Crimson Claws & Fangs ch.15

     It has been nearly a week now, six days, and Mike has been following the orders of Count Fontaine. As the self proclaimed Count’s enforcer Mike has found himself and even his more aggressive Toori-Ma side hunting down and feeding on Moroii vampires, their accidental thrall creations, and Goth humans using the Goth persona as a means to drug, rape, and murder susceptible women and men in the club who buy into their lies of being vampires. The last of these Mike can’t believe are more common than he would like.

 

     Mike sits at the bar in his human form, now wearing a black leather coat and jeans so as not to stick out too much in the mostly Gothic bar scene. A Moroii woman dressed up like a Goth chick in white make up and fish net clothing with a black lacey bra approaches him to tell him that Count Fontaine wants to see him, “the usual queue that he has an assignment for me”, he thinks.

 

     In his distinctly un-Gothic yet old world styled pent house Fontaine has gathered Mike and two Moroii one male and one female, who are dressed in street cloths yet also wearing tool belts with numerous pockets, something that stuck out as rather odd to Mike.

 

     “Mike,” says Fontaine, “I have a very important assignment that would be very much enhanced with your assistance, in that I mean the assistance of your Toori-Ma form. You, those two Moroii there, and myself are going to stage a little prison break.”

 

    Fontaine raises his hand to stop Mike from protesting, “Its not a normal prison. This prison is an H.E.P. containment facility located not far outside the city in the desert. On the surface it looks like an old shack for an abandoned emu farm.”

 

   Fontaine waves over the female Moroii, who pulls out a blue print that shouldn’t have fit in one of the pockets of her utility belt. Fontaine points out how the facility is fully automated; with no personnel there except for supply deliveries and when a new prisoner is brought in.

 

    “and why are we breaking in there?” asks Mike.

 

   “My boss,” says Fontaine letting the implications of such an idea sink into Mike’s mind, “has an associate in there that she wants back. So my good sir we are going to break into a facility created by a Dire with technology beyond this world to break out a Doh-Rong, an ancient reptilian vampire, who my insanely powerful boss who could damn well do that herself, can have her, yes the Doh-Rong is a girl, back for what ever reason. Now if there are no more questions we have to leave right now.”

 

    Mike with an uneasy expression on his face, not sure what set that off, quickly agrees and the four of them head out, needing to only wait a few more minutes for sunset.

 

     Above the desert night in a place where no humans eyes would have been able to see anything in the air the voice of Fontaine can be hear, “deactivate the stealth bubble now.”

 

    In the air a bubble of invisibility seems to ripple and vanish revealing the grey gargoyle with its bright red crest of hair form of Mike flying above Fontaine who is using his psychic powers to keep his two Moroii henchmen in the air with him. Fontaine sees Mike’s curious expression and says, “Didn’t know you were smart enough in that form to ponder such things, if you must know while the stealth bubble would keep the humans and their radar from seeing us it would actually give us away to the technology in that H.E.P. facility.”

 

    Standing outside the shack the female Moroii pries off a wood panel revealing a security reader under it, she pries open the panel and rewires it with a small green screen tablet device from one of her pockets opening the door.

 

   “We have our own advanced technology disguised to look like human tech as well.” Says Fontaine to Mike, “and these two are perfectly trained in its use, or did you think they were just more muscle like you?” with a chuckle he waves his hand for Mike to follow as they head inside.

 

    The male Moroii gets to work on the transit system while the female stays behind to guard the entrance. He hacks the system and locates the cell labeled “Ananth”, programming the lift platform to take them there. Mike retracts his wings to fit on the platform with them. The lift takes them down a vast distance which has even Fontaine astounded at the sheer number of creatures being held here, and the over confidence of the H.E.P thinking that no one would find this location and have the tech to get in, “maybe not too over confident considering that with out Litmet’s technology we would have been able to even dream of getting in here.” He thinks to himself.

 

     In the depths the platform stops outside of Ananth’s cell, the male Moroii gets to work on the transit platform’s security protocols to try and open the cell, not as easy as just getting around. With Ananth’s cell on their left Mike looks to the right to see a human in that cell. Mike inside the beast’s mind has a moment of clarity as he recognizes the human, “Sheriff Peter Jones?” he thinks.

 

   “Count Fontaine” hisses Mike, “I think we should also take this human with us.” Fontaine with a raised eyebrow looks at Mike and at the human who has now stood up, who also looks confused as to why this giant creature he has never seen before would say that.

 

    “Bingo” says the Moroii as Ananth’s cell opens and she walks out.

 

   “No” says Fontaine to Mike, we are not going to take that guy with us. You can get something to eat when we get back to L.A.”

 

   To Everyone’s surprise Ananth says, “We are taking him with us.”

 

  “What?” says Fontaine.

 

  “And not as food” she says,

 

  “We were ordered to retrieve you, and only you.” Objects Fontaine.

 

   “You were ordered by my mistress,” hisses Ananth showing her fangs with glowing yellow eyes, “The mistress isn’t here, and I am! And I out rank you, so do as I say or else I will melt you into a pool of vampiric sludge you misbegotten Dark One!” She looks at the Moroii with a hiss and looks back at Fontaine saying, “Never mind child of the ring, we all know who your true master is even if you don’t, I have a better trick to show you, and one that should make it apparent that opposing me in the future would be a very bad idea on your part.”  

 

   She turns to the Moroii and says, “Ananth, t’hick chak koom k’tfra.”

 

   The Moroii’s head snaps back and his eyes glaze over in a trance.

 

  “Moroii,” says Ananth, “open the cell labeled Peter Jones.”

 

  With out a question and too Fontaine’s horrified surprise making his eye twitch in anger forcing himself not to shake at this prospect, the Moroii goes to work and lets Peter out of his cell.

 

    The Moroii calls down a second platform and they all head outside where they join up with the other Moroii. Peter looks at these four monsters and says, “Well I’ll take my leave and head my own way if it’s all the same.”

 

    Ananth looks at Peter with a smile and says, “I thought you wanted revenge on Samantha? She is near where we are going.”

 

   “How could you know that?” he asks.

 

   Ananth points at Fontaine, “He has access to a network thanks to my mistress who keeps track of such creatures, and his office specifically would be tracking such a creature on the West Coast. They have spies in the H.E.P., who have been tracking her, and as such they too have that information. I personally have a psychic link with someone in their organization who the H.E.P. were unaware was in constant contact with me.”

 

    “Fine” he says, “I’ll go along, but once in the city we part ways.”

 

    Ananth transforms before his eyes into a terrifying form resembling to him a demonic velociraptor with grasping hands, wings, a cobra hood on the neck and head, and a metal Chinese dragon like blade on her oddly snake like tail.

 

   Ananth grabs him by around his torso and takes to the air flying off in the direction of the city, Mike spreading his wings again and Fontaine using his powers again to lift the two Moroii follow.

 

   In mid-air Peter says, “I take it your name is Ananth then?”

 

   “Yes” she says

 

   “and,” he continues, “I take it this mistress of yours and the one you were constant psychic contact with are the same?”

 

  “yes” she simply says again letting her grip loosen a little in her own subtle way of saying that he had better have a point and get to it quick, a message that isn’t lost on him.

 

   “okay,” he says I get the message, “just one last question and then I wont talk to the driver any more, who is this mistress of yours anyway, want to make sure I have the right name down when I say hi.”

 

    “If you must know,” she says, “She is Litmet, the mother of all vampires.”