Thanks to all who have reviewed, as well as the guests, since I can't respond personally. I'm glad you are enjoying the story, and there are more twists and turns to come.
Chapter 12
Mick shot into the parking lot of the donation center and went in. In the waiting room there were a few young humans wanting to donate blood. Guillermo saw his friend's anxiety and quickly drew him into the back offices.
Knowing not to ask too many questions, Guillermo said, "I've got the car packed with blood in a cooler and some other stuff we might need. I found some maps, and I've called Terrance. He's going to handle both the donation centers until I let him know I'm back."
Mick nodded, grateful for his friend's unquestioning support. "Let's get going and I'll fill you in."
With a roar of the engine Guillermo pulled out of the lot, heading for the highway.
Mick texted Josef that they were on their way. He knew what highway they needed to take and hoped Josef would have more exact directions when they got to the mountains.
"Okay, what's going on?" Guillermo asked.
Running his hand through his hair, Mick told him what he knew.
"Man, that's rough," Guillermo replied. "You have no idea who's doing this?"
"No. The only clue is that unknown woman Simone and Beth met this afternoon. Rider couldn't get a line on her and we don't know if she's responsible or not."
Knowing Beth was missing continued to constrict Mick's heart. Even though they had a good lead to get her back, he was consumed by fear. Next to him, Guillermo felt his friend's anxiety and said, "Don't worry amigo, we'll find her."
Mick nodded mutely. They had some time before they reached the mountainous area where Rider had last detected Simone's signal. He found the paper maps Guillermo brought and started to pull up the area on his phone.
"I've got a tablet in the back seat there if you want to use that. It's got a bigger screen," Guillermo commented.
"Thanks," Mick said briefly, and quickly turned it on, finding the map site he wanted. His phone rang and it was Josef.
"Yes?"
"Mick, you're on the road?"
"Yeah, I'm with Guillermo. We're heading up toward the wilderness area." He heard background noise and asked, "Where are you?"
"We're on the plane. I brought Rider and rousted out Logan so they can both monitor the frequency."
Mick glanced out the car window. "It's getting dark; can your guy fly at night?"
"He says he can," Josef said with confidence. "We can go for a few more hours. This plane's got all the bells and whistles We're almost over the last signal from the GPS. Where are you?"
"We're about 30 miles from the State parklands," Mick said, consulting the map.
"All right, I'll let you know if we get a stronger signal. The pilot said he would fly a grid pattern over the roads to see if we can find them."
"Okay, I'll call when we hit the mountains." Mick disconnected the call.
Guillermo heard the conversation and said, "If they get a good signal, we can find them on the ground."
"I hope so," Mick responded. The sky was darkening but he wasn't worried since their vampire vision would service them well in the gloom. He checked the map again and held on to the hope he would find Beth soon.
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Coraline paced nervously in her lavish apartment in Paris. Luc had gone out to get some fresh blood for them both. The last few nights she had Luc escort her to some of the most posh and well-known vampire clubs in Paris. She dressed to impress and made sure everyone noticed her. Luc was a silent watcher as she danced and flirted with the vamps and fed from the good-looking human men. She'd taken Luc to her bed to bind him more fully to her, as he was the only one who could link her to the kidnapping of the American vampires. He was besotted with her, but didn't like her flirting with other men until she explained she needed to attract attention as part of her scheme. It must be very obvious to everyone that she was in Paris during this time.
Coraline knew that the operation was taking place in distant Los Angeles and now she didn't want to leave her apartment. The three she had hired would be emailing Luc's computer so she had him staying with her for the moment, telling Henri she needed a protector. He was grumpy about it, but couldn't find any fault with her request.
The last email was from her main assassin, Celeste, relating she had made contact with the women and would be putting the plan into action the next day. Considering the time difference it should be occurring right now. Coraline knew she couldn't rest until she found out what had happened. She hoped Luc would return soon with the blood. That, and an exciting round of sex would distract her until she received word.
Twelve hours later, Coraline emerged from her freezer. Luc was in the guest freezer in the other room. She showered and was having a drink of blood when she heard Luc's laptop ding. Knowing his password, Coraline quickly opened the email and saw there was a message from Celeste.
With growing delight Coraline read the report. The ruse had worked perfectly and the two women had been removed with no problems. Celeste said the other mercenaries left with the crates and were on their way to the disposal site. Celeste had not waited and taken a plane for New York that night.
Coraline typed back a short confirmation that she had received the message. She was wild with excitement. Now Mick would learn the pain of being separated from the one he loved. She congratulated herself—she had not killed Beth, just removed her from her sire. Mick would feel the anguish of losing his childe as Coraline had. Now she needed to hear from the two other vampires that the women had been hidden and her scheme would be complete. Checking the time, she knew it would be some hours before she received any further information.
Just then, Luc came out from his freezer looking for some blood.
"Mon ami," she said, seductively, "Our plan is working. Why don't you feed and join me in the shower? Then we will go out and celebrate."
Luc looked at his mistress with undisguised lust and nodded. She was happy and that's all that mattered to him.
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Inside the cocoon of the wooden box, Beth had withdrawn into herself. If she were an older vampire she could have gone longer without feeding, but the dual suffering of starvation and being staked were taking their toll. Rousing her senses, she realized she was still in a vehicle and they were moving over bumpy roads. Her body shifted a little in the box and she hoped that it might loosen or dislodge the stake, but it was placed too deeply.
Summoning up what energy she had, Beth growled wanting Simone to answer. She strained to hear, but there was no response. Beth was worried, wondering if Simone was all right. The rough ride continued and Beth was unable to stay conscious any longer.
In the front of the large SUV, Vincent was checking the paper map as well as on his tablet. Trina was driving and asked, "Are we close?"
Nodding, he replied, "I think so. Turn at the next road."
The couple was driving deep into forested land where they could conceal the two women. They would be going off the trails where humans might wander. After a few more miles, Trina turned onto a rutted two-wheel track that was barely passable and switched into 4-wheel drive. It was beautiful country, but Trina was used to the congestion of Kyoto and the wilderness seemed foreign to her.
Hanging on to the passenger door as they bounced along, Vincent said, "I can see why we needed this car."
"Yeah. The farther we can get into the backcountry, the less distance we have to carry the boxes." Their plan was to hide the crates, then drive to a smallish town outside the park where they had chartered a plane to take them to San Francisco. From there they would go their separate ways.
Finally, they came to a stop along a ridge. They would move the women down the slope to a wooded canyon and bury them as best they could in the rocky soil.
The two vampires got out of the car and refreshed themselves with blood from a cooler. It was fully dark and their location was so remote neither thought there would be any problem with nearby humans.
Trina opened the back of the vehicle and said, "Let's get this over with."
Vincent nodded and moved one of the crates out. It would take both vampires to leverage the load down into the dry canyon. The terrain was rugged with trees and rocks, but they finally got both boxes to the bottom of the ravine. With vampire speed, Trina retrieved shovels from the SUV and they began to dig shallow ditches for the wooden crates. They couldn't bury them completely, but piled dirt and tree branches to conceal them from the casual observer.
Vincent appraised their work and said, "I think that's enough. No one will find them here."
Trina nodded. "You go on, I'll finish."
Vincent left quickly and Trina took a pine branch and wiped out any footprints that might have been left. She threw the branch away and headed for their vehicle. They had a long way to go before dawn.
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Josef peered out the window of the plane trying to make out anything on the ground. Even with vampire sight he could only see trees and rocks, cloaked by darkness. He ground his teeth and refrained from harassing Logan or Rider again. They hadn't be able to get more than an intermittent signal from Simone's GPS tracker and the pilot just told him they were running low on fuel and would have to turn back. The area was also expecting some bad weather overnight.
"Just a minute," he told the pilot, and dialed his phone.
Mick answered, "Josef, do you have them yet?"
"No, we're only getting a sporadic signal. Listen Mick, we have to go back, we're running low on fuel."
"Are you going to keep searching tonight?"
"No," Josef said in frustration. "Thunderstorms are moving in and we can't risk it. They're supposed to pass through by tomorrow morning and we can start again then."
"Dammit," Mick swore.
"Do you and Guillermo have enough supplies?" Josef asked, careful of what he said in front of the human pilot.
Knowing he meant blood, Mick responded, "Yes, we have enough."
"Good. You guys stay where you are for tonight and we'll be back in the air as soon as the weather clears."
"All right, Josef." He hung up; glad he'd brought the phone charger that plugged into the car. He glanced over at Guillermo, who had followed the exchange.
"Looks like we're camping out," Mick commented, grimly.
"No worries." Guillermo stopped the car. He knew his friend was upset about Beth, but they both needed to stay focused.
"What about the blood? Will it stay fresh?" Mick asked with a worried look.
"We're stocked to the gills. It's in a refrigerated container in the back, connected to the car battery so it will be fine for a couple more days. And before you ask, I have a separate battery system for the back of the car."
Mick looked a little embarrassed. "Sorry, G. I guess I'm not thinking straight."
"Why don't we have a drink, and we can figure out where to stay tonight," Guillermo said. He got out of the vehicle and Mick heard him rummaging around before jumping back into his seat. He'd not only brought some packets of blood, but also a good bottle of scotch. Pouring a liberal amount of both into a plastic glass, he handed it to Mick.
"Sorry we don't have any nice crystal, but I didn't think it would travel well," Guillermo said with a grin.
Mick downed the drink in a couple gulps, relishing the burn from the liquor and the rejuvenating qualities of the blood. He picked up the scotch and refilled his cup.
"Great thought, my friend," Mick said as he sipped the golden liquid that was slightly tinted red in the cup.
"Well, I was never a boy scout, but I like to be prepared."
The blood refreshed him and relaxed by the scotch, Mick asked, "You don't by chance have a freezer in the back, do you?"
Appreciating Mick's joke, he shook his head. "You young, spoiled vampires. What do you think we did before freezers? Before electricity?" Guillermo took the tablet from the dashboard. He scrolled through the maps of the area and smiled. "Ah, found something. If a storm is coming, we need to get lower. There's a place a couple of miles up this road."
Guillermo started the car and they lurched along the dirt road until he found a wide spot where they could pull off. Mick looked around and didn't see anything. By now they could hear approaching thunder, and the wind had picked up.
Jumping out, Guillermo said, "Grab whatever you need for the night. I'll bring some blood for later." It was only midnight, but if they were going to be up early tomorrow, they needed to rest during the dark.
Mick set his phone to recharge, leaving it in the car and grabbed the bottle of scotch. Priorities, he reasoned. He looked at Guillermo, who had several lengths of rope, a tarp and some bags of blood.
"Ok, let's go."
"Go where?" Mick asked.
"This way," Guillermo said and plunged into the forest. They followed a rocky gulley downhill. It was somewhat treacherous, but with their enhanced vision it was easy to see in the dark. At the bottom was a stream, bubbling over the rocks.
Guillermo looked at the water and frowned. "Let's go a bit upstream."
Still puzzled, Mick followed his friend. They broke through the undergrowth and found a small waterfall with a large pool at its foot. It was surrounded by trees and boulders.
"Perfect," Guillermo said with satisfaction. He dropped the ropes and the tarp and quickly tied a thin line to a tree, then to the blood bags and threw them into the water.
He then unfolded the tarp and spread it over a couple of the boulders, anchoring the corners with rocks. "Okay, we can leave our clothes under here and they won't get wet when it rains." Guillermo found a couple of hardy trees about ten feet apart and tied a rope to each with expert knots.
"What are you doing?" Mick asked, mystified.
Guillermo turned to him with a smirk. "How do you think vampires slept before freezers? We burrowed into snow drifts, slept in root cellars and we floated in ice cold water. You tie one of these ropes to your wrist so you don't wash downstream then jump in. You'll sleep like a baby, trust me. It will keep the blood cold, too."
Amazed at this revelation of vampire lore, Mick handed his friend the bottle of scotch he'd carried in his jacket pocket.
"I've never heard about this," Mick said, glad not to have to think about Beth for a moment.
Guillermo took a long swig of the scotch before handing the bottle back to Mick. "Yeah, you city vamps have it easy. Packaged blood, custom freezers, geez."
Smiling, Mick took a sip and said, "Guess we don't know as much as you old-timers."
"Damn right," Guillermo commented, taking back the bottle.
Mick stared into the water. "So there are no fish or anything in there?"
His friend sat down guffawing loudly. "Amigo, you'll take on Lola, a five hundred year old vamp, and you're worried about fish?"
Mick had the grace to look embarrassed. "I suppose I haven't done enough vampire camping."
"Well, let's get settled. Get out of your clothes."
Mick quickly stripped out of his gear, folding and putting them under the tarp. Guillermo grabbed one of the ropes and tied a quick slip knot, sliding it over Mick's wrist. Pulling it tight, he said, "Okay, get in."
Mick only hesitated a moment then slid into the water. It was not that deep and his head was visible.
"How is it?" Guillermo asked.
"Feels great," Mick smiled.
"Good." Guillermo followed him, removing his clothing and storing it safely under the tarp. Attaching the rope to his wrist, he joined is friend in the sub-zero water. He looked over at Mick and said, "Okay, I'll be able to tell when its dawn and we'll get up then."
Mick nodded, and let himself sink below the comforting cold water. He was determined to find his Beth tomorrow.
TBC
The hunt for Beth and Simone is on. Will Coraline get away with it? We'll see what happens next. Thanks for reading!