Jamie

by I D Johnson

  “How did you…?” Jamie stammered.

  “It’s something Jordan calls remote entry,” she explained. “Isn’t it amazing?”

  “Indeed,” Jamie agreed.

  They drove down a winding lane past several buildings in various stages of completion, with only a half-dozen here or there in what appeared to be a completely finished state before Hannah pulled to a stop in front of what looked like a typical two-story office building. “Here we are,” she said, getting out of the car. Jamie did the same, stopping on the walkway to look at the façade. “Jordan wants his office in one of the high rise buildings once they’re done, but for now, this will do.” She gestured over her shoulder at some of the larger structures. “There will be larger housing buildings so that those who come long distances will have a place to stay, as well as facilities for those of us who will be permanently a part of the Kansas City team.”

  “And training facilities?” Jamie asked, still looking around at all of the building going on.

  “Yes. Over there,” she pointed in the distance, “will be a state-of-the-art gymnasium and natatorium. There will also be a large garage to house all of our vehicles.” She gestured in the direction of what appeared to be a nearly-complete parking facility. Jamie had never seen a place so large built solely for automobiles. Most of the people he knew still had never ridden in one.

  “If you’ll head through those doors, you’ll find reception.” Hannah opened the back door and handed out his suitcase. “I hope I see you again soon, Jamie.”

  He took his luggage and her offered hand. Even though she was wearing an ankle length blue dress and proper boots, she seemed just as liberated as the other women he’d worked with within the organization. “Thank you, Hannah,” Jamie said, nodding at her politely as he took a few steps toward the entry.

  He had no idea what he was doing here. When Jordan Findley requested your presence, you went. In the past, he’d either met the Findleys at their home in Iowa or out in the field. A few times, they’d communicated via wire or telephone. He’s received this message along with a train ticket and knew there was no reason to respond, just show up.

  The receptionist was a blonde woman with her hair piled up on top of her head. “Dr. Joplin,” she said, standing as soon as he walked through the front door. “Good afternoon. Mr. and Mrs. Findley are expecting you.” He noticed the name-plate on her desk read, Candace Klein. “Just take the elevator up to the second floor, and their office will be on your right.”

  “Thank you, Ms. Klein,” he said, smiling politely and directing himself to the elevator. It was a bit different than any he’d seen before, but pushing a button made the doors open. On the inside, he pressed another button and hoped it stopped at the second floor. He couldn’t imagine what the alternative might be.

  His suitcase was a little odd in his hand, but he’d had no idea how long he might be here, and he had no other place to leave any of his belongings, so he always brought them all with him. At least when he’d been assigned to the Washington, DC, team he’d had an apartment. Now, he was a bit of a nomad. Many of his things were still at his parents’ home in Boston, but he knew it might not be too much longer before he’d have to find a more permanent place for those as his parents were getting up in years; having never Transformed, they would not last forever the way that he would.

  Jamie chose not to dwell on those morbid thoughts at the moment and stepped through the elevator doors as they opened. He saw the office in front of him and made his way to it. The door was solid, but a placard to the right let him know he was in the correct place. He knocked twice on the door and then fidgeted with the button on his brown sports coat, nervously.

  It took only a moment for Janette to open the door. He’d met her a few times, and she always looked well put together and lovely. Her long brown hair was pulled up in a bun on the top of her head, only a few strands of silver showing her age at all, which Jamie imagined was nearing one hundred. Not a wrinkle lined her smiling face. “Jamie!” she exclaimed. “It’s so good to see you!” He set his suitcase down to return her embrace. “Come in, come in, come in!”

  Her enthusiasm was met by her husband who also approached the door before Jamie could collect his luggage and step completely past Mrs. Findley. “Welcome, Jamie,” Jordan said, throwing his arm around the younger man. “It is a pleasure to see you.” Jordan Findley could’ve easily passed for forty, if not mid-thirties, though Jamie knew he was considerably older than that. Unlike his wife, he had stopped aging and would live forever since he was a Guardian. Dissimilar to Kit, they were willing to put their feelings for each other above the fact that one day they’d be called upon to separate permanently.

  “Have a seat, won’t you?” Jordan said, gesturing to one of two chairs on the far side of what Jamie took to be his desk. Next to it sat a similar piece of furniture, though it seemed much tidier, and Jamie assumed this other desk must belong to the misses. Along the walls, dozens of framed pictures of the couple with other Hunters and Guardians, some Jamie recognized, and what he took to be family members, smiled back at him. Jamie set his suitcase down once again and took a seat.

  “Can I get you anything, dear?” Janette asked. “Tea? Coffee? I do hope your train ride was comfortable. I know it can be a long ride, coming all the way from Nevada.”

  That’s where Jamie had been when he’d gotten their letter, helping the Area Leader there track down a group of marauding Vampires that struck settlers out in the regions away from major settlements. They’d manage to get five of the six and were formulating a plan when Jamie’d been summoned. He hoped they’d managed to track down the last one by now, but he’d be happy to go back out and help if he could. Nevada was nothing like Washington, DC, so he didn’t mind going there. “I’m just fine, thank you,” he replied with a smile.

  Janette returned the grin and sat in the chair next to him. Jordan was already sitting in the seat on the other side of the desk by the time they’d ended their conversation.

  “Well, Jamie, I don’t want to beat around the bush. You know me. I like to get straight to the point.”

  The doctor did know this to be true. He raised an eyebrow. “What is it, sir?” he asked, afraid he was about to be reprimanded for something. He couldn’t think of any infractions he may have committed, but he hadn’t quite been himself the last year or so, and it was possible he’d slipped up without even knowing it.

  “Did Hannah explain to you what we are doing here?” Jordan asked, his elbows on the table, his hands folded just below his chin. “Did she tell you what we’re building?”

  “She did,” Jamie nodded. “It seems… fascinating.” He knew he’d used that word before, but he couldn’t seem to get away from it.

  “It will be,” Jordan nodded. “I’m very proud of the plan that Janette and I have come up with. And it’s completely funded by governments around the world who want to make sure their citizens are safe. They just don’t necessarily know precisely what we are protecting them from in all cases.”

  “Can you imagine if they did?” Janette asked, giggling a bit and shaking her head.

  “We need you to be a part of it, Jamie,” Jordan said, completely serious. “I need you here, with us. While I will certainly be sending you out on critical missions, your main assignment now will be to train the other Healers as they are identified and Transform. I’ve been around a long time, and I have a fairly solid understanding of what our people were like from centuries before I came along, and quite frankly, son, there’s never been another Healer with your kind of talent. Having you as a part of our central team here at headquarters is essential to the changes we are making in the organization. What do you say? Will you be our new Healer Leader?”

  Jamie stared at the man before him in silence. For most of the time that Jordan was speaking, he felt confident in his ability to do exactly what was being asked of him. While he had no idea whether or not his talents were fairly represented, he did know that he was mo
re than willing to train other Healers. Working with other people like him sounded much better than being out in the field, hunting down Vampires, taking the risk of being shot or otherwise hit by Hunters who had no idea what they were doing just yet. He thought back to the bullet he’d taken, as well as dozens of misaimed slashes over the years. But it was that last word that hung in his heart for a moment. The words Kit had used when last they’d parted had weighed heavily on his mind for some time now. How could he take this position? He was a Healer, that was for certain, but he was no Leader.

  “Mr. and Mrs. Findley, thank you,” Jamie began. “I’m flattered you’d think of me, that you’d offer me such an… opportunity.” He swallowed hard. “But… I’m afraid… I’m afraid I wouldn’t be able to.”

  “Wouldn’t be able to?” Janette echoed. “Whatever do you mean?”

  “I mean… I am a Healer. I can do that portion of what you’ve described. I can teach others how to use the power inside of them to close wounds, repair broken bones, even restart internal organs. I feel very confident in my ability to do that. But… I’m no leader, sir, madam. That’s the part where, I’m afraid, I won’t be able to help you.”

  “No leader?” It was Jordan’s turn to repeat him now. “Whatever are you talking about?”

  “Of course you are,” Janette nearly scolded. “Why, every Area Leader who interacts with you reports about your professionalism, your bravery, your ability to give commands accurately when called upon to do so.”

  “Yes, everyone has been quite impressed with you, Jamie,” Jordan agreed.

  “Everyone?” Jamie questioned. “I don’t see how that’s possible.”

  “Well, of course Culpepper is always positive, being your uncle and all. But Jeffrey in New York City speaks highly of you, as does Ward from London,” Janette began.

  “There’s Eric in Arizona, Vicky in California, and Carson in Washington. I can go on,” Jordan nodded.

  “Carson?” Jamie repeated. “He says I’ve done a good job as a leader?”

  “Indeed,” Jordan replied. “Granted, he’s moved on, but you worked with him for years. He was always very impressed.

  Jamie looked from Jordan’s face to Janette’s. She was nodding along. “But what about… Kit?” he asked. He hadn’t spoken her name aloud for months. “I’m sure she disagrees.”

  They both arched their eyebrows and looked at each other. “I don’t suppose we’ve asked her,” Janette admitted. “She’s relatively new to Area Leadership herself….”

  “And not doing a particularly find job, I might add,” Jordan said under his breath. Janette cleared her throat, and he looked up at her and shrugged. Jamie wasn’t sure what that exchange was about, but he imagined it had something to do with the fact that Janette was the Hunter Leader, and therefore, Kit’s superior, whereas Jordan was more so in charge of the Guardians. “Listen, Jamie, I’m surprised to hear you don’t think of yourself as a Leader, because you are one. A natural born one, in our opinion.”

  “Yes, I concur. How else would you’ve pushed yourself to make it through medical school at such a young age?”

  Jamie had no explanation. “Thank you for your confidence,” he said, forcing a smile. “I would love to take the position, on the basis of a trial run. If you think I’m not up to it after three months, I should like to be reassigned.”

  “Fair enough,” Jordan nodded. “We will keep your hunts down to a minimum, trying to keep them all local so that you can concentrate on your training here, though if Janette or I are called out for an important mission, we shall want to take you with us.”

  “Yes, of course,” Jamie nodded, beginning to let the idea that he would have such an important new job sink in.

  “And we want you to start trials with the Transformation serum up again as soon as possible. If you can find a way to make it less painful and quicker, that would be wonderful,” Janette explained, resting her hand on his arm.

  “I will make it a priority.” Jamie felt a genuine smile coming on. It would be nice to be part of a team again.

  “Excellent. I shall send you down to Ms. Klein, then, and she will call Hannah over and have her show you to your rooms.” Jordan stood and offered his hand. “Welcome to LIGHTS, Dr. Joplin. I hope you enjoy your time here and will stay with us a long, long time.”

  Jamie stood and grasped his hand. “Thank you, sir. It is a pleasure to be on your team.”

  Chapter 23

  Wallachia, Romania, 1894

  There was no doubt in Jamie’s mind that he was going with Jordan the second he asked if he’d be interested in traveling to the Carpathian Mountains to take out an ancient, demonic Vampire, one known as Dracula. Rumors abounded about where Dracula had actually come from, but the most popular lore involved Vlad the Impaler coming back from the pits of Hell when a secret portal was opened during a mysterious ceremony that could only be performed during certain times of the year. Jamie knew very little about any of that, but he knew he was absolutely up for the challenge of taking out one of the most lethal Vampires ever heard of.

  As the Leader of the Healers, he’d spent much of the year or so that he’d been stationed at Kansas City doing research and was nearly content with the new Transformation serum they had been working on. During that time, he’d served as mentor to dozens of other Healers and had met quite a few that he thought showed a great deal of promise. They were often sent to other parts of the world to help teams on the ground, and he was hopeful he might have the opportunity to reunite with some of them since Jordan informed him they’d be calling in over a hundred of their best Hunters and Guardians to face Dracula.

  The hunt itself would be led by perhaps the most famous Hunter of all, a short woman with dark hair and enough gumption in her little finger to topple a room full of brawny men. Alice Van Helsing had a reputation that proceeded her, and Jamie was excited to have the opportunity to meet her.

  They made camp at the foot of the Carpathian mountains near the village of Bran. Van was certain Dracula was holding residence in his castle atop the mountain, and while her team had tried to infiltrate the fortress for months, they had not gotten far. They did have information, however, and as they waited for the rest of the contingencies to arrive from all over the world, Jamie took every opportunity he could to soak up the knowledge Van had to share with them.

  “What do you know of his lair?” Jordan asked as they sat around a crude table in Van’s tent, just the three of them and her second, a Guardian with long black hair and a flowing beard and mustache to match by the name of Claud, looking at a drawing of the castle above them at the top of the mountain. “I imagine the castle goes deep into the mountain.”

  “We have breached the perimeter a few times but always get stopped within the first or second obstacle. I’ve lost many Hunters and had several Guardians refuse to go back after facing the Impaler’s forces.” Van had a thick Dutch accent and occasionally, Jamie had to rethink her statements to understand what she was saying. “We believe there are several subfloors as well as spiral staircases that lead to towers and dormers. The castle is a bit of a labyrinth. I have no doubt it will take all one hundred twenty of us to be successful.”

  “Your intention is to set up quite a deep perimeter, though, isn’t it?” Jordan clarified, stroking his chin. “You’re not planning to send in all of our troops, are you?”

  “No,” Van clarified. “I will leave you to the details of who attacks when and where, but I believe we will need at least six teams of five or six to go in simultaneously to these separate areas.” She gestured to the drawing and indicated several different places. “We know he has all kinds of tricks up his sleeve, that he can turn into various animals, bats, wolves, even a mist that has allowed him to get past us. It will not be easy.”

  Jordan’s wise eyes covered the map carefully. Jamie knew him well enough to imagine he was mentally creating the teams that Van had mentioned. While Jamie had no way of knowing who all might have been summon
ed, he’d had the opportunity to work with many talented Guardians and Hunters over the years, and he wondered what familiar faces he might see here. He knew for certain Kit would not be one of them as she’d been reassigned from her post to a lesser one, transferred from Washington to Texas earlier that year. While he was glad not to have the distraction, he couldn’t help but wonder who else might show up.

  He knew Margie was on her way. She’d sent him a telegraph before he’d boarded the steamer. Margie was leading the Moscow team and doing a fine job of it. She was every bit as tenacious today as she had been when she’d first Transformed, and Jamie was looking forward to seeing her, though he hoped he wouldn’t have an opportunity to spend too much time talking to her. There was no reason for them to get into their sibling rivalry issues now.

  “Jamie here will be overseeing the Healers,” Jordan explained, slapping him on the shoulder and jarring him back into the conversation. “He’s amazing, like nothing I’ve ever seen before.”

  Van’s scrutinizing gaze fell on his face, her heavy brows not masking the doubt he saw flickering behind her eyes. But she only said, “We are glad to have you. I’d like to say I hope we will not need you, but I have seen what these banshees can do. They’re devils, the whole lot of them. There will be carnage.”

  Jamie felt his stomach flop over. “I shall do my best to make sure no lives are lost,” he managed.

  A huff escaped Van’s thin lips. “There will most certainly be casualties.”

  Changing the subject, Jordan said, “I’ve asked everyone to meet here the evening after next. We will use the next few hours to continue to gather intel about the location and to plan. I have some thoughts I’d like to get down on paper before they slip my mind.” He gave an uneasy chuckle. “My memory is not what it used to be.”

  Though Jamie knew that wasn’t true, he gave a polite laugh, but Van only stared at her leader. “My team will be available to answer any questions you might have.”