He took I44 and headed south of town. Why it wasn’t called south, he couldn’t say…but that was the direction the compass stated.
About twenty minutes outside of the city, he saw an exit for Newcastle and Tuttle. “Newcastle? Here in the middle of nowhere?” he chuckled to himself and took the exit. It was nothing like he had hoped. Little more than a double row of storefronts and businesses, residential areas packed in behind it all.
He cruised through the town slowly and found a cheap looking hotel near the southern edge. “This is as good a place as any.”
He pulled the truck in and did a quick once over in the mirror. With a shrug he hopped from the cab and entered the small place. He had stripped a wad of hundreds from Sheridan’s stashed money and shoved it into his pocket. He arranged to rent a room for two weeks and paid in advance. A few inquiries told him where the best diners were and that he’d have to drive a bit to find any place that sold ammunition. At least there was a small drug store nearby. He could pick up what he needed to make the chlorine gas there.
Big backed the truck to the room door and entered slowly. The room wasn’t much, but it would provide shelter from the weather, had cold and slightly less cold running water and a sink.
He unpacked the two crates on the spare bed and locked the door behind him. Taking one more glance out the window, he shut the curtains and laid down on the bed. It wasn’t the most comfortable he’d ever slept in, but it wasn’t the worst either, by far.
He sighed heavily as he closed his eyes and drifted off to sleep, visions of the Monster Squad choking on poison gas dancing in his head.
*****
“You need to regain your strength.”
“I’ll have plenty of time to rest when I’m dead. Do you think that being the queen of this world will allow me much time for rest?” Lilith pushed away from Samael and tried to head for the door. Her legs gave out and she began to fall. He was there to catch her before she ever got close.
“You nearly died in the attack. If it had not been for angelic healing, you would be dead.”
She turned her eyes to stare into his. “You healed me?”
Samael lowered his eyes, a slight shake of his head as he carried her back to her bed. “I was too weak.” He laid her down carefully and pulled the blanket up over her. “Azazel appeared to me once again while we rested in the mountains. He had to heal me as well.”
She tried to sit up, concern painted across her features. “You were injured?”
“They had angelic weapons.” Samael sat on the floor next to her, his head still well above hers. “They also had a Nephilim in their midst.”
“Impossible. The Nephilim all died in the great flood.”
“Apparently Rafael decided he needed one of his own seed set to guard the cache of weapons left here on earth.”
Lilith stared at him, her eyes wide. “Angelic weapons left here were guarded by a Nephilim?” Her anger rose as the realization set in. “We wouldn’t have needed the hunters or the elves. We could have honed in on the Nephilim.”
“Had I known he was here…perhaps.” Samael shook his massive head. “But he was right there in our midst, and I could not sense him.”
“He was warded!” Her eyes were large as she smiled at him. “Another of your kind has been practicing the craft!” she cackled as she laughed which soon led to a coughing fit.
“Calm yourself my love.” Samael stroked her long, dark hair. “You need to rest. The day of reckoning is coming for the Nephilim and his human hunters.”
She raised her hand and grasped his arm. “What did he want?”
The Fallen one gave her a confused look. “The Nephilim? He wanted my head, of course.”
“No, not him. Azazel. What did he want?”
Samael sighed heavily as he continued to stroke her hair. “He came to implore…that we drop our crusade. He warned that many would die and that it was foreseen that we would not succeed.”
She stiffened slightly under the blanket, her body shivering uncontrollably. “What did you tell him?”
“I told him that I did not believe his lies. That we would not be deterred.” His eyes met hers and she was not happy.
“Why did you tell him that? You could have lied to him and told him that we would quit. It would get heaven off our trail until our task was completed.”
Samael gave her a soft smile. “They would see through the lie. They know the future. They would know that we were not giving up.”
Her grip on his arm tightened. “They know the future?”
He nodded. “Of course they do.”
She paled and gave him a worried look. “Then we are destined to fail?”
He patted her hand. “No, of course not. They just want us to stop because their love for the humans is so strong. They do not wish you to rule over them.”
“How can you be certain?” She fought to sit up and stared at him. “I cannot take another eternity as a phantom. Without my body and soul together, I am lost.”
He shushed her and gently pushed her back down into the bed. “We will not fail.” He tucked the blanket back under her chin and gave her a smile. “We cannot fail. Remember? The light bearer has condoned our actions.”
“I do not trust your brother.” The fear was evident in her eyes. “He was the one who allowed me to be tortured, drawn and quartered, the pieces sent to the four corners of the—”
“Shh.” He cut her off. “That was then. Now we have a purpose to serve.” He lifted her hand and kissed it gently. “He would not have us do this if it were not foreseen.”
She nodded slightly, but even Samael could tell that she was not convinced. And if he were honest with her, neither was he.
*****
Ingram sat across from Director Jameson’s desk. “Where is he now?”
Jameson smiled. “Oh, he’s on his way. Just like you said he’d do, he’s headed straight to them.”
Ingram leaned back and steepled his fingers under his chin. “Are you sure this is such a good idea?”
Jameson gave him a creepy smile. “Of course I am. I wouldn’t have baited him into it if I weren’t.”
Ingram considered the possibilities. “The gladiators haven’t even been field tested yet.”
Jameson nodded, the creepy smile broadening. “Ah…but, Robert, if everything goes as planned, they will be in just a few days. Then it won’t matter if these monstrosities come looking for them. They won’t like what they find.”
Ingram swiveled back and forth nervously in the chair. “I’d feel a lot better about this if they were tested and proven battle ready.”
“They’ll be fine.” Jameson reached for a remote and clicked it. A small white screen dropped from the ceiling and imagery from a satellite came up. “You do realize I’ve had other techs and analysts besides Stevens watching them, right? They intercepted a group of fangers just last night. Met up with them right about here.” He pointed to a spot on the satellite map with a laser pointer. “They said they were ‘good guys’ just heading north to escape the vampire council.” He chuckled as he spoke.
“Let me guess, they allowed them to go?”
“Oh yeah. They convinced these Dudley Do-Gooders that they weren’t a threat and voila! Instant free pass.”
“How do you know all this? Do you have a man on the inside?” Ingram gave him a questioning glare.
“Of course not. No, they’re using standard military encryptions. Every word of their transmissions were scrambled, but of course, we have the code to unscramble it. I had just finished reading the transcript before you arrived.” He tossed a stapled bundle of papers to him. “Your copy.”
Ingram gave him a dirty look. “This might have been nice to know before you started your dog-and-pony show.”
Jameson chuckled. “Maybe, but it certainly takes away from the ‘wow’ factor when I show how the trick is done, first.”
Ingram flipped through the pages. “Okay, so they gave a free pass to a bunc
h of fangers. And this means what to us?”
Jameson punched up the satellite images and focused in. Numerous freshly dug graves could be seen in between the trees. “The fangers had no place to go, so they went to ground. I have my analysts keeping a watchful eye on this group.” He pointed to the sheer numbers of dirt piles. “I would think that big a fanger party would be a pretty good field test for the gladiators, don’t you?”
Ingram sat back and studied the image on the screen. “There’s got to be over a hundred earth piles.”
“Those are the ones we can see.” Jameson’s creepy grin was returning.
“So, after we do our final checks, you want to send them straight out into…this?”
Jameson leaned back in his chair and crossed his hands behind his head. “I see no reason why not. I think it would be the perfect test.”
“Over a hundred fangers against our gladiator corps.” Ingram was shaking his head. “You’re nuts.”
“You don’t think they can handle it?” He leaned forward and gave him a curious stare.
“Possibly, but right off the bat? There’s only twelve of them.” Ingram stood and stepped closer to the satellite image. “I understand wanting to put them into real world situations, but this isn’t a test by fire, this is…this is suicide.”
“So, you don’t think they can handle it?” Jameson was nodding his head. “Perhaps I was wrong about your program.”
Ingram spun on him. “This program is in its infancy. You’re wanting to send it off to college on the first day. I think you’re expecting them to bite off a hell of a lot more than they can chew.”
Jameson stood and pointed to the lighter spots scattered around the area. “Do you see all of these lighter areas, here, here, here…all of them?”
“Yeah, so?”
“Those were attacking fangers. A six-man team of monsters, without armor, killed all of these. They had new recruits in their ranks as well.”
Jameson stepped aside while Ingram stepped closer and counted the number of ash piles. “Are you sure these are dead fangers?”
“I’m certain. Go back to the first pages of the transcript.” Jameson turned and took his seat again. “Now, it is true that they could have been over run, but with the armor your boys have, those animals could chew on them for a week and never get through that silver reinforced Kevlar.” He tapped his desk with the laser pointer. “And you also need to remember how allergic these sons of bitches are to silver. As long as the supplier in Italy can still get us the silver ammo, your boys should be good. It will literally be like shooting fish in a barrel.”
Ingram sat back down and rubbed at his neck. “I’m not a fan of this idea.”
“Nor am I, but these are the only monsters that we know exactly where they are and in what kind of numbers. Setting up that infrastructure will take a bit more time.”
Ingram nodded. “I can see that being problematic.”
“Besides, do you really want your boys going up against the ‘monster squad’ without dirt under their nails?”
“Well, no, but I expect to ease them into it.”
“Do we ease our new troops into it when we send them into battle? Hell no, we dump them out of a transport, hand ‘em a box of shells and tell them to not shoot anybody wearing the same uniform they are. How is this any different?”
“For one thing, we don’t spend thirty million dollars and two years transforming them into the next generation of super humans.” Ingram tried not to put as much bite into his words but he found it increasingly difficult. “But, I can see where you definitely have a point. If they can’t handle something like this, then how the hell are they going to handle battle hardened monsters like the squads.” Ingram sat back and pulled his tie loose.
“Relax, Robert. They’ll do fine. They’ll have air support as well.”
Ingram stared at the screen and nodded. “Out of the frying pan and into the fire.”
6
Mitchell tossed the daily reports aside and glared at the door as it opened. His face softened with surprise when Jenny stepped into his office. “Do you ever rest?”
He pushed his chair from his desk and gave her a soft smile. “Not when I when I have teams out.”
She straddled him in his leather chair and planted a soft kiss on his chin. “I waited for you. Then I fell asleep alone.”
He sighed and lowered his head, his nose inhaling her scent as he buried his face in her chest. “I’m afraid that may become a common occurrence around here.”
She wrapped her arms around his thick neck and pulled him closer. “I was afraid you’d say that.” Her fingers ran up into his short cropped hair and she squeezed, pulling his head back to meet her gaze. “I might get tired of sleeping alone you know.”
He fought back the smile. “Want I should get you a puppy?”
She jerked his head back further and nipped at his chin. “Wrong answer, cowboy.”
He growled low in his throat and tried to nip back at her, but she held his head tight in her grip. “A cat then?”
“I want you, you mangy mutt.” She kissed him hard and he felt himself being dominated. He enjoyed it. For the briefest of moments he could imagine her decked out in black leather and stilettos.
He liked the image.
“What are your thoughts on leather and lace?”
“What are yours on whips and chains?” Her eyes twinkled and he knew he was about to be in trouble.
“I don’t suppose you believe in safe words?”
“Never use them,” she growled as she bit his ear, sending shivers up his back.
“Okay Jen.” He lifted her from his lap and set her aside as he would a small child. “As much as I hate to do this, I have to nip this in the bud. You’re about to drive me crazy and I still have work to do.”
She gave him a wild grin and reached into his lap to squeeze his crotch. “Something tells me you don’t really want me to leave.”
“You’re right. I don’t. But I really do have…”
The door to his office opened and Mark stepped in. “I figured I’d go ahead and get my ass chewing over with-” He paused, his eyes wide as he stared at his boss sitting in his chair, his new bride holding him by the cojones. “Bad timing?”
“No!” Mitchell shifted uncomfortably and rolled his chair back behind his desk and out of Jenny’s reach. “She was just…you were just…”
Jen stood up and smiled. “I was just leaving.” She walked seductively past the two and stopped at the door, hugging it as though it were a new lover. “I’ll be going to breakfast in an hour. You had better join me.” She spun and disappeared down the hallway.
Mark’s eyes stared after her for just a moment before he turned back to his CO. “Did she give them back before she left or do I need to wait ‘til later?”
“Give what back?” Mitchell tried in vain to straighten his uniform from a sitting position.
“Your balls.” Mark smirked at him as he plopped into the chair. “Looked like she was either ripping them off or reattaching them when I walked in.” He kicked his feet up on the desk and crossed them, the grin growing broader as Mitchell’s face reddened.
“She was just…I was…” He cleared his throat and took a large gulp of coffee. “I’m glad you came in. We definitely need to talk.”
“You bet we do. You need to get that girl to a chiropractor and quick. If she keeps swinging her hips like that every time she has her tail in your face, she’s gonna throw her back out something terrible.”
“That’s not what we need to discuss.” Mitchell took a deep cleansing breath then turned and filled his coffee cup. “Your behavior in the field…”
Mark nodded. “Yeah, if I hadn’t broken orders, we’d have a dead squad and those asshats would’ve probably found me and Mac, too.” He tsk’d and shook his head. “That would have been a crying damn shame if you ask me.”
“You know what I’m talking about. Going off coms without so much as letting u
s know? Engaging the enemy? That was outside the scope of the mission.”
Mark simply nodded. “Agreed. But you have to admit, if the situation were reversed and you were the one in the field, you would have done the same thing.” He pulled his feet off the corner of the desk and leveled his gaze at Mitchell. “Look, Matt, it’s not like I went there to pick a fight. We had to know what was going on with the squad. Once we did—”
“You mean, once you knew. We had no clue what was going on.” He leaned back and crossed his arms.
Mark studied him a moment then nodded knowingly. “Is this really because I had to play it by ear or is it because I was in the field and you weren’t?”
“No, this is because you went against the mission parameters.”
“Well, okay then. I can live with that, Matt.” Mark stood and walked to the coffee pot. He glanced around for the spare coffee cup.
“Mine got broke. I’m using the spare.”
Mark shrugged and picked up the pot. He took a long pull from it and noted Matt’s eyes widen. “Oh yeah. Did I forget to tell you? I’m pretty much impervious to pain and heal instantly.” He took another long pull from the coffee then set the pot back on the burner.
“When did…how…”
“The other day. I talked to Doc about it. I think it has something to do with the whole vampire gene thing.” Mark shrugged. “I can still feel pain, but only if it’s truly life threatening.”
Mitchell shook his head. “This isn’t good. That sort of neurological deficit can’t be a positive thing.”
Mark sat back down and stretched. “Doc didn’t seem too concerned.”
“How could he not be concerned? You’re impervious to pain and you said you heal instantly?”
Mark nodded slowly as he pulled his knife and made a slice across his hand. He felt the cold steel enter his flesh and felt his skin stitch up behind it. Barely a thin line of blood was left behind as evidence of what he had done. “Not even a scar.”
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