Blueblood 5.1: Red Alert!! - 15. They're Here

“And you say there’s nothing supernatural about being a vampire?” Yuri questioned from behind us.

I had forgotten they were there with us in the kennel. He motioned to the dogs out in the kennel beyond where we were with Pusik, Dan-D, Hefty, and the other puppies.

Anton chuckled, “I don’t think it is supernatural. I think it is very natural.” He went over to Pusik and gently removed the navy cloth. He produced some other smaller squares of cloth and waved them at us, “These are nappies…” he laughed softly, “…oh, you in the states call them diapers.” He looked at Colin. “He didn’t need burping, but he will need changing.” He turned back to Yuri, “A dog senses things we think are supernatural that they can pick up. They know when we’re anxious, afraid, happy, sad…they even sense things that happen with neuro malfunction like seizures. How?” He smiled and shrugged at Yuri. “We don’t know, but they have such a refined sense of their own to be able to pick that up with no commands needed. I know they understood Devon’s commands the same way.” He took the navy cloth and looked at Colin and I. “So, who is taking Dan-D duty first?”

Colin held both hands up as if surrendering, “I think Devon should be first. I fed Dan-D the supplement first.”

“Okay,” Anton nodded and wrapped the navy cloth around my neck while looping it around my left arm like a sling for an arm, but it was too high for my arm. “This will make a kind of pouch for Dan-D.” He gave a little shrug, “As Dan-D needs extra care…this will keep him next to your heart all the while smelling his mother from the pouch.” He took the square white cloth and folded it in half making a triangle. Taking Dan-D he placed the triangle, so the doubled cloth covered his waist, encompassing his tail and little pecker, folded it and tied it off. “Now, when he pees or poopies…” he chuckled at me, “You know he will.” He then slipped Dan-D into the sling-pouch where he rested on his back with his ear was next to my chest just over of my heart. “He’ll be warm from your body heat and comforted by his mother’s scent.”

I looked at Anton curiously, “Are you sure you’re Russian? What you said and how you said it sounded very British.”

“Poopies?” Colin repeated. “You created Pampers for puppies!?”

Colin and I cracked Anton up and he laughed again heartily, and he said, “I learned a lot while being educated in England.” He shrugged. “I was thinking nappies for doggie-nippers; since Pampers is a brand name and therefore trademark infringements could occur...”

“My point is you created diapers for puppies!” Colin said happily.

Anton nodded. “It has limited use. While being nursed by mama, she is her puppies’ nappy. Until they’re weened, she consumes wastes and licks her puppies clean.”

Colin nodded, but his curled lip told us what he thought about that. “I’m glad Debra didn’t do that with Gabriella.”

“Just like any infant,” Anton continued to instruct. “He’ll let you know when he needs the nappy changed or is hungry.” He smiled at me. “I’ll get you the bottle of supplement. I have it in a refrigerator now. Just pop it in a microwave for forty-five seconds to a minute. See if it’s warm and feed him! It’s very simple.”

Zoya peeked in the pouch and smiled, “He is so…cute!”

Colin nodded, “He is.” He agreed.

 

I know, I go on and on about some dumb animal. Wrong. Dogs do incredible things, such as sniffing out drugs, bombs, and vampires. They hear more than we do and can tell us when they do. They have helped us hunt… Yeah, yeah, you’ve heard me say it before. Fine. When you can do all those things on your own, get back to me. One of the best lines in a movie was Shirley Temple. When her role bragged about her goose did a great trick laying an egg. The mean older lady in many of Shirley's movies asked what was so great about that. Shirley's innocence as a child asked, “Can you lay an egg?” It’s a classic! Maybe I do watch too many movies.

Having Dan-D with me added something I hadn’t thought of. Everyone kept asking me what happened and was I hurt; and this was just from the kennel to the café! Everyone found out why and said; Au, on dragotsennyy! And; on takoy mily! In both Russian and English. “Aw, he’s so precious” and “He’s so cute” is the same. Yes, he’s just a dumb animal. You’re right. Not!! Infants of most species just make us want to care for them. Dan-D had that effect on everyone.

Colin looked at Yuri and Zoya as we sat at a table, “I know you need sleep.” He shrugged. “So, do Devon and me. Are you sleepy?”

Yuri grinned, “Just a bit. The idea of being sleepy is just something I’ve not dealt with in a while.”

Alexie was still letting this new look from an old hero sink in, “I’m just amazed by this transformation.” He waved his hand up and down in Yuri’s and Zoya’s direction. “This truly remarkable.”

“Stop it!” I growled.

Alexie’s eyes widened, “Stop what?”

“Speaking English so well,” I said and looked at Colin. “They just love to rub it in!” I pointed at Yuri and Zoya. “They have an excuse. They’ve been alive for centuries, but Anton and you…” I pointed at Alexie. “You speak it and it’s effortless.”

“You’re learning Russian!” Zoya defended. “Maybe in ten years, you’ll be fluent.”

“Which you will be fluent,” Yuri leaned forward and said quietly. “If you use it.”

“Which I won’t do if you continue to speak to me in English!” I countered.

“Oy, izvinite,” Yuri smiled.

“You’re not sorry!” I grumbled. “Not one bit. I’m jealous again.”

“You’re out in the sunshine!” Yuri shot back but was smiling. “I’m jealous of you!”

“You will be!” I said firmly. “We’ll even get you a tan!!”

“He needs one,” Colin said to me.

“When I met Colin,” I grinned at them. “He was tall, handsome, and had this great tan!”

“A tan!?” Zoya balked.

“It’s Summer here!” Colin said grandly. “Once again, I’m down in a cave or mine and it’s nice out. In Siberia!”

“A few more days and we can go outside,” I said happily. “Ten in the morning, noon, three in the afternoon! It will all be good!” I felt movement at my chest and a small whimper. Looking in the pouch I saw Dan-D fidget. “Is there a problem?”

“Maybe we’re being too loud,” Colin suggested looking at Dan-D.

I looked at Colin with the “you’ve got to be kidding” look. “You heard how loud it was in the kennel! Even in the room with Pusik.” Praying I didn’t find anything, I touched the inside of his nappy of doggie -nippers. “I don’t feel anything here.” I pulled the little bottle from the pack I was given. “Just a sec!” I got up and looked. Most cafés had microwaves people could use. I had to go to the serving line and ask them.

“Is everything alright?” The lady that served me before asked.

I knew by where she was looking and that she veered from her usual, “What can I get you?” question what she was asking about. I also knew that dogs here were not forbidden here in the café. They were service animals. We met Misha here and there were other dogs that came with their human handlers. Dan-D wasn’t a service animal…yet. There were not ratings posted on anything giving the café a grade as to the level it was inspected. Who would do that?

“I’m fine!” I dug into the pouch and brought Dan-D out, nappy and all. He let me know he was getting inpatient. “It’s coming, it’s coming!” I kissed Dan-D’s nose as I handed her the bottle. “This needs to be microwaved about…fifty seconds? He’s a hungry little guy.”

Her face just melted and again she just crooned at what she saw. My translator told me the “Aw, he’s so sweet!”

“Yes, he is,” I grinned. “And very inpatient! Aren’t you?” I hugged the puppy gently.

“Oh!” She turned hurried to do what I requested. About a minute later she came back and handed me the warm bottle. “Here you go.”

“Thank you.” I shook my head, “I am sorry. I never caught your name. You don’t wear name badges.”

“Emiliya,” she said as I held the bottle. “It should be warm enough without being hot.” Her smile grew as I did what Colin had done and put him in the crook of my arm and offered the nipple. This time he took it readily. “He’s so small.”

I nodded, “That’s why we’re giving him this extra feeding.” I rubbed my chin over his belly, which he tried to grab hold of. “No, I’m not letting you go, Dan-D. You belong to Daddy-Colin and me.” I looked up at Emiliya. “I’m Devon Wentworth, if you didn’t know.”

“Oh,” Emiliya chuckled. “We all know you. What I see over at that table is wonderful! I almost didn’t think it was Tzar Yuri and Lady Zoya.”

“If you’re here tonight,” I grinned. “You’ll see them eat borscht!”

“Eat?” Emiliya asked. “Borscht!?”

“Yes,” I nodded happily. I looked over and saw Vlad and Gaius enter the café and head to the table with Colin, Mom, Willie…everyone from our smaller group. I turned to Emiliya, “I really need to go back over there. We’ll see each other again.”

“Of course,” she smiled. “You are doing very important work.” She waved me off. “Go.”

“Thank you,” I left her, never once stopping Dan-D’s feeding. Going to the table, I sat again.

“…with Stan following their movements,” Colin was in the middle of explaining to Yuri and Zoya. “He can have them followed without them being aware. He is also tying our computer, Buddy, into listening in on conversations by telephone, texts, and email.”

Yuri frowned, “This world has gotten so…complicated. Having a man followed today is much more involved.”

“Our way of following these men has equally gotten complicated,” Colin told him.

“What’s their interest in Asbest?” Willie asked.

“For many decades,” Zoya started. “This area of Russia was not a place where people wanted to be.” She shrugged. “There were tales and rumors about the area where it was known if you wanted someone to disappear; this is where you sent them.”

“Siberian Gulags,” Colin nodded.

“It was a practice by my father, Ivan, and other royal leaders to send the…” Yuri thought of a word, “less desirable people who were what the Royals thought were traitors. Even Lenin was sent to one of the camps up here as a punishment because of his radical views.” Yuri smiled a little evilly. “I met him a few times. I saw his political views were very different, but I also saw he was becoming corrupt with power.” He shrugged, “Just like Ivan and many on the throne of Russia.”

“You didn’t become corrupt,” I said simply. I noticed that Dan-D had stopped nursing. Not because he was finished, but because he went to sleep. I jostled him gently, “No, no,” I said softly to him. “You can sleep in a minute, but you need to take as much as you can now. One because it will get cold and two because you need it to grow big and strong.” I got several grins from those at the table, including Vlad and Gaius who were trying to see better about what I was doing. I turned so they could see Dan-D better. “Take a look at the next generation of vampire tracker. He is only two days old, and he might right now be the smallest, but watch out! He’ll be tracking better than any of them.” I jostled Dan-D again, “If he stays awake long enough to eat!”

Gaius chuckled, “Nicolae did that, too.”

“It’s very comforting,” George smiled. “Resting in loving comfort and nursing is calming.”

Yuri was enjoying seeing this, as well. “No, I didn’t become corrupt with power. Not that they gave me much power to be corrupted with.”

“Perhaps having your…extra situation to overcome is why you didn’t,” George suggested. “Being deaf gave you another hurdle to deal with.”

“Maybe,” Yuri nodded.

“But you did successfully overcome that hurdle,” I suggested. “I think it did allow you to see the individual challenges every man has in life. Personally, I believe a good man is a good man, no matter what he has to deal with. You weren’t spoiled.”

Yuri chuckled and held his hand up with his thumb and forefinger so close they were almost touching, “Well, just a little bit.”

“When the Soviet Government fell apart,” Alexie further explained. “Many of those now in power were used to how things were done. They still do it that way. The Soviets were accustomed to knowing everything about everything…”

“When private enterprise rose after that government’s collapse,” Yuri explained. “Things like our new power station, the increase in population, and better quality of life here…”

“They wanted to know why,” Zoya explained. “People were moving here voluntarily. They knew something was up and wanted to know why.”

“About a million people were sent up here as punishment,” Yuri added. “Many people died because of conditions here.”

“Now, they’re not,” Alexie smiled. “There is over sixty thousand people here now!” He said proudly.

“It’s lovely here now,” Mom said simply. “The weather isn’t hot, nor is it cold at night.”

Alexie nodded smiling at Mom, “We can’t take credit for the weather conditions, but we think it is lovely.”

“As they look for possible criminal connections,” I added. “They might discover all this.” I waved at the surrounding underground complex. “Then discover what you are.”

“That’s right,” Yuri nodded.

“Sixty thousand people?” I asked. “How many of those sixty thousand work down here?”

“About twenty-five thousand,” Yuri answered.

“How many of those sixty thousand people know what is down here?” Colin asked.

Yuri had to think, “I don’t know. Perhaps ten thousand? Family and friends of the people that work here.”

“What do they think is down here?” Colin asked.

“They assume it’s some government installation,” Alexie shrugged. “Your Holmes Laboratories employees how many? How many know what you do?”

Colin nodded, “We have many that have been touched by vampires that work there. There are many that work there that have no knowledge of what we do other than cures, treatments, and other things."

"Many in Asbest are working in the poultry industry, active mining, porcelain,” Alexie added, “and all those teachers, grocery store employees, doctors, nurses…”

“I get it!” Colin said to keep him from going on.

“However,” George said. “When we came above ground and had other employees, we looked like one of them.”

Colin nodded, “They will, too!” He looked at Vlad and Gaius. “Have you two met our hosts?”

“That first night when we were all asked to stay,” Vlad grinned. “Insisted we stay.”

Yuri shook his head helplessly, “I’ve already apologized for that. I didn’t trust you, but your help is needed!”

“Relax, Yuri,” Gaius chuckled. “We understand.”

“Depending on what Stan and Lucian can dig up on your Russian guests,” Colin smiled and pointed at Vlad. “He can be our secret weapon.”

Yuri looked at Vlad as his eyebrows rose, “Really? How so?”

“If we need to know anything or if we want to convince someone to do or not to do anything,” I pointed at Vlad. “He can persuade them. Human or vampire.”

“How much longer do they have to get the disks?” Colin asked George.

George gave his head a slight waver, “Their serum blood levels are beginning to stabilize. I’m testing each day now…in three days I should be able to insert the disks.”,

Colin nodded with a smile and looked at Yuri, “The day that happens, you’ll be like us. I’ll contact our pilots and have our plane sent to Asbest. Do you have an airport?”

Yuri blinked as he thought, “Uh, the closest airport is fifty kilometers away in Koltsovo South-west of here.”

I saw Colin’s face and saw him calculating. He could figure it out, but I rescued him, “That’s thirty-one miles.” I whispered to him.

Colin didn’t even break his gaze on Yuri, but smiled as he said, “Thanks.” He whispered to me, “Why do we have to be different?”

Zoya looked at Yuri, “There’s the private airstrip about ten kilometers east of Asbest.” She looked at Colin. “Is it a big plane?”

“No, a small private jet,” Colin answered. “A private airstrip will be fine.”

“That probably will be better,” Colin said to me then looked at Yuri again. “Unless things change radically, we can fly you to Moscow. You meet with Sergey, and we fly him back here to Asbest. One day and fly him at night.”

Yuri looked uncomfortable, “Fly?”

“Yes,” Colin chuckled. “Those really big cars that go real fast…” he moved his hand across the air to symbolize a plane taking off, “and fly?”

I nudged Colin in the arm, “Colin. It is possible he never thought he would fly.”

“I know,” Colin chuckled. “I just like teasing him.”

“That’s just mean,” I told Colin.

Colin nodded as he smiled, “I know.”

“It’s safe,” I said to Yuri and Zoya. “We do it all the time.”

The vampire sense of smell told me Dan-D had a bit of “poopsy” in his nappy. It wasn’t bad or that stinky, but he needed cleaning up.

“Well, we’re off to the bathroom for Dan-D,” I grinned. “He needs changing.” I rose to do just that.

George chuckled, “That will be one very spoiled dog.”

“Yes,” Colin said back.

“He’s just an infant!” I said firmly and grudged a wagging nod, “Granted,” I stopped. “He’s a whole other species, but Dan-D is special. He has special needs.” I pointed at the others. “He’ll be the best dog of any of them. Just watch and see.”

I took him to the bathroom and say what you will, those tankless water heaters were great! I had to cut the hot water with cold. I didn’t want to scald him or shock him. He fussed a little when I washed him and put a new nappy on him. I spoke to him constantly as I did it. Anton had included some plastic resealable bags which I put the dirty nappy in and simply tossed it away.

“This adds a whole new meaning to pooper scooping,” I kissed Dan-D on the nose again and tucked him back in the pouch. Dan-D would have other dogs hanging their heads in shame. Even the fictional dogs like Rin-tin-tin, Lassie, Marmaduke, and even Snoopy! I needed to be careful with what I thought. If Anton was right about dogs reading our emotions with our words, he might feel overwhelmed. He was only two days old! “But no pressure! You just grow up happy, strong, and loved!”

When I got back to the table, Colin was laughing with the others. “…imagine Sergey’s face when he sees you!”

“He’ll be picking his teeth off of the floor!” Alexie laughed. “I was.”

“Gaius and I will do as you instructed,” Vlad said to Colin. “We will be doing what we are doing with the Delkenzie Program. Looking for new dialects and languages.”

“If one of the Russian Agents stop us,” Gaius added. “We know Russian, so we will be doing what we say we are.”

“I will only persuade them to look in another direction if they are looking in the right direction,” Vlad grinned. “Or am asked to do something else.”

We saw Yuri’s fist rise and cover his mouth, but a stifled yawn was clear behind his fist.

“Okay,” I rose again. “Bedtime.” I pointed at Yuri and Zoya. “For you, too. We need to give Dan-D back to his mother and siblings first.”

Yuri laughed lightly, “Yes, I am tired. When will I get hungry?”

“Are you hungry now?” George asked.

Yuri stood and you could see him doing an assessment of what he was feeling, then said, “No.”

George nodded, “You’ve only eaten twice. You need food. Your bodies will get used to it and soon you will be normally. You can’t store fat, so be careful. You’ll get suddenly weak if you don’t eat.”

“Yes,” I touched Colin’s arm. “I’ve seen him do it a few times. It sounds great to not have to worry about gaining weight, but it can be a problem if not kept up.”

Zoya smiled and then shrugged, “I’m happy to be eating. I’m glad I won’t have to be watching what I eat.”

“No, you don’t,” Colin smiled and rose with them.

 

We did take Dan-D back and put him in with his mother and siblings…minus the nappy. Then Colin and I returned to our quarters.

 

“Do you think I’m silly with Dan-D?” I asked Colin as we were lying down.

“What!?” Colin said quickly and the added, “No!” That was said too quickly, and he grinned and answered truthfully. “Well, yes, but puppies make us silly.” He chuckled. “Human babies, too…and kittens…” He chuckled. “I’ve witnessed the roughest, toughest men reduced to silly, babbling idiots when holding children. Especially babies. Puppies and kittens can, too. I must have looked pretty silly feeding Dan-D with the bottle first.”

“No,” I smiled at him. “I know you were one of those rough, tough men who was reduced to being silly with Gabriella. You looked perfectly natural with Dan-D.”

Colin’s eyes softened, “I would love to have one with you.”

“We have time,” I shrugged. “In the meantime, we shouldn’t give up practicing.”

“But you said…” he said confused and then slowly nodded. “Oh, you mean…I get it. Practice makes perfect!” He grinned. “Let’s practice.”

 

We did practice a while but needed to sleep the most. We did wake up earlier than the previous day. We thought it best to check on Yuri, Zoya, and George first. Then we could go get Dan-D. Entering the lab I was surprised to see the two beds Yuri and Zoya had used were empty and clean.

“Where are they?” Colin asked Kev a bit alarmed. Then there was a loud clank of metal against glass from elsewhere in the lab.

Kevin smiled, “George is brilliant, but…” there was another clink of glass on glass, “he was a bit noisy for them. They went to their room.”

There was another sound of George letting out a muffled curse. Colin grinned at me and craned his neck. “Everything okay back there, George?”

“No!” George’s sharp and quick reply came, but from the other room.

We ventured around some lab tables and saw George looking irritated at some computer thingy, a monitor, and some loose wires…oh, and a screwdriver in his hand as stared down angrily as what he had been working on. “This…” George held up the screwdriver like a dagger where he looked like he was about to commit murder if what was in front of him was human, not a computer, “computer is just…infuriating!” He tossed the screwdriver down to clatter on a counter. He waved his hand at us, “In Manhattan, this wouldn’t be an issue. I already have what I need ready and it is waiting for me.”

“Which most all of which you built!” Colin pointed out. “You have a degree in this stuff!”

George nodded vigorously, “Yes, I built my equipment using the degree I got…twenty years ago!” He said in frustration and turned to us. “That’s the same as realizing you’ve missed out on millions of years of human evolution in the computer world!”

“Can’t Stan help you?” I asked.

George nodded, “He will, but right now he’s keeping an eye on those Russian Agents with Lucian, who’s being watched by Chuck!” He waved his hands helplessly. “He’s busy!”

It was sad to see George was irritated, but also funny. I had to fight to keep the smile from my face. Colin was having less luck hiding his amusement from his face.

“What are you trying to do?” Colin asked with the smile growing on his face. I nudged him lightly and the smile quickly went away.

George turned and smirked at Colin, “Oh, this is funny?”

Colin nodded, “Yes. You are.”

“So glad I can lighten your day,” George grumbled, which had the wrong effect on me, and I laughed lightly. “Buddy and Pal…” he shook his head, “the Russian name I know, but…” he pointed at the monitor and CPU, “Buddy and Pal can run the analysis on what it sees, but for the monitor to show what it sees to anyone looking at it and see it clearly…this CPU needs the RAM, or random-access memory to be able to show the viewer.” He sighed. “Just for the graphics to show what’s there! Fiberoptics were still new when I got my degree!”

“None of the Russian crews can help you?” Colin asked.

George’s head lowered a little ashamed, “I’m supposed to be so smart. I have all these degrees and I can’t fix,” he waved at what he was working on, “this!?”

I nodded with an “Oh, this is a pride thing.” Now, I did laugh no longer afraid of hurting George’s feelings.

“Yes,” he said softly and embarrassed.

I posited at the scattered test-tubes and vacutainers still in one piece on the floor. “Messing up the lab is supposed to do what?” I asked.

“Be a sign of my frustration and evidence of my surrender,” George admitted.

“Poor guy,” I shook my head. “I would help. I am computer savvy, but I don’t have your degrees.”

“I know how to turn it off and turn it on!” Colin said happily. “I can ever type!”

“You also need to wait on Stan for his specialty tools,” I pointed at his screwdriver. “You look like your fixing a car or something.”

George admitted, “It was the only one I could find.”

Colin went behind George and pushed him forward toward the door, “You need a coffee break.”

“I don’t need a coffee,” George smiled by didn’t resist.

“Well, I do,” Colin said happily.

“You can’t be worried it will keep you up at night,” I chuckled. “It’s the afternoon, but the beginning of our workday.”

“Why is it we won’t die or get sick,” Colin asked George as we walked down the corridor, “But we get tired?”

“You use your muscles,” George replied. “Your muscles need rest.”

“Okay,” Colin acknowledged. “You’ll take a break, and we’ll have the coffee.” He threw his arm over my shoulder. “And maybe something to eat.”

“The coffee first?” I asked Colin.

“We have to have priorities,” Colin said logically. “Followed by coffee afterwards…” he thought, “and during.”

“It’s the first time,” I chuckled, “and probably the last time I’ll say this; I’m glad too much coffee won’t kill you.”

“Do we know that?” George teased. “The long-term effects of coffee might kill you.”

“What if in order for the cure to work,” I grinned, “you couldn’t drink anymore coffee?”

Colin’s eyes widened, “Bite your tongue! How can you even think something so horrible?”

“The materials needed for the serum are common, so…” George shrugged as he teased further. “There could be a simple ingredient…”

“Don’t encourage him!” Colin told George but pointed at me.

“The logic here is adding the ingredient, not taking it away.” I smiled. “I’d say, if adding that ingredient helps; you’d have been cured a long time ago.”

 

Coffee obtained and we sat in the café. Of course, it was dinnertime, so we got something to eat.

“Hi, guys!” Stan greeted carrying a few phones. Mark was carrying a few himself who deposited them on the table.

“Easy, Baby,” Stan cautioned.

“Their awkward to carry, sugar!” Mark shot back with the pet name overpronounced.

“What’s this?” Colin grinned as he asked. “Cellphones?”

Stan nodded, “Very astute of you, Colin.” He said sarcastically.

“Stan,” Mark stage whispered to Stan, but we clearly heard him. “He is your boss and our friend.”

“And?” Stan asked and waved at the phones. He looked back at us. “I talked with Alexie and asked about the other vampires that were supposed to be down here.”

“Hey, yeah!” I sat straighter. “I haven’t seen any but Zoya and Yuri.”

“Really,” Mark cautioned. “We’ve not been here but a week!”

“It feels a lot longer,” Colin suggested. “Have you met any?”

“They’re here,” Stan waved around him widely. “They’re just not here.” He pointed to the ground. “Not in this complex.”

“Don’t be cryptic,” Mark chastised. “One’s in Malysheva, another in Reftinsky, Zarechny…they are others in towns scattered locally, but Yuri ordered them to stay there and no communicating over any phone unless it is an emergency.”

“That’s where these smartphones come in,” Stan explained. “I installed these phones with a new sim-card and software that Buddy and Priyatel can assign a rotating scrambling signal. All of these phones can be reached…by Buddy. No one else. The signals themselves might be picked up but will only be heard as static.” He grudged a nod, “A talented programmer could hack it, but it won’t be easy. Even if they do, if they try again, it will be static again and they will have to start over.”

“With the threat to Asbest and Yuri,” Mark further explained. “Yuri has kept them at arm’s length.”

“But they’re coming tomorrow night,” Stan said. “I will offer these, and they can talk more freely.”

Colin was nodding as it was being explained, “Sure, Siberia has many mines all over a large area. Having vampires that can keep an eye open in a greater area is wise.”

“Especially in Winter,” I agreed. “Vampires aren’t only in Asbest…they look for vampires out there.”

“They get together once a month,” Stan said. “The monthly meeting happens tomorrow.”

“Great!” I was excited. “Yuri and Zoya won’t be finished with their treatment but should be able to be up and the others can see what we’re doing. They’ll see it works!”

“You can start with the others,” Colin said. “If we go and get Sergey and his granddaughter, we can begin with him as well.” He looked at me. “I don’t know about the one in Saint Petersburg. Yuri and Zoya will know to include him.”

“Or her,” I pointed out. “Neither said one way or the other.”

“Or her,” Colin nodded. “Saying him, in this case is like saying man. It’s the pronoun for all people.”

“I never heard that rule for grammar,” Mark said questioning.

“Mankind?” I added. “That includes female people.”

“Does it?” Mark grinned his silly grin when being mischievous.

I pointed at him, “Don’t let Shelly, Gabriella, or Mom hear that.”

“You might not survive,” Colin laughed. “Shelly’s a trained agent with the FBI. Mom and Gabriella are Southern Belles and can be quite deadly.”

“Not Betty!” Mark said astonished.

“Betty Worth McGee Kalin can be very aggressive.” I snickered. “I once saw her take on a couple of would-be muggers and win!”

“You were there?” Stan asked.

“I was,” I nodded. “I was five, but I remember those scary men. There’s nothing deadlier than a mama bear protecting her cub!”

“Mom kept her previous married name?” Colin asked me.

I nodded, “Yes, she told me it was part of who she is.” I shrugged, “She loved my father. He died, but she would always have been his wife. She is a McGee.”

“That’s nice,” Colin said.

“Such a warm and fuzzy moment!” Mark now grinned grandly.

Stan rolled his eyes and then pretended to glare at Mark, “It was until you spoke up!”

Mark chuckled, then looked at Colin and I, “What happened to dandy Dan-D?”

“He’s getting important dog lessons from his mama,” Colin smiled. “Where’s Hiccup?”

“Doing the same thing as Dan-D…for the same reason!” Mark reported. “He’s a good dog.”

“He’s only three days old!” I said as Mark sat down. “How can you possibly know that!?”

“Puppy Parents know!” Mark declared. His eyes narrowed as he pointed at me, “Don’t tell me looking at that sweet little face you didn’t know.”

“Yes,” I agreed. “We knew.”

“He’s a good dog until he chews on my best shoes!” Colin grouched but was joking…a little.

“Which if he does it will be your own fault!” I countered. “You’re mentioning it means you know it can happen! If you leave them out for him to get to, that’s on you!”

“See!?” Mark waved at us but looked at Stan. “They know. Puppies are dogs, dogs chew when their cutting teeth. Furniture, soft leather, you have to see things from a dog’s point of view! Somethings are just going to happen. He’ll love you. Things you leave around will smell like you, therefore becomes a target. Those many electronic things around will have your scent. He’ll chew!”

“We’ll have to puppy proof!” I shook Colin lightly. I looked at Stan. “I don’t think you two will have a problem with Mark there.”

Then two more arrived we recognized now and looking very Human. When we first saw Yuri and Zoya they both wore similar outfits. The dress code for all vampires was black. They did it in the United States, Romania, and now here. Now Yuri was in jeans and a pullover shirt. Zoya had worn black pants and a black leather top when we met, now she wore a light dress with small flower patterns on it, but mostly pale yellow. She was a girl! Yuri was holding Zoya’s hand but paused. “We were told to come here by Dr. Baxter.”

We were all men at the table, so we all stood as Zoya came with Yuri. You didn’t have to be Southern to be a gentleman.

“We can go to the lab after we eat,” George smiled and waved at the empty chairs we brought to the long table.

Colin was the closest one to Zoya, so he held the chair for Zoya. “If you will, my lady.”

Zoya smiled sitting with a, “Thank you, Sir.” She even giggled very lady-like. “Occasionally, I’ll get to dress like this if just to remind myself I’m a lady. Often down here everyone forgets that. Even me.”

“That is a crime,” Colin bowed slightly.

“Please excuse me,” I bowed again to her and Yuri. “I need to attend to something.” I went to the kitchen and spotted the chef. He was a chef! He had gone to the Novikov School in Moscow. It trained many of the best chefs all over Russia. Top rated hotels hired from there. The best restaurants hired them. So, how did he come to work down here? Underground in Asbest? He survived a vampire’s attack. Like others down here, he was a potential victim when visiting here a few years ago. As a reward for rescuing him from a brutal attack, Christian began working for Yuri. Until now, he was cooking for the people loyal to Yuri. The truth was, Yuri was royalty! In spite of Yuri’s claim to be the last Tzar of Russia, his father and brothers were. Five hundred years ago!! Zoya was too. She was Catherine the Great’s granddaughter. Her grandmother was ruthless and brilliant. Some traits were passed to Zoya. Yuri loved Zoya. That was clear. Christian was working for royalty! He was cooking for them. Something they would eat. I saw him standing over a boiling pot. The others in the kitchen were leaving him alone as they prepared for the rest of us. I saw Christian do…things I’d seen chefs do. Waving the steam in his own face, taking a spoon and scooping some in the spoon, tasting it and then placing the spoon aside so it wouldn’t be used again without washing it. Cleanliness was part of being a chef, as well.

“I’m sure it’s delicious,” I laughed at Christian’s attempts to blow Yuri’s and Zoya’s minds.

He jumped and turned, startled, “Oh,” he caught his breath. “I was concentrating on my creation.” He waved at the pot.

He was a chef. Cooking masterpieces in the kitchen was what he was all about. Did I tell him that he had been cooking for royalty since we arrived? Amasis was a Pharaoh, and Vlad was a Voivode, technically a Warlord. A military ruler of Wallachia, which became part of Romania. Neither of them ruled anymore, but they were what they were. Zoya was the daughter of Catherine the Great. It didn’t matter if her father was the legitimate son of Catherine and Peter, her husband, or not. He was Catherine’s son. Zoya had to be his legitimate daughter…maybe. He had her raised as his daughter. It was a real trashy soap opera in the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries. Again, who cared? She was royal by birth. The first female that was royal by birth in our ranks. Lucky us!

Where was I? Oh, yes! Christian! Like all chefs, he obsessed about what he made and served, “For Tzar Yuri’s and Lady Zoya’s first good meal in centuries, I wanted this to be perfect!”

He was in his early forties, and I was appreciative of male beauty. He was not bad looking, but I had Colin and he didn’t really compare. I looked behind him at the pot, “Did you make enough for everyone? I might like some and I know Colin will.”

Christian smiled, “But of course!” He waved at the large pot. “I made plenty! I will serve it with traditional Black Bread!” He kissed the tips of his fingers and said, “C’est magnifique!!”

I chuckled, “Toasting a Russian Dish in French?” I shrugged. “Why not?” I looked around the kitchen. “They’re ready to eat now. Is it ready to serve? Can I help?”

Christian’s eyes widened, “No! We serve you!” He waved me out. “Go! Out!”

I went out as ordered and returned to the table. When several people came out and put several loaves of dark brown bread before us. I smiled as steam rose. The bread was fresh! I knew some were darker, but this bread was smelling pretty great! It had coffee, chocolate, and molasses in it. (The vampire nose knows.) The butter with it was also made in that kitchen. Cutting it was interesting. It was so soft only with the serrated knife could you saw through it. I wasn’t a big bread person, but this was good! I was told Black Bread was usually served with Borscht. We watched Yuri and Zoya bite carefully and then bit more eagerly. They added the butter and seemed to luxuriate with the taste.

“Careful,” Colin chuckled at Yuri. “There’s more coming.”

The borscht came out in large bowls and was placed in front of Yuri and Zoya. I knew that borscht was made with many things such as beef, pork…really anything. They even had one for the vegans out there, which I am not. I might feel a little guilty and sorry for the cow, pig, and chicken, but we are omnivores. We eat both plants and animals. I know that horse is dead. There’s no reason to beat on it anymore, it won’t move again but we do eat meat! Our teeth are even designed to bite and consume meat! We are predators! Remember? If you choose not to eat meat, fine. Don’t condemn me for eating meat. The other thing was there was no one way to make borscht. There was no, this way or the wrong way. Some were like soups, but Christian’s was like a stew. It had cabbage, potatoes (taters for those of us from the South), tomatoes, beets, carrots, onions, and spices. The beets helped give borscht that deep purplish-red color. It wasn’t spicy hot, but spicy flavorful. No wonder it became a favorite for everyone Russian! And Ukrainian, and others in this part of Europe. It was great to see Yuri, who started off slowly, was eating it with more gusto. Zoya was drilled on manners and barely kept her lady-like appearance.

Colin’s face showed mirth as the smile grew, “What do you think of this peasant food?” He added, “Your Highness?”

Yuri was nodding between spoonfulls, which had almost no time between them, “ve’y gud.” He managed to get out.

Colin leaned forward and cupped a hand behind an ear, “I’m sorry. I’d didn’t get that with your mouth full.”

My eyes rolled and I gave Colin a hard look, “The man hasn’t eaten in five hundred years! Let him enjoy himself!”

George smiled, “As I recall, you attacked your first meals the same way.” He chuckled as he waved in Colin’s direction, “And still do!”

“I’m not stopping him!” Colin grinned and leaned again in Yuri’s direction. “Should I get more, Yuri?”

Yuri nodded, “Please.”

Colin looked at Zoya, “For you, my lady?”

“Please,” Zoya nodded.

Colin grinned and went to get their two bowls.

“When will we be eating the three meals a day?” Yuri asked putting his spoon down for the first time since he began eating

“Your body will get back in touch with your brain,” George began. “Sending signals that the remaining venom doesn’t want you to pay attention to. Your adjustment to the levels last night was about three hours. Your pulses were strong, and your body is coming back to life. Tonight’s will be even less. A couple of days from now, I will make your disks. You will be hungry after that.” He smiled as Yuri ate more of the bread. “As you can see, once you began to eat it seems you couldn’t get enough.”

Yuri chuckled, but he remembered to use his napkin to clean off his face, “I can’t believe I never tried this!” He waved at his empty bowl.

I chuckled, “There are many dishes that the peasants ate that are now delicious to everyone. We have that in the Southern United States, too. Years later, cooking methods and ingredients have made them enjoyable for everyone.”

Zoya smiled and shrugged, “It was a little later for me. As I said before, I loved borscht. I just forgot.”

“To the beginning of a new life,” Alexie held up his drink. The thing was it had the foam head like beer, but the color of a dark ale. Yet I was told it wasn’t either. It was Kvass. I was told it had very little alcohol and was more like a soda. Did no one outside of the United States put ice in their drinks!? We at least got them to make iced tea. Getting them to make sweet Southern Iced Tea was going to take more time. No! You could not just add SUGAR!! Geez! Heathens.

Colin came back with the two bowls making a face and put the one in front of Yuri saying, “Hot, hot, hot!” with a grimace and waved his hand to cool his fingers off. Then did the same with Zoya. Waving his other hand the same way.

“Hot pads?” I chuckled, “I’m sure they have them.”

“It wasn’t so bad at first,” Colin explained sitting down. “I thought I could make it. I was more than halfway here when it got bad.” He held his fingers up. “No permanent harm done.”

“Is everyone in your group so…” Yuri began, “dedicated?”

“Yes,” Colin answered. “Yours seem to be.”

“It’s survival.” Yuri said quietly.

“To simply survive?” I asked. “Is that all?”

Colin smiled at me and took my hand. Colin said, “To live is what all creatures strive to do. That’s not enough. It’s a basic instinct even for bugs. The people with us want to bring us from the caves and see a big, beautiful world and understand it.”

“What happened to us is not natural,” George declared. “Nature, or God if you want, is trying to undo what happened. We want to take what was done and remove the superstition and myth to understand it and make the correction. Nature has the answer. I just need to find it.”

“What we do,” I continued. “What you are doing is to gather others like us together and bring them into this big world. George tells everything we need is here. On Earth. The components needed are here and not hard to find. We just need to know what they are and how to apply them. The serum works!”

“There was a birth,” George said hesitantly. “We can’t give birth…until one did.”

“This is confidential information,” Colin said looking seriously at Yuri, Zoya, and Alexie. “We haven’t let anyone know outside our circle.”

“The man grew up,” George continued. “Fathered by a vampire and born of a human mother. In his son’s system…he has a natural immunity to becoming a vampire. We are working to make it possible for every vampire to have this immunity.”

Yuri’s spoon dropped and his mouth dropped open in surprise, “A vampire is the father of a vampire, human…” he sought the word and finally said it in Russian, “gibrid?”

My translator that I forgot told me. “That means hybrid. I guess there wasn’t much need for that word before.”

“No,” Yuri shook his head. “You have him?”

“We do,” George acknowledged.

“And we took you from the study of him,” Zoya put to us.

“Yes,” George answered clearly, but offered nothing more.

“The cure is out there?” Yuri asked.

“When I find it? Yes.” George answered. “It’s there.”

“Humans continue to evolve. We diverted it’s path as soon as we discovered fire.” I suggested. “We found ways to keep warm in the coldest weather, discovered ways to help a blind man by putting on glasses, transferred a heart that was strong and healthy into a man whose heart was weakened by injury or defect. These people should have died; according to nature…”

“But we said NO!” George stated. “Nature may say this person should die, but we say no, they will not die. The venom caused changes and nature, or God, is saying no!”

Again, it was like watching a tennis match where they looked from one to the other.

The corner of Yuri’s mouth curled up in a kind of smile. “Are you sure there isn’t some sort of telepathy going on here? You are completing each other’s thoughts.”

“On this point,” Colin answered. “We are united.”

Yuri nodded, “So, are we.”

Again, someone else entered the café. A woman. Attractive in her late thirties with brown hair to her shoulders. She came over to our group. “Prosty, Tsar Yuriy, ya dolgen vtorgnutsya.” My translator told me she said, Forgive me, Tzar Yuri. I have to intrude.

“Sure, Greta,” Yuri nodded to her and turned to us. “Gentlemen, this is Greta Masaitis. I believe you know her husband, Anton.”

“So, you’re Anton’s wife!” I said excitedly and stood up extending my hand.

“I am,” Greta nodded. “For about ten years.”

This was done through the translators. She knew about them but was still unnerved at first.

“My English is not as good as Anton’s,” Greta explained.

“That’s alright,” I waved that off. “We understand you perfectly.”

Colin introduced us to her. Russia’s people may not have been ready for same gender marriages, but these people didn’t even blink! Vampires were a big deal, so homosexuals were not that alarming. Homosexual vampires? I don’t know.

“Greta is Asbest’s elected mayor,” Zoya said proudly.

“Who is amazed at what you’ve done for Tzar Yuri and Lady Zoya!” Greta said looking at Yuri and Zoya. Then she smiled at me, “I heard you have a magic with our dogs!”

“Weeell…” I said, again embarrassed.

“He does!” Colin said happily he hit me lightly on the arm. “Don’t downplay your talent!” Then he stressed to her. “He has the biggest, meanest looking dogs rolling over and acting like puppies!”

“Anton tells me,” Greta nodded. “He is impressed with all of you.” She looked at me. “Especially you.”

“There is something I should know, Greta?” Yuri asked her.

She produced a business card and gave it to him, “Yevgeny Kuyvashev is requesting a lunch meeting with me tomorrow. He’s the Intelligence Agent from Moscow that’s heading the investigation. I will meet him and his two assistants.”

Yuri looked at the card and nodded.

“In light of what’s happening tomorrow,” Greta reported, “I didn’t know if you wanted to call it off.”

Yuri told us about the next night’s meeting, “It helps to keep us connected. Do you think I should?”

“Are they coming through town?” Mark asked.

“The chosen of my group will come through the large entrance,” Yuri answered. “The one some of you came in with all the cars and trucks. They won’t come into town.”

“Do the Russian Agents know about the entrance?” Mark asked.

Yuri shrugged, “They might, but what will they find? Excess mining equipment.” He looked at Greta. “Did this,” he glanced at the business card, “Yevgeny Kuyvashev let you know what he wants to see you about?”

“No,” Greta admitted. “If they really wanted to intimidate me, they would have used tougher tactics. Of course, he may be trying the soft approach.” She smiled sweetly. “Which won’t work with me.”

“Why not?” Stan asked.

“Because my wife is the toughest prosecutor,” Anton said coming over to his wife. “I dare say in all of Europe!” He said proudly hugging her and kissing her. This was a public display of affection. Then again, they were down here. They might not consider this public. “My wife could make the toughest, hard-nosed criminal break down into tears and confess everything!!”

“A German lawyer!” Colin’s eyes widened.

“Graduated from Humboldt University in Berlin!” Anton gushed. “One of the top Law Schools in the world!”

“Forgive me,” Colin gaped. “How the hell did such a brilliant lawyer end up…” he shook his head, “in Siberia!?”

Greta laughed heartily, “My grandparents were dissents!” She said proudly. “They were sent to a gulag in this area by the Soviet Government. My mother was conceived near here. They fled Russia and walked out, taking rides when they could and made it to Germany.” She shrugged.

“That’s how far?” I gasped. “Two thousand miles!?”

“Over two thousand miles!” Colin corrected. “With a pregnant wife!”

Greta laughed again, “Mom is fine! She is healthy and married my father.”

“In Germany,” Colin reiterated.

“Yes,” Greta chuckled and put her arm around Anton. “I met Anton in England while he was finishing his degree.”

“What’s wrong with Siberia?” I asked Colin.

Yuri laughed, “You might think there is something wrong with Siberia at the end of October. You’ll know something’s wrong in January.”

Stan looked at Greta, “Back to this Yevgeny Kuyvashev person. You think this is a fishing trip?”

“Fishing?” Greta asked not understanding. Even if you spoke the language, there were colloquialisms, phrases, and idioms that if you didn’t grow up with the language, you didn’t understand.

Mark grinned and tossed an invisible fishing line, casting his imaginary hook into the make-believe water. “Sure, you know…tossing a baited hook into the lake to see what you can get.” He shrugged. “A fishing trip. What you get to bite is unknown. Are you going to catch what you think? Or will it be something totally unexpected?”

Greta smiled nodding, “Oh, yes. That’s what he’s doing.”

Yuri shook his head smiling, “That will be no problem. Let him fish. He won’t find anything.” He held his hand out to indicate Greta. “She obviously knows about us, but she won’t say a word. The days of interviews with truth serum has passed. I’m not saying they won’t use it now, but that would be if they feel it is a great threat.” Yuri shrugged. “Show him everything. Even the books and ledgers. The only thing will be a rich benefactor died and bequeathed a large sum to Asbest…” Yuri chuckled, “back in 1910! He put it in a bank in Switzerland, where the money grew until the collapse of the Soviet Union. There are bank records to back the story up. It was that money that helped buy the new Power Plant and improve mining.”

“This benefactor was you,” Colin grinned. “Wasn’t it?”

“Which, if true would make me very old! Over a hundred!!” Yuri stated the absurd, laughing. “All legal and above board. Only with the wise guidance of the mayors and city board members was the money invested wisely and Asbest and the surrounding towns have benefited.”

“How did you know the Soviet Union would collapse?” I asked.

“Please,” Yuri chuckled. “No such government would last like this. Men are corrupt…all of them. No one philosophy survives long. Even Democracy doesn’t survive without checks and balances.” He shrugged. “The government that rules the United States, Canada, and other countries isn’t the same as their founders. Does it?”

“No,” Colin agreed. “Iilya wanted to unite vampires and even make more to create an army.”

“One he would run,” Yuri nodded. “Correct?”

“Correct,” Colin nodded. “His idea was a good one.” He shrugged. “So is Communism!” He held his finger up. The, I’ve got a point finger. “On paper!! To be a success, you have to have good, noble, and very smart people making it work. Not Iilya.”

“No, not Iilya,” Yuri agreed.

“Everyone needs checks and balances,” Colin said. “I do, so does Devon, George, everyone needs to be answerable to someone.”

“We laugh a lot,” I said. “We also have some big disagreements! Policy and philosophy, legal and ethics are argued among us. We reach a logical, thought-out conclusion…with a touch of heart.”

Colin’s head jutted in my direction, “You have to with Devon involved.”

I looked at Colin, George, and Yuri, “We could send Vlad and Gaius there…” I looked at Greta, “Just in case Vlad is needed to convince anyone about anything. Gaius, too and if a bit of muscle is needed, they have that, too.”

“We intend to keep an eye on them,” Stan lightly laughed. “They won’t get down here.”

“There is the positive and negative,” George held up his right hand. “Right,” and then his left hand, “and wrong.” He looked up at us. “What we do in between will determine what that will be. Humans will evolve, physically, emotionally, and mentally. That will happen. That’s inevitable.”

I moaned, “Why can’t be like in the X-Men? Where we get those wild talents like Cyclops, Storm, or Wolverine? Zapping people with rays from our eyes, control the weather conditions, or heal from injury by anything.”

Colin chuckled, “Because that was a movie, and this is reality. We’re vampires.” He shrugged.

“Is it?” I asked. “Or a crazy dream or story in someone’s head?”

Colin grimaced, “That’s sort of twisted.”

“Yep,” I nodded. “Anyway, we’ll be ready to deal with this. Evolution is going to get a nudge really soon.” I smiled at Anton. “How are the puppy children?”

Anton hugged his wife, but looked at Colin and I, “All are doing well! Busy! Busy growing. Squirming and always looking for that something…whatever.” He grinned, “Your little one has gained six ounces since birth!” He said proudly.

“Is that a good thing?” Colin asked. “He’s so small.”

“Any growth with Dan-D is a good thing,” Anton answered. “Hiccup has gained, too, but not as much. He only gained four ounces.”

Mark frowned, “Why is that? Hiccup is bigger and should gain more than Dan-D!”

Rolling his eyes at Mark was just standard now. “It’s not a competition, Mark,” Stan reminded Mark.

“Yes,” Anton gave a wavering nod, “But Dan-D is being fed milk with enzymes and extra proteins to cause him to grow up and make up for what he didn’t get. He’s making up for lost time.”

Mark nodded, “Yeah, I forgot that.”

“Hiccup’s doing fine!” Anton assured. “He’s following the charts to the letter!”

“Okay,” Mark grinned.

“Anyone giving you trouble?” I laughed.

“Not your two,” Anton scratched behind his ear. “Now Scout! She just can’t seem to be happy where she is! I always find her off to the side. She needs to wait for her eyes to open to really explore.”

I chuckled. “She was aptly named,” I said. “She’s living up to it.”

“Your young woman named Shelly claimed her,” Anton explained. “Something about Scout being the first born and a female…”

“That’s Shelly,” Colin chuckled.

“Ooh,” Greta said looking at our table. “Is that borscht? I love borscht!”

“I’m sure Christian made plenty!” Colin assured. “And Black Bread!” He waved at the table. “Sit, have some!”

“Before these three eat it all!” I motioned to Colin, Yuri, and Zoya. Yuri and Zoya had finally slowed down.

Anton was still standing. “Does anyone want more? Or maybe something else?”

Once we were all sitting, we enjoyed each other’s company. There were our old friends and family…now with our new friends. I knew these new friends would become family. It had only been a week or so!

I leaned into Colin, “Once Yuri and Zoya get their next injection, I like to go see Dan-D.”

Colin began looking down at himself.

“What’s wrong?” I asked.

“I should change,” Colin began, but I saw that twinkle in his eye. “I feel underdressed.”

I was completely lost. We both wore slacks and a pullover shirt. Comfortable shoes for walking, but not athletic shoes, “What!?”

“I feel underdressed!” Colin repeated. He looked at me. “You could dress better, too.” He looked at those at our table. “They could dress better.”

“Why?” I finally asked. “I don’t know what they plan for this gathering of vampires. They could have a party. Even the meeting with the Russian Intelligence Agents is more than twelve hours away!”

Colin couldn’t hold it in anymore. His grin spread over his face, “I’ve never been a figment before. I’m not sure about the dress code.”

“A figment,” Now, I was repeating what he said to be sure I heard correctly.

“A figment of an imagination! If we’re all part of someone’s dream or story,” Colin pointed out. “As crazy and a bit twisted that person’s mind is…I want to look my best!”

I had to laugh. I touched his arm. “Colin, I think whoever thought you up did a damned fine job.” I kissed him. “I can’t think of any way that can be improved.”