by Art DeForest
The remaining attacker came out hard and fast. He lunged all the way across the hall, coming to against the door to Sara’s suite. The MP5 was already tracking onto me. I’d have been in a world of hurt If the my attacker hadn’t jerked spasmodically and reached over his shoulder to try and claw at the knife sticking out from between his shoulder blades. Two more slugs to the chest from my .45 stunned him as the blade from inside Sara’s staff took his head.
Refocusing on my door I made a cautious entry once more. The goon I’d shot in the throat was still down and trying to heal. He made weak motions towards his rifle as I approached, but stopped as I centered the barrel of my pistol between his eyes. I was debating his usefulness as a prisoner when Fangs battlecry issued from the hallway. No more time to debate. My kukri flashed taking his head and sinking deeply into the floor.
Jerking it free, I headed to the door. Gun up and tracking, I sliced the pie around the corner and down the hallway, looking for more intruders.
Sara and Fangs were at the head of the stairs leading down to the foyer. A vampire dressed in the same tactical garb as the ones from my suite was down on the ground. Another throwing knife was sticking out of his chest. Sara’s blade was just sweeping down to take his head as the scene came into my view.
A quick glance behind me showed the hallway was still clear of intruders, so I joined Sara and Fangs at the head of the stairs and looked down into the foyer. Deacon and Simon were visible below. Deacon had his dagger out scanning for any more intruders. Simon stood next to him with a Katana in his hand. Four sets of tactical gear lay limp among the ashes.
“Are you alright?” Asked Deacon, looking up at us.
“We’re fine. Is that all of them?” I replied.
Deacon walked over to a keypad beside the front door and talked briefly through it to his outside security as Sara, Simon and I continued to scan the immediate area for surprises.
“Outside security reports the area clear.” Said Deacon after his conversation.
“We should search the interior again just to make sure.” I said as I looked over at Sara. “Where’s Kanjee?” I asked.
Her gaze became distant for a moment. “He’s outside searching for any more intruders. He hasn’t spotted anymore either.”
“We’ll take the top floor. You guys take the bottom. It didn’t take long for Sara, Fangs and I to clear the upper floors. Fangs would stop and sniff at every door, but nothing caught his attention. We checked each room visually just to make sure.
Simon was waiting for us as we walked down the steps to the foyer. I was just opening my mouth to ask about Deacon when he came in through the wide double doors leading from the sitting room, brushing dust from his clothing.
“One more was trying to sneak out the back.” He said by way of explanation.
“Well,” I said as we gathered once more in the foyer. “It appears we weren’t able to avoid being tailed after all.” I said with a scowl.
“Either that, or there was already surveillance on the estate. It is known to be owned by my family.” Said Deacon speculatively.
“Could this have been Aiden Grey?” I asked as I looked at the piles of ash on the floor.
Deacon shook his head. “I haven’t heard anything about him working with a group.”
“Nor I.” Said Sara. “I suspect this was the Abandonados taking advantage of an opportunity.”
Simon sighed as he looked at the mess on the floor. “I will start the cleanup process sir. Will there be anything else?”
“I think I need a new room.” I piped up. “Mine seems to have a few too many bullet holes in it for comfort.
“You start the cleanup efforts Simon. I’ll show Kaitlyn to a new suite.” Said Deacon, heading towards the eastern staircase.
“I’ll notify Jake of what happened and see if I can expedite the arrival of the lycan security team.” Said Sara as she followed us up the stairs.
As we entered my bullet ridden suite, Kanjee came flying in through the open french doors. Seeing Sara in the hallway, he flew through the living room to land on her shoulder as she entered her own suite.
Deacon started helping me gather my things. “The next door to the east is also a guest suite. It’s a bit smaller than this one. I hope that’s alright?” he said tentatively.
“That’s fine.” I said with a smile. “This one’s so big you need GPS just to get around.
Deacon returned my smile and we trooped next door carrying my luggage. The suite next door may have been smaller, but it wasn’t by much. It still had all the comforts of my previous suite with just a bit less square footage. It was missing a cat castle and litterbox, but a second trip next door took care of the situation.
As we were getting everything situated, Sara walked into my new quarters. “Jake didn’t realize our need for additional security would be so pressing.” She said with a smile. “He’s sending a five man team out as we speak. He has more people on standby should we or the Council need further aid.”
Deacon nodded in acknowledgement. “I’ll try to contact Victor and let him know what’s happened. He may well wish to bring in additional personnel after he hears of this incident.” He looked out the french doors of the suite at the greying dawn. “We should try to get what rest we can while the day is young. The night should be fairly eventful.” He said with a rueful smile.
6
The lycan security team arrived late in the afternoon. I was surprised to see Marcus, dressed in his tactical gear heading up the detail. Smiling, I gave him a quick hug as they entered the foyer. “Not that I’m unhappy to see you, but what about your job?” I asked as I released the embrace.
“I have a lot of vacation time built up.” he said with a grin and a shrug of his shoulder
Deacon approached, holding out his hand to Marcus. “Thank you for so timely a response.” He said.
Marcus nodded and gestured to his team. “We’ve been assigned as personal security for Kaitlyn and Sara. If you need more for the property here or at Council Headquarters, they are just a phone call away.” Looking back at Sara and me, he started to introduce the other four lycans in tactical garb. “You already know Trish.” He said, gesturing at the tall beautiful lycan. She already headed up Sara’s security back home and she insisted on coming out to continue her duties. I liked Trish a lot. We’d seen battle together.
“Thadeusz here will be with her as Sara’s personal guards.” he said gesturing to the next person. “Call me Thad.” He said as he exchanged handshakes with Deacon and gave a smiling nod to Sara and I.
Marcus then continued on with the introductions. “I don’t know if you’ve been formally introduced or not, but I’m sure you’ve seen these two around headquarters. A short curvy redhead stepped forward. She had emerald eyes and a cute button nose, but you could tell by the way she carried herself that she knew what she was doing. “This is Anna.” He said “She’s former military police. Makes her living doing personal security. Her partner is Glenn. He’s a fellow police officer with Aurora PD back in Colorado.”
“You must have the unfortunate honor of guarding me.” I said sticking out my hand out to the duo.
“Yes ma’am.” Replied Anna for the both of them as we all shook hands.
“Please, call me Kaitlyn.” I said as I lowered my hand. “Also, let me introduce you to my own chief of security.” I said gesturing down. “This is Fangs”
Fangs for his part, sat at my heel and looked up at my new guards with interest. Anna took a knee immediately and held out a hand for Fangs’ inspection. He recognized the familiar scent from back at Lycan Headquarters, so after a brief sniff, he butted the crown of his head into her hand in a bid for an ear rubbing. Anna complied with a soft smile on her face.
Glenn crouched also. “I’ve seen Fangs here in action. He’s some of the best security around.” he said, also giving Fangs a good scratching. Looking up and seeing my inquisitive gaze, he continued. “I was at that big fight at the middle school.
” He said. “I looked a little different then.”
I nodded, thinking back to the fight when Sara had been kidnapped by the Gino Abandonado.
“I’ll be leading the team and coordinating with Deacon on all the rest of the security measures that come up.” Said Marcus from off to the side. Looking over at Deacon he said, “It’s obvious that this location has been compromised. Do we need to find a safer location?”
Deacon considered the question for a moment. “I think we’ll be secure enough for now. Even if the Abandonados decide to attack again, it will take time for them to gather the needed forces. By then, our business here should be completed.”
Changing the subject, Deacon looked around at all of us. “The Council is meeting via teleconference this evening. The head of the Council has requested that we attend in person at Council Headquarters. A helicopter will be landing here in an hour to take us to the meeting.” Gesturing to his butler, Deacon continued. “Simon will show you to your quarters and give you a rundown of the facilities and current security procedures.”
The only issue that arose during the helicopter ride into the city was Fangs’ and Kangee’s attitude towards the loud vibrating aircraft. If Sara and I didn’t have close mental connections with our companions, I’m not sure we could have controlled them. As it was, Fangs lay curled in a ball on my lap with his head buried between my arm and side. Kangee for his part had to be lightly restrained on the seat next to Sara. Even at that, his large wings remained half extended for the whole trip as if he thought he would need to take flight at any second to save himself.
Once we landed safely on the roof of Vampire HQ, we were led by a functionary to a conference room on the top floor. It was a large affair with a large walnut conference table running down the center that looked to be capable of seating more than twenty people. On the wall behind the foot of the table was a large view screen that was currently blank.
Victor Caro sat at the head of the conference table and quickly rose to greet us as we made our way into the room. “Welcome.” He said walking forward with his hand extended. “I hope you are all okay after the attack on the compound?” he asked politely.
“We were unharmed.” Said Deacon as he shook the head of the Council’s hand.
Introductions were quickly made between Victor and our security people. We were then arranged around the head of the conference table in preparation for the teleconference. Deacon sat to Victor’s right with Sara placed at his left side. I was placed next to Deacon and Marcus took his seat next to Sara. Our Guards to up positions around the room. Trish and Anna were behind Sara and I, while Thad and Glenn took up positions by the entry.
Victor adjusted some controls in a hidden compartment built into the conference table and the screen at the far end came to life. The screen had been divided into twelve squares and as we watched they started to populate with the faces of the various council members.
Victor greeted each person individually as their faces popped up until finally all the spaces were filled. “Ladies and gentlemen of the Council.” Said Victor in an authoritative voice as he stood at the head of the table. “I call this meeting of the Council to order.”
He was just about to start his preliminary address when suddenly the configuration of the screen changed. The twelve rectangles that held the image of the council members seemed to be pushed to the edge of the screen in order to surround a larger rectangle that came into view in the center. The center square was promptly fill with the face of Antonella Abandonado.
“I think not.” She said with a sneer that turned her beautiful face ugly.
“You are no longer a member of this Council, Antonella.” Said Victor sternly. “What do you want?”
Antonella’s haughty expression didn’t change as she looked out of the screen at us. “There is no longer a Council. The United Vampire Federation is now the governing body for our race.” She said as a triumphant smile spread across her dark red lips. “Furthermore,” she continued. “Victor Caro and Deacon Caine are hereby named traitors to the vampire race and are sentenced to summary execution. All other houses and their leaders have 24 hours to relinquish control to the Federation or orders of execution will be issued for all heads of house who do not comply.”
She continued as if reading from a prepared speech.
The faces on the screen around her varied in their expression from enraged to terrified. One or two remained relatively calm. Almost like they know what was coming.
“I thought you to be above issuing empty threats, Antonella.” Said Victor, staring down his nose at the screen.
“Empty threats is it? We’ll see about that.” She said as she raised her hand in signal to someone out of the camera’s view.
A loud crash sounded against the conference room door. Thad and Glenn immediately turned to face it. Both men’s shirts exploded into shreds as they transformed into battleform almost instantly. Thad had classic salt and pepper wolf coloring to his thick fur. Glenn’s fur was black with silver highlights. Black eyes stared out intently from above a muzzle going slightly grey.
With a second loud crash, the door to the conference room swung open violently and crashed against the wall. The entry was off to the side, in the middle of the east wall. From my angle it looked like the outer room was filled with armed vampires in tactical gear.
The intruders seemed taken aback for a second as they took in the sight of two large snarling monsters in stretchy tactical pants. There was no hesitation in the lycans however. Two vampires were within reach in the entry. Both went crashing back into their cronies as massive clawed hands swept into them. Immediately upon clearing the entry, Glenn grabbed the door and slammed it closed once more. The locking mechanism was broken, so the two guards threw their weight against the door in an effort to keep it closed.
All of us at the table were standing at this point, various weapons in evidence. Fangs was growling and crouched low at my feet. As I pulled my kukri and stake. Kangee hopped to the table as Sara took her staff in both hands and prepared for battle. Deacon and Victor were similarly armed with large daggers.
As I headed around the table towards the door a strong hand grabbed my shoulder, stopping me cold. I turned around to see Anna restraining me. “Stay back.” She said with authority. “Let us do our jobs.”
Trish looked over at Victor. “Is there any other way out of this room.” She asked curtly.
Victor’s hand flew to the controls built into the conference table and pressed a button. A section of oak paneling behind the head of the conference table silently slid open showing a narrow hallway behind it.
“Go, go, go!” Said Trish urgently as she, Anna and Marcus started herding us towards the entry.
During all this, the vampires outside the door had been pushing and pounding against the weight of the two massive lycans barring entry. I was almost to the secret door when a burst of automatic weapon fire stitched a line of holes through the door and and the two people guarding it. Twin animal screams tore the air as the massive lycans sagged against the door, still trying desperately to protect us.
Marcus was already on point in the narrow hallway when the shots rang out. He turned instinctively when his people screamed. There was nothing he could do however as Trish and Anna shoved the rest of us in the hall and blocked his exit. “Close the door and get them out of here.” Ordered Trish grimly as she turned to face the door where her companions still struggled.
Marcus’ face was bleak as he nodded once, knowing where his duty lie. He motioned to Victor who pressed a button on the hallway wall. The last thing I saw was Trish and Anna, expanding into battleform as they prepared to sacrifice themselves in our defense.
“Let’s move.” He said as he turned once more to face down the hallway. “Where does this lead?” He tossed over his shoulder as he moved down the hallway.
“It leads to the security office.” Said Victor. “If it’s still secure, we can use the security monitors to see what’s h
appening in the rest of the building.”
The hall went for about a hundred feet before it ended in a door. A security pad was beside it. Marcus listened carefully at the door before moving to the side to give Victor access to the keypad.
“Be ready, just in case.” He said as the Council Head typed in the password.
We hit the door in a rush as it started to open, but the room was empty. A quick perusal of the monitors on the security desk showed why. The uniforms of what appeared to be the entire security force seemed to be lying amidst the ash in the lobby of Council Headquarters. There were many more piles of civilian clothes and ash as well. They had done their jobs, but there were just too many goons to defeat.
Deacon stared grimly at the monitors for a moment before leaning down to type furiously at a computer keyboard for a moment. “I’ve locked down all the exits on the top floor. Hopefully that will impede their progress.” He said as he continued to type. “There are two reinforced steel doors between the intruders and this room. It should give us a little time to escape.”