Sunrise at Sunset (36 page)

She glanced at the GPS and noted that their destination was only a few miles away. She pulled on a pair of black leather gloves and absently noticed that he was already wearing some.

As they neared a turn-off comprised of a narrow dirt road leading through dense trees, Alton muttered. “Remember, let me do the talking. You’re my silent business associate.”

“Fine,” she agreed neutrally.
It’s not like I’m here for a conversation
.

They pulled up in front of a large, sheet metal barn with a curved canopy roof. The poorly maintained building had peeled silver paint interspersed with rust along its façade. Two large metal sliding doors remained wide open, but Alton stopped their vehicle outside the entrance and cut off the engine.

Just inside and to the right was a white panel van parked to the side of the large bay area. A number of battery-powered spotlights placed inside the barn in various locations provided ample illumination to the interior.

Wearing their long, black leather coats over dark jeans and sweaters, they exited the vehicle into the cold night air. Katrina had suggested that the subdued wardrobe might be useful at night, and power colors were always helpful for business meetings. Alton had merely chuckled and acquiesced.

Two rough-looking men, an older man with a graying beard and a clean-shaven younger man, were pointing small submachine guns in their direction as they walked towards the barn entrance.

“Please, come in,” came a man’s gruff voice from inside. “But I’d appreciate your removing your coats and leaving them outside.”

Alton’s eyes darted to Katrina long enough to see her shrug, and both of them removed their coats to lay them on the hood of their Jeep.

“Much better,” the man said congenially.

They entered the barn and counted four other men inside. Each was a hard-looking figure with his own gun, and they wore a mixture of hunting clothes and military camouflage. A person stood at each interior corner of the barn, and two more men stood at the middle of the dirt floor towards the back.

Katrina glanced around the room as they entered and saw no additional people present.

Before they were halfway into the building, a tall, middle-aged man with a cropped haircut and faded U.S. Army Special Forces emblem on his camouflage jacket spoke up. “Please stop there so we can perform a quick search for weapons.”

Alton and Katrina silently stopped, and the younger of the two men flanking them shouldered his submachine gun and patted down Alton. He moved to Katrina, but took a noticeably protracted time to pat her down, his hand lingering at her hips and thighs longer than she was willing to endure.

“Move them or lose them,” she growled angrily.
If this goes badly, you get to die first
, she silently promised the fellow.

The man quickly stepped back and nodded briskly to the man at the center of the room.

“Mister Alton,” the middle-aged man greeted with a northeastern accent. “So good to do business with you again. Please approach.”

Alton gave Katrina a motion with his head to indicate that she should stand where she was while he neared the dealer.

“Mr. Preston,” Alton greeted with a slight nod as he halted approximately two feet from him.

Within a span of a few seconds, Alton’s eyes observed a small table to Preston’s left sporting a large plastic container left open to reveal small wrapped packages of plastic explosives. There were detonators and priming wires visible as well. To the side of the container, Alton noticed a small, handheld crossbow with a quiver of wood-shafted and metal-tipped arrows.

Preston took notice of Alton’s glance to the table before he offered, “If you look at the table, you’ll see that everything you asked for is there.”

Alton nodded. “I’m confident that’s the case.”

Preston raised an eyebrow, but his expression returned to a more neutral manner as he ventured, “Despite the small order and manageable quantity of explosives, they were difficult to acquire on short notice. I’m afraid there’s going to be a slight price mark-up.”

“How much of a mark-up?” Alton asked evenly.

Preston exhibited a calculating expression and stipulated, “Fifty.”

“Another fifty thousand,” Alton muttered irritably.

Katrina’s jaw tightened at the exchange taking place between the two men. She just wanted to get the transaction over with because they still had key items to acquire for their mission, although from more conventional sources.

“That’s fine,” she snapped impatiently.

Preston looked sharply across the length of the large area to Katrina before focusing on Alton again. “The lady has good hearing,” he observed with a frown, adding pointedly: “And appears to be in a hurry.”

The man nearest to Katrina made an effort to point the barrel of his gun at her menacingly, but she merely ignored him.

“Fifty thousand will be fine,” Alton remarked levelly.

“Ah, no. I’m afraid you misunderstood. That’s fifty percent,” Preston explained with a straight face. “Not fifty thousand.”

Alton’s eyes narrowed. “That’s not at all what we agreed upon.”

Preston merely shrugged. “Like I said, it was hard to come by on short notice. And from the lady’s comment, you appear to need these items in a hurry. Just business, nothing personal, you understand.”

Alton started to reply, but Katrina’s cold, hard voice cut him off. “That’s too bad for you then,” she stated lethally. “Because my business is personal this time.”

Preston’s eyes narrowed, but Katrina was already in motion. She grabbed the younger man standing next to her by the neck and swung him around, so when the older man next to her fired, the bullets impacted the younger man’s back. He screamed, and she grabbed at his waistband with her free hand to seize a combat knife from a leather sheath.

She simultaneously snapped the younger man’s neck with her left hand while deftly slashing at the neck of the older man before her. The older man’s neck was nearly severed in half as his body fell to the ground, and blood spurted around his fallen form.

Alton slammed his right fist into the side of Preston’s head, knocking him to the ground as the vampire lunged at the man standing behind Preston. The guard started firing in Alton’s direction, but the tall vampire sidestepped the firing arc and lashed out with his hand. It took only one swift motion to break his neck, and Alton snatched the submachine gun from the dead man’s hands.

The two men at the back corners of the room were firing at Katrina, but she had already dropped the body of the younger man and moved in a blur across the room towards the man in the rear left corner. It took only a second to cross the distance, her eyes blazing bright green with rage. She stepped past the man while holding the combat knife outwards slightly with her arm to catch him in the chest with the blade. The force of her impact knocked the man to the ground with a gasp, and his body thudded heavily to the dirty floor.

Alton swiveled the dead guard’s gun in his gloved hands to the remaining guard to his left and behind him. The guard was firing across the room at Katrina as Alton aimed and fired two quick belches of gunfire. Bullets riddled into his neck and head, and the guard spun to the ground in a bloody arc.

Katrina glanced over to Alton and noticed Preston lying on the ground but bringing an automatic pistol upwards in an aimed arc towards Alton, who was still torso-twisted away from the arms dealer. Her hand swooped down to pluck the knife from the chest of the guard at her feet, and she hurled the blade at Preston just as Alton was turning back to face him. The blade imbedded in Preston’s arm, causing his gun to fire wide and to the side of Alton.

Alton snarled angrily and jammed the butt of his gun into Preston’s forehead with brutal force, causing the man’s cranium to be shattered by the impact. His body hurled back to the ground with a bloody thump, and Alton discarded the gun absently as he glanced towards Katrina.

“I was right. You’re the heavy artillery, just like I told Caleb,” he quipped darkly. “But your negotiation skills could use some work.”

She scowled as she walked over to her former mentor. “I thought I did pretty well, actually. We get the merchandise and keep our money.”

He smiled grimly as he moved to the small table to close the fabricated case containing the explosives and detonators. He glanced back long enough to see Katrina standing over Preston’s body and glancing down at his crushed skull.

“You don’t overcharge a vampire,” she muttered lethally before moving to the table to pick up the crossbow and selection of arrows.

Katrina looked over at Alton and demanded with a note of incredulity, “Are you sure that you actually dealt with these people before?”

Alton shrugged. “As I said, I conducted two successful transactions with them in the past. I suppose they simply don’t treat repeat customers very well.”

She gave him a withering look as they loaded the items into their vehicle, and both turned back to gaze at the old sheet metal building.

“Should we use some of the explosives?” he asked absently as he considered their options.

“No, it will tip the authorities, as well as associate this scene with Chimalma’s fate,” Katrina estimated. “Load the bodies into the van and set fire to the gas tank. It should be just enough to cover our tracks. We won’t worry about their blood around the building because there’s nothing left to tie it back to us.”

Alton raised an eyebrow at his former pupil. “You’re good.”

She smiled back with a menacing grin. “Killing is a specialty of mine.”

He frowned and warned, “Fine for now, but I want you to let go of this when you get back to Caleb.”

Her facial expression fell slightly as the vision of Caleb appeared in her mind’s eye. She knew that he brought out the best in her and realized that he might be the only one who could tame her renewed savagery in the end.
At least I hope that he can
.

“I’m going to try,” she replied quietly.

She steeled herself for the task ahead and walked deliberately back into the building. Alton followed quietly behind her.

Within twenty minutes, they had stacked the bodies and firearms into the panel van. Katrina punctured the vehicle’s gas tank and drained a large amount of fuel to spread underneath it and onto the bodies using an old bucket she found inside the building. She used a match to ignite the spilled fuel as Alton watched from near their Jeep. Afterwards, she sped from the building as the fire erupted throughout the interior of the van.

Katrina slid the two main doors closed and walked calmly back to where Alton stood. She picked up her coat from the hood of the vehicle and tossed his to him. Moving to the passenger door, she suggested, “Still lots to do tonight. We better get going.”
He watched her for a moment, marveling at her initiative and efficiency, and then slid into the driver’s seat. They pulled away into the night, leaving the abandoned building behind.

“Where to next?” he asked as she selected various options on the GPS.

“The nearest all-night department store,” she replied. “We need some heavy length of chain.”

Alton frowned and looked at her curiously.

She noted his expression as she looked up from the GPS. “Well, Chimalma’s not going to just walk into a booby-trapped kill zone, is she?”

Alton raised both eyebrows and considered the idea for a moment.

“There,” she offered in a satisfied tone. “I found a store not far away from our route back to the cabin.”

He glanced at the GPS and headed in the designated direction after they returned to the paved roadway.

Chapter 10

Nighttime Guests

A
lton focused on preparing and rechecking the equipment and supplies intended for their night-time assault. They also studied the satellite images of the area around the retreat facility, as well as maps of the area roads and designated points of interest within miles of their target.

When evening finally arrived, both vampires felt as prepared as possible for their endeavor. As Alton helped load their implements into the Jeep, he took note of Katrina’s focused manner.

“I’ve seen that look on your face before, you know,” he observed as she closed the back door of the Jeep with a resolute push of her hand.

Her piercing green eyes probed into his as she inquired, “And when was that, exactly?”

“Decades ago, actually. Around the time of your last hunt for Chimalma,” he recalled.

She arched an eyebrow. “Yes, but this time’s different.”

“Really? How so?”

Her expression was stony. “Last time was a fruitless hunt. This time, I plan to be successful and perhaps gain a little closure.”

Alton nodded silently as he walked around to the driver’s side of the Jeep while Katrina secured the cabin’s front door.

This time, Chimalma, I’ll commit you to dust
, she vowed coldly,
and you’ll never threaten Caleb or me again.

The night was cold and clear, with a crescent moon shining among the array of stars blanketing the sky. They arrived outside the retreat facility close to ten o’clock and parked the Jeep some distance away. Exiting the vehicle, they each wore black jeans, sweaters, leather gloves, and hiking boots. They dabbed black shoe polish on their faces to subdue their pale skin, confident they would blend into the night quite effectively. Additionally, Katrina tied her long, red hair back in a single, tight ponytail.

Alton secured two combat knives to his web gear and was armed with a small automatic pistol with silencer. They were his weapons of choice for the type of activities they planned. Though fighting wasn’t his preferred activity, he had experienced enough in his time on Earth that he was no stranger to various forms of combat and violence.

She adjusted her black leather harness gear that held a number of knives and throwing stars. They served her well when she performed stealth work. Wrapped across her shoulder and extending to her hip was a long coil of steel cable, which he had convinced her was superior for carrying in a stealthy situation and was almost as strong as the logging chain she wanted to bring. She admired his forethought on the matter and silently berated herself for not having thought of it first. She also sported the repeating combat crossbow with a leather sheaf of the wood-shafted, metal-tipped bolts.

Both vampires slipped small tactical ear bone conduction microphone/receivers into their right ears, which would allow them to stay in relatively silent communication with each other so long as they remained in close proximity and away from sources of interference. The devices were highly effective and commonly used by military and police tactical teams.

Alton handed her a small handheld detonator. “I have one just like it tuned to the same frequency. That way either one of us can trigger the explosion when we’re ready.”

Katrina nodded, and he handed her the small electronic jammer they used at the downtown office building in Atlanta.

“Do you remember my instructions regarding its use?” he asked.

She nodded.

“Don’t forget you only have ten minutes of power once it’s activated,” he added, “during which time our communications will go dead.”

“Got it,” she replied while slipping it into a holder attached to her leather harness. “I’ll try not to use it, if possible.”

“Let’s go then,” Alton suggested.

Both vampires moved out silently into the nearby woods in the direction of the retreat facility.

The area was hilly and packed with dense trees interspersed with hiking trails. Small creeks throughout the area emptied into a large river running directly below the small meadow intended for use as the kill zone. Both of them kept to the trees, though their skilled vampire bodies were adept at moving silently through the dense coverage. They moved a short distance apart, so they were approaching the retreat grounds from slightly different angles. Katrina intended to approach somewhat from the front, while Alton would approach from the back because it was closer to the area where he needed to set up the kill zone.

Alton made his way up the facing of a steep, tree-covered hill and soon came upon one of the small hiking trails. He avoided the trail because it was more easily watched or booby-trapped and remained in the trees as his acute senses tuned to any unusual sounds or movements.

After ten minutes, he detected the sounds of a human moving around in the dry leaves covering parts of the ground. He approached to within twenty feet of the guard, who wore hunter’s gear and carried a rifle with a night scope. The guard smoked a cigarette near one of the small hiking trails and appeared somewhat bored. He stamped his feet to generate warmth, obviously having been standing in the cold night for some time.

Alton retrieved his silenced pistol and managed to creep to within four feet of the man and slightly behind his area of vision. He raised his pistol and fired once at the base of the man’s head, affecting an immediate kill. The figure slumped to the ground, and Alton stamped out his lit cigarette and pulled the figure into some dense bushes nearby. Then he moved silently onwards to seek additional guards.

“One down,” he whispered.

Katrina heard and smiled grimly as she made her way through the trees. Her senses felt attuned to the natural environment around her, and she reveled with the thrill of the hunt. Yet another part of her was anxious for it to be over. The sooner she finished, the sooner she could return to Caleb.

Still, she shamefully admitted that the renewal of violence of the past few days had rekindled a sense of pleasure. She loved to stalk prey, regardless of whether it were humans or animals. It was a vampire attribute she relished and warmly embraced, even though in recent years, she sought more sedate and reclusive feeding habits. Now she felt the call of the hunt, though for serious reasons and much higher stakes than her personal pleasure.
Now it’s for my mate.
Just the thought of Caleb and the manner in which he fulfilled the role of mate supplied her with renewed vigor for her task at hand.

Before long, she heard the sound of a person some distance ahead coughing in the night. Her hearing zeroed in on the man’s location, and she began the stealthy endeavor of stalking him. He was dressed in traditional hunter’s garb, but held an assault rifle with infrared scope. The man was looking through the infrared sight, but was looking to his right and sweeping left in her direction.

She increased the speed of her closure to the man’s position and moved more to the rear of him so his scanning arc wouldn’t point in her immediate direction without his turning around. Even in the dry winter conditions, she avoided noise that would alert someone to her presence. The breeze caused tree limbs to brush together, generating some ambient noise as her footfalls fell relatively silently one after another.

Once she arrived to within thirty feet of the man, Katrina aimed her combat crossbow at the figure and carefully locked him in her sights. After accounting for the minimal wind, she let loose a bolt that caught the man squarely in the mid-left quadrant of his back. He fell to the ground with little struggle, and she closed the distance to him to slash swiftly downwards across his throat with one of the combat knives sheathed in her web gear.

“One down,” she whispered.

She continued on her way, once again scanning the distance with her keen senses to detect another guard.

Within an hour, both of them had taken six more guards out of operation. Alton moved towards the designated kill zone to start distributing his explosives in an even, circular pattern for the most efficient detonation.

Meanwhile, Katrina moved closer to the retreat facility, a medium-sized, two-story conference center with built-in suites of guest rooms. There was also a small restaurant built into one end of the facility, along with a small boat house skirting an oversized pond just behind the main building. The only other major structure was a large storage building positioned well away from the conference center to the east of the boat house.

Katrina was struck by how the entire compound seemed to be closed. There were only half a dozen vehicles in the parking lot, which likely belonged to some of the guards on duty. She had expected to encounter a contingent of guests who would pose an additional impediment to their plans. The Website for the facility didn’t indicate any specific closure periods during the winter months, although it was only about two weeks from Christmas. Whatever the reason for the abandoned facility, she found the development encouraging.

She made her way towards the storage building, the nearest structure to her position, allowing her the opportunity to examine further the central complex grounds from a relative degree of cover. As she hugged the building, she wondered how Alton was coming along with the explosives.

“Alton?” she whispered. “Status?”

There was a silent pause.

“Nearly halfway complete,” Alton replied finally.

“I’m at the storage building just east of the boat house to survey the grounds further,” she whispered. “Then I’ll move into the facility for Chimalma.”

“Right,” he replied. “Be careful. I’ll head for the storage building after I’m done here.”

“Copy that,” she whispered. She permitted a small smile to cross her lips as she moved forward.

Alton completed the configuration of explosives and double-checked the array. While working, he reflected on his experience with demolitions, honed during clandestine operations that he performed for the British Secret Service during World War II and again during brief periods of the Cold War. Of course, he had conducted the operations under separate names and identities, but the cumulative experience had proven handy at such times.

He returned to the retreat grounds, being careful to ensure that no additional guards moved into the area. After arriving effortlessly at the storage building near the boat house, he failed to see Katrina in the immediate vicinity.

“At the storage building,” he whispered.

There was a pause, and Katrina replied, “Area surveyed. Moving into the main facility.”

“I’ll stage near the facility to watch for guards and respond as needed,” he whispered.

“Copy,” she replied.

Katrina completed her survey of the main grounds of the retreat complex, but found no other guards outside. She moved towards the rear entrance of the building where there was less direct lighting from exterior sources. Most of the interior of the building was dark, except for main hallways and some offices, which appeared vacant.

She tried the rear entrance and was wary when she found it to be unlocked. Abruptly, she heard the sound of Chimalma’s voice from within the lower level near the main office area. She reached to her web gear, extracted the small jamming device, and activated it. Unfortunately, her communications with Alton would be suspended until she turned it off again or until the ten-minute battery expired.

After only a moment, Katrina no longer heard the sound of Chimalma’s voice as she entered the open area, which appeared to be a gathering room for socializing and mingling near the registration desk. She peered down the length of a long hallway as she made her way to the front entry area and on to the main offices where she originally heard Chimalma’s voice.

A guard wearing a woodland camouflage uniform and carrying a silenced submachine gun appeared at the very end of the hallway and pointed his weapon at her. In a blur, she grasped three throwing stars from her web gear and flung them at high velocity down the length of the hall towards the guard as he was pulling the trigger. Two rounds passed in front of Katrina’s body. The others went wild into the ceiling when the throwing stars impacted the man’s upper chest and throat. He spun to the ground clutching at his neck, and in a matter of seconds, fell silent.

She proceeded towards the main offices.

Alton was preparing to move around the storage building to head for the front of the facility when he heard a small sound behind him. He swiftly turned with pistol in hand and saw the long, curvy blade of a knife already speeding towards him. He barely had time to swivel his body to avoid being hit in the chest with the blade, instead imbedding firmly into his stomach with a meaty thud.

He grunted from the impact and saw a blur of movement as the dark-clad figure of Chimalma kicked him in the chest with a booted foot, knocking him to the ground as his pistol spun off into the night to land on the ground nearby.

“Well, if it isn’t Alton,” she offered with a dark expression as she hefted a short-bladed machete in her right hand. “Ever the foolish chevalier, I see.”

“Go to hell,” he muttered through clenched teeth as his hand went to the hilt of the blade buried in his stomach.