Cheating Sunrise

Cheating Sunrise - Chapter 5

"Project Sunrise," I said.

Travis Miller was leaning against the half-open rear door of the van, looking away towards the beach as he talked to me. For a cop who had likely seen some of the most gruesome crime scenes LA had to offer, the freshly redecorated van interior appeared to be making him a touch queasy.

"Which is what, exactly?" he asked.

"Vampire exposure group."

"Are you sure he wasn't shitting you?"

"Yes."

I was sitting on the bench seat in the back of the van, still naked but away from the daylight.

"Have you met them before?" Travis asked. He sounded like a cop interviewing a key witness. Bizarrely, I was finding it rather arousing.

"No. Never heard of them."

"Was it just these three, Project Sunrise?"

"Apparently not. Definitely national, possibly global."

"We should move. The van could have a tracking locator on it, or there could be a hundred more of these idiots on the way here to watch the show."

"The camera," I said. "We need to smash that fucking thing and burn it."

"No, wait a second. What if there is other footage on there? What if they shot some home movies earlier? It could show you where they're from, who else they work with."

"It's a film of me, naked, throwing up and pissing myself. Begging for my life. It's going to burn."

"I know. But we should at least check it first."

I sighed, shook my head. In addition to being distractingly attractive, and also saving my life, he was right about the damn video footage.

"There's a camera bag back here with a bunch of leads and a remote control in it. We could probably plug it into a TV, watch the whole thing over a bag of popcorn and a couple of beers. Because I was wondering how I could productively occupy myself for the rest of the day."

"Sarcasm is often used as a defence mechanism."

"I don't need sarcasm to defend myself."

"I remember," he said.

I remembered too. I remembered how he had looked with nothing on but a boner, and how he had felt when I straddled him and threatened to crush his heart in front of his eyes.

"Why are you here?"

"I'm the hero on the white horse. You said so yourself."

"Fine. Go get the camera, and fetch me the headless guy's pants and shirt."

"Sure." Travis looked into the back of the van. "They wrecked your dress. Real shame, because you looked great in it."

"When did you see me wearing it?"

"When you came out of your club and walked along the street with the blonde."

I tilted my head slowly to one side, watching him. He had been outside Ded o'Nite, and I could only assume that he had been there because of me. Waiting, watching. I didn't know why, but I did know that if he hadn't been there, I would be dead by now, or wishing I was - a shrivelled, dried-out skeletal husk chained to a block of concrete on a desolate, windblown beach.

"Thank you," I said. "I don't think I said that yet."

"You don't like owing people, do you? And now you think you owe me because I saved you."