by Ciana Stone
"I don't know. I need to think about this. Is there anything else I don't know about?"
Slats removed the glasses and handed them to Cord, vacating the chair. "More than you can believe."
Cord took the glasses. "Well, since I'm so rich how about a pizza and some beer?"
"Sure," Slats grinned and gestured to the chair. "Just tell Candy to call and have one delivered."
"You're kidding?" Cord looked at him in disbelief. Slats just grinned and left the room.
Cord sat and put on the glasses. "Candy?"
The image of the bank statement slid to one side of the screen and reduced in size. Candy appeared in the center of the display.
"How may I help you, Slats?"
"Well," Cord said, "first, my name's not Slats."
She shook her head, and the motion caused the long hair covering her to slide to one side and expose a breast. "That is an invalid statement," she replied. "Please repeat your request."
"Hum," Cord pressed his lips together and leaned back in his chair. He realized he had to be more careful formulating his sentences. "Candy, change my name from Slats to Cord."
"Please enter your authorization code," she politely responded.
He shook his head making the scene move rapidly back and forth in front of his eyes. "That's okay," he said, a little dizzy from the sight. "I'll change it later. Right now, I’d like to order a pizza."
"What would you like on it?"
"Black olives and hot peppers," he answered then added, "and double cheese."
He watched as a phone appeared in mid-air just in front of Candy. She picked up the receiver and dialed a number. From the miniature speakers built into the earpiece of the glasses he heard another voice. "Piz-za-re-ah, can I take your order?"
"I would like one large double cheese with black olives and hot peppers," Candy said. "And I will pay with American Express." Reciting the number, she then gave the address and hung up the phone which vanished.
Cord shook his head in amazement, causing the scenery to flash back and forth again. "While we're waiting for the pizza let's see what you have on Cord Alexander."
"Your pizza will arrive in thirty minutes or you do not have to pay," she informed him. "The information on Cord Alexander will take thirty-six hours to view. Are you ready to proceed?"
Cord couldn’t believe what he heard. Thirty-six hours? "No, let's change the time frame. How long will it take to view the information on just the last six months?"
"That will take thirty hours."
"Thirty hours?"
"That is correct," she smiled.
"Okay," he said, thinking hard. "Let's begin. But eliminate all redundant information."
The scene of Candy on the beach rolled away, replaced by a newscast. In it a reporter stood outside the Andrews County facility. The date of the broadcast was superimposed at the top of the screen.
The man looked into the camera with a serious expression. "Cord Alexander, one of the government's top system engineers, has been accused of stealing an undetermined amount of highly toxic waste containing an unspecified amount of plutonium. One ounce of plutonium can kill over five thousand people."
With a sinking feeling, Cord watched as the news casts rolled by, one after the other, telling of his suspected involvement in the theft and also of his disappearance. He was so caught up in what he heard and saw; he jumped when he felt a hand on his shoulder.
Directing Candy to stop the display he removed the glasses and looked up. "Pizza's here." Slats smiled down at him.
Chapter Ten
Washington, D.C.
Morgan flew to the door, flung it open and ran out to the car as it stopped in front of the house. "Cable!" she grabbed her daughter in a tight hug as Cable stepped from the limo.
"Hi, Mom!" Cable returned the hug, then pulled back. "Wow! This place is enormous!"
Morgan laughed then looked over as Trevor climbed out of the car. "Trevor!" she reached out to hug him. "I'm so glad you came!"
His body was tense as she squeezed him, but she hung on for a moment and some of the tenseness faded. After briefly returning the embrace he, broke away. "I brought someone with me."
"Cable told me you were bringing a friend," she replied, noticing a very odd expression come onto Cable's face.
Trevor stuck his head inside the car. "Hey, Bunny! Come on!"
A high-pitched nasal voice came from within the car. "Hey, man, keep your pants on!"
Morgan looked back over at Cable. "Bunny?"
Cable shook her head and leaned over to whisper. "Prepare yourself.”
Trevor was busy reaching into the car and dragging the girl out. Morgan's eyes widened as she got her first look at Bunny.
Dressed in a tight black leather miniskirt that was almost too short to even be considered a skirt, a see-through black net top, black leather jacket and cowboy boots, Bunny was indeed a surprise.
Her shoulder-length bleached blond hair hung in frizzy curls, while dark roots extended at least two inches from her scalp, announcing her true hair color. Her eyes were ringed in heavy black eyeliner and her lips were caked with bright red lipstick. With a complexion that testified an aversion to the sun and the heavy makeup, she looked like an extra from the cast of an undead movie.
Earrings dotted the entire rims of her ears and a large gold ring hung from one nostril. Her neck and legs were thin and bony but above the waistband of her tight skirt a roll of fat protruded.
To top off the effect, when she moved Morgan could see rings piercing each of her nipples through the transparent top.
"Mom, this is Bunny," Trevor was saying. "Bunny, this is my Mom, Morgan Windwalker."
Morgan was a little in shock, but Bunny was exuberant. "This place is fucking amazing!"
Then she looked at Morgan. "So, you're Trev's ol' lady? Hey, you look pretty good for an old broad."
Morgan looked from Bunny to Trevor who stared at her defiantly, daring her to say something about the girl. She paused a moment, reading the thoughts Trevor had no idea she could hear, and realized the game he was playing.
She turned back to the girl and smiled politely. "It's nice to meet you, Bunny," she said, in what she hoped was a sincere voice. "Why don't we all go inside? Lunch will be ready soon."
"Cool!" Bunny agreed. "I'm starving!" Wrapping one arm around Trevor's waist, she squeezed his behind. "Hey! What hotel is this anyway? I didn't see no sign or nothing!"
Morgan took Cable's arm and propelled her up the steps ahead of Trevor and Bunny. "How long has this been going on?"
"It started just about the same time he decided to come here with me," Cable answered.
"Okay," Morgan didn't know whether to be relieved or disappointed. Trevor really had no interest in the girl. He was just trying to give Morgan a dose of her own medicine, in his own way.
"Well," she leaned over toward Cable and laughed lightly, "it should be interesting."
Once inside, Morgan showed them to their rooms beginning with Cable. "The staff will have your luggage brought up," she said as she opened the door to the suite.
"This is beautiful!" Cable said admiringly.
"Yes," Morgan agreed. "Victor has wonderful taste. Now, come on, let me show you where you'll be staying, Trevor."
Trevor made some rude comment under his breath but followed Morgan down the hall a couple of doors and entered the suite. "It'll do," he commented as he looked around.
"Well, good," Morgan bit her tongue. "Now, Bunny, let's go have a look at your room."
"Hey, don't bother, Morgan!" Bunny raced over and plopped down on the bed. "I'll be crashing here with Trev."
Morgan looked over at Trevor, who looked down at the floor. "Well, of course," she replied. "If that's what you want."
Trevor looked up for a moment, long enough to mumble, "Yeah."
"Fine," she said cheerfully, "then why don't I show you the rest of the house?"
Bunny's voice grated on her nerves with its whining
high-pitched tone as she gave them a tour of the mansion. Every time Cable or Morgan tried to say anything Bunny would chime up with intelligent and thought-provoking comments such as "this fucking place is bigger than a fucking motel!"
Morgan took them downstairs. As they reached the door to the dojo Bunny let out a squeal and rushed past them into the room. The soles of her boots left long black streaks on the polished floor as she dashed in and slid around in excitement.
"Hey, Trev, this is even better than Bob's place!"
"Bob?" Morgan asked as she looked over at Trevor.
"Yeah," Bunny answered for him. "Bob's this real bad dude that runs this karate place in New York. That's where Trev and I met."
"You study martial arts?" Morgan asked, trying to hide the disbelief in her voice.
"Oh, yeah," Bunny puffed up her chest, tucked her chin in and swaggered over to Morgan. "Three years. Got my black belt in a year." She made a move that vaguely resembled a sloppily executed block and punch.
"Hey!" she said as if suddenly remembering something. "Trev told me you do some kind of karate shit too. If you want, I'll show you a thing or two, you know, give you some pointers."
"Oh, that's kind of you," Morgan suppressed a smile as Cable broke out in a giggle. "But I'm sure there are things you'd much rather do than waste your time with an amateur such as myself."
"Hey, no problem!" Bunny said. "Like I always say, us bitches gotta stick together so the dudes don't fuck us over. You know what I mean? And hey, us black belt types gotta do our part and help you little people."
"No, really," Morgan waved her hand. "I appreciate the offer, but I can't impose on you like that. Thank you anyway."
Cable got control of her giggles and spoke up. "I think that's a great idea. After all, I haven't had a chance to see Bunny in action–even though I've heard all about her expertise many many times. And Mom, you're always saying how one should always be open to new experiences and the lessons we can learn from them."
Trevor glowered at his sister, but she just grinned and egged it on. "Go on, Mom. It'll be fun!"
"Cool!" Bunny clapped her hands and pulled off her boots. "Hey, Trev! Take your shoes off and you can show your Mom some of your shit!" She looked up at Morgan. "Man, you should see him. He's bad as hell!"
"Really?" Morgan looked over at Trevor. "So, you’ve been practicing?"
"Some."
"And do you want to spar?"
Trevor looked at her, his sister, then Bunny. Morgan knew he felt put on the spot, trapped by the situation, and that irritated him. He was already mad to begin with because Morgan wasn't upset by his showing up with Bunny.
"Sure," he snapped. "That is, if you're not too bad out of shape to go a few rounds."
"I'll try to muddle through." Morgan smiled and gestured to one of the dressing rooms. "You'll find something to change into in there." Then motioning to Cable, she went into a private dressing area.
"I'm not sure this is such a good idea," she said as she changed.
"Why?" Cable asked and grinned. "Are you afraid of Bunny?"
Morgan smiled and shook her head. "Trevor isn't handling things any better at all from what I've seen. I don't think he's in any frame of mind to be doing this."
She and Cable walked back into the dojo and Cable sat down along the edge of the room with her back to the wall. "Well," she said with a shrug. "Maybe you're right. But I think it's time somebody knocked some sense in his head. You wouldn't believe what a pain in the ass he's been."
Bunny and Trevor entered and walked to the center of the room. Morgan smiled at Cable and walked over to Trevor and Bunny and bowed. Neither of them returned the bow. It didn’t surprise her that Bunny didn't. But Trevor had refrained as an insult.
"Okay," she shrugged, "what now?"
"You first, Trev!" Bunny pushed him toward Morgan, and he cut her a sharp look.
"Hey, man!" she grinned, misinterpreting the look. "Don't worry. I'll jump in if you can't handle it." Then she burst out laughing in long loud honking sounds and pounded Trevor on the shoulder. "Pretty good, huh? If you can't handle your ol' lady?"
"Shut up, Bunny!" Trevor snapped at her then looked at Morgan. "You ready?"
"As I'll ever be," she replied nonchalantly.
"Kick ass, man!" Bunny yelled.
Trevor stepped forward with a strong front kick toward Morgan’s face. She waited calmly until the last moment, then pivoted on her left foot, moving her body to the side, out of the way of the kick. Just as his foot reached chest height, she delivered a counter kick. Her right leg came up, meeting the underside of his outstretched leg. The blow acted in concert with his own momentum, lifting him up and dumping him onto his back on the floor.
His face was red with rage and embarrassment as he jumped up and rushed at her. He threw a right punch, aiming for her face. But she swung her left arm up, twisting her body at the same time to add the weight of her body to the block. Their arms met and his was pushed back out to the side. But his reactions were fast. Quickly, he struck out with his left fist. Morgan shifted, twisting her body back around and swinging her right forearm. Once again, the impact deflected his blow and pushed his arm away.
Before he could react, she nailed him in the chin with her palm and snapped his head back. A split second later her right arm swung up under his left armpit, wrapping around his shoulder as she stepped into the movement. Leaning in, she forced him down in a tumble to the floor.
Trevor bounded to his feet and jumped at her with his leg extended in a sidekick. But his foot never made contact. Morgan bent her left leg, raising her right leg up parallel with the floor and at the same time dropping. The thigh of her extended right leg contacted the floor and she tucked herself into a ball and rolled backward feet over head, springing to her feet lightly.
Trevor's momentum carried him sailing over her to land in a crouch. In a whirl he turned to see her standing calmly behind him. His next kick was a high karate style round kick with his right leg.
Morgan admired the height of the kick and the skill with which it was executed. With practice, Trevor could really be marvelous. But she didn't let her admiration distract her.
Stepping straight in toward his midsection, she punched out at his face, pulling the punch so it only made minimal contact. No sooner had she punched, she hooked her left arm up beneath his extended knee and dumped him to the floor.
At that moment Bunny made her move. With a scream like a screech owl she rushed toward Morgan who was bent over facing Trevor on the floor, extending her hand to him.
Morgan turned her head to look at Bunny. As the girl drew near Morgan straightened and spun around. Her leg snapped out, catching the girl squarely in the face as she rushed in.
Bunny went down like a limp rag, unconscious before she hit the floor. Morgan looked from Bunny to Trevor, who still sat on the floor. Shrugging, she extended her hand to him again.
Trevor tried to hold on to his anger. But the sight of Bunny getting taken out was too funny to ignore. He smiled despite himself and reached up to take her hand.
Cable clapped and hooted from the side of the room as Morgan dragged Bunny over and checked her over to make sure she wasn't seriously injured. She went into the dressing room, returned with a small packet and tore it open, holding it beneath the girl's nose.
The smell revived Bunny, and she sat up groggily. "What happened?" she looked around.
Cable patted her on the arm. "You were run over by a train, dear." Then she stifled a giggle. Morgan shook her head and went to change.
Once everyone had changed back into their street clothes, they went into the dining room where a buffet lunch awaited them.
Bunny wasted no time getting to the food. She piled two plates to overflowing, sat down at the table and shoveled food into her mouth as fast as she could, barely taking time to chew.
By the time the rest of them were seated Bunny had polished off one plate and started on the second. "Hey!" she said with h
er mouth full. "Got any beer to wash this down with?"
Morgan stared at the girl in a combination of dismay and amazement. With huge mounds crammed into her cheeks she looked like a chipmunk. A servant appeared with a pitcher of beer and four glasses. Bunny waved him over and took the pitcher from his hand, tilting it up to her mouth.
After sucking down half the contents she set it down and belched loudly. "Not bad," she smiled then got up and piled another plateful.
Morgan and Cable exchanged a look of astonishment as Trevor stared down at his plate, trying not to see what was going on. They ate in silence for a few minutes, the only sound that of Bunny smacking and slurping.
The girl jumped up suddenly. "Where's the john? I gotta ralph!"
"Down the hall to the left," Morgan directed, wondering where in the world Trevor had dug her up.
"So, where's Victor?" Cable asked after Bunny left the room.
"He had a meeting with the President," Morgan replied. "But he'll be back later this afternoon. In plenty of time for dinner."
"Oh, joy," Trevor grumbled.
Before Morgan could reply Bunny appeared. "Hey, Trev! What ya say we go try out that bed?"
Morgan got up and left the room as Trevor blushed and snapped at Bunny. "I'm not finished!"
"Well, okay," she said undaunted. "I'll wait upstairs. But hurry up! I'm horny and you promised to give it up if I'd come with you."
Morgan returned just in time to hear the last remark. She watched Bunny walk out of the room, then tossed something down on the table beside Trevor before she returned to her seat.
He looked over and saw the pack of breath mints and a box of condoms lying on the table. His face turned beet red as Morgan took a sip of water and looked at him impassively. "I'd double up on those if I were you."
Cable burst into laughter as Trevor glared at her and Morgan smiled
"Anyone for coffee?"
Cotton Creek
For the next two days Cord stayed glued to the computer going over the data stored in the AI. He couldn't believe all the stories that'd been told about him.
Somehow Slats had even tapped into some official reports about the nuclear waste incident and Cord read about Morgan getting taken by the men in Washington who claimed to be with the CIA and how the agency believed he hired the men to kill her.