Bethany Anne started walking around the little room. “You know Michael was changed here. The original pilot of this craft, who I call TOM now, was in charge of preparing this whole world to fight aliens. The problem is that this craft might, or might not, be able to lift again after the next landing. TOM rather messed up this one.”
I did not ‘mess up’ this landing.
“TOM, shut up for a second, will you?”
Gabrielle started when she realized that Bethany Anne was talking to the alien. She looked around, “Is TOM able to hear us in the ship?”
Bethany Anne smirked, “Gabrielle, TOM is able to hear anything I can hear.” Bethany Anne pointed to her ear.
“What?” Gabrielle looked both surprised and perplexed.
“TOM is a part of me. He deconstructed a large part of his body centuries ago and when I was being changed he hitched a ride inside of me to try to continue his mission of protecting his race. His only choice was to become a symbiont. In me.” Gabrielle looked at Bethany Anne’s body and seemed a little freaked out. “Yes, I get that. I wasn’t asked if I was ok with this idea. Imagine my surprise when I woke up and I have this extra voice in my head. We’re getting a little off track. The reason I’m sharing this information with you now is to help you understand I’m not the one who will be programming the medical pod. TOM will literally be using my body to make it happen.”
“Um, can I talk with him?”
Bethany Anne started at this. “Ah, one sec.”
TOM, what do you think?
It is certainly possible. I know how your vocal cords work so I can process the data, but it would be a lot easier if you just allow me permission to take control for a minute in the speech area of the brain.
Wait one second, I don’t like the idea of you ‘taking control’ of anything.
Sorry, wrong choice of words. I mean to jointly be in that area of your mental efforts. You will be able to interrupt at any time. But I will be able to talk and you will hear my discussion at the same time that Gabrielle does. You truly won’t be able to censor my speech if you choose to allow me to do this.
Bethany Anne thought about this for a second. Gabrielle could see the different emotions playing on Bethany Anne’s face.
Bethany Anne looked at Gabrielle. “Yes, it’s possible. But TOM tells me that I won’t have a clue what he’s going to say before he says it, so be forewarned. Also, I’m concerned about anything that messes with my brain which is what he is going to have to do to make this happen.”
“I’m sorry, I hadn’t realized what I was asking.”
Bethany Anne waved the concern away. “I understand. You’ve been alive for a long time and now you are facing an alien medical pod that could change you. It’s about trust. I need you to be able to walk in the day to help me with what we have coming up so both of us need to trust TOM in this.”
“Is he trustworthy?”
“Well, if you had asked me right after I woke up, I wouldn’t have been so sure. Now? Yeah. It’s going to take the whole world working together to get ready to fight these aliens and TOM has a better overall grasp of the political situation and what needs to be done than he had before. For better or worse, he is as stuck with me as I am with him. Believe it or not, I’m not sure I would choose to have him separated from me right now if I had to make a choice. Certainly not if it meant he would die.”
Really? That’s… I don’t know what to say.
Well, just don’t say anything and ruin it for yourself.
“Wow, I’m not so sure I could say that.”
“Trust me, I’m surprised it’s how I feel too. Looking around this room I realize that it all started here, and it all started with TOM. I would be dead if it wasn’t for him and his alien genetic nanocyte technology. What you have in your blood are corrupted versions, third generation. TOM’s going to fix the corruption issues with your nanocytes. This will allow you to go out in the sun.”
A tear was forming on Gabrielle’s face. “That is beyond my wildest dreams.”
“Here, why don’t you talk with TOM.”
Go ahead TOM.
Tom took over Bethany Anne’s speech. She felt a little disoriented and could ‘feel’ a pressure in her head.
“Hello Gabrielle.” Bethany Anne’s voice was her tone, but not her inflection. Gabrielle could tell the difference between the two voices.
“Hello TOM.” Now that she had access to him, Gabrielle was at a loss for words. “Sorry, just got lost for a second. I understand you are going to change my nanocyte programming? Is there much risk involved?”
“No need to be sorry about getting a bit lost for words, I understand completely. Yes, I will have the medical pod change the programming of your nanocytes and get them to correct the mistakes. Some of the severely damaged will cease to function. It will take maybe a week based on the information I was able to obtain when you provided us the syringe of your blood. You will sleep during the process. To my knowledge, there is no risk involved. It is one of the reasons we didn’t change your nanocytes outside of the pod. If we had chosen to try and do it with Bethany Anne’s superior nanocytes inside of your own body, we could not direct exactly which mutations would occur.”
Gabrielle’s shoulders lost some of their tension. Apparently, the two of them could have made changes to her before now but had chosen to use the safer method. “So, hey, what about getting rid of a tattoo at the same time?”
Gabrielle noticed Bethany Anne’s inflection change. “You have a tattoo?”
“Yeah, a bad choice in the 1970s. On my ass.”
TOM was speaking again, “Actually, the nanocytes you have in you right now could have taken care of that issue. I will work to teach you how to use your nanocytes to their fullest when we get them fixed. I’ll leave the tattoo as a practice opportunity.”
“I want to see!” Back to Bethany Anne.
Gabrielle looked exasperated, “You know, this talking to two of you in one body is a pain. And not only no, but HELL No. I am not showing you something that will be gone as soon as I can learn how to get rid of it!”
“Ivan got to see it!”
Gabrielle stuck her tongue out. “Not from the position we were in. Ok, I guess I feel as comfortable as I can about this. When do we want to start the process?”
Bethany Anne considered her response. TOM seemed to have left her head for now. “I don’t know why now isn’t as good a time as any. We get a day’s head start and if anything happens being in the pod is the safest place on the ship. So, now?”
Gabrielle nodded her head in agreement and stood up. Bethany Anne put a hand out, “Sorry, but you have to get in the pod naked.” Bethany Anne’s smile told Gabrielle she wasn’t getting in the pod without divulging her traitorous and embarrassing tattoo. She rolled her eyes and started to take off her clothes. Bethany Anne turned around and started programming the pod.
Once she was finished with the full programming but before she hit the final button to open the pod, Bethany Anne turned around and faced the now naked Gabrielle. Bethany Anne pointed her finger down and twirled it around. Gabrielle rolled her eyes and started to turn as fast as she could with her vampiric speed. Two hands grabbed her shoulders. Holy Crap! Bethany Anne had stopped her as if she was a normal human.
“Nice. Were you having trouble with guys figuring out the right location?”
Gabrielle’s tattoo was right in the center of her tailbone area below her pant line. It was a very floral spelling of “Enter Here” and a heart that ended with an arrow at the bottom pointing down.
“Believe it or not, I’d never had a tattoo. I was in Paris at the time. My flame and I were very drunk after seeing some of the sexy shows on the Boulevard de Clichy and one thing led to another…” Bethany Anne let her shoulders go.
Bethany Anne smiled. “I think it's hilarious. I’d leave it alone, but then I haven’t had to live with it for as long as you. But if TOM says you can get rid of it already, you can take that to
the bank. I imagine you can even put it back if you want.”
“No thank you, getting rid of it is enough.”
Bethany Anne turned back around and hit the two button combination that started the pod opening. “You get in, put your arms by your side and close your eyes. I’ll be here when you get out. Sweet dreams!”
Gabrielle had been getting in the pod while Bethany Anne gave her instructions. She tried to smile and get over her anxiety. The pod door closed and she heard two small knocks and then the lights went out. Seconds later, at least to her, she woke up.
8
Carpathian Mountains, Romania
John and Eric were leaving the craft. Bethany Anne had told the guys to go stretch their legs for a while, they were driving her insane.
John set out for the caves and Eric dropped in behind him. John found what he was looking for, a rock they could rest against and talk without getting snow on them but still out in the light. He leaned against it and asked Eric, “Hey, why are you being so grumpy lately?”
Eric looked surprised. He hadn’t acted any different than he normally would, had he? “Not sure I follow, big guy.”
John looked at Eric a little closer to see if he was truly ignorant. Yup. “You're acting like a guy who is falling for a girl but doesn’t know how to tell her.”
Eric’s face scrunched up. “Who… Ah. Gabrielle?” John just shook his head. Eric had been with John on too many ops to ignore John’s comment. He must have really been acting the ass. “Really? God, ok. When did I start?”
John thought about this. “Maybe after the Costa Rican op?”
“Yeah, after she saved my ass. Probably, that would make sense. Shit, I was dead, John, you know that? That guy was looking down the barrel of his gun and my ticket was punched when all of a sudden she got his attention enough he turned his pistol just a smidge and shot her straight in the chest. It knocked her clean off her feet and I thought I had just caused my teammate to take my bullet, you know?” John knew. “By the time I realized she was still moving so did the other guy who was able to plug her in the leg before I snapped out of it and shot him. The blood was all over her leg and she was in full Vamp mode. She was still fucking beautiful, you know? I had the blood so I made sure we were safe and held her while she drank.”
Eric paused in his story, just looking around at the beauty in the valley he could see because of Gabrielle.
“I guess it was at that time she wasn’t just one of ‘them’ but one of our team to me. It’s the first time I’ve been in a firefight with a woman.”
“What do you call Bethany Anne?”
Eric smiled at his brother in arms, “A scary motherfucker? Death with the legs of an angel? The last beautiful smile you see before Hell takes you?” They both had to laugh at that a little. “Yeah, I get you. Yes, she’s a beautiful woman as well, but she isn’t the same, you know? She carries that mantle of leadership that lets you know she’s off limits. I’m not sure if it’s destiny or that some other guy is meant for her, but I know she’s untouchable on the romantic side. Holding Gabrielle made me realize that she was one of us.”
“You realized she was approachable?”
“Yes. No. Shit, no. I know she’s with Ivan and I didn’t think my playing had gone past camaraderie. How bad have I fucked up?” Eric continued staring out at the valley.
John punched him in the shoulder, “Not too bad, asswipe. But I can’t have romance in the Guardians, especially not the Queen’s Bitches you know?” Eric just nodded agreement. “I know that Gabrielle probably has a long history of relationships and has been through this, so I doubt you’ve done anything that crossed any line with her. Well, except the bonbon comment.”
Eric smiled. “God, you know how freaked out I was when she pushed my ass out of the helicopter?” John laughed at this. “All I heard was ‘thanks for volunteering’ and then I was ejected like a shot. I hit the ground before I could think a coherent thought.”
“Well, just imagine the stories you can tell one day. All of your grandchildren will gather around you to hear about when you told the scary vampire lady she was too fat to get into the helicopter!” Eric had to laugh at that visual. Him with grandchildren was a trip.
Finally he shook his head back and forth just a little. “No. I think that story will be for just the four of us. I won’t compound my mistake by sharing that story with others.”
“Keeping her reputation safe?”
“Brother, I’ve got her back and that includes her reputation. I know she’s got mine, right?” They fist bumped and John decided this conversation was done. The team was good.
Back in the ship, Bethany Anne closed the external microphones TOM had directed her to use. She swallowed a lump in her throat and had to blink her eyes to clear them of the weight of Eric’s feelings, and the loneliness she felt as their leader. She would fight through it, she always had. This time, she wasn’t fighting to achieve justice for someone that had already passed away, but for the future of little babies yet to be born.
Sacrifices had to be made and Bethany Anne knew she would bear the weight of many sacrifices to come. She calmly continued bringing the ship online with TOM and making sure the medical pod was working effectively on Gabrielle.
The Queen Bitch’s Ship SEA AXE 150 Miles East of Bahamas
Captain Maximilian Wagner had requested that Bobcat come aboard early and check out the Sikorsky S-76 and make sure it was ready for the swap with the alien craft later that night. The captain was pretty methodical with his crew and would triple check to make sure everything was ready to go.
He had pulled the crew, all ex-Navy, together to let them know they were going top secret that night. Everyone on the ship had been vetted by Bethany Anne, so they had no moles. Max Wagner was a believer in everyone pulling together and you couldn’t do that, in his opinion, by hiding a huge piece of news that would certainly be all over the ship in microseconds after Bethany Anne landed the craft.
Fortunately, it was going to be an overcast night. There was a chance for the weather to get a little violent, but they were in the Bermuda triangle, there was always a chance the weather could be rough.
He had a good crew. He had expected to be under Captain Thomas, but since the SEA AXE had the right hold for the spacecraft, the ship was needed right away.
The ship had a Superyacht exterior paint job, but had a commercially painted look and feel in most of the major compartments. It was designed for the comfort of the crew and the gentle handling of the toys. This was good as their latest toy was unique in the world as far as Max knew. If the major world powers had their own alien toys, they weren’t talking.
He looked over at his crew. They were in the main galley area, which could feed thirty around the tables. He told them to take a seat at the three tables nearest where he stood.
There were fourteen personnel on board, including himself, which left seven berths available. Bethany Anne was bringing four more people with her. He was sure that he was probably going to have to figure out how to refit his ship for more people. That was fine, he had a shit-ton of space below decks for the jet-set toys that they would never have to ferry around.
He raised his hand and his crew stopped talking. He looked over the three tables. The engineering crew had four team members, the deck crew had three and Chris Billings from the deck crew could actually ferry the Sikorsky around in a pinch. He wasn’t a pilot at Bobcat’s level but he could have gone commercial had he wanted. He had four Marines on his team and his second in command was Natalia Jakowski. Natalia was about five and a half feet of spunky redhead with piercing green eyes to go with her alabaster skin.
He had just informed Natalia what was going on with the spacecraft two hours ago. He started with the story of the team in the swamp and the terrorist takedown. It was good that Dan had arrived during the discussion as he was able to tell a few more of the stories with either firsthand or at least immediate second-hand knowledge. Dan had felt he needed to b
e on the ship to give the same overview he provided the first team Bethany Anne recruited. Everyone on Max’s ship had met Bethany Anne, but it had been short and to the point when she tested their dependability and personal ethics.
Dan sat a few feet from where Max was talking to the crew. “Ok, everyone. It’s time to give you all of the details. You were all vetted by one of the best in the business before we asked you to join the company and specifically this ship. I hope you’re ready for this because your life is about to change in immeasurable ways.” There was some muttering in the group. They all knew that they were a part of something a little clandestine. No one brings together two Superyacht caliber ships with all ex-Navy crews where one of the transport helicopters is a damn Black Hawk. They had either personally met, seen or heard about the Queen Bitch’s Guards. Some had laughed about the name, but certainly not to their faces.
Todd Jenkins had come on board the day before to work with the three Marines Max already had on board. He was one tough nut to crack and the story got around that he had had some war-games of his own with the boss’s team. He didn’t have much to say that except his team always won, but then had to admit that he was usually out pretty quickly due to the superior abilities of the other team. When Todd and the three other Marines did some of their own scrimmages, Todd took out the three other Marines each time pretty easily.
If Todd took their Marines out, and the boss’s people took Todd out, just how good were those guards?
“Indescribable,” was Todd’s answer.
Now, their captain was getting ready to lay it all down and they were anxious.
“I know none of you want to go back to a civilian life. You were made Navy, you lived Navy and by God you want to die Navy.”
His second, Natalia, added, “Let’s just make sure I die after I get laid again, is that too much to ask?” Everyone laughed at Natalia’s comment and it helped ease some of the jittery feelings in the crew, which was her aim. Max saw the wink she gave him.
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 68