Bitten (Book 1 - Book 4)

“Hell.”

“I have Nattie with me. You know where I was at, Sherri.”

“We need that auditor back.”

“Shit. You put him there.”

“Sophie put him there. It was not approved. Please get him out.”

"Very well.”

"Besides, a threesome is safer than a twosome,” Sherri said, ending the call.

Uri didn’t look happy.

Natalia didnt feel too happy about it either.

“Is it dangerous for us?”

“Hell is dangerous for everyone, but if we go as a group, we'll be okay.”

The limo completed a turn, heading in a direction Natalia had never been. She watched out the windows, but it was dark and hard to see details. There were few signs and even fewer Viperian signs in this direction.

"At least traffic should be good,” he said, then he lowered his voice. “Or non-existent.”

It was almost an hour before the limo stopped and the door locks sounded. He nudged her to get out on her side.

Natalia slid out and stared. In front of the limo, there were gates draped with ragged metal roofing. Across the whole gate, in red dripping paint, was the word Hell. There was other graffiti, but nothing covered that word.

There was a security camera pointed at them, but she could see that the wire was clipped. It swung freely in the breeze which was the only reason she spied the camera because the movement of the wire had caught her attention.

Bonnie left the limo carrying an umbrella.

“Umbrella?”

It wasn't raining.

Bonnie pulled out a long rapier sheathed in the umbrella.

Natalia felt ill prepared. She only had the knife around her neck. It suddenly felt tiny.

“Let's go,” Uri said, leading the way.

Natalia followed Uri. Bonnie trailed behind.

There was a door beside the gate. The handle was broken. The door opened with a groaning creak. Natalia jumped when Bonnie closed it behind them.

"What are we looking for?” Uri said, looking around.

Bonnie handed him an envelope. He opened it and sniffed.

“This smells like Sophie. And something else.”

“It's the something else we're looking for,” Bonnie said.

Uri handed her back the envelope.

“What was in there?” Natalia said.

“A tissue,” he said, moving off.

Natalia remembered the tissue that Sophie has used to wipe her blouse.

The area was filthy with trash and tires strewn everywhere. There was no one in sight. The area was dead quiet.

"Where did they leave him?” Uri said, heading down the middle of the road.

Two rats scurried across the street and disappeared down a sewer grate causing Natalia to get closer to Uri.

“Sector 15,” Bonnie said.

Natalia could just make out glowing numbers written on the buildings. They passed number three. They reached an intersection, and the numbers were up to six. Off to their left, stood two men in filthy clothing. They seemed to be in a heated discussion, but their voices were gibberish. It took them a few moments before they realized they weren't alone. When they did, they surged forward, slamming into each other. There was terror on their faces while they scrambled to free themselves. Then, they ran full speed down the road and out of sight.

Uri hardly gave the men a second glance.

"Why did they leave him so far in?" Uri said.

Bonnie gave no answer.

They reached another intersection. The number was up to twelve. Uri paused. He sniffed the air. “Down here,” he said, taking a right. “He moved.”

Half-way down the street, Uri swerved over to the side walk. Natalia could see a man sitting on the ground with his legs spread out in front of him. When she got closer, she realized it was Mr. Sturt. He was wearing no pants, not even underwear, but was still wearing all his other clothing including his socks and shoes.

“Mr. Sturt,” Uri said.

Mr. Sturt didn't look up. He was fondling himself, but his penis was limp. There was black along his legs by his crotch. Natalia wondered if it was blood.

"Are you okay, Mr. Sturt? The bank is worried about you.”

“Holl... holl... hollows are here. They bit me,” he said, looking up with big eyes.

"Well, you're not dead. Are you ready to get out of here?”

He nodded, but didn't move.

Natalia was surprised to find Uri hesitant to touch him. Then Bonnie stepped up. She was wearing rubber gloves. She grabbed the man’s arm and hauled him up. Natalia was surprised he was steady on his feet.

“Where are your pants, Mr. Sturt?”

“I lost them.”

Natalia caught the smell. It was wafting in from down the street.

“What's that smell?” she said.

Both Bonnie and Uri's nostrils flared.

"Smokey?" he said.

"BBQ smokey,” she said.

“That's kite. Come on, Mr. Sturt. People high on kite are hard to scare off.”

Uri led the way back to the intersection.

"Wait here,” he said, heading down the road.

Bonnie did a slow turn to take in the area.

“Where's Uri going?”

“Pants,” Bonnie said.

Mr Sturt turned away from them and peed. The smell of urine mixed with the smell of kite. Natalia felt like throwing up.

"He can get more pants,” she said, swallowing hard.

She wanted to get out of Hell.

“He needs to be returned with what he had,” Bonnie said.

Natalia found herself staring in the direction that Uri had gone. In the dim light, he had disappeared quickly. She wished she could see in the dark. Then, she jumped when a figure appeared coming toward her, but it was Uri. He was holding a pair of pants using only two of his fingers, keeping them away from himself. The glare of white underwear could be seen within the pants.

“Put these on,” Uri said, tossing them to Mr. Sturt.

The man didn't catch them, but he leaned over to pick them up. Natalia felt like she was watching him in slow motion putting on his underwear and then his pants. He had to take his shoes off to accomplish this, which made her wonder how he got his pants off in the first place. Then they had to watch him put his shoes back on.

“Let's go,” Uri said.

Natalia felt that the kite smell was getting stronger.

They had only gone half a block when a man skipped out and blocked their path. He was huge. He had no shirt on and was covered in tattoos.

“I am the gatekeeper,” he said in a loud commanding voice.

“Hoollooow,” Uri said barely above a whisper.

The huge man swallowed hard and looked around.

“The Hollows can't get you if you stand under a street light,” Uri said.

The man didn't move.

“That's where we're going. They already bit him,” Uri said, with a nod toward Mr. Sturt.

“They did,” Mr. Sturt said, pulling at his collar.

“Hoollow.”

Natalia jumped, at first not knowing where the voice came from, then she realized it had come from Bonnie.

The huge man now looked terrified.

“Over there,” Uri said in a quick manner, pointing one way.

The huge man bolted, going the opposite direction until he was below one of the few street lights that were actually working.

“The light will save me,” he bellowed with his arms raised.

Uri moved on.

“I thought they were getting used to Hollows,” he muttered, “Not that I'm complaining.”

“I think someone has put the fear back into them,” Bonnie said.

They reached the door and stepped out. Natalia’s relief to be out of Hell was short lived. There were four dirty ragged men trying to get into the limo. Each one was at a door and pulling. Despite, their actions were futile, they continued to pull.

“What do we do now?” Natalia said.

Uri smiled.

“People die hanging around Hell," he said, flicking his wrist.

The knife penetrated the ear and into the brain of the nearest man. The man froze, then keeled over against the limo, sliding to the ground.

“Don’t hit my car,” Bonnie said.

Uri chuckled while he took a few steps closer to the limo. He flicked his wrist again. The next man keeled over. Natalia couldn't even see where he was hit.

Uri strode past the front of the limo to the other side where the last two men were.

The closest man turned, screamed and lunged at Uri.

Uri merely sidestepped him and the man kept going, seemingly unaware that his target had moved. A moment later, the man fell flat on his face with a knife sticking out of his back.

The last man backed up with his hands up in surrender.

“I have a wife and kids,” he said in a pleading manner.

"And I have a knife,” Uri said with a flick of his wrist.

The man took two more steps backward, then collapsed to his knees. He seemed to hover in that position before he fell forward.

Natalia was frozen in her spot. Mr. Sturt didn’t move as well, but he didn’t seem aware of what was happening. Bonnie walked over to the closest men and retrieved the knives. Uri retrieved the knife from the last man, giving it to Bonnie when she came around to retrieve the knife from the third man,

The doors unlocked.

Uri came around to grab her hand and pull her to the limo. He kicked one body away from the door and opened it for her. The smell of kite was very strong.

“Get in," he said when she didn't move.

She slid in, and he joined her, taking her hand.

Bonnie had to half push Mr. Sturt in. He sat across from them.

The locks sounded. The limo moved. There was a bump and Natalia knew that Bonnie had run over one of the bodies.

“That one man had a wife and kids,” she said in a whisper.

“That's what they all say. The last person who fell for that is now dead.”

"Who are you?” Mr. Sturt said.

He was still massaging his crotch.

“Uri. Bank Controller. You had gone missing, and I went looking for you.”

“I got bit,” he said in a hoarse voice.

“No, you hit your head. We found you wandering in an alley,” Uri said.

Uris phone buzzed. He answered, but didn't put it on speaker.

“Where am I taking him?” he said into the phone.

Natalia could make out that it was Sherri on the phone, but not what was said.

Uri ended the call

“Bonnie. St. Martin Hospital.”

The limo sped up.

Natalia knew that hospital wasn't the closest one to where they were, but she said nothing. She figured it was because Viperians worked there. She wondered if that was the hospital used by the Church and where Lisa had been taken. Natalia had never asked Lisa about the Church since Sherri said that topic was taboo.

“I got bit,” Mr. Sturt said.

“You hit your head. You were wandering around an alley,” Uri said in a low voice.

His voice was almost hypnotizing.

“Bitten.”

“Did you get your audit done, Mr. Sturt?” Uri said in a louder voice.

“No. No. I can't remember.”

“We'll have to schedule some time on Monday to go over things.”

"Yes, sir,” Mr. Sturt said.

He stopped massaging his crotch and sat up straighter.

When the limo entered the downtown area, Natalia now realized why they were going to St. Martin Hospital. It was closest to the bank.

“There are a lot of alleys to get lost in around here,” she said in a quiet voice.

Uri nodded.

"How did you hit your head, Mr. Sturt?” he said. “We always strive for safety in the bank.”

“I don’t know.”

The limo pulled up to the emergency entrance.

They both got out. Bonnie was quick to leave the driver's seat and help Mr. Sturt out.

Natalia caught a glimpse of a white limo in the parking lot. She turned to let Uri know, but Ravi was right there.

“What happened? I got a call from security.”

“Mr. Sturt went missing. I got the same call,” Uri said. “I decided to take a look in the area since security was sure he wasn't in the building. Our driver caught sight of him in an alley.”

“I hit my head,” Mr. Sturt said while he was led into the hospital by two nurses.

“How did he hit his head?” Ravi said.

“I have no idea,” Uri said. “He didn't seem to know either.”

“Thank you for taking a look, Uri. This doesn't look good to have injured auditors.”

They all moved into the hospital. Mr. Sturt was no longer in sight. A nurse directed them to sit in the waiting area.

“You don't have to wait,” Ravi said.

“It's no problem. I would like to make sure he’s okay.”

"I appreciate your dedication, Uri,” Ravi said

“We always have to keep people in mind. A bank isn't a bank without people.”

Ravi nodded. While he seemed calm on the outside, Natalia noted he was wringing his hands just ever so slightly.

“Nancy and Beah okay?” she said.

“Beah has a book and Nancy is napping,” he said. “A few drinks, and she naps.”

Uri sat there looking completely at ease. He was a statue compared to Ravi's hand wringing. Nurses suddenly ran outside, then returned dragging in a man. He looked like he was screaming, but no sound came from his mouth. Natalia could smell kite.

“Is he drunk or...” She didn't want to say kite, not knowing if this was a Viperian word or not.

“High on kite,” Uri said

“There's an epidemic sweeping the city,” Ravi said. “It's a hard drug to escape since it mimics physical hunger once the effects wear off. People either eat themselves to death or keep shooting kite until they die.”

“Insidious,” Uri said.

A doctor entered the waiting area looking around, then spied them.

“You're waiting on Joseph Sturt?”

“Yes, how is he?” Ravi said

“I'm Dr. Varen. Are you family?”

“No, he was an auditor at the Main Bank and then went missing. We... Uri found him wandering in an ally. He was quite confused. I'm Ravi Paroli, President.”

“I see. We'll need some information on him. He has no ID on him.”

"Oh, yes, I can provide that,” Ravi said.

Dr. Varen handed him a clipboard and pen.

“His name, the company he worked for, and any phone numbers would be great.”

“Here, I have that information,” Uri said, taking the clipboard.

"How is he?” Ravi said, looking relieved that Uri took command of filling out the information.

“It looks like he bumped his head. He has no memory of what happened. We're going to hold him over night for observation.”

Natalia didn’t think the doctor was Viperian.

“If there's anything else, we can do, just let us know,” Ravi said.

“I included our contact information as well,” Uri said.

"Good. Good. Thank you, Uri,” Ravi said.

While Uri finished writing the information down, Natalia felt the vibration. She looked up to see a nurse standing nearby and she was clearly Viperian. Uri didn’t show any response.

“Here you go,” Uri said, handing the clipboard back.

“Thank you. We're taking him to a room now, so, please... you can go home.”

The doctor left with the nurse.

"Goodnight, Ravi. We'll regroup on Monday.”

“Goodnight, Uri. Thank you.”

Uri took her hand and led her outside. They had to walk through the parking lot since the limo had moved to free up the emergency entrance.

"What did the nurse say?” Natalia said, once they were in the limo.

“Mr. Sturt firmly believes he hit his head. His bite mark is almost gone so no one will even notice it tomorrow. He was injected with just a tiny amount of kite.”

“What about the aftereffects?”

“The hospital can manage those. They'll make it look like an accidental dosing.”

“Accidental?”

"A man with a head injury fumbling in a dark alley who accidentally gets poked with an old syringe that held kite.”

"Almost too perfect. So what's the story on how he hit his head?”

“We'll never know. Nor will he,” Uri said.

“Is Sophie in trouble?”

“She might have overreacted, but Sherri will probably let this slide. There's no evidence that the bank was negligent. Security will probably produce evidence that he left the bank on his own power and since he had no ID maybe he was hit on the head and robbed. Besides, auditors like him are the ones that cause us problems. Sophie will be able to justify what she did.”

She noted Uri smile.

“What?” she said.

"Considering what happened to Mr. Sturt, this was a good night for us. I can see that Ravi has finally warmed to me.”

"All because I was nice to his wives at Whoa Dough. Nancy said she urged Ravi to invite us to that cocktail party.”

“Really? You mean you have more than one use?”

She hit him in the arm.

“Ouch,” he said, but she knew he was exaggerating.

He leaned in and brushed her cheek.

“You're amazing,” he said. “I knew good things would happen with you around.”

His phone rang.

Uri answered it and put it on speaker.

“Yes, Sherri?”

“What is going on?”

“Mr. Sturt is...”

“I don't give a damn about Mr. Sturt. Ravi was at the hospital. What went down?”

"We're good,” Uri said. “We came out looking good. Nattie is the hero here.”

“How so?”

Uri held the phone by her, prompting her to respond.

“Tell her what you just told me about Nancy,” he said.

"What about Nancy?” Sherri said.

“Nancy had urged Ravi to invite us, so she would have someone to talk to. She found me a nice person when we had lunch with them last weekend. I spent all evening chatting with Nancy and Beah."

There were a few moments of silence.

“Unexpected,” Sherri said.

“Don't underestimate her,” Uri said. “She's on our side.”

“Just don't let her kill too many people, Uri. That's your job.”

“That was an accident,” he said, but Sherri had already ended the call

Uri chuckled and hugged her.

“For the controlling conniver that she is, you one upped her.”

“Is that good or bad?”

“Good.”

“Can you call her back?” Natalia said when an idea formed in her head.

Uri hit the button. She was surprised he didn't ask why.

"Yes?" Sherri said.

She sounded a little short tempered.

“Sherri, can you get me more information about Nancy's gardens?” Natalia said.

“Why?”

“So I can fine tune my conversations with her. Sort of what you did with Francie when she talked to Ravi about antiques and golf.”

There were a few moments of silence.

“Yes, I can get that information for you.”

“Thank you, Sherri,” Natalia said, ending the call before Sherri could.

“You're awesome,” Uri said, grinning at her.

“I'm getting the hang of things,” she said when he leaned in and his lips met hers.