caleb slept in late the next morning. when he woke, his thoughts were immediately of the previous afternoon's exploits in the tube substation, rather than the pleasant daylong sightseeing excursion with the fullers. entire spans of enjoyable, peaceful activities could be negated so easily by a single, brief, negative experience involving a vampire. let's face it, potentially lethal events tend to focus one's thoughts.

katrina appeared by his bedside moments after he woke, and she bent down to kiss him. while her expression was tender, it seemed to him that there was tension simmering just beneath the surface of her outward demeanor. she regarded him with a curious expression as he stretched his body, as if pondering how to say something. he suspected that it had to do with yesterday's tube episode.

"good morning," she offered pleasantly, though it seemed a little forced.

"just waking up to you is a good morning," he offered with a grin.

she shook her head at him while running her fingertips across his forehead, tickling his skin. "i've been thinking about today's agenda," she began with a tentative, tight-lipped expression.

i bet she would prefer that i stay close today, he anticipated. he understood that concern and didn't want to cause her further undue stress by challenging her on the matter. instead, he offered her an easy out over the topic. "yeah, about that," he interjected quickly. "would you mind if we stuck around the hotel for the most part? with all the power-touring the past day or so, i'd kind of like to just relax a little bit, if that's okay."

"are you sure?" she asked in surprise.

"sure," he reassured her, feigning a hesitant look. "i mean, unless you have other plans or something. i wouldn't want to disappoint you or anything."

she smirked, and he suspected that he'd just hit the nail on the head.

"no, that's fine, actually," she responded readily. "we'll just rest and maybe go out together later tonight. sound okay?"

he nodded agreeably. "yeah, great. i was thinking about getting brunch in the hotel restaurant. care to join me?"

"definitely," she concurred. "i wouldn't mind a hot cup of tea, actually."

as he shaved and dressed, he was inwardly satisfied with himself for deftly negotiating what could easily have become an argument. i'm getting better at sensing her mood, i think, he congratulated himself with a grin.

in the hotel dining room, she watched him eat as they passed the time discussing london sites they still wanted to visit. as he finished eating, she sat back in the chair with her arms crossed before her and gazed at him with an appraising expression.

"what?" he asked somewhat self-consciously.

"so, now that you're giving me a pass on the whole 'stay around the hotel today' suggestion, what can we do to occupy your time?" she asked plainly.

his eyebrows rose slightly at her unexpected candor. it was apparent that he hadn't been fooling her at all. how does she do that?

"i do appreciate it, of course. and don't feel bad, my love," she offered with a smug expression. "i've come to know you rather well. that, and i have over five hundred years of human observation under my belt."

"oh," he managed with a dazed expression.

her cell phone rang, and she smoothly extracted the device before he could blink an eye. he glanced around them to see if anyone else noticed her speedy reaction, but there were few patrons lingering about the dining room.

"sure, alton," she replied while watching him with amusement. "no, as luck may have it, we don't have any specific plans for today."

caleb rolled his eyes and glanced at their server, who had walked up to the table to check on them. katrina smiled politely and subtly tapped the edge of her tea cup with her fingertip, to which the lady inclined her head in acknowledgement of the silent request. caleb merely smiled, shook his head, and offered, "nothing more for me, thanks."

their server departed to retrieve more tea for katrina.

"that's fine. until later this afternoon," katrina replied and smoothly closed her cell phone as caleb's eyebrows rose in silent query. "well, part of our schedule is set," she said. "alton would like to meet with us this afternoon regarding your encounter yesterday."

just great, he thought with a sigh, more intrigue. such a pleasant diversion while on vacation. she observed him curiously, but he merely glowered where he sat.

in the end, they lounged around the hotel suite for nearly half the day. she read a mystery novel, while he unsuccessfully tried to contact paige via email, cell phone, and text messaging.

"hey, what's with paige lately?" he called from the dining room where he was using his laptop while looking out upon the city.

katrina paused from her reading to consider his question. she has been uncustomarily out of touch lately. her only communique had been a phone call to katrina saying that she hadn't been implicated in gil's fatal "accident."

"she's not in trouble, after all, i hope," he said with a hint of worry in his voice.

"gil's death was ruled an accident, caleb. i'm sure she's fine," she tried to reassure him. paige is a resourceful alpha vampire, after all. likely she's just preoccupied.

"too bad she lives in california," he muttered, clicking at pages on the internet. "it'd be better if she lived closer."

katrina stopped reading. "how much closer?"

he stopped clicking, but didn't look over at her. "like, atlanta, maybe?"

"yeah, good luck with that," she quipped and returned to reading. not enough clubs and social diversions in the whole of georgia for paige turner.

"so, you wouldn't mind her moving to the atlanta then?" he asked with upraised eyebrows. he knew that kat and paige were close friends, but wasn't sure how his mate liked the idea of her close proximity on a permanent basis.

she stopped reading again and stared at him, noting his tense body language. he's not sure what i'd think about the idea, i bet. she immediately came to a decision, shrugged, and returned to her novel. "i'm okay with that," she conceded. "it would be more convenient."

he grinned, and then his phone beeped. he read the text message and noted irritably, "finally, a reply from paige. she says she's wrapped up in a project and can't 'chit-chat' right now. she hopes we're having a good time. geez, glad i didn't really need anything."

katrina frowned, but didn't press the matter with him. paige's strange behavior is something else i need to get to the bottom of, it seems. she glanced at her watch.

"time to meet with alton, my love," she offered with an almost relieved tone. she didn't want him spending time dwelling on the situation with paige. it wasn't as if anyone could do anything about it for the time being.

half an hour later, they sat in alton's office before his expansive oak desk. as he recapped information acquired by his staff's investigations, caleb absently reflected on just how big the vampire's desk was.

"you know, i've seen smaller aircraft carriers," caleb teased. "i mean, just how much paperwork do you actually spread out on a daily basis?"

alton cast a bland look at him as katrina stifled a chuckle.

"so, did the tube's security cameras catch a glimpse of the blond vampire i saw coming down the escalator?" caleb quickly asked to change the subject.

alton paused as he considered his question. "actually, no. unfortunately, the cameras in that particular substation mysteriously went offline just a few minutes before your encounter. they began operating again soon after the injured vampire departed."

katrina stared at her former mentor in a penetrating manner.

"sound familiar?" she asked pointedly. she and aton had used an electronic jamming gadget that he had acquired from british intelligence when they were hunting the vampire, chimalma, last december. perhaps a similar device had been used to suspend the security system's operation.

he anticipated where her thoughts were leading and replied, "yes, i already considered it. there must be a number of those jamming devices running around the country by now. technology rarely stays a secret for long these days."

a silent moment passed before anyone said anything.

"you know, i've been thinking. it seems unlikely that we were intended as a target yesterday," caleb ventured. "it didn't feel like an overt attack. it was more like we interrupted something."

the two vampires exchanged curious glances, and then studied him closely.

"interesting theory," alton finally replied. "a meeting of some kind?"

"maybe," caleb agreed. "anyway, the idea occurred to me after you ordered your vampire agents to go looking around the terminal and nearby tunnels. what if the location is somehow meaningful?"

katrina listened to her mate's statement with interest and interjected, "your theory has merit, actually."

he smiled up at her with an appreciative expression. she returned the smile and reached over to trail her fingernails down the back of his neck. it caused the desired effect of sending a tickling sensation down his neck and into his shoulders, and he shivered slightly.

"well, my staff haven't turned up anything yet," alton said. "and frankly, i'm not sure what i expect them to find." his eyes darted to katrina's. "perhaps if we go over some of the information i collected over recent months regarding vampire operations in the area, it might reveal something that we've overlooked."

she nodded with an introspective expression. "perhaps."

while the development was somewhat intriguing given their experience the previous day, caleb didn't want his and katrina's vacation to get detracted by something that might very well have just been a coincidence. he felt fidgety and wanted to stretch his legs a little. maybe this is a good time to take a break, he pondered.

"um, i'm thinking about going down to the little coffee shop in the lobby for a snack," he explained as he rose from his seat. "anybody want anything?"

alton looked up and shook his head negatively, while katrina winked at him and smiled. "thanks. nothing for me, my love."

he nodded and hastily exited the office. he walked down the hallway, made his way to the elevator, and pressed the call button. a glance up at the lcd display indicated that a car was on its way up. he glanced around the small alcove in the corner, and his eyes caught on a nondescript leather couch sitting there, which looked familiar for some reason.

the elevator doors opened, revealing a pale figure in a dark business suit. caleb recognized him as the blond vampire he had seen on the escalator in the tube station the day before. the vampire immediately recognized him with a wide-eyed expression, and his hand darted out to grasp caleb's upper bicep in a vice-like grip. caleb started to shout, but the vampire's other hand shot to his mouth, and he quickly found himself twisted into an arm bar. caleb's eyes glanced into the hallway to try to get someone's attention. however, the corridor was empty, and he was forcefully propelled towards the nearby stairwell.

he struggled and knew that in order for the door to open the vampire had to release either the arm bar or the coverage of his mouth. the vampire chose the latter, but banged caleb's head into the metal door jamb, briefly stunning him. then the vampire forced him into the stairwell. a moment later, caleb felt himself being half-carried, half-propelled down the stairs. at the foot of the first tier, he managed to kick his leg in front of the vampire, causing him to trip slightly.

"help!" caleb barked, but was slammed into the nearby wall, where the breath was knocked out of him.

the stairwell door opened at the top of the stairs, and marla kendrick's face peered through the opening. "did someone cry out?" she asked tentatively. but her eyes immediately focused on caleb, and she entered the stairwell.

"davison! what the hell --" she demanded, only to have her words cut short by the impact of the vampire's zooming upstairs into her. he yanked her down the stairwell, throwing her head-first downstairs.

her head impacted the floor tier with a dull pounding sound, and her body slammed against the stairs. she lay still, her eyes closed. davison sped to her side and bent down to squeeze the woman's throat. caleb managed to gather his faculties enough to grab a fire axe from the wall next to a fire hose box. he hefted the axe in his hands and swung with all the strength he could muster. as davison turned from kendrick, the blade caught him in the upper left chest with a meaty thud. initially, the impact propelled the vampire backwards, but he fell forwards onto the floor as his mouth opened to emit a raspy hiss. davison's body fell next to where caleb stood and slumped motionlessly with his right hand grasping the axe hilt just below the blade.

caleb immediately rushed to marla's side and felt her neck for a pulse. a swift intake of breath surprised him, and her eyes suddenly shot open. they glowed with a washed-out green color, and her hand darted up to grab his wrist so quickly that he didn't have time to react.

"friend!" he yelped before she tried to attack him.

she released his hand, muttering, "it's okay. i know."

he started to say something more, but her eyes suddenly went wide. her arm managed to throw him aside before the whooshing sound of an axe blade went past him to clank against the stairs where his body had been a mere second prior. a small shower of cement erupted from the stairs, and caleb glanced back over his shoulder to see a profusely bleeding davison with a contorted expression of rage on his face. his violet eyes blazed as he quickly swung the axe over his head for another strike.

caleb barely registered multiple simultaneous events. as he viewed the axe blade's being raised with a horrified expression, he heard the stairwell access door erupt open, smashing into the wall with a metallic crash. a feral-sounding scream assailed his ears, forcing his hands to the side of his head, while davison's face shone in momentary surprise as his eyes flickered up.

a blast of air whipped past caleb, and suddenly davison and the axe both disappeared. a blur of movement seemed all around caleb, pausing briefly as davison's body was smashed against the nearest concrete wall, then the ceiling, then the floor, and then disappeared as it was thrown further downstairs towards the next flight. he thought he saw a flash of red trailing from the blur movement, and his eyes searched to follow it downstairs. at nearly the same moment, alton placed a firm hand on caleb's shoulder while kneeling next to marla.

"don't!" davison yelled from downstairs, but his voice was cut short by the sound of a meaty thunk. something heavy fell to the floor, followed by an eerie silence.

caleb jerked free of alton's grip and quickly crawled around the corner of the stairwell until he could peer downstairs. katrina appeared menacing as she stood over davison's prone body, the axe handle sticking up at an odd angle from the blade buried in his head.

"stay dead," the red-haired vampire seethed in a cold, lethal-sounding voice.

she glanced upstairs towards caleb, and her eyes were pulsating like miniature green suns. a shiver went down his spine as he stared at her in partial shock, partial horror. she turned and began a slow, progressive rise up the stairs towards him while his eyes were locked onto hers, unable to tear his gaze from her. she looked like a demon incarnate, beautiful and terrifying all at once.

holy crap! was all he managed to silently process in his overwhelmed brain.

katrina stared at him, trying to banish the rage and frustration of the previous moments. she almost wished that the vampire had struggled more, because she wanted so very much to pound on him further. if i'd been a few seconds later, caleb would be dead. the realization was nearly unbearable as she towered above caleb, suddenly cognizant that his face was still awash with fear. a pang of guilt washed over her as she suspected that part of it may have been due to her, rather than solely davison's actions.

"be calm, caleb. she's just angry," alton encouraged from behind him as she squatted down beside her mate.

"he's knows he's safe with me," she admonished alton with aggravation between clenched teeth.

her soft hand went to the side of caleb's face, and he finally managed to blink his eyes, breaking the spell he had been under. his hand shook as he reached out to touch the side of her face in response. her skin felt so soft, but her jaw was firmly set. they just stared at each other for a few seconds in silence. the corners of katrina's mouth upturned ever so slightly, and her eyes were no longer pulsating, merely glowing brightly green.

"are you okay?" she asked quietly.

he nodded and mumbled, "angel amber."

she pulled him into an embrace as she wrapped her free hand around the base of his head, gently cupping it. no words were needed between them as, in that moment, each sensed what the other was feeling. it was the universal communication of love, affection, and relief.

"so, davison must have been the second vampire from the tube station," alton surmised while observing them from behind. "it would have been nice to know what he knew. couldn't you have merely wounded him?" alton asked katrina carefully.

she sat back from caleb, looked over at alton with a determined expression and stated flatly, "no, not after what i saw from the top of the stairs."

alton sighed heavily and turned his attentions back to ms. kendrick. "marla, are you okay?"

"my body's healing, thanks," she said confidently. "thanks to caleb, that is. davison would've finished me off if caleb hadn't axed him in the chest."

katrina's eyes glanced to him with stark surprise, and even alton seemed taken aback as all eyes fell upon the young human. caleb swallowed and felt himself blush.

"well, i mean, marla distracted him, so i got in a lucky hit," he stammered.

katrina arched an eyebrow. "i noticed the wound and thought marla had caused it."

alton nodded approvingly, supplementing, "as did i."

katrina's eyes still showed surprise as she contemplated the revelation. caleb's come so far in his skills that i underestimated him. perhaps he's no longer quite so helpless. she was utterly proud of her mate.

"well, we're still somewhat in the dark," alton lamented as caleb, katrina, and marla followed him back upstairs to the fifteenth floor.

as they walked through the door, numerous vampire and human faces stared at them with curiosity. caleb ignored everyone, instead glancing towards the elevator area where he had spied the leather-covered bench sitting next to a fake plastic tree. something about the bench struck an odd chord in his memory.

alton glanced at a nearby gray-suited vampire and ordered, "davison's body is lying in the stairwell. coordinate the sterilization of the scene, and see that our people dispose of the body."

the vampire nodded and proceeded into the stairwell.

"i'm inclined to believe that caleb may be correct regarding there not being a prearranged attack against him and the fullers. we had a spy in our ranks, after all," alton surmised. "perhaps a rendezvous of sorts got interrupted by their sudden arrival. but, if so, why there?"

"but what are the odds of caleb's being present on scene at just the right time?" katrina queried, her mind only partly focused on the topic after all that just transpired.

they fell silent for a moment and proceeded down the hall towards alton's office. however, caleb stopped abruptly in the hallway, staring back at the bench near the elevator. katrina sensed her mate's lack of proximity and darted back to where he stood. she followed his gaze towards the elevators.

"what is it, my love?" she asked guardedly.

"maybe we're not back at square one, after all," he mumbled, to which she arched an eyebrow in silent query.

"that bench," he said, pointing towards it with an outstretched arm. "i've seen another one just like it recently."

alton stopped to see what was holding up the pair. he easily heard caleb's statement, walked back to him, and explained, "indeed, my boy. we have them throughout the building. they're so popular, in fact, that one was stolen from our lobby earlier this year."

"i know where you can find it. it's in the tube tunnels," he stated resolutely as he stared at the dark-haired vampire with a vacant expression. "next to the old door," he mumbled.

katrina's eyes shot up with surprise, and she reached out to touch him lightly on the arm. "you mean, when you were lost in the tunnels? what old door?" she asked carefully.

his eyes found hers and he smiled from his odd impression when he had first encountered the door. "the one leading to oz, or alice's rabbit hole."

alton and katrina exchanged odd glances and looked back at him as if he had lost his mind. he frowned when he noted their expressions and reassured them, "it's real, and i'm pretty sure i can take you there."

twenty minutes later, alton's office buzzed with activity. alton and katrina strategized at the large oak desk regarding a plan and arrangements for raiding the tube tunnels later that night.

caleb rinsed a washcloth in alton's wet bar sink and proceeded to daub the back of marla's head with it. while the blonde vampire's wound healed quickly, there was still blood smeared through her hair. she smiled appreciatively at him for his ministrations as she sat on the office's leather couch. caleb merely thought it was the most useful thing he could offer to do.

"you should be resting," she said appreciatively. "you were assaulted as much as me, you know. and you're not a vampire. i'm as good as new already, and you're likely very sore."

katrina glanced up from her conversation with alton upon hearing marla's statements and observed caleb's reaction closely.

"well, i'm kind of --" he started to concede until he noticed katrina's attention. instead, he replied, "fine, actually. i feel just fine."

katrina frowned and shook her head at his cavalier response, but let the topic drop as she returned her attention to alton. the english vampire grinned momentarily, but reverted to a more serious expression when he noticed katrina's focus upon him. caleb thought that he might actually have a subtle advocate in alton.

the truth was that he felt both achy and sore after the altercation, and his neck was a little stiff. but he wasn't about to give katrina any ammunition to use in her attempts to dissuade him from accompanying the vampires on the upcoming investigations. unlike his experience last fall with the vampire chimalma, he refused to be left behind while katrina ventured into dangerous waters on his behalf. then again, it isn't as if anybody is specifically targeting me this time, right?

"well, i appreciate your assistance with my hair," marla offered with a smirk. "perhaps i can get you something to eat or drink?"

he grinned. "sure, a coke would be nice. thanks."

"coming right up," she said and quickly moved across the office to the wet bar.

after sipping his drink and leaning back into the couch's cushions, he found even the ingestion of caffeine wasn't enough to keep his eyes from drooping. he was dozing before long, and his head bobbed a number of times before he finally leaned against one side of the couch to get more comfortable. he dozed off in virtually no time at all.

"caleb, my love?" katrina's soft voice cooed as his mind regained consciousness.

he stretched and immediately moaned from his sore muscles before he had a chance to recall that he had been trying to hide his discomfort from his mate. his eyes snapped open to see katrina's face watching him with a raised eyebrow and a knowing expression.

"thought so," she said.

"i'm fine," he countered.

she merely shook her head at him. "it's time for you to show us where you saw the door. alton has a map of the underground tube tunnel system on his desk."

"no need," he insisted. "i'll show you myself."

"no, you won't," she countered with a note of finality.

he glanced around the room for the first time since waking and realized that they weren't alone. alton stood just behind katrina, while marla kendrick and three other men dressed in black combat fatigues sat around the conference table across the room. another moment of inspection suggested to him that two of the men were vampires based upon their pale skin and piercing eyes. a wave of embarrassment grew in him from the rather public exchange that he and katrina were having.

however, katrina paid no attention to the others in the room and remained solely focused on him. "your recollections, if you please."

he bit the inside of his lip, looked away from her and quietly asserted, "i'm afraid it's not that easy. i'll need to show you in person."

her gaze turned steely, and she grasped his chin in her hand to turn his face back towards hers. "no games, caleb," she whispered, although he was well aware that every vampire in the room had clearly heard her.

"i'll have to retrace my steps," he stated flatly. "besides, given the attack by davison, wouldn't i be safer with you and alton?"

she gave no visible reaction as she stared back at her mate, but her mind considered all the angles. he's got a point. but i also know he's lying about not being able to recall his route. she briefly glanced back at alton, and the stately vampire merely shrugged.

"reasonable arguments either way, really," he replied in a non-committal tone, although he smirked slightly at caleb once she looked away from him.

caleb tried to hold back a smile, but her completely deadpan expression spoke volumes regarding her displeasure, and he quickly lost his inclination for humor. instead, he swallowed and awaited her response with a straight face.

"fine," she said and turned to look across the room at the men seated at the conference table. "suit him up properly, gentlemen," she ordered.

"thanks for --" caleb began appreciatively, but she cut him off abruptly.

"don't," she warned with a stern look. "i'm not happy with you right at the moment."

she stood, motioned to alton, and stalked out of the office. caleb watched her go and looked over at the others seated at the conference table. each of them watched with mild amusement on their faces.

"well," marla began with a penetrating smirk. "you heard ms. rawlings. let's prepare him."

caleb wasn't sure he liked the way she said that.

within an hour, caleb's clothes had been replaced with black combat fatigues, black combat boots, and heavy-duty rubber pads secured to his elbows and knees. only when a vampire approached him with a black flak vest of some kind did he realize there was yet more to come. he felt like he was being outfitted for a cricket match.

katrina, alton, and others busily prepared gear for the evening's activities. they were all dressed in similar black combat fatigues and equipment, though caleb was the only one not sporting web gear of some kind. the large room they were in was like a miniature armory located on the floor below alton's main offices. there was an array of combat weapons, including large standing vaults containing ammunition, explosives, and other equipment that he couldn't even begin to identify.

"caleb, a word of advice. this time, please remember not to turn your back on a wounded vampire, young man," alton advised with a mock-stern expression.

"well, yeah, but...hello?" caleb retorted. "axe to the chest!"

the corners of alton's eyes wrinkled from a broad smile as he shook his head in satisfaction. katrina smirked for the first time since their earlier exchange, watching her flustered mate squeeze into a black bullet-proof assault vest with the aid of one of the fatigue-garbed vampire agents.

once the vest was over his head, caleb caught the amused expression on alton's face.

"well, that's good advice, i suppose," he admitted.

katrina walked over to the vampire helping caleb, waved him off, and proceeded to adjust the straps on his vest herself. "take a deep breath and hold it," she prompted before cinching the straps down with a tug. "okay, you can let it out now."

he shifted in the vest and pulled at it as if trying to get more comfortable. "man, this thing sure weighs a ton," he complained. "crap! no wonder, there's a huge metal plate sewn in the front of it."

she smacked him on the chest with a firm whack from the flat of her hand, causing him to stumble backwards a couple of feet.

"feel that?" she asked.

he nodded while walking back towards her awkwardly.

she arched an eyebrow. "did it hurt?"

he shook his head. "not at all."

"exactly. that's why it needs to 'weigh a ton,'-->>

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