WARNING: This fic will include violence, torture, bondage, character death,
bloodplay, etc...
 

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Part 7
*****

?Okay, let me explain to you how this is all going to work.?  Xander?s eyes were bright as they traveled over Graham?s face.  ?First of all, we?re just gonna skip over all that ?You can?t do this?, ?My friends will save me?, ?Oh, God.  No.  Stop?, because I?m tired of it.  And, frankly, I just think you?re a better class of victim then that.?

?There?s no backup, no funky little electric company sponsored toys.?  No, that was safely out on the kitchen table, next to the Marine?s cell phone.  ?It?s just you and me.?  Xander let his hand ghost over Graham?s shoulder and down his arm, smiling as the human automatically recoiled from his touch.  ?You *could* fight me every step of the way... but I don?t think you will.?

Graham had a very different opinion about that.  For obvious reasons, he had never given much thought about what might happen if he ever got captured, and he never had reason to speculate on how he would behave.

Xander enjoyed the stubborn set to Graham?s face.  Even tied up and gagged the human still thought he had some option in the matter.  ?So, you a Ravens fan??

Graham blinked at the question.

?That is Baltimore?s football team, right?  The Ravens??

Graham felt a cold knot begin to form in the pit of his stomach.

?I don?t know, maybe it?s just the hellspawn in me, but I think I?d have to be a fan.?  Xander smiled wistfully.  ?My ex-girlfriend probably wouldn?t have felt the same way, but then, she never was too fond of Poe.  When she was human she thought he was too dark, and after she was turned, well, big words hurt her head.  But, we?re not talking about the people in *my* life right now, are we??

Graham stayed completely still as Xander gently pulled down his gag, trying to ignore the brush of cold fingers against his face.   He knew where the vampire was going with this deceptively innocent line of conversation.  It was instinctive, like the icy tingles of pure fear that had started to diffuse through his body.

Xadner let his fingertips lightly rest against the warm skin of the human?s jaw, feeling the blood steadily rush below the fragile dermis.  The mortal?s heartrate had picked up, but his face had paled, not flushed, and as Xander peered down into sky blue eyes he could plainly see the horror there.  Good.  Graham understood what had just been brought into play, but that didn?t mean Xander couldn?t have a little more fun with his implications.  After all, drawing it out could be so amusing.

?I just figured, you look like a football type of guy.  And, since you are from Baltimore.?  The vampire held Graham?s drivers license up, and grinned.  ?We?re gonna play a little game.  And, if you do everything exactly the way I tell you, I won?t have to slaughter your family.?

Graham?s head swam, and his stomach heaved.  This wasn?t supposed to happen.  This *wasn?t* supposed to happen!  He had never even entertained the possibility of a situation like this.  It was too extreme, too farfetched, too... unreal.  It was unreal.  It would never happen.  Never happen.

Anger flared in Graham?s eyes, and he spoke, his voice hoarse and raw.  ?You?re bluffing.?

Xander cocked his head.  ?Maybe.?  He nodded once, thoughtfully. ?Maybe I wouldn?t travel all the way across the country just because you wouldn?t play nice.?  He leaned in towards Graham?s face until only inches separated them.  ?Or, maybe I have a demon straight from hell inside of me and will be pissed off enough at your disobedience to hunt down and eliminate your entire bloodline.?  He grinned.  ?It?s not like I have anything else to do.?

Graham heard the truth in that statement, but more importantly, he saw the resolve in those gold flecked brown eyes.  And fear on a whole new level rushed through him.

?I mean, really, I?m not asking for much, am I??  Xander asked.  ?Your submission for your family?s wellbeing.  Come on, we both already know the answer.  You?re a stand up kind of guy, there?s no way you?d ever let anyone suffer in your place, especially a member of your own family, your flesh and blood.  Think about it, Graham.  Think about... what I could do to your mother.?

Graham shut his eyes and turned his face into the pillow.  Fear, and pride, and rage, and humiliation battled inside of him.  His instincts told him to fight, that his survival was tantamount.  But, his head, his head knew that the monster was right. If Graham didn?t get out of this situation alive, and he was well aware his chances for that existed somewhere between slim and none, what was to stop the demon from doing whatever the hell it wanted?  Nothing.  Nothing at all.

Still refusing to look at the vampire, he whispered,  ?What do you want me to do??

Xander grinned.  He had played the family card, and it had worked like a charm.  Whether he would do anything wasn?t relevant.  It was the fact that he could.  The human understood that, and as long as he kept that in mind everything would run relatively smoothly... at least until Xander wanted it to be rough.  He let out a rumbling, throaty,  ?Hmmmm...?

*****

Riley quickly strode down the sterile looking corridors.  He wanted to run, but he knew that kind of display from their CO would just worry his men more.  Still, he moved with haste, nimbly navigating his way around slower moving soldiers, biting his tongue to keep from yelling at them in the process.

The debriefing was tedious and seemed to take forever, though, in actuality, it was the shortest he had ever attended.  Walsh had taken the information on the unknown HST, and, eyes gleaming, headed off to her command center to plan a course of action.  A protesting Riley had to be escorted to the infirmary by two MPs.  He had been poked and prodded, and when the doctor finally made certain he wasn?t suffering from anything as unseemly as shock, he was released with the advice to lay down and get some rest.  Like hell.

Thinking he knew what was best for his patient, the doctor refused to give him any kind of progress report, on either Forrest?s or Graham?s conditions.  It almost earned him a broken jaw.  But, somehow, Riley managed to keep his fists at his side, though the look on his face had spoken volumes and was probably the reason no one had actually tried to enforce the doctor?s orders.

Now, Riley was headed for the one place where he knew, one way or another, he could get some answers.  Ahead of him the corridor opened into the cavernous main area of the underground complex.  Sidestepping troops and equipment, he made his way to the Professor.

Walsh spotted him.  ?Riley.?  She frowned at his coloring, noting the unhealthy pallor to his skin.  ?You should be in-?

?Tell me what?s happened.?

She sighed.  ?I?ve sent teams out.  So far there?s no sign of the creature you described, but if you wounded it it couldn?t have gotten too far.?

He shook his head, annoyed, but not surprised that the creature had come first.  ?What about Graham, and Forrest??

?Agent Gates? injury was... extensive.  But, they did manage to save his arm, though, he won?t be using it for a while.?

?And, Graham?  Agent Miller??

Maggie sighed again.  Why couldn?t the boy have just gone to bed like he was told.  Then, when he woke up, she would have thought of reasonable, incontrovertible, fabricated answers to any possible questions, because the truth wasn?t going to go over very well.  ?I?ve called off the search.?

Riley blinked.  ?You?ve... What do you mean, you?ve called off the search?!?

?Riley.?

?No.?

?Agent Finn.?  Her voice was suddenly sharp.  She didn?t have time to coddle him.  ?Our team scoured the place you were attacked.  The street.  The alley.  Even the surrounding buildings.  There was no trace of him.?

?Then we widen the area.?

?If he was somehow thrown clear then there is only so far he would have been able to go.  We would have found him by now.?

?What if something got him??

?Got him?  We aren't in some second rate slasher movie, Agent.?

?What if the lizard thing travels in pairs?  What if while one attacked me and Forrest, the other grabbed Graham??

?What if you leave the military and pursue a career in writing fiction??

?It?s a plausible explanation.?

?There?s one that?s even more plausible.?

Riley stared at her for a moment, and understanding slammed into him.  He bristled.  ?Graham is *not* a deserter.  There is no way in hell he would run away.  No.  Way. In. Hell.?

Maggie almost stepped back at the vehemence in the young man?s voice.  She swallowed and took a shaky breath.  ?You will watch yourself, Agent Finn.  It would be a shame if your record was blemished with insubordination.?

Riley wanted to snarl at her, tell her just what he thought of his damn record.  But, instead, he straightened his spine, and threw back his shoulders.  ?I want to lead a team.?

?No.?

?Then be prepared to put me in the brig, Ma?am.?

She was well aware that this was not an idle threat.  ?And just what would you do with a team if you got one??

?I?d find the HSTs for you.?

?You?re convinced that Agent Miller was taken by one of them.?

?Yes.?

Maggie knew that for the purpose of finding his friend, this would be an exercise in futility, but she also knew that, of all the men in the Initiative, Riley would be the most likely to successfully bring in the unknown creature.  And, if he did find Agent Miller in the process, well, then everybody could be happy.  ?All right.?

A small fragment of the tension residing in Riley?s long frame eased at the affirmative answer.  He didn?t want to think about why she had given in so easily, or what it might cost him in the future.  He just wanted to find his friend.  He gave Walsh a terse nod and headed off in the direction of the armory.

Maggie watched him for a few seconds, then she motioned a nearby Dr. Angleman over.  ?I want you to look over these specifications for the latest addition to the project.?

He took the thin folder she was offering him.  ?How long do you think it?s going to be before Finn stops deluding himself??

?I take it you heard??  Maggie asked dryly.

?Couldn?t help it.?  He shrugged.  ?Do you really think you should encourage him?  There?s only one way Miller could have gotten out of that alley before our men got there, and that?s under his own steam.  I?m sure he?s well on his way to Mexico now.  Or, Canada.  Probably Canada, he always struck me as kind of a strange guy.?

?Perhaps.?

?Perhaps?  Oh, come on, Maggie!  Don?t tell me Finn managed to sell you on part of this.  I know he?s your golden boy, but-?

?*He* didn?t sell me on anything.  I found his argument to be childish, his explanation ludicrous, and I do wish he would stop forming all these emotional attachments to his subordinates.  But, part of me has to wonder if, maybe, we are overlooking something.?

?Seems fairly simple to me.?

Maggie shook her head.  In her mind, it was anything but simple.  ?If there had been anything in Miller?s psychological workup that even hinted at him abandoning his post then he would never have been allowed in the program.  In fact, all of his personality tests showed he was loyal almost to a fault.?

?Tests can be wrong.?

?*I* designed those tests.?

Angelman?s eyes dropped.  He changed his tactic.  ?I suppose Finn?s theory is... feasible, although, if he?s correct, I certainly wouldn?t lay odds on finding Miller alive.  If a demon did take him, his bones have probably been picked clean by now.?

?On that, we agree.?  Walsh put a hand to her temple and briefly shut her eyes.  ?It would be a great loss to this unit.  We have to make sure the remaining men are extra careful now.  We?re not pumping millions of dollars of chemicals into their systems just to watch them go down the drain.?

*****