Eternal Service

by Regina Morris

  Alex dressed in a designer knockoff. The black and green gown brought out her emerald eyes and her long auburn hair. The beautiful dress featured a knotted breast, laced waist and fell three–quarters in length, which allowed her to wear her SBC holster on her right thigh. The weapon felt a bit bulky, but the extra fabric of the dress proved very forgiving. The dress seemed a bit short for such a ritzy affair, but she needed access to her SBC Launcher. Her whip was strapped to her back and covered by a black wrap that matched the dress. The dress accentuated her strong athletic build. She accessorized the dress with a black beaded handbag with thin spaghetti straps. The bag contained blood syringes, her identification, and extra bolts for her canon. Tonight she wore her hair down and curled. She strived to attain gorgeous and deadly and felt it was a shame the dress was going to wasted at a State Dinner they’d be working instead of a romantic outing for just her and Raymond.

  Of course, she enjoyed looking at him in his lightweight mohair wool tuxedo. The man had taste. The tuxedo was single breasted, single button with besom pockets and side vents. It accentuated Raymond’s powerful build. The fine garment wasn’t as forgiving for concealing an SBC Launcher, but since Raymond was part of the security staff, people would expect him to have a holstered weapon.

  Raymond drove her to the event, and they arrived early enough for all the team members to rendezvous and get into their prospective locations. The valet took the keys to the car, giving Alex the ticket to put into her purse.

  On their arrival, Raymond walked into the ballroom to man his security station. Alex, wearing her weapons, walked in without detection thanks to Raymond. As Alex passed through to the first of the two ballrooms, she noticed Dixon approach Raymond’s station. Dixon dressed in a classic black, double–breasted tuxedo and fit nicely in with the rest of the crowd.

  Once inside, Alex surveyed the room. She noticed Sulie and Ben in their striped red shirts suggesting they were part of the wait staff. “Sulie, I see you at my 2 o’clock; Ben, you are at my 11 o’clock. We still have to wait for Mason to arrive as the President. We have less than an hour until the Arrival Ceremony begins.” They acknowledged her appearance and she approached some of the human team members for a status update.

  Dixon now entered the first of the ballrooms. Speaking into his earpiece he announced, “I have a visual on Alex, Sulie and Ben. I’m making my way to the second ballroom.”

  “Video and audio strength are good. You’re all coming in loud and clear,” William said from his remote location.

  “If anyone cares, I’m here too. In position with nothing to report,” came Sterling from his position outside.

  Alex checked her secure com panel. The message read, “P.O.T.U.S. Beast on route.” She whispered into her com unit that the President was on his way to the dinner in the Beast, the presidential limo, and everyone needed to be on guard. The President of France and his wife had just arrived, and the Secret Service remained on alert.

  “I’m not sensing any vampires in the ballroom,” Ben said.

  “There are none,” William chimed in. “All guests are giving off heat signatures.”

  The team waited a few more minutes as guests filed in; then the loud speaker announced the President was entering the ballroom. The State Dinner would begin after the Arrival Ceremony, which consisted of drinks and appetizers. Guests milled about talking and drinking. Ben and Sulie walked among the guests carrying either cocktails or appetizers.

  Each of the Colony team members positioned themselves strategically along the exits of the room as the President, or more to the point, Mason, entered. So far, everything was picture–perfect.

  The President was introduced to the President of France and his wife while the press snapped pictures. Afterward the President talked with department heads, senators, and others. Everything seemed pretty tame. But that was just before the vampires crashed the party.

  CHAPTER FORTY–SIX

  Raymond took his position with the human security team. The human stench hit him immediately as the humans took their posts. Most of the guards had eaten an early dinner in preparation for working the late evening hours. He could smell the lingering stench of their food on their breaths.

  His station stood at the far end of the entryway, but even so, he could also feel the anxiety in the air from the newer guards who felt excited and worried about security procedures. The mental patterns were hard to bear, but at least the two humans assigned to Raymond’s station were used to security procedures. They saw the assignment as just another work day. Unfortunately, the humans were the last two Raymond wanted to work with.

  Four stations existed in total. Three neighbored one another at the main entrance, but the fourth station, where Raymond would be working, was singled out. It still remained in the main entryway, but a stone pillar forced a separation of it from the others. Thanks to the Secret Service, the stations had been secured by magnitometers to detect guns, knives, and bombs. All guests would have to walk through one of the four devices before gaining entry into the hotel and its secured area where the President would be. Three men staffed each station. One ran the conveyor belt where purses would be scanned, another would walk the guest through the magnitometer, and the third guard would manually inspect the purses and look through them.

  Matt sat down at the scanner for the conveyor belt, while Brandon set out plastic bins for the guests to put jewelry and small metal objects into before he escorted them through the magnitometer. A third agent joined them. He stood at the end of the conveyor belt at a small table where he would perform the hand inspections. This was quite possibly the young man’s first time pulling security for the President. He was nervous, and Raymond could sense it. Of course, the perspiration from the man showed as a dead giveaway to Raymond’s strong vampire sense of smell.

  Raymond would rather compel Matt or Brandon away, but he approached the young man instead. Keeping his back to Matt and Brandon, Raymond compelled the third human to take another position elsewhere because of a change in scheduling.

  Not wanting to draw attention to himself, Raymond hung around in the background, hoping to blend in, but it was to no avail. Brandon stood next to the pillar and had watched the compelling and was already questioning it. The human stared at Raymond, at first not recognizing him. But then, Brandon rubbed his temple and said, “I know you. Are you supposed to be at this checkpoint tonight?”

  Matt remained busy testing the conveyor belt and had missed Raymond taking the guard’s place. Now he looked up at Raymond when he heard the conversation.

  Raymond glanced into Brandon’s eyes. Brandon’s thought patterns overwhelmed Raymond as he tried to compel the man to accept his answer that he worked the same security desk that they did. Brandon’s thoughts were sincere, patriotic ones. The man was loyal and trustworthy, but the compelling did not take.

  “What do you mean you’re at this station?” Brandon asked. “Where did Curtis go?”

  Raymond reached into Brandon’s mind and noticed a wall firmly planted within the man’s brain. He had seen this before, it was a locked compelling, a subroutine, just like the one he had given Dixon all those years ago.

  “I don’t see you on the duty list,” Matt said to Raymond. He held up a work chart and looked over at his partner Brandon. Matt began to rub his temple and Raymond suspected he too began to recognize him.

  Raymond turned his attention to Matt. He stared into the man’s eyes. “Curtis was reassigned. Don’t you remember? You were told I would be his replacement.”

  Through dim eyes, Matt said, “Oh, right. Hey, sorry about that. I must have forgotten. This is Brandon and I’m Matt.”

  “Nice to meet you both,” Raymond said. He watched as Matt went back to work. This human was clean, but Brandon was another matter.

  “You’re not supposed to be here,” Brandon said.

  “Last minute change,” Raymond announced.

  Matt glanced up at Brandon, “It’s cool, man. He’s replacing C
urtis tonight.”

  Brandon looked over at Matt, then he held his hand once again to his temple. He visibly shrugged and set back to work on the magnitometer.

  It had been a long time since Raymond felt fear, but here it was. Brandon had been compelled, and it wasn’t by a member of the Colony. The compelling was done by a vampire strong enough to implant a compelled subroutine, which meant the vampire was as strong as Raymond. Brandon was now a liability, an unknown security risk. He quickly whispered into his ear piece for Ben to join him in the foyer.

  Raymond then looked over at the magnitometer, the section Brandon would be checking. The detector had a series of small LED lights that ran down the right side of it. They were amber in color, so faulted and not functioning. He glanced over at the other three similar detectors at the other doors. A series of green lights were lit on all of them. Suspecting that Brandon had faulted the sensors, Raymond studied the wires and information panel on the detector.

  “It’s in order,” Brandon said. “I already inspected the scanner.”

  Matt glanced over to Brandon. “What’s wrong?”

  “Nothing,” Brandon said, his face pale.

  Stopping the conveyor belt, Matt looked over at Raymond.

  There were a dozen security personnel in the foyer, and another eight outside the door. A good twenty lives hung in the balance, and Raymond could hear each of their heart beats. Perhaps it was Raymond’s stone–like stance, but Matt stood up and walked over to the magnitometer. He must have suspected something was wrong because he reached up and touched the amber light of the panel.

  “This isn’t right,” he said. Matt quickly flipped switches back on to enable the sensors. Brandon pulled his gun and held it closely to his body to avoid detection. He aimed the weapon at Matt as the LED lights began to glow green. Brandon stood securely behind the pillar, with the rest of the security team unaware of his actions.

  With widened eyes, Matt’s hands quickly went straight up. “What the fuck, Brandon!”

  “Quiet,” Brandon ordered. He disabled the detector once more. His face was pale, his eyes dim. “This detector is to remain off. It is of the utmost importance.”

  Raymond took a step closer, and Brandon pointed the gun in his direction. Raymond didn’t care about getting shot; he just didn’t want anyone else hurt.

  “You don’t look so good Brandon,” Matt said. “You look pale and …” he paused. “Do you know who I am, Brandon?”

  Brandon looked around the pillar at the other stations. No one was aware of what he was doing. He shifted the gun in Matt’s direction.

  “Brandon,” Matt said again. “Who am I?”

  Shaking his head and pointing the gun back at Matt, Brandon said, “I don’t know.”

  “Put the gun down,” Raymond ordered. In response, the gun was now aimed at him.

  “Jesus,” Matt said. “You were right Brandon. Look at you. You’re under mind control. It wasn’t just in your head. There is a threat at the White House brainwashing people.”

  Raymond rolled his eyes. Good Lord, had it gotten out of control this much? How many times had this human been compelled to know that he had been under the influence? His mind was Swiss cheese and he was telling others to be on the lookout. Raymond’s fear grew and he could feel it in his tightening chest. There was no way he could compel Brandon to put down the gun, and there were lives at stake.

  Matt calmly said, “Brandon, did I tell you that Elvis was spotted in Germany? You know he loves the place. He met Priscilla over there.”

  Raymond raised a questioning eyebrow in Matt’s direction. The poor human must have been scared witless having a gun pointed at him.

  No response came from Brandon, except he pointed the gun in Matt’s direction.

  Matt’s then said, “Skynet could never happen.”

  No reaction came from Brandon. The two stood there locked in a quiet one–sided dual. Raymond realized that Matt was trying to reach out to Brandon, but he had no idea who or what Skynet was and why it would be important to Brandon.

  Finally Brandon spoke, “Don’t make me shoot you, Matt.”

  Matt’s eyes widened, obviously as a response that Brandon recognized him. “Astronauts really did land on the moon, Brandon. It’s a fact.”

  Not even an eye flutter came from Brandon to that accusation.

  “Most people agree that ‘The Phantom Menace’ was the superior of the ‘Star Wars’ movies, with ‘The Clone Wars’ a close second.”

  Raymond mouthed the words “Star Wars” and looked from Brandon to Matt, and back again. How could this odd conversation help? But then Brandon sighed. Whatever Matt was doing, it seemed to be working. He noticed Ben enter the foyer. With just a tilt of his head, Raymond signaled to the vamp to remain where he was, and to see what the next step would be.

  Matt’s eyes lit up. Defiantly he said, “Greedo. Shot. First.”

  “Han was the only shooter,” Brandon turned and stared at Matt. “You know that Han shot and killed Greedo, what are you talking about? Greedo never even fired.” The color returned to Brandon’s face and his eyes had light in them once more.

  Raymond moved at his top speed and grabbed the gun from Brandon’s hands.

  Brandon’s eyes widened, his heart raced. “What happened?”

  “Let’s just say I now believe you about mind control,” Matt answered.

  Brandon looked at his partner. “They got to me.”

  “Who are they?” Raymond asked.

  Turning to Raymond, who now held his gun, Brandon’s gasped. His eyes nearly popped out of his head and he had to hold on to the marble pillar for support. He pointed an accusing finger towards Raymond and said, “Mr. Teal Eyes!”

  CHAPTER FORTY–SEVEN

  Alex and Dixon walked among the other guests at the reception. Guests clumped together in small groups, each drinking wine or champagne and nibbling at the tiny hors d’oeuvres. Alex held a glass, but only for the sake of blending in.

  They navigated the room, carefully walking in front of each guest so their hidden cameras could pick up a clear image of each person’s face, as well as any infrared heat signatures. The recognition software William used had so far not detected any known vampires. Alex also knew what the four people on the fake security badges looked like. There were two women and two men on the fake badges. With one woman killed a few days ago by the team in the Sit Room, there were still vampires on the loose.

  “Facial recognition affirmative,” came William’s voice over the com unit.

  Alex shot Dixon a quick glance, and then replied, “Where?”

  Sulie’s voice, from back in the kitchen, came over the com. “I have the second female cornered in the kitchen. Ben was paged by Raymond, so I need backup.”

  Dixon and Alex quickly walked past the bar stations and through the side door, which would gain them access to the kitchen. When the security officer on the other side of the door tried to stop them, Dixon flashed his badge and they were allowed to continue.

  The smell of dinner was strong in the large kitchen, and Alex’s stomach twisted at the smell. Her nerves remained on edge, and eating was the last thing on her mind. They walked past the cooks and the heat of the stoves and found Sulie in the corner of the room, with another woman sitting on the ground at her feet.

  Alex took a cleansing breath as she walked towards Sulie. Another vampire, an evil one, was nearby. How many times in her life had she been so close to such a deadly creature? Ignorance may be bliss, but it can’t protect you. She took a good look at the vampire and recognized the woman’s face from one of the forged security passes. The vampire did not appear to be a threat since she sat crouched down in the corner of the kitchen. None of the kitchen staff paid any attention to her. Alex assumed that the vampire had compelled the kitchen staff to leave her alone, but for what purpose? Or had Sulie done that? Alex and Dixon both stepped closer.

  Sulie noticed the two team members and nodded in their direction. Now with b
ackup, she approached the vampire with caution.

  The cries of the vampire told Alex of her agony. That’s when she realized the woman had not been subdued. She had been hiding in the corner just beyond the chopping station of the kitchen where butcher block knives lay on the shiny metal table.

  Sulie shook her head, and then whispered into her com, “Her medical reading is off. She’s dying and I’m not sure why. I haven’t even touched her yet.”

  The vampire groaned and ordered Sulie away. When the vampire looked over at Alex, Dixon pulled her behind him so the vampire could not make eye contact with her. The vampire again stared at Sulie and tried to compel her away.

  “She doesn’t know what we are. She’s dizzy and confused,” Sulie said.

  Sulie carefully placed her hand on the vampire’s arm, which startled the woman. She tried to sit up, but her equilibrium seemed off. She hit the wall and yelled in pain.

  “What’s your name?” Sulie asked.

  The vampire’s eyes had rolled to the back of her head. Chances were great the vampire could not see clearly and the room was spinning. Vertigo. Sulie grabbed the woman tighter to give her some balance and then asked again for her name.

  “Angelina. My name is Angelina.” The vampire spun her head around. “Who are you?” Her eyes twirled around in their sockets. “Where am I?”

  “I’m a doctor, and a vampire like you. Tell me what is wrong.” Sulie now touched Angelina’s head. Perspiration wetted Sulie’s fingertips when she did so. Sulie looked into Angelina’s eyes as she medically checked for any signs of a concussion.

  Angelina’s arms flailed out, trying to gain more balance. Sulie subdued the arms and held the woman down. “You’re dizzy. Do you understand me? You are not falling. You are on the ground and safe.”