Homecoming (8 page)

Spalding was checking his gear for the third time and double checking the tags on the chutes should the squad need to make their arrival via air drop. He saw Little John approaching from the other side of the hangar and paused long enough to wave and catch the large man’s attention. John approached him and stood at parade rest.

“Relax, Sully. I don’t stand on tradition with my squad.” Spalding hefted his go bag and tossed it up onto the table. “You need to get your gear ready in case this alert gets a secondary verification.”

John pulled his pack and double checked his equipment. He knew that it was ready as he had readied it as soon as they returned from the last mission. “Do you know yet where you’ll be assigning me?” he asked as he rummaged through the gear.

“You’ve been working overwatch, right? Qualified sniper?”

“That’s correct.” Little John felt his shoulders slump slightly when he heard Spalding say ‘overwatch’. He hated sitting back at a distance, but he’d do the job assigned and not bitch about it.

That slight body language didn’t go unnoticed with Spanky who watched the large man go through the motions of checking his gear. He smiled inwardly and turned to John. “Where would you like to try next? Take point? Cover the squad’s six? You tell me.”

John never missed a beat as he continued repacking his gear. “Where ever you feel I can best serve the needs of the squad.” He turned and faced Spalding. “Sir.”

“Don’t call me ‘sir’. I’m not an officer.” Spalding rubbed at his chin as he considered the extremely large man. “I’m tempted to let you cut your teeth at point. But, honestly, you’re so damned big, I’m afraid your secondary and tertiary shooters may have part of their field blocked by your size.” He stepped back to allow himself to truly take in Little John’s massive frame. “I think we’ll start out with you sucking hind tit. You can cover our six if we have an entry.”

“And if we don’t?”

“Then you’ll partner up with me. My squad always has a battle buddy. I’ve seen your shooting scores. I think I’d like to have somebody with your skillset keeping me breathing.” Spalding shot him a wink then turned and hung his pack on the rapid deployment board. “Check your chute when you’re done and meet the squad in briefing room three. We’ll be going over the potential mission.”

“Give me three minutes.”

John finished packing his gear and hung his pack on the board as well. As he reached for the chute, he felt something crinkle in his breast pocket. His hand automatically went to the pocket, and his head snapped around to ensure nobody was watching. He pulled the Velcro tab up and pulled the photo from his pocket. He smoothed the old, faded picture back out with his large hands and slipped it gingerly back, folding the tab back to secure it in place. Melancholy struck him as he reached for the chute and pulled it down to the table. As he went through the motions, his mind drifted back to his youth. He fought the urge to shiver and barely remembered hanging the chute back in its place. He stood along the table, his large hands propping him in place as his mind replayed the events of years long past. He hung his head and sniffed back a tear that threatened to escape.

“John? You coming?”

He looked over his shoulder and saw Donovan waving him on. He waved back at the senior monster hunter.

“On my way.”

Pushing off from the table, he double-timed it to the open door and hustled down the hall to the briefing room.

*****

  Rufus entered the library and once again found Jack going over numerous documents at once. “Can you spare a moment?”

Jack looked up and noted the look of concern on Thorn’s face. “Sure. What’s happened?” Immediately Jack feared the worst for his family, that there had been complications or…

“We have heard back from the council.” Rufus sat gently in one of the chairs and avoided Jack’s gaze.

“So soon?” Jack took a seat as well and studied the vampire across from him.

“
Oui
. The emissary called Viktor as soon as he left. I just got off the phone with him.” Rufus sighed heavily and rubbed at the bridge of his nose. “They will grant my audience. But only on the full moon.”

“They know you have wolves as security.” Jack’s voice couldn’t hide the disgust he felt for the council.

“Apparently so.” Rufus stood and went to the bar in the corner. He poured a cognac and held the bottle up for Jack who nodded. “I am not sure how this will affect your plans,
mon ami
.”

Jack accepted the glass and sat back, deep in thought. “It affects them greatly.” He took a sip of the cognac and stared into the glass. “I’m sorry Rufus. If I hadn’t stopped taking the bane, I could still do this.”

“
Non
,
mom ami
, do not blame yourself. Neither of us could have foreseen this move.”

Jack suddenly sat forward. “What about Max? Do you think he would work his magic and keep me from shifting for that full moon? Just long enough for us to pull this off?”

Rufus shook his head. “I would not ask such a thing. Remember, he is not a fan of vampires.”

“No, but you won him over, Rufus. He knows you aren’t like most other vampires. Besides, he wouldn’t be doing it for you he’d be doing it for me.”

“
Non
.” Rufus waved him off. “I would not want you to ask such a favor.”

Jack shot him a smirk. “Why not? I’m family now.”

“This is not a family matter, Jack. If it were to save Nadia or Tasha, then I could see Max perhaps doing this.” He stood and paced slowly, the gears in his mind working. “I fear we will have to come up with another answer.”

Jack finished his drink and set the glass down gently on the table. “Fine, then we hit them the night
before
the full moon.”

Rufus shook his head again. “I fear they would be expecting that as well. One does not request an audience with the Council and then show up early. Even with silver bullets at their heads.” He finished his own drink and sat back down. “Perhaps this ace up your sleeve that you spoke of?”

“It’s not a guarantee. And without me there, I don’t think they’d go through with it.”

“They?”

Jack avoided his eyes and chewed absently on the corner of his thumbnail. “I called in a favor with Colonel Mitchell to…
borrow
some of the squad members.”

Rufus groaned, “
Mon ami
, this was to be our doings. Not your previous employers.”

“I’m sorry, Rufus. I needed professional soldiers with jump experience.” Jack stood and paced slowly. “I’m really afraid that if I tried to take my guys in there…we’d end up losing them.”

Rufus nodded solemnly. “I wouldn’t want them to sacrifice their lives for mine.”

“I don’t want any sacrifices on our side, period.” Jack walked over to the bar and refilled his glass. Without asking, he refilled Thorn’s as well. “The Monster Squad is made up of professional soldiers. My men are equal or better on most playing fields, but there are some things I just didn’t think to train them in. These kinds of jumps are one of them.”

Rufus held the glass and rolled it around in his hands. “Perhaps we can gather reinforcements from another group?”

Jack raised his face and met his gaze. “What group did you have in mind?”

Rufus smiled slightly. “Perhaps your Elven friends?”

Jack’s eyes widened with enlightenment. Slowly a smile spread across his own features. “Actually, they aren’t the only ones I’d like to ask help from.”

*****

Damien awoke just as the last fingers of sunlight stretched across the evening sky. He rolled from under the floor of the cabin and looked at the bloody carnage within, his mind replaying the previous night’s events. He walked to the front of the cabin and cracked the door, eying the last vestiges of ash from the bodies being borne away on the light breeze skirting down the highlands.

Shutting the door he turned and woke Rachel. “We need to go while we can.”

“Can we find a village along the way? I’m getting hungry.” She gave him the same sad, pouty face that always worked in the past.

“Whatever village we come across is yours for the taking, my darling.” He placed the remains into a canvas bag and slung it over his shoulder. “But for now, we need to go.”

The two filed out the door and began working their way down from the hilltop and back the way they had come. For the most part, they travelled in silence, Damien leading the way.

As they crested a small hill, Rachel tapped his shoulder. “There.” She pointed out the lights of what appeared to be a farmhouse in the distance.

Damien stared after the lights for a moment and then nodded to her. “Let’s not waste any time.”

The two darted towards the farmhouse, jumping the creek between themselves and the farm ahead. Fences were cleared with no effort and within moments both found themselves just outside the old house, yellow lights coming from the windows. Damien held a finger to his mouth and crept in silence along the rock wall then darted to the house. Rachel followed suit and ducked just below the same window he now squatted below.

Damien slowly stood and peeked inside. He saw an older couple sitting at a table finishing their meal and with a quick look at the furnishings, deduced that they must live alone. No other plates were set, and the decorations inside the home were definitely that of older people.

He slowly lowered himself again and nodded to her. “There are two older folks inside. That should tide you over for a while.” He stole a glance toward the outbuildings. “I’m going to take a look in the shed and the barn to see if they have a car.”

“What for?”

“Beats walking these rocky hills, don’t you think?” He shot her a wink and a quick kiss. “I’ll be back before you finish the second course.”

She watched him dart off into the night then stole away toward the back of the house. As remote as the home was, she doubted that the owners would bother with locking doors or windows. As she approached the rear door, she took a quick peek inside to ensure the house was clear before she turned the knob. As expected, it was unlocked. She quietly opened the door and slipped inside.

Rachel waited in the kitchen for just a moment and listened to the couple sitting at the table. They didn’t talk much, and when they did, they discussed simple things like their livestock and the coming winter. She smiled to herself when she thought,
I’m about to remove all of your worries for you.

She slipped from the kitchen and slid along the wall toward the dining room. She could hear the conversation much clearer now and rolled her eyes at the boring old couple. Old people were usually low in calcium and iron, but between the two of them, she hoped to quench the thirst until she could find somebody much younger and more vibrant.

Rachel heard the clinking of dishes and realized that one of the two were leaving the dining room and headed back to the kitchen. She slipped back into the kitchen and hid behind the door. Soon it swung open, and a portly woman with gray hair stepped inside with a handful of dishes. Rachel slid down the wall and waited until the woman set the dishes down beside the sink. No sense in alerting the man in the other room that there was trouble.

The moment the dishes were on the counter and out of the woman’s hands, Rachel leaped, her hands around the woman’s mouth and her fangs sunk deep into the woman’s thick neck. Rachel sucked greedily as the warm, thick blood flowed freely and pulled the woman to the floor so that she couldn’t upset anything near her and alert the other human.

As the woman finally quit struggling and Rachel felt her heart start to quiver from blood loss, she looked up to see Damien leaning against the counter. He watched her with a devious grin. “You make that look so hot.” His whispered voice almost made her blush. “Want me to fetch the other one?”

She nodded and he was out the door so quickly that she barely had time to realize that he had left. She heard a slight struggle in the other room before he reappeared with the man in his grasp. “Dinner is served, my darling.” Damien had one arm around the man’s neck and the man’s arm twisted behind his back.

Rachel stood and wiped the woman’s blood off her face with the apron still tied to her middle. “She tastes of garlic and onions.”

“W-What are ye?” the old man stammered.

“Your reckoning.” Rachel flashed a fanged smile at him before she closed the distance and pulled Damien’s arm from around his neck. She pushed his head aside and bit so deeply that she nearly tore his throat out.

Damien continued to hold the old man as Rachel fed, his feeble attempts to struggle weakening with each heartbeat. He looked at the top of her head and said nonchalantly, “They have a car, but it isn’t much of one. Still, it should get us where we need to go.”

She lifted her head and offered him some of the old man. Damien shook his head. “I’m still full from last night. Besides, you need to keep your strength up.”

Once the two were done, Damien fished the keys from the old man’s pocket and they pulled the antique Range Rover from the barn. It smelled of pipe tobacco and mildew, but it ran. For the roads they would be traveling, it was probably the best vehicle they could have stolen. He hoped that they wouldn’t need the spare can of fuel strapped to the rear bumper. The idea of losing any time and being stuck in the middle of nowhere when the sun came up did not appeal to him.