The Book of Death (Bourbon Kid 4)

even
cut to commercials,’ he said.
    On the screen, Harker continued
with his outrageous revelations. ‘That’s right, I said it out loud,’ he went
on. ‘There are vampires in this city. It’s not just a rumour. It’s not a joke.
And with the darkness that has engulfed this city in recent days these
creatures have now taken to the streets. Vampires are committing the riots and
street muggings that are currently being reported all over the city. I advise
everyone to lock yourselves insides your homes until further notice. Something
or someoneis the cause of these dark clouds that are hovering over our
homes. And finally I have one last plea. This is for the Bourbon Kid. If you're
watching this, this city needs you. Please come and find me. I am on your side.
Or if you prefer, just go about your business of killing vampires. I will not
send the police force after you. You have our blessing to kill them all.
Please, wherever you are, come back and save our city.’
    The news station cut back to the
reporter in the studio who was staring wide-eyed at the screen with his
eyebrows raised.
    ‘Well, that was interesting,
wasn’t it?’ he remarked.
    Beth had listened in stunned
bewilderment the same as everyone else when she heard what Captain Harker had
to say. So, could it be true that the Bourbon Kid was actually a hero
underneath it all? Probably not, but he was killing the vampires. She had
judged JD rather hastily in the heat of the moment when she had seen him kill
Silvinho. Right now it looked like he was the only chance the city of Santa
Mondega had of surviving the wave of vampire attacks. She also now deeply
regretted the moment when she had thrown Casper’s cloth back at him.
    Bull looked over at her, as if
reading her thoughts. ‘Don’t believe all that shit,’ he said. ‘Your boyfriend
has killed hundreds of innocent people, not just vampires. That idiot cop
doesn’t have a fucking clue what he’s talking about.’
    ‘I believe you’re right,’ she
said, nodding at him. ‘But look at you . You’re holding me hostage on
behalf of a gang of vampires who intend to kill me once I’ve served my purpose.
That doesn’t exactly make you a hero either, does it?’
    Bull looked somewhat taken aback
at the unexpected outburst. He clearly wasn’t used to being spoken to in such a
disrespectful manner. ‘You listen to me, you stupid bitch,’ he snapped. ‘Me and
my guys have been protecting the likes of you for years. We’ve fought wars to
provide the freedom that you take for granted. Stuck our heads above the ground
when there’s bullets flying everywhere. Carried out missions behind enemy
lines. And for what? A country full of people like you who don’t even bother to
thank us. The only reason you’re alive now is because of people like us. Your
boyfriend killed a war hero this morning. Silvinho died in a corridor in a
shitty apartment block. That’s no way for a soldier to die. Not after
everything he did for his country. So when you judge me, and you judge us,’ he
pointed at Tex and Razor, ‘remember this, it’s your boyfriend killing folks for
fun, not us, and not the vampires. The undead aren’t out there killing innocent
people for fun. They kill to survive. They need the blood to live, in the same
way that you and I need food and water. They’re paying us a good wage to fight
for their survival. And they don’t judge us on how we do it. And if you, young
lady, you have to be sacrificed for the greater good, then I can live
with that. With you as bait we can kill the Bourbon Kid and I can assure you,
it will save the lives of thousands of people who would otherwise have been
killed by him.’
    ‘The vampires will kill
thousands more people than he ever could,’ Beth retorted.
    ‘That’s true,’ Bull agreed. ‘But
the people who die at the hands of the vampires are dying for a reason. It’s
all part of the food chain. When your precious Bourbon Kid killed my father he
did it out of spite. He’s killed thousands of innocent people without motive.
There’s no honour in that. The vampires kill to survive. There’s honour in
that.’
    ‘Honour? Is this what you tell
yourself to ease your conscience?’
    Bull frowned. ‘You know, you
should be a little more careful about how you speak to me, miss.’
    Beth looked back up at the
television screen. There was a picture of JD on a monitor behind the news
reporter. She stared hard at it for a few seconds before responding to