“You mean vampires.” Mitchell’s voice dipped lower and Rick recognized the sign of anger. “Vampires that would destroy this city within 48 hours if they got in.”
“They will not get in, general.” Bennett’s voice dropped several degrees as well. Rick could imagine him glaring across at Mitchell.
“The dome is secure,” Formessa said.
Rick shook his head. Idiots. Did they think the vampires would launch themselves wildly at the dome? It was the checkpoints that were dangerous.
“Sir, I need to speak to the Council. As soon as possible,” Mitchell said.
“I will take your request under advisement,” Bennett said.
“Councilman, you saw the report about the turned spotter. I need permission to share this with the other cities.”
“General, isn’t that one of the squads that lost two people and the captain resigned after showing obvious instability in his leadership?”
“That has nothing to do with that report.”
“I’m not sure anything in that report is verifiable, general.”
Rick’s nails dug into his palms as he clenched his fist. He wished that idiot was right in front of him saying that, wished he could take that Councilman out on a patrol. None of these so called leaders ever stepped one foot outside the dome. They stayed all comfy in their beds and let the squads take the risks, and now instead of supporting them, the Council was cutting them off.
“That’s ridiculous,” Mitchell said. “The Night Killers are one of our best squads.”
“Maybe now that they have appropriate leadership,” Bennett said. “You give too much latitude to your squads, general. They need to remember they are part of the military serving the city.”
Mitchell said nothing.
“We’re working on that, Councilman.” Formessa’s tone sounded uncomfortable. Maybe he didn’t quite agree all the way with the Council just yet.
“Thank you for your reports. We’ll be getting back to you, gentleman.” Bennett’s voice faded as he passed out of range.
Rick waited to hear if there was anything else but no other voices spoke. In the distance, he heard the hiss of a door sliding open. No other sound came from the hallway. Rick adjusted his ear bud but there was nothing. The men had probably gone another way.
He leaned back in his chair. The shape of the Council’s betrayed coalesced in his mind but the real thing that chilled him was the reports from other cities. Vampires didn’t act in organized ways. For the past ten years, all attacks had been random, feral, the attacks of animals trying to feed and survive. The idea that they were coordinating, learning to cooperate together instead of ravage each other over scraps terrified him. He’d been pretending to himself that Peter’s infection had been by chance, that the attack on Lucy’s lab had been in response to the strong psychic effect of infecting a spotter. Now he couldn’t pretend anymore. It’s wasn’t random. It wasn’t chaotic. The vampires had deliberately targeted Peter; they’d probably deliberately targeted Tracy Severin as well.
He definitely had to talk to Mitchell, and not just about Michael. But he couldn’t do it here, not in the heart of the USC, not after listening to the Council’s plans to gut the squads. He’d have to get to Mitchell outside of here.
And he had just the idea of when and where.
CHAPTER SIXTEEN
The scrap of footsteps galvanized Sami into movement. She launched herself back up the tunnel, hurrying as fast as she could go in that horrid crab walk. Her thigh ached although so far the adhesive held. She offered a silent prayer for it to stay that way. Her augmented metabolism gave her strong endurance, hopefully strong enough to last. The vampire had her scent but as long as it didn’t smell blood, maybe she could beat it to back to the house.
The tunnel began to angle upward. On the way in, the downward slope had felt gentle but going back the other way now seemed like a steep climb. Her back burned from bending over. Her lungs ached from trying to draw in full breaths and being cramped up. All she could hear was the ragged hiss of her own breath.
She stopped and listened. Scrabbling footsteps sounded closer. Damn it, it was catching up with her! She was only about half way up the slope to the basement of the house. At this rate, she’d never make it before the vampire overtook her.
Her heart pounded as she doubled her effort. She wouldn’t die here in this filthy tunnel. Michael would never forgive himself. Gran would be furious. And Rick... Tears stung her eyes as she thought of him. She wasn’t going to leave it the way it was. She had to see him one last time and not let his wounded pride get in the way.
A growl sounded behind her. She was going to have to turn and fight.
Her ear bud tingled in her ear.
She switched it on. The Sister’s voice buzzed in her ear.
“Sami, I’ve got you on tracker. There’s another signal coming up on you fast.”
Sami triggered her throat mic. “It’s a vampire. Anything you can do to give me a hand?”
“Have faith, my child,” the Sister said. “The Lord will provide the tools necessary to kick ass.”
“Just ask him to hurry it up, will you, Sister? I could use a hand down here.”
“Already asking, Sami. Over and out.”
Sami increased her speed again. Her feet tangled and she stumbled to her knees. She scrambled up and kept going. Hearing the Sister’s voice, knowing she and Josh were up there, aiming to help her gave her strength. A flicker of hope lit inside her; maybe she could beat that vampire to the surface.
A few meters ahead she thought the darkness was lightening a little. Was she coming to the hole leading to the basement? Her sweaty fingers slipped on the sub machine gun. It thumped onto the dirt floor. She scooped it up. Dirt from the walls trickled down. She’d thought she’d scrapped it off, then noticed it was falling steadily. Something hummed above her. Was she imagining it? No, it was a definite hum. More dirt fell. She kept moving. The hum turned into a buzzing. It sounded behind her but the volume kept increasing. The dirt fell faster and heavier. Her feet skidded in the loose ground. She pushed herself to move faster.
The growl sounded again but it wasn’t any closer. The buzz got louder again. Now she felt it in her muscles, vibrating in her chest and sternum. The feeling made her antsy and itchy, the way she always felt when she got too close to one of the Kaminski fields. The thought almost stopped her. The Kaminski field! Was the Sister and Josh trying to extend down here? It wouldn’t possibly be able to hold off the vampire but even if it slowed it down… She forced herself to move faster as the dirt fell in a steady rain behind her.
Sure enough it was light ahead of her. She could almost see the basement. Another growl sounded. The vampire was closer. The buzzing increased, the tone shifting into a high pitched whine. Sami clenched her teeth. Her muscles spasmed against the field.
Behind her, the vampire growl turned into a shriek; the vampire had reached the edge of the field.
The energy they had to be expelling, Sami thought. She couldn’t let it be a waste. She put on a burst of speed and broke into the basement.
“Sami!” Josh called from above her. She grabbed one of his outstretched hands. He pulled her upward. She swung her left knee up onto the floor and scrambled up. Josh helped her to stand. Behind him, Sister Theresa knelt on a pile of debris, manipulating the controls of a Kaminski field generator.
“Let’s go,” Sami said.
“You both head out first,” the Sister said. “I’ll be right behind you.”
Sami wanted to protest but one of the Sister’s tense glances stopped her. She knew better than to argue when the Sister looked like that. Sami followed Josh out of the house, picking her way over the debris and back down through the hallway.
Outside, the front of the house cast a long late afternoon shadow that reached across the decrepit street. Michael stood by the front bumper of the van. Druthers stood beside him, head bowed close as he spoke to Michael. The boy didn’t appear to be liste
ning. As Sami stepped out of the doorway, Michael’s head jerked up. He took a hesitant step toward her and then stopped. Fear tightened his face. His gaze moved past her to the open doorway.
Sami moved as fast as she could to him. Her thigh ached, her back ached but it felt so good to be able to breathe deeply again. She recognized the haunted look on Michael’s face. She’d felt it settle on her own features far too many times. She wished he’d never worn that expression. Too late now.
Druthers moved away as she came up. She reached out and grabbed Michael’s shoulder and pulled him into a hug. His hands came up and clutched at her back. She felt him tremble against her. She pressed her lips to his ear.
“You’re safe now,” she whispered. “It’s all right, you’re safe.”
“But Neil…” The words croaked out of him as though his vocal cords were no longer used to producing sounds.
“You mourn him later, back in the dome. Your duty is to stay safe and kill vampires. In that order. The rest waits.”
His trembling diminished into occasional spasms. She released him. The haunted look was more in control, not as evident on his face. She gave him a curt nod.
“May I speak to you, lieutenant?” Druthers’s voice caught her attention. He stood by the back of the van.
“Certainly.” She followed him around the back bummer. From the corner of her eye, she saw Josh come up to Michael. His head bent down as he spoke to the boy. More tension washed from her shoulders; Josh would help Michael.
“I’m putting you on notice, lieutenant, I plan to report your insubordination and actions to USC.”
Sami felt her mouth fall open. She snapped her jaw shut so hard she heard the clack in her ears. “What?”
“You charged without orders down into an unknown situation, risking your fellow squad members and forcing them to assist you. You were reckless.”
Sami couldn’t her ears. How could this idiot be talking about her reckless actions. He’d wanted to send Neil and Michael into an uncleared house unaccompanied until she’d bullied him into sending Josh after them.
“As you seem to be so found of regulations, I can spout a few that you broke if you would like the particulars.”
She took one shuffling step forward. To her satisfaction, he took a step back.
“You listen to me, you officious little turd, you are the direct cause of that boy’s death. On your orders, he went into that house and died. He had little training and no experience. Your job is to keep him alive until he learns how to handle himself.”
“My job, as you said to Michael, is to fight vampires. These young men signed up to do that as well. I will not listen to your insubordination any longer. I am the captain of the Night Killers and if you don’t like my command, you can ask for a transfer. Until then, you shut the hell up.”
Sami’s hands clenched at her sides. The desire to punch him was almost overwhelming. He must have seen the muscles of her arm tighten; his gaze traveled down to her fists. The expression on his face thinned.
“You hit me, lieutenant, and you’re off the squad.”
“Don’t worry.” Her words hissed out of her. “I know regulations very well.” She spun away from him. “Watch out for vampires,” she said as she started to walk away.
“Lieutenant, you’d better maintain coverage of this squad.”
She stopped and turned to face him. “I am a professional, captain.”
“You just keep remembering that.” He opened the back of the van and stepped inside.
Can’t kill him, she thought, you can’t kill him. She would have to talk to General Mitchell, see if he could transfer this captain off the squad. Josh was next in command, he should have been made captain. Parachuting someone completely new could destroy squad morale which led to sloppiness and mistakes, just like the one that had killed Neil.
But Mitchell knew that and still the Night Killers had been saddled with Druthers.
Maybe he wouldn’t be as sympathetic as she thought.
The Sister emerged from the shadows darkening the front door, hauling the Kaminski field generator. Josh hurried over to help her. The sun continued sinking in the distance. The street was darkening by the minute. Time to go.
But Druthers wouldn’t listen to her. As the Sister and Josh got closer, Sami lifted her gun, covering them. The shadows continued to lengthen, growing darker. Sister Theresa hoisted the Kaminski field generator into the back of the van then jumped in to put it away. Josh noticed Sami’s position. He lifted his shotgun and scanned the shadows.
“Michael, get in the van,” Sami said. The boy flinched and blinked at her. She pointed at the van. He stumbled forward, heading around the side toward the back. Druthers jumped out and looked at Michael.
“Where are you going?”
“In the van,” Michael said.
“You ride up front with me.” Druthers put his hand on Michael’s shoulder and steered him back to the front of the truck. Sami’s fingers tightened on the gun. Her dark fingers paled.
“Sami,” Josh murmured.
“What?”
“Stand down.”
She took a breath and let it out. “Right.” Her grip loosened on the gun. She had to remember she couldn’t kill Druthers, much as she’d like. But he’d pay for that boy’s life. She’d make sure of it.
“Get in the back,” Druthers said as he climbed into the driver’s seat. Michael’s white face stared out of the passenger window.
“Come on, Sami.” Josh waved her to the back of the van. She took one last look at the ruined front of the house. Blackness filled the open door. For a moment she thought she saw movement but no, it had to be a trick of her eyes. It was still too light for vampires to be moving about. She got into the van and Josh followed.
“We’ll fix that fuck’s ass,” he whispered.
“We sure will,” said Sister Theresa. “That man’s a disgrace to any squad.”
Sami nodded. The engine started and the van began to move. It jerked forward then something banged on the roof. A crash of glass sounded. Michael screamed.
“Vampires!” Sami shouted. She kicked open the back door. It knocked against a large male. It snarled as it lost its grip on the edge of the door frame. One hand dangled loose. Sami fired, hitting it in the chest. It fell back off the van.
The van jerked to a stop. Josh and Sami jumped out. Vampires wearing hooded long sleeved tops and pants circled the van. Sami had little time to wonder how they thought to cover up like that. Several vampires lunged forward.
She sprayed gunfire as she headed around the side toward the passenger door. The door had been wrenched open. She saw a body lying on the ground. A female vampire bent over it. Michael!
Sami screamed. She swung the butt of the gun, catching the vampire on the back of the head. It sprawled over Michael then jumped up, snarling. Sami had the stake ready. She slammed it home. The vampire shrieked and fell back. It collapsed in a heap. Sami dropped to her knees beside Michael.
The boy moaned. His hands fluttered up, trying to push her away.
“It’s all right, it’s Sami,” she said. Blood stained the front of his khaki shirt. Her fingers trembled as she pulled at the collar. Michael whimpered and fought her.
“Let me see, Michael. I have to see.” She pulled the collar away from his neck. Ragged puncture wounds oozed blood.
Tears filled Sami’s eyes. Behind her, something snarled. She whirled, lifting her gun and fired. A slim male staggered back under the blast. His head snapped back and the hood fell off. As the last rays of the sun struck him, the vampire screamed. Hands came up, batting at the light. Smoke began to steam from his skin.
Sami remembered lectures on the pigmentation issues with the vampires, how the virus had caused the severe allergic reaction to sunlight. Burn you bastard, she thought, burn! But she couldn’t listen to the screaming. The swift drive of her stake shut it up for good.
From around the truck, she heard Josh and the Sister fighting: blasts
from shotguns, the snarling, shrieking of the vampires, the yells and cursing from her fellow squad members. She knew she should head over and help them but that meant leaving Michael alone and she couldn’t do that. Wouldn’t do that. He needed her.
Sami knelt back down beside the boy. She slapped a bandage from her pocket over the wound and several antibiotic patches on his upper arm but it was probably already too late. The virus moved fast in the blood stream. Already it would be multiplying. Without wanting to, she recalled everything she’d read and studied about the virus, the way it burned through the system, destroying higher level functions in the brain, instilling the unquenchable thirst for blood. That couldn’t happen to Michael, it couldn’t!
Tears blurred her vision. She heard footsteps coming from behind her. She lifted the gun.
“It’s me,” Josh said. “Oh shit.”
The Sister followed close behind. “What is it?”
“Michael,” Sami said. She couldn’t say anything else, couldn’t say the words. Grief choked her.
“Oh Sami, I’m so sorry.” The Sister’s thin hand squeezed Sami’s shoulder.
More footsteps staggered closer. “We have to get out and make a report,” Druthers said. He paused. “What is it?”
“Michael was bitten,” Josh said. His voice sounded like an accusation.
“Damn,” Druthers’s voice softened. “Lieutenant, I’m sorry. Please step away from him.”
Sami looked up at him, blinking. “What?”
“Please, lieutenant. Step away from him. Let one of the others take you around the back of the van.”
Sami’s fingers tightened on the gun. Words were coming out of his mouth. She could hear them but they didn’t make any sense to her. Each word was a separate entity, individual to itself. She couldn’t string them together. She couldn’t fathom what he was saying. She shook her head.
“I’m sorry, lieutenant. We can’t stay here. The hostiles have retreated but they’ll be back. We have to leave.”
The Night Killers Page 16
