Operation (21 page)

So many secrets about this place…so many…

Jake returned to the police cruiser and opened the trunk again. He removed a flashlight and turned it on to ensure it worked, and then he returned to the driver’s seat, placed the flashlight next to him on the seat and started the car up. He moved the vehicle toward the opening and turned on the headlights. The light shot down the cement floor as the car entered the mouth of the underground facility. In the beams of the light, dust danced all around the vehicle. The clouds were thick, giving the appearance of a snowstorm but without the wetness. He kept the car moving slowly as he proceeded downward.

He approached the arcing turn he remembered and slowly turned with it as it took him around the corner. When the tunnel straightened out, the headlights illuminated the large area he remembered as the rotary of this underground world. He drove the car to the center of the open area and stopped.

In this underground area, he knew that the GPS locator system in the police car would not work—too deep to get a satellite signal. That fact would add to the theory that the car had been stolen and that the police officer had probably been killed and left for dead in some remote area. There would be more visits to the site when the investigation into the disappearance of the police officer intensified. The story that Jake would tell over an over again was that he met the officer, they drove around for an hour or two, and then the officer left. 

Jake sat in the car, waiting.

Come on, Jake…what are you waiting for? Hmm? You’ve done what had to be done. Now get out of the car and get your ass back up the tunnel and back into the daylight.

He turned the ignition off but left the lights on and the keys in.

Why not? I’m not going to be using it. It can stay here and rot for all I care, besides…it’s evidence that could get me in a world of shit.

He opened the door and stepped out into the darkness, feeling the air settle upon him. It was cool and dank and smelled of earth.

Let’s get the hell out of here, Jake.

He took a single step and then something gripped his shoulder and he couldn’t move. The stony, icy feel of the grip triggered the memory of all those years ago.

1944

Jake’s youthful body froze under the hand that held him. His entire body paralyzed to the point that he no longer felt the dampness at his groin. A cold dank breath on the back of his neck smelled of damp earth and something that had gone rotten or spoiled. His stomach contracted and expanded violently as the sickening smell ran its course through his senses. He knew that he would be sick in a matter of seconds. His uncontrollable reaction and movement were met with a warning.

“Don’t move,” the voice said.

Jake heard the words and tried to curb his stomach’s reaction to the smell. Then, as if his mysterious captor had sensed his discomfort, the smell also vanished, changing to the smell of roses.

With his stomach under control, Jake focused his thoughts on the two words spoken to him. There was an accent...German or something…maybe European and…it was female.

“Your life depends on what you tell me,” the voice continued. “Lie to me and you die immediately. Do you understand?”

“Yes,” Jake said, as he felt the grip tighten on his shoulder. He involuntarily winced.

“Good. Are you alone?” she asked.

“Yes.”

“Why are you here? You aren’t dressed like the others…the soldiers. And you are very young.”

“I work here…the area above.” His voice trembled.

“Answer my question! Why are you here?”

“Awwww—” Jake screamed in pain as she gripped him harder. “I work on the base—at the motor pool—do odd jobs. I drove a truck the other night—I met the plane that the container came in on and brought it to the area above here. I wanted to know why everything was so secretive and what was in it?”

He continued to stare straight ahead, still denied a view of the woman that held him forcefully. He was surprised at the strength in her grip.

Had she killed all those men…six soldiers? How?

“Curiosity?” she said, her voice sounding slightly amused, not the harsh tone used so far. “You were just curious of what they brought. How interesting...”

Jake felt her grip release slightly.

“Who knows you’re here?”

“No one.”

“Are you sure?”

“Yes. I could get in a lot of trouble.”

“Where is this place?” she asked.

“I don’t…understand?” Jake stammered.

“Where are we? I know we are not in Kosovo.”

“Kosovo?” he asked. Jake had no idea where that was.

“Tell me!” she said and squeezed his shoulder.

 “This is Virginia. Suffolk, Virginia. This place is Monogram Field, a Navy air field.”

“Virginia…the United States of America,” she said. “
West
.”

The way she said United States of America was peculiar, Jake thought. The accent and the place she mentioned—Kosovo, it sounded European and it all came together. She was from somewhere in Europe and brought here for some reason. Why?

The hand left Jake’s shoulder.

“Do not run if you wish to live,” she said. “Remember there were six of them and I am unharmed. You can do nothing that will hurt me. Do you understand?”

“Yes,” Jake answered.

He touched the spot on his shoulder where she had held him and winced. It felt as if the bone itself was bruised in some way. The urge to flee was strong—but he remembered the bodies. A single woman should not have been able to do that against six soldiers. He wondered if there was someone else here with her and she was lying. There appeared to be no other possible explanation.

“Let me see you.” Her voice echoed in the underground enclave. “Turn toward me.”

Jake turned to face this mysterious woman. His eyes immediately went to her face and he gasped. She was beautiful.

“My God…” he muttered.

His eyes went to hers. They were brown and alluring with such depth that it felt as if they were calling to him: touching the deepest part of his soul and pulling him into them. He could be content to just stay here looking into those eyes. The feeling was so strong and compelling, that he imagined he would not ever need another thing as long as he could look into her eyes. This both thrilled and scared him. He forced himself to blink several times and try to look away, yet he felt her eyes searching and in some way demanding that he look at her again.

Her face was
perfect
. He could think of no other way to put into words what he saw. She had a strong aquiline shaped nose; her lips were smooth as satin, full and enticing. Just below them was a small dimple highlighting the shape of her chin. He further explored the round curves of her cheekbones, the silky skin. He could imagine his fingers tracing over that skin, feeling the softness of it. She was petite and young.

Her hair was a rich brown and long, touching the top of her shoulders. He wanted nothing more then to reach out and caress the strands between his fingers and to feel the tantalizing softness on his flesh. His gaze continued down her body. She had full and firm breasts. Her clothing was plain and tattered, badly worn from age. Her clothes, arms and hands were splattered with blood. His earlier feelings of lust quickly left him as he felt the acidic taste of bile in his throat.

“From attraction to disgust,” she said, in a matter-of-fact tone. She looked directly at Jake and smirked. “Do not be so hasty to judge until you know the entire story.”

When she smirked at him, Jake saw her bright teeth, so white they almost glowed in the dim light.

“You killed them…all of them?” Jake asked. His thoughts torn between the beauty he saw in this woman and the blood on her from the dead soldiers.

“Yes, I did,” she said casually.

Jake watched as she moved from circle him. She was quick and nimble, her movements effortless, as if she were gliding along the floor—the flowing sensual grace of each movement accentuating her body’s contours in a teasing manner.

He reminded himself that she claimed to be a killer—a murderer. But how?

How could she have done it? They were soldiers.

He reminded himself that he had felt her strength but still he wondered how anyone so young and beautiful could be so cruel.

“Why?” he asked. “Why did you kill them?”

“They sought to imprison me. To study me as a lab animal.”

“I don’t understand.”

“You don’t have to understand,” she said, waving a hand dismissively. “I will give you what I did not give them: a choice. I offer you life or death. If you want to live, you must help me to understand this place, this airfield as you call it. If you choose not to, then I offer you death.”

“What gives you the right…?”

She grabbed him by the throat with her hands before he could finish his sentence.

“I have a right! They tricked me and brought me here, I did not agree to this.”

Jake felt his feet lift off the ground as she raised him up in the air. Her nails were sharp and he felt them tear into his skin. He felt warm blood, his own blood, begin to trickle down his skin.

“What are you?” Jake gasped.

She spoke while she held him effortlessly in the air. “Once I was like you…a long time ago. Now I am what haunts your nightmares. I am what people fear at night. I kill to survive. I am vampire!”

“No…”

“You don’t believe me? Would you like me to show you? What would you have me do?”

Without waiting for any response, she bared her teeth again. Jake’s eyes widened as he saw her canine teeth elongate into two fangs.

“Shall I kill you?” she asked, as she drew him close.

Jake felt her breath on him and shivered.

“Shall I drink your blood?” she said, drawing his neck to her lips.

Jake felt the sharpness of the extended fangs brush against his skin. She licked the blood where her nails had cut into his flesh, then she moved her mouth up and down, as if searching for the best place to bite.

Jake waited for the pain to come, but it never did. Instead, he felt his fear retreat and his earlier sexual attraction return. He closed his eyes and immersed himself in the feeling. He saw himself with this beautiful woman…he could feel her body in his hands. Her smooth skin against his body and her lips moist and warm against his.

She murmured in softly, “I can give you this…or I can…”

Pain surged through him. In his own mind, he saw her ripping into his throat with her teeth and long nails—tearing his flesh apart, blood flowing from the wounds—laughing at him with bloodstained lips.

Then it was gone. Jake opened his eyes and found himself lying on the floor, gasping for air.

“Choose.” she said to him, her voice coming from above where he lay. He looked up at her. He tried to think…to make sense of this. She had said she was a vampire.
How can this be?

He remembered the bodies lying on the ground and the vicious way in which they died.
Oh God.
He saw the blood on her…all over her hands and arms. He had felt her enormous strength and the fear and lust she had somehow sent through his body.
Aw, Christ…what I have I gotten myself into?

He was consumed in a wave of emotions: life—death—pain—ecstasy.

I want her and I hate her…but I don’t want to die. I have no choice…

“I want to live. What do you want of me?” he said. His throat ached where she had held him earlier.

“You will help me. I am a stranger to this place, this country. If I am to survive, I must understand it. You will be my teacher.”

“Or you will kill me.”

“I am not a cold blooded killer as you would think. I am actually quite compassionate toward those that help me. Help me now and then I will give you what you want…what every mortal wants when they become old and feeble. I will give you the chance of life eternal.”

Jake stared into the eyes of this creature…this woman. He felt himself drawn deeper and deeper into them. She smiled and he saw her teeth were normal again. Then in a voice of pure innocence, she spoke. “My name is Christina.”

Chapter Six

 Christina

1944

Christina felt a moment of jealousy as Jake departed the underground facility.

The sound of footsteps brought her out of her thoughts. They did not alarm her because she had known that the person was there, listening to her conversation with Jake. She watched as the figure emerged from the shadows and stepped into the dim light. Dressed in an Army uniform with a lieutenant’s insignia on his collars, he was the one who had been in command of the soldiers she had killed. Their relationship since departure from her own country had changed. No longer inquisitive about her, he focused on what her contribution to his own organization would be.

His eyes stared intensely at her and in his hand; he held a weapon at ready. She knew the weapon had not been for her, but intended to kill the young man. His other hand remained in his pocket, which she knew contained the device that could activate the explosive device implanted within her.

This is the trust we shall work under…the fear of death? How foolish he is to believe that death is enough. 

He stepped within a few feet of her and stopped. “Why didn’t you kill him?” he demanded. “We must eliminate everyone connected to this operation to protect our secrecy. You agreed to—”

“I have been consumed with hatred and killed many. Your kind cherishes life, yet
you
are so eager to kill,” she said sarcastically. “Do you think so little of life? I have killed six of your men already and you would have me kill more? This young man interests me and he may be useful.”

“They were not
my
men. They were soldiers and expendable,” he said nonchalantly as he placed the pistol back into his holster. His other hand remained in his pocket.

“Expendable. You are so cold,” she said. She turned from the man and walked about the room, surveying the area as she continued to speak. “There is no need to remind me of what I agreed to. We have an agreement. I came here to find something I lost and in return for your assistance, I agreed to do your bidding.”