5. The Visit to Edgar

Samantha and Bullock go on the hunt for Edgar the Vampire. Perhaps there is more to this hunt than just a VHC declared rogue vampire.

                Samantha found Bullock in the hotel room with a towel wrapped around his waist.  He was watching a football game on the television.  “Good evening Sam.”  He said as she let herself in the room.  “Did you learn anything interesting on your diurnal recon?  Has Edgar been slashing throats and raping young girls?”

                “Nothing of the sort.  According to the local GIC, Geezer in Charge, the vampire out in the swamp has not attacked anyone.  They have found evidences of him but no human attacks, wild animals and such.  I think we should go talk to your old friend and see what he has to say.  It may be that he needs to relocate, and if he’s been living in a swamp for six months I don’t know why he would have a problem with the idea.  So get dressed and we’ll head to the swamp.”

                The drive to the swamp only took a few minutes, traffic in this part of the world was nil.  “Any idea in what part of the swamp Edgar is hiding?”  Bullock asked as the two stood on the bridge staring down into the black murky water.  “This place smells of death.  Not human specifically, though it wouldn’t surprise me.”

                “I would guess that Edgar would want to get a far from humans as possible since he’s not feeding on them.  No need to tempt himself.  If he’s not stupid he knows that any disappearance in this town would not go unnoticed.  Since the town is to the north and the interstate is to the east, I would start by looking to the South West,” Samantha said.  Bullock stood there silently staring into the swirling water.  After about thirty seconds he grunted something unintelligible and nodded.

                After about an hour of searching through the snake infested black water they found the abandoned looking shack that had served as Edgar the Vampire’s home for the past half year.  It was a board construction that would have been at home in a television special about the homeless.  The paint on the boards was indicative of their former purpose and some had company logos about their faces as if they had once been parts of crates or pallets.  On the ground surrounding the shack were the carcasses of dead animals of all descriptions, fish, rabbits, snakes and even a half decomposed deer.

                “Edgar, are you home.”  Bullock shouted, but to no avail.

                Samantha quietly drew her sidearm, a .45 caliber Kimber semi-automatic hand gun with a special attachment.  The attachment was a pressurized canister containing a water-based silver spray.  To most people it would like the type of pepper spray canisters that police officers carry on their belt.  It was not strong enough to seriously harm a vampire, like all law enforcement agencies the VHC had rules about the use of deadly force, but it would cause some distraction if needed. The canister was connected to a trigger that operated independently of the usual one.   “I don’t think he is home at the moment,” She said to Bullock while scanning the immediate area.  She had been dealing with rogue vampires long enough to know that to lose concentration for a millisecond could be deadly.

                “No, he’s here.  I smell him.”  Bullock said.  “An unkempt vampire has a distinctive smell.  It’s like that found in deep caves that contain stagnate water.  Ahoy, Come, show yourself.”

                Edgar showed himself from beyond the blind spot created by the shack.  “Bullock?  It can’t be.  I believed you dead,” he said.  Samantha saw an odd look pass between the rogue and her partner.  She did not understand it but knew that Bullock could not answer any questions at the moment.  “Why have you brought a mortal to my home.  Do you not know that I have been declared Rogue by the infernal Vampire-Human Commission?”

                “Yes I am aware.  That is why we are here.  My partner and I have been sent to investigate the accusations of you violating the Vampire Secrecy provision of the Treaty of 1870,” Bullock said honestly. 

                “You … you … traitor.”  Edgar howled.  “You have sold your soul to that damnable organization.  Your soul is truly lost.  You are no friend of mine.”

                During this exchange Samantha had moved stealthily into a more tactically advantageous position just off to the right and slightly behind Bullock.  Her gun was still in her hands but lowered so as not to draw attention to it.  “Edgar.”  She said now.  “We are federal agents of the Human-Vampire Commission.  We have been ordered to bring you in for questioning.” 

                “Now I feel sorry for you Bullock.  They have not given you much to work with in this lightweight female.  How do they expect her to fight with vampires?  Don’t they know anymore about us than that?  I could break this woman in half with little more than a thought.”  Edgar said sneering at Samantha.  “Bullock I haven’t attacked any of these humans around here, you know.  Despite the fact that they would be easy pickings.  Why can’t y’all leave me alone?”

                “We are not here to arrest you.  You are just wanted for questioning.”  Bullock said.

                “Aye, and once they get me there they will ship me off to the rez.  That’s all they know how to do.  Ship us off or kill us, that is the human way to solve any problem they have with a vampire.  Look at their history.”

                Samantha began positioning herself close enough to get a shot with her canister attachment while Edgar was concentrating on Bullock.  But with one careless step, and the snap of a dry twig she gave herself away, and Edgar pounced.  There was no other word for it.  He was so animalistic in his movement.  Before she had seen the movement Edgar was on top of her tearing at her throat and chest.”

                Samantha had been attacked before but never with such hatred.  Vampires that were fully blooded, satiated of the thrist, were much like Bullock, stoic and unflappable.  She could sense his hunger; God only knew how long it had been since he had tasted human blood.  His passion and the thirst overrode his skill as a fighter and gave her the slight advantage she needed.  She kicked him hard in the stomach and reached for the gun she had lost when Edgar hit her.  Her hand groped in vain for several seconds, seconds that felt like hours to Samantha.  Finally, her hand happened upon the weapon, and she shoved it into Edgar’s mouth as deeply as she could.

                The screams of agony were muted by the gun and the liquid silver pouring into his fanged maw.  As he started to writhe in pain he pushed away from Samantha, and Bullock hit the vampire broadside, driving him off of Samantha and into the side of the car.  The two hit with enough force to lift the car onto two wheels momentarily, and left a body sized dent in the driver’s side back door.  Later when Samantha considered it she was amazed that the door would even open. 

                “You bastardly traitor.”  Edgar said spitting.  His voice was raw and the spit was flecked with red.  The silver spray had done its job.  “The end is coming for all of you who have betrayed your true master.”

                “That’s fine.  When that day comes I will pay the piper.  But until then, Edgar, you are under arrest.”  Bullock said pulling a pair of old fashioned manacles from his inside jacket pocket and clamping them down tightly on Edgar’s wrists.  Edgar struggled against the manacles but soon found them impervious to his superhuman strength.  Samantha knew enough to know that the material the cuffs were made of was not a true metal.  It was an alloy created specifically for the VHC by very talented chemists and metallurgists.  Though fully blooded vampires could possibly break the metal, Edgar had no chance.  His diet of animal blood had left him, in vampire terms, weak.   

                The two agents loaded their new prisoner in the back of the federal sedan and slammed the door.  As they approached the front doors Samantha stopped.  “What the hell took you so long?” 

                “Sorry, I thought you would want to prove to Edgar that you could handle yourself in a fight with a vampire.  All that women’s lib stuff, you know.”  Bullock said smiling boyishly.  “Plus I didn’t want to mess up my new suit, just in case we ran into anyone important.” He added running a finger through the muck that had accumulated on her clothes during the fight.

                Samantha stood staring after her partner for a moment.  He had never hesitated to act before and she didn’t like the idea of it.  But then again he had never lied to her either and so she had to believe that he had done it only to prove a point to the perp.  She watched Bullock climb into the passenger side of the car and open the glove box.  She knew what was coming and hated it.  Soon the car would be full of fragrant smoke bellowing from the end of an extremely expensive cigar.  It was Bullock’s celebratory cigar.  The same one he smoked after the successful completion of any mission.  It was the reason she her first stop after returning home was the laundry.