Tomorrow's Dead: The Julia Poe Vampire Chronicles, page 19
“And you have to live past the ripe old age of 90, my dear.”
Poe blew air into her face. “C’mon. I won’t live that long, and you know it.”
“Don’t say such a thing, Julia.”
“I’ve gone through hell and back. My body’s gross, marked by enemies already dead. I’m only 26 years old, and I don’t think I can keep doing what I’m doing.”
“You’re still here because the world needs you. Whoever’s looking out for you has made you into one hell of a fighting machine, though pint-sized.” Poe pinched his thigh. “As for your body, I’m not lying when I say that most everyone, human and vampire, at home gives you once-overs when you’re in their line of sight. I know this because I watch and make myself crazy.”
Poe turned to look at the vampire for the first time since her breakdown. Sainvire’s dead heart thudded in appreciation, or so he imagined. Her expressive brown eyes were puffy, her nose red, and her generous lips swollen from repeated biting. He’d never loved anyone so in his life. “I love you, Kaleb. And thank you for being here with me. I would’ve died without you.”
“I can never be away from you again. You’re my top priority now. Everything else can go to hell.” His light gray eyes glinted in the one-lamp room.
“You know you don’t mean that. Downtown means a lot to you. And to me. We’ve got to protect it together.”
Sainvire kissed her lips and groaned as he slipped his cold tongue into her mouth. When he let the girl have a momentary breather, he asked rather embarrassingly, “Are you up to sleeping with me before our meeting in the middle of the night?”
“Geez,” laughed Poe. “Yes. A roll in the hay in the City by the Bay, even though you’re scary bald, arctic, and you smell of garlic.”
“Pardon me,” said Sainvire who smothered her next words with a deep crushing kiss that tickled Poe’s knees down to her very toes. His cold body was forgotten. He pulled the wet blanket off of her and undressed himself in a span of seconds. “I’ve wanted to kiss your beautiful breasts again. It’s been years,” he said more to himself and swallowed a nipple. He spent minutes ministering to Poe’s sensitive bosom until the girl squirmed her discomfort.
Poe pushed his head away and said, “No more!”
Sainvire agreed to give her breasts a rest and left a trail of cold tongue and kisses on her flat belly. Poe draped an arm over her face. She knew what was next, and she remembered Sainvire’s skill at pleasuring her. As predicted, Sainvire’s hard-working tongue explored her pleasure points, sucking and pulling at her clitoris. When Poe couldn’t take it anymore, she cried, “Now! Please, Kaleb.”
And so he entered her as requested and made her forget that he’d nearly died moments before. She was his life now. He knew she ought to be treated like royalty.
***
Poe washed herself while squatting under the tub faucet as was her way after sexual intercourse. She hadn’t had her menses in years, but she was careful to wash herself clean anyhow in a display of her sexual ignorance. I can’t even take care of Penny for Pete’s sake. I couldn’t stop that damn Tunic from kicking the old pup in the ribs. Imagine a child, a vampire child. She wiped herself dry and walked to the bedroom.
Sainvire was staring at the ceiling with his arms behind his head. He was naked as a plucked duck. Poe had to cork her lust. She slipped into her Superfly outfit and jumped into bed with him. “You never sleep, right?”
“Nope. Too afraid I’ll never wake up.” Sleeping vampires were grueling to wake and easily killed. Poe remembered the days of cattle rustling with her gurus Sister Ann and Goss and the easy kills in the basements of sleeping vampires. Sister Ann staked hearts while Goss cut off heads with electric carving knives.
“What does sleeplessness do to you?”
“Nothing much. Just makes me think.” He reached behind Poe’s neck and brought her mouth to his. They kissed softly. “I hope I don’t have to wait another four years to make love to you, Julia Poe.”
“You won’t. Just agree to my terms. Stay alive.”
Poe played with the tufts of hair on his chest. The vampire hardly had chest hair unlike Maclemar. “So what do you think of Shandra?”
Sainvire blinked several times before answering. “She has overly enormous breasts, and she would be perfect to run a club.”
“You attracted to her?”
“Nope. She’d smother me to death,” he said, bringing a smile to Poe’s face. “You’re the only woman I want, Julia Poe.”
Before Poe could reply, Cold War-era sirens blared all over the city. I knew it! I knew fixing up the sirens in Los Angeles was a good idea! Poe jumped to her feet and zipped up her boots. By the time she finished, Sainvire was already dressed with the sweatshirt hood over his head.
Poe slung her holsters on her shoulders and picked up her pack. “Let’s go.” It was barely midnight.
They went upstairs where vampires and humans had already begun to congregate. The third floor, devoid of rooms, was just open space with rugs and throw pillows and some battered couches. Poe was already getting irritated by hippie décor, and she’d only been in San Francisco two days.
“Shh! He’s going to speak now,” said Li who opened the window to let the alarm blare even louder.
Sainvire and Poe looked at each other and stood by the doorway. Many eyes were on them as their arrival at the hotel had been broadcasted loudly after the skirmish.
Nesbitt’s voice broadcasted on the loudspeakers. The sound was like a knife twisting in Poe’s kidney. How many times had he advised his protégé Trench to dispose of her? How many times did he share her with other master vampires? She tightly laced her fingers with Sainvire’s. “I told you we should have something like this installed at home for emergencies.”
“Yeah, but it’s too Big Brother.” He put his finger on his lip. He, Joseph, Morales, and Maple had memorized George Orwell’s classic novel 1984 to remind them of the path from unchecked rule to totalitarianism.
“To you, San Franciscans, I speak tonight. Intruders have breached our security. Our air strips have been disabled. Four of our beloved Council members have been beheaded. Many of you must take a stand tonight because our enemies from Los Angeles have infiltrated. I’ve been told they stole 100 cattle yesterday and murdered the children in our orphanage.”
Poe and Sainvire looked at each other in disbelief. “Propaganda, Julia. He’s raising fear and insecurity to get what he wants.”
“Imagine harming innocent little children, your children, for selfish gain. Sainvire and his partners claim they want to free humans. Don’t be taken in. They stole those precious children to use their blood to make Plasmacore for themselves and to fatten up their stores. Are you going to let this happen? Are you going to allow Los Angeles marauders steal from your precious city? Decide. Anyone working against the Council is working against you. Root out the so-called revolutionaries. Expose them. As we speak they are helping our enemies. You will be rewarded by an extra ration of blood. Kaleb Sainvire is here wreaking havoc. I promise anyone who captures him the title of master with all the benefits of the realm.”
“He just reinstated the California Lottery. Mega Millions is on,” said Poe mostly to herself. She looked up at a pensive Sainvire and said, “You’re a wanted man again, Kaleb.”
“I know,” he said and gently kissed her forehead.
***
Moments after the voice from the blaring loudspeakers had faded, the hundred or so revolutionaries burrowing in the famous Beat bookstore remained quiet. They merely stared at Poe and Kaleb for guidance. Bradley, though full of heart, couldn’t explain himself appropriately enough, so Kaleb came to his rescue.
“They want San Franciscans to believe we’re here to steal your humans. Nesbitt said that we’ve stolen your blood source, including children, which you know isn’t true. He knows what he’s doing. Most vampires are starving from drinking anemic blood. The thought of them going hungry from what I supposedly did is meant to create panic.” He looked around him, his intelligent gray eyes sharp. “Your revolution is in peril. People will point fingers for that extra tumbler of blood. I suggest that you disperse and hide out and let this pass.”
“Are you going to get Nesbitt?” an ex-blood slave asked. Her face was sallow and wrinkled beyond her years.
“I’m not ruling that out, but I want to know if you have a takeover plan to carry through after Nesbitt’s deposed.”
“We have people in every sector of this city. They will organize and prepare for a fight. We also have friends in the government who will let us in when the time is right.”
“Who’s going to take Nesbitt’s place?”
“I will,” said Jane. Her wrist was bandaged up. “I’m not a vampire, but this city is open-minded enough. We’ve been making Plasmacore for the past few years, and we have stockpiles for distribution to quell any fears of starvation. And I’m truly sorry for shooting you, Mr. Kaleb.”
Kaleb waved away the apology. “I’d have done the same thing. Every time I look in the mirror, I want to hang myself.” His skinhead look humiliated him.
She smiled at Kaleb and gazed at Poe. “I apologize to you, too.”
Poe nodded, but she couldn’t be as forgiving as Sainvire. She turned to business. “We’re gonna need explosives that can raze a ship the size of two tremendous yachts, 90-footers perhaps. We need them now. Can you supply them?”
“We have C4 in the basement of the bookstore. We also have some dynamite. I don’t know if they’re still good.”
“Are they moist?” asked Poe. “Wet?”
“They’re kept pretty dry. They’ve never been wet for safety reasons.” Poe didn’t want unpredictable highly charged explosives.
“Alright. We need to have them placed in duffle bags. And I suggest you all get out of here. This place is obviously suspect because of the history of the bookstore.” She watched some of the team get up to leave. “Bradley, can we talk to you for a minute?”
“Sure, Poe,” said the fluffy vampire wearing a cutoff shirt.
“We need someone to drive us around, and your hearse seems like a good enough cover.”
Bradley motioned for Li to join them and explained the situation. “Sure thing. After you kingdom come the ships in the harbor, Chinese take-out is on me.”
“So funny I forgot to laugh,” said Poe in annoyance. She still hadn’t forgiven the man for kicking a ball in her face. She had a burgeoning bruise on her cheek.
“That’s Pee Wee Herman you just quoted there. And look. I can see the big ol’ scar on your face. You look better than your wanted picture, let me tell you that. By the way, your spray-on tan is coming off.”
Poe had a hard time with jokes. She felt the man who was ribbing her badly needed a punch in the nose. Despite Sainvire’s stilling hand on her shoulder, Poe said, “Hey, asshole. Why don’t you go gobble up some glass noodles? Just make sure they’re made out of real glass!”
“Poe!” thundered Sainvire. “Be quiet! Sorry, Li. She’s not usually racist. Believe it or not, she’s part Japanese, Filipino, White, and Mexican.”
“Goodness, all that flavor for this bitter stew? Maybe she should be sporting the shaved head, Sainvire.”
Poe had gone too far, and she knew it. Swallowing her pride or what was left of it, she looked Li in the eyes and said, “Sorry, Li. You kicked the ball in face and made fun of my ugly scar. I couldn’t take it. Please give me a pass this time for my crassness.”
Li nodded sagely and said, “Sure, you dog eating, wasabi sniffing, hill of beans.” Having jabbed the last insult, Li shook Poe’s hand.
Like Sainvire had predicted, the bookstore was one of the first places checked by Nesbitt’s security detail who all wore blue suits with blue berets. Ten minutes after Sainvire picked up the two duffel bags filled with bomb-making equipment, the blues swarmed with their nightsticks and semi-automatic weapons. By then Poe, the vampire, and Li had driven off to Pier 39 at San Francisco Bay. They took a meandering route to avoid detection and parked under a tree where there were no obvious homes within several blocks.
“We’re gonna have to wait until daylight. Very few of them can walk in the day. The underground has more, of course, because of Plasmacore,” said Li. “Is it true you can fly, slash, and all that because you’ve been drinking Plasmacore?”
“No,” answered Poe with a wry smile. “Besides being able to walk in the sun and being immune to garlic, Kaleb’s all natural.”
“Nesbitt’s been careless. His army is almost nonexistent, just a bunch of overfed bodyguards in berets,” said Sainvire, changing the subject. “Besides handing out rations, his people are on their own.”
“That’s why he loves to torture anyone against him. He’s been torturing and mangling anyone that demands basic human rights. Heads roll and he props them on spears to incite fear. Last month he stuck the decapitated head of a vampire known to distribute Plasmacore in front of City Hall. The whole production is ridiculous,” said Li.
“Could he really be planning an attack on Los Angeles?” asked Poe, laying a hand on Sainvire’s knee she’d shot so many times before.
“Oh, I wouldn’t doubt it. SF needs a pick-me-up. Victory over your city would’ve impressed some, but not all. The old man’s losing his grip as vampires starve and humans die. Nesbitt lives in this old world fantasy where he’s royalty and his subjects question nothing. I drive around everyday picking up dead bodies, and let me tell you, it’s not looking good for humans. Nesbitt needs to stop harvesting their blood. They’re dropping like starving wasps.”
“What can we really do? We’re here to squash your city’s fighting capabilities. If we do get Nesbitt, you’ll be on your own. You’ve got to map out tasks for your captains to take care of. You have to keep a lid on chaos and protect human slaves, and there’s a lot of ground to cover. For a compact city, everyone seems spread out.”
“Believe it or not, Poe, we have plans to protect humans and take command. We also have plenty of Plasmacore. That will be the rallying point. We just need the opportunity, and Sainvire here is just the opportunity.”
Poe felt miffed. Granted she had mostly slept while Sainvire did all the work, but the mission was hers, and people like Li thought she was useless.
As if Sainvire read her mind, he explained, “Poe is the reason we’re here, Li. She is the tactician for this mission. She also killed over 30 Revenents in the Mission and nearly destroyed all 50 skinheads by herself.”
Li nodded his head as if to say, “Yeah right!” and turned to face the windshield away from Poe’s expectant face. “Okay, then. I’m taking a nap. Wake me up when the sun’s out,” said the bitter man.
I hate that guy, she thought.
Sainvire squeezed her shoulder and kissed her nose. His mirthful eyes conveyed that she should let the matter rest. She pinched his nonexistent love handle then insinuated herself in his arms. If the jerk was going to sleep, then so was she.
Poe woke up on the opposite end of the back seat of the hearse. With one eye open, she watched Sainvire as he assembled the C4 attached to timers and a stick of dynamite. Morales had held a seminar about bomb making, and even Sainvire was required to attend. “So you’re finally awake,” he said without looking up from his dangerous work. He could read her heartbeat.
“You almost done with that?” she asked while stretching. “Where’s the moron?”
“He’s sniffing around to see what’s up.” Poe looked out the window and realized they were at a different neighborhood. She saw a hardscaped open plaza with a jumble of stepped concrete slabs in the center.
“Boy, I’m taking on the sleep habits of a vampire. Where are we?”
“By the Art Institute. Li has some friends here. Lookouts.” He finally picked his eyes up and took in the girl’s sleepy appearance. Julia Poe with her lovely plump lips and expressive brown eyes suddenly made him forget that he was holding volatile explosives. Framing her face, her hair fell to her shoulders. Without the mustache and the hideous wig, Poe looked gorgeous in a tan. “I love you, Julia.”
Poe smiled. “Love you, too, you crazy vampire.”
Their flirtations were cut short when Li got in the car with his friend, a hairy-looking beast with a beard that swallowed his face except for his eyes.
“This is Joel. He’s a day vamp.”
Joel seemed giddy to be in the company of two of the most famous rustlers post-Armageddon. “I can’t believe I’m in a hearse with the two of you! Julia Poe, you’re a goddess! Didn’t expect you to be such a beauty.”
Li sighed his annoyance. “Look, Joel. This is basically Sainvire’s operation. Julia Poe will sit in the car with us while he does all the work.”
Poe calmed herself, even smiling up at Sainvire who looked alarmed.
“So what’s the news?” asked Sainvire. He had thought Li was only funning, but the man was becoming insufferable. He didn’t know whether Poe could keep her hands off the rude Chinese man when he left to carry out his business.
“As far as we know, the ships in the bay are empty. You can bomb them to smithereens. But we’ve seen about 20 blue suits this morning patrolling the streets. I think they’re the last of Nesbitt’s day vamps. Should’ve put them on Plasmacore regimen. Look at me. I’m walking in the sun after 40 years of moon watch,” explained Joel.
“So here’s the plan. You destroy those ships, and Julia Poe and I will stay in the car and take a nap. When it’s over just fly over to us people with nothing important to do.”
Poe’s mouth became a line. Keep riding me, asshole, and I’ll feed your pecker to the birds.
Sainvire took Poe’s face in his hands and kissed her deliberately slow. He brushed his lips to her eyes and nose then kissed her again on the mouth. “I’ll be back in a tick of the clock, you wonderful woman you.”
“You better,” she whispered in his ear. “Or else I’ll be your replacement driver when you get back.”
Joel was all grins. He didn’t turn away when the couple had their private moment but stared excitedly like a peeping tom. “Love after the apocalypse. Hella nice.”
Poe blew air into her face. “C’mon. I won’t live that long, and you know it.”
“Don’t say such a thing, Julia.”
“I’ve gone through hell and back. My body’s gross, marked by enemies already dead. I’m only 26 years old, and I don’t think I can keep doing what I’m doing.”
“You’re still here because the world needs you. Whoever’s looking out for you has made you into one hell of a fighting machine, though pint-sized.” Poe pinched his thigh. “As for your body, I’m not lying when I say that most everyone, human and vampire, at home gives you once-overs when you’re in their line of sight. I know this because I watch and make myself crazy.”
Poe turned to look at the vampire for the first time since her breakdown. Sainvire’s dead heart thudded in appreciation, or so he imagined. Her expressive brown eyes were puffy, her nose red, and her generous lips swollen from repeated biting. He’d never loved anyone so in his life. “I love you, Kaleb. And thank you for being here with me. I would’ve died without you.”
“I can never be away from you again. You’re my top priority now. Everything else can go to hell.” His light gray eyes glinted in the one-lamp room.
“You know you don’t mean that. Downtown means a lot to you. And to me. We’ve got to protect it together.”
Sainvire kissed her lips and groaned as he slipped his cold tongue into her mouth. When he let the girl have a momentary breather, he asked rather embarrassingly, “Are you up to sleeping with me before our meeting in the middle of the night?”
“Geez,” laughed Poe. “Yes. A roll in the hay in the City by the Bay, even though you’re scary bald, arctic, and you smell of garlic.”
“Pardon me,” said Sainvire who smothered her next words with a deep crushing kiss that tickled Poe’s knees down to her very toes. His cold body was forgotten. He pulled the wet blanket off of her and undressed himself in a span of seconds. “I’ve wanted to kiss your beautiful breasts again. It’s been years,” he said more to himself and swallowed a nipple. He spent minutes ministering to Poe’s sensitive bosom until the girl squirmed her discomfort.
Poe pushed his head away and said, “No more!”
Sainvire agreed to give her breasts a rest and left a trail of cold tongue and kisses on her flat belly. Poe draped an arm over her face. She knew what was next, and she remembered Sainvire’s skill at pleasuring her. As predicted, Sainvire’s hard-working tongue explored her pleasure points, sucking and pulling at her clitoris. When Poe couldn’t take it anymore, she cried, “Now! Please, Kaleb.”
And so he entered her as requested and made her forget that he’d nearly died moments before. She was his life now. He knew she ought to be treated like royalty.
***
Poe washed herself while squatting under the tub faucet as was her way after sexual intercourse. She hadn’t had her menses in years, but she was careful to wash herself clean anyhow in a display of her sexual ignorance. I can’t even take care of Penny for Pete’s sake. I couldn’t stop that damn Tunic from kicking the old pup in the ribs. Imagine a child, a vampire child. She wiped herself dry and walked to the bedroom.
Sainvire was staring at the ceiling with his arms behind his head. He was naked as a plucked duck. Poe had to cork her lust. She slipped into her Superfly outfit and jumped into bed with him. “You never sleep, right?”
“Nope. Too afraid I’ll never wake up.” Sleeping vampires were grueling to wake and easily killed. Poe remembered the days of cattle rustling with her gurus Sister Ann and Goss and the easy kills in the basements of sleeping vampires. Sister Ann staked hearts while Goss cut off heads with electric carving knives.
“What does sleeplessness do to you?”
“Nothing much. Just makes me think.” He reached behind Poe’s neck and brought her mouth to his. They kissed softly. “I hope I don’t have to wait another four years to make love to you, Julia Poe.”
“You won’t. Just agree to my terms. Stay alive.”
Poe played with the tufts of hair on his chest. The vampire hardly had chest hair unlike Maclemar. “So what do you think of Shandra?”
Sainvire blinked several times before answering. “She has overly enormous breasts, and she would be perfect to run a club.”
“You attracted to her?”
“Nope. She’d smother me to death,” he said, bringing a smile to Poe’s face. “You’re the only woman I want, Julia Poe.”
Before Poe could reply, Cold War-era sirens blared all over the city. I knew it! I knew fixing up the sirens in Los Angeles was a good idea! Poe jumped to her feet and zipped up her boots. By the time she finished, Sainvire was already dressed with the sweatshirt hood over his head.
Poe slung her holsters on her shoulders and picked up her pack. “Let’s go.” It was barely midnight.
They went upstairs where vampires and humans had already begun to congregate. The third floor, devoid of rooms, was just open space with rugs and throw pillows and some battered couches. Poe was already getting irritated by hippie décor, and she’d only been in San Francisco two days.
“Shh! He’s going to speak now,” said Li who opened the window to let the alarm blare even louder.
Sainvire and Poe looked at each other and stood by the doorway. Many eyes were on them as their arrival at the hotel had been broadcasted loudly after the skirmish.
Nesbitt’s voice broadcasted on the loudspeakers. The sound was like a knife twisting in Poe’s kidney. How many times had he advised his protégé Trench to dispose of her? How many times did he share her with other master vampires? She tightly laced her fingers with Sainvire’s. “I told you we should have something like this installed at home for emergencies.”
“Yeah, but it’s too Big Brother.” He put his finger on his lip. He, Joseph, Morales, and Maple had memorized George Orwell’s classic novel 1984 to remind them of the path from unchecked rule to totalitarianism.
“To you, San Franciscans, I speak tonight. Intruders have breached our security. Our air strips have been disabled. Four of our beloved Council members have been beheaded. Many of you must take a stand tonight because our enemies from Los Angeles have infiltrated. I’ve been told they stole 100 cattle yesterday and murdered the children in our orphanage.”
Poe and Sainvire looked at each other in disbelief. “Propaganda, Julia. He’s raising fear and insecurity to get what he wants.”
“Imagine harming innocent little children, your children, for selfish gain. Sainvire and his partners claim they want to free humans. Don’t be taken in. They stole those precious children to use their blood to make Plasmacore for themselves and to fatten up their stores. Are you going to let this happen? Are you going to allow Los Angeles marauders steal from your precious city? Decide. Anyone working against the Council is working against you. Root out the so-called revolutionaries. Expose them. As we speak they are helping our enemies. You will be rewarded by an extra ration of blood. Kaleb Sainvire is here wreaking havoc. I promise anyone who captures him the title of master with all the benefits of the realm.”
“He just reinstated the California Lottery. Mega Millions is on,” said Poe mostly to herself. She looked up at a pensive Sainvire and said, “You’re a wanted man again, Kaleb.”
“I know,” he said and gently kissed her forehead.
***
Moments after the voice from the blaring loudspeakers had faded, the hundred or so revolutionaries burrowing in the famous Beat bookstore remained quiet. They merely stared at Poe and Kaleb for guidance. Bradley, though full of heart, couldn’t explain himself appropriately enough, so Kaleb came to his rescue.
“They want San Franciscans to believe we’re here to steal your humans. Nesbitt said that we’ve stolen your blood source, including children, which you know isn’t true. He knows what he’s doing. Most vampires are starving from drinking anemic blood. The thought of them going hungry from what I supposedly did is meant to create panic.” He looked around him, his intelligent gray eyes sharp. “Your revolution is in peril. People will point fingers for that extra tumbler of blood. I suggest that you disperse and hide out and let this pass.”
“Are you going to get Nesbitt?” an ex-blood slave asked. Her face was sallow and wrinkled beyond her years.
“I’m not ruling that out, but I want to know if you have a takeover plan to carry through after Nesbitt’s deposed.”
“We have people in every sector of this city. They will organize and prepare for a fight. We also have friends in the government who will let us in when the time is right.”
“Who’s going to take Nesbitt’s place?”
“I will,” said Jane. Her wrist was bandaged up. “I’m not a vampire, but this city is open-minded enough. We’ve been making Plasmacore for the past few years, and we have stockpiles for distribution to quell any fears of starvation. And I’m truly sorry for shooting you, Mr. Kaleb.”
Kaleb waved away the apology. “I’d have done the same thing. Every time I look in the mirror, I want to hang myself.” His skinhead look humiliated him.
She smiled at Kaleb and gazed at Poe. “I apologize to you, too.”
Poe nodded, but she couldn’t be as forgiving as Sainvire. She turned to business. “We’re gonna need explosives that can raze a ship the size of two tremendous yachts, 90-footers perhaps. We need them now. Can you supply them?”
“We have C4 in the basement of the bookstore. We also have some dynamite. I don’t know if they’re still good.”
“Are they moist?” asked Poe. “Wet?”
“They’re kept pretty dry. They’ve never been wet for safety reasons.” Poe didn’t want unpredictable highly charged explosives.
“Alright. We need to have them placed in duffle bags. And I suggest you all get out of here. This place is obviously suspect because of the history of the bookstore.” She watched some of the team get up to leave. “Bradley, can we talk to you for a minute?”
“Sure, Poe,” said the fluffy vampire wearing a cutoff shirt.
“We need someone to drive us around, and your hearse seems like a good enough cover.”
Bradley motioned for Li to join them and explained the situation. “Sure thing. After you kingdom come the ships in the harbor, Chinese take-out is on me.”
“So funny I forgot to laugh,” said Poe in annoyance. She still hadn’t forgiven the man for kicking a ball in her face. She had a burgeoning bruise on her cheek.
“That’s Pee Wee Herman you just quoted there. And look. I can see the big ol’ scar on your face. You look better than your wanted picture, let me tell you that. By the way, your spray-on tan is coming off.”
Poe had a hard time with jokes. She felt the man who was ribbing her badly needed a punch in the nose. Despite Sainvire’s stilling hand on her shoulder, Poe said, “Hey, asshole. Why don’t you go gobble up some glass noodles? Just make sure they’re made out of real glass!”
“Poe!” thundered Sainvire. “Be quiet! Sorry, Li. She’s not usually racist. Believe it or not, she’s part Japanese, Filipino, White, and Mexican.”
“Goodness, all that flavor for this bitter stew? Maybe she should be sporting the shaved head, Sainvire.”
Poe had gone too far, and she knew it. Swallowing her pride or what was left of it, she looked Li in the eyes and said, “Sorry, Li. You kicked the ball in face and made fun of my ugly scar. I couldn’t take it. Please give me a pass this time for my crassness.”
Li nodded sagely and said, “Sure, you dog eating, wasabi sniffing, hill of beans.” Having jabbed the last insult, Li shook Poe’s hand.
Like Sainvire had predicted, the bookstore was one of the first places checked by Nesbitt’s security detail who all wore blue suits with blue berets. Ten minutes after Sainvire picked up the two duffel bags filled with bomb-making equipment, the blues swarmed with their nightsticks and semi-automatic weapons. By then Poe, the vampire, and Li had driven off to Pier 39 at San Francisco Bay. They took a meandering route to avoid detection and parked under a tree where there were no obvious homes within several blocks.
“We’re gonna have to wait until daylight. Very few of them can walk in the day. The underground has more, of course, because of Plasmacore,” said Li. “Is it true you can fly, slash, and all that because you’ve been drinking Plasmacore?”
“No,” answered Poe with a wry smile. “Besides being able to walk in the sun and being immune to garlic, Kaleb’s all natural.”
“Nesbitt’s been careless. His army is almost nonexistent, just a bunch of overfed bodyguards in berets,” said Sainvire, changing the subject. “Besides handing out rations, his people are on their own.”
“That’s why he loves to torture anyone against him. He’s been torturing and mangling anyone that demands basic human rights. Heads roll and he props them on spears to incite fear. Last month he stuck the decapitated head of a vampire known to distribute Plasmacore in front of City Hall. The whole production is ridiculous,” said Li.
“Could he really be planning an attack on Los Angeles?” asked Poe, laying a hand on Sainvire’s knee she’d shot so many times before.
“Oh, I wouldn’t doubt it. SF needs a pick-me-up. Victory over your city would’ve impressed some, but not all. The old man’s losing his grip as vampires starve and humans die. Nesbitt lives in this old world fantasy where he’s royalty and his subjects question nothing. I drive around everyday picking up dead bodies, and let me tell you, it’s not looking good for humans. Nesbitt needs to stop harvesting their blood. They’re dropping like starving wasps.”
“What can we really do? We’re here to squash your city’s fighting capabilities. If we do get Nesbitt, you’ll be on your own. You’ve got to map out tasks for your captains to take care of. You have to keep a lid on chaos and protect human slaves, and there’s a lot of ground to cover. For a compact city, everyone seems spread out.”
“Believe it or not, Poe, we have plans to protect humans and take command. We also have plenty of Plasmacore. That will be the rallying point. We just need the opportunity, and Sainvire here is just the opportunity.”
Poe felt miffed. Granted she had mostly slept while Sainvire did all the work, but the mission was hers, and people like Li thought she was useless.
As if Sainvire read her mind, he explained, “Poe is the reason we’re here, Li. She is the tactician for this mission. She also killed over 30 Revenents in the Mission and nearly destroyed all 50 skinheads by herself.”
Li nodded his head as if to say, “Yeah right!” and turned to face the windshield away from Poe’s expectant face. “Okay, then. I’m taking a nap. Wake me up when the sun’s out,” said the bitter man.
I hate that guy, she thought.
Sainvire squeezed her shoulder and kissed her nose. His mirthful eyes conveyed that she should let the matter rest. She pinched his nonexistent love handle then insinuated herself in his arms. If the jerk was going to sleep, then so was she.
Poe woke up on the opposite end of the back seat of the hearse. With one eye open, she watched Sainvire as he assembled the C4 attached to timers and a stick of dynamite. Morales had held a seminar about bomb making, and even Sainvire was required to attend. “So you’re finally awake,” he said without looking up from his dangerous work. He could read her heartbeat.
“You almost done with that?” she asked while stretching. “Where’s the moron?”
“He’s sniffing around to see what’s up.” Poe looked out the window and realized they were at a different neighborhood. She saw a hardscaped open plaza with a jumble of stepped concrete slabs in the center.
“Boy, I’m taking on the sleep habits of a vampire. Where are we?”
“By the Art Institute. Li has some friends here. Lookouts.” He finally picked his eyes up and took in the girl’s sleepy appearance. Julia Poe with her lovely plump lips and expressive brown eyes suddenly made him forget that he was holding volatile explosives. Framing her face, her hair fell to her shoulders. Without the mustache and the hideous wig, Poe looked gorgeous in a tan. “I love you, Julia.”
Poe smiled. “Love you, too, you crazy vampire.”
Their flirtations were cut short when Li got in the car with his friend, a hairy-looking beast with a beard that swallowed his face except for his eyes.
“This is Joel. He’s a day vamp.”
Joel seemed giddy to be in the company of two of the most famous rustlers post-Armageddon. “I can’t believe I’m in a hearse with the two of you! Julia Poe, you’re a goddess! Didn’t expect you to be such a beauty.”
Li sighed his annoyance. “Look, Joel. This is basically Sainvire’s operation. Julia Poe will sit in the car with us while he does all the work.”
Poe calmed herself, even smiling up at Sainvire who looked alarmed.
“So what’s the news?” asked Sainvire. He had thought Li was only funning, but the man was becoming insufferable. He didn’t know whether Poe could keep her hands off the rude Chinese man when he left to carry out his business.
“As far as we know, the ships in the bay are empty. You can bomb them to smithereens. But we’ve seen about 20 blue suits this morning patrolling the streets. I think they’re the last of Nesbitt’s day vamps. Should’ve put them on Plasmacore regimen. Look at me. I’m walking in the sun after 40 years of moon watch,” explained Joel.
“So here’s the plan. You destroy those ships, and Julia Poe and I will stay in the car and take a nap. When it’s over just fly over to us people with nothing important to do.”
Poe’s mouth became a line. Keep riding me, asshole, and I’ll feed your pecker to the birds.
Sainvire took Poe’s face in his hands and kissed her deliberately slow. He brushed his lips to her eyes and nose then kissed her again on the mouth. “I’ll be back in a tick of the clock, you wonderful woman you.”
“You better,” she whispered in his ear. “Or else I’ll be your replacement driver when you get back.”
Joel was all grins. He didn’t turn away when the couple had their private moment but stared excitedly like a peeping tom. “Love after the apocalypse. Hella nice.”
