The crowds were sporadic at this time of night. At the main intersection, a gang of five boys lounged against the wall. They’d diverted the news display and were playing some complicated abstract game that leaked across the hall. Two girls sat at their feet, gossiping and laughing. As she and Josh moved closer, one of the boys detached himself from the gang and ambled into the hallway. He moved with a gangly gate. Spiked red hair topped a pale white face. Sami felt Josh shift to the right behind her, a typical protection move. She kept her hands free, slowed the swing of her arms, making it more deliberate, holding them farther from her body.
“Hey Sami, been a long time?” the boy called.
That voice, deeper than she’d ever heard it. Could it be?
“Michael!” She scooped him up into her arms. A flash of her hand signalled Josh to relax. The boy squirmed out of her grasp but she could see he was pleased with her attention.
“Come on, Sami.”
“You’re at least a foot taller since the last time I saw you,” she said. God, had she said that? She felt a sudden flash of feeling incredibly old. Again the boy pretended to be annoyed for his friends’ benefit.
“You haven’t been gone that long,” he said.
“Long enough. You know you look more like your dad every day.”
This brought a smile to his face. “Really?”
She draped an arm around his slender shoulders. “You bet. Of course he had better grades than you.”
“Aw, Sami, don’t jack me.”
“You’ve got a family tradition to live up to, Michael. Ph.Ds and all that. Am I gonna hear good things from my Gran about you?”
“Yeah.”
He didn’t meet her eye, stared instead at the flashes of color across the wall. Not a good sign but she let it go. She’d hear about it from Gran.
“Is she home?”
“She was earlier. We had dinner.”
Sami squeezed his shoulder. “I bet you had two helpings. You could probably use another.”
The blush reddened his face and turned the tops of his ears pink. “She always forces me.”
“Yes, I know exactly how she forces.”
A couple of chuckles from Michael’s friends convinced her to have mercy. She released his shoulders and stepped back. She felt the curious eyes of the boys on her. Michael still blushed furiously. His eyes pleaded with her. Maybe she could rescue his reputation.
“Don’t stay out too late,” she purred. She let her hand caress his face and down along his arm. Behind him, the boys gawked and the girls smirked.
Josh managed to keep a straight face as she led him down the hall. The moment they turned the corner, he started to laugh.
“Shut up, they’ll hear you,” she said.
“Oh, I’m sorry. The look on his face was priceless. I can’t believe that was little Michael.”
“I know.” She could still picture the little boy that she had rescued in her mind’s eye. As the disaster spread, Gran had convinced her to the leave the city. Her last night at the university, the vampires had struck. Random and furious, the attacks had increased. People panicked. She’d found Michael hiding in a storage closet on campus. Blood streaked his clothing and his face. At first she’d thought he’d been attacked, especially because he wouldn’t respond to her but soon she realized he’d witnessed the massacre of his father, an associate professor at the university. When she fled the city, she took him with her.
“They sure grow up fast.” Josh’s voice grew quiet, causing Sami to look over at him. A small frown drew down the corners of his mouth, creasing his forehead with lines. He was thinking of Peter, she realized. A pang of sorrow stabbed her gut. No matter how much she cared for Peter she’d never feel his loss at the same depth as Josh.
The hallway turned to the left and widened into a boulevard. Gran’s apartment was five doors down. Sami’s heartbeat quickened at the sight of her door, a dull nondescript grey decorated with a hand painted sign displaying the address. The corners of the sign had curled and yellowed but Sami remembered them when they were sharp and crisp. She and Michael had designed and drawn it together then Gran had affixed it with some spray adhesive. Sami pressed her palm to the reader beside the door. It buzzed and clicked as the door snapped open.
Sami stepped over the threshold and into the main room of the apartment. “Gran, it’s me. I’m back from patrol and have Josh with me.”
Silence greeted her. Odd. Gran didn’t usually stay out this late.
“Hmm, I was looking forward to some of her soup,” Josh said.
“She probably has some in the kitchen,” Sami said. She moved toward the bedrooms. Maybe Gran was asleep and hadn’t heard them come in.
Gran’s bedroom was empty, the bed made and unslept in. Sami stared at it from the doorway and felt coldness sink into her bones.
“She’s probably got somewhere else more interesting to sleep,” Josh said with forced cheerfulness. His jaw snapped shut when Sami glared at him. No one made stupid jokes about her Gran.
A noise from the front room distracted her. Josh stiffened. Sami nodded and they moved slowly down the hall, each on either side, knees bent, bodies crouched to present smaller targets. Sami pressed her hand to her waist, felt the small needle knife slip into her palm. Josh’s large hands clenched into fists. Each to their own preferred weaponry, she thought.
She slowed as they reached the entrance to the main room. At her hand signal, Josh hung back. Sami crouched even lower and inched forward. A shadow crossed the threshold. Her hand jerked. She stopped it barely in time.
“Gran!”
The old woman stopped pulled off her sweater and blinked. “Sami?”
Sami straightened and bent to give her Gran a hug. As the old woman hugged her back, Sami palmed the needle knife.
Releasing her, Sami stepped away. A bright smile split Gran’s face, increasing the wrinkles a hundredfold. She had a little more tiredness in her warm brown eyes, a few more age spots dotted the thin brown skin. Her close-cropped afro was more grey than black, but it was still the same Gran.
“What a wonderful surprise,” the old woman said. “And you brought Josh with you. Come here, son.”
Josh bounded forward and engulfed the old woman in his arms. She disappeared from view until Josh released her. A smile eased the tension on his face, a tension he’d been wearing since they’d left Peter behind.
“You both must be famished. Let me pull out some food for you. Sit down, Josh.” She hustled him toward the worn brown sofa then bustled away into the small back kitchen. Sami followed and stood in the doorway as Gran rummaged in the fridge, pulling out containers of food. After the fifth one, Sami had to stop her.
“Gran, what army are you cooking for?”
“I just thought you might be hungry is all.” A hurt look crossed her face.
Sami sighed. “That’s enough food, Gran. Thank you.”
The old woman glanced uncertainly at the containers. “Are you sure? Josh is a big boy.”
Sami held up her hands in surrender. “Whatever you think is best.”
Another smile crinkled Gran’s face. She removed two more containers and shut the fridge.
“I ran into Michael out in the halls. It’s a little late for him to be out, isn’t it?”
The old woman’s shoulders stiffened then drooped. “He’s stopped minding me as much as he used to. It doesn’t impress his friends to be listening to an old woman.”
Sami frowned. “I’ll talk to him.”
“No, you won’t!”
Sami blinked at the harshness in her voice. “Why?”
“This is between him and me. You’re gone too much to have a say in it.” Gran shook her head. “This is just a phase for him. He’s young and rebelling. It’s what boys do at that age. Your dad was the same. It’ll blow itself out as long as it’s not given it too much credence.”
“I’m sorry, Gran.”
The old woman stopped fussing with the containers. Her
leathery fingers felt dry on Sami’s cheek.
“I’m not scolding you, child. I know you do important work when you’re gone.”
“But you think I should be here, helping with Michael, working in the hospitals,” Sami said quietly.
“I didn’t say that.”
“Not this time but you’ve said it before.”
The old woman’s hand dropped. “I know. I just want you safe, is all. Every time you leave I wonder if you’ll be coming back.”
Sami took a deep breath, felt it shudder through her chest as if her body would shatter if she moved the wrong way. A familiar ache started at the base of her spine and curled up her back until it clenched her heart.
“You know I have to go, Gran. We can’t live like this forever. One day they’re going to get in if we don’t stop them now. Then there won’t be any other place to hide.”
“But do you have to be the one to stop them, Sami?”
A bitter smile curled Sami’s lips. “You know I don’t trust anyone to do as good a job.”
A harsh laugh escaped Gran’s chest. “You sound just like your dad, same damned perfectionism. Well, if you’re going to be like that you’d better have more meat on your bones. What are in those rations? You’re getting damned skinny. Josh is too. Scrawny arms such as I’ve never seen...”
Sami smiled as Gran nattered on. Their truce upheld.
While she moved around the kitchen, Sami collected the tea service and took it into the main room. Josh sat in the center of the sofa, his eyes half closed. He shook himself as she set the tea service on the table in front of him.
“Three death blasters too much for you?” she teased.
He scowled at her. “Don’t suppose that’s Long Island, is it?”
“Not in this apart.”
He shrugged and Sami was struck again at his semblance to Peter, the same movement of shoulders, the right one rising just a tad higher than the left. She turned away before he noticed her expression. He didn’t need her to remind him.
She returned to the kitchen to fetch the hot water and met Gran coming out with dishes. She plunked them in Sami’s arms.
“Set the table, child.”
Sami carried them to the small table and waved at Josh. “Come help me set up. Earn your keep.”
By the time they’d managed to squeeze all the dishes onto the small table, Gran was hurrying out with the first dish. She set it down in the center, causing two dishes to scrap together. Sami winced but Gran didn’t seem to notice.
“Sit down, stop hovering. Time to eat.”
At the first bite, Josh swooned. “This is wonderful, Gran!”
The old woman beamed at him. “You eat up, Josh. You look thinner than usual.”
“Yes, ma’m.”
Sami had to admit real food tasted much better than rations. Flavors burst over her tongue. Gran had some special black market supplier for spices. Sami could never find these anywhere.
As they ate, Gran filled them in on the latest around the floor. Marcie down the way was pregnant again. Everyone was holding their breath after her last miscarriage but so far so good. James two halls over had started working in the recycling plant and word was if he lasted a year, he’d be moved to a higher level. The words came out of Gran’s mouth in a hushed sort of awe, laced with a twinge of regret. James was only a couple of years older than Michael. Sami could see how Gran was comparing them, despite herself.
As she talked, Josh sat up straighter, his expression cleared. The reminder of life beyond the squad always invigorated him, Sami remembered. She took a deep breath of relief. At least losing Peter hadn’t taken that from him as well. They all needed to be reminded there something else beyond the blood and death, beyond the snap of teeth and threat of violent death. Raj’s image floated into her mind and she suppressed a shudder, concentrated on the rice on her plate. Unshed tears burned in her eyes. So unfair. But Raj had made a decision. He’d wanted to work to build a better world for his children. He knew the risks and decided their future was worth it. Her stomach clenched around the food in it, making it feel like lead. She had to carry on for him, for all the others. She had to make it safe so people like James could work in the recycling plant if he wanted, so Marcie could finally have her baby, even so Michael could goof off, delaying adulthood for a short time. People needed normal lives and if it meant hers couldn’t be normal, so be it. She could handle it.
The knock at the door startled all of them. Gran folded her napkin from her lap and tucked it beside her plate. “I’ll get it. I’ve never been so popular.”
“That’s not what Grandad said,” Sami called.
Gran frowned, but her eyes smiled. She held her head high as she turned and moved to answer the door.
“Rick!” The old woman threw her arms around him. Sami’s heart pounded; she saw him smiling over Gran’s shoulder but tension pinched the corners of his eyes.
“And Theresa, come in.” Gran and the Sister embraced.
“I’m sorry, Mae, we didn’t mean to interrupt your dinner,” Rick said.
“Don’t be ridiculous,” Gran slipped one her arm through the Sister’s and placed her other hand on Rick’s elbow, steering him toward the table. “There’s plenty of food for more.”
“I’ll say,” Josh said.
Gran halted them just before the table. “I’ll get a couple of chairs from the back.”
Rick took a step to follow. “Let me help you, Mae.”
A point from one gnarled finger stopped him. “I can get them myself, you know.”
“Yes, ma’m.”
Gran disappeared down the hall. Sami watched until she was out of sight then slipped out of her chair.
“How is Celeen?” she whispered.
Tension tightened Rick’s eyes. Sister Theresa glanced at him.
“As well as can be expected,” she said.
Rick said nothing. He looked beyond her to Josh and Sami thought she saw him give a nod. There was something else, but he wouldn’t discuss it here. She returned to her seat as she heard Gran bumping down the hall.
The old woman emerged carrying two folding chairs under her arms. Rick rushed to help her and reluctantly she let him take one.
“Schoosh over, dear,” she said to Sami as she unfolded the chair and tucked it in.
Rick and Sister Theresa settled in. Gran heaped their plates with food. The apartment filled with sounds of clinking cutlery and chewing. At the end of the meal, Sami managed to catch Rick’s gaze. The tilt of his head told her it was time to hear what he had to say. Sami picked up her empty plate and stood.
“I’ll do the dishes,” she announced. Rick followed her lead and stood as well.
“I’ll dry.”
“Oh no you don’t.” Gran struggled to stand as well. “No guests of mine do their own dishes.”
“Mae, since when are we guests? I thought we were family,” Rick said. He reached over and slipped her plate out of her hands.
“You’ve been working. No need for you to do the dishes.”
Sister Theresa laid a weathered hand on Gran’s arm. “Let them do it. Some honest work for a change. You can tell me what happening around here.”
Sami could see the resistance in the set of Gran’s mouth but she could never contradict the Sister. She sank back into her chair. Sami grabbed another plate and headed into the kitchen. Rick followed her.
They stacked the plates in the sink and Sami set the vibe-clean to high. The deep buzz filled the room, obscuring the voices from the dining area. Enough of a cover, Sami thought. She turned to Rick.
“What’s up?” she whispered.
“Our mission has been classified,” he said. He bent closer to speak into her ear. She felt his breath on her neck.
“Why?”
“Severin. They don’t want it getting out that a spotter was turned. I’m not to even put it into the general report.”
Sami sucked in a breath. This made her uneasy. “What’s going on?�
�
“Politics.” Rick spat out the word as if it was poison. “The USC is under pressure to pull back the squads and to work on fortifying the defenses around the dome.”
“Oh god, the Council. Didn’t they learn anything from Bevelin?”
“It won’t happen here. We’re too big a city, at least that’s their thinking.” He shook his head. “Damned short sighted.”
“You should take Josh and hit the bars, find out what the word is on the street,” Sami said. “We’ve been gone too long. We need to know how far this has progressed, how serious it is.”
Rick nodded. “Bloody politicians. I’d like to see them take a walk outside the dome.”
“Wouldn’t we all?”
He pulled her close and wrapped his arms around her. She pressed against him, feeling the warmth of his hands on her back and the curve of his body as it fit into hers. She didn’t want him to go but they needed to know what was happening around here. They’d been too long out in the desert.
She wanted to hold him for at least an hour but Gran would be coming into the kitchen any minute to make sure they’d clean the dishes just right. Probably she’d redo them herself after they’d all left. That would be just like her.
Rick’s lips brushed her neck as he started to pull away. Her hand lifted and touched his cheek, guiding him down to her. She kissed him properly, long enough to feel her heart quicken. When he did pull away, she could see the desire reflected in his expression. If only…
“You’d better go,” she said.
“Yeah, I’d better.”
Sami turned off the vibe-clean. Voices from the other room drifted into the ensuing silence. Rick’s fingertips brushed the back of her hand as he passed her to return to the main room. She sighed and followed him.
“Mae, the meal was wonderful as usual,” Rick said. A huge smile beamed off Gran’s face.
“You are always welcome, Rick.” She gave a quick glance in Sami’s direction and Sami could almost hear the comment about making her an honest woman. She suppressed her own grin.
The Night Killers Page 7
