"What about Senator Doofus?"
"Senator Doofus can go fuck himself," Tony growled. "We have bigger fish to fry right now. Pack up."
I packed up, grumbling to myself the whole time.
We were halfway to D.C. when Tony got the call. I was far enough behind him and the noise of the jet was sufficient that I could barely hear Tony's words and nothing from the other end. Bill was sitting toward the front of the plane, Tony was near the middle and I had my seat in the back. Tony cursed a little after terminating the call. He turned in his seat, then, and looked at me. "One of Senator Duff's guards was killed tonight and Senator Duff took a bullet in the arm while they were getting out of their car at the state capitol. He's at the hospital now, for treatment."
"And probably milking this for all it's worth," I mumbled. I had no love for any of them, but that didn't mean I truly wanted anyone to die. The guard probably had family and this would be horrible news for them. Now, Duff would most likely get the sympathy vote from his constituents and float right back into his Senate seat. Tony got up to come sit beside me.
"Lissa, I know you don't like him, but he's an elected official. Tell me you didn't want him dead when he did what he did to you." Tony looked into my eyes. I looked him in the eye too and told him the truth.
"If I wanted him dead, Tony, he'd be dead right now. The man has kids, for Pete's sake. Just like the poor schmuck who did die, most likely. Trust me; I know what it's like to have a parent die from violent circumstances. I wouldn't do that to anyone unless I'm fighting for my life or protecting someone else's."
Tony lifted an eyebrow while I turned away from him and watched wisps of cloud float by, leaving condensation on the window by my seat. I pulled my knees up to my chin and kept my eyes pointed out the window.
"Lissa, why are you a vampire?" he said softly, leaning over to kiss my temple before heading back to his seat. That was a question I asked myself almost daily.
* * *
Dr. Lawrence Frazier, or Larry to his closest friends, slowed the images down until they were moving frame by frame. The footage showed a lab chimp that gradually faded, his body disappearing over a period of six minutes. Larry was so happy he could have wept at the results. He'd only taken a few days off from his ordeal with the pirates after an amazing rescue, and somehow that rescue was tied to his current research. When Tony Hancock sent ash and clothing to him from California, Larry had gotten to work right away. He was a research biologist with an M.D. and multiple Ph. D.s lined up after his name. And he worked for National Security.
With the information provided by Anthony Hancock, Frazier had set about duplicating the abilities possessed by a dead vampire. The ash provided by Director Hancock had been compounded with two injectable solutions Frazier designed. The results from both were amazing, but the second one yielded the best outcome. The ash was running out, however, and he was desperate to find more. The potential applications were numerous and astounding.
The chimp gradually reappeared inside his cage after half an hour and Larry speeded up the images and then slowed them down again to watch the animal become solid again. The animal remained in the cage, which surprised Dr. Frazier, but then the chimp had been well trained. He glanced at the clock on the wall; it was nearing four in the morning and he needed to go home to sleep. The images were downloaded onto his personal laptop before Larry packed it up, making sure the lab was secure and the alarm set before he left. He couldn't wait to let the President and Director Hancock see what he'd achieved.
* * *
Tony flipped the television on in the kitchen after we were dropped off at his home, and then rummaged in the fridge for something to eat. Thankfully, he'd placed the chicken and other meat items in the freezer before he'd left, otherwise there'd be a terrible-smelling mess to contend with when he opened it up. Instead, he got spaghetti with a jarred sauce since I wasn't willing to let him eat potato chips as a meal.
"That's too much salt," I grumbled as I heated up the sauce and watched while linguini boiled. The article that came on the early news caught my attention; they'd found the last two kidnapping victims in yet another body of water. A pond this time, not far from where the boys were abducted. I grabbed my laptop case and checked my email. There was something from Weldon and from Paul, along with an email from Thomas Williams Jr., the Sacramento Packmaster. I opened the one from Paul first.
Right now, there's human evidence but my hackles are rising. Who can say if those children were drained of blood before or after their throats were slashed? The local authorities have at least two of my kind on the payroll and they've been most helpful. I haven't informed them of what I'm looking for specifically, they're just grateful for the additional nose. We'll get to the bottom of this, I promise—Paul.
He sounded like such a nice man. Maybe I could meet him someday. I tapped out a reply while Tony was slurping up lengthy spaghetti noodles. The note from Weldon said close to the same thing, adding that I'd be hearing from the Sacramento Pack soon. Thomas Williams Junior's email was next.
Lissa, we are thankful to have you as a member, Thomas wrote. Leigh may be contacting you soon; she and my mother like you very much. Teddy sends a hello as well. We and the Pack understand that you may not be able to visit often or run with us, but we welcome you at any time. Keep in touch with your Packmaster—Thomas.
He truly was a nice man. I thanked him for his note and promised that if I were ever close enough I would certainly visit and hinted that I might even find a way to go out with them if I happened to be there at the right time. It wouldn't be the first time I'd floated overhead while the Pack ran.
I cleaned up the kitchen while Tony yawned and took off toward his bedroom. "I have a ten o'clock," he grumbled as he wandered down the hall.
"If you'd sleep on the plane instead of playing with your computer," I yelled after him. He just waved me off and went inside his bedroom. Once he was in bed, I borrowed his computer printer and printed out maps of all the locations where the children had gone missing. Then I pieced them together as best I could with all my markings on them. The kidnappings and killings started out in Wales, but had gone in something of a zigzag pattern after that. I'm sure the police or the U.K. version of the FBI or whatever was keeping tabs on all of it but it made me feel a little better, seeing it for myself. The distances between were also something that interested me but dawn was rapidly approaching so I closed everything down, carried the laptop into my bedroom and dumped it on the nightstand before jumping in the shower. My hair was now nearly an inch in length, so I had something to legitimately shampoo. My follicles were waking up, it seems. Before long, I'd be completely comfortable going without a wig.
Chapter 10
"Lissy?" Tony was breathing on my face and nuzzling my chin a little when I woke. That wasn't tempting or anything. Wondering if vampire lust worked the same with females as it did for the males, I reluctantly opened my eyes and blinked at him. Who wouldn't want something like that to wake up to? Gavin was more than handsome and smelled extraordinarily good on top of that, but he wasn't with me. Tony was and he was no slouch, let me tell you.
"Tony, we don't need to be in bed together," I mumbled unwillingly.
"I still have my clothes on," he defended himself and kissed me at the same time. When he was on the job, that's what he was—the job. Get him home, however, and anywhere near a bed—he was Mr. Amorous with a capital A.
"I have a question for you," I said, trying to fend him off. He was back to nuzzling.
"What's that?" he asked, kissing and nibbling my collarbone.
"Since when does the Director take a hands-on approach? I thought you were a desk jockey when I first met you. Yet here you are, out in the field getting your hands dirty."
"These hands?" Fingers were lightly pinching nipples through my thin, stretchy pajama top, making them stand up and beg for more.
"Tony, what are you doing?" I asked. I was almost to the point of laying him flat on his back
and having my way with him. Something he wouldn't lift a finger to prevent, I'm sure. His cell rang. He cursed and sat up to answer.
"We'll be there in an hour," he said after someone told him he needed to help guard the President. Well, how about that?
I drank my dinner, dressed in nearly record time, slapped the shortest wig on my head and out the door we went. A car was there already—waiting in the drive. Tony climbed into the front seat with the driver while I jumped in the back and away we drove. Traffic in D.C. is terrible. I know that for a fact, now. Tony called somebody after a while and got flashing lights and a siren to usher us to the White House. I hoped the cameras would be pointed at the Prez and not at me. Wlodek might have an aneurysm if I was shown on the network news.
We were added to the President's entourage at the last minute, Tony taking one side and placing me on the other as we walked through halls of the White House, displacing several Secret Service Agents. They had that vampire non-expression thing going on, too. We were going to the Press Corps dinner, so at least that wouldn't be boring. Tony and I loaded into the limo with the President and the First Lady and I did my best to emulate Wlodek, although it almost gave me the giggles.
Straighten up, Tony sent a warning to me.
"Director Hancock, do you have time for a short meeting tomorrow afternoon?" The President asked.
"Of course, sir," Tony said. Whether he did or not, he would now.
"Be there around two," the President said. Tony nodded. Bill would have to be his sidekick for that one; I'd be unconscious.
Tony never introduced me to the President, which was fine. I have a tendency to trip over my own tongue when meeting somebody like that, even though I'd voted for the man. I was the job, just as Tony was at the moment. He still hadn't answered my question from earlier. The previous director didn't do things like this to my knowledge. Tony was handpicked by this President to take over the office. The last Director had overstepped his bounds a little, flaunting his authority with frivolous abandon.
Nothing happened on our way to the venue; the Secret Service was everywhere when we stopped in a sheltered area at a prestigious hotel and the President was ushered inside. We walked down several long corridors until we came to the appropriate ballroom, where tables littered the floor like dozens of round, perfectly dressed snowflakes. Each table had a snowy tablecloth laid and crystal stemware with napkins and silver plus a centerpiece of cut flowers. No expense was spared, I noticed.
I was dressed like all the other Secret Service there in my dark suit and white shirt. Even my little name tag looked like theirs. Tony had a nice suit on but then he was the boss and could wear whatever he wanted. I thought of Gavin and how he'd dressed in jeans and polo shirts most of the time when I'd first met him. He'd been undercover and I hadn't even realized it. He preferred suits, generally, although he did dress casually from time to time. Since Gavin was Roman originally, jeans or slacks beat those togas or flappy leather skirts all to heck. I wasn't about to tease him about that, either. Uh-uh. No way.
Lissa, check the perimeter for me? Tony was sending mindspeech from across the room. I slipped out of the room—there was a door nearby—guarded, of course. I flitted inside the nearest ladies' room and had to wait for two women to vacate the place before turning to mist and leaving. I no longer had to bother with going underneath doors or around cracks—I could go through the door itself, turning a spot of it to temporary mist before coming out on the other side. A neat trick, actually. There would never be a comic book singing my praises, though, even if I did have some abilities that might fit a superhero character. I had too many flaws and way too many bosses. Superheroes did their own thing. I didn't have that luxury.
I combed through the hotel as well as I could, including the vents into the ballroom itself. Didn't find anything there so I ventured outside. Cars were parked there, including the President's limo, with more guards stationed around the vehicles. The guards were either under compulsion or the vampire was a mister who'd slipped beneath the limo—his feet were sticking out.
"Hi," I said, materializing beside the vampire under the car. He was busily placing an explosive. Momentarily, he stopped what he was doing and stared at me, his eyes wide. He wasn't nearly as old as the rest of Saxom's get I'd run across so far. He was fast but I was faster, removing his head for him before he even had time to hiss—his claws barely ripped into the sleeve of my dark suit. Couldn't have mattered all that much—I didn't know what lying on the pavement was doing to the backside of it anyway.
Tony, can you hear me? I asked.
What is it, Lissa? He could.
The President's limo now has an explosive on the underside of it. Another mister, Tony. He's gone now but the bomb isn't and I don't have the expertise to take care of it.
I'll send someone out right away, he answered. Get out of there.
You got it, boss, I replied and misted away.
Bill and two other Secret Service Agents came out the door then, shouting for all the guards to back away. It took five minutes for a bomb squad to arrive and they had the car jacked up in no time, working quickly and efficiently to defuse the bomb and remove it. Bill wandered off by himself so I materialized right next to him. He didn't even flinch when I suddenly appeared. Nerves of steel, I guess.
"Did you check under the others?" he asked quietly.
"Not yet," I said, wanting to pound my forehead for not thinking of it myself. I went to mist and checked all the other cars. The President's limo was the target; they hadn't cared about any of the others.
After the explosive was removed, Tony asked me to wander around the building. Nobody else showed up, the President had a good night, his car was checked from one end to the other and still a replacement was brought out which yours truly examined end to end, even without Bill's reminder. It was clean. I reappeared at the proper moment, dutifully loaded into the limo with Tony, the President and the First Lady, and rode along to the White House. Somewhere along the way, I was looking out the tinted window on my side and absently humming the opening to Kung Fu Fighting. Tony was annoyed but the First Lady loved it and we ended up having a sing-along for the rest of the ride.
"Director, you may have to learn to loosen up a little," the President slapped Tony on the back before allowing his bevy of Secret Service to escort him and his wife inside the White House.
"Was that an executive order?" I asked innocently. Tony snarled a little and hauled me off toward a waiting car.
We didn't go home as I hoped; we ended up at an office building somewhere nearby. Don't ask me to name off streets, I was completely lost and confused unless I was on familiar terrain. Nothing about D.C. was familiar terrain. This building reminded me a little of the one I'd been inside in Georgia, but that seemed like a hundred years ago, so many things had happened since then. Instead of getting left outside a soundproof room, however, I was pulled inside it. It turned out to be an office where a vampire sat at a computer.
He wasn't more than eighty or ninety, I guess, and sat there staring at me as Tony led me inside and pushed me into a chair right in front of his desk. "Agent Baker will fill out the report, just answer all his questions," Tony ordered. What had I done? Sang a song with the First Lady? Is that why he was pissed? Agent Louis Baker had beautiful mahogany skin, a nice face and might have had a wonderful smile if he ever smiled. He didn't. He asked me all sorts of questions instead, including how I'd found the vampire under the limo. I told him. He huffed his disbelief when I said I misted beneath the car. Tony stood nearby, arms crossed over his chest and frowning while I answered questions.
"Show him, Lissa." The order was terse. Dutifully I went to mist, causing Agent Baker to hiss and back up a little.
"Baker!" Tony barked and Agent Baker drew in his fangs. I came back to myself.
"It used to take a lot longer," I explained, trying to put Agent Baker at ease. He barely lifted an eyebrow as he went back to work, taking notes on how I'd decapitated the vampir
e. I wanted this over with quickly. I had phone calls to make when I got to Tony's house. Merrill would want to know about another mister—Saxom had the talent for picking them, I guess. This one hadn't been related to the brothers I'd killed already so there was a possibility that he had other siblings somewhere. That didn't make me happy.
"None of the guards noticed a vampire's feet sticking out?" Tony asked.
"I think compulsion had something to do with it," I offered dryly.
"Christ," Tony muttered and walked away to pace along nearby windows.
"He's not mad at you," Agent Baker said softly, out of Tony's hearing. "This is an attack on the President and it's a tough thing to guard against if these guys are vampires."
"Fine," I replied and went back to answering questions. Tony and I didn't talk on the way home. I couldn't help what I was. If I hadn't been there, the President might be dead now. Tony had to take the good with the bad. He was going to have to pull his vamp agents in, I think, and they were going to have to do something to help.
Tony went to bed while I made my calls. Merrill didn't sound at all pleased when I explained to him what happened. I think he wanted to pull me out of there but Wlodek would have the final word. It was too late to call Franklin so I sent an email, asking how he and Greg were doing. I'd done my best to get both of them on berry smoothies before I'd left New York. We'd bought frozen berries and put them in the blender. I even added a little ice cream to Greg's concoction—he'd lost some weight.
I had an email from Winkler and I waited until I'd finished with the others to look at it. Kellee had her ultrasound and discovered she was pregnant with twins. Winkler was going to get off the hook quicker than he thought. Now he would have to hire a nanny or Davis was going to learn to change diapers, I think. Kellee had signed those kids off in the pre-nup so Winkler would be raising them. Personally, I wouldn't mind if Kellee flew off on the broom I'm sure she had hidden somewhere.
Blood Sense (Blood Destiny #3) Page 17