Chapter 43
Pearl Harbor, Hawaii, America, 1941
When Jordan Findley gave you a special assignment, you took it, even if it meant leaving the continent where you’d lived for over a hundred years and the area you’d led for almost half that time.
Meeting with Jordan and his wife Janette in their office in Kansas City, Missouri, in the early fall of 1941 had been quite the experience for Aaron. After Titanic, he’d been appointed to the United Kingdom Area Leader, a new position, and he was tasked with overseeing all of the lands encompassed by the boundaries of that nation. Even though it had taken him away from the core members he’d worked so closely with, he enjoyed the job. Now that he and Christian had come up with a device that allowed team members to talk to each other at almost any time, running such a large area was much easier.
Likewise, Christian and Jamie had worked to develop two guns that shot special bullets made of silver, which gave them many more options when it came to fighting Vampires at a distance. The Vampires had been the first to try weapons, and when it became clear a Vampire could shoot a Hunter and kill him, the Hunters and Guardians realized they needed to be able to fight back with long-range weaponry. These specially designed revolvers allowed them to do just that.
Hawaii had always been relatively peaceful. While there were superstitions involving Vampires here, as there were almost everywhere, for the most part, the people had been left alone by the bloodsuckers. Now, as parts of Europe and Asia became more hostile, the undead were looking for other locations. Jordan had assigned Aaron to the area to monitor activity and determine whether or not they needed to organize a collective response or if the few Hunters and Guardians who worked independently could continue to manage the activity on the islands.
With better communication and weaponry came better training, and LIGHTS (Lincoln International Guardian and Hunter Training Station) the headquarters in Kansas City, which had opened just before the turn of the century, was completely overhauled in 1940. Now, even more Hunters and Guardians were given the opportunity to travel there and do some training under carefully selected individuals at the same location where the Findleys resided and oversaw the operations around the world. Despite the specificities of the acronym, many of them had now started referring to themselves as members of LIGHTS rather than Hunters and Guardians. Aaron was very excited about all of the changes that were being made, and he was hopeful he could continue to play a major role in the development.
His apartment in Oahu was near the military facilities, but he had little to do with the activities there. He was very interested in what was happening in Germany and Japan, but as far as the day-to-day operations of the naval facility, the only contact he had with any of them was a friend of his who enlisted as a medic a few months ago, in an attempt to be helpful should the US actually go to war, which seemed inevitable at this point, regardless of what the newspapers and politicians might be claiming.
The view from Aaron’s apartment was breathtaking, and he could have stayed there all day, but he had an appointment to meet Jamie for lunch and fill him in on his findings, so pulling himself away from the scene out his window, he headed downtown to the restaurant they’d agreed to meet at.
Being a high-ranking medical professional gave Jamie a little more leeway than most, but it was still the military, and Aaron didn’t see him as much as he would have liked to. There was also a pretty blonde who took up a lot of Jamie’s time.
“So how is Eleanor?” Aaron asked with a smile as Jamie looked over the menu.
“Do you think the mahi mahi is fresh?” Jamie asked, clearly avoiding the conversation.
“Nah, they probably fly it in from Alaska.” He wasn’t sure what he might order since he likely wouldn’t eat more than a few bites anyway. “Answer the question.”
The doctor was clearly holding back a smile. “She’s good,” he finally said. “She said to tell you hello.”
“Very sweet of her,” Aaron replied, trying to keep his smile in check. In the last six months, he’d watched as Jamie fell in love with the young lady. Even though he still wasn’t ready for a full-fledged relationship himself, he could live vicariously through his friend. He had finally removed his wedding ring a few years ago and put it away for safe keeping and gone out with a few different girls a time or two.
The waitress took their order, and when Jamie ordered the mahi mahi, Aaron simply said he’d have the same. “Are you done with your rounds for the day?”
“Yes, but I have a stack of reports to fill out. That is not the most enjoyable part of my job,” he replied, clearly tired even though, as a Guardian, he wouldn’t require the same sort of rest as everyone else. “So far no one seems to suspect I’m doing anything out of the ordinary, though, so I suppose that’s good.”
“Have you used your special talents much?”
“Not yet. I haven’t had any life-threatening cases. Besides, as much as it drains me, it might be a little odd to those who have no idea what is happening to me. But, if necessary, I will use them. What’s going on with the other bad guys?” Jamie asked, clearly choosing his words carefully in case anyone might be eavesdropping.
“I think we’ve definitely got reason to be concerned,” Aaron admitted, “but if we end up going to war, and I assume we will, I don’t know how we will be able to organize here right now. I expect a lot more LIGHTS members will want to enlist, as you have, to help with the efforts.”
Jamie nodded. “Will you?”
Exhaling sharply, Aaron shrugged. “I’ve thought about it. I’m just not sure what Jordan expects from me now. Before, when I was an Area Leader, I knew how I fit in the organization. Now, I have no idea what this special assignment means.”
“It means you’re a special agent,” Jamie said, his eyebrows raising and lowering rapidly. Aaron laughed. “I’m special all right. I guess I’ll just wait and see what Jordan wants me to do. If he has something else in mind, I probably won’t enlist. If he doesn’t, then, yeah, I probably will.”
“Go with the navy,” Jamie urged. Leaning forward, he added, “It’s the best.”
Aaron smiled, and as the waitress slid their food in front of them, he realized he was actually hungrier than he had thought. “I would join the air force if I had any idea how to fly a plane.”
“Maybe Jordan can teach you that, too,” Jamie replied between bites. “He’s quite the pilot.”
“Maybe I’ll ask,” Aaron shrugged, not previously aware that Jordan was a pilot. “Are you still off tomorrow morning? If you could run out to Kahuku with me to investigate the chatter we’re hearing there, it would be helpful.”
“Sure,” Jamie nodded. “Can we go early though? Ellie has the morning off, and she’ll want to sleep in, but I’d like to have lunch with her before she goes in for her shift.”
“No problem,” Aaron replied. It shouldn’t take too long to go out and check out the tip he’d received from a local regarding a clan of Vampires congregating in a secluded house. Then Jamie would have the rest of the day to spend with his beloved.
