Chapter 6

Sam continued to ponder the situation. Her legs squeezed together and pressed against the gun holstered there. It felt comforting and she knew she could use it effectively against any human foe. The problem is that it was woefully ineffective against vampires. It would not stop them; in fact, it was doubtful that it would even slow them.

What to do, she thought miserably.

Fire was effective. Maybe she could buy a propane torch and burn them. She dismissed this thought also. By the time, she got close enough to a vampire to use a torch, it would be far too late for her.

There must be something. How can I project fire at a distance? The thought struck her like a bolt of lightning. Lasers'! Not fire but extremely hot. They could be projected over a distance and would burn through most anything including hopefully a vampire. They might not kill one outright but they sure could cut of limbs and slow them down and if you decapitated them then they would be effectively dead, or as Amy put it destroyed.

She also knew a source for these lasers. If Sean would give her one to use fine but if not, she intended to steal one. She might not be able to get to Barstow and back in time to save Amy because she knew in her mind that Amy would not delay her plans. In fact, she would probably forbid Sam from carrying out her plan by saying the risk to her was too high.

Maybe I can't save you my love. I can however make them pay a very high price for destroying you, Sam thought and a fierce grimace came to her face.

Sam pulled her cell phone out of her purse and the business card that Sean had given her. She took a deep breath and willed her fingers steady as she punched in his number. A receptionist answered the call. When she had stated the name of the company, she asked how she could direct the call.

"Sean Penchant please," Sam asked.

"And who may I say is calling," The receptionist asked.

"Sam Crowley," Sam said.

"On moment Miss Crowley," she said.

Sean had given orders to her that should either Sam Crowley or Amy Bedford call, they were to be put through right away. On the second ring, Sean answered the phone.

"This is Sean. Sam, I didn't expect to hear from you so soon, if at all. This is a pleasant surprise. How is 'Wicked'?" he asked and Sam could tell by his voice that he was smiling.

"Sean, I need to ask a favor," Sam said.

Sean could hear from these few words that something was amiss. "Sure Sam, any favor I can grant, you just name it."

"Sean, I need to borrow one of your new laser pistols," Sam said.

The color drained from Sean's face. He dropped the pen in his hand onto the instantly forgotten forms that were stacked on his desk. "What's going on Sam? Why do you need one of my pistols? Are you and Amy alright?" He questioned in rapid-fire succession.

Sam broke down in sobs and relayed the entire story to him and her plans to make the vampires pay dearly.

"Sam, hang in there. Try your best to stall Amy. Maybe you can fuck her and make it a long one, anything you can think of to delay. I'm on my way. I'm not only bringing one pistol, I'm bringing two and I'm volunteering to use one of them. Do you have a piece of paper? Here is my cell number. You can keep in touch with me while I'm driving. Try not to let her leave Sam. Goodbye for now, I have to go." Sean said and hung up.

Sean rushed from his office. "Cancel all my appointments for at least the next two days. I'm going to be out of touch for a while so transfer all my calls to Victor," he said to his secretary as he rushed by.

He raced to a storeroom and grabbed two of the newest models of laser pistols and checked that they were fully charged. He grabbed two more just to be safe and then ran to his car. Sean tossed the pistols in the seat beside him and roared out of the parking lot. In a short time, he reached the highway and opened the car up, speeding toward Vegas. He set his radar detector and watched diligently for any cops because his Maserati coupe was traveling more than twice the posted speed limit of seventy-five.

After Sam had ended her phone call with Sean, she returned to their room. She felt miserable and was hard pressed to carry on a conversation with Amy. The only thing she wanted was for Amy to change her mind and leave Las Vegas with her. She also knew that was not going to happen. She did not tell Amy of her conversation with Sean because she knew if she did Amy would only restrain him too. Amy was adamant that she was going alone on this dangerous job.

After many failed attempts at casual conversation, the two women simply came together in embrace. The embrace started with them standing but soon moved to the bed. Their kisses were many and emotion charged. Amy tried to reassure Sam that things would be all right but Sam was certain she was just saying that in an attempt to sooth her. Tears streamed down Sam's cheeks. Amy cradled the sobbing woman to her breasts and held her there. Her hands combed through Sam's hair as she held her close and made soothing cooing noises.

At long last, Sam succumbed to Amy's soft cooing noise and stroking hands and went to sleep. Carefully, so as not to wake Sam, Amy crawled from the bed and prepared to leave. She removed her blouse that was soaked with Sam's tears and her shorts. She slipped on her bra, panties, a t-shirt and blue jeans. At the door she turned and blew a kiss to the woman she loved sleeping on the bed. As Amy made her way down the corridor to the elevators, she wiped the tears from her eyes.

Amy stopped at a hardware store and purchased a bundle of wooden stakes and a hammer for the gruesome task she planned. She would wait outside the club and follow Lilith to the place where she rested during the day. She was sure that Lilith's minions shared the same place of rest. She planned to stake each one as they rested during the day. The new ones were much more sensitive to sunlight than she was and so they would be sleeping in darkness during the daytime hours. That is when she intended to perform her grisly task.

Of course, that would leave Lilith, because Lilith was older than Amy was and just as alert during the day as she was. Amy would face and fight Lilith when the time came. There was nothing else she could do. She left the stakes and the hammer in the rental car and walked the block to the Lusty Cravings club. Amy knelt down beside a dumpster across the street from the club and waited. The dumpster's odors would help disguise her presence. Closing time approached and Amy watched as one at a time Lilith's minions left the club. Her keen vision recognized them from the night before. Three of the vampires had victims for the evening.

Amy shifted uncomfortably as her thoughts reflected on what was in store for each of those victims and she was powerless to stop it. Amy shifted slightly to a more comfortable position in her crouch beside the dumpster, making an ever so slight noise as she did. Just as she moved, Lilith stepped out of the clubs door. Lilith looked right at her and Amy was sure she had been spotted but then Lilith turned and reentered the club. Amy sighed in relief, not realizing until she did that she had been holding her breath the whole time. She settled in her new position to wait some more for her foe to reappear.

Sam awoke with a start. The room was dark but that in itself was not a concern. Their room in Vegas was dark with the lights out even during the middle of the day. She was still half-asleep as she rolled over and switched on the lamp beside the bed. The light dispelled the darkness of the room and she looked at her watch. When she saw the time, she leaped from bed and looked around her. Fear instantly came to her face. It was almost midnight and looking around again, she saw that Amy was gone.

A sick feeling crept into her gut. She ran across the room, rifled through her purse and removed her cell phone. She flipped it open and pressed in the numbers to Sean's cell that he had given her. On the third ring, he answered.