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I didn't bother checking whether he was okay - just felt along his arms until I found the weapon he'd been holding. Nunchakus. The bastard could have taken my head off - and it probably explained the screams I'd heard earlier. The two women had been caught unawares by the black thing that had virtually no heat signature and no smell.
After grabbing the weapon with my free hand, I moved back to the boxes and squatted down. Footsteps whispered across the silence again, this time from behind me. I padded forward, away from the steps, keeping low until I reached the end of the line of boxes. I felt for the top, noting that while it was high, it was still within my leap range, then threw the nunchakus as far and as high as I could. As they whirled through the air, I leapt on top of the box and made my way silently back along the top of them.
Tension filled the air, coming from the creature who was almost directly below me. The nunchakus hit something with a God-awful clatter, but no one reacted. Then again, the two men left in the room were, at the very least, professionals, and not likely to be scared senseless by an unexpected noise. I waited, watching the heat of the man below me until he finally began to creep around the end of the box.
I unrolled the belt, flicking the buckle end toward the back of his head. It hit hard, and he went down the same way.
One to go.
And I couldn't see him. Or rather, couldn't see the heat of him. Either he was hiding behind something toward the end of the room, or, like the black thing I'd felled, he was somehow invisible to infrared.
I jumped back down to the floor and walked across to the wall. There was no sense in trying to be quiet, as the person ahead was some sort of vampire, and he'd hear the beat of my heart no matter how quiet the rest of me was. But with my back to the wall, at least I cut off one avenue of attack.
The air stirred, washing the faint stink of vampire across my nose. This one obviously washed more than Gautier, but I was betting the closer I got to him, the more he'd reek. One of these days the morons were going to wake up to the fact that their refusal to wash was making them easy prey for those of us who hunted by scent, and I'd be in serious trouble. Hell, the only reason I knew Gautier was around most times was thanks to his ungodly stink.
The stirring air told me that this vamp was on the move. I kept making my way along the wall, moving past the stacks of boxes as quickly as I could. The vampire was in the center aisle between the two rows, moving back as I moved forward. Tension rolled through me - not fear, just a need to get this over with.
His move, when it came, was quick. So quick I didn't even see him, just got the faintest whiff of approaching death, then felt the force of his blow as it hit my chin. I reeled backward and half-fell, smashing my knee into concrete with enough force to bring on tears. Then he was on me, a whirlwind of strength and energy, his blows crashing into my body, my arms - anywhere and everywhere. After throwing up my right arm to block some of his punches, I flipped the belt buckle into my other palm and wrapped my fingers between the spider's metal legs, so that they stuck out like vicious little daggers. Then I punched hard and low. He obviously realized my intent, but he wasn't half as fast as he should have been. My blow drove deep into his dangly bits, and he dropped like a stone, wheezing for air and writhing in pain.
I took a shaky breath, then rose and replaced my belt. The lights came back on, and the door at the other end of the room clicked open. I remained near the wall until the last moment, just in case it was a trick, but no one jumped out at me.
I was barely out of the room when the stink of a vampire curled around me, so thick, so putrid, I gagged.
Only it wasn't just any vampire.
It was Gautier. was the only word that came immediately to mind, and even that didn't really encompass the shitload of trouble that had just raised its ugly head. Or, given it was Gautier we were talking about, maybe that should have been its greasy, stinking, ugly head.
"Well, at least that explains where Gautier has disappeared to on the few occasions we've lost him," Jack commented. "But it doesn't change our plans. Liander's work is subtle, but good. I doubt he'd recognize either of you."
Maybe not by sight, but if I opened my mouth and started throwing barbs his way, like I normally did, he'd certainly suspect. There weren't many people as stupid as I tended to be when he was around.
"All you have to do," Jack continued, "is keep out of his way, and keep your mouth shut. And that's an order, not a suggestion."
One I'd definitely try to obey. Gautier had already beaten up on me - I had no intention of giving him a second chance. Especially in a place where there was no one to save my ass at the last moment.
"So," I said to Dia, "how often does he appear there?"
She shrugged. "Only very occasionally. Starr does not wish him to be seen or recognized."
"He's a guardian - they work at night. I doubt any of Starr's regulars would recognize him."
Her smile was grim. "There are politicians who have access to files. Starr doesn't want to take the risk because he believes Gautier's position at the Directorate is unknown and safe."
Then yay us for keeping our knowledge of him a secret.
"Is he one of Starr's lovers?" Somehow, I just couldn't imagine Gautier being homosexual. Though, I couldn't actually imagine him making love to women, either. He'd always seemed asexual to me.
"No. Starr uses him as an occasional form of punishment - do something seriously wrong, and you fight Gautier." She hesitated. "No one has ever beaten him."
No surprise there. The man was a stinking fighting machine. "Does he kill them?"
"Always. It is what he does."
Wasn't that the truth. "Is he expected anywhere near the place over the next couple of weeks?"
"Unless something dramatic happens, no. There's too many people going to be around. I doubt he'd take the chance of exposure."
Good. Because I didn't want to be anywhere near the bastard, disguise or no. "Anything else I need to know before I board the bus this afternoon?"
