Drew D'Amato:Bloodlines:02 (16 page)

“So I heard about Senator Kern losing the election.  How did you feel about that?” Vlad asked her.

“A little guilty.”

“Really?”

“Well, not for Kevin or his father.  But my dad explained to me that there were some people who lost their jobs because of my revelation.  People who worked for his father.  He also might have been the better candidate, so in a way it affected all of America.”

“Hell hath no fury like a woman scorned.”

“Yeah, something like that.  Unfortunately, Kevin’s dad also knows some people at the health inspector’s office and they have been breaking my father’s balls lately.  But he is good when it comes to being sanitary.  They won’t find anything.”

“They might not need to if they are powerful enough.”

“Well, we’ll see.  My father told me though I have to be more considerate of my actions.”

“We all have to.”

“I guess.  So what is your homeland like?”

“What, Ireland?”

“No, I know Ireland.  My father has taken us there twice.  Both times to visit Dublin.  We have family over there.  I was asking about Romania.  I’ve never been on the continent of Europe.”

Vlad danced in his mind about what to say along the lines with the story he told her. 

“What do you think it is like?” he said to stall her.

“I’m thinking mountains for some reason.  I see mountains covered with dark green trees when I think of Romania.  It’s like I can see it, but even in my studies I don’t remember ever seeing any pictures of the place, but I feel like I have this photograph in my mind of it.  Like I have been there before.”

“Well your intuitiveness is pretty good.  It is pretty close to that.  The Carpathian Mountains make up almost the whole country.”  Vlad felt a shiver run down his skin.  She knew his land.

“Do you consider it your homeland? I know you said your family moved to Ireland when World War Two broke out.”

“Yes, that is what got us to move.  Then once the war was over Romania was communist, and it didn’t seem to wise for rich descendants of royalty to move back to a communist country.  However, by 1990 communism had fallen and some of my family had decided to move back.  I just turned…twenty then,” Vlad paused to do the math.  “I spent some time over there in ’95, but for only a few months.  I consider Ireland more of my homeland, but you people drink too much.” 

Jasmine laughed. 

“Anyway, when I got to Romania it wasn’t communist anymore, but it was still miserable.  It was chaos.  I decided then that I didn’t want to live somewhere with so much misery, so I and a few cousins decided to move to a happier place.”

“Hollywood?”

“What’s a happier place than that?”

“So you have been here for almost twenty years?  And in all that time you never found a wife?”

“I had found love only once in my life.”

“What happened?”

“She died.”  Vlad got quiet.  Jasmine saw the despair in his eyes.  She decided not to push it.

“Well better to love and lost, then to never love at all.”

“I don’t know how true that is.”

“Why not?”

“Well, if you are lucky enough to feel actual love, every relationship after that falls far too short of happiness.  True love is irreplaceable, it is infinite—it moves mountains.  At least if you never have loved I guess maybe when you get into a relationship you never really know what you are missing.”
             
 

“I guess.  I thought Kevin and I had love and we were so far from it.”  Now Jasmine looked a little distraught.  Vlad reached for her hand across the table to comfort her.

“A good thing about losing a love, is that you know what the feeling really feels like, and you can identify it, and respect it when you find it again,” Vlad said as he rubbed her hand.  Jasmine started to smile.  “That love of mine died before I moved out here.  I did not get
involved with an inferior relationship since then.  I knew what the real deal was about.  It has kept me available, and now I have met you.”

“Do you love me?”

Vlad paused to think about what to say next.  “I don’t want to rush the moment, or cheapen it by saying too early.  I do feel very strongly about you.  Very strongly.”

Jasmine smiled, she was blushing.  “Say the truth Vlad, nothing less.”

“I love you.”

“I love you, too.”

They locked eyes.  The boat was quiet, and all they could hear were their heartbeats.  Then Vlad lunged across the table and kissed her.  She kissed back passionately.  He held her face, she wrapped her arms around his head.  He moved onto her neck.  He picked her up and carried her below deck into the bedroom.

He placed her on the bed and got on top of her, his lips never leaving hers.  She unbuttoned his shirt.  He worked his hands up her dress.  He pulled off her pink panties and then looked down at her.

“You have waited all your life for this,” he said.  “I don’t want you to look back at this like it was some mistake.”

“I waited my whole life for a moment like this, for someone like you.  It feels so familiar with you, like you and I are meant to be.  I don’t want to fight it.  I don’t think the moment could be any better than this.”

He paused.  His nerves ran all through his body.  Then he kissed her and got on top of her.  She unbuttoned his pants and grabbed a hold of him.

“Don’t hurt me,” she said to him.  He didn’t.

He went gentle at first.  They kept their eyes locked on each others like true lovers do.  The boat rocked, the positions changed.  They told each other their love for one another.  Time stood still.  Every moment a world within itself.  She got on top.  He noticed the blood on his leg. 
What a disaster this would have been if I was still a vampire,
Vlad thought.  His passion for her was too much right now, nevermind had he been an immortal.  He took her dress off, and grabbed her breasts.  She put his finger in her mouth.  Their moaning built to a crescendo.  They climaxed together.

When they finished they spent a few minutes just holding each other without saying a word, just telling stories to each other with their eyes.  Then she asked, “What should we do next?”

“Has it been forty minutes since we ate?”

Jasmine looked at her watch.  Her first sexual experience had taken about half an hour.

“Close to it.  Why?” she asked with a laugh.

“Let’s got for a swim.”

5

“
Ispettore Generale
Bandini,” he anwered in Italian.

“Hello, Inspector General.  My Italian isn’t too good, this is Special Agent Gonzalez.  Can we speak in English?”

“Sure, Special Agent Gonzalez.  How is the case going?  I was curious if you guys found any strange books at all?”

“Strange books, why would you ask that?”

“Well, you thought this Remus was some sick, gothic, wanna-be vampire kind of guy.  I was curious if he had any strange looking books on the occult or something.  I’m just asking out of curiousity.  Religion is also part of my job.  I was wondering if something threatening was circulating out there; a following of people into the occult that may want to attack a symbol of Christianity—like my boss.”

“No, we found no strange books at the house.  You know what else
I
didn’t find?  I didn’t find that file on Remus Frumos, because you never sent it to my office.”  Gonzalez was growing frustrated with Bandini.

“Oh, I’m sorry.  I heard what happened in Munich and I thought the case was solved.”

“This case is very far from solved.  Munich just helped with my theory that a lot of dirty cops are behind this and they are police from all over Europe.  That’s why my boss is keeping me on this case, but we still have no one in custody, and no idea about who this Remus is.”

“Well I wish there was something I could give you, but once the Vatican learned of the true nature of Remus they destroyed all files linking him to the Vatican.”

“What the hell Bandini, you can’t do that.  You just tampered with an Interpol investigation.”

“First, Agent Rodriguez, you have no proof except for my word off the record that the Vatican was in anyway involved with this Remus Frumos, so legally you do not have much ground to stand on.  Second, I would like you to consider that my employer feels that regardless if you ever apprehend this Remus, the crimes he is involved in will still have their role in
Europe.  Drugs and people will still be traded; however now, the image of the Church will also be damaged if a connection to him is ever leaked.  The Church felt its image to the faithful was more important than this investigation.  I hope you respect our priorities, and that you understand it wasn’t my decision nor did I have any power to affect what happened to his file.”

“Well I guess I should have figured this much from the Church.  But I can understand your position.  However, we believe Remus is still on the loose, so if he makes any contact with you, I implore you to let me know, and I give you my word I will keep all involvement with the Vatican out of all official reports.”

“Well it would not be very Christian of me to allow an evil like this Remus to remain on the loose if I can in anyway help.  If any contact is made I will let you know, but I am curious why you are so sure he is on the loose?”

“Besides not finding his body?”

“Yeah.” Bandini laughed at his own faux pas.  “Besides not finding his body.”

“Well, when we were dismantling the NSV, the agents dropped a large part of the gun on the floor.  When it hit, there was a hollow thud.  This interested us, and we inspected it closely.  We used an axe to break through and found that there was a trap door under the panic room.  This trap door was deadbolted from the inside, so someone had to have been in there.  We have to assume Remus got into the trap door, and locked it, preventing anyone else from following after him.  The trap door led to a five-foot high corridor.  We followed the corridor and halfway through, there was a ladder that led up to a closet in the master bedroom.  The path to this ladder was behind a fake wall in the back of the closet, which was why none of my men noticed it when they first inspected the house.  It was just another way to this underground
corridor.  Well, this corridor led to outside, about three hundred yards from the mansion.  We assume Remus escaped this way as the police searched his house.”

“Interesting.  Yes, Gonzalez I would definitely let you know if I hear anything.”

“Will you really,
Ispettore Generale
?”

“Yes, what kind of cop would I be if I didn’t?”

6

V
lad was not the only one who decided tonight to do something they were not able to do before as a vampire.  Jericho had always wanted to sit courtside at a Lakers game.  Right up close to the action and the celebrities.  Never before though would he dare to think about sitting that close to nationally televised cameras.  It would start with the cameramen at the game noticing a few people sitting right next to Jack Nicholson or the other celebrities.  However, on screen these men would be completely empty in the frame.  They would try with different cameras and then everyone working for the television crew would wonder about this anamoly.  The curiosity would become stronger and the vampires risked exposure. 

They have been to a few sporting events before, but even then they had to worry about not getting caught by those cameras that patrol the fans during commercial time-outs.  Now with the help of online scalping and enough cash Malachi and Jericho sat courtside right across from the Lakers bench. 

The Lakers blew out the Nuggets.  Not much action was happening at the basket they sat under in the third quarter since it was Denver’s.  The two of them decided to leave before the end of the quarter.  All the Lakers’ stars would spend most of the time on the bench in the fourth with a comfortable 30-point lead.  They walked to the Cadillac EXT in lot 10 on the
corner of Figueroa and 9
th
.  It was an outside lot, but the people who had been taking tickets had left for the night.  The lot was empty, but Jericho and Malachi felt a sensation that someone was behind them.

When they approached the car Jericho went to the driver’s side and Malachi to the passenger’s side.  They both had been thinking about an idea of what to do next when they heard a voice that sent a cold hand down their spine.

“
Well, well, well.”

They both turned around, their eyes in disbelief as to what was before them. 
He was dead.

“I take it the exorcism worked,” Radu said.

He stood there with Gabriel to his left and Ash to his right.  The three of them wore shit eating grins.  Gabriel and Ash pointed their handguns with silencers on them.  Radu just held his black cane in his hand.  Malachi and Jericho both instinctively went to where their guns
would have
been.  They found nothing.  Now that they were human, now they had to face security checks, now they could risk jailtime,
now the war was over.

“We killed you,” Jericho said in disbelief.

“No, you
thought
you killed me,” Radu said with a smirk.  “My panic room had a panic room.  Actually it’s an escape route that leads out to mountains.  When Vlad fired off those grenades in the confusion, I escaped to my second panic room.  He never saw what happened through all that smoke in that small room.”

“Even so, the place was swarming with cops afterward.”

“And they never found the passage.  I waited in there until it was night.”

“How the fuck did you survive?” Jericho pointed to Gabriel.  “You were down there when the ceiling came in.”

“I was on the stairs killing your friend Andrew,” Gabriel said.  “Then I ran upstairs.”   

“And a panic room wouldn’t have much value to it, if it only had one entry from the basement.”

“So you just waited, and didn’t fight like a bunch of cowards?” Malachi said.

“What were we going to do, come outside and play in the sun?” Radu said.

Jericho pointed at Ash.  “I didn’t see his ugly ass at all.  Was he just too afraid to fight?” They were stalling them.  They had no guns, no vampire strength, and no idea what to do next.

“It is apparent now that we knew before hand about your surprise visit.  We were on our way to Europe before Vlad even called me.  Ash stayed behind to make sure you guys left from LA.”

“That girl of Vlad’s is one beautiful thing.  Makes me almost want to become human again myself,” Ash said, licking his lips.

“Don’t you even think about touching her,” Jericho said.

“No, we won’t,” Radu said.  “He is my brother after all.  I’ll let him have his woman and his human life, while I have the world.  He is no longer a threat to me.  You however, Jericho, have killed more of my men then any other of Vlad’s bloodline.  And you are not my brother, so sorry, I don’t have much mercy for you.”

“So you’re just going to kill me like this?”

“No, I am,” Ash said.

“But this isn’t very fair, Ash,” Radu said.  “I don’t think these humans are even armed.”

Radu took out a Beretta with a silencer from his jacket.  He cocked it, and a shell popped out.  He caught it and held it up to Jericho and Malachi.  “Silver, you see.”  Radu quickly slid out the magazine, displayed it loaded with silver bullets, and then slid it back into the gun. 

Radu threw the gun and it landed right at Jericho’s foot.  Jericho didn’t move for it yet.  He wanted to stall these bastards.  They were in an open parking garage, the street was right next to them.  Maybe something could happen on 9
th
street to distract them and they could get away.  He had to stall them. 

“How did you find us?” Jericho asked.

“Michael told us everything.”  Jericho and Malachi flinched at that statement.  The truth hurts.  Radu continued.  “He told us Vlad was hoping to become a human again, so after what happened at my house we decided to let you think it was safe to give it a try.  That is why Ash was keeping tabs on you, but even though he found Jasmine, he didn’t know where Vlad’s new house was.  I didn’t know how long it would take us to find you again, or even if you had carried through on the process.  But then tonight when we got off our plane, the televisions at a bar in LAX showed the Lakers game.  And there the two of you were, sitting courtside, very photogenic I must say.  We tracked you down and here we are.  Ash had the guns for us.  Now, are you going to pick up that gun?”

Jericho paused, trying to think of something quick.  He looked over at Malachi, but he had no idea what to do either.  “I have no chance to pick that up before he fires a shot.”

“Very true, Ash, put your gun down.”  Ash looked at Radu is disbelief.  “Trust me,” Radu told him.

Ash put his gun down.  Radu walked over and kicked the gun ten feet away from Ash.  Ash turned to Radu with a betrayed look on his face.  But Radu’s face told him not to worry. 

Ash and Jericho stared at each other.  “I’ve been waiting centuries for this,” Ash said.  “Your move.”

Jericho looked back at Malachi, unsure what to do next.  Malachi was hinting at him with his eyes to not make a move. 
Delay, wait for something to happen. 
But it didn’t seem like anything was going to.  The garage was empty, the cars whizzed by on the street paying no attention to the men who had their guns drawn. 

Jericho knew it was a bad move, but it was still a move.  He wouldn’t aim at Ash, he would aim at Radu.  Killing him killed all of them.  They had made a mistake, they were overconfident.  Putting a bullet through Radu’s heart now would still make everything right.  He could tell Malachi was advising against it, but what other choice did he have? 

“Tell your other man to put his gun down too.” Jericho looked at Gabriel.  “I’m not walking into a trap.”

“Gabriel,” Radu said to him.  Gabriel reluctantly put his gun back in its holster under his leather jacket.

There was a bit of a distraction as they watched Gabriel do this.  Jericho had his opening, he made his move.  He went for the gun.  He bent, got his hand around the barrel and then
WHOOT—
the sound of a silenced bullet pierced the night.  Jericho dropped the gun as there was now a hole in his right hand.  Ash held the smoking gun.

Jericho held his hand and watched the blood pour out of it.  He was not used to feeling pain for this long.  Radu laughed, clapping his hands with the cane in his right hand.

“Haha, the speed of a human versus the speed of a vampire is not competitive.  Did you guys forget how fast you used to move?” 

Malachi had noticed it then.  They wouldn’t have had a chance in Radu’s house if they had lost their vampiric powers.  Vampires moved like a blur.  He never got to notice that before, because before their speed was normal, and humans moved slowly to him.  But now he was a human, and witnessing it, he knew they had no chance.  Ash moved ten feet, picked up the gun, aimed and shot it, before Jericho could even pick up a gun right in front of him.  Malachi saw the whole thing.  Comparing their two speeds was like Speedy Gonzales versus his cousin Slowpoke Rodriguez.

“I had hoped you would have been humans at my place, but I guess you can’t
not
invite someone when you are setting a trap for them,” Radu said.

Malachi wanted to do something, but he didn’t want to do something stupid.  The gun was a few feet away from Jericho.  There was no way he could get to it in time.