by Skye Knizley
With that thought in mind, Raven reached into the purse slung over her shoulder and withdrew another Automag three. This one, unlike her father's that she carried, was new, having only been fired enough times to break in the magazines and adjust the sights. She slammed a fresh magazine into the grip and held the weapon out to Levac.
"What's this?" he asked in surprise.
"A real gun," Raven replied. "You may need the firepower tonight."
"But I've got the…" he started.
Raven shook her head. "That's still a nine mil popgun, Rupert. Trust me on this. I have a bad feeling about what is about to go down. If things go south, aim for the head or heart. Anything else will just slow them down and piss them off."
Levac took the Automag and weighed it in his hand before sliding it into the pocket of his trench coat.
"You're the boss," he said. "But I wasn't planning on shooting anyone tonight."
"Yeah, and things always go the way we plan."
* * *
The old meat packing plant was set on the far side of a courtyard. Even at this time of year old bushes, weeds and timber poked through the crust of snow that covered the yard. An old fountain that had once burbled water from six spitting cherubs now sat covered in graffiti and choked with weeds and ice.
The buildings around the courtyard did indeed appear to be abandoned, just as Paco had said. Most were peak-roofed old storefronts, the front windows smashed on both the first and second floors, making them look like jagged mouths full of sharp black teeth. By contrast, the plant had recently been painted white with a red stripe a meter from the ground. Gang signs Raven didn't recognize decorated the building, but only below the red line. Gas lights illuminated the small lot in front of the building as well as the sloping walkway that led to the main double doors. A dozen people leaned against the wall in various states of Thirst withdrawal while a man in a thick black jacket stood by the door letting them in only after the Thirsty had handed over what looked like enough cash to buy a small country.
All this Raven acknowledged with her first glance, but it was the figure huddled in the pool of light beneath one of the gas lamps that had her attention. She walked straight across the courtyard and knelt next to the teenage girl who was shivering and whimpering in the throes of deep withdrawal. Raven thumbed the girl's eyelids back and was relieved they were bloodshot blue rather than the milky white of hopeless addiction.
Raven pulled off her jacket and put it around the girl's shoulders. "Honey? Can you hear me?" she asked in a gentle voice.
The girl tried to nod, but only managed to wag her head uncontrollably.
"My name is Raven, sweetie. This is my friend Rupert. Everything is going to be okay," Raven said, stroking the girl's hair.
She looked up at Levac, who was standing next to her looking angry.
"Rupe? Go get that Paco kid. I'm sure he has a car of some kind, get him to take this girl to the Sisters of Mercy. Tell him if he doesn't, I will blow a hole in him you can drive a truck through."
Levac nodded and trotted off the way they'd come. Raven watched him leave and then turned back to the girl. She felt for a pulse in the girl's neck and was frightened by how weak it was becoming.
"Shit," Raven muttered. "She's going to die or the Thirst will take her."
With little hesitation Raven leaned forward, extending her fangs as she neared the girl's slender neck. Steeling herself she bit through delicate flesh and artery, filling her mouth with the sweet taste of blood and the sickly flavor of Thirst. She let go and spat the mouthful of blood into the snow, only to repeat the process twice more. When she was finished she licked the wound in the girl's neck, healing it as if it had never been. She then bit her own wrist and held it to the girl's lips. The girl drank instinctively, savoring Raven's claret. When the color returned to the girl's cheeks, Raven pulled away and covered her wrist with her sweater sleeve. It would heal on its own in just a few seconds.
"Honey? You're my familiar now," Raven whispered. "I promise I will not call on you, ever. Just get better."
She held the girl in her lap, trying to keep her warm. A moment later Levac returned with Paco in tow.
"Your partner delivered your message, mamacita," Paco said. "How far gone is she?"
"She's going to make it," Raven replied, looking Paco straight in the eye. "Get her to safety and don't screw around. She's under my protection now and I will know if she isn't cared for."
"You got it, Detective," Paco replied, his accent and tough guy demeanor gone. "I know the Deacon at St. Jude's. I'll make sure she gets the care she needs."
Paco knelt and picked the girl up in his arms as if she were weightless. He then nodded at Levac and headed into the darkness.
"Will she really make it?" Levac asked.
Raven nodded, ignoring that her partner had seen and stepped on the bloody snow. She turned and looked toward the lit building. "Now let's see if anyone over there wants to help us with our inquiries."
She walked across the lot past all the junkies waiting for their next fix and straight to the bouncer at the door. He was a pale man with brown hair cut in a Duck's Ass, dark eyes and a smartass look on his face.
"Oi, wait your turn, lady!" he said in a voice he probably thought made him sound tough.
"Did you know there was a teenage girl dying out there in the cold because of this shit you're peddling?" Raven's voice was as cold as the grave.
The bouncer shrugged and folded his arms across his chest. "No one made her take a hit. She wasn't my problem. She's just another junkie, like all of these miserable little shits."
Raven nodded and looked away for a moment. When she looked back her eyes were the angry feral slits of a Master vampire.
"That girl just became your problem!" she growled.
She kicked the man in the knee, shattering the joint, slammed him hard enough into the wall for his face to leave a dent in the ancient oak and then pinned him in place with one arm twisted painfully behind his back.
"How many of your bosses are inside?" she asked, her voice still cold and emotionless.
The man struggled against Raven's grip and groaned, "I'm the boss!"
"I doubt that, sir," Levac said, leaning against the railing. "The boss doesn't usually stand outside in the cold with a police detective trying to push his head through the wall of a building. I suggest you answer my partner's question while you still have a face. Do you think you could help us out, sir?"
The man struggled a bit more in Raven's grip and she pulled harder on his arm, not stopping until a sickening wet pop was heard. The bouncer whimpered softly and nodded. "Okay, okay, just let me down!"
Raven let go and watched him fall, her eyes still glowing with fury.
"She's inside," he moaned. "The boss is inside with her guards."
"Those Black Widows we've heard of?" Levac asked.
The bouncer nodded and cradled his ruined arm. "They're all inside."
"Who makes the stuff? Your boss and her crew or do you have people inside?" Raven inquired.
"Staff… staff of six homeless people they took from the streets," the bouncer replied, his eyes sagging.
Raven grabbed him by the throat and lifted him to eye level. "Don't you even think about passing out yet, scumbag! You're using homeless people to make Thirst? Tell me why I don't tear your throat out and watch you bleed to death at my feet!"
"Because you're a good cop, Ray," Levac said in a gentle voice.
Raven blinked and looked over her shoulder at Levac. He smiled and held out his cuffs with one finger. "Cuff this bastard and let’s go get some answers."
Raven took a breath and slowly let the bouncer down. She cuffed his unbroken arm to the railing and then opened the door to the plant.
Inside was quiet. The making of Thirst didn't require much in the way of machinery, just people to mix, package and distribute. Electric safety lights glowed in bright rows along the ceiling, stainless steel counters covered in various equip
ment stretched into the distance beneath them and a handful of scruffy, unhappy-looking people moved back and forth mixing powders and carrying the result to the glass furnace where portions were sealed in glass tubes.
None of the workers looked up as Raven and Levac entered, one just pointed toward a door at the far end of the room.
"We're not here for Thirst," Raven said. "I'm Detective Storm and this is Detective Levac of the Chicago police. We're shutting this place down and you're free to go."
The small group of workers looked up at that, their faces dejected and frightened. One of them, the apparent leader, gestured toward a surveillance camera high in the far wall.
"They'll see and kill us if we try to escape," he said.
"Not if they are behind bars," Levac said. "Come on, you people get out of here or I will have to arrest you for the manufacturing of narcotics. Either way, you're leaving. I suggest you make your way to the Sisters of Mercy outside Old Town."
Seeing that Levac wasn't kidding, the small group of workers hurriedly left. Within seconds there was only the hush of the small torch they used to seal the Thirst vials and the tink-tink of cooling metal.
Once the room was clear, Raven closed the door and locked it behind her. She picked up a vial of Thirst and turned it in her fingers; as far as she could tell it was identical to the ones they'd collected at Shevlin's home. She pocketed one of the vials and then turned to the camera and blew a kiss toward the lens, hoping it annoyed whoever was watching.
Levac moved ahead and checked the door into the next room. He nodded at Raven and drew the Automag she'd given him while she covered the door. When they were both ready, Levac opened the door and Raven stepped through, automatically checking corners and behind the door for any hint of hidden danger.
The detectives found themselves in a well-appointed office area two stories high. Black leather sofas surrounded a white steel fireplace, the glass side-tables covered in issues of Vogue, Cosmopolitan and Handgun magazine. Beyond the sitting area was a caged in security office, the door hanging ajar as if someone had just left. Next to this was a metal staircase leading up to the second floor. There was no sign of anyone.
Raven nodded toward the stairs and Levac nodded back. The tall redhead went first, scanning the corners of the room. She reached the bottom of the stairs and checked the top. She could still see no one, though a catwalk led deeper into the plant and branched off into a room with tinted windows. Raven was about to head up the stairs when a leather-clad woman dropped from the rafters and landed on Levac, dragging him to the floor in a heap of leather and tan trench coat.
"Chicago police!" Raven yelled. "Let him go or I will use deadly force!"
The woman looked up at Raven and snarled, showing white fangs. Raven didn't hesitate; Her Automag barked twice, both rounds punching through the vampire's face in quick succession. The vampire exploded in a cloud of flame that left Levac covered in fine grey ash and scraps of charred leather. He coughed from within the cloud and Raven helped him to his feet.
"What was that?" he asked, gasping for breath.
"I promise I will tell you later," Raven replied. "Just remember, use the Automag and aim for the heart or head."
Levac nodded and followed Raven up the stairs. They were halfway to the catwalk when another vampire appeared from the scaffolding above.
"Freeze!" Levac ordered. "Chicago Police!"
"She knows that, Rupert," Raven said, watching the vampire scamper from beam to beam. The vampire was dressed in a leather catsuit tight enough to show a pimple, a leather collar with a ring on the front and boots so high they made Raven's feet ache in sympathy yet still she moved with catlike grace, a panther about to pounce.
Raven waited for Levac to pull the trigger, hoping he wouldn't make her do it for him. Her hesitation was a mistake. Another vampire grabbed her from behind and threw her over the railing. She caught the rail with one hand and dangled thirty feet in the air. Above her the vampire had grabbed Levac and was rearing back to tear into his throat with fangs that glistened like fine china.
Levac hesitated no longer. The plant was filled with a deafening boom as he fired the Automag, dusting the vampire in the rafters. He then drove the back of his head in the face of the vampire behind him, cracking the woman's nose and forcing her to let go.
Inwardly proud of her partner, Raven raised her own pistol and fired, watching with satisfaction as the third vampire disintegrated into ash.
"You okay?" Levac asked, helping her back over the railing.
"I'm fine, thanks," Raven replied. "That was a good shot, Rupert."
"But what did I shoot, Raven?" he asked. "What the hell are these things?"
Raven started past him, deeper into the warehouse, but Levac caught her arm. "They're vampires, aren’t they, Raven? Honest to God vampires!"
Raven looked at the ash and charred clothing on the floor and nodded. "Yeah. Yeah, they're vampires, Rupert. Full on, blood-sucking monsters," she said. "The sort of crap I've been dealing with since my first day on the force."
"Who else knows about this? Frost? Zhu? Gibbs? Anyone?" Levac asked.
"If Frost doesn't suspect, he is a lot dumber than I think he is, but otherwise just me and Zhu. And now you," Raven said, still staring at the floor.
"Why? For God's sake this should be on the news!" Levac exclaimed.
Raven shook her head and raised her eyes to meet Levac's. "No! Come on, Rupert! You know people are panicky and stupid. If they knew Old Town was full of vampires, lycans and all manner of other monsters there would be widespread panic, the world would be in even more shit than usual. The Army would be mobilized, force would be used and trust me, the monsters would win."
"You don't know that, Ray," Levac said.
"Yeah… I do," Raven said. "And I need your promise, Rupert. Not a word about this. To anyone. Lives depend on the public not knowing about any of this."
"Ray…" Levac started.
"Rupert, trust me, please," Raven interrupted.
"All right, Raven," Levac said. "For now."
"I'll take it," she replied. "Come on, we still have nine suckheads and whoever holds their leash in here somewhere."
Levac made an 'after you' gesture and Raven stepped past, leading the way into the back of the plant. Both detectives continually checked overhead for vamps lurking in the rafters while Levac occasionally glanced behind. When they reached the intersection Levac indicated he would continue into the back while Raven checked out the tinted room. She nodded in response and watched her partner move into the gloom before turning and making her way toward the glass room that overlooked the office below. The door opened at her push to reveal a chamber carpeted floor, ceiling and three walls in plush black. Twelve coffins were placed neatly around the room and a desk sat in front of the observation windows. A coffee pot half-full of warm claret sat on the desk next to an assortment of magazines, a laptop dock and a notebook.
Raven ignored the desk and moved toward the coffins. A quick check confirmed that all were empty, but Raven sprinkled a mixture of garlic powder and silver nitrate from her purse into each just in case. Any vamp closing herself in one of the coffins would quickly find themselves spontaneously combusting.
Satisfied the coffins were safe, Raven donned a pair of gloves and flipped through the notebook. Each page was dated starting about three weeks before and was full of names and numbers. Some names were listed every few days and the numbers got larger. Raven guessed this was a ledger of people purchasing Thirst and how many vials they purchased each time. By the looks of things, a lot of people were about to start suffering withdrawal, but that was better than a lot of people about to suffer death or a permanent stay alone in a nightmare.
Raven flipped to a few days before, but found no entry for Shevlin or his sister. She couldn't say she was surprised, the preliminary tests indicated that there was no Thirst in their systems. But still, someone had left the Thirst at the scene.
She put the notebo
ok in an evidence bag and slipped it into her purse. When she left the room she could hear the sounds of Levac and the repeated boom his new Automag and she ran in that direction. She passed several piles of clothing and ash before she reached the end of the catwalk. A staircase led down to another office area and a back door that stood open to the cold night air. Levac was backing toward the door with a redheaded woman handcuffed to his left wrist and two vampires moving toward him. He was holding them at bay with the barrel of his Automag, and even at this distance Raven could tell the slide was locked back. The only thing keeping him from being a midnight snack was that the vampires didn't realize the pistol was empty.
He's brave…, Raven thought. Braver than anyone ever gives him credit for.
She drew her own pistol and ejected the magazine. She replaced it with a fresh one and whistled as loudly as she could. The two vampires spun and looked up at her. Behind them, Levac almost sagged with relief.
"Hi there!" Raven said in a cheerful voice. "I don't suppose telling you to surrender, you're under arrest for selling drugs, murder, attempted murder and atrocious fashion-sense would do any good?"
The vampires hissed and sprang into the air, going directly for Raven's throat.
"Yeah, I thought not." Her pistol flamed four times and she covered her head for protection from the flying ash and burning leather. When the cloud cleared she trotted down the stairs and over to Levac who had holstered his Automag and replaced it with his police-issued Beretta.
"Who's your friend, partner?" Raven asked.
"This is Ms. Rayne DeGrey," Levac said dryly. "I believe she is the ringleader of this little party we crashed."
"You invaded my business without a warrant and killed my staff," Rayne said in a faint French accent. "I want my rights and my attorney."
