“A necessary storage,” Visine said.
“Worried about that long winter?” I joked with a nod.
“When my body is damaged, the nanites require raw materials to work with. Fat stores well,” he said straight faced.
“Oddly, that makes sense,” I replied.
I finished off my sandwich and washed it down with my drink. Then I looked Visine in the eyes, keeping my voice low as I spoke.
“What can you tell me about Dirk Camalon?” I asked.
His whole body went still. There was no shift in his face or the slightest hint of emotion, but I knew from Timothy’s report earlier that the two men had fought together in Korea. Visine however was far too good at controlling his expressions to give me any hint as to the current state of their association.
“He was a very old friend,” Visine said flatly.
“Sorry.”
Visine gave me a slight nod.
“He wasn’t the first,” he said.
“Right. I can’t imagine how many friends you have lost in ninety years,” I frowned.
“I meant not the first of our group,” he corrected.
“Oh, you mean those other two dudes in Europe?”
“And Shin back in Korea,” Visine started.
His eyes glazed over as if he was running the event over again in his mind. He took a sip of his drink, before looking back up to meet my eyes and continue.
“After they found Percy’s body in Germany, Argo, Dirk, and I got together to remember an old friend. We were all going to look into the murder from different angles, sharing anything that we found. I was following up on a lead here when I heard that they got Argo in Sweden. Dirk was finishing up some research in England and he said that he would be in touch soon. He was killed shortly after arriving in town. I never got to speak to him again,” Visine said.
“I’m sorry,” I said, “I can’t imagine losing a friend you have known for fifty years.”
“Seventy actually, but he knew me for far longer,” Visine replied.
“And…you lost me.”
“We bumped into each other in the thirties. He called me Lazarus before he realized that I had lost my memory. Apparently we had been friends for a very long time, but aside from my name, he refused to give me any details,” he said, a hint of frustration to his tone.
“Why?” I asked.
“He claimed that we had some great purpose. He thought that my amnesia might cloak me in some way from any who would wish us harm. There was also the fear that restoring my memory would trigger some event too early. That was as much as I could ever get out of him,” Visine frowned.
“Well that sucks.”
A slight smile formed on Visine’s lips and he exhaled loudly out of his nose in place of a laugh.
“It was less than ideal,” he said.
I actually felt bad for the guy. Imagine losing your memory and then meeting a man who claims to be one of your oldest friends. But that guy refuses to tell you anything about who you are. Claims that he is protecting you. It had to feel like a parent dealing with a child. We all hate that. Dirk had now taken the secrets of Visine’s life to the grave. I figured that even discussing Dirk’s murder was more pleasant than the lost past. So I kept pressing on the case.
“And you all didn’t learn anything in your investigations regarding Percy’s death?” I asked.
“Just that a Fae cult was apparently responsible,” he replied.
“Okay, which one?”
“We weren’t able to narrow it down,” he said.
“Not even a little?”
“You do know what Fae is short for don’t you?” he asked.
“Sure, Faerie right?”
“Which makes it such a generic title that it could mean almost anything,” he said.
“So basically a needle in a haystack?”
“In the paranormal world it’s more like a needle in a needle stack,” he corrected.
“Then maybe we need to work backwards. How are they tracking you guys?”
“What makes you think they can track us?” he asked.
“Well I asked Kara, our team witch, about it. She thought that if she had more of Dirk’s magical essence to work with that she might be able to track the rest of it. You are all some kind of magic immortal dudes, so I just assumed that you had a unique signature. Something that someone could use to find you,” I said.
“If that were true, it would seem that Dirk may have been right. Perhaps my amnesia blocks me from their scans,” he said.
“What makes you say that?” I asked.
“Because they were waiting here, instead of chasing me,” he said.
“Fair point. Unless they just have a limited range,” I offered.
“No way to be sure,” he said.
“Sure there is. Come down to GHOST HQ and let Kara scan you so she can see if you really are cloaked.”
“Kid, what makes you think that I need your help?” he asked.
“Two things. One, I just saved your life from deadly sorcerers,” I stated.
“No you didn’t,” he shot back, shaking his head and grinning.
“Two, hanging out with me is a ton of fun. You loved being my sidekick last time,” I smiled.
“Sidekick?” he questioned.
“I call em like I see em.”
His look told me that he wasn’t amused. He was about to say something when I held up a finger, asking for a moment. I felt a familiar presence.
“Hey Boss, I’m here,” Vlad said.
“Sweet, my car’s here,” I told Visine.
Visine furrowed his brow, a slight look of confusion on his face. I got the impression that he was scanning me somehow, looking for something.
“You have no electronic devices on you, how were you notified that your car arrived?” he asked.
I held up my wrist, showing the leather band, “Magic,” I winked.
Visine’s stare made it clear that he didn’t really believe me. There was a look of curiosity on his face but it quickly faded. I assumed that he decided it would speed up my departure if he let it go. Clearly he didn’t know me.
“Is there any chance that you leave me alone now?” Visine asked.
“None at all,” I smiled.
“Fine,” he said with a sigh as he stood up, “Let’s get this over with.”
He had a scowl on his face, but I knew that it was an act. After all, who wouldn’t want to hang out with me?
Chapter 11
I took point as we made our way out of the crowded bar. Vlad was waiting out back behind the bar and he let me know that everything looked clear before we stepped out. I told Visine and he nodded his head in agreement, clearly looking at me as if to say “no duh”. I guess his little nano-bugs checked all the local surveillance cameras or something. But even with that assurance I stepped outside cautiously, keeping my eyes peeled for danger.
Vlad, my super sweet, super slick, two-door black sports car was parked just outside the door. The nearly full moon and the parking lot lights danced across his shinny exterior. He looked like a Trans Am on steroids. Vlad’s doors, which opened by sliding underneath the car, did so automatically as Visine and I approached. I jumped into the driver’s side and Visine took the passenger side, the doors closing instinctively behind us. The electric motor gave a quiet whine as it started up and we were off. I figured I should make some introductions.
“Vlad, this is Visine. Visine, meet Vlad,” I said.
“Greetings,” Vlad said aloud.
Vlad’s voice sounds young, almost child like. Visine didn’t seem to pay it any mind. He was looking over the interior of the car, as if he was searching for something. Then, after a small grimace, he focused on the radio and it switched on, seemingly of its own accord.
“Um Boss, your new friend is messing with my radio,” Vlad said in my head.
“Any reason that you are trying to mess with my car?” I asked.
Visine’s attention continue
d to dance across the dash as he spoke to me.
“Sorry, my nanites instantly detected what I can only describe as corruption. There is something seriously wrong with the electronics in this machine,” he said.
“Hey, that’s not corruption, that’s dragoneering,” Vlad stated out loud.
“Dragoneering indeed,” Visine scoffed.
“Isn’t he cool,” I said.
“Care to explain?” Visine asked.
“Vlad’s a dragon spirit. I found him in one of the GHOST labs. He needed something large and organic to bond with or he would have died. So naturally I thought of my car. In addition to these fancy leather seats, the car’s body is made of some kind of experimental organic composite. The ultimate green machine,” I smiled.
“And apparently it’s spreading,” Visine stated.
“Just getting comfy,” Vlad said.
Visine didn’t appear amused, but I thought it was funny.
“Yeah, I guess he only needed the organic stuff to start. Slowly he is becoming the entire machine. My ghost in the machine, right pal,” I said.
“Right Boss,” Vlad replied.
“When you say found him?” Visine asked.
“Hey Vlad, why don’t you drive for a bit. Uncle Visine and I are gonna chat,” I said to my dash.
I could feel Vlad take over, the steering wheel turning of its own accord. I spun in my seat a bit, making it so that I could look at Visine as we talked without cranking my neck completely to the side. Then I explained the awesomeness that is my car.
“Like I said, it was one of the GHOST labs. I was walking by and I got this weird feeling like someone needed my help. Stepping inside I noticed this large black piece of skin,” I said holding up my arm.
The band on my arm looked like a leather bracer, only instead of cowhide, it was dragon. It wrapped firmly around my forearm, running from my wrist to about two thirds of the way to my elbow.
“I almost felt the skin calling to me. So I walked over and touched it, and that was when he asked for my help,” I said.
“How did he ask?” Visine questioned.
“I heard his voice in my head. He told me that they were going to destroy him. There was a general sense of foul play in the lab; a fact later verified when the lab guys were reprimanded. Whatever unorthodox technique they were using to capture his soul would have killed him instead,” I frowned.
“Killed him?” Visine asked raising an eyebrow.
“Destroyed his spirit or whatever. You know what I mean. In order to survive he needed something big and organic. The skin had been his vessel, the thing keeping him from being sucked into oblivion. But they had weakened his link so he needed something else to bond to and fast.”
“A living vessel to possess?” Visine asked.
“Yeah, but not anything sinister. He said it couldn’t be somewhere that a sentience already survived. He wasn’t trying to snatch my body or anything weird,” I stated.
Vlad let out a little snicker, causing Visine and me to pause for a moment and debate on whether or not we should comment.
“So you gave him your car.” Visine said.
“As I said, it was a perfect fit. A large amount of organic material and my car was big enough to give him some room,” I smiled.
Visine looked at the band on my wrist before responding, “He didn’t need much room before?”
“Again, a result of the process they used. He existed primarily on the ethereal plane or something before, but they brought his spirit here. So now he was stuck and needed something more significant to survive. So we both won. He got a cool car body and I got a new friend,” I smiled.
Visine looked like he was about to say something, then he quickly glanced at the dash and then back at me. I could tell he didn’t want to ask in front of Vlad. I had a pretty good idea where his mind was going. To be fair, he was riding in a possessed car at around the same time that magic wielding nut jobs were trying to kill him. He was allowed to be cautious. So I tried to answer what I assumed was his query.
“Look, I know this might seem a little odd. And I can see where you might worry. But you gotta trust my instincts on this one. Vlad’s on our side,” I said as serious as I could.
“Why you?” Visine asked.
“What do you mean?” I responded.
“I mean why were you the one to hear his call?” Visine questioned.
“Vlad tried to tell me that anyone could hear his call and I just happened by, but I have another theory,” I started, leaning over and lowering my voice as I spoke, “I think it’s because we are both dragons.”
Visine just gave me a look. The look made it clear that he thought I was nuts.
“Think about it. I was conceived in the year of the dragon,” I pointed out.
“Conceived?” Visine asked cautiously.
“Well technically I was born in the year of the snake, but if you go back nine months, to the time of conception, it was the year of the dragon. I know that’s not exactly how the Chinese zodiac works, but I think it should. Plus a Chinese dragon is basically a snake with legs, so it’s like I am a double dragon really. In every martial arts film, the spirit of the dragon, the essence of the dragon, whatever dragon, martial arts and dragons, they are linked. Heck, I was called the Black Dragon as a nickname. Can all of that really be coincidence? Or is it more likely that me and Vlad are spiritual brothers?” I finished.
Visine actually looked towards the dash, as if he was hoping Vlad might provide a voice of reason. And if that wasn’t scary enough, Vlad tried.
“Best to just nod your head and pretend you agree with him,” Vlad said.
“Hey,” I yelled at the dash.
Visine actually cracked a smile. I guess I joke around so much that it’s hard for people to know when I am being serious. But come on, my logic was sound right?
“He knows you so well,” Visine smiled, “How long has he been your car?”
“Feels like forever,” Vlad groaned.
Visine actually laughed out loud at that one. I wanted to argue, but I too had to chuckle. When we calmed down I responded.
“Almost two months ago now. For the first week he wasn’t able to communicate and I didn’t even know if I had succeeded in saving him. But then after that, he started talking and now I can’t shut him up,” I said.
“Ha, ha,” Vlad said.
Visine smiled again before getting a more serious expression on his face.
“Why not free him?” he asked me.
I frowned a bit. It was something that I didn’t understand. Vlad was an intelligent being and he didn’t deserve to be stuck in my car. But for some reason, Vlad refused to go anywhere.
“I have tried, several times. But he fights every attempt,” I said towards the dash, “He claims that it’s his job to watch out for me.”
“That’s right,” Vlad stated with pride.
“Dragons, what can you do?” I sighed, shaking my head.
“I see,” Visine said.
“So now we’re a crime fighting team,” I smiled.
He sat there a minute, clearly running all of the information over in his head. Then there was a slight nod, as if he reached a decision. He turned back towards me, looking me in the eyes when he spoke.
“Let’s hope you’re instincts are right,” he said before turning towards the dash, “It’s nice to meet you Vlad.”
“You too Visine,” Vlad replied.
With the introductions finished, we all settled in for the ride. Vlad continued to drive as I sat back and relaxed, letting my mind wander. Visine too seemed content to remain quiet and listen to the jazz that was playing over the radio. Traffic was light and we were making very good time. We took 270 to the beltway, down into Virginia and onto the GW parkway heading into DC. As we drove past the spot where Dirk’s body was found, I figured I better check and see if Visine wanted to stop. I looked over at him before I spoke.
“Did you want to stop and maybe look around or some
thing?” I asked.
“No. I’m sure your people swept the scene,” he replied.
I nodded and didn’t say anything else until we got to GHOSTs HQ. I smiled at the Washington Monument as we turned into the underground parking garage. I remembered almost too late.
“Vlad stop!” I shouted.
Vlad locked up his brakes, causing the car to abruptly screech to a halt. Visine put up an arm in order to stop himself from being thrown into the dash. He immediately started looking around, his eyes searching for any hint of danger.
“Sorry. I didn’t mean to scare everyone. Vlad makes the security system go nuts. If we pulled forward any further, the pillars around here light up like it’s Christmas. With my luck, we probably already set them off. We should get out here,” I said to Visine, “Vlad, wait here for a minute while I talk to the guards.”
Two security guards were hurrying in our direction as Visine and I got out of the car. They had their hands on their sidearms, but no weapons were out yet. Although my badge was clipped to my belt, it was my face that the guard recognized. He gave me an angry grimace before shaking his head at me. I was betting that he was one of the guards on duty the last time I brought Vlad in. I gave both guards my most friendly smile.
“Sorry guys, we were in a hurry, I forgot about the alarms. Can the car stay where it is or do you need me to pull it out of the garage completely?” I asked.
Guard number one, as I thus named him, glared at Vlad, a look of disgust covering his face. Guard number two shook his head in frustration and walked back towards the pillars, which were both glowing faintly yellow. He tapped one pillar a few times, shook his head, and tapped it some more. Then with a heavy sigh, he turned towards me and pointed to the far corner.
“Put the car there for now,” Guard Two said.
“Vlad,” I said with a nod.
He drove himself over to the designated spot.
“How long are you staying?” Guard One hissed.
“Not long,” I smiled.
“Because you should know that in order to have that creature in here, we have to lower the sensitivity on the system. So feel free to take your time as you compromise security,” One sneered sarcastically.
G.H.O.S.T. Teams: Book 1 - Magic Page 10
