Nightstalker Incorporated: The Nightstalkers, Book One Read online

  Nightstalker

  Incorporated

  the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously. Sometimes both.

  Copyright © 2016 Arthur D. DeForest

  All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system or transmitted, in any form or by other means, electronic, mechanical, recording or otherwise, without prior written permission of the author.

  Dedication

  Dad. Enough said.

  Acknowledgments

  Diane, Dorene, Tammy and Tom

  Without your invaluable contributions and encouragement, this book would have never happened.

  Here’s to the best team a guy could ask for

  Thanks

  Art

  Like what you read? Questions? Comments? Let me know.

  https://www.facebook.com/Art-DeForest-1703044689948412/

  http://www.amazon.com/-/e/B01CDKZA0O

  1

  “Pour it on!” I shouted, as the vampire came at us. It moved so fast you could barely see it. We had it isolated in a hallway, though, so each of my shooters took a section of the hall and poured fire into it. I was using the Saiga 12 gauge in my hand to try for aimed shots. Any monster can be brought down if you do enough damage fast enough. Sure the old tried and true methods worked. Staking, beheading, silver for werewolves, etc. We were prepared to go that route too if it came to it, but using handheld weapons against a monster was a surefire way to find yourself being treated like a human snack cake more often than not.

  My team and I did everything in our power to never let that happen. Victory through superior firepower was our mantra, and we lived it daily.

  The vamp jerked and stumbled repeatedly as it tried to reach us, screaming like a fallen death metal angel. The sheer volume of fire, caused it to lose its balance and move ever slower as the bones supporting his structure broke under a hail of double ought buckshot. It finally fell in a disjointed heap a couple feet from my shield wall. That’s right, shield wall.

  For every one of my guys or gals packing a Saiga, there was a teammate packing a kevlar riot shield. When some of the monsters could paralyze with a touch, keeping them off of you got really important.

  Fire poured into the body for a couple more seconds as the vamp lay there twitching. “Hold fire!” I said finally over the team’s comm. “Petey, finish him,” I commanded. The shield wall broke apart as Petey stood up, and up, and up. He was a mountain. 6’9” of solid muscle and bone. He drew a hand axe from its spot on his pack as he stepped forward. The vamp was still keening and trying to get at us as Petey brought the wide curving blade of the double-bitted axe crashing down on the vamps neck. The sudden silence was almost shocking.

  With a jerk, Petey pulled the axe from the carpeted floor now covered by vampire ash. The good thing about vampires was that it only took a vacuum to clean up the remains. The rest of the hallway, the adjoining offices, and most of the windows were going to take a little renovation to get them back to top shape once more. That was the problem with fully automatic 12 gauge shotguns. Not my problem, but a problem.

  My problem was that someone had turned this formerly mild-mannered accounts manager into a ravening undead creature of the night and then left it to its own devices. I needed to have a chat with whoever had done that. It was probably going to be fatal.

  Vampires weren’t always the bad guys Hollywood made them out to be. They weren’t often teen heartthrobs either. They damn sure didn’t sparkle.

  For the most, part they tended to be well to do business types who were more concerned with money, honor, and family. In that order. This tended to make most of them jerks in my opinion. They were jerks you could work with if you had to, though. Especially if some rogue was making babies and letting them run around feral. That was a serious no-no among the families. A new vamp was basically nothing but a ravening beast for at least the first year of its life. They were kept isolated as far from humans as possible until their mind came back and they learned some control.

  We finished clearing the office building just to make sure there wasn’t a second baby running around. If the pattern held, there wouldn’t be, but better safe than sorry. This was the second vamp we’d been called out on in the last month.

  We trooped out of the main entrance of the building, and I stopped at the police barricade where Lieutenant Alex Stevenson waited for us impatiently. The rest of my guys headed to the truck.

  “Jesus Christ, Dale. What the hell were you fighting up there? I thought the whole building was going to collapse from all the lead you put into it.”

  I sighed tiredly. “Another baby. It took everything we had to stop it short of the shield wall.” I said, shaking my head. “He was a fast little fucker. And don’t take the lord’s name in vain.” I said as an afterthought.

  Alex ran his hand through his hair in frustration. “Can’t you guys keep it quieter? People thought you were starting WW3 or something.”

  “We don’t work that way, and you know it,” I said sternly. “We get the job done our way, period. Feel free not to use our services if you think you and your boys can do a better job.”

  Alex’s face got hard as he stared me in the eye. “Dammit Dale, I don’t deserve that bullshit.” He seethed

  It was my turn to look down and sigh. “I know….sorry,” I said reluctantly.

  Alex was a good guy, for a cop. He was our liaison with Chicago PD. That’s right all you conspiracy theorists, the government knows about monsters and is hiding the fact from you. They will do almost anything to keep that secret too, so keep your trap shut or they’ll shut it for you.

  “Two babies in the same area in a week has me jumpy, I guess.” I continued. “That means I have to go have a talk with Siobhan. You know how I love that.” I said with a grimace.

  Alex got a sloppy grin on his face. “I’m sure she’d love to make your get together much more pleasant.” He said, making his eyebrows go up and down.

  I snorted and gave him a shove in return. For some unknown reason, Siobhan O'Malley, the local master vampire for this area, had the hots for one Dale Frost. I’m not sure why. I’m just a guy. Sure I’m big and strong, but not near as big and strong as Petey. Yeah, I had a brain, but it didn’t hold a candle to Smoke’s. He was our gun and gadget guy.

  The main problem was that down deep inside, where my inner caveman lived, I was tempted. Gorgeous was putting it mildly. Wavy auburn hair and emerald green eyes. You know the type. Creamy white skin and a body that made men and some women sin just to look at her. Yeah, she was to die for...literally I think. That’s what kept me away from her. I had no interest in waking up dead one morning.

  I promised I’d work on the noise issue and gave Alex a half wave as I headed for the truck that would take us back to headquarters.

  ++++

  He crouched on the roof, hidden by the night and watching as the men in heavy black clothing walked from the building. No dead, no wounded. These men were more formidable than anticipated. It was time to try something different. After all, he had many children to choose from.

  2

  “Nightstalker Incorporated. How may I direct your call?” Jenna said in a smooth contralto voice. Her nose wrinkled in distaste as we approached. The smell of cordite and vampire ash didn’t agree with her. You’d think she’d get used to it. As I headed around the reception desk, she absently handed me my phone messages while listening to whoever was on the other end of the line.

  We all went our separate ways as we headed down the hallway behind the reception desk. Most of the Dreadnoughts headed to the locker room t
o shower and change. Dreadnoughts is the name of my personal team. Dale’s Dreadnoughts. I thought it was kind of stupid myself, but my guys liked it, so I let it stick.

  I took my messages and headed back to my office. Well, one of my offices. I had the fancy one with the big oak desk that I sat behind when I was forced to talk to clients and whatnot. The office I headed to was the one where the work actually got done. It was smaller and had your average Formica-topped office desk with a squeaky office chair behind it. A couple of dusty pictures hung on the wall. Some were of my buddies from back in the Corps. The newer ones were of my current group of guys. They were taken while we were out on a “business retreat”. That’s corporate talk for a week spent in Baja filled with cervezas, senoritas, and some really big fish caught out in the Pacific. In this line of work, you had to find time to blow off some steam.

  I only had one picture on my desk. A beautiful slender goddess was holding a little girl that could have grown up to be even more beautiful than her mother. I don’t want to talk about it.

  The muscles around my eyes tightened as I stared at the picture on the desk. I was about to get all maudlin and depressed when there was a tap on my office door.

  “Come in,” I grumbled as I shook my head to clear it.

  Smoke came walking nonchalantly through the door. “Hey boss, how’d it go?” He asked as he sat down across the desk from me.

  “The usual as far as the operation, unusual as far as the target,” I replied.

  “I know right? Two babies in a week. That has to be on purpose.” He said as his brow furrowed in speculation.

  He was right about that. The vamps usually policed themselves. Anyone going around making uncontrolled children usually ended up as a pile of dust.

  Smoke didn’t look like a tech geek. He looked like a linebacker for the Bears. Nobody would’ve given him a second glance if he was packing a Saiga and punching out evil with my team. It was a role he’d filled in the past even.

  In Smoke’s case though it’s a bit like beating a werewolf to death with a computer. It might get the job done, but there are a lot better uses for that computer.

  Smoke kept all our guns and equipment in top condition. That’s how he got his nickname. The smell of gunsmoke seemed to cling to him like a miasma.

  He also kept us on the cutting edge of technology. If there was a bigger, better way to kill the monsters or keep us safe, from our trusty Saigas to small thermite grenades that were handy for burning up undead. Smoke was all over it. The noise-cancelling earpieces on our comm equipment were a godsend. Another item to thank Smoke for.

  “I think I need to have a talk with Siobhan,” I said with a scowl.

  Smoke winced in sympathy. “I wonder how long it will be before she gets offended by your repeated refusals to dance the horizontal mambo with her.”

  I was flipping through my messages while he was talking and held up one between two fingers. “I hope at least once more,” I said, indicating the message with a nod of my head. She wants to meet me at Tango’s tonight.”

  Tango’s was a high-end dance club, owned by Siobhan's family. It was popular enough that her people stayed well fed off the patrons without anyone dying. Vamps were so tricky, most didn’t even know they’d been fed on. As long as they didn’t kill anyone, the powers that be, had a hands-off policy towards the families. A policy that was well lubricated with many dollars, no doubt.

  “Fun, fun,” said Smoke as he started to rise from his chair.

  “Hey,” I said as he turned to leave. “Can you put a silencer on a Saiga?” I asked.

  Smoke started to laugh until he looked back at me and saw the serious expression on my face. He turned back around and put his hand to his jaw in thought. ‘You’ll never make them silent.” He said consideringly. “But you might bring the noise down to a dull roar.”

  I nodded at the qualifier. “Alex was complaining about the noise we made. Something about World War 3 is starting.”

  Smoke nodded as he headed out the door once more. “I’ll see what I can do.”

  ++++

  It was still early enough that I could make it down to Tango’s before it closed, so I headed to the locker room and took a quick shower. Once I smelled like a human again, I put on some casual street clothes and headed out to the parking garage. I stopped briefly to smile as my eyes roved over my baby.

  She was a 1969 Mustang Mach 1. There was a 428 Super Cobra Jet engine under the hood and when I opened the throttle the gas gauge dropped almost as fast as the speedometer rose. I loved her, though. She was shiny, black and badass.

  I cruised through the Chicago night. The Mustang’s low rumble played counterpoint to AC/DC on the radio. The car and the music helped me get my head straight before I had to deal with Siobhan. She wasn’t bad as far as vampires go really. She followed the rules, and so did her family. She just wasn’t used to not getting her own way. What she wanted from me, I just couldn’t give...Yet.

  I rumbled up to the valet parking in front of Tango’s. A young man with wide eyes came around the front to take the keys and give me a receipt. “Anything bad happens to her, it happens to you.” I growled.

  “Y..Yes, sir!” Replied the kid as he got into the driver’s seat. Even after I put the fear of god in him, he was still grinning. I couldn’t hold that against him.

  The guy at the door was big, not as big as Petey, but he was still freaking huge. He was also a vampire. That was unusual. This place had human flunkies for that usually. As I drew close, our eyes met briefly before I dropped my gaze to his chest. I knew better than to meet a vamp’s gaze for too long. You were just asking to get rolled if you did. “Rolled” is our term for mesmerized, by the way.

  A beefy hand came up in a halting motion as I got within arms reach. “We’re full.” He said tersely in a gruff baritone.

  I let my gaze come up, and I focused on the bridge of his nose. “Siobhan wants to see me,” I said calmly.

  “I don’t care who wants to see you. Get lost.” He said, throwing his shoulders back and his chest out.

  I just sighed and reached into my pocket for my cell phone. Looking back up at him, I calmly dialed a set of numbers. I gave him a grin that didn’t reach my eyes as the phone started ringing.

  “Dale, what a pleasant surprise.” Replied a sultry voice from the other end.

  “Hey Siobhan, you’ve got some brainless slab of beef out on the front door that doesn’t think I should come in and talk with you,” I said. It was fun to watch the guy’s expression go from arrogant to panic when his vampire hearing picked up Siobhan’s voice. Not a lot of people have Siobhan’s private number after all.

  We both heard Siobhan’s irritated sigh. “Marco, if Mr. Frost is not in my office in three minutes, you and I will be having a...discussion.” Marco turned pale, well paler. They’re all pale. He quickly unclasped the velvet rope and motioned me inside with a shaky hand.

  The front doors opened into a foyer. On the opposite side of the large room, heavy double doors muffled the sound of the thumping bass coming from the dance floor. Another large vampire stood by the doors, looking at me warily, but not doing anything stupid. On the other side of the doors stood a small podium. A pleasantly smiling young lady stood behind it and made eye contact with me as I approached.

  “Mr. Frost?” She asked in a sweet voice.

  I nodded once, and she motioned me to a single door off to the side. She proceeded me to the entrance and used a keypad to open it. “Please follow me. Ms. O’Malley will see you in her office.” She said as she led me down a long hallway covered in a plush, ice blue carpeting with understated artwork on the walls. At the far end of the hall, she knocked quietly on the door before opening the door and waving me through.

  “Dale, how nice to see you.” Said Siobhan as she rounded a desk, meeting me in the center of the room. She reached up and quickly hugged me, making sure she pressed every curve into me. Damn, she had a lot of curves. I hugged her back briefly before
moving back. “We need to talk Siobhan,” I said gravely.

  “Straight to business Dale? You’re no fun.” Said Siobhan with a pout on her full red lips.

  “Someone’s making babies in your territory and leaving them to run wild. I’m starting to get tired of cleaning up your messes.”

  “It's not my mess Dale. None of my people would do this.” She said, the temperature in the room cooling considerably at her words.

  “You know better Siobhan.” I shot back. “Either one of your family is doing it, or you’ve got someone trying to make a move on you by creating distractions. Either way, it's your mess.”

  Siobhan’s eye’s flashed in anger, and for a moment I wondered if I’d pushed just a little too hard. She glared at me for a moment, but finally sighed and nodded her head. “I fear you’re right, but for love of the darkness I can’t figure out who.”