Friday, August 31, 2012

The Take Down

Kendrick didn’t fail me; I had a reply in hours.  It seems he was as desperate for cash as I was for information.  I wish I knew where this guy gets his information from.  He had an address and a picture from a gas station with a time stamp from that morning.  The address was an apartment over a store in Mexican Town.  Specs wanted this bitch dead and Kendrick still on the street.  I guess I owe him for putting us on the hook for Tammy.  So I watched an easy 20 grand walk away with a warning to lay low and get out of town.  As I was getting up from the table I notice a card just sticking out from under his napkin.  The front was a business card for some bankruptcy lawyer Eric Howler.  The back was a different store was a web address and password written in block lettering.  I’m so glad I decided to tell him about the bounty.
It was a hot day and the sounds of window air conditioners could fought to be heard over the sound of traffic from the street.  I have an ear bud speaker so I can hear Specs.  Sasha lives in an apartment over a Mexican restaurant, figures.  I choose not to wear the mic for the radio, with the heat I’m not wearing a jacket and there is no place I can hide it that doesn’t alert everyone that something is going down.  I set down in the restaurant and order some tacos while I waited for Specs to set up.  Up to this point things are looking good.  The food is okay, I’m sure I’ll pay for it later but I needed to kill time while I waited.  I get the signal just as the check comes.  I leave a tip and head around the corner to get to her place.  There is a foul smell, like rotting meat coming from the dumpster.  The stairs are in a hallway the temperature raised 10 degree in there.  I could hear movement inside the apartment so I sent a text to Specs asking if he had.  I got an affirmative in my ear so I knocked on the door.  The movement stopped and Specs screams in my ear get out of there I’m blind.  She pulled the shades.  I crouch down drew my gun. 
The door flew open and I put two rounds into nothing.  I see light glinting off a blade as it swings down and sinks into my leg.  The pain shoots though me.  Specs is yelling something I can’t understand as the blade swings again.  I managed to move mostly out of the way this time and blade only slices a shallow line on the outside of my arm.  My roll was cut short as my back hit the wall.  The knife struck the wall where my head would have been.  She must have hit a wall stud because the knife stuck fast in the wall.  I’ll never forget he look in her eyes as she grabbed for something behind her back.  Her eyes were focused on me with complete hatred.  I gained my senses and shot her three times in the chest.  She only staggered back as I was showered wife ceramic fragment.  This crazy lady was wearing chest armor.  I kicked out with my good leg and landed a hit square in her chest, sending her backwards some more.  It was enough to cause her to fall down the stairs.  From my angle I could see her fall but, it sounded like she tumbled down.   I crawled to the stairs and saw her at the bottom not moving. Her head was at a weird angle, she was dead.  This whole time she didn’t say a word, I expected her to be screaming bloody murder but nothing.  I had to rip up my shirt for a make shift bandage.  When I got to the bottom of the stairs I could hear the police sirens approaching.  I wasn’t going to get away clean bit I would still get my payday. 
The papers say she had parts from eight different bodies in her apartment.  This was one crazy lady.

Kendricks Link
Passcode DW64V

Friday, August 24, 2012

Promotion

I would like to let you know that I'm giving my book away on Amazon this weekend 25 - 26 Aug 2012.  All I ask is that you leave a review if you like it.

Welcome to the Fight

Wednesday, August 22, 2012

Side Job

With the trail cold for Tammy I had to take a job to bring in some income.  I let the 2 mages go with an agreement to hire them back when the trail went hot again.  Specs was happy enough to be off the hunt for Tammy.  This job sounded easy, find a couple of escapees.  One Sasha McAlister a very scary individual, she would just as easily kill you as she would say hello.  In a corrupt world it was nice to see something as pure as her.  She killed for no higher reason, she didn’t make excuses, and she didn’t apologies for it.  She was pure in her evil hatred of life.  It was refreshing but twisted.  The other was my hacker friend Kendrick.  He gave me that code to find some information on Tammy.  That information did serve me well.  The bounty for Sasha was good $200,000.00 dead or alive.  It seems that Sasha didn’t care who she killed as long as she killed them.  Kendrick’s bounty was less $20,000.00 alive only.  It seems that he was more of a blip on their radar than anything else.
I’m an opportunistic bastard; I’m seeing that I can get both of these bounties easily enough.  I still have contact information for Kendrick.  I figure I can contact him offer him some cold hard cash and he will jump for the chance.  I think I’ll offer 20 grand to help me find the psycho.  Who knows maybe I’ll just let him go if the information on her is good.  I’m not too worried about her.  She will be alone and I’ll have Specs.  He loves a good clean kill himself.  He may not be as pure as her, but he is a stone cold killer none the less. 
The message is sent, Specs is cleaning his weapons waiting for the reply.  Specs wants to see this woman’s head explode.  Some days when I see him I can’t help but hope I never find myself in his sights.  I know I’ll never see it coming but the thought still chills me.

Sunday, August 12, 2012

Negotiations


I talked to the vampires and told them to double and then add a zero to the end of the amount for the job.  Before I left, my phone beep indicating the new amount for the job.  The guy never even touched a keyboard, they were listening; I hate vampires.  Specs wants to dump the job, but we’re now talking about a LOT more money.  We can now afford a better building smasher.  I don’t like flashy mages; Specs knows this.  I see the appeal in them, but they are reckless and cowardly.  Tammy is flashy but someone like her doesn’t get this old by being reckless. 

The information from the link proved valuable.  I found out that there are some other people working with Tammy, a gnome called Todd and an awakened call Samuel Oscar Smith.  I’m sure there are a few others; that would explain the total destruction of the building.  Something spooked them and they left in a hurry.  My guess is the vampires found them.  I’ll have to ask them next time I talk to them.  I really should have Sally sniff for magical tracking and protect against it.  I don’t like to be used like this.  I also need to get someone to sniff for technical bugs.  I could just be paranoid though, but you live long in this job without being a little paranoid.

Friday, August 10, 2012

First Crossing

I got a tip from an informant.  Tammy was seen entering a building several times over the last few days.  I love how specific people can be.  Really what can I expect from a beggar?  Unfortunately the information was as timely as it was specific.  By the time we got there it was too late.  I knew it was bad when I saw the blue flames rising above the building.  Mark, the building smasher, said it was essential flame.  The fire department was completely useless with this type of flame.  The flame was magically purified and could only be extinguished by magic or when the energy used to create it was gone.  It burned for another hour before it died suddenly.  During that time one of the ladders from a ladder truck melted and ignited a neighboring building from the heat of the blaze. 
Mark was able to get a close look at the building.  The concrete foundation was molten from the heat of the fire.  He quit when he got back.  He didn’t want anything to do with a mage that powerful.  I’m going to have to ask for more money.  I hate vampires.

Thursday, August 9, 2012

The Hunt Begins

Good help is hard to find these days.  Specs and I go way back in this business.  Specs can shoot the wing off a dragonfly at 100 yards.  His rifle is longer than he is tall, which isn’t saying much for a gnome.  For the life of me I can’t figure out why he does just get the corrective surgery that would free him of his coke bottle glasses.  We hire on extra people depending on the requirements.  With Tammy we figured we needed some magical help.  Specs wanted someone that could level a building; I wanted someone that could walk up to you and never be seen.  So naturally we compromise and hired two mages.  Specs is a little nervous taking on a hunt for the vampires because they can be a pain to deal with.  I trust his judgment, but the money was too good to pass up.  I managed to buy some information that pointed me to Detroit, Michigan.  My source said she was going to meet someone there. 

Arrived in a suburb of Detroit, why is it that that when you ask people, they say they’re from Detroit, but I haven't meet a single person who lives there.  Found a computer cracker that goes by Lazareth.  I don’t know what she said to him, but when I threaten to help him meet his Maker, he just laughed saying it was better than what that crazy woman said she’d do to him.  I never saw a living person go that pale before.  Whoever she is, her hold on him was nearly complete.  He did give me something a web link and a code that expires on 12 Sep 2012.
https://www.smashwords.com/books/view/211365
 CODE DW75K

Wednesday, August 8, 2012

A New Job

The vampires don’t like to give much information when they issue jobs so when their notice says uses extreme caution you pay attention.  The warrant read simply Wanted Dead Tammy Stone.  Use extreme caution reward $200,000.00, call Department of Parks and Recreation Agent Gentry.  It was only a few minutes before I had her rap sheet; Tammy was a very bad girl indeed.  There are 42 dead vampires; most of them pure bloods and one coven elder.  She is known to have "exceptional” magical ability, that’s vampire talk for really powerful.  I can see I’m going to have to get a mage or two for this assignment.  I have a shooter already but sometimes with these mage types they have a sixth sense about danger.  I guess that’s why they live long enough to be dangerous. 
Gods I love a good hunt.

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