The V to Z Trilogy (Book 1): Caged Read online

  Caged

  Book One of the V to Z Trilogy

  By J.P. Robinson

  Copyright © 2016 J.P. Robinson

  All rights reserved.

  ISBN-13: 978-0692792933 (Better Said Than Done)

  For my family –

  Of blood and water

  Prologue:

  Mark kept trying to change the channel when he thought Cate wasn’t looking, which was most of the time, since she had a magazine in her lap while she sat taking up half the couch. Every day, after school, she put on her stupid shows that, as far as he could tell, always involved girls being mean to each other and boys not understanding what was going on, which was “very accurate,” according to Cate. Cate was in middle school, after all, and Mark was still just in elementary school for another few months, so he had to trust her. If that’s what middle school was like, why did she want to watch a show about what she did every day? He preferred shows with superheroes. He didn’t see those every day.

  Cate definitely wasn’t looking. She seemed to be really into an article, probably about hair styles or something. Sensing that the moment was right, Mark slipped the remote off the table and changed to “Teen Team 6,” his favorite after school show, about a group of kid superheroes who spent all their time saving the world instead of having to go to school or deal with stupid older sisters.

  The show was actually on, it wasn’t a commercial break, and for once he was able to watch for like five minutes solid before the channel changed.

  “C’mon. I was watching that!” Mark turned to glare at his sister only to see his mom standing there, remote in hand.

  She glanced down at him and said, “Sorry, sweetie. This is important.”

  Mom looked worried so, instead of arguing, Mark turned back to the TV. The news was on. That was even worse than Cate’s shows. At least her shows weren’t super boring. He didn’t feel like moving though, so he’d watch for a little while, until he came up with a better idea, or dinner was ready.

  The newscaster, a boring old guy in a suit, spoke in the usual oh so important newscaster voice. “We are expecting the President’s address to start momentarily. And, yes, here he is now.”

  The boring newscaster was replaced on the screen by the President, another boring old guy. Mark looked at Cate, hoping maybe she would want to go downstairs to play foosball, but when he caught her eye, she struck him on the shoulder with her bare foot and said, “Watch. It’s important.”

  Ha. How would she know? He turned back around anyway. Nothing better to do.

  Mark had missed the start, but caught what the President said next. “In order to address the growing vampire threat, we have created a new federal agency, the National Vampire Intelligence Agency.”

  Mark turned to mom. “What does that mean – vampire threat?”

  Cate, of course, answered first. “They’re a threat cause they’re monsters, stupid.”

  Mom said, “They’re not monsters, Cate. They’re humans with a blood disorder. And we don’t say stupid.”

  Mark asked, “What’s a blood disorder?”

  “It’s when your blood doesn’t work anymore, stupid.” Cate stole a quick glance at mom. “Oops, sorry. I mean, Mark.”

  Cate nudged his shoulder with her foot again. Why was she so annoying? Mark looked at mom, but she just continued to watch the TV, so he turned back around. The President was gone and some other guy was talking now.

  “We took our first, public action last night, arresting over three hundred vees, vampires, in their lairs. Under the new law, any vampires trying to pass as human or found outside of the facilities we have created to hold them, will be considered enemies of the state and will be arrested, or terminated, if they resist arrest.”

  “They can’t do that.” Mark glanced at Mom, who stared at the TV, saying nothing more.

  The TV guy said, “We ask the American people to think of the safety of our daughters and sons in helping us to locate any vees who might be hiding out in your neighborhood. A hotline has been created.”

  “Stupid idiots.” Mom shook her head. “They can’t just lock up an entire population.”

  Cate said, “We don’t say stupid.”

  Mom looked for a second as if she wanted to spank Cate, but smiled wryly instead. “You’re absolutely right, dear. I should have said immoral.”

  Mark was getting more and more confused. “What’s immoral, or stupid, or whatever? Why are they idiots?”

  Cate sighed loudly and then repeated, “Because you can’t just lock up an entire population. Don’t you know anything?”

  “Cate.” Mom looked at her sternly. “Your brother is not as all knowing as you, dear. He hasn’t lived to be quite as mature as you.”

  “Nope, and he never will.” Cate started to stick her foot out towards him again, but this time he dodged. If it meant he was going to be annoying and all knowing all the time, he didn’t want to grow up to be as old as her!

  Mom sat down on the couch next to Cate and leaned forward to put her arms around Mark. He was too old for hugs but it felt kind of nice and she let him go after a second. Mark climbed up on the couch next to her.

  “Cate, I know you know all this, but for your brother’s benefit I thought I would explain why I’m upset. You think you can handle listening to your much older mother for a few minutes without interrupting?”

  Cate rolled her eyes and pulled her magazine back up on her lap. Mom said, “Vampires are a type of human mutant who, to survive, need to drink human blood. It’s their food.”

  “Eww.” That sounded gross.

  “Yes, of course, that’s what a lot of people think, it’s gross. And, yes, sometimes, some vees hurt humans, or even kill them, when they are eating. They don’t have to do that. Just like humans, there are good vees and bad ones.”

  Cate interrupted, “But humans don’t eat other humans.”

  “That’s true. Vees can’t help what they are, just how they behave and some of them are trying to live peacefully, without killing for survival. This new law has basically made it illegal to be a vee. Do you see why that’s wrong?”

  Thinking about it that way made Mark’s head hurt. “Well, they can’t really do anything about it if they are already one, right?”

  Mom ruffled Mark’s hair and he pulled away quickly before she got the idea he enjoyed it. “You’re very smart, Mark.”

  Cate said, “Ha,” but when Mom turned to her, she had her face buried in her magazine, looking all innocent. “What?”

  The TV cut back to the newscaster guy and mom went back to watching. “We have a bit more information on last night’s raid. As the new Director of the NVIA stated, just over three hundred vampires were arrested across the country. The hotline number is shown below. Call if you have information that could lead to the arrest of any other vampires. To repeat what was stated earlier, vees are no longer allowed to live free in this country. We did try to locate Daniel Trevore, leader of the Vampire Liberation Front, for comment or to determine if he is still at large. Our team was unable to locate him and we have received no news of his whereabouts.”

  Mom turned off the TV. “I’m sure there will be more later.”

  She stood up and walked around the couch. “I don’t feel like having pork chops for dinner after all. Would you guys be okay if I make something else and we save that for tomorrow?”

  “Can we have mac n cheese?” Cate asked.

  Mom said, “Sure” and started for the kitchen.

  Mark thought something was more wrong than just the weird news on the TV. Mom never let them eat pasta, except on weekends. As much as he wanted to turn “Teen Team 6” back on, he wanted to make sure Mom was oka
y.

  Following her into the kitchen, Mark said, “Mom? I’m scared.”

  Did he just say that? He hadn’t been scared of things since he was a kid. But he realized it was true. This whole thing was scary and he didn’t like it. Humans could get sick and want to eat other humans? What if he turned into a vee? What if they arrested him, or someone he knew, just because they could?

  Mom crouched down so they were face to face. “I’m sorry, sweetheart. I want to tell you it will be okay, but I’m scared too.”

  She kissed him on the cheek and then grabbed him and pulled him in for a hug. He wanted to push her away, but it felt safe, so he hugged her back instead.

  Chapter 1

  The alarm sounded too soon and Cate awoke with the same thought that greeted her every morning for the past several years: “I’m still alive.”

  She blearily climbed out of bed and went right into the shower. Most people, she’d heard, opened the shutters as soon as they got out of bed, just to be sure. Cate thought she had more than enough nervous habits for a twenty-eight year old already. Besides, she knew it didn’t matter that the sun was shining. The sun didn’t mean you were safe.

  It wasn’t until she was nearly dressed that Cate remembered, today was the day they got the new shipment and could begin the next phase of their experiment. The thought filled her with dizzy energy. She finished dressing in a hurry, throwing on a nice pair of slacks and a blouse - she didn’t do dresses - and ran out the door to get to work as early as possible.

  After getting through the line of cars entering the NVIA Research Facility complex - nearly 8000 employees and only two entrances to the one garage - and all the security checkpoint crap at the main and frustratingly only entrance to the building, she hurried to her lab, as much as one could hurry while queuing up for an elevator. Once on her floor, Cate mechanically turned left, towards her end of the building, into their over large reception area. Why her team needed a reception area when no one ever visited them was beyond her. The couch and two chairs ended up being used by the scientists for lunch breaks more than anything else, even though they weren’t supposed to eat “in the lab.” Lisa, the admin who sat at the reception desk, was not there yet. Cate was a few minutes early, but it was odd. Lisa was almost always the first one there.

  Cate passed Lisa’s desk and headed down the hallway on the right. The lab area beyond was a big square, with the corridor encircling the central rooms and providing access to the offices that lined the outer wall of the building, each one coming fully decked out with a tiny slit of a window. The central rooms included the hospital rooms for patients, as well as the observation deck. The outer offices tended to be where the daily grind of scientific research and paperwork was done, as well as the storage rooms for blood and lab equipment.

  Her office, the one Cate shared with the rest of her team, was a window office – something she would brag about if she had any friends, pretending the narrow slit of light that crept through could actually be considered a luxury. Since they were having a meeting this morning, Cate walked straight there, badged herself in, and nearly knocked Stan over in her charge through the door.

  “Hey, slow down there cowgirl. No need to run into my arms. They’re always open for you.”

  Stan was in his mid fifties, pale, pudgy, bald - except for what Cate liked to call his ear muffs, the little tufts of hair that grew above both ears - and the most self confident person Cate had ever met. He always treated her as if he understood she was fighting hard to keep her hands off him, and that that was okay, because he was used to the female attention.

  Cate could never understand where he got all that confidence. She was in pretty good shape herself and made sure no one would ever peg her as a nerdy scientist from the way she dressed. Yet, she never felt exactly right about herself. Her nose was too big. Her smile too crooked. There was that one strand of curly hair that insisted on growing at a right angle out of the side of her head. There was always something to find wrong, some reason to not feel attractive enough. Not for Stan. He felt good all the time.

  Cate pulled away from Stan. “I just didn’t want to miss anything. They here yet?”

  Stan smiled patiently. “How long have you worked for the government? Has anything ever arrived on time, let alone early?”

  He had a point. Aside from the paperwork - my God there was a form for everything, including one to state how many forms you filled out - aside from that, the other thing Cate hated most about her job was the waiting. Requisition a new set of needles? Fine. Sure. Once the paperwork is filed, duplicated, and approved, they would place the order and then the vendor would wait to receive the inflated payment a month or two down the road before shipping, in the most economical way, the needles. It was like that with anything – supplies, policy, people.

  Stan left the room, heading to his office, Cate presumed. As their boss, he actually had access to private space, though he generally spent most of his day with the team. Once Stan was gone, Cate shuffled over to her place at the bar – what they called the one long table centered in the narrow room where everyone kept their laptops - to wait. She’d come to work here because she wanted to make a difference in the world, and today could be a huge step towards that - just not yet. She turned on her computer to start work, knowing that no amount of staring at her screen would keep her settled.

  While waiting for the computer to warm up, Cate opened up her lab book, reviewing the research notes she had practically memorized. The results they’d gotten were truly amazing, especially with the latest test pigs. She felt certain this vaccine would work. She barely had time to absorb any of the information in her notebook when the door opened.

  She looked up hopefully, but it was just James, the newest research scientist in the team, though after two years you probably couldn’t call someone new anymore. Cate had been with this group since its inception, which was only four years ago. This was her first and only job out of grad school.

  James smiled when he saw her. She was sure he had a crush on her. It wasn’t that he was bad looking, the opposite, in fact, but there was no way she would date anyone in the lab. For that matter, there was no way she would date anyone anymore.

  “Hey Catey. How was your drive in?”

  Cate had grown up in southern California, so she’d been familiar with bad traffic when she’d moved to the DC area, but she was unpleasantly surprised to find out how much commuting still sucked.

  “Wonderful, as usual.” Just a touch of sarcasm to start the day. “Actually, you know, 395 wasn’t too bad. How about you?”

  She said it before she could stop herself. Now she’d have to hear the speech.

  James took on an air of superiority, that she was sure he practiced in the mirror every day, before answering, “Well, you know, that’s what makes riding the bike in so great. I never get stuck in traffic. Get here a little early, shower, and good to go. I especially love it at the end of the day cause there’s no one in my way.”

  He put down his bag and logged onto his computer.

  “I’d be scared,” she admitted out loud, and to herself.

  “Aww, it’s fine. I’m always home well before night. Besides, after today, who knows, right? Might not be a problem anymore.” He smiled with his perfectly whitened teeth and she couldn’t help but smile back. He was right. They were about to change the world. She hoped.

  A short while of accomplishing absolutely nothing later, Stan walked back in from his office and surveyed the room. “All right, here’s the update. Where’s Andrew?”

  As if on cue, Andrew charged into the room, knocking into Stan.

  Stan looked incredulous. “What is it with you guys today? What did I do?”

  Andrew grabbed a stool and sat down with a huff. “Sorry. Security caught me with a cell phone.”

  “Trying to send the Russians our secrets again?” James said with a laugh.

  “Just forgot to leave it in the car. So, now I get to go back at the end of
the day and try to find the right locker.”

  James rolled his eyes. “They are numbered, you know.”

  Cate cleared her throat, very loudly.

  Andrew had the good sense to look mollified. “Right, yeah, what’s up with the shipment?”

  Stan sighed. “I was just about to tell you. The shipment will be here any minute. Special Agents Farino and Garmin are bringing it up now.”

  Cate felt a sudden lurch in her gut. “Mason Farino?”

  “I don’t have first names. I doubt there are a lot of Special Agent Farinos out there.”

  With that, Stan turned to leave, but Cate stopped him.

  “I’d like to go check the hospital beds, and rooms, and make sure everything’s ready.”

  “Good idea.” With a dismissive smile, Stan walked out.

  Cate looked around for her notebook, realized it was in her hand, and then knocked over a stool trying to find a pen.

  “Haven’t had your coffee yet?” James smiled benignly, but there was an implicit question in the way he looked at her.

  He was the only man she’d ever known who actually picked up on cues – though he somehow missed the thousand and one times she told him her name was Cate, not Catey. Cate knew James was on to something. He could smell that she was nervous after hearing Mason’s name and he wasn’t one to drop a scent once caught. Cate didn’t like opening up generally, and especially not today, and not about Mason.

  “Yeah, something like that.” She said, lamely.

  Cate grabbed a well-gnawed pen that bore the effects of her habit and walked away before James could dig in.

  The patient rooms always creeped Cate out, for no logical reason. They were perfectly sanitized, well lit, and contained all the modern instruments of any good hospital room. Still, she hated being in them. Maybe it was because she never wanted to find herself a patient here.

  Instead of going directly to each room, Cate stepped into the observation deck, as they called it, to get a good view of everything. The room was a long rectangle, filled with recording devices and controls, and lined with double sided mirrors that looked into the four patient rooms. The observation deck was designed for watching and recording what was happening, without the patients knowing they were being observed. She always felt guilty watching them, even though that was part of her job.