Homecoming (13 page)

“But, brother, the edict is set in stone. Even if we destroyed the entire Council, the edict would still stand with the new Council.” Paul could feel his voice cracking, his mouth suddenly going dry. “The only way to remove it from your head would be…would be to transfer it to my own.”

“Normally,
oui
.” Rufus stood and smiled down at his frightened brother. “But we have recently come across some information that we can use.”

“There is nothing new to the case!”

Jack suddenly stood erect and tossed a photograph across the table to Paul. Foster barely stopped it from going over the edge with his hand and lifted it to his face. “I-I know this man.”

“Of course you do. He is one of your children.” Rufus sat back across from Paul and raised a brow at him. “He has been stirring all sorts of trouble since you last saw him.”

Paul shook his head. “I thought he was killed by the Sicarii’s army.”

“
Non
.” Rufus looked to Jack who simply nodded. “But by the time we are done with him, he will wish he had.”

“I don’t understand.” Paul placed the photo back on the table. “What does this have to do with me?”

“He is your child, you are his creator. You should still have sway over him,
non
?”

Paul shrugged. “I don’t know.” He picked up the picture again and stared at it. “Who’s the chick with him?”

“We don’t know.” Jack leaned across the table and pulled another photo. “But she’s in most of the photographs we have of him.”

“Where did you get these?” Foster thumbed through the myriad of pictures.

“Digital pictures taken from a Council spy. We’re not positive, but it is believed that your boy there is attempting to collect the dismembered pieces of Lilith.”

Suddenly Foster remembered the seemingly minor event that played out at the base in the Nevada. When Damien had asked ‘who is Lilith?’ and Foster berated him. “Do we know why?”

“
Non
, but he has collected most of the pieces of her body.” Rufus stood and crossed his arms, an evil smile crossing his face. “He can’t collect them all.”

Paul shook his head in confusion, “Why not? According to legend, she was scattered to the four corners of the known world.”

“Because I have her heart.” Rufus’ smile widened. “As soon as we found out what he was after, I made arrangements to have it moved here. It is under constant guard by my Lycans.”

Paul nodded again, “Okay. But again, how will this help us with the Council?”

Jack leaned forward again, “We have it on good authority that they’re scared shitless of this guy. They don’t know how to deal with him. Everybody they’ve sent after him ends up dead or eaten.”

Foster paled again as he recalled the events in the large underground facility. The Mexican whore that Damien had eaten. His transformation to ghoul. “So, you think that if we offer to deal with Damien—”

“That’s his name?” Jack asked as he scribbled on a pad.

“Yes, Damien Franklin.”

Jack paused then looked up at Foster, “As in the late Senator Franklin’s son?”

“One and the same,” Jack snorted as he continued to write on the pad. “But you think that if we can somehow ‘take care of’ Damien, the Council will just erase the edict?”

Thorn nodded. “They won’t have much choice. It’s either that or we point Damien in their direction.”

Paul swallowed hard and he felt his blood turn even colder. “When do we get started?”

“First we have to convince the Council that it’s in their best interest.” Jack didn’t sound pleased. “And the bastards want to meet on a full moon.”

Paul groaned. “Great, so you can’t be there.”

Jack looked up from his paper. “Oh, I’ll be there.” He smiled at Foster. “It’s the last thing they’d ever expect.”

7

Mark stepped out of the helicopter and kept his head down as the rotors slowed their spinning. He motioned to Dominic and made a circle with his hand then pointed to the hangars off in the distance. Dom nodded and keyed his throat mic. He called his men to heel and the group double timed it away from the noise of the chopper and the dust from its blades.

“You saw what the notebooks looked like, didn’t you?” Tufo asked as the group made their way into the abandoned hangar.

“Yes, sir, he gave me a blank one so we could match it up. He scribbled in some notes so we could compare his writing, but in all honesty, any blue notebooks we find, we’re snagging.”

“Excellent. The reinforced building we were holed up in took a beating, but there’s a side entrance through this hangar. You’ve studied the schematics, so let’s get a perimeter set up and have a couple of your guys go with me while we tear his lab apart.”

Dom made hand motions and the rookie member, ‘Mac’ McKenzie headed across the tarmac to the HQ building to set up an overwatch on the operation. Charmichael and Hammer set up sentry while Dominic, Marshall and Tufo headed into the bowels of the building to search for Dr. Peters’ lost schematics.

As they headed down the concrete steps and into the darkness, Dom had to ask, “Major, what do you figure the odds are that he actually forgot this?”

Mark never slowed his descent into the darkness. “Honestly, Dom, I figure the odds are about a brazillion to one, but we have to cover all of our bases before we approach someone like Thorn and ask him to cough up something he may have… ‘borrowed without asking’.”

“You mean, ‘stole’, right, Major?” Marshall asked as his light penetrated the inky blackness.

“That’s what I mean, but you have to use diplomacy when dealing with people like him.”

Dom chuckled, “Yeah, otherwise they might rip your throat out.”

Mark grunted, but neither man could tell if it was in agreement or not. He pointed to the door of the lab. “Check it.”

Marshall approached the door and ran his hands along the perimeter. He slipped an IR snake under the gap and viewed nothing on the other side. “All clear, sir.” Dave pushed the door open and the three filed inside.

“Any chance there’s still power down here?” Dom asked.

Mark pointed to the emergency lighting. “If there was, it would have charged the batteries. They’ve been dead for months.”

With a sigh, the two operators pulled out helmet lights and attached them. Mark stuck a penlight in his mouth and began shuffling through old file cabinets. Most of which were empty or trashed.

“Sir, is it possible that one of the other contractors came back and grabbed stuff?” Dom asked while shuffling through debris.

“Highly doubtful. The base was shut down, and the operations here shifted off right after the battle. They didn’t want to risk the radiation contaminating any of their projects.”

“I’m coming up empty.” Dave slammed a file door shut in frustration.

“Same here, sir.” Dom crossed his arms. “Any other place we might search?”

Tufo pulled the pen light from his mouth and scratched at his chin. “This was the only place he had his stuff.” He scanned the room again. “He was adamant.”

“I think it’s time to clue in the colonel, sir,” Dom concluded quietly.

Mark nodded. “I was really hoping it wouldn’t come to that.” He turned to the two men and nodded, “Secure your men and let’s load up.”

*****

Laura tried not to fidget as the rope bit into the soft flesh of her wrists. At least this time they tied her to a chair, but she really needed to pee and she was starting to become angry. “You do realize, I’m not a wolf, so these rope burns won’t heal so fast.” She cocked her head to listen in the darkness, but nobody answered. “And I really need to use the restroom.”

A shuffling sound in the near distance reminded her of either somebody shifting their foot or a very large rodent. Either was possible and both gave her the willies. She held her breath and strained her hearing to try to discern breathing or the rustling of clothing but no other sound came in the darkness. “Oh, come on, I really need to go.”

“Nobody’s stopping you,” the voice was male and soft, but the unmistakable tinge of disdain was noted.

She struggled against her bindings once more then slumped in the chair. “The ropes are stopping me.”

“I ain’t cutting you loose lady.”

Laura sighed heavily and hung her head. “I’m not asking you to cut me loose. Just escort me to a toilet, please.” She did her best to sound nice without resorting to begging.

A moment later she heard the distinct sound of wood scraping on a stone floor as the man scooted his chair back and walked toward her. “You try to pull anything funny and it’s lights out. Got it?”

“Understood completely.” Laura allowed herself to breathe a slight sigh of relief as he untied her bound hands from the back of the chair and helped her up from the sitting position. He kept the black bag over her head, but his grip was gentle as he walked her through a door with a heavy sounding lock and down a short passage. After another brief series of turns, he opened another door and she could hear their sounds echo off tiled walls.

He escorted her to a back wall and removed her hood. She glanced down at a somewhat clean toilet and saw the very large man standing in the doorway of the stall. She glanced at the toilet again and then down at her pants. “Um. I don’t guess you’d untie me long enough to take care of business, would you? I mean, my hands are behind my back. I’m flexible, but even I can’t manage this.”

He raised a dark eyebrow and gave her a look that was impossible to read.
Please don’t offer to pull them down for me…

With a huff he spun her around and unbound her hands. He spun her back and held the rope in front of her face. “One false move and it goes around your neck. Got it?”

She nodded as she reached for the door of the stall. “Got it.”

His arm shot out and blocked the door. “Huh-uh, I’ll stand right over here, but the door remains open.”

“Really?” She feigned indignation but backed toward the porcelain seat. “Fine, beggars can’t be choosy.”

She watched him step out of sight before she pulled down her pants and skivvies and relieved herself. Thankfully, her escort whistled a little tune around the corner, but she still blushed. As she tried to finish, she thought adding a bit more noise to the situation might lighten the mood.

“You’d think that somebody who works with a dozen or so wolves wouldn’t be so embarrassed about something like this, but they do give the ladies separate restrooms.” She flushed the toilet and stepped out toward the sink to wash her hands. “Hey, I’m starting to get a little feeling back in my fingers.”

He watched her wash and dry her hands then she held them out in front of herself again. He gave her a quick smile and gently took her arm. He pulled it back behind her and bound her wrists as they had been before. She squirmed slightly and noticed that the rope was a bit looser.

As he lifted the hood to put it back over her face, she looked him in the eye, “Thank you,” her voice was low and soft. She did her best to sound grateful, and the slight nod and twinkle in his eye told her that he believed her.

He guided her back out of the restroom and back to the holding room. As they walked, she noticed that he wasn’t as quick in his steps as he was before. His grip was softer. “I’m Laura, by the way. We were never introduced.”

“I’m not supposed to talk to you.”

“Yeah, and you probably weren’t supposed to let me go to the bathroom either.” She hoped that wasn’t the wrong thing to remind him of. “But you were nice enough to help out. There’s no telling how long we’ll be stuck in there together. It would be nice to have a name to put with those eyes…err…I mean, face.”

Laura calculated the odds of making a connection with the man and figured they were slim to zero. Her fake Freudian slip was most likely too over the top, and she mentally kicked herself. He paused, and she prayed that he didn’t hurt her. She heard the door open, and he guided her back to her seat and tied her ropes to the back of the heavy wooden chair. She heard him throw the lock on the door again and retake his seat. She lowered her head knowing that she blew her chance at gaining any information with this guy when he finally spoke.

“My name is Marco. Just…don’t let them know I told you.”

She smiled to herself under the hood and nodded slightly. “Your secret is safe with me, Marco.”

*****

“How can you go with us if it’s a full moon?” Foster found his strength again and pushed himself out of his chair. He stared at Jack disbelievingly, his eyes wide. “You’ll shift and nobody will be safe. Not even
you
, brother.”

Jack stood and crossed his arms over his wide chest. “There are ways of being able to control the Halfling during a full moon.” He smirked at Paul then turned back to the papers scattered across the table. “Be thankful that I can. Otherwise, you’d be first on my list.”

“Is that a threat? Was that a…did he just threaten me?”

“Calm yourself.” Thorn stepped to the doorway and accepted the tray with the blood and two cups with saucers. “Here, have a drink.”

Paul kept turning a wary eye toward Jack but stepped aside and accepted the cup of warm blood from Rufus. “I don’t trust that one,” he muttered as he lifted the cup to his mouth.

“I can hear you, ya know.” Jack never looked up, but he couldn’t help but find the humor in the situation. He loved putting people like Paul in uneasy situations.

Foster sipped at the concoction and his eyes grew wide. “Oh my…”

“It’s good,
oui
?”

“It tastes almost exactly like human.” He narrowed his gaze at Rufus, his brows knitting together. “You’ve been holding out on me, haven’t you? You’ve got human livestock somewhere?”

Rufus chuckled lightly. “
Non
, I assure you, it is a mixture of animal bloods.”

Paul tilted the cup back and sucked at it greedily. Rufus held his hand up, “Wait! You still want to drink it slowly. If you are not used to animal blood, it can tighten your stomach.”

Foster was breathing hard as he stared at the pitcher. “More,” he gasped. “Please.”

Rufus refilled the cup and Paul could feel his stomach beginning to sour on him. “Drink it slowly,” Rufus warned. “Or you’ll be hugging the sink.”

Paul’s hand nearly shook as he sipped at the blood and savored the flavor. “I must know how this is done.”

“I shall see to it that your chef is trained in the proper…”

“Chef?” Paul stared at Rufus. “I have no chef. Just a butcher that saves me the blood from his kills.”

Rufus patted his shoulder. “Then I shall ensure you get the recipe. It is a mixture of bovine, pork and sheep’s blood.”

Jack looked up from his paper and pulled the pencil from his mouth, “All the major food groups.”

Paul fought the urge to throw something and ordering Jack to ‘fetch’, which probably saved his own life. He settled on giving the man a hateful stare as he sipped from his cup. “So, the two of us are going to walk your…
bodyguard
, right up the steps and into the Council’s chambers?”

“
Non
, not quite.” Rufus set his cup aside and settled back in his chair. “Jack has come up with a plan that I think will be most effective.”

Paul turned to Jack who rolled up some of the papers and wrapped a rubber band around them. “We three will be doing just that.” He placed the papers aside and pulled another set from those scattered on the table and began rolling them up. “Meanwhile, I’ll have specialized troops waiting on the roof to come in through the skylight if they decide to give us any grief.”

“Troops?” Paul looked to Rufus who simply nodded. “Like your hunter buddies?”

“Perhaps.” Jack put the papers away and turned his attention to the two vampires. “But with this meeting being on a full moon, odds are they’ll be busy. If I can’t borrow any of them, I’ve called in a favor to get some other heavy hitters.”

“Like who?”

“That’s need to know and you don’t need to know,” Jack stated matter-of-factly.

“Really?” Paul turned to Rufus, looking for support. “I’m supposed to march into the Council chamber with you two unprotected, and I can’t know who we’ll have for back up?”

“Nobody said you’d be unprotected. Besides, it’s Rufus that has the edict on his head. Not you.” Jack leaned against the table and gave Paul a cold stare. “Rufus may think you’ve changed and you’re a wonderful person, but I know better.”

“Enough!” Rufus stood and glared at Jack. “Not in my home.”

Jack slowly eased back then finished gathering the papers off of the table. “You’re right.” He stepped from behind the table and nodded to Rufus, “If you’ll excuse me.”

Both vampires watched him walk out, and Paul turned to Rufus, “You allow him to behave like that?”

Rufus sighed and settled into his chair. “It is a very complicated relationship,
mon ami
.” He stared off for a moment, his mind going back to the numerous times Jack had saved his life. And what it had cost him. “He is only looking out for what he believes is my best interest. And he means well.”