“Ah, the nanocytes and your blood?” He laughed at her shock.
He waved a hand at her as he leaned back in his chair. “John told me about you healing his knife wound and what has gone on since then. It doesn’t take too much intelligence to figure it out.” She sure hoped he was wrong about that.
“I’d be happy to help. I’ve got about 18,000 people and forty-two different areas of responsibility at the base to deal with. Obviously, I have subordinates but I can see why you feel the experience will transfer and appreciate it isn’t a token job. What do you have to deal with?”
She smiled at him. “Try over a thousand companies spread across eighty-five percent of the nations in the world. Assets in so many banks I can’t find them all, although there are only about twelve accounts they roll back up into. Cash assets in the hundreds of billions and hard assets in the multiple trillions.”
It was time for her father’s face to blanch and his mouth to truly stay open. He snapped it shut. “Guess I better get started thinking; the challenge is a bit bigger than expected.”
She nodded, “You think maybe I didn’t come just to say hi, but also to recruit someone?” She winked at him.
He laughed out loud, catching half the plane’s attention. The stress began to ease in many of the shoulders of Bethany Anne’s friends and team members. Her dad was onboard, and he was part of the team.
Frank smiled to himself as he looked out the window. That scene was going to be a tearjerker when his book was released. In however many decades in the future she would allow it.
While Bobcat had scared the crap out of Frank on the takeoffs, he landed them so smoothly you didn’t realize you were even on the ground.
Washington D.C. - USA
The next day, Bethany Anne and Frank took care of setting up Frank’s office computer with her blood according to TOM’s direction. Frank remarked it looked like a voodoo ritual and she had to smile. It really did. She didn’t just slit her wrists but had stopped at a pharmacy and purchased the instruments to take her blood like a normal person. Ecaterina ended up being the best person for that job. Most of the men just lost their color and turned away. She laughed and pointed at Darryl, Scott and Eric.
“You are pussy 1, you are pussy 2 and you are pussy 3. These are your team code names for next op.” They laughed until they noticed that John wasn’t laughing with them, but rather smiling at them. He spoke up.
“I think we will just shorten that to P1, P2 and P3.” His grin told them that they were their new monikers and they all decided this wasn’t funny anymore.
Scott and Darryl had responsibility of keeping the General under surveillance. Her dad was ready and willing to be the bait. He hadn’t known Martin too well, but he had liked the guy when they talked on the phone and appreciated how he had taken care of his daughter. If he could help find the killers, he was game to try.
It was actually Nathan and Pete that found the pair who were casing her father. Nathan was running Pete with him to teach him how to use his sense of smell and other skills when they found two guys who had a slightly vampiric stench about them drinking coffee across the street from the meeting location.
Nathan had gone in for coffee while Pete was outside. He came out, acted like he hated his coffee and directed Pete to go back in while he handed him some cash. Pete’s annoyance at having to get his associate’s coffee was so acute you would believe he really felt that way when watching the performance.
For once, you could chalk it up to excellent acting. Even Pete knew not to fuck with Nathan Lowell. Ever. When Nathan told Pete to jump, he was already stuck to the ceiling and hoping like hell Nathan hadn’t wanted him to go higher than that. John had Pete’s respect. He just plain feared Nathan Lowell.
Pete nodded as he exited the coffee shop. He had the dead person scent in his nose now. He would be able to find these guys again. Pete didn’t realize how his sense of self-worth was creeping up on him. He was becoming an asset to the team based on his own abilities, not the wealth and power of his dad. The old Pete was slowly peeling off and John was becoming a proud mentor. Not that he would tell Pete this, of course.
Eric, Scott and Darryl had to go by the team names P1, P2 and P3 for the whole day. Everyone who had any reason to get on the team net loved to use them.
Dan was having a blast. He hadn’t been involved too much on the plane flight back, but he was a very satisfied man. They now had two more team members to help run the group and he was feeling less pressure about what he would have to deal with. Frank was a natural fit. Dan had worked with him a long time, the difference now was that he actually got to see him. The general was going to take a little getting used to, but even he seemed a little more relaxed than the stories he had heard.
Dan was surprised when Bethany Anne had told him on the flight to Colorado she had hoped her father would be open to joining the team. That she wanted him to work on the business side was obvious in retrospect, but when you see a military man, you think military holes he would plug into.
They had taken six suites at the Mandarin Oriental in D.C.. Nathan used his cutout shell company credit cards to hide the team from any searches for financial transactions which might be underway. He had a shared bank account with Bethany Anne which she kept a couple of million in for him to use. She told him the trust was complete, but the exit interview for misappropriation of funds was fatal. Like any good leader, she worked with candor and an iron fist.
She cornered him in the suite he shared with Ecaterina. Those two were working and very professional despite the obvious attraction. They were fighting the overwhelming endorphin surge that practically screamed at them to just hole up and stay in their room together. She could appreciate their restraint but the smell of the pheromones they were trailing behind them made her want to gag. She had asked TOM if he could do something about it.
She knocked on their door. Ecaterina answered the door for Bethany Anne and then stepped back in the room for just a second, grabbed her wallet, winked at Bethany Anne and stepped out when Bethany Anne stepped in. Nathan was working on a laptop making sure his companies were doing well. So far, so good.
He clicked off the VPN window he was using to tunnel into the server where he kept the software. Should he ever lose a laptop, there was nothing on it but basic Ubuntu Linux distro, a couple of TOR programs and software to encrypt the hard drive. The encryption was there to give him time to make changes if the laptop was taken.
He looked up at Bethany Anne who had sat down and finally realized his girlfriend wasn’t there protecting him from the vampire. He had been focused on the work and had lost track of his surroundings.
He still flinched around Bethany Anne. He worked hard to overcome the natural defense mechanism to be respectful and cautious around her at all times. That his human girlfriend was more comfortable hit him right in his male ego.
“I take it this isn’t a social call?” He tried to smile and lighten the mood.
“No, I just want to know what kind of intentions you have about my assistant.”
Nathan’s face got a panicked look. Shit, shit shit! Was Bethany Anne acting like Ecaterina’s dad? Had he jumped the gun somehow and now he was being watched by Bethany Anne like maybe Ivan would be doing?
Suddenly, Bethany Anne started laughing and rocking back and forth in her chair. “Ecaterina said you were too easy!” Her mirth lit up her eyes.
Nathan stopped the mad panic as he realized he was the butt of a joke between the two women. It helped that he knew Ecaterina was aware of whatever was about to happen between the two of them. He took a second to close down the operating system and then the laptop lid as he got his thoughts together.
He smiled. At least he was probably the first werewolf to make a vampire almost fall off of her chair with laughter. “Ok, you got me. Other than being the target for you two I’m guessing there’s a reason you asked her to step out?”
Bethany Anne got her smile under control. “Yes, I wa
nt to see if it is possible for you to come and work for me.”
Nathan had been aware of Bethany Anne’s ‘human capital acquisition’ binge. But he never thought that she would approach him. He was kinda part of her group since he was with Ecaterina and he was the American Pack Council’s second in charge of Vampire Relationships. His business side was taking over as he considered why she would want him particularly.
Why was he different than Frank? Frank was crazy good with computer information acquisition and certainly as competent as he was, except maybe on the dark web? He had a strong computer defense company and the business setup for company cutouts that he used to help hide his efforts leftover from his foray into clandestine operations he did before he went legit…
“You want your own intelligence agency, and you want me to lead it?” What he had over Frank was experience with the craft out on the streets and relationships others lacked.
She smiled, “I told Ecaterina that you would get it in one!”
“Did you really tell her that?” He had a small smile of satisfaction.
“No.” His smile faded, but her smile was back.
“I wouldn’t tell her anything because it has to be your decision. I don’t want her influence or your concern for her to be the deciding factor. I need someone who knows the score and is willing to come over to the dark side—we have steak, lamb and vegetables!”
He smiled. They had shared a dinner on a train back in Europe where he had eaten just those dishes and had told her not to give him grief over a wolf eating vegetables.
He would have done it just to be with Ecaterina more, but Bethany Anne was being very pointed in making him discount that factor and not allow it to interfere with his decision.
She needn’t have bothered. While she probably thought this relationship could break apart based on her experiences, Wechselbalg usually connected with one soul and stayed with that soul until they passed. Ecaterina was that soul for him. The bigger question was, did he believe in what she was going to do? He would have to break from the pack permanently. She was being very candid that only one allegiance was allowed.
Gerry would have a small snit, that was for sure. But the bigger issue was that Bethany Anne didn’t have any Wechselbalg on her staff and yet she was gearing up to bring them into her group. Wechselbalg understood power and respect. She could bitch slap them into next week and get fear, but respect had to come from a place other than martial prowess. He had to admire her machinations. He would be the lead for the Wechselbalg and his respect for Bethany Anne and their relationship based on friendship and shared hard times would start the process for the new recruits to see her as something other than just a vampire.
He owed this woman everything right now. He would have been dead on that mountain with Ecaterina. She allowed Ecaterina to come here to the States and she could have just killed those idiots back in New York instead of trying hard to give them one more chance. She wasn’t even the one who killed the leader, Paul Gleason. That nutbag had been disrespectful to Bethany Anne one too many times and her team announced their irritation by blowing his head off.
She had killed a guy shooting into the tunnel, but since he was on the other side of the tunnel and those shots had come close to his momma’s favorite boy he was OK with that choice.
She was a good person. Period. Fucking. Dot. That she was a vampire was now the bonus instead of the problem.
He looked her in the eyes, “My companies?”
“We roll them into a corporation with shares we pass out to everyone employed. You are given a large ‘thank you for your time’ separation package where everyone understands you got bought off to stay away. Now, they get a bonus for the purchase and golden handcuffs to stick around and make it work. If they do, great! If they don’t, well my dad will take care of it.”
He let go of a few of his concerns. He cared for the guys that helped make everything work. For most of the rest he had finally understood on the Romanian trip that they could operate just fine without him. A small hit to his ego, but he had other things on his plate at the time and since his thoughts were just as focused on a woman who was in Miami, he hadn’t plugged himself back into the company so tightly again.
It really was a well thought out plan. He would get bought off to stay away and since everyone in the companies would get a boost if it happened, she would get a large group of his employees to support the coming acquisition and be happy for him as well.
He trusted her father to run it as well as anything could be run and it wasn’t like Lance couldn’t ask him if he had a question or two. It was a really good plan. But she needed him badly to make her plans work with the intelligence group.
His value was high and with his companies he should make a large payday himself. She could afford it. Maybe this once he would finally get one up on a vampire.
He smiled, “What’s it worth to you?” She smiled back. There was a knock on his door. Bethany Anne got up before he could register the knock completely and was walking to open the door.
“I’m glad you asked. I’m going to let my negotiation team deal with that question. Let me open the door and let them in.” Bethany Anne opened the door and Ecaterina walked in wearing a gorgeous business suit, cut in all of the best ways to flaunt her figure. She had apparently gone and gotten dressed when she left the room. She had makeup on and had done her hair. She put down an expensive purse and pulled some folders that had his company names listed on them.
He tried to catch her eye, but she was completely in business mode and she truly worked for Bethany Anne. His face lost a lot of its color. He looked over at Bethany Anne who was standing with the door still open. She waved at him with her fingers, a smile on her face, “Toodles!” She closed the door behind her.
He was so screwed.
10
Washington D.C. - USA
It was time to catch the motherfucker. Bethany Anne was back in her working outfit for operations. She had traded the Bowie knife for the smaller Japanese sword, a wakizashi. She told the group that she just didn’t think the Bowie went with her smaller frame. The guys all seemed to puff out their chests and slam their silver laced Bowies into their knife holders at this pronouncement. She rolled her eyes, men!
Her father was at a bar this evening with an old friend, letting him know that he was going to retire and setting up the back door negotiations to make it happen more quickly. Frank was cutting orders from the ‘Frank Lair’ as John had started calling it. It was cold, damp and dark so the name fit. Frank looked poleaxed for a moment when he thought about it. Then smiled and shrugged.
Frank had his second dose of Bethany Anne’s blood and was writing down the changes in a coded diary he kept with him. He was seriously getting into this memoirs book, she felt.
Lance was going to leave the get-together and choose a very unwise short cut to his hotel at a late time of night. Bad time to make that choice if you’re being hunted by a vampire. Usually leads to short life expectancy.
Scott was watching from two blocks away in a dark SUV with thermal binoculars. “Hey, P2, those two lackeys are talking on a phone. Looks to me like this op is a go.”
Eric grimaced on the other end of the line. They had a secure network in this whole area. They had seeded multiple boxes to spread the network out to six blocks in each direction from the expected route. If they needed to go beyond that, things had really gone in the shitter. Eric hated these call signs, but John was adamant that they take their medicine.
It wasn’t like he and the guys fainted at the sight of blood, they just didn’t like watching Bethany Anne get stuck by Ecaterina. It just bugged them. At least that was the story he was trying to sell. Unfortunately, John wasn’t buying.
Ecaterina and Darryl walked arm in arm down the street and into the bar. Ecaterina brushed by Lance’s back. Lance’s friend noticed he had turned to give the person bumping him a piece of his mind, but smiled when Lance saw it was an attractive woman. He even w
inked at Lance as he turned back around and told him he was a lucky bastard. They clinked their beers and Lance finished his and threw down a fifty to cover the tab for the both of them. Lance said, “You got my back this time, you prick?”
His friend tipped his bottle in Lance’s direction. “It’s the last time you geezer, but you better bring the lube or I don’t promise anything.” Lance just smiled and allowed his friend to score the point. Paul was a good guy, and Paul had friends high enough that they would all know Lance just wanted a simple and quiet goodbye. Everyone had heard the rumors about his daughter and considered it a hell of a way to go down. They wouldn’t have thought anything could make the man die on the vine, but it’s said that having a child die is the hardest tragedy a parent can face.
Bethany Anne was hidden on the fourth floor fire escape in the alley. The guys couldn’t hide in the alley itself. Dan had brought in a sniper by the name of Killian who had been part of the Everglades operation. He was planted a couple of blocks away and eight stories up.
Bethany Anne thought he was a funny guy. He was joking around with everyone back at the Mandarin when he arrived in town. She was walking into the room when he had asked the team if they got to check out that ‘fine assed vampire’ again after the last op. He stopped laughing when all of them suddenly looked uneasy at something behind him. “She’s behind me, isn’t she?”
Dan, John, Eric, Darryl and Scott all just shook their heads up and down. It’s a good thing Killian didn’t look too hard at Dan’s expression. He was having a hard time not laughing at the man.
Good to know Dan wouldn’t be able to play poker worth a damn.
Killian slowly turned around to face the music. He knew that his mouth was going to get him in trouble. Ladies had slapped him twice this year alone. The problem was his head would leave his shoulders if this one slapped him. He completed his turn. “Um, Hello.”
Kurtherian Gambit Boxed Set One: Books 1-7, Death Becomes Her, Queen Bitch, Love Lost, Bite This, Never Forsaken, Under My Heel, Kneel or Die (Kurtherian Gambit Boxed Sets) Page 48