“America now?”
“Sì!"
“America now. Fucking sweet. Thanks bro.” He keyed the radio again. “Team Leader, Sierra Three, come in. Team Leader, Sierra Three, come in.” He sat back again and waited, expecting disappointment when the radio erupted in his ears.
“SIERRA THREE! Where the fuck are you?!” Apollo shouted across the airwaves.
Dom shouted and pounded the roof of the airplane! “Holy fucking shit, boss! I can’t believe it’s you! I’m in a damned airplane headed for Rome!” Dom shouted back. “Oh, over.” He was laughing and damn near crying. The pilot seated next to him was laughing with him, the emotions contagious, even if the words were foreign to him.
“Are you shitting me? Dude! Okay, hold on, I gotta notify OpCom. We are almost touchdown home. Man, Laura is going to be so happy to hear you’re ugly ass is alive!” Apollo laughed.
“Me, too, bro. Me, too.” Dom finally sat back and breathed a little. He kept breaking into spurious bursts of laughter, the pilot following suit.
“Okay buddy, what’s the tail number of the plane you’re on?”
“I have no clue and the pilot only speaks Italian. I have no clue what he’s saying.” Dom laughed.
“Dude, you are Italian!” Apollo laughed.
“Blow it out your ass, Wiliams!” Dom laughed.
“Okay, wait one while I track down a translator. Meanwhile, we’re going to find out where you’ll be landing and get a welcoming committee to pick you up and set something up for whoever was supposed to be there to pick you up. Copy that?”
“Copy that, brother.”
“Wait one while I get the translator.”
There was a series of clicks and beeps and Laura came over the line, her voice sounded different, but she definitely sounded happy to hear Dom was alive. “Glad to have you back with us Sierra Three.”
“Good to be back, ma’am.” Dom said.
“I’ve got a translator incoming. Ten minutes out. Do you have any idea how long until you are scheduled to land?”
“At best I can figure, about 30 minutes, ma’am.”
“That gives us a little time. How are you on fuel?”
“Ma’am?”
“I’m hoping to keep you airborne so that if its bogeys that were coming for you, they’ll be forced back to ground. If its familiars, they’ll be a lot easier to deal with, copy that?”
“Copy that ma’am. Wait one.” Dom turned to the pilot and pointed at the gauges. “Fuel? Um..carburante? Gas?”
“Ah! Ora…ora e mezza…dare or prendere.” He said waving his hands.
“Ma’am. If I’m understanding the pilot correctly, I think we have about an hour or an hour and a half of fuel left.”
“Sì!” the pilot said giving him a thumb up.
“Very well, Sierra Three. That should be plenty to see you past the safe point of sunrise. As soon as the translator gets here, we’ll be able to talk more smoothly with the pilot and we’ve got our people coordinating now with Italian air traffic. Once we have his tail number and flight number we’ll redirect to a US military base and offload you.”
“Ma’am, no disrespect, but…this may be our best chance at finding out who’s behind these tests and who went after the Tufo’s.”
“Negative, Sierra Three. This is an unsecure channel.” She snapped.
“Ma’am.” He sighed. “I’m volunteering.”
“Negative.” Laura was about to cry. She just got him back and she wasn’t going to lose this kid over some damned suicide mission. “Again, this is an unsecured channel.”
Dom remained silent for a long time, he kept thinking of First Squad and the ultimate sacrifice they paid. He thought of the Tufo’s and what almost became of them, all to flush them out and grab him. Who would be next?
“Ma’am. What will they do next? Who will they hurt next?” He asked softly. “Let me do this.”
“Negative, Sierra Three.” She had to control her breathing. “Other information has come to the forefront since your abduction that…” she trailed off. “Just, follow my orders, Sierra Three.”
Dom lowered his head and sighed. “Yes, ma’am. Awaiting instruction.”
“Thank you.” She whispered. Neither of them knew at the time, but Apollo had been listening in during their conversation. He weighed the consequences of what Dom offered. This could be a chance to track down the bastards that were setting them up and ‘testing’ them? He had to admit, it was tempting, but like Laura, he felt it wasn’t worth the risk. He didn’t know what ‘other information’ she was talking about, or if there even was other information, but he hoped that she truly had gotten Dom to stand down from his desire to follow through and allow the vamps to take him in.
21
“Sicarii!” the messenger yelled as he ran into the cathedral and slid to a stop. He knew his master would not be happy, but he also knew that he must be informed immediately of what was going on. He waited as long as he dared. The pilot had been on the radio informing their people of their approach to Rome when he paused and said that the rat was out of the cage and he’d be right back. He never came back to the radio. Something bad happened. He just knew it. His mind raced with possibilities. Perhaps there was a struggle and the radio was just damaged, but, this was the human hunter. He knew better…the twist in his gut told him so. He dropped everything and ran to his master as fast as his legs could carry him.
“What is the matter, Puppet?” the dark vampire asked, obviously unconcerned.
“Master, I fear the human hunter may have escaped.” The words fell from his lips before he could meter or measure them. He hoped he didn’t have to pay for his blunder.
The dark vampire didn’t move. After a moment he turned to the messenger. “How could he escape, Puppet? He’s on an airplane traveling across the Atlantic?” Although there was no malice in his voice, the little messenger still quaked with fear.
“Our pilot was radioing our people to arrange pickup when he stated that ‘the rat was out of its cage’ and then he said he’d be right back after he put it back.” The messenger trembled.”
“Let me guess, Puppet? He never returned to the radio?” The dark one finished.
“No, Sicarii. He did not.” He whispered.
The dark vampire sighed and shook his head. “So close.” He turned and looked toward his window. “Was there a report of a plane going down?” he asked.
“Master?” the messenger asked.
“Was there a report of a plane going down?” the dark vampire asked. He turned back to the messenger. “Flying a jet is not as simple as flying smaller craft, Puppet. I somehow doubt that this hunter is qualified to do so. Or was there, perhaps, another pilot on board? Hmm? Perhaps this plane is still going to land somewhere? Perhaps we can still make good with the hunter when the plane lands?”
The little messenger’s eyes sparkled with hope as the wheels began to turn. “I’ll notify our people, master. If the plane lands anywhere near any of them, we will get the hunter.”
“Please do.” The dark vampire turned back toward his window. “I would hate to think that we went to so much trouble for nothing.”
“As you will, so mote it be.” And he backed out of the cathedral.
The dark vampire turned his attentions back to his window. If either pilot lived, then he had little to worry over. If both were dead, then the human hunter was gone and they would try to obtain another. Perhaps one closer to his city would be easier to keep from dying.
*****
Mitchell and First Squad had just returned from Thorn’s island and were checking in at topside. Laura greeted Matt and filled him in on the situation with Dom and he allowed a huge sigh of relief. He directed the squad to get their gear stowed and had Laura finish coordinating with the Italians to get Dom’s plane rerouted and get his ass on a commercial flight if need be, but he wanted him home.
Matt went below and found Evan. “How many rooms can we make in the basement?”
“Excuse me?” he asked, obviously puzzled.
“The vampire, Thorn…he’s making arrangements for him and his people to come here in a day or so. I’d like to be able to accommodate them here.” He stated.
Evan thought for a moment. “If they all want private rooms?” he asked. “They probably will, those rooms in the basement are small. Look at my room…” he cut himself off and looked away. “Maybe a dozen. If I move back to the jail, then thirteen.”
Matt thought a moment. He didn’t want Evan moving to the jail ever again, so that option was off the table, no matter how much Evan may claim that it didn’t bother him, he knew better. “What about level five?”
“The junior officer’s quarters? We definitely have empty rooms, but how many are we talking about?” Evan asked.
“I’m not positive how many are coming. I doubt he’ll bring all of his people from the island.” Matt said. “I just told him that we’d make arrangements for him and his people.”
“I’ll go floor by floor and do a room count.” Evan said. “I’ll get you an idea of how many can fit in each room and I’ll grab someone to do a requisition in case we need to get bunks or furniture for them.”
“Thank you Evan. I know this is outside the scope of your duties…”
“No problem, sir.” Evan thought for a moment. “Will I need to be procuring blood for our visitors?”
Matt blanched. “I hadn’t thought of that.” He answered honestly. “I truly have no idea what their requirements will be.” He stiffened slightly and took a deep breath, thinking hard. “Let me get back to you on that.”
“Very well, Colonel. And I will get you our room availability as soon as I can.”
Mitchell headed for his office with thoughts of IV bags laying about the floors and vampires lounging around the hangar sucking on sheep or goats or dogs or…he shuddered. Not something he wanted to contemplate right at the moment.
As Matt approached his office, Chief Thompson was trotting towards him. “Colonel. I was just looking for you.”
“Come on in. I was going to chase some aspirin and ice with lukewarm Scotch. Care to join me?”
Jack chuckled. “No sir. Thanks anyway.”
“Swear to god, I’m going to be an alcoholic before this shit is over, Chief.” Matt opened the door and headed straight for the aspirin bottle. “Fuckin head has been killing me.” He popped a couple aspirins into his mouth and poured the scotch into a glass. His freezer held the frozen cubes that wouldn’t be in the glass long enough to chill the amber fluid. He swirled it once and swallowed the pills. “So what can I do for you, Chief?”
“Before we left the island, when we were talking about getting all the vamps together? I think we need to include the other teams in this, sir.”
“You mean make this an international effort?” Matt asked.
“Yes, sir. Get the Brazilians up here, call up our British buddies...all of them.”
“And fight the Vampire Armageddon in downtown Oklahoma City? Are you nuts?” Mitchell rubbed the glass with the ice to his temple. “Too damned many civilians.”
“No sir. Not here.” He walked to the map of the United States pinned on Mitchell’s wall. “Here.” He pointed to the Nevada desert. “Nellis, sir. We make them go out to the desert, away from heavily populated areas and engage them there. Try to keep the collateral damage to a minimum.”
Matt nodded, studying the map. “Good idea, Chief. Only one problem. This is too close to Vegas. Tons of people will be there.” He pushed his finger further out to an empty spot on the map. “Here’s where we want to be.” He said smiling.
“There’s nothing there, Skipper.” Jack objected.
“Oh yes there is. It may not show up on the map, but it’s there.” He poured himself another scotch, his headache easing slightly. “It’s a part of Edwards. They call it Groom Lake, but the public knows it as Area 51.”
Jack’s eyes narrowed at him. “The UFO place? The flying saucer base that all the loonies try to sneak into?” he asked.
Matt chuckled. “Yeah, that’s the one. It’s a top secret air base where they test the latest and greatest in stealth technology, bombers, hypersonic aircraft, shit like that. Laura could probably tell you more about it then I could.” He pulled a long swallow off the scotch and enjoyed the burn as it went down. “But it’s there, and it’s isolated as hell.” He sat back in his chair and studied the map from a distance. “I’d have to pull every political string known to man, and the base commander will balk like a son of a bitch, but…there’s a chance…a slight chance, we might can use that place to stage our troops, then we may be able to lure the bastards out into the desert.”
“If we can, then we need to do it PFQ, Skipper.” Jack said.
“Noted Chief.” Matt was nodding. He studied the map a little longer then sat up. “They have some pretty damned smart techies out there Chief. If I can convince their base commander to play ball with us, I want to try to test fire that UV array that’s in orbit before those bastards know we’re all coming together out there. I need to know that it’s working so we can flambé their collective asses in one fail swoop while they’re in the middle of their initial charge on the base.”
“Sounds like a good idea.” Jack said. “How can we know if it works? Do it at night?”
“Too obvious. Somebody, somewhere would report that shit. This IS Area 51, remember?” Matt said. “No. It would have to be a daylight test. Surely they can figure out a way to detect increased UV radiation in daytime.”
“Something for the geeks to figure out, sir.” Jack said.
Matt grunted. “Alright. I’ve got calls to make, and more than likely, asses to kiss at the Pentagon. Why don’t you get with Laura, fill her in and then have her start making calls to the other teams. Contact Pablo in Brasilia and Sheridan in Newcastle, tell them what’s going on, what we plan to do about it and see if they’ll help convince the other teams to pull up stakes and come here to help us bait this guy to the desert and take him out.”
“Roger that, sir.”
*****
Dom sat in the co-pilot’s seat staring out the windows of the plane as the pilot made fine adjustments to their course. The interpreter had spoken with him and their conversation had been brief. He was ordered by him to switch to a military channel where he was directed by Auronautica Militare to redirect to Aviano Air Base to offload his passenger. The pilot knew better than to argue and happily agreed to reroute his plane.
Dom, bored as hell, sat in the co-pilot’s seat and rambled to himself, knowing that his friend could only smile and nod at him. “So I was trying to sneak up on these shit heads and bust a cap in their asses from behind when one of the sneaky bastards shoots me in the ass with a tranquilizer dart!” He exclaims. “A fucking tranquilizer dart! How chicken shit is that?” he asks the pilot who seems to be ignoring him. “Wanna see it? I got a bruise on my ass the size of a cantaloupe! Damn thing hurts like hell. And of course, I can’t go back and tell my buddies that it hurts because they’ll just ride me like a rented pony. It’s like a paper cut, ya know? They hurt like hell, and you always end up getting salt or lemon juice in the cut before it heals and MAN! You just want to scream or cut your damn finger off, but no, you man up and act like it’s nothing, but inside? Inside you want to rip somebody’s head off.” He steamed, rubbing his thigh. Dom glanced at the pilot who kept checking his gauges and peering out the windows, occasionally writing something on his clipboard.
“It’s a good thing they hit us when they did though. If it had been just a little bit more in the future, we’d have had a real surprise for them.” He went on. “Yeah, that’s right. See, we got this real wisen-heimer smart guy working for us who’s creating a vampire secret weapon.” Dom was smiling, staring out the cockpit window. “Supposedly targets JUST vampires. I have no idea how it works, but it’s like a WMD just for those blood suckers.” He could see lights start to appear in the distance and knew they were getting clos
e. “So, in the near future, if Doc can get the damn thing to work…and that’s the thing, if he can get it to work, cuz let’s face it, not all of his fucking inventions work…he’s smart, but he ain’t the most colorful bulb in the shed.” The pilot turned to him and smiled. “Yeah, you know the type, eh? Anyway, if Doc can get his vampire WMD going, then it’s sayonara blood suckers. Hello world without vampires.” He said cockily.
“Vampiro.” The pilot said, smiling stealing a glance at the body of the co-pilot.
“Yeah.” Dom chuckled. “So long blood suckers.” Dom sighed and tried to stretch out in the cramped seat, but his large frame just couldn’t do it. “Man, I wish these seats would go back further. This shit is cramped liked you wouldn’t believe.” He reached down and tried to adjust the chair and couldn’t find an adjustment. “Is it a requirement that you be five foot nothing to be a pilot or what?” he mumbled to himself. “Thank god we’re almost there.”
Dom felt the plane shudder as atmospheric changes buffeted the craft. He stole another glance outside and noticed the ground was closer. “Are we landing?” The pilot said nothing and continued his adjustments on the craft. He reached over and pulled a lever and Dom felt the landing gear descend and lock into place, the craft slowing. “Hey? Are we landing now? The sun isn’t up.”
The pilot smiled back at him. “Sì. Land.” Using his hand to indicated the plane coming in.
“Umm. I don’t think that’s right. Is it? Did they change…hold on a second.” He climbed up on the instrument cluster to try to get a better view, but having never seen the Air Force base in Italy, especially at night, he honestly had no clue. He turned back to the pilot. “Radio? Can I use the radio again please?”
The pilot smiled again. “Land now, sì."
Dom sat back in the co-pilot’s seat, his brow knitting together as he puzzled the circumstances. His sixth sense buzzing that something wasn’t right. He got up and went back for the axe handle and sat back in the co-pilot’s seat and shot the pilot a warning stare. He slapped the axe handle against the palm of his hand, making it very clear what awaited the pilot in the event of a trap. The pilot’s smile wavered and he paled considerably. He pointed to himself and stammered, “N-no vampiro.”
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