Nimravid (The MacFade Chronicles Book 1) Read online

  “Humph!” I snorted. “Anonymous tips are only truly anonymous if you disguise yourself. Now say, you’re a socialite well known among the press and you call in the tip using your own voice. Well, you can see where I am going with this.”

  “Some reporter recognized Svetlana’s voice?”

  “Uh huh. And guess what she said when I confronted her about it?”

  “SHE SAID, I TOLD HER?!”

  “Keep your voice down Zawadski. You don’t want to see what happens to anyone who comes to the door to check on you.”

  “I’m sorry. I swear to you Mr…?”

  “Mister is fine.”

  “Mister, I didn’t tell her anything.”

  “Are you really that naïve?”

  “What do you mean?”

  “You’re Svetlana’s thrall, idiot! If she has taken mastery over you, you can walk around all day comfortable and complacent in your free will, but when she comes around, you’ll give her anything she wants. If she tells you to forget the conversation, you will.”

  “I don’t—”

  “Don’t waste my time, Zawadski! I’m more than familiar with the vampire situation in The Lou. You and I know damn well you’re her thrall. I got it straight from Kolann while the three of us were having a chat in his office.”

  “You got into the Rayner house? Past security? All the way to his office?”

  “Yeah, I’m that good, Zawadski. Now, I’m going to ask you some questions and “YOU WILL OBEY ME AND ANSWER THEM.” The Voice of Compulsion reverberated in his mind breaking down his defenses and opening his subconscious. “DO YOU UNDERSTAND?”

  “Yes, Sir. I understand.”

  “We’re in, Alex! There’s a kill switch!”

  “Homicidal or suicidal?”

  “Suicidal.”

  “That sleazy bitch, take it out!”

  “It’s in pretty deep, it’ll kill brain cells to remove it.”

  “Anything he needs?”

  “Not really, this one will never develop Abilities.”

  “Do it. Pull his addiction to the venom while you’re at it.”

  Zawadski convulsed slightly and then settled. The rest of the conversation was telepathic and took place in a few seconds. Zawadski had been providing Svetlana with personnel files, shift assignments and confidential histories, telling her about Martin taking up a collection amongst the department, under the guise of FOP fund raising. Everyone but I.A. knew what the money was for. After telling her about the meeting, she asked for surveillance tapes and became furious when they revealed nothing. That’s when she ordered Zawadski to research Mr. Smith and find out who he is, because he could destroy their plans.

  “Mai let’s bring him out of this gently so he remembers the whole conversation without being traumatized.”

  “Seriously? You just interrogated the Chief of Police. What are you up to?”

  “First of all, I want him to get off the junk, (vampire venom) Secondly, I want to cut Svetlana off. Place a suggestion that will flood his conscious memory with all the ways she’s used him. Include the number of lives that have been lost. Link it all to personal outrage. My little gift to Svetlana, next time she tries to enthrall him.”

  “You really play dirty sometimes.”

  “I prefer to think of it as ensuring the scales are balanced.”

  “That is pure rationalization.”

  “Call me Mr. Rational.”

  “I wish.” Mai mumbled, “OK done.”

  “CHIEF AS WE TALK OVER THE NEXT TEN SECONDS I WANT YOU TO WAKE UP AND REMEMBER OUR ENTIRE CONVERSATION.” The Voice teased and coaxed his consciousness to wakefulness.

  “Who are THEY?”

  “She never told me, but she’s working with someone, I think it’s a partnership but most heavily weighted on the other parties’ side. Oh Christ! Because of me good men are dead!” There it was, awake and fully aware of what’s been going on, but to him, it feels like he came to the conclusion on his own.

  “I’ll get to the bottom of this Zawadski. As of right now, you’re done with Svetlana and I won’t be seeing any more of Decker for a long time…right?” I said, getting closer and towering over him, menace and an underlying threat infused my words. “Right” he said quietly. I could feel the anger and shame boiling within him. “After I leave, count to 100 before you leave. Anything you poke out before then, you’re going to lose.” I turned without another word and walked out of his garage. Slipping across the street to my bike, I pulled away in silent mode. Any good cop would be listening for anything he could identify.

  “We left him in pretty bad shape. You know he’s going to get right on the phone to Svetlana as soon as he knows you’re gone.”

  “You think? I hadn’t thought of that.”

  “Smart ass.”

  “I need to force her hand or her partners, get them to make a mistake or make a move directly against me so we can bring this whole thing to a close. Either way, we’ll end up with more information than we have now.”

  “And if she decides to set a trap?”

  “You know she will and we are going to set it off and wing it from there.”

  “Always winging it! I hate winging it. Why can’t we ever have a plan?”

  “Mai, when you figure out how to plan for the completely unexpected, you draft it up and I’ll take a look when you’re done.”

  “Whatever…”

  “Nice come back.” I grinned to myself, just as an invisible fist slugged me in the right shoulder. “So predictable…” I looked at my watch. Ten minutes to eleven. Cripes! That took longer than I expected. I have to get home or Claire is going to kill me.

  .

  Chapter 22

  I went straight to the kitchen after I got home, time to get the casseroles baking. Inspecting the dishes on the kitchen table, Lucy hopped up on a chair to offer her opinion. The yams looked good. Mai had showed me how to keep them from turning color with brown sugar and orange juice. Having put the marshmallows on top, I grated the lemon zest. “What do you think Woosh Monster?” I have a neighbor kid I run into from time to time on his mom’s morning runs. He pets Lucy from the seat of his three wheel stroller, but can’t pronounce Ls yet so he calls her Wooshy. One day I was talking to his mom and I referred to Lucy as a little monster, picking it up right away, using that very selective audio radar that children have, he now calls her Wooshy Monster and it’s just kind of stuck.

  She sniffed at the dish. “Blah, need chicken,” she gwarbled. I shook my head and stroked her little noggin. “That’s right Lucy, everything is better with chicken, just like bacon. Now there’s an idea…”

  “No.” Mai appeared in front of me holding a print out. “But,”

  “No.”

  “Mai are you sure this is right? With all this brown sugar and marshmallows it seems more like a dessert, than a side dish. If anyone is diabetic, we could end up killing ‘em.”

  “The recipe is exactly as we found it. Amil Donatello is a well-respected southern chef and this is what he serves in his restaurants. From what I understand this is a very typical southern dish,” She said, leaning over the prep table and poking a few marshmallows into place. I whistled. “Crikey! What do they do to fried chicken, roll it in powdered sugar?” Mai looked at me with an expression of purest maternal disapproval. “That’s enough of that. You need to be on your best behavior today and that means approaching this food with an open mind. Now put those in the oven. They should have just enough time to bake off while you clean up and get dressed.” I put the two dishes in the oven. “Yes, mummy. Will there be anything else mummy?”

  “No not side by side, one over the other, it’s a convection.”

  “Sheesh, a little bossy this morning, aren’t we?” I corrected the dish placement. “For someone who has never eaten before, we sure are acting like the expert.”

  “This is just as important to me as it is you. Besides, I know what I’m talking about. I get bored at night after I am done with yo
ur maintenance. Sometimes I watch the food network. They have some pretty interesting shows.”

  “You watch TV while I sleep?”

  “Yes, how else would I have known about Iron Barley or The Shaved Duck?” Two of my favorite eateries. "I draw power from the house so it doesn’t drain you, why?”

  “I don’t know, it never occurred to me that you would get BORED. Anyway, I need to get a shower. Let me know if the timer goes off.”

  “Will do.”

  I showered and shaved. I have to remind myself to shave. Usually I don’t bother much with it because people only see my Glamour most of the time and my fur is so thin and light colored, it’s almost invisible. Today is different, today is special, today is going to suck so hard it’s going to—” Mai appeared behind me in the bathroom mirror. “That is not what I would call an open mind.” I had just gotten out of the shower.

  “Bloody hell, Mai!”

  “What’s your problem?”

  “Get out, I’m bleeding naked!”

  I struggled to wrap a towel around my waist. She looked amused beyond rational thought. “Are you serious? You want me to leave? I’ll just stand here and let you think about just how idiotic that is. We share a set of eyes most of the time, genius. There’s NOTHING I haven’t seen.” I spoke with the full force of my righteous indignation. “Although that was quite a mouthful and most likely the pinnacle of logic itself, it’s different when you’re standing right here in front of me.” Mai raised an eyebrow. “Exactly how?” She was enjoying herself thoroughly. It’s a rare occasion when she gets to grill me on how truly neurotic and ridiculous I can be. “It just is. Now turn your back.” She turned toward the door. “This is truly childish.” I rewrapped the towel around my waist and twisted the top edge back on itself to hold it in place. “Are you quite finished?” Mai asked in a bemused tone. “Yes, you can turn around now.” She turned back around.

  “Oh now look what you did! You’re bleeding.” I turned back to the mirror and sure enough Mai had startled me so badly I cut myself on the chin. She walked up behind me. “Here.” Reaching up, she gently traced the cut with a fingertip. The skin sealed immediately, at her touch. “Try not to do that again. This one almost scarred. Now as I was saying, you have to give these people a chance. They love Claire and she loves you. That should be enough for them to accept you. You’re a great guy, Alex. Just be yourself and they’ll love you.”

  “Just be me, eh?”

  “Yes.”

  I turned around, to glare at myself, resentfully in the mirror. My Nimravid eyes staring back at me, full of self-loathing. “And which ME is that?” I growled with a little edge of bitterness. Mai put her arms around my waist and lay her head on my back, giving me a squeeze and a heavy sigh. “I know Alex, It’s hard when it’s people you care about and you still have to hide from them. You don’t have a choice right now. Just give them a chance. It’s important to Claire, shouldn’t that be enough?” I smiled to myself thinking about just how much I adored Claire. A gentle hand reached around to grasp my chin and turn me around. “There he is.” Mai whispered as she looked into my eyes and smiled. “Hold on to that, all day and you’ll do just fine.” She touched her forehead to mine and lightly slapped my cheek. “Now get a move on or you’re going to be late.”

  I got dressed in some jeans and a nice black silk shirt, with red lace dragons, along the sleeves. What? She said to be myself and I look damn good in this shirt… I pulled the casseroles out when Lucy trotted into the room and announced that the kitchen was making funny noises and smells.

  Cathy Thompson had been generous enough to lend me her casserole dishes which had accompanying lids and insulated carriers. I scrutinized the two golden brown dishes as visions of pies danced in my nostrils. Mai seemed fairly certain this was how sweet it was supposed to be. I fought the urge to swipe my finger though the melted buttery marshmallows. “Here goes nothing, I’ll either impress or poison them all. Claire should be home from church by now.”

  I called her from the road. She was ready and waiting. I was just going to make it on time, pulling up in Claire’s driveway at 12:27pm. Made it!

  “You’re welcome.”

  “Thank you, Mai.”

  Claire came out as I was getting the door to the Hummer open. She handed me a large warm basket covered with a towel. I smelled sweet Jalapeno corn bread, a Claire Barnes specialty and a personal favorite. I walked around to the trunk to nestle it between the two casseroles. I started to lift up the towel. “Stay out of that, Mack. There will be plenty to eat at Aunt Effie’s.” Busted! “Can’t blame a bloke for trying right?” I slid in next to her. She gave me a raised eyebrow and the hairy eyeball. “Alright, reckon you can.” She was apparently on edge this morning. I wonder why? “Where are we headed?” Claire gave me directions to a south city address. It looked like it was right on the edge between old respectable neighborhood and gang territory. There were tags on white picket fences and dumpsters, that kind of thing. Claire turned in her seat to fix me with an expectant stare. Mai wasn’t letting me read her right now, which might have been for the best. “What?” She rolled her eyes. “So in the midst of your tirade last night did you happen to open the damned box?” I KNEW I was forgetting something, a bit punchy this afternoon. “Oh, right, the box. I ended up giving it to Svetlana.”

  “YOU WHAT?”

  “Easy, Claire.” I said between chuckles. “She got the box, I got what was inside.”

  “And that was?” I unbuttoned my shirt and slid up my left sleeve. Claire’s eyes widened. “Are those what I think they are?”

  “They most certainly are. The second bracer and the breast plate which turns out, is a full torso piece.” Clare reached over to touch my chest. “It feels like the bracer, does it do anything special?”

  “Cripes Claire, I’ve had it less than 24 hours! Give a bloke a chance to break it in!” She glared at me evenly. I unfortunately, was a captive at the moment. “Fine, fine, according to Mai it’s standard Spirit Stone. It changes shape, channels energy and just like the other pieces, obeys my will within the usual limits of time, space and mass. Haven’t had a chance to test it, but it’ll stop a bullet, blade or claw dead in its tracks and that’s good enough for now.” Claire looked at it a little while longer and sat back in her seat. “That’s the best $3500.00 you’ve ever spent, Alex.”

  I shrugged. “Perhaps, but that won’t make it sting any less when the check gets cashed.” She shook her head and smiled. “You’re never going to change, are you?” I shrugged again. “Nope, it’s one of the hazards of being immortal and a MacFade to boot. I’ll always be three things: A Nimravid, Yakuza and frugal, you wouldn’t want me any other way, Babe.”

  “I wouldn’t miss the FRUGAL”, she mumured as she unbuckled her seat belt, scooting across the seat and belting herself in next to me. She lifted my arm over her so she could lay her head on my chest. “Oi! What’s brought this on?” She shook her head and heaved a sigh of contentment. “Nothing, just feeling close to you right now. Thank you for doing this, Mack.” She looked up at me and smiled. “I know how scary this is for you.” I squirmed a little.

  “Oh well, I don’t know if scary is the word I’d use—”

  “Stop.”

  “What?”

  “No macho bullshit today, please? Let your Japanese side shine today, a love of friends and family and a strong respect for tradition.” I smiled and shook my head. “Alright Claire, I won’t lie to you and say I have been looking forward to this but I am happy to do it, knowing how important it is to you.”

  “Well said, did you mean any of it?”

  “You are such a pain in the ass sometimes.”

  “I gotta be me, too.”

  Claire nuzzled my chest and reached across to give me a squeeze. “Thank you, Alex.” I kissed the top of her head, it was all I could get to. “My pleasure, Babe.”

  “You know this really isn’t playing fair,” she said, tracing a dragon with a fingertip. �
��You know what this shirt does to me.” Indeed I did, advantage, Mack. “Oi, you said I had to play nice, Babe, nothing about fair.” She slid her hand down to squeeze my inner thigh, making me jump at little. “Then that goes for me as well…” My face felt hot. “Oh, my,” Claire gushed, “Is that Spirit Stone in your pocket, or you just glad to see me?” Spirit Stone had nothing on what I had in MY pocket. Claire relished my reaction to her sensuous touch, teasing unmercifully. “Sure this is the game you came to play?”

  “Not anymore, I’ll turn around at the next intersection.”

  “ALEX!”

  “Oh, come off it, Mai! Smell her, the pheromones are thick enough to walk across. A bloke’s got his limits.”

  “You made your bed, now lie in it.”

  “THAT’S WHAT I’M TRYING TO BLOODY DO!”

  “ALEX!”

  “Alright, alright, leave off, ya big bully…”

  We pulled up in front of a WWII era brownstone with an old, well-maintained stone porch. The small street, lined with cars. As we entered the gate, loaded down with yams and corn bread, Claire and my eyes grew a couple sizes when we saw the sheer number of people in the backyard,

  I set the food down on the nearest picnic table that several women appeared to be organizing into a buffet. There were three oil barrel conversion bar-b-que pits going at once, loaded down with everything from chicken to ribs. “Small family gathering, my tight arse!” I grumbled. It was like calling the ball drop at Times Square a small intimate affair. “Oh I am right out of here!” I growled, turning to leave.

  Claire’s hand lashed out, clamping onto my left wrist, in a death grip. I actually thought I felt the stone give a little. “Hold it, Alex! What do you think you’re doing? You agreed to come here and meet my family. What’s the problem?”

  “WHAT’S THE PROBLEM? What’s the bloody problem? Are you some kind of nutter? There have to be 80 people here! Our agreement was for me to attend your Aunt’s Sunday supper. This is a fu—”