Night and Day (Book 2): Bleeding Sky (12 page)

“Sure
did,” I replied. “But they gave me a big ol’ fishin’ line to do
it.”

“They
did indeed,” he said with a smile.

Daryl
and I had a lot of history, going back to high school in Kansas. We’d never
been best friends, but we’d been friendly. We’d gone our separate ways out
of college, Daryl into the fire service, me into the army. It was only
chance that had brought us both here to the same police department years
later. My goal had been a gold detective’s badge. Daryl’s had been a lot
higher.

I
never got that detective’s badge. Close, but the war put it out of reach.
Daryl, on the other hand, stuck it out and kept his eye on the ball, and was
almost where he wanted to be. He liked to play the country boy, but he was
sharp. And ambitious. There was at least a fifty-fifty chance that Daryl
Northport would be the next Police Commissioner.

“So
how you plannin’ to play this one, Charlie?” he asked. “Soft or
hard?”

“Haven’t
decided,” I said. “I’d like to keep things as close to normal as I can for
the people who live in the neighborhood. Within reason. I’m not going to
lose the ambassador because I didn’t want to inconvenience somebody.” I
paused. “Have you seen the threat assessments?”

“I’ve
seen what you’ve seen,” he said. “Nothing more.”

“If
you should happen to see more, I’d be interested in taking a peek at
it.”

“I’ll
see what I can do. When the Area Governor’s Office sent over the information
a few days ago, I reassigned some folks on the Intelligence Squad to work the Resistance
angle. Eyes on a few people, listen to the chatter, that kind of
thing.”

“You
sharing that information with area government?”

He
smiled. “I pass along relevant information,” he said. “We work with them,
but they don’t hunt on our land and we don’t hunt on theirs.”

“Whatever
works,” I said. “Just so you keep me in the loop.”

“Of
course,” he said. “Friends helpin’ friends. It’s a beautiful thing.” He
paused. “Can’t help much with that other thing, though. We ain’t got no
information on rogue vampires, though I’ve got the people on the
Intelligence Squad night shift keepin’ their ears to the ground.”

“Let
me know if you find out anything. That’s the threat that really worries
me.”

“Will
do,” he said. He glanced at his watch. “Well, gentlemen, I’m gonna mosey
around the square a little bit, see how things are comin’ together. I’ll see
you here tonight, Charlie, after the ambassador gets in. Me and the
Commissioner will be with the mayor to officially welcome him to our fair
city.”

“Make
sure you wear the nice dress uniform with all the braid and shit,” I said.
“I understand Germans like sharp uniforms.”

He
laughed, gave my shoulder a squeeze, and walked on.

Jimmy
watched him go. “I do wish that man would take the handcuffs off me and let
me take down Gabriel,” he said. “It’s irritating.” He paused. “But to his
credit, I’ve got to say, the last two months since he became Chief of
Operations have been better than any time in the previous two years. It
still isn’t perfect, but we’re moving forward. You know, they’re going to
start integrating some patrol units at Central Division in the fall. Humans
and Vees in the same squads, working together.”

“How
are your people taking that?”

“Most
are okay with it, a few aren’t. Same on the night shift, from what Snyder
tells me.” He paused. “Way I look it, we’re all cops. Some good, some bad.
You work with the good, you kick out the bad.”

“The
thin blue line, unbroken once more,” I said with a laugh.

“Hey,
you got nothing to say about it,” he said. “The blue suit wasn’t good enough
for you anymore. You decided one of those cheap black suits you wear was a
better fit.”

“Yeah,
yeah, yeah,” I muttered. Jimmy liked to needle me about working the private
side of the street. He wasn’t serious. Well, maybe just a little bit. He
considered cops like me, the probationary officers he’d trained, to be his
legacy. And he hated to lose one.

Behind
us, I heard somebody say, “Hey, Cap, how about showin’ us a little respect,
huh? We got businesses to run here.”

I
looked over. A fat guy wearing an apron stood in front of the door of one of
businesses that lined the west side of Jackson Square. The sign above his
head said ‘Eddie’s Dogs’, next to a picture of a dachshund with a hot dog in
its mouth. The same picture was on the front of his apron.

“I’ll
be there in a minute, Eddie,” he said. “I’m working here.”

“You
do that,” he said. “Remember, my taxes pay your salary.” He turned and went
back into the shop.

I
laughed. “Haven’t heard that one in a while.”

“Really?”
Jimmy muttered. “I hear it every couple of days. The war cry of the angry
citizen.”

“So
what’s his problem?”

“Hour
ago, one of those Security Force guys went to all the businesses around the
square. Told them they were going to be shut down at 4 o’clock this
afternoon and wouldn’t reopen till his lordship, the ambassador, was
gone.”

“Why?”

“Why?”
he repeated. “How the hell should I know why? It’s not my operation. You’re
the man in charge. Like you said, I’m just the guy you’ll call to pull your
nuts out of the fire.”

“I
didn’t see anything in the operational plan about closing businesses,” I
said. “We’re restricting access to the square and we’re stopping traffic through the
area. That’s what my plan says.”

“You
hungry?” Jimmy asked. “We can grab something to eat while I talk to
him.”

I’d
had my usual breakfast at Hanritty’s, but when I was working, I never turned
down a chance at a meal. Sometimes you couldn’t be sure when you’d get
another one. “I’m game, though it’s a little early for a hot
dog.”

Jimmy
laughed. “Nah, Eddie has a breakfast dog. Sausage with an egg on top inside
a hot dog bun. He’ll even pour some grits over it if you ask.”

“That
sounds yummy,” I said. It sounded terrible. “I’ll have to tell Hanritty
about it.”

“Open
up a whole new world of cuisine in Expedition Square,” Jimmy said. He turned
and walked into the hot dog shop. I followed.

The
guy in the apron, apparently the same Eddie on the sign outside, was leaning
on the counter. Jimmy and I were the only customers in the place.

“Look
at this,” he said, waving his arms around the empty restaurant. “Ten thirty
in the morning and I got no customers. Normal day, they’d be lined up
outside the door.”

“Maybe
in your imagination, Eddie.”

“This
is bullshit, Cap. I pay taxes here. What makes you think it’s okay to just
shut me down. Don’t you have any compassion?”

“I
have plenty of compassion,” Jimmy said. “But it isn’t my call. I didn’t give
the order.”

“So
who do I have to talk to about it?”

Jimmy
grinned. “As a matter of fact, this gentleman right here.” He pointed at me.
“His name is Charlie Welles, and he’s the man in charge.”

“Thanks,
Jimmy,” I muttered.

“And
just who the hell are you?” Eddie asked.

I
stared at him silently for a moment, then said, “I’m the guy who might be
able to help if you show a little more respect.”

“I’m
sorry,” he said quickly. “I’m sorry. It’s just got me all agitated up,
that’s all. It’s the middle of summer. Nice weather, people in the square,
lots of people walking by the shop, you know? And now, they tore down the
playground and picnic tables, and they’re telling me that I gotta close up
for three or four days. I can’t afford that. It’s summer, my busiest time of
year, you know?”

I
opened my mouth to reply, but he wasn’t done.

“I
mean, it’s bad enough that there’s all these soldiers around, scaring folks
like they do. Okay, I can live with that. People want to come inside, have a
nice dog, maybe two, a soda, bag of chips, get away from the soldiers
outside, you know. But now you want to take that away. What am I supposed to
do, sit at home and watch my business flush away down the toilet? It just
ain’t right, you know?”

I
quickly held up my hand before he could start up again. “I understand what
you’re saying,” I said. “I’ll take care of it. Somebody made a mistake when
they told you that you have to close.”

“Really?
So I can stay open?”

I
nodded. “That’s right.”

“Great,”
he said. “That’s just great.” He was silent for a moment. “The same go for
everybody on the square? Even Big John’s Sandwich Shop?”

“Same
for everybody,” I said.

He
seemed disappointed for a moment, then shrugged. “Yeah, whatever, His
sandwiches are garbage anyway. So what can I get you guys?”

“I’ll
take a regular, sauerkraut, mustard,” Jimmy said. “And a drink.”

Eddie
nodded. “And for you, Mr. Welles?”

“Hot
dog. Onions. Mustard. And a drink, I guess.”

“Coming
right up,” he said, going back to the grill.

“No
breakfast dog for you?” I asked Jimmy.

He
shook his head. “Are you kidding? It’s disgusting.”

Eddie
wouldn’t let us pay for the food, though Jimmy argued the point. When Eddie
mentioned that Jimmy never paid, I realized it was just a little thing they
had. We took the dogs and sodas back out onto the street. The shop was
pretty warm and the fan on the ceiling wasn’t doing anything but move the
hot air around.

Jimmy
and I ate in silence for a couple of minutes. Then I stopped a Security
Force trooper walking by. “Who’s in command?” I asked him.

“Are
you a police officer?” he asked. He didn’t seem especially
interested.

I
sighed and pulled the ID folder from my pocket. I held it up and let it fall
open. “Who is in command?”

He
glanced at the card and snapped to attention. “Lieutenant Stein, sir. He’s
in the command trailer.”

I
took a bite of my hot dog and chewed for a few seconds. He continued to
stand at attention, watching me chew.

I
swallowed and said, “Would you go get Lt. Stein for me? Please?”

“Sir!”
he said loudly, almost knocking me over as he hurried past me and crossed
the street.

“It’s
good to be the king,” Jimmy said softly.

“Sometimes,”
I said, shoving the last of the hot dog into my mouth. I chewed slowly, my
eyes on the trailer across the square.

I
watched the trooper hustle up the stairs, taking them two at a time, into
the trailer. About twenty second later, he was back at the door, a short man
with glasses beside him. The trooper pointed at me.

The
other man, presumably Lt. Stein, nodded, straightened the beret on his head,
and came down the stairs. He was clearly trying to move as quickly as he
could without actually looking like he was in a hurry.

“Christ,
he looks like he’s 20 years old,” Jimmy muttered.

“They
all look young to you, Jimmy,” I said. “Here’s a hint. It’s because you’re
old.”

The
man stopped in front of us, came to attention, and saluted. “Lieutenant
Jacob Stein, B Company, First Platoon,” he said.

“Charlie
Welles,” I said. “Lieutenant, did you order the shops bordering Jackson
Square to close at 4 o’clock?”

“Yes,
sir,” he said.

“Why?”

“Security,
sir.”

“How
so?” I asked.

“To
limit the number of locations that the bandits could use to launch an
attack, sir.”

I
nodded. “Lieutenant, do you think a group of heavily armed men could slip
into the hot dog shop behind me, or that shoe store down the street, without
being noticed?”

Stein
was silent for a moment, then said, “They could have cached a supply of
weapons in those locations, sir.”

“In
Eddie’s Dogs. Or Brenda’s Hair Salon.”

“It’s
possible, sir. The bandits are resourceful.”

“I’m
sure they are,” I said. “And so are we. So to prevent any of their
resourceful tricks, you’re going to assign one trooper to each block
bordering the square. That trooper’s only assignment will be to observe
people coming and going into the open shops on the block. If he or she
observes large numbers of suspicious people entering one of the stores, the
trooper will notify you.”

“Understood,
sir. I’ll detail one of my men to each block until the establishments close
at sixteen hundred hours.”

I
shook my head. “No, lieutenant. This will be an ongoing assignment, one that
your men will participate in from now until the ambassador’s
departure.”

“I
don’t understand, sir,” Stein said, frowning. “Are you ordering that them to
observe the closed businesses?”

I
shook my head again. “No. You’re not understanding me, Stein. There won’t be
any closed businesses. When we finish talking, the first thing you will do
is send your people to each store on the square and let them know that the
order to close has been rescinded. If you use enough troopers, I think they
can get that done in about fifteen minutes. While that’s happening, you can
do is what we’ve already discussed, one trooper per block. Am I clear
now?”