Ice Ice Baby Ch 2
The plan worked perfectly; of course when you were dealing with an idiot well thought plans did tend to work out well. Tam met Icy back at the bar after dusk, and rode with her and two ghouls back to the library. She was escorted inside and then Icy left to go tend the bar. The two ghouls were left as her escorts and ten minutes after Icy left, they lay dead on one of the plush velour chairs. Tam quickly and carefully went through as many books as she could in two hours. Icy was predictable enough to make a "surprise" visit after three of four hours and Tam planned to be long gone. She crammed the ancient tome Icy wanted translated as well as a few others into an old leather backpack then doused the entire room in acetone. It was a wonderful accelerant and since it was water soluble, the fire fighters hoses tended to wash most of the evidence away, only a chemical dirt analysis for quantity content could tell that it had been arson and somehow Tam doubted an investigation would be happening. She carefully set the small charge explosive and walked quickly upstairs to her rented room in the Hyatt. She had time enough to take a shower, change and leave before the fireworks would start.
Tam was in a cab riding for the train station, wearing her new face when she heard over the CB radio the call for fire fighters to the Hyatt Regency. Her youthful face smiled as she made her escape. Once on board the train and heading north, she tossed and turned until she found a mostly comfortable position in the very dark sleeping car and settled in for a good nap.
Tam arrived in New York a mere half hour before dawn and before she retired to slumber she tried to make contact with the Arch Bishop to let him know she was in town and ask for an audience. She left herself only ten minutes to make it back to her place before the first rays of the damning sun came out. She locked herself in her room and as she felt the first vestiges of sleep pull on her mind, she took a quick drink from her bonded servant and went to her room to pass out for a few hours.
Ten hours later when she awoke, fortunately for her she always woke up completely awake with no cobwebs to clear, she quickly fed her servant and issued the command that no one was to bother her, save the Arch Bishop, and got to work trying to translate the ancient tome. She surfaced three hours later, needing to clear her head from the translations. She sent out for dinner and then turned on her television to see what havoc she had wreaked. Her servant returned minutes later with a drugged teen in tow. Tam sighed, normally she liked a good buzz, but she needed all of her wits about her to finish translating the book. She brusquely ordered a clean meal and turned her attention back toward the television until her meal arrived.
Days later she needed to take a real break before frustration caused her to rip the book into little pieces. For each section she translated, it either directly countered or made nonsense of the passages before. There was some sort of riddle key that she needed to figure out and it was eluding her. She wandered for an hour or so, taking in the sights, smells and sounds, hoping some latent memory might spring up and help her out of her quandary. Nothing was helping so she opted to have a good stiff drink. She entered a dark seedy little place and as she waited for her drink she wondered when she would hear from the Arch Bishop, it had already been two days and she was tired of waiting for a reply. She hated taking directions from anyone, and as she went deeper into a funk she looked up from her drink into a group of six toadies around her table; they were no one she recognized so she prepared for trouble.
"De boss be wanting' to speak wif you girlie." One gargled; his throat apparently had been cut and was slow to heal.
"Tell your boss to piss off, I'm here on vacation." Tam said in a very blasé manner.
"No choice." the man croaked.
With that as her only warning, Tam did not have time to duck out from the four pairs of hands that captured her and drug her out of the bar. Four dead toadies later, the remaining two had made it towards the dark tinted car waiting for them at the curb pulling her unceremoniously along. Seeing the struggle between their target and the two remaining goons, six more hopped out of the car and tried to help out. Tam was briefly reminded of the hoards of clowns coming out the circus cars and if it wasn't her ass they were trying to toss into the car she probably would have laughed. They surrounded her, and a smile graced her lips, one that was so coldly evil that others that were watching, of course in true New York fashion watching but doing nothing, took an involuntary step back and started to walk away. The fight was over too quickly for Tam's liking. She had just warmed up by taking our six more of the goons, and turned to take out the last two when the purring of an engine alerted her. As she turned she met the grill of the Park Avenue and seconds later felt the brick wall crush her into unconsciousness. She drifted back into consciousness as her bones popped and snapped as they healed from the damaged of being hit into a wall by a car, undead or not healing still hurt and with the type of injury she took she was vibrating from the pain that shook her. She was almost feeling back up to snuff when she was yanked out after the car stopped, drug into a tall building, up an elevator for twelve floors and then made to sit on some bench. When at last her neck had knit itself back together enough that she could lift her head up, she was pushed into a room and the door slammed shut after her.
"Well shit!" she though as she turned to look at it, not certain she wanted to face what might be ahead of her. "That certainly had a final ring to it."
"I wondered when you would grace my city again Tam." a rich and very familiar voice said.
"Malice?" she said turning around quickly, they moved to take a seat in a chair in front of his desk. "Congrats on the promotion, but since when do your contacts abduct those seeking your audience? Is the Regent dead then?"
Malice leaned forward with a cruel grin and offered her a goblet to drink from.
"Well the Regent still lives, so I suppose technically that it is her city. However I do over see most of the operations." He said leaning back with ease. "As for abducting you- you asked to see me, so how can it be abducting when I am granting your request? Drink up; it's a good vintage. A healthy newborn plucked not two hours ago."
Tam raised her glass in salute to him and took a sip. It was still warm and slightly salty, tasting pure as only baby's blood could. She sat back calmly waiting for his request to make its way to the surface. She had to wait for him to finish his drink and refill his goblet before she got her wish. Malice sat back and gave her a bored look, one she knew better to relax around. It meant his brain was churning.
"So you torched the Prince of DC's library?" he said, rather than asked, in a lazy drawl.
"So Elizabeth Sharpe is your turn coat?" she said with equal lack of emotion in her voice, but so glad her brain kicked in to put the elusive pieces together.
"Now other than making Icy Falcon, or whatever the hell she calls herself now, look more like a stupid moose than she already does; I imagine you had a good reason to put yourself on the radar?" Malice said not bothering to answer her accusation.
"Funny you should be on the same track as me. I came here to make a deal with the Arch Bishop, and seeing how that is now you, I'll bend your ear a minute." Tam said smiling back and then mad ea lame excuse to buy herself a few minutes to get prepared. "I just need a quick snack, fighting your goons has left me a bit peaked."
Malice leaned forward and looked the slightest bit interested. Tam was known for being mysterious, but she was always prepared, so her needing to get prepared was something to take note of, she must have huge news. He nodded as he filled her glass.
"One for the road - meet me here at eleven tomorrow night with your information. "He said dismissively.
Tam downed the drink as a shot and left his office, her brain already figuring out how to tie up the loose ends that could unravel her whole plan. Someone might have to die, which was fine with her but she needed to get things together because she had the feeling that once she presented Malice with her proposition things would move quickly and she didn't plan to be unprepared again.
The next evening she met with Malice, he offered her a cold smile as she walked into his office and sat down. She took her time, knowing that she very much had the upper hand in this case and since she had never been in that position with him before she wanted to savor it. She set her reinforced case on the desk and sat back with a smile it was going to be fun to watch his face.
"So does Icy delivered for the killing make me a Bishop?" she said calmly.
Malice flicked a finger and servants came from somewhere to pour her a drink, at first sip she could tell she had his interest because unless her taste buds were misleading her, she was drinking twenty year old Caucasian male virgin, an almost unheard of vintage in New York.
"She trusts you enough to walk into a trap, hmmmm?" he mused, but said nothing else.
"I figure her life has been spared only because some of the others thought it to be a cruel joke to whomever she latched onto. However I refuse to be lumped into that group, so I figure that I can deliver her to you, and in return you can make me a Bishop. I'm tired of her and since she can't keep track of who are her friends and who are not..." Tam said, sat back and finished her drink while she waited for her answer.
"When it is confirmed to me that, that disgraceful eyesore is dead you may have your promotion." Malice said, refilling her glass. "This opens the Bishop's condominium on 94th street. I it will be active when you return. Give me the details before you leave."
"Of course, do you want to be in on the kill?" she said nodding to him.
Malice looked at her and then favored her with a nod and a feral smile. Nothing else was said, he merely turned around and began working at his computer, and sure that she would get the hint and leave. Tam wanted very badly to taunt him about having found the book, vampires after all were pretty vain characters, but that would mean her eminent death and since she hadn't come all this way to fall short of the mark she got up quietly and left. She went from his office straight to a bus station and climbed on the bus slated to leave for DC only minutes after she arrived. She made sure to never be predictable, when she was traveling and changed modes often even if it meant temporary discomfort. She received her plans mentally on the trip down and quickly moved into action when she arrived. After making sure that she would arrive before the sun rose, she tranced herself and tried to relax as she went over the details time and again. At the stop in New Jersey she got off and rented a car, nothing flashy, and drove quickly to DC, eating the one cop who dared to stop her and got ready.
First step was to adopt a new persona; she grabbed a thin young boy and after bonding him, took his face and clothes. She stashed him in a seedy motel a few miles outside the city because she was definitely going to need him again. She now had the perfect disguise; Icy would never have the sense to look for her to be a boy, if nothing else the cow always made sure that she reeked of femininity and wouldn't ever use a male guise, thus she would never look for it. She quickly made her way to the bar and sat out front, begging, to get attention. There weren't many stray child ghouls; they usually got absorbed before they had time to amount to anything, but it was the right part to play to put her in position for Icy's demise. She sat around the corner for only two hours before Icy came out and the act of her life was to begin.
"Don't you know better than to clutter up my doorstep?" Icy said, lumbering over to the child.
"I'm just hungry! That bitch double crossed me and didn't give me nothing to eat!" Tam whined. "She had me stand ready at the big fancy hotel with a cab but never paid me."
"Who? A blond girl?" Icy said, taking up the bait as if it were unattended chocolates.
"Yea, Bitch wanted to leave as fast as she could. Said she would be back tomorrow to give me some book to hide for her but never fed me so I don't believe nothing now."
"Where is she coming back to?" Icy demanded.
"Feed me and I'll tell ya." Tam said, haggling for authenticity's sake.
Icy nodded and ushered her inside. She brought the "Boy" to a small corner booth that was much concealed in the shadows. Tam took a sip from the glass placed before her and tried her best not to grimace. It was too warm, as if heated by microwave and was such a common vintage that she couldn't even tell what it was. However as a starving child she chugged it down and then looked up expectantly for more.
"Now, now young one, let's hear what the bad lady said to you first." Icy said in what was supposed to be a sweet tone. "After that I can take care of you, not all of us are bad. Maybe you can even have a place to sleep for the morning."
Tam tried not to drown in the syrupy comfort that was poured on her, and moved away from the press of "womanly flesh" as Icy tried to comfort her. She stifled her grimace and looked properly humble. She knew for certain that she was going to be doing the world a favor. The living would just see another dead vampire, but the other vampires would call her a hero for ridding that blight from the world. After all, the woman microwaved blood!
"See I was minding me own business and this girl came up and said that she would get me a nip if I could do two things for her. One was to get her a cab and be ready at that big fancy hotel there and then the other was that she was supposed to be back tomorrow and I was supposed to stash some book for her so she could make some big bargain or something." Tam said, trying to lick the last dregs out of the glass.
Icy smiled, her pasty over made up face threatening to crack as she lifted her hand and had more blood brought. Tam inwardly groaned but put on her best excited face at the prospect of more food.
"So after I feed you up real nice, you can take me to where she is supposed to be." Icy said, pressing in even closer. "I don't like when stupid people mistreat children. She should have to pay for what she did to you."
"Sure." Tam said enthusiastically, even though she was suffocating on the stench of cheap perfume.
Tam finished another drink of crap; she wondered if she was drinking from Icy's private stock. Another big joke that was whispered in hushed tones around the bar was that Icy drank only from anorexics in the hopes of losing some weight. It would make sense with how thin and lackluster the blood was. As quickly as she could, she scooted out of the bar unnoticed as Icy shrieked and bounced and jiggled her way over to the next unsuspecting patrons under the next pretense of being popular. Tam shook her head in disgust and began the final phase of her plans. She went back to her room and mercilessly beat the boy she had stashed there; she needed to have a battered face and had no problem in taking out the frustration at having to spent so much time with the cow, on the hapless child. After she adopted his new faced, she drained him into a dry husk and removed any evidence of either of them ever being in the room. She went to a local youth hostel and tucked in to sleep as the rays of the sun began to crest over the horizon. The night was going to be a long one.