Vampire$

plenty serious.”

Jack eyed him a moment. “So are we.”

The policeman standing alongside Kirk didn’t like the sound of this.

“Mr. Crow,” said their spokesman, “you see, they got the idea somehow that you’re planning to burn down the jail or something.”

Jack blew a smoke ring. “That’s the plan.”

The policeman snorted. “That tears it! Kirk, you’ve gotta get away from these loonies. They’re gonna get you busted or killed or—”

“I’ve seen a vampire, Wyatt,” snapped the deputy. “And I think he’s right.”

Wyatt snorted again. “Right to blow up the jail?”

“Remember, Wyatt. I’ve seen a vampire. I think they oughta use an atomic bomb on the sonuvabitch.”

And for a few moments no one spoke.

Finally, Wyatt exchanged another look with his fellow officers and spoke. “Okay, Kirk. This is your deal. Do what you gotta do. But they’re not, gonna let you take out the jail — and we ain’t gonna go along with you on the off chance that you’re right.”

Jack Crow nodded. “Understood, officer.”

The cop glanced at Crow. “Mighty nice. But I was talking to the deputy.” He turned back to Kirk. “Kirk, you gotta get away from here. Now. Take these guys with you if you feel you gotta. But get out.

“No,” said Jack but the cop ignored him.

“Get away and regroup. Come back tomorrow, or maybe—”

“No!” barked Crow and stood up. “Look, officer, we can’t leave and come back later. It’ll be dark soon. They’ll be out then. They’ll be free. And these people here will be issuing warrants for our arrest…

“They already have.”

“And outside of this zoo those warrants are going to look real and we’ll go to jail and those beasts will find out where we’re being held and if that place is a tin box like you have here or the Dallas County fucking Jail, they’ll kick their way through the walls like you kick through a picket fence and they’ll carve their way through anybody who tries to stop them and they will kill us!”

Crow stopped abruptly and stared at the other man and breathed hard and mad and for just an instant Cat was afraid the punches would start.

But they didn’t.

Wyatt, the cop, just sighed and shook his head. Then he waved to Kirk, said, “Good luck, buddy,” and then he and the rest of them were into their squad cars and gone.

“Alone at last,” offered Cat.

“Not funny, Cherry,” retorted Jack. “You and Felix and the deputy get off your asses and go see about this barricade business. See how tight the seal is. Maybe we can figure a way of buying some time.” He paused, looked at the sun low in the sky. “What little there is of it.”

“Don’t bother,” replied Kirk. “I know the emergency plans for this city. That seal is real tight.” He eyed Crow defensively. “This really is a fine local department here.”

Crow returned the look. “I believe you,” he replied sincerely.

“So,” said Father Adam, “we’re stymied.”

“Unless you’re willing to start shooting peace officers,” said the deputy.

Felix and Crow traded a glance.

“I don’t shoot people anymore,” said the gunman in a low, firm voice.

“It wasn’t a serious statement,” the deputy assured him quickly.

“Good,” said Felix.

“Why,” Kirk asked quickly, “don’t you just set off the charges now? Before they can stop you?”

Jack shook his head. “It’s more than one boom, deputy. We have to level the whole damn structure before they’ll be driven out. We have to plant charges deep into the rubble usually, before they pop. It takes a while.”

Carl Joplin leaned forward. “And how long you figure they’ll wait, lawman, after they hear that first detonation?”

Kirk frowned. “They won’t.”

Carl nodded. “We got trouble.”

“There must be some way to stop them,” Adam insisted. The priest scanned the others’ faces. “What stops the police?”

“You mean besides higher authority we can’t get to in time?”

“Yes?”

Cigarettes were lit while everybody thought about it. Suddenly Cat laughed.

“What is it?” growled Joplin.

“The media,” Cat piped.

“Huh?”

“We’ll become terrorists!”

The scheme, hatched to complete detail in less than five minutes flat, was pure Cherry Cat. ROTLA, the Republic of Texas Liberation Army, would get on the horn to the Dallas — Fort Worth “media cretins” and describe their situation as a hostage crisis. True, they had no hostages. And the mayor and the chief knew better, but with helicopter Mini-cams less than fifteen minutes away, they just might hesitate a little, even after the first explosion, described to the media “as a symbolic act.”

“We just tell ’em if they don’t meet our demands we’ll blow up a second building, like the courthouse there. Plus kill all the hostages.”

“What demands?” Carl Joplin wanted to know.

“A complete list of our nonnegotiable ten-part program will be broadcast over the fascist police trenches at dawn tomorrow,” replied Cat smoothly and he smiled.

The Team eyed him like he was from Venus.

“I like it!” twanged a deep voice from over Cat’s shoulder.

The man they turned to see was about six feet tall, something under two hundred pounds… and relaxed. Totally and completely at ease, from the hands in his pants pockets to the half smile on his face to the ironic sparkle in his eyes. Felix tried to recall the last time he had seen a man so utterly sure of himself, so completely in control of his world.

And then he remembered — it was the last Texas sheriff he’d met.

“Boss!” cried Kirk happily. “When did you get in?”

“Coupla hours ago.”

“Where have you been?”

“Been sniffing around.”

“For what?”

The sheriff laughed and put a hand on his deputy’s shoulder.

“To see which side of this mess is crazy.”

Jack stepped forward. “What’s the verdict, sheriff? Both?”

The sheriff laughed again. “Pretty much.” He stuck out his hand. “How do you do, Mr. Crow. I’m Richard Hattoy.”

The two shook hands.

“Glad to have you,” said Jack. “You’re just in time to be our first hostage.”

Hattoy grinned. “They said you were a smartass.”

“‘They?’ Who?”

“Far as I can tell, everybody who’s ever met you. Kirk, you’re riding with the last of the cowboys here. Been promoted, decorated, and busted down more times than you’ve had safe sex. And not just the military. CIA, DEA, National Security Agency, Treasury… Crow, can’t you find anybody to put up with you?”

“Not so far,” offered Cat.