Annara's eyes brightened. "Then we shall recruit them. We will learn from history and not make the same mistakes Earthers—Terrans have made."
Annara's confident tone gave Olivia hope that the current troubles on BloodDark were just teething pains soon to vanish in the dawn of a great civilization. The call to travel to a new frontier and create a better world for humanity spoke to her and many others. Humankind was bursting at the seams for just such a challenge, a fresh start to begin again, a place where history's lessons had been learned and learned well and the bad ones were not to be repeated.
If BloodDark's former rulers would allow it, that is.
*****
"I didn't recognize your driver. Is he new?"
Hernando waited for the limousine to pull away from the curb before answering Olivia's question. "He's a substitute for T. J. I told T. J. it was okay for him to spend Thanksgiving week with his family." He took a step closer to her and whispered, "I don't trust this new guy. The agency swore he's one of their best, but I feel there's more to the man than meets the eye."
Olivia frowned but said nothing as they walked from the curb toward the terminal. Hernando and Annara each took one of Olivia's suitcases, and Valori carried her laptop bag for her.
"Has this new guy done or said anything suspicious?" Even as he shook his head, Olivia realized Hernando as a diplomat could be a target for any number of groups or individuals who felt threatened by BloodDark and its peoples.
"It's not how he's acted this week. It's just a sense I have." Hernando lowered his voice and picked up the pace as they entered the building and headed toward the gate. "He's not to be trusted, but he's coming back with us on the flight after he returns the car anyway. Company policy, he says."
Olivia frowned at her boyfriend. "Remember what I told you earlier about employing a professional body guard? I'm sure if you ask the BloodDark governing council, they will send you a dozen or more warriors. It'll be acceptable. All the US Embassies are guarded by Marines. You shouldn't have to rely on private agencies here on Earth to be your escorts or drivers. You shouldn't try to blend in like you're a normal person."
"Why not? I am normal—well, at least I'd like to think I am."
She gestured toward her teeth. "Only until you smile."
"You're right." He sighed. "I forget how different I appear. If a handful of BloodDark diplomats make Terrans nervous, could you imagine the anxiety a dozen of our warriors would create? Besides, no one here on Earth has given me any reason to keep myself separated from my admirers by armed guards. No one except..." His voice trailed off. "We won't speak about those people in a public place."
Olivia cringed. Hernando never said much about his ordeal at the hands of the U.N. and American officials, but she sensed he didn't receive treatment worthy of a diplomat—or even a human being. The nameless faces made certain Hernando would never forget he was considered a threat, a risk by government and non-government agencies alike.
Scarier still, the corporate power brokers behind the scenes had their own agendas. Olivia realized the peoples of BloodDark might prove a threat to them, and they wanted BloodDark's first ambassador to know his place. No rocking the boat allowed. Hernando took the high road. He was advertised as a cultural representative and nothing more. Trade policies and economic ties between the two worlds were still being worked out by the paper pushers and would take years, or so most governments informed the press.
However, ordinary people of Earth considered Hernando a celebrity, an oddity, a trending Twitter hashtag topic. They loved him like a rock star. Photos were snapped and strangers waved as they passed into the terminal. At the commuter plane gate, Olivia checked in her luggage and arranged her ticket. They were flying back to Hernando's U.N. office in New York first before embarking on a holiday world tour of sorts.
"Can I put it on the embassy's credit card?" She grinned at her boyfriend, batted her eyelashes and extended her hand.
He laughed and passed it to her. "Of course. That's what the sale of a few pieces of BloodDark artwork to the Louvre can do—finance our embassy for the next hundred or so Earth years."
"The people are more than willing to liberate a few more pretty pieces from the bloodsuckers if needed," Annara said under her breath to Olivia after they collected their boarding passes and passed through security. "We just need to get the dinosaurs out of our way."
"I must see these dyno-sewers you speak of, Annara." Valori's eyes grew wide as they traveled throughout the airport hallways taking in the electronic billboards and other neon lit signage advertising the latest in electronics, real estate deals and financial investments. "Such strange and wondrous things to be found on this world. Already the computerized sewing machine is making my life easier. I see now why Earth attracted the ancient Pure Bloods. They couldn't help but be dazzled."
Olivia didn't have the heart to tell her friend most of the items displayed on the billboards had only been invented or thought of in the last few decades. The ancient Pure Bloods had first arrived on Earth one to two thousand years ago, according to the latest theory put forth by anthropologists. More than likely they'd encountered plague, wars and famine rather than smartphones, condominiums and 401Ks.
After a brief wait at the gate, they boarded the plane and settled into their seats toward the front. Olivia sat beside Valori so she could share
