by Mark Tufo
But, this had to be done. It was the best way he could think of to bring down the teams. All of them. In one fail swoop. Let them be undone by their own doings. Surely nobody in their right mind would believe that American troops were being used on American soil, spending taxpayer money chasing down creatures that go bump in the night?! Surely they would be laughed out of existence. Nobody could justify their existence once word was made public? It would be a PR nightmare for a short time, but like anything else that was a PR nightmare, it would make the rounds, promises of investigations would be made, heads would roll, people lower than him would be hung out to dry and the program would be shut down. No more Monster Squads. No more threat to his son…his only son. He had to protect him just as he had always done. Just as he always would.
Sanchez had found that co-ed living with over a dozen men wasn’t the easiest thing in the world. There was no such thing as privacy. Luckily, for the most part, even though she didn’t have the same plumbing, the boys pretty much treated her like one of the guys. Oh, there were the jokes. Like when Lamb found her bra and commented that he didn’t know they made ‘double-barreled slingshots’. Ha ha ha. Very funny. Not. Or when Mueller stumbled across her undies and asked if SWAT issued thongs. Again, not funny. But for the most part, it was all in fun. She would wait her turn, patiently, until the guys were done in the shower and then quietly go in and do what she needed to do. And though they could just as easily have walked back in and harassed her, none ever did.
One time, though she wasn’t absolutely certain, she thought she saw the back of Apollo’s head standing just outside the showers, standing guard while she was in there, but when she was done and stepped out, he was nowhere to be found. Another time, when she went to the bathroom, she heard voices outside. She could have sworn she heard Ing Jacobs, the Asian guy with the Jewish last name (seriously, what gives there?) say that he really needed to take a piss, but she could have sworn that Hammer told him ‘No, Sanchez was in there.’ Were the guys making accommodations for her because she was a female? She smiled to herself. At first, she thought it was sweet. But then, after a bit, she got a little angry. Who were they to treat her any differently? She was every bit as tough as they were. She earned the right to be there, didn’t she?
The more she thought about it, the angrier she got. Her Latin blood started getting hotter and she hatched a plan. One that would either make her part of the team as an equal or drive a wedge between them that couldn’t be pulled out.
The following day, both teams endured physical training, hand-to-hand combat training, live fire exercises and CQB drills until they were almost ready to drop. After they ate, they went on a twelve-kilometer run and then were allowed to shower. The men hurriedly stripped down and hit the showers. This time, Sanchez stripped down and followed them in. As she walked into the shower room, she could hear the guys all laughing and joking around, but as she turned the corner and they heard her shower shoes against the tile, they all clammed up and did an about face towards the walls. Suddenly they were silent automatons, going through the motions of taking a shower. Eyes front, slowly going through the motions, mouths closed.
Maybe this wasn’t such a great idea, she thought as she approached an open shower head and turned on the water. She sighed as the hot water stung her skin and soaked her hair. She closed her eyes and tried to forget that thirteen naked men were in the room with her. Thirteen very well built, extremely muscular, very large, very strong extremely naked men were in the same shower with her. She sighed and reached for her soap box. When she snapped it open, she realized that in her haste to make her grand entrance, she forgot her soap.
“Damn!” she groaned, her voice echoing in the dead silence of the shower.
“Whatchu need?” Sanchez turned around to find Apollo standing there. Her first instinct was to look down, but she forced herself to keep her eyes UP at his face.
“I forgot my soap.” Her voice sounded very small with all of the hissing of the shower.
“Hold on. You can use mine,” Apollo said.
He went back to where he had been showering and pulled his soap on a rope off the shower head and brought it back to her. She found herself checking out his ass as he walked off but when he turned back, she forced herself to look back up again. But it was so difficult to not sneak a peek. She could almost swear that he didn’t walk back, he swaggered. She averted her eyes, but she also made no effort to turn or cover herself either.
When he approached, he said, “Here. It may smell a little manly, but it will wash the grime off.”
When she looked back at him, she was staring at his oh-so-wide chest. She took the soap from him by the rope. “Thank you.”
“Just don’t drop it. God knows, I don’t trust none of these muthas in here, and I’m a guy!” he hollered over his shoulder. That comment was the ice breaker that brought a few snickers from the other guys.
TD finally turned around and with his best feminine imitation said, “Only cuz you got buns of steel, Apollo. Mm-mm, wanna get me some of that!”
Marshall lost it then and burst out laughing and Gus Tracy almost slipped from laughter when Apollo faked a swing at TD.
“You know I don’t thwing that way, Jimmy!” Apollo said with a fake lisp.
Dom laughed so hard he got soap in his eyes then blamed Jacobs for flinging soap. The grab-assing started and it went back to business as usual in the shower. Just laughter, small talk and joking around.
Sanchez relaxed a bit as she glanced around. For the most part, the guys were ignoring her, but every once in a while, they’d make an offhand comment or tease her about leaving girly stuff in the showers. She caught one or two checking her out, but she also expected that. At least none of them left with raging erections. Not that she would have minded that either, she did work really hard to earn her body. And to be honest, she did more than her fair share of checking them out, and she didn’t think she got caught.
At least, she hoped she didn’t.
But she didn’t drop the soap either.
Jack tested his legs again and found the pain had lessened greatly. He could put more weight on them than he had before and even though the sweat was forming on his forehead, he was able to take his full weight. He knew he shouldn’t try to walk just yet. He didn’t want to risk re-breaking the knitting bones and he gently sat back on the edge of the bed. He let out the breath he hadn’t realized he had been holding and his stomach growled at him.
“You’re getting stronger,” Nadia said from his open door.
Jack didn’t look up. He hadn’t heard her approach his room this time, and he had been so focused on his pain and taking assessment of his injuries that he failed to notice her standing just inside the doorway. He had asked Rufus to leave the door open so that the breeze from the window could more easily flow through the room and carry the sea air through.
“I’m feeling stronger.” He finally turned to look at her. “Thanks to you.” He could almost swear that Nadia blushed slightly with his comment.
He noticed that her eyes looked different. She wore makeup this time. Subtle, but there. Just a slight eye shadow to accentuate the aquamarines of her eyes. A very light blush. She had pulled her hair back into a complex braid that allowed more of her face to be seen. His eyes traced the shape of her ear, how the lobe attached delicately to her jaw, the angle of her neck, and around her neck was a crucifix of gold.
“You wear a cross?” Jack asked.
“Rufus gave it to me as a gift, many years ago.” She came in and sat with him.
“I thought vampires and holy articles didn’t mix.”
Nadia smiled almost bashfully. “A wives’ tale,” she said softly her eyes not meeting his. “Although, our legends say that a natural born vampire cannot be touched by such things lest they burn.”
Jack simply nodded, still admiring the crucifix. “Well, either way, yours is lovely.” He caught himself and felt the need to elaborate. “I mean, I’m not a relig
ious man, really. It’s just that yours is perfect for you. It’s not too froo-froo or too simple…it’s perfect,” he blurted out with a lopsided grin.
“Froo-froo?”
“Ehh, yeah. Well, froo-froo…you know? Like bling? Not too blingy?” Nadia shook her head at him. “Not too ornate? Too ‘over the top’?” he said, using his fingers to make air quotes. “Like the Pope wears.”
“Ah!” Nadia’s eyes widen, “Now I understand froo-froo!”
Jack chuckled. “Yeah, stick with me, kid, and I’ll teach you all kinds of useless words that will get you absolutely nowhere in life!”
Nadia smiled back at him and Jack felt this familiar pain in his stomach. Like butterflies. He wasn’t sure that it was an entirely unpleasant feeling, but he also wasn’t sure that it was a welcome feeling either. After a few moments of awkward silence, he finally asked her, “Did you just drop by ‘cuz you missed me, or was there a purpose to your visit?”
Nadia’s hands were busy twisting at the corner of her skirt and it was obvious that she was nervous. She finally spread her skirt out and patted it flat with her hands then sat up straighter. “Jack, I must ask you a few questions, please.”
“Okay, here we go…” Jack figured this time would come. Interrogation time. He knew the whole ‘we are your hosts’, ‘you are free to go once you are healed’ thing was a load of crap. “If you people think I’m going to tell you anything about our operations or tactics, then you got another think coming.—”
“No, Jack!” Nadia pleaded. “Jack, please!”
“You sons-of-bitches think that because you help patch me up that I’m gonna just spill my guts to you out of what…a sense of gratitude?”
“No! Jack, please. You misunderstand me, Jack!”
“Bull! You think that I’m stupid? You think you can just walk in here and bat your vampire eyes at me and I’m gonna go stupid and just start spilling secrets to you and…”
“Jack! Stop it!” Nadia screamed. Rising to her feet, she took him by the shoulders and shook him. “Jack, it’s about your blood!”
He finally stopped ranting and froze. He stared at her face, and she seemed frightened. That scared him more than anything else she could have said. Well, that and there were tears in her eyes. Can vampires cry? Or was this a trick? Many thoughts, half-thoughts, and blank thoughts ran through Jack’s mind all at once, but he did calm down. Something innate told him he needed to know what she knew. Or at least, what she suspected.
“Okay, gal pal. You have my attention,” he said. “Spill it.”
“I must ask you some questions please,” Nadia said, trying to calm herself as she sat back down. Her hands were shaking as she attempted to smooth her skirt again. A skirt that didn’t need smoothing, Jack noticed.
“Okay, Nadia, ask your questions,” Jack said slowly and softly, trying more to help calm her than himself.
“You told Rufus when you got here that your people had given you something that would prevent you from becoming vampire if you were bitten, yes?”
“Yeah.”
“Do you know what this ‘something’ is?”
“Sorry, sugar, I’m no doc,” he said honestly. He cracked a grin. “All I know is that it came in a needle along with a lot of other needles. Big needles. Some of them hurt, some didn’t.”
Nadia turned away, thinking. When she turned back to him, she looked him in the eyes and asked, “Is there anything else that they give to you, Jack? Something that you take regularly?”
“Yeah. All the time. We take supplements, vitamins, enhancement stuff. Things to make us stronger, faster, and keep our immune system beefed up.”
He could see her eyes shifting as if reading a book or accessing parts of her memory. Then, her light bulb came on. Jack saw it and knew it as soon as she did. “The things they give you, was it bitter and dark in color?”
“Actually, it’s in a capsule, but yes, it is dark.” Her face fell when he didn’t admit it was bitter. “But you know one time, I had a capsule stick to my tongue, you know, because it wasn’t wet enough or something, and I guess it dissolved or melted before I could pry it loose and wash it down. Anyway, it was the most gawdawful-tasting crap I ever had in my mouth.” Her face lit up. “Seriously, it was horrible tasting. I thought maybe somebody took a dump in one of those little pill thingies, but then I was like, ‘who could take such a tiny dump?’ and then I was like, ‘well maybe a leprechaun’ or something ‘cuz it really tasted like shit…”
“No, Jack! This is such wonderful news!” Nadia jumped up and hugged him. “Would you be sure of the flavor again if you tasted it?”
“The leprechaun shit?” Jack asked. “Just kidding.” He smiled. “I mean, yeah. I’d know it. It’s pretty hard to forget.”
“Good!” She reached her hand into a bag tied to her belt and pulling out a pinch of some powder she had in there. “Open your mouth!”
“What?!” Jack started backing up on the bed. “What do you mean open my mou—” Nadia shoved her fingers into Jack’s mouth and released the powder. What followed can best be described as a human imitation of a lawn sprinkler. Jack turning his head from side to side spitting as he went. Pft, pft, pft, pft, pft, pft, long turn, long spit, pft, pft, pft, pft, pft, pft! “What the heck did you do that for?!”
“I needed to know. Is this the same thing that your people are giving you?” Her eyes probed his, hoping.
“Water! Please, I gotta get this taste out of my mouth!” Jack reached for the pitcher beside the bed and bypassed the glass, drinking straight from the pitcher. “Oh my God. I think a leprechaun shit in my mouth again.”
“So it is the same?” Nadia asked, obviously excited.
“Why would you do that?” He asked. “That wasn’t even nice. I wouldn’t shove powdered leprechaun shit into your mouth when you weren’t expecting it.”
“Oh, but you were expecting it!” Nadia got up and sat next to him, practically bouncing on the bed. She took the water pitcher from him and looked him in the eye. She took a deep breath and then sighed. “Jack. We need to have a very long talk.”
“Hopefully about something better than leprechaun excrement?”
Her smile almost broke his heart. She almost seemed sad.
“Jack, we only have days until the next full moon. There is little time.”
Chapter 245
Matt and Laura approached the cell where Evan sat patiently in the darkness. He sat in a classic yoga lotus position, but far enough back in the darkness that any guards who may have happened by would not easily see him. Not that the guards ever really checked on him. He had been sent here to starve to death and his bars were coated in silver. The only time anybody ever came was if Laura came down to cry, or if Matt came down and stayed just out of what he thought was eyeshot and whispered, “I’m sorry.” Or if, like the other day, when the squad got new recruits. But this day, both Matt and Laura came down, and it appeared official.
“Why aren’t you dead?” Matt asked.
“Good day to you, too, Colonel Mitchell,” Evan replied without opening his eyes. “You are looking well.”
“I know why you are looking so well. Laura told me. But why didn’t you die while you were down here?” he asked again.
“Colonel, need I remind you, I’m already dead?” Evan replied. This time he opened his eyes. “My body may shrivel, but it can’t die any more than it already has.”
“Wanna bet?” Matt asked dryly.
This time Evan looked up at him and raised his eyebrows. He cracked a smile. “Touché, colonel.” Dr. Peters stood up and stretched his neck. It made the classic cracking noise and he sighed. “Did you come to finally let me out so I can get back to work, sir?”
“That’s what I wanted to talk to you about,” Matt crossed his arms and studied the vampire. Laura stayed in the background, standing at attention. She refused to show any emotion but her heart was pounding so hard, she knew that both men could hear it. “Evan, I don’t know how anybody
…” Matt paused, he just couldn’t find words strong enough to convey the thoughts he was thinking, the thoughts he felt in his gut. “I don’t know how anyone could endure what you’ve had to endure and not hold such a grudge that they wouldn’t go on a killing spree.” Matt was shaking his head. “If it were me, not only would I say anything, or do anything to get out from behind those bars, I would promise the moon and stars, then I would kill every last person that put me there.”
Evan lowered his eyes a moment. He nodded his head as he considered the colonel’s words. “I suppose I could see your point, sir, but you’re not a vampire. You still think in terms of a ‘lifetime’ whereas I think in terms of ‘eternity’. And eternity is a long time. What’s a few years of hunger out of an eternity?” Evan stepped closer to the bars. “Besides, it wasn’t you or your people who really put me in here, now was it?” He shook his head. “No. We both know that it was Leslie Franklin and his people who did it.”
Matt nodded his agreement and started to say something, but Evan cut him off, “We don’t know why. We don’t know to what purpose, or to what design, but we do know he had a reason. The good Senator doesn’t take a leak without a reason for it. Am I right?”
Matt cracked a smile. He knew what Evan wanted to say, but held back because Laura was standing next to him. “You are correct. He gives slimy politicians a bad name.”
“Then I would suggest that whether you let me out or not, you find out what the senator is up to. Quickly. Because the time that was wasted with me down here turning into vampire jerky is time we won’t get back.”