Interesting Times (Interesting Times #1) (15 page)

“Well
then,” said Sally.

“Yeah,”
Tyler said. “That’s about what Blackwell told us.”

“You
went back for me?”

“We
never had to,” Tyler said. “Seven started flipping his shit because your signal
hopped from California to the East Coast in the space of about three seconds,
and Artemis got the call a minute and a half later. Blackwell told her what
happened.”

“What
did she say?” Oliver asked.

Sally
snorted and looked away. “She politely asked whether he knew what the word
‘protection’ meant,” Tyler said.

“Really?”

“She may
not have been polite,” Tyler said.

“Well,
that’s what happened,” Oliver said.

“So how
did you do it?” Sally asked.

“I have
no idea. My head was a mess. They drugged me and the blood was…like another
drug. I guess I…
teleported
, somehow?”

“Teleportation
doesn’t exist, as far as I know,” Tyler said. “The cyborgs came close to
developing it once, but they never got it to work.”

“And
there aren’t any more cyborgs,” Oliver said, remembering.

“No,
there aren’t,” Sally smiled.

“It
doesn’t sound like teleportation, anyway,” Tyler said. “It sounds like a portal
was opened. That
is
a thing, but damned if I know anyone that can pull
it off without some pretty serious tools.”  

“Is the
door still there, in the house?” Oliver asked. “It didn’t appear in Maine.”

“No, it
vanished as soon as you left,” Tyler said. “Blackwell said he’d never seen
anything like it. He asked if you were a sorcerer.”

“People
keep saying that,” Oliver said. “Well, vampires and my cat say it. Are there
really sorcerers out there?”

“I guess
so,” Tyler shrugged. “I never met one.”

“So are
you a vampire now?” Sally asked him.

“No,”
Oliver said. “Well, I don’t think so. I’ve been out in the sun. Doesn’t that
kill vampires?”

“Not
immediately, but you’d have a nasty sunburn,” Tyler said. “You look all right.
So she just drained you?”

“No,”
said Oliver. “She made me drink her blood. She wanted to turn me into one of
them, but it didn’t work.”

“I’ll be
damned,” said Tyler. “I’ve never heard of it just ‘not working’ before. Not and
the victim still being alive, anyway.” He looked at Oliver suspiciously. “You
have any new cravings? Rare meat? Virgins?”

“No, I…”
Oliver blinked in surprise. “
Virgins
?”

“He
doesn’t know all that much about vampires,” Sally said. “Neither do I, really.”

“But you
know one,” Oliver pointed out.  “You drove right to his house!”

“You
think we hang out there?” Tyler asked. “Hell, no. And when
you
go to
somebody’s house, do you start asking about their medical history? Or whether
they can turn into a bat? Of course you don’t. Half the mythology about them is
crap, I know that much. At least half.”

“Did you
have a twin?” Sally asked suddenly.

“No,”
Oliver said.  “Why?”

“Forget
it,” she said. She looked at Tyler. “So he’s immune to vampirism and he makes
magic doors.”

“And
cats that talk,” Oliver pointed out.

“And
cats that talk,” she said. “You got any ideas on this?” she asked Tyler.

“Zilch,”
said Tyler. “Look, I’ll be honest,” he said to Oliver. “We’re flying by the
seat of our pants here. But Artemis is committed to keeping you safe. We should
take you out of here.”

“Where?”
Oliver asked. “Back to the vampires? That didn’t work out so well.”

“Chantal
won’t bother you again,” Sally said. “Maria took her head off.”

“Well, I
think she deserved a little…” Oliver paused. “Wait, you don’t mean she got
yelled at, do you?”

“No,”
Sally said grimly. “I don’t.”

“Oh,”
Oliver said.

“Anyway,
Artemis wants you kept mobile,” Tyler continued.  “At least until she figures
out what the lizards are up to.”

“Great,”
Oliver said. “If your little girl can’t solve it, you could always call
Encyclopedia Brown.”

Tyler
blinked in surprise. “You getting a little punchy?” Sally asked him.

“Ah, I’m
sorry,” Oliver said. “It’s been a weird couple of days. What day is it, anyway?
I only meant to take a nap but if you got here from California already…”

“It’s
Friday night,” Tyler said.

So he’d
been asleep most of the day, Oliver thought. That wasn’t what he’d intended to
do, but his body had probably needed the rest.

There
was a sudden knock at the door. “You expecting someone?” Tyler asked.

“I
wasn’t expecting
you
,” Oliver pointed out. “Who is it?” he called.

“Room
service,” replied a man’s voice.

“I
didn’t order…” Oliver began, but then he paused. That voice had been familiar,
as well.

“Oh,
shit,” Tyler said. Sally’s hands darted into her jacket pockets and came out
with her silver pistols.

The
knock at the door was repeated. “Open the door, Mr. Jones,” said Mr. Teasdale. 
“I’m not going to hurt you. Besides, you really don’t have anywhere to go.”

Oliver
looked around the room desperately. He was on the top floor and there was no
other way out of here. Mr. Teasdale was right. He had nowhere to go.

Chapter 16

“How the
hell did he find me?” Oliver asked. Tyler had said he and Sally had found him
by following a “tracker” they’d placed on his clothes. Could the assassin have
done the same thing?  Oliver started to pat himself down before he realized
he’d never even noticed the first device. He had little chance of finding a
second.

Sally’s
expression darkened. “You’ve been using credit cards, haven’t you?” she asked.

“Of
course,” Oliver said. “I had to pay for the room. Oh, and I bought gas this
morning.”

She
sighed. “That’s how. The charges left an electronic trail and he followed it
right to you.”

There was
another knock at the door. “Mr. Jones?  I’m waiting.”

“You
want to try that magic door thing again?” Tyler asked. “See if you can get us
out of here?”

“I don’t
know how!” Oliver insisted.

“Tap
your heels together three times,” Sally sneered. She leveled her pistols at the
door and nodded to Tyler. “Open it.”

“You’re
just going to let him in?” Oliver asked.
That
was her plan? Opening the
door and letting the assassin come in had to be the worst plan of all time.

“There’s
no other way out of here,” Sally pointed out. “So unless you’ve got a better
idea, let’s just get this over with.”

Oliver
backed away from the door and stood near the window. Tyler drew his own pistol,
then unlatched the door and quickly stepped back. 

The door
swung open slowly. Mr. Teasdale stood there, a small smile on his face. He was
carrying his briefcase and still wore the same black suit and red tie Oliver
had seen him in yesterday. He wondered if the man ever wore anything else.

The
man’s skin looked as ill-fitting as it had the day before, but there was no
sign that there ever had been so much as a scratch on his head, much less the
bullet wound that Oliver had seen yesterday.  Oliver wasn’t sure what to make
of that. In a world where vampires and werewolves were just outside walking
around like everyone else, who knew what else could be out in the world?
Teasdale could be something he had never even heard of before.

Mr.
Teasdale frowned at the sight of Tyler and Sally, along with the small arsenal
they had aimed at him. He made a small
tsk
sound with his tongue. “I
must say, this does not make me feel very welcome at all.”

“Come on
in,” Tyler said.

“And
close the door behind you,” Sally continued.

Mr.
Teasdale stepped into the room, not seeming to care that two people were
standing ready to shoot him inside it.  He closed the door behind him and
smiled pleasantly at Oliver. “Nice to see you again, Mr. Jones.”

“Thanks,”
said Oliver. “Nice to…” he began automatically, before cutting himself off. He
really needed to work on being less polite.

Mr.
Teasdale turned to Sally. “It has been a while, Sally Rain.”

“So it
has,” she said.

“I had
been meaning to tell you that while certain parties were unhappy with your
recent…indiscretion…I myself could not help but admire the artistry of it.” He nodded
slightly. “True genocide is such a rare thing, and it is something to be
savored.”

Oliver
blinked. Genocide? He must mean the cyborgs everyone kept going on about. What
had happened with the cyborgs, anyway?

Sally
looked unfazed. “Thank you,” she said. She did not lower her pistols.

Tyler
stepped in front of Oliver. “You obviously can’t kill him with us here to stop
you. You lose this round. Get in the bathroom, shut the door, and don’t come
out until we’re gone.”

Mr.
Teasdale turned and regarded him coldly. “Mr. Jacobsen. You shot me,” he
scolded the other man.

“I’ll do
it again,” Tyler said.

“And it
still won’t kill me,” Teasdale said. He sighed and made a conciliatory gesture
with his hand. “I will forgive you for yesterday. We were both doing as our
respective professions dictate, and therefore it would not be appropriate for
me to perceive it as a personal insult.” His eyes were cold.  “However, I will
not forgive you a second time.”

Oliver
frowned. “But you’re still both doing what your respective professions
dictate,” he pointed out. 

“I am
not,” the assassin said. “The Kalatari violated the terms of our contract.”

“They
did?” Tyler asked.

Sally
suddenly gasped. “Of course. They told you it was a mistake, then they killed
that other guy and went after Oliver themselves.” The edge of her mouth
twitched up into a crooked smile. “They lied to you.”

“They
lied
,”
Mr. Teasdale hissed. He looked genuinely angry. “Lying is not permitted once a
contract has been established.”

Tyler
lowered his pistol. Sally did not lower either of hers. “So why are you here?”
she asked.

Teasdale
raised his briefcase. “I have brought an offering for Mr. Jones,” he said.

“I have
a briefcase already,” Oliver said.

Teasdale
sighed and gestured at the bed. “May I?”

Oliver
nodded. Teasdale crossed the room and lay the briefcase down flat. He clicked
the latches and was starting to open the case when Sally stopped him, gesturing
with her pistols. “Slowly.”

“As you
will, Ms. Rain.” Teasdale opened the case slowly. He reached inside and for an
instant Oliver thought he was going to come out with a weapon, but instead he
held up a small spherical object wrapped in white cloth. “For you, Mr. Jones.
Payment for a broken contract.”

Oliver
shook his head. “That doesn’t make sense. We never had a contract.”

“
We
were not required to establish one,” Teasdale said. “When the Kalatari broke my
contract, they became the target of that contract. Rules are rules, Mr. Jones.”

“Oh my
god,” Tyler said, looking at the wrapped object Teasdale held in sudden horror.

“What is
that?” Oliver asked, nodding at the sphere.

Teasdale
held the object up in one hand, the other poised above it as if to unwrap a
birthday present.  “If I may?”  he asked, glancing at Sally. She nodded. Oliver
watched them with a sense of foreboding. What did he mean, the Kalatari had
become the target of his contract? Exactly what rules did this man play by?

Teasdale
began unwrapping Oliver’s “offering,” revealing a small fleshy red thing the
size of a fist. It looked oddly familiar to Oliver, but he was sure he hadn’t
seen anything exactly like it before.

Tyler
turned away, looking queasy. Sally leaned forward. “Oh, that is nice,” she
said, her eyes widening.

“What is
it?” Oliver asked, not understanding.

“It’s a
heart,” Tyler groaned.

“What?”

“A
heart,” Mr. Teasdale confirmed. “Specifically, it is the heart of Sathis Rin,
formerly chief minister to the Kalatari matriarch.” He noted Oliver’s confused
expression. “The man who ordered your death,” Teasdale explained.

Oliver
felt his stomach flip-flop. “That’s a heart?”

“That
has been established.”

“A
lizard heart?”

“I am
not a biologist, but as I know that by ‘lizard’ you mean the Kalatari race,
yes. A lizard heart.”

Oliver
wasn’t sure what to say. “It’s not bloody.” He was instantly frustrated with
himself. Was that really the best remark he could come up with?

Mr.
Teasdale looked offended. “Of course it isn’t bloody, Mr. Jones. I cleaned it
for you. We are not barbarians.” He extended his hand, offering the heart to
Oliver.

“Um…on
the table is fine,” Oliver said quickly.

Teasdale
sighed and placed the heart delicately on the desk. “I have no personal
knowledge of this,” he mused, “but I have been told that they are quite lovely
stewed with star anise and cinnamon.”

Oliver
blinked in surprise. “You think I’m going to eat it?” he asked.

“I did
not think you were going to mount it on your wall,” Teasdale replied. “Although
I suppose there is no reason you could not,” he continued thoughtfully.

“Okay,
then,” Oliver said.

Teasdale
waited expectantly. Oliver wondered if he wanted a tip. “Am I supposed to pay
you?” he asked finally. Was that part of the contract as well? Who was Teasdale
going to kill if he didn’t have enough money?  What was the going price on
lizard hearts these days?

Mr.
Teasdale sighed as if he were dealing with a stupid child. “Typically, Mr.
Jones, one says ‘thank you’ when one has just been presented with a heart.”