Damon came in a week later to help, but he didn't explain. He just sniffed Mimi's blood and sat, collectors in his teeth, day after day. Some substances he bit directly into bone and muscle. Charles and Adam accepted all the help because, in this mode, Damon was actually useful. He was fully dedicated to helping Mimi, even though the damage had been bad, and the metals were not good news.
Somehow, Damon was now super efficient and made a lot of progress just in a few days. It had not been so a long session and somehow Charles thought that whatever had come over Damon, had been like a fit of rage, he had done his worst as fast as possible but it had been hit and miss, not the same as in that hospital.
Charles had always thought that these sessions were a bit like the reverse of beating yourself on the toe with a hammer just because it felt so good to stop. This wasn't the first time Charles saw how completely dedicated Damon was to saving Mimi once again, but these days, he didn't even stay in the same house every time Mimi woke up. Something inside Damon felt such a need to save her, to heal and help her. It was almost like obsession and he ate little, not showered, rarely as his focus was on Mimi.
He tasted her blood and looked at her tenderly, but somehow very sad. He sighed softly, holding her hand, and did not say a word. Charles could feel this deep sorrow oozing out of Damon, and he did not pry. It would be up to him to speak about it if he wanted.
But this was Damon, the rescuer again. Damon hadn't done this in a long time. He had just killed Mimi and enjoyed himself. And then there had been a meltdown. He had not gotten to do this for a long time as it had been Charles, Adam, and Colin who had saved and healed Mimi many times, but now, he came back to heal what he broke.
Just as he would then have to explain to Mimi why he did the session. Damon had gone to eat and rest after three weeks, when he had healed her. Charles had no idea if would Damon stick around much anywhere and what the future would bring to them all. He could sense something in the air, anticipation, and spirits were whispering something too, that something had come out and was not able to get hiding anymore but Charles knew spirits could whisper about a lot of things and it was not up to him to know everything.
Charles sighed. Mimi was in much better shape, almost fully recovered physically, but still thin and cold, so she could sleep in the incubator. Charles sat next to the incubator, made sure that it was warm enough to 42 degrees Celsius, and glanced at the monitors showing Mimi's vitals to ensure she stayed deep asleep and was warm enough. He adjusted the little oxygen flow, making sure that warm oxygen was plentiful in the incubator, keeping Mimi's breathing light and slow. No need, for her to work on getting oxygen.
Damon had slept a few days, showered, and eaten, and he wanted to see where Mimi was. She should be soon ready to come out of the incubator, but he knew Charles was very protective of her, even though there was no need for now. He padded to the downstairs medbay. Seeing Charles sitting next to the incubator, watching the monitor.
Damon saw this. He went and made one patient bed ready and said to Charles, "She is ready to come out. You can turn off the monitor and oxygen."
He did not explain more when he walked to the incubator, opened it, took Mimi out, in his arms, and moved her back to the bed.
He said, "Mimi's body needs to be challenged. The cooler air will put the thermoregulation right. There is no physical obstacle now. The incubator is good when used at the right time, but I don't want to laze Mimi's body. It needs to be challenged a bit. She can breathe normal air and no need to pamper her in the wrong way. It only slows down her recovery. For now, we keep her covered and give her warm fluids and heated visceral suspension. She'll soon recover from that. We keep her asleep until she is over 40 kilos and then reassess the situation. She can eat then herself in better shape too."
Charles was silent, but then again, Damon's voice carried authority and experience and he knew her body and its functions better than anyone else, so Charles trusted his friend.
And Damon was right. It was a few days before her system worked properly and digested the food much more efficiently, getting her weight up too.
Within a couple of days, Mimi kept her temperature and sugar up without a problem. Soon, she could wake up. Damon was pleased. Now, he would be free. He would always owe Mimi, no matter what he did. And he didn't want to do another session.
He felt like something inside him was furious, like he Shouldn't save Mimi. He acted so that he could never again kill or destroy Mimi in any way. He would rather kill himself. He felt now a volcano or Damien being much more separate from him; it was almost like an alien inside his mind, attacking him, trying to suppress him, sending images, feelings, and memories in his mind, like it would try to break to destroy him.
He knew it was now a terrible idea for him to be near Mimi and besides; he felt their bond that had died, pretty much and there was no love in Mimi's mind for him. He remembered what he had said in the shed and he had no idea why he had said it, or was it a volcano, but he could remember it.
I woke up in the downstairs medbay and I thought that my life was a freaking mess. I had finished a lovely but demanding time of being a trauma surgeon. Before that, we had had a wonderful time with Damon in those gigs. The fleas were next in line for my attention. Now I had been ready to do a bit of gigging again to draw up plans and blow up naughty installations. But no, he had captured me and was cruel and destructive. It had been almost the shed session of the year. Oh my. It was a bit of a recovery, but here we are.
I hadn't spoken to Damon at all. I just knew he had been healing me, yes. Charles told me. It took a few days for me to get myself in good enough shape to be able to walk and eat; I was in pretty good shape, meaning I had my muscles, and my body functioned pretty well. There was no need for Magnum rehab now and I was fit to do this just myself.
When it came to me and Damon, I was not sure did we still existed. Because what he had said in the shed, had been creepy enough but true enough to kill my love for him. There was nothing to love, everything he did with me, was to get some kind of justification for him to get to do shed session, or at least it felt like it.
I was not looking for that kind of relationship with anyone where my happiness would be something that I had to pay for. And there was no actual love in that relationship then.
I went to the Pennsylvania mansion again to get things organized, and a couple of excellent establishments were waiting for my attention. None of them were Sark institutions, but the man I was interested in had been linked to the group that had originally made me.
Yes, I remembered the doctor who more or less claimed to be responsible for what I did, but the truth that had emerged over the years was that there had been more than one researcher. I had killed some of them long ago, but this Indian man. This had been one of our primary targets for some time. I had no idea what had happened to Dr. Morrisey and Dr. Kendrick. They had disappeared fully a long time ago, and I suspect that the government had something to do with that. After all, they did conned the government.
This guy was a really nasty piece. If I had to think about who he looked like again, I'd say a cross between a Sendhil Ramamurthy and a Hari Dhilloin would be close. You wouldn't believe at some gala that this is a terrible guy. That's where I'm going to murder it, too. There was one gala coming up where these scientists used to come. I had very thin sticks of wood dipped in an extremely strong poison that couldn't be traced. Plus, they were biodegradable and saturated with vampire blood.
It would be easy. Walk by and poke; the stick was so thin you could hardly notice it, and it wouldn't enter the victim by more than an inch or two. It would break off naturally. The victim dies within half an hour of a heart attack, as seen by the autopsy of the body—or some other disease.
I examined my victims quite carefully and searched their medical records as widely as I could find. I had several poisons at my disposal and always chose the most natural way for the victim to die. This wouldn't be the first victim I'd nailed. No, no. I'd been doing these jobs for quite a while. But this was a quick and effective way. And discreet. I was one of the best assassins in the world. Or maybe the best, as no one knew who had been my victims, so there were technically no victims. Only I knew the truth, and this method would be untraceable.
I had reserved a green dress for myself, which was unusual. I had red hair, and green rarely suited me, but this was a very light green Armani satin dress, so I thought I'd go with it. One other advantage of these poisons was that I was immune to each one myself. These wouldn't affect me in any way. I was so ready.
I didn't tell anybody where I was going because, as a leader, I didn't have to. Adam and Charles had just had to deal with another Mimosa's heat, and she'd gotten Mirella into it again. There was a fuckfest going on. I had no idea if Damon was part of it or not and frankly; I did not care. I was on a mission. My killer instincts were once again awakened. It was not unusual for me to get a little more lethal after the shed session; it was a kind of reaction to that and this was just what I would need.
The party was in Delaware, and I would go to the house after the party if I didn't feel like going out. I organized over 50 blow-ups around the world in two weeks. It's good that a small network of five countries grew into a whole global one. I never would have believed it. It felt like so long time ago and I had been a fully different person, not so hardened as I am today and not so cynical. But life teaches you lessons even if you are not asking for them.
At least not at the time. I remembered our vampire wedding for fun. The three elders were long dead when Damon killed them, and I didn't know if anyone respected the unbroken tradition anymore. Does anyone care if I'm in a vampire alliance with Damon or not? We have the scars on our palms to prove it, but what that means in real life, I just don't know. I had no idea was it anymore anything special to Damon either as he had seen me as too young a vampire to be worthy of him and I was not familiar with vampire customs and the world so much so.
I got ready and got in my car. I drove to the venue, knowing this would be a quick and easy gig. I have one bad blind spot and always have. When I plan something, I can become overconfident because I'm always invincible. It is just that insignificant fact that slips from my mind that I am actually pretty damn wanted by so many evil medical facilities and I overlook that fact, not thinking things through and being cautious enough. It had not even gotten in my mind that they would look for me, or they would have some sort of tracking of my movements.
And especially if I'm going to kill someone, then this fault of mine really comes to the fore. In the same way that I've almost always been underestimated, I often underestimate my opponents. Or I overestimate my own abilities. It's because I'm pretty much immortal. Meaning I have this notion that I can take any hit, and any time and I am just strong enough, fast enough not to get caught and tortured.
I can't be killed. Not by any means. Plus, I'm a vampire hybrid with an ungodly amount of rage. With my rage, I can handle any situation. That's why I didn't even bother outfitting myself under my skin for this gig, because there's really no need.
I go in, find the victim, walk by, and that's it. I'll be at the party for maybe another half hour after that, and then I'll go back to the house and see for myself maybe some blast or kill or sniper games. There is no risk of me in there at all, right? What could go wrong with my brilliant plan? No need to back up, no need to anyone check things through, and no need for me to tell anyone.