The Book of Death (Bourbon Kid 4)

that.’
    ‘Well it’s made it a hell of a
lot easier to see what’s going on out there,’ said Tex. ‘What’s the view from
the window like?’
    ‘It could be better. But I can
just about make out the front gates.’
    ‘He won’t come in through the
front gates… will he?’
    Bull continued to stare hard out
of the window at the courtyard below. ‘I’m   convinced that’s what he’s gonna do.’
    ‘That’s pretty dumb though,’
said Tex. ‘He’s cleverer than that, surely?’
    ‘He’s cunning all right,’ Bull
agreed. ‘But he’s also pig headed and a show off. Likes to face down an army
head on. You keep your eyes on those monitors. I’ll keep mine on the
courtyard.’
    Tex stared at the monitor that
was showing the front gates. ‘There’s fuck all happening at the gates, boss,’
he said. ‘Just them two Pandas. One of ‘em’s smoking a cigarette.’
    ‘Smoking, huh? No wonder they’re
an endangered species,’ said Bull.
    Tex didn’t laugh. Instead he
shouted out. ‘OH SHIT! Man down!’
    Bull spun around. ‘What? Where?’
he snapped.
    Tex was pointing at the monitor
showing the front gates. ‘We have a Panda down,’ he said. ‘No wait, hang on.’
He squinted hard at the screen, trying to piece together what he was seeing for
a few seconds before adding, ‘We now have two Pandas down. Both guards
on the gate are down.’
    Bull peered out of the window at
the gates. It was hard to see clearly what was going on. ‘What the fuck has
happened to them?’ he asked, hoping for some guidance from Tex.
    ‘They’re down. Permanently.’
    ‘Dead?’
    ‘Yes sir.’
    ‘This is it then. He’s here.’
    Tex squinted at the monitors in
front of him, hoping to get a better view of proceedings. ‘One guy’s head fell
off,’ he said. ‘Other guy kinda split in two down the middle.’
    ‘Split in what?’
    ‘Two. Down the middle. You know,
fell in half. Like sliced bread.’
    ‘Fuck!’
    ‘Yeah. That’s gotta hurt.’
    Bull couldn’t validate any of
what Tex was telling him from his view at the window. He trusted Tex though and
he knew that a quick response was required. ‘Okay Tex, switch on the central
spotlights. Let me see what we’re lookin’ at!’
    Tex reacted to the order
instantly. He flicked a switch on a panel beneath the bank of monitors and the
outside sky suddenly lit up as a spotlight shone down on the courtyard. Tex had
the controls for the spotlight at his fingertips. He guided the light over to
the gates, watching its progress on the monitors.
    From the window Bull watched the
huge beam of light shine down twenty feet in diameter. It showed up the
silhouettes of some of the previously hidden vampires and werewolves as it
searched the grounds for the killer of the two guards at the gates.
    Bull and Tex suddenly both
shouted out at the same time. ‘THERE HE IS!’
    Tex had stopped the spotlight
directly on a man dressed all in black standing on the driveway. The man was
wearing a long dark coat with a hood pulled up over his head. Where Tex has
spotted him on a monitor, Bull had seen it at the same time as he stared out of
the window.
    From behind them, Razor piped
up. ‘Is it the Bourbon Kid?’
    Bull nodded. ‘Who else was it
gonna be?’
    ‘I dunno. Thought maybe he
wouldn’t show.’
    ‘You just keep a hold of that
little lady,’ Bull ordered. ‘She’s the reason he’s here.’
    Down below in the courtyard the
Bourbon Kid was standing motionless in the centre of the spotlight. The gates
and the two dead Pandas were roughly twenty feet behind him. As Bull focussed
momentarily on the dead guards and the blood red snow around them, he spotted
something else moving, behind them. ‘He’s set the gates in motion,’ he mumbled
half to himself as he tried to make sense of it. Then realising he couldn’t
make sense of it he raised his voice and alerted the others. ‘The gates are
opening! What the hell is he doing?’
    Tex looked baffled. ‘I don’t get
it. Why is he opening the gates when he’s already inside?’
    Razor offered a suggestion.
‘Maybe he’s looking to escape, seeing as we’ve spotted him?’
    Bull shook his head. ‘Not
without the girl. He won’t leave without her. What the fuck is he playing at?’
    ‘Shall I sound the siren?’ asked
Tex.
    ‘Yeah. As soon as the vampires
hear it, they’ll swarm on him.’ He turned to Beth. ‘I figure your boyfriend has
about ten seconds left to live. Wanna come and watch?’
    Beth