A/N: I am truly sorry I haven't updated this sooner, I just finished moving and I got married last week. I am working furiously to finish this. Thanks so much to everyone for your awesome reviews. They really keep me motivated.
"You can't possibly suggest that this vampire is going to be allowed in here with little or no clearance? What if he sells us out?" Adam, who was listening and trying to piece things together, had offered his two cents.
"Bullshit coming from your mouth, Adam," Michael barked irritably. "Considering you sold me out to the Lycans and left me to die in the first place. I trust Selene, and if Selene trusts him, you have no say about whether or not he's here." Selene's eyes studied Adam with venemous intent. She recognized him vaguely, it was starting to make sense now.
"This vampire is the mastermind behind the security system, Adam," Selene replied calmly. "He's going to get us in."
"Maybe you," said another. "I respect you, Selene, but I can't in all sanity go back there again. You've proven that an alliance with the Vampires could be a good thing, but there are others in there who don't share your opinion. Besides, running around with you is like asking to be a target. Being a fugitive has its disadvantages."
"Don't think I'm not aware of that," Selene growled dangerously. "I wasn't running for the exercise, you know. There are quite a few things I would rather not deal with, like being chased by people I once called friends, and finding myself locked in rooms with people who don't trust me, but fear Michael. Leave if you like, but you're of no use skulking about in corners here. The only way to get through this is to work together. I know old enmity dies hard, but there is little alternative at the moment. We are all the hunted now." Selene began to pace, not at all like her usual, collected self. Leaning in a corner and watching Raze do the pacing was more her style. Where was that Lycan? Selene had never had a tendency to worry, but she seemed to be developng a soft spot for him after having spent a long amount of time in his company. "If Raze isn't back soon, someone will have to go after him," she said aloud, more musing to herself than the general group.
"I'll go if we need to," Catarina volunteered. She looked like she was tired of being locked up on door duty. Selene nodded immediate agreement. Something wasn't right. She'd nearly bled herself out before, but the feeling in her gut was nothing to compare with any pain she had experienced from a flesh wound. She was holding herelf upright for show; she'd rather have been bent double at the moment cradling her torso. Ah well, there were worse things than pain. More pressing, at least. Xanatos snapped open the laptop he had pilfered from his car and was typing away furiously. He pulled up the schematics for the mansion with its alterations via a decaying signal line; untraceable.
"As soon as your fellow general gets here, I will brief everyone. Right now I am dowloading the blueprints to disk. Just in case we need the disk on mission. The laptop might be suspicious if it is missing from the car when I sink it."
"Sink it?" Catarina asked incredulously.
"They'll take him for missing or dead. It'll keep them from running an active search for a deserter. We don't want another fugitive," Selene explained calmly. Lukan's voice was heard from down the short length of hall.
"Raze is coming. He'll need medical attention asap." The heavy grinding of the door being shut was still softer than the sound of Raze's panting.
"Raze, you joined us," Selene greeted him with a smirk. "What kept you? Dancing with the Death Dealers?"
"That little snark, your blond friend, has the place overrun with new recruits. They were clumsier than elephants in a mud pit, not usually a problem, if it weren't for sheer numbers."
"That could be a problem," Michael said calmly. There was a touch of irritation in his tone at this news, but Selene didn't seem overly phased. She was busy giving him a quick exam. He growled as she touched his shoulder with probing fingers. She proceeded to immediately dig through Michael's medical kit for the tweezers and shove them into a thumb-sized gash. He howled in agony as she threw the silver round and tweezers aside and leapt quickly out of the way of his thrashing limbs. He began his pacing.
"Have anything useful to report?" Selene inquired, moving accomodatingly into a corner, where she leaned with her legs crossed at the ankles. Raze shook his head in defeat.
"No, couldn't get in close enough."
"Nevermind that. Xanatos is a security administrator with blueprints, and Lukan has been prisoner there. Adam was on the science team, and a few of these others have seen at least parts of the mansion. The upper, livable levels we've seen for ourselves, provided that true to Vampire nature, nothing has changed." Michael seemed to be putting things together beautifully. Selene couldn't help but admire what fifty years had done to the once-frightened and confused Lycan she had fallen in love with. "We have a very small contingent to work with, and no one here is required to fight if they don't want to. However, having been there, having seen what Marcus has done to you and others like you, can you in good conscience sit and watch the rest suffer?" Appealing to conscience was a technique Selene hadn't considered. She had a vendetta to consider. The Elders had all been aware of Viktor's lies, and knew what had really started the war. Selene knew that Marcus would see her killed if he didn't die. It was a life for a life, a sticky situation which Selene loathed being a part of. She raised an eyebrow, her only display of emotion, despite the fact that her mind was churning endlessly as she debated what to say. The Elders had lied to everyone. They had lied to her, to Kahn, who died for their cause. The rage building up inside of her had to take a backburner to the obvious importance of the planning at hand.
"We can get into the mansion easily enough," Selene said suddenly. "Xanatos won't disappear at all. He'll bring me in."
"What are you saying? Are you insane?" Michael asked suddenly. "You're not throwing yourself into a sticky situation."
"I'll be the distraction. Raze will creep in while I monopolize Marcus' interests in a deep discussion. In the meantime, Michael, you'll lead the rest of the team in and see if we can't keep the Death Dealers busy."
"Easy," Xanatos said. "I give the false lead to the den of all Lycan dens. We send Erika and her beasts in the wrong direction. She'll do anything to advance herself. A Lycan den is too tempting a prospect to ignore. That will leave the house less protected, as she will assemble a large team to attack a den of that scale."
"That will free the team to come with me," Raze added, "and Michael can dance with the Devil." Michael wrung his hands eagerly. It was becoming obvious to Selene that Michael would not let her finish Marcus alone. Once again, she would be forced to pit her mind against her heart. The very thought of it sickened her. So much so that she crept out of the room and retched forcibly into an embalming tray. The sound of it carried to the next room, where Raze was forced to cover his surprise with the grunt of pain from Michael relocating bones.
Selene was frustrated with herself. After a couple hundred years of being immortal with no problem, she was finally feeling a hitch. It wasn't possible for her to become ill. The disease of Vampirism was worse than any other diease, one of the main side effects if not turned properly being imminent death. She was concerned that in her current state she might not function. She took a deep breath. She would just have to bank on the fact that Marcus would want her alive, at least for a short while. He wanted to know what had caused his change, and he would want her to tell him. "Selene?" Catarina's voice inquired, sounding more sensitive than usual. "Are you all right?"
"I'm fine," Selene reassured her, putting on her best brave smile. "Tell Michael I will be right there to help with planning, I just need a moment to myself."
Catarina nodded slowly, turning and closing the curtain behind her. Selene sank to her knees, sudden realization dawning on her. Her eyes widened and her hands went to her stomach as the worst wave of pain yet over took her. She opened her mouth and closed it a few times, but managed not to cry out. Her worst suspicions were confirmed. Selene was almost certainly carrying Michael's child.
"Everyone knows the plan," Michael said matter-of-factly. He gave Selene a sideways glance. She was unusually quiet and restless, more so than he had ever seen her. He wondered if it was just nerves, walking into a hornet's nest and stirring up trouble. He smiled in what he hoped was a reassuring smile, and she managed a weak but beautiful smile back. She and Xanatos would be leaving within a half hour. Michael was starting to feel as though he might never see her again. She seemed strangely nostalgic, wrapped in an aura of frail memories. She seemed to be thinking very hard about something. He walked her into the corner, where she leaned against the wall. He used one hand against the wall to support himself. "You don't have to go," he whispered.
Selene's face contorted as she considered this. She was torn by what he had said. It was very unlike her to reconsider. She was a fighter, Michael knew, and a fighter never backed down from a challenge. "Because I feel responsible for this fight, I have to help both Vampires and Lycans, Michael. I will go." Michael moved aside as she stalked to Xanatos. He held out a length of rope, and she held out her wrists docilely behind her. Michael and the rest watched with utter fascination as Xanatos shouldered his gun. Selene looked at Xanatos and nodded. An unspoken agreement had been made between them. Once outside, she wanted him toshoot her in the shoulder. As the gun was loaded with silver rounds, the shot wouldn't kill her. It would, however, be much more convincing. And he would bind her totally, shoulder to ankle. She kissed Michael softly, resting her head against his chest. "Don't let your love of me cloud your judgment in there, Michael. I love you." With that, Catarina moved aside the bolted door of the vault and the two Vampires entered the realm of darkness. Something gave Michael a strange feeling she shouldn't go, but he didn't stop her. As much as he loved her, he trusted her judgment implicitly.
Selene knelt down, bracing for the shot. Xanatos looked away as he let the round loose into her shoulder. They had to do it before they went outside, where they ran the risk of being seen. Selene felt an awful pang in her belly as she gasped in pain. Xanatos helped her to his feet. He felt guilty, but then, she had been right. She would go through much worse than a premeditated shot to the shoulder if she ran in guns blazing. He held her by the crook of her elbow, steering her roughly as she put up a very valiant false struggle. Anyone watching would be thoroughly convinced. He opened the door to the back seat of the car and held her head down as he shoved her in to avoid hitting it. He knelt and worked an intricate knot around her as quickly as he could between her thrashing. He slammed the door. As they sped off, Selene relaxed. stopped. Her undead heartbeat had quickened with the thrill of intrigue. "Marcus stays in a chamber at the bottommost point of the house, near the labs. The burial chamber is just a hallway, really. The lab is a honeycomb of rooms straight ahead. Marcus makes his chambers off to the right. They've been specifically redesigned for him. Selene, he's not like Michael. He's in an eternal state of change. I hope it isn't a turnoff for you," he added jokingly. Selene managed a smile. "There are always six guards outside his door, although I highly doubt he needs a single one. Sometimes he interviews the test subjects personally, so you may not be alone in the room with him. I will most likely get asked to stay while the others are sent out on the raid. I am afraid I will have to leave you and catch Michael at the gate. If they let me go."
"Just look like you know what you're doing. It always worked for me." Selene winced as he grated to a sudden stop at the gate. Another Vampire regarded him curiously as the gates swung open to allow him in.
"This is it," Xanatos hissed softly. "Good luck, Selene. I hope you know what you're doing." Erika was there immediately, tossing her blond hair over her shoulder as she stalked irritably toward the car.
"Where have you been, Xanatos?" Her eyes grew wide as saucers as he elbowed her out of the way, opened the door, and slung the bound Selene over one muscular shoulder. Selene glared at her as she writhed vehemently to get free.