Night and Day (Book 2): Bleeding Sky (26 page)

Martinez
and I sat on the steps outside the command trailer, watching as the parade
returned to the square a little after eight-thirty. The various security
cordons around Heymann melted away the closer he got to his trailer, and by
the time he passed us, it was just him and Clay.

The
ambassador seemed deep in thought as he passed, maybe composing his daily
report in his head. Clay continued to watch, his head swiveling from side to
side, taking in everyone he could see. When he spotted us, he smiled and
tapped his black beret with an index finger. I smiled in return.

“So
what’s your take on Clay?” I asked. “Think he’s got something going other
than protecting Heymann?”

“I
believe that’s his primary mission, sir,” Martinez said.

“And
his secondary mission?”

“Probably
intel, sir,” she said. “They’ll get the ambassador’s take on things from
what he reports, but they’re gonna want a second opinion. A military
opinion.”

I
nodded. “Sounds a lot like my situation.”

“Yes,
sir,” she said. She turned her head to hide her smile, but I caught a quick
glimpse of it.

A
few minutes later, Bristow came across the square. “Do you need a briefing
tonight, Mr. Welles?”

I
shook my head. “From what I heard, it was uneventful,” I said. “Finish up
before your relief gets here, then go get some sleep. Tomorrow is gonna be a
whole lot more stressful.”

“Sir,”
he said with a salute.

Twenty
minutes later, the first night shift Security Force troopers arrived,
passing us on the steps without a word. Captain Edwards and her lieutenant
nodded, but they didn’t have anything to say as they passed.

“Are
you going to have Commander Takeda investigate what Gabriel told you,
sir?”

I
nodded. “Yeah, it’s probably nothing, but worth a quick check. With Heymann
locked down in his trailer, she should have somebody available to take a
look.”

“I
guess we’ll find out in a minute,” Martinez said, looking across the
square.

Takeda
was coming toward us at a fast pace. Beside her was Downtown District Chief
Dylan Muldoon, working to keep up with her. As they got closer, I heard the
sounds of a heated discussion. Maybe an argument.

They
reached the foot of the steps. Takeda stopped and turned to him. “That is
not acceptable, chief,” she said. “It is inefficient to call the police
station if we need assistance and wait for that assistance to
arrive.”

Muldoon
clearly didn’t like talking in front of a couple of bloodsacs like me and
Martinez. “Maybe we could go into your office, commander...”

“No,”
she said calmly. “There is nothing further to discuss. I was promised full
cooperation by Chief Northport and I will get exactly that from the Metro
police. You will detail a lieutenant and at least ten men here in the next
thirty minutes or I will talk to Chief Northport to find out why.” She
paused. “I am cutting you some slack. I could demand Captain Snyder work the
detail, as Captain Mutz does.”

“The
station is five minutes away,” Muldoon said. “I can have men
here...”

“Thirty
minutes, chief,” she interrupted. “Thank you.”

He
glared at her, then at me and Martinez before turning and walking
away.

Takeda
watched him for a moment, then turned to us. “Mr. Welles, Trooper
Martinez.”

“Miss
Takeda,” I said as Martinez saluted.

“The
day was free of incidents?” Takeda asked.

I
smiled. “I’ve seen more fireworks in the past minute or two between you and
Muldoon than we had all day.”

She
smiled faintly. “Chief Muldoon is of the opinion that there is no danger to
Dr. Heymann at night and that his policemen can be better used elsewhere. I
am sure he will change his mind.”

“He
may change his mind, but he’ll always remember that you made him change
it.”

“How
unfortunate for him,” she said. “Please, let’s go to the office so I can
officially relieve you.”

I
pulled my keys from my jacket pocket and tossed them to Martinez. “Black
Jeep on the northeast side of the square,” I said, “Bring it over to the
curb here. I’ll be there in a minute.”

“Sir,”
she said with a salute.

I
followed Takeda up the steps and into the trailer. Bristow was in the
office, talking with Captain Edwards.

“Commander,”
Bristow said, turning as we came in and snapping a salute at both of
us.

“Captain,”
Takeda said, going past him and around the desk. She sat down. “Anything to
report before you’re relieved, Mr. Welles?”

I
pointed at the piece of paper on the corner of the desk, resting on top of a
file folder. “Just that,” I said. “Report of four or five men moving into an
apartment on Grand, couple of blocks south of here, two nights ago. Possibly
vampires since they moved in after dark. Probably worth checking
out.”

She
studied the page and nodded. “I will see to that. What is this source of
this information?”

“Eddie
Gabriel,” I said. “He was here to visit Heymann and that information was the
price of admission.”

“I
see,” she said. “Anything else?”

“Heymann’s
itinerary for tomorrow is in the folder, along with our draft protection
plan. We’ll be back before sunrise, but I’d like you to take a look and see
if you have any ideas.”

“Of
course,” she said.

“And
that’s it. I guess I’ll see you in the morning.”

“Trooper
Martinez is driving you home?”

“Actually
she’s going to bunk at my apartment,” I said. “Considering what happened
last night, I wanted to separate her from her platoon for a few days. I
don’t think anybody is stupid enough to give her a hard time after what I
did to their pals today, but if they have a problem, I really don’t want to
do what I’d feel compelled to.”

“Yes,
I was informed,” Takeda said. “Have a good night, Mr. Welles.”

I
bowed my head. “Miss Takeda.”

As
instructed, Martinez was waiting at the curb with my Jeep, the engine
running. I climbed in and leaned back in the seat. “Do we need to go by the
City Barracks to pick up your stuff?”

She
shook her head. “No, sir. Back seat. I had one of the couriers bring it down
earlier.”

I
looked over my shoulder at her duffle bag. “Good thinking.”

“Which
way, sir?”

“Turn
north on First, go about 5 blocks to Bacon, then right and almost to Second.
I’ll tell you when to stop.”

“Yes,
sir,” she said.

The
troopers at the security checkpoint on First checked us just as thoroughly
going out of the square as coming in, including a flashlight search of the
interior. I don’t know what they were looking for. Maybe they thought we had
Dr. Heymann bound and gagged in the back.

“Nice
truck, sir,” Martinez said as we cleared the checkpoint. She tapped the
windshield. “Even got a motor pool sticker for free gas.”

“Yeah,
it was an inheritance,” I said.

“Wow,
lucky you,” she said with a smile.

“Not
really. It belonged to my best friend and partner. He was General Bain’s
bloodson.”

She
was silent for a moment, then said, “Is this Bacon coming up?”

“Yeah,
make the turn and I’ll tell you when to pull over.”

As
she drove, I studied her out of the corner of my eye. He demeanor had
changed from enthused to wary when I mentioned Joshua’s relationship to
Bain. Maybe it was because he was dead and she felt bad about her reaction
to my lucky inheritance. Or maybe it was something else.

“Up
ahead,” I said. “Pull in under the street light.”

She
parked and grabbed her bag, then followed me up the stairs to my front door.
I opened the door and said, “It’s not much, but it does the job.”

“It’s
not bad, sir,” she said, looking around. She didn’t sound
impressed.

“I
can make a call and have somebody deliver a cot from the barracks,” I said.
“So you feel more at home.”

“This
is fine, sir,” she said with a smile.

“Right.”
I pointed. “Kitchen. Couch. TV. Bathroom. Closet with pillows, sheets,
blankets. My bedroom.” I paused. “Reveille is at zero five hundred and we
hit the road forty-five minutes later. There’s beer and stuff for sandwiches
in the refrigerator if you’re interested. Beer’s probably a couple of months
old, but it should still be okay. Watch some TV if you like before you hit
the rack. It won’t bother me. Shower is in my bathroom and I’ll make sure
you have time for one before we leave. Questions?”

“No,
sir,” she said. “It was a thorough briefing.”

“I’ll
see you in the morning, trooper,” I said. She had tossed her bag on the
couch and was already heading for the closet to get bedding before I closed
my bedroom door.

I
don’t know what it was that woke me. A sound maybe. Or the bright light on
my closed eyes. Maybe I thought it was the sun and that I’d overslept.
Whatever it was, I opened my eyes and immediately shut them. There was a
very bright light shining on my face. It seemed to be coming from the
dresser on the wall opposite the foot of my bed.

“What
the fuck,” I muttered, starting to sit up.

“Stay
down, old buddy,” a man’s voice said. “And keep your hands where I can see
them.”

I
recognized the voice.

Marc
Shuster.

Chapter
Sixteen

I
couldn’t see him. That was probably the point. His voice sounded like it was
coming from just to the right of the glaring light on the dresser. My right
hand was maybe five inches from the pistol under my pillow. If I could get
it, I’d empty all 10 rounds in his general direction and hope for the
best.

But
first I needed to get it.

“Shuster?”
I asked. “What the hell?”

“Easy,
Charlie,” he said. “Just stay like that. No sudden moves.”

“You
asshole,” I muttered, trying to sound annoyed. He was definitely about two
feet to the right of the light, not far from the window. “I like a good
prank, but you’re out control. First the credit card, now this
shit.”

I
started to sit up, and while I did, I inched my hand a little closer to the
end of the pillow. Call it four inches to the pistol.

“Stop!”
he said. “I told you to stay where you were. I won’t say it
again.”

I
laughed. “What, I’m supposed to believe you’re going to shoot me or
something? You don’t even have a gun.”

I
heard a click. The hammer of pistol being cocked. “Want to put money on
that?” he asked.

“This
is nuts,” I said, falling back in the bed. It gave me the opportunity to
move my hand a little closer to the edge of the pillow. Maybe three inches
to go. “And I’m gonna kick your ass when you’re done with this stupid game.
What did you do, pick the lock on my front door?”

If
he’d already killed Martinez, I was definitely next. Which meant I might
have to take a chance and go for my pistol sooner rather than
later.

“That
was this afternoon,” he said. “You really should put a better lock on the
door. Took me maybe twenty seconds to get through it.” He paused. “You also
ought to check your windows before you go to bed. Make sure somebody didn’t
unlock one while you weren’t home.”

“You
came in the window?”

“I
gotta tell you, I’m not really impressed by your apartment, pal. You could
be doing a lot better.”

“Next
time let me know you’re coming and I’ll spruce it up,” I said. Two inches to
the end of the pillow. “Now how about you cut the crap and turn off that
goddamn light.”

He
sighed. “Let me ask you something, Charlie. Did you really think I wouldn’t
hear about the Area Three Governor’s Office looking for me, trying to ID
me?”

“What
are you talking about?” I moved my hand another half inch.

“We
both know what I’m talking about.” He paused for half a second. “ And if you
move your right hand again, you’re gonna have a stump.”

I
froze.

“Both
hands at your sides, on top of the covers,” he ordered. “Right
now.”

I
hesitated, then did as he instructed. That he hadn’t already killed me was a
plus. He wanted to talk. And the longer he did, the better the chance I’d
think of something else.

“Much
better,” he said. “And less stressful for you, I imagine.”

“I
don’t get stressed, Shuster,” I said. “You know that.”

“Just
angry,” he replied. “But anger isn’t going to help you here. Stay calm,
think happy thoughts, be rational, and you might even be breathing when the
sun comes up.”

“Why
are you here?” And why was I still alive?