Black Ops

by Alan Baxter

  The girl shuddered. “Ugh. I hate rats.”

  “Don’t worry. They can’t get in.”

  “Oh. Good.” The girl immediately lost interest in the rat-slash-slavering, ravenous, genetically altered vampire, and went back to playing a game. Micky craned to look at the girl’s screen and then shook his head. She was playing ‘Vampire Hunter’.

  Yolanda had seen enough. “Micky, I think about now would be a good time to restore power and get both us and these nice, vulnerable commuters the hell out of here, don’t you?”

  “Copy that.” Micky stabbed at the screen.

  The lights flickered on and off again.

  “Um, Micky?”

  “Trying, boss. Bear with me…” There was a waver of anxiety in Micky’s voice.

  “Tell that to Bitey McBiteface out there, Cox. These fuckers are working to their own timetable, fella, and it’s deffo on the hurry-up!” Gary’s hand tensed around his own Glock. “Boss…”

  “I said wait out!”

  “Yol, I’ve got a damn talon here…” Colby put the sole of his boot against the needle-sharp talon that protruded through the gap in the door, and crunched down hard. The resulting yelp made the girl look up again, and Colby did a quick impression of a buck-toothed rat, complete with ears and comic-effect “Eek!” for emphasis.

  The girl rolled her eyes, muttered a quick “Weirdo!” at Colby, refocused on her screen and updated her status.

  Flynn threw a look to the heavens in thanks, and then double-checked the venom-filled talon had withdrawn. He peered into the darkness and watched the Taint scuttle back into the shadows, cradling its hand. They were getting much, much too bold. He glanced down the carriage towards Yolanda. She was eyes-on and totally focused, but he could see the tension in her face even at this distance. This was bad. This was very bad. His own spidey-senses screamed blue bloody murder. He reached back to where his adapted Glock sat in its holster and unclipped the retaining catch.

  Halfway down the carriage, Yolanda stared out into the tunnel, watching the Taints move into position for a full-on attack. The onslaught was imminent. The muscle in her jaw twitched. “Micky? I hate to rush you, fella, but now would be good. I would be really very pleased with now!”

  “Damn it, boss, I’m trying!”

  “Try harder!”

  “Wait, wait, yep, okay, I got it!” Micky stabbed at the screen and the train’s lights blazed once again. The carriage jerked forward, accompanied by the traditional ‘About bloody time!’ round of tutting from the commuters. Not one of them had any idea they’d been just seconds from the worst start to a Monday anyone could possibly have.

  The train finally pulled into Archway station and screeched to a stop. The doors hissed open and the team surfed the wave of humanity out onto the platform. They reconvened in the centre, letting the commuters flow around them.

  Yolanda ignored the swirling and buffeting as the whole in/out/shake-it-all-about commuter dance played out once again. The four of them stood just to the side of the entrance to the carriage so they could assess and do a field debrief without interruption. “Well, that was a hoot and a half, wasn’t it? Right then, opinions and options, please.”

  “We’ve definitely got a problem, Yol. And sooner or later someone who isn’t us is gonna notice there’s something distinctly moody going on down here. Then there’s going to be full-on panic. Cop an eyeful.” Colby nodded at the side of the carriage. Tramline scrapes were etched deep into the metal around the door, and a streak of black blood where Flynn had given the Taint an impromptu manicure was obvious. Thankfully, to the untrained eye it simply looked like a smear of oil, and none of the commuters were close enough to notice the acrid chemical tang either.

  “Bugger. That was close.” Yolanda pointed her phone at the door and snapped a succession of photographs. The Colonel would need documentary evidence if they were going to risk going into the tunnels for a seek-and-destroy op, but she didn’t want to alarm any of the commuters still milling around. Sneaky-peaky. Keep it off the radar and don’t alarm the herd. The last thing they wanted was a stampede. “I need to get a swab of that for the forensics team before this train buggers off. Gentlemen, would you mind awfully giving me a bit of cover, so the civvies don’t get freaked out by the crazy lady taking DNA swabs off a train carriage door, please? Thank you.”

  The team moved to shield Yolanda from view as she took a swab of the blackened blood. She stood, dropped the cotton-tipped bud into a plastic tube and snapped on the lid. The tube was deposited into a plastic zip bag and secreted into a jacket pocket with all the dexterity of a street magician pulling a card trick. Not a single ‘civvy’ noticed.

  Taints were continually evolving, and the swab would give the team a chemical blueprint of their current stage of development. It would probably be bad. It usually was with Taints.

  “Right then, let’s get this back to base.” Yolanda nodded towards the exit, and Micky, Colby and Gary set off at a brisk walk towards the stairs, dropping instinctively into the standard staggered two-two formation, even in this supposedly ‘safe’ environment. It was hard-wired into their DNA through years of training, operations and that overriding instinct to stay the fuck alive. So far, it had worked rather well.

  Colby paused and turned, aware that Yolanda had dropped back. She was still standing in the middle of the platform, a puzzled frown creasing her forehead. “Yol?” He walked back towards her and laid a hand on her arm. “You’ve got that ‘look’ again. ‘Sup?”

  Yolanda turned and looked behind her. At the far end of the platform, and right in the CCTV’s blind spot stood a massive figure. It ignored the commuters that flowed around it. Unusually for Londoners, they didn’t jostle or push past, but gave the looming figure a wide berth, repelled from making actual physical contact with him by some internal survival instinct. Colby snorted a laugh and shook his head. “Damn, that dude’s bigger than Gary!” He looked at Yolanda. “Yol? Hey, c’mon, you’re starting to freak me out. You okay?”

  “Yeah. Big lad, isn’t he? Now look closer, Flynn.” Yolanda’s gaze never left the figure at the end of the platform. “Remind you of anyone?”

  Colby looked at the hulking figure and frowned. Then a look of recognition finally spread across his face. “Oh, hell no!”

  Yolanda nodded. “Yep. And there it is…”

  Colby reached for his Glock in one smooth, flowing move.

  Yolanda grabbed his wrist and shook her head. “Stand down, Flynn.” For a split second she battled with him. “I said, stand down!”

  Colby glared at her. “He’s right there, Yol! He’s right fucking there!”

  “And so are god-knows how many civilians! We start shooting now, all hell breaks loose, we are royally burned, and people die. And if two blocks of C4 in Tokat couldn’t take the bugger out, do you honestly think a single clip of organo jackets’ll do the trick? Now, stand down!”

  Colby relented, but didn’t take his eyes off the figure at the end of the platform. “Okay, but we need to bang out of here sharpish and call in a lock-down team. Now.”

  “Not until I know that every civvy in here is out safely. We wait.”

  “Are you actually kidding me? I am not just standing here playing platform chicken with that son of a bitch!”

  “I said, we wait!” Yolanda’s gaze never left the brooding figure in front of her. She clicked the Bluetooth. “Micky. Find the station manager. Close the station. Now. Then call in containment. I want all trains on this line stopped immediately. Usual ‘suspect package’ or ‘major emergency engineering works’ bullshit, you choose. Gary, get your arse back down here. FUBAR. FUBAR like you wouldn’t bloody believe. I need you and your bag of tricks here. Move.”

  Two voices responded in sequence: “Copy that.”

  Yolanda refocused on the figure in front of them. It wasn’t just the size that was
so intimidating. It was the way that his mere presence seemed to suck the very light out of the air. And those teeth. Man, those teeth! He smiled slowly, revealing a mouthful of dazzlingly white and needle-sharp dentistry.

  Vlad.

  In London.

  In the middle of the morning rush hour, on platform two of Archway Underground station.

  One of the most savage and evil monsters ever to walk the face of the earth was currently standing casually on a London underground platform as if it were the most natural thing in the world, dressed in normal clothes, and looking every inch like a bog-standard commuter. A hidden horror, right there, in plain sight. And nobody except the two soldiers had the faintest idea what ancient evil had wandered, unseen and unchallenged, slap-bang into the normalcy of everyday London life.

  Tinted glasses masked his distinctive golden eyes from the gaze of his human fellow travellers. But nothing could hide who he really was to Colby and Yolanda. And he was about as welcome as finding a scorpion in your boot.

  He stood there, a snarling smile taunting the two soldiers.

  Then, from the same carriage stepped another figure. Almost as tall as Vlad, he was lithe and wiry, not as muscular but certainly a contender for ugliest Northern Line commuter of the day. He stood slightly behind Vlad, subservient to the monster. Yet there was a quiet, confident menace that permeated from the creature. He had authority. He had standing. He had a connection with Vlad that went beyond that of a mere ‘foot soldier’. This was a Taint of some importance.

  Colby glanced at Yolanda. “Like father like son?”

  Yolanda’s eyes didn’t leave the two figures. She shook her head. “More likely one of his Lieutenants. Remember, Col, this bastard may be a monster now, but he was a military man once. And a great one at that. He’ll have his own chain of command.”

  Colby scowled. “Great. So we’ve got a second tango to deal with. This day just keeps getting better and fucking better, doesn’t it?”

  “Focus on the primary, Col. If the secondary advances, engage and shoot the fucker in the face. And keep shooting until it goes down and stays down.” Yolanda’s hand tightened around the grip of her Glock.

  Okay.

  So this could go either way…

  Vlad glanced sideways as a pretty blonde, wrapped in her own little commuter-world full of bland pop music, LOL texts from ‘Angie’ and wearing the standard-issue officeware of white blouse, dark pencil skirt and cheap, clattery high heels, tried to squeeze past. He sensed Colby and Yolanda holding their breath as they watched his fingers flex and ripple.

  Motionless and still smiling, Vlad gazed at the woman, sensing every fluttering beat of her heart as she manoeuvred past him.

  Then her perfume hit him.

  Like a storm surge, it sent a wave of ancient memories crashing into his mind, overwhelming him for a second. He didn’t care about the insignificant life of this woman. He had taken thousands – hundreds of thousands – of lives over the centuries. One more wouldn’t make him any more evil than he already was. Sparing her would not redeem him either.

  But that perfume…

  It was the scent of lilacs on a soft, summer evening. It was the scent she had worn, all those centuries ago.

  Brief seconds slowed to the speed of dripping molasses. Vlad watched the girl move past him in slow motion and took in every detail. Her red lips. Her silken blond hair. But above all, that dizzying perfume that had the power to stir such a fire in his blackened heart. She turned and looked at him, and for a split second he could have sworn the girl’s face transformed into her face. His love. His sweet love.

  Taken from him by soldiers.

  Soldiers who had wanted to make sure his dark legacy ended at Tokat. There would be no more children. No more sons. They had gutted her like a fish. Soldiers had butchered his love in front of him. Soldiers had tainted the sweet scent of lilacs with the coppery tang of her blood.

  And now, this vapid… child, tottering past him on ridiculous heels, had the audacity to wear the same perfume as she did? Vlad’s mind reeled and insanity roared inside him. It warped and twisted that brief flutter of clarity – of light, of beauty – and morphed it back into a black, blood-soaked chasm of hatred. How dare she walk on this earth, while his love rotted in the ground! How dare she!

  Vlad’s madness, fuelled by the scent of his long-dead love, boiled. For a moment, his focus had shifted away from the soldiers standing just a few feet from him. The girl and her perfume had filled his world.

  His lieutenant saw the black madness in his master’s eyes and twitched his finger. It was enough to bring Vlad’s attention sharply back into focus.

  The girl was nothing more than an impostor.

  A mere memory of his love.

  A haunting reflection, stimulated by the scent of lilacs.

  But the soldiers… Ah, now they were something else.

  They were toys to be played with, before he unleashed his lieutenant and his pack of slathering Taints on them.

  But not yet. Not yet…

  The grandfather of all vampires studied his opponents, taking in every micro-expression, feeling every hammer-blow of their hearts, and hearing the blood rushing through their bodies. He could almost taste the fear-tinged frustration they felt at being so close yet so far away from protecting an ‘innocent’.

  It delighted him.

  Watching the impotent rage boil and churn in the bellies of his enemies was exquisite. He relished the thought that for the rest of their probably very short lives the two soldiers would have that gut-punch of shame every time they remembered they had had no choice but to simply stand and watch a monster decide the fate of an innocent girl. In the most normal of surroundings. Where the girl was supposed to be safe.

  But this was a tactical confrontation, too. A chance to see how his enemy reacted. How they moved. How they prioritised potential collateral damage. Examine their weaknesses.

  Vlad chuckled quietly. Time to take things up a level. He nodded to the lieutenant, who bowed slightly and smoothly stepped back on board the train. Inside, a handful of oblivious passengers sat starting at their smartphones, unaware of what stalked their carriage.

  The two soldiers instinctively reacted by stepping forward a couple of paces. Vlad held up a finger and wagged it from side to side. They froze again, closer to the door yet not quite close enough to make a difference.

  Colby snarled at Vlad, that taunting laugh sending a pulse of fury through him. He hissed. “Fuck. Yol, we need to get that bastard off of that train. Yol…”

  “I know. I know, damn it.” Yolanda ground her teeth in frustration. Oh, you clever bastard, Vlad. You clever, clever bastard! Split your targets. See how we prioritise. You son of a bitch, you’re on as much of a dekko as we are, aren’t you, you fucker?

  An ear-splitting beeping warned of the impending departure of the train. The two soldiers knew those passengers were trapped now. Trapped inside a tin can with one of Vlads lieutenants. And there was nothing, nothing they could do.

  “Fuck! Fuck! Yol, we have to stop that train!” Colby’s voice cracked with pent-up fury.

  “Damn it!” Yolanda watched as the lieutenant sat beside an elderly woman. He glanced back towards Colby and Yolanda and smiled a vicious, spiteful smile, and draped his arm around the back of the seat.

  Yolanda glared back at the lieutenant, clicked the Bluetooth and hissed into it. “Micky, get them to stop the train! Stop the damn train!”

  Static. Fucking static. Shit! Those few steps they’d taken towards Vlad and his lieutenant must have put them slap-bang into a dead spot. She knew that if she moved a muscle, she could instigate a reaction from Vlad. And that would be bad for the long-term prospects of blondie in her clattery heels and tight pencil skirt. “Micky! Micky!”

  Still nothing but the tormenting hiss of dead air. “Fuck!”

/>   Back on the platform, Vlad snarled, and reached out. His long, sinewy fingers brushed the woman’s hair as she passed by, a caress as gentle as a lover’s touch, as delicate as a butterfly – and filled with so much potential for violence. All he had to do was change that caress into a snatch, wind his fingers in the girl’s hair and drag her towards him…

  The electric motors of the tube train whined into life and the carriages started to move. Out of the corner of her eye Yolanda saw the lieutenant give her a little wave and then lean in towards the old woman. The last thing Yolanda saw as the carriage started to blur past was a sweet little old lady strike up a conversation with a ‘nice young man’…

  The noise grew into a mechanical roar, and the air pressure increased. Garish fluorescent lights flickered, combining with the flashing tube train to create a violent strobe effect. The air blasted along the platform, turning the girl’s blonde hair into dancing strands and tangling them around Vlad’s fingers.

  “Yol!” Colby couldn’t hold back any more.

  Screw this.

  “Engage!”

  Screw the whole ‘low-key’ bullshit. They couldn’t just stand there impotent and motionless any more. They were burned. Might as well make it official, then. Their Glocks flipped out and the business end of two adapted G17s pointed straight towards where Vlad—

  —Wasn’t.

  Colby cursed long, loud and passionately. “Shit! Shit! Shit! Oh, you sneaky, mother-fucking, greasy, undead son of a bitch!”

  Still holding the Glocks out in front of them, Colby and Yolanda moved forward at a rapid scuttle, ready to start blasting at anything that didn’t look like a commuter.

  The girl stood alone, alive and paralysed with fear as two grim-faced, gun-toting figures moved smoothly towards her. They were using that feline, cross-step gait that always hinted at extreme violence and explosive power bubbling just below the surface. What were they, Special Forces? Police? Security Services? What? Whoever they were they looked like they’d shoot her in a heartbeat. She stood, frozen with fear, hot tears of terror rolling down her cheeks. “Please! Please don’t kill me! Please!”