by CD Brown
“…shit.” Scratch’s jaw was open as his backup was reduced to three.
“I don’t have time to play anymore.” Sophia wiped the ashes from her hands. “I don’t like taking vamps out. But Fudgie has killed too many of us. And if you’re on his side, then you gotta go.”
Tamika put her hand on Sophia’s shoulder. “On your word.”
“Now.”
While Tamika’s people pushed past Scratch to get his men, Sophia grabbed the lead vamp by his white t-shirt and lifted him off the ground. He swiped with his right and left, digging slashes into Sophia’s face, but she stood there taking it.
“I’ve heard all of your shit before, kid. You ain’t the first and you won’t be the last, but when you’re gone, nobody will miss you.” She bodyslammed him on top of the glass table, shattering the center. The gold frame held, but Sophia bent it to snare Scratch’s body. She looked up to see the rest. While one of the women were down, the rest of Scratch’s people were gone.
“You got one chance. Tell me anything you know.”
Scratch wiggled to get out of the frame, but Sophia held it firm with her foot. He looked up. “I ain’t no snitch.”
“One.”
“Fuck you.”
“Two.”
Scratch pushed again but didn’t have near the necessary force.
“Three.”
Sophia plunged her four claws through Scratch’s neck. She sliced left, leaving a gap four inches wide. She looked at Tamika who stared at her former leader’s glassy eyes. Sophia nodded.
“Take him out. Then the cabal is yours.”
Tamika drew a knife from her pocket, a serrated hunting blade eight inches long. Swinging down, she severed his spine and Scratch disappeared in a cloud. Sophia stepped back as Tamika stood tall.
“We on her side, y’all.” Tamika couldn’t help but shout. “When this war is over, Fudgie will be gone and Sophia will be boss.”
Tamika grabbed Sophia’s wrist and thrust it high as if she had just won a boxing match. Sophia hoped she could back up those strong words, but this fight still had many rounds to go.
Chapter Twenty-five
What bothered Sophia most about her fight with Fudgie was she had no idea how many vamps were in his crew. She counted up her own numbers: VampAmp had five employees, but they weren’t the strongest fighters; Tamar had ten in her cabal, but she didn’t know how loyal they would be to the Council although their commitment to their leader would be unwavering and Tamar was one of Sophia’s strongest allies; the Bomb Squad had been whittled down to eight, but Sophia had confidence they would stand behind her after the confrontation with Scratch-dilla; and then there was Jeremiah who’d fight by her side no matter what. If she added in all the rehab people, plus a few of the loners that Sandy knew, she could put fifty bodies into a fight.
If they were backed into a corner, the Glamazons and Black and Whites would fight, but she couldn’t count on that.
But Fudgie had things she didn’t have. He certainly seemed to have an inexhaustible supply of money as proven by the suit order and all the buildings. That’s not unusual for creatures who’ve lived a long life. His mob mentality meant his troops would lay out everything for him, the kind of loyalty Sophia had no right to demand. He probably was paying his people, something Sophia definitely could not do. With all of the sunsuit murders, minus the eleven they ashed, he probably could collect thirty. But he had people itching to brawl, not just those who may.
No, in the end, she knew it would have to be one on one just like the beach but with no opportunity to run. They’d both have to be backed into a corner.
But those thoughts couldn’t stop the fact that she needed people tonight, as many as possible, to disrupt this sunsuit delivery. Tamar and Tamika said they were both bringing five, so that was twelve with Jeremiah and her. She only wanted Maisie and Horton there as support, not as actual combatants. They did fine in Vernon, but this was crucial.
So she was surprised when Sandy showed up at her door wearing a black hoodie, athletic tights and running shoes.
“What are you doing here?”
“I’m coming along for the fight.”
“You look like you’re going to a yoga class.”
“I know it’s not the bondage gear that our Latina friend favors, but I can move freely and quickly. Plus I know how to fight. I am a lawyer.”
“You do realize cutting sarcasm doesn’t do any physical harm?”
“I’ll take that to mean you’re letting me come.”
As Jeremiah pulled up, he rolled down the window. “Hey, Sandy. What’re you doing here?”
Sandy turned to Sophia. “If Hayseed gets to go, you know I better have my spot.” She turned back to Jeremiah. “Park that beater, son. I’m driving. The Sheriff gets to ride in class for once.”
The drive to Van Nuys looked like a VIP motorcade. Both the Muertos and the Bomb Squad met at the ZLVG with Horton and Maisie to rendezvous with them onsite. Since the other two cabals preferred to ride in Cadillac Escalades, they flanked Sandy’s Mercedes for the ride out.
“This is fun,” said Sandy. “I feel presidential or something.”
“Sandy, I want you hang by me. Let the tough guys fight it out. You can be my bodyguard.”
“Cool. I’ve got your six.”
“What does that mean?”
“It’s Army slang for having your back.” Sandy shot a giggling Jeremiah a nasty look. “Shut up. I saw it in a movie.”
As the transport pulled up three blocks away from the warehouse off Van Nuys Boulevard, Sandy asked, “What is it with gangsters and warehouses?”
“I think they’re non-descript,” said Jeremiah. “Nobody knows who or what goes in and out of them.”
“I guess they aren’t that expensive either, seeing as how many of them are all around.” Sandy parked the car as the Muertos and Bomb Squaders gathered together. “I also hope no one calls the cops.”
While most of the Valley cities were either lined with small ranch homes or filled with blocks of apartment buildings, this section had most of the industrial infrastructure. Along the boulevard were anonymous warehouses, self-stores, and other strip malls, each either bearing a neon sign if they were welcoming or no sign if they weren’t. Fudgie’s place was as plain as a blank sheet of paper.
As they waited for Maisie and Horton, they crowded into a doorway to help stem the suspicion, but this neighborhood was devoid of living spaces. Their only worry would be a random police car patrol. Hopefully their numbers might scare them away, too.
Finally, the VampAmp pair pulled up in their Prius. Maisie rolled down her window.
“I’ve got a mobile hotspot in here. Tamar, put this on.” Maisie handed her a body camera which could clip onto the front of her shirt. “It’s only just in case,” she said, hoping Tamar wouldn’t complain. She didn’t.
Turning to Sophia, Tamar said, “Guess this means I’m on point.”
“I’m lying back this time. I’m hoping we’ll finally have the surprise.”
“And if we don’t?”
“We do what we always do. Fight like hell.”
Horton pointed toward the street. “That them?”
An eighteen wheeler wheezed to a stop in front of the target address. Sophia snuck out to get a better look. A two-story rolling door clanked open to let the truck drive in where four vamps waited. Sophia pointed to her eyes, then at Tamar who nodded at the signal. Her team and Tamika’s people all spread out. In a moment, they were gone.
“They inside?” Sophia looked over Maisie’s shoulder as the laptop streamed the camera footage.
“Yeah. Can’t see anything, but she’s fighting now.” The picture’s vibration looked like it was going through a hurricane.
“Okay, let’s move.”
Sophia and Sandy kept to normal speed so Jeremiah could be beside them. They passed by the cab of the truck, where the driver, obviously not a vamp, looked shocked at the fight happening around th
em. Sandy jumped up and opened the driver’s door.
“Stay here.” Sandy pulled the keys from the ignition. “We’ll talk when this is all over.”
The guy couldn’t speak as Sandy slammed the door.
Sophia looked beyond the battle. So far, they outnumbered Fudgie’s guys ten to four, but the mobsters, who all were wearing suits and ties, fought hard. None had been taken out yet.
“These must be his best guys.” Sophia scanned to see another vamp, a female who looked like an Own The Night leftover in t-shirts and jeans, started toward the back. “Where’s she going?”
“I got her.” Jeremiah slipped past the brawl in front of them. One Muerto had been knocked down, but two of the gangsters had been ashed.
“Is that a good idea?” Sandy stuck by Sophia.
“Too late to stop him.”
From deep inside the warehouse, a loud clacking sound followed by a bee-like buzzing filled the air. Sandy looked panicked.
“Those are lights going on.” She screamed to Tamar. “Get out of the way.”
The focused spotlights sliced through the warehouse’s blackness. Tamar, Tamika and another female Squader all dashed out the front, but the males fighting stood their ground. As Sophia and Sandy rolled under the truck, they saw the light destroy not only their own people, but Fudgie’s as well.
“What a fucking monster!” Sandy’s eyes were wild with hatred.
As the vamps all went up in flames around them, another clacking and buzzing went off. This time, the warehouse’s main lights came on, diffusing the focused brilliance of the daylight spots.
“Jeremiah must have found the main.” Sophia rolled out from under the truck and stood up. “All those times on set are paying off.”
But as Sophia and Sandy approached Tamar and Tamika, they could see both on the verge of losing it. Tamar looked ready to bash Sophia’s head in.
“When does it stop? When does this fucking stop?” She kicked the truck’s tire, her steel toe boot gashing into it. “All of my friends are dying.”
“I know how you feel…”
“I don’t need your goddamn pity!” Tamar stopped, shaking her fists. “This ain’t your fault. But you have to figure out how to do the rest of this yourself.”
“You can’t quit on me now. He’s the cause. We’re the solution.”
“Me and Tamika, we could stay in our neighborhoods and just do our thing. He won’t fuck with us.”
“That’s bullshit and you know it. He’s been fucking with you. He wants absolute control. He won’t stop until you’re reporting to him.”
“This shit is pointless. You white people fuck us over all the time, but use us to fight the battles. I’m done.”
Sophia turned to Tamika. “You feel the same way?”
“No. But you best have a plan for the next thing. We all out of patience.”
Sophia saw Sandy walking around the warehouse. “What are you doing?”
“Where’s Jeremiah?”
Maisie and Horton were the first to find Jeremiah. As the remaining vamps searched the warehouse, they received a video of him tied up in the back of a car. Sophia watched it as Tamar and Tamika drove off, each splitting the entire supply of sunsuits to protect the remaining members of their cabals.
“We’ve got your little lapdog. You’ve got our product.” Fudgie’s voice. He must have been in the back. “You have twenty-four hours to give us ours, or your boy here gets it. After that, it’s time to negotiate.”
Sophia couldn’t speak, but Horton said, “He must be feeling the war, too. He’s lost a lot of his troops.”
“Why does he want to control us so bad?” Maisie closed her laptop. “Things have worked for hundreds of years.”
“I know the type too well. Something about their minds tells them they need to be the boss. The council back home is run by this guy Dragos. He’s ancient, rumors of 17th or 18th Century turning. He’s had a grip on New Orleans since before David bit me. You meet him, all you see is the predator. That’s the attitude: eat or be eaten.”
“So 20th Century.”
“I know y’all have different perspectives. And I want more of you and less of them. But if we’re gonna get through this, get it back to an even keel, we’ve got to think like him, not like us.”
“But we’ve got to get Jeremiah back.” Sandy spoke over Sophia’s shoulder. “I’ve grown attached to the mutt.”
“You ain’t the only one. Get me home. We’ll deal with this tomorrow night.”
Sophia told Horton to respond to Fudgie. They would speak on the phone at VampAmp and work out the trade. Of course, Sophia could only deliver the ones from Vernon, but that kink would be worked out later. Right now, all she wanted was Jeremiah back and safe.
After Sandy dropped her off, Sophia forced herself to stay awake. She paced her room, did calisthenics, anything to keep moving. The motion worked much better, especially since she had a bottle of blood right at sunup. The combination of the two got her to ten a.m.
When she woke the next evening, twilight blue filled the sky instead of black. The program worked on the other side, an advantage to getting herself ready to confront Fudgie.
By the time she got to Venice, Maisie and Horton had set up the call. Pamela, Sophia, and Sandy sat in the conference room, waiting for the triangular phone to connect to Fudgie. It took three minutes until Maisie’s voice spoke over the speakers.
“He’s on. One second.”
“Where are my suits?” Fudgie didn’t seem to be in the mood for small talk.
“We have them.” Sophia turned to Sandy.
“The driver from last night has been engaged. He will pick up what we have and drive it to Vernon.”
“Why not Van Nuys?” Fudgie’s tone was smug.
“Whichever you want.” Pamela was trying to be graceful, something beyond Sophia at this point.
“No, Vernon’s fine. When he’s got my suits, call back.” The line went dead.
“I bet he’s got Jeremiah just down the street,” Sandy said. “Let’s just go get him.”
“If that’s true, we’ll put Jeremiah in danger. Anyway, Fudgie’s only getting a few suits. He’ll be furious then.”
“You want him mad?” Pamela sounded like she didn’t like the plan.
“All this time, he’s been in control. We’ve always done things on the up and up. When we screw him, he’s gonna go off kilter. Then I can make my move.”
“I don’t like you doing this alone, babe.” Sandy stood, walked to the window, and stared at the night sky. “He’s shown a ruthless streak.”
“But I’ve been hiding mine. I’ve been down this road before. At David’s side, I helped keep my city clean. Now, I can’t let a mission statement keep me from doing what’s right.”
“You do look different.” Pamela stared straight into Sophia. “But remember what Tamar said. We’ve all lost so many of our loved ones.”
“Why do you think I even came here? When I left New Orleans, I had nothing. I built my unlife back up here, only to have this swinging dick try to take it away from me. This ends. I don’t know if it’s tonight, tomorrow or the next day. But this will be done.”
“Get mad, babe.” Sandy rubbed Sophia’s shoulders. “But know we’re here to back you up.”
The howling winds and sheets of rain had kept the johns away from Storyville that night. Most of the girls were in the parlor, playing cards and listening to Ferdinand play Gottschalk on the piano. But these storms made Sophia sad, partially nostalgic for her sisters and brothers but also heavy with the feeling of being alone and unwanted in a world where your value as a woman was how well you attracted a man.
She went upstairs to her room, turning the gas lamp low and staring out the window where the dirt street had turned into a small, muddy river. After putting on a robe against the damp coolness, she sat in her chair to look outside and get deep into her thoughts.
But as lightning struck, she saw someone was in the middle o
f Basin Street, his hat hanging low as he stood ankle deep in runoff.
David. She knew it was him but had no understanding of what he was doing. Perhaps he was crazy after all.
He tilted his head up, looking directly at Sophia. Yes, even at this distance, she knew he was staring right at her. Holding up his right hand, he beckoned for her with two flips of his fingers.
She had no intention of joining him, but she did open the window.
“Get your crazy behind inside here, David. You’ll catch your death.” She wasn’t sure he heard until he smiled and took his hat off.
“Too late for that! The time is now, Sophia. Time for you to keep your promise.”
Gathering up her heavy coat, the one with the riding hood, she tied it tight around herself and headed downstairs. With any luck, she could get him inside and dry before calling the hospital boys to take him away.
The porch did little to stop the sideways drops, so she went as far as the front steps. He waved her to the middle of the street, but she said, “Not in this mess. You come up here.”
He nodded and walked to the grass, washing the caked mud from his boots with the running water in the street. He stopped at the bottom of the steps.
“There’s someone in this town who made me like I am. Name’s Dragos. He’s given me a choice. Follow his ways to the letter or make my own way without his help. If I’m gonna do the latter, I need people by my side. Strong people. Ones who act when they must but forgive when the time comes. I’ve seen a lot of spirit in you, girl. I’ve come to see if you’re ready to join me.”
“And what do I get out of this?”
“Freedom. And the longest time you can imagine to enjoy it.”
“I think pretty big.”
“I know you do. You’ll just have to believe my words.”
Every timid, uncertain, shy voice in her head told her not to go, to stay right there on that porch. Yes, this wasn’t the best life, but she knew she could handle it. But what if he was right? What if what she had now was the peak and the rest was downhill? What did she want more than freedom?
She skipped down the steps and into his arms. He embraced her and tipped her back. She thought he was going to kiss her, sweep her off her feet like all those romantic stories. She did not expect to see his teeth, canines sharp and heading toward her neck.
