The Kurtherian Gambit Omnibus 05 - The Fans Version: My Ride is a Bitch - Don't Cross This Line - Never Submit

by Michael Anderle

  Barnabas walked out of the kitchen, took a left to reach the door and stepped out, closing the heavy door behind him. Walking past the fountain and then the gate, he took off the coat. He dropped both on the front seat of the little white vehicle before heading back to the end of the street.

  It was light enough for anyone to see the Pod, but he shrugged. There was no way for anyone to interrupt him now. He started whistling.

  Barnabas had the secret recipe for Mexican Coca-Cola.

  Queen’s Rangers 01 - Everyone else 00.

  —

  Ecaterina eyed Nathan as he checked her grip on the rod. “What are you doing?” she asked, her accent becoming more pronounced.

  “Uh,” Nathan answered, his mind elsewhere. “Just checking your grip,” he said as he pulled on the rod before turning towards the Pod’s controls and touching the command to open the two doors up front.

  “Nathan, can I lift three hundred pounds?” She practically purred the question in her heaviest Romanian accent.

  “Of course, baby, easily,” he answered, checking outside the Pod and the clouds swirling around them before he unbuckled his five-point harness and turned towards her.

  For just a second, he thought he saw a flash of yellow in her eyes before her smile melted him.

  Outside, it was all white. The clouds looked like a heavy fog. Ecaterina looked down at his hands, now slipped through the lanyards and holding onto the bar. She moved her right hand out of the grips and reached up to lay it on his neck as she leaned forward.

  Nathan smiled and leaned in for his kiss.

  She whispered her next question, “Then why would you need to test my ability to grab a bar unless you think I weigh more than that?”

  Nathan, his brain trying to scream WARNING realized that gentle hand behind his neck now had a sharp grip... right before Ecaterina flung him out of the Pod.

  “What the FUUUuuuu…” his voice was lost to the clouds.

  “Men!” she grumbled as she unbuckled her harness, put her hand back on the bar and jumped out. The bar immediately slowed her fall.

  Ecaterina was starting to worry when his legs appeared from behind her, gripping her around the waist, his body crashing up against hers. “Honey, I’m back!” he called out, his voice rough. She felt his teeth grip her neck.

  Her eyes widened. God, she thought, this was going to be a monumental mark!

  Good thing it heals. She turned her head to give him access to where it felt the best.

  —

  “Take the rods with us or leave them here?” Ecaterina asked as they landed lightly on the ground inside a large cove of trees.

  “Just unhook, and I’ll tell Sphaea to take them back,” he answered, a grin on his face.

  “Tell Sphaea to…” Ecaterina’s lips compressed as she worked it through. “No wonder you were able to sneak up on me!”

  One of these damned days, she was going to fully, and completely, catch Nathan Lowell by surprise. She had even started to worry about his cocky ass after she tossed him out of the Pod.

  What a sucker she was!

  Her eyes narrowed. “You’re telling me that the EI controls these?” she asked as she lifted the bar in question and waved it at him like she was shaking a finger in his direction.

  “Certainly, although if you know how you can do it yourself, but there usually isn’t a good reason for that,” he shrugged and casually tossed his up in the air. Ecaterina watched the rod fly up about twenty feet, slow down like it was going to stop and let gravity pull it back to Earth when it suddenly shot up and out of sight.

  Ecaterina rolled her eyes and flicked hers up as well, not even watching her bar stop and then take off up into the sky. She walked by Nathan and popped him on the chest. “It’s good I love you, or I would be using that bar to beat you senseless right now,” she said to him.

  Nathan winked at her and let her pass. It took her another seven steps to realize she didn’t know where they were going. She turned back to see Nathan smirking at her.

  She pointed at him. “Don’t say a word, just tell me the right direction.” He indicated the direction to his left, which was not the one she had been taking. “Fine,” she waved him in the new direction. “You walk ahead, this time I’ll watch your ass the whole way.”

  Nathan blinked a couple of times, his mouth open. “What?” she leered, “you don’t think I know it’s my ass you’re staring at all the times you are acting like a gentleman for me?”

  He closed his mouth and started walking, not sure how to reply to that

  Nathan was letting part of his brain pick the best way to make it to the freeway, the other part of his brain was working feverishly on the new problem troubling his thoughts.

  Should he be flexing his ass while he walked or not?

  New York City, New York, USA

  Tabitha arrived and jumped out of the Pod in the same little alley where she had beat up the five toughs not that long ago. The hotel she used was just around the block. The Pod disappeared back into the dark and gloomy sky. Lightning flashed, and then heavy thunder rolled across the city.

  No one would notice her Pod in this mess.

  That was nice, although she was getting wet, quickly. It beat having to land farther out of town. She pulled a large round hat out of her coat, flicked it open and put it on. It helped keep her hair dry and water out of her eyes.

  She grabbed the handle of her suitcase and took it over to where a small roof sheltered a back door. Laying the black bag on the ground, she placed her hand on the outside and then punched in twelve numbers representing letters in her mind.

  “Achronyx, book me a room at the hotel I stayed at with the Tontos. Give me the confirmation.”

  Understood, Ranger Tabitha his electronic voice came back in her ear.

  It took her just a minute to exit the alley and then cross the road. She was just arriving at the hotel when Achronyx replied.

  You are on the fourteenth floor. Go inside the hotel and turn right.

  “I’ve been here before,” she subvocalized.

  Understood, every place you have been before, I should not offer directions, her EI replied.

  “What?” Tabitha exclaimed as she nodded to the hotel’s doorman when she passed through.

  Fortunately, her clothes shed water quickly. She stayed a moment over the rugs the hotel had placed down at the entry, to minimize extra water on their floors, before continuing.

  “No!” she hissed. “Fine, tell me unless I let you know that I don’t need them.”

  Understood, the EI replied.

  If she didn’t know better, she would say he sounded smug over their link.

  She made it up to the fourteenth floor and exited the elevator, dodging a married couple that was waiting to get in the elevator. She found her door, the third on the left, and sat her case down.

  She put her tablet up next to the electronic keypad, and it turned green. Grabbing her case, she pushed the door open and stepped inside, closing the door behind her. Walking quickly over to the bed, she set the case on top, causing the mattress to depress. Unlocking it, she grabbed two rolled up armor pieces. She went into the bathroom and took off her coat. She unsnapped the sections and laid them out on the bathroom counter.

  They were both made of tiny pieces of scaled metal. One roll was two pieces of thin armor, the other just one.

  Putting her shirt, and then bra to the side, she grabbed one of the two pieces the first roll consisted of and placed it under her breasts. “Fucking armor!” she hissed. “Damn shit is cold on the mother-loads.” She grabbed the top piece that covered the rest of her chest and laid it in place. “I can do this. I can do this!” She slammed the top piece in place, her nipples bitching at her for a couple of seconds.

  She reached over and grabbed the last piece. It would have been easier to have someone help her with this step, but she wasn’t trusting Ted with helping her suit up. If it came to seeing her naked, it wasn’t going to be in a si
tuation of putting on armor.

  No, that would happen with some seduction.

  She took the last piece, designed for her back, went to the second bed and laid it out on the comforter. Satisfied with where it was, she turned around and lay back, feeling the armor touch her lower back. She scooted down a little and slowly laid down again. This time, it felt right.

  She bit down. “Charge it, Achronyx.” The three pieces charged up, and she felt the sudden shortness of breath as the armor wrapped around her tightly while the edges joined together. Tabitha was able to relax once the armor flexed and fitted itself to her like a second skin. Now, there wasn’t any way to get this off of her without someone from the Empire doing it.

  She rolled off the bed and turned towards the other. She grabbed and moved the suitcase. Opening it back up she nodded. She retrieved a shirt and a second coat and put them next to the bag. Walking back to the restroom, she grabbed her other stuff and brought it to the bed and dropped it in a pile. This time, she put on the new shirt, part of her armor, and then grabbed her holsters. She slid one around her waist, and one over her shoulder to rest under her left arm. She slid on her coat and checked the inside pockets to confirm the basics were where they needed to be. Both of her Jean Dukes’ specials were in the suitcase. She palmed them, turning them on. Both showed to be almost full with two thousand rounds each.

  She doubted she would need four thousand rounds of ammunition, so she slid one under her left arm and set the other back in the case. She pulled out a second pistol. This was a new one that shot electrical charges. Often not effective against anything armored, but damned useful against people if you didn’t want to kill them.

  They also showed exactly where you were, a significant downside for sure.

  Tabitha slid that pistol on her hip.

  She considered the multitude of goodies that were in her case, trying to figure out what she would need if they attacked a house outside the city. If they had cops there, then she needed to be able to take them down without killing them.

  Done.

  If they were part of the underworld, they might have killers on the grounds.

  She was prepared for that as well.

  She needed eyes in the sky. She lifted a box out of her case and pulled out four silver orbs. “Connect to these four, Achronyx.”

  Done, he replied.

  She reached into the suitcase and pulled out a yellow case. Opening it, she lifted out a pair of goggles that looked like something you might use to ski. Placing them over her face, she said aloud, “Lock them in.”

  The goggles adhered to her face, no strap holding them on her head.

  “Lift all four in the air, then give me their cameras.”

  All four orbs floated into the air, taking positions equidistant from Tabitha and looked down at her from three feet away. “Lock them in standard locations.” Four little scenes showing her from the front, back, and both sides came up in her goggles. Two on the left side of her view, two on the right. If she looked straight ahead, they didn’t impede her view.

  “What the fuck?” she exclaimed, turning her head to look behind her. “Why the hell didn’t anyone tell me these pants make my ass look fat?” She huffed, “Achronyx, pull back camera three and focus on my full body from behind.”

  Tabitha turned straight and looked at herself from the back. She reached down and adjusted her pants, “Dammit, I’ll need a tailor for this.” She exhaled. “Aww, fuck it.”

  She sat down on the bed behind her and took off her shoes. Then she started stripping out of her nice pants, tossed them aside, and stood back up to reach into her case to pull out her black leathers.

  She flipped them open. “Seems like momma’s going in bad-ass leather tonight.” She slid her legs into the pants and then jumped up once to pull them up. “Cause leather…” she said as she pulled up the zipper and snapped the two snaps. Slapping her ass, she finished, “…always makes this badonkadonk look like a million bucks.”

  “Well, crap.” She grabbed her working shoes. They weren’t as sexy as the nicer boots she had brought, but in for a penny with the leather, in for a pound.

  Who knows, maybe Ted would like the vigilante look?

  She folded the rest of the clothes, grabbed another two magazines for the electrical pistol and one extra magazine for her Dukes’ special. “Can never bring too much ammo,” she muttered as she packed all of the clothes and boots. She closed her suitcase and locked it. “At least, that’s what John always says.”

  She sent the request to unhook her goggles, took them off her face and slid them inside a pocket. Walking to the mirror, she examined herself carefully.

  “Trinity, suck it, ‘cause I look hotter than you!” Tabitha grinned and held her hand up in the air. The four silver orbs dropped to land in her hand, and she slid them into her coat. As a former hacker, she knew what male computer geeks liked about the female Matrix character.

  She reached over and grabbed the suitcase.

  She looked into the mirror and blew herself a kiss. “I’m a damned computer geek’s wet dream.” She smiled as she took the suitcase and walked towards the door. “And those that don’t like me thinking that can kiss my fantastic ass.”

  She turned the doorknob and opened the door. “Where else can you get incredible hacking skills with this body?”

  “Nowhere,” she answered herself as she stepped into the hallway to leave the hotel.

  CHAPTER SIXTY

  Harvey Podstawa nodded to the elderly couple as they entered the hotel. He held out his hand and took the older gentleman’s umbrella. Turning to his right, he placed it in a special box that would allow it to drain for a few moments while the couple took off their coats.

  “I’ll be back in a few minutes, so I’ll grab it again,” the silver-haired gentleman said.

  Harvey nodded and helped the two move along. At the moment, the hotel was quiet. It was late morning, and with the crappy weather, those that didn’t need to leave the hotel weren’t. He watched the older couple walk towards the elevator which dinged and opened before they could reach for the call button.

  —

  Charlotte Pavela had worked for the hotel for the last nine months and recently had been moved to the day shift. She preferred it, and she knew that this hotel only hired, and kept, the best. Inside this city, there were plenty of people who worked hard to get the best paying jobs.

  Therefore, it surprised her when she saw Harvey’s face display anything but professional decorum. Then she turned to see who he was looking at and she stopped in the middle of the floor herself.

  —

  Harvey happened to be watching when she exited. As one of the doormen at this hotel, Harvey was very professional in all ways.

  Therefore, it was a testament to the amazing view that his jaw dropped open.

  She walked out, a long coat of some fabric he didn’t recognize draped about her. In a city of wonders, it was one of the strangest things Harvey had seen. The coat seemed both soft and rigid at times, matte black and then reflective. He couldn’t remember ever seeing anything like it.

  Her suitcase matched it well. The older couple just stepped back and watched the woman walk past them towards the door. It appeared as if she was deep in thought as she didn’t seem to notice that most of the people in the hotel’s lobby had stopped to watch her walk out.

  Harvey remembered in time, thank God, to close his mouth, smile and open the door for the young woman. He wasn’t sure who she was, and he couldn’t remember seeing her before. But she was, as his friend Ronald would say…

  One badass motherfucker who would accept no shit from anyone and look fucking fine doing it.

  “Thank you,” her South American accent was in the wind and taken from his ears as she disappeared down the street.

  “Who was she?”

  Startled, Harvey turned to see Charlotte beside him, looking out the door. He shrugged. “A guest?”

  Charlotte nodded, then turned
and started walking away. “Well, that was one woman—if I were tempted that way—I’d try to chase down and get a phone number.”

  Harvey smiled at the next gentleman who came in, the memory of the woman slowly leaving his thoughts.

  —

  Ted took the last puff of his cigarette and smashed it into the ashtray. He hadn’t been much of a smoker, but everything was going down and he would either be dead or hated by the end of the night.