Dougal blinked. “Ye mean—”
“Aye. That leaves you without a job.”
I’m being let go. Dougal rose to his feet. “I understand. I was thinking of retiring—”
“The hell ye are. I need you.” Angus motioned for him to sit, but Dougal was too tense to comply. “Jean-Luc tells me ye can fence equally well with both hands.”
“Aye.”
“He thinks yer talents are being wasted. Roman and I agree. So how would ye like to be head of security here?”
Stunned, Dougal sat. “Here?”
“Aye, and I’d like to put you back on the mission roster.” Angus’s gaze shifted to the prosthetic hand, then back to Dougal’s face. “Can ye do it?”
“Aye.” When Angus continued to stare at him, Dougal figured he needed to sound more convincing. “I can do it. I want to do it.”
Angus smiled. “Good.” He motioned to the bottle on the floor. “How about a drink to celebrate?”
“Aye.” Dougal grabbed the bottle and poured Bubbly Blood into the two coffee cups Angus retrieved from the sideboard. “When do ye want me to start?”
“Right away.” Angus drank from his cup.
Dougal glanced at the monitor showing the silver room. “I need to know more about the . . . guest. Who is he?”
“We doona know his name. He’s refused to say anything other than curse at us in Chinese. J.L. and Rajiv brought him back two weeks ago. I’d sent them to China again to hunt for Russell.”
“Did they find him?” Dougal asked.
“Nay. But they think he found them.” Angus took another sip from his cup. “A group of Master Han’s soldiers ambushed them. They were in serious trouble, when a barrage of arrows took out half the enemy.”
“Russell?”
Angus nodded. “It must have been him, but when the battle was over, they searched the vicinity and couldna find him.”
Dougal motioned to the monitor. “So this is one of Master Han’s soldiers?”
“Aye. He’s mortal, or started out that way, but he now has some of the superpowers that we possess. We’re no’ sure how Han is transforming the mortals, but it has something to do with the demon Darafer and some drugs he made.”
Dougal frowned. They’d defeated villainous vampires before, but never one who had teamed up with a demon.
“The problem with hunting for Russell is that he’s hoping to kill Master Han,” Angus continued. “So in order to find him, we also have to search for Master Han.”
“What’s wrong with that?” Dougal asked. “Should we no’ be trying to kill the bastard?”
“We need to, aye, but ’tis verra hard to actually find him. He’s taken over a large portion of southern China, Tibet, and the northern portions of Thailand and Myanmar. ’Tis a huge area to canvas. J.L. and Rajiv have spent months there, and they’ve discovered thirty outposts, each one heavily guarded. As far as they can tell, Master Han teleports from one fort to another, and they never know where he’ll pop up next.”
Dougal winced. “Like playing whack the mole.”
“Aye. Master Han has nearly a thousand soldiers now, spread over the thirty outposts. J.L. and Rajiv are so outnumbered that they try their best to avoid any confrontations.” Angus sighed. “I was discussing this with Roman and Jean-Luc. We find ourselves in a moral dilemma.”
“How so?”
“They may be the enemy, but they’re mortal.” Angus extended his cup toward Dougal so he could refill it with Bubbly Blood. “We never felt guilty about killing Malcontents. They’re a bunch of rotten bastards who’ve spent centuries killing mortals and enjoying it.”
“Aye,” Dougal muttered. “And they’re already Undead. They simply turn to dust after ye skewer them.” Just like his hand, once it had been sliced off in battle.
Angus nodded. “But when we kill Master Han’s soldiers, they doona disappear. Their bodies remain. And so does our guilt. As far as we know, their souls go straight to hell.”
Dougal winced. “I dinna know that.”
“Our guys learned about it on their first mission to China. The mortals enjoy their superpowers as a gift from Darafer, but when they die, their souls belong to him forever.” Angus dragged a hand through his hair. “We doona know if the mortals agree to the bargain, or if they are coerced through vampire mind control. Roman and I have discussed it at length, and we’re reluctant to engage in battle with these mortals. We doona want to kill them.”
And dispatch their souls to hell. Dougal finished his Bubbly Blood and refilled his cup. “While we wait, Master Han is making more of them. Dooming more souls.”
“I know.” Angus drank. “That’s why J.L. and Rajiv brought back one of the soldiers. We have some good scientists here: Roman, Laszlo, and Abby. We hoped they could figure out how the mortal was changed and how to change him back.”
“Then we could save them instead of killing them,” Dougal concluded.
“Aye.” Angus finished his cup and set it on the table. “Abby has been studying blood and tissue samples from our guest, and she claims he’s been altered genetically. ’Tis beyond her area of expertise, so she suggested we find an expert to help us out.”
Dougal nodded. “Did ye find someone?”
“Dr. Lee did.” Angus referred to the vampire doctor from Houston. “He’s been looking for an assistant, since he has an increasing number of Vamps and shifters and wee bairns to take care of. He found a physician who also has a Ph.D. in genetics. A young mortal. And a genius, according to Dr. Lee. He’s bringing her here tonight.”
“Her?”
“Aye.” Angus stood and paced across the room. “He hired her a week ago, but he had some trouble breaking the news to her about vampires and shifters.”
Dougal finished his cup of Bubbly Blood. Was it right to drag an innocent, mortal woman into this mess? “She dinna take it well?”
“Nay. She became so upset that she wanted to quit, and he ended up erasing her memory in order to keep her employed. We doona want to lose her.”
Dougal winced. “And he’s bringing her here? The place is swarming with supernatural creatures.”
“We thought it best. As a scientist, she has great admiration for Roman and his invention of synthetic blood. She also knew about Abigail’s achievements and was eager to meet her.” Angus motioned to the monitor showing the ballroom. “And there’s a blasted party going on for a bunch of bairns. How frightening can we seem when we dote on our children?”
Dougal snorted. “So we’ll convince her that we’re as meek as lambs?”
Angus smiled. “That’s the plan.”
“What of the moral dilemma of exposing an innocent woman to a dangerous world? What if she wants nothing to do with us?”
Angus’s smile faded. “We need her. And since ye’ll be working here, I expect you to do yer part to convince her to help us.” He held up a hand when Dougal started to object. “Ye may think it’s wrong to involve her, but what if she can free the soldiers who’ve been enslaved by Master Han? There could be over a thousand souls she saves.”
So the needs of the many outweighed the needs of one? There was a ruthless logic to it, but it still didn’t sit well with Dougal. How often in the past had he ranted against a cruel fate thrust upon him without his consent? The same thing could happen to this woman.
He took a deep breath. The die was cast, and he couldn’t fight it. All he could do was protect her to the best of his ability. “Hopefully she will react well tonight.”
“Like ye said, we’ll be as meek as lambs.” Angus stepped closer to the wall of monitors. “They’re here.”
Dougal glanced at the screen that showed a black Town Car pulling into the parking lot. “Who’s with her?”
“Abby picked her up this afternoon at LaGuardia and took her to Roman’s townhouse. After the sun set, Dr. Lee and Gregori joined them. That’s Gregori’s car. He’s driving.”