The awakenings of the other prisoners in the van went much the same way as the first male vampire to rouse. There was swearing, in some cases futile attempts to escape the cage, and most of them ignored Reggie completely. Fledgling vampires were worth no one's attention, except, maybe, for the master who had turned them.

One of the women proved to be a werewolf rather than a vampire when she shifted into a huge furred beast and tried to use brute force to kick the door off her pen. When the electricity and herbal substance didn't deter her, some sort of jet opened above her and sprayed her directly in the face with a clear liquid. It made her howl and cower in the bottom of her cage, so whatever it was, was effective.

The smell that reached Reggie was once again a mixture of chemical and herbal, so much so that she couldn't identify it.

No one else misbehaved.

Reggie spent the entire journey just watching and doing very little, but even she sat forward a little when they finally stopped and the engine cut out. The lights dipped a little for a moment, but there was soon the sound of something being clipped to the side of the van and the lights came back to full brightness. However, it went quiet again after that.

It was just beginning to occur to Reggie that the van might be intended as their permanent home when the engine started up again. This time the vehicle moved backwards and only for a short distance. There was more whirring and clicking and then a very final thunk. Something was definitely about to happen.

"When the door to your cage opens, walk to the back of the van. When the door of the van opens, step through. Follow the lights on the floor and obey any further instructions."

The voice was speaking Romanian and came from all around the van. Reggie couldn't identify exactly where the speakers were. Then again, it was unsettling, so she guessed that was the idea.

It was a bit of a shock when her door popped open first. She peered out, but didn't move.

"I don't speak Romanian," she said, as if she was not sure what to do.

Nothing happened for a few second.

"Go to the door," came the instruction eventually in English, and she noted that the voice did not have an Eastern European accent. "Step through and follow the lights."

"Have fun, Little English Girl," the male vampire said as she climbed out of her cage.

She gave him a glare, but let it melt into anxiety almost immediately. Her acting skills were A-list, even if she did say so herself, after all her life often depended on them. Whoever had her were very well organised, so she made sure to be as unthreatening as possible.

The door hissed and slid back, revealing that it had been held closed with some seriously heavy duty hydraulics. Her captors had been very intent on making sure none of their captives could escape if they got out of their cages.

Outside there was a dimly lit corridor that looked like it had been lifted from an 80s scifi film. There were two steps down from the van, which appeared to now be bolted into the wall like an airlock. As soon as her feet touched the floor of the corridor a small stream of red lights lit up.

"Follow the lights," the voice insisted when she hesitated.

There were UV strips and armoured jets in the ceiling here, just like in the van, so she did as she told. It was no time to test her captors' resolves, not until she knew more.

The lights led her round two corners, past a couple of heavily armoured doors to one that was open. Inside was another corridor, but this one had clear fronted cells down both sides. The lights led her to one furthest from the door on the left.

As she walked past the others, all of which were empty, she considered not complying. Once she was in the cell it was likely to be harder to get out, but she didn't know the full capabilities of those holding her. She was not a vampire and, hence, she was immune to a lot of their weaknesses, but these people had been able to knock her out in the bar. Finally, deciding on caution, she stepped over the threshold.

Not unexpectedly, a clear door immediately closed behind her.

Reggie fingered the cuff of her shirt and the homing device hidden in the button. All she had to do was attach it to something electrical and it would send a signal along the power lines, alerting the other members of her team to her whereabouts. She had no doubts they would be able to come and get her. That wasn't the problem. She just wasn't sure it was a good idea to expose the organisation to whoever was holding her.

What she was short of was information. Lack of intelligence was what had landed her in this mess to begin with, she didn't want to exacerbate the situation by dragging in the others. The mission was far too important. Sitting tight and gathering data seemed like the best idea, so she took a seat and waited.

Each of the other captives in the van were brought in one by one and made to walk into their cells. No one was stupid enough to argue, until the last. It was another male vampire and he stopped in the hallway.

"Step into the cell," the voice told him in Romanian.

"No."

"You have five seconds to comply...4...3...2...1."

The overhead strip lights flashed on and Reggie saw the door to her cell darken. There was no such protection for the male vampire. He yelled and tried to cover his face as smoke immediately erupted from his skin.

"Stop, stop," he begged, staggering into his cell, but the lights were not turned off.

He couldn't have fed lately because he had no resistance. Smoke became fire, which burned brightly like a firework, and over a course of a minute he turned to ash.

"Disobedience will not be tolerated," the voice said.

The lights went off again. Reggie had to admire her captors' ruthlessness.

~*~

A/N: Dear Open Novella peeps - this is approx the 2K mark (2061wds)