“Wait until all of the footage is in. Make copies and have it sent to all of my generals. I’ll study it once it’s together.”
“Yes, master.” And the enforcer left.
The Sicarii studied the skyline and pondered the many possibilities. His generals would easily be maneuvered into positions across the globe. The human hunters would be fed the information they needed to lead into an ambush. Once the hunters were taken out of the picture, the rest of the human military would be easily displaced as their governmental leaders were either killed or turned. His generals would be put in positions of power directly at the right hand of presidents and kings, all of whom would bow to HIM. Then he would have himself crowned King of the World and the populations of the world would become the very lifeblood for the rightful heirs to the world…vampires.
Warehouses and stock pens of people, breeding farms of only the hardiest stock…farmers and ranchers would hone their art with their own kind. He smiled as he imagined his new world coming to fruition.
Very soon the world would be bathed in blood.
Very soon indeed.
*****
Jack and Nadia went through his sparse belongings and packed up what little he owned. He hadn’t realized just how lightly he lived until now. He literally could pack his life away in his duffle bag and somehow that saddened him. He felt that at his age, he should have something more than a body full of scars and a handful of souvenirs to show for it. He looked around the small room that he shared with the other team leaders. Nadia felt his pain, but she looked forward to having him stay at the island with her. “I’m going to leave my uniforms here until I’m through with the teams.” He said. “But this stuff can go ahead and go home.” He smiled at her.
She touched his face and he felt tingly inside. His stomach had butterflies. Newlywed flutters that he hoped never went away. Her beauty captivated him in ways that he couldn’t put into words. “Jack, you don’t have to do this yet. Just because mother and I are returning now…”
“No.” He interrupted. “I told you. Where you go, I go. You are my home.” He kissed her, softly at first, then pulling her tightly to him, the kiss deepened. “I’m so sorry I left the way I did.”
She buried her head into his chest, inhaling his scent. “You did what you felt you must.” She whispered. “I’m sorry I cannot be a part of your world.”
“It’s okay.” He told her, squeezing her lightly. “I’m going to be a part of yours.” He sighed then lifted her chin to look into her eyes. “I stopped taking the bane.”
Her shock was palpable. “Non! Jack you mustn’t!”
“It’s okay, Nadia. It’s not like we thought.” He explained. “Evan told me something that we weren’t aware of.”
“But Jack, you don’t understand…”
“Nadia, I’m like you.” He said, “I’m just like a natural born wolf. It wasn’t like I was bitten. It was genetic engineering.” He smiled at her. “I’ll be able to shift at will like you do, and if you can shift before the moon makes you and keep control of your wolf, then…”
“Non! Jack! You still don’t understand!” She cried. “If you do this…”
“What?” His face a mask of confusion. “I don’t understand.”
“Not yet, Jack. Please.” She begged him. “Keep taking the medicine they give you. At least until the final battle is over.”
“Why, Nadia? I don’t understand.”
She turned away from him, tears threatening her eyes. “Because the final battle takes place at a full moon. Perhaps the next full moon, I do not know for sure. But if you do not keep taking the bane and you are wrong, and you cannot shift at will as you hope, then you will be the beast… and your own men will be forced to put you down to save themselves in the heat of battle.” She cried.
Jack swallowed the lump that had formed in the back of his throat and nodded. “Okay. I can do that. For you, I’ll keep taking it.” He felt her nod under his chin and he held her tightly. “But the moment the battle is over, and I’m home with you, no more bane. Agreed?”
“Oui. No more bane.” She sniffled.
“And if I’m wrong and I can’t shift at will like I think, and I’m stuck shifting once a month at the full moon, then…well, hell. Just lock me up in one of your cages in the dungeon and you can poke me with a stick while I growl and drool all over myself, okay?” he teased.
She chuckled under his chin. “Oui. A sharp, pointy stick.”
He laughed. “Oui. A sharp, pointy stick.” He repeated.
“With many barbs.” She added with her lower lip stuck out, and poked him in the ribs to make him jump.
“If you say so, my love.”
“I do.” She laughed.
*****
Hank returned to base with a few surprise packages in tow. As some of the squad members took a nap to recharge their batteries, he had a pang of remorse for Mueller and the fact that he felt he could never try to rebuild his marriage with his estranged wife. Hank went off-base and stopped at a bookstore off I-240 and hit the self-help section. He picked through the section and found some things that he thought might assist the young soldier with accepting the loss of his marriage, and dealing with the grief.
On his way back, he made two more stops, these dealing directly with Sanchez, a wicked smile spread across his face as he entered the hangar. His first stop was to find Robert, who was still curled up in his bunk. Hank didn’t want to disturb him, so he let the man sleep. He did pull a note card and jot a few lines on it, then left it atop the books beside his bunk for him. If the man ever wanted to talk confidentially, Hank was available. Then the Padre went in search of Maria. He found her in the common room. She had plopped onto the couch and she had just flipped on the TV. She was channel surfing when Hank walked in. “Gotcha something when I ran into town.” He said.
“Oh, yeah? What’s that?” she asked, not really looking up.
“Cop food.” He said, with a smile.
“Cop food?” she asked, a slow grin spreading across her race then she noticed the box of Krispy Kreme doughnuts and the Starbucks coffee in his hand. “Oh my god…that smells like real coffee…not that crap they have in the cafeteria.” She gasped.
“Caramel breve latte, with an extra shot.” He beamed.
The other squad members took note and started filing in to the break room with mutterings of, ‘do I smell real coffee?’ and ‘are those real doughnuts’ and ‘oh my god, Krispy Kremes!’
Maria jumped up from the couch and grabbed the box from Hank. “Oh, no you don’t you vultures! Vamanos!” She swung the fried fat pills away from the other operators and used her back as a blocker. “These are mine! They were a present!”
“They’ll make you FAT!” TD yelled playfully, as he tried to reach around her.
“You mean fat-TER!” Dom teased. “Gimme those before your butt gets any wider!” he laughed.
“NO!” She said. “They’re cop-food. Hank even said so. You ain’t cops, you can’t have any!” she squealed, climbing over the couch and using it to try to block them.
“You ain’t a cop no more either!” Popo said. “You’re a monster hunter, like us, bro, so pony up with the cream-filled.”
“I ain’t your bro, puto, so back off my doughnuts.” She said, pointing her finger at him. She turned to Dom, “And my ass ain’t fat, fucker!”
“Hey! You told the big bird to treat you like one of the guys, ese.” Popo teased.
“And for the record, I meant it like P-H-A-T.” Dom smiled. “You know, pretty hot and tempting!”
“Oh, no you didn’t.” she said. Hank stood back and watched the grown men act like three year olds and simply shook his head.
“You know, there is a dozen in that box.” He said.
Sanchez turned to him, “So?” He laughed and shook his head. “It’s COP FOOD. You ain’t cops. Shoo!”
“Aww, come on, Sanchez. You can share…” TD whined.
Maria shook in frustratio
n. “Arrgh. Okay! One! Just one! And don’t you tell nobody cuz there’s like twenty of us and then I wouldn’t get any.” She started to open the box then closed it quickly. “And seriously, if there’s raspberry jelly filled in there and any of you even think of touching it, I’ll stick you, man. I’ll seriously stick you. Believe it. I got a knife and I know how to use it…” she did her best to give them all the evil eye until they agreed. “And I ain’t sharing the good coffee, either.”
The operators grinned, each grabbing a quick doughnut and scampering away, happy they got a prize. Sanchez plopped back onto the couch propping her feet on the table in front of her and placing the box in her lap. She began picking at the remains of the box and realized that they had taken all the chocolate and cream filled doughnuts. She sighed and stuck her finger into the hole of a jelly doughnut, prying out the red goo. “Heaven” she murmured as she stuck her finger into her mouth.
“Glad you like them.” Hank smiled.
Maria looked up at him and returned the grin. “You should really smile more often, Hank. It makes your eyes light up.” She told him.
Hank stiffened slightly, his smile fading, but still hanging at the edges of his mouth. She patted the couch next to her. “Join me. I think there’s enough left for two.”
Hank glanced around the common room and noticed they were the only two left, and nodded. He took a seat next to her, but stayed close to the edge of the couch as if ready to make a quick getaway.
“You can relax, Padre. I don’t bite!” she laughed. Then holding up a doughnut, she added, “Unless you’re made of sugar dough!” Hank smiled and took the offered pastry.
“Thanks.” He didn’t immediately take a bite though.
“You brung em. Thank you.” She said, taking a bite out of the jelly hole. “Mmm. Oh yeah. Now that’s good stuff.” She took a hit from the cup of coffee and savored the flavor. “Oh yeah.” She closed her eyes and swallowed slowly. “I’m telling you, Padre, if there’s not coffee in heaven, I’m not sure I want to go.” She smiled.
Hank smiled back. “For me, it would be a good steak and banana pudding.” He said softly.
Maria sat up a little straighter. “Oh yeah? Banana pudding? I wouldn’t have thought that.”
“My grandmother used to make it when I was little.” He said softly. “Most kids, it was cookies baking that remind them of home, but for me, it was my gram’s ‘nanner pudding’. That would be heaven for me.” She saw his eyes glisten slightly.
“You were awful stand-offish for a long time when we first got here, Padre, but you’re really starting to open up.” She observed giving him a light elbow. “I’m liking it.”
Hank turned to face her, his face unreadable. At first Maria thought she had said something she shouldn’t, but he slowly nodded. “For the longest time, I distanced myself from everybody.” He nodded toward the door where the other squad members had left. “Even my team mates.”
Sanchez wondered if Hank was haunted by more than the vampire attack she knew of that had taken his village? “What happened to you?”
“Apollo told you about my village, right? The people who were killed? The…the kids who were…”
“Yes.” She answered softly. She reached her hand up and held his hand softly. He didn’t pull away.
“It changed me.” Hank said slowly. “It made me more like I used to be. Before I gave my life to God.” He turned to look her in the eye again. “After that attack, I asked myself, ‘how could any God allow such creatures to do what they did to innocent children?’ It truly shook my faith.”
“And now?” she asked, not sure that she really wanted to know the answer.
“Now, I know that it wasn’t God’s hand in the killing of those children. But it is His hand in directing me toward finding this group and helping to wipe them off the face of His creation.” He said firmly. “I was a bit shaken when I found out that they had infected us with a monster…virus, or gene or…whatever it is. But if it doesn’t affect our soul and allows us to be better warriors, then I am not opposed to it.” Sanchez nodded as he spoke.
“I agree.” She said softly.
“And,” he added a bit more cheerfully, “I noticed you. And you seemed like you could use a friend.” He smiled.
“Oh, really?” she said, raising her brows.
“When you stepped into a shower full of nude men and not only challenged one, but threatened him? With a bar of soap, no less?” his smile returning.
Sanchez laughed. “Yeah, well, he pissed me off.” She chuckled.
“Indeed.” Hank deadpanned. “You felt the need to prove that you were just one of the guys, correct?”
“Yeah.” She said, realizing that he had read her right. “I did.”
“The others still see you as ‘a girl who can fight’.” He watched her reaction and saw that she knew this was true. “I see you as another warrior. A kindred spirit. Someone who also needs to rid the world of evil.” He watched her patiently to see if he had indeed read her correctly. “Or was I mistaken in my assessment?”
Maria’s eyes narrowed as she studied him. “I think you hit the nail squarely on the head, Padre.”
A slow smile spread across his face. “I thought I was right. And I’m glad I was.” He patted her hand. “It’s good to know that I’m not alone here, after all.”
“I spent my life watching monsters prey on people weaker than themselves ever since I was big enough to realize what was going on.” She said. “Now, I know that there are monsters even worse than the human monsters I hunted as a cop.” The muscles in her jaw ticking as her anger grew.
“Birds of a feather.” The padre stated. Sanchez simply nodded, a tight smile crossing her features.
After a short moment, she turned to him. “Teach me. Please.”
Hank gave her a puzzled look. “What could I possibly teach you, Maria? You’re an accomplished fighter, a world-class shooter, a…”
“The blade. When I was on that ridge and the vamps advanced on me…I almost ran out of ammo. I damn near panicked, Padre.” He could see the fear begin to rise in her eyes again as she relived the moment in her memories. “When I saw you coming up through their rear, your blades slashing through them, I knew…that was a weapon that never ran out until the operator ran out.” Hank was nodding in agreement. “But I know nothing but basic hand to hand with small blades. I want to be deadly with a blade. Like you.” She said her eyes growing dark.
Hank gave her a lopsided grin. “You will not learn overnight. It took me many years to master the long blades.”
“When can we begin?” she asked, desire burning within her.
“As soon as we finish these doughnuts.” He said with a smile.
16
The dark vampire finished viewing the recordings and secured the laptop computer. He was not pleased. The tests that had been set up for the human hunters were not nearly strong enough. He needed to know their true strengths. He needed to know their resources. He needed to know what they were truly capable of. He called for his messenger and the little vampire appeared almost immediately. “Puppet, I need more than what these recordings show me. I need to interrogate a hunter personally.”
“Master?” the little messenger questioned, uncertain what exactly the dark lord wished for.
“We need to capture one. Alive.” The Sicarri stated quietly.
“Forgive me, master, I wouldn’t know how…” he stammered.
The dark vampire gazed away from the quivering messenger. Of course he wouldn’t know how. He was little more than an errand boy, and barely capable of that. “What resources do we have near the hunters?”
“T-the emissaries are inbound, we h-have…um, we have a few groups who might be able to…um…rather, they might be brazen enough to…”
“Please, Puppet. Just spit it out. Do we have any groups within range of any of the hunters capable of capturing one and making them available to me?”
“I’m unsure, my lord.” Th
e small vampire had prostrated himself to the ground, trembling, awash in the waves of power emanating from the powerful dark one.
“Enforcer.” The dark lord spoke, his voice barely registering. The overly muscled, and very old vampire stepped out of the darkness, sending the trembling messenger into fits of shaking. “You viewed the recordings?”
“Yes, master.”
“Which of the hunters did you find to be the largest threats?” he asked.
The enforcer thought momentarily then spoke with authority. “The American and the Britain teams.”
“My thoughts as well.” The dark one stated. “Do we have any groups in either area that you feel could perhaps capture one of them alive, so that I could interrogate them?”
“Alive?” The enforcer pondered the thought for a moment. “It’s still daylight in the Americas, but we have one group in the Ohio area that might be able to pull it off. They have familiars that could establish the need then their masters could pull it off at nightfall.”
The dark one smiled inwardly. “Send word. Immediately. Make it so.”
“As you will, so mote it be.” The enforcer stated.
*****
Rufus had received word that Natashia was returning with Nadia, Jack and his Commanding Officer in tow. He was in the midst of making ready for formal guests and his people were quickly preparing the dining room and his study to receive the guests when Viktor came back to the island. Nadia’s father had been gone for some time seeing to Rufus’ holdings and was truly looking forward to seeing his wife and daughter again.
His confusion at seeing such hustling and bustling in the castle was compounded when one of the kitchen staff informed him that Nadia and Natashia were returning with the human hunters. Viktor was well and truly dumbfounded and could find no one who could stop long enough to inform him of just what the hell was going on. The staff seemed too nervous and excited at what was about to happen and his fears and imagination were about to get the better of him.
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