The Damascus Chronicles (23 page)

“Come on, let’s go,” said Michael. Danny grabbed his coat and gun. They raced in his private squad car to the old airfield hanger.

As they sped off to the hanger, Serena called Darius for help. “Darius, it’s me Serena, I need your help; gather Scarlet and Marianna for a hunt.”

“What’s wrong?” said Darius.

“The fledgling’s niece has been taken prisoner. We need assistance in finding the girl,” said Serena.

“What does this have to do with me? It’s not my problem,” said Darius.

“Now listen here, you self-centered jerk, when your father hears that you wouldn’t help save an innocent child’s life, he will be most displeased. Where is your sense of honor? Or would you prefer that Marianna make a mockery of you?” snapped Serena.

“I’m there, where do I tell the others to look?” asked a subdued Darius.

“Proceed to the abandoned customs warehouse in the industrial district, the other place is at the old Baltimore film studio. Be cautious; these men you are hunting are going to be well armed. Keep in touch on my cell,” instructed Serena.

“With my trusty bow, there will be no problem,” said Darius confidently as he saw the others come into his study. He signaled to them; they knew that trouble was in the air. Grabbing their weapons, they flew off into the night to hunt for the kidnappers.

Back in the car, Danny had overheard Serena on the phone and was curious about whom she spoken with. “What did you mean when you said fledgling back there, is that some kind of code?”

Michael gave Danny a harsh look. “She means this,” said Michael as his face began to contort , in order to show Fredricks his true nature. “What in hell!” Danny screamed in fear and he nearly sideswiped into a pole. Michael grabbed the wheel to prevent them from crashing.

“Danny! We’re not going to hurt you,” yelled Michael.

“Could someone please tell me what is going on?” screamed Danny.

“What does it look like?” said Serena.

“You’re both, you’re fucking vampires?” Danny asked, not sure of what he had seen.

“Um, yeah! It’s a long story, could we please not kill each other driving now! I’ll tell you the whole story,” said Michael.

A few minutes into the tale, Danny was flabbergasted. “Wait! Let me get this straight; you’re telling me vampires exist and you’re working for some global Coven organization besides the mafia, and you want my help! Exactly when the fuck were you going to tell me all of this?”

“Well, we didn’t think it would come to this,” sighed Serena.

“Fuck it, let’s go get your kid, but you’re going to owe me big for this one, very fucking big,” said Danny.

“Thanks for understanding; you know we wouldn’t harm you; you’re a friend,” said Serena.

“Wrong missy! I’m Michael’s friend! I’m only doing this to pay him back for a favor. No matter what the devil he’s become, he’s still my friend, but I’m going to need a damn strong drink in the morning. Why do I get myself into this kind of shit!” said Danny.

Michael and Serena couldn’t help but laugh at Danny’s comments. Just then a car approached them from behind and started shooting. “Shit, we’ve been followed,” said Danny.

“Scarfo!” Michael yelled.

“Don’t worry I’ll handle them,” said Serena, noticing the police shotgun and a box of shells tucked under the back seat. Locking and loading the rifle quickly, she smashed open the back window of the car and fired away, unloading shells one by one in blasts of hellfire. The attackers fired back and machine gun bullets pierced parts of the car.

“Oh shit!” screamed Danny as he tried to shake them. Michael grabbed a grenade from his ammo bag. “You got to be kidding me!” said Danny as he saw Michael pull the pin with his teeth and toss the grenade out the car window. It hit the ground, and attacking car was blown straight off the ground and flipped over, exploding in a ball of fire, killing the attackers. “Definitely should have stayed drunk today,” said Danny as he increased his speed up to 100 miles per hour.

“Slow down man! There’s no one behind us now,” said Michael.

“Cool,” Danny breathed, slowing down as they approached the old airfield. They parked the car quietly to avoid attention. Michael loaded his Uzi and M-9, and Serena took the shotgun and reloaded the weapon, putting her compact pistol in her left bootleg. Danny took out his 45-caliber weapon and loaded it, hearing the smooth cocking action of the pistol clip. They were ready to go in with a bang. Inside, the hanger was dark and only moonlight shone through the old thick windows. The place was neglected and filled with dust and swarms of rats. The trio snuck around with guns loaded, pacing slowly around the room. Suddenly a man turned on a light switch. Fifty men stood in the room, from the rafters to the ground, machine guns cocked and ready to shoot. Sally was nowhere in sight. It was a trap. The trio raised their hands in the air. Phillips’ henchmen chained them to large stake poles stuck in the ground. One of Phillips’ henchmen wheeled in a massive time bomb that was encased in a metal enclosure and screwed tight into a steel ground mount. One of the men set the timer on the bomb that would soon blow the place to kingdom come. “Hah, hah, ha, ha,” laughed a large man walking out of the shadows. He revealed himself to the captives he had in his power.

“Franco Scarfo, I should have known, you dirty son of a bitch!” said Michael.

“What a lovely group of freaks, a two-timing cop, a foolish thief, and a wannabe hero hit man,” mocked Franco Scarfo. He didn’t notice that Serena sat quiet with her eyes closed. She was contacting Darius and the others for help.

“Darius come. We are here,” said Serena in her mind. Darius heard Serena and sensed their location. He then alerted the others to prepare for the attack. “Scarlet, Marianna, to the abandoned airfield, our cousin is being held there with her fledgling,” said Darius.

“We’ll be shocking and rocking,” said Scarlet eagerly. Scarlet was the youngest of the entire Zoratus coven. A French vampire, she had beautifully long golden hair and the face of an angel; she had piercings in her ears and she was dressed to fight in her Goth leather clothes. “Let’s go,” said Marianna seriously, and they teleported to the spot.

Breaking through the windows, the vampires attacked the guards; Franco’s men fired on Darius, Scarlet and Marianna, but as the bullets hit the vampires’ undead flesh, their wounds healed instantly. Michael was hit in the crossfire in the neck and felt a sharp pain, but no blood appeared. “What the hell!” Franco screamed as he ducked to hide from the arrows Darius was shooting into the room that were killing many of the guards. Marianna circled her attackers with a series of zips and spins, unsheathing her sword and decapitating her victims with ease, as if slicing through a vat of warm butter. Fountains of blood flowed from her victims. Scarlet jumped from side to side of the hanger, throwing daggers into the attacker’s chests, legs, and heads, impaling them quickly.

Michael managed to break free and unchain Serena and Danny. Franco Scarfo ran from the scene and took off in his car; the bomb was set to go off in 30 seconds. The vampires and Danny managed to get through the back door by kicking it down and jumping to the ground for safety, just as the old airplane hanger exploded. In slow motion, burning debris fell to the ground.

After getting back safely to the car, everyone managed to catch their breath, lucky to be alive. “Are you all right?” asked Darius.

“We’re okay. Just some cuts and bruises; are you each okay?” asked Danny.

“We’re fine,” said Marianna.

“Thank you all for your help,” said Michael.

“Not a problem, you’re one of us,” said Scarlet.

“In the meantime, we had better form a new plan of action. We still haven’t found the girl,” said Serena.

“We didn’t find anyone at the warehouse or the old studio,” said Darius.

“I know a hacker who can help us, if we can get to her before Phillips can,” said Michael.

“Very well. We will continue to search by air,” said Darius. The others agreed as they flew off into the night. Danny was amazed by this new experience; “Holy Shit! Damn!”

The three sped off in Danny’s car, into the early hours of the morning, to find Michael’s contact.

The trio sped off to the Luna district, the hot dance club area of town. Michael’s hacker lived above the Razor Blade Club in a small loft. She was the best there was and could crack through anything.

Heading into the Razor Blade Club, the trio noticed flashing electric razor lights, the pulsing sounds of techno and hard-hitting house music, and a scene filled with all sorts of musical misfits dancing to the exotic beat; joy riders, goths, ravers, punks, dreamers, humans and vampires alike, all in the same depraved mix.

They climbed up the stairs and heard hard rock music playing from Kat’s room; she was Michael’s hacker.

“Charming place, what a freak show,” said Danny, annoyed by the sounds of the music.

“Hey, I resent that remark,” said Michael. “Just kidding,” joked Danny.

Michael knocked on Kat’s door; she heard him and turned down the music, peering through the porthole. Unlocking her door, she let Michael and his companions in her loft. Kat’s pad was filled with technological bliss, computer system after computer system, VR stabilizers, and best of all, a hacker’s dream, a multi super mainframe that could access any coding in the world in the twinkling of an eye. “Michael, to what pleasure do I owe this honor? What do you need from me this time? A hydra x virus, a government system crash, or just a little hex key coding?” asked Kat.

“Cute, kid. No, I got a real ringer for you this time. I need to crack into the city’s main frame computer system to look up an old friend,” said Michael.

“For the man that saved my life, anything. What are friends for? But please give me a challenge, come on,” said Kat.

“Nothing fancy, just do it,” said Michael.

“All right hottie,” teased Kat, hacking into her computer.

“Thanks kid. This is my girl Serena and this is Danny,” said Michael.

“Okay, let’s see what we can do. Who are we looking for exactly?” asked Kat.

“Ex-government agent records of one Rodney Clarence Phillips, last known place of access any military organizations and places he may try to escape to,” said Michael.

“Sounds like you have it in for this guy,” Kat commented.

“Yeah, well I think you would too kid. That asshole nearly killed us all,” said Danny. “Damn! Anyway, I’m cross referencing the data with the city’s system and the CIA’s mainframe,” said Kat.

“Nice thing that your dad gave you access to the system,” said Michael.

“Say what, how does a teenager get the equipment to access top-secret government information?” asked Serena.

“Simple. I worked with my father and Mike as a data engineer, back when we where in Turkey, and Mike saved my life from the Prime minister’s assassins who tried to kill me. After I found out he was alive, we kept in touch and I do him a favor now and then,” said Kat.

“What are you, a genius?” asked Danny.

“Yup, 190 IQ will do that for you,” said Kat playfully. She typed away, punching codes into her computer. “Bingo! Last known organizations that this guy was linked to,” Kat started.

Danny noticed something on the back of Michael’s neck. Walking over, he yanked on the needle and pulled it out.

“What the, ow!” yelled Michael.

“What the hell is that, Danny?” asked Serena. Danny inspected the small needle dart. “Looks like a transmitter, but that would mean?” said Danny.

Suddenly, a helicopter rose up to the open window. Serena sensed danger. She created a whirlwind of energy around them all as the gunner from the chopper opened fire, blasting firebombs through the window. ”The force is too strong, I can’t hold it,” said Serena, resisting the heat. Fire was her weakness. A man in the chopper fired mini-grenades and the room exploded in flames. Michael teleported them away from the burning loft. The people inside the club below screamed in panic as the place collapsed, killing them all.

In less than a second Michael had transported them all to safety. With no hospital in sight, he stole a truck and drove them to Saint Mark’s Cathedral. He had served as an altar boy there on summer retreats, and he remembered that the cathedral had a hospital wing for its monastery. Serena had been badly burned from the fire. Danny was fine, due to Serena’s aid. Kat had suffered the most. She had deep cuts from broken glass and was losing lots of blood.

It was four in the morning and rain had begun to pour as a thunderstorm came over the city. Guarding the vast doors of the gothic sanctuary were huge stone gargoyles, guardian angels and crucifixes. Michael pounded on the heavy iron doors, hoping that someone inside would answer. Inside the cathedral many men of God were kneeling in silent prayer as they meditated on Christ, chanting in Latin. One of the monks heard the nose outside and ran to unlock the doors of the church. He was a young handsome man with short brown hair, blue eyes, dressed in a humble robe. Michael fell to the ground with his wounded friends as the doors opened.