Chapter 14

Rex and his entourage ended up staying at Hunter Base for nearly three weeks. He worried about his stable, calling the lair every night to check on them; he'd been forced to leave Nick behind to see that the youngsters were fed, which left Rex very nervous. Only his association with Dr. Bauneau made this situation possible; she brought bags of human blood out to the lair each week for Nick to feed on, since Rex didn't want him hunting by himself. He didn't want to risk losing the minion while he was out of town.

The "lost" vampires' recovery was very slow. One more dusted as the Nightstalkers' own doctors worked on them; fortunately, that was not Corey. They were all so desiccated that they had no awareness… and, worse, no swallowing reflexes. Their open wounds couldn't even be closed yet; the tissues were so dried out that they cracked and broke off when the doctors tried on one of the vivisected vampires. In desperation, they'd carefully inserted narrow tubes into their stomachs using laparoscopes, so they could be fed blood; only then would they stand even a chance of recovery.

Since Sires' blood had a potency second only to Slayers' blood, Rex had himself bled each day, his blood to be added primarily to Corey's daily ration. As Master Vampires, both Ripper and Tony also donated; their blood was added to some of Rex's and fed to the other three victims of "scientific" sadism. At first, no one could see any changes, for better or for worse, but finally, at the end of the first week, first Corey's, then the others' skin began to be pliant. Freshly donated human blood was poured into the gaping wounds, which were then finally stitched shut.

More days passed before any of them showed any signs of returning awareness. It wasn't Corey first this time, but a young Italian-looking vamp whom Taylor said was called Joey.

By the end of the second week, all four were awake at last, although they were all extremely weak. The tally of survivors was three Childer and one old minion; the minion saying he'd rather be staked than be left with the Hunter Group. So Colonel Townsend of the Nightstalkers agreed to take him on a trial basis, despite the fact that Wyatt would need closer supervision than most of their vampire contingent.

Joey was doing very well, as was Corey. The last Childe, Ray, was slowest to recover, probably due to the fact that he had the worst injuries. He was from a very low-status line, a young line by vampire reckoning, and had no unliving Sire or GrandSire; due to that fact Rex decided that he would bring Ray home with them once Corey had recovered enough to travel. Corey seemed to be very friendly with him, so Rex thought that he might make a good companion for the younger vampire, once he swore fealty. He could always be staked later, if things didn't work out.

Joey, it turned out, was the youngest Childe of the Master of Chicago. When questioned, he revealed that, on a whim, he'd gotten on a train for a snack: The City of New Orleans. He'd gotten caught on board by daylight; the train had been all the way to St. Louis before nightfall made it safe enough for him to leave the baggage car to try to make his way back north once more.

Rex thought it fortuitous that Joey was there. He would bring the Childe back to his Sire's Court and take official mastery of Minneapolis under Don Marco di Salvatore, in whose territory Minnesota lay—a territory which, in the vampires' geography, included all of the Central Plains, as well as extending up into the central portion of Canada. The return of his favored child should more than cover any tribute required to establish himself with the Territorial Master.

Of course, the humans weren't aware yet of Rex's plans to liberate the three Childer from the military's custody.

Rex's musing were interrupted by the restless shifting of his Childe. "What is troubling you, Corey?" he asked, realizing just how unhappy his youngest looked.

"You're gonna think it's stupid, Sire," Corey answered, much more formally than Rex had expected. He looked to the side, trying to mask his embarrassment.

"Tell me; if it is something I can fix, I will," Rex said, looking closer at his Childe. "It may not be as foolish as you think, since it bothers you so."

"I miss my han… my Pet. They sent him away somewhere; he was really upset, Sire, at the orders he'd been given. He told me about it; then he was just gone. And then they took me…" He let his voice trail off, not wanting to think about what had happened to him next. He'd been lucky, he knew; the butchers had just started on him when they'd been suddenly called away, never to return. He knew, now, that his unexpected reprieve had been due to the surprise inspection of the base by General Durgan and his crew and the subsequent arrests of many of the Medical staff.

Rex just laid a surprisingly gentle hand on his Childe's arm. "I will get Taylor to sit with you a while, okay? I am going to see if they have discovered yet where those men were sent. If they have, I will see if I can get your Pet back for you again. And that was not a stupid thing, Childe; I greatly missed my Pet while he was gone, as well."

"Thank you, Sire," Corey said softly, and turned a smile on Taylor when his Sire's Pet came and sat beside his bed. Of course, his warm welcome might have been partially due to the mug of fresh blood he'd brought with him…

~o~

Rex wandered through the base fairly at will these days. The Nightstalkers had returned to North Carolina and their own duties there, but Captain Williamson was still at Hunter Base to watch over Rex and his humans. Now the vampire sought him out, finally locating the captain in what passed for an Officers' Club. He calmly settled himself at the captain's table, ordering a drink from the waiter as if Williamson had been waiting for him all along. "Tell me: have they found the missing handlers yet?" Rex asked, keeping his voice soft enough not to be overheard.

"Actually, yes," Williamson said, disgusted by the duplicity of Colonel Wu. "The Chief Medical officer had orders cut sending them for psych evaluations. The men weren't told that was what he'd ordered, only that they were being sent for in-depth physicals that couldn't be done here—and that the doctors they'd be seeing had been read in on the operation, so it was safe to discuss any concerns they might have, and to answer any questions posed to them. Naturally that was a blatant lie on Wu's part; when the men mentioned hunting demons with vampires, they were diagnosed as delusional and locked away. We're still trying to get them released back to us. Why do you ask?"

"My Childe misses his Pet and wishes him back. I can understand his feelings only too well," Rex answered with a wry smile. He'd grown rather fond of this lawyer; he'd worked very hard on Rex's behalf. It might be worth it to keep this human—or at least claim him, but let him run free to do the work he clearly excelled at. Yes, Rex decided, it would be best to claim him and then let him run free. He could then call on him whenever he needed his services… and the lawyer would still be happy.

"Uhm, Master Rex, I'm not sure the military would allow that…"

"I'm sure you can arrange it, Captain," Rex replied, rising from the table with a smile. "You're very good at what you do; this is why you're my lawyer, yes?"

"I suppose so, yes," Williamson agreed, not realizing that he'd misunderstood the vampire's intent. He thought that Rex had meant his being assigned to the case, not that he was accepting the vampire's claim. But of such misconceptions are comedies made…

"Good," Rex said, his smile even wider. "I will be in my quarters with my Childe and my Pet. You can find me there, once you know when Dobbs will return. It will help the recovery of all the lost ones, if they get their Pets back, Captain. Familiar faces, yes? Men they trust, after what they have been put through?"

"Good point," Williamson said, grinning now also. "I'll put that suggestion through to General Durgan; he can make it happen if anyone can."

"Very good. You know where I will be; until then…" And Rex was gone, feeling very satisfied with what he'd set in motion.

~oOo~

Three days later, six bedraggled humans were returned to Hunter Base, despite the extreme protests of the psychiatrists who had committed them. Two of them were devastated by the news that "their" vamps had dusted; these were promised positions with the Nightstalkers, having been recommended by the other handlers and the soldiers with whom they'd worked closely on their patrols.

Dobbs was appalled at the condition Corey was still in; Joey's handler, Sam Chen, burst into tears. Only Ray's handler seemed unaffected at being reunited with his former charge; Rex decided to leave him behind when they left, since Ray didn't seem to care either way about him.

At the end of three weeks, Corey, Joey, and Ray were all able to stand and walk on their own, even if they were still somewhat wobbly on their feet. Rex set Collins to packing their bags and loading the car, while he sent for Williamson one last time. The JAG answered his summons promptly.

"I have been very pleased by your service, Captain Williamson, so I have decided to reward you," Rex said, reaching out his hand towards the lawyer. The captain, thinking that Rex meant to shake hands—something he had yet to do—stretched his own hand out in response. He was shocked speechless when the vampire raised his hand up towards his face and carefully bit into the lawyer's wrist, drawing out a mouthful of blood before nicking his tongue on a fang and then licking the wound closed.

"There," Rex said, very pleased with himself. "Now all the others will know that you are truly mine—that I have found you acceptable."

"But…but I can't stay with you!" Williamson sputtered, very worried over how Rex might view such a rejection.

"I know; that is quite all right," Rex replied calmly. "You may go back to DC, or wherever your orders send you. You will just need to come back to me every four months or so, that I may renew your claim when it begins to fade. You do not want to be viewed as a rejected Pet, ever. As things now stand, demons will smell me on you, and most will leave you alone, for fear of angering your Master. I will call you if I need your services again; I do have your number, after all.

"Thank you for all you have done for me and mine. We will see you again, I am sure." Rex smiled at the dumbfounded human, then left the suite for the last time, trailed by the rest of his party.

~oOo~

They made the drive north in a leisurely four days, staying an extra night on their first stop. It reminded Rex very much of his first trip away from the base, but the company made it much better, despite the slight crowding in the car. Blood was not a problem; Collins and Taylor had packed a more-than-adequate supply of bags, liberated from Medical's refrigerator. Rex had brought the degausser south with him, in case someone had ordered Taylor chipped to track Rex's movements, but he had learned that that would not be necessary. Having it with him let him now disable the control chips in the Childer he had stolen away from the military.

Finally they pulled up to the main entrance of the Court in Chicago, just before midnight. Rex went in first, heeled by Taylor, as was his due; the others hung back so Joey wouldn't be recognized until Rex was ready for him to be presented.

~o~

Don Marco, as the Master of Chicago preferred to be called, sat upon his throne in a foul humor. It had been years since he'd last seen his favorite Childe, but until a few months ago, he'd known that the young vamp was at least alive; even if no one could seem to find him, he was alive somewhere. Then the bond was gone, and Don Marco got vicious. Few vampires were reckless enough to petition him for anything anymore, for he was as likely to have them staked as he was to grant their requests. So he was surprised when Rex, a Master of a line he'd never heard of, came forward to ask to be Master of Minneapolis under him.

"Who the hell're you, t' ask somethin' o' me like this?" Don Marco bellowed, letting his frustration and rage loose.

"I am the vampire who knows what happened to your Childe Giuseppe, and where he is now," Rex calmly replied, causing the court, and Don Marco himself, to freeze as his words registered.

"What..did..you..say?" Don Marco finally asked, spacing his words out carefully.

"I said that I know where Joey is." This time Rex kept it simple. "I found where he was, and brought him away from the people who held him captive. They had severely injured him, as well as several others; he is still weak, but he is getting stronger every day. Do you wish to have him back, Don Marco?"

"You bring me back my Childe, an' you can have all of the Twin Cities," (1) the Master Vampire said, getting choked with emotion. "If you're lyin' ta me, though, so help me…"

"I am not lying to you; he is right outside the doors, along with my Childe and both their human Pets." Rex didn't let his nervousness show, for this could still work against him. Joey was recovering, true, but he was still very weak. And vampires often killed the weak and injured…

"Hey, youse guys! Bring my Childe in here; don't be hurtin his human, neither!" Don Marco bellowed at his doorkeepers, not wanting any accidents. The room was absolutely silent as the doors swung open, and Don Marco's favorite Childe limped into court, closely attended by his Pet. Rex's Childe followed right behind, but headed over to stand by his Sire. Both Pets took a knee beside their respective Masters, to lend support if the recovering vampires should need to steady themselves.

"Who did this ta my boy?!" Don Marco demanded, his voice cold and dangerous.

"Some humans, who are in a lot of trouble," Rex answered, sounding much calmer than he felt. "They are very likely to be slain by their own authorities; if they are not, I will see to it myself, for they had my last Childe also, and dusted my other two Childer. I have a good lawyer already working on it."

The Master of Chicago fought to control his temper. Yes, his Childe had been hurt, but this other vampire had lost Childer to them…and thus had the greater claim for vengeance. "What's your name, anyway?" Don Marco suddenly asked, reaching a decision.

"I am Rex, Childe of Zachary, a Master of the line of Whittington," Rex answered with as much dignity as he could muster.

Don Marco looked him over carefully, then smiled. "Yeah, well, now you're Master of the Twin Cities. Salud!"

Rex just smiled and bowed low in response to his new Territorial Master. Yes,he thought in contentment, unlife is now very good indeed.

Notes

(1) Minneapolis and St. Paul, MN, are two cities that have merged into a single metropolis; however, according to Wikipedia, the term "Twin Cities" actually refers to a larger geographical area that includes a total of 186 cities and townships. A map can be seen at Wikipedia under "Twin Cities."