He left the kitchen area in search of Rufus. Surely he could tell him what was happening before his world turned completely upside down.
Viktor went first to the study, then to the greeting room. He could find plenty of the staff preparing the rooms, but nobody knew where Rufus was. Finally he decided to check his private chambers. He found Rufus dressing for guests and bowed gracefully when he saw Rufus slipping on his riding boots.
“Forgive me, m’lord.” Viktor announced after barging in. “I should have knocked.”
“Viktor!” Rufus seemed happy to see him, and didn’t seem alarmed at the intrusion. “Please, do come in.”
Viktor entered and seemed somewhat disturbed. “Please forgive the intrusion, but I’ve heard that Tasha and Nadia are returning with the human hunters?”
“Oui! They should be arriving shortly. By helicopter, I believe.” Rufus didn’t seem too concerned to elaborate.
“M’lord?” Viktor hoped that he might explain a bit more. “Please forgive my ignorance, but…”
Rufus looked up at him absently for a moment. Then the realization struck him. “Oh, Viktor! My dear, dear, Viktor. I am so sorry. Nobody has kept you abreast of what has happened in your absence?”
“No, m’lord, they haven’t.” he stated solemnly.
“So much,” he stated, “I barely know where to begin.” Rufus pulled the other boot on and stood. “In short, your Natashia saved one of the hunters from the Lamia Humanus, we nursed him back to health and he agreed to take word of our plight to the other hunters.”
“Really?” Viktor was so shocked that the humans would be willing to even listen to their side of the story that he was almost beyond words.
“And the best part…” Rufus paused. “well, perhaps, I should choose my words more wisely.” He turned and approached Viktor and held him firmly by the shoulders, staring him in the eye. “My friend, please prepare yourself for a moment. I have some rather shocking news.”
Viktor had a moment of horror streak through him where he feared something terrible may have happened to one of his family during his absence. Perhaps the hunters were holding one of them until after they met with Rufus, or they had threatened them or…
“They are not entirely…human. They are ‘wolves’.” Rufus said slowly. “And the wolf that Natashia saved for us?”
“Yes?” Viktor answered slowly.
“He has mated with Nadia.” Rufus answered slowly.
Viktor felt his legs go weak and shaky. His daughter is mated to a hunter? It couldn’t be. The Fates could not be that cruel, and yet, here stood Rufus looking him in the eye and telling him that it was. The room slowly grew taller and he felt Rufus’ grip grow stronger on his shoulders as he realized he was being directed to a chair in the room. He found himself sitting in the chair, his breathing labored.
“Please, my friend. He is a good man. And his name is Jack. Jack Thompson…and Nadia loves him deeply.”
“A good man?” Viktor mumbled.
“Well, a good wolf. And a good man.” Rufus stated as he turned to finish dressing. “And he’ll be here shortly. You’ll get the opportunity to meet him.”
Viktor had the uncanny urge to rip his throat out and he had yet to meet the man. “How could she mate with him if she just met him?”
“It was destined.” Rufus said as he tied his tie. “She assumed the form of the wolf in his presence.”
Viktor’s eyes grew wide. “It can’t be. He’s not a true wolf.” He stated.
“I do not pretend to understand how these things work my friend. I only know that she did and they are.” He donned his jacket. “And Natashia has accepted him.”
Viktor’s jaw dropped. “Never. She would never accept a human hunter as our only daughter’s mate.” He stated.
“And yet…she has.” Rufus glanced at the clock on his bedside table. “Come. They shall be here shortly. Are you prepared to meet your new son-in-law?”
Viktor paled at the thought, and yet, he found himself standing and following Rufus out into the hallway. If his daughter has not yet sealed her fate, she may soon find herself a widow.
*****
Laura went through the daily reports while First Squad escorted Mitchell to the island to meet with the vampire that arranged for Jack’s rescue. When she got the two-way report that the Pave-Hawk had lifted off and that the team would contact her upon their departure from the island, she made a note in the duty log then went back to the drudgery of her daily administrative duties.
A knock at the door brought her attention away from the reports and she looked up to see Evan standing there. “Busy?” he asked.
“Same stuff, different day. You have something?”
“Actually, I wanted to take a break from my weapons research and see if you had eaten?” He asked her. Although he never fed in front of her, he liked to escort her to meals and hold conversations while she ate. It gave his mind a distraction and allowed her a break that she often needed.
She glanced at the clock. “Wow. I totally missed supper, didn’t I?” She sat her folders down and stretched from behind the desk. “I wonder if there’s anything left in the cafeteria?”
“Even if there’s not, I bet we could whip you up something.” He offered. He held out his arm and she graciously accepted it. “What would you like, madam? Cold cuts on stale bread, cold soup or moldy cheeses on soggy crackers?” he quipped.
“Oh, the selections sound divine, but I’m wondering if there might be any bruised fruit or perhaps overly processed boxed items that are woefully out of date?” she laughed, mocking his slight accent.
As they headed toward the cafeteria, one of the young captains approached her. “Ma’am? We have a primary that just came in from Ohio from one of our established field agents.”
“Okay, Captain, just put it on my desk.” She said, still smiling from her banter with Evan.
“That’s just it ma’am. Something isn’t right about it.” The Captain noted.
Laura and Evan both stopped, ready to find out more. “Explain.”
“Like I said, ma’am, this came in from one of our experienced field agents, an ex-Marine and an experienced zombie hunter. Everything sounds normal in the call-in until you get to the end…the last digits. They’re completely off. As you know, the first digits are the classification code, then the state, the next is a county code, the next is a GPS, and next is a time and finally, the initial sighting date code, correct? Well, everything falls into place perfectly until you get to the sighting date code.” He said. “According to the numbers he gave us, the sighting date code would be in the year 2128. And that just isn’t right.”
Laura took the initial report and looked it over. She looked over everything and it seemed as if everything appeared in order, except the sighting date code. “The call is still on the hard drive, right? It wouldn’t be archived yet?”
“No ma’am. It just came in. We don’t archive anything for at least three days.” The captain replied.
“And you recognized his voice, correct?” Evan asked.
“Oh yeah, doc. I’ve dealt with Mark a number of times over the years. Gunnie and I go back quite a while. It was him, alright.”
Laura kept scanning the document, reading over the numbers. They used numerical code so that should anybody intercept the call, they wouldn’t know what the call was about. It wasn’t necessarily a code, per se, but a series of numbers giving the type of threat, the location, time and date. Mark had done this long enough that he knew better than to screw up something as simple as a date. “Did you request clarification, captain?”
“Protocol dictates a secondary dictation, ma’am to ensure that the numbers were recited correctly. He ensured me that they were, indeed, correct. He stood firm that the report was accurate as filed.”
Laura breathed deeply as she looked the captain firmly in the eye. “Okay then. Either we have time travelling…” she looked at the report again for clarification. “time travelli
ng ‘zombies’ in west central Ohio. Or Mark Tufo is trying to send us a message.”
“My vote is that he’s trying to send a message.” Evan agreed.
“Did he seem under duress at all?” she asked.
“No ma’am. As casual as ever.” The captain answered.
Evan snapped his fingers. “If he was, I know how to tell.” He motioned for them to follow him. “To the Batcave!” he smiled. Laura and the young captain shrugged and followed him to his lab. He pushed some papers and folders out of the way and took his seat behind his computer. After logging in he began accessing his personal files.
“I discovered some software at your old place of business one day when I couldn’t sleep and decided to relieve them of a copy…”
“You mean you stole it?” Laura asked.
“Well they weren’t using it at the time.” Evan proffered. “It’s not like they could track it back to me. They get hacked all the time, Laura. Usually by kids or reporters or…anyway, I found this little gem and thought it might come in handy one day. Lucky for us, it may very well be what we need.” He punched in a few keys and a program appeared on his screen.
“What is that?” she asked.
“It’s a voice stress analyzer.” He answered. “Basically it’s a ‘lie detector’ for use over a telephone or during normal conversation. It analyzes people’s speech patterns and detects stress levels to determine if someone is being less than totally honest.” He grinned. “Perfectly harmless, I assure you.”
“A lie detector? How will that help tell us if Mark was under duress?” the captain asked.
“It analyzes stress, silly. Whether one is lying or under duress, this will show it. Get it?”
“Oh. Now I do.” He answered somewhat sheepishly.
“So, I just punch up the recordings for today’s incoming calls. And…we find the folder where they save the incoming primaries…and then we click on this one…and then…viola! Then I click here and we drag it there and copy this file and save it here and we can now analyze it.” He said.
Laura watched as Evan manipulated the files. “I didn’t know you had access to all of this, Evan.” She said.
“I don’t. I hacked Mitchell’s password years ago and he never changed it.” He muttered. Then he smiled up at her. “Not that I use it except when he needs me to.”
She shook her head. “Remind me never to piss you off.”
“I never use my powers for evil, my dear.” He stated. “Okay, folks. Here we go. Analyzing one ex-Marine Gunnery Sergeant Mark Tufo.” He clicked the button and the recording began to play. The voice analyzer displayed both Tufo’s voice and the Duty Officer’s on the screen. The Duty Officer’s voice registered hi’s and low’s between 1.2 and 1.4. Tufo’s voice, although it sounded normal, registered between 4.5 and 4.7. “Hmm. This doesn’t look good.”
“No, it doesn’t, does it?” Laura said.
“I think we should compare it to some of his older calls.” The captain said. “I’m telling ya, he sounded normal on the phone.”
“Agreed.” Evan said. “Let me go to the archive.” He began thumbing through the archive which was a bit more difficult since the archives weren’t saved by name, only region. “What area does he cover?”
“Region seven.” Laura answered.
“Aha. Okay. Here’s some. I’ll copy three of them so we’ll have a working sample to go by.” Evan said.
After comparing the three copies, it was agreed. Tufo’s voice stress analysis indicated that his call that morning was definitely under stress. In fact a call from two years prior, a secondary sighting confirmation that had him, at the time confirming on his cell phone while firing upon a class II gargoyle, and his voice stress level never broke a 2.3. The man was obviously made of sturdier stuff than most.
“I’m not waiting for any secondary to come in. I’m sending Second Squad in.” Laura said.
“Yes ma’am.” The captain snapped to.
“Did you trace where his call came from?” She asked.
“It was his cell, but we can triangulate from the towers the location of the call and get a location.” He answered.
“I want it ten minutes ago.” She said. “Alert the squad. They’re going active.”
17
“Sicarii, the trap has been set.” The messenger informed the dark vampire. “The humans require being told twice of threats, so our people have abducted their agent and forced his hand once.” The little messenger seemed quite proud to make his report and actually made eye contact, his head held high. “Once it is closer to sundown in the Americas, we will make a second report to draw the hunters in and then our people will take them and destroy them!” he was positively beaming.
The dark vampire watched him intently, waiting for him to correct his obvious mistakes, but he didn’t. After a moment, the messenger began to falter and broke eye contact, bowing his head, his eyes, glued to the floor. “You do mean, that our people will destroy all but one of them, do you not, Puppet?”
“Of course, master!” he cried. “The whole plan is to capture one for your amusement and interrogation.” He began visibly shaking.
The dark vampire shook his head. “Puppet, the trap is not yet set. The humans have been informed of a potential threat, if they require a second notice, yes?”
“Yes, master. Once again, you are correct.” The messenger answered.
The dark vampire slowly approached him and placed a hand on his trembling shoulder. “Take pride in being a vampire, Puppet. You are a predator. And you serve a mighty king.” The dark one they called Sicarii used his nails to raise the messenger’s chin so that his head was once more held high. “Quit acting like a mouse and be vampiri.” He whispered.
The messenger squared his shoulders and did his best to stop shaking. “Yes, master.”
“Inform me when the hunter has been captured.” He stated.
“Yes, Sicarii. As you will, so mote it be.” The messenger turned and left.
The dark vampire appeared to merely step up to the second story window once again and peered out onto his city. So many descendants of the Romans in the region and this city held the name of the empire that tortured and killed its way across the known world. He could hardly wait until the inhabitants were shrieking in fear, quivering in their homes, afraid of the shrinking sun and the terrors that awaited them in the darkness. A slow smile spread cross his stony features and he allowed himself to feel joy at the triumph that he knew was at his hands.
*****
The HH-60 Pave Hawk settled in for a landing along the wooded line of Thorn’s island. Chief Thompson knew that Rufus took a huge leap of faith giving the coordinates of his home to their unit and he had full confidence that setting up this meeting was the right thing to do. As first squad disembarked the helicopter, they set up a defensive perimeter around the transport, but Jack and Colonel Mitchell stepped out and went forward to meet the people who were approaching to greet them. The sun had not quite set yet, so Jack knew that none of the vampires that called the island home would be among those nearing the helicopter.
Jack recognized a few faces from his time on the island, but a tall man with dark, wavy hair and goatee stepping lively in a grey business suit in the lead was a new face to him. They stopped at the end of the path and waited for the hunters to close the distance. From the rear of the helicopter, Nadia and Natashia stepped out and kept their heads low, the wind from the rotors, blowing their hair about. The man with the dark hair suddenly smiled upon seeing them.
Nadia and Natashia turned to follow Jack and Colonel Mitchell when they spotted the dark haired man. Nadia suddenly burst out, “Father!” and Natashia turned to spot him standing at the end of the path. Nadia was already running to greet him. For a fleeting moment, she was six years old again, her pale hair glowing in the twilight as she played in the evening air catching fireflies to place in a jar. Viktor had to blink twice to see her as the young woman that she truly was.
Her embrace nearly knocked him from his feet and he stumbled at the end of the path, her laughter a tonic to his soul. Oh, how he had missed his little girl. When he looked up again, his beautiful Tasha was before him, as lovely as the day they were wed. His heart broke all over again. He pulled her to him and held her so tightly, he breathed in her scent and nuzzled her neck. It felt good just to know that she was real. He kept staring at his Tasha, but Nadia was saying something to him, pulling him as she used to when she was little…there was something she wanted to show him, someone she wanted him to meet. But that would have to wait.
“In a moment, sweetheart. I have formal business for Rufus, first. All in good time, my dear.” He told her, and her smile never left her face. His family was together again.
When the Colonel reached the path the tall man extended his hand to him, “My name is Viktor and I shall escort you to Monsieur Thorn.” The man’s face was all business, but he offered a smile, Nadia still clinging to his arm.
“Colonel Matt Mitchell. Thank you for your hospitality.” Matt tried his best to be friendly, but his nervousness was evident.
Viktor turned and escorted the team into the rear courtyard of the castle. The sentries at the spires evident, however, their eyes were not on the team below but to the skies and the ocean beyond. “Please, forgive the security measures, Colonel. This is a rather…historical meeting. Monsieur Thorn would rather be careful, than careless. I’m sure you understand.” No mention was made of the fact that the team behind Colonel Mitchell was fully armed.
“I understand completely, Viktor. From what Jack has told me, there are those who would like to prevent us from knowing the truth about a lot of things that have happened in the past.” Matt said.
“This is very true. The Lamia Humanus are a very ruthless group. They see humans as nothing more than a meal. Even though they once were human themselves, many of them, anyway.” Viktor lead them through the great parlor and the dining hall, smells of a banquet being prepared washed through the hallways. “Monsieur Thorn has prepared a feast in your honor this evening. I hope you will be our honored guests and attend?”
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