Monq explained that temporary quarters were being arranged and invited them to sit. The vampire said something among themselves and then cautiously advanced to pull five of the chairs toward a corner of the room. The Order personnel remained in a huddle on the other side of the room. The two groups eyed each other, except that what Ram was doing with Javier could better be described as glaring. No one on either side could miss that Javier was the target of a warning still in effect.
Elora turned to her little group of reluctant hosts and looked between Monq and Sol. "We need to get Baka here right away. He should take lead on this project. I wouldn't be surprised to learn that he speaks French. In fact I'd bet on it."
"What do you mean lead?" Monq seemed agitated. "He's not a scientist."
"No. He's not, but what does that have to do with it?"
"Well, obviously, the study of these creatures falls under my purview as head of science."
"Monq. Their principal value to us is not...
"You're actually thinking they've just volunteered to sit still and be your lab rats?" Elora shook her head. "When I got them to agree to stay and help clean up the mess, I meant that they need to actually clean up the mess. They need to be helping Baka's people find the infected and administer the vaccine until the last one is cured."
"What?" Monq was starting to look as petulant as a child being threatened with having a new toy confiscated. He looked at Sol for support. "Tell her she's off on a tangent. These vampire are mine."
Storm jumped in. "No. She's right. She's absolutely right. We don't need them for a vaccine. We already have it." He glanced at Elora. "Thanks to her.
"If they're willing to help, they could make short work of this because the va... the infected can't hurt them. They're naturally immune and, I'm guessing, just as quick and strong." He glanced over at the vampire who were practically huddled together. "They've already shown us 'hard to kill' with a demonstration that was sort of disturbing. To me at least, speaking in my capacity as hunter retired."
Monq narrowed his eyes at Storm. "You know your opinion loses all value when speaking on behalf of a former teammate."
"And why is that?"
Monq looked from Storm to Ram to Elora and back again before snorting. "Who in the known world doesn't know that you're going to back each other? Always. No matter what."
"That's crazy. Why do you think that?" Storm was calm, but baffled.
Sol stepped in on Monq's defense. "I can answer that. Name one time when one member of B Team has failed to back up another member."
Storm and Ram stared at each other for a minute and then smiled like they were sharing a treasure trove of private jokes. Ram grinned at Elora, put his arm over her shoulder, and pulled her toward him so that he could kiss her on the temple.
Storm turned back to Monq looking unperturbed, like a person on the higher ground of an argument. "I can't think of an example offhand, but that doesn't mean she's not in the right."
Monq opened his mouth to speak, but Sol held up his hand to stop him. Staring down at the floor, he crossed his arms then pressed his thumb into the indent below his lower lip as he so often did when he was contemplating a decision. Everyone knew when he was decided because he transmitted strong visual cues. He dropped his arms, straightened, and looked at Elora like he was about to give an order.
"You call Baka. I'll call Simon and get him to prioritize transport."
Monq threw up his hands in exasperation.
Sol tried to placate him by saying, "You can have them for brief periods when they're not needed elsewhere, but only on a volunteer basis. You are to do nothing that might endanger this association. They're doing us a favor and we're not going to forget that. Don't start thinking of them as captives. These aliens can go anywhere, anytime, and can't be confined."
Monq ran his gaze over the little group. "That's the point and none of you seem to be getting it. I don't need them because they're vampire. Like you said, we already have a vaccine. I need them because I'm trying to develop an Interdimensional Breach Defense System." His voice was getting louder and higher as he spoke, but it seemed to go with the shade of lavender he was wearing on his face. "And this, dear friends, was a very fine demonstration of Interdimensional Breach. It puts an exclamation point on why this work has become crucial.
"How nice for us that they happen to be friendly - even helpful - THIS TIME. What if they weren't?"
Again, everybody in the group looked over at the vampire. Again the vamps raised their eyebrows because the fact that they were being discussed was undeniable.
Sol woke Simon to talk to him. At the same time, Elora talked to Baka, who had also been sound asleep.
"It's a breakthrough for you. Well, for all of us, but you're in charge of the Inversion. You've got to get here soon as you can. Sol's talking to Simon right now about getting you on a plane. If you want to bring Heaven, he'll get it cleared."
"Of course I want to bring her, but she's neck deep in recategorizing dead case files as possible Interdimensional Breach Events. If it pans out and we need her, she'll figure out a way to extricate herself from the project. Count on just me for now."
"Your call. Either way, tell her I said hello. See you soon. And hurry."
Elora walked over to Ram who was still glaring at Javier. She pressed her body into his side and put her lips on one of his perfectly shaped elven ears. "You wrecked the table, hero. I'll have to protect you from Farnsworth because she's going to want to blister your gorgeous behind. And nobody gets to touch your gorgeous behind except me." She nibbled on his ear as he smiled at Javier with eyes burning like embers with pride of possession. She's all mine. It's not easy to maintain a glare while smiling, but Ram managed it brilliantly.
When Sol got the call that the room was ready, he instructed Glen to invite the little band of merry vampire to accompany them. Sol and Glen led the way. The vamps were followed by Storm, Ram, and Elora with Monq and Litha trailing behind more in the capacity of observers than anything else.