“Do you think this is all of them? They have no heavy equipment, no air cover,” Carlos said. “It seems too small a force for a major offensive.”
“That’s what I was thinking,” Kallen said. “We move a thousand Protectors here, and what happens if there’s a second offensive?”
He turned to the pretty young Protector who shadowed him everywhere he went. Shia, open a link to Collin for me, he requested.
Shia MacDonald, endowed with the Krasevec Gift for Distance Communication, did as he requested.
Collin, we have a force of seven hundred about fifty miles from Quito. It looks as though the enemy is making a major commitment, but Carlos and I are both uneasy. It’s too few men for a major offensive, but large enough we have to take it seriously.
I agree, Collin sent. Siobhan sent word last night that CBW brought in a lot of troops in the last couple of weeks, and they did it very quietly.
Boss, may I borrow another regiment?
Twenty-four hours, Collin answered.
~~~
The planes landed at a military airbase. Carlos and his men cleared the way and made sure none of the non-telepaths remembered the operation.
“Damn, Kallen, how many of them are there?” Carlos asked as the fourth plane landed. Another circled, waiting its turn.
“Five planes, fifteen hundred Protectors,” Kallen answered. “We’re going to lay a trap for the enemy and kick their asses.”
Earlier that day, they had moved a force of almost one thousand troops to positions confronting the enemy force Carlos’ men had detected south of Quito. That left only three hundred fighters in the Quito area. Their scouts almost immediately detected the movement of large bodies of men around the city. Information was spotty, but their estimate was between five hundred and seven hundred men were poised to launch an attack on Vargas’ installations in and around the city.
Shaking his head, Carlos asked, “Where did you get them on such short notice? This is double what you said you’d commit to South America.”
“Collin’s had them in Mexico City, training and becoming acclimated to altitude,” Kallen said. “We wanted to be able to react if we had to.”
~~~
The first attack came from the force south of the city at dawn the next day. A mortar barrage hit the ridge Kallen and Carlos had stood on two days before, followed by a Pyrokinetic attack against the base of the hill, cutting off escape in that direction for any O’Donnell or Vargas troops.
The Consortium force was deployed in four groups, and the group on O’Donnell’s left flank now moved toward the hill. As the enemy moved around the end of what they thought was O’Donnell’s line, Kallen nodded to Shia.
Left flank, close the trap, she sent to the Vargas and O’Donnell soldiers. With fire and rifles, the troops stationed on the left pinned the attackers against the fire on the hillside.
Tommy, Kallen sent, retreat off the hill. Let them have it.
Don’t have to tell me twice, Tommy replied, we abandoned the top when the shelling started. The contingent under Tommy’s command raced down the backside of the hill and melted into the jungle.
Shia, tell Dan and Alphonso to launch their attacks, Kallen told his aide. Shortly thereafter, helicopter gunships appeared in the south, racing toward them. While still over a mile away, they began firing missiles toward the enemy forces hidden in the jungle in front of the hill.
At the same time, O’Donnell Protectors on the right hit the enemy flank with a wall of flame mixed with Neural Disruption energy.
The jungle blossomed with explosions as the missiles hit, and as the helicopters drew closer, their machine guns began hammering. Over the next two hours, Kallen’s forces drove the enemy toward the hill. Covered with rocks and holding the high ground in the area, it was the only defensible position to which they could retreat from the ambush behind them.
The sun rose high into the sky, and the fighting fell into a lull as the enemy escaped and dug in, using the trenches and fortifications O’Donnell and Vargas had built over the past few days.
Shia, give the order to cease fire and withdraw, Kallen ordered.
Half an hour later, she walked up to him and slipped her arm around his waist. “They’re all out of the way,” she said, looking up into his face.
“Casualties?”
“I don’t have a complete count, but at least a dozen dead, forty or fifty wounded. There are a couple of units I can’t reach, so I don’t know how bad it is.”
He knew that if Shia couldn’t reach them, they were either dead or burned out. She was one of the most powerful distance communicators they had, almost as strong as Brenna.
“Tell Tommy to pull the trigger.”
He felt her shudder, and her arm squeezed him hard. She closed her eyes, and in his mind he heard her send, Tommy, Kallen says to do it.
The hill exploded. Over two tons of explosives O’Donnell and Vargas had planted detonated. All the fortifications and trenches the enemy was using for shelter turned into traps filled with shrapnel.
Shia turned her face into Kallen’s shoulder and he wrapped his arms around her, holding her tight. The explosions continued for almost five minutes. The silence afterward was punctuated only by the sounds of falling debris and the screams of the wounded.
~~~
Collin stood on the edge of a canyon funneling down out of the Andes into Quito. The road running below him led from the main Vargas compound outside the city to one of their main ranches. The ranch had been overrun during the night. Now a column of more than three hundred enemy fighters rolled down the road toward the Clan compound O’Donnell had sworn to protect.
“The defenders north and west of the city report contact,” an aide told him. Collin nodded. He had a thousand Protectors facing what intelligence reports said was five hundred enemy in those areas. Since the enemy didn’t know the O’Donnell troops were there, he expected they were feeling rather surprised.
At his position, he had two hundred of his best, half on each side of the canyon. It surprised him that the enemy had driven into the trap without an evident qualm.
Taking a deep breath, he used Telekinesis to pull the stopper out of the rock pile to his right. Rocks the size of Volkswagens rolled down the slope, setting off an avalanche. Turning to his left, he sent the rocks perched there down the slope. The sound was incredible, echoing through the canyon. Dust hid everything and everyone below him.
As the deafening noise subsided, he sent a message to his troops, Fill it with flame.
He sent as large a fireball as he could conjure into the canyon and immediately began forming another one. All of his troops were doing the same thing. It would take some time to clear the rocks blocking the road before it could be used again, but no one would escape the inferno below.
~~~
CHAPTER 19
Whatever women do they must do twice as well as men to be thought half as good. Luckily, this is not difficult. ~Charlotte Whitton
Brenna attended two committee hearings, then she accompanied Rebecca to the Ecuadorian embassy. Coming back to their rooms at the DC compound, they ran into Karen.
“Hey, what’re you up to this evening?” Brenna asked. “Rebecca and I were just talking about going out to eat. Collin’s in Mexico, Carlos is in Ecuador, and Mike’s in England, so I know you’re at loose ends. Want to join us?”
“Honey, that’s the best offer I’ve had all week. Let me grab my purse.”
They had dinner at a nice place and afterward Brenna suggested going hunting.
Karen looked wistful, “I haven’t been out hunting with a succubus in years. I used to go with Cindy occasionally. I wonder if I still have it.”
“Come on, it’ll be fun.”
“Talked me into it,” Karen smiled. “Things haven’t been going so great with Mike lately, and I think getting laid may be just what I need.”
“I’m going to bail out on you,” Rebecca looked tired. “I’m
just not up for it this evening. I’ll leave you with the boyos and go home, have a quick shag, take a bath and go to bed. See you in the morning.”
They offered to drop her off, but she said the mile walk would do her good. She left them with her team and the limo. As she walked off down the street, Brenna smiled, watching four of the team peel off and discreetly flank Rebecca. She wondered if Rebecca was aware she was getting granddaughter security.
Taking the limo to a hotel near the Capitol, the women drifted into the bar and put themselves on display. It didn’t take long to attract attention, and after they brushed off a couple of unacceptable candidates, a charming Englishman scored with Karen, and soon after that, Brenna went upstairs with a Republican strategist.
He was fun, but he didn’t last too long, and she was soon downstairs trolling for another hook up when she received a spear from Karen.
Brenna, there’s something wrong with this guy.
What do you mean?
I think he’s a telepath, but he doesn’t show any Talents. Do you think he might be wearing a construct?
What room are you in?
Brenna hadn’t paid much attention to the man Karen picked up, being distracted by a three-way conversation at the time. She went up to the room Karen indicated.
When she got there, she sent a spear, Is the door unlocked?
No.
Karen, I need to see the door through your eyes.
Using what Karen was seeing, she unlocked the door using Telekinesis and pushed it open cautiously. She could see the man sitting on the bed, and he did have a white aura.
He must have seen the door move out of the corner of his eye because he leapt up and tried to erect his shields. He was too late. Brenna entered his mind, found the construct, and then drove through his shields and seized control of his mind. He froze and fell back on the bed, staring at the ceiling.
“You sure know how to pick ‘em,” she told Karen.
Karen shrugged, “Any idea who he is?”
“CBW operative, and you were right, he’s wearing a construct.”
“Crap. Any idea why he targeted me?”
Rummaging through his mind, Brenna laughingly told her, “Because he thought you’re hot. He didn’t know who you are or that you’re a telepath. His assignment is the Ecuadorian embassy. He’s only peripherally concerned about us.”
Rebecca, are you home yet? Brenna sent.
Oh, hell, I’ve been home for hours. I’m taking a bath.
Sorry to do this to you, but we captured a CBW operative.
Shit. Can’t I leave you alone for a minute without you getting in trouble?
Not me. Karen. She picked up a live one. Rebecca, he’s wearing a construct, and his assignment is the Ecuadorian embassy.
Damn. Bring him in.
Brenna contacted her protection team, and they came and took him down a service elevator in a laundry basket. Karen and Brenna went down to the lobby more conventionally and stepped into their waiting car.
Rebecca met them at the compound wearing a bathrobe and bunny slippers. Taking their captive to the basement, she entered the man’s mind and collapsed the construct. A few minutes later, she jumped up with an exultant expression.
“Jackpot. Hot damn! You guys did good. He’s not just assigned to the embassy. He’s in charge of the team assigned to the embassy. He’s got everything. Contacts, networks, money channels. He’s got it all. Their whole damn network in Washington. We’ve got them.”
The problem was that almost everyone senior to Rebecca was out of town. In fact, they were out of the country.
“Brenna, can you reach the manor?”
“Sure, I can probably reach Collin.”
“Jeremy’s in West Virginia. Get him down here.”
“Now? It’s one o’clock in the morning.”
“Now. We need to move on this fast, and I need someone experienced. All this crap about rank is fine until you need to know what you’re doing.”
Jeremy?
Brenna, this isn’t a good time.
I’m getting a lot of that tonight. As soon as you finish, put your clothes on. We need you in DC. We captured a high-level CBW operative, and Rebecca says he has the keys to their operations against Ecuador.
No shit? Okay, I can sleep in the car. Can you reach Collin?
I think so. Say hello to Margaret for me.
No way. She’d kill you for this.
Brenna broke the connection and reached out to Collin in Mexico. When she reached him, it seemed he was much farther away than usual.
Collin?
Brenna? Damn, you can reach me?
Be good, lover, you’re never out of reach.
I’m not in Mexico. I’m in Ecuador.
Why are you there? I thought you weren’t going into the war zone. Brenna suddenly felt cold. Collin was in a place where he could die. She shot a glance at Rebecca and realized her sister had been living with such feelings for months.
CBW launched a major offensive on Vargas. I had to come bail Kallen and Carlos out, he replied. She could read strain and exhaustion through their link.
Are you winning?
Yeah, we won, but it wasn’t pretty.
Is Carlos all right? Brenna asked, watching Rebecca out of the corner of her eye.
Oh, yeah. The helicopter didn’t crash very hard.
What?
Don’t tell Rebecca. He wasn’t hurt.
Well, while you’re off playing soldier, Collin, we captured a CBW operations supervisor. Rebecca says he has tons of intelligence and organization stuff in his head. We asked Jeremy to come down here, and he should be here in about six hours. I think he wants to talk to you when he gets here.
Call me then.
~~~
Jeremy arrived with three vans full of Protectors. He confirmed what Rebecca had seen in the CBW operative’s mind, and Brenna contacted Seamus. Between the two of them, they set up a telepathic conference call with Rebecca, Jeremy, Collin, Kallen, Mike Riley and Jerome Somerville, the security chief in London. Brenna felt like some kind of appliance, everyone’s thoughts routing through her mind while she had no part in the discussions.
By the time they finished, Jeremy was giving orders to mobilize two hundred Protectors in the DC area. Seamus was contacting Protectors all along the Eastern Seaboard.
The senior leadership in DC gathered for a briefing.
“Jeremy, this guy wasn’t watching O’Donnell, and doesn’t know who is watching us,” Brenna said. “I don’t get it.”
“Compartmentalization,” he said.
“Huh?”
“Common intelligence practice,” Rebecca said. “Cells of people who know each other, but don’t have knowledge of other operatives. Normally, an operative knows the people he works with, and the person above him. That way, if he’s captured, he can’t reveal too much. In this case, we captured someone up the ladder, but he still doesn’t know everything.”
“But his boss will know more, and that’s the first place we’ll hit,” Jeremy said. “And that’s where you come in.”
Brenna sat back in her chair and folded her arms over her chest. “You want me to seduce his boss?”
“Sort of,” Rebecca said. “We need you to get him alone, someplace private, where we can break him down and search his mind without making a fuss or alerting anyone.”
“You mean, where I can break him down,” Brenna said.
“Yeah,” Jeremy said, “that’s what we mean. Look, if you just smash his shields, well, you know what happens. He has guards, and we don’t want to tip our hand too soon.”
Brenna took a deep breath, then turned and looked at Rebecca. “Is that really how everyone sees me? As someone with no subtlety whatsoever? A bull in a china shop?”
Rebecca and Jeremy looked uncomfortable. Cindy and Karen said, “Yes,” in unison.
“I’
m not saying you can’t be subtle,” Cindy said with a shrug. “You asked how people see you.” She looked around the table. “Actually, I think this is a situation for a combination of subtlety and brute, succubus force. Jeremy, figure out where we’re going to find this guy. Brenna and I will take care of him.”
Cindy, Brenna sent, the O’Donnell Gift is more than smashing someone’s shields. That’s just what people see because it’s quick and spectacular.
I know that, Cindy replied with a smile, I know the other person with the Gift very, very well. I’m sure he hasn’t skimped on training you in your most important Gift.
“This guy we captured, he’s English,” Karen said. “Everyone keeps talking about the German threat. I think this is a bit of a reminder that the real threat is CBW, and it’s not simply a German organization.”
“That’s true,” Jeremy said. “This guy and his boss are part of the Gordon Clan. As you know, the late, unlamented, John Gordon was allied with some of the worst elements of CBW.”
“And you think a Gordon man won’t recognize Brenna or Cindy?” Rebecca asked.
“Actually, I’m counting on it,” Cindy said. The venom in her voice silenced everyone at the table. “Just find him. Brenna and I will take care of the rest.”
~~~
David Blair was a nephew of Lord John Gordon, deceased head of the English Gordon Clan. Of the Clans in the British Isles, it was the only one not aligned with O’Donnell. Gordon had been a backer of the Nazis in the 1930s and a close ally of Siegfried von Ebersberg’s Clan. In the aftermath of Gordon’s death, CBW had stepped in and reorganized Gordon’s Clan.
The operative Brenna had captured knew where to find Blair, but also was aware of the strong security surrounding Blair’s home in the Washington suburb of Chevy Chase. Blair did have a weakness, a fondness for fine dining. Two hours of calling restaurants in the DC Metro area identified the place he had reservations to dine the next evening. A visit by an O’Donnell Protector ensured that Brenna and Cindy would have the table next to his. A deluge of calls to the restaurant reserved all of the remaining available tables from an hour before Blair arrived until an hour after.
Walking into the restaurant the next evening, Brenna realized she knew almost everyone there, and the Clan members were all women. She and Cindy were escorted to a small table near a semi-circular booth against the wall. Shortly after they placed their order, Blair walked in with a young woman.
Succubus Rising, An Urban Fantasy (The Telepathic Clans Saga) Page 19