Eternal Service (6 page)

Alex appreciated the longevity of the team. Its history meant security and prestige for her career. “No doubt, unsung heroes,” she commented.

“Indeed.” Dixon continued, “The men and women who form the team are unique. Their existence was discovered by a Union lieutenant and personal aide to President Lincoln. One of the founding members of the Colony served under this lieutenant. Another founder was a freed black slave who fought beside him.”

Alex wasn’t a Civil War buff, but the story fascinated her. So far, the interview seemed right on track and heading to the town of successful–career–move.

“Those two Civil War soldiers, and founding members of the Colony, are the two other men in this room.”

Her train just got derailed. “I’m sorry, can you please repeat that?”

Raymond watched the captain as strong mental patterns washed over her. Her cool demeanor had changed from all business, to being confused, and even a little angry. He glanced over at Ben and saw him deep in concentration as he adjusted her moods with his special ability. After a few seconds, Raymond felt the professional, polished edge emanating from her once again. Raymond nodded towards Dixon to have him continue.

“The two Civil War soldiers are Raymond Metcalf and Ben Gatto,” Dixon repeated as he pointed to the other two men at the table.

Silence.

She laughed. “Oh … yeah, right. I’m guessing you must be vampires and live forever, right?”

We have a winner
, Raymond thought. She couldn’t have zeroed in on the truth more if she tried. He watched as Ben concentrated even more. The fact that Ben remained so focused told Raymond that Alex’s moods were hard to control. If he understood the colors correctly, Ben was washing her aura over in a yellow to mellow her out.

“Yeah, what a great joke fellas. Now really, what is the promotion?” She glanced over to Dixon, but the man’s look was stoic and no laughter followed. She gazed over to Ben, who was too focused to notice.

Raymond cursed inwardly. Of course she’d look over to Ben for any guidance during this interview. Raymond’s youthful appearance made him look like a joke, instead of the team lead. Raymond waited until she shifted her eyes in his direction, then he bared his fangs to show her there was no joke. Ben followed suit, and bared his fangs as well.

Alex practically jumped out of her chair, her eyes wide in fright. Ben focused even more, mentally painting gallons of yellow paint over her aura. To Ben’s credit, Alex slumped back into her chair. Her response was very calm indeed. Alex’s eyes bulged in her head as she shifted in her seat. Next she pointed at Raymond’s fangs and asked, “Are those real? Can I touch them?”

“No, you can’t touch them!” Raymond exclaimed. He glared over at Ben to have him tone the mellowing down. Bright canary yellow wasn’t the best color for an aura anyway.

Ben turned down the aura paint job and she reacted in a way more in line with someone whose world had been turned upside down.

“Whoa, whoa, whoa” she insisted as she held up her hands.

Raymond easily read her thought waves now. They were a roller–coaster of emotions. So many thoughts pummeled him that he became dizzy himself. Thankfully, Ben was at the helm of her mental carnival ride and prevented Alex from panicking.

Raymond felt sorry for Alex. She woke up this morning understanding the world. Now everything was torn apart. As her thoughts subsided and calmed, Raymond nodded to Dixon to continue.

“Immortals, vampires … whatever you want to call them. They go by either name. They live among us. Their numbers are small. The Colony itself has less than a dozen members.

Alex examined Raymond. “Vampires? OK. So next you’re going to tell me that werewolves and leprechauns exist? What’s next? Should I worry about running into a mermaid when I go swimming? Or even a unicorn at the Bronx zoo?”

Alex paused as she caught her breath. “You appear human. … Well, except for the fangs. You live among humans?”

Raymond liked that she directed her question at him, and not Ben. Most Director candidates treated him as a zoo specimen at this point in the interview. The woman was either properly bred, or incredibly open-minded and brave. Either way, he appreciated her manners and it was a point in her favor. “We don’t grow older, but we can alter our appearance by our blood consumption. The more human blood we have in our system, the younger we appear. If we consume daily amounts of blood, we can look to be in our 20s. If we feed once a week, we look in our 30s. If we feed every 6–8 weeks, we can look as old as the President himself. Of course, it depends on how much we consume at each feeding.”

Her voice cracked. “You look well fed.”

Raymond noticed she crossed her arms and leaned away from him. Her body language and thought patterns spoke volumes. She was scared. She remained under control thanks to Ben, but scared nonetheless. “I’m not hungry right now,” he lied. Vampires were always hungry. He sensed her elevated heart rate, and had even stared at her jugular vein once or twice. Her blood type was A+. Sweet and delicious. He wondered if other parts of her tasted as delectable. Her lips certainly looked plump and inviting.

“So you can be 20 one day, and the next day 70?” She relaxed her stance. Whether it was her own choosing or Ben’s doing, Raymond wasn’t sure.

“In theory, yes,” Raymond answered. “Aging that quickly in such a short amount of time usually means that we’ve been physically hurt in some way; maybe even dying. When hurt, we age rapidly and need human blood immediately. Under normal circumstances, we never change our age that quickly intentionally because the switch in our feeding habits, from young to old, can cause serious discomfort in us. Painful reactions, actually. Going from old to young is no problem at all. In fact, many times a vampire will relocate, appear to be in their 20s, then over the next 60–70 years they gradually allow themselves to appear to age so they can go undetected among the humans. After they look the age of 80 or 90, they fake their death and start anew in a different location.”

Her mental patterns flashed like a strobe light. He noticed she processed the information quickly, with curiosity winning out.

“And you drink human blood.” It was a statement, not a question. Her beautiful eyes traveled up and down his body, at least to the areas not covered by the table.

“Yes. Animal blood can’t give us the nutrients we need.” Raymond felt on display. It was an odd sensation to be scrutinized in such a way by a woman. Did she like what she saw? She certainly didn’t act repelled. Her emerald eyes pierced his as if she were looking deep into his soul.

“You look young. Do you bite people every day?”

And there it was. Dietary needs were always the first issue of business. “No. The Colony is classified as a private military hospital. We receive bagged blood courtesy of Uncle Sam every week. Enough for us to feed daily.”

The refreshing breath and softer posture suggested a comfort level of probably knowing she was not Raymond’s next meal. “So you blend into the human population by pretending to be human.”

If she wanted to hit one of Raymond’s buttons, she certainly did. His jaw tightened. “I don’t pretend to be anything I’m not. You assume everyone you meet happens to be human.” Scorn filled his thoughts, and in an accusatory tone he added, “I’m guessing you won’t be doing that again.”

“Probably not.” Her tone seemed level and calm. He could tell he hurt her, not just by her mental patterns, but also by the fact she shifted those beautiful emerald eyes away from him and now looked down at the table.

Sounding more distant she asked, “You turn into a bat, Mr. Vampire?”

Damn. Her open–mindedness impressed him. She showed genuine interest in knowing who and what they were. Ben controlled her mood, but her questions were her own. She had done nothing wrong and he had snapped at her. Raymond kept his tone in check and calmly responded, “Chihuahua actually.” Her confused expression was priceless to him. “No. Just kidding. We can’t shape shift.”

Dixon cleared his throat trying to resume the meeting. “Your duties, Captain, will be as a liaison between the Colony and the Secret Service, as well as other federal departments,” Dixon explained. “You will spend much time with the vampires. Helping them with blood issues, security access, new aliases and such. Your primary responsibility is to protect their secret of existence at all costs.”

She held up her hand. “Wait, you’re telling me we use vampires to protect government officials from threats. Are you talking about vampire threats or human threats?”

Dixon was the one who answered. “Both. In my tenure as Colony Director there have been 91 breeches to White House security. That is what has been publicly announced. In truth, there have been an additional 15 breaches – all vampires.”

“Fifteen. Fifteen breaches.” Alex let the words sink in. “How many vampires exist in the world?”

“Enough to warrant our special op team,” Raymond said. “We control our population so our existence can remain secret.” Raymond’s glanced over at Dixon as he was reminded of the Vampire Council’s denial of his turning. Raymond pushed the memory aside. “The threats committed by vampires have been a few dozen over the last century and a half. Not many. The human team does most of the security for the federal government and we’re backup in case of a vampire threat. At times, such as an anthrax scare, we’re used when chemical dangers exist for humans.”

Dixon removed his glasses and looked directly into the captain’s eyes. “Captain, I know this is a lot of information. I remember all too well sitting where you are right now.” He took a deep breath as he viewed her signed oath in his hands. “If you choose not to take the promotion your memories of this meeting can be wiped away. That decision will not negatively affect your career.”

“Immortality and mind games.” She peered down at the signed agreement. “I’m glad to see Hollywood does you justice.” Rubbing her brow she continued, “I’m fine. I can do this job … I just need a minute to think everything over.”

Dixon’s eyes did a classic ping–pong match as he scanned the room from Alex to the vamps and back. Silence filled the room as Alex rubbed her temple. “Take a week to ask Raymond and Ben questions. They’ll be happy to discuss everything about this job and about their vampire culture with you. If you do accept the position, your new assignment will be noted in the President’s Daily Briefing and I will remain on staff to help you transition.” He stood up. “Go grab some coffee and talk.”

“Alone?” Alex squeaked out. “You want me to be alone with them?” She moved one hand to touch her neck, or maybe she reached for the cross necklace she wore. Raymond wasn’t sure, but for someone who took the news that vampires walked among humans fairly well, Alex had now begun to panic.

“They won’t bite you.” Dixon paused, “No pun intended.”

“But you don’t want to come with us? What if I have questions they can’t answer? What if … I don’t know? What if I need something? Or …”

Dixon cut her off. “There’s nothing I know that they aren’t going to know. Go talk. Get familiar with one another and with the rest of the team so you can make an informed decision. This position is long–term, not something you take on for only a few months.”

“For starters, captain, call us Raymond and Ben. No need to be formal.” Ben said.

Alex visually sized the vamps up. “My first name is Alex. Please, feel free to use it.”

Raymond watched as Ben escorted the captain out of Dixon’s office. Just as he was about to follow, Dixon pulled Raymond aside.

“I hate that I even need to mention this,” Dixon said in a hushed tone, “but Alex is off–limits.”

Raymond turned so his back now faced the opened door giving them some privacy. “Off–limits?” he whispered back.

Dixon raised his eyebrow and repeated, “Off–limits. So make sure your son doesn’t go after her.”

Apprehension marred Raymond’s face. He hadn’t even thought of Sterling in this entire scenario. The first thing that boy would do is to make a play for her, and yes, he agreed, Alex was definitely off–limits to his son. He nodded to Dixon and stepped out of the office.

Once he reached the hallway, he picked up on a familiar scent. The smell of Irish Spring soap, crest toothpaste (the plaque reducer one), and Old Spice hung in the air. The scent remained strongest right outside the office, which could only mean one thing. He looked around and spied the pair – Matt and Brandon. God, those two were the thorn in his side more times than he wanted to count. He watched as the two men stood at the end of the hall, looking like they were having a meeting with the plants near the window. They couldn’t appear more out of place if you paid them. The fact that their scents were strong right outside Dixon’s office meant they had spent some time right outside the closed door. Spying, no doubt.

Raymond nodded over to Ben, who immediately caught sight of the two humans. “Please escort Alex to her desk so she can pick up her purse,” he directed Ben.

Once he was alone, Raymond walked slowly down the hallway in the opposite direction of the two spies. Using his sensitive vampire hearing, he eavesdropped on their conversation.

“…
Looks like they got to the captain too,”
Brandon said.