Codename: Bear: Secret Agent (Codename Universe Book 1)

by Geoffrey C Porter

  She was leaned in close to me, and she was fine, lesbian or not. I leaned in and kissed her on the neck. She slapped me. She did it right, too, like she was trying to hurt me.

  "None for you," she said. I don't know if I believed her or not. She was grinning wide as hell when she said it. I could tell she was starting to make plans. Would I be involved in those plans? Who knew? I figured if I had another opportunity to kiss her I would. I enjoyed it, and next time, I'll watch for the slap and catch her hand, pull her in close, and stare into her eyes.

  Yes, I was dreaming. She had already left the room.

  Chapter Forty-Four

  That evening Nancy sent me another batch of pictures to look at. There were some that showed Pumpkin Spice in his early twenties, with other men sometimes in that same age group that were obviously the same men as the high school pictures. Some of the pictures showed Pumpkin Spice as he was today, obese and older, easily forty. Again there were a few other adults in the pictures with him. The backs of the pictures had initials written in a fuzzy red or blue ink.

  I looked through all of them trying to commit them to memory and glanced at the two other batches of pictures we'd captured, drawing lines between certain old images and new images that I thought were matches.

  Two days passed, and I stood outside the room to the martial arts bot. Sphinx, Zen, Jet, Archangel, and Enigma were all there. Thomas would have been there, but he was having a paranoia meltdown from too many pot brownies. It's like he wasn't even worried about the sugar in those things.

  I put on my best war face and turned the dial to 20. Stepped into the room. A man materialized to my right. I threw a left jab with force. His head bounced backward, but he stayed solid. I threw my right with all the will I had. The bot's skull shattered into countless pixels. The computer beeped, "Bot killed."

  Another man appeared, and I almost laughed. He wore a brown hooded cloak over a white one-piece jumpsuit. I lashed out at him with a solid right cross. He turned into a mass of pixels. A new target appeared, and I clobbered it as hard as I could with my right. It was hurting my hand, but not as bad as hitting a real skull. Pixels danced in my view. I kept smashing targets with well-placed rights, and they disintegrated into piles of pixelated messes. I was getting a good workout, at least with my right. Sometimes the bot would have his arms up, and I'd grab those arms with my left, pulling them out of the way to make room for my right.

  The computer made one final beep. "Twenty targets destroyed, simulation complete."

  Sphinx clapped her hands together exactly three times. "Maybe not as soft as I thought, but you lack in any form of finesse. Brute force is not always the answer."

  "How was my time?" I asked.

  "Adequate. Well below average."

  Excellent. Archangel slapped me on the back. "I've got to get my hands done like yours."

  "What's stopping you?" I asked.

  He frowned a bit, kind of like a sad frown, a disappointed frown. "I've been pushing so hard to get my whole body done I haven't even made an effort to get my hands done. For me it's all or nothing."

  Sphinx shook her head and made a tisk tisk noise. "When you get old, your skeleton will start to shrink, and the steel will cause great pain. Only an insane person would want to do their whole body."

  Archangel chuckled. "What are the odds I'll live to be forty? Forty-five?"

  "It's a great risk. Just do your hands."

  "It's my body. It's my life."

  Sphinx tapped her foot on the floor a few times. "You really want it that bad?"

  "It's all I want," Archangel said.

  "I'll talk to Nancy and tell her to authorize it."

  "You can do that?" I asked.

  "In China, I'm ranked higher than Nancy in the food chain."

  Zen asked, "Why aren't you in China?"

  A little shrug escaped Sphinx's otherwise cool façade. "The threat is mostly taken care of in China, and much of Asia. The commanders feel like the American continents are the biggest threats, and I take care of threats."

  She was a threat. The way she walked, planting her feet with each step like she was trying to smash through the flooring to the level below. She wore the lightest shades of makeup, just a tiny hint of color over her eyes, a bit of lipstick. Perfect in every way.

  She pointed her finger at my chest. "Look at me like that again, and I will plaster the wall with your brains."

  "Look at you how?" I asked.

  "You know what I'm talking about."

  "I can't control how I look at people. You shouldn't threaten me."

  Sphinx put her hands on her hips. "I don't threaten people. I act when the time is right. Think of my comment simply as a warning."

  I wanted to go through the bot again. I hit the start button and went in the room. My efforts leaned towards more finesse in my methods. Using different techniques to generate kills, other than brute force. My time was worse than the first time, but my knuckles hurt less. When I exited, the rest of the team was gone, except Enigma.

  "I want to see your hands," she said.

  You can see whatever you want, sugar doll. "Sure."

  I held my hands out to her. The knuckles were red, but no bleeding.

  She was so close. My hands reached out to her upper arms and pulled her within centimeters. My lips connected with hers, and we simply touched each other for the longest time. She pushed me away. "No."

  "Have you ever considered the fact that you're bi?" I asked.

  "I'm not. I'm a lesbian, damn it."

  I leaned in and kissed her again. She returned my kiss. Her right hand reached down to my pants and started squeezing. We did it right there in the martial art bot control room. She made these cutest little mewing noises and drenched me with her juices. She got dressed and ran away. She had to be bi. Hehe.

  Chapter Forty-Five

  I was late for class. Small price to pay. Enigma wasn't around at dinner. Nancy walked up to our table. "I need to see you in my office, Bear."

  "OK."

  Nancy left. I cleared my plate and headed towards her office. She started pushing buttons. "The recorders are on."

  Yay, new mission, no more stupid training.

  "A complaint has been filed against you," Nancy said.

  Huh? What? "By whom?"

  "Enigma. You touched her in a way that made her uncomfortable."

  I smiled a toothy, know it all, grin. "She seemed to enjoy it."

  "Damnit, Bear, this is a serious matter. She has rights to be left alone. You violated her personal space."

  I violated more than that! But the look on Nancy's face made me pause. She was angrier than I'd ever seen her. Her cheeks were flushed, and her hands were clenched in fists.

  "I'm sorry," I said.

  "You definitely are! If you touch her again, she'll file charges against you. The incident today was caught on camera, and it'll go hard for you, if you do something like that again."

  Go hard for me? Haha. No, this was no laughing matter. I valued Enigma's friendship, and if she was mad…

  "I did the wrong thing," I said. "It was purely animal instinct. She's so beautiful. She always smells so perfect. The way she carries herself."

  "Can it, Bear. You're talking like a rapist."

  Was it the Chor'Tan blood in me? Making me screw up? Changing me? Making me more of an animal. I asked all that of Nancy.

  "We don't know," Nancy said. "There have only been a few people who have been honored to get Chor'Tan blood transfusions. Most of them have already died in the line of duty."

  Nancy closed her eyes and rubbed her temple. "If charges are filed against you, claiming the Chor'Tan blood is to blame is going to be a poor defense. If charges are filed against you, you could easily find yourself confined to a cell for a long time."

  I took a step backwards. Wanted to run. "It won't happen again." Charges? Damn.

  "It had better not."

  I went to the shooting range to pop caps. After my third maga
zine, the pounding steps of Sphinx drew my attention to the door. She was wearing ruby shoes, with ruby painted fingernails, and ruby eye shadow. Damn if she wasn't hot--charges filed. Quit thinking that way. She said, "How fast is your quick draw?"

  "Fastest on our team."

  "Show me."

  I went and got two holsters, a side and a shoulder. I put the shoulder one on first and put the gun in it. A button for quick draw on the control panel. A silhouette appeared down range, I drew fast and plugged it once in the face. The computer beeped.

  "Do it again," Sphinx said.

  I did it five more times in a row.

  "Do it with the other holster," she said.

  I did it from the side, again, six times.

  Sphinx said something I think in Chinese. I said, "What did you say?"

  "It isn't important."

  "I want to know."

  "It loosely translates to dirty fucking whore."

  Maybe I would have been happier not knowing. "Why did you say that?" I asked.

  She looked down at the ground and bowed a bit. "Your quick draw's faster than mine. Only by a few milliseconds, but it's faster."

  I started to dance. Fire shot out of Sphinx's eyes. I mean fire didn't really shoot out of her eyes, but there may have been some smoke out of her ears and nostrils.

  She started firing rounds at targets. I stood next to her and burned through a few magazines.

  I felt better about the whole charges thing. Going to the range always calmed me. Sphinx said, "You attacked one of our team members today."

  Attacked?! "I wouldn't say I attacked her."

  "I think you made a big mistake."

  I nodded vigorously. "Yes, I made a huge mistake. I forgot about the cameras in the public areas."

  "I have an analogy I'd like to share with you. You made an advance on somebody of the wrong orientation, and she got sucked into her passion. How would you like it if a gay male made repeated advances on you, and you let your passion carry you away, and you had sex with that gay male."

  Would that be that terrible of a thing? YES, EWWWW. "I can kind of see your point."

  "What if Archangel was gay?" She asked. "What if he started kissing you when you were alone together?"

  I didn't say anything.

  She licked her lips. "Or maybe Jet? Thomas?"

  Ick, Thomas was easily forty. Between Archangel and Jet, I'm not sure which I'd prefer. Jet had kind of a cute face, but Archangel was built like a big strong man. He was burly. Wait, what the fuck am I thinking about this for?

  "We can drop it. I get your point," I said.

  "I could go out of my way to recruit some gay males onto our team, and Nancy and I could give them instructions to kiss you whenever you guys are alone together."

  Well, if they're cute enough. Oh god, NO. No.

  "I'll apologize with all my heart and soul to Enigma," I said. "I'm truly sorry."

  "Good."

  Chapter Forty-Six

  I went looking for Enigma. She wasn't running the track or swimming. I stood outside the door to her room and pushed the buzzer. She opened the door.

  "I--" I said before I was interrupted.

  "Not one word!" She said. "Come inside where there are no cameras or recorders."

  I hesitated. She pulled me in the room. She held me tight and kissed me. No, she glared at me like she was super angry. "Enig--"

  "Shut up. I talk, you listen," she said.

  I wasn't sure if I was allowed to nod or not, so I just listened.

  "First of all, you betrayed our friendship. Secondly, you betrayed our trust."

  "I--"

  "No!" She looked like she wanted to hit me. "I have to be honest with you. I'm bi--"

  "Oh!"

  She stamped her foot down hard. "Shut up! Do you know what it's like to be female on a team full of men? At every turn, your teammates are coming on to you, trying to kiss you, trying to touch you. I don't want that. I want to be left alone. I want to do my job, be part of the team, and you're making that more difficult for me."

  "We--"

  "Hell no, you had better not say a damn thing. If you try and kiss me again, charges. If you come on to me, charges. If you make one lewd comment to me, charges. If you tell one person that I'm bi, it'll be a bullet in your skull."

  I wasn't sure if it was my turn to speak, or if I'd even get a turn. I wasn't about to say anything.

  "Now get out," she said.

  I ran, but only as far as the hallway. I didn't look back. Twisted and turned in my sleep, with black plagues of nightmares visiting me every few moments. I walked through the breakfast line. Enigma, Zen, and Thomas were sitting at a table. I asked myself if I wanted to eat with them, but I always ate with them, so I sat down. Enigma said, "Good morning."

  "I didn't sleep well," I said.

  "I've got something that will help there," Thomas said.

  "I don't believe you."

  "How will you know if you don't try it?"

  "Leave him alone," Zen said. "I have nightmares sometimes, too. Dreams of missionary position where neither of us are secured."

  I started eating. My only desire was to make it to the track and run or swim. The exact image of my Ussilla walked through the food line, picking some raw squirrel along the way. It still had fur on it. She sat at our table. "You must be Bear," she said as she was looking at me.

  "Aye," I said.

  "I can smell the Chor'Tan in you."

  I showered with soap that morning. Even put on deodorant.

  "Have we met?" I asked.

  "I'm new to Earth," Ussilla said.

  "Do they call you Ussilla?"

  "From your throat, for your ears, Ussilla is suitable. In our native tongue, to our ears, there is a difference in every Ussilla's name."

  Her hand was under the table, resting on my crotch. I was just an animal to her. A piece of meat. I put her hand back where it belonged.

  Ussilla plopped a piece of flesh into her mouth and swallowed it whole. "The eggs you made are all planted in the fertile land of our homeland. They were scanned briefly, and all seem healthy. Six females and two males."

  "Yay," like I even cared.

  I should likely note that there is a jump gate set up between our solar system and Chor'Tan's home system. Without the jump gate, interstellar travel takes years.

  "The males were especially important, they showed significant cerebral development compared to a pure Chor'Tan male."

  Sphinx, Archangel, and Jet came through the food line. Jet pointed at Ussilla's bloody, raw chunks of dead animal. "You're eating that?"

  Ussilla let out this deep throaty laugh just like my Ussilla used to laugh.

  Sphinx had a tray loaded with all sorts of fruit and oatmeal. "We have a new mission. Briefing after breakfast."

  "I'm having my body done after breakfast," Archangel said.

  "That's great, did Nancy finally approve?" I asked.

  "Sphinx made it happen."

  I looked at Sphinx. I didn't say or do a damn thing though because the word charges was still echoing in my ears.

  "What new mission?" Jet asked.

  "It's a simple matter, and we'll be briefed after breakfast," Sphinx said.

  Everybody started eating quickly. Ussilla finished first. She patted me on the knee. "If you need me, look me up in the computer records. Look for Ussilla."

  "Thanks, I'll think about it," I said.

  "What am I, week old squirrel that has been sitting in the sun, covered with maggots?" Jet asked.

  Ussilla smiled wide. "You aren't part Chor'Tan, but maybe it would work. Yes, if you're interested, look me up."

  Jet rubbed the flats of his hands together vigorously. "I may do that."

  I was done eating, and Nancy's office called out to me. Sphinx said, "Conference room B."

  My feet decided I could run there as easily as walk, and my entourage chased after. Everybody except Archangel. He took the elevator down.

  N
ancy sat at one end of a long table. A city materialized over the table, and it zoomed in on what looked like a warehouse. "Centurian has been staging rave parties to distribute free drugs and recruit young people. He gives them all the MindBender they could want. He's often distributing LSD and Ecstasy dosages."

  "What the hell is a rave party?" Jet asked.

  "Idiot," Zen said.

  "They get together at a big hall, and set up a huge sound system," Nancy said. "Then they play dance music all night long. A lot of people get into drugs at a rave, and a lot of raves disintegrate into orgies."

  "What does this have to do with us?" Thomas asked.

  "Our intelligence says that some of Centurian's top men will oversee the raves. Your team is going to infiltrate the rave party in Los Angeles, and capture as many of Centurian's men as you can. You have studied pictures of some of them, and you should be able to identify them."

  "Weapons?"

  "Stunners only. No pistols, no armor, no grenades. Zip ties."

  "Bullshit," Zen said.

  "Those are the orders. If you've got a better plan for capturing more of their top guys, spit it out."

  "Is Archangel joining us?" I asked.

  Nancy crossed her arms over her chest. "Archangel may be out of commission for weeks. He has to relearn every punch, every kick. He has to relearn how to feed himself."

  "I still don't know what a rave is," Jet said.

  Zen's mouth twisted into a misshapen frown. "It's a huge dance party where young people go to find sex partners and get high."

  "How many of these rave parties are we going to attend? I like to dance and look for sex partners."

  "You're only going to one, and you had better focus on the mission," Nancy said. "Dismissed."

  Chapter Forty-Seven

  We left for L.A. the next morning and wore a mix of clothes. I had tan cargo shorts on, a leather vest to hide my stunner, and a white t-shirt, which would of course not discourage a bullet at all. I felt like an idiot. Jet had it worse though: he was in leather pants with a leather shirt on top. They would slow a knife, but bullets would go right through. We memorized a map of the complex on the plane ride.