Authors: Ken White
“No, not at all. My goal was to keep her safe, and the best way to do that was to keep the
number of people who know where she is to a minimum.”
“I understand. Did she provide information that was useful to your investigation?”
“Yeah, as a matter of fact, she filled in a few blanks. I’m finally starting to get a handle
on all the players.”
“Good,” she said. “Will you be continuing your investigation this evening?”
“I’m just waiting for Nedelmann to get here.”
“Will you be requiring my assistance?”
“I don’t know,” I said. “Maybe.”
I was just opening my mouth to ask her what was going on at Delta-5 when she said,
“Perhaps I will stop by your office, if that’s all right with you. If you need my assistance, I’ll
be there. If not, I can return to my regular duties for the evening.”
“Sure, come on over,” I said.
I’d wait to ask her about Delta-5 when she got to the office. Takeda was a washout when
it came to body language, but I wanted to be looking her in the eye when I asked about the
mad scientists.
“I’ll be there in twenty minutes,” she said.
Chapter Twenty-eight
It was nearly eight o’clock when Takeda arrived. She walked into the room, saw at me
sitting on the couch, and took a seat opposite me in one of the chairs on the other side of the
coffee table. She didn’t speak.
Neither did I. As the minutes passed, I was getting more and more annoyed with
Nedelmann. If he was going to be late, he could have called.
As we waited, I stared at Takeda, again getting the feel that I was looking at a mannequin.
She had the ability to be totally still for minutes, and as far as I knew, for hours. When she
was standing, speaking, moving, she looked like a slightly-pale Asian woman. When she sat
silently, she looked like something that should be in a shop window.
“So,” I said. “What’s going on these days at Camp Delta-5. I hear you have members of
your Security Force on duty there.”
She nodded. “The camp is, of course, no longer an internment facility. There’s a medical
installation on-site, housed in what was formerly the main administration building. Some of
the remaining barracks are also in use, as outpatient housing. Because the property falls under
the jurisdiction of the Area Governor’s Office, the Security Force is tasked with keeping the
facility secure.” She paused. “Why do you ask?”
I ignored her question. “Medical installation?”
“It was opened approximately a year ago to study and treat long-term debilitating injuries.
General Bain considered it non-productive to requisition one of the hospitals in the city and
Camp Delta-5 was not in use.”
“Makes sense,” I said.
“Might I again ask why the interest?”
“I’ve got some leads that point in that direction,” I said. “Thought I might take a ride
over there, talk to some of the staff.”
“I’m sure that can be arranged,” she said. “I would have to clear it through General Bain
first, of course. It’s an Area Government facility, and there might be sensitive aspects to their
work.”
She was reaching into her pocket for her cell phone when I quickly pulled out mine. “I’ve
got it.”
I pressed the speed-dial button that connected to Bain’s office, and passed the phone to
her. If she dialed, she could be calling anybody. Including the mad scientists.
Takeda held the phone to her ear. “No, Takeda, sir,” she said. She shook her head
slightly. “No, sir.”
She listened to whatever Bain was saying. “Yes, sir. Mr. Welles has requested that he be
allowed to visit the medical facility at Camp Delta-5 and speak with personnel stationed
there.” She was silent for a moment, then said, “Yes, sir. I’ll see to the arrangements.” She
listened again, then passed the phone back to me. “General Bain would like a word with
you.”
I took the phone and said, “Welles.”
“Mr. Welles, I might be wrong, but I get the feeling that you’re having doubts about Miss
Takeda’s loyalty and her devotion to finding who killed my bloodson. If that is the case, let
me urge you in the strongest possible way to lay those doubts to rest. Miss Takeda has my full
support and trust, in this matter and in all others. Is that clear?”
“Yes, General,” I said.
“Miss Takeda is too polite to say anything about being offended by your lack of trust.
With her Bushido bullshit, maybe she’s too polite to feel offended. I’m nowhere near that
polite. Believe me when I say that you do not want to go down this road again.”
“Understood.”
“I don’t pretend to know your business, and I don’t know what you’ve learned that makes
you doubt Miss Takeda. Whatever it is, it’s wrong, or you’re looking at it wrong. Either way,
your investigative skills are best used in other pursuits.”
“Question, General,” I said.
“Ask.”
“Do you know anything that might connect Joshua to either the medical facility at Delta-5
or to uptown mob activity? Any involvement he might have had with either?”
“No,” he said without hesitation. “As I told you, my bloodson was not close to me. I don’t
know what he was involved in. As you personally know, he was assigned to Delta-5 not long
before the internment policy was revised. To my knowledge, when the camp closed and he
left the service to go into business with you, he had no further involvement with the facility.”
“Thank you.”
“Good evening, Mr. Welles.” Bain hung up.
I put the phone back in my pocket. “So, a trip to Delta-5 is okay with the boss?”
Takeda nodded. “General Bain said you were to have full access to the facility and the
personnel. Let me know when you’re going and I’ll contact the Security Force platoon
stationed on-site.” She paused. “I can also accompany you if you wish.”
“Maybe,” I said. “I was kind of hoping to go there tonight, if Nedelmann gets his ass here
sometime soon.”
My phone rang again. “This goddamn well better be him,” I said as I took the phone from
my pocket.
I flipped it open and said, “Where the hell are you, Dick?”
“Downtown station,” Nedelmann said. He sounded angry.
“Are you...under arrest?”
He laughed harshly. “I might as well be. Been sitting around here about forty-five
minutes trying to get a ride to your office.” He laughed again. “Hell, I could have walked and
gotten there by now.”
“Why didn’t you call? I could have driven over and picked you up.”
“Fuck that,” he said. His voice went low. “These night shift cocksuckers are just
yanking my chain, and I’m not gonna play the game.”
“I can give the watch commander a call,” I said.
“Talked to him already. Said all his cars are on calls. Real apologetic, in a smug kind of
way.”
“Okay. Let’s do this, then. I’ll come get you now.”
“Something going on?”
“No, nothing pressing, but I’d like to get to work. You might have had a relaxing
sabbath, but I’ve been on the go since six this morning. I’d like to finish up and get some
sleep before sunrise.”
“Gimme another fifteen minutes,” he said. “I don’t want to let them win if I don’t have
to.” He paused. “If I’m not there by eight-thirty, come get me.”
“You got it.” I hung up the phone.
“Sergeant Nedelmann?” Takeda asked.
“He’s been trying to get a Downtown patrol car to give him a ride here for almost an
hour,” I said. “Bastards are playing games.”
She stood. “I will go get him.”
“Nedelmann didn’t want to be picked up,” I said quickly. “He wants to make a point.”
“Sergeant Nedelmann didn’t want you to pick him up,” she said. “He did not
mention me, I'm sure.”
“I don’t think Dick will be happy to see you rolling up to save the day. He likes to do
things himself.”
Takeda smiled faintly. “This is no longer about Sgt. Nedelmann, Mr. Welles. It’s clear
that the officers at the Downtown station need a refresher course in inter-departmental
cooperation.” She paused. “One that I will be most happy to provide.”
She bowed slightly and quickly walked out of the office.
Civilians sometimes confuse the sound of a car backfiring or a firecracker going off with
a gunshot. If you’ve heard gunshots, you don’t make that mistake.
I was at my desk,
jotting down some notes, trying to make sense of everything I’d
learned, when I heard a clear, distinct gunshot down on the street in front of the building. I
ran to the window behind Joshua’s desk and jerked back the thick curtain.
There was somebody on the sidewalk, Dick Nedelmann standing over him or her, pistol
in hand. As I watched, another figure came from somewhere below me and threw himself on
Nedelmann.
I pulled out my pistol and ran for the hall. The angle was wrong for a shot from the
window. I didn’t want to hit Dick.
Taking the stairs two at a time, I was in the lobby in less than a minute. The night
security guard was standing next to his desk, staring out at the street through the glass door.
When he heard me coming, he turned.
“Call the police!” I shouted as I sprinted past him. “Now!”
A second later, I was on the sidewalk.
There was a car at the curb, a black sedan. A guy was trying to manhandle Dick through
the open door of the back seat.
Nedelmann was struggling, without a lot of success. I raised my pistol and fired, twice,
both shots catching the guy in the center of his back. He fell forward, taking Nedelmann to
the ground with him.
Nedelmann pushed the guy off of him and looked at me. “Charlie!” he yelled.
It was too late. I got hit from behind and went down, face first on the sidewalk, my pistol
coming loose from my hand.
The guy above me flipped me on my back like I was a doll and dropped on top of me,
grinning. Maybe it wasn’t a grin. His teeth were bared and he was lunging for my throat.
I held him away as best I could, but it was a losing battle. Pounding my fists against his
sides wasn’t having any effect. He had his hands on my shoulders, pinning me to the ground.
Batting him away with my head wasn’t going to keep him off my throat for much longer.
I let my arm fall back, where I hoped the pistol was. Nothing there.
The guy reared back a bit, ready to make another lunge at my throat. Probably the final
lunge. Then his head exploded.
A spray of blood and brains hit my face, and I blinked a couple of times. Then I pushed
his lifeless body off of me.
The security guard was standing in the open door of the building, pistol still raised. His
eyes were on mine and he was trembling.
I rolled over on my belly and stared across the sidewalk. The driver’s door of the black
sedan was open, and the driver was crouched over Nedelmann. My pistol was on the ground,
just within reach. I grabbed the pistol and fired.
The shot hit the driver in the leg. He jerked his head in my direction, then stood and ran,
around the car, across Hennessy, and into Expedition Square. I fired again, but missed.
I pushed myself up and went to Nedelmann.
Dick was on his back, eyes wide, staring up at me. “You okay?” I asked. Then I saw the
open tear on his throat. It was already starting to close up.
His whole body jerked, and I thought his eyes were going to pop out of the sockets. He
stared at me, mouth moving, no sounds coming out.
Turning a human into a vampire is pretty simple. It was all about getting vampire blood
into the human bloodstream. Not a lot. A couple of drops is all it takes. Most Vees just bit
their own tongue and spit into an open wound.
I’d seen it happen once during the war, while we were trying to get out of the city. We’d
ducked into a building to avoid a gang of Vees in the street. We didn’t know there was
another one inside.
Jamie O’Toole, a fast talking desk sergeant with the best collection of dirty jokes I’d ever
heard, went down before we knew what was happening. A woman in a blood-stained pantsuit
came out of an open doorway and threw herself on Jamie, shrieking. It took three of us to pry
her off him and throw her back against the wall, where one of the guys put a couple of bullets
into her chest.
It was too late for Jamie. Like Nedelmann, he was jerking and flopping on the floor, the
bite on his cheek already starting to heal. We knew the shots would attract the Vees outside,
so there wasn’t a lot of time. It was Ray Holstein who put the barrel of his pistol to Jamie’s
chest and pulled the trigger. Then we took off running.
Somebody told me later, when I was in the camp, that the change took about ten minutes
from beginning to end, as the vampire blood circulated and did whatever it did. Not long at
all.
Nedelmann continued to stare at me as his body convulsed. I moved my pistol in front of
his face, where he could see it. He seemed to nod. Or maybe it was my imagination. He was
jerking pretty hard.