Wanted: Undead or Alive

Page 7

There was a mortal security team that worked out of a separate office during the day, and they guarded Romatech’s mortal employees. Most of the day shift was blissfully unaware of what happened at Romatech after sunset. That was when the night shift came in to make Vampire Fusion Cuisine.
For right now, Freemont needed to work the same hours as his brother so Phineas could train him. They began with lessons in fencing and martial arts, and they practiced marksmanship in the shooting range in the basement. Freemont also learned how to make the rounds and file reports.
With so many MacKay employees out of the country, it was quiet at Romatech. Roman’s usual day guard, Howard Barr, was in Budapest, so whenever Roman wasn’t working at Romatech, he teleported to the Dragon Nest Academy, where his wife, children, and mother-in-law were now living.
Angus and his Vamp employees e-mailed their reports to Phineas since they were awake while he was in his death-sleep. The shifters, Howard, Carlos, and Phil, called to give him updates. So far, no luck in tracking down Corky. To help out, Phineas made an old-fashioned wanted poster with Corky’s picture on it and faxed it to every vampire Coven Master and shifter contact on Angus’s list.
The Malcontent prisoner, Dimitri, had been released after a tracking device had been embedded in the back of his neck while he was in his death-sleep. They couldn’t be sure how long the device would remain on Dimitri, but it was worth a shot in case he tried to reunite with his queen. According to the device, he was still in the Brooklyn area, hanging out with the few Russian Malcontents who remained there. Roman’s father-in-law, Sean Whelan, had his CIA Stake-Out team watching the Russian Coven House. No sign of Corky there.
After a few nights, Phineas decided his brother could handle a few hours on his own, so he agreed to do another Blardonnay commercial. The next night, he teleported to DVN, where his costar, Tiffany, was waiting, along with Gordon, the director, and Maggie, the producer.
This time, the set was made to look like a tropical island. The backdrop showed a lush green rainforest to his right and a tropical blue lagoon to his left. Lighting had been set up to look like there was a full moon overhead.
He stood ankle-deep in white sand with a brightly striped beach towel tied around his hips. Tiffany wore a red bikini that emphasized her considerable talents. After a few takes, Gordon and Maggie declared the commercial a great success and broke open a few bottles of Bubbly Blood to celebrate.
Maggie poured some of the synthetic blood and champagne concoction into a flute glass and handed it to Phineas. “You really have a flair for this. Any of the soap operas would snatch you up in a minute.”
He took a sip of Bubbly Blood. “It’s a lot of fun, but I don’t want to quit my job at MacKay.”
Maggie gave him a sly smile. “So you like working for that rich old fart?”
He winced. “That was acting.”
“I know. That’s my point. You’re good at it, Phineas. If you ever need another job, you can find one here. They’re getting a lot of disappointed e-mails that you’re not going to appear on the soap.”
“Sorry about that.” He had announced a possible acting gig during his interview with Stone, but it had been a sham. Since then, Stone had reported on the Nightly News that contract negotiations had fallen through. “I like working for MacKay. When I was a mortal, I totally screwed up, but now that I have a second chance, I want my life to count for something. I want to be one of the good guys.”
Maggie’s eyes softened. “You are a good guy, Phineas. We’re all very proud of you.”
He shrugged. Only the married women seemed to think that way.
“I have some good news.” Maggie refilled their flute glasses with more Bubbly Blood. “Since Corky’s show is off the air, and there’s a gap in the schedule, Darcy Erickson and I pitched an idea for a new show, and they bought it!”
Phineas clinked his glass against hers. “That’s great! Congratulations!”
She grinned. “Darcy and I are so excited! I was getting kind of tired of working on the ranch, and Darcy’s been wanting to quit MacKay S and I now that she has two kids. So now we’re coproducers of DVN’s new celebrity talk show, Real Housewives of the Vampire World!”
“Hot damn, woman! That’s gonna be a hit!”
Maggie laughed. “I hope so! We’re going to travel to different locations to interview wives of famous vampires. We’ll tour their houses or castles or wherever they’re living, and what’s really cool is that Darcy can record what their homes look like during the day.”
“Right.” Darcy was the only Vamp Phineas knew of who had managed to become mortal once again. The procedure couldn’t work on him, though, because he didn’t have a sample of his blood from when he was mortal.
“Can you imagine actually seeing things in daylight?” Maggie asked. “It’ll just be an image on television, of course, but I think it will be very exciting for Vamps.”
Phineas’s chest tightened. He would love to see a blue sky again. His world was now black with shades of gray, and it would remain that way for centuries. A pair of sky-blue eyes invaded his thoughts, but he quickly chased the image away. Brynley was impossible. As impossible as his chances to ever see the sky again.
He swallowed hard. “You’re right, Maggie. Vamps are going to love it.”
“Heather Echarpe has agreed to be our first victim, so we’re off to Texas tomorrow to start filming.”
“Good luck.” Phineas said his good-byes to everyone, then teleported back to Romatech.
Still no luck in finding Corky. According to the latest reports, Angus, Mikhail, and Phil were following a lead in Siberia. Zoltan, Jack, and Carlos were investigating another lead in Bulgaria, while Stan, Robby, and Austin were checking out a nest of Malcontents in Lithuania. The rest of the MacKay employees remained at the bases comparing reports and searching for new leads.
Sean Whelan and his Stake-Out team were still watching the Russian vampires in Brooklyn. The tracking device on Corky’s minion, Dimitri, was still working, and he had remained at the Russian Coven House.
At the end of the week, Phineas received a call from the police chief in Wolf Ridge, Maine. Wolf Ridge was a werewolf community near the compound Angus had confiscated from the Malcontent Apollo. The compound was now used as a summer camp for the werewolf boys who attended Dragon Nest Academy.
“We got your wanted poster regarding the female vampire,” Chief explained. “And we may have a possible lead for you.”
“Someone has seen her?” Phineas couldn’t imagine Corky hiding out in the northern wilderness of Maine.
“Not here,” Chief replied. “But my sons are on all the Lycan loops and chat rooms, and they heard something interesting. Some werewolf guys were hunting in Wyoming and came across an unconscious mortal. When they took him to the local emergency room, they discovered he’d lost a lot of blood and had two puncture wounds in his neck.”
“So there’s a vampire in Wyoming,” Phineas concluded, not terribly impressed. There were thousands of vampires around the world.
“It’s not a normal place for a vampire,” Chief continued. “The area is too sparsely populated. Anyway, after the mortal gained consciousness, he said the last thing he remembered was a beautiful blonde with huge breasts who approached his campfire at night and asked for help. He thought it was his lucky day.”
Phineas snorted. “He’s lucky to be alive. The description sounds sorta like Corky, so I’ll check into it. Thanks, Chief.” He hung up.
“What’s up?” Freemont was sitting in front of the desk, munching on a hamburger from the Romatech cafeteria.
“A possible lead on Corky.” Phineas paced across the security office. “Or more like impossible. Wyoming is the last place we would expect her to go.”
“In other words”—Freemont popped a French fry into his mouth—“it’s the perfect place for her to hide.”
Phineas halted. Could it be true? Could Angus have ninety-nine percent of his employees on a wild-goose chase halfway around the world while Corky was hiding in their backyard?
“I need to call Angus.” Although he was probably in his death-sleep right now. Phineas grabbed the phone off the desk and dialed Angus’s number.
“Hey, Dr. Phang,” Phil answered. “What’s up?”
“Got some news, Wolf-Bro.” Phineas repeated what Chief had told him.
“Interesting,” Phil murmured. “I’ll pass it on to Angus as soon as he wakes up. But you can guess what he’ll say. He’ll expect you to check it out.”
“You should be the one checking it out,” Phineas insisted. “You’ve got that place in Wyoming, and you know the territory.” Phil Jones’s father was Supreme Pack Master of Wyoming, Montana, and Idaho, so Phil had grown up there. He owned a bunch of land and a cabin in Wyoming, a gift he’d received on his eighteenth birthday.
In the werewolf world, Phil had the status of a prince, which meant his sister, Big Bad Wolfie-Girl, was a princess. Don’t think about her. Phil had been banished shortly after acquiring the cabin, and over the following years, his sister had used the site to hide other young werewolf boys who were banished. Now the Lost Boys lived at Dragon Nest Academy.
“I’m stuck here in middle of Siberia,” Phil grumbled. “I can’t leave Angus and Mikhail unguarded, and I doubt they’ll want to teleport me back when we’re following a legitimate lead here. Why don’t you go? You’ve teleported to my cabin before, so you know the way.”
“I can’t leave Romatech unguarded. My brother’s here, but he’s a rookie.”
“Hey.” Freemont gave him an indignant look.
“Look,” Phil continued, “Roman and Gregori aren’t helpless. They know how to fight. They’ll be fine with your brother. And if Roman thinks it’s too dangerous, then he can close Romatech for a few nights and take a vacation. He won’t mind. He wants Corky captured as much as anyone. She’s making a mockery of his position as Coven Master.”
Phineas took a deep breath. Phil was making a lot of sense. He would discuss the matter with Roman, but it was a safe bet that Roman would urge him to check out this latest lead. As Coven Master of East Coast Vampires, Roman couldn’t afford to have his authority questioned and his court decisions blatantly ignored.
“All right,” Phineas conceded. “I’ll go.” But he still didn’t know his way around Wyoming. “Do you think any of your werewolf boys from school could go with me?”
“That’s a good idea, but I’m not sure if Toni will let them go right now. You’ll have to check with her.”
“All right. Let Angus know what’s happening. I’ll e-mail a report when I have more details.” Phineas hung up.
Now he’d have to teleport to the Dragon Nest Academy. And she was there. Phil’s twin sister, Big Bad Wolfie-Girl. If he was lucky, he’d get in and out without having to see her. And her beautiful sky-blue eyes.
“So I’ll be in charge here? And you’re going to Wyoming?” Freemont stuffed the last bite of hamburger into his mouth.
“Yeah. Think you can handle it?”
Freemont nodded with his mouth full.
Phineas took a deep breath. “Looks like I’ll be headed out West with a couple of werewolf boys.”
Freemont snickered. “Yee haw! Git along, little doggies.”
“I’m afraid it’s not possible,” Toni MacPhie said, seated behind the administrator’s desk in the main office of the Dragon Nest Academy. “We start finals in a few days, so we need all the students to remain here.”
Phineas groaned inwardly. It was dangerous for a Vamp to go into strange territory alone. Without a day guard, he would be too vulnerable while in his death-sleep.
He glanced at Phil’s wife, Vanda, who perched on the corner of Toni’s desk. She was a Vamp, so she couldn’t guard him during the day, but it was better than being alone. “How about you? Want to come hunt for Corky?”
Vanda snorted. “I’d love to see that bitch in chains. She tried to sue me for a fortune.”
“Well, you did assault her,” Toni murmured. “You practically squeezed her head off on live television.”
“She deserved it!” Vanda protested. “She was rude to Ian.”
Toni grinned. “I know. I was cheering for you.”
“So do you want to come, Vanda?” Phineas asked.
She made a face. “I wouldn’t be much help. I’m as useless as you are during the day. And I’ve never ventured very far from the cabin, so I don’t know the area at all.”
“Do you really think Corky could be there?” Toni asked with a dubious look. “She doesn’t seem like the Wild Wild West type to me.”
“Our husbands call us every day, and they’re not finding her,” Vanda said. “Maybe Corky’s doing the unexpected.”
“We won’t know for sure until I check it out,” Phineas said. “Are you sure you can’t spare one wolfie-boy?”
Vanda ran a hand through her spiky purple hair. “Normally, one of the seniors could help you, but not now. They can’t graduate if they don’t take their final exams.”
“Can one of them postpone his tests for a week?” Phineas asked.
Toni shook her head. “Their final in Werewolf Studies requires them to shift, and the moon will be full three nights from now. I’d send Davy with you—he graduated last year—but with Phil gone, we need him here to administer the test.”