The Recruit: Book One (21 page)

They circled each other warily.  Hannah shifted and tugged
impatiently at the bulky, padded shirt.  It was obvious that it was impeding
her movement and she made a sudden decision and ripped the heavy shirt off. 
She was wearing a thin, pink tank top underneath it, and she stretched and
shrugged her shoulders like a boxer about to enter the ring before winking at
Chen.  A smile flashed across his usually solemn face, and the recruits cheered
loudly in response.

“Oh man, that is not a good idea.”  Mannie moaned.  He
glanced at Will.  The Lycan was standing completely still, his nostrils flaring
and his hands in tight fists.  He was growling low in his throat, a continuous
rumble of sound that Mannie could hear clearly as Hannah and Chen began again
and the crowd quieted.

“Will, calm down.”  He elbowed the Lycan in the side. 
Mannie’s breath caught in his throat when Will turned to face him.  His eyes
were a deep yellow, and they glowed at him with a terrible, inner rage.  Mannie
took a step back and raised his hands in supplication. 

“Just relax, man.  She’s fine.  She’s holding her own.”  He
muttered.

Will continued to stare at him, Mannie was beginning to feel
like a bug pinned to a board, until with a sudden shake Will pulled himself
back to normal.  Mannie released his breath in a low rush when Will turned his
attention back to the fight.

Hannah and Chen twisted and turned.  Their blades moved against
each other’s so quickly they seemed to be just a blur of cold steel.  The
blades clashed and clashed again, neither opponent able to break past the
barrier of the other’s blades. 

They fought for long minutes until, with a quick jabbing
motion, Hannah’s right blade slid past Chen’s and slipped across the left side
of his neck, making a shallow but bloody cut.  Chen touched his hand to his
neck and looked at the red on his fingers. 

She smiled triumphantly at him as the crowd abruptly
cheered. 

“Well done.”  He gave her a short bow and she returned it
before moving back into fighting position.

“Begin.”  Chen said, and with newfound confidence she
attacked him again.  The crowd hollered and cheered as the two danced around
the mats, the overhead lights glinting off their katana blades.  So focused was
Hannah on trying to break through Chen’s defenses that she didn’t even notice
the burning in her side.

It wasn’t until Chen backed away, dropping his blades to his
side and indicating for her to do the same, that she felt the liquid sliding
down her skin.  She frowned in confusion at the blood on the tip of Chen’s
right blade and looked down at her side.  Blood was welling up under her
shirt.  The crowd fell silent as she lifted her top and studied the short but
deep slash on her side.  Although she felt no pain, blood was flowing freely from
it. 

Chen frowned when Hannah dropped her shirt and turned back
to him.  She was just raising her blades when there was a loud growl.  Will
came pushing out of the crowd and headed straight towards Chen.  His eyes were
yellow, a thick beard was growing on his face and his entire body was rippling
and shaking.

Chen stared at him calmly, leaving his blades at his side.
The crowd watched in breathless horror as Will grew closer.  The growling was louder
now, a terrifying sound that came deep from his chest, and he snapped his teeth
continuously as his body began to change.

He was only a few feet away from the slender Asian man when
Hannah stepped in front of Chen.  Without speaking, she raised her blades into
an attack position. The blood flowed steadily down her side, soaking into her
top and pants.

Will stopped immediately and the two stared at each other. 
A type of silent communication rippled through them, and she lowered her blades
as Will stopped growling.  The crowd released their breath in a collective sigh
when he abruptly turned and left the training room.

Hannah, her arms trembling, turned to face Chen.  She bowed
and raised her blades.

He shook his head.  “You need to go to the infirmary.”

“I’m fine, Master.”  She argued.  “Let’s begin again.”

“No.”  He said firmly.  “The infirmary – now.”

She hesitated, bowed again and headed towards the door. 
Selena, her face pale, met her at the door and the two women left the training
room.

* * *

Chen sighed and opened the door to his apartment.  He had
checked on Hannah before retiring.  She had needed thirteen stitches to close
the wound, and he could almost feel Barb’s disapproving look burning through
the back of his skull.

He had apologized but Hannah, grinning hugely, had shrugged
it off.  “Fighting with you is the most alive I’ve felt since – “ she paused,
her face reddening, “well, in months.  Besides, it hardly hurts.”

He moved across the apartment in the dark.  He hit the
switch for the gas fireplace and the flames hissed quietly to life, casting a
warm glow in the living room.  He was just returning his swords to their place
on the wall when his entire body stiffened.  He gripped the handle of one blade
firmly and turned around.

“It was an accident, Will.”  He said quietly as a pair of
yellow eyes glowed from the shadows.  A trickle of fear went down his back as
the giant wolf moved into the light.  Will growled deep in his throat, and Chen
watched as his snout peeled back and he bared his large, white teeth at him.

He kept his blade at his side.  “She’s fine.  I just came
back from checking on her.  She needed stitches, nothing more.”

The wolf snarled.  He stepped closer and Chen took a step
backwards.  “This isn’t you, Will.  You can control yourself.  Don’t be the
Lycan that everyone believes you are.”

If he heard him, the wolf made no indication.  He crouched
low to the floor, grinning and snapping his teeth.  His intent to attack was obvious,
and Chen raised his blade. 

He made one last desperate attempt to reason with the wolf.  “It
will destroy her when I kill you.”

The wolf hesitated.  His growling turned into a low whine
and he sat on his haunches.  He stared at Chen with a very human-like look of
misery.

Chen lowered his blade and gazed at him in sympathy.  “You
should leave this place for a while, Will.  I know there are two days until the
full moon but it’s better for you – better for her – if you go now.”

He whined again and stood.  Chen’s hand tightened on his
sword but the wolf was moving past him towards the door.  Chen followed him and
opened the door to his apartment.  As Will slipped out into the hallway he
glanced back at Chen and half-whined, half-growled.

“I’ll keep her safe until you return.”  Chen said softly. 

This seemed to satisfy the wolf, and he turned and padded
quietly down the hallway.  Chen shut his door and leaned against it.  He raised
his hands to his face, not surprised to see them trembling. 

“Sunglasses?  Really?  So, what?  We’re going to kill the
vampires with coolness?”  Jeremy scoffed, staring down at the glasses nestled
in the small wooden box Mannie had handed to him.

He put the sunglasses on and leaned in to Alison.  “How you
doin’, baby?”

“You’ll never be cool enough for me.”  She said primly, and
he grabbed his chest like he’d been shot.

“Why ya gotta hurt me like that, Alley-Cat?”  He pulled the
sunglasses down to the tip of his nose and winked at her over the top of them.

Alison laughed as Mannie cuffed Jeremy on the back of the
head.  “Knock it off, lover boy.”

He glanced around the room.  He and Darren had gathered the
recruits together who would be hunting.  Along with Jeremy and Alison - Tyler,
Selena, and Hannah were in the room.  Ryan, Ben and Lucy from the recruit group
ahead of them were also present.

Hannah pulled her pair of sunglasses out of the box and held
them up to the light.  Selena leaned over and said something to her, and Hannah
laughed before wincing a little and touching her side.

Mannie frowned.  It had been three days since the training
incident with Chen, and he wasn’t sure that she would be healed in time to hunt
with them next week.  Chen had insisted he include her in the preparations
regardless, assuring him that Hannah would be more than ready by the time the
day of the hunt came around.

“These sunglasses aren’t just sunglasses.”  He began.  “If
you push the small black button on the side of them –“

He paused as the door opened and Will slipped in and sat in
a chair at the back.  Mannie grinned at him and Will gave a brief nod.  He had
disappeared for the last three days; no one had seen him since he’d nearly
attacked Chen in the training room, and rumours had been flying that Richard
had dismissed him from the facility.

He turned his attention back to the recruits.  Everyone,
with the exception of Hannah, was staring at Will and Mannie banged his fist on
the table.  They swung back around and he continued.  “Everyone put your
sunglasses on.  I’m going to ask Darren to hit the lights.  When he does, push
the black button on the side of your glasses.”

He nodded to Darren who flipped off the lights, plunging
them into darkness.  The recruits let out a collective gasp of delight,
murmuring to each other as they stared around the room.

Mannie clapped his hands to get their attention.  “So
obviously what you’re wearing are not ordinary sunglasses. They’re the latest
technology in night vision.”

“Sweet!”  Jeremy cried.  “Ladies, my name is Bond.  James
Bond.”

“Shut up, Jeremy.”  Mannie said.  “And be careful with the
goddamn things.  They cost a fortune.”

Will stared at Hannah in the darkness.  She was sitting
between Tyler and Selena, and Tyler leaned over and said something to both her
and Selena.  She grinned when Selena reached across her and smacked Tyler on
the chest. 

She tucked a stray strand of hair that had fallen from her
ponytail behind her ear.  As she did, she glanced casually behind her.  She
smiled shyly at him and he nodded to her before she twisted back in her seat. 
He frowned at her slight wince as she rubbed gently at her side.

“Okay, turn your night vision off please.”  Mannie said. 
They obeyed and Darren turned the lights back on. 

“We’re giving you these sunglasses because each one of you
will be hunting for the first time next week.  Without your night vision, you
are effectively useless in hunting vampires.  Put them on and keep them on
during the hunt.  If I see any of you at any point during the hunt not wearing
your sunglasses, I’ll kill you myself.  Am I clear?”

The others nodded and he smiled in satisfaction.  “We’ve
discovered a newly-formed pod of vampires about two hours from here.  They’re
living in one of the abandoned farmhouses along Highway 84.  We’ll be hunting Friday
night.  I suggest you spend your time between now and then, working on your
weapons training.”

Tyler raised his hand and Mannie nodded at him.

“How do you know which abandoned farmhouse they’re in? 
There’s got to be at least ten of them along that highway.”

“We have their location narrowed down to two.  We’re going
to set up a nice little bush party atmosphere between the farm houses and
wait.”

“Wait?”  Jeremy frowned.  “What do you mean?”

“Vampires are cautious little fuckers.  But they also can’t
resist fresh meat.”  Mannie replied.  “We have three members of our hunting
group who’ve been bitten by vampires - one of them twice.”  The group glanced
at Hannah, Selena and Alison as Mannie grinned coldly.  “They’ll be drawn to us
like moths to a flame.”

* * *

“Good to see you, man.”  Mannie shook Will’s hand.  As the
others left, Will had stayed behind, waiting patiently for the room to clear.

“The rumour was you’d gotten your ass fired.”  Mannie
grinned at him.

Will laughed.  “Nothing but rumours.”

He sobered.  “I decided it would be better for everyone
concerned to leave the facility for the full moon.” 

As Mannie nodded in understanding, Will tugged at the collar
of his shirt.  He’d spent nearly all of the last three days in wolf form, and
the clothing felt foreign and uncomfortable.

“Who gave the permission for Hannah to go on the hunt? 
She’s still recovering.”  Will asked.

“Chen insisted and Richard agreed.  We’ll take a look at her
side the day of, and if it’s not healed enough we’ll pull her out.”

“I think it’s too soon for all of them.”  Will frowned.  “Jeremy
and Selena are more prepared than the others, but Tyler and Alison are likely
to get killed out there.”

“They’ll be fine.  Ryan and Ben have been on lots of hunts,
and Lucy has been on three.  She handled herself well at all of them.  They’ll
watch out for the babies.  Plus both Darren and I are going.  Intel says the
pod is a smaller one, mostly yearlings.  They’ll be too distracted by the smell
of the previously bitten to give us much trouble.”

“I don’t like that you’re using them as bait.”  Will’s brow
darkened.

Mannie sighed irritably.  “We’ve done this a hundred times
before and you never had an issue with it.”

When Will didn’t respond, Mannie clapped him on the back.  “She’ll
be fine.  Chen says she’s the best student he’s ever had.  She’s quick and fast
and as long as she doesn’t freeze up when she sees the actual vampires, she’ll
be fine.”

“Have you got the satellite images of the area?  I want to
go over the landscape with you.  We should have a plan of escape if things
don’t go the way we want them to.”

“Uh, you’re not going.”  Mannie said.

“Like hell I’m not.”  Will said immediately.

“We’ve already got Darren as the second instructor.  I asked
Richard specifically to bring you on the hunt and he denied my request.”  He
hesitated.  “He believes being around Hannah will be too much of a distraction
for you.”