Operation (29 page)

“Shut up!” Christina shouted.

“I’ll use this if I have to,” Samantha said as she raised her hand which contained the remote in her hand.

Christina released the man and he fell to the floor. She gave him a final kick, pushing him several feet from where they stood.

“Temper my dear,” Mr. Smith taunted. “You haven’t exactly been honest yourself. You contributed to the man’s death you wish to avenge. Why don’t you explain to us why you have been hanging around Commander Reese?”

“What?” Samantha said. “Reese? You know of him? Why didn’t you say anything?”

“Oh, I think she knows more of him then we thought,” Smith insinuated. “Christina has been a very naughty little assassin. I checked the tracking records and discovered she has been hanging with our good friend Commander Reese on numerous occasions. Until now, I didn’t know what she looked like. I do know she even signed up for his class. I saw you there,” he said pointing at her with his finger.

“What do you know?” Samantha demanded. “What did Reese tell you? Answer me!”

“I know enough,” she said. “When you had me kill General Stone and Commander Scott, I learned of Commander Reese. I was curious so I went to see him to find out why the General had said certain things about him.”

“You didn’t report that,” Samantha said angrily. She marched toward Christina with the remote detonation switch in her hand in a threatening manner. “How much does Reese know?” she demanded. “You tell me or I’ll blow you to fucking pieces!”

“He knows enough,” a voice said. Out of the shadows Reese strode into plain view of the rest of them. His face was contorted into a look that reflected anger as his eyes darted around but when they settled upon Christina his faced appeared a clear look of betrayal.

“Well isn’t this interesting,” Smith said. “Here we all are.”

“Yes,” Reese agreed, “here we all are.”

“I have to know, Reese,” said Smith, “how long did it take for you to realize your girlfriend was a murdering assassin as well as a vampire?”

“I didn’t know,” Reese said coolly as he looked directly at Christina. “She maintained her cover perfectly the entire time I was with her as she used me to get information. Apparently she is very good at what she does.”

“You’re shitting me!” Smith cried. “Damn cold blood and all. What did you think you were kissing there buddy? Flesh and blood? Well there is some flesh, although it is dead, and blood, yeah well there is some of that too but who knows whose it is.”

“That’s enough!” Samantha shouted. “We are wasting time.” She turned her attention to Reese. “You will work together to find the girls.”

“No,” Reese said.

“No? What do you mean no?”

“I’m done with this,” he said. “This and a lot of things,” he said as he glared at Christina.

“I don’t think so,” Smith said as he drew his gun out from its shoulder holster. “We insist upon your cooperation in our continued working relationship.”

“You know what, Smith?” Reese said.

“What?”

“Bite me.”

“You’ve been hanging around your girlfriend too long,” Smith said and then laughed. “I’m not into that kind of kinky stuff.”

“But I am,” a voice sounded behind him.

Smith turned to face the direction from where the voice had come from. A tall figure stepped into the light. “Who the hell are you?” Smith asked as he leveled the gun at his approach.

“My name is Dimitri Bicannoff and I am one that does bite.”

“Screw you!” Smith said and fired.

The bullets passed harmlessly through his body and a smile appeared on Dimitri’s face as he watched Smith’s expression of murderous rage turn to fear.

“My turn?” asked Dimitri.

C
HAPTER
F
IFTY
-E
IGHT

Reese watched as the gunshots passed harmlessly through Dimitri. His head ached from the gunfire which was deafening in the underground cavern. But the pain from the sound did nothing to dispel the feelings of shock and betrayal that Reese was feeling. Feelings that struck deep into his heart.

Christina was a vampire.

He became detached from what was happening around him as he wallowed in his own doubt and anger. He didn’t want to believe what he had just heard but deep inside he knew it was the truth. All of it. She killed for the agency. Her latest assignment had been the murders of General Stone and Commander Scott and that was where she learned about him and the possible existence to other creatures like herself. She wanted to learn about them through him. She used him to find others of her own kind.

Her own kind.

He remembered the words that had haunted him when he had used that phrase to try and understand Dimitri and his own visions of what life as a vampire would consist of. Now it all seemed meaningless to him as he watched the expression of Smith’s face change to reflect the natural fear of these creatures. Yes, you should fear them, all of them you perverted son of a bitch!

“Reese,” a voice screamed at him.

“What?” he moaned as if awakening from a dream. “What?” he asked again as he returned to the present.

“Reese!”

Reese turned toward Samantha just as she stepped up next to him. She grabbed him by his shirt with tightly clenched fists.

“So you didn’t kill them,” Samantha said.

Reese faced the woman who now had a look of anger upon her face, the tightened lines around her eyes and the terseness of her voice was matched by her words. “You son of a bitch, you turned them loose. All of them?”

“All of them,” Reese simply answered. He saw no point in hiding what was apparent. He knew that Samantha was extremely intelligent and would naturally conclude the truth after seeing Dimitri.

“What gave you the right?” she asked. “They could have been used to help your country, yet you chose to set them loose to prey upon innocent humanity.”

“With one big exception,” he added, “with you, they would have killed whom you chose, like her,” he said indicating Christina. “But this way, it’s random and not always human life. There’s no innocence left to protect, it’s all gone to shit.”

The thunderous sound of the gunfire was replaced by the sound of the clicks from the now empty gun. Reese watched as Dimitri stepped into reach and backhanded Smith. The force of the blow sent the man across the hard cement floor for several feet before coming to a stop. He didn’t get up.

“That’s enough,” Samantha shouted. She showed everyone the device in her hand. “This party is over unless you want to see Christina here blown to pieces. I offer you all a chance to be part of history.”

Reese stared at the device and was surprised at how much it mirrored his own design that he had used with his team; however, he did not see a collar on Christina and he wondered what it controlled. Samantha continued, “Together we can change the world.”

“No thank you,” Dimitri said interrupting her, “we do not wish to change the world to fit the order that you want.”

Christina laughed at Dimitri’s statement. For a brief instant, they exchanged a smile. Reese saw it and felt anger and jealousy. He turned his attention back to Samantha trying to diffuse the situation.

“Samantha,” Reese began, “it’s over. All of this madness.”

“No it’s not,” she said adamantly. “And you can be a part of it as well. Think what we can do John. We can make the world a better place.”

“No, he said, “I have to agree with Dimitri on this one. You want to make the world into what you think is right even if it means killing to do so. I’m not into playing God.”

Samantha’s face turned angry as she looked at Christina and Dimitri who now stood side by side. With her free hand she removed a small handgun from her holster under her jacket and pointed it squarely at Reese. In her other hand she held the remote device out with her thumb poised over the switch. “John, I can’t risk them falling into anyone else’s hands. This is an ‘all or nothing’ offer.”

Reese glanced over at Christina. For a brief moment their eyes locked but he refused to allow himself to linger upon them. The time to act was now. He returned his gaze back toward Samantha and he smiled and shook his head. “No. If we end it here and now, then at least the nightmare will be over.”

There was a brief silence and then all hell broke loose. Samantha fired the gun and depressed the button on the device at the same moment. Reese saw the puff of smoke from the handgun as he heard an explosion which he knew was not from the gun, but from some explosive device off to his side.

A bomb was inside of Christina? Was that what the remote controlled? He had killed them both.

Whether it was from the explosion or the bullet, Reese found himself being lifted off the ground and hurtling through the air. Darkness settled upon him and, strangely enough, he welcomed it because death would finally bring an end to this madness.

C
HAPTER
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IFTY
-N
INE

“Sir, we can’t get hold of Reese,” Commander Pattoon said to General Morris. “He’s not answering calls at home or on his cell.”

They were in the command center of the SEAL compound. “What about Smith?” asked Morris.

“Same.”

“How sure are you about this information?” Morris asked.

“Reese asked me to check out any homes under the name he gave me and one came up. It fits all the possible search criteria.”

“So you think that Reese was working on a hunch of some kind that led him to this house?”

“Yes sir. He seemed very interested in it. In fact when he gave me the name, his voice said it was like a challenge of some sort.”

“What do you mean?” the General asked.

“He said it as if he knew the person and that they wouldn’t possibly do anything so brazen.”

“Interesting,” the General said, “very interesting.”

“We can have everyone in place in less than an hour,” said Pattoon.

“What’s your recommendation, Commander?”

“Time is critical. I suggest we move on it at first light.”

“Where is the house? Bring it up on screen.”

Pattoon pressed a few keys on the keyboard and an aerial map appeared on the screen. An arrow pointed to a house.

“This is it here. It’s in the Ocean View area of Norfolk, and that’s not at all far from here. It would have been very convenient the night of the operation as well. And, the house has a bomb shelter.”

“Yes, I get it,” the General said sounding annoyed. “And what was the other evidence you had?”

“Surveillance has two girls and three men on video but it’s nothing more than a glimpse.”

“Still it could be another trap,” the General mused.

“That is a possibility,” agreed Pattoon.

“Why the hell did Reese pick this moment to be out of contact?”

“Sir, with all due respect, Reese is an asshole,” Pattoon spat out.

The General looked at Pattoon but said nothing. After what felt to the younger man like hours, Morris replied, “Commander Pattoon, Reese may be an asshole but at least he’s an intelligent one. You on the other hand are just an asshole.”

Pattoon appeared speechless as he struggled to say something. He finally settled on, “Yes sir.”

“Now, have Commander Ritter go ahead with the operation.”

C
HAPTER
S
IXTY

Reese opened his eyes. When his vision finally came into focus, he saw that he was staring up at a ceiling made of smooth cement. One side of his head throbbed immensely and he raised his hand to touch it. A bolt of pain exploded through his head causing him to shut his eyes. As painful as it was, the pain did confirm that he was still very much alive. He was not sure if he should be happy or sad about this discovery and finally decided that ambivalence was perhaps the best he could do for the moment.

When the pain subsided and he was able to open his eyes, he examined his surroundings. He was in a large bed within a cavernous room. Although it had been extensively decorated, he took note of the cement walls and ceilings concluding that he was still in the underground compound. He remembered those last moments of Samantha firing her gun and pressing the button on the remote device. There was an explosion and…

“How’s the head,” a woman’s voice asked him.

He turned his head slowly to see Christina standing next to the bed.

She was still alive…

“How? What happened?” he asked. “The explosion, there was…it was inside of you?”

Christina took a step closer to the bed. “Samantha didn’t know that I removed the explosive device from my own body. I kept it with me because it had a tracker built into it and she would have noticed the lack of movement eventually. When she showed up here tonight, I knew I had to get rid of it because before the night was over after I told her I was done with her and her organization, she was going to press that button. When the man admitted to killing Jake, I knew she wouldn’t let me kill him so I used the opportunity to put the explosive device inside of his jacket.”

“Who was Jake?” asked Reese as he winced from the pain.

“It’s rather a long story. Get some rest. We can talk later.”

Then he remembered, “The gun? Did I get shot?”

“No. When the explosion went off, she fired the gun at the same moment. Dimitri was able to push you out of the way of the bullet, but he had to use such force that you were thrown against the wall where you received the head injury. I think you might have a concussion.”

“Oh,” he said. Now that the immediate answers had been gotten, his feelings of anger and frustration returned. “Why didn’t you tell me?” asked Reese. “Why didn’t you tell me that you’re a vampire?”

“We’ll have a long talk later,” she said. “You need to rest. Now sleep.”

Reese tried to fight the fatigue and the pain, but he couldn’t. In addition, Christina’s suggestion of sleep offered a reprieve and he was glad to take it. He closed his eyes and drifted.

***

The darkness of the night passed into the light of the day. Christina could feel this as she exited her bedroom. There would be no rest this day with all that had happened and all that waited to be learned. She returned to the living room area of her home at the same moment Dimitri entered from another corridor. She stared at the man as he moved easily and effortlessly toward where she now was. She still had a difficult time believing that he, as well as the other man that had joined them, the one called Andre, were creatures just like her. They had been somewhat cautious in their brief discussions and had not delved much beyond her connection to the agency and Dimitri’s and his men’s previous affiliation with the military and Commander John Reese.