“Okay, we ‘ave a lot of information on this suck'ead in Tennessee. This Bollen character was workin' for a vamp name of Antonio DeClerc.
“DeClerc's little empire was built on the back of two products that 'e'd 'elped develop,” Loki went on. “The first was a range of artificial tannin' creams an' sprays, ideal for any vampire tryin' to 'ide 'is true nature. A vamp can fake anythin' from a just-off-pale look to a full set of tan lines.
“DeClerc also made a bunch of money from sunblock. Given enough sunblock even a vamp could spend a little while outside.”
“True,” said Anna with a small smile.
“But where DeClerc really made 'is money was when 'e financed some scientists in Europe investigating the link between suntanning an' skin cancer in the nineties. You remember that fuss? Once they'd proved the link an' DeClerc spent some more money promoting it, 'is sales of sunblock an' artificial tan just skyrocketed with humans. Made out like a bandit. Also made hidin' easier once pale replaced tan as the way for the fashion-victims to be seen.
“We still don’t know f'sure what ‘e wanted Ms. Hennessey for. Certainly the law comin' up before the House of Commons is just a load of crap. DeClerc used to be a big fish around here, in charge of most of the south-eastern states, but a few years ago 'e backed the wrong 'orse. There was this vamp who wanted to take over everythin' in the US, but somethin' big went wrong and he was slapped down hard for supporting the fella. Apparently ‘e was the laughin’ stock of the vampire community hereabouts.
“Ever since then 'e's been tryin' to win back 'is lost prestige.”
“But kidnapping Marie?” asked John.
“Well, that would count for a lot,” said Loki. “If 'e can bloody our friend's nose a little 'e'll have done somethin' no other vamp 'as managed.”
“Seems a bit far-fetched,” I said.
For a few seconds there was silence as we all tried to puzzle it out. I hate mysteries.
“We gonna ditch these uniforms, boss?” asked Jason.
“No, I think not. With our beloved vampiric Mistress in our care it’ll allow us a degree of freedom. Plus nobody will ask questions about us being armed.”
“Even with all this hardware?” asked Jason. “I mean, pistols, sure, but we're toting around enough of your actual military issue guns to raise a few eyebrows, even in America.”
“No, not going to be a problem,” said Steph from the driver's seat.
Steph was an anomaly and an enigma. She was dressed, like the rest of us, in a KnightStar uniform, but she wasn’t associated with the Embassy, even unofficially. Loki had simply said that she sometimes did jobs for him and left it at that. She’d been polite but distant the entire trip. She had an American accent—which part of America I couldn’t pin down—and with her long blonde hair and green eyes she looked every inch the all-American girl next door from the TV shows. The only thing that was amiss was the dark, wary look in her eyes. This was a woman who trusted very few people and probably for good reason. She apparently trusted Loki, though.
“The vampires keep going on about being the most hated minority in America,” she went on. “The big vampires already travel around with more security than the President. You guys will fit right in.”
As the limo sped through the night I leaned back, closed my eyes, and tried to relax. My mind was churning. The strange thing was that I wasn’t thinking in terms of rescuing my mate. Now, as far as I was concerned this was about teaching the vamps that the Ministry hunters were untouchable. They had to learn that if they came after us they would lose, and lose hard.
The last thing we needed was foreign vampires thinking they could interfere with the situation in England without paying the price.
I examined my conscience. Was that just an excuse? Was I simply trying to justify putting my friends in danger in order to rescue my mate? No, I was happy that my motives were higher than that. The vamps must pay, or some scumbag with an itch in his crotch might decide to grab Anna. Someone might try to kill John, or Cam, or any of the hunters.
This may have started off personal, but now it was business. We had to show the vampires that we were capable of protecting our own. This DeClerc guy would serve as a nice object lesson, along with his house, his friends, and anyone else who was stood too close when I found him.
And with that warm, cheery thought I fell asleep.
CHAPTER
39
Kyle opened a bedroom door and showed me inside.
“This used to be my sister’s room but she’s off at college,” he explained. “I know she won’t mind if you borrow some of her clothes. Um.”
He trailed off, looking uncomfortable.
“About mom, all that…”
“About her trying to find a woman for you?”
“Yeah, I’m sorry about that.”
“Don’t be,” I said, smiling. “Mothers are the same all over the world. And I suppose she doesn’t know you’re gay?”
Kyle blushed to the roots of his hair.
“No, she doesn’t.”
“Your dad does, though,” I said.
“No! Well, I don’t think so.”
“He does. Trust me. I was watching his face.”
“You’re not going to tell her are you?”
“No, don’t worry about that,” I said. “I know it’s none of my business but you should tell them.”
“Well, I would, but they already don’t like Terry. I think mom would freak out if they knew he was my boyfriend.”
“Well, as I said, it’s none of my business. But I do think she might surprise you on that score.”
“Well, I’ll think about it, miss.”
“Please, call me Marie. It makes me feel old when you call me ‘miss’. Or young. I don’t know.”
“Okay,” he said with a laugh. “Marie. Make yourself at home and when Terry gets up I’ll take you over to his house. He’s a late riser.”
“Aren’t they all?” I said, then I blushed.
“Your guy?”
“Yeah, he likes to sleep late when he can. Probably because we don’t often get the chance.”
“What’s he like?”
“He’s … unusual. He’s human, but he has an unusual ability. He’s also the most intense man I’ve ever met. It doesn’t matter if he’s killing vampires or having a joke with his friends, he’s totally focused. No wonder they picked him as the poster boy for the Ministry.”
“Poster boy?” asked Kyle.
“I don’t know if you’ve heard of him over here. His codename is Pagan.”
“Pagan? Pagan?” said Kyle. “As in the Pagan?”
“Oh, you have heard of him,” I said, smiling.
“I’ve read all the Pagan: Vampire Hunter books and seen all of the Pagan movies. I love them. We can’t get the Pagan series over here but I can usually find them on the internet at Terry’s house.”
Kyle’s eyes were bright and he was smiling happily.
“He’s not really like that, you know,” I said.
“Oh, I hope not,” he replied with a wink. “Otherwise you’re in trouble while you’re apart.”
“I think the vampires are in trouble. he’s probably pulling the north apart looking for me.”
“Well, we’ll get you to a phone and you can calm him down tomorrow.”
“I hate to think what he’s doing in the meantime.”
CHAPTER
40
I studied the house through my binoculars. In the floodlights around the house I could see a human guard patrolling the grounds. His uniform was deep blue and he was carrying an automatic, a glock by the look of it. So he was either from another vampire security force or he was DeClerc's personal security. At least we wouldn’t be having any friendly fire problems. I had no way of knowing exactly where Marie was being held, or if the vamps had someone close by with orders to kill her in the event of an attack, so this would have to be by stealth. Luckily the guard didn't look like he was paying much attention. H
e seemed to be more interested in the scenery. The scenery, at the moment, included a small above-ground pool lit by harsh electric bulbs. Sitting on the edge of the pool was a buxom blonde who was almost wearing a dark string bikini. The guard was entranced as the bathing beauty idly ran her fingertips through the water. He shuffled sideways to get a better view as the woman rose to her feet and then bent over to pick up a towel.
I lowered the binoculars. Standing on the roof of the limo gave me a nice view over the wall that surrounded DeClerc's property. John stuck his head out of the open door as I jumped down.
“See anything, boss?” he asked.
“Not a whole heck of a lot,” I replied. “One human guard, more interested in playing with himself than patrolling, and no cameras that I could see.”
“We got a plan?” he asked.
“Maybe,” I replied. “Loki?”
“Yeah, boss?” he said from the passenger seat.
“Just how prestigious is KnightStar Security?”
“KnightStar is the best, boss. Only the richest vamps can afford ‘em.”
“That’s what I thought. And this guy’s a small fish in a big pond nursing a chip on his shoulder the size of North London, right?”
“Absolutely.”
“Uh-oh,” said John. “I’ve seen that look before. There’s a plan a-brewing.”
“Not yet, but an idea,” I said with a wink.
“An idea that revolves around some rich, foreign and drop-dead gorgeous vampire arriving at his door complete with the kind of escort that screams importance, and being oh so helpless?” said Anna, batting her eyelashes at me. “And the vamp being so eager to please that he practically breaks his neck inviting everyone in and extending every possible assistance? That kind of idea?”
“Look, if you don’t need me to be brilliant I’ll just go sulk somewhere,” I replied with a sniff.
“Sorry boss,” she said. “Tell us your idea. We’re agog.”
“I think,” I said with a smile, “that if a rich, foreign, drop-dead gorgeous, though horribly cheeky vampire lady—” this earned me a glimpse of Anna’s tongue as she stuck it out at me, “—should turn up at his door, asking for help, complete with an escort that screams importance, he’d break his back inviting them in and extending all possible assistance.”
“Bravo,” she said. “Excellent. I couldn’t have done better myself.”
I stuck my tongue out back at her.
“Cam? Could you smell if Marie’s in the house?”
“Maybe,” said the big werewolf. “If they took us in the same way they did her, or if we went near a room she’d been in. But if she was taken in the back way, or if she’s held somewhere else …”
“Could you tell if we met anyone that had been near her? Or touched her?”
“It’s iffy if they’ve just been near her, but if anyone touched her I could smell it through two baths and a shower.”
“Okay, so for the moment we’re just going for a recon. I want to know if she’s there and, if not, if she’s ever been there. But I also want the place scoped. How many guards, how many weapons, entry points, exit points, choke points, the works. I want to know about communications. This guy may not be Captain Popular right now but I want to know if he can squawk for help.”
I did a quick assessment of my group.
“Loki, do any vamps use werewolf guards?”
“Some do,” he replied. “It's more of a big dick thing than anythin'. The vamps're still tryin' to put it about that werewolves are dangerous animals so havin' one is like having a really big dog.”
“What I'm trying to get at is will Cam and Jason arouse any undue comment?”
“Nope. KnightStar's actually fairly well known for usin' the odd werewolf for that impressive look.”
“Okay, with Mistress Anna staying for the day I’ll be delegating some guards. Bolt, Loki, Jason, Steph, stick with the guards, find out what you can, and be careful. Cam, you're with me. We'll stalk the building and try to look like we're just being thorough. John, stick by Anna’s side. Anna, roll on the floor kicking and screaming if you have to, but John does not leave your side for a second, no matter what our host says to try to get you alone.”
“Count on it,” said John.
“Yes boss,” said Anna.
“Be firm, be arrogant. You are so used to being obeyed that you don’t even tell people things. You simply make statements about how the future will be, understood?”
“I know how to play the part, Jack,” she reminded me.
“I know you do, but indulge my protective side, will you? It’s suffered recently.”
“Yes, boss.”
“Bolt, you’re getting a promotion. Swap ranks with me.”
“Yes, boss,” he replied, removing the pips from his collar and swapping them with the bats from mine.
“And drop that,” I said. “You’re in charge of the detail now, boss.”
The newly promoted Chief smiled.
“I’m going to have to keep as low a profile as possible. This guy may know what I look like.”
“Escorts?” said John with a smile.
“Precisely. Loki, how long you think it’ll take to get hold of a pair of official-looking cars?”
Loki turned to Steph, who pursed her lips and put her head on one side.
“Give us two hours,” she said finally.
Actually, it took an hour and a half. There was a KnightStar office in Knoxville, so they walked in, shoved our absolutely authentic IDs in a few faces, and trundled off with a pair of KnightStar private security patrol cars. Loki was enthusiastic. Apparently they were souped-up Dodge Chargers, two squat, bullish-looking vehicles of the type Americans refer to as 'muscle cars'. They wore sparkling white KnightStar livery and had orange and white light bars on top. At first—or even second—glance they certainly looked like police cars.
While we were waiting in the limo Anna seemed to be struggling with something.
“Everything okay, sweetheart?” asked John.
“No, well, I'm not sure,” she replied. “What's your impressions of Steph?”
“Seems okay. Bit wary. Woman with a past, maybe. But Loki trusts her. Strikes me as competent.”
“What about you, Jack?”
“About the same,” I said with a shrug. “Don't know how far we can trust her in a tight spot but we've worked around that before. Why? What's this about?”
“I don't know. I really don't know. It's not that I don't trust her, but I keep getting the creeping feeling that I should be afraid of her, like every time I turn around I expect to see this huge, threatening thug standing there with a big stick.”
“Maybe it's just because you don't know her,” said John. “It's hard to trust someone when you don't know them.”
“Do you feel that way about me?” asked Jason.
“Naw,” said Anna. “You're like a big Labrador. Goofy and sloppy.”
“Ouch, spare the man's ego, love,” said John over Jason's chuckling . “Okay, so what about Loki?”
“Well, Loki is trained and—look, I'm not saying I don't trust her, I just get a weird vibe from her. Nobody else get that?”
Steph and Loki returned at that point so we weren't able to continue the conversation. I resolved to keep an eye on things. Anna's 'vibe' may not have meant anything but then again, her random feelings had been right before.
We returned to the manor, heading to the front gates this time. I was in one car, Bolt beside me in the passenger seat. Ahead of us was the limo, Jason driving, John and Cam, in the back with our vampire ‘Mistress’. Leading the group was the other Charger, driven by Steph with Loki riding shotgun. Dawn was less than an hour away.
Our little convoy pulled into the gravel drive that led to an area lit by floodlights, in front of a pair of gates I could have knocked over with a sneeze. Not that I would have needed to, the gates were standing open, guarded by two more guys in blue who snapped to something approximating attentio
n when they saw the KnightStar insignia. Loki and Steph pulled up to within twenty feet of the gates and slowed to a stop. Bolt stepped out of the Charger and took up station by the rear of the limo. His hand was resting nonchalantly on his holstered pistol, casually threatening. After a few seconds of staring hard at the scenery he reached out to the rear door of the limo and opened it. John stepped out and adjusted his suit cuffs as he shut the door. The guards on the gate eyed them nervously as they approached.
“Good morning, gentlemen,” said John in a plumy voice several social strata above his usual gravelly growl. “Am I correct in believing that this is the home of the august vampire Anton DeClerc?”
“You’d be right, sir,” said the oldest of the two guards, a blocky man wearing upside down sergeant’s stripes in the American fashion.
“Ah, splendid. Might I prevail upon you to inform him that my Mistress, the Countess Anastasia, desires a meeting with him to discuss matters of some import to them both?”
A blank look crossed the sergeant’s face, and the other two looked like John was speaking to them in a foreign language. Then the clouds parted and I could almost see the train of thought running through the man’s head: I’m not paid enough to deal with rich British jokers, so I’ll kick it up to someone who does get paid enough. And if that ruins some over-paid, under-worked jerk-off’s night, so much the better.
Satisfied with his logic, the sergeant adopted the grave, thoughtful look of a man who actually had the authority to make the decision he was pretending to make.
“Certainly, sir,” he said. “I’ll find out if Mr. DeClerc is available. Give me a minute.”
John nodded and the sergeant ambled back to the guard hut beside the gate. John, meanwhile strolled back to the car. I heard the whir of the window going down and some muted conversation.
After a few boring minutes a vamp appeared. This one was pure southern gentleman, from his white three-piece suit to his crisp Panama hat. He was even carrying an ebony cane with an ivory handle and had a watch chain running across his waistcoat. I hadn't seen one of those since my grandad died. The vamp sauntered up to the guards and spoke in a voice that sounded like he was permanently on the edge of yawning.
Renegade (Ministry of Paranormal Research & Defence) Page 11
