Date: Wed, 9 Feb 2022 19:14:31 -0500
From: Richard McQueen <mcqueen.richarderic@gmail.com>
Subject: Blueblood: Red Alert, Chapter 3 The Real Russian Tzar

Story: Blueblood: Red Alert

Chapter 3 The Real Russian Tzar

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!

The move in closer and are forced to move forward to rescue George. They
meet a man who claims to be the last and only real Russian Tzar.

The Real Russian Tzar

It was a big kitchen and dining area that fed many workers in previous
years but we had so many with us now, it was feeling a little cramped as
there were now twenty-four of us. Mark, Stan, Shelly, and Amir had not
gotten here yet. They were on the way once they dealt with customs and got
what we needed for Buddy. They had translators, too and would probably have
no problem. People were fascinated with them. They also had the serum and
sun guns that looked like toys for just that purpose. They were toys. There
was a popping sound when the trigger was pulled. The men could inspect all
they wanted and even shoot each other with no harm to anyone.

We were going to Asbest in the morning to begin to do what we
said. Recording the various accents and languages. Russian was the
language, but there were nomadic people that lived in the region, too. We
would record their languages even if hardly anyone spoke them, to build the
database. Mom, Willie, Alex, and Gabriella were being tourist.

I admit it. I had a preconceived notion about what was here. Not just
Siberia, but Russia. They weren't lacking in things to do. It was the snow
and ice that was the problem which that wasn't the case at moment. In my
mind I saw nothing but white covering the ground as people wore thick furs
trudged through wind and blizzard-like snow and ice to go to work or even
run to the store. Asbest even had a Sushi Bar! There was scientific
research and had schools about mining. There were two museums. One about
the geology and one those nomadic people and locals worthy to
remember. There was a stadium. It was not a huge one, but much of the town
for sports and even concerts.

It was because they were often bound by the weather, the biggest attraction
now was the pleasant weather and sunshine.

It was truly beautiful here. There were other tourists here to hike the
lush trails. In many ways, I was reminded of the Northern Rockies and
National Parks like Yosemite or Lake Tahoe. Rivers flowed and there were
lakes where the many birds were raising the next generation. In was very
peaceful. Then I was remembered what was below this peaceful scene. Still,
it was Summer. I didn't know what the school year schedule was, but there
were recreation parks and kids were being kids. Running, squealing, and
having fun. That noise was the true universal language as the sound could
be heard around the world. A soccer game was being played in one park and
field hockey in another.

"In many ways," I said to Colin as we rode through Asbest, "I would prefer
a frozen world."

Colin was watching the road for the surprising traffic in
Asbest. Surprising to me. There were people going about here. "What?"

I waved at a field where a group of children were after a ball they were
kicking around. "This." I said. "You could replace the ball they're playing
with an American football and this could be any town in the U.S."

Colin looked toward where I was looking. He gave a grudging nod. "Sure."

"They all can't be supporting the vampires." I said watching two other
children playing the familiar game of tag as one ran from the other to keep
that from happening. "There are innocents here, too."

The smile appeared on his face. "There has to be." He shrugged. "There has
to be life. Innocent lives. Otherwise, the vampires would have hunt them."

I nodded looking at the passing scenery. "Which would be disastrous for the
vampires. You scare families away and you become a predator. It's survival
to have a hierarchy of control."

"Right." Colin agreed. "You must have order or face chaotic situations."
Glancing over his gaze softened. "You're doing it again." He smiled
patiently. "You see the positive to fall in love." He waved at Asbest. "Now
you're doing it with a whole Russian town."

I nodded. "I make it a point to see the positive. Not the negative. It's
how I am."

Colin reached over pulling my hand over to him holding it. "I know. That's
one of the many things I fell in love with." He thought again. "Think about
the positive of this situation." He pointed to a group of teenagers walking
somewhere in the urban part of Asbest. "We're doing this to stop the
progression so they won't have to service these vampires."



Asbest was situated in some foothills on the lower East side of the Ural
Mountains. The Soviets were not as careful getting what they wanted. It
wasn't just the Soviets, but people in general. They knew where something
was, went in and got it. To Hell with what they left behind. One more time,
blah, blah, blah. They were messy. The strip mining, the asbestos, dust,
and toxic wastes were carelessly handled and discarded. The rivers and
lakes were polluted with the dust and wastes effecting a lot of this
beautiful land. They didn't care. Prisoners, both criminal and political
were sent here to work. Thousands of lives were lost being sent to "the
gulag" in forced labor camps. Often whole families were sent here. As nice
as it was now, it was death for many. The Russian Federation was trying to
be proactive and correct these errors in judgment. End of lecture for now.



Using the coordinates Stan sent us for the mines and tunnels, we took roads
and unexpected paths where there was almost no guided global positioning or
routes to the entries. Colin had been right about the vehicle he chose to
rent. It handled things very well. These entrances, or accesses weren't
that far out of Asbest. The mine's inhabitants needed to get into Asbest on
foot.

"They were right to choose here to live," I said. "The bigger settlements
and towns are West of here. There isn't much East of Asbest."

Colin was looking at the surroundings and nodded. "They most likely made
sure it was and stayed isolated." He pointed to a mountainous and rocky
slope. "The entrance is right over there. It doesn't seem to be more than
just that. A way for one or two to get in and out."

Like we had done in every place we went to we had teams looking for these
accesses. I took a picture of this one and sent a message to the others
about what we discovered at that point. We had to be careful to look like
sightseers or hikers as we went. We had our satellite phones to keep the
transmissions secure with the help of Buddy in Manhattan, England and
Romania.

We looked for next access. There were five on the map. The Eastern side of
Asbest had one, one West, and three North. Tonight we were venturing into
some to see what resistance there would be from these people.



Colin was looking where he was going and looking at the map to make sure we
didn't get lost. He stopped occasionally to do a more focused search of the
screen. On the way back to the others something caught Colin's eye. "We're
taking a little detour," he announced suddenly and headed West.

I let out a short grunt and grabbed the "Oh, Shit" handle as he veered in a
new direction. but Colin wouldn't tell me why. Soon we were back
Yekaterinburg, but went to the West side of the city. Then I laughed when
Colin pulled into a shopping center. In English or Russian, the woman in
white inside the green circle said the same thing. Starbucks!! "And who do
I talk to about your fixation?"

He grinned and shrugged. "I don't know." He opened his door glancing at
me. "Do you want some?"

I just shook my head at him but smiling. I wasn't refusing coffee or
whatever, but he was so consistent and sometimes was unbelievable. "That's
one problem solved." I said getting out. "Let's go."



The sun was almost set when we got back to The Golden Farms. We saw Mark,
Stan, Chuck, and Ellis taking the...not huge...CPU for Buddy from a cargo
truck by hand. No lift in the back to raise or lower it. They had to do it
by hand. Stan was directing them to be gentle as they lowered it to the
ground. "Easy, easy."

It was bigger than any desktop computer, but not a large as the CPU in
Manhattan. This was the size of a small table for two with the black glass
surface and invisible keyboard until you turned it on. I had once wondered
why it was so big before, but then when I saw all those extras on it like
the color printer, 3D scanner, that wand-looking thing Stan had scanned our
eyes with...it made sense.

Mark growled at Stan. "It's flown thousands of miles...gone through
turbulence and inspected by men less than gentle...we're being careful,
Stan!"

Stan didn't let that go. "We need this, Mark." His tone matched Mark's. "We
have another we can get, but if something gets knocked off kilter and it
crashes, who fixes it? You, Mr. Butterfingers?" He asked.

Mark smiled at his husband. "No. You can fix it. You always do."

"I'd prefer not to have to!" Stan shot back. "Thanks."

Ellis chuckled. "Ya stood in fron' ov da judge and yur mates, swearin' ter
love fawever!" He shook his head. "In fron' ov yaaahr muvvers!"

Mark's eyes grew. "Wait a minute. Just stop. Hold on a second." He looked
at Ellis. "What!?"

Ellis laughed even harder. "I said, you stood before the judge, friends and
even your mothers swearing to love forever." He said with an English accent
but clearly understood.

Even Mark couldn't be angry with Ellis as he laughed, too. "I don't believe
you. You're making this shit up!"

"I am not! Yer fun ter tease."

"Guys! Please?" Stan said waving at the CPU. "Tonight?" He waved toward the
house we had for us.

Colin walked up behind Stan chuckling at the banter. "We'll help you,
Stan."



With Buddy's placement to where Stan directed would work best. The living
area was central to everyone and Stan began setting things up.

"I have a program running to sift through the thermal scans," Stan began
explaining to everyone including Mark. "Those vampires will be feeding
soon. That's why I wanted this in quickly." He plugged the CPU using what I
guessed was a surge protector or adapter and turned it on. Kev brought in
the large monitor with Edwin's help. "Buddy uses 220 volts even in the
United states." He pointed at the protector. "This is for more than to
protect the computer and monitor. It keeps the power steady if the power
drops a little and comes back. If we lose power, which we shouldn't on
Asbest's improved power station, it keeps any surges down," Stan began. "A
vampire's body temperature is lower than the normal red-blooded human." He
looked at Colin and me. "Even lower on yours on the serum. It's not over
ninety degrees for vampires. Yours is about ninety four. I have set up
Buddy to sift through the different temps and locate, count, and give a
tally of vampires here. Not where they are here, but extrapolate a total."

Deborah came in with her team which had Russ, Vlad, Gaius, and Lucian. "But
not how many in Asbest that aren't vampires that support the vampires
here."

The other teams were coming back to the Golden Farms to begin watching
people go in and out of those tunnels.

"No," Stan replied, "but with the continued passing of the satellite it can
count them all." He got a chair nearby and brought it over sitting and
began typing. "I would need a satellite dedicated to more focused time to
do that accurately. The program will give the totals of both sets by taking
in body mass volume versus body temp..."

"Stick to English, Stan." Mark said using a tolerant tone.

"It will give total of traffic in the nearest approximation." Stan
replied. "With those continued scans it will give a better configuration of
those tunnels over tunnels and I can generate a more detailed map of the
network."

"Great!" Colin stated happily and then frowned. "This program was running
even if the was shut off?" There were things that even the smartest people
didn't always get.

Stan smiled at Colin. "This CPU is just an extension of Buddy." He did have
a little of the tone of an adult explaining something complicated to a
child. He was careful to not be condescending. "This CPU was turned off,
but Buddy is always running."

Colin rolled his eyes. "Sorry."

"Are we talking about Skynet?" Dave asked joining us.

"Wha'?" Ellis asked.

Some of us were chuckling at that.

"It is another movie reference," I said to Ellis. "The Terminator series
and a computer system that went to war with the Human Race almost wiping us
out."

Dave nodded. "Great movies." He said appreciatively.

Stan shook his head as he was chuckling. "No. Buddy's not like that." He
patted the CPU lightly as he worked. "I assume the blood is absorbed into
the body slowly but will cause their body temperatures rise. At that time
we'll get a better count."

Lucian stepped up closer. "Depending on what's going on, they will be more
prepared. As it is important to Yuri to have George here. Security will be
ready, too." He looked at the others. "They are confident in what they've
done, but ready for a confrontation."

Russ jutted his head in Lucian's direction. "He showed us an access that is
much bigger than just a mine shaft entrance. They can move trucks in and
out of this one. It's the most Northern access and had been a more
contemporary mine." He pointed as the map of the area around Asbest was
shown. "It's just a mile or two above Rezh." He pointed to a village or
whatever about twenty miles North of Asbest. Suburbs in Russia? It used to
be that most of the population lived in the cities. Cars were needed for
there to be suburbs and only after the Soviets admitted defeat was that
option available. People lived in a community in Rezh, but it was a lot
smaller than Asbest. "It's on that map you sent us, Stan." He looked at the
others. "I was serving in the SAS (Special Air Service) when there was
still a Soviet Union. We were taught as children to think positively, but
they didn't do that. They prepared for the worst." He thought quietly a
moment. "We can't assume they won't find out we're here."

"They can't know we're here. They haven't moved George to secure
him. George is still broadcasting with his PDTU and they didn't have time
to set anything up." Mark shook his head. "This place isn't bugged. I
checked."

Russ nodded. "That you know of," he pointed out. "Look at the
situation. Shortly after they kidnapped George a large group now wanders
around town made up of some Englishmen and Yanks!" His hands went out at
what he saw as obvious.

"Doing what we said we were." Kev added.

Russ nodded. "Working for a company based in the States." Russ said. "Which
you, Colin, are an investor now." He looked at Colin. "Are you listed by
name Delkenzie?"

"Not me but Holms' Laboratories." Colin said.

"And Holms' Laboratories is owned and run by you and George Holms!" Russ
stressed. "They were savvy enough to see the computer information. They
knew about us and knew where to locate George. It won't take long before
they figure it out. They will send people to check to what we're really up
to."

We were in the living area Stan had chosen to set up. People were gathering
where they could to listen and be a part of the discussion.

My attention was gotten by my mother. She had been looking around casually,
but now was looking a little more intently. Straining to see behind people
and back behind her. Stepping forward Mom looked even more. "John?" She
asked loud. "John Burke!" She called again. Turning to us. "Where is John
Burke?"

We had come back and slowly had gathered together, but we were all here
now, but no John.

"Does anyone know where John is?" Mom asked everyone.

Everyone was now was looking around themselves and moving slightly to see
if they could spot him.

Remembering when John had left during the conference with scientists, I
felt an icy dagger pierce my heart and took Colin's hand. "No," I said in a
near whisper. "He wouldn't."

"Who was with him today?" Colin asked. "He didn't go to town or help us
search. Who saw him last?"

Wayne looked crestfallen. "Amasis and I were with him. He didn't go
anywhere. He said he preferred to rest for when we did go to get George."

Several left to search the house and rooms when Mom had called for
John. Amasis came back and said. "He had been asleep not but a few hours
ago! His room and bed are empty and I couldn't find him anywhere in the
house."

With sudden urgency Stan's fingers moved over Buddy's glass top. The
monitor came up with the map of the world with locations of the PDTUs as
red dots. Stan kept typing and we watched as one indicator was moving away
from the group of our dots. The name John was next to the one moving red
dot. He was almost through Asbest as it headed toward an access on the West
side of town.

"What is he doing??" Dave asked in horror as he waved at the monitor. "We
are here to get George!"

"He's threatening to reveal us and why we're here!" Deborah nodded. "He'll
get himself and us killed!"

I walked toward the center of the room and was waving them all down to stop
the conversations. "Yes, he is." I looked at the traveling dot. "He must
have used up his patience. He's been borderline with that, so far." I
shrugged. "I guess he couldn't wait anymore."

"Now, before we get upset with John," Colin began. "Losing that someone
special like this makes everyone a little crazy with desperation."

I turned to Russ. "This is changing our tactics."

"We will now need to move quickly." Russ nodded. "A quick infiltration and
withdrawal." He shook his head. "But we don't have any weapons other than
to use on the vampires."

Stan chuckled, "But they do." He typed quickly again and a map of the
tunnels came up. He pointed to a chamber off of one corridor. "This chamber
is on a corridor on the North side of Asbest. I'm almost one hundred
percent positive it is an armory."

"Why?" Ellis asked.

"Because of the reinforcements." Stan replied typing again. The chamber
grew in size. "Buddy had trouble seeing it. These dense fortifications
would withstand a sizable explosion." He turned to us again. "It's the only
chamber they have like that. It just makes sense."

"I can take you there!" Lucian blurted quickly. "I know where it is!"

Mark made a low growl. "You understand why we don't rally around that
idea."

"You taking us where there are weapons...?" Chuck added.

Lucian said, "I know. Take whatever precautions you deem necessary, but I
need to do something to prove myself!"

Everyone seemed to wait for someone to say something for a few seconds.

I turned asked, "Colin?"

Colin was looking at Lucian, seemingly trying to mentally penetrate
Lucian's mind and soul with his gaze. "I sense his sincerity." He said
slowly. His eyes narrowed. "Lucian. Given any opportunity, will you betray
us?"

"NO!!!" Lucian replied quickly and looked at me. "I told you, Devon...there
are men here responsible for Iilya! He was groomed and conditioned to be
the man you met. He was tortured and abused. I want to help!" He nodded. "I
will admit, I'm hoping some of them will die. I wouldn't mind being the one
to do that. Believe me!"

Colin nodded. "He's telling the truth."

"I am!" Lucian urged.

Colin nodded. "I believe you, but understand...some of us will need more
convincing." Colin pointed at the others. "They won't hesitate to kill you
if you step out of line."

"Understood." Lucian said.

"My suggestion," Amasis began, "we try to stop John...go in and get George
and get out. Now."

"Agreed." Russ agreed.

Colin leaned toward me and muttered and I knew he wasn't serious. "If he
lives through this and is safe. I'm going to kill John."



I squeezed Colin's hand. "We should have watched him more carefully. We saw
the real John come out at the hotel."

"He fooled me." Colin nodded. "John's smarter than even I gave him credit
for."

"He broke down at the hotel, but managed keep that urge to go to George
under control." I shrugged. "Being so close, he managed to fool us into
thinking he could wait."

"He knows we'll come after him." Colin sighed.

I nodded again. "He was tired of inaction."

"We are forced into action," Colin said, "or we lose the ground we gained
in the past few years."



We planned quickly going over the 3D map on the monitor which Stan sent all
of us a copy. About ten of us were going to the mine shaft was to the West
of Asbest. The others were going to the one on the Northern side.

I watched Mom take a sun/serum gun deftly and put it at her side. I smiled
as she looked totally comfortable with the newer role in the world. She was
confident with what she knew had to do. Her gaze came up to me and she
smiled.

"Are you ready?" She asked me tilting her head.

I nodded. "Yes," I answered. "I was thinking how this is so out of
character for the woman that raised me." I saw her face change to
puzzlement. I rushed on. "You are my mother. I love you, but I see the
loving mother that was always caring, gentle, and had a soft touch for
every boo-boo. Be it a skinned knee or the time I fell out of that tree." I
waved at her dark jeans and blue shirt. "Now, there's this kick ass woman I
find a little surprising." I shrugged.

Mom got a warmth in her smile. "I'm still the same woman." She walked to
me. "I am both women. A mother will do anything for her child and family. I
will kill anybody that threatens you." She put a loving hand on my right
cheek and leaned in and kissed my other cheek. "You're an adult now, but
you are my child. You're my baby. Of course, I am those things."

Willie came up behind her to give her a sweater. He grinned at me but said
to my mother. "It will be cool at night. You might need this."

Mom nodded and let Willie put it on her. "Thanks, Honey."

Then Colin touched me on the back gently as only he could. "We need to get
going." He said softly to us.

"First," Dave said. "I have something for us." He went down the hall. "We
might use these." We suddenly had guns! Not just the serum/sun guns. Dave
walked in with a couple of them. He and Deborah began handing them out to
us.

"How did you get these here?" Mark asked marveling taking one. "I've never
seen one like this."

"It's Russian." Dave grinned. "They were already in Russia."

Deborah smiled. "MI5 has people working here. They have contacts and
Director Mattingly contacted them and had these brought here."

"Well," Dave pointed to the floor, "not here, but Asbest. Once we knew
where, I called to tell that contact to bring them."

"He's trustworthy." Debra headed off any concern about whether they would
double cross us.

Dave held a clip up with the bullets. "These contain twenty rounds in each
clip. We have enough for everyone to get two apiece."

Taking the gun, I was amazed how light it was. They were hand-held rapid
fire guns that could be held in one hand. I qualified on similar firearms,
but this was different. I knew what things were on it. The safety was on.

"They gave us what they had," Dave reported. "They got us a few
grenades. Standard concussion grenades, a few smoke grenades, and a few
incendiary grenades. Use them only when you have to. They're all we've
got." He held the gun up and pointed to a lever. "This s set for single
fire." He pulled the small lever on the side back. "Now, it's rapid fire."
He pushed the lever back.

Colin smiled at Dave. "We're going to treat all you people from MI5 the
best dinner in the world!" Colin said looking at his gun.

Dave grinned again. "When this is over, we'll take you up on that."



This was going to be the most dangerous scenario we had ever gone through
so far. We were confronting these vampires on their own turf without that
needed planning before was very dangerous. Romania was frightening, but the
danger was that we had not really been the ones threatened. Well, we were,
due to lust for power. We knew who we were up against in Romania. We didn't
know the vampires here. These were Russians. Some of them had been part of
what had been the enemy during those stressful times during the Cold
War. Some of them predated even that, but became a willing part of that
military. Even became participants in this politically, devising new and
some heartless and cruel ways of taking control. The people that made up
the populous of Russia were just people. Good, bad, liars, honest, kind and
mean made up the Human Race. Most just wanted to simply live their
lives. It was the suffering hardships that caused people to take sides and
begin to stir up conflict. During the Russian Revolution there were men
that were urged to unite against capitalism. There would be an equal
division of resources for everyone. No more would there be the haves and
have nots. To those men who were oppressed, hungry, and poor it sounded
ideal!

The corrupt were also part of the Human Race. Whatever government in charge
are often comprised of those men and women. Enough of History Class. It's
recorded. These vampires consisted of some of these men. We were going up
against the KGB! According to Lucian the Bratva was there, too. The Russian
Brotherhood that was the Russian Mob and Organized Crime. These were
definitely very dangerous people! They had been before they became
vampires! Remember when I suggested how dangerous it would be if someone
like Hitler had the venom and serum? Well, we would be facing that someone.



We did know that George was going to be at the end of his disc of
serum. You know what would happen if it did run out. We had George's
replacement disc with us. George had replacements for all of us on the
serum. The signal sent to Buddy from the PDTU in George told us he was not
in trouble yet.



Earpieces in to keep in touch with Stan and each other and utility belts,
we headed out to stop John and get George using the various vehicles we had
gotten here with.

"Guys?" Stan's voice came with the sound of uneasiness in his voice. "I
have those numbers now."

Colin didn't stop driving, but asked. "And?"

"There are one hundred and fifty-six vampires in those tunnels," Stan
said. "The total of the people was about five hundred during the past
twenty-four hours in those tunnels.

Russ was riding with Colin, me, Chuck, Wayne, Amasis, and Lucian.

"Damn," Russ whispered. "I hate going in like this."

"We have the element of surprise in our favor." Amasis said to give hope to
everyone.

I covered my mouthpiece and turned to Russ. "We can raid their Armory. It's
no doubt secured and in some vault like chamber. It will be locked to keep
it locked. We can't blow the door as the chamber is fortified to prevent a
breach that way."

Russ shook his head. "I don't know." He admitted to me. "I can't speculate
until we're there." He looked at me. "You are a marksman, I understand."

I nodded. "I am." I shrugged. "I first qualified in Basic."

Russ smiled and pointed at my face. "And are even better now. You're an
improved predator. You have a natural targeting sight now. I have that,
too." He frowned. "We will need that. You were in the military, but a
medic."

"That's right." I said.

"Have killed anyone?" Russ asked.

"I killed Iilya."

"In defense of Colin," Russ said to qualify. "I mean, have you killed, as
in a person that was in the way of your goal even if they haven't directly
threatened you?"

"No."

"Could you?" Russ asked.

I didn't answer right away. "I don't know." I said quietly. "I would to
protect a life."

Russ smiled. "I like an honest answer. I'm told you love everyone. There
will be without a doubt people in Asbest that are innocent. You won't know
who they are. You'll be protecting them. Think about that." He
sighed. "We'll need to be quick and instantly responsive. To save George
and John."

"I will."



We parked the vehicles in a wooded area and sneaked toward the mine
entrance as we didn't know how they were watching. In this mountainous and
rocky area, it was easy to find a place to hide. Since there wasn't active
mining here, the foliage was taking over because of the lack of foot
traffic.

"Stan," I whispered into my earpiece. "We could use a proximity alert with
us...to tell who's coming?"

"I could make you one." Stan's voice came in a whisper. He was at the house
and could not be heard even if he spoke normally. I chuckled knowing that
if one whispered, the other would, too. "You always sense vampires, but not
humans like me, right?"

"No," I answered. "We can't sense you. You are so many, we'd be
overwhelmed."

"But you smell them when you're a full vampire." Stan said to get an
understanding.

"We smell blood when the hunger hits us," I replied.

Russ looked at me and waved me down. "We can discuss it later." He
whispered.

"Stan," Mark said over the earpiece. "Can't you...I don't know...see their
computers' transmissions or whatever?"

"I can," Stan replied. "Their satellite connection can be detected."

"Their security should be in that connection." Mark stressed. "Can't
you...hack in or something?"

"I can't shut it off." Stan said bleakly. "Not yet. I have a program
running to get control..."

"Not take control, Brainiac." Mark said. "Buddy's been working on their
system, hasn't he seen in?" He chuckled. "There is a forest, but did you
notice a tree?"

"What?" Russ asked no one and anyone.

I leaned toward Russ. "Like George, Stan is so smart he sometimes misses
the obvious."

"Oh," Russ chuckled and shrugged. "All this was rushed. It's understandable
somethings would slip his mind."

"If they have video surveillance, which they should, won't that be on
computer?" Mark asked. I could see Mark's expressions in my mind. "They saw
ours, it's only fair we see theirs!"

I could also see Stan's expressions in my mind. He would be nodding and
slapping himself in the forehead. "Of course, give me a minute."

Russ smiled. "Stan does this a lot?"

"Not always." I said. "Sometimes he's so brilliant and thinks of things we
haven't." I chuckled. "He'll forget to eat, go to bed or take showers. It's
what brought Stan and Mark together." Looking at the tablet I saw that John
was in the tunnel already but wasn't moving. He was still in the beginning
of the tunnel, but it looked as if he was waiting for the coast was clear
to go on.

These tunnels were more extensive than Amasis' City. That was
understandable since these were carved by more modern equipment here, not
simple tools like the Egyptians had. Then again, those Egyptians moved
carved stones that weighed tons to build the Pyramids. I guess Amasis' City
didn't have those tools or the manpower. Whoever or whatever did it
predated Amasis. He said he didn't know. The mystery remains about
that. They were both were impressive.

We wanted to move in on these people on both sides at once. We didn't know
what to expect so a double surprise was thought to be the best
approach. All of the entrances were in isolated places. This Western one
was a hole in the mountainside held by boarded construction and looked
abandoned as it should be. On a board, roughly hand painted in faded red
was
Опасность!
That word didn't need translating. Danger. The weathered board and paint
said it was old. There was no sign that this entry had been used in a
century.

"The people and vampires don't use these entries much anymore," Lucian
explained. "Except in emergencies they will. They use the one in Asbest or
the one I showed you on the North side." He pointed on the tablet
screen. "This one Iilya and I used as it's the one the farthest South and
the first we could get to from Romania." He explained as he pointed at
John's non-moving dot. "Where he's waiting there is a door in a wooden
wall. It looks like an entrance further into the original mine."

"Is it guarded?" Russ asked.

Lucian gave a reluctant, hesitant nod. "With George here, I don't
know. There are usually just two inside the door." He shook his head. "Like
I said, it's not used much."

I looked at the map again. "So why is John still at this point? He's still
alive, right, Stan?"

"Yes," Stan's voice replied. "His blood pressure and heart rate keeps
spiking. I'd say he was talking himself into action."

"Pardon me, gentlemen." Kev's proper voice came. He had remained with Stan
when we left. He was a doctor, not a soldier. "He's doing what we all
do. He's trying to get his body to release Adrenalin for the added strength
and speed." Kev explained. "We as vampires even on the serum do that very
well."

That made sense. A vampire had more strength than most humans. It made us
the better hunters.

In my mind I saw what happened next. John's dot moved slightly on and
stopped again, remained stationary and then moved again. Based on what
Lucian told us, John had waited until he'd needed, moved quickly and took
care of the guards. The opportunity to get to John before he'd gone too
far, was over.

"It is Summer," Lucian said. "They usually let their guard down a bit as
everyone wants to be out in it." He thought. "Even the vampires come out at
night to enjoy it."

Russ looked at him. "Even with George here?"

Lucian shrugged. "You, yourselves said they thought they'd gotten away with
it. They don't know we're here, but will probably figure that out given
time."

Colin nodded. "You think that overconfidence is their weakness?" He asked
Russ.

"We'll have to hope it is." Russ muttered. "Is there surveillance?"

Lucian nodded. "It was limited in the past." He shrugged. "No one's ever
infiltrated here before."

"I'd say," Russ smiled, "that overconfidence is their weakness."

"I think..." Stan said. "I'm stupid." He chastised to himself, but we all
heard it.

"No," Mark said softly with a warmth to it. The borderline, lighthearted
flippancy was gone. "You are not stupid, Baby."

"Listen to your husband, Stan." Colin directed. "He's right."

"Thanks, but I should have thought of it." Stan said still a little
glum. "Look at your tablets!" The screen was six by eight inches in
size. It flickered and suddenly little box windows opened across the
screen. On a large monitor it could be seen better. "Just touch the screen
like you do a photo to see things larger."

Using my thumb and forefinger I widened the space to bring it in
closer. What I saw was an odd assortment of tunnels and halls. The tunnels
were little more than mining passages. The halls were constructed halls
with hard stone flooring. There were people walking through some of the
halls. Some in a light, uniform look on the screen. Some were dark and
seemed to be black. There were only the occasional woman or man in civilian
clothes. Men and women working running errands with things in their hands
or just going somewhere. The images were black and white, but clear. I
noticed some of the doors had men just standing there. Guards. I assumed
the largest opening and cavern was the Northern most entry. It looked more
like a cave, not a mine entry. Another window beside the window I just
mentioned showed six guards in a vast space watching over cars, trucks and
other equipment. I was serving as a garage and used for loading and
unloading.

"They seem to think this military base is just and alternate to the Army or
Marines." Alex's voice said. "I can't believe Moscow would willingly back
this."

"Are you sure?" Mom's voice muttered.

"It may be all these people know." I speculated. "Wouldn't the Russian
Government lose control?"

"There he is!" Ellis said over the connection. "There's George!" I looked
over the dozens of windows to see what Ellis saw. "Bottom row, third window
over." Ellis knew we needed that to find George.

There was the man we knew, but doing something I'd never seen him do. He
was lying on a little bed or cot. There we iron bars in front of him as
there were behind him. George was being held against his will. Of course,
he would be. He was alive. Lying as he was, I could see his face as he laid
on his side facing the camera. He blew a frustrated breath and rolled on
his back and looked absolutely miserable.

"We're in place." Alex reported.

I saw another window where there were no guards watching an entrance. No
bodies, either. "Whoever is supposed to watch this will notice their
missing guards. They will be sending someone to investigate." I said in a
forced whisper. "If they haven't already."

Colin nodded. "Yep, we'd better move."

"You, Devon," Russ began, "watch those screens to see if we're picked up."
He turned to Wayne. "You, Wayne, tell us where to go as you've done mine
surveying before. You should be able to guide us accurately." This was a
common practice in the military, law enforcement or anyone dealing with
crowds in emergencies. Don't assume someone was going to do a task, assign
someone to do the job like calling 911 to make sure it's done.

We both gave short answer and nodded our responses. We headed toward the
entrance. It was a thin opening, but we all made it. On the screen I saw
the members of the VUN enter the large opening on the North side. Both had
a lengthy approach to the entrance to any mine. The floor of this part of
the entrance was worn from many human feet. This wasn't like I pictured it
might be. I couldn't see men carrying ore out with their bare hands. It was
more of a quick access to the long mine tunnel for the men to get in the
midpoint of the mine without going to the North side some good ten miles
away. Or more! The miners would have lived in Asbest or even the suburb to
Asbest in Rezh. I hadn't heard of any mine shaft in the middle of a
town. There was that movie with Linda Hamilton and Pierce Bronson. Dante's
Peak? They had to fetch her son from an old abandoned mine on the edge of
town. I know, drama and story lines are important to make excitement for a
movie. There's a volcano in that movie, too, but I didn't feel the
cliché in that movie. Not like Congo. If you like it, fine. It's my
opinion, not yours. You can be wrong if you want to be. Then again, the
town could grow making the town closer to the mine. I don't know. My point
is, the men just entered here as a shortcut to go and come to work.

We neared a wooden wall across blocking further entrance. Just as Lucian
said, there was a door a man could walk through. The warnings again on the
wall and door, which was now open. What we also saw were two bodies on the
rough ground. Rushing to them, I checked the two men. They were men, not
vampires.

"They're alive," I said with both relief and dread. Relief that John had
not killed them and dread about what do with them. They could raise the
alarm when they came to.

"We need to secure them." Amasis said evenly. He might sense the excited
situation, but it didn't show on his face or sounded in his voice. "I'll
take care of that." Using parts of the two men's clothing, Amasis quickly
and not so gently bound their hands and feet.

I watched what was happening in those hallways, corridors, and tunnels. No
one was rushing anywhere in urgency or panic. No one knew about us or even
John...yet. I looked to see if I could spot someone sneaking down a
corridor, but this corridor was more than a half a mile long. His red dot
was still moving. The walls varied from rock to gray painted cinder brick
The overhead lighting were typical recessed lighting the appeared to be
ultraviolet tube lights behind Plexiglas. Dimly lit. There was even the one
that was dying or whatever that flickered on and off that needed fixing or
replaced. It looked...normal. It had a military feel to it. That was
something I was familiar with. Amasis' City had an old but regal feel. Even
where Vlad had been living had that, but they were two different
eras. Amasis' City tunnels had brass light sconces. Vlad's tunnels had
torches and said old and Gothic. Amasis' City's said ancient. These tunnels
had electric lights over a paved floor that spoke of the efficiency of a
militia.

"These tunnels are lengthy." Wayne observed. "This subterranean world is
big, but like Amasis' City, the rooms, offices, labs and dormitories are
just a fraction of this map. There are the natural made tunnels made by
water or tubes from old lava flows and the constructed passages."

Something bothered me. It was a tickle in the back of my mind. I finally
vocalized it. "I get the feeling somethings very wrong here."

"Gawdon Bennet!" Ellis blurted. "We're breakin' in'er a nest ov
vampires. The whole situashun is wrong!" His Cockney was even more
pronounced, but it wasn't necessarily for comedy.

"It's more than that," I said.

"We should be coming up to connection," Wayne said. "A kind of
intersection." He looked up. "We have to go through to the middle tunnel."

That would put tunnels behind us. That could trap us, but I didn't see
anyone change directions to come after us.

John didn't know where he was going. He was tracking George. I said I could
find Colin by his scent. John was doing that with George. We were closer to
John's red dot. We crossed the intersection of corridors and spotted John
creeping the hall carefully. He was sniffing as he went.

"John!" Colin hissed in a loud whisper. "Stop!"

John spun around to us. "I can't. George is this way. I can feel him."

"We were going to get him, John." Wayne said. "You couldn't wait?"

"No," John replied and pulled a cellophane wrapped disc out of his
pocket. "He'll be changing any moment now."

I nodded. "We have one, too. We know that he will."

"He'll be made to do what they want to get relief from the hunger." John
insisted.

"He's right." A woman's voice said behind us. The accent was clearly
Russian.

Turning around we faced several people that approached from both of the
hallways. The central man wore the uniform color of all vampires. Nearly
all black except for the front from his belt line to his neck. All shiny
leather. The edges of the red had gold buttons on it. I don't mean brass, I
mean gold. He wore a white sash cloth from his right shoulder to his left
waist with a white belt. Dangling yellow tassels hung from epaulets on his
shoulders that showed rank in the Air Force. Medals across his left upper
chest. While it looked like a uniform wore in the past. This was a modern
one. Around him were men in bluish gray uniforms with different ranks, but
all pointed rifles at us. The woman had a similar color uniform, but had a
skirt of the material. She looked unemotional, but stern. The center man
made a few gestures that the woman didn't appear to look at. They were both
vampires.

"I am Yuri Vasilievich, Tzar of Russia." The woman said for the man beside
her. "Welcome to Asbest. The birthplace of the new Russian Empire."