Dark Division - Dani Ch. 07

The next morning found the three of them in the GTO parked 200 yards from the barn where Dani knew the vampires were hanging out. They were just past a small tree line and hidden from view. It was a simple plan really. Nick and Vince would go in and take out the entire nest of bloodsuckers while Dani waited at the car. She was only supposed to head in if she heard Vince whistle or if it took longer than 30 minutes. It was only about 10 vamps, so it was nothing for Nick and Vince in the daylight, when they would all be weakened and probably sleeping.

"Alright, so you stay here no matter what. And, we'll take care of this. Please Dani, don't come in there unless you have to." Vince looked at her as he and Nick readied themselves at the trunk. They had duffle bags full of weapons to choose from, which they loaded and carefully hid in various places in case they needed them in a pinch.

"I know. I'll give you 30 minutes and then I'll come, but I hope you'll be done before then." Her eyes were still red-rimmed as she looked at the two men. She was definitely in no shape for a fight.

"We'll end this and we'll bring him out Dani." Vince stopped what he was doing and walked over holding her face in his hands and catching her eyes.

"Please finish him fast Vince so it doesn't hurt." She teared up as she spoke and Nick continued to get ready as Vince took her in his arms. Her hands wrapped around his back, holding on and he felt the need in her to have this over. He only hoped he could do as she asked, but wouldn't make a promise he wasn't sure he could keep, not to her.

"Just wait here, Nick and I have this." With that he turned back and slid the last two blades into the top of his boots.

"We'll take care of it Dani, don't worry." Nick smiled at her before he and Vince headed through the trees toward the barn.

They looked back when they reached the outer door and Vince could tell that Dani was fairly well hidden behind the tree cover. He nodded at Nick's signal and the taller man slid the door open enough for Vince to get inside. The barn was dark, so both men turned on their small red lights and split up making their way to either side. Just past the entryway, they started to see cots lined up on either side with sleeping figures perched atop.

Just like their field work in New Orleans, the two men fell into an easy rhythm of slicing throats before stabbing into the hearts of each creature. They would normally have checked each, but the risk was too high and with a concentration like this it would alert them for sure. After finishing off the main room, Nick flashed his light three times, signaling he was ready to move to the back area, now hidden by hay bales. After killing four to match the four Nick had, Vince knew there had to be more somewhere in there.

"Dani." A voice called out through the barn and it startled them both. It was Stan's voice. Vince pulled Nick to the side against the hay bales before they entered the next section.

"I think I should go back and take care of him if we missed him, can you handle the rest of the barn?" Vince whispered it out to his partner.

"I don't know. There could be two or three more, but there could be ten Vince."

"Dani." Stan's call was a little louder now, and it had Vince on high alert.

"Shit. I don't want her to come over here."

"Listen, she probably won't even hear him calling. Let's just finish this. It's the back and the hayloft and if we don't find him we'll double back together."

"If she hears him though..."

"Vince, get your head in the game. Before she hears him, every other creature in here is going to hear him. We have to finish this before any of them escape." Nick gave him a look that was clear in its intention and Vince couldn't help but nod in agreement.

"Dani." The voice grew even louder and Vince cursed under his breath as he nodded at Nick and they moved forward. The back of the barn turned out to be empty, and left them with just the hay loft. Vince ascended the rickety ladder first, with his gun trained at the opening. Nick didn't chance going up at the same time for fear the ladder wouldn't hold his weight.

No sooner had Vince reached the top then he was whisked away violently. Nick rushed up and was soon involved in the tussle. Four vampires had made their home in the hay loft and Vince and Nick were entwined with them as the men tried to finish this off.

Everything was a blur of fangs and blood as Vince tried to hold one creature at bay with a knife while he shot at another to no avail. In a burst of strength, he shoved the one gnashing his teeth at his arm with one heavy kick. Then, he turned slamming home his knife into the other creature's chest and twisting mercilessly until it collapsed on the floor.

He felt a crushing weight as he was slammed down on the wooden planks of the hay loft. Vince's face was sprayed with foul smelling spit as the monster pushed harder and harder against his arm trying to get in a bite. His legs were useless as it crouched atop him. With a loud crack, he could suddenly breathe again and saw Nick with his sawed off shot gun standing over the monster before plunging a large knife into its chest and with a twist. Thankfully, that last kill left them alone.

"Thanks man. Those fuckers get stronger the older I get." He smiled as he stood taking stock of his cuts and scrapes to make sure nothing was serious. Nick had a gash on his cheek, but otherwise just looked winded.

"None of those were Stan." Nick looked at him evenly and both men scrambled to search the loft hoping to find Stan and end this mess.

"Stan? Stan, why did you do it? I could have taken care of you. I would have." They heard Dani's teary voice and realized it was down below them causing both men to freeze before dashing towards the ladder.

"He must have been hiding somewhere. Be careful Vince we don't know if any others are still out there." Nick gave him a cautioned warning as Vince started down the ladder.

"STOP! STOP! PLEASE STAN STOP!!" Dani screeched at the top of her lungs before they heard the sounds of a struggle.

A gun cracked off at the other end of the barn, and Nick jumped the last few steps joining Vince in the back of the barn behind the hay bales. They exchanged a look and both ran out, guns at the ready.

Vince reached Dani first, and could only stand back a few steps as he took in what he was seeing. Dani was screaming and straddling Stan's body as she plunged her knife into his chest over and over. All signs of life and movement had left the fair haired man as he lay there. But, she still screamed and cried as she raised the blade again and again. He wasn't sure whether he was supposed to let her have her closure like this or stop her. He merely stood frozen in place as he watched blood fly through the air.

"Dani. Hey Dani. Stop, he's gone." Nick spoke first as he approached and put his gun back in its holster. His hands were raised as he approached.

"NOOOOOOO!!" She let out a blood-curdling scream and stared at him wide-eyed, her knife still raised. The shock was clear on Dani's face. There was something in the way she needed him that made Vince finally move.

"Dani. Dani, it's okay. Look at me." Vince said the words and she blinked out a few tears from her eyes staring at him. Her face was covered in blood, only washed away by the tracks of tear lines.

"Vince?" Dani's voice was soft and reminded him of a little girl somehow as she spoke. "OH GOD STAN!! STAN!!" She screamed again, and Vince swooped in, grabbing her by the waist before she could lose it even more. He pulled her backwards and out of the barn, taking her into the sunshine where she was at least relatively safe until they could sweep the barn. More importantly, she couldn't see Stan anymore.

"Calm down Dani, breathe for me." He pulled the knife from her hand as they both sank back to the ground. Dani let it go and then fully broke down, screaming and crying as Vince managed to pull her into his arms. She sobbed into him, and he just held her.

Nick walked out of the barn a few minutes later and mouthed silently to Vince that he cleared the place. That was it, they were done, and yet he couldn't move. The heartbreak that Dani felt made his own heart tear in two. The last thing he ever wanted was to see her in pain, and now here she was at her worst.

"I think we should call Oz for clean-up." Nick finally spoke up, and Vince nodded. Dani pulled back suddenly from him.

"Wait, no, no, Stan... You have to put Stan in the back with me and then if he comes back..."

"Dani...come on sweetheart. Just let me hold you while Nick takes care of him." Nick nodded at Vince's words and made his way back to the barn door dialing his phone. They were already in sync on what had to be done next and how it should be handled.

When the black vans pulled up to the property thirty minutes later, Vince had corralled Dani into their backseat and was still holding her. Nick waved at the incoming guys and jogged over saying a few words before jogging back. He climbed into the driver's seat of the GTO and took them back to Dani's house without another word.

From there, it was relative silence as Vince led her into the bathroom and helped Dani strip down and get in the shower. His first priority was getting what was left of Stan off of her, and then he would worry about what came next. Once she was inside the shower and safely out of ear shot, Vince slid out finding Nick in the kitchen.

"So, what did you tell Oz?" Nick sat with a cup of coffee at the table, looking as numb as Vince felt.

"I told him exactly what you would have. I explained that Dani was breaking down because they killed a nice woman she met here and Paul called us because she thought it was a huge nest. So, we went with her and Stan was killed in the fight."

"So, he'll get a proper agent funeral and..."

"And go down in the books as a hero, like he should. And, Dani will have to take her mandatory two months off before she gets evaluated for returning to the field with a possible new partner."

"Jesus, Nick. I've lost some guys in my day, even ones I was friends with, but the way she was with Stan. That was her brother."

"I know. I saw her and I couldn't help but think what if that happened to you man. I would flip out just the same. Fuck, I wouldn't have had the sense to put the barriers up like she did."

"Yea, she's a tough bitch at the end of the day. I just don't know what to say to her."

"Not much at first. I think you have to let Dani decompress however she does it. But, if she's anything like you...well I'm not sure she should be alone."

"What are you saying?"

"I'm saying that she hadn't eaten anything in days, or slept, or showered when we got here. So, her benders to get over shit sound like yours and if it gets worse...well."

"Fuck. I hate it when you're right. So, what do we do? Will Oz let us stay here?"

"No, but I think if we needed to go through the details with her of what happened, maybe for training purposes. Then, I think you can make a case to him for her staying at the bunker with us for a bit."

"Are you okay with that?"

"Would you be able to leave her here if I wasn't?"

"Nick, don't make it about that."

"I don't have to. I saw the way you were with her and Vince you can't leave someone you love hurting. So, I figure we either bring her, or I have to explain to Oz why you've gone missing for the next month." He smiled as he looked up at his friend.

"I'm going to check on Dani. Maybe I'll talk her into a little car trip." He smiled back, exchanging more words without saying anything as he headed into the downstairs bathroom.

Nick finished his coffee and headed upstairs, intending to clean himself up a little in the master bathroom before they headed out of town. It took Vince all of an hour to have Dani convinced and packing her own bag to come with them. She seemed hollow, just waiting for a suggestion, and he was happy he could at least give her that.

After his conversation with Oz, Nick already knew that a team would be there next cleaning the place out and selling it. Now that monsters knew it was Dani's there was no way it would stay in her name. The barn clean-up bought them a few hours, but still they had to get out of there. There were protocols and she had broken a few by using the house. Her stuff would be put into storage in Oz's name or maybe even at his place, but the house would fall off the map as another casualty of underground CIA activities. Of course, he could tell her that later but Vince knew.

While Dani packed, Nick and Vince cleaned up a little around the place, removing anything that might raise flags. Once done, they were off to the bunker. The ride was silent as Dani slept in the back. Vince had provided her with a healthy dose of sedatives, without much of an explanation. He figured she wouldn't sleep otherwise, and she nodded blankly at his suggestion. Vince himself was lost in thought as the car barreled down the road. He kept going over in his mind what might have happened and how he would have taken hearing that Dani was gone. He couldn't stomach the thought of a world without her, and it killed him.

******************************

The first day at the bunker was just watching as Dani drank herself into oblivion. Neither Nick nor Vince cared to stop her, instead just hoping that maybe giving it a few days would allow the pain to subside. When she came out of her room the next day, it was only to get a quick shower and then it was back to another one of their bottles. Hours later, she sat aimlessly in the kitchen with them for dinner, but hardly made eye contact.

"You doing okay Dani?" Nick was the one that broke the awkward silence first while they ate.

"Pe...peachy...just need to get some food in there before I go crash out with whatever the hell this bottle is." She smiled at him, clearly already far past drunk and pointed at the bottle next to her.

"Okay...well, you know you can talk to us right? I mean we've all lost someone." Nick put his hand on hers and saw her eyes water a little as she looked back.

"I don't need to fucking talk, just drink right now." With those heavily slurred words, Dani stood up from the table and took the bottle heading down the hall to her room.

"That went well." Vince didn't even look up to his partner as he said the words.

"Hey, at least I'm trying. I mean you guys are close right, why the hell didn't you say something?" Nick got defensive right away. He was pissed that his partner was standing idly by while Dani hit her rock bottom.

"Because I know her. She's like me, remember? Let her drink away the worst of it man, and then she'll be able to deal. It's too much right now. You saw her at the vamp nest and afterwards, she's numb and trying to stay that way for a little bit more. It's what I would do." Vince looked up at him, and Nick was silenced instantly. He saw a sorrow in Vince's face that he hadn't seen before. It wasn't the fact that he knew Stan, they both did. This was more, this was that Dani was hurting and Vince could feel her pain as if it was his own.

The next two days went by much the same, with them only seeing Dani for food, when she showered, and when she needed a new bottle to hit. Otherwise, she was in the room they gave her. Neither of them invaded her privacy, hoping that she would recover on her own.

Finally, on the fifth day, a new Dani seemed to emerge. Nick welcomed it as a change, but Vince saw it for what it really was. Now, the booze wasn't helping enough anymore, so Dani was looking for something new to numb out the pain. That's why he stayed quiet when she rounded the corner dressed up for the bar.

Dani was a stunner with no makeup on her face in filthy, blood covered clothes. Now, she had on black jeans that hugged every curve and a bright green tank top that clung to her. Her hair was down in waves over her shoulders and her face was adorned with red lipstick and deep black eye liner and mascara. The heels on her feet completed the look, and it was perfect. Even Nick took notice as Dani stood at the kitchen counter, downing another drink as she waited for her cab. They had both just finished eating and were chatting when she came in.

"Going somewhere?" Nick asked her and Vince smirked to himself.

"Yep, hitting the local bar. Why? Do you wanna come with?" She smiled lazily through her already well-started alcohol fog.

"Not tonight, we have a lot going on tomorrow, but uh maybe tomorrow night. It's Friday after all." Nick answered, trying to be encouraging.

"Your loss."

With those words, she walked slowly down the hall to the front door and it was the last they saw of her for hours. It was actually Vince who knew when she was officially home first. He was awoken by the sound of the door to the bunker slamming shut. Vince tried to roll over and go back to sleep, but then the noises started. He heard the giggles and moans come down the hallway that stopped almost directly across from his door.

It was all he could do to stay in bed, and even that was only possible as he held onto his cock taking the pressure off himself from knowing that Dani was on the other side of his door with some woman she had picked up.

"Dude, really? Dani come on, at least take it in your room." Nick's voice came through his door as Vince lay there trying to take in anything he could.

"Come on baby...let me show you what pleasure is." Dani's low, sexy voice came through and Vince gave himself a few strokes, just picturing her beckoning some chick to follow her. It would only take Dani a few minutes before she was buried in pussy and had the girl moaning above her. The thought of Dani naked looking up between her legs with those eyes had him nearing his release.

"OH FUCK DANI!!" Sure enough, a few minutes later, the high pitched scream echoed through the halls and straight through his balls. Vince's teeth ground together as he came, eyes tightly shut picturing the woman down the hall with those incredible eyes.

Vince got up to clean himself up, and stopped to look in the mirror. Was this really him? Was he really pining after a woman he claimed to be his friend? It was killing him to see her in pain, but this was another form of torture.

**********************

The next day it was lunch time before Dani finally came out of her room. She wandered out dressed in a small pair of shorts and the green shirt from the night before with no bra underneath. Her hair was pulled into a loose bun and make-up was streaked on her face. She grabbed a beer from their fridge and made her way to the table, sitting down heavily.

"Uh good morning, or rather afternoon." Nick spoke up first, with a snarky look across his face.

"Yea...is there food?" She looked hung over beyond belief as Nick scooted the pizza box her way. "Thanks."

"So, I know Nick said we might come out with you tonight, but it turns out we have to make a quick run and pick something up. Are you going to be okay here alone?" Vince made eye contact with her and saw a sadness there that he wanted so badly to take away.

"I'm going out again once I get rid of this hang over." She responded in a thick voice and looked down from his gaze.

"Maybe you should take a night off Dani." Nick had genuine concern filling his face as he watched Dani munch on a slice of pizza.

"Maybe I'll take tomorrow off." She didn't even make eye contact with him as he spoke.

"Well, we might not be back until late, so no worries on the noise tonight." Vince tipped his glass to her, of course his held water, much to his own dismay.

"Oh yeah, sorry about last night. Um...Frankie or no it was Frannie was a little impatient." Dani didn't even smile a devilish grin as she said it and Vince's heart fell. He knew this binge for sure and soon enough the women would lose their excitement and she would be left alone again just like before.