The sun sank low on the horizon. A smattering of clouds moved to
the swift currents in the sky that had changed from pearl blue to musky white.
The waters of the gulf were choppy and gray.
?
¡°A good day boss.¡± The voice rang out with a Jamaican accent.
Luke Reardon turned from his perch on the bench that sat at the
end of the dock.? ¡°Hey Tiger,¡± he said.
?
Tiger¡¯s legal name was Jayla Lee. She was nineteen with a
Colonial and Indian blood line. She was tall with skin like mahogany and as
beautiful as any runway model Luke had ever seen. She wore cutoffs and a tee
shirt that read, ¡®Get Off beach¡¯. Jayla sat down next to him and also gazed out
to the sea.
?
¡°They were happy, yes?¡±
¡°Yes, our excursion was very successful. They told me they were
excited about the fish they caught. In fact, they said they¡¯d call about
booking another day sometime in the future.¡±
¡°That is good Skip,¡± Jayla called him skipper or skip. Something
she¡¯d been doing since she was just a little girl.
¡°I took a couple calls,¡± she said. ¡°Possible bookings for both
of them.¡±
Luke nodded. ¡°Fill up the calendar. I got nothing else to do.¡±
¡°You got nobody, wise you have naught else to do Skip.¡±
He gave her a playful elbow. ¡°Ah shut up, would you? All the
time bother me with this obsession.¡±
She smiled and shrugged, ¡°Can¡¯t say what I want with you?¡±
¡°Of course, you may. Now isn¡¯t it time for you to be getting
home?¡±
¡°Momma ask when you come for dinner?¡±
¡°Anytime,¡± Luke said.
¡°°Õ´Ç³¾´Ç°ù°ù´Ç·É?¡±
¡°Yeah, okay.¡±
¡°See you Skip,¡± Jayla said. She rose and walked back up the
shore line.
?
The sun was gone and the wind had died down when Luke decided to
move. He¡¯d been contemplating staying with the boat tonight. Another tour was
scheduled in the morning, and he could just stay and not drive back to the
house. Staying would demand getting something to eat. The traffic was mellow in
Raconteur. He pulled up to Eddie¡¯s BBQ. Beer and BBQ, what a great plan. Inside
he was greeted like a long-lost family member. Business was slow, so he got in
line and had the clerk build him a sandwich with a side of corn and wedgy
fries.
?
The BBQ place was dingy, dark and in many ways the opposite of
inviting. The walls were lined in dark wood covered with old pictures of people
who had perhaps lived and visited the place. Most of the images were of the
homemade variety with people standing around not really ready to have their
picture taken. Each photo felt like it had its own secret story no one was ever
going to know because they looked to be about a hundred years old.
?
The lighting was archaic too. Old converted ship lanterns with
the original yellowed glass beamed light feebly. The cords and chain that
suspended them from the ceiling as dusty and rusted as any you might find in a
ship buried sixty fathoms in the ocean.
?
He ate the meal slow and casual but as usual he was done in
minutes. He finished off the beer and had decided to get gone when a voice from
the entrance called out.
?
¡°Hey Captain,¡± a dark figure called out.
¡°Jones,¡± Luke replied with a chuckle. They were old friends and
sometimes ultimate enemies across a board of chess.
?
Jones was a huge man in almost every category. His balding scalp
gleamed from the interior lights. He came over and sat down. ¡°You shovin¡¯ off
sport?¡±
?
¡°I was sort of thinking about it,¡± Luke said.
¡°Well don¡¯t just yet. Got a story to tell you.¡±
Luke looked down at his wrist and an imaginary watch. ¡°Go ahead,
I¡¯m like killing time anyway.¡±
¡°Funny you should mention the word ¡®Killing¡¯. Kid got his ass
shot off down on Bergen street.¡±
¡°Anyone we know?¡±
¡°Billy Wright ring a bell?¡±
¡°I knew of him,¡± Luke acknowledged. ¡°He was a couple classes
behind me in High School. There is a reason why I remember him but it doesn¡¯t
come to mind just yet.¡±
?
¡°Well he got himself in a world of hurt. Been doing the hustle
with that opioid shit. But check this out, he was all cut to pieces. The story
I heard was he was dead before the bullet.¡±
¡°Exotic attack you think,¡± Luke asked.
¡°Got to be Captain. One of them fancy assed medieval fucks.¡±
¡°Well, that is as good a reason to stay at the boat as any I¡¯ve
heard.¡±
¡°You know that is right,¡± Jones nodded in reply. ¡°Lay low, let
the law chase those butchers.¡±
?
Luke made to get up. ¡°Whoa now, I got a board in the car. We
should just have some beer and play a few games.¡±
Luke nodded thoughtfully. ¡°Let no pawn be spared.¡±
?
(Kitty)
Kitty skipped down the street feeling the night come
alive.? She was hungry and in the mood to dance.? She knew just were
to go, Sabbat.? Would Cho be working tonight, she wondered?? Of
course, he would be.? He worked just about every night there.? She
was dressed in a mismatched outfit; green and white striped knee highs, a dark
purple miniskirt, a hot pink tank top, topped off with a blue jean short
jacket.? On her feet were black patent penny loafers.? Her purple
hair and violet eyes and ruby red lipstick.
?
She skipped up to the bouncer, Billy.? ¡°Hey there, Billy
the kid.? Is our boyfriend working tonight?¡± She asked with a smile as she
stood on her tiptoes to give the man a kiss on the cheek.? She had skipped
right past the line of people waiting to get in, because she knew she would be
allowed in.
?
With a smile and a gentle hug back to the girl, ¡°Oh yes he
is.? And he said I could have my kiss if he got drunk enough.¡±? He
patted her rear end as she scooted through the open ropes.? She giggled
and gave him a wink as she headed inside.
?
She danced across the floor to the bar where Melissa, the
redheaded waitress of the night was talking with Cho.? She scooted onto
the bar stool next to them, ¡°I will have my Special, Mr. Cho,¡± she said with a
wink as she gave a smile to Melissa, ¡°hello there, Lissa.? Going to be a
great night, I can feel it.¡±? She has always called Melissa, Lissa and the
girl never seemed to mind.
?
(Scarlett MacAleister)
?
With the bass thumping from a blaring pop song and lights
strobing around her, Scarlett MacAleister strode through the doors to the Glass
Menagerie and scanned the place with her keen eyesight. The club was full,
mostly young college kids enjoying a night out on the town in the French
Quarter. Among those innocent kids were the occasional vampire, demon or other
supernatural.
There was no getting
around that in New Orleans. The average person wouldn¡¯t notice them, but
Scarlett was not a typical woman. The hole-in-the wall nightclub in New Orleans
was hopping as Scarlett entered, sauntered through the place and began to take
account of potential threats.
She was dressed in a
skintight black leather outfit, a one-piece bodysuit, with spiked-heel boots
and a black leather duster. Tucked under each armpit in a double shoulder
holster rig were two MK23 MOD 0 45-caliber offensive handguns with extended
magazines. The bullets in each weapon, as well as the additional magazines
inside compartments built into the coat, were silver hollow points filled with
liquid garlic extract. The rounds would kill a human, likely kill a vampire or
werewolf and would at the very least piss off a demon. There was also a
wakizashi short sword under her coat and a couple of silver throwing knives in
her boots.
Her red hair flowed
behind her as she walked through the club, navigating with almost choreographed
precision around the surging crowd on the dance floor. Her eyes were trained on
a table toward the back of the club where a group of men and women were
congregating. Scarlett saw at least two bodyguards materialize from the crowd
and move in a direction to intercept her and she just grinned. Looks like this
wasn¡¯t going to be as easy as she¡¯d expected.
The first thug came
between her and her objective. He was a burly human, Japanese, maybe
six-foot-two and bulked up with muscles that bulged under his fancy suit.
Scarlett had already assessed him and determined he was human ¨C what she¡¯d
expected from Nakamura. These were typical yakuza soldiers. No surprises here.
¡°Where do you think you
are going?¡± the thug managed to exclaim over the throbbing music and loud
voices filling the club.
¡°To see Mr. Nakamura,¡±
she said with a sweet smile, just before Scarlett struck the soldier in the
face with her right palm, smashing his nose. As he staggered back, reaching
under his jacket for a gun, she finished him with a blow to his throat,
dropping him to the floor in a gasping, convulsing heap.
The redhead continued
uninterrupted toward Nakamura¡¯s table. She saw the yakuza sitting on the other
side of the table, his eyes locked on her as she approached. He drew casually on
a vaping pen in his left hand, his right undoubtably under the table grasping
the butt of a pistol.
The other thug on the
floor lunged at Scarlett when she came within range and he grabbed her by the
left arm. She yanked him off his feet with one sweeping motion of her arm and
drove a powerful punch into his solar plexus. The yakuza exhaled sharply and
fought to catch his breath as Scarlett flipped him, landing him hard on his
back.
Leaving him behind, she
continued to almost float across the club and came to Nakamura¡¯s table. Three
more bodyguards were up, all had drawn swords similar to Scarlett¡¯s. That was
good. She preferred fighting with swords ¨C guns were so clumsy and caused too
much collateral damage. There was more risk for her though, if one of these
fools got lucky and took her head off¡there¡¯d be no coming back from that.
The first yakuza who came
in range was dispensed with haste. He didn¡¯t even see her wakizashi clear the
sheath and come streaking at him, propelled by Scarlett¡¯s enhanced strength and
speed. Before he could even attempt to block, she had lopped his head off with
the flash of her blade.
Suddenly, panic erupted
all around them. The first two yakuza she¡¯d dispatched had drawn little
attention in the crowded nightclub, the music and lights keeping notice of the
incident to just a few surrounding people. But when the yakuza¡¯s head flew in
the air, the screams that went up from the people sent a panic through the
club.
Scarlett swung around and
blocked another incoming blade, then attacked that sword wielding thug who did
a good job blocking her advancing attacks. She sensed the other yakuza coming
from behind and she pivoted, blocking his blow, before launching a kick at his
midsection, which connected and drove him back.
She came up out of the
kick in time to parry another strike by the yakuza who was still standing.
After a series of strikes and parries, she managed to run him through with her
sword and pulled the blade back out, leaving him to slide off onto the floor.
Scarlett came back from dispatching that yakuza, to face the remaining
bodyguard who was nearly on her.
He swung his blade
viciously and the tip of the wakizashi sliced through the shoulder of her
outfit and cut into her flesh. Scarlett barely flinched from the injury,
returning the gesture by slashing the goon across the chest, opening a serious
wound from his right shoulder to the bottom of his left ribcage.
Goro Nakamura was now
standing, the rest of his party fleeing for their lives with the rest of the
patrons, as the yakuza boss joining his bodyguard and attacked the redhaired
vampire. Scarlett took turns fending off attacks by both men, her body a whirl
of motion, until she finally managed to swing her sword and took off the head
of the remaining bodyguard. As the headless corpse hit the floor, she pivoted
and faced Nakamura.
¡°You are a dead woman,¡±
he muttered, squaring off in a fighting stance. ¡°Who sent you?¡±
¡°Does that really
matter?¡± she hissed. ¡°I want to know about the kid found dead on Bergen Street
a few days back. Heard he was an associate of yours?¡±
Nakamura smirked, ¡°Lucas
Rhames? That punk? Who cares about him?¡±
¡°His parents,¡± she said.
¡°He was dealing for you. You had him strung out to keep him loyal. Someone
butchered him and I want to know why?¡± Scarlett said.
¡°I heard you were asking
questions around town about him,¡± Nakamura growled low. ¡°I know what you are.
I¡¯ve heard of you. I have a treaty with your people. You can¡¯t touch me.¡±
Scarlett came at him and
he fended off several blows from her sword as she circled him. ¡°Then I guess
you haven¡¯t heard of me, because I don¡¯t give a shit about treaties. Tell me
who killed the boy.¡±
¡°There are worse things
in this world than vampires,¡± he said dryly. ¡°The kid is dead. Just another
junkie. Forget about him and move on.¡±
Scarlett shook her head
and he came at her low, trying to drive the blade into her gut, but she
sidestepped his attack and fed him an elbow to the face. As he staggered back,
she swung, slicing his left cheek, and he blurted out profanity.
¡°You are the Outcast?¡±
Nakamura gasped. ¡°Your death will gain me great favors among your people.¡±
Scarlett parried another
attack and then came at him aggressively, challenging his ability to keep her
at bay. As their swords clanged off one another, he faulted in his defense and
Scarlett ran him through, the sword piercing his shoulder and pinning him to
the wall.
¡°Looks like your ass is
writing checks it can¡¯t cash, Goro,¡± she said with disgust.
Nakamura stared at her in
disbelief as he felt the sword pierce his flesh. He dropped his sword and stood
there, his entire left side stuck to the wall behind him..
¡°You stupid¡bitch¡I
didn¡¯t kill him!¡± Goro groaned, looking at the sword buried in his shoulder.
¡°It was something else¡not human¡I don¡¯t know what¡it wasn¡¯t worth me¡getting
involved.¡±
Scarlett considered him a
moment, then leaned closer to his face. The smell of the blood was getting to
her quickly, so she knew she¡¯d have to make this fast.
¡°A name. Someone who
knows who or what killed Lucas!¡± she demanded.
¡°It had an associate,¡±
Goro said through clenched teeth. ¡°A human¡a handler of some kind. He said the
boy owed a debt and his master was collecting. I was advised to stay out if
it¡after seeing what it did to Lucas I wasn¡¯t about to get involved.¡±
Scarlett stared at him a
moment, gauging his reactions, then she pulled the blade from his shoulder and
Nakamura slid down the wall to the floor.
The redhead flicked the
blood from her sword and then she turned and looked around the club. It was
mostly empty, save for a few patrons huddled in corners and under tables,
seeking refuge from the battle.
Scarlett turned and
headed toward the door. As she approached, another bodyguard, Nakamura¡¯s
driver, stepped inside with a pistol in hand and fired off several shots at
her. She evaded the shots with lightning speed and when she reached the man,
she knocked the gun from his grasp before slamming him against the wall and
baring her fangs.
¡°Sorry, but I seem to
have worked up a hunger,¡± Scarlett hissed, before sinking her suddenly extended
fangs into the driver¡¯s neck. She drank quickly, knowing the police or
reinforcements from the yakuza, would soon be coming through the door. When
she¡¯d finished, she drew the sword and ran it through his neck, severing the
head and making sure the yakuza would not turn.
Scarlett dropped the
driver to the floor and headed out the door. Parked in the alley behind the
club was her motorcycle, which she mounted and fired up. As she drove off into
the night she pondered where this case was ultimately going to lead¡but so far
it didn¡¯t sound good.
(Pyp)
Pyp was actually having
quite a good time when he felt the tell-tale tingling in the air.? Someone
was doing a summoning, someone not too far away.? The spell was archaic
and almost certainly not meant for him, but hey, beggars could not be choosers
and his time was running out.? Besides, the thought of intercepting a
summoning intended for another demon appealed to his anarchic sense of humor.
"Sorry
everyone," he sighed, looking to the crowd of enticingly-clad mortals he'd
gathered in his luxury suite, a tempting assortment of male and female and
those in-between.? He had fully planned to fuck each and every one of them
at least once before dawn.? But as the man said, the best-laid plans of
mice and men and all that.? "It seems that I'm being called
away." Cries of disappointment filled the room, but he waved them down so
he could continue.? "But that doesn't mean the party has to stop.?
You all go on without me.? I'll pop back in if I can.? But if I
can't..." he grinned devilishly "...just remember who made it all
possible." ?
With that, he blew kisses
to one and all and then left the suite.? The pull was growing stronger and
Pyp knew that other demons might start picking up on it if he didn't act
quickly.? "And a-way we go!" he snickered, turning about with a
flourish and then vanishing from view.? The world around him flickered
into darkness as he felt himself being drawn through the ether that normally
existed between the spirit worlds and the mortal world, but in this case he was
merely being taken from one place in the mortal world to another.?
Somewhere very close by, judging by how quickly the world suddenly came back into
focus...
...and he was in a
room.? A room turned into a make-shift summoning platform, furniture
obviously shoved to the sides to make space for the portal circle.? The
demon glanced around at the various ceremonial arrangements, the arcane symbols
drawn on the floor, the appointed enticements placed at the points of the
pentagram. His boyish face scrunched up with disdain.? "You gotta be
fucking kidding me," Pyp muttered.? "Even that quack Nostradamus
wasn't _this_ bad." ?
As he finished his look
around his surroundings, his gleaming ruby eyes finally settled on the figure
of his summoner.? "I say again, you gotta be fucking _kidding_
me!? _You_ are my summoner?" The demon, still looking like a Korean
pop-star flower boy except for his glowing red eyes, walked up to the edge of
the summoning circle to where he was facing the white-haired youth dressed like
a grunge singer directly.? "Are you even old enough to shave?"
he asked incredulously.? "And what is this place?" he went on, gesturing
with both arms at the surrounding room.? "Your mom's basement?"
?
(Cho)
He smirked winking at Kitty.?
¡°Mr.?? All formal and things now?¡±? He teased as he greeted her and moved back to
his area to make her drink that he was now after seeing her a few times knew
how to make it exactly to her liking.? He
was enjoying this job more than his IT one this was purely fun in a lot of different
ways, the people, the interaction and the scenery were all things that kept
bring him back.? The tips were good
too.?
¡°So lovely how are you doing tonight?? What
have you been up too?¡±? He really was
wanting to get to know her, what it wrong that he truly wanted to taste those
lips she really did look good and he was full so he wouldn¡¯t have to worry
about her knowing who and what he was he could just enjoy the moment¡if it ever
came up.? Now Kitty he did have to catch himself
from licking his lips cause her, he did look like she was on the menu for
sure.?
He served her drink, moved on down the bar only to come back
to get his answers.
Luukasama