Operation (36 page)

Reese was also beginning to feel the first effects of the gas. His legs became unsteady and his vision was beginning to blur. He took a few steps away from the group and lunged into one of the corners. During his faked collapse, he removed the second gas mask from his bag and placed it over his head. He lay on the floor, his face away from rest of them waiting for all of them to pass out.

Reese heard the thumps of the three men hit the ground, but he still remained on the floor. He wanted to allow Barkley and the others time to reach the main control room and turn off the recording devices. In order for his plan to work, there must not be any record of what was about to happen at least in the interior of the compound. The exterior cameras would continue to record what was happening which was necessary to the success of the story but that would come later.

Reese’s cell phone rang. If all was going as planned this would be Barkley confirming the surveillance cameras had been disabled. He pressed the receive button. “We’re in and the cameras are off,” the muffled voice said.

“On my way,” Reese replied, his voice also sounding muffled through the mask. At the sound of his phone ringing, Samantha had also arisen from her position. “Let’s go,” Reese said. “The clock is ticking.”

The two stood and left the room. Reese knew the way and led Samantha toward the bay where Dimitri and the others would go as planned after they released the girls and Iliga.

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EVENTY
-F
IVE

“Ladies,” Dimitri said entering the holding area imprisoning Ishma and Crema. “It is time to go.”

The two girls looked up in surprise in seeing Dimitri, but their faces quickly changed to recognition and they both ran up to him and hugged him.

“We thought we would not see you again,” Crema said.

“I promised you I would protect you. You are part of our family now,” he said.

The girls stepped back from him and looked at Christina who was with him. They stared at her warily, but with interest. “Who is this?” Ishma said. “She’s very pretty.”

“This is Christina,” he said. “She is one of us as well. She will help to raise you.”

Christina looked at Dimitri, her facial expression sharp as if she had just been shocked by electricity. However her facial expression quickly changed to one of calmness and understanding. “Christina,” Dimitri continued, “this is Crema and Ishma Laupki.”

“Hello,” she said. “It’s a pleasure to meet you,” she said.

“Hello,” the girls said, “Ishma reached out for her hand. Christina grasped the tiny hand in hers. “You’re very pretty,” Ishma said.

“Thank you,” said Christina and then added, “but you’re even prettier.”

 “We will leave this place for good this time, I promise. Now we must hurry.” Dimitri turned to Christina, “the neutralizer,” he said.

Christina removed two vials from her pocket and handed them to Dimitri. He spoke to the girls, “As before this is to prevent the elixir in the collars from harming you; drink this and then we will be on our way,” he added as he passed them on to the girls.

The girls took the vials and drank the liquid within them.

“Let’s go, we will meet Andre and Iliga in the bay where we entered,” said Dimitri. He then turned toward Christina, “then we will do what needs to be done.”

Christina stared intently at Dimitri, but she didn’t speak. Instead she just lowered her eyes and then nodded in agreement.

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EVENTY
-S
IX

Reese and Samantha arrived at the loading bay and found Barkley was already there appearing nervous as he fidgeted about. Reese noticed that Sam’s eyes were drawn to the girls, whom he had not seen in person until this moment. He imagined that the sight of the collars around their necks probably stabbed at the man’s heart. Reese couldn’t help but notice the way in which the girls held onto Christina’s hands. With one on each side of her, she appeared to be the perfect image of a mother with her two daughters. A family that he might be part of…

Then Dimitri stood next to Christina and Reese’s immediate thought was that they looked like the ‘picture perfect’ family. He felt a pang in his chest, but he wasn’t sure if it was jealousy or envy. The arrival of Andre and Iliga snapped him out of his thoughts.

“So far so good,” he said, his voice still sounding muffled through the gas mask. “Remember, everyone outside will be watching what happens closely. So we can’t make any mistakes. We have to get it right the first time around. Timing is critical. Samantha, Barkley, and I have to get back to our positions before everyone wakes up.”

“There is a slight change of plans, Commander,” Dimitri said as he stepped forward. He reached up and removed the masks from Samantha and Barkley.

“What are you doing?” Reese asked. “This is not the plan!”

“As you mentioned earlier, we are ending this, once and for all,” he said.

Christina walked up to Reese and removed his mask. “I’m sorry, John. But this is best, for everyone.”

Within seconds the three unmasked humans slumped to the floor. Christina knelt beside Reese and gently ran her hand along the side of his face as if memorizing it with her fingers so that she would always know its outline.

“Place the men where they were,” Dimitri said to Andre.

“I’ll take Reese back,” Christina said firmly.

Dimitri gave her a stern look, but she ignored it. He continued speaking, “Place Samantha inside the van.”

“But she will be killed,” Christina said.

“She will never let go of her dream which means she will never let go of us for as long as she lives,” said Dimitri. “There is no other way.”

***

Christina carried Reese back to the interrogation control room where he had been when the gas was released. She gently placed him down on the floor then she removed a folded piece of paper from her pocket. She stared at it as if she was unsure what she wanted to do with it and finally placed the paper inside of one of Reese’s pockets. She knew that Dimitri would not approve of what she had written in the note, or what she planned to do, but in this particular matter she did not care. What she did care about was John and what would happen when he woke up and he realized that it was all over and that he would have to deal with what was going to happen on his own.

She stared at his face and remembered things that they had talked about in those few precious moments they had shared when it seemed there were no differences between them. She hated leaving him like this, it was such a cold thing to do, yet Dimitri had insisted it was best. She knew he was right, but that didn’t ease her heart about leaving John without saying what she needed to say to him. So, she had settled upon the note as the only viable opportunity left to her. Save one.

She had thought about it for a very long time, but when she had seen John’s reaction to what Dimitri had done to him, she had almost changed her mind. It hurt to see it and she reminded herself that Dimitri had forced the issue in terms that bordered on horrific. If there were to be any chance, she would have to hope that she could accomplish this. But the more she thought about it, the more she started to question her earlier thoughts and there was no time left to decide. She leaned her head in close to John’s and kissed him.

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EVENTY
-S
EVEN

General Morris awoke and sat up from where he lay on the floor. His head throbbed and his mouth felt paper dry. He immediately recognized the effects of what had happened. They had been gassed inside of their own secure compound with some form of nerve agent. How the hell had that happened?

The sound of his bodyguards and Commander Reese stirring from where they lay upon the floor drove the General’s mind to wakefulness and an immediate need for information so that he could evaluate the situation.

“Get up!” he said to them as he staggered to his feet. “They gassed us! Those sons a bitches!” he said although he had no idea at this moment who “they” were. He grasped the railing and looked over through the glass window and into the interrogation room. Where the creature called Iliga had been, there was now only an empty chair.

“No!” he screamed, his voice filled with rage. “Not again!” He moved to the control panel and picked up the phone. “Control, this is General Morris, give me a status check on all the creatures!”

“Sir, we’re just getting back on line, we were…”

“Yes! Yes! I know. We all were. Give me a God damned status check on all the creatures. Are they accounted for or not?”

Seconds passed until the voice confirmed what the General already suspected. “No, sir, they’re all gone.”

“Sound the alert and close all the gates to traffic! Nobody goes anywhere without me saying so. And I mean nobody, do you understand that?”

“Yes, sir!”

Morris turned in the direction of Reese and the bodyguards who were struggling to their feet and tried to remember the last thing that had occurred before he went unconscious. As he tried to remember exactly what had happened, he realized something was not the way he had remembered it. Something was different - and then it came to him.

“Commander Reese, where is Samantha? She was standing next to you the last time I saw her.”

Reese looked at the General and said, “I, I don’t know, sir. She was here and…”

“These agency bastards!” Morris screamed. “They just can’t let go, they have to have it all! Well not this time! I’ll have her ass!”

“Sir,” one of the bodyguards said, “control reports that a van has left the main compound.”

“Where exactly is it?” Morris asked.

“It’s stopped midway to the main gate. It’s just sitting there.”

“Who’s in it?” he asked sharply.

“Unknown. They refuse to identify,” the bodyguard said.

“Use the probe cameras,” the General said, “I want to know who’s in there.”

The guard relayed the General’s order over his headset. Seconds later, one of the television monitors in the room flickered into life and an unfocused image appeared. The camera lens adjusted into focus and the image of the van came into view. The picture blurred again as the camera zoomed in on the windshield and Samantha sitting in the driver’s seat.

“I knew it!” the General yelled. “The bitch is trying to get away with them. Have a containment squad get in there. She has the creatures inside the van and she’s trying to get them out. If that van makes any move fire to ONLY disable the vehicle. Is that understood?”

“Yes, sir,” the bodyguard said, “fire to disable,” he relayed the information.

“Reese,” the General said turning toward him.

Reese did not meet the General’s gaze; he just stared at the image of Samantha on the screen. “Commander Reese!” the General screamed.

“Sir,” Reese answered with a confused look still on his face.

“I want you to get down there and…”

“Sir!” the bodyguard said as he indicated that the General should look at the monitor. The van was moving forward and gaining speed as it approached the gate.

“Have the guards fire!” Morris ordered. “Disable that vehicle!”

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EVENTY
-E
IGHT

The effects of the gas left Reese’s mind numb as he sorted through those last moments before Christina had removed his mask. Then, seeing Samantha on the screen sitting in the driver’s seat of the van, further disoriented him. Had she tricked them all? He didn’t think so. He saw no way she could have done it. Besides, he had seen her mask removed as well. So why was she in the van? If the plan they had originally designed involved blowing it up then she would be…

“Commander Reese!” The General’s bellowing voice calling his name drove him abruptly from his thoughts.

“Sir,” Reese answered; a confused look still on his face.

“I want you to get down there and…”

“Sir!” the bodyguard said as he indicated that the General should look at the monitor. The van was moving forward and gaining speed as it approached the gate.

“Have the guards fire!” Morris ordered. “Disable that vehicle!”

Reese was still looking at the General, trying to figure out what he had just commanded him to do when there was a flash of bright light from the monitor as the van flared into a tremendous fireball.

As the fireball turned into itself, Reese realized what Dimitri had done. The words echoed in his thoughts as he had used them, and then later when Dimitri used the same words: finish this once and for all.

Dimitri knew that there was no way that Samantha could be fooled into believing the vampires had been killed. She would pursue them to the ends of the earth if she had to in order to fulfill her goals of putting together a force capable of directing the world’s affairs. The only way she would let go, would be to die. Even Reese had known this but he had not accepted the fact that it had to be done. Yet, Dimitri had. His damnable logic had seen it and he had taken action to remove the obstacle to their freedom.

“What the fuck did they do?” Morris was screaming. “I said disable the vehicle not blow it to fucking hell and back!” General Morris grabbed a chair and lifted it and hurled it against the wall. “Son of a bitch!” he screamed. God damn son of a bitch!”

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EVENTY
-N
INE

No one in the control room spoke for several seconds. General Morris’s face was red with rage. He looked as if he would kill the first person that said the wrong thing.

“There were explosives in the truck,” Reese said, breaking the silence. “I remember seeing them when we used the van on an earlier mission. A stray bullet must have hit them.”

“Who the hell do you think you are?” Morris asked turning on Reese. “You’re a God damned logistics officer for Christ sakes! These are experts out there. They shot to disable. Those bullets were well placed and not random.”