Triptych

by S. C. Mitchell

  Table of Contents

  TRIPTYCH

  Books by S.C. Mitchell

  Acknowledgments

  Chapter 1

  Chapter 2

  Chapter 3

  Chapter 4

  Chapter 5

  Chapter 6

  Chapter 7

  Chapter 8

  Chapter 9

  Chapter 10

  Chapter 11

  Chapter 12

  Chapter 13

  Chapter 14

  Chapter 15

  Chapter 16

  Chapter 17

  Chapter 18

  Chapter 19

  Chapter 20

  Chapter 21

  Chapter 22

  Chapter 23

  Chapter 24

  Chapter 25

  Chapter 26

  Chapter 27

  Chapter 28

  Chapter 29

  Chapter 30

  Chapter 31

  Chapter 32

  Chapter 33

  Chapter 34

  Chapter 35

  Brothers and sisters

  TRIPTYCH

  Xi Force #4

  S.C. MITCHELL

  SOUL MATE PUBLISHING

  New York

  TRIPTYCH

  Copyright©2019

  S.C. MITCHELL

  Cover Design by Fiona Jayde

  This book is a work of fiction. The names, characters, places, and incidents are the products of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual events, business establishments, locales, or persons, living or dead, is entirely coincidental.

  All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means (electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise) without the prior written permission of both the copyright owner and the publisher. The only exception is brief quotations in printed reviews.

  The scanning, uploading, and distribution of this book via the Internet or via any other means without the permission of the publisher is illegal and punishable by law. Please purchase only authorized electronic editions, and do not participate in or encourage electronic piracy of copyrighted materials.

  Your support of the author’s rights is appreciated.

  Published in the United States of America by

  Soul Mate Publishing

  P.O. Box 24

  Macedon, New York, 14502

  ISBN: 978-1-68291-966-8

  www.SoulMatePublishing.com

  The publisher does not have any control over and does not assume any responsibility for author or third-party websites or their content.

  Books by S.C. Mitchell

  Hearts In Orbit Series

  The Blarmling Dilemma

  Pirates Of The Dark Nebula

  Captives Of The Kratzen

  ~ ~ ~

  The Heavenly War Series

  Son Of Thunder

  Daughter Of Darkness

  ~ ~ ~

  Xi Force Series

  Z-Bot

  Phaze

  Wylde

  Triptych

  This book is dedicated to

  Superman, Captain America,

  and all the other heroes

  that inspire us to be better people.

  Acknowledgments

  This book would not be possible without the encouragement and commitment of my editor, Cheryl Yeko, who makes me better with every book. Special thanks to my amazing critique partner Jennifer Yost. ♥

  Chapter 1

  Paul Tompkins leaned back in his desk chair, considering his options. He could do more, would do more. Would she let him?

  Maggie O’Donnell sat across the desk from him in his office. Her brilliant red hair pulled into a ponytail. All business in a flight suit that should’ve been mundane, but clung to some enticing curves. Face it; Maggie made any outfit look good.

  “We should have done this months ago,” he said. “You’ve been on duty, what, six months? Pretty much twenty-four-seven?”

  “Sure an’ I’ve no complaints,” she answered. “‘Tis an honor to serve Xi Force. But I need these three days off. I need to be there for Gran’s funeral and to settle her estate.”

  Her Irish brogue was showing, which usually meant she was distracted, excited, or under pressure. Most of the time Maggie tried hard to stifle her accent. Paul wasn’t sure why. He thought it made her sound awesome.

  He noted the puffiness around her beautiful emerald eyes. She’d been crying, and that got his gut churning. It was worse because there was nothing he could do to make her feel better. Death wasn’t a situation he could fix. “Will you have any other family in attendance?”

  She shook her head. “Gran was all I had left.”

  A tear leaked down her freckled cheek.

  Damn it, he hated seeing her hurting so much. “I could come with you, if you’d like.”

  He threw the offer on the table. Please say yes.

  Her expression softened. She smiled. “Much as I’d love you by my side, Paul, I couldn’t ask that of you. More ‘n likely I’ll be a weepin’ mess the whole time and not much fun to be around.”

  Yeah, that’s why he wanted to go with her. The thought of her crying made his gut wrench. And a funeral of a loved one wasn’t the kind of thing anyone should face alone.

  He didn’t mind being the friend whose shoulder she cried on.

  And, as much as he wished it was otherwise, friend was all he could offer right now. Their work situation, with him as her boss, kept them firmly in the friend zone, but they did seem to get along and he often wondered if the barrier wasn’t there, could something more develop between them.

  He certainly harbored feelings for her and enjoyed being with her, and she seemed to return that sentiment. Damn this situation. It put her out of reach.

  But he wasn’t about to give up his position, and Xi Force needed its pilot, so here he was, keeping it all professional. “I’ve got vacation time coming, and I’d love to visit Ireland. Never been there. Maybe we could take a few extra days and you could show me around.”

  She’d no doubt need the extra time to clear up her grandmother’s estate and he could help with that. Would she let him do this for her?

  “I . . . um . . .”

  “Please? We both need to get away from here, and things have been quiet enough. How about we take a week? Birdy can handle your flight duties for as long as you need, and Aaron can fill in for me. Why rush it. We’ve both got the vacation time coming. I’m sure there’s stuff there you’ll need to take care of—closing up your grandmother’s house and such could take longer than three days. And I can help you with that.”

  She shook her head, but a thin smile played across her luscious lips. “Okay. You’re sure you really want to?”

  He chuckled. The past months had been intense. This would be a good break for both of them.

  “Absolutely.”

  ~ ~ ~

  Maggie’s spirits lifted for the first time since she’d received news of her grandmother’s death. Paul walked at her side toward the base’s living quarters. His presence a warm reminder she was not alone. She had friends. Friends who were as close as family. And she couldn’t think of anyone she’d rather have with her on this trip than Paul.

  He’d expedited everything, and handled all the paperwork. They were both now off
icially on leave. They’d headed down together to pack for the trip.

  Saying goodbye to Gran was going to be hard, and she couldn’t thank Paul enough for his support. She’d need to put her childhood home up for sale and deal with Gran’s stuff, not that Gran had all that much.

  Windowless concrete block hallways ran through this, the lowest level of the Xi Force mountain headquarters. Pike’s Rangers and other headquarters staff who lived on base had apartments here. It could’ve been dark, dank, and dingy, but they’d installed natural lighting fixtures and plantings, and had fresh air circulating that brought the aroma and feel of outdoors to these subterranean tunnels. The apartments were spacious, modern, and comfortable.

  “Anything special I need to bring?” he asked.

  She wasn’t fooled by his imploring tone. Surely he knew what he was getting himself into. Sullivan’s Glen wasn’t the tourist center of Ireland. It was a quaint little fishing village on the shores of Lower Lough Erne.

  It shouldn’t take her long to pack up Gran’s house and deal with the estate. A week would give her plenty of time to show him what she could of the country. He deserved that much, and so much more. “Pack some hikin’ boots.”

  “Noted. How’s Birdy doing? Will he need any help while we’re gone?”

  Robert “Birdy” Hendricks had come onboard as the Xi-1 co-pilot two weeks ago. A capable pilot and a nice guy, but she hated the thought of letting anyone else fly the super jet. Still, with a bit of luck, Xi Force wouldn’t be called into action while she was gone. “I think he’s ready, but if he puts a scratch on my bird, there’ll be hell to pay.”

  Paul chuckled. “Do I need to remind you once again that your bird belongs to the U.S. Government?”

  “Humph.” Don’t go there, Paul. The Xi-1 is mine.

  The craft was the fastest transport jet on the planet, specially built for Xi Force with all the latest technology. And she’d been entrusted to pilot him.

  Yes, him. That big boy was most definitely male. Big, strong, and dumb as a stump until she told him what to do.

  “I’ll meet you upstairs in a half hour,” Paul said as he took a side hallway toward his quarters.

  Big, strong, and . . . okay, certainly not dumb. Paul Tompkins was the exception to her male rule. Perhaps the gender had a chance of evolving after all.

  As he walked away, Maggie’s eyes swept from his broad shoulders to his backside. Yeah, too bad that great ass of his was out of reach, in so many ways.

  A small quake fluttered through her core. Desire long held in rein pulsed within. He wasn’t for her, she knew, but that didn’t stop her from dreaming.

  A sudden, deafening rumble of a different kind filled her ears. The ground beneath her feet trembled, and cracks rippled open along the concrete floor.

  Maggie went to her knees and scrambled toward the side of the hallway as the floor in the center buckled beneath her. She looked up in time to see Paul, arms flailing, tumble head-first and disappear into a crevice that suddenly opened up in front of him.

  “Paul!”

  Alarms sounded. The lights flickered, then went out, plunging the underground passage into inky blackness before dim, greenish emergency lighting kicked in.

  As suddenly as it started, the quaking stopped.

  “Everyone, evacuate the building,” Aaron Braddock’s voice sounded from the P.A. system.

  Building? Hell, this was a mountain. They were in bedrock, and there wasn’t a fault line even close to their location. She knew enough geology to know an earthquake shouldn’t happen here.

  In any case, she wasn’t about to evacuate without Paul.

  Cracks, debris, and chunks of concrete littered the hallway. A dusty haze hung in the air. She scrambled over the rubble on all fours toward the place she’d last seen him.

  “Paul?”

  A dark chasm opened in front of her. Ten feet below, yellow lights blinked on something big and metallic. Gunmetal gray, it looked like an aircraft of some sort, but like nothing Maggie had ever seen before. Strange angles, short wings, huge thrusters on the sides. An airplane that could have been designed by Dr. Seuss, easily fifty meters across.

  Paul lay face down on an expanse of wing, and he wasn’t moving.

  “Begorrah.” She dropped through the hole in the floor, landing on the craft beside him.

  Sliding her fingers to his neck, she found a faint pulse. She sighed and pushed him over to check his breathing.

  Paul stiffened and pulled in a shallow gasp, then went limp. A coppery taint infused the air around. She noted the dark red stain on the right side of his stomach, and the blood caking a short, angular protrusion on the craft where he’d been laying.

  She’d seen enough injuries to know this was bad. Real bad. She put her right hand over the wound to apply compression, trying to staunch the bleeding, while pulling her phone from her pocket with her left.

  She hit Mary’s number on her speed dial. Mary was a doctor. She was upstairs. Well, probably on her way out, but still, close.

  Mary answered on the second ring. “I can’t talk right n—”

  “Mary, it’s Maggie. We’re on the basement level. Paul’s hurt bad. Can you get anyone down here?”

  Z-Bot, Phaze, and Shade had all been in the conference room when she’d gone by. They were freakin’ superheroes.

  Paul was so still. Warm blood pushed through her fingers as she held her hand to his punctured side.

  She crooked the phone to her ear with her shoulder and felt once again for a pulse at his neck.

  Nothing. And he wasn’t breathing. She was losing him.

  “No, Paul, please.”

  What could she do?

  Through her tears she noted the glow around the wound. The glow around her hand. Golden, warm, pulsing in her fingers.

  “They’re coming. Hang in there.” Mary’s tone was all business.

  But it wasn’t reassuring. They couldn’t get here fast enough.

  Her strength drained from her. Vibrations ran through her right arm, into her hand. The glow around her fingers intensified. What was happening?

  She pulled her hand away from his side and the glowing stopped. But so had the bleeding. Under his ripped shirt, the tattered skin had mended.

  Paul gasped, drawing in a huge breath.

  Maggie’s head whirled as she stared first at her blood-covered hand, then at Paul’s mended wound. Darkness edged her sight as exhaustion pulled her in. The world spun around her, then everything went black.

  ~ ~ ~

  “Ground Control to Major O’Donnell.” And yeah, the David Bowie song was playing in the background. “You are on reentry. Fire retro rockets in 3 . . . 2 . . . 1” The voice crackled over the space shuttle’s radio.

  She wasn’t ready to land yet. It had taken her a lifetime to get into space. The stars around her glittered so brightly without the ground pollution of the planet below. The shuttle handled like a dream, responding to her guidance like a lover.

  Lover?

  Should she name the shuttle Paul?

  This was her dream after all.

  It had to be a dream. She’d turned down NASA’s offer so she could join Xi Force. She’d never get to space now. Instead she’d be shuttling superheroes around the planet. Not a bad deal for giving up everything she’d worked toward since she’d been a little girl.

  So if this was a dream, her dream, she would stay in space, stay asleep, as long as she could.

  “Maggie?” The controller’s voice took on feminine overtones. No not the controller, this was closer. Right next to her. Her co-pilot?

  “You go, sister,” Maggie muttered. It was about time NASA let more women in space.

  “Maggie.”

  Oh, she recognized that voice. Her co-pil
ot was Dr. Logan. “Doc, what’re you doin’ in space?” The best freakin’ doctor on the planet wasn’t on the planet anymore?

  The stars through the viewport dimmed, clouded by a gray mist. Damn, they were coming in for a landing.

  “Don’t wanna land.” Her mouth had dried out making it hard to form words.

  The mist became fluffy white clouds, soft, frilly, like cotton candy. Like cotton bedding and fluffy pillows.

  Dr. Logan chuckled. “Time to land, Colonel.”

  Well, the landing was soft, waking in a warm, comfortable bed in the Xi Force infirmary.

  A low throb pulsed right behind her eyes as memories flooded back. The earthquake, Paul falling, all that blood.

  “Paul!”

  Dr. Logan laid a firm hand on her shoulder when Maggie tried to rise. “Mr. Tompkins is going to be fine, though I’m still not sure why. Right now it’s you I’m worried about.”

  Maggie sunk into the pillow, but brought her right hand up in front of her eyes. “My hand glowed and his wound closed.”

  Dr. Logan leveled her gaze at Maggie. “Well, we assumed all that blood came out of him some way, and he lost a lot, but he’s resting comfortably and should make a full recovery, given some time.”

  “We were going to go . . .” Shit, the funeral. “How long have I been out?”

  Dr. Logan sighed. “A while. You missed your flight, but Aaron arranged for that new pilot to fly you in the Xi-1 after I release you. We’ll get you there if at all possible, but I need to give you a thorough checkup first. How are you feeling?”

  Good question. “Tired, but okay. More drained than sleepy-tired. Weak.”

  “Okay, let’s see if you can stand and we’ll go from there.”

  ~ ~ ~

  Maggie stood, she walked, and after a good meal, she felt more herself. Released from Dr. Logan’s clutches, she hurried to collect her things. The hallways below had been cleared and tested for structural integrity. A group of engineers stood around the hole in the floor Paul had fallen into, which appeared to be the epicenter of the quake.