When I'm gone... when I'm gone
You're gonna miss me when I'm gone
You're gonna miss me by my hair
You're gonna miss me everywhere
Oh, you're gonna miss me when I'm gone
-Lyrics to 'Cups' performed by Anna Kendrick
Crimson Bonds Part 37
"Broderick," Septum greeted with a wide smile his office door slid open to the Hunter. Rounding his desk, he snickered deeply, "Just who I was hoping to catch up with. Please excuse my being so preoccupied in wrapping things up with seeing the others off for the hunt."
With a warm smile for his long-time employer, the tall young man exchanged a firm handshake with him as he replied, "I understand the reason behind your being distracted. And I'm happy to have the chance to congratulate you in person on the capture of the Hybrid. It's quite the accomplishment, Millers."
The scientist waved his hand, huffing, "Oh, I was not the one to bring him in. Hell, I never so much as spent a day in the field so this victory was a team effort." Patting his accomplice on the back, he exclaimed, "It's high time you and I celebrated!" Slowly raising an eyebrow, he smirked, "That is, after you have had the chance to meet our honored guests in the laboratory."
Blinking widely, Dawson repeated, "Guests? I didn't realize that you were interested in taking in more than our one target."
Septum gestured ahead of them, leading the way while gently pushing his friend to follow close beside him as he explained, "Ah, but as fate would have it, there were in fact two Hybrids all along. Twins brothers, no less. The first I had brought in with the aid of my first handful of Hunters when this whole operation was just getting off the ground nearly two years ago."
Instantly stopping in his tracks, Broderick spun towards the older man brimming with every bit as much anger as shock when his mouth flew open to speak.
"I know!" Millers quickly insisted, hands raised in surrender. "I should have been more forthcoming... especially with the likes of you. However, you cannot deny that I needed to be wise in who I entrusted the information with. Your kind can be very volatile when it comes to Vampires and anything having to do with them. I couldn't risk the wrong person finding out and deciding to have a little... fun at my subject's expense."
There was a great deal of truth to that. Even Dawson had to admit that there were many... more than most... who would have gladly seen there being two Hybrids as an excuse for an 'accident' to befall the first. He would never have made it more than a couple of weeks, if any of those individuals had gotten their shot at him.
Unable to help getting a little jab in, the attractive Hunter commented, "You didn't hold back from Lucie." To the enlarging eyes and slack jaw that came over his boss, he said, "She slipped up yesterday when we ran into each other. The way she continued along the catwalks only led to the lab."
Humming, Septum relaxed a bit as he nodded, "Yes. Very observant. But then, you always were." He puffed out a sharp burst of air and shook his head, "Well, you have my word that she was only informed of him recently after she had stumbled upon evidence that linked to my Pet."
Pet. That was the first time Broderick had ever heard the term come from his employer. For some reason, it left an unsettled feeling in his stomach, but he let it go.
Deflating, Millers frowned, "I understand if you are still disappointed in me for not telling you sooner, my friend. But I hope that you can accept that I did not act as such out of disrespect or distrust in you."
Nearly frantic to keep in good standing, he shared, "In fact, with the exception of those few who were part of the capture and Lucie, you are the only one outside of Berg's team that knows now. There will eventually be others, but not until I can instill the same amount of confidence in whomever I share this with."
Again, Dawson was hard-pressed to find any reason to resent the Boss in his choices. Had their roles been reversed, the Hunter couldn't say that he would have conducted himself any differently. And besides that, he was not about to do anything to offend the man in charge that had become as close to a brother to him as their arrangement allowed.
The corner of his lip smirking, he nodded firmly, "Alright. I can live with that." His curiosity piqued once again, he requested, "So, lead the way to the lab."
* * * * * *
"I cannot begin to thank you enough for this," Wufei sighed as he and Rosshe shared a one-armed hug before Dorothy descended upon him for a full-on embrace.
The Egyptian Vampire reassured, "No need to thank us, Chang. If anything, we're all relieved to be able to help in some way. This also gives us the relief of knowing that your younglings are safe by having them stay here with us."
Nodding, the Chinese Infected stepped back from Catalonia as the remainder of his hosts moved in. "Are you sure that you don't want some of us to head back with you and wait out the registration upload?" Trent asked, the deep frown of worry never leaving his face. "Alex, Mueller and I are pretty experienced in holding our own out there."
Heero smirked, "We've never doubted that. But we really can't do much more than sit on our hands and wait for our location to be tracked and planted into the worldwide database. Once we've confirmed with Crystal that we're locked in, we'll be able to go on with the search."
It was a carefully crafted plan. Once the upload was complete and all was on the level to the individuals monitoring the reports for the government, the Vampires could transport throughout the world without raising any flags.
But they had to be in their home for one last time before their family was whole again. The very last thing that they needed to complicate their situation was to bring in the attention from the likes of Senator Nancy McAdams... thus potentially endangering the Human-Vampire Treaty's newest appended laws.
Red tape that needed to be cut away before Heero and Wufei could dive into looking for their Chosen as they so desperately wished they could.
Knowing that the time to leave was soon upon them, the scaly Infected let out a soft sigh and left the others to check on his children. Not having to go far, he found the whole hoard together in the massive first living room of the Egyptian palace. Spread out amongst the ornate furniture and red-carpeted floor, the youngsters all looked up at the same time when their father entered the room.
With a sad smile, Wufei lowered himself onto a knee and opened his arms as the kids charged him. Chuckling softly as he pulled as many of them in as he could, he kissed the heads around. "I love all of you, my hearts," he whispered thickly. "Thank you for being so quick and accepting of this temporary move."
Sniffling, Rosie rested her hands on his bent knee as she questioned, "Are Mommy 'n Uncle Duo really gonna be okay, Daddy? I saw the monsters take 'em, but nothin' else after that."
Chang's chest hurt with the loss of not being able to stay with his youngest to help her with her nightmares. Pulling her in for another tight hug, he promised softly, "Your Uncle Heero, Uncle Trowa and I are going to do everything we can to bring them back home, little Bud. For now, I just need all of you to be good for Rosshe, Dorothy, Trent and their family. I'll be back to check in on you any chance I get. Okay?"
The head pressed against his shoulder nodded with the others standing by.
Like any good father, the Chinese immortal took the time to embrace and kiss each of his charges while offering all the encouragement he could to ease their fears. Coming to Ian at the end of the pack, he grinned as he greeted quietly, "Hey."
Of all the kids, this was the one Wufei was particularly heart-broken over. Easily the most distraught, his son was still coping with having to watch his mother's capture while battling with the unwarranted survivor's guilt that came with it.
Kissing the youngster's temple and holding him fast, the Chinese Vampire commented in hardly a breath, "I'm so damned proud of you, Peanut. You gave us a great head start in this search thanks to your acting as a witness. This was meant to be a surprise, but when this is all over, Treize and Lady Une have been planning to make you an honorary Preventer. You'll be the youngest agent to ever exist."
His dampened eyes growing, Ian uttered, "Really? I-I helped that much?" Smiling, his Dad hummed an affirmative and nodded. There was a dramatic shift in the boy's demeanor in light of the revelation now that he felt as though he had actually been of assistance to the investigation. Sucking in his bottom lip, he latched onto the scaly neck before him as his eyelids squeezed closed.
Gently lowering the future agent that he had scooped up, Wufei came to stand before his eldest four. He paused to take a breath and told them, "We'll be back with Aunt Midi once the upload is complete so that she can give you a few dozen hands if you need them to look after your brothers and sisters." Clearing his throat, he frowned, "I am sorry to have to leave you to this on your own for now."
Isabel waved at her damp eyes, shaking her head as she closed the distance between them. "We've got this, Dad. Don't worry about anything here," she replied brokenly, her arms looping around Wufei. Biting her lip, she urged softly, "You just bring Mom and Uncle Duo home." As he held onto her just as fiercely, the scaly Vampire choked back a sob.
Whimpering at her turn with her Dad, Carol breathed by his ear, "Be careful out there." Chang winked with a watery grin as he stepped back from her. He rubbed the top of her prickly-haired heed and give her a firm nod that he would head her words.
"And you boys," he started as he shifted towards his first and second born sons. "Once I feel it's safe enough, I'll be back to collect you both to help in the search. I know that it's killing the both of you to be sitting back when your mother is missing. That's why I am making an exception to the rules for this case."
Elation flooding their eyes, the brothers' opened their mouths to speak excitedly when their father raised a finger in warning. "Only when I say and not a moment sooner," he said sternly. "If either of you insist that I take you sooner, that will be the end of it. Understood?"
Charles and John chorused together, "Understood!"
Neither one of them had a thing more to say, only proving their comprehension of the threat. For as badly as they wanted to get involved, there would be no risk taken that might take away the opportunity given to them.
Smirking, Wufei responded, "Very good." That said, he tugged both of his boys in for a quick squeeze being ever mindful of their 'grown-up' ways to not express themselves through physical gestures of affection with him too often. "Look out for each other while I'm away," was ordered as the young Infected reluctantly pulled apart from him.
"We have to go, brother," Heero's voice called urgently, though there was no masking the sadness dripping from it.
Internally battling his emotions to keep the tears back, Chang gave his children a small and encouraging smile. Turning on his heels, he made his way to the doorway where Yuy and the Bartons were waiting for him while his little ones called out their sentiments of, 'Love you, Daddy,' 'Good luck and be careful,' 'You too, Uncle Heero and Uncle, Trowa!'
The four eldest members of the Clan waved with forced grins as they latched onto each other's arms. Bathed in colorful light, they were gone in the next blink to officially begin the mission.
* * * * * *
"Look alive, everyone," Septum announced with a loud clap of his hands as he entered the column of holding cells. A smug grin on his face, he informed, "I've brought along company and he has been anxious to meet all of you."
Only taking half a thought to the scientist and his wide-eyed accomplice, the four prisoners remained sitting in their cell corners or on the edges of their beds while raising their heads.
Holding out a hand at either side of himself, Septum smirked, "To our right, we have Solo and his Companion, Celeste is to the left. And we have our newest arrivals, Solo's brother- Duo- and I am sure that you already know the Vampire across from him."
The tall, handsome young man with him froze with a soft gasp when he took in the redhead hugging her legs to her chest as she remained perched in the far corner of her prison. "A-Anna Yuy-Chang," he managed in a breath. The moment their gazes met, the Infected blinked at the awe she found in his stare.
Laughing, the researcher slapped his guest on the back. "Yes!" he cheered. "As one who seemed to have taken a keen interest in Wufei's background, I thought that you might be a little star-struck when you met her. It has been a surprise that I have been looking forward to revealing to you in particular, friend."
Focused back on the prisoners, Septum gestured to the living with him and introduced, "Everyone, this is Broderick. One of my best Hunters. He is going to be one of the few fortunate amongst my team who will be entrusted with standing in as a guard to you whenever the need should arise. And since I will be granting him full access to the laboratory and the holdings rooms, expect to see a lot more of him during your stay here."
Taken aback by that last statement, Dawson finally peeled his attention from Anna to look back at his Boss. Snickering, Millers held up a swipe card to every room inside the lab as he shrugged, "It is the very least that I can do for you after all of your dedication and successful work out in the field. When we leave here, I will give you the number combinations to the entrances of the laboratory that require the extra measure of security."
Reverently gripping the white card, the Hunter lowered his head in an appreciative bow as he could not find the words to speak just then. Setting the offering into the pocket of his khaki shorts, he set it upon himself to guard it with his life, considering the prospect that it provided for him.
Sighing, Septum folded his arms across his chest as he scanned the four creatures behind the glass walls surrounding them. "My, but they do make an attractive lot, don't they?" he asked. "Years to get to this point, countless resources used up and now here we sit with the two most powerful beings in the entire world."
"Why are the others here, then?" Broderick questioned, gesturing to the female immortals. Ever the thinker, he commented, "Other than the obvious excuse of needing collateral over the Hybrids, there must be another reason for your holding them. Then which cells they were placed in must have been picked out deliberately."
The Boss shook his head in amusement, "Oh, you are good. To my shock, even Lucie had missed that little detail enough to not question why Solo and Anna's rooms are linked together while Celeste and Duo are in the same block." Tapping his own temple, he winked and explained, "I very well couldn't risk the Hybrids using their ability to turn their food sources while they recover from their experiments."
At the same instant, the inmates' eyes grew with startled gasps. And the brothers looked to their cell block mates. So Anna and Celeste had been reduced to nothing more than blood donors for them when the treatments and torture session became too much for them.
For the first time since he and his sister had arrived in Septum's control, Duo felt a bolt of terror rattle his entire being so rampantly that it threatened to bring him to his knees. Not only was he about to experience first-hand what his twin had endured for many years, but Anna would be a forced participant... as well as his child by default.
Swallowing roughly, Solo lowered his gaze from the gold-and-blue eyes that he had just stared into longer than he ever had following the redhead's appearance in his 'home.' However, there had been a glimmer of sympathy and almost regret for her that she managed to catch onto before his head drooped as his stoic mask fell back into place.
That flicker made Anna shudder. Biting her lip, she studied the floor at her feet.
"Well, I would love to stay and chat longer, but today is yet another big day," Millers grinned darkly to the braided Hybrid. "Doctor Berg is nearly ready for your first round of tests. We have a lot to do if we are going to bring you up to speed to where we left off with your brother. Expect these next weeks to be... difficult."
Duo remained physically disinterested... but a couple beads of sweat that dampened his brow betrayed his growing panic. This was, after all, one of his greatest fears- to have to see his existence through Solo's eyes. Only there did not seem to be a way out of it now.
Broderick was once again distracted as he went back to watching Anna, who in turn had returned her awareness to him as well. Nearly jumping when his Boss patted his shoulder, the Hunter reeled around to meet Septum's smiling face. "Come along, then," the scientist suggested, a hand lifted towards the corridor guiding the way back to the lab.
Ushering his friend back out, Millers said, "I'll take you to the staff that I already have serving as guards so that they can brief you on your new responsibilities. Your first shift starts in the morning. Once we have finished with Duo by this evening, you will have free reign to do as you please throughout every facility the base has to offer along with this."
Torn between wanting the training and wishing to stay behind to talk to the prisoners, Dawson's logic outweighed his personal desires and so he went along with the researcher. There was plenty of time to get to know the others better. Until then, he would bide his time and continue to keep his employer happy by obeying his every whim.
Still, he was unable to help peering back over his shoulder for one last look at Anna. Somehow, he wasn't at all surprised to find her already gazing back at him as well. They held each other's focus until the Hunter disappeared behind the sliding doors.
Frowning deeply, the Irish Infected murmured to herself, "Why do I get the feeling I know him?"
There was no time for her to dwell over the matter before the doors swished open again... only this time to two heavily armed guards with malice on their smirking faces as they rushed in. Without saying a thing, they reached Duo's cell as the first soldier took hold of his remote to bring a paralyzing jolt of energy through his collar.
Screaming out in pain, the braided immortal collapsed into a curled up, trembling ball. Pressing her hands against her wall, Anna's eyes filled with tears as she cried, "DUO! I love you, little brother! Don't let them get to you!"
"Go someplace where they can't hurt you," Celeste urged as she lowered herself to her knees to be nearly eye-to-eye with the Hybrid convulsing on the other side of her cell. "It works for Solo. Just go beyond here. They would never risk destroying you when you're clearly someone they want."
Through the searing pain, Maxwell caught his fellow Companion's message. Eyes clenched closed as he groaned and writhed, he forced himself to follow her advice. He thought of the one and only thing that could take away everything around him even as hands gripped his arms to drag him away...
...Heero.
* * * * * *
Night had fallen over Virginia. But while most of the residences were darkened and motionless as the livings settled down for the evening, the grounds around a particular encircled lot was practically alive with black-clad men and women crawling about on their stomachs.
"Closing in on the mansions," was whispered over the com. "There are at least twenty spread out around the front perimeter and we're taking the back."
A second Hunter murmured back, "Just move as quick and quietly as you can. No one jump until we can all move at the same time. I'll start the countdown from three in five minutes."
Repeated dozens of times over was the affirmative, 'Copy."
Inside the darkened Yuy household, the surviving original Vampires of the Clan sat together at a round table in the main living room. For hours, there was little talk amongst them and they rarely rose to pace the area for something to do. Everyone was far too lost in their own thoughts to have much to say while they all stared intently on the telephone sitting in the middle of all of them.
Only a few yards away, a young man began announced, "On one. Three... Two..."
The phone let out a shrill ring that had the four Vampires jumping to their feet. Practically falling over for the receiver, Heero pressed it to his ear as he greeted, "Hello? Crystal?"
"One!" came the bellow as the mass of Hunters raised their voices in battle cries as they shot to their feet and charged the three homes. Weapons raised and ready, the surge crashed through the first floor windows and knocked down the doors to take the interior in a fury.
For those who claimed Heero and Duo's home, they froze when their pinpoint focus of their scopes lights fell in narrowed beams on an empty table with four overturned chairs... and a phone receiver resounding the dial tone over the line where it lay free of its charging unit.
"All clear," came the series of reports over the team's earpieces.
Throwing down his gun, the organizer in charge screamed in rage, "Goddamn it! Someone get a hold of the Boss! They slipped away this time, but we're not returning until we find them!"
And so a new hunt had officially begun.
TBC...
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