With parts in play, the next couple of hours that they were forced to wait for Vulcrum's team to return with Brel were spent making sure the combined Silver Legion-First Dragon's Own force was properly equipped and trained with the new armor and Shiva/Kali weapon systems. Lash joined the Van Tallert nestari that had accompanied him out of Austria, along with Naryan and her Force Recon platoon, Truk and Narcist in showing the legionnaires and the Dragons how the new weapons and armor worked.
A round of familiarity training also was handled directly by Lash, who took it upon himself to demonstrate the capabilities of the various pieces of military hardware the base had in store. So, for a good section of those two hours, the flight deck rumbled with Dominus tanks moving in formation, loading drills, Wolverines getting put through their paces, and Lupus ATVs racing around the perimeter.
Once that was done, the Night Wolves took the War Bats out on patrol. And it was while they were out that Vulcrum's team finally arrived on their Nighthawk gunship.
Already on the flight deck to see the War Bats getting catapulted through their narrow launch windows, Lash stood at the back of the gunship as the loading ramp slowly descended, arms folded. This Kanter Brel, formerly Ivor Makarov, was the next link in the chain. The question now was: was Brel as reinforced against torture and questioning by nanites as Anna was?
Still unconscious from the trank that knocked him out, Brel was bodily carried from the back of the Nighthawk by the four vampire team that captured him. Looking up and spotting him even as eight Lash nestari jogged over to take custody of the asset, the team leader nodded in greeting.
"My lord," he said, a no-nonsense looking fellow in street clothes with armor and gear over top. "I believe I have a special delivery for you."
"That you do, operative," Lash said with a nod, waving the nestari in to take the unconscious Brel out of their hands. "Thank you. I appreciate your efforts. As a token of that appreciation, I can get you a ride to anywhere you need to go."
"That won't be necessary, my lord Ingamon," the vampire replied with a respectful nod. "Vulcrum has requested we attach ourselves to his interrogation team in case an operation is required during the siege of the Nocturnum."
Lash smiled.
"A wise precaution. Then I'll point you to the mess for food and blood, if you need, and the barracks where you can shower and get some tomb time," the big vampire said, pointing towards the door that would take them to the mess hall and barracks.
"Thank you, Sire," the vampire said, his team also giving Lash nods of respect. Then they were jogging towards the doors that Lash had pointed to.
With the familiarity training well underway, and Brel now in their hands, it was time for the big vampire to make his way back down to the cells. Vulcrum looked up as he stepped into the cell, a frown on his chiseled face.
"More nanites, I'm afraid," he said, handing Lash a vial filled with blood that moved by itself. "I think it's safe to conclude any high level assets that find themselves colluding with White Flames will also just as quickly find their bloodstreams polluted with these infernal things."
Lash sighed as he held the vial up and watched the slow, twisting motion of the microscopic robots working in conjunction to try and free themselves from the container.
"I concur, unfortunately." Lash dropped the vial away from his eyes to stare hard at the unconscious Brel.
'Was there anything of the once loyal Makarov still left inside of this thug-turned-mercenary?' he wondered, slowly turning the vial over and over in his hand as he considered the unconscious vampire.
Bah! Who was he trying to fool?? There never was a loyal Makarov! Only a vampire that was firmly invested in making sure his own agenda was followed, and his own goals reached. To be entirely truthful, it wasn't terribly surprising to find the Vorinov Qos Viran had turned traitor. Although he knew the vampire himself would argue that he wasn't traitorous, as he was currently working for the council.
Then something occurred to him that pushed all of the musing and consideration aside. Vulcrum's questioning of Anna was ultimately successful because he worked the edges. What if that was also true of Compulsion? What if the pheromones could stir the unconscious mind into revealing what the conscious mind was fortified against?
His eyes narrowed in thought. It was a stretch. But, beyond pulling Mordecai back in to scan the vampire's entire mind and put it into a box, they weren't going to get anything out of him the conventional way. So, maybe it was time to try something unconventional.
"Lash to Fiadh," he said, his omni-present earpiece picking up his voice.
"Fiadh here, Lash. Go ahead, my wolf," Fiadh's voice purred silkily into his ear, the Irish lilith still feeling good from their recent encounter.
"Brel is in our custody. Want to drop down into the cells and give your Plan A a try on him?"
"Be right there, Lash," she replied, her tone a bit more professional with her being called into action.
"Going to try a Compulsion?" Vulcrum asked and Lash nodded. "Not sure how effective it'll be until he wakes up, my lord."
"Actually, I don't want him awake." He looked over his shoulder as Fiadh slipped into the room, flashing him a bright smile before sobering. Letting the door close behind her, the Irish lilith stepped to his side.
"We're going to compel somebody that's unconscious?" she asked when she saw Brel was still out.
Lash nodded as he folded his arms, his eyes back on Brel.
"The unconscious mind is often not as fortified or disciplined as the conscious mind. So it can be more easily manipulated and influenced, even by things in its surrounding environment." His eyes narrowed thoughtfully. "Based on that, I would like to try a compulsion on an unconscious mind to see if we can squeeze the less protected part of him for the next link in the chain."
"That, actually, is a brilliant idea, my young master!" Vulcrum exclaimed with a laugh as he quickly jotted something down on the tablet in his hand. "I had never even considered that as a tactic or tool. Well done!"
Lash looked at him with a thin smile.
"I can't take the credit, actually." He looked down at Fiadh, who returned his gaze with a warm smile. "It's my lady Fiadh that originally suggested using Compulsion to force an unwilling target to give up information. I just took it a step further."
"Then bravo to you, Mistress Fiadh," Vulcrum said with a respectful bow. A bow she returned with a smile and a nod.
"Alright, Fiadh," Lash said, stepping aside to let Fiadh move close. "Keep it light. As soon as you sense you have a hold of him, give us a signal and we'll start questioning."
The Irish lilith nodded her understanding and leaned in, her eyes narrowed. And Lash immediately felt the pheromones tug on his own awareness. As it was nowhere near what was needed to take control of him, he ignored it to focus on the unconscious Brel. And he smiled when, still deeply unaware, the former Qos Viran twitched.
"I ... have him," Fiadh breathed. "I think."
"Let's test that assertion," Vulcrum said, stepping around behind her to hold out a small tablet. On its screen was a list of questions, the very things Vulcrum had hastily scribbled when he found out Lash wanted to try an unconscious compulsion.
"Read him those, Mistress," the lean spymaster directed. "The first two or three are fairly simple.
Nodding, Fiadh gave the list a quick scan. Then she was looking back at the slumped over vampire.
"Kanter. Do you hear me?" she asked in a slow, clear voice. And everybody in the room, including Fiadh, sighed with relief when, in a low, but clear voice that sounded like he was speaking from far away, Kanter replied from his slumped over position.
"Yes, mistress," he said faintly.
"Do you have another name?"
"Yes, mistress."
"What is it?"
"Ivor Makarov," the unconscious vampire replied and Vulcrum gave Lash a hearty slap on the shoulder in congratulations that the questioning method seemed to be working.
"Do you work alone, Kanter?"
"No, mistress."
"Who do you work with?" Fiadh carefully asked, her face a mask of concentration as she worked to keep her levels of pheromone steady.
"Romanescu, Sextant, Kohler, Marsen, and Xack."
Lash quickly put the last two names into a search of the Qos Viran database. And just as quickly found himself shaking his head to discover they too were former members, also falling out of awareness in 2005, the year the Qos Viran lost track of Romanescu and Makarov. At least Grigg wasn't being incriminated by the turncoat, and had died honorably in combat.
Then he had to refocus, as Fiadh asked the next, possibly even more important question.
"Who do you work for?"
"High Lord Joachim Narvaez."
Lash frowned. Narvaez? Wasn't that a Toreador House?? But Toreador didn't have a sitter currently on the council!
Then, after a slight hesitation, Kanter was speaking again, this time without being prompted.
"High Lord Giancarlo Giovanni."
Ash him, another Toreador House. And one that didn't want their missing lilith back. At least, it now made sense. If Giovanni was involved with Romanescu, he likely had Sofia removed to hide the fact ...
Lash frowned as another thought insistently interrupted the first. Unless refusing to take Sofia back was a ruse.
As he thought that, a vision of him addressing the adjuncts suddenly swam into clarity in his mind's eye. Where, in the middle of his address, Sofia stood, Shiva in hand, and proceeded to gun down her sister liliths before hammering several rounds into his head and chest as he charged her in an attempt to stop her. And, as she did so, her face was blank, like she was operating under some kind of mind control.
There, as he lay dying, the door burst open and Dru appeared, also wielding a Shiva. He watched as she cut Sofia down. Then, to his horror, she stepped to him and with hatred in her eyes, she emptied the rest of the magazine into him, cutting him in half.
A blink and the vision was gone. But not the feeling of impending betrayal it had carried with it. He stepped away from Fiadh and Kanter and turned towards the door.
"Kingsguard, Lash."
"Lash, Kingsguard. Go," his Force Recon commander crisply replied in response to the military-style address that he used instead of something more familiar.
"Take a team and secure the adjuncts in their quarters on my authority. And leave a guard on Sofia Cogliano."
"Meredith as well?" she asked.
"No. Only the ones we pulled out of the Salt Palace slave ring."
"Copy that."
"And secure Druzha as well, with a guard on her door."
That earned him a couple seconds of silence while Naryan absorbed that. Then:
"Copy that. We'll have them all secured within five minutes, Lord Commander."
"Very good. Lash out."
Having heard the big vampire give those orders, Vulcrum stepped close.
"A suspicion?" he asked. Lash shook his head.
"A premonition," he replied. "One I hope is wrong," the big vampire added as he looked back at Kanter.
"One of your adjuncts is a Giovanni. Sofia Cogliano," Vulcrum noted, his look of curiosity changing to one of thoughtful consideration. "And you suspect she's been conditioned as a sleeper to attack us from within. When you're vulnerable."
Lash looked at him, brow raised. How, in the name of the Dark Father ...? Then chuckled softly. Of course the old vampire had reasoned it out. Uncovering such things was his damn job!
"But you're not mentioning anything about me putting Druzha under guard," he pointed out. Vulcrum shrugged.
"I just assumed you did so because treachery is afoot and where there is treachery, there is ..."
"Nosferatu," Lash finished for him. He then looked over at Fiadh, who wore a questioning look of curiosity. "Kingsguard, Lash."
"Lash, Kingsguard. Go."
"On further review, place a guard on Isabella's and Gabriela's doors as well, if you would. And make sure all guards on liliths are hardened against the cloud."
Again there was silence as Naryan digested his command. And again it didn't last long.
"Copy hardening the guards," she indicated. "Did you want the Embraced on lockdown as well?"
"Not yet. We're still gathering intel. Isla and Cassie, for the time being, can carry on with what they were doing. Be advised, I'm relaying these directives to Kassidy as well. Lash out." Which was quickly followed by: "Kassidy, Lash."
"Lash, Kassidy, go," the Silver Legion colonel quickly replied.
"Be advised, there exists the possibility that one or more of the liliths that were rescued from the slaving ring in Denmark may, in fact, be a sleeper primed to attack us from the inside when we're vulnerable. Advise hardening all lilith escorts against the cloud."
Unlike Naryan, Kassidy's response was instant.
"Copy hardening the escorts," she replied. "Please advise: if the liliths question the shift, do we answer?"
"Affirmative. Advise any liliths who ask that we're taking precautions for the sake of internal security," Lash said. "Nothing more, nothing less. No conjecture."
"Copy that. Hardening the escorts now, Lord Commander."
"Acknowledged. Lash out."
He then looked at Fiadh, who's eyes had gone wider with each subsequent command.
"How much more time on that tranquilizer, Vulcrum?" he asked, returning her shocked look with a resolute one of his own.
"Another thirty minutes and ten seconds, young master," the spymaster quickly replied.
"Carry on with your questioning, if you'd be so kind, my queen," Lash then said.
Fiadh blinked then nodded as she reset. She turned to refocus on Kanter.
"Who does Narvaez and Giovanni work for?"
The unconscious Kanter hesitated, and Fiadh could feel his unconscious mind resist answering. Adding a bit more Compulsion into her cloud, she pushed at his mind.
"Who does Narvaez and Giovanni work for?" she repeated.
"I'm not sure, mistress," the traitorous vampire replied, again after a hesitation.
"Who do you think they work for?" Fiadh said, eyes narrowed. It wasn't a question on Vulcrum's list, but she had a hunch. He was hesitating, because he had a fairly educated guess, but not a direct answer. To get that out of him, she needed to ask the right question.
"Councilor Skol Demaskeiros."
Lash felt a tickle of confusion dance over his awareness.
Who??
****