Shrouds of Darkness (31 page)

“I don’t know. The system is almost the same but this one’s been patched and you know it’s going to be top of the line but I can try.”

“What about using the encryption key you got from Vincent’s system?” I ask the young hacker.

“No, each key is unique. Marvin pauses to think. “But the encryption algorithm used to encrypt the key was never the problem, it was how the keys were stored and exchanged that got LaRoche in so much trouble so they may still be using the same algorithm. That’s a big part of the battle right there. I have some ideas I can try. If I had not gotten into the vulnerable system at Vtech then this would be impossible. But since I have an inside look at nearly the same system I’m pretty sure I can do it.”

“Excellent. I need you to get me in. It’s time to end this,” I tell him and disappear back into my armory.

*****

Yuri Poplonovich, aka Molotov, Georgian mob boss, sits at his desk pouring shot after shot of vodka, wondering when the strigoi will come to finish off him and his men. The entire day has been nothing short of barely controlled chaos. Everyone is scared but these are tough men and they will not go down without a fight.

The mob boss throws back another shot and looks at the empty bottle in disgust. Gunfire and shouts of pain and terror break the tense silence that permeates the building. Yaakov, Yuri’s lieutenant, bursts into his office.

“Yuri, the devils are here! Everyone is fighting a retreat to the safe room,” his second in command informs him.

Yuri replies with nod, grabs his pistol from the table, and follows Yaakov through the narrow hallways to the reinforced chamber that will hopefully protect them from the strigoi.

Smoke, shouts, and the rattle of automatic gunfire fill the air. The entire building shakes from small explosions caused by thrown grenades. The body of one of his men flies through a doorway immediately followed by a strigoi in a leather motorcycle jacket.

Yuri raises his pistol and fires six shots of armor-piercing bullets into the vampire at the same time Yaakov opens up with his automatic shotgun. The devastating combined attacks blasts the vampire off his feet but Yuri has no time to ensure that it will not rise again.

The hall is getting crowded as Yuri’s men file in front and behind, providing an escort for their leader as they all fight their way to what is hopefully sanctuary. Dark shapes flit into and out of view down the smoke-laden passageways, darting into and out of rooms and side corridors to avoid the hail of bullets that futilely try to put them down. Occasional return shots reply, blasting holes in the walls or striking a human who is then grabbed by one of his retreating comrades and carried or dragged along.

The hallway opens into a larger room with an open door on the far end that is the entrance to the panic room. Boxes of food, ammunition, water, and anything else needed to withstand a siege is already inside as Yuri and his men pack themselves into the room.

As the last man jumps through the doorway, a heavy steel door drops into place, sealing them inside only a fraction of a second before the lead vampire slams into it with his body and begins beating on it with his fists and kicking it with his feet.

Yuri stands on the other side of the door, glaring through a tiny window made of tempered safety glass several inches thick and watches as over a dozen strigoi pile into the room, looking around for a way to get to the humans just beyond the door. Almost all of them sport numerous holes and tears in their clothing, but if any of the bullets that ruined their clothes put them down, it was not nearly enough to keep them from rising again.

“Nice panic room, stupid human,” the vampire that had slammed into the door hisses at the speaker built into the wall next to the door. “You have trapped yourself. Do you think we can’t get explosives to blast you out of your hole?”

“Do you really think I would let vermin like you trap me and my men?” Yuri replies with a smile that holds not a hint of amusement.

Another steel door slides down from the ceiling, blocking off the only other entrance into the outside chamber. Several of the vampires begin tearing at the walls with their fingers and pounding with their fists. Chunks of plaster and sheetrock rain down under the assault only to reveal sheets of steel bolted to the concrete walls.

“Do you know who you are focking with?” Yuri shouts into the speaker. “I am Yuri Poplonovich! I am Molotov! Now burn, you motha fockers, burn!”

With the push of a button, gas-fueled jets built into the walls by an army of contractors working through the night and rest of the day, erupt to life, sending a fiery hell of flame into the room. In moments, the creatures trapped within turn into flailing, screaming masses of fire that futilely try to claw their way through half an inch of steel and a foot of concrete.

It takes only a minute for the thrashing to cease as the temperature inside easily tops a thousand degrees. Plaster burns away to reveal the faintly glowing metal beneath. Yuri does not turn off the flames until nothing but ash remains in the room that has become a huge crematorium.

Turning his eyes to several security monitors, Yuri sends orders to his men waiting just a few blocks away. In seconds, several vans screech to a halt all around the building. Men with automatic shotguns and rifles pour out of the vehicles and pump round after round into the legs of the few vampires positioned outside that were meant to pick off anyone that might manage to escape the intended slaughter within. A single man from each vehicle, armed with a flame thrower, strides forth as their targets drop to the ground and incinerates the vampires right on the street.

The strigoi caught Yuri by surprise once before. They would never do so again.

*****

It is nearly 3 a.m. when Marvin shouts, “Leo, I’m in!”

I emerge from my armory to see. “You have control of their alarms and cameras?”

“I got everything.”

“I want to see everything regarding his finances. Log into his bank account and check his emails. I’m looking for one or two large withdrawals and several small ones occurring around the same date.”

Marvin begins typing and clicking away on the computer and it does not take him long to find what I am looking for.

“Damn, this dude had a lot of money but he’s bleeding Benjamins like crazy!” Marvin exclaims as we both scroll through the bank records. “Other than this guy being real broke real soon, is it telling you anything?”

“Yeah,” I reply. “See these small withdrawals all at the end of the month? He’s paying the bills for his minions. This large cash withdrawal was probably paid to get the sample out of Vtech.”

“Sample of what?”

“A virus,” I answer with a partial truth.

“So this guy is some kind of bio-terrorist or something?”

“I don’t think so. I think it is just something to use as leverage in what is appearing to be an extremely large and complicated corporate conspiracy.”

I lay out my plan for Marvin then return to my armory to pack up the equipment I have been preparing. Katherine shows up right on time and is looking spectacular despite the late night call and short notice.

Marvin takes her hand and gives it a kiss as I introduce them. “
Enchantée
de vous rencontrer
ma jolie dame."

"Oh, merci monsieur, " Katherine replies with a small curtsy.

“And here I thought the only women in Leo’s life would be chained down in that dungeon he disappears into,” Marvin says, indicating the entrance to my armory. “To what do I owe the pleasure of such beautiful company?”

“What happened to your Ebonics, Marvin?” I ask snidely then answer, “She’s here for protection while I’m gone.”

Marvin shoots me a leering grin. “You leave her with me and the only protection she’ll need is birth control.”

“She’s here to protect you, not the other way around,” I reply darkly, not caring for Marvin’s attempt at humor.

Marvin responds with a laugh, “This pretty little thing?”

Katherine moves with impressive speed, grabs Marvin by the front of his jacket with both hands, lifts him from the floor, and pins him to the wall.

“That’s right, so you best keep your hands to yourself,” Katherine says with a smile.

“Oh damn, Xena! I’m just playin’!”

I give Katherine a smile as she sets Marvin back down. That’s my girl. Marvin regains his composure and brushes the wrinkles out of the front of his coat.

“Now I see the attraction,” he says, pointing back and forth between Katherine and myself. “You’re both mean and violent people. Does it mean there’s something wrong with me if I am a little aroused at being dominated like that? I’m not gonna lie, there was something exciting in that—in a sexual way. Did you feel it?”

“Not in the least,” Katherine answers.

“Are you sure? Because I know a white guy like Leo probably has a hard time satisfying a strong, dominating woman like you.”

Katherine gets a mischievous smile on her face and replies, “I can assure you, Leo is quite—adequate.”

“Hey, be nice,” I tell her.

She wraps her arms around me and says, “I’m sorry, honey, I thought I was.”

Marvin nearly drops to the ground laughing. “Oh man she burned you good, Leo! Oh my god I like her.”

“I am so glad you all can enjoy this levity while I go off and risk my life.”

“I’m sorry,” Katherine says and kisses me on the cheek.

I look pointedly at Marvin who looks at me in confusion. “What? I’m not sorry, that shit was hilarious.”

I show Katherine how to open and close the access to my armory. “If anyone comes, get yourselves inside. You can lock it shut from within, so even if someone finds out how to open it, they won’t be able to. A small access hole leads to an old storm drain. You can follow that to a street access cover.”

“What’s with all the computer equipment?” Katherine asks. “It wasn’t here last time I was here. It looks like NASA mission control.”

“I had to set Marvin up in here after some—people—raided his apartment,” I explain to her.

 She looks at me skeptically. “I supposed all this is going to be on my bill?”

Marvin calls out, “and a phone!”

“And a phone,” I confirm. “It will all be itemized.”

“And the phone is because…?”

“Because your boyfriend is an angry, phone-hating bastard!” Marvin answers before I can respond.

“You must think you are close to finding my dad if you called me over to watch Marvin,” she says, her body language showing eagerness and concern.

“Yeah, I think this is it.”

“You’ll have to fight won’t you?”

I nod. “Yeah. I can’t go attacking Sheriffs willy-nilly so I need to lure them out and deal with them wholesale,” I explain. “I also can’t have them at my back when I deal with the one responsible for all this either.”

“It sounds so dangerous. Are you really strong enough to beat them?” Katherine asks, showing nothing but fear and concern for me now.

“Honestly, no,” I answer truthfully.