Vengeance in Blood (Book 2): Tribulations

by Thomas A. Watson

  “This is wasteful,” she told Kenneth, shaking her head.

  “Just loosening him up,” he replied, kissing her on the cheek. “Ready to start?”

  She nodded and went over to the desk then pulled out a notebook as she sat down. “I’ve found if you start at the fingers and work your way up the arm breaking bones, humans talk much faster and quit yelling so I can hear their thoughts,” Besseta told him, pulling out a pen.

  Kenneth chuckled and kissed her. “Will you make an appearance?”

  “So I’m bad cop?” she asked with a frown.

  “Never,” Kenneth gasped. “You’re just the cop that will scare the shit out of him. I need him to offer information freely that I can question.”

  “Very well,” she said, getting up. “If I get blood on my clothes, I’m not responsible for my actions,” she told him then slowly walked down the hall and stopped at the cell door. With Besseta’s appearance, the sobs turned into a high-pitched scream as the agent jumped up and backed into a corner, holding up his hands.

  Kenneth stepped up behind Besseta. “Hey Ted, this is my wife Besseta,” Kenneth said with a smile. “Let me tell you she is the best woman a man could ever ask for.”

  Besseta looked up over her shoulder at Kenneth’s smiling face. “You’re so sweet.” Feelings of hopelessness washed over the agent as he started crying, cowering in the corner.

  “Please,” he whimpered.

  “Ted, I don’t like it when I introduce my wife to someone and they don’t agree with me that she is the most beautiful woman on the Earth,” Kenneth said with a smile.

  “She is the most beautiful thing on the Earth,” he whimpered. “Please just ask me what you want to know.”

  Kenneth bent down and kissed the side of Besseta’s neck. “See, I told you that you were the most beautiful,” he told her.

  “I only care what you think,” she said, turning around. “If you don’t quit kissing my neck, this will wait till tomorrow.”

  Rolling his head back, Kenneth thought about that. “Let’s see what he has to say before we get the drills and sanders,” he finally said. She hugged him and went back to sit at the desk down the hallway near the entrance. Smiling when she sat down, she grinned as Ted’s thoughts swarmed her mind. He was broken, and Kenneth had never touched him.

  “So Ted,” Kenneth said, getting back in his seat and pulling out the notepad that he had used the night before. “Who is over your little club?”

  “No one,” the agent whimpered.

  “Ted, she hasn’t left. She’s just down the hall waiting on me. Before you get any ideas, you aren’t the first that’s been through here. Granted, you’re the first she’s let me question. She likes breaking bones to get her answers,” Kenneth said with a smile. “Lies won’t be tolerated. For each lie, one finger will be broken. Then we will go up the hands into the arms then start on your feet and legs. Now who is over your little club?”

  “No one person. There are seven members on the board that make the decisions,” the agent said, finally lowering his hands.

  “Names?” Kenneth asked, looking at his notepad, and as the agent called out names, Kenneth made checks by the ones found in the cellphone. “Now who on that list is over the board?”

  “No one person leads the Manu Fortis. The strong will lead the weak,” the agent told him, and Besseta coughed from her desk down the hall.

  “Ted, you’re about to lose a thumb,” Kenneth warned.

  “If it would be anyone, it would be Charles Templeton,” he answered quickly.

  Nodding, Kenneth made notes. “I’ve heard that name before; refresh my memory.”

  “An eccentric multibillionaire, he is rumored to be the richest man in America.”

  “I see,” Kenneth muttered, writing. “Has he ever been in government?”

  A soft laugh came from the agent. “No, not that I’ve heard. He isn’t the type to rank and file.”

  “Yet he is in an organization,” Kenneth pointed out.

  “Yes, he funds parties and gets elections pulled for the candidate that Manu Fortis backs.”

  “Just how big is your little club?” Kenneth asked.

  “I don’t know, but it’s big,” the agent told him with wide eyes. “I’ve run into members in every branch and office in this country. Not to mention the EU and Australia,” the agent confessed.

  “Your goal is to replace the government so you can rule the little people?” Kenneth asked.

  “No,” he chuckled, “we are just slowly changing the laws and will put people we want in charge.”

  “How long has your group been after vampires?” Kenneth asked.

  “Ever since I’ve joined.”

  “That’s not what I asked,” Kenneth said, looking up.

  The agent quickly answered, “Look, all I know is we’ve been in active search for a specimen since World War 2. I’ve read the reports we got from the Nazis. But I think there were efforts since the turn of the century.”

  “How many has your little group actually captured?”

  “They had one when I was first brought in fifteen years ago, but he died, and all we could do was study a corpse,” the agent admitted. “Then you gave us the information to grab those first two. We took them in the daylight because we found they are much weaker and can actually be manhandled with sheer numbers. At night, forget it. One of our group came up with putting a bomb in their chest and skull to force compliance.”

  “Yes, I have one, and it’s rather neat,” Kenneth admitted. “What did they learn from the corpse?”

  “The virus dies with the host. The only virus left is incorporated into the DNA, and we can’t tell what is virus and what’s DNA.”

  “Your little clubhouse we burnt down—what were you attempting?” Kenneth asked.

  “To isolate the virus and see if it can be made less lethal so more people could be made immortal,” he answered.

  “So what do you know about the lethality of the virus?”

  “Only one in a hundred thousand will actually bond with the virus, but they still must survive the bond,” the agent answered.

  “Just how did you come up with that?” Kenneth asked.

  “We didn’t. The Nazis did, but a British scientist with us confirmed it when he went through the data.”

  “How many vampires do you have now?” Kenneth asked.

  “After your fire, we only have nine here in America and fourteen in Europe.”

  Kenneth nodded as he wrote down what Ted said. “Where else are you doing the research?”

  “Only at the lab you burnt down. The politicians started breathing down our necks to quit the efforts, but we moved all of our projects off the public radar. I’m sure one will be set up soon,” the agent admitted.

  “Where do you guys gather to have meetings and play cards?” Kenneth asked.

  Looking away, the agent mumbled, “At the Bilderberger meetings.”

  “Oh well,” Kenneth said, surprised, “that explains a few things.”

  “You can’t fight them,” the agent told him.

  “Don’t want to,” Kenneth said, looking up. “I just want to stop this little endeavor of trying to extend the life of assholes. You guys screw up enough with a normal life span; I would hate to see the world if you lived millennia.”

  Not understanding Kenneth, the agent looked at him confused. “You’re just trying to save vampires?”

  “No, and only I get to ask questions,” Kenneth said, looking down and writing. “What powers have you uncovered in the vampires?”

  “Powers?” the agent scoffed. “Super strength and speed, but the reports from the Nazis hinted at something like ESP, but none have been confirmed.”

  “Well, that’s something,” Kenneth mumbled, shocked and relieved. “What vampire is helping you?”

  “Huh?” the agent asked, and Kenneth looked up with a serious expression. “Helping us? Are you kidding?”

  “So I take it that’s over your
pay grade?” Kenneth asked.

  The expression left the agent’s face. “There’s no way. I would’ve known. We know there is like a ruling class of vampires, and this was confirmed when we caught the first two, but we’ve never gotten close. They were supposed to start a tribute where the lower class vampires pay homage to the ruling class, but that was stopped.”

  “Interesting,” Kenneth said, making notes. The agent was about to ask a question but stopped. “How many of your people have died so far?”

  “I don’t have an accurate number since the fire, but we’ve lost over a hundred over the past two months. One was on the council.”

  “Does that have your playmates worried?”

  “Yes, every member is heading underground till we get more assets to engage the vampires with.”

  “By assets you mean vampires you control?” Kenneth asked, and the agent nodded. “Is America the only area where you are taking losses?”

  “No, in Europe, we are getting hit hard. A team was in contact with several vampires, but I don’t know the outcome since the fire started when they engaged.”

  “How long do you think Manu Fortis can keep these losses up?”

  “Forever. We have more people,” the agent told him. “With our estimates, there wouldn’t be more than seven hundred vampires in the United States and less than sixteen thousand on the planet. We can win against those numbers.”

  “Beg to differ, but let’s continue,” Kenneth said. “What did you find out about the virus in your lab?”

  “We hadn’t even isolated it yet.”

  “So you didn’t learn anything?”

  The agent shrugged. “Nothing you don’t know and we didn’t learn from the Nazis.”

  “How can I get a guest list of your club?”

  “You can’t,” Ted told him. “Each person only knows who they brought in and of course who they’ve met.”

  “Why did your boys recruit Harry?”

  “Harry Bentley, right?” the agent asked, and Kenneth nodded. “To control you, and he was going to be moved up the ladder. When you accept entry, you are rewarded.”

  “When were you going to kill me?”

  Ted looked away. “It was discussed we would keep you till we had captured fifty, but when it was reported you were out sick, we marked you for termination.”

  “Who did?”

  “The council asked for mine and Victor Lowell’s recommendation, and we agreed you were an asset we couldn’t let the vampires or the public know about. You seem to have the ability to interrupt mountains of data very quickly and have unequaled interrogation techniques like knowing when someone is lying,” he answered, speaking very quietly.

  Not liking that they knew that much about him, Kenneth changed questions. “So the council is still meeting?”

  “By video only,” Ted told him, looking up. “They are very worried about the attacks. The vampires seem to be persuasive with interrogation.”

  “On that, you would be very correct,” Kenneth nodded. “Now let’s discuss your safe houses, retreats, and meeting places.”

  That afternoon, Kenneth was fixing the agent another sandwich. True to her word about not making food for the prisoner, Besseta sat on the barstool, watching him. “He’s an evil prick,” she concluded.

  “I’m not arguing that,” Kenneth said, looking up. “We need information, and he gave us much more than we asked him. I’m not saying your abilities aren’t great, but unless you can crawl inside their mind and pull everything out, we need him to talk.”

  “You’re not planning on letting him go, are you?” she asked with a raised eyebrow.

  “Haven’t decided?” Kenneth said and started digging for a plastic cup.

  “Seriously?!” she shouted.

  He nodded. “We could track him and see where they take him. Hell, if I could infect him with something to get them, I would,” Kenneth admitted and could see Besseta was shocked. “Baby, they would kill him, but he may be of use to us alive. I’m not saying we will, but we need to think about it.”

  As Kenneth filled a plastic cup with water, she thought about it. “It’s easier to just kill him,” she concluded.

  “Yes it is, but we need to think about it,” he said, grabbing the sandwich. He carried it and water to the agent as Besseta jumped off the stool and started cooking for Kenneth.

  When Kenneth came back, he was reading Besseta’s notes and comparing them to his. Sitting at the bar, Besseta set his plate down. “Thank you,” he said, looking up at her. “They really don’t know much about vampires,” he pointed out.

  “Why do you think the League enforces the law?” she asked. “Baby, human weapons have increased in lethality beyond anything I ever imagined.”

  “So he was right about the numbers?” Kenneth asked.

  She contorted her face. “Well, I know at the last tribute, six hundred and twenty-two vampires were before me, and I was one of the last. I really think worldwide, we are around ten thousand.”

  “Yes, I can understand the League’s point of view. Ten thousand against eight billion are hopeless odds,” Kenneth admitted. “So how do you want to move on our newfound information?”

  “I want to contact Maliki tonight and see what he has to say,” Besseta told him.

  “I don’t like marching to the League’s drumbeat,” Kenneth said, giving her a disapproving look.

  She waved her hand, brushing him off. “Please, the only reason I have is—” she stopped suddenly. “So they would leave you alone,” she mumbled, not meaning to say it aloud.

  Kenneth leaned back in his chair. “They are using me to control you?” he asked with his face getting red.

  “No,” she snapped. “I told them you were my initiate, remember?” she asked, and he nodded. “I don’t want them to rush it. We’ll just live our life, and I’ll tell them you didn’t make the change.”

  “Do all initiates have to be approved?” he asked.

  “No, the only reason they knew about you is you were tracking known vampires. Then when I moved in with you, I had to tell them because the League knew you would know the secret.”

  “So you’ll love me old and gray?” Kenneth asked with a smile.

  Walking around the bar, Besseta hugged him. “I’ll love you always. Old and gray doesn’t matter to me. When you do leave me, I will carry you in my heart forever,” she told him, trying not to cry at just the thought of him not with her.

  “No matter Heaven or Hell, I’ll wait on you, and in this world, I’ll be with you. I have and always will love you,” he told her with a tear rolling down his face.

  Chapter 3

  Coming to a stop, Besseta took off her backpack and pulled out a cellphone. The fight with Kenneth to just let her run to make the call had been long and hard. In the end, he relented, not able to argue that she could get further than he could drive her. She was just outside of Detroit as she dialed the number and started the phone tag.

  “You do fast work,” Maliki answered.

  “Let me tell you if you say their name again, I will find you and rip your head off!” Besseta shouted. “They are scanning the cell waves, looking for certain words!”

  Silence met her on the phone, and she looked at the screen to make sure Maliki hadn’t hung up on her. “I’m sorry; I truly didn’t think they had that capability,” he finally told her.

  “Well, they do,” she huffed. “There are only nine associates left here. Across the pond, they have a few more.”

  Laughing, Maliki said, “Not more than that. They tried to hit the League there, and they keep much more security than we ever have. I’m told the human casualties were over fifty, and they took some of the attackers to see what they knew.”

  “Don’t gloat. This war is long from over. We have found new information that they know about our physical limitations. There are also a whole lot more of them than us.”

  “Believe me, I won’t underestimate them again,” Maliki assured her. “When will
you attempt the change to your initiate?”

  “When he’s ready and not before,” she snapped.

  “I was just asking.”

  “Our deal still stands, correct?” she asked.

  “Of course,” Maliki chuckled. “I am a man of my word, and the League agreed with me.”

  “I’m taking this war on a different front, so I’ll try to make contact when I can.”

  “Oh, how so?” he asked. “Just to make sure we don’t waste resources after the same target,” he clarified.

  “I’m going after those in the trenches. You need to concentrate on those at the top. You got one of their top guys.”

  “You ARE very good,” Maliki smirked. “Yes I do, and he’s still with us.”

  “I hope you’re not bobbing anymore?”

  “No, we stopped that after our last talk,” Maliki told her. “What else have you found out?”

  “Nothing that I can tell you over a phone and not have helicopters here in minutes.”

  “Ooh, sounds interesting,” Maliki told her. “When we can, I’ll ask you to visit.”

  “I’m sure you know already,” Besseta told him. “I need a break, but I will be busy.”

  “Very well. Take care,” he told her. “You have always been one of my favorites even with your foolish quest.”

  Not even responding, Besseta hung up and destroyed the phone. Putting her pack on, Besseta vanished into the night. She replayed the conversation in her mind, not liking any part of it. Maliki didn’t tell her anything and seemed cheerful. Devious didn’t even come close to describing him as far as she was concerned.

  Within two hours, she was back and found Kenneth down in the basement marking the map with pins. “Hey baby,” he said without turning around. “What did creepy guy have to say?”

  “That would describe him,” she said, giggling. “Not really much, and I don’t like it.”