My Chemical Vampire – Chapter One
"You're sure about this?" The young woman asked, her phone pressed against her ear. She was 5 foot 5 inches tall, with hazel eyes and short spiky brown hair. She wore a pair of black jeans, a brown faux leather jacket, and a light grey t-shirt. She frowned at herself in the bathroom mirror, fiddling with her hair for a moment before speaking again. "You know my terms and my fees; I don't get out of bed for less."
"This ain't no vamp job, I know you don't take them and it's a waste of breath for me to even suggest it." The voice on the other end was rough and grumpy, typical Marco. "Even if they do pay double." She rolled her eyes as his voice betrayed his greed.
"Even I'm not good enough to escape a pissed off vampire, and my retirement plan doesn't include mind control, torture, and being some asshole's blood bag." She muttered as she walked into her tiny bedroom, pulling a suitcase out from underneath the bed, and carelessly throwing it onto the mattress. "So, what's the job?"
"It's simple enough, my client wants you to sneak into a rival's house, steal a certain file, get out, and bring it back. I'd ask if you can do that, but I know you can. I warned them that you weren't cheap but apparently cost is not an issue. They wanted the best, they get you." Marco sniffed loudly. It wasn't a comment about her abilities, she was the best. He was probably high as a kite, as usual. How the man managed to get anything done was beyond her.
He waited patiently as she decided whether to take the job, it wasn't really something she could turn down. She had a dream of retiring before she was 30 and every job was one step closer. She wasn't cut out for the daily grind, she wasn't blessed with great intelligence, or strength, or creativity. However she had a knack for blending in, vanishing into the crowd without a trace, and a face that was the very essence of innocence. When she was younger she'd taught herself how to pick locks, just because she was bored. She'd moved on to safes when she was a bit older, figuring that she could make money easily enough that way. A couple of years later she'd been introduced to Marco and the rest was history.
However she had one rule, no jobs that targeted vampires, or that were requested by vampires. She appreciated that the vampires had come out of the coffin around a decade ago, and the world was still adjusting to that fact, however crossing a vampire was stupid. Even at the best of times vampires could be volatile and finding out that someone had stolen from you was not the best of times. Thankfully, Marco knew about this particular policy of hers, and all of her targets had been human.
"Fine," She sighed, flipping the lid of the suitcase up, checking that her gear was in it. "Send me the info. I'll set out tomorrow, so long as the first half is in the bank first thing in the morning."
"Excellent, I'll get that sent over tonight." Marco sounded relieved; she didn't know why. She was always up for work. Maybe she'd thought about it for too long and that had him antsy. Oh, he of little faith!
"I'll text you for the rendezvous when I've got the goods." And with that she ended the call. She opened her wardrobe and looked at her clothing, wondering what she'd need. She decided on a couple of elegant looking dresses, a couple of casual outfits and a business suit. Her phone buzzed and she took it out. One was a text message from Marco, with an address and the file's name. The other was a notification from her bank that a sizeable deposit had been made. She smiled, maybe she'd treat herself to takeout to celebrate.
She pulled into a drive through car park and turned off the engine. It had only been a short drive away from her home, a few hours, which she was in two minds about. For one thing it was closer to home than any of her previous jobs, but on the other hand, it was less travel time for her, and less petrol to buy. She wasn't stingy, she was prudent. She popped a couple of fries into her mouth and opened up her laptop to search for the address she'd been given. Interestingly there wasn't any information on who owned the property, however there was an advertisement for a job, for several jobs. Oh this was very interesting, she thought, they were looking for temporary staff for some fancy soiree that the owner was holding. This would be the perfect cover if they still needed staff. She took a sip of her drink and dialled the number.
"Christoph, head of household speaking. How can I help you?" She couldn't place the accent of the man who answered the phone, almost as if he didn't have one. She was a little envious, that would be very useful in her line of work.
"Hello, I saw your advert, are you still looking for temp staff?" She made sure her voice was polite and friendly, while this wasn't the only way into a house, it would definitely be the easiest and she wanted to sound professional.
"You're in luck, we have one more vacancy to fill. Have you ever worked in a large household before?" He sounded friendly enough, possibly in his early 20's. Was that too young to be the head of a household? She'd gotten into a house once before using this route, the head of staff there had been about 70.
"Unfortunately, I haven't." She wasn't about to bring up her previous experience, as she hadn't exactly been there on legitimate business. "Will that be a problem?"
"Not at all, we can cater your duties to suit your skill set." He paused for a moment as someone with a panicked voice started talking to him. As soon as they stopped, he gave a sigh "What's your name? I'm going to have to sort out the details with you later, duty calls."
"Charlie." She didn't know why she said that name, it just rolled off her tongue. "Not a problem, did you want me to call back?"
"Actually I prefer to meet the applicants, have a quick interview, see what you're like, et cetera. Unfortunately, I'm not going to be able to make time for that until later this evening. Would you be able to get to a bar called The Meeting Place at around 7pm? I wouldn't ask but there's a concert there tonight. I've been looking forward to it, and it's my only night off." Frustration bled into his words. She would be more concerned if it hadn't been a public place, however ensuring that he didn't lose his night off would probably mean that he'd be more willing to give her the job, and that was the goal here.
"Sounds good! I'll see you then, Christoph." She ended the call and sat back. That went well, she thought, hopefully this evening would go just as well.
"You know what I love?" Michelle asked, pulling on a thick pair of socks.
"Concert days?" Janet asked, pulling on her trousers, and looking about for her shirt.
"I'm also going with concert days." Quipped Rachael, tugging her wig into place before teasing the hair into the exact places she wanted it to be.
"Could it be days where we, as a band, have a concert?" Izzy asked, putting the finishing touches to her make up. She grinned at Michelle who was pulling a face.
"But isn't it great? We get to dress up, go on stage, play music we love in front of people who also love it, and …"
"Pretend we aren't losers for a couple of hours?" Janet interjected, looking around for her shoes. "I will admit, we're doing really well. Regular concerts, and a dedicated group of fans, despite the terrible band name!" She smirked, knowing that the whole name debate got under Izzy's skin every time. And right on cue, she spoke up.
"It's been six years, and we all agreed on the name! My Chemical Vampire sounds better than My Vampire Romance. I don't get why this is an issue all of a sudden." Izzy paused, both names bouncing around in her head for a few moments. "Ahh, shit. I hate it when you do this Janet."
"When I'm right, I'm right!" Janet replied with a laugh as Izzy flipped the middle finger at her.
"Too late to change it now, though." She adjusted her jacket, jumping slightly as the door to their tiny dressing room opened. One of the bar staff poked a head around the door.
"You guys ready? Show is starting in five." He stated, looking slightly harried.
The girls nodded to each other and walked to the door. Show time!
She entered the bar and looked around, wondering what Christoph looked like, and how she was going to recognise him. She should have thought of this earlier. She'd changed her outfit and was now wearing an Iron Maiden t-shirt, baggy black jeans, and she was sporting a red, bobbed wig. She moved to a table and sat on one of the stools, pulling out her phone and checking for any messages. A young-looking man with short blond hair walked up to the table and looked at her for a moment.
"I don't suppose you would be Charlie, would you?" He said with a voice that she recognised. This was clearly Christoph. She stood up and shook his hand.
"I don't know how you knew but you knew!" She responded with a smile, burying the nervousness that she was feeling. He couldn't know who she was, could he?
"Lucky guess!" He said with a laugh. "You walked in the door at exactly 7pm, I had hoped it was you. We could really use that kind of punctuality from all our staff! I'm Christoph, but you have probably guessed by now." She sat back down, the fear fading slowly.
"Can I get you a drink?" He asked, pulling his wallet out from his leather jacket. "Then we can talk business."
"Rum and coke, and I'm happy to pay for my own drinks." She replied. He grinned and shook his head, walking over to the bar area. She watched him out of the corner of her eye, feigning interest in the bar and the small stage at one end. When he returned with the drinks she thanked him, raising up her glass in a toast and using the movement to slip a fingernail into the drink. Her nail polish didn't change colour, so she sipped the drink. If there had been a drug in it her nail would have changed to pink, although she wasn't sure what she would have done if it had. The right thing to do would have been to leave and steal everything that wasn't bolted down from her target's house. The smart thing to do would be to pretend she had forgotten about the drink and taken the staff job. Thankfully, she didn't have to make that choice, this time.
"You're lucky, we had someone lined up but they backed out at the last minute, some family issue or something." Christoph said, downing half his drink in one gulp. He flashed his incredibly white teeth in a broad grin, clearly intending to enjoy his night off. He wasn't bad looking, tanned, bleach blond hair, and blue eyes. His cheeks dimpled when he smiled, and his eyes glittered like the sea on a sunny day. He sat down opposite her and played with his glass idly, those bright blue eyes never leaving her face. "The job is simple; the boss is having important guests over for a few days. All we need is someone who can look professional, be polite, and do multiple jobs. Cleaning, tidying rooms, bar work, nothing difficult. We loan you a uniform, give you everything you need to do the job and you don't need to worry about anything else. And if we like your work, who knows? You may be offered a permanent job!"
"Sounds perfect!" She said enthusiastically, a smile on her lips as she sipped at the drink again. "So when do I start?" Christoph grinned wickedly.
"See, I like that confidence!" He looked towards the stage as the bar lights dimmed. "Tomorrow, come to the house at 2pm. We'll get you sorted out with your uniform, your duties and your work rota." She tipped her glass and drank the last of her drink as four young men walked onto the stage. Her eyes grew wide as she looked at them.
"It can't be, is it …?" Her eyes flicked over all of the band members, a look of shock on her face. Christoph laughed again.
"Nah, it's a tribute band, My Chemical Vampire!" He pointed to her glass. "Another?"
"My Chemical … really? Surely My Vampire Romance would be better?" She handed her glass to him and nodded. "Same again, I can pay you know." He smirked and headed off to the bar. Her eyes turned to the stage as the first notes rang out through the bar. Maybe she'd stay here for a little longer.
It was almost midnight when she staggered out into the cool night air with Christoph. She had ended up staying for the whole show and had enjoyed it more than she'd expected. Christoph had been generous with the drinks, but she'd only drunk a couple of them, too wary of being drunk around strangers. She waved to Christoph before walking down the street and heading to her car, carefully tucked away in a car park. She could sleep there for the night, tomorrow the real work began.
"You're sure about this?" The voice on the end of the phone held a hint of a German accent. Christoph smirked, watching the woman walk away, he'd been as careful with his drinks as she had with hers, and he was nowhere near drunk.
"Oh yes, my Lord. She fits the description almost perfectly. Although she claims her name is Charlie, not Rosie, and her hair is red instead of blonde, but that means nothing really." He watched her turn a corner, vanishing out of sight. "She's fidgety, flighty, very cautious, and knows what she's doing. Sounds exactly like her. How do you want me to proceed?"
"As we planned. I want to see what she is after." Christoph turned away from the bar and walked towards his parked car. His Master continued, his voice a low purr. "After all this time of searching for her, she is walking right into my grasp. Tell me, did she drink it?"
"She did, my Lord. Every single drop." His smile broadened as his Master chuckled, and he climbed into his car, closing the door carefully behind him. "She's a smart one, got some of that colour changing nail polish. Doesn't pick up everything though."
"Excellent, I have been waiting for this for such a long time. I shall savour this. I am most pleased, Christoph. We shall discuss this further tomorrow." With that he hung up and Christoph tossed the phone onto the passenger seat. Starting up the engine, he pulled away from the pavement and turned on to the road home. The next few days would be fun!