Now we've got holes in our heats
Yea, we've got holes in our lives
We've got holes... We've got holes...
But we carry on
-Lyrics to 'Holes' performed by Passenger
Crimson Bonds Part 44
"What... is it?"
That was the million dollar question surrounding the sharp blade with jagged, saw-like teeth running along its edges. A splintered end to the thick metal suggested that it had broken off when it was in the process of chewing through the wall that John had extracted it from.
Looking to Charles across the table that he and the rest of the searching party had surrounded, Catherine shook her head as she answered, "I'm not sure exactly." She smiled, "But you came to the right person to try and figure that out."
Gingerly gripping the blade between her fingers at its center, the Companion turned it before her eyes for a closer inspection, commenting, "It's obviously part of a weapon or tool that was custom made since there is no serial number to identify it. And the metal is platinum, rare for anything manufactured at high production levels."
Heero, Wufei and Trowa observed the discussion from the wide-screen of the radio transmitter propped up on the table. Leaning closer to the laptop monitor from their whereabouts, Yuy inquired, "Do you think you'll be able to track down where it might have come from, Catherine?"
The redheaded immortal smirked, "Well, I wouldn't be the weapons designer that I am today if I did not keep my finger on the pulse of what was going in on the world of creative designers for the field." She continued to turn the finding as she promised, "I won't let up in my search for who is behind this little gem. Something like this could only have come from the high-end sellers."
Gazing up at her friends on the screen once more, Bloom-Rosen beamed, "Don't worry. I'll get to the bottom of this. It's a hell of a good start in the right direction for a change." She winked to the young men across from her, adding, "One that would not have been possible without your boys, Wufei."
John and Charles blinked widely, ducking their heads, Clearing their throats, they smiled out of embarrassment. Chuckling deeply, the scaly Infected nodded, "I am well aware of that and could not be prouder of them."
"Now for the news on your houses," Catherine announced. "It was a good thing that you thought ahead enough to have us store the historic, irreplaceable items before they were taken. They are still locked away in a safe place. As for the estates themselves, Treize is going to be placing a call with the insurance company to have three new developments built."
Frowning sadly, she said sincerely, "I know that it won't be able to replace the mansions that you called home all of these years, but you'll be able to make new memories in the houses that will be waiting for you when all of this is over when you bring Duo and Anna back."
Trowa let out a deep sigh of relief along with his cousins and grinned, "My dear, if we never express how much we appreciate everything that you and your family do for us-"
Her raised hand cutting him off, the weapons expert giggled, "Oh, enough of that. It's only our pleasure to be of any assistance we can. Were the tables turned, we know that you would never hesitate to be there for us." Waving, she urged, "Now, I have work to do and you need to keep yourselves on the move until we have something solid to go on."
"Right," Chang agreed, shifting his focus back onto his boys. "The two of you did a great job tonight," he praised. "However you wish to proceed from here is up to you, but remember to keep checking in with me so that I have a good idea to where you always are. As soon as we have a clear directive on where we need to be, you'll be contacted immediately."
Moving as one, the young Infecteds gave smart salutes as they chorused, "Got it, Dad."
Wufei laughed, shaking his head, "At ease, you two." Sobering, he told them, "Be careful." At that, the connection to the call was ended and the monitor went back.
Peering over to his younger brother, John suggested, "I suppose that we just stay low together for the time being. There are a few other locations that might have been seized we could check out, but they're riskier locations to visit this early in the game."
Always keeping a few steps behind the Hunters chasing down the primary team. That was the goal. To rush that did pose the added danger of being intercepted by their enemies that might still be holed up in those area for their own scavenger searches.
"Yea, I wouldn't mind taking a short break after what we had to go through just now," Charles admitted. An immediate thought coming to him, he faced his older brother to smirk, "You know... I could let you in on a little bit of fun I had not long before all of this happened."
John raised an eyebrow, muttering, "Why do I get the feeling I am going to be sorry for going along with this?"
* * * * * *
Broderick tentatively turned around when his charge informed him that it was safe to. Finding the Vampire in the pale green gown sitting on the edge of the examination table, he was silently relieved that she hadn't attempted to pull anything.
Hands folded and resting on her lap, Anna asked, "Sleep well last night?"
An attempt to test his conscience. The Hunter could see right through that. "Like a log," he smirked without hesitation. "And I have been able to ever since you and your braided freak of a brother were brought in."
Her own smile growing, the redhead replied in a cheerful, "Glad to hear it. You'll need your rest for when Wufei, Heero, Trowa and the army they're surely mounting get here."
Shrugging, she put on a frown and sighed, "But it wouldn't be enough to best them, I'm sorry to say. You and everyone here will be captured or killed when that time comes."
Oh, it would be a fight. Dawson couldn't deny that. However, her family still had the uphill struggle in finding them first. When and if they did, then it would be decided which species between living and Vampire was truly the superior race.
With a lopsided grin, the Infected suggested, "You know... if you had any sense of reason and were smart enough to help me and my family escape, I'd put in a good word for you with the others. I could keep you alive."
Broderick laughed, "Not a chance in hell would I ever help you! For one, I would never trust the word of a bloodsucker. But more than that, I support Septum and his cause in getting to the bottom of those Hybrids. They're far too powerful to be loose in the world."
Raising an eyebrow, Anna asked, "Are you trying to convince me that you're in the right or yourself? You don't strike me as the cold, calculated type that most Hunters are. Just the fact that we're having any conversation at all is proof enough of that."
His feathers furling at that, Dawson glared heatedly at his charge as he snapped, "You don't know a goddamned thing about me to make that assumption! I've killed over a dozen of your kind over the years and haven't felt the least bit of regret for it! You're nothing more than monsters just waiting for the opportunity to strike on an innocent living!"
"Some of us, yes!" the Irish Vampire yelled back, her own frustration getting the better of her with her eyes narrowing. "But there are bad seeds in both our kinds! Even you can't deny that!"
Completely taken aback by the admission, the Hunter froze. Wide-eyed, his jaw opened and closed soundlessly in his struggle to find his voice at first. Quickly regaining his composure, his ire returned as he barked out in a sharp laugh, "Ha! You just confirmed what I've always known!"
Folding his arms across his muscular chest, he smirked smugly, "And that whole act of helping out those Holocaust victims was just a ploy by your family to use them-"
That was as far as the living was able to get before he his throat was grasped by a cold hand that gripped onto it, lifting him from the ground in a swift moment that left him as breathless as the constriction of his windpipe. Another hand pressed his right wrist against the wall that he had been slammed against, preventing him from reaching into his pocket for the remote to the collar around the prisoner's neck.
And staring up at him were those gold-and-blue eyes that were every bit as fiery as the hair surrounding his captor's head. In one fell swoop, the Hunter had become the prey before he even knew he was in danger.
With his heart pounding so hard that the sound flooded his ears, Broderick failed to swallow as he had wished and waited in wide-eyed terror for the sinking of the fangs that had grown in to pierce his skin for the death blow.
"How the hell do you know about that?" Anna demanded in a breath past her sharp teeth. "My family and I hardly ever discuss that time."
Try as he might to speak, Dawson struggled to get little more than sharp gulps of air past her fingers that continued to suspend him from the floor.
At the desperate, wheezing sounds that came from his efforts to make a reply of any way, he was slowly lowered back down so that he could stand on shaky feet. "Y-you don't talk about it because you hurt those people, didn't you?" he pressed against his better judgment, voice thin and strained.
It was the Vampire's turn look horrified by the suggestion. "Of course not!" she managed to yell, roughly releasing her hands from him and storming back to the examination table. As her guard coughed and rubbed at his throat, she propped herself back on the edge of the padded surface and stared out ahead into her deep thoughts.
Momentarily unable to act beyond his recovery, Broderick reeled over the drastic shift in what had just transpired. In the blink of an eye, he had been engaged in conversation and literally dangling above what could have been his demise... only to be released and left to his devices again.
Fangs retracting, Anna waited for her company to catch his breath before she shook her head, "Those experiences... they're sacred." Biting her lip, she lowered her blank gaze to the floor and whispered, "They were set aside and never shared out of respect..."
Dawson once again had his footing enough to right himself as he watched his charge curiously over her choice of words. Sacred. That one particularly struck him. Then, to his amazement, there was a shimmer in the Infected's eyes when she finally gazed back up at him.
"Who had been hurt for that information?" Yuy-Chang requested so quietly that the Hunter had to read her lips for confirmation to what he thought he had heard. Gaining a little more of her voice, she commented, "None of the survivor's descendants would have given away our identities and the roles we played on their own free will. Who was in the wrong place at the wrong time during your search for my family?"
Frowning at that, the living responded, "No one was hurt for the information. It came from a girl who became loose lipped when she shared her bed with one of our researchers."
Anna took a deep breath and proceeded to chew on the inside of her cheek. After a brief moment of consideration, she said, "Look deeper into that. I highly doubt that's what happened to her. And I would like to know who it was so that when I'm out of here I can notify her family for closure to what I'm sure ended badly for her."
This was a turn of events that Broderick never saw coming. Though he wanted to defend what he had been informed, he also knew Barnett... and his temper that Septum struggled to keep in line. Somehow, the Hunter had always believed there was more to the story that they had been telling everyone when it came to how the journal came into their possession.
"When you find out the name of the people we freed in whatever documentation your boss uncovered, I'll be able to figure out who was killed for it," the Irish immortal stated. "And as for your theory that we were somehow using the humans we rescued, feel free to go through whatever is out there to back it up. But I promise you our next conversation on this topic is going to be very different."
The clicking of heeled feet approaching had the party inside the medical room spinning towards the door as it opened to the white-robed examiner.
Just as the prisoner had ordered, the physician was a woman. Her shoulder blade-length mouse brown hair pulled back in a short ponytail, she raised her head from reading over the notes on the chart in her possession to adjust the dark-rimmed glasses on the bridge of her nose and smiled, "Well, this is an honor to meet a medical marvel."
Stepping into the room so that the door could close behind her, she shook her head in wonder, "Everything from the blood work drawn at your visit with Doctor Berg came back with normal, living results. Somehow pregnancy must restore most of your bodily functions to support the babies you carry."
'I could have told you that,' the Vampire snorted to herself. But she wasn't about to make her captors' research any easier on them by coming out with everything about her unique condition.
Now reminded of the very real threat that his charade posed, Broderick moved closer to the side of the table with his hand removing the remote from the pocket of his jeans. Making sure that Yuy-Chang saw what he was carrying, he turned towards her head as the examiner readied stirrups at the Infected's feet in a surprising urge to give her some sense of privacy.
Brining a stool closer to her point of interest, the young woman informed her patient, "Just so we can get better acquainted, my name is Doctor Adodera Gloria and I've been assigned to carry out the routine appointments leading up to the your delivery."
"Charmed," the Infected deadpanned, leaning back and propping her upper body onto her arms resting against the table. "I take it that you're here for the standard PAP test that would be required about now."
She audibly groaned when the doctor held up the equipment confirming her suspicions. Lowering herself down as her feet were assisted into the stirrups that were set up, she sighed, "Let's get the show on the road, then."
In fact, the deed was carried out quickly and without any discomfort when Gloria called, "All done." Setting the samples that she'd collected aside, she pushed herself back to allow the Vampire enough space to sit herself back up and lower the bottom of the gown to cover herself once more.
There was still a surprisingly calming demeanor from the brunette as she rose and moved for the cabinets at the opposite side of the room. Were it not for the collar around her neck or the burly man standing by her, Anna would have forgotten that she was being held in captivity as opposed to a regular visit to a physician.
Septum and Berg must have given a very stern warning that their prize of a captive was to be treated well.
Bowing her head, Adodera held up a familiar device as she grinned, "Now onto more pleasant things. Let's listen in for those babies' heartbeats."
Dawson took in the shimmer that filled the Infected's eyes when she nodded excitedly before lowering herself back down. Forcing his focus to stare back at the wall ahead of him, he did his best to not hear the very real sound of tiny existences that were only beginning.
Instead, he focused on how he was going to get his hands on that girl's diary.
* * * * * *
"It's just terrible to have to see you with that damned tracker," Senator Rose Clarkson complained into the teacup that she had raised to her lips. Taking a quick drink, she frowned, "How the likes of Nancy McAdams was able to win that vote is still beyond me."
Treize smiled kindly, "I appreciate the support, friend. But, it was the will of the powers that be, so my kind has complied as expected. Perhaps one day we will be able to appeal the law once enough time has passed and there is little to no proof of improvement between the old ways of the registration and the new."
Against the backdrop of a lovely, clear day beyond the windows of the quaint cafe that they had ducked into during the Senate's lunch session, the long-time allies took the opportunity of the nearly empty space to discuss politics. And for Khushrenada, it was another opportunity to feel out who he felt he could trust and who to be suspicious of.
Tilting his head, the Vampire Councilman questioned, "Since the law was passed, any whispering as to who the swing votes against might be?" He added with a smirk, "I know how well you catch wind of the gossip that spreads when no one is thought to be around."
Rose waved an aging hand, giggling, "Oh, Treize, you do know me." Throwing a cautionary glance around to be certain that the few patrons and wait staff around were not within range to hear, she leaned close to her friend. Blinking, the Infected followed suit to lean towards her as she whispered, "From what little I was able to gather, Senators Gavin and Representative Krutza might be part of the flip in the vote."
A chill running down his back, Khushrenada stretched back against his chair. If that were true, it would be... most upsetting, considering-
"Considering how they have always spoken so kindly of Vampires throughout their days in office, it came as such a shock to me," Clarkson spoke through the immortal's thought.
After days of coming up short in coming up with any potential leads, Treize trained himself to not show any physical reaction to the startling find beyond the raising of his eyebrows. "Yes, indeed," he managed to draw out calmly. Not only had those particular women openly supported the Infected, they had been close enough to their Council that they had been frequent guests in their homes.
If what had been passed around were true about Gavin and Krutza, it was an ultimate slap in the face.
Looking to her watch, Rose sighed, "I suppose that we best start heading back to the Capitol. These breaks never seem to last long enough." She got to her feet, smiling warmly, "But, as always, it was a pleasure spending some one-on-one time with you, my dear."
Khushrenada rounded the table to hook her arms into his, grinning, "And this was every bit a pleasure for me, Rose."
Not only was it an enjoyable outing for him, but a fruitful one as well that just might initiate a break in the investigation.
* * * * * *
Later that evening...
"I can't believe that you've snuck out like this before," Charles snapped under his breath as he leaned towards his brother in the booth that they were currently occupying. Glaring heatedly at the Infected across from him. "What would Mom and Dad have done if anything happened to you out here?"
John had by no means expected his sibling to be thrilled in learning of his adventures out in the world.
However, there was also little hesitance from his elder when he was offered a spare pair of their Uncle Duo's contact lenses to conceal the gold rings around his irises. "Look, I was careful," the dark-haired replied defensively. "And obviously I pulled it off since I was never caught."
Gesturing to the cafe around them, he threw in, "As you can see, no one noticed anything different about us. Besides, we can use this to our advantage to help us in our search in case we need to blend in with the livings." Unable to help himself, he smirked, "And you can't hide the fact that it is pretty exciting to be this close to the humans."
Slowly pushing himself back until he rested against the soft cushion behind him, Charles groused, "Fine. You got me there."
Raising a finger, he warned, "But when this hunt is over, no more going behind our parent's backs. With every measure they have gone through to protect us, the least you could do is show them the respect they deserve by talking to them-"
Back a few seating areas from them, the chime of the bell hanging over the front door rang at the arrival of a new patron followed by a voice calling out to interrupt the Vampire, "John? Is that you?"
A sharp breath hitching in his throat, the younger brother's eyes enlarged. He craned his head to the side so that he could have a clear shot of the young woman standing only a few feet away.
Instantly melting at the sight of the beautiful blonde, he breathed, "I-it's you..."
TBC...
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