Operation (37 page)

“I’m offering an explanation,” Reese said, “I don’t believe that Samantha would have blown the van up. She may have been crazy but she wasn’t stupid.”

Morris eyed Reese. “I wouldn’t put that option passed her. If she realized her plan had failed, she might have explored that avenue as a way out.”

Reese saw the General was thinking about what he had suggested about Samantha. The man was being forced into a position where he would be blamed for the loss of the assets. He could not explain what happened unless he could come up with a scapegoat and even better, a scapegoat outside of his direct chain of command. In this case Samantha would provide one for him. She wouldn’t be able to defend herself. She was the perfect fall guy.

Morris turned to the first bodyguard, “Get your ass down there. Have them get the fire out and sift through the wreckage. I want proof that the creatures were in there.” Morris turned to Reese, “There would be evidence of their deaths, correct?”

“Yes, sir. If they were in there when it exploded, the separation of their head from their bodies would have caused them to internally combust. There should be evidence of ash.”

“That’s it? Only ash?” asked the General.

“Yes, sir. When they combust, even their skeletal frames turn to ash,” explained Reese.

Morris seemed to mull this over for several seconds. Then he turned to his remaining two bodyguards and said, “Wait outside.” The men left the room. “This has the potential to be quite a mess,” he said to Reese. “If we find this ash, there will be questions.”

“Yes, sir,” said Reese. He saw it coming now. The General wanted every ally he could get when the questions were asked and that included Reese. If nothing else, Morris was predictable. Now Reese had to play him like a well used violin, carefully stroking the strings to get the tune just right.

Morris continued: “You remember what I said about this agency. Like a dog with a bone, they don’t let go.”

“Yes sir,” Reese began, but then asked, “permission to speak candidly?”

“Go ahead.”

“If I may be so bold as to suggest; there is nothing left for them to hang onto.”

“What do you mean?”

“It’s pretty clear to me that if Samantha took the creatures, which she obviously did, we have evidence of her being in the van while the rest of us were incapacitated, she was either working on agency orders or on her own. In either case, it was her recklessness that caused their demise as well as her own. If the agency admits to trying to take the creatures from military control, they lose. If they deny any involvement and she acted alone, they are in the clear and so are you.”

“I see,” Morris said. “Yes, I see.” The General walked about the room as he considered what Reese had suggested. A few moments passed and then he turned and said, “Why don’t you get down to the site and take a look. Bring Commander Pattoon with you as well. If you find this ash, let me know immediately.”

“Yes, sir,” Reese said as he turned to leave.

“And Reese,” Morris called.

“Sir?”

“How did Samantha escape the gas? I didn’t see her with a mask?”

“I don’t know, sir,” Reese answered. “She must have had it hidden somewhere on her.”

Morris stared at Reese. “Yes, I suppose so. What other logical explanation could there be? I just wonder how she got through security with it.”

Reese held his breath and waited.

“Get going,” Morris said.

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As Reese headed for the remains of the van, he was joined by Barkley whose face appeared flustered and confused.

“What the hell happened?” he asked in a low voice not wanting to be overheard. “Why did they remove our masks? And I saw…she was…she was inside the van when it exploded. That’s murder, John! That was not supposed to happen. What the hell is going on here?”

“I don’t know,” Reese said quietly. “None of that was my plan. It wasn’t my idea; it must have been Dimitri’s. He knew we would have objected if we realized what he was going to do, so they removed our masks.”

“But murder, John?” Barkley repeated.

Reese stopped and faced Barkley. “Sam, I need you right now. Don’t flake out on me. I need you to go to the van and find the ash we planted inside and confirm the deaths of the vampires.”

“Yeah, sure,” he said, his face still showing his mental anguish. “When this is over, I’m done. I would never have agreed to help you if I’d known we’d be part of killing.”

“Sam, we had no way of knowing he was going to do that. I won’t try and justify what he did, but they saw it as survival because we all know that as long as she lived, they would have to look over their shoulders.”

“But you tricked her once, maybe you could have done it again?” asked Barkley. “There might have been a chance.”

“I guess they didn’t want to take that risk,” offered Reese. He knew it was a weak answer, but it was the only one he could offer.

Barkley fell silent.

“Come on, let’s get this over with,” Reese said.

“Then what?” asked Barkley.

“Then I go out to the old base and get some answers,” said Reese.

“You go alone,” snapped Barkley. “We’re finished.”

Reese cursed Dimitri in his thoughts. Sam had been a good friend and the man had trusted him. But now Reese knew that whatever threads of friendship they’d possessed, were gone for good. Sam would always remember that he, although unknowingly, had played a part in Samantha’s death.

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The van exited the Naval Amphibious base as an explosion lit up the night sky and then quickly faded away.

“It’s done,” Dimitri said to no one in particular as he looked out the window into the night.

Andre and Iliga sat in the front seats. The two girls sat in the far rear seats And Dimitri and Christina sat in the middle seats of the van.

“And now what?” Christina asked. “We destroyed our only hope of getting out of here. The woman could have been controlled and there might have been a way to get us back to our home.”

“It was necessary,” said Dimitri. “If it could have been avoided, I would have sought another way.”

“Perhaps,” replied Christina. “So where will we go now, back to the abandoned base?”

“No. That place is done with. You know that will be the first place that he will go when he finishes what he must do at the explosion site. We agreed that we would live the lie that we created this night. It is best for everyone. You left him a note, didn’t you?”

Christina looked at Dimitri with a look of disbelief, but it quickly faded. “You don’t miss much do you?”

“It’s a survival trait,” he simply answered.

“Yes, I left him a note” she said. “Still, he will go back to the old site and he shall go with hope that he can still salvage what he seeks. He might not seek a physical resolution, but will need peace in his thoughts and dreams.”

“The dreams that plagued Commander Reese earlier will no longer haunt him,” said Dimitri. “That part is over.”

“Perhaps,” she said, “but I wonder if he will only replace one nightmare with another. His soul is deep and the feelings that run through it are fast and strong. This, I know as well as I know myself.”

“And this person, this self that you know, is this a person who sees the truth of what must be?” asked Dimitri.

“I see the truth but I also see the hope that there is always a chance for things no matter how far apart they may seem. Some things can, and do, change over time, but others always remain the same. We are creatures of basic necessity; there is no denying that just as I will not deny that I love him. However, I see these girls,” she said indicating Ishma and Crema, “and I see they need a mother, at least for a while and I have committed myself to that role. I will help them to adjust to their lives as best I can.”

“Your hope is encouraging,” said Dimitri, “as well as your desire for what you must do. We are committed to our kind first and foremost; this is something that is an undeniable part of us. We cannot harm one another or allow harm to come to one another. It is our law.”

Christina gave Dimitri a sharp look. “You philosophize and rationalize, yet you miss what is important.”

“And that is?” he asked.

“You said it yourself, we are creatures of evolution. We must change and adapt our ways if we are to survive. Yet in your own rhetoric, you speak of a resistance to change.”

“I do what I know must be done,” he said flatly.

“Does that make it right?” she said her voice threatening.

“I do what Alexander taught me to do. He was our master and we carry out his wishes.”

“He lived a long time ago, in a different place and time. What he knew is gone. His time is not like this one. It is time to change again. Why are you so stubborn?”

“What is wrong?” Ishma asked from the back of the van. Her voice sliced through the heated debate of Dimitri and Christina, allowing them a few seconds to calm themselves.

“Nothing,” said Dimitri, “we were just talking.”

A few seconds of silence passed between Dimitri and Christina until Dimitri spoke, “We shall find a way home to our country. We shall live and survive as we have all these years. This much we agree upon?”

“Yes,” Christina agreed. “I shall do this for a period of time. I have my commitment I must live up to. But it is only for a while because there are other things I must do as well.”

Dimitri nodded and smiled. “We are not so much different from the humans are we?”

“What do you mean?” she asked.

“They seek to use us and we seek to use them: It is only the methodology that is different. It is in the same way in that I have avoided contact with them while you have sought them out and embraced them. Perhaps there is a compromise somewhere that can be obtained and I refuse to see it.”

“Isn’t that what life, whether mortal or immortal, is all about: Seeking a compromise?”

“I suppose it is,” he agreed. “I have always said that but in terms of only our kind. Perhaps I have erred.”

“Then this is something we must explore,” she said.

“Gently,” he said, “caution is always a good thing. Change can be a dangerous thing if it is approached too quickly.”

“Then we make a good pair,” she said, “the voice of reason and the voice of change. One offsets the other.”

There was a sense of finality to her words and the conversation ended.

Dimitri turned his gaze back to the passing buildings as they drove on into the night and a future that he wasn’t sure what was to come with it. As if sensing his uncertainty, he felt Christina’s hand upon his.

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The investigation of the burnt wreck came to an end as the morning sun rose in the east. The group of investigators marched back inside the compound for the briefing that had been scheduled to review their findings. The group consisted of Reese, Barkley, Pattoon, an explosive expert, as well as a forensic specialist. They all entered the main conference room and took seats around the large wooden conference table.

Shortly after their arrival, General Morris and another man, who Reese did not recognize, joined them. Although he did not know the man, the logical guess was that he was somehow connected to the agency. He was tall and skinny with bone white colored hair. His non-descript black suit seemed to hang loose from his shoulders. The man’s facial features were sunken, which made Reese think of someone subjected to sleep deprivation once too many times. But the single feature that stuck out was the intensity of the man’s eyes. They were the kind that gave you the feeling that they were looking right through you. In the man’s hands he held a small leather covered book.

“Let’s begin,” the General said not bothering to introduce the man that had entered with him. “Let’s start with what happened. Warrant Officer Black?”

Eyes turned toward the explosives expert, Chief Warrant Officer Black.

“The explosion was very hot,” he began, “which is in line with the contents of the van. There were extremely flammable products that ignited in addition to the explosive compounds. The combination of materials caused the explosion to virtually vaporize everything inside.”

“And this was caused by the gunfire?” asked Morris.

“Yes, sir. That appears to be the logical explanation,” Black said, “as I mentioned the intensity of the explosion vaporized just about everything. I cannot find any other source of ignition for the explosion so in my opinion, it was the gunfire.”

The man sitting next to the General leaned close to him and whispered something.

“Thank you, Warrant Officer Black,” General Morris said, “You may leave.”

After the warrant officer had departed, Morris turned his attention to Barkley. “Lieutenant Colonel Barkley, your findings if you please.”

“Yes, sir. As the warrant officer mentioned, the intensity of the fire vaporized the contents. In terms of human remains, I found a few bone fragments but mainly ash. I checked the bone fragments for DNA and they positively match the woman known as Samantha. As to the ash, there’s no way to tell who it belongs to.”

“Not even by volume?” the General asked.

“No, sir. Volume would not be reliable due to the firefighting that was performed. Both foam and hoses were used so much of it would have been washed away.”

“If you were to make an educated guess,” Morris pursued, “would you say that there was enough ash for more than one or two people?”

“If I were to guess,” Barkley emphasized the word “I would say that the amount of ash I found would have been enough to account for two or maybe three bodies. That is a WAG at best,” he reminded. “And again, that does not account what was washed or blown away in the wind.”

“I see,” said the General. “Thank you.” Morris turned his attention to Commander Pattoon, “Commander, your report?”

“Yes, sir, I reviewed the tapes of the van’s departure until the time it blew up. The tapes revealed no one leaving or entering the van. Whoever was in there when the van departed this building was killed. In addition, the internal monitoring system was disabled during the gas attack; there are no images of what transpired for approximately fifteen minutes.”