Midnight Squad: The Grim (6 page)

           
The sheets were changed, I’d dressed in a powder blue
dress shirt, khaki slacks, and I was just tying the laces on my shoes when I
heard a knock. “
Grimmy
…
Grimmy
…are
you awake?” DD’s chubby head poked in. I think she was a little disappointed in
finding me dressed. “How did you sleep?”

           
“I slept.” I grunted. Sharing your wet dreams with
coworkers is the quickest way to become ex-coworkers. As weird as that dream
was, I was afraid I’d have to go in front of a shrink if it got out. I saw the
hurt expression on her face. “I’m sorry DD. I’m going to have to get used to
this sleep schedule. Apparently I’m grumpy when I wake up.” She smiled back at
me. I guess I’d smoothed over things. Lucky for me DD is the forgiving sort. She
smiled at me and giggled, “Grumpy, like a big angry teddy bear.” I don’t know
that I liked the comparison, but I wasn’t going to push it. DD is one of the
nicest people I’d ever met, and I’d feel bad if I screwed that up. I’d even be
willing to overlook the fact she was eye humping me from the doorway right now.

           
I followed DD to the elevator. Once inside she pressed
the button for level two. I leaned against the wall, DD stood as close to me as
possible. Doors closed and we moved down one level. The short trip ended with a
loud squeak of metal on metal. “This thing gives me the creeps. They say it’s
safe, but I always feel like it’s going to fall.” DD said shyly. I thought
she’d been trying to flirt with me when we first got on, but really, it was
just because she was scared. I felt a little better knowing that not everything
involved her trying to get into my pants. “It’s because of the design. If this
elevator had a real ceiling and some walls it would muffle the sounds and you
probably wouldn’t notice it anymore.” DD took a moment for my words to sink in,
before sarcastically responding, “Great, now I don’t know whether I feel safer
to ride this thing, or whether I should just be terrified to ride in an
elevator again ever.” Professionalism may have kept me from laughing, but I may
have snorted a little.

           
We moved into the second level. Wood flooring stretched
down the longest hallway I ever saw. There were two doors on my left, and one
door on my right. Wallpaper with intricate green pastel coloring covered the
walls. Intricate molding traced the ceiling, and crystal lighting cast a gentle
amber light down the hallway. Mirrors and modern artwork hung from the walls.
DD walked me down the hall. As we passed the doors, DD gave me another of her
tours. “That door leads to the recreation room. It’s got a big television, a
ping-pong
table, a bunch of board games, a bunch of other
stuff to keep you busy. Every Thursday night we have movie night. We all choose
a movie to fit a theme. It lasts all night. We get the night off for that while
some I.T. in D.C. downloads the
weeks
video and takes
all the reports. Since they are going over all our stuff we can’t really do
anything but watch movies and wait. Elizabeth says it’s a team building
exercise so that we can bill them for training hours.” Team building
exercise…what next, are we going to get in a drum circle and eat some granola.
Why can’t it just be movie night? A few beers, some smack talk, and an action
movie and we’d get to know one another.

           
“And this door goes to the computer room. You can access
the internet, but no porn, and no gambling.” It seemed kind of stupid that you
have to explain to people not to do that on business computers, and apparently,
it showed on my face. DD said, “The man you replaced liked to gamble, and had a
thing for pregnant Asian midgets. I got sick of having to fix all the viruses
he kept stumbling across. I didn’t go to MIT to spend my time on that kind of
stupid stuff. Plus when they do the weekly download it was infecting the D.C.
computers. So I had to make it a rule so that they’d stop bitching at us about
it.” I nodded. I was definitely impressed. I got the impression that DD was
smart, but I didn’t know she was that smart.

           
“Over here is the war room. We usually come in here for
briefings, reviews, and pretty much anything requiring paperwork and lectures.”
I opened the door and held it so DD could go first, like Mom and Dad taught me.
DD blushed slightly. I guess she’s wasn’t used to doors being held for her.
What kind of place is this where nobody holds a door open for a woman? I
stepped in behind her and looked around. On the back wall was a giant monitor
so we could go over details. A long U-shaped desk stretched almost the entire
span of the room. Elizabeth and the doctor were already waiting on us
discussing something between them. The Boss-lady was wearing a tailored black
pantsuit, and a white silk blouse that probably cost more than my first car.
The material caressed her curves beautifully. I felt myself stiffen as my body
stirred like a sleepy bear right before a meal, and I had to remind myself
about being professional. Clearing my throat, I stepped forward to let them
know they weren’t alone.

           
They both turned to face us. The Doctor eyed me like an
experiment gone wrong. She still had that hair twisted into the tightest bun
I’d ever seen. It practically could have been called a face lift. Considering
the last time I saw her she had her finger in a very special place I was a long
way from becoming a fan of the doctor. Elizabeth shook my hand, “Sergeant, I
trust you slept well.” I nodded, trying my best to keep from looking down the
front of her blouse. At six foot six inches, I am tall enough that if I look a
woman in the eyes I also get an easy opportunity to catch a glance down her
cleavage. It was a big plus at Hooters, not so much when you’re trying to avoid
any future sexual harassment lawsuits. I always had to remind myself that there
is a fine line between acceptable sexual tension, and just being a horny pig.

           
Doc reached out to me. I wasn’t particularly happy to
shake her hand. I know she wore a glove, and cleaned her hands thoroughly, but
I still felt a little ill when I took the hand that had only recently been
knuckle deep inside me. “Sergeant, will you please hand me your weapon.” Doc
really isn’t much for idle conversation. “I don’t have one.” The doctor kept
waiting. I guess the old bat didn’t believe me. “Seriously, I don’t have a gun.
You still have the armory locked down, and I don’t have a personal weapon.”

 
Elizabeth and the doctor sat down and gestured
for us to sit beside them. “We’re going to call in the others one at a time, so
that you can get to know them. You can ask anything you want. We briefed them
about you. There’s only five others working here. After you’ve met them all
we’ll have a brief demonstration for you, and then we’re going to call it a
day.” Five people, all this for five people? “Okay, so what’s with all the
space? This place has twenty levels not counting the ground floor. That’s a lot
of turf for nine people?” I don’t think the Boss-lady liked my line of
questioning, but begrudgingly she answered, “We only make use of the surface
and eight of the first nine levels. This compound was originally a place for
weapons research. Nothing I can discuss officially, or unofficially. We filled
levels sixteen through twenty with concrete when this base was repurposed,
level fifteen is lead-filled, and we sealed levels ten through fourteen up as a
buffer zone. We test the area monthly; I promise it’s all safe. Level eight is
also a buffer zone to some extent, and also where we store our biological
production line. The production line will be housing synthetic enemy combatants
for your training sessions.” I nodded; at least she’s giving me some answers.

 
Elizabeth hit a button, “Penny Cooper, to the
briefing room.” After a few minutes, I heard the doorknob turned, and opened
slowly. A tan arm held it open.
A beautiful gold bracelets
twined from her wrist up to her elbow. The arm was so small that if not for the
bracelet I would have thought it was a little girl about to step inside, but I
was so incredibly wrong.

           
She glided in, and I couldn’t breathe. She was tiny but
beautiful. At best, she was five feet tall, and that was in heels, with deep
red hair that stopped just at her shoulders, full pouting lips with just a hint
of an overbite. There was a gold necklace resting between two large, full, and
I must say perfect breasts. Penny wore a white sundress with red roses on it
that almost forced
you
eyes back to take another
glance at her silky red hair. The dress stopped just at her knees. Smooth, tan
legs stretched down to the floor White sandals twined their way up and tied off
in a perfect little knot at the center of her calf, but after all that I was
still leaving out the best part, two of the most beautiful, bright green eyes
I’d ever seen. Looking into those two emeralds made me feel weak.

           
“Hello, I’m Penny Cooper, Vampire, World of
Warcraft
addict, and hater of all things Twilight related.”
God she’s just beautiful, I could just…wait did she say vampire? “Excuse me
ma’am, could you repeat that please?”

           
“I’m Penny Cooper.” She said with a broad smile.
Beautiful white teeth flashed across her face. I must have heard her wrong the
first time. I stood up, trying not to give away the straining bulge in my
pants. I was definitely glad I didn’t wear the shorts. Right now, it would have
been like shining a neon sign that said hello Mr. Boner! That is definitely not
how I want to make a first impression with this…goddess. “Hello Ma’am, can I
call you Penny?” My Texas accent thickened as it always does when I find a
woman attractive. It’s not something I do on purpose, and unfortunately the
more attractive the woman is the deeper my accent grew. Currently I was
sounding in between country hick, and “you
gotta
perty
mouth.” It was embarrassing, and I felt my face flush
a little.

           
Those sexy red lips turned up into a smile that could
brighten anyone’s day.
“Of course Sergeant Reaper, or would
you prefer Joseph, or maybe Joe?”
I started to answer that she could
call me anything she wanted, but DD interrupted. “He also goes by
Grimmy
. Isn’t that just adorable?” Great, I’m going to
forever be called
Grimmy
. It sounded like what Sesame
Street would name the
muppet
Grim Reaper. Ms. Mann
and the Doctor both looked as though they ate a lemon, but Penny smiled sweet
and kindly. “
Grimmy
” She said, and it was the most
beautiful sound I’ve ever heard. I couldn’t help myself when I gave her a big
moony smile. She giggled, her large chest jiggled, drawing my eyes down to her
cleavage. I was still trying to be professional, but it was like jingling shiny
keys in front of a baby. I couldn’t help myself.

           
Apparently, I was a little more obvious than I realized.
That smile fell into a playful frown. I felt a tiny hand grab around my throat.
It was like iron. There was no give at all. Before I knew it, Penny had lifted
me off the ground with one arm like a doll. Thankfully, she was an itsy bitsy
thing so I didn’t really go too far off the ground. My toes kicked and drug
across the floor. My brain danced as it tried to find answers. I heard Penny’s
voice, but this time it was harder, and much colder. “
Grimmy
,
my eyes are up here.” My eyes lifted from her chest to her beautiful green
eyes. I watched as the vessels in her eyes opened filling with blood until two
red orbs with black irises glared back at me. She was smiling at me again, but
it was predatory. Her mouth opened, “What’s wrong
Grimmy
,
don’t you like it when a woman asserts herself? What’s wrong never heard the
expression, I am woman…hear me roar!” She hissed at me and I heard a
distinctive click as two fangs snapped forward like a rattlesnake, just behind
her normal teeth. They were long, and sharp. I could see tiny ridges along the
front and back of her teeth. It looked as though they were designed to puncture
on the way in, grip and hold someone there, and rip and tear on the way out
unless whatever came out of those ridges retracted.

           
“Penny, don’t hurt him. He’s just a
guy,
you know they all think with their little head.” It was DD. I could hear her
scream but it was like being down a long tunnel. The red eyes blinked and the
blood receded. I was staring into those same perfectly beautiful green eyes.
Her fangs slipped back into her mouth. The same sexy smile from earlier played
back on her face. “I guess it was a bit much…I’m sorry. I should have shown a
little more restraint, I just got sick of the last human. He was a complete
swine.” Penny then nodded to DD, “This one is an improvement. The last one wet
himself and ruined my new pumps, and he’s at least moderately attractive.” She
set me down with and walked to the front of the room. I got the feeling that
I’d passed some type of unspoken test. Like Penny was feeling me out before
they called in the others.

           
I coughed a few times, trying to get some air, and also
trying to regain some self-control. Finally, I croaked, “Ma’am, I have six
sisters. I’m sorry, I should know better, but you don’t have to worry. If there
is one thing I know it’s that you never ruin a woman’s shoes.” Penny gave me a
broad, warm smile. It took a moment to realize she was waiting for me to ask
questions. “So you’re a vampire?”