by David Page
"Then our deal is off." It was time to negotiate. Richard stepped forwards, moving around the man.
Ringo's hands blurred and suddenly he had his pistol aimed at Richard's chest in a two-hand grip. He was good. Richard wondered if he was a mercenary like Jack. He was definitely not an activist.
“I'm sorry we have to do things this way, but our situation is what it is. We can't let you leave." Nash put his hand on Richard’s shoulder.
"Is this all about money, then?" Richard forced himself to stay calm and wait for the opportunity that would surely come. He glanced back. "I thought you wanted to help vampires."
"We do want to help you, Richard.” The doctor grimaced as if wounded. “But to do that, you've got to play by our rules."
"Then why not allow me to meet Radovan; especially if you plan on keeping me here indefinitely?"
"We can't risk exposing our leader any more that we can let you leave with the knowledge of our location. Your only choice is to remain here with us and give us what we want. It will not be forever, just until we can find a cure. Possibly, as soon as six months from now, then you will be free to disappear with your powers restored."
A gauntlet of fear crushed Richard's chest. If Frederick’s estimates were correct, he did not have six months. He had, at most, three days. Somehow, he had to find a way to give the man what he wanted, give him Radovan while at the same time retaining enough leverage to force Frederick into administering the antidote. At the same time, he still wished to keep Beth safe. The visions she seemed to be triggering within him might finally put to rest all his unanswered questions. If he could continue to spend time with her, he might truly unravel his ancient mystery. But all that depending on his next move. He breathed out slowly.
"You lied to me and now you are holding me against my will. This is unacceptable." He closed distance with Ringo until he was mere inches away from the muzzle of his weapon.
"I will shoot you." Ringo's voice was low, guttural, and deadly earnest. He was a professional here to do a job. Given the order, he would shoot Richard in a heartbeat, but only if Nash could stomach it.
Richard turned back to Nash. "You and I know that you won’t let him pull that trigger."
"I can and will, Richard. Make no mistake." Nash's voice shook.
"Go ahead then. I may not have my true abilities, but I'm still a vampire. I am very difficult to kill with a gun."
"Ringo has silver bullets."
Richard paused. He should have anticipated that. Silver through the heart could kill him, even at his age. Worse, silver in the brain could temporarily render him paralyzed, allowing them to do whatever they wanted to him. He gazed into Nash's eyes and reached for his trapped abilities. His soul slammed against the icy surface of the viral shield yet again.
Nash's brows knitted together. There was fear in his eyes. Richard could use that. He turned and reached towards Ringo's gun. Ringo stepped back and raised the gun higher so he could look down the sights.
"Just say the word, Doc." Ringo looked around Richard's head at Nash. Richard bared his fangs.
"This won’t work." Nash's voice wavered.
"You do not want to shoot me, doctor," Richard replied evenly, over his shoulder.
"I will order him to fire if you take another step." Nash's voice sounded quiet, feeble.
Richard reached out and turned the man's gun aside. He stepped around Ringo and into the hallway. The big man turned to follow him, his gun still ready.
"All right,” Nash sighed. “You’ve called my bluff. Relax, Ringo."
Ringo hesitated. The gun dipped. "You know I would have pulled the trigger." He bored into Richard with his eyes.
Richard nodded.
"Good." Ringo let his arm drop to his side, though he did not holster his weapon.
"Where do we go from here?" Richard retracted his fangs as he turned to the doctor.
"I'll make you a counter proposal."
"You have my attention."
"Give us your full cooperation and we'll allow you to return home to gather any belongings you might wish to have with you." Nash wiped a fine layer of sweat off his forehead with the sleeve of his lab coat.
It was not a very good deal, but Richard's options were quickly disappearing. He had to find out what was really going on and he could not do that if he alienated them. Still, he would need to be able to come and go as he pleased to achieve certain goals unless they provided him with the means to contact the outside world.
"Well?" Nash prodded.
"I’m afraid I must decline that offer.” Richard shook his head. “You are asking me to go against the Department with you, to leave my job, and to remain here under what amounts to house arrest."
Nash's shoulders slumped slightly. He clearly did not enjoy negotiation.
Richard clung to his center, maintaining a calm exterior at this vital part of their dance. "Here is my counter proposal. I'll agree to your terms, if in addition to allowing me to leave, you introduce me to Mr. Radovan. If I am to remain here, there is very little point in him retaining his anonymity, at least with me." If he needed to leave later, he could always escape. There had to be another way out of the maze of old basements and buried storefronts.
Nash thought about it for a minute. "You make a good point. I'll have to talk to Vincent. Will you wait here until I do so?" He motioned with a sweep of his arm for Richard to return to his room.
Richard inclined his head. “Very well, Doctor Nash. I shall be here.” He turned his back on them without awaiting their response and returned to the small room.
***
The phone rang so loudly that Richard jumped up from the bed. He waited for a moment, wondering why Dr. Nash would call him rather than just entering his room. Cold dread slipped icy fingers around his stomach as he entertained the possibility that they had rejected his proposal and planned to hold him here despite the money. With little choice, he gently lifted the receiver.
"This is Richard."
"Richard, it's me." Beth sounded out of breath, but it might have just been the terrible connection they had. The line crackled with the static indicative of substandard wiring, but it beat two cans and a string.
"Yes?" His voice sounded cold, even to him.
"I'm sorry, Richard. They told me to get you here any way I could. I didn't agree with their decision to keep you in the dark, but they’re in charge." Her voice sounded distant, small.
"And so, like a good soldier, you simply obeyed orders? I did not realize this was a military organization." It was perhaps a bit harsh, but Richard had no reason to be nice.
“I’m not…this isn’t…” She was silent for a moment and Richard wondered if she were thinking up the next lie or if he had hurt her feelings.
"Richard, I don’t always agree with how they do things here, but you’ve got to understand, you’re way too high profile to be coming and going as you please. It would endanger all of us. Be angry with me if you want, but know that I'm doing this to help you. We can help you; that hasn’t changed."
"That does not negate the fact that you lied to me." He felt his face flushing.
"Oh come on," she scoffed. "You didn't trust me anyhow. You have no right to be angry with me for living up to your expectations."
"I had hoped I was wrong." He sighed, slowly letting out his breath.
"You can trust me Richard. And I'll prove it."
"How?" Richard wondered why she cared so much. Surely at this point she could not expect him to ever open up to her.
"I'm not supposed to tell you this, but the man you met tonight wasn’t Radovan."
Richard nearly laughed. "Yes, I know.” She was not quite as in the loop as he had thought. “I have already confronted Dr. Nash and he has agreed to talk to the real Radovan about a new arrangement on my behalf."
"How did you-"
"I am very observant, even without my vampire abilities. The man we met tonight was an actor."
"They didn't tell me you kn
ew." She sounded put out. "How did you convince Nash to change his plans?"
"I gave them the full contents of only one of my many accounts. It was worth exactly one hundred thousand dollars, a good deal short of what I promised them." He squeezed the receiver tighter.
"Clever, Richard. No wonder you've stayed alive for so long.” Beth laughed. “Good going."
"Thank you." Now she was congratulating him for thwarting the plans of her superiors. She was indeed a puzzle. "I've got to go, Richard." The phone clicked before he could reply.
"Good-bye." He said to the dial tone. He lowered the receiver back into its cradle and sat back down on the bed. He pondered their conversation for a time. Once again Beth had managed to intrigue him.
***
Twenty minutes later, the door opened and Nash entered with Beth a step behind. Ringo was noticeably absent. If the lack of hired muscle was supposed to be an olive branch, it did not work. Richard eyed them warily.
She looked up at him, her eyes large, her soft lips turned down into a slight frown.
"Vincent will agree to your terms if you take Beth with you." Nash held his arms wide in front of him, as if to show he had nothing up his sleeves, and smiled. “And you have to come back by midnight tomorrow.”
So, they wanted to keep an eye on him. That would make his job more difficult, but not impossible. He was sure he could shake Beth long enough to accomplish his tasks. Additionally, he had planned to go to work one last time before he allowed them to confine him in their laboratory complex. It was strange, but he wanted to bid farewell to Ray.
"Richard?" Beth's voice was tentative, a far cry from the confident woman he had first met. He wondered if she was being forced to do things against her will.
“Very well then we are agreed."
"I knew we could work this out." Nash clapped him on the shoulder. "And when you get back you can transfer the rest of that money into our account."
"Half now, half later." Richard was not about to give up his only bit of leverage.
"Fine, fine. I think we can live with that." Nash frowned, the expression making his face look narrow suddenly.
Richard wondered if the real Vincent was watching, or at least listening to their conversation, but looking up at the worn beams above, he still detected no surveillance devices.
"Should we go then?" Beth motioned towards the door with a tilt of her head.
Richard took a deep breath and slowly released it.
"Yes."
***
Richard looked at Elliot Bay and frowned. From his vantage point along First Avenue, he could see the great expanse of Puget Sound, the shadow of Bainbridge Island and the dim outlines of the Olympic Mountains beyond. The light of the half-moon glistened on the calm surface of the water. A single grain ship floated low near the mouth of the bay.
"It's beautiful." Beth leaned on the railing in front of them and gazed longingly out to sea. "I love this city."
Richard did not reply. If this was her attempt at thawing the ice after what she had done to him, it was not going to work. After a moment, she spun to face him.
"I'm sorry, okay?"
Richard turned toward her with deliberate slowness.
"What are you really after, Beth?"
The wind whipped up off the bay, tearing across the city and buffeting them. Beth pulled her leather coat tighter.
"Look, I joined Radovan's group to help vampires."
"And are you satisfied with how this organization is approaching that goal?"
She sighed. "Let's just say I'm not happy with the way they’ve handled this situation. It bothers me to lie, but it bothers me more that they tried to trick the both of us into thinking that we were meeting the real Radovan."
"How did you know he was not Radovan?"
Beth paused in thought. "Just a gut feeling.”
A car sped past behind them. Richard turned back to look but the vehicle had disappeared around the corner. With the rows of buildings on either side of First Avenue, Richard suddenly felt exposed. The Department could be watching them from any of those structures.
"We should go." Beth looked around nervously.
"Agreed. Dawn approaches." It was 5:00 AM and he could feel the October sun creeping towards the eastern horizon. It was strange that the virus prevented him from using so many of his abilities, but not from sensing the sunrise.
He started forward.
“Richard.” Beth grabbed the right sleeve of his coat. "I'm sorry. I really am."
Her hand felt warm even through his clothing and he wondered for a moment what the rest of her would feel like. He studied her beautiful face for a moment. She met his gaze, her blue eyes large and forthright. He wanted to believe she was telling the truth, but he could not afford to listen to the impulse.
He pulled away from her and hurried up the street.
She trailed after him.
16
The eastern sky was just starting to brighten as they arrived in the alley behind Richard's apartment building. The brick walls rose on either side of them throwing deep shadows across the drive. Richard paused at the gaping entrance, straining to hear anything out of the ordinary. He heard only the dripping of water. It was, he thought, unlikely that his teenage oppressors would be waiting for him at this hour. They had to go home to their mothers eventually.
"Is something wrong?" Beth paused at his elbow.
“I was just being cautious." He stepped into the eclipse of the alley and marched confidently past the two dumpsters and into the light from the loading dock. Richard continued up to the first floor and several moments later saw them safely inside his apartment. He turned the light on and closed the door behind them.
“Just so you know,” Beth paused for a moment to stare at the tiny apartment and then continued. “I had one of our techs set up a brief interruption in the audio pickups in this room. Combined with your wrist guard, it should give us privacy from any Department interference.”
“Excellent.” It did not, of course, give him the privacy from her he would need, but it was a start.
"How do you live like this? This place isn’t a room, it’s a closet."
"It is better than the camps." Richard removed his coat and tossed it onto his small bed.
"I'm sorry." She frowned.
"May I ask you a personal question?" Richard wondered if his pathetic living conditions had caused her to go soft on him.
"Shoot."
"What is your story? Why do you care about what happens to my kind?"
She chewed on her lower lip thoughtfully. "Because you are human beings and many of you are American citizens. You deserve all the rights and privileges that every other U.S. Citizen is entitled to."
Richard laughed suddenly.
"What?" She stepped back as if he had slapped her and brushed up against his small refrigerator.
"Your answer is rather generic." He remained near the door.
"I guess it is.” She turned towards the window and ran a hand along the several heavy blankets that covered it, searching for the opening. “Look, I’m not exactly sure why I care so much. I know that sounds silly, but there is something… something inside me that can’t look the other way.”
“What do you mean?” Richard watched her back, noting for the first time how her long leather coat clung to her gentle curves. She really was quite attractive.
“I was in college when it started.”
“When what started?” Richard pressed, pushing away his sudden interest in her form.
“The dreams…they started halfway through my senior year. At first, they were confused nightmares of people becoming vampires, of wars and other violence against or on behalf of your kind. I tried to ignore the images, but they grew more intense with each passing night. I haven’t been able to dream about anything other than vampires for six years.”
“You’ve had nightmares for the past six years every night?” Richard rubbed his smooth jaw.
“That’s just it. Some of them are nightmares, but many are not. There are a lot of different characters in these dreams… including.” She stopped, her eyes boring into his own. “The truth is, the first time I saw you at Big River, I recognized you. You are in all of my dreams. Sometimes, you are a human knight, other times you are a vampire, but it’s always you.” She reached out a hand to him.
“How is any of this possible?” He clasped her hand and warmth flowed into his cool flesh sending an electric jolt through him. He stared into her eyes, searching for anything that could explain what was happening to the two of them. Instead he found only a sudden and surprising desire to kiss her.
“I wish I knew.” She blinked and pulled her hand back as if aware of his thoughts and rejecting them. “It doesn’t make any sense, it never has. I thought, perhaps I knew you in a past life or something.”
“Perhaps.” Richard felt himself blushing. “It is most curious.” He looked away.
“What does it mean?” Beth pressed. “This can’t be a coincidence.”
“Do you still dream of me?” Richard ignored her question instead turning back toward her and taking a step closer.
“Yes and of her.”
“Who?” Richard tensed, already suspecting the answer.
“A woman in the red dress.”
“Mon Dieu.” Richard had to grip the back of his nearby chair for support suddenly. His mind raced, wondering how any of this could be possible and how it connected to the visions her presence had evoked in him.
“You know who she is, don’t you?” she asked.
“Since the moment I met you, I have been seen her in waking visions. I believe she is the one who sired me, the one for whom I search. If I am correct, then she has reached out to me through you from wherever she is trapped.” Hope pressed upwards through the darkness that had hovered over him.
“Yes. I feel that too.” Beth’s chin lifted in defiance. “And I’ve seen it too. She’s surrounded by darkness. But what does this all mean? Why me? Why now?”
“I don’t know, but I aim to find out.” The weight of the approaching dawn cut through the moment like a slicing blade, forcing him to push away his myriad questions.