_*]:min-w-0 !gap-3.5">Viktor smmed his fist into the sanctuary wall, the concrete cracking beneath the impact. Blood—not his own—still stained his clothing from the facility extraction. His mind repyed Elena's capture in an excruciating loop, her final telepathic message echoing in his consciousness.

  Go. Complete the mission.

  "We're going back. Now." His voice carried the deadly calm that Runner had learned to recognize as most dangerous.

  "That's suicide," Runner said, positioning himself between Viktor and the exit. The young man's courage in the face of a vampire's rage was remarkable. "You go in there half-crazed, you die. Elena dies. Everyone dies."

  Viktor's eyes fshed crimson, the predatory instincts he usually controlled with such precision surging without Elena's stabilizing influence. He took a deliberate step backward, recognizing the danger in his own reaction.

  "There are people who can help," Runner continued cautiously. "People who've been fighting Keller longer than we have."

  "Humans?" Viktor's skepticism was evident.

  "Resistance fighters. Former military. They have resources, intelligence networks. And they've been watching Keller's facility for months."

  Viktor's scientific mind began to override his emotional turmoil, calcuting probabilities, potential resources, tactical advantages. "Take me to them."

  The abandoned bomb shelter had been converted into a functional resistance base, with communications equipment, weapons caches, and the unmistakable energy of disciplined preparations. As Runner led Viktor into the central chamber, conversation ceased instantly. A dozen fighters reached for weapons with practiced efficiency.

  A woman with close-cropped gray hair and the bearing of a career officer stepped forward, her eyes assessing Viktor with clinical precision. "So this is your vampire ally, Runner. Interesting choice."

  "Commander Davis," Runner began, "Viktor has critical intelligence on Keller's operation. And their team successfully extracted research data from the central boratory."

  Davis's expression remained skeptical. "And left one of their own behind."

  Viktor's control slipped momentarily, a faint growl escaping before he mastered himself. "Elena Petrova is my research partner and—" he paused, the word inadequate for what Elena had become to him, "—colleague. She possesses unique knowledge of vampire biology and Keller's evolutionary program. Her recovery is essential."

  "Recovery," Davis repeated ftly. "Not revenge?"

  "Both," Viktor admitted, his scientific honesty overriding tactical consideration.

  Davis studied him for a long moment before nodding to one of her lieutenants. "Show our guest what we've been working on."

  The lieutenant hesitated. "Commander, he's still—"

  "A vampire, yes. I haven't forgotten." Davis turned back to Viktor. "You want our help? Prove your value first."

  Viktor examined the collection of vampire restraint technologies with scientific interest despite his personal situation. The resistance group had developed several ingenious adaptations of standard weapons—silver-edged bdes, specialized tranquilizers, UV projection systems.

  "Effective against newly-turned," he observed, handling one of the devices. "But Keller's inner circle includes vampires with decades of adaptation. These would barely slow them down."

  Davis watched his reaction carefully. "And what would?"

  Viktor met her gaze directly. "I can show you."

  The training session transformed the dynamic between Viktor and the resistance fighters. With precise, scientific detail, he demonstrated vampire physiological weaknesses, movement patterns, and sensory limitations. His analysis of their existing weapons revealed critical fws while suggesting specific modifications. Throughout, his deteriorating condition became increasingly evident—the slight tremor in his hands, the occasional pse in focus, the constant effort required to maintain his humanity.

  "You need blood," Davis observed bluntly after the third hour.

  Viktor's jaw tightened. "I'm managing."

  "You're failing," she countered. "And a liability in that state."

  One of the fighters stepped forward—a young medic with steady hands. "I volunteer."

  Viktor shook his head sharply. "Elena developed stabilizing compounds. Synthetic alternatives. Her research notes—"

  "Won't help if you're feral when we breach the facility," Davis interrupted. "Make your choice, scientist. Control your feeding or remove yourself from this operation."

  The decision reflected everything Elena had taught him about scientific pragmatism. Viktor accepted the medic's offered wrist with clinical precision, taking only what was necessary, his control absolute despite his hunger.

  When he raised his head, Davis was watching with newfound respect. "Maybe Runner was right about you."

  In Keller's boratory, Elena maintained perfect stillness as technicians collected blood samples. Her scientific mind categorized everything—equipment configurations, security protocols, staff rotations. The physical discomfort was irrelevant compared to the data she was accumuting.

  "Remarkable adaptation rate," Keller observed, reviewing her test results. "Viktor's modification of the transformation process was genuinely innovative."

  Elena remained silent, conserving her strength while gathering intelligence. Through the faintest thread of their telepathic connection, she sensed Viktor's determination despite the distance between them. It wasn't emotion that sustained her—it was scientific certainty. He would come for her, not because of sentiment, but because it was the logical conclusion to their research partnership.

  In the meantime, she would be what she had always been: a scientist. Observing. Analyzing. Preparing.

  "The primary challenge is the security system," Viktor expined, indicating sections of the facility schematics spread across the pnning table. The resistance members gathered around, their initial distrust gradually giving way to tactical focus.

  "We've identified six potential entry points," Davis added, "but the biometric authentication—"

  "Can be bypassed," Viktor finished. "Elena and I developed countermeasures specifically for Keller's systems."

  Runner, who had been monitoring communications, approached with renewed urgency. "We've intercepted facility transmissions. They're accelerating something called 'Phase Epsilon.' Scheduled implementation within seventy-two hours."

  Viktor's expression darkened with scientific concern rather than emotional reaction. "Keller's evolutionary program. If he's moving to implementation phase, we have less time than anticipated."

  Davis studied him with the evaluating eye of a commander assessing a potential ally. "Are we rescuing your partner or stopping a vampire apocalypse?"

  "Both," Viktor replied, the scientist in him embracing the logical truth. "They've always been the same mission."

  The alliance formed not through sentiment but through tactical necessity—human resistance fighters and a vampire scientist united against a greater threat. As they bent over the facility schematics, Viktor felt the absence of Elena's scientific insight like a physical wound. But her capture had not ended their work; it had merely changed the parameters of the experiment.

  And Viktor had always been an exceptional scientist.