Meta Marshal Service 2

by B N Miles

  “Have a nice day.” Jared took Jessalene’s arm and steered her away. They left the shop, with Cassie bringing up the rear. He didn’t speak as they walked down the block. He crossed the street and stepped into the little park. There was a bench facing out toward the street and he sat on it, the girls sitting on either side of him.

  “Okay,” Jessalene said. “What was that?”

  “That was a Vampire not talking to the cops,” Jared said. “And that’s exactly how I thought it would go.”

  “Think he’ll send the video?” Cassie asked.

  “Not even a little bit.” Jared crossed his legs and stretched. “But look at this. We have a good view.”

  Both girls followed his gaze, and Jessalene laughed. “You’re right. We can see his shopfront from here.”

  “What I’m thinking is, if he knows about the Goblins, he just might try and make contact with them. Cassie, why don’t you head down around the block and post up somewhere at the other end, so if he goes out the back, you’ll spot him. Jessalene, you head to the other side of this block and find a spot to watch. I’ll stay here and keep an eye on the store front.”

  “Oh, you get the nice spot?” Jessalene gave him a look. “No way. I’m staying here. You go down the block.”

  He grinned at her. “You two don’t know what you’re looking for. I’m the only trained officer here.”

  “All the more reason for me to stay in the shade.”

  He sighed and stood. “Fine. You stay here. Cassie, you’re around back.”

  “I’m not going to keep going around back forever, you know,” she grumbled.

  “Don’t make this harder than it has to be, you two.” He glared at them.

  Cassie frowned. “Sorry. I’m just still annoyed that you two hate my driving.”

  Jared laughed and put an arm around her. “It’s fine. You’re perfect in every way.”

  “Yeah, no shit.” She pushed him off. “Now better get in position.”

  He gave Jessalene a look and she just grinned at him. “I’ll call if I spot anything.”

  “Roger that.” He walked off. Cassie split with him at the intersection and headed around toward the back of the block while Jared went past the pawnshop on the other side of the street. He found a good, shady spot underneath a bodega’s overhang. He leaned up against the building, keeping his head down, pretending to stare down at his phone.

  And so the real work began. Most fieldwork was boring surveillance. He knew patience paid off just as often as rushing in somewhere and aggressively questioning suspects. It’s wasn’t sexy or exciting, but it was all part of the job.

  At least he had Jessalene and Cassie to help. Without them, he’d only have his set of eyes, and that might not be enough. He didn’t know the layout of this block well enough to say if there was a back exit or not, but it was good he didn’t have to guess.

  He also didn’t know what a Vampire like that was doing getting mixed up with Goblins. Arman seemed like a normal man, even though he owned a pawnshop and did payday loans. Vampires were a strange bunch, and over the span of their long lives, a lot of them tended to go a little nuts. Especially the ones that remembered hunting humans.

  Most Vampires lived on donated blood these days. They had a vast underground network of blood banks all over the country. People came in thinking they were donating for some great reason, trying to save human lives, when really they were donating to hungry Vampires. As Jared understood it, there were a handful of Vampire Lords that owned the vast majority of blood banks, and most Vampires had to pay cash to get their blood. Vamps that paid fealty and became the thrall of a Lord got a discounted rate on blood, and so most Vamps found it useful to bend the knee to whichever ruling Lord, Highlord, Underlord, or Bottomlord happened to be in control of their area.

  Every once in a while, though, there’d be a Vampire that didn’t want to play by the rules. They were always hunted by the Magi and dealt with ruthlessly, unless the Vampires handled with their own internal issues first. Vampires didn’t mess around, knowing that they were on the edge of extinction. Because they hunted humans, they could easily break the Accords, and any slip could mean the end of their race. So far, they’d kept it under control through strict top-down control.

  Jared stayed where he was, glancing up every once in a while. He tried not to be too conspicuous, but he was the only guy hanging around outside the bodega. He considered going in and getting a newspaper or something, but he didn’t want to walk away.

  If Arman was going to make a run for the Goblins, he’d do it soon.

  So Jared stayed put and hoped the girls were watching, too. They sat around for almost an hour before he got a text from Jessa.

  Jessalene: Vamp left shop. Coming my way. I’ll follow.

  He slipped his phone into his pocket and moved. He hurried down the block, staying on the side opposite the pawnshop. He nearly ran, and spotted Jessalene coming down the park and crossing the street, which meant Arman was just ahead. He forced back his anxiety and kept a steady pace. Jessalene would be able to follow Arman without him finding out. She’d hunted Jared and Cassie once before, and she’d be able to tail a Vampire in the middle of the day.

  Sunlight didn’t destroy Vamps. It didn’t burn them or make them sparkle. In reality, it only sapped them of their strength. During the day, Vampires were just like anyone else, except they had retractable fangs and a hunger for human blood.

  At sundown, their strength manifested, and they became deadly hunters, the kings of the night.

  But right now, Arman was just a well-dressed pawnshop owner out for a stroll.

  12

  Arman led them on a twisting route through the city. Jared kept up a steady stream of texts with Cassie as she tried to stay on a parallel trajectory, but had to keep doubling back as Arman turned and changed direction.

  Almost like the Vampire was trying to lose them. Jared thought that was pretty obvious, but the Vampire wasn’t very good at it. Jared and Jessalene switched positions twice, just to make sure Arman didn’t catch sight of them, and they continued to tail him at a distance.

  The Vampire didn’t end up too far from the pawnshop. He walked for forty minutes, but he got maybe ten blocks at most before he slowed across from an overgrown fenced-in field strewn with concrete rubble. The basement was still dug into the ground, and some of the interior support structures were still visible down in the ground. The buildings weren’t residential on this block, mostly bars and shops again, although there was one longer, lower structure that looked like it was a locked up warehouse of some sort. It was no taller than the other buildings, but there was a big loading garage that was boarded over, and the windows had bars on them. The front was gray stucco, stained from rain in a few spots.

  Arman went to the warehouse’s front door. He stopped out front as Jared lingered half a block away, watching from a distance. Arman looked around, then took keys from his pocket. He unlocked the door, pushed it open, and went inside.

  Jessalene joined Jared at the corner. “What do you think?”

  “I think if that place isn’t full of Goblins, I’m going to quit magic forever.”

  “Well, let’s not get hasty,” she said, grinning at him.

  He laughed. “Right, sorry. Forgot you love my magic.”

  “Just its after effects.” She blushed. “Anyway, I agree. They have to be in there.”

  Jared sent Cassie a text.

  Jared: Arman is in a warehouse looking building on this block.

  Cassie: I’m at the other end, I saw him go in. Should I go around back?

  Jared: No, you come with me. I’m sending Jessalene around.

  Cassie: I love you.

  Jared: I know.

  He slipped his phone back into his pocket. “Okay, you’re around back this time,” he said.

  Jessalene gave him a look then grinned. “Fine. Tell Cassie it was my idea, though.”

  “Too late.” He headed off down the block. Jess
alene took off the other way and went left at the intersection.

  Jared spotted Cassie coming up toward him, her red hair bobbing. He smiled at her as they came together and crossed the street, heading directly for the warehouse door. They paused outside of it and Jared looked around, trying to sense any Meta auras, but he got nothing. Even the Vampire was keeping his aura in check, and Jared realized he hadn’t felt it back in the pawnshop.

  “Quiet,” he said.

  “I know.” Cassie sniffed the air. “But I think I smell something.”

  “What?”

  “Blood.” She frowned. “Definitely blood.”

  Jared hesitated. “That might be probable cause.”

  “You think so?”

  He shrugged. “Maybe. Probably.”

  “Totally. Let’s go in.”

  He stepped up to the door and hesitated before trying the knob. It was locked, which was no surprise. Instead of picking it, this time he reached out and touched the priori, closing his eyes to form a memgram. Dark blue ice cascaded from his fingertips, crawling into the locking mechanism. It encased the inside of the lock and he turned the knob hard, shattering the tumblers and releasing the door.

  He let out a breath and Cassie quirked an eyebrow. “Magic?” she whispered.

  “Faster that way,” he said. He pushed the door open a touch and slipped inside.

  Cassie stayed close behind him. The entryway was dark and deserted. He moved down into an open seating room with a desk toward one side and shelving all along the walls. Books lined the shelves, and there was an open magazine on the otherwise bare steel desk. The space opened further out, and Jared squinted at the gloom ahead, unable to make out what was in the center. He held out a hand and leaned toward Cassie. “Don’t shift with the vest on,” he said in her ear.

  “What?”

  “It’s expensive.”

  She rolled her eyes. “Fine. Can we just?”

  He nodded and kept moving forward.

  As he kept going, the shelves were mostly empty, and a layer of dust caked over everything. He tried to feel ahead for any Meta auras, but couldn’t get a thing. The floor was covered in old, peeling linoleum the color of green baby puke, and the walls were probably white once, but were now a sickly yellowish brown. The place stunk of mildew and tobacco smoke. Cassie was keeping her aura tight against her skin, but every time she came close and touched him, he could feel it graze him. At first, her aura had been disconcerting, but now it was comforting. He loved having her close.

  They kept moving until they came up to a long counter. It cut the space in half and was clearly meant to mark the front section for customers and the back section for employees. He realized this was a storefront at one point, but couldn’t guess how long ago that had been. There were no signs of anyone around, and Jared was tempted to summon a light. More shelves stretched out behind the counter, and a few jars lined the sagging wooden supports.

  He moved under the counter and kept going. His footsteps echoed in the empty space. Cassie was breathing steady and deep, but he could feel her anxiety prickling his skin. He had a cool sheen of sweat on his brow, and even though he knew it was daytime and that the Vampire wouldn’t have his powers yet, he couldn’t help but feel wary.

  The last thing anyone wanted to do was get into a fight with a Vampire in the dark.

  They came to another door set in the far wall. It was a light blue color and an Employees Only sign hung from one edge. Light glowed from beneath it and Jared could finally feel other Meta auras just beyond. The Goblins were there, he knew it with total certainty. He turned back and looked at Cassie, pulling her close. “In there,” he whispered.

  “How many?”

  “Can’t say. Probably all of them.”

  She frowned. “What’s the plan?”

  “I go first. You stay behind me.”

  “And if they use magic?”

  He grinned. “We’ll be fine.” He turned to the door and grabbed the handle.

  “Jared, wait—”

  But he was already pulling it open.

  13

  Light burst into the room as Jared pulled open the door. He had his shield memgram ready, halfway pulled up as he swept inside.

  The light inside the room was bright enough that it took him a moment for his eyes to adjust. In that half-second, he heard a huge commotion as figures stood, moved, and grunted. “Oh shit,” someone said. “That’s him, that’s him, what the fuck, how’s he here?”

  Jared felt magic buffet him. It slammed against his body and would’ve driven him wild with terror if it weren’t for the vest he was wearing. As his eyes adjusted, he threw up a shield between him and the Goblines, just in case they decided to do something drastic. The air crackled with the diamond scales and hardened, leaving a shimmering but solid wall.

  One Goblin let out a shriek and held up a gun that was way too big for him, the silver barreled revolver about the size of his arm. He pulled the trigger with a scream. Someone else shouted at him, and the bullet smashed into Jared’s shield, lodging itself in his magic. The Goblin that fired the weapon got smashed in the face with his own gun from the recoil and went staggering backward, groaning, blood splattering down his front. The other Goblins started to throw themselves on the ground, shouting in their own language, a guttural chorus of barks and yips.

  There were eight Goblins in the room, including Mondo, who was sitting at a small table toward the back. His chair was tipped up on two legs, and his eyes were wide with shock, a cigarette dangling between his lips. Arman sat with him, eyes narrowed in anger. Jared would’ve been afraid if the Vampire had any of his power, but fortunately, right now Arman was just a pawnshop owner with sharp teeth.

  “Nobody move,” Jared said, taking out his badge. The Goblin that had fired his gun sat on the ground, his nose bleeding, the gun left uselessly beside him. “Meta Marshal Service.”

  The room was silent and still. The Goblins didn’t move an inch. Two were cowering behind an old, moth-eaten couch, the stuffing leaking from multiple tears. One was flat on his face, his hands over his head. Another had crawled under the table where Mondo sat. Nobody moved an inch until Arman stood.

  “Bad move, Marshal,” he said.

  “Arman, stay where you are.”

  He shook his head and sighed. “You’re going to be trouble.” He turned and began to walk toward a back door.

  “Arman,” Jared said again. “I said to stay where you are.”

  The Vampire looked back over his shoulder. “Mondo, good luck.”

  Jared reached for a memgram. He meant to ice Arman’s feet to keep him from leaving, but he felt more magic press at his body and push him backward as some of the Goblins tried to fear him again. Cassie stepped up, baring her teeth. “Let me shift,” she growled. “I’ll rip these little—”

  Jared pushed forward, dropping the shield and locking his frozen memgram into place. He flung spikes of sky blue ice at Arman as the Vampire slipped from the room. The ice missed, smashing into the frame and the floor. Several Goblins jumped up, including the one with the bloody nose and the huge gun. Jared threw his hands around, casting more ice and encasing the gun. The Goblin screamed out in shock, throwing the thing down on the ground, shattering it to pieces. Another Goblin ran at Jared, screaming mindlessly, and he reached for a new memgram.

  Ripples in a dark pond grow deeper, thicker, until a pulse, a shock, and blast forces dark matter through its central point and out in a spray of energy.

  He directed the pulse of power and air at the Goblin’s chest, smashing into his sternum and throwing him backward. It looked like a wave of shimmering light whipped from his palms and into the Goblin. He slammed against the far wall and slid down with a moan.

  “Stop,” Mondo said, standing. “Enough. He’s a Magi. Stop right now.”

  Nobody else moved. Jared dropped his hands and let out a breath as the Need hit him like a hammer. He clenched his jaw and took a sharp breath, trying to clear his
mind, trying to find that void where he could resist the push of his Need. “Cassie, go after Arman,” he said.

  She slipped past him silently and ran to the door. She threw it open and disappeared.

  “Well, Marshal,” Mondo said. “Seems as though you’ve found us.”

  “Everyone up on your feet. I want you all against that far wall.” He stared around the room. “You’re all under arrest for assaulting an officer.”

  Nobody moved. He looked at Mondo for a long moment, his eyes hard, until Mondo sighed. “Come on,” he said. “Do as the Marshal says.”

  Jared watched the Goblins slowly shuffle over and join Mondo against the far wall. They leaned against it, looking sullen and annoyed, as Jared swept through the space.

  It was a simple back room with a little kitchenette area that offered no more than a sink, a small refrigerator, a hot plate, and a microwave. There was a bathroom in the back corner, the door Arman had gone through, and several chairs and couches. It wasn’t as cluttered or dirty as the garage had been, which made Jared assume the Goblins didn’t use this place much. It was probably a safe house set up for Arman or for whomever Arman worked.

  Jared turned and shut the door to the main room. He iced it over then turned back to the Goblins. “Any of you move, and I’m icing the air in your lungs. Understood?”

  Mondo just nodded and the others stared at him grimly. He stepped through the door Arman had escaped through and shouted out for Cassie. She came bounding back a minute later, looking frustrated, with Jessalene on her heels.

  “Where is he?” Jared asked.

  “I don’t know,” Cassie said. “He went through there, but when I found the back door, Jessalene said she didn’t see him.”

  Jared looked back at Mondo. “Any other exits?”

  The Goblin just shrugged.

  He clenched his jaw. “Arman has to still be here,” he said. “You two sweep the building. He’s not dangerous right now, so don’t worry, but stick together anyway. I’ll call this in.”