by Alice Brown
As he lay in bed with Erica’s head on his shoulder, waiting for sleep to overtake her, Kevin knew that she was the one woman he had been looking for all of his life. He had told her he had a surprise for her when he returned, he just wasn’t ready to divulge everything to her. He would openly admit he was probably rushing things a little. And after tonight’s panic attack, he wasn’t sure his plans were the best course of action. But, he reasoned to himself, she had openly admitted just a few short nights ago she had strong feelings developing for him. And despite her panic attack, it was easy to see her body was starting to crave the attention he could give her. Finally, he had a deep desire to make their relationship official.
* * * *
The next morning Erica woke up, a bit confused and disoriented. It took a few seconds to recall the night before, and that she was currently in Kevin’s bed. She rolled over and stretched. She had slept soundly, more soundly than she had in a long time. On top of that, his scent was everywhere around her. He carried a clean, crisp, autumn woodsy scent. She made a quick decision to try and make the best out of her otherwise very lonely week. After a quick shower, she went to her bedroom and flicked on her old computer. She needed to look up information for a report that would soon be due and was working at retrieving the needed data when a light knock on her bedroom door brought her to a halt. She glanced up to find Charles standing in the bedroom doorway. A shiver of fear raced up her spine, as Erica felt herself catch her breath. Charles had never been up to Kevin’s suite since she arrived.
“Good morning,” stated Charles kindly.
“Good morning, has something happened?” Erica immediately blurted out before she could stop herself. She tried to calm her racing heart, but had no control over her mind flying through all sorts of awful scenarios. Was the team in the air yet? Had the plane crashed?
He smiled a gentle smile her way. “Everything is fine, my dear. I thought you might enjoy learning what Kevin does while he is away on a mission, and the inner workings of the team,” Charles stated calmly. “I also have that field trip scheduled for this afternoon, and Kate mentioned you had offered up a good suggestion for our seniors that I need to listen to.”
“Oh, yes, I would love to!” Erica replied, as she let out a gush of air she had been holding in her lungs.
“Well, come on down to my office when you are ready,” Charles replied as he turned on his heel and left her.
She hurried through her remaining research, and then headed downstairs to meet Charles in his office.
Over the next few hours, Erica was given a full tour of Charles’s office. She had known this man had some very expensive and sophisticated equipment in his office. However, she was still blown away. Every computer company in America would be green with envy over this office set up. She was certain some of the equipment she was being shown was not available to the average business. Charles was very patient, and went into detail about what each system was used for, how it worked, and how it was essential to the team.
“Does the team have another setup at the office, or do you handle everything from here?” she asked him at one point.
“Most of the equipment is all housed here, for numerous reasons. First, someone is almost always in this house twenty-four hours a day, so for security reasons, it is safer here.” He glanced up at her for a second before continuing, with a slight smirk on his face. “I would sincerely hope that even the most ignorant of criminals would know better than trying to break into a house full of vampires.” He stopped, and threw Erica a grin, then continued on. “Second, when the team is on a mission, most of the time the entire team goes as a unit. If the equipment were set up at the office, a team member would always have to stay behind to run the equipment. That is where I come in,” he explained.
“Okay, that makes sense. So, all communications go through you?” Erica now asked him.
“Yes, I am much more comfortable in my own office anyway.” He grinned over to her.
He quickly spun his chair around and started typing at the keyboard now sitting in front of him. Within seconds, the large wall screen lit up with a map grid that displayed the current location of the team. This also included a projected path as to where they were headed. The team was in the air at the current moment.
“The team took the company plane. They wanted to include the dirt bikes, so taking the company jet became the logical choice of travel. It’s about a hundred miles from the airport to their destination, so the bikes will come in handy.” Charles explained as he continued bringing information up on the large wall screen.
He glanced over to Erica with a grin. “Would you like to say a quick hello to Kevin? They are on the plane, so you wouldn’t be interrupting anything.”
“Are you sure I won’t be disturbing him?” she asked, with a concerned look on her face.
“I am sure. I have an extra earpiece I’ll let you borrow, just remember that everyone on the team has this same earpiece, so whatever you say to Kevin will be heard by the entire team.”
“Okay, thanks,” she replied a bit nervously, as she took the earpiece he offered her, and gently inserted it into her ear.
Charles held out his hand in front of him, indicating for Erica to hold a minute before saying anything.
“Alpha one, do you have a minute?” Erica heard Charles speaking through her earpiece. Charles was sitting across from her, speaking into a microphone sitting on the desk.
“Sure, what do you need?” She now heard Kevin’s voice coming through the earpiece.
“I have someone here who would like to say a quick hello. She has spent the past several hours getting the grand tour of the communications center. I may have a new assistant on my hands.” Erica glanced over to see him grinning and eyes dancing with merriment.
Kevin knew exactly whom his dad was speaking about, as he felt a smile tug at his lips. “Hey, baby” he growled in a low, sexy voice.
“Hey, stay safe, okay?” Erica now asked, and although it sounded ridiculous to her own ears, she couldn’t think of another thing to say.
“Always do. I’ll be back home by the weekend,” Kevin replied, and although he was just as kind and gentle as ever, Erica knew instinctively his mind was on the mission. Even so, she could almost hear the longing to be home again coming through his voice.
She cut the conversation short at this point. She simply couldn’t interfere with the task that was at hand. Soon after, Charles returned to the tour of the office. Erica found all the equipment, both communications and tracking, all very fascinating. This office, in full set up, reminded her of the bat cave in the Batman movies she had seen. Although Charles worked in an extremely large office instead of a cave, the similarities were still there, especially with all of the expensive, high tech computer equipment sitting everywhere.
* * * *
The plane arrived in Brazil and the local authorities had been alerted to the team’s arrival. They seemed to want the team’s intended target off of their hands almost as much as the U.S. government wanted to get their hands on him. It seemed their drug lord was well known for being a badass. While the remainder of the team started unloading gear, Kevin and Marshall assured the local authorities that they had everything under control, and nicely told them to go home. It was impossible for the team to use any of their powers when the locals were watching their every movement, so ditching them became priority number one.
Back at the office, Charles sat down at his desk, finished with the tour for the time being. Kate had told him that Erica had come up with a good idea for their elderly that he needed to hear. He was curious as to what it was about.
“So, Kate tells me you have an idea regarding our seniors. I am curious to hear what this is about,” Charles now stated, as he sat back comfortably in his chair.
Erica took a seat across from him before beginning. “I was surprised to learn your society doesn’t have some type of group home or recreation center set up for your elderly. I understand they can�
��t go out in public, however, the ones I met last week are extremely lonely, and I suspect some are dealing with depression.” She took a quick second to catch her breath, before continuing. “I just thought it would be nice if they had someplace to be able to get together once or twice a week. Set up some type of activity, or provide a comfortable environment where they can socialize with one another without fear of being discovered or their health suffering.”
“That’s a rather interesting observation,” Charles replied, and Erica could almost see the wheels turning in his mind as he thought about her suggestion.
“You are correct that most of our elderly simply can’t go out in public. First, they are very concerned that their skin will draw questions about our kind. Second, they really must remain out of the sun. Sunlight on elderly vamps is extremely harmful to their health,” Charles continued.
“But, we have a whole underground society going strong. Some of our elderly are already living down there. It is specifically set up for situations in which we don’t want the general human public to know about, and would be too hard to cover up if anyone stumbled upon it.”
“Are you talking about where we went for my divorce and where I was taken for medical treatment?” Although Erica had been underground twice, she hadn’t bothered to notice too much either time. She certainly hadn’t realized there was an entire underground society! And here she thought she had these vampires figured out!
Charles smiled over at her. “Yes, our medical, judicial system, and research labs are all located in our underground society. You’ve given me something to think about, Erica. Tell me, what is it you envision for our elderly?”
“Well, I would think the ideal situation would include a community, so they could live close to one another. I would also include a recreation building and offer activities. The socialization among each other would certainly help lessen the loneliness and depression. Another good advantage to having most of the elderly living close to one another and underground would be the benefit of receiving better medical care. They would be close to the hospital, should anyone have a need, and it would be easier for your doctors to check on them also,” Erica finished.
“My dear, you are definitely on to something.” Charles replied enthusiastically, accompanied by a booming smile. “Let me do some thinking and put a plan together. The council board is meeting Wednesday. Would you consider joining me and presenting the plan?”
“Me?” she replied nervously. Had this vampire sitting in front of her forgotten that she was a human? She attempted to put on a brave face as she answered, “Oh, sure, if you think it would help.”
“I’m sure, my dear, they won’t be able to resist your charms any more than the rest of us have,” he responded with a kind smile.
Charles glanced down at his watch. “Erica, it is almost noon. Maybe I should let you take a break so you can eat your lunch. The children should be arriving about one o’clock. Come on back down when you are finished with lunch.”
Erica returned to Kevin’s suite and walked into the kitchen, intent on finding something to eat. Unfortunately, there was little to choose from.
She opened the refrigerator and spotted a container of leftovers from a meal she had made at the end of last week. She popped the container in the microwave to warm up. Looking around the kitchen, there was next to nothing in the way of food in this room. A trip to the grocery store was a must, as she simply could not starve for a week while Kevin was away. There was only one problem. She was down to the last $5.00 in her checking account. When Kevin had given her all of the cash for her trip to the mall, she had felt uncomfortable and handed it all over to Jennifer. When they arrived home, and things had calmed down, Jennifer had given what was left over back to her brother. Erica really hadn’t had any reason for needing cash since then. Kevin was with her almost constantly, and whenever they were out, he simply took care of what was purchased. As she debated what to do about her situation, the idea took shape to ask Jennifer if she could borrow a bit of money until Kevin arrived home.
Erica walked into Kevin’s bedroom to retrieve her pillow and put it back on her own bed. As she passed her dresser, on her way to replacing her pillow to her bed, she spotted an envelope taped to the mirror. Evidently, she had walked right past it this morning. Her name was written on the front, and a quick smile came over her lips as she immediately recognized the handwriting. She pulled the envelope off the mirror and sat down at the end of her bed to open it.
The envelope was thick, and Erica briefly wondered what was in it. She opened the envelope, and out dropped a letter, bankcard, and a stack of cash into her lap. She immediately picked up the letter.
Dearest Erica,
Please know that I miss you already. This will no doubt be the longest week of my life. I have already asked everyone in my family to keep a watch on you and I am now asking you to please stay safe while I am away. I am aware that your checking account is running rather low, and I wish you had brought this matter to my attention sooner. I shudder to think how long you have silently gone without cash. I could and would have rectified this immediately, had I known.
I have set you up with a new account. The bankcard and pin number are enclosed. I am also leaving you cash, should you need any. Your account is linked to my own, so whatever you spend will be covered. Grab that sister of mine who enjoys shopping so much and have some fun. You are probably in need of a trip to the mall. Joshua has stayed behind to provide security for both you and Jennifer, and Charles has also offered to help with this if needed. Please do not go out anywhere alone, it simply is not safe.
By the way, I left my heart on my pillow for you to take care of. I will be home by the weekend and hope you will be ready to join me for our trip to the beach. I would like to leave as soon as I return home.
Love,
Kevin
Erica glanced down and scooped up the cash that was scattered on the bed. “Does he think I am going to buy out Saks Fifth Avenue while he is away?” she muttered to herself, as she stared at the handful of fifty, one hundred, and thousand dollar bills.
As she returned to the kitchen to retrieve her lunch, she had a sudden change of heart about her pillow. She retraced her steps and threw her pillow back on Kevin’s bed. At least she could be close to him while sleeping in his bed. She highly doubted she’d be sleeping any other way this week, anyhow.
Erica ate lunch, and just made it back downstairs in time for the field trip. Charles really wasn’t expecting her to do anything, he just wanted to see how she interacted with these children. His instincts proved him right. Erica found the children fascinating. His office soon became full as ten children ranging from ages three to sixteen, two adult vampire teachers, and one adult vampire mother crowded in. The adult vampire mother had her hands full trying to keep her mischievous three-year-old from touching all the equipment. Some of the children had already developed their vampire skills, while others acted totally human. Charles was delighted that the children seemed fascinated with the computer technology and equipment, and he gave each child a turn to say hello to the team.
Erica sat silently as she listened to Kevin speak to the children and tell them a little about the team’s current mission. She found herself smiling as she listened to his patience and kindness, even taking time to answer a few questions. He would make a great dad, she mused silently to herself, immediately feeling her face heat up for having such a thought.
As for Kevin, he knew instinctively that this week was going to be the longest week of his life. He almost felt sorry for his team having to be around him on a constant basis. There was only one word to describe his mood: black. It didn’t help that Marshall was seizing every opportunity he could to tease Kevin about his mood.
In the middle of ditching the locals and unloading the bikes and other gear that the team needed, Charles interrupted the team with his field trip of the students. Kevin knew he simply couldn’t display his black mood towards these innocent chi
ldren, and did his very best to put on a jovial attitude. He really didn’t mind answering their questions, as the team hadn’t started heading out toward the suspect’s carefully hidden house in the jungle yet. Several other team members popped out their earpieces so they wouldn’t have to listen to the children. Kevin really didn’t mind, though. These children would someday be their future. They might as well know how their kind was protected now, while they were still young. Besides, he found that speaking with the children gave him something to do that kept his mind occupied. Otherwise, he found himself drifting to a certain pretty lady that he had left in his bed.
After the field trip finished, Erica grabbed Elizabeth and ran to the grocery store to pick up some food for the week. Elizabeth had taken care of calling Joshua, who followed them at a discreet distance. When they returned home, he followed Elizabeth’s car into the driveway, eager to spend time with Jennifer. Erica settled in front of her old computer to catch up on schoolwork. This only lasted a short time, the activities of the day quickly catching up with her. She quickly found herself ready to call it an early evening. When Elizabeth came to check on her about ten o’clock, Erica was already in bed.
“I’m sorry, Erica. I didn’t realize you had already turned in for the night,” she stated, as she stood in front of Kevin’s bedroom doorway.
“It is okay, Elizabeth. Come on in. Did you need something?” Out of Kevin’s three sisters, Erica was the least close to Elizabeth. The two young women got along fine. However, Elizabeth lived a busy life, and that left little time for socializing. She now sat on the corner of her brother’s bed.
