Yes, but I had to drink five packets of blood when I got back. You know how much I hate that stuff? I about threw up on the fifth one, that shit is disgusting.
Well, technically you didn’t have to drink all five. You only required one.
Yeah, but if I hadn’t drunk the rest of them, my energy levels would have been too low to do anything in a pinch!
Stop being a little baby. This is going to be okay, trust me.
Bethany Anne reached down and grabbed Ashur by the scruff of the neck and translocated to her bedroom on the Polarus. She didn’t feel any reduction in energy level at all; that was strange. She knew Ashur was supposed to have an affinity for the Etheric, but this was beyond her expectations.
Ashur started growling and looking around in confusion. “It’s going to be fine Ashur, you had better get used to this stuff.” Ashur stopped growling and walked over to a couple of her pairs of shoes and started sniffing. Her nose wrinkled, “Oh, that’s gross, Ashur! How can you smell that? God, you’re going to be as embarrassing as a guy. If you sniff any of my unmentionables your ass will be going topside.” Ashur stopped sniffing the shoes and looked at her, tilting his head as if he was considering what she had just told him.
She went to the door and unlocked it, opening it and waving Ashur to follow her. Ashur looked around one more time, as if he was confirming what he was seeing, and followed her out the door, head held high.
Bethany Anne and Ashur walked over to the gym. She hadn’t met anyone in the hallways, which was a little unique. Ashur was continuously sniffing everything. She told him to sit still while she went to go get a couple of towels. As she came back the door opened up and Gabrielle stepped in. Ashur started growling. “Stop that!” Ashur swung his head back to Bethany Anne, and continued the growling, a little more forcefully this time. Bethany Anne dropped the towels, “No fucking way…” The closer she came to Ashur, the more he growled and showed his fangs.
Gabrielle backed up, “You two have something to discuss?”
Bethany Anne’s eyes turned red, her fangs elongating. “There is nothing to discuss! There is only one Alpha and this puppy is about to find out…” That was when Ashur drove his hind legs into the ground, catapulting himself at the woman in front of him who wouldn’t submit. He had been curious before and had tagged along, but when the second woman showed up, he wouldn’t allow any doubt as to who was the head of his pack.
He was snatched out of the air, turned over and dropped hard on the ground, the breath in his lungs exploding out of him. He tried to turn over, to gain a grip with his strong legs but found himself up in the air again. This time the woman was holding his back against her, his feet aimed away.
Gabrielle stayed near the door. “Why are you holding him in the air like that?”
“Because he has nails and teeth on the other side!” Bethany Anne casually tossed Ashur along the floor where he rolled and flipped until he hit the wall with a ‘thud.’ Ashur took a second to get his bearings and started growling in Bethany Anne’s direction again.
Scott’s head popped in next to Gabrielle. “Who the fuck let Cujo on the ship?” Gabrielle pointed in Bethany Anne’s direction. He continued, “This is the German Shepherd from the park?”
“Yup.”
Scott shrugged. “Don’t pick up any cats, I’d hate to see what they turn into.” His head disappeared.
Bethany Anne muttered under her breath, “Everyone’s a critic.”
Ashur growled louder. Bethany Anne hissed and started walking in his direction. She stopped controlling the malevolence her body radiated when angry. Ashur backed up one step for every step Bethany Anne took towards him. Finally, his butt was against the wall. He got down, belly on the ground, but he still had a look of rebellion on his face. Bethany Anne moved into her fastest speed and got her face six inches in front of Ashur’s, daring him to try something.
So he did. With his haunches pressed against the wall he attacked, aiming to take a bite of her face. Bethany Anne casually slapped him upside the head and his whole body flipped ass over appetite three times. He was on his back with Bethany Anne holding him by the neck, her red eyes and fangs staring him in the eyes. He started whining, giving up trying to best her.
She let him go and he turned back over, staying down. “If you try that shit with me again, Ashur, I will bitch slap you from the front to the back of this boat, and it is one long fucking boat.” She walked back to pick up the two towels while Ashur stayed two paces behind her.
Gabrielle stayed by the door. “Remind me not to get into a pissing match with you.”
Bethany Anne smiled at the vampire. “You’ve tried, remember?”
Gabrielle thought about their swordfight when Bethany Anne had her fangs on her neck. “Yes, no need to revisit that again.”
They laughed together and walked out of the gym. Bethany Anne wanted Ashur to get accustomed to the ship and the people accustomed to him. If he was going to cause any trouble, she wanted to get it over with now.
Fortunately, it seemed that one trial for dominance was all Ashur needed. He only snapped one time when Eric was going to pass Bethany Anne from behind while she was talking with Dan. Eric jumped aside and laughed off the adrenaline charge and then continued towards the gym where Pete’s group was working out.
Hmm, it seemed Ashur had her back. Good to know.
San Jose, Costa Rica
Giannini Oviedo wasn’t a tall woman at 5’ 2.” But if you believed the talk on the streets she easily topped six feet. With her articles discussing two of the attacks from personal experience, the only reporter to eyewitness the events, she had the respect of those at her newspaper and the people on the street.
Presently, she was cleaning up her living room. She had decided to stay home for the day and take care of some normal challenges. Even her best friend had been a little embarrassed when he learned she had been saved by the Ángeles Oscuros the night he wouldn’t join her on the street.
She had the only pictures, as dark as they were, of the team that had been in the fight at the park. The rights for printing the images had provided enough income to pay her rent for the next three months. Now, if she could use the acclaim from her exploits to move up the reporting ladder at work, she would be golden.
The sharp tone of her phone ringing snapped her out of her woolgathering. She took a look at the phone number and realized it was her contact from the police; she hit the accept button. “Good morning, Superintendent, how are you doing?”
Rodriguez’s voice was crisp but she sounded annoyed. “Good morning Giannini, I’m well, thank you. I just had a visit from the American intelligence group based here in our country. Unfortunately, I wasn’t thinking, and because I was angry with the agent, I mentioned that you were the one who had the information they might need. Expect them to be calling on you, or at least one man sometime this morning. Watch them, I’m not happy that they come here asking questions and expect us to just lie down for them. Sometimes, Americans lack common courtesy.” There was a heavy sigh. “It could be that I am just upset and not thinking clearly. He didn’t give me a good feeling. My meeting may have been with a low level contact and safe, but take care of yourself, okay?”
Giannini thought it wasn’t often Rodriguez came across as caring on the phone. She was usually a very prim and proper Costa Rican Police superintendent, so Giannini felt a little warm for the effort on her behalf. “Of course, I will pay attention and make sure that I don’t close my front door should they want to talk. Do you believe I should just close up and try to meet them elsewhere?” The pause on the other end of the line was a bit telling.
“No, I don’t think he intends any harm to you. But, if you feel bad after he leaves, then call me back and we will see what we can do to help you. Your articles have been beneficial, and I appreciate you telling the story of our lost brothers and sisters who died fighting those beasts. For a reporter, Giannini, you’re not so bad.” Her smile came through over the ph
one. “Call me later and let me know how it goes, okay?”
“Of course, Superintendent, I will be happy to do so.” They said their goodbyes and Giannini hung up.
Giannini finished cleaning her living room and was working on her kitchen when there was a knock at her door. She set aside her dishrags and dried off her hands. She walked to the front door and looked through the peephole to see one man standing there. He definitely looked American. She called through the door asking who he was. The visitor answered that he was with the government and would she mind providing some additional insight to questions regarding her articles?
Giannini noticed he failed to say what government he belonged to. Mind you, she thought, he might not want to advertise that the Americans were looking around for something out in her hallway. She cracked the door open a few inches. “Yes? What questions can I answer for you?”
“May I come in, ma’am?” If she hadn’t known what nationality he was before, his vernacular certainly would have given him away.
“I’m sorry, Mr.?” Giannini left the question hanging.
Matthew wanted to kick himself. “Matthew Burnside, I apologize for not saying that a moment ago.”
“Mr. Burnside, I’m sure you understand why a single lady would be concerned about allowing a strange man to enter her home, yes?” She noticed the flush on his face.
Matthew looked up the hallway and down the other side, he certainly wouldn’t be pushing his way into her home so he had to make a decision whether to ask his questions here in the hallway, or perhaps try to meet her at the police station or her workplace. Both of those places would probably garner him more attention than his boss would prefer. “Yes, I can understand that.”
He proceeded to ask her questions related to both nights when she had interactions with the spec-ops team. He paid close attention to any details about the helicopter she could provide, and the makeup of the team. He was surprised to learn two of the team members were female. He asked her the same question, three different ways, to confirm this answer and she was adamant she saw two women in the group.
“And you say they were carrying a dog back to the helicopter at the end?” Matthew was continuing to write down notes in his little book. It had become uncomfortable to hold and write in his hand so he had his book pressed up against the wall next to her door.
Matthew had called his contact after his previous interview failed with the police. The contact on the phone had asked if he needed backup for this conversation in a tone that suggested Matthew had no spine. Matthew rejected the help. So he was a little relieved to be able to acquire some information that had not already been provided in the newspapers. After his debacle with the superintendent, he was using his best manners trying desperately not to offend this contact.
He said his goodbyes after making sure Ms. Oviedo understood his appreciation for taking the time to answer his questions. He went downstairs and exited her building, turning left. He hadn’t made it one block before a dark haired American man a little taller than he was stepped out from the side of a building and caught his attention. “Matthew?” Matthew stepped over to him
“Yes, who are you?”
The man gave Matthew his name and the name of the contact that had rousted Matthew out of bed. Matthew frowned. “I told your boss I didn’t need any backup this morning.”
The man put up both hands. “Hey, don’t jump my back on this either. I was told to come down here in case anything didn’t work out. All I need to know is whether or not you got the information?”
Matthew nodded. “Yes, she was very cordial and was willing to give me some extra information that wasn’t included in her articles. Not that there was a lot available, her editor allowed her to print most anything she wanted. I have a few bits of information, such as the team makeup, but not a lot that we’re going to be able to use directly at this time. I’m sure we’ll get reports, we will be able to correlate her information with something out in the field and make a match.”
“So, this information well is dry?”
Matthew wasn’t sure he liked how this guy phrased his question. It could be Matthew was just tired and was getting rubbed the wrong way by having someone sent as a backup when he hadn’t needed it. “Perhaps Ms. Oviedo will remember something in the future, but I feel confident right now she’s told us everything that she knows, or remembers. Maybe something in the future will jar her memory.”
The man looked up at Giannini’s building, as if he knew that she lived on the third floor and was looking right at her window. “Maybe something will.” Matthew said goodbye and continued to where he had parked his car.
Up in the apartment, Giannini slowly stepped back from her window, concerned by what she had just witnessed.
12
The Queen Bitch’s Ship Ad Aeternitatem
Marcus Cambridge was feeling a little overwhelmed. He was in his stateroom on the Ad Aeternitatem and his whole world was upside down.
There really were aliens and he wasn’t able to tell those who had fired him they could go fuck themselves.
Okay, maybe he should clean up his language. But to be proved right after years and years of ridicule stirred up a lot of emotions for him. He had met Bethany Anne, and she alone would have been mind-boggling.
The infinitesimally small nanocytes that must have modified her body at a genetic level would be worth decades of research, the fact people labeled her a vampire was, in his opinion, an example of inaccurate associations with folklore. Well, a more accurate take would be the ignorant from a thousand years ago didn’t have the scientific knowledge to recognize the opportunity.
She was a human with gene modifications. Although, he had to admit, her red eyes and growing fangs were pretty damn scary. It was a good thing he still had his bladder control at his age. Now, he was about to see an actual UFO, and put his hands on it. He had a meeting with the project lead, Bobcat, the one who had asked for a rocket scientist and forever changed Marcus’s life.
Marcus hoped he would never have to go back to California ever again. At least, not because he got fired, for as a scientist, he was in heaven.
He had been fired from the National Aeronautics and Space Administration, the most advanced governmental space exploration agency in the world. He had been fired from Space-X, one of the preeminent commercial space exploration companies in the world, only to find himself involved with a group that were centuries ahead of either one of them. While he might not live to see it, his name would be vindicated in history. Even from the grave, he would certainly have the last laugh.
He smiled, the first genuine smile he had been able to produce in months. Life was forever going to be interesting until the day he died. He got up from his bed, grabbed a light jacket and decided to be early to the meeting with Bobcat.
Five minutes later, Bobcat entered the conference room with a smile on his face and papers rolled up under his arm. They introduced themselves to each other, and Marcus found himself liking the down to earth project head. Unlike a lot of project heads who, in Marcus’s opinion, only cared about due dates and how to stay in budget, Bobcat was worried about results and safety. Actually, Bobcat was more worried about safety and results be damned unless the vehicles got his people from point A to point B safely. Marcus quickly found himself tasked with understanding how to move a rocket type object with completely new propulsion systems and gravity defying capabilities. Then they started debating the materials necessary to accomplish this feat. They discussed that the second version would do everything the first version would, along with going into space.
Marcus was looking around and Bobcat asked him what he needed. Marcus answered, “I’m looking for something to drink, maybe some soda?”
Bobcat had the first look of alarm Marcus had seen on his face, “Please God, tell me you’re not a Pepsi drinker?”
Marcus looked at him strangely. “No, why? Well, I could drink a Pepsi if I had to but my preference is either a Dr Pepper or a Coke.
”
Bobcat exhaled. “Because the boss is strictly a Coke person. She believes Pepsi, well let’s just say that Pepsi is the devils brew. It got so bad that her personal support specialist had hidden a couple of Pepsis for those in the group that liked the drink and Bethany Anne found them. I wasn’t here at the time, but I understand that half the ship woke up to her screams when Bethany Anne put two frozen Pepsis against her skin as she was sleeping. Now, I’m not sure what Ecaterina is going to do, but I don’t think we’ve heard the last of the little war between the two women because Ecaterina has bigger balls than I do, that’s for damn sure.”
“Why, what do you drink?” Marcus was enjoying this little story and curious which direction Bobcat went, Coke or Pepsi.
“Beer.”
“No, I mean for breakfast. What would you have for breakfast if you could drink anything?”
Bob just looked at the man. “Beer.”
Marcus smiled. “I am sensing a consistency to your answer. Am I to presume you only drink beer?”
Bobcat smiled back. “No, I drink coffee as well. But you did specify I could drink anything.”
Marcus laughed at that. “Okay, you got me. Getting back on track here, what do you think our budget is for this project?”
Bobcat laid his hands down on the drawings. “I don’t want there to be any misunderstandings with this answer, like we just had on the beer thing. So, let me make this quite clear that,” Bobcat paused, “We. Have. No. Budget.”
Bobcat grabbed a pen, drew a downward pointing triangle on a piece of paper. He labeled the top left tip of the triangle time, the right point was quality, and the bottom point was cost.
“They always say that you can have something that has high quality really fast, but not cheap. Bethany Anne is all about high quality and really, really fast. She doesn’t give a damn about the cost so long as we get it done by yesterday. Make sense?”
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 93