The Reveal

Continues from Happy New Year

Oh, got no reason, got no shame
Got no family I can blame
Just don't let me disappear
I'm 'a tell you everything
- Secrets, One Republic





Viv stood with her gloved hands on her hips, trying not to throw up.

"You get used to it."

Viv turned away and gagged. "Charlie...I really don't...ever want to get used...to this...oh god," and Viv threw up. Again. Her entire body shook with spasms as she threw up what was left of her big breakfast. Hammer waited until she had eaten to tell her about the sewer trip. It was her penance for Siberia and Charlie was forced to do sewer mapping detail with her because of his help.

"Oh god, I will get him for this. I swear to god."

The voice in her ear chimed in with a slightly amused tone. "How's it going down there, Vivienne? Mapping system giving you the shits?"

Viv wiped her mouth, waiting to see if she was going to throw up again before standing back up. Hammer's voice was happy in her ear. Happy. She had turned off her VOX setting on her throat com to prevent the rest of the team from hearing her vomit constantly. Shuddering, Viv took off her glove and pinched the PTT button on the throat communicator with her bare fingers.

"What, I didn't catch that, Hammer? I'm surrounded by shit. It doesn't carry sound as well as you'd think."

Spitting quite unladylike, Viv looked over at Charlie who gave her a sad smile. His VOX setting was still on, but he remembered to censor most of what he said to Viv. "Once we move through the sewage system pipes, it'll be a lot better."

Viv pulled her Therian-weave glove back on and looked down at her legs, knee deep in human waste. They were both wearing their suits, but Charlie wore his field coveralls over his and the top half off with the sleeves wrapped around his waist.

"God, that fucker," she mumbled and moved down the sewage pipe behind Charlie.

Charlie looked down at his GPR (ground penetrating radar) and activated the sonar, giving them and the Pipers in the Sit. Room a grid line read out of the underground tunnel system that the vampires were using for transportation. Well, allegedly using because Charlie could not honestly think that anyone would travel in the sewers unless the shopping just had to be done. The sewage system pipelines couldn't possibly be part of the established pathways, but the Beta insisted. Charlie angrily switched off the voice activated setting for his throat com.

"Ok, I hate him, too," he mumbled unhappily to which Viv replied with laughter and more gagging. It was taking everything not to throw up with her, his gag reflex not being what it once was, but he had gotten used to the smells fairly quickly.

Charlie pinched his throat com and spoke to the rest of the team he had in sewers with them. Marthinus, Red, Domingo, and Lewis - the same Pipers who had helped Vivienne with her meet with Simon Huntington that facilitated the Siberia trip. They were all being punished, but they were at least beyond the sewer tunnels. Charlie was curious as to Marthinus' knowledge of the sewer lines.

"Hey Marty," he called out, forgoing Marthinus' nickname given to him from Red who immediately objected by chattering into the com. "Shut up, Red. Marthinus...what do you know about these sewer systems?"

Marthinus voice chirped in, "Honestly - not much. These are strictly vampire paths. No reason for any of the familiars to learn the routes. I can tell you there are tunnels leading everywhere in the city and outer edges. Where they are?"

Charlie could hear Marthinus shrugging. He checked his equipment to see what had already been mapped out in the system and the entire sewage area was blank, and for good reason. They had been avoiding it for months, so it was good a team was out mapping the area, it just sucked it had to be them.

"I'm sorry about this, Charlie. I shouldn't have gotten you involved."

Charlie turned back and looked at Viv as she leaned back against the circular tunnel. He shrugged at her, helpless with his reasons for helping her. He retrieved her passport and did it without letting anyone at the Den know Viv was planning on leaving the country purely out of his feelings for her. There wasn't anything he wouldn't do for Viv, and he knew he was an idiot for feeling that way, but she need only ask and he'd do it for her.

"What's done is done. Unfortunately it's time to pay...."

"Oh don't say it."

"The piper," he said chuckling.

"Oooh, you went there."

Charlie grinned and turned back toward the sewer tunnel, moving through the thick sludge of god knows what.

"How many more?"

Ringo looked over at his second in command who was talking into a walkie-talkie. A blast of static and a number came through loud and clear.

"Dozen more and it'll lead them to here."

Ringo looked around and up into the dark alleyway building roof tops. The sun didn't reach down into this part of Nachton. Shadows were everywhere, some natural from the awnings and fire escapes, some unnatural. It was the latter that made his lip curl instinctively.

"Think it's wrong?"

"Do I think what is wrong?"

Ringo turned to Phillip and pointed into the darkness as the sun began to make its way west toward the horizon, hiding behind the skyline.

"We all have our paths, Ringo. And sometimes our path is dictated by the amount of money we are paid."

"I don't like my fate settled by monetary values, Phillip."

"We're not paid to like anything, much less our jobs, Ringo."

Ringo gave his second a quick nod and smile. "Good point. Carry on."

The Nakubili worked in unison across five square miles of city blocks, dressed in city sewer worker jumpsuits and orange hats as they waved traffic away from the covered manholes. They placed orange cones around twenty manholes in total, and with welding torches, sealed each one tight.

One by one they called in their numbered manhole over their walkie-talkies, signaling to the next crew to continue on. They were back to their full baker's dozen thirteen again, having replaced their dead from the silu that had attacked both the Nakubili and their Piper brothers. With their Alpha and second waiting for them, they quickly finished their job of creating a path with a single end.

The Nakubili and Pipers were brothers by curse, but unfortunately money was thicker than blood that afternoon.

Simon sat up in his bed at the Piazza and wanted to puke.

"What the hell?"

Slipping out of the bed, he walked barefoot and shirtless to the bathroom and leaned over the sink. Looking at himself in the mirror, he contemplated his reflection when a sudden, vicious spasm hit him, making him throw up in the bathroom sink.

"What the hell?!"

"Are you throwing up?" Ellis was behind him, standing in the doorway of the large bathroom connected to their master bedroom. She was wearing nothing but body lotion. Simon looked at her and felt the tinge of arousal to which Ellis smiled and hooked her hip out vivaciously.

"It just hit me." Suddenly he pushed Ellis out of the bathroom and shut the door, just barely making it to the toilet to throw up again. "Oh Jesus Christ," he muttered unhappily.

"Why are you throwing up?" Ellis called through the door.

Simon rolled his eyes. What kind of question was that? He waited, his head poised over the toilet bowl and his knuckles were white, gripping the edge of the seat. A minute passed and just when he let go of the seat and got up on one leg, the spasm hit him again, making him gag into the toilet.

"Stop throwing up!" Ellis yelled.

Resting his head on his arm, he took a deep breath and wanted to cry.

Brig took a risk and slept in with Vivienne that morning, but now he was regretting it.

Brig looked at his watch and inwardly moaned. He had been not just late, but extremely late to meet with the Customs officer regarding their recent shipment from Canberra's R&D facilities. Brig had made the mistake in having it shipped ahead of his father and Elder Hammerthynn and the new Therian-weave suits were being held by Customs until someone from Stafford Enterprises came in with the proper paperwork.

So the majority of his morning and now his afternoon were spent sitting in a small room with his two boxes of Therian-weave suits and three Custom's officers. Apparently the one had to call not one but two supervisors from their main office at Nachton airport.

"So...Mr. Jameson." Custom's officer #1 came into the room with a clip board and sat in the chair on the other side of Brig. The officer asked him a series of questions about the suits - their origin, where they were produced, what they were made for, etc. He answered all the questions politely.

"Ok, Mr. Jameson. I'll be one moment." The man got up and left the room. Brig began to stand when Custom's officer #2 came into the room.

"Ok, Mr. Jameson?"

Brig raised his eyebrows.

"So...about this Therian-weave?"

Brig narrowed his eyes and answered the same questions again. The officer thanked him dutifully and left. Brig began stacking the boxes when the head supervising Custom's officer came into the room.

"So, Mr. Jameson...just a few more questions."

Brig looked at the supervisor and sat back down in his seat with a long sigh.

"So how are you liking the new Therian-weave?"

Viv had been breathing out of her mouth and it was beginning to help with the nausea, not a whole lot, but enough when Charlie started asking her questions, requiring her to breath. Unhappily she answered.

"You mean the camouflage?"

"Well that, too."

The Therian-weave suits had been completely redesigned by the time Viv had gotten to Siberia two weeks prior. Charlie had been part of the research for the updated suits, but had not gotten a chance to field test any in Nachton when Diego, the head R&D technician from Canberra, died at the Glenveagh compound in Ireland. Viv knew they had offered Charlie the position, but he turned it down quickly, much to her surprise. Well it wasn't a surprise, not really; once a field Piper, always a field Piper. The adrenaline rush that came with protecting the Alpha and being a home based Piper was just too much to give up and the position, third in command, was coveted throughout the Pipers in the pack. Charlie wouldn't give that up for the world, especially since it meant the Lieutenant position when LT stepped up into the Commander spot when Brig took over for his father as Elder. Hell, Viv knew they were contemplating giving Charlie his own command for a second Piper team in Nachton. Being a Piper was what Charlie wanted, the only thing he had ever wanted and been. No, he'd stay in Nachton for his usefulness here and there was no taking him without the Beta's say so. Hammer knew quality leadership when he saw it and he had already denied home base's request for Charlie. The Sergeant wasn't going anywhere.

Instead of the dark blue or black diamond weave, the new Therian-weave was now a neutral gray, but it had been molecularly changed to mimic surrounding colors by bending light and other scientific terms that Viv had only vaguely understood. Viv knew Charlie had degrees in computational and systems biology, being integral in the suit's development, but she knew he wasn't interested in the dynamics of the suit, but its functionality in the field. She gave him her best review.

"It's pretty super cool."

Charlie stopped moving down the tunnel and looked at her with a strange expression that was mixed with humor and confusion.

"It's functionality and capabilities were duly tested in the field, performing exceptionally well in camouflaging against multiple environments including weathering temperature differentials spanning from extreme cold to heat. Its modified durability, namely the enhanced level 5 body armor, was suitably put to the test and did super awesome."

"See, you were doing so well up until you called it super awesome," Charlie said fully turning toward Viv, giving her a large smile.

"Smart is sexy when coupled with humor."

Viv looked at Charlie as he stood about ten feet in front of her, surrounded by damp, moldy green tunnels with rushing water and sewage up to his knees. His face was covered in grime and black Therian-weave suit glistened with what little light present. Viv could see the outline of muscles on his arms and chest, and honestly, she could not think of one reason why she did not hook up with him when she had the chance. Well, she could think of one, and that one reason was plenty to keep her from kissing him, right then, in the nastiest place she had ever step foot.

Charlie's eyes were hooded yet kind; his smile ever present, subtle in its charm and warmth. The way he looked at her with those blue eyes made her stomach twist, but not with threats of nausea, but with genuine attraction. If it wasn't for Brig, it definitely would have been Charlie, and somehow he knew that. He was subtle with his attraction to her and not obtrusive in the least. It never made her feel uncomfortable, save for maybe New Year's when presented with the opportunity to kiss him at midnight. Her libido said HELLS YES but her heart said no and in the end Brig was there, the one true love of her life, to kiss her at midnight. Charlie had been stuck with a little tongue from Red, much to his obvious disappointment. Viv only made it worse by walking that thin line between encouraging him and physically stopping him from kissing her - the mixed signals were unfair to Charlie, but she could not help it. Her mind kept telling her: if not for Brig, then it would be Charlie, without a doubt. And as he stood there, looking down at her, covered in grim and human waste, that message was conveyed loudly and without a word.

Viv rubbed her nose with her shoulder and looked down at his GPR, taking it from his hand. "You guys should be getting your new Therian-weave today, I think. The Commander went to collect it from customs."

Charlie let her take the instrument without a word and then turned back toward the tunnel. The moment had been there but was gone as quickly as it happened. He had enough class not to push it, Viv thought to herself. She had already told him there was someone else and he respected that. Most men probably wouldn't.

He reached up and switched his throat com back to voice activated. "Yeah, I'm looking forward to testing them out for myself. See how the armor holds up to shifting."

And like that, Charlie went from friendly sweet guy to total professional. Viv looked at the GPR and nodded. "Yeah," she mumbled softly and followed him deeper into the darkness.

"I'll be right back."

Ellis watched from her perch on the bed as Simon got dressed. Her expression was unreadable, but their aura pulsated painfully with her mistrust and suspicion. Simon chose not to comment on it as he slipped on his V-neck black pullover and heavier wool trousers. The cold was bitter in Nachton, not that it bothered him all that much, but he still dressed warmly to fit the part out in the dying afternoon. The sun had already dipped behind the skyline, hiding the uptown area in shadows making movement easier for a vampire his age, but he'd still have to avoid the direct sunlight, so he dressed for sewer travel which included black high tread boots he didn't care too much about getting dirty.

She didn't ask why he was going or where, instead she just raised her eyebrows and watched him. He took that as a stroke of good luck and kissed her quickly before leaving.

Her part of the aura clung to him as he took the steps down to the ground floor two at a time and almost ran to the door. Something was wrong with Vivienne - her nausea had subsided but the strength of it had been enough to make him worry. It wasn't like him to rush off for someone he wasn't sleeping with, but rush off he did. The more distance he put between him and Ellis, the intensity of Vivienne's bond grew. By the time he reached street level of the Grand Piazza, Ellis' aura had faded enough for him to get a better sense of where Vivienne might be located.

Simon walked out of the front entrance of the hotel and narrowed his eyes against the dying rays of sun. He ignored the faint stinging on his face as he closed his eyes and let Vivienne's connection to him direct him. A few pedestrians grumbled as they walked around him, but Simon concentrated, opening his perception and mind, searching. Suddenly he was off, heading downtown on foot down the sidewalk.

The flash of her had been odd. It was wet, somehow. Something, coupled with nausea and disgust flashed in his mind as he walked toward the lower end of Uptown Nachton. The closer he got to downtown, the quicker he began to move, weaving in between the sidewalk pedestrians with a faster than human speed, leaving people confused in his wake. He was a shimmer of something physical moving with liquid speed until he made it to the downtown area and felt himself pulled east - toward the back alley.

Hammer sat next to Dougie at Lewis' COM station. His size fifteen boots were propped up on the desktop and he was comfortably chuckling to himself as he listened to the chatter between Charlie and his team down in the sewer.

It had been a clearly thought out, prodigiously conceived form of punishment for disobeying a direct order. That had been Vivienne - pursuing the blood memory origin for whatever reason. She had said it was to help, but it only caused more than twenty deaths and the destruction of a small Siberian village. Not to mention countless man hours and money just to get to her, putting his Piper Commander in jeopardy, nearly killing them both.

His Piper Sergeant's folly was this undying devotion to Vivienne and her crusade. The LT and Brig couldn't impress upon young Charlie Hammond to start thinking with his brain instead of his penis, so a couple days doing sewer detail, along with the Pipers who aided Vivienne with her ridiculous meet with that silu Huntington, was a fitting judgment as well as lesson in prudence, Hammer thought.

So with a happy grin, he put his hands behind his head and closed his eyes, listening to vomiting and grumbles of the Pipers and Vivienne.

Simon spun in a circle on a side street just west of the downtown area that connected to the back alleys, but she was nowhere to be seen. Looking up at the roof tops, he listened for any noises or heartbeats in the general area and was only rewarded with the tenants in the buildings on either side of him. It was damp and disgusting, wherever she was. Slowly, Simon looked down and laughed.

She was in the sewers.

Why would she be down in the sewers, he wondered? Moving further down the alley, he kept his eyes on the ground until he came up on a manhole. Kneeling down next to it, he put his fingers on it when he noticed welded metal around the edges. He ran his fingers over the smoothed steel and it still felt warm, almost tacky to the touch. Rubbing his fingers together, he checked the area around him and concentrated on his perception abilities, not exactly sure what he was looking for, but again rewarded with nothing out of the ordinary. Viv could be within a few feet to a mile - he was unsure of the intensity of their bond, it being of a different variety that he was used to sharing.

He had unknowingly bonded with Carol several years back, just before he tried to kill Ellis. It was an intense, protective bond born out of love for Carol. It withered quickly, quicker than he thought it would once he bonded with Ellis.

Now his bond with Ellis was completely different. Where he could sense Carol and speak to her via the bond, the bond with Ellis was born out of near death and undying love. It was raw and vibrant - a shared aura that enabled them to be able to detect the other's emotion. Love, fear, guilt, pride, hate - it was all there and naked. Ellis could hide nothing from him, but he could hide it from her and she hated that with a passion.

Simon possessed subterfuge - an ability that allowed him to hide his emotions, even vampires that possessed empathy. It infuriated Ellis that he could still have secrets, and he did.

His bond with Vivienne was just as intense as it was different; it was born out of survival and trust. Siberia had nearly killed them both, but in the process they learned more about each other than no one else had ever in their long lives. It was a different kind of love - a focused kinship that connected them with a bond similar to his shared aura with Ellis. It was in its infancy, but it was growing. He could track Vivienne down if she called out to him or was in some sort of distress. She might have unknowingly called out to him out of her disgust for playing in the sewers and he could not help but laugh, that was until he came across the welded shut manhole.

Although he could not speak directly to Vivienne via their bond, not yet anyways, he could send impressions to her: specifically words or images. Like the balcony at the New Year's Eve event at the Grand Piazza. If he concentrated, he could communicate with her, but at the moment it was only if she was in line of sight. His bonding abilities were varied, as was its results. Still, it came in handy.

Simon slid his fingers into three holes surrounding the edge of the cover and pulled. The metal creaked and then snapped. It was a loud cracking noise as the metal broke, but did not attract any attention. He put the manhole cover next to the hole and stepped into the darkness, pulling it back over his head and closing it as he descended into the sewers.

Dougie sat at the com control next to the Beta who was enjoying sticking it to Vivienne and Pipers, the same four Pipers who had helped her with her meeting with Huntington. Dougie had never heard the Beta giggle the way he did, but it made him nervous, causing him fidget with the keyboards, straightening them repeatedly and tapping his fingers on the table top. He listened to the stream of cursing and ambient noises coming from the Pipers in the field and tried not to imagine what they were going through. The Beta swiveled in his chair, turning his back on Dougie and kept it there. Dougie reached into his pocket with his right hand and with his left, nonchalantly typed in a code for the previously loaded script he had installed during his last shift.

Lewis was the Com officer for the Pipers. He loved his job: part hacker, Information Technician, conducted reconnaissance, surveillance, and survey assessments of potential objective, and all around super geek god from his console at the Situation room. Dougie was exceptional at filling in, but had shown no more skill than necessary, except for this moment.

Dougie read the results of the instantaneous script which he was now programming to leak information to an outside source, giving access with his cell phone in his right hand. He typed in the information with his thumb without looking, keeping his eyes on the monitor and the back of the Beta’s head. The script performed its job and embedded itself within Lewis’ personally designed program and disintegrated within the code while his thumb finished typing in the message. His finger rubbed the green send button as the sweat beaded on his fair skin and ran down the sides of his face. If he did this one thing, this tiny minuscule thing, it would be all over, they told him. Once he pressed the green button, he had exactly twelve seconds to abort the signal before he left open a back door for anyone to come into the system and do and see whatever they wanted. The technology Lewis was developing was priceless, but the access Dougie was giving the outside source would be unprecedented, as well as treacherous. But it wasn’t as if he had a choice.

Dougie pressed the send button and then returned the cell phone to his pocket.

1…2…3…

Dougie began to chew his bottom lip, his teeth gnashing down on the skin, drawing blood.

4…5…6…

This was it. His career, his life for the pack and Alpha. This was everything.

7…8…9…

Dougie was the simplest tool into the Piper’s system. There was no way Lewis would ever give up control to the system or see it infiltrated. He designed the system from the ground up and Dougie was single-handedly destroying it.

10…

Dougie leaned forward and opened up a C command prompt, not even bothering to check to see if the Beta was watching. He typed in a single 48 key command that he developed, beyond what everyone thought Dougie was capable of code-wise, doing the one thing that kept him from putting a bullet in his head after his shift.

11…

Wiping the sweat from his face, he entered the command just as the monitors flickered, opening the back door.

12…

Leaning back in his chair, Dougie listened to the Beta chuckle to himself. In less than thirty seconds he had condemned himself and did the unthinkable. His shirt was soaked in sweat and as he took a deep breath, he detected the sour smell of betrayal and it was coming from him.

Charlie slumped through the sewage water as Vivienne followed behind him several feet, inputting information to the Piper’s mapping system with the GPR. Every few seconds there was a very low, very soft beep piercing the darkness over the rush of the water that was now up to his mid thigh.

“Why haven’t we hit a run off, yet? The water is only getting higher."

“Search me," Viv mumbled unhappily. She paused behind him and then asked, “What are you carrying?"

Charlie twisted as his hand went to the Piper standard glock handgun that was tucked into the compression holster slightly behind and beneath his left armpit. “Just a 39 Glock."

“No, Viv said nodding to the gun into waistband at the small of his back. “What’s that?"

“Oh this?" Charlie pulled out a revolver and held it up and checked the safety was still on. “This is a…."

“Oh shit, is that a Mateba? May I?"

Charlie grinned at Vivienne, her eyes lighting up at the Mateba Model 6 with the walnut grip and black steel. It was his treasured personal firearm that he kept with him during outings that required them to be in human form, always tucked neatly away against the small of his back. He was picky about it, rarely letting anyone handle it, not even the LT or Red, but he twisted the gun grip first and handed it to Vivienne.

“It’s slightly modified, but it’s carrying .357 magnum rounds right now." Charlie watched as Viv expertly popped out the moon clip and gasped.

Reaching up, she checked her VOX com, making sure it was off voice activated and then squealed. “Shut up, is this," she popped the clip out and looked at the tips, instinctively flinching back, “wait – what kind of ammo is this?"

“Half JHPs with a slight silver tip and the other half," he paused for effect, “incendiary."

“Shut up!" Viv slipped the moon clip back in and let the gun balance in her hand.

Charlie chuckled at her excitement. “Had I known you’d get such a kick out of it, I would have showed you earlier."

Viv looked up at him and grinned. “It is very nice."

“Stop," he said as he reached out and took the Mateba back, holstering it, “it’s super awesome."

The moon clip was for special targets, the silver tips for hostile Vyusher R’asa and the other for vampire. He had not had any cause to use the Mateba since the truce with Huntington’s clan and their encounter with Ringo and his Nakubili, but he kept it on him just the same.

“You have two guns and I get zip."

Charlie looked down at Vivienne, currently armed with nothing but harsh language. Her hand-to-hand would get her out of a jam, but they had been under strict orders. He wasn’t sure if she was asking for his weapon. Watching her face, he wondered if maybe she wasn’t testing him. Touching his glock, his fingertips tapped the grip, feeling the raised texture, but then let his fingers fall away.

“Sorry, Viv. Beta’s orders that you remain unarmed still stands." His voice was not apologetic, but firm. Viv’s expression did not falter, but instead a smile pulled at the corners of her mouth.

“Aye, Sergeant," she replied, her voice practically purring.

It resonated in him, pulling and twisting the arousal that threatened to spill over. Charlie wondered if she did it intentionally or even had an inkling as to how much something as trivial as watching her breathe had an effect on him. Flashing her a smile, he turned away.

“You know your guns though," Charlie said as he turned back toward the dark tunnel ahead of them, “they don’t make Matebas anymore, not since 2005."

“Yeah I heard. Never had the chance to use one. Little over-sized for me."

“I’ll let you shoot it off when we get back to the Den, just don’t tell the other Pipers."

“They covet it, huh?"

Charlie turned his head to the side as they sloshed forward, “Red especially. One time…."

There was a suddenly clang of metal that reverberated behind them. They both turned toward it, stopping immediately in their tracks. Charlie pinched his VOX com and whispered.

“Charlie to team – anyone on our six?" Charlie knew there wasn’t; he and Viv had been bringing up the rear, but maybe they had gotten turned around.

“Negative on that, Sarge," Lewis replied.

Charlie nodded toward the GPR and Vivienne looked down at it. She twisted her head around and pointed forward, east. No one was showing up from the direction of the sound.

“That is a big negative. We are due east of your last mapped position," Red replied in a hick southern accent.

Viv looked at him, her eyes wide but he could see her mind working. If whatever was behind them intent on being hostile, then the noise was a misdirect to move them toward something else. They could move toward it, but again it was the same result.

“Up and out," Viv mouthed silently, reading his mind.

Nodding, they moved toward the nearest manhole.

Brig had given up the pretense of professionalism as he waited rather impatiently to have the new Therian-weave released from customs. His head was rolled back and his body slouched in the chair as he balled up a piece of paper and threw it up into the air. The custom officials had all come in with more of the same questions, again, and he knew it would be fairly soon that someone from Homeland Security would show up to inspect the materials and his personal ID. Despite being there on corporate Stafford Enterprises business, he was still a foreign national with suspect materials. His mind wandered as he waited.

Viv was currently down in the city sewers, working off her imposed penance satisfactory to Hammer’s approval. He had left his cousin giggling like a school girl down in the Situation room with Dougie and he had to make a point to tell Hammer to stop enjoying it so much. It needed to be done, but Brig knew that this would not be the last thing Red, Viv, Marthinus, Lewis, or Charlie would have to do to appease the Beta.

Brig attention returned to the aforementioned name: Charlie. He had finally asked Vivienne directly about his Sergeant’s infatuation with his mate, finding the young man’s barely hidden longing stares at Vivienne just a hairline away from physical rebukes. They had spent the weekend at her rooms in the Den, Pipers dismissed, Hammer off the property with Lily. They spent two glorious days together and as the second day was drawing to a close, they made love for the umpteenth time that day and lay content in her bed. Her scent was no longer tainted by Huntington and had returned to the warm, delicious notes of orchids mixed with his own.

Kissing the spot above her cleavage, he nuzzled his face against her chest and just inhaled. Having been around her for the past forty eight hours had not dulled his senses to the effect her scent had on him. Arousal mixed with an intense satisfaction filled him and he hummed happily as he pressed up against her.

“Content?"

Brig ran his hands along her legs and nodded silently. “You smell like you."

“Uh huh," she said in a slightly annoyed voice.

Looking up at her, Brig opened his eyes lazily. “What’s that for?"

Viv had been less than complacent about his approach to telling her that she smelled like that snake Huntington. It had almost been disastrous, but he knew no other way to tell her why he had been avoiding her touch because she smelled.

Still, she smiled at him, tempering the tone with a little humor. “No I’m fine with your complete and utter lack of trust. Really, it’s great."

Brig pulled himself up from his perch against her mid section and leaned onto his right elbow, looking at her with irritated expression. “I trust you. It’s everyone else I don’t trust. Huntington. Charlie."

Viv turned to her side and looked at glared at him. “Wait, what? Charlie?"

“Viv, seriously? Have you talked to him?"

“Yes, I talked to him the night you and Hammer destroyed my living room. I told him there was someone else and that I loved that man. I was clear with him."

“Not clear enough. You see the way he looks at you?"

“No, I don’t, because I’m not looking at him. I spend half the time trying not to jump you when we’re with the Pipers."

Brig grinned, pleased with the notion that the arousal he felt around her was reciprocated. “Well, he’s in love with you. You shouldn’t string him along."

“String him along? Did you just say that?"

“You shouldn’t string Huntington along either. Don’t think for a second I wouldn’t break the truce if I found out he touched you."

“You did just say that." She glared at him. “You would not break truce, even if you wanted to."

Brig huffed angrily. She was right, he couldn’t unless provoked. It was by Alpha decree and there wasn’t anything that could compel him not to follow the Alpha’s command. Rolling onto his back, he stared up at the ceiling and shrugged. “It killed me to see you with Charlie on New Year’s."

“I didn’t like seeing you with the bimbo, either."

“But you never have to see her again."




“Mr. Jameson?" Brig snapped up into his chair and looked at the door. A tall man with a severe haircut and a sharply creased, nondescript black suit entered the room. “I’m Allen Hamil from Homeland Security."

Brig mentally tacked on another six hours to his day.

There was no way to slosh through water quietly if you wanted to get to somewhere fast. Viv led with the GPR while Charlie brought up the rear. They moved about fifty feet into a catacomb of tunnels that opened up on the other side of a small containment pit.

Viv was breathing heavy through her nose as she pointed out with one hand and lifted the GPR with the other. “Two heads into a larger open area, the other two out."

“Go," Charlie said standing directly behind her, looking at the GPR. Viv took a step and he stopped her. “If something happens, you change and run. Do you understand me?"

Viv looked up into Charlie’s blue eyes and fought back the urge to prove she could handle any situation that came at her, but she wasn’t stupid. Unarmed left her useless to Charlie.

Red’s voice chirped into their earpieces. “Charlie, do you read?"

They had not replied to their location check several minutes earlier. Charlie pinched his Vox com and whispered. “Unknown on our six, we’re popping."

Viv listened as Charlie gave the order for the teams to exit the sewers immediately. “Copy that," Red and Lewis chimed in and signed off.

Viv turned toward the further right tunnel when Charlie grabbed her arm. “Yes," she immediately said, “I understand. Shit goes down, I’m off. I call for extraction."

“Go."

They quickly jumped into the tank and Viv was immediately chest high in water. She swam across about twenty feet and pulled herself up and out into the tunnel. Reaching out, she pulled Charlie into the tunnel behind her and they ran in the damp, but fortunately empty, tunnel toward where the GPR mapped out one of the manholes below the Strip’s sewage pipes. With the ledge with the ladder up to the man hole in sight, Charlie gently pulled her back and took the ladder up, pushing with his fingertips. Then suddenly, he stopped.

“What?" Viv asked, looking back from where they had just come from. “What’s up?"

Charlie looked up at the manhole and put his hands flat on the cover, pushing up until the muscles of his arms bulged against his Therian-weave. “Oh fuck." He peered at the edges and touched them. “It’s welded shut."

“Come on, the next one. Further down the line."

Together they ran down the tunnel another one hundred feet to another ledge with a ladder up to manhole. Charlie climbed it quickly and shoved. Nothing.

“What the fuck?" Red’s voice chirped in their earpiece. “Lewis, Charlie?"

Vivienne flicked the VOX com on her throat to voice activated. “Piper Command, this is Field Piper. We have a serious fucking problem here."

Hammer’s forehead crinkled with a rising tension when Charlie asked for a location check, but did not reply for several minutes. Suddenly he was calling for a pop and extraction. Lifting his feet up off the table, Hammer scoot his chair closer to the console next to Dougie, pulling up their registered GPR maps when Vivienne’s voice came across the speakers in a clear, crisp tone.

“Piper Command, this is Field Piper. We have a serious fucking problem here."

Hammer immediately spoke, “Field Piper this is Piper Command. Say again?"

Red’s voice this time, “These manholes are welded shut."

Lewis: “Same here. Checked five already."

The Sergeant’s voice: “Request extraction, Piper Command. This…isn’t going to end well."

Hammer looked at Dougie and noticed the sweat on his face, running droplets down his neck. “Marko, LT en route."

“Already notified them, sir. ETA is 15 minutes."

Hammer stood, pulling the head set off and putting in his ear piece. “Notify the Commander. He’s at US Customs at Nachton Airport. And the Alpha," he said sitting up and heading out the door to get his Pipers, “god help us, please nothing blow up."

Dougie watched the Beta run out of the Situation Room. Sitting at the console, he draped his fingers on the edge of the steel desktop and listened to the nervousness creep into the Piper’s voices in the field.

“All these fucking manholes are welded shut."

“Why are they shut? We’re trapped?"

“We’re fucking sitting ducks. They’re pushing us forward. Lewis…Lewis you read me?"

“I got you Red, what’s your location?"

“Looks like I’m further down the line than you…what’s that?"

Dougie heard the crackle of gunfire and Domingo roaring.

“Sarge? Sarge, we’ve got incoming, we’re 100 meters from you…"

“They’re in front of us, they’re fucking in front of us."

“Dom shut the fuck up! You fucking keep it together…."

“They’re in front of us and behind, we’re being corralled, Charlie."

“Viv, go…just fucking go. Lewis, Dom – change, Red stay frosty for me."

“You heard him. Marthinus, you read?

“I got you, Red."

“Listen, here’s the plan…."

Gunfire erupted in Dougie’s ears as the Pipers were interrupted by god knows what. Shouting for them to move aside for clear shots, the distinct sound of shot guns, and the throaty growls of werewolves filtered into his earpiece. Dougie looked down at his fingers and felt his face crumble.

“Dougie! Dougie do you read me?" It was Red, yelling in his ear. “Get us the fuck out of here, Dougie! Do you read me? We need reinforcements! Dougie! DOUGIE!"

Dougie closed his eyes just as the localized EMP he knew was coming cut off communications, leaving him in silence.

“What the fuck just happened?" Viv checked the switch on her Vox com, flipping it back and forth. “Red. Do you read? Dom? Lewis?"

“Shit," Charlie mumbled. He grabbed the GPR from Viv and checked it. “It’s dead. Everything is dead."

“This is what happened at Glenveagh, right?"

The Piper Compound in Glenveagh Ireland had been the site of a massacre that almost killed the family Elders Duncan Jameson and Vigo Hammerthynn. A Piper had allegedly gone rogue and tried to assassinate Vigo with vague tales of his family being held captive if he did not act. Turned out that it was true and his family had been wiped out. The fact still remained – there were plants within the Pipers with some sinister secret mission to take down the Family Leadership to ensure the Blood Memory not be exposed. It was conjecture on Vivienne’s part and Hammer had nearly killed her for it once she had been retrieved from Siberia.

A localized EMP had been used to cripple communications and the compound had been attacked by human and vampire leaving no other explanation. It was happening again now – isolating the Piper team in the field, the core of what was left of the Pipers, killing them in one strike. Nachton Pipers had been infiltrated; there was no doubt of this, since who else could have tracked their movements so efficiently, if not without help.

Viv watched as Charlie pulled off his Vox Com and dropped it in the water. The last thing she heard was gunfire, barking and howling, along with the other Pipers losing their shit. “Where the fuck was Dougie?" he snarled.

Viv felt the terror rise up in her throat. No, no typical female reactions now, she thought to herself, and quelled the terror down with rage. “You heard Hammer, LT and Marko are en route – they won’t be alone."

“We need to get top side, but there’s no way out."

Viv narrowed her eyes and considered their options. “Fuck this, Charlie. I'm not going to stand here waiting to die. Fuck if I let it be that easy for them."

Charlie straightened and tossed the GPR in the water. “We go, we go out taking a couple with us." With a grim smile, he handed her his glock and Viv took it.

Popping the clip, she checked it and then loaded it back in with a profound snap of steel. Wrapping her fingers around the grip, she pointed behind her. “They’re waiting for us to push forward. God willing they’re not expecting us to double back."

“Promise me you’ll run, Viv. If…just promise." Charlie’s voice was soft and his blue eyes glistened in the darkness.

“You first."

“Oh you’re one of those girls."

“Fuck you," she laughed. Then she sobered. "You ready, Cassidy?"

Charlie pulled his Mateba and grinned. "Ready, Sundance."

"Let's go."

Hammer swerved through traffic in one of the Piper SUVs. It was late afternoon and the onslaught of commuters was beginning to fill up the streets. His earpiece was cutting in and out, but the danger in the sewer was mounting and he had to get his Pipers out. Pulling out his phone, he dialed Brig’s number, knowing he was at the airport. Hopefully he had already left – Dougie had to have gotten a hold of him by now.

The other end of the call rang three times as Hammer plowed through the downtown district, managing to sideswipe several parked cars to squeeze by the growing traffic. On the fourth ring Brig picked up.

“Hey Hammer, I’m still at the US Customs," his cousin started before Hammer interrupted him.

“Why are you still there? Did Dougie get a hold of you?"

“What? Why? Mr. Hamill, excuse me please. Hammer I’ve got Homeland Security breathing down my fucking neck."

“Brig, listen to me! LISTEN!" Hammer roared into the phone just as he made it within two miles of the Pipers location. “Get your ass out of there and meet me downtown. NOW. We are about to have a seriously fucked up situation here if you don’t…."

Suddenly the car engine cut off and it began to lose its momentum. The power to the SUV completely shut off and Hammer looked at his phone. It was dead. Dropping it he undid his belt buckle and checked his watch.

It had stopped.

“Oh you have got to be FUCKING KIDDING ME!" Hammer yelled as he stopped the SUV and got out of the vehicle. People were doing the same around him. It was eerily quiet, save for the chatter of the people on the street. No nosy cars, honking, slight hum of electrical lines above them…nothing.

Hammer ran his hand over his mouth. The area was dead. No electronics, no stop lights, no walk signs, and people staring at their cell phones. It was Glenveagh, all over again.

Running around to the back of the SUV, he opened up the back doors and climbed in. Inside were electronics, now dead, and various secured weapons. Taking off his khaki button up, he pulled out a compression pack made for the Therian-weave he was wearing underneath and strapped it on, along with two standard glocks and extra clips. The compression bag pressed them tight against his body, ready for transformation, as he took his belt and boots off. The rest of the equipment was now useless to him, having been subject to what was undoubtedly a localized EMP that had hit the downtown area. He turned to jump out when he looked back and opened another secured box.

Inside were more rounds of ammunition. These were stowed within the secured box that Hammer opened immediately. Inside were more ammo clips and as he touched them, his face tightened with disgust from the scent. Each clip contained either silver tipped, hollow points or incendiary rounds that Charlie had recently introduced into the Piper arsenal from Canberra’s R&D. Hammer pulled out another gun and wedged it and the clips into the center pack of the compression straps, just at his breast bone. Bursting through the SUV doors amid several gasps, Hammer slipped his pants off and broke out into a run into the dark alleyways along the strip. Once in the darkness, he forced his change and landed on four paws, his thick nails gouging into the asphalt as he prayed Brig got his message before the EMP hit.

Simon moved quietly through the sewers, watching his step, but more importantly, employing every bit of his abilities to walk as if a whisper. Occasionally the soft beating of hearts strayed near him, but he attributed it to the humans above ground, moving along in their lives. Vivienne’s presence was near but not; his bond with her just not strong enough to narrow her position down, just the general vicinity. Closing his eyes he concentrated, spreading out his perception as far as it could go. The silence was deafening and as well as distracting, which led him back to square one.

His mind strayed to Ellis and their aura; how different it was compared to Carol and Vivienne. Their aura always betrayed her, if he was concentrating, and he always knew if she was near. Now, he felt nothing in him – not Ellis’ presence, Carol’s giggling laugh, nor Vivienne’s increasingly erratic mood swings and heart flutter. He never knew a woman who could go from angry to flirty to cold as quick as Vivienne.

Rounding a corner, Simon stopped and listened again. A loud clank rang out ahead of him, startling him. Moving quickly, he walked toward the noise when several racing heartbeats crept into his perception range. If ever he wished for blending, this was it, but he made use of his ability to sneak up on people and moved silently through the tunnel when the echo of gunfire erupted ahead but in a slightly different place. The tunnels forked and Simon moved away from the clanking metal noise and toward the gunfire when he began to hear voices yelling.

“…us the fuck out of here, Dougie! Do you read me? We need reinforcements…"

Simon broke out into a run, moving with his liquid speed toward the noise when he rounded another corner and came up on three men, cowering low and shooting into the darkness of the tunnel. Three men and a wolf.

The wolf noticed him first and turned, racing toward him. Simon sneered and reached out to the wolf, catching it as it threw its three hundred pound plus body directly at his face. Simon grabbed the muzzle, pushing it down into the ground with a sickening crunch of bones. It did not get up and it took less than three seconds, plenty of time for Simon to move up to the shooters and attack.

Marthinus tried to figure out just what in the fuck he was doing as a werewolf. What sixty year old man who has worn five thousand dollar suits almost all his adult life, ran a multi-billion dollar corporation doing standing in a sewer tunnel with men technically half his age and physical appearance made them look younger than his own son. This was the life he had chosen during a desperate time and damn if he wasn’t half enjoying himself.

Marthinus stood across from Lewis who was in his wolf form as they used a stone doorway of the tunnel they were standing in for cover. The gunfire was coming precariously close when the distinct yelp of a dog rang out and then human screaming. He looked over at Lewis who flicked his tail and then bared his fangs, readying himself. Marthinus held out his hand to Lewis and lifted his standard issue 9 millimeter.

The Pipers had taught him almost everything he knew about combat, save for what he had already been trained as a vampire descendant in a clan that wasn’t recognized by its own kind. Tacharan leadership protected their property and that was all Marthinus had been – Ellis’ property – despite being a direct descendant of Simon Huntington. But today, he was not that man. Today he was physically half the age of that sixty year old man with a rapidly atrophying heart. Today he was a werewolf with instincts and reflexes he never knew any one man could posses. And today was not going to be his last.

Marthinus held up his free hand and pointed to himself, held up three fingers, and then cocked his head toward the echoes of screams coming from the darkness.

Three.

Two.

One.

Marthinus turned the corner, crouched slightly down into a tight ball, and pointed his gun directly into his grandfather’s face.

Simon held his hands up. They were bloody as well as the bottom half of his face. “Marthinus, Marthinus wait!"

The blood memory unraveled in his mind, clouding his judgment, and pushing him toward the inevitable response that all Pipers possessed. This was not Simon Huntington his great grandfather, but the bane of his werewolf existence, the main focus of such an intense hate that it nearly blinded him.

“Your rings, Marthinus. Where are your rings?" Simon said quickly, backing away from him.

Lewis growled and began barking viciously, trying to push past Marthinus. Marthinus blinked his eyes and reigned in the hate as best he could, remember the thin silver rings he carried with him at all times. He turned and held Lewis back.

“Lewis, wait! WAIT!"

Marthinus successfully pushed his Piper brother back and hastily dug into the compression bag held tightly against his Therian-Weave suit. His fingertips burned and Lewis backed off, his nose sneezing at the silver stench. Slipping the rings on, he felt the rage in him recede. The sizzle reminding him that he was not just a werewolf, but his own man with his own mind. Fuck this blood memory.

“Lewis, he’s here to help." Lewis snarled at him, Marthinus knowing what he was implying. “We’d be dead already," Marthinus said in a soft voice. Lewis looked him in the eye and backed off, away from the silver stench and Simon. “All right, wait here."

Marthinus turned and Simon rushed him, grabbing his shoulders. “Are you all right? What’s going on here? Where is she?" Simon demanded.

Marthinus shook his head. “They came out of nowhere. Then all the electronics shut down. We’re in the dark and sealed shut in here. Where is who?"

“Vivienne. Where is Vivienne?"

Marthinus blinked at Simon and felt the strain of his grandfather’s fingers on his shoulders. “She’s down here, behind us I think. She’s with our sergeant."

Simon turned back into the darkness and peered into it, silent.

“Simon you’re not," he paused, cautiously picking his words.

“We don’t have time for this," Simon said avoiding Marthinus stare.

Marthinus looked at him, the implications of Simon bonding with Vivienne…a werewolf…were insurmountable. He let it go, for now. “We can’t get out. Can you get the manholes open and find the others?"

“Others? How many are you down here?"

“Six total. Two somewhere ahead, our Sergeant and Vivienne behind us."

Simon walked down to the next manhole and climbed up the ladder. He tested it first with his shoulder, hit it hard enough to bend the three hundred pound manhole, but then reached up and began digging his finger tips around the edges. Little bits of metal and steel clanked down to the ground of the tunnel. Again he tried with his shoulder and the steel creaked, then finally snapped, opening up.

Lewis walked back; his face covered in sweat and flushed red. He was eyeballing Simon suspiciously as he stood next to Marthinus. “I don’t trust him."

“You don’t have to, but I do." Lewis continued to glare at Simon who walked back, wiping the blood off his face. Suddenly he turned and threw up onto the ground.

“Those were werewolves," Lewis said quietly.

“I don’t know, I can’t tell," Simon said in between gags.

Marthinus didn’t question it, even though Lewis’ rage left his face and filled with confusion. “We need to get up, out and contact the others somehow."

“Let’s find Red and Dom, lead them here."

“Roger that," Lewis said and drew his weapon. He walked past Simon, his eyes never leaving him, but paused for a moment. “Thanks," he said slowly.

“Don’t mention it," Simon said looking at Lewis. Looking back at Marthinus, he pointed behind him. “That way?"

“That way." Marthinus reached out and clasped Simon’s arm. “And thanks."

Marthinus watched Simon disappear with his vampire speed into the darkness. Turning toward Lewis, they double timed it further ahead to find Red and Dom.

Brig pulled his phone back and looked at it.

“Mr. Jameson?"

The Homeland Security agent was talking to him, but Brig ignored him, trying to decipher Hammer’s cryptic message before they had gotten cut off.

“Get your ass…of there an…meet me down…. NOW. We are…to have a serio…fucked…."

The building had made the signal sporadic, despite being at the airport, so his message was broken up and then gone. Meet Hammer down where? Brig dialed Hammer’s cell number and held the phone to his ear, but it only went straight to voicemail. He tried Dougie at the Den. It rang, but then voicemail. Finally he tried Vivienne. Nothing.

“Mr. Jameson? I just have a few more questions."

Brig looked up at Mr. Hamill and shook his head. “I’m afraid not. My boss needs me. I’ll come back for my property later."

“We’re not done," Mr. Hamill said with cold gray eyes.

Brig pulled out his passport and flashed it at him. Then he laid down his business card with the name “Stafford Enterprises" in bold lettering underneath his name and title. Then he leaned down onto the table top, pressing the flat of his fists onto the surface.

“I am a foreign national, Mr. Hamill, but I’m legally here. You have no probable cause to hold me here. You have no evidence of terrorist activities, only if you want to call my body suits a weapon, which they are not. Comfortable, yes, but not a weapon." Brig pulled the label off one of the boxes and tore out the accompanying official paperwork that had come specifically to Customs. “There is no reason for you to hold my property here and sure as shit no reason to hold me. You try and hold me, I’ll have my Embassy here coming down on you like a shit storm you have never seen. So it’s not a question of there being anything else. There is nothing else."

Brig picked up his passport and paperwork, tucking them into his jacket pocket. “I came as a courtesy and now you’re just insulting me. I’ll have one of my staff come for my items. Have a nice day."

And with that, Brig opened the only door in the interrogation room and pushed past the smaller security guards trying to look intimidating, but against Brig’s six foot four, they were having a hard time doing it. He was out of the building and heading to his car without incident and tried calling Dougie at the Den again. Still nothing. He got into his SUV and roared the engine, heading back to the property, his knuckles white on the steering wheel.

Viv was on her back, struggling with the assailant on top of her as Charlie was busy handling two other and holding his own.

“Viv?" he said through gritted teeth.

“I got this," she said, pushing up on the man’s jaw, when he twisted away from her hand and reared his hand back to punch her in the face. Viv grabbed his fist during its downward motion and moved her face, redirecting his punch and top half of his body toward the slimy tunnel’s ground, breaking his hands and connecting his nose with her elbow. Bucking her hips, she rolled the now howling man over and kneed him so hard in the groin that his screams cut off into a gagging, noiseless show of pain. Scurrying over to her dropped gun, she grabbed it and came back at the man, pummeling him with the steel of it until he no longer moved.

Looking over at Charlie, he finished the second of the two men with a sickening crack of the assailant’s head into the ground. Immediately he turned to her and reached out a hand. “Jesus, that’s six. You ok?"

Standing without the benefit of Charlie’s hand, she straightened her hair and huffed. “Yeah I’m good. Do you know who these guys are?"

Charlie shrugged and made a face. “I have a guess." Viv raised her eyebrows questioningly. “I think their Ringo’s Nakubili. This isn’t like Vyusher R’asa to attack like this."

Viv considered Charlie’s suggestion. What she had read of Ringo through the Piper mission files was that he was rogue Vyusher R’asa, neither following or encouraging those in his smaller pack to obey the truce. He was pure mercenary, deadly, and batshit crazy.

“The Left Hand of God, right?"

Charlie rolled his eyes.

“This isn’t VR sanctioned. I don’t think there’s ever been such a break in the truce as something like this. There’s no reason to attack the Alpha’s Pipers. Think it’s personal?"

They whispered closed together in the tunnel, both listening for any other movement, their eyes moving back and forth. Charlie wiped the blood and sweat away from his face and shrugged again. “There is the LT and his parents."

Viv reached up and caught a bead of blood from running into Charlie’s eyes, using the palm of her hand to smear it away. “That would be a helluva grudge. Maybe…."

They both moved at the same time, taking cover at the archway that segmented the tunnels, using the extended concrete that formed a pseudo doorway. Viv looked over at Charlie and nodded toward his Mateba. He held up his fingers – he was almost still full, opting to use hand-to-hand to conserve his ammo until he really needed the specialized ammo.

Viv popped her clip quietly and counted. ‘Fuck’, she mumbled. She held up her fingers – five rounds.

Charlie held his hand up and pointed to himself, then three fingers, then Viv. She’s follow him on three and she nodded, understanding. ‘Ready?’ he mouthed. Viv nodded again and he rushed back into the tunnel.

Three.

Two.

She never made it to one.

A gunshot blast rang out and just as she was about to stand out, Charlie’s body flew back onto the ground at her feet. His Mateba had fallen away out of reach, but it didn’t matter. He was clutching at his chest, grunting with pain as he began to frantically try and tear at his skin. The smell of silver rose up, hitting Viv’s senses like a freight train and stunned her into silence, enough for her to not notice the light mist drift into the tunnel hear her until it was too late.

Materializing in front of her was the red head from her adventure with Simon and she glowed brightly in Viv’s jungle sense.

“Well well, what do we have here? Simon’s new play thing?" The red head smiled, showing her fangs and inwardly, Viv questioned why she even woke up that morning.


~~

A thin layer of fog filtered through the beam from the Jag’s headlights and drifted around the car until it was surrounded. They couldn’t see within ten feet of the car. Simon did not seem surprised to see fingers curl through the opened driver’s side window.

“Well if it isn’t the leader of Tacharan," a voice purred as the mist solidified a foot away from him. A beautiful red head laid her arms on the car door and bent over, resting her chin on them. Her eyes were bright green and her skin a creamy peach.

“I need to speak to," Simon started as the red head reached in and pulled on the door handle, opening it slowly. Simon half rolled his eyes as the female vampire dipped low, exposing her cleavage through her 15th century period dress and looked into the car.

“New play thing, Simon?"

Vivienne’s heart beat was strong but controlled. She may not have been afraid, but she had every reason to be. She knew it would only take one from the Anantya clan half a heartbeat to kill Vivienne before she even knew what happened.



~~



Viv held onto her gun, knowing it was useless, but braced herself. “Right, you again. How’s tricks?" Suddenly Viv was thrown halfway down the tunnel, sliding over the rocky tunnel surface, landing on her back. With a grunt she mumbled, “Was it something I said?"

The red head was over in a flash, pinning Viv to the ground with her foot across her neck. “You ruined my dress that night."

Viv struggled to breath, but still smiled.



~~



The car suddenly lurched forward as something rammed it from behind. Their heads snapped back with the impact, but as the rear end lifted into the air, Vivienne almost choked herself on her seat belt as she fell forward. It landed with a crash, the rear window cracking, but not shattering. Simon stepped on the gas before the rear tires even touched the pavement. The tires screeched as they made contact with the road and Simon gunned the engine, sending the Jaguar down the winding road at a break neck speed.

Viv’s passenger side window suddenly cracked, making her lean toward Simon who fought to keep the car straight. “Wait, are these bullet-proof glass windows?" she yelled.

The car lurched forward again, fish tailing it hard to the left. “Yes, they are," he said in a strange calm voice.

“Who puts bullet proof glass on their car?! Does this shit happen to you all the time or something?"

Simon rolled his eyes as his window cracked, shoving the Jag to the right. “More than you realize." He pushed the car to beyond eighty miles an hour, peeling rubber off the tires as they took the sharp corners.

“No, let it drift!"

“I know how to drive, Vivienne." Fog began circling the car. “It’s the red head."

“Oh that’s just fucking fantas…," Viv’s window broke as a hand materialized through the tempered glass and grabbed part of her hair. “That’s my fucking hair, you bitch!"

“Hang on, hang on," Simon said again, his voice still maintaining an almost indifferent tone as they drove threw a sharp turn and plowed through the bushes, heading straight through the woods.

The car’s engine whined pitifully as it hit the uneven ground, tree branches scraped up against the sides, undoubtedly scratching the hell out of the paint.

“I swear I cannot hang onto a good car for more than two years," Simon moaned unhappily as they hit the stretch of road again, the tire treads griping the asphalt and propelled the car forward, but a heavy force pushed against them, forcing the engine to whine loudly again when the red head appeared on top of the hood.

Viv undid the buckle of her seat belt. “What are you doing?" Simon asked not taking his eyes off the female vampire. Viv felt the adrenaline in her body begin to bubble over, the wolf in her begging to rip through her human vessel and tear the vampire female’s face off. Simon must’ve heard her heart pounding in her chest because he looked away from the red head and at Vivienne.

“No, not now. Don’t do it, Vivienne. We just need to get off their property! Wait!"

The red head reared back on her knees, her arms pulled back and her large fangs poked through her ugly smile. She pounded once on the front windshield, cracking it, playing with them. Viv kicked off her Keds and Simon cursed under his breath, putting the gas pedal to the ground and twisting the car to the left, sending the vampire across the hood, her nails scratching deep gouges in the metal. Viv pulled herself out of the window, almost flying out as the car did a one eighty and sped off backwards down the hill.

Viv could see the red head now running after the Jag, her liquid speed making her look like she was floating above the asphalt. Viv let her transformation take over, destroying her clothes, as her claws dug into the roof of the car to steady herself. She pushed the change so hard and fast that by the time the red head made it to the front of the car, Viv was running toward her in wolf form, knocking the red head back. The vampire pushed her up against the windshield, caving it in. With her sharp jaws, she bit at the vampire’s face, tearing off skin only to see it regenerate back.

“Vivienne! VIVIENNE GET IN!" Simon finally yelled his voice now void of any calm. The vampire clawed at her, but Viv twisted, avoiding as much of the vampire’s touch as she tried to force the female vampire off the car.

Simon yelled out, “WE’RE RUNNING OUT OF ROAD!"

Both Viv and the red head looked up and over the roof of the car as it reached the end of the steep hill and the car careened into traffic, sending them both off the hood and onto the pavement.

Viv recovered quickly, but she felt the top layer of skin was torn from the pads of her feet. Hovering low on the ground, she snarled at the red head as it righted herself and turned toward Viv. Viv heard the unmistakable rev of Simon’s supercharged Jaguar as it came up behind the red head and plowed into her. Viv jumped off the street and ran up on the side of a building wall, avoiding the cars that Simon slammed into as well as the female. Her instinct was to just run – to get back to the property, but Simon stopped his car on top of the female vampire and he threw it into reverse, running back over her. The red head was disoriented but still in one piece as she slowly stood, right in the path of Simon’s car again, running her over. Viv watched from the sidewalk with shocked brown eyes as the female vampire kept getting up. Finally Simon just stopped on top of her and the passenger side door opened. He whistled at her, calling her like a pet and smiled.

“Come on girl, get in."

With a snarl, she ran toward the Jag and jumped into the front seat, her tail purposely smacking Simon in the face as he revved the Jag’s tires over the red head again and sped off toward the main strip.



~~



The red head stepped off her and knelt down. Viv gasped for air but made no move to run. There’s be no point. Viv looked at the shotgun the red head was holding and could smell the silver mixed in with the smoke.

“Silver pellets, huh?"

The red head smiled, “More bang for the buck, so to speak," as she set the shotgun down on its butt.

“You’re not working for the VR, are you?" Viv said with certainty.

The red head sneered. “Work for you dogs? You should all be put down for the filth that you are. That’s insulting."

Viv looked at her closely this time. Her hair was done up in soft, red curls that framed her face perfectly, her makeup flawless, and her outfit was styled after a refined lady’s hunting suit, right down to the royal hunting breeches, bright red fox hunting jacket, and riding boots. All she was missing was the damn crop.

“You’re working for someone, toots. Looks like you got picked as the messenger. Lucky you," Viv said, finding her courage and syrupy sarcasm.

“Such confidence."

“I try."

“You really shouldn’t," the red head said as she stood, lifting her shotgun and pointing it at Vivienne’s head.

Suddenly Viv was angry, so angry that she felt such an oppressive blanket of rage blind her. It was almost alien to her, the abruptness of it and intensity. She felt the sneer wrinkle her nose as she prepared herself.

Vivienne’s raging emotions were palatable as he neared her. It was raw with emotion – fear, shock, rage – and then he saw her. She was laying on the ground looking up at that red head from their trip to Anantya for answers, shotgun pointed at her face, the red head’s finger pulling back on the trigger. Time slowed as he pushed himself as fast as he had ever moved and slammed into the vampire, twisting her body like a rag doll and crushing her up against the tunnel wall with a sickening crunch.

Viv had the foresight to move away, stunned by his sudden appearance though she must have been. Twisting again, he put the red head’s face into the other side of the tunnel and he spoke quietly to her.

“Why are you here?"

The red head’s green eye turned toward Simon and she disappeared into a mist, making Simon fall against the tunnel wall. She reappeared behind him, but moved before he could swing his elbow into her face.

“The question is, Simon," the disembodied voice sang, “why are you here?"

“Vivienne, run."

Viv had moved toward the doorway and was leaning over something. “I’ve got to take Charlie."

Simon felt a barrage of hits to his back and a distinct slice of metal across his chest as the red head materialized for half a second to attack him, but she twisted around him in a swirl of smoke, laughing at him. Simon reached out as best he could with his perception and listened to Charlie’s heartbeat which was slow and erratic.

“Viv he’s gone, just go."

"Fuck you, we are NOT leaving him here."

“Go, Viv…" Simon heard her Charlie say in a gurgled weak voice. "You promised."

“You first," she said with a sad smile.

Simon reeled in his perception and concentrated all his abilities on the flighty ethereal vampire and reached out, grabbing her as she materialized, twisting her neck and almost separating her head. The red head looked at him with startled green eyes and slumped slowly to the ground.

He backed up, looking down at her. “No. That was too easy." Running back to Viv, she stood there, looking at Simon with wide, scared eyes.

“Simon," she said with a quivering voice.

“There’s a run off tank just back at the T, 30 feet easy. There’s an open manhole about 100 yards north, the rest of your team is there."

“No, Simon," she said again quietly and looked down at her feet.

“I will bring him, Viv. I promise. Just go."

“But I can’t."

“Why not?" he yelled at her, trying to push her.

Viv grabbed his hands and put them on her stomach. “I can’t because I’m…pregnant."

LT opened up his SUV and looked down the main strip. Traffic had started getting back, now it had come to a standstill.

“What’s going on?" Marko asked, stepping out of the SUV with him.

Climbing up on the hood of the vehicle, he looked down the street and saw it. “I don’t see any lights down there," he said slowly. “Is the power out?"

LT looked down at Marko and they stared at each other for a moment and then jumped back into the SUV. LT put the SUV in gear and pulled out of traffic, squeezing in between the lanes, causing people to scream and honk their horns.

“There, there," Marko pointed to the sidewalk. “Theretherethere…whoawaitwaitwaitwait!"

LT gunned the SUV up onto the sidewalk, forcing people to jump out of the way, sidewalk tables from eateries, hot dog and news stands flying, they made their way down toward the strip and within a few minutes (and about fifty thousand dollars worth of damage) they made it to within a mile of the field Pipers last location and the Strip was completely dead.

“Shit," LT drawled as he pushed the SUV through the intersection, avoiding people but crushing cars out of his way. The whine of the engine was terrifying against the backdrop of complete silence of one of the busiest streets in the city.

“We’re close, we’re close." Just as Marko spoke those words, a massive wolf came crashing down two cars away, digging its nails into the metal of the car, sending people screaming. It was making a bee line for the SUV.

“Open the doors."

Marko crawled into the back of the SUV and threw open the doors, whistling loudly until the wolf came slamming into the SUV, then LT roared the engines again and kept pushing downtown.

“Was it another EMP?" LT yelled back as the wolf began to change, howling and shuddering hard enough to shake the vehicle until the Beta was back in human form wearing his blue Therian-weave.

Shaking his head, he took a bottled water from Marko and nodded. “Think so," the Beta gasped, catching his breath. “You were outside the range?"

“Had to be been. We got stuck in traffic about 2 miles back," Marko said.

“How close are we?"

LT turned down an alleyway and floored the vehicle until he came to a screeching halt. “Here, this is where they were."

“Where’s the Commander?" Hammer asked as they opened the back doors.

Marko pulled out his phone and looked at it. “LT, your phone?"

LT dug out his phone and checked out. “Are you kidding me? I don’t have a signal here."

“They can do that? A localized EMP, like Glenveagh, and interrupting phone service?" Marko turned and picked up the radio they had in the back of the vehicle, along with other electronics that appeared to still be working. He clicked the transmit button and then dropped the receiver. “Whoever is doing this knows their shit."

“It’s us then. The VOXs work?" Hammer asked as Marko pulled out a pair and gave one to the Hammer. They tested it but Marko shrugged.

"Looks like person to person, might be limited range. Sit Room is black to us."

Meaning they had not heard from Dougie or anyone at the Property, not that they could get a call out. The outage seemed to be a 2 mile radius meaning the other Pipers were near, but getting to them might be complicated. LT jumped out of the SUV and ran to the nearest manhole and stuck his fingers into the holes when he saw it.

“These are welded."

Hammer stepped out of the vehicle, adjusting his VOX. “I caught as much before we lost everything. Split up and find the others, circle the perimeter, check the manholes. There has to be an opening somewhere."

“Maybe it’s leading them to a specific point?"

LT stepped up, “Then let’s find that point."

Hammer returned to the vehicle and opened up the secured weapon cache. “Take every VOX coms…and these." They were mixed clips of Charlie’s silver FMJs and the experimental incendiary. He looked up and pointed to the fire escapes and rooftops. “Stay hidden and use the rooftops."

“Aye, sir," both LT and Marko replied.

"VOXs on," LT said, "and stay frosty."

Viv looked down at Charlie, his mouth and nose dripping with blood and his Therian-weave shredded revealing his blown out chest. How he was still alive was a mystery to her, but the gunshot had to have been almost point blank to penetrate the suit. Charlie was dying, but he still managed to give her a sweet smile behind the blood and stinking smell of silver.

“You promised." The gurgle of his voice broke her. ‘Go’ he said silently and held up his Mateba still in his hand. He hadn’t dropped it anyway. Simon was yelling for her to go and as she turned, she reached down deep for her wolf and forced her transformation and then…there was nothing.

There was no inevitable flash of raw emotion, animal fury, or bones painfully reconstructing. Viv stood there, human, and just a little bit terrified. There were only two reasons why she couldn’t transform. One being silver touching her, forcing an almost instant change back to human form or it halted the process. The other was, well, she was at least three months pregnant.

“Simon," she said looking up at him. Her body trembled with confusion and adrenaline.

He was speaking to her, telling her how to get out but she didn’t hear him.

“No, Simon. I can’t."

Now he was yelling at her, telling her to change and run. She reached out and grabbed his hands, putting them on where her unborn child, where her and Brig’s unborn child, sat just underneath the Therian-weave and her brown skin.

“I can’t because I’m…pregnant."

Simon looked down at his hands and then back up in her face. “Wait, I don’t understand."

“I can’t transform once I hit a certain point. The baby is getting too big. I’m definitely in my second trimester."

“Your heart flutter," Simon said slowly. “It was your baby."

A gunshot rang out, ricocheting off the wall. It was Charlie shooting his Mateba back down the hallway. They both turned and looked, watching the female slowly rise and twist her head back from its unnatural position that Simon had put it in just moments before. He grabbed her and began moving away.

“Simon, wait! Don’t leave him, please!" Viv tore at Simon’s arm, but they were like vice grips around her body. “Charlie, NO!"

Charlie’s weak voice trailed behind them, “Keep going, Huntington, get her out of here," and he shot again at the vampire.

Viv pulled at Simon’s face, forcing him to look at her as he moved quickly through the tunnel. “Please don’t do this, Simon. Not for me." Simon looked at her now, his face first solid with determination now cracked with confusion.

Viv began to cry, pleading with him. “Don’t leave him there, I’m begging you."

Simon closed his eyes as they neared the tank. “Don’t let his sacrifice be in vain and let yourself get killed, too. Not now."

She wrapped her arms around Simon’s neck and cried into his neck just as the explosion that rocked three blocks of the downtown Strip ripped through the tunnels and pushed its way up into the fading afternoon of Nachton.

The three of them stayed in human form as they launched themselves from rooftop to rooftop, scanning the area for anything suspicious. They had gotten no sign of any of the other Pipers, much less whoever was perpetrating one of the most complex and impressive silent attacks Hammer had ever seen. From the Elder’s reports of Glenveagh, this was as smooth and controlled as the attack that destroyed their compound in Ireland.

Hammer’s abilities had been dictated by his lineage, but one thing that was unique was his ability to leap long distances, and he used this ability, quietly leaping from either the rooftops or fire escapes when he saw Marko push forward from Hammer's six and fly from one building to another with the same degree of strength and finesse you would not think a six foot seven man could posses.

LT was on his opposite side, taking running leaps, scaling the fire escapes. All three of them were quiet, focused, and instinctively deadly. A swell of pride rose up in him, only to have it squashed by the sound of gunfire and yelling just head. They pushed themselves faster and landed on the same building in the center and ran to the edge to look over.

It was the beginnings of a firefight and they saw four of the six Pipers either fighting or shooting down a blocked alleyway. The chance of escape was minimal, definitely not the choke point that they were intended on ending up.

“Marko flank left, LT you got range. On three."

LT was already pulling the rifle off his back and swinging it forward, wrapping the strap around his arm and positioning himself on the ledge.

“One," Hammer stepped back and stood. Gauging the distance, he crouched down, ready to spring, “Two." Marko took a silent running leap to the building at nine o’clock and poised himself over the ledge, head first.

Hammer held up his hand, holding two fingers up to Marko, and then yelled, “THREE!"

Hammer ran and launched himself over the ledge, letting the five story free fall pull his massive weight to the ground. The concrete cracked beneath his feet as he easily landed behind a couple of attackers and pulled out a savage looking knife. Marko landed with the same deadly accuracy on the opposite side, just as the LT began shooting targets from the air.

Seven Pipers fought collectively, putting down the two dozen attackers, some Hammer recognized as Nakubili, some he did not. His blade slashed a half dozen throats as his peripheral watched Red savagely kick box two attackers, Dom duel wield two equally deadly blades, Marko use his brute strength and pummel one into the brick wall then move onto the next with lightning speed, and then Marthinus, using what appeared to be a two by four as a bat, taking three on at a time. The rest, LT took care of from above before they even knew he was there.

Hammer dropped his knife and came at the last attacker, catching his fist in his hand. Hammer crushed it till the man was on his knees. The man wailed from the intense pain of every bone in his hand breaking.

“You’re Nakubili," Hammer said without question.

“Yes."

“Where is your Alpha? Where is Ringo?"

Hammer knew better. Ringo would not be at his own fight, he’d be watching somewhere nearby but far enough away that he would live to ruin someone else’s day. Still, Hammer pressed or rather squeezed for more information.

“I don’t know where he is!" the man screamed from the pain. Then the Nakubili’s face changed; an eerie calm smoothed out his dark features and he smiled at Hammer. “Ringo is the least of your troubles, Beta Hammerthynn. This isn’t even near close to over."

Hammer released the Nakubili’s crushed hand and the man cradled it with the most twisted smile Hammer had seen in some time. “Do it," he said, barely above a whisper.

A shot rang out from the rooftop, piercing the Nakubili’s temple and blowing out the opposite side of his head. He slumped to the street with the same sick smile on his face. LT scaled down the building, rifle in hand, and joined the men.

“Where are Charlie and Vivienne?" LT asked.

Red and Lewis looked at Marthinus, causing the others to look at him as well. “My grandfather is down there with them."

Hammer’s hackles rose, getting the better of him, but he reeled in the hate and asked quietly, “And why is he down there?"

“He got us out of there," Lewis said in a small voice.

Hammer was confused. “Why would Huntington be interested in saving our kind? Because of Vivienne?"

Marthinus looked his Beta in the eye and lied. “I do not know."

LT began to pass out VOX coms. “Two teams, we go down and get our own back."

Hammer pointed to Red and Marthinus, “You two with me. The rest with the LT. This is what we’re doing."

Hammer would have finished that thought, had it not been for the earth rattling explosion that knocked all seven of them to the ground. The street cracked and a fireball reached up into the sky at least fifty feet before showering them with hot rock and metal. It was an earthquake and volcanic explosion mixed into what could only be described as the introductory of the Apocalypse. The buildings surrounding them began to shake, forcing them to run back out into the main drag, just missing two buildings that toppled over, blocking the way back down to the sewers. Along the strip, manholes began to pop like corks from the pressure of the explosion, flying high up into the sky, only to come clattering down to the broken street. Three hundred pounds of steel, amongst the guts and surface of the city.

The explosion radiated out three city blocks, the epicenter not far from where they stood and they immediately transformed into their wolf bodies, using the extra agility to leap and scurry out of the way of the fire and steel.

Hammer took lead, directing them back to the vehicle they left behind, hoping the explosion hadn’t destroyed their equipment.

Brig burst into the Piper’s Situation Room and yelled at Dougie. “Where is everyone? What is going on?"

Dougie looked up at him with large, frantic eyes and looked like death warmed over. “I can’t get a lock on any of them, sir. Com systems are down. Connection out to the street cameras is sporadic, at best. It’s like the system’s been hacked." Dougie’s face pinched up with what looked like guilt, but Brig ignored it, too concerned with Vivienne and his Pipers.

“Last known?"

Dougie pulled up the city map on one of the larger flat screens, “Here," he pointed, “LT, Marko, and the Beta are en route to intercept."

“Intercept what?"

“Coms went down; it looks like another localized EMP attack. Best guess is a 1 to 2 mile radius." Suddenly the screens lit up with incoming messages from the city’s warning system. Lewis had hooked up the city’s system to notify the Piper’s system of any major event or police movement, just to keep a head’s up on the city. All the warnings were blaring – for seismic, police, fire, and natural disaster.

Dougie located the epicenter and then sat back in his chair, stunned.

The screens were showing a massive sewer and gas pipe explosion in downtown Nachton’s Strip. Fires, water mains broken, the streets cracked open with smoke and debris everywhere. Brig looked at that location and the other screen for the Pipers.

The Pipers had been right on top of it.

“Oh…no," Brig moaned. He turned and rushed to the door when Dougie stopped him.

“Sir, wait!" Brig stopped and looked back, watching Dougie as he listened to his earpiece. “It’s Duibine Industries calling in on our secure line." He handed Brig his ear piece.

“Say again," Brig paused and listened. His face was tight with confusion, not quite understanding what he was hearing. “You’re," he started. “Everyone? To DI? On who’s authority?" Brig clenched his jaw and took a deep breath. “I’m on my way."

“Notify the Alpha. I’ll be at Duibne’s medical facility." And with that, Brig ran back out the door toward his SUV, his jaw clenching so hard he thought his teeth would shatter.

Charlie’s chest was on fire and the beating of his own heart resonated loudly in his head. The shotgun shells had been filled with part silver and lead pellets. The bitch had appeared out of nowhere and shot him, dead center of his chest, forcing the silver pellets through the Therian-weave. He wasn’t wearing the new prototype that might have been able to resist a blast that close so it tore through the body armor shield and pierced his vulnerable skin, burning it away immediately. His fingers immediately dug into his chest, trying to get at the silver, but it was so far embedded into his skin that he feared it was already in his blood stream.

Death was eminent; Charlie knew this and accepted it. He had kept his promise that he would take a few of them with him and he did, so he let his head drop and looked up at the ceiling of the tunnel, his eyes trying to focus on the pipes running along the walls.

Suddenly Huntington was there, killing the red head. Then his world faded and twisted a little more as he coughed up his own blood.

“Viv he’s gone, just go."

"Fuck you, we are NOT leaving him here."

“I will bring him, Viv. I promise. Just go."

“I’m…pregnant."

Charlie reached out, fingering his Mateba that was lying next to him. Viv was pregnant. The mysterious lover had gotten her pregnant. She couldn’t change, which meant she had been pregnant from almost immediately reaching Nachton. Charlie realized he never had a chance, but she would.

Looking back up, he saw the pipes on the wall. Smelling the air, beyond the taint of his own blood and silver, he could smell methane gas. There were thousands of miles of water and sewage pipes underneath Nachton, but right above them was a pipe with the red words .

Charlie smiled at Viv’s tenacity, but he used his last bit of strength and called out to her to run because she had promised. Lifting his gun, he shot at the pipe ahead of him. It ricocheted off the wall.

“Keep going, Huntington, get her out of here," he gurgled through the blood coming out of his mouth.

Charlie could hear Vivienne’s voice plead with Simon not to leave him behind, but both men knew better. Charlie wouldn’t make it out the tunnels but he could hold off the vampire and give them a running start. Her cries faded as they put distance between them.

“What are you doing, you dirty dog," the vampire sneered as her head swiveled back into its right position. “Shooting me, with your pathetic bullets."

Charlie reached with his free hand and struggled to rotate the moon clip past the silver bullets, to the money makers. Aiming as best he could, he shot again at the pipes. The vampire faded into mist and the bullet passed harmlessly through her.

“Stupid, stupid dog."

Squeezing the grip in his hand, Charlie fought against the quickly fading vision and aimed once again for the pipes, this time with the incendiary ammo.

“I’m not aiming for you, you fanged cunt."

The vampire stopped and turned to look behind her, right at the pipes marked GAS. “NO!"

Charlie chuckled as he squeezed off another round, hitting the pipeline and blowing the tunnel, incinerating the vampire as she tried to go ethereal. The ground rumbled and cracked, sending Charlie falling down into the pit as the explosion ripped through the tunnel he was just in, causing the water main to burst, flushing Charlie down the long corridor.

The fire ripped through the tunnels, lapping at their heels as Simon finally got them to the water tank and he jumped into it, taking a large breath, as Viv held onto him tightly. They splashed into the water as the fire above consumed all the oxygen and methane gas, igniting it, blasting upwards, ripping the ground apart and shaking the foundation of streets above them.

Opening his eyes, he looked at Vivienne and realized she had not taken a breath. Her panic and crying was beginning to add to her hysteria and need for air when she began to claw at him. Cupping her face, he pulled her close and kissed her.

Her body relaxed into the kiss and then tensed as he forced her mouth open, his lips separating hers, and blew in a bit of air. Pulling back he looked at her with her wide shocked eyes. In the water her hair untangled and floated around her head like a fanned crown and it did not dull the bright gold rings in her eyes. He nodded at her and she touched her lips. Nodding, she blew out a little air and then pulled him forward.

Simon took Vivienne in his arms and the relief he felt that she was even alive consumed him. He crushed her to him and felt something in him change, open up…he couldn’t explain it, but he knew that she meant something to him, if only as just a friend.

This time she did not resist his kiss, considering what he was offering with it, and she took a bit more of his air. Simon pulled back, but not far, as she reached up and touched her lips again. He never thought he’d get to kiss her again and definitely not under these conditions, but he took what he could get. Smiling he held a finger out and swam up to the surface and looked out. The tunnels had caved in and were destroyed. They’d have to figure out a way to climb through the debris to get further down the line, away from the epicenter of the explosion. The air was thick with smoke, but reaching out; he could hear voices from above ground.

/Simon…I need you/ he heard clearly in his mind. He swam back down to Viv.

Viv needed more air, and the air above would only suffocate her slowly, so he pulled her close again, her arms easily encircling his neck, and he kissed her, giving her a little more air. Only this time he let the kiss linger, that was until she pushed against his shoulders.

/Can you hear me?/ he sent to her as he pulled back.

Viv gave him a strange look and nodded. /Why can I hear you now?/

Simon shook his head. /We’ll talk about it later, we need to leave./

They were in a large water runoff tank that had filled with more water and debris. Pulling her with him, he searched the tank, looking for an opening when he came across the impossible. Viv grabbed at his arms, pointing ahead of him.

It was her Charlie.

Simon swam toward him and grabbed the young man. His face was void of blood, but it only accented the deep gouges and burns on his face, as well as his torn chest. If he wasn’t dead now, he would be in moments. He swam toward his body and grabbed him, pulling the three of them to the surface.

/Stay low, there’s a lot of smoke./ They crawled up onto the broken tunnel surface, Charlie, the apparent Sergeant, quickly pulled out of the water.

/Lemme scout ahead a bit./ Viv disappeared into the smoke before he could stop her. Turning, he looked at the Sergeant and opened his eyes. There was a little dilation but not much. Pulling the suit off the young man, he discarded it since it was tattered for the most part.

“Shit," Simon mumbled as he looked at the Sergeant’s wounds. Leaning down, he could not hear the man breathing, so he placed his hands over his torn chest and did CPR until the Sergeant turned his head and coughed weakly. “Good enough," Simon said and then sent out to Viv.

/What do you see?/

/A way out. It’s not as damaged. Can you tell where I am?/

Simon reached out and easily detected her location. Their bond had grown significantly, surpassing the bond he had with Carol but not quite as strong as his bond with Ellis.

/Yeah, on my way./

Looking down at the Sergeant, Simon pulled Charlie’s arms and wrapped one arm around his neck, easily carrying him down the tunnel.

The smoke lessened as they moved closer to Viv’s location until he came upon her and an open manhole. She was standing just behind the dark overcast from the smoke.

“You’ll be ok?"

“Yeah, there’s overcast and shadows from the building. I’ll be fine." The day was drawing to an end anyway, so he had no problem with any sun exposure.

Simon stepped up to the manhole ladder and shifted Charlie to Vivienne before taking several steps up before gunfire rang out again, sending him down the ladder onto his back.

Viv let go of Charlie gently and grabbed Simon, pulling him out of the way.

“Viv? Viv is that you?" a familiar voice called.

Viv stood up and yelled, “Jesus Christ! Shoot first and then ask questions?"

Hammer poked his head into the manhole and looked at Charlie. “Give me the Sergeant," he said quickly.

Simon stood on his own power and pulled at his shirt, no worse for the wear. Simon and Hammer glared at each other as they lifted Charlie up. Once he was up, Hammer called for Vivienne. "Let’s go, Viv."

“What about Simon?"

Simon smiled at her thoughtfulness, securing his safety. He looked at Hammerthynn and winked.

“You have my word, Vivienne," Hammer said tightly.

Vivienne double timed it up the ladder with Simon behind her. The young man Lothias was standing with his rifle at the ready, looking at Simon with cold eyes.

“Sorry about that," he said coldly.

“Sure you are," Simon replied with a grin.

The area was destroyed, the buildings standing barely on their own strength, debris everywhere, and thick smoke plumes rising up into the sky. They were loading Charlie into the SUV when they reeled back at the smell.

“He’s covered in silver," Red said as they piled into the vehicle.

“Assessment, Red?" Hammer asked.

“Honestly," Red said as he pulled on gloves, “I don’t understand how he’s not dead yet. Were you in the water? You guys are soaked."

“I gave him CPR," Simon said quietly and Hammer and the Pipers all stared at him. Even Vivienne.

“You did?" she asked quietly. Simon looked at her and shrugged.

Red continued to check Charlie’s wounds as Vivienne crawled in to look, leaving Hammer and Simon side by side, watching. Marthinus joined them, slipping on gloves and touched the wounds. Red shook his head, “It’s only a matter of time. These pellets and the heat, it melted into him. It’s in his bloodstream."

Viv felt Marthinus turn and look at Simon. She watched as they gave each other knowing looks. “What?" She demanded, “What are you two thinking?"

Marthinus turned to look at Vivienne and said, “We can get the silver out."

“The fuck you can," Red said incredulously. “How?"

“Duibne has something?" Viv asked.

“It’s a prototype made for molecular extraction. Never used it for metals, but the science is the same." Marthinus looked at Hammer. “We’d need to go right now."

Hammer climbed into the Suv and looked at Charlie. “You don’t know it’ll work."

“It will," Simon said from outside the vehicle.

LT climbed into the driver’s side and turned to look at them. “That’s if he survives long enough to get him there. It’s clear in the Industrial district."

“Simon get in," Viv said.

“He’s not getting in," Hammer barked at her, breaking his quiet contemplation.

“Who’s going to let a bunch of werewolves into Duibne, Hammer? I know Marthinus has pull, but you have the leader of the fucking clan standing right there." Viv pointed at Simon as he slipped his hands into his trousers.

/Not even going to ask please?/ he said in her mind.

“Simon, get in already."

Hammer glared at her, his face snarling.

“Be pissed off at me later, Hammer. We don’t have time for this shit."

Simon climbed into the Suv and the Pipers all looked at him, their eyes hard and cold. Red continued looking over Charlie. Suddenly Charlie began to convulse and gasp for air.

“Shiiiit," Red said, “He’s drowning in his own blood." He pushed Simon forward and grabbed the medical kit stowed there and pulled out instruments and tubing to intubate him through his ribcage. “I can’t…" Red started as he sliced into Charlie’s side as their Sergeant ceased to breathe on his own. His last breath was wet and phlegmy, no doubt his lungs filling with his own blood. “Sir he’s, he just won’t make it across town like this."

Viv covered her mouth and felt the tears in her eyes. The other Pipers reacted in their own way. Some silently, some with profanity, but it was clear – Charlie was dead, they just wouldn’t let him die.

Simon leaned forward and looked at Marthinus. “Marthinus? Do you still carry it around with you?"

Viv looked up. “Carry what?"

Marthinus opened up his compression bag and took out a six inch cylinder. He popped the cap and pressed the top of the button and a lethal looking needle slid out slowly. The cylinder had a clear casing, showing a bright red liquid rolling around. Marthinus held it in his hand and looked at the Beta.

“This is Eternity."

“You are not fucking serious!" Hammer yelled at him. “You are not putting that in my Piper!"

Viv reached out and took the cylinder. “You carry around Eternity? From when you were human?"

Viv knew Eternity to be the vampire elixir of youth and also highly addictive. There wasn't much out there about it, not in their world or the human world for the matter. The price was what made it so illicit, but its properties were practically magic.

“It’ll keep him alive long enough to make it to DI," Simon said quietly.

"How do you know that it will even work on us?" Hammer asked. They all looked at Simon and then to Marthinus who remained quiet. "You and I will discuss this at a later date," was all Hammer replied.

LT was driving at a break neck pace through debris and broken streets, occasionally going up on the sidewalk, jostling everyone inside. He yelled from his seat, “You’re not seriously considering that. Charlie wouldn’t want this."

Viv looked at the cylinder and its crimson red life. “How do you know, LT?"

“I just know! He wouldn’t!"

Viv looked at Hammer who was red in the face but looked away, sighing heavily. She looked at the other men, their eyes drawn away from Simon and toward the cylinder. Viv held her hand over Charlie’s chest and readied herself.

“He’s not here to tell us. But we want this for him. I know we do."

Marko reached out and grabbed Viv’s hand, she thought to stop her, but he looked at Charlie and then back at Viv. He nodded. Domingo reached out and then Lewis, Marthinus, and finally Hammer. That Hammer participated said more to Viv than anything. When he called Charlie his Piper, he meant it, through and through, balls to bones. Losing Charlie would not just be a crippling to the Alpha Pipers, it would kill the spirit of the Pipers and Viv knew this. Charlie had been the go-to man, the listener, and the keeper of secrets. He was always there for each and every Piper and still made time for the Research and Development being an integral part of all Piper equipment and upgrades.

Losing Charlie would be devastating. Period.

LT slammed the breaks and put the SUV in park. Finally he turned around and climbed into the back seat to reach them all and put his hand around the cylinder.

“For Charlie," Viv said.

“For Charlie," they all said and plunged the needle deep into Charlie’s heart.


OOC Everyone out


Continues in The Reveal II