Chapter 4 – JailBait
They sat in the back alley of a ten story building seemingly waiting for nothing as Scud and Blade huddled in the back picking over the plans. Beth was barely paying attention as she stared up at the top floors. Most of the lights were, back dropped the city lights. She could see shadows, figures barely moving along one side as she looking through the binoculars. That was where the man Price was supposed to be located but Beth couldn't be sure what she was seeing. Both men had closed up the moment they got into the van. Scud especially, his jaw locking tighter and tighter every time he glance at her.
Beth couldn't understand what the hostility was about. She just wanted to help. Away to repay the man for everything he was doing for her. When the van stopped behind Blade's car a couple of blocks from where Price lived, he barked at her to get out. Making her flinch from the cold tone in his voice. She gave him a stink eye at first, crossing her arms as she stood there, half listening to them going over a plan that only sounded half thought out to Beth's ears. Their only one true agreement was that Beth wasn't supposed to go upstairs alone. The man was to come get her and that was when Blade would come in and knock him out. That was about the whole of the plan and Beth swallowed the bile that threatened to come out when she realized he only thought it up while staring at her back at the ware house.
"Look," said Scud as he walked up behind her. She moved to face him, but he grabbed onto her shoulder, stopping her movements for a moment before showing her a modified automatic over her shoulder. "This has ten rounds. Anything goes wrong and you shove it in the man's face. No questions. Alright?"
Beth nodded her head, still frozen as Scud lifted up the back of her shirt to shove the weapon into the back of her skirt. When it was settled between her waistband and her skin Beth stepped away from him only to be yanked back. Scud slid his hands up the back of her shirt and pulled something out the top before flipping her around and holding a small speaker out for her inspection. "This will allow us to stay in touch with each other. We can hear everything you say and vise versa."
Beth continued nodding, swallowing that lump that was coming up again as she looked to the ground. He handed her, her jacket and Beth quickly put it on. Finding some comfort in the scratch of the denim material against her skin, though it did nothing to ease the worms that were upsetting her stomach.
When she looked up, Scud stood there studying her for a moment before placing a cigarette Beth hadn't realized he was smoking back into his mouth and mumbled, "here." Before she could protest he was pulling her hair down and running his fingers through it to ruffle it out. Beth closed her eyes, taking a deep breath as his finger slide across her scalp and down to her shoulders where they rested for a moment. Beth opened her eyes to see that his eyes were darker now, his own throat bobbing as he looked her up and down.
"There, that will hide the headphone a little better but," he said, pausing with his hand held out like he was waiting for permission. Beth gave him a curious glance before looking down where his hand was going. He undid the top two buttons on her shirt and pulled the fabric apart to show some skin. Beth frowned at the bit of cleavage shown as she looked up to see Scud inhaling deep on his cigarette while inspecting the rest of her.
"I don't..." Beth began, shaking her head as she pulled the jacket around her more.
Scud pulled the jacket back, shaking his head. "You'll be fine. Just remember not to head anywhere with Price alone and if you need help say 'may stay' over the head phones. We won't be far from you."
Again, Beth found herself just able to nod as she listened to his instructions. It wasn't the first time he repeated them, but she sure hoped it was the last. If she heard the words again she was bound to run the other way and tell Blade that he needed to find another way to Price.
"Why is this man so important?" Beth asked, looking at Scud through her eyelashes. Last she checked Blade didn't want her help. Last time she went on a run with them was because of her own insistence and even at the end of that one Blade made it perfectly clear she wasn't part of his team.
Scud looked at her, his blue eyes piercing her own. For a heart beat she could swear he was trying to tell her something, but he didn't say a word. Instead, he shrugged his shoulders like he didn't know and took a puff on his cigarette. Out of nerves, or just a way to break the silence between the two, Beth grabbed the smoke from his lips and took a deep drag. It hit her instantly and she felt those pesky snakes calming in her stomach when she handed the smoke back to Scud.
For a brief second the two smiled at each other. Scud reached around, pulling a bit of her hair in a playful tug that caused her to smile. The amusement in his eyes vanishing when someone cleared their throat and Beth was forced to face Blade who stood with his arms crossed at the head of the van, scowling as the two approached.
"You ready?" he asked, almost hissing the words as he looked from Scud to her. Beth felt the worms forming into snakes again, but she nodded her head and managed to mumble out a quick "yeah."
Giving her a short nod he stood in front of her. "Just a distraction. Nothing else."
With that he moved to the side and Beth made her way across the street and toward the glass doors. The place was well lite, modern black and white adornments spread out through the lobby. It looked like any other high end apartment building that one would one walk into and judging by the security guard with his feet propped up on the desk and candy bar in his hand, nothing much happened in this place at night. There was no reason for him to be alarmed by the small girl walking through the doors and stepping up to the desk. He said so in the way he barely glanced up at her before turning his attention to the little portable TV sitting on top of the desk with some late night show on air.
"Hey," she said, giving him her best smile. "The agency sent me to visit Mr. Price." The man gave her a full thirty seconds of eye contact before removing his feet from the desk and using the chair to roll himself to a binder. Opening it up, he quickly scrolled through a list of names before taping on one in particular. Beth leaned over to get a closer look, finding that the binder was a list of guest names, and unfortunately, Mr. Price didn't have any guests listed for the night.
"Sorry," the man said, rolling back over to his small TV and midnight snack. "Mr. Price didn't mention any visitors."
The man already dismissed her without explanation and Beth glanced out the window where she could make out the headlights on Scud's van. "Keep calm," Blade said into her ear and Beth taped at the desk a couple times before moving over to the man.
"He wasn't really expecting me," she said, leaning on the desk. She knew the position was a bit compromising, but the security guard didn't seem to mind. "I'm sort-of a gift from an anonymous friend." Her eyebrows rose up as the sweetest smile she could muster spread across her face, and the man looked at her hard. With a heavy sigh, he stood up from his desk chair and picked up the phone. Dialing a couple of numbers, Beth bounced up and down in triumph for a moment as he spoke over the line.
"Don't get to excited, you don't have him yet," Blade said, halting all movement from the girl. Beth sent a quick glare out the window not caring rather they could see it or not at that moment. A chuckle was her answering response and she narrowed her gaze at them.
Beth could hear the man on the other end sounding irritated that he was being disturbed for anything, but when the security guard mentioned that there was a young lady saying she came bearing gifts for him the voice quieted. The man gave her a grim grin as he looked her up and down and nodded, "Yeah, she's pretty. Better than pretty." He amended and Beth stood up a little straighter smiling at him. He nodded at her as he hung up the phone
"Say's he'll be down in a moment," he said, motioning toward the elevator where the man was supposed to be coming from. Beth smiled at him. A simple, "thank you." slipping from her lips as she glanced back out the door. She moved to the other side of the lobby and sat down in one of the leather chairs. The snakes in her stomach churning worse as she thought about the next part of the plan.
"Relax," Scud's scratchy, yet soothing voice came over the line, and she found herself taking in a deep breath the moment she heard it. "You're doing great. That part about being a gift, brilliant." He added in. Beth could almost see the grin on his face and she wished he was standing next to her instead of outside in the parking lot.
Beth took a moment to close her eyes, reminding herself of the plan for the hundredth time. It was simple, distract him and the guard enough to allow Blade and Scud to slip in unnoticed, they'll take out both the men and slip right back out. No bullets flying through the air, or crazy karate moves that were more than likely to throw your back out then actually help.
Sucking in another deep breath of air, the elevator dinged and the reflective doors opened up to show a man in his mid to late fifties in a tailored gray suite and slicked back hair. Beth glanced over at the clock hanging over head, noting it was well past midnight and wondered what this guy was doing in his sharp dressed suite at home.
"Well," he said, his heavy Italian accent making itself known as he took one step out of the elevator. "My friend here certainly wasn't lying."
Beth smiled, something that was forced as she gulped down the bile that formed in her throat. She tried to keep her eyes light but she couldn't stop her hands from giving off a slight shake as she stood to greet the man. There was something about him that screamed danger and she wished she could fly out the door and into Scud's awaiting silence must have tipped her friends off that something wasn't right because Scud whispered, "Breath" into her ear. Nodding, her grin spread a little wider and she took a step forward.
"We hoped you wouldn't be disappointed," she said, meeting the man half way. The smile that spread across his face was more feral than human and this time Beth did visibly swallow as her footsteps halted for a second.
He moved to the side and waved his arm to indicate the still opened elevator. The invitation obvious as he waited for her to approach him. Beth eyed the elevator and wondered just how long it would take Blade and Scud to enter the building. Would the doors barely close before she was rescued or would she be up in his pent house apartment before they could even reach her. She didn't want to think about that thought, so she attempted to stall by standing in front of him and swaying slightly.
"Please, come join me," he said, again that accent coming out easily, flowing over Beth like it was meant to sooth her. The effect was the exact opposite, and he must have noticed the goosebumps rising on her flesh because before Beth could stop him, his hands were sliding up her arms and his lips were next to her ears. "Relax, corona, it'll be relatively painless."
His hand slide across her shoulder and he gently pushed her toward the elevator. Another man's voice surfaced, reminding her that she was weak and she should repay those willing to protect her. Swallowing the vile that threatened to take over her system, she reminded herself that was a different situation. A different place. Hell a different time. Her hand slide up the side of her skirt until she felt the lump that was resting comfortably in the front pocket and she was reminded of the cold metal resting at her backside.
Taking a step into the elevator, Beth barely had a chance to take in a deep breath before the Security Guard shouted something and the sound of a gunshot rang throughout the lobby. Beth turned in time to see someone clad all in leather flying toward them before the doors started closing. When they were inches from shutting for good a gun wedged itself inside and Beth could barely make out Blades crooked smile before it was fired. Beth had a split second to realize that the aim was off just a few inches and she quickly grabbed the lapels on the man's jacket and jerked him forward. Either he wasn't much of a fighter and he didn't know what to do, or he was just truly shocked that he was being attacked in his own home. Either way, he didn't resist her force and the needle that held the serum to knock him out hit square in the chest.
He glanced at her for a moment, his brows furrowing together as he tried to figure out what just happened before he leaned fully on to Beth.
Taking most of his weight, she guided him down to the floor before leaning over to push the doors open button. To her shock she found a grinning Blade staring down at her and then to the man on the floor while Scud stood behind him shaking his head.
"Thought we told you not to go anywhere alone with the man?" he asked, dodging past Blade to grab a hold of Beth's arm and pull her out of the elevator.
"I didn't," she protested, waving from him to Blade as if it should be obvious what was going on. Scud cocked his head to the side, giving her a hard stare and Beth shrugged. "I knew you would get the message and you did."
Beth's smile really did spread across her face this time as she directed it toward Scud who only looked even angrier about her statement. "You place way too much trust in me," he muttered as he dragged her out of the apartment building. Blade followed behind with their target being dragged along and before Beth could say another word she was shoved into the passenger side of the van before he dashed back inside to help Blade carry the man out. Together they heaved him into the back of the trunk and threw him in rather abruptly before closing the trunk and climbed into their respective vehicles.
Beth glanced at Scud for an explanation but was left with the cold shoulder as the car started and they peeled out of the parking lot. The night seemed unbelievably quiet, and Beth questioned how they managed to get in and out without any kind-of-a scuffle. 'To easy,' she thought, glancing over to Scud wondering if he thought much the same thing. Deciding to keep quiet, she propped her elbow onto the window and her head on her hand watching the city lights flash by her. No matter how many times she drove through New York she found it beautiful, and Beth knew that she would never get bored looking at the city lights. Especially if the dead still came back. The thought came unbidden, and Beth tried to rid herself of the images of an empty city swarmed with the dead.
'NO,' she thought, 'I'll enjoy this now and worry about that later.' It was the only thing she had to hold on to. Staying in the here and now was the only way she could keep sane. If she was even still sane. Her current predicament made her question everything.
Sighing, she closed her eyes to the city and just enjoyed the ride. Scud remained uncharacteristically quiet next to her, but Beth ignored that unsettling feeling in the pit of her stomach. The one that told her something just wasn't quite right. When they reached the warehouse, Beth climbed out of the vehicle to stand awkwardly to the side while Scud and Blade moved the man into a room off to the side. Beth noted the keypad entry way, and the steel doors and she shuddered to think about what lay behind them. Still, she looked on as the three men disappeared and took in a deep breath when only Scud reappeared a moment with his hand tucked into his jeans.
"Come on," he muttered as he passed by her. "I'll walk ya home."
Beth stood frozen in her spot for a moment, her mouth gaping open as she watched the metal door close without any sign of Blade "What about B?" she asked, still not following Scud out the door. There was silence for a moment while Scud picked up his smokes and what not to stuff them into his pockets. When he looked up, he waved his hand at the door and said, "he'll be fine."
Beth gave him a curious glance before looking over at the door again.
"Come on. He'll be in there for a while. You might as well head home." Scud came back and placed a hand on her lower back to get her moving. With one stumbling step, Beth followed him out the door. That horrible knot forming in the pit of her stomach again as they paused long enough for Scud to enter the security code and open the door.
When the fresh air hit her, she took a deep breath and fell into step with Scud. His hand a comforting weight on her backside as they moved from the alley way to the now half-empty streets in their part of the neighborhood. Beth tucked her hands into her jacket pockets and barely looked at her surroundings as they wound around another corner, coming that much closer to her apartment.
Halfway there, she noticed Scud glancing at her from the corner of his eyes and Beth stopped, waiting for him to say whatever was on his mind. He must have noticed the expectant look in his eyes because he turned to face her, scratching at his jaw in that nervous tick that Beth was starting to recognize. "Look," he finally said, meeting her gaze. "I just wanted to say thank you. That could have been a hell of a lot harder than it was and I know it was because of your help."
Beth shrugged as she looked down, her new pair of boots making scuffing noises on the sidewalk. "No problem. It's the least I could do after everything you and Blade have done for me."
"Yeah well," Scud continued, pulling a smoke from his pocket and holding it unlit between his fingers "Just because we helped doesn't mean you owe us your life. Just keep that in mind, alright."
Beth nodded, her eyes meeting his for a split second before something caught her attention from behind him. She had a split second to recognize a man running at them with a bat in his hands before something pierced her neck and a warm liquid burned into her veins. Beth brought her hand up in time to feel someone removing the needle before her vision grew cloudy. Shaking her head, she tried to ignore the light feeling that was coming over her before she fell forward. Strong arms lifted her up from behind just as she heard a loud thud coming from in front of her.
"Scud," she managed to croak out before everything went completely black.
The burning came first, spreading from her neck and then her arms and legs. Then the pain. Her arms felt numb, like they'd been stationary for far too long, but when she tried to move them something kept them remaining up above her head. A slight groan made it's way out of her mouth as Beth attempted to get her bearings. Her eyelids were heavy and it took a moment before she could open them. Even when she did, she had to blink a few times to adjust to the lighting before she noticed she was in a relatively white room, filled with strange people standing around her. Waiting for something.
"Looks like princess is waking up," one of them said. The deep voice drew Beth's attention, and she looked over to see a rather tall man with a bald head and glasses grinning down at her. "Maybe we should hurry the process up." He suggested, holding up something that Beth's blurry vision couldn't quite name at the moment.
"Hey, now. You said she wouldn't be harmed," someone else argued. Beth recognized that voice, and her gaze flew open to find him. Scud stood across the room with another large man standing behind him and a woman standing in front of them. Their eyes remained locked on him like they were guarding him. "She's not even supposed to be here. She has nothing to do with this."
Beth's clouded mind tried to catch up with what he was saying. From the sounds of it he sounded like he was working with this lot, but Beth couldn't understand why. Beth looked over her shoulder to the man leering at her. His teeth in full view as she tried to understand. Weren't these these same people they were just fighting. The same people both Blade and Scud attempted to keep her away from. Beth closed her eyes, trying to focus her thoughts as the man behind her stepped closer.
"You took one of our own, it's only fair that we take one of yours as well," the bald man with glasses said, wrapping an arm around Beth's shoulders. Now she could make out the glint of steel in his hands and Beth stiffened as the blade moved closer to her.
"We agreed that was the only way we were getting Blade out of New York, now come on..." Scud's words were cut off with a rather loud grunt followed by someone growling out, "you forget your place."
"The agreement stands, doesn't mean there wasn't a price," the bald man said, moving the blade down to her shoulder. Beth felt the edge pierce her skin and she bit her lip to keep from crying out. "Blood for blood, right?" The man said, smiling as he swiped his thumb through the wound and sucked the blood off. His grin widened when the taste hit him, and he turned to his colleagues. "Virgin-blood at that."
The others laughed and Beth couldn't stop the tear that trickled down her cheek as she realized she just might die in this place. Blinking a few times, she noticed Scud finally standing back up, wincing slightly as he straightened up to glare at the man in front of her. He remained silent though, so that the only voice that rang out in the room was a female voice from somewhere behind as she said, "Reinhardt."
The man's grin turned into a frown as he faced the woman and Beth was half tempted to turn and see who made this man obey. "This is a negotiation, not a dinner invite."
The man called Reinhardt backed off and the others shifted uncomfortably in their places as the woman came closer. Scud scoffed at her words as he rubbed at something on the back of his head. "More like black mail," he muttered just loud enough for them to hear.
"Our apologizes, we didn't want your cover to be blown." she explained, finally coming into Beth's view. She was a tall woman, dark haired and pale skin. Beth's eyes lingered on her for a moment longer before the woman flicked her gaze toward her. When she did, Beth looked away and attempted to move her stiff muscles. She could feel the tingling sensation growing to painful levels and she pulled herself up on tip toe to bend her arms to stop the pain.
"Are you hurting dear," the woman asked, coming up to run a hand across Beth's cheek. Beth stifled any sound she wanted to make, preferring instead to meet to the woman's gaze head on in silence. She remembered how the people in Grady fed off her weakness. How her fear drove them and she refused to show them to these people as well.
"All you have to do is say so," she continued, cocking her head to the side as her fingers slide down to the blood steadily dripping out of the cut on her shoulder. She traced around the edges of it, not really touching the blood though Beth could see her eyes growing darker the longer she stared at it.
"Leave her be, Solange." Scud hollered, grabbing the woman's attention. Her eyes narrowed as she stared him down, darkening even more before her gaze flicked back to Beth and then toward Scud again.
"Whatever happens to her, will be your doing Scud," she said, moving away from Beth. She took in a deep breath, relieved for now that she was no longer the center of attention. Confusion still crowded her mind though as she tried to understand how Scud was involved with these beings.
"The hell it is..." Scud barked out only to be met with more pounding fists as the man punched him in the side. Scud knelt to one knee, grunting from the blow before he threw his head back. Glaring at the woman he called Solange. "Damn it, can't you make them stop."
"We want it to look like you and your girl were ambushed," she said, holding her hands up in an innocent manner. "Can't have you coming out of an ambush unharmed. Especially, when it was you that saved the day. Right?"
Her words sent a chill down Beth's spine and she looked to Scud to see a grim line etching itself across his face. He met her gaze for only a second before he turned his focus back on Solange. She was pacing the room now, her focus solely on Scud. "What do you want?" he asked, a sound of defeat in his tone. Beth took a deep breath, preparing herself for the worse. Again she pulled herself up on her tiptoes, attempting to bend her arms to bring some blood flow back into the veins. It didn't stop the stinging pain caused from lack of blood, nor did it relieve the pain in her shoulder from where the wound was still steadily bleeding, but it gave her something to do while the vampires weren't focused on her.
"Just a little reassurance," Solange said as she marched up to Scud. He was still kneeling on the floor while she circled him. Her fingers slipped across his cheek to his neck and then the back of his head. Scud pulled away from her touch, glaring at her as she smiled down on him. "Word has it that you are getting too comfortable killing us. Becoming Blade's perfect little minion even."
Scud made a noise, somewhere between a laugh and scoff as he rubbed at his lips. "I ain't nobodies fucking minion." His eyes locked with Solange's and Beth could see the fury building up inside of him. It was a barely restrained demon that was looking for an easy way out. Beth held still, scared to make a sound of protest against the restraints cutting into her wrists, or even breath for that matter.
Solange's lips pierced together as she folded her hands in front of her. "That's exactly our problem."
"So what?" You're going to keep her hostage until Blade is done?" he asked, narrowing his gaze at the woman. His hand flung out to indicate Beth. "Please, I don't give a shit about her. If I wanted to switch sides I would and to hell with her."
Silence filled the room, Beth had a moment to register his words before Reinhardt stormed towards her saying "well if that's the case." Beth whimpered. Actually she wanted to scream, but she suppressed the sound at the last second and what came out was a little whimper as she pushed herself as far from the man as she could.
Reinhardt twisted his fingers through her hair, yanking it back to better expose her neck as his fangs came out. Beth stopped her breathing, her eyes going wide as her mind tried to prepare itself for the pain that was about to come.
What could have been classified as a growl came from Scud and Reinhardt froze. Beth could feel his breath blowing down her neck, his teeth scrapping across her skin but he remained still as Solange said, "your reaction says otherwise."
Beth closed her eyes, her breathing coming in rapid gasps now as Reinhardt backed off. Turning, he gave them both a full view of Scud now standing with his hands shoved into his pockets. He wouldn't meet her gaze. Instead he looked at the farthest wall. Locked on some point in the distance that no one in the room could see.
"We won't hold her here," Solange said, moving back across the room toward Beth. "But we will expect her to deliver your updates here."
Scud's gaze darted up to Beth briefly before turning to Solange in shock. "Oh yes," the woman said, smirking at him. "Think of her as your new partner and I mean why not?" She threw her arms up, palms skyward as she looked to Scud, waiting for him to argue. "All the care you've taken to ensure she's comfortable, Blade is going to expect that you check in on her. Why not pass a message or two on to her for us. That way, you won't have direct contact and Blade won't have reason to suspect you. At all."
"You can't force a person into this," Scud said, his hand going up to scratch at his jaw. Even though he said the words it was clear that he didn't buy them. The vampires had the upper hand. They could do whatever they wanted, all they could do was rattle the cages in anger.
The woman smiled, knowing he knew the truth as she continued with her instructions. "Updates are to be given once a month, at least. If there is no word then we will suspect fowl play and you know who will pay for that."
Her eyes landed on Beth with that unsettling smirk still spreading across her face. Beth gulped, visibly shaking as she hung there unable to defend herself from these monsters. Scud was helpless, he'd be beaten to a pulp for even attempting to do anything. and it dawned on her long ago that either Blade didn't know where they were or didn't care. For all Beth knew, he was still hold up in that room with the guy they kidnapped earlier.
Nope, they were at the mercy of the vampires and something told her that these vamps didn't show mercy very often.
"This is bullshit," Scud hollered. He had taken a step forward, ready to attack when the two big guys surrounding him stepped closer. He looked at them and then stepped back.
"Take care of them Reinhardt," Solange hollered over her shoulder and Beth cringed from the smile that spread across the man's face. The two guys surrounding Scud laid into him. Punching and kicking until Scud could be seen in a fetal position on the floor, doing his best to deflect the blows. Beth turned her attention on the other advancing vampire as he wrapped a hand around her neck and cocked her head to the side. Fear gripped her and she tried to swallow something as Reinhardt said, "This will only hurt for a moment."
His teeth ripped into her skin. Forcing a scream from her lungs as her body stiffened from the assault. There was a burning pain shooting straight down her neck into her shoulders and for a moment Beth could hear Scud cursing up a storm at the them before the blackness over took her again.
So now we've met the vampires and how Beth get's involved with them. Hope you enjoyed this chapter. It's been one of my favorites.
