“What are we doing here?” Clayton asked.
“We need to talk,” Jack said with seriousness.
“Okay, talk.”
“Outside, please.”
Clayton left the van. All of the scientists followed him.
“What’s up, Jack?”
“We were talking amongst ourselves, and we decided we have had enough. We want out.”
Clayton looked at all of them. “Is this a mutiny, Jack?”
“Of sorts. No, consider it an ultimatum.”
“I’m listening.”
“We need to know definitively by tonight, where we are going to work, or we’re going to return to our old lives.”
“Why?”
“Because we are not fighters or warriors. We are the peaceful bunch of the A and B blood types. We don’t wage war with other vampires; we wage war on bacteria and viruses that could affect our blood type.”
“That’s what we’re doing!” Clayton said in exasperation.
“If Maryl and Ray’s merry vampire band weren’t pursuing us, I would agree with you.”
“Okay, let’s talk about where we can go,” Clayton said to appease them.
“We’ve discussed countless places, and we’ve come up empty,” Jack said with frustration.
Abruptly, an idea surfaced. “Empty? Did you just use the word empty?” asked Clayton.
“Yes, what about it?”
“Do me a favor, Jack?”
“Sure, what is it?”
“Look to see what happened to the Sequencing Enzymes Institute of Technologyafter we stole the serum.”
“Sure.” Jack took out his phone, played with the keyboard, and waited. “Well, well. It seemed big named investors invested several billion into Doctor Leadstone’s serum. When the enzymes were stolen, and Doctor Leadstone was killed at the institute, the stockholders sold their shares, and the stocks soon tanked. The building is vacant.” He touched more keys. His hands were a blur. “They aren’t even listed on the Dow Jones, the New York Stock Exchange or the Nasdaq. In essence, they no longer exist.”
“Do you think their equipment would still be there?”
“I don’t know how long it would take to sell off the machines and vacate the premises. Some companies wouldn’t bother and just take the loss.”
“There you have it. No mutiny. We go get ice tonight and then break-in.”
“What about electricity? Even if it is still on, which I doubt, people will notice.”
“I am more than sure they have backup generators, and given its remote location, I doubt a few lights would be noticed,” Clayton said with false confidence. “Perhaps we can turn off the lights during nighttime.”
Jack looked around the other scientists. “What do you think? Should we give it a try one last time?”
The murmurs of their agreement were music to Clayton’s ears.
“Isn’t this the time when humans say, ‘let’s get something to eat?”’ Jack joked.
Clayton pointed to the van. “We have some blood inside if anyone is hungry?”
“Let’s eat and get a move on,” Jack said with authority. “It will take a couple of hours to get there.”
They gulped the blood, not knowing if it would be their last meal.
“I feel so energized, I could lift a building,” Jack teased.
“Since you’re so full of energy, take some vampires and get some ice.”
“What are you going to do?”
“I need to think about what our next move is going to be.”
When Jack and several of the vampires left, Clayton went inside the van. He put his hand underneath the seat and pulled a rug loose. He extracted a prepaid phone and keyed in a number.
“Hello?”
“Hi Maryl, this is Clayton.”
“How are you, Clayton? So good to hear from my frenemy.”
“I am fine in spite of your attempts at finding me. I know you’re telling someone to trace this call, don’t bother. I don’t plan on being here long.”
“What do you want?”
“I want you to listen and understand my side of the story.”
“Your side? Are you kidding me, Clayton? You are trying to destroy two species of vampires, which does not warrant me listening to your side!”
“Take away your hatred for me and listen!”
“No, I don’t think I will.”
“Then, you will never understand!” Clayton said with resentment.
“What’s to understand, Clayton? Just because you are stronger than my O blood types doesn’t give you the right to obliterate our kind!”
“And making a gray mist powder to kill us? And let’s not forget the serum you created! You claim it is to level the playing field, but I submit to you it would destroy the A and B, plus the AB blood types!” Clayton let that sink in for a second. He had to watch how much longer he was on the phone before they could trace his call. “If we seemed arrogant, it was out of fear.”
“Fear? I created the serum so every vampire could be equal, so every one of us may gain nourishment without the fear of sucking blood from the wrong blood type and suffering the consequences! What is the fear of being equal?”
“Maryl, there are so many more O type vampires compared to us even though we comprise fifty-six percent of the vampire's blood type. And because of our thirteen-year gap of ascension, it made us paranoid. Do I want to eradicate the O types? No, but your methods of trying to destroy us by your so-called failsafe weaponry is what I am trying to stop.”
“By killing forty-four percent of the vampire species? That is ridiculous!”
“I am done trying to explain my side of the story to you.” Clayton hung up the phone.
He had one more phone call to make. The phone battery was at seven percent. Plenty of juice to get something off his chest. He dialed a number.
“Hello?”
“Platov.”
“Clayton? What is it?”
“It seems your after name is correct.”
“Meaning?”
“Meaning you’re the Compromiser, and that you did.”
“I don’t need to talk to you, Clayton.”
“No, but you will. I know you’re not craven. No, I would never call you a coward, but you did back down and told me you would not give me troops when I needed your support. If I survive this ordeal, I am coming for you.”
“It would be suicide for you to try,” Platov said with menace. “You know what the most important word in the human dictionary is? ‘If.’ If I would have done this,
