ELDRITCH OPS
Book Two of the Red Room Series
By C. T. Phipps
A Macabre Ink Production
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Crossroad Press Edition published 2019
Cover design by Eloise J. Knapp
Visit her online gallery at http://eloiseknappdesign.com/
Copyright © C. T. Phipps
First Printing: 2018 by Amber Cove Publishing
LICENSE NOTES
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Meet the Author
C. T. Phipps is a lifelong student of horror, science fiction, and fantasy. An avid tabletop gamer, he discovered this passion led him to write and turned him into a lifelong geek. He is a regular blogger and also a reviewer for The Bookie Monster.
Bibliography
The Rules of Supervillainy (Supervillainy Saga #1)
The Games of Supervillainy (Supervillainy Saga #2)
The Secrets of Supervillainy (Supervillainy Saga #3)
The Kingdom of Supervillany (Supervillainy Saga #4)
The Tournament of Supervillany (Supervillainy Saga #5)
The Future of Supervillany (Supervillainy Saga #6)
I Was a Teenage Weredeer (The Bright Falls Mysteries, Book 1)
An American Weredeer in Michigan (The Bright Falls Mysteries, Book 2)
Esoterrorism (Red Room, Vol. 1)
Eldritch Ops (Red Room, Vol. 2)
Agent G: Infiltrator (Agent G, Vol. 1)
Agent G: Saboteur (Agent G, Vol. 2)
Agent G: Assassin (Agent G, Vol. 3)
Cthulhu Armageddon (Cthulhu Armageddon, Vol. 1)
The Tower of Zhaal (Cthulhu Armageddon, Vol. 2)
Lucifer’s Star (Lucifer’s Star, Vol. 1)
Lucifer’s Nebula (Lucifer’s Star, Vol. 2)
Straight Outta Fangton (Straight Outta Fangton, Vol. 1)
100 Miles and Vampin’ (Straight Outta Fangton, Vol. 2)
Wraith Knight (Wraith Knight, Vol. 1)
Wraith Lord (Wraith Knight, Vol. 2)
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Dedication and Acknowledgments
This novel is dedicated to my lovely wife, Kat, and the many other wonderful people who made this book possible. Special thanks to Jim, Shana, Rakie, Matthew, Sonja, Bobbie, Devan, Tim, Joe, Thom, and everyone else.
C. T. Phipps
Table of Contents
Prologue
Chapter One
Chapter Two
Chapter Three
Chapter Four
Chapter Five
Chapter Six
Chapter Seven
Chapter Eight
Chapter Nine
Chapter Ten
Chapter Eleven
Chapter Twelve
Chapter Thirteen
Chapter Fourteen
Chapter Fifteen
Chapter Sixteen
Chapter Seventeen
Chapter Eighteen
Chapter Nineteen
Chapter Twenty
Chapter Twenty-One
Chapter Twenty-Two
Chapter Twenty-Three
Chapter Twenty-Four
Chapter Twenty-Five
Chapter Twenty-Six
Chapter Twenty-Seven
Chapter Twenty-Eight
Chapter Twenty-Nine
Chapter Thirty
Chapter Thirty-One
Chapter Thirty-Two
Chapter Thirty-Three
Chapter Thirty-Four
Chapter Thirty-Five
Chapter Thirty-Six
Prologue
Monsters are real. This is a fact I’ve lived with my entire life. I was born to it, you might say. My ancestors have been members of the House, the secret society that covers up the creepy-crawlies, since Doctor John Dee and Hiawatha. I was raised to know there was no other way to deal with the supernatural than a bullet to the head, which is awkward when your mother is a dragon.
I’m one hundred percent human (it’s complicated), but that didn’t keep me from realizing the House’s worldview wasn’t entirely accurate. It’s gotten doubly complicated since I started dating a succubus full time. That doesn’t mean the monsters aren’t dangerous, mind you. The majority may not be any worse than regular humanity, but as history shows, that’s still pretty damn evil. Also, some of the monsters really are soulless killing machines.
My name is Derek Hawthorne, and I am the youngest member of the House to ascend to membership in the Committee. I’m not very good at my job; I was raised to be an agent rather than a leader. Worse, I’m not entirely in step with the rest of my fellows. They’re very much of the “the only good supernatural is a dead supernatural,” bent and believe the supernatural should be covered up at all costs. That kind of attitude isn’t an option anymore, though. In the age of social media, instant messengers, cellphone videos, and YouTube, it’s only a matter of time before regular humanity learns it’s not alone in the big scary world.
Recently, tensions have risen between the House and one of the more powerful supernatural factions. The Vampire Nation, an alliance of bloodsucking horrors the world over, has been implicated in a series of magical terrorist attacks worldwide. This is a direct violation of the many treaties it has signed with the House. The war hawks are itching for a fight against them, to prove we’re still the biggest, baddest baddies on the block.
I’ve been sent to prevent that. To preserve the peace—even if I hate vampires for what they did to my partner. This is the story of how I failed.
Chapter One
“I hate being a bureaucrat,” I muttered, sitting at a table in the back of an Aspen ski lodge. I was in a large, log-cabin cafeteria by a window overlooking the slopes. It was a public place, filled with mundanes—the perfect place for a meeting between two groups of supernaturals who didn’t trust one another. It was a hour past sunset and everyone was enjoying the brightly lit slopes.
“Oh, quit your bitching.” Shannon O’Reilly’s voice spoke through my concealed earpiece. “You’re in Aspen on the House’s dime. Stop acting like you’re locked in the basement doing accounting reports.”
Though we weren’t partners anymore, Shannon usually accompanied me on my missions for the Committee. We’d been together over a year, and my succ
ubus girlfriend made these little excursions much easier.
“You have me there. Still, I was useful in the field,” I said, taking a sip of my hot cocoa. “The majority of my work now consists of signing off on other people’s missions and coddling VIPs. That’s not real spy work.”
“Real spy work involves tapping phones, long hours in crappy hotels, and paying people to give us their boss’s trash. I’m up for the more sedate life of a House politician. Twice the glamour and half the sleeping with loathsome targets.”
“Point taken.”
“Are you sure it’s not who you’re meeting with rather than why?”
“It’s both. I’ve killed more vampires than any other field agent this century,” I said, rolling my eyes. “This is like sending Jack the Ripper to negotiate with the International Union of Sex Workers.”
They even had a name for me: The Cleaver. I hated vampires because of what they’d done to my former partner, Christopher, and had done my best to enact a bloody vengeance on them with what influence I’d wielded in the House. I’d stopped that pursuit after ascending to the Committee. I had too much influence now to merrily plunge the House into war. Millions could die if I fumbled the ball here. But no pressure, eh?
“Actually, this is more like sending me to negotiate with the International Union of Sex Workers. I’m the one who kills people with a kiss,” Shannon joked. “This? This makes perfect sense. You’re a vicious killer; they’re vicious killers. It’s kismet.”
“Are you in position?” I said, deciding to change the subject.
“Affirmative,” Shannon replied. “Anyone tries to hit you from the right side and I’ve got you.”
“I’m watching the left,” I said, frowning. “We should have people covering all the exits and windows.”
“Blame cutbacks,” Shannon said, her voice serious. “Senior Agents are spread very thin since the whole kerfuffle with Cassandra last year. We’ve got people covering potential sniper targets and other places, but we don’t have enough people to cover a closer target.”
“Do we even know who the ambassador is?”
“Nope.”
“Great.” I rubbed the bridge of my nose. “Listen, just keep me informed. These negotiations have to succeed. Open warfare is a real possibility.”
Dozens of agents had been assassinated in recent memory, and several large-scale massacres of humans had been conducted, resulting in hundreds of deaths. The bodies had been mutilated badly and evidence left of vampirism. It was a deliberate challenge to the House’s authority, even if it was also tremendously stupid. After all, the Vampire Nation had as much to lose as anyone if the truth came out.
“Do you really think they’re responsible?” Shannon asked.
“No. It’d require too much courage to provoke us the way these incidents have. Vampires are scavengers, not genuine predators. They’re a species of cowards and parasites that send others to die in their place. This is likely a group of extremists, but we need to force them to take care of the issue.”
“Yes, I suppose you do,” a voice said behind me. It was male, familiar, and tinged with a British accent. “Though I would argue that vampires are very good at making other people die in their place. Parasites and cowards, we may be, but we’re hardly weak.”
I stared, stunned. “You…”
“Me,” the vampire said, sitting down across from me.
My third partner. Christopher Hang. The reason I hated the undead. Those bastards had turned him.
“Huh,” I said, not sure what else to say.
Christopher didn’t look a day older than thirty, appearing much as he did when he was dragged off during our battle with the Vampire Nation in New York. He had shining black hair that trailed down to his shoulders and model good looks. Christopher was dressed smartly, having traded his agent’s business suit for a black winter coat and pants that cost more than a new car. I looked at him in sheer disbelief, unsure what to say to a man who had been my closest friend—now an enemy of the House.
“Should I say the obligatory ‘You look like you’ve seen a ghost’?” Christopher said, smiling.
“A ghost would be less surprising,” I said, stunned. “I’m sorry, Chris. I am. I didn’t—”
Christopher raised his right palm. “No apologies necessary. You did everything you could. In fact, more than you should have. Did you actually kill the entire New York City crew by yourself?”
I looked away, feeling silly. “I wasn’t alone. There were other guys with me.”
Including my brother Alec’s crew of mercenaries. I wasn’t about to implicate them to the Vampire Nation, though, even if I wanted desperately to trust Christopher. Given the amount of brainwashing new recruits went through, it was entirely possible he wasn’t the Christopher I once knew.
“You shouldn’t have done that. Not all the people killed in your retaliation deserved to die.”
I was surprised by my response. I wanted to defend my actions but found myself unable to do so. Instead, I just said, “I wish I could have done more.”
“You did what you could.” Christopher gestured for a buxom, blonde-haired slope bunny, and she brought him a cup of hot cocoa without prompting. He smiled at her, and I suspected she would have offered her neck then and there if he’d asked. Instead, he gestured for her to depart and she did, leaving us alone again. “There’s something you can do for me.”
“What’s that?” I asked, trying to recover my sense of decorum.
“We’ll get to that,” Christopher said.
Knowing Christopher was alive—unalive—whatever left me rattled even as I did my best not to show it. I’d been an agent for the House for over a decade, and much of that had been lonely bitter nights fighting monsters, not knowing who I could trust. At one point, Christopher had been the person I’d trusted most in the world. He was responsible for helping me get my fiancé out of the House and knew all my secrets.
While the emotional part of me was overjoyed he was in front of me, the more logical side started calculating just how much damage his being a vampire could do to us. How much had he told his fellows? What secrets had been compromised? Did he feel any loyalty to me, or had they managed to mesmerize it out of him? I wanted to believe my friend was the same person he’d been four years ago but that was unlikely.
“You look well, Derek,” Christopher said, smiling. It seemed forced, somehow, as if it wasn’t an action he was used to anymore. “Two eyes, too. I’d heard you lost one fighting the Wazir.”
“In fact, it was the Committee who tore it out,” I said.
Christopher’s face remained impassive. “I see.”
“The House has an excellent health plan, though.” I tapped my left eye with my forefinger. “Got a magictech replacement in three weeks.”
“Impressive,” Christopher said, without emotion.
“Not really. So, you’re my contact?” I asked, pushing that thought down. “How did you get on the Council of Ancients so fast? You’ve only been a vampire a short time. I mean, it’s in the name: Council of Ancients. 1000+ years undead or bust. You’re not even an Old One.”
“I might ask you the same thing,” Christopher said, stirring his cocoa with his long finger. “When I last knew you, you said everyone over the rank of senior agent was a horse’s ass. How the hell did you become one of the Committee?”
“It’s a long story,” I said.
“Same here,” Christopher said. “Let’s just say I’m more their herald than an actual member, though. Even then, I had to pull a few strings to get assigned the job. They’re the most trusting bunch of eldritch monsters.”
I realized I wasn’t going to get any more. “Consider the subject closed. I suppose we’re here to negotiate a settlement.”
Christopher reached under his coat, and I tensed up before I saw he was removing a folder similar to the ones I had. “Negotiating a settlement is easy enough. However, that is not why I brought you here.”
“I
will do anything I can.” I paused. “Within reason.”
“First, business.” Christopher pulled out a manila envelope and slid it across the table. “This should be able to get your superiors off our backs.”
“I only have equals and subordinates now.”
“Does the rest of the Committee know that?”
It was a well-known fact the other members of the ruling council considered me a junior member at best. It was a fact he shouldn’t know, though.
“They will soon,” I said, my gaze darkening.
“If you say so.”
Looking over my shoulder to make sure no one was paying attention, I took the envelope and opened it. Inside, I saw the detailed history and profile of a long-standing enemy of the Red Room: John Ruthford. He was a renegade Old One who was responsible for thousands of human deaths as well as the deaths of numerous agents.
The folder listed not just his safe houses, contacts, and bank accounts, but also his itinerary for the next few months. The Vampire Nation offering him up would go a long way to normalizing relations with the House. Mind you, we’d have to figure out a way to kill him permanently that would stick. Ruthven’s group wasn’t related to the more recent terrorist attacks, though, and made me wonder if this was some sort of dodge. If so, it was a good one.
“This is like giving me the Devil’s GPS coordinates,” I said, whistling. “How the hell did you get all this?”
“I called in every favor I could. It wasn’t easy,” Christopher said. “You have a lot of enemies.”
“For what I did trying to avenge you,” I said.
“I wasn’t dead, Derek,” Christopher said.
I glared. “I didn’t know that. I’ve lost three partners over the years. Each time it’s like being shot in the stomach.”
“I’d like to believe we’re still friends and partners.” Christopher laughed. “The next question I’m going to ask you leans on our friendship.”
“Are you the same man I knew?” I asked.
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