People of Influence

People of Influence

The two unlucky vampires leaped at the one who looked like the most ruthless of the three.

One desperate vampire was blown apart midair by a shot. The other had just lunged through the window when Frank's high kick caught it under the chin. The vampire screamed, spitting out several dozen grams of teeth as its head snapped violently back. Frank grabbed it by the hair and slammed it face-first into the floor.

With a savage grin, Frank yanked a foot-long harpoon from the sheath on his chest and viciously chopped off half the vampire's shoulder. Seeing that the tenacious monster was still struggling, he drove the blade through its back and pinned it to the ground.

The fight ended quickly. When Frank stood up, he found Alvin and JJ looking at him with strange expressions.

JJ whispered to Alvin, "How can a guy his age kick that high?" She gestured at the height of her own chin. Alvin nodded in agreement. "Maybe he likes yoga!"

Frank glared and gave JJ the finger. Then he said to Alvin, "JJ and I will split up and check for any stragglers."

Alvin nodded. "Make it quick. I'm calling the police right away. I didn't expect there to be so many illegal immigrants here. We'll have to leave them to the cops."

Frank nodded, then called JJ over to check all the rooms on the second floor. They found nothing. Apparently, the vampires had been throwing a party, leaving only a punk singer to guard the place before Alvin wiped them all out in one go.

Fortunately, that was the case. Otherwise, if those vampires had picked up guns, casualties would have been inevitable.

Alvin ignored the pitiful women and waved them downstairs. From there on, they were New York police business.

After tidying the room a little, Alvin realized fighting vampires was pretty environmentally friendly—there weren't even any bodies left behind. This time, they had exceeded the mission requirements by leaving three survivors.

After stomping the blind vampire's screams back down its throat, Alvin called Chief George.

"George, buddy, I think you need to send someone to the docks in Hell's Kitchen."

"It's fine, I caught the thing. But there are dozens of illegal immigrants here, and I can't handle that."

"Yes, I'll take the thing back with me. You deal with this place, and if you have time tomorrow, come take a look."

"Fine, I can wait for you at home and question them together, but hurry up. I don't want to stay up all night."

Frank and JJ checked the place over and found no vampires had slipped away, then returned to meet up with Alvin.

JJ had also luckily found three red-and-white striped woven plastic bags—the kind Chinese migrant workers used for travel—which Alvin found strangely familiar and comforting.

Alvin roughly stuffed one vampire headfirst into a bag, only to find it wasn't quite long enough.

He had JJ hold the vampire by its feet, then smashed a fist viciously into its spine, leaving the creature completely limp. That made it easier for Alvin to fold it up and pack it into the woven bag.

The vampire Frank had nailed to the floor received the same treatment.

The last one—the one the iron gate had slapped against the wall—didn't need it. There wasn't a single intact bone left in its body.

One of the vampires even begged for mercy during all this, but Alvin ignored it. What a joke. You treated us as food, and now that you lost, you're begging your food for mercy? Do you have any vampire dignity at all?

Outside the warehouse, Alvin and the other two carried the woven bags like bank robbers heading home with a haul. They tossed the bags into the pickup bed. JJ got into the driver's seat, and the three of them headed home.

On the way back, they ran into a large convoy of police cars, sirens blaring as they raced toward the docks. It felt oddly familiar. Hell's Kitchen was always this lively at night.

In the restaurant that morning, Nick had gone to school. Little Ginny was bent over a table, anxiously battling a bowl of noodles with two bamboo chopsticks.

Alvin, JJ, and Frank sat by the bar drinking coffee. Chief George entered through the door, looking far from cheerful.

He walked up to the bar and said tiredly to Jessica, "Honey, get me a coffee. No sugar."

JJ glanced at the pale-faced Jessica. She had already thrown up five times since last night. Shaking her head, JJ stood up, picked up the coffee pot, and poured Chief George a cup.

Chief George gave Jessica a puzzled look and asked JJ, "What's wrong with this girl today?"

JJ shrugged. "Jess took a peek at our prey yesterday. It was probably a little too bloody, so..."

Chief George grew anxious at once. "You killed that thing?"

JJ pursed her lips and tilted her head. Apparently recalling something amusing, she smiled. "No. It's because they're still alive that Jess is like this now!"

Jessica angrily grabbed a condiment bottle and hurled it at JJ. "You're all disgusting! Why did you bring such disgusting things home? And let what was inside their bellies spill all over the floor!" With that, she covered her mouth and rushed into the restroom again.

Chief George asked in confusion, "What spilled all over the floor?"

JJ said with a laugh, "When we got back last night, one of those things had some intestines fall out by the basement door. Jess stepped on them. Hahaha!"

Chief George's expression turned grave. "You said those things are still alive?"

Seeing that the chief didn't look pleased, JJ answered seriously, "They're definitely alive. Lively as ever. You can go see for yourself in a bit."

Chief George let out a breath and looked at Alvin. "Buddy, this isn't good! The FBI forcibly took over the dock case yesterday. Just now, two senators called and told me to stop investigating the vampires and hand the case over to S.H.I.E.L.D. Buddy, we may be in trouble!"

Smiling, Alvin refilled Chief George's coffee. "You're the one in trouble. Remember what I told you? They're a race that has reproduced on Earth for thousands of years. They see humans as food. But why do ordinary people know nothing about creatures like them now?"

Alvin stared into George's eyes as he spoke. "Because they've blended in among us!"

Chief George pounded the bar angrily and cursed, "Those bastard sons of bitches! I'll drag every last one of them out."

Then Chief George dejectedly wiped his face. "But I'm leaving for Washington, D.C. the day after tomorrow. There's a very important meeting there! Damn it!" The frustrated chief slammed his fist into the bar.

Seeing Chief George's helpless expression, Alvin thought for a moment and said, "The best thing for you would be to let the public know about this. Let them know that something so terrifying exists in the darkness."

Chief George asked doubtfully, "How do I do that?"

Alvin smiled confidently. "Simple. Find someone very influential to come take a look. I think a guy with the titles of billionaire and genius inventor would be perfect!"