Enduring Service

by Regina Morris

  The team members shared glances with each other.

  Dixon cleared his throat. “A pretty sick joke if you ask me.”

  “There are a lot of families with a Welsh background so that won’t narrow the search down,” Raymond explained.

  Dixon didn’t care how many vampires were Welsh. The ones he wanted were here in the states, and he had to find them. He focused on the information he had gathered. “Cord blood is also known as ’baby blood’, although cord blood is more specific. It is the blood cells found in the umbilical cord of a newborn baby.” He flipped through his report on the screen and showed images of how the blood is retrieved.

  “Private companies store the blood commercially since it’s not a hospital procedure, although a hospital will collect it for you.” He flipped through more images of the refrigeration units and the cataloging of the blood. “The blood is used to personally care for the child if health issues arise, such as…” He pressed the remote and list appeared on the screen. “… Diabetes, leukemia… there are many diseases that cord blood may, or may not, be able to help.”

  Changing the images once again on the screen, Dixon continued, “Several doctors around the world are currently conducting research regarding the effects of cord blood on different cancers.” He flipped through images of five doctors. “These five are the most advanced with their research. They all check out. I don’t think they are vampires and most weren’t even in the United States this month.”

  Ben typed away on his computer and pulled up a lab report dealing with the study of cord blood, “Cord blood is the purest blood cells you’ll ever find. Once a human lives their life, free radicals and chemical changes happen to the blood. Caffeine, artificial sweeteners, food coloring, preservatives, medications, over–the–counter drugs, illegal drugs… they all taint the blood, making it less pure. That’s why these doctors and scientists are so interested in it for research purposes.”

  “Or why a vampire would be interested in it.” All eyes now studied Sterling as he spoke. “If cord blood is so potent and can be so beneficial to humans, imagine what feeding off it would do to a vampire.”

  “The quality alone would be good motivation to create a fake cord blood company so you can have your own private stash.” Ben pressed the remote button and the company’s website appeared on the screen. “The company is only three years old. That’s not too alarming since cord blood collection is a new business industry. But this is where everything gets interesting.” He tapped the remote and displayed another image on the screen. “The address listed on this site does not exist. The phone number is just a recorded message with no human to pick up the phone.”

  “The address is in Maryland,” Alex said.

  “Yes. I had a friend of mine on the Maryland police force check out the address. I trust him. He said the place is a vacant lot. I also accessed a military satellite and looked at a recent picture of that location. Nothing is there.” Ben shook his head. “Blasus is not a real company. I couldn’t find out where the blood is being stored, and I doubt the humans who pay them to store their blood ever see it again.”

  “What about vampire cord blood? Would there be a difference?” Raymond asked the question and Dixon realized that Sulie, their medical expert, was not in the room to answer the question. The room fell silent.

  “Vampire blood should be the same as human blood at that point,” Sterling said. “Vampire children are human in every way until their Jahrling Year. The blood of pregnant vampires is more human than vampire so it would make sense. My guess is that it’s the same.”

  Ben shook his head. “A vampire family wouldn’t store cord blood. The blood from the parents can do roughly the same thing medically to heal their child.” He shrugged his shoulders. “I’m guessing the vamp cord blood is more alluring and beneficial than human cord blood.”

  “There is a difference.” Raymond’s face pinched as though deep in thought. “Purebred vampire children don’t get blood diseases. There is something in their blood that prevents it. Sulie told me about it all those years ago when Sterling was a child, but I don’t remember exactly what it is.” He thought for a second, but evidently couldn’t recall what it was. “I’m betting the taste is different.” Raymond pulled the conference room phone closer and dialed a private number into the White House. “William is the only team member with kids, he may have some insight.”

  After a brief pause, he said into the phone, “William, do you have a minute?” He then put the phone on speaker.

  “Are you up to speed on the records Ben has sent you regarding cord blood?” Raymond asked.

  “Yes, I’ve been able to keep up with the situation. The White House has been quiet with the president exercising in the indoor gym and swimming pool. Right now, Daniel is in the gym with him,” came William’s voice from the phone.

  “I understand.” Raymond kept talking, but faced the speaker phone so William could hear. “This cord blood sounds like a possible super charged food source for vampires,” Raymond said. “I need to know if any Colony members have fed from cord blood or from a baby.”

  As a newly turned vampire who only fed on bagged blood, Alex’s eyes widened.

  “The baby would be dead if anyone fed from it,” Ben said.

  Raymond nodded. “That’s why the Vampire Council created strict rules about feeding from children and they are enforced to protect the innocent. Feeding from small children and killing them is the most wicked of offenses. As Coven Master of our group, I’m under oath to report any violations, but… I’m going to offer immunity to the group. I need to understand what the effects of this type of blood are if we are going to go against a group of vampires who are using it as their primary food source.” Raymond looked around the table and all the vampires nodded or at least acknowledged his statement.

  “Has anyone here ever fed from cord blood?” Raymond asked.

  Silence filled the room.

  Raymond took a deep breath. “Has anyone ever fed from a baby?”

  Again, no one answered.

  Dixon noticed Raymond looked partially relieved by the answers. However, they needed information about the blood, and these answers gave them nothing to help save Sulie.

  Slowly, Dixon rose his hand.

  “Dixon, you’re human. Put your hand down,” Sterling said.

  He ignored Sterling’s remark. “Raymond, Sulie has tasted baby blood several times,” he offered as he put his hand down.

  The vampires all eyed Dixon. “What?” Raymond asked.

  “At the hospital, with the babies she helps deliver. She told me sometimes she will taste their blood instead of allowing the technicians to do a heel prick on the baby to test their blood.” Dixon glanced across the table at all the eyes staring at him. “She said the small taste seemed a more humane and gentler way to test a baby’s blood than going through a lab. The babies weren’t hurt and she could have the results instantly. She did this mostly with the premature babies.”

  “Well, the only one with information to share which will save Sulie’s life, is Sulie. Perfect.” Raymond ran his hand through his hair. “Did she say anything about the baby blood to you?”

  Dixon offered in a low voice, “She said the blood tasted delicious.”

  “We could assume so,” Sterling commented. As all eyes stared at him, he said, “What? The youngest I’ve ever tasted was eighteen. Blood today, even at that age, is usually polluted with impurities like caffeine, tobacco, and street drugs.” Sterling made eye contact with his father. “But pure blood, with none of that crap in it, would be delicious. I remember in the 1800s I fed off many young women in their early twenties who had lived clean lives. They didn’t smoke, drink caffeine, do drugs, or anything of the sort. They ate organic and farm raised food. The blood from back then tasted better in so many ways. The blood was more energizing and I needed less…” Sterling paused, “… to get the full benefits from the feeding.”

  Raymond continued his line of que
stioning. “Has anyone fed from a child? If so, please raise your hand and estimate the child’s age.”

  All eyes wandered the table, as well as to the speakerphone.

  “Our children have had cuts and scrapes,” William offered over the phone. “Sometimes Jackie and I lick the wounds to heal them. But other than a slight taste, I can safely say we have never fed off a child. I seriously doubt any of our team members have. I’d ask Daniel, but he’s in with the President right now. I doubt he has ever fed or tasted blood from a donor so young.”

  All others in the room fell silent until Ben raised his hand. “A boy. Ten years old. I fed off him.”

  Ben was one of the few members of the group who joined them already as a turned vampire. Most of the others, Daniel, Mason, Alex, William, Jackie, had been turned by other Colony members, and several of them fed only from bagged blood. If Dixon had to guess which one of them had fed from a child, he would have guessed Ben.

  “You have full impunity.” Raymond looked stoic as he eyed one of his best friends. “You do not have to give us any of the details, only the information about the blood.”

  “The feeding happened in the 1850s. I was taking the young boy and his pregnant mama up north to the anti–slave states through the Underground Railroad. They understood my true nature and accepted my help. Along the journey, I became injured and nearly died. I was aging quickly and needed more blood. The boy understood for them to have the best chance of survival, they would require my protection, so he offered me his arm.” Ben looked across the table and then directly into Raymond’s eyes. “I didn’t force the child. I wouldn’t do that.”

  “We believe you.” Raymond nodded. “Please continue.”

  “I was careful not to take too much, but then as I drank I realized I didn’t need much of his blood to rejuvenate my body. I had hoped to take just enough to be back to an age of sixty so I could continue our journey, but his blood was amazing. I drank less than I had planned to take and I returned to being in my mid–thirties.”

  “So if a mother today is healthy, my guess is that the cord blood from the baby is better than from the vein of that ten–year–old boy.” Raymond made eye contact with Ben. “Thanks.”

  “The boy and his mother did make their way up north and became free,” Ben added. “I wiped their memory of what I was, and I trust they made a better life for themselves.”

  Alex had sat quietly throughout the discussion. “Damn heroic, if you ask me.”

  Other members mumbled their agreements until Raymond raised his hand. “OK, we’ve covered the blood information. We’ve searched through the hospital she was last in. We searched through her computer and her room here at the mansion. He now looked at his wife Alex, “Anything from her credit cards?”

  Alex went to the computer and put in a memory card. With the remote, she pulled up the records. “Sulie has two cards. One is only for gas.” She pulled up the first record and then split the screen to show a map with flags marking the gas stations she shopped at. “Nothing out of the ordinary. All gas purchases were within the vicinity of Fang Manor or where she worked. The GPS on her car showed only expected paths that she would normally take. No day trips and no side trips anywhere. Nothing to suggest she knew this midwife.” She pulled up the next record. “This is her debit card for shopping. The blue highlights are grocery shopping for the people who eat food at Fang Manor. The yellow highlights are antique stores. Green highlights show restaurants.” As she glanced over at Dixon, she added, “Probably places she sat with friends as they ate.”

  As Alex continued pointing out information on the record Dixon mentally confirmed the places where he knew he had taken Sulie. He thought there might be a few restaurants on the list that she may have eaten at with some other friends but discovered all the places were with him for the coffee or wine she would drink. She always insisted on paying for her own drinks. He noted the huge bar tab from yesterday had already been posted.

  “So I didn’t find anything unusual about her debit card statements. I’m sorry Raymond.”

  Raymond nodded. “We’ll have to keep looking.”

  Dixon scanned the faces of the vampires around the table. They all seemed unsure of the next step. He felt a heavy weight on his chest. Sulie was out there somewhere, needing their help and they kept running into dead ends. Even after two days of searching, they were no closer to finding her. He knew the first 24 hours were essential to any kidnapping in terms of clues and following a hot trail. He slammed his fist on the table in frustration and then stood. He pulled the vial of medication prescribed to him from Sulie out of his pants pocket and walked to the kitchen. The pills rattled in their tiny vial as he fetched something to drink. His fatigue nearly knocked him off his feet. He figured Sulie would be on his case for not following doctor’s orders and he didn’t want to catch hell from her when she did return safely home.

  Since Dixon was easing into retirement, there wasn’t too much that needed his attention at work. In fact, all the team members he would need to talk with were at Fang Manor with him at the moment. Only a few remained at Camp David or at the White House with the president. It was nice to be able to focus entirely on Sulie. He only wished there was more to go on.

  The only choice of glassware he found in the kitchen was either the big goblets the team used for blood and wine or plastic cups the kids of the house used. He thought of grabbing a beer from the refrigerator, but he could only imagine how Sulie would scold him for mixing drugs with alcohol. A small smile crept up from the corner of his lips. Yeah, she’d be upset if he mixed the two. He opted to use a plastic cup with a Care Bear on the side.

  He took a chance and opened the refrigerator to see if there was any juice since he always preferred to take medication with juice instead of water. He noticed a container of cranberry juice, which was his favorite. He had mentioned this fact to Sulie once last week in passing. She must have bought the juice for him. She always noticed the little details and he appreciated her efforts. After he opened the lid, he smelled the juice to confirm it wasn’t blood in a miss–labeled container. Knowing the liquid was safe to drink, he took his iron pills. He then realized he had not taken his Devolixion drops, so he took the bottle out of his pocket, emptied a dropper full into his juice and finished the glass.

  When he had rinsed the glass and placed it in the sink, he noticed Raymond standing in the kitchen with him.

  “You need to take a break.”

  Dixon eyed the vampire. “I’m fine.”

  “Wearing yourself out will not help bring her back.” When Dixon dismissively waved his hands in an attempt to ignore him, Raymond added, “You look like a dead man walking. A full 24 hours have passed since you last slept.”

  “I’ll sleep once I find her.”

  Raymond’s eyebrow rose. “You mean once we find her.”

  Again Dixon waved his hands. “Yeah, that’s what I said. When we find her.”

  Raymond led Dixon down the hallway towards Sulie’s room. He opened the door and nodded with his head for Dixon to enter. “Lay down. We’ll wake you if there is any news.”

  Dixon inwardly cursed his mortal old body. If he was a vampire, hell even a younger man, he would have more stamina to search for Sulie. He glanced around the room. “Ok. But only a short nap and I’m going to leave the door open in case the team needs me.”

  “You have my word that we’ll wake you.”

  Once Raymond left the room, Dixon sat on Sulie’s bed as he removed his shoes. The comforter design contained red, pink and purple circles on a white background. The blanket reminded Dixon of patterns from the 1970s. Girly. The room was definitely a girly room in his opinion. The decor suited Sulie. For being a hardcore, kick butt vampire, a softer, more feminine side existed which she only showed in private. Even the furniture in this room and the decorations adorning the walls seemed delicate. The style didn’t suit his taste, but the room still seemed warm and inviting to him.

  The comforter f
elt warm and soft as he sat down. He looked around the room and noticed a novel on her nightstand, so he picked the book up. The silk bookmark ribbon lay between pages near the end of the book. The story was a suspenseful mystery from a series of books he had recommended to her a while back. This was book five in a series of eight books. Dixon had read the entire series and thought this book to be the best one. Sulie had not finished it yet, so she still didn’t know the twist ending and which suspect had committed the murder. All of a sudden, Dixon was overcome with emotion. He hoped she’d be back soon to finish the book. He set the novel back down on the nightstand, and tried his best to compose himself.

  Dixon removed his glasses and rubbed his eyes. He placed his glasses next to the book and reached for the pillows at the head of the bed. Good Lord. She had a lot of pillows. He removed most of them and set them on a chair in the corner of the room, leaving two on the bed for his use.

  As he shifted the remaining two pillows, he noticed a magazine hidden beneath them. “Cosmo”, he read. “Jeesh, when Sulie girled out she went all the way,” he thought as he smiled to himself. He opened the magazine and thumbed through the pages. The magazine was exactly what he thought. The pages contained perfume ads and samples, handbags and clothing advertisements, and articles about why you deserve love and how to get it. As he laid the magazine down, an article caught his eye, “How to Get Him to Notice You.” Listed in the article were the top ten ways to be noticed. Number three was circled, so he read that one. “Change your hairstyle.” That tip registered with him. She had just changed her hairstyle significantly, but then again, she changed her style periodically. He stared at the tip again. “She must have circled this tip for a reason,” he thought. Dixon felt odd as he realized she must be trying to capture the eye of a man, probably the vampire she wanted to be paired off with from the Council. Sudden sadness crept over him, but he pushed the feelings aside. She was entitled to find a husband. Hopefully she’d have better luck than he had had over his lifetime.