Ok. Let’s make it happen.
She hoped she wouldn’t regret it later.
She was there an hour later and cracked the case for Pete. He was blinking his eyes, getting his bearings.
“How did it go? Did you learn anything?” He sat up, shaking his head.
She pulled on his arm and he popped off the bed. “Yes. Get dressed you hooligan.” He grabbed his clothes and started dressing.
“Not only do we have a good idea who is responsible for creating the Wechselbalg…”
Pete interrupted her, “No fucking way!”
“Way. Now shut up and stop interrupting me or you will be the first and last of your kind.” He shut up. “The guilty party is another one of the Kurtherian clans.” Pete almost let slip another comment, but caught himself in time. “Unfortunately, not the good guys. Wechselbalg do have a latent ability to allow them to change to a man-beast form.” She had Pete’s full attention and she could tell he was anxious to ask questions. “But it comes with a price. So, knowing that the original intent is from a race full of inimical aliens…”
She noticed his desire to interrupt again. “Fine, what is it?”
“Inimical?”
“Hostile.”
“Why didn’t you just say ‘hostile?’”
“I’m trying to teach the wolf a new word, now shut up again.” Pete smiled at her. “So, back to the basics, bad alien wants to make changes to humans for their own purposes. You guys have a switch to change into raging man-beasts full of destructive power. Should we try it out?”
“I have a choice?”
“Of course you have a choice!”
“Then let me back in and let’s do this. No time like the present.”
“Ah, no need.”
Pete stopped buttoning his shirt. “You already flipped the switch, didn’t you?”
“Well, I had a discussion with TOM and we agreed it would probably be what you wanted.”
“You discussed my future with an alien, an alien related to the ones that created Wechselbalg and came up with ‘change him already?’”
Bethan Anne smiled, popped the pod-doc and pointed to it. “Want me to change it back?”
Pete put his hands up, waving her off. “No, no! I’m very good exactly like I am.”
“Really? Because with as much shit as you’re giving me, I’m pretty sure that you are about to either get another dose of the doctor, or you’re going to be treading water for a really, really long time.”
Pete grimaced. “Matthew spilled the plan, didn’t he?”
“Not so much spilled it as we had an after action review. You had an amazing plan.”
Pete tried to fish for information. “Would it have worked?”
“Against a Nosferatu? Possibly. No, probably. They are more desire driven than intelligence driven. On me? No, but I wasn’t trying to be me, so yeah, you guys might have pulled off a win. That was some seriously creative shit your team came up with. I’m impressed.”
Pete looked at the pod-doc, the top still open, “Um, are we good here?” He waved at the pod-doc.
“I don’t know, do you think we are? I wouldn’t want you second guessing my second guessing again. As in, ever.” She stared frankly at the young man.
“No, no I’m really good.” Pete looked down, trying to school his face and stop it from betraying his mirth.
She closed the pod-doc. “Good, finish getting dressed. The short answer is that the change can happen anytime, but it is generally duress driven.”
“Like, stress driven?”
“No, I think a more action oriented or highly emotional state change if you want to get a little more clinical.” She set the controls on the pod-doc to reset. This time, TOM didn’t have to direct her on the controls.
“And if I want a more simplistic answer?” He finished tying his shoes.
“Don’t get really, really mad. People might not like you very much when you get mad.”
“Ah, got it.” They left the room together.
Todd confirmed everyone was out with Bethany Anne as Pete went to join his team. She translocated over to the Polarus after she had grabbed Ashur.
20
Before Bethany Anne was able to sleep for the night, John cornered her and gave her a piece of his mind. In this case, it was a short and abrupt diatribe about her “tearing off across Europe without him… uh, without the team.” She decided to ignore the clarification. She knew where he was coming from, but couldn’t promise she wouldn’t ever do it again.
They sat down at the conference table and had a frank talk about what she could and couldn’t do. Right now, she was able to easily bop between Miami and the boats. But she wasn’t sure just how many she could take or how far. She moved two humans and Ashur a couple of miles easily enough, and then moved them all to Miami. The problem was getting everyone to touch.
John considered what she said. “What happens if they aren’t touching you?”
TOM?
Well, technically you could do it, although the power needs go up directly correlated to how far away from you they are. Those that actively touch you are requiring the minimum amount of energy.
What happens if I run out of juice?
When? I don’t think you could partially pull a person into the Etheric, but our race rarely ever took chances so I don’t have anything to support my assumptions. If you run out of juice on the way to the other side? Good question, either you lose people or everyone just stops in between. If you should lose your connection to them, I imagine they would be stranded. I can’t believe too many humans left in that dimension would last very long either physically or mentally. It would be bad.
She answered him, “I’m not comfortable trying that yet. The farther away the more energy I need and while Ashur hasn’t let me down yet,” she was interrupted by a ‘woof’ from her bedroom. She rolled her eyes and continued, “I don’t know the amount of energy that is truly safe to pull through him. TOM says that the amount of energy could go up exponentially. So, how many people can we deal with? I have to hold on to Ashur.”
John was quiet for a moment. It was obvious she couldn’t take the whole team with her every time. “How did you take Stephen and Michael to Miami?”
Bethany Anne got up and went for the refrigerator, bending over to make sure she could see into the back. Satisfied no Satan-spawned beverages were hiding, she pulled a Coke out. “You want anything?”
He didn’t so she closed the door and came back to the table. “I slung Michael over my shoulder. I held Ashur with one hand and Stephen grabbed my arm, I think. Well, that’s what I remember, we were a little busy.”
John latched on to that statement. “So, it’s fine if people grab you?”
She gave him the fisheye and he blushed, putting up his hands. “Not what I meant!”
She continued eyeing him while his face got redder. She finally let him off the hook and smiled. “I know! I’m just kicking you while you’re down. I wanted to see if you could lighten up a little. I know my trip to Romania upset you, but I wasn’t about to try going that distance and put you guys in danger.” She held up a hand, “Don’t, just don’t. I will never do it no matter how much you complain, ok?” He finally nodded. “Yes, I suppose I could put out one arm and maybe the five of you could grab hold, but it isn’t something I’m happy trying out yet, ok?”
That was the best John could hope for, so he grabbed the small victory when he could. They finished talking about inconsequential things. Bethany Anne asked whether he had any chance to hook up with anyone on either of the boats and he pulled up his empty wrist to stare at it. “Oh! Look at the time, got to run. Great talking to you and everything boss, but someone is calling my name.” Nothing happened, so John raised his voice, “I said, SOMEONE is calling my name!”
Eric’s voice came from the other room, “John, come quickly. Someone is calling your name!” She smiled as John waved and fled from the room. She got up from the table as she hear
d John smack Eric and tell him, “You ass!” Eric’s laughter followed her into her room as she shut the door.
The next morning, Ecaterina was surprised when Bethany Anne came out of the closet, John and Eric with her.
John nodded to Ecaterina, Eric was talking, “That was badass, boss. You beat Disney World rides hands down… oof!” He bent over a little, holding his stomach. Ecaterina assumed Bethany Anne hit him.
Bethany Anne smiled at Ecaterina, “Feeling better?”
Ecaterina was up for it today “Yes, filled to capacity and slept very well.” Making sure there would be no misinterpretation, she added, “Dinner was nice, too.” Bethany Anne smirked. The Ecaterina of old was back. Ecaterina asked for her phone, telling her she needed to add a couple of phone numbers. Bethany Anne handed it to her.
Bethany Anne took off for the door. “Everyone downstairs ready?” She noticed Michael wasn’t lying on her bed. “Where’s Michael?”
Ecaterina turned to walk with Bethany Anne out of her suite, the two men following behind them. “He grabbed an SUV and went for breakfast, he also said he needed a change of clothes. I’ve got to say, he’s a changed man.” They started down the stairs.
Bethany Anne was confused. “Changed how? How much can you change a guy who’s lived a thousand years? I can’t change my own…” The front door opened and Lance came in. “Dad. How are you this lovely morning?” He was certainly looking younger himself. He had a high and tight across the top since his hair was coming back in dark again.
Lance smiled. “Hi baby. I see you have the terrible twosome with you this morning.” Lance preferred his daughter to have protection and loved how it annoyed her at the same time. As a parent, you get your kicks where you can.
Bethany Anne’s smile went up a notch. “Yup, and you will be happy to know they’re staying here for a while.” Lance’s smile dropped. “What? Why?”
Lance closed the door so Bethany Anne grabbed his arm in hers and started them all to the living room. “Because I’m popping between here and the ships so much, Gabrielle, Dan and John preferred to carry the protection at both locations, plus you aren’t protected here.”
Lance was following, but feeling his freedom quickly slipping away. “I’ve got Nathan here! He’s a hell of a guard, right?” Lance looked over his shoulder to see if John would jump in to help him. The look on John’s face told him he was screwed. He turned back around, resigned to having shadows again. Dammit!
John and Eric both smirked after Lance turned around. John was more worried about Bethany Anne when she was here. She made a good point that they would have duties around the home front if she was back on the boats.
Bethany Anne looked around. “Where’s Stephen?” Frank was sitting on a couch, typing on his laptop.
Ecaterina answered, “He went with Michael.”
Bethany Anne went into the kitchen to grab a water, “Really? I wonder how that’s going.” She came back into the living room and sat down on the loveseat. “Where’s Patricia?”
Lance sat next to her. “On the phone with some old contacts. We might have a way to get the base early.”
Bethany Anne leaned forward. “Really? That would be freaking fantastic. God, that would make things easier right now.”
Lance nodded. “Yes. It seems a multinational corporation has been making quiet but very interesting inroads with both senators and congressman, especially one from the great state of Florida, and since the company is willing to help some of the military who have family in the area and are paying tax revenues there is a lot of political desire to make this happen. The company is willing to pay a twenty million dollar bonus if the closing of the base and movement of military personnel happen quickly. The company has agreed to help significantly and asked for a ninety-nine year lease, so that was the last hurdle. Should the government go to war, they have the right to reinstate parts of the base.”
Bethany Anne’s eyes got frosty. “Dad. That could be a liability. You know we are going to war.”
Lance smiled. “Well, it seems that the legal language requires the war to be with a known terrestrial country. It can’t be with anything less than Russia, China or a coalition having a minimum of one million soldiers. That will, in fact, preclude them from grabbing the base if we go to war with say, Iraq, again. Plus, since we lease the base, they would lose the income plus have to mobilize everyone back. Once we have the base and everyone is happy, I’ll go back and renegotiate. But, it gets us the base quickly.”
Bethany Anne thought about the downsides and had to agree this was probably the best solution right now. She sat back again. “Well, that’s still good news, but make sure we have a bolthole. I don’t want some trumped up agency knocking on the front door telling us to leave everything and get out. I want there to be doors we can use to get out the back with our stuff.”
Frank looked up from his typing and grinned. “Not very trusting, are you?”
“Hell no! I’ve worked for the government, remember? I put away some of these creeps. I trust them to either be altruistic, which has its own set of problems, work for themselves, or work for the money. I’ve never found them to be very pragmatic unless there was a political reason for it. So, no. Speaking of that, how is our Congressman Pepper?”
“Helpful. At least so far. We haven’t asked too much and he is careful making demands of us with all of the dirt Frank has on him. He’s talked with Anton, but told him off so we think we have him bought and paid for. Anton invited him to an event he’s having in two weeks, but Pepper told him he was stuck in meetings and couldn’t make it.”
Bethany Anne’s eyes narrowed. “Hold on, did you say Anton is having an event? Why is this the first I’m hearing about this?”
Nathan chose that moment to arrive, his hair an unruly mess, but he looked pretty relaxed. He went over to Ecaterina and gave her a kiss. “What did I miss?”
Bethany Anne answered for her, “You missed telling me that Anton is having a party.” Nathan sat down next to Ecaterina.
“Yes, Bethany Anne, Anton is having a party. I told them not to tell you until I had more to go on. With Michael here, I have more information and the beginning of a plan. The problem…” The front door opened again. Bethany Anne could hear Michael and Stephen talking as the door shut, discussing fashion. This was becoming a damned reality TV show.
Bethany Anne put up a hand to Nathan to stop him from continuing. She turned to Lance. “Is Patricia going to be coming in anytime soon?”
Lance shook his head, “Unlikely. She had a list of over twenty names. She should be busy for at least a couple of hours.”
Michael and Stephen walked into the room, both dressed fashionably for Miami weather. Stephen looked good as always but Michael was a significant step above. He had lost his age and a very young and scrumptious thirty year-old was smiling as he walked in. This man was going to get jumped if he walked into a bachelorette party anytime soon.
“Hello you guys, take a seat. I’m just getting up to speed on what you all have been making happen without telling me.”
Stephen grabbed two chairs from the kitchen and gave one to Michael, who was remarkably calm and seemed to be enjoying life. Bethany Anne noticed that even Nathan wasn’t shying away from the man as he reached over to shake his hand. Something was going on behind her back. That they were all happy meant something, she just didn’t know what yet.
The two vampires sat next to each other. Bethany Anne was having a hard time figuring out what was going on. She looked around the room.
Stephen and Michael talking and looking relaxed together. Weird, check.
Nathan shaking Michael’s hand and not flinching. Cold day in hell, check.
Ecaterina and Nathan happy with each other. Well, at least one thing was nice and didn’t give her ominous feelings… Wait a minute.
She speared Nathan with a finger. “You prick! You’re sure you know how to nail Anton and don’t want me to be part of it.”
Steph
en’s large grin let her know she was heading in the right direction. Michael’s face gave nothing away and Nathan only winced.
He started, “Not exactly. It’s just we have a good idea of what Anton is going to do and we think we should discuss options.”
“I’m listening.” She sat back, her arms crossed in front of her.
“Anton has this party, which I was about to tell you. The thought is to use Pepper’s invitation and you be his plus one. Once you get in, Pepper will leave again. You can deal with Anton. We’ll have Killian and Ecaterina at two separate locations with views into his house.”
Bethany Anne’s voice was a little short. “You know where he lives?” She was already considering getting a plane ticket and flying down there right now. Make that three tickets, and a ticket for a dog. Damn, she would have to have Paul Jameson come get her. Fuck, she wasn’t going to make this happen fast at all.
Nathan turned to Frank, who started speaking while he turned his laptop around, “We have the location of the party. I don’t think it’s his main house. So, right now no. The man is very security conscious so I highly doubt he is here except for the party.”
There went her need to call Paul right then. That was when she noticed Ecaterina smiling, holding Bethany Anne’s phone which she hadn’t returned.
Bethany Anne smiled back, sneaky bitch. Her team knew her too well.
Michael chose to interrupt her efforts to go kill Anton right then. “Bethany Anne, have you ever wondered why I didn’t kill Anton a long time ago?”
Bethany Anne turned back to Michael. “Hell yes. That prick needed to be gone a long time ago and certainly after World War II.”
Michael leaned forward in his chair. “Granted. I didn’t know about his actions in World War II or I might have tracked him down, or I might not have.” Frank turned his laptop around and started typing while Michael talked. This was history talking.
Like, literal history. The man should be in a museum just answering questions. She smirked to herself, maybe she could get him to do something like Chippendales. Oh shit! Her face locked in place. She was trying desperately to not laugh out loud at her own thought. Michael strutting his stuff at Chippendales for the ladies. God! That was too much. Time stopped as she willed herself to stop thinking about the subject. Anton, Anton… Need to focus on killing Anton.
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 102