The Recruit: Book One (28 page)

“We split up.”  Mannie said to Chen.  “We’ll have better
luck if – “

There was the sound of gunshots coming from the far end of
the room and they ran towards it.  Mannie skidded to a stop, staring at the
vampires that blocked the closed door.  Behind the door they heard more
gunshots and Mannie shouted, “Hannah!  Selena!”

“Mannie?”  Selena’s faint scream could be heard.  “We’re
here!  In the hallway!  Help us!”

There was another scream, this one coming from Hannah, and
it was filled with rage and fear.  Will howled loudly in response, and the
vampires in front of them shrieked and covered their ears in agony.

The five men and the wolf rushed forward as one and
attacked.  The vampires fell before them, shrieking and screaming as the guns
and the blades and the teeth ripped into their soft bodies.  Will roared in
anger and pain as a vampire latched on to his throat, sinking it’s fangs
through his thick pelt.  Chen, his face calm, stepped forward and sliced the
vampire’s head off.  He used the tip of the sword to pry the head from Will’s
throat, then suddenly turned and pierced another vampire through the eye with
the sword in his right hand.  The vampire hissed and reached for him and Chen
lopped off both of its hands with his left sword before stabbing it through the
heart.  He pulled the sword free, smiling with grim satisfaction as the vampire
dropped to the ground and turned to ash.

Ryan shot the last vampire as Will shifted back to human
form and reached for the door.  He ripped it open and ran into the hallway as
the others crowded in behind him.  The floor of the hallway was slick with
blood; his bare feet slipped in it, and he would have fallen if Mannie and Chen
had not grabbed him firmly by the arms.

“Oh my sweet fucking Christ.”  Mannie whispered as they
stared in disbelief at the carnage around them.  The entire hallway was
splattered with blood and ash.  It covered the walls and the ceiling, dripping
down to meet the river of blood on the floor.

Jeremy was sitting on the floor, leaning weakly against the
wall as Selena crouched beside him and pressed her shirt against his side. 
They were both covered in ash and blood, but it was Hannah, standing silently
in the middle of the hallway that drew their attention.

Selena and Jeremy were covered in blood but she was soaked
in it.  Not a single inch of her pale skin could be seen under the thick spray
of blood that coated her.  It dripped from her hair, turned her blue t-shirt
into a mottled purple colour and ran in tiny rivulets down her leather pants. 
Her swords were lowered at her sides, blood and ash splattered across them,
blood dripping from the ends of both of them as she stared at the ground.

“Hannah?”  Will whispered.  He could see her chest rising
and falling in harsh pants, but she didn’t raise her head or acknowledge him.

“Honey, look at me.”  He took a few steps forward, his feet
squelching in the blood, and after a moment she raised her head and stared at
him with harsh murder in her eyes.  He took an involuntary step backwards as she
blinked and shook her head.  He sighed with relief when she looked at him again,
and it was only his sweet Hannah once more.

“Will?”

“Yes, honey.  It’s me.  Are you – are you okay?”

She looked around blankly.  “Where are Selena and Jeremy?”

“They’re right here.  They’re fine.”  He said soothingly. 

Chen stood next to him, sheathing his swords in his belt and
then holding his hand out to Hannah.  “Give me your swords, Hannah.”

She stared at him, her hands tightening around the handles
of her blades, before she nodded and handed them to him.  Will stepped closer
and put his arm around her, drawing her into his embrace.  She stared down at
his naked body for a moment before looking up at him.  He reached out with a
trembling hand and tried to wipe some of the blood and ash from her face, but
only succeeded in smearing it into her soft skin.

“Have you been bitten?”  He asked.

“Oh yes, many times.”  She shrugged.  “Nothing that will
kill me though.”

She looked around at the blood-splattered walls and then at
her blood-covered hands.  “So much blood.”  She whispered. 

She stared at Will again and he shivered at the terrible blankness
in her eyes. 

“I killed them, Will.”  She said in a deep, toneless voice
entirely unlike her normal speaking voice.  “They were trying to kill Selena
and Jeremy, and I couldn’t let that happen.”

“I know.”  He soothed.  He led her down the hallway as the
others moved to help Jeremy and Selena.  “Let’s get back to the facility and
get you cleaned up.  Okay?”

“The others.”  She stopped.  “Ben and Lucy and Aaron.”

Jeremy winced as Mannie helped him to his feet.  “They’re
dead.”

Mannie cursed under his breath.  “Darren and Tyler?”

Selena began to sob quietly.  “Dead.”

“We need to go.”  Will said.  “Before more bloodsuckers show
up.”

Mannie nodded and led their small, battered group out of the
hallway.

“How is she this morning?”  Mannie asked as Will entered
Richard’s office and sat down in the chair across from him and Chen.

“She’s better.”  He said shortly.

He had taken Hannah to his apartment, putting her in the
shower and washing the blood and ash from her pale body.  Her arms and face and
even her upper body, were covered in bites from the vampires and he had made
soft sounds of distress over each one.

She had stood mutely in the shower, letting him clean her
body before he tucked her into his bed.  She refused to eat any of the food he
offered her.  He had finally crawled into the bed beside her, and held her
tightly as she rested her head against his chest.

She had fallen asleep almost immediately and he had laid in
the darkness, staring up at the ceiling until he had finally drifted into a
restless sleep.  She had woken him only a few hours later by moaning and crying
out in her sleep.  He had rubbed her back, and whispered soothingly into her
ear until she had woken gasping and shivering.  He had tried to comfort her as
best as he could, and the comforting had quickly turned into something else.

He had hesitated and she had pulled his mouth to hers,
kissing him repeatedly.  “Please.”  She had whispered pleadingly.  “I need
this.  I need
you
.”

They had made love, a slow and gentle melding of their
bodies that had them both shuddering with pleasure.  This morning they had
parted ways, he for his meeting with Richard and her to check on Selena and Jeremy
in the infirmary. 

“I’ll see you tonight.”  She had whispered against his mouth
as they kissed goodbye in the hallway outside of his apartment.

Now, Mannie cleared his throat nervously.  “Will, I spoke
with Jeremy and Selena earlier this morning.  They said that Hannah did most of
the killing.  Between the two of them they killed maybe five vampires, and Hannah
took out the rest.”

Will stared silently at him as Mannie glanced at Chen. 
“They said there were at least twenty vampires in the hallway with them and
that Hannah just – just took them out like it was nothing.  They were attacking
her, biting and clawing at her, and she just kept slicing through them with
those goddamn swords of hers.”

“You’ve taught her well, Chen.”  Richard said quietly.

“She’s not done her training yet.”  Chen responded.  “She
still has more to learn.”

“Yes, well – we need to discuss what we’re going to do
next.”  Richard shuffled some papers on his desk before leaning back and
staring at the three men.

“First things first – we shut down all the goddamn carrying
on between the recruits and the instructors.”

“And perhaps between the instructors and our fearless leader
as well.”  Will said tightly.

Richard shot him a dirty look.  “If you don’t think I’m not
blaming myself entirely for this, you’re wrong.  I take full responsibility for
what happened with Isabelle.  It’s the reason I’m introducing new rules and
consequences for any recruit caught sleeping with an instructor.  My goddamn
dick nearly brought down the entire facility, everything I’ve worked so hard
for during the last ten years, and I’ll be damned if I let it happen again.”

He looked at Will.  “If a recruit is caught sleeping with an
instructor, they’ll be dismissed from the program immediately.  No second
chances for the recruit.  I don’t care if it’s a death sentence for them or
not. ”

Mannie leaned forward.  “It isn’t just Will.  All of us,
with the exception of Chen, have slept with a recruit at one point or another.”

Richard shook his head wearily.  “Jesus Christ, Mannie.”

He rubbed at his forehead.  “I’ll be calling a meeting with
everyone in the facility to discuss the rules and consequences.  No one will be
exempt from them.”  He glanced at Will.  “I mean it, Will.”

“She won’t be a recruit forever.”  Will said softly.

Richard frowned at him.  “Don’t be an idiot, Will.  This
isn’t just about the facility.  You’re a Lycan, she’s a human.  Your kind is
already suspicious of your decision to live and work with humans.  What do you
think they’ll say when they find out you’re in love with one?”

Will stared angrily at him.  “And just how are they going to
find that out, Richard?”

Richard sighed.  “I’ve spoken with the Board of Directors
this morning.”

“That was quick.”  Will grunted.

Richard ignored him.  “They’re sending us new instructors.  They’ll
be arriving within the month.  Two of them are Lycans.”

Will gripped the arms of the chair tightly.  “More Lycans,
Richard?  Do you really think you can put a leash on me that way?”

“For Christ sake, Will.  I’m not trying to leash you!”  Richard
suddenly shouted.  “The Board of Directors has been keeping a close eye on
you.  Your track record for killing vampires has impressed them, and they’ve
been actively recruiting more Lycans for the last two years.  Both the Dallas
and the Seattle branches have had Lycans as instructors for over a year now.”

He took a deep breath.  “I’ve been given no choice in the
matter.  The Board’s faith in me has been badly shaken in light of what
happened with Isabelle.  I’m lucky I still have a goddamn job.”

He stared at Will, a fleeting look of sorrow crossing his
face.  “I’m sorry, Will.  I know you love her but you need to let her go.  She
has no future with you and you know that.”

“It’s not strictly forbidden, Richard.”  Will said.  A hint
of desperation coloured his voice.

“No, it is not.”  Richard admitted.  “But she will be shunned
by her kind, hell she already is, and you will never be fully accepted in the
Lycan world again.  Is that what you want for her?  For you?  If you truly love
her, you’ll do what’s best for the both of you.  Let her find love with a
human.”

The silence spun out for long minutes until Mannie cleared
his throat.  “There’s one other thing you need to know, Will.  Selena said that
there was a head vampire.  He was missing his left hand and he said his name
was Marcus.  He – he knew Hannah’s name.”

Will stared at him thunderstruck.  “What do you mean he knew
her name?”

“Selena said he called her by name.  He said that he knew
everything about her, and that soon she would know everything about him.  Both Jeremy
and Selena told me that he instructed the other vampires to kill them both, but
to bring Hannah to him alive.”

“Jesus Christ!”  Will jumped up from his chair.  “What the
fuck did Isabelle tell them?”

“We’ll never know.”  Richard said quietly.

“We have to find this Marcus.  We have to find him and
destroy him before he gets to her.”  Will paced back and forth in Richard’s
office.

“She’s perfectly safe here, Will.  You know that.”  Richard
said.  “And we’ve sent people to watch her parents, just in case.”

Will sank back into his chair, staring numbly at the floor.  “You
can’t kick her out of the program, Richard.  If the vampires find her, they’ll
turn her and she’ll tell them everything.”

“That doesn’t mean you can continue to have a relationship. 
The rules apply to everyone.”  Richard snapped.

He sighed harshly.  “We know that this Marcus has something
special in mind for her and until we find out what it is, the safest place for
her is here at the facility.  We can’t risk having her feed any information to
the vampires about the facility.  If you’re caught sleeping together, we’ll
transfer her to another centre and keep her location hidden from everyone,
including you.”

“Maybe you should transfer her now.”  Chen said quietly.

Will gave him a hurt look and Chen looked at him
sympathetically.  “It’s safer for her, Will.  You know that.”

Richard shook his head.  “No, the Board wants Hannah to stay
right where she is.”

“Why?”  Will frowned.

“I don’t know.”  Richard replied softly.

Will stood and walked to the door of Richard’s office.

“Do we have an understanding?  Will you end it with Hannah?” 
Richard asked.

Will paused in the doorway.  “Yes we have an understanding
and yes, I’ll end it with her.”

He left Richard’s office without looking back.

* * *

“Will – what are you doing in here?”  Hannah gave him a
pleased look, frowning a bit when she went to hug him and he stepped back.

He glanced around her room.  “Is Selena still in the
infirmary?”

“Yes.  Barb won’t set her free until tomorrow.”

“You should probably go to the infirmary as well.”  He
looked at the numerous small pinholes on her arms and upper chest.

She shook her head.  “They’re already starting to heal.”

“How do you feel?”

She shrugged.  “Better.  Last night was what I’ve been
training for months to do and I did it.  Killing the vampires made me feel good,
made me feel,” she paused, “powerful.”