“I was told to give you separate rooms so Mister, you take the first room and Ma’am, allow me to carry your things to the next one.”
Ryan walked through the open door and noticed that the ceiling was bowed downward from blast pressure. In the middle of the room a steel support column had been placed. The room was small, but had working lights and a large military-rated power strip to plug electronic equipment into. Off to the right against the wall was a serviceable green cot. Ryan put his gear down and sat on the edge of the cot. He could hear Calida talking and laughing in the room next to him for several minutes.
Sergeant Bob stuck his head in Ryan’s room. “There will be a briefing at 1300 tomorrow down here in the conference room which is the last door on the right.”
“Anything to eat?”
“There’s a refrigerator there with drinks and sandwiches if you get hungry. You’re also welcome to come up to the cafeteria at any time. There’s always something good to eat twenty-four seven.”
“Thanks,” Ryan said. “I think I’ll stay here and get some rest.”
Sergeant Bob nodded and left. A minute later Calida came in and sat down on the floor next to his cot. “I can feel him,” she said.
“Even down here?”
“Yes . . . he’s asleep.”
“Can you read anything?”
“No, he’s asleep.”
“Sorry, I’m just tired.”
“Then you should get some rest.”
“Yeah,” Ryan sighed. “In a little while I might just do that.”
Calida looked away from him. “Is it because I’m down here with you?”
“Not exactly . . . but when will you need to feed?”
“I can hold out for a day, perhaps.” Calida leaned back and stretched out her legs. “I really filled up before we left.”
“How many donors?”
“Three.”
“Good thing I did a check out on the machine. The pumps probably need new motors after that.”
“Funny.” Calida raised an eyebrow. “So are you going to join me for a swim?”
“You’re not serious?”
“Why not?”
“It’s . . . it’s too cold.”
Calida stood up and stepped toward him so that her legs were between his. Ryan felt the weariness of his body and mind vanish as he stared into her liquid eyes.
“We may never get another chance,” Calida said. “One of us could be killed over here.”
“I don’t know if I’m ready for that—with you.”
“Maybe you don’t think you can enjoy being with me.”
Ryan shook his head and swallowed. “I don’t think that would be a problem, Calida.”
“Then is it because I’m a vampire?”
Ryan forced himself to look away from her. “It has a lot to do with it. I haven’t forgotten that you wanted to . . . .” He cleared his throat. “You know . . . when we first met.”
Calida gave Ryan a slightly wicked look that turned into a soft, warm smile. “Just because I tried to eat you that night, and I still occasionally think about it, doesn’t mean I will.”
Ryan’s pulse quickened. “You seriously think about it?”
“Hmm mm. But I wouldn’t. I don’t want anything to happen to you.”
“Why me? I’m just a researcher. Why do you like me?”
Calida pushed a wavy lock from her face. “You’re so secure about being a scientist, but when being just a man you’re the opposite.” Calida bent forward and placed a hand over Ryan’s heart. “You’re brave when it counts and aren’t ashamed of being kind.”
“Where’s the shame in being kind?”
“You have pity for me, for what I am. But you don’t want me to see it.”
“You can see inside me, it gives you an unfair advantage.”
“Perhaps.”
“And what am I thinking now?”
Calida moistened her lips. “Will I bite.”
“Would you?”
“Probably.”
“I . . . I don’t understand.”
Calida straddled Ryan’s legs and sat down on his lap facing him. She placed her hands behind his head and now their faces were inches apart. She parted her lips. The same lips, Ryan reminded himself, which long ago had touched the blood seeping from the sores of dying lepers.
“These are for feeding,” she said, and gave Ryan an intimate close up of her upper and lower fangs. “No, relax, it’s okay. I want to show you these so you’re not afraid.”
“Not working, they’re worse up close.”
Calida took Ryan’s hand and pulled it up to her mouth. “You can stop trembling . . . I want you to touch them.”
“Uh, all right.” Ryan’s heart raced, but he took a finger and gently touched one of her upper fangs. It had a slight inward curve and he could feel serrations along the sides, although he couldn’t see them. “Is—is this some kind of vampire foreplay?” he asked.
“Maybe,” Calida answered. “Now watch.” Calida’s upper and lower fangs began to retract. The lowers stopped and now looked like normal, albeit sharp, human canines. But the uppers disappeared completely and another pair of very slender fangs slid into their place. “These are for when I want to be close to someone . . . you may touch them.”
“They’re smooth and not as long.” Ryan began to relax. “And they’re more delicate even pretty and . . . ouch, needle sharp at the point.”
“You asked me if I always bite, remember?”
“Yes.”
“And I told you that I almost always bite, but I don’t always bite to kill. That’s what these are for, and they won’t leave any mark on you.”
“I still don’t understand.”
“That’s why I’m showing you now . . . so you can understand. With these I can only taste blood and they also release something that heals the wound.”
Ryan felt her breath on his face; it was sweet and pleasing. “These are only used when you’re being intimate?”
“Yes, although there is a danger.”
“With you there always is.”
Calida cradled the back of Ryan’s head and tilted his face up so they again looked into each other’s eyes. “Here’s the danger, the danger for you. The first bite with these on a female turns her, but on a male the first leaves you the same.”
“Must be something at the genetic level—”
“Can you listen and stop with your science for a moment?” Calida asked. “It is a second bite that might turn you. And I don’t want that to happen. I want you to stay the way you are.”
“Are you saying we can only be intimate . . . once?”
“I don’t know why a second bite might turn a male, it doesn’t always happen. There’s no way of knowing until it’s too late. It’s a difficult risk . . . for both of us.”
“Is it possible to be with you and—and not be bitten?”
Calida’s eyes, which had been giving off a soft violet glow, returned to their normal color. “I can’t make that promise with you.”
“So you can’t control the urge to bite?”
“Two things are difficult for me to control and both can make me bite. The desire for blood is one.”
“What is the other?”
“The desire for love.”
“A vampire can love?”
“This one can . . . but the desire for love is even harder to stop once awakened . . . I want it to be your choice.”
“I’m sorry Calida, I—I can’t decide that. Not now. Not here.”
Calida took her hands away from Ryan’s head and placed them on his shoulders. “I’m sorry too.”
“There are things I need to consider, to think about. I don’t know what else to say to you.”
Calida took her eyes away from his. “It’s because of Christopher.”
Ryan shrugged, defensively. “I know that somehow it wasn’t your fault and you were forced into it . . . but it was brutal, how you killed him.”
/> Calida placed her right hand against the side of Ryan’s face for several seconds then got back to her feet. “It was the kindest death I could give him.”
“Kind? You took more than just his blood.”
“And what should I have done? Let his dying eyes watch me spit his flesh onto the floor?”
“Why did it happen?”
There is something inside me . . . something you made.
Ryan flinched, startled. “What is inside you?”
Calida stepped backward and Ryan could see the frustration in her eyes. “Just get some sleep . . . I’m going to take a walk.”
Ryan watched her leave his room. He knew he had screwed up just now, with her. As he finally laid down on the cot his mind worked on a growing suspicion until he closed his eyes and surrendered to the blackness of sleep.
Siri had been waiting twenty minutes to meet with the Director in his office. She couldn’t recall him ever being anything but punctual with an appointment. Two men were already sitting in the reception area when she arrived and she politely acknowledged them as she sat down. They were probably agents although she couldn’t recall seeing either of them before. She hoped that their appointment would go quickly so she could get back to her research.
“Doctor Lei?”
Siri looked over at the Director’s male receptionist who smiled at her and said, “You may go in now.”
Siri stood up. “Thank you.” She walked over and opened the door. The Director was sitting behind his desk with several piles of folders and paperwork taking up most of the available space.
He glanced at her and motioned toward a chair placed in front of his desk. “Oh yes, Doctor Lei, please.”
Siri paused at the door for a moment, but then continued in, walked across the carpet that had the agency’s official emblem sewn into the threading, and sat down.
The Director returned his attention to a document he had been reading and after an awkward moment put it down. “There has been a change in our studies regarding Agent Villena.”
Siri remained calm and tugged a wrinkle from her clinic jacket. “I don’t understand.”
“Continued funding for Doctor Ryan’s research is being cut back.” The Director looked at her. “Yes, I see your concern, but I must work within budget constraints. After all, the economy is a mess right now, for everyone.”
“Have you informed Doctor Ryan about this?”
“He shall be . . . made aware during the mission that his services are to be placed on hold, indefinitely.”
Siri looked past the Director at the large window behind him. “Is that why I’m here because I’m also part of the cutback?”
“Of course not.” The Director smiled and held up an impressively large file. “You have been a valued member of my research staff for . . . my—has it been so long?—seven years. And I want you to continue here, with us. And of course I have taken into consideration your sacrifices, namely the loss of your husband.”
Siri pursed her lips, took a small spiral pad from her clinic jacket, and began to write. “That wasn't anyone's fault . . . he didn't know the full range of that creature's abilities." Siri stopped writing and looked at the Director. "If anything was responsible it was the agency's impatience."
"I will allow that," the Director said. "But it did kill him and the others . . . and yet you harbor no animosity toward agent Villena, or do you?"
"She is unique, and she's blameless in what made her a vampire."
"Yes, perhaps, but she's a killer all the same."
"And what about Calida," Siri asked. "What is to become of her?"
“Once she completes her mission she will return here and continue her service to this country.”
Siri stopped writing and looked at the Director. “Is that all she is to be used for?”
“What other uses do you suggest? She cannot be left on her own, wouldn’t you agree?”
“Of course I do.” Siri let out an exasperated breath. “But we might still be able to help her . . . Doctor Ryan’s research has made critical discoveries into Calida’s condition. We shouldn’t rule out possible treatment.” Siri lowered her voice. “It seems pointless to throw it all away.”
“Perhaps, but as I said before, a decision has been made to redirect our efforts from the laboratory to the field.”
“What do you want from me?”
“That is a delicate question.” The Director folded his hands on the top of his desk. “Your talents shouldn’t be wasted within the confines of a laboratory, wouldn’t you agree?”
“I’m a research physician, first. The historical studies, the field work only support that cause.”
“I see . . . very commendable.” The Director adjusted his position. “And yet you have at times put aside your Hippocratic Oath. Haven’t you?”
“I’m not aware of doing such a thing.”
“Oh come now, Doctor Lei. Let’s not waste time with this fruitless ignorance.” The Director began to straighten up his desk. “You have been at the center of our efforts to capture Miss Villena and quietly stood by as agents were sacrificed toward that end.”
“I didn’t send agents into the field,” Siri said. “Anyone who has died has done so by your orders.”
“And yet my orders are based on your recommendations.”
“I haven’t made any recommendations to risk someone’s life.”
The Director smiled at her. “It’s merely an exercise in semantics. You call them reports.” He patted the large file that he had held up.
“Why am I here?”
“As I said, our efforts are moving to the field, which is where, and please accept my compliments, you are without peer.”
“What kind of field work are we discussing? I’m not clear on what you’re asking.”
“It concerns those caves in Valencia. An expedition to find them is being arranged based on your recommendations—forgive me, reports—and I want you to lead that expedition.”
“So this is about the stone? Doctor Ryan is right. You are crazy, and that’s my professional opinion.”
“Your opinion of me is of no concern. This stone, if it meets expectations, is a matter of National Security.”
“Why is everything always a threat to America? This stone, if it still exists, should remain lost. It wasn’t meant to be found.”
“If by some unfortunate happenstance the stone was to be discovered by those who harbor ill will toward our country we could find ourselves at a terrible disadvantage.”
“Have you been reading the research reports? This stone is a deadly source of radiation. Anyone who gets near it will suffer from acute radiation poisoning.”
“Precautions must be taken, of course, but that is mere detail.”
“And what if it’s found?”
“It will need to be carefully studied, of course.”
“By who?”
“Our good Professor Balken would assuredly jump at the opportunity to lead the research.”
“But not Doctor Ryan!”
“The stone is really outside his field. Its proper study requires a physicist, not a molecular biologist. Doctor Ryan’s contributions to this project our nearing an end.” The Director reached for his pipe and grinned at her. “He will be properly rewarded for his efforts, I assure you.”
“Then I refuse,” Siri said. “Finding that stone would be a tragic mistake. People will die and I won’t be a party to it.”
The Director put down his pipe and moved his hand to a panel of buttons next to his phone. “I am very sorry to hear that, Doctor. Your cooperation would have made things much easier, yet I respect your decision.”
Siri put the small notepad back in her pocket and clicked her pen. “The risks are too great. And it is because of the Hippocratic Oath that I’m unable to help the agency with this foolishness.”
“Your commitment to the medical profession is duly noted.” The Director looked past Siri. “Gentlemen, if you please.”
&nbs
p; Siri spun around in her chair but two powerful hands grabbed her by the head and shoulder.
“What are you—?”
A syringe was brought to her neck.
“It is useless to struggle, Doctor.” The Director picked up his pipe and began to light it. “Your cooperation was inevitable, you understand.” He then took a long draw and nodded.
Siri felt the needle stab into the side of her throat and could feel a burning as the contents of the syringe emptied. The last thing she saw as her vision faded was the Director peacefully letting out a long puff of smoke.
Chapter Seventeen
“Sua Sponte”—U.S. Army Rangers
Ryan woke up at 5:00 AM and felt surprisingly warm. He opened his eyes and reached for his watch that he had placed on the floor next to the cot. He had only slept five hours and decided he could probably use a couple more. He started to roll onto his back but something stopped him. He pushed himself up and looked over. Calida laid against him, her eyes closed. She wore a camouflage tee shirt and a pair of brown army issue boxers. He took a few seconds to notice that both items had different names stamped on them.
Ryan suddenly reached up and felt around his neck. Everything seemed okay. He wondered if he should have accompanied her during that late night walk. It wasn’t Calida he worried about. The Special Forces were the ones needing protection.
Ryan placed his hand on Calida’s shoulder and was rewarded with a sudden jolt to his mind. To compose himself he forced his breathing to slow down. After regaining his calm, Ryan gently pushed on Calida’s shoulder and said, “Hey . . . I need to talk to you.”
“Then why don’t you?”
“Sorry, I thought you were asleep.”
“I was reaching into Husaam, but you interrupted me.”
Ryan took an uneasy breath. “I’m sorry . . . but why are you here?”
Calida opened her eyes. “Afghanistan or your bed?”
“I just didn’t expect to wake up with you—I mean next to you.”
“Don’t worry; I didn’t do anything with you.”
“But did you do anything to me?”
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