Vampire War: Nemesis

By Jeff Brown

A covert government agency is tracking the actions of vampires across the nation. A group claiming to be the true leaders of the vampire community have discovered an ancient text with a plan for subjugating the human race. The agency's task force and combat team pursue the vampires in an attempt to stop their plan.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Lulu.com
• Release date: Oct 4, 2016
• ISBN: 9781365441059

Jeff Brown

Jeff Brown created the beloved character of Flat Stanley as a bedtime story for his sons. He has written other outrageous books about the Lambchop family, including Flat Stanley, Stanley and the Magic Lamp, Invisible Stanley, Stanley’s Christmas Adventure, Stanley in Space, and Stanley, Flat Again! You can learn more about Jeff Brown and Flat Stanley at www.flatstanleybooks.com.

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Vampire War: Nemesis

Copyright © 2016 by Jeff D. Brown

All rights reserved. This book or any portion thereof may not be reproduced or used in any manner whatsoever without the express written permission of the publisher except for the use of brief quotations in a book review or scholarly journal.

ISBN: 978-1-365-44105-9

My Lair Workshop

106 North St.

Enterprise, MS 39330

DEDICATION

This book is dedicated to the people who kept me going and gave me the inspiration to complete it.

Kim Chancelor

Sydney Woodson

Alicia Rochel

Johanna Gremillion

Sam Glorioso

Dwayne Fatheree

Adam Barnes

Sean Oliver

Susan T. Solomon

Memory H. Cook

Linda Jackson

Ramona Burrow

Eldon Blalock

DeAnna Allen

Chelsea Price

Jason Marsalis

Dee Freeman

Larissa D. Hegwood

Walter Manning

Theresa D. Smith

Michael D. Graves

Scott McGehee

Ben Boyd

Judy L. Zundel

CHAPTER ONE

Making the long walk home alone in the middle of the night no longer really troubled Alicia Richards. She’d done it so long and it had become such a routine that she no longer worried about what may be lurking in the shadows along the way just as she no longer noticed the aching in her feet, legs, and lower back after a long day of work. She seemed to always feel tired and had finally just accepted it as just another aspect of her life.

She shuffled slowly along the cracked and warped sidewalk that her feet seemed to know instinctively as it ran along the side of the wide street that effectively divided the town of Pine Ridge into north and south sectors, known simply as The Boulevard. It took her from the western edge of the town, where businesses had begun to relocate nearly thirty years earlier as the once-vibrant downtown business district began to be abandoned to the failing residential area near that downtown area that was the only affordable place she’d been able to find.

The orthopedic shoes she’d decided to wear, since she was on her feet constantly moving all the time, had been comfortable and helpful at first while rather expensive, but they were worn and the support they’d once given was starting to fade. She knew she needed another pair, but it just wasn’t in her budget.

The mere thought of a budget and how hard she was working just to almost make ends meet added to the depression that had nearly overtaken her life for the previous several years. She frequently had thoughts and urges to just give up and run away, but she’d been forced to accept her responsibilities and live up to her commitments. It just wasn’t in her nature to quit.

She worked as a waitress at a local, family-owned restaurant and worked the longest shifts the owners would allow, typically closing four or five nights a week with at least one daytime shift in the middle of the week. That gave her only a single day off each week to take care of personal matters, such as paying her bills and attending to household chores. That was typically a Friday, since the owners decided that the other waitresses deserved to work one of the busier nights and earn those tips. Alicia didn’t particularly mind, especially during the fall when football reigned in the town.

Since the restaurant closed at one in the morning with at least an hour of clean up and reset after the last customer left, Alicia would finally leave around two in the morning. The walk home took less than an hour, but there were still things to do once she reached her tiny apartment, one half of a duplex that would’ve been a decent sized place for a single dwelling. She would first need to shower and remove the accumulated grease and smells that always attached themselves to her hair, skin, and clothing. Her skin felt slick and tacky every night, almost as if she’d rolled around in a vat of grease, but she’d grown accustomed to that feeling, as she had with everything else about her life. She would put her uniform, one of three that she owned, into the washing machine and let it run while she showered and prepared for bed. Once she’d done that and was able to relax for a few minutes, she would do her best to eat something before going to bed.

Her appetite wasn’t what it had once been.  She found it difficult and tiresome to eat, especially since she didn’t feel hungry most of the time. She drank a lot of coffee, especially in the morning and rather frequently through her shift just to keep going and make it through the long day. She thought that might be part of her appetite issues, but she wasn’t willing to give up the caffeine to eat a little more. As it was, she’d lost quite a bit of weight, but she didn’t think much of it.

Not eating much also saved some money and that helped quite a bit. Rent and utilities took a large portion of her meager paychecks and tips. Coupled with the money she was trying to save for repairs on her car, she had little left for food and practically nothing for extravagances. In the fall, she stretched a point and spent a few dollars each week, having Friday nights as her one night off, to attend a local high school football game with her best friend, Tiffany. It was a ritual they’d continued after graduating from Pine Ridge High School sixteen years earlier. It was more for the companionship and the little bit of nostalgia, but it was the closest she came to actually having a social life.

She heaved a tired sigh as her eyelids began to sag over her large, dark green eyes. The cool air of the October night made her begin to feel drowsy and allowed the fatigue to take hold. Part of her wanted to just sit down on the curb and rest for a while, but she knew that if she allowed herself to do that, she would just fall asleep right there and it definitely wouldn’t be good to be awakened at some point by a police officer or have her few possessions taken from her. She decided to just keep walking, pushing herself a little harder and forcing her eyes to remain open. She only had about six blocks left to go before she would turn onto the narrow side street where her apartment was located.

She wore a light jacket that was almost warm enough for the night air. It was old and threadbare, but it was all she had. She kept her arms folded across her chest as she walked and ignored the cold as it brushed against her bare legs below the hem of her skirt. It had grown much colder than she’d anticipated, but there really was nothing she could have done short of bringing a pair of pants to put on once the work day was over, but there was nowhere in the restaurant for her to store them while she worked. She just did her best to ignore the cold and tried to keep warm by moving forward, walking as quickly as she could.

As always, with no one around, she was left alone with her thoughts and that was never good for her. The depression that had been a part of her life for years always took control of her thoughts when she was tired and had nothing else to focus on. She relived the worst moments of her life over and over, almost in a fugue state.

She worried about her car, worried that she would never be able to have it repaired. It had been parked in front of her apartment for nearly eight months with a blown engine. It was going to take over two thousand dollars to replace and she had nowhere near that amount. She’d managed to save just over five hundred during that eight-month period and she figure it would be at least a couple more years before she had enough.

She had looked into purchasing another vehicle, but the only thing that would make what she could afford better than the one she’d had since high school was that it would actually run, at least for a while. The little she had saved would be nothing more than a down payment and would add to her monthly bills. She hadn’t figured out a possible budget for that and wasn’t sure she could handle it financially. She just couldn’t decide what to do and had no help. Her parents had moved away less than two years after she’d graduated high school. She could’ve gone with them, but she wanted to stay in Pine Ridge, for several reasons.

She stayed partially because of her friends and school. She had been a student at the local community college at the time with the intention of becoming a nurse, but with the departure of her parents and the necessity of paying rent, she’d been forced to drop out of school just to stay alive. But her primary reason for remaining in the small Mississippi town was the hope that the love of her life would one day return.

At the age of thirty-four, she was certain that no one could ever take the place of Alex Chance in her life. Tiffany Chandler, her best friend since grade school, had tried to set her up several times over the years, but none of them had met her standards. She didn’t consciously compare them to what she’d had with Alex, but there was just something about each of them that didn’t quite fit her ideals. She’d gone out with a couple of them more than once, giving them a chance, but they’d each eventually shown their true colors and were not the kind of guy she was interested in dating. She was looking for more than a one night stand or some casual experience. She wanted the dating to be leading somewhere, to a firm commitment, or at least the potential for one. But despite everything, all her attempts to move on and find someone, she always came back to Alex.

They’d met during their sophomore year of high school. Of course, they’d know of each other before that, but they’d never been in the same classes and hadn’t run in the same circles. But once they’d met and started learning everything about each other, there was no stopping them. They’d dated for the final three years of high school, separating only when he’d entered the military. They hadn’t exactly ended the relationship, but he hadn’t been in touch since shortly after completing basic training. He’d gone into the Navy with the intent of becoming a SEAL. The last she’d heard from him was that he’d been accepted into that training. That had been nearly sixteen years earlier and she still hoped he would come back to her.

Tiffany frequently tried to tell her in subtle ways that Alex wasn’t coming back, that he’d moved on with his life and she should do the same. She’d honestly tried and felt that she’d given every one of the guys she’d gone out with a real chance, but she always found something that was undesirable. They problems weren’t something minor and just her own small issues. There had been something fundamentally wrong with the guy, or at least wrong for her. Tiffany chided her once she’d ended the would-be relationship with each one that she was just holding onto something from the past that would never return, but Alicia didn’t believe it.

Lately, though, there had been one guy, a newcomer to the town, that had intrigued her and was the first one that had given her the idea that there was someone in the world that could take the place of Alex Chance.

He was a foreign businessman that had moved to Pine Ridge just a few months earlier to work with a local investment firm to assist in maintaining accounts with foreign holdings. Alicia didn’t really know anything about that business and couldn’t grasp it no matter how much he tried to explain. She just didn’t have a mind for that type of stuff and she quit trying to understand it after a few attempts. She decided to satisfy herself with knowing that there was another guy out there that was willing to put in the effort with her that Alex had done in high school.

Galen Jaeger was from Germany, but he didn’t look much like the concept of a German she had in mind. She still saw the blond-haired blue-eyed Aryan that she associated with that nation from what she could remember from a high school American history class. He was shorter than she thought a German should be, barely standing two inches taller than her own height of five-six. His hair was just a bit lighter than her own chestnut brown and his eyes were a dark hazel, fairly small, but his easy smile and sharp features made up for his height and somewhat dubious gaze. His voice, only tinged with the typical harsh German accent, was smooth and he had done little more than try to help her deal with things.

The only issue she really had with Galen was that he claimed to be such a successful businessman and said he would do anything to help her, but he had never offered any financial assistance. Of course, she hadn’t asked for anything, but he seemed so sincere and willing to help that she thought he would’ve offered something by that point. It made him seem a little shifty and she really hoped she was completely wrong about what she’d been thinking. He really was a nice guy and she wanted more than anything for him to be true to his word. If he made the right moves, she thought he could be the one to replace Alex in her heart.

He’d only been in her life a couple of months and she figured he was trying to see if she was worth the investment before offering anything like that. She’d told him about nearly every aspect of her life and after all she’d been through, she didn’t think she was worth any effort at all. But he was trying, putting in the effort, and she wasn’t going to push him away for that.

She didn’t really want to think about Galen at that time. She knew it would be at least a couple of days before she would see him again. He usually showed up at the restaurant on Saturdays, the day she usually started on the day shift and was usually cut for the day a couple hours or so after sunset. He would come in about an hour before her shift ended, sit in her section, and they would talk a bit until she was released from duty. After that, they would go back to her place and have a drink, usually a bottle of wine that he brought with him, and they would talk for hours. He hadn’t made any sort of inappropriate move and it didn’t look like he ever would. He was such a nice guy that she doubted anything like that ever crossed his mind.

She shook her head and continued walking, almost on auto-pilot. She knew the way intimately and didn’t have to think about where to go. Her feet knew the way and would take her home without thinking about it. Just a few blocks remained and she became confident that she would make it without trouble. The pain in her lower body even seemed to have subsided. She didn’t feel any more energetic, but walking was no longer the struggle it had been when she’d left the restaurant. She thought that perhaps just thinking of Galen had given her the release she needed to make it home comfortably and easily. A small smile crossed her full lips, a melancholy smile, and she knew that had been brought about by her thoughts of Galen.

She entered a section of her path, a short residential area just before the downtown area, where the sidewalk was hidden in the shadow of overhanging tree branches. It was early enough in the fall that the leaves hadn’t begun to drop from the branches and that left the sidewalk practically invisible in the dark. Still, Alicia knew the way intimately and didn’t worry at all about stumbling along the way. Nor did she fear the darkness. Pine Ridge wasn’t the perfect town, but she knew that the area was safe enough even late at night. Very little took place in the actual downtown area anymore, except at the one seedy motel just off Main Street, but she was going nowhere near that place.

She reached her turn a short while later, feeling just a little better about herself. She couldn’t tell, though, if it was because she’d begun to think of a future with Galen, what he had in store for her, or that she’d found some renewed hope that Alex would finally come back for her. It didn’t really matter to her at the moment. She was just happy to be close enough to home, knowing that she would soon be able to fall into her bed and sleep for a while.

She made the final turn and moved from the sidewalk to the street. That one particular block was built on a hill and the sidewalk, even in broad daylight, was treacherous. She avoided it even in bright sunlight. The street was a much safer option. Her pace picked up just a bit as she neared the end of her journey, feeling a bit of exhilaration with the thought of her journey nearing its end. Her apartment, a duplex actually, was at the end of that first block. The rent was cheap because of the hill and the way that house, once a single dwelling divided into two unequal halves, rested on it and angled toward the secondary street beside it. The portion of the house she rented was the smaller of the two, but it was more than enough for her.

She’d left the porch light on and saw the small cone of dim light as she walked around the shallow curve in the road and reached into the single pocket of her knee-length black skirt for the single key she kept there, the only key she really needed. It was the key to the front door and it felt good to hold the cold metal in her hand, knowing that she would soon use it to enter her home and that signified that the day was officially at an end.

As she neared the corner and her home, she moved to the side of the street and the small portion of the sidewalk that was actually passable. She stepped over the curb and the ache in her legs returned slightly as she lifted the weight of her body off the street and onto the slightly higher area beside it. She followed the sidewalk only a few feet, until she was past the even narrower walk that led to her neighbor’s front door, the other part of the duplex. She left the sidewalk then and crossed the thin, sparse grass of the yard under the hanging limbs of the massive oak tree that took up much of the yard. She held the key tightly in her right hand, making sure that she didn’t drop it in the dark.

She focused on the dim porch light, a hint of a smile stretching her full lips at the thought of actually sitting down for a few minutes before taking off her clothes and showering, and didn’t notice the shadowy figure step from behind the wide trunk of the oak tree.

It was the shape of a man, rather thin, wearing dark clothing, and remaining in the shadows until Alicia reached the tiny square of concrete that served as her front porch, her own thin form blocking much of the light from the small bulb just above her head. At that moment, he stepped away from the tree and started toward her rather quickly.

Alicia, he said and she spun around, startled. Her eyes were wide with panic and fear, but she relaxed once she recognized the form of Galen Jaeger walking toward her, recognizing him even in silhouette.

She frowned, her brow creasing slightly, as she asked, Galen? What are you doing here?

He continued walking, his pale features becoming more apparent as he stepped into the field of light created by the single bulb beside the door. He shrugged and said, I just had to see you tonight, Alicia. It is very important.

She took a step away from the door and took a deep breath as she asked, What is it?

He stopped just a couple of feet from her and she could see the intensity in his narrow eyes. He stared at her for just a second then said, It’s just the right time. Things are moving rather quickly and I’ve been waiting for this moment.

Alicia felt a brief thrill at the thought that he might actually make a move, maybe tell her that he wanted to move forward with their relationship. She nodded slowly and waited expectantly for him to say it.

You are important, Alicia, he continued. More important than you yet know. I’ve become quite fond of you over the last few months and you have done everything I’ve needed you to do. But one thing still remains.

Her eyes grew wide with anticipation, thinking that he would finally kiss her.

He moved forward and placed his hands gently on her upper arms. He leaned a little closer and his smile broadened just a bit, but it didn’t seem quite right to her. His eyes were wide and seemed to almost glow. She still hoped he was going to kiss her. It had been so long since anyone had done that.

His left hand slid slowly up her arm, over her shoulder, until his hand was against the side of her head. His fingers fell across the back of her head and she felt an instant of embarrassment as his hand touched her greasy hair, but he didn’t seem to mind. He leaned even closer as he tilted her head to the side, readying her for that kiss. His lips parted slightly and continued to part, wider than those of anyone she’d ever kissed. She started to pull back, but his deceptively strong grasp on her was too much and she found it impossible to pull away. He held her firmly in place as his mouth widened and a sound something like the combination of a hiss and a groan escaped him.

His lips pulled back then and revealed the twin fangs protruding from his canine teeth. She tried to scream, to pull away, to run in terror, but he held her in place as he leaned in quickly and angled his head to the opposite side and those fangs plunged into the skin of her throat.

She let out only a small gasp as the warmth began to flee her body along with her blood.

CHAPTER TWO

The streets of the French Quarter were brightly lit even late at night, a rainbow of neon light reflecting, from the damp surface of the streets in distorted waves, even though the typical flood of tourists had long since deserted the area. Still, there were those die-hard party animals that remained, staggering drunkenly from bar to bar, looking for a better and stronger drink, working their way gradually and expensively toward oblivion.

A few cars, mostly taxis and the occasional limo, moved along the wide streets, pausing here and there to drop off or pick up a fare. The complacent and tired drivers paid little attention to the things going on around them. They never did. It was too distracting and nothing new to them. They had jobs to do and paychecks to earn. Occasionally, a city bus would venture off Canal Street and into the wilds of the true French Quarter, but never getting too close to the blocked off hedonism of Bourbon Street.

A huge parking lot beside the Jax Brewery building sat less than half filled, surrounded by a high, rusting fence. The brewery had at one time been an operating brewery, creating a once upon a time staple of New Orleans. When the company had gone under in the 1980s, the building had been purchased, sold, and purchased again until a developer had decided it would make an interesting tourist attraction, but more as a shopping venue than any sort of historical landmark. It was, however, a central location for tourists. Its height and location, beside the wide Mississippi River, was easily visible and, with its massive parking lot, was a focal point for the tourist trade.

One of the few cars moving through the area near the brewery was a dark, nondescript sedan with tinted windows that revealed nothing of the interior to the outside world. Its black paint was barely a shade darker than the tint of the windows and it bore a local license plate that wasn’t quite official, but it would easily pass any inspection. The car pulled out of the parking lot slowly and turned left on the wide street, in the direction of Canal Street and a little more traffic, a little more activity. It shifted into the far right lane and rolled slowly to the nearest corner, beside the Hooters restaurant located there. The lights were still on in the establishment, but through the windows the tables all appeared to be vacant.

The passenger’s door opened after a second and a tall man in a beige trench coat climbed out quickly, looking around slowly and carefully, his pale blue eyes wide and focused.

Jonathan Cardwell stood up and adjusted the slightly rumpled coat, making sure it was buttoned securely and completely concealed what he wore beneath it. He felt a little uncomfortable with the unfamiliar body armor, but he felt it was a necessity for the night. His light brown hair, showing just a few flecks of gray here and there, was tousled slightly by the gentle breeze blowing along the street. He scanned the area as he turned his head slowly around, checking his surroundings.

He leaned forward, placing one hand atop the open car door, and leaned into the vehicle, looking at the driver, Jamie Madison. She looked at him, her hair only slightly darker than his but much longer and held back from her narrow face with a pair of small clips at the back of her head that he knew could also serve as fairly lethal weapons.

Go back to the side street, he said, placing one hand atop the open door. Get Deninger on the phone and see if she’s made contact with Chance. If so, get them on the way here ASAP.

Jamie nodded firmly and said, Yes, sir.

He smirked and shook his head slightly, And knock off the sir shit. We’re a team here.

Right, boss, she said and a sly smile pulled her full lips wider.

He pulled in a deep breath through his nose and stood up. He started to close the door, but Jamie leaned toward him and said, Wait a minute.

He leaned over again and looked back into the car, What is it?

What about Parker and Coleman? she asked. Do we need to do anything about them?

No, he shook his head. They should be in position and they’re radio silent for now. Don’t worry about them. Worry about Deninger and Bonacci getting to Chance.

"Is he that important?

More important than you know, he said and stood up, finally closing the door.

He stood there as Jamie shifted the car into gear and pulled slowly away from the curb. He watched as she made a wide U-turn and moved back toward the street where they’d been waiting until just the right time. Once she turned onto that street and the low of the car’s taillights disappeared, he turned around and started down the narrow alley beside the restaurant.

He paused at the corner of the building and prepared himself for what he hoped wouldn’t be much trouble at all. Then he walked into the darkness of the alley.

His shoes didn’t match the armor he wore beneath the coat. He just couldn’t bring himself to wear the tactical boots that were normally part of the gear. Instead, he wore his normal patent leather shoes and the hard soles clicked loudly on the asphalt of the alley, echoing lightly off the brick walls on either side of him. But he wasn’t trying to conceal his presence. He wanted them to know that he was there, one of them in particular.

He’d made the arrangements for the meeting at the last minute. A bit of intel had come to him through normal channels, routing from the typical government offices and finally to his superior, the Director of the Domestic Security Agency. Its cryptic nature had hinted at a looming threat to US security, a possible terrorist scenario that the DSA was best equipped to deal with. When the information had included a few certain keywords that meant something to Cardwell but seemed innocuous to others in the agency, he had taken it on himself to arrange the meeting with his contact in New Orleans. He knew he had only the remainder of the day, or night, to learn the truth behind the intel.

A few secure telephone calls and one personally relayed message later and he had confirmation of the meeting with a very special informant in the city of New Orleans. Using one of the agency’s special aircraft, he’d departed Washington with most of his insertion team. He’d left two behind, sending them on a mission of their own that would possibly prove to be even more important than what he learned in the Big Easy.

A moment later, he reached the intersection with another alley and turned into it without pause or reservation. The meeting location had been designated years before and hadn’t changed. It wasn’t exactly a secure location, but it was secluded and not known to very many. He’d trusted this informant all that time and he hoped this time, possibly the most important meeting so far, wouldn’t be the one where he finally betrayed that trust. After all, his kind were not the most trustworthy in the world.

He walked along the filthy