Blueblood

Story: Blueblood: Red Alert

Chapter 3 The Real Russian Tzar

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

Adult Readers, Sexual Situations, Sex

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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."