A/N I guess I should make a note that I do NOT own Blood Plus, any music mentioned in this story, Ebay, or Craig's List.
I'm publishing a little early. Call it an Easter gift! XOXOXO
Chapter 7- A New Business Venture
The man now had thick streaks of grey threaded through his blonde hair. The lines on his face were more heavily etched into the corners of his mouth and eyes, as well as between his eyebrows. He now wore glasses to see almost anything, but all the operatives knew the man was to be admired. David had been a member of the Red Shield for quite a long time and had fought side by side with their greatest weapon, asset, and ally- an ageless girl named Saya.
He walked through the entryway where two armed guards stood stiffly at attention. He saluted them and walked into the meeting place.
The generals and colonels had been at odds about what was to be done for more than a week, getting them nowhere. The prominent group suggested that the mountain should be blown up and then they'd salvage what they could later.
The second group suggested that they find a way to draw the chiropterans from the mountain in order to sneak a few highly skilled operatives into the facility to scope it out and plan their next move.
David agreed to the second idea and began plans to sneak Lulu into the facility. She was small and completely comfortable sneaking around in the shadows. The rest agreed that would be the safest and less costly form of action. It would also spare the lives of the princesses. All agreed upon the idea.
Unnoticed by David, in the shadows, someone had been eavesdropping on the situation. Miles Hunter was Julia's intern 14 years ago, but had decided to join the Red Shield as an operative instead. It was her glowing recommendation that had gotten the man the position he wanted.
Joel VI was happy to place Miles as an operative. The boy was bright and a quick study, but David had his suspicions about him. He got that same feeling he had around Dr. Collins 30 years ago- he smelled a rat.
Once the meeting had dispersed, the wiry, auburn haired man straightened and began to casually walk toward the surveillance room. The emergency exit lay just beyond. A strong hand grasped the younger man's shoulder and turned him to face none other than David himself.
A scowl etched the now 60-year-old face as he asked, "Are you lost, Hunter? By now you should know the layout of this facility. Your sector is down the opposite hall and to the left."
Miles smiled sheepishly and answered, "Mr. David sir, no sir, the restrooms are near the end of the hall."
David nodded to give permission as the younger man made his way down the hall to his destination. The scowl still held as he felt there was still something that was bothering him about that operative.
Once Miles was in the restroom, he checked the stalls. Once he felt certain he was alone, he went into one stall and closed the door. "It was so simple to slip past these fools," he thought as he slipped his cell phone out of his pocket. He typed out his message quickly.
The Red Shield will be attacking the facility again in two weeks. This time, the attacks will utilize all the members they possibly can. The attack is a ruse. The Schiff Lulu will infiltrate the facility during the attack to obtain intel on the facility and possibly free the princesses.
No new info on Reyes. Will advise when info becomes available. Hagi is watching her and will soon approach her. She will then be in the hands of the Red Shield.
The sound of the door to the restrooms opening caused him to look up. The way the brown loafers clicked in pattern with the gate of the man told Miles that the newest occupant was David. He quickly pressed send as he flushed the toilet. With a sneaky smile, he placed his phone in his pocket before exiting the stall. He headed to the sink.
David simply stood there and watched the younger man through narrowed eyes. Hunter simply washed his hands and dried them with a paper towel. As he exited the restroom, David informed him in a low voice, "I'm watching you."
So far, none of the operatives could track these calls he was making. Disposable cell phones could not be tracked and made it nearly impossible to trace the calls. It was especially true in these times.
Prepaid cell phones were difficult to track more than 10 years ago, but with all the terrorist attacks, many countries began using technology to spy on their own people. They were simply trying to find the terrorist cells and anticipate their next moves. But the terrorists outsmarted them by creating anti-spy equipment. Then, to spite the governments that were against them, they began to flood the market with these devices- making them available to anyone.
David shook his head as he walked out of the restroom. He had no option but to watch the man and hope he slipped up.
~0~
Hagi crouched on the building watching the scene below. He had been following Reyes for more than a week now. Blue-grey eyes scanned the expanse of the impound yard to find his query. The impound yard was on the back of an auto repair shop owned by a 58-year-old blind man by the name of Calvin Green. He was a friend of Mary Frances' mother, Mary Reyes.
25 years ago, Mary Reyes was a prostitute for a pimp named Orlando Connel, aka. Shady. Shady was believed to have fathered Mary Frances, but it could have been any one of her johns, too.
When Mary Frances was born in 2017, Mary decided it was time to straighten her life out. It was a difficult choice and she had to have the assistance of the police when it came to leaving Shady.
In 2025, Mary Reyes felt it was her calling to begin a shelter for women like her. She rescued, rehabilitated, and helped educate these women she rescued. Many of them were now functioning members of society with families of their own.
The Center- as it was called, ran smoothly for 9 years before Mary Reyes was diagnosed with AIDS. Within the next year, she had trained her daughter to take over The Center.
Unfortunately, Mary died in that same year. Mary Frances took over the center, but this year, allowed the city to take it over and became a truck driver. It seemed odd to those in the city. They all knew that the daughter had the same passion as the mother and everyone was scratching their heads as to why Mary Frances just suddenly walked away from her mother's dream.
Mary Frances walked patiently at the side of the shorter, dark skinned man with black lensed glasses. She deftly guided him around the bumpers and tail pipes of the dusty cars that filled the lot. He employed 20 tow trucks and 16 lot attendants. The front of the property was where he made his money- his auto repair shop.
"Girlie," the blind man scolded in a coarse voice, "haven't I told you a million times not to get mixed up with that junk yard scum, Harlo?"
Mary Frances gave an exasperated sigh, "Daddy Green, look," she ran a hand through her short hair, "you've been like a dad to me. I know you're worried but I got this."
He stopped walking and responded, "You are so much better than this. Smuggling will get you into more trouble than your momma ever was, Girlie. Transporting that amount of drugs will get you locked up for more years than you can imagine. Sure the money sounds good, but it ain't worth it."
She looked at her feet, contrite, "I know." She then pleaded, "But it was just this once."
He raised an eyebrow, "Oh?" He then added with more emphasis, "What about the last time… and the time before that?" When he waited a minute and she gave no answer, he knew he'd made his point. Now it was time to go in for the kill. "I built that truck for you. I wanted you to use it to start a business- something for yourself! I didn't think you'd do something as low as smuggling narcotics!"
Now she took a deep breath to control her own anger. It took her a moment to respond, "It pays what I need. I don't want to move furniture or work for some fuck-off company that pays their drivers way too little. I like smuggling. I get big money and I can tell assholes to fuck off whenever they piss me off."
She kicked the dirt and growled before she brought her temper down. Rolling her eyes, she breathed, "But for you, I'll try."
He squeezed her arm in reassurance, "It's not as bad as you think. You'll love traveling and seeing the US. The money's good when you have your own truck and can take on clients. Just give it a chance."
She nodded and thought about it. Finally she answered, "Alright, Daddy Green."
He pulled her into a hug and roughly patted her back. When he pulled back, he thought out loud, "You're growing like a damn weed, Girlie! Your momma was only 5'7" and I know Shady was as tall as me, but you're more than 6 foot now!"
She laughed slowly as she responded, "I guess that means Shady's not my dead beat dad after all."
He scratched his head before he commented, "Well, your momma wasn't exactly with just one man, so it could be anyone in the city."
"That's okay," she said with a hint of mischief, "you're more of a daddy to me than anyone else was."
He turned to face her and responded, "You better believe it, Girlie." He then growled, "And if you don't straighten up and fly right soon, I'm gonna take you over my knee and beat the living shit out of you!"
"Alright, Daddy Green," she acquiesced as she raised her hands in surrender. "You don't need to threaten me, I'll be good."
They both turned back to the shop and she guided him once again.
~0~
The place was noisy with all the repairs going on. A client had totaled his car, but decided he would rather pay the costs to fix his vehicle. The red mustang was gradually coming together again. The hood was straightened and the engine, radiator, and fan were replaced. They were still waiting for a few parts, but the talented Gary was on the job. He was a master at reshaping the metal parts of the car, but the fiberglass and plastic parts would need to be replaced.
When Gary caught sight of Green, he hurriedly extinguished the flame on his torch before he came to his side. "Mr. Green," he began, "that mustang in the yard- no one's claimed it in 3 years. Could we strip the parts we need from it and then paint the car?"
Green rubbed his chin as he thought about it. It was something they did often since there were so many abandoned cars in the lot. They'd strip cars that were not running in order to do repairs at a lower cost. He was often approached with the idea of selling the working parts of those cars to those that needed them, just to get some use from them.
He nodded and Gary went back to work.
Mary Frances stood quietly for a moment before her eyes widened, "Daddy Green, why don't you sell the parts of those abandoned cars? It would be a great income… and it would get rid of the useless cars. I could deliver them to the buyers! That would make money for you and for me!"
"I don't know, Girlie," he answered. "With the lot and the shop… on top of that, I sell the abandoned cars that still run. I don't think I could handle adding a used parts business with all that, too."
"I'll run it!" she demanded excitedly. "I'll advertise on Craig's List and Ebay. I'll even pull the parts myself!"
He huffed, "That's a lot of work, Girlie. You sure you're up for it?"
"HELL YES!" she nearly shouted.
He chuckled, "Then why are you still standing here with an old blind man? Go start your business."
She dashed off excitedly, but her eyes widened in realization before she stopped mid leap. The young woman regarded the old mad pulling out his black expandable cane with a sneaky grin. "W-wait… wait," she mumbled as she came back to his side, cautiously. The excitement in her eyes slowly became joyful and adventurous. "Did you just say… you said… my business?" she asked slowly.
He chuckled and nodded, "Yes, Girlie, I said 'your business'."
The tall, slender creature leapt into the air and came down on one knee, pumping her fist and shouting, "YES! YES! YEEEESSSSSS!" Green chuckled as he listened to the celebratory display. She dashed into the shop to the computer in the office.
~0~
She was excitedly bent over, typing on the office computer as a young man came in. She was too excited to sit, so she instead chose to bend over and type as she shifted her feet happily.
He was in blue coveralls that had black smears all over and a few of those same streaks were fading on his face. His hair was normally blonde and very short, but it was streaked with used motor oil and his eyes flashed a bright green. Once he washed off the filth of a hard day's work, he would reveal his tan complexion and muscular body.
Two strong arms wrapped around the woman, causing her to scowl before she groaned, "Remove your hands before I remove them for you, Jack."
He feigned innocence as he grabbed her hips and pressed himself against her seductively. "What? Can't I enjoy a little visit from you?"
She huffed as she continued to type, ignoring him.
"You know, in this position…" he murmured before he bent himself against her, bringing his mouth to her ear. "This reminds me of last night."
She rolled her eyes and responded, "Yes, last night was good, but I'm done fucking now. I don't need you anymore. Go back to work, Jack."
He stilled. "Hey, I thought you enjoyed it."
She pushed him back and whirled around to face him. She spoke in a low voice, "Last night was a release of tension. I've told you this before- I'm not looking for a relationship." She raised an eyebrow and purred, "I'm looking for a bitch."
He was backed against the wall as she pressed a finger to his chest. "If I want to repeat last night, I'll call you. If I want romance and love- it's not you."
He smiled and asked, "Don't you want a relationship? I know you're really pretty and I thought women wanted men to commit to them."
"I told you, bitch, I don't do commitment and I certainly don't do love. I only take what I fucking want and leave the rest to take care of itself," she growled. "If you have issues with love, get rid of them. If you can't do that, I'll find someone that can."
"Okay… fine," he placated, but the feeling didn't reach his eyes. Deciding to change the subject, he asked, "So, what's Old Man Green got you working on?"
"Nothing," she answered as she turned back to the computer screen.
He scowled and grunted, "That's not what it looks like to me." He leaned in and noticed she was on Ebay. She was typing the description of the parts on the broke down mustang that were not used in the repairs of their customer's mustang. He murmured, "Ah, so he finally agreed to sell those used parts."
She jabbed her elbow into his ribs and grumbled, "Not that it's any of your damn business, but he gave me permission to sell the parts under my name."
He looked at her incredulously. Shaking his head, he leaned over to look at the screen again. "So, you're selling stripped cars," he snorted. "It's so you to do something illegal."
She rose and glared at him. "You really think Green would let me run a chop shop from his place?"
He could feel her anger simmering up and raised his hands in surrender, "It was a joke, MF. You know? Just a joke." He smiled, trying to defuse the situation.
"Grinning like a fucking idiot," she mumbled and turned back to the screen. She began typing again and thought about an answer for the moron behind her. Deciding to let it go, she shook her head. Jack was an idiot, but he was great in bed. As she finished typing the description of the transmission on 2017 Buick, she thought about last night with a smirk on her face.
Hagi watched from outside the window. There was an ancient conversion van parked behind him, blocking the window from the view of the lot attendants. Following this princess was far more difficult than the previous ones.
He recently noticed that she could sense his presence. If he followed her too closely, she would rub her eyes and look in his general direction. Sometimes he would hear her thoughts, too. He wondered what it was that seemed to be causing such a strong connection.
It was true that many of the Red Shield members and even Hibiki thought that she was his daughter, but he read the biography on this girl. She was born in LA August 21, 2017. It was true that he was in the area for a brief time in 2016, but he didn't remember ever meeting a Mary Reyes. When he was shone a photo of the woman, he didn't recognize her. He even found it strange that her daughter looked very little like her.
He spent a couple of his nights wondering around LA and the area where Mary Reyes was a prostitute. None of it rang any bells in his mind. It was just a coincidence that she looked like him.
Maybe it was another of Amshel's experiments. She could be his child, but her body was so much slimmer, her hair was red, and her eyes were brown. Looking at her as she flirted with the filthy mechanic behind her nearly made him shake his head in disgust. The way this generation seemed to regard sexuality was just immoral to him.
Turning to survey his surroundings, he realized no one could see him. He leapt on top of the roof of the shop soundlessly before he vanished with a gust of wind. It was time to inform Julia and Joel what was going on. He also wanted to check on the plans for the strike on the facility in Iceland. He would return in afterward to speak with the last princess.
~0~
Kaylee looked out at the sun and sighed. How she wished to feel the rays color her skin again. It was the only time the princesses were able to feel free and happy. She was in the infirmary receiving a transfusion. The window above the bed had bars obstructing the view, but it was no less welcome to the angelic blonde.
Her eyes once had a gleam of hope and mischief, but now they were dull and sad. "Freedom is a powerful thing. You don't really know how blessed you are to have it until it's gone," she murmured out loud to no one. The blood was replenishing her veins, but what would replenish her soul?
The scientists were excitedly communicating about the coming of the newest princess- possibly the most powerful of all of them. This was the only offspring of the red line. How they knew this for certain, she did not know. Maybe they were merely speculating.
Her brow furrowed as she thought of the chevalier that these men believed was the father. Sure, he was a really handsome man, but that personality… Her first encounter with Hagi was definitely unforgettable.
It had been a long time ago that her home was filled with the happy laughter of children. Her children lived nearby and brought their kids by, but that was long ago. Her husband died 40 years ago. Her grandchildren had their own kids and had moved on, rarely visiting. Most of her time was spent volunteering and just working. She was on her way to the library when she ran into someone that most assuredly, was unique.
He was quite tall with skin nearly as white as the shirt collar that peeped over his charcoal grey jacket. His midnight black hair was curly and pulled together in the back of his head in a blue ribbon. He carried a massive case on his back that made her gulp- a coffin.
The long coat-tails ended just past his knees and his right hand was bandaged in a worn out white strip of cloth. He looked like someone on their way to a costume party.
When he spoke, his deep voice was soothing, but so monotonous. His expression never changed- he almost looked bored.
She smiled to herself as she wondered, "What kind of woman would want to spend more than 5 minutes with that personality?"
Maybe he was different with other women- with his queen. Maybe he was just shy around some people.
Jendra had confided with her sister and Kaylee that she could sometimes sense the chevalier's thoughts when he was nearby. One thing that seemed to stand out was the name Saya and the feeling of a powerful feeling that his heart was completely hers. The man was completely head-over-heels in love with his queen!
She thought out loud, "Whoever this princess is, she can't be his. He doesn't seem like the type to do that." Pressing her head into the pillow, she sighed. "Hagi, wherever you are, please get here soon. I don't want to be here if they find this is your daughter."