The Bonding Ritual (Girls Wearing Black: Book Four) (34 page)

“Indeed it was,” said the woman. “I thought it was time for a meeting. You’ve had quite a string of successes lately.
The TPM database, the Rose Ransom clues, Renata’s house, and now, Daciana’s personal computer. The past four months have been the most productive in the Network’s history, and we owe most of it to you.”

“I’m happy to do my part.”

The woman turned to Jill and extended her hand. “Winnie,” she said.

“Nice to meet you,” Jill said. “Winnie’s not your real name, is it?”

“Of course not. I’ve always liked it, though. I had a friend in childhood we called Winnie. It’s the name I use when I need to interact with agents in the field, like I’m doing now.”

“About the mission,
” Jill said. “Are you aware of…all our difficulties?”

“Helena reports to me directly,” said Winnie. “I think I’m up to speed on things at Thorndike. Unless there’s something you wish to tell me.”

“So you know that Samantha has a ninety-million dollar lead on Nicky.”

“Yes. I also know that Daciana has unveiled a new game with a prize that
dwarfs Samantha’s lead.”

“It won’t be easy for us to win this game. A lot of things would have to go our way.”

“That has been the nature of this mission since day one. But here you are, still alive and well.”

“I wish I was as confident as you. But I’m not. Bernadette knew the truth about me.”

“And we killed her.”

“She could have told someone.”

“The clan is investigating everyone at school right now, and you and Nicky have both been cleared.”

“Cleared by Sergio. One vampire. There are a hundred others Bernadette could have talked to.”

“Daciana trusts Sergio more than anyone. Whatever the clan knows, he knows.”

“Sergio is up to something,” Jill said. “Last night, when I was caught in the back of Daciana’s mansion, I saw him. He did something.”

She paused, the memory of what she had seen sending a shiver down her back.

“What is it, Jill?”

“Sergio killed Lena Trang.”

Winnie waited just a beat, then said, “How interesting. What do you think it means?”

“I think it means there’s a lot going on in the clan that we don’t understand.”

“Well, that’s always been true.”

“But we shouldn’t assume we’re safe just because Sergio cleared our names in his little booklet.”

“We never assume our agents are safe. Not on this mission, or any other.”

“But surely most missions don’t get as complicated as this one,” said Jill. “If you ask me, the Coronation contest is a dead end at this point. Now that we have control of Daciana’s computer, we should focus on breaking into her banking software and then get the hell out of here.”

“Yes, Eve tells me you’re very excited about stealing Daciana’s money.”

“It’s not just her money,” said Jill. “The way the software’s written, we can access every penny bank account owned by a member of the clan. That is, once I figure out how to get past one more layer of security.”

“And you think that would suffice?” said Winnie. “If you had all of Daciana’s money, you would be willing to walk away from the mission, leaving Sergio still alive?”

“Yes,” Jill said without hesitation.

“It’s an intriguing point of view,” said Winnie.

They watched as Frankie rounded the farmhouse for lap number two. He was still going strong. Sweat was dripping down his face and he was breathing hard, but he hadn’t slowed a step. If anything, he was running faster.

Jill and Winnie stood at the open door in silence for a time,
then Winnie said, “Has anyone ever taught you how to kill a vampire?”

Jill shook her head.

“Come with me,” said Winnie.

She led Jill to the other end of the barn, where a row of dummies made out of straw were lined against the wall.

“Vampires have incredible powers of healing and regeneration, so long as they have blood flowing to the brain,” Winnie said.

With stunning speed, Winnie lunged at one of the dummies, thrusting at it with a knife Jill didn’t even know she had. She pushed the knife into the chest of the dummy. It made a surprising sound, like there was more than straw in the dummy’s chest.

“I’ve made two kills in my life,” Winnie said, stepping away from the dummy and leaving the knife inserted in its chest. “Both of them to the heart. If you hit it dead-center, the vampire loses its strength immediately. Then it’s just a matter of holding the blade in place so the creature’s heart can’t heal. A six-count is what we recommend. At that point, the creature’s brain is starved for blood and all its miraculous powers of healing begin to fail.”

She yanked the knife from the dummy and turned to Jill.

“Would you care to try?”

“I’m no hunter,” Jill said. “My role in all this is at a keyboard.”

“I know. I’d like you to try it anyway. In the end, this is our purpose in the Network. We are here to kill vampires. Even if we aren’t the ones doing the hunting, every mission has, as its ultimate aim, the death of one of this horrid creatures.”

Jill stood in place, looking at the knife Winnie was holding.

“When you’re done here in Washington I want you to come work with me at Headquarters, Jill. But not unless you truly understand what the Network is about. Take the knife. Imagine that these dummies are members of the clan.”

Jill grabbed the hilt of the blade. It felt heavy in her hand. She had never held a knife like this before, one not meant for cutting, but for killing.

“Go for the heart,” said Winnie. “Kill one of the vampires.”

Jill lunged at the dummy and thrust the knife into the straw. It clanged into something, made a horrible scraping sound, and fell from her hands, clattering to the floor and sending straw everywhere.

“You hit a rib,” said Winnie. “Have a look.”

Winnie brushed at the dummy where Jill had stabbed it, exposing a cast iron grill under the straw.

“Had this been a human, you would have severed a few arteries and this still would be a killing blow,” Winnie said, “but on a vampire, you missed. All the tissues you cut through will heal themselves before the creature dies, and with its heart still beating, it is strong enough to strike back at you.”

“Oh well,” Jill said. “I guess I’m not a killer.”

“Most of us aren’t,” said Winnie. “For every hundred young women and men I see who wants to hunt vampires, I allow one to begin training. And for every ten who begin training, I only allow one into the field with a weapon. People who can kill these creatures are special. It takes an extraordinary combination of strength, speed, accuracy, and self-control. I won’t send someone out to hunt a vampire unless I think they can get the job done, and all told, at any moment, the total number of people the Network has out in the world that we trust to take a killing strike on a vampire is less than twenty. Four of those people have already died on this mission.”

“I know,” said Jill. “I watched three of them die on a surveillance tape, and I was in the room when Renata killed the fourth.”

“Jill, I think you’re giving up on our mission too easily. Never again in our lifetimes will the Network have another chance to get this close to Sergio Alonzo. If this mission fails, he will eventually find out what we’ve been trying to do, and he will become more cautious than ever.”

“I don’t appreciate you using the word ‘fail’ when you’re talking about our mission,” said Jill. “You said it yourself. The past four months have been the most successful in the history of the Network.”

“All your amazing work will mean very little if Sergio survives,” said Winnie.

“Not if we steal the clan’s money. I’m one security code away
from doing it.”

“Wealth can be rebuilt. We’re talking about the most powerful people in the world here. The clan’s money is insignificant when compared to the clan’s ability to create a new vampire every year. Killing Sergio is everything.”

“I don’t think we can do it. We couldn’t even kill Melissa.”

“That was a horrible night and we were all unprepared for what happened,” said Winnie. “Things are different now.”

“In a worse way,” said Jill. “We’ve lost four of our best vampire hunters.”

“And gained a new one,” said Winnie. “Come with me. I want to show you something.”

Before Jill could answer, Winnie was headed to the open door in the barn. Jill followed her outside and around to the back, where she found more straw dummies.

Every one of them had a knife stuck in its chest. Every one of them had been beheaded.

“This is what Frankie did this morning,” said Winnie. “I stood right over here and watched him strike. Not a single miss. Every blow was lightening fast and perfectly placed. But I don’t need to tell you what he’s capable of. You were in the room with him when he killed Renata. Tell me what you saw.”

Jill shuddered to think back on that time.
Renata’s gallery. Broken glass everywhere. Renata’s fangs out, her face and dress covered in the blood of a Network agent named Patrick Hall.

“Renata was down on the ground, and Frankie grabbed a knife off the floor,” Jill said.

“Back up a bit. Before that. Why was Renata down on the ground?”

“Frankie punched her in the face.”

“Listen to those words, Jill. Do you hear how crazy they sound? A human, never trained in the art of killing, and he took down a vampire with a punch to her face. I have to admit, I didn’t believe it the first time I heard it. I didn’t believe any of the story I was hearing about Renata’s death. The notion of a vampire’s slave breaking his own programming and using his fists as a weapon against a powerful vampire like Renata…frankly, it sounded absurd to me. And my thinking wasn’t that different than yours back then. When Helena told me that the mission was too compromised and everyone had to get out, I didn’t try to stop her. I feel so thankful that you all didn’t skip town right away. Had you been on the road when I got here and met Frankie, you know what I would have done?”

Jill shook her head.

“I would have made you turn around and go back to Washington,” Winnie said. “Within ten minutes of beginning Frankie’s training, I knew we were looking at a once in a generation opportunity. He’s ready now, Jill. If you and Nicky can find a way to get Sergio into the house we’ve built in Bethesda, Frankie will kill him.”

Jill looked out at the open farmland, where Frankie was on lap number three, the log still bouncing on his shoulders. He was hunched over a little as he ran, but still going strong.

“I had a long talk with Frankie before you got here,” Winnie said. “I asked him what he wants to do with his life, now that it’s his choice. You know what he told me?”

Jill shook her head.

“He said he wants to help other slaves escape, just like you helped him.”

“Me? I didn’t have much to do with Frankie’s escape.”

“Not according to Frankie. The way he tells the story, you were the key player.”

“He’s being too kind. When we were in that room with Renata, I was just trying not to get killed. Frankie’s the one who cut her head off.”

“He doesn’t view Renata’s death as the moment of his escape. To Frankie, escape happened before the fight even began. Do you remember what you said when you found the room in the mansion where Nicky and Ryan were being held?”

“What I said? I told Renata this room was it, that it was the answer to the Ransom clue and she needed to let me inside.”

“Your specific words were, ‘Nicky Bloom is behind this door,’” said Winnie. “That sentence was very important to Frankie. Those words set his mind free.”

“Really?”

“Frankie and Nicky have a connection. I’ve worked with other jackals before.”

“Jackals?”

“Children stolen off the street and put into the vampire slave system. The vampires take runaways, sex workers, children lost in the ugly world of human trafficking. The children who grow up in that world learn survival skills of the like you and I can’t even imagine. In Frankie’s case, he learned very quickly that his connection to Nicky was keeping them both alive.”

“It’s really sad what happened to them,” said Jill. “I’m glad Frankie is free.”

“He would be dead if not for you. Frankie, Nicky, and Ryan. They’re all alive today because you threw the ultimate Hail Mary pass that night at Renata’s.”

“Really, Frankie is the reason we’re alive. I mean, look at him.”

“Look at him indeed,” said Winnie. Out in the field, Frankie was running faster than ever, as if he had been holding back during the rest of the run. “Look at what we almost lost. Jill, your humility is admirable, but misplaced. You were the one who chose to walk into that mansion without any idea what you were going to find there. You were the one who solved the final Ransom clue, even though it was specifically written so that a human couldn’t know the answer. You stood before Renata and challenged her that night, and you won. It was a long shot, more outrageous than anything I have ever tried in my career, and you won.”