Fangsters

by Matt Drabble

  The outside doors opened and four people walked in, he turned away before they saw him, he froze what felt like a genuine smile upon his face and waited to greet guests for the last time.

  Bobby Darren made the call that could save his life; he’d been one of apparently many taxi drivers scouring the area for the four people described.

  He was a man born of little luck and providence, he descended from a long line of alcoholics, it was the family business so to speak. Unfortunately for him his thirst was large and unquenchable, the family curse had struck hard and deep. His life plans had all been overtaken by the bottle. His wife, life, and career had all fallen by the wayside in a cascade of waking, sweating blank mornings with giant black holes instead of memories. Gilda had been a patient catholic woman, but he had found that even she had limits. His career as an architect had floundered and crumbled before ever getting fully out of the blocks. He had been aware of his downfall but unable to halt the slide.

  He currently found himself working the graveyard shift for a low rent taxi firm, the hours were terrible and the money worse. He’d already had his driving license suspended through drink driving and he was currently on the brink of losing it altogether. He’d gotten the word about the four people, three men and a woman, earlier on that night. He’d been taking a break in his usual manner, drinking heavily from a brown paper bag at the all night truck stop. The place had been abuzz with the news that someone was offering five grand for information on their whereabouts, rising to twenty five for taking them out to The Venetian hotel. The taxi drivers had sped off in all directions after noting down the telephone number that had been pinned to the bar. Bobby had meandered out slowly knowing that his luck was always bountiful and always bad. He’d been pulled over by an attractive woman and could not believe his luck when three blokes had all emerged from the shadows. Even more unbelievable had been when they all started discussing possible hotel destinations, his good fortune had held a third time when they had accepted his casual suggestion.

  He reached for his mobile phone from the glove compartment and shakily dialled the phone number, his fingers trembling at the thought of how many bottles that much money could buy.

  The hotel seemed pleasant enough as they entered, Ghost kept a watchful eye as ever, his mind ticked over with mistrust and suspicion. They had all taken the cab driver's suggestion without question; he put his own compliance down to the long night and stressful circumstances.

  He took the lead and walked to the desk, the man behind the reception receptacle looked welcoming and friendly to the casual observer, but Ghost was never casual.

  “Good evening folks” the receptionist greeted, “Or is it good morning” he said looking at the large clock hanging on the wall reading 4.47am

  “We need rooms” Ghost stated tersely as ever, “four of them”

  “Let me check” replied Oswald maintaining the façade by looking intently at a disconnected computer screen that had its back to the new guests, “I’m afraid that we only have two available at such short notice”

  “Two it is then” Rybeck replied, eager to rest his head and collect his thoughts.

  “You all look exhausted” Oswald spoke with sincere compassion. “Why don’t I give you the room keys and we can fill out the paperwork later on at a more reasonable hour” he handed over the two room keys. “And if you wouldn’t mind keeping the noise down as we are pretty full tonight and the other guests are sleeping”

  “No problem” Jess said warmly. “I don’t think that any of us have the energy for noise making”

  Oswald walked around the desk and showed them through the double doors and into the hotel corridor that led to the bedrooms. “Up there” he pointed up the stairs, “Round the corner, and it’s rooms 118 and 119 on the left”

  Ghost led the way up the winding stairs, the lights were low, and he had to watch his step in the gloom.

  “Um, how are we going to work the sleeping arrangements?” Jess asked with a touch of eagerness that two of three men all picked up on with varying degrees of emotion.

  “I guess me and Eddie, you and the honourable detective” Ghost answered without emotion. He was a little puzzled when Jess flung open the nearest door with an angry shove. He looked up at Eddie’s pinched face and Rybeck’s amused expression.

  “I guess that you’re not the master of every battlefield” Rybeck laughed good-naturedly before following Jess into the room.

  Ghost shook his head in bewilderment and opened his and Eddie’s door; he walked in and flicked on the wall light. The room was basic and clean, the curtains were drawn, and the furniture smelled of fresh polish, the beds were made and gave off a freshly laundered aroma. He turned to see Eddie still framed in the doorway, the large man was a dark shadow silhouetted in the gloom.

  “Are you going to sleep in the hallway” he asked Eddie irritably.

  Eddie shuffled in and sat heavily on the far twin bed, the mattress springs creaked uncomfortably under his bulk, his head was bowed, and his expression low.

  “What is it with you” Ghost demanded, “You’ve been sulking around like a bloody child”

  “Nothing” Eddie mumbled.

  “Nothing my ass”

  “She was my friend” Eddie’s voice a whisper as his face reddened and his cheeks burned.

  “Who was?” Ghost asked honestly.

  “Jess”

  “Jess was your friend, but now you think that she’s not, I don’t understand Eddie”

  “You took her away”

  “I took her?” Ghost replied still not grasping Eddie’s concerns, “How did I take her anywhere?”

  “The way that you made her look at you”

  Ghost finally understood, he sighed heavily feeling like how a father must when faced with having a “Birds and Bees” talk to a thirteen year old child.

  “Eddie” he spoke as kindly as he could muster, “With everything that’s going on, that’s your big worry? Do you really not understand that our whole world has fallen down around our ears?” He looked at Eddie, cursing himself for forgetting the man’s limitations. “The whole organization is gone Eddie, the money’s all gone, that nice apartment that you live in is gone, Jimmy’s in hiding and we’ve got fucking vampires trying to eat us”

  Eddie lifted his head in surprise as though this was all new news to him.

  “And to top things off” Ghost continued, “I saw a damn ghost peering out the back of a car”

  “You were in the car?” Eddie asked sincerely.

  “No, not me, I saw Drake, Bennett fucking Drake, sitting there bold as brass” he shook his head in disbelief and sat down on the opposite bed. “I promise you this Eddie, chatting up some skirt is the last thing on my mind at the minute”

  “You promise” Eddie asked hopefully.

  “I promise” Ghost answered solemnly, even as he spoke his mind twitched at the possibility, but he wasn’t interested, was he? “Get some sleep Eddie” he said shaking his head slightly to clear his thoughts and get back on track. “We are going to need to get going soon and make the most of the daylight”.

  As he lay down on his own bed and Eddie’s rumbling snores filled the room, his last thoughts before sleep were of her, her warrior’s glow in the light of the flickering flames and the heat of battle, beckoning him to dream.

  Drake cursed his tiring mind, the call had come from some deadbeat manager at a dump of a hotel outside the city, he had developed so many men of such ilk over the years. His network crisscrossed the city and he had carefully nurtured these informants. Choosing only those eyes that slipped below the radar, and raised few suspicions. He’d had to check the long list when the call came to find out just who exactly Jim Oswald was, as he had many such men only a phone call away. This particular low life was at The Venetian Hotel, another of Drake’s safety nets. Oswald had informed him that the four survivors were currently secured at the hotel. Just after that call, Kofi informed him that he’d received one from
some taxi driver who’d dropped them off there. After swallowing his temper for Kofi’s lax judgement in not bringing him the message quickly enough, he’d dispatched several men to the hotel to seal it off. Their instructions were to simply hold their position and ensure that no one left, they were to not engage unless absolutely necessary.

  He yawned loudly and lay back on the bed, his whole body cried out aggressively for rest, the day was dawning, and his mind was slipping. His eyes closed and his thoughts filled dreams of the finish line rapidly approaching. Soon his eager hands would tear the flesh from his betrayer’s bones, and he would bathe in their blood and tears, as he slept he smiled peacefully.

  Jess swung her feet gently off of the bed, the bedroom was dark, and she had to press a small button on the side of her watch to illuminate the face and see the time. It was mid-afternoon; puzzled she walked to the window and pulled back the curtains. When they had crashed into the room and into sleep, exhausted mentally and physically, she had paid little attention to her surroundings.

  Rybeck had lay down on his twin bed immediately, with his hands folded over his chest, his face a study of careful thought and reflection. She had attempted to engage him in conversation, but he had shut down pretty quickly. She had the impression that Rybeck and the doctor had been good friends and now that they had stopped running, Elliot’s death was hitting him hard. Whilst she had not known him, the doctor’s death had hit her hard too, it was the first fatality that she had ever witnessed, and she could not imagine a more terrifying one.

  Once the curtains were open, the room was no lighter, upon close and gloomy inspection she could make out that the glass was painted black. Her heart sank and her breath hitched in her chest, this could not be good. Perhaps a hotel near the airport might invest in blackout windows, but after everything that they had all been through, this had to be too big a coincidence.

  Rybeck’s breathing was heavy and deep, she was loath to wake him without confirmation that there was indeed a problem. She crept to the door and eased it gently open soundlessly; she stepped out into the hotel corridor. Her internal warning system slipped up another notch, the corridor was dark and windowless, and she could not see past ten feet. The long shadows covered all with encasing arms, hiding lurking horrors beyond her vision, she pushed her back into the wall and steadied.

  “Not scared of the dark are you?”

  The voice shocked and startled her; she flung a hand up to cover her mouth to prevent the onrushing scream spraying out.

  “Jesus Christ, you fucking idiot” she gasped from behind her handmade barrier.

  Ghost stepped out into the gloom, his face amused and teasing, “Sorry” he offered without meaning.

  “You damn near gave me a heart attack” she panted, “After everything; you think it’s a good idea to go around leaping from the shadows”

  “I don’t think I was exactly leaping” he offered with a grin, “I don’t leap”

  “Jackass” she said, smiling despite herself, his grin was warm and rare.

  “What are you doing sneaking around anyway?” He asked.

  “Something weird in my room”

  “The blacked out windows?”

  “Yours too?” She answered.

  “Yeah, pretty strange huh? I thought that I’d take a look around because my gut’s doing back flips right now, and that normally means bad news”

  She watched as he spoke, his face wasn’t completely stripped of the mask, but it had slipped, and she could now peer around the corners.

  She joined him, and they walked slowly down the corridor further into the hotel. He produced a small powerful torch from a key ring and used it to guide their way. She walked closely beside him, feeling his strength and confidence, allowing it to fuel her own.

  “Is Eddie still asleep?” She asked.

  “Yeah, I thought that it would be more clandestine to leave him in the room, he’s good for many things, but stealth’s not one of them”

  “That’s cruel” she bristled.

  “No, it’s true” he shrugged.

  “You don’t exactly do well around other people do you?” She asked interested.

  He shrugged again, “There are many things that I do well, but people aren’t one of them”

  His voice was genuine and factual, she noticed, and he did not appear to be disturbed by his lack of social graces as they walked.

  “Why do you do it?” The question blurted out of her before she could stop it.

  “Do what?” He asked puzzled.

  “The whole business” she pushed on, “You’re a criminal, you could be so much more, and yet you choose to wallow in the gutter”

  He stopped and looked at her, his face was impossible to read, she did not know if he was going to kiss her or punch her.

  “It’s not what I do, it’s just who I am” was his only answer.

  “But why, why is it the only thing, is it the money, the power?” She snapped angrily, infuriated by his cold manner. “Where has it all gotten you? You’re out here dragging around a motley crew that you don’t even care about instead of heading for the hills” she punctuated her point by punching his arm.

  “I made a promise a long time ago” was his only soft reply.

  She looked at him deeply; his eyes were steady and looking at hers for the first real time, his face was unhappy and confused. His mouth trembled slightly and then it was on hers. The movement was so sudden that their teeth clashed, and she pulled back, his face fell and his forehead wrinkled. She was as startled as he looked, and then she was thrusting her face into his, her lips mashed against his with desperation. She clutched at him like a drowning woman in a sea of terror, the feelings coursed through her and she felt his life mingle with hers. Their beating hearts pounded as their chests crushed together. She felt his hot breath in her mouth and the blood pumped hotly through her veins. They broke apart panting; her chest felt flushed and tingled, and his trousers comically strained at the seams. It was life before them and between them, a snatch of hot reality amidst a cold winter of fear. They stared confused and wordlessly, neither of them heard the door open or felt the watching eyes.

  Eddie stared daggers, his heart beat furiously, and his stomach churned viciously spewing painful acid into his system. He watched the betrayal with a rising volcanic fury that had lain dormant for all of his life. Every turned cheek, every cower that he had swallowed, bubbled in a stew of violent thought. Ghost’s promise had been as meaningless as everyone else’s; all of these years thinking that they were friends had been a fool’s errand. His giant fists clenched for the first time in genuine anger, and he surrendered to the dark dormant side of his nature that he suppressed for so long. He walked slowly towards them; each footstep was heavier than the last.

  “Sorry” Ghost mumbled appalled by the desertion of his self-control.

  He stepped away from her; the whole situation was confusing enough without looking to complicate matters further. Suddenly he saw Eddie behind them and Eddie’s face was a study in complicated fury. He opened his mouth and then snapped it shut again, he did not have any idea as what he was going to say.

  “Eddie…” Jess began.

  Suddenly Jess’ room door opened and a bleary Rybeck stepped out to join the fray, “What’s going on?” he asked sleepily.

  Ghost’s eyes locked with Eddie’s, the big man did not drop his gaze only turned and walked away.

  “Shit” Jess.

  “Shit” agreed Ghost.

  “What did I miss?” Asked Rybeck.

  CHAPTER THIRTY

  April 2012

  Jackson Moon stared out of the tinted window, the sun’s rays outside were weakening, but he still longed for the day. He was not a creature of the night, in his old accountant life he had been in bed before 10pm every night. Oh how he longed for his old life, his was a love of numbers and routine and he longed for the rigorous structure before this blasphemous rebirth. He was a monster now, an abomination of filth, ev
en after all these years he still could not bring himself to feed on humans. His diet consisted of animal ingested fuel and he wished that he could finally summon the courage to end his own suffering. Drake kept him on a tight leash, perhaps sensing his lack of commitment to the cause. He knew that the day was rapidly approaching, when he would no longer be needed. Drake had surrounded himself with monsters, and then turned them; his army was vicious but perhaps not quite as loyal as Drake believed. One of the advantages to being anonymous was that he was more often than not ignored. He knew that Kofi was the main threat, for whatever reason, Kofi had made it abundantly clear that he despised him and would love nothing more than ending his miserable existence. Jackson knew that he would never have the physical courage to seek justice, but he also knew that his talents lay beyond the brawn.

  Ghost took the stairs two at a time, Eddie was moving, and moving fast in the dark stairwell and wearing black, he’d disappeared. Ghost reached the bottom and surveyed his options; there were two sets of double doors on either side of the corridor. He guessed left and swung the large heavy doors open; the brushes swept the carpet with a soft whoosh.

  Inside opened up into the hotel main ballroom, his feet went from carpet to hardwood as he reached the dance floor. The lighting was dim and he could only just make out the bar area and seating that surrounded him. Suddenly the room exploded into brightness, Ghost held his hand up to his eyes to shield against the intrusion. Figures stepped out of the shadows and onto the dance floor; he did a quick head count, six large men in black combat fatigues. All of the men were heavily built and they walked with a confident swagger. The entrance doors opened behind him, damn, he thought, the footsteps and movement had made it obvious to him that Jess had followed him.

  “Great move genius” he addressed her without turning around.