Caleb paid the driver and tipped him a C note over.
"Have a goodnight sir."
"You too Biru."
The cab driver smiled; his fare tonight was not typical; he'd asked his name and smiled as he made sure he pronounced it correctly. The man had sat quite most of the ride, but he put off a pleasant air and when he spoke to Biru he spoke to him, not at him.
Most fares seemed to think cabbies were beneath them, especially that he, himself wore a turban. This man spoke to him as a friend when he did speak. Said he had met a few Sikh in his travels they are respected warriors. He even knew Biru meant 'courage'. Yes, this man was not his typical fare. He must tell his wife of this man.
Caleb entered his front door and punched in his alarm code, grabbing a bottle of water from the counter and headed to the lavatory to relieve himself. He noted the color of his urine frowning, they had kept him from drinking for too long. He drained the bottle as he drained himself.
Grabbing another bottle and dropping the consumed one in one of the recycle bins, he headed into the garage. Opening the upright freezer in the far corner he removed a box of frozen fish sticks. How anyone could indulge in such a disaster as a fish stick was beyond him. He'd ate much worse of course, but those days were behind him. Prying open the sealed box he slid out an envelope.
Caleb took the box into the kitchen dumping the fish into the trash and the box into another recycle bin. Tearing open the envelope a piece of paper inside read, 'The house has been swept for listening devices. She is expecting your call.' He smiled at the thought of the fish box, Kassandra's running joke that he did not get laid enough.
Back in the garage, Caleb stood in front of an old Michelob bar mirror staring at his reflection. A few seconds of biometrical reading, a couple of audible clicks and the locker that held his yard tools swung open revealing a twelve by twelve room. In the room two weapon lockers, equipment lockers, shelves of ammunition, some of the ammunition no one outside the team had seen, and a desk with secure and armored laptop. Sliding a desk drawer open Caleb retrieved one of the four cell phones inside and powered it on just as the locker swung back sealing him in. Three seconds later small red led lights in the ceiling came on. The shredder under the desk whined as he fed it Kassandra's note.
He dialed the number from memory. "How can I help you a familiar voice came on the line?"
"Bravo, Alpha, Lima, Lima, Oscar, Oscar, November, Sierra."
"She's expecting you sweetie. Been a long time, stop bye sometime."
Caleb smiled; he knew Julie's voice. She'd been with the president since she'd been governor and one of the five living people who knew about Caleb's previous history.
"Hey honey, how are you?"
"I'm fine Madam President."
Laughter, "come now Caleb; we've been through too much for you to not call me Sharon."
"I know ma'am. How's Katherine?"
"She is fine, adjusted well. She asks almost every day if I've spoken with you. I... We owe you everything Caleb."
"No Sharon, I owe you. Your predecessor left me for almost two years, you rescued me."
"If I had known about you sooner, I would have made arrangements to have you released Caleb."
"I know."
"Imagine my surprise when my daughter had been kidnapped in Russia by vampires. The shock was hard to believe they even existed. Surrounded by our nation's finest men and women in uniform, covert operations, Secret Service, DHS, FBI, Marshals, DDS the damn CIA, everything and not one person knowing what to do. Just suggested the story be she was currently on a private vacation."
"I sat crying at Camp David with Steven, when Julie sent Kassandra knocking on my door. She knew one man, a man left from a team. A man who had handled these situations before. Problem was, he'd taken out a witch, who just happened to be wife of a senior KGB agent. You were alive and my only hope."
"I know Sharon, but the ones you had to release to set me free..."
"You killed them all eight weeks later. No harm done. As I said to you the day you killed the vampires and returned her to me, there is nothing I won't do for you."
"You do too much Sharon."
"Bullshit, I do not enough."
Caleb laughed, "Imagine the sound bite of you saying bullshit on CNN."
She laughed, "imagine if they knew a lot, like for ten years our country had a group of men who hunted the things in scary stories for real, or that book had a lot of truthful elements in it."
"Thank you for making me write it."
"No, thank you, I know it's sold as fiction, I could never openly tell the story, but this way there are people out there who know. Rather they think it's real or not they know some of what you've done."
"Plus it allows you to funnel me way too much money,' Caleb chuckled.
"Well... so..., Sharon laughed. Caleb did not. What's on your mind doll you are never overly talkative but even for you, you're quite."
"The man they brought me in about, something is off with it."
"You mean why they singled you out?"
"No they are grasping at straws; I can't exactly explain. I just saw two photos, but he looked dry."
"Dry?"
"Sharon the man looked dry, like firewood. Dried out, devoid of fluids."
"Oh my? What could do that to a man? Vampire?"
"No I've seen that. Maybe prolonged exposure to sun, maybe intense heat. I mean a man living in the city plenty of water available..."
"You want me to get you a federal badge and credentials?"
Caleb laughed again. No. I'm retired till you put me to work for you.
"Hopefully the day I need you to do something like that again never arises. But if you change your mind... Any and all traces of the team is gone now as you requested. Large insurance policies that had been 'misplaced' were paid to the families."
"I know and thank you. I did offer my assistance as an observer".
"You should just ask her out Caleb."
"Who?"
"Let's see, tall, athletic, long raven-haired beauty with full pouty lips, quite busty for her frame, round butt... I believe her name is Detective Mendez."
Caleb laughed; "I see Kassandra still talks a lot."
"Kassandra loves you. You have no idea what it done to her the day she lost your team... And you. She came to me in pieces, had been for almost two years, but she came with a plan to free you. The team never will be again, but I will always have her as an advisor to make sure you are ok. Even after I have left office there is a large shell company for her to keep you and her safe."
"We were set up. Me in Russia and the others in Italy all hit at the same time, they knew we were coming."
"You know that for sure?"
"I could never prove it. Carmichael never liked us just seen us as means to an end. Us being so secret nobody, but he and Kassandra still knew about us... Jenkins died weeks after leaving office so nobody else knew. With us out of the way..."
"Would you take him out Caleb if I asked?"
He sighed, "Sharon you know the answer to that."
"I know, I wouldn't ask. The other's you'd have to take with him are not worth his life. Plus he is human, those you took out that I set free were the last humans I'd ask you to take out. Evil or not I know it weighs on you."
"Thank you, Sharon."
"Well Caleb doll, I've kept you. Please do come by Camp David when we are there. Katherine would love to see you, we all would. The White House is always open to you also."
"I will Madam President."
"And for Pete's sake ask that girl out. Move on and enjoy life."
"I just might do that Sharon."
"Good night doll."
"Good night Sharon, tell Katherine and Steve hello for me."
"Caleb ended the call, turned on the hotspot on the phone and then the laptop, his fingers clicking away on the forty-seven-character alphanumeric password."
"Pulling up a program, he started listening to the police channels. He looked at his watch almost midnight, Jessica was probably in bed his chance of hearing her voice on the scanner none. He switched it off."
He stood in the shower enjoying the water. Scenes replaying through his head of the torture he'd endured in Russia. All the clocks and calendars on the wall, so he'd know every minute of every day he was held.
He was to be kept alive and healthy between torture sessions, so he could be tortured until his natural death or till Agent Sokolov got tired of torturing him. Sokolov had even killed a guard, who had struck Caleb.
Sokolov had come one day and saw the bruise on Caleb's face. He'd beat the guard to death in front of the others, after that nobody touched him. Only Sokolov could torture Caleb. For almost two years he'd tried to get information from him. He gave nothing. A man's body is only as strong as his mind. Sokolov had never even figured out he spoke Russian.
He smiled in the shower, he won... Every time they tortured him, he won. How? In his mind he was in his mother's arms the day she adopted him. The happiest day of his life, that's how. In his mind he went there to her protection, nothing could kill her love. To Caleb she'd been an angel sent to watch over him.
"It's been a long day, Carnes, Mendez go home. Let forensics do their job," Chief Wallace said.
"Sounds good boss, let's go Rich."
In the car heading to drop Jessica off, "You think the guy looked maybe like that last one, dried out," Carnes asked?
"Yeah, looks the same."
"What the hell could do that to a man?"
"I don't know but he had his pants off. White had his cock out..."
Carnes drove silently.
"Rich? Rich?"
