The Making of Vampires Ch. 08

When Tony introduced Sargent Bobby Grant, Bobby kept his distance and gave a quick nod, hoping that she wouldn't give him any attention, especially since Stephany had been so formal with Martin.

Sargent Michael Scarpula was a different story. He brazenly picked up Stephany's hand and brushed a kiss on the back of it. August and Bobby felt Martin stiffen, his temper rising. Stephany glanced up at Martin, as if she noticed something, a moment before Tony took her hand from Michael's.

Tony pulled Stephany behind him so his body blocked Michael. "Not her. Not my sister. You're not making the moves on my sister."

Michael looked shocked. "Whatever do you mean?"

Stephany cleared her throat. "No need to worry, Tony. Remember, I don't date cops."

Michael pretended to be wounded and placed his hands over his heart. "How can you say that? What's wrong with police officers?"

Stephany remained behind Tony as she answered, "Nothing is wrong with cops. You're just too rigid for some of us. You can't turn it off."

Michael, unaware that his conversation with Stephany angered Martin more than kissing her hand did, asked, "What do you mean, 'can't turn it off'?"

Stephany shrugged. "When I leave the lab, I tend to not think in terms of chemistry. When Tony or Dad leaves work, they can't help but still think like cops. Any new friend of mine is a potential criminal. Any errand that I want to make is a potential way to make me a victim. I can't just run to the store like other people. I have to answer a series of questions about safety, car related issues, and possible safety plans if something goes wrong. It is rather stressful and unnecessary since, statistically, I'm more likely to become a victim of someone that I know or become a victim in my own home."

Michael couldn't help, but look her up and down, the action noticed by everyone in the room, except Stephany as he replied, "Well, we are just prepared. Like boy scouts. We want to make sure people are aware of the possible dangers. It's not a bad thing."

Stephany shook her head. "See, you can't even perceive that it isn't normal. The real reason that I told Dad and Tony that I was coming home a week later is that they would have worried about the plane crashing or about the cab driver being drunk."

Tony said somberly, "I never asked about a drunk cab driver."

Stephany looked up into her brother's eyes. "Only because he helped carry my bags to the house and you were able to talk to him and check him out yourself. I know that is why you paid for my fare, so see how easy it was for him to take the money out of your hand."

Tony, a little too innocently, replied, "I would never."

Stephany rolled her eyes. "Ugh. Let's go out for lunch before my impending stroke."

Tony took her hand and led her as if she was a child out the door expecting everyone else to follow. Martin could hear them talking about their lunch options, but he wasn't paying attention. He had found his bride. Stephany had come to him. He could pursue her now. He would convince her that cops were okay or he would leave the force. Either one was good for him as long as she was with him.

***

Stephany sat at the rectangular table in the diner eating the sandwich of the day, roast beef with cheese on rye, dipping it into the day's soup special, cheesy broccoli. She drank coffee doctored up with extra sugar and extra cream.

Tony asked, "When do you have to go to work at the lab?" He looked at the S.W.A.T. men sitting with them and said, "Stephany is the head of her own department." The men nodded and voiced congratulations.

Stephany shook her head. "It isn't a big deal. I AM the department. I'm the only one in it." Then she looked at Tony, "I start next week. They need time to set up my lab and I need some down time. I have tons of vacation saved up so this is a good time to use some."

Hoping for the best, Martin joined the conversation. "What exactly do you do at the lab?"

Stephany bit her lip as she thought and then answered. "I can't really say anything specific because of proprietary concerns, but I try to find solutions to chemical puzzles." She wrinkled her nose. "I know that doesn't explain anything, but I can say more about my second role at the company. The second is that I am head of the hazmat unit contracted through the state and city to clean up hazardous chemicals."

Tony sat up and grabbed her wrist, stopping the sandwich from reaching her mouth. "Hey, that is dangerous. I'm not sure I like the idea of that."

Stephany looked at her brother as if he had sprouted a second head. "Seriously? I'm not the one that goes to a job where I have to wear body armor to keep weirdos from killing me."

Tony gave his sister an incredulous look. "We are trained to deal with those kinds of people. We know how they think. We understand where danger lies. Chemicals don't use any logic. They just react and can kill people."

Stephany put her sandwich down. "Tony, I am trained for that kind of situation. I understand chemicals and they have predictable reactions. I'm also going to be in a hazmat suit that protects all of me from toxic exposure. I'm much safer in my hazmat suit than you are in your body armor."

Tony scoffed, "How can you say that?"

Stephany took a sip of her coffee. "Because your head is exposed and you could die from a headshot. No part of me is exposed. The hazmat suit even has a rebreather that cleans my air and prevents contamination from anything outside the suit."

Tony asked, "What if something rips the suit?"

Stephany shrugged, "Then I become exposed. Depending on the chemicals, I get a shot immediately or I go to the infirmary for observation and treatment."

Martin asked, "Don't you mean a hospital?"

Stephany shook her head. "Not for the hazmat exposures. Normally, hospitals are not set up to deal with toxic chemical exposure. Lab Tech Inc. has their own infirmary with contracted doctors who have special training to deal with toxic exposures."

Tony didn't plan to give up. "Well, you can't do it. I'm not letting you do something dangerous."

Stephany laughed. "Okay, Mr. Hypocrite. You do understand that being a cop is dangerous. It may be even more shocking to you that women are permitted to leave the house, drive, vote, and earn their own money. I'm over eighteen. I can legally do whatever I want."

Tony scowled. "You can't drink."

Stephany smirked. "I can in Europe. Some places, you only have to be sixteen."

Tony sputtered, unable to voice his shock.

Stephany continued with a self-satisfied smirk, "I didn't break any laws, so I did nothing wrong." She gave her brother a moment before dropping the bomb that would really upset him. "Some places, drugs are legal. Marijuana isn't a problem in Uruguay. Their government regulates it the way our government regulates alcohol." She saw the other officers at the table stiffen. She wasn't sure if it was because of the comment on drugs or because they knew Tony was about to lose his temper.

Tony lowered his voice into an unnatural calm as he asked, "So, are you telling me that you went to Uruguay and did drugs?"

Stephany nodded. "I did pot."

Tony's hand started to shake and Martin broke into the conversation, more because he had to know than anything else. "So, what did you think of it?"

Stephany looked at Martin and answered, "At first, I thought that I was immune to the stuff because nothing happened. I never studied the chemical properties of marijuana and didn't realize that a human brain needed three exposures to develop the synaptic receptacles for THC, allowing for the high. That third time was horrible. When it hit, it hit hard." She shivered from the memory. "People told me that pot can make one paranoid. I thought they meant that I would be worried about the police, but it is legal in Uruguay, so I didn't think that I would experience any paranoia. I was wrong. I kept thinking that I was losing cellular cohesion and that my body would just break apart and dissolve." She grimaced. "Not a good time. Yuck."

Tony's ire abated and he laughed, hard. "Only you would worry about your cells falling apart."

Stephany laughed, too, as she answered, "It wasn't funny. It scared me. I was afraid to go to sleep."

Everyone was chuckling at the table as Martin asked, "So, what ended up happening?"

Stephany took a sip of coffee. "I was supposed to go into the jungle the next day to collect specimens for an experiment. I stayed up all night, afraid to sleep, and my friends kept pumping me full of water hoping to flush the THC from my system. I finally started to lose that weird feeling, but it was morning and I had to go out. I was so tired that day. I haven't been curious about any drug since."

Tony nodded happily. "Good. See, drugs are bad."

Stephany rolled her eyes and picked up her sandwich. "If they changed the laws here tomorrow, you would have no problems with it."

Martin had another question for her. "So, your friends, were they male or female?" Stephany stopped chewing her sandwich and Martin suspected she was going to lie.

Stephany took a quick drink of her coffee to wash down the bite in her mouth and said, "I was with my bodyguards and I'm not supposed to reveal anything about them."

Martin had concentrated on her heart, watched her eyes, and focused on her skin temperature. She hadn't lied to him, but Stephany wasn't going to reveal anything to him, either.

Tony asked, "Okay. Let's see if I can avoid a stroke today. Why don't you tell me why you needed bodyguards?"

Stephany simply said, "Because a chemist is in great demand for illegal activities in various countries. I'm worth quite a bit. Add to that fact that I am a woman and some warlord or drug dealer could enjoy me night and day. Therefore, I had bodyguards from the time I arrived in Europe until I got off the plane back home in the city. They went with me everywhere."

Tony stiffened. "Did you know that you would need bodyguards when you left?"

Stephany put her sandwich down and placed a hand on her brother's wrist. "Tony, I knew a year before I left for my assignment exactly what I was getting into."

Tony's voice cracked and he had trouble talking as he asked, "Why? Why go, then?"

Stephany answered in a matter of fact tone, "Because it was a way to project me to the top of my field."

Tony said, "Why do you have to be at the top?"

Stephany answered, "I have a gimmick because of my age. I started with my company at thirteen as a consultant. Then, I saved them a lot of money and they signed me on with the pay of a full time salaried tech, even though I could only work twelve hours a week. That occurred within two months. I didn't want to grow stagnant. I needed something to prove that I was still on top of the game. Signing up for the special assignment rocketed my company and me up the ladder.

"I'm only one of four people who passed the training and fulfilled my company's one year obligation for...proprietary work. I'm the only one in the last three years that was able to do so. I'm the youngest and I am a woman." She shrugged. "I kicked ass. I can write my own ticket and my company knows it. They will give me whatever reasonable request that I ask for and some not so reasonable requests."

Tony looked shocked. "But Stephy, why put yourself in such danger simply for a job?"

Stephan asked, "Have you looked in the mirror? You put yourself in danger every day. I only had to for a year. Tony, I have a lot of pull now. I make more than you could possibly think and I have head hunters trying to sign me up with their agencies."

Tony shook his head, and in a sorrowful voice answered, "I just don't think you should have to work so hard for things. You have had it rough and you deserve some easy and fun times. You've been so serious ever since...you know...Mom...Life should be easier for you because of all that crap."

Stephany hugged her brother's arm as she said, "Tony, believe it or not, this is the easiest time in my life. Even though, I was in some dangerous areas, I loved being away. I had some wonderful adventures...and maybe some not so wonderful adventures, but all was interesting."

Martin knew she was minimizing the danger. He remembered the desert. He remembered her injuries and her pain.

Tony tried to ease the tension by saying, "You just liked being away from the other two."

Stephany laughed. "That was a bonus." She kissed her brother and asked, "Where is the rest room?" He pointed and she said, "I'll be back."

Tony looked at his team sitting at the table with him. "She has had it so rough. Why can't she be a secretary, a nurse, or a teacher like her mom was? Maybe let some man take care of her."

August said, "It sounds to me like she loves her career. The dangerous stuff is over, so why not let her enjoy her job?"

Tony asked, "What happens when she has to do some toxic cleanup?"

August shrugged. "She wears her hazmat suit and tells you a story later." The waitress walked by and he asked, "Hey, can we have our bill?"

The waitress, an older woman named Dorothy with gray curls, answered, "That sweet, little thing already took care of it. She also gave me AND the cook a great tip. You bring her back anytime."

August looked shocked and said to the men, "When did she have time to do that?"

Stephany walked back to the table and Tony said, "Stephy, you didn't have to pay for lunch."

She shrugged, "It's no big deal. You guys have a stressful job. I thought that it would be nice if someone took care of your lunch."

August said, "Thanks, but next time, it's on me." Everyone stood and headed for the door.

Stephany caught Martin's arm, stopping him and when everyone else was outside she said, "Hey, whatever I did to upset you at the station, I want you to know I am sorry. Sometimes, I'm socially awkward, but if you tell me what I did to offend you, I promise to do my best not to do it again."

Martin couldn't tell her that he didn't want anyone flirting with her because she was his. He couldn't tell Stephany that he helped her in the desert because she called to him. Although, he could tell her that Bobby and Michael upset him because they were not being very respectful to her, but before Martin could speak, he became overwhelmed remembering his failures with women in his past. He turned and left without explaining any of it as he feared his mistakes would repeat with her.

Stephany's face burned from humiliation. She mistakenly thought it safe to talk to Martin because he had spoken to her during lunch. She looked down and exited the diner hearing the friendly waitress, Dorothy, inviting her to come back. Stephany forced a smile on her face and waved as the glass door closed.

***

Across town, in a darkened room, a very old woman in long, red robes watched the scene unfold in a bowl of water. She raised a gnarled and bony hand touching the water with an arthritic finger causing ripples to erase the image before her.

The woman cackled to no one, "No Martinelli, I won't let you have her, either." His behavior at lunch and the way he looked at the one they called "Stephy" told the old woman more than what she needed to know. Martin had fallen for another one.

A one armed man stepped from the shadows and said, "Had you killed him when he was weak, you wouldn't have to suffer the indignity of his love life now."

The crone spun and hissed, "Had you turned me into a vampire, I could have easily killed him."

The one armed man laughed. "The deal was that you kill Martinelli and his brothers. Then I would turn you. You failed, more than once. Therefore, you are not a vampire."

The woman screeched, "So you give me just enough of your blood to keep me alive while you watch the ravages of age destroy my body!"

The man shrugged, turned as if dismissing her, and melted into the shadows once again.

***

August Morsus walked up the desk to speak to his wife. "Hey, you ready to go?"

Marienta gave her husband a concerned look as she asked, "Is the Tinkerton woman really to be Martin's wife?"

August nodded with trepidation, as he feared her tone. His wife had the ability to look inside a person and see their true heart and he feared what she might have seen.

Marienta sighed. "She has a great deal of darkness and she teeters on the edge more than Martin does. What if she pushes him over into evil? We will lose him."

August rubbed his face. "We may lose Martin if he doesn't bond with Stephany. There is always a chance he will pull her into the light."

Marienta frowned. "So you believe the blind leading the blind will find their way to goodness? I'm surprised at you."

August gave an exasperated sigh and looked down at the floor. "I have no choice. I can't think of losing my brother, so I have to hope for the best.

~~~

Bobby Grant sat in the dark, needing no light to see in his apartment. Due to his job and interaction in the human world, he kept up appearances by living as a regular human. He did have the spell casters of the clan cast protecting magic on his home, but other than that, he did his best to promote the image that he was human.

He pondered the fate of the vampire, Henry, who also fought in World War II, but on the side of his enemy. His anger at the atrocities of that era still invaded his thoughts unbidden. His hatred of his enemy burned hot and deep. He had lost many friends in that war. He, himself, almost died. Actually, he did die and Martin brought him back as one of the vampires.

Bobby wanted to kill that other vampire, no matter how much Henry had claimed to change. He was pretty sure that if cornered, Henry would resort to his selfish and uncaring ways. In Bobby's opinion, some things should not be forgotten or forgiven. Some things, needed retribution. For all the lives lost, his friends included, he wanted to take out his revenge on Henry. He wouldn't care that Henry was a friend of Stephany's. Martin wouldn't shed any tears over Henry's demise, either. Martin would want anyone who attracted Stephany's affection to be eliminated.

~~~

Stephany sat in her room missing Henry, her vampire as she thought of him. She wouldn't fall for anyone the way she fell for Henry. She wouldn't allow it. It almost ripped her up inside when she realized that Henry could not commit to her because of some stupid rule. She wasn't sure if the rule was his or vampires'. Something about her blood not calling to his beast and she hated it.

Henry wouldn't have revealed his true nature at all to her, but he had lost control and fed during a wild and intense sexual encounter with her. Shock and fear washed over her at that time. Unfortunately, for Henry, he discovered that he couldn't compel her to forget. It happened that way, sometimes humans didn't respond to a vampire's compulsion.

Normally, Henry would have discovered if a human could be compelled to forget before a feeding, but something about Stephany caused him to grow careless. In the past, he would have killed someone to protect his secret, but Henry couldn't do that to Stephany. He felt protective of her, even though she wasn't to be his lover for eternity.

No matter how socially awkward Stephany was, so far, she didn't seem to have a problem with sex and having men enjoy it with her. There was nothing special that she was doing. It was the men. The men were able to take her body into such a state of pleasure that she became lost in the sensuality of it all.

Stephany only had two lovers thus far. She regretted the man from college. They were together for nearly four months, but it had ended badly. He had broken her arm at the end of her final term of her graduate courses. Instead of returning home to endless questions of her injuries, she returned to the city, but stayed with her best friends, Rachel and Amy, until it was time to go to Europe. An army medic removed her cast when her arm had healed, and helped with her occupational therapy to strengthen her arm. Her family never knew of her injury.