Tomorrow's Dead: The Julia Poe Vampire Chronicles, page 12
“They won’t all fit with our team and the kids combined in a helicopter,” said Michelle.
“Sure they will. A lot of Perla’s Tunics can fly. They can take the kids and place them in the copters and fly back to the boat. The kids are light enough to carry.”
“What about our soldiers?” asked Joseph.
“Keep more than half of them on the boat to wait for the custodians,” said Poe. She bit her lower lip. “I know the Tunics aren’t battle ready, but they can do what they need to do and pull back. Once the other two helicopters with custodians are empty, pick up the soldiers. These guys will deal with firefights. No vampires other than the day vamps will bother us because when the dead are asleep they’re truly dead.” Poe had kicked sleeping dead and set them on fire, but none of them ever woke up.
“I’ll be on the bullhorn scaring the shit out of people on the ground. I have it on good authority that I scare the blue shit out of them over there. That’s why they came after us on Catalina.” The thought of Maclemar’s injuries pained her.
The group members conferred with each other, adjusting some points but mostly agreeing to keep Poe’s strategy.
“What a mind you have, Poe,” said the redhead. “No wonder the House of Runer is so determined to capture you.”
“Is Runer a daywalker?” Poe asked with anger in her voice.
“No, he’s not. But he’s the most powerful among the four houses in San Diego.”
“Good. I’m going to string him up and present him to his people with his skin flayed. Anyone who tries to hurt my family and friends will die by my hand.”
“Sounds like you’re going with us,” said Joseph.
“If you guys don’t mind?”
“Hell no,” said Michelle, and other voices assented.
As they were walking out the room, Sainvire put his hand on her shoulder. “What about Maclemar? Shouldn’t you be with him?”
“I’m no good waiting around. When we get back I’ll have the answer about his health one way or another. I have bloodlust, Kaleb. I can taste it in my mouth. I’ve got to kill Runer for what he did to James.”
“I’ll be there with you, Poe. Whatever it takes to get the bitter taste of revenge out of your mouth, I’ll support you. Just don’t lose your head.”
Poe kept her gaze level to the vampire’s misshapen shoulder. She was afraid to look into his eyes. “I appreciate it, Kaleb.” She finally stared into his kind eyes and turned to leave.
CHAPTER 8
AS RUFUS AND JOSEPH flew Cessnas over San Diego urging vampires to humanize themselves once more and for custodians to prepare for flight, Poe lay cold and uncomfortable on the four chairs pushed together to act as her bed. She was shivering in the waiting room from the evening cold at two in the morning. No one had bothered to take her to a room, and she was too proud to ask.
When Sainvire draped his warm coat on her body, Poe nearly fell off her makeshift bed. The vampire had a history of sneaking up on her, and she didn’t like it.
“I’m sorry, Poe. Didn’t mean to startle you.” Poe patted the chair by her head, and the vampire sat down.
Poe rested her head on Sainvire’s lap. “I was freezing. I didn’t know where else to go.”
Sainvire tucked Poe’s black hair behind her ears. “You mean no one’s assigned you a room?”
“That’s okay, really. These chairs are designed for comfort. Look at these contours.”
“Yes, if you like bending like an apostrophe,” said the vampire.
“Now that I have your coat, I can fall sleep. You can watch over me if you want.” What Poe didn’t want to admit was her fear of bad news concerning Maclemar.
“We can get you a room right now.”
“No. I like it here. If you’re busy you can go.”
“I’m staying with you, Julia Poe,” he said while combing her hair with his fingers. “Go to sleep.”
Sainvire stared at Poe’s face the entire six hours she slept on the chairs. He caressed her mouth and soft skin and sighed throughout the night. The operation had been going on for 12 hours. The helicopters wouldn’t fly to San Diego until noon. With disappointment Sainvire shook Poe awake.
“Wake up, Julia. It’s time to get ready.” He smiled when Poe, her eyes puffy from sleep, pivoted up quickly in a daze. “You can use my office.”
“Any news?”
“Not yet.”
“Sorry I was such a bother,” she said in her husky voice. “I didn’t want to be alone last night.”
Sainvire reached for her right cheek and gently caressed it with his thumb. “Don’t mention it. That’s what friends are for.”
***
An hour later Michelle outfitted Poe with incendiaries and extra gun clips. The leadership decided Poe was to be lowered to the roof of the Gas and Electric building to spot snipers. She was given a long-range rifle and a semi-automatic. She wore her hooded coat and waited for helicopters to land.
“You good, Poe?” asked Maple as they stood outside the hotel steps.
“Yeah. What about you? Aren’t you coming?”
“I’m in charge when Sainvire’s gone. I’m the Guardian now.”
“Sounds pretty cool,” said Poe, grinning. “You and Perla okay?”
“We understand each other now. Perla was shaken by what you did that night. She realized that murder wasn’t in her sphere. She asked to work with us.”
Michelle called her name, beckoning Poe inside the hotel. “What’s up, Michelle? Decide to stick me on dish duty?”
Michelle looked odd and didn’t smile at her joke. “Poe. Sainvire wants you at the waiting room. Morales is there, too.”
Poe’s breakfast threatened to escape, so she took a deep breath. She deliberately walked slowly but promptly reached the sitting room anyway. Morales looked fatigued in his white coat. He’d been in surgery for over 15 hours. Sainvire stood next to T-Doc with his hands behind his back.
“Poe,” began Morales. “I need to—”
The girl interrupted. “No. No. Don’t tell me anything. Anything at all. I’m gonna do this thing in San Diego, and when I come back you can tell me, okay?”
Poe began backing away. “Please, Poe. I need to tell you this,” pleaded Morales.
“Don’t worry about it. Take a nap. I’ll be back tonight alright,” Poe said hastily. “I really appreciate you, Sam Morales, for being such a swell guy. I’ll see you later.” With that, Poe ran outside where Maple stood with Rufus. She really didn’t want to know the prognosis. The helicopters were parked in a row outside the hotel on 5th Street. She shoved her shaking hands in the pockets of her coat. As far as she was concerned, Maclemar was in generous health.
A bad report could wait. She didn’t need to hear terrible news before the mission. If it was good news then it would be three times the sweeter to hear when she returned. She climbed inside Rufus’ bird and prayed she wouldn’t vomit her food. James Maclemar, be alright please. For me. I don’t ever want to live alone again.
She stared at Sainvire’s dark head as he sat next to Rufus during the flight. He was staring out the window with a pensive look on his face. His once broken nose marred his profile. Poe never minded such a bent for it made the vampire more human. More approachable. Sainvire was reliable to the end, but never with their personal relationship. Whenever she was in a bind, though, Sainvire had always been around. She imagined him dropping everything for her if she lost Maclemar, but she knew his obligations would always take precedence.
Anticipating Maclemar’s death, she bit her lip, drawing blood. She’d rather have had one Maclemar than a hundred Sainvires. She decided to stay in the city if Maclemar came back in perfect shape. His mischievous green eyes and crooked grin thawed her heart every time. The way he looked at her as if she was the only woman alive for him made her feel special. They shared scars on their bodies and souls that no one else would understand. “I worship everything about your body, beauty,” he’d say when she tried to hide the lashing scars on her back. “We came out scarred, but not cowed.”
Maclemar wanted children. This she knew even though he’d said nothing of his wish. The way he’d lay his ear on her stomach or kiss her belly made her sad. She never wanted children to be brought to this crazy infernal earth, but for Maclemar, Poe believed she would consider the idea. If only her body had been cooperative.
Sainvire turned his head toward her and beamed. Poe blinked as if surprised. She’d been burning a hole through his head, and the vampire had sensed it. She smiled until her dimples resurfaced. Certainly it was possible to love two men at the same time. If up to her, she would’ve collected a small harem of her own.
Two minutes before noon, Rufus’ chopper landed on the roof. Soon after, two helicopters flanked the Gas and Electric Building. A couple blocks away, the other three choppers edged the second orphanage on Horton Plaza. Poe alighted from the chopper along with the flying Tunics blinking away wind and dust. She didn’t follow them down to the orphanage but stayed on the roof and propped up her Barrett M107 rifle. The M107 fired the hugely powerful .50 caliber ammunition that would obliterate anything in its way.
“Be safe, Poe,” was all Sainvire said before following the rest into the building.
The first bullet targeting the helicopter on the ground originated from one of the ramshackle buildings next to the orphanage. Poe closed one eye and focused on the telescopic sight. She fired once and heard a distant scream. Movement from the curtains a few feet from the first sniper caught Poe’s eye. She pulled the trigger and the movement ceased.
“Here. You might need this,” said Rufus. He handed her a megaphone. “Maybe you can let them know that you and Sainvire are here. Scare the living shit out of them.”
“Thanks, Rufus.” Poe scanned the streets again for any sign of misdoings. The Tunics left the building carrying babies followed by an orderly line of kids, ages ranging from six to thirteen, holding hands. The vampire eradicator lifted up the bullhorn and switched it on.
“Hello. Hello. Is this thing working?”
Rufus yelled, “Yes!” and Poe continued. “Er, this is Julia Poe, your Public Enemy Number Two. We’re here to rescue the kids and take home as many Custodians—” Her eye, still focused on the lens detected three men exiting one of the buildings and waving a gun. Poe pulled the trigger three times and downed the men before they could injure anyone.
Poe lifted the megaphone to her lips once more but kept a vigilant watch for more stragglers. “Erm, this is Julia Poe again. I shot those three guys by the way. If you interfere with our helicopters, I will shoot you dead. That’s right, I’m a sure shot, and I’ve killed hundreds. Don’t fool with me. I’m here with Kaleb Sainvire, Public Enemy Number One. He can walk in the sun, fly, mangle with his talons, and strike with many other scary powers you don’t have. Let us do our job and save these kids. You don’t really want to eat them anyway.”
She dropped the megaphone and paid attention to the people spilling out on the street. Most of them looked human, but Poe couldn’t tell if some were day vamps or leeches. The custodians were easy to spot because they were the non-white folks waving flyers around.
“Custodians, stay on the left hand side. I mean your right hand side. Leeches and sun vamps, stay on the left,” Poe ordered. She turned to Rufus and said, “You better get your bird down there. Pick up the custodians only.” The halfdead nodded and hopped inside his copter.
Poe’s eye, focusing on the scope, was getting disoriented. She observed at least a dozen of Sainvire’s people walking the perimeter of the orphanage. The copters that were filled to capacity took off and flew away, leaving Rufus to load up as many custodians as he could pack and fly them to the boats manned by soldiers and Tunics.
The vampire killer grunted when a group of liberated blood slaves obscured her view of the surrounding buildings. Two spare choppers carrying more custodians than Poe had expected lifted from the street. “There’s no room for us,” said Poe out loud. “We’re gonna be stuck here.”
Poe forced herself to concentrate on the scope. People of San Diego could probably have cared less that she was Julia Poe. Once they saw her small size they’d laughed their asses off.
The leeches and day vamps who filed into the street suddenly tangled with Sainvire’s people. Shots rang.
Breathing deeply, Poe fired first at the day vamps who were out to break bones. She hit two dead and missed two more. Before she could fire on the dead that wore a wifebeater, Sainvire appeared in time for his nails to elongate and decapitate the predator. As fast as vampirely possible, Sainvire went through the line of sun vamps and sliced them like deli meat with his talons.
She concentrated on three leeches busy kicking a soldier down and popped their heads off. She fired until there was no .50 caliber ammunition left. She’d no choice but to join the action on the street. Poe assumed that the children at the orphanage had all been extracted safely. Tossing the sniper rifle in the trees, Poe climbed down a fire escape.
By the time she reached the streets, the widespread fear of Kaleb Sainvire’s diamond-sharp talons temporarily restored order. Rufus and another helicopter pilot landed once more to transport another two loads to the boats. In the meantime Poe stood by Sainvire and waited for Michelle and Joseph to join them. The two were in charge of clearing out the second orphanage.
“Faring okay, Poe?” asked Sainvire. The intensity of his eyes showed more broadly in the daylight where anything could go wrong.
“Fine. You heard me on the megaphone?” she asked with a lift of the device. “No one paid attention to me. Not scared of me at all.”
“Well I’m scared of you, if that counts.”
Poe grinned. “Yeah. That counts double trouble. You mind if I leave you now? I got work to do.” Before he could say anything, Julia Poe fled from his sight toward the old courthouse. Sainvire was shorthanded, so he couldn’t follow the girl. Vamps and halfdead with serious firepower had come out of the woodwork.
“Julia! Come back here!” he ordered to no avail. It wasn’t until 10 minutes later when Michelle, Joseph, and their team arrived that Sainvire was able to leave. “If we’re not back in 20 minutes, leave us. We’ll find our way home.”
“What’s going on, Kaleb?” asked Joseph.
“Long story, but the little one wants to make an example of the House of Runer for hurting her man.”
In his estimation about 30 leeches had been killed. As for sun vamps, he counted 20. The numbers weren’t as high as expected, and the undercount made him tense. In the back of his mind the bastards were looking down at them from innumerous angles. And there was Poe, full of vendetta in a city that wasn’t even her own.
***
The entrances to the courthouse were shut. Poe had no choice but to unpin a grenade and toss it at a doorway. She ran a few feet and hid behind a tree until the explosion destroyed the door. Let the air clear then go, she told herself. Don’t get yourself killed over stupid little details.
Two petrified Mexican American women in their forties stood inside. “Ladies. If you want to go to Los Angeles, then hustle toward the Gas and Electric building right now!” To jar them out of their stupor Poe waved her gun like she was swatting a fly. The women nodded and bounded out the blasted door.
The redhead San Diegan had disclosed that Runer chose the courthouse for his home because he was afraid of heights. He also warned that no less than nine halfdead protected him while he slept. She could hear footsteps upstairs. “Terrified bat shit,” said Poe who wasn’t all wrong. The halfdead were reluctant to come down after such an explosion. Since Poe couldn’t wait anymore, she walked up a staircase to the biggest courtroom and found an Ethan Allen paradise instead of benches and gavels.
In the center slept Runer on a twin bed with Star Wars sheets. The vamp looked like John Travolta in the ’70s. Poe pulled the sleeping vampire who had tried to assassinate Maclemar and her until he slid off his bed and banged his head on the cement floor. With the sheet she pulled him toward the front door, but she didn’t expect six out of nine halfdeads to have the balls to face her. All six carried handguns.
“Let’s end this production, shall we?” said Poe in exasperation. “This loser tried to get me killed, and you bloodfuckers are keeping me from frying him dead.”
The men looked at each other, stumped, so Poe shot four of them in succession. “You guys, too?” she asked. Like frightened idiots they threw their guns on the floor and raised their arms.
Poe sighed. Her back was aching from trying to drag the dolt out of the courthouse.
“You four, get this scum outside. He needs to sunbathe,” she ordered the frightened halfdeads. They quickly obeyed.
San Diego was a community of 700, but Poe never thought the people could be so senseless and stupid. The men yanked Runer through the charred door and to the courthouse steps. She could already hear him sizzling behind her. She thanked the halfdead for their help and dismissed them. Tired and a little sweaty from the exercise, Poe sat down on a stoop and watched the master vampire crackle. Sainvire found her breathing hard from her task.
“Everything out of your system?” he asked. He sat by her and scooped the sweat from her nose with his index finger.
Poe kicked his long leg. “A lot of things are in my system, mister, but I can’t seem to shake them.” She looked up as she heard the helicopters flying west to the Pacific. “Shit. Did we miss our ride?”
“Afraid so,” said Sainvire. “But no worries. I can still fly us home. With plenty of rest stops in between.”
“You have Plasmacore on you, right?” asked Poe as she looked at him sideways. Last time he had carried her away from battle he had nearly perished from garlic-soaked gunshot wounds. He didn’t have Plasmacore, and Poe had to search for the concoction. That was when Trench and his people captured her. The three-month period that followed was the most horrible experience in her young life.
