I looked into the last seat. Thomas had a cooler. I asked, "What else do you have?"
"Iced coffee, but I only have two bottles. There are five of us."
"I'm not afraid of cooties. Open one, we'll pass it around."
He handed me a bottle. I checked to make sure it wasn't marijuana coffee. I took a sip and passed it to Sphinx. She in turn passed it forward to Jet. Both bottles were gone in no time. We pulled up to the Agency building, and the gates slid open. Nancy radioed that the kitchen stayed open late for us.
Nancy was in the cafeteria waiting. "Another successful mission."
We sat down and started eating our cheeseburgers and fries.
I let out a little whimper. "They sang karaoke."
"Karaoke is a blast," Jet said.
"You captured a number of new prisoners. Civilian casualties were minimized. You'll have a week or two off before your next mission. Other teams have not had such luck. We sent a team into a drug manufacturing plant in Canada, and none of them made it out."
It ain't luck, lady.
"Whose team?" Thomas asked.
"Victor's."
"Damn it all."
"Two weeks?" Sphinx said with a low, rumbling growl.
"We're still processing information from Pumpkin Spice," Nancy said. "We need to learn what we can from the men captured today. We're close to identifying Centurian, and that's our main objective right now. Even a sketch of him would make a huge difference. All three of the high level operatives claim he only communicates via secure video, and he always wears a mask. His checks never bounce. He sends couriers with boxes of drugs."
Thomas said, "Who's up for a run!"
"Are you out of medical marijuana?" Enigma asked.
"Yes!"
"After a day like today, who needs to run at night?" I asked.
"A man with too much energy!" Thomas said.
Enigma patted Thomas's hand. "I have a key to the pharmacy on the medical floor. I can get you some quality stuff."
"Awesome!"
Thinking about it. I could go for a late night swim. "I'm going swimming."
"I'll join you," Zen said.
"Are we swimming naked?" Sphinx asked.
All the eyes turned on me. I spoke the words slow-like, "I'm wearing trunks."
"Swim by yourself."
Zen and I went swimming. We swam laps. I couldn't help but notice how fit she was. Not super bulky like a body builder, but definitely muscular and trim. We had the pool to ourselves. After the laps, I climbed out and sat on the edge. She stayed in the water.
"I miss RedCat," she said.
I missed him, too, and said as much.
She leaned back and floated. "He's the real reason I want to retire. I want to forget him. He's in my dreams constantly.
"Will the mind-wipe fix our dreams?"
"Dr. Heathers says so. I have no reason not to believe her."
The patter of footsteps interrupted our conversation. Luc stepped through a doorway. To be honest, her breasts were almost too big. I mean, I didn't want to complain. Her hips were wide too. A totally different body from Zen or Enigma or Sphinx, or hell Xeon for that matter.
I caught Zen's eyes. "I miss Xeon."
"You barely knew her," Zen said.
"I knew I loved her."
"You know RedCat proposed to me. He wanted to finish training first."
"You said yes?" I asked.
"I did."
There was a long pause while Luc swam laps. I stood up and headed towards the sauna. I just wanted to relax, and the heat was nice, even after spending all day driving through desert. Zen and Luc joined me.
"There should be boys and girls saunas, not just one sauna," Luc said.
"What difference does it make?" Zen asked.
"If there were no boys in here, I could take my suit off. I don't really like clothes."
"Bear isn't a boy. He's a man. And he's seen naked women before."
My suit was starting to become uncomfortable at that point, too. I was beginning to wonder if a threesome was starting to form up.
"He's still a stranger to me. I don't like being naked around strangers," Luc said.
"I'm not strange," I said.
"You're a little strange. I hear you don't like karaoke."
Word travels fast. It was clear I was not going to be banging these chicks tonight. Would I bang Zen anyhow? She was a true friend. Would that stop me? No. I could see myself loving her.
Zen whispered in Luc's ear. Luc let out a little girlie laugh. "Maybe, if he were to produce a condom, but I bet he's not prepared."
She was right. I had no condoms on me. I walked out of that sauna with a boner, and it dawned on me the pockets in my swim trunks must be designed to store condoms. Maybe next time I went for a late night swim, I'd be prepared.
Chapter Sixty-Five
It was just one sex dream after another that night. I didn't mind. Compared to the alternatives, sex dreams were not so bad. In the morning, I had an email from Ussilla containing a video link. I clicked it.
At first it was just a mound of dirt with some moss growing on it. Then it started to move. Tiny green lizards began to emerge, shake the dirt off themselves, and wander away. Two of them were different. They were shaped like lizards or maybe crocodiles, but they had pale, soft skin instead of green scales. Ussilla's voice spoke, "The odd two are the males. Everyone's so excited. Thank you, Bear."
Thank you, Bear. I didn't do anything special. Showered, shaved, all my morning stuff. I went through the chow line. Something was different today. The Chor'Tan food looked appealing. The rawness of it. The smell of a fresh kill. I wanted to try it. I even reached for the tongs. Archangel was behind me, and he laughed this deep kind of chuckle. "Raw meat will make you sick," he said.
"Are you sure?" I asked.
"Certain."
I grabbed a couple of extra sausage patties and followed Archangel to our regular table. Thomas and Jet were there, but no Enigma, Zen, or Luc. I asked, "Where are the girls?"
"They're women," Jet said.
Thomas took a bite out of an apple. "I haven't seen them today."
Archangel seemed to be sorting through his potatoes, choosing his first bite carefully. "They're plotting our doom. Just like the gremlins."
"Maybe they're gremlins in disguise," Thomas said.
"Don't tease me. No way could the women be gremlins."
"Why not? They could be robots with a gremlin inside."
Archangel got this far away look in his eyes. "Now I'm afraid."
I never thought I'd hear those words from Archangel. He was physically the biggest person I ever met. Being big doesn't mean you can't be afraid.
Zen, Enigma, and Luc walked through the food lines and sat with us. Enigma must have noticed the look in Archangel's face, because she said, "What's wrong?"
Archangel wouldn't meet any of our eyes.
"He has been given the idea that you ladies are actually robots with gremlins living inside you," Thomas said.
All three women laughed.
Zen said, "It's true. I'm not a real human at all."
"Yes," Enigma said. "One hundred percent robot."
"Sex would be the best way to prove I'm human," Luc said.
"You want to get married?" Archangel asked with huge eyes.
"Sex and marriage aren't the same."
"They are."
"Nevermind."
Archangel wept. "I'll never know the truth."
Zen put salt and pepper on her eggs. "You could take one of us, maybe Enigma, and slice her open with a big knife. Check out her insides. Prove to yourself that she's a red blooded human."
"Don't give him ideas!" Jet shouted.
"You think I would do something like that?" Archangel asked.
"Oh no, you're perfectly sane. Everybody believes in gremlins."
"In heavy weapons, they have Gremlins 101, 102, and 103. You must pass all three before you're equipped."
&nb
sp; The table fell silent at that point. We finished our breakfast. I didn't go run but went to my computer terminal. Open class schedules. Search on Gremlin. Three classes showed up. Heavy weapons, Gremlins 101, 102, 103, just like Archangel said. I pulled up the descriptions. It came back classified. I logged in securely, since I had pretty high clearance. The descriptions still came back classified.
I went to run. I had class that day, and then danger room in the evening. Same shit, different day. The class that day was depressing:
If a Razdoran corporation claimed a world as a colony, and was thus allowed to ship youths to work on factory worlds, the youths would ultimately grow old on the world and essentially work until the day they died, all the while receiving pitiful food, negligible medical care, and little or no options to improve their lot.
I was watching the latest Hollywood blockbuster on TV, all guns and guts. My door buzzer rang. Luc was standing there with something behind her back. My first thought was Chor'Tan Ale and terror danced in my heart. I opened the door. She pulled a tablet out from behind her. "I need help with Interstellar Law 111."
And she thought I was going to help. I was, too. I mean, how could I say no? Invited her in. Watched my movie while she poked around on her tablet. Every few minutes she would ask a question, and I would explain things.
The movie ended. I looked at her. My penis wanted to get hard and poke her. She looked me in the eyes. "I really don't get why Earth is classified as a backwater planet. We have nukes. We have renewable energy."
Such a simple question. Did she really not know? Did she want my opinion on the matter?
I paused to think of my answer. "We're a backwater planet and still open to exploitation, because we have so many governments. If we were ruled by one planetary body, we would be equals in the interstellar community."
"That's not fair though. We have proven our intelligence. We produce artwork, stories, and music. Our music is some of the best of all intelligent species."
"Fair or not, the interstellar governments make the rules, and only two kinds of species are allowed in. One, if a species develops star drive capability on its own, then they're in. Two, if a planet is a unified government, they're in."
If she would just strip naked, things would go that much quicker.
I must have accidentally said that out loud, because she started stripping right then. No. She said, "I'm not going to strip naked. We're friends, Bear. I don't sleep with my friends."
"You sleep with your enemies?"
She frowned. "I'm afraid so."
Chapter Sixty-Six
She moved in close like a snake and put her lips on mine. I kissed her.
"Hmmm," she said in a whisper, "you kiss more like an enemy than a friend."
I reached out and fondled her oversized breasts. We both stripped naked, and I quickly decided, although she had the largest breasts I'd handled, they were definitely not too big. We went at it repeatedly over the next few days.
It was morning, and I had a priority email from Nancy. "Meet after breakfast."
I figured new mission. We all had breakfast, and I walked towards Nancy's office. Expected the whole crew to follow, but only Archangel, Zen, and Sphinx walked with me.
We stepped into the conference room. Nancy pushed a few buttons. A person appeared over the table. A fat man wearing a black suit and tie. Nancy said, "This man must die."
"An assassination?" Sphinx asked.
Nancy pushed another button, and a mansion showed up over the table. "Yes, an assassination. He runs a market that trades humans for goods. The more of his men you can kill the happier we'll be."
"Kill them all," Archangel said, "I like it."
I liked it, too. "The plan?"
Nancy pointed to a hill of trees beside the mansion. "Archangel will take the shot from this hill. Surgical. One bullet for one man."
"Boring," Zen said.
"He must be taken out. His slave trade is providing women for brothels throughout Central and South America."
"Someone else will simply take his place."
Nancy turned her eyes on Zen. "We're making an example of him. If somebody takes his place, we'll make a stronger example."
Sphinx said, "I'm in."
"He's in Mexico?" I asked. "I don't speak Spanish."
Zen said something in I think Spanish.
Nancy said, "Very good."
"What did she say," I asked.
"It's not important," Archangel said. Then he said something in I think Spanish, too.
I felt kind of bad only knowing English. Granted, I had studied some French in high school, but never enough to speak it. Looking back on it, it seemed like a stupid language to learn, but I always wanted to travel in Canada. I figure with global warming, I might want to move to Canada someday. The others broke out in laughter. I asked, "When do we leave?"
Nancy shut down the images over the table. "You leave this afternoon."
I went and found Luc on the track. I ran to catch up to her. She started running faster. I upped my pace. Grabbed her by the midsection and picked her up. She laughed. I pulled her in close. My lips found hers. "Are you up to it?"
"We did it this morning!"
"I'm going on a mission this afternoon."
"Then I'm up for it!"
I banged the hell out of her. In truth though, I was getting bored with it. Every time, she made me wear a condom. It wasn't terrible, but she could take the pill or get a shot or something. Instead, I wore rubbers. I loved her. It didn't matter. I wanted to be with her all the time.
We drove a truck to the airport and boarded the plane. The four of us played Hearts with a deck of cards. Archangel consistently won. The women seemed to help him win, too.
Zen reached over and touched Archangel's knee. "I haven't been with a man since RedCat."
Archangel pulled his knee away. "I want to marry a nice Muslim woman. Have lots of children."
"I want to have lots of children."
"You're not Muslim."
"Deal the cards," Sphinx said.
I looked at Zen. "No men since RedCat?"
"None," she said, "I loved him."
"Won't you explode if you don't have sex?"
"I'm a woman. I won't explode."
"Sometimes, I explode," Archangel said.
The rest of us laughed.
The plane landed, and we grabbed a bunch of supplies and loaded the truck. Our GPS showed us the way. We had two of our inflatable tents with us. I steered the vehicle around trees and shrubs. As soon as we crested the hill, I parked under a tall oak. Archangel put on special boots with spikes and scaled right up the oak tree. The three of us sat around in a circle.
Sphinx said, "I bet Jet or Thomas would sleep with you, Zen."
"Jet's like a boy, and Thomas is ancient," Zen said.
"Jet's too busy screwing Ussilla," I said, "and Thomas is likely too stoned."
"The pot doesn't bother me. It's the fact that he's twenty years older than me."
"There are other men around," Sphinx said, "grab one and squeeze him."
Zen rubbed her legs with the palms of her hands. "I could pretend we're Chor'Tan, and simply rub on one of them and assume they'll fuck anything that gets in their way afterwards."
"Why haven't we heard a shot?" I asked.
"That's a good question."
Sphinx looked up and shouted, "Archangel!"
"I got no shot," came back from in the tree.
The sun set. Archangel climbed down. We inflated our tents. Zen and Sphinx stepped into one. I tried to sleep in the other. Archangel said, "Who wants second watch?"
Zen said, "Wake me next."
About three hours later, Archangel woke me when he crawled into the tent. He said, "Let's hope I don't explode."
I was out of that tent standing watch so fast. "You might as well sleep, Zen."
"Get in there with Sphinx."
Not a bad idea. I curled up next to her and slept. Zen woke me when s
he nudged Sphinx for her turn at watch. Zen curled up with me. Sleeping in the women's tent was definitely better than sleeping in a tent with a muscle bound man who is prone to explode.
Two days passed this way. Archangel never had a shot. We decided we needed to take it to the next level.
Chapter Sixty-Seven
I took another look at the mansion. Four meter high wall. No machine gun nests set up in the walls. I looked at Archangel. "Did you bring a rocket?"
"Of course."
"Rocket the gate. Rush in like madmen."
"Stupid plan," Sphinx said.
"Smashing the gate with a rocket is not bad," Zen said, "but running right after is stupid."
"Rocket the gate then wait for nightfall."
That was a better plan.
"I can hit it from here," Archangel said.
"It will leave a smoke trail right to us," I said.
"Get everything packed. Everybody into the truck."
We packed up. Archangel fired a rocket, and ran for us. I punched the gas on the truck after he was in. I knew I had to make it to a paved road, or they would just follow our tracks. I pulled the truck onto a packed earth road and wondered if that would be good enough.
I drove for three kilometers before I decided it was adequate. A plan had formed in my mind. "We cut their power. Cut their internet. Go in with helmets on, infrared on."
"You're not as dumb as you look," Sphinx said.
"I don't look dumb."
Zen poked me in the ribs. "You look dumb."
I wanted to argue. Really though, who was I to argue? There was no way I could prove I didn't look stupid. Maybe I would ask Thomas or Nancy their opinion? Would Luc tell the truth, if I asked her?
Archangel patted me on the shoulder. "All men look dumb, to women."
Sphinx and Zen laughed brilliantly. Sphinx said, "It's true."
We waited for sunset. Nobody chased us. We zipped up in leather jackets and put on our helmets. I steered the truck back towards the mansion. We stepped out and started walking. It was dark. Archangel had his rifle out. There were two figures standing on the outside of the hole in the gate. I could tell from the infrared.
Codename: Bear: Secret Agent (Codename Universe Book 1) Page 21