Come,' he said, 'come, we must see and act. Devils or no devils, or all the devils at once, it matters not; we fight him all the same. - Bram Stoker
Part Five
The days and weeks after Hogan's discovery of the hidden world were difficult on all of them.
Hogan was distant, fearful and hurt despite his best efforts. The knowledge of what his man had become and what he had hid from Hogan weighed heavily on the Colonel.
Newkirk sensed it and kept his distance. Most nights he was either on solo missions or given tailoring to do or paper forging. Most days he slept in preparation of the night's chores, letting the dawn sickness take him into dream less oblivion.
The isolation was hard on him. Unconsciously Hogan inserted himself into any one on one conversations Newkirk had with any of the other lads, or even companionable silence. The desire to protect the humans drove his actions.
Newkirk understood but it cut deep. His hunger for human affection was quickly outpacing his desire to feed. He found himself getting more and more listless at camp and outside of camp more and more distracted. It was a milk run that got him in trouble, a mission so simple that something had to go horribly wrong.
He went to do a dark drop of some medical supplies in a barn near Dusseldorf. But one of the underground was waiting for him.
"Newkirk! " Tiger threw her arms around him in fond embrace. He returned it, soaking in the human contact.
"'Hello luv." He planted a kiss on the top of her head.
After a moment she released him and gestured to a part of the barn they had converted into a seating area. "Merci said that Colonel Hogan found out! "She took a few sandwiches out of a picnic basket. "Have some food. "
Newkirk obeyed, biting into the soft bread and cheese. "We had a tad bit of trouble with Alder. Klink's brother was attacked in Berlin. We don't know who by or why. Klink got angry and lost control. Schultz came to get me and the guv followed, nearly got us both killed. "
Tiger nodded, she looked very worried. He could guess as to the reason. "How is he taking it? "She asked.
He wished he had a better answer to give to her. "About as well as can be expected. He won't leave me unsupervised near anything with a heart beat. He wouldn't have let me come in he knew you were going to be here. "
She sighed. "Mon cher ami, je suis tellement désolé."
He smiled sadly at her. "Merci, petite soeur."
"I had hoped he would do better. " Tiger picked at the top of her sandwich. "You are a dear friend to him. If he can fear you... "
He cut her off. "Being a Cat is not the same as being a vampire, Tiger. It would be different with you, especially now, if you told him. "
"How can you be so sure? If he doesn't want me... us, after he finds out.. It is not like we have made any promises. He has been with other women I know... He may not want to settle down. "
"Lass, the guvner would be a fool not to take you back to the Colony with him. And in the rare chance he is... You always have me mon amie. We could stay here, near your mother. I am not completely without lawful talents. "He took both her hands in his, giving the back of them a tender kiss.
She smiled. "I appreciate that Pierre. You have become like a brother to me this past year. It is good to know that no matter what happens with Robert, I will not be alone. "
He managed a smile. "Same goes for me I suppose. "
He had relaxed, got too comfortable and didn't sense the danger until it was too late. By then he was falling, a blow to the back of the head rendering him paralyzed.
Tiger didn't even realize she had led the last Lord right to him.
Newkirk was late, which did not happen much now a days. He did was needed to be done and came back, usually to sulk quietly off by himself.
Hogan scolded himself, it was an unfair thought. Newkirk was isolating himself because that was what Hogan wanted. He didn't have to say a word. It was a little spooky, but Newkirk had always been able to read him eerily well.
It was what made him a good left hand man. He always knew the truth that Hogan didn't want to admit. And many had been the times that he took care of something too difficult for Hogan to wrap his head around.
Hogan frowned, biting the inside of his cheek and wondered if this situation even had an optimal outcome. He couldn't keep going as it was now. Every time Peter yawned all the Colonel thought about was teeth. It wasn't fair to either of them. He would normally just send him back to London but what kind of life would he have there? As much as he feared what Newkirk was, he felt terrible about his own fear of a very loyal man. He also didn't know what he would do without him.
He closed his eyes to try and focus but memories kept drifting across his mind, demanding attention. He remembered Newkirk pushing him out of Alder's path, the wound he had taken because Hogan had distracted him... He remembered that the secrets Newkirk kept were not his alone.
He sighed. "If he isn't back in 15 minutes, Carter you and I will go after him. "
Carter nodded, uncharacteristically quiet as of late. He had noticed the rift between their CO and Peter lately, and it bothered him greatly.
He wondered if it had anything to do with Newkirk being a vampire now. But he couldn't ask, if Hogan didn't know he would have been opening a whole can of worms he didn't want to get into. Besides it wasn't his secret to tell.
Carter wished he knew how to let Newkirk know that Andrew was familiar with the blooded folk. At least that way Peter would know he wasn't alone. But everyone he thought about mentioning something Colonel Hogan showed up and acted really weirdly.
"Got it boy... Sir. " He responded automatically, wincing at how stupid he sounded. He had a tendency to do that when he was lost in his own thoughts. "You don't think he is in any trouble do you? I don't think he has felt good the last week or so. Do you think he is anemic? "It was too late, though he tried to shut himself up. He was already babbling. "I would imagine its pretty easy, him being a vampire and all. You know my Uncle Walks With Ducks... "He trailed off. The rest of the barracks just stared at him.
Hogan cleared his throat a few times. "Carter, my office now. "
Newkirk was aware that time had passed but he had no recollection of it. He had been in the barn with Tiger and then he was in a posh bedroom, hooked up to a IV and unable to move anything but his head.
Another man sat by the bed reading a book. He was medium height with a strong build, a clean shaven face with a strong square chin. His wide set dark blue eyes held a thoughtful kind of mania, the kind its wielder was convinced was not only reasonable but righteous.
Newkirk suppressed a shiver of terror only one other man had ever inspired in him, and that had been in Berchtesgaden.
"Ah you are awake. I apologize. I cracked your spinal column. It will be a bit before I can let you move around. "
"Brilliant. Who are you then? "
"Abraham Gabriel Van Helsing at your service." The accent was German but the man had only the faintest traces of it. The name rang a vague bell, hidden somewhere where he buried the blood memories. But he was too tired to go swimming for it.
"So what is your angle in all of this? "
"Same as the others. You represent something no one thought possible. A brand new strain of vampirism. But you, like the others VonSchloss created aren't quite finished. You need to drink vampire blood in order to complete your transformation. But unlike the others you haven't developed after the fashion of one particular strain. Whichever of the Lords convinced you to take their blood will control how your strain is completed." Van Helsings eyes were alight with a maniac hope that Newkirk couldn't understand. "I want to control the new strain. Its the future for vampires, a chance for us to change. But I have no need or desire to make this about ego. I will not play games with you. I will simply state that I cannot, will not, kill you. I also will not allow you to fall under the control of the King."
"So 'ow will you get me to do what you want? "
"I know the kind of man you are, what you won't do when threatened with your own well being..." He trailed off for a moment and then. "I have your Colonel's Tiger. She is safe for now. I can find the men you work and live with. I can find the bear and the wolf. And I will kill them one by one until you agree to what I ask of you. "
Newkirk had never known the true meaning hatred until that moment. He snarled at the creature sitting beside him. "You're bloody charming aren't you? "
It pissed the vampire lord off, as Newkirk had intended. This 'lord' was as easy to read as the common gestapo. He stood and roared, reverting to his native German. "This is beyond being likeabe! This is important! "
"The most important thing in the world? I know your type. You've probably been at it for decades, maybe even centuries. And each life you destroy, each person you kill, each shred of humanity you cut free from your soul you tell yourself is the last sacrifice, the last atrocity you will have to commit in order to bring about so much more good than all the destruction you caused. I may not understand what your goals are but I know your type. " He was prepared for the reaction, had pushed for it but there was no way to prepare for being shook by a larger man when you had a spinal injury.
It took only a moment for his captor to compose himself and let go of Newkirk. "You are a good man Peter Newkirk, a better one I think, than I ever was. VonSchloss would have done much better by you if he had just killed you. You are completely unsuited to being a vampire. But we are past that now. With what you have become I may be able to save a whole species, from the monsters they have become. "The vampire lord sounded bitter and sad, all anger gone.
Newkirk risked pushing just a little more, his breath coming in pained gasps. "Save yourself you mean? 'It a nerve there, I can tell. "
Van Helsing gritted his teeth and barked. "We are done talking, what is your answer? "
"You don't need to ask. You know my answer. You didn't leave me any other option "
"Then let's begin. "
End of Part Five
I counsel you, put down in record even your doubts and surmises. Hereafter it may be of interest to you to see how true you guess. We learn from failure, not from success. - Bram Stoker