Chapter 2

Mess hall, O730 the next morning

"Sergeant Taylor?"

Taylor looked up to answer the call. "That's me," he acknowledged, wondering what this black-clad soldier wanted.

"Good," the man said. "I'm Captain Miller, but you can just call me Graham; we're pretty informal in the Teams. C'mon with me. I've been feeding your vamp; thought you'd like to meet him over his dinner." He had a relaxed air to him, as if dealing with a blood-sucking demon was no big deal.

"Okay," Taylor agreed, swallowing any misgivings with the last of his coffee. "My name's Robert. I prefer Rob over Bob, sir. Or just Taylor."

"Please, just Graham," the other man insisted as Taylor rose from the table to follow him out into the corridor. "We don't wear rank tabs for a reason; calling rank just defeats the purpose. And as the vamp's handler, you're just as important as any officer—if you can get him to work for you."

"Right… Graham," Taylor conceded. He looked curiously at the small insulated bag the other man carried. "That blood for Rex?" he asked, allowing his curiosity free rein as he walked beside the other man.

"Yup. He gets two bags a day; might need more if he gets hurt. Vamps need blood to heal, but at least they can recover from injuries that would kill one of us. You read the care sheet yet?" he asked as they approached the holding cells.

"Yeah. Is it true they do just as well on animal blood? Why do they hunt us, then?" Taylor wanted to know; he had a feeling that this was actually more important than the briefing handouts indicated, but what did he really know?

"An old buddy of mine was dating a girl some years back," Miller slowly started to explain, carefully skirting around still-classified details. "There was a vamp there—he'd escaped from one of our facilities after being chipped. He hung around with her and her friends; they gave him some blood, and he helped fight other demons—this was back in Sunnydale, though no one will admit to any of this now. My buddy said that Hostile Seventeen—that's the vamp—used to bitch about the taste of cow and pig's blood; said that he claimed to heal faster when fed human. One of the girl's friends used to slip him blood-bank rejects when he could afford to buy them. But our white-coated… associates… claim that it makes no difference, that blood is blood."

"Right," Taylor drawled thoughtfully, then grimaced. "And everything tastes like chicken—except beef and pork." He'd caught the sarcasm Graham put on the word "associates" and had taken careful note of it, sensing that that, too, was important. Why does it make me think of Karbunkle? he thought as his mind immediately dredged up the image of the sadistic mad scientist from an old cartoon show.(1)

They stopped and glanced in at the captive vampire in the white-tiled cell. "One thing you should know," Graham said as he keyed the entrance open, then handed the key card to Taylor. "No matter what kind of blood it is, they all act like it tastes better at body temperature, and I don't doubt that in the least. "'Mornin', Rex," he added, looking the vampire in the eyes. "Brought someone you need to meet. This is gonna be your handler, Taylor."

It was hard to get a true impression of the vampire, besides his intelligence-filled, vivid green eyes. He had what was probably blond hair, although it was hard to tell through the dirt. Maybe strawberry blond, Taylor guessed, going by the color of his eyebrows. He was clearly well muscled, but not heavily so. Height was anyone's guess at the moment; his chains kept him folded uncomfortably. "Does he have to be chained up like that?" Taylor protested, appalled at the treatment. "He's gotta be in agony from cramps! How long has he been like this?"

Miller frowned. "He wasn't all bent up like that last night; someone's been in here since I gave him his dinner. You okay, Rex?" He crouched down as he asked, reaching for the gag to release it. But the vampire shifted into gameface and tried to bite, despite the gag he wore. He jerked as the chip jolted him, crying out in pain and huddling in on himself as much as possible.

"Shit! What's wrong with him, Graham?" Taylor demanded, practically shoving Miller out of his way to drop down beside his vampire, and he began to stroke across the trembling shoulders. "Easy, there," he began to murmur as he rubbed slow circles down the top of his back, soothing the vampire as he would have Casey, his old bomb-sniffer.

"Someone's been in here, messing with him," Miller growled in anger. "He's never actually snapped at me before; hasn't even growled at me since the first day here. I'm gonna bust some heads when I find out who it was."

He watched as the vamp began to relax slowly under Taylor's touch, then offered the insulated bag. "Here; you'll have to take his gag off so he can feed, though."

"Yeah; in a minute," Taylor said, his eyes never leaving the vampire's yellow-eyed glare. "I want to ease these chains first, and rub some of the cramps out. Truthfully, I'd rather not be bitten while I try to make him more comfortable; he's obviously feeling threatened, and I don't blame him in the least. There's too many people around here who clearly don't approve of this project and aren't above taking it out on helpless victims like him."

Carefully the man called Taylor released catches, letting Rex stretch out and relax. He did ache fiercely, having been chained up tightly all night long, after that coward had "played" with him a while. And the brown eyes that studied him showed only concern, not pity or derision. He let his gameface slide back into his human mask and didn't fight the human's careful touches.

He looked back over at the other one, the man who'd been feeding him up until now. The human had been cautious, but as respectful as he could be as his keeper. He'd only snapped as a reflex; it had been a very bad hour or so under that other's hands. Someday he'd get his revenge, Rex vowed silently; no mere human could treat him like that and get away with it. He could wait; the punishment would definitely fit the crime.

He caught the scent of nervousness in the air and looked back at his new "handler" in interest. The human had leaned away from him, although keeping one hand on his shoulder, to reach for the bag the other man—Graham; now he had a name for him—had offered, the bag that he knew would have his blood, hopefully still warm. The scent of nerves was no doubt because this Taylor knew he'd have to remove the gag, and he'd already seen Rex try to bite once. He felt a brief surge of pleasure knowing that, even clearly helpless, he still inspired fear in these puny humans.

"What've we got here?" Taylor asked as he accepted the bag.

"It's the last bag of human I could talk them out of; you'll be issued cow or pig from now on," Graham admitted unhappily.

Taylor just shrugged. "Better than nothing," he said philosophically. "And it's still a nice glad-to-meet-ya present. How do you recommend I do this, anyway?"

"Well, some of the guys just peel that covering off, over the inlet port, and squirt it into the vamp's mouth," he suggested unhappily. "I've been taking his gag out and letting him bite the bags. I'll warn you, he strikes really fast, but, like I said, he's never tried to bite me before today."

"Yeah, well, I'd say he had just cause today," Taylor replied. "How do I get this thing off him, anyway?" He leaned over to examine the gag more carefully, noting that it also prevented the wearer's mouth from opening more than about a half-inch. It put him well within reach of the vampire's mouth, and Graham held his breath, but Rex made no move against this new human now.

"Never mind; got it." Taylor had the device off and out of the vampire's mouth without moving back first. No; the young fool was turning the vamp's head, carefully examining the sides of his mouth for damage. "Damn, look at this! His mouth's all torn up at the corners!" he swore angrily, looking over at Miller, but still not moving back, still keeping one hand on the vampire's cheek.

Rex made himself hold still under this idiot's… no, he was just concerned, and inexperienced. The other one, Graham, knew just what Taylor risked—he could see it in his eyes—even if Taylor himself did not. It looked as if he would have to watch out for the foolish human, or he would get both of them into trouble. "It will heal, with blood," he quietly said, his first words to his new keeper. Then he had to fight to hold back a grin as the man jerked back in shock, finally realizing where his hand was, the danger he had placed himself in. Slowly the human's heart rate slowed back to normal once more, and the man sighed.

"Right. Blood. So, Rex, here's your dinner… or breakfast, or whatever." Taylor offered the bag of warm whole blood, forcing himself to hold still as Rex's fangs visibly dropped, and he moved to bite into the plastic bag. But the vamp moved slowly, as if not to frighten him further; maybe they could manage to make this work after all.

Taylor tried not to listen as the vampire literally sucked down his meal; it really was disgusting-sounding. He shook his head, admitting to himself that it was just the thought of blood being drunk that was so gross; it really didn't sound any worse than a kid sucking down a cherry slush, or a Slurpee. It was just something he'd have to get over—Casey had been pretty gross, too, when she'd used to crack bones to get at the marrow.

All too soon that bag was empty, in Taylor's estimation. "That can't be all," he protested when Miller didn't pull out a second unit. "Casey got more than that—hell, we eat more."

"Sorry," Graham said with a sigh. "He'll get another tonight, after we eat. The scientists say that's all he needs."

"You know what? I'm really starting to hate those guys, and I've never even met any of 'em," Taylor grumbled, reaching out without thought to run a hand over Rex's cool shoulders again. "What about a shower or bath for him? Or are they gonna say that he's supposed to live… un-live?... in filth? His hands are clean; I'd say that he's used to caring for himself."

"Ah, Taylor, you do realize that that's not your K-9 you're petting there, right?"

Miller and Taylor both snapped their heads around to face the cell door. It was Kim Young, one of the other new handlers, who'd come in on the transport with Taylor.

"Huh? Oh, yeah," Taylor answered with a grin. "Not likely to mistake him; he's got a lot less hair than Casey did… and he won't get fleas." His hand never paused in its careful stroking as he spoke, until Rex turned his head and gently caught Taylor's hand between his human-mask's teeth. Young's eyes nearly bugged out of his head, but Taylor calmly turned to look back at his vamp, who immediately let go once he had Taylor's attention. "Enough, huh? Okay—enough for now." And he drew his hand back before turning his attention to Young once more. "What's yours like, anyway?" he asked as he shifted his position to settle on the floor near Rex's head.

"Looks younger than yours," Young answered, stepping inside the cell, but coming no closer when he saw the vampire's eyes change to yellow again. "Black skin, brown eyes, black hair in a short buzz-cut. H382V."

"Yeah; what's his name?" Taylor pressed, continuing at Young's confused look, "They do have names, you know. This is Rex, ID number H386V."

"Hell if I know," Young confessed offhandedly. "Maybe I'll call him Turtle, or Snapper. He's tried to bite me twice this morning already."

"Kim, they've already got names; they come with 'em, same as you or me. Try asking him…"

"Hell no; I'm not taking that muzzle off him!" Young declared emphatically.

"You're gonna have to at some point," Taylor said with a chuckle. "He won't be able to fight or defend himself if you don't."

"Yeah, well, I'm not crazy like you!" Young snapped before turning and leaving the cell.

"Maybe I am," Taylor said to Miller with a sigh before shaking his head once more. "So, bath or shower for my vamp? And some clothes? I'm not about to keep staring at him buck-naked; he looks too much like one of us, and I definitely don't swing that way."

"Don't know what they've got planned, though I doubt they'll have you run him naked once he's working," Miller commented thoughtfully. "And I don't think there are any shower facilities down here. I don't know of any, at least."

"Well, that's piss-poor planning," Taylor groused, then leaned his head back against the wall.

"Don't do that," came the low-voiced hiss from the vampire beside Taylor.

"Don't do what?" Taylor asked, looking down, taken once more by surprise.

"Do not show your throat like that around one of us; it is an offer to let yourself be bitten. And we cannot bite, so it is a tease." Rex stared up at him, his fangs partially dropped. He drew them back up again as Taylor watched.

"Oh. I didn't mean… sorry about that," he stammered out in apology, looking over at Miller in surprise.

"Huh. I didn't know that, either," Miller admitted. "Makes sense, though. Can't say I've ever relaxed enough around one of these guys to find out. Anyway, I don't know what to tell you about washing Rex, here, down."

"Think we could get him over to my quarters and back without anyone having a heart attack?" Taylor asked, trying to figure out the logistics.

"I will not fight you, if it means being clean again," Rex said before Miller could answer. "I would very much like to wash the piss off, before I begin to stink."

Taylor looked at Miller in shock, anger growing almost out of control. "That tears it! He's coming up to my quarters whether you help me or not! There any way I can keep him up there, so no one can get at him again?"

"Oh, yeah, the brass would really love that," Miller snorted in reply. "Look, I'll help you get him cleaned up, but he's gonna have to come back down here afterwards. And you're gonna have to gag him again."

"The hell you say!" Taylor snapped back, forgetting that this was an officer he was talking to.

"That's an order, Sergeant," was Miller's curt response, freezing the other man in his tracks.

Taylor's face lost all expression. "Sir, yes, sir!" he answered, his eyes cold.

"Aw, hell, Rob, I didn't mean it like that," Miller sighed regretfully. "Just, you can't go too fast. You don't know Rex, or any vamps, really. They don't play by our rules; no one really knows what rules, if any, they do follow. Just be careful, okay?"

Taylor sighed once more. "Yeah, all right. I'm probably in 'way over my head here. It's just… what I said to Young is true: We're gonna have to leave those gags off eventually. If I can't trust him here, how can I trust him out in the field? And either I trust him, or I leave this program; I can't have it any other way, 'cause he'll never trust me otherwise. He's gotta know, all the way down to his bones, that I'll do everything I can to protect him, Graham. That's how these things work, with any working… creature. Dog, vamp, horse—doesn't matter what the species is; they have to be able to trust their handlers. And we have to give ourselves over totally to them. I think that's why they asked for K-9 handlers; we've already got the mindset and can teach the others, by example if nothing else."

"Maybe eventually," Miller began to argue back.

Rex tuned their conversation out. So, now he had some idea of what they planned for him and the others. They would not be kept in these cells until they dusted, but were to be used for fighting of some kind. Against what, was still a mystery, but Taylor, at least, meant only good by him. That did not mean that he would be happy with what the human wanted him to do, but at least he would know the man did not mean ill by it. He tuned back in to hear Taylor partially yield to the other man.

"Okay, fine, but I'm taking the gag off again, once we reach my quarters. I won't be able to wash his hair, otherwise." He suited action to words, picking the gag back up again, only to pause once more. "Graham, his mouth is all torn up by this thing," he offered as one last protest.

"And it's probably all healed up by now, since he's had blood, and it was human," Miller retorted. "Come on, quit stalling. I've got stuff I've got to get done today, still."

One last sigh, then Taylor held the mouthpiece out, wondering just how he was going to get this into Rex's mouth. It was anticlimactic when the vampire just quietly opened his mouth.

~oOo~

The chain around Rex's neck proved to be a heavy choke-collar, just tight enough that it could not be slipped off over his head. The last ring had clearly been welded shut after it had been put on. Not safe! a corner of Taylor's mind screamed. What if he gets hung up on something?! But it was just one more thing out of his control.

Miller had showed him where the keys to the restraints were kept, in a compartment under the cell's keypad. He took one set, leaving the spare there in case of emergencies. All the chains could be lengthened, he saw, even if they were all shortened as far as possible right then. He lengthened the shackle chain enough that Rex could walk comfortably, but not run. The manacle-chain was okay, he decided as he checked it for free play through the ring on the waist-chain. He released the bonds holding the vamp's elbows pinned behind his back, which had been keeping his wrists tight against his belly.

Finally satisfied that he'd loosened the restraints enough for ease of movement, he turned to speak to Miller before releasing the wall-tether—that chain could easily double as a leash—only to stop in shock: Miller stood back, nearly in the cell's doorway, a Taser held firmly in his hands—aimed at Rex and him!

"What the…?!" Taylor gasped, forgetting what he'd been about to say.

"Are you totally insane, Taylor?" Miller grated out between clenched teeth. "You need at least three men to move a vamp! And you never give one that much slack!"

"Oh, for the love of… Graham, just how tightly restrained do you think he's gonna be on patrol? He can't hurt us! And he gave his word that he wouldn't fight me today, so he could get cleaned up.

"You've got your Taser, so, no, I'm not totally insane. I'm a handler trying to see to the well-being of his 'beast,' so lighten up! He's never gonna be able to work if everyone goes apeshit every time he's given any leeway. And it's gotta start somewhere, sometime. Now is as good a time as any, since this is something that he wants, too. So I'm taking him up to my quarters, where I will be giving him a shower, and a pair of my sweat-pants, since he's an intelligent being and not a dumb animal. You can come if you want; you said you'd help. But we, Rex an' me, we're going in any case." Resolutely he turned back and released the last lock holding Rex in the cell. Carefully he grasped the vampire by one arm to help him up to his feet. Rex wavered a bit—it had been days since he'd been up off the floor or been able to move even an inch in any direction—but he quickly steadied, then stood quietly at his handler's side, looking at the man in the cell's doorway.

Rex could smell the nervousness coming from Taylor; that was to be expected. The blatant fear pouring from Graham, though, was a surprise. That human had never shown anything like that degree of fear, as long as he, Rex, had been securely chained to the wall. That was interesting, the vampire thought as he waited to see what would happen next. Unfortunately, he knew that Taylor was correct: he could not hurt them, as things now stood. So what past experience had the other man had, to make him so fearful of a mostly-unrestrained vampire?

The moment couldn't last. Finally, Taylor gave a snort of disgust and guided his vamp out of the cell, Miller stepping aside at the last moment.

Followed by a grim-faced Miller, Rex carefully kept the leash slack, quietly seething as he walked tamely at Taylor's side. He was a Master Vampire, dammit, not some tame animal trained to do tricks. Just who did these humans think they were? Taylor, he grudgingly admitted, thought that he was responsible for caring for Rex and clearly meant to do the best he could. Once he got free again, Rex decided, he would keep that human and make a Pet of him. As for the rest… Rex's eyes flashed yellow briefly before he pushed his demon down again. Maybe there would be one or two he wouldn't kill, if his Pet-to-be begged prettily enough for their lives. It was something to consider.

They walked through seemingly endless corridors. Rex was surprised that they met no one and couldn't help wondering where everyone was. At last Taylor stopped in front of a door, keying it open with a swipe of another of those plastic cards. He led the way into a good-sized room that had a metal-framed bed pushed nearly against the far wall. Two doors led off to one side; Taylor headed through the nearer one. This, it was apparent, was the bath; it had a sink, a toilet, and a glass-fronted shower. He entered, drawing Rex in after him; Miller stopped in the doorway.

That was where Taylor realized that he had a slight problem. While he was sure that the vampire could figure out how to operate the shower, if he didn't already know, even Taylor agreed that it was 'way too soon to release his hands from the manacles. Rex would not be able to wash himself, confined that way, though, meaning that Taylor would have to do it for him. Which, in turn, meant that he, Taylor, would have to strip down also. Shit!

Sighing, he dropped Rex's lead with a quiet, "Wait here a minute, would you?" and stepped out past Miller once more. When he returned moments later, he was carrying spare towels and was wearing only a pair of boxers.

"What do you think you're doing?" Miller gasped in shock at the sight of the nearly naked Taylor.

"I'm giving my vamp a shower," Taylor replied as nonchalantly as he could manage. "I'm not about to get my uniform soaked; what's the problem?" And then he was heading past Miller and removing that gag…

Yes, Rex decided, he was definitely going to keep Taylor as a Pet once he'd escaped. While the man wasn't spectacular—that mousy brown hair was very plain—his eyes softened very nicely when he looked at his future Master. Broad shoulders and narrow hips, lean muscles… only slightly shorter than Rex, now that he'd removed his boots… Oh, yes, he would definitely be keeping this one. He grinned to himself as the human guided him into the shower stall, pushing him into the far corner as he closed the glass door and turned on the water.

"You like the water hot or cool, Rex?" Taylor asked, glancing over at his vamp in the corner.

Rex actually grinned as he answered, "As hot as you can stand it." If it weren't for the chains Rex wore, he could almost mistake Taylor for a minion, or one of his Childer, the human seemed so concerned for his preferences. It really was amusing. The water grew hotter, and Rex could feel the grime sliding off his skin and hair as he stepped fully under the spray.

"Keep your eyes closed, now," Taylor cautioned. "I don't want you getting this soap in your eyes." Then the human was rubbing some spicy-herbal-smelling stuff into his hair and working it through the longish strands. It was all Rex could do to keep from purring when the human started to massage his scalp. He could still smell the stuff, even after it had been rinsed out. Now he smelled a lot like his human, he thought with a shudder; it was Taylor's own shampoo he'd used on Rex.

The body wash smelled similar, and Rex found himself leaning into the human's touch as he was washed down. Those hands were strong and felt good on his skin. The hot water was heavenly, too. But all too soon, Taylor was shutting the water off and reaching outside the glass door for a towel.

Taylor couldn't believe how cooperative the vampire had been. He'd expected some sort of protest when he'd reached his genitals, although he'd tried to keep his touch impersonal. As he'd said before, guys did nothing for him… But Rex had stood there quietly—hell, Casey had put up more of a fuss at bath-time. Not wanting to push his luck, he finished up as quickly as possible, cutting off the water and stepping out to towel himself off first. Then he urged Rex out, rubbing him down with dry towels, leaving his hair—he'd been right; it was strawberry blonde— for last.

As he rubbed, he glanced out the door at Miller. The other man stood well back and to the side of the bathroom, his Taser never wavering from the doorway.

"Hey, Graham?" Taylor called, catching the other soldier's eye. "There's an extra blanket in my closet; could you open it out and put it down on the floor by the foot of my bed?"

Miller frowned, but backed away towards the closet. He fumbled the door open, then reached inside, searching for the blanket. Taylor watched him, missing the way Rex tensed at the thought of being relegated to the floor like some Pet… Then the vampire relaxed as he considered whether he truly wished to be in Taylor's bed as the submissive one. No; the floor was a better idea, no question about it.

He had been settled down on the blanket, his lead chain locked to the bed frame, and Taylor was mostly dressed, when the base alarm went off.

"What's up?" Taylor asked as he tightened his belt.

Miller started to shake his head, then froze. "Oh, shit!" he breathed, then strode over and hit the comm unit beside the door. "This is Captain Miller; what is the nature of the emergency? I repeat, what is the emergency? Over."

"Captain Miller, we have a vamp loose on the base somewhere," a young, nervous voice responded immediately.

"Would that be Hostile 386V?"

"Uh, yessir; how did you know?"

"Call off the alert; the vamp's not missing," Miller curtly ordered. "We've got him over in Sergeant Taylor's quarters. We'll be bringing him…"

"This is Major Greene," the officer's voice sharply overrode Miller's. "Hold your position," he snapped; then there was the click of the circuit being cut.

Taylor looked over at Graham. "Oh, mega shit!" he moaned, plopping down on his bed. He reached over and pulled Rex to him, so that the vampire rested against his legs.

Rex stiffened and growled slightly, but yielded to his handler's pull.

"Look, Rex," Taylor said urgently, "I know this goes against your nature, but d'ya think you can play tame little vamp for a while? We'll all be up shit creek otherwise. I'm gonna try my best to talk us out of this, but you're gonna have to help some, too. Whatever you do, please don't growl or snap at the major. 'Kay?" Taylor was practically pleading now as he looked down at his charge.

"I will… try," Rex finally muttered, but there was no time to say anything else as Taylor's door slammed open.

"Geez, that's no way to enter a room with a half-trained animal inside!" Taylor snarled as he sprang up off of the bed, covering the vampire's own snarl of alarm. "You trying to make him attack?" He'd quickly moved to put himself between the charging security detail and the chained vampire, using his own body as a shield.

"Stand away from the hostile!" the soldier in charge of the detail ordered, his voice harsh with fear.

"Oh, hell, no, I won't," Taylor snapped back. "My vamp is restrained and in control; you're sure as hell not gonna Tase him for nothing!"

And then Major Greene strode into the room, taking in the chained vamp sitting on the floor, his handler standing between him and the security detail, Captain Miller with a ready Taser of his own. "Stand down your detail, Wize," he said in a tight voice. "And you, Taylor, what the hell do you think you're doing, moving a dangerous hostile around this base—unrestrained?" he added as he noted the looseness of the vampire's chains.

"Sir, I was seeing to the care and well-being of my Hunter," Taylor responded, stressing his choice of title for his vampire. "He needed to be bathed, sir; someone thought it appropriate, sometime last night after he'd been fed, to abuse him and piss on him. I was not about to leave him in that condition; besides being uncalled for, it was highly unsanitary. Not to mention disgusting—sir," he finished with a mutinous glare at the major, who just looked back thoughtfully.

"So you just decided to take him for a little walkabout, did you, Sergeant? You stop to consider that he might overpower you, despite his chip?"

"Yessir, I thought about that. That's why Captain Miller was along, sir; he had his Taser ready at all times as backup." Taylor moved back one step and shifted to the side so that Rex was sitting next to his leg. A moment later, he felt the cool weight as the vamp leaned lightly against him. Taylor took a deep breath and tried for a more respectful tone. "Sir, honestly, I couldn't leave him like that, and Captain Miller said that he wasn't aware of any wash facilities down closer to his kennel. This was the only thing I could think of, sir."

"Did you take him by Medical first?" Major Greene asked, calming a little himself.

"Nossir; I didn't want him out in the hallways any longer than necessary, and he didn't indicate any injuries that needed such extensive care." Taylor had felt Rex tense against his leg at the mention of Medical—so, he mused, someplace to avoid if possible. I wonder why?

"You said someone pissed on your vamp?"

"Yessir; the smell was starting to be noticeable by the time I got him into the shower, sir," Taylor confirmed.

"Medical could have sampled it, maybe determined just who had done it; did you consider that?"

"No, sir, I hadn't thought of that," Taylor confessed, but then his face hardened. "And, sir, even if I had thought of it, I probably wouldn't have tried to bring him there. I haven't noticed a whole lot of concern over the treatment these vamps are given by too many people here. Sir."

"You are out of line, Sergeant," the Major snapped, anger rising in him once more. But his gaze fell to the growling vamp, who glared up at him with yellow eyes at the sound of his antagonism. The vamp hadn't moved a muscle, but it took no stretch of the imagination to see that he wanted to defend his handler in the way a vamp knew best.

Before he could say anything, though, Taylor put a hand on the vampire's head. "That'll do, Rex. Stand down," he ordered in a quiet, yet firm, voice. The eyes stayed yellow, but the growl died away.

Taylor looked over at the major and sighed. "Sir, I really am sorry for the confusion. Rex—that's H386V, sir—he was never in any danger of escaping. Truth be told, sir, we all need some bonding time with the vamps, if they're to be effective hunters. Any dog-handler will tell you the same thing, sir; they have to know you'll take care of them. And vamps, being human-level intelligent… Sir, it's even more important. What would be best would be to have some way to keep 'em close. If nothing else, that would protect them from the sadists that don't approve of this…"

"Are you finished, Sergeant?" Major Greene cut him off. "This is the Army, boy, not some dog-training project for the Boy Scouts. That is a dangerous animal. You will return him to his cell, and he will stay there except for approved, supervised training sessions. Is that clear?"

"Sir, yes, sir!" Taylor snapped to attention to respond, his face a blank mask. Okay; if he had to leave Rex down in that cell, he'd sleep down there himself, too. No way was he leaving his vamp unprotected after last night; no way in hell.

And Rex wisely kept his mouth shut, leaving Taylor to fight this battle for him. His Pet had spunk, he'd give him that.

Notes

(1) Biker Mice From Mars, 1993 version.