by Michael Todd
Billie walked to her bag and picked it up. “No problem. It’s a lot of fucking stuff. I have to go back and do a mission. I can’t be gone much longer without having the full force of my people come down on my shoulders. I will be gone probably about a week to ten days, tops.”
Holly nodded her head. “Got it.”
Hickok hesitated. “How is JB?”
She bit the inside of her cheek. “He’s not doing good. He doesn’t come downstairs anymore and mostly lays in bed, sleeping and watching movies. Paula says he is in a lot of pain and is very weak. I’ll move as fast as I can, and I need you to get back as fast as you can. In my estimation, JB should last at least another couple of weeks…I hope.”
Billie walked forward and put her hand on Holly’s shoulder. “We got this. You can do it. Remember how smart you are and how you are putting it to really good use. Okay?”
Just then, they heard Amanda come in downstairs. Billie smiled and nodded. “I’ll be back soon.”
Amanda had only come in for a moment and then ran out to get coffee. Billie went down and let herself into the shop where she settled herself on one of the tables. She looked around at all the orders that piled up and hoped the woman wasn’t neglecting her business for her. The door to the shop opened and Amanda entered with a coffee.
She didn’t even look at her visitor. Clearly, she already knew she was there. “I got your baby back.”
Billie jumped down from the table as Amanda approached and removed the suit from the box. She held it up and pointed to where all the dents and divots used to be. “Then I went into the electrical system, and without shutting you down, I rewired a few things. It will give you better ventilation inside. There is also a self-cleaning action on your visor now. You call for it and the outside will clean itself with a mixture of liquid and heat, no wipers needed.”
She chuckled and held it out in front of her. “That is really great, Amanda. I didn’t realize you could continually do such awesome work.”
The armorer looked at her in surprise. “Why not? Have I not shown you already I am one badass bitch?”
Billie laughed. “I suppose you have.”
She tossed an envelope to the woman. “There, that’s double. It should cover Salinger’s cost and give you the same amount if not more.”
Amanda put the money down on the table. “I know this is for JB.”
Billie stopped and looked at her. “What?”
The armorer folded her arms. “I know JB is sick and you and Holly are trying with everything you have to cure him. JB is one of the most awesome people I have ever met. I can’t possibly take payment when you are doing all this to save my friend’s life.”
She smiled and pushed the envelope closer to her. “Too late. Take the money. If JB were here, he would tell you to take it. Besides, I see you’re behind now. Hopefully, that can lessen the blow from it.”
Hickok stripped down right there and pulled her suit on. She held her HUD under the arm. “I’ll be back. Keep an eye on Holly for me. She’s worked her ass off and then comes back and tries to find a cure.”
Amanda studied her. “Yeah, yeah, watch after Holly. I have to say something though…”
Billie raised an eyebrow. “What?”
The woman shook her hand. “Damn, you are hot in that armor.”
Amanda smirked at the flirt. Billie cheesed, put her helmet on, and pressed a button on the side. Amanda tilted her head and opened her mouth to wish her well, but before she could, Billie disappeared right in front of her eyes. The woman’s mouth dropped open and she stepped forward, expecting to bump into her, but there was absolutely nothing in her way. “Holy shit!”
Six Days After Hickok’s Return
Holly clicked the light on at her desk and opened her diary. She took her favorite pen from the drawer and untwisted the cap. While she was as tired as she had been before, the adrenaline that rushed through her had blocked that exhaustion. She had worked non-stop on a cure for JB. First, she had taken some of the goop from the Pita plant and continued to make an almost daily concoction for him to drink. He did it without hesitation, which she was very thankful for.
The only problem was how oddly they were reacting. It wasn’t necessarily a negative thing, merely a little confusing. She jotted down the different chemical reactions and how they worked together in her diary. This was a more personal view of the healing process. She had her scientific notes, but she knew that there was more to life and healing than simply the chemical reactions.
She continued writing about JB’s status. I am starting to believe that I might understand the unique areas that help when using the goop concoction. It is not like human ointments or salves. If you have an injury on earth, you put the cream directly on the cut. For the goop, the way it gets in you only matters when you inject it directly into a wound. For JB’s case, the wound is basically his entire system.
Holly pulled the slip of paper next to her over and glanced at the numbers. A blood test from two days ago reveals some serious changes to JB’s health. Not only does he seem to be going into a small remission, but his intestines and other mandatory body pieces are mending faster than ever imagined.
She picked the pen up and put the end of it against her teeth. She was very optimistic when she wrote, but in reality, she wasn’t sure if what was happening was a remission or the organism gearing up for an even bigger attack. She put the pen back to the paper. The percentage of odds is still unknown and JB continues to live each day, one day at a time. He has grown more accustomed to being exiled from labor, but he still pushes himself harder than I fear is healthy. If the remission is indeed happening, he will have that time in the future. I will check on him later to confirm his lack of symptoms and physical change in health. On the opposite side, when the check-in occurs, we may find that the disease has actually returned. At that point, we will have to look at the next training option in line.
Holly hated writing the word if. She wanted JB to be cured and she had to believe the medicine was finally working, but she didn’t want to get her own or someone else’s hopes up. When it came down to it, she had to know for certain because if she ignored the negative, that could be what killed him.
She cracked her neck and continued writing. Research is far from over. It is a revolving door of exploration. The deeper I delve into the research, the more questions I have. I am currently still looking into more of the attributes of the goop. It came to my attention that currently, the purest forms of the substance come either directly from the Pita plant or from the sacs located at the base of the brain of a dino. I do not know how long that will be the case. The resource does seem to be finite.”
Holly looked out the window and leaned her head on her hand. She needed to find more of the right kind of goop. She tried to find an acceptable balance between treating JB and doing the tests that needed to be done in order to come up with the right treatment for him. At the same time, though, she couldn’t keep sending Billie into the Zoo to collect more samples for her.
The woman was brave and strong, but she stood as much chance of being killed in that place as anyone else. The last thing Holly wanted to see happen was for her to go in exhausted and never come back. But at the same time, if she didn’t send someone in, JB would get worse again.
Holly sat there and pondered the dilemma, thinking about different mercenaries she had met along the way whom she could use to get more goop. They would have to be trustworthy, and they would have to have a reasonable budget. She wasn’t hurting for money but at that moment, she was pretty much working pro bono. Shelling out hundreds of thousands like the corporations did to retrieve the stuff was way out of her league.
She stood and walked to the coffee maker, reached behind it, and plugged it into the wall, chuckling that Billie had unplugged it again. Once she poured herself a cup of coffee, she began to pace the room. There were so many men and women fighters, but she wasn’t sure which one would be the absolute best to get what she neede
d. She was the one who knew the specifics and she was the one who knew where to find them.
Suddenly, Holly stopped in the middle of the floor and stared into the distance. Her eyes bugged slightly, and her heart began to race wildly. She took a deep breath and cleared her mind. It took effort to calm herself, but she wanted to think through that same idea in a logical and unemotional manner. She put her coffee down and stood tall as her bravery kicked in. “Shit.”
Holly released a wild breath and ran her hands through her hair. There was only one right decision to make, and it wasn’t finding mercs to do the job. She looked out the window into the far distance.
“I’ve to go into the Zoo.”
Author Notes - Michael (Todd) Anderle
January 16, 2019
THANK YOU for not only reading this story but these Author Notes as well.
(I think I’ve been good with always opening with “thank you.” If not, I need to edit the other Author Notes!)
RANDOM (sometimes) THOUGHTS?
Presently (like right now as I type this) I am jamming out to Rob Zombie.
He isn’t someone I’ve been accustomed to listening to in my life, as his persona wasn’t something that drew me in. I liked his Dragula song a lot, but for whatever reason, I NEVER went and tried his music out.
Well, thanks to Apple Music (or your streaming service of choice), I downloaded a metric shit-ton of his songs and learned that his music was WAY more normal than his look. And I love the grooving guitars.
A lot.
I can see why he went into movies as well. He brings a fair amount of layering of audio clips to the music that gives them a slight film-score feeling to me. With the driving beat on some of them (that I can see being played in clubs … Hell, probably was) I feel like I’m arriving to the Rob Zombie club decades late.
It’s better that I got here at some point rather than never.
Time to crank up Dragula.
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AROUND THE WORLD IN 80 DAYS
One of the interesting (at least to me) aspects of my life is the ability to work from anywhere and at any time. In the future, I hope to re-read my own Author Notes and remember my life as a diary entry.
One Night in Bangkok (or 5…)
So, I was chatting with author Jonathan Brazee yesterday, asking about Bangkok. (His wife Kiwi is from this country, and he lived here, and I believe they have a home somewhere in this country.)
I asked him what I should go see… Here was his reply (copied here without permission. Cause I’m sure someone will rat me out, and why should I waste giving them the opportunity?)
The Grand Palace is a cultural must-see, but pay no attention to the guys outside who will tell you that it's closed for some sort of royal ceremony. That is a scam for them to offer to take you to a gem factory while you "wait for the palace to open again." There is a very odd forensic museum if you have the stomach for it. Ayuttaya, which is an hour outside of town, is impressive (there are tons of tours there, or you can take a taxi). If you want a good steak, go to El Gaucho or the steakhouse at the top of the Marriott. The floating market is nice, but it is a ways out of town. I don't know if it is worth it.
I told him I read “blah blah El Goucho…”
Apparently, steak gets my attention like palaces, museums, and floating markets do not.
I’ll save his comments about the sex / night life for some other set of Author Notes ;-)
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Ad Aeternitatem,
Michael Anderle
Ghost Brawling
Soldiers of Fame and Fortune Book Seven
Chapter One
Hickok pulled her jacket collar over her mouth and shivered hard. Snow fell in London, and the temperature change was almost a shock after the Sahara. The nights were cold in the desert too, but nothing like the icy chill in the wind that whipped across the Thames. She stood on the edge of a building’s roof and looked across at the expansive wonder of Parliament. The lights along the sidewalk at its base twinkled and the massive building reflected in the water below. She couldn’t help but feel back in the game, especially after she’d spent so much time in the shadows, worried about JB and sneaking around behind her boss’s back.
Marcus walked up beside her and flipped his scarf over his shoulder. “A little change of scenery is good for everyone, don’t you think?”
Billie raised an eyebrow. “I suppose. Although you can have a change of scenery whenever you want. I’m somewhat more restricted.”
He scoffed. “Please. I get the dungeon with my toys. You get the whole world.” He blew on his hands and rubbed them together. “But perhaps going out this evening wasn’t my best idea ever.”
She chuckled, brought her hands to her mouth, and breathed warm air on them as he had done. “It’s not really like I get to choose where. And it’s also not like the targets vacation at five-star resorts in the islands. So, why am I standing on top of a building on a snowy night in London?”
Billie leaned forward to peer down at the Thames and the walking paths on either side. Boats jetted through the dark waters and tourists still milled around. She looked at her watch and shook her head. “Why are these people still out at eleven thirty at night?”
“Wow, old lady. Past your bedtime already?” Marcus chuckled. “This is London in case you’ve forgotten. People tend to stay out until the wee hours.”
She wrinkled her nose. “Well, just so you know, I’m not fond of getting my hair wet.”
The man nodded. “Sorry. They have some really good MI6 equipment on street level near Parliament. I suspect that they might be able to detect our stuff. I don’t want to take the chance that we might be made.”
Billie sighed. “So, why are we here?”
Marcus shrugged. “Well, certain persons have decided to hold on to information that should have been shared. It’s a common sin these days. But this time, you are tasked with ending the relationship.”
She shoved her hands in the pockets of her coat. “What’s his role?”
The man smirked. “Her role this time. She is a member of Parliament. It seems she knows more than enough to see the financial advantage in holding back technology that could really do wonders for Great Britain.”
Marcus withdrew a picture from his satchel and held it up for her to see. He sighed and turned it to face him and looked at the image. He spoke to the woman in the picture as if she were there. “Sorry, ma’am. But you signed a non-violate treaty for the country to support the world when major R&D comes out of the Zoo. You have decided to personally break the treaty and must now face reality.”
Billie paused, stared at him for a moment, and dropped her coat to the ground. She checked her body for her different tools and supplies while she shook her head and muttered to herself. “It looks like those fuckers from the past just signed your death warrant.”
She backed up to the middle of the roof, took off at a run, and snatched the picture from Marcus’s hand as she leapt off the building. With a swift motion, she tucked it inside her suit and put her arms up to roll into a dive. “It’ll suck to be you.”
Billie rolled her shoulders and pulled the hood of her spandex suit down. She shook her long auburn hair out and smiled when she felt not even a whisper of dampness on the inside. Alert as always, she kept herself close to the building but fortunately, didn’t have to go far.
She had emerged from the Thames and climbed the wall barely feet from her entry point. Her movements deft, she unzipped a pocket on her arm, withdrew a keycard, and slid it through the panel beside the door. Several lights flickered on and off until a subtle click confirmed that the door had unlocked.
She took the card key and flipped it in the air, caught it, and zipped it back in her pocket. Next, she took her headpiece and stuck the bulbs in her ears. “Testing. Marcus, come in.”
Static crackled for a second or two before the man’s voice echoed in her head. “That was a sweet dive. I would say at least a nine-point-five.”
Billie furrowed her brow. “That was pure gold medal status over there. Don’t you even try to steal my thunder.”
Marcus chuckled. “Okay, in through the door, fourth door on your right.”
She nodded and snuck carefully into the hallway. He scanned the halls and advised her that he found no video cameras working. She smiled.
You have to love a quality partner.
Cautiously, she eased along the edges of the hallway and counted the doors as she went. The plaque on the outside of the door had the woman’s name on it so she turned the knob, surprised to find the office unlocked.
“Moving inside,” Billie sub-vocalized to keep him updated.
She cracked the door open and slid inside the dark office, squatted low, and closed the door softly behind her. Hickok turned and flicked on the row of lights embedded in the chest of her suit. She hurried to the desk and searched quickly through the paperwork.
Two minutes later, she sighed in exasperation. “There’s nothing here. There’s not even any secret information in the filing cabinet in her desk.”
Marcus cleared his throat. “Then it’s likely she took the information home. We had hoped she’d hide it in her office, but she seems to be cleverer than that.”