“Remember, Yuko,” Bethany Anne said, watching them. “Be strategic with your moves, be smart and hide rather than show yourself. Be the wind that is whispered in the leaves, a name, a phantom. Exist to bring order and protection, but try to stay hidden to the masses. Your primary objective is to be there for Michael when he arrives. When that happens, Eve can contact us. Be there for my people in the UnknownWorld. Use the technology we left you to watch as much as you can. You can’t protect everyone. God knows I’ve tried and failed.”
Yuko nodded, understanding her orders.
“Then, I’ve got to get back to the ArchAngel and change and get down to Earth. Are you sure you want to age?”
“For now, I need to. My parents would not understand if I do not age as they get older. I would not have them wonder.”
“I understand. We’ve enhanced you as much as we can until they are no longer with us, then. We have as much enhanced nanocytes as we can provide. Use it rather sparingly, okay?”
Yuko nodded.
“All right, one last hug and then I can take you back to the party, but I’m afraid Eve will have to take the Tram.”
“That’s okay, I like the tram,” Eve said. “I’ll meet you at All Guns Blazing if that is fine with you, Yuko?” The little android stopped and waited for permission.
“Yes, that’s fine.” Yuko answered. “Wait, how do we communicate?”
We communicate the same way you do with ADAM, Eve’s voice, now tilting towards the feminine, echoed in Yuko’s ears.
Yuko stared at Eve. “This is so cool, ADAM. I cannot thank you enough!”
“It’s what friends do, we take care of each other.”
So ADAM, you going to tell Yuko that Eve is a protection android?”
>>I think there is only one way to answer that, Bethany Anne.<<
Oh? How is that?
>>Hell no.<<
Bethany Anne schooled her face, fearing she would snicker and give away that ADAM was telling her something.
“Okay, my Japanese princess, time to get you back to the party, and me on my way to another boring meeting with stuffy old people.”
Yuko went to Bethany Anne and hugged her. “Bethany Anne, you have given me something I would never have had otherwise, and that is a true friend in ADAM, and an opportunity to help my country. We might be staying below the radar, but those who need to know we exist, well, we will find them, my Queen.”
Bethany Anne hugged her back. “It’s time.”
They disappeared.
Belgium
“Abdullah,” Paula said as she sat in the small coffee shop. He sat down, putting his coffee to the side. “Do you believe we are ready?”
“Yes, all is in place. Without you telling us, we would not know an event is occurring,” the man said, taking a sip of his coffee.
Paula looked around the coffee shop. “They’re trying to keep the meeting a secret. A last ditch effort to persuade TQB to listen to them and share their technology.”
“I hate their leader as much as anyone in the world,” Abdullah said. “But in her position I wouldn’t share either. It doesn’t take much intelligence to agree there isn’t a government to be trusted.”
“Except yours?” Paula asked.
Abdullah shrugged. “I am a leader who enjoys the fight. The fight is here, yes?” He took another sip before setting his coffee down. “Perhaps when I was a little younger, full of what you call piss and vinegar, yes?” Paula nodded. “Well, in those times I believed more in the prophecies than perhaps I do now.”
“What’s different now?” Paula asked, her voice, for once, was curious.
“Now it is about making sure my people have space, have opportunity. It is not only America who has had religious people trying to use their beliefs to run others lives. My people have dealt with it for centuries. Just look at how advanced we were a long time ago, and look at us now.”
Abdullah flicked his hand, the disgust on his face passing like a bird flying across a yard.
“Now, most of our countries are held in the hands of those who would be the next Mohammad, or the next Caliph. If not that, then they are ruled by either military dictators who don’t sleep easy at night, keeping my people down under the threat of death, or kings who do the same thing, but are more legitimate in the world’s eyes.”
Paula hated to admit it, but she was starting to respect this man.
“What do you hope to accomplish?” Paula asked him. “You have to have what, two hundred fighters?”
Abdullah smiled grimly. “No, perhaps we were not as up front with you as we could have been. We have over five hundred men for this operation. You have provided the perfect chance for us to ambush so many influential people. Not only TQB’s leader, who we want to hit, but the ex-President of the US will be there, right?” Paula nodded. “Plus, maybe three other significant country representatives and over forty businessmen and other dignitaries. It will be good to take down the ex-President. Perhaps, it will be a bigger benefit to us that he dies. Most of the people in the villages don’t know, or care, about Bethany Anne.”
“We certainly do,” Paula interrupted.
“Don’t worry, Ms. Paula without a last name,” Abdullah said. “The TQB leader is wanted by people high in many freedom fighter organizations for raids her people have made. She will be killed, certainly. But, for the rest of those who feel like the Americans have cheated them, killing the President is the bigger win.”
Paula nodded. As long as Bethany Anne was killed that was all that mattered to her.
If an American ex-President needed to be sacrificed? Well, it would only drum up support for a stronger military in the U.S. Her team would then have opportunities when it came time for advanced weapons sales.
She was sure that when the technology Majestic 12 had created over the decades was shared, any questionable methods to procure it would be swept under the rug.
“What about air support?” Abdullah asked.
“We brought in all of the SAMs you gave us,” Paula said. “How you disperse them is up to you.”
“No, is there any additional technology you can offer?” Abdullah asked.
Yes, she thought, but no fucking way are you getting it. We’ve had our asses handed to us doing that before.
She shook her head. “No. Nothing we can do without risking the whole operation. The energy requirements are pretty substantial and it wouldn’t take too much of a sweep to find them at. Our efforts tend to be aiming at spaceships, not little ships zipping around the city.”
“Too bad. You know TQB will have backup, yes?”
“That’s why the SAMs are here. We outfitted a few with enhanced seek and destroy targeting. Otherwise, the chance of those things hitting TQB ships are about zero.”
Abdullah flipped his hand over and back, twice. “It is in the Prophet’s hands at that point. We are but to stand there and aim, then click the buttons under while bullets seek our lives. If he chooses it to hit the enemy’s ships, they will hit the enemy’s ships.”
He pulled the coffee up to his lips. “Of course, if the missiles have better tracking solutions before we fire? Well, that is just advanced preparation on the Prophet’s part, I believe.”
A small curve graced Abdullah’s lips as he took a sip of his coffee.
CHAPTER FORTY
Geneva, Switzerland
Anna Elizabeth slid her feet into the new high heels she purchased expressly for this evening. It had been over three years that she had worked for Bethany Anne’s company and she’d been promoted twice.
One of them had been into the negotiations group.
It had been a surprise to Anna to find out that Bethany Anne no longer owned the parent company. When she first found out, she was concerned and went to go speak with Amanda in HR to find out what was going to happen.
For a moment, Amanda had looked at her with a blank expression.
“Blackballed,” Anna reminded her, pointing to herself. “Remem
ber?”
“Oh!” Amanda responded. “That was taken down when we hired you, didn’t you know?” Anna didn’t. “Oh yes,” Amanda confirmed, but pulled up the necessary screen to look again. “For us to hire you, and for it not to be a problem your name has to come off the list. So, when the bosses bosses…”
“Bethany Anne,” Anna supplied.
“Yes,” Amanda pushed up her glasses to peer at her computer. “When she had me hire you, I’m sure she spoke with whomever had put your name on the list and convinced them to take it off.”
Anna winced internally. Whoever had blackballed her was screwed if they didn’t remove her name. Bethany Anne, she was aware, took care of her people.
Tonight, however, Anna Elizabeth had a chance to pay Bethany Anne back and ask her if the option to immigrate was still open.
She slipped on the second shoe and stood up to look in the mirror. She turned around and looked over her shoulder.
Yes, the dress looked very good.
She stepped over to the closet and grabbed a coat. While it was in the low fifties Fahrenheit during the days, it approached freezing at night and there was a chance of rain.
She had just snagged her purse from the bar when her doorbell rang. She walked over and looked through the peephole.
Holy Crap! She barely saw his chin but she knew who was on the other side of the door. Opening it, she smiled at one of the men she admired.
“Good evening, my name is…” he started to say, but she interrupted.
“John Grimes!” Anna said in a rush. Looking up into his eyes she said, “My god, you are so much bigger in person.” Then her hand clapped over her mouth, her eyes wide, her voice came out muffled, “I’m so sorry, that was so rude of me.”
John smiled and shrugged. “I’m American, we’re good with compliments.” John stepped aside as Anna stepped out of her apartment and turned to lock the door. “Besides,” he added, “Jean isn’t here to take offense on my behalf.”
A moment later, Anna said, “I blame the calendar,” as they walked down the hallway to meet Bethany Anne, John’s soft laughter lingering in the air as they turned the corner.
—
Bethany Anne’s foot tapped on the floor. They were in one of the new, posh Executive Pods. With seating for ten, it didn’t lack for comfort.
What it did lack was the ability to just make the whole night go away. These stupid meetings went nowhere. The sycophantic suck-ups wanted stuff she wouldn’t part with. Sometimes, she was just too nice to friends.
>>John is signaling, we’re going back down.<<
Good.
She had tried to speak with the two Guardians up front, but apparently Peter had been telling stories and she couldn’t get them to yank the sticks out of their asses and chill a little and talk with her.
She was going to have to find that little toadstool and see what lies he had been concocting lately.
Seconds later, the door on the side of the Exec-Pod cracked open and Anna Elizabeth stood there transfixed, her eyes alight with the delight of the Pod coming out of the sky, Bethany Anne was sure.
“Well, come on in, it isn’t very warm out there!” Bethany Anne told her.
“Oh!” Anna accepted John’s help getting in. The Pod stayed a foot off of the ground. “Sorry, it’s just so weird seeing this big ship come out of the sky like this without any sound. It’s hard to see even when John pointed it out as you guys arrived.”
John got in and shut the doors.
“That’s by design,” Bethany Anne said. “But, let’s not talk about this stuff. Let’s talk about you!”
“Me?” Anna asked, “But, I’m kind of boring.”
“Says the cute young woman in her… oh my GOD those are beautiful!” Bethany Anne exclaimed as she looked at Anna’s shoes. “Manolo Blahniks?”
Anna turned her foot sideways. “YES!” she practically squealed. “I got these last weekend, do you like them?”
“If I didn’t like you so much, I might have had to mug you for those.” Bethany Anne looked up at Anna, “What’s your shoe size?”
Anna looked back. “Five and a half, why?”
“Bethany Anne,” John snickered, “Is thinking of acquiring them.”
“You want them?” Anna asked, confused.
“John, don’t be an ass,” she told him and then turned to Anna. “I’m like any woman, I see a pair of shoes that are beautiful…”
Anna laughed. “I never knew you had a shoe obsession.”
“Oh, it might be a well keep secret,” John said. “But Bethany Anne and Imelda Marcos have a few things in common.”
“All right.” Bethany Anne turned to John and said, “You mention me and Imelda Marcos together one more time, Mr. Grimes, and I’ll make you pay next time we’re on in practice together.”
“Boss, be reasonable,” John argued. “You have whole shipping containers of shoes you haven’t opened yet. The last three years of entire lines from over, what, seventy designers?”
“You have shipping containers of shoes?” Anna asked.
“Well, it’s not like that,” Bethany Anne started, then stopped herself. “You know? It’s exactly like that.” She flung a hand out towards the window. “How am I supposed to know how long it’s going to take to save this place? I need to know that I always have a new pair of shoes in case the latest meeting went bad. It helps my mental disposition,” she finished.
“Shipping containers, I heard that right, yes?” Anna asked again.
“Five,” John clarified. “Only two pairs of each style in her size,” he grinned and winked at his boss.
“Hey!” Bethany Anne retorted. “I’m not the only one. Gabrielle has two containers herself and let’s not discuss how many containers of guns and shit you and the other guys are bringing along. Especially when your own woman has made half that shit you bought useless.”
“Whoa!” John put up his hands. “Don’t be dissing the firepower. It’s a therapeutic release to feel the guns kick and smell the gunpowder after you shoot.”
“Yeah,” Bethany Anne sat back in her seat further, crossing her arms over her chest. “So is the smell of the leather, the curve of the front of the shoe and the height of the heels.”
Anna, looking back and forth at them as they spoke tried one last time.
“These are the shipping containers from container ships? Those are the ones you have?”
John looked over at Anna, his hands opened showing his ten fingers splayed out and mouthed, silently, “Tens of thousands of pairs!”
Bethany Anne, looking out the window, lifted her hand and flipped John off to the laughter of everyone in the Pod.
You better pray to Saint Payback-is-a-Bitch, she thought to herself. Because your time is coming.
—
The ex-President and his security, David, waited in the dark, next to the limousine near their plane. The ex-President was looking up into the night sky. “You ever looked up into the sky, knowing there were aliens out there, going about their business day to day just like you?”
The Kurtherian Gambit Omnibus 05 - The Fans Version: My Ride is a Bitch - Don't Cross This Line - Never Submit Page 43