Endangered Ch. 09

***

When Michelle first mentioned Sardinia, Chris needed to look it up online.

What astonished him, now that he had access to Michelle's burgeoning BIA database, was the sheer wealth of magical knowledge at his disposal. Her work learning, tracking, and collecting knowledge from Maginet was impressive. No doubt there were others involved in the project too, but he had no doubt she'd thrown herself into the work. He understood now why she worked so late and looked haggard at times. She was making an intelligence database of the magical world.

Not only that, she had up-to-date intelligence from the country's military too.

Sardinia -he'd never even heard of the place. Now he knew it was the second largest island in the Mediterranean. It had a rich and ancient culture, relied on tourism, and had a disproportionate NATO military presence. In fact, next week there was to be a test firing of some sort of top secret swarm torpedo system.

It also had the highest concentration of merfolk in the world. None of that mattered to him right now though. They were here to hunt.

Parked under some sort of scraggly tree in a rocky sheep pasture, their hired jeep served well enough to transport them from the airport. The leaves above rustled in a warm breeze, providing only partial shade as he watched. At least it wasn't oppressively hot. Across the valley, through the lenses of Michelle's binoculars, Patrick Riker's villa-mansion beckoned.

Invisible in the seat behind his, the vampire kissed his neck. His observation interrupted by her teasing, breathy lips, he closed his eyes. He could tell she was smiling. Just as his neck hairs began to quiver, she latched on and sucked, pulling his blood toward his skin. She didn't bite, just lapped her saliva into his neck, quelling the swelling with her own magic. Lillian was marking him, proclaiming by virtue of her scent to all other vampires that he was hers. He smiled, allowing it.

It appeared last night's indignity was forgiven. Perhaps putting her thighs on his shoulders and using a hybrid dragon's tongue to the tune of two body-quivering orgasms counted as an acceptable reimbursement of favours.

"Do you want to fuck an invisible woman?" She whispered in her incredibly accented sexy-husk. "You young things call it a quickie, no?"

"Lillian..." he breathed almost resignedly.

"In my day we called it a 'soldier's tumble,' a roadside fuck while the column of soldiers marched. You had to be quick, so the man didn't fall behind once they were gone. I need you in me, Chris."

"Fuck..."

"Please?"

Michelle snorted in disgust.

"Would you just get it out of the way so she shuts up for half an hour?" She opened her driver's door and stepped onto the dusty, dry grass beneath. It shut a little firmly as she went to sit against the gnarled trunk with her trusty tablet.

It must have looked absurd, had there been anyone watching. The huge young man clambering out of the ATV, a massive tent in his black fatigues. Stranger, when he dropped them frantically, rolling down on to the grass and onto his knees, a very large cock already probing at nothing before he sank forward hurriedly and began fucking the living shit out of a squealing patch of air.

He left her gasping, a pool of semen glistening in the sunlight as it seeped from her molten, still quivering depths. Her sex was bare, slick, and obviously swollen from hard, passionate use. A vision, if only anyone were able to see her.

"Mmmhhh. That's the first time I've fucked under the sun since I was human... delicious," she lay back, licking his blood from her lips, her tousled ponytail swishing in the dry grass. "Perhaps Vlad was onto something."

"Where did you learn your soldier's tumble?" he asked, trying to clean his crotch with a water bottle and spare t-shirt from the jeep.

"I was just eighteen when I followed a column to Moscow. It was a good way to get away from home."

"Oh... Lillian I'm s..."

"I'm fine, Chris. I have had a long time to come to terms with my human past," she couldn't help smiling at his concern. "I have you, our child, your blood... that glorious cock. I have never been happier, vampire or human."

"You mean that?" he turned to stare where he thought her face must be. Invisible intimacy was a bit hit and miss.

"Yes."

"Thank you. I'm not... feedback is appreciated."

"Your pheromones are doing things to me, young one, your magic. I love it, my inner beast is finally happy."

They ended up joining Michelle under the old tree. Chris propped his head up on a bag of body armour from the back of the truck, found the binoculars again and relaxed. Lillian, not caring about the dust or the slightly rocky ground, wrapped herself against his side and actually slept.

Back at his observation, the sprawling green lawns surrounding the villa looked almost garish. Against the landscape of rock and hardy shrubs, the irrigated bright green was unnatural. Below them, a well-tended olive grove swept down the face of the hill toward the road, giving the driveway a pleasant border.

Beyond, past the main road and a few houses, a lovely, calm little beach. Through the binoculars, Chris could see people enjoying the sun and warm Mediterranean water down there. Annabel and his brood were once again missing out. Remedying the situation should be easy in theory, he would love to take them places like this. He should, but time was ever his enemy. That would have to change eventually.

Michelle combed over what recent satellite images she'd dared collect without drawing attention to her activity. Though no one had told them specifically not to come looking for the man, in the spirit of international relations, they weren't supposed to be here. It was Lillian who'd used her connections through the vampire community to find him here in Italy.

"There will be at least three guards on duty tonight," Michelle intoned, not looking up from her screen. "We can't see it from here but there's a compound out the back that could easily house ten or more. They must be trained well because he's paying them a lot."

"It doesn't matter if we go in through the Ether," Chris reassured.

"I know, we just need to be prepared and informed. Those guys could all be ex-Australian Special Forces or South African mercenaries for what we know, they cost enough."

"The guy has that much money?" Chris wondered.

"More."

"The wild cards will be if he's somehow hired magic help," Lillian observed drowsily. "If he has the contacts, he could buy a few young vampires. There are likely nasty mechanisms that will get set off if he disappears. We can't have someone releasing a pile of information about Beings to the public if he doesn't make a scheduled phone call next week."

"Our secondary objectives are his electronics and records. All going well, I should have at least 6 hours of undisturbed access."

They whittled away the warm afternoon in companionable quiet. Conversation would occasionally spring to life but it didn't last more than a few minutes as they waited for nightfall.

Contented vampires were like big lazy cats it seemed. Lillian and Chris lay together, embracing, lightly petting, dozing. His mind re-examined the previous night's events. In defending their child, they'd grown closer.

House Lefayd would be gathering themselves, recovering the pieces from the blow he'd dealt. He wondered what their reaction would be, to seek retribution or recognise the just nature of his attack and move onward. He certainly hoped for the latter, he'd snuffed out thousands and thousands of years of experience and life last night. Guilt didn't enter his mind, only regret that it had happened at all. He'd been defending himself and his mate, they had forced him into that position. Perhaps he did feel guilty about the young elf whose tongue he'd removed. That had been a particularly cruel instinct to act upon. He would have to do something to remedy the situation.

It was good to know the vampires were backing him, well, backing Lillian.

What did it mean to have a connection to those ancient, godlike creatures? Why him?

Lillian mumbled something unintelligible in her sleep, bumping his chin with her nose. The warm breeze wafted a few strands of her invisible hair across his face, scented subtly of honey. Those questions didn't matter for now, he realised.

His abilities were his own, he would use them as he saw fit. Whether it was to track down corrupt billionaires in the Mediterranean, or to make new life with the lovely woman at his side, it didn't matter. Morally, he was doing okay so far.

The Synod might not be too happy with him after last night but that wasn't exactly new. Hopefully their collective response would be aimed at Eramir. It didn't look good for any of the Being leaders when one of their own was exposed and disgraced. Once again though, he'd drawn attention to himself and his powers. If it wasn't already common speculation on Maginet, word of his connection to the ancient Devines would inevitably break. What then?

"Chris?" Michelle asked tentatively, his eyes were closed and he was breathing deeply.

"Yeah, what's up?" he rolled slightly away from Lillian to look up at his friend.

Nervously, she tucked some dark hair behind her ear and looked away, toward the setting sun.

"I ahh... God this is embarrassing."

"What?"

"I've been thinking about what you said. That we could... if I wanted."

"Oh," he smiled.

He wasn't trying to seem cock-sure, he was genuinely happy. It must have seemed that way though because her brow set in a stern frown, her eyes hardening in defence.

"I only ask because I can't help noticing the changes some of your brood are going through," she said in the same voice she gave him briefings in. "Immi is growing, Susan has lost five pounds and looks about the same number of years younger, Annabel... well, she stops bullets now."

Silence hung between them as he waited for her to come to the question she was searching for.

"Would I," she closed her eyes, twitching her shoulders as if to shake something off. "Would I benefit in an equivalent way if we became intimate?"

"I don't know," he answered openly. "It's possible but Annabel's magic comes from Bartholomew. Susan was a witch already. Why, would you like that?"

"I mean, in my position it would be advantageous," Michelle stopped her justification and looked the dragon in the eyes. "Yes, I would like any edge I can get."

"So, it's purely professional?" Chris teased her. "Nothing romantic in the least? I'm hurt, Michelle."

"Stop it," she poked him. "This is hard."

"That's what she said."

"Oh my god, I swear you are fourteen years old."

"Okay, okay," he relented. "Mood lightened, mission accomplished."

She watched him meaningfully, his goofy smile, his honest blue eyes.

"I don't want to get pregnant," she whispered.

"Michelle, this thing between us, it can be whatever you want," he tried to explain. "I wouldn't bite you with Itch unless you wanted me to. You want the benefits you see in the rest of my brood? Well we could even try to work something out so we didn't need to have sex."

"No," she stopped him. "No, I ah... I'm not against the sex. I just... I've never been in a committed relationship."

"What, no boyfriends? Nothing?"

"Not really," she admitted, flushing heavily in the low light. "I'm sort of terrible at that stuff."

"Huh," Chris mused. "I never would have thought so. You're lovely."

"Stop it."

"I'm serious. You're amazing, driven, scarily smart, beautiful. What's not to like?"

"I think it doesn't help that I run an NSA background check on anyone before going on a date," she admitted.

"Professional prudence," he nodded sagely even as his eyes twinkled with mischief. "I mean it though, our relationship can be whatever you want. You're already my Familiar and part of our little family. If you want to exploit me for magical powers on the side, that's okay. No commitments necessary."

"Thanks."

She smiled at him tentatively, but he returned his best lecherous grin. She guffawed quietly, pushing his bulk back over onto Lillian. He chuckled even as her hand trailed up his neck into his hair to rest there, intimate.

He relaxed against Lillian, enjoying the last of their restful day as the sun slunk low and red over the rocky hills. The vampire shifted subtly and began whispering with just her lips. She was not nearly as asleep as he'd assumed. Her voice was so quiet he knew only his ears would pick it up, still he sensed the lyrical rhythm of her words.

"... and another one gone, and another one gone. Another one bites the dust."

He shut her up with a kiss.

***

Their phase-hopping journey across the shallow valley was a desolate experience. He'd grown accustomed to the growth that seemed to sprout in his presence. There was nothing here. Only a tingle at the back of his neck, an uneasiness he couldn't readily place. He chalked it up to nerves, they were breaking into a mansion full of evil henchmen after all.

It felt almost like cheating to skim through the Ether past watchful perimeter guards. Even walls were no barrier, Lillian's hand in his right, Michelle's in his left. Together, they pushed through the mild resistance of stucco and into the four bay garage.

"Look at these cars!" Michelle hissed. "Oh man, I wish we could borrow one."

"Are they nice?" Chris asked quietly, clueless about the colourless outlines of the sleek sports vehicles.

"Very nice," even Lillian was impressed. "The far one is a Ferrari GT Lusso, I think. Classy."

Chris grunted, pulling them onward into the building.

"I didn't think you two, of all people, would be into cars."

"It's okay to admire," Michelle defended as they pushed through an ornate hardwood door into a grand hallway. "I know I'll never own anything like those, but it's fun to dream."

"Mmm, don't be jealous, young one," Lillian purred, her breasts brushing against his arm with every step. "You don't need luxury vehicles to prove your manhood, do you?"

"Huh," he grunted. "I'll need a fucking people mover and a fortune's worth of car seats in about seven months."

"Yes, my love."

"Shh," Michelle warned. "There's another guard."

"They can't hear us," Chris reassured her for about the fourth time of the night.

"I know... it's just. It makes me feel better if we're quiet, okay? I know it's illogical."

"It's okay," he squeezed her hand reassuringly, stopping her owl-like peering into the ghostly gloom.

Chris watched the insubstantial outline of the large man as he continued obliviously on his patrol. He passed no less than two metres away, a submachine gun hanging from the tactical webbing on his chest. Michelle had been right about their need to avoid a firefight with this guy and his friends.

"The server room should be just around the corner over there," Michelle pointed into a huge lounge room complete with home theatre. "We should plant my access point now, so we don't have to come back."

"Fair enough," Chris nodded. "It will be easier now than with an uncooperative prisoner."

The polished hardwood floors they glided noiselessly across must have looked lovely in the Norm. Chris had only recently signed away a huge sum for wooden flooring in his own house so he could appreciate the effort and expense put into this extravagant hideaway.

"Here?" He stopped in front of the first door they came across. It was rather nondescript but there was a security camera covering it from across the room.

"I think so," Michelle said.

Through the door they pushed.

"Jackpot," she dropped his hand, moving forward to hover over the equipment.

"This isn't very fun," Lillian pouted as she took in the modest, orderly space. "I thought there would be more screaming."

"I'm sorry our adventure doesn't live up to your standards," Chris chuckled. "Perhaps when we interrogate our errant billionaire, you can get your screaming fix."

Chris hovered over Michelle's shoulder, watching as she unpacked five large, black flash drives from a foam-filled waterproof case. One for each machine, he assumed. There wasn't that much computer gear really, but for a personal residence, the three small servers and two high-powered desktop workspaces were overkill.

"Are you confident you can help me do it from the Ether?" She asked.

"Confident might not be the best word," he admitted. "Cautiously optimistic seems more honest."

She paused, looking up at the cameras on either side of the room.

"It's worth a try. We need access."

Together, they pushed through desks, screens, chairs, and walls, delicately manoeuvring to the rear of the first device.

Carefully, Michelle slotted a fully-fledged stick into a ghostly rear USB slot. Chris tried to focus his intention on the Ether-image of the target computer, commanding it to extra firmness. It was an unnatural, strange resistance, taxing his magic more than he'd expected. Still, Michelle needed some tactile feedback to correctly insert the sticks and Chris wasn't sure how the two sets of inanimate matter would interact without his magical guidance. It wouldn't be good if the little drives fell through the ghost-images as soon as they were released, shredding the rear panel of the computer in the process. There was still a lot to learn about the Ether.

When Michelle was done double checking the placement, she tentatively released the drive. They both tensed, waiting for some sort of alarm to go off or the drive to disappear altogether. Nothing, it clung onto the back of the computer, still under Chris' influence. Finally, he willed the flash stick back into the Norm.

They breathed a collective sigh of relief as nothing disastrous happened.

"Next?" he asked.

"Yeah, let's do the rest and move on, we won't know if they're working until I can fire up the tablet and attempt a connection."

They finished in short order, becoming more confident with every successful installation. In the end, it was an uneventful process under the guide of Chris' magic. With any luck, Michelle could now begin the process of remotely tapping in and mining data. As the machines also recorded and stored all the camera feeds around the mansion, they might get to watch the reaction to Riker's disappearance and respond as necessary.

They made their silent, other-dimensional way upstairs. One guard sat quietly in the darkness, watching the stairwell. He proved as ineffective a deterrent as the rest.

One final wall later, they were inside the master bedroom. On a modest queen bed, amidst a tangle of kicked blankets, a middle-aged man snored softly. He looked peaceful in his blue silk pyjamas, his full head of greying hair tousled against a plush pillow.

"It's him," Michelle said as they stood over him like vengeful wraiths. "Help me look for his things."

Without another word, they spread around the room, poking their noses into every nook, wall, cranny, drawer, and cupboard. Michelle was very pleased with their booty. Not only did they come away with his personal computer, wallet, phone, and briefcase; they also found four passports in his name and a respectable stash of around forty thousand Euros. It all went into a big duffel bag Michelle had forced upon Lillian for this exact reason.

Happy with their effort, the gathered back at the side of the bed.

"Everyone ready?" Chris asked. "There's no going back after we grab him."

"He deserves worse," Lillian said venomously.

"It's the right thing to do," Michelle nodded more reservedly.

They formed a chain, Chris holding Michelle's hand, who held Lillian's hand, leaving Chris free to bring them softly out of the Ether and firmly grip Patrick Riker by the elbow.