The Tome of Bill (Book 1.5): Night Stalker

by Rick Gualtieri

  I was going to question that, but then I remembered the sensation of Night Razor’s fist ramming into my face with the force of a jackhammer. It was something I was certain most of them had felt at some point or another. “Don’t worry. Neither do I.”

  It was good to see not everyone wanted to go back to a system where there was one master and everyone else was basically a slave. Sure, I might be a nice enough guy that I’d slipped into the dreaded friend zone with the women here, but hopefully at least a few appreciated that I didn’t treat them all like my personal fuck toys.

  Anyway, the hook baited, I decided to see if I could reel in my catch. “I’d better get going and find a good spot. Wouldn’t want Reaper trying to swoop in at the last minute and steal my kill.”

  “You might want to avoid the area down near West 10th then. I think that’s where he said he was staking out.”

  And BINGO was her name-o. “I’ll do that, thanks.”

  “Good luck, Bill.”

  I smiled back at her. Now to see if I couldn’t nudge luck ever so slightly in my favor.

  * * *

  “Really, the warehouse?” Ed asked from the driver’s seat of his hatchback.

  “Yep, real original isn’t he?” I replied, changing into my black combat duds in the tight squeeze of the back seat.

  It was all I could do to not roll my eyes when I learned where Dusk Reaper was hunting. The coven had a safe house down there, an old warehouse. I knew it well. It was where Night Razor and I had finally faced off.

  The place looked abandoned, but that was by design. The reality was it served as a spot where the coven could congregate in times of emergency, complete with sewer entrance and state of the art surveillance system. It was actually a smart pick by him. If he got into trouble, it gave him a place to retreat where he’d have the advantage.

  Of course, that assumed his attacker wasn’t aware of its true nature. Sadly for him, I both knew the place and also had the security codes to get in. Sally didn’t share much of what she knew about Village Coven, especially the bank records, but she made sure I had enough knowledge to not get locked out in an emergency.

  “Everyone ready?” I asked as Ed pulled to the side of the road a few blocks east of our target―just another car double-parked in NYC.

  “Fuck yeah,” Tom cried with a fist pump. He was definitely enjoying this a bit too much. It almost made me glad it was ending tonight.

  The plan was simple enough: once we took down Dusk Reaper, it would be time for me to vanquish the Village Coven stalker once and for all. That part was simplicity itself, mainly because it was already done. Since it had always been a part of the plan, we’d taken the liberty of taping it a few days prior.

  Ed had been wearing my stalker getup, complete with some extra padding. Tom had done a fairly good job of acting like a random pedestrian who’d stumbled across an epic battle and filmed it with his phone from a safe distance, oohing and aahing all the while like he was scared shitless. We’d gone back and forth – Ed the silent warrior, me snarling like some kind of fucking jungle cat. It had been close, but in the end the script called for me to be the triumphant victor.

  The plan was for the video to “leak” onto YouTube sometime later tonight. In the meantime, we had a cooler of bagged blood in the trunk to smear all over the smashed biker helmet that would sadly be all that remained of the poor stalker once I was finished with him. Combined, I’d have proof of my victory. Even if there were naysayers, they’d be silenced once it became obvious the attacks had stopped.

  It was fucking genius.

  All we had to do was get past one dipshit who looked like a reject from a Winger concert. Once he was out of the way, we’d be home free.

  * * *

  Hosed down with extra deer scent, just to be safe, I scouted the area from the shadows – taking my time closing in on the location. I might not have enough experience to pick out a vampire by scent alone, but at least he wouldn’t have that advantage either.

  Tom and Ed hung back for now, one on foot and the other circling the area with his car.

  There! I spotted the douchebag smoking a cigarette about half a block away from the warehouse. It wasn’t hard to pick him out. This area didn’t get a lot of pedestrian traffic after dark, at least not of the up-and-up variety.

  It occurred to me that this was an odd spot for him to hunt. Even a total retard should’ve been able to figure out that the vigilante’s MO was to strike when a vampire had a victim in their sights.

  Of course, that might have been part of Reaper’s plan. I’d gotten a taste of his personality and at heart the guy was a fucking coward―a bully when the odds were in his favor, but quick to turn pussy once there was a shred of doubt. Perhaps he was betting on returning to the coven and claiming that the stalker was too scared to go after him when all along it was him looking to avoid a fight.

  Well, too bad for him. I had other ideas.

  I slunk back around the side of the building I’d been using as cover and dialed Tom’s cell. “He’s two blocks west of you. Be careful.”

  “He’s the one who’d better be careful, because I’m gonna―”

  “Just shut up and do what you’re supposed to.” He was like a brother to me, but goddamn sometimes I wanted to punch his lights out.

  Tom had volunteered to be a combination of wingman and bait. His job was to get close enough to Dusk Reaper to ascertain if he was packing any serious heat. That was my main concern. A couple of forty-five slugs to my body could really ruin the evening. It wasn’t perfect. I mean it’s not like Tom could perform a full body cavity search on the asshole without getting killed, but a casual bump on the street might at least clue him in.

  That’s the point where things could get dicey. All I could hope was that we’d planned for every contingency.

  I glanced again around the side of the building, saw my friend come into view, and quickly donned my helmet.

  It was show time.

  HOT PURSUIT

  Tom’s cover was simplicity itself. He sported a half bottle of Jack and was acting like he was pissed to the gills.

  I saw Dusk Reaper turn in my roommate’s direction. He tensed for a moment, but then relaxed when he saw it was just some drunken dipshit. So far, so good. I glanced further down the block, scanning for headlights. Even with my night vision it was hard to tell one car from the next, but I didn’t worry too much about Ed. He knew the plan and was reliable. Chances were he was in position and waiting for his signal.

  Should Tom ascertain that Reaper was armed to the teeth and, assuming he was allowed to go on his way, he’d signal me with a loud drunken rendition of Hit Me Baby One More Time. That would be my cue to text Ed to drive down the block and run the asshole of a vampire over.

  What? I never said I planned on being sporting about this. Besides, that was just our emergency equalizer.

  A part of me was definitely hoping we’d need to use it, though. After all, seeing that twat-waffle get mowed down would be intensely satisfying. At the same time, I needed to remember it was a worst case scenario.

  Tom reached where Dusk Reaper leaned against the side of a building, smoking like he was in an eighties Motley Crue video. Still acting the drunken fool, something Tom had a lot of experience with, he wandered over and tried starting up a conversation, all of it easily audible to my ears.

  “Spare a smoke, man?”

  “Fuck off,” Reaper growled. A real people person that guy.

  “Come on, bro.” Tom staggered forward right into Reaper. He practically fell into the vamp’s arms, giving him a good chance for an impromptu frisking.

  I held my breath. The problem with vampires was that, much like a rabid animal, they could be unpredictable. A psycho like Night Razor might have just snapped a person’s neck right out in the open, not caring who saw it. I was betting, though, that Reaper didn’t have quite that set of balls on him.

  “Get the fuck off me, motherfucker!” Reaper gave a shove
and my roommate went stumbling back, the bottle falling out of his hands and shattering on the sidewalk. I tensed up, ready to race over, regardless of whether it might be into a hail of gunfire.

  Fortunately, the vamp hadn’t put everything he had into the push. Tom lifted himself off the ground, apparently unhurt. Thank goodness. Despite their insane enthusiasm to help me, I still hated getting them involved in the affairs of the supernatural world. Shit could turn sour in an instant and, even with my speed, I doubted I’d be fast enough to always stop it.

  Tonight, though, the stars appeared to be smiling down upon me.

  “That all you got, tough guy?” Tom slurred. “You’re just a dickless loser!”

  That was it―his signal that he hadn’t noticed anything on Reaper. It wasn’t the most eloquent of call signs, but then again Tom had come up with it.

  Our version of “whiskey, tango, foxtrot” given, I slipped the bat out of my trench coat and gripped it tight in my right hand.

  Sadly, Tom’s code phrase also had the downside of being just a tad infuriating to people who actually were dickless losers. Before I could spring into action, Reaper had crossed over to my roommate and grabbed him by the jacket.

  “When I’m done with you, we’ll see who has no dick,” he spat, baring his fangs.

  Shit!

  “Maybe,” Tom replied, all trace of drunken slur gone, “but at least mine won’t be on fire.”

  With that, he pulled Ed’s stun gun from his pocket and made himself a fried asshole sandwich.

  * * *

  The weapon had been at my insistence. Though I hated to lose the advantage it afforded me, there was no way I was letting my friend walk into danger without at least something to help even the odds.

  Despite my hope that he wouldn’t need to use it, I found myself smiling nevertheless as I took off at full speed toward the two, especially since Tom was giving him a good long jolt.

  Unfortunately, vampires are a hardy bunch. Reaper went down twitching, but he still managed to have enough sense to get a foot up and kick out at Tom – catching him in the chest. My roommate went flying, landing in the middle of the street.

  Judging from the chorus of curses that erupted from his mouth, he was just stunned. Now to only hope Ed didn’t accidentally run over his stupid ass. As for me, I raced past my roommate, doing my best to not convey any sort of familiarity just in case things went south.

  Reaper was already up on one knee by the time I reached him. That was mighty obliging as it put him at the perfect height. His eyes opened wide with surprise just a second before I connected with a left-handed uppercut.

  Unlike my first outing with Firebird, where I tried to hold back a bit so as to give no clues to my preternatural strength, I put everything I had into it. My armored fist connected with his jaw and there came the distinct sound of teeth shattering – oh so satisfying a noise when it wasn’t my own.

  Dusk Reaper went rolling ass over teakettle back the way he’d came, spitting blood as he went.

  Sadly for me, his age gave him a bit of extra resiliency over the others I’d introduced myself to. However, it hadn’t done much for his courage. He managed to roll back to his feet before I could use his noggin for batting practice and turned tail―no threats of revenge or not seeing the last of him, he just spun around and ran.

  In hindsight, I should have accepted my victory and been happy with it. Instead, I took off after him. He was, after all, the primary source of my irritation as of late. Between being a steadfast supporter of the old guard, trying his best to turn the rest of the coven against me, and actually getting some ass whereas my dating life lately consisted of Pornhub… well, he was the living embodiment of all the shit I thought I’d left behind when I’d taken over.

  The dumb fuck didn’t even try to be subtle as he ran, accelerating quickly to a speed no human could hope to match. Oh well, it’s not like the streets were packed. Our only witness was Tom and it wasn’t like he was gonna tell anyone. I followed suit, matching his pace. I wanted to put a hurt on him. Then, when I showed up at the loft later, complete with the battered remnants of my stalker outfit, there would be no doubt left in his mind that I wasn’t someone to fuck with, even if it was all smoke and mirrors.

  Screw it. I wasn’t proud.

  It didn’t take a genius to figure out where Reaper was headed―the warehouse. He was probably hoping to double back and catch me by surprise in the warren of crates that filled the building like some sort of rat maze. Worst case, he could always try to slip down the sewer entrance and make an escape. Pity for him that I wasn’t nearly as ignorant of the layout as he was no doubt hoping.

  He raced around the side and my ears picked up the distinct sound of the main door being shoved open. Fine, I could play this game.

  But that didn’t mean I cared to play it stupidly. I slowed down and reminded myself that Dusk Reaper was a vampire. Pussy though he was, if cornered he could still be deadly. I needed to be coy about this, give him a false sense of hope.

  Making my way to the warehouse entrance, I hesitated for a few moments, waiting until a human pursuer might reasonably have made it here.

  That done, I used my bat to push open the door just in case his big plan was to hope I was stupid enough to stroll in and be ambushed. No sign of him, so I entered.

  The lights were off. That didn’t mean shit for a vampire, but I didn’t care to show my cards quite yet. I crept forward, my hands reaching out in front of me, pretending that I was feeling my way along blindly.

  All the while, I was scanning every nook and cranny for movement while keeping my ears peeled for any sound that might give him away. I debated how I wanted to play this. It might make sense to let him think he got the drop on me, give him a false feeling of superiority before bringing down the hurt.

  I was considering making some noise, maybe pretending to stumble, when the choice was made for me.

  My damned cell phone began to ring.

  HERO’S WELCOME

  Goddamn it! I fumbled my phone out of my pocket, and quickly hit the answer button, all the while cursing my stupidity for not putting it on vibrate.

  “What?” I hissed

  “Did you get him yet?” Tom asked.

  “No, I didn―oof!”

  Something hit me from behind. What a surprise.

  I flew headlong into a large wooden crate, smashing through the side. Thankfully, the blow had hurt my pride far more than my body. I quickly rolled over, ready to defend myself again, but there was nobody there.

  Was that his tactic, hit and run?

  If so, he was gonna be sadly disappointed. I’d deserved that one, but from here on out I’d be a lot more careful.

  “Yo, you still there?”

  I raised the receiver to the side of my helmet. “Remind me to kick your ass later.”

  “What for. Did you―”

  I ended the call and powered down my phone, silently vowing revenge upon my idiot roommate. Getting back to my feet, I dusted myself off and again tried to home in on any sounds, all while trying to look as lost as Little Red Riding Hood in the deep dark forest.

  There! A noise to my left.

  I reached an intersection among the crates and made to turn that way, only to hear another sound, like feet shuffling, off to my right.

  I wasn’t sure if Reaper was using his speed to try to confuse me, or if maybe it was just the acoustics of the place.

  Either way, it definitely creeped me out a bit. Scenes from nearly every horror movie I’d ever watched came racing up from my subconscious. It was not helping the situation. Fuck me. Now was not the time for this shit. My opponent was powerful, but not nearly at the level Jeff had been. He was also running scared. I needed to remind myself that I was the boogeyman of this movie. I was the Jason Voorhees here, not him.

  More noises filtered through my helmet, seemingly coming from multiple places at once. What the hell?

  I remembered Sally’s words that there was no
thing to guarantee that this hunt need be a fair one. Had I underestimated Reaper? Had the stakes at play caused him to up his game? Was it possible that in trying to spring a trap I’d instead walked into one?

  Those weren’t the most pleasant of thoughts. A part of me debated retreating, but I realized I was nearly at the heart of the warehouse. The way back wasn’t much shorter than the way forward and I didn’t care to let Reaper think he had me on the run. No. He was far more likely to be unnerved if I kept coming.

  Again, I had to remind myself that I was an unknown quantity to him. He had no clue who I was or what I could do. If I kept pushing, kept up the illusion of fearlessness, he would break first.

  My eyes continually searching for movement to go along with the noises, I reached the clearing that I knew lay at the center of the building. It was the exact same spot where I’d squared off against Jeff.

  Note to self: once this was over and done with, reorganize this fucking place.

  I stepped out and made my way to the very center, leaving a good twenty feet of open space on either side of me. I stopped and listened, my instincts telling me that if something was going to happen it would be now.

  The shuffling noises began again, first to the right, then to the left, and then behind me. I realized my mistake. I’d been focusing on sight and sound alone. Had I taken the time to use my nose too, I’d have surely concluded that there was more than one scent in the building―much more.

  At that moment the lights of the facility flipped on, blinding me. It didn’t matter. I didn’t need to see to know that I was surrounded.

  * * *

  Still momentarily dazzled as my eyes adjusted to the bright interior lights, I was hit from the side. It was a glancing blow, but it staggered me nevertheless. I turned, raised a fist, and then stopped in my tracks as I saw Starlight advancing upon me. Hesitation and fear shone in her eyes, but the two by four in her hands was apparently giving her some extra courage.

  What the fuck was she doing here?

  Sadly, I could have asked that question more than once.