Trevor had volunteered to retrieve it, since he knew none of his men would be too eager to go on a road trip at the behest of a vampire Trevor had suddenly decided to trust. It was a gamble to leave Maya there, with only Simone believing Trevor that she would prove useful, but he knew Aidan wouldn’t let anything happen to her. Not because Aidan cared one way or the other, but because he was still loyal to Trevor, and knew it’s what he wanted.
Trevor had at least had a couple days off, but still, he’d been tired, and his joints ached. More from being crammed into the van for so long than the clearings themselves: those hadn’t been difficult, as far as they usually went. Since he hadn’t been expecting for there to be any combat on this op, he pushed past it. The van always felt cramped with his team in it, but now it rattled and shook loudly as he navigated the dilapidated highways.
The trip to Seattle had taken two days, but without his team in the van, he at least had room to lay out an air mattress in the back and get a few hours of something resembling sleep when he inevitably got too tired to continue yesterday. He’d brought enough food for the trip, so these days had gone by uninterrupted, with nothing but his thoughts to keep him company. He'd been concerned about what would happen if this blood turned out to be nothing. If Maya had been wrong and the first action he’d taken as a result of her had blown up in his face, it would’ve been a mess that took him quite a while to clean up. And what the hell would they have done with Maya if she had proved to be an unreliable source of intel? He knew where Dr. Westfield would stand on the matter, but even if she was wrong, was it alright to kill a vampire who seemed to genuinely want to help them even if only a third of the time? It would have been better to get out in front of a problem like that and Trevor could think of no better way than to be the one who retrieved the blood.
Once he got close to the city, he made the call, listening to it ring a few times before someone picked up. Neither one of them spoke for several seconds, but Trevor wasn’t about to break that silence: this was Dr. Lewis’s personal number, so it was perfectly safe for him to give a greeting (and Trevor had listened to the recording of his conversation with Simone enough to familiarize himself with Dr. Lewis’s voice). On the other hand, Trevor had no idea who had picked up this call and if someone from the government had, against all odds, been paying attention to Simone’s call and compromised this op, Trevor wasn’t about to reveal himself.
“Hello?” Finally, Dr. Lewis spoke.
“Dr. Lewis, I am your contact. Are you ready to make the exchange?”
“Well about that,” Dr. Lewis paused, but Trevor already knew where this was going and began to pull the van over to the side of the road to focus on the conversation. “It seems like this blood is pretty valuable to you people.”
“Get to the point, Dr. Lewis,” Trevor responded.
“I think it’s worth more than fifty thousand. One hundred thousand seems much more reasonable,” Dr. Lewis replied.
Trevor closed his eyes and massaged the bridge of his nose. “This is why I didn’t want Simone to make the call. Since she’s nice and friendly, you assume we all are now. But she’s in charge of the money and doesn’t mind talking to people, so she makes all the calls and here we are.” Trevor took a moment to compose himself. “Now let me lay this out for you, Dr. Lewis. I have fifty thousand in crypto coins with me, and I am almost to Seattle. You will either meet me at the location I give you at the end of this call, give me the blood and receive said fifty thousand, or you will not. If you do not, I will come and take the blood, kill anyone who gets in my way, and keep the fifty thousand for myself as compensation. Do you understand?” Trevor could hear the man swallow hard on the other end. Trevor would never kill a human unless it was absolutely necessary, which he didn’t deem it was in this case, but Dr. Lewis didn’t need to know that.
“Yes. I’m sorry, I just thought-,” Dr. Lewis backtracked before Trevor cut him off.
“If we’re in agreement, then there’s no point in discussing it further,” Trevor pulled the van back onto the road. “I believe in meeting in public places for this type of exchange, so I will be at the ruins of the Space Needle in one hour. Please be on time, and I’ll find you.” He didn’t wait for a reply before hanging up.
Several years before The Fall, a major earthquake had struck the Pacific Northwest and caused incredible damage, including destroying the Space Needle. Because of its affluence, Seattle itself had recovered quicker than the rest of the region, but plans to rebuild the Space Needle never got beyond the planning stage before The Fall put them permanently on hold. Still, there was a makeshift monument and museum at the site that was public enough to assuage any fears Dr. Lewis had after Trevor’s threat, but not trafficked enough to make Trevor nervous. Tourist attractions just didn’t receive the same kind of foot traffic post-Fall.
∆ ∆ ∆
The entire way back, Trevor had been worried about the blood’s worth. Now, Dr. Monroe was telling them that wouldn’t be an issue. If anything, Maya had undersold how important this man was. The entire leadership of the The Project, plus Aidan, another member of Trevor’s team named Jackson, and Maya (who had returned to her lucid self while Trevor was gone, but remained restrained of course) had gathered in Monroe’s laboratory and stood around the room wherever they could find space. Thankfully, Monroe had dismissed his assistants, or the place would’ve been downright claustrophobic. Dr. Westfield was not pleased at Maya’s attendance, but Simone had informed that he was more than welcome to wait outside if he couldn’t be cordial. The Project seemed to slowly be splitting along the lines of whether or not you could treat Maya as two distinct people and not blame one for the other’s actions. At this point, however, Dr. Westfield seemed to recognize that he was in the ‘not’ camp by himself, so he didn’t press the issue further.
Dr. Monroe had the screen of his computer terminal turned towards the group as if anyone other than Dr. Westfield would be able to interpret the images and numbers on the screen. Trevor glanced at Aidan. His team member was technically attending this meeting, but this type of thing was terribly boring to him, and he was humming some tune to himself and drumming on his stomach. He’d used the time off to trim his hair, so it was back to the shaved sides and short faux-hawk that did whatever it wanted on top of his head. Even now, when Dr. Monroe was making a direct comparison to Aidan, the man couldn’t be less interested. Trevor turned his attention back to Dr. Monroe, still sitting at his computer terminal.
“I mean, just a rough estimate, but I’d say he’s assimilated at least twice as many genetic traits as Aidan,” Dr. Monroe struggled to find his next words. “I don’t think I’m exaggerating when I say that if he’s not capped out, he could single-handedly end the fight in favor of whoever gets to him first.”
Dr. Westfield chimed in, “I can admit when I’m wrong. Finding him is now our first priority. Bring him in if possible, kill him if not.”
Simone scoffed, “Excuse me? Kill him?”
Dr. Westfield furrowed his brow. “If he won’t join our side, then the vampires must be denied him.” He seemed puzzled, as if he was pointing out the obvious. “Maya has already confirmed that Alexander is looking for him, and though he had quite the lead on us, this blood might have levelled the playing field. If we find him first, we pull out all the stops to get him to join us, but if he doesn’t, he can hardly be allowed to just wander freely waiting for Alexander to find him. The vampires won’t be as considerate in allowing him a choice.”
Simone bristled, “So now we just kill people that might be of interest to vampires and refuse to work with us? I thought our entire mission here was to save people.”
Tensions had been building between Simone and her father for months now and everyone at the meeting knew better than to get between them. Dr. Monroe, seemingly oblivious to the family feud moved from his computer back to his microscope that had some of the blood sample on a slide.
Dr. Westfield responded as if explaining a bas
ic truth to a child. “Our mission is to save humanity, not every single human. He is too valuable to fall into their hands.”
Against his better judgment, Trevor intervened. “We’re putting the cart a little before the horse, yes? Let’s get him identified before we worry about his allegiance. Maya, you said that in your vision, you saw a cabin?”
Maya, who up until this point had just been taking in the conversation, shook her head. “That was in the past. It’s hard to explain, but even though I can’t tell you when my visions will happen, I can tell you once they’ve happened.”
Trevor saw that Dr. Westfield and Simone were momentarily distracted by his line of questioning, so he pressed the issue. “But still, knowing where he’s been could help us figure out where he’ll be. Finding the cabin is at least something.” He didn’t actually think it meant anything, but he was hoping that if he kept talking, an actual idea would come to him and the ceasefire between Simone and her father would hold.
Dr. Monroe looked up from his microscope. “I don’t think that will be necessary.” Dr. Monroe took an eyedropper of a clear fluid and put a couple drops on the slide. At first, nothing happened, but then Trevor saw a small drop of red escape off the slide and down the side of the microscope. When it hit the table, it continued moving at a slow pace - it almost looked as if it was rolling - to the edge of the table at an angle.
Dr. Monroe looked quite pleased and looked back and forth between the attendees, except Aidan, who Trevor noticed had fallen asleep leaning against the wall. Eugene’s expression slowly betrayed his disappointment that nobody else saw what he did.
“We already know the blood can move given the right conditions, Eugene. The medical examiner told me when I picked it up from him.” In fact, the little man had been eager to spill everything he knew, perhaps to make up for his attempt to raise the price.
“Yes, but move towards what?” Dr. Monroe held his arm out, pointing with his whole hand in the direction the blood had moved. He closed one eye and looked down his arm as if looking down the sights of a gun. Trevor tried to follow what he was getting at, but it was difficult to get his bearings underground.
Simone smiled. “Seattle.” She chuckled. “It’s trying to get back to him.”
Dr. Monroe’s smile returned as well. “I can use the blood to rig up a compass of sorts if you give me a few hours. Follow the blood, find the Sanguine.”
20
Maya knew her hold on sanity was slipping again. She sat in the room The Project had prepared for her. It had been an interrogation room of sorts, mostly unused, since The Project rarely brought a vampire back to their compound. Now it served as her quarters. Trevor and several of his men had set it up with a cot and even a computer she could use. This was on a wheeled cart so that when she warned them she would be her other self soon, they could remove it, lest her other half destroy it out of spite. They had reinforced the door from the outside so that once she was locked inside, they would be able to decide when to let her out. She had traded one cell for another. The only difference being that she could theoretically leave this one once she was herself again.
Before Trevor had left again, with Aidan and the man called Jackson this time, to retrieve the man they called a ‘Sanguine’, he had spoken with their leader, Dr. Westfield, in what Maya had to assume was the old man’s office. They had closed the door, but vampires had exceptional hearing, and she knew that Trevor had pushed, rather vehemently, to have Maya’s restraints removed until she warned them that she was turning. It was a nice gesture, but Dr. Westfield had refused, saying that if Trevor was taking Aidan with him to retrieve the Sanguine, that took away the best chance the rest of them had to deal with Maya should it turn out that she was a plant from Alexander. Maya could hardly blame him; he risked nothing by keeping her restrained, and quite a bit if she were free. The argument had ended in an agreement of sorts that when they all returned, she could be free as long as she was ‘herself’. Dr. Westfield and his daughter, Simone, had left soon after that with several others from Trevor’s team to prepare the actual presentation for the mystery man from Maya’s visions (how amused she was by the alliteration of ‘mystery man from my mind’ was another symptom of her tenuous grasp on sanity), leaving her in the hands of some of Trevor’s men. She could smell that they were afraid of her, but they were obviously under orders from Trevor not to mistreat her, so they mainly kept their distance from her room. Now that she had felt that she was turning and given them a warning, they had retreated to their barracks and left her restrained.
Restrained in the same room as the eight-foot-tall Rat. It stood there, with its beady little eyes (although they didn’t seem so beady when The Rat they were on was of such immense size!) twitching its nose. Maya felt no fear towards The Rat, only disgust. The Rat might not have been so bad on his own, but a storm was brewing around the ceiling of the room as well. The weather in the room (she doubted it extended far beyond her walls) was the same as the night of The Dead Family. Only now, she could still smell the lingering fear of Trevor’s men instead of her own like it had been that night. At least she would have company to help her through the storm. Trevor and Aidan and Simone were here and The Man and The Woman from the cabin were too! They all stood arrayed in front of her in a semi-circle. It made her slightly embarrassed to be the center of attention. From a very young age, she’d realized she was considered quite attractive, but she never got used to the attention it brought, and she always feared that it had helped bring the attention of The Dead Family so she realized now that she somewhat hated her beauty. Still, that was not the fault of these delightful people in front of her, so she smiled at them all warmly. She greeted them and they all smiled back at her. She decided that she would like it very much if these people were her friends.
The Rat had not gone anywhere, but had merely been surveying the scene from the back of the room. It was certainly quite a coincidence that there was The Rat in the room and that all these people in front of her were made of cheese! Spittle was dripping from The Rat’s jaws and Maya realized the terrible mistake she’d made. She should have been warning her friends! What a fool she’d been to smile and greet and lull them into a feeling of safety. The Rat hadn’t been a peaceful part of this scene, he’d merely been selecting which Cheese-Person to eat first! She screamed at them to turn, to see this menace in their midst, but all her friends just continued smiling and focusing on her.
The Rat moved towards Cheese-Trevor and Maya wished very much that she could stop what happened next. Just as The Rat opened his jaws and started to bring down its teeth (they never stop growing, you know!) onto Cheese-Trevor, it seemed to hit some invisible wall and Maya realized that it was her: she was doing this with her mind! She could save her friends after all! The Rat must have known who had foiled it, because it was glaring at her now. She stared it down, trying to look as intimidating as possible. Within the reflection in The Rat’s eye, she saw herself. Only it wasn’t herself but the Other Maya. There was something very sinister about the way Other Maya stared back at her. Chin dropped, slightly-too-snakelike eyes looking up at Maya with a wicked smile that said, ‘I know something you don’t.’ It was at this point that Maya realized she wasn’t looking into The Rat’s eyes, but back out of them. It was actually Other Maya restrained in the chair in the room and she was merely a reflection.
This was gut-wrenching, for Maya knew that Other Maya certainly wouldn’t use her mind to save her friends. This switch had played out in different ways so many times before and Maya was weary of it all. She was drifting deeper and further away from her window out of The Rat’s eye, but she didn’t fight it. Other Maya would’ve merely enjoyed the audience as she allowed – nay, instructed – The Rat to pick Maya’s friends apart. The scene was just a dot in the distance now, surrounded by the familiar, comforting blackness. Maya would sleep, and hope that her friends were safe, but deep down, in the parts of her mind where she was the most honest with herself, she knew they weren’
t.
21
Rebekah climbed back into bed. True to her word, Gwen wouldn’t let her back in the apartment after they returned from the cabin, so Rebekah had been living with Mason. His place had not been what she was expecting from previous experience with motels; it was actually really swanky. He had tried to explain the difference between a hotel and a motel to her, but all she knew was that this place had as much space as Gwen’s apartment, and Gwen did not have room service! She had pressed Mason on how exactly he’d spent so much time in Seattle, and he’d just told her, “I struck a deal with the hotel manager for an extended stay rate. The maids only come once a week now, they don’t worry about turndown service or anything like that, and I make them more money than an empty room.” She’d asked about work and he’d just said that after he finished the last job, he’d embraced ‘remoting in’, whatever the hell that meant. She’d never met someone with so much money that it wasn’t ever an issue for them, but Mason was that person. He got bored if she tried to talk about money or expenses and would quickly change the subject. She was having too much fun, however, to press the issue on exactly how independently wealthy he was.
The Fall: Sanguine Series: Book One Page 12
