Chapter 467
The command center was a large, octagon room at the end of a guarded hallway. Tables were set in a u-shape with vampires huddled around them. Like the Scharfrichter office in Munich, some were on the phone and others were on laptops, tapping keys at whirlwind speed. A giant map was on the back wall, studded with colored push pins. Several monitors hung near it with displays that ranged from modern to old style radar. It was as if every war movie command room had been jammed together at once.
In the center of the chaos stood a tall, thin vampire with long chestnut hair. Both his skin and his eyes spoke of age. He rattled off a string of directions to his subordinates, then turned his attention on the newcomers. One of the furry hatted vampires hurriedly introduced Wolfe and Jorick, before trailing off uncertainly.
Jamie gave his own introduction. Katelina hesitated, unsure what to call herself. She wasn't Jorick's human anymore. Should she call herself his girlfriend? His assistant? Companion?
The brunette held up his hand. "It is no matter. They are here. I am Valdare. Of more pressing concern is the maniac who has taken over the silo." He motioned their attention to one of the monitors where grainy security footage appeared. Two figures crept down a narrow corridor. It was Raoul, Malick's French whisperer, and Catya, the woman who'd helped kidnap Katelina. A guard turned toward them, hand on his gun, when he went slack. His knees gave way and he fell to the floor. Katelina recognized the woman's work from the fight in China. Then, she'd been the one pinned to the ground and helpless.
Raoul lifted the guard by his throat and tore out his chest. He tossed the body aside, and the pair disappeared from the screen. The scene changed and they walked past another camera, Raoul still shaking the blood from his fingers. The scene changed again, yet another security camera angle, this time to a long room. Three men dressed in military uniforms dashed onscreen, Ak74s ready. Though there was no sound, when the men fell into line she could tell they were firing. Not that bullets will do any good, Katelina thought. Unless the vampire was young, they'd only leave small holes, not kill them.
Raoul and Catya appeared at the edge of the screen, both bloody from a victim who'd been unfortunate enough not to be near a camera. The vampires charged through the bullets and made quick work of the men, leaving them broken on the floor.
"We can skip to the end," Valdare said.
The scene changed to a control room of some kind. A man was strapped into one of the chairs, while his fellows stood, pistols aimed at the door. Raoul burst through first and made quick work of them. The man in the chair fought to unbuckle himself. Before he was free, Catya walked in and he went stiff, his eyes wide with terror. She shot him in the head with one of his dead comrades' pistols, then flopped into the nearest chair and blew her bangs from her eyes. Raoul pushed a body out of the way to take the other seat, and fiddle with the control panel. The grainy footage left details to be desired, and Katelina couldn't be sure if he was hitting buttons, flipping switches, or just poking around in general.
Both vampires turned toward the doorway. A moment passed before Malick seemed to float through, wearing an expensive suit and a long black cloak. He sailed past his underlings and picked up the phone.
"That was when he phoned us," Valdare said. The footage continued to play; the ancient master on the phone and his subordinates seated straight backed and at attention.
Jorick asked, "What did he say?"
Valdare met his eyes; emerald green clashing with black. "He said that unless Jorick brings him the immortal crown, he will fire all of the silo's missiles at the United States."
Katelina's heart froze in her chest. The U.S.? But that was- "That's where my mom is! That's where everyone I know is!" Images of World War II documentaries filled her head. She imagined the street she'd grown up on reduced to ashes, the town, the state. Millions dead. And as Boris had said, if the U.S. was attacked they would fire on Russia and then-then the whole world would go up in a plume of fire and smoke. "Jorick, you have to stop him!"
"To that end, we will send you to him with the crown. You have it?"
Wolfe patted his coat and Valdare nodded. "Good. The underground can take you safely there, and the facility is subterranean. However, the sun is in the sky. Should you try to leave it from above-"
They nodded and Valdare went on. "You will not allow him to abscond with the crown, do you understand? It is your mission to kill or capture him and his accomplices. The crown is your key to unlock the door. It must be returned unharmed to the Sodalitas."
Jorick cocked an incredulous eyebrow. "And you think he won't read that from our minds the moment we enter the silo?"
"Of course he will," Valdare said. "But he will think he can overpower you and take the crown anyway. You must not let him."
Jorick looked back to the muted screen. The ancient master flung aside Catya's victim and took his chair. Then, he turned toward the camera, his expression smug, as if he knew Jorick would be watching in a few hours' time, and wanted to let him know that things were going according to plan.
Valdare gave hurried orders to the others. He switched to English as he addressed them. "A guard will escort you to the station where a special train will take you to the facility."
They followed a hatted vampire out of the command room and back to the elevator. The doors swished closed and the guard introduced himself, "I am Pavel."
Katelina nodded, though her mind was elsewhere. She needed to call her mother and tell her-what? To leave? Where the hell was she supposed to go? "Shouldn't someone warn America so they can evacuate?"
"The United States governments have been contacted," Wolfe said.
"The humans?" She couldn't imagine a vampire calling the president.
"I doubt they called the president directly, but there are contacts," Jorick said.
Katelina remembered when she was at The Guild the first time. Verchiel had mentioned that there was some kind of human emissary there. "Do all the governments have a vampire minister that deals with the guilds?"
"It's nothing that official," Wolfe said crisply. "Suffice to say there is someone who knows, and when the rest of the humans need to be warned, it is handled. Undoubtedly your president was told that terrorists have taken over the silo, and that the Russian government is doing everything in their power to take it back."
"Are they?" Katelina asked as the elevator doors opened. "Can't they change the codes, or lock the computers out or something? They've had three or four hours since he took over."
Wolfe gave her a hard look. "As none of us work at a Russian missile silo; we do not know the particulars. Those who do, issued the orders, and the orders say that we go to the silo and attempt to capture Malick. One does not question orders, only follows them. I suggest you learn that if you plan to continually interfere with your boyfriend's assignments."
"Leave it," Jorick snapped at Wolfe, then glanced at Katelina. "Wolfe is thoughtless, but correct. That's the attitude one has to have to do a master's bidding. That's why I was glad to leave it behind."
The train station was empty, as was the platform. They sat on a bench and waited in silence. Nightmarish visions played through Katelina's head. She saw her town destroyed, her mother a radiated zombie, everyone and everything she'd ever known gone. Under the immediate terror, she felt fury. Malick had taken away so much. He'd stolen her life, ripped away the sunlight and her right to choose whether to become a vampire or not, ruined the future Jorick had planned for them. And now he threatened this? She would see Malick dead, if she had to do it herself!
The train that pulled into the station was chrome and crimson. Pavel led them into the second of two cars. Instead of benches there were rows of individual seats upholstered in red. Katelina was barely seated before the train started forward, moving faster than the last one.
"This trip will be longer," Pavel explained. "The underground silos are some distance from the city."
"And what's to stop Malick from firing the missiles in the meantime?" she asked.
Her only answer was the chugging of the subway.
