Origins (A Demonkin Novel) (7 page)

We made our way back to the SUV and drove back to the Chicago office. The dashboard clock of the SUV read nine o'clock and the parking garage seemed deserted except for Reese standing there waiting for us to park. He walked up to my window, so I rolled it down.

"Here's everything you need. Transport has been arranged. You leave from O'Hare in a little more than an hour. I wanted to make sure you got to Virginia well before sunrise. They are expecting you there. Good luck, Miss Ashlyn. I have included all my contact information in the packet, so if you ever need to contact me you can." He shook my hand and stepped away from the vehicle.

"Thank you, Agent Reese, for everything. I'll call when I can."

Michaels backed out of the spot and headed for the airport. I pulled the travel itinerary from the packet and handed it to Michaels. I glanced through the rest of it and found a temporary letter of appointment, copies of my statements about the incidents in the city, a hard copy of the verbal statement of my life, a business card bearing the name Clifford Reese, and a sealed envelope with Special Agent in Charge Vincent Morello written in blue ink across it. It piqued my curiosity, but I didn't open it.

Michaels glanced at the itinerary. The traffic thickened the closer we got to the airport, but kept moving at a good pace so we didn't have any trouble getting to the airport on time. When we pulled onto the off ramp, and didn't follow the directions to the terminal like I expected, but followed the signs to the private hangar areas. I guess I wasn't flying commercial.

We wound our way along the frontage road and pulled up to a nondescript hangar. Its white corrugated metal walls supported a standard rounded roof just like every hangar I had ever seen on TV. The front doors lay open and I saw a small jet parked inside. I thought we would park somewhere outside, but apparently Michaels had been here before, because he pulled right inside and parked the Suburban off to the side.

He hit the button for the automatic door locks and pulled his handle. I did the same and stepped out onto the hanger floor. The smell of jet fuel permeated the hangar, so I assumed they had just filled the plane for our departure. I found it very nauseating. Michaels started walking toward a man in blue slacks and a white shirt with blue and yellow stripes on the shoulders. I would have bet money on the fact I stood before the captain of the aircraft.

"Agent Michaels?" Michaels nodded. "Climb aboard and we'll prepare for takeoff. Miss, welcome aboard," he said to me.

I followed Michaels up the stairs built into the door of the plane itself and gave a little gasp. Commercial airliners had always looked so cramped and uncomfortable whenever I had seen them in the movies. This looked like an RV with wings. Comfortable looking leather swivel chairs dotted the aircraft as well as a table and booth setup. Waiting inside stood a looking woman in a blouse and skirt combination matching the captains. She looked busy stowing some gear in the overhead bins and making last minute preparations for takeoff.

When she saw we had entered the plane she walked over and introduced herself as Tiffany, and to let her know if there might be anything we needed. Yuck. I didn't care for Tiffany right away. I heard Michaels mumble a thank you and he sat down in one of the swivel chairs. I noticed him fasten his seatbelt right away and grip the armrests like he wanted to bend them around his waist for added restraint. He must not like to fly. I didn't know what to expect since I had never been in an airplane, but I wasn't going let his skittishness rub off on me.

I stuffed my backpack in the overhead above us and took the chair next to him. I fumbled with the seatbelts for a few moments and then finally heard the satisfying little click which told me I had succeeded in mastering the art of airplane safety. We sat in silence for a few, and I heard the whine of the engines as they fired up. Without warning we lurched forward out of the hangar bay and as we turned I glimpsed a small yellow vehicle towing the front of the plane. After a few minutes of being towed by the curious little tow truck I felt the plane stop and then I heard the engines increase.

We taxied for several minutes and the captain came over the loudspeaker announcing our takeoff. I felt a thrill as I heard the engines whine out to maximum power and felt the jet shudder as it picked up speed. I looked out the window as the front of the plane lifted into the air and I watched the ground as it pulled away. I found it exciting, exhilarating, scary, and a thousand other emotions all rolled into one, and I loved it. We leveled out and the features of the ground became almost even too small for my eyes to make out. I could barely see the cars on the miniature roads and the trees planted in the yards of the miniature houses. I bounced in my seat like a little girl from the excitement.

I looked over at my travel partner and his eyes closed. He might have been nervous about flying, but not enough to keep him from dozing off. Tiffany came by and asked if I needed anything to drink. I thought about asking for blood and flashing fangs, but I probably couldn't drink the blood anyway and I didn't want to spend the next hour with a hysterical flight attendant. I just shook my head "no" and laid my head back in my best impersonation of Michaels.

Chapter 6

I must have done a better job impersonating Michaels than I imagined. When I woke up the tires had literally hit the tarmac. My first airplane ride and I slept through it. Missing most of the flight frustrated me a little. Michaels had already awoken and gingerly sipped on a Coke. It looked really good, and I found myself wishing I could have one, but alas the whole "I need magic blood thing" put another damper on my lifestyle.

The airplane taxied over to the area by the terminal. I hadn't even glanced at the itinerary so I had no idea which airport we had landed at. It didn't pull directly to the terminal either, just off to the side and stopped. The engines wound down and I heard them shut off, so I had a feeling the captain had been instructed to wait for Michaels while he delivered me to my destination.

The Captain came back to the passenger area and opened the door at the forward area of the compartment. It swung down on hinges and the stairs opened down to the tarmac. Michaels unfastened his seatbelt and stood. I let him move out of the way and I did the same, retrieving my bag from the overhead, and followed him out the door.

Chicago's weather had been a little cool, but Virginia's dipped into the realm of chilly. A brisk autumn breeze swirled around the plane and over my arms. I found it refreshing after the pumped in oxygen of the hour long flight. I followed my companion down the stars where two new agents standing in front of an identical black Suburban to the one Michaels and I had ridden in hours ago, stood waiting for us. I watched warily as the two agents greeted Michaels with handshakes and one of them opened the rear door for us.

I climbed in and slid across the back seat to the other side so Michaels wouldn't have to walk around. I felt the seat shift as he slid in next to me and did his seatbelt. I didn't bother with mine. When you can snap handcuffs like peanut brittle putting on a seatbelt is about as reassuring as tying yarn around your waist before climbing on a roller coaster.

The two agents climbed in up front and the driver started the car. They strapped themselves in just like Michaels had, so I assumed the FBI had made it mandatory for their agents to wear them. I still didn't fasten mine. I'm such a rebel. The agent behind the wheel put the car into drive and we sped away out into the cold Virginia night.

* * *

Thanks to the handy signage posted throughout the roads surrounding the airport, I learned we had landed at Dulles International Airport. I found myself enjoying the nighttime scenery and the silence of the ride. I had reached the second chapter of my life and I wanted to enjoy the final paragraphs of my first. I wistfully thought about how nice it would have been if we had driven from Chicago instead of flying. Too soon I found our SUV pulling up to the Quantico Marine Base. I wondered how long it would be before I could leave again.

We drove through wooded areas until we reached the academy. Another checkpoint and we had entered the belly of the beast, so to speak. Once the car had rolled to a stop and the agent driving put it in park, I grabbed my bag and followed all three agents into the main facility. We passed through the reception area and into the bowels of what had to be offices set aside for administration purposes. We wound our way around the halls of education at its finest and stopped in front of a door with a placard engraved with the name Vincent Morello. I recognized the name from the envelope given to me by Agent Reese.

One of the new agents knocked on the door and entered. I followed behind everyone and found a large man with graying spiked hair sitting behind a desk very similar to Reese's. He looked up and nodded to the two agents who delivered Michaels and me from the airport. They turned and departed, leaving us alone with Morello.

"Agent Michaels I assume?" He rose and offered his hand to my friend, who accepted heartily.

"Here she is, sir, as promised."

"Thank you, Michaels. Tell Reese he owes me lunch next time I see him," he said jovially.

"I will, sir, and take care of her. She's a little "special" if you know what I mean." Michaels turned to me and smiled. I knew what he meant. He even did the stupid little quotation marks with his fingers when he said the word special. I expected a firm handshake before he left, but he surprised me with a hug. The whole experience surprised me, but I found myself liking it. Compared to mine, his body burned like a furnace and I felt myself enjoying the warmth. "Take care of yourself little girl. I expect to see you again soon, and listen to Morello. He's good people."

"I will," I said as a squeezed a little harder to remind him I wasn't so fragile. I heard his "oomph" and I thought I might have heard a rib or two give a little creak.

Michaels left with a nod to Morello and headed back out to Chicago which left me alone with the head of the FBI academy. I sat down and pulled my back pack onto my lap from the floor next to my chair. "I have something for you from Agent Reese, sir," I said to the bear of a man behind the desk.

"I know, I just got off the phone with him. I let him know your plane landed and you had just driven through the gate. He wanted to make sure you made it here okay, and wanted to fill me in on your special dietary needs. I'm at a loss as to what to do there, but I'm sure our medical people will come up with something. I'll have them look into it after you have your physical. I've got to be candid with you, Ashlyn. I wasn't too keen on the idea of having a vampire recruit, but after seeing how much of a shine an old hard ass like Reese took to you, it set my mind at ease. Just please don't make the mistake of thinking your time here is a waste or is going to be a breeze. It's just plain hard work."

I nodded to him as I handed the sealed envelope over to him. "I won't, sir." I watched as he placed the envelope in his desk and locked the drawer. He stood and came around the desk and motioned me to follow. I zipped up my belongings and followed him through the door down a different hallway to a rear exit. I followed him back out into the night and over to another building. We walked inside and I could tell this must be the medical building. The scents of alcohol, antiseptics, and other unpleasant odors permeated my nostrils. He led and I followed until we reached an unmarked door. He knocked and without waiting for a response opened the door and entered. "Doctor Gibbs, here is the recruit I called you about earlier. Do you have time to get her processed before daylight?"

"Yes, sir, I can! You must be Ashlyn. I'm Doctor Gibbs." He held out his hand, but unlike most people he didn't miss the small talons protruding from my fingers. He took my hand and shook it anyway, but while he did so, he had his hand turned so he could study my fingers. "Extraordinary," I heard him mutter.

"Yes, but they're a pain in the ass while you rub your face," I heard myself say. I'm sure he hadn't meant for me to hear his mutter, so he looked up and had an apologetic look on his face, and I laughed to let him know there no harm had been done and no offense had been taken.

"You can leave her with me, Agent Morello. I'll have her physical done shortly and get her registered at the dorms. If you'll follow me, Ashlyn?" He turned toward the door in his office.

"Good luck, Ashlyn. I'll be keeping an eye on you," Morello said as he shook my hand as well.

Chapter 7

I followed the doctor into an examination room. He had me strip in the small attached bathroom and put on a small gown and return to sit on a cold medical examination table. It wasn't too bad except for the paper covering. Then the questions began. I found myself telling my story yet once again to the middle aged doctor who smelled slightly of peppermint. I wasn't sure if it meant his blood was palatable to me or if he had a fondness of breath mints, but I tried to ignore it. If he had power, it wasn't much. The whole time I talked and answered his questions, he poked and prodded and measured and touched. It went quite well until he tried to take a blood sample. He just couldn't get the needle to pierce my skin. I gently grabbed the hollow syringe and pushed it through my skin. I presented the whole apparatus back to him so he could stick an empty vial into the unit.

I had seen my blood before, but never in such quantities. I couldn't smell it because it pumped directly into an airtight little capsule, but the sight of it made me hungry. I might have even growled a little, because Dr. Gibbs gave me a startled glance.

"How long has it been since you last fed?"

"Two nights ago," I answered

"How often do you usually feed?"

"I need to eat every other night."

"Morello told me of your diet requirements. Have you ever fed off a lycanthrope?"

I knew the term from television some people used to describe weres, but I hadn't met one yet. I told him I had never tried, and he left the room after letting me know he would be right back. I waited on the cold table until he returned with a clear thick plastic bag with red liquid in it.