To Protect and Serve

© 2000 Tony Ruggiero
All rights reserved.

Joan timed the raising of her halter-top to the exact moment that the car was parallel to her. Positioning herself strategically under one of the streetlights on the dark street in the old section of Ocean View, in Norfolk, Virginia so that the prospective client would have a clear view of her merchandise.
"Hey fella, wanna show a girl a good time?" She said in a husky, provocative voice and then slowly ran her tongue over her bright red lips as she raked her hands through her long dark hair. The car continued on its way, disappearing into the darkness.
"Damn it! I don't need another slow night," Joan said in disgust as she adjusted her halter-top. "I got bills to pay just like everyone else,"
She removed a cigarette from her purse in frustration and lit it, being careful not to scratch her fluorescent orange nail polish. She exhaled a long stream of smoke, as she gazed upward momentarily into the star lit night sky. She lowered her gaze again hoping to see some headlights coming down the street. Instead she was startled as a man suddenly appeared in front of her, seeming to have come from nowhere.
"Where the hell did you come from? I never even heard you," Joan said nervously, but quickly remembered her empty purse and her instincts took over, as she looked him up and down. Physically he was handsome; a regal face and fine build and he possessed a sense of calm that quickly placed her back into her usual business etiquette.
She smiled flirtatiously, and stepped closer to him, "Didn't your mommy ever tell you it's not nice to sneak up on a lady?"
"Forgive me, I did not mean to frighten you," the man said in a deep, smooth voice. "I was just looking for some company for the evening, if you are available?" Then he lowered his voice and said, "I have been without the company of a 'friend' for a while. Someone I could just be with and, well, not have to worry about..." he paused, and his eyes seemed to glaze over for a moment and then ended the sentence, "about 'things'."
His hands suddenly produced a fifty-dollar bill, which he flashed quickly toward Joan.
"Well my new 'friend'," Joan said huskily, as she eyed the bill. She slipped her hand into his, caressing the bill, "I just happen to be free tonight and I have a place not far from here. It's within walking distance, as a matter of fact."
"That sounds fine..." the man paused, "Your name. What is your name?" He asked.
Joan brushed her body against his, "My name is Joan, and you, friend?"
The man's eyes seemed to suddenly glow, "Dimitri."
Joan began to play in his dark hair, "Dimitri, that sounds so romantic, like something from the movies."
Dimitri chuckled under his breath, "It's just a name, Joan...like..." He suddenly stopped, mid-sentence and quickly looked around. He searched the darkness for movement, but found none. He turned his dark eyes back to Joan, and said in almost a whisper, "Perhaps we should be going, the streets are not safe." They walked off together, Joan's arm wrapped through his.

Dimitri walked into the bathroom and closed the door and Joan quickly jumped out of bed and searched his clothes. He has to be carrying more than just the fifty-dollar bill he had given her, she thought. She rummaged inside of his jacket pocket and felt something bulky and smiled thinking she had found his wallet. But as she opened it, a detective badge jumped into her sight.
"Oh, Jesus Christ," she muttered in panic, "Great, a freakin' cop."
"It's okay, Joan," The deep voice said calmly, from behind her. "I am not going to arrest you. If I was, I would have done it when you accepted the money."
Joan was startled at first, but that strange hypnotic tone in his voice soothed her and she relaxed.
Joan chuckled wryly, "Well then, Detective Dimitri. This is a little exercise in hypocrisy, isn't it now? Or are you here to protect and ...serve?"
Dimitri laughed, pulling her back toward the bed, "Why yes I am," he said.
Joan didn't know why but she was oddly attracted to him, even though he was cop.
"So, detective, do you work the day shift?" Joan asked as she nuzzled the hair on his chest.
"No, the night shift," Dimitri answered, vaguely.
"Well, now it's nighttime," Joan said as she began to caress his body, "how come you're not working?"
"Who said I'm not working," Dimitri chuckled, "I just said I wasn't going to arrest you. I'm doing some 'undercover' work."
"Sounds dangerous," Joan said playfully.
"It might be just that," he said unemotionally.
Joan thought she saw that flash in his eyes again, but then it was gone. He pulled her to him, "You might say, I felt like indulging into humanity for a little while. How about we grab a bite to eat?"

Just prior to dawn the next morning, the body of a Joan Crawley, known to be a prostitute, was found lying along the bay. A note was found clutched in the dead woman's hand that read: "D...No rest for the weary. M."
The coroner-determined time of death to be around one AM; cause of death from an extreme loss of blood. Further autopsy revealed she had just eaten dinner prior to her death.
The on scene police officer was finishing up his report as an unmarked car pulled up to the edge of the taped off crime scene. From the vehicle a large man emerged and approached the officer. The officer immediately recognized him as Detective Dimitri Vladstock of the night shift.
"Morning Detective, working overtime?"
"What do you have?" Dimitri asked ignoring the question.
"Female, age twenty-nine, several priors for prostitution, cause of death from extreme loss of blood. Name of Joan Crawley."
Dimitri looked at the officer questioningly.
"Are you sure?" He asked.
"Yea....driver's license with photo, the whole bit."
Dimitri looked skyward at the beginning gray of an overcast morning as the police officer continued.
"There was a note, not much to go on and it was...."
"A note? Let me see it!" Dimitri said firmly.
The officer handed the plastic bag that contained the note to Dimitri. He read the short one line that was on it and handed it back to the officer.
"Let me know if you find anything else," he said and turned back toward his car before the officer could answer.
Dimitri got back into the vehicle, started it up and then sat for a few moments behind the tinted windows looking toward the slowly brightening horizon, squinting his dark eyes. He lit a cigarette, inhaling deeply and blowing the smoke out a few seconds later.
"You bastard," he said. "Not even a moment of peace will you allow me to have. And you call yourself a Master."
The car pulled away quickly accelerating from the morning and the beginning of another day.

Police Lieutenant Tony Vincent was still shaking the sleep from his head, as he poured himself a cup of coffee at the police station in Atlantic City, New Jersey. Still in his usual morning fog, he distractedly ripped the packets of sugar open, spilling a third on the table.
"Darn it," Tony said, sweeping the grains off the table. "Isn't anything going to cooperate with me this morning,"
He had only gotten a few hours sleep after pulling an extra shift, of which he spent most of the night booking the never-ending stream of hookers, pimps, assorted drunks and drug addicts.
"Well, good morning there sunshine," an overly cheery voice piped up behind him.
Tony didn't even have to turn around to recognize the squad leader's voice, Captain Chris Dawson.
"Can't you give a guy a break," Tony said, irritated, running his hands through his blonde hair. "It was a rough night. You would think they would get tired of us picking them up and booking them night after night. But they keep coming back for more."
"Yea, and the papers just eat it up," Chris said as he waved a newspaper in front of Tony's face. "The Chief's under the gun to do something to clean up our image. You know, make Atlantic City the family tourist capital of the world."
Tony laughed dryly, "Not to mention if those 'families' drop a couple of hundred in the casinos too boot?"
"You know it," Chris nodded in agreement. "Well, I guess the Chief's mood will be especially bad because the 'safest city' stats came out. And it looks like we fell out of the top 100."
Tony glanced at the paper, "And by your tone, I would imagine that we are not even in the top two hundred."
Chris scratched his close-cropped brown hair, "Not even close. How does the bottom ten sound?"
Tony grimaced, "Oooh, that's not a good thing. I hope the Chief stays in his office."
"Well, it gets better," Chris said, clamping Tony on the shoulder, "Feel like taking a little trip?"
"What do you mean?" Tony said skeptically.
"Chief says that you and I are on our way to Norfolk, Virginia."
Tony looked at Chris in puzzlement, "And why might that be?"
Chris pointed at the newspaper article, "Well, apparently Norfolk falls in the top five cities in the country for having the most drastic reduction in the past twelve months in crime. Very few prostitutes, drunks and other assorted evening nightmares."
Tony looked at the article skeptically, "What do their actual numbers look like?"
Chris shrugged, and loosened his tie, "Well, believe it or not they look pretty damn impressive, if someone wasn't creative in compiling them. Last year they had over 500 incidents and this year they had less than ten."
Tony shook his head in wonderment, "That is impressive. Are we going as invited guests?"
Chris smiled wryly, "Well, yes and no. Chief told me they were rather reluctant about us coming down, but the chief made them see it our way with some, well, coaxing."
Tony sighed, stroking the stubble on his face, "When do we leave?"
Chris replied, "Flight out first thing tomorrow morning."

"When will they arrive?" Dimitri asked the Chief seriously.
Chief Rosenblat sat behind his large desk, looking ominously at the dark form that sat in the chair across from him. Rosenblat obviously nervous drummed his fingers on the desk. He appeared to be a man in his late fifties or early sixties even though he was only forty-five. He looked meaningfully at Dimitri, "They will be here in the morning. They wouldn't take no for answer."
"Their reason appears to be legitimate for coming here?" Dimitri asked, cautiously.
"It all checks out," Rosenblat replied, reaching under his desk for his bottle. "Perhaps it would be a good time for you to take your squad on a little vacation?"
"Nonsense," Dimitri said, sharply. "How would you explain that to our visitors without raising even more suspicion? Everything will be fine. We will handle it with the utmost care and discretion. We will show them a few basic things to satisfy their curiosity and nothing more."
Rosenblat rubbed his baldhead nervously, "Just stick to the main story that we massaged the numbers to make us look better than the way it really is. You know, to provide the public relation picture for the tourists and all that." The Chief paused, and then continued, "One more thing, Dimitri."
"Yes, Chief," Dimitri asked.
The Chief lowered his voice and stared into Dimitri's eyes, "No accidents. Before you know it there will be more investigators coming. Make sure your people understand."
Dimitri turned to walk out the door, "They understand completely. Don't worry; they know their place. We want them gone as soon as possible so we can get back to work."
"I heard about the woman and the note," the Chief offered. "It's becoming...personal isn't it?"
"Just more of his perverse humor. He thinks they can slow us down by making these attacks. But it won't."

A police department representative, Sergeant Felicity Barnes met Tony and Chris at the Norfolk International Airport.
"Welcome to Norfolk, gentlemen," the attractive police officer said to them as they both took her into their view.
"Thank you, Sgt. Barnes," Chris said politely. "This is my night vice squad leader, Tony."
"How do you do, Sergeant," Tony said as he shook her hand.
"I have a vehicle waiting, she said and led them toward the exit.
Once in the vehicle, Felicity handed them a paper with their itinerary on it. Tony and Chris read it and then looked at each other, puzzled.
"Excuse me, Sergeant," Chris said. "There must be some kind of mistake. I was under the impression that we were spending a week here. This only has two days planned out, today and tomorrow."
"I was told Chief Rosenblat shortened it to two days," Sgt. Barnes said shrugging then smiled and said; "he thought that would be more than enough time for two slick vice cops from Jersey to learn all they needed."
"Do I detect a note of sarcasm, Sergeant," Tony asked, smiling at her.
"No, sarcasm at all, Lieutenant, whatever would make you think that?" Then added becoming serious, "I just follow the Chief's orders. Well, his and Detective Vladstock's."
"Who is this Dimitri?" Tony asked, not remembering the name.
Felicity rolled her eyes, "He's the new hot shot vice man that runs the night shift. Now there is a strange one. Detective Dimitri Vladstock, the guy gives me the creeps, but he is one hell of a cop by the way he has cleaned up the place."
"How did he 'clean up'?" Chris asked, skeptically.
Felicity shook her head, "I guess you'll have to wait and find out his 'secret' method when you meet him. I'm sure he will explain it to you himself."
"What kind of name is 'Dimitri' for somebody from the South?" Tony whispered to Chris.
"He's not from the South, from what I understand," Sergeant Barnes said surprising Chris and Tony that she had heard them. "To be perfectly honest, I don't really know where he's from. It's almost like he just appeared out of nowhere."

Tony and Chris were delivered to the police precinct in downtown Norfolk where they were ushered into a small conference room, while Sergeant Barnes went to inform Chief that his guests had arrived. Tony and Chris looked at each other shaking their heads, as soon as she left.
Tony asked, "Seeing as how our visit has been truncated severely, do you get the feeling that we are not wanted around?"
"I get that distinct impression but what I can't figure out is why. We were just sent here to learn how they turned things around so quickly."
Tony shook his head and was about to say something as the Sergeant entered with a short bald man who Tony assumed was the Chief of Police by his collar device.
"Gentlemen," Sergeant Barnes began, "may I introduce Chief Rosenblat."
They did the required greetings and the Chief indicated for all to take their seats.
"Coffee anyone?" The Chief asked.
Before anyone could reply, the Chief nervously rushed on, "Well, welcome to Norfolk. I'll get right down to business."
Tony looked at Chris and they exchanged a silent confirmation of more indications that the Chief wanted to get them out of there as soon as possible.
The Chief cleared his throat and continued, "I understand that you are here to look at our vice operation. Well, we are quite proud of what we have accomplished in the past year. You have to realize that here in Hampton Roads we have high traffic from all of our commercial shipping. It brings a lot of people here, some good and some bad. We also boast a large tourist trade for the beaches and military attractions in the area." The Chief paused long enough to eye them closely; as if seeing if they were taking it all in and then continued, "And with all the publicity flying around in this area, you've got to realize that we, well, sometimes in order to make the numbers look good, we do some 'massaging'. Do you know what I mean?"
Chris spoke, smiling slightly, "Of course we do, Chief Rosenblat. We have a similar problem in Atlantic City. And may I say that we are not going to say anything about what we see here. We appreciate this opportunity you have so graciously extended to us to observe your force in action."
"Thank you for your honesty, Detective," the Chief replied, seeming to relax a bit.
"I do have one question, though," Tony asked
"Yes?" The Chief responded, warily.
Tony looked into his eyes, "It appears that our visit was shortened considerably. Why was that?"
Chief Rosenblat hesitated for a moment, twisting nervously in his chair, "Well, things being as they are, there isn't really that much happening on the streets just now, slow time of the year and all that. Your chief said to begin with he really couldn't spare you two to come down at all." The Chief smiled a little too broadly and continued, "So, I accelerated your schedule a bit, so that you will receive a condensed, but very thorough look see at the operation. I know that you both need to get back."
"That's very considerate of you. Thank you," Tony responded cautiously.
The Chief seemed a little relieved, thinking he had taken care of things, "Well, now that is all done and out in the open, I suppose you want to get to work. Sargent Barnes will show you through our in-house procedures and Detective Vladstock will take you out on the streets tonight." The Chief stood to leave and shook hands with the two visitors, again smiling too widely, "You all have a good stay and if you need anything else, don't hesitate to call from New Jersey."
Chief Rosenblat exited quickly through the door that he had entered, as Sargent Barnes followed.
"Well that's it then," Tony said, shrugging to Chris.
"Yea, have a nice stay but hurry up and get the hell outta here," Chris said shaking his head. "Well, nothing we can do about it."
"Well, not for the moment anyway," Tony replied. "Let's just see what we can see, and pick up what we can."
"Sounds like a plan to me," Chris responded, as Sergeant Barnes returned and offered to begin their tour of the facilities.
During the next four hours they reviewed the usual departmental policies and procedures that they themselves underwent day in and day out. Chris or Tony did not see anything new or innovative about Norfolk's operation, as far as the in-house procedures were concerned.
Taking a break before the night shift, they checked in at their hotel, cleaned up and then went to a local diner to catch a bite. It was about 9 PM when they found themselves standing at the curb outside of their hotel waiting for their ride.
"You don't think this Dimitri guy forgot about us do you?" Tony asked Chris in annoyance.
Chris shook his head and replied, "Now come on Tony, they wouldn't do that. I mean they have been so helpful and cooperative so far. Look at all the new and wonderful things we learned today about booking the bad guys. I was so awed..."
Tony laughed at Chris and his dry sarcasm. Just then, a sleek black car pulled up, stopping at the curb. The man driving the vehicle was formidable and had dark features. Tony and Chris looked at each other and silently agreed to walk toward the vehicle. As they neared the car, a large ominous figure folded out.
"Hello, I am Detective Dimitri Vladstock," the rich voice said, "Welcome to the evening shift."
"Thank you, Detective," Chris said, studying the dark man. "This is my vice squad leader, Lieutenant Tony Vincent, and I am Captain Chris Dawson."
They all took the required handshakes and then Dimitri indicated for them to get in the vehicle, for their tour.
"We have heard a lot about you Detective Vladstock," Tony began, carefully. "It sounds like you and your team have single-handedly cleaned up what appeared to be a hot crime spot in less than a year."
"We have been busy," Dimitri began, "and please call me Dimitri. "I have a team of dedicated officers committed to the end to improve the quality of life for every citizen of Ocean View."
"Sounds like you have been doing a superb job," Chris added.
"So...Dimitri," Tony began, "Vladstock, what kind of name is that? I mean where are you from originally?"
Dimitri shifted his eyes toward Tony, and answered carefully, "I was born in Yugoslavia. But my parents immigrated when I was a teenager. Unfortunately, they died before reaching Virginia. I pretty much had to survive on the streets and now I use that knowledge to the betterment of our city where I grew up."
"Oh, that's very interesting," Tony said as he raised his light eyebrows to Chris as a silence settled in the car.
Their tour took them to all the popular areas that might attract the evening vagrants, but they saw very few and even those were questionable. In fact the streets looked rather deserted. Dimitri explained that it was their off season now and traffic was naturally light.
"So what's the key to this successful strategy of ridding the streets of crime?" Chris asked.
Dimitri looked at him strangely, "We brought in a complete new squad of top notch officers from around the country, and integrated them into neighborhoods, restaurants and bars. No one knew them, because they were not from around here, or suspected that they were part of my unit. They infiltrated a hostile environment for the sole purpose of intelligence gathering. From what information we gathered, we then attacked various hot crime spots and continued until we had removed the bad elements."
"How did you swing that in the budget?"
"Federal funding program. It helps to have politically well connected members. It's still in the pilot stage but all preliminary indications are successful."
"Well," Tony began, skeptically. "Sounds simple enough, almost too simple. And that's all there is to it?"
"Yes, that's about it," Dimitri responded blankly.
Chris and Tony looked at each other, exchanging disdainful glances. They were both thinking the same thing, what was Dimitri's definition of the term he used in his explanation, the word 'remove.' But he was tight-lipped and not going to volunteer any information, and from that point on, the rest of the evening consisted of only small talk and few minor questions that punctuated the silence. Chris and Tony were dropped off back their hotel around 3AM and thanked Dimitri for his time.

"Well, boys how did the evening go? Pick up any pointers from our star detective?" Sergeant Barnes asked.
"Oh yes, Detective Vladstock was very helpful," Tony responded somewhat sarcastically.
"Well, I guess you two will be heading back up North today." She said smiling, ignoring his tone.
"That's right, Sergeant," Tony said distractedly as an idea was forming in his head. He continued, glancing at Chris, "But if you don't mind I would like to look at your arrest records just one last time." Sergeant Barnes looked at him quizzically, and was about to respond, but Tony interjected, "I was just so impressed by your computerized filing system, it was so well organized. I want to see if I can grasp it enough to take the basics of that particular type of software back home."
Sargent Barnes beamed proudly and said, "Certainly, Lieutenant."
She escorted Tony to a computer and opened several files for him to look at. Chris nodded slightly at Tony, who began to ask the Sergeant questions that took her out of sight, while Tony made queries to the system.
"Okay, tell me what I want to know," Tony whispered as he coaxed the computer, key stroking through a menu system which he was already familiar with. The screen displayed the arrest summaries for the past year and budget figures.
"Interesting," Tony said, looking closer.
"Thank you, Sergeant Barnes," Chris said loud enough for Tony to hear, as they neared his terminal.
"Well that's it then," Chris said. "We'll be taking our leave Sergeant Barnes, and we appreciate all of your help."
"Good luck gentlemen and have a safe trip back," Sergeant Barnes smiled, "I'll have someone take you back to the airport."
Once Tony and Chris were alone, they sat down in the airport's lounge.
"Okay, what did you get from your computer snooping?" Chris asked Tony.
Tony stretched his legs and said, "What I wanted, the arrest records for the past year. Not only is their information pretty sketchy for a place that rose the ladder to one of the safest cities in the United States, they don't have the number of prisoners to show it. So whatever it is they are doing, the criminals are literally disappearing. Also remember what our friend Dimitri said about the funding for the unit. There is no record of the unit or funding for it. I'm not leaving until I find out."
"Well, what's the plan?" Chris asked.
Tony took out a Norfolk map out of his jeans pocket, "I think we need to take our own little tour this evening. Maybe talk to some of the locals."

That night, Tony and Chris rented a car and began cruising the downtown Ocean View area of Norfolk. They decided the best way to see what was going on in the area was attempt to find some illicit event, call the local police and see how it was handled.
In the mean time, they decided to talk with the locals and get some info and find out what the climate on the streets was. They found a bar, "Ray's Place," where they suspected some of the lower life types might hang at.
They had purchased jackets and ball caps from the local thrift store, so they could mingle with the crowd. After a short time, they had information of where they could go to have some after hour fun. It appeared to be an address near the beach. Once they located the house, which looked deserted, they found a safe place to hide the car, on the equally deserted street.
"Are you sure this is the right address? It doesn't seem to be jumping with after hour fun time," Chris asked, peering at the dark house.
"Yea, this is it," Tony began, looking at the address he had written down on his palm.
"Maybe they're trying to keep a low profile. After all this kind of stuff is not suppose to be happening here," Tony said sarcastically.
"You take the front and I'll take the back, okay?" Chris said, loading his weapon, which he concealed inside of his leather jacket.
"Deal," Tony said, as he felt for the small pistol in his boot.
They left the car and proceeded as they had agreed. Tony hopped over a split rail fence and made his way to the back. It was still eerily quiet. The only sound came from the waves rolling onto the beach. Tony approached the windows and tried to peer in. It was then that the stench reached his senses.
"Uhhh, what the hell is that stink?" Tony said as he covered his mouth and nose. He turned from the window, nearly gagging. Suddenly movement caught his eye and he saw a shadow move nearby. Resisting his natural instinct to draw his weapon, he settled into playing the role of innocent seeker of some fun. He forced himself into the role.
"Hey there," he called into the darkness. "Is this where the party is? They told me I could find some fun here."
The figure moved toward him as the hairs on Tony's neck stood on edge. Something was not right and he could feel it. He could barely make out the features of the figure that approached. But he caught a bare whiff of an exotic perfume or something.
As the dark figured nearly reached him, he made out the alluring form of a female body. He suddenly became intoxicated by her scent.
"Well, h-e-l-l-o there," He began, mesmerized, "are you the welcoming committee?"
As she came into the light, he realized she wore a dress of gossamer material that left absolutely nothing to his imagination as he reveled in the view of her captivating body.
"Yes, I most certainly am the welcoming committee," She said in a husky, seductive voice.
Tony could now see the bright white perfect teeth that adorned the beautiful white face.
"You looking for some fun?" she said, as she seemed to glide on air around him. Each movement of her body excited and taunted him. She moved closer. For an instant Tony thought he saw a glint of almost animalistic hunger in her eyes, but the thought quickly disappeared.
"Come to me, let's get acquainted. Come to me," the voice coaxed, as she reached out for him.
Tony found himself moving towards her, no longer in control of his body.
"What's your name?" she purred into his ear, as her hands explored his body.
"Uh, T-o-n-y," he stammered.
"That's a nice name, Tony," she said as her face moved closer to his. "Let's dance to the sound of the night."
Tony in a daze put his arms around her and they began to slow dance. Her face nuzzled to his neck as his mind began to cloud over. Her lips opened and she playfully nibbled at his skin. It all became a blur as Tony succumbed to her. He never saw the other figure that lunged at them from the darkness.
"Get away from her!" The intruder yelled to Tony as he pried the two apart. Tony struck the ground, and the haze slowly cleared from his mind. The intruder was a man that looked vaguely familiar to Tony. He grasped for the name.
"Dimitri?" Tony said, weakly.
Dimitri did not respond to his question. It looked to Tony as if Dimitri was carrying a large wooden spear or something. It appeared that he now directed this toward the chest of the woman that only moments ago, had Tony enticed as no woman had ever before. The woman cowered into a corner as she hissed at them, her eyes glowing with an almost feral light, her teeth large and protruding from the earlier sensual mouth he had felt. Dimitri drew a cross from his jacket, and then forced it into the woman's face.
"You are a hunter of the night, just as we" the woman spat between her hisses, trying to shade herself from the light that reflected from the cross. "We had a deal! An unspoken agreement! My Master has arranged it..."
Dimitri never allowed her to finish her statement. He threw her to the ground, and then drove the wooden object through her chest with no mercy or regret.
"AAAWWWWWWWW..." she screamed like an animal during a kill. Dimitri pushed and twisted the wooden spear further into the aberration's heart. His face was distorted and full of anguish. Blood pumped and splashed Dimitri's jacket. The woman twisted and convulsed for a few seconds and then finally slouched and slid down the wall.
"That was for Joan," Dimitri said in rage, as he twisted the spear in a final turn. "I never agreed to any deal with any of you creatures, tell that to your Master."
Chris rounded the corner his gun drawn, halting as he took in the scene. He saw Tony lying on the ground, breathing heavily.
"Are you okay Tony?" Chris asked in concern, as he looked over Tony's body for possible wounds. "What happened?"
"I'm okay," Tony answered warily, and then continued, "I don't know what the hell is going on here. This woman....and then Dimitri come out of nowhere and shoves a spear or something through her. Killed her right there," he said as he pointed toward where the body lay.
Dimitri said angrily, "I tried to get you two out of here so you wouldn't be involved in any of this. But you had to come back and snoop didn't you?"
"You want to explain this, Detective," Chris said as he pointed toward the lifeless woman on the ground, his gun still drawn. "Murder. Cold blooded murder. Is that how you rid the city of hookers? You kill them?"
Tony, who had regained, some of his strength, took the pistol from his boot and pointed it towards Dimitri also.
Dimitri hung his head and sighed sadly, "Come closer and you'll see why." The two stepped forward as Dimitri kneeled down to where the woman lay. He lifted the lips and exposed tremendous fangs that extruded out of the once tantalizing mouth of the woman. Her once petite hands now shaped as claws with long nails. Tony instinctively rubbed the spot on his neck where those teeth had been so close. The creature's smooth skin was now becoming mottled and gray as it was quickly disintegrating in the ocean breeze.
"We need to go somewhere to talk," Dimitri said as he peeled the outer blood soaked garments from his body and threw them on the dead body of the creature. He signaled with his hand and another man appeared with a gas can and soaked the garment and the remaining contents of the creature. As they walked away, a poof sound of a fire igniting could be heard behind them.

After finding a dark booth in the corner of the deserted coffee shop, Dimitri began, "It all started about a year ago. Mysterious reports were coming to the precinct about disappearances of the typical vagrants, prostitutes and the like. Crime rates began to drop virtually overnight. We were pleased, of course, but we didn't have a clue why. So, I started looking into some of the incidents."
"Where were they going?" Tony asked, perplexed.
Dimitri held up his hand, "Hold on, I'm getting to that. We started doing stakeouts and putting our own people on the streets. They found out the criminals were running scared. Very scared. There were rumors on the streets about men and women being killed by, well, 'things'."
"Things?" Chris asked. "What, things, you mean psychotics?"
"No," Dimitri said as he looked him directly in the eyes, "I mean things."
"Things. Like the one that would have killed me tonight?" Tony asked, gravely.
Dimitri nodded his dark head, "Precisely. She was one of the last ones left."
"What are we talking about here, vampires?" Chris asked, skeptically.
"I don't know what you would call them," Dimitri began, rubbing his temples. "All I know is that they hunt, and they kill people. Some drink the blood of the victims, some even eat them."
"Holy Christ!" Chris said. "This can't be real. What are you like the guy in the movie sling blade or something, or vampire hunter? This can't be real."
"Believe me it is very real," Dimitri said. "I have met their 'Master'. I was approached one night and taken to a place where he was waiting for me. He was very business like, he almost looked and acted like a lawyer." Dimitri smiled sardonically, and then continued. "He approached this whole thing as a business proposition of some kind. We give them unlimited domain over the 'low life' of the city and they would clean it up for us. As long as we did not interfere with what they did, however they did it."
"Talk about a deal with the devil," Tony commented.
Dimitri shook his head vehemently, "This was not a deal. They may have thought so, but not us. We couldn't stop them. We couldn't call for help, because who would believe us?"
"Well what DID you do"? Chris asked, still trying to grasp that this was real.
"We decided to fight them off. We researched how to eliminate them. How to kill them if we had to."
"My God!" Tony exclaimed.
Dimitri continued, "We formed a special unit under my command, one that could be trusted to do the work we had to, and not breath a word to anyone." Dimitri slowly glanced around the caf? and lowered his voice even further. "Believe it or not, these 'occurrences' are not that uncommon, even in other cities. They are just well hidden. After doing some computer research and contacting other police agencies, I learned that series of unexplained murders and disappearances have been occurring along the East Coast for years."
"You mean that...why wasn't it made public?" Chris asked, incredulous.
Dimitri sighed, "There were numerous reasons I suppose. No one wanted to cause a panic, and you know the press would have gone crazy over it. And there were just too many unexplained circumstances. But I was able to recruit my team from the areas that had been savaged around the country. The law enforcement folks were quite anxious to help. At first we just did surveillance and intelligence gathering as I told you earlier. But, after we were confident enough, we struck, and we stuck hard." Dimitri paused and looked at Chris and Tony, "We had good success in the beginning but after a while, they caught on to us. They found new hiding places, and blended in with others. They became harder to catch and...well to, destroy."
"And they kept on killing...didn't they?" Chris asked, sadly.
Dimitri replied, "Yes, they certainly did. The numbers of crimes continued to drop, and the murders went un-reported. The last one...was an acquaintance I had made...a woman. They must have been following me and afterwards they killed her. The Master even left a note to taunt me about it. "
Just then, Dimitri's cell phone rang. As he spoke, his expression changed to one of renewed enthusiasm.
"Gather all the men and meet me there," He said in the phone, as he rose from his seat.
"Good news, I gather?" Tony asked, sensing Dimitri's heightened instincts.
"Yes," Dimitri said, excitedly. "We have found the Master's nest. We can end this whole carnage once and for all. Tonight. Are you two up to it?"
Tony and Chris looked at each other and nodded in unison. "What the heck, we're here aren't we?" Tony said, checking his weapon.
The three men traveled in silent determination to an affluent section of waterfront property.
"Where do you think they came from?" Tony asked Dimitri, breaking the silence.
Dimitri shrugged, "I'm not really sure, most legends point toward a European origin of sorts. History is spotted with several unexplained events, disappearances, unexplained murders, and plagues of unknown descent. I suppose that at least some of these events may have been caused by this merry band of travelers."
"I guess it's possible," Chris interjected. "But what gives me a queasy feeling is that they could not have done it all by themselves. They had to get help from, well normal people, to disguise themselves."
"That is very possible," Dimitri agreed. "What concerns me is that they may have had assistance from ill-advised law officials who saw this as a possible way of cleaning up their areas."
"Make them look good, especially around re-election time," Tony said in disgust.
They arrived at the huge dark home, there were at least a dozen men waiting for them. They encircled Dimitri as he approached them.
"Are you ready?" Dimitri asked the squad of officers. They nodded in unison. They all drew their wooden stakes. Two were handed to Chris and Tony who stood for a few seconds at them and then silently re-holstered their weapons in favor of using their new weapons.
The squad burst through the doorway, flashlights illuminating throughout the house.
As they entered, Tony and Chris could sense the electricity in the air. Dimitri's men were prime for the kill; you could see it in their eyes. Silent and efficiently they spread out through the house.
"Smell it?" Tony asked Chris, as he wrinkled his nose in disgust.
"Yea, it smells like rotting wood and damp earth," Chris replied, removing his handkerchief and placing it over his nose.
Dimitri raised his hand indicating all to stop and that he saw something. There was a body lying on the floor. He made a silent motion to his people and they continued to search the house. Dimitri moved toward the body and knelt down closer. The body was lying on its stomach. He rolled it over.
"Oh my God!" Dimitri said.
Chris and Tony ran over to where Dimitri knelt. They stared into the face of Chief Rosenblat.
"Christ," Chris said as he gazed at the pale white skin of the Chief, whose life's blood had apparently been drained form the gaping wound on the neck.
Dimitri's people returned and gave the all-clear signal. He returned his gaze to the dead Chief. A piece of paper was clutched within the hands of the dead body. Dimitri removed it, opened it and read it. When he finished, he handed it to Tony.
Tony read out-loud, "D, our mutually beneficial arrangement has come to an end. My flock and I have moved on to a new place. I hope to be seeing you and your new friends soon. In fact, you can bet on it. Signed "M".
"The sick bastard," Chris said in anger. "New friends?"
"He knows about you already," Dimitri said as he sat down on the floor and rubbed his face in obvious fatigue and disappointment in losing his prey.
"Why does he bother to mention us in this note?" Tony asked.
"He likes to toy with people. It's his sick way. Don't you get it? Dimitri asked. "He mentions you and says the word 'bet' as in gambling, I think he is planning to head your way."
"Oh my God, Atlantic City?" Chris asked.
"He'll find everything he needs there to start over and build his flock," Dimitri said.
"Will you help us?" Tony asked.
"That's what we're here for...to protect and serve."

Back to top of page