Nadya's Nights: Road to Vengeance (11 page)

Chapter Sixteen: The Bigger They Are…

Nadya managed to fight off the tears.  Eventually, she even managed to swallow the lump in her throat.  Not that she would’ve been chatting up a storm anyway, but there was a long period where she felt if she tried to squeeze any words past the lump that it would start a chain reaction of sobs.  So she kept her mouth clamped shut until she got her emotions under control.

As she did, she tried to think about where she should go; how to start tracking down the cure.  She decided to go about it the same way she’d go about trying to find anything else and ask around the usual places.  There was a pub not too far from where they were that she knew Lonestar frequented.  She just hoped that Vladimir hadn’t already thought about the possibility of her showing up there and called ahead to have them try to detain her.

She headed for the pub.

A couple minutes later, Nadya brought the sporty car to a halt out front of the pub.  She looked over at Ulbrecht.

“I’m going to go in and ask around if anyone knows about this cure,” she told him.  “You wait here.”

She took the key from the ignition and got out, walking around the car and heading for the entrance to the pub.  She made sure her pistol was hidden from view before she entered.

The interior of the pub was dark and filled with smoke.  The strong smell of burning tobacco filled her nostrils and rekindled an urge of her own to light up.  She reached into her jacket pocket and felt her pack of cigarettes, pulling it out.  She placed one of the sticks between her lips and retrieved her Zippo from her pocket.

Flicking it open, she brushed her thumb against it several times, only managing a few sparks.  The extended use in the passageways had eaten up her fluid.  She cursed softly, but just as she placed the lighter back in her pocket, another was presented to her, already lit.  Nadya leaned forward and ignited her cigarette, taking a long drag.

“Thanks,” she said, turning to the lanky man who’d offered her the light.

Lonestar grinned at her as if he’d just tricked her into marrying him. The fact that she’d just accepted a light off him wasn’t going to help deter him from flirting with her.

Always check to see who’s offering you a light before accepting
, she thought to herself, sighing. 
At least it didn’t take long to find him.

She turned to fully face Lonestar, giving him nice view of her bruised jaw.  His grin faltered as he spotted the unattractive mark.  “What happened to your face?”

“Love tap,” she deadpanned.  “I’m looking for information.”

She was glad her bruised face got his mind out of the gutter, but she wasn’t interested in telling him any tales.  The good thing about Lonestar was that he worked cheap, at least for Nadya.  He’d ask for a quick peek at one of her more private areas, and he’d settle for a hard slap to the face.

Toss in a round or two of beer, and the information was hers.

“Know anyone that’s an expert on werewolves?  Specifically, how to counter the virus before it takes hold?”

At the mention of werewolves, Lonestar’s grin faded completely.  “You didn’t get infected, did you?”  His concern would have been endearing, if it hadn’t been for the simple fact that he was worried about losing out on all hope of ever banging her.

Nadya shook her head.  “It’s for a friend.”

He rubbed at his stubble-covered jaw while he thought.  The way his eyes flowed up and down Nadya’s body made her think he was doing more than scouring his alcohol addled brain to come up with a name.

She rolled her eyes and took another drag from her cigarette, blowing the smoke in his eyes.  Lonestar tried to wave the smoke away, blinking to clear the smoke.

“Okay, okay… I might know someone who might know someone who might be able to help you.”

Nadya glared at the man.  “Don’t start sending me on wild goose chases.  I’m not in the mood.”

He shrugged helplessly.  “It’s not my fault.  You’re asking about stuff I try to keep myself out of.  I only hear about the creepy crawlies through second hand information.  I don’t know anyone who deals with what you want that much.  All I can do is pass you down the road to someone who prefers to risk their life and limbs snooping on monsters.”

Nadya sighed.  “Alright, what’s this guy’s name?”

The informant shook his head.  “Not a guy.  It’s a woman.  Right tight bitch, too.  Almost as bad as you are.  Worse, actually.  She’s a tease.  Always starting to flash me her tits but stopping before I actually get to see the goods.”

Nadya made a motion with her hand to get him to shut up.  “I don’t care about gender or your pathetic sexless life.  Give me a damn name.”

“Elise Lussier,” Lonestar said.  “She’s French.”

Nadya heard him go into a detailed description of what the woman looked like, but she tuned out.  Her attention was drawn to the bartender, who had just answered the phone.  She saw the man speak into the phone, listen, and then start to scan the bar.  His eyes stopped on her for a moment then kept moving, trying to act casual.  He said something else into the phone and hung up.

She couldn’t read lips, but she had a pretty good idea what had just happened.  She needed the pertinent information about the woman Lonestar was drooling over and she needed it fast.

Nadya reached into her pocket and pulled out a few notes, handing them over to the informant.  “Enough of your perverted fantasies.  Where does Ms. Frenchy live?”

Lonestar took the notes and pocketed them then pulled out a slip of paper and a pen, scribbling an address down and handing it to her.  He gave her a lecherous smile.  “How about a quick peek?  One nipple.”  Nadya kicked him in the shin and he let out a cry of pain.  “Alright, alright…”

“Thanks, again,” she said, slipping the paper into her pocket and turning towards the door.

As she turned, she came face to gut with a mountain of a man.  She stopped short then looked up, having to strain her neck to spot the man’s rough face.  He looked down at her with a frown.  His thick arms crossed at his chest.  He was thoroughly blocking her exit.

Nadya sighed.

So much for getting what I wanted and getting back on the road before trouble started.

She wasn’t sure if this was one of the bartender’s goons sent to keep her from leaving the bar or just some random asshole looking for a fight. 
Either way, I don’t have time to fuck around with him.  Vlad will be sending someone to collect me and Ulbrecht and it won’t take them long to get here.

She just hoped Ulbrecht hadn’t let anyone steal the car while she’d been in the pub.

“I’m so glad I don’t know you,” Nadya said to the bulky man in front of her.

His gruff face became confused.

She looked down, spotting the man’s large feet, then raised one of her smaller ones.  She slammed the heel of her boot down into the bridge of the man’s foot and gained a cry of pain from him.  He stumbled back a step, hopping on one foot.  The man took a swing at her but she ducked under the slow attack, rising on the other side of it and flicking what remained of her lit cigarette into his face.

Embers flew into the man’s eyes and he brought his hands up, batting at the burning little flashes.  Nadya tried to side step the mass of lard, but the man stumbled into her way again.  She turned and tried going around the other way, but the man stumbled back in front of her.

The world is mocking me.

She took a step back from the big guy and drew her gun, aiming at one of his thick legs and pulling the trigger.  She saw his leg ripple from the impact and blood gushed from the wound.  The large man cried out again and brought his hands down from his face, trying to reach over his expansive gut to his wounded leg.

As he tried to accomplish the impossible task, he lost his balance and fell forward.  Nadya backpedaled quickly to avoid being crushed under the mass.  As the man hit the ground, the floor creaked and glasses clattered.  The man remained down, writhing in pain, and Nadya moved forward, lifting a foot and stepping onto the large back.  She walked across the downed man and hopped off, heading for the door.

When she reached it, she turned back and gave a wave and a smirk to Lonestar.  “Be seeing you.”

Chapter Seventeen: The French Connection

Nadya was relieved when she came out of the pub to find both Ulbrecht and the car where she’d left them.  She was less relieved when she got behind the wheel and examined the address Lonestar had given her.  He’d said the woman was French but she hadn’t expected her to actually be
in
France.  She released a long sigh.

The adjoining country wasn’t that far away, but it was far enough to eat up an hour or two of transit time.  It wasn’t something she looked forward to, but she wasn’t about to head back into the pub and ask around for someone closer.  So she fired the car up and pulled back out onto the road.

If it wound up being one big run around, Nadya would be coming back to pummel Lonestar to death.  She input the address he’d given her into the GPS mounted on the dashboard of the car and pulled out onto the road while it fed her the fastest directions to her destination.  She ignored the estimated time of arrival.  The GPS was working on posted speed limits, something she intended to ignore.  Local police would know Vlad’s car and know better than to mess with it.  Anyone else, she figured she could just outrun and hope they had better things to do than deal with a speeding race car.

Nadya kept her foot firmly planted as she guided the speeding car around the gentle banks and curves of the road.  Even with the incredible speed of the vehicle, she figured it would take an hour to get into France.  She lit up a fresh cigarette to try and help kill the hunger in her gut.

She checked the rearview mirror occasionally to see if they were being followed, but gave up shortly after she started.  The few cars she spotted behind them weren’t there long enough to be any trouble.

“Thank you.”

Nadya jumped when Ulbrecht spoke.  She’d been so focused on the road and the terrible life choices she’d made in the last half hour that she’d almost forgotten he was sitting next to her.

“It’s fine,” she replied.  “Don’t mention it.  You patched me up; I keep you from becoming a monster.  Seems like a pretty fair trade off.”  She fell silent for a few moments, flicking her cigarette butt out the window and lighting up a fresh one.  “So what are you, anyway?”

“I’m sorry?” Ulbrecht asked, giving her a confused look.

“You’re too young to be a full doctor,” she said.  “So are you a medical student?  EMT?”

“Veterinarian student,” Ulbrecht replied.

Nadya’s head slowly turned to stare at Ulbrecht.  “You’re shitting me, right?”

Ulbrecht shook his head.

“A vet?” Nadya muttered.  “Vlad sent me to get patched up by a vet?”

“Vet student,” Ulbrecht corrected.  “I’m scheduled to graduate next year.”

“Right, sorry,” Nadya said.  “Student.  Can’t forget that part.  So you had no idea what you were doing when I showed up at your place last night?”

Ulbrecht shrugged.  “Cleaning, stitching, and bandaging wounds are the same no matter what species you’re dealing with.”

“That’s not very comforting,” Nadya shot back.

“I did tell you to go to a hospital,” Ulbrecht said.

“I’m starting to wish I had,” she grumbled, shaking her head.  “Veterinarian.”  She let out a humorless snort.  “Heal thyself.”

She was forced to slow back down to a reasonable speed once she got onto the local roads.

The address led her to a tall apartment building that looked pretty ritzy.  She looked at the address again and noticed the woman lived in ‘Penthouse A’. 
Apparently, informing on vampires, werewolves, and other baddies pays a lot better than the tips Lonestar deals in.

She looked over at Ulbrecht.  “This is the place.”

She got out of the car and headed for the entrance. Ulbrecht followed along behind.  She punched the buzzer for Penthouse A and waited for a response.

“Yes?” came the voice of a French woman, slightly distorted and muted from the small speaker it was broadcast from.

Nadya leaned forward and hit the button to respond.  “I’m looking for Elise Lussier.  Lonestar sent me.”

“Tell that pervert, for the last time, I’m not making any lesbian pornos for him,” Elise replied.  The annoyance in her voice transmitted loud and clear over the small speaker.

Nadya raised an eyebrow, somewhat curious about how many girls Lonestar had sent to this woman’s apartment with crotchless panties and a video camera.

She hit the button again.  “That’s not why I’m here.  I’m looking for some information.”

There was a pause before Elise replied.  “Alright.  But if you come up here with a strap-on and a digital camera, you’re going to be in even more trouble than Lonestar.”

There was a buzz as the door to the apartment building unlocked and Nadya grabbed the handle, yanked it open, and stepped inside.  Ulbrecht was right behind her.  They walked over to the lift and she tapped at the call button.

There was a ding as the lift doors opened.  They stepped inside and she hit the button for Penthouse A.  The doors closed and the lift ascended.  The trip seemed to take longer than it actually did, due to the soft music being pumped through the speakers in the elevator.

Elevator music has to be the worst possible torture device around.

“I like this song,” Ulbrecht said.

“Figures,” Nadya muttered under her breath.

The lift reached the top floor and the doors parted to reveal a small hallway leading to a pair of double doors.  Nadya and Ulbrecht exited and headed down the hall to the doors.

She gave a knock and waited for the woman to answer. 
She’s probably looking through the peephole to make sure I’m not standing here in the nude or something equally ridiculous.

The door opened and a woman with dark olive skin and bright green eyes appeared.  She looked to be in her early thirties.  She wore a tight-fitting red shirt with black jeans that were equally form hugging.  Below the jeans were heeled boots that looked like they could cause some damage if used properly.

As Nadya looked her over, Elise did the same to Nadya and Ulbrecht.  Judging by her face, she still wasn’t satisfied that they weren’t hired porn stars sent by Lonestar.

“Well?  What sort of information are you looking for?  You should know beforehand, I’m not cheap.”

That was something Nadya had figured, and it raised the problem of how to pay for the information she wanted.  There was always the hard way, but she didn’t exactly want to torture a woman she’d just met if there was another way.

“How much to point us in the direction of someone who knows how to stop the werewolf virus from taking hold?”

Elise smirked.  “That would be some expensive information,” she said.  “Especially since it’s so time sensitive.”

Nadya reached up, intending to pull the pistol from her jacket, but paused momentarily.  When her hand moved again, she reached instead inside one of her jacket pockets.  She pulled out the keys to the Maserati and tossed them over to Elise.  “That should be more than enough.”

Elise caught the keys and looked at them, seeing the vehicle maker’s insignia on it.  “If there’s a car to go along with these keys.”

Nadya motioned to the window facing the street and Elise moved over to it, looking down.  She turned back to her guests, giving them a smile.  “Deal.”  She pocketed the key.

Vlad would come here looking for her and he’d want the car back.  If Elise handed it back without causing any trouble, there wouldn’t be any problems.

If she doesn’t… Well, at least her death won’t be on my mind.

Elise walked over to a small desk and pulled a slip of paper out, scribbling down a name and address then walked over and handed it to Nadya.

Nadya read the address, grimacing.  “Paris?”

“You’re lucky.  He actually lives in London, but he’s on holiday in Paris.”  While Nadya had to agree that it was good luck, Paris was still a long way from where they were.

And I just gave up our speed.

She could steal another car easily, but there was no way she could find one with the speed of the Maserati.

“You’re sure he’ll be able to help?” Nadya asked, her voice making it clear that she wasn’t in any mood to be fucked with.

Elise nodded.  “He actually is a werewolf; hates that part of himself. He has a pretty extensive collection of remedies to halt the virus before it takes hold completely.  I’d hurry, though, otherwise it might not work.”

There was a buzz at the door.

Nadya turned, her hand reaching for the gun.  She doubted Vlad could’ve tracked her there so quickly, but there was always the possibility.

Elise moved past her and Ulbrecht, over to the door.  She tapped the button to respond.  “Who is it?”

“Remy,” a gruff voice replied from the speaker.

Elise buzzed him in then turned back to Nadya and Ulbrecht.  “One of my informants.  He’s a werewolf, too.  Works for a pretty powerful group of people, from what I can tell.  Sells me information about his rivals.  I guess it helps keep business better for him.”  She moved past them again, heading for a nearby bar with a vast array of alcohol set up on it.  “Would you like a drink?”

“Paris is a long way,” Nadya replied.  “And we’re going to need to find some transportation.  Thanks for the information.”  She turned and started towards the door, Ulbrecht trailing behind.

As they reached it, the door opened and a man entered.  Nadya paused.  He looked vaguely familiar, but she couldn’t place him immediately.  His black hair was a bit shaggy, his bangs hanging down over his eyes a little.  His face was gaunt and he had a slender build.  He wore a black dress shirt and matching slacks.  She was about to shrug it off as just her mind playing tricks on her until the man looked up and locked his dark eyes on her.

His eyes widened in surprise and anger and then she was sure they’d met before.  She just had no idea where.  She watched as his face deformed into something a whole lot more demonic looking and his teeth elongated into fangs.

That’s odd
, she thought. 
Elise said he was a werewolf, not a vampire.

Then it hit her.

Of all the rotten luck in the world, Elise’s informant has to be the same asshole werewolf that caused me so much trouble last night.

She hadn’t decapitated him.  That had been a mistake.

Now he was back as a vampire.

“Fuck your mother…” Nadya muttered in Russian.

He charged her and she whipped out her pistol, firing.  He ignored the bullets impacting his chest and kept charging.  She sidestepped at the last moment and let him move past her, turning to face him as she moved.  She ejected the empty magazine and grabbed a fresh one, slamming it into the gun.

Elise – confused by the sudden violent outburst and not very pleased about it – stepped forward, a glass of vodka in one hand.  “Remy, what the hell are you doing?  And since when are you a vampire?”

Remy gave a snarl and turned back to Nadya, pointing a clawed finger at her.  “Since that bitch killed me last night.  What’s she doing here?”

“Looking for a werewolf cure,” Elise replied.

Remy charged Nadya and Ulbrecht again.

“We’ll be leaving now,” Nadya said to Elise.  “Thanks again.”

She unloaded the pistol into Remy a second time as he charged, aiming for his legs.  Several shots tore through his knees and he cried out before falling forward to the ground.  Nadya shoved Ulbrecht through the door and followed after him, slamming it shut.