"Obviously they want a battle, don"t they?" Jarad said.
"I wanted you to order an evacuation, G.o.dd.a.m.nit. I"ll handle the rest." John held Angel by the shoulders. "Angel, you better go home. Don"t worry about anything."
"But, Mr. Howe-"
"Just go!"
"Uncle John!" yelled Alex, "what"s going on?"
Nikolas said, "Alex, you"ll be safe, don"t worry." He grabbed Alex tightly around his right arm.
"What are you doing?" Alex pulled away.
John commanded his driver, "Get my sword!" The driver tossed it to him. John caught it and, in a flash, pointed it at Nikolas. "Listen Nick, you can"t take Alex with you."
"It"s the Council"s orders, John. Listen to me."
"I can"t believe what you"re doing! You"ve joined them!" With one quick move John grabbed Alex and pulled him towards his side. He moved the sword up to Nikolas"s neck.
"You"re misunderstanding me." Nikolas said and backed away.
"I understand you completely!" John slashed at Nikolas but the vampire dodged the blade.
Alex dashed to the limo. His only thought now was to contact Angel. He pressed a b.u.t.ton on the side of his watch and the chain around his neck broke apart and morphed into a headset that attached itself to his ear. He pressed the earpiece that served as a nanophone. There was no clear reception.
John and Nikolas fought like never before. They felt invigorated even though they were fighting each other. Nikolas flew upwards. "Come down here, Nick, and face me!" John shouted.
"Listen to me old friend!" Nikolas said.
"Don"t call me that! You were supposed to keep your promise, Nick! And now you break it?"
"I need him!" Nikolas said.
"For what?"
"I can"t tell you yet but I want you to take this." He threw a silver canister towards John.
John caught it but threw his sword at Nikolas. Suddenly a silvery substance engulfed Nikolas"s body like mercury, transforming him. The sword simply bounced off his hard metallic body. It fell to the ground, tip first, and stuck there.
Meanwhile the two armies continued to fight it out. Lasers and silver nitrate bullets flew everywhere, damaging stores, restaurants and cracking gla.s.s. One of the Imperial soldiers levitated a piece of concrete with his will and flung it at some civilians, crushing them. Nikolas threw a large red energy ball towards the debris, disintegrating it.
"What"s wrong with you?" he yelled at the soldier, "This was supposed to be a simple mission."
The soldier smiled bitterly, activating the restraining choker and Nikolas fell to the ground with a thud. John hurried to the limo where Alex was sitting. He got in beside his nephew and opened the container. He took a scroll out of the canister, unrolled it and scanned it quickly.
"What"s happening?" Alex asked, ogling the scroll.
"Nikolas is here to kidnap you," said John. Alex was about to speak, but John gestured to let him finish. "It says here that Nikolas"s plan was to take you. And my guess now is that after seeing us with weapons, the vampire government is going to take action. They will see it as an act of aggression and try to attack us. By the time they do, we will have prepared our ultimatums and hopefully be able to avoid war by diplomatic negotiation. But before that can even happen, we will come to rescue you. Nikolas will take good care of you and he will tell you more than I know about the vampire history. So don"t worry."
Alex said, "I"m going to be a prisoner of war for the vampires?"
"For the time being, yes. Trust me, Alex. I would never let this happen if I didn"t think Nikolas had the situation under control. I am also very confident that we can rescue you later."
John waited for a reaction, but Alex gave none. His eyes were closed as he tried to ready himself. Finally he sighed and said. "Alright. I"m ready."
Outside, Nikolas returned from silver to flesh. He glared at the soldier who attacked him. He ran to the limo and yelled his orders to the soldiers. "Hold your fire!"
John got out with Alex, commanding his own troops to do likewise. Alex embraced John and turned to the Rebel. Nikolas gave him a comforting look. Then he took a pair of handcuffs and bound his wrists. "Come, Alex. Don"t worry about anything. You won"t be harmed."
"I know," He said and added, "Uncle Nick."
Jarad chased after them and as Nick and Alex both went to the rocket, he yelled, "After them!"
"No! Wait!" John said, clutching Jarad"s left shoulder. "Hold your fire, boys!"
Jarad eyed John with suspicion. "What are you up to?"
"You"ll see." He smiled.
The human soldiers stood still as they watched their enemies retreating to the ship. It flew out of the Regnum and set a course for Earth.
John opened a bottle of pills and shook out two into his hand. He popped them both into his mouth and swallowed them without sipping anything. In the ten years since he"d been diagnosed with stomach ulcers, he"d had a lot of practice swallowing pills like this.
He eyed the container Nikolas had given him. It was beautifully decorated. The silver was exquisitely carved with various designs. One image which caught his eyes was the Emblem of the Red Serpent, the imperial insignia of King Anaxagoras XXIX. The cross glittered in the light, engraved in onyx and the serpent in a bright ruby color.
Jarad interrupted John"s appreciation of the jeweled container, bombarding him with curses. "What the h.e.l.l have you done? You just handed your nephew over to the vampires! You know what this will mean? It will mean war!"
John looked at him calmly. "You just answered your own question."
Jarad turned a slight shade of red in anger and embarra.s.sment. The soldiers regrouped and reported to the two generals.
John glanced at them, fifty in all. "Go back, boys," he said, "This is but a taste of what the vampires are. Prepare yourselves for the real thing. We may be in a full-scale war soon enough." The soldiers saluted the generals and dispersed.
Jarad opened his mouth to talk but John interrupted him, "I did say may be. may be."
John had ordered Angel to go somewhere safe, but she didn"t want to. She wanted to be with Alex, to comfort him and to support him. Her fear during the battle was nothing compared to the fear she felt for him now. Nevertheless, she did as Mr. Howe told her and went home to her parents.
"Angel!" her mother yelled from the kitchen window the moment she saw her daughter walking towards home. She put down the dishes she was cleaning and ran out to hug her daughter. "What"s happening over there?" she asked, her face drenched in tears. "Come inside."
"Is Alex alright?" asked Mr. Stone as his daughter entered the house. He got up and embraced her. "We saw the news. Alex was taken by the vampires!" Ken turned on the holoTV. With a press of a b.u.t.ton from the remote, a floating screen emerged seemingly out of nowhere. The TV switched to channel 610, RNN, the Regnum News Network.
"What!" Angel gasped. "I thought he would be fine."
"I"m so sorry, dear." Her mother said, wiping away her tears. They sat on the sofa, watching for any more news about Alex.
"What do you know about it?" Angel asked, tears swelling up in her eyes.
"He chose to go, Angel," Ken said. "He went without a fight."
"And Mr. Howe?" Angel asked, seeing him on the screen, moving into his limo, followed by a pack of reporters.
"John did nothing. In fact he ordered his troops to hold their fire." Ken"s eyes darted to the screen, watching John"s face with irritation. Angel watched her father"s expressions, afraid to say anything more. She wondered whether her father"s anger was just about John or whether there was something else bothering him. "We don"t know what"s next," Ken continued. "It"s all over the news. People are cross with John"s decision and for good reason."
Angel remained silent and continued to look blankly at the screen. Martha went into the kitchen to prepare some tea.
A reporter at the scene of the battle started to speak as the camera panned to see civilians being treated and carried away on stretchers by medical personnel. The reporter said, "And Leader Howe has refused to comment on the fact that his nephew has taken off with the enemy." The reporter scurried to get an interview with Jarad, who was walking towards his car. "Oh wait. It seems Mr. Hameed is available for some comments." The reporter rushed to get a closer view of Hameed fighting his way through other reporters and floating robotic cameras. Finally, he managed to ask the Council Member a question, "Mr. Ha-meed. How are you presently dealing with the situation and what are your comments on Leader Howe"s actions?"
"Well," Hameed spoke slowly, "It seems General Howe has decided on a rescue mission for Alexander Howe. However, I am strictly against it. Council Leader John Howe"s actions have been questioned long enough and it seems fair to say that he must step down!" At this, several reporters started mumbling amongst themselves. "In fact I think both he and his nephew, if he is to be rescued, must be ostracized from the world of politics!"
"What the h.e.l.l?" Mr. Stone yelled. "So this is it? That"s all he wants!" He slammed his fist on the armrest of his chair.
Another reporter quickly and loudly asked, "Are you accusing John Howe of treason?"
"The truth is, citizens of Regnum, John Howe is a threat to the very existence of the human race. He has had contact with the vampires till now! He has been in power for too long. If we are to have a man like John Howe who sides with the enemy stay in power, it will spell doom for all of us."
Ken looked at Angel. "This is insane," he said. "It"s obvious now that these reporters are probably on his payroll."
Angel nodded silently. Her mind was hazy. She tried to make sense of what she had just seen on TV.
Mrs. Stone came in with three hot cups of tea and placed them on the coffee table. "What"s happening?" she asked her husband.
"It looks like there"s a really huge scandal going on with the Howe family," Ken said. "A scandal in the Howe family!" he repeated with sarcasm. "Imagine that. It"s nothing but a d.a.m.n act."
"But I"m sure Alex isn"t involved in any of this," Angel said, wanting to defend her man no matter what.
"...and," continued Jarad on the television, "If we must, we will arrest Howe and charge him with treason and acts against humanity, since he must have been aware of this whole operation. We, the Council as a whole, think it better if John Howe were to be exiled from the Regnum. He should not be allowed to stay with us in our society."
Another reporter interrupted him, "But do you have any actual proof, Mr. Hameed? Is this not a matter for the Supreme Court and also for the people?"
"Yes-"
"And," the reporter added, "what about the nephew? Shouldn"t he be rescued before these procedures?"
"Such an act will definitely provoke war with the vampires, and I"m sure Regnum would never want that. As I was saying, the..."
Angel paid no attention to the holoTV and went to her room, silently praying in her heart for Alex"s safety. The realization that he had been kidnapped was now fully sinking in. She sobbed into her pillow.
When John came home his mother was waiting for him in the hall. "What"s this I see," she asked him. "Why did you let him go?"
"Mom," John said, sitting on the sofa in the living room, "just hear me out, will you?"
"Did you hear what Jarad said?" Helen asked. "He wants to impeach you!"
"What?" His back straightened.
"HoloTv on," Helen commanded the computers of the house.
In front of John, the holographic screen popped up.
Jarad continued with his speech, "The Council and I have proposed a new Const.i.tution. We can promise a better, safer way of dealing with elections, all the way from the Leader"s Chair to the Munic.i.p.al hierarchies. We have decided to depart from John Howe"s old ways and follow a new plan of action. If John Howe wants to go and rescue his nephew, so be it! But the moment he leaves he will not be welcome back!" Some people clapped at this statement while others jeered.
John shook his head and sighed, "I expected this to happen. But I"ve got other plans."
Helen muted the TV while Jarad elaborated on his plans of action. "So you have a way to save Alex?"
"All I can say is everything"s going to be fine." He took the container out from his leather bag and opened it. Helen"s eye glittered at the sight of the beautiful specimen. John unrolled the scroll and read it out loud: "My dear friend John, Long gone are the days of old when we fought side-by-side against the tyranny of Anaxagoras. I have never forgotten you all throughout these long years. Right now, I want you to know what I am planning. It has taken me some time to plan and realize how to go about doing what we had originally envisioned. For that, we must be patient. On Earth, the Imperial Vampires want to kidnap Alex. We, as his family, know that Alex is the Falsifier, the Equivocator. Nevertheless, these vampires have no idea of who Alex really is. They think by kidnapping the Falsifier they can study his DNA and be able to create a super-vampire. But that is also being done on us Rebels. We have been tested on and they want us to be the pioneers of this new super-race.
They are foolish to do this because when we join the humans, we will be very dangerous enemies for them. This time we will be unbeatable. I am taking Alexandros with me and I promise you I will keep him safe. No harm will come to him, and no one will know who he really is until the right time comes. So I need you to trust me on this, my brother. You will have to embark on a rescue mission. I will get the Rebels ready once you enter the Earth"s atmosphere and we will start the fight before you come to collect us. When we get to know what the enemy"s real plan is, we will be more than ready; we will use their own weapons against them!
It is up to you now to start the mission. Until you get here, I will try to tell young Alexander everything he wants to know about his vampiric lineage. Good luck, old friend.
Nikolas yus-Faviane Gareng."
It was clear by her eyes that John"s mother was deep in thought, calculating the next move. "Jarad"s made it hard for you to rescue Alex," she said.
"I doubt it. I know that the entire Council, except for Richard, is against me. I knew it from the very beginning, ever since the people elected me Council Leader. Jarad"s just jealous and I know he won"t get too far with his plans."
His mother glanced at the TV and suddenly cried out. "Oh my G.o.d!" There were replays of Jarad giving his fiery speech and then getting shot three times in his shoulders and chest.
"Turn on the volume!" John said.
The same reporter that Angel"s parents had been watching appeared after the replays. He yelled, "Could it be that John Howe has sent a message to Jarad Hameed for his candid and shocking statements about the Howe family? This is surely a devastating blow to what we knew as democracy."
"What the h.e.l.l is going on here?" John yelled, standing up. "There"s no way I planned that."
Suddenly the window smashed open and a green can projected into the room, letting out tear gas. John grabbed his mother by the arm and led her out. He opened the door and they ran outside. A dozen people crowded the large iron gates of the Estate, shouting hateful remarks against the Howe family. Numerous reporters wrested to get past each other and get a good story. Security guards tried to hold the crowd back. John realized soon enough they must have been paid by Jarad to do this. They protested, holding up signs and slogans of hatred.
"Enough of this," John said to his mother. "I"m going out there to face them." John walked outside of the gates. "People of Regnum!" he said as loud as possible. He repeated his words four times more until the shouting ceased to total silence. "People of Earth! I understand what must be going through your minds right now. You may think of me as scandalous. You may think of my family as scandalous. You want to think that what Jarad says is true." He was careful not to say outright that Jarad bought them. "Go ahead then. But let me say this. I believe in democracy. True democracy as he does, if not more. But I want to remind you of one thing. I have fought with pride and honor in the line of fire! Do not forget those who died on that fateful day of the last battle. I tried my best and I am proud to say that I fought side-by-side with my fellow Anisaei, my fellow Vampire Rebels and gave my best to win back our rightful place on the Earth.
"And for the last twenty one years there hasn"t been a day that has gone by in which I haven"t tried to fight the Imperial Regime of Anaxagoras. I want us to achieve what we fought for long ago. But we won"t achieve anything with all this bickering. We must join together as one army and fight for our rights! We must fight to regain what we have lost and what is rightfully ours!" At this point the people bowed their heads in silence. They realized that John was right. Even the reporters stopped bickering and just let the silence continue, as the floating cameras panned from John to the audience. The silence became almost unbearable for John. The fear that his speech might not have persuaded them surged like electricity under his skin. He waited.
The crowd suddenly started shouting and cheering for John. Their leader Their leader.
John"s face widened into a smile. "So what do you say? Are we going to get the Earth back or not?"
The people cried out, "Yes!"
Alex glanced around the area of the ship anxiously, careful not to make eye contact with any of the crew members. He felt them glaring at him suspiciously. To relieve his mind, he thought of his family and Angel. He smiled at the thought of becoming a father. Nikolas observed Alex and said, "You have your mother"s smile."
"You knew my parents, didn"t you?" Alex asked in a hushed tone.
"Alex, you don"t have to be frightened of anything. Everyone here is a Rebel. And these punks," he added, referring to the Imperial soldiers. "They don"t really talk much or listen to anything." He glared at the one who had turned on his restraining choker and the other Imperials. They returned the aggressive look and ignored Nikolas and his comrades. Every now and then, they would watch Alex"s movements.
"So, what were they like?" Alex asked a little louder.
"All I can say is that they were wonderful human beings."