“Today is test day. Major Barkley has a whole battery of tests to run on them: blood and tissue cultures, the whole gambit. We should have some answers in twelve hours or so. Maybe we can get some insight into what they really are.”
“Good,” Scott said. “The general will be here soon to see what we have come up with.”
“I wouldn’t get your hopes up for any fast results,” Reese said. “I think we will come up with more questions than answers from the tests.”
“Why?” Scott asked. “We have the equipment and the people here to analyze the data.”
“I don’t think this is going to be simply a matter of biological or scientific answers. It may boil down to a question of theology, which I won’t know the answers to and I don’t think anyone else does either. There are things here at work that may be beyond our comprehension.”
“Let’s wait to see what results we get before we dismiss any physical evidence,” Scott replied. “You know the general doesn’t like questions...he wants answers.”
“What does the general think he has here?” Reese asked. “What does he see as the ultimate outcome of all this?
“That will be for him to tell you, not me. I’m just a messenger,” Scott answered. Reese could see the uncomfortable look on his face the subject had placed there.
“I know...I know,” Reese answered. “He’s a man of vision.”
Major Barkley entered in to the control room area, carrying what appeared to be a collar device.
“Commanders,” he said in greeting to Reese and Scott. “I’m ready to begin testing when you are. I also have made some adjustments to the collar devices that will give them greater range and they have a built-in a tracking device. And if comfort is an issue, I’ve placed a soft material on the inside.”
“We can change collars when you have each one in the medical area.” Reese turned toward one of the men at the monitor stations. “Let Lieutenant Johnson know so he can get the men prepared.”
“Yes, sir,” the man said. He picked up an phone marked “internal calls only” and made the call.
“How are you doing on the elixir ingredients?” Reese asked Barkley.
“That’s the damn weirdest thing,” he said. “I’ve analyzed that stuff three ways to Sunday, but when I put the ingredients together, it’s just not the same as what Idriz made.”
“That is interesting,” Reese said. “But...I know this will sound strange, but maybe he put a hex or some kind of spell on it.”
“I wouldn’t know about that,” Barkley said. “But I do know that there is a time factor in the effectiveness of it. From what I can tell, it’s effective for maybe seven days or so and that is a swag at best.”
“Get Idriz onto making more of it,” Scott ordered.
“I asked him and he politely refused until he talks with Commander Reese,” Barkley said, as he looked at Reese.
“Who the hell does he think—” Scott began.
“Okay, I’ll talk with him,” Reese said, cutting Scott off. He turned to face Scott and said. “The man has some issues with the creatures and I can’t blame him. He is also vital to this project. I will deal with him.”
“Very well, Commander. Whatever you think is best.” Scott turned and left the control room.
Although Reese didn’t like the idea of having to talk with Idriz, it was very necessary at this point. Scott’s purely military mentality would only screw things up. What Reese didn’t like about Idriz Laupki was that when he looked at the man, all he saw was an anger boiling beneath the surface of his flesh. A feeling of fear always accompanied Reese after their conversations.
“They’re coming back in,” one of the monitor personnel said. “They’re in the outer corridor now.”
“And Lieutenant Johnson?” Reese asked.
“Yes, sir. He is in position and ready,” one of men responded.
“Let me talk to him first,” Reese said. The man on watch dialed the phone and asked Johnson to stand by as he handed Reese the receiver.
“Slight change of plans,” Reese said into the phone. “I have to speak with our favorite civilian, Mr. Laupki. Can you handle our friends?”
“No problem,” Johnson said. “We’re getting good at this stuff.”
“Don’t get overconfident. That’s exactly what they’re counting on,” Reese said, with urgency in his voice. “Make sure your men understand that.”
“Understood,” Johnson replied curtly.
Reese hung up the phone and turned to Barkley. “Your game,” Reese said to him.
Barkley walked up to Reese and spoke in a low voice, so as to not be overheard by the other men in the room. “I’m not sure which is worse, the creatures, the civilian or Commander Scott?”
“It’s a close race,” Reese said as he left the control room and went off to find Idriz Laupki.
Chapter Thirty-two
Reese found Idriz Laupki in the observation room that had a direct view into the chamber that Barkley used for a lab. Corporal Brosnev was next to him; the interpreter had become Idriz’s constant companion. They watched Barkley take test samples from Dimitri.
As Reese approached, he was surprised to hear Idriz speaking in simplified English terms.
“Have you mastered the English language already?” Reese asked.
“Oh...sir,” Brosnev said, apparently surprised at Reese’s appearance. “No, sir, but he is making some progress; he already had picked up some since the peacekeeping force had moved into the area.”
“Interesting how none of his English came out before,” Reese said. He thought perhaps that Idriz might have been able to pick up on some of the words in their conversations.
“Good a-a-a-fter-noon,” Idriz said slowly.
“Not quite. Good evening would be more appropriate,” Reese said.
“Good eveee-ning...my name... is Idriz Laupki.”
“Very good,” Reese said, and then turned toward Brosnev. “Translate please.”
“Yes, sir. I’m ready.”
“Major Barkley tells me you won’t make any more elixir until you talk to me. So here I am. What’s on your mind?”
Idriz spoke to the interpreter, who then translated Reese’s words. When he was done, he turned back to Reese and spoke. “He says that he wants to be involved with what is going on in there,” and pointed to the room where Barkley was working on the creature.
“Why?” Reese asked. He had known that his earlier promise to Idriz of a role in the confinement of the creatures would come back to haunt him—and here it was.
“He wants to talk to the one named Josip,” Brosnev said.
“Out of the question,” Reese said. “When they are together, the tension between them is quite evident. It endangers the entire operation.”
As Brosnev translated, Reese knew he was fighting a losing battle. Idriz might have come from a country that lacked Western luxuries and technologies, but he knew the power of having something that the other side had to have. In this case, the elixir.
“He says that he promises to not start any problems.”
“And I should believe him?” Reese asked.
Brosnev translated Reese’s question and received a curt answer back from Idriz. The interpreter questioned him again and received the same response. “He says that you don’t have a choice.”
He’s right, Reese thought. I don’t have any choice. But that doesn’t mean he gets everything that he wants.
“Tell him to be careful on what demands he makes. Remind him he is here only out of courtesy and respect. However, if he makes another supply of the elixir, I will consider assigning him to the guard staff, where he may have the opportunity to talk with Josip. But only under supervision.”
The translator spoke with Idriz. When the interpreter had finished, Idriz turned and spoke to Reese.
“It’s a...done...deal,” Idriz said, fumbling over the words, and then brokered his hand to shake. Reese accepted the hand and shook but did not release it.
He spoke to the translator.
“Tell him, that if he tries to do anything that causes the creatures harm, I will have him thrown into a jail cell for the rest of his life. Or better yet, I will throw him in with the damn creatures and let them feast on him.” Reese paused, then continued. “And this time, I want him to write out the instructions so that we can make the elixir.”
Brosnev translated. Slowly a smile appeared on Idriz’s face. He nodded in agreement. Reese didn’t like the smile and released Idriz’s hand.
“Now get to work,” Reese said, and quickly left the room.
As the door closed behind him, he exhaled a long breath of air. He had told himself not to let it happen, but he had allowed Idriz to get under his skin. There wasn’t much doubt that Idriz only had one thing on his mind—revenge. That he was going to use the elixir as leverage to get it was not much of a surprise. Reese knew everything depended on him staying one step in front of everyone else.
Reese felt like he was in a race. Who was going to win? Would Idriz get the revenge he wanted? Would General Stone get what he wanted from the creatures? And what about him—would he get what he really wanted?
What was it that he wanted? Information? Yes, he wanted to know about the creatures he had studied for years. What he could learn here would put him at the head in his field, if he could figure out some way of incorporating the knowledge into his own work. Yet he felt that there was something else behind his own drive in this quest, some other motivation that gnawed at him. He cast the thought aside for the moment and decided it was time for him to start learning about Dimitri and his group—right now.
Chapter Thirty-three
Reese used his electronic card and pressed his thumb against the reader device; the door opened and he found himself inside of the creatures’ quarters. Another man, one of the Navy SEALs that stood watch outside of the door, accompanied Reese into the room. This followed the two-man rule created for protection when in the presence of the creatures.
Dimitri sat in a chair in one corner, reading a book. He looked up as Reese entered. The sharpness of his gaze disturbed Reese; he felt as if the creature could see right through him and knew what he was thinking, even his most innermost thoughts. Was this part of the vampire mystique he had read about: these creatures and their abilities to control the thoughts as well as the desires of mortal man and women? Was this the secret to how they maintained their control over humans and walked among them for so many centuries? He had so much to learn about the creatures that he had perhaps thought himself an expert of.
“Ah, the jailer comes at last,” Dimitri said, as he placed a bookmark inside the book. “Have you come to see the latest device they have placed around our necks?” He indicated the new collar around his neck. “They are at least more comfortable—for which we are grateful,” Dimitri continued, his voice somewhere between sarcastic and condemning.
Reese, however, did not hear the comments or the tone of Dimitri’s voice. He sought to begin his own exploration into the ways of these vampires by seeking to understand Dimitri and what made these creatures tick. “It’s time to begin our talks,” Reese said, trying to maintain a sense of calmness in his voice. “I want to learn about you and your men.”
“You really mean, our kind, don’t you?”
“Yes,” Reese replied.
“Please, have a seat,” Dimitri said and indicated the empty chair across from him.
Reese sat, unable to take his eyes from Dimitri. It seemed as if there was an aura that surrounded the creature, radiating a sense of calmness in him that was almost disturbing.
“Our lives are different in mainly one way. We adjust quickly,” Dimitri said, interrupting Reese’s thoughts. “We have learned to adapt to changing situations.”
“So I see,” Reese said. “Can you tell me about you and your men?”
“Perhaps, but why do you want to know of us?” Dimitri asked.
“I have my reasons,” Reese said, offering no more explanation.
“I see,” Dimitri said. “Men have come to us before to solve their problems. A vendetta, isn’t it? You wish to get even with someone?”
“No!” Reese said, feeling sweat forming at his brow as he felt himself go on the defensive against the creature.
“You know, we can tell if someone is lying,” Dimitri said, a small thin smile appearing on his lips. “We can sense the change in the blood; we can hear your heart speed up.”
“It’s not against one person,” Reese said, exhaling strongly. “It’s against all of them. They all thought I wasted my time chasing the myths of ancient times. But you didn’t answer my question.”
“Why would someone be interested in creatures like myself?”
“I want to know...what happens to your mind over the years. Do you get bored with life and just feed in order to survive the next day? Or do you have hopes and dreams for the future like everyone else? How does someone occupy eternity?”
“Everything has a purpose in this world, otherwise there would be no reason for existence,” Dimitri said. “Everything must find its place within the fold and creases of life—otherwise it may be squashed out of existence. So many questions you have, Commander, and now you feel you have the answers right at your fingertips, is that it?”
“Yes. There is much about you I want to know,” Reese said.
“You think we are so different from you,” Dimitri said. “Yet we are so much alike. We were just like you once—men with a purpose.”
“Tell me,” Reese said imploringly. “I want to know about you and what you once were. Tell me about you and your men. Where are you from, how old are you and how did you become a...creature or is vampire the correct term?”
* * * *
“There were five us,” Dimitri said, without addressing Reese’s question about vampires. “We were all born around 1890 in a little village not far from the town of Kacianik. Josip and I were best friends and we attracted three others that formed our little group. There was Franjo, who is dead now, and Andre and Iliga.”
“We were young men who were susceptible to the ways of our country. Although we were not soldiers…we answered the call. Little did we know what would come of our patriotic attempt. Dimitri closed his eyes and remembered…
1915
“Thank you, I have had enough to eat,” Mikel, the runner from the main Serbian force, said. “Our army will be coming through Montenegro and over the Albanian Mountains. It will be a long march and the winter is descending upon us. The terrain will slow down the German tanks, but we need to slow down the invaders on foot. Our plan calls for small teams of soldiers left at critical points that will hamper the onward onslaught of the attackers, buying precious time for the main force to get to Corfu. One of these points is a pass through the mountain not far from this village. It is my responsibility to arrange volunteers to man it before I rejoin the main force.”
Dimitri’s eyes lit up at the words; he looked for a similar reaction from his four friends.
“Do you know of any volunteers?” Mikel asked.
Dimitri looked at his friends and they agreed without a word uttered between them. Dimitri would speak for the group; he’d always done so in the past.
“We will do it,” Dimitri said. “It will be our honor to serve our great country to rid the bastard Germans from our soil. We will do it as our grandfathers rid the Turks from our land and as our fathers defeated the invaders from Bulgaria.”
The words made him feel proud as courage flowed through his veins. Their chance to fight for their country had finally arrived.
“Good,” Mikel said, but not with any enthusiasm. He lowered his eyes from the young Dimitri, as if knowing that he had just sentenced these young men to die against the hardened and experienced forces that were invading.
“Get your things together; we will leave at first light.”
* * * *
Dimitri and his group had much to do that night to make preparations to depart in
the morning. There was no discussion among their group of who would be in charge. Dimitri, being the oldest, had always been the leader, but more so because they believed in him than because of his age. He visited and assured all of their families that it was only a temporary assignment and that they would return once they were sure that the advance of the Germans had been halted. Dimitri’s mother said very little, except to mention that when her husband had been called to the Balkan War that it, too, was only a temporary assignment from which he never returned.
Dimitri’s last visit was to Josip’s home.
“Wait here,” Josip said.
“Do you not want me to talk with your father?”
“I will talk to him—alone.”
Dimitri saw the sullen look on Josip’s face. “Are you sure?”
“Yes. My father will always be ashamed that he refused to go off to the Balkan War. All the others from the village had been killed. He knows that I have paid the price for his decision.”
“But this is your chance to redeem your family’s honor.”
“I know. But...”
“But what?”
“You remember the time with the bear?”
“Of course.”
“When I told my father about it, he said I was spared death because it would have been an honest death.”
“An honest death? I don’t understand?”
“He believes that I am destined to die a horrible death without honor because of what he has done. Superstition and the old ways—it is all he believes.”
“Nonsense. He is a fool.”
“Maybe. But I will talk to him alone because he will go on about it again. There’s no point in you having to listen to his ranting.”
“As you wish,” Dimitri said, placing his hand on Josip’s shoulder. “I will see you in the morning.”
Dimitri returned home thinking about what Josip had told him. As he slipped into bed, he wondered what Josip’s father thought about his life being spared. Did he survive in order to die another way also? But he had done nothing wrong. His father had gone off to the war.
Operation Page 16
