Midnight Shadow

Chapter 11 - Reggie Klien

It was dark on the roof tops of down town. I crouched against the low wall that protected people from falling over the building to watch Mia slowly make her way along the street below. 2 am on a Saturday morning hardly brought out the more civilized of Memphis's residents. That had been true in my Memphis as well. Of course I would have been just as shocked to see a five foot tall,  one hundred pound, red headed little girl walking up a street like this in either era. It was very dark, only a handful of lights on the street were on. Most of the bars had already had last call and the reputable businesses had all closed hours ago.

Three buildings down on the other side of the street was a shot gun style blues club with a singular purpose. It was a front for Reggie Klein, Mia's one and only chance at human blood per our agreement. Reggie was an evil man. His aura was so dark it would have confused me in my younger days. Reggie owned this place and from it he ran drugs for kids, guns, women and his own brand of justice for people that "owed" him. His 97’ Crown Victoria was parked outside in an alley next to the bar with the pale lights glimmering of it 24 inch chrome rims... It was ridiculous. No where in the world would a criminal of his nature actually bring attention to himself by riding in a car like this. But Reggie had a very high opinion of himself.

The plan was simple. Mia would walk down the street and Reggie's boys would cut her off, bring her to Reggie and we would know if he was the man we thought he was. All Reggie's victims, women, children, all of them had a particular wound in common. A brand of an elegant letter R. Once Mia saw the brand she could have him. She would incapacitate him, escape up a rooftop nearby, take him out of searchable human distance and feed. I had only two requirements, I needed the branding iron and Reggie was to die quickly and quietly.

She walked down the street slowly as if scared. Silly for certain but she was playing her part well. 2 buildings down from Reggie's she crossed the street to the opposite side right underneath the only working street light.

"Hey there" a young man called out from his perch on a turned up milk crate. Mia kept going but I could feel her relief as she'd been noticed. She glanced up on the young man now standing and peering at her through the darkness. The mans aura was dark. A deep shadow surrounded him. This man was evil and aspired to be even more so. I could sense his excitement and conflict. I could tell that if he hadn't worked for Reggie that he would have accosted her himself. A low growl in my chest startled me but I quickly regained focus. Mia could annihilate him with out thought.

"Hey Shorty, what you doin' out here tonight?" the young man tried again. He was half way out into the street by now, angling to cut her off on the opposite sidewalk. another man had stepped out of the Bar to see what was going on. Mia continued to say nothing, playing the part of the scared girl trying to return home. The young man succeeded in cutting her off on the sidewalk positioning himself directly in her path. She tried to cut around him but he put out his hand to block her path. Again my internal snarl irritated me.

"Don't be like that baby... come on in and have a drink" his voce was oily and sinister. Mia had stopped now in front of him. Her thoughts confused me. She did not like the situation. She was torn about the actions. She couldn't be scared... this man wouldn't survive a single blow from her if she'd only put half effort in it. But she was scared and torn. I could feel the conflict raging inside her... thirst versus self loathing. She hated this. But why? It's what she wanted, what she needed to stay here for a few days longer.

     She tried passing him on the other side again and this time a hand shot out to grab her around the arm.

"I said don't be like that" the man hissed at her through his teeth. He jerked her closer to him like a rag doll and I could see her force herself to allow his movement to direct her the way he wanted. A quiet whimper slid through her lips and more tension and fear washed over her.  I realized I had crept closer I was only one rooftop away now on a small 2 story building almost directly over their heads. I could hear this young mans heart beating with excitement.  Reggie's gonna love this one! Then maybe I'll get a spot inside and not have to spend these nights on cop watch. He tightened his grip and started pulling her towards the bar.