Holidays are Hell

They were led to an office building that was still fairly new. All glass and steel. There was a security desk, but no one manning it. The woman keyed in a code, the elevator dinged, and the four of them crowded into the small space—vampires on one side, Joseph and Six on the other. She still had the gun she had taken from the guard. Its weight was comfortable beneath her shirt.

"We were sorry to hear that Chenglei passed on," said the man to Joseph. "He was a very good person."

"He had dirty feet," Six said. The vampires frowned. Joseph coughed, holding his hand over his mouth.

The woman gave Six a piercing look. "You are almost one of us now. I think you will like it, if you give it a chance."

Six. said nothing. Engaging in that debate would be a waste of time.

The elevators doors opened. The vampires stepped out first, Joseph and Six following behind. His voice rumbled into a low chant. The creatures froze—and then, movements jerky, stepped back into the elevator. The woman snarled, but she pushed a button. The door slid closed.

"That will not keep them away very long," said Six.

"Long enough," Joseph replied.

"A parlor trick, and quite useless," said another voice. Six and Joseph looked up. A blond man walked out of a nearby office. His Chinese had an English accent, and he was tall and clean-cut, clad in a navy suit with a lilac tie. He was followed by three individuals who were, quite clearly, vampires. One of them, however, also wore a suit. His skin was swarthy, his features more of the south, perhaps from Indonesia. He gave her a straight, hard look, and Six felt, from Joseph's mind, the realization that this individual was one of the terror cell's ringleaders. A planner.

"Ah," said the other man. "So you finally see your vampire connection."

"That still doesn't explain why they would want men like us," Joseph replied.

"Control and information," said the vampire. "There was a woman we needed to speak to, but she was too well guarded. She had very private information about how to access certain facilities where she was planning New Year parties. Simple, really. And I knew of your skills. If it makes you feel better, we were going to kill you afterwards."

"Thanks," Joseph said dryly, and looked at the blond man. "And you, Mr.?…"

"Doe," he said, with a slight smile. "John Doe, to you. And no, the little bastards won't kill me. I've never touched a single one of them. And if they do try, I've made it crystal clear what will happen in retaliation." He leaned forward, eyes glinting. "Fear, Mr. Besud. You should really try utilizing it in a different manner than you have. You are far too much of a goody-two-shoes."

Six recalled Joseph's memories: the bones, the dead, the cold way he had dispatched the vampires during the previous night. Not so goody-goody, she thought. Not at all. The two of them were the same, that way.

"What do you get out of this?" she asked Doe. "Not just money. You would not want Joseph dead, if it was simply that."

Doe smiled, cracking his knuckles. "Do you know what happens when people die, Miss Six? It is quite remarkable, really. Their souls leave. Everything that ever made a person who they are simply… floats away. To Heaven or Hell, or perhaps just to live on a cloud. I do not know, nor do I care. What I find fascinating is not what happens after death, but what occurs during."

Joseph paled. "You're feeding off the deaths."

"Do you know how old I am?" Doe tapped his smooth cheek, running his finger down his strong jaw. "Ninety, young Mr. Besud. Ninety years old, and my body is still as young now as it was all those years ago. Back home in Russia." His smile changed, becoming darker, more feral. "I knew your grandfather, boy. I trained him."

Joseph's breath caught. "He spoke of a teacher. Never his name, though. He said that man was great."

"A compliment," Doe said. "I am still fond of him, you know. He was a stunning pupil. I was… disappointed… when he chose to run away. It took me years to find him again. I thought for sure that he would have used the trick I taught him to stay young, but instead I found an old brittle man with an old crone of a wife, their children aging by the minute. And you. You, with even more talent than my student."

"So you would kill me for that?" Joseph swayed forward. "Why?"

"Because there are no others like us," Doe whispered. "Not anywhere. We are alone, boy."

"And you do not want the competition," Six said, quiet.

Doe tipped his head. "When I was young, nothing excited me more than the idea of my brothers-in-arms, all of us living to use our gifts for pride and country. But it is a different world now, and I like my power being only my power."

"You like killing people for that strength," Joseph said flatly. "Only a violent death would give what you crave."

"A little bit of chaos never hurt," Doe said. "China will rebuild. It has people to spare. I'm sure the vampires agree."

Six gritted her teeth. "I would like to kill him now. May I?"