Full Moon Rising - 02 (4 page)

The enforcers shoved the punk into the van and once they all piled in, Damien was left with sitting on the punk for the ride back.  He wanted to complain because the punk was lumpy and hurt his butt, but since he was surrounded by badasses, he felt it wouldn’t be in his best interest to complain that his punk seat cover wasn’t soft enough.  So, Damien endured just one more humiliating experience.

Oh, how he wished he could fast forward time a couple of centuries so that he could increase his strength and power.  Then he glanced around him and noticed the vampires sitting around him now.  He’d probably end up a bitter asshole just like these characters. 
Somebody needs to pull the stake out of their ass.
He thought, and he chuckled, thinking himself funny.

The punk mumbled something from under him and wriggled around.  Damien told him to sit still and punched him.  Maybe that would impress the enforcers and they would quit impressing their power over him.  Instead of the desired result, he instead felt smothered with wave after wave of power from the enforcers until he felt almost smothered and tiny.  Damien closed his eyes and forced himself to not react to their display of power, but it wasn’t easy.  The ride back across town was going to take fore
ver and the driver made sure he hit every bump along the way.

3

Jack came out of the doctor’s office with Laura in tow.  She had the doctor sign off on his examination and they had drawn enough blood for workup that Jack wondered if anything would actually come out if he cut himself shaving.  He secretly wondered if Evan might have ordered a light snack somewhere in that bloodwork, but had to remind himself that their augmentation made them less than palatable to the bloodsuckers.   “That should be it, Chief.  You’re clear for duty now.” She told him.

“I guess you’ll need to get with Apollo and get the teams split, just in case?” he commented.

“I’ll have him split the rosters into three teams like the Colonel wanted.  It wouldn’t be the first time we had more than one fire pop up on a full moon.”  She seemed preoccupied, as if she wanted to ask him something but was afraid to broach the subject.

Jack milled about a moment to give her time, but she didn’t seem to be in a hurry to break the ice.  Finally, Jack decided to dismiss himself.  “I guess I’ll go topside and start packing up another set of gear, just in case then.” 

Laura nodded.  “Yeah, that’s probably a good idea.”  Jack turned to leave when Laura finally blurted out, “Are you going to tell the rest of the squads, Jack?”

He turned back to her, realizing what she was referring to.  “About what the augmentation really is?”

“Yes.  About the gene therapy.  About what was…done to them.” He could see her face flush.  A sure sign that she was ashamed, too.

“I honestly don’t know.” He replied.  “I do know that if I do, it won’t be today.  They’ll have their hands full, I’m sure.  You know how busy it gets this time of the month.” He gave her a weak smile.

“What about after?” her face solemn.  “Do we need to prepare for a group of highly trained and very pissed off warriors?”

“Laura, I just don’t know.”  Jack sighed.  “They have a right to know.”  He walked back toward her and lowered his voice.  “They really
should
know what’s inside them.  Especially if any of them are thinking of having kids in the future?”  He was referring to Apollo and his new girlfriend. 

Laura nodded in agreement.  “We have no idea what the r
esults would be if any of them were to have children…”

“If what was done to them actually made it as if they were born with this…what would you call it?  An affliction?  A di
sease?  Condition?”  Jack shrugged.  “Whatever the hell it is, if this gene thing makes them the same as a natural born wolf, then they most definitely
would
pass it on.  And their kids would pass it on to their kids and so on.”

Laura sighed and her shoulders slumped.  “This is a real can of worms.”

“It could get really ugly.”  Then he brightened.  “Or not.”

She turned to him as if he lost his damned mind.  “How’s that?”

“If they were actually honest with themselves?  I mean seriously honest with themselves?  Odds are each and every one of them would have volunteered to take the augmentation if it gave them an advantage over the monsters.  Once they see what is really out there?  The vampires, the ogres, the trolls, the imps, the fucking
fairies
?  Oh my god…the fairies are the worst.  You can’t stop them with a flamethrower!”

“Tell me about it.” She chuckled.  “Remember the fairy i
nfestation in southern Canada last year?  I thought you were going to pull your hair out before it was over with.”

“I still itch every time I see a firefly in the spring.” He mu
ttered.  Laura laughed and patted his back.  “Don’t laugh, boss.  That shit ain’t funny.  Fairies are a bitch.”

“At least they aren’t leprechauns.” She said.

He shuddered.  “Those little Irish bastards.  Why they don’t stay on their own continent, is beyond me…”

“Once he got calmed down, he wasn’t so bad.  He was act
ually the victim.  Woke up in New York and he was pissed.  But at least he’s home now.  As long as he stays away from pubs on Samhain, then he should be good.”

“Should have incinerated the little fuck, if you ask me.”

“Technically, he did nothing wrong.  He was drunk, knocked on the head and robbed.  Somebody else stuffed him in a shipping container headed for the states.  He just wasn’t happy when they opened it.” She said with a haphazard smile.  

“He practically destroyed the docks!  And we not only let him go, we took him home!”  Jack exclaimed.  “It took me and my team five hours to trap the little shit and get him shackled.”

“If you hadn’t been wearing a gold crucifix, Jack…we might never have found something to calm him down.” She laughed.

“Gold.  Whodathunkit?  Rub a little gold on the wee bastard and it’s like a valium for them.” He muttered.  “Oh well.  Now we know.”

“Live and learn.” She said with a smile. 

“Sometimes the hard way.”

“So, the other squads members… you really think they would do it anyway?” she asked.

He nodded.  “Yeah, I do.  I think that they would do an
ything to get the upper hand.”

Laura considered Jack’s opinion and hoped he was right.  “Still, you were right.  They should have been given the choice.”

“I know.  And that’s what sucks about the whole fucking mess.”  They both stood there a moment, reflecting on the situation until it almost became awkward. 

Finally, Laura broke the silence. “So, go get your gear ready, we’ll get the squads split up and then we’ll alert you to who your team is so you can get to know them.  I’ll have Apollo get their files and training reports to you so you can see who fits best where.” She said.  “Sound good?”

“Works for me, boss lady.”

“I’ll meet you topside shortly.” Laura left and Jack had to remember that his intentions weren’t to come back for good.  He came back to fulfill his mission for Rufus.  Home was where Nadia was, and he suddenly had an overwhelming urge to just slip out a side door and take the SUV back to south Texas and call for a ride home to the island.  But, he still had to get Mitc
hell to agree to a meeting before he could consider his mission complete.  Even then, he didn’t know if he could call it complete until the meeting actually took place.  His heart told him to be with Nadia, but his head told him he had a duty to be here.

Jack sighed and turned for the stairs.  “Time to make the doughnuts.”

*****

Nadia jumped from the boat before the lines were even cast to pull it to the dock.  Natashia all but staggered forward, hol
ding the sides and still looked very green.  Georgio waved the dock side wolves over as one of them tied off the small craft.  “Where is Mario?” he asked.

“We have not seen him since you dropped off the soldier.” One replied. 

“He left shortly after.  We asked where he was going, but he said only that he had an errand.” The other added.

“Do either of you have the number to the phone that he gave Jack?” Nadia asked, desperation painted across her face.

They looked at each other and shrugged.  “We know nothing of a phone.” The first one said. 

Georgio moaned.  “I have a bad feeling, miss.  Perhaps we should inform S
eñor Thorn?”

“Does anybody have a phone I can use to call the island?” she asked.  The smaller man fished a cell phone from his jacket and handed it to her.  Nadia stepped off to the side and called for Rufus, quickly filling him in.  As she feared, he knew nothing of a satellite phone and although he didn’t approve all of the wolves who cycled through, he had no knowledge of this Mario the stable wolf either.  He feared the Lamia Humanus had infi
ltrated their ranks and had set something in motion.

Nadia was near hysterics as Rufus did his best to calm her.  Rather than send them via commercial air, Rufus would send them on his private plane.  There would be no waiting and they could leave as soon as they could get to the small airport nearby.  They could file their flight plan while Nadia and her mother were en route.  Nadia thanked him profusely, but Rufus knew that he was also protecting his best chance at saving his own people.  Without the support of the Monster Squads, the Lamia Beastia would surely fall to both the human hunters and the H
umanus familia in short order.  Rufus didn’t know if God would hear the prayer of a vampire, but it did not stop him from sending Him one in hopes that He would protect both the wolves en route to Jack’s aid and the human hunters that he hoped would one day assist him and his people.

Georgio loaded their bags into the minivan and they headed to the private airport.  A small jet was waiting for them, its e
ngines warmed up and the pilot standing by.  Nadia and Natashia practically sprinted from the vehicle and up into the waiting plane, time their biggest enemy.  Not only to warn Jack, but knowing that the full moon was that night and neither could fight its pull.

As the plane taxied into position and began its departure, Nadia turned to her mother and asked her the question that had been nagging her all along.  “What if we are too late?”

“My love, do you regret mating yourself to him?” she knew the answer before asking the question.

“Of course not.  I just hope…”

“Nadia, you’ve always been…’sensitive’ to certain things.” She said.  “I am certain we will be in time, and he will be safe.  Rufus is searching for this Mario, they will find the way to contact him on the satellite phone and all will be fine by the time we get there.”   Natashia sat back in the overstuffed leather chair and appeared, for all intent and purpose as if she was leaving for holiday.  “We will most likely arrive in time for Jack to be departing for the island and we will all be laughing about this.  You worry over nothing.”

Nadia rolled her eyes at her mother.  “I appreciate your a
ttempt at levity, mother, but we both know that when I get these feelings, bad things happen.  And when they surround one person, then bad things happen to that person, unless I can warn them.”

“Jack is a big boy, my dear.  He can most certainly handle himself.  If nothing else, he can give the threat a ‘purple nurple of death’.” She said flatly, looking out her window.  She slowly turned to her daughter and their slow smiles turned into giggles.  When their giggles were over she went to sit beside Nadia and pulled her into an embrace.  “Trust me, darling.  He is a warrior.  And he is surrounded by warriors.  Whatever this threat is that you sense?  I feel sorry for them for attempting to harm the h
uman hunters.”

Nadia nodded and considered her mother’s words.  She did have a point.  Jack and his people were specially trained to deal with most all supernatural beings.  Unless they were hit with just sheer numbers that could overwhelm the United States military, she could see where her fears were unfounded.

Why then this sense of foreboding?  And then she sat up.  “Mother?” she gasped. 

“What, Nadia?”

“You speak as if they are unstoppable, but…remember how Jack came into our home.  His entire team was taken out by one small group of natural born wolves.” She said softly.

“Well, yes, Nadia, but they were led to believe they were going after vampire in broad daylight and then ambushed by wolves…”

“So they were unprepared for what was out there.  They didn’t know the whole truth…” she trailed off.

“Well…yes.”  Natashia answered.  “But now Jack is i
nformed and he will tell the others.”

“But that is what we know about wolves.   What of other creatures that we don’t know of?” she asked.  “Who is to say that ambushes can’t be made using others?”

*****

This time Damien didn’t have to beg to get past the guards at Foster’s chamber.  They opened the door as soon as he and the enforcers came strolling up with the punk in tow.  As usual, Paul’s inner sanctum was lit by candle and women in various stages of undress were milling about as though dazed.  Some were for food, some were for pleasure, and some were for both.  Damien tried to keep his eyes off of them and keep his mind on business. 

He half pulled, half dragged the punk into Paul’s sanctum and deposited him roughly on the stone floor, purposely avoiding any carpeted areas, just in case things got messy.  Foster slipped off his bed like water flowing from a rock in a river and slipped into his smoking robe.  He used the sleeve to wipe his mouth, but Damien felt he always left that little smear on his chin and throat for effect.  Look like a savage and folks tend to pay a little more attention to you.  If you look too human, well…you just don’t get the same effect.

The punk had pissed himself as soon as they entered Paul’s chamber from the wave of power and he knew this vampire was nobody to be trifled with.  Foster eased himself over by Damien and slipped an arm around his shoulders so that he could whisper in his ear.  “Where’s the other one?”

“Master, the other one wasn’t at the den.  This one claims he is feeding out on the streets but doesn’t know where.  Even after roughing him a bit, he didn’t know.  I thought that if he truly did know, he would tell you.” He mewed suggestively, more for the punk than for Paul.  “He
did
offer up the other one’s name, though.  Monroe?  Another punk, so I doubt it would hold meaning to you, master.”