C.O.T.V.H. (Book 1): Creation (12 page)

Ben nodded. "But there is no safe." he quoted the elder Bishop, Cort. "John, I'll tell you what, let’s focus on what we’ve got in front of us and then you and I can settle up later. Deal?”

“
I'd like that.” John nodded thoughtfully. “For what’s it’s worth, it’s damn good to see you again.”

“
Same here.” Ben pulled back onto the street. “I just wish it was under different circumstances.”

The two rode in silence for the next five minutes before John broke it with a laugh in the backseat. “How the hell did you become a fed anyway?”

Ben chuckled. “I’m not. Just a little favor from The Judge.”

“
What judge is going to help us out? Someone Billy knows?”

Ben shook his head. “Buddy, you’ve been out of the game a long, long time. I’m talking about Colonel Frank Judge. He’s our government contact now. A few years back they started doing a lot more than offering bounties on fangs. Believe it or not they actually put a team on the ground. Bunch of Special Forces guys, Marines, Navy Seals, Army Rangers, even a few guys from Delta. The whole nine yards. They picked Judge to run it. The guy really knows his shit.”

John shook his head. “Things really
have
changed. You’ll have to fill me in on all that I’ve missed.”

“
Will do. By the way, how is Jake doing? I mean, how’s he coping with all this? It’s got to be a shock to his system.”

“
Yeah that’s an understatement." John sighed. "I honestly don’t know. To tell you the truth I’ve tried not to think about it too much. Once I get Julia back, I’ll deal with Jake. For now he’s with Pop.”

“
That’s good.” Ben nodded. “Cort will take good care of him.”

“
How’s Cat and . . . damn I’m sorry Ben I can’t remember your son’s name.”

“
That’s okay; you’ve got a lot on your mind. It’s Chris. They’re doing pretty good. Cat is beautiful as ever and Chris . . . Chris is like his old man. Nerdy, small, the poor kid even got stuck with glasses.”

“
Ah hell, Ben. That’s the worst news I’ve heard all day!” John said, sarcastically. “Might as well do the kid a favor and smother him in his sleep.”

“
Smart ass.” Ben said, under his breath. “I can’t help it John. You know how hard it was for me when we were growing up. You, Terry, and Wes were athletic and strong. I never stood a chance against you guys. You all breezed through Cort and Billy’s training. I barely survived!”

“
I wouldn’t say we breezed through it. As I remember it, I spent more than a few occasions getting my ass chewed out. But you survived. Your skills may lie in other areas but your one hell of a hunter. Until you came along contact with the authorities was spotty at best. Chris will be okay. He has Cat as a mom after all. She’ll make sure he turns out alright”

“
Thanks John.” Ben chuckled. “That means a lot.”

Twenty minutes later Ben’s car came to a stop near a cotton field off Interstate twenty. Julia’s car was gone. Talon’s truck was parked on the side of the road, a jack under it with one of the tires off.

“
That’s the spot.” Ben said, pulling the sedan to a stop.

“
Good. Now maybe you can get these damn cuffs off of me.” John answered.

“
Yeah it should be safe now.”

Ben climbed out of the car and opened John’s door then unlocked the handcuffs. Big red circles encompassed his wrists where they’d cut into his flesh.

“
Man, that’s
much
better.” John said, rubbing at his wrists. “So this is the spot?”

“
This is it. Talon got to it about fifteen minutes before the cops found it.”

Talon Parker came walking seemingly out of nowhere. As if he had just appeared in the middle of the large cotton field.

“
Hello, John.” He said when he was within arm’s reach. “Glad you finally got yourself out of jail. I’m sorry I couldn’t help you earlier. I saw them coming but by then it was too late. I figured it wouldn’t do any of us much good to get myself locked up as well.”

John waved it away, “You did the right thing. I’m just glad you got here before the cops did. Talon, did she make it out alive?”

“
Her tracks lead away from the car into the field. She was followed by two other sets. They caught up with her about twenty yards out.”

“
Damn . . .” John knelt down and looked at the tracks. He couldn’t make out anything but a bunch of tossed around dirt. “You’re sure it was her?”

“
I’m sure.” Talon said, sticking a piece of grass between his teeth.

“
Alright.” John stood up and tossed a rock into the field. “Where did they take her?”

“
John I know you probably won't want to hear this.” Ben spoke up before Talon could answer. “But there were at least eight missing persons last night in the Midland/Odessa area.”

“
Yeah. And?” John crossed his arms. “What’s your point?”

“
One meal for each Maker? That’s
a lot of
Makers John. And in case you haven’t noticed, there are only three of us. Not to mention the sun will be down in just a couple of hours.”

"What about Holloway?" John asked looking from Talon to Ben.

"His team is taking out a nest near Oklahoma City.” Ben answered. “They won't be back this way for several days."

“
Turner is in the area.” Talon kicked a rock with his foot.

“
Oh no. No, no, no.” Ben held up his hands, shaking his head. “I’m not working with that lunatic.”

John gave him a questioning look. “What’s wrong with Wes? We used to work with him in the old days.”

“
He’s changed John. There are a lot of rumors going around about him.” Ben answered. “Really twisted things. Killing civilians, torturing vamps, things like that.”

“
But nothing has been confirmed.” Talon said, “Like Ben said, they are only rumors.”

“
Ben, make the call. We can’t take that many Makers on our own.” John laid his hand on Ben’s shoulder. “Please Benny; she doesn’t have much time left.”

“
Damn it Bishop, you owe me for this. Okay,” He nodded. “Let’s get to a pay phone and I’ll make the call to Billy. See how many other Hunters we can get into the area. Tomorrow, though, I’m not doing anything until you get rested up.”

“
Don’t worry, John.” Talon patted him on the shoulder. “I’ll find them tonight. Tomorrow morning we’ll have us a nice vampire barbecue.”

“
Good. Until then, we need to gear up.” John said, “I had two Grunt teeth we could cash in for the funds. Did they leave that in the evidence bag?”

“
Yeah, I think so.” Ben pulled the evidence bag out of the car and dug through it. “I know just the place.” He said, holding the two teeth in the palm of his hand.

*****

Henry Anderson watched through a pair of binoculars as the so-called ‘Fed’ un-cuffed his prisoner and let him out of the car. A few seconds later, a large Native American man joined them.

“
Son of a bitch.” Henry muttered to himself. “Federal agent my ass.” He watched them converse for twenty minutes before nods and pats on the backs started. Then Bishop and Morris loaded up in the Sedan. The Native American popped a tire back on his truck and within five minutes, they were on the road headed back to Midland.

The Native American exited off the interstate right before getting back into town, so Henry decided to stick to the Sedan. Staying far enough behind not to be noticed but close enough to keep an eye on them, Henry followed them to a small dusty looking pawn shop on the east side of town.

Back on the hunt, are we?
Henry thought to himself as he waited for a cup of coffee at the shop across the street.
And who are you Mr. Morris? Who are you really?

Coffee in hand, Henry stepped outside. Making sure to stay well out of sight, he walked to a pay phone on the corner. Setting his coffee on top of the phone booth, he picked up the phone and put a quarter in. After a few rings their came an answer on the other end. “Hey Susie. It’s Henry.”

“
Hey sugar!” She said, in her deep Texas accent. “You know Captain Holt is looking for you? You were supposed to check in earlier this afternoon.”

“
Yeah Susie I know. Listen, I’m on a lead here but I need you to do me a favor. I need you to run a name for me.”

“
You got it baby. What’s the name?”

“
Ben Morris, possibly Benjamin. See if there’s any record of him working for the FBI.”

“
Benjamin Morris . . .” she said, slowly as she scribbled it down. “F . . . B . . . I . . . Alright hon I’ve got it. Where can I send it?”

“
I’ll call you here in a few hours Susie. Not sure where I’ll be.”

“
What do you want me to tell Captain Holt?”

Tell him to kiss my ass! I’m doing real police work for a change.
Henry wanted to yell into the phone. He took a deep breath then let it out slowly. “Tell him I’m on a lead and I’ll call him first thing in the morning.”

“
Henry, you know he’s not going to like that. This isn’t Captain Barnes we’re talking about.”

“
Yeah I know.” Henry sipped from his coffee.
He’s not half the man that Barnes was.
“Good ole Barnes. God rest his soul.” He glanced across the street to see Morris and Bishop loading two duffels and four rifle cases in the back seat of the sedan. “Listen Susie I’ve got to go. I’ll call you tonight.”

“
You stay safe out there Henry Anderson.” Susie said, before hanging up.

I’ll try Susie girl. But I’ve got a feeling the shit is about to hit the fan and for some crazy reason I’m jumping right into its flight pattern.
Henry grabbed up his cup of coffee and rushed back to his car.

*****

“
Ten grand a piece!” John said, shaking his head. “By God Ben, when I quit it was only three thousand for grunt teeth! What the hell happened?”

“
A new administration is what happened - one that wants some dead vampires.” Ben pulled their sedan away from the pawnshop where they’d met one of his government contacts.

“
Man things
have
changed.” John looked in the backseat at the heavy artillery they had just purchased. “Shame the guy didn’t have any hollow points.”

“
Yeah well, we’ll have to make do with what we got.” Ben said, adjusting his rearview mirror. “It’s almost sundown. We need to get holed up someplace for the night. They might still be looking for you.”

“
At this point I could care less if they are. Let them come.”

“
So now you’ve got a death wish?” Ben looked over at his friend. “You think that’s what Julia would have wanted?”

“
No Ben, Julia just wanted the air conditioner to get fixed. She wanted to stop worrying about if the electricity was going to be shut off because I didn't pay the bill on time. She didn’t want any of this to happen. But it did. Now, one way or another, I’m going to deal with it. She’s still alive Ben, so don’t talk about her in the past tense.”

“
John, I’d like to believe she is but . . .”

“
Don’t
bu
t me Ben. She’s alive.” John said, in a tone letting him know the conversation was over.

“
Regardless John . . .” Ben said, slowly. “We need to get someplace safe for the night. You need to get rested up. We can’t do her any good if we get ourselves killed.”

“
I can’t just go get some sleep knowing she’s still out there somewhere! Scared, hurt, alone! Praying that I find her!”

“
John, you need to calm down and get some rest. What’s the first thing Cort taught us?
Use your head.
How many times did he tell us that if you rush in without thinking you will just get yourself killed? Let’s go get some rest and I’ll call Billy and get a hold of Wes. Anyway, we can’t do anything until we’ve gotten word from Talon just where we’re going.”

John sat there silently.

“
John?”

“
Alright damn it!” He said, angrily. “You’re right, but that doesn’t mean I have to like it.”

Ben’s beeper started beeping at him. Pulling it off his belt, he looked at the number. “It’s Talon. I need to get to a phone.”

Ben pulled the car into the nearest 7/Eleven and used the pay phone to call Talon. It had been nearly twenty-four hours since he last ate, so John took the opportunity to run into the store and grab a bite. He came out munching on a hot dog covered in chili and mustard with a cold bottle of Dr. Pepper.

“
Whatcha find out?” he asked through a mouthful of food.

“
You’re not going to believe this.” Ben said, with a frown.

“
What?” John asked impatiently.

“
They are set up in the old Carver Estate right outside of town.”

“
He’s sure?” John said, before shoving the rest of the hot dog into his mouth chasing it with a long swig of soda. Ben looked at him as if he had just asked the stupidest question ever. “Right. Talon.” John said, wiping his hands on his jeans. Pulling a bottle of aspirin from the plastic bag in his hand, he ripped off the cap and downed three pills then took another long swig of soda. “Okay, let’s crash at the Sandy Inn; it’s about two miles from there. We’ll hit them first thing in the morning.”