Chapter 4

"Is it just me, or does everyone else feel like they are going to jail or a secret guillotine?" Ivy asked. I didn't blame her. Right after we got off of Trent's plane, A mysterious unmarked van pulls up, guys in black jump out and beckoned us to go in. They had mics in their ears, having curt conversations with people on the other end. No sooner than the moment we were in the truck, the doors shut immediately, and we drove off. There were no windows in the back of this van either.

I sneaked a glance at Ivy. This had to be pure hell for her. Not only was she away from home, but she was now being put in a position without a plan. Additionally, she was seeing her ex-boyfriend. If she vamps out, hopefully she'll bite one of the-men-who-don't-belong. It's not like they all don't look the same. No one would miss one.

Jenks was happy to be out of the plane. Apparently the tonic did help him-He was able to sleep through most of the ride. He woke up just after Trent's declaration, and interrupted our conversation before he fell asleep again.

Trent said I was beautiful. Crap on toast. We haven't talked or even looked at each other since then. I didn't even know how to respond to him. Do I say thanks? It's not like I was going to initiate anything between us. A romantic entanglement with Trent was a whopping no-no. You can't date someone you hated once, can you?

"It's not just you," I said, looking down at my hands and at the ring on my pinky finger. We could hear faint traffic outside and the engine of the van. I wanted to rest my head on the truck walls, but the side of the van had wooden bars going across with nails sticking up every which way. Knowing my luck, I would have a nail stuck out of my head when the truck went over a speed bump.

"I don't know what you guys are talking about, but I feel free." Jenks said, flying around freely. He stopped and hovered in front of Trent. I looked away but could hear Jenks ask, "Why are you so quiet, Trent?"

"No reason, trying to figure out where we are at." Trent said. "I can smell the desert clearly, but not much else."

"Yeah, occasionally you can smell a car's exhaust, but that's about it." Jenks said.

"That means, we are in the middle of nowhere." Trent stated. Ivy and I looked at each other. I did not like the sound of that. I didn't trust the-men-who-don't-belong, and it was very likely they were taking us somewhere to lock us up. But I trusted Glenn. He was our friend, and he would never betray us, or leave us in a position that would get us hurt.

A few moments later, the truck bounced for a bit and then we heard rumbling echoes off of the walls. "Now it smells like. . . nothing?" I said.

"That's not right." Jenks said. He flew around in different places of the van, sniffing. "Tink's titties Rachel, it really doesn't smell like anything." This time I braved a look at Trent, and he looked at me, concern written all over his face.

Ivy, who was used to planning and being in charge, declared, "Here is the plan. I get out of the van first, then Trent, then Rachel followed by Jenks. Rachel, keep your splat gun handy, Jenks, be ready to attack. Trent... stay out of trouble."

Trent gave Ivy a wry smile. "Really, you want to tell me that?" He pointedly looked at me. Jenks and Ivy looked at me and shrugged. Jenks says, "Trent's right. you should have told Rachel that."

"Hey!" I gave an indignant response and glared at my three friends. There was a slight pause before we all broke into laughter. The tension between Trent and I thankfully broke, and things were back to normal.

The van abruptly jerked and stopped. We stopped laughing and didn't say a word. Outside it was pin drop silence. I was seriously getting freaked out. This was not cool, and Glenn was going to get an earful from me.

The doors opened and bright light shined through, our eyes adjusting to the sudden illumination. Outside were men in suits and military like black uniforms. Some were holding weapons, others were standing there at parade rest. "Get out," the man closest to us said. We got out \, and the guy said, "Please, follow me." At least he said please this time.

The room we were in was a warehouse of sorts. There were other black unmarked vehicles, some vans, others cars. There was even a small helicopter on one end. There were metal closets all over the place, Some open. I peered at the open ones and saw different types of herbs, weapons, and things I didn't even recognize.

We were marched out of the warehouse into a corridor full of doors. There were whiteboards on each door. Some were empty, and others had messages. Some had messages that made no sense, "M4 to the 15 K." However, others were familiar and full of warmth. "Congratulations on your promotion! You're in charge of drinks tonight." This place was full of contradictions.

We go through a set of double doors into an office room. Jenks whistled. I agreed. The room had a large LCD screen in the front and small screens surrounding it. Each screen had something going on them. One had people fighting. Another had a few of the-men-who-don't-belong taking down an undead vamp. Some screens were just camera's looking into an empty room. One was a family of weres having breakfast.

There was a large round table that could easily fit 20 or so people. Each chair was made from leather and brand new. Off to the side was a table filled with snacks, sodas, water, and- "Coffee!" I bounced over there making myself a much needed cup of coffee. Jenks joined me, talking excitedly about the various electronic gizmos around. "Rach, I don't even recognize some of the technologies here."

"Neither do I." Trent said quietly. He was leaning against the wall, and to someone who didn't know the elf, might have thought he was relaxed. I could read his tells though. He did not trust what was going on here. Someone with his money and his technologies not recognizing electrical units was unsettling. Likewise, Ivy was lounging in one of the chairs, looking relaxed to the untrained eyes. Her source of tension was different.

The double doors opened and in walked in Glenn. He had his hair cut short, and he had on a men-who-don't-belong outfit; black suit, white shirt, black tie. He was company man now. Jenks flew over to him, "How's it hanging?" Glenn grinned down at Jenks, "You don't know how glad I am to see you guys."

I walked over to him and gave him a hug. Trent pushed off the walls, and Glenn and him shook hands. Then Glenn turned to Ivy, his face somber. "Hey Ivy."

"Hey," she said. I felt my scar tingling, and I knew some vampy stuff was going down between them. Glenn probably remembered his scar, and from the look of Ivy's eyes dilating, I could tell she remembered, too. After a few long moments, Ivy sighed and turned away from Glenn.

Through the double doors more people started filing in. Everyone was more relaxed inside this room than out in the warehouse. They were eating doughnuts and cracking jokes. This time I noticed there were females in the mix. Some wore pantsuits, others with a skirt. But it was always black with a white shirt. I walked over to where Trent was standing and said, "Well at least your suit is pinstripe and your tie is Blue. Can't blend in, huh?"

He grinned at me, "Well, you are dressed professional as always, Rachel." I guess my jeans and tank top didn't live up to the dress code.

Finally, through the doors walked in the Captain. He was a broad shouldered man, filling out his white shirt. He had salt and pepper hair, and you could tell he was quite the looker when he was younger. He was the only one who worked for this super, secret place that was not wearing a black suit jacket. A few months ago I wanted to find a way to work with this man and his employees, but now I could see that he was someone who could not be trusted. It worried me that Glenn had to take orders from him.

All of a sudden it hit me then that Ivy and Jenks had no idea what they were getting into. Trent and I didn't talk to anyone about the night where the-men-who-don't-belong tried to wipe our memories. They had some idea that we were keeping something from them, but they had no idea how pissed off I was at them. Plus, Trent and I were supposed to have our memories wiped. We couldn't act or behave in any way that gave away the fact that our memories were intact.

I must have looked like I was going to say something to give away our secret because I felt a firm squeeze in my left hand. I look over at Trent who gave me warning look. I imperceptibly nodded my head, and worked on calming myself down.

"Everyone, please take a seat. We have much to discuss." I got a horrible feeling in my stomach that we were not here for anything pretty.