Incubus Dreams - October 30th

[anita_blake]

As Anita drives through the city, heading towards the Church of Eternal Life, she hears her cell phone ring. Careful to keep her eyes on the road, she picks it up, frowning as she pulls up to a red light. She sees Zerbowski's name on the screen of the phone and quickly answers.

"What have you got, Zerbrowski?" she asks, impatient and eager.

Comments

[ab_npc]

"I got the list back from missing persons," he tells her. "I checked it against known lycanthropes and vampires and came up blank. Doesn't mean they aren't, of course, and I've got a guy doing some follow up to be sure."

[anita_blake]

Anita curses softly.

"A swanmane, a leopard, and probably a vampire are missing," she says, her voice tight. "We almost had them yesterday, but they shot at us. Put a crimp in the whole apprehension plan."

[ab_npc]

"Funny how you failed to mention the being shot at part when you called this morning," he grumbles. "Dammit, Blake. I know you're indestructible and everything, but you can't just run off half-cocked like this."

[anita_blake]

"I wasn't half-cocked," Anita says. "I knew exactly what I was doing."

[ab_npc]

"One of these days, you're going to know exactly what you're doing, and a couple days later, I'm going to be standing with the rest of the guys saying how natural you look."

[anita_blake]

"Ha ha, very funny. I'd thought it was just a missing persons case. I figured it couldn't hurt to follow the lead and see if we couldn't just happen upon the missing swanmane."

She flexes her shoulder a little.

"I was wrong, okay?"

[ab_npc]

Zerbrowski laughs at that. "Damn it. I wish I was recording this call. No one'll believe you just said that." He continues quickly, before Anita can hang up on him for his quip. "There is one oddity in the list that you might find interesting. Right about the same time your friends went missing, there was a report filed on a Jessica Burrows. Human, so it didn't get flagged for us, but when Tammy looked over the list, she recognized the name. Seems Miss Burrows is a witch."

[anita_blake]

Interesting? Oh, she finds it interesting, all right.

"A witch."

A witch, a vampire, a swanmane, and a wereleopard.

"Somebody's setting up a collection," she murmurs. "I'm on my way to the CoEL now, Zerbrowski. Call me if anything else comes up. I need to give Ronnie a call now, have her meet me somewhere. Thanks for your help."

[ab_npc]

"Hey, I'm not doing it for nothing," Zerbrowski says. "You owe me and Katie a dinner. You've been promising, and now I'm collecting. I don't really care who you bring, either. Just... not Schuyler, okay?"

[anita_blake]

Anita chuckles.

"Jason and I don't go on dates, Zerbrowski, but if you and Katie could tolerate Richard..."

[ab_npc]

The relief is almost palpable through the phone line. "Richard is always welcome. Just give us a call and let us know what night."

[anita_blake]

"I'll talk to Richard tonight and find out. I'm pulling up to CoEL now, so I'll call you by the first of the month what our schedules look like."

She parks the car, gives Zerbrowski a quick goodbye, and hangs up the phone. After a moment, she opens the phone again and dials Ronnie's number as she turns the Jeep off and gets out.

[ab_npc]

"Anita," Ronnie greets over the phone, having recognised her friend's number. "You all right? What's up?"

[anita_blake]

"So, I just got off the phone with Zerbrowski."

She slams the Jeep door and locks it up.

"We're missing a swanmane, a leopard, a vampire, and now a witch. What's that say to you?"

Anita knows what it says to her.

[ab_npc]

"Uh... that our kidnapper's got a thing for paranormal females? That's one hell of a line-up."

[anita_blake]

"Yeah, it is. I'm at the Church of Eternal Life now to talk to Malcolm about the missing girl, and--" Anita breaks off when she hears the squeal of brakes right behind her. She turns and sees a sickeningly familiar auto parts logo on the side of an equally familiar van. The rear doors burst open and three figures dressed in all black and ski masks spill out.

Anita drops the cell phone -- she'll apologize to Ronnie later -- and goes for her gun. She simply hadn't been prepared to be jumped, though, and can't get it clear of the holster before there's a pressing weight on each arm. Both (presumably) men are taller and stronger than she is, and have grips on her that deny her all leverage.

Hating herself for it, she falls back on the last, desperate resort of helpless women across the world -- she screams. Unfortunately, as she breathes in again for a second scream, a cloth clamps across her mouth from behind, and instead of air, she gets a lungful of chloroform. Ah, well, she thinks, at least I'll be awake in a few minutes. Her souped-up metabolism would burn through it in no time.

Then she feels the prick of a needle jabbing into her neck, and just before the world goes black, she revises her estimate and instead, thinks simply, Fuck.

[ab_npc]

Ronnie stands from her seat when the clatter of the phone is followed by Anita's scream. Had those been squealing tires?

"Anita?" she tries, repeating the name louder when there's no response. "Shit shit shit!" She slaps her phone shut and paces the small space of her office, cursing to herself.

Grabbing her phone off the desk again, she waves her fingers over the keys for a few seconds. She thinks to call the cops. Anita had been talking to Zerbrowski, after all. Then again, if she couldn't find where those damned vans had been going since the warehouse, she isn't sure the cops will be able to do any better.

Closing her eyes, she heaves a great breath in and lets it out slowly. Staring at her phone, she finally keys the only number she can think of and waits while it rings.