Oceans of Red Volume One (2 page)

Shane shov
ed at her right arm.  “Stop.  You know if you’d just take things seriously--”

The look on Remy’s face shut her up.  “Tell Dad I’ll be down in a couple minutes.”

Shane nodded. 

As she walked down the stairway, she heard her sister call from behind, “You know if you didn’t insist on wearing that leather getup, it wouldn’t be such a difficult task.”

“Whatever, Shane.”   Remy continued the two levels down to the dorm wing and headed towards her room smiling.  It wasn’t Shane’s job to handle door duty, but she always insisted on being there when Remy returned from a mission.  They rarely hugged, and thanks to their father, seldom said ‘I love you’, but they were close.  Remy owed her sister a lot.  Even after she had killed their mother, Shane stuck by her.

Moving into her room, she hastily stripped down, threw her clothes in a bin, and headed for the shower.  The shot of adrenalin
e given before every mission was wearing off.  Her muscles ached and she was weary.  She stood for a while, letting the hot water cascade down her sore body before lathering up and rinsing.  Now that her hair was so short, one towel would do the trick with drying off. 

Catching a glimpse of herself in the mirror, she shook her head and moved on.  She missed her long hair, but long
hair can be used against you.  Dried, she lay on her bed for a moment before dressing.  She didn’t dread seeing her father, she hardly ever did, but she knew he’d have another long lecture waiting for her.  Figuring she’d wasted enough time, she grabbed a pair of jeans from the closet and pulled on a pink hoody.  She ran her fingers through her hair and set out barefoot towards the center of the complex.

***

He looked up from paperwork as she entered. Perspiration beaded across his brow, adding even more shine to his baldness.   Before the invasion, she and her siblings had joked about polishing his melon into a mirror-like sheen.  Now it seemed like eons ago.  His secretary nodded to her and smiled. 

“That’ll be all
, Sally.  Make sure the memo is sent out right away.  We don’t have much time to get this in order.”

“Yes, Admiral,” she answered, and scurried through the door, closing it behind her.

“Take a seat.”

Remy sat q
uietly and crossed her legs.  The dark uniform he insisted on wearing, even though the United States no longer existed, fit his powerful frame perfectly.  With the chest full of metals and gold piping, he made an impressive figure sitting behind the large mahogany desk.  The room, lined with matching bookshelves seemed more of a library than an office.  Near the door, the bookshelves gave way to a black Formica countertop that held a small stainless steel sink and a coffee maker.  The light on the machine was on, but it didn’t appear to have much in there.  She sighed.  A cup of coffee would have done wonders right now.

The Admiral, noticing her bare feet, pulled his lips to the side making a grunting noise.

She shrugged.

“You should always be ready for battle, Rem.  How many times do I have to tell you that?”

Uncrossing her legs, she leaned forward to rest her elbows on her knees.  “Well,
Admiral
, if you want me ready for battle at all times, why do you keep taking my weapons?  It’s a stupid rule.”

He cleared his throat.  “Yes, well--we don’t want the others coming in loaded, do we?  And I can hardly single you out.”

“Dad, I’m pretty sure everyone knows I’m your daughter by now,” she laughed.

“That’s not the point and you know it.  Now what happened out there?”

“S.S.D.D.  I knew I couldn’t take down the three and get to their leader.  They’re too smart for that.”

He moved some papers around on his desk.  “T
here’s always hope.  We need to find out where the new base is.”

“I blew up the last base.  It didn’t do any g
ood.  We need to find out how to seal the rift.  I kill them, they evacuate the shell and come right back through another processing house.  We’re just killing people to kill them now.”  Standing, she moved to coffee maker.  Picking up the pot, she sighed and swirled the coffee around.

“Maybe so, but we can’t just sit on our asses and do nothing.”  Glancing up, he winked.  “Be a dear and make some more, would you?”

“Have the priests come up with anything new?”

Papers rustled behind her back, but he remained silent.  After filling the maker with water, and throwing in a bag of coffee, she turned to face him.  “Well?”

A tinge of red developed under his smooth, caramel skin as the muscles in his jaw tightened.  “I’m not sending you.  I’m not sending anyone.  It’s too closely guarded.  No one would make it back from that mission alive, and you know it.”

Shoving a stack of papers to the side, she sat on the corner
of the desk.  “Dad, we need the shroud.  Father Christman says that it is the only way to do mass exorcisms.  Without it, we can only save one person at a time.  That’s not working.  There are too few of us and too many of them.”

“The inoculations are doing very well in trials.  Shortly we’ll be able to treat many of the exposed.”

“It’s still not perfect though.  Most who take them can become infected again.”

“Remy, I know you’re still hurting about what
happened with your mother, but really--”

Her fist slammed on the desktop sending papers skittering across the desk only to float to
the floor.  “This is not about Mom.  This is about human beings.  Every day I leave here to kill human beings.  The demons aren’t dying.  They just keep coming back in different
human beings
.”

Hi
s eyebrows moved up as he fixed his steely blue eyes on her.

She locked eyes with him for a moment before expelling an exasperated breath.  Breaking his gaze, she
stood and began picking papers off the floor.  The coffee maker made a swooshing noise.  After laying the papers on his desk, she poured a cup.  “Two creams, one sugar?”

“Black today.  Dr. Rosin says I need to cut back on sugar.”

Remy nodded.  Setting his cup in front of him, she said, “We have no hope of winning when they have all the numbers. 
You
taught me that.”

He took a sip and
leaned back in his chair.  “I agree that, eventually, it must be done.  When the time comes, Sam can do it.”

She shook her head.  “Sam’s not nearly as good as I am, and you know it.  Now Greg and I, we could pull it off.”

“Red contact lenses will not get you through the check points.  And that cross around your neck will be a sure fire giveaway.  How do you propose you’ll enter?”

She thought for a moment.  “The cross will have to go.  The rest can be handled.”

Shaking his head, he continued to hold her gaze.  “You’ll be infected.  Then what?  You two return here, and security is breached.  Who meets you at the door, Rem?  You obviously haven’t thought this through.”

Shane’s face flashed in her mind.

“Admiral?”  Sally’s voice interrupted from the squawk box on the desk.

“Yes?”

“Father Thomas is here to see you.”

“Send
him in Sal.  We’re done here,” he said, nodding to Remy.

Rising, she grabbed her cup and headed for the door. 

“Think about it, Rem.”

She glanced over her shoulder and
gave him a quick nod.

*** 

She found Greg exactly where she’d expected, stuffing his face in the mess hall.  The spacious cafeteria would hold close to fifty people.  Only during staff meetings would the room be at capacity.  She glanced around at the white tables, chairs, walls, and floor wondering why her father insisted on making the place look like a sterile hospital.  Greg nodded and tapped the empty seat beside him.

The three men seated with him
acknowledged her presence and quietly moved to a table in the far corner.  Everyone at the shop liked them both, but not when they were together.  She smiled, and went to the counter to retrieve her dinner. 

“Barbeque
and Mac-n-cheese?”  Martina asked with a smile.

“What else you got?”

Still smiling, she repeated, “Barbeque sandwiches and Mac-n-cheese.”

Remy snorted.  “Guess I’d like some of that then.”

“Oh, it’s good today.  I put extra cheese in the Mac.”  The elderly, white-haired lady winked.

“I’m sure it is.  I just hope it tastes like real meat this time.” 

“We do our best, hon.  Soy is good for you.  Keeps you healthy.”

“Thanks,” she answered, moving to join her brother.

If the wrappers on the table were any indication, he’d already devoured five sandwiches.  Once again chewing, he mumbled, “Sit.  I heard.”

Placing her tray on the table, she pulled out the chair in front of him.  “I don’t want to hear it
, Greg.  I’m so totally not in the mood.”

Swallowing hard, he took a long gulp of his drink.  “What did the old man say?”

“Same thing he always says.”

“He’s right.”

Remy glared across the table.  “If he wouldn’t allow Shane to meet us, we could bypass that particular obstacle.  I think he does it on purpose.”

Greg leaned back interlocking his fingers behind his head.  “Now, Rem, you know that Dad always has our best interest at heart.  Why just the other day--”

“Shut up.  Don’t pull that older and wiser shit on me.  You’re eighteen months older than I am, and I’ve killed twice as many as you.  I don’t want to hear it.”  Sinking her teeth into the greasy sandwich, she took a bite, chewing slowly.  Her nose wrinkled as she tried to ignore the awful taste in her mouth.

He grinned. “It’s better than usual.”

“How could you eat five of these?  Don’t you have taste buds?”

Patting his stomach, he answered, “Growing boy and all that.  Have to keep the guns fed.”

“If you flex for me, I’m going to hit you in the head with this tray.”

Leaning forward he whispered, “Did the old man tell you about the new discovery?”

Her eyes darted to his face.  “What discovery?”

He smiled knowingly.
“You really don’t know?”

Exhaling in a huff, sh
e hissed, “You going to tell me or keep wasting my time?”

Glancing over both shoulders, he leaned in closer and continued whispering.  “The inoculation has some strang
e side effects.  Those who take it are severed from the psychic connection with the other demons, but they retain the psychic abilities.  Not only that, but they retain the strength as well.”

“And re-infection?  Is that still an issue?”

Shrugging, he leaned back in his chair.  “Don’t know.  The old man hasn’t allowed further testing to be done.  He doesn’t want to take a chance the serum won’t work the second time around.  We just brought in another seven scientists today.  So far, all cured.  One of them thinks there might be a genetic defect that allows many to remain uninfected.  According to him, there could be thousands out there with no link.”

“Shit,” she swore under her breath.  “And how
are we supposed to know?  Anyone with half a brain is using lenses to cover their eyes.”

“Yeah, but they won’t be following orders will they?  They’ll be loners trying to stay away from populated areas.  It’d be too easy for the devils to tell there’s no link there.”

Remy watched her brother’s eyes as he spoke.  He had an idea.  Probably one their father would veto.  Greg’s ideas were always radical and usually dangerous.  He’d never tell her here though.  Even with only five other people in the room, he’d wait until they were alone.  Nodding, she woofed down her meal while he waited.  Time for talking was over.  He had some doing in mind, and she couldn’t wait to find out what it was.

Greg and Remy sat on the rooftop watching the sun break over the horizon with
beautiful bursts of pink and orange.  Another cloudless day in sunny California.  Lost in the warehouses on the outskirts of L.A., this building seemed no different than the numerous surrounding structures.  Most had been abandoned a long time ago.  The demons had other work for the masses to do, and thankfully, it seemed none involved import and export.

Remy pulled the small gold cross hanging around her neck to her mouth and kissed it.  Once again vowing to do her best to rid the world of any evil she came in contact with.

Watching from the corner of his eye, Greg said, “Strange isn’t it?  All these demons and no sign of Angels or God.  Makes you wonder…”

The dull pain inside her began to boil, turning into anger she would not release.  “You need to quit talking like that.”

“Why?  Will I be struck by lightning?” he laughed.

Rolling her eyes, she returned her gaze to the rising sun.  “He’s out there.  I know he is.”

“He’s got a fine way of showing it.  We call them demons because that’s what they call themselves.  But we don’t really know
what
they are. Or where they come from.”  He winced as she frogged his leg with her fist.  “Ouch!”