“But master, how do you know he will release us?” his eyes were frantic.
Foster pulled out his copy of the blood alliance. “It is signed in blood, my dear boy. He cannot break the bond.”
Damien’s eyes grew wide. “A blood covenant?” he asked.
“An alliance.” Foster corrected. “Legally, the same, but technically, different. Still, Thorn is as bound to it as I am.” He said.
“But master, what if he…”
“He cannot. I’ve seen to it. There are no loopholes.” Paul smiled. “It is breakable upon completion of our task or upon mutual agreement.” He smiled. “It truly is that simple.” He turned and walked deeper into the warehouse. “Now, show me to where you have set up my sanctum so that I may rest. I’ve had a rather difficult night and would like to sleep.” He ordered, feeling the final effects of the Elven blood as it worked its way out of his system.
“Of course, master.” Damien led Foster to what once were the offices of the warehouse. They had hung his tapestries over the glass windows that looked out over the warehouse itself. There were no exterior windows so no sunlight could possibly leak in. His large, four post bed had been set up and his furniture placed to replicate the room below the parking garage in the District of Columbia.
Foster nodded his approval.
They had brought him his meal in the form of a buxom brunette and an athletic blonde. Both would be made use of prior to him taking rest. Foster stripped from his clothing and gave them to Damien to have them cleaned. His copy of the blood alliance was rolled up in the breast pocket of his jacket.
*****
Hank worked his way up the side of the mountain until he was just above the outcropping of rock. He was as quiet as he could possibly be. He made sure to watch his every step, no snapped twigs, no loose rocks, nothing to break loose and slide down the side of the slope and either give away his position nor warn of his arrival.
Once he was in position, he quietly pulled his rope from his pack and tied it securely to the largest pine tree he could find. He metered out what he guesstimated to be the proper length and tied it around his waist and secured a second line to his tactical vest. His plan was to run and launch himself off the outcropping and let the rope swing him down and back into the cave area under the outcrop. Whatever was in there, he’d slice to ribbons. If anything survived, he’d interrogate it afterwards.
He had studied the outcrop on his way up. He had a pretty good idea how thick it was, how far it stuck it out and how far into it he would need to swing, so he had a real good idea just how much rope he needed. Once he was tied off and ready, he quietly pulled his sword and his machete. He ran as fast and lightly as he could and leapt into the cool night air and flipped backward, feeling the rope pull taut. It snapped him back and under the outcrop faster than he was prepared for, but he spun and sliced the rope to free himself and found…nothing.
Whoever had been there was long gone. He dropped to the ground and studied the soft soil. He could see an impression to the side where someone had set up a tripod, possibly for a recorder or to stabilize long range binoculars. He saw three sets of prints in the dirt, two large and one small, possibly belonging to a female, but it was impossible to tell for sure. He could tell they were fairly fresh, but considering the outcrop would protect the soil from rains, they could be as much as a week old. His instincts told him they were fresher than that.
He tried to follow them, but once they got out and under the pine trees, the thick bed of fallen needles made them practically impossible to track in the moonlight. He cursed to himself and went back to the outcrop one more time for one last look around. Not so much as a gum wrapper up there. He decided to snap some quick pictures and sent them down to his team leader with a short message: “Spalding. Abandoned. Possibly three. Tripod setup. Photos to follow. Attachments-4.”
Hank stood at the edge of the shallow cave and looked down at the small town. Whoever had been up there had a bird’s eye view of the entire battle. If they recorded it, then somebody was trying to study them. He didn’t dare attempt to guess why.
He felt a cold chill run up his spine and he didn’t like it.
13
Apollo and his crew stepped off the chopper about 100 yards outside the cemetery atop a grassy hill. Their arrival spooked a few horses upon approach but nothing else seemed to be moving on its own power. Mueller set up over watch at the crest of the hill and the pilot waited inside the chopper for the men to return.
The scientist’s equipment detected nothing upon approach and even as they descended the hill, the detectors remained silent. Apollo and Hammer remained at the ready, escorting the scientist into the cemetery and through the myriad of headstones until they found the disturbed graves. All of the graves were in a grid pattern, rather than haphazard. Hammer was looking for a pattern but it appeared to simply be the newest section of the graveyard with the freshest bodies, most of which were less than eight months old. Some of the disturbed graves didn’t even have markers.
Hammer went from disturbed grave to disturbed grave, looking for anything out of the ordinary, the scientist following him, scooping soil samples as he went. Apollo stood watch the entire time, occasionally stealing peeks to check on the two men. Once all of the graves had been inspected, photographed and gridded with GPS coordinates, they returned to where Apollo stood watch.
“Anything?” he asked.
“Nothing that I saw.” Hammer responded. “Doc? Anything show up in your samples?”
The scientist pulled the soil samples from the first grave and turned his flashlight on it. Soil samples took longer to react than body fluids, but these were all showing negative results. “Nothing. I need to get them back to the lab where I can put them through the mass spectrometer. That will tell me a lot more of what we’re dealing with. Field testing can only tell so much. Just because we have a negative result in the field doesn’t necessarily mean we’re looking at something new.” He explained. “It could be that they were reanimated so long ago that the reanimating agent has degraded so far that we can’t field test, or if it’s biological, they could have died of exposure to the sun’s radiation. There really are a number of biological factors involved.”
“What’s your gut tell ya, doc?” Apollo asked.
The scientist glanced at his samples again and then shook his head. “I don’t like to guess based on partial knowledge, Master Sergeant. If I had more time to analyze…”
“That’s not a gut feeling, doc.” Apollo was still looking out at the darkness. “Your gut is what tells you not to go down a dark alley even when your head tells you that it’s perfectly safe.”
“Oh, I would never go down a dark alley…”
“You know what I’m getting at, doc. Don’t play stupid.” Apollo growled.
The doc sighed. “I hate trying to give a preliminary without proper data.” He shrugged. “My gut, if it could actually tell me anything, is telling me that it’s probably nothing…”
“But?” Hammer asked him.
“But it’s really rare not to get some sort of reaction with a field test kit.” The doc told him. “No matter what we were dealing with, we should have some kind of residual. Some of the biologicals would still be alive if it were biological. Some of the toxin would still be present if it were a known neurotoxin. Any of the known zombification vectors would be present…”
“If it were a known vector.” Apollo finished for him. “Gotcha.” He scanned around the cemetery one more time, a cold chill riding up his back. “Okay doc. Load up what you need. We’re getting the hell out of here.”
*****
Colonel Mitchell woke up in his cell for the first time without a headache and without his body feeling like somebody had beaten him with a baseball bat. He sat up and stretched. He heard the sounds echo as his back popped and he felt the stiffness in his shoulders from sleeping on the cold floor. He stood up slowly and looked to the other cells. Nadia lay there, still in the form
of her wolf, wagging her tail like a giant shepherd. In the cell on the other side, her mother was still in her Halfling form.
“Is it morning?” he asked.
Nadia’s wolf turned to the side, indicating the clock on the far side of the hallway. It was just before six AM. The cells would be opening shortly. Mitchell rubbed at his eyes and stretched again. He was relieved and surprised at how well he felt. Usually, his wolf would throw itself at the bars, burning itself against the silver and claw at the floor and basically come unglued trying to get free from the cell. He knew this because Evan had shared a cell next to him for nearly three years and he told him how his wolf acted every month. Although Evan tried, at first, to calm the beast, after the first few times, he gave up. And after the hunger took him over and he shriveled and gave up trying to cope, Evan spent most of his time sleeping, for all intent and purpose in a form of stasis, oblivious to what happened around him.
As Matt waited for the doors to open, both Nadia and Tasha shifted back to their human form, smiling. As soon as the shift completed, they reached through the bars to embrace each other. “Success!” Nadia said, smiling.
“Success?” Matt asked.
“Jack’s idea! I was able to keep my mind and my control of the wolf throughout the night!” she exclaimed.
“As did I.” Tasha stated.
“Imagine that?” Matt said, a smile creeping across his face. “All these years, and nobody thought to try it themselves?”
“We all thought that the moon gave the wolf control, so nobody ever tried.” Nadia explained. “This will change things greatly!”
“For the natural born, yes.” Matt said, almost sadly.
“And you, Colonel? You seemed quite at peace for a created wolf.” Tasha said.
“What? How do you mean?” Matt asked.
“Once you shifted, your Halfling simply looked around and took in your surroundings. He looked to us and then sat down in the middle of the cell. He seemed sad, but content to sit out the night. Eventually, he slept. That is most…rare, for a made Halfling.” Tasha said. “Usually, they are untamed and will do harm even to themselves for a chance to run free.”
Matt thought about what she said. “Maybe it has something to do with what you did for me…for us, prior to the shift? Or maybe he opened his eyes, saw the same cell he always sees and knew there was no way out?” Matt offered. “I really don’t know.”
Tasha thought about Matt’s possible explanation. With a sigh, she said, “I do not think so, Colonel.”
“What then?”
“I think your wolf knows that you accepted it. And it hopes that your acceptance means that you also accept your mate is near…”
“I don’t know what you’re talking about…”
“Yes, Colonel.” She interrupted softly. “You do. And so does your wolf.” She was staring at him now.
Matt stood there. He couldn’t meet her gaze. As hard as it was to lie to someone, it was harder to lie to someone who knew your inner you. To lie to someone who knew your inner wolf better than you did. The wolf had shown her the blonde haired girl through his eyes. He saw her every time Matt did and it caused the wolf to stir. Besides, it was too damned difficult to lie to a stunningly beautiful woman when you are both standing there as naked as the day you were born.
Thankfully, the doors to the cells clicked open at that moment. All three turned their heads at that moment and moved slowly to the open doors to retrieve their clothes. As they dressed, Matt decided to change the subject and try to strike up conversation at the same time. “Were either of you able to sleep any last night?”
“Non. We had to stay awake to hold our control on the shift.” Nadia said as she began to dress. “I didn’t know if falling asleep would cause a reversal and then a moon pulled shift, or…well, I just didn’t know.”
“Would you like a room then? So you can get some sleep?” Matt asked.
“I’m quite used to going many days without sleep.” Tasha said.
“As am I.” Nadia added. “Besides, I would like to see Jack if he is still here.”
“Of course. That is completely understandable.” Matt finished dressing and then escorted the ladies to the elevator. They went back topside and found Jack and his team still on standby, having not been sent out on a mission. Nadia shared her discovery and affirmation of Jack’s theory with him while Lamb and Jacobs shared their discovery on the satellite phone with the Colonel. Matt got caught up on the night’s mission logs and relieved Laura at the Operations Command Center to shut down the missions and get the teams headed back.
Once both squads were airborne again and headed home there was still a bit of tension in the air. First Squad felt robbed as the adrenaline build up in their system had no place to go. Combined with the anticipation of the suspect satellite phone and the team's need to burn off steam. Lamb, Jacobs, Donovan and Tracy all headed to the gym to lift iron while Jack and Nadia snuck away to be alone.
Laura felt exhausted from the night, but she felt compelled to inform Matt how both missions seemed ‘off’. There was a lot of build-up leading to them both and both petered out into what seemed to be minor scrapes. True, Third Squad did encounter what might be considered a poor attempt at an ambush, but using newly turned baby vamps to do it? It just didn’t feel right. Matt listened intently and made notes in the duty log. He walked with her back to her office where she would catch a nap until the teams returned, then they would debrief in the training room.
Matt stopped her outside her office and he appeared solemn. “”What is it, Colonel?” She asked. “You look more rested than before, so…”
“No, I am. I’m not sure exactly how Tasha did what she did, but she worked a miracle before my shifting. No, that’s not it at all.” Matt said. “No, XO, I wanted you to know that I’ve come to a decision about the squads. About what Jack asked when he came back. I plan to tell them when they return.”
At first Laura wasn’t sure what he was referring to, her exhausted mind elsewhere, but then it registered. “The augmentation? You’re going to tell them the truth then?” she asked.
“Yes. They have a right to know all of it.” He said. “And the chips will fall where they may.”
She nodded, unsure if it was truly the wisest course of action. “Are you sure it’s the best thing to do, sir?”
“No, I’m not. But Jack is right. They should know.” He said. “Hell, they should have been given a choice.” He rubbed the back of his neck, the tension from the decision weighing heavily on him. “But it was out of my hands.”
“I understand, sir.” She said, her mind trying to think of the many different ways the soldiers would react. “Have you considered the ramifications?”
“I have.” He said. “But we disobeyed direct orders when we released Evan, didn’t we?”
She blushed. “Well, sir, I did sort of jump the gun on that one by feeding him without permission…”
“And you were right to do so, Laura.” He admitted. “I shouldn’t have left him down there as long as I did.” He sighed as he patted her shoulder. “Whatever happens, I’ll take it. The buck stops here.” He said, pointing to himself.
“Negative, sir. Regardless of their reaction, we both went into this with our eyes open.” She argued.
“I won’t let you take the heat on this one, Laura. I’ve put you through enough over the years.” He stiffened. “I’m still the CO of this command. Thanks to Tasha and whatever Voo-Doo she do, I’ll be able to keep that command a while longer.” He smiled. “So the shit that rolls downhill on this one will land on me. And that’s an order.” He grinned at her as he turned to leave. “Besides, I still owe you for taking care of Franklin in New Orleans.
Laura blanched. “Yes, you do!” She hollered back at him. She watched him walk back down the hallway and disappear. She opened the door to her office and fell into her couch. There was no way to know how the soldiers would react to finding out that they had been genetically altered wit
h the werewolf virus. They may very well take it in stride, or they may go off the deep end. She knew that either way, she was going to need as much rest as she could get to be able to deal with their reaction. She pulled her blanket out of the shelf and fluffed her pillow.
Staring down at her couch, she knew what was missing. She stepped to the window that overlooked the main area of the training area and Evan’s lab. His light was on and he was diligently working on something. She picked up her phone and punched in his extension. He picked up almost immediately. “Dr. Evans.” He answered.
“I’m hot.” She said.
“Yes, you are…” he cooed.
She rolled her eyes at his lame attempt at being smooth. He looked up at her gazing out of her window at him and he smiled at her. “Knock it off, smooth talker. Seriously, though. I’ve been awake too long and I feel flush. Could I talk you into holding me while I sleep?” she asked.
“Ooh. I feel so wanted.” He laughed.
She laughed into the receiver at him. “You are wanted. But right now I’m just too tired to think straight and your skin is so cool to the touch. Could you just hold me and let me nap against you?”
He feigned indifference and rolled his eyes. In a very dramatic way he exasperated, “Oh, I suppose. I hate being wanted only for my body…heat. Or lack thereof…” She laughed again. “I’ll be right there.” Before she could hang up the phone he was walking through the door.
“Damn, that was fast.” She said breathlessly.
“When a lady tells me she’s hot and wants my body, you better believe I’m not going to waste time.” He smiled at her. “You have to remember…I just got out of prison.” He wiggled his eyebrows at her and made her laugh.
“Come here.” She said and opened her arms. He stepped over to her and held her. “You feel so good.” She mumbled.
“Naw. That’s you that feels good. I just reflect it back at ya.” He grinned.
She looked up at him and kissed him. “Why, Ms. Youngblood. I thought you just wanted to be held?” he teased. “Please remember, while I am your humble servant, you are sending mixed messages.”
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