Free With Just Cause by Jackie Ivie

verbal
reactions. Deandra put a toe out and slid her makeup compact back
over. Knelt to pick it up. Opened it again. Refocused on Len.
    “Vampire?” Len replied. “You’re full of shit.
Vampire?”
    “We’re vampire hunters. And we know he’s
close. He had a hit to handle. We even know who his target was.
Want to know how we got our information?”
    “Not really.”
    “I should’ve brought my grandson, Chester
into a leadership role earlier. It was his plan. The lad has brains
and knows how to use them. Vargas Montoya became a target. He
should’ve been expecting it. Drug lords have a short lifespan. The
fool went underground two days ago. Few knew he’d be sneaking
across the border, disguised as an illegal immigrant hungry for a
job. Even less knew he had a million dollar hit put out on him. It
was fulfilled last night. Want to guess how we know all that?”
    “I’m going to say you’ve been talking to the
coyote from last night. The guy’s a snake of the lowest order, or
didn’t he tell you he was trafficking?”
    “Of course he was trafficking. He snuck
Montoya across the border, didn’t he?”
    “You really need to pay your informers more,
Beethan. The guy was into sex slaves. Look behind you. See all
those virginal-looking young girls? That was his real cargo.
Montoya was just a side job.”
    “No wonder you left him strapped to a
windmill. Ron? Go handle it. Deep six.”
    One of the men snapped to attention,
swiveled, and left. A minute later they heard a shot. One shot. It
echoed. Deandra stiffened. Several of the other women reacted,
making various noises, some of exclamation, some of shock, while
several started sobbing.
    “Someone quiet those ladies. Ethan. Greg.
Gently now. We’re here for the vampire. Not brutality to ladies.
Remember... they’re the weaker sex.”
    Weaker sex?
    Deandra didn’t have to see how Edna took that
insult. She could hear it in the woman’s huffed breath. The others
were right there with her. Being held by a bunch of gun-toting
lunatics was one thing. Finding out they were male chauvinistic,
gun-toting lunatics was really taking it past the line. Two of the
men moved toward the group. Deandra watched them. The women grew
louder, rather than pacified.
    “He’s getting a shot to the head and I’m
getting skinned alive? What kind of justice are you
practicing?”
    Deandra’s attention went back to Len. His
eyes widened and seemed to bore into hers through the little convex
mirror on her compact.
    “Frontier justice. Pardon the pun. Now... why
don’t you just tell us where to find Grimm? Save your skin. I
promise we’ll release you. Ethan, will you please quiet those
women? I’m trying to have a conversation here.”
    And that’s when Deandra knew what Len had
been telling her. Use what she had. She turned her attention to
Edna. Flashed the mirror into the woman’s eyes. Once. Again.
Finally got her attention. Deandra stepped out slightly and
motioned with her hands for the group to get loud. And somehow Edna
understood. And started wailing, nudging the others to join her. It
was almost amusing.
    “I said, quiet them. Not give them
amplification. Ron? You back? Good. Help Ethan and Greg. Yes. With
the ladies. I can’t hear myself think. Where was I?”
    “Some guy named Montoya had a hit put on him.
The new dead guy out there was trafficking in young sex slaves, and
you believe in vampires since you’re hunting them. I think that
about covers it,” Len answered.
    Deandra had a hard time to keep from
snickering.
    “We had a large donation recently, Mister
Griggins. Very large. Million dollar large. Enough to cover a hit
with the Vampire Assassin League.”
    “You can’t be serious,” Len answered.
    “As a heart attack.”
    “You got an infusion of a million dollars and
all you could think was to pay for an assassination? Man. If that’s
Chester’s mind at work, I’m relieved.”
    “Stop stalling. I know he’s close. And I’m
counting on you