There’s something about him. I’m just not sure what it is. Am I missing something?
I pull out my phone and quickly browse through the information I have regarding the case, then I look up.
I watch as the mystery man tries to move in on one of the girls, but she backs away and her guy friend steps in. The situation quickly diffuses itself because he backs out of the group quickly, leaving no time for an exchange. After his brief fiasco, he continues walking until he leaves the venue completely. Amidst the crowd, I cycle through Kaitlyn’s files and I don’t see anything that resembles the man I’d just seen. I back out of her folder and go to the cluster of information I complied from Darren and the other members of her circle and begin to scroll through to see what I can find. There. That’s it. I knew it. I navigate back and forth between the assorted files to confirm my hunch on the familiar face and tuck my phone back into my pocket.
With my lead of the case at stake, I pick up my pace as I weave through the club in hopes of catching up to the man in question.
Chapter 9: Under Duress
By the time I make it outside, the mystery man is towards the end of the block, none the wiser of my pursuit. I match my pace to his and trail him, the moon and the city lights illuminating my path. After he makes the block, he begins to walk a little faster. Not wanting to lose him, I do the same. We go a couple more blocks, and I end up following him to a darker, more secluded area. A portion of the city currently under construction. From there, he takes an abrupt turn into an alley sectioned off by a staggered row of industrial sized dumpsters. Does he know that I’m following him? I take a moment to look over my shoulder and study my surroundings. What a stupid question. I draw my blade as I walk towards the alley. Of course he does.
I turn the corner and he’s nowhere in sight. I progress a bit further and stop in the center of the lonely corridor.
Damn it.
Just as I let my guard up, I hear a hiss from above and direct my head to the sound. I immediately dive out of the way and avoid the mystery man-turned-vampire’s attempt to mount me from above. From the ground, I pull out my Beretta from the hostler on my ankle and fire a shot into his thigh, causing his leg to buckle. I shoot him again in the same spot and then fire a round into his chest. The vampire staggers back and tries to retreat in a frenzied limp. I shoot him again in the back and he shrieks as he fumbles against a wall for support. I grab my dagger and rise to my feet to pursue him, but two vamps rush me from the same point of entry I entered the alley from, their fangs exposed and ready for blood. I alternate shooting at each of the vampires as I shuffle backwards, putting distance between us and buying me time for when I eventually have to switch guns.
I manage to place a few shots in key areas, but they’re fast and separated to divide my focus. Once my clip empties, I toss my gun to the side and go for the second Berretta, my knife on standby as a last line of defense. I draw my gun from my second ankle holster and begin to dump more of my munitions into them, their bodies now riddled with bullets as they approach.
One drops to the ground before he’s in range to strike me, but the other makes it to me as a bullet-riddled mess. He tackles me and my gun drops to the ground, firing a stray shot that misses us both. A dull ache resonates from within my skull, but I push through the pain. The vampire goes for a bite on my forearm, but I’m able to parry it. The bullet wounds to his shoulder and chest cut into his strength, making it tough but doable to outmaneuver him. He repositions himself for a quick bite, but I read his movements and stab him in the side of his temple with my blade.
The vampire’s body goes limp instantly and I shrug him off of me after I remove it from its point of entry.
I slog my way over to the second vamp and stab him in the back of the skull, killing him before he can recover enough from his injuries to put up a fight. To be honest, I’m not sure what he could have done in his state. I was hoping to shoot him in the temple, but I missed and instead got him in the mouth. The bullet seemed to have gone straight through, damaging his spinal cord and the beginnings of his brain. He was experiencing the onset of paralysis. My blade merely sealed his fate.
I rise to my feet and ignore the aches throughout my body. Nothing the vampire did broke my skin but being tackled by an entity that strong was almost like being hit by a linebacker. Landing on concrete didn’t do me any favors, either.
I pick up my guns and reload them both. I tuck one away into my jacket for ease of access later.
The vampire I originally pursued is nowhere in sight, but I notice an opened door and smeared blood along the wall. He was hurt when he made his escape, so he couldn’t have gone far, and it’ll be a while before he fully regenerates without access to fresh blood.
I step through the opening and see remnants of the vamp’s blood speckled on the floor, giving me a trail for me to follow inside this unfinished labyrinth. With my gun leading the way, I go deeper into the construction site, even though the darkness and tight spaces put me at a significant disadvantage. I can’t let him leave. If he does, I’ve lost my only lead and the vamps of the area will know a hunter’s in town, effectively shutting down this case while they lay low. That can’t happen.
Outside of putting an end to the shit they’re up to, I might be able to get information on Darius and his whereabouts from his vampire pals.
I hear something knock over in the facility and my focus redirects to the sound. It could be a trap, or it could be a vampire desperately trying to gain distance from me. One bite is all it takes and he won’t stay disoriented for long.
More racket erupts from within the hall; cans or something metal falling from a place high up. I pause for a moment and wait for any more movement, but once the sounds die, nothing registers in my ear. I resume my investigation, being careful as I can to not make a sound. Vampires have heightened hearing, but with everything going on, I hope he’s more distracted by his health than my approaching steps. After walking a bit further, I make it to the opening of the hall, which leads to a clearing that splits into four paths, including my own. Deeper into the room and to the right, I see what had apparently fallen. It was a metal paint tray and an assortment of empty cans. From what I can make out, the rest of the room is barren with the exception of a few foldout chairs in a loose circle and a standing industrial light fixture. If I had to take an educated guess, this is one of the spots the workers designated for their breaks.
I lightly step forward at the edge of the hall but hesitate before stepping further. It has to be a trap. It’s too quiet. Chances are, the vamp in question is on either side of that doorframe waiting on me so he can get the preemptive strike. It’s the oldest trick in the book, and it’ll make for a hardy meal if he succeeds.
I pull out my second Beretta as quietly as I can and aim at the strips of wall surrounding the doorframe. My hands recoil back from the familiar sensation of bullets accelerating out of their chambers, and I hear a yelp from the other side. The vampire stutters forward gripping his shoulder, momentarily exposing himself from his now blown cover. I have a chance to kill him but I shoot him in his good leg—the one that hasn’t been shot.
As much as I hate vampires, I need this one.
There’s a dull thud from the vampire hitting the floor accompanied by a crash from the industrial light he drags with him on the way down. He snarls as if angry at his own inadequacies and tries to muscle his way to safety via a struggling army crawl.
Before he can get too far, I prop up the fallen industrial light and turn it on. I can clearly see where I shot him and how his body is already trying to repair itself. I usher one of the chairs in the environment along with me and walk past him at a respectable distance. “Fancy meeting you here,” I say as I place the metal chair on the ground and take a seat. “You seem to be in a lot of pain, so I’ll make this quick.” My gun dangles from my hand with a loose grip as I watch him suffer, his fangs exposed and desperate to spread his curse. Even though I appear relaxed, I’m ready
to pull the trigger at a moment’s notice.
“What…do you want from me?” he forces out from the ground.
“I don’t know if you thought you were gonna con me or what when you pulled that move you did back there with your vampire pals. Should have been more precise. I know you didn’t think I was necessarily a hunter, but still…you guys aren’t invincible,” I say, mocking the vampire with a smirk as his body tremors from the pain of my rounds. “You gotta be more careful.”
“Are you done?” the vampire snarls.
“No. I’m not,” I fire back. “Kaitlyn Jones…that name ring a bell?” The wounded vampire says nothing, but glares at me with pained eyes. “No? Well that’s odd, considering you and your boys killed her. Don’t act too surprised, now. You were a runner. A scout. A good one at that, but not good enough, because I found you. It was the pictures…a picture. You thought you’d gotten out of the way, and you did for the most part, but it wasn’t enough. I thought they taught you better than that at vampire school or whatever; don’t get too close to your prey. Blend in. The basics.” The vampire hisses and exposes his fangs: a rebuttal to me shaming his performance. “Easy there. I have a loaded gun and plenty of time. I’m pretty sure I can find some chains or something to make this thing fun if you want me too. The sun should be coming up in a bit, too. A couple of hours or so, right? I’m not really one to watch the sunrise, but I hear the view’s a real killer. Quick question… How does it feel to get incinerated by the sun? Is it more like acid, or like fire? There’s a difference, you know.”
“I can’t wait to see the look on your face when I drain y—” I redirect my gun towards his clavicle and shoot. The bullet lodges itself inside of him, causing his injured arm to collapse under the weight of his body.
“Not happening,” I adamantly voice over his screams as he struggles to cover his wound while he writhes in pain. “So, about Kaitlyn Jones; where did you bring her? Where are you keeping the people you’ve captured?”
“We’re just trying to live, man!” he forces out in his fit of agony.
“No. You’re not. You need blood. You guys are choosing to feed off of humans.” There’re other ways,” I snarl as I watch his contorting body.
As much as I hate to admit it, I know exactly what he means. Vampires run on a hierarchy. He wasn’t the one directly draining the victims, but merely a cog in a machine of an unknown size, working with whoever his boss is gives him protection…resources.
Huffing it out alone as a vampire is more dangerous by default. It doesn’t matter, though. I can’t think like that. Regardless of his reasons, he’s part of a pipeline that traffics humans into being involuntary blood donors at the cost of their life.
I point my gun towards his bicep, my finger lightly pressed against the trigger. There doesn’t seem to be much fight left in the vamp. He’s near-motionless, laying on the ground in the fetal position. I was sure to give him hell, but keep him alive.
The side of his face that isn’t against the ground can clearly see that I have every intention to shoot him again if he doesn’t cooperate.
“Bl..ood. Blood,” he groans. “They were using them for blood.” That’s something I already know but I don’t say anything to stop him mid-confession. “He stores them…recycles them. Even turns some. It’s always been that way.”
“And who is this he?”
He definitely needs a bullet in him. Several, actually.
“Names and vampires,” he says and lets out a pained laugh. “Practically useless.” I lazily wag my gun from my seat; a reminder. “Sergio. Sergio De Luca,” he confesses, resentment in his voice.
“Great. And where can I find this Sergio?”
“There’s a property, not too far from here located near Cove Creek. I can give you the coordinates, but if you face him, he will kill you in the worst way imaginable.”
“He can try,” I retort. “Coordinates?” The wounded vampire gives the coordinates, taking his time, as if I’m stupid enough to give him enough of a break to fully heal. “Another question. Does the name Darius sound familiar? Old vamp. Kind of regal? Might be insane? I need to have a talk with him. He has something I’m looking for.”
“I’ve heard of him but never really met him. Even if I did, I wouldn’t have much to say.” Of course. He’s just a grunt. “Sergio, maybe… He doesn’t tell me much. I have a job, and I do it. There’s a line of command. You should know that, hunter.”
“I do. Why do you think I went after you?” The vampire smiles at my response, and I pull the trigger, sending a bullet into the center of his brain. The vampire dies immediately after.
The sound of a siren flares in my eardrums, and I make it a priority to leave the scene as quickly as I can.
Right before I can exit the building, the police force’s signature red and blue flashing lights illuminate the open door I entered from; my escape. I immediately make myself smaller and duck off into the shadows as I observe.
The light from the car gives me a pair of shadows. There’re two of them, presumably talking about the duo of bodies dead on the ground. It’s only a matter of time before they follow the trail the other vamp left and end up here.
I’m actually counting on it.
I go deeper into the site, waiting for them to step inside as I watch from the safety of the shadows. Are they calling backup? Do they have connections with Darius? These are things I need to know, despite my gut telling me to book it. From the looks of it, the building site is still being worked on, so I’m sure I can find an exit on the upper floors. A fire escape or an unsealed window, maybe. The fall would be steep, though. I don’t need a sprained ankle tonight. Not when I’m up against vamps and face the possibility going against cops too. If I mess this up, I’m just going to lose them. I can’t confront them. It’s a death wish. They have body cams for one, and hurting a cop is one of the quickest ways to make it to America’s shit-list.
“Copy. We’re at the scene, nothing to report. Doing a sweep of the area right now to confirm. We’ll update status, soon.”
“Roger,” one of the cop’s radio chirps.
“One of our biter pals at it again, eh? Looks like these two caught the short end of the stick.”
“You really think it was them?”
“Multiple gun-shot wounds, all of this blood, a freakin’ knife to the head…yeah, it’s them. It was in our area, so it’s our job. Let’s get it done so we can go home.”
I knew it. Nothing’s ever easy.
There’s a silence between the two, but with the shadow they’re casting, I can make out their gestures. One of them is pointing to the other.
“My camera’s already off.”
“Don’t forget to kiss your kids tonight.”
“Right? Two more of these things gone.”
“We might have a third. Careful. You recognize these two?”
“Yeah. They’re with you know who… I swear, as soon as they’re old enough, I’m sending my kids as far away as I can from this shithole.”
“Save it for another day, Santana. Stay focused. Do your job. Keep them safe. Save the extra cash.”
“You really think he’ll let us off the hook? They know everything about us, and we know they exist.”
Damn. So, they’re forcing the cops to help with the coverup. They pay them, but considering what vampires are capable of, it’s not worth anything. I imagine they’ve seen some things that they had to let slide—including what they witnessed today. At least they aren’t doing it by choice.
The two cops enter the building and follow the trail of blood I followed. Once they reach the end, they’ll be sure to find the remains of another vamp. I don’t plan on sticking around long enough to find out.
Once they’re deep enough into the facility, I sneak out the front and exit the alley from the opposite way that I entered. I keep my head low and walk to my destination as calmly as I can, careful not to alert any bystanders. There were gun shots in the area and I’m walkin
g alone on the sidewalk, not far from the scene of the incident. Things can go bad, fairly quickly if the cops key into my location. I’d rather not go down that route if it can be helped.
Ironically, I actually thought about reaching out to the cops who arrived at the scene. The vampire that was forcing them to act on their behalf was most likely Sergio. I wanted to pitch that I was the one who killed the vamps, and that I was going to kill Sergio, too. I ultimately opted out of my decision because of the risk involved. They hated the situation they were in, but I’m not sure if they were willing to trust a stranger. I doubt they even know that people that hunt vampires even exist, not to mention, their families are being used as leverage.
It’s a tall order; trusting someone you just met to get you out a jam like the one they’re in. If those cops back there turned their guns on me, I would have retaliated, and that wouldn’t be a good look for anyone. The law would be on their side, and I’d become public enemy number one.
The night draws on as I continue my trek back into familiar territory. The occasional stray car passes me by, but I don’t acknowledge them. I keep my eyes fastened to the path in front of me. For one of those instances, it was a cop car, sirens and lights both on. Thankfully, it zoomed by without any trouble. By that point, I was out of no man’s land and on the edge of society, so there was no reason to single me out.
When I make it back to my car, the first thing I do is lock in the coordinates on my phone to see how far it is from my current position. It’s a reasonable distance, not that it matters.
The second those cops turned out to be in cahoots with Sergio, my plan was ruined. With normal cops, I’d have the advantage of having the element of surprise, one of the keys to winning supernatural encounters. Assuming the cops informed their contact about what happened, the vamps’ll be on guard. I can’t blame the cops for that, though. They’re just following orders to protect their loved ones. If my folks were still around and I had to be a grunt to keep them alive, I’d do it in a heartbeat. My freedom for their safety. It’s a no-brainer.
Blaze Monroe and the Tattered Heart: A Supernatural Thriller (The Hunter Who Lost His Way Book 3) Page 7
