“You did not feel yourself as slaves to him?” Max asked incredulously.
Viktor shook his head. “No. In fact,” he smiled, “Rufus is my friend. I’ve grown to trust him as I trust few others. And he trusts me as his Second.”
Max’s eyes grew wide with astonishment. “That is most unusual.”
“Yes, it is.”
They both stood for some time and thought about each other’s circumstances. Finally, Max turned to his son, “So what do you plan to do when Victoria and her pack finally make it here?”
Viktor turned to his father and smiled. “Why, take my rightful place as pack leader, of course.”
Max slapped his son across his back. “Now that’s the wolf I knew I raised.”
*****
Jack helped Pablo Montanez and his Monster Hunter squads grab their gear and get set up in what was now the barracks. The Brazilians had brought their own armaments and wanted to ensure that they made it to the armory, along with their own armory officer, so Jack escorted them as they stowed their weapons. He radioed for Lamb and Jacobs who took over tour duty and gave the new hunters a once over of the base.
To be on the safe side, Jack went by the Wackenhut office to inform them that they had visitors and let the duty officer know that first thing in the morning, they would get them to Personnel for some kind of base ID badge. He didn’t want anybody getting shot at until then. The duty officer gave him a puzzled look, but said he’d make a note in the log and let the crews on watch know, but normally base ID badges were only necessary for entering and exiting the base or gaining access to secure buildings. Jack thanked him and made a mental note of what the man told him.
Jack headed to the Headquarters building to speak with Colonel Mitchell about what the Wackenhut duty officer told him when Apollo called to him. “Yo, Jack! You seen the colonel?”
“I was just heading to his office. Care to join me?”
“Just came from there, man. He ain’t in.”
Jack stopped short and shook his head. “Then I have no idea. I was over at the new Command Center a few minutes ago and they hadn’t seen him either. They said he took off with Laura somewhere.”
Apollo grinned. “I always wondered about those two.”
Jack shook his head again. “Naw, man, just because you and Maria are bumping boots doesn’t mean that the Colonel and Ms. Youngblood are. Besides, she likes Doc,” Jack teased, but noticed that Apollo stiffened slightly at the mention of Maria.
“Yeah, well, it’s not like she’s gonna marry a vampire, right?” Apollo said rather coldly.
“So what’s up, big guy? You got this weird look on your face all of a sudden. Something wrong?”
Apollo shook his head. “Naw, man. You know me. I just got a thing about vamps is all.”
Jack shot him a worried look. “You never had a problem with Doc before.” He searched his face. “But you got this weird look about you when I mentioned Maria.” Apollo’s face went cold when Jack mentioned her name. “See? There it is again. So what gives, brother?”
Apollo sighed and glanced to either side, ensuring nobody was within hearing distance. “It’s just…she been spending an awful lot of time with the Padre, right. I mean, they on the same team and all, so I get that. Hell, I put her there!” he explained. “But like, they get back from this one op and suddenly she’s all ‘Ooh, Padre, teach me how to use the sword’ and ‘Ooh, Hank, you swing your sword all super cool’ and shit.”
Jack smiled and nodded.
“What? Man, don’t you be grinning at me like that. This shit ain’t funny. She spending all her time with him and they come in all hot and sweaty and I never get to see her anymore and…”
“And you’re jealous,” Jack said flatly.
“What?!” Apollo interjected. “Me? Jealous of his skinny little white ass? What’s he got that I ain’t got?”
“Um, a sword?” Jack tossed out, a smart-assed smirk across his face.
“Man, that shit ain’t funny.” Apollo’s face puckered. “I got me a club right here!” He grasped his crotch.
Jack nodded. “I know. I’ve been in the shower with you, remember?”
Apollo stared at him a moment before they both broke into laughter. “So I’m being stupid, huh?”
“I wouldn’t say stupid, but…I don’t know, bro. Maybe you need to tell her how you’re feeling?”
Apollo’s eyes got wide. “Oh, hell no!” He waved his hands at the man. “She ain’t like that. You don’t get Maria, at all.”
Jack shook his head. “What do you mean?”
“When she says she’s ‘one of the boys’, she means it.”
“She’s not a lesbian, dude…”
“What? Hell no, she ain’t no lesbian!” Apollo practically yelled. “I mean that…dude, she is like a guy! She just wants us to be like a booty-call, okay? She don’t want none of the lovey-dovey, huggy-kissy bullshit.”
Jack nodded. “Okay. So what’s wrong with that?”
Apollo shot him a ‘duh’ look. “I DO, dammit!” he admitted. “I crave it, Jack. I want to hold her and hug on her and just smother her in kisses and squeeze that fine-ass body of hers.” Apollo sighed, his eyes getting glassy as he imagined her in his arms. “I just want to snuggle up next to her after we done wore each other out and just…hold her. I want to feel her in my arms. I want to smell her hair. I want to feel her heart beat next to mine…I want to…”
“Okay! Stop!” Jack held up his hands. “You’re starting to sound like a Hallmark movie or something. Just please, stop.”
“Oh, come on, man. You married and shit. I figured surely you’d understand of all people,” Apollo groaned.
Jack nodded. “Yeah, man, I do understand, but…I don’t know. It’s just different when I hear it come from someone that’s seven foot tall and as big as a truck, ya know?”
Apollo glared at him. “It’s cuz I’m black, ain’t it?”
Jack burst out laughing. “Yup! You got me, buddy! That’s it exactly!”
Apollo shook his head, “Come on, man, surely you got some advice for me?”
Jack stifled his laughter a moment and thought. “Let me think.” Apollo stood there a moment and waited. Finally Jack snapped his fingers and stared up at the giant of a man. “She loves you, right?”
Apollo nodded. “Pretty sure she does. She just afraid that shit will go bad and she don’t want to get hurt.”
Jack smiled. “Reverse psychology then. Give her what she wants. Act like shit don’t bother you. Just treat her like a complete booty-call. Just wham-bam-thank-you-ma’am and LEAVE. No hugging, no kissing, no whispers of ‘I love you’…nothing!” Jack pointed his finger into Apollo’s face. “I mean it. You have to completely disconnect yourself or it won’t work.”
Apollo was shaking his big head. “I don’t know, man…I don’t think I can do that.”
“You have to. You have to treat her like a piece of meat. A tiny little Latina, hot-assed piece of meat. Just pound it, ground it and walk away. Toss her a thanks as she lays there sweating and catching her breath. At first she’ll be thinking, ‘sweet, this is what I wanted the whole time’, but then after a bit, she’ll be thinking, ‘what the hell?’, then after a little while longer she’ll come around, and remember, this is a marathon, not a sprint! It may take a while, so stick to it. You have to be committed or it will not work! But she will come around if she really cares for you.”
Apollo stood there a moment and stared at him. “Okay then, I’ll do it.”
“Sweet,” Jack said. “Now…let’s see if we can track down Colonel Mitchell. I got some news about our security boys that he might like to know.”
Apollo’s eyes widened. “You, too? Wait ‘til I tell you what the guy in the infirmary told me…”
*****
The little messenger entered the abandoned cathedral with its broken statues and crumbling walls. He looked first to the courtyard and saw nothing, then to the altar and saw nothing. He looke
d up to the second story window and saw the Sicarii, not standing as was his norm, but sitting in the window, staring out at his city.
“Master? We have verified the coordinates in Nevada,” the messenger said softly.
The Sicarii didn’t move, his eyes still scanning the city. The multiple thousands of hearts out there still beating in mockery of his own slowly driving him mad.
“The ship is prepared for departure. Her captain is a familiar and he said that at full power we can reach the new world in just under seven days,” the messenger informed him. “Our people are loading now. Nearly all of the containers are filled and loaded. We will still have days to reach Nevada once we reach their shores.”
The Sicarii sat motionless, his eyes still scanning the city. To anyone who ventured this far out, he would appear as another part of the ruins, unmoving, unblinking, just another broken thing long forgotten. But soon, he would show the world that not all things forgotten should be dismissed. Sometimes that scary thing in the dark can and will kill you. It rises up from the depths of hell and rips out your heart and bathes in your blood. Sometimes it does it, not for a reason, but simply because it can.
“Sicarii?” The messenger was unsure if his master had heard him.
Finally the dark vampire stirred and turned to face the little vampire. “Thank you, Puppet.” He turned back to his city, his thoughts sinking ever deeper into his own madness, the darkness within him consuming him more.
“Will you be coming soon, Master?” The messenger was hopeful that the Sicarii would realize the importance of boarding the ship as soon as possible.
Without turning toward him, the dark one simply said, “I’ll be along soon, Puppet. Gather your things and go to the boat.” He continued to stare at the city. “I’ll be there before time to cast off.”
“Very well, Master.” The little messenger bowed. “I’ll see to your quarters aboard the ship then. There is only one other stateroom beside the captain’s. I’ll see to it that it is yours, Master.”
Again, the Sicarii didn’t respond, but continued to stare at the city. The little messenger could only guess if he were memorizing the city before leaving it, or having feelings of melancholy for having to leave it, or pangs of regret for leaving his home or…he could not have known that deep within the dark vampire’s twisted mind, he was already imagining the city in ruins, flames licking the buildings, the skies clouded with smoke, bodies littering the ground twisted in agony, the streets flowing with blood. Inside his dark and twisted mind, the Sicarii was smiling to himself, bathing in the blood of the innocent.
*****
Dominic trudged up to the main gates of Aviano Air Force Base. Nestled along the foothills of a large mountain range, the base appeared quite spartan compared to many other bases he had been at. He felt both mentally and physically exhausted as he walked the last hundred or so yards to the front gates, the guard eyeing him suspiciously. Dom paused and pulled his ID card from his breast pocket and flashed it at the guard. The guard glanced at the ID and stared at Dom.
“Good God, what the hell happened to you?” he asked. “And how the hell did you end up here?”
“All good questions, but first, can I get food and water and a phone?” Dom’s eyes pleaded. “I’m about to drop.”
The guard ushered him into the guard shack and sat him on a padded stool before picking up a phone at the desk. He called for base security and had a car sent to pick up the man who looked like he had been dragged behind a truck. “I think he needs medical attention—” the guard was saying.
Dom had enough of hospitals for a very long time. “No!” he interrupted him. “I’m not hurt. Just starving. And thirsty. And I need to get hold of my unit…except they moved. And I don’t know how to get hold of them.”
The guard eyed him suspiciously. “Just get a car up here and get him to the command duty officer.”
Dom nodded, about to pass out. “Thank you,” he croaked.
“They’re on the way, buddy.” The guard patted his shoulder. “Just hold tight. I have to get back to my post.” He stepped back out to the street and continued waving cars through, eyeing Dom after every one, but he had leaned against the wall and passed out.
When the Humvee rolled up, two base police officers entered the guard shack and helped Dom to the vehicle. They drove him into the base and although their orders were to take him to the infirmary, he absolutely refused. “Just get me some chow and something to drink. I’ve had all I’m going to take of hospitals and clinics for a long damn time.”
Neither of the security police wanted to mess with someone of his size, so they took him to the mess hall where they got him a tray of leftovers scrounged up. Dom washed it down with some swill they called coffee, some orange juice and milk. He felt like a new person once the food hit his system. He had no idea how long it had been since solid food had been in his system, but it felt like it had been a very long time.
His body wanted to rest, but he fought it. He asked for a phone, but the security officers were adamant, no phone until he answered some questions. So, Dom went to their duty officer to do his best to answer what he could. When they entered the office of the command duty officer, Dom suddenly felt the need for a shower. The man sitting behind the desk looked like he had been spit-polished and buffed to a high sheen. He was going over a report and even the paper he was reading appeared perfectly spotless. He looked up and smiled as Dom took a seat across from him.
“DeGiacomo is it?” he asked.
“Yes, sir.” Dom nodded, trying to remember protocols as he faced the young lieutenant.
The man eyed Dom suspiciously, his unusual uniform with no collar devices, no name tag and no unit insignia. “Out of uniform, airman?”
“Uh, soldier, sir,” Dom corrected. “I’m Army. And, no sir. I’m a staff sergeant with a SOCCOM unit. We don’t wear unit insignia as a unit protocol, sir.”
The young officer raised an eyebrow at Dom, not appreciating being corrected by a non-com. “Very well,” he replied. “And exactly what unit are you with?”
Dom shifted uneasily in his seat. “I’m not at liberty to say, sir.”
The young lieutenant placed the sheet of paper he was holding gently down on his desk and squared it along with the corner of his in-basket. “Let me see if I understand you correctly, staff-sergeant. You come crawling in here to our base, begging for food and medical attention…”
“I didn’t want medical attention. Just something to eat and a phone,” Dom corrected him.
The young officer raised another brow disapprovingly. “You come crawling here like a bum off the street wanting our help, asking for a phone to call your command, but you can’t tell us who they are, you claim they’ve moved, but you don’t know where…you want our help, but you don’t want to tell us anything about who you are or what you do. Does that about sum it up?”
Dom thought about it a moment. “Yup. That about sums it up.” He smiled at him. “Oh…uh…sir,” he added.
He noticed the young officer’s lip quiver slightly before he exhaled deeply and then cracking his neck to either side. “Okay…” he answered slowly, “who exactly are we supposed to call for you?”
“Well, ya see, I’ve been thinking about that.” Dom sat forward in his chair. “There’s this SOF team out of Italy here, except they’re native Italians. And they flew out to meet my peeps in the U.S. and—”
“Your peeps?” the lieutenant interrupted.
Dom smiled. “Okay. Um, my command. Better?”
“Continue.”
“So, anyway, I’m thinking that surely they would have had to file a flight plan, right? So, wherever they went, I can call there.”
The young officer nodded. “Fine. Who are these Italian Special Forces then?”
Dom blanched. “Um…I can’t tell you.”
The young lieutenant’s eyes bulged. “Oh, for the love of…” he threw his hands in the air. “What can you tell me, staff sergeant?!”
<
br /> Dom thought a moment then smiled. “You have really nice hair,” he said. “And your uniform is fucking sharp. I mean it, man. That is like the sharpest looking uniform I think I’ve ever seen. Is that thing new?” He leaned forward to touch it.
The lieutenant pulled away from Dom. “Are you playing with me, staff sergeant?” he snarled. “I don’t have time for your games.”
Dom eyed the man and his face suddenly hardened. “Trust me, sir. I wish you had the clearance so that I could tell you what you want to know. But you don’t. If I…” Dom’s sentence was interrupted by a uniformed airman entering the office and bringing in another report that was handed to the duty officer. The man scanned the paper then he locked eyes with Dom.
“I don’t suppose you are the same Dominic DeGiacomo that we were ordered to cancel operations and divert a Huey to go evac just a few days ago, are you?”
Dom smiled proudly. “One and the same.”
The lieutenant’s face hardened. “You’re supposed to be in the hospital, sergeant.”
“I checked out.” His face suddenly became all business. “I needed to get back to my unit.”
“You weren’t cleared by the flight surgeon to—”
“I have information that is vital to the mission!” Dom came to his feet.
The lieutenant remained seated, but his face was stoic. “You broke a direct order. You could be court-martialed for insubordination!”
Dom slammed his fist down on the desk, “And the world could very well be destroyed if I don’t get this information back to my command!”
The lieutenant glared at Dom’s trembling fist on his desk then slowly raised his eyes to meet his own. “A command that you don’t know where they are, and can’t tell us who they are, isn’t that right staff sergeant?” he said quietly. “And exactly what is it that is so important that you have to tell your command, hmm? Perhaps the Russians are going to send a nuclear missile that we don’t know about to Washington D.C.? Or perhaps a rogue submarine commander is going to annihilate the Eastern Seaboard?” he asked mockingly. “Oh, wait, let me guess…there’s a meteor headed for the earth and only you can stop it, right?” The little lieutenant smirked at him.
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