Operation (29 page)

“This area has one of the highest turnover rates in the country, with all the military personnel assigned,” Pattoon noted.

“Well,” Reese said, thinking he was right about that. “They would prefer a basement above all to feel safe. Those aren’t too common here, are they?”

“No. Probably a rarity. That will narrow the search considerably.”

“If you can get access to sales and rental information, say for the last six months, of homes with basements, which might give us something to begin with.”

“No problem. What else?”

“I don’t know,” Reese said. “Let me think some more and see what I come up with.”

“Here’s our number,” Pattoon said, as he wrote on the back of a business card. “Give us a call anytime tonight if you can think of anything else. Someone will always be here.”

“Thanks.” Reese said and turned to leave. He stopped. “Do you have any video of the girls?”

“Tons of it.”

“Can you give me something that might help me learn about them? Maybe a question and answer session or something.”

“Here. We’ve sanitized this tape. They appear just like the two sweetest sisters you have ever seen.”

Reese didn’t like the sarcastic tone in Pattoon’s voice. “You know, once they were just that. They didn’t ask for this, any of this.”

Pattoon stared at Reese for a few seconds before speaking. “You know, I can’t figure you. You were involved in one of the most secretive and prestigious operations in the history of this country. What you did was extraordinary: something right out of a Tom Clancy novel. Now you act as if you have the dirtiest hands in the world and you can’t get them clean. Why can’t you see this as an opportunity to get it right this time?”

“Let me ask you something, Commander. Do you have any kids?”

“Yeah, two.”

“Well, suppose that your kids were murdered by a monster and then brought back to life to be used as killers: to be slaves to our cause? How would you feel about that?”

“That’s not the same.”

“Why not?”

“Because, well, I don’t—”

 “These creatures, these children, were murdered for all the wrong reasons. They were killed as an act of revenge. As perverse as it seems, through their vampire resurrection, they have been given a second chance. It may not be life as we know it or even condone it for that matter, but it is life. Why can’t we let them live in their own way as their kind have for centuries?”

“You’re mad, Reese, you know that? Why the hell did you ever get involved in any of this?”

“The same reason I am involved now—no choice.”

“We’ll see what we can find out,” Pattoon said coldly turning away.

“I never answered your question,” Reese said.

“What are you talking about?”

“Your question. You asked me why I didn’t look at this as an opportunity to get it right this time.”

“Yeah. So?” 

“So in answer to your question, I thought I got it right last time—when I destroyed them. In fact, I hope for the girls’ sake that the collars did kill them”

Pattoon didn’t say anything as Reese turned and left the room.

*****

“Rather testy man, isn’t he, Commander Pattoon?” Smith asked, emerging from an adjoining room.

“I don’t know what his problem is,” Pattoon answered.

“Oh, we all have our little idiosyncrasies. Commander Reese lives in the past. In fact, I believe he thinks it was a better time than now. He understands these creatures well, maybe too well,” Smith said. “Because of that, he will be invaluable in finding them.”

“You really think they’re alive?”

“Most certainly.” Smith continued, “You have to understand a man like Reese. It isn’t as much as what he says as what he doesn’t say. If you watched his facial expressions closely, you would see that. He may not have said it, but he knows that if someone went through all this trouble to get the two creatures out of here, then they would have thought of a way to neutralize the collars.”

“I don’t trust anything he says,” muttered Pattoon.

“Well, Commander, thank you for that astute observation. But your observation isn’t worth shit. You just do what he asks and make sure you do it well. Is that clear or do I need to yank on the general’s chain? Hmm?”

“I understand.”

“Good then. Well, you’d better get to work. Make sure I get a copy of everything you give him. Have a great night.”

Chapter Eight

Reese opened his door around 2 a.m. He figured he had just enough time to grab two or three hours of sleep and then get back to the base to hold a briefing for the SEAL search and destroy teams. He was extremely tired and just wanted to close his eyes for a little while and forget the things he had heard and seen in the past twenty-four hours.

Those hours left him feeling as if a tornado had touched down, picked him up and carried him into a time vortex. From his new and somewhat brief debut in his teaching job, to his forced reentry back into the Navy, to Washington, DC, and his cordial meeting with his newfound friends at whatever agency they worked for, and finally back to the Naval Amphibious Base and his role as the vampire expert or now—vampire hunter. His head felt as if it was spinning out of control.

Standing in the small entryway, his hand reached toward the hall light switch. But before he could reach it, he saw light coming out of his study.

Someone’s in my house.

Instinct registered in his mind and told him to grab the phone, dial 911 and get the hell out of the house. But before he could commit to any of those actions, a figure appeared in the doorway. Lit from behind, he couldn’t make out who his visitor was.

“Mr. Reese,” a voice called.

He was caught off-guard by the sound of the voice, yet two things immediately registered. The first was that the voice was feminine and second, he thought he recognized the voice.

“Who is it? What are you doing in my house?” Reese said, as he placed his hand back on the light switch.

“I’m sorry,” she said. “This must seem terrible of me, being here like this. I’m so embarrassed. I don’t know what to say.”

Reese flipped the light switch on. The brightness of the ceiling light of the hallway caused him to squint for a few seconds as his eyes adjusted, but when they had, he could clearly see his visitor.

She was beautiful. That single thought registered before he could think about anything else. The thought continued to dog his mind that he should know this woman from somewhere…

“Do I know you?” he asked.

“You must think I’m crazy,” she continued. “I’m so sorry. I didn’t mean to scare you—you must have thought that someone had broken into your house. I’m—”

“I do know you,” he said as the image of this woman found a home in his thoughts. “You’re from my class. You were asking me the questions about vampires and my book.”

Reese tried to avoid staring at her, but she was extremely attractive. She wasn’t openly sexy or provocative, but there was something so appealing about her he felt as if he couldn’t look away.

“Yes. My name is Christina Bukolovich. I’m so sorry—I feel like such an idiot. I came here earlier to see you and I found the door open. I called and no one answered. I thought perhaps something was wrong so I came in to see if you were okay.”

“At 2 a.m.?”

“Whoops, it’s that late huh? I don’t sleep much—so sometimes I lose all track of what time it is and I show up at places at the weirdest hours.”

“The door was open?” Reese asked. He couldn’t remember if it had been locked or not when he arrived home, even though it was only minutes ago that he had entered.

“Yes. I came inside and when I discovered you were not here, I thought I would wait for you in your office. While I waited, I couldn’t help but notice your extensive library. You are quite a collector of literature,” she said, sounding impressed. “You probably realize from my comments in your class that I have a significant interest in ancient myths; it’s my passion as well you could say. Growing up in the Balkans, myths are our bedtime stories. Anyway, I began to look at some of your texts while I waited and I must have lost track of time and fallen asleep.”

“It’s okay,” Reese said, not knowing what really to say at this point. “You…ah…you never said why you came here to begin with?” He wondered if it was her similar interests or her beauty, or both, that peaked his interest. “What is so important?”

“Oh…sorry. I never did say why—I must be making a hell of an impression. You must think I’m some kind of scatterbrain stalker or something,” she said, almost laughing at her own words. “I came because the class was cancelled.”

“The class?” Reese asked as he tried to organize his thoughts. “Oh…you mean my class at the university?”

“Yes. I had things I wanted to talk to you about. I wanted to talk with you the other night but that man that came in late to the class, and he was—rather disturbing. It was as if he was anxious for me to leave; kind of spooky in a way.”

“You don’t know how right you are,” Reese said, as he thought about Smith and his boss, Samantha.
Spooky…oh yeah.

“Anyway,” she continued. “They cancelled the class because they don’t have anyone else to teach it.”

“I’m sorry,” he said. “I’m disappointed as well.” For the first time, amidst all the other things that were going on, he had time to feel frustrated about it.

“I read your book before the class and I have so many questions and even perhaps information that may help you in your own studies.”

“Help?”

“Yes. My grandparents and parents were marvelous storytellers. They loved to tell us stories. But unlike the rest of my family, I was able to see between the lines of what they said.”

“I don’t follow,” Reese said.

“They told us stories that were…how should I say, sanitized. They weren’t intending to scare us, so they changed them, when actually they were telling us about real events that had occurred and dressing then up under the guise of fairy tales that all ended with a happy ending.”

“I see, that is interesting,” he said. And it was true, he had heard of it done in many circumstances before.

“So I came over to see you and talk to find out if you were interested in discussing some of these things…and well, here we are.” She smiled. “Instead, you’re probably thinking about calling the cops and having me arrested for breaking and entering.”

“No, well, not now anyway,” he said truly meaning it.

“This is so crazy—I can’t apologize enough,” she said, stepping to within arms reach of him.

“Crazy? No…this is nothing compared to the past twenty-four hours for me anyway. That’s why the class was cancelled. Ah…something’s come up.”

“So I see,” she said, looking at him as her eyes darted from his face and slowly made their way down his body. When her eyes returned to his, she was smiling.

Reese felt her stare and realized what he had just said. He suddenly felt embarrassed.
Something’s come up? What a choice of words to say to a woman you find in your home at 2 a.m. Way to go, John!
He smiled and laughed at himself.

“I noticed the uniform,” she said. “I thought you said you’d retired?”

“Yes. The Navy thing,” he said as he raised his arms and turned around in a circle to show off his dress whites. “I’ve been recalled to active duty for a special project.”

“I’m so disappointed,” she said and then quickly added, “about the class being cancelled. I was so looking forward to it.”

“You and me both,” he agreed and then yawned.

“I should be going,” she said. “I’ve intruded more then enough for one day and you are obviously tired.” She started toward the front door. As she passed by him, her body brushed him slightly on his arm and he felt electricity shoot through his arm. At the same time, her intoxicating perfume settled upon him.

He felt his body automatically move toward the door to let her out, although somewhere in his mind, a little voice was telling him that he should resist letting her leave.

“Good night, Mr. Reese, and please accept my apology for my Goldilocks impersonation.”  

Reese felt immediate disappointment and decided he didn’t want her to leave just yet.

“Miss Bukolovich, wait, please. It’s been an incredibly bizarre day and I probably won’t be able to sleep. Would you like a cup of coffee or something?”

“Hmmm, well if you call me Christina, then yes, a cup of coffee sounds good.”

“Okay, then and you can call me John.”

“Deal, John. Now, you’re sure I’m not keeping you from anything?”

Reese chuckled. “What you’re keeping me from is much worse than anything else at the moment. Diversion is a good thing.”

“Is that what I am, a diversion?”

“No…ah…of course not.” He fumbled as he felt his face get warm.

She smiled. “I’m kidding. You’re cute when you get embarrassed.”

“Well…good—I think. Now why don’t you follow me to the kitchen and we can talk while the coffee brews.”

“Great,” she said.

Her smile and expression weakened Reese’s knees. He could not recall any woman ever having that kind of effect on him. He was both amazed and excited, and a little overwhelmed.

“So why were you recalled?” she asked as they made their way to the kitchen.

“It’s a long story. Pull up a chair,” he said, as they entered the kitchen and started making the coffee.

“I like long stories,” she said. “They reveal a lot of things about a person.”

“Spoken like a true researcher,” he said. “But this is one I can’t talk about.”

“Oh, intrigue. I love it. Let me guess, if you told me, you would have to kill me, right?”

Reese abruptly stopped scooping the coffee into the paper filter. He turned toward her and answered, “Something like that,” in a tone somewhere in between serious and sarcastic.

“Hmmm, well then, we better not go there, huh?” she said.

“Good idea, it’s rather complicated at the moment,” he answered and finished scooping the coffee into the filter, then starting the pot. He returned to the table and sat down across from her.