Repercussion: The Clandestine Saga Book 3

Chapter 2

Chapter 2

By the time Cadence reached her hotel room, she was very near to tears. It had been a long, busy two weeks, and she seriously thought her road trip was just about over, and she needed to return home at last. Though it would have been very simple to multi-task, she changed into pajamas, grabbed a bottle of water and made herself comfortable on the bed before she sent her first message. "Hey! What's up?" she asked, attempting to keep her tone nonchalant. Despite the fact that the IAC worked through their eyes, they could actually hear the other person's voice, which included tone.

"Well, if it isn't my long lost pal. What's going on, kid?" Elliott replied almost immediately.

Cadence took a deep breath. The sound of his voice made her feel both comforted and fragile at the same time. "Oh, you know, out saving the world," she responded. "And you?"

There was a chuckle before his response, "Out ruining it."

She laughed. "I don't doubt that. Any interesting hunts lately?"

"Nah, just the usual. Got a bloodsucker last night, though. One of our new Hunters went with us. Seems to have some talent. We'll see."

"That's good," Cadence said, not really as interested as perhaps she should have been. "Any word on the whereabouts of our primary objective?"

"Negative, Ghost Rider," Elliott replied. "I am sending some folks into the rainforest, though. I'm not just sittin' around. And don't bother to point out to me that I am actually just sitting around."

"Okay," Cadence said, wondering what that was all about. "If that's where you think they are, why not?"

"Exactly! See, someone who gets me!"

"Ha, you wouldn't have always said that," she reminded him.

"No, but I say it now," he shot back. There was a time when Elliott couldn't stand Cadence. He had actually asked Aaron to remove her from the team. However, since that time things had changed drastically. Cadence was like a little sister to him, and being apart from her for so long was almost intolerable.

"It looks like we may have an interesting hunt coming up," Cadence offered, taking a sip of her water.

"Oh? That's cool. Where are you anyway?" Elliott asked, realizing he wasn't even exactly sure of her location.

"Reno," she replied. "We met with a local team tonight. They want us to help them catch a group of Rogues who have been causing some issues. Apparently, they are all Giovani's offspring," she added.

Elliott was quiet for a second. Eventually, he asked, "Who did you meet with?"

Cadence found his silence suspicious. "Why do you ask?" she shot back, cautiously.

"Just curious," he replied.

"Well," she began, "we were initially contacted by Dr. Cale Ryan. We met with some of his team members."

"And him?" Elliott probed.

"Yes?" Cadence stated, though it sounded like more of a question.

Elliott was quiet again for a long moment. Finally, he asked, "And what did you think of the good doctor?"

Cadence played it cool. "He... seems nice..." she admitted.

"Mmm hmm," Elliott came back. He knew her too well. But he also knew that Cale Ryan's reputation of being extremely good-looking, charming, and an all-around good guy could potentially spell trouble for his little fairy tale image of Cadence and Aaron getting back together. "And?"

Cadence was beginning to get a little offended. "And what?" she asked. "What are you implying?"

"I'm not implying anything," Elliott replied. "I just want to know what your impression was of the Reno Area Leader, that's all."

"I think you're getting at something," she chided.

"What is it that I could possibly be getting at?" he pushed back.

"Well, I have no idea."

"Well, then maybe you're mistaken."

"Well, maybe you are!"

"Well, maybe you're a five-year-old!"

Cadence groaned. "I don't want to fight with you, even if it's fake fighting. I miss you too much."

"I miss you, too," he said, his tone changing. After a few seconds he added, "Come home."

She sighed loudly. "I can't. Come out here."

"Can't. Too busy searching the rainforest."

She chuckled, shaking her head. "Search it from out here. I haven't seen you since Indiana!" He had caught up with her briefly when they had done a hunt in the Terre Haute area in the middle of March. At the time, they were both convinced that they would find a way to see each other every few weeks. But they were extremely busy, and plans began to get shuffled and dismissed. Now, it had literally been months.

"I wish I could, but I would have to get permission, and you know how that goes. I'd have to talk to what's his name about you, and you're a sore subject, so I could get in trouble, then I'd get fired, and the next thing you know, I'm selling hot dogs on Coney Island."

Cadence was glad he couldn't see the look of confusion on her face. "What? That doesn't even make sense... just ask. He'll let you come out here. "

Elliott knew she was right. But, though his absence had not been intentional, he secretly hoped that it might bring her back home. However, the longer she stayed away despite not seeing him, the more he began to think there was nothing that could bring her back. "I'll see what I can do, kid. You be careful, though. Don't go breaking the good doctor's heart now, you hear?"

She snickered. "What are you talking about?" she asked, as if Cale Ryan's extreme attractiveness had gone completely unnoticed.

"You know what I'm talking about," he replied. "Y'all might not know it yet, but as far as I'm concerned, you are spoken for."

"Okay, Bubba," she answered, shaking her head. "I guess I'll get some sleep. Be careful," she added.

"Hey, you're the one that can die," he reminded her.

"You can, too, if I kill you," she teased.

"Come on over here and try it." It was almost a request, rather than a chide.

"I wish I could," she said, the solemnity in her voice reflecting her wish to come home, not to exterminate him. "I'll try to talk to you again tomorrow. Two weeks is too long."

"I agree."

"All right," she said with a sigh. "Love you!"

"I love you, too," he replied slowly and meaningfully.

Cadence let him go and pulled the covers over herself. For a brief second, she contemplated contacting Aaron. She hadn't talked to him for so long. Surely, she could check in with him, just ask about Giovani or Laura, without it meaning anything more than that. Maybe she could even ask his advice about the case she was getting ready to work with Cale. But, as much as she longed to hear his voice, she couldn't bring herself to do it, and like so many recent nights, she rolled over, hoping to dream about him instead. However, like most nights, Aaron wasn't the ex she dreamed of, and she spent several hours tormented by the ghost of Jack Cook.

Giovani awoke to the sound of howler monkeys in the trees above their makeshift hut. He hardly ever slept; it wasn't necessary for his body anymore. He was a highly efficient blood metabolizing machine. Yet, since they had determined to make the inner recesses of the Amazonian Rainforest their home, he had found himself sleeping more and more out of sheer boredom.

Zabrina, on the other hand, always seemed to find something to keep herself occupied. He could hear her now puttering outside, likely building something or putting a more appealing spin on something they already had. In his entire existence as an undead, he had only found one other being whom he could truly bond with the way that he had with his "sister" Zabrina. Technically, they were not related at all, which is why she was also his lover, but Vampires created from the same host referred to each other as siblings. Zabrina had also come from Holland, his most trusted ally for years, until she decided to get back together with her former lover, Carter, someone Giovani never trusted. Holland had chosen the dark-haired scoundrel, and Giovani had set out on his own. It hadn't taken him long to find the beautiful Zabrina. With her long honey-colored locks, sultry smile, and casual tone, he had been intoxicated by her almost immediately. Now that he needed someone more than ever before, he was glad she was the one willing to run to the ends of the Earth with him.

He stretched his sinewy arms above his head, scratched at his scraggly goateed-face, and ran his fingers through the blond mop on the top of his head. She must have heard him stirring, as she stuck her pretty face into the opening that served as a door, pushing the twisted, draping vines apart, and with a chipper smile on her face, called, "You finally awake, love?"

Giovani yawned and stretched his arms in front of himself, giving her a smile as she made her way in and sat on the woven reed mats that lined the bottom of the hut, also her handy work. "I can't believe I slept so long," he muttered, his many years in Italy evident in his pronunciations. Shaking his head, he attempted to wake himself up.

"I know," she concurred. "It seems the longer we stay out here, the more you are sleeping." She had a hint of an Eastern European accent, which came through more as she spent less time around other Americans. It was evident in her voice now.

Giovani took this opportunity to pose a common thought. "Let's go back," he said, leaning over and taking her hands in his, doing his best to meet her gaze with the intensity of his.

She was no stranger to this technique. She pulled her hands and her eyes away. "No, Giovani. We can't. Not yet. It's too soon. You know everyone is still looking for you. It's more serious this time. It's not just two rebel Vampire Hunters trying to find you. It's all of LIGHTS and a band of renegades led by a very angry, very determined, very pissed off cowboy. It's not worth it.”

Of course, he had heard all of these arguments before and knew she was probably correct; yet, Giovani enjoyed the thrill of the hunt--even when he was the prey. He had been dodging Laura and her sister Laney for about a decade, letting them get close and then sprinting away, all the time wreaking havoc, leaving a band of malicious young Vampires in his wake. Things had become more serious when he had attempted to take out Cadence Findley, the Vampire Hunters' new star pupil, and his cause wasn't helped when he led the s*******r of Cowboy Sam's niece and her family a few weeks before that. Now, he had all sorts of Vampire Hunters and Guardians angry and in pursuit. Zabrina was right. Chances were, as soon as he surfaced, they would be on to him. He was much safer deep within the rainforest where the only people he may run into were either lost backpackers, who would make a quick snack, or native people who would instinctively leave him the hell alone. Nevertheless, the game of cat and mouse was one of his favorites and he was growing more and more restless each day.

Finally, after a lengthy pause, he asked, "How much longer do you think we need to stay hidden?"

She groaned, reflecting on the other hundreds of times she had answered that question. She felt like the parent on vacation with the gaggle of kids in the backseat asking "Are we there yet?" She stared at him again, fully aware that his eyes could lock her in quickly without warning, before finally responding. "Giovani, darling. We must give them time to move on. We are immortals. Let's bear in mind, the more time we spend out here, the more likely we are to have time together out there once this all blows over. Those people, those Hunters, are not going to live forever," she continued, gesturing emphatically. "We've been here less than four months. We should spend years here, decades even. Let them forget; let them find someone else to focus their energy on. Then, when we come out, we will be able to start anew without constantly worrying about who is on our tracks."

Giovani was shaking his head, feeling frustration starting to turn to anger, something that could happen rather quickly with him. "But Zabrina, I like that feeling--it excites me; it gets my adrenaline going. Let's go back. Let's face them--let's take them out!"

"No!" she insisted, her own fiery spirit igniting. "I'm not going to lose you to some fossil of a Vampire Hunter who is going to die in six months anyway. And Cadence..." she started, "she could crush us..."

He was angry now. "Bullshit," he implored. "Crush us? She's nothing but an overrated, two-bit w***e who earned her reputation by screwing that smug bastard McReynolds. She couldn't even..."

"She took out Barbarosa! She took out Sobi..." Zabrina reminded him, arms flailing now.

"Those ancient bags of dust? Zabrina, we are young and powerful..."

She looked at him in disbelief. "They were two of the most dominant Vampires to ever walk the Earth, Giovani, and you know it... you know it..."

"They were washed up, past their prime..." he argued, the smirk on his face showing his disagreement.

She hesitated only for a moment, knowing her words were formulated in anger and that she was baiting him. Nevertheless, her loose tongue got the best of her. "Fine then. Let's say they were. What about Holland then, hmm? How did she get her?"

Giovani's rage seemed to radiate from his steel gray eyes. He froze, his stare penetrating so deeply into her face for a moment it seemed he might lunge for her. "Don't," he growled, the warning stern and meaningful.

Zabrina knew she had crossed a line. Part of her wanted to continue the argument, make him defend his insistence that Cadence Findley was not dangerous, yet the Hunter had somehow managed to take out the one Giovani worshipped above all others. She met his penetrating glare for only a moment before dropping her eyes in submission, realizing that she had made her point without continuing the argument. She was right, and he knew it, though he would never admit it. After a very lengthy, awkward silence, in a calm and even voice she said, "All I'm saying is I think it is far too dangerous to go back now. And I want to be with you--I don't care about anyone else. We have everything we need here. Plenty of animals to feed on. I know it's not the same, but it works. Let's not ruin it by playing Russian roulette with the world." He wasn't looking at her anymore, his eyes focused on his hands, folded in his lap. She knew he was attempting to calm himself. She slowly reached over and placed her hand on his thigh. "Giovani, I love you. I don't want to see anything happen to you. Please, just stay with me for a little longer, won't you?"

Giovani didn't respond. She slid her hand higher up his leg, and then her other hand was caressing him as well. Even when he felt her lips against his neck, he did not acknowledge her. Finally, his anger turned to passion and he pulled her closer, meeting her quivering lips with a ferocious kiss that instantly took her breath away. Ultimately, it was his decision, and he would resurface when he chose to, whether Zabrina approved or not, with or without her.

"I have some good news and some bad news," Laura explained to the rest of her team after hanging up the phone. After their conversation with Sharon, the band of renegades had decided to start making their way back west. Because they were aware they had been spotted at the airport upon landing in South Carolina, they determined it would be best to rent a car. After much negotiation, they agreed to head to Arizona. While it would make the most sense to hang out in Peru until Giovani reappeared, since that is where he was last seen, they knew LIGHTS had far reaching fingers and likely had their eyes all over the region since they were also searching for the same suspect. They had been successful at laying low near Tucson, and they knew Cadence was also in the area, so they decided to head that way. However, they had determined to take their time, meeting with other Hunters along the way whom they thought might be beneficial in weaving their web of deception.

"What did your uncle say?" Cowboy Sam asked in his low, gravelly voice, not taking his eyes off of the highway. Laura sat beside him in the passenger seat, Finn and Camilla in the back.

Laura took a deep breath and tossed her shoulder length dirty blond hair around a bit before answering. "He said the order was ready. I gave him the address to ship it to, though I'm a little concerned about customs, what with the contents." She paused to see if Sam could offer any alleviation to her fears, but he only nodded in acknowledgement. "But he also said he got a phone call from LIGHTS this morning."

"What?" Finn chimed in, a look of disgust on his ruggedly handsome face. He was known as The Hippy because he had Transformed in the 1960s and his wardrobe never departed from that decade. Even now, he wore bell bottoms and button down shirt with odd earth-tone shading and patterns. Though he did occasionally wash his shaggy, sandy blond hair he allowed it to flow naturally, framing his otherwise appealing face. But he had a temper, and his fuse was always very close to the surface.

Laura glanced back over her shoulder at him. Even though she'd been traveling with this party for several months now, she still hadn't gotten used to Finn's intensity. "He said someone named Christian--I think I met him while I was there--called asking about the titanium amalgam bullets."

"Well, that's just great!" Finn exclaimed, slamming his hands into the back of Sam's seat. Sam glared at him in the rearview mirror, a warning that he better calm down. "How the hell did they figure out your source?" he continued, only slightly heeding the cowboy's glare.

"I'm not sure," Laura admitted. "But Aaron always seems to know everything," she reminded them.

"Always a step ahead," Sam growled.

There was a moment of silence as they all considered the implications before Camilla, usually silent and introspective, finally spoke up. "So what are we going to do now?"

Her question was met with a question. "Did your uncle give 'em any info?" Sam asked, glancing at Laura sideways as he continued to steer the vehicle.

"No," she replied emphatically. "He said he told them he had no idea what they were talking about. Of course, Christian continued to push, and I guess he finally admitted that he had heard of another company exploring the possibility of an amalgam bullet, but that he had nothing to do with it, and he hadn't spoken to me in years. He said he thought they bought it."

Sam was shaking his head. "They won't buy it. They'll do whatever they can to trace that shipment."

Laura was a bit offended. "He said he thought Christian believed him," she insisted.

"Maybe," Sam conceded. "But the second he presents that information to his boss, he'll shoot holes right through it. It's one thing to trick some knucklehead lackey sent to make a phone call. It's somethin' else to pull one over on Aaron."

"Damn!" Finn exclaimed, taking his frustration out on Sam's seat again.

"Boy, you best stop hitting my seat," the cowboy warned with another sharp look in the mirror.

There was another pause of consideration and then, again, it was Camilla who broke the silence. "All right, so hopefully they don't intercept the shipment, and we get what we are waiting for. But let's say they do get their hands on them, what does that really mean? Not too much, honestly."

"What?" Finn shouted. "It ruins everything."

"No, it really doesn't," Camilla insisted, her willingness to stand up to Finn unusual but a bit exhilarating. "If we decide to move forward with the plan we've been discussing, we can carry out much of it without those bullets. And Laura still has enough ammunition for us to accomplish what we need to. Sure, it would make it easier, but it isn't mandatory. We can get by."

"I don't want to just get by," Finn asserted. "I don't want to take a knife to a shootout."

"Camilla has a point," Sam agreed, over the din of Finn's protest. "Besides, it's not like we are anywhere ready to pull this off yet anyhow. Let's just get back to Arizona, see what info Sharon and the rest of these turncoats can get for us, and see what happens. If we get that shipment, we can figure out how to proceed. If not, we can bide our time a bit longer. Time is our ally now."

"Well, we need another ally," Laura reminded him. "And I will start working on that just as soon as we get settled."

"I don't like it," Finn exclaimed, crossing his arms. "I don't think your ally is going to be a help at all, and I think that going in anything less than fully c****d is a huge mistake."

Sam's even tone was just a bit louder than normal. "Let's just simmer down," he interjected. "We'll let Laura try, see how it goes and proceed from there. I'm tellin' you boy, time is our friend. Time heals wounds--at least for the type of people we're pursuing."

"Hasn't done jack s**t for me," Finn mumbled.

"That's because you're not the forgiving type," Camilla reminded him. "But Cadence and Aaron are."

"And that's why we will use that to our advantage," Laura smiled.