Chapter 15
~ Dakota ~
Three weeks later, Dakota got a letter from the orphanage regarding Jared. She made one phone call then went immediately to Alek.
After reading the letter, Alek rubbed his temple. “I don’t know why Abrams is claiming to be Jared’s father when a simple blood test will prove otherwise?”
Dakota replied, “I don’t know, but we need some answers. Maybe he’s found out about Jared’s inheritance.”
“Call Jared up here and let’s talk to him again. He knew something like this was coming.”
“No, not until his father arrives.” Alek mouth fell open. “I need them both to give blood work. For the first time in my life, I need to prove paternity to keep my own son safe.”
Alek immediately walked over and wrapped one arm around her, as she called Jared and asked him to go to the medical wing. She then called the chief of medicine and told him to draw blood for a paternity test but not to tell Jared why.
~ Jared ~
Jared showed up in the medical wing, and one of the doctors approached him wearing a white lab coat. The male introduced himself as Dr. Gray and explained to Jared that everyone at the institute had to have a routine physical once a year. Jared immediately agreed. Dr. Gray pulled blood samples, sent them to the lab and then began the exam.
Jared sat answering question after question regarding his medical history. Something set off his Spidey senses but try as he might he just could not figure out what that something was. The doctor was nice enough. He had been given physical exams before and realized the blood work typically was taken last, but that didn’t necessarily mean anything. Then Jared realized there was something in the doctor’s manner…something cautious and empathetic. Something that led him to believe the physical was not routine.
Jared’s hand came out and touched the physician on the arm. The man stopped moving. “Jared, talk to your mother if you have questions.”
“Interesting comment…out of the blue but interesting.”
A small smile slid onto the doctor’s face, and he mumbled. “You are definitely your mother’s son.”
Jared smiled to himself because no truer words had ever been spoken. He realized the man’s heartbeat had increased, indicating a spike in anxiety. When did he start picking up on things like that? Pride filled his chest, to think that he was becoming a real hunter. It was as close as this world had to being a warrior.
When he went in search of his mother, Jared discovered that she’d called in reinforcements. About a dozen large vampire males were sitting in a conference room with his mother. They appeared to be getting briefed on something because he recognized them as her ass-kicking crew. Whatever was going on, it was related to his biological father. He’d bet his last credit on that. Only dealing Abrams would require so many seasoned vampire warriors. As he walked through the lobby of the institute, he caught the strange glances that were cast in his direction.
Jared knew precisely where the weak link in the information chain was and that is why he chose to approach Faran. He had gotten to know the large Kalian pretty well during the time they had spent hunting for Alek. He found the man to be way more playful and irreverent than was necessary for most situations. He was deadly, there was no doubt about that, but he always seemed to find levity even in some tense situations.
Jared remembered when they had walked up to the door of the crypt and found the filthy human closing in on his mother with a weapon. Both them had instinctively fired on the man at the same time in a heartbeat…no hesitation on the Kalian’s part at all. Unlike Jared, he seemed to sleep like a baby afterward. Faran later mentioned that he didn’t usually lose sleep after killing insects. Jared pulled the Kalian aside and asked what was going on.
The surprise on Faran’s face was evident. He grabbed Jared by the arm, pulled him closer and said in a low voice, “The humans have a saying for these situations, I think it is ‘all hell breaking loose.’ Your foster father petitioned the court to get you back. You mother has called up every favor anyone owes her, Alek is working on a restraining order, and your father is on his way from South America.”
Now it was Jared’s turn to look surprised…well, it was more like shock than surprise.
Faran gave him a gentle yank back to reality and said harshly, “I have activated your tracking chip. Don’t leave the facility. Tell me, what was he like? I need to know what to expect.” Somehow when Kalian men spoke most always sounded angry. It was something about the guttural articulation of vowels and the rough quality of their voice. It sounded like sandpaper rubbing against gravel.
“Faran, my father is crazy, dangerous and cruel. He hates vampires as well as other aliens. Do not turn your back on him and do not trust anything he says.”
Faran looked angry and corrected, “Foster father not father. I don’t think I am going to like him very much…might have to put the press down on him. Stay close, my friend. We will see that no harm comes to you.”
Jared murmured absent-mindedly, “Smackdown not press down.”
The Kalian laughed. “Whatever, we were told to keep you out of this man’s line of sight.”
Josh waved Faran over to him, just as the vampire warriors were descending from the conference room above to join the security detail. Josh immediately began breaking the males into teams.
Marko and Durk nodded to him respectfully as they walked by. Marko was now firmly established in a relationship with his soon to be step-sister Ariana, and Durk was his mother’s oldest and dearest friend. They were both accomplished Vampire warriors, and he considered them friends.
Jared looked up and could see a team of males in dark colored suits in a conference room with Alek and the computer hackers in another conference room with his mother and Squeaky. He smiled that they were moving double quick and appeared quite serious. It made him realize just how important he was to his mother…and apparently to Alek as well.
Even his beautiful little Selene was helping out although she was wide-eyed and filled with fear. She was pinning a bunch of information to a huge wall as quickly as her trembling little hands could manage. It made him angry that his father could have this effect on his little love mate. He cursed under his breath as a wave of profound anger washed over him. For one brief moment, he wished his mother had never found him. All these people were now in danger because of him, and that didn’t sit well with him.
He glanced at the conference room with Alek again. The poor man seemed exasperated. Jared could tell because he was running his hand through his hair. He only did that when he was extremely frustrated. It occurred to Jared that these people were probably his legal team. Their dialogue seemed to have some urgency.
If there was one thing living with an unequal power dynamic early in life had taught him, was there were much easier ways of getting information than running up and down the stairs and hoping the folks running the show were in a mood to be brutally honest. His mom was more likely to tell him what she thought he needed to know and that’s not what he needed right now.
Jared ducked into one of the test bays and picked up the eye in the sky monitoring device. As he turned it over in his hands, familiarizing himself with it, he noticed a small monitoring device that looked kind of like a spider. He grabbed it, as well as the tiny flash drive with the operation software and headed back out to the lobby.
Dropping down against the wall, he pulled out his small tablet and loaded the drivers for the eye in the sky and then the spider. It was amazing how sitting on the floor kind of dropped him out of everyone’s field of vision. The few people, who noticed him sitting there, shot him sympathetic looks. As if he needed their sympathy.
He lowered the spider gently onto the floor and used his tablet to walk it up to the conference room, skillfully avoiding all the moving feet by crawling it up the wall. He walked it up all the way up to the ceiling and to the edge of the conference room door. He could not hear much then a staff member brought in coffee and he quickly manipulated the spider into the top of the doorway and into an inconspicuous spot in the corner of the room.
He could hear one of the legal team saying, “We have an injunction from the local magistrate. This Mr. Abrams cannot legally take Jared. You are worrying over nothing Mr. Shardon. The world is filled with strange people. Who knows what he wants with the boy.”
Alek snapped, and Jared could hear the anxiety in his voice. “We need much more information about this man than you’ve managed to collect.”
Another man spoke, “Dakota just threw information into the cloud. She caught a break from one her law enforcement contacts.”
Alek growled with satisfaction, “We’ll know which side of the tube he squeezes his toothpaste from in a few hours, so be prepared to move on whatever intel she digs up. I won’t take any chances with the legal part though.”
Another of his attorneys interjected, “We’re vulnerable until his father shows up and we can get a clear paternity match. The human says he is Jared’s biological father. Are you sure that is not true.”
Alek responded, “I have walked in his mother’s mind. I have seen Jared’s father with my own eyes. He is a large impressive vampire warrior and a hunter like Dakota. She learned most of what she knows about hunting from him and trust me when I say he is a kind and decent person. He’s on his way, and you will see for yourself. I guarantee you that he will risk no harm to his son, nor will I.”
The next time the door opened, he switched conference rooms.
Selene’s trembling voice spoke. “I should be with Jared right now.”
“No can do. We need you here pinning information and helping us track down information on Abrams. Jared wouldn’t want you anywhere near that bastard.”
“Why can’t that man leave my Jared alone?”
“It’s not just Abrams. The central government has been running a corruption investigation for the last three years on one of the large pharmaceutical companies. Abrams is just a low-grade flunky that generated leads and located test groups for the company. My contact suspects all levels of local government have been corrupted in that region. We need to make sure he doesn’t get ahold of Jared because possession is nine tents of the law.”
Selene’s voice squeaked out. “You don’t understand. If they get their hands on him, they have a million different ways to coerce him into staying.”
None of that was a surprise to Jared. It was common knowledge in the region he grew up in, that PharmCon, and by extension Abrams could do what they wanted with impunity. They were wrong about Abrams being a small fry. He was their dirty deeds guy. The errand boy they sent to lobby for things they didn’t want publicly connected to them.
Selene’s small quivering voice was giving away all his secrets today. “They’ve used the other kids against him in the past.”
“My contact doesn’t think he’s still using kids. He’s resorted to enticing low wage workers into being test subjects as of late. He wouldn’t be paying out money if he still had subjects he could use for free.”
“Thank God. “I just wish this were over.”
“It is not going to truly be over until the central government busts that big pharma corp. Then we’ll be able to rest a little easier.”
“Tell them to hurry. His birthday is in nineteen days.”
His mother laughed wryly. “Never having to look over his shoulder for those bastards again would be an amazing birthday gift.”
“Walking his spider out, Jared was interested in eavesdropping on the security team to see what kind protections they had in place for his family. Before he could manage that, there was commotion at outside.
Coming gracefully to his feet, Jared made for the door and slipped the eye in the sky outside. Sinking back, he pulled up the images it captured on his tablet and flew it towards a shuttle that just landed. Images began filling the view screen.
There was a shuttlecraft landing. Before anyone got out, he knew it was his foster-father. The shuttlecraft had the man’s family logo on the side, the same logo that had been branded into his skin as a small child.
Jared felt a jolt of adrenaline shoot through his body ending on his right buttock where his flesh had been seared. He reached over, hit his communicator and said, “My father…I mean my foster father has arrived. His shuttle just touched down, but he has not exited the craft yet.”
Dakota, Alek, and Josh sounded off. “Copy that.” Glancing up, he saw his mother and Alek coming down from the conference rooms. It was strange to see the same look of grim determination on both their faces. Selene stood looking terrified with one hand pressed open against the front of glass conference room wall. Her large frightened eyes were looking down at him.
Jared immediately touched his communicator. “Selene stay put. Don’t come down here. It’s not safe.” He’d given her protective body armor, and she was wearing it. He could see it peeking out the sleeve of her shirt. His mind rolled back over the many sparring matches they’d had and how she’d learned to shoot at his side. Even though they were both young, they’d been affected by his early life experiences. Nothing would prepare her for facing off against one of Abrams’ henchmen.
Selene alone could recognize the fear that he held carefully in check behind a wall of apparent calm. He could see her hand move slowly from the glass wall to her communicator and her small voice begged, “Jared come up here with me…where…where it’s safe.”
He smiled a smile that did not quite reach his eyes. “I have to do this. Don’t worry. I have a virtual army at my back.”
Jared met Alek and his mother at the bottom of the steps, pointed to the symbol on the side of the shuttlecraft then pulled down the back of his pants and underwear to expose the same symbol burned into his buttock. He had the stylized SA for Stephen Abrams burned into his skin, the same as the logo on the side of his shuttle.
Alek turned to the Kalian and stated angrily. “Weapon please.” The look on Alek’s face was stone cold furry. Jared wondered if it was because his father had branded him like cattle. Faran tossed him a laser pistol and then another which he tucked into his waistband before walking out to the shuttlecraft with Dakota and Jared at his back.
The shuttlecraft door slid open, and his father stepped out. He was wearing the old-fashioned suit Jared remembered him favoring and had his public face on. His public face was the snide and condescending one. Jared recalled the expression of gratification he used when disciplining him back in the day.
Jared became aware of about thirty of his hired thugs spilling out of the spacious shuttle. They lined up neatly along the front of the shuttle. The over display of force was one of his father’s oldest intimidation techniques. Jared found himself amused at the showing of force on both sides, all for a poor lost orphan.
Senol’s voice whispered in his head. Beware the serpent’s fangs, my brother. Jared was too distracted to decipher if Senol was actually mind-linked with him or if seeing his father after so many years merely brought the memory of his friend’s words forward from the dark recesses of his mind.
Stepping out of the shuttlecraft he looked past Alek, straight at him. Jared held his gaze, much as he did as a child. His mother moved closer to him, stepping slightly in front of him. It was a protective pose and warmed his heart. Abrams wouldn’t do anything stupid with so many guns on him today. This was his one in a million shot to see if he could wrangle him away from his mother legally.
If it worked, the old man would make sure he never saw the light of day again. There’d be some story about him running away or getting mauled by a bear, and the local authorities would cremate his body, and no one would know he was being held in a facility doing their dirty work.
“Son, I’ve come for you. I have a court order…”
Alek literally stepped in front of the older man. “You are either confused or stupid. Jared is not your son or your property to brand as you please. We certainly are not going to hand him over to a vicious monster like you.”
The man looked at Alek. “Who are you?”
“You know full well who I am. You’ve been stalking Dakota and myself long enough to know all about our arrangement.”
“That doesn’t concern me because you’re no one who has anything to do with this situation I think. So, it simply does not matter what you think or what you say.”
Dakota stepped forward, “Well I’m his mother, and you might just as well turn yourself right around. Jared is not going anywhere with you.”
“Ah yes, the famous hunter. Somehow, I thought you would be taller. You also look bustier in your posters. In any event, if you could just fetch my son…”
Dakota took another step forward into his personal space and interrupted him. “I think you mean my son. Funny, now that you mention it I don’t remember having sex with you, so you can stop saying ‘my son’ because we both know he’s not.”
“You’re a mouthy little thing.”
Jared saw his mother’s back stiffening, as she continued on like he hadn’t just spoken to her. “You may not have to listen to my love mate, but you will certainly listen to me. Jared is my son, and I’ll burn in hell before I turned him over to a sadistic bastard like you again. My best advice to you is to get back onto your shuttlecraft and get the hell off my property before I have you arrested or worse. Am I making myself clear?”
The older man pushed her back a step with one hand. “I have a court order saying he comes with me today.” He pulled out a court order, and a quick review revealed it gave him immediate custody.
Jared watched that smug little look turn to unbridled fury as Alek pulled out another court order. This one was from a local magistrate stating Jared would remain with his mother until proper testing could be completed to establish paternity.
Alek simply stated, “Jared is in this jurisdiction. My attorneys assure me this is the court order that will be enforced here today.”
The man stubbornly insisted, “I’m not leaving without my son.”
That was it, Dakota nailed him, and Alek grabbed her with one arm and handed her to Durk who wrangled her back a few steps.
Alek turned to the man and wrangled his anger under control before speaking. “Jared’s biological father is on his way here and will be arriving any moment.”
“It doesn’t matter. I have a court order saying that I had full custody. I don’t give my permission for any medical tests to be performed on my son. If you wish a paternity test, it will have to be done by a physician we both agree on.”
Jared finally spoke up. “I’ve already submitted blood for paternity testing. When my father arrives, he will submit a sample, and that will be the end of your court order. You rolled the dice and lost today. I suggest you take it like a man.”
Anger flared in the man’s face. “How dare you throw my own words back in my face that way, boy?”
“I’m a boy no longer.” Holding out his arms, Jared stared down the demons from his past. “I’m a grown man and far too wise to your ways, to fall haplessly into your trap. What you wish of me, I will never do. Go in peace before my vampire father arrives.”
“Vampires don’t scare me.”
“Funny, I just scented your fear. Truth be told, that’s one of the reasons you came, to lobby against vampires being allowed to function as law enforcement officers. We have good senses and can track down all your dirty little secrets. PharmCon must be eager to bar us for much the same reason. We both know they have more to hide than most corporations.”
Taking a calculated step towards him, Jared thought to himself that he would have found that intimidating when he was younger. Now it just reeked of posturing and desperation. “Leave them out of this, boy.”
“Where you go, they go. I’ll speak truth to power if you press me into a corner. Is that what you wish?”
Standing face to face, they stared at each other. The man’s eyes searched his face. Jared knew he was thinking of testing his resolve. Standing firm, he didn’t blink. Finally, his foster father spoke. His tone was low and quiet. Such was his way when speaking of things, he knew he shouldn’t.
“You wouldn’t dare drag PharmCon’s name through the mud.”
“Wrong. The broken child you cast aside wouldn’t have spoken a word. He would have crawled into a corner and prayed you never found him. Look closely, old man. See me for the person I am today. Do I look much like that boy you once knew?”
All the resolve fled from the older man’s face. “I’ll be back with law enforcement.” Though he spoke the words required by that moment in time, his tone held no hint of confidence.
Jared shot back, “Make sure it’s law enforcement with jurisdiction in this region.”
His foster father was beginning to look exasperated. It was long overdue in Jared’s humble opinion.
Another shuttle approached. Jared cautioned their unwelcomed visitor calmly. “I suggest you take this opportunity to leave and think long and hard about how much you are willing to risk to snare one stubborn man who will make it his life’s mission to expose all your dirtiest secrets.”
“How can you say that to me? I’m your father. I fed you, loved you and took you into my home. I overlooked your alien heritage and…”
“I hear my father is a ferocious hunter. He will visit trouble on you the likes of which you probably have not known. His shuttle arrives, even now.” Gesturing to an incoming shuttle, Jared didn’t have the vaguest idea if it was his father or not. He was merely playing the game. It was working, because he glanced nervously at the sky.
Alek stepped forward again. “If you elect to stay, you are not welcome anywhere except the parking lot. I also need you to move your shuttle to the back of the lot. We have a lot of traffic coming and going. I can’t have you blocking it.”
Jared wondered if Alek knew precisely how insulting that statement was to a man like Abrams, who was used to having people move aside for him and curry favor in every way imaginable.
The older man’s face went stony, as they began pulling back out of speaking distance. “Don’t you walk off from me, boy.” It was the last sad refrain from a man being left on the tarmac like a commoner. Jared turned on his heel and stalked back into the building. He walked straight up the steps and into the conference room where Selene was nervously picking through information on PharmCon.
She glanced up, and a smile immediately jumped onto her face. “Is it over?”
“Not by a long shot.”
Bucking up, she replied stoically. “We’ll just have to keep digging for information until we have enough to bury them.”
“Come, my sweet. Let’s take a break. I know my mother and Alek mean well, but they have no idea how deep this runs with PharmCon.”
“Dakota said state officials are dirty in that region.”
Nodding, he held out his hand for her. “They’re dirty all the way up to the central government, which in the process of cannibalizing their own. I couldn’t even tell you which side is going to win at this point, but I can tell you that pretty much nothing we do ourselves will matter.”
Taking his hand, she let him draw her into the circle of his arms.
“Promise me that when you get your inheritance, you’ll send some to the kids living in the mountains.”
“I’ll make sure they have a shuttle, medical supplies, and food. We’ll get any out who want to come this way. I can give you my word on that.”
“Seeing their faces when we make the blood bond makes me feel like I know Senol and his love mate, Rebecca. Not the mention all the little ones, they’re all so sweet.”
Laughing, Jared explained. “You are seeing them the way there were long ago. Surely they are mostly grown by now.”
Smiling up at him, she murmured. “I can’t believe that I didn’t think of that.”