A/N: Sorry I'm a day late on posting this! Happy reading and PLEASE review! :)
Darkening Day
Chapter Eleven
Fenton stared in shock at Agent White. "What?"
"We want Joseph's services," he said seriously. "He is very different and that makes him valuable. Extremely valuable. We want him to be under the complete protection—and authority—of the Network, instead of being lapped up by the Assassins or crazy scientists like now. We need your word on that, otherwise Joseph might prove to dangerous to be around."
"I-I can't very well answer for Joe," Fenton said shakily. "But I doubt he'd want to be tied down to—"
"I told you," White pushed with a hint of impatience in his silky voice. "He can go dark, be a freelance agent. We just need the Assassins and any other threat out there to know that he's ours—not for hire, not for sale. Honestly, he can do whatever he wants, he's more of a—"
"—prize," Fenton finished wearily.
"For lack of a better term, yes," White said. "He won't be required to do much, Mr. Hardy.
"Just strut around like a show dog," Fenton said sarcastically, then shook his head. "I'm sorry, that was uncalled for." Although he hated to admit it, he understood what the agent was saying and agreed that it was a good way to keep Joe safe. He knew Joe wouldn't go for it, but anything to keep his boys out of the hands of terrorists—and worse, vampire terrorists. He sighed. "I can assure you, Agent White, Joe will not be pleased with your request. He is a proud young man and doesn't like to 'belong' to anyone."
White raised an eyebrow. "Do you think you can persuade him?"
"I...yes," Fenton stammered, not knowing if he could but willing to do or say anything to save his boys.
White's demeanor became quite cheerful and he smiled at the detective. "One of our agents is a tracker," he said in an optimistic tone. "He has already discovered where they are being held—an old run-down clinic in Maine called—"
"—the Lazarus Clinic," Fenton finished wearily.
"Right," Agent White agreed, looking impressed.
"Okay, I want you to follow my orders and go tell your wife and sister the truth. We'll be by in fifteen minutes to collect you—and only you. It will take us less than an hour to get to Maine, given that we vampires love speed and have the fastest cars available. Plus, we can't get in trouble for it because we're the government."
Fenton agreed and left the Network's Bayport office, got into his car, and sped off toward his house as fast as he could without getting a ticket. He could get in trouble for speeding. He wasn't the government.
Vladamir grinned evilly at the brothers, his eyes gleaming in twisted apprehension. "How exciting," he gushed. "Our first experiment."
Joe, gagged, couldn't respond, but Vladamir could guess what kind of naughty things Joe would be screaming at him if he could talk. The man smiled wider and went on with his monologue. "You see," he said excitedly, "There has never been a case anything like young Joseph's here. There are so many lurking factors, so many things that remain unknown. But not for long.
"From the facts that I have gathered from watching you, sending out some mortal assassins to test your strength, and what Roth has told me, it has come to my attention that you, Joseph, are an extremely unique vampire. According to my sources, you have all the perks of being a vampire—the speed, the agility, the grace, the smooth voice, even the pale skin that is indestructible. And, most importantly, you have the ability to become immortal if your brother here decides to become a vampire as well.
"But you're also different. You will continue to age as long as your brother does. If he dies, you die. If he changes, you both live forever." He smiled. "So many oddities, my young friend, and I'm not even finished yet. "Your eyes, while most vampires' turn red or, in the case of the freak shows like the Cullens, a liquid topaz color, are blue—the most intense, powerful shade of blue I've ever seen in my life, but still, blue. You are now my prized possession until I have acquired your immortality and superhuman abilities."
Joe glared fiercely at his captor, unwilling to show any sign of fear or weakness. But then he glanced at his older brother, huddled in a corner clutching his broken arm to his chest, his eyes became dull and resigned to his fate. This seemed to greatly please Vladamir. Joe felt even worse, because he knew why Frank himself looked so lifeless over in the corner, so meek, so weak—he was afraid if he said or did anything out of line, they would kill him. Normally that wouldn't be a deterrent, but since Joe's fate rested on whether Frank lived or died, Frank's main objective was living.
Thanks, Big Brother, Joe thought sadly.
Vladamir began to talk again, interrupting Joe's depressing train of thought. "Obviously, the first thing we need to know is what happens when this specimen bites someone. From the research I've done at Oxford and even after being kicked out of that know-it-all establishment," he huffed rather indignantly, "there are many possible results. The most likely is that Frank here will be turned into a normal vampire, because there won't be any special circumstances to make him an oddity like Joseph, but you never know for sure. Another possibility is that he will become a vampire specimen just like Joe. That would be great for me, of course, because then I would have two subjects to study in case I accidentally dispose of one. Or the poison, which might be altered because of the alteration in Joe's vampirism, might simply kill Frank, which would be rather disappointing for me because then my star subject would die, too, and that would be quite annoying, but I suppose that's a chance I'll have to take."
When Vladamir had suggested that Frank might die, Joe's eyes had grown wide and bulged in anger; he threw every bit of his weight against the restraints, but the Dark One merely tightened its grip on the youngest Hardy. Frank was trembling, terrified for his brother.
Vladamir nodded at the vampires in the cell with them. One of them hauled Frank gently to his feet and prodded him over to where Joe lay on the gurney. At the same time, a vampire near Joe whipped the Cold One's gag out of his mouth. Vladamir quickly said, "If you don't do what we tell you, they will kill your brother whether we need you or not." Joe glared but nodded tersely.
Frank was brought closer to Joe and his uninjured arm thrust forward. Joe's eyes were wide and filled with pain and regret. "Frank, I can't...I'm so sorry...I don't want..."
Frank gently reached out and stroked his baby brother's face, icy skin and all. "Joe, I want you to do this—it's the only thing that will keep you alive. Besides, it might turn out better for both of us. I love you, Baby Brother."
"Love you, Big Brother," Joe responded weakly.
Vladamir quickly cut the touching scene short with a gagging noise. "Can we saymelodramatic?" he sneered. "It's only one little bite. Won't kill anyone—probably." He glared stonily at Joe. "Do it. Now."
Joe closed his eyes and opened his mouth, feeling sick when his gleaming white teeth came down on his brother's soft flesh and the teeth pierced the skin. A trickle of blood seeped from Frank's skin and Joe stiffened. He had never tasted human blood before—would he be able to stop, or would he go into a feeding frenzy as described by Dr. Cullen?
Repulsed by the thought, hating the fact that he was causing his brother pain,Joe released his hold on Frank and ignored the fierce aching at the back of his throat that was broadcasting how thirsty he really was. He kept his eyes close as his brother began to scream.
A/N: Don't forget to REVIEW! I'll update as soon as I can! :D
~Emachinescat ^..^
