Scott Mariani - Uprising

The thud of chopper blades above the building was fading. The gunship had done its work and was now flying away. Through the glass doors of the lobby, its long bulky fuselage lit up by the floodlights illuminating the hotel grounds, a Chinook transport helicopter sat on the front lawn, its twin props rotating at idle speed.

Alex slowly picked herself up. There was little use fighting. She counted a dozen, maybe fifteen, vampires circling her and Rumble. Behind them, the seven Supremos had been rounded up and cuffed together. There were blades pressed against their throats from all sides. Olympia Angelopolis was whimpering in terror.

Not all the prisoners were Federation top brass. Four other vampires were dragged into the lobby and thrown to the floor. Rough hands searched them. Alex watched as her last remaining Solazal tablets were confiscated and tossed into a Ziploc pouch.

‘Do ‘em all here?’ said one of the attack squad to his leader, pointing at Alex, Rumble and the other non-VIP prisoners.

‘Good a place as any,’ the leader replied casually.

The Supremos were kept at a distance as, one by one, the rest of the captives were made to kneel. Vampires in black held on to their arms while the biggest of the squad gripped his sabre, brought the blade back and then whooshed it sideways with a hum of air and a ripping squelch as it sliced through the victim’s neck. One by one, all four of the other struggling prisoners were decapitated while Alex and Rumble watched.

Their headless bodies were dumped in a pile, and the heads kicked like footballs into a corner.

‘Bastards,’ Rumble muttered.

‘You all had it coming a long time ago, you Federation fuckers,’ the leader said.

The executioner walked over to them, grinning. His dripping sabre left a trail of blood spots across the lobby carpet as he approached. He pointed a black-gloved finger at Alex.

‘Eeny.’

Then at Rumble. ‘Meeny.’

At Alex. ‘Miny.’

Back to Rumble. ‘Mo.’

‘Fuck this, we’ll be here all day,’ said the leader. ‘Stop messing around and do the bitch first.’

‘Fine, fine.’ Strong hands seized Alex’s arms and held her powerless. The executioner took a good grip on the slippery hilt of his sabre. ‘Sorry, sweetie. Nothing personal.’

She spat in his eye.

‘Nice. That makes it easier.’ He drew back the blade.

Alex closed her eyes and prepared herself. She thought about William. And about Joel Solomon. Maybe he was right. Maybe she deserved what was about to happen to her.

But the blow never came. A harsh female voice cut through the lobby.

‘No!’

And Alex opened her eyes again.

It was Lillith. Halogen spotlights gleamed off the red leather of her tight jumpsuit as she came swaggering across the lobby and the assault team vampires parted to let her through.

‘Agent Bishop,’ she laughed. ‘Told you I’d catch up with you sometime, didn’t I?’

Towering behind her was the massive shape of the powerful black vampire Alex had last seen in the battle at the London Eye. He’d swapped his tactical combat gear for a black shirt and a tangerine suit that shimmered like silk. His eyes were hidden behind shades and his grin was broad and dazzling.

The executioner stepped back in disappointment and lowered his sabre. Lillith reached across her body and drew her own blade from its scabbard with a rattle of steel. She walked up to where Alex was still being held on her knees and swished the sabre through the air a couple of times, relishing the moment.

Alex looked down, refusing to make eye contact with her. Then she felt the cold steel of the weapon’s tip touch her face.

‘Look at me, Agent Bishop.’

The point of the blade ran down Alex’s cheek, stroked her lips, then Lillith pressed up hard under her chin and forced her head up.

‘I said, look at me, bitch.’

Alex glowered at her. Lillith smiled. ‘I wonder how your head would look on a silver platter. We could have delivered it to your Federation bosses. That is, if you still had any. Shame — me and Zachary here would have loved to slice that pretty little neck of yours.’

Zachary gave a low chuckle.

‘Don’t miss your chance,’ Alex said. ‘You might not get another.’

‘My brother’s looking forward to meeting you,’ Lillith said. ‘He’s got plans for you.’ She whipped the sabre away from Alex’s chin and slid it back into its scabbard.

Turning to the assault team vampires, she said, ‘Okay, load her up with the others.’

The assault leader pointed at Harry Rumble. ‘What about that one?’

Lillith surveyed Rumble with disdain. ‘Who is he?’

‘Just the VIA head in London.’

‘Really? How interesting. And you were about to give him the chop?’ She strolled casually over to Rumble, swaying her hips. He flinched away as she ran her fingers down his cheek. ‘Nice little bonus. Gabriel will be pleased. Fine, bring him along too.’

Alex and Rumble were hauled to their feet and dragged over to join the Supremos. The vampires in black prodded them with the swords towards the exit and marched them outside towards the Chinook. Its enormous rotors began to turn faster and the whine of its turbines rose to a roar as the pilot readied for lift-off.

‘Whatever you’re being paid to do this, I can triple it,’ Olympia Angelopolis pleaded with Lillith as she was bundled into the rear hatch of the helicopter.

‘I know you and your cronies have stashed away plenty during the last few years,’ Lillith said. ‘But we’re not interested in your money.’

‘I could rip her tongue out if you want,’ Zachary offered.

Lillith shook her head. ‘She’s going to need one for the little show we’re putting on.’

Alex and Rumble exchanged quizzical glances. Neither of them spoke. The vampires in black shoved the rest of the prisoners on board. Lillith gave them a mocking wave as the hatch was closing.

‘Bon voyage, Federation scumbags. Pretty soon you’re all going to wish you’d never been turned.’

The hatch clanged shut, the cargo hold went black. Moments later Alex felt a rising sensation as the big Chinook took off into the night.

Hours passed. Voices in the dark, vibrating space of the cargo hold.

‘Where are they taking us?’ Lerouge sounded agitated and fearful.

‘They must surely let us go,’ said Borowczyk.

‘It is an outrage.’ Goldmund’s voice. ‘An outrage, pure and simple.’

‘The question is, what do we do about it?’ Alex said. ‘We can’t just sit here.’

‘The field agent.’ Olympia Angelopolis’s voice muttered scornfully from the darkness. ‘And what exactly is it you propose to do? As you seem to have so many wonderful ideas as to how we should run our affairs.’

‘For a start, I wouldn’t waste my time trying to bribe these guys,’ Alex answered.

‘You can’t buy your way out of this one so easily.’

‘Then what, Alex?’ Rumble’s voice. He sounded subdued.

‘We have to fight.’

‘With what? They have swords. They might still have Nosferol bullets, too.’

Alex gave a snort. ‘Maybe Gabriel Stone’s right about us, Harry. Seems to me that with all this Federation bullshit, we’ve forgotten who we are. We’re vampires.

Vampires fight. They don’t plead and beg.’

Rumble drew a breath. ‘Alex—’

‘You will please to remember whom you are addressing,’ Hassan said indignantly in his thick accent. ‘You are in the presence of Supremo Angelopolis.’

‘I know exactly whose presence I’m in,’ Alex said, and the conversation settled into a brooding silence. She could feel Harry Rumble frowning at her in the darkness.