Fallen Blood (22 page)

"What's your name?" Brian asked.

"Lieutenant Mason, but you can call me Tom, sir."

"Alright, Tom, we're going to do this ourselves. I want you to bring every on-duty officer back to the station and in here to see me. Every one else get armored up."

Tom started barking orders. "You heard the man! Get moving!" The group dispersed quickly.

Within forty minutes, all on-duty personnel had been called back and were now arming up thanks to Brian's suggestion ability. He couldn't help but wonder why more vampires didn't do this in the books he had read in the past. One problem he hadn't anticipated manifested as time went by. He knew that suggesting all these people in the day would put a drain on him, but what he didn't know was that it seemed to be a
constant
drain on him. As if every one of the officers was slowly draining him of his strength to maintain their obedience. Once again this was something new and he was now grateful he had eaten that extra bag.

Tom knocked on Brian's open door, which had so recently been his. "We're ready, sir."

Brian nodded and took note of the helmet and body armor the man was wearing.

"Alright, load up every car or form of transport we got Tom. I need you to escort us to my house first." The man nodded and barked some orders. Brian instructed the man where they were going and what they were escorting, and the officer just nodded smiling and never questioned him at all. Before he climbed back into Bobby's cab, he took a portable police radio to keep in contact with Tom.

"Alright, fire this rig up, we're off to my house."

"How the hell did you arrange this?" Bobby asked as he fired up his truck.

"I told you, I'm a vampire."

"Yeah, yeah, aren't you hilarious." The trucker grumbled.

"You did it, Brian!" Heather was practically jumping up and down next to him. She stopped when she saw the pained look on his face as he rubbed his temples. "What's wrong?"

"Nothing I can't handle," he said, but he could tell she wasn't happy with the answer. The convoy got under way with three cruisers leading. A patty wagon followed behind them. His next part of the plan had to be executed quickly and hopefully without incident. He needed to get back to his home and pick up one of his mothers family heirlooms. He was sure they had at least some silverware in the house, but he wasn't sure if it was real or plated. He decided he would be better off taking an old hair needle that had been in his family for years according to his mom. It was supposed to be made of silver, so he hoped that it would do the trick. Still, just in case, he would take a few forks as well.

"Tom," Brian spoke into the radio. "Begin plan A."

"Roger that." Tom responded.

"Shouldn't that have been commence operation A?" Bobby asked.

Brian just shrugged. He didn't know the exact lingo, and did it even matter? They were all going to do exactly as he told them. Brian had Bobby pull over as they neared his block. The patty wagon passed by them and followed after three cruisers as they turned out of sight. Minutes later, the radio crackled again, informing him the area was secure.

The area around his house did
look
secure, as the truck pulled outside his home. Across the street was a large SUV. Four agents had their faces down on the ground while several officers stood over their handcuff forms. Three more stood at Brian's front door standing on each side waiting for the command to enter, while several more were standing in the yard with shotguns watching the neighborhood for trouble. He assumed there were officers in his backyard, as well.

"Alright Tom, head in."

He heard Tom give the order, and he watched as an officer used Brian's key in his door. Seconds later, the team disappeared into the house.

"First level clear." Came a voice over the radio.

"Hold your positions." Brian quickly said into the radio. "Heather, I want you and Bobby to stay right here. Be ready to run if anything bad happens. Do you hear me, Bobby?"

The trucker nodded, but said, "I can help."

"I know that, and in this instance you're going to keep Heather safe." A sudden pain shot through Brian's head, and he grabbed his temples and moaned.

"What is it?" Heather began to panic, "what's happening?"

"Augh," was his best answer. "This is seriously taxing me. Now, stay here." He said as he jumped down and ran for his house, pushing aside the fatigue he was starting to feel. Tom met him as he entered the house.

"All secure, do you want us to advance?"

Brian could see the other team from the backyard standing further in the house.

"Clear the upstairs." Brian commanded.

Tom gave the orders and the two teams slowly moved up the stairway in twos. Ten minutes later the all clear order came. Brian ran upstairs and quickly located his mothers heirloom, before heading back downstairs and grabbing some of her forks. Then, he had the basement secured and recovered several cereal boxes containing IVs. As the convoy got under way, heading out to the Warrens, Brian downed an IV. The pain and fatigue left the moment the blood touched his lips, and he noticed Bobby and Heather staring at him as he finished the blood off.

"Shouldn't you be keeping your eyes on the road?" he asked. Bobby averted his eyes and began to look out on the road again, but Heather continued to stare at him, and by her expression, he could tell she seemed a bit disgusted.

"What? You know I'm a vampire."

"Did you kill someone for that?” She pointed at the now empty IV. Brian shook his head as he threw it out his now rolled down window.

"My aunt brings this for me from a blood bank."

"The one in town?" She asked still not sounding happy.

"I guess?" He shrugged, feeling much better as the blood flowed throughout his body.

"Brian, I've donated there."

"So?"

"So you may have eaten my blood." He wasn't sure how to respond to that, in fact he really didn't see what the problem was. When he didn't respond, she shook her head, sat back in her seat, and crossed her arms. Bobby just kept looking forward, and Brian thought he had a bit of a wild look to his face.

"Calm down, Bobby, there's nothing to be freaking out about." Brian said, reaching across the cab and patting the truckers' arm.

"That's easy for you to say. You're not riding with a vampire." Bobby turned and looked at him, pale-faced. He didn't need his driver jumping ship at the moment, but he also hated suggesting him again. He really liked the idea of Bobby being there because he wanted to be, so he decided to hold off on whammying him again, in the hope that he could reason with him.

"Bobby, I'm no different than the day you first picked me up. There's nothing to be scared of.”

The old trucker nodded his head as if he were listening to what Brian was saying. He really felt he was getting through to the old guy until the man abruptly spoke up again.

"So, are you going to kill me?" There was a wildness in his eyes that Brian hadn't seen before. A fear like a trapped animal would have. It was right then that he realized if Bobby had ever really been here willingly, that was now gone. Somehow watching Brian consume that bag of blood had woken something in the man's heart, and it wasn't pretty. Brian knew what he had to do, but it didn't make it any easier. The man he wanted to count a friend was actually a poor, frightened man that he had suggested into helping him.

"Bobby."

"Yeah," the trucker looked over at him. Brian didn't pause. Why should he? He had already suggested a host of men against their wills tonight. Many of them wouldn't survive the encounter with the Annunaki. This man might be one of the ones that didn't. He was no different from the rest, and he need him. He needed him to protect Heather and to take her from danger if the plan didn't work.

"You're going to help me" He said to him as he locked eyes with him. The fearful expression melted away from him and was replaced with a calm serious one.

"Well, of course I am! What in blazes did you think I was going to do?"

Brian sat back in his seat. A shred of his humanity withered away inside him, as the trucker's attitude changed. A piece of him he doubted he'd ever get back. He could see Heather staring at him from the corner of his eye, and he wondered what she was thinking at that moment. Did she realize the price he was paying to help? Did anyone ever give him a choice in all this?

The old Warren place looked about the same that it had through his traveling eyes. The only real difference that he could see was the fact that there were a lot more shrubs and weeds dotting what used to be its yard. One would have thought that whatever branch of the government that used it could have at least afforded some sort of lawn maintenance. Tom had briefed him on his plan and how they were going to secure the first level. Brian told him he didn't think that the top level was being used at all, but Tom insisted that it should be cleared before heading down into the basement.

Seems a little pointless to me.
Brian thought. Whatever was going on was happening down inside the basement. Not upstairs, in fact, he had been up there several times in his traveling form, and in none of those instances had he seen anyone or anything in the upper levels of the old wreck. He guessed they didn't use it simply because it kept the illusion of the old place being deserted. He was about to tell the Lieutenant to focus more on the basement but at the last second decided not to. Better safe than sorry. After all, one would think that the police would know their job better than a seventeen year-old boy.

A command went out, and Brian watched as the teams headed through the broken chain-link fence in teams of three. The lead group went in, paused and knelt down, scanning the area. Moments later, they waved their hands, and the next three moved in past them to the front of the building.

"Damnedest thing." Bobby said as he walked up next to Brian.

"What's that?" Brian turned to look at the old trucker.

"Thought we were running from these guys," Bobby spit, before continuing. "And here we are working with them against those guys in the suits."

Brian nodded. "Things change, I guess."

Heather walked up to the two from the big rig that was parked a little ways behind them with the cruisers and patty wagon. "So it looks like they're going in." She pointed as the first team went in through the front door. Brian assumed that the team that had gone around to the back was entering simultaneously out of sight from them.

"Aha."

"Brian." Heather began. I really should go with you. After all I want to be there when you find my parents."

"We've already been over this Heather, it's just too dangerous."

Heather shook her head. "I don't think so. With all these police how can it be?"

Brian heard the radio announce that the first floor was clear. A slight throbbing behind his eyes became noticeable once again. He decided he needed to have another IV before he headed in with his teams. This time, however, he was going to do it out of sight. He didn't need Bobby freaking out again, or worse Tom or one of the officers losing it after watching him.

"Heather, the moment we find them Tom will send for you."

"But."

"No buts. You go and wait in the truck."

Heather looked furious that she wasn't able to change his decision. She stomped her foot and balled her fists at her side. She almost looked as if she were going to hit him, before relenting and turning to run back to the truck.

"Bobby, you stay with her."

The trucker nodded his head. "She sure is something isn't she."

All Brian could do was nod to that.

"Alright then, guess I should be getting to my truck.." Bobby reached out to shake Brian's hand..

"Remember, if anything goes wrong, Bobby..."

"I know, take off like a bat outta hell and don't look back."

Brian took the old man's hand and shook it. He had a tight grip for being so old. He liked this Bobby, and a part of him was sad that he would only get to know and meet him like this as long as Brian had him under his sway. He had never thought about anyone ever shaking it off before, but then again he never tried suggesting this many people at one time. He had always thought it was a permanent condition. Never once was there any indication that he somehow held those people under his hold before today. He had always believed it was just putting ideas into their minds. Ideas that, like any other thought, were permanent. Now he could see it was more a...charm or some such thing. Maybe a strong hypnotism? Whatever it was, it was putting a strong strain on him now, and he hoped when things got rough, he would be able to maintain control of his allies.