Chapter 4:Inside Man
Max regained conciousness a few hours later.
"Where am I?" he asked himself.
"Oh good, you're up." said Laura. "Now, you can help us find the research."
"It's a little late for that, Laura." said Elizabeth. "The sun's about to come up."
"Laura?" asked Max. "So, that's your name."
"Now, you have to tell me yours." said Laura.
"It's Max. Where am I?"
"You're at our headquarters." said Elizabeth.
"Who are you?" asked Max.
"My name is Elizabeth Winters. You might have heard of me around the water cooler."
"Not really." said Max. "This was my first day on the job."
"You are so fired." laughed Laura.
"And that's Laura Kennedy." said Elizabeth. "Don't mind her. She's like that."
"I get what you mean." said Max. "I have to get out of here."
"Now is not a good time for that." said Elizabeth.
"Sure, you don't want to get toasted." said Laura.
"What does that mean?" asked Max as he extended his hand for effect.
That's when he noticed his hand was as pale as Laura and Elizabeth. He looked at his other hand. It too was white as chalk. He put his hands together. They both felt cold to the touch.
He then looked to a mirror that was in the room. He saw the wall behind him, but not himself. He then ran his tongue over his upper jaw. He felt two fangs and confirmed his worst fears.
He put his hands to his forehead, collapsed against the wall, and screamed "I'm a monster!" However, he was completely unaware that the bug was still in his pocket and still broadcasting.
Outside, Scooter had parked the Naginata and was now listening in over his equipment. "Little easily scared, aren't you?" he remarked.
----------
As the sun came up, four black Chevy Suburbans raced across the Mojave Desert. Inside each were six people wearing black coveralls and bulletproof vests. The chest of the vests bore the initials of their organization: "FBI".
One of the men in the lead Suburban wore a jacket over his vest. The jacket identified him as the group's leader.
"Agent Lords?" asked someone over the radio.
"Go ahead." said the man in the jacket.
"We have a visual on the fortress." said the agent on the radio.
"I copy." said Lords as he looked at an old Spanish fort.
"How are we going to crack that?" asked a female agent in Lords' Suburban.
"Don't worry." said Lords. "We have a man on the inside."
On the battlement of the fortress, two guards watched the Suburbans approach. One of them said "I think we should warn Mendoza."
"I'll get right on it." said the other one, a Latino.
The Suburbans parked outside the fortress gates and the twenty-four FBI agents climbed out brandishing M4 assault rifles. Lords himself had a bullhorn. He used it to deliver a message to the occupants of the fortress.
"Pedro Mendoza, this is Agent Kyle Lords of the FBI! We have a warrant for your arrest on charges of drug trafficking! We can do this the easy way, which is you surrendering, or we can do this the hard way, which is us storming the place! What is your choice?"
"Just try getting in here!" yelled the guard.
"Okay, men." said Lords. "Let's get in there! Go!"
The Latino guard quickly hit the button that opened the main gates.
"What are you doing?" yelled the other guard.
"This just isn't your day." said the Latino guard as he pulled out an FBI badge.
Before the other guard could do anything, three of the FBI agents ran into the fortress. Two more trained their M4s on the guard.
Several more guards took aim at the agents only to be fired upon. A guard on the battlement was hit in the leg and fell to the roof below him. Another was pinned down by weapons fire and never got off a shot. A third saw one of the agents aim at him and quickly dropped his gun and surrendered.
The rest of the FBI agents made their way into the fortress. "Where's Mendoza?" asked Lords.
"I don't think he's up yet." said the Latino guard. "He's probably still in his quarters."
"Okay, we're going after him." said Lords. "I'd let you go home right now, but you know this fort better than the rest of us. Mailer, get Agent Sanchez a bulletproof vest and a rifle."
"Got it." said a female agent.
"I have to warn you though." said Agent Sanchez. "He's got a new bodyguard. This guy is HUGE."
"We can handle him." said Lords.
Mailer returned with a bulletproof vest and an M4. "Here you go, Jeremy." she said.
"Thank you." said Agent Sanchez.
A few minutes later, Jeremy, Lords, and four of the other agents made their way through the fortress.
"Mendoza's quarters are this way." said Jeremy.
They encountered another guard. He was taken completely by surprise and surrendered without a fight. One of the agents turned the guard against the wall and handcuffed him.
The agents came to a pair of doors. "This is it." said Jeremy.
"Cover us." said Lords to two of the agents. They turned and aimed down the hallway in different directions. Lords pounded on the door and said "Mendoza, we have a warrant for your arrest! If you don't surrender, we're coming in!"
They waited a few seconds for a response. After none came, Lords and Jeremy broke it open.
They saw a rather large vampire standing over Mendoza's body. The drug lord wasn't moving.
"What the..." said one agent.
"Craig?" asked Jeremy.
The large vampire dropped his jaw and bared his fangs.
"Boy, he sure can pick 'em." said the other agent.
The large vampire lunged towards them.
"Waste him!" yelled Lords. He, Jeremy, and the other two agents opened fire with their M4s. Despite being hit with a couple dozen rounds of ammo, the large vampire just shrugged it off.
"Scatter!" yelled Lords. The agents split up and spread around the room.
One of the agents stood near Mendoza's corpse and took aim at the large vampire. Before he could get off a shot, Mendoza grabbed him by the leg and tried to bite into it.
Jeremy and Lords took cover next to an armchair. "This isn't working." said Lords.
"Take out the skylight." said Jeremy as he pointed to a tinted skylight above them.
"Good thinking." said Lords.
He and Jeremy aimed at the skylight and opened fire with their M4s. The skylight started to crack with the hits, then completely collapsed. The room was quickly bathed in sunlight.
The two vampires recoiled from the light. Mendoza was forced to release the agent in the process. The large vampire crumpled to the floor as he and Mendoza burst into flames. The two were reduced to ash and charred bone within a minute. Luckily, the flames didn't spread.
The agent who had been grabbed by Mendoza checked his leg. "You alright?" asked the other agent.
"Yeah, he didn't get me." said the agent. "I'm okay."
Jeremy looked at the bones of the large vampire. "That was the bodyguard I was telling you about." said Jeremy. "His name was Craig Hudson."
"In any case, congratulations are in order." said Lords. "You've just taken part in the first ever FBI operation to end with the suspect becoming a vampire."
----------
At MASK headquarters, Alex and Wei stood around the briefing room. Wei was visibly upset while Alex simply looked troubled.
Gloria walked in. "Well, Tony is trying to comfort Liam." she said. "Unfortunately, you know Liam's not the kind to comfort easily."
"Max shouldn't have gone in there." said Wei. "I should have told you I moved the research to the Rhino before."
"Wei, stop beating yourself up." said Alex. "You didn't get the chance to tell me. It's not exactly the kind of thing you can work into combat plans."
"At least you guys weren't sitting around useless." said Gloria. "I was in town all night and the only action was when I got into a street race with Bruno Sheppard. Jerk still owes me five hundred bucks."
Hondo, Julio, and Julie walked in then. "I heard about Max." said Hondo. "What happened?"
"He went into the college to prevent Darwood's research from being stolen." said Alex. "While he was in there, he got jumped by a vampire and bitten."
"Worse yet, it was the Val." said Wei.
"Who's the Val?" asked Julie.
"She's a vampire in her early twenties." said Julio. "Or at least she was when she was turned. She has some kind of mental challenge. We call her 'The Val' as in 'valley girl'."
"Ah." said Julie.
"Did she get the research?" asked Hondo.
"No, Wei went in and got it before the vamps showed up." said Alex.
"We turned it over to Matt and Bruce." said Wei. "They took it to Nevada. He's probably used it to further his research already."
----------
"What do you mean this research is completely fake?" asked Matt. He and Bruce were standing in a science lab somewhere.
"I meant just what I said." said Nevada. "This research is completely fraudulent."
"Why would Darwood hype this research when it's all fake?" asked Matt.
"The bigger the carrot, the bigger the trap." said Bruce.
"I agree with Bruce." said Nevada. "Darwood was apparently using this alleged research to lure the vampires into a trap."
"It looks like he's interested in destroying the vampires instead of helping them." said Matt.
"I think he might have resigned himself to the fact that the vampires are beyond redemption." said Bruce.
"That I disagree with." said Nevada. "According to Michael, the transformation might be reversible."
"Is that so?" asked Matt.
"I believe it is." said a younger Native American wearing a lab coat. "In my years of scientific research, I have noticed that many processes can be reversed if you find the original cause."
"And you believe this is no different?" asked Matt.
"If we only knew what started all this, we might be able to put a stop to it." said Michael.
"Well, in that area, I wish you luck." said Matt.
Bruce looked at a group of vampires in cages. They all wore biker clothing.
"Are these the vampire biker gang that attacked?" he asked.
"They are the survivors of that attack." said Nevada. "If we manage to develop a cure for vampirism, they will be our test subjects. I know it's not exactly humane, but we have no choice."
"I know." said Matt.
Matt and Bruce left the laboratory and exited a building in the middle of a Native American reservation.
"Liam is not going to like that his cousin was bitten while going after false research." said Matt. "It's bad enough that we brought him in at all."
"If we tell him this, he'll probably want to go after Darwood himself." said Bruce. "I'm actually thinking of asking if he wants help."
"We're going to need new operatives all the same." said Matt.
----------
Back at headquarters, Tony entered the briefing room looking rather shaken.
"How'd it go?" asked Julie.
"About as well as can be expected." said Tony. "That is to say 'not well'."
"Great, now we've got two operatives out." said Wei.
"Alex, have you heard from Scooter yet?" asked Julio.
"Not yet." said Alex. "He found the place, but the vampires turned in hours ago. He decided to do the same."
"What are you guys talking about?" asked Hondo.
"Max's capture forced us to alter our plans." said Alex. "In the case that Max remembers the bug and destroys it when he turns, we had to have Scooter follow him immediately. That way, we can get as much information as we can before that happens."
"He's going right into enemy hands." said Gloria.
"He was willing to take that risk from the start." said Alex. "He's a gutsy one, I say."
Julie's cell phone went off. She checked the caller ID. "It's Agent Lords." she said. She answered it.
"Who's Agent Lords?" asked Wei.
"He's partenered with Jeremy Sanchez." said Gloria. "That's the guy she keeps asking to join the team. However, he's currently tied up with an undercover assignment."
"Yes! That's perfect!" said Julie. "Yes, please! Put him on!"
"What's going on?" asked Alex.
"The Mendoza case has been resolved." said Julie. "Jeremy is now free to join us."
"That's great." said Tony.
"Jeremy?" said Julie into her cell phone.
----------
"Hey, what's up, Jul?" asked Jeremy. He was in the courtyard of Mendoza's fortress. All around him were guards being arrested by the FBI agents. Surprisingly, Mendoza and Craig were the only fatalities.
"Jeremy, do you have any experience fighting vampires?" asked Julie.
Jeremy looked at the two body bags containing the remains of Mendoza and Craig. "Not really." he said.
"That's what our group is up to right now." said Julie. "We need someone who can handle rather dangerous operations. I know this is pretty soon after you've taken Mendoza into custody."
Jeremy watched several other agents looking at Mendoza's charred bones. They looked on in shock. "Yeah." said Jeremy. "Luckily, he's not going anywhere for a long time."
"Well, what I was wondering was if you would consider joining us." said Julie. "I know you have the skill set to handle the mission and we're always in need of new members."
"Have you cleared this with the director?" asked Jeremy.
"All clear." said Julie.
"Where should we meet?" asked Jeremy.
"There's a gas station outside of Boulder Hill, Nevada." said Julie. "That's where you should go."
"Okay, I'll meet you there." said Jeremy.
"Good, see you soon." said Julie. She hung up and said "Jeremy's on his way. Can we try to prolong his safety?"
"Your friend's safety is assured to the best of our ability." said Julio.
"I think we could use a little more backup." said Gloria as she took out her cell phone.
----------
The mercenaries hired by Darwood and Gilford gathered in a building.
"So, you guys were also called into action by Mr. Darwood." said Carl. He was wearing a black jumpsuit with a blue midsection and no sleeves.
"We sure were." said Weller. "Does anyone know where we are?" He wore a black jumpsuit with yellow stripes.
"This is the sub-basement for Fox Industries headquarters." said Calvin. "I bet he stuck us down here so his regular employees wouldn't run across us." He was wearing an orange jumpsuit with a red abdominal area and shoulders.
"They're not here anyway." said Darwood as he, Gilford, and Mayhem entered. "I gave them a three-day weekend due to the attack on the lab."
"Nice lineup, Darwood." said Mayhem. "They look like they can cause some damage."
"Front and center!" yelled Gilford. His outfit was a dark blue jumpsuit with black stripes.
A tough-looking dark-haired man stood at the far left end of the line. He wore a tan jumpsuit with yellow sleeves and midsection. To the right were Kelly, Calvin, his sister, Weller, and Carl. Kelly was still in his street clothes: blue jeans, a white t-shirt with a helicopter on it, and a blue jacket. Calvin's sister wore a blue jumpsuit with yellow and white stripes on it.
Darwood walked past them and said "Meet Richard Bates, Frank Kelly, Calvin Lucas, his sister Cassidy Lucas, Charlie Weller, and..." He drew a blank on Carl's name.
"You may call me Carl." he said.
"Very well, Carl." said Darwood. "You may proceed, Miles."
"Lady and gentlemen," said Mayhem "you have been chosen for an upcoming battle against an enemy that has much power of supernatural origin. Your individual skills along with our provided equipment will give you an edge. The question I ask is 'can you work with us to defeat our enemy?'"
"Just so we're clear," asked Cassidy "this supernatural enemy we're fighting is vampires, right?"
"Yes." said Mayhem.
"Thought so." said Cassidy.
"What have I gotten myself into?" moaned Kelly.
"Now, as I have mentioned," said Mayhem "we have a few vehicles for you to use in battle. Come this way to receive them."
He and Darwood led the group into the parking garage. There, they found seven vehicles.
"Whoa." said Calvin.
"Nice." said Cassidy.
"Weller, this will be your car." said Darwood as he laid his hand on a black Mini Cooper with silver graphics that looked like blades. The car was also fitted with an Erebuni Shogun body kit, an Erebuni spoiler, and 5Zigen Supersix rims. "We call this car the Roach. I think you'll like it."
"Thanks." said Weller.
"Cassidy, you'll thank me for this." said Darwood as he approached a blue Koenigsegg CCR. The car featured chrome Giovanna Gello rims, graphics showing a black cheetah running across a white plain, and a custom made spoiler. "You're driving this car, the Cannonball."
"I could be bitten and I'll still be glad I joined you." said Cassidy.
"Kelly, you've got the Tornado here." said Darwood. He pointed to a two-tone red and white '56 Chevy Nomad. Aside from the chrome trim, the only other visual modification were the Cragar Series 61 rims.
Darwood walked past a red Aston Martin Vanquish and went right up to a silver Toyota FJ Cruiser. "This is your vehicle, Bates, the Jackal." said Darwood. The truck had a Road Armor brushguard, a roof rack, jerry cans in a rack on the tailgate, graphics resembling a rocky embankment, and Mickey Thompson Classic II rims with off-road tires.
"Carl, you get this truck." said Darwood. He pointed to a dark grey Jeep Commander with a Fabtech brushguard, graphics of a spooky forest at night, and Colorado Custom Denver rims with off-road tires. "We call it the Zombie."
"Nice name." said Carl.
"Finally, we have your vehicle, Calvin." said Darwood. In front of them was a dark purple bus with "Reynard" spray painted on the sides in red paint. Below that in white letters was "World Tour".
"If I remember my French, 'Reynard' means Fox." said Calvin.
"You recall correctly." said Darwood. "The vehicle itself is called the Piledriver."
"Sweet." said Calvin.
"What about this one?" asked Gilford when he looked at the Aston Martin.
"That's mine." said Darwood as he walked over to the red metallic car. On the sides were white and black tribal graphics and the rims were mounted with gold Maya MRS rims. "I call it the Fox."
"No surprises there." said Gilford.
"Come, gentlemen." said Darwood. "Let's get you your next piece of equipment."
----------
That afternoon, Matt and Bruce returned to MASK headquarters.
"Bad news." said Matt. "The research was fake."
"Hopefully, Scooter can get more information from the tracking device." said Gloria.
"At least some good is coming out of this." said Matt. "I think I might have to talk about the situation with Liam."
"The man's been through a lot." said Tony. "I think you should give him some time to heal a little."
"Yes, you're right." said Matt. "Alex, did Scooter find the vampires' headquarters or get any information?"
"He has a location." said Alex. "Get ready for this. Max never planted the bug. It's still on his person."
"What?" said Bruce.
"And it's picked up so much." said Alex. "Max apparently didn't take too well to his transformation."
"Maybe there's still some of him in there." said Julie.
"Maybe a lot." said Alex as the door opened. "Also, we found out the name of 'The Val'."
"You'd better not be talking about me."
Everyone looked to see Caitlin had entered.
"Guys, this is the new possible I mentioned." said Gloria. "Her name is Caitlin Horowitz. She's a race car driver. She might even be better than me."
"Better than you?" asked Caitlin. "No way."
"Alex, you said you had a name for 'The Val'." said Matt.
"Laura Kennedy." said Alex.
"Look her up." said Matt. "It might not help much, but you never know."
----------
A couple of hours later, it was late afternoon. Caitlin had been briefed on the situation.
"And that's what's going on now." said Matt.
"I know what your friend Liam is going through." said Caitlin. "I'm sure Gloria filled you in on my cousin Adam."
"I did." said Gloria.
"Look, I don't want you to think I'm out for revenge." said Caitlin. "I just want to prevent a repeat for some other family."
"I'm sure you do." said Matt. "All of us have friends and family we want to keep safe."
"Shall we take a look at the car?" asked Gloria.
"I was hoping you'd ask." said Caitlin.
The three of them walked out to the garage. The Wyvern was right in front of them.
"She still looks beautiful." said Caitlin.
"And she's yours." said Gloria.
"Is that your latest vehicle?" asked Caitlin.
"It's one of them." said Matt.
One of the FBI's black Suburbans rolled down the entrance ramp.
"Here comes the driver of the other one now." said Matt.
The Suburban parked and Jeremy climbed out of the passenger seat.
"Agent Sanchez, nice of you to join us." said Matt.
"Julie twisted my arm." said Jeremy. "She's told me a lot about what you're doing. I'd like to see what I can do to help."
"The briefing takes a while." said Caitlin. "I hope you're up for it."
"She's right." said Matt. "I think we should see how you do on the test track first."
"Okay, sounds fair." said Jeremy. "So, what am I driving?"
"We finished it recently." said Buddie. "It's right over here."
He led Jeremy to a blue '05 Ford Mustang. The car sported a Steeda front fascia, cowl induction hood, race wing, and Pentar chrome wheels. Silver stripes ran down the sides.
"Nice." said Jeremy. "What do you call it?"
"We actually never came up with a name." said Enzo. "We were just finishing up work on it when the Wyvern was commissioned. We then kind of put it on the back burner."
"I'll tell you what." said Buddie. "Since you're going to be driving it, maybe you should come up with a name."
"Hmmm." said Jeremy. "Well, since I am of Mexican descent and we are fighting vampires, I think we should call it...the Chupacabra."
"The Mexican goat-sucker." laughed Enzo.
"The Chupacabra it is." said Buddie.
"Okay, Caitlin." said Matt. "Since you have experience as race driver, I think it's only appropriate that you take to the track with Gloria. And since you have a history with Julie, you will be teamed with her, Jeremy."
"It's a dream come true." said Caitlin.
"I'll do my best to get him acquainted." said Julie.
The agents went to their respective cars.
"Jul, I'm sorry." said Jeremy. "I heard about your father. I just couldn't believe it when I heard."
"Thanks, that's what everybody's been telling me." said Julie. "It's been a little hard these past few months, but I'm managing."
"I've heard so much about him at the office." said Jeremy. "He was quite an agent."
"Yes, he was." said Julie. "I've got a bit of a reputation to live up to."
The agents climbed into their cars.
"There's a bit of equipment I don't recognize." said Caitlin.
"I see you know your Lamborghini interiors." said Gloria.
"Are you kidding?" asked Caitlin. "I know my Lamborghini part numbers."
She and Jeremy started their cars. They drove to the test track Gloria had taken the Wyvern to the previous day.
"Careful, Jeremy." said Julie. "That Lamborghini's gonna blow you into the weeds."
"Probably." said Jeremy. "But I bet I can make it through the last turn a little faster."
"I'd pay to see that." said Julie.
Caitlin pulled alongside the Chupacabra and rolled down her window. "I think I'll give you a head start." she said.
"Why, thank you." said Jeremy.
Jeremy eased the Chupacabra onto the track. Caitlin was right behind him in the Wyvern.
"Ready." said Jeremy. "And go!"
Jeremy floored the accelerator and the car took off. He went into the first turn and slowed it down.
"Definitely faster than a stock Mustang." said Jeremy.
"You're going to find out this is far from stock." said Julie.
Thirty seconds after Jeremy started, he was weaving through the chicanes. Also, Caitlin decided she'd given him enough of a head start and started herself.
Jeremy was crossing the bridge as Caitlin was making it through the first turn. She managed to race through the chicanes as Jeremy poured on the speed towards the bridge.
"I'm on your six." said Caitlin as she looked at the Chupacabra below her.
"Wow, she's catching up fast." said Jeremy as he looked up at the Wyvern crossing the bridge.
"The final turn is right after the tunnel." said Julie. "Are you sure you can make it through faster than her?"
"Watch me." said Jeremy. "Just make sure you have your seatbelt on."
Jeremy raced into the tunnel. When he was halfway through, Caitlin entered.
"Let's see how that modern muscle takes a high-speed sweeper." said Gloria.
Jeremy exited the tunnel and raced towards the final turn. Caitlin was right behind him.
"Shouldn't he be slowing down more than that?" asked Gloria.
"Hang on." said Jeremy. He turned the wheel sharply and the tail end of the Chupacabra angled sharply away from the car's path.
"Whoa!" said Caitlin.
"What are you doing?" yelled Julie as she held the armrest in a death grip.
"Drifting." said Jeremy.
Jeremy came out of the turn and straightened out on the final stretch. Caitlin was right behind him and tried to return to top speed. She finally managed to pass him a couple of seconds before they crossed the finish line.
The two cars slowed to a halt and parked next to each other.
"Where did you learn how to do that?" asked Caitlin.
"I once had to infiltrate a street racing circle." said Jeremy. "This was just as drifting was catching on in the U.S. So naturally, I had to pick it up."
"Pick it up you did." said Gloria.
"Come on, I still have some things to teach you about this car." said Julie.
"Want to do more drifting?" asked Jeremy.
"Okay, but just this once." said Julie.
----------
As night fell, Scooter was woken up by an alarm in the Naginata. He bolted awake and noticed the sunset. "I guess I'm just in time." he said. He turned on the surveilance system in the Naginata and donned a pair of headphones.
Inside the mansion ahead of him, the residents were waking up.
Riley climbed out of his coffin and was approached by Melissa. "Riley, I was thinking of what Laura was talking about this morning." she said. "MASK got their hands on Darwood's research last night, so we should probably go after one of the other stations to retrieve another set."
"I agree." said Riley. "However, last night was a mistake. We waited until the humans would be tired and they used the time to hide the research. Our plan came back to bite us, so to speak. Tonight, we should attack first chance we get."
"Now I agree." said Melissa. "We'll get our troops to attack one of the stations."
"You will go." said Riley. "So will Gorey, Malloy, and Vanessa, who will be leading you."
"Will that be enough?" asked Melissa.
"I hope so." said Riley. "Elizabeth, Laura, and Malloy were barely enough last night."
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Elsewhere, Max was waking up. He climbed out of his coffin and said "That was too creepy for words."
He walked out of the sleeping area to where the other vampires were gathered. He looked at the crowd of undead and shuddered.
"You don't belong here either, huh?"
Max turned to see who said that. He saw it was...
"Brad Turner?" asked Max. "The rock star? What happened?"
"I don't want to talk about it." said Brad. "However, I have to."
"You were one of the biggest rockers of the 80s." said Max. "Right up there with Benatar and Mellencamp."
"Now, I'm just another undead freak." said Brad.
"How did this happen?" asked Max.
"Twenty years ago." said Brad. "I got attacked by Riley as he was escaping his castle. You?"
"Laura did this last night." said Max. "Girl's got the mind of a child. Doesn't say much good about me, does it?"
"Oh yeah. Laura." said Brad. "Once a medical student, now a servant of the undead."
"What?" asked Max. "SHE was a medical student?"
"She was." said Brad. "She had an intense fear of vampires as a human. When she was bitten, it caused her mind to snap and regress to that of a little girl."
"Poor thing." said Max.
"We all are." said Brad.
"Hey, shouldn't you be out vamping or something?" asked Max.
"I gave my assistance to Riley for as long as I could." said Brad. "After he had enough operatives to go into action instead of me, I just let them."
"Why don't you go out?" asked Max.
"I don't really like hunting humans." said Brad. "This nature was forced upon me. I'm sure you know what I mean."
"I know exactly what you mean." said Max. "Does Riley know?"
"Thankfully, no." said Brad. "If he knew I was out of his control, I'd be set upon by his loyal followers. I've tried to form an alliance among vampires who would rather be human again, but even they might not be able to protect me."
"How do you know who's resisting and who's giving in?" asked Max.
"If you look carefully, you can tell." said Brad. "Forget what you've read in Anne Rice novels. We can't read minds, so don't try. Try reading faces instead."
"Who would be a good example?" asked Max.
"That one over there." said Brad as he motioned to a male vampire with a bald head.
"He looks like he's enjoying himself." said Max. "I'm guessing he's accepting his nature?"
"You guess right." said Brad. "You win a second test. Her." He pointed to a female vampire with black hair and glasses.
"I can see she seems to be enjoying herself." said Max. "But she keeps looking away concerned. She wants a pulse again, doesn't she?"
"She does." said Brad. "She's part of my alliance."
"Can you point out the other members of your alliance?" asked Max.
"I'd rather not." said Brad. "It might give away my intentions."
"We could at least hook up with my group." said Max. "They're doing their best to fight the vampires. They could use an advantage like this."
"I wish it were that simple." said Brad. "Unfortunately, most humans have a strong distrust of us. Establishing a link with them could be a bit iffy."
"You never know until you try." said Max. "Try getting in touch with them. It just might work."
"I'll tell you what." said Brad as he took out his cell phone. "You give it a try. Call someone you can trust. See how far you get."
Max took the cell phone and asked "How about my cousin?"
"Why not?" asked Brad.
Max dialled Liam's number on the cell phone, then held it up to his ear. After a couple of rings, he heard someone pick up. "Liam, it's Max. I'm in serious..." he said before being cut off by Liam chewing him out. He ended up staring at the cell phone in shock.
"So, what did he say?" asked Brad as he held out his hand.
"Well, if I clean it up, it really isn't a sentence." said Max as he handed the phone back to him.
----------
"Laura Kennedy." said Alex as he looked at the computer screen. "Born in Boston on April 18, 1980. She was a medical student at UCLA in 2004 when she mysteriously disappeared. It was long considered she was taken by the vampires since they had attacked the UCLA campus the night she disappeared."
"Now, we have proof." said Matt as he looked at the screen. "What was Kennedy's field of research at UCLA?"
"According to this, she was studying hemotology." said Alex.
"Blood work." said Matt. "That might have made her a target."
"I think so as well." said Alex. "It was said that she was working on finding a cure for vampirism at the time."
"Have you heard from Scooter?" asked Matt.
"He relayed some information about half an hour ago." said Alex. "Max still has the bug on him. Get ready for this: he ran across Brad. Neither of them has really given into vampirism. I think they might still be loyal to us."
"If they are, that's a pleasant surprise." said Matt. "Does Max remember he has the bug on him?"
"I'm not sure." said Alex. "I do know he tried to call Liam. Did not go well."
"I can imagine." said Matt.
"Maybe we'll get lucky and discover their battle plans for tonight." said Alex.
"I don't see the point of that." said Matt. "We've already seen that Darwood's plan is bogus. We've already lost one agent to this red herring. I don't..."
He turned to leave, then saw Liam in the doorway and stopped.
"I'll kill him." spat Liam as he marched away.
"Liam, wait!" yelled Matt.
"Blast!" yelled Alex.
Matt pushed the switch on an intercom and said "MASK agents, this is an emergency! Report to the briefing room at once!"
Tony, Jeremy, and Caitlin were in the briefing room already. Jeremy had changed into a black and red jumpsuit while Caitlin now wore a white skirt and a red and white jacket.
"Does emergency mean what it usually means here?" asked Jeremy.
"Yes." said Tony.
"Okay, just checking." said Jeremy.
----------
Buddie and Enzo were in the vehicle bay looking over vehicle designs.
"I think this one could use a decent body kit and possibly a graphics package." said Buddie as he looked at a drawing of a Saturn Ion.
"Nice." said Enzo. He showed Buddie a drawing of a Fiat Coupe and said "I think this could do with a custom made spoiler and a fish of prey painted on the nose. You like?"
They heard the door on the upper level fly open. "What was that?" asked Buddie.
"I'll check it out." said Enzo.
As Enzo went off to investigate the door, the intercom crackled to life. "Buddie, are you there?" asked Matt.
"What's going on?" asked Buddie.
"Liam found out Darwood's plan was a fraud." said Matt. "He's going on the warpath."
Enzo let out a scream of terror as he went tumbling down the stairs to the door. Liam ran down after him.
"Liam." said Buddie.
They locked eyes for a second, then Liam ran to the Tempest and climbed in. Within seconds, he had it started and drove off.
"Why did you let him go like that?" asked Enzo as he got up.
"If there's one thing I've learned about Liam," said Buddie "it's you don't get in his way when he's angry."
"I wish you'd told me that a minute ago." said Enzo.
"Look at it this way." said Buddie. "If he thinks I'm not chasing him, he doesn't suspect I'm chasing him."
He and Enzo ran over to the Firecracker and climbed in.
"Are we going to fight them?" asked Enzo.
"No, not tonight." said Buddie. "We're just going to chase him down and report his position to the others."
----------
"Thanks, Buddie." said Matt. "Buddie and Enzo are tracking Liam. I think we should go after him to keep him from causing too much damage."
"If it makes any difference," said Tony "I think I should go since he responds to me better than anyone else."
"Also, if he goes to the branch office," said Julie "I think Gloria and I should go since our vehicles are aquatic. The branch office was right on the coast of a lake."
"I agree." said Matt. "Alex, Wei, and Bruce will stay here and watch over the base. Caitlin and Jeremy, get ready for your first battle."
"Nervous?" asked Jeremy.
"Sort of." said Caitlin. "Okay, I am quite nervous."
"Don't worry, it'll pass." said Jeremy.
----------
At the branch office, the Caribe, Stinger, and Iguana were in the parking lot with the Tornado, Jackal, and Piledriver parked with them.
"Does standing guard like this always get this boring?" asked Calvin.
"No, we sometimes find a way to pass the time." said Sheppard. "Speaking of which, do you have $500 I can borrow?"
Melissa raced towards the branch office in her Crossfire. Malloy was right by her in the Nightwolf.
Warfield led the way in a Nissan 350Z with a purple/black color shift paint job. The car also sported a C-West body kit and Maxxim Venum rims. Like her previous vehicle, the Manta, a pair of greenish yellow stripes ran down each side. Around the front edge of the door, a diagonal stroke connected the stripes which also crossed at the rear edge of the door, giving the appearance of a "ZX".
Gorey was right behind them in a Pierce fire engine with red/black color shift paint and a silver flame job. Every part of the truck that wasn't originally red was now chome-plated, even the ladder.
The vehicles stopped a block from the office. "Looks like Mayhem's got some new flunkies." said Gorey.
"Ha, they don't look much better than the old ones." said Warfield.
"Shall we take them down regardless?" asked Malloy.
"Of course." said Warfield.
The vampires' vehicles drove into action. In the back of the Piledriver, Gilford looked over the detection systems. "I can't believe a first-rate assassin like me is stuck watching over the radar." he muttered. "Huh? Guys, we've got vampires approaching! Be on guard!"
The VENOM agents lined up to engage them.
Sludge looked at the approaching vehicles. He looked at Malloy's Civic. "The Nightwolf." he said. He looked at Warfield's 350Z. "The Nightshade." he said. He looked to Melissa's Crossfire. "The Night Terror." he said. He finally looked to Gorey's fire engine. "The Nightmare? Oh man!" he said.
"We can take them." said Calvin.
"Uh, yeah." said Kelly.
Sheppard converted the Stinger. The wheels rotated up to reveal tank treads while guns extended from the wheels themselves. A shield rose in front of the windshield with a mortar attached to it. The side skirts swung up to become laser cannons.
Sludge was next to convert his vehicle. The Iguana arched in the middle as the wheelbase contracted. The hood flipped forward and revealed a saw blade attached to a long arm and a pair of cannons. The rear hatch opened to reveal another saw blade and a pair of jet thrusters.
Bates converted the Jackal next. The roof rack flipped forward and the brush guard extended to become a pair of jaws. The fenders folded down to become shields for the wheels. The rear of the cabin elevated and a pair of cannons extended from it. The rear half-doors rotated up to reveal missile pods.
Calvin then converted the Piledriver. The wheels lowered and lifted the body about ten feet. The sides of the middle folded down and revealed a trio of gun turrets on either side. Another turret, this one armed with a cannon, elevated from the rear of the bus.
Kelly was the next one. The Tornado's rear cabin split down the middle and extended to the sides revealing a rocket pod on each side. A set of rotor blades elevated and spread out. A tail boom extended from the rotor's powerplant. Cannons extended from the headlights and a pair of horizontal stabilizers extended from the body. Kelly then took off...and flew away.
"Frank, where are you going?" yelled Bates into his radio.
"Get back here, you coward!" added Gilford.
"I think he's got the right idea, Marcus." said Melissa into her radio.
"Well, Melissa." said Gilford. "I wish you'd stayed the other night. We could have caught up on old times."
"And let Malcolm figure out our secrets?" asked Melissa. "Nice try, but I've seen him on the debate team. They call him 'The Fox' for a reason."
"So be it." said Gilford. "We've still got you slightly outnumbered."
"Fine by me." said Melissa.
"Get them." said Warfield. She raced into action and converted the Nightshade, which had also retained the transformation from the Manta. The rear wheels folded back with a pair of wings attached. The front wheels flipped over to reveal horizontal stabilizers. The hood slid forward to reveal laser cannons and a missile rack.
Malloy transformed the Nightwolf next followed by the Nightmare. A large laser cannon folded out of the ladder. The front half of the truck then separated from the rear and revealed tank treads on the rear of the front. The sides extended to reveal laser turrets and the back of the ladder elevated to become a radar dish.
The front of the Nightmare continued its change. The cab folded down to reveal a gun turret. The sides folded open to reveal rocket launchers.
"Let's get 'em!" said Bates.
"Ah, who needs Kelly anyway?" asked Calvin.
While the two groups moved into action, Liam pulled up a block away in the Tempest. "Yeah, that's right." he said. "Wipe each other out."
Buddie pulled up behind him in the Firecracker and stopped. He took out his radio and called Matt. "Matt, this is Buddie. We followed Liam. He went to the branch office. There's a full-on battle raging between VENOM and the vampires."
"VENOM?" asked Matt. "Well, it looks like Mayhem came out of hiding. I wonder why?"
"Apparently, your theory was correct." said Buddie. "Mayhem is in cahoots with Darwood. That's why they were at the college last night."
Liam walked up to their window and asked "And just what are you doing here?"
"Hey, do you think people want to break down out here in the middle of the night?" replied Enzo.
Liam took Buddie's radio and said "You're not calling Matt now!"
As he stormed off, Buddie said "Good thing I already did."
Liam got back into the Tempest and drove off. Half a block away, he transformed the Tempest into a strike helicopter. The rear hatch slid forward over the roof and a pair of rotor blades elevated and snapped into place. The spoiler slid back on a pair of tail booms. The side skirts extended to the sides to become missile launchers. The airdam rotated to become a radar scanner and a gatling gun lowered from the bottom of the vehicle.
About a mile away, Kelly flew over the Nevada desert in the Cyclone. He didn't have a strong grip on his sanity at that moment. Just then, Darwood came over the communicator. "Kelly, where are you going?" he asked.
"I'm getting out of there!" whimpered Kelly. "I'm no vampire slayer! This isn't my fight!"
"Kelly, you will return to the battle right now or there will be serious consequences!" said Darwood.
"Like what?" asked Kelly.
"Well, that vehicle you are currently operating has a couple of things you should know about." said Darwood. "First of all, there is a remote control installed which can shut down the engine and bring it in for a landing, then lock the doors so they can't be opened from the inside. There's also a tracking device which will lead us right to it. After we pry you out, we can throw you into a cell with the next vampire we capture. Then when he turns you, I'm going to use you both for personal research and when that finishes, if you survived, I'll chain you to the roof of my house and listen to your screams as the sun comes up and I eat my breakfast."
Kelly thought about what he'd said. "I'll just go back right now." he said as he turned the Cyclone around.
"I thought you'd see it my way." said Darwood.
The VENOM and vampire vehicles engaged in a fierce battle. The Stinger and Iguana tangled with the Nightwolf while the Piledriver went toe-to-toe with the Nightmare. The Jackal tried its best to hold off the Nightshade.
"This would be a lot better if Kelly hadn't bailed on us!" growled Bates.
Rax was the only one who noticed the Night Terror was missing. "Doggone it, Cale's using the distraction to her advantage." he said.
True to Rax's deduction, Melissa had cut around the back of the building, but found there was no back door. She ended up driving the Night Terror into the lake Julie had mentioned. The rear end extended rearwards, split, and extended sideways. The rear wheels rotated rearward to become propulsion jets. The front wheels rotated downwards and directional fins extended from the fender vents. The front bumper extended forward to reveal torpedoes and a pair of guns elevated from the hood.
"Now to sneak in the back way." she said.
However, her way in was cut off when Rax drove the Caribe into the lake. The hood rose slightly to reveal a pair of guns while the wheels rotated to reveal stabilizer fins. The rear cabin extended to the sides to reveal torpedoes and a pair of thrusters.
"Touche, Rax." said Melissa.
That's when the MASK agents showed up. Matt pulled alongside the Firecracker and climbed out. "What's going on?" he asked.
"Liam took my radio." said Buddie. "The vampires and VENOM agents are going at it tooth and nail. Liam hasn't engaged either of them, but I can't take him out since I don't have anti-aircraft weaponry."
"Tony, you go in there and try to talk him down." said Matt.
"Watch how I rock." said Tony as he pushed the Angel's transformation button. The car's doors flipped up to become wings and the wheels flipped up to become propellers. The spoiler elevated to become a horizontal stabilizer and vertical stabilizers. A pair of laser guns extended from the grill. The propellers then angled forward and the Angel flew towards the battle.
Warfield made another attack run in the Nightshade. As she was lining up the Jackal in her sights, her quarter-window was shot out by a laser blast. She looked over her shoulder to see that Kelly had rejoined the battle.
"You?" she asked.
"It's about time." said Bates.
"Couldn't let them get you." said Kelly.
Liam snuck up on the battle. "Let's see." he thought. "Who do I attack? The vampires or VENOM?"
As he was lining up a shot, the Angel quickly flew in front of him, making him jump.
"Tony!" he yelled. "That's not a very bright move!"
"And attacking an entire army alone is?" asked Tony.
"One of those armys just forced my cousin to join them." said Liam. "The other set him up to do so. Whoever I attack will know what pain they've caused."
"But will it reverse the tragedy?" asked Tony. "I know you think it will make you feel better, but it won't."
"They must pay for their crime." said Liam.
"I strongly believe they will." said Tony. "However, I don't think it should be you who metes out justice. God throws these little annoyances our way as a test. He is testing us for our reactions to see if we are ready for his reward."
Liam pondered his statement. "And you're saying taking revenge merits an F." he said.
"Yes, exactly." said Tony.
"I can't turn my back on Max." said Liam.
"You might not have to." said Tony. "According to Matt, Michael is possibly close to finding a way to reverse the process."
"How close?" asked Liam.
"He just needs one little bit of information." said Tony. "You might be able to help in that department."
"Very well, Father Whelan." said Liam. "I shall assist in whatever capacity I can."
"Good to hear that." said Tony.
In the lake next to the branch office's parking lot, the Night Terror changed back into a car and drove out of the water. The Caribe bobbed to the surface a second later with Rax forcing the window open. Melissa then parked the car and jumped out.
"Nicely distracted." said Melissa. "Time to make my move."
"Great, I'm the only one who knows and I can't tell anyone." said Rax as Melissa entered the office. "Guess I'm going to have to alert them another way." He watched as the Jackal came in close and called "Stiletto, fire!"
A volley of black darts fired from his mask and hit the Jackal's driver's side door. Bates quickly opened the door and yelled "What's the deal?"
"Cale's going into the building!" yelled Rax. "I couldn't call you because my radio's out!"
"Oh, I get it." said Bates. He jumped from the Jackal and ran into the building after her. Little did he realize, Gloria had driven in for a closer look in the Shark and saw the action.
"Matt, it's Gloria. One of the vampires, Melissa Cale I believe, just went into the building. I think she might be after the research."
"If she gets that research, she can expose Darwood's fraud." said Jeremy.
"And she'll prevent the vampires from having to invade the third site." said Matt. "Darwood's trap will have failed. As bad as it might sound, we could actually use the trap to our advantage."
"Then we have to prevent Melissa from getting that research." said Julie.
"Gloria, get in there." said Matt.
"I wish I could." said Gloria. "But the entrance is now covered. I couldn't get through there if I tried."
"Tony, is Liam calmed down?" asked Matt.
"To the best of my judgement." said Tony.
"Bring him into action." said Matt. "If worse comes to worst, we might need him to exact vengeance."
"Uh, okay." said Tony.
Melissa made her way to the office on the second floor. She looked around and found what she was looking for. "Now, if I know Malcolm," she said "the password protection should be no problem."
"Too bad you'll never get to use it." said Bates as he entered after her.
"You're new to this, aren't you?" asked Melissa. "Let me be the first to educate you on the way things go. Me, vampire. You, dinner." She then extended her fangs as her eyes turned red.
Bates was having none of it though. He grabbed her by the throat and forced her up against the wall. "You think I'm not going to fight a girl?" he asked. "Guess again, missy. I have no problems with losing to a female and I have no problems with fighting one either. I don't buy into that garbage about women being weaker than men. I've seen many women hold their own with men and come out swinging. I'd say we're equals."
"There's one thing you forgot." said Melissa. "You're a human man and I'm a vampire woman, so we're not as equal as you think." She then twisted out of the hold and rammed him face-first into the wall. He made a two-inch deep impression.
"You'll pay for that!" he snapped. He turned around and threw a punch at her. She blocked it and tried to pounce on him.
"Are those two dancing?" asked Gilford.
"Hey, shouldn't you have your eyes trained on the enemy?" asked Calvin.
"What enemy?" asked Gilford. "We've got them almost destroyed."
Melissa then grabbed Bates by the throat and threw him onto the desk next to the computer she was trying to access. She held him down as the computer booted up. She leaned in close to take a bite.
"She's going to access the research!" said Gilford.
Tony was monitoring the VENOM communications. "You want your vengeance?" he asked. "Take out that office."
"With pleasure." said Liam.
Melissa was about to sink her fangs into Bates' neck when she heard the rotors of the Tempest and looked up. Bates immediately noticed the missile launchers were being aimed at their position.
"Adios." said Liam as he pressed the thumb button on his joystick.
Bates quickly threw Melissa off of himself, stood up, and called "Ironman, on!" A light blue energy field enveloped him.
Two missiles fired from the Tempest and Melissa ran for the opposite window. A massive explosion resulted from the missiles hitting the window. Melissa jumped through the other window as a huge fireball spread through the office. She landed on the ground in a crouch, then ran for the Night Terror.
The explosion sent the computer flying out of the window as well. It connected with the Tornado's rudder before plunging to the ground and shattering.
"Mayday! Mayday!" called Kelly. "My rudder's out! I'm going to have to set down!"
In the office, the fireball dissipated and revealed mangled frames of cubicle partitions, burning paper, and smashed computer equipment. It also revealed Bates completely unharmed.
"Gilford, call Darwood and tell him the first field test of the Ironman mask was a rousing success." said Bates into his communicator.
"Oh great, he lived." said Calvin.
"Back to base, everyone." said Gilford.
The vampires and VENOM agents converted their vehicles back into civilian mode and drove off. With the research destroyed, there was no reason to continue the fight.
Liam and Tony landed their vehicles and converted them back into cars. Both then climbed out.
"Good work, guys." said Matt. "The vampires are not going to get their hands on the research yet. I think we may have delayed them a little."
"Good to hear." said Tony.
"Matt, I'm sorry I went off like that." said Liam.
"I understand completely, Liam." said Matt. "We've all lost someone we care about in this war. We all want to believe they can be saved."
"Like your son?" asked Jeremy. "I saw his photograph on your desk."
"Oh no, Scott's fine." said Matt. "He's an intern at Tracker Enterprises and is engaged to be married soon. He's not in this."
"Tony says that Michael is working on a way to reverse the vampirism process." said Liam. "Matt, if it makes any difference, I would like to throw myself into that project as much as I possibly can. I don't want to take revenge on the vampires, I want to help Max in any way I can."
"You know, that's funny." said Matt. "I was just about to put you on this project as punishment for this whole flight of vengeance."
"If you need anymore help, just ask." said someone else. They all looked to see it was Kelly. He'd made an emergency landing in the Tornado in the parking lot nearby. "'Cause I'm throwing in my sword."
AN:A couple of chapters ago, I had Daniel "Hack" Hurt make an appearance. This time, his normal partner, Craig "Slash" Hudson, makes his cameo.
Thank you, we shall continue.