Frank’s face was flushed. His chest and legs were bare. He was wearing only undershorts. His normally light-blue skin was almost black. Even so, the large bruises were obvious. He had been beaten badly. His normally blue eyes were violet. There were cuts and bruises on his face, chest, and arms, and a bloody, red bandana was tied around his right hand.
“Good morning sir,” Collin said, standing at attention, looking straight ahead. “I’m sorry if I’ve caught you at a bad time.” Behind Frank, his bedroom stood in shambles from a tornado of wrath.
“Bad time? What makes you think it’s a bad time, Striker?” Frank replied, the blood vessels in his temples and neck pulsating.
“Well, go on. Tell him why you’re here,” Laura goaded while poking Collin hard in the back with a sharp fingernail.
Collin was unable to speak.
“Would you like a drink?” Frank unexpectedly asked with a heavily controlled politeness. “Please come into my boudoir.” Then he looked at Laura. “How bout you, sugar tits? Wanna drink?”
“Sure,” Collin and Laura replied in unison. Collin had a realization, one that should have been obvious long ago, if he had allowed himself to look beyond Laura’s pretty face. Laura was not wearing the attire of an assassin. This was the attire of a Seraphic bodyguard. She had no reaction to Frank’s emotional state — no reaction to Frank’s sexist terminology — no reaction to his mostly-naked body. She walked into the room with no fear, perfectly comfortable around him. She was his bodyguard, the bodyguard of a Valkyrie Special Forces colonel, an elite and very dangerous creature indeed.
Frank turned around and walked toward the other side of the room, kicking the remnants of a chair out of his path and stepping on his sky-blue shirt and trousers, which were torn to shreds. He could see the silver oak-leaf and double thunderbolt clinging to what was left of his shirt. Collin glanced around the room, spontaneously looking for his coat of mail. It was always easy enough to determine serious injuries by the damage done to the mail, but he saw none. Possibly, it had been taken from him. That would explain all the bruises.
Strangely enough, Collin saw an undamaged bottle of bourbon and three clean glasses on top of the chest of drawers. Frank grabbed the bottle, yanked out the cork, and tossed it aside.
“Howdya think Fran knew there would be three of us?” he asked while sloppily pouring. He handed glasses to Collin and Laura, and then held up his to toast.
They touched glasses and slammed back the whiskey. It was strong and burned all the way to his stomach. Collin knew this premium brand quite well. It was one Frank sold — on the shelf between the best wines and the Soma buds. The effect was immediate and felt good. Collin needed something to help him loosen up. Frank poured three more and they repeated the process.
“Tell me, Striker. Do you know what it feels like to fuck up? I mean, really fuck up. Here, take a good look at this,” Frank said, pointing to his bruised face. “This is the face of a real fuck-up. You ever seen one?”
Collin glanced at the ceiling and puffed out some air. “Yes sir. Almost every time I look in the mirror, I see a fuck-up.”
“See, Laura. That’s efficiency. Maybe I need to take some lessons from Dr. Yummy here. All he has to do is look in the mirror. But I have to lose an entire god-dammed fucking country.”
Frank’s whiskey glass exploded against the wall.
He stared at Collin with a quizzical expression — burning with the anger that a commander or a parent would rain down upon a subordinate or a child who had made some enormous mistake. Collin knew regardless of what was said or how he said it, the next package of rage would fly against him.
“So tell me, my dear Lieutenant Striker, how is it that you have graced my happy bedroom this fine morning?”
“Colonel Haiguns. I came to apologize about my terrible behavior. I lied, misled, and deceived your friend, Josephine for my own sexual gratification. I then used Wrenn to break off the relationship.”
“Wonderful,” Frank immediately replied as if he already knew what Collin was going to say. “Did ya hear that Laura? Lieutenant Used lied, misled, and deceived our friend Josephine for his own sexual gratification. And now he comes to apologize to me.”
Before Haiguns could say anything else, Collin added, “And next I’m going to speak to Josephine. And tell her…”
“Yes, yes,” Laura interrupted with enthusiasm. “Tell us. What are you going to say to her? Sorry about fucking you and then dumping you for the next sweet piece of ass that happened along?”
“Now, now Laura. It’s not our place to put words in Lieutenant Used’s mouth. We’ll have to wait to hear for ourselves,” Frank said, sarcastically.
Collin took a deep breath and let it out. “I’m sorry, Frank. There really isn’t any excuse. I’m just an ass. I assumed that everyone already knew that. And as soon as Josephine started sounding serious about a long-term relationship, I freaked.”
Frank stared at him. “I can believe that.” He paused. “And from one ass to another, I accept your apology.”
“All men are the same. You make me sick,” Laura said, slamming her glass down on the top of the dresser. Yeah, Laura thought as her piercing yellow eyes threw him a razor-sharp glance. Frank can let you off the hook, but just you wait till I get you to myself. Then we’ll see if I can put some regret on that pretty face of yours.
“Well then, I take it as a sign,” Frank exclaimed, pointing a finger upward to the ceiling from the blood-drenched bandana on his right hand. “The arrival of Dr. Yummy, on this morning in particular is auspicious. It’s a sign that all of us need to lay some apologies at the feet of the lovely Josephine straight away.”
Why would a Silly Little Seraphif like Josephine have any say about one of Frank’s SAS missions? Collin wondered. He glanced at Frank as he stripped off the rest of his clothing, splashed himself with some water, cleaned up his right hand, and carelessly wrapped it in a clean bandage. He dried and gave himself a spritz of flower extract.
He walked naked to his chest of drawers and took out some clean underwear. If Laura had even noticed he was nude, she did not appear to care. Frank rummaged in his closet and reached for his favorite beach shirt, the same one he had been wearing when Collin first saw him.
“Remember to whom you are reporting and why,” Laura said soberly, all her sarcasm gone.
“Yeah, right,” Frank mumbled, then took out a clean set of formal blues, with all rank and ribbons attached. “If I’m going to get busted, at least let her see the starting point. One should dress properly for a court-martial, right?”
Collin realized he had never seen Frank in dress blues. He looked sharp. As strange as it seemed, Frank looked more at home in the dress of the Valkyrie than that of a beach bum. He was not surprised to see all his ribbons. They were some of the Silver Storm’s highest honors.
Frank glanced in the mirror to ensure everything was straight. He put his arm around Collin and gave him a squeeze. “Off we go to the firing squad. What do you think, Laura? Him first or me?”
“Both of you at the same time. Save the bullets,” she said, shooing them away like flies.
Frank is facing a court-martial and now he’s going to apologize to Josephine? Collin thought. Let her see the starting point? It just doesn’t make any sense.
Chapter 19
Reality
There is time. But there is no escape.
—El Elyon
Oceania: Mansion World III Celestial Sphere in high orthogonal orbit around Eden’s Solar Orb, Pollux
Collin felt like he was falling.
The doorbell to Josephine’s boutique chirped its friendly chime as the three walked in. The chime apparently did not mind who entered.
The door to her office was open, but a clothes rack blocked everything except her beautiful, creamy profile, and her auburn hair tied behind her head. Collin’s heart stopped when Josephine’s eyes connected with his. She gave him a small knowing smile.
As they walke
d past a rack of brightly colored dresses, Collin noticed someone sitting in a large comfortable chair. She was wearing the same suit as Laura. Her head was hanging down, resting in her hands.
Before Collin could speculate who she was, Captain Michelle Israfel looked up. Her bright yellow eyes scanned across the three — Frank, Laura, and then… Her mouth dropped open.
“Well, what a surprise all this is,” she hissed angrily. Laura lent a hand and helped Michelle out of her chair. The two hugged. Laura gave Michelle’s head a friendly scratch through her short blond hair.
“I’m so glad to see you’re still alive,” Laura whispered in Michelle’s ear as she gave her a peck on the cheek.
“Me too.”
Collin saw the bruises and cuts on her face, and the blood-drenched rags tied around wounds on her arms and legs.
“Have you heard anything from Janene?” Michelle asked. Laura just shook her head.
So Laura is the bodyguard and Michelle is the assassin, Collin thought to himself, avoiding Michelle’s eyes. He knew Michelle was very close to Josephine. This isn’t good. Michelle’s intense, yellow diamond-like eyes burned a hole through him.
“Come on in and have a seat, Frank. I was just getting ready to call Kahmael,” Josephine said. As Frank entered her office, Collin’s eyes followed him. His heart jumped to his throat. Josephine was wearing the sky-blue uniform of the Valkyrie. On her right lapel were two silver thunderbolts. On her left lapel was a silver eagle.
He stood there with his mouth open, his brain frozen.
“Collin.” Her voice was perfectly even — not a single hint of tension or irritation.
He closed his mouth and quickly stepped forward. “Yes, Ma’am.”
“Both Michelle and Laura have significant injuries. Will you please tend to them?”
“Yes, Ma’am, of course… Ma’am.” Then Frank closed the door, a worried look on his face. Collin was half expecting the screaming to start again, but this time from Josephine to Frank. But there was none; only a tense silence building behind the door.
When Collin faced Michelle and Laura, they had their arms across each other’s shoulders, both glaring at him.
Laura looked at Michelle, but Michelle continued to stare at Collin. “This should be fun, don’t you think?”
“Oh yeah. I’ve been waiting a long time for this, Dr. Yummy,” Michelle replied.
Celestial Realm of Elysium: Mansion World I Space
Situated on a large asteroid in planar orbit around Pollux, Eden’s Solar Orb
“So how did you become part of this amazing maggot pie of a mission?” Kuko’s bodyguard and assistant, Salecia asked Pegasus as they stood in a cafeteria line.
Pegasus looked down and saw a vegetable potpie and some long-grain white rice. A Nazz warrior like Salecia liked to play the gross-out game. Both Nazz and Valkyrie had determined this was an excellent technique to filter out the weak-stomached Children of Luminosity who might accidently stumble into their ranks.
It was enough to make a maggot pie vomit.
Pegasus’s usually strong stomach did a flip-flop. She decided to avoid the rice and pie and continued down the line until she found some fresh fruit, cheese, and crackers.
Well, I guess this maggot-pie-of-a-mission has thrown me into the deep end of Dek etiquette again. Somehow, I’ve been liberated from Smigyl’s crew, and now here I am in a cafeteria line for Nazz Officer Pilots. How does this shit keep happening to me?
As soon as she and Salecia had walked in and stood in the long food line, a number of Nazz Officers, who either personally knew Pegasus, or at least knew of her, had approached and said brief, friendly hellos. She was in Elysium, at the heart of Indra’s power structure. Kuko Kiena’s most revered bodyguard, Salecia, was personally escorting her. Pegasus was breathing some highly rarefied air.
Sure wish I knew what was going on, Pegasus thought. One minute Ka’s busting me because of the Kuko-on-Panoptia thing. Then I get a nice job flight-testing. Next thing I know I have Smigyl and his dysfunctional family in the back of a prototype transport. Now I’m here with Salecia and Kuko on Elysium, eating with Nazz pilots. What gives?
“I don’t know what to say about the Smigyl stuff,” Salecia replied, obviously reading her mind. They found a small table and sat. “But as for right now... The truth of the matter is that you have been a close, ‘personal’ friend of Nazz Madame General Kuko Kiena. Who also just happens to be Lord Indra’s primary advisor and bodyguard.”
Salecia pointed her fork at Pegasus. “You were lovers with Indra’s best friend. So you better believe we’re honoring you. And all of us know you took a big hit because of that friendship. As far as we’ve been able to ascertain, you have never in anyway attempted to use that friendship against the Nazz. Kuko knows you have never used your relationship against us.”
Too bad for you, Peg, Salecia thought. Right now, Kuko and General Heinrich are standing in front of Pope Hukarknar, toe-to-toe, screaming in each other’s faces, as Kuko tries to win Hukarknar’s approval for her plans to maximize the benefit of your arrival, while at the same time keeping Indra politically innocent. You might not have taken advantage of Kuko, you Silly Little Seraphif, but never think she’ll extend that same courtesy to you.
Salecia gave Pegasus a friendly smile. “You’ll find there are many benefits available to individuals of your character. And not just from the Nazz. There are many within the Overlord houses, and many more I know within the Valkyrie who now look upon you with great curiosity. The other reason we honor you is the simplest of all. You are an excellent pilot. I promise you, every officer in this room can at least recognize you by sight. I believe there are Nazz pilots here on Elysium who exceed your skills. However, there are a far greater number who can only dream of attaining your level.”
Silence fell. Pegasus noticed the food was quite good, but truthfully, nowhere near as fresh and tasty as the food delivered to Aniel’s office on Jerusem.
Salecia took another bite. “Peg, you look worried. Is it because of your past with Kuko?”
Pegasus said nothing.
“Pegasus. After you got the boot out of Satania, we had only a vague idea where you were. If you remember, you left Panoptia on the day after we did. We came straight to the old Elysium and began to build anew. We were classified as a Mansion World II sphere, but as soon as we arrived, we began to tune our location in the stream of the Rasa until we were all but exactly synchronized with Eden’s Material realm. For us…well, for Kuko, it’s been 4,667 Eden Material years since she last saw you.”
Pegasus mouth fell open.
“Oh my,” Salecia said with a smile. “We’ve been in some very high-frequency gravity-wells, haven’t we?”
“Uh. Yeah,” Pegasus stammered.
“I’m sure Kuko is still quite fond of you. But Peg, she never talks about you. At least not with me. Still, that’s quite easy to understand, don’t you think?”
Pegasus said nothing.
They continued with small talk until they finished eating. Afterward, Salecia led her to a comfortable ready-lounge where on-duty Nazz combat pilots awaited their next mission.
Salecia gestured to a chair near the door and sat down beside her. She reached over and took Pegasus’ hand into hers, compassionately petting it. “You look tired,” she said.
“I am,” Pegasus replied. She began to realize just how stressful the past days had been. She was still trying to get her head around the idea that Kuko had not seen her in 4,600 years.
“May I?” Salecia asked politely, gently supporting Pegasus’ right hand as they sat side by side. Moments later, Pegasus had no recollection if she had nodded yes to this master geisha. She barely remembered the blissful acupressure massage she gave to Pegasus’ right hand, then her left.
Oceania
Collin trudged behind Laura and Michelle as they led him upstairs to Josephine’s apartment. To think. Josephine an SAS commander? I am so screwed.
The apartment
was light and airy. She had redecorated, with green now the primary color. The color matched her eyes. Collin had no way of knowing that the lonely Josephine had redecorated her apartment five times since he had last seen her.
He felt embarrassed to look at her bed, so he quickly opened the door to the bathroom and entered.
“Ma’am’s, if you will please…” he started after all three were in the bathroom. He turned his back to give them some privacy. His mind raced with how to construct the best phrase to get them to reveal their arms and legs so he could look at their wounds.
Without him saying anything, he heard two zippers, followed by the sounds of their leathers, coats of mail, Angel armor, and silk raiment being removed and slammed to the floor.
He dreaded turning around.
“Okay, Dr. Yummy. We’re ready,” Laura said. He turned around. Both were standing nude in front of him, their fists clenched, their shoulders thrust forward. He closed his eyes.
“What’s the matter, lover-boy? Never seen a nude Angel?” Michelle asked in a mockingly sexy, sarcastic voice.
Collin opened his eyes and quickly focused on their wounds. Now that they were no longer covered and constricted with bandages, he could see most of the wounds were flowing with blood.
“I asked you, you son-of-a-bitch. Have you ever seen a nude Angel?” Michelle’s words hit him like a drill-sergeant’s commands. She began to glow a brilliant yellow, the color of a canary made of fire. Her face narrowed, becoming angular, threatening, dangerous.
He looked at her eyes as they changed from yellow, to orange, to a boiling red. Collin realized Michelle was not just Josephine’s friend. She was Josephine’s bodyguard, an Angel exploding in righteous indignation. She had every right to be angry and every right to avenge her charge. That she was bleeding from several wounds was irrelevant.
“For thousands of years, my only mission in life has been to protect Josephine. This directive came from King Joshua himself. And now, a piece of shit like you comes along and makes me fail in my mission. Do you want to know how that makes me feel?” Michelle said measuredly.
Lilith: Eden's Planetary Princess (The Michael Archives Book 1) Page 12