*****
Laura helped Jennifer to her feet and allowed the smaller woman to escort her out of the small dressing room. They worked their way down the hallway, and Jennifer suddenly pulled her aside and into another side room, shushing her as she silently shut the door behind them.
“What’s going on?” Laura whispered.
“Shh.” Jennifer placed an ear against the door and listened as two men walked down the hallway. She held her finger out to Laura, holding her quietly at bay until she felt it was safe. “My father still wants to send you back in pieces,” she whispered. “I don’t agree with that.”
Laura felt her knees go weak at the idea that not only was she still a ‘captive’ as far as Jennifer’s father was concerned, but now she was an escaped captive in a compound full of wolves. “Just great.”
“I’ve got a car,” Jennifer whispered as she pulled the door open again. “We just have to get to it.”
“Your father has resources. You think he’s going to let us just leave here?”
“He can’t stop us if he can’t find us.” Jennifer worked her down the hallway once more.
“He doesn’t have another car? Some other way to follow us?” Laura kept her voice low and continued glancing behind them.
“Of course he does.” She stopped and stole a peek around the corner. As she pulled Laura with her she replied, “We just need to make sure we slow those cars down on our way out.”
“So now you’re a mechanic, too?”
Jennifer gave her a sideways glance. “No, but I can poke a hole in a tire.”
“Touché.”
The two snuck out of the main house and through the veranda to the garage. Jennifer held them back while a roving guard made his rounds through that area of the compound. She then slipped in through the rear entrance of the garage and the two began slipping between the numerous parked cars. Jennifer pulled a set of keys from a pegboard and mashed a button, unlocking the vehicle and causing the lights to flash. Laura dug through a tool box and came up with a large Phillips-head screwdriver which she promptly began to stab into the sidewall of the other car’s tires.
Jennifer waved her over to the silver-grey Toyota FJ Cruiser once the other cars all shared at least one flat tire, and they climbed inside the SUV. Jennifer took a deep breath then motioned toward the rear of the sport utility. “You might want to crawl back there and hide until we get past the gate guard.”
Laura shimmied her tall frame over the center console and into the backseat. She then slid into the floorboard and pulled a blanket over her. She prayed that the dark tinted windows would prevent prying eyes from spying her. She heard the engine turn over and a deep throaty roar from below the truck rev up and down as Jennifer waited for the garage door to open before pulling out.
Donning a pair of dark sunglasses, Jennifer rolled down the windows and opened the sunroof. She needed to air out as much of Laura’s scent as she could. She pulled a small bottle of perfume from the center console and sprayed far too much of it on her shirt as she maneuvered the truck off the grounds and toward the gate.
As she expected, the gate guard held up his hand and waved her down. “Where do you think you’re going?”
She flipped her hair at him and smiled. “I have a hair and nails appointment and I can’t be late. They’ll cancel on me.” She did her best to try to sound shallow and flippant.
The guard stepped back from the truck and gave her a disapproving look. “You know your father has us on lockdown.”
She gave him a knowing smile and shook her head. “No, he has you on lockdown. I did my part. I brought that silly human to him, I’m done. Now I need to get my hair done or I’m going to go crazy. And I’ll take every one of you with me.” Her voice went up a full octave as she made her threat.
“You smell like hell.”
“Says the dog who’s been walking out in this heat all day.” She waved to the gate. “Now open that damned thing and let me out.”
He narrowed his gaze at her and crossed his muscular arms over his chest. She lowered her sunglasses and glared at him. “Do I need to call Daddy and tell him that you won’t let me get my hair done? Rollo is a very busy hairdresser, and he absolutely will not hold my appointment. Do you have any idea how long it took me just to get in the door and get this appointment? I swear to you, if I lose out on this because of you, I’ll have you neutered.”
The guard blanched and waved at the other man across from him who jogged to open the gates. She gave him a sarcastic smile and blew him a kiss. “Ciao!” She pulled the gear selector back to Drive and gunned the FJ through the gate.
The gate guards watched her through the cloud of dust and each shook their heads. “She’s such a bitch.”
“She’s the boss’s problem. Not mine.” The man pulled the gate shut and locked it again. “I say good riddance.”
Laura stuck her head up from the blanket and dared to lean forward. “Are we clear?”
“Yeah, you’re good. Climb back up here.”
After she settled back into her seat she heaved a sigh of relief. “How much of a head start do you think we really have?”
Jennifer shook her head. “Anywhere from ten minutes to an hour.” She motioned to the glove box. “There’s a black box in there. Rip it out if you can.”
Laura opened the glove box and found a small black plastic box with two wires attached. She pulled hard and the unit came free. “What’s this?”
“GPS device. Daddy has the cars LoJacked so he knows where we are all the time.” She motioned out the window with her chin. “Toss it.”
Laura flipped the little unit out the window and sat back in her chair. “I really need to check in.”
“As soon as we hit town, we can switch cars and find a phone. You call your boss while I get us some fresh wheels.”
Laura studied the girl a moment and the questions in her mind raced through so fast, she didn’t know where to start. “Why?” was all she could get out.
“Why what?”
“Why are you going against your dad? Why are you helping me? Why…everything?”
Jennifer continued to glance at the rear view mirrors and push the FJ a bit harder than Laura was comfortable with. She finally exhaled hard and shook her head. “I don’t know. I mean, there’s not just one hard and fast answer.” She glanced at Laura who gave her a raised brow. “I know, that doesn’t answer your question. Let’s just say, Daddy doesn’t have the right to kill somebody to make a statement. He shouldn’t be trying to attack a bunch of Army guys either. Especially if they’re wolves, too.” She shook her head and slowed the truck for the next intersection. “There’s just a lot going on and I need answers. I know it sounds stupid, but I think you can get me those answers.”
Laura turned to face her better. “What makes you so sure?”
“I don’t know. You just have a scent of honesty about you.”
“And I’m supposed to believe you?”
“You’re still alive, aren’t you?”
*****
Matt tried not to smile as he reentered his office. Driving that stupid truck made him feel like a kid again. It was like somebody had crossbred a hot-rod to a 4X4 and then gave it a pickup body. He hated to admit it, but he thought maybe Mark had hit a homerun with this one. He couldn’t find anything wrong with the truck other than it came completely loaded, and he just had this nagging feeling that it would be considered opulent for any military group to utilize something like that. A military vehicle was supposed to be bare bones. It was supposed to hurt you when you used it. You were supposed to feel lucky if the heater worked.
He sat down at his desk and pushed the mouse to bring his computer up. He needed to send an authorization email to Mark so that he could replace the aging HUMVEES and order the other pickups. The mere fact that they could be airlifted to scenes almost excited him. He opened his email and saw the message waiting from Jack. Opening it and scanning it, he felt the groan in his chest before
he heard it.
“Dammit. On the full moon?”
Matt sat back in his chair and rubbed at the back of his neck. He hated to tell Phoenix ‘no’ on this request. The full moon had historically been their busiest times. But, at the same time, since the showdown in the desert, things had actually been pretty quiet. Perhaps…
Matt pulled his two-way and called Mark to his office. When Tufo kicked open the door with his fat little dog in tow, Matt’s good mood instantly soured. “Can’t you pen that beast?”
Mark ignored him. “You rang, oh puckered one?”
Matt groaned and waved him in. “Over the last six months, how many squads have we had out on any given full moon?” Mark pulled his trusty notepad and scanned through it. Matt cocked his head and asked, “Do you not believe in using your PDA?”
Mark continued to flip through pages, “This is more trustworthy. It doesn’t crash.” He flipped another page and nodded, “We’ve had three full moons with one squad and three with two out. We always have at least one squad on hand.”
“Okay. I just got a message from Jack. The meeting is set for the next full moon. If you’re confident that we won’t need all three squads, check the schedule and see which men we can spare.”
Mark nodded and made a note in his trusty notepad. He turned to leave then stopped and turned back, “I put the requisition for the trucks in your ‘IN’ basket.”
He turned back for the door when Matt called out to him, “Pretty confident, don’t you think?” He fought to keep the smile off his face.
Mark gave him a slight wave as he rounded the corner, “You were going to order them anyway.”
“No I wasn’t.”
“Yes you were.” His voice faded down the hallway.
Matt groaned as he fished the requisition out of the basket and signed it. “When he’s right, he’s right.”
He picked up his phone and dialed Evan’s lab. “We have a black pickup in the parking lot next to the building. I need you to design something that will support a .30 caliber machine gun for an operator standing in the back. Maybe some type of sling system to keep them from being bounced out.”
Evan wrote down the request. “Just a thirty? Are you sure you don’t want a .50 caliber? There are plenty of surplus parts that I could use to—”
“Negative. Trying to make a fifty cal silver bullet would be cost prohibitive. Even if they jacketed the round, it’s too much. Let’s stick with the .30 caliber.”
“Something like the M1919A4?”
Matt rubbed at his chin. “Naw, that’s a bit dated. Maybe something more like the M240. They’ve got a good record in the field, and I know for a fact FN makes more than one variant.”
“I’m on it, Colonel. How soon do you want it?” Evan began sketching designs on a scratch pad as the colonel spoke.
“We just ordered three more and you know how the supply system works. The one in the lot can be your guinea pig. Use it to test fit your prototypes.”
Evan paused and pushed the sketch aside. “So, you’ll have four of these vehicles at your disposal? May I ask what their purpose is?”
“Ground assault vehicles for the squads. These trucks will be air lift capable and we’re replacing the Hummers with them.” Matt shifted in his chair. “Why? Do you have some ideas?”
“Not at the moment, but if you give me some time, I’m sure I can use the truck as a test bed. Maybe beef it up a bit. Light armor, replace the glass with Lexan. Just, different ideas to make it both lighter and more durable.”
“Make it more tactical. We need something that can take a beating and still be fast as hell.” Matt could feel a smile tugging at the corners of his mouth as Dr. Peters’ energetic enthusiasm began to churn.
“Yes, sir, I’ll pull it in shortly and begin dismantling it.”
“Just make sure you can put it back together, Evan.” Matt hung up and checked the time. He hadn’t heard from Laura in a while, and he was beginning to become concerned.
*****
Paul stared out of the window of the bedroom and allowed his mind to wander. He tried to replay the events that led him to this exact moment. How did he get to this time, this place, this strange string of events? How did he end up a Judas to his own brother?
He thought back to his hatred of his brother for so many centuries. Truthfully, Rufus wasn’t his real brother. His father had adopted Rufus before Paul was born. Rufus was everything he had ever truly wanted in a son. He was tall, handsome, educated, polite…in essence, everything Paul wasn’t. He understood the nuances of politics. He understood the importance of patience. He had self-control.
Bah, self-control was overrated. If his father could see him now…the favored son. Drinking the blood of animals rather than the blood of humans. What would he say?
What would he say?
Would he be proud of what Rufus had achieved? Would he embrace this alternative lifestyle like so many others had? True, he could see the benefits, but the costs? Oh, the costs. To feel the strength, the true strength that comes from feeding on humans. To feel their heart weaken and stop under your own touch. To taste the warm coppery satisfaction that only another human could possibly…but, he wasn’t human. He’d never been human.
Paul sat hard in the old Victorian style chair and sighed. “Why would I think such a thing?” His voice was little more than a murmur in the darkness. He hadn’t considered himself human, ever. Why would he ever compare himself to his food? His mind muddled as he contemplated where these foreign thoughts originated.
He lifted his face once more and stared out toward the open ocean. The inky blackness of the waves as they worked their way across the wind swept surface only to crest and break on the sandy beach below. Paul silently shook his head. “What’s come over me?” Was he finally feeling empathy for the creatures he had held with disdain for all these centuries?
He fished the small plastic black box from his coat pocket and ran his thumb absently across the smooth, shiny surface. “My kiss to you, my brother,” he whispered in the darkened room. “My thirty pieces of silver await.” He studied the small black device and considered the consequences.
His brother. By his father’s declaration, they were brothers. Rufus was the only family he had left. Paul knew from the moment he was old enough to understand, that he could never live up to his father’s expectations. That knowing is what fed his hatred for Rufus. All these years, knowing that his father loved another more than his own flesh and blood, tore at him, ate at him, fueled his pain.
He slumped back into his chair and remembered Rufus’ words. He would never allow the Council to harm him. He had a plan. And if there was anything Paul had learned over the centuries, it was that Rufus was an excellent tactician. If he had a plan, it would damned sure work.
Paul stood from his chair and stared out at the ocean once more. If there was ever a time to choose a side, to truly choose a side and mean it, then that time was now. Live or die, he had to be sure. He knew he had been hinting to the Council that he knew where Rufus was holed up. He had been teasing them with Rufus’ location and it was all for power. His brother may have tricked him and stripped him of his people, may have bound him to a blood covenant, and forced him to become a Lamia Beastia, but he also saved mankind in the process. He saved the world. He helped put away a madman who was set on world domination. And honestly, how many times had Paul tricked him in the past? Hadn’t he hung his father’s murder on him? Borne false witness against him to the very Council they intended to face?
Paul slipped his hand into his pocket and retrieved the black device once more. Running his thumb across its smooth surface once more, he smiled inwardly. He tossed the device out the window and lost sight of it as it sailed out toward the water.
“In for a penny, in for a pound.”
*****
“Team Leader, we have nothing on visual,” Jericho’s static-filled voice squelched in their ear pieces. “Predator is making another round.”
> “Copy that, OPCOM.” Spalding turned to his squad and motioned for them to form up on him. As the men settled in, he leaned his arms on his battle rifle and took a relaxed stance, his mind racing the entire time. “The drone isn’t picking up any activity in the area. The 130 is circling and everybody who has tracking capability is scanning every inch of the surrounding area, but there are so many tracks in and out of here, they can’t tell what’s fresh.”
“What’s the plan, boss? Wait for them to return?” Ing seemed antsy. The very idea that vamps were out hunting made his blood run cold.
“For now, that’s all we can do. I say we set an ambush.” Darren turned to Donovan who unrolled an aerial map on an old table. “This is the surrounding area. We have a kill zone here and here.” He pointed out the two areas that were ripe for setting up an ambush upon their return, if they returned through the low laying gullies. “If they come in on high ground, we can set up on what’s left of the roof and wait for them to close in to start the shooting.”
Little John shook his head. “I don’t like either scenario.”
Spalding turned his attention to his junior squad member. “And why’s that?”
“Their senses are too sharp. If these are baby vamps like the intel is pointing at, they’ll smell us from a mile away. They’ll be on to us before we can be in effective shooting range.”
“We have the Predator in the sky,” Lamb offered.
“True, but if they scatter…”
Spalding nodded, “Point taken.” He turned the map to Sullivan. “What’s your opinion then?”
John groaned inwardly but he stabbed his finger on the church. “We rub ourselves down with the ash. We hit them inside here.”
“CQB with nearly twenty crazed baby vamps?” Donnie asked. “I realize you’re new, but, dude, baby vamps are like berserkers. If they smell the ash, they’ll scatter as well.”
John shrugged. “It’s either that or hunt them down.”
Their earpieces crackled and came to life, “Team Leader, you have activity to your west.”
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