She moved her queen. “Checkmate.”
First, his stomach did a discomfiting, little flippy thing when she called him her angel. Second, he had to process the astounding news that he’d lost a game of chess for the first time since he was ten. Was he that distracted? Or was she that good? Either way, this was by far the best assignment he’d ever drawn.
They were almost back to Elora’s room when the emergency double doors crashed open and a voice was on the P.A. urgently talking about codes. Three medics were moving fast, guiding a gurney bearing a young guy with an oxygen mask over his face. He was covered with blood. One of the nurses shouted, “Make way!”
Storm pressed Elora backward toward the wall, trying to make them as small as possible quickly, but gently keeping in mind that she was still fragile.
Three guys followed the frantic activity. Every one of them looked haunted, soberly watching that gurney roll away with grave expressions and a lot of blood on their own clothes. A couple of them looked to be bleeding from their own wounds.
In their dazed state it took a couple of minutes to register Elora’s presence. When they did, their heads came up in unison as they looked from Elora to Storm and back again. Their eyes came to rest on the familiar way he had his hands on her.
Female personnel in the infirmary were common. A female patient wasn’t just an oddity. It was impossible.
After their eyes had swept over Elora’s still swollen and discolored body, they looked questioningly at Storm. He shook his head at them and turned Elora toward the door to her room. He knew that small, silent communication would be enough to suppress the spread of rumor, but that it was only a matter of time until everyone at Jefferson Unit was aware of her presence and wanting to know more.
Once inside she raised the back of the bed, sat, then eased onto her side trying to use as few muscles as possible. She pulled her legs up and adjusted her body so that she was half sitting and half curled into a fetal position.
“Are you going to tell me or are you going to make me ask?”
Storm closed the door. “You know this is a military base.”
“So you’re at war?”
“Not the conventional kind, no.” He pulled a chair up beside the bed. When he sat down he was so tall that they were eye to eye. “I’ve promised not to say more until we’ve had a chance to ask you some questions.”
She smirked. “You mean interrogate me.”
“I mean ask questions. I’ve never been involved in this sort of thing so I don’t know exactly what to expect, but I’ve spent half my life with this organization and I know their commitment to ethics. I swear you will not be treated badly. I know you have a lot of questions of your own and I’ll make you a deal. You get well and I will move heaven and earth to get you out of here.”
She didn’t know if he had any actual power or authority, but she’d bet her booties that he meant what he was saying. Her eyes were getting too heavy to stay open.
“Okay.” And just like that she was asleep, snoring lightly.
Storm pulled the covers up over her and left the room.
***
CHAPTER 4
BLACK SWAN FIELD TRAINING MANUAL Chapter 6, #31
Because there is an erotic element in vampirism, female victims are the rule. Human females are usually not susceptible to the vampire virus, but survivors are rare because of massive physical damage. Consequently, the great majority of vampire are male, having contracted the virus through contact rather than bite. Ironically, the contact wounds are often received in defense of a vampire’s target.
Chapter 8 #22
The paralyzing saliva of vampire takes effect within five seconds of entering the bloodstream. The saliva contains the agents of paralysis and the living virus. A victim infected with the virus, but not drained of blood, will transition to vampire in two to three days.
The worst was over. The pain was quickly being relegated to memory in that merciful way the brain has of protecting us from perpetually reliving every atrocity visited upon us by life. She was completely free of medication and starting to look ahead to the possibility of getting out of the goldfish bowl where she lived. Her day to day progress was accelerating. Within another two weeks after witnessing the incident of D Team returning from assignment with a man down, all external indications of injury were gone. Her skin was flawless in color and texture. All signs of swelling were gone and Storm finally got to find out what she looked like. Beautiful.
One day on his way in to visit, he passed the glass that separated Elora’s special accommodation from the hallway and stopped short so that he could watch her Tai Chi routine in progress. She was wearing Danskins, going through the movements slowly, deliberately, with the grace of a dancer and the muscle control of an athlete.
The form fitting tights revealed that she was neither too thin nor overly curvaceous. Just right. Because she was tall, her neck, arms and legs appeared long. Even after an extended convalescence she had retained enough muscular definition to indicate that she had been in top physical condition before the injury.
When she turned she caught Storm’s shape on the other side of the window in her peripheral vision. To finish quickly, she sped up the routine to the much faster pace of Tai Chi when used as a martial art rather than an exercise or meditation regimen.
Storm was amazed. He was amazed by the swiftness of her recovery. He was amazed at the strength and beauty of the movement. And he was amazed by the woman. When she stopped, they stood facing each other, separated by a glass barrier that was almost invisible, but practically impenetrable. When he made no move to enter, she finally smiled and said, “I can’t come out there. You’ll have to come in here.” And motioned toward the door.
He shook himself out of the spell that had him mesmerized and came through the door smiling. “Is that thing you were doing your way of saying you’re ready to get out of here?”