Six Times Deadly: A Lawson Vampire Story Collection (The Lawson Vampire Series) (6 page)

Hagar glanced at the bass player.
 
“You think that’s true, Frank?”

“Shut up.”
 
Frank hadn’t taken his eyes off of me.
 
“How’d you know it was him?”

“Just a guess.
 
Not like anyone else there could have been a part of it.
 
The bartender mentioned he wasn’t around last weekend.”

“That’s it?”

I smirked.
 
“You kidding?
 
That’s like a bonanza compared to some of my other assignments.”

Frank chewed on that and then nodded.
 
“All right, then.
 
I think we’re done here.”

I smiled.
 
“Great.
 
So, why don’t you just hand over the gun and I’ll be on my way.”

Frank gestured toward the ocean.
 
“Not this time.
 
Start walking.”

I glanced at the sea.
 
“You know, most experts don’t recommend swimming at night.
 
Kind of risky and all.”

Hagar and Frank fell into step behind me.
 
I felt the sand squish underneath my feet.
 
The smell of salt hung heavy on the air and I felt the spray of the ocean as waves crashed toward me.

“We’ve had a lot of seals in the area this year,” said Frank.
 
“What do you think about that?”

I shrugged.
 
“Climate change is a bitch?”

“It tends to cause other changes in the ecological system.
 
The presence of seals means that certain fish species are more likely to dwindle.
 
Those seals, they’re adept hunters.”

I kept walking.
 
I had a vague idea where this was going and it didn’t do much to inspire me.

“Fortunately for the fish, Mother Nature always has a system of checks and balances.
 
In this case, she’s also made sure that because of the seal migration, we’ve had increased visits from another ocean visitor this year.”

I spotted the chain running down the sand and out into the water.
 
I glanced back and saw that it was staked high up into the rocky bluff overlooking the beach.
 
It would take a lot to yank it free.
 
Waves lapped at my shoes.

“Stop.”

I paused and Frank removed something from his pocket that looked like a remote control.
 
He hit the button and smiled at me.
 
“Now we wait.”

I looked out at the ocean.
 
High tide was coming in and the waves crashed harder now.
 
“My shoes are getting wet.”

Frank nodded.
 
“Go ahead and kick them off.”

The sand felt cool beneath my feet.
 
More waves crashed in.
 
I caught a whiff of something on the air, something out of place, but familiar to me nonetheless.
 
“What’s bleeding?”

“You like that?”
 
Frank chuckled.
 
“It’s quite the mixture of gunk.
 
Chum lines always are such nasty things, but then again, when you want to be certain that you attract the right clientele you have to serve the proper food.”

I heard a splash out of time with the waves.
 
“Great whites.”

“Amazing creatures, these sharks.
 
Did you know the can detect a drop of blood over a mile away?
 
And since they’re around looking for seals anyway, they’re that much easier to pull in.”

I looked at him.
 
“You’re deliberately chumming for great whites.
 
And what – you expect me to swim out there and get eaten?”

“That’s the plan.”

“What have you got out there?”

“A container filled with tuna heads, beef, and blood - lots of human blood.”

I frowned.
 
“Human blood.”

“From the last kidnapping victim we picked up.
 
You didn’t think this was about something as stupid as ransom, did you?
 
What good does money do us?”
 
He gestured with the pistol.
 
“Time you were on your way Fixer.”

“I don’t report in, they’re going to send more after you.”

Hagar glanced at Frank.
 
“Is that true?”

I grinned.
 
“I’m not the only one, boys.
 
And my Control knows where I was going and who I was following.”
 
I pointed at Hagar.
 
“That’s you, buddy boy.”

Frank pointed the gun at me.
 
“If I don’t kill you, you’ll do the same to us.”

I shrugged.
 
“My job.
 
No one told you guys to break the law.
 
And you’ve violated several of them apparently.
 
You know the punishment for exposing our race to discovery.”

Hagar seemed unsure of himself and shifted from foot to foot, the sand making him sway just a bit.
 
“Maybe we can just leave him and disappear.”

Frank turned and shot Hagar in the chest then.
 
Hagar’s eyes widened in shock; he sank to his knees, hands clutching at his chest.
 
Blood dribbled out of his mouth and I saw his teeth extend to their hunting length.
 
He clutched at Frank, but Frank stepped back and watched Hagar slump forward, face hitting the sand.

“He was always a problem.”

I nudged Hagar’s body with my foot.
 
He rolled over and I watched as his teeth shrank now, the secret of our existence still safe even in death.
 
“Two bodies to dispose of now.
 
You’re making more work for yourself.”

He pointed the gun at me.
 
“Get him into the water.”

“You might want to revisit your employee retention program, because from my perspective, it really stinks.”
 
I got my hands under Hagar’s armpits and dragged him into the frothy surf.
 
Blood ran out of Hagar’s body and I heaved him out into a receding wave.

It didn’t take long.

Amid the crashing waves, I could hear the anxious tearing of clothes and flesh as Hagar’s body was devoured.
 
Great whites might have preferred seal blubber, but a body tossed into the chummed water was as good as gone.
 
The waves soaking the cuffs of my jeans were pinkish now.

“Your turn.”

The thought of being devoured among the rows of serrated hell didn’t score high on my list of Ways I Want to Die.

Frank thumbed the hammer back again.
 
“Out you go.”

I shook my head.
 
“You’re going to have to kill me here first.
 
There’s no way I’m swimming out there.”

“Suit yourself.”

But I was already moving, kicking up my left foot, flinging sand at his face as the first shot exploded and singed the hair along one side of my head.
 
I cut inside to his left, using my left hand to deflect his right arm so he couldn’t get a bead on me.
 
I shot my right hand into his throat, crushing his trachea.
 
He started to gag and I drove my fingers into his eyes, raking back down.
 
I brought my knee into his groin and he sank forward, allowing me to get the shoulder lock on his right arm.
 
I cranked and heard the bones separate.
 
He screamed, somehow forcing the air out through his badly-damaged throat.

Too late, I pivoted and ripped the gun free of his hand.
 
He started to claw at me but I stepped back, aimed center mass and double-tapped the trigger.
 
The rounds tore into his chest, blossoming red in the night air.’

He died on his knees and then sank into the knee-high water.
 
The tide surged in and out now, dragging his body a little further out each time.
 
I saw a dorsal fin slice the water no more than eight feet from me and I jumped back out of the surf.

Frank’s body drifted out, at first seeming to float.
 
Then a violent explosion of red sprayed the water and the body vanished.
 

I watched for another minute, but there was nothing to see aside from the continuous ebb and flow of the sea.
 
I made my way back to the rocks overlooking the beach and found where the bass player had staked the chain.
 
It took me a few minutes to yank it free.
 
I dragged it down to the beach and then hurled it as far out as I could.
 
Hopefully, there’d be no reason aside from the seals for great whites to hunt here.

I made my way back to the car, found a cell phone and called Niles.
 
He didn’t sound happy.

“You have any idea what you’re interrupting right now?”

I squeezed some of the seawater out of my jeans legs.
 
“An Ethel Merman retrospective?”

“Gay humor doesn’t work for you.”

“Neither does getting eaten by a shark.”

“What did you say?”

I found the car keys in the visor and gunned the engine.
 
“Never mind.
 
It’s finished.”

“No loose ends?”

“Loose pieces maybe.
 
But I think those will be gone soon, too.”

“I’m not even going to ask what that means.”

“Good.”

“You’d better meet me in the morning for the debrief.
 
Got another one for you.”

“Already?
 
I was looking forward to a few days off.”

Niles sniffed.
 
“You should be so lucky.
 
Pack a bag, you’re going north.”

“How north?”

“Over the border.”

“Not really my jurisdiction, Niles.
 
Don’t we have someone up there who can handle it.”

“Not this time.
 
This one’s got you written all over it.
 
In invisible ink, if you get my meaning.”
 
He hung up the phone.

I sighed and steered the car back on to the dirt road.
 
It would take me a few hours to get home, maybe grab an hour or two of sleep and then meet Niles.
 

Then it was back to the hunt.

I glanced at the rearview mirror.
 
The waves crashed white against the sand, all traces of the recent violence gone.
 
Millions of years of evolution had produced the perfect apex predator.

And the sharks weren’t so bad either.

Enemy Mine

Ordinarily, being in Japan is like wearing an old comfortable sweater.
 
I love the country-its rich history and traditions have always felt comfortable to me for some reason and the fact that I've long apprenticed myself to one of its most potent warrior traditions, it's no wonder I love spending time there any chance I can get.

But this was business.

Sendai sits about 190 miles northeast of Tokyo.
 
It's a beautiful city that dates back to 1600 when the local daimyo decided Sendai was a better position for his castle than his previous home.
 
After starting construction on his castle, he ordered the creation of the town itself.
 
When both were completed, Sendai was well on its way to becoming one of Japan's most beautiful cities.
 
Nowadays, it was known as one of its greenest as well, thanks to the fact that prior to World War Two, citizens had been encouraged to plant trees in their home gardens.
 
The quality of air was incredible.

I wish I could say I was there for air.

I wasn't.

I was supposed to have caught a flight home from Tokyo earlier today following my dealing with the Kensei.
 
Talya had already flown out, but I'd wanted another week of training and despite the fact that Niles had a pressing assignment for me back home, he'd agreed.

Then this morning, just as I was getting ready to catch the train to Narita, Niles had called.

"You haven't left yet, have you?"

"I'm surrounded by giggling schoolgirls on the train platform as we speak."

"Good," said Niles.
 
"You're not coming home, after all."

"Now why would you want to deprive me of the incredible fun that is a fourteen hour flight back to Boston?"

"That's only if you catch a nice tailwind.
 
It might even be longer."

"Thanks for reminding me."

"Remember your Belfast assignment?"

I frowned and glanced around.
 
"I remember.
 
I remember she tried to blow me up.
 
Crazy nut that she is."

Niles paused.
 
"We've got intel she's in Japan."

"When?"

"Right now, Lawson.
 
North of your location in Sendai.
 
You know the area?"

"Well enough."

"Get up there.
 
We don't know what she's up to, but she's certainly made no secret of the fact that she's actively hunting you.
 
If you've got a chance to get the drop on her right now, I suggest you do so."

"I think that goes without saying.
 
You know her location?"

"Not yet, but I've got people working on it."

He meant the intel nerds.
 
Good.
 
If she was there, they'd find her.
 
"Anything else?"

"Yeah, watch your back."

I disconnected and looked around the train platform.
 
The Silencer.
 
Wonderful.

We had a history.
 
Thailand.
 
Belfast.
 
And now Japan.
 
After our initial meeting in Thailand way back around the ass-end of the Vietnam War, the Silencer had been working for the North Vietnamese and she'd just killed a contact I was supposed to meet.
 
But back then I was green.
 
Still an FNG.
 
And she'd told me there'd be no fun in killing me.
 
No sport in it for her.