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"I must find this man myself, sir, and the problem is that he spreads a disease It is better to trust noone who has been infected I need a conveyance into the capital-the quickest route possible"

Grant nodded, still watching him

"General, the president&039;s life lies in the balance"

Grant stood "I will see that you are accoraph out And I will help you hatever provisions and God&039;s speed that I am able to supply"

"Thank you," Finn told hiet to the president, let him know this personally from me I have General Lee all but pinned down here" He pointed to the map "He is low onthe noose of the blockades and knows that there is nothing more than what he has If Lee will surrender, the South will be broken God help me, I fear that I will sacrifice thousands ood ht well have stopped the war years ago, had he only agreed when Lincoln asked hilass "To my enemy May he survive, and may we end this quickly, while Alass in turn, feeling Grant&039;s determination, and his sorrow

DUSK FELL AND THE USS Freedoain by the guards of the defense system that surrounded the capital

Tara was on deck when they at last erly exa there It had taken them nearly two full days to arrive, and she was heartily afraid that danger and death ht well have arrived before them But, there was a bustle about everywhere, and it see in the shipyard, and the guard that greeted them as they debarked was fierce

Captain Tremblay immediately wanted to know if there had been any disturbance in the area; they were assured that there had not been

Lieutenant John Dahlgren, in charge of the yard, was absent, overseeing the launch of a new ship, but a Captain Myers was at the officers&039; building, a beautiful residence with terraces and built-in brick, cleanly painted and welcolow of a bright new moon and the many lamps that burned around the busy area, the yard presented a strange spectacle of peace; across the river Tara could see sloping fields and far Captain Tremblay, with Richard and Dr MacKay at her side, she hurried toward the officers&039; building

Many soldiers and sailors were housed there as the war progressed Tara kept a sharp eye on the men they passed as they were escorted in and led to an office on the second floor They entered alone, and soon after, Captain Myers ca reeted them with a salute, and while he asked the "Sir! It&039;s iht have ht hours, and of any disturbance, no ht have occurred in that tie of an especially heinous anddiseased spy as atte to arrive and, from here, attack the president of the United States!"

"Captain Tremblay, please, sir, take a seat We&039;ve had no such arrivals, nor have we endured the least disturbance I can see to it that you and your crew are housed for the night, and that your ship is refurbished, and then send you on your way again" He stared pointedly at Tara "Missould your function be on this journey?"

"I know the spy," she said "I can point hi into a half smile "Miss, trust me, at this point of the e have dealt with ton society, Mrs Rose Greenhoas caught for her espionage for the Southern front She abided for a while in prison, and was sent south I hear that the won assistance for the Rebels You see, we have learned, and ill prevail"

Tara stood, placing her hands on the desk "Lieutenant, this is a spy like no other The le with the officers, enlisted men and shipbuilders here This ure wanted by the Pinkerton agency-is talented beyond all expectations We are also expecting a Pinkerton agent to have arrived here in pursuit of this spy"

"Dunne isn&039;t with you?" Lieutenant Myers asked

He knew about Finn There was only one way

Tara gave a hard look at the man&039;s eyes And she saw the little rinized hi sound, curling his lips back as he pounced from behind his desk He leaped toward her, but he was no Billy Seabold Captain Tre his naval sword, but Tara didn&039;t need his assistance to ward off the led to reach her Captain Treh to the front, but not before the ed to choke out a loud cry

As Tremblay retrieved his sword from the body and Tara threw theof footsteps in the hall,the cry of alarh!" Tara cried, wrenching Myers&039;s sword from its hilt Tre

"Lord, they&039;ll think us murderers!" Dr MacKay said

"He&039;s here-Billy Seabold is here," Tara answered hiot to defend ourselves And try not to kill the innocent"

"He ht already be headed to the White House," Richard warned

There was a thunderous pounding at the door Tara hurried to it and threw it open "He&039;s diseased! The lieutenant was diseased There are others out there noill try to kill you, as well," she quickly told the fiveat her "Help us Before God, you&039;ve got to help us"

"Murder!" one of the rabbed Tara "Get out of here while you can They&039;ll io!"

"They&039;ll kill you!" she argued

One had raised a rifle She flew at hi the rod He stared at her, backing away in diss at two others Captain Treht froainst the head of the fourth ht to the jaw They could hear footsteps on the stairs and all around theo!" Tara cried

She ran toward the stairs andup them "Out the ! The attacker leaped out the !" she cried, and the troop ofdown the stairs

They followed

But when they reached the serenity of the terrace, they were suddenly roup of men Tara paused, and those who had co for an attacker that had gone out the

The group didn&039;t move

"What&039;s the matter with you men?" a lieutenant de us!"

Thesound Those in the front began to bare their fangs and move forith deadly intent

"Their heads! Go for their heads, men!" Captain Tremblay shouted

Tara found herself in theafter her, one after another, as if they knew she was the eneht theainst her Even as others tried to step in to come to her aid, they were batted off, stabbed, attacked and left behind

And as she fought, trying and then failing to keep Captain Tremblay, Richard and Dr MacKay in view, she realized that she was being herded back toward a s

She had no choice; she kept backing away, defending herself, slipping aith all speed only to discover that at least ten of the ain She killed one, two, threeand still, they kept co She was forced up the steps to the house, and the door opened, and she was forced in?

And suddenly, the one

She turned, and saw Billy Seabold, noearing a Union brigadier general&039;s uniform He smiled at her from the bottom of the house&039;s staircase

"Welcoain what a uising his er self

He smiled "I have conac here, and it&039;s been blended with the most delicious mixture of blood!"

"Human blood?" she asked "I think not"

"Oh, co to die, which is such a shame-you&039;re truly such a beautiful creature! Butalas, I don&039;t think I can bend you to , and thus, my dear, no er to me"

Tara followed him to the table He didn&039;t seem to be afraid of her behind him; he was barely aware of the bloodied sword she still carried He knew that she couldn&039;t leave by way of the front door; she would be forced back by the number of his creatures

"What I want to know," she told him "What I&039;d truly like to understand, is why?"

"Because I like the South!" he told her gleefully "Lincoln must die, and our way of life in the South race, the horses?" she demanded

"Tara! You are a Southerner," he said withthe hospitality, the beauty of the country, the horse, and I believe that this war is proving it No hed "Own another"Oh, I enjoy blood of all varieties, but in the South How many question the death of a slave?"

"The death of a hu!"

He slammed the decanter of fiery red liquid he had lifted back on the table

"I have the power toto drink with iven you a bit of strength A fighting chance"

He smiled, and he started toward her

FINN ARRIVED IN THE MIDST of chaos

Men were battling men everywhere; it was much as it had been on the ship He procured a horse near the rail line and rode into theother roup of them "The eyes, men, it&039;s in the eyes! Look to the eyes for a hint of red, and don&039;t kill those not infected!"

He was surprised when the clash of swords ceased, and then began again

"Finn!" His na the horse forward, he found that Richard, bloodied froer to meet hiet to her! She&039;s back that way Go! He had her forced into his place, and, oh, God Please go!"

Finn didn&039;t wait for a second urging He kneed the gelding he&039;d taken and rode the great horse through the crowds of fightingnear the officers&039; building, they began to forain and again The gelding reared high, but he held his seat, and hethe animal&039;s front hoofs to beat down soan to throw the to die to stop hih the back of his ar down the offender, and ruing the weakness the injury would cause He kneed the gelding again, and kicked its ribs, silently apologizing to the ani forward

He&039;d reached the porch, and he ju the door behind hi theHe heard a crash, and he rushed from the entry into the parlor

He arrived just in tiainst the wall near the fireplace, and sank to the floor Billy Seabold strode toward her, aware that Finn had entered, though apparently not at all alarmed

"Love! True love!" Billy Seabold said "Or is it honor? Whichever, foolish e to look at Finn "What idiots," he said flatly "You ht have lived as ere intended to live, the top of the food chain, rulers of the world Well, pity, but you both shall die" He laughed "And how strict and stern and uppity you were, Agent Dunne! A Pinkerton How a to keep his attention froain her feet

"You can&039;t live a men if you can&039;t learn to live in peace, Seabold," he said

"Peace? The hu one another up!"

"Because they believe differently on issues," Finn said "But they don&039;t seek to murder one another"

"But they do"

"When they want nothing but blood lust, the law catches up with the," Seabold said "They want to kill one another? I&039; the task on for them"

"There will be peace Abraham Lincoln will live, and there will be peace"

"No, I think not," Billy Seabold said He turned his attention back to Tara, walking toward her She had lost her sword As Seabold approached her, Tara suddenly hissed and showed her own fangs

Seabold laughed "Bite ht, too," she told hier, fighting, ripping Finn ht hi around Finn&039;s throat He eakened from the slash on his arm, but he knew that he couldn&039;t show the least frailty Seabold thought that he had thehed, avoiding Tara&039;s gnashing fangs, she twisted suddenly, and caught hied to lift his sword, and thrust it into their eneuard, Billy Seabold dropped them both Tara fell to the floor, but Finn was immediately ready when Seabold drew his sword Finn placed his injured left arht for his life with his right

They thrust and parried; Seabold bounced away, ski off the wall to come at Finn from the back, but he turned in tiht the weakness in the other ht the vampire&039;s throat He ducked one blow, and jus

At last, with desperation and deadly aiot in a fortunate thrust He pinned his enemy by the shoulder to the wall Seabold looked at hi as he went to reach for the sword to rey-a way to maintain the lock on the monster before hiered up from the floor She made her way toward theed to thrust it into Seabold&039;s gut before falling down again herself

Finn withdrew his oord, backed away, and swung

Seabold&039;s head fell to the floor while his body convulsed, pinned to the wooden paneling by Tara&039;s weapon

Finn stood still for aat the door, and then a crash of glass as Seabold&039;s creatures broke through the s He forced hi her into his arh the mindless horde outside, the world suddenly fell to silence

Holding on to his neck, Tara whispered, "Where have they gone?"

He heard an explosion and realized that soh the front entry With Tara dearly in his arms, he hurried to the hallway, ready to take any means of escape until he could lay her safely down to shake off the effects of Seabold&039;s blood

But there were no monsters in the hallway

There were twoforward "We were called here on a discreet h the executive office "I believe that&039;s my sister you have in your aran Fox," she said "This is my husband, Cole And I&039;d like to introduce you to Cody&039;s wife-Alexandra I believe we have things under control now outside We have so with the post-battle cleanup We&039;ve been asked to bring you to meet someone"

Finn heard a soft sob and looked down Tara was just staring at the foursome who had joined them Then she looked up at him onder "I have family, Finn!"

He shted to go with you," he said, suess since you&039;re Tara&039;s brother, Cody Fox, I should get this out right now I&039;m really quite in love with your sister And, I must say, I&039;ve compro, I really do believe that you should give us your blessing to marry"

EPILOGUE

TARA SAT IN A STRAIGHT-BACK upholstered chair, across the desk from Abraham Lincoln She was tempted to draw out a hat pin and prick herself; it was still difficult to believe that she was here, and he was here, and that they were facing each other, in the flesh

But they were The night when they had finally bested Gator, they had come to the White House She discovered that her family had, indeed, been involved in the "war beneath the war," and that they were all acquainted Finn had made the introductions, and Abraham Lincoln had taken her hands, met her eyes and said, "We&039;ve met, I believe, many a time, in a dream"

She hadn&039;t been well She&039;d needed rest And they had all seen to it that she had gotten it, and it had been wonderful Her sister-her sister-had assured her that Richard and Captain Tremblay and Dr MacKay had all been found and were safely recovering from the minor wounds they had received, and she would have her audience with the president the next day

She had been so well guarded, and so well loved!

And Finn had asked to h It was Alexandra, Cody&039;s wife, who brought her to her appointment, and then left her And so, at last, she faced the real Abraham Lincoln, and they sat, a pot of tea between theood to see hiht back tears

"First, of course, I hly instru many lives I&039;ll not say Union lives-I pray daily that, soon, our great nation will begin the healing process, and those lives you saved, on the ship and in Key West, will be nothing lesser or greater than American lives"

"I see the world as you do, sir," she told him "And yes, Mr President, that&039;s why your life is so important, and why, I believe, I have haunted your drea down, sir, and with the latest deadly effort stopped, you ood, North and South, and men are fanatics, North and South"

"Of course," he said He rose, walked to theand looked out on the city of Washington, beautiful as spring now intruded fully upon the winter "We are born, we love, we see the world around us, and we find our place within it We all know laughter and happiness, and tragedy We are the saiven ural address, you know And I believe those atched and listened are as eager as I to see the healing begin"

"There will be those who cannot accept defeat," she told hirave "I had the dream" he said

She nodded "I know," she said softly "You saw yourself walking through the roo You saw the catafalque, and you wanted to knoho had died, and they told you the president"

He walked back to the desk, but he didn&039;t take his chair He sat on the edge of the desk, close to her, and said quietly, "No onepeace What must be understood is this-slavery cannot be In ainst God But there will be a long road ahead to educate those ere slaves, and it will be a far longer road ahead for men ever to look upon one another as equals States hts, because we are a nation of different areas, with different liabilities and different wonders And despite the pain and the bloodshed and bitterness that have been, we et That can&039;t be just one man, my dear That is a row Wounds take time to heal, and this country has been wounded to the core It will take years for the lesions to heal And yet, it&039;s the people who ether, like the blood in a man&039;s body, the flesh upon hireat body I know that you will go on, as others will go on And your words and your actions will help that healing That&039;s what you must understand I have known you in my mind, and I have seen you in el But no , you must remember that you, and those like you, will be the heart and soul of the new nation"

"But, sir, you don&039;t understand, truly you don&039;t, just how important you are," Tara said

He smiled "I am important only if the words I have said can live on in the hearts of others No reater than the nation Please, remember that Pray for the nation, Tara, and create a world wherein we can find peace"

They talked awhile longer, and when they had finished, she exited the White House to find that the sun was setting, and darkness was falling

And her family and Richard, Captain Tre for her

Finn stepped forward, and enfolded her into his ar late"

"Where are we going?" she asked

She looked into Finn&039;s eyes She tried to reined then that he could look at anyone with such tenderness

"You&039;re about to becoht, Miss Fox That is, if you&039;re willing," Finn said His voice was rich and husky and his eyes were a fire that proht

"Aye, I&039;, , but she heard church bells ringing

And the church was beautiful, hastily adorned with flowers by her newfound faave her ahile the others stood witness, Richard acting as bestas her matron of honor The words were all said, and she was married, and when they stepped into the street, Finn looked at her

"For us, the healing has begun!" he said softly

She kissed him, and the others applauded They had found their own peace, and in it, the strength to fight for a new nation, and a new beginning