21. Time After Time.

I was planning this big gig; this wouldn't be the last Sark facility but one of the biggest. This took a lot of work, and there were quite a few of us thinking about this gig. Now it would be ten of us again and me. This was one of Sark's primary institutions, where they tortured, experimented, and killed. There were over 400 victims here, so this would be a fucking good rescue.

Our team consisted of eleven people, including me, Ruby, Sapphire, Mike, Monroe, Mark, Nicky, Rex, Matthew, Andy, and Penn. Our mission was to rescue someone, and we had a well-planned strategy for the operation. Since we were a large group, we assigned specific roles to each person. Mark, Mike, and Monroe would clear any obstacles, meaning bad guys, while Penn would be our designated driver. Ruby, Sapphire, and I would be the ones directly involved in the rescue, while the others would help move things around.

We were all eager to embark on the mission, and Magnum had promised us new equipment to aid us in our task. However, when the day arrived, we found that there was only enough equipment for a couple of us. We were determined to carry out the rescue, and we set off with the limited equipment we had. 

The planned destruction of a facility was imminent, and I, along with my team, had spent countless hours preparing for the job. We had gone over every detail, from the initial sketches to the final execution plan, and we were ready to go in just six hours. 

As I was sitting in my office, surrounded by piles of papers and equipment, my phone rang. It took me a while to find it, but I finally located it buried under a stack of documents. I recognized the ringtone as my husband, Damon, and answered the call. 

"Hello, Damon," I said. 

"Hey, are you in Wisconsin on a base, getting ready for a job?" he asked. 

"Yes, that's right. We're going to systematically destroy Sark's facilities. It's a big job, and we're short-staffed, but we'll make it work," I replied, with a laugh. 

"Can I come with you?" Damon asked eagerly.

But now I had a problem: could I trust him? Sure, I could trust Damon, but what if Damien comes out? But I took a risk. I've got to talk to Damon about this. I really do. But it would be a pretty quick job, and if I don't tell him too much in advance, maybe then.

I said, " Yeah, you need an address. You can come with me."

Damon laughed and said, "Darling, I haven't told you that you have a transmitter; I can see your location all the time."

I looked up, and Damon was already standing at the door. I turned off my phone. I stood up and closed the door.

I motioned Damon to sit down and said, "Now, what I'm going to tell you, this is going to sound really crazy, but I don't know if you can see in my head, in my mind, what I saw in that demon dream. "

As Damon took a seat, he casually leaned back in his chair. However, his expression was one of curiosity, as he looked at me questioningly. Tentatively, I picked up the memory and felt Damon's gaze upon me as he sifted through it. Suddenly, his face contorted into one of shock and disbelief, and he remained silent for a moment, processing what he had just seen.

Then after a moment, he said, "If, if I am some kind of fucking Jekyll and Hyde, then it is not an easy problem to solve. But it's good to know. I feel the volcano in my mind. Damien. I'm trying to isolate him and, hide him in my mind so that I can keep certain things from being manipulated by him. Still, darling, I'm just a man, and I may not keep him in check, and then..."

I nodded and said, "But Damon, remember, it's not you. Are you up to the job now?"

Damon nodded and said, "Who knows, other than Bran?"

I said, "I haven't told Adam or Samuel, and Bran can try to save Damien. He seems to believe that Damien has as much right to live as you do."

Damon grunted and said, " Fine, darling. I've now protected a part of my mind, so no gig information goes to Damien."

I showed Damon the outline of the gig, and he looked at it for a moment. He couldn't find anything wrong with it. I told Damon where we were going.

I said, "Time to get your shit together. I'm the leader now. You're going to have to do what I say if it's not too much."

Damon grunted in response. Damon said, "Yeah, I'm your backup; Jake called and told me what happened at the gigs where there was a fear demon. "

Oh, I should talk to Jake so Salvatore doesn't have to know everything. Damon looked at me when I got up and took the key; I opened my gun safe, and he came over to look at it and grunted right in my ear. Oh, I think those grunts are so damn sexy sometimes. And I wonder if I'm getting my heat on or if I'm just overexcited. I don't know.

Then I went to my locker to get my gear on. Damon took my jacket and pants again, as well as my microphone and headset. And out of my gun locker went guns and lots of them. Damon also watched carefully that everyone was dressed properly. I just wondered if, at some point, Damien would be taken away from Damon, if there would be a chance for me and Damon to be together in the fleas, if he would be with me.

He said in my mind, "Darling, Damien is the biggest obstacle, and just because I know about him now means nothing. He's strong, I can feel it."

As I nodded, I tried to shut out the distracting thoughts running through my head. I gathered all the gear and moved into the middle room.

There, I took charge and issued the command, "Alright, then let's move out. We'll take two cars and a backup, and check if there are any victims."

After I gave my instructions, everyone left the room, following my orders. I made my way into the back seat of the second car. Penn took the driver's seat, while Damon, fully geared up, sat beside me. The scent of passionfruit filled the air, making itself known. 

I reminded Damon, "Don't use your vampire speed until we're sure there are no tripwires. Mark, Mike, and Monroe will make sure it's safe before we proceed."

Damon gave a nod of understanding. I felt it was important to assert my authority, so I added, "Remember, what I say goes. There's no negotiation."

With that, we were ready to move out. Damon grunted in my ear. " Oh darling, you're sexy when you're bossy, but we'll see when we get there,"

I sighed. He had heard that Darling was at the core, and my life was about to get pretty damn interesting. 

As we arrived at our destination, I quickly put on my headset and waited for the signal to proceed. We stood at the edge of the woods, patiently waiting while the exterminators secured access to the facility. It was a dark and cold winter night, with only the faintest hint of moonlight peeking through the trees. The air was crisp and still, and we could hear our own breathing as we waited in silence.

Finally, we received the go-ahead and quickly made our way through the woods and into the facility's yard. The exterminators had done a thorough job of securing the area, so we could move quickly and quietly, keeping close to the shadows as we made our way towards the building.

Damon, who had been running beside me, was alert and focused, his eyes scanning the area for any signs of danger. We moved quickly, but cautiously, staying low to the ground as we made our way through the dark and deserted yard.

Finally, we reached our destination, and I felt a sense of relief wash over me as we entered the facility. We had made it this far, but there was still much work to be done.

We went inside and Damon ran beside me until we got to the sixth floor where the victims were. I had to blow the door again to get in. The hallway was dark here and there, with just the dim lights of the emergency exits, and I couldn't hear any of the equipment working.

Damon walked behind me, and I went down the hall, opening every door; if one was locked, one kicked, and it wasn't shut anymore; the collectors walked with me.

I said to Andy, who was on this floor after I had discovered the drug room. "Andy, the medical room."

He went in and started piling up the drugs. Then, I found where the patient rooms started. I went next to the first bed, and it took me a moment to realize what was wrong. The room was silent. I couldn't hear anyone's heartbeat. I cursed to myself at first and didn't immediately notice.

The victims were dead. Everyone in this room was. They were still warm, and I could smell the poison. And then I saw it. The infusion pump was now housing an empty little bag in each victim's IV stand. I was cursing pretty fucking hard in my mind as Damon walked across the room, with no hope.

I asked over the microphone. "Flea leader here. Is there anyone to save?"

Sapphire and Ruby said, " No, there isn't; everyone has been killed just as we were about to come in. These haven't been dead long."

Oh fuck. Oh fuckity fuck.

I said, " Fine, let's break the whole fucking thing up, start setting the charges. "

I got confirmation.

I said into the microphone, "Penn, there is no one to transport, everyone was just killed when we got here, transports can be canceled"

He replied, " OK, flea leader. "

I sighed and knew we would have to bury these in the rubble of this building, but the victims must be identified.I completely restrained myself, took out my camera, and photographed each victim. I also took fingerprints, and I knew that Burt and the other computer guys would have a job identifying each victim.

Then I would have to see who to notify the relatives. Were these missing persons so we could put a tip in the rubble of this building, or did no one miss these right away? Sapphire and Ruby photographed theirs and fingerprinted them. Damon went to help put the charges in and see what he could find.

The exterminators destroyed everything they found, but the facility had been evacuated, and all the information and several drugs had been taken. The victims had been killed. Once I got everything photographed, I gave the order to go; we moved out.

Damon and I were just about to step outside when the first shot was fired, and Mark fell. I saw movement on the roof and cursed. I had checked with the drone, and it was empty.

"Where the fuck did these come from?" I thought almost out loud. Oh fuck, there's people on the roof.

Damon said, "Go, I'll go left, you go right, and we'll meet you at the car, but watch out, they've got nasty bullets."

I nodded. I sprinted at vampire speed to a better spot and started firing at the roof as best I could; he had three shooters, and I gave cover fire as best as I bloody well could. I watched as Damon dragged my team members into the woods to safety.

They had submachine guns, and the relentless thunder of the submachine guns echoed in the night as they fired on my team members one by one. I got two of the three shooters killed. I couldn't see anyone else and I saw traces of blood on the ground, in the snow, proof of what the fuck had happened.

I got the last man wounded; it gave me a chance to escape, and eventually, I ran to the edge of the woods myself. Here and there lay my squad members. Damon was crouched by someone. I saw Penn open the trunk.

I asked Damon, "What's the situation?"

Damon was crouched down next to Ruby and said to me, " I'm sorry, baby, I couldn't save everyone. Ruby, she'll be fine. She got my blood, and so did Mike and Monroe. The others, I was too late. They got those armor-piercing bullets again. Seriously, Mimi, I don't know how you can do these gigs if it's this shitty."

I said, "Yeah, it's like that sometimes."

I shut up and went to see for myself the fallen members of my group. Well, at least these would get a funeral, and these all had someone or someones left to mourn.

I knew Ruby would be inconsolable when Sapphire didn't make it. They were a couple—closer together than I'd ever seen anyone. They were going to have to start a new life. They were supposed to have kids and get married, and that was all gone now.

I squatted down next to Andy. His eyes stared into the distance, and a large bullet wound was in the middle of his body. I closed his eyelids. Nicky had been hit in the head. The back of his head was a mass, and the bullet hole was in the middle of his forehead like an ugly black eye.

And now it would be another job for Lake Lanier. But this is the price you pay when you get good enough to do something. We were all willing to pay that price, but I never had to and couldn't pay it. I was always who was left behind.

I helped Penn and Damon lift our dead friends aboard. Ruby, Mike, and Monroe were silent. Their mouths were a little bloody. They had holes in their protective gear, a sign of how they, too, could have been dead if Damon hadn't had time to rescue them. We were silent as we drove to the base.

Penn took the bodies to the morgue. Colin had arranged one. I stripped off my protective gear, sighed, and put all my gear back in place. I said nothing to Damon. He stripped off his own gear, too, but always left a few weapons with him.

I then went to my office. I put my laptop on while I showered. I had seen Damon go into the men's shower. I got dressed, sat down at my desk, and started updating the database again with who died and when. I set up the financials and made the necessary phone calls. This was tough for me because Sapphire and Nicky had been really close to me. Yes, I had known all of them, and we had been doing gigs for the last six weeks closely together.

I hadn't even noticed at what point Damon sat on the couch in my office. I had the computer side of things working on the identities of the victims. And we hadn't even blown up the whole fucking facility when our signal was jammed.

I was just wondering what I could do for Ruby. She lost her whole life, her one true love and it was tough. It was never easy to lose people at a gig, but then, when those special guys went, I knew this gig for Lake Lanier was going to be especially hard. 

As I worked, Damon sat silently on the couch, his gaze fixed on me. The sweet aroma of passionfruit lingered in the air, filling the room with a captivating fragrance.

I turned to Damon and spoke, "I have to run an errand and will be away for a few days, perhaps a week. I'll let you know when I return."

Damon got up and came over to me and said, "It has something to do with those you lost, doesn't it? Please, baby, let me be a part of this. Let me experience what you've been through, probably for years. Who else would you tell? Please. Let me be there for you. "

I thought for a moment this was going to be a hard trip, and now I wasn't sure if Damon would understand this at all, and I said, "Fine, I'll meet you here in the morning at 6 o'clock. Drive ahead, so be prepared."

Damon nodded and said, "I'm sorry I couldn't save everyone. "

I just nodded. He got up and got in his car to drive to the house. I stayed at the base all night and informed the others, thinking and reflecting. I talked to Ruby, and she wanted to be in on the fleas. She wanted to destroy Sark, and I knew he was going to demand either a Magnum or a Jake. Ruby was in a terrible place. Vengeance is not an excellent motive for doing a job. I said nothing to Ruby yet. She went off to talk to her parents and Sapphire's parents, awful phone calls, but I knew I'd come and visit Sapphire's family.

 I then concluded that the snipers on the roof had set off the poison on the victims. The escape tunnel that we found, well, there had been some kind of train, a fast train that Sark and the others had used to escape. Sark had been on the scene until we'd entered the facility. There was nothing I could do about it. I'd just have to gear up for this trip. 

I ordered flowers for all the dead and would also take them on the way with the gift baskets, as always. Those baskets included gift cards. I always wanted to take them personally, if at all possible. Now, it was possible. It was six o'clock, and there was no sign of Damon. I waited until 6:30, still not. At seven o'clock, I called.

His phone was answered by someone called Tiffany, and I could hear in the background another girl saying, "Shove it, Damon, up to the root. Take it, and fuck me all over like you've been fucking all night. "

I heard Damon groan and listened to probably a minute or two of sex sounds as Damon seemed to ask, " Who's there, my sweetheart bunny?"

Tiffany giggled and said, " Some woman didn't say her name. Hang on, I'll ask."

Tiffany came back on the phone and asked, " Who are you? What do you want with my Damon? I don't share, but if you ask nicely, please..."

I was quiet for a moment and said, "Tell Damon that Mimi's wife just called and said she was going on that trip that Mr. Salvatore, my husband, was supposed to go on yesterday, so alone. Mimi-WIFE. You got it, honey bunny?"

Then I hung up, gathered my supplies, and went for a drive. My eyes were burning so freaking badly again, and I felt my cheeks wet with tears. I don't know what the fuck I was crying about, but I was crying anyway. I was alone. But as a leader and a founder, it was my duty to do this.