Toni's breath caught. Did he really have some of the drug with him?
The guard checked Ian's sporran. "There's nothing else inside. Let's go." He opened the door and motioned for Ian to enter.
The guards scanned the parking lot, and not seeing anything, they both went into the building to escort Ian to Jedrek.
About five minutes later, Toni saw a blur of movement as Phineas and Dougal zipped at vampire speed toward the now unguarded entrance. They slipped inside. Two more figures crept from the shadows. Zoltan and Jack stood on each side of the door, pressed against the wall.
Gregori cursed under his breath. "Their alarm just went off. There must be a Malcontent in the security office, and he spotted our guys."
"We knew that could happen," Howard whispered.
"At least the recording studios are soundproof," Gregori said. "Jedrek can't hear it."
Toni recalled the plan that Ian had explained in the alley. Phineas and Dougal were supposed to take over the security office as quickly as possible.
The two guards who had escorted Ian returned. They ran out the front door with swords drawn, but they didn't get far. Zoltan and Jack jumped them, and in a flash, both guards were nothing but piles of dust on the pavement.
Zoltan and Jack sheathed their daggers and drew their swords. Then they rushed inside. Their mission was to zoom through the building, killing any Malcontents they came across. From what Toni could tell, they looked quite capable of the job.
"All right, Stone, let's go." Howard gave the newscaster a push.
They ran to the side of the building. Stone moved a heavy potted plant to reveal a trapdoor in the pavement next to the building. He pulled on a metal ring to lift the door and revealed a staircase leading into the basement.
Howard pulled a small LED flashlight from his utility belt and flipped it on. "Let's go."
"This is all storage," Stone whispered, once they were downstairs. "No one comes down here except Tiffany and the boss when they want to—"
"We gotcha," Gregori muttered. "Take us to the stairwell that's closest to the control room."
"This way." Stone led them across the vast storeroom and up a narrow flight of stairs.
"Me first." Gregori drew his sword.
"Of course." Stone let him pass.
Gregori cracked open the door and peeked outside. "It's clear." He led them down an empty corridor. The sound of clashing blades could be heard in the distance. As Toni passed beneath a security camera, she could only hope they were being watched by Phineas or Dougal and not the Malcontents.
"This is it." Gregori stopped by a door with a sign that read Control Room. Clashing blades could be heard inside. Gregori flung open the door. Toni followed him just in time to see Zoltan slash his sword across a Malcontent's neck, then skewer him through the heart. The dead vampire turned to dust.
Zoltan swiveled to face them and bowed. "The room is yours." He zoomed out the door.
"Wow." Toni watched Zoltan disappear around a corner.
"I'm glad that guy's on our side," Carlos muttered.
Gregori cursed. "Look at this." He motioned to the wall that was covered with twelve monitors.
Toni gasped. All twelve monitors showed the same scene, the studio where the Nightly News was aired. Ian had been stripped to his kilt, and Nadia was casually looping silver rope around his bare chest. Red welts appeared on Ian's skin, and the sizzling sound made Toni's stomach lurch.
"We have to get him out of there." Toni pulled her dagger from her belt.
"We will, soon," Gregori assured her. "Ian wanted to make sure we had the rest of the building completely under our control and as many Malcontents as possible killed before we make our final move on Jedrek."
Howard stood guard at the door, while they all watched the monitors, unable to help Ian.
"Ye have the drug," Ian spoke through gritted teeth. "Let the hostages go."
Jedrek lifted the vial of greenish liquid. "How can I be sure this is really the Stay-Awake drug? You might have filled it with poison. Is it poison, MacPhie?"
Ian glared at him.
"Is it poison?" Jedrek shouted.
Nadia looped some silver rope around Ian's neck and pulled it tight. His neck sizzled.
Toni swallowed hard at the bile rising in her throat.
Ian glowered at Jedrek. "It's no' poison. Try it and see."
Jedrek nodded slowly. "You want me to drink it." He strode to Corky and ripped the duct tape off her mouth.
She screeched. "That hurts, you bastard."
"This might hurt worse. Hold her!" Jedrek ordered, and Yuri held Corky's head still.
Corky glued her lips together, but Jedrek pinched her nose till she opened her mouth to gasp for air. Jedrek poured some of the greenish liquid down her throat.
Back in the control room, the door opened slowly and Phineas peered inside. "Don't shoot," he told Howard.
"Do you have the security office?" Howard asked.
"Yeah. I left Dougal there. Zoltan and Jack are doing one final sweep. We're almost ready to move on Jedrek."
"Thank God." Toni motioned to the monitors. "Have you seen what they're doing to Ian?"
"Yeah." Phineas grimaced. "There's a monitor in the security office that shows us what's on air. More importantly, the whole vampire world is seeing what they're doing to Ian. And he has a bunch of admirers out there."
"So?" Toni didn't want to hear about all the Vamp women who still wanted to date Ian.
"So, they're all showing up outside," Phineas said. "We can see the parking lot on a monitor, and there's got to be fifty angry Vamp women out there. They're all screaming that Ian MacPhie must be released."
"Good grief," Toni breathed.
"It's getting wild out there," Phineas continued. "Those women have whips and baseball bats."
"I have an idea." Gregori went to the wall of shelves and grabbed a camera. He turned it on and looked at the monitors. "How do I get this to show up there?"
"Here." Stone went to the control panel and flipped some switches. A bottom monitor showed them in the control room as seen through Gregori's camera.
"And how do we get this on air?" Gregori asked.
Stone showed them which switches to use. He handed Carlos the earphones and took a small one for himself.
"I'll let you know when we're ready." Gregori headed out the door. "Let's go, Stone."
Phineas and Howard stood guard while Carlos studied the control panel. Toni watched the monitors, wondering how Ian was faring. She couldn't see him at the moment because the cameraman was still focused on Corky. The Vamp world was waiting to see if Corky was going to die from poison.
"How do you feel?" Jedrek asked her.
"I–I'm fine."
"You don't feel anything at all?"
Corky glared at him. "I feel great, actually. Full of energy like I could kick your ass all the way to China."
"Gag her." Jedrek said, and Yuri stuck the tape across Corky's mouth.
Jedrek paced across the room and stopped in front of Ian. "Full of energy? That sounds about right." He lifted the vial to his mouth and drank the entire contents.
He sneered in Ian's face. "You realize what will happen, MacPhie? The sun will rise, and you'll fall into your death-sleep while I remain awake. You'll be the first one I'll kill."
Ian remained silent.
"Master?" Yuri asked hesitantly. "What if he's taken the drug, too?"
Jedrek turned sharply to look at Ian, who simply stared back. "It won't matter. We'll just keep him tied up. He won't be able to defend himself."
"Master!" another male voice called, and the camera swerved to the door where Stanislav was entering. "Master, the Vamps have invaded the building."
Jedrek gritted his teeth. "Do I have to tell you what to do? Just kill them."
Stanislav paled. "They were too fast. I–I can't find any of our men."