(Part Two) -- The Vampire Warehouse

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Some time had passed, and I drank a little more to calm my nerves so that I might be able to think clearly. The bourbon was gone, but I still had some old scotch left. Should do the trick.

I called the police two or three times, and they did drive by, I could see it from my window. But before they could get anywhere near my place...the vampires downstairs would slowly begin to scatter. Blending back into the shadows, becoming ghosts to everyone else but me. And then...once the cop car left the parking lot, I would see them gently creep back into the light again, looking up at my windows with a smile that chilled me to the bone.

The police stopped taking me seriously after the second call. Figured it was an early Halloween prank or something. Besides...'teenagers in the parking lot' is not their idea of an adult emergency.

I drank some more, trying time and time again to get in touch with Juliano. Father Juliano was a priest, and an Elder. Already 148 years old, running his operation out of an underground church with his partner Serazzi. Also a priest. I was loyal to them. SO obedient. I did everything they wanted me to do, and my money alone helped them to run this part of the city flawlessly for the last three years. They NEED me! They're not going to turn their backs on me now. Not now!

I called, and I called, and I called! Letting the phone ring until I got a very 'human' sounding voicemail. But I just kept going, one phone call after the other. They have to let me in. They have to.

I still got no answer, and looking back out of my window, the vampires looked to almost be having a small 'party' downstairs...waiting for midnight so that they come and feed on me without consequence.

I called the local airport to see if I could book a plane out of the city. I asked them to send a shuttle bus for me as well. ANYTHING to smuggle me out of here. The man asked where I wanted to go, and I said, "ANYWHERE! Just far away from here. Some place warm. California! I don't care! But I need to leave tonight, you understand? As soon as possible. Money is no object!" There WAS a plane leaving in the next 30 minutes to Los Angeles, and I was sure that I could make it, and have the shuttle here to give me some added protection on the way to the airport. They wouldn't just knock me off in a heavily public, well lit, place, would they? They can't. They needed to stay secret. Hidden. Right?

Just then, after hearing the man type on his keyboard over the phone, he said, "Hmmm...I'm sorry, sir. Your credit card was declined." WHAT??? I gave him another one, and then a third, and then a FOURTH! and EVERY cad had been cancelled! The sons of bitches had completely bankrupted me in a matter of hours! KNOWING that I wouldn't be able to correct it until it was too late!

I looked back outside the window...and I knew it was pointless to even argue. None of my cards would work. They made sure that I was as far away from my money as possible. I couldn't even afford a cab ride. I hung up the phone, and watched....as they taunted me with impish grins and evil laughter.

I began pacing back and forth, almost wetting my pants at the thought of my time running out so quickly. My mind was spinning...trying to come up with another idea! But I was too panicked to do anything more than drink. Now gulping scotch right out of the bottle, as the time on my watch ticked away.

The vampires outside had almost doubled in number now, and every time I peeked out of that window...their shadowed forms and glowing eyes were looking right back at me. Anxiously waiting for their time to strike.

I called some friends to help me, but they thought I was plum crazy. I made the mistake of mentioning the idea of vampires to one of them, and all they asked was how much I had been drinking. Tried to call my ex...see if maybe she could give me the number to her credit card instead. Give me a loan. Ha! It must have been the alcohol that made me think THAT conversation was going to go well. Cheating on your wife with an 18 year old boy musician is NOT a good idea. Especially if you get caught doing it.

My ex-wife's last words to me tonight, when I tried to explain the vampire thing?

"GOOD! I hope they ARE real! And hope they bite you right on the ASS, you goddamn DRUNK!!!"

I looked down at the bottle in my hand, finished what was in it...and then opened up another one. Heh...15 minutes. That's what my life has been narrowed down to. A lousy...15....minutes.

FINALLY...after hours upon HOURS of trying to get through to the Elders earlier, hearing that voicemail a BILLION times in the LAST hour alone, someone picked up the line!!!

"Serazzi!!!! Serazzi, my GOD! You don't know how good it is to hear your voice right now!" I nearly screamed. "Let me talk to Father Juliano! PLEASE! And tell him it's URGENT!" I said, nearly crying from the relief in my heart! They'll straighten this shit out for me. They'll send me some protection and get this whole mess cleared up once and for all.

"What? What the fuck.....? What are you DOING Serazzi? Seriously! I'm not kidding around here! I need to talk to him RIGHT NOW!!!"

"No, Mr. Kincaid, you don't." Serazzi said calmly. "It appears that our business relationship, as we know it...is officially about to come to an end."

"No...no no no, wait! What are you talking about? Serazzi, for the love of GOD, put Elder Juliano on the goddamn phone!!!"

But Serazzi never raised his voice. Not even a little bit. "I'm sorry, but that is not possible."

"What the FUCK are you talking about???????" I shouted even louder. "I've got a safeguard mark that's going to run out in the next FIFTEEN fucking minutes...and I need a new one! NOW!!!"

"I'm afraid we cannot offer you a new safeguard, Mr. Kincaid. That offer is on the table for our 'business' associates only. I doubt you would be able to financially back us for the full amount of a safeguard mark that wasn't given to you as a favor. You were already heavily discounted from the very beginning. That is an option that is no longer up for discussion."

"What business associates??? I *AM* a business associate!!! I've been serving you both for three YEARS now, Serazzi!!! THREE FUCKING YEARS!!!!"

"Yes, and in return we provided you with ample protection from the feeders of this city. That was an even trade for services rendered, and it was profitable for all involved...when that situation was beneficial for us both. But that is no longer the case, Mr. Kincaid."

"You're firing me??? You can't FIRE me!!! I've been...I've been LOYAL to you! To your KIND!" I said, trying hard not to 'beg and plead' for my life. They wouldn't respect that. They never did. "You can't DO this to me! After all the money I've given you, all the functions I FUNDED for you...you OWE me! A quarter of this whole damn CITY is *MINE*!!!!"

"Not any more it isn't." Serazzi told me. "It seems that we are taking your territories and turning them over to a Mr. Marshall from now on. He'll be handling your business dealings in that part of town from now on, effective immediately as of 12:01 AM. You, on the other hand, are no longer needed. I hardly see a reason to grant you an extension on your expiration date."

Trying to calm down before he began tuning me out, I held myself steady, and tried to just...breathe. "Listen...Serazzi...as a FRIEND, ok? As a FRIEND...I'm telling you....you have to help me out here."

"You don't...you don't...understand..." I said, my voice trembling as I held back sobs of desperation. "...If I don't renew my mark by midnight tonight....there are vampires outside of my window...right NOW...that are going to KILL me! Do you understand? They are GOING...to KILL me!"

"I know." He said, shocking me even further. "And they paid well to learn of your whereabouts this evening. Seems they've been waiting for this moment for quite some time now."

The horror of the situation sank in, and I nearly wet myself as I began to shake violently from the inside out. "You...set me up...?"

"Let's be honest, Mr. Kincaid, shall we? You don't care about us. You never did. You USED us to get what you wanted, and for the last few years we allowed you to live in the lap of luxury while our kind suffered out in the cold and the rain. You kicked back in your nice warm condominium with all of your fancy gadgets, and you watched them live in poverty and constant misery from your high rise window, never once offering even the change from your pocket to help ease a bit of their pain." Serazzi told me. "You didn't just make money out of thin air, Mr. Kincaid. You literally sold your SOUL to get what you have now. Look around you, at all the fabulous trinkets you've acquired in such a short time. And you didn't share a dime of it with anyone. Not even the church. So now...it is time to face the karma you have willingly built for yourself. A level of karma that could have been so much easier on you, had you spent your years giving back, instead of taking away from the community that made you what you are. Greed...vanity....lust...pride...how long have we preached on these things? How long has humanity turned a blind eye to it?"

"Don't GIVE me that! You son of a bitch! You profited off of this too!!! Your hands are JUST as fucking dirty as mine!"

"And yet...it is not I who have a collection of angry vampires waiting outside my door in the shadows." He said. "Perhaps you can let this provide you with a valuable lesson, Mr. Kincaid. And if granted another chance at life, you will learn that the next time you are fortunate enough to be put into a position of privilege far above the norm...you can use some of that useless material wealth to create a stronger bridge between you and righteousness. And create more friends than enemies from your selfish ways. For, as I'm sure you're about to see....you really can't take it with you."

Looking back at my watch, seeing the second hand moving at what seemed like the speed of LIGHT to me, I tried to appeal to his higher nature. "You're a priest, Serazzi! You HAVE to help me! You and Juliano are BOTH priests!!!! PLEASE!!!! You HAVE to help me! You HAVE to!!!"

"I'm sorry, my child. But the good book says that God does NOT exist in desperation. And neither does our sense of 'compassion' in these matters." After which he had the nerve to add, "But for what it's worth...I will say a prayer for you tonight, and wish you luck...in seeing the dawn again."

"*FUCK* YOU!!!! YOU HEAR ME!!! *FUCK* YOU!!! I'LL SEE YOU IN *HELL*, SERAZZI!!!! I'LL SEE BOTH OF YOU IN FUCKING HELL!!!!!"

Still...never raising his voice...he replied, "Not for a looooong long time, Mr. Kincaid. Not for a looooong long time." And he hung up the phone. Leaving me....all alone.....

I drank as much as I possibly could from behind the bar, stumbling a bit on my way back to the mirror. Might as well not let the 'good stuff' go to waste. I was watery eyed, but not a single tear fell as I stared at my reflection. I had gotten dressed up in my best suit for the event, wore my best set of cufflinks, and tie that was brand new. Hadn't even worn it to the office yet. Fixed my hair, put on some cologne, and peeled away the rest of that useless mark from the side of my neck. It won't be doing me any good anymore anyway.

Deep down, I was hoping that I had enough alcohol in my blood to POISON the little fuckers! It won't kill 'em, but if they maintained the tolerance of a teenager for the last few years, it'll keep them puking in the bushes and suffering a few hangover headaches for the next day or two. I guess that's the only revenge I've got at this point, huh?

I looked around at my condo, and I admired all the things I had gotten for myself. Fuck it...for the last few years, life was good. And they can't take that away from me, no matter how hard they try.

I heard my watch beep as I opened the lobby door and walked back out into the parking lot...bottle of liquor still in hand.

Will it hurt? Yeah, I'm sure it will. But how long am I actually going to have to 'suffer'? They're looking to rip me apart for the things I've done. They won't be waiting around for something as playful and time consuming as 'torture'. Not tonight.

They began creeping out of the shadows right away, and as I swayed slightly on my feet, watching the horde approach me...eyes glowing red, fangs spiked down...I took what was left in that bottle, and I turned it up towards the sky. Guzzling the rest of the potent liquid, as I got down on my knees and prepared to be ripped apart.

Was I sorry? No, not really. Maybe old fogies like me never learn. But for what it's worth...

"Mr. Marshall? This is Father Serazzi. I wanted to contact you to let you know that our...arrangement has now been put into effect. Congratulations."

"Thank you. Thank you. And tell Elder Juliano that I won't let him down. You have my word."

"I am sure that you won't, Mr. Marshall. We're expecting to see a many great things from you over the next three years."

"Yes, sir. You will." Mr. Marshall replied, then asking, "So...this 'thing' on my neck? It's going to keep me SAFE right? I mean...I don't have to worry about...walking the streets at night or anything, do I?"

"Of course not, Mr. Marshall." Serazzi answered calmly. "You needn't worry about that anymore. You're our associate now. Your well being means a lot to us, as well as our organization." And then...with a very dark smile...Serazzi added...

"You're in good hands, Mr. Marshall. You're working for the Vampire Elders now...and we ALWAYS...take care of our own."