Yeah, Ed was right. Tom had gone nuts. In my absence, he had apparently decided to Rambo-ify himself ... or at least try to. He was wearing camouflage sweat pants, a black sweater, and had what I assumed was old Halloween makeup slathered on his face in a bad imitation of war paint. The outfit would have looked like something a dork might wear to a weekend outing playing paintball except for a few other accoutrements to round it out. Stuffed in his belt were a couple of butcher knives from our kitchen and around his neck, hanging from a length of clothesline, was his trusty Transformer totem, Optimus. It was all I could do to keep from laughing my ass off.
“What do you think? Pretty badass, right?” he asked.
I tried, really hard, to think of something complimentary to say, but for the life of me couldn't. Fortunately, for once Sally's caustic wit saved me.
“Jesus Christ!” she said, stepping out of the kitchen. “You look like GI Joe and Flavor Flav's retard lovechild.” That did it. Ed and I cracked up.
“That's right, laugh it up now, assholes,” Tom said. “But mark my words ... my babies will have their vengeance.”
He probably said more, but by that point, I was laughing so hard I could barely stand up, much less hear him.
♦ ♦ ♦
It was nearing five a.m., almost time to leave. The stakes were sharpened, the gun was loaded, and our semblance of body armor was strapped on. It was only then that common sense once again reared its ugly head and smacked us in the face.
“Has anyone given any thought,” Ed asked, “as to how we're going to get there, considering we look like a pack of reject extras from The Road Warrior?”
Damn, he had a point. If it had just been the costumes, then nobody would have cared. You walk down Broadway on any given day and you'll see much weirder. However, add the knives, stakes, bats and, of course, Ed's gun, and forget about the cops. We'd be lucky if we didn’t end the day having a nice chat with Homeland Security agents.
Fortunately, Sally had given thought to this as well. “Same way we got to Boston: by car.”
“We ditched the car,” I reminded her.
“So? We'll get another,” she said as if discussing the weather.
“You're not going to kill someone else, are you?”
“I've killed a lot of people before tonight and, assuming we survive, I'll probably kill a lot more afterward,” she pointed out in a tone more conducive to an icy-blooded sociopath. “But no, nobody's out right now and the streets are full of parked cars. Even here in the city, there are plenty of morons who don't bother to lock their doors. I'll head a few blocks over and try to find one I can boost.”
“Let me guess,” I said. “You know how to hot-wire a car.”
She just shrugged and replied, “Doesn't everybody?” before disappearing out the door.
Here Comes the Sun...
Sally directed us to park in a little unmaintained lot next to the safe house where Jeff supposedly awaited us. The place was surrounded by unkempt brush and garbage bins that sat full to the brim with their aromatic contents. It had been quite some time since either a garbage man or weed whacker had paid this section of town a visit.
“Nice place,” commented Ed.
“It's kept this way on purpose. Attracts lots of derelicts and drug dealers,” Sally said conversationally.
I continued the thought for her. “In other words, people who won't be missed.”
“More or less.”
“This is kind of close. Shouldn't we maybe park elsewhere and try sneaking in?”
She shook her head. “Pointless. There are security cameras on all sides. There's virtually no chance of someone getting in unseen.”
“What about a hidden entrance?” I asked. “The coven has that ... kitchen, I guess, down in the sewers under the loft. Anything like that here?”
“Good.” She actually smiled. “So you do occasionally pay attention. There's one here as well, but the same deal with the cameras. A pack of invisible ninjas couldn't sneak into this place without being noticed.”
“So, we just walk in through the front door?” Ed asked.
“Suits me,” growled Tom, double checking his “equipment.” He was starting to worry me a bit.
“Yes, we just walk in,” Sally said. “No point in giving him the satisfaction of seeing us try and fail to sneak up on him. He'll be expecting something panicky, so if you guys stride up there like you own the place, it might throw him off his game a bit.”
“You guys?” I asked.
“Yes. I've been thinking that we might have one more ace up our sleeves. It's a long shot, but it's possible Jeff might not know I'm on your side. He didn't mention me on your answering machine, and he hasn't called my cell.”
“At least that we know of,” Ed pointed out.
“At least that you know of,” she repeated with a grin.
“What are you guys talking about?” I asked.
“Simple,” he explained. “She's been out of our sight a few times. How do we know Jeff hasn't called her? Right now she could be under his ... what did you call it ... compulsion.”
“Smart boy,” Sally replied, still grinning. “It's good to know at least one of your nerd herd has a functional brain. You should take notes, Bill. A little paranoia is a very good thing in our world.”
There was a moment of silence in the car, during which I could feel the tension rise. However, then realization hit me. “Oh, this is stupid. She's obviously here on her own.”
“How can you be sure?” Tom asked.
“Because it doesn't make sense otherwise,” I replied before addressing her. “For starters, Jeff is an egomaniacal asshole. There's no way he's letting you take any credit for putting me down. Second, he wouldn't use you to kill Tom or Ed because they're just pitiful humans.” I turned to them. “No offense.”
“None taken,” Tom replied.
I turned back to Sally. “It'd be one thing if my roommates were a couple of Navy SEALs, but to use you to take out the human equivalent of a pack of Lunchables would make him seem weak. Considering he's been looking pretty bad ever since I showed up on the scene, I'm betting he needs to bust all of our heads personally, both to keep his rep amongst the coven and to sooth his bruised ego.”
Sally's response was a slow golf clap. “Very nicely said. You have been paying attention after all. There may be hope for you yet ... assuming you survive the next fifteen minutes.”
“So, where does that leave us?” asked Ed.
“As I was saying, it's possible Jeff doesn't know I'm a part of this. If not, then there's no reason to tip him off until it's too late. As of right now, I'm your prisoner.”
♦ ♦ ♦
The sun was just getting ready to peek its head above the horizon as we walked to the loading dock. Sally was front and center. Tom and I flanked her while Ed walked behind with the shotgun pointed at her back. There was a security door off to the side, which she directed us toward, her voice taking on a shaky tone befitting her role. This was it. I was really hoping we knew what we were doing.
Sadly, any way I looked at it, I didn't see an easy way out of this. Jeff wanted me dead, and if I didn't want to oblige him, then I had no choice but to take him out first. I tried not to think of what would happen if I failed. Likewise, I tried to push away the nagging thought that I was leading two of my best friends towards a horrific fate.
I shook my head. Negativity wasn't going to win me the day. I was lucky to have such good friends. They were willing to stand by my side in the face of ... well, okay, it wasn't exactly the face of ultimate evil ... more like the face of an overly powerful douchebag asshole. But still, that counted for a lot in my book. If I had to die, I had good company in which to do so. Besides, if anything happened to either of them, I probably wouldn't need to burden my conscience too much, especially since I'd most likely be following right after.
I reached the door and tried the handle. It was unlocked. Taking a deep breath, I pushed it open, leaping ba
ck as I did so. No point in standing there like a doofus just in case he was waiting on the other side to stake me. After all this build up, that would be a really embarrassing way to go.
I needn't have worried, though. The entranceway was empty. Beyond the door there appeared to be a small security checkpoint – unmanned, of course. Past that was an old walk-through metal detector through which the main warehouse floor could be seen. I was expecting a dank, dark place full of shadowy places perfect for an ambush. However, everything I could see from the doorway appeared brightly lit. Guess that made sense. Jeff wanted a face off, not an assassination. That, and turning off the lights on creatures who could see in the dark was probably not the most effective tactic in the world anyway.
“Come on in and make yourself comfortable,” a voice, Jeff’s, called from inside. “And close the door behind you. Wouldn't want you to get a ... sunburn.” He chuckled at his own joke – such a douche.
“Help me, master!” Sally cried out.
“Quiet, bitch!” I backhanded her. Sure, the entire thing had been prearranged, but I will admit it felt kinda good. I was pretty cool with her after all we had been through, but she was still the person who had gotten me into this mess in the first place. I was probably owed at least one freebie without messing up my karma too much.
Her head reeled back – much harder than it should have from the blow – and she fell to her knees sobbing. She was definitely going for an Oscar with this one.
“Get moving,” Ed ordered, prodding her with the barrel of his gun. When she hesitated, I grabbed her by the hair and dragged her in with me. That part hadn't been scripted but, when on the stage, sometimes one must improvise a bit.
We walked through the non-functional metal detector and I was able to get a better look at the surroundings. It looked quite defensible in case of a breach. Large wooden crates were strewn everywhere throughout the area, whether full or just for show, I couldn't tell. What I could tell was that they were placed in a way so as to force a visitor to walk a path between them ... almost forming a sort of corn maze, minus the corn, of course.
“Come along, child. Daylight's burning,” called Jeff's voice again.
Tom, Ed, and I exchanged glances before entering the maze of crates. If it were possible for there to be a collective gulp, then I'm pretty sure we shared one. Heh! I was supposed to be all nervous and such, worrying about my mother. Instead, I was nervous worrying about getting all our asses out of there alive. The end result was that I didn't have to put in a lot of extra effort to appear at the end of my already frayed nerves.
We walked slowly through the warehouse maze. Sally kept her head down and continued to sob. My roommates and I tried to keep our eyes on all places at once: in front of us, behind us, and on top of the crates. Despite the large size of the area, the makeshift corridors made it feel very claustrophobic. The fact that we couldn't see over them to what lay beyond wasn't helping things. This was obviously all done on purpose. I just wasn't sure whether it was a normal thing or if Jeff had set it up specifically for me. If the latter, I might have almost felt flattered.
At last, things opened up. We stepped out from between two crates into a large open area. Judging from the distance to the outer walls, at least from what I could see, we appeared to be approximately in the center of the warehouse. A large area of about fifty feet on all sides had been left bare. Crates lined the sides like walls, with the exception of a few breaks here and there for more passages leading into the bowels of the structure. On the far side of the clearing was the first piece of non-crate furnishing I had seen since entering. A comfortable looking executive chair sat on the floor, at the opposite end, looking much like a throne. Upon it lounged Jeff.
“I bid you welcome, Dr. Death.” He stood and mock bowed. “I see you've brought something that belongs to me.” He nodded in Sally's direction. His eyes briefly glanced at my roommates before settling back on me again. “Didn't you read the sign outside? No pets allowed. I'm afraid I'm going to have to ask them to die.”
“Cut the shit, Jeff.” I tried to sound tough ... emphasis on tried. “Where's my mother?”
A look of pure rage flashed across his face and he screamed out, “YOU WILL ADDRESS ME AS ‘NIGHT RAZOR!!’”
I staggered from the force of it, not sure if the compulsion attempt was done on purpose or out of habit, as he knew it wouldn't work on me. Nevertheless, it still left a nasty ringing in my ears. Fortunately, my head cleared quickly.
I then turned to check on my companions. Uh oh. I had thought a compulsion was a personal thing. I didn't realize one could be sent out like a mass email. Sally had ceased sobbing and was trying to shake off a glazed look that had appeared in her eyes.
My roommates weren't faring much better. Tom was holding his hands to his ears and Ed had been driven to his knees, a small bit of blood dripping from his nostrils. Oh, shit! In all my worrying about Sally, I had forgotten that humans could be compelled, too. This was a potential problem. What if the numbers were reversed and I found myself facing four foes instead of the other way around? I'd be toast pretty goddamned quick if that went down.
Luck was on my side, though, at least for the moment. Ed slowly regained his feet after a second or two. Tom blinked a few times and then shot me a thumbs-up. It appeared that, while it could no doubt be fairly traumatic, the mass compulsion didn't affect people like it did vampires.
I then remembered what both Sally and Jeff had told me. Compelling humans required a lot more effort. If I had my facts straight, he might be able to bowl over my friends on a whim, but he wouldn't be able to outright control them unless he put some concentration into it. With me in the area, he probably wouldn't chance lowering his guard to try. At least I hoped he wouldn't, unless maybe I happened to be standing next to him with a stake in my hand.
I let out a breath, trying real hard not to make it sound like the sigh of relief that it was, and turned back to Jeff. “Enough with the parlor tricks,” I said, attempting to project a tone of little more than base annoyance. “I have your blonde haired chew toy. I'll trade you. Her life for my mom's.”
“You assume her life is worth anything to me,” he spat.
“I think it is.”
“You'd be wrong,” he said with a sneer. “Her life was forfeited the second she brought you to us. Besides, look at her now. How far she has fallen from what she once was. She's little more than ... sloppy seconds... to me, now.”
“You fucking cocksucker!” Sally yelled out, forgetting all pretense of being our prisoner. “Sloppy seconds? I'll sloppy seconds you in the ass, you fucking prick.”
Jeff and I both stopped our conversation to stare at her. She ended her rant as realization of what she had just done dawned on her face. “Sorry,” she sheepishly said to me.
“Hit a nerve?” I asked.
Jeff looked confused for a second or two, and then rage once again filled his features. “Are you kidding me, Sally? You'd seriously choose this over me?”
“Yep,” she said in reply. “Let's face facts, hon. You're kind of an asshole.”
“You traitorous little slut,” he snarled. “I was going to let you live, but now ... oh, no. When I'm done with this little shit, I'm gonna make a pair of boots from your hide. But for right now ... STAY PUT!!”
The compulsion was directed at her and hit like a rock. Her eyes glazed over and she went rigid, a slack jawed look on her face.
“Come on, Sally,” I pleaded, snapping my fingers in front of her face. “You're stronger than this. You can fight it.”
“No she can't, you little Freewill piece of garbage,” replied Jeff, a cruel smile on his face. “I see she hasn't taught you a damn thing. She might be able to fight a compulsion to attack you or to kill herself. Emotions can make these things all sorts of messy. But a neutral compulsion? Now, that's a different story. Neither being able to help or harm makes it difficult to tap into something that you can use to fight it.” He pulled something out of his pock
et and walked over to a nearby crate. “I'm afraid, much like you, little Sally has seen her last ... sunset.” He began fiddling with whatever he had taken out of his pocket.
Bill The Vampire (The Tome of Bill Book 1) Page 25
