Date: Sat, 13 Nov 2021 17:10:05 -0500
From: Richard McQueen <mcqueen.richarderic@gmail.com>
Subject: Blueblood, Chapter 10 Willie, Amanda, and the FBI

Story: Blueblood

Chapter 10 Willie, Amanda, and the FBI

Author: Eric McQueen (mcqueen.richarderic@gmail.com)

Adult Readers, Sexual Situations, Sex

Freedom of expression is precious. To do that Nifty needs help. Your
donation is greatly desired. Give to http://donate.nifty.org/ or this story
ends and all the others! That would be a crime!

Willie, Amanda, and the FBI

"You knew there were others!" Even I thought it was an accusation.

Colin shrugged a nod. "I knew there were others. I said I knew of two I
knew by name." Then he grinned. "Well, three. The others I saw, but we
didn't get to know each other." He frowned as he thought. "We are vampires,
but we are still social creatures by nature. We will seek each other out."

"Why?"

"For safety?" Colin shrugged as he answered the question. "Like just
now. We didn't confront them now because there were so many." He explained.

"But the VUN has done this before," I waved upward to the above world. "You
even built Holms Laboratories to handle the volume of vampires you
find. All those rooms to separate vampires and victims and treat them!"

Colin nodded as we headed in the subway station. "That was reconstructed,
but yes, that was the goal. One or two, not as many as this nest had, but
yes."

"So, who's this third one?" I asked uncertainly. "You smiled when you
remembered him."

Colin nodded with a smile as he remembered. "Yes, he was...different." Then
he looked at my face and shook his head. "His name is Willie. Is that his
real name? I don't know." Then he chuckled. "I don't know if he remembers
what his name really is. When I first got here, he was the first one of our
kind I met." He looked around. "I just hope he's still around. I haven't
seen him in a few years." He nodded as he remembered more. "He showed me
around down here."

"Was more than a friend?" I smiled at Colin who was remembering him fondly.

Colin looked puzzled, then he understood my question and shook his
head. "What? No, nothing like that." He chuckled. "When I arrived here from
the South. I met him." He chuckled. "He had been a hobo. A simple man, but
very happy."

I was shocked at that. "Happy? He is a vampire!"

Colin nodded still smiling. "Yes, he is. I don't think he knows that. Or
even simply understands."

Now, I was even more shocked. "He doesn't know? How could he not know?"

"Back during the twenties, he used to ride the rails," He shrugged. "He's
pretty resourceful, but his mind was pretty well..." he thought,
"...gone. He's no threat to anyone." He chuckled. "Except rats. He showed
me how to get along down here."

I smiled at him as he seemed to enjoy remembering.

"His nights were busy," Colin said smiling.

"Hunting?"

Colin nodded, "But not for Human victims. Junk."

"Junk," I smiled at that.

"They may be junk." Colin shrugged with a smile, "But not to him. It was
his treasure. As I said, he was very simple and happy."

I nodded. "Sounds like he'd be a good person to know."

Colin nodded. "I think so."

I wondered how they were going to do this. To remove that many...vampires
without attracting attention. I should have known they knew what to do. It
was only an hour later when a group of men came toward us. All dressed like
maintenance men for the city of Manhattan's subway and transportation
system. There were some large crates that were being brought down. Empty
crates it took only two per crate to come down. There were about twenty men
and women. Colin showed them where to go. These men and women began rousing
the vampires up. Most did not wake up, but there were a couple that did
open their eyes and hiss. With quick movements, the ones that came to
extract them using their sunguns, forcing them down and to surrender.

This extraction was pretty simple. I suppose it was because it was daytime
and there was little fight in them. I knew VUN had rooms for these
creatures, but were there enough? I got the feeling the VUN was not ready
for this many vampires at once.

"I said this was why VUN was formed," I said. "To help those of us who
became vampires. I only remember four interrogation rooms. Where are these
people being housed?"

Colin nodded. "This is a new thing for VUN." He grinned as he used the name
I'd given for Holms Laboratories. "George is very smart, but not about some
practical things. He, like many, isn't too trusting. He still thinks we
should hide."

I gave a shrugging nod. "I can understand why."

"I've wanted to go and get some of these I knew of for years," Colin
explained. "I recognized about three that were in that nest. We didn't
exactly talk when I lived among them. They knew what I was, and I knew what
they were. We just left each other alone." He and I went back to the
surface of the street. Not being from New York, I really didn't know where
we were, but this area was highly trafficked again. Alex had gone back with
the others. I looked; it was mid-afternoon. We still had a few
hours. Hailing a cab was done pretty quickly and Colin gave an address. We
arrived in another part of Manhattan. Again, we went down a subway
access. This time, Colin and I went down a walk that was for people to
maintain the subway track and tunnel. I looked as no one seemed to notice
or care we were going where we may not have gone.

The subway had been around 1905. It was always updated for many decades
afterward as more track and tunnels were added. Old tracks weren't
necessarily torn down, but new tunnels sometimes overlapped, and the old
track was left untouched, but access was cut off. This time, Colin didn't
get access from a crack or hole. He stopped at a metal door, tried it
finding it locked. He smiled and reached up. There was a little part of the
brick above the door he knew about without even looking. He shook the
brick, making the brick loosen and pulled it out. In this little hole, he
reached for and got a key. He unlocked the door and put the key and brick
back.

"Even down here there's a system?" I asked in disbelief.

"It's been this way for decades." He nodded. "There are other accesses, but
this is the quickest, safest and cleanest."

He opened the door and led me in what was access to an abandoned
portion. Another door, which was not locked, he opened. Here was an
abandoned track. You could see where the old tunnel had tracks that led
from the new tunnel. The old track seeming to come out of the new
construction, but no access. I was startled again as I could see. There was
no light, but I could make things out pretty well.

"I lived here for a few decades," Colin explained. "Now, Willie lives
here." He smiled. "Occasionally there are others, but they leave him
alone."

I discovered why I could see in what would be pitch black. There were a few
candles lit in what had been a ticket office. Not a big room, but I heard
someone moving in it. What I saw, I was not prepared for.

"Hello, Willie," Colin said quietly coming in the office.

The man was pale, but he looked like a harmless man in his late fifties or
early sixties. Graying hair, but he was clean! He was a bit heavier than he
needed to be but dressed like I'd seen many homeless, dressed in layers of
clothing. He turned to Colin. "Hi, Colin." He said like he'd seen him just
a few minutes ago. He went back to what he was doing sorting through some
things he had from a shopping cart. Then he turned and saw me. "Who are
you?"

Colin smiled. "This is Devon, Willie. My husband." Colin said putting a
hand on me.

Willie nodded. "Okay." He let it slide and wasn't bothered a bit hearing
that we were married. "He knows not to touch my stuff?" One eye narrowed to
be sure.

Colin nodded. "He knows." Colin chuckled. He looked about the room that
Willie had gotten from Colin. "There was electricity here once."

Willie nodded but went back to sorting. "It stopped...yesterday or the day
before. I've been meaning to check it out."

"Colin," I said quietly. "It's daylight out. Shouldn't he be asleep?"

Colin shook his head. "Willie's been down here a long time. He never goes
outside. Day and night are concepts he no longer gets. Time really has no
meaning for him now."

Willie turned now, a puzzled look on his face. "You have been gone, haven't
you?" He asked Colin.

Colin nodded. "I have. I said, it's been a few years."

"Huh," Willie said not surprised. "It seems like yesterday to me."

I looked at some of the things that he treasured. There were dolls that had
been abandoned, coats, hats. A box that had been unwrapped that was a gift
to someone, some nice crystal goblets could be seen. There were all clean
and dust free. He had kept them clean. A lot of varied items he kept here.

"These are things that passengers sometimes forget," Colin pointed at the
collection of things. "This part of the old subway is occasionally used,
but not here. The other thinking vampires know not to come here."

"Why?" I asked.

"They all know Willie is under my protection. The office is locked and
mostly this area is used to get out of daylight and sleep." Colin
explained. He looked at Willie. "I go out in the daytime, Willie."

Willie nodded. "You told me before." But he still sorted his things.

"I'm asking again, do you want to?"

Willie turned and was surprised by the question. "Why? I don't need
anything out there." He smiled. "All I need is down here. Plenty of
rats. I'm safe and doing just fine. I'm never hungry like before. I'm
good!" He smiled.

Colin shook his head. "But no one else is down here. You're alone."

Willie waved that away. "Nonsense. You're here." Then he looked
puzzled. "George used to come with you."

"That's been a while ago." Colin pointed out.

Willie looked surprised again. "Really? I thought I saw him just
yesterday...or the day before." He shrugged. "It could be longer. I don't
know."

Colin nodded. "Well, I'll get the power back on."

Willie nodded. "No rush. I got candles." He said waving to a box of candles
he had. "I need to finish sorting these." He said.

"I worry about you, Willie," Colin said smiling.

"Don't waste your time on that." Willie shrugged. "I'm fine."

Colin nodded and patted him on the back. "Okay, I'll try to come again
later." Willie just nodded, but still going through his collection. Colin
stopped at a power box, opened the access panel, and looked at some wires
and fuses. He shook his head and reattached a wire. The lights came on
again in this part of the abandoned subway tunnel.

Willie looked up. "See? The power's back."

Colin nodded. "It is. A loose wire. I'll see you later."

Willie just nodded and was sorting again.

As Colin and I left, I was trying to figure Willie out. "Okay, what's his
story?"

Colin frowned. "He doesn't talk about it much. He is a veteran. He fought
in the world war."

"World War? The first World War!?" I asked.

Colin nodded. "That's right. I don't know what happened, but he came back
and couldn't deal with the outside world. I don't know if it is due to a
trauma to his head or whatever, but his concept of time and events are
pretty scattered."

"But he trusts you," I said smiling.

"That was over time, I earned that," Colin said. "He's a vampire, but he's
happy here. He's safe and like he said, lots of rats down here. He doesn't
feed on anything else."

I grimaced. "Rats?" I shuddered.

"It's an acquired taste." Colin chuckled, giving a shrug and nod. "I've fed
on a few myself. Those really big wharf rats and they can be filling, two
or three and you don't need anything else. They breed in plenty, and most
people don't like them anyway so they're not missed. His mind misses
somethings, like that connection for the wiring was a simple fix. He just
isn't bothered by things like that. People at VUN drop off the candles at
the door we came in. That and matches. And soap! He has water and baths,
but it's all one day to him."

I looked back as we were about to go back to the subway. "I wish he'd let
you help him."

Colin nodded. "I do, too, but as he sees it; he doesn't need help." He
shrugged. "I'm content to leave him alone. He's happy. He's not a
predator."

I nodded and followed as Colin locked the door behind him.

It was sunset when we got back to VUN. Going to the holding area, we found
the vampires were awake and hungry.

The people at VUN had begun sorting them out. There were those that were
all vampire like the man that attacked Amanda. They were in one room. There
were four others that were talking and George and Ursula who were talking
with them getting a history from each. They were drinking blood from bags
of blood brought in. Six were with the man that attacked Amanda. Four were
talking with George. He came out of the room and smiled at us when he saw
us.

"Been busy?" George asked a little testy in a way that said he'd been busy
and asking what we'd been doing.

"I took Devon to see Willie," Colin answered, ignoring the comment.

George's face softened when he heard that. "How is he? He's getting the
supplies?"

Colin nodded. "He is." He looked at George. "He's been without power how
long?"

George shrugged. "I can't say. He won't let us in there. And he only speaks
to us through the door he won't open. He said he needed candles and we gave
it to him once a month as we promised. That's been a year or so." He looked
at Colin. "He only trusts you."

Colin nodded. "I need to look in on him more. In a lot of ways, he's more
my father than anyone. I love the man. I need to pay more attention to him
in the future."

I decided to steer the conversation away in another direction. "How's
Amanda?"

George frowned. "Having a hard time with it. She wants to contact her
boyfriend and parents, but they'll want to see her. Even if we use the
quarantined excuse, they may want a second opinion. She's seen these." He
pointed through the glass at the vampires that were like the man who
attacked her and was wild. "She knows she's infected, but of course, she
wants to let her family and friends know she's alright...sort of." He shook
his head. "This is a new situation we're dealing with. I don't know how we
can keep it a secret much longer."

"If it ISN'T a secret?" I asked.

"There will be major problems," Colin said nodded.

Things with Amanda were not good, not because she was resistant, but the
pain she had to endure for the first few days was leaving her a bit
disheartened and glum. She was new and then again, so was I, so I opted to
talk to her. There was one major difference between us. I was a vampire
because I chose to be, she hadn't been given the option. Her life was
stolen, yet she lives. Ursula talked to her, Gabriella talked to her and
now I walked in where she was sitting as she watched TV. The door was open
a crack. She'd been given a room at VUN, but nothing personal was out. It
looked like a sterile college dorm room at best. She looked up as I
knocked.

"Whatever," She glanced at me and said and was watching TV again.

"You're going through something very hard, I know," I said coming in. I
motioned to an empty chair. "May I sit?"

"Does it matter?" She said glumly. "We're in the same boat, both turned
against our wills...yadda, yadda..." she started to say what had been said
to her.

"Not exactly," I sat nodding. "Has no one has told you; you were raped?"

Her eyes grew. "I was bitten! By a vampire! He made me a vampire! I wasn't
raped."

"Oh, but you were. You were taken without your consent or even
understanding as to why you were bitten," I said. "It happened to
me. That's true. We're both vampires, but our circumstances are very
different. When I was bitten the first time..."

"The first time!?" Amanda asked in shock. "Wait, wait...you were bitten
more than once!? I was told that wasn't possible." She said in
disbelief. "I was told, once bitten and survive, you would be a vampire. He
couldn't feed on you again."

"Normally, that's true, Colin was already a vampire, but he was on the
serum and shot it into my heart right after I was first bitten," I
said. "The first bite was done by a creature for the sole purpose of
tormenting Colin by making me a vampire. The serum worked preventing the
vampire venom from working to make me a vampire. No one that recently
bitten has ever had that happen before. With you, there was too much time."

She was now sitting up. "But you are a vampire."

"The first time I was bitten, I was bitten by a man that was bent on
destroying Colin. He did it out of vengeance. That was the rape. It wasn't
even because he needed my blood. The venom had not worked its way into my
system. With the serum and several blood transfusions, my blood was
replaced, and I escaped this the first time. That was definitely rape." I
said clearly. "The second time, my husband was being forced to see if he
could resist biting me. They wanted to see if Colin would surrender to the
vampire in him and bite me...maybe even kill me. Colin was kept from the
serum and turned back into a vampire. When he bit me the second time, that
was in love. It was my choice."

She nodded. "You're right, we're not in the same boat. You chose to be
one. My life is over!"

I frowned. "Your life would have been over if we hadn't stepped in. With
treatment, you can get some of that life back."

"With serum, I have to have all the time!"

"Be upset, be angry, but not at us. What happened was terrible, but we are
trying to give you some of your life back. We're trying to help you through
this horrible event," I said. "If you could call someone, who would that
be?" I asked.

"My boyfriend and my parents." She said logically. "I'm sure they're
worried sick!" She was young so everything she said was being very
dramatic.

I nodded. "Let's start with the boyfriend. What would you say to him?"

"That I was fine and in..." she thought looking around her room. "I don't
even know where the hell I am! It isn't a hospital."

"You're somewhere safe. Now, what would you say to him?"

"I was attacked, and I'm being treated because of the attack." She said
simply.

I smiled. "And he would want to see you."

"Yes!"

"Then he'd want to know how you were attacked and what happened."

"Yes," She said less adamant.

"Would you tell him? And what about your parents?"

Then she hesitated. "Well, I know they'd want to see me."

I grinned. "You hesitated. Why?"

"Dad is military, and he'd insist on seeing me. Then he'd want to know what
I'm treated for and who was the best..." She nodded. "He would insist I see
another doctor...probably military." She smiled. "He's very protective and
a take control kind of guy."

I smiled. "Most fathers are. You know who my husband is."

She smiled. "That really nice-looking hunky guy? Colin, right?"

I nodded again with a smile. "That's him. You know Gabriella?"

She smiled again. "She's very nice." She nodded.

"That's Colin's little girl. She's his daughter."

Her eyes grew. "No way!" She shook her head. "He's too young, or she's too
old, but not possible."

"Laws on aging are different for us. They were turned at different times in
their lives. She is his daughter. I bring that up because he's extremely
protective of her. I know how he would react."

She shook her head. "I have to tell them eventually." She moaned
dramatically. "And Douglas." She smiled. "That's my boyfriend."

"Does your par years oldents know he's living with you?" I asked knowing
they didn't.

"Of course not!" She said. "Daddy would kill him...and me."

"Colin is over two hundred, Gabriella is over one hundred and fifty and
he's still struggling with the idea of she and Alex are more than
friends. Being a protective father never ends!" I said making her
laugh. "Your father will want to know how and when."

"Okay," She nodded. "But what about my school!" She moaned. "I'll lose my
scholarship!"

"Even if a Congresswoman and Senator said not to let it slip?" I asked.

Her eyes grew again. "They're not..."

"They either have a relative as a vampire or have seen them and
understand," I explained. "The senator saw you after you were brought in."
I smiled. "At least, if they still do take it away, I think we here at
thVUN can help."

She smiled. "You'd help with my school money?"

I chuckled. "Colin would look for a good investment. Will that be you?
Where are you in school?"

"I'm a junior at NYU," She shrugged. "I hope so he'd see me as a good
investment. My grades are pretty good."

"What happened was not our doing. You are what you are now. You can't go
back, but only forward. There will be changes you have to make." I
said. "Quit wallowing in what happened to you and take charge," I
instructed. "We are trying to find a way to reverse this vampire
venom. Undo what's been done. Until we do, we're all in danger of
exposure. If people find out you are a vampire, they will want to examine
you."

"People? As in medical people?" Amanda asked.

I nodded. "Medical and even military, which you said your father is in." I
pointed out. "Think of an alien autopsy. They can see us as a threat and
want to determine what makes you a threat or not. Then your life most
definitely won't be your own."

"What will I have to do?" Amanda asked.

"Keep our secret," I said simply. "Help us to prevent this from happening
to anyone else." I smiled, "And stop thinking about the bad things. There
are good things about being what we are."

"Like?" She asked.

"How old are you?"

"Twenty-two." She replied.

"Physically, you'll be twenty-two from now on," I said. "You won't die from
any natural cause other than sunlight if you don't take the serum."

Her eyes grew as the idea of her possible immortality hit home. "I'm not
going to die?"

"You can be killed, we're not bulletproof, or you can die in a crash," I
said to be clear. "But there is no disease that will take you. Colin hasn't
had so much as a cold since 1850."

Now, it was beginning to dawn on her how things had changed for
her. "Douglas isn't a vampire. He's twenty-five."

I nodded. "And he will age normally with a girlfriend that will always be
twenty-two." I decided it was time to move to another subject. "Ursula and
Gabriella told you something about being a vampire."

Amanda nodded. "I will say, I really wasn't listening. I was too upset."

"Are you and Douglas planning to have a family?"

She shrugged. "Not any time soon, but maybe."

I frowned. "Until Dr. Holm finds a way, you can't have children. None of us
can. The venom rewrites our DNA. We make the venom that makes new vampires,
keeping us vampires and we reproduce by venom."

She shook her head as she considered it. "No kids?" Then she shrugged. "I
guess I don't have to worry about taking the pill and condoms anymore."

I nodded. "There are other benefits."

"Benefits?"

"You won't be able to store much fat," I grinned. "In fact, you'll be
hungrier than you have been. You'll eat and not really gain weight. Colin
eats a lot!" I chuckled. "So do I now."

She smiled. "Really? I've just been allowed to eat again. The food tastes
great!"

"Your senses have been enhanced. Not only your taste buds but sight,
hearing and even touch. You'll be able to see when other people have to use
flashlights. Hear things others can't, except maybe a dog." I smiled. "You
need to decide, in spite of what happened, are you going to help or not."

"But Douglas will be aging." She said softly.

I nodded. "Now, you understand why I had Colin bite me. I love him and
don't want him to be alone. I knew he was the one for me and he knew I was
for him. He didn't want me to become a vampire, but I am. Now, he won't be
alone. If you tell Douglas and he decides to become one because you two are
meant to be together. Make sure he is the one."

"But I'm not an active vampire. I can't make him one."

I nodded. "But you can be if you decide to make him one. You simply don't
take the serum and make him one." I shook my head, "But then you have to
start all over with the serum and pain..."

She nodded grimacing. "I get it."

"What were you studying in college?" I asked.

She thought. "I was looking into nursing or something like that. I was
taking courses for a medical background. Maybe a practitioner."

I smiled. "Have you thought about Psychology or Psychiatry?"

She nodded. "I was taking pre-med things to possibly do that. I am pretty
undecided."

"George has enough knowledge for several medical degrees," I said
standing. "You can, too. This is new for us, trying to stop this from
happening to others, but there will be others."

"What do you need? A Psychiatrist?"

I nodded. "We can use one. There is no counselor for victims yet. You know
what it's like and can relate to victims better. I'm not, but I understand
what happened. I talk to you with that knowledge. I've met different kinds
of vampires. The one that bit me first was an evil man and became an evil
vampire. Colin is not, nor is Gabriella. I am a vampire by choice. I just
met a vampire that likes where he is and doesn't want to change because
he's happy and threatens no one."

"And the vampire that turned me?" Amanda asked.

"He's all predator. There's really nothing human about him. I think we'll
have to end him." I said sadly. "We're trying to reach that part of him
that may be inside, but nothing's happening yet." I headed to the door but
stopped before I left. "Amanda, I came to ask you for help. We're new at
this. I am at least. What happened to you shouldn't have happened to you,
but it did. Accept that. Now move forward, take charge of your life, and
decide if you want to help or not. It is your choice now but decide. Be
proactive. Your life isn't over. It's just going in a different
direction. Now, it's up to you." I watched as she looked away, but I could
tell she was thinking. The TV was forgotten

It was later when Ursula came to me and Colin as we were dealing with our
"guests."

"What did you tell Amanda?" She asked in wonder.

"I told her the truth. Why?" I asked.

Ursula shook her head. "She's like a different person. I go in there and
she's asking about Holms Laboratories and what we did. She's even asked to
help!"

Colin smiled nodding, "And that's a bad thing?"

Ursula shook her head, "Not at all, but..."

"I merely pointed out she could wallow or deal with it. I guess she decided
to deal with it." I said.

Ursula nodded. "Perhaps you need to talk with the others that are still
part human."

There were only four that seemed to have some humanity still in
them. George, Colin, Alex, and I discussed what we should do with the
rest. George wanted them ended immediately. Alex and Colin were on the
fence. I was still hoping that with a supply of blood given, realizing they
didn't have to hunt now, they'd begin come back as human.

"If we do end them?" I said reluctantly. "Is there a way to do it without
pain?"

George nodded. "An injection. It's a form of radiation I insert. Harmless
to us, but it's like liquid sunlight. I could put them to sleep, and we can
end it peacefully."

I nodded a shrug. "Then let's do it." I frowned. "There won't be any bodies
to dispose of, will there?"

George shook his head. "Just like with Brett."

The vampire that made Amanda was first. Using the sungun, we got him under
submission and then George injected him with something, and he was
out. Then he inserted something into his heart, and he began to
disintegrate.

Ruben came with about four other people, three men, and one woman. They
were agents he was having work with us. Now came the part where we decided
what to tell them.

"They have been told to reveal nothing," Ruben said. "They know to keep
things quiet about this."

Colin shrugged. "I see no other choice." He said. "Let's show them."

George was not happy. "The more that know..."

Colin nodded. "Give me something else," He begged. When George didn't
reply, Colin nodded. "We show them."

Taking them into an observation room, we showed them the vampires that were
not showing any humanity. They looked like homeless people if not for the
fangs and hissing.

One of the men, a tall dark headed man in his thirties looked in horror as
he looked at us, wondering why we didn't see it as... "Kill them! Kill all
of them!" His name was Mark Goddard.

Colin nodded, "And that's our problem. You see, I am one of them."

Mark looked at Colin in shock. "You say they're vampires!"

I nodded. "And so are Colin and I."

"And we are, too," George said next to Burke.

"And me," Alex said.

"But we aren't blood-sucking predators now," George said. "But we're still
vampires." He explained about the serum and how it worked and why we
decided to include the FBI.

Shelly Vargas was the single female there as an agent who was petite and
sort of pretty with short brown hair and brown eyes. She probably was
pretty when she wasn't in FBI mode but looked very competent. "And we're to
hunt them down?"

"Find them and let these men take over extraction or whatever," Ruben
instructed. "I chose you four by your records. You've dealt with serial
killers. These are serial killers, believe me." He said pointing at the
vampires. "To protect the general public, we need to stop this."

"I've dealt with computers and searches," Stan Martin, in his late
twenties, another agent who was blonde and fair skinned. "I dealt with
cyber-crimes."

Ruben nodded. "And we'll need that to search for these creatures." He
grinned. "I think you'll like the computers they use here. They're very
cutting-edge stuff."

"We want to stop this," I added. "This is an epidemic that's been going on
for hundreds...maybe for thousands of years and we want to be the cure. We
need knowledgeable manpower. With the help of Ruben Chance, we're starting
to do that."

Chuck Slaughter, another blonde man who was obviously a former jock in high
school nodded. Six feet and maybe six inches? Big! Bigger than Colin. "When
do we start?"

"Linebacker?" I asked. "Defense or offense?"

"Offensive tackle." He smiled. "How'd you know?"

I shrugged. "Lucky guess."

"Gentlemen," Ruben clapped his hands once, satisfied he had chosen
correctly chuckled. "We start right now."

We had begun to get an office together for the agents to work out of on a
lower floor. This was a room with no windows if only to protect the
equipment we had in here. It was cold, almost. Computers generated heat!
There would be several people working there and equipment, so there was a
lot of room. Stan's eyes grew when he saw the computers. He walked over and
looked at all the computer monitors and CPUs.

"Easy, Stan." Mark grinned as he leaned toward me. "He'll be
hyperventilating if we're not careful." He said quietly.

Ruben chuckled. "Agent Goddard and Agent Martin worked together a few
years. They're a good team. They have a good working relationship."

Then Stan looked at the large glass rectangular panel hung above a big
black glass table. "This is a monitor!?" He waved his hand over what looked
like a black glass table and the large screen activated above the table
where there had been what looked like clear glass. Then Stan touched
different areas both on the table and screen activating icons appeared on
the tabletop now was lit with other icons. "I am in LOVE!!"

Mark laughed. "I warned ya."

I laughed. "So, you won't be too unhappy with what we have to work with,
Agent Martin?"

Stan was busy enjoying this new screen and he only registered I said
something, a little. "Huh?"

Colin chuckled. "He asked if you would be happy with this."

Stan turned and his eyes still wide. "I LOVE THIS!"

Mark shook his head. "Now, no drooling over the keyboard." He said to
Stan. "And no other fluids." The way he said it, we all knew what fluid he
meant.

"Oh, dry up." Stan shot back. "A least I know how to turn it on."

"What I like to turn on is human." Mark chuckled. Stan just rolled his
eyes.

"They're more like sibling rivals," Ruben told Colin and me. "But they get
the job done." He glared at Mark and Stan. "And do it well." He said in a
growl. "Don't make me a liar."

Mark gave the look of innocence as an Altar Boy.

Shelly came over to Colin and me. "Where is the funding coming from?"

"From Holms Laboratories," George answered. "Why?"

"This all looks...costly," Shelly said.

"Finding those that are suffering and stopping it is worth it," George said
logically. "If someone had invested time and money before I was turned,
preventing me from being turned, I would have had a totally different
life. I would be a retired doctor, or passed away after a nice life, kids,
a wife... but they didn't. Why shouldn't we?"

She smiled shaking her head. "You missed my question. I'm not questioning
that you're doing this. I'm questioning whether you should. This is a
threat that involves everyone. Why should you handle all the costs?"

Colin nodded. "Ah, I see. You think a private firm or business shouldn't
have to pay; taxpayers should handle some of the cost."

Ruben nodded. "Well, if it makes you feel better, Agent Vargas. You're
still on the FBI payroll, so the taxpayers are helping."

She smiled as Stan was still oohing and aahing over the computers touching
various parts of the computer. "So, you two are married." She grinned at
Colin and me.

Colin nodded. "Find that out at the FBI?"

Agent Vargas shook her head, "TV." She said smiling. "The show Lifestyles
showed that mansion and part of the wedding. You weren't hiding it. It's
common knowledge. If you didn't want people to know, you should never have
approved them putting it on the air. I say that with an understanding there
is money."

"Is there a problem with the fact we're married?" I asked wondering if it
was homophobia.

She laughed. "Not at all. Who you love is your business. The fact you are a
couple is known. That you're vampires, is not." She looked at me. "You have
a past that is kept. You were turned recently." It wasn't a question.

Burke grinned coming over. "That was my fault."

Colin frowned. "Well, yes, but you didn't understand..."

I nodded. "We did it to be a spectacle. To attract attention to flush out
other vampires who would connect the dots." I explained. "We knew there
were others...they would be attracted by Colin and his lack of a past."

Colin looked at me. "I had past. I forgot my parents." He shrugged.

"Man, this is a three-dimensional scanner!?" Stan marveled as he hit a
table icon. "This is awesome!" He turned to let everyone see his happy
face. "Hell! I'll pay you to work here!" He told us. "This stuff is way
more than the Bureau has. It's like twenty to thirty years ahead of
anything we have!"

"Easy, boy." Mark came over patting his friend's back. "Just take a deep
breath."

Ruben frowned and looked at Colin and me. "They're really quite good at
what they do. I promise."

I chuckled. "They will fit in quite nicely with the maniacs around here." I
turned to Chuck. "You haven't said much. What's your story?"

Chuck smiled. "I was a jock with a brain." He shrugged. "People always
underestimated me. I was determined to show them I could think as well as
tackle."

"Brawn and brains!" I smiled. "Good combination. You must have been
popular."

Chuck smiled shaking his head. "Not really, the guys on the team just
wanted to clown around. I got along with them if I clowned with them,
too. The coach would get upset when I'd read textbooks during practice. I
did that a lot. The smart kids didn't understand my love of sports and saw
me more like some sort of Neanderthal." He shrugged with a sad smile. "And
really, I didn't try to be popular."

Okay, all people are mostly nice. Some are not, but often I saw people that
were not just nice, but good people. Here were some very good
people. Ruben, Mark, Stan, Shelly, and Chuck were very good people. Stan
and Mark were friends and I saw their interactions with each other were
means to deal with having to deal with some of those people that weren't so
nice. Shelly was practical but sharp. Ruben was like a parent, keeping them
on task. Chuck was intelligent and appeared to be open to everything. In
his early thirties and an attractive man and content to let things happen
and see what happened. These were people that really had no life outside of
the FBI. No wedding rings on any of them, except Ruben who I hope had an
understanding wife because it seemed he was always on the job.

I also noticed that George was not very happy. Not mad or angry, but he was
looking at these new people with...while I don't say he distrusted, but it
wasn't trust. Colin noticed it, too. He went over to George.

"What's the problem?" Colin asked George.

George knew he was being a bit unreasonable. "I'm just not convinced this
is the right course," George said in a loud whisper. "They aren't us!"

Colin looked surprised at George. "What do you mean? Not us?"

George had a very uncertain look. "Everyone here at Holms Laboratory..." he
looked at me. "VUN. Had some contact with us in some way. Vampires. Even
Ruben had contact with his Uncle Alex. These people didn't know about us
until we showed them."

Colin looked at the others. "They didn't react too badly. They seem to be
fine with it."

"Are they?" George asked. "They aren't us!"

Colin looked surprised. "Do we make them us?" He shook his head. "Why is it
us and them? We're human. We have something that most everyone doesn't even
know about. Why did we start Holms Laboratories?"

George looked confused. "To get back our humanity." He pointed at
Colin. "Something you had a hard time even considering. Even after taking
the serum, you resisted accepting others."

Colin nodded with reluctance. "I did! When I met Devon, I realized I
couldn't go on that way anymore. I wouldn't even touch him at first. I was
so scared of hurting him. I wouldn't be here if I didn't trust him a little
bit. It was worth the chance! I was so used to hiding for so long."

George nodded. "Your purpose to rebuild Wentworth Manor forced you to stop
hiding."

"Well, stop hiding, George!" Colin said firmly. "You want to make us more
human. Why don't you see this as a way closer to that goal? We may never be
fully human again. With friends, we may increase our chances. They aren't
our enemy."

George looked back at the new FBI personnel. "I just need to get used to
it."

Burke came up behind George taking George's hand. "Maybe it's time we both
did." He looked at Colin. "I saw you, Colin, as a threat. You were living
out in the world, threatening exposure for all of us. I saw later that you
were trying to make things better. I'm sorry I forced you two into the
situation where you made Devon a vampire." He smiled. "But I must say, I've
seen many people who were bitten. What I saw, wasn't violent. I've never
seen someone converted with so much love." He chuckled. "I sort of felt
guilty watching it."

I nodded taking Colin's arm. "It was going to happen. You just made it
possible for it to happen sooner." I chuckled. "You're all having trouble
accepting change. For some of you..." I said pointedly about the vampires,
"...it's harder, as you have done things one way for so long, change is
much harder. It's part of being human."

"This is just so..." George began helplessly. "...different."

Colin smiled. "It is different. And potentially dangerous. I don't deny
that. Tell me we shouldn't."

"It's unknown!" George said with the beginnings of resolve. "It could be
the end of us."

I nodded. "Or a beginning for a new us. I think it's a risk we have to
take."

"Wow!" Stan marveled again suddenly. "These programs! The antiviral
programs! This is incredible!" He shook his head when he turned to
us. "What's the memory? What's the processor speed?"

George grinned. "The memory can be expanded. It's in the tera-quads. The
processor is our own construct."

Stan looked back at the computer. "I have some programs on my computer at
home that can be used. It would help us with the search for other vampires;
where the undocumented deaths occurred and narrow a search. Can I bring the
programs here and add to this?"

George nodded. "Sure. Are you connected to a network?"

Stan nodded. "Yes, but it's encrypted. I need to be there."

George typed quickly. "What's the network?"

Stan told him. George typed what he'd been told.

"Put in your address," George instructed.

Stan did it. A whole new access showed up. "Oh, my god!" Stan's fingers
began moving and his eyes widened as he saw his home page come up. "Oh, my
GOD!! I'm in!" He pulled up his menu and pulled the programs up. He hit the
transfer for his programs and his eyes grew even more. "It's so fast!! This
should have taken a while to download. It's done!" Now he looked for a
chair, pulled it over and sat typing quickly. "This will allow me access to
our data at the FBI headquarters and cross with police files." He was
shaking his head again watching the many files come up as they were
cross-referenced with his programs.

Mark chuckled. "Well, Stan's going to be busy with his new toy."

"I'm never leaving!" Stan declared to Mark's statement with a single hand
going up to swear that.

Mark nodded turning to us. "See?"

"News feeds and other sources!" Stan said smiling. "Is there anywhere we
can't look?"

Mark grinned. "His MIT education is being used at last." Then he said to us
quietly. "He really is very smart. Almost too smart. I keep his feet on the
ground."

"I heard that!" Stan said with his eyes still on the screen.

Mark rolled his eyes. "I keep forgetting he has very good hearing." He
grinned. "I keep him on track. Like reminding him when to take a shower!"
He said loudly at Stan's back.

Stan turned to Mark. "I get busy doing something...I forget time passes!"

Colin chuckled. "Are you two..." he asked.

Mark looked a little confused, then his eyes widened. "What? Oh,
no. Nothing like that. He and I just...click." He shrugged.

I nodded. "Okay," I said at last. "I think this is good!"

Shelly nodded. "I think so. Stan does the research. He will go on location
with Mark, but Chuck and I do a lot of leg work."

"Are you okay with working with one of our men?" George asked. "They know
how to subdue a vampire. The idea is to bring them in and find out if we
can help."

Ruben nodded. "I'm sure that will be fine. What if we find a vampire
that's...not like you? And not like those in there either. Vampires aren't
too picky about who they target." He pointed out. "They could be former
drug addicts or even criminals..."

George sighed. "We've never dealt with this before." He shrugged. "I don't
know!"

Ruben frowned. "We will do our best." He sighed. "There won't be a holding
facility that can house a criminal vampire forever. This is new for us as
well." He scratched his head as he thought. "We start here in Manhattan?"

Colin nodded. "We have to start somewhere. I knew of some vampires here
underground. It was the best place for us. There have to be others down
there."

Ruben nodded. "Okay."

Colin and I let them work and went to the other wild vampires. They were
one by one being ended. I didn't like doing that. We were killing! But
there was really no other choice.

It was later in our apartment that Colin came over as we were getting ready
for bed. He sat beside me on the bed.

"Are you okay with all this?" Colin asked.

I looked at him. "Not all of it, but what choices do we have? They can't be
rehabilitated. They're a threat. We're eliminating that threat. I
understand that. Understanding is not the same as accepting."

Colin nodded leaning in on me, pushing me down so he was on top of
me. "Like we said. This is new. There are no laws to guide us." He sighed
as his hands ran over me. "We've been busy."

I nodded letting my hands come over his back. "Your point?" I grinned as I
kissed him.

He reached around and began unbuttoning my shirt. "I just don't want us to
lose contact with each other." He said softly as his lips went over from my
lips to my cheek and then down to my neck. "I waited a long time for you. I
was so lonely and now we have each other." He said as his hands slipped
inside my shirt. "I love you, Devon. I know you love me. I love how we're
together. I want us to make sure..." he kissed me again, "...we always have
time to keep that connection." He looked at me. "Does that make sense?"

He was so solid against me. I loved his warmth and love. "We won't let us
become disconnected. I know you love me. We're married in so many ways. Not
just physically, but emotionally and I feel like to our very souls."

Colin chuckled. "Let's connect again." He said sitting up removing his
shirt.

"My favorite thing in the world!" I said as my hands went over his chest
hairs. "You mean everything to me, Colin."

"You are my soul, Devon." Colin said leaning in kissing me deeper,
consuming, and hungry for that connection humans do in that special way.