Infinite Vampire (Book 2): Queen's Gambit

by M. Lorrox

  She pokes her head into the living room. “Where’s my dad?”

  Charlie looks at her and shrugs. “I haven’t seen him since the presentation earlier.”

  She walks over and looks at the pictures they’re each painting. “Oh, nice dinosaur, Charlie.”

  He smiles. “Thanks!”

  “And Minnie, I like your...boat.”

  “It’s a time machine.”

  June twists her head and points. “What are those lines then—around the time machine?”

  “That’s the time. They’re going backward through it. That’s why Daddy’s making a dinosaur.”

  “Oh, cool. Think there’s enough materials for me to paint something too?”

  “YES!”

  June laughs then goes into her bedroom to change. Eddy also changes, and after they have all made paintings, they use them together to tell a story about a princess—Sadie’s painting—who becomes a pirate—June’s—who uses her time machine—Minnie’s—to travel back in time to talk to a dinosaur—Charlie’s—to find the secret island of treasure—Eddy’s.

  After the story, Minnie is put to bed, and Charlie takes Rusty out for the night. June and Eddy still sit on the floor with the paints and papers scattered around them. June checks her phone. She has a text from Sky and one from her dad.

  She opens Sky’s message.

  Great to meet u June! BTW, you and Eddy are sooo cute I wanted to barf, but didn’t cause I hear its rude. ;)

  She smiles, then opens her dad’s message.

  I hope you had a good night, and don’t wait up, I’m getting to know a new friend. Love you, Dad.

  June texts them both back, then turns to Eddy. He’s painting another picture. “What’s that one going to be?”

  “I’m not sure yet, I just wanted to paint some lines.”

  She grabs a new sheet of paper and sets it down in front of her. “I challenge you to an abstract-art off.”

  Eddy lifts his head from his work and looks at her. “And how does one win?”

  “Clearly, whoever makes the most abstract image.”

  Eddy puts his brush down. “No fair, you cheated. You already won!”

  She shakes her head and looks at him. “What? I haven’t painted anything yet.”

  He picks up her paper and holds it up for her. “Exactly. It’s the mind when it considers the ramifications of a temporal paradox.” He looks at the paper himself. “I think it’s brilliant.”

  She laughs and shoves him, then takes the paper back from him. “You’re such a nerd.”

  Charlie walks Rusty on a leash until they are behind the hotel and out of sight. Then, he takes the collar off and pets him on the head. “Now don’t go getting into any trouble, and try to keep a low profile, alright?”

  -Bark!-

  “Yeah, yeah.”

  Rusty sits down on the ground, then he suddenly flutters out a set of wings that look like those of a bat.

  “You’re so weird, Rusty.”

  -Bark!- He stretches his wings out, then jumps in the air and beats his wings, flying away into the night.

  Charlie watches him disappear into the distance, then he walks back around to the front of the hotel.

  The night bellman is helping someone take their bags from the trunk of their car. He loads a luggage cart, and when he pushes it into the hotel, Charlie follows behind. The bellman goes to get another cart while Charlie sneaks past him to the elevator. Whew, made it, that guy can talk your ear off.

  Upstairs in the suite, Charlie tells June good night, and then heads into the bedroom with Sadie and Minnie.

  June scoots over to sit next to Eddy, and she leans her head on his shoulder. “Today was pretty wild.”

  Eddy nods, and June feels his body shake.

  “I’m glad I’m here with you, Eddy.”

  He looks down at her hair. He slowly raises his hand, and he strokes down the length of it. June nuzzles her head a little deeper into his shoulder, and then she feels that hot flash come off Eddy again. This time, instead of getting freaked out by it, she smiles and breathes it in.

  Eddy swallows hard. “June?”

  She presses off his chest with a hand, lifting her head up to his—just a few inches away, looking straight into his eyes. “Yes?”

  Eddy pets her hair again and shifts his eyes back and forth between hers. She feels the hot pulse again, then he sets his hand on her shoulder. “I think you’re really special.”

  She smiles and blinks her eyes slowly. “I think you’re pretty special too.” She moves her head a fraction of an inch, still gazing into his eyes. He starts to fidget with his hand, then stops. He takes a deep breath and smiles. “I’m so glad you’re here with me.”

  She nods and whispers, “Me too.” She closes her eyes and inches her face toward his.

  He looks at her lips and serene face. Oh shit, oh shit, oh shit! He wraps his arms around her and sets his head next to hers, giving her a hug. He whispers in her ear, “Good night, my dear June.”

  A different warmth washes over her, and she floats along it. She whispers back, “Good night, Leo.”

  They hold the tight embrace for a few breaths, then they release and smile at each other. They stand and part in the living room for their respective bedrooms, allowing their hands to keep their connection until they’re out of reach.

  In the Costanzas’ room, Eddy brushes his teeth and slides into the bed he’s sharing with Minnie. He stares at the ceiling for a while before looking up Lorenzo Bernardi on his phone.

  In June’s room, she sits by the window, staring out into the night.

  Rusty is almost due north of the hotel, in Rock Creek Park—a 1,754-acre urban park inside DC. He trots along a jogging path that separates a winding stream and road. Occasionally, when a car rounds a corner, its headlights cast Rusty’s shadow across the stream and onto the foliage.

  He hears something rustling ahead of him and on the other side of the stream, and he decides to go investigate. He crosses the stream—the way that a normal dog would—then jumps through some brambles growing near a large tree and enters a small clearing. There, he finds a pack of coyote-wolf hybrids. They circle him, growling and snarling. The coywolves behind Rusty inch closer.

  Rusty barks and spins, but they continue to close in. Then, he sits his little Wire Fox Terrier butt down on the ground, and he howls. He howls louder than a hound, louder than a coyote, and louder than a wolf. The darkness shakes with his howl. The coywolves sit down around him and join in. They howl into the cool air, as a pack, with a new leader.

  Rusty and the coywolves blast through the wilderness of the large, urban park, yipping and barking, jumping and scratching their claws against the concrete jogging paths and over streams and stones. They come upon a deer’s scent, and they track it. They hunt it down, and when it’s surrounded, Rusty leaps into the air and latches his jaws around the deer’s throat. He twists and shakes his body as his teeth rip through the flesh of its neck, severing its wind-pipe and a jugular vein.

  The rest of the pack immediately attacks the limbs and underbelly of the deer, and they drag it to the ground. They tear at the deer’s flesh and eat it while it struggles for breath and dies from blood loss. When they’ve had their fill, they drag it farther into the woods of the park. They snuggle up against the carcass and one another and sleep off their great meal.

  Rusty naps for a little while. When he wakes up, he looks around at the pack of sleeping canines. He silently trots off, back toward the lights of the city.

  “It’s always better to sacrifice your opponent’s men.”

  -Savielly Tartakover (1887 – 1956)

  First thing on Thursday morning, Press Secretary William Russel takes to the podium at the Pentagon with dozens of microphones and cameras trained on him. He sets his water bottle down, pulls notecards from his jacket, and puts on his most optimistic smile. “Good morning. Thank you all for joining me. Today we have some encouraging news: we’ve made a breakthrough. O
ur scientists have developed a vaccine that temporarily blocks infection by the virus. This is the first step toward creating a permanent solution, and our scientists are working around the clock to achieve its development.

  “Although tests have shown the effectiveness of the vaccine, it is currently very difficult and expensive to transport, store, and administer to individual recipients. Specialists are working on improving these mechanisms as well.

  “This temporary measure is being adapted to work with the Pentagon’s defensive technologies, and an emergency system should be ready within twenty-four hours. We hope to have similar systems ready to ship to The Line and to key defensive buildings within a week.

  “Again, although this is a huge first step, it is only that, the first step. The brave men and women fighting to protect innocent Americans are receiving the best resources and information we can offer. We know that the road back will be challenging, but we can now see an end in sight. Thank you.”

  The room erupts with activity. Many reporters have their hands raised and shout out “Mr. Secretary!” to try and get his attention. He calls on someone in the front row.

  A woman in a red pantsuit stands. “Rebecca Jones, ANN. Mr. Secretary, are there plans to share this technology with our neighbors in Canada and Mexico?”

  He nods. “Definitely. We’ve alerted our ambassadors and have requested that they send teams immediately to collect samples and to also work with us in improving the vaccine.” He points to a tall man with perfectly styled blond hair. “Jim, go ahead.”

  “James Purcell, Channel 5 News. Who discovered the vaccine?”

  William glances down to the podium, flips a card over, and skims it. “Dr. Lars Melgaard and his team are creating the vaccines. His research assistant, Dr. Candace Baker, made the initial discovery.” He sets the card down and looks up. “One more; you, on the right.”

  A woman with short hair and a military presence stands. “Wren Riggs, National Daily News. The Pentagon is adding additional and expensive defenses to this building while American soldiers are running out of boots and bullets out on The Line. What do you have to say to the people living in the cities on The Line, and what do you have to say to the protesters outside this building right now, who will surely become more enraged by this new allocation of resources?”

  The press secretary clears his throat. “I think that was more than one question, but I’ll respond as best I can. We will win this war, and we will win it by taking advantage of developments and by giving our armed services the best tools in the world so they can do their job better. No one, I repeat, no one is running out of bullets. We are taking care of our brave soldiers on The Line while they are doing their very best to protect this country. When we have a tool worthy of their dedication and determination, we will provide it to them. Thank you.”

  He walks away from the podium and takes a sip from his water bottle. That went well enough.

  A special meeting is called by the High Council, requiring the War and Defense Cabinet and the senior officers of the Council Guard to attend. Sadie Costanza was also asked to attend, but only as an observer.

  Thankfully, whatever cruelty that prevents vampires from enjoying a buzz from modest amounts of alcohol doesn’t apply itself to caffeine. Charlie slams back a cup of coffee before leaving the suite with Sadie. When they are halfway down the hall toward the elevator, she asks him, “Was that Skip coming back this morning while I was in the shower?”

  “Yeah, I think it’s safe to say that he hit it off with Katlyn.”

  She nods. “What do you know about her?”

  “Nothing, but she seems nice enough.”

  When they arrive at the conference room, Charlie takes a seat near the Council Guard’s senior officers, and Sadie sits at a table in the back with some aides.

  Korina sips from a cardboard to-go coffee cup. “Good morning sir, know what this is all about?” She motions with her hand around the room.

  Charlie lays his hands flat on the table in front of him. “We’ll all find out soon enough.”

  The High Council sits along one edge of the room, where one empty seat awaits the prime minister. It’s still a couple minutes before the start of the meeting, and people chat with one another.

  When the prime minister does enter, he enters with General Riley. Riley takes a seat near Charlie, then Hamid starts the meeting.

  “Allow me to get right to the point. The United States military is going to use their newly developed temporary vaccine to carry out missions inside infected territory. Experts will be escorted under guard to retrieve important assets. We have the opportunity to assist in this operation, and the benefit would be that if the Order decides to go public, our involvement with this operation could be used in public relations campaigns.”

  Charlie furrows his brow. That’s the best you could pitch it?

  “We’ve asked these members of the Council Guard to attend this meeting because we feel that some of them would be ideal candidates for this operation.” Hamid looks at each guardsman as he talks, finally pausing at Charlie. “It will be voluntary, unless we cannot find suitable knights for this mission.” He looks away and moves to take his seat. “General Riley, the floor is yours.”

  He stands and straightens his uniform. “Thank you, Mr. Prime Minister. We’ve tagged this one Operation Sidewinder. The Pentagon has identified certain high-priority assets, and we’re going to go recover them. The duration of protection the vaccine provides is a limiting factor, and the lack of active infrastructure past The Line are real problems, so we need your help.”

  He walks around to the front of the table, leans back against it, and sighs. “I wish that General Campbell—who’s overseeing this operation—and our soldiers could handle this without needing your help, but this operation will work best as a joint effort. We’ll go after assets at two previously abandoned military bases concurrently, and depending on what we learn from the process, expand from there. Each squad will be flown out in modified C-130s, one per target location. The air strips at the bases are covered with debris and wreckage, but there are viable options for landing the C-130s off-strip on nearby sand and dirt, respectively.”

  Charlie glances at Sadie. She’s taking notes. He returns his attention to the general.

  “Each plane will be carrying three specially modified, Aluminum-Armor-Only, Joint-Light-Tactical-Vehicles, or JLTVs, in Zombie-Combat Weapons Carrier configuration. The acronym for these specialty JLTVs is absurd, so we’re dubbing them Armadillos, or Dillos for short.

  “After landing, one of the three Dillos will patrol and deploy experimental anti-zombie devices around the perimeter of the target location, while the other two will infiltrate the base, delivering the specialists and their tools to the assets. We’ve worked out a mission timeline with the scientists who developed the vaccine, and it turns out to be straightforward. Both teams will depart at o-six-hundred hours, be on the ground by about twelve-hundred hours for six hours total, and be back in the air by eighteen or nineteen-hundred. The planes will land back in DC early the next morning, with debriefing and medical analysis to follow.”

  Tiger glances at Tatsu and shrugs. Simple enough, aye?

  “Five airmen will operate each C-130. The patrol Armadillo will require four…non-vampire soldiers. The infiltration Dillos will each carry a specialist, a vampire knight, and two other soldiers—a driver and a gunner.” He looks around the room. “Any questions?”

  Charlie raises his hand, and Sadie holds her breath.

  “Go ahead.”

  Charlie clears his throat. “Is there a strategic advantage to having the vampire knights along? Is there a specific reason that the military needs our help?”

  He nods. “Indeed. At the target locations, we have satellite imagery of the exterior, but no intel on the conditions inside. From the amount of debris we see outside these targets—caused by many different things, like car and plane crashes and other explosions—we can only assume that the i
nterior of these locations are heavily damaged as well. With such a tight timeline and the limited resources we’re working with, we need to ensure that no obstacle can prevent the technicians from accessing the assets.”

  Charlie blinks. “So, in case there’s something big that needs lifting, we could pick it up and put it down somewhere else.”

  Riley grins. Smartass. “That would be helpful yes, but the knights would also be exceptional at close quarter zombie combat because of your strengths and your immunity to the virus. In addition, your immunity is an insurance that the mission will succeed—in case there is an unforeseen delay and the soldiers’ medicine wears off, knights and the vampire specialist will be able to complete the mission.”

  “Vampire specialist?”

  “Yes. There will be one vampire specialist and one civilian specialist traveling to each target location. Three vampires total, per plane.”

  Charlie nods. Alright.

  Korina raises her hand and is addressed by the general. “Sir, what are the assets this operation is meant to recover?”

  “That information is classified, but you can be sure we wouldn’t be risking the lives of soldiers if it wasn’t a priority.”

  “Well, what about the specialists you mentioned? Any information on who they are?”

  He shakes his head. “They’re the top minds in their fields, and their involvement in the mission is top secret. Also, none of the specialists are to be considered active combatants—that is not their mission.”

  Charlie smiles to himself. I doubt the zombies will care less if they’re designated as active combatants or not.

  “Any other questions?”

  Tiger raises his hand, and the general motions to him. “What’s this perimeter zombie defense weapon thing you mentioned?”

  Riley frowns. “Prototypes of Remote Solar Laser Offensive Beacons. We think we’ll need to rely on automated weapon systems when we begin reclaiming swaths of abandoned territory.”