Tomorrow's Dead: The Julia Poe Vampire Chronicles (12 page)

The two Ancients looked at each other in their colorful robes and turned their gaze
to Poe.

“Most certainly, Miss Poe.  We like our lives now,” said Stanza.

“Call me Poe.  Everyone else does.  But I’m glad of your answer.  I need people to
trust, and I’d like to enlist you both for something I need to do.”

Kilbur laughed softly.  “At last.  An adventure.  Lead the way, dear child.”

***

She couldn’t help it.  She smiled at the sunny winter day as she kicked her board
to City Hall.  The Ancients had entertained her with tales about how they first met,
and the two were enjoying themselves so much while taking turns with the details that
Poe couldn’t find it in her heart to end the visit.  Finally after an hour, Poe asked
for forgiveness and kissed both vampires goodbye on their cold cheeks simply because
her inner voice told her to.  The Ancients were tickled by the gesture.

Next stop was with Michelle.  Poe was certain Michelle had a hand in releasing the
prisoners into the Tunics’ hands.  She was sure, however, that the fiery head of security
realized her folly; otherwise she wouldn’t have introduced the indentured resolution
to the Los Angeles Council.  She grinded to a halt in front of the metal doors of
City Hall a
f of
nd kicked her skateboard into her hands.  A dour vampire, the same hairy one that
wouldn’t let Poe visit the prisoners, opened the door for her.  Her face was impassive
but not unfriendly.

“Hey,” said Poe.

“Hello,” the woman said with a nod and a hint of camaraderie in her bearing.

“Is Michelle here?”

The woman provided the chief’s location on the second floor.  Poe thanked the police
woman politely and headed to the big cheese’s office.  City Hall had been one of Quillon
Trench’s buildings where he collected beautiful ex-LAPD officers.  Being in the building
gave her the creeps, but she had no choice but to ask Michelle for a favor.

She found the curly-hair vixen with brawny arms and a tight abdomen leaning over her
very masculine black secretary.  Michelle was wearing a mini-skirt, sneakers, and
a halter top that showcased her belly button piercing.  “Poe!  What are you doing
here?” asked Michelle unsteadily.  She was caught by surprise.

“Hey, Michelle.  I’ve come to talk to you if you have the time.”

“For you there’s always time.”

“What can I do you for?” asked Michelle as she lowered herself to a comfortable looking
chair with built-in massage functions.

“How many vamps from San Diego have defected to our side of town since Joseph and
Rufus started dropping flyers from airplanes?”

Michelle pulled out a ledger from her drawer and studied its contents.  “I believe
40 vamps and 120 human cattle have crossed over.  Why?”

“Could you do me a favor and ask those vamps to come to one of the conference rooms
at the hotel?  I know Morales is going to kill me, but bring the humans they rescued. 
I figure most are still suffering from the vampire venom and are still comatose. 
Am I right?”

“Yeah.  I believe so.  But what’s this all about, Poe?  You need to give me more information
than this.  That’s a big request.  Lots of bodies.  What time is the meeting supposed
to be?”

“Five.  The earlier the better because we’re going to have to transport some of the
humans back to their hospital beds.”

“Some of them?”

“Yeah.  I’ll have to explain later.  I might be wrong about this, so I don’t want
to stir things up too much.  Just trust me, Michelle.”

Michelle, a tough girl who refused to appear weak, cleared her voice.  “I do trust
you, Poe.  I guess I should’ve trusted you from day one.  I let my rage and prejudice
rule my head.  I’m going to try to be less emotional and look at the world with fresh
eyes because I hold an important position.  When you killed those leeches, I felt
like I was executing them myself.  It didn’t feel so good anymore.  And I lied to
you.  I turned a blind eye and allowed the prisoners to be taken.”

“I know you did.  But now you’ll know never need to use your office for murder before
a trial.  You’ll be a better cop this way.”  Poe reached for Michelle’s hand.  “You’re
still a sister to me.  Don’t think you’ve let me down.  I lost track of all the people
I’ve let down.”

“You’re a sister to me, too.  And what you had to do to show how fucked up we are
will haunt me forever.  Blame the executions on us, Poe.  Don’t beat yourself up like
you always do.”

Poe rose and nodded.  “I’ve done so many terrible things in my life.  To help me cope,
I’m starting to forget what happened a couple days ago.  Do you have any favors left
for me?”

“Sure, Poe.”

“Teach with the JKD Judo Club one of these days.  This way humans and vamps won’t
be so afraid of cops and the up-and-coming government.”

“Will do.  Are you really leaving DT?”

“Yup.”

***

As Poe skated by she noticed a few hands waving at her from the windows above.  She
waved back.  At least a few didn’t hate her after all.  She slid to a stop at the
steps of the Biltmore to the amusement of guards and passersby. 
What the hell.  It’s as if none of them saw the murders I committed the other day.
 

Her next meet and greet was with Morales and Joseph.  She needed to convince them
to sign on with her plan.  “Absolutely not!” said Morales.  “These are sick people,
Poe.”

Poe looked to Joseph for help.  The vampire with the ponytail simply shrugged.

She had to run through her hypothesis for the two men before they reluctantly agreed
with her plans.  “Poe, if you hurt these poor people, I’ll have you locked in Maclemar’s
room without your dinner.”  Poe gulped.  So much for keeping her new roommate a secret.

“Should we bring Maple in?” asked Joseph.  “And I assume Sainvire knows your plans,
right?”

“Sure.  Let Maple know if she’s still talking to me.  As for Sainvire, we don’t need
him.  This is my brainchild, and I don’t want him doing the puppet thing with me again. 
I won’t let him treat me like a guinea pig.  Besides, I’m most likely to cap his knees
if I see his dead face.  I’m so angry I want to be Robin Hood and spring an arrow
through his crotch.”

Joseph grimaced then grinned and nodded toward the door.  Poe gritted her teeth. 
He’s standing behind me, isn’t he?
She turned toward the master vampire.  “Fuck,” she said.

“Try not to cap my knees, please.  They still sting,” said Sainvire.  “I heard your
plan, and its sound.”

Poe threw the evilest look at Joseph who hadn’t alerted her that Sainvire had crept
up.  “Sorry.  He’s my best friend,” said Joseph with a guilty look.

“Gee.  Nice to get the stamp of approval from the great and mighty Kaleb Sainvire. 
I feel humbled indeed.” 

“That’s nice that you feel humbled since you’re so preoccupied with weaving stories
about men in green shooting arrows at my groin,” said Sainvire with amusement.  Poe’s
nostrils flared when Morales and Joseph snickered.  “Since I’m the puppet master you
so despise, I should leave the room.  However, as a newly appointed Guardian of the
City, I can’t let any potentially dangerous plans that concern the city and the Biltmore
unravel without my approval.”

“Guardian?” Poe asked with conflagration in her voice.  “What the hell is that?”

“Seems like you haven’t been keeping up with the news.  There’s a fledgling government
now called the Los Angeles Council.  They voted at the assembly two days ago and declared
me, Joseph, Jenna, and other vampires and humans who’d fought together as the protectors
of the city.  The nine Council members are John Danby, a custodian; Maple, a vampire;
Rufus, a halfdead; Passionada, a human;  Bartholemew Howard, an OD;  Esperanza, a
custodian; Seth Lime of the farmers; Perla, a Tunic, and Habib, a human and the most
famous cook this side of the planet.”

“Sainvire’s the Commander of the Guardians and Joseph’s the Captain,” added Morales.

“Very interesting, but all your rules, regulations, and bonehead rankings don’t pertain
to me.  I was brought here to move things along, and that means I can do whatever
I want to safeguard this city until my time’s up.”

“You’re to blame, you know?” said Sainvire while lazily crossing his arms.  “You have
a host of ideas, and your followers snap them up.  Now most everyone seems satisfied
with their exciting but imperfect government.”

Poe tightened her ponytail.  “So it’s my fault people can’t think for themselves? 
Anyway, you heard my plan.  Are you in or are you out?”

“I’m in,” said Sainvire in his deep timbre that usually caused Poe’s legs to turn
spaghetti. 

“I have lots of other ideas, too.  But I’ll discuss them later with the three of you
if we pull off tonight’s plan.”

Beside Poe’s shooting prowess, the little warrior was also known as a fierce strategist. 
Morales, Joseph, and Sainvire wouldn’t dare wave away her plans for they could be
as valuable as the fate of Downtown.

***

A modest hall in the Biltmore Hotel had been purposely arranged oddly.  Twenty sets
of three beds bearing ex-cattle were scattered around the room while the vampire escapees
from San Diego stood by the foot of the beds.  The sleepers and their rescuers had
been in the dark until they received an invitation from Sam Morales that afternoon. 

The ex-cattle lay in still slumber, their faces thin and their complexion gray.  Their
blood had been milked for nearly two decades.  One bite from a vampire could last
an entire year, rendering the victim comatose until the annual follow-up bite.  Recovered
blood victims reported they had been aware of their surroundings but powerless to
move in their stupor.  Some had witnessed their own rapes but were unable to scream
their horror. 

They awoke not recognizing their own faces or their bodies which had deteriorated
from lack of movement.  Anemia and bone degenerative diseases were daily battles Morales
had to confront.  Morales was a firm believer in aerial propaganda drops to different
cities with ingredients and instructions to make Plasmacore.  “Plasmacore can show
you the sun.  Cattle can only remind you of your guilt,” was a slogan he wrote.  Another
was “Drink Plasmacore.  Don’t bow to a master vampire to be powerful.” 

They were horrible slogans, but T-Doc was quietly tickled by them.

He was especially proud of Joseph and Rufus’ flying missions.  They had sent off thousands
of pamphlets to incite vampires from San Diego and San Francisco to leave their cities
for Downtown L.A., a friendlier, more rewarding place.  All they needed as a ticket
were two or three human cattle or children.  So far the roomful of ex-cattle proved
the ballsy gamble a success.

Maple and Rufus stood by the hall doors while Michelle, in skintight jeans, tank top,
and low slung Berettas paced slowly across the aisles trying to avoid looking at the
faces of the bony humans on the beds.  Unlike many ex-cattle, Michelle rose to the
task and worked on her body and fighting skills.  Her initiative was an inspiration
to more than a few human slaves hoping to regain their old power. 

Joseph, looking tired, sat on a stool and rested his head on the wall.  The vampire
closed his eyes to take a nap with a non-stop grin on his face.  His closest friends
had surmised that during such lazy moments, Joseph was dreaming of Megan, his love
who had left him alone to his musings.

The San Diego runaways were looking at each other as if wondering what the hell was
going on.  They answered one another with shrugs.  An extremely pale man with freckles
and pomegranate red hair cleared his throat.  “Er, T-Doc.  What are we doing here?”

“Just routine stuff,” Morales said in his lab coat.  “We need you folks to give us
more details about where you found these humans.”

Before the redhead could ask another question, the door opened.  Poe, followed by
two Ancients and Sainvire, walked slowly into the room.  The girl’s bouncy ponytail
gave her a disarmingly childish air.  But then again, she wore a black t-shirt that
showed off 15 years of fighting scars on her arms and face.  The .45s were nowhere
on her person.  The only armament she wore was the homemade machete that the majority
at the hotel seemed to snicker about.  The weapon was slung in a scabbard along her
left hip.

“Hi, fellas.  Sorry we’re late,” she smiled.  She shoved her hand in her olive green
army pants and pulled out a rather long syringe.  “Before I start, can I ask whether
you recognize each other from San Diego or San Francisco?  I know each city has about
700 to 1000 inhabitants, so perhaps you’ve seen each other?”

Many disclosed information along the lines of “I’ve seen him around but I don’t know
him.”  One said, “The different vampire houses didn’t really socialize with each other.”

Michelle handed out Polaroids of the three vamps that had attacked Poe at her martial
arts club.  “Recognize these people?”

Charles, the redhead, scratched his vermillion eyebrows.  “I know these guys.  They
work for the House of Runer.  Runer is a day vamp that’s considered an upperdead. 
He can fly, run like the wind, and his fists turn into sharp stakes.  Scary guy.

“Which house were you in?” asked Michelle, looking the vampire up and down.

“I worked at the city orphanage.  I fed babies, washed their butts, and sang to them. 
When flyers snowed our city in, I picked one up that read, ‘Cattle will die soon. 
Use Plasmacore and be humane again.  Bring children and humans.  You will have a brand
new life in Downtown Los Angeles.’”  He looked at the three empty beds behind him.

“You brought five healthy children to us.  We’re grateful,” said Morales.

“Those kids are almost old enough for blood harvest.  I would’ve taken more if I could.”

“You recognize these San Diego folks?”  She swept a hand to the 18 men and a female
vamp.

“Sure.  Victoria worked with me.  She smuggled out four babies and two 10-year-olds. 
We were talking about stealing a van and heading here.”