Blueblood 5.1: Red Alert!! - 9. The Plan is Revealed

The Plan is Revealed

None of us were that surprised to have been caught, but this was a trap we seemed to have been led into. It was also a major possibility we could have been killed. Even if they didn't kill us right away that didn't mean we wouldn't still be killed.

Yuri was a pretty good looking man in his early thirties with short dark hair. His demeanor was open and almost pleasant. He also had the dry eyes that were brown. He did the gestures again with his fingers. His fingers moved slightly like typing on an invisible keyboard or nervous twitch. It was very subtle and having been teaching the Old One in Manhattan, I can say I had no idea what he was saying. Yes, there were other countries that used a sign language, but they were all different in ways. This one had been used so long by him, the symbiotic relationship had just evolved. There was no telling how long the two had done it. Yuri's eyes darted to all of us. His eyes widened.

“Lucian,” the woman said for Yuri, “este o surpriză să ne vedem din nou.” He waved at us. “Și cu acești oameni.”

Our ever worn translators said in English, “it's a surprise to see you again. And with these people.” It was in Romanian.

(Again, I will spare the readers. Yuri will speak through his interpreter unless told otherwise.)

The woman, a blond with her hair pulled back in a bun to the back. She looked in her early thirties. She signed something to Yuri had not said. Yuri's eyes widened and he smiled.

“Ah, yes,” Yuri smiled. “Your marvelous translators. You can translate any language?” She even gave the tone and inflection to Yuri's voice through her. They were almost using a telepathic communication, it was so practiced.

Colin nodded. “We're working to do that.”

“It works well with Romanian and very well with Russian.” I added.

His eyebrows rose. “So, I was told.” He cocked his head a little. “Are any of you Russian at all?”

“No.” Colin said with no emotion in his voice.

Yuri looked a little sad. “That's a pity.” He looked at us again. “I think I know who some of you are..” He walked closer to us. His hands were kept loose at his sides and his fingers looked as if he had a twitch, but there was a pattern. Right forefinger twitched with his right little finger and it rapidly varied from there and included his left hand. “You are Colin Wentworth.” He said motioning to Colin. “I saw the message you sent online from Manhattan at the beginning.” He looked at me. “And you have to be Colin Wentworth's husband Devon Wentworth.” He looked beyond us to John. “And you must be John Burke, George Holms' husband.” He looked at the rest of us here. “The others I don't really know.”

“Shall we waste time introducing each other?” Russ asked in a growling mutter. “What do you intend to do now?”

The system this man used was damned good. She even put the emotions in his voice. “First, you will all disarm yourselves.” He waved at us. “I mean all of them.” His head cocked slightly. “I know what those toy looking guns are. I know what they can do.” He looked. “Oh, and those ear pieces, too. One by one you will come and put all weapons on the ground here.” He pointed at the floor. “My men will then search you and you will return to where you are now. No touching the others after you do.” He said pleasantly. “We can do this in a pleasant or hostile manner. Your choice.”

One by one we all did as instructed and all of us were thoroughly frisked. They left nothing untouched. I doubt many police were as thorough. As that was happening, I decided to speak to him.

“I know American Sign Language,” I began. “I use it almost every day. I know other countries had their own. The signs you're using is brilliant, but I've never seen one like yours.”

Yuri smiled at me. “It is. I've been using it in some form since the sixteenth century. It improved over those years and has changed since then to this.”

“It's very clever.” I said.

Yuri shrugged. “Thank you, but it's merely a form I use to speak to others.” He looked at me more directly. “You speak with the deaf often?”

I shook my head. “They aren't deaf, but can't speak. Now they can.”

After the last of us was searched after taking our belts off and laid them on the floor, Russ turned to Yuri. “What are your plans now?”

“I plan to keep Dr. Holms. You can't have him back.” Yuri looked at us more determined. “Not until he tells us how he did this.” He waved at us. “You and Dr. Holms are vampires, but not like us. We saw those transmissions you sent. We saw him give medication to Dragon of Wallachia! We watched him change, but he won't give it to us.” Yuri said. “Why?”

“I'm sure George told you why.” Colin said.

“He did,” Yuri nodded. “You don't want to give it to the wrong people.”

“That's right.” I said. “Giving it to someone that will easily take a life wouldn't be considered. Dangerous people who are given the serum are detained to protect Humanity.”

“And we are dangerous?” Yuri asked.

“You kidnapped George!” John shouted. “The men you sent didn't ask him to come here, but took George. They wrecked the place we rented and knocked me out to do it.” John walked toward Yuri a little. The military assault rifles held by Yuri's dozen men rose pointed at us. Mostly at John. He raised his hands in surrender and stopped. “Do I think you're dangerous? Hell, yeah!”

“Your actions say you are.” I said to Yuri. “Your words say you are.”

“Because I want to bring Russia together?” Yuri asked.

“Under your control.” Russ said pointedly. “Subjugation. Whether it's wanted or not.”

“You have an accent,” Yuri said. It was no question. Yuri pointed at Russ' face. “I can see it in how you form your words. You're from England. You have a king.”

“Who is not in control of everything.” Russ nodded. “Certainly not in control of me.” He waved at Colin and me. “An certainly not in charge of the Americans.”

“The number of monarchs that have absolute power these days aren't even more than a dozen.” I said nonconfrontationally.

“But this one will be,” Yuri stated. “Would that be so bad?” He asked.

“Having control over so much area, cities and millions of people is hard.” Amasis said I knew was from experience. Yuri did not. “Even control of smaller areas is difficult.”

“Not with modern technology.” Yuri countered. “There has to one in control.”

“And that one is you?” I asked.

“I was born to have that control.” Yuri said growing irritated. “Because I am deaf, I wasn't even considered!”

“Your brother was the Grand Duke.” I said.

“I am more capable than he was.” He held his hands up, but still signed. “Enough! You will comply!” His head tilted slightly. “Or you die. There is no negotiation or questions. You will do as I instructed. There is no choice.” He pointed down the corridor John had been going down. “You will proceed.” He smiled then. “Your other friends will join you.”

“What other friends?” Russ asked.

“Do not claim ignorance. The ones from the North Entrance,” Yuri smiled. “In our garage and loading docks? Yes, we caught them, too.”

Some of his men came on our sides with Yuri bringing up the back of us. It was a half a mile when we were greeted by some other armed men as we exited the corridor. We were on a lower floor of an open area about four basketball courts in size, with two side by side. It was a large square. The ceiling was four stories up. It was a stone floor here, but there were walkways that circled this chamber on three sides. People were going about on these doing whatever. Other passages began on these different floors to areas deeper in installation. The one wall without them went from floor to ceiling with various items on display. Swords were crisscrossed on display, but the predominate items were the flags. There was the white, blue and red equal horizontal fields I knew that made up the currant flag of Russian Federation used that. There were other flags up there representing Russia from several eras and governments. Yes, there was the red one with the hammer and sickle in the upper left corner for the Soviet Union. There was one, larger and central that had the white, blue and red fields but had a golden two headed eagle with wings spread, three crowns, one over the head facing right head, one over the head facing left and one in the middle. There was a shield on the eagle's chest on which a knight in armor rode a horse over a winged reptile? The knight was slaying it, so it seemed. All of us were looking at these flags.

“These flags say one thing,” Yuri began. “We are Russian. Proud and united against the world.” He pointed at the center flag. “That one represents me.” He said proudly. “It hasn't been used since the early eighteenth century, but I brought it back. I am the Tsar of Russia after all.” He motioned for us to take an opening on the side. “This way.”

Down another passage, we were escorted into a large room that looked like a comfortable lounge. Here the floors weren't gray, but carpeted red. Russian red. There were red upholstered couches and chairs to relax in. There was a large screen TV.

“We'll wait for the others to get here.” Yuri explained. “It about thirty kilometers from that entrance to here. Our tram system is quick, but it still takes a few minutes.”

Colin nodded. “You said no questions.”

“About whether or not to do as instructed,” Yuri stated. “That's what I meant. What's your question?”

“Can we see George?” Colin asked.

Yuri shrugged. “Why not?” He turned to the men that escorted us and said something to two of them using another form of signs. Those signs were more like the ones used deaf people. It was not American Sign Language, but similar. I couldn't tell what Yuri had said, but two of the men nodded and went somewhere. The men understood this sign language. His hands returned to his sides so his hands could be seen by the woman. “Perhaps Dr. Holms will be more cooperative after this.”

It took but a few moments for George was brought in by the two men. He was dressed in a plain white t-shirt and jeans. He wasn't handcuffed, but escorted with each man having hold of each elbow. George looked wary, but mostly unbothered. Seeing us, he instantly smiled grandly. He saw John and his smile took on the warmth of love. John couldn't contain himself, launching at George, kissing him quickly and then hugged tightly.

It was habit. Whenever there was a display of affection for the first time with strangers, I looked to see any reaction. Yuri knew they were on their honeymoon when they kidnapped George, but knowing they were married wasn't the same as seeing it. Yuri and the others with him didn't react good or badly. Homosexuals weren't really well liked in Russia. They were here, but the country itself didn't approve.

“You speak in English.” Colin observed waving at the woman.

Yuri nodded. “I do. Zoya and I both speak several languages. I had the time.”

“That's her name?” I asked.

“Yes, Zoya Kovpak has been with me two centuries.” Yuri explained. “She is one of the twelve. And my wife.”

“If someone kidnapped her, would you do anything and everything to get her back?” I asked.

Yuri nodded. “Yes, but this is bigger than that. Their are so many lives will effected by this...”

“Lives of vampires or lives of people?” Colin asked.

“Both.” Yuri said. “The people of Russia still suffer. Vampires are suffering from the separation from the world.”

“Don't you see that's what we're about?” Colin asked. “I said over and over again, we want to give vampires a life!”

“How are the people of Asbest or Russia as a whole suffering?” I asked.

“Bad leadership.” Yuri replied. “That's why having one good leader in control is so important.”

The door to this lounge opened and the others of us came in. They came under the watchful eyes of Yuri's men and women.

Yuri walked up to Vlad. “You were the one they made the video of that showed you getting the treatment.”

Vlad's eyes widened seeing Yuri, but hearing it come from Zoya.

“It's the way he speaks,” I explained quickly. “Zoya gives him a voice. He reads lips very well in several languages.” I realized that Vlad's ability to hypnotize and persuade wouldn't work with Yuri. Yuri couldn't hear.

“You showed that and you were seen in that news clip. You claim to to be Dracula.” Yuri stated.

“I don't claim anything.” Vlad muttered in a growl. “I am Vlad Dracul.”

“You overthrew your brother Basarab who was the Voivode and took the title!” Yuri stated firmly. I knew about Radu, but forgot Vlad had other siblings. Vlad's father left Radu and Vlad to become hostages.

“A title not necessarily given by birth.” Vlad argued. “We were facing the Ottomans! They were brutal and cruel. That title is given to the military commander put in charge. I had to do it.”

Yuri nodded. “Because no one else was doing the job.”

“Your brother Ivan did a good job.” Vlad said. “He earned his name terrible because he was formidable and unrelenting.”

“But now, there are men, corrupt with power, who are making bad decisions. That's how the people suffer.” Yuri shook his head. “That's why they need one voice. Mine.”

“Why yours?” Vlad asked.

“Because it is what I was born for!” Yuri said and Zoya gave the voice frustration anger. “I was also of the house of Rurik! But because I'm deaf, I was not included.”

“The world won't understand that.” I said. “The Tsar part won't be accepted and the vampire part definitely won't.”

“I'll make them understand.” He pointed up. “I will be among them with this treatment.” He smiled. “I'll take a role of leadership and change things gradually. My twelve will take positions, too. It will happen.”

“Your President will not allow that.” George said.

“When the people demand it. He'll have no choice.” Yuri stated.

“Why will they do that?” Russ asked.

“I will introduce and long, disease free life,” Yuri said confidently. “Cure for diseases they have and won't get any afterwards.”

George nodded still being held by John. “He wants me to extract what's in the venom and give it to everyone.” George's voice was solemn when he said that. “Not make them vampires, but have a little bit of what we have that makes us immune to everything.”