"Hey, sis." "Zack?" "How you doing?" "I missed you so much!" "I missed you too." "How's Mom?" "She's okay." "Too bad she doesn't know you're a vampire." "She's not gonna know." "What are you doing out here?" "What do you mean?" "I mean, right place, wrong time." "I need to feel the sun." "You need to finish what you started." "Zack, I want to be done." "Aw, sweetie, it's just beginning." "Boone's in there." "Ripped By mstoll" "♪ The eyes of Texas are upon you ♪" "♪ All the livelong day ♪" "♪ The eyes of Texas ♪" "♪ Are... ♪" "Come on, honey." "We got miles to go before you sleep." "Next stop..." "Silvan, Louisiana." "You're gonna meet my new best friend." "Hell, put the hammer down, might even make it there by midnight." "What do you think?" "I think so too." "Help her!" "Did you see Boone?" "Where is he?" "She needs a moment, Chase." "What did you see?" "I know..." "I know..." "What?" "I know where he's going." "I know where he's going." "You didn't really think" "Marcus was going to pay his last respects, did you?" "Not in the middle of the day, no." "There is that." "Anything else of interest?" "Yeah." "People loved this guy." "If they only knew." "I bet some of 'em did." "She's cute." "She's pregnant." "Figures." "But the question is with what?" "Krista connected." "Boone's next stop is a small town in Louisiana, someplace called Silvan." "Silvan?" "Does that mean something?" "There's a splinter faction there." "Of what house?" "The House of Armaya." "Damek's faction." "You don't think Boone can really get an audience with a Pure Blood, do you?" "I'm not willing to risk it." "I want you in Silvan." "I'll send Red Team to meet you there." "I'm sending Krista back." "No!" "Use every asset." "If he gets to Damek and discovers what we've been doing here..." "He won't." "Just kill him and come home." "I'm tying up some of Dr. Vonner's loose ends, and I'll need you to secure them." "Krista." "How are you feeling?" "Thirsty." "Hmm." "What?" "Five hours." "You were under for five hours and nine minutes, to be precise." "Until now, the longest time for a Leichen blood ritual was 27 minutes." "So after doing a little research in the archives," "I've come to the conclusion that there are two possible explanations for this." "One:" "You don't want this vampire, Boone, found... for either conscious or subconscious reasons... so you rejected the connection for as long as possible." "Of course I want him found." "Marcus wants him found." "Or two:" "You're rejecting the world of death that Marcus and Chase have led you to, which would make things very complicated." "Now is there anything you'd like to say?" "Boone and I, we had a... relationship." "And all that implies?" "Yes." "And that's why you fought the connection... because you don't want him killed?" "Yes." "Yes." "All right then." "Get dressed." "We're leaving." "She needs to rest." "She needs to go, and so do I." "One more minute of listening to you yap on about solace and serenity, and I'll ash myself." "Please." "You know, you once were such a vampire." "I still am." "Sweetheart, you're not even close." "Her name is Vanessa Simms." "She's 26." "Grew up in Cincinnati, moved to Detroit in '98." "She does temp work, mostly secretarial, waitressing... all minimum-wage stuff." "Married?" "Nope." "And no boyfriend that I can see." "How do you know that?" "Her movie rentals are all chick flicks... hundreds of them... that she watches on her brand-new HD plasma TV costing over $9,000," "Thank you very much." "Fat pockets?" "Got a whole lot fatter a few weeks ago." "You think they're paying her to carry a vampire baby?" "She's carrying something." "Yo yo, what's up?" "What you need, brother?" "What you need?" "Smoke, coke, ups, downs?" "Point which way you wanna go, baby." "I'll get you there." "Know what I'm saying?" "Oh, my man lookin' to get sideways." "Okay, baby, I can do that too." "You know what I'm saying?" "Whoa whoa whoa whoa whoa!" "What?" "What?" "What, are you selling here without my say-so?" "Nuh-uh, baby!" "Don't work that way." "You know what I'm saying?" "Move!" "What, so now you're running things?" "Huh?" "Come on!" "What you got, brother?" "Bring it!" "Come on!" "Come on!" "Leave Krista alone." "She is exactly the type of individual that we've had luck with." "She's been recently turned, clearly having trouble making the necessary adjustments, and I would say that her chances of being able to accept our regimen of cloned blood would be good." "I'm not about to incur the wrath of Marcus over this and if you were smart, you wouldn't either." "This is not about Marcus, and I think we both know that." "I'm done discussing it." "And when will you be done pretending that you don't have feelings for Chase?" "I won't warn you again." "Frederick, this is my point." "If we could get a convert from the House of Chthon it would go a long way in dispelling the myth that they are all-powerful, invincible and destined to rule over all of us." "Maybe it's not a myth." "Maybe it's just the way things are, and you need to let it go, accept and move on." "We don't meddle in the politics or the plots of the other Houses." "Unless those plots threaten the House of Leichen." "There is no threat against us." "All right, Frederick, you win." "Thank you." "We'll be watching a movie in the auditorium." "It starts in 10 minutes." "Which one?" ""Gone with the Wind."" "Oh, that's right." "You knew her, didn't you," "Vivien Leigh?" "Just to say hi." "We ran in different circles." "And yours preferred blondes." "Come on, come on, huh?" "Tonight, yes?" "Let's go." "About fuckin' time." "You Armayans got some shit to learn in the how-to-treat-your-guest department." "I had a grandmother who looked like you... had less teeth, but still much prettier." "Yeah, that's pretty funny." "Last night she looked even better with my dick in her ear." "Now which one of you beauties is Damek?" "Mr. Damek's not here." "What do you mean, he's not here?" "Come on, what is this?" "Well, we will deliver the message, huh?" "So what is it?" "No no no." "I didn't come all this way to end up jawing with a bunch of junior-level stooges." "I speak to Damek and nobody else." "Oh, so now you think you're worthy of an audience with a Pure Blood, huh?" "Yeah, like that means anything." "You disorganized idiots haven't had a seat at the table in a long time, pal." "So shove your delusions of grandeur up your ass and go fetch Damek, chop-chop." "Oh, yeah." "And tell your boss" "I come bearing a nice goddamn gift." "She's a little ripe, but her seal ain't been broken, if you get my drift." "Well, that's very considerate of you, but you know Mr. Damek will still want to know what your message is about." "What's it about?" "Revenge." "Oh, yeah, I've done my homework on you Armayans." "I know all about you backward bastards sucking hind tit." "And I know that same high-ranking son of a bitch that backstabbed me has been "disappearing" you guys for the last few years." "Oh, yeah, I know about that." "I know who's doing it and why, and Damek's gonna want to know it too." "It's time for a little payback, brother." "Let me make a call." "Get down!" "Archer, let's go!" "Dust 'em all!" "Boone!" "Go go!" "Move!" "Come on!" "Go!" "Move!" "Go go!" "Move, bitch!" "Boone, stop!" "Okay, hold on, hold on a second." "Now look, you gotta understand." "Me and Marcus had an agreement, but he double-crossed me." "He threw me to the wolves." "Shit, he threw me to you, you bitch." " Let her go!" " Do what?" "You're kidding." "This meat means something to you?" "No more killing." "No more." "No more killing, huh?" "That's a tall order, sweetheart." "I tell you what:" "Why don't you suck on this instead?" "No!" "Help me." "Help me." "Where's Boone?" "Shut up!" "You predictable piece of shit." "Get over here." "Shut up!" " What are you doing?" " Shut up!" "Just fucking look out." "What do you see?" "Courtesy flush." "Boone's dead?" "Yes, no thanks to you." "Finish your little snack." "She's all gone." "And so are we." " Is he in?" " Yes, but, uh..." "I completely agree, and if there's anything else I can do to help, please do not hesitate to contact." "How goes the day job?" "They want another environmental impact report on the Bristol Park project." "If you'd like, I could impact their environment." "I think you've done enough for one night, but thank you for taking care of our Boone problem, both of you." "Our little war hero didn't miss a beat, except for getting the munchies in the middle of the firefight." "Momentary lapse." "And how is your ex-husband?" "I was thinking, if I had a little time" "I'd go back and castrate him." "Well, there was somewhere else I would rather you go." "Krista, will you excuse us?" "Of course." "So where am I going?" "Berlin." "I need you to safeguard something for me." "Our future depends upon it." "Something to do with Aurora?" "This goes beyond Aurora." "What are you doing?" "I'm asking you for help." "And this must remain a secret, or the Pure Bloods will kill us all." "Why would they do that?" "What are you planning?" "I can't tell you yet." "Just know that it's very important." "All right." "Thank you." "Mr. Van Sciver, there's someone to see you." "No more visitors, Sabine." "Sir, it's a Pure Blood." "Chase." "Well... this is a surprise." "Thank you, Thorne." "Charlotte, if you'd told me you were coming You would have done everything in your power to make me believe I haven't a care in the world." "Yes." "But that, as we both know, would be just another of your many lies." "Son of a bitch!" "I think you're good." "No no." "No, I need more." "I need more." "You've had enough." "Krista." "I saw his kills." "Boone." "I know." "You know what I'm feeling?" "Besides guilt?" "That's just it..." "I don't feel guilty." "What I... what I feel is..." "is left out." "I'm jealous... of the way... of... of his freedom, the way he can just..." "he can just be, and I can't." "Oh, God, what the hell's happening to me?" "You'll get through this." "Why?" "Because you did?" "You're half human." "I've nothing human left." "Eyes up." "Oh..." "Jesus." "What can you tell me about her?" "What is it?" "Her name's Vanessa." "Marcus had me deliver something to her." "She wanted me to thank her doctor." "Her doctor's dead." "Of course he is." "I need to find her." "Why?" "She's pregnant." "What's that got to do with Project Aurora?" "Has Marcus ever mentioned this place to you?" "It's in Berlin." "Marcus just sent Chase to Berlin." "This vampire safe house must be where she's heading." "I have people." "They tell me it's gotten busy." "Somebody just arrived that fits Vanessa's description." "This isn't just us, is it?" "What do you got, some sort of an underground network?" "Do they know I'm working for you or is one of them gonna kill me one day, thinking that they're doing you a favor?" "You have to be careful." "What if I kill one of your friends?" "Cost of doing business." "How close are you to getting your hands on the Aurora vaccine?" " Krista." " I'll get it." "There's a med lab underground, heavily protected." "I just gotta find a way in." "Get it before I get back from Berlin." "Aurora could change the entire game." "We can't let that happen." "I'm never gonna see the sunlight again, am I?" "If you do, it'll be the last thing you ever see." "The wound on Mrs. Barton's neck, the way the tissue was lacerated, is consistent with an animal attack," "A wild dog maybe." "Where was she found?" "Oh, out by St. Landry's Parish about five miles west of here." "A trucker found her walking along the side of the road." "What's out that way?" "Mostly swampland." "Did she say anything to anybody?" "Well, when they wheeled her into the ER, she was jibberjabberishing something about a lady helping her." " A lady?" " Yeah." "Or maybe a... a soldier, somebody with a gun." "EMTs couldn't make much sense of it." "And then she lost consciousness." "Patricia..." "I want you to look at something for me." "That... that's not a good idea." "Here." "Right here." "Hold on, son, you're upsetting her." "You can shut up or you can leave." "No, you don't understand." "Her larynx was just severed and she c..." "What?" "What?" "This?" "This right here, wh?" "This is what he looked like?" "There is still a question of the vaccine's long-term viability." "And Dr. Vonner's death affects us how?" "Not at all." "I'm moving forward." "When will you reach the finish line?" "Five weeks." "We'll have to accelerate final testing at no additional cost to the board." "But at what cost to the stability of the 12 Houses?" "I know about Boone." "You've got a little problem there, don't you?" "Not anymore." "Boone's dead." "We got to him before there was any trouble." "What sort of trouble might there have been, Marcus?" "Damek." "Boone gets to Damek, tells him we've been experimenting on his people... just the sort of thing the House of Armaya might need to turn this into a full-scale war." "It didn't happen." "Not yet." "When Damek does find out what we've been up to..." "They're too fractured and disorganized to cause any problems." "Damek didn't survive as Armaya's last remaining Pure Blood by shutting those beady little eyes of his." "And it won't just be the House of Armaya that comes after us." "At least five other Houses will join them." "They don't even have a seat at the council." "Armaya may be exiled, but that doesn't mean they don't have sympathizers." "And if there is a war, we will lose, unless Aurora works, unless we can strike first, in daylight." "It will work." "It had damn well better." "Now I'm tired." "I've had a long day and I'd like to rest." "I thought you'd be taking a plane back." "No, Marcus." "I will be staying here tonight." "If you could have my room prepared..." "Of course." "And Marcus..." "Yes?" "...bring me something to eat." "Something young." "How close are you to getting your hands on the Aurora vaccine?" "I just gotta find a way in." "Permits are approved and ready." "Just get them to Cress." "Tell him not to hurt anyone but to make the implication clear." "Yes, sir." "Tunnels?" "What is your business in Germany?" "Pleasure." "You have a place in mind?" "Waiting for confirmation on the amenities." "Well, according to my sources," "I'm positive the Mellinger Institute has exactly what you're looking for." "And to aid you in your travels..." "Hey." "Good morning." "Have a nice coma?" "Is something wrong with my baby?" "Everything's fine." "Where am I?" "You're safe." "Just relax." "Why can't I get up?" "Shh." "You really must relax." "Give your body a chance to incubate your pride and joy." "Sound like a good idea?" "Who are you?" "The Big Bad Wolf." "Now go back to sleep before I huff and puff and blow your fucking head off." "Security check." "Talk to me." "First floor clear." "Second floor, all clear." "Lock everything down." "Double-check it." "Perimeter?" "Perimeter is good too." "Yeah, it's secure." "Yeah." "Chase, come in." "I'm on the first fl..." "This is Chase." "Say again." "I'm on the first floor." "No one goes in or out but me." "Who are you?" "You stay away from me!" "You stay away from me!" "Are you the devil?" "Whatever works." "God damn it!" "Come on." "She wanted to see me?" "Is everything all right?" "It's fine, Glynnis." "I was just waiting for the sunrise." "So how long has it been, Glynnis, since you were turned?" "This May it'll be 52 years." "So you must still dream of it." "Dream of what?" "The sun." "I do, sometimes." "Don't feel guilty." "It's only natural, part of who you used to be." "I've never felt it." "Pure Bloods, born as vampires... we've never known daylight." "You will, when Mr. Van Sciver delivers Aurora." "If that's even his plan." "Ma'am?" "I believe we may have a problem with Marcus." "Tell me what to do." "I want an internal audit, top to bottom, a covert investigation into everything the House of Chthon is involved with, everything on the books and off." "I want phones tapped, cars tailed, and I want you to focus on Marcus Van Sciver." "I want whoever he's turned, from the moment he first tasted blood until now, investigated." "Yes, ma'am." "And Glynnis, do this quietly." "Screw all of 'em." "Oh God." "Poor Krista." "You miss your world, the one you've left behind." "Yeah, and I want it back." "That's impossible." "I can come close with this." " It doesn't work." " You're lying." "Not at the moment." "I saw Fritz." "Fritz was an unexpected and, quite frankly, unwanted success." "In a couple of days he would have started to decompose." "Is that what you want?" "To die?" "Don't touch me." "Aurora's effects are temporary." "It is simply a stepping stone." "To what?" "A better world for all of us." "You mean for vampires." "I mean for the House of Chthon." "From the dying ashes of one world, we will emerge into a better one." "You make it sound like an apocalypse." "Destruction is always required before rebirth." "Now you have two choices:" "You can either join me in this new life or you can die in your old one." "Trust me, Krista, there is nothing left for you but the life I can offer." "Stop fighting." "Stop wanting." "Let go and come with me." "Be with me forever." "Ripped By mstoll"