster Keeper Series.