Blueblood: A Dark Southern Aristocracy - 20. Truth About Theo Taylor

Now, there were a lot of beings like us and coming together was going to be difficult. First was the trust thing. Second, was the technology problem. According to Burke, a lot of the older ones (those vampires created before the twentieth century) were less likely to use modern technology, which I couldn’t understand. It helped things move quicker.

“What’s so bad about getting email?” I asked Burke as we all sat in our library/music room.

Burke chuckled. “Nothing. It’s just that some of them are used to how things were. They’re worse than the old couple that lives down the street I’ve seen on TV. They’re used to how it’s done. They’re resistant to change. They have no grid to be off of since they’re never been on it!”

I chuckled. “At least you know about the grid.”

He nodded laughing. “I watch TV! Not a lot to do during those long days and nowhere to go. What else was there to do?”

“And you’ve watched movies?” Colin smiled.

“I have a few DVDs!” Burke boasted. “And a nice TV! I even have a Blu-Ray player!”

“We get it. You’re up with technology!” I chuckled. “What did you think of the Twilight Series? Did you see that?”

Burke’s eyes widened as he looked disgusted. “Pure fiction!” He sputtered indignantly. “And who the hell did Bella think she was? She attracts both a vampire and a werewolf!” He laughed. “She was cute, but Alice! She was hot.” He let everyone know that was the woman he preferred. “But really? Bella becomes the focus of both the pack and a group of vampires? She wasn’t THAT cute. Why was she so important?”

“You thought Alice was,” Colin said. “Neither of them got my attention.”

I nodded. “No, my attention was on Charlie. Bella’s father.” My eyebrows danced. “To me, he was the hot one.”

Colin chuckled pulling me closer as he sat beside me. “He likes us older men.”

Burke’s eyes smiled at Colin. “Well, I should be driving him crazy. I’m two centuries older than you are.”

I shook my head. “Sorry, I’d have a problem with that. You have that awful birth defect I’d have a hard time ignoring.”

Burke looked surprised. “Birth defect? What birth defect?”

“You’re blond,” I said simply with a shrug.

Colin laughed when I said that. “I have dark hair.” He told Burke.

George shook his head. “The point is, they are not likely to trust us at first.” He pointed out. “These souls may have been vampires before that radical change in technology. The younger ones might trust us a little easier.” He grinned at Burke. “And I like blondes.” George’s comment made Burke grin back.

Mom shook her head. “Wait. Werewolves? Are there werewolves? I never believed in vampires and here you are. Are werewolves real, too?”

Burke smiled shaking his head. “I’ve never seen one and I’ve not heard of any.” He turned to George. “So, when are you inserting this disc?”

George gave a hesitant nod. “Well, there is a process. I have discs for Gabriella and Colin. I’ll begin to make discs for Devon and you. It needs to be made from you for the serum to work the best. There is a unique venom in every vampire. I don’t have a serum for you two yet.” He waved us down. “It will take about a week. Sorry.” He held out his arm. On the back of his arm was a shallow, almost unnoticeable little circle and a small slit that was healing. “I tried it on myself first.”

I got up and looked closer at his arm. “How…I mean, will you insert one every month?”

George shook his head. “You’re a former medic. I’ll show you how to insert it and you can do it for Gabriella, Colin and even yourself. And you need to alternate points of placement. Right arm, left arm, right leg, left leg…you get the picture.”

I nodded grinning. “An anti-vampire disc!” I brightened. “It will be valuable to the VUN!”

George’s eyebrow rose. “VUN?”

I nodded. “Vampire United Nations!”

George rolled his eyes.

Colin put his arms around me but looked at George. “He won’t let it go about the name. So, just give in.” He kissed me on the neck and grinned at George.

George nodded looking at me, but let it go. “Well, we’ll insert your disc, Colin, this evening. I’ll be monitoring your blood to see that the correct level of serum is properly supplied. It’s very dense and should last the month. There may be some discomfort at first. Not pain, the serum will be constantly entering your system. The injections were a sudden…increase in serum and starting again what the venom was beginning to stop. The discs will give you a constant supply and keep things even. Your body will adjust. The discomfort will go away.” He smiled. “Mine did.”

I shook my head. “It sounds good, but I still hope things are secure. I can’t shake the idea that someone will use this…badly.”

George nodded. “I’m doing all I can.” He said and was about to walk away and then stopped, turning to me. “VUN?” He shook his head and walked on.

Burke spent most of the evening on our computer sending messages to all he knew about the change and what could happen.

Colin sat in a chair near Burke. “The others know where you are in the Ozarks. We’ll set up a clinic there.”

Burke nodded. “That would be the best way.” He sighed. “I worked hard to get them to trust me. I had to convince many to even use a computer and sign up for email. They never got on the grid to be off it.”

“Change is a part of being in the world.” Colin pointed out. “They will either accept that or be what they are forever.”

Burke looked at Colin, but doubt was in his eyes. “Will that be mandatory? They accept or be what they are unchanged?”

Colin shrugged. “They’ll have to. Even with these new discs, they will have to have them inserted once a month. George and I will be reluctant to just give the serum or discs without some contact.”

Burke nodded. “Of course, you wouldn’t.” He sighed again. “Most of them I’ve met and in contact with were like you and I were, hunting, but not hunting humans. The only thing we did was wake up, seek blood and stay out of the sun. For many, that’s all there is. There could be some dangers if their human nature comes back.”

“That will be true of all of us.” Colin pointed out.

Later, when it was almost time for Colin to have his injection, George erected a little elevated couch and numbed the upper portion of Colin’s left arm. Using a scalpel, George cut a slit. He opened a case and pulled out a disc. It was thin, like a wafer and dark in color.

“This is highly condensed serum made for you using your venom and blood,” George said to Colin. Then he used a surgical tool to raise a portion of his skin and gently pushed the disc in.

I watched as Colin’s eyes showed a little change, he didn’t grimace, but he was feeling something. “Are you feeling a discomfort? Any pain?”

Colin searched himself mentally, I could see it. “Kind of...” He shook his head. “It’s not pain, but I feel something.”

George nodded. “That’s normal.” George then chuckled. “Or at least I think it’s normal as I felt the same thing. I was the only one that tested it…so far. I was the Guinea Pig.”

I smiled but was a little worried. “You don’t test on animals?” He didn’t test it?

George shook his head. “Why? Chemically or otherwise, we can’t be hurt, a little sick maybe, but not any more than we can catch a disease.” He shrugged.

There was something bothering me, but I was new to this kind of world, so I really didn’t say anything, but I did tell Colin. I got my daily injection and endured the pain, as Colin had before. After the pain, I had the blood rush and erection as a result, which we enjoyed.

“I guess since you’re on that disc, you won’t get the nightly erections,” I said sadly.

Colin looked amused. “I don’t really need it to be aroused by you. I think we did just fine without it. I can go again if you like.” Then he looked at my eyes and…didn’t frown, but was puzzled. “What’s on your mind?”

I shook my head. “It’s probably nothing.”

“Devon,” Colin said in that way to say; don’t be that way.

“Do you get an impression with Burke?” I asked. “You said that you felt something when you met me and you could always tell something about other men even before you were turned. What do you feel about Burke?”

Colin’s head backed a little with surprise. “Nothing.”

“I said it’s probably nothing.” I dismissed.

“Wait,” Colin said. “I said, I feel nothing. I don’t feel good or bad about him. That’s really a first.”

“Isn’t that odd?” I questioned.

Colin settled down next to me propping his head on his hand. “I figured it was because of his age. He doesn’t wear his feelings on his sleeve like most people. It’s hard to say.” He shrugged. “I thought, because of his age, he was just hard to read.”

I nodded. “What about Theo?”

Now Colin’s eyebrows came together. “He, on the other hand, I got…” he thought. “…it was unsettling. Again, I’m not psychic. I thought, may just have been traumatized by his wife’s death and not liking vampires he doesn’t know, but…when he had that gun to your back…I believe he would have pulled the trigger if we hadn’t gone with him. What do you feel?”

I shook my head. “I don’t really know. My feeling is like always, we need to be careful with the serum. Now for some reason, I’m just more cautious about that.”

Colin now frowned. “You think they’ll do something with it?”

I shrugged. “I don’t know.”

Colin got closer. “What did you feel about me when we first met? Then you saw the picture of me. What did you feel about me then?”

I smiled. “I liked you the moment you stepped out of the car.” I chuckled. “I was puzzled by the picture.”

“But did you feel bad about me?”

I shook my head. “Not at all. I never felt bad around you.”

“No threat?”

I shook my head again. “I’ve never felt threatened by you. Even when I found out you were a real vampire.”

Colin smiled. “I think you feel as I do and are able to tell whether or not to trust.”

I nodded. “Maybe, but think about it, Colin.” I put. “How do we know about any of them? We’re taking Burke at his word and the same for Theo. How do we verify what they tell us?”

Colin shrugged. “You’re right. I guess because Burke trusts Theo, we just accepted it. I’ll have someone at VUN look into Theo’s background.”

I grinned. “Now, you’re calling Holm’s Laboratories VUN?”

He shrugged again with a grin. “Why not? It’s pretty catchy!” He settled down more and brought me close to him more. “Now, about doing it again…”

I kissed him gently. “As many times as we can. I can’t get enough of you.”

Without letting George know our concerns; because if we checked them out and found nothing, what could we say? Colin spoke with the man we hired as Head of Security at Wentworth Manor. Finding nothing didn’t mean there wasn’t something, but we had them both looked into. There was another problem. Burke was a vampire and had no records really to check. Theodore Tayler did. It was a week later when we flew to New York.

We arrived and as always, we were flown from the airport to VUN.

George had my blood in storage and men at the lab had begun making the disc of serum for me. George took the disc made for me. “Ready?” He asked after numbing my arm and did the little slit. “Here we go.”

Once he started to slip the disc in, I felt…well, it’s hard to describe. Have you ever felt…not right? You’re not sick really, but something’s just…not right. That’s what I felt. Colin and George assured me that it would pass.

George had taken the blood from Burke and was starting to make the disc for Burke. Max Schuller, Head of Security for Holm’s Laboratories…VUN. A heavier set man than he should have been and Hebrew. He came to Colin and me as we walked down a hall of Holm’s Laboratories.

“I’ve got some things on Theodore Taylor I thought was interesting.” He said giving us a pad, like those portable hand-held devices people carry. It had Internet and other features on it. He pulled up what he’d downloaded. “According to this…Officially, Theodore Taylor is dead.”

Colin looked startled. “Are you saying the man who claims to be Theo isn’t Theodore Taylor?”

Max shook his head. “No, I’m not.” He ran his finger over the screen and Theo’s picture came up. “Is this him?”

Colin and I nodded.

“That looks like him,” I said. “But looks can be changed. Are there fingerprints we can compare…if we had the man that claims to be Theo and had his fingerprints.”

Max nodded. “Sure, his records were sealed by the government.” He grinned as added. “But our computers can hack any system. His past is…well…he was in the Navy at eighteen. He joined the Seals. After ten years, he went to work for the FBI…he was an assassin.”

My eyes widened hearing this. “An assassin!? For the government!?”

Max nodded. “That’s the unofficial designation. The thing is...he was never married.” Max said. “And!” He said emphatically. “He was killed while on an operation. Officially.”

Colin frowned. “So, what’s unofficial that you found?”

“He’s on assignment,” Max replied in a near whisper.

I was now a little panicked. “Wait! Do we have a government agent in our midst?! Does that mean the government knows about us? Knows about Burke and the existence of VAMPIRES!?”

Colin nodded. “And if they don’t it already, they know about me and you! And Gabriella!” He gave the pad back to Max. “For all we know, Burke is working for Taylor, too!”

“We’re setting a clinic up in the Ozarks and are giving Burke the serum!” I said now really worried. “If the government learns we have it, they…”

“…could do anything!” Colin said taking my hand and leading me down the hall in a hurry. “We need to stop the serum from getting to the Ozarks! We need to tell George!”

We told George what we’d done and what we found out about Taylor.

George was furious! “I’ve sent some serum already! It’s on the way!!” He grabbed a phone and dialed. “Has the plane taking the serum arrived at the Ozarks?” He nodded to the voice. “Good…stop it from being delivered!” He looked at Colin. “We need to speak with Burke!”

The three of us confronted Burke. It wasn’t the Interrogation Room, but…it was in an office that George didn’t use much. He was a scientist, not an office man.

“Do you know what Taylor is?” Colin asked angrily, to which I put a hand on his arm to ask Colin to calm down.

Burke looked surprised at the anger. “He’s a man that lost his wife. He’s been helping some six or seven years.”

“Records say he was never married,” I said. “Records also say he’s an agent for the government.”

Burke looked again surprised. Startled! “What!? An agent? He didn’t tell me about any government connection.” Burke said urging us to believe him. “I found him as he was…or said he was…looking for the vampire that killed his wife! He was very determined.”

George nodded his head. “Did you find the vampire he was looking for?”

Burke shook his head. “No! That was an impossible task. He really had nothing to go on except his wife died of an attack and loss of blood, he said.”

“And you believed him?” Colin asked.

“I was suspicious at first, but he was…”

“Determined.” I finished for Burke with a nod.

“Yes! He never left me.” Burke said.

“But he found out you were a vampire!” George said. “He’s on a mission!”

“To what!?” Burke asked.

“Find out where all the vampires are!” Colin said getting up as he was pacing now. “And now, he has my name, George, Gabriella, and Devon!”

“And we all walk in the daylight!” I added. “And now, about to get the serum! That would be the perfect thing. A man that won’t die easily, won’t age or get sick!”

Burke shook his head. “I never knew this! I swear!” He pleaded for us to believe him.

“He is the Fox Mulder of the X Files! And we’re the X File!” I said loud urging Burke to understand.

Burke laid his head in his hands. “I’m telling you I didn’t know.” He looked up sadly. “He has asked what it was like to be a vampire. He wanted to know a lot about how I lived and what I did.”

“Were you planning to make him a vampire?” George asked.

Burke sighed sadly. “I was thinking about it.” He shook his head. “He and I…well…we became a couple about a year ago.”

Now, I was unprepared for that. “A couple? You’re lovers!?”

Burke smiled a little. “I’ve lived for about four hundred years and I’ve loved a few people. They weren’t all female. Sex is sex. Love is love.” He shrugged. “I’m alone a lot. I’ve been thinking…just like you did, Devon. If he loved me and I loved him…what better companion than another vampire?”

“And what better way to earn trust?” I reasoned. “Become your lover!”

George got up and picked up a phone. “I want our best team to go down to that complex in the Ozarks.” He said into the phone. “I want Theo Taylor brought here immediately. He’s a security risk and be prepared for a fight. He’s professionally trained and will fight very well.” He hung up and sat down again. “I hope we got this in time. I hope he hasn’t reported any of this to anyone.”

Colin frowned. “I’m sure he’s making reports all the time.”

“If he won’t come in for questioning.” George frowned. “God, I can’t believe I’m saying this.” George moaned. “He might have to be eliminated.”