Boris pulled out the device he’d been given by Frank. He stepped away from the command group and walked towards the burned out carcasses of the two APCs. The area was fairly clear with no real traffic, so he turned on the mobile-like device and punched in the number Frank had provided. He’d been assured it would work nearly anywhere and would be secure.
“Carol speaking. How may I help you?” asked a female voice over the line.
“This is Boris. I was wondering if I could speak to either Frank or Nathan.”
There was a pause. “If you can wait for a couple of moments, Bethany Anne wants a conversation with you.” There was almost a slightly malicious smile in the voice that came across the phone.
Boris sighed. It seemed that even her assistant knew something he didn’t. Surely he hadn’t pissed her off that much. Thinking about what Michael had said about her tendency to violence, he sure as hell hoped that she was not that pissed off.
He waited, sweating at the thought of how angry Bethany Anne might be. Boris hadn’t thought about that aspect before, even though Stephen had said that she knew what her oath committed her. He was too used to being the sole person that his people had for protection to have even momentarily considered anyone else and their thoughts or sense of obligation.
An icy cold voice came across the line. “Boris. I saw much of your assault. Why are you calling? Do you have more information? Or have you decided you need assistance after all, now that you have your fucking macho bullshit out of the way?”
“Czarina. I apologize for any accidental insult I may have given. I am simply used to being the senior protector of my people. I only realized as I was waiting now that there may have been aid you could have offered without compromising your relationship with Russia. However…“ He went on to brief her on what was happening. A suggestion that she come to the town meeting so that he could pronounce her a fitting Czarina to receive the oaths of allegiance from his people carried with it a reminder that their oaths effectively were life-long.
“But I’m not a queen or Czarina or whatever you are talking about,” She replied, her voice not nearly as ice-cold as it had been when she first answered.
“You were the woman who Michael chose to love. That makes you as close to a Queen that the UnknownWorld has ever known. You have power and such a title generally comes with power. Finally, my people have spent almost a century in the wilderness waiting for their prophesied Czar or Czarina. Would you deny them someone to take their oaths and loyalty?”
“What about the fact that I’m a Vampire? Will that cause any serious problems?”
There was silence for a time, then Boris sighed. “No, Czarina. Many of them already know some of the UnknownWorld. I was… inventive in my interpretation of the Strictures, though word never reached Michael or Peter. I think David may have known. He once tried to dump a plane full of Nosferatu on the town, but I foiled the operation. He definitely knew that my human support had such knowledge after that. Peter already had that knowledge, so it wasn’t a real problem. It really was a mistake for them to have joint responsibility for Russia, but political and geographical boundaries were such that it was considered the best solution.”
“At least two-thirds of the town and surrounding population knows about Weres. I doubt that finding out vampires are real will be a problem unless you make a frightening appearance. Besides, if you can send something to help heal the critically and seriously injured they won’t care. At all. They will owe you.”
There was silence on the other end of the line, and finally, Bethany Anne sighed, “So I suppose this makes you the prophet whose predictions become real. Get back to me with a time. For the doses I’m giving you, I want you to personally take them to a site.”
Boris interrupted, “Here in town. As soon as possible. I assume the vehicle you send with them will be similar to those you will arrive in. It will create a stronger sense that you were responsible. If you can go into orbit, you can drop from the sky also.”
There was a tapping on the other end. “I suppose I should listen to the advice of the man on the ground. Anything else I should know?” Boris gave her a summation of the information Danislav had given him. She finished the call with “I have to go. People to kill, politicians to terrify. You know how it is.”
Boris waved down a vehicle heading to town as it was leaving the base. He’d left Danislav and the group assisting with the organization while his injuries had required healing. They seemed to have everything under control so he left them to finish after telling them to organize the meeting for the next afternoon.
By then all Weres who were in transit would have arrived. It amounted to less than a fifth of the Weres in Siberia, but if that many came from as far as the Tundra Pack, he’d have a good feel for the overall opinions of the majority. Besides, he was going to give either Peter or Nathan permission to travel through the entire area and supply them with the locations of most of the packs and lone wolves. Not that he really knew all of the lone wolves. Siberia was just too large to keep under a heavy thumb. His style was more relaxed, requiring rare intervention unless someone fucked up.
It took Boris about a half an hour to get into town. When the vehicle stopped near the town square, he got out and headed straight to the center. Just as he approached the area, a black shape plummeted from the sky. As it visually resolved into one of the Pods, he moved back a little from where it was to land. Once it came to a halt, Boris stepped quickly to the vehicle.
The door slid open on his approach. With the doors open, he could see the seat inside had a white case with a red cross emblazed across the front. Boris grabbed it, turned around and ran straight to the hospital, hoping the use and dosage of any medications would be obvious to those inside.
He burst through the doors and went straight to the nurse’s station. He placed the case on the counter and opened it to discover the aid had come in the form of one hundred and fifty syringes with what looked to be blood or some other red viscous liquid in them.
He grinned widely but turned in alarm when he heard a patient monitor start to shrill. Reaching into the case, he quickly grabbed one of the syringes. Running to the room with the loud noise resounded out into the hall, he stripped the cover off the needle. Without hesitation, he stabbed the needle into the dying militia man’s chest.
Following him into the room was the doctor who glared as he pushed him aside, the needle Boris used still in the chest of the patient. Before the doctor could even start resuscitation, the alarms suddenly stilled.
The doctor turned frustration and stress evident on his face, “What did you give him, Boris? Adrenaline? We need to know! You may have saved him only to have him die of complications you fool!”
Boris shook his head, “Nyet, Andre. I was sent some experimental medications that stabilize and heal. My contact and friend sent enough for our people. She will be at the meeting if you really want to ask her about its contents. I was assured it will not complicate other medications, beyond reducing the time they are present in the bloodstream,” Boris responded, extrapolating from his own condition.
Unfortunately, the doctor wasn’t satisfied, “And do you have numbers on that? This is an immense complication, you idiot!”
“Doctor, pretend that you are treating Danislav or me, and that is your answer. They have found a way to replicate the healing of people like us without the other effects.”
The doctor stared at him, then back to the obviously improved patient and then shook his head. “But it is still experimental?”
Boris stood there, thinking of a response. “Neyt. It has been tested, but not registered. The group that makes it does not want to be swamped beyond their production capabilities at this point. Though they were happy to give me some in this time of need. This information, and how effective the treatment is, will need to stay here.”