Annihilate (Hive Trilogy #3)(18)
We were all hanging on Ryder’s words. I don’t think anyone was even breathing so as not to miss anything. Because this was it. Finally we were going to be taking action.
He continued: “I was up early this morning, and managed to get a secure, coded call through to Lucas.”
Involuntarily I lurched toward him then, my hands lifting of their own accord. Ryder noticed, and answered before I could reach out and grasp onto his shirt. “Tessa’s fine, and so is Blake.” I relaxed back again, realizing how truly afraid I’d been for her. “From what I could infer, they’re playing their part, acting as if we have all betrayed the Hive, and that they hate ash. Lucas said there’s not much he can do right now. They put him in the pit for a few days and now have him under strict surveillance. It’s only his money and power stopping them from killing him. He did have some ideas of how we could get the cure into each of the Hives at the same time.”
I was excited to hear Lucas’ ideas.
“Every three months, all of the Hives receive a shipment from the blood banks, and at the same time there’s a turnover of human feeders. The government requires all volunteer feeders be changed quarterly to keep them healthy. The new feeders all have to report to a few select hospitals across America. There they have their blood checked, catalogued, and then they are shipped out to Hives across the country.”
Damn, I knew so little about this world. Why did I not pay attention in these classes? I hated when I wasn’t as informed as I needed to be. “So the humans who we and the vamps feed from could be from anywhere?” I asked. “How is it that Tessa managed to get into Portland Hive? She never said anything about her blood being tested.”
Jayden answered me, and I realized that we actually had a very good source of information sitting right here in this room, the very ash who’d been front line in the feeding center. He did the paperwork, he would know all about this stuff. “Tessa had all the paperwork. It was correctly filed and everything. I think maybe someone in the Quorum, Fugly perhaps, forged it and rushed her through so she was always there to be used as a weapon against you. Right from the start it was all in play, even before they knew what you were.”
Fuck! Made sense, but still…
Oliver posed the next important question. “How many of these hospitals are there across the world? Because this sort of plan needs to go down on the same day. Otherwise the Hives will lock down and we’ll never get to the vamps again. Our timing must be perfect.”
Jayden answered: “Two in America: Texas and California. They transport blood and humans out to North and South America. There are three in the UK and Europe: London, Belgium, and Sweden. And finally there is one in Indonesia, which only deals in bottled blood, not humans. It’s massive though, shipping out to Australia, Japan, and China. These are the only other countries with Hives, and each only has one. Their human governments are not as lenient as the American one, and vamps were mostly killed off there, allowing only a small percent of the vampire population to live.”
Jared nodded. “Yep, my old Hive in Brisbane does not allow any more cullings or new vampires. All ash and newly changed vamps are killed upon turning, unless you can convince another Hive to take you. The vampires stay holed up in their massive compound, and only use bottled blood. So we don’t have to worry about humans going there for feedings.”
“So these shipments happen every three months,” I said. “Do we know when the next date is?”
Jayden grinned, and I took that as a good sign. “We’re in luck. The Christmas shipment is due to be processed in about three weeks. Which means if we can somehow get the cure into their blood supply and into the humans before then … well, we might be vampireless by Christmas.”
Ryder straightened. “If Becca is done by then, getting the cure into the blood won’t be too difficult. But how will it work with the humans? We’ll need to make sure it not only enters their blood but stays in there long enough for them to make it to their many destinations.”
All eyes went to the science geek in the room. If anyone was going to know about blood and stuff, it was Becca. She blinked a few times, pushing her glasses up in a nervous, awkward manner. “Uh, well, I can definitely give the cure the ability to stay in the blood, but those cells do not last indefinitely. Red blood cells last about four months and white a little longer. It’ll all depends how the cure bonds to the human cells. I need to do some experimenting once I create it. I’m going to need a vampire or two to test on.”
No one blinked or looked horrified by her suggestion for vamp testing. I for one thought it was a much better idea than testing on an innocent animal. I wasn’t planning on getting consent from a vamp.
Jared even chuckled. “That can easily be arranged. I know more than a few vamps who could stand to be poked and prodded a little.”
Nods all around. None of us were fans of our sires.
Jayden, who must have been mulling over Ryder’s previous words, piped up then. “All of the humans are required to undergo blood tests, and to receive a vaccine that covers them for the flu and some other illnesses. The vamps don’t like their subjects to get sick while they’re working for them. If we could get the cure into the flu shot, or whatever it is, then we could make sure the humans and bottled blood are covered all in one go. And I think the easiest way with the cure is to somehow infiltrate the Cellway warehouse. That’s the company who makes the special UV resistant bottles for the blood. Get the cure into the bottom of those bottles, pose as delivery drivers, then drop cure-laced bottles off. The blood will then be added to the cure without them knowing.”