The Protectors: Halloween Rave (Short-story sequel) FREE (Vigilante Cops Book 2) Read online

  “Okay… get moving. Take your time walking over there so we can wait with these clowns. Stay out of trouble,” Louis ordered, as he and Jason took over handling the suspects.

  * * *

  As they approached the warehouse building fixed for the rave, they could hear the music. Only a small line waited near the side entrance. The people waiting were wearing goth, vampire, and zombie attire. They looked back at the huge Green Lantern with snickers and blatant insults.

  “Yep… I’m going to fit right in. Duane’s working the door at least.”

  Cantor made no indication he knew Connor, but waved the three around the metal detector set up by the entrance. Inside, the costumed cohorts stared around at the Halloween trappings and people as if they had just arrived from Mars. They didn’t bother trying to speak. By agreement, the three would head off right, left and center, working their way around clockwise. It was all on one level, but some surrounding tables were on a raised portion of flooring with cordoned off VIP sections. Three times, pickpockets bumped into Connor, going for his utility belt. He caught and squeezed their wrists or hands until they begged for release, while wondering how many people get their ID’s and lives stolen at these type free-for-alls.

  An hour passed of brain frying noise Connor hated every second of. Some of the music being played he had in CD’s at home, but the noise level was so disorienting, he had trouble concentrating on a face right in front of him. He had seen Ellie a couple times, waved and went on. Connor had made passes at the raised tables, trying not to attract attention, but he had yet to see a face even amongst the special groups he thought might be into shady deals. Then he spotted Julie between two men at a small stand up bar near the far left corner, where the area had been cordoned off into a private party. One of them was Makar Gurin. She seemed a bit wobbly on her feet to Connor. He wondered if she had forgotten Ellie’s instructions about not drinking anything already opened served to her. Keeping Julie in sight, Connor moved closer, while watching for Ellie. No one could dive in where she wasn’t wanted better than his partner. Suddenly, Julie went down to one knee drunkenly. Gurin and his sidekick hoisted her up, laughing and patting her cheek. Gurin slipped a barstool under her, but they continued to brace Julie to keep her upright.

  Ellie showed up at his side a moment later. “Damn it! What did Jules do, get herself roofied?”

  “It looks that way. She must have found Gurin, and went in without waiting for us,” Connor nearly shouted as Ellie had done to be heard. “On the left, El - look at those two zombies getting access to the area. I hope that crud on their arms and neck is just makeup.”

  Ellie and Connor moved closer to the cordoned off area, making movements to the music together, careful to only shift as if forced to by the crowd. Ellie took her low light camera out to film when Gurin turned toward the zombies, using Connor as a shield. It was a definite drug buy. The zombies then passed Connor and Ellie close by, heading for the exit. Ellie scooted back against Connor. The two looked directly at Ellie. No amount of makeup and fake blood spatter could account for the scabby rimmed holes and openings Ellie saw on their arms, neck and face.

  “Jesus, Lord in heaven,” Ellie exclaimed texting Louis and Jason frantically. “Those holes are the real thing Connor.”

  He nodded as she held up her phone for him to see their backup would be picking up the zombies. Once they determined the drug purchased, they would move in.

  “I’m going to get Jules. I ain’t waitin’ any longer. I’ll low key her out of there.”

  “How do you plan to low key your way in?”

  Ellie smiled. “Watch and learn, Opie.”

  Ellie walked over where a guy in a suit stopped rave goers from wandering into the area. Ellie reached up, and unclasped the single fastener at the back of her neck that held her black spandex up in front. She allowed the material to sink to the top of her breasts, catching Gurin’s eye. Then she lowered the material under her breasts for a moment, never losing eye contact. The guard looked back at Gurin, who nodded. Ellie clasped her top up, walking over to Gurin.

  “Very nice. Who might you be?” Gurin put an arm around Ellie’s shoulders, running his hand up and down her bare back.

  Ellie smiled and patted the swaying Julie, before hugging her around the shoulders. “This is my BFF Julie. I thought maybe I could join the fun. Hey, Jules, you mixin’ your liquor again girlfriend?”

  Julie looked up bleary-eyed at Ellie, squinting as if she had trouble focusing. “El…Ellie? Oh God I’m glad to see you.”

  “We helped her as much as we could,” Gurin’s partner, a thin, rat faced, slicked back hair guy about Ellie’s height told her. “She’s been throwing them down for a while. We advised her to ease up.”

  Ellie looked into Julie’s eyes, seeing the glaze she’d seen many times of a roofie hit. “Yep, I think she’s had enough, guys.”

  “We can put her to rest somewhere, and you and I can have some fun,” Gurin suggested, seeing on Ellie’s smiling countenance a subtle sophisticated leer he mistakenly thought was an invitation to play.

  “I think I’d better help my girl Jules here out to our car. I’ll come back and take you up on your offer. I’m Ellie.”

  “Yes… your friend told us all about you,” Rat face said as Ellie turned to face him. You’re Ellie James, Oakland cop, here with your partner, Opie.” Rat face snickered. “Is that his real name?”

  Ellie didn’t get a chance to answer as she heard two gunshots. Rat face grabbed her, a stunned look on his face. Ellie head butted him. Blood exploded from his damaged nose. As he lurched backward, Ellie kneed him in the nuts a split second later, with attitude. Rat face dropped to the floor, screaming in pain, his hands abandoning his ruined nose for his more vital package. Ellie spun, grabbing Julie off the stool and down under the bar while reaching for her weapon. Gurin lay twitching near them, with half his head gone.

  * * *

  Connor watched Ellie sway toward the guard’s cordoning position. He saw her hands reach up to release her top, letting it fall provocatively over her left arm at her chest. Not caring for this approach at all, he moved nearer. He halted, seeing Ellie allow the top to fall below her breasts for a moment as an admission card inside the area. It seemed to work. Within moments, Ellie was conversing with their target while checking Julie out. Everything changed then. Ellie turned her attention to Gurin’s companion. Gurin reached into his jacket pocket with a smile, pulling out a syringe.

  The scene playing out in front of him went into slow motion for Connor. The music, the people, the chaos lapsed into a background hum in his mind. As Gurin raised the syringe up along Ellie’s back, Connor drew his Ruger .40 caliber handgun in a smooth but hurried draw from his Green Lantern utility belt, taking aim amid screams erupting near him. His vision came in staccato blips as if watching on an old time slide projector. The syringe descended toward Ellie’s neck, and Connor squeezed the trigger on his Ruger twice. The .40 caliber hollow points went in near Gurin’s temple, exiting to bathe the bar in the background with brain and skull matter.

  Time roared back into reality along with the screams of rave revelers running for the exits. Connor watched Ellie take down the Gurin sidekick while pulling out his Oakland police identification, holding it up in the ducked down guard’s face. “Please go ahead and help the crowd to not panic. Other officers are on their way. You don’t work for Gurin, do you?”

  “No… I work for the people running the rave. I’ll go do what I can.”

  * * *

  Connor jogged over next to Ellie and Julie, crouching down at eye level with his partner. “Gurin was getting ready to stick you with that Krokodil shit, El. I had to take him down.”

  Ellie’s horrified face told him everything he needed to know. “Oh shit! He was? They drugged Jules, and got her to tell them we were on to them. I didn’t know until a split second before you boinked him. Go guard Gurin’s body, Opie. I pray he has the syringe in his hand or you are in deep shit,
headshot.”

  Connor grinned. “He still has it clutched in his hot little hand, El. I will secure the scene until the forces of light arrive. Is Julie okay?”

  Ellie grabbed Julie’s chin. “Hey, Jules… you with us?”

  Julie’s eyes blinked. She hugged Ellie. “No…no more undercover for me. Oh… God… I don’t feel so good.”

  Ellie sighed. “Go secure our main perp’s position, Opie. I’ll take care of our undercover trainee, and her crappy debut. Damn, Jules! What is it about don’t accept open beverages you don’t understand?”

  Julie groaned. “I… thought it was okay if the bartender served it directly.”

  Connor and Ellie glanced up at where the bartender was inching away. Connor straightened, pointing at the retreating barkeep. “Stay still! If you break and run, I will slam your face into the floor!”

  The barkeep chose unwisely. He broke and ran about fifty feet before Connor caught up and kicked his legs out from under him while slamming his face into the floor as promised.

  Ellie chuckled. “Ouch. I think Opie just adjusted the barkeep’s attitude about drugging you, Jules. He seems very contrite now. Do you think you can stand?”

  Julie waved a hand haphazardly. “If…if I stand… I’ll barf.”

  Ellie patted her hand. “Stay right here. I’ll bring you some water.”

  “Could I… you know… just pass out?”

  Ellie laughed, patting her cheek. “Not a good idea right now, Jules. If you do… no big deal… I’ll just take videos of you.”

  Julie’s look of horror undercut Ellie’s joke.

  “Jules! Connor and I don’t do that. If you want to go sleepy time on the floor, go ahead. You may want to rethink that idea with what must be all over this floor. I’ll watch over you, and I mean I will break some bones if Ladd and Arvizo even approach you.”

  “Thanks… El.”

  “You bet. I’ll be right back, Jules.” Ellie stood up. Connor had already dragged the bartender over near Gurin, so he could both protect the crime scene and hold the bartender.

  Their backups arrived as the crowd thinned considerably, including Sergeant Donaldson. He didn’t approach his officers for a while. Donaldson directed traffic for the next half hour, making sure what would be in evidence, stayed in evidence, including all video footage, and actual witnesses. He then walked over to his undercover cops with a shaking head smile.

  “Thanks, Opie! I knew somehow you would find a way to turn this sting into an execution. Nice job by the way. I know you too well to jump to conclusions. Go ahead, give it to me.”

  Connor pointed at Gurin. “El went in to protect and secure Julie. They’d already doped her. The idiot bartender that did it is next to the corpse. That needle Gurin still has clutched in his hand is Krokodil. He was in the process of injecting it into my partner. I couldn’t warn her because of the noise. I couldn’t intervene in time, and I’d kill another twenty Gurins rather than allow him to stab El with the zombie juice.”

  “Point taken,” Donaldson allowed. He gestured then for the crime scene photographer who jogged over. “Get this sleaze with the syringe in multiple shots, Craig. Then a shot of everything, including this guy still holding his nutsack.”

  Craig looked over at Connor and Ellie. “Don’t worry. This will be what we want it to be. I’ve already seen those two kids outside. Execution is too good for this monstrous bastard.”

  “Thanks, brother,” Connor said. “Any chance of us fleeing the scene, boss, and taking Dr. Morrison with us to recuperate?”

  “Go ahead,” Donaldson replied. “If there are any other complications, I have you two on speed dial. I saw those two kids out in the parking lot too. I can’t think of a better ending for that piece of shit. Nice shooting. Good Lord in heaven I hope we can stop this Krokodil stuff.”

  Ellie pictured the two young kids who had passed her, shuddering. “From your lips to God’s ear, boss.”

  * * *

  Connor sat waiting for Julie’s alternate psychologist to make her appearance for the department ordered evaluation after a shooting. She came into the office reading from a file as if prepping for a test, her harried smile and handshake making Connor wonder how many days she’d been on the job.

  “Hi, Connor. I’m Doctor Lucy Barrington.” She sat down opposite Connor with Julie’s usual desk between them. “I see you executed another man.”

  Connor took a deep breath and leaned back in his chair.

  The End

  If you liked my Halloween caper with Connor, Ellie, and Doc Morrison, the novel starring the three can be found here: THE PROTECTORS

  Amazon’s Author’s Page with all nineteen of my novels listed if you like action, humor, and pulp fiction is here: Bernard Lee DeLeo