by Dawn Judd
“Mrs. Shaw?” Surely Mack would’ve told me. Marlene stopped and looked at me, blushing a little.
“We wanted to tell you, but, well…. It all just happened so fast, and there was so much going on. We decided we would wait until you came home.”
“So I guess that makes you my new sister-in-law?” The corners of her lips pulled into a hint of a smile. She looked so tired.
“And the armed guards?”
“I’m not entirely sure,” she paused. “I mean, they aren’t telling me everything. The police, that is. But I think they are worried that the men that did this to Mack will come back to finish the job.” Marlene stopped then, and grabbed my shoulders, forcing me to look straight at her.
“Khalida, the men that did this, I don’t think they were just some simple robbers. I think there was a lot more to it, that the police aren’t telling us. I don’t know what it is exactly, but I know that they must think these people are to be taken very seriously.”
I took a deep breath. I wondered how much of this had to do with the information Mack had been digging up for me. I needed to go to his office as soon as possible.
“I will take care of everything, I promise.” It sounded empty, forced, but it was the absolute truth. I would take care of it, one way or another. Marlene seemed only slightly relieved by my statement; her mind wandering to other things.
Although I knew what to expect, I was suddenly glued to my spot as I entered the room. Mack looked nothing like the strong, forceful man I had known all these years. Instead, he looked weak, and pale. There were IV’s and tubes coming out of every part of him. A ventilator was breathing for him, and the beeping that represented his heart was inaccurate to say the least. I could hear the real thing. It was weak.
My last moments with Raymond flashed through my mind, and I and I sucked in a hard breath. I closed my eyes, trying to block out the image, but could not. I nearly jumped when Marlene grabbed my hand, pulling me forward. How was it that she could be so strong and I could fall apart so easily?
After what seemed like hours of us sitting there in silence, Marlene finally spoke up. I was not totally prepared for the bomb she was about to drop on me. Her marriage to Mack was nothing compared to the surprises that lie ahead.
“Before the cops arrived, I went through Mack’s files, to see what, if anything had been taken.” She paused, waiting for the words to sink in, then continued. “Mack had told me what to look for, should anything like this ever happen. He knew what was coming, Khalida.” This caught my attention. If Mack had foreseen this, then he was into something serious.
“And what did you find?”
“There was one file missing.” She stopped, looking up at me, expectantly.
“The network.” I replied. She nodded. My heart sank. It might not have been Vyktor involved, but it didn’t matter. The information contained in that file was dangerous in anyone’s hands.
“Khalida, I think it’s only fair to tell you that Mack has brought me up to speed on a few of the projects that the two of you have been working on. Namely, you.”
Yeah, that one took the wind out of me. I knew what she was trying to tell me. She knew. She knew who I was. She knew what I was. It wasn’t that I didn’t want her to know. Mack loved her. He loved her enough to marry her. He loved her enough to tell her his deepest darkest secrets. I somehow felt the need to trust her.
But it was like telling someone, someone you want very much to be your friend, that you are a serial killer. It wasn’t something you were proud of. I had done terrible things in my life. I had taken lives, lots of lives. Not all of them were deserving. Not all were bad people who wouldn’t be missed. There were innocents; people who haunted my dreams.
I didn’t look up for a long time. I didn’t want to look her in the eyes. Instead, I waited for her to continue.
“We should go to Mack’s office. We can talk on the way.” She was out the door before I could even look up. She was right. I needed to get to Mack’s office. I needed to see it; to see what they saw. I needed to know if what they left with was what they came for.
I jumped up and quickly followed Marlene back into the hallway. I was relieved when she chose not to say anything until we got back into her car. I was always aware how people who didn’t seem to be listening actually were. “How much did he tell you?” I asked, trying to take control of the conversation.
“I’m not sure how much he hasn’t told me. I know about you, and the network. I’m not sure what more there is, really.” She paused and looked at me, her eyes pleading for answers. I knew what it was she wanted to know. Was all of this the reason that Mack was lying in a hospital bed, possibly dying? It was, I was sure. But how could I tell her that? I decided, instead to get some information out of her, which, if she knew anything at all, could shed some light for both of us.
“Has he told you anything about the most recent project I’ve had him working on?” I asked.
“A little. He tried to keep me away from it. It had him scared. But I think what he told me, he did to protect me. And you.”
“The man who killed Raymond, he told you about him?”
“Yes. But he didn’t tell me much. I got the feeling he was holding back on that one.”
“Nikolas, the man who shot Raymond, was the son of an important man.”
“Mack told me that. But he didn’t tell me much more than that.”
“Mack was working so hard on it, day and night. It was like he couldn’t stop until he found what he was looking for. He couldn’t let you down, you know.” She paused again, and looked over at me.
“He loves you, you know. He feels the need to protect you, even if it means putting himself in danger.”
“I know. I have never understood why. He is far more fragile than I will ever be.” Marlene smiled, then, wrapping her fingers around mine.
“You don’t get it, do you? He doesn’t see you as some invincible super-human. He sees you as his family. Like a little sister. It is instinct that makes him want to protect you. He can’t change that, even knowing what he knows.”
“I can’t say I blame him. Like I said, he’s told me a lot. I know all the things you’ve done. For him, and for the other members of the network.”
“They all feel that way, you know? The ones I’ve talked to. All of them would die trying to protect you.”
“You’ve talked to them? Who? When?” I was stunned. Mack was not the type to just introduce someone to the network. And aside from Mack, there was only two or three members at our local office.
“Mack had a conference with several members a few weeks back. Don’t be mad Khallie. He didn’t want to worry you. But he thought it was important to bring them in on what he knew. I’m sorry if my meeting them upsets you. Mack didn’t mean any harm, really. He just felt it would be better for me to know everything, in case….. In case something like this happened.”
She stopped talking then. I didn’t know what to say. Of course I wasn’t mad at Mack. I trusted him more than anyone else. But I was hurt that he hadn’t told me anything. We drove the rest of the way to Mack’s office in silence. I found myself wanting to tell Marlene everything, even the things I never told Mack. But I didn’t know where to start, so I said nothing.
Although it was part of Valdis Corporation, Mack’s office building was separate from the Valdis building. Normally, the buildings complemented each other perfectly; their architectural designs, flowing into each other. But as we pulled up, Mack’s office looked dark and empty. Police tape still crisscrossed the main entrance.
Marlene and I walked around to the rear entry. Marlene unlocked the door, while I took in the surroundings. I listened for anything at all out of the ordinary. I wanted to make sure that whoever had been here hadn’t come back. When I was convinced that it was safe, I followed Marlene inside. We quickly found our way to Mack’s main office. A wave of panic swept over me the minute the light came on.
The office was in shambles. The
files were all pulled out of the cabinets and strewn across the floor. Books were pulled off the shelves; pictures ripped off the walls. They were looking for the normal hiding places, I knew; hidden safes, false walls, etc. They hadn’t found any. Mack was smarter than that.
I knew where they were, and I knew even the smartest of criminals would’ve never found them. I could tell from just a glance that they hadn’t been discovered. But Marlene had said they found the network file. How could they have found it if they didn’t find his hiding spots? As though she read my mind, Marlene spoke up.
“He had it with him when he walked in the door. He had been working on something. They shot him and they took it. That’s the only thing they took.” She paused, looking at me. “Khallie, I think it’s what they came here for.”
I was screaming on the inside, because, more than anything, I knew she was right.
Chapter Thirteen
I don’t know how long I had been lying there in bed, staring at the ceiling. It seemed like hours, even though I know at some point I had been sleeping. There wasn’t a clock in Mack’s guest bedroom, but I guessed it to be close to 5AM because it was still grey out. Not quite dark, but not yet light.
I had thought about going to my house and staying there, but decided it would be better if I stayed with Marlene. Not only did I want to be there to support her, but I also knew that she was probably my best and only chance of unraveling what had happened in Mack’s office. She was smart, and observant. If anyone would notice any small detail, it would be her.
I pondered over the things we had discovered in Mack’s office the night before. I had become so engrossed in my thoughts that when the phone next to me rang, I nearly jumped out of the bed. It rang again, and as I steadied my heart, I thought of answering it.
Just as I was about to pick it up, I heard Marlene answer. Her voice was muffled and low, and I could tell from the tired tone in her voice that she had not slept much herself. When it took on a more concerned tone, I sat up. I was dressed and ready to go before she even knocked on my door. It was Mack; I knew that. We slipped out the front door without so much as a word.
I drove this time. I knew that Marlene was too shook up to operate a car, especially after the sleepless night she had just endured. It was still early, so there wasn’t any traffic to slow us down. We pulled into the hospital drive in record time. As I reached for the door handle, Marlene grabbed my arm. Puzzled, I turned to her.
Her face was pale and her eyes tired and sunken. She had been crying at some point. Streaks still lined her face, and her eyes were still red. My heart sank. I wished more than anything I could go back and change the events of the past few months. Everyone I loved was in pain because of me. I sighed and was about to reach for the door again, but Marlene didn’t let go of my arm.
“Khallie?” Her voice was barely a whisper. I looked back at her, waiting for her to go on. She hesitated, looking around, as if she was trying to find the words. After a few moments, she finally looked at me, trying, I thought, to look resolved.
“Khallie, we need to talk, before we go up there.” I nodded, and waited for her to continue.
“I’m sure you already know that it’s not good.” She hesitated again, and I could tell she was trying not to start crying before she finished what she had to say. When she didn’t continue, I opened my mouth to try to say something encouraging, but she spoke up again before I could speak.
“They don’t expect him to make it.” My heart stopped. I knew it was bad. I had never doubted that. But I also never really admitted to myself that I could be losing another friend.
“He’s taken a turn for the worse,” she continued. “They said I should come up right away, because they don’t expect him to make it through the day.” She didn’t bother to try holding back the tears anymore, and I knew it would only be a matter of time before I would no longer be able to hold in mine. I tried pulling away from her. I just wanted to get out of that car. I wanted to scream. But she wouldn’t let go.
“Khallie, look at me. Please.” I closed my eyes for a moment. I steadied my breathing and finally looked up at her.
“I can’t lose him. You can’t lose him. We have to do everything we can to save him.” She stopped and looked at me, waiting for the words to sink in. When I didn’t respond, she continued.
“You can save him.”
No, she couldn’t be asking what I thought she was. She didn’t understand what she was asking me. This time I did break free from her grasp. I practically jumped out of the car, tripping over my own feet as I hurried to get away from her. I barely caught myself, and as I struggled to pull myself up, Marlene’s arms took hold of me, steadying me.
For a moment, I pondered at how quickly she had got to me, but then I remembered it was her I was trying to get away from. I tried to push my way past her, careful not to hurt her in the process. But she refused to move.
“Khallie, please, listen to me”
“You don’t understand what you are asking me, Marlene. I can’t. It’s not right. I can’t do that to Mack.”
“He’ll die.” Her voice was desperate, and tired. I hesitated, for just a moment. But a moment was all she needed.
“He would die for you Khallie. You know that. But he doesn’t have to.”
I closed my eyes. She was right. He didn’t have to die. But how could I condemn him to a life as a vampire? He deserved better. But he didn’t deserve to die.
“Please, save him. Please.”
I opened my eyes. She looked so frail, so broken. Not the strong woman I had seen yesterday, but a shell of herself. How could I tell her no? How could I condemn Mack to death. My voice shook as I spoke.
“Ok.”
God help me.
Chapter Fourteen
Walking into a hospital room, guarded by armed men, with the intention of turning someone into a vampire is not exactly something that someone just does. It requires planning. Especially considering that the process of transformation isn’t just a bite on the neck, as movies would have you believe.
I had to explain the whole process to Marlene, so that I could put her to use. Vampirism was more like a blood disease. Kind of like AIDS, I suppose. It could only be transmitted blood to blood.
I also explained that, like some diseases, the strains could be weaker or stronger. A child born to a vampire was going to have vampire like characteristics, but would probably not be as strong as a true vampire. Like other diseases, the growing fetus would develop an immunity of sorts. Some were even born without any vampire traits. People, or vampires, like me, were stronger than others.
I was turned by one of the oldest vampires, therefore my blood was strong. This was one of my concerns when it came to Mack. It took centuries for me to be able to control my hunger. I didn’t know if Mack was that strong. But I knew there was no turning back now. I had told Marlene I would save him. I had to. His entire life had been dedicated to keeping me safe. I had to return the favor.
There were a few things we had to do in order to pull this off. First, we had to find a way to infect Mack. Again, biting him would do no good, and with him being in a coma, I couldn’t exactly get him to drink my blood. We decided a syringe was the answer, but I was sure that we weren’t going to get one past the guards.
Even if they knew he was dying, they were still going to do their jobs. And security was tight as ever. We decided we would have to pull one out of the disposal container in his room. The problem was, we didn’t know if there would even be one in there.
The next issue would be keeping everyone out of the room while Mack was transforming. This was the biggest problem. Mack was covered in monitors. The minute his heart stopped, his room would be filled with nurses and doctors trying to restart it. Explaining to them why his heart had stopped, yet he was suddenly awake and alert was going to be a problem.
So we had to come up with a solution to that. It required a call to the network. It was probably one of the most daring thing
s I had ever asked anyone in the network to do, and I wasn’t entirely sure it was the best idea. But time was running out and it was all I had. I just hoped they could pull it off.
We waited in the parking garage for what seemed like an eternity. When my phone finally rang, we looked at each other in anticipation. Darren Kline’s voice squeaked with excitement when I answered. I had to smile a little as I could almost see him dancing around as he relayed the message to me.
Darren was one of the youngest members of the network, and with youth came enthusiasm. His enthusiasm was matched by his talents, and I had no doubt that he was probably one of the biggest assets we had ever acquired. Darren was a hacker. Not just any hacker, but probably one of the best.
He learned at a young age, and by the time he was 13, he had hacked into some of the toughest systems in the country. He was good, too, having never been caught by any government officials.
But he was also brazen and that’s what got him into trouble. At sixteen, Darren got mixed up with the wrong people. He had been contracted to do a job by some less than reputable characters, and when the job was finished, they decided he was too much of a risk. As luck would have it, I was in the right place at the right time, and Darren was still very much alive.
Bringing him into the network had not only been easy, but was almost a necessity. He had nowhere else to go. We both knew that if he went home, his life was most certainly still in danger. So he dropped off the radar and came to work for me. He had repeatedly proved himself to be invaluable, and this time was no exception.
Before I could even say hello, his squeaky excited voice shouted out, “It’s done. How long do you need?” I took a second to figure how long it would take us to get up to the room and get everything ready. “Give us at least 15 minutes; maybe 20, in case there’s someone in the room when we get up there. I will need 10-15 minutes. Do you think you can swing that?”
I heard him chuckle, and I knew he could do whatever I asked. I hung up the phone and nodded at Marlene. We walked quickly towards the elevator leading down to the main floor of the parking garage. Once inside the hospital, we moved quickly, heading straight for the elevator.