Blueblood 5.1: Red Alert!! - 18. We Aren't the Enemy

“Impossible,” Kuyvashev said to Colin and I in whispered disbelief and not without a little terror. “You CAN’T be vampires! You went outside at NOON! The sun would have reduced you to ash in minutes! You love coffee…”

Colin nodded as he walked forward a little in Kuyvashev’s direction, “Yes, we know and have heard it and explained it so many times before, it’s become tedious.”

Normally, I would get some pleasure when we blew what people thought they knew about vampires out of the water. This time I simply felt lost. The sadness of the loss of someone I felt was a friend. No, that was not right. He was more than a friend and the word “brother” just touched the surface of what Chuck was. Not to just me, but to many with me and back in the United States. I felt a true sense of numbness where my heart felt joy, humor, and love. I knew the Human heart would protect itself and my heart was doing that now. There was no attempt on my part to override this protection. “I realize this is the truth you were looking for.” I said softly to Kuyvashev. “A dear man was killed so you could find out this truth. A soul all of us held very close in our hearts. You will get that whole truth, unedited and unvarnished.” I touched Chuck’s chest over his heart. “You understand we don’t really want to talk about that right now.”

Kuyvashev looked at me and I saw a little of his compassion enter his eyes and soften his facial features, “I never asked for…”

“Whether you asked for this directly or orchestrated it,” Colin said as softly as I had spoken. “It doesn’t matter. A member of our team was killed. A dear friend as Devon explained. And the attempt to kill three others. Devon won’t die, but Stan and Mark would have been killed if we hadn’t prevented it. Two of those are federal agents with the Federal Bureau of Investigation. That is a crime that would be heavily punished in the United States.”

Kuyvashev pointed at Chuck, “He was FBI!?”

“Yes,” Colin nodded and pointed at Mark. “So is Mark. Stan was but left the FBI officially to work exclusively for us.”

Efim got a more panicked look, “I didn’t know they were…”

I spun on Efim, “Who the FUCK cares!??” I moved closer to Efim. “You killed a Human Being!” I pointed at Chuck. “That Human Being! What your motivation was doesn't matter! That MAN died! He died because you wanted to further your own career. Out of ignorance or malice, the true motivation doesn’t matter. Chuck is DEAD!!” I realized I was screaming. I never did that usually. This was an unusual situation. “I don’t care.” I pointed at him. “I don’t really care what happens to you. I care about HIM!!” I pointed at Chuck. “He has value! He matters.”

“This could blossom into an international incident,” George said. “Whether Chuck was here on official business or on his own, and FBI agent was killed here by you.”

I shook my head, “I can’t deal with this right now,” I said. “We need to take care of Chuck.”

Colin nodded but turned to Vlad and Gaius, “I don’t need to ask you not to allow any of them to leave. Yuri and his government can deal with it. It WILL be dealt with.”

Even Vlad and Gaius were moved by what happened, but they had not known Chuck as long as we had. Then again, because of their long lives the experience of death no longer hit them as hard. I don’t know. If Chuck’s death hit me this hard, I never wanted to lose Colin. It really would kill me. With this damned venom in me, even with the serum, I would not be allowed to die. THAT would be Hell.

“They will be here,” Vlad promised.

Kev came over and touched my shoulder, “We’ll help you.”

 

I remember taking Chuck’s body up in the elevator to the City Morgue. A morgue was a morgue. Cold. It was supposed to be, but the cold was the first thing I noticed. The woman that was there to receive the dead bodies was a woman in her early forties and had done this a while. She knew how to deal with the dead AND the living. It was the most challenging job. Be compassionate and understanding but deal with the business of the morgue. She lived in Asbest, and she knew what was happening beneath the Town Hall. Perhaps she knew more than those who knew there were vampires below Asbest. She knew death. This was not a job I would want to do. Then again, someone had to do it.

George had the normal paperwork to fill out. The woman was surprised when George waved his translator over the forms and filled them out without asking for any assistance. He handed the completed form to the woman and said, “I can’t write in cursive Russian. I wrote cursive in the language I use. If they can’t read it,” he grimaced a bit angrily. “Tough.” He wasn’t unkind to her, but he wasn’t feeling very friendly right now. “I am a doctor and I’ve filled out too many of these for friends. If they need me to rewrite it, send me a form in English.” He touched her gently. “It’s not your problem.”

It was still so raw. My feelings about the sudden void that had been where Chuck had been, threatened to come to my heart and hurt even more. I didn’t want to ignore any feelings for Chuck, but I knew if allowed those feelings would rage all over my heart and mind. I touched Chuck again. He felt cool now. The life that he had was gone. “I’m sorry, Chuck. We’ll always love you.” I felt Colin put his hand on my shoulder and bring me back against him. He gently led me off to leave the area. “We need to call Rubin,” I began. “We need to tell Amanda.”

“We have time,” Colin said quietly. “It’s only about noon in Manhattan.”

 

We got back down to the underground lab where Efim wanted to plead his case again to us.

“I didn’t know it would kill anyone!” Efim said reaching to take my arm, but Gaius shoved him back in his chair. “He was just supposed to tell the truth!”

I simply moved my arm away from them and kept going. I stopped by Stan and Mark. Stan was still unconscious, but Mark was still awake. He was groggy but awake. “How are you feeling, Mark?”

Mark seemed to struggle to focus, but he nodded, “It feels a little weird. I can feel the bite changing me.”

I nodded, “I remember. I had it happen twice. I’m glad you decided not to leave us.”

Mark smiled, “No, I didn’t want to leave Stan. I couldn’t live without him, and I knew he wouldn’t make it without me, so…” he shrugged. “Did we get to him in time? Will he still be that brilliant man we know?”

George came up beside me, “We will only know after he wakes up.” He smiled at Mark, “From what I saw under the microscope, it really becomes fatal after prolonged hours. Twenty-four hours is when it really begins to tear the synapsis apart. I’ll test him when he recovers consciousness.”

“What are you planning to do with us?” Kuyvashev asked warily. The fear of what he’d seen had lessened, but he still wasn’t sure.

Colin turned to Kuyvashev, “You say Efim didn’t do it for you. I say, he did. He wanted to impress you so much he felt this was a way to do that…”

“I didn’t mean anyone should die!” Efim said again urgently. “I wanted you to tell the truth!”

“And how would you know any of us was telling the truth?” Colin asked. “Any ignorance is no excuse. A man died.” Colin waved at Mark and Stan, “We almost lost two others.” He cocked his head, “Yet, you never asked him a question. Why not?”

“I realized he was not the one to ask!” Efim stated pointing at me and then at Mark and Stan, “They were. The blond guy was always at the computer with the dark-haired guy with him!” He waved at me, “Devon was always with the science guys and with the mayor…and Colin…”

“Right now,” I softly said touching Stan on the head gently. “I don’t really care about any of what you’re saying. I want Chuck back,” I looked at George. “Even with as much knowledge as you have, you couldn’t do it.”

George looked at me with a pained expression, “I told you, I could keep his body functioning, but his mind was taken away. He would be worse than a vegetable.”

I nodded, “I understand.” I stroked Stan’s forehead. “That is one of the worse kinds of death.”

Colin turned quickly toward Efim and screamed, “A death I would give YOU as punishment!!” He went to the lab counter where the equipment George used was located and he began rummaging through the many items looking for something, “Where is it?” He picked some bottles and looked at the labels.

George frowned watching as Colin made a mess of what he kept neat and orderly, “If you’re looking for the brush with the toxin on it, it’s in a plastic specimen bag to keep it from drying out or accidentally transferred to anyone.”

Colin spun around, “It was not accidentally gotten on Chuck!” He waved at Mark, “Nor was it accidentally applied to Mark or Stan! I don’t care what the true reason was. Chuck was killed!” He turned to look for the sample bag. “Where is it?”

“Why use the brush?” George asked. “I have the bottle gotten from Efim that contains the toxin. I had it brought from Efim’s apartment.” He pointed upward at the cabinet above the lab counter. “I labeled it. It’s up there.”

Colin looked at the cabinet and looked quickly and brought out a small bottle. He looked at the contents of the bottle in the light to see it was not totally empty. “I need a brush to put some on it and brush some on Efim. The toxin works slower when applied that way, but the results will be the same,” he walked closer toward Efim who was shrinking down in his chair in terror. “You will know your life will end, but you will also know your mind will be RIPPED apart!”

I walked to Colin and made him lower his arm with the toxin bottle, “We don’t just kill.” I reminded Colin. “That’s what we want to prevent. Killing.”

“We aren’t killers, Colin,” George said in agreement.

Colin looked at George and then me. He pointed at Efim and Kuyvashev, “Are THEY? Whether Efim was asked to or Kuyvashev instructed him to…Chuck is dead!! Two others we love were going to be killed! How will they be punished? Will they be punished?” He looked at Yuri and Zoya who had remained. Most of our group had left. Only Kev, Gaius, Vlad, and Ellis stayed and the unknown new vampire who had bitten Mark and Stan.

Yuri nodded, “There will be a punishment. I don’t know what kind.”

“You’re vampires,” Kuyvashev said more to confirm what he’d been told. “You couldn’t bite your other comrade?”

George didn’t look at Kuyvashev but answered, “You need venom and fangs for that. We are vampires but we are under treatment. We have no fangs now or venom that will work.”

“Venom?” Kuyvashev asked. “I never heard of any venom.”

“So, that invalidates what you just saw for yourself?” I asked. “The movies and literature have constructed a wonderful tale about vampires and very little is true.” I looked over at George, “Do you have a mirror?”

George nodded and got one from a drawer. “Here.” He handed me another thing. “You may need this, too.”

“Thank you,” I took the mirror and stood by the new man, the vampire, and held the mirror up next to him, “Can you see him in the mirror?”

“Yes,” Kuyvashev said.

“Do you doubt what you see?” I asked feeling tired of the discussion. “Is he a vampire?”

Kuyvashev nodded, “I saw the fangs and I saw him bite those two.”

“I am tired of this subject and tired of the explanations,” I sighed. “I’m just tired. There are a few things you think you know about vampires based on what you learned in fiction.” I frowned. “Fiction. Not fact. This man is a vampire as am I.” I waved at Colin. “He is, Vlad is. Gaius. Yet you recognized Vlad from a video you SAW him in. But you are looking for a deception on our parts. I assure you there is none.” I saw Kuyvashev was about to say something, “Don’t!” I said quickly holding my finger out at him. “You are so used to operating using deceit as normal procedure, you can’t imagine anyone operating without deceit. We don’t! Save any questions or comments for when I finish.” I nearly shouted. “Vampires exist. They aren’t like they are said to be in fiction. I shot down your first assumption, vampires cast reflection and can be caught on film just as Vlad was.” I turned again to the new vampire. “You know you aren’t evil, right?”

He looked at me and nodded, “Yes.”

“Hold this,” I handed him the gold cross I had in my hand. It was bigger than one worn as jewelry. About six inches tall.

He took it with a smile and even kissed it, “I wear one.” He pulled out a small cross. His cross looked like the traditional cross for the Russian Orthodox Church. The extra horizontal crossbeams. That was another story from history.

“He is not a soulless demon,” I said to Kuyvashev. “He is a victim. Almost all of us who are vampires are victims. Innocent. That’s another myth destroyed. There are different kinds of vampires,” I said. “Did you know that?” And saw him shake his head. “What we’re doing here is helping the many victims in this part of Russia. Starting with an ancient empire who used something to create a formula that created original vampires thousands of years ago to weaken future conquests to take them over.”

“There are?” Kuyvashev asked.

“Didn’t I say question and comment when I’m finished?” I growled. “There are vampires that prey and bite victims who become wild. They can’t speak or reason. They just seek blood. There are vampires that keep the ability to reason and think but they were criminals before they were bitten. They are the most dangerous.” I waved at Colin and George, “Then there are victims that retain their humanity and are as smart if not smarter than they were before.” I waved at George, “This wonderful man wants to purge the vampire from us. He’s on the brink of doing that.” I turned to the new man who was dark haired and in his early forties. Dry eyes were dark. “Hi, I’m Devon Wentworth.”

The man nodded a quick bow with a smile, “Sergey Bortnikov.”

“From Moscow!” I shook his hand.

“I am!” Sergey smiled bigger and nodded again. “You’ve been told about me?” He spoke fluent English with just the slightest accent. Or maybe I had heard it so long it no longer registered.

“We all were,” Colin said smiling and stepped forward extending his hand. “Colin Wentworth.”

“You’re vampires!” Sergey smiled. “When Yuri told me about what you were doing. I didn’t believe it!” He was excited. “You can eat and be outside in the daylight?”

The sadness was still there, but the old me surfaced. I patted Colin over his stomach. “He eats a great deal, but yes, we go out in the daylight. He and I even get tans.”

Colin waved at George, “Thanks to this brilliant man. He came up with the serum to counteract the venom.”

“I saw the video clips but wondered if it were really true until I saw Yuri and Zoya,” Sergey explained. Then his face held sorrow, “I understand one of your group was killed. A valued member. I am so sorry.”

“He was a brother,” Colin corrected. “He can never be replaced.” Looking at Kuyvashev he went on, “We’ve disproved two major things you thought was true about vampires. Is there anything else we need to show you?”

I looked at Sergey, “Can you transform? A bat maybe? A wolf or into smoke perhaps?”

Sergey’s eyes widened, “No.”

“You CAN mesmerize!” Kuyvashev stated in an accusation. “You did it with my two men and me!”

I grudged a nod, “Yes. Some better than others.” I waved at Vlad and Gaius, “Our two friends can do it very well. The ability to hypnotize is a talent many people can do, not just vampires.” I chuckled, “I’d say that was the one part about vampires Bram Stoker got right about Dracula.” I looked at Vlad, “I know it’s a sore spot with you, but you are the man he used to model his character after. You ARE Dracula.” I could see Kuyvashev’s eyes widen again, and new terror come into his eyes. “He goes by Vlad Dragon now.” I explained to Kuyvashev, “I hope we can keep it between us. He’s sensitive about what that name means.” I hugged Vlad and moved to Gaius, “And this man can hypnotize almost as well. Gaius had served Vlad while Vlad was Voivode of Wallachia. He had served with Vlad so long…” I shrugged, “it just made sense they would fall in love and marry.”

Kuyvashev shook his head, “That would make them over five hundred years old!”

“Yes, again,” I said. “The cross doesn’t do anything to any of us. There are vampires that are Atheists, Buddhists, Jewish…all Human.” I looked at Sergey, “You drink blood?”

Sergey nodded, “I have to. It’s a compulsion I can’t resist. None of us can.”

I nodded smiling, “I know. Do you drink Human blood?”

Sergey gave a grudging and reluctant nod, “I have…but not in over a decade. I patrol the streets of Moscow to find other vampires. Occasionally, I come across some dangerous people who are just criminals. I stop the crime and sometimes I have to kill. To rescue the victim. I haven’t drunk Human blood in ten years.” He looked at Mark and Stan, “Until I was told to bite them.”

I touched Sergey’s arm gently, “Thank you for doing that. It’s purely for selfish reasons. We couldn’t lose anyone else. The venom was the only way to prevent their deaths.”

Kuyvashev shook his head, “I don’t…”

“Understand?” Colin asked. “Of course, you don’t! This isn’t your world. It is ours.”

“There is one in our group that predates Christianity,” I began and shrugged, “Hell, he predates Christ!! He was born, lived, and was infected with venom hundreds of years before Christ was born! The cross does nothing!”

Kuyvashev’s face hardened, “This is ridiculous! You’re not vampires. There is no such thing. This is a trick.”

“To do what?” I asked. “Why would we do this?”

“HOW are we doing this!?” Colin nearly shouted.

“I thought WE had trouble with trust,” George grumbled.

“He will believe his own eyes,” I said moving closer. “That way he can see everything and see how we are trying to fake all this.”

Kuyvashev began to get up, “That won’t be necessa…”

Gaius roughly shoved him back in his chair, “Oh, no.” He said in mocking politeness. “We insist.”

Colin chuckled, “You wanted the truth. THIS is the truth. Except to go to the bathroom, you don’t have to leave at all.”

I shrugged, “Even then you don’t have to leave. This is a medical lab.” I looked at George, “You have those porta-potties, right?”

George turned as he thought and looked around, “I think so. We can rig one up, it not.”

“You will be here for the whole week!” Colin said smiling.

“A week!?” Kuyvashev balked.

“Sure,” I nodded. “Turning a person into a vampire only takes a few hours. Turning a vampire into a near person takes a week.” I waved at the other vampires here, except for Sergey, “We’ve all done it.”

Colin bumped me gently, “He’s done it twice.”

“We can tell the others later about that,” I said.

“Why are we doing this?” Vlad asked with the touch of impatience in his voice. He waved at Kuyvashev, “We don’t need him. He will never be on our side.”

I turned to Vlad, “Is that enough reason to kill?” My question was asked in kindness to Vlad. “You said yourself, you’ve never killed without a reason. Is there a reason?”

Vlad’s gaze was on Kuyvashev as he pondered my question, “I don’t know. When he leaves here,” he looked back at me. “IF he leaves here…he needs to be unable to tell anyone about what’s down here.” Vlad shrugged, “I can make sure he can’t as we did after Transylvania’s Halloween Extravaganza. I will make it impossible for him to talk to anyone…” He waved at Efim and at those still down here, “Even to any of us.”

I grudged a slight nod, “We very well may have to,” I admitted. “I think we would prefer his mind uninfluenced by any form of persuasion. He may think we made him think what he does.”

Kuyvashev looked at me and then to Colin, George, and Vlad. He waved in my direction, “This boy is your LEADER?”

George and Colin looked at each other and shook their heads. “No,” Colin answered. “There isn’t a single leader.”

George smiled at me, “But when you have someone that has been proven right so often…” he shrugged, “We’d be foolish NOT to listen to him.”

“As vampires,” Colin began. “The venom enhances abilities. I can tell if someone’s being dishonest. Devon can judge people’s hearts. He can relate to them better than anyone.” He brought me closer to himself, “My husband can win the hardest hearts over.”

“He was conditioned to think this way,” Sergey said sadly approaching me. “He’s a victim.”

Kuyvashev’s eyes narrowed, “I am NO victim.” He growled.

“But you are,” Sergey corrected. “You were a child when the Soviet Government collapsed. Weren’t you?” He didn’t wait for an answer. “It’s not your fault, but your teachers and mentors as you rose in Russia’s Intelligence; those mentors and teachers were in the Soviet’s Intelligence and KGB, weren’t they?”

I nodded and held my hand up, “We had the same thing happen in the United States. Everybody was raised paranoid of all things Russian. My mother told me how they feared the bomb and being taken over by Communism.” I walked a little closer to Kuyvashev. “However, I sense ambition. Not an ideology difference.” I looked back at Sergey, “I’m not saying what you said isn’t true. It is, but this was to be a feather in his career hat.”

They might be fluent in English, but certain things we would say just wasn’t understood. Sergey, Yuri, and Zoya were repeating what I said to themselves, and I saw no understanding.

I smiled, “You wear a hat to not just keep your head warm but look fancy. The added the feather to make fancy even MORE fancy.” I motioned to Kuyvashev. “The metaphoric hat he wore with the Intelligence, what he was trying to find out here would also be a metaphoric feather in that hat for his career.” I looked at the closer, “Understand now?”

The understanding now along with three “ohs.”

“You three have nothing to complain about!” I smirked. “You’re fluent in English! Heaven knows how many others you speak just as fluently.” I touched my translator, “We have to use a translator.” I turned to Efim, “You will regret what you did. You may even be sorry, but you took away a brilliant and very good man who was working to make it better.” I waved at Mark and Stan. I was getting upset again, “These two other men are brilliant and good men. We won’t lose them!”

Colin pulled me back, “We will do everything to make sure we don’t.”

I saw a motion in the corridor that caught my eye, “Anton?”

“Dan-D!” Colin said with remorse. “We have forgotten him!”

“We didn’t forget him. We were preoccupied,” I defended. “Excuse us.” I told the ones here.

Going into the corridor we saw Anton was holding a ball of black fur in his hands.

“I heard about the death,” Anton said sadly. “I’m sorry.”

“Thank you,” Colin replied.

Reaching out for our puppy who began to whimper faster in excitement upon smelling Colin’s and my scents and hearing our voices. I took him gently in my hands and saw two brown eyes looking at me, “Hey, Big Guy! We could never forget you.” Then I saw him. “Look at you! Two gorgeous little brown eyes, open and looking at me!” I held Dan-D up for Colin to see. “His eyes are open!”

Colin reached out to stroke Dan-D and Dan-D was trying to get to Colin. His little legs were moving to get closer to him.

“Okay, okay,” I handed Dan-D over to Colin. “Here’s Daddy-Colin!”

Colin chuckled as Dan-D now was trying to get back to me, “He wants both of us.” He held Dan-D up so he could look at Dan-D’s face, “But first, let me see those beautiful eyes!” He brought Dan-D up and kissed his nose. “Such a big dog! Such a good dog!”

Anton chuckled at what he saw, “He loves the two of you. He knows you both love him.” He held a finger up, “AND, he was the first one to open his eyes!”

“Is he?” I grinned.

“He can’t really see well more than a few feet away,” Anton smiled as Colin rubbed his face across Dan-D’s fur.

As with everyone who suffers a loss, the reminder of that loss caused any happiness or joy to make a person feel guilty. I knew this, but it didn’t help with how I was feeling. I felt a tear come down my face. “Chuck was taking the puppy chosen last.” I looked at Colin, “Can we take him, too?”

“You want two puppies?” Colin asked.

“Not for necessarily us,” I clarified. “For Chuck.” I grudged a nod. “He would have been a great dog parent. I thought of offering that puppy to Amanda, if she is interested.” I shrugged, “Perhaps as a reminder?”

Colin nodded, “Oh.” He looked at Anton, “Is that puppy a male or female?”

“Male,” Anton answered. “He was thinking of a name…” He smiled a bit. “He was trying out a few. I never heard of one in particular.” He brought out the small bottle of mother’s milk and the supplement. “The milestones in a puppies’ life…his eyes opening, his first steps, his first bark…I thought you wouldn’t want to miss this one.”

I shook my head, “No. He’ll know he’s important. Because he is.” Colin handed Dan-D back to me. I hefted him up and down gently. “He’s grown!” I held him in my hands. “He was a single handful, but now he takes two hands to hold him.” I wavered a nod, “Or at least a hand and a half.”

Anton smiled, “I know Dan-D and Hiccup will be the fastest and best trained. With you, Devon and your ability to get the dogs to do what you want, and Mark with his knowledge of dogs, those two dogs will be the best. Chuck was toying with the things he thought were the best, but last in different situations. His last thought was about what he thought was best with almost every meal.” He smiled, “Dessert!”

I nodded, “I remember Chuck told me he liked cakes and pies, but the dessert he preferred were cookies. He liked them because depending on how big the meal was…he could eat just one or even three.” I shrugged.

“What’s cookie in Russian?” Colin asked. “I can ask my translator, but…”

“Pechenye,” Anton chuckled lightly.

“We’ll have to meet this Pechenye later today,” I said simply. “We need to let Rubin know what happened. We should do it before the other vampires arrive for tonight.”

Colin looked at his watch, “I texted Rubin and had him get Amanda. They should be waiting in about thirty minutes.”

 

We kept Dan-D and went to where Stan had set up the extension of Buddy in an enclosed room in the City Hall. On time, we waited for Rubin to activate his side of the connection. Colin had not informed Rubin the reason, but insisted Amanda be there. It was early afternoon in the Eastern Time Zone. I was feeding Dan-D who kept falling asleep and would stop. I gently woke him up to restart.

It didn’t take long for our screen to wake up to the image of Amanda sitting in the seat facing her screen. We saw Rubin standing behind her. Her concerned and worried face was suddenly changed to curiosity. She pointed at us and asked, “Who is that?”

Colin grinned, “You know Devon.”

Her eyes rolled away and she looked at Colin, “No, not Devon. Who is he holding?” She grumbled curtly. “What is he feeding?”

I smiled and took the bottle away and held Dan-D up so she could see him. “This is Dan-D!” I rubbed him gently with my other hand making him squirm. He wasn’t hurting, but I took his meal away. “That’s Dan-D, d a n hyphen d. After a leprechaun in a story. He was named after him. He’s part of a pack of dogs they trained to sniff out vampires here in Asbest. His mother and father are champion level sniffers. Dan-D will be better than they ever were!” I scratched Dan-D’s head gently. “Some of us aren’t like Alex or Gabriella. Nobody is like Ellis, but Dan-D will put them to shame.”

Colin cleared his throat, but not to clear it, “We’ll just say it.” He took a deep breath, “Chuck died a few hours ago.”

Amanda took a sharp inhaled breath and covered her mouth with both hands. Then she hurried off somewhere to mourn alone.

Rubin got lower to be seen better in the monitor, “He died? How?”

We explained about Kuyvashev and Efim. Rubin Chance listened but his face was hardened as his emotions were just below the surface. He sat heavily in the chair that Amanda had left behind. “I should inform the President. He can launch a further investigation.”

Colin held a hand up, “Wait, that will bring unwanted attention to the vampires in this part of Russia.”

“An FBI Agent was killed!” Rubin said angrily. “There has to be an accountability.”

Colin nodded, “This could become in international crisis. There will be. Yuri Vasilievich will take care of that. He is the Tsar of Russia…or at least the vampires in Russia.”

“This IS an international crisis!” Rubin stated angrily.

Colin nodded, “Yes, but Chuck wasn’t here as an American FBI Agent.” He shrugged, “As far as the Russian Government is concerned, Chuck isn’t even here! If the President asks questions to their Prime Minister, there will be greater attention to this part of Russia.”

“You can’t let this go.” Rubin insisted.

“We aren’t,” Colin said. “Yuri will handle this and he won’t let it go.”

“You trust him?” Rubin asked. “He kidnapped George.”

“I do trust him,” Colin nodded.

“He wanted the same thing as we do,” I said simply. “Freedom for those vampires around here in this part of Russia.”

“He could have asked you,” Rubin suggested.

“The venom distorts the mind,” Colin added. “We don’t trust anyone. We barely trust each other.”

“What about Stan?” Rubin asked pointedly.

I nodded. Of course, he knew something was going on, but not what. “How’d you know?”

Rubin smirked, “The sun rises in the East and sets in the West. If that doesn’t happen, there’s something very wrong.” His gaze on us said to tell the truth. He looked every inch the FBI Director. “Stan is a genius but a man of habit. Unless he is in transit, he sends me a report every morning. I didn’t get one this morning. I know something is very wrong.”

Colin let his head fall forward in reluctant resolution, “Yes. He and Mark were to be another victim of the Neuro-toxin. The toxin was put in their morning coffee.”

“They both drank the toxin, but Mark spilled his and didn’t as much as Stan,” I explained.

“I caught Efim wiping the Neuro-toxin on Devon,” Colin reported.

“It seems the Truth Toxin doesn’t work on us,” I added. “The venom in me won’t let me die.”

“We didn’t know what was wrong with Chuck,” Colin said further. “There were no active vampires with venom and fangs to bite Chuck.”

“After twenty-four hours, this Truth Toxin destroys the brain,” I said. “If I could have ripped the disk out an bitten Chuck myself, I would have but the resuming venom takes a full day to reinsert itself. We got a local vampire here to bite Stan and Mark. It was too late for Chuck.”

Rubin nodded, “I have no doubt you would do that, Devon.” He admitted sadly. “Chuck was a good, good man.” He sighed, “He was a damned fine agent.”

“He is our friend and brother,” Colin said. “He will never be forgotten.”

Rubin sighed again, “I’ll need to let his father know. I hate this part of being a director with the FBI.”

“We’ll have his body sent back to you in the next day or so,” Colin informed. “Is there anything we need to know about Chuck’s internment?”

“We’ll have a funeral here before we send him,” I said.

Rubin chuckled, “Even in death Chuck is always giving. He donated his body to science. Send him here and we will honor that. Other than that Truth Toxin, is there any other things I need to know?”

“No,” Colin shook his head.

“Mark and Stan will be going through that horrible treatment with George’s serum,” Rubin said to confirm.

“They have to,” Colin shrugged. “Or they become what we’re hunting.”

“A vampire FBI Agent,” Rubin grinned and pointed at me. “And a Dog Vampire Sniffer.”

I jostled Dan-D gently, “I’ve never seen them work but they are supposed to be great at it. Vampires like Colin or me who can’t track like your uncle can do a lot with these specially bred dogs.” I brought Dan-D up and hugged him gently.

“Why not?” Rubin leaned forward, “Keep me informed.”

 

Colin and I walked back into the lab area. Neither Kuyvashev or Efim had moved from their chairs. The other two with them were now seated near them.

“So, what’s the decision?” Kuyvashev asked folding his arms over his chest. “We have the right to know.”

Colin turned slowly toward Kuyvashev, “You have the right.” He repeated and cocked his head, “Why? Is that your right because you’re a Human Being? Because you operate in Russian Intelligence? What right do you have?” He waved upward in the direction of the City Morgue. “Chuck was denied his right to live. Now, his father and many who cared about him at home has to be informed about his right to live that has been denied.”

“I had nothing to do with that!” Kuyvashev insisted.

“This again?” Colin asked. He looked at Vlad, “Ask him if he knew, please.”

Vlad leaned over Kuyvashev, “Tell the truth.” The Vlad’s voice began it’s echoing in our heads. “Did you know what Efim was going to do? The truth.” The word truth echoed in our minds.

Kuyvashev’s training was attempting to come to the surface as he began to shake, “I…I didn’t…know how or…what he would do.”

Colin nodded advancing on Kuyvashev, “But he was sent here by you.”

“Yes,” Kuyvashev admitted.

“You sent Efim here two years ago,” Colin added further. “Why?”

“To get to the truth,” Kuyvashev said.

“He was to do this on his own?” Colin asked and waved at Efim, “He’s barely more than a kid!”

“He was to look and observe,” Kuyvashev nodded. “And report what he found out about to me.”

“A spy,” I provided, yet I sensed there was more. “That was two years ago. Why are you here now?”

Kuyvashev began to sweat, “We’ve been looking at this area closer for about five or six years.” He was resisting Vlad’s suggestion to provide the truth. He shook his head and struggled to keep his mouth shut, but couldn’t keep the words in. “Since the change in government…in Russia…” he inhaled deeply but said further, “There has been…a sharp increase…in revenue and resources…in this part of…Sverdlovsk Oblast. All…the townships in the …area is having this…blossoming. A closer…look was warranted.”

“Why NOW?” I demanded. “Why THIS week?”

Now Kuyvashev was sweating and shaking as he resisted telling us the answer, but at last, “You were here…” he shook his head as he fought against himself. “A group of…Americans…as there was a group in Romania. The night…of the Halloween Extravaganza. I would get…these reports to come across my…desk.”

“Reports from whom?” Colin asked. “About what’s happening in Asbest?”

Kuyvashev shrugged, “Random reports. These reports and memos were left on top…of other reports.” He finally surrendered to the urge to speak. “That was two years ago. The reports kept coming about Asbest and the question about what the cause of this sudden increase was. I sent Efim to find out what he could.”

“All those in charge of different groups got the same reports?” I asked.

Kuyvashev shrugged, “I assume so. There wasn’t a lot of discussion about any of the reports. Many of the reports were done on the computer. The written reports were simply to tell where to look for a more detailed report…if you have the clearance.”

“Which you do,” I added.

“For the reports about Asbest? Yes,” Kuyvashev answered.

“No one took credit for these reports,” Colin asked.

“Just the department for distribution,” Kuyvashev said.

“Again,” I pressed. “Why now? Why did you come this week?”

Kuyvashev began sweating more, “I was convinced there was foreign involvement. Two years ago, a report talked about a group of strange Americans were moving through Romania. I got a report about the question of American involvement with Asbest. I sent Efim to find out.”

“You sent a boy to do this?” I asked. The truth was, there was only a decade difference in age between Efim and I.

“No one would suspect him of being a spy,” Kuyvashev stated simply.

“But he was,” I stated. “Are the reports still on the computer?”

“No,” Kuyvashev admitted.

“If Stan survives,” Colin added. “He could retrieve any report there ever was on any computer.”

“It’s encrypted,” Kuyvashev pointed out.

“So?’ Colin shrugged. “Stan can use Buddy and whatever the name is for the Russian Computer is can crack any encryption.”

“You don’t realize you were being baited?” I asked. “The question now is by whom?”

“And why,” Colin nodded. “There is a spy…either here in Russia or the United States.”

“Our President and Russian Prime Minister are pretty cozy,” I ventured. “A spy may not be needed. We did elect a man that doesn’t really need a spy. Our President may willingly give our situation away.”

“That was a year ago,” George thought. “We brought in other governments and told them what we were doing. It could be anyone of them.”

“And we came here roughly two weeks ago,” I furthered. “And a week later,” I pointed at Kuyvashev, “you arrive.”

“There could be a spy in our own group within the Vampire United Nations,” Colin said hesitantly and glanced at George. “George was right, the more people that know, the more likely someone with an alternate agenda would arise.”

“That was going to happen,” I nodded. “We knew that.”

“You’re creating a super soldier,” Sergey offered.

“We aren’t!” Colin shot back. “We are doing this to get our Humanity back.”

“I want to get rid of this curse!” George added vehemently.

Sergey nodded, “And created a man that will survive most everything that will kill a man. He heals quickly.” He waved at George, “You made it possible for a vampire to walk around in the day, eat food, and mix undetected among others.” He pointed at George, “THAT’S a super soldier.”

George moaned and looked away, “That’s not what we did!”

Sergey grimaced and looked at George, “That wasn’t YOUR intent, but that’s what happened.”

Colin looked at Kuyvashev, “Is that because of you?”

“No,” Kuyvashev shook his head.

“You were led to this,” Colin told Kuyvashev.

“Iilya,” I ventured.

“Iilya?” Sergey repeated.

“Iilya Vasin,” I said. “He was a KGB Operative from the fifties and sixties.”

Colin nodded, “He was turned into a vampire in Romania. He was the one during that Halloween Event in Transylvania that wanted to make many new soldiers.”

“I knew about Iilya,” Sergey said. “He disappeared!”

“He was building an army of vampires,” George informed. “He was going to do it live and on camera.”

Vlad nodded, “He wanted to be the vampire with those magical powers and have them controlled by him.”

Colin shook his head, “I don’t believe he was doing this alone.”

“We never knew who else was involved,” I agreed. “Perhaps this is a part of the plan.”

“We need to find out who,” Colin stated and nodded. He jutted his head in Kuyvashev’s direction. “Maybe you could speak with Kuyvashev a bit more personally. Gain his trust and explain things to him.” He looked at George. “He and John need a few minutes together…perhaps a meal? We can get some of Yuri’s people to watch these four.” He pointed at Efim and Kuyvashev. “I should probably separate Efim from Kuyvashev.” He went over and motioned for Efim and the two with Kuyvashev to come with him. “Let’s move you. The adults need to talk.”

 

Kuyvashev had listened and watched everyone interact with each other. He was a proud man who realized he was being led to do what he’d done. Having not been in control sort of deflated him. He was looking at me intently.

“You’re a vampire,” Kuyvashev said.

I looked at him, “I am.” My head gave a grudging nod, “I’m under treatment, but I am.”

“You don’t look any different to me,” Kuyvashev confessed. “How would I know?”

“You are still looking for something you can prove,” I nodded. “Yet, if you look at my body chemistry you will see the venom.” I shook my head, “When you operate where you always keep things hidden, you can’t trust anything or anyone. I hate lying.”

“You do,” Kuyvashev objected. “You weren’t honest about why you came here.”

I grudged another nod, “No, not really. We didn’t really tell anyone we were coming.” I shrugged, “We don’t announce what we are when we arrive. That would prove not to be healthy.” I looked at him directly. “We aren’t the enemy.”

“You DO lie,” Kuyvashev insisted.

“We leave things out,” I nodded as I waved at Stan and Mark. “Even when you’ve seen with your own eyes what we are. You are still looking for a trick. There isn’t one. There are millions of people in the world who are victims of this venom. We are finally reaching them to bring them out of basements, tunnels, and caves. Who knows how many in Russia alone. We don’t care about any government or beliefs. There are people here that need help. We are doing that. We don’t really lie, but if we do…what’s our motivation? We protect people.” I smiled a bit meanly at Kuyvashev. “Do you lie to protect anyone? Or do you lie to further your own agenda? Will it benefit people, or you? Colin is a Human lie detector. Vlad can get anyone to tell the truth whether they want to or not.”

Kuyvashev frowned, “Being a vampire makes you homosexual?”

“Not at all,” I chuckled. “My mother isn’t. My stepfather isn’t. Colin’s daughter isn’t. Alex isn’t. Humans don’t mate from instinct anymore. The taboos just don’t matter anymore.” I shrugged, “A vampire’s life lasts a LONG time. We gravitate to someone we know will be there. Such as Vlad and Gaius. They’ve both been married before and had children, but in the end, they realized there was always one person there for them…each other. It just made sense to marry.”

“How old are you?” Kuyvashev asked puzzled.

“Chronologically, I’m about thirty-five.” I grinned. “I was bitten when I was twenty-nine…” I waggled a nod. “Or thirty.”

“And Colin?” Kuyvashev asked.

“Oh,” I nodded. “He was born in 1815.” I chuckled as I saw Kuyvashev’s eyes widen, “And no, I can’t prove it.” As much as I had been saddened by Chuck’s death, it was still amusing to see the disbelief from new people. I decided to get to know Kuyvashev better. “I joined Colin after I had finished serving in the military.” I shrugged, “I needed a job.”

“You served in the military?” Kuyvashev questioned. “Which branch?”

“Air Force,” I answered. “I was a medic. What branch were you?”

“Who said I was?” Kuyvashev’s eyes narrowed.

“Your whole body,” I chuckled. “I can tell it was a while back, but a military bearing is hard to hide.”

Again, Kuyvashev’s eyes widened, “I started my career in Russian Ground Forces at eighteen.”

I nodded, “So, did I. Do I ask if you became an officer?”

Kuyvashev’s eyes looked away and he shook his head, “No. I didn’t. My time in the military was a steppingstone for my career in the FSB.”

“Did something happen to cause you to change plans?”

“I was injured,” Kuyvashev confessed bitterly.

“During a campaign somewhere?”

“No,” Kuyvashev replied angrily. “During a training exercise.”

“Oh,” I nodded understanding more. “While you were training.”

“With my artillery training partner,” he told me. “A live weapons training and it misfired. He was killed and I was severely injured. That ended my military career.”

“I see. I’m sure it was an accident,” I said.

“An accident that shouldn’t have happened,” Kuyvashev barked.

“That got you into Russian Intelligence?” I asked.

“A lot had been done to educate me,” Kuyvashev said and shrugged. “They weren’t wasting that. Going into the Intelligence Special Services just seemed logical.”

“It was,” I agreed. “My point was…when I joined the Air Force, I was even then in the military to help others. Not just the United States, but the men and women fighting. I would treat them in hopes that they could return to their units or go home.” I shrugged, “I never saw myself as any great military leader. I saw myself as someone who could help these people. How did you see yourself? A General?”

“I don’t understand,” Kuyvashev said confused.

“Did you do these things for you? Or how others would see you?” I asked.

Kuyvashev frowned, “Everyone wants to impress others.” He looked at me, “But Colin was a vampire when you two met.”

“Yep,” I chuckled and nodded. “He was in treatment then.” I grudged a nod, “George is always working on a cure. The treatment just gets better and better.”

“Colin made you a vampire,” Kuyvashev said in his attempt to understand.

“I asked him to,” I admitted. “It was to save his life and my own…and no, he wouldn’t even become intimate with me until he was convinced he wouldn’t turn me into a vampire if we had sex. Being a vampire is scary. We were together a year before I asked him to bite me, or he would suffer.”

Kuyvashev shook his head, “But he has a daughter.”

“Yes,” I confirmed. “His daughter from his only marriage with Debra, his only wife who lived and died long before I was born. He’s had other sexual partners. Again, before we met and before I was even born. We are, however, married now.”

Kuyvashev shook his head, “I can’t understand that.”

“Can’t? Or won’t?” I asked and then shook my head. “Never mind, this is an old struggle. Which is harder? That we’re gay or vampires?”

“Both!” Kuyvashev said frustrated. He rested his head in his hands and sighed, “The homosexual thing I’ve dealt with all my life. The vampire issue I never took seriously.”

I waved at Stan and Mark, “You saw Sergey bite my two friends. Can you explain that? What else is Sergey if not a vampire?”

“Is he homosexual?” Kuyvashev asked.

“You’ll have to ask him,” I smiled. “Prepare yourself. You’ll be meeting some other vampires from the area in an hour or so.”

“And they are good vampires?” Kuyvashev asked.

I shrugged, “I’ve never met them, but Yuri trusts them, so I think they are.”

“Yuri’s last name is Vasilievich,” Kuyvashev began. “That’s Ivan Vasilievich’s brother’s name.”

I nodded and grinned, “Because Yuri IS Ivan’s brother.”

Now Kuyvashev’s eyes grew again, “That’s impossible! He died almost five hundred years ago!”

I shrugged, “I wasn’t there, but I’ve met some a Hell of a lot older than that!” I chuckled. “Your mind will be blown many times tonight.”

Kuyvashev chuckled, “I speak fluent English, so I understand what you’re saying.”

“Which I find irritating,” I grumbled. “With Yuri, I understand because he’s lived so long.” I pointed at Kuyvashev, “There are so many in this country who speak English. Why do you?”

Kuyvashev chuckled, “We take courses in many languages. One of the main languages is English.” He shrugged, “I spoke English and could more easily carry-on conversations in English. Once I was in the Federal Security Service, I was assigned to counterintelligence. I would go to many of the places frequented by American or British clientele. Bars and pubs, many of the universities had agents working there and it was my job to find out who they were and what they were trying to do.” He smiled, “However, you came up with a way to understand many languages.” He pointed at me, “I would think most would be bad vampires.”

I grudged a nod, “There are quite a few. We told you about the other vampires…the mindless ones that can’t talk or think.” He was relaxing. I could feel it. Then again, he could be luring me to think that to lower my defenses. “We aren’t your enemy. We’re people. People are the same everywhere. There are good and bad. Those who think nothing about lying, stealing, or killing. We aren’t.” I sat on a stool near Stan, who was still unconscious. “There is no perfect society. Certainly not in the United States. Democracy is flawed. Communism on paper is perfect. No one owning anything yet co-owners of everything. Everyone equal…on paper. But the people are flawed. You have hard workers next to lazy workers. An honest man next to a liar. It won’t work. Why should the lazy liar get the same things as the hard-working honest man? Vampires are made from these people. Colin and George got together and worked to bring us out of the caves and basements.” I smiled, “Originally, there were the Old Ones that went into the world biting people to weaken the areas for conquest. Anyone that lived after being bitten became a part of the problem, biting other people and spreading the venom. That was thousands of years ago. George found out that each generation…” I held a finger up, “A generation is when a person is bitten, and their next victim is a generation…there were thousands of generations that passed enough genetic information where a person could maintain their Humanity. Their soul. Colin and George kept their Humanity. There are vampires out there that have kept their minds, but as evil and bad as they were before they were bitten. Those we incarcerate in a isolated location. They will never be let out.”

“These Old Ones sound like the perfect biological weapon,” Kuyvashev said. “They are still out there?”

“Only a few,” I admitted. “I’ve met four in the world. They can die if killed and they don’t reproduce.”

“Then how…” Kuyvashev asked again in disbelief.

“They don’t die of old age or disease,” I answered. “They are thousands of years old.”

Kuyvashev was quiet a moment as he tried to absorb what I told him. He then looked up at me, “What happened to the people who came up with the Old Ones?”

I shrugged, “We don’t know. The theory is that the Old Ones weren’t local. They were predators. They could have turned on those that created them.”

“You are the perfect soldier,” Kuyvashev said quietly. “You heal quickly, you are immune to disease and…” he waved at me, “You can’t be poisoned. Are you able to live through gas attacks such as Ricin or Sarin Gas?”

“I don’t know,” I shrugged. “The venom makes us a predator. I can’t imagine the venom would allow us to die.”

“Even an army that can only advance at night would be very beneficial,” Kuyvashev said aloud. He looked at me, “And now you can move in the daytime…”

“But can’t make vampires,” I added and pointed at my mouth. “No fangs and no venom.”

“If you stop taking this…serum? What then?” Kuyvashev asked.

“We will again have the fangs and venom,” I looked at Kuyvashev carefully. “When you see the weeklong process we go through to stop the venom from working, you’ll understand.”

“A week,” Kuyvashev said to understand.

“A very painful, agonizing week,” I added. “There are some vampires who were so afraid of it, they preferred to step out in the sunlight and burn instead.”

Kuyvashev’s eyes grew again as he sat back in astonishment. “Bay.”

I chuckled at him, “I’ve been here long enough to know your Russian version of the word wow.”

“Those words don’t even come close to what I feel,” Kuyvashev admitted.

Colin walked in carrying Dan-D up near his face where Dan-D was liberally licking. Colin was speaking nonsense to Dan-D who was reacting happily with his licks of love. “Yes, you are,” Colin said to Dan-D. “Such a good boy!”

I chuckled, “Spoiling him?”

Colin nodded and grinned, “I intend to spoil him rotten.”

“These dogs…” Kuyvashev began. “They are…what?”

Colin looked suspiciously at Kuyvashev, “Pets.”

“Colin,” I growled a little at Colin. “I’m making headway with Kuyvashev. Don’t undo anything.”

“I hope you will call me Yevgeny,” Kuyvashev said hesitantly. “I’m not the enemy either.”

“You treated us as if we were. You’ll understand why we won’t trust you that much right now,” I said to Kuyvashev.

Kuyvashev nodded, “I understand.”

“You have drug sniffing dog units, bomb seeking units,” I touched Dan-D. “He’s part of a canine unit that can sniff out and find vampires.”

“Won’t he get confused?” Kuyvashev asked. “You are vampires, but he’s searching for other vampires? How does he do that?”

“There are differences in the chemistries of vampires,” I answered. “He simply knows Colin, me and the others on the team are different.” I pulled Colin aside, “We need to speak with Lucian.” I said quietly as I was being greeted by Dan-D with licks. “Was Iilya building an army for himself or was he part of a greater whole?”

Colin shrugged, “I don’t know.” He chuckled as Dan-D struggled to come over to me on weak legs that for now could only scoot him in a direction. “Fine, go to Daddy-Devon.” He handed Dan-D to me, but then as before he wanted Colin, too. “No, stay with Daddy-Devon. You can’t have us both.”

I grinned at Colin, “Why not? Who says he can’t? He loves us!”

“We keep him fed,” Colin said simply.

“We keep him fed, yes.” I nodded. “We also keep him safe and give him a sense of security.” I nuzzled Dan-D’s furry tummy which I got four puppy feet on my face and soft gnawing on my nose by his milk teeth. It might smart a little later, but now it didn’t hurt a bit. He was playing. He was never scared. He trusted us. “He’s a pack animal just like we are. He wants to be with both of us.” I touched Colin, “I’ll trust you if you tell me Kuyvashev’s telling the truth. We will need Vlad and Gaius, too. Now, it’s OUR turn to get the truth.”