by Kymber Jones
“Then what the Hell do you need all those huge ass manors and other villas all over the world for?” Tate demanded.
“For your information, all those places are historical, every single one of them. And they were about to be destroyed. I got them for pennies on the dollar. I also made a deal with the local governments to use the grounds as a national park, and the houses will have guided tours on certain days, and only in specified rooms. They aren’t to go in the rooms we will be using. Otherwise, they have free reign of the houses to explore.”
“And how many houses have you bought so far?” Vita asked after listening to the conversation next to him.
“So far, I have seven houses. I want to keep getting as many as I can, though, and use them as investments.” Chrys paused. “Now, are we just going to talk about how I spend my money, or are we going to get inside this damn Compound and get to work? I’m going to need some more money soon if I’m going to get the next place I want, and Salvatore is just the bastard to get it from.”
“You’re right. Let’s concentrate on taking these bastards down. Then we can all take that vacation we swore to take all those years ago. And now, thanks to the Brat here, we have a choice of seven places overseas to go for free. We just need to get our asses there.”
The men laughed.
“Somehow, I like the idea of a week off in either Italy or Greece.” Sveren smiled.
“I think the idea of a vacation on the Mediterranean is great.” Bernt, the team’s medic, replied.
“Hell, just the idea of a vacation sounds great.” Captain Hopkins sighed. “But no one is going anywhere unless we get our asses inside and get this shit over with. We can’t afford to let these Bastards get away again.”
“Aye, Sir.”
“Damn straight.”
“We won’t let him go this time!” They all exclaimed as Chrys exited one of the two Subaru Foresters that brought the team to the Inferno Wolves Compound.
Reaching up to a speaker, Chrys pushed the button on the pad provided, and a video screen came on next to it.
“What do you want?” An older gentleman demanded, skipping all social pleasantries.
“We’re here for two things: to get Stella and Spence to their Uncles and help this MC take out some trash.”
“You want to show us some ID girlie?”
Chrys sighed. She really hated patronizing pricks who thought they could look down on her because of her age, but in this case, she thought she might be able to overlook it due to their security protocols, but then a couple of seconds later, she said, “Look Asswipe, you have two choices here. You can ask politely, and I might show you my ID before we come in and get the twins with no problems between us, or you can continue to be an ass while we come in and get the twins regardless of your decision. Then, when we leave, you’ll be left to deal with Salvatore and Timón for a couple of days before we take them down somewhere else. The choice is yours.”
The man on the video screen barked out a laugh. “You’ve got some nerve coming on my property with a fucking Queen Bee attitude, girl. Around here, I’m the one calling the shots. You’d better have a damn good reason for acting like the fucking Queen of England.”
“Mr. Hughs, as far as you’re concerned, I’m the Queen and King of England, every Emperor you can remember from history class, and every fucking nightmare you ever had combined. And right now, you have about five seconds before we call this quits and say you're on your own.” Chrys informed Daelan Hughes, the founder and former President of the Inferno Wolves, MC, before nodding and turning back to the vehicles with the rest of the team.
“Alright guys, we’re. . . “ Chrys began, but Daelan cut her off.
“You made your point, girl. Hurry up and get your asses in here.”
“Thank you.”
Chrys climbed back into the vehicle and waited for the gates to open before leading the team on the Compound grounds, letting the MC shut the gates behind them.
“You don’t play around, do you Love?” Tate asked.
“When have I ever played around on a mission?” Chrys replied. “Especially with you old school types. Always thinking you can walk all over me or tell me what to do either because I’m a girl or because I’m young. If I don’t stand up to you assholes, I’ll never be taken seriously.”
Tate laughed. “Like hell! If anyone thought we could walk all over you, you would hand us our ass on a silver platter. Then make us say thank you while smiling.”
Chrys laughed, shrugging. “What can I say?” She asked. “Daddy taught me well.”
“That I did, Love.” Captain Hopkins laughed. “That I did. Now, why don’t we go inside so Tate and Jack can find their niece and nephew, then figure out everything going on? What do you say to that?”
“I think we can work with that.” Chrys agreed as she parked her Subaru in front of the Compound’s main house, where Daelan Hughs stood waiting for them along with his son-in-law and current President of the Inferno Wolves, Axel Toupin.
As soon as Chrys got out of the vehicle, Daelan walked up to her and put a hand on her shoulder. Daelan was about to force Chrys to directly face him when she grabbed his arm and hooked a foot under his ankle, spinning in a half-circle to flip him over her shoulder.
Walking over to him, Chrys leaned over Daelan, who laid on the driveway trying to catch his breath.
“Fuck me,” Daelan groaned.
“No, thank you,” Chrys told him. “I like older men, but I don’t want my first to be a Grandpa.”
“What the fuck did you do, Girl?” Daelan demanded, groaning.
“You’re lucky I didn’t kill you. I’m going to tell you once, so listen up. I don’t like to be touched, so unless I permit you, keep your fucking hands to yourself. Comprende?”
Daelan nodded.
“Good. Now, can I help you stand up? You promise you won’t try anything stupid again?”
“I promise.”
Chrys reached out a hand, then changed her mind and turned to Sveren.
“Sven, do me a favor and help this ass up. I may be the one to end up doing something stupid if I have to get too close to him.”
“I got you, Love,” Sveren smirked, reaching down to help Daelan up.
“Ow,” Daelan muttered as Sveren pulled him to his feet. “What the hell did she hit me with?”
“You’re lucky she didn’t knock your ass out,” Sveren told him.
Daelan rubbed the back of his head as he looked Chrys up and down.
“This girl is five foot nothing. How the hell did she put me on my ass?”
“She can do a hell of a lot more than that, so I suggest you keep your hands to yourself from now on,” Sveren told him.
“No need to tell me again. I’ll be keeping my hands to myself, no problems with that.”
“Well,” Chrys began, almost smirking. “Now that you’re on your feet, you think you can stop pussyfooting around so we can go inside? I don’t know about you, but I’m hungry and tired, and I want to get this shit over with. And I know Uncle Jack and Uncle Tate here,” Chrys indicated to her uncles, “are anxious to see Stella and Spence.”
“Fuck me,” Daelan groaned, standing up and dusting himself off. “Don’t tell me those little shits know that ninjutsu shit too?”
The Team laughed.
“It’s called Taekkyon.” Sveren snickered.
“Take - wha…?”
Chrys laughed. “You still get your martial art forms mixed up, you Ass.”
“It was Lethwei again, wasn’t it?”
“Yep. One of these days, you’ll get it right.”
“How you managed to memorize and master all the different martial art forms is mind-boggling.”
“And impossible. I keep telling you I only know…,”
“...the basics.” Sveren finished Chrys’s sentence. “But I call bullshit.”
Chrys looked at Daelan then over at her brothers as she rolled her eyes.
“I don’t know h
ow many times I have to tell Mr. Smarty Pants here, but there are well over a hundred and eighty forms of martial arts. You can only learn so much of each form out of a hundred and eighty; there is no possible way ANYONE can master all of them, though granted, I do study a couple more than others. What makes it so easy to study all the different forms is that a good majority of them have a lot in common, and you can apply all the similarities to each form, so you aren’t starting from scratch for the most part.” She paused. “And to answer your question, Mr. Hughes, I believe my Uncles started teaching them some self-defense when they were younger, but what they have managed to retain or practice is something only they will be able to tell you. Now, I believe your question has been answered, so I am going to repeat my question: can we get the fuck inside?! As I said, I am hungry and tired, and we need to start getting things ready for tomorrow.”
“Sure. Let’s go in. I’m sure the boys are waiting to hear how a slip of a girl put me on my ass.”
“Not at all, Old Man.” Daelan groaned again upon hearing his son-in-law’s voice. “We saw it first hand. We’re all standing here with something for her to sign. Not only did she put you on your ass, but she also put you in your place. This girl is our hero.”
“Great,” Daelan muttered. “Damn insubordinate ingrates. What does it take to get a little respect around here?”
Axel laughed at Daelan. “It can’t be insubordination. I’m the one in charge. Or did you forget that little fact?”
“If I let you stay in charge. I may just take you out myself.”
“I’d love for you to get rid of some of this responsibility. Maybe then Melodie and I can finally go take a vacation somewhere.”
A loud, piercing whistle grabbed the attention of everyone bantering in the yard.
“Uncle Jack, Uncle Tate, either you can stay, or you can come back in the morning to get your niece and nephew. Everyone else, we’re out of here. I’m done repeating myself. These people can deal with Salvatore and Timon on their own as we make a plan. Let’s go.”
Axel and Daelan looked at each other then at the Team before Axel walked up to Chrys. He was about to grab hold of her shirt collar when she glared at him over her shoulder and asked, “Are we about to do this again?”
“Who the Hell do you think you are? Coming here and issuing orders? Making life and death decisions for people you know nothing about?”
Chrys shrugged as she got in her vehicle.
“I make life and death decisions for people I don’t know damn near every day. This decision is no different than any other decision. I suggest you find someone who has an actual give a damn left. On the other hand, I intend to check into our hotel, order dinner, and plan my Team’s next move. You and your men can do whatever it is, big boys do to try and protect yourselves until the threat is neutralized, but I highly recommend you try staying out of sight. These boys you pissed off, or rather monsters, love to create devastation everywhere they go, pun intended.”
“Pun?” Axel demanded. “You think this is funny? Our possible deaths?”
“Deaths? Only if you don’t prepare. Now, if you don’t mind, we’re leaving.”
With that, Chrys pulled her driver’s door shut and turned the vehicle on. Jack and Tate stood next to the SUV as Chrys nodded and told them, “We’ll come back for you at 0700.”
“Better yet, leave Andy here with us, and we’ll meet all of you at the Windemere.”
Chrys scoffed. “Yeah, sure. If you say so, just don’t get your asses killed before meeting up in the morning. I’ll be highly pissed and have to kill you again.”
Both Jack and Tate smiled.
Jack leaned in and kissed Chrys on the top of her head before he told her, “We love you too. Don’t worry. We’ll be safe.”
“You better,” Chrys grumbled, waiting for Lamar, their Intel Officer, to quickly switch from the vehicle he was in over to the car Chrys was driving and hurried back out of the Compound.
Staring after the retreating vehicle, Daelan and Axel couldn’t believe the Team just left. No discussion, no nothing. They just took off.
“Who the hell does that girl think she is?” Axel demanded of no one in particular.
“She doesn’t think she’s anyone special,” Tate replied. “But she is the girl that just saved your damn asses, so I would show her a little bit of respect.”
Axel looked shocked. “What the hell does that mean?” He demanded. “How the fuck did she just save us?”
“If you had someone watching your surroundings properly, you would have noticed a car driving by twice. The second time it parked behind a mesquite tree and turned its lights off. It’s still there. Andy, we’re going to leave here in a couple of minutes and pay our guests a little visit. When we’re done, we’ll come back here and start visiting Stella and Spence. Tomorrow we’ll all meet back together and confirm the game plan.”
Daelan shook his head, swearing. “She never had any intention of leaving us to fend for ourselves, did she?”
“Chrys is a bitch. Make no mistake about that.” Jack told him. “But no, she would never leave someone - or a group of people - in need of help like you are. Especially against Salvatore and Timón. She knows first hand what those rancorous, demonic sonsofbitches are all too willing to do to someone.”
Chapter 7
“So,” Chrys said, handing out the key cards to everyone’s hotel room. “I don’t know about any of you, but I am heading out to IHOP, then I’m going to find a bar where I can get a couple of drinks before going to bed. And if I’m lucky, maybe Sven will find someone he can dance with and give me a few laughs.”
“You’ll be the one I dance with,” Sven promised her.
“Not in this lifetime. I’ve already sacrificed enough lives getting out on the dance floor with you. It’s someone else’s turn.”
“But you love my dancing.” Sven pouted.
“Uh, no. You have four left feet only a mother could love.”
“But I only have two feet. And…”
Realizing Chrys made him think about what he was saying, Sven took a menacing step towards her, growling.
“I will show you four left feet, Brat!”
“Daddy!” Chrys cried as she darted behind Captain Hopkins, who shook his head, sighing.
“Children!” Captain Hopkins called out. “Do I need to put you in time out?”
“He started it!” Chrys pretended to be offended.
“I’ll be finishing it, too!” Sven informed her, smirking.
“You wish.”
“Shall I demonstrate?”
“Knock it off, and let’s go, now! Before they kick us out of here for misbehaving in the lobby. Again.” Captain Hopkins said, referencing an incident between Chrys and Sven in Los Angeles when they were kicked out of the hotel they were in after pretending to be siblings having a sexual relationship. It was an ongoing thing between them to up the stakes and see how fast it took them to be escorted off the premises, but after the last time, Captain Hopkins decided he would have to start stepping in to make sure things didn’t get too out of hand.
Instantly Chrys stopped her misbehavior and nodded. “Yes, Sir.” She said, “Sorry.”
“Let’s just go grab some chow and find some drinks. We have an early day tomorrow.”
* x * x * x * x * x * x * x *
“I cannot believe how much your sorry ass put away again!” Chrys cried, walking out of IHOP. “You’re a bottomless pit, I swear! Your mom must have never fed you growing up or something.”
Lamar, usually one of the pranksters of the group, cracked up. “Did you see the face of the waitress when he ordered his third plate of chicken fried steak? I thought she was going to die!”
“She just about did,” Captain Hopkins agreed. “I don’t think she’ll ever forget our boy, that’s for sure.”
“So, you still up for drinks and dancing?” Chrys asked Sven when everyone was in the vehicle.
“I’m always up for dancing.”
Chrys rolled her eyes. “I’ll believe you’re dancing when I see it with my own eyes.”
“Ye of little faith.”
“No, it’s someone who has known you for her entire life. I know what you’re capable of. And you and dancing do not belong in the same sentence. It’s a crime against nature.”
“So you say.”
“So I know.”
“How much are you willing to bet?”
“How much are you willing to lose?” Chrys countered.
“One of those big houses you like so much in the South.”
“Deal.” Chrys smiled. “Now we’re here. Supposedly this place is where all the military comes to hang out. And a lot of the school kids, unfortunately. No idea how they fit everyone in here, given how small this place is, but it’s supposed to be good. And it’s only a minute or so from the hotel, so that’s a huge plus.”
“What the hell type of name is JR’s for a club?”
“Nothing original, I’ll give you that,” Chrys muttered. “I’m almost too embarrassed to go in. But, I guess, given the size of this town, this so-called club should be what’s expected.”
Captain Hopkins grunted. “Since when are you picky about a club? You’ve never liked going to a large club. A small, country, western bar, yes, but a large, excessively loud club? That’s not you.”
“It’s still not, but look at Sven. He’s so disappointed. I have to say something. I mean, he looks like someone kicked his puppy.”
Everyone looked at Sven, who did indeed look upset about the appearance of JR’s.
“Hey, maybe it’s larger inside than outside,” Chrys said, trying to cheer him up, which seemed to work.
“Yeah, maybe.” Sven agreed, then asked, “Which ID are you using tonight?”
“I’m going with the one that says I just turned twenty-one. This is going to be my birthday celebration, but training on Base didn’t let me come out before now.”
“What are you training for?”
“I just finished Ranger training and got assigned here. This is my first duty station.” She smirked. “And, of course, I want to try out for the Delta Force. I’m already doing everything I have to to get noticed.”