American Blood: A Vampire's Story (7 page)

“Calida,” Siri began, “how are you feeling?”

“Much better, Doctor Lei.”

“Then the treatment is working?”

“I hope it’s a good sign,” Calida said. “And who is this?” she asked and shyly pulled her patient gown down over her knees.

The newcomer looked at Calida, his eyes wide open. “Hi Miss Villena, my name is Christopher.” His nervous speech nearly masked his slight southern drawl.

Calida glanced at Ryan for a moment and then gave Christopher an innocent smile. “You’re very nice to help me this way . . . please call me Calida.”

“I’ve been told what happened to you . . . um, Calida. I’m glad to help so you can get better.” Christopher continued to stare at her. “How much longer will you have to—I mean, take blood this way?”

Calida frowned. “I’m not really sure, Christopher, but I’ll probably need blood for a long time. Isn’t that so, Doctor Ryan?”

“You don’t look as bad as I thought you would,” Christopher said. “You actually look—you look good, even healthy—really healthy.”

Calida ignored the look on Ryan’s face. “That’s the nicest thing anyone has said to me all day.”

“She’s much closer to death than she looks,” Ryan said.

Calida rolled her eyes at Ryan. “Will you talk to me once we start, Christopher? It’s kind of scary for me.”

He smiled warmly at her. “Don’t worry, I’ll talk to you the entire time and everything will be fine. But why are you trapped in there?”

Siri looked at Ryan and raised an eyebrow.

“I think Doctor Ryan is worried that I might touch someone and contaminate them or something,” Calida answered. “It’s silly really, I mean I just took a shower over there,” she said in an aggrieved tone, and pointed to the far wall.

Christopher glanced at the exposed showerhead and gave Ryan a disapproving look. “I’m not surprised, doctors don’t think about someone’s—”

“Okay, Christopher,” Ryan said and gestured toward the chair by the feeding station. “Please sit there and Doctor Lei will get you connected while I set up the pumps . . . have you been briefed on their operation?”

“No problem, Doctor Ryan—I’m an equipment specialist, this setup looks simple as pie. Are you the one who slapped it together?”

“Just make sure you pay attention to the alarm and shut the valve off when it beeps, okay?”

“I’m sure I can handle it.”

“Doctor Lei will help if you forget anything, isn’t that right, Calida?”

“Sure. Doctor Ryan . . . you’re not staying?”

Ryan smiled. “No, the sight of blood makes me nauseous. Okay, you’re all set,” he said to Christopher.

Calida sat down in her chair. “See you later, Doctor Ryan.” She moved forward in her chair and patiently waited for Christopher’s blood.

Ryan turned away from the feeding station, looked at Siri who wore a half smile, shook his head, and walked out of the cell. And just before the door closed behind him he heard Christopher say: “I know this must be very difficult for you, Calida, so you just call me Chris, okay?” Ryan chuckled to himself as the door closed.

T
he Director walked down the long hallway of the Senate Offices wing. His two assistants maintained a discreet distance behind him as he rhythmically waved his cane back and forth. At 11:30 PM on Friday night the senate had just adjourned its business for the week. Even so, the halls were busy with staff members and faceless aides making their late night rounds as they scurried back and forth in a perpetual dance of private negotiations between their bosses.

The Director ignored the activity just as he was himself ignored. The offices he now shuffled past were some of the more prized spaces. He arrived at the last office to his right and walked through the open door.

A staff assistant glanced up as the Director entered the office’s reception area and stood up from his small desk. He greeted the Director with the same manner as a four star hotel concierge.

“Welcome to Senator Asinas’s office,” he said. “The senator is just finishing up with the Secretary of Homeland Security. May I get you or your assistants anything? Coffee? Tea? A drink of your choice?”

“Oh no, my young man,” the Director replied. “We are just fine right now.”

A large, richly stained mahogany double door opened up behind the reception area. Out walked a tall, lanky man in a dark blue silk suit followed by the senator.

“Thank you very much, Mister Secretary,” Senator Asinas said. “And tell that lovely wife of yours that Becky wants to have you both over for dinner, and she refuses take no for an answer.”

“I’ll do that,” the tall man said. He looked at the Director for a brief moment and left the senator’s office.

“Please come in,” Senator Asinas said to the Director. “And Michael, please get his two assistants something to drink.”

“Yes, Senator.”

The Director entered the senator’s private office and glanced at the elegant Brazilian rosewood paneling that provided the backdrop to the office’s decor. The senator’s desk was centered on a large window through which the night lights of Washington softly sparkled. The walls were covered with pictures of the politician in the company of various world leaders and celebrities along with dozens of plaques and other accumulated detritus highlighting a lengthy career in the top echelons of public service.

Senator Asinas gestured at one of the two overly large, dark brown leather chairs placed at slight angles a respectful distance from the front corners of his desk. The Director stopped in front of the chair on the desk’s right side and eased himself down with the aid of his cane. The senator continued around to the back of his expansive desk and sat down.

“How was the drive down from the Catoctin Mountains?” Senator Asinas asked.

“Just fine. Same messy traffic of course.”

“Of course. I’ve never been to a major city that has figured out the traffic problem,” the senator said, and he swiveled his chair and looked out the window behind his desk. “How is your latest trainee class doing?”

“Excellent. We’re very pleased with the quality of our latest group.”

“Very good.” Senator Asinas turned back to his desk, reached for a cigarette and lit it using a large, carved ivory lighter. He let out a long exhale of white smoke. “I take it the capture was a success?”

“Very successful.”

“Losses?”

“Five men.”

“And how is our young lady?”

“She’s hardly young,” the Director said. “But she’s completely healed and showing signs of cooperation with our good doctors.”

“Extraordinary, this is excellent news.”

The Director took out his small wooden pipe and fondled the bowl for a moment. “Doctor Ryan has successfully started her on a safe feeding protocol. In fact, earlier this evening he tested his equipment with himself as the subject.”

“Did she respond well?”

“Oh yes, she appeared to thoroughly enjoy the meal. Of course she’ll need more than a single donor can safely provide each night.”

“If she doesn’t take to the field we can always keep her as an effective interrogation tool.”

“She would be far more effective than the water boarding technique.”

The senator leaned forward and picked up a silver pen from his desk. “I have spoken with Senator Pachy concerning our proposal. He’s agreed to place it on the committee’s agenda at our next meeting, although he’s decidedly skeptical.”

“Decidedly? Can he be persuaded to provide the crucial committee vote?”

The senator picked up a small note pad and opened it. He then began to underline several entries. “The Vice President has stressed that we’ll need to accommodate Senator Pachy’s financial sensibilities with substantial back up.”

“What do you require?”

“I’m going to make a closed channel request to my friends at the Government Accountability Office to perform an assessment on the cost savings that can be realized if we activate her.”

“That would be very good . . . she wouldn’t need the same accessory personnel while in the field not to mention our savings on daytime travel costs.”

Senator Asinas chuckled. “How many agents are normally required to solve a significant problem?”

“Significant? That’s hard to say, but even our lesser assignments require a dozen or so personnel in the field along with the logistical support provided by our communications and equipment specialists.”

“And how many would this female need in a supporting role?”

“Oh my, Senator, that is very clever,” the Director said, and he stopped rubbing his pipe. “I’d think just a tag to keep her on track.”

“Sounds like a real cost savings. I’d expect Senator Pachy to appreciate these efforts.”

“Certainly this would appeal to his sensibilities.”

“He’s practical about financial matters, practical to a fault.” The senator put the small notepad down and gave his pen a twist. “Even though this is a small committee beyond the normal reaches of congressional oversight, we must be diligent and not draw unwanted attention to our activities, yes?”

“Oh, certainly not, Senator,” the Director quickly agreed. “So how shall we proceed with our good Senator Pachy?”

“The GAO review will require you to provide specific information.”

“And the level of discretion?”

“That won’t be an issue . . . are we in agreement?”

“I’ll coordinate with the GAO after you open the proper channel.”

“You’ll be contacted tomorrow. The meeting with Senator Pachy will take place Tuesday, so we’ll need to act quickly.”

“I’m quite sure we can provide a most persuasive argument to him,” the Director said.

“Very good. Now what else have you learned about her?”

The Director leaned forward on his cane and grinned. “She has alarming abilities in terms of telepathic bridging with a target. This talent alone makes her extremely valuable.”

“Any idea how it’s done? Please don’t tell me it’s some dark supernatural power.”

The Director shook his head. “We’re working on that and I’ve added a new member to the evaluation team, a physicist.”

“No need to tell me the details.”

“Thank you, Senator.”

“And her speed and strength?”

“We have not formally tested her in these areas, but we have video of her rolling a van on its side. Extraordinary footage, I must say.”

Senator Asinas scratched the back of his head. “I feel almost emasculated by her.”

“Ooh, Senator, you wouldn’t want to be emasculated by her.”

Senator Asinas laughed. “No, I’m sure you’re right.”

“We also have video of her changing her physical appearance while asleep. It appears that as she dreams she unconsciously changes her looks. We think it’s related to her REM activity.”

“She can control this consciously?”

“We believe she has total control over it.”

“And when do you believe we’ll have her complete loyalty to the committee’s efforts?”

“I’ll begin negotiations with her tomorrow morning when she wakes.”

Senator Asinas leaned back in his chair and interlocked his fingers together. “If you can’t assure the committee of her total cooperation this entire effort will be terminated. Do you understand?”

“Not to worry, Senator, I intend to make her an offer that she can’t refuse.”

“I would expect nothing less.”

“Biology has at least fifty more interesting years.”

—
James D. Watson
, American Biochemist

A
n annoying electronic buzz woke Ryan up. He reluctantly rolled over and slammed his hand down on the alarm clock knocking it off the nightstand. He didn’t sleep well. His attempt at synchronizing his circadian rhythm to coincide with Calida’s nocturnal existence needed more time. He had tried to adjust too quickly and his mind and body suffered for it.

The small clock on the floor continued to buzz. He bent down, picked it up, and placed it back on the table. With more respect than it deserved, he turned it off, got out of bed, and went to the bathroom.

Feeling better after his shower he started to get dressed and had managed to get his pants on when someone knocked at his door. He walked from his small bedroom over to the door while taking a towel to his hair.

Ryan flipped the door speaker. “Yeah?”

“It’s Siri, we need to talk.”

“Okay.” Ryan slid the bolt and opened the door. Siri stepped inside and appeared concerned.

“Something is going on with Calida,” she said. “I went over to check on her fifteen minutes ago and I wasn’t allowed in the isolation unit.”

“You weren’t allowed in? I thought you were running this project.”

“So did I. Right now the Director is in the cell having a discussion with her.”

Ryan digested this. “I guess he can talk to her whenever he wants. Still, why wouldn’t he want you there?”

“I needn’t tell you that the man is nefarious, or haven’t you noticed?”

“Nice joke . . . so what’s he up to?”

“I guess he’s starting the recruitment process.”

“I had a phone discussion with him yesterday. He mentioned it, but I figured we’d have weeks if not months.”

“So what do we do?”

“Nothing?”

“I know you’re right. It’s just that I feel we’re gaining Calida’s trust. I know it sounds crazy, she’s a vampire, but I believe it.”

Ryan quickly went over his hair with the towel again and said, “I know, I’ve been thinking the same thing, especially after she promised not to mind-lock with me anymore.”

“She told me.”

Ryan stopped fussing with his hair and looked squarely at Siri. “Yeah? And what else has she told you? Besides the fact she wants to eat me.”

“She hasn’t said that about you, exactly. In many ways she’s a young woman in her mid-twenties. The fact that she has nineteen hundred years of life experiences to draw from gives her a serious advantage over us.”

“It has made her extremely successful at what she does, I’ll give you that.”

“Ryan, you’re a competent scientist, but you don’t always see what’s obvious.”

Ryan tossed his towel onto the sofa. “For instance?”

Siri walked over to the sofa, picked up Ryan’s towel and folded it. “You seem to have missed the obvious fact that Calida . . . well, she appreciates you in her own unique way.”

“She appreciates I showed her kindness. I’m not as thick headed as you think.”

“Oh, but you are,” Siri said and sat down on the sofa. “It’s more than that. Calida may be developing feelings for you, feelings that she’s struggling to understand.”

Ryan absorbed this. “She’s talked to you about these feelings?”

“She has. She thinks you’re sweet.”

“She’s already told me.”

“Not only that way. She likes you.”

“Yeah? Just great,” Ryan said, sarcastically. “The most beautiful woman on the planet
likes
me but I can never take her home to meet my mother—because she might eat my mother.”

“How do we deal with this?”

“I’m going to deal with it by ignoring it.”

“I don’t think that will work.”

“She’s not the
kind
of woman I’d go for, besides, why would she be attracted to a boring scientist?”

“You can’t blame her,” Siri said. “You’re relatively tall, you’ve got nice, dark hair and . . . .” Siri watched as Ryan put on his shirt. “You’re in okay shape. For a scientist you’re not too unpleasant looking.”

“That’s enough.” Ryan half squinted at her. “Do you know how much success I’ve had with women? My work always gets in the way and it always ends with me feeling lousy about it.”

“But this time it’s different, Calida is your work.”

“Have you noticed those four extremely sharp fangs when she opens her mouth?”

“Actually she has six, but that’s not important right now.”

“Six? I’ve only seen four and none of the documentation described—”

“It’s not important right now, Ryan. Anyway, I’m not advising you to start a relationship with her, all right? I just think you should know what’s going on with her.”

“I appreciate the warning. So what else have you noticed that I haven’t, besides the two extra fangs?”

Siri gave him an exasperated look. “What I’ve noticed is you don’t even realize that you’re responding to her.”

“That’s because she’s playing around inside my head,” Ryan said, defensively. “Has she made any attempt to get inside yours?”

“I’ve felt something a few times, but it’s never been obvious to me.”

Ryan yawned and stretched his back. “Our newest member will be arriving Tuesday,” he said, changing the subject.

“I received the message same time as you,” Siri said. “I’ve already arranged for quarters to be made available in this building. His equipment arrived an hour ago and I had it delivered to your lab, temporarily, of course.”

“I can only hope. All right, I’m going to finish up here and head over to the lab. I want to see what this special equipment is all about.” Ryan paused and then asked, “She’s not going to be awake much longer anyway, right?”

“We’ll have to wait until nightfall, but this thing with the Director still bothers me,” Siri replied. “I’m going to head back over to the isolation unit and see if I can get in. I’ll let you know what’s going on if anything happens.”

“Just keep me updated. Something tells me this is going to be an interesting day.”

C
alida sat on the edge of the cot with her legs crossed and listened to the strange man meander on about meaningless things. She noted the slight yellowish hue of his skin and surmised that his teeth were discolored from years of tobacco use, which meant his blood would be bitter. Yet even through his foul smelling cologne and the strong odor of tobacco on his breath, she could detect the presence of disease. She decided, as he continued to drone on, that he was food even if he wouldn’t taste very good.

The Director sat on a chair twenty feet from the plexiglas barrier. They were alone with the door to the cell closed.

“. . . And so, my dear, this would be a mutually beneficial arrangement,” the Director said, cheerfully. “As I see it—it’s your only option really.”

Calida offered him her sweetest smile. “Killing isn’t a problem for me,” she said. “But I don’t kill for sport.”

“Oh, yes, yes, you wouldn’t be expected to kill for sport,” the Director said, fondling his pipe. “Of course you may feed on whoever you kill, understand?”

“And you’ll just let me leave this place?” Calida asked, and she reached out to the man’s mind.

“You’ll be granted citizenship in this great country along with employment. Your life will have a new purpose. This is a great opportunity to give back to mankind from whom you have taken so much.”

Calida shuddered for a brief moment and withdrew. The man’s mind was a disturbing series of incoherent images. She hadn’t detected the clouded presence of the pills that everyone else was taking. But she did sense the man was an immediate and deadly threat to her. She couldn’t tell how or why. Calida uncrossed her legs and leaned forward.

“So you want me to be an assassin?” she asked and again smiled.

“You would be an operative with this agency protecting the interests of your country.”

“Maybe I don’t want to be a citizen of this country. Why should I care about mankind’s inability to get along with itself?”

“Think of this as an offer you cannot refuse.” The Director returned her smile.

“If I refuse you’ll just keep me in here like some kind of pet?”

“My dear Calida, I would never think of you as a pet, but even this agency doesn’t have bottomless funding. After your scientific value comes to an end there will be no more use for you.”

“You think like a vampire,” Calida said, and she casually slid her flip flops off and pressed the balls of her feet on the concrete floor. “If I don’t accept this offer you’ll just kill me when the time suits you?”

“It would be terribly unwise to have an unsupervised vampire running—”

Calida sprang forward and crashed into the plexiglas. The barrier shrieked as it bowed outward but held. Calida rebounded backward onto the cement floor and jumped to her feet with inhuman speed. She started to laugh as blood spurted from her broken nose.

The Director remained seated and smiled at her. “Well done, I wondered what was keeping you from making an attempt at me. I am, after all, just a weak old man with a cane,” he said. “And I’m certainly no match for such a remarkable creature as you.”

Calida wiped the blood from her mouth with the back of her hand. “I think I can get to you if I just keep trying,” she said, and turned her shoulder toward the weakened barrier, but hesitated. She was surprised the man remained seated.

“Before you make another senseless charge I want to show you something,” the Director said, and motioned for Calida to come closer.

Calida relaxed and stepped up to the plexiglas still trying to figure a way to get to the man.

He reached inside his suit and took out what looked like a cell phone. “What I have here is simply an insurance policy. You don’t seem to understand so let me explain this policy to you in simple terms.” He opened up the device and revealed two large buttons, one white and one black. “When you were first brought here you were, of course, a mess . . . my apologies. Our surgeons closed some of the larger wounds to help with the healing process, but they also performed one other important procedure.”

Calida stared at the device in the Director’s hand. “You are a little monster in your own way,” she said. “What did your bastard doctors do to me?”

“They merely left something behind, something small that they attached to the inner wall of your skull. And thanks to our good Doctor Ryan your system can’t reject or expel it like a bullet. And yet this is a very special bullet in its own way.”

“Ryan did this to me?”

“Doctor Ryan doesn’t know anything about your little guest,” the Director replied. “He merely devised a way of coating a small electronic tracking device that a vampire’s system wouldn’t reject and force out of its flesh.” The Director looked at Calida. “You have two of these in your body right now from that small encounter you had with one of my agents two months ago, remember? You were shot twice at a very intimate range with a small caliber pistol before you escaped.”

“I guess I should thank you for the meal,” Calida said with nearly two thousand years of practiced contempt. “What does the one in my head do? Kill me if you push your little button?”

“Precisely, my dear, but only if I push the right button. The device inside your skull contains a small and yet powerful explosive charge. It would turn your lovely head into a jumbled mass of brains and bone in a fraction of a second. Even your remarkable healing ability couldn’t deal with that.” The Director stood up. “Of course I don’t need to push the button. The implant has a proximity sensor that will set off the explosive if you get within five feet of me.” The Director stepped forward until he was several feet from the plexiglas.

Calida suddenly reached up and placed her hands on the sides of her head.

“I’m sure that it’s quite uncomfortable,” the Director said. “When you’re within ten feet of me that little warning will go off. The device has a high frequency sonic alarm that rapidly heats up the surrounding tissues. Must be terribly painful.”

Calida backed up past her cot until the far wall stopped her. She fell to her knees and gasped. The intense pain subsided, but the after effects were nearly as bad.

“I can also administer this punishment by pushing the other button on my little hand held friend. I can send the signal from either button anywhere in the world at any time using agency satellites. There’s nowhere on the planet you can go that’s beyond my reach.”

Calida slowly got to her feet and leaned back against the wall. “What do you want from me?”

“I’ll accept the trembling of your voice as a sign we understand each other.  Do you accept my country’s generous offer of service?”

“You’ve left me no choice,” she replied, her eyes still blinking away the effects of the device.

“Excellent decision, my dear.” The Director turned toward the observation window and waved. “First we’re going to take down this awkward barrier. You’ll be given clothes and anything else you desire. You are not to attempt any physical contact with members of my staff. If they need to touch you they will only do so if they’re wearing gloves. We don’t want any of that imprinting nonsense to happen, do we?”

“I won’t touch anyone.”

“You must also make no attempt to leave this cell or this facility until given permission and your training is finished. Sensors have been installed throughout the complex that can—how did you say it?—push my little button. Only after I personally disarm the system will you be allowed to walk out of this cell without being harmed.”

“We both know what I am, but you . . . you’re something much worse.” Calida drew her lips back and exposed her fangs. “You’re a pathetic coward.”

“How very kind of you.” The Director returned the handheld detonator back to his suit pocket. “So we understand each other at last . . . very good. Now go to your bed and sleep. When you awaken the barrier will be down and Doctor Lei will bring you some fresh cloths. We still need to study you for a time so your cooperation will be expected.” The Director watched as Calida walked over to her cot and sat down. “One last thing, my dear, you are not to tell anyone about the device in your head. That will be our little secret. Is this understood?”