Homecoming

by Heath Stallcup

  “Matt, I have an idea that may seem pretty crazy.”

  “At this point, crazy may be workable.” He poured a cup of coffee and listened while Jay laid out his plans.

  “Ship me milspec thirty caliber belts that are already loaded and I’ll come up with a way to hot dip the rounds that won’t cause them to expend themselves in the process.”

  “Wait…you’re saying use standard military .30 cal belts, and you’ll just silver plate them?”

  “In a way. I’ve got an idea for putting a thin layer of silver on the outside of the rounds so that we won’t even have to tear them down.” Jay was scribbling on his pad as he spoke. “That will save me three full-time employees right there. One to tear down the rounds, another to plate the bullets, and another to reload them with fresh powder.” He tapped at his table and studied the sketch he had drawn out. “In fact, if my prototype works, the turnaround time will be right at twenty-four hours. The only limiting factor will be how much silver you ship me to go with the ammunition.”

  “Jay, you’re a genius.” Matt pulled his radio and called for Mark.

  “Yes I am,” Jay laughed. “Give me a couple days’ time to get this from paper to prototype. I’ll have it tested and hopefully all of the bugs worked out by then. Until then, get your ammo ordered and drop-shipped here. As soon as I get it, I’ll get it plated and back to you.”

  “I’ll have Mark order it now.”

  “Hey, before you go, I need to ask you something.” Jay’s tone changed and Matt’s interest piqued.

  “As long as you don’t ask for the strength enhancers.” Matt tried to make light.

  “Uh, no. It’s something I’ve noticed more than once though.” Jay lowered his voice and his tone became much more serious. “You don’t, by chance, have people watching our shop do you?”

  Matt was taken aback by the question. “Negative. As far as I know, nobody knows that you’re supplying us other than a very few key personnel.” Matt felt a cold chill run up his back and settle in at the base of his neck. “Why? Have you had problems?”

  “Well, not really problems, but there has been more than one occasion when I’ve found an unmarked vehicle parked conspicuously and…well, it was almost like somebody was watching the place.” Jay chuckled nervously and tried to dismiss his suspicions. “It’s probably nothing. I guess it just worries me since the house is right here, and Lisa and the kids are so close to the shop.”

  “I understand completely. Do you want me to send a few of the squad there to maybe check it out? See if somebody’s cage needs rattling?”

  “Nah. Thanks for the offer though. If somebody out there is wanting to do us harm. They’d better come very well armed. Everybody who works here is armed to the teeth. And yes, we have silver ammo as well.”

  Matt was suddenly uncomfortable. “Jay, let me send a team up there. Just to sniff around. We don’t have any operations going on. We could put them all in civilian clothes so the neighbors would be none the wiser.”

  “I appreciate the thought, but we’ll be okay. It’s not like they’re out here all the time. And like I said, it’s probably nothing. Just a bit of paranoia.”

  Matt rubbed at his neck and clenched his teeth. “Okay, if you say so. But if you get that gut feeling, don’t be too proud to drop a dime and let us know. I can have boots on the ground inside an hour.”

  “Will do.” Jay sounded relieved even if he wouldn’t let Matt send the troops up preemptively. “Just get the ammo shipped up here and I’ll get to work on my end.”

  “Will do, buddy. Thanks.” Matt hung up and was ripping a requisition from the pad on his desk when Tufo walked through the door.

  “You rang, oh loud and gassy one?”

  “Order up the thirty cal ammo that we’ll need, and have it shipped to Jay and Lisa’s. He’s already working on a way to get it plated and shipped back.”

  Mark looked at the requisition and shrugged. “He’s not going to make it himself?”

  “Why would he when he can just plate the stuff we can requisition?” Matt waved him out of his office.

  “Fine. Leave it to me to be the glorified secretary. We really should get a real secretary you know,” Mark mumbled as he trudged out of the office.

  Matt stared out at the shining black truck that Evan was putting the finishing touches on. “One step closer.”

  *****

  Robert Mueller stepped into the private quarters he shared with his wife and son. Rufus had given them a converted boat house that had been remodeled into a three bedroom guest cottage. Barbara had made quick work of making it into a home for her two boys and Robert appreciated the privacy once his day was done. This day was the first that he arrived home unhappy since they had come to the island.

  Robert tossed his uniform shirt onto the sofa and slammed the door, rattling most of the windows in the small bungalow. “What’s wrong?” Barbara’s eyes bore into him for rattling the pictures on the wall.

  “Nothing.” He sulked into the kitchen and pulled open the refrigerator door, his eyes scanning but not seeing anything. He quickly grabbed a beer and went back to the couch.

  “Don’t you try to tell me nothing, mister. You don’t stomp into this house, slamming doors and snipping at people, and then tell me nothing.” She stood in front of him with hands planted on her tiny hips. “Spill it.”

  Robert lowered his eyes and blew out his breath as he twisted the top off the beer. “Jack.”

  “Yes, I know him. Tall, dark hair, ruggedly good looking.” Robert gave her a deadpan stare and noted her smirking at him. “He’s your boss. What of him?”

  “We have an op coming up. I helped him plan the insertion and everything.”

  “So?”

  “So? So now he says he wants me to stay here. That even though Thorn and his deadbeat brother are going with him, he wants me to stay here and ‘take charge’.”

  Barbara sighed and approached Robert. She ran her fingers through his short hair and ruffled the edges a bit. “Is that all?” she soothed. “Baby, come on, you’re his second in command. He needs you to hold down the fort in case something happens.”

  Robert lifted his face to hers and scowled. “Babs, nothing ever happens here. Ever. He might as well have said he wanted me to take a troop of Boy Scouts on a hike around the island.”

  She climbed up into his lap and straddled him. “Hey, look at it this way. We’ll have the whole island to ourselves. Just you, me and…what? Maybe a dozen of your closest puppy buddies?” She smiled at him and played with his ears. “We could make a game of it.”

  “A game?”

  “Hide the bone…”

  “Babs, come on. This is no time to make jokes.” He tried to push her away when she wrapped her legs around his middle and locked her ankles together.

  “I don’t think so, big boy.” She giggled and it made him more frustrated.

  “Babs, come on. I’m serious.”

  “I am too.” She held his arms and pushed him back into the couch. “Look at me.” She grabbed the sides of his face and pulled his gaze to meet hers. “Why do you have to be in such a hurry to rush into danger? Huh? Why can’t you just be happy to be here on the island with me and Bobby?”

  “I am, but…” Robert sighed and stopped resisting her. “It’s my job, Babs. I’m supposed to rush into danger. That was part of the deal.”

  “And now Jack wants you to stay here, right? Maybe he knows something you don’t. Maybe there’s a threat you aren’t aware of.”

  “He would have told me. He tells me everything.”

  “Does he? Maybe this is a gut feeling. Or maybe this is just a cover your ass thing.” She pulled him close and kissed the top of his nose.

  “Or maybe he’s trying to tell me that he doesn’t need me around.” Bob looked away, trying his best to mask his pain.

  “Robert, you know better than that.” She pulled hard at his neck to get him to look at her. “When you announced that you were leavin
g and we were going to move to the mountains together, who asked you to join him here?” Bob groaned and tried to pull away, but she pulled his face back. “Answer me, you big oaf.”

  “It was Jack.”

  “That’s right. It was Jack. Does that sound like someone who doesn’t want you around?”

  “Maybe things have changed.”

  “Oh, please.” She pushed away from him and slid from his lap. “If there’s one thing I’ve learned from being your wife, it’s to not assume anything.” She marched to the kitchen and slipped her feet into her sandals.

  “Where do you think you’re going?”

  “I’m going to ask him.”

  “The hell you are!” Bob jumped from the couch and blocked her way to the door.

  “You either move or I’ll move you.” The set of her jaw told him that she was serious.

  He tried not to laugh and was failing miserably. “Babs…don’t. You’ll only make it worse.”

  “Worse than you moping around the house wondering if your boss thinks you’ve lost it? Worse than sitting around here watching you lick your wounds and whine because he won’t take you with the other boys when they go out to play?” She pushed him hard and he almost had to take a half step back. “Worse than sitting around here listening to you bitch like a teenage girl wondering if so-n-so might like her? Please, Robert, just move out of the way so I can walk over there and ask the man why he won’t take you out on your precious little op so we can finally get a little peace.”

  Robert slumped his shoulders and shrugged at her. “Fine. I’ll ask him myself.”

  “When?”

  “Tomorrow. When I go back to work.”

  She raised a brow at him and narrowed her eyes. “I might let you put it off that long if you’ll promise me you’ll quit being a mopey mutt.”

  He scooped her up eliciting a sharp squeal before he deposited her on the couch. “Fine, Miss Priss, no more Mopey Mutt.” He tickled her sides and made her squeal louder until the banging of the front door made both of their heads pop up over the back of the couch.

  Bobby shook his head at his parents. “Rent a room already,” he muttered as he walked past them and into the kitchen.

  Barbara gaped at Bob who simply shrugged. “He’s too young to…” Bob shrugged again.

  *****

  “So this is the real deal?” Damien looked at the shriveled chunk of flesh encased in an acrylic box.

  A thin, red-haired man stood across from him checking the balance on his bank account. “It’s the real deal.” When the balance changed and the proper amount indicated being deposited, he handed Damien the key to unlock the bulletproof case. “Had a fellow who insisted we sell him that. Said he represented the head of the Lamia Beastia.”

  Damien froze in mid-action, the key barely catching the glimmer of light from the streetlamp outside. “What was that again?”

  “Heh-heh-heh, yeah, I thought that might grab your attention.” The red haired fellow crossed his arms and flashed a toothy smile. “No worries though, chum. What he bought? ‘Twas a pig heart.” The man burst into hearty laughter, and Damien felt an unease settle into the pit of his stomach.

  “How can I know that this isn’t a pig heart as well?”

  “Eh? Well…I guess you can’t, can you?” the red haired man said, suddenly sobering. “Other than the fact that we already had us a deal, didn’t we, governor?” Damien almost cringed at the dated and stereotypical way the man spat ‘guhvanah’.

  “Do you have any idea what I’ll do to somebody that double-crosses me?”

  “I have no idea. But I know what you won’t be doing here.” He snapped his fingers and figures began emerging from the shadows to surround the pair. “Now, the way I see it, you have two choices. You can try to do something stupid and get yourself a one way ticket to the everlasting…or you can take what you’ve bought and be gone.”

  “If this isn’t genuine, I’ll be back.” Damien ignored those surrounding him and released a wave of energy that sent many of them either to their knees or reaching for something to steady themselves.

  The red haired vampire chuckled then shook his head. “I’ll give you this much. You’ve got a set on you.” He turned and walked away into the shadows. “Good evening to ya, governor.”

  Damien unlocked the acrylic box and withdrew the withered heart. To his surprise, there was no give to the organ. It may as well have been a rock in his hand. Slipping it into his coat pocket, he dropped the acrylic box and walked past the enforcers surrounding him and back to the van.

  There was one person who could tell him without a doubt if the heart were real. And he wanted to return to her before the sun came up.

  14

  Tufo finished checking out the modifications made to the Raptor and signed off on the changes. He liked the bullet proof Lexan windows and ceramic armor plating. He really liked the idea of extending the running boards out to make it easier for the troops to jump on while the truck was in motion. Handles mounted to the exterior of the cab made it easier for the operators to hang on during bumpy excursions.

  As Dr. Peters pointed out each modification, Mark wished he had thought of it. Each one seemed perfectly logical and easily adapted to the platform.

  Mark was just heading back to his office, scribbling notes in his notepad when he bumped into Apollo. “You and your squad about ready for the op with Jack?”

  Apollo seemed somewhat surprised by the question. “Oh, uh…I may not be going.”

  Mark paused. “Really? You were one of the first to volunteer for this thing. Something come up?”

  “Well, I…uh…it’s gonna be on the full moon, right? You never know what can happen on a full moon. I figure it might be best if I just sort of stick around here. Besides, my boys can handle it.”

  Mark nodded absently. “Okay. I’m sure Jack will miss seeing your ugly mug, but hey, maybe next time.” He shot Apollo a wink and headed off to his office.

  Apollo watched him for a moment then hurried off to the OPCOM. He had coordinates to download.

  Mark went to his office and shut the door. Going to his window, he pulled back the blinds and looked down into the training area. He couldn’t see anything out of the ordinary. Moving to the other side of his office, he pulled the other set of blinds and looked down into Dr. Peter’s lab. Nothing else seemed out of place. He waited just a moment before stepping out and checking Matt’s office. Not there.

  Something felt ‘off’ with Apollo. He couldn’t put his finger on it, but…

  *****

  Rufus sat alone in his library, continuing to pour over the stacks of books at his disposal. A light knock at the entrance to the library caught his attention and he waved one of his female staff in. “This package arrived for you, sir. It was in the mail that arrived with the daily supplies.”

  “Thank you.” Rufus laid the package down and with his nail, sliced through the banding and thick paper that wrapped the box. Once open, he pulled out an ancient text. The pages were of papyrus and the ink appeared to be blood. The cover, he prayed he was mistaken, appeared to be made of human skin. He knew this wasn’t the Necronomicon. Its cover was stained with blood to the point of being black. He had actually laid eyes on it once. This was something else.

  He looked at who had sent it and there was no return address. Most curious. Carefully, he opened the book and turned the pages. It was written in ancient Sumerian. The title roughly translated to “The Book of Lilith”. Whoever the sender was knew what he was tasked with.

  Rufus was familiar with Sumerian, but it wasn’t the most flowing of languages. It didn’t help that he wasn’t completely fluent in it either.

  Rufus studied the ancient text until he reached one part that concerned him gravely. Lilith’s first lover and a gift he had bestowed upon her. His hands began to shake as he continued to read. “Non. This is not good.”

  “What is the problem, brother?” Paul asked as he stepped into the library.

&
nbsp; “Somebody has sent us this book. I do not know who, nor do I know why, but it is The Book of Lilith.”

  “Excellent. Anything new in there we might can use?”

  “Oui. There is something new, but I do not know if it is something we can use or not.” His voice took on a tremor that unsettled Paul.

  “What is it? What’s wrong?”

  “Here. Lilith’s first lover and the gift.”

  Paul gave him a quizzical look. “Her first lover? You mean Adam?”

  “Non. She and Adam never…” he looked away, terror painted across his features.

  “What’s wrong? Tell me.”

  “Lilith first lay down with Samael,” his voice barely a whisper.

  “Samael? Why does that name sound familiar?” Paul stared off as his mind searched for the meaning of the name.

  “Samael, dear brother, is the Chief of all Demons. Some say that it is another name of Lucifer himself.”

  “Holy shit. You’re kidding me.”

  “Non.” Rufus found his mouth suddenly dry. “And the gift that he bestowed upon her…is most dire.”

  “Don’t tell me. A child?”

  “Non, not a child.” Rufus quickly stood and poured himself a cognac then took a large pull from the glass. When he turned back, he was visibly more pale than normal. “He gave her power over the dead. And ability to control demons.”

  *****

  “It’s not like that, Mick.” Jennifer’s voice was barely a whisper. “You know I don’t have any control over this.”

  “Right.” Mick continued to fly, his eyes straight ahead, a death grip on the stick.

  “What? Did you really think that the Fates would allow me to mate with a werecat?”

  Mick groaned and shook his head. “I don’t know what I thought, Squeak. I just…” he trailed off, the words escaping him.

  “Besides my father, the Fates decide who I mate with. You know this. I’ve told you this for decades.”

  “Doesn’t mean I have to like it.”