Blueblood

Story: Blueblood

Chapter 16 Dethroned

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

Adult Readers, Sexual Situations, Sex

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Dethroned

We later met with George and Burke in the library. George listened to what we planned to do.

"You want to give her..." George began. "...and this Adrian the serum?" He looked confused. "Here?"

Colin nodded but grinned. "That's right."

George looked very wary. "You trust them? Because I don't."

I shook my head. "Absolutely not. We know there's something going on."

"But we have what they want." Colin smiled. "That gives us leverage."

"I wrestled with this myself," I admitted. "We have power, but should we use it? Agree with us or be on your way?"

"Our added leverage is they will be relying on us to keep getting the serum," Colin said almost in a whisper.

"We need you to create something that isn't the serum if they..." I hesitated, "...don't prove to be reliable. Which we both feel they won't be."

"Liberal, Conservative, Republican, Democrat, Atheist, Christian, Jewish..." George lamented, "It's all politics!"

"The basic number one rule!" I nodded. "Do they kill or don't kill," I said firmly. "We're not trying to say you have to be one race or one ideology, but I think we're all in agreement when I say we don't want people who will kill, lie or steal. That is the basic rule."

Burke nodded. "That does make sense." He took George's hand.

"We will be able to tell what their motives are when they think they have what they need," I said.

"The dangers are Marissa because she's been First Vampire for hundreds of years," Colin said. "She believes herself to be above those basic rules. And Adrian..." Colin shook his head. "I believe given the right circumstance; he would kill. I have no doubt. I have no doubt he has killed and will kill again."

"If what we feel is proven true, they won't get the serum again," I said further. "They will again revert to being what they've been since they were turned."

Colin sat back in his chair. "We need that formula and serum in a highly secure place."

"Could they determine what the formula is if they studied their own blood after getting the serum and analyst it?" I asked.

George shook his head. "I don't think so. It was to be tailor-made for each vampire. The serum is not difficult, once you have the basics, but hard to reproduce if you don't know what you're doing." He grinned. "I do."

"Don't you think you need to train others on how to make it?" I asked. "God forbid, something happens to you. Colin and I..." I waved to Burke, "...Burke and the others would become vampires again."

Colin nodded to seeing George's face. "Devon and I have been discussing the issues I see on your face. We need guidelines."

George nodded. "But you're also forgetting something very important," He pointed out. "While on the serum, they will not be vampires...not really. No fangs, therefore unable to spread the venom to make others. We don't feed on anyone or anything now because we can't!" He shook his head. "The serum is more than just a way to go out in the day. It's a way to prevent someone that's been turned becoming a potentially deadlier killer." He looked at Burke. "Personally, I think every vampire should be on the serum. If they break the law, they will be in jail or prison. Do you think the jails or prisons will have the means to keep them from being vampires while in custody?"

"If they do return to being vampires, we'll all be exposed." I said. "Especially because the vampire will know where they get the serum and bring it back to us."

Colin held his hands up. "All of this is important, but we have an issue here now. We'll deal with this and then move to those other issues when done."

George sighed. "I took an oath to do no harm. I was a doctor before I was turned. I've been a doctor even after I became a vampire." He thought glumly. "Withholding treatment because I don't like their politics or something else...it goes against everything I am." He looked at Colin. "We have allowed people in...namely the FBI. We're now more open than I am comfortable with, but it is what it is. There's no turning back now." He nodded. "I will make the discs that have no serum. We're going to regret something; I just know it."

"Understood," Colin said putting his hand on George's hand. "Now, Burke..."

Burke looked at Colin surprised. "Me? What do you need from me?"

"Blood," Colin grinned.

I chuckled. "We're going to Marissa uninvited; we can't just show up without a gift of some kind. That would be rude."

Burke nodded with a smile. "I see." He shrugged. "I'll have some delivered here."

It took a couple of days for the blood to be delivered, but when it was, Colin and I went alone to the hunting club. It was just about sunset. We arrived at the door, and I looked at the door puzzled.

"Do we ring a bell?" I asked Colin who just shrugged. "Is there a bell to ring?"

The door opened by a dark-haired man in his mid-thirties I didn't know. "This is private property." He said less than friendly.

Colin smiled patiently. "We just came by to see Marissa."

The man looked surprised that we used her name so casually.

"Unless she's somewhere else right now," I said. "But knowing her to be what she is...I don't think so."

The man slowly nodded. "Oh, you're from that other group." He stepped aside letting us in. "Then you know the way."

"We've only done it once," Colin said. "But we remember how we were brought down there." He looked at the man as we walked. Colin held up the cooler. "When she gets up, you might want to tell her not to feed yet." He raised the cooler. "She might like this."

They weren't visited very often apparently. The man listened and just nodded, unaccustomed to casual conversations with strangers who knew a secret he was protecting. "I'll let her know." He said as we walked down the stairs to the room again. He waved to a sitting area and started to go down the corridor we'd seen Marissa come out of before. "I'll let her know you're here. Colin Wentworth and..." he looked to me.

"Devon Wentworth," I said.

He nodded.

I looked at the room more closely. Like much of the upstairs, it was furnished with some valuable antiques. There were polished wood and upholstered chairs and sofa, gas lamps with those shades that had to be valuable. There was a rug on a hard stone floor that gave a more cheerful touch. The walls were stone as well, but there were gas lamps lit as the light sources down here. I heard the drip of water somewhere and wondered how they kept the water away. Even if it was an area that had more rock in the foundation, that moisture would warp wood furniture. There were pictures on the walls. Paintings mostly, but no portraits. It was a few minutes before we heard some conversation as Marissa came with the man who had greeted us.

Marissa smiled but held caution in her gaze. "Gentlemen, I am surprised to see you. I thought you didn't really trust me."

Colin nodded. "Trust can be earned." He said smiling. "How can that earned if someone doesn't extend the olive branch?"

Marissa studied Colin's face but nodded. "And is that what this is, an olive branch?"

"Our kind is so few," Colin said with a slight bow. "I hope by showing some good will...trust will just come naturally."

"Being new to all this," I said. "I'd love to ask some questions if I can? Without giving too many details, I'd love to learn more about how you became First Vampire. A little history."

She nodded. "I'll be happy to share that."

Colin raised the cooler again. "I know the first thing you'll be wanting is blood. I brought some very good blood. I've had it, it's very good."

She smiled again and waved us to sit. "That's very thoughtful." She sat as we did. "Adrian would insist you share it with me, in case you've...tainted it with something."

"What would that accomplish?" Colin asked. "You don't have to take it. It's a gift, not a weapon."

"But you don't feed anymore," Marissa said.

Colin shook his head. "We don't need to. We can, but it won't be the same for us. Blood drank when not craved is not satisfying." He opened the cooler and brought the bag of blood out. "We will if it will make you feel more secure."

Marissa looked again and you could tell she was considering if we were planning something. "I'll trust you." She didn't even look back. "Caleb. My goblet." She knew she'd be obeyed.

The man that greeted us came almost instantly and presented her the gold goblet. Colin opened the port on the bag and let some blood out in the cup.

"I'm afraid it's cold, but it's refreshing," Colin assured.

She sipped it tentatively and I watched her eyebrows rise. "This is good." She smiled. "But I don't taste...it's not human."

Colin shook his head. "We have a friend that raised some special sheep that give this blood."

She nodded. "It is good." She sighed. "So, what do you wish to know?" She waved at another part of the room. "There's wine over there if you like."

Colin shook his head. "We're good."

"My first question, without telling us where...how many groups of vampires are there in the world?" I asked.

She thought a moment. "Several. There's one in England that I came from. Two in Western Europe, three in Eastern Europe, five in Africa, three in Asia and four in South America." Then she laughed. "Oh, yes, and we can't forget Australia. They get upset when I forget about them." She smiled. "And of course, in the New World, there are three in what's now the United States and one in Canada. I don't know about Central America."

I whistled. "That's quite a lot! Any numbers you can give us? How many of us are there?" I asked.

She gave a shrug. "Oh, there are thousands. Remember, for all those we can count, there are many that are wild having no humanity left, but they don't last long. Someone almost always kills them."

"Why are they not discovered?" I asked. "If someone kills them..."

"They are vampires." She shrugged. "A man or woman that kills one, even if they report it, there will be no body and no evidence. If there is a body of a victim it goes down as one those many unexplained deaths. Their bodies burn too, just slower, depending on the venom they got. The body's on the slab or in a mortuary and then not. Even with photographs now, it could be staged or explained away." She said logically. "You have a picture of a body, but when looked for...there isn't one to be found."

"Autopsies are done in unexplained deaths," I said.

"The venom in their blood will dissolve any sample." She waved that concern off. "There is the explanation of tainting."

I nodded. "But we don't die."

She shrugged. "We can die, but not by any natural cause."

"And the oldest vampire?" I asked.

"There are old ones in Europe that are close to a thousand." She answered. "There is a tribe in Africa that is said to have a vampire there that's close to two thousand years old." And she smiled. "It is ever rumored there are two that are closer to three thousand, but we don't hear much about them. I'm not sure where they are."

"Is there a governing body?" I asked. "Is that the First Vampire?"

"Governing? No. More of a controlling body." She clarified. "The more people that know about us endangers all of us." She said logically again.

"So, the title of First Vampire doesn't mean king or queen?" I asked.

"I saw potential in the New World." She said. "A chance to expand. I took the challenge of coming here and became to First Vampire of this new world."

Colin nodded. "You did this on your own?"

She nodded. "The group I was a part of...didn't much care for a woman that didn't bother with holding her tongue. This New World would be open. So, I made the journey."

"That's pretty risky," Colin said.

She nodded. "It was, but worth it." She drank more. "Is there more of this?" She held her goblet out. Colin poured more.

"I brought plenty," Colin said. "Is Adrian going to want some?"

She narrowed her eyes. "Adrian is more skeptical. He wasn't taking you up on the offer."

"I understand." Colin nodded. "The reason we've come is; I'm here to offer the serum."

Her eyes widened. "You are?"

Colin held up his hand. "With conditions."

"And those would be?" Marissa asked her eyes narrowed in suspicion.

"It needs to be a controlled environment," Colin explained. "Taking the first of the serum will be very painful." He looked at me. "We've both experienced that. It will take about a week to get the levels to where it is needed to be." The new disc had been inserted in the back of his arm again he showed Marissa. "After it gets to that level. George has a disc inserted. No more pain, but the blood levels will be maintained. You'll be free to go out in the day time. The condition is...you do it at Wentworth Manor."

She nodded. "You have a secure room there? Secure as in keeping me out of sunlight?"

Colin shook his head. "That won't be necessary. After taking the serum, being awake during the day won't kill you. The room will be dark, but you won't burn because the sun's up." Then he looked firmly. "But you won't be a vampire."

She looked surprised. "I won't?"

I patted Colin's arm. "She will still be a vampire, but no fangs or cravings for blood. Your senses will still be enhanced. You will eat, but not be able to store fat."

Colin nodded. "I don't know what your role is in this world, but it will change."

Marissa nodded. "For the better, I trust."

Colin smiled. "Hopefully. Let Adrian know what the conditions are. Send a message to Wentworth if you decide to take us up on the offer. I'm sure you can do that."

Marissa nodded. "Of course." She smiled at Colin. "Let me ask you something?"

Colin nodded. "Okay."

"Your marriage..." she began. "...that's your choice?"

"Devon and mine?" Colin looked at me puzzled and then to Marissa. "It was, my first marriage was arranged. There have been no others."

"The only reason I bring it up," Marissa said. "Have you been with a woman? I mean a woman like us?"

"I have with Debra, my first wife." Colin was not prepared for this. "A female vampire? No!" He shook his head. "And I don't want to. Devon is my husband. Both of us chose each other. That won't change."

Marissa shrugged. "That's a pity. You're both handsome men. I wouldn't object to either of you. A lot can change in a few hundred years. If it does; remember me?"

Colin nodded. "That won't happen." He said taking my hand.

She shook her head. "That's a pity."

I felt Colin squeeze my hand more. I chuckled as we said our farewells. It was in the car when Colin grabbed me, kissing me. I smiled as he released me. "Not that I mind getting a random kiss from you, but that was for what?"

"I'm your husband. We belong to each other." Colin said annoyed and waved back at the house. "She propositioned both of us in front of each other!"

I nodded bringing him close to me again. "Well, she has good taste."

"And...not that it matters too much, but she looks like a child!" Colin said a little angrier. "She's too young. I'm telling you...you're it. No one else. You're my husband and I'm yours, there is no one and will be no one else."

I chuckled as my arms went around him. "That's so nice to hear." I felt his nose move around my face. "You are a very handsome man, Colin. You're going to attract others."

He pushed me back slightly. "Maybe. So are you! But I swear...you're all I want, all I need. You are my everything. Never doubt that."

"I love you, Colin."

He smiled kissing me. "I know. I love you, Devon."

"I know."

We let the others on our teams know what we planned as we sat again at the dining table and of course, there were objections.

"You're letting Lurch in the Manor!?" Chuck balked.

I chuckled. "I think Fester is more like it; only Adrian isn't as funny as Fester was." I grinned at his Addams Family reference. I shrugged. "But I see a little Lurch in him, too."

"Only Lurch and Fester weren't vampires!" Chuck said. "That...whatever his name...is a vampire!"

"And we will be prepared." Colin smiled. "You're taking your Disflavor?"

"Sure, but...he'll be here?" Chuck said in disbelief.

"If he takes our offer," I said.

"They won't hunt here," Colin said. "They wouldn't dare. We'll have plenty of Burke's premium blood on hand, they won't need to feast."

"We learned there were quite a few vampires out there. Far more than we imagined." I added as I looked at Colin. "There is no way we can get rid of all of them."

Colin shook his head. "I don't think we can either, but we can give hope to those like us..." he put his head against mine. "...some of us, who were turned without our consent."

"And Morticia!" Chuck added. "She's coming, too?"

Colin grinned. "She's more a Wednesday Addams as far as I'm concerned." His smile grew as my eyes widened as I realized he knew what we were talking about. "I was a vampire with a lot of time at night. I saw the show. I had TV."

I chuckled. "...and watched while it was current?"

Colin let that slide as looked back at them. "Anyway, this will give us more control. Maybe this will give someone the confidence to show their hand."

Mark nodded with his arms crossed over his chest. "Uh, huh. Are you sure you can keep control?" He scowled. "Chuck was telling us about them. That Adrian guy sounds scary."

"Of course, he's scary, he's a vampire!" Stan said logically.

Mark rolled his eyes. "So are they." He waved at Colin and me. "You do remember that don't you?"

Stan wasn't bothered by that. "They're the good guys!" He smiled. "They wouldn't hurt anyone." He waved at Willie. "Nor would he, but I dare say the rat population has probably increased since you've gone on the serum." He waved at Alex, Gabriella, and Burke. "None of them were bad guys, but Adrian is."

Colin nodded. "Having them here will make it possible for us to maybe know what the hidden agenda may be."

I nodded. "But they have to accept the invitation first."

Colin smiled. "Do you think they could possibly refuse?" He sighed. "But I don't think it will be very soon...so..." he stood up, "...I invite you all to take some time off." He grinned at me. "I intend to spend some time with my husband. Alone."

I smiled back. "Are you?"

He leaned in whispering. "I plan a few hours in a suite I have booked. A nice dinner with just the two of us...a little dancing and..." He stood up smiling.

I chuckled. "We're hardly ever apart!"

Colin nodded. "Chasing vampires. I think we need to do something, not on a job. You remember? A date?"

"A date." I grinned. "No shop talk?"

Colin shook his head. "Not a word." He promised.

We did spend a nice night in town. It was interesting how my perceptions changed. We checked in the hotel where there were people who still didn't approve of Colin and me...well this was the Bible Belt...people are all different. The man who checked us in. Looking at the computer screen, he saw we were checking into a suite that was built for romance. When his eyes saw that, and he looked up at us...I couldn't help but laugh. The fact that two men were checking into this suite...wasn't always accepted by some. This was a business that specialized in giving people a place to come to explore their romantic sides and we were given the key to the suite and escorted to our destination. The bellman opened the door and we walked into a honeymoon suite. Not one of those cheap hotels where you paid by the hour. This was elegant and nicely furnished but had a Jacuzzi in the floor before a round bed. There were a lot of curtains and a lot of pillows to spread around to get comfortable...wherever. A fireplace burned merrily and there was champagne with two glasses and chocolates on a nice table.

Colin grinned, having gotten the message this man sent. "No matter what century, things always stay the same." He shook his head. "I wonder if humanity will ever change."

"For so long you hid that other side of you from others," I observed. "The fact that we have been accepted by a lot of people with no thought about our being gay; I really hadn't thought about our homosexual side. The vampire part sort of took the lead role of what to hide."

Colin chuckled as he took my hand as we walked deeper into the suite. "Even in the century I was from, I never understood why it mattered." He shrugged. "I watched people. Our whole society was geared so that a person could find that one person. We sing about it, write about it, and have industries dedicated to helping love blossom and maintain love once discovered. I watched as society as a whole; made to bring people together. Everything from how we conduct ourselves even in business. You buy a car because it will make you sexy. Women buy perfume to make them more attractive. Everything is designed to bring two humans together. Even this..." he waved at the suite, "...all created to bring two people together." He waved at the bed and hot tub. "To encourage touch and joining of two people to help...unite them."

"The fact we are both male?" I asked.

Colin shook his head. "Shouldn't matter." He pulled me closer. "I love you, Devon, but it's more than that." He smiled leaning in kissing me gently. "My life was empty before. I didn't know how much until you came into that life. We touch physically, yes, but it's more than just sex. I was incomplete without you, and I know I can't exist if we aren't together. I love you; I need you...so much."

I smiled as I looked in his emerald eyes. "I love you, Colin. I need you. We'll do what all we can to be sure we'll stay together." I felt his hand go up my back as mine ran over him. "To me, your being with me; is as necessary as my next breath. I would not live without you any more than not taking my next breath and just as necessary." I said as my hands came around and began unbuttoning his shirt. "When we touch and make love, I feel a connection with you I've never known I could have with someone else, nor will I find that with anyone else. I want no other. The fact that you need me means so much. The fact you love me is so important. I adore you, Colin."

Colin pulled me closer. "This isn't the honeymoon, but tonight is just about you and me." He helped me slip out of my shirt. "You are the sexiest human being I've ever seen. I want to become a part of you."

I laughed, but it wasn't a laugh because it was funny, but because I felt the same way. "Two souls touch in that special way so basic and so human that only humans can. Why does it bother people that the two humans are male?" I brought him in for a deep, consuming kiss. "Let's touch souls," I said quietly bringing him down with me on the round bed.

We did touch a lot. I really didn't believe in much that was supernatural, but what we shared was damned super and it was very natural. Believe me when I say, every time we loved, I loved him even more. Be us, human or vampire, our marriage was solid.

We went back to Wentworth when it was morning and greeted by Mark and Alex who'd come back after a night on watch.

Mark looked at us smiling. "I hope you had a good night."

Colin nodded as he put his arm around me. "It was...memorable."

Alex nudged Mark. "They need to be told."

Colin frowned. "Told what?"

Mark nodded. "It seems we're not the only ones watching Marissa and Adrian. From our vantage point, we saw two others watching the compound." He pulled out his camera. "I've sent Stan the images to see if they come up."

"You saw them," I said. "Did they see you?"

Alex shook his head. "There were four at first, then just two after an hour. They were good, but not professionals."

Colin nodded as he thought. "We've been watching Marissa and the compound a while. They've not shown up before, have they?"

Mark shook his head. "It would have been reported."

"All they did was watch the compound?" I asked.

Alex nodded. "For the entire time, we were there. They left just before Willie and Shelly relieved us."

"Male? Female?" Colin asked.

"Male," Mark answered. "Jeans and denim jackets...hunting boots on both of them." He shrugged. "The older one, about forty-something wore one of the camouflage hats guys were when hunting. I want to say they were good ol' boys."

I chuckled. "Southern hicks?"

Mark grinned. "I didn't say that..." he chuckled, "...but I suspect they spat tobaccy..." Mark said with a Southern twang, "...and had the Confederate Stars and Bars on their truck."

Alex nodded. "They looked like they were hunters and I think that was just how they dressed. They were hunting, but it wasn't deer."

"You have pictures," Colin said.

"Stan should be doing the facial recognition search now." Mark nodded.

Colin, Alex, Mark, and I went to the media room that Stan had taken to work out of.

Stan looked up when we walked in, looking...well...he wasn't in his agent gear. He looked relaxed in jeans and a t-shirt. He smiled at us. "I got those pictures you sent, Mark. The computer did find a match for one of them." He reported without us even asking. He typed on a computer keyboard. "I miss Buddy." He commented to no one. He pointed at the other computer in the room he used as a second computer and monitor. The screen changed to a crime photograph of a young man in his twenties with sandy blonde hair. "This is Gavin Darcy. This is a two-year-old picture of him taken two years ago after a fight he got into with a club owner. He's from Holly Hill, South Carolina?" He looked up questioningly at Colin and me.

"Holly Hill is a neighboring town," I said. "Other than the fight, is there anything else?"

Stan shook his head. "Just the minor things, nothing too violent..." he held up his finger, "...but his sister, Karen Darcy was killed a few weeks ago." He looked at us. "An unknown cause of death. Massive blood loss. She was just seventeen."

I frowned. "It could be just a random vampire that's guilty here."

Colin nodded. "So, why were those two watching the compound? They had to have made a connection."

"Do we do anything about it?" Mark asked. "They watched while off the property and didn't trespass."

"What can we do?" I shrugged. "They didn't break any laws. The hunting cover holds true. That area is known to be just that...a hunting club."

Colin sighed. "It's obvious they tracked the sister's killer to the compound. They want to catch whoever killed her. I don't see much choice for now. We leave them alone...until they do something stupid."

I nodded. "But you know they will. If they want to hunt down and kill their sister's killer, do we stop them?"

"If we don't, they could die, as well." Colin pointed out. "The whole reason we started this team was to prevent death. This will lead to death."

"But they might succeed," I said hopefully. "If they kill one of the vampires there, it would benefit us."

Colin shook his head. "Since we don't know how old Adrian is, we can't say for certain, but I know he's not young and I know he knows how to protect himself." He started his circular pace. "Or it could even be Marissa."

"Or another member of that family she didn't tell us about," I added.

Mark shrugged. "We're strung pretty fine manpower wise now. But we could have them followed." He looked at Stan. "You have their addresses?"

Stan tried to not look offended again. "Of course, I do."

Mark grinned at Stan. "Just checking." He looked at Colin. "Maybe Chuck can swing by there and check things out."

Colin gave a shrugging nod. "We might have to." He looked at Mark. "If this were a terrorist we were looking at, what would you recommend doing?"

Mark nodded. "We'd have Chuck check."

"Then that's what we'll do."

Holly Hill was not a big town, but it was about twenty to thirty miles away from where Marissa and Adrian stayed. It would have been no problem for one of them to travel there, hunt and come back. Holly Hill was sparsely populated and there were farms there. Some of the textile industry was in the upper part in the more rural areas and many workers lived out there to enjoy more life in the country. There were also some manufacturing industries. It would be easy to hunt there.

Chuck went there and did some official snooping as an FBI agent. He interviewed the Darcy family saying it was part of an ongoing investigation. Karen Darcy was a waitress at a truck stop off the highway when she didn't come home one evening after work. Her body was found a few days later. The police there had no leads, her father, Tucker Darcy gave a report that he suspected a man that had been seen that he followed one night. He had told police this, but they had come up with nothing. There had been reports also that some farm animals had been found dead by the same means, as in they had been drained of blood. There were rumors in the area from alien mutilations to other things, but no one dared mention vampires as that would have been impossible, because there were no vampires.

"Okay," Colin began as he did his pace. "The farm animal deaths are one thing, but why would he kill a human? Why now?"

Alex shrugged. "Well, we hate to admit it, but Adrian is male."

"You think it was sex?" Willie asked. Willie looked at Colin. "You had sex as a vampire. There were no reports that Karen Darcy had been sexually assaulted."

I shook my head. "This is the South," I said. "The death of a young girl like this, often if they think it's too late because the family doesn't want the shame of something like this reported, won't report a sexual assault."

Mark nodded. "That's right." He shrugged. "Even when it's not her fault, many families don't want it known that their little girl was sexually assaulted."

Chuck frowned. "The police told me the investigation was still going on, but I think she was. Small town police will also be protective of its own people. They think it is more important to protect the family's privacy. The officers in Holly Hill didn't strike me as having a whole lot of training."

I nodded. "They often don't."

"Adrian sees her, desires her and rapes and kills her?" Gabriella asked, but not surprised.

"Even though we hate to say it, Adrian may not be the one that did this," Colin stressed. "We know there are other members of Marissa's family that are vampires. They could have been visiting her, saw this Karen and..." he waved, "...did what they did." Colin looked at me. "We discussed love the other night, be it human or vampire. Sex will always be a motivator. Until we know who it was, it really doesn't matter. This wasn't love. I don't even think it was about sex. This was about power. Plain and simple." He looked at me. "He could have been a rapist before he was turned." He threw his hands out in frustration. "Whatever...it motivated Mr. Darcy and his son to track them to the hunting club. They think whoever did it is there."

"He's not just a vampire, but rapist and killer?" I asked.

Colin nodded. "It' very possible."

I shrugged. "Okay, now we have a new wrinkle." I frowned. "These people obviously care about Karen, or they wouldn't be hunting this person down. It has to be a vampire because of blood loss. Now we will have to protect them, as well."

"We need to get a thorough report," George said. "If not, I can get one on my own." He looked at Chuck. "Can the FBI get me in? I can do the autopsy myself."

Shelly nodded. "We can make it official. I'll call Ruben. We'll get the authorization."

This was messing our plans up. How could we give the serum to a rapist? That's just what I asked Colin.

"We can't give the serum to anyone that hasn't be cleared of this," I said. "How can we give the serum to a rapist?"

Colin frowned as he waved his head in frustration. "The whole point was to get him to let us know what his plans are." He turned away frustrated. "We don't know it was anyone in particular."

George shook his head. "I say we tell Marissa we won't give the serum until the culprit is found."

I shook my head. "She could give us anyone and say they were guilty. We need some kind of proof."

Colin groaned as he held his fists to his temples. "Guys! It's clear I don't know what I'm doing." He grimaced leaning forward in his chair as he put his head on the table. "We are delving in an area we've never been before." He sat up again.

"I agree, but what should we do?" I asked. "We shouldn't give whoever this is more freedom. We'll be releasing a criminal that can kill in the day as well as night."

George shook his head. "Yes, but he won't be a blood-sucking monster." He pointed out. "And he has to keep coming to keep from being a vampire again."

"And what if THIS vampire doesn't want to change?" I asked.

Shelly shook her head. "Colin, what you just said is complete utter bullshit."

Colin's eyebrows rose. "Excuse me!?"

"This is a new area, but you have been willing to take it on almost by yourself!" Shelly said firmly. "I wasn't sure when I joined this group what we should do. All you've done is try to help others that had something horrible happen to them. The problem is that we're doing it alone."

"No one else is joining," George said firmly.

Shelly sighed. "I mean, we're doing something that really isn't legal. It's not legal because there are no laws to follow." She smiled. "You need to confront her with what you know. This whole...let's-be-careful-approach, isn't getting rid of the threat. We had to change our approach to these vampires, well, so do you! Quit being nice! There was a death! Who cares if we don't know who it was who did it; we know it was from there. The killer is there." She threw her hands up. "Whether she killed that girl or not, she turned people into vampires that did kill."

I nodded. "Brett Marshal for one. She disciplined her nephew, but Brett still turned you because of her." I took Colin's hand. "You know she's right. We should remove them now."

Shelly sat forward a little. "My point is...there are people out there that aren't very nice. They are often greedy and more often just plain evil. You are not." She shook her head. "This is a world I never believed in. I can't argue with what I've seen and know it's real. I kept trying put in a human perspective all that I've seen, but it doesn't fit." She smiled. "And since there isn't law we can go by, we'll just do whatever's necessary. They are a threat. We should demand answers that they will have to answer."

Colin frowned. "Strong arm tactics? By what authority?"

"This Marissa has thought she was above the rules so long," Shelly said. "Perhaps it's time we showed her she isn't above the basic morality rules of being human. Adrian, too. They need to be held accountable!" She shrugged. "Who will they complain to?" She was trying to get Colin to understand. "By whose authority? By your authority! By being human! You are more human than most regular people I know. You don't want to be First Vampire. You don't want to be a vampire at all! You are, but you have not killed. She has! She might not even have done it herself, but she turned relatives as a reward. She's just as guilty. They all are guilty, human and vampire!"

"To get the serum, she must comply with the rules," George said. "We have it, they don't. Fair or not, we're making the rules. Shelly's right."

"The time we used playing nice is over. We go in, remove them and get these killers out!" Shelly said firmly. "Forget their rights, they have lost their humanity and should be treated that way."

I squeezed Colin's hand. "If it was a terrorist or some serial killer...or even a cult. We would go in and remove all that is in this. They are a cult."

Colin nodded. "You're right." He sighed. "We have no choice."

We kept an eye out for the Darcys. Ruben Chance would have given the go-ahead for the autopsy, but that wasn't possible as Karen had been cremated before we could do an autopsy. We got the official report from the county coroner. The cause of death was listed as homicide, but the report was incomplete. Chuck, Mark, Colin, Shelly and I went to the coroner's office to confront the coroner.

After asking the man why, he really didn't have an answer. "They needed to bury her."

Chuck frowned. "If she had been buried, we could have the body exhumed. This case is still under investigation. Her body should still be here!"

The man waved at the room where there were only a few places to put a body for the whole county. "Do you see where there is room for that?" He sighed. "I do what I can with what I have to work with."

Shelly walked forward. "What you did, is against the law!"

Mark nodded. "Perhaps notification to the state's Coroner's Office is needed."

The man nodded. "Fine. Report me. I did what I could."

"Was she sexually assaulted?" Chuck asked. "It's important."

"Yes," The coroner said. "Her family didn't want that to be known. That's why they opted for cremation!"

I shook my head. "That won't make the fact it happened go away."

"The Darcy family are rednecks," The coroner said. "They were more worried about what others would think rather than finding out who did it."

"Do the Darcy's direct policy?" Chuck asked. "They can't circumvent the law. You broke the law!"

"This doesn't end with us, Doctor," Shelly said threatening. "There may be a need to have you impeached."

Now the man was looking a little worried. "I thought the case was closed."

"Do we have a guilty party?" Shelly asked. "The investigation is still going on."

Colin shook his head as we left the coroner's office. "We need to confront the Darcys." He said in a growl. He looked at Shelly. "There is no law about confronting vampires, so we're just going to confront them head-on."

Shelly nodded with a smile. "It's about time."

Stan had done a scan again and found where there might be alternate ways out of their complex, but first, the Darcys. The next evening, we came back to the hunting club's entrance. There were no houses around this area except where Marissa and the club were located. This was for hunting. The rest of the area was wooded and there was the occasional passing car, but it was pretty deserted. Knowing from past encounters, we knew where the Darcys hid and watched the road. We approached them from all sides. Colin and I came at them from the street as we walked along, coming into view. Shelly and Willie came from the right, Alex and Mark from the left, Burke and Chuck from their rear. Being sneaky was not our concern as we walked toward them. It was the snap of a twig that caused the two Darcys to turn to see Burke and Chuck approaching. They rose like they were about to run.

"Freeze!" Shelly put her hand on her gun in its holster. "I'd really think about that course of action if I were you."

Alex and Mark smiled as they also approached. "Do we talk...or make this official?" Mark asked removing his badge and showing it to them. "FBI, agent Goddard." Almost everyone was an agent, and all took their badges out. "Either way, we are going to talk. Officially or unofficially, which do you prefer?"

"We're just hunting." The older of the two men said. That was Tucker Darcy.

Colin nodded. "Something you've done for what...a week now? Always in the same spot." Colin shook his head. "I don't think so."

"I agree you are hunting, but not for deer or rabbit...or any wild fauna," I said.

The younger, Gavin Darcy frowned. "Wild what?"

"Animals," Colin said sadly. "Wild animals."

"We weren't doing anything illegal," Tucker said carefully.

Chuck came closer. "No, you're just hunting for Karen's killer."

Tucker looked at Chuck and his eyes widened as he recognized Chuck. "You were that FBI agent that asked me those questions."

Chuck nodded. "That's right. Investigating what you are about to undermine by being here."

Tucker rose pointing his thumb at the compound. "My daughter's killer is in there!" He said urgently. "We followed him in there and he's not come out in a week!"

I walked forward. "Tall and bald?"

Tucker turned to me. "Yes."

"We're here to remove that threat," Colin said. He looked at Tucker carefully. "Do you know about him? What he is?"

Tucker nodded. "You won't believe me if I tell you. No one does!"

Willie chuckled. "He's a vampire." He nodded. "We believe you and we know."

Tucker and Gavin's eyes grew. "You know?" Tucker asked.

"Now..." I said walked forward more. "We can leave you here and let you continue doing...whatever you're doing." I began. "For which you will probably die. They are well equipped to deal with you."

"Or you can let us do what we intend to..." Shelly said with her hand still on her gun. "This is our job. What happened with Karen has happened before and we are doing our best to stop it. You can get away and let us do it or stay and die." She moved closer toward me and Colin. "It's your choice, but we're going in there tonight. We're bringing them out to answer questions. This..." she waved at the entrance to the hunting club, "...ends tonight."

"Do us a favor," Mark said. "Do yourselves a favor and get to safety." With that, the Darcys backed away with their hands raised in surrender.

Chuck jutted his head at Burke. "Let's get the equipment." He looked at the sky. "It will be sundown in an hour." He looked at Alex. "Call her."

Alex nodded and pulled up a small radio. "Gabriella, bring the van, please."

It wasn't long before we saw a van approach, driven by Gabriella.

"It will take an hour before the sunsets. That's enough time." Chuck said as he opened the van's back doors. He began bringing out equipment. He looked at the compound's entrance. "We might be observed."

Shelly nodded. "But Stan is watching if someone leaves." She put on a bulletproof vest, and she passed on other things to all of us; the vests, the sunguns as well as regular guns, rifles and gas bombs, and gas masks and headgear to keep us in touch with Stan.

"Wow." Willie grinned as he held the rifle. "There have really been some improvements."

Mark chuckled. "Look through here." He pointed at the scope. "This will work in pitch black dark. You'll be able to target in the dark."

Willie looked through the scope. "Wow."

Shelly looked at everyone. "I'm issuing guns to those that have a military background." She said smiling at Colin. "I'm sorry, but that isn't you." She jutted her head toward me. "Devon is certified."

Colin frowned. "I've fired guns before and never missed a target These veterans...there are two that haven't served in the military in a nearly a century! "

"With records I can confirm. Give me that and I'd gladly hand you a firearm." Shelly said. "They had to for carrying a gun in New York. You didn't."

"I can't do that." Colin said.

Shelly nodded. "I'm sorry, but that's the way it goes." She handed him a vest. "You can have a vest. We don't want you hurt. And the gas mask; and you can have a sungun."

Colin grinned. "Gee, thanks."

As the sun was getting lower, we drove up to the entrance. Using a heavy battering ram Chuck and Mark swung it at the front door and the door crashed open. A man I'd seen before was walking toward the stairs that would take us down, he looked up startled and dropped the blood he was bringing down to Marissa and Adrian.

"FBI!" Chuck shouted holding his badge up. "Freeze!"

The man was reaching for a decorative rope to pull. I figured it was something they had as a warning to those below. I fired at his hand, grazing his skin, making him withdraw his hand in pain. "Freeze means don't move! You kept moving!!"

We hurried down the stairs to the ornate room where others were gathered and startled. No one had done this to them before, they were not ready to be confronted. They weren't prepared!

Willie came down with his rifle aimed. "Over there!" He motioned with his rifle toward a wall. "All of you, over there against the wall. Face it with your hands behind your heads."

Alex came up beside him as the men were moving slowly. "Faster, gentlemen." Chuck was next to him, also with a gun pointed at them.

Mark led the way down the hall that we'd seen Marissa come out of. "I remember the images Stan showed me. The biggest chamber is at the end. Make sure they remain still, Stan said there may be ways out he didn't detect." He listened to his earpiece. "I just said I remember, Stan." He groused to the voice he was hearing directing us where to go. "The chamber is right through there." He pointed but stopped at a door. "But in here first." He opened the door and there was a computer with a screen saver activated. He hit a button to activate the screen. He frowned. "This is very elementary, Stan. Even for me." He typed quickly and pulled up the dos files and typed again. "I'm linking you with this computer..." he said typing, "...now." We watched as the screen changed and now someone else was adding things. "That's Stan. He's downloading the computer to ours." He reached in his pocket and inserted a disc in the CD Rom. Mark grinned. "Just in case they have a way of purging data. This will stop it."

We heard a scream from farther in. Now that we were getting what files they had, we were back in the hall and saw Shelly and Burke were having Marissa and Adrian cower as they both pointed sunguns at them.

"What are you doing?" Marissa asked in shock. "I thought we were becoming friends."

Colin nodded. "That was before a person died! I tried to make friends, but I've been shown what you really are!"

"Who died?" Marissa screeched trying to shield herself from the sun gun.

Colin looked at Adrian. "Do you even know her name?" He asked. "The waitress in Holly Hill?"

Marissa looked at Adrian. "What!?" She asked surprised.

"A young woman on her way home from work was killed; drained of blood and sexually assaulted," I said. "It was clear it was from a vampire. There were men watching that tracked the killer here."

"Whether or not you did this..." Colin said. "This has to stop. Your reign as First Vampire is now over."

Marissa looked at Adrian in pure fury. "Why??" She screeched. "Why did you do this?" She waved at the complex. "We have blood given to us. We don't need to hunt!"

Adrian was also cowering to keep the sun guns off him. "She was prey! I followed my hunger."

Colin frowned. "And the sexual assault?"

"She was going to die. She was aroused." Adrian said simply.

"Because the venom does that!" Colin shouted at Adrian. "That's part of the process when we bite a human! She wasn't aroused by you as a person but raped by a vampire!"

Marissa's hands were raised as she came at Adrian fast. "You stupid idiot!" She screeched hitting Adrian, her fingernails cutting in his skin as she scratched. "You destroyed us! You destroyed ME!!"

Shelly walked closer to Marissa. "Back off, girly!" Shelly pointed the gun more directly at Marissa.

"I will take care of this," Marissa said as she was cowering again from the light.

Colin shook his head. "Not enough and it won't bring Karen Darcy back." He looked at Marissa. "I meant it when I said you're not First Vampire anymore. You and Adrian will be taken back and held."

"But I didn't kill anyone!" Marissa cried.

"You did!" I said. "He came from you. They all came from you!"

"For all those that have been killed," Colin said. "For turning a man, even though you disciplined him, but Brett, who bit me and my daughter! I'm taking care of this. I am a vampire because of you!!! No more will you reward a person by making them a vampire!! This ends now!"