Don't Cross This Line

by Michael Anderle

  Lance checked the information on Bethany Anne coming in from ArchAngel. The ambush on her was well planned, it seemed they had done a good job and planned for her calling in backups.

  “They had no idea who they were really hitting,” Dan commented. Lance turned to look at him. Dan nodded to the screen that Lance was viewing, “These people don’t know about the UnknownWorld. If they did, they wouldn’t have hit her with lots of people and regular weapons. They would have tried a small tactical nuke or something similar.”

  Lance turned back to the reports screens, “If you are trying to help me feel better, I’m telling you that you suck at it.” Lance grumped.

  Dan chuckled, “She’s going to be fine,” he sighed. “The world? I’m not so sure.”

  “Why?” Lance asked.

  “Because I see here,” Dan stepped up and pointed at some notes, “That Anna was hurt. Knowing Bethany Anne, she went full Queen Bitch on them.”

  The was a moment of silence before Lance nodded, “Right in front of everybody.”

  “Yup,” Dan admitted, “Probably not putting that genie back in the bottle.”

  Lance shrugged, “She was cracking under the pressure of staying nice all of the time anyway, Dan.”

  “You think so?” Lance nodded. “Why? I haven’t noticed too much,” Dan asked.

  “She was withdrawing a little more each week. Each time she had to turn the other cheek, to stay nice or tell her people to stay nice,” Lance informed him.

  Dan took a deep breath and let it out slowly, “Yeah, I’m kinda done with that bullshit myself.” He stepped to another console and looked, “How are we doing with the New Mexico effort?”

  “One second, I have an update on our inbound,” Lance said as he and Dan watched the hologram, “What are they sending our way?”

  “Look’s like metal caskets,” Dan said.

  “That’s what they will be,” Lance admitted, the men got a good look at the ship, “Looks like it’s our beloved UFO Group again,” Lance said, disgusted. “Reynolds!”

  “Sir?”

  “Hole those sonsabitches with a one-pound puck, Missiles. If they run, then hit them with J-Interceptors at fifteen k distance. If they don’t leave, then scramble two Black Eagles and take them out.”

  “You don’t want to capture them?” Dan asked.

  Lance grunted, “They just tried to kill my little girl, Dan.”

  Dan turned back to the hologram, “Fuck them up, Dad.”

  “J-Intercepts aren’t going to leave two pieces big enough to scratch together to get a spark,” the General said, staring at the hologram.

  Dan asked, “What are we going to do about the incoming?”

  “Reynolds?” Lance spoke out.

  “Yes?”

  “Destroy the first fifteen and then let the rest through as close as 100 meters to where they were going before you stop them.”

  MJ-12 Ship XJ 03

  “That’s correct, base,” Antony said, “All packages leaving the ship and we are about to head back to base. This part of the operation seems to have gone well.”

  Antony listened for a second, “Understood, XJ 03 out.”

  Antony felt the one of the last Ejection Modules leave the ship. Seconds later, he felt the last leave. Tyler called him on the comm.

  “All gone, boss. We going to stay or are we going to skedaddle?”

  “We are already,” Antony responded, typing in the final coordinates and stabbing the execute button, “leaving.”

  The large asteroid started getting smaller when the ship’s alarm started blaring. It was the alarm indicating the ship had suffered a puncture. Antony swore viciously and sealed his suit, “Tyler! What the hell happened?”

  Antony shoved the speed into the red, ignoring any additional alarms as the craft shot away from the asteroid.

  “Tyler!” Antony called but got nothing. He felt the alarms getting muffled as loss of atmosphere affected the sound carrying in a vacuum. Antony unbelted from his chair and raced to the stairs that led below.

  Jumping down the stairs three at a time, he dropped to the lower deck and ran half way around the circular hallway to come to the area of the ship where Tyler was working. Antony peered through the glass into the room, then he slammed the wall next to the door.

  “Dammit!” Antony turned around and slid down the wall, his heart breaking at the sight of his friend’s mangled flesh, his blood splatter all over the walls inside the room.

  Antony never even heard the microsecond of warning before two objects slammed through his craft.

  QBBS Merideth Reynolds

  William and Marcus could hear Bobcat’s footsteps as he came back up the stairs, bottles clinking in his hands.

  “Did I miss anything?” He asked the two friends as he passed William a cold beer and Marcus a Coke. It was a condition of Bethany Anne’s they weren’t allowed to serve Pepsi in All Guns blazing.

  Pepsi had become a black-market product.

  “You have five seconds before contact by objects which…”

  “OOOOoohhhhh!” The three men all gaped when massive explosions occurred some distance away.

  “Pretty fireworks, but too far away to know where they were going.” William said to the other two.

  “Five objects have been permitted to come closer,” Merideth told the men.

  Within seconds, the men saw reflections from about five metal objects heading towards the glass viewing deck’s direction.

  Bobcat took a swig of his beer then used the bottle to point out the window, “Motherfuckers, didn’t you think we considered this?” He asked no one in particular.

  “Fuck me,” William told the two, disgust coloring his voice, “I’m out a quarter ounce of gold.”

  Dulce Lake, New Mexico - USA

  Patrick slammed his office phone down and spat, “Son of A BITCH!” He jumped up, grabbed a chair and threw it ten feet to slam against a rock wall. “FUCK!” he yelled out.

  He had just received word they lost communications with XJ-03.

  Patrick looked around and could only see red. He wanted to grab something and start beating the shit out of anything and everything.

  “FUCK!” He screamed, once more. He walked back and put his hands on his desk, his head hung down as he squeezed his eyes shut, trying not to think about his last talk with Antony and Tyler before they left.

  “How did they find them?” He whispered into his empty office.

  “How?”

  QBBS Merideth Reynolds

  “All I’m saying,” Marcus chuckled, “Is this is the stupidest idea we’ve come up with yet.”

  “Oh shut up and turn around, it’s going to get us drinks for decades,” Bobcat laughed as he turned away from the window and reached for his belt.

  Outside QBBS Merideth Reynolds

  John Abdullah’s module started beeping and red lights lit up inside. Apparently, something had stopped them from making it all the way to the asteroid, but the small air jets would be able to get them close enough. The lid opened on his module.

  He used his feet to help him pull up and look around. He was amazed at the clarity of view space offered. He had a very tiny rotation. He reached over and hit the two buttons that would stop his rotation

  He moved slowly, as they had been taught. Fast movement was not your friend in outer space.

  When he was able to bring his visor around to see the asteroid more fully, his eyes opened wide at the sight in front of him.

  QBBS Merideth Reynolds

  “What are those three up to now?” Dan asked, aloud.

  “What three?” Lance asked as he issued commands to those who had been secreted down in New Mexico as he read reports on Bethany Anne’s situation.

  “Team BMW, who else?” Dan answered. “Oh, HELL No…” He busted up laughing, “Oh holy shit Lance, you have GOT to see this!”

  Outside QBBS Merideth Reynolds

  John Abdullah’s face drew in confusion at exactly what
he was seeing, but he finally had to admit it was exactly what he thought it was, originally.

  He had one black and two white asses pressed against glass aimed at him.

  QBBS Merideth Reynolds

  “Hahahahahaha”, Bobcat, William and Marcus were trying to catch their breath.

  “Lord, I would LOVE to know what those sumbitches are thinking right now,” William said and moved his butt across the glass, “Need a moon to figure out where you are, you fucking duck spunk?” he called over his shoulder towards those outside the huge window.

  Marcus finally slowed his laughing, “Oh Einstein, forgive me now but this is fucking funny!”

  “That’s it!” Bobcat called out, taking a swig of his beer, “Pull on that chain motherfuckers and win a one way trip to hell…It’s the one with two orbs on top!”

  The men, laughing their asses off hadn’t heard the footsteps coming up the stairs.

  “What the hell are you three doing?” a woman’s voice cut through their laughter.

  All three men, still bent over with their naked asses pushed up against the window looked over to their left. Gabrielle stood there, her mouth agape staring at them.

  They were grinning like three little boys.

  “Mooning those assholes!” Bobcat answered, jerking a thumb over his shoulder.

  Gabrielle took a few steps into the room and peeked around to see the last handful of men trying to get out of their ejection modules.

  “Are those terrorists?” She asked, confused. She looked back and forth between the three men, pants around their feet on the floor and the obviously lousy space walking terrorists outside.

  ‘Yeah, we think so,” William agreed. “Merideth said the first fifteen explosions were high-level, sophisticated devices that didn’t need oxygen.”

  “So, you three are mooning terrorists?” She asked, seeking confirmation.

  “Ah, yeah. Pretty much,” Bobcat agreed still grinning like a kid while he took a swig of his beer.

  “Oh,” she replied.

  Outside QBBS Merideth Reynolds

  John Abdullah’s face drew wrinkled in further annoyance when another white butt was pressed against the window aimed at him and his brothers.

  Those playing with them at the moment wouldn’t laugh when they got close enough to explode their bombs!

  QBBS Merideth Reynolds

  The Defensive Operations Room had filled up with people. There were screens all over the room, but the main, large screen in the middle wasn’t focused on the enemy.

  Merideth had scrambled three small working cams that had been used for outside efforts in the last six months. Now, the E.I. was using it to take video from behind the Terrorists, who had no idea the little units were there. The video was aimed at All Guns Blazing.

  “Merideth,” Dan called out.

  “Yes?”

  “Zoom back in on the window,” he told her trying to figure out what the hell…”Oh Lord!” Dan cracked up and others started laughing.

  —

  “Kiss it you fucking posers!” Gabrielle called out, “Hey, pass that beer over here!”

  Bobcat reached over and grabbed Williams beer, “Hey!” He called out.

  Bobcat passed it to Marcus who passed it to Gabrielle, “Gabrielle knows better than to ask for mine!” Bobcat told his friend who shrugged as they continued their mirth.

  —

  “I wonder if she knows her ass is being taped for posterity?” Lance asked Dan.

  “Well…now, whose fucking ass is that?” Dan called out when a fifth object pressed against the glass.

  —

  “Go Bellatrix!” Bobcat called out as the black German Shepherd turned around and pushed her rear against the window.

  She chuffed.

  “Hell yeah, that’s right!” Gabrielle laughed as Ashur’s mate chuffed additional comments about the men outside.

  —

  “This is getting Gottdammed ridiculous,” Lance said, trying not to laugh his ass off, “Oh lord almighty. Well, five asses for five assholes. I think we have enough for now. Reynolds!”

  “Sir?”

  “Tell those clowns to zip up, we are getting rid of the trash…”

  —

  Reynolds voice came out of the speakers in the viewing area, “Gentlemen, Lady and Bellatrix, General Reynolds has requested you be informed to zip up and watch.”

  “Oh good!” Marcus reached down for his pants, “who the hell is going to clean the glass?”

  The five of them turned and the four humans put their clothes back in the right places.

  Soon, the five men started struggling frantically as the the gravitic shield pushed them away from the Docks area. It started off slowly, then sped up to push the men just short of when they would likely pass out.

  “Now that,” Marcus commented, “Is terminal velocity.”

  —

  Out in space, John Abdullah could only scream in the darkness.

  CHAPTER EIGHTEEN

  The sirens could be heard getting closer as Bethany Anne walked into the ballroom. The smell of burnt flesh still pungent from the two terrorists she had toasted with the balls of energy she hurled at them.

  The men and women in the room stank of fear.

  Anna turned to watch as Bethany Anne came towards them. The ex-President held her up, concerned about her health.

  Bethany Anne walked through the doors and people shrank back against the walls. She looked at them as she made her way to the corner where Anna and the ex-President were … feet away from David’s dead body.

  “What are you?” One of the women hissed at Bethany Anne.

  “A mad as hell, recently shot in the back, pissed off bitch who is going to stick her foot up your butt if you don’t learn how to be polite to someone who just saved your scrawny useless ass,” Bethany Anne told her as she continued to the corner.

  Bethany Anne’s concern was evident as she knelt, “How are you, Anna?”

  “Alive?” Anna Elizabeth responded, “What happened?”

  “C’mon,” she reached under Anna and easily picked her up in her arms and turned towards the entrance to the hall. Looking at the ex-President, “You coming or are you staying with your man here?”

  The ex-President stared at David’s body and rolled down his sleeves, “I have no idea what he was up to, Bethany Anne.”

  “I know now, but I didn’t suspect when he shot me. He was mind-tapped by an enemy group who is using some serious badass mental shit.” Bethany Anne noticed John Grimes, himself a bloody mess striding into the room and the stink of fear ratcheted up higher.

  What the fuck was it about John? Bethany Anne wondered, that I fucking have glowing red eyes and damn near horns sticking out of my head, but it’s John that still causes a shit ton of fear when they didn’t see him do anything?

  Something to consider some other night.

  “John, please take Anna.” He nodded and gently took Anna from Bethany Anne.

  “Hey, I can walk,” Anna argued.

  “Shut up, Anna. This is the only time you are going to be touching John close like this or his woman will shoot you a final time, herself. So, stop trying to be a hero and allow your recently shot-to-shit-self to be carried, alright?”

  Anna nodded and put her head on John’s chest.

  She was asleep almost immediately.

  “So, he was manipulated?” the ex-President asked.

  “Yes,” Bethany Anne agreed, “he didn’t know what was going on. He was a pawn in a bigger game.”

  “Fuck.” the ex-President said looking around the room. “I won’t leave him here.”

  “Well, in for a penny, in for a shit-ton of copper,” Bethany Anne said and bent down and picked David’s body up and pushed it away.

  More intake of breath and muttering in other languages occurred when David’s body suddenly disappeared in thin air.

  “What the hell?” the ex-President exclaimed.

  “He’s in a foreig
n dimension, he will be fine until I pull him back out. We need to go,”

  >> Bethany Anne, your Executive Pod is waiting outside.<<