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CHAPTER TWENTY-FIVE

ENDER

“I don’t love the transport vehicle sitting right there,” Finn says as he eyes it when we walk up to the prison.

After dropping Orin and Rylee off, we ended up at the prison they identified that Grady was at.

During the drive, Mads carefully transferred the antidote to syringes that he then passed out to the vampires in the vehicle.

I can tell Marcus is still a bit hung up on the idea of whether or not Finn should need one, but at the moment, Mads doesn’t seem to have an answer to that.

Because we knew it’d be hard to explain what the syringes were, we decided that Mads would just use his status as a council member to get us into the building without a thorough check.

Their familiarity with the VRC helped as well.

Now at the prison, we’ve finally made it inside the facility where the transport vehicle sits right inside the indoor loading area.

“I’ll go talk to them,” Mads says, turning to head straight over to it.

“Pretty sure they’re going to ignore you,” Finn warns. “Although… I guess you are part of the council, and the council gets to do whatever the fuck they want.”

“Fun, right?” Mads asks as he hurries off. I debate going with him, but an officer is in the process of getting us in to see Grady and I don’t want to miss what he has to say.

I see the man walking our way, looking slightly irritated.

“Grady is in the process of being transferred and we cannot stall his transfer,” he tells us.

“Five minutes,” Finn says. “Please just give us five minutes. We can even talk to him as you’re preparing him for his transfer. We just need to discuss a few things with him that are very critical. Please. It is extremely important that we speak to him before he leaves this building.”

It’d be better if we could stop the transfer completely, but so far, the VRC has been unable to have any say in it. It’s not surprising, honestly. Even being told that there could be an ambush only resulted in them assuring us that they’ll have adequate security while transporting him.

The officer rocks back before nodding. “Quickly.”

“Mads,” Finn calls out.

Mads looks up and hurries over to catch up as we’re taken through a door into the main part of the building. We’re led down a long hallway to the far end where the man swipes a card and pushes us in. Once inside the white walls, we’re taken into a room with a desk and four chairs.

“Give me a couple of minutes and I’ll have him out,” he says.

It doesn’t take long for the door to open and Grady to be let in. He immediately sees Mads and looks at him in surprise.

“So we meet again,” Mads says.

Grady’s look of surprise rapidly shifts to one of irritation. “You’re a fucking vampire? Seriously?”

“Because of you. But that’s not what the issue is here. Have you told anyone about the drug?”

“Pretty much everyone who knows has been arrested. But I was the only one capable of making it. What’s it matter to you?”

“There’s a surplus of it being distributed—how?”

“You think we began the revolution without the tools to kill vampires? Since I’m only one man, I could only do so much, but we made enough ammunition to defend ourselves.

We just didn’t get to finalize it before the VRC stepped in.

I heard what happened at the council. I heard about Chief Bowman and his plan to sell humans, to treat them like livestock.

Do you believe me now? Do you understand that the vampires are planning on enslaving the humans and gaining control?

Once that starts, how the fuck do you really think we’re going to be able to stop them? ”

Mads doesn’t bite. “There’s a vampire who is planning to intercept your transfer. He wants to know how to make the drug.”

“You can’t stop him from nabbing me, so you think you’re going to stop me from telling him how to make it? Is that it? Why the fuck would I stop anyone from creating it? It doesn’t harm humans. Even if he kills ten vampires with it, it’s ten less monsters for the humans to deal with.”

“Not all vampires deserve to die,” Mads says.

“That’s rich coming from the man whose entire family was slaughtered by them.”

“Did you do it?” Mads asks, a shake to his voice.

“Did I do what?” Grady asks.

Mads closes his eyes for a moment before asking with conviction, “Did you send the vampires to kill my family?”

“Why would I kill them?”

“Because I refused to make it. You needed it, and you knew I had the capability, but I refused to make it. You knew that if my family was dead… I would go to extremes to stop those who killed them.”

Grady shakes his head, but it’s not convincing at all.

“You fucking asshole… you…” Mads hesitates before taking a deep breath. “This cannot get out.”

“Do you not understand how many monsters are out there?”

“I’m sorry you were hurt by vampires, but humans are monsters as well. We’re all fucking monsters. How many people have died because of you? How many human lives were lost because of what you’ve done?”

Grady obviously isn’t broken up over this. “You really don’t think that war results in death? Just because people die, should we give up seeking a better life? Would you rather humans become slaves, fed on by the monsters, given no purpose beyond what they want from us?”

“Not everyone is like that, though,” Claude says.

“I’ve been alive many years and I’ve seen such a variety of people, both humans and vampires.

I’ve seen humans slaughter for a purpose and for no reason at all.

I’ve seen vampires kill to feed, to protect, and for fun.

But I’ve also seen so much goodness in both humans and vampires.

All of us here in front of you are doing everything we can to keep the peace between vampires and humans.

The man who wants to know how to make the drug hopes to kill off the vampires who will not join his cause.

If you give him the information he needs, you will essentially be killing the good vampires—the ones who refuse to manipulate humans and destroy lives. Do you understand?”

He gives Claude a smirk. “All I’m hearing is that when the humans band together, there will be fewer vampires alive.

To me it sounds like we’d still have the ‘bad’ vampires whether or not I give him the information.

So really… how could it not be better for me to hand it over and let him narrow the numbers? ”

The guard’s radio makes a noise before he turns his attention to us. “We need to move. I’ve already allowed too much time. My colleague will show you to the exit,” he says as he guides Grady to the door. Before he passes through it, Grady looks over at Mads.

“Just think… it’s all thanks to you that the vampiric race will end. It’s just too bad you’re not going to be around to see it. You really did fuck up becoming a vampire, Mads,” he says before exiting.

“I can kill him before he reaches the transport vehicle,” Marcus says quietly.

“You’re going to kill a man while we’re standing in a prison?” Finn asks. “Honey… honey bunny… what part of that sounds like a good idea? Please, delight me with this knowledge.”

“All… of it?” he asks, and I’m not going to lie, I agree with Marcus on this one.

Finn sighs. “Let’s follow the vehicle. We can potentially fend off attacks and hopefully get him to the transfer location safely.”

I glance over at Mads who is uncharacteristically quiet on the way out to the vehicle, but I don’t even have to question why. Grady basically admitted that the reason Mads’s family is dead is because of Mads… because of what he could make.

“I should have just popped his head off a while ago,” Marcus says.

Finn pats his arm. “When we walk by the warden, it’s really best to not say the words ‘popped his head off,’ mkay?”

“No,” Marcus grumbles.

“I think it’s totally acceptable,” Alexei says.

“Of course you do! You’re both evil! I bet Ender thinks it’s acceptable as well! Why am I surrounded by evil?”

“I was feeling a bit more dismemberment first,” I joke.

Finn looks over at me. “Weirdly not better. So weird.”

“You sure? Think of how many limbs you’d have if you suddenly had to fight someone.”

Finn is shaking his head wildly. “Why the fuck would I be fighting them with their limbs? Claude… Mads… are you the only two normal ones?”

Mads has a far-off stare as he goes, “I would likely go with acetonitrile. Just need a lighter. Whoosh.”

“Never mind. Claude, it’s just you and me.”

Claude sighs. “Yeah, but now I feel left out! I want to think of a way to murder someone. Um… well… let’s see… I would…”

“Just dress them up and send them out into the world. He’d die of embarrassment,” Marcus teases.

Claude elbows his brother. “You are unreasonably jealous of my ability to dress since you head off looking like you’re going to a funeral.”

“If the day goes in my favor, it’ll be fitting,” Marcus says as he gives his black jacket a tug.

“Oddly, I think we’re supposed to arrest people, not murder them. I mean… I could probably check my VRC handbook, but I feel like I just really don’t need to,” Finn says.

“Strange,” Alexei comments as we get into the SUV. “You must have read a different handbook than I did.”

Once in the SUV, we wait for the transport vehicle to move out before we start to follow. They at least permitted us this much since they refused to stop the transport or change it to a different time where there’d be more security in place.

“Are you alright?” I ask Mads. The other four are still talking about VRC regulations and how murdering without first trying to arrest the person is probably not permitted but there should be occasions where it’s preferred… like this one.

Mads looks over at me and smiles. “I sure am.”

“You know, you’re constantly getting on me for avoidance but you’re ten times worse.”