“Williams, you aren’t making any sense,” Gail said, shaking even more.

  “One day I was just hiding up there and I saw MedCentric goons burst in like they owned the place. I have this spot behind the lab table where I like to chill out, you see. There are no cameras up on the second-floor lab. It makes no sense, though. Why wouldn’t there be cameras, Gail?”

  Gail shrugged weakly, the weight of the hand on her neck growing heavier with each passing moment. She gave a pleading glance to Rikuto, but he remained stone-faced. Williams continued.

  “I watched them bring in the body. That supervillain guy, the one Dr. Nakano hates—”

  “That’s my uncle,” Rikuto added. “Ivan.”

  “He had a scary guy with him. Asian, but I swear he had blue eyes,” Williams said. “And when they walked in front of the glass door . . . there were no reflections.”

  “It must have been a trick of the light,” Gail said.

  “They had no fucking reflections. I know what I saw. I waited for them to go in the secure lab, which they did without wearing any containment suits, I might add, and then I ran like hell. I can be surprisingly fast when terrified. I couldn’t tell anyone until I found these guys. Rikuto helped me find Sam and Billy, and they . . . they fixed me right up. There is a war coming, Gail, and you don’t want to be anywhere near it. God, when I saw your file—”

  “I’ve seen my file, Williams. It’s boring.”

  “The file in the main office is truncated, Gail. He’s talking about the one I pulled from my mother’s database while you were getting water,” Rikuto said with a smile.

  “You,” Gail said, her head starting to spin. “You were the data breach.”

  “One of them, yes,” he confessed. “I may have learned a thing or two about computers from my brother, and from friends of friends. However, I would have gotten away with a lot more if some unknown party wasn’t piggybacking on my attack and causing mischief of his or her own.”

  “What? What did you find out about me?” Gail dared to ask.

  “Something called Project Lethe,” Williams blurted out. “They were studying you for the effects of repeated exposure to amnesia-inducing chemicals. Oh god, they are making you forget.”

  “Forget what?” she asked as she rubbed the scar on her neck. “If you are about to say vampires—”

  Rikuto gave her a little nod. “Gail, I hate to break this to you, but they are totally making you forget vampires, and judging by what my compatriots have already picked up on, they are making you forget a lot of close encounters with them.”

  “That’s impossible,” she mumbled, her speech starting to slur. “You were the test case, Williams. I saw it. You better let me go. Someone is gonna notice . . .”

  “Trust me. This is one of their places. No one is going to notice a co-ed slumped in a booth. It’s a movable feast,” Rikuto whispered in her ear.

  “We have incoming,” Billy growled as he sniffed the air. Sam sat at attention while Rikuto took up a central position in the booth, trying his best to look blasé even as Gail was shoved in the corner. The biggest of the lot, Tom, puffed up his chest as a pale young man approached the group.

  Sam stared right at Gail and pressed a finger to her lips while Billy adjusted the grip on her neck. She gave a little knowing nod back and clamped her mouth shut.

  “You are . . . you are really here,” this pasty stranger gushed as he all but kneeled in the presence of Rikuto. Rikuto responded by tugging at his sleeves just enough to show off his circuitry tattoo. “I thought it was just a crazy rumor. Please, allow me to arrange an audience with my mistress—”

  Rikuto rolled his eyes. “If I wanted an audience, I would have asked for one,” he said in a cold, slightly accented voice. He pressed with the supervillain worthy tone, “If you would excuse me. I’m trying to eat here.”

  The stranger gave a side eye to Gail. “I thought you preferred blondes, my lord,” he said, raising a brow.

  “I feel it’s important to eat the rainbow. Now, if you would excuse me, I have more pressing matters than pissants with poor senses of timing,” Rikuto said with a sneer.

  “But who are these people, my lord? Where are the others in your court?”

  Rikuto gave a little nod. Sam hopped to his feet and snarled at the stranger. The pale man gulped but held his ground. “I will convey that you are in town to my mistress,” he said, his voice cracking a little. “I am certain that a lord of your stature will follow the protocol—”

  Rikuto waved his hand dismissively. The stranger began to puff his chest and his lip quivered. “I am certain that the lord—”

  Rikuto jumped to his feet and snapped his hand around the stranger’s throat with surprising speed. His unnatural green eyes bored into the stranger’s.

  “I am no mere lord, and protocol is what I make of it. Tell your mistress that I shall summon her if the need arises. Otherwise, she would be best served to not pester me!” he snapped as he threw the stranger to the ground.

  “Yes, your highness,” the stranger sniveled as he scurried off into the crowd.

  “You lost your accent,” Gail noted with a little giggle as soon as they were alone.

  “I just hope they bought it,” Rikuto said scanning the crowd. “I just need the info from my contact, and then we get the hell out of here. Contacts and fake accents will only hold up for so long, especially if they call the home office. One word from my uncle, and I’m toast.”

  “This is crazy, Rikuto,” Billy hissed. “Do you really believe that—?”

  Sam pointed to Gail and gave Billy a look that would silence anyone. Gail giggled as she slumped in the seat. “You are up to something!” she said, giggling even more.

  “You need to get her out of here. The Fox is already late,” Rikuto said. “Take her back to the truck and we’ll figure out this mess later. She’s tangled up in this one way or another.”

  “Vampires are not real,” she said as Billy helped her to her feet.

  “Now who told you that, señorita?” a voice said on the edge of the crowd.

  “Javier!” she cried as she saw a familiar face standing not five feet away. “Where did you come from?”

  “Now is not quite the time for that discussion, mi amor,” he said before turning his attention to Rikuto. “Excuse me, but are you supposed to be someone important, señor?”

  “Hey! Aren’t you the cleaning dude?” Williams said, sizing up Javier. “Oh . . . my . . .”

  Javier gave a tiny bow. “Señor Williams, so nice to see you out and about again. You are looking mighty well. Have you, maybe, lost a little weight?”

  Sammy bared his teeth. “Who do you think you are?” he growled.

  “Javier Diego Azeri-Gorri Etxeberria . . . de Azarola,” he rattled off at breakneck speed. “But I think you should be more worried about the group by the front door. I overheard the words Pendragon and lord closely followed by . . . undying asshole. They are already on their phones.”

  Billy hopped to his feet. “Dude, they are calling you out,” he said.

  “Who are you?” Rikuto asked as he, too, hopped to his feet.

  “I am the person who is going to help all of you get out of here, just as long as no harm comes to the señorita—”

  “Oh my god, the cleaning dude is a—”

  “Very impatient man,” Javier interrupted. “Ándele! That group is wearing jackets in July—”

  “Javier!” Gail squealed as she was yanked to her feet and tossed into the bulky arms of Sam. She stumbled and shook her head, muttering, “Hey, you’re not Javier.”

  Billy sniffed the air. A heady mix of chemicals rolled in with next puffs of mist. The music pounded louder and the lights grew dim. Soon the only illumination came from the neon at the bar and the glow sticks on the coeds.

  Javier winked. “I know the DJ. Cover is good, no?”

  Tom gulped and pointed. “Dr. Nakano, I know that guy,” he stammered. “Dude’s—”

  “Move first, answers later. You asked the Fox for help, the Fox sent me,” Javier snapped as the lights dimmed even more. He flipped an orange glow band at Tom before popping a similar one on his own wrist. “Come with me if you want to live. Ándele!”

  Gail’s head swirled as the mist turned into a veritable fog. A pulsing orange bangle ended up on her wrist. She batted at it once or twice as her feet didn’t even touch the ground. She was passed from orange band to orange band as the crowd faded from view. The beat dropped.

  “You know how life can be really funny sometimes? You sometimes find yourself in a situation so utterly ridiculous that you know somehow that once you accept it, that anything is possible?”

  “Oh my God, your boss is some billionaire perv, isn’t it?”

  “Nope… he’s just a vampire.”

  “Vampires are not real,” Gail whimpered while her eyelids fluttered. She smacked her lips a few times and rolled her head. Her ear pressed against denim and she picked up the aroma of pepperoni just before a tiny droplet of grease plopped on her cheek.

  “Pizza?” Tom asked weakly as she came to on the big guy’s lap.

  She bolted upright, straight into a greasy cardboard box top, while a stunned Williams let out a squeal. The box top started a chain reaction that ended with a slice landing squarely on Sam’s package while Billy and Rikuto watched the scene, slack-jawed. Gail toppled into the middle of a mass of discarded cartons, cans, and containers that completely covered the floor. She scrambled through napkins and bone bags until she could scuttle into a defensible corner and survey the pack lounging on a leatherette sectional.

  “Where . . . Where am I?” Gail stammered and wrinkled her nose. “And what is that smell?”

  “That would be about fifty kilos of greasy basura,” Javier grumbled, out of sight. “Not to mention the gastric distress of the gringo!”

  “Javier!” Gail cried. Her eyes widened as she saw a distinctive lump of plastic leaning against a side table. “What did you do to him?”

  “We just wanted to make sure the bloodsucker didn’t run away,” Billy said.

  “You ripped off his leg, you assholes!”

  Both Sam and Rikuto gave rather unapologetic smiles, while Williams took a few guilty nibbles of his slice. Gail narrowed her eyes at the lot of them. Finally, big, buff Sam curled to his feet and swept his hand magnanimously towards a closed door. “By all means, check in on your monster of a boyfriend. Just be careful opening the door. We don’t like to take any chances with their kind.”

  “What are you even talking about? Please, will someone make sense? Please!”

  “Don’t try to reason with them, mi amor. They aren’t the reasonable type!” Javier called from the other room. “And yes, be very careful opening the door, por favor.”

  “What . . . have you done?” Gail asked softly.

  “What we had to,” Sam growled.

  Gail tiptoed through the trash pile and took her time easing open the hollow-core door. She fought against the feather light fiberboard, taking a solid five seconds to open it just enough for her to peek her head inside. She slammed her eyes shut as lights flooded off aluminum foil wallpaper.

  “What the shit?” she snapped.

  “Apparently, we now know how Señor Williams was supplementing his minimal lab income.” Javier sighed from his chair in the corner. “Also, do you think I could have another coat? This sunscreen is wearing off.”

  Gail shielded her eyes from the rows of grow lights. Another lamp was clipped and taped to the door jamb. As the hinges creaked, the swath of light passed right in front of a solo red high-top. Javier’s seat was surrounded by a wreath of overturned dining room chairs – each with the legs filed into deadly points.

  “I’ll admit it, we’ve probably watched Saw one too many times,” Billy confessed as he too peeked into the room. “Watch your step. I did a tripwire, too.”

  Gail gulped and stepped over the wire. She noticed it was attached to a swinging lamp. “Why are you doing this?” she asked as she saw a surprising number of blisters on Javier’s right arm.

  “I know. I help my amigos out and this is how they thank me.” Javier sighed.

  “We’re not your amigos, bloodsucker,” Billy replied.

  Javier rolled his eyes. “Sure you are. El enemigo de mi enemigo es mi amigo!”

  “No eres mi amigo, vampiro,” Billy snapped without skipping a beat. Gail stared at them both, wide-eyed. They both slipped fully into the room and Billy pulled out a tube of SPF one hundred. “Here. You do need another round.”

  “Why. . . why are you?” Gail stammered.

  “Oh, for fuck’s sake!” Billy snapped. “Just tell her already.”

  “These hombres seem to have the wrong idea about me,” Javier said with a pathetic laugh. “I will admit, though, I am not quite what I appear to be.”

  “He’s a fucking vampire!” Rikuto called from the living room.

  “Vampires are not—”

  “Oh, babe, they are so real,” Billy said as he deftly hopped between the improvised stakes and grabbed Javier’s jaw. “Smile for the camera, bloodsucker.”

  Gail’s jaw dropped as Billy pulled back Javier’s lip to reveal definite fangs. She made a little squeak before the dizziness overtook her again.

  18

  “How long do you think we have?” Gail heard as she started waking up. She squinted to see two massive forms silhouetted by the grow lamps and a third, smaller figure slumped in a chair.

  “They aren’t going to find us. This is under my second cousin Marissa’s grandmother’s roommate’s name—” she heard Williams mutter.

  “Crazy supermodel and mountain man were at the club—”

  “Guys,” Rikuto interrupted. “She’s awake again.”

  Gail turned her head to see the younger Dr. Nakano sitting cross-legged by the door. He handed her a dripping bottle of water and offered a weak smile. Billy crouched on her other side and gently felt her forehead. Gail recoiled from both gestures.

  “Come on, let’s take this back to the living room and have a decent conversation,” Rikuto said. “You’ve been through a lot.”

  “Sí!” Javier said. He lifted his head and gave a fanged smile despite the peeling scarlet skin around his lips. “I’d love to talk.”

  “Not yet, bloodsucker,” Sam growled.

  “No, no, this isn’t real. I’m having a breakdown,” Gail whispered. “I’ve finally—”

  “What is reality but what we perceive with our own senses, my dear?” Rikuto asked as he hopped to his feet. “Bring them both out here.”

  “Carefully, por favor,” Javier added, his eyes on a wobbly chair leg dangerously close to his thigh.

  Gail fell limp as her former coworker lifted her with one arm and slung her over his shoulder. Sam was able to do the same with the crusty Javier. A minute later, Gail found herself plopped on the sofa with Williams on one side, and her sizzling boyfriend on the other. He grinned even wider and squeezed her thigh with his zip-tied hands. “It will be all right, mi amor. I promise.”

  Gail stared at the blisters on his hands, at his fangs, and at the now perfectly obvious pallor over his distinctive features. She just shook her head and repeated her chant, “Vampires are not real.”

  Rikuto put the water bottle in front of Gail. He then grabbed a cup off the floor and slowly, methodically took off the lid and shook the straw. Gail gulped as Rikuto then pulled a Swiss Army knife out of his pocket and flipped open the blade. A moment later, his palm welled up with a line of red and he let it drip, bit by bit, over the remaining ice in the cup. Javier stared intently at the gruesome snow cone. Once the ice was suitably pink, Rikuto capped it off and handed it over with his uncut hand.

  “Just enough, my friend,” he said as Javier fumbled to get his hands around the beverage.

  “I never thought I’d get a Matsuoka on ice,” Javier muttered as he took a slurp. “It is my lucky day.”

  “You’re… you’re drinking—” Gail stammered as she heard the slurps.

  “Burns in the sun, fangs, pale, drinks blood—” Rikuto started.

  Billy flipped up his phone and took a quick photo. He then whipped it around to show Gail the blank space on the sofa. “No reflection or photographs,” he added.

  “Not to mention being an unapologetic, sarcastic asshole,” Sam growled.

  “In short, that is a vampire, and yes, they are real, Miss Foster,” Dr. Nakano finished. “But you’ve been conditioned to think otherwise.”

  “Conditioned?” Gail asked, still staring at Javier, slack-jawed.

  “Like a fine mane of hair,” Javier added after he finally hit the bubbly bit at the end of his beverage. “I mean, if vampires were real and wanted to keep things a secret, they would totally use their powers to convince those most likely to discover them that they are ridiculous.”

  “If vampires were real?” Williams scoffed. “You are totally a fucking vampire!”

  “You’re a vam… a vampire?” Gail asked.

  “I cannot say,” Javier replied.

  “What!” Gail snapped. “You’re drinking blood.”

  “I simply cannot say,” he said again.

  “Damn it, it’s one of their vampire laws,” Rikuto explained. “He can’t tell you that he’s a vampire because they are all sworn to secrecy. He’s being a dick about the letter of the law, I suppose.”

  Javier smiled.

  “He’s right, too,” Rikuto continued. “Vampires are very twitchy about those just on the edge of their circle of influence and take great care convincing those people that vampires cannot be real. You, Miss Foster, are a victim of that phenomenon.”

  “I need to call my doctor. I’m having—”

  “You are having a moment of clarity.” Rikuto sighed. “I am guessing you want to call your doctor because he or she conditioned you to do so. That’s how they get you to report when vampires are acting out and getting noticed.”

  “Oh my god, vampires really have mind control?” Williams gasped.

  Rikuto rolled his eyes. “People can have mind control if they have the right combination of suggestions and drugs, Tom. Gail, you have to try and relax and stay here, with us, in the moment. Why do you really want to call your doctor?”

 

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