Judas and the Vampires (15 page)

“Stop Wil
liam!! Stop, goddamn it or we
will
shoot you!!”

It would take so much more than loaded guns to get me to stop for Viktor Kaslow’s warning, since he intended to kill us all anyway. But as he aimed his pistol at my back, I did offer him something over my shoulder. A shit-eating grin. A really
big
shit-eating grin. After all, his sarcastic prophecy sort of came true: we did meet again, albeit on this side of the veil.

The last thing I saw from him, just before the barrage of bullets whistled above my head as I bolted through the window, was his own slight grin. One that was as cold and angry as any I’ve ever seen.

The hatred for me that had lain dormant for more than a decade was now reawakened.

Chapter 15

“Run!”
I hissed, motioning for Amy and Alistair to meet me over by a covered jeep less than fifty feet away.
“Run and don’t stop running until I tell you to stop!!”

Floodlights that surrounded the circle of trailers had just come on, and soldiers were moving between the buildings. They would be upon us at any moment. Not to mention the other mercenaries and scientists residing in the tents along the creek.

“I see them—there they are!” shouted another man, this one with English damned near as lucid as Viktor’s and the refined guttural version of Petr Stanislav.

Other voices joined in, although too excited for me catch what they said. No matter, since we were as good as dead anyway unless we got out of there. Suddenly, Alistair tripped and fell.

Shit!

“Pops, you and Amy need to go on! I don’t.... I
don’t
think I can make it!!” he said, between gasps for air after I ran over to him.

Maybe he wasn’t in the best shape of his life, but a fifty-yard jaunt normally wouldn’t be a big deal for him. It made me worry more about what he and Amy had endured in their captivity. Meanwhile, gunshots pelted the ground nearby, clearly announcing our pursuers were on their way.

“You’re coming with us, son—
period!”
I grabbed his arms and lifted him back to his feet. “Don’t you ever pull that ‘oh please, Dad, go on without me’ shit
ever
again! Do you understand? ...You and your mom are all I’ve got, so get it in your mind that you’re going to survive!
We’re
going to make it out of here
alive!!”

Although it was dangerous for him and me, I lifted Alistair onto my back and carried him over to the Jeep. But since our angry hosts had nearly caught up to us, there would be no way for me to hot-wire the vehicle in time to get out of there. So, I carried my son even further with Amy alongside me. Fortunately, only the scientists brought flashlights. It sounded like there was some confusion as to how and where to use them effectively—especially since it appeared there were only a couple available. Sheer lunacy, but I’ll take God’s help no matter what form it comes in. The lack of cohesive communication between civilian and army personnel allowed me just enough time and space to find another suitable Jeep among the dozen parked in a row.

Jeep number three was the one I picked, since it was close to the front of the line. A great number, if you think about it. God in three persons, three crucifixions, rising on the third day, the myriad multiples of three in the Talmud, and so on and so on. Call me superstitious—I’ll admit that’s true any day. Yet, more often than not, I do get lucky.

Like right then.

Not only was the vehicle unlocked, it belonged to one of the scientists. Anyone perpetually funded to play around with their pet projects is generally not the most responsible person on the planet. It certainly was the case here. The Jeep’s keys were still in the ignition.

“Keep an eye on Ali for me,” I told Amy, keeping my voice low while directing her to the backseat after I unloaded my son there. “Get in quickly, and keep your heads down!

She hesitated for a moment, and looked as if she wanted to say something. But, a sharp glare from me invoked her obedience...at least for the present moment. She had the presence of mind to close the passenger door quietly, which bought us an extra few seconds before I started the engine and all hell broke loose.

With the Jeep’s tires spitting gravel behind us, I tore out of there. A legion of other Jeeps, and the pair of Mercedes SUVs I saw would be after us very soon. In the meantime, the latest barrage of gunfire cleared out our Jeep’s windows, but missed the gas tank and the rear tires. Most importantly, Amy and my son were spared so far.

Viktor was out to kill me, with little interest in my capture and any further possible embarrassment in front of Petr Stanislav as his chief assassin. That was my assumption at this point. Luckily, only a few bullets had hit me. Two in the right shoulder and one grazing my left earlobe. Even before we crashed through the lone guard station on the way to the main highway heading back to Tehran, the wounds were healing. It’s always faster when the bullets pass through cleanly, instead of lingering like the irritating wood splinters I used to get in my toes and fingers as a kid.

“Where are we going?”

Amy posed the question once we had put several miles between Stanislav’s camp and us. Surprisingly, so far there were no obvious signs of pursuit. In the distance ahead, Iran’s capital city was a sea of twinkling lights. The night sky had grown lighter, morphing into the predawn blue of the coming sunrise. The clock on the Jeep’s dash read 4:14 a.m. We still had time to secure a hideout before daylight nixed that option.

“We’re going back home...to the states,” I said, evenly. “It’s far too dangerous to stay here any longer than necessary to get a flight ready to depart.”

Yes, this was harshly delivered, and not merely because her leaving the hotel without me seriously pissed me off. I had to make sure there were no further screw-ups on this misadventure. Hers and Alistair’s continued existence in this world depended upon it!

“I’m
not
going back to America!” Her voice was hushed, but her tone seething. “I’ll stay until I find my brother, and there’s not a damned thing
you
can do to stop me!”

I glanced at her, not at all surprised that she was glaring at me. Sitting in the backseat, my son’s head was cradled in her lap. He appeared to sleep, but knowing how my bloodline works I seriously doubted he wasn’t somewhat awake and listening.

“They
will
kill you next time—”

“You don’t think they
haven’t
killed a big part of me already?!” she said, angrily. “They’ve taken my father, and my mother. And while you were out cold the past two and a half days, the men took their time fondling me and trying to force me to take them in my mouth. When I resisted, they hit me. Then, they
cut
me! And when that didn’t work, they took it out on your son!!”

“I’m so sorry,” I told her, my voice dropping to just above a whisper. I meant it. As sincere an apology as I’ve ever felt. What she stated literally took the wind out of me.

Like Amy, I wanted to swing the Jeep around and go after those miscreant assholes. But, unlike her, I knew we might as well just drive the Jeep off the nearest cliff and call it a day. We’d never get close to Viktor, Stanislav, or whoever else assaulted her and Alistair. It obviously wasn’t either Nicholas or Vera, as I assumed she would’ve said so.

“You’re
sorry?
Maybe...but not near enough to try and restore something to my soul??”

“You’ll
die
and so will Ali!”

“But
you
won’t, will you?” Her anger was heated enough to rouse Alistair from her lap. He sat up, wincing while gingerly massaging the ligature burns around his neck.

I wanted to reply in kind, but forced myself to wait. To stay as calm as possible, and to keep my thoughts lucid while keeping an eye out for a place to hide. Dawn might still be over an hour away, but if we could see our surroundings more clearly than thirty minutes ago, then so could anyone else. We would have to pull over soon—especially if there was any serious consideration of continuing our search for Jeremy Golden Eagle. Otherwise, we needed to get to a hospital to treat Amy’s wounds and give my son a thorough checkup for both external and internal injuries. The latter option was the only sane one.

“Well?”

“You already know the answer to that question.” I eyed her sullenly through the rearview mirror. “Unlike what you might believe, I do have much to lose. Ali is the only flesh and blood I have left to protect. He and his mother mean more to me than life itself.”

Perhaps corny, I swear those words are true. I can’t even allow myself to think about life without either one, as when I do, I feel the very essence of my soul begin to whither. If it dies, what will be left? I shudder to consider what that means, so I push it from my mind. Always.

“We should give it one more try, Pops,” said Alistair, wincing again as if speaking the words was an arduous effort. “She and I heard Stanislav tell Kaslow about a chain of caves that were uncovered yesterday afternoon. Some crystal samples found there showed a high concentration of radioactivity, which apparently is what they’re looking for.”

“No shit?”

“Yes, Ali’s right,” confirmed
Amy. “Add that to what I heard on Monday, and I think Jeremy’s definitely around there someplace.”

“What if he’s dead?” I ignored the fact this might come across as insensitive. I had to make some definite decisions right then before we traveled much further. We had just passed the small village that lacked a moniker, and I remember thinking again how strange it was that any town—regardless how small—could exist without a name. “Could you handle it if that turned out to be the case?”

She didn’t respond right away. Going by gut instinct, I cut the lights and pulled the Jeep behind another row of thick evergreens a mile outside of the village. The spot felt right to me, as if it was the safest place in the entire country of Iran right then.

“I could handle it,” she said, softly, though even in the dimness I saw fiery defiance in her eyes. “But he’s not dead.... I just know he’s not.”

I cut the Jeep’s engine and listened for anything to be alarmed about, whether that was a convoy of Jeeps pursuing us, or one of the Mercedes creeping down the road behind us. For a moment, I worried about GPS tracking. But, unless such a tracker was hidden from view, the Jeep didn’t come with one.

“So, am I correct to assume that we’re going to try to find Jeremy?” said Alistair.

“Well, it depends on a few things, son,” I said. “The most important thing is if these guys come after us with full force, then we’re leaving. Period! Is that understood?

Neither Alistair nor Amy said anything for a moment, and I watched them glance at each other before Alistair spoke.

“Yes, Pops, that’s loud and clear.”

“You don’t have to be a smartass, Ali.”

“I don’t think that was his intent,” said Amy, sticking up for him. “And we both agree with you...we will leave and forget the whole thing if we’re outmatched.”

I nodded, wondering if this would actually be the way it went down should we be attacked.

“So what are the other stipulations?” said Alistair.

I watched him peer warily through the glass-less passenger window to his left.

“Look behind the back seat and see if we’ve got anything for sustenance,” I said, while scanning the area around us. I didn’t detect anything of immediate concern, and I uttered a muted thanksgiving since the sky above was getting lighter, and visibility around us had become significantly enhanced since we pulled in behind the trees. “There could be some first aid supplies, as well.

“There is. Supplies, food, and...it looks like there is a case of water, too!”

It was Amy who spoke, and she was unable to mask her enthusiasm. Nor did she try to veil her lovely smile. This was probably the best moment she had experienced since she and Alistair ventured into the Alborz Mountains Sunday morning.

“But it looks like the food consists only of dry products.” Alistair sounded disappointed. “Trail mix, crackers, nutrition bars….”

“Enough to last a couple of days, since there are three of us!”

Like a kid with the chance of going to a carnival, Amy would play whatever angle might get her another chance at finding her brother. I wasn’t convinced we had enough food and water to last more than a day, even after taking me out of the equation to further stretch our newfound resources.

But we did have enough necessities to support a return to the hornets’ nest. Food, water, supplies, and a head start were all good things. Plus, my son and the woman who held such sway upon us both could now rest for a few hours before we engaged in a second round.... Our second attempt to find the elusive Garden of Eden.

Hopefully, it wasn’t a bigger mistake than the first try.

Chapter 16