And There by Fangs a Tale

Chapter 1

The front door opened a little after 9 am and a rather disheveled Actor walked slowly inside. He was pale under his normal light olive complexion. The clothes he was wearing were wrinkled: the shirt not tucked in his pants under the dirty tan jacket.

"Where have you been?" asked Casino, wondering if the man was drunk or sick.

Actor shook his head, frowning.

Garrison came to his open door, arms crossed and an angry expression on his face. "In my office . . . now!"

The confidence man slowly walked inside the office and closed the door. He turned back to Garrison and slumped into the chair in front of the desk. Garrison got his first good look at the man.

"Why are you late? And what happened to you?" asked Craig, wavering between anger and concern.

"I don't know," replied the Italian uncertainly.

"Where were you?" asked Garrison a bit less angrily.

Actor turned troubled eyes up to the lieutenant. "I don't know that either."

Now the anger was fully replaced by concern.

"Okay, what's the last thing you remember?"

Actor thought about it. "I went home with a lovely young woman I met in the American Bar at the Savoy. I think we went to her flat on the edge of SoHo. We had another drink and went to bed. Things were fine and then she suddenly became very aggressive. I don't remember anything else. I woke up in the alley behind the Savoy. I was fully clothed. Nothing was missing. Money, cigarettes, pipe . . . all there." He looked up. "I don't think she was able to put anything in the drink. Both of our drinks came from the same bottle."

That probably let out the con man being slipped a mickey, thought Garrison. "You look pale."

"I feel weak," said Actor.

Craig walked around the desk and stopped beside Actor's chair. He tipped the man's head back and looked into his eyes. They seemed normal, if maybe a bit vague, like the rest of the man. Craig turned Actor's head from side of side, looking for signs of a head injury. There was no swelling or bruising, but there was blood on his collar. Garrison tilted the man's head away to uncover two puncture marks with a scant smear of blood along the right side of Actor's neck. They were spaced apart enough for a human bite, but there were only two puncture marks and they were deep.

"That hurt?" he asked.

"What?" asked Actor.

"Looks like she bit you."

Actor turned his eyes up at the officer. "Not that I know of."

"She drew blood. It doesn't hurt?"

Actor reached a hand up and felt along his neck with fingers, finding the punctures. A couple flakes of dried blood came away on his fingertips.

"It's not sore in the least. But it is over the jugular vein. I don't understand."

"If you don't, I sure don't," said Craig. "You hungry?"

Actor shook his head. "Not at all."

"Well, go to bed. Maybe it will be clearer and you'll feel better when you wake up," suggested Garrison.

Actor nodded and pushed himself up out of the chair. Without a word, he slowly walked to the door and went upstairs, ignoring the remarks and questions from the men in the common room.

Garrison waited until Actor was down the upstairs hall before coming out to the common room.

"What's wrong with him?" asked Chief.

"I don't know," replied Garrison. "He doesn't know. Sounds like he got mugged, but nothing was taken off him." He glanced between the men. "Anybody see who he left with?"

"A younger dame," said Casino. "She was a looker. A little young for his tastes, but ivory skin, big dark eyes, dark hair. Never seen her before, but we don't go to the Savoy with him a lot."

"Don't remember seein' her when we got there. Don't remember seein' her come in either," added Chief.

"She didn't look British," said Goniff. "More like some of those women in Yugoslavia or someplace like that."

"Yeah," agreed Casino. "What does he remember?"

"He remembers going to bed with her. Said she got rough. No bruises, but she bit him pretty deep on the side of his neck. Enough to draw blood." Garrison shook his head. "Funny, looks like just the eye teeth. No other marks."

Casino chuckled. "Sure it was the dame and not a bat?"

GGG

Late that afternoon, Actor came slowly down the stairs. He still looked pale and shaky. The others had just sat down to eat in the dining room. Actor took his seat and wrinkled his nose at the smell of the fried Spam. His plate was filled with greasy Spam and pork and beans. The Italian took one look, swallowed hard, got up rather quickly and walked away. Five pair of eyes followed him.

"It's bad," remarked Casino, "but I didn't think it was that bad."

"'Ere now," objected Sgt/Major Rawlins.

Garrison shook his head and sliced a bite off his Spam. He wished his sister would come home soon. The food was barely palpable.

GGGGG

Actor did not appear again until the next morning. If anything he was paler and more wane. He ignored the men and went into Garrison's office, shutting the door behind him. Garrison looked up as Actor slumped in the chair. He looked worse.

"You feel as bad as you look?" asked Craig.

"Worse," replied the con man. "I couldn't sleep last night. Very restless."

"Well, you slept most of the day yesterday," rationalized the lieutenant. "Let's see your neck." Maybe the wound was infected. Human bites were filthy.

Actor turned his head and pulled the collar of his shirt down. Garrison stared. There wasn't a mark on his neck.

"It's gone," he said in confusion.

"Gone?" asked Actor. "Healed?"

"No sign of it."

"Strange."

Garrison sat back and studied the man. "Are you hungry?"

Actor shook his head. "Not at all, but I have a vague feeling I need something. I don't know what."

"Why don't we go visit Doc Kaiser at Archbury. I don't like your color. Maybe he has some ideas."

It worried Craig when Actor readily agreed.

GGGGG

The air force doctor studied the man in front of him. Actor was sitting on the exam table, curled forward. Kaiser had never seen him when he wasn't straight, even when injured. The man was downright ashen. Kaiser was confused. The story the men had told him was bizarre. And none of it made sense, so he ordered some blood tests.

When he returned with the lab results in his hand, he stared at Actor.

"You said this started after the encounter with the woman night before last?"

Actor nodded.

"Well, you're in luck. We have three units of AB negative blood. You're dangerously anemic. I'm going to transfuse you."

For some reason the thought of that made Actor feel better.

"So what do you think caused this, Major?" asked Garrison.

"Lieutenant, I have no earthly idea."

GGG

Seven hours and three blood transfusions later, Garrison was driving them back to the mansion in the shadows of the setting sun. Actor was sitting beside him, a smile on his no longer pale face.

"I feel so much improved," sighed the confidence man.

"I think I read too many books as a kid. You're beginning to sound like a vampire."

The two men turned their heads to look at each other.

Garrison shook his head, dismissing that thought. "No, vampires are fiction."

"Perhaps," mused Actor. "Funny, that blood infusing in my arm looked most . . . appetizing."

"We're the same blood type. You stay away from my neck!" exclaimed Craig, only half teasing.

"I have no intentions of biting you, Warden," said Actor. He did not know whether to be annoyed or laugh at that remark.

Returning to the mansion, the two men entered the common room. The three cons looked at Actor assessingly.

"You look better, Mate," said Goniff.

"Feel better?" asked Chief from his chair.

"Much," replied Actor.

"So what's wrong with yuh?" asked Casino, tossing his cards on the table and hooking an elbow over the back of his chair.

"Severe anemia," replied Garrison.

The safecracker shook his head. "Next he'll be turning into a bat. A vampire bat."

"There is no such thing," said Actor dismissively.

Instead of going to his office, Garrison headed for the library and motioned for Actor to follow. The two stopped inside.

"And what are we looking for?" asked Actor.

"Dracula," replied Garrison, going over to one wall of books.

"It isn't here," said Actor.

"You know all the books in here?" asked Garrison fixing his second with a surprised look.

"Of course," replied Actor. "I have been here long enough to become acquainted with the titles. "You don't mean you seriously believe that nonsense, do you?"

"You have a better explanation?" countered Craig.

Actor's eyebrows furrowed together. "No."

"What do you know about vampires?"

"Nothing," said Actor, going to a set of encyclopedias.

"You are joking."

"No."

Garrison went back to studying the titles on the wall before him. "And why don't you know anything about them?" Craig asked curiously. The man was a fount of information on everything else.

"We don't have vampires in Italy."

Actor pulled a volume from a set of encyclopedias and brought it to the table. Garrison came over to see what he had found. The Italian opened the book to 'vampire'. The two read in silence.

"Hmm," said Craig. "Been around awhile."

"Yes," agreed Actor.

Craig crossed his arms and leaned back against the table. "I remember one Halloween at the Point somebody brought in the movie of Dracula with Bela Lugosi. Fiction to scare little kids."

"Perhaps," said Actor musingly. "However, the 'fiction' has been around since the 1100's."

Garrison turned to stare at his usually level-headed second in command. "You think there's some basis in fact?"

Actor shrugged. "Do you have another explanation for what happened to me? Major Kaiser does not have one."

"I guess we'll just have to see what happens to you next." Garrison straightened and walked to the door. He paused and looked back. "Just don't bite any of the rest of us. I can't lead a group of walking corpses."

"You are so sympathetic, Warden," parried Actor.

GGG

The next morning was a partial repeat of the day before. Actor had been restless all night and unable to sleep. Finally arising, he went to the window and pulled back the blackout curtains. Sunlight streamed into the room. Actor jumped back. It was so bright it almost hurt.

Going into the bathroom, he took care of his absolutions and threw cold water on his face to wake up. Scrubbing his face dry with a towel, he reached to open the medicine cabinet to get his shaving kit and froze, hand in mid air. Looking back at him from the mirror was a transparent apparition of himself. He squeezed his eyes tight shut, shook his head and opened them again. The wispy vision of his refection was still there. The book had said one of the characteristics of vampires was they could not see themselves in a mirror. Shaving forgotten, he left the room almost at a run, still in his pajama bottoms. A quick stop in Teresa's bathroom was made before he hurried downstairs.

"Lieutenant!"

Garrison, in his office, looked up with annoyance. Usually that was the Sgt/Major about something the cons had done to him. This was the American version of rank, followed by a distraught confidence man, barefoot and in his pajama bottoms, holding Terry's hand mirror.

"Warden, I am fading!"

"You look fine to me," countered Garrison.

"But I don't look fine to me!" lamented the confidence man. "I can barely see myself in the mirror."

He came around the desk and tried to show Garrison, but Craig had no problem seeing Actor's reflection in the hand mirror.

Hearing the commotion, the cons came to the door to see what was going on. Garrison had spoken to them after Actor had retired for the night and told them of the circumstances. After the initial laugh, they had realized this was serious.

"What's going on?" asked Casino.

Actor looked into the mirror again. "Madre del Dio! I'm fading!" The ghostly apparition that looked back at him was difficult to see. "How will I see if I am presentable?" he moaned in distress.

"It's all right, Actor," assured Goniff helpfully. "We'll make sure you look good for the ladies."

GGG

Time passed quickly with worsening symptoms. The light of day irritated Actor's eyes. He began sleeping during the day, and wandering the mansion and outside at night. Luckily their missions had become overnight ones so he could continue to work with the men. Sunglasses did little to help if they were outside in the sun though. His anemia returned. One night while on a mission, he disappeared briefly and came back with more color and a satisfied countenance that used to be reserved for a night of romance.

Back at the mansion, Garrison got the confidence man alone and asked what had happened. He still wasn't ready for the man's response. Actor opened his mouth and curled his upper lip. The man's eye teeth lengthened and became sharper until they were truly fangs. As Garrison watched, the fangs shrank back up until the teeth were normal again.

"They must exude some kind of numbing substance," said Actor finding this fascinating. "My victims do not even feel it. Just as I didn't."

"Wonderful."

And as time went on, things rapidly worsened for the confidence man. Soon, even with the blackout curtains, it was too light in the room for him to get adequate sleep in the daytime. And he continued to roam the mansion and then outdoors at night.

Actor's anemia seemed to stabilize, causing Garrison to ask him what he did at night besides read.

"I have been wandering around the area," admitted the Italian. "I have tried cow blood. It is not appetizing. Neither is horse. I – um – have resorted to hanging around the Doves when things get too bad for me. With some of them, it is like having a cocktail with my meal."

Garrison stared at him. "So you're making more vampires?"

Actor shrugged. "I have no other alternative at this point. If you prefer, I will drive to London. That is of course, unless you wish to come up with a plausible explanation to Major Kaiser for my repeated bouts of 'anemia.'

Explaining to the air force officer that his confidence man was a vampire would only result in all of them getting thrown into an insane asylum.

"Just don't get caught."

Garrison found a library in London on one of his debriefing trips. He searched encyclopedias for any information that could help Actor. It seemed nothing short of a crucifix and wooden stake could help the man and that would be a permanent fix.

Soon they had to come up with an alternate way of getting the con man over to the continent on missions and providing him a suitable place to sleep. Casino was not thrilled when asked to make a casket. Despite his aversion to vile spirits and things of the darkness, Chief helped with the task. They lined it with down pillows and the con man was happy and rested again.

Other problems cropped up. Actor could no longer see any reflection in a mirror. Garrison had to be taught how to apply makeup. It was something the West Point graduate found extremely distasteful, but if anything, he had become closer friends with his second, so he learned. The strange thing was Actor no longer grew facial hair and that on his head did not lengthen.