Previously:
Now
Nadia looked around for a police officer. Spotting one several yards away, she pushed through the crowd. "Hey! Hey, you! Officer!"
The cop turned his head to find who was calling him. "What is it?"
"I need to get through."
"You and everyone else, lady." The cop pointed at the phalanx of shambling Elvis impersonators. "No one's getting through until they're gone."
"And who's going get rid of them? That's why I'm here."
"Yeah, you and everyone else here."
Nadia rolled her eyes. "Look--"
"Attention denizens and visitors if Sin City!" A woman came out of the white moving truck, a microphone in her hand, letting her be heard over the general din. "You have benefited from the wages of sin for far too long! Now the bill comes due!"
The police officer spun around, drawing his service pistol. He aimed at the woman. "Get off the truck, now!"
The woman laughed, throwing her head back. Her long black hair flew. "Oh, I don't think so. Go ahead. Shoot me. My Elvii are under my control. What do you think will happen if you kill me?"
Nadia put an arm on the cop's shoulder. "Yeah, this isn't your usual arrest here."
Demona arrived, Ian behind her. "Kaye's on her way," the former librarian said. She pointed at the woman on the truck. "I think she might have a point. We should hear her out."
Nadia glared at Demona. "New rule - don't help the necromancer."
The police officer stared at Nadia. "Necromancer?"
"A magician who specializes in the dead, either raising them or talking to them," Demona said. She whithered as Nadia's glower intensified.
The woman on the truck stopped laughing. "You have five minutes to make your peace. Or run away. Your choice."
"You're all crazy," the cop said.
Nadia pointed at the jumpsuited dead walking down the Strip. "You got a better explanation?"
"Officer," Ian said, "we can handle this."
Kaye arrived with Byron at her heels. "Officer, can I have a moment with you?"
The cop pointed at Nadia. "You with her?"
"Kaye Ortiz." She opened her jacket as she took out her ID. "Here. This will explain everything."
Unsure, the officer took the offered ID. He read it, looked up at Kaye, then re-read the document. "You're shittin' me."
"Not at all, officer." Kaye gave him a reassuring smile. "My people are here to contain. My colleague here will handle the actual removal."
The cop hooked a thumb at the woman on the truck. "What about her?"
Nadia smiled. No joy reached her eyes. "Oh, we'll deal with her, too."
The police officer holstered his weapon. "You have until SWAT gets here." He moved the barricade aside to let Nadia, Ian, and Demona past. "After that, they take control of the situation."
"That should be plenty of time." Nadia waved to the officer as she ran down the street. After half a block, she pulled Ian and Demona aside, trying to get out of sight of the truck. "Okay, ideas?"
"We have to stop Elvis." Ian set down his gym bag and opened it. "Before she sends them into a frenzy."
Demona raised her hand. "What happens if someone gets bit by one of those zombies?"
Nadia knelt down beside the gym bag. "Technically, they're not zombies. They're just re-animated corpses, so getting bit means losing a bit of flesh. They're not going to bite just once, though."
"Ick." Demona shudded.
"Yeah. Okay, I'm calling the shotgun!" Nadia removed a sawed off pump-action shotgun. She checked the magazine. "I'll need shells."
Ian smiled. "Side pocket. Nadia, how's your magic?"
Nadia shook her head. "Faded before we hit town. Mind, no one's will be able to cast a spell, so we're all in the same boat."
Demona looked over her shoulder at the moving truck. "There's a reason you didn't want the officer to shoot her."
Nadia nodded. "If she's even half capable, she would've put in a dead-man's command into whatever she used to animate the corpses. Kill her, and her creations run amok. We don't want that."
"And by 'kill her', you mean 'kill her', right?"
"Um, yeah. Demona, what are you thinking?"
"Ian, do you have a taser in your gym bag?"
Ian knelt down and rummaged through the assorted weapons. "Are you looking at shooting her?"
Nadia stood up. "No. Too risky."
"If I can knock her out without killing her, that won't trigger her dead-man's command, right?"
"Not that. Demona, we haven't checked you out on firearms. Ian, stun stick for lady."
"Right." Ian pulled out a short, heavy baton and handed it to Demona. "On-off switch near the base. Contacts at the end. Don't swing it like a club. It's more of a stab." He demonstrated with one arm. "Once you hit her, hold the baton in position for a few seconds. That should put her down. If not, well, hit her again."
Demona nodded. "Got it."
Nadia knelt down again. She pulled several shotgun shells out of the gym bag's side pocket and began loading her weapon. "We'll distract her. Maybe get some of her dead Elvis army to turn back to help her." She grabbed more shotgun shells, shoving them into her jeans' pockets.
Ian pulled out two metal poles and screwed them together. "I'm good." He stood up and twirled the metal staff in his hands.
"Showoff." Nadia grinned. "Demona, you're up. We'll keep her attention off you and on us." She pumped a round into her shotgun's chamber. "Ian, let's go."
Nadia and Ian stepped out in full view of the woman on the truck. "Hey! Bitch cake! How about picking on someone in your league?" She levelled the shotgun.
The woman stared down at Nadia and Ian. "Defending this filth? You, too, shall pay!"
"All I see is talk. Is that the best you can do?"
"Come down here and I'll show you what I can do." Nadia let go of the stock of her shotgun to beckon the woman with her hand.
The woman pulled a gold-plated rod with a blue garnet at the tip. "Heartbreak! Tender! Jailhouse!" Three of the shambling Elvis impersonators stopped and turned around. "Come tear these interlopers to pieces!" The Elvii began the trek back to the truck, their arms outstretched.
Ian stared at the walking corpses. "You named them?"
"I'm not inhuman." The woman laughed. "The sinners here should know who sent them to their just reward."
Nadia lowered her shotgun. "You're sick, you know that?"
"Silence!" The woman roared into her microphone. "I am the only one here who cares about immortal souls! You seek to protect these sinners? You will suffer the same fate!"
"I don't think that's how it works." The woman on the truck spun around to see Demona. The former librarian jabbed with the stin stick, hitting the necromancer in the stomach. She maintained contact for a slow count of five, then pulled the weapon away. The necromancer dropped to the roof of the truck. "Shush."
"About time." Nadia brushed a stray black bang out of her eyes. "Get that rod and get back down here."
Demona pointed at the three approaching dead Elvis impersonators. "Behind you!"
Ian stepped in the way, brandishing his staff. The first of the animated dead came within his reach. With both hands on the staff, he swung the weapon in a wide arc, catching the Elvis impersonator in the shoulder. The corpse fell to the pavement from the impact. Nadia brought her shotgun up, taking aim at the next dead Elvis impersonator. Making sure Ian was out of the way, she pulled the trigger. The shotgun boomed. Pellets ripped through the dead flesh on the Elvis impersonator's shoulder. It slowed, but resumed its unrelenting walk. "Really?" Nadia said, irritation lacing the word. She lowered her aim and shot again. The dead Elvis impersonator's leg tore off at the knee. It toppled over.
Demona picked up the gold rod. She picked her way back down from the roof of the truck. She ran around to rejoin her teammates. "Got it!" Noticing movement, she looked down at the legless Elvis impersonator. "It's still coming."
"And there's a third one, yes, I know." Nadia chambered another shell. "Let me quote John Fogerty here, 'You can't kill a dead man.' Right now, all we can do is slow them down." She raised the shotgun again, taking aim at the third dead Elvis impersonator. "Crawling is slower than walking." Nadia shot, hitting her target in the hip. "Kaye! Send your alchemist over! And a cop or two!:"
Ian stepped up to the corpse crawling towards him. He raised his staff, then plunged it into the corpse's back, pinning it to the ground. "I can do this one more time, Nadia." He unscrewed the staff, taking the free half away.
"I'm open to suggestions."
"Can't you just shoot them in the head?" Demona asked.
"That's zombies. These aren't. Animated dead are their own problem. There has to be something on them feeding them magic and keeping them under the shiksa's control."
"Maybe I can try something with this thing?" Demona waved the rod in the air.
Nadia shook her head. "Unless you know what you;re doing, bad idea. Dumbass up there named her army. Unless we know which one's--" Nadia paused so she could kick the legless Elvis impersonator's hand away. "Which one's named what and how to use that thing, we could set them off."
"Great. The only other option is to turn these guys in to the Black Knight from Monty Python and the Holy Grail."
"Plan B." Nadia stomped on the deal Elvis impersonator's arm. "Stop that!" She jogged a few steps away from the crawling corpse. "Though this guy might get that treatment."
Ian drove the remaining half of his staff through the corpse's back. "There. That leaves Stumpy and I don't have a third half."
Byron arrived with two police officers in two. "Kaye said you wanted me?"
Nadia turned her attention to the alchemist. "Yeah. Demona, give him that gold stick. I need you to figure out how that works and break the enchantment. Corpses don't normally go to a show in Las Vegas." Switching her attention to the police officers. "Arrest the woman up there. Get creative if you have to. I dunno, things like 'desecration of a corpse' and 'illegal use of a moving truck', Maybe even 'monologuing without a license.'"
Demona handed the gold rod to Byron. "What about the rest of those things?"
"That's why we're paid the moderate amount of bucks. We'll re-arm and go charging in."
Ian pointed at the phalanx of walking dead Elvis impersonators. "They're starting to split up."
"We'll take the closest group." Nadia held up a hand to forestall any objections. "They outnumber us and are going to be a pain to stop alone. Together, we'll figure something out. Byron, right? Byron, hurry on that thing."
Nadia ran towards the closest clump of dead Elvis impersonators, Ian and Demona hot on her heels, with Ian slowing just long enough to grab . The crowds had thinned out, giving the walking corpses plenty of space, but hadn't left completely. The show was still going on, after all. The first clump pushed their way into the nearest casino, paying no mind to the closed doors. Nadia burst into the casino's lobby a couple of minutes later. Casino security fought against the dead invaders, but were no match. The dead Elvis impersonators threw the guards aside without effort.
"Everyone, get back!" Nadia ordered. "Ian! Sword!"
Ian dropped his gym bag. It clanked on the marble floor. He reached in and pulled out a sabre. With a incoherent shout, he lunged at the nearest dead Elvis impersonator. The blade pierced through the corpse's body and into the wall. It struggled to free itself. Ian pushed harder until there was no space between the hilt and the corpse. None of the corpse's fellow Elvis impersonators noticed.
Demona walked into the lobby. One of the guards, tall and wide, pointed at her. "You! You're not supposed to be here!"
"Um, I'm with them?" Demona pointed at Nadia.
"Demona Bell, you shouldn't even be in this city."
Nadia looked over at the guard. "Friend of yours?"
Demona shrugged. "Never saw him before."
The guard strode over, reaching out for Demona. "Let's go, Demona."
"Hands off!" Demona shrugged away from the guard. "Go tell Mom it wasn't my idea to come here."
"Your mother's also not welcome here."
Nadia stepped in between the guard and Demona. "I don't know what this is all about, but she's with me, and we're dealing with the animated dead here. Shoo."
The guard hesitated. "You're with the Agency." He turned to Demona. "Does your mother know who you're hanging out with?"
Demona curled her hands into fists and put them on her hips. "I'm twenty-six. I don't need my mother's permission for anything anymore."
"Hey, guys?" Ian called. "Can we deal with the immediate threat first?" He raised the gym bag up to parry a swipe from a dead Elvis impersonator.
The guard stepped back. "I never saw you. But you should get out of Las Vegas as soon as you can."
"Oh, believe me, I can't leave here fast enough."
Nadia grabbed Demona's arm. "Let's focus on the mission, okay?" She pulled Nadia away from the guard. "Explanation later. Help Ian now."
The guard rounded up his personnel, ushering them out of the lobby to give the three agents room to fight. Ian smacked the dead Elvis impersonator in front of him with his gym bag. The corpse sprawled on the floor. "Everyone, behind the concierge desk!" He vaulted over the desk, landing in a crouch. Nadia and Demona ran around to join him.
"What's left in the bag?" Nadia asked.
"Three mundane swords, two dozen knives, a couple of pistols that won't help us here, and maybe a bo staff or two."
Nadia peeked over the desk. The walking corpses turned in place, trying to find their targets. "Okay, that's not going to last us. Demona, when we pin an Elvis, check for anything that might be what the necromancer's using to contol these guys. Ian, give me a sword."
Ian pulled out a replica of a gladius from the gym bag. "Here." He handed the sword to Nadia, then grabbed a long sword for himself. "On three?"
Nadia nodded. "One."
Ian gave his partner a feral grin. "Two."
"Three!" Nadia got up and ran around the desk. She kicked out at the nearest animated corpse, getting its attention. "Bring it, dead man."
Ian launched himself over the concierge desk. He landed into a roll, coming up in the middle of three of the animated Elvis impersonators. He kicked out the knee of one of them, breaking the joint with a sharp crack. The animated corpse fell on its side.
Demona watched the fighting for a moment, then darted away from the desk. She ran to the animated Elvis impersonator Ian pinned with the sabre. It still fought to free itself. Keeping out of the corpse's reach, Demona studied it.
Nadia ducked under a swipe from her dead opponent. She countered by slashing at its leg. "Let's go, kid! We've got a deadline!"
"This wasn't covered in library classes!" Demona kept her focus on the pinned Elvis impersonator. She stepped behind it. On a hunch, she raised the jumpsuit's collar. Hidden behind the gold chains, the word "Blue" was embroided under the collar. Demona made note of the word, then pulled hard on the chains. With a snap, the chains broke. The corpse ceased its struggles. "Guys! It's the chains! Break the chains!"
"Got it!" Ian pressed his attack, beating one of his opponents on the chest and collarbone. The gold chain around its neck broke and fell to the ground, followed shortly by its owner. He turned to his last opponent.
Nadia found herself being pushed back against the concierge desk by her opponent. She ducked down under its outstretched arms. As she came up, she thrust her gladius at her dead opponent's breast, slipping the sword underneath the gold chains. With a twist of her wrist, she cut through the chains. The dead Elvis impersonator collapsed. Nadia ran over to the last of the dead Elvis impersonators still standing. She chopped at its neck. The animated corpse fell on all fours but kept moving. Ian stepped in. He reached down to grab the chain and tugged. The chain snapped. The last corpse stopped moving.
"Good work, kid," Nadia said. She wiped the sweat from her forehead. "Ian, call Kaye and let her know about the chains."
"Can you check their collars?" Demona asked.
"Their collars?" Nadia's expression turned confused. "Why?"
"There was a word embroidered on the back of this one, 'Blue'. The necromancer named the three that came after you. What if she put their names on the jumpsuits to tell them apart?"
Nadia nodded. "Or the word is part of the enchantment animating the bodies."
Ian looked under the collar of one of the dead Elvis impersonators he stopped. "This one says, 'Teddy Bear'.)
Nadia checked the collar of her opponent. "'Lonesome' here. What's the connection?"
"Really, Nadia?" Ian picked up the sleeve of the jumpsuit. "She dressed these guys as Elvis."
"Excuse me for not listening to proto-rock."
Demona walked back to the concierge desk. "You'd probably recognize the song titles if she used the full name." She leaned against the desk as she took out her smartphone. After a few taps, she sighed. "Elvis recorded way too many songs, too. Even if we just used his Top 40 hits, there's too many to even start to guess at."
"It's something," Nadia said. "Ian, tell Kaye this, too. Her idiot alchemist can use the info. We still have two groups to stop."
Ian took out his own smartphone to call Kaye. Demona regarded the bodies on the floor. "Who gets to clean this up?"
"Not us. Probably the coroner's office. I'd love to read the cause of death for these guys."
Demona shook her head in dismay. "Do we have a plan for the next group?"
Ian ended his call. "I've got one. Me and Nadia knock the Elvises down, you grab the chains. Byron wants one intact, though." He strode over to the corpse he pinned to the wall and pulled his sabre out. The body slid to the floor. Ian wiped the blade clean using the John Doe's jumpsuit. "Ready."
Demona pushed away from the concierge desk. "Ready as I'll ever be, I guess."
"I like that spirit, kid." Nadia wiped her hands on her jeans. "Let's go, team."
The three agents ran out of the casino. The police managed to clear most of the spectators further back, leaving the Strip open, making it easier for the team to get across the street. None of the shambling Elvis impersonators could be seen. Nadia led the team to the next casino on the Strip. When the three agents dashed into the lobby, several security guards levelled their pistols at them.
"Hey, whoa!" Nadia held up her hands. "Do we look like Elvis?"
The head of security stepped forward. "Guns down." He assessed the newcomers. "Demona Bell, out! Now!"
"Oh, come on!" Nadia lowered her arms. "Does every bloody casino have a demon on its security staff?"
"Excuse me?" The head of security gave Nadia a hard stare.
"Look," Demona started, "whatever reason you think I'm here for, it's not that. I'm not my mom, okay? I'm here with them," she pointed at Nadia and Ian, "to deal with those animated bodies. I didn't want to come here, okay?"
Ian stepped in front of Demona. "You heard the lady. Where did Elvis go?"
The head of security sized up Ian. "We got them in the pool. Doors are locked, they can't get out."
"That makes our job easier," Nadia said. "Which way to the pool?"
"I can let you two go in." The head of security pointed at Nadia and Ian. "She can't stay."
"What?" Demona huffed, her nostrils flaring. "Just what did Mom do here?"
"Last time your mother was here, she left half a dozen bodies."
Nadia smirked. "And how many Elvii are there in the pool?"
"I don't see what that has to do with anything?"
"How many?" Nadia raised her gladius, pointing it at the security head.
"Six."
"Sounds like a great way to make up for her mother's stupidity to me."
The head of security ran his hand through his hair. "Henderson, show these, these people to the pool." He turned to face Demona. "If I find another drained body tonight, I will hunt you down."
Henderson, a gangly young security guard who didn't quite fill out his suit, led the three agents to the pool, not saying a word. He unlocked the door to the men's change room, then stepped aside. Nadia charged through the change room, emerging on the deck of the indoor pool. The dead Elvis impersonators were spread out, avoiding the poot as they tried to find an exit.
"Stick to the plan. We knock them down, Demona grabs the chains." Nadia crept up to the nearest animated Elvis. She swept out with her leg. The corpse fell on its side. When it rolled on to its stomach, Nadia jumped on its back. "Demona!"
The young librarian ran over. The animated John Doe reached out for her ankles. Demona danced around the outstretched hands. She bent down, grabbed the gold chains, and pulled. The chains snapped after a moment. The corpse stopped moving.
The commotion caught the attention of the other animated corpses. They turned almost in unison and shuffled towards the women. Ian ran out from the change room, sabre out. He leapt over Demona. When he landed, he slid across the wet tile, knocking two of the oncoming dead Elvis impersonators. Ian recovered first. He knelt down on one. With his free hand, he broke the gold chain around its neck.
Nadia darted over to the other downed animated corpse as it tried to get back to its feet. Seeing its gold chain dangling, she grabbed at it and tugged. The corpse fell back down on its side, still struggling. Nadia kicked out at the corpse, using it as extra leverage as she pulled. The chain broke into three lengths.
"Guys!" Demona pointed at an Elvis nearly on top of Nadia and Ian.
Ian got up first. He launched himself at the approaching Elvis, tackling it around its waist. The animated corpse clawed at Ian's back, ripping his shirt and the skin beneath. Ian ignored the pain and pushed on. The corpse fell backwards. Its head hit the tile with a sickening thump. Nadia crawled in to grab the chain, breaking it. Panting, she said, "You know, you could take on one of these, too."
"What happened to sticking to the plan?" Demona joined her teammates. "There's two left."
Nadia checked to see where the remaining two Elvis impersonators were. One shambled from ahead of them. The other was on the other side of the pool. "Great, they split up."
"They're not going in the pool," Ian noted.
"You want to swim over to that one?"
Demona examined Ian's back. "I don't recommend it. You're really scratched up back here. The chlorine will really sting."
Ian worked his shoulders to see how much movement he still had. "I wasn't thinking me. Demona, if you can swim underwater far enough to get behind the guy ahead of us, we make short work of him, then flank the last one."
"Me?" Demona pointed at herself. "I'm not dressed to swim! I'm wearing a skirt!"
"You climbed a truck in that skirt," Nadia said. "Go!"
Demona kicked off her shoes and took off her cardigan. "All right, I'm going. Ian, don't look." She began unbuttoning her skirt.
Ian glanced behind him. "What was that?"
"Ian!" Demona spun to turn her back to him.
"You should have said something."
"Hey!" Nadia shouted, her voice echoing off the walls of the indoor pool. "Focus! Ian, watch the Elvis. Demona, just get in the pool already before I push you both in."
Ian returned his attention to the shambling Elvis approaching. Demona slipped ouf of her skirt and jumped into the pool. She ducked under the water and swam on her back along the pool wall. The animated dead man didn't notice her as she passed by. With one last kick, she propelled herself a couple more yards before she needed to come up for air.
Demona managed to not gasp after she broke the surface. Ian and Nadia were keeping the animated Elvis impersonator busy, slashing at the walking corpse without hitting it. Demona pulled herself out of the water. Her shirt felt heavier from the water it absorbed. She pulled on her shirt's hem to try to hide her underwear, then gave up for more pressing matters. Her bare feet slapping on the tile, she ran up to the walking corpse her teammates fought. She grabbed at the gold chain and pulled. The dead Elvis impersonator fell backwards before catching itself. It started to turn. Ian slipped within its reached and chopped the taut chain, cutting through cleanly. The corpse stopped moving and dropped.
With just one opponent left, Nadia and Ian split up. Nadia took the long way around the pool to get behind the last Elvis in the area. Ian strode towards it, each step taken with purpose. The walking corpse raised its arms, ready to try to grab Ian. Before it could strike, Nadia leapt on the corpse's back. It spun, trying to get to her. She held on despite its efforts to throw her. Ian charged in, snaring the gold chain in one hand while pushing with the other. Nadia kicked off, propelling the walking corpse towards the pool. It slipped on the tile. The gold chain held for a moment as the corpse teetered over the pool, then snapped. The corpse fell into the pool with a splash.
Demona finished getting dressed, then rejoined her teammates. "There has to be a better way to stop them."
Ian nodded in agreement. "This is taking too long."
"Until the brain trust of Team One One Seven figures something out, we don't have much of a choice." Nadia watched the corpse in the water bob with the waves. "One last group. One last group and then we pass this mess off."
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