Blind Date: An Ian Dex Supernatural Short Story (Las Vegas Paranormal Police Department) Read online

  Blind Date

  An Ian Dex Supernatural Short Story

  John P. Logsdon

  Christopher P. Young

  Chapter 1

  Lavo was a posh Italian restaurant at The Palazzo, but what made it nicer was the fact that I was seated across from a beautiful lady by the name of Isabel.

  She was a normal who was in-the-know about supernaturals, and she was gorgeous. Her sensual face housed blue eyes, a thin nose, taut cheeks, and full lips. Her hair was black, parted on the left, and it hung down in loose curls.

  Jasmine, Rachel, and Felicia from my team had set me up with Isabel, explaining that if there was any one normal who could keep up with my libido, she was the one. We were definitely compatible in the looks department, and it was clear that her style of dress marked her as well-to-do. That was good. I wasn’t interested in dating anyone who just wanted my money. Then again, I did solicit the services of succubi a lot, so maybe that wasn’t entirely accurate.

  “So Jasmine tells me you own an import business that brings high-end fashions to businesses on the Strip?” I said, trying to keep our conversation moving.

  “Yes,” she said in her sultry voice. “I’ve been working the area for about eight years now. It’s interesting work, but I doubt it’s anything like being in the PPD.”

  “Oh, I don’t know,” I said, waving my hand dismissively. “After a while, every job is just a job, you know?”

  “True.”

  The waiter stopped off and replaced our drinks. I had a Rusty Nail on the rocks and she had a Sidecar.

  When the waiter reached over to put Isabel’s drink down, I caught sight of a man sitting at the bar. He was looking in our direction, caught my eye, and held up his drink in salute. I nodded back, thinking that he looked familiar, but I just couldn’t place where I’d seen him before.

  “You okay?” Isabel asked as the waiter departed.

  “Hmmm?” I picked up my drink and took a sip. “Uh, yeah. I’m okay. Just saw someone who looked familiar, but I’m not sure where…” I trailed off as my brain fought to place the face.

  “One of the many ladies you’ve conquered, no doubt?” Isabel said as she swirled the contents of her glass. I glanced up. “Don’t worry,” she said with a wry grin, “I know all about you, remember? It’s one of the reasons our mutual friends hooked us up.”

  I nodded. “Valid point, but this was a guy, so…”

  “I’m not one to judge, Ian.”

  “What?” I furrowed my brow. “Oh! No, no, no. I’m not into dudes.” The table next to us glanced in my direction, shook their heads, and then turned back to their own discussion. “Not that there’s anything wrong with being into dudes,” I explained more quietly. “I’m just…I’m a ladies’ man, you know?”

  “Me thinks thou doth protest too much,” Isabel replied with a laugh.

  Obviously she was just having fun at my expense at this point. That was a good thing. It showed that she didn’t take things too seriously.

  “Anyway, I know that guy, but I just can’t remember where I’ve seen him before.”

  I looked back toward the bar, but he was gone. Casting my gaze around, I saw him walking away.

  “Why don’t you just go and say ‘hi’ to him?” she said. “If it’ll help ease your mind, it’s fine by me.”

  “Are you sure?” I asked, genuinely concerned. “I don’t want to—”

  “Seriously,” she said, patting my hand. “Go for it. Just don’t leave me here alone too long. I’d hate for some dashing fellow to come along in your stead and sweep me away.”

  She followed that up with a mischievous wink.

  I cracked a smile.

  “I like you,” I said as I pushed my chair back. “You’re fun.”

  “You have no idea,” she replied.

  I glanced my hand against her shoulder, carefully restraining myself from releasing any sexual energy, or what I called “Jinglies.” It was more fun to “conquer,” as she put it, than to manipulate.

  A group of people were just getting up from their table, blocking my way from getting to the mysterious fellow who had saluted me from the bar.

  I knew his face, but from where?

  An elderly lady was attempting to put on her coat but was failing at it miserably. I stepped over and helped her.

  “Such a nice young man,” she said with a grandmotherly smile. “My daughter is single, you know.”

  That was fast.

  “Uh…” I thought quickly. “Unfortunately, I’m not.”

  “Unfortunately?”

  “No, I mean…uh…” I paused and furrowed my brow at her. “Sorry, I have to go.”

  When I looked back up, I couldn’t spot the guy anywhere.

  I checked various tables, the bar, and then took a quick look in the restroom. He was nowhere to be found, unless he was in a stall, and I wasn’t that interested to know who he was.

  After one more quick scan of the restaurant, I headed back to Isabel.

  In the grand scheme of things, she was more important than some faded memory of mine anyway. Eventually, the face would find a foothold in the banks of my past and I’d snap my fingers in a moment of eureka. I just hoped that didn’t happen while I was in the middle of deviantly dancing with my newfound lady.

  I turned the corner, brushed by a couple standing in my way, and approached the table.

  Isabel was gone.

  Chapter 2

  I assumed she’d headed off to the restroom while I went on my hunt for Mr. Mysterious, so I took a seat and sipped my drink.

  The waiter came by and dropped off the check.

  I gave him an odd look.

  “We haven’t even ordered yet,” I said while tapping on the folder he’d just put down.

  “Oh,” he said, seemingly confused. “I’m sorry, but when your lady friend left with that other gentleman, I assumed that—”

  “She what?”

  The guy swallowed, looking suddenly uncomfortable.

  “I, uh—”

  “What did he look like?” I said, standing while reaching into my wallet and pulling out a one-hundred-dollar bill.

  “Dark hair, like yours,” he said as he took the money. “No facial hair though.”

  “What was he wearing?”

  “A black suit with a white shirt and—”

  “And a red tie?”

  “Yes.”

  Shit. It was Mr. Mysterious. Who the fuck was that guy?

  My blood suddenly ran cold as my memory revealed a possible answer.

  “No,” I said, staring at the shaken waiter. “It can’t be.”

  “I…uh…”

  I bolted for the door, leaving the poor guy to wonder what was going on. Hell, I didn’t even know for sure, but I had my suspicions.

  Once I stepped outside and saw the blue Bugatti Vyron cruising by, my hypothesis was confirmed.

  “Kidnap Jack,” I sneered while snapping my fingers.

  I hadn’t seen him in years, which partially explained why I couldn’t place the face. He used to have a handlebar mustache, for one, but he also once had stark white hair, then red, and then blue. Now that it was black, and was cut in standard fashion; he looked too normal for my brain to process him accurately.

  On top of that, I thought he was gone. Not like to jail, but rather underground. Maybe some other city, or maybe he’d run down to a safe haven somewhere in the Labyrinth, which was the underworld where many supernaturals lived. Honestly, I
didn’t know, but it had been years since I’d last seen him.

  He was on the top-100 most wanted list as he had a tendency of using his Voice to sweep away young ladies, sink his fangs in, and feed on them over the course of days. His Voice had the same type of magic over women that my Jinglies did. The difference between us was that he used that magic without first asking.

  Because of that, I called him Kidnap Jack.

  My first thought was to contact the PPD crew and tell them what was going on, but there was another point of complexity that went along with this guy: he’d done this to me twice before.

  Yes, Kidnap Jack had lifted two chicks I was out on a date with a number of years back. It was almost like he got a charge out of messing with me.

  Dick.

  Anyway, back then I was laughed at quite a bit by Rachel, and I really didn’t want to have to go through that again.

  So for now I would work this alone and get Isabel back, safe and sound.

  It wasn’t like Kidnap Jack had a reputation for causing any longterm damage or anything. Even when he was sentenced for his behavior in the 90s, all of the ladies he’d abducted vouched for his behavior. The prosecution argued that was due to Stockholm Syndrome, but independent analysts disagreed, claiming that none of the victims showed any signs supporting that claim. He’d been sentenced to twenty years, but got out after four due to good behavior and countless appeals by his victims. He struck a few more times, two of which included chicks I’d been dating, and then he went underground…until now.

  Bottom line was that I wasn’t worried he would do any permanent damage to Isabel. If anything, I was worried that he’d cause her to fall in love with him like so many others had over the years.

  I jumped in my car and sped down the road.

  “Lydia,” I said through the connector, “can you locate a Bugatti Vyron on the Strip, please?”

  “There are two in the area, honey cakes,” she replied.

  “It’ll be the one closest to The Palazzo.”

  “Got it, sugar. I spot it heading down Paradise toward McCarran.”

  “Shit,” I said aloud as I thought that he might be aiming for a flight out of town. No way I could allow that.

  “Everything all right?” Lydia asked.

  “Yeah, yeah, it’s great,” I said, only half listening. Then I realized that Lydia may feel I needed help. I didn’t want her sending off signals. “Sorry, baby,” I said quickly, “all is fine. I just saw that beast of a car and wanted to ask the driver if I could check it out.” I gunned the accelerator. “You know how I love the sporty ones.”

  My Aston Martin wasn’t likely to keep up with Kidnap Jack’s Bugatti, but if he was hitting the airport, he’d have to stop and go on foot at some point. Dragging along a dazed Isabel would only serve to slow him down further.

  “He’s just turned left on East Russel, puddin’,” Lydia stated.

  So he wasn’t going to the airport.

  Good.

  But that begged the question of where the hell he was going.

  I caught sight of his car in the distance and eased off the accelerator, not wanting to tip my hand too soon. If he saw me following him, he’d leave me in the dust.

  “He’s turned on South Eastern,” Lydia chimed in as I saw Jack cut right.

  “I see him, baby,” I said, giving Lydia a little Ian charm. That’d keep her happy. “I should be able to take it from here.”

  “How is your date going?” she asked, sounding a little jealous.

  “She’s the one who convinced me to chase down this guy and check out the car,” I lied.

  “Oh, well…glad I could help.”

  Jack turned left into a shopping center, took another left, and then pulled into the parking lot for The Shutter Store.

  I followed but made a right and parked in front of the Daily Racing Form.

  I pulled my gun out of the glove compartment, checked it for ammo, and then got out.

  Jack and Isabel strolled around the side of the place a few seconds later.

  Chapter 3

  Instead of following in their footsteps, I went to the back edge of the building and looked down the parking lot.

  They never materialized.

  This either meant that there was another entrance or…

  Shit!

  I spun back around at the sound of a revving engine and saw Kidnap Jack in his Bugatti smiling at me. He stepped on the pedal, and exited to the right on South Eastern.

  “Son of a bitch,” I yelled as I rushed back to my car.

  I had little doubt that Jack knew I’d be hot on his trail, which I’d already assumed he wanted since he’d saluted me at the bar. But now he was just toying with me.

  I really didn’t like this guy.

  “Lydia,” I called out, “it’s me again. Where did that Bugatti go to now?”

  “Just turned left on East Oquendo, honeysuckle,” she answered. “He’s really going fast.”

  “No doubt,” I replied as I pulled out of the shopping center and floored it.

  “He’s gone into the back entrance by Walmart.”

  “Keep an eye on him, please,” I said with a growl.

  “Are you sure everything is okay, sweetie?”

  I groaned inwardly. I really didn’t want to tell anyone what was going on. I could go on secure channel, which would force Lydia to keep quiet, but I didn’t see a need for that right now. Besides, if I did end up needing the rest of the squad, they’d really give me hell about going on a secure channel in the first place.

  “Can you keep something secret for now, please?”

  “Sure, baby.”

  “The truth is that the guy I’m chasing kidnapped my date.”

  There was a pause. “What?”

  “Do you remember Kidnap Jack?”

  “That’s the name you gave to Jack Conners during the…” She stopped. “Oh, I understand now, puddin’.” There was a hint of mirth in her digitized voice. “You don’t want the others to make fun of you because this would be the third date you have been on where Jack has liberated the lady you are with, yes?”

  “Bingo.”

  I pulled in to the front lot of the Walmart shopping center and parked in the first spot I saw.

  “It is rather humorous,” Lydia said.

  “Yeah, it’s a real riot,” I replied as I stepped out of the car and padded over toward Payless. “His car is still parked?”

  “Sure is, lover.”

  Enough playing games. I had my gun at the ready and I was damn well going to take out tires if I saw Jack try to zip by me again. As soon as that was done, I’d pull his sorry ass from his fancy car and beat him to a pulp.

  “Tell me immediately if that Bugatti so much as budges an inch.”

  “You got it, sugar.”

  I rushed around and hugged the walls until I spotted his car. Tightening my vision, I zoomed in and saw that it was empty. Still, I wasn’t about to be made a fool of again, so I used Boomy and blew out one of his wheels. Yes, the wheel. Boomy was too powerful to just pop a hole in a tire.

  “The car moved about three inches, sweetums,” Lydia said.

  “I saw that,” I replied. “They’re not in the car anymore. I’m going to have to track them.”

  Now, I wasn’t one that was heavily capable with magic, but I could do some basic stuff. One of the things I’d learned when coming up through the ranks in training, before I was a cop, was how to see traces of people.

  Everyone has a unique energy signature. Kind of like a fingerprint or a retina scan, though even those weren’t 100% anymore. Taking a combination of items was always the best bet. Fortunately, an energy signature was all I would need to go on here because the likelihood of there being multiple people with the same identifier in the area was beyond remote.

  I hated doing magic, though. It made me feel groggy and grumpy, and I was already severely grumpy.

  But it had to be done.

  Preparation was key. I
cleared my mind and took a long, cleansing breath, slowly releasing it as I allowed a flicker of magical energy to build. It was nothing compared to what Rachel, Griff, or Jasmine could do, but I didn’t need much for this. I’d need more than a flicker, though. A lot more. That meant I was going to have to lose a lot of my physical strength.

  So be it.

  I dug in my heels and got about a quarter of the way through building my reserves. It wasn’t pleasant.

  A burning began to radiate through my body.

  “Ian, baby,” Lydia said at exactly the wrong moment, dropping me out of focus, “I took the liberty of using one of our satellites to track Mr. Conners—”

  “Who?” I said, feeling irritated because I knew I had to start the magic cycle over again.

  “Kidnap Jack.”

  “Oh…” I opened my eyes. “And?”

  “He disappeared to the left of the delivery doors.”

  This meant that he went into a null zone and then dropped through a secret door.

  That settled it.

  I sighed heavily and yelled out a few expletives. Then I cracked my neck from side to side, resigned myself to what I had to do, whimpered slightly, and opened a channel through my connector.

  “Rachel,” I said like a kid who’d been caught with his hand in the cookie jar, “I need your help.”

  Chapter 4

  Rachel stepped out of her car, looking incredibly smug. Her blonde hair was pulled back and braided, which was her normal getup these days. Couple that with the brown leathers that she and all of the mages tended to wear, and you’d consider her an 11 on a scale from 1 to 10.

  "So," she said with a wry smirk as she walked up to me, "Jack off'd with your date again, eh?"

  "Never got the chance," I replied irritably. "That asshole took her from me before we even ordered our food.”

  "What?" Her momentary look of confusion changed to disgust. "I was pointing out that Jack kidnapped your date again, you perv!"

  "Oh, right. Sorry, but your wording was—”

  "Forget it." She glared at me for a moment and the sighed and scanned the area. "Where are we?"