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Authors: Jennifer Rardin
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other end of the phone told me Pete might be choking on his own tongue. Maybe if I just waited very quietly at this end he'd suffocate before he could fire me.
"Let me talk to Vayl."
"Okay, hang on."
I took the phone to Vayl, who was lounging on one of the couches, getting a huge hairy kick out of my current predicament. The louse. "Tell him it wasn't my fault," I whispered as I handed him the phone.
"It was not Jasmine's fault, Pete," Vayl said. Just for that I went to the mini-fridge to get him a beer. I got one for myself too, a reward for spending the hours since we'd gotten back to Diamond Suites trying to untangle this new mystery Assan had presented us with.
"Yes," said Vayl.
At least we'd figured out the identity of Assan's accomplice. He'd made the FBI's Most Wanted Vampires list.
"I know," Vayl said.
The vamp's name, Aidyn Strait, rang bells all over Top Secret Land. He'd spent all of his long, long life trying to solve scientific problems using horribly unscientific methods, leaving a trail of mutilated bodies stretching back to the 18 th century. According to his file, which even now stared at me from the screen of our laptop, his latest venture was getting vampires to breed vampires, not through an exchange of blood, but through traditionally human methods.
So how did the vamp version of a fertility specialist end up with the human version of a makeover artist? As yet, we'd found no clue. We did know two things for sure. Assan and Aidyn were both henchmen types. That led us to believe someone else was calling the shots. Also, Aidyn did not look like he had when he'd crossed Vayl's path a century ago. Apparently Assan had done his buddy a big, plastic favor.
"How does that work?" I'd asked Vayl as we'd stared at the laptop screen, which was displaying Aidyn's before and after photos.
"I am not sure," Vayl had replied. "We can be scarred by fire, and full sunlight destroys us. Perhaps Assan used some sort of specially calibrated laser?"
That made sense. While we were in college, Bergman had theorized that lasers might be used to kill vampires. But he couldn't figure out how to produce the necessary power in a hand-held weapon. Surgery was a different story. All you needed was the space and the financing.
Vayl took a sip of his beer and gave me a nod of thanks.
"What's Pete saying?" I whispered.
Vayl cupped his hand over the mouthpiece. "He is extremely upset that someone tried to kill us tonight."
"So he doesn't want to fire me?"
Vayl held up a finger, listened for a minute, then shook his head. "Jasmine," he said, "Your job is, how you say, solid. One of the reasons I chose you is because Pete told me you are the best human agent he has."
"Oh." I drained my beer, marched into my bedroom, closed the doors, buried my face in the pillows and burst into tears.
Some time later I felt Vayl's presence beside me. The bed sank as he sat down.
"Are you all right?"
"I'm great." I turned to look at him, made sure he could see my smile was genuine. "Our simple little hit has turned into a bioterror nightmare. I nearly died tonight. My boss yelled at me for five minutes straight without stopping to take a breath, and in between I spent three hours staring at a computer screen. I think I may get cancer from the radiation. And I feel better than I have in a long, long time. Weird, huh?"
Vayl brushed a curl away from my cheek with a forefinger. "Unique," he said, "which is what I have come to expect from you."
Once in a great while a very private person will get that ask-me-anything look on his face. When you see it, you have to be ready to pounce. As soon as those soft brown eyes crinkled at the corners I jumped in. "Look, before, you said you chose me because I was the best."
"Absolutely."
"Why though?" I asked. "Don't get me wrong, I've enjoyed the ride. And I hope I spend the rest of my career working with you. I know why Pete wants us partnered. I know why the Senators on the Oversight Committee want
"Let me talk to Vayl."
"Okay, hang on."
I took the phone to Vayl, who was lounging on one of the couches, getting a huge hairy kick out of my current predicament. The louse. "Tell him it wasn't my fault," I whispered as I handed him the phone.
"It was not Jasmine's fault, Pete," Vayl said. Just for that I went to the mini-fridge to get him a beer. I got one for myself too, a reward for spending the hours since we'd gotten back to Diamond Suites trying to untangle this new mystery Assan had presented us with.
"Yes," said Vayl.
At least we'd figured out the identity of Assan's accomplice. He'd made the FBI's Most Wanted Vampires list.
"I know," Vayl said.
The vamp's name, Aidyn Strait, rang bells all over Top Secret Land. He'd spent all of his long, long life trying to solve scientific problems using horribly unscientific methods, leaving a trail of mutilated bodies stretching back to the 18 th century. According to his file, which even now stared at me from the screen of our laptop, his latest venture was getting vampires to breed vampires, not through an exchange of blood, but through traditionally human methods.
So how did the vamp version of a fertility specialist end up with the human version of a makeover artist? As yet, we'd found no clue. We did know two things for sure. Assan and Aidyn were both henchmen types. That led us to believe someone else was calling the shots. Also, Aidyn did not look like he had when he'd crossed Vayl's path a century ago. Apparently Assan had done his buddy a big, plastic favor.
"How does that work?" I'd asked Vayl as we'd stared at the laptop screen, which was displaying Aidyn's before and after photos.
"I am not sure," Vayl had replied. "We can be scarred by fire, and full sunlight destroys us. Perhaps Assan used some sort of specially calibrated laser?"
That made sense. While we were in college, Bergman had theorized that lasers might be used to kill vampires. But he couldn't figure out how to produce the necessary power in a hand-held weapon. Surgery was a different story. All you needed was the space and the financing.
Vayl took a sip of his beer and gave me a nod of thanks.
"What's Pete saying?" I whispered.
Vayl cupped his hand over the mouthpiece. "He is extremely upset that someone tried to kill us tonight."
"So he doesn't want to fire me?"
Vayl held up a finger, listened for a minute, then shook his head. "Jasmine," he said, "Your job is, how you say, solid. One of the reasons I chose you is because Pete told me you are the best human agent he has."
"Oh." I drained my beer, marched into my bedroom, closed the doors, buried my face in the pillows and burst into tears.
Some time later I felt Vayl's presence beside me. The bed sank as he sat down.
"Are you all right?"
"I'm great." I turned to look at him, made sure he could see my smile was genuine. "Our simple little hit has turned into a bioterror nightmare. I nearly died tonight. My boss yelled at me for five minutes straight without stopping to take a breath, and in between I spent three hours staring at a computer screen. I think I may get cancer from the radiation. And I feel better than I have in a long, long time. Weird, huh?"
Vayl brushed a curl away from my cheek with a forefinger. "Unique," he said, "which is what I have come to expect from you."
Once in a great while a very private person will get that ask-me-anything look on his face. When you see it, you have to be ready to pounce. As soon as those soft brown eyes crinkled at the corners I jumped in. "Look, before, you said you chose me because I was the best."
"Absolutely."
"Why though?" I asked. "Don't get me wrong, I've enjoyed the ride. And I hope I spend the rest of my career working with you. I know why Pete wants us partnered. I know why the Senators on the Oversight Committee want
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