Night and Day (Book 2): Bleeding Sky (45 page)

“So?”

“So,
you’ll be a courier for us, nothing more, nothing less. I’m going to give
you something to take to somebody inside the perimeter. You’re going to do
that. When you’ve done what I ask, I’ll be told. Then I’ll release Captain
Mutz and your foul-mouthed little bitch.”

“They
come with me,” I said. “I leave, they leave.”

“Don’t
you trust me?”

“You’re
a funny guy, Red. You oughta look into a career in stand-up when you’re done
killing Vees.”

He
smiled. “Okay, we’ll do it your way. You’re smart enough to know what
happens if you try to fuck me.”

“What
am I supposed to be carrying?”

He
pulled a computer flash drive about the size of my thumb from his pocket and
held it up. “This,” he said. “Stick it in your pocket and walk right through
the security checkpoint.”

“What’s
on it?”

He
shook his head. “Nothing a skeeter-lover like you would be interested in.”
He paused. “And don’t waste any time trying to see what it is. It’s
encrypted, of course. And, the recipient will be expecting it pretty damn
quick after you leave here.”

“And
who’s the recipient?”

He
told me.

Chapter
Twenty-Seven

Jimmy
got into the front seat of the Jeep next to me and Martinez climbed in the
back. Red stood at the top of the steps, Billy and the guy with the ball
behind him, watching. I’m sure other eyes were watching as well.

I
pulled away from the curb and rolled down Bacon toward First. “How did they
get you, Jimmy?”

“I
was stupid,” he said with a tired chuckle. “After my meeting with Northport
yesterday, I decided to stay off the main drags in midtown and avoid the
lunch traffic. Went over to Channel View, figured I’d take the scenic route,
get a look at the river. I was so busy looking at the water I didn’t bother
to check who might be on my tail. When I turned on Pierhead to get back to
First, they made their move. Came up close, gave my bumper a little tap. And
I pulled over.”

“You
didn’t call it in?”

He
shook his head. “I told you, I was stupid. Having a conversation with
Northport is enough to make a man want to scream sometimes. I had
some...feelings I wanted to get out, thought I’d share them with whatever
asshole had hit my bumper.” He paused. “Of course, when I got out of the car
and walked back, they shoved a pistol in my face.”

“Could
happen to anybody, sarge,” I said. “Hard to protect yourself when you don’t
know you’re a target.”

“Yeah,
but I could have called it in before I got out of the car,” he said. “You
remember what I told you your first day of training?”

“Always
call it in,” I said softly.

“So
they know where to find your body,” he said, completing what he’d said more
than fifteen years earlier to a young patrolman fresh out of the
Army.

“Who
were those people, sir?” Martinez asked from behind me.

I
turned south on First. “That was the Resistance, Lita, up close and
personal.”

“So
what did they want?” Jimmy asked.

“For
me to take something through the perimeter at Jackson Square,” I said. “And
give it to somebody.”

“What
and who?”

I
was silent for a moment, then said, “Leave it alone, Jimmy. Whatever it is,
it’s not worth dying over.”

“Answer
my question and I’ll let you know if I agree,” he said.

I
shook my head. “No, this one is my responsibility, all the way. I’m not
gonna make either of you part of it. If I’m making a mistake, I’ll live with
it.”

“Hold
still and let me put another nail in your palm,” Jimmy said.

I
ignored him. “But this has to stay between us,” I said. “Nobody reports it,
nobody talks about it. It didn’t happen.” I paused. “You going to be able to
come up with a believable story, Jimmy?”

He
was silent for a moment, then said, “I don’t know how believable it’ll be,
but I can come up with a story. I’ll use what happened, right up to the
point when they bundled me into a car, took me to an empty warehouse on St.
Joseph, then to your apartment. I’ll say they grabbed me, robbed me and
dumped me. Freaked when they saw the badge. Tossed me in an alley or an
empty apartment. I woke up, got to a phone, and called you.”

“Thin,”
I said. “Why didn’t you call the department?”

“I
was embarrassed,” he said. “And that part is true.”

He
smiled. “They might think it’s bullshit, but what are they going to do? How
are they going to prove different?” He sat for a moment, then nodded slowly.
“And maybe I can use it to put some pressure on Eddie Gabriel. Say it was
some junkies hopped up on Eddie’s shit. Say they dumped me in an old
shooting gallery. That might be the final straw for Northport and he might
take the cuffs off and let us take down Eddie Gee.”

I
glanced in the rearview mirror. “How about you, Lita? Got concerned, came
looking for me, found me at my apartment with Jimmy. Came back with me,
figured you pick up the Humvee later.”

Her
eyes were fixed on mine in the mirror. “Is anybody gonna die because of what
you’re doing, sir?”

I
thought for a moment, then shook my head. “I don’t think so,” I said. “At
least not for a long, long time.”

“Then
I’m game, sir,” she said.

We
were approaching the checkpoint on First at Antietam. “Okay, that’s how
we’ll play it. Sergeant, you take Captain Mutz to the command trailer so he
can report in. And let Mackey know that he can cancel his request to the
operations center.”

“Sir,”
she said as the checkpoint trooper approached the window.

Heymann’s
trailer was back on the ground, apparently bomb-free, as I walked with Jimmy
and Lita to the command trailer. I stopped and watched them go up the steps.
Lita, and probably Jimmy as well, would be watching me from inside, to see
who I talked to. So I walked around the back of Heymann’s trailer, out of
view. I stopped and stood there for a few minutes.

It
was a nice day, sunny but with lower humidity, the heat less oppressive than
it had been the past few days. Everybody seemed to know that Heymann was
leaving. The troopers were still manning their positions, but they’d cleaned
up the debris that accompanies a deployment. Tomorrow they’d be returning to
regular duty.

And
I’d be going back to my cases. Missing persons, divorce, fraud, cases the
cops couldn’t or wouldn’t investigate. And training the next Vee that Bain
sent my way.

But
first, I had something to do.

I
slowly walked back around Heymann’s trailer, just ambling. Clay was perched
on the edge of the ramp, watching me. I ambled in his direction.

“Nice
day,” he said.

“Yeah.
Humidity’s down.” While I spoke, I angled my body so my right side wasn’t
visible from the command trailer. “It’s supposed to be humid again next
week.” I slipped my hand into my pocket and closed it around the flash
drive. “Of course, you’ll be on your way to San Antonio by then.” My hand
came out of my pocket and the flash drive dropped to the ground next to my
right foot.

Clay
nodded. “Yeah, and I’ll be in the air-conditioned comfort of the trailer,”
he said. He took a long pull on his cigarette, then bent down and ground it
into the dirt. When he stood, the flash drive was gone.

“What’s
on it?” I asked. “Your associate wouldn’t tell me.”

“Whatever
they had,” he said. “Strategic intelligence is way above my paygrade, and
outside my area of interest. Only intel I care about is tactical stuff when
I’m on an assignment. This shit is for the guys with stars on their
collars.”

“Maybe
I just don’t get the point,” I said. “You say this all started here with one
Vee. One. Then two. Then four. Eight. Sixteen. Thirty-two. Sixty-four.” I
paused. “In less than a month, millions. You go head-to-head, they turn you.
You piss them off, they do the same thing in Europe that they did
here.”

“I’m
just a soldier, Charlie. I do what they tell me to do.” He smiled. “Just
like you.”

I
thought back to something Brenner had said the night before. They pull the
strings, we obey.

“It
may not be next month, or next year,” he said softly. “But vampires are
living creatures. Like all living creatures they have vulnerabilities. We
got a lot of smart people working on finding out what those vulnerabilities
are. And when we do, we’re going to take back our country.” He paused. “But
that’s for the future. Right now, my next stop is Texas and another flash
drive.”

“Taking
full advantage of Heymann’s trip?”

He
grinned. “The only reason Heymann is here is to give me cover.”

“What,
you’re saying that everything he says about fact-finding, about opening
normal diplomatic relations, is bullshit?”

“Nah,”
Clay said. “It’s probably true. But that’s not why he’s here right now. The
German government has been asking for this trip for almost two years, ever
since the vampires let ya’ll out of those prison camps. The EU wouldn’t go
along, not without NATO approval. NATO wouldn’t approve until my four-star
approved. And he wouldn’t say yes till we had everything set up to make the
trip worthwhile. For us.”

He
smiled. “Heymann was allowed to choose the route. We set up the pick-ups.
New York, here, San Antonio, San Francisco, Boise, St. Louis. Then back home
for the brains to take a look at the information.”

I
was silent for a moment, then said, “What is it, 10th Special Forces that
has a European command in Stuttgart?”

“I’ve
heard that,” he said. “Over at Panzer Kaserne. I hear they’re a good bunch
of guys.” He paused. “Heavy smokers, but solid soldiers.”

I
stared at him silently for a moment, then said, “I’ll probably see you
before you leave, captain.”

“I’m
not going anywhere,” he said with a smile. “Yet.”

The
rest of the afternoon passed quickly. Half an hour after we got back, Daryl
Northport pulled up. I left my office to him and Jimmy, and sent Martinez to
the company medic to have her wound checked.

After
fifteen minutes of loud, often profane argument in my office, the door
opened and Daryl marched by, Jimmy at his heels. Jimmy smiled and rolled his
eyes as he passed.

Martinez
returned not long after they left. The company medic had given her the okay
to stay on duty. Lita would have a groove on her calf, much like the one on
Sgt. Mackey’s ass, but no lasting damage.

I
left her in the office and went with Bristow to walk to perimeter. We
stopped by the transporter and watched the human part of the crew prep it.
The Vees, including a couple of Shuster’s men, would be there after sundown.
Bristow said they would have the trailer loaded and be on their way before
sun-up the next morning.

A
few minutes after nine, Takeda arrived. She found me on the steps, next to
Martinez, watching the troopers of B Company pack up their personal
equipment. They’d go back to the City Barracks to get the rest of their gear
tonight, then return to the Area Operations Center in the
morning.

Takeda
looked at me for a moment, then said, “You seem pensive, Mr. Welles. Why is
that?”

“Why
not?”

“The
assignment was successful,” she said. “Dr. Heymann is alive. He met with
humans, as he wished. You suffered no casualties in your command.” She
paused. “You did well. We all did.”

“I
guess,” I said. “When is General Bain going to be here?”

“His
helo is inbound. He’ll be here within the half-hour.”

I
nodded.

“I
will see you when he arrives.” She looked at Martinez.
“Sergeant.”

“Sir,”
Martinez said with a quick salute.

A
couple of minutes later, Bristow came out of the trailer, a briefcase in
each hand. He stopped, put one of the briefcases down, and extended his
hand. “It’s been a pleasure serving with you, sir,” he said.

I
shook his hand. “The pleasure has been all mine, Sid.”

“You
coming with us, Martinez?”

Lita
snuck a quick glance at me, then said, “I’ll stay with Mr. Welles till he
goes off duty, sir,” she said. “If he can give me a ride to City Barracks
after I pick up my bag at his apartment.”

“I’ll
get her there, captain,” I said.

“Yes,
sir,” Bristow said. He snapped a quick salute, picked up the second
briefcase, and disappeared into the night.

“What’s
going to happen to me, sir?” Martinez asked.

“What
do you mean?”

“Did
you talk to Commander Takeda about my stripes?”

“We
had a discussion, yes,” I said. “I think we’ll be able to work something
out.”

“And
what would that be, sir?”