Erasure and Affirmation (Hypernaturals 11)

She Does It All The Time

Fully clothed people kept looking into the shower at the two of us and reading the thermometer. Denise stayed in with me and read off the numbers to every fresh inquirer.

"If you need to take a break, let me know. I can help with that." Vera said to Denise

"If you want in here, just fucking crawl in here." Denise said. "I'm not leaving."

"That would really squeeze us together." Vera noted.

"So?" Denise asked. "I doubt this is contagious. They gave it to him with a dart."

"Maybe in a while." Vera said.

I heard some noises I could not identify.

Morgan and Jessica checked me over from outside the shower. Touched me everywhere.

Morgan IR'ed me for Jessica. Jessica has IR of course, but nothing like Morgan's "He has hot spots. Skin temp is fairly uniformly hot, however all the lymphatic system is lit up like a solstice display. A massive whole body infection."

"Lab said flu-like virus. I thought lymphatic would be more bacterial in nature?" Denise queried.

"The lymphatic system is involved in pretty much all immune system responses. It is modified in Vampires to have additional abilities to determine 'Friend or Foe' so that the Vampire body rejects all foreign invaders." Jessica explained. "We live in the same sea of microscopic invaders humans do. The difference is that we are far better at warding them off. There are Flu strains that can make us ill. Usually for half a day or so. That the lab saw something flu-like, and that Adrian is having this response to it makes me think the Sirens did something. Engineered something." Jessica said.

"If Sirens have genetic engineering capabilities, we have never come across that. On the other hand, we have never seen or heard anything about the facility that Wyatt and Ginger mentioned seeing black ops money going to." Denise sighed. "Vera. Get in here. I need to make calls." Denise said.

"OK." Vera said, and she and Denise swapped places. Sirens are not as cool to the touch as Vampires, but maybe I can find a way to tease her about her hickeys.

"You know I only have a fever. I can still stand on my own." I told Vera, once she was in the shower and putting the thermometer in my mouth.

"Shh. Keep your mouth closed around the thermometer. Keep it under your tongue." Vera admonished. "Good Vampire."

I heard Denise get on the phone. "Hi. Denise again. Anything new? OK. Stay on it." She hung up and dialed again. "Anne? I need a full Op put together for that Jersey address we got from Ginger and Wyatt. Surveillance to start, however that is just intelligence gathering. We need to know when they do what, down to the minute. I need to have a plan to go in there. I think it's an anti-Vampire bio-weapons lab. It needs to be immediately surrounded and observed now. With this attack on Adrian, they may try to move or take off, if they suspect we know where it is. No. I am not sure. It is the best we have right now."

Denise hung up. She said to someone out there not in the shower: "That looks... Interesting" she said.

"Thank you." Mom said. "Ready when you are, Jessica."

"Vera. Bring Adrian out here." Jessica said loudly.

Vera turned off the water, opened the curtains, grabbed towels, and dried me off.

"I am not helpless." I said.

"Shut up and let a Siren enjoy her work." Vera replied as she buffed.

"I get to do you then." I said.

"That was the idea." Vera agreed. "Be gentle here though. Some brute bruised the fuck out of my boobs."