“They’re the same.”
“Exactly. Where’s the fence? Someone took the old image and changed the metadata to reflect the new date. Why would they do that unless the image showed something they didn’t want people to see, and who could hack into Google’s server to do it?”
“You?”
“Damn right, but I didn’t, and no one I know has enough interest in an old school and composting company to bother. That leaves the feds.”
“All right, that’s good enough for me.”
I call Harriet and tell her what Marvin discovered.
“Excellent, it appears your faith in him was worthy after all. I should be able to have eyes on the compound within the hour. Stay where you are, but be prepared to come in for a strategy meeting in a few hours. Is Lesile still with you?”
I glance at the sound of my door opening. “She just came back.”
“Good, her knowledge of the inner complex is instrumental in any assault we launch. I will contact the wolves so we can bring them in on our plans. I will call you once I receive first-hand confirmation of the location.”
“Sounds like a great party. Would you like me to bring anything? I make some mean deviled eggs.”
“Just be ready to move.”
“Yeah, this ain’t my first rodeo.”
“If we screw this up, it may well be your last, along with the rest of us.”
Lesile asks when I hang up, “Was that the council?”
“Yeah. Marvin thinks he found out where our ops team is hiding. Harriet is sending some people out to investigate before calling us all in.”
“Where do you think it is?”
“It’s an abandoned boarding school and asylum northwest of Philly.” I have Marvin show her what he found.
“I’m sure that’s it,” Lesile says. “I didn’t get a good look at the outside, but I did catch a glimpse, and the distance and direction is right. What do we do now?”
“Harriet wants us to wait here until she calls.”
“And we’re…?”
“Going out.”
“Of course we are. Leo Malone doesn’t like to follow orders.”
“Leo Malone doesn’t like to sit on his ass when there’s work to do. Leo Malone also doesn’t like to speak in the third person, so stop it. Marvin, we’re going to go see Yuri, so you may as well come along.”
Yuri doesn’t like surprise visits, so I call him once we pile back into Lesile’s car. “Yuri, it’s Leo. I need your help.”
“What kind of help?”
“The kind that will earn you massive favors from my people. I’m on my way to see you now. You at your bunker in Queens?”
“Yeah, I’ll be here waiting for you.”
Yuri says a lot with just a few words. When he said he’d be waiting for me, it didn’t just mean he was anticipating my arrival. It meant he was prepared to deal with any trouble I or anyone else might cause. It hurts a bit that his trust in me has dwindled since finding out I am a vampire, but I guess I can’t blame him after what happened. Fucking Percy.
***
The changes Yuri made to not just the building but the entire block are obvious. I’m guessing he bought the surrounding buildings (if he didn’t own them already) and turned each of them into a fortification. The windows in the central building are gone, leaving only a smooth, concrete surface bristling with cameras. The surrounding buildings’ windows are only six inches wide like arrow slits in a medieval castle. I’m guessing these are manned by sniper crews ready to pick off anyone trying to get into Yuri’s central complex. The doors to all the buildings look like bank vaults. I don’t bother knocking as I stand in front of the big steel door and await recognition.
The speaker crackles to life. “You and the smart black kid can come in. The woman waits outside.”
“Why you gotta label me like that?” Marvin asks.
“You want to stay in a label-free zone, wait outside with the broad.”
Interesting. I wonder what kind of tech they used to determine Lesile is a vampire. If I were to guess, I’d say thermals, but we can beat those if we want to. I doubt Lesile bothered to raise her body temperature to fool it. I sure didn’t think about it until now.
“I’ll wait in the car,” Lesile offers.
The door opens with a hiss of hydraulics, and Marvin and I step into a mantrap. The portal closes and locks us inside the small room. My ears detect a hum coming from behind the walls, likely a full body x-ray scanner like those used in some airports but much more Total Recall-ish. Marvin can probably tell me everything about his new security setup, but he shouldn’t and I don’t ask him to.
A section of the wall ejects a deep drawer. “Place your pistol and sword in the box.”
I do as I’m told, and the wall swallows up my favorite toys. The far door opens into a longer hallway still bereft of a living soul. I’m starting to feel as if I’m in a sci-fi horror film where a series of short hallways ends in a room full of fiendish traps. This hallway ends in a steel door with no visible method of opening, but it swings wide at our approach.
The first signs of human life wait just beyond the portal. It doesn’t make me feel any better given the intense firepower these guys are toting. Six men wear tactical vests bristling with weapons, magazines, and even a few grenades. Each of them carries a submachine gun and an assault rifle, and I’m betting the magazines are loaded with incendiary rounds.
They surround Marvin and me and march us down the hallway toward the heart of the building. These guys aren’t the usual Russian and Georgian thugs Yuri typically employs. Their movements indicate a high level of military training. I’m guessing Yuri has contracted some outside help.
We stop at a secure elevator, and one of the mercs punches in a five-digit code on a keypad. The doors open, and they gesture for us to enter alone. People seem to be as willing to share an elevator with me as they are with the entire Klump family.
Yuri’s regular goons are waiting for us when we arrive, but their weaponry is similar to those of the frontline mercs. I notice the ceilings are lower, and I can only guess what kind of nasty surprises lurk within them. The entire building is designed to be one big killing ground.
We finally arrive at Yuri’s office, which is now inside his panic room. They enlarged the chamber and installed what I’m guessing is an elevator in the back. He’s sitting behind his usual desk doing whatever kingpins do.
“I love what you’ve done with the place.”
“Is upgrade. Yuri fortress 2.0.”
“I see you got some new help as well.”
“Russian spetsnaz. Best value for the dollar. You said I can earn favors from your people. I like doing favors.”
“You like cashing in favors.”
“There is another reason for doing favors? What can Molotov do for you?”
I take a seat across from him. “I told you the feds found out about us.” Yuri’s face twists with a look of revulsion. “We think we know where their base of operations is, but I’m guessing their security is a lot like yours.”
Yuri glares at Marvin. “What do you know about my security?”
“Nothing other than what I’ve seen walking in here and what my imagination conjures up. Marvin hasn’t told me anything, and I’ll never ask. A chain-link fence surrounds the complex, and I’m sure it has active sensors to warn of any tampering. If I were securing an area against my kind, I would have thermal cameras and ground vibration sensors throughout. No one would be able to get within a quarter mile without me knowing.”
The mob boss nods. “It is sound theory.”
“They have the head of our enclave, and I’m betting they put a bomb in his head like they did me and another of my people.”
“The woman outside?”
“Yeah, that’s her.”
“Very pretty, but I’m guessing even more dangerous.”
“You guess right. The biggest problem is that her, Marvin, and I need to get inside quietly, di
sable the bomb in Vincent’s head, and get out, preferably undetected. The only way I can think of is dropping in by parachute, but Marvin doesn’t skydive, and the risk of being seen is too high.”
“So you need to be invited in.” Yuri glances at the ceiling and scratches at the corner of his left eye. “Someone goes in and out. You must take their place.”
“The only ones I know who leave are their hit teams. I don’t see a way to infiltrate them that way.”
“They must bring in some kind of supplies—food, toilet paper.”
“Probably, but they could have months’ worth of supplies stored up. Who knows when they will receive another delivery. Agent Snow, the guy in charge, said they were completely self-sufficient and off the grid. Not even their own department is aware of their operation.”
“No such thing as self-sufficient. How do they get their power?”
“I heard some low-decibel industrial generators when they took me to the basement to install the bomb.”
Yuri smiles. “That is our way in. A friend of mine was serving life sentence in a Kiev prison. Every two weeks, big fuel truck makes delivery. I make secret chamber in tanker. My guys go in, take my friend from the kitchen, and drive him out the front gates. No problem.”
“We could do the same thing with the fuel deliveries for their generators. But even if we get an identical trailer, how are we going to swap it out with ours?”
“We take the truck. Is easy. My men take trucks all the time.”
“The guards aren’t going to let just anyone drive a truck into their compound, Yuri.”
“Is no problem. I got guy who does incredible makeup with latex. Works for big movies. I once had to fly back to Georgia for business with the focking feds watching me. He make me look like Eastern Bloc Mrs. Doubtfire.”
I nod. “I guess it’s the best we’ve got. Let’s just hope they don’t get drawn into any conversations. We’ll need your guys to drive the truck. I’m sure they have equipment to tell who’s human and who’s not.”
Yuri grimaces. “This will cost more than favors. Big risk for my guys.”
“How much?”
Yuri scribbles a number down on a piece of paper and slides it across the table. I take the paper and read the ridiculously long number printed on it.
“Big risk equals big money,” Yuri explains.
“If they pay this, and they probably will, I’ll need to raise my rates, because I’ve been lowballing them for years.”
“That’s why I hire you. You’re good but cheap as shit. You are like spetsnaz of vampire bodyguards.”
“Thanks. So what do we do now?”
“I make phone calls. We need to find truck and get pictures of drivers to make masks. There are only a few diesel distributors around Philly. Black market fuel is good money. I know some guys.”
“Thanks, Yuri. I’ll take the plan and your bill to the enclave. I’m assuming the annoying buzzing in my pocket for the last fifteen minutes is them trying to call me. If we come out of this intact, they’ll owe you big time.”
“And one day I will collect big time.”
Yuri’s goons show us out the same way we came in. He’s definitely put a lot of thought and work into protecting himself from a very specific threat, and he’s done a hell of a job. Short of dropping a bomb and leveling the entire block, even the might of the entire enclave would find this a costly nut to crack. There’s no way they could do it quietly, and our compulsive requirement for anonymity is as great a protection for Yuri as his concrete walls and massive weaponry.
“The enclave has been calling you,” Lesile says the moment I drop into the passenger seat.
“I know. All the vibration was giving me a boner and making it difficult to have my meeting.”
“Is your friend going to help us?”
“Yeah, he’s got an idea to get us inside, but it’s going to take a little time to get everything coordinated.”
“I don’t think the council is going to like waiting on anyone.”
“Guess how many shits I give about what the council wants? I’ll give you a hint, it’s a number between zero and kiss my ass. Speaking of the council, there goes my phone and my erection again. I guess I shouldn’t keep it in my front pocket.”
Lesile slides a hand over my thigh. “I know how we can take care of that little problem.”
“And it’s gone. Thanks, slut.” I return my attention to the phone call. “Malone.”
“Where the hell have you been?” Harriet squawks.
“I’ve been pooling my resources and contracting help to get us into the feds’ compound.”
“You don’t even know for certain where it is!”
“It’s Pennhurst, right?”
“Yes, but you didn’t know that, and now you have wasted precious time by going off on your own and ignoring my calls.”
“I have been saving precious time by not sitting on my ass.”
“This is an enclave operation, and you will do what I say when I say it! Is that clear?”
“Is this clear?” I press the end call button. “Three, two, one…Yello.”
“You better not have hung up on me!”
“It’s possible. Did it sound like this?”
End call.
“Hola.”
“Do you think this is a game?”
“I’m having fun.”
“Vincent has afforded you far more tolerance than I will ever allow. Now you listen to me…”
“No, you listen to me. Not having someone nag me is why I’ve never been married.”
“You’ve never been married because you’re an insufferable little shi-!”
End Call
Lesile asks, “Leonard, are you trying to get yourself killed?”
“I’m trying to get her to understand I’m no one’s puppet, and if they want my help and cooperation they need to not dictate and order me about.”
“You walk a dangerous line.”
“I walk it, hop over it, and piss on the other side of it. I don’t care. I’ll live my life my way, or I won’t live it at all. Aloha.”
I hear Harriet take a deep breath before speaking. “Listen very carefully, Malone. We need you to come in so we can exchange information. We are looking forward to hearing what you have found out and your plans for extracting Vincent.”
“You see how much more productive our conversations are when we use a little restraint and courtesy?”
She takes a long pause before answering. “Please come in. The entire council, along with representatives from the wolf pack, is waiting.”
“I’m on my way.”
“Thank you.”
“No, thank you.” The connection drops. “She hung up without saying goodbye. How rude. Oh well, to the bat cave!”
Lesile smiles, shakes her head, and puts the car into drive or whatever makes this thing go.
“If it’s all the same to you, you can just drop me off at Leo’s place, or anywhere close by is fine,” Marvin pipes up from the back seat. “I’d rather not dangle my tasty flesh in front of a room full of…you people.”
“What do you mean ‘you people’?” I ask using my best Marvin impression.
“Don’t even try, Leo. That’s my thing, and you can’t have it.”
Lesile says, “You seem in a good mood considering everything that’s happening.”
“I always get giddy when I know I’m close to kicking teeth in and blowing some shit up.”
Lesile shakes her head. “Boys…”
CHAPTER 13
Security around The Tower is tighter than I have ever seen it. Sheriffs stand in force around the entrances and guide us into the private parking garage located beneath the building. A pair of vamps flanks the elevator and has to receive confirmation before allowing us to pass.
The guard punches the basement level button. It’s been a long time since I visited the enclave chamber. Stepping out of the elevator and into the cathedral-like subterranean room m
akes me reminisce about my trial for killing the German enclave’s ambassador. Just as it was then, the council sits upon a high dais like the Supreme Court justices posing for a photo op, only one seat is conspicuously vacant.
The room is needlessly large. The bulk of the east coast enclave is present yet they barely fill a hundred seats. Even the dozen representatives from the werewolf pack fail to make an appreciable dent in the chamber’s maximum capacity. Of course, the room isn’t designed to seat a huge audience, its purpose is to intimidate those within it. It does a good job.
“Lesile, Mr. Malone, thank you for heeding our summons,” Harriet intones from on high.
Her voice echoes hollowly from the darkened seats upon the dais. I cover my derisive snort with a cough. Lesile’s sidelong glance reminds me how stupid a gesture it was. Harriet’s pause shows the failed attempt was not lost on her either.
The de facto enclave head continues. “Our people have confirmed that the federal task force is indeed holed up in the old Pennhurst complex, and we assume Vincent is still there.”
“Yeah, I thought as much and have been working on a plan to infiltrate the place.”
“It is my understanding you have been in contact with Yuri Poplonovich and enlisted his aid in our operation. Why have you shared our problem with a warm blood?”
“Because he has resources and experience we do not possess.”
“Why would he help us?”
“Profit, of course, and future considerations he will call in later.”
“Profit…What is his price?”
“Ten million dollars.”
“That is ridiculous.”
“That is a pittance.”
“I refuse to be extorted by a weakling.”
“So operation Fuck Vincent is back on?”
“Of course not!”
“Because it makes my job a lot easier and has a lot less risk.”
“I am not suggesting that.”
“Of course, there is the increased chance of them sending a data blast telling the entire American government about a subspecies of people who feed on the populace, unless you have multiple satellite jamming systems stored in a closet somewhere. Do you have satellite signal jamming devices stuffed away somewhere? Maybe in your ass? Go ahead and take a quick look around since that’s where your collective heads are at most of the time anyway.”
Blood Conspiracy (Brooklyn Shadows Book 2) Page 17
