Vampire Esquire's War (Book 2)

by Michael Wells Jr.

  President Elder asked Pierre to meet in person at Oval Office, and Pierre left his Washington townhouse in an unmarked, black Ford Expedition. The streets were eerily empty.

  Pierre arrived at the White House the president’s secretary told Pierre to walk through the open door. She closed the door behind him. President Elder stood behind his desk, deep in thought, a position Pierre had seen him in before. Elder appeared burdened, not surprising for a President. But no president had ever faced such calamities as this President.

  Pierre noticed Thomas Watson wasn’t there, and he couldn’t recall the last time he had seen him. He couldn’t pinpoint it, but his vampire senses told him something wasn’t quite right there. He would leave it alone for now though.

  “Thank you for coming Pierre,” said President Elder. He’d dispensed with the more formal Mr. Leblanc. The two men were more familiar, and it cemented their level of trust.

  “Glad to sir. What may I do for you?”

  “Pierre, the vampire-human war has begun.”

  Pierre nodded, and he said, “I know. Who else knows?”

  President Elder turned and walked towards his swivel chair, and he sat down. “Pierre, I thought I’d be okay if I won a second term. I thought I’d be able to do some good. Now I’m not so sure.”

  Pierre walked closer to the president’s desk, and he leaned forward on his desk looking the president in the eye. “You can do some good. You can save this country from the vampires, and, for that matter, you can save the world.”

  President Elder lifted his hands and shooed away the notion. Then his brow furrowed, and he appeared to take the notion more seriously. “You really think I can stop this?”

  Pierre smiled, careful not to let his fangs drop down, and he said, “I do. This is what I’ve been waiting almost two thousand years for, sir.”

  President Elder smiled back at Pierre, his spirits lifted by the vote of confidence and the reminder by Pierre that he had the unique opportunity to save humanity. In saving humanity he could achieve what men and strived for since the beginning of recorded history: immortality. He would go down as the greatest president in his nation’s history and likely the greatest leader in human history. Then Elder felt guilty for pondering such grandiose notions.

  “Where are we going to get started, legally speaking that is?” asked Pierre.

  The war was the primary concern, and the president continued to observe it and get reports. But he had to prepare for what happened if humans won—and if they lost too—so he began to discuss the legalities of how to deal with Congress.

  Pierre began talking, “Many of the new people swept into the House and Senate by Nero’s money are vampires. This means they are no longer human. Can non-humans hold elected office in the United States?”

  The president hadn’t thought about this. Such an obvious solution.

  “What we need to do is run to the D.C. Court of Appeals and get an injunction removing all non-human members of Congress. Then Congress will have the majorities necessary to repeal the legislation destroying Medicaid.”

  The president nodded to Pierre, and he said quietly, “Go on please.”

  “We can’t completely undo what the Nero’s Republicans did, but we can stop it from happening other places.”

  Pierre outlined the legal strategy to the president. All of the Democratic challengers, who had lost to the now vampire Republican congressmen, would serve as the plaintiffs. They would argue the non-human congressmen should be removed under the United States Constitution. Most state legislatures would appoint the members of Congress or hold special elections. It didn’t really matter for now; for now the law needed to be repealed. This would “stop the bleeding,” literally and metaphorically.

  Ultimately the case would probably end up before the Supreme Court as Nero’s lawyers as well as the vampire Congressmen would challenge the injunction.

  “Don’t we need to let the American people know what is going on first?” asked President Elder.

  “I’m not sure. At some point people need to know the truth. I suspect some already know the truth, and it is only a matter of time before the media picks up on the story.”

  The president blew out his breath and flopped down in his chair. This gesture of exasperation surprised Pierre not because the President felt this way but because he would show his emotion. For a man so careful with his emotions, his momentary showing of humanity echoed the gravity of the situation.

  “Although I am much more of a lawyer than a PR person––if you’ve lived as long as I have you must be good at PR–– believe honesty is best at this point. Sometimes it is better to not let people know the story. Here I don’t think you have any choice. We must tell the truth”

  “You are right-––”. Before the President could finish his thought a senior aide burst in the door, “Sir there’s been a vampire attack in the tunnel under the White House.”

  With remarkable composure, President Elder responded, “I guess everyone in the White House knows about vampires.” Pierre exited the room and headed towards the situation room where the president was supposed be taken.

  After Pierre left, Thomas Watson came in. Thomas Watson grabbed the president, but President Elder said, “Let me go Thomas. I’m staying here.” Watson let him go, content to leave him in the Oval Office.

  Then Watson left the room.

  Pierre walked back in. “You are staying in the Oval,” he said incredulously.

  “What else do you know?” said President Elder to the aide.

  “The vampire killed a few soldiers before William Magnum staked the vampire with a silver stake.” President Elder frowned.

  “Mr. Magnum is cleaning the blood off, but they will be ready to see you soon.”

  “Great. That will be all. Thank you for the update. I appreciate it.” On cue the man left the room and closed the door to the world’s most famous office.

  “Pierre, a statement will have to wait for a few minutes. I need to talk to the vampire hunters so I can find out exactly what they saw.”

  Chapter 24

  Valkyrie ran toward the White House, and she crossed over K Street. She noticed a number of large men coming out of Apex Consulting’s offices. When she took a closer look, she saw a number of the men were vampires themselves. She hid behind an overturned car and watched closely.

  The vampires sped by with blurring speed, but they didn’t go directly towards the White House. I wonder where they are going, she thought. Then she saw what appeared to be Vladimir Lenin emerge from the building; she’d seen pictures before. It had to be him because he had an aura about him. His skin appeared almost white, and he moved very quickly. She pulled a silver bolt from the quiver on her back. She placed it in her cross bow and fired, but another vampire jumped in front of the bolt. The vampire took the bolt in the heart, and then he exploded, spraying blood all over Lenin.

  Vampires amassed around Lenin, and when she blinked they were gone. Strange, she thought, normally they would stay to fight. Where would they be going that was so important they wouldn’t say and fight? Then she froze. The White House.

  Valkyrie tried to call Roland and Magnum, but (again) her phone wouldn’t work.

  Chapter 25

  “We need to get ready,” said Roland.

  “I agree,” said Magnum. “As soon as the president gets done making his statement to the American people, we need to put him on lockdown.”

  “It isn’t even safe for him to make his statement. Why isn’t the Secret Service ignoring him and taking him to a safe location?”

  Pierre Leblanc walked in the room, and he turned towards the two men. “Lenin is on the way. Am I right?”

  Both men wondered how Pierre knew this, but they had learned not to question this phenomenon, as Pierre always seemed to know things. Maybe he didn’t know as much as he sensed things.

  “I thought he would come soon. Everything has been leading up to this, especially since the vampires are losing the
war.”

  “So you think they are losing already?” said Magnum.

  “Yes I do,” said Pierre. “Let’s walk and talk. We can’t afford to be waiting. The attack is imminent. We need to be in a position to get the president into Oval Office. Vampires should not be able to get in there. Best I can tell none have permission, although this assumes there aren’t traitors.”

  “You think there may be traitors in the White House?” said Roland.

  “There always are,” said Pierre. The three men ran towards the East Room, where they would meet the president so they could guard him when he finished his statement.

  “I’ve seen enough betrayal over the course of my existence to never doubt what people can do. And I’ve found the people who most betray you are those closest to you.”

  “Isn’t that the truth,” said Magnum as he ran forward, his thick boots hitting the ground. He had his silver stake drawn, ready to use it when he needed it.

  Roland drew one of his silver stakes too.

  They needed to be ready for battle.

  ________________________

  President Elder walked down the long, red carpet towards the podium in the East Room of the White House. Presidents had made many important announcements from this room, but none as important as the announcement President Elder needed to make. None had changed the world in the way the president’s new announcement would.

  The president wore a black suit, starched white shirt, and a solid-blue tie. On his right lapel he wore his standard American flag pin. Staring into the camera the president began:

  “Good evening ladies and gentlemen. Our nation has faced many threats in our over 240- year existence. We have met each of these threats, and we have ended them each and every time. Now we face a great threat, perhaps the greatest threat ever.”

  Everything grew very quiet.

  “The threat is unlike anything this nation has ever faced, at least in the sense that most of us have been unaware such a threat existed. This threat has lurked in the shadows for many years, unknown to most of us. But not all of us.

  “It is one of our deepest human fears, and, unfortunately, it is a reality.” The president paused. “Vampires are real, and they are trying to take over.”

  The gallery gasped, and the flashes began again.

  “Some of the reports you have heard are true. This isn’t a hoax. Vampires represent the greatest threat this country has ever faced. They have been around as long as humans have. But they have never been as organized or as numerous as they are now.

  “The vampires are led by a vampire from Paris, who is now here in the United States. His name is Vladimir Lenin, or at least this is his most recent name, for he is three-thousand years old.” More gasps and looks of disbelief.

  “Lenin owns a company called the Nero Corporation. Through this corporation, Lenin pumped billions into our political system. They hoped I would lose the election, but they were unsuccessful. They have engaged in many nefarious plots not the least of which is human trafficking”

  More gasps and looks of disbelief. Most Americans didn’t believe human trafficking took place in the United States, but it did.

  “Nero did succeed in influencing the outcome of many Congressional elections. As you are aware, many seats in Congress went to radical elements of the Republican Party as well as the Tea Party. Recently, Congress has passed legislation taking away Medicaid from all people in Los Angeles, Louisiana and Washington.

  “But this legislation was a smokescreen to hide the true plan. They devised the true plan decades ago when they began privatizing prisons and allowing corporations to invest in human trafficking. These prisons are not regulated and were used to make more vampires; human trafficking is used to make more vampires.”

  Reports could not speak, and no one shouted questions. No cameras clicked. The room was silent. The president began speaking again.

  “Another part of their plan began even longer ago than that. Vampires were shipped from all over the world to our major cities, including Washington. And the vampires were buried in small tombs under our cities. These vampires are now awakening, and this is why you’ve heard reports about vampire like creatures.

  “And this plan worked, at least for awhile. But we stopped them in Southern California. Unfortunately we had to destroy hundreds of thousands of vampires, who used to be innocent human beings. The vampires we’ve faced are weaker than their makers realized, weaker than Lenin and his henchmen planned. We fought back in Southern California, and we will keep fight back here. We did this to keep vampires from taking over humanity.

  “Make no mistake: we are fighting for the survival of the human species. This has not been pleasant, nor will it. I ask you, the American people, to bear with me. We will meet this threat in New Orleans, in other locations through out he country and here in Washington. There will be more announcements soon, but for now rest assured we are winning, and we will triumph in the end.

  “God bless you, and God bless America.” President Elder turned around and strode off down the red carpet away from the throngs of reporters, knowing the world had changed.

  _________________________________

  President Elder reached the end of the red carpet as he walked back towards the White House’s private quarters.

  “Change of plans sir,” said Magnum.

  “How so?” said President Elder.

  “We are taking you to the Situation Room under the White House. It is fortified by silver gates.”

  President Elder kept his composure. “And why is it that we need to go there?”

  “Because Vladimir Lenin and his henchmen are a few blocks away, and we need you in a secure place.”

  “They can’t get in here. Not without permission. And I’m not giving them permission.”

  “We agree, sir, but we need to take precautions.”

  Pierre walked towards the president. “I want to make sure you are safe. I am concerned for your safety?”

  The president tightened. “Why is everyone so damn concerned for me? I have a war to conduct.”

  “You can’t do that if you are dead or if you are turned into a vampire.”

  “But they can’t do that if they are unable to get in the White House?” The president almost shouted.

  “There are people who work in the White House for you who are authorized to enter. Because they are authorized to enter they can give permission to enter unless you retract that permission in person. It is called ‘derivative permission,’ and it is a way around vampires being banned from buildings.”

  “No one would give them permission.”

  Pierre shook his head. “We don’t know that. There could be—there likely will be—a betrayal. We don’t know where it is coming from though. So we need you in a secure a place as possible.”

  President Elder nodded his consent trying not to show his fear.

  Chapter 26

  Lenin thought about his plan as his posse rushed towards the South Lawn of the White House where they would attempt to gain entry into the White House and take out the president. He tried not to allow himself much time to doubt his plan. If he killed the president, he would have the chaos he needed to implement his final plan.

  Things had changed and not for the better for Vladimir Lenin. He thought his plan could not fail. The plan hadn’t failed, but it wasn’t exactly going well. He had miscalculated. Lenin thought his vampires would be stronger and more capable not weak and lethargic.

  Even more galling, he couldn’t admit humans were better than he previously thought. If he were to admit such a mistake, then it would call into question his judgment. He couldn’t allow this, as it would undermine all of his efforts thus far as well as his future efforts.

  He steeled his resolve by telling himself he didn’t expect it to be too easy; if it were easy to take over the human world, it would have worked. This didn’t mean humans were the superior species––far from it––because humans were weak and fall
ible.

  “The reports are still bad, sir,” said Fletcher cautiously as he ran with Lenin and the other men. Vladimir hadn’t even noticed Fletcher. He had to admit running blindly towards the White House with a vampire posse smacked of failure, but he wouldn’t remain a failure if he took down the president. The Secret Service screwed up all the time even without someone on the inside, and he had Thomas Watson on the inside. Watson could divert the Secret Service long enough to allow him access; they would be aided by the prostitutes, who were occupying the bulk of the agents. And Watson could help kill the opposition, possibly even the president. So the mission was not as clandestine as it may appear to an outside observer.

  “I’m not worried Fletcher. My concern is we learn from this setback and improve the next time. Vampires adapt. There is still Washington, and, if you take Washington, then so goes the United States. The Confederates understood this during the Civil War, but they could never get to Washington. We are in Washington already. And our numbers are superior.”

  What appeared to be a family––a man, a woman and two small children––stepped in their way. Lenin grabbed the mother and the father and literally ripped off their heads. Then he kicked the crying and terrified children to the ground, and said, “Get out of my way you human filth.”

  Fletcher and a mysterious woman broke off down another street, mysterious to onlookers––but not to Lenin; he knew who she was. They were not needed for an attack on the White House but for the contingency plan. Someone has to keep the cause going if I’m not successful, thought Lenin.

  They were close to the White House South Lawn, and they could see helicopters circling with spot-lights shining out. Lenin communicated with Watson via telepathyto shut down the motion sensitive detection equipment, and he did so because no one was able to stop him.

  The vampires scaled the fence surrounding the South Lawn without being noticed because they were also invisible due to the use of vampire invisibility magic known to Lenin and few other vampires. This is easier than I imagined, thought Lenin.