Page 13 of Vampires & Bikers

The Capital was situated in the far north. It was a city of glass and steel, almost rebuilt entirely after the catastrophic fallout from the nuclear disaster that nearly wiped out humanity at the turn of the century. The humans had rebuilt, with the help of our community. Vlas’s castle was situated in the mountains on the outskirts of the city, an ancient fortress that had withstood many wars over the centuries. Perched on rocks and overlooking the city, it had become known as Vampire Castle in the local vernacular. It was almost impossible to penetrate the fortress. There were several perimeters with steel reinforced doors manned by guards around the clock. Vlas almost never left the castle and when he did, it was by private helicopter or jet.

I arrived at the castle just before nightfall and took a moment to take in the sight of the city, sparkling with lights and lit up skyways intersecting the sky. Drones, unmanned vehicles and flying cars navigated the spaces between buildings. There couldn’t have been a bigger contrast to the places I had just been to.

I entered the castle on the western side, through a side door that opened to a modern office space. It would be impossible to imagine that this was what it looked like from the outside but this was where Vlas presided over most of our official business, under the trade name VCOM. Tick was situated in a private office on another floor, which was my domain. I found her tapping away furiously at her keyboard. She looked up when she heard me come in, visibly relieved to see me.

“Jesus, could you have taken longer?”

Tick looked like a real hacker, with her punky hair and tattoos. Rings, studs and piercings adorned every part of her skin but I had long ago become used to what she looked like. Tick’s brain was her biggest asset and she knew how to use it better than most.

“What have you got?”

I could see it was big and I felt apprehension at the thought of it.

“Matteo was right,” she said, in a low voice. I pulled up a chair so we were close together and could talk without being overheard. “The shifters are moving against us and, yeah, it’s happened before, but not like this. Look at this,” she said.

She opened files on her computer and talked me through it. Her initial investigation into Tomás Farad and Sunside Swamp had not produced much. There was an increase in revenue but not on the scale that would send out red flags but when she looked into Sunny the Snake, that was when things got interesting.

“Sunny is a nickname. Real name is Sun Li Choo. Not exactly a shifter. Belongs to the genus of Changeling.”

She brought up a picture of a man with fine features and a reptilian glint in his eye.

“Changeling? Haven’t heard of them for a while.”

Changelings, like shifters, were able to take on an animal form, but their nature was essentially human. They used the changed form as an extra skin but still had their human consciousness and intelligence. Unlike shifters, who usually did not know what their animal selves got up to, changelings could decide which form to take and were able to do so whenever they wished. They were masters of control and manipulation.

“He likes to be a snake,” Tick said. “Not just any snake, but a Water Snake. He’s been breeding vast colonies of them.”

She paused, as if to let that sink in.

It took me a moment, then I had it.

“The marshes?”

She nodded. “He is almost impossible to detect as he moves in the water around Sunside Swamp, where there are millions of miles around. He has shifters here, of various aquatic species, and they have been multiplying. Crocodiles, alligators, other snakes.”

“Okay,” I said, trying to get my head around it.

“Look here,” she said, zooming in on a satellite of Sunside Swamp. The marshes and wetlands to the south of the place were vast and remote. She scrolled over them to give me an idea of the size. Then she zoomed in on small dots, maximizing the view until clear images appeared. These were holes in the ground, big enough for animals to slide into.

“What are those?”

She looked at me. “Gates to an underground lair?”

“How many are out there?”

She shrugged.

“Get everyone on this, now! Do heat mapping, send in drones, get me numbers. We need to know if these are juveniles or how many adults we’re dealing with!”

She nodded.

“I have to brief Vlas,” I said, getting up.

“He’s in a foul mood,” Tick warned me. “There are problems with the oil deal, remember? He wants you to sort it out.”

There was too much going on. I didn’t like it. Why were there problems with the oil deal?? It was a simple contract renewal, surely?

I found Vlas on the terrace, overlooking the city.

---