Light and Shadows: A Kaitlyn Strong Story

by Art DeForest

  Giving Fangs on last quick rub, I stood up. Marcus and his charges were heading back towards us from the exam room where they had taken cover. “Let’s get outta here.” I growled angrily, looking at the warped form of the mutant rottweiler on the floor. “And come back with enough people to burn this place to the ground.”

  11

  “The Abandonados have vacated the underground facilities.” Said Viktor solemnly. “Apparently they felt the risk of continuing was too high after you discovered its presence.”

  I considered that with mixed emotions. I was glad that we’d shut the facility down, but I was still itching for some payback. “At least they won’t be making any more monsters there.” I said with a resigned sigh.

  “True,” said Viktor. “However, a cursory inspection of the data Deacon was able to secure from the facilities computer, suggests that it is not the only facility at Antonella’s disposal.” He replied gravely.

  I sat up straight in my customary seat at the conference table at that. “How many more do they have?” I asked in concern.

  “We’re still massaging the data.” Said Deacon. “We’ve identified six locations so far that were sharing information with the Manhattan site.

  I felt a deep pit open up in my stomach. “Are they all working on the same project?” I asked in a shocked tone.

  “The same, or similar.” Said Deacon. “We don’t understand everything in their communications, but it’s obvious they are talking about genetic manipulation and procedures for crossing the species barrier.”

  “Well,” I said. “Our personal experience has shown us that they’ve been successful.” I said pensively. “Are they still experimenting or have they started um...production?” I asked, unsure how to phrase the process of mutating innocent animals.

  “It’s hard to tell at this stage.” Said Deacon pensively. “We may never know until we actually investigate the sites in question.”

  “Do we know where they are?” Asked Sara, before I could verbalize the same question.

  “Roughly,” replied Viktor. We’ve been able to backtrack the IP addresses to the cities or regions of origin, but not as of yet to specific physical addresses.”

  “There is one location you should know about, in particular.” Said Deacon, looking over at Sara and Marcus. “It’s in Colorado. Somewhere on the western slope.”

  Sara’s eyes drew together in speculation. “Can you narrow it down any further than that?” She asked. “The western slope by itself is bigger than a lot of states, most of it rugged, mountainous terrain.”

  “They are using rotating IP addresses and the devices they are using seem to be communicating from different locations, but the bulk of them seem to be Grand Junction area.” Replied Viktor.

  Sara winced at that. “So not only mountainous, but arid and rocky, with not much water. Doesn’t sound like a great place for an experimental lab facility.”

  “Unless you want to keep it hidden.” Said Marcus, pursing his lips. “There are canyons in that area that no human has walked down in hundreds of years. The terrain is simply too rugged.”

  “But how could they install the necessary infrastructure to support such a facility?” I asked. “Surely people would notice that kind of heavy movement in such an inhospitable place.”

  “Not necessarily,” said Marcus. “That area of the state has also been a major hub of natural gas, oil and coal production. Big vehicles in out of the way places are almost commonplace in the area.”

  We all sat silently in speculation for a moment before Sara piped up once more. “Where are the other locations?” She asked.

  “Minneapolis, Seattle, Flagstaff Arizona, Mobile Alabama and Roanoke Virginia.” Said Viktor, consulting a computer screen.

  Sara and Marcus exchanged a grave look. “Those areas all have a large lycan presence in and around them. That can’t be a coincidence.” Said Sara, gravely.

  “Vampires in general and the Abandonado faction in particular, have always considered us little more than vermin.” Said Marcus coldly. “It seems they’ve been preparing for a conflict for awhile now. Even before the Council split, to have made this kind of progress.”

  “That would be just like Antonella.” Remarked Deacon. “We all know she aspired to take over the Council. One of the first things she would have done was to eliminate the Lycan threat, as she called it. Using these beasts she is creating to handle the situation, thus reducing the loss of vampire life, would be all to the better in her estimation.”

  “We still don’t know how this will impact the vampire side of this war.” Said Viktor with a scowl. There are so many directions from which she can strike and so many targets she can use. It’s hard to know where to focus our attention.”

  “Simple,” I said with a growl in my voice. “Cut off the head of the snake. “Dust Antonella and the rest of her misbegotten family, then get on with our lives.

  “I wish it were that simple.” Said Sara with a sigh. “Even if the Abandonado family were neutralized, there would still be a strong anti-council faction, not to mention these horrific facilities scattered around the country creating monsters.”

  “True,” I said, earnestly. “But creating a power vacuum at the top would at least give us some breathing room for a little while.”

  “It might give the vampires a little breathing room, but they don’t have monster factories sitting in their backyard either.” Said Marcus hotly. “We have to take them down now before they start throwing mutant armies at us!”

  Sara reached out and put a calming hand on Marcus’ forearm. “Calmly, Marcus.” She said quietly. “No one is suggesting that we not protect ourselves. We are simply discussing how best to go about it.”

  “Sorry,” said Marcus after a moment, relaxing back into his chair. “That tiger...thing really got to me I guess.”

  “Understandable,” I said with a gentle smile at him. It had to have been like a human coming up against, well, you when you’re in battle form. That’s some scary shit there.” I said with a mock shudder of fear.

  Marcus stared at me for a second before a snort escaped Marcus’ lips and he threw his pencil at me. “Yeah, I suppose that’s right.” He said. “I’m not used to feeling that overpowered. It got to me.”

  “We don’t have enough information to make any decisions at this point anyway.” Said Viktor formally. “We must get as much information as we can from the data that you retrieved and I must report to the rest of the Council. I’m sure they will have some input on which direction we should take.”

  “I must report back to the Packs as well.” Said Sara. “The information about these facilities and what they are creating must be disseminated quickly, so that they can take precautions, if nothing else.”

  The meeting broke up then as Viktor and Sara went off to make their respective calls. I found myself walking back towards my suite with Marcus at my side. “How’s Trish doing?” I said. “I haven’t seen her since we got back.”

  “Physically, she’s doing fine.” Said Marcus with a sigh. “Mentally...well, it was rough on her. The things they did to her, I don’t think it was all about the science. She doesn’t really want to talk about it.”

  I reached up and patted his shoulder. “How about you. You don’t seem to be quite yourself lately.” I said, hoping to get him to open up.

  “We’ve had a rough few weeks.” He said with a shrug of his shoulders. “It can get to anybody.”

  “That’s for sure.” I said with a commiserating smile. “But, it seems like you’re a little more on edge than even that accounts for. Has something changed?”

  “No, yes...I don’t know.” He said with a frustrated sigh. “Look, can we talk in private?”

  “Sure,” I said. “Come on up to my suite. We can leave the door open so you can watch the hall for assassins headed toward Sara’s suite.

  “Thanks,” he said with a sardonic grin.

  When we got to my rooms, I dutifully left the door open
after letting Marcus pass through. I turned towards the interior only to find my vision blocked by a massive chest, penetrating deeply into my personal space. It was a rather pleasant vision, but still, it made me jump a little.

  I stared for just a second at the defined pecs stretching out the lycra blend, black T shirt he was wearing before moving my gaze up to meet his. “What did you want to talk about?” I asked, my voice catching a little.”

  He looked down at me for a moment, his caramel brown eyes trying to penetrate into my soul. He reached up and ran the back of his forefinger down my cheek softly. “I don’t know what I’m feeling, Kait.” He said huskily. “Is this your magic affecting me or is it just what happens between a boy and a girl.”

  A combination of longing and frustration flashed across his face as he forced himself back a step before turning to enter fully into the sitting room with a sigh. I felt a little chill run through me as the warmth of his body moved away. “I’m not sure, Marc.” I said as I followed him into the room.

  I motioned him into a seat on the loveseat. It was comfortable, but still gave him a view out of the door and into the hallway beyond. I settled onto the cushion beside him, angling my body towards his. We sat looking at each other for a moment as I gathered my thoughts.

  “I...It’s complicated. Isn’t it?” I asked. “I mean, the magic’s a factor certainly, but there’s also the situation we’re facing and… other people factor in as well.” I said, trying to be as frank and honest as I could. The last thing I wanted was to build a wall between us. He was first and foremost, my friend. My hot, sexy, muscular friend. So yeah, complicated.

  “You mean Deacon.” He said meeting my gaze intensely.

  “He’s the main one, sure.” I said as forthrightly as possible. “But there’s also Trish. It’s pretty obvious that there’s more there than just pack mates.”

  He stared at me with a look of mild surprise on his face for a moment before looking away with a sigh. “It was a long time ago.” He muttered finally.

  “There’s still something there though, I think.” I said softly, putting my hand on his forearm.

  His eyes jerked back to mine at the touch before he relaxed once more. “We were together once.” He started. “Things kinda went south when I was made pack second. It was the spot she wanted and she would’ve been great at it too. Maybe better than me. He said with a sigh before continuing. “But Jake asked me to take on the job.” He said, running his hand through his hair. “She could have challenged me for the spot, but we were close and she respects Jake, so she let it go. She already had the honor of being the head of Sara’s protection detail. She said it was enough.”

  “But it wasn’t?” I asked.

  “I guess not.” He said, looking down at the floor. “There was no blow up or anything. We just...drifted apart.”

  “The way you acted when you saw she was captured and not dead, says there’s still a lot of feeling there.” I said quietly. “And her reaction to you when she got out of that cage said a lot about her feelings too. We’re connected now Marcus and even though I try to mind my own business, I could still feel what you were feeling.”

  “I know.” Said Marcus, nodding. “Just like I feel the flutter you get whenever you look at Deacon.” He said with a slight smile. “But that’s kinda my point Kate. With this link between us, think of the possibilities.”

  “Believe me, I have.” I said rubbing his forearm gently. “But there’s also a downside there.”

  “What downside.” He said quizzically.

  “A downside like knowing without a doubt, every time some hunk’s broad shoulders grab my attention or when a swaying set of hips attracts yours.” I said with a sardonic grin. “Let’s face it, jealousy and obsession could become a real factor.”

  Marcus’ demeanor became serious as he thought about it. “As for Deacon and I, well, that’s complicated too. We work together and I’ve heard that workplace romances seldom end well.” I said, ending in a sigh of my own.

  Marcus reached over and pulled me into an embrace. It was comforting not sexual. I relaxed into it and rested my head against his chest. “Well aren’t we just a hot mess.” he said with a chuckle and running a hand through my hair.

  “I suppose we are.” I said. “But, you know, with this connection we have we’ll always be close. We’ll always be friends.”

  “Ouch,” he said wryly. There’s it is, the F word. I’ve been friendzoned.” His face turned dramatically to one of mock despair.

  I chuckled and slapped him on the chest. “Come on, I haven’t closed any doors, and there’s one definite advantage to being other than human. We have all the time in the world.”

  “Yeah, I guess your…” He started.

  “Well, isn’t this cozy.” Came a voice from the door.

  I felt Marcus clench up inside as I casually turned to look. Trish stood in the doorway with an arched eyebrow and a slight smile on her face. She looked pleasant enough so I tried not to act like a guilty schoolgirl, caught making out with her friend’s boyfriend. “Hey Trish.” I said brightly, sitting up and putting some space between myself and Marcus. “Come on in. How are you feeling?”

  As she entered the room, I got up and went over to give her a hug. “I’m much better.” She said lightly. “It’s amazing what a few thousand calories can do to give you a fresh outlook on life.” She said, patting me on the back.

  We separated and I looked into her eyes. There was a shadow behind them. I was betting that there was a similar one behind mine. “Come sit down, we were just talking.” I said, starting to turn back towards the sofa.

  “I can’t.” She said. “Sara sent me to get you. We need to talk about what’s next.”

  I turned back around and Marcus and I followed her back out the door.

  Trish walked across the hall and down a little to Sara’s door. Opening it without knocking, she strode on into the room. We followed behind to find Sara sitting in a comfy chair with a cup of tea in her hands. Kangee was on a perch positioned next to it. “Stupid cat,” He said as we entered.

  Surprised, I looked down. Sure enough, Fangs had moved from his comfortable spot, napping on my bed to follow us down the hall. I wasn’t sure why. Unless something urgent was happening, he was a shameless hedonist and he liked his nap time.

  Shrugging my shoulders, I followed Trish on into the room and sat down at a gesture from Sara. Fangs rubbed against my leg as he passed, but continued on to where Trish was sitting down in her own seat. As she came to rest, fangs jumped and planted all seventy pounds of himself on her lap and nuzzled his head under her chin.

  Trish looked shocked for a moment, but then her arms came around and clutched Fangs in a tight embrace. We all pretended that we didn’t see the tears that came to her eyes as she clung to him for a moment. Finally, she eased her grip on him and put her forehead against his. “Thank you big guy.” She whispered quietly.

  Fangs just purred and settled himself into her lap. Trish looked over at me with a quizzical expression on her face.

  “He likes to make sure all us damsels in distress are okay after he rescues us.” I said fondly.

  “Well he’s certainly my hero.” She said as a single tear made it’s way down her face. “You all are.” She continued. “Thanks.”

  “We’re pack.” I said, feeling my own eyes get moist. “It’s what we do.”

  We sat there quietly, enjoying the company before Sara put the fine china teacup on the small table beside her and cleared her throat. “Speaking of pack, we have orders from ours.”

  The rest of us looked up, our faces going serious. “What needs done.” Said Marcus, his tone taking on a professional air.

  “As expected the Pack wants these other facilities investigated. It is clear, simply by their placement, that they pose a threat to us.” She said gravely. “The packs in the affected cities will each launch their own investigations. Jake, however has requested that we investigate the Colorado facility.�
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  “Don’t you need to stay here?” I asked. “You are the ambassador to the Vampire Council, after all.”

  “I also know that part of Colorado very well.” She said. “There are canyons and badlands out there that still haven’t been fully explored by humans. I spent quite some time out there tracking down a vampire in that area who was preying on the natives of the region.”

  “How long ago was that?” I said wonderingly. “I mean Colorado was a full state by 1876. It was at least mostly civilized by then, wasn’t it?”