Transylvania's Most Wanted (11 page)

“What is this for?”

“When you enter the hotel, head straight for
the staircase leading up to the second floor. You’ll be met by two
constables. They are frisking everyone for weapons and they’ve been
doing a very thorough job of it. I’m afraid our task was made more
difficult earlier today when someone sent the TCPD a note
threatening the life of Prince Marko.”

“Do you know who sent the note?”

“Yes I do, but you do not need to concern
yourself with such trivialities.”

“So what do I do with this
handkerchief?”

“Simply have it in your breast pocket when
you approach the constables with the red star visible. They’ll
think you are one of the King’s Guard and they’ll not frisk you for
a weapon. Here take this too,” he said handing Krakov an
identification card.

“I have seen these before, it is the
identification the King’s Guard carries,” Krakov said looking at it
in the dim light. “This is a very good forgery.”

“Isn’t it,” Mr. Slang said. “Flash it at the
constables and they’ll wave you past them. If they do ask you
anything, pretend you don’t understand English. Mumble something to
them in Russian. You’ve kept your Russian up haven’t you?”

“Yes. Speaking English is bile in my mouth.
I spit the words out because I do like them. I hope after tonight I
never hear anyone say, bloody, or governor or old chap ever
again.”

Mr. Slang smiled at that as he handed Krakov
a black arm band.

“What’s this for?”

“Once you get past the constables, you’re
not out of the woods yet. You’ll still need to get your weapon past
the King’s Guard at the entrance to the ballroom.”

“I could carry it in under my coat.”

“No, that won’t work. Every coat and hat is
to be checked at the coat check room at the top of the stairs. And
then you have to walk past the King’s Guard. They’re likely to spot
your weapon, but if you’re wearing your black arm-band they’ll
think you are one of the detectives working the ball tonight.”

“So there are policeman inside the
ballroom.”

“Yes.”

“And they are armed?’

“I’m afraid so,” Mr. Slang said, “but you’ll
know who they are by their arm bands. I believe there will be three
of them inside the ballroom as well as a Commander Gates.”

“I may have to kill them if they get in my
way.”

“If you have to,” Mr. Slang said. “Now as
soon as you get past them, slip the armband off before any of the
detectives see you wearing it. Try and keep your distance from them
so they don’t spot that weapon on you.”

“I hope not to be there long,”

“Exactly. At precisely 8:30 the fireworks
will start. The lights in the room will be dimmed and plenty of
people there will head out onto the balcony. Use the confusion and
noise to approach your target then and fire three or four shots
into her. Then get the hell out of there.”

“How?”

“At the south end of the balcony,” Mr. Slang
said standing up and pointing out the window. “There is a rope
hanging from the hotel room… there,” he said pointing. “See that
colonnade running up the side of building just to the side of the
balcony?”

“Yes.”

“The rope is hanging there just out of
sight. Climb it to the window above and slip in the room there
quick. The window is not locked. You should be able to do that in
no time flat. There’s just one problem.”

“What?”

“There was a woman asleep in the room, so I
was not able to slide the bed up against the wall.” Krakov glanced
at Mr. Slang then. “It was the best I could do. So the rope will
give when you first start to climb it, maybe four or five feet, but
then you’ll be able to shimmy up into the room.”

“Then what?”

“Then go out that room and head for room
324. You’ll find it just other side of hall to your left,” he said
handing Krakov the key.

“Okay.”

“Get to the window, throw it open and use
the rope tied there to lower yourself down to the ground. It’s dark
near the wall there and no one should see you.”

“Okay.”

“Then head straight for the river. You’ll
find a rental boat tied up underneath the pier. Get in it. Put on
the raincoat I left you in there to cover up your tuxedo and then
row out into the river. Make sure to drop the gun in the
river.”

“There should be plenty of boats floating
down the river tonight,” Krakov said, seeing the wisdom in Mr.
Slang’s escape plan.

“Exactly. Float down to the footbridge that
leads into Goblin Park. Don’t be in a hurry. Once you get
underneath the bridge, beach it on the north side, get out and
start walking, don’t run, toward the north end of the park, toward
the woods. I’ll be there waiting for you. I’ve arranged a safe
house for you to stay at until we can get you out of here.”

“And how will you get me out of Transylvania
City and back to the U.R.R.K.?”

“I think you know how. You’ll be a stowaway
aboard one of the Graff Zeppelins.”

“You are working with someone who is part of
the U.R.R.K. delegation?”

“Coming from the U.R.R.K. you should know
that things rarely are the way they appear to be. It should not
matter to you who I am working for. What you have been hired to do
tonight is just a small move in a much larger game. All you need
worry is, if I can sneak you aboard one of the airships and I
assure you I can.”

“And what happens when I do return home.
Will the King’s Guard be hunting me?”

“
They’ll never know you
returned home,” Mr. Slang said reaching into his suitcase and
bringing out the last, but most important item he needed Krakov to
have. “Here are your bullets.”

“
I wish I knew who I was
working for,” Krakov said beginning to load the gun.

“It shouldn’t matter to you. No one in this
contest is totally innocent,” Mr. Slang confessed. “But if things
go badly - you’d be better off using one of those bullets on
yourself.”

“May I ask a favor of you?” Krakov asked,
taking the letter he’d brought with him out of his pocket. “If for
some reason I do not make it, would you drop this letter in the
mail when you return to the U.R.R.K.?”

“Who’s it addressed to?”

“My wife.”

Mr. Slang took the letter. “I did not know
you were married.”

“I have not seen her in twenty two years. My
son would be a full grown vampire now. When I was exiled here, they
would not let them come with me.”

“I didn’t know that,” Mr. Slang said looking
at the address and seeing it was a village in the U.R.R.K. “Many
unfortunate things happened back then, the country was in much
turmoil.”

“Since you’ve been here, have you heard any
about what happened here just a few weeks ago?” Krakov asked.

“Jack the Ripper?”

“Yes,” Krakov said. “He had a plan to escape
to Earth.”

“Damn clever plan,” Mr. Slang said. “And you
were planning on going there with him?”

“Yes, but for my own reasons.”

“What?”

“A loophole.”

“What do you mean?”

“Do you know which realm a vampire would go
to next if he was to die here in Britannia?”

“I haven’t any idea,” Mr. Slang said.

“Nobody does,” Krakov said shaking his head.
“But do you know which realm they send a Russian vampire to, if
they die on Earth?”

“The U.R.R.K.,” Mr. Slang realizing then why
Krakov had wanted to escape to Earth.

“That’s right,” Krakov said. “Could I ask
one last favor?”

“Certainly.”

“If things do go badly. I’ve asked my
brother to approach the U.R.R.K. delegation and ask that my body be
returned home. I don’t know if you could do anything to see to it
that his request is granted, but if you could, I would appreciate
it.”

“I don’t know that I could do anything,” Mr.
Slang told him.

Chapter 14

The death threat and witch’s permit form did
not seem to be written by the same hand. Pandora’s writing showed
no sign of the Russian lettering that appeared on the death threat.
Tom walked over to Red as he finished his conversation with
Sergeant Hightower.

“There’s been a sighting of Stone in town,”
Red told him.

“I don’t think Pandora wrote this,” he said
handing Red the death threat back. “The writing does not match the
form she filled out when she applied for a permit.”

“Maybe she was trying to mislead us,” Red
said.

“Maybe we should ask Count Vasili if he
provided Pandora a ticket?”

“I suppose we should,” Red said.

Tom looked for Count Vasili as they came
back in the ballroom. He spotted him on his way out the room with
Colonel Popov and stepped in front of him.

“Can I have a word?” he asked.

Count Vasili shot Red a look like he should
not let one of his junior officers bother him. “I’m on my way to
meet the princess. I’m going to escort her into the ballroom,”
Count Vasili said trying to brush past Tom.

“Did you invite Pandora to this ball
tonight?”

Colonel Popov looked at Count Vasili. “Did
you?” he asked.

“No,” Count Vasili said like the idea was
preposterous. “The prince and princess are waiting,” he said
starting away again.

Tom watched Count Vasili walk away. “That
seem odd to you?” he asked Red.

“It did,” Red said. “Maybe it would be a
good idea if I asked the head waiter not to turn the lights down
when the fireworks start. If anything was to happen we don’t need
it going dark in here.”

“I’m going to talk to Miss Wembley,” Tom
said starting back toward their table.

“How about going for a little walk with me,”
Tom asked as he pulled Miss Wembley up out of her chair, causing
her to spill champagne down her chin and onto her dress.

“Tom you are being rude,” Rebecca told
him.

“I’m sorry,” he said. “I just need her for a
moment,” he said dragging her away. “Would you recognize Pandora if
you saw her?”

“Oh certainly.”

“Let’s look for her then,” he said as he led
Miss Wembley through the crowd. “Do you see her?” he asked a moment
later as they went up the right side of the room.

“No,” Miss Wembley said. “There are so many
people.”

“Keep looking,” Tom said as a member of the
U.R.R.K. entourage, the royal butler, came to the head of the dance
floor and motioned for the orchestra to stop playing.

“Please everyone,” the royal butler shouted
as the music died. “If everyone could please return to their seats.
The prince and princess will be down in just a moment and we ask
that everyone be at their seats then.”

“
We’ll have to do this
later,” Tom told Miss Wembley. They headed back toward the table,
making their way through the crowd moving across the
room.

Just as they arrived at their table, the
royal butler announced – “Prince Marko and Princess Alexi of the
United Realm of Russians and Kreatures,” and everyone in the room
stood and applauded Prince Marko and Princess Alexi entering the
ballroom.

“Isn’t she beautiful,” Rebecca said looking
at the princess.

“Yes,” Tom said.

“Such a beautiful dress,” Rebecca said. “The
train must be twenty feet long. I wish I had a figure like
that.”

“You do,” he said.

“He’s very handsome too,” she said noticing
Prince Marko.

The royal butler directed the prince and
princess through the admiring throng. It was going to sometime for
them, as well as Count Vasili and Colonel Popov, who followed just
behind, to make their way to the other end of the ballroom where
their table and much of the rest of the U.R.R.K. delegation awaited
them. The prince and princess were stopped frequently by some of
the most prominent citizens of Transylvania and Draculia, wanting
to introduce themselves. Tom thought Prince Marko appeared rather
bored with the whole affair, but Princess Alexi was gracious and
smiling and seemed genuinely happy to meet these people.

Chapter 15

Mr. Slang and Krakov were sitting in their
chairs looking out the window toward the ballroom when Mr. Slang
saw the prince and princes entering the ballroom. “Here comes your
target,” he said pointing there.

“The princess?” Krakov said looking across
Madness Street and seeing her and the prince entering the
ballroom.

“Yes.” Mr. Slang said. “I’ll admit it’s a
shame. I did not want any part of it at first, but there is
something about her you don’t understand,” he said looking at her.
“Something that makes her death…” he said, choosing his words
carefully, “necessary.” Mr. Slang looked at his watch then “You’d
better get going,” he told Krakov.

Krakov placed the hat Mr. Slang had provided
him on his head and started for the door.

“
One last thing,” Mr.
Slang said. “I heard you had a run-in with one of the detectives
here not too long ago - an Inspector Flynn.”

“I owe him a bullet.”

“Well you may get your chance to repay him.
He’s one of the detectives in the ballroom tonight. I just wanted
to warn you. Count Vasili personally invited him to the ball
tonight.”

“So I’m working for Count Vasili?”

Mr. Slang looked sharply at Krakov. “You’re
working for me, but if you do happen to get tangled up with Count
Vasili, don’t kill him. Do not kill or seriously harm him,” Mr.
Slang repeated. “But neither should you let him stop you from doing
what you are there to do. Do you understand?”

Krakov nodded and opened the door.

“In fact don’t kill anyone unless you have
to and try your best to pretend to be human for the next twenty
minutes,” Mr. Slang shouted after him.

Chapter
16

Mr. Slang spotted Krakov coming out of the
alley in back of the building a half-block down from his window. A
hansom cab was passing by and Krakov hailed it. He thought this was
a wise move on Krakov’s part, The Triumph was only a short walk
away, but the carriage would take him right up to the hotel
entrance past the several constables standing on the sidewalk,
keeping an eye out for suspicious characters approaching the
hotel.