Chapter Two
"The Red Dragon's having a tea party at 9 o' clock, then less than an hour later, the place is full of bullet holes, swarming with cops, and closed off to the public. Blade was there," Panther spoke, banging his fists on the table. They were in the war room, he and the other three squad members of Vici. Their leader, Panther, stood tall, addressing them all. The group of vampire hunters didn't take their eyes off him; such was the authority in his voice. The large oval table vibrated in response, and the other three members fastened their gazes even tighter on him, if that was even conceivable. "We need to take action, as soon as possible."
"How about we take action now?" Angela followed up, and for a moment Panther's eyes scoped more than just a teammate he'd gladly throw down his life for. Her body was toned and athletic, her light caramel skin glistening slightly with sweat. Angela had her hair pulled back into a long ponytail, sharp crescent bangs framing her face beautifully. He almost drowned in her light brown eyes and when they locked onto his, she blushed and then masked it so quickly that neither Kokei nor Trigger knew what was going on. It was, however, no mystery that the two of them were more than just friends. A glint of silver dragged his eyes to her exposed belly button, and as hard as it was, Panther tore his eyes back to her face. "Blade has hit several establishments in the past few weeks, all in this area of downtown New York." She stood up, pointing downward to the center of the table.
A holographic map of the Nexus appeared in neon green and levitated before Angela's fingertips. Pulsing blue circles in a precise zigzag pattern marked each of Blade's assault zones in the past two months. Her light fingers slid over the hologram, connecting the circles with a bright yellow line that followed her movements.
"I've predicted, with 85% accuracy that the next place he'll be is here." Angela touched a building, ensnaring it with a yellow circle. It was the famous nightclub, Lotus. "It's only logical. The club is practically famous for being a vampire hot spot, open every night, with an exclusive guest list. That's our target." She waved away the hologram, until there was nothing left but the giant oval table. Finally, she sat down and looked at each of them in turn. "What do you guys think?"
"I say let's blow that muthafucka up." Trigger was the first to respond. He was a lanky character with a silver tongue, but exceptionally fit for a 45-year-old man. He continued to speak, while affectionately polishing his sniper rifle. "All of the logistics point there and wherever Blade has been getting his information leads him in a concrete pathway. Honestly, I'm surprised the cops haven't caught onto this just yet." Trigger polished his sniper rifle one final time, before cocking it. "Besides, even if Blade doesn't show up, there's guaranteed to be a showdown where we can bust some skulls."
"We have to stake it out," Aiden put bluntly, his disagreement with the direct method obvious. He was looking in Trigger's direction even though a dark black band sealed his vision. Aiden was blind, that's why his nickname was Kokei, meaning 'one lacking sight.' "We don't know which day Blade will choose to go to Lotus and it could be awhile before he moves again, given the scale of the Chinatown incident. Did you see how quickly SPECS arrived this time? They're definitely responding faster than usual to paranormal activities in the city. If we act too hastily, we could end up on the wrong side of their weapons."
"You're telling me," Trigger sighed as if he knew a secret gained from personal experience. "They used to be a group of slow responding bastards that didn't even know what their job entailed half the fucking time."
Panther nodded his head at Kokei, ignoring Trigger's sentiment. "I have a cousin who lives around that way; I can get us reservations to the hotel across the street and arrange it so that our suite overlooks Lotus's entrance." Though his face held a cocky grin, his team nodded in respect. Angela beamed at him with admiration. "Of course, we'll need names that are on the roster for Lotus and a way to get in." Panther continued. Trigger gave him an intense smile, and rose out of his seat. The spotlight was on him.
"Leave getting in to me," he said, grinning. He pulled out two small vials that resembled under-sized glow sticks. Each vial contained a moderate amount of bloody red liquid. He cracked one dramatically and instantaneously, fangs filled his mouth. Trigger's eyes also glowed red, though to the others in the room, it was clear that he was still human. "They're called Vampa-Trans. Lame name, I know; however, they definitely get the job done. They were made by SPECS themselves. I tried copying the original design as best I could. Only came up with two though, sorry." Trigger cracked the vial back to its original position and the fangs vanished. His eyes also normalized. "These completely mask us to most vampire eyes, so getting past a bouncer will be a cakewalk." He tossed one to Panther, who caught it and put it in his pocket. "We've got a plan," Trigger assured Angela, whose face was one of bewilderment at there being only two Vampa-Trans. Panther then dismissed the meeting. Everyone left the table, but Panther called Aiden back.
"What is it leader?" The blind man asked, gesturing with his hands as though his vision was 20/20. Panther smirked and clapped a hand on his shoulder, walking him toward the rec room.
"Are you up for a little sparring match?" He inquired excitedly.
They entered the training room, taking off their shoes and standing across from each other on a humongous red gym mat, which spanned most of the rec room's floor. Aiden must have read his mind, or sensed the question on his face, because moments later, he handed Panther a nicely polished bokken1**, taking one of the same style off a wall rack for himself. They both bowed in unison, and though Panther was ready to go, Kokei spoke up.
"I'll tell you right now why you will lose," he spoke, his voice soft as if he was explaining addition to a toddler. "You lack the fifth element, spirit. All my life I have been building that up in unison with the other four elements: fire, water, earth and air. To this day, I have mastered secret techniques of every weapon style, of every weapon class and though the naginata2** remains my favorite, you can't hope to defeat me with that bokken. I see you're serious though. Very well, make sure to use all of the elements. Start with water, the gift of blood that runs through your veins. Next, use air, the precious breath that keeps you alive. Add fire, your mind and its drives and passions that move your being. Lastly use earth, your physical body, the housing for both your inner and outer strengths. However, I admonish you again, come at me with only these, and your defeat is inevitable."
Panther nodded, though inside, the lecture had almost bored him to sleep. He understood what Aiden meant about spirit, the fifth element, but he also knew that Kokei was wrong about assuming that he didn't have enough of it. "The rules are simple, if your five limbs get cut, it's a loss, and if your heart gets pierced, same thing." Kokei's confident face depicted an acceptance of the terms. They bowed in tandem with each other, muttering ganbatte3*** before taking their stances, Aiden's looking extremely professional. Panther's style was less rigid, and self-constructed.
"Secret technique: Sebunsodo4****," Aiden cried out, and with a singular slash that appeared, then disappeared, a bright light temporarily filled the room, forcing Panther's eyes closed. The clash of wood resounded off the walls. A gust of wind from the immense force lifted Panther off his feet, and slammed him into the ground hard, almost a yard away. He hit the ground with a tremendous impact, the air temporarily vanishing from his lungs. Instantly, Aiden crossed the distance between them, and stabbed the sword down.
Panther turned his sword lengthwise, and then used the side to absorb the impact, protecting his body. He flicked his wrist forward, and Kokei stumbled, directly into one of his size ten Nikes. It was his turn now. Abandoning his sword, he leaned back on the weight of his hands, and crushed Kokei's gut with both of his feet. Swiftly moving so that he was on his feet, Panther scooped up the bokken and ran toward his downed opponent. Aiden rolled to avoid his next strike, which clapped noisily on the mat. Extending his own leg, he forced Panther to retreat, less he fall prey to a sweep kick.
That same grin crept across Aiden's face. "Sebunsodo," he cried again. This time the blinding light flashed before Aiden swung the bokken, filling the entire room again. All Panther heard was a rush of air, before a sharp pain sliced across his stomach, blasting him backward. He barely maintained his balance, his counter practically worthless. "Not exactly one of your limbs, but you see my point about spirit," Aiden grinned, walking toward Panther confidently. The comment both provoked and annoyed Panther at the same time.
He had to do something. While it wasn't an actual battle situation, losing to Kokei would be just as bad as losing a limb in real life. He somehow needed to find the trick in Kokei's Sebunsodo attack. Nevertheless, he wasn't going to spend all his time defending. Initially holding the wooden blade at his side, he quickly feinted, then cut across Kokei's arm with a forceful blow. Shocked, his opponent staggered for a second, but that was enough time for Panther to dodge a return strike, and land one of his own on Kokei's other exposed arm.
"That's two limbs out of five," he smirked, neatly blocking a strike aimed angrily at his head. Panther could feel the rage emanating from Kokei's body and he would use that to his advantage as much as possible.
"Sebunsodo!" Aiden shouted again, this time lashing out with his foot, which Panther caught by jack-knifing his arms up against his chest. He hadn't planned for the next move though. As per usual, there was a blinding flash of light; however, when Panther's feet were no longer on the ground, he could only groan when his form crashed into the ground. Panther bit his the inside of his cheek painfully, causing it to bleed, even though his own bokken remained in his hands. He looked up at Kokei, who was chuckling. "I believe we're even now." Aiden stated matter-of-factly now that both of Panther's legs had been attacked.
Panther closed his eyes. Perhaps sight was his weakness here. He tried to stand motionless, to not give away his position to the blind swordsman opposite him, but that simply wasn't enough. Whether it was the scent of sweat that made his shirt stick to him, or the sound of his controlled breathing, Kokei still knew exactly where he was and thus was still able to attack him efficiently. Panther matched him blow for blow, concentrating more on his footwork than actually blocking the wooden blade. Fatigue slowly washed over them both, and after fifteen more minutes of neck and neck combat, Panther was ahead, four limbs to three. All he had to do was hit Kokei in the head, while Kokei still needed to strike his left arm and his head.
Panther realized precious minutes ago that closing his eyes and going toe-to-toe with Kokei wasn't going to be enough. Even odder, after his last Sebunsodo attack, Kokei hadn't used the move anymore, instead it seemed like he was actually fighting more seriously, if that was possible. Panther, gritted his teeth just as a brilliant idea came into his head. Why didn't he give Sebunsodo a try? He still had two limbs to figuratively lose and was on the verge of winning anyway. He ducked, and one of Kokei's strikes clacked the brick wall behind him. Circling around, Panther aimed for Kokei's vulnerable back, but in one smooth move, his attack was parried. In the next instant, Kokei's shoulder roughly slammed into his chest, pushing him back.
A little angry himself, Panther pulled back the blade, just as he'd seen Kokei do in the beginning of their match. "Sebunso-," before he could finish the word, Kokei's bokken viciously hammered his face so forcefully that he fell to the ground, landing on his back. He felt like he'd been hit with a crowbar. Panther could swear there was a large, round bruise on his cheek the size of a grapefruit. He tried to push himself upward, but it was too difficult. Before he could fall back down, he felt the gentlest tap on his left arm.
"Game." Kokei whispered, leaving the room without another word.
A few minutes later, Panther was nursing his cheek in his private chamber. His huge, midnight black panther named E-Bon was laying lazily on the African print rug at the foot of the bed. Panther had to chuckle as the huge beast yawned, revealing razor-sharp silver fangs. He let himself fall back onto his king sized bed, adorned with royal purple sheets. His golden pillows cushioned his fall. At the same time, Panther heard his door open, and looked up.
"Are you okay?" Angela asked, stepping into the room. While his face had hardened due to the intrusion, Panther immediately relaxed once she shut the door behind her. Even E-Bon, who respectfully guarded Panther's privacy as well, went back to lightly dozing after giving Angela a once over. Panther sat up, propping himself up against his wooden headboard, directly over a lion pouncing on a gazelle. Panther refused to ignore it when her eyes fell over his naked torso, then went back to his face. Her golden hoop earrings reflected his face in them, and if he looked hard enough, he could see himself in her honey brown eyes. She sat down next to him, pulling out a small icepack and dabbing it against his cheek.
"I'm fine Angel," he replied, though hissing at the transient pain that accompanied the wound. "We just really need to get out there more. Training exercises day in and day out aren't anything compared to real life. We've been doing tons of recon and strategizing and it's not like I doubt you guys, but we can't stay sharp as a team if we're not doing anything. There are innocent people out there dying every night because of the vampires that plague this city. Blade's one of them, and he never takes the time to relax." Panther huffed out, blushing shortly afterward, because of her musical laughter.
"You're human, not a day-walker," Angela emphasized seductively. She then drew a freshly decorated nail down the center of his chest. "You do need time to relax." He drew her into an embrace before his face could give away his emotions. He was surely feeling something right now; he just didn't need her to know what that was. She relaxed into his hold, and crooned softly as Panther stroked her hair. While he spoke smooth nonsense into her ear, she sighed and submitted. The vampires would truly win if they were able to take all of the love out of the world, however, whether leader or lover, as long as she had Panther, they would never concede to the never-ending darkness.
"So, you don't find it funny at all that this Squeaks guy is leading us in a completely obvious pattern?" Onyx exhaled sharply, blocking a heavy kick to his kidney. He and Blade circled each other in the boxing ring, tops bare and glistening with sweat. In the background, a hip-hop track by RZA filled the room, emanating from a top-grade Boston Acoustics Sound ware system. When Onyx tried to punch in retaliation, not only was his fist caught, but Blade locked his leg around the center of his calf, and summarily flipped him over it. Onyx banged against the ground, but rose to his feet, banging his red gloves together. On the sidelines, he watched Aisha, perched atop one of the largest bookshelves he had ever seen like a bird of prey. "Doesn't she have anything better to do?" He complained, while Blade struck, and then feinted, causing him to waste energy as Onyx's foot connected with air. Before he could regain his stance, Blade charged him, and before he could defend, he was on the ground again, Blade delivering a crushing knee to his side, though he could tell the strike was restricted in power. It still hurt like hell though.
"The loser is buying me dinner remember?" Aisha called cheerfully from her perch. She laughed happily, dangling her feet over the edge and swinging them like a child. Perhaps it was because she didn't have a home of her own, but being around these two always lifted her spirits. Whether she and Blade had some mutual vampire understanding or not, she knew he understood her. Blade also knew that she had access to plenty of information concerning his whereabouts, and his technology. Even if she had been working alongside them directly and indirectly for years, she still considered it a great honor to be trusted by him, because she trusted almost no one, vampires and humans alike and knew that as the famous day-walker, it had to be even harder to do. Absentmindedly, she licked her lips as James stood up, shaking himself back into awareness. It wasn't every day that she could watch two very attractive men in the heat of battle, backs glistening with sweat, teasing and taunting each other. The thought made Aisha's stomach tingle, and she knew she'd have to go out to hunt later. Her current hunger was for more than blood.
"Fuck that," Onyx cursed, squaring up with Blade again. He knew Aisha was the type to choose the most expensive place to eat, for last time an event like this occurred; she forced him to treat her to several full course meals at the well-known fine-dining place, the Aureole. "Seriously though man, you don't think SPECS is going to catch onto this? They've been after you for years right?" Onyx landed a solid hook to Blade's jaw, unable to counter though, as Blade delivered one twice as strong in response. Onyx staggered, but managed to stay upright.
"Let them come. I'm just doing my job, one that you two will inherit someday." Blade spoke, stunning Onyx with his words. Aisha turned away, her face heating as she contemplated what he'd said. Before Onyx was able to think too much about it, he was matching Blade's kicks with his own, trying to parry Blade's openhanded strikes to his face. "I wouldn't underestimate Squeaks though. While he's a crazy bastard in his own right, his information is solid, and he hasn't betrayed us just yet. Also, don't worry too much about what I said; I don't plan on dying for awhile." At the end of his statement, Onyx landed a few more stomach blows. He weaved back and dodged Blade's fist, ignoring his right leg, which had made a move in advance. In an amazing reversal, Blade tripped Onyx, and then planted his foot in the center of his back. "I suggest you work on your standup game, guns won't always be there to save yo' ass. By the way, I like my steaks well done, and my cocktails extra bloody." He grabbed a nearby white towel made of cotton and headed off toward the showers.
As Onyx stood, his wallet and mouth already groaning, Aisha watched him conspicuously. James ignored her though, grabbing his own towel and walking away. She pouted, and then left the warehouse through a skylight. The air outside was cool and inviting. She wore all of her black hair down now, and it lifted off her shoulders with the wind. As she started to run, familiar sounds of the night kissed her ears. Leaping from the building, she commenced blending in with the shadows themselves, becoming nothing more than a ghost in the bustling city. Perhaps she'd enjoy herself tonight...
"Have we confirmed his shoe size?" Jonathan spoke into the microscopic microphone on his collar. He continued walking forward, never missing a beat. He was extremely grateful to be wearing a thermal sweater, and thick black jeans. The weather was ridiculous in the Nexus this time of year, fluctuating in June from high 80's to low 30's almost every day. It was true that he was still on duty, but it never hurt to dress down once in awhile. Besides, as the Commanding General of SPECS, he could wear whatever he wanted on any given day without fear of incurring punishment. Jonathan approached the grand presence of Pro-Kredz, the largest shoe store in the city. Research proved that this was the only store in the entire state that sold combat boots by Double Decker, the maker of the shoes Blade's accomplice wore. Receipt tracking would be cake; he just needed to pull records from the store's database.
"It's a size 11 ½ boot," Dr. Rashidli's voice trailed back to him. He nodded his head accordingly. There was a much greater chance of tracking this mysterious accomplice than there was Blade, because the vampire-human hybrid rarely left any evidence behind, whether through purchases, or anything else. It frustrated him to no end.
Jonathan walked up to the front door and saw the neon 'Closed' sign. According to his high-tech watch, the store had closed fifteen minutes ago, at midnight. With a sigh, Jonathan prepared to walk back to his snazzy Eclipse, when he felt hot breath on his neck. Slowly, he let his hand drop from the metallic bar on the door. He was already calculating the odds, even though they were clearly stacked in his favor.
"A little late to be out shoe shopping, eh human?" The closest vampire jeered to his buddies. Through the reflection in the glass on the door, Jonathan could see three more vampires closing in and two shady characters swiftly heading toward his car. A sudden shove from his left side had him reeling, and Jonathan staggered to recover his balance. In one lithe move, a wiry man no wider than a toothpick shoved him backward, while removing his watch. He'd have to watch that one.
"You bagged some nice gear there eh Chambers?" The vampire who Jonathan appraised as the leader mocked. His face was pale, and his eyes were outlined in black eye shadow. He had on a dingy brown jacket, with pockets as big as small piggy banks. The lot of them were dressed up as street hustlers, and his watch was probably the most expensive thing they had ever seen, with the exception of his car, which the other two vampires were trying to break into.
"Don't test me." Jonathan replied darkly, drawing the small semi-circle of eight eyes to him. Faster than his reflexes, the leader backhanded him, and he fell to the sidewalk. One of the bystanders chaffed with his buddies in delight.
"Someone is going to die tonight." He blustered, picking Jonathan up by his collar and forcing him against the door. "But first I'd like your money and your car keys, bitch." Jonathan reeled away from the foul smelling breath, but hid a secret smirk to himself. There was a loud boom, a flurry of motion, and a choked cry. Jonathan straightened up his shirt while the leader turned into smoldering ashes. While his firearm was concealed again, things were just beginning. Chambers made the first move, rushing him, but the watch he had stolen suddenly began screeching. The noise stopped him cold in his tracks, and made him cover his ears, along with the two henchman nearby.
When the two shady vampires farther away heard the shrill noise, they turned away from the luxurious vehicle and stared at the barrel of a shiny, silenced pistol. Jonathan put two bullets between both of their eyes. Only their skulls exploded, leaving the bullet turning into ash as well. His car was unaffected, parked in pristine condition, without any blood or marks on it.
"Fuck it, I'm out man!" Chambers screamed, fleeing the scene. Lackadaisically, Jonathan pistol whipped another attacker, and shot directly through his neck while he fell. The same bullet arced in the air, and pierced Chambers's ankle, dropping him to the asphalt like a rock. He let one of the vampires escape, while walking toward Chambers. His footsteps echoed in the empty parking lot, and the main street seemed miles away from the scene.
"You have something of mine," he addressed, holding out his palm. Chambers was on the ground shaking violently, a cold sweat engulfing his body. He couldn't speak, and his body continued trembling while he slowly extracted the watch from his wrist and returned it. Free from the state of agony wearing the watch had put him under; Chambers stopped shaking, and started to stand, until a fat muzzle aligned with his vision. Jonathan pulled the trigger without another thought, incinerating Chambers's entire body. Though he didn't smoke, he plucked a cigarette from Chambers's pocket before it torched, and lit it with Chambers's remains. He replaced the modified blunderbuss back in its invisible holster on his person, and blew a thick cloud of smoke into the air.
"I'll have to try back tomorrow," Syfy informed Dr. Rashidli over the mic, who was already compiling statistics based on the fight that had only occurred minutes ago. She also threw in a miniature lecture about lung cancer, which he ignored.
"You let one escape," Dr. Rashidli rambled. "Also, there's another vampire, a female in the immediate area who is watching you this very second, I'll try and hack the cams to see who she is."
"Let her watch," Jonathan spoke up, louder than normal. He stamped out his cigarette, while glancing along the rooftops. His vision was only slightly less than perfect, but he couldn't see anything. Finally, he sighed, and headed back to his vehicle. He closed the door to his car and sped off into the night, his sports tires kicking up a small film of rocks as he left the vacant lot.
"That last gun...a flintlock pistol, firing shotgun shells," Aisha observed, watching the expensive car re-enter the highway and disappear from view. She hadn't bothered to pursue Ricky, a small time thief that she knew by name. Honestly, she wouldn't have minded if the cop had killed Ricky in cold blood. Aisha was curious to what he was doing here though, at a shoe store in the dead of night. While she didn't know his name, she recognized the gunman's face easily from earlier, even though he wasn't in uniform. She never forgot faces. Aisha was most drawn to the coldness that accompanied his calculating persona. If she didn't know any better, she would swear that every move he'd made tonight, including letting Ricky escape, was planned from the moment Vector had approached him from behind. Since she was leaning on the side of Pro-Kredz, she walked into the parking lot herself, taking a long sniff of the air. Adrenaline, she noted. While watching him, Aisha ascertained that even while flawlessly executing his moves, there was something else behind that man. Perhaps it was fear, perhaps it was fascination, or maybe it was a mixture of both that drove his actions. Regardless, she would discover what it was for herself. Glancing at the sky, she realized that it was a short time past midnight and that she had a date to attend, free of charge. With one fleeting glance of the scene, she took off into a sprint, unaware of the store camera, which followed her every move.
"Shit is nice!" Trigger exclaimed, throwing himself backward through the air, and onto an extremely soft king-sized bed. He grabbed a beer out of the mini-fridge nearby, and took a healthy swig. "I could get used to this." He laid back and sighed. "Best digs outside the base that I've stayed in...Shoot I don't even remember my last time being holed up this sweetly."
The rest of the group laughed, even Kokei gave Panther a fist pound. While the other two chatted it up, he and Angela were looking outside of the curtains, and down on Lotus. From the outside, it looked closed down and abandoned, especially in the middle of the day. Civilians walked right past it as if it didn't exist, continuing on with their schedules. However, at nighttime, ancient vampire glyphs would coat the building, marking it distinctly as vampire territory. Panther hoped it would work out. They would start taking shifts as soon as the club opened at ten that night, and rotate sleeping periods until someone confirmed Blade's entry. It was a tricky business, but true to his character, Trigger had managed to smuggle in some of their tech. Even if their eyes weren't vigilant enough to spot Blade, computers hardly lied. The miniature cameras they had set up were of the highest quality, and could even pick up sound from a quarter of a mile away.
Angela walked away from the window, flipping open her cream-colored Toshiba laptop. In seconds, she had started up a playlist on iTunes full of hardcore club music. She danced with Kokei, who was surprisingly good at it for a blind man. Trigger bopped his head while working on draining his third beer. Panther enjoyed the camaraderie, but remained vigilant. He still had a plan to enact and carefully at that. While it was cool that Jeff had remained true to his word and had gotten them the requested suite for at least five days, there was more. Something was bothering him, but he didn't know what. Panther watched an old woman walking a dog across an intersection. This brought his mind to the plan at hand and he sighed. Panther had no clue how Angela and Kokei would take it when he told them that only he and Trigger had fake names on the guest-list. Even worse, when they were entering the club, the duo would have to pretend that their honorable teammates were merely food to them and nothing more. Despite the idea of walking Angela around on a leash producing a pleasing fantasy, he knew that she wouldn't take kindly to being demoralized. Idly, Panther placed his hand on the glass.
"Now, we wait." He spoke with finality.
1* A wooden sword (Can also be used for the plural)
2 **A naginata is a Japanese weapon whose base is a long, spear-like staff. It has thick, sharp blade at the tip
3 ***This is Japanese for 'Good luck!'
4 ****If you say it correctly, you can hear it. This is Japanese for Seven Swords.