by Lucy Kelly
“The medical is going to come in and shoo you out of here soon, so let’s not waste time talking about me. How are we going to get that miserable worm, Hend, and stomp on him?” she asked.
Justyn went over the two ideas he had with her and her Ankida. Suzanna had a few suggestions. The medical came twice to remove the visitors from the room. At Suzanna’s insistence, he let them stay. When Justyn left, he had a workable plan. Now all he had to do was implement it.
Saying a prayer to the goddess everything would work out just right, he left medical to coordinate with the other warriors.
Chapter Twenty
Earth…
Becky had been taking another afternoon nap. She took a lot of naps these days. She was putting down the satellite phone on the bedside table, when it rang. She tried to understand what Justyn had told her. She sat on the side of the bed and thought of the best way to find this guy, Armus Hend. Duh! They would use Sarah’s Finder software! If he were in or near any populated area, they could track him down with this special software.
She got up and used the bathroom for the twentieth time that morning. She washed her face to get her brain cells back on track. She would have to contact Sarah and all Nephilim who were presently stationed on Earth. Hend wouldn’t have any idea how many were here instead of on the Far Star Station.
There was a knock at the door. “Becky, did I hear the phone? Do you have word from the gate?” asked Nyal from outside the bathroom.
Wiping off her face with a towel, she pulled open the door.
“Make way for the belly,” she said, stepping through the door.
With a worried frown, she rubbed her hands over her baby bump as she explained her conversation with Justyn. The two of them went downstairs to Becky’s office. She still had multiple computers. The CIA had removed the systems she used when she was employed by them. She then replaced them with specialized units she’d built with the help of her Ankida from a mixture of Earth and Nephilim technology. Her new system was light years ahead of her old one.
While she powered up, Nyal went to let Ishme in on what was happening. When the two men returned to the office, they had a plate of food with them. Becky did better when she had small meals throughout the day. She ignored the food as she opened an instant message session with Sarah and Tammy. All their online communications and software started in English, which was translated into Nephilim, and then encrypted. The process was reversed in the receiving computer. This way, no NSA programs or keyword searches would be able to get anything from them.
Becky had sent a text message to Sarah so she would be standing by when she got the computer up and running. Both women, being programmers, meant they were very fast typists. It didn’t take long for Becky to relate the situation to Sarah.
“I think we should contact Josephine March,” Sarah said.
“She just found out about us. A situation like this doesn’t put us in the best light. Will she keep our secret?” Becky asked.
“Her sister, Aimeé, the vet in San Francisco, has joined with Tonne and Jorne. The Nephilim are now her in-laws,” Sarah pointed out.
“Then I agree. We need to start spreading the word. He actually may not have landed on Earth yet. Do you think Justyn remembered to notify the emergency station on the moon?” Becky asked.
They had set up a camouflaged supply station on the dark side of the moon for moving food and people back and forth. Smaller pods would land on Earth and then larger shuttles would take off from the moon back to the gate.
“I don’t know, we should ask him. Do you remember how long it took you and Markus to get to the station from Earth last Christmas?” Sarah asked.
She didn’t want to remind Becky of that time in her life; it had been truly horrendous. Only due to the present emergency, did she dare risk it.
“I was in stasis for the trip up to the station. Oh, I remember. The trip back took about a week and a half. Justyn said it’s been a little over seven days. Could Hend have landed already?” she asked.
“Where the Earth is in its solar rotation as it relates to the gate—which is stationary—is going to play a role too. It depends on which route around the sun he takes. It could be as little as seven days or as many as eighteen days,” said Sarah, doing some rapid calculations. “We don’t have enough information.”
“Well, Justyn said they were going to try to intercept him in space. However, he didn’t sound too enthusiastic of it happening. He expects us to be on the lookout,” said Becky.
“I agree, Becks. Markus and Tammy left to check out the ranch in Montana. They’ve been gone for almost three weeks. The reports they’ve sent have been very positive. They’re due back in the next couple of days. Do you want me to rush them home?” Sarah asked.
“Nah, why ruin everyone’s day? They didn’t take the girls, right? They deserve a little honeymoon. I know they took a trip after Christmas when they got married, but that was with the kids,” said Becky. “I mean, how hard would it be to track down one guy? Let’s see if Justyn can get us a picture. We’ll run facial recognition through your Finder program,” Becky answered.
“That’s a great idea. However, if we want to do that, we’ll have to get law enforcement involved. Jack and I no longer have access to the necessary databases,” explained Sarah.
“See, this is where we’re different. I have no problem hacking into a system if the need is there. Get me a copy of the program and I can run it from here. Having a job history with the CIA has its uses. This will be like old times for me. Only without the capture and…well…let’s just drop that subject,” said Becky, when she realized where her thoughts were leading her.
They went over a few other things, got it straight who was doing what and ended their instant message stream. Becky didn’t bother shutting down her computer; she knew she might still need it. She was just thinking how pregnancy had sucked brain cells from her head. Otherwise, she wouldn’t have left the satellite phone upstairs. Now she was going to have to take her pregnant self and her tired knees up there to get it.
Nyal had just spun her chair to the right, when Ishme appeared at the door with the phone in his hand. “I knew there was a reason why I kept you around,” she said, giving him a kiss.
She tried reaching the station and was surprised when she couldn’t get through. Justyn must have called her from a different channel. Checking the phone history, she was able to figure out how to send a signal to a different number. After a few beeps, Justyn answered.
“Can you transmit me a picture of this guy? We don’t think he could have arrived yet, but we want to be ready when he does,” she said.
“Yes, I’ll get you a picture. I’m sorry, Becky, I should have thought of it before. I’m still trying to get an understanding of what’s going on here. We’re not going to be able to intercept him because the only ships that can overtake him are so big, your Earth government would be sure to pick them up on a telescope or some other image. Your world has a lot of cameras pointed at the stars. A large order of supplies was delivered to the station the day before his arrival, so there are only short-range pods on the moon base. At least, it’s heavily camouflaged, so he probably won’t find it. He blew up the ship he used from HeVan while he was in one of our shuttles on the other side of the station, supposedly making his inspection. As a result, the station wasn’t able to launch any ships to go after him,” Justyn explained.
“We’re relying on you and the Nephilim on Earth to capture Hend before he does any damage to your world. There was one Nephilim warrior with him, piloting the shuttle. We think Hend must have killed him. We believe he wants revenge on Addie and Grace. This is his way of getting it. I’m told he left behind a large amount of gold and platinum; he probably couldn’t come up with a way to take it with him, since they are so heavy. I’m sure he has other items, like gems.”
“I hope he does. It’s actually easy to track the sales of any gems of high quality, especially if they’re big. Remember wha
t Gilda told us? I wouldn’t want him making a public landing and offering the government to trade technology for asylum. That would be bad,” Becky said.
“I’ll say a prayer to the goddess it doesn’t happen. I would hate to attack Earth to get him back.”
Justyn ended the call. A few moments later, a transmission came through with full disclosure on former Councilman Armus Hend, including a physical description and all the crimes he committed. Becky was worried. According to his background, he didn’t have the Nephilim reverence for women. In fact, he sounded as if he had very little use for them at all. He wasn’t just a white collar criminal—he was a murderer!
After reading through the information, Becky decided they had to contact Josephine March, after all. Finding out Josephine had gone to San Francisco to check up on her sister, she made arrangements for her and her Ankida to fly there. When she finished, she checked her email. Sarah had come through. She had a link to download the Finder software—the latest version too. God bless Jack!
She started the download, and then went to the kitchen to find the guys. As usual, Ishme was cooking up something delicious.
“What’s for dinner?” she asked.
“I didn’t know how long your nap would be, so I put in a pot roast. I added carrots and potatoes after you got up. It should be ready in another fifteen minutes. Would you like a snack? I can put together some crackers and cheese,” he said.
Becky went over and put her arms around him. At least, she tried. He was a big man. Together with the baby bump, she couldn’t reach. “Have I told you today how much I love you?” she asked him.
“It’s not something I ever get tired of hearing. Does this mean you want crackers and cheese or you don’t?”
“I do. The munchkin and I are starving,” she said.
Becky had gotten pregnant just before Christmas. It was the end of April now, and she already looked as if she were six or seven months along. She kept talking as if there were only one baby—when everyone knew she was probably pregnant with at least twins. They let her get away with her mental gymnastics because that’s how she coped with impending motherhood. She also wasn’t willing to talk about possible names. Because to name a baby, you had to know how many babies you were having. You couldn’t name one and not the other!
Ishme was only a little concerned, they had taken a quick trip south for the sun and ended up coming right back home. Becky had complained she was too fat for a swimsuit. Markus had told him not to worry. Becky was still going to her regular checkups. She wasn’t ignoring the pregnancy or acting as if she weren’t pregnant at all.
“Just give her time,” Markus advised, “she will get there.”
He didn’t realize Becky’s thoughts were running along similar lines.
She sat down at the kitchen table. She knew it would take twenty to thirty minutes for the program to download, even with her system. When she couldn’t scoot her chair closer to the table, she sighed.
So much is going on. When am I going to get my normal, suburban soccer mom life? Becky wondered.
“Where’s Nyal?” she asked.
“He’s upstairs pulling the luggage out of the spare room. He thought he’d start packing for the trip to San Francisco,” said Ishme, bringing a plate to the table and handing Becky a napkin to put over her lap. She tucked it in her collar. She had major cleavage, now that she was preggo.
“Call him down here, would you? I want to talk to both of you,” she said.
Ishme could see she had something on her mind. Instead of asking questions, he went upstairs to get his brother.
When all three of them were sitting at the kitchen table, Becky dusted cracker crumbs off her hands, and put the napkin on the table.
“I’ve read the file on this man, Armus Hend. I understand how dangerous he is. I want you to know that while I intend to run the software and other things to help get him, I don’t intend to take any risks with my life or put the babies in any danger. See—I said babies. I wasn’t ready to be pregnant with a brood but I’m not a stupid woman. I admit my baby bump is quite a bit larger than it should be for someone who’s only about four months pregnant.”
She looked up from the table where she’d been making circles with her fingers.
“I know Addie did her fertility thing on us. I’m happy—really, I am. I just don’t know if I’m ready for more than one baby.”
Ishme reached over and laid his hand over hers. “You have a twin sister. It’s possible you’re having more than one baby because multiple births run in your family. It may have nothing to do with Addie,” he said.
Becky looked shocked. She had grown up as an only child. Even though she and Sarah were identical twins, she didn’t automatically go there in her head.
“That’s right! I don’t know why, but that makes me feel better.”
Wagging her head back and forth, she let the idea sink in. A lot of people had twins; her mother had twins. Just because Addie did her fertility thing, didn’t mean it was weird for her to be having twins.
“Okay, we’re having twins. The next time I go to the doctor, we’ll find out if we’re having girl twins or boy twins or one of each. Then we can start thinking of names. Until then, I’m sticking with ‘the belly bump’ or ‘the munchkins’ or other names like those.”
“I like ‘munchkins'. Where does the name come from?” Nyal asked.
“That will require a visual explanation. I’ll bring the DVD on the plane,” she answered.
By this time, the timer on the oven went off. Nyal and Becky set the table while Ishme dealt with the food. The three of them talked over what they should take with them and how long they were likely to stay in San Francisco.
She started thinking they might be able to fit in some sightseeing while they were there. She had to think of these things because pretty soon she was going to have twins. Who knew when they’d get to take another childless vacation? They never did get to the beach in Mexico the way they had planned. When they lost contact with the Far Star Station, they cancelled their trip.
Traveling by private jet was one of the perks of being rich. The Nephilim were rolling in it. Armus Hend wasn’t the only one to bring precious metals and gem stones from HeVan to Earth. Becky had full confidence they’d capture the asshole.
Still, it was a bitch getting up at o’dark thirty. They wanted to get to San Francisco as early in the day as possible. They were scheduled to land around nine-thirty in the morning.
After practicing on icy roads in Illinois and Wisconsin and dealing with the traffic in Chicago, the hills of San Francisco didn’t bother Ishme, who liked to drive. Nyal preferred to pour over maps and see the sights out the window. He was continually amazed at the different places and people to see.
They had arranged to meet Jack at his company headquarters in the SOMA District, which was short for South of Market. An older warehouse section, which was becoming arty and affluent, with businesses mixed in with loft apartments and hole-in-the wall restaurants. Parking was at a premium, as usual in the city, but Becky wasn’t worried. She had Parking Karma. At least, that’s what she called it. She always got the perfect spot, right in front of the place where she wanted to be. It frustrated her friends, on the one hand, but they always wanted to invite her along, on the other hand.
“Did Jack say if Tonne and Jorne were able to convince Josephine to come by with her sister?” Nyal asked. Becky had checked in with Jack when they landed at the airport.
“Yes, although Josephine is asking all kinds of questions he doesn’t feel comfortable answering,” Becky said.
“According to the GPS, we should be there soon,” said Ishme, taking the Seventh Street exit, off the 101 Freeway.
Becky’s Parking Karma was working. It didn’t hurt that Jack had arranged a space for them in the company lot. Becky was looking forward to seeing Josephine again. It had been a little more than a week since that long drive to Wisconsin, with Jo pretending to be an abused girlfriend
.
Becky had brought her laptop. She’d set up her computer at work to run the Finder program. It was much faster and was linked to the necessary databases. She would be able to access the search results from her laptop. It was also juiced up, compared to regular laptops; it was as fast and agile as a mini mainframe. She was still booting up her laptop in a conference room Jack had set aside for them, when Josephine, her sister, Aimeé, and Aimeé’s Ankida, Tonne and Jorne, arrived. Josephine had a forceful personality that seemed to fill the room.
“I hope somebody is going to fill me in on what’s going on. All Jack told us was that there’s some kind of dangerous alien criminal expected to try to land on Earth!”
Becky looked up at the angry woman. She could understand. Jo was in law enforcement. She had taken an oath to protect and she was faced with finding a criminal, but she didn’t have the option of using all her regular tools. She was obviously torn between her job and keeping their secret. Right now, it looked as if she were leaning toward blowing the lid off.
“Earth and HeVan have a treaty. A representative of Earth is in charge of the Earth Gate, which allows access to this solar system. Suzanna made a mistake and let in one undesirable alien. She’s unlikely to make the same mistake again. Especially, as this one led to the deaths of six people,” said Becky.
“So far!” interrupted Jo.
“Let’s put it this way. Suppose you were in charge of a weapons depot or an army base or something. One day, out of the blue, a congressman arrived and wanted access. What’s more, this particular congressman was head of the inspection committee for your location. While the visit was a surprise, he did have the proper credentials. Your phone lines are down and you can’t check. You make him sit outside your gate for twenty-four hours. Then, when you still haven’t received word, you back down and let him in. Now, let’s go further and say he’s days away from being arrested for embezzlement, but you don’t have this information. For whatever reason, he’s decided to get passed you to escape. Are you to blame for letting him pass?” Becky asked.