Brian Lumley - Necroscope - Invaders

And Jake answered, 'But don't they sleep during the day?'

And again Lardis: 'In Starside, when the sun's rim came up over the barrier mountains, the Lords and Ladies usually ran to their northermost apartments. And there they slept — but even there with drapes at their windows! But if they were caught out in the open Sunside of the mountains, as occasionally happened, then they had to find caves or deep holes in the earth 'til nightfall/

Jake nodded, and said to Trask, 'So, do you think there are no "deep holes in the earth" in Xanadu? But that brochure says it all. Fancy fountains, swimming pools, saunas and gymnasiums. An aerial monorail, and a casino. I mean, do you think that all of that stuff is above ground? No, a complex like that is like an iceberg: you only see its tip. All the cellars and conduits; the pipelines, tunnels, sewerage, and water systems; the reservoirs, pump-, boiler-and storage-rooms, and refrigerators — they're all underground — or rather, they're on the old bed of the plateau, while the resort has been built above them. That's why the place looks so clean and uncluttered.. p>

Trask blinked, shook his head as if to clear it, and said, 'Do you know, I believe you could be right? This creature we're looking for could be right there, in or under Xanadu!' He tossed the brochure onto the table. 'A place like that, where we would least expect to find him!' Then once more he said, 'Three days, and we have a lot to do… not least to prove our point, clear the way before we can take any real action/

'Prove our point?' Liz looked at him.

'Make sure we're on the right track/ Trask nodded. 'So we can be certain when we go in that what we want is there. And as for clearing the way: well, the Gibson Desert job was one thing but Xanadu is quite another. All of those people; we'll have to find a way to get them out of there before we go in — and without arousing anyone's suspicion.. Then, offering another curt nod: p>

'Right, so let's get to it. This night is still young, but there may be only three of them left.'

Heading for a door leading to an outer room, where the SAS Commanders were poring over their maps, Trask's heart was a little lighter; for now at least he had something to tell them. But before leaving, he turned and said, lan, David, Liz — and you, too, Jake — I'm very grateful. You've all worked well, despite initial doubts. But today was only your first time out and you're not finished yet. I want you all back in those Skytours choppers again tomorrow. So, maybe we have struck it lucky this first time, but who knows what else could be hiding out there?' Then he looked at his technicians: the gnomish Harvey, and the gangling Paul Arenson.

'But there are more skills than this freaky stuff that we espers use — or that uses us, whichever,' he said. 'Our ghost-talents may serve us well, but without your gadgets for back-up they wouldn't be nearly as effective. So well done, all of you. And now get your thinking caps on and try to look ahead. Jimmy: dig up some plans of Xanadu, its subsurface systems, et cetera, lan: please draft a comprehensive record of this meeting. Paul: it's late now, but first thing tomorrow ensure I have access to Prime Minister Blackmore's office so that I can organize a liaison with someone on this marine park thing.'

Turning away, he offered one of his rare smiles and said: 'And that, I think, is that. Now I have to speak to our Australian friends. I'll see you all in the morning…'

The next day, a Saturday, they split the teams up. Lardis, Jake and Liz were together on the northern routes (Trask didn't want Liz anywhere near Xanadu); Goodly and Chung flew south, each of them hoping to complement the other's strange talent.

The trips were mainly uneventful; the precog's mind was a frustrating blank — at least where the future was concerned — and the locator daren't get too close to Xanadu in case someone, or something, should locate him! But in any case and as per Trask's orders, they were looking at different mountains this time out. As for Trask himself:

He had a very satisfying day, and when the teams returned to the safe house he was waiting to speak to them. This time he brought the SAS in on it — at least for the first stage of his briefing. For while it wasn't his intention to explain his findings in their entirety (the way E-Branch had used its combined paranormal talents to discover their targets) still he did have to display those targets, and advise these men as best possible on what they would be up against.

This was done with the aid of the wall screen; Trask supplied the narrative:

'This island in the Capricorn Group — its grid reference is shown alongside — is our secondary target. Now, I've called it an island, but in fact it's little more than a rock or coral reef. It has a few trees, some other tough vegetation; nothing much to mention. It was a marine park conservation station some years ago but that moved to Heron Island, forty miles away. All that's there now is the reef, a shallow lagoon, a private villa on the island, and, we presume, our enemies. But I have to emphasize that they are probably lesser enemies, which is to say we don't think they're of the order of unpleasantness that we were obliged to deal with in the Gibson Desert. However, and having said that, you should remember that they will be vampires.

'How many of them? No more than five or six, which is six too many. But with a chopper, a hired vessel, and half a dozen or so of your men — along with Jake Cutter here and Lardis Lidesci from our side — that should be sufficient. You, which is to say the military, will have command; but you'll listen very carefully to Lardis, and you'll take his advice in the… the handling of whatever you find on that island. Take my word for it, Lardis is the foremost authority in these matters.

Very well, what can you expect to find in the villa? The master of the house for one, a man of some fifty-eight years of age. Easy? But he'll be a vampire, and as strong as any four or five of your men! Then there'll be his married daughter and her husband, also his son and possibly a woman friend. The worst of them will be a fourth man, not family, who we think will be acting in the role of their keeper. And he will be dangerous, much more so than the others.

'Now, the problem is this: some if not all of these people will look and act perfectly normal. A bit edgy, perhaps. But if you were to strand your boat on the beach there, they'd probably help out; they might even call the coastguard for assistance. That's because they want to appear normal, because they daren't be discovered for what they really are — not until their master decides they're no longer of any use to him, or her. So, assuming it's a "him" for the time being, what use are they to him?

'Well, for one, the island is a bolthole: it's a place for the Vampire Lord to hide in the event he gets driven out of his aerie. So in fact it's much similar to the Old Mine Gas Station in the desert. You must plan to take it out accordingly and, if necessary, in exactly the same way. With an air strike, yes, if it comes down to that — though of course we'd vastly prefer the kind of hit at which you people so excel: seek and destroy, and as quickly and quietly as possible.

'And that's about it, all you need to know about this secondary target for the time being. But I would like to take this opportunity to remind you: you won't be taking any prisoners…

'Which leads me to your main target. Xanadu, the so-called "health and pleasure resort" high in the Macphersons. And so it is a resort, but only as a front for the ugly Thing that's runing the show.

'And here's another problem: this time we don't know — we have no idea — how many men he's vampirized. The only thing we can say for sure is that when they know they're being hit, then they'll protect their master with all that's left of their miserable lives.