The underground bunker under the Brooklyn Bridge, that's where the whole truth is about why Maria had to be taken out, those bastards have been hiding a lot of things down there for so many years…
Ethan felt his heart skip a beat.
"So… we can find them?"
The blind man turned toward him, his blind eyes as if staring straight into the soul.
"Yes," he started chewing again.
"But not today, right now you rest and then return to where you came from…"
"Gideon to the bunk, there are antibiotics, morphine, fresh bandages."
"Bruno, brew some coffee, there's still some left in the thermos."
"Flash, since you're here, check the perimeter, the jammers and all my little gadgets."
"You, young one…"
He fell silent for a moment, looking at Ethan.
"You need to understand one thing. Maria apparently didn't want to drag someone like you into this. But now you're here and you'll have to get involved…"
Ethan nodded, clenching his fists.
"I know."
The blind man smiled again.
"Then don't bother me with your stupid questions…"
Drones were circling over the East Village even now.
Gideon lay down on the narrow cot in the corner, Qubert pointed the direction even though he couldn't see. Bruno brought the first-aid kit, gave him a painkiller shot. Gideon closed his eyes, his breathing became steadier.
Flash went out into the corridor to check the sensors. Returned a minute later.
"All clear, but he knows we're somewhere around here. He just can't get in."
Ethan sat on a crate, staring at Qubert's laptop screen.
"What now?"
The old man didn't answer right away. He scrolled through files, listening to the silence.
"You have evidence, they have vampires and power. I'm not sure you'll manage to achieve anything."
"But we have an advantage. They think you're just an ordinary problem and that you can be easily eliminated."
He turned toward Ethan.
"Are you really ready to continue what she started?
Ethan looked at the flash drive, at the papers, at the faces of his new allies.
"Yes."
Qubert nodded.
"Then go to sleep, we have things to do tomorrow." He turned off the main light, leaving only the dim glow of the emergency lamps.
Then he took his small hat and closed Ethan's eyes.
The next day in Qubert's hideout there was a heavy, stifling silence, broken only by the quiet hum of the generator and the occasional drops of water falling somewhere in the far corner.
Ethan woke to the sound of footsteps, Flash was already standing at the table, bent over Qubert's laptop screen.
The old man in the wheelchair sat nearby, his fingers resting motionless on the keyboard, as if he were listening to something no one else could hear.
Gideon was sleeping on the cot, he was still alive and that was great. Bruno sat on a crate, cleaning his knife and staying silent.
Pulya lay at his feet, ears twitching at every rustle.
Ethan sat up, rubbing his stiff neck.
His body ached as if after a fight he had lost.
"Is it morning already?" he asked hoarsely.
Flash didn't turn around.
"Underground, I don't know. Maybe it's lunchtime by now…"
Qubert smacked his lips, turned the wheelchair toward Ethan.
"The data from the flash drive is gold, but not all gold. Maria left traces."
"Part of the encryption keys are not in the files, but in the catacombs themselves. Under the Brooklyn Bridge there is an old bunker."
"It's not just copies there, originals, blood samples, hard drives, maybe even live witnesses."
"Without verification we can't be sure the list isn't faked. Corvin knows how to plant false trails."
"If we hit a decoy bunker, they'll simply wipe us out."
Ethan felt everything inside him tighten.
"Deeper?" he asked quietly.
"We barely got out yesterday, and now we're going back down again?"
Flash finally turned around. His face was calm.
"Exactly. The deeper we go, the less chance the drones or patrols will find us."
"But there's another problem."
He paused, looking at each of them in turn.
"The catacombs under Manhattan aren't just tunnels. They're old subway lines, sewers, forgotten bunkers."
"And down there live… not humans. And not the vampires you saw up top."
"There live the ones even Corvin is afraid of."
Bruno raised his head.
"Wendigos…"
Flash nodded.
"The nastiest creatures of all, not a sentient species. Pure rage in a huge body."
"They look like enormous bats standing on their hind legs. Height two and a half, sometimes three meters. Gray skin, membranous wings, but they hardly use them. Teeth like a shark's, red eyes without pupils."
"They're omnivores and cannibals. They don't need to drink blood to live."
"They eat vampires alive, that's why regular vampires don't come down here."
"Even Corvin's mercenaries only go down in groups and only with silver weapons."
Ethan felt a chill run down his spine.
"So… they're just… monsters?"
"Monsters… that's putting it mildly," Flash came closer, his voice became quieter.
"They have no reason, no sense of fear, they don't even get tired."
"If they smell blood, they pursue to the end."
"They have all the abilities of higher vampires, strength, speed, regeneration."
"If we meet one, we'll most likely have to take as much light as possible."
"Silver helps, but the best is to cut off the head."
Gideon, who had already woken up and was sitting on the cot, coughed.
"And how many of them are down there?"
Flash shrugged.
"No one knows exactly. Maybe hundreds. I don't even know how they create more of themselves…"
"When a vampire goes mad from hunger or pain, sometimes he doesn't die, but… transforms. Becomes one of them and then descends here. Forever."
Bruno swore quietly.
"Why the hell did Maria even go down there?"