Enduring Service (7 page)

“So?” Sterling asked.

“The jacket’s white. The paper would stain in the wash,” Alex jumped in and explained.

Dixon pointed at the jacket. “Right. This jacket was worn, but it’s still in her closet and not the hamper. She intended to wear this again — with this pamphlet being in her pocket. She may have been researching this company.”

“She wasn’t scheduled to work yesterday, so she wouldn’t have been wearing her hospital smock,” Raymond commented.

“Seems like a bit of a stretch, Dixon,” Ben said.

Dixon walked to the center of the room and motioned with his arms. “Look at this room. There is nothing out of place but this one jacket and this pamphlet. This pamphlet caught her eye for some reason and she kept it. Otherwise, she would have thrown it out.”

Raymond took back the pamphlet. “Ok, it’s a lead.” He handed the paper to Ben. “Do your magic. I want to know everything about this company.”

Dixon felt a heavy weight lift from his chest and he found it easier to breath. They had a lead. It was at least something to go on. When they were through searching the room, Dixon closed the door to respect Sulie’s privacy.

Sulie swallowed and felt the dryness of her mouth. A full day had past since the last time she had fed and she felt the cells of her body starving for nutrition. The government had spoiled her by supplying an unlimited amount of blood to the Colony. Drinking plenty of blood allowed her to keep her base Jahrling age — a youthful twenty–two. Now severe hunger pains raged in her body, and she knew she had aged overnight.

Food. Not the least of her worries, but far down on the list at the moment. As a vampire eating well, she could stay up for days, but she had stayed up all night looking for an escape plan and her body felt the strain. She knew she needed a good night’s rest. If she didn’t get one soon, her body would age even faster.

During the night, Sulie examined every nook and cranny in the room. After finding no cameras and no listening devices, she decided to create as many crude weapons as possible. She pulled up two wooden floorboards from the corner of the room and splintered them into four stakes. She was disappointed to find hard concrete under the floor, meaning tunneling was not an option. Instead, she placed the tattered rug on top of the bald spot left by the removed boards to hide her tracks. She tucked one wooden stake into her shirt sleeve and hid the others around the room. She broke an old wine bottle into jagged shards of glass, hiding the largest piece into the tangles of her hair extensions. Millard’s dust was now strategically around the room in neatly hidden piles. She even bent two bedsprings into handles, allowing her to effectively wield the silver chain she still had from when her captors had tied her up. Meager weapons for sure, but she felt more empowered.

When she did get out, it would be through the locked gate — which meant she needed to find the person with the key. If she could get them into this cell, she could kill them and escape. The problem was that she hadn’t seen anyone in hours.

Sulie knew one of the keys to escaping was to understand her captors, which she didn’t. She had no idea what motivated them to take her. They easily could have killed her back at the hospital or even when she was tied up. She took comfort that they must need her for something. But what? That was the big question of the day.

After a few more hours of waiting, she heard the tumbler of the outer door of her cell turn. The hair on her arm pricked up, and she sniffed the air. It was another predator. A vampire approached, but only one. She had the first kill behind her and it was time to up the number. She took a deep breath and readied herself.

Sulie heard the clacking of shoes against the floor as she waited for her captor to walk the short distance from the first door to the second and into view. High heels. Her captor was a female vampire… and she had blood with her. Sulie swallowed the pooling saliva in her mouth and tried not to focus on the delicious scent. Her fangs extended slightly in anticipation of the meal.

When captor finally came into view, Sulie recognized her as the fake pregnant woman from the hospital. No obvious weapons appeared to be on her, at least none that Sulie could make out. If the woman were to open the door, Sulie could tie her up and search her. Maybe the woman would talk after a good beating.

Sulie counted off the clicks of the high heels as the woman sauntered to the second and last locked door. Counting kept Sulie’s heart beat in check and her anxiety at bay. She waited for the door to open and hoped the vampire could not sense her excitement as she contemplated the attack.

Her hopes were dashed when the woman stopped shy of the second door and appeared to have no plan of de–activating the lock.

“Hello Sulie. So nice to see you again,” the mystery woman said.

Not wanting to give anything away, Sulie only nodded. She had no idea who the tall blonde wearing the well tailored suit was. If it weren’t for the cold, calculating eyes, Meryl Streep could easily play her in the movie. The trick now was to find out if that movie was a horror story staring Sulie in the role of a dead clueless woman.

Sulie took a deep breath. “My, my. Had a baby and already back to a slim waistline and a bad bleach job,” she said, pointing out the switch in hair color from what she assumed had been a wig previously.

The woman smiled and patted her flat stomach. “I had to get your attention. Let’s just say I’m not the motherly type.” She sipped from a mug she carried, and Sulie knew by the smell that it contained blood. “I’d say you look good, but let’s be honest, you really don’t.”

Fighting the urge to lick her lips, Sulie glanced away from the mug. “Nice to see you again too,” she bluffed.

The woman smiled. “You’re a bad liar. I’m hurt you don’t remember me.”

Sulie gritted her teeth.

“I go by the name Trudy. We only met once, but it was brief and you were so young.”

Sulie studied the woman but still came up short. She gestured around the room, “I would have cleaned up the place had I known you were coming for a visit, Trudy.”

“And end up like poor Millard? I don’t think so.”

Sulie figured the other guard would have reported the death. If not, the bloodstains on the bed and the floor would have given it away, not that the woman had necessarily looked around. She appeared cold and heartless, as though Sulie and everyone else meant nothing. “I’m sorry for your loss,” Sulie eventually said.

Trudy grinned at the words. “No loss. My cousin was useless.”

Sulie processed the new information. Trudy and Millard were related. The name Millard sounded somewhat familiar, but the name Trudy escaped her. They must have been a family she had known at some point. She had known many families over the years though.

Trudy took another sip from her mug of blood and Sulie had to look away. She didn’t want to give the bitch any satisfaction. Sulie mentally began doing math in her head. It was a simple trick Dixon had shared with her many years ago — keep your mind busy on something concrete and repetitive to keep your mind from focusing on something that was all consuming to you.

An image of Dixon came to her. His warm smile and caring eyes warmed her heart. He was always stuck in facts and figures. After a few too many beers one night, he told her about blocking out your feelings and thoughts with statistics. Now all she could focus on was him and whether she’d ever see him again.

“I’m here with a proposition,” Trudy said, breaking Sulie’s concentration. “You see, we could use your talents and connections. You may be of value to us.”

“Us?” Sulie had counted four attackers by their voices from the van. Were there more?

A chuckle escaped the woman’s lips. “My family. You could be useful to us in many ways.”

Sulie’s stomach twisted. She didn’t want to help the woman, let alone her family. “Just like Millard found me useful?”

“You’re a clever girl, but don’t count Millard as any great victory. The man was an idiot and only interested in satisfying his carnal urges. I’m assuming that’s how you got so close to him.” When Sulie remained silent, Trudy continued, “I’m interested in you because you are a doctor.”

Sulie’s eyebrow rose. She would love to get this woman on an operating table with a sharp scalpel at her throat. “You need a doctor?”

“Medically, no. For financial gain, yes.”

Sulie had an uneasy feeling as the woman eyed her from head to toe. The woman was sizing her up with some sort of plan in mind. “Why not come in and we can talk about it?” Sulie said, motioning into her cell.

“It really is a shame,” the woman said shaking her head. “Unmarried. But recently, as of yesterday, placed in the Verheiratet Schlange.”

If Sulie’s face hadn’t already been blanched white by lack of blood, it would have been now. Only Council chairmen had access to the Verheiratet Schlange this early in the game. A chairman was always tasked with determining if the woman listed was pregnant and trying to pass her child onto an unsuspecting family line. The chairman either had to confirm that the woman was aged past her base Jahrling year, and therefore unable to conceive and carry a child, or if she remained at the base age, a three month wait was always issued before the listing became public. Sulie hadn’t been on the list more than twenty–four hours and no one had come to visit with her from the Council. Whoever this Trudy woman was, she was someone high up in the Council and obviously held a chair.

The marriage listing was Sulie’s private business. Sulie’s hands balled into fists, and she could taste the anger fuming inside her. “Why does my personal, marital status interest you?” she asked through gritted teeth.

“Your family is quite prestigious. You’re somewhat wealthy. But what makes you so valuable is your family’s abilities.” When Sulie stared at the woman, she added, “Your medical abilities, your brother’s mind reading, your parents’ mind abilities before they died in a horrific fire, and of course your hybrid nephew, that curse upon your household, has something too, doesn’t he?”

It felt too eerie for Sulie to have her personal life thrown in her face, especially since she wasn’t sure who she was dealing with. Sulie also didn’t like the way she referred to her nephew Sterling.

“Your family is blessed with abilities,” Trudy spat. “Every fucking member of your household has something unique.” She glared at Sulie. “Your ability is especially intriguing.”

Sulie held her head up defiantly. Her family matters were personal.

Trudy shrugged. “I thought you burned to death with your parents all those years ago. You really should have died in that fire. That was the original plan. But I guess it’s for the best that you survived.”

Sulie’s head spun around, and she stared at Trudy. “Original plan?”

“Water under the bridge, my pet.”

A thunderous thud sounded as Sulie’s body hit the gate full on. The only thing she managed to accomplish was to hurt her shoulder and back in the process. “You bitch!”

Trudy’s eyes widened by the assault and she took a step back. “You have always been a feisty little thing.”

Sulie thought back to the night of her parents’ deaths. A house fire. They had submerged themselves into the human culture and had done whatever they could to appear human, including light a fire in the hearth at night for warmth. Sulie had stayed with Raymond to help take care of Sterling, who was only a few months old. When she returned home the next morning, she had discovered the loss of her parents and home. If Sterling had not taken with a fever that night, she too would have been lost in the fire. Sulie could feel the bile building in her throat. Her hands balled into fists, her whole body tensed, and she needed answers. “What do you want from me?”

“Personally, I want your expertise in growing my business.” The woman took another sip from the mug and smacked her lips as she finished her drink. “My, so refreshing.”

Sulie inhaled deeply. The blood smelled strong. The type was A+ and, something else. The aroma hung in the air longer than normal coppery blood did. She noticed the thickness of the blood as the woman wiped a drop from the corner of her lip. Her eyes widened as recognition set in. “Cord blood.”

“Yes. Cord blood is the essence of youth, strength, and vitality. And you’re going to help me get more.” Trudy waved her hands over her body in a Vanna White manner. “It’s better than anything else and humans have babies every day. Their precious cord blood is just thrown away when it provides so much. Sometimes I look at a pregnant woman and I salivate.”

If the confession was meant to shock her, Sulie didn’t give her the satisfaction. It also explained the new vendor the hospital picked up on storing cord blood. She knew the pamphlet had seemed suspicious.

“You are only one piece of the puzzle, my dear.” A smug expression appeared on the woman’s face. “Medical insurance policies will be changing very soon and we’ll need doctors on our side.”

A lump settled in Sulie’s throat. “What else?” Sulie asked. When Trudy remained silent, Sulie stressed her point. “You
said
you wanted me to build your business, but you needed me for many reasons. What do the others in your family want?”

A cold sneer appeared on Trudy’s face, making Sulie feel a shiver down her spine.

“We want your family bloodline.”

Sulie’s breath caught. “What?”

“You will marry into my family so your family’s capability for having abilities can be passed onto my bloodline.”

Sulie knew not all vampires had abilities. Abilities ran in families and it was through the Verheiratet Schlange that abilities were fully disclosed. The potential of mind control was carefully monitored. Sulie had not considered that her placement on the list would cause such a commotion. Fishing for more information, Sulie said nonchalantly, “And, your family, of course, was not blessed.”

“No. We weren’t. We need your mind control abilities since vampires don’t volunteer their cord blood and we can’t compel them to give it to us. Of course, we can just take it if we happen to know when a vampire is giving birth, especially once new medical policies are passed. That is where you come in.”

Sulie’s schedule was always filled with vampire women seeking her services during their pregnancies. She pieced the plan together. “Vampire cord blood contains enzymes missing from human cord blood. Enzymes that prevent our children from developing blood diseases, but also would allow quicker regeneration in vampires.”

Trudy licked her lips. “It’s super charged blood. You’ve never had anything like it.”