Other Places 2: Road Blocks (2 page)

'Always liked that Lenore. Yup. Good gal you got there. What do you get a Vampire for Valentine's Day anyway? A box of chocolatiers?'

That actually sounded about right. He was hoping flowers, and maybe a nice piece of jewelry would work too. He was busily thinking about that while he walked to the front counter, not bothering to hide what he'd been doing, after all, it wasn't like he could lie about it anyway, if asked.

The wooden tile floor was new, being put in about a month prior at night, while they were closed. He'd helped out a strange creature with an unpronounceable name, whose wife had wandered off. Not run away, just actually gone out one day and gotten lost. It was a problem for their people, but the being liked her, so Zack had done his part, not figuring that there would be a trade, since he didn't speak the guy's language at all. That was
so
wrong. They got a new floor in one night, and the front door had been replaced, so that it didn't squeak when being opened. He wouldn't have even known who'd done it, if Cormack the night Vampire from across the way hadn't seen him doing it. With his wife, who was pretty happy to be found as well, it seemed.

The new floor was nearly seamless, and easier to keep clean, so he'd switched to the dust mop for it, rather than a broom. Zack was only thinking about that because Mirror Him had grabbed it from the back on his way past, not that either of the two Vampires really noticed it at all. Not even as a potential weapon. That made him slightly sad. If either of
them
had a nice thick dust mop handle, made out of hardwood, the other would be staring, and trying to find the exits.

For all her begging of moments before, Lenore came to him first, her eyes happy looking, except for the extra red in the center. That was a sign of real agitation and was hard for her kind of Vamp to control.

"Zack? I've come to ask something of you, and you should say no without hesitation." She looked sideways at the man with her, who was about six-three and had light brown hair. His nose was long and roman and his pale flesh looked a little fake. Almost like he had makeup on for some reason. Zack nodded at him, looking at the hidden fangs. They made a bulge under the top lip.

"You're wearing makeup, so you can pretend to be a
fake
Vampire if anyone catches on? That's smart. Just tell them you're LARPing." Live action roll playing wasn't a thing Zack had ever gone in for, but for a man that looked as normal as this one, a little stage dressing and a case for some fake teeth could do wonders. Not for the first time he wondered if one of their kind had invented that kind of thing, or at least the Vampire version.

"Indeed. Lenore is correct as well. You
should
pass on this. The only reason that you might not, is the situation." He paused and looked at the pretty girl next to him, who looked nineteen and was a few hundred years old at least. She could be a bit sketchy when it came to a real number, so Zack hadn't pressed the issue. That used to be a thing for women, right? Hiding their age?

She didn't make eye contact with either of them, so the man started to speak, his voice low and mellow, a slightly rhythmic thing that wasn't sing-song, but started to tug at Zack's mind with the first words.

"
Stop
." He didn't want to be rude, but there
had
to be rules. If they needed something from him that both of them had
already
suggested he decline to do, it was only fair that he heard it with a clear mind.

"Forgive me. I..." The man faked a shrug. Everything the old Vampires did was fake as far as emotions went. Except possibly anger. "To be exacting, I was planning to try and control your mind to gain your cooperation. It would be wrong of me to do so, and possibly cost my life, but there is a situation in the New Mexico region, at their Node. A group of... Criminals, I suppose, have taken it over, and are demanding that we send
you
to them, or they'll kill one hostage every hour until we do. That place is much like this, except..." He paused and drew in a deep breath. Vampires didn't need to breathe, except to speak, but this didn't seem false for some reason. That had to mean it was even worse than Zack would have thought.

"I've been there. They actually had people in their stores? Real ones, I mean? Shoppers. Not that we aren't real, but you get the idea. Soccer moms, and Little League coaches. That kind of thing?"

"They have several hundred people, and if they kill them, we won't be able to hide it from the authorities. As it is we may not be able to anyway, even if they can walk out now. It isn't strictly needed, hiding ourselves, but scrutiny by the police is a danger to some groups. The weak, and those that can't protect themselves in a typical fashion from incarceration."

'Plus there have to be kids. It's what, an hour later there? On a Friday? Yeah, school girls in their pretty little dresses, even a few boys for you, Zack, with their letterman's jackets and crew cuts. You just
have
to rush in and sacrifice yourself for them. Oh, you must, you
must
!' The sarcasm was laid on so thick that Zack could feel it inside his head. MH didn't stop either, keeping up a steady stream of it, just in case he didn't get the idea. Going there was likely to be a bad idea. Probably the last one he'd ever have.

Still, kids in trouble, who could resist that? Not the world's most well traveled store clerk.

"I won't just go and die. I know it's selfish, but anyone willing to ask that is probably planning to kill everyone anyway. Me going in there solves nothing. Now me taking in a group of superhuman fighters... Gets a lot of people killed. Tell them that if they explain what they want with me, and let all the people, and beings there go, right now, I'll talk to them. On the phone. It's all they're getting from me. I don't want people to die, but this is ridiculous. I mean, anyone that wanted me dead could just
shoot
me, and if they want my help, I can't see that..." He felt small and weak, and the idea that any of this was about him was insane.

Unless Greater Demons were involved.

Vaughn actually smiled and shook his head.

"They claim they mean to kill you, thinking you a Demon. They've already executed three people, perhaps four by now. The Shifters have a mercenary crew prepared to enter the building, from the outside. Only twenty strong, however. If you could get some of our people in place, inside the building, it would allow us to try and protect those we can. It may not be possible. They told us all the Nodes are being guarded. We could sacrifice a person or two in order to take them out of play, the guards on a single Node, but..."

But Zack would most likely die first, probably screaming, and asking why he was so stupid. He got what the man was getting at there. It was still a bad idea, but he shrugged.

"O.K. Come back here with me. Or... let's lock the front door first."

Lenore did the same on her shop and came back, so he could lock them all in. It was just so they wouldn't be interrupted. He was really starting to wish that Lenore had just been giving the guy a hummer. It would have been easier to deal with.

Without stopping he went to the Node again, and waved at it. Then didn't bother explaining.

New Mexico. He could feel it in his head, a set of raised bumps on the otherwise smooth surface of the world. The map it was on in his head was the one he used to practice capitals off of when he was eleven. It had the whole world, but was remarkably free of needless junk.

The Mall there was really being held, like he'd been told, and it was a mixed bag of people doing it, as far as size went. But only about ten of them. The Nexus there had ten Nodes in different places, but they
weren't
guarded by people. They had guns pointed at the nodes on all sides, with what had to be lasers running through them. He got the idea. Break the beam and find a nice bellyful of lead. It would work pretty well.

Unless he was actually a Greater Demon like these losers thought. It would only
really
work if he was exactly what he'd claimed to be.

The problem there, the ones that they missed, were the
little
Node points. His Mall had them too, places in the structure that weren't real weaknesses in the fabric of space, that lead to
anywhere
, but divots that were still more than his shortcuts normally were. Things that went two or three places or more. More to the point, since he was at a good spot for it already, he could enter any of them from where they were standing. Or any other Nexus, he was sure.

Smiling, he looked at Lenore and shook his head.

"Is it polite to get a girl blood for Valentine's Day?" It was a sudden change in topic, but she was old and agile of both mind and body. She kept up.

"Very. Especially if the host is still alive, it acts as an energy link that way. Have someone in mind?"

"Nope. Just trying to figure it all out."

Then he waved at the Node point. It was a lazy thing, but the idea was clear.

"The actual Nodes are booby trapped and I doubt that I'd survive them, but there's a bathroom on the second floor, in a men's clothing shop, that I can take people in through. It's a bit small in there, but we might get ten in, if we do it carefully? I don't know if the shop itself is empty, but I think that most of the attackers are in the center, holding..." He gestured, trying to show the kind of weapons he meant. "Machine guns? But little ones for the most part, I can't tell who or what they are, since they have masks, but a few aren't human at least. I... The Ambassador there, your people's, he isn't in the crowd."

Not that he could find. For some reason they got quiet, instead of happy, like he expected, even after he explained to Lenore that the bathroom might be pretty safe, as long as no one noticed them while he took people in. Then all everyone else had to do was run out and they'd be able to...

Get shot. It didn't mean the same thing to a Vampire maybe, but Shifters bled red blood.

"Go through the ceiling? Or into the floor? They have the strength for it, your people."

It wasn't a perfect plan, since if it was up to him, he'd get a couple of snake Shifters in first to set up sniping positions. He might not know the name for the kind of weapons he'd seen, but he could see that working. After all, he had played a video game before in his life.

The closest team of Vampires that could be gotten to go in, was in Denver, and would be in position at their own Node, in about thirty minutes. He could take them from there, he thought. Still, he didn't have time to train them how to do it, did he? Barb was his normal porter, carrying people for him, or their luggage, and Edom, the second in command for the area had managed it several times as well, really having a knack for it. Lenore had gone through with him several times, on dates, because that showcased him as really special, and she'd seemed impressed by the effort.

The one he
wanted
for it was Bey, but the little Vampire man was off in Asia, and just showing up to bug him seemed rude.

He realized he was saying all of this out loud and shook his head. The point was, he needed a strong and skilled person to take the team in for him, or it wouldn't work. He just wasn't up to lifting that much with his right arm yet.

Vaughn stopped moving and looked at him hard.

"I see, we'll not send your lady, so one of the others? Which will do the best job?"

"That's probably a wash for this one. Edom is way stronger, but I'm going to slow both of them down, and Barb is slightly better at it than he is. I don't particularly want to put either of them into danger. Bey either, but he's very fast when he chooses to be. If we had him, I don't think this would be a real problem at all. Just take him in and get the Shifters to fake an attack from the outside to distract the dying."

He let his thin and boney shoulders come up. Nearly touching his ears, but not quite.

"I can't choose between them. If I do and they die, it will be my fault."

It was probably ridiculous to say such a thing, but Vaughn stepped forward.

"Teach me this trick. We have half an hour, is that enough time to master it? You don't know me at all, and I'm the person that delivered the problem to you. The risk should be mine, don't you think?"

It sort of made sense, plus, as an added bonus to sweeten the deal, he was already there. It wasn't hard really, as long as the people being carried held still for it and didn't go limp.

 He got it on the first try, after a long explanation, then had to carry Lenore for him through ten jumps. The actions, the stepping through that did the physical part of it, wasn't hard for him, and didn't even hurt yet.

Now, after he got himself shot, that would change, he didn't doubt, but for the moment...

"Hey, can I get a bullet proof vest? Or... I don't know, armor?"

That got a quick phone call to be made, and Zack had to describe how tall he was as well as what he weighed. It wasn't enough. He was five-ten, but weighed about a hundred and twenty-five pounds. For a long time he'd been nearly starving, and hadn't been large before that, so it showed. Even though he kept eating three meals a day, it was like he just couldn't get anything to stick to his bones.

No one mentioned it, thankfully.

So, at fifteen until they were supposed to leave, Zack carried his Vampire porter through the portal. His new one for the day. Then he was stuffed, a little roughly, into a bullet proof vest, and given a helmet that
had
to look dorky on him. It was all in blue, like he was a police officer. It even said police on it. He didn't ask how they'd gotten it.