Support Your Local Monster Hunter

by Dennis Liggio

  "Great, so we're riding around in an antique on purpose," I said.

  "They don't make them like this anymore, and that's our loss. Great cars are dead too soon." He paused. "Let's go get some coffee."

  We got coffee from a late night deli in Midtown, letting the car idle on the curb. Late night Midtown was in full effect, and I could contrast it against the Night Market. Midtown was taller and brighter, the neon etched across monoliths of stone and steel, compared to the ad hoc, almost carnival-like construction of the Night Market. Midtown was bigger and still felt crowded, but even if people were close to each other, they were more distant. Midtown felt like crossroads while the Night Market felt like a destination.

  Kolchak handed me a styrofoam cup of coffee and two little creamer packets. I've drunk coffee before to stay up for a job, but I'd hardly call myself a coffee lover. I think I would have needed to be a coffee lover to enjoy this crappy deli coffee. It was no frills coffee - the taste and caffeine were there, but any other coffee "luxury items" were missing. As someone who admittedly got more cafe-style coffee, this was a rude awakening. I coughed up my first sip while Kolchak loudly slurped down his coffee.

  He pulled out a file folder and began thumbing through that. Kolchak was definitely not digital, not in his hunting work. He didn't like keeping a digital record of that stuff and said that he hated the tiny window you get in a tablet or phone. So he kept a lot of physical records of his notes, maps, photos, etc. That meant he needed to store them. For that he used a bunch of file folders. Big brown folders that were closed with elastic black straps. He had a bunch of them in the back seat with Ace, as well as a sizable collection of them tossed in the trunk. This one he had fished out of the back seat.

  "Hmm," he said. "I have some OTV contacts in town, but not much of the Rose. Perhaps we can find a route in with a low level pusher. Assuming they haven't tried messing with the Family."

  "What with the what what?" I said. "None of that made sense to me."

  "Vampires - the Sanguine - or whatever name each group calls themselves, are different from the underground stuff you said you hunted. Above ground it's a whole different game." Kolchak paused in thought. "Okay, I think I got it. Think of your ghouls and zombies and whatnot as muggers. These instead are organized crime."

  "Like the mafia?"

  "Much like them, yes," said Kolchak. "They're organized but not unified. They disagree with each other, so sometimes they skirmish, but mostly they're playing very elaborate games against each other. Avalon has two major factions. OTV - Ordo Tepesh Valorus - is a very old organization. Bluebloods. They claim they're back from Rome when it was still Rome the Empire. Then there's the newer organization, the Vengeful Rose. OTV is old school Europe, the Rose is homegrown American. They don't see eye to eye on a lot of things, but both want to be in charge of Avalon."

  "But who is the family you mentioned?"

  "The Leeches," he said with a nod. "So there are other organizations in this game. Some matter, some don't. The Triads seemed a problem for a while but they have mostly pulled out. The OTV and the Rose spend most of their time against each other and trying to control things. But they both have trouble with The Family. While the Rose and OTV are Sanguine, the Family are the leech-mouthed creatures you called revenants. I have no idea what they are, if they were a mutation of the Sanguine or what, but they're something new that comes from New Avalon. You see them sometimes elsewhere, but they came from here. They don't exist in any records beyond a century or two ago."

  "So they're a different kind of vampire?"

  "Maybe, maybe not. They could be unrelated. But the Leeches are stronger than the others. In a one on one fight, a Leech is going to win. Luckily for the Sanguine, there aren't as many Leeches and they are often too busy fighting each other to organize. But when they do, they're trouble, such as the Family. They have a farm outside of Avalon, on the way to mines, I think. They mostly keep to themselves, especially when it comes to human affairs. But they hate the Rose and the OTV with a deep passion."

  "This is all really confusing," I said. "How have I never heard of any of this before? How did I not know we have vampires? I'm still reeling about that. My whole hunting career I thought there were just revenants. And now there exist not only vampires, but they've been under our nose all the time."

  Kolchak slurped his coffee and shrugged. "It's all a game of where you look. You happen to spend all your time underground and so you see the underground creatures. The Leeches are a little less elegant, so you saw one of those. But the Sanguine? Not drawing attention to them is more important than anything else. They'd rather withdraw and avoid getting exposed than win a fight. They're playing a real long game."

  "But wouldn't I hear about people getting killed by them?" I said. "I don't remember hearing about a ton of drained corpses, and if we have two vamp organizations in town, I figure they'd eat a lot."

  "It's a combination of factors. First off, lots of people die and disappear in this town. It's a shitty place to start a family and none of us ever should have. Second, a Sanguine doesn't need to kill someone to feed. If they're smart they just take what they need and leave the victim disoriented. They've had centuries to perfect hiding in plain sight."

  "So vampires are actually the immortal undead?"

  Kolchak shrugged and slurped more coffee. "The few times I've stopped to speak to them, they'd have you believe it. I was taught they were, but who knows? I mean, I'm not going to live long enough to be sure they're really living forever. And they're into so much posturing, that I bet they'd say they were centuries old just to act big. Maybe they're actually that old. Or maybe only their organizations are and they like making us feel that they are so we feel insignificant. I don't know. But their bodies do age quick on death and they make good kindling, so that's a point in favor of them telling the truth."

  "Things were so much easier when all I had to worry about was finding the monsters and knowing where I needed to hit them," I said.

  "If it's too much, you're free to get out at any time. You're the one who wanted to come."

  "No, I'm fine, I'm fine. It's just so much to take in."

  "You're getting the crash course," said Kolchak. "Best you can do is just go along and do your best. I still will hold you back from real action, but two pairs of eyes are nice."

  Ace gave a short bark.

  "Okay, three pairs of eyes," said Kolchak.

  "So what's our move?" I said.

  Kolchak looked over the file. "Dorian Gates. Sanguine, previous Vengeful Rose connections. Supposedly on the straight and narrow, feeds from blood banks. I've been letting him run on his chain for a while. I guess now is the time to see what he's got."

  "You've known he was a vamp, and you've just been letting him just go about his business?"

  "I've had other priorities," said Kolchak. "And I had a feeling he might be useful, like tonight."

  "What if he's killed somebody?"

  He turned to me. "Szandor, I think you're just not getting how I work. How all hunters work. You can't save everybody. Just let that sink in. You try damn hard to do the best, but you can't. These... well, let's use your term, vampires are like organized crime. You need to take their whole system out to do the most good. If you just play whack-a-mole with their minor players, the organization goes to ground and you miss out on the real evil monsters."

  "And the average person gets screwed," I said. "Someone out there dies, I'm guessing 'an acceptable loss' to you. But those people have families. In one case, even mine. My mom."

  Kolchak closed his eyes and sighed, leaning back in his seat. It was a long moment before he said anything. "We've all lost someone. Sometimes it is a random act of violence. Sometimes it was intended to hurt. I don't take the deaths of civilians lightly. I know there are people who love them. But you can't save everyone. Some people..." He left off with a frown and shook his head. "I know the same pain you do, the same question. But I don't have a better answer for you
. This is what I have chosen to do in answer to that. I'd say it causes me to not sleep at night, but that's obvious - I spend my nights out here doing this because I'd never be able to sleep otherwise."

  I looked at him, and suddenly he seemed old - far older than I had thought him before. The weight of all those years, all the hunting, and all the people he couldn't help - even the ones he chose not to because of his goals - had worn away at him. If I wasn't here, he'd be alone with just his dog for company, driving around killing monsters in the middle of the night because he couldn't sleep. Was this my future?

  "I'm sorry," he said finally. "Old guy regret stuff. Let's head over to see what Dorian is up to and if he can tell us anything about Vengeful Rose."

  Dorian Gates worked at an arcade in Southend, a block from the university. According to Kolchak's records, he was the night attendant at an arcade. But while he owed his vampiric condition to the Vengeful Rose, he had supposedly cut all ties with the organization.

  Vengeful Rose. I still laughed about that. It sounded like a ridiculous goth club. An international vampire organization likewise seemed stupid idea. The whole vampire culture thing just rubbed me the wrong way. Ghouls, zombies, hell, even Spiders seemed okay, even plausible, but vampires? It was like a bad dream.

  The arcade, Schrödinger's, was twenty-four hours. I was sent in first to see if Dorian was there. I found him immediately based on Kolchak's picture. He was pretty average looking, with short blonde hair and a generally dull expression. I think I had gotten a donut from a guy who looked just like him at a minimart one day. It was hard to believe he was one of the creatures of the night. I played a quick game of Double Dragon to not arouse suspicion, then I was back out to the car. We had him but we couldn't go rough him up at his job. There were witnesses and cameras. We needed to hit him in an alley or at his home. Since we had no idea of the shift he worked, we basically had to wait for Dorian to leave. So we sat in the car.

  Kolchak got more coffee while I got a plate of shrimp off one of the university cart vendors that patrolled the area. I was surprised the cart was working this late at night, but students are active at all hours, so it made sense to cater to them. I smoked a cigarette, finding I was enjoying smoking less lately. I still needed to do it, however. Kolchak offered me a cup of that awful coffee he drank and I declined.

  "How many cups of coffee have you had tonight?" I asked.

  "As many as I need," he said. "It's part of the job."

  I shook my head. "There are better ways to stay sharp."

  "Bah! Always drink coffee on the job. You're as good as your alertness. Coffee is the perfect way to regulate it. No-doze is too much at once, hard to control for the moment. Don't even bother with speed or coke. They keep you up, but the harm your heart and mess with your ability to think in the moment - they'll get you killed. You need stimulation, but only enough to keep your mind on the edge of the knife. Coffee will keep you right where you need to be and you can regulate that sip by sip."

  "And you'll have to pee all the time," I said.

  "Sometimes," said Kolchak with a smile. "Speaking of..." He stretched back and fished around in the backseat, Ace repositioning his paws as Kolchak reached around. He grabbed an empty plastic bottle, tossing it into his lap. Then he started to unzip his pants.

  "Whoa, whoa, what are you doing?" I said in a panic.

  Kolchak looked at me incredulously. "I have to relieve myself. This is what you have to do when you're on a stakeout by yourself; there's no one else to mind the store. You do what you gotta do. Keep empty bottles around."

  "What, and you throw the bottles out the window while you're driving?" I said. I thought I had heard of truckers doing this.

  "Throw the bottles out the window?" said Kolchak in disgust. "No, I'm not a fucking animal!"

  "You have no idea how disgusting this is," I said.

  "You've been elbow deep in zombie guts," he countered.

  "But it's... it's just gross, okay? I don't want to watch you do that."

  "Then just look away!"

  "Look, you're not alone, you don't have to do this," I said. "I'll... mind the store, I guess. You go take care of that somewhere."

  "In the middle of the night? Where?"

  "There's a cafe around the corner," I said. "It'll be open."

  "Then I'll have to buy something," he said.

  "Then buy something! Buy more coffee! Good coffee for once! In fact, get me some good coffee!" I paused. "But wash your hands first!"

  When he returned ten minutes later, his hands were freshly washed and I was less disgusted about the whole thing. While he had been gone I had opened the driver's side door and kicked the unused bottle out onto the street. I didn't want to think about it or that there might be more bottles in the back seat. Ace cocked his head at my strange behavior, but he forgot all about it when I scratched under his chin.

  "No movement," I said as Kolchak handed me the coffee, referencing Dorian's lack of exit from the building. We had confirmed there was no back exit. When he left, he was coming out the front.

  "Then we wait," said Kolchak.

  "So what's the dog for?" I asked. So far, Ace had just sat in the back. He hadn't even been out when the fight went down at the Night Market. He seemed to just sit in the back, look vaguely imposing, and make a few reactions as if he were the co-host on a late night talk show. Kolchak fed him treats here and there, so Ace tended to be in a good mood despite inaction.

  "Ace? He's backup. A dog is your best friend on the hunt. Now as it has been for millennia, all the way back to when we lived in caves and feared the beasts of the dark. A dog's your early warning sign, your back up. You protect him, he protects you. Trust your dog as you trust yourself."

  "Where was he at the Market?"

  "Too much going on there, he would have stuck out," said Kolchak. "Otherwise, he would have been there with me. He wanted to be." Ace let out an agreeable whine and Kolchak gave him a treat.

  "So he's your partner?"

  Kolchak shrugged. "All the partner I got."

  I was going to ask why he worked alone. It seemed strange, maybe even sad that he had only the dog to help him. I even had my brother... well, I used to have my brother. Meat and Paulie worked alone, but called upon each other when needed. We had worked with Delilah twice. Since I had never heard of vamps, Kolchak didn't work with anyone I knew. So if he was working alone all the time, I wondered why. But I didn't get a chance to ask.

  "He's on the move," said Kolchak, looking out the window. I followed his gaze and noticed Dorian leaving the arcade. Our target started walking down the street, seemingly unaware he was being watched.

  "So what do we do now?" I said. "We get out and tail him? Start driving?"

  "We need to see where he's going," said Kolchak. "If he's going to his car, we'll lose him if we're on foot. If he's going to hit the subway, then we can't be in the car. He could even live around here."

  "Stakeouts are complicated," I said.

  Kolchak nodded. "They're better with more people. But we're parked where we have a good view. We'll know what we're doing with him before he gets too far."

  We watched as Dorian walked down half a block, his gait not anything different from anyone else who had gotten off a long shift at a job that demanded nothing from him. I knew it well, as it had been mine. But then he got a call that changed everything. I watched as he felt in his pocket for his phone, then held it to his ear. It was only seconds into the call when Dorian's body tensed. He only listened for a few seconds longer and then hung up, putting his phone in his pocket. His head swung back and forth, a paranoid movement which did not seem to notice us. Then he started running.

  "Goddammit!" shouted Kolchak, immediately starting the car and peeling out of the parking space with a screech.

  "Did he see us?" I said.

  "No idea, but we gotta grab him now!"

  We zoomed toward Dorian. Despite his panic, he wasn't full out running. It was more of a jog that
was avoiding pedestrians. I got the feeling that despite his panic, he hadn't seen us yet, but that was about to change. As we headed toward him, Dorian turned his head and saw the car. He had heard the screech of tires, so a car coming up on him rapidly was obvious. His eyes widened and then he turned down an alley.

  "Dammit!" said Kolchak, the car screeching to a halt. The alley was too narrow for the Crown Vic. "Get out!"

  "What?" I said.

  "Get out! Run after him! I'll circle around!" Kolchak unlocked the doors and practically pushed me out of the passenger door. I stumbled into the street as he pulled the door closed.

  "What am I supposed to do?"

  "Run!" said Kolchak as the car leapt into motion, making a screeching turn at the corner.

  And so I ran into the alley. I don't know what Kolchak expected. Vamps were supposedly superhuman, right? There was no way I was going to overtake a vamp in a race, especially when he was panicked. But I still ran after him. Maybe Dorian would trip over something and I would catch up. I could still see his form down the alley, and so I kept my eyes on him as I sprinted after him.

  The alley was a long one, probably the length of a city block. Both Dorian and I had to dodge around or jump over trash containers when the alley had widened. He didn't have too much of a lead, so he didn't seem that much faster than me. However, my lungs and calves were already complaining partway through this race, so perhaps it was his endurance that was superhuman. I knew as I saw him approaching the mouth of the alley that I would never catch up to him, so if he got out of the alley, I might lose him entirely.