Revenant's Kiss (Chronicles of the Afterlife) (25 page)

"This is my operation now Ryan, you follow my rules," he didn’t have to clarify necessarily but it
didn’t stop him, "this is strictly clean up and contain, do you understand, not search and rescue." She
gave herself a minute to study him, confused by the knowledge that she’d known him since she was little.
He looked like he was in his late twenties or early thirties, hadn’t changed at all in all the time she could
remember knowing him. She’d only ever briefly seen him smile so she couldn’t really recall what that
looked like much but he was handsome even when he was scowling, chiseled cheekbones and straight-nosed. She had never really paid any mind to his face, which was always in stark relief because he kept
his hair shaved tight to his head. She knew he was blond when it was grown out a little, but shaved this
close it simply looked brown, in truth she’d always paid closest attention to his ice blue eyes. They were
always calculating, always cold, he was like a machine, hence his nick-name, not that anyone called him
that to his face.

"Fuck you Cyborg," well at least nobody did but her. She didn’t bother trying to push past him
because she was aware that he was faster, stronger, and just in general bigger than her, she went around
the opposite side of the car.

"You think I’m going to let you go in there by yourself," he growled at her practically jumping
the hood to get in front of her.

"Since whatever team you’ve assembled is just a mop up crew, yes," she tried to step around
him but all he had to do to stop her was shift half that space to get in her way. "Move," she warned him
fully aware that while she might not be able to take him physically or even out run him, she was more
then willing to shoot him in the foot.

"You go in with my team, or you don’t go in at all," he folded his arms over his chest.

"And what about my team, if we go in there and they’re not zombies you’ll shoot them over my
dead body." He gave her a glare that she was sure made the men who worked for him cower but she
simply stood her ground and glared right back.

"At 0300 this morning we intercepted an emergency call claiming that the dead were coming
back to life and attacking people inside that building. How likely do you think it is that your team isn’t
where it started?" At this point it was one-hundred percent likely, that didn’t keep her from wanting to
punch the Cyborg in the face. "We call them revenants," he informed her when she didn’t immediately
tell him to go fuck himself again.

"Whatever, I’m not shooting anyone who isn’t infected," she told him just because she knew that
she couldn’t.

"I’m confused as to why if we are agreed that your team is the cause and so dead, you would
still be coming in at all."

"Because unlike you, who didn’t bother to ask me any questions, I was out getting information
last night and know that a vampire is your revenant carrier, and that before last night he was still acting
like a vampire, which means that at least one of my team could still be clean." At least that was what she
was hoping for, she choked back a sob at the thought of Manson being the cause of all this.

"I wouldn’t keep your fingers crossed," he warned her blankly.

"Tom," she warned right back, "either I’m going in with you, or I’m waiting for you to go in and
sneaking in behind your back. Your choice," although it wasn’t much of one. There was another tense
moment where he seemed to be calculating the odds of his ability to keep her out.

"Fine," he relented when he’d apparently come to the conclusion that stopping her had a low
probability or would result in problems for him later.

"Smart man," but when she tried to move past him again he put himself in her path, "don’t say it,
please don’t, we both know I’m morally obligated not to listen."

"You follow my orders Jennifer," he used that same self possessed tone he did when he was
speaking to anyone under his command, she didn’t know why he was wasting his breath. But it was
clear he intended to make a show of standing in her way until she agreed to these terms.

"Tom are you trying to make a liar out of me because we both know I can tell you what you
want to hear but when it comes down to it," Jennifer shrugged, didn’t even bother to do anything but
walk up to him casually and punch him in the arm. "So let’s stop wasting both our time and go kill
ourselves some revenants." To her disbelief the Cyborg rolled his eyes at her before grabbing her arm
to make her face him.

"You stay in the center, you hear me, my guys take point and rear I don’t want you hanging out
in the open."

"If I didn’t know you better Tom I might think you were worried about me," and Jennifer really
did think she saw concern in his eyes. Between him and the vampire she was feeling down right coddled
it was almost suffocating. "Should we hug," she finally teased him in hopes that it would make him stop
looking at her like that. Maybe it was because this was something that had come out of both of their
pasts, when he was younger and less Tom, maybe it was bringing out the human in him the way it was
bringing out the coward in her, because just then he looked like he was considering hugging her in front
of everyone. But to her utter relief his eyes closed off, took on their regular cold regard and she knew
that he wanted only one thing from her. She rolled her eyes at him the way he had a few minutes prior
and uttered, "I’ll try to stay in the center."

"Don’t try, do," he warned her although he had to know there was no way to anticipate how
things were going to go. That and Jennifer was lousy at taking orders which was probably part of the
reason she’d ended up on point so quickly in her own team. She just tried to give him a convincing smile
but she could tell he didn’t believe it for an instant.

"Come on let’s go," surprisingly he reacted in yet another way she wouldn’t have expected, he
led the way up to where his team was waiting never relenting his hold on her arm, he might as well have
held her hand and towed her like a toddler for all the difference it made. But if it let him feel like he was
in charge of her and in turn got her in the building she didn’t care. Quickly he deposited her next to one
of the uniformed men that she had encountered on several of the occasions that she and Tom’s people
had cause to work together.

"Don’t let her out of your sight," he ordered the poor guy, he’d probably just bestowed the most
difficult task he could on the poor guy. When Tom stomped off without another word Brook raised his
eyebrows at her.

"You can’t of been here longer than five minutes and looks like you’ve already got the
Lieutenant’s panties in a twist." Brook gave her a sloppy salute, "well done."

"I’ve a talent for getting under peoples skin," Jennifer admitted, probably because she refused to
go away in general until she got her way. "How’s the life been treating you Private?" With a very clear
display of pride Brook pointed out the patch on his shoulder.

"Been a Corporal for about three months now Sir," he gave her a crooked smile, Brook was
cute in that baby faced kind of way, his buzzed hair didn’t help disguise the fact that he looked
alarmingly young, in fact it simply emphasized it. "You ready for this?" he asked her like he wasn’t quite
sure he believed whatever he’d been told.

"More then ready, you?" She didn’t think she had to ask, could anybody really be ready for
revenant’s, zombies, whatever you wanted to call them.

"Keepin’ it frosty, Sir," Jennifer didn’t understand Brook’s need to call her Sir, she supposed he
didn’t know what else to call her when there were so few outside references to go on.

"Good, just remember that when one of those things is trying to eat your face off." Was she
joking about zombies, apparently, looked like the vampire might have been right, maybe knowing her
past would get her through this without acting like a baby.

"You seen a Rev before," he was looking at her now like he’d just run across General Patton
and was standing in line for an autograph.

"I’ve got one kill under my belt so far, you," she looked away from him because she didn’t really
want to see hero worship there.

"This will be my first chance to rack up a count," she was sure they all must know by now that
Tom had who knew how many Rev kills notched onto his belt.

"You sound all amped-up for the zombie apocalypse," he would be the first person she’d met
today that felt that way.

"No Sir, just rarin’ to stop it before it starts," he smiled again and Jennifer did her best to try and
remember to take whatever she saw inside the building in strides. She couldn’t afford to react the way
she had around the vampire the other night. He had killed two revenants the other day, and blown up a
good deal more which probably still counted. If she hadn’t tried to climb him like a tree when she’d
seen that zombie clawing its way across the floor she might have shot it herself. She could not do that in
here, she would not do that, and not just because Tom would kill her for it, she could get someone
killed.

"HEY!" She and Brook turned their focus back to Tom as soon as the dead-pan silence
indicated he was shouting at them. "Am I boring you?"

"A little," Jennifer mumbled under her breath and Brook cracked a smile that had the Cyborg
glaring daggers.

"No Sir," Brook caved, of course everyone he glared at seemed to react that way. Jennifer
probably should have wondered why she was one of few people who didn’t cower away from that
glare. She thought she had some idea why it was now, she supposed she’d been subject to it most of
her life, had possibly known him before he’d even mastered the glare.

"Alpha team will enter through the rear Whiskey goes through the front, we clear the floor and
meet in the middle. The mission is sweep and neutralize one floor at a time," at this particular juncture in
his little monologue he turned his glare on Jennifer. "Do not leave the formation for any reason, we don’t
want to get anyone killed."

"Way to rub it in," Jennifer mumbled again under her breath but she did sometimes wonder if the
Cyborg possessed super human hearing as his eyes seemed to sharpen on her.

"Should I be worried Sir," Jennifer knew without looking that Brook was addressing her, "do
we need to get a string and tie ourselves together because he’s lookin at you in a way that implies he’s
waitin for you to run off as soon as we get in the door."

"Don’t worry Brook, I’ve got your back," she wouldn’t leave him hanging out to dry no matter
how badly she wanted to try and save her friends.

"That is a welcome relief, best we better be headin off with Whiskey then," Jennifer nodded still
glaring at Tom as Brook turned on his heal and charged off. She glared at him waiting to see which way
he was going to run off and was glad when he finally relented and took off toward the back of the
building with Alpha. Apparently his need to coddle had subsided, either that or he knew she was far
less likely to leave Brook to chase after her then him. He was also leaving her with an opportunity to
save some lives, which he had to have known he was doing. Once he was gone she pulled the Beretta
out and made her way after Brook, this she supposed was going to be that do or die moment, her last
chance to prove she could handle the zombie apocalypse or be eaten by it.

Chapter 18

Jennifer took a deep breath, trying to slow her heart rate, it was a comfort to have someone she
trusted next to her again. Brook was acting as that anchor, although she could easily admit that the
vampire had made for appealing backup, what with his super-speed, super-strength, and he hadn’t been
half bad with the sword either; she was still more comfortable with a human being by her side then she’d
likely ever be with a dead guy. So she was grateful that Tom had left her with Brook, thereby giving her
at least some leeway but leaving her with that sense of comfort as well. Maybe that wasn’t the reason
he’d paired her with this particular watch dog, but she didn’t mind in any case.

She steeled herself as the front doors to the hospital were unblocked and the point-man pushed
his way into the building. After a brief silence he must have indicated an all clear because quickly they
started filing in after him. Jennifer did her best to pay attention while trying to remember if she’d ever
learned what floor Manson had ended up on. Probably the same one that Clive was on, at least that
was where she hoped he was because she was already counting how many floors were in between here
and there. Hundreds of people came in and out of this building, she was almost certain that it had
twenty-two stories and didn’t think that included the basement. She probably should have paid closer
attention to how exactly they were going to go about clearing the building. Now that she thought on it,
she was surprised that he was going to clear the building at all, why wasn’t he simply doing as the
vampire had done, leveling it? All questions she hadn’t thought to ask, she supposed now it was too
late, in all likelihood he wouldn’t have answered her anyway, as the reason was probably some stupid
covert crap she didn’t have clearance for.