“I’m not sure I really know everything,” Peter said. “Lucy’s brother is a vampire, infected by their father. He’s been manipulating the virus, like Lucy. But she’s been looking for a cure. I don’t know what the hell he’s looking for.”
“A way to stabilize the species,” Rick said. “Lucy said he told her that.”
Peter nodded then winced as pain shot up the sides of his head. Damn, he kept forgetting not to move too much. “I think he’s getting more than he bargained for.”
The frown on Rick’s face became more pronounced. “What do you mean?”
How could he explain, Peter wondered. Should he even try? Something inside felt a loyalty to those kids; they were outside the range of normal humans now and apt to be misunderstood and ridiculed for it. Peter understood that well. Even though the cities and squads needed scanners like himself, they were always viewed with suspicion as if they were psychically eavesdropping on everyone around them. When his own psychic ability had been discovered, most of his friends had vanished. Even Josh had been uneasy around him and probably still was, he’d just learned to mask it better.
On the other hand, Peter owed Rick and the Night Killers. He was a part of them, they were his family. He just had to make them understand about the kids, that they weren’t just infected, they were something new to be cherished. Once Rick understood it Peter knew the man would protect them like he did Peter.
“The mutated virus has changed those kids in ways Elliott didn’t expect. It’s heightened the normal vampire psychic ability.”
Alarm flickered across Rick’s face before his normal impassive expression locked down. “What does that mean?”
Peter took a deep breath, trying to steady his thudding heart. Rick’s worry was normal, Peter had to remember that. He just had to make the man understand about the kids. Once he saw they weren’t a threat, not the way the vampires were, he would relax.
“It means they can communicate better, think together, like a gestalt.”
Rick shook his head. “What?”
“They think together. I can’t really explain it better than that.” A thought occurred to Peter. “They’d make amazing scanners.”
That idea seemed to perk up Rick’s interest. “How?”
“If each of those kids were in a squad, they could communicate instantaneously. When a nest is found by one, it’s found by all of them.”
“But they’re infected,” Rick said.
“But are they full vampires?” Peter said. “I don’t think so. But Lucy would be able to find out for sure.”
He sagged back against the pillow. Fatigue washed over him. He’d pushed himself too hard. The urge to sleep pressed at him. His eyelids felt heavy. Not yet, he thought. He wanted to see Lucy first.
“Can I see Lucy now?” he whispered.
Rick started, shaking himself out of his own thoughts. “Oh sure. I’ll send her in.”
He walked across to the door and paused in the doorway as if considering something more. Then he walked through. A moment later Lucy hurried in. Her brown hair curled loose around her face. Her hand clutched his tight.
“Peter, thank god you’re awake.” Her eyes looked moist.
He smiled at her. “I’m okay.”
She stood bolt upright. “Don’t you diagnose yourself. You don’t know at all that you’re all right. When you get stronger I want a full batteries of tests, including full brain imaging.”
“Yes, Lucy. Make sure you do that on the kids too.”
The stiffness in her shoulders loosened. “I’ve already started.” Her voice dipped lower. “They found a compad that says Elliott is negotiating with the Councils. He would never do that. It’s all a lie, Peter.” The tears filled her eyes again and she bowed her head. “I wanted to believe he was trying to cure the virus too. I thought we were both doing the same work, coming at it from different angles. I thought… I thought he was still human.”
Peter put his hand over hers and rubbed her skin. “It’s okay, Lucy. He was your brother, of course you wanted to believe he was doing the right thing.”
“I… I don’t know what to do now.”
“We do what we can to make this a safe place for our baby.”
She lifted her head. Tears glistened on her cheeks but had stopped falling from her eyes. “Can we still do that?”
“We can damn well try.” He tried to hold onto her hand but the fatigue weakened his muscles. His hand slid off and landed on his chest.
“How much do I tell them, Peter?” she said.
“Tell ‘em what you think isss best.” His voice slurred. His eyelids fluttered. He fought to stay awake but it was a losing battle. “Hold off on the babbbby.”
He sank into sleep.
When Lucy returned, Rick glanced up from the table. “How is he?”
“He’s asleep,” she said.
Josh was already on his feet. “Can I see him?”
“Josh, let him rest.” Rick’s hand touched Josh’s arm. “You can talk to him when he’s awake again.”
The big man frowned but settled back into his chair. The others lounged around the room. Sami at the table across from him with the compad in front of her. Ted leaned against a doorway. Marjorane sat against the wall, beside Mitchell. The general looked pale and tired. He probably hadn’t seen this kind of action for years, Rick thought. Now he had a real idea of what it was like to be in a squad. Hopefully he could take that perspective back to the city where it could do some good. If they could figure out a way to deal with the Council.
“Where is Trina?” Lucy said.
“The Sister took her with Katey and Marc to the wing with the other kids,” Sami said. “We thought it would be better if they weren’t around for a while.” A miniscule flick of her finger signaled to Rick.
“We have to talk about what to do about this.” He tapped the compad.
Lucy sat down at the table, perpendicular to both him and Sami.
“It’s a lie,” she said. “Elliott is only interested in stabilizing the vampire species. He won’t live up to any bargain he negotiates with the cities.”
“I believe you,” Rick said. “The problem is getting the Council to accept it. Both you and Peter were infected and any scans will detect the antibodies in your system. There’s no way we can get you into any city without a scan.”
Lucy shook her head. “They’ll believe a full vampire over me?”
“They’re deluding themselves.” Mitchell’s voice floated over to them. He even sounded weary, Rick thought. Maybe they should let the man rest. He hadn’t had the same kind of metabolic and physical augmentation as the normal squad member which let them run on little sleep for days at a time.
“He’s promising them an end to the squads, an end to constant rationing of resources. Inside the city you forget what it’s like out here. You think it can’t be so bad. The vampires can’t be all that bad…”
His voice trailed off. His head started to sink onto his chest. Rick nodded at Marjorane. She nodded back then beckoned Ted over with a brief wave. They both lifted Mitchell by the arms. His head came up immediately. “Whaaa?”
“You should have a rest, general,” Rick said. “We’ll need you sharp later.”
The old man bowed his head again and allowed himself to be led out of the room. Rick turned back to see Lucy watching the door with a quizzical expression on her face.
“What?” he said.
“Is he always like that?” she said. “That tired?”
“I don’t know. It’s kind of been a long and stressful day. He’s not been out here much at all.”
“Okay.” Lucy turned back, still looking distracted.
“Dealing with Elliott’s lies are one thing,” Rick said. “We need to focus on the more urgent issue.”
“I’d say this issue is pretty damned urgent.” Sami tapped the compad in front of her.
“I agree,” Rick said. “But we need to make sure we survive long enough to tell people about it. It�
�s already mid morning. We need to get reinforcements to protect this place. I assume Elliott knows all the ways inside.”
Lucy nodded. Her fingers picked at the table top in front of her. “He knows everything.”
“Where are we going to get these reinforcements?” Sami asked. “We can’t go back to our city.”
“No but Marjorane can help us contact Telson. He can divert some of his people here.”
“If their Council hasn’t enforced lock down,” Sami said.
“We’ll have to try. We’re going to need real help come nightfall.”
Lucy stood up from the table. “I want to get to work on those samples, see if I can collate it with the children.” She hurried out of the room, one hand fluttering over her abdomen.
Josh got up from his chair. “I’ll find Marjorane, see if we can contact Telson and get some help.”
He headed out, turning in the opposite direction to where Marjorane had gone. Checking on Peter first, Rick knew. He’d still find Marjorane, it just might be a little longer.
The silence in the room pressed against him. Only Sami sitting across from him now, her mocha hands resting on the edges of the compad. He remembered the last time they’d managed to be alone together. Had it been such a short time ago? She’d been trying to reach him, trying to comfort him and he... he’d been an asshole. No other way to put it. Head up his ass about losing command of the squad, he’d forgotten they were his family, not subordinates to his ego and Sami was as close to a wife as he’d ever get.
He reached across, touched the tips of his pale white fingers to her brown hands. “Sami, I’m sorry.”
She didn’t look up. Her long braids fell across the sides of her face, creating shadows that hid her expression. Her shoulders still rose and fell in a steady rhythm with her breath. Only the slight tremble in her fingers showed any reaction.
“I’m sorry I was such a jerk with you before. I’m sorry I couldn’t be there to help with Michael. I hate that you had to go through that alone. I’d do anything to make it up to you, you know that. Tell me what to do.”
Her shoulders shook as she took a deep breath. Her head lifted, revealing her dark eyes glistening with tears. Her evident sorrow sent piercing pain through his gut. He had to force himself to stay upright, to not double over.
“Promise me never again.” Her voice whispered. “Promise me you won’t shut me out again. You won’t walk away from me again.”
“Never,” he said. “I’ll never leave you behind again, on one condition.”
She visibly stiffened at that, rearing back from the table. Her fingers gripped at the edge.
“Marry me,” he said. “I don’t give a shit about the regulations and I’m tired of waiting for some distant future. I want to marry you now.”
The tears spilled over and ran down her cheeks. Her hands let go of the table and fluttered up to her face. Her lips parted but no words came out. She nodded then the tears increased and she covered her face with her hands.
Rick left his seat and moved to wrap his arms around her. Her body shook against him, releasing pent up grief, fear and anger. He felt her hands grab onto him, pressing him harder against her. Her face pressed against his neck. The tears dwindled. She pulled away enough to look him in the eye.
“Fuck their regulations,” she said. “Let’s get married.”
He grinned at her.
“Now lock these doors,” she said, “and get your ass back here. I want a preview of that honeymoon.”
He bowed his head to her.
“Yes, ma’m.”
CHAPTER THIRTY-ONE
The signal fluctuated madly making Josh want to smash one of the console in the communications room. Even Marjorane looked frustrated. Her lips had been thinning to nothing for the past ten minutes until her mouth was a single slit on her face.
“Are you sure there isn’t any secondary communications room?” she said again.
“Actually I don’t know. I don’t know the full layout of this place. Should I go and interrupt Lucy or maybe drag Peter out of bed?”
They glared across the room at each other. She looked away. “Sorry.”
Josh huffed out a breath. “Me too. Let’s try it again. I’ll see if we’re getting any kind of signal.”
She nodded, brushing her hair back behind her right ear. The light caught the edge of her ear bud and it glinted. He stopped.
“Wait a minute. This is an older system. It doesn’t connect to integrated technology.”
The thinness around her mouth vanished at she gaped at him. “Of course. Manual operation.”
“Good thing, my damn brain ain’t working for shit right now.”
Her laugh sent a pleasing sensation across his torso to his groin. Wasn’t this a lovely distraction. He wished he had the opportunity to take advantage of that laugh but this wasn’t a week off in the squad bar. He was still on duty and so was she.
Her laughter petered off to a smile. Her eyebrows lifted and she shrugged as if to say ‘maybe another time.’ He inclined his head. Maybe if they got out of this craziness and back to the sanity of a city, they could make a date. No, not if, when.
Another few minutes and the familiar hiss of an open frequency sounded in the room. Marjorane bent over the console, shielding the view with her body. Josh stepped back. She wanted privacy for entering in the codes; he approved of her professionalism. You never knew who could be turned and what knowledge they’d retain. So often security relied on the restriction of information.
But it could be a double edge sword. Hadn’t that been the problem in the first place? Too many people knowing only their small share and not enough knowing the full picture about the virus until it was too late.
A buzz overrode the frequency hum, then a voice spoke: “Colonel Telson’s office.”
Marjorane leaned over the console to speak into the microphone. Josh admired the way her top stretched across her body.
“Lieutenant Wilson for the Colonel. Access code Alpha 9785 Bronco Zee 12.” She glanced over at Josh. He pointed into his left ear and then motioned out of his right. She smiled.
Several clicks sounded then a man’s voice came on. “Lieutenant Wilson, report. What the hell’s going on? You aren’t in the city.”
“No sir,” Marjorane said. “We ran into trouble and have had to regroup with the rest of the Night Killers at a new location.”
“I see. I’ll want your official report when you return,” he said. “There are procedures to be followed.”
If Josh hadn’t been watching her he wouldn’t have noticed how Marjorane stiffened. Her lips started thinning again.
“I understand, sir. Is that to be in the usual format?”
“We have new templates. I can forward them to you.”
“I’ve got a B channel ready to receive them. Thank you, sir. Are other squads out using the same templates.”
“They are,” the colonel said. “I’ll forward their contact information so you can see how they’re filling it out.”
“Thank you, sir.”
“We need these back for oh eight hundred tomorrow, to present our findings to Councilman Malcolm Bennett and the Council Coalition.”
“Of course, sir, I’ll get to work on my reports right away, sir.”
“Excellent, lieutenant. I know I can rely on you.”
A click sounded and the call ended.
“Okay,” Josh said. “What the hell was that all about? We need help.”
“I know,” Marjorane said. “I couldn’t ask him, the line wasn’t secure and there’s been a lookdown. We don’t have report templates.”
“Oh,” he said.
“He’s sent me locations and contact info for the squads still out of the city. It looks like there’s also information on that Council Coalition. We’d better get this to Rick.” She extracted a data bead from the console and held it up.
“That’s all good,” he said. “But I’d feel better if a few of those squads wer
e heading our way for help. Let’s make a few more calls first.”
“Oh right,” she said.
“Proactive is the name of the game in the field.”
“Got it,” she said. “I guess you don’t get a chance to ask about each vampire you’ve got to stake.”
He smiled. “Not usually.”
Of the four squads on the list, Marjorane got through to three and two of them agreed to head over and would arrive before dark. The third was too far out of range but promised to try for tomorrow. None of them had any word about the silent fourth one.
As she disconnected from the last communication, Josh waved toward the door.
“Now we report.”
Sami and Rick were still sitting across from each other when Josh led Marjorane in but he knew something was different. Maybe it was the way their hands almost touched on the table. Maybe it was in the way Sami’s glance lingered longer on Rick before turning to Josh. Or maybe it was that Rick had misbuttoned the top button on his shirt.
For the first time since that disastrous ambush when Peter was bitten, Josh almost felt normal. This was how it was supposed to be. Rick in charge, them together, the whole team working on a goal.
He set the bead down on the table between them.
“We got through to Telson but he couldn’t really talk. There’s been a lockdown there. He forwarded some squad information and we’ve got two coming before tonight and another tomorrow.”
Rick nodded picking up the bead. “That’ll have to do. Let’s hope we make to tomorrow.”
“Tell him about the coalition,” Marjorane said.
“Yeah,” Josh said. “Malcolm Bennett is presenting at some Council Coalition.”
Sami stiffened. “He’s going to announce the agreement with Elliott.”
Rick frowned and Josh shook his head.
“You don’t know that.”
“Think about it,” she said. “It makes sense. This push to discredit regular squads, to cut the members and replace them with barely trained recruits. The talk of pressure on budgets and resources. They want to show how costly it’s getting to run the squads. But with this agreement they won’t need the squads anymore.”
The Night Killers Page 33