“And I don’t know all that much about being a vampire, but I suspect you need to feed a little more than you have lately. I serious doubt those two men will do the trick.” She glanced at the discarded men on the ground. “Tsk. A recent vampire such as yourself really does need to drink as much as you can.”
Sonya felt like a fool. While she’d suspected something was up with Yolanda, she had never suspected this. “You say you don’t know much about being a vampire. And yet, you’re the Bat.”
“Ha!”Yolanda let out. “I wish. As it stands, I am a simple and humble servant to the great and almighty Bat.”
Sonya was somewhat relieved to learn that Yolanda wasn’t the Bat after all. “Then, you’ve known all this time who the Bat really is.”
“Do you really think I would have come out here and play along with your little plan if I didn’t know exactly what I was getting into? No, dear. You’re sweet and I assume you're smart, but I wouldn’t lay my life on the line for you, honey.”
“Who is he? The Bat?”
“My master.”
“Then, you are not a vampire?”
“Not yet. I do aspire to be turned sometime soon.” Yolanda held her hand out, as if to block Sonya from approaching. “But not by you. I do appreciate you, but you’re a simple vampire. No. The Bat is the ultimate vampire...so powerful. You can imagine the honor of being turned by him.”
“And in the meantime,” Sonya said. “You’re out here looking for the Empress of China.”
Yolanda frowned. “Originally, no. Everyone thought you were dead. No, believe it or not, we were interested in you, Sonya Song. From the start there was something about you that didn’t quite fit with the Hollywood scene. From the start, we’ve been wondering who you’re working for.”
“Working for?”
“The Russians?”
Sonya chuckled, caught off guard by this new accusation. “You think I’m a spy?”
“Admit it. A Chinese singer just happens to come to this crappy studio to audition for a silly movie being produced by an idiot of a producer; it didn’t make sense. Something else brought you to Hollywood.”
“And what do you suspect that is?”Sonya said.
Yolanda shrugged. “I don’t know yet but spying seems to be the most logical answer.”
“And what about you? Didn’t you come here to make a name for yourself. Weren’t you hoping to be the next big star?”
Yolanda laughed.“No. I’m fully aware of the fact that I can’t really act, nor can I really sing. Anyway, not the way you can.Actually, I’m here to serve the Bat, and to weed out some of the Bat’s enemies.”
“Zwick? Is that why you’re so close to him? He’s the Bat.”
Yolanda almost choked on her laughter. “That buffoon! Oh, please. Zwick is to the Bat what hot dogs are to prime rib. He has nothing on the Bat.”
“I thought you regarded Zwick a little higher than that.”
“I guess I’m a better actress than I thought,” Yolanda said with a sly smile. “I even managed to convince Zwick that I thought he was brilliant. What a joke. He’s an idiot and he doesn’t know it. However, he did turn out to be a useful idiot.”
“But if the Russians are using him as a spy, surely he has some qualities.”
“Hubris. That’s Zwick in a nutshell. He really thinks everyone believes he’s a big time Hollywood producer. He thinks he’s convinced them all. And as for the women he uses and tosses aside, as long as the women talk and give him information, the Russians are happy. They give him the funds to keep up with this charade, he makes one flop after another, but he sends back the information they want. Everyone is happy.”
“But what about your boss? The Bat? What information is he interested in? Why would this supreme vampire want information from a Russian spy?”
“Because he was...” She stopped suddenly and clamped her lips tight. She fidgeted, unsure of herself.
“What is it?”Sonya said. “What did I say?”
“Nothing. It’s just that...” She stammered and looked around nervously. The confident mask she’d put on was fading away.
“You can tell me, Yolanda. I won’t betray you.”
