“And you are?” the bouncer asked before glancing behind me at the Mustang. “A hot girl and a nice car aren’t enough for you to get in here.”
I removed a hundred dollars bill from my pocket. “Is this enough?”
“Please, I’ve been offered ten times that for someone to jump the queue.”
“Okay, how about this?” I lent closer to whisper in his ear. “I have business with Mister Steiner, you know the man, yes?”
A nod confirmed that he did.
“Excellent, now, let me ask you this, if he discovers that you stood between him and several million dollars of merchandise, what do you think he would do to you?”
The bouncer swallowed hard.
“So, you have two choices, you could go get Mister Steiner and tell him that there is someone waiting for him. That is a bad plan, you would be interrupting his night and I doubt he would enjoy that. Or, the second choice is you accept my hundred dollars and you open the fucking door. Because if my date and I have to wait out in this shitty line for another second, I’m going to cut your fucking balls off, have them bronzed, and give them to Karl as a gift.”
I stepped back from the bouncer, the hundred note still in my hand. He took the note, opened the door and wished us a good evening.
“Right choice,” I told him and stepped inside the building.
“What did you say to him?” Caitlin whispered in my ear.
I told her.
“That could have backfired.”
“I took a chance that Karl doesn’t like to be disturbed for unimportant things. He may not own this club, but I’m guessing he has more than enough clout to deal in his own personal way, with people who annoy him. Besides, we’re in.”
We walked down some steps and opened a set of double doors, where the sound from within washed over me like a tsunami.
To say the music was loud did a disservice to the word. Dozens of people were dancing or gathered at the bar sitting at the far end of the room. A set of stairs snaked to an upper level beside the bar, and I guided Caitlin towards it.
A bouncer stood at the bottom of the staircase and another at the top, both nodded to us as we passed them and opened the door. The music was different than what was blasted out on the floor below, but no less loud. If anything, there were even more people on the dance floor and I wondered how I was going to be heard by Karl, let alone have a conversation with him.
Caitlin nodded toward the VIP area, the balcony of which overlooked the dance floor. Two men stood either side of a couch, which was occupied by a third man and two young women who spent just as much time kissing each other as they did him.
“Okay, so how do we get up there?” I had to almost shout in her ear.
Caitlin grabbed my hand and led me across the dance floor, stopping every few feet to dance a little until we reached the far side. For my part, it was much easier to pretend she was dancing for me and just stand and watch with a smile on my face.
By the time we were out of the throng of people, I discovered I wasn’t the only one who had been watching Caitlin dance. Along with several men and women who were sat on the couches that surrounded the floor, Karl was standing against the railing of the baloney, watching Catlin as she moved up against me and kissed me on the cheek.
“I think that might have done the trick,” she whispered.
“Yeah, one of the bodyguards has left the balcony, I imagine he’ll be out here in a few seconds to talk to you.”
Like clockwork, the bodyguard did indeed make an appearance a few moments later, walking over toward us, the gun in his holster evident to anyone who knew what they were looking for.
“Mister Steiner would like to meet with you,” he said to Caitlin, who glanced over to me and shook her head.
“I’m sorry, I’m otherwise engaged tonight.”
The bouncer glanced at me and I could tell he was mentally deciding how much of a problem I was going to be. “Bring him with you, I’m sure Mister Steiner would like to chat with him too.”
I let the bodyguard lead the way as Caitlin once again took hold of my hand and held my arm close to her.
We stayed that way until we reached Karl Steiner, who clearly wasn’t impressed to see that I’d tagged along, but even so, he asked that we talk for a moment. One of the bouncers searched me, removing my knives. “You never know who you’ll bump into,” I said with a smile, and told Caitlin to go get a drink from the small bar and took a seat next to Karl.
Karl was a good few inches taller than me, but lacked my broad shoulders. He was clean shaven and looked more pampered than most of the women who flocked around him. He was, in short, a bit of a pretty boy, the kind of person who looks great on camera, but has all the vapid qualities of glass. Something about the way he looked at me made me think it was all for show, that deep down inside of him was a repressed monster that he liked to let out to scare folk and show how tough he was.
“I love this place,” he said as he looked out on the dance floor. It was nice that he could speak without the need to shout. The acoustics on the balcony allowed just enough sound to travel that you could still have a conversation without the need to use sign language or semaphore to get your point across.
“It’s a nice club, I heard good things about it.” I took a moment to glance around the sizeable VIP area, where at least two dozen people were sat drinking and talking. There was no lighting against the walls and it was fairly obvious that some of the inhabitants were taking advantage of the darkness it offered.
“Where from?” he asked.
“Sorry?” I said and took a seat next to a beautiful young woman, whose eyes were ever so slightly glazed over.
“Who told you about this club? Who told you to come see me with a business deal? I heard what you said to the bouncer, they wear microphones and the owner came and informed me of your arrival.”
One of the large bodyguards stood behind me and placed a hand on my shoulder. Karl sat next to me and shooed the two women away. “Who are you and what are you doing in this club?” he glanced behind him at Caitlin. “And if you don’t tell me the truth, I’m going to have you gutted. Then, as you bleed out, I’m going to take your woman and fuck her all night long. In fact I’m pretty certain that last part is going to happen no matter what you say.”
“She’s not my woman, she’s my date,” I told him without moving my gaze from his. “I paid for her for the night, and she’ll be leaving with me. Now, as for who I am? My name is Nathanial Carpenter, I’m here because a friend of yours and mine, Vadim, told me you were interested in purchasing some equipment.”
Before I’d finished on the phone with Roberto, I’d gotten more information on Karl’s dealings for bladed weapons. Roberto told me who the dealer was, a nasty little Ukrainian man by the name of Vadim. He was well regarded for not sharing information on his clients. Even under torture.
“Why not just call?” Karl asked.
“Because Vadim didn’t want to give me your phone number. He said that you didn’t like people calling out of the blue. I was coming to D.C. anyway and thought I’d drop by and test the waters for a future business offer.”
Karl waved the bodyguard away and the grip on my shoulder was released. “What’s the offer?”
“He tells me you’re interested in blades. I can get you a thousand swords, daggers, halberds, pole arms, and any other blade you can think of. All of them fine quality, and all of them with a silver coated blade. Six hundred each, or half a million for the lot.”
“That’s a lot of money.”
“It’s a lot of cargo. And these are expertly made. There are no dull or brittle blades. Also, I can guarantee you that there will be no interest from customs or the feds.”
“I don’t care about either of those. But the deal intrigues me. Throw in the woman and you’ve got a deal.”
“
Like I said, I paid her for the night. I was very much looking forward to getting my money’s worth, which was, just so you know, a lot of money.”
He waved Caitlin over and as soon as she was sat beside me he asked, “Where did you find her?”
“I work out of Chicago,” she said.
“I wasn’t asking you,” Karl snapped. “I asked the man who owns you for the night.”
“Chicago,” I said with a little weariness in my voice. “I have some friends there and one of them arranged it all. I don’t know what agency she’s from, I didn’t have contact with them myself.”
“She could be a cop.”
“If she is, she takes her work very seriously. Besides, I trust the person who arranged it all.”
Karl stared at Caitlin, looking her up and down as she did her best to keep smiling. Eventually his phone rang and he walked off to have a conversation in private.
“That man is all kinds of fucked up,” Caitlin whispered. “I certainly wouldn’t want to be left alone with him.”
“Well, right now I’m going to make him an offer that I hope you don’t find too offensive.”
“If you actually send me off with him, I will most definitely have to shoot you.”
“Let’s put the shooting me part to one side for the moment and focus on the part that he’s coming back over. Smiling.”
He sat next to me again and I noticed his bodyguards all walk away. Hopefully that was a good sign.
“I agree to your terms,” he said. “But I want the woman.”
“How about this?” I asked after a moment’s thought. “The weapons are yours for three hundred thousand, and after tonight, I will pay for you to keep the woman for one week.”
“And what do you get from such an interesting deal?”
“I have some men who are simply…not tough enough. I’ve heard that you are a werelion, a beast of incredible power. I wish for you to turn them into werelions.”
“You do realize that not all of them may survive?”
“Of course, but enough will that I will increase in power. Having my own werelion guards will ensure that people think more than once about crossing me.”
Karl’s laugh was deep and full of menace. “I have a counter proposal.”
Caitlin made a noise behind me and I turned to find one of Karl’s bodyguards holding a knife of mine to her throat. “What is the meaning of this?” I demanded.
“Mister Garrett, did you really think that you and your agent friend here would fool me? Did you assume for one second that Roberto would actually be looking into our operation without us knowing? Of course we know. We just wanted to make a point. So we threatened his family and he backed off from being a public nuisance. He can spy on us or tape our calls all day long for all I care, he can’t do a damn thing with the information. Avalon aren’t going to storm this city to bring us down, not unless they want a war on their hands. So all he can do is listen and watch from the shadows while we live our lives as we see fit.”
“Let her go,” I said, my voice hard and cold.
Karl waved his hand and the bodyguard took a few steps back as the rest of the VIP area began to clear out. “You are a stupid little man for coming here. And before you get any idea of doing anything, take a look down there.”
He pointed to the dance floor, where the customers of the club were enjoying themselves oblivious to the danger I saw. Five of Karl’s bodyguards stood around the room, each next to a group of people.
“One word from me and they open fire. They’ll kill maybe twenty people, but I would put money on at least twice that number dying in the stampede on the way out. So, here’s what’s going to happen. You’re going to walk out of here with my associate behind you, you’re going to get into a car outside and you’re going to be taken to a nice secluded place outside of town. Then someone is going to shoot you in the head and bury you in an unmarked grave. If you deviate from this plan, if you try to escape at any point, I will know about it and will order my remaining men to kill those innocent people. You do care about innocent people I take it?”
I nodded, feeling slightly detached from the sudden turn for the worse. “I’ll make you a counter offer.”
Karl laughed again. “There’s no counter offer, you leave and die, or dozens of others do.”
“There’s always another option,” I said and jabbed my hand into his throat.
Karl gagged and choked as I grabbed him around the neck and drove him onto the floor, placing one of my knees on his chest to make sure he stayed still. “I know you’re a werelion,” I said and pulled my final silver dagger from the holster around my ankle, holding the blade against his throat. “But if you change, I’m going to push this up into your brain and you’ll be dead.”
A crash behind me signaled that Caitlin had removed the threat of the bodyguard. “He’s not getting back up,” she said.
“Now, here’s how my way is going to work.” Orange glyphs burned brightly on my arms. Karl stared at them as the realization of what I was dawned on him. “You ready?”
He nodded slightly, not wishing to push the sharp knife into his neck.
“Good, my plan has three steps. Get through them all and you live. Don’t and you and your people all die tonight. Step one: tell your people to eject whatever ammo is in those guns, walk to the bar and, one at a time, place their guns and ammo behind there. And then I want to see all of them walk into the men’s toilets down there.” I released the grip I had on Karl’s throat a little.
“Empty the guns, then put them down behind the bar, all of you. Then go to the men’s room and await further instructions. The first one to question me dies.”
I watched the men all enter the toilet in single file and then I ripped out the earpiece that Karl was wearing, tossing it behind me where a crunch signified that Caitlin had ended its usefulness.
“So, on to part two. This is a simple part—you’re going to walk out of this club with me and Caitlin. You’re going to do it without fuss. Or you die. I know you’re a big strong werelion and you’re faster and stronger than me, in fact I know that it’s taking a lot for you not to just throw me over this balcony and jump down to tear me in half. I appreciate the restraint, but if that ever stops, I’m just going remove your head from your shoulders and see how good you are at healing yourself. You understand step two?”
“Yes. What’s step three?”
“Oh, yes, that’s an easy one. Tell the DJ to stop playing this god-awful shit and put something fun on. Maybe a bit of Kenny Loggins, you can’t go wrong with Footloose. Everyone likes Kevin Bacon.”
Karl’s eyes widened in shock. “Are you insane?”
“Hey, Kenny isn’t that bad. Yeah it’s a bit cheesy, but it’s a good fun song.” I stared at Karl for a heartbeat. “Oh, you meant in general. No, I just really fucking hate dance music.”
“I’m going to find you for this, you have to know that.”
I dragged Karl to his feet and moved the dagger so that the point was touching his groin. “Wanna threaten me again and see what happens, or would you like to follow the plan?”
“Nate?” Caitlin said.
I looked out over the balcony and saw the bodyguards leave the bathroom and then stand and stare up at us.
“You might kill me, but I’m certain they’re going to kill you before you get out of this club.”
The glint of sliver blades appeared in the hands of the bodyguards. “Yeah, okay, this is going to be hard work. So, slight change of plan. Caitlin, make us some stairs.”
Caitlin stepped in front of us and placed her hands on the balcony, which started to shake and then suddenly it collapsed into a staircase.
“Are you going to behave yourself?” I asked Karl who laughed. “Okay, your call.” I stabbed him in the femoral artery and left the dagger in before kicking him back over the so
fa, where he lay screaming.
“Will that kill him?” Caitlin asked.
“If he leaves the knife in and gets checked out, no. He’s no longer a problem we have to deal with right now.”
Those who had seen Caitlin create a staircase from nothing had one of two reactions, panic and running like mad, or awe. Most people fell into the first category, and once some people start screaming and running, everyone else does it out of a sense of self-preservation. I’d tried to ensure that there wasn’t a stampede, and from what I saw, no one was trampled. So thank heavens for small mercies. The sudden evacuation meant that as we descended the stairs, the bodyguards could spread out in preparation. It also meant that the DJ had given up and gone home, so it wasn’t all bad news.
The first I saw of Caitlin was when she threw her shoes at the nearest guard and then dove at him, driving her fist into his nose and kicking him in the balls with enough force to lift a rocket. I left her to her clearly enjoyable hobby and walked down the rest of the steps slowly, watching the four guards who were waiting for me.
“You guys must be nervous, I’ve just made your boss bleed all over the nice carpet up there and now you’re wondering what’s going to happen to you. Well, I won’t lie, it’s not going to be fun for you.”
I made it to the bottom and saw that all four men held daggers. I would have put money that they knew how to use them too. Karl didn’t strike me as the kind of person who took failure well and would employ in competent people.
The first guard darted toward me knife out. I side-stepped him and smashed my elbow into his throat, using my momentum to bounce off into the path of the second guard who I hit with a blast of air that send him spinning back into the bar in the center of the room, pulling several shelves of alcohol and glasses on top of himself.
The third guard kicked out at me, hoping to catch me unaware, but I kicked out at the other leg and broke his knee. He collapsed to the floor like a felled tree, writhing in pain until I kicked him the head. The last guard had clearly stayed back out of some sense of not getting the shit kicked out of him, but now there were no friends left and it was fight or flight time.