Bridget's Nights Ch. 06

As it turned out, it was three nights before I was able to deliver Sally May back to her home and family. By then I was walking kinda crooked. For someone who just wanted to experiment before settling down, I found she had been imaginative and down right insatiable. Just my kind of girl.

Sally lived in a tiny rural community that in a strange way I felt right at home in. Her family was a wonderful group of down to earth people that reminded me of my own. Little formal education was overcome with hard earned wisdom and common sense.

Sally had been scared of the reception she thought she would receive after her running away. She had been worried without cause. Her family was so happy to get her back they smothered her with love. I especially noted the reaction of a young neighbor. He didn't throw himself all over her, but I could read his eyes and I hoped Sally had also.

They were very nice to me. They insisted on pressing enough food and drink at me to last a normal human for a month. I tasted the home made wine and decided that, as good as it was, I would wait till I was somewhere safe before enjoying it. I didn't want to be howling at the moon when the sun was coming up. Again.

They made objections when I told them I had to leave that night but gave in. I stood on the darkened porch and gave Sally one more long hug.

"You'll be happy here Sally."

"I know." She smiled happily. "I'm glad I got to meet you but here is where I belong and where I'm staying. Besides," her face grew dreamy, "Did you see the way Sean was looking at me?"

I should have known. I kissed her one more time and she went back in the house. I turned to go down the steps. I hesitated when I heard the rocker on the far end of the porch squeak. Looking that way, I saw the coal of a pipe glow, showing me a worn, deeply lined face. I realized it belonged to Sally's grandmother.

"Come here child."

I walked to her, as obedient as I would have been to my own grandmother. She patted an empty space on a chair beside her rocker. I sat and she looked at me for what seemed a very long minute.

"When I first saw you I was sure you was a haint. I didn't want to invite you in. But you brought Sally May home safe and sound and never asked for a thing." Her eyes probed me. She took my hand, turning the palm up. The moon had come out from the clouds and the silvery light poured over us.

She didn't look at my palm. Rather, her fingers gently followed the lines there while her gaze continued to hold my eyes.

"Your journey has been a long one child. Full of laughter greater than most people know, and laden with deeper sorrows too. It draws towards an end though. Perhaps not a final one, perhaps a change, as mysterious as the one that started you on the trail you follow now."

I shivered. My Irish soul stirred uneasily to the deep cadence of her voice. For once, the ringing of my cell phone was a welcome interruption.

"Get moving," Robert's voice instructed me without any wasted greetings. "He hit again in South Carolina."

After listening to his account of a double murder with all the ear marks of our killer, I responded. "I'm heading for Georgia. Maybe I can get ahead of him. I'll call later."

I disconnected and headed for my car. Sally's Grandmother's voice brought me up short.

"One more thing child. This... man... you seek. He's a shadow out of your past. Be careful. God go with you."

I reached my destination the next evening. A mixture of small hamlets, rural areas and one city that actively catered to the tourist trade was perfect for him. I stirred uneasily at the thought of "him". Who was he? What was his connection to me?

I decided to stop at a small restaurant for some coffee and a chance to review the latest findings that Robert had faxed to an FBI office on my route here. I also hoped to indulge is a little discreet eavesdropping. I looked for a place that would be frequented by locals more than tourists. Later I would try to find the local cops watering hole.

I pulled in to the parking lot of a place called "Jason's". It looked like a family type place so I went in and was soon seated at a table with a cup of coffee steaming in front of me. Thank goodness caffeine still affects my body. Double that I can still taste it when its strong enough.

I took out the folder I had picked up in South Carolina. I studied the reports while keeping on eye on the room. I grimaced as I read of the last killing. This time it had been both a young man and a young woman, apparently a couple. They had almost been torn apart. I really had to find this guy.

In looking around, my eyes settled on a woman sitting at the next table with three children. She was quite attractive. Just a bit taller than me with dirty blonde hair, she didn't look old enough to have two teenagers for daughters. The older one called her "Mom" though, so I guessed she was.

My attention was drawn to the door where I saw a yummy looking guy come in. A bit over 6 feet with a powerful build and a broad smile. For a moment I was hoping the smile was directed towards me, but of course it wasn't. The petite blonde got to her feet and hugged him as a chorus of "Daddy" came from the girls, as well as a small boy I assumed was their younger, much younger brother.

I noted with a great deal of envy that the woman was pregnant. I sighed. A good looking husband and adding to an already happy family. There were many things I missed about not being human. The two strongest regrets for me were the loss of the sunrise, and the fact that I would never be able to have children.

While I was both indulging myself with regrets and wondering why I was doing it so often anymore, I found my eyes resting on a very appetizing woman. She was tall and slender, with a floating mass of dark hair. She wore a short skirt and had dancer's legs, smooth and firm with a hint of strength. After accepting kisses from the entire family at the next table, and a wild hug from the little boy who called her "Aunt Linda", she sat down. I appreciated the fact she was sitting where I could look her over, and that when she crossed her legs the view got even better.

Damn. No luck again. An attractive blonde came in and sat down beside the slender dark haired woman. In itself that wasn't an interest killer. However the way the two held hands under the table made it obvious they were a couple.

I shook myself. Damn, I wasn't supposed to be scoping out the guys and the girls here. I was supposed to be working. I was on a pretty good expense account but I really wanted to put this rogue vampire out of business. Not just because he endangered the rest of us, but because I just flat considered him evil. I paid for my coffee, cast one more look at the people at the next table and headed for my hotel.

Once I was checked in, a fifty dollar bill in the hands of the night clerk provided me with the names and addresses of all the clubs in the surrounding area, both licensed and underground. I dressed to party, assuming of course a party outfit consisted of loose, dark clothing and running shoes. I completed my wardrobe with a very sharp, slender oak stake. I had been terribly tempted to have "Mister Pointy" carved on it, but the FBI really does not have a sense of humor and I decided not to. Now if I could have had the Agency guys whip this up for me...

Enough wool gathering I scolded myself. Time to get moving. I thought my quarry was more likely to head for the darker places with all the shit he had been stirring up lately. I took off for the nearest underground club on my list.

That was "The Rave". A pretty unoriginal name on a pretty unoriginal place. At least they could have had some decent music. Somehow they had managed to pick absolutely the worst songs from both the modern era and from classic rock. I couldn't even figure out how anyone danced here but they were. I couldn't have done an Irish jig to the songs I was barely listening to so I wandered, keeping my eyes and ears open.

Now that was interesting. The blonde haired woman I had seen at the restaurant was dancing her heart out on the floor. With two guys no less. Damn. Reminded me of me. I didn't buy it for a minute though. I had seen the way she held the hand of that other woman. What was her name? Linda. I had seen lovers of all sizes and groupings over the centuries. If those two weren't together than I needed to get me to a nunnery, because I knew nothing.

I circulated. I peeked. I went through one of my usual laments that I wasn't a foot taller. At five-three I don't exactly have the best view in any crowd. But it was enough to see that the blonde woman was leaning against the chest of a damn tall guy. More I couldn't tell as his back was to me. But it was enough to start me moving that way.

I couldn't catch a good look at the man with the blonde woman. The height was about right though. I tried to slip closer to them but the crowd was too thick. I wormed my way closer, trying not to create too much commotion as I did. I didn't want to spook him, if that was indeed him. At the same time I didn't want to be arriving too late either.

Shit. They were leaving. And the side door too. Now I hurried. Story of my damn life lately, shoving my way through dance crowds. This time I was going to get him.

I came through the doorway loaded for bear. There wasn't anyone there, which rather deflated me. The I heard sharp noises from around the corner in the back parking lot. Perfect place. Dark, as I recalled from a quick look around when I got here that there's but a single light. I ran.

"I told you to put your hands where I can see them." I peeked around the corner. Yeah, it was him alright. The blonde woman was facing him, an automatic in a two handed grip and pointed at him. Okay, she was a cop. Under normal circumstance she probably was very good at what she did, but these were anything but normal.

This was proven as a blindingly fast move saw her stagger backwards against the wall, her weapon falling from her hands. In the same move he was on her and I saw the light glint from his fangs. Before I could move, the dark haired woman I had pegged as the blonde's lover appeared. She launched herself through the air in a graceful leap that culminated in her leading foot connecting to the killer's jaw.

She might have just as well kicked the wall. Even with bouncing off him she managed to land on her feet. A blow from him dropped her on top of the other woman. Even though she was dazed I saw her hand grope behind her, doubtless for a weapon that I knew would not help.

What was I doing, writing a fucking book? I shook myself into action. Time to show that dark haired woman wasn't the only martial artist here. I sprang and nailed the killer with the best front snap kick of my unlife. This time I actually staggered him. I followed with a shower of punches, chops and kicks. He was still so incredibly strong I knew I wasn't doing much more than keeping him busy though. I could hear the women, both cops I now was sure, trying to get back up. If I could just hold him off until they were up I might have the opportunity to get my stake out and finish this asshole.

He tried to slip around to my right. I countered, keeping myself between him and the two women. The light from the single pole in the parking lot fell on both our faces and I heard him growl, and then laugh.

"Well, well, I thought it was you. Bridget O'Brien, the brave little Irish bitch. I thought I taught you before, don't stand in my way. But then, you never did understand. You fool. You try to be one of these humans, protect them." He fairly spat at me. "They're cattle, you stupid slut."

I growled back. I knew my face had turned with the stress of the fight, and I didn't care. Now I knew who I was dealing with. "I warned you, Thorfinn, that if I ever ran across your sorry ass again I would kick it back to hell. They're not cattle to me."

"Or me," came a deep male voice. A sharp click-clack was followed by the roar of a shotgun. Thorfinn really staggered this time as a charge of what must have been magnum buckshot hit him. The tall man from the restaurant appeared in the corner of my eye. He advanced, pumping the slide and firing repeatedly.

Even a vampire as powerful as Thorfinn couldn't take that onslaught. Although it wouldn't kill him it would hurt very badly. He managed to roll over the hood of a pickup, which took the next charge of shot. Then he was gone.

"Damn." I turned to check on the two women. "Are you al..." My words trailed off as I noted two large caliber handguns trained on my face. Now that would really hurt too, especially since I could sense the man with the shotgun was covering me too. Now that's the story of my life. See three attractive women and one hot guy and, before the night is over, three out of the four are offering to shoot me. My luck is really bad sometimes.

I raised my hands over my head. No sense in chasing Thorfinn now. After all, I couldn't catch him loaded down with bullets, fatal to me or not. I figured it was much more important to make nice with the local cops. Besides which I needed to get in contact with Robert. This was important. We were in more trouble than I had previously thought.

While the male officer, his name was "Mike" I caught from words exchanged, held his shotgun close to my head, the blonde officer carefully cuffed me. Interestingly, she was very calm about the whole thing, even making sure the cuffs weren't too tight on my wrists.

We took a short ride to the back of a building complex that was obviously a combination police station and jail. Surprising me, when I was helped out of the car, the dark haired woman Linda unlocked my cuffs.

"I don't know what exactly is going on, but I'm grateful. I strongly suspect you saved my life and Sue's life also," she nodded towards the blonde woman. "Besides," she added rather cryptically, "The fewer people who know about you the better."

Along with the male officer, we walked down a couple of hallways to an office furnished with a desk, a few chairs and a speaker phone. The other woman from the restaurant was already waiting for us. She closed the door, stood on her toes and kissed the man. With my lightning deductive ability I was able to immediately tell she was a cop too. The holstered automatic and the badge around her neck rather gave it away.

"May I make one phone call please?" They were already examining my CIA credentials with an air of "tell me another whooper", so I figured I better get hold of Robert. He could confirm my identity and start searching out anything on Thorfinn.

"You want a lawyer?" asked the very pregnant detective.

"Actually, I want you to place a call for me. You get the number yourself and call the FBI headquarters in DC." The foursome exchanged glances. "That way you'll know for sure where confirmation of my identity is coming from." I wondered why there didn't seem to be higher ups here. From what I had gathered, the foursome consisted of two Lieutenants, Mike and Linda; a Sergeant named Pat and Sue, who was a Detective.

The male Lieutenant Mike shrugged, and without looking it up, dialed the number for the FBI building. I was impressed. I looked him over again, only to be brought up short by the sweet smile his pregnant Sergeant wife was giving me. If I could have sweated I would have. Instead I tried to adopt an innocent expression and gave the number for Robert's office.

"Where the hell are you Bridget?" erupted from the speaker phone. I was always glad when Robert was so concerned about me.

"In an interrogation room in the Jackson County Jail," I replied cheerfully.

"Well that hardly surprises me," Robert observed. "Tell me who's the ranking officer and I'll arrange to have both the Bureau and the Agency confirm that, regardless of whatever you probably did, that you are indeed on the side of the angels."

"First Robert, something much more important." I took a deep breath. "I know who our killer is. Its Thorfinn Olafson."

"DAMN, I thought he was dead. I haven't heard anything about him since the last time you saw him. That was in," Robert hesitated. I knew he didn't want to give anything away, but I had already formed my judgment of these cops. I sensed that somehow they were not only NOT going to be surprised by what was going on, but would take things in stride.

"April of 1943, outside of Paris," I finished.

"Right." Robert sounded surprised but apparently decided to trust my judgment. Well, once every 50 years or so isn't bad.

"Call Lieutenant Gibson here at the main office of the Sheriff's Department," the man instructed. "I'll be waiting." I turned off the speaker phone.

"So where do we go from here?" I asked.

"Explanations would be nice," responded Linda. I started to explain but she plowed on. "We don't know anything other than the fact that you and the guy we were trying to catch are both vampires; that you seem to be one of the good guys; and we have no clue how to stop him. I personally am intensely curious as to what you were doing outside Paris in the Second World War with, Thorfinn I think you called him. And who the hell is he?"

I was staggered. I'd had all kinds of reactions from people over the years to what I was. This was one for the books. Pat smiled and laid her hand on my arm, disregarding an anxious look from her husband. "Bridget, this isn't our first encounter with the supernatural. And Mike? Linda is right, she's one of the good guys. Lets get out of here and someplace quiet." She turned. "Linda, can we go to y'all's place?" She indicated Sue with a nod, confirming what I thought. "Its a schoolnight and I don't want the kids upset so ours is kinda out."

"Sure."

Amazing, only an hour after being arrested I was sitting comfortably on a couch with a interested and sympathetic audience. I had a cold beer. A cigarette would have been nice, but I would never smoke around a pregnant woman. After all, I wasn't worried about lung cancer.

"Thorfinn Olafson is, like me a vampire. Unlike me, I hope, he's a nasty evil son-of-a-bitch who could have given Vlad Dracula a run for his money. Drac, incidentally, was not a vampire, just a mass murderer." I sighed. "It would be much easier if there was really some kind of 'Watchers' who kept track of vampires like the TV series have for them and immortals, but there isn't. What we do know is Thorfinn is a very old vampire, perhaps a thousand years old. He was a priest of Odin at one time and for all I know still worships him."

"I do know he still dabbled in the occult." I saw the looks the foursome exchanged and made a mental note to find out more. "When I met him he was employed by the Gestapo and was a feature even in that organization of thugs and sadists. The Nazis took some of the occult quite seriously. I think that may have been part of what drew him to them. That and of course the opportunity to main and kill innocent people."

"What were you doing Bridget?" asked Sue.

"I was working for the OSS. I had made a night drop into France to meet up with an underground cell. A very important leader of the resistance had been captured and I went in to try to help them get him out of German hands."

As I talked, my mind drifted back. I saw the dark shadows around the prison, the guards I eliminated. I could hear the moans from the cells of those who had been brutally treated. One blackshirt I caught spilled his guts, figuratively and the literally. I shuddered as I told my new friends about that. I was more remorseless that night than I had been in centuries, since I caught a party of Cromwell's Ironsides exterminating an entire Irish village, men, women and children.

I had led the way to the place where Jacques was being held, and tortured. There I had met Thorfinn. My anger had made me a match for him that night. I held him at bay while the underground rescued Jacques. I almost killed him then, but an SS man stupidly threw himself in the way and I stabbed the Nazi instead. During the fight a brazier was kicked over and I couldn't chase him when the prison caught on fire. I let Thorfinn go while I strove to break open the cells before the prisoners burned.