by S. T. Moon
Irene Vail climbed out of the helicopter and strolled up to Victoria and Breaker. The way she wore it, the boring flight suit looked like high-fashion. She handed her helmet to one of the security officers. After a short conversation, both men climbed into the helicopter.
Irene saluted the pilot and the helicopter flew away.
“Irene,” Victoria said.
“Well don’t you two look domestic,” Irene said.
Victoria couldn’t help but admire the woman, even though she resented the hell out of her at the same time. It had been her intervention that saved Breaker’s life and allowed them to spend the last year together. But Victoria had known this day would come. Irene Vail was a fixer and it was her responsibility to rehabilitate rogues like Jonathan Breaker.
“What are you doing here?” Victoria asked.
“I was in the area. Why don’t you invite me inside for a drink?” Irene asked.
Victoria motioned toward the cabin. Breaker turned and walked that direction. Irene and Victoria followed him.
He took the stairs two at a time. Victoria and Irene were slower, delaying the inevitable.
“Are you taking him back to the grid to train him?” Victoria asked.
Irene sighed heavily. “I’m very tired, Victoria. I could use something to eat, a shower, and a place to sleep. Don’t you think this conversation can wait until morning?”
“You told me I needed to build him up before you could rehabilitate him. Get him ready for the rigors of training and evaluation. Well, I’ve been doing my best but he’s not ready,” Victoria said flatly.
“That’s not your decision.”
* * *
Breaker made them dinner. He set the table as though they were entertaining royalty. Victoria and Irene waited on the back deck watching the smoke in the distant mountains dissipate.
“What do you think that is?” Victoria asked.
“Fire.”
Victoria rolled her eyes.
“You had to fly right over it on your way here. What is it, a forest fire? Unregistered power plant malfunction? Meteor strike?” Victoria asked.
Irene refused the bait. She updated Victoria on changes to 6Corps including the disturbing trend of cooperation with Red Corporation, or Red-C as it was more commonly known. Delicious food smells emanated from the kitchen.
“Dinner is ready, ladies,” Breaker called. He pulled out a chair for each of them and seated them one at a time. Victoria suspected Irene brushed against him unnecessarily. His expression changed and he looked uncomfortable.
Victoria took her normal place wondering what Irene would think about the meal. Would she think it pretentious for two people to dine like this every night? Breaker had prepared three steaks from a nearby off-grid rancher. It was served with corn on the cob, twice baked potatoes, and blueberry pie. Breaker, for all of his rugged good looks, had a deft touch in the kitchen. He seemed to enjoy serving Victoria as well.
It wasn’t nearly so awesome that he also enjoyed serving Irene. Victoria thought she might be happier if her man resented the presence of the gorgeous blonde supervisor from 6Corps. For Irene’s part, she was the perfect dinner guest.
A soft melody played on the music station. Sunset turned into dusk, darkening the sky. One lamp hung from the ceiling, directly above the table Spilling soft light she enjoyed.
Irene made pleasant conversation. Victoria tried to reciprocate. Breaker laughed in all the right places and told a few jokes of his own. No one spoke about the reason for Irene’s visit. She had to take Breaker back in and either train him or get rid of him.
* * *
Irene helped clear the table, followed Breaker into the kitchen, and put the dishes down. Before he could react, she backed him up against the sink.
“I need you to do something for me, Jonathan,” she said. “And you can’t tell Victoria.”
“You think you can have any man you want?”
“I really should’ve kept you for myself, you know that?” She went up on her tiptoes to whisper in his ear, pressing against him, savoring the heat of his body. “I know how to take what I want.” She parted her lips, paused, then pulled her body back a finger’s width. “Contact your father’s people and send them to check out the smoke we’ve been seeing from the next valley. There might be survivors. None of them will have the skills to live long off-the-grid.”
“It’s not that simple. My father’s people have limited resources. And limited goodwill. Strangers usually bring destruction to an off-grid settlement, no matter who they are.” Breaker put down the plates he still held but made no move to escape her sensual, intoxicating proximity.
“Some of them are children.”
“I’ll make a call on the CB radio, but I can’t make any promises they’re listening this time of night,” Breaker said.
* * *
Victoria entered the room backwards, pushing the door open with her butt. Her hands were full of plates and silverware and when she turned, Irene was taking a too-casual step away from Breaker. Victoria put down her load, ready to defend her turf.
She cut between them, vamping Breaker like she was going to claim him with a hot kiss, then dodging him with the coy smile of a tease. “You’re on the washing side, I’ll dry.” Victoria smiled sweetly at Irene, pretending she hadn’t seen her until just that moment. “Would you mind cleaning up the rest of the dining room? Thanks.”
* * *
Later, Victoria showed Irene to her room, disturbingly aware of the small woman’s sexuality. It was a combination of how she dressed, how she smelled, and the way she moved. She wanted to like the woman but couldn’t get past the ever-present threat of her stealing Breaker.
“Thank you, Victoria.” Irene lingered in the doorway, one hand on the frame, displaying her figure admirably.
Victoria wondered how the woman’s lips were always moist, and what kind of bra made your boobs just that borderline-caricature perfect shape. The blonde fixer had a waist so slim it made Victoria jealous. She really should hate the woman.
“Do you need anything else?” Victoria said to fill the awkward silence.
“Need. Want. You should be careful what questions you ask,” Irene said. Her expression changed. She leaned on the doorframe with arms crossed. “Have you ever made a difficult choice?”
“Of course I have.”
Irene closed her eyes, then opened them. “You answer that quickly, then you haven’t. I’ll leave you to whatever you do out here in the middle of nowhere with… him.”
“What choice are you talking about?”
“When to take a life, when to spare a life, when you’ve been alive too long. The little things. Now go away. I’m tired.”
Victoria thought about what Irene said all the way back to the bedroom she shared with Breaker. She closed the door behind her and faced him.
“Vick, about the kitchen…”
She leaned into him and used her momentum to push them across to the bed. Sliding her hands over his ass, she planted her best kiss on him. When he moaned, she broke the kiss with a mocking smile. Arching her back, she rocked her hips, grinding against him, loving the look on his face. He slid his hands from her waist to her hips and pulled, matching his own rhythm to hers. Twisting, she broke his grip and shoved him with all her strength, pushing him down on the bed.
He bounced. She caught the front of his pants and yanked them open. She hadn’t gone down on him for a long time, but she didn’t want him to think this was about Irene.
She pushed the gorgeous blonde who moved her body like an artiste even when she was just walking across the room out of her mind.
Breaker ripped her out of her clothes. They were completely naked in front of the open windows, spotlighted by moonlight streaming in on a cool breeze. She wasn’t sure if it was the best sex she’d ever had but it was the hottest—and the roughest. The four-poster bed slammed the floor and when she came up for air, she was surprised to find they were halfway across the room. I
t frustrated her to try and keep Irene from hearing her moan but quickly reached the point when she didn’t care.
When they were spent, she took him in her mouth until he was ready to go again. Her second orgasm arrived and before she could reconsider she let him bend her over the wrong side of the couch between their bed and the bathroom.
* * *
With heavy-lidded eyes, Victoria watched Breaker across the breakfast table. She blushed at the memory of all the things they had done last night. It was obvious by the second or third time that he wasn’t thinking about Irene. She’d wondered about the woman once or twice, which made her feel uncomfortable.
If she marveled at Irene Vail’s raw sexuality, Breaker surely did as well. She wanted to ask him but didn’t have the courage. Maybe she could tease him with it. Make him uncomfortable.
You want to put it in her? Just slide it between her…
“I assume you two worked everything out last night?” Irene asked, then delicately took a bite of eggs with a silver fork. “I’m sorry, were you daydreaming?”
“Care to share?” Breaker asked.
Victoria blushed.
Breaker and Irene both laughed. The weird thing was she wasn’t mad or embarrassed. Any sexual tension that had been stored up evaporated in the bright morning sun. They were just having breakfast with a friend now.
Victoria took a drink of cool mountain water. She was going to miss this when she went back to civilization. Neither Breaker nor Irene seemed to have forgotten they were talking about what happened in the bedroom last night. She cleared her throat and changed the subject.
“How are you going to prove to 6Corps Breaker is loyal to the company?”
“You’re no fun,” Irene said and turned to Breaker. “The first thing we need to do is get you back in the game.”
CHAPTER TWO
The Rise of Frank Oden
“State your name,” the investigator said.
“Frank Oden, SAC-Colorado for 6Corps, currently acting director for the Northwest Region.”
“Why is that?”
“Victoria Mayer is on paid leave.”
“Interesting.”
“She’s been on paid leave for almost a year. You act surprised. What kind of investigator are you?” Oden asked.
“You should be judicious with your tone. The incident in the Kansas City Metro area cost billions of universal credits. Enough to spread the blame over several careers and end them entirely,” the investigator said.
Oden crossed his arms and allowed his expression to convey his impatience.
“Or…” the investigator said, “careers could be made.”
“Well that’s more like it. Start with what’s in it for me and we can move toward what you want me to say during this interview,” Oden said.
“That’s... indiscreet. We at 6Corps are bound to follow company procedure and our code of ethics. Let’s not forget that.”
“I agree completely. So get to it,” Oden said, rolling his hand.
“Let’s just take a break.” The man turned off the recording devices. “The Board of Directors has made it very clear that any tension between 6Corps field operatives and Red-C agents is to be resolved. It is in the best interests of both companies that the disaster at the KC Metro site is not attributed to any current decision-makers.”
“You want to blame the release of the Death Angel on a dead man.” Oden smiled.
“Well, yes.”
“But that’s not what happened, not exactly.”
The investigator fidgeted in his chair.
“Whoever testifies to the facts of the KC… incident during this investigation will be putting more than his career in jeopardy. The reward should match the risk.”
The investigator glanced at the corner. It was just a flicker of eye movement but absolute confirmation to Oden that this conversation was being monitored by the real decision-makers.
“Are we looking at a merger?” Oden asked.
“That will be part of this interview. That is final and nonnegotiable.”
Oden rubbed the back of his neck, pretending to stall for time. He knew what he was going to say. He’d known since before the thinly disguised deposition started.
The first joint survey mission should have passed far beneath his radar but he was the type of man who kept tabs on his subordinates. He knew exactly how many missions off the grid had occurred since the KC Metro incident. He also knew far more about the recent incidents than most.
“It will look suspicious if I’m put in charge of the new corporation after the merger. So in the meantime, I’ll require a promotion—officially—to permanent Director of the Northwest Region. And I’ll need some special titles and assignments that give me added credibility when the time comes for me to take over the field operations after the merger.”
“We’re not talking about mergers,” the investigator said.
“You’re not, because you’re just a mouthpiece. You don’t know what I’m talking about because it’s above your pay grade. But the people listening know, and I expect they’ll be making me an offer here before we continue.”
* * *
Oden left the meeting exhausted but ready for a fight. He needed to hurt someone, himself if necessary, but he’d much rather hurt someone like Monica.
Rain sluiced from the skies on the walk back to his apartment. He gripped the umbrella tighter than necessary and with his free hand, he tried to make a call. The phone was a bit of an artifact, an antique that he had to learn to program to keep functional. It had the advantage of being harder to trace and to wiretap. The mere possession of it would raise suspicion, but everybody was suspicious of him these days. He was a power player nearing the very top of the security establishment.
He already had more power than most generals in the Army. The actual number of combat units at his command was small, but elite. They had the best training and equipment. He could also requisition regular military units if needed. All it took was a crisis like a Death Angel outbreak. He understood why the monsters had been created. The population wouldn’t keep itself under control and stern measures, while unpleasant, were warranted. But these days, people appreciated what 6Corps and the other corporations had done to restore the planet. No one wanted to go back to the overpopulated mess the world had become when all lives were treated as valuable.
The phone rang. Monica answered.
“I’m already in your apartment. Are you ready to be in me?”
“It’s been a hard day,” he said. “I have a lot of stress to work off.”
“I don’t see how that’s my problem,” she said. “And please remember it’s my turn. You nearly broke my collarbone last time. I need some payback.”
“You know the safe word.”
“I said the safe word.”
He couldn’t argue with that. It had excited him at the time. She’d cried afterward, but then done him up with several rounds of vanilla sex that was almost as good as the real thing. He’d hoped she’d let his contract violation slide. Now he knew he was going to pay.
“I’ll be there in ten minutes. Can you sweep the apartment for listening devices? I’m moving up in the world and I’d hate to get blackmailed for a little good clean fun,” he said.
“I’ll do the sweep, but it won’t be clean fun.”
Oden trembled with anticipation. He wasn’t sure if he wanted to run to his apartment or away from it.
“I’ll roll back the throw rugs and cover the furniture with plastic.”
Oden shuddered. He was going to bleed for his mistake.
CHAPTER THREE
Return
Victoria stood next to Breaker with all her travel gear in sea bag she carried on a wide strap over her shoulder. Breaker had more gear than she did. In addition to his bag, there were two rifle cases and a tech kit that included at least one pair of drones.
Irene Vail was also ready to travel. Not that she had a bag or any type of kit. She idly watched the
inbound helicopters through her dark sunglasses, oblivious of the lovers in their final minutes together or pretending to be.
“Can we have a minute in private?” Victoria asked.
Irene looked her up and down. “No, I don’t think that will be necessary. You two have had a year together. If you haven’t said what you need to say by now, there’s really no hope for either of you.”
The helicopters landed, the downdrafts blasting white powder across the clearing.
Breaker put down his gear and hugged Victoria. “I love you. This testing and evaluation is nothing. I could probably do it in my sleep.”
“Such humility,” Irene muttered.
“I know,” Victoria said. “I wish I had the same confidence. For all I know I’m just going back to be terminated.”
“Then we run away together like we planned,” Breaker laughed.
Irene cleared her throat, effectively ending their moment of intimacy. “I wouldn’t make that joke where other people can hear it. The results could be…disastrous.”
Victoria gave Breaker a final hug, then went to her helicopter without looking back. She climbed inside, strapped into a seat, and accepted a helmet. “Can you leave the side door open?”
The crew chief shrugged. “It’ll get cold. But the view will be fantastic.”
Victoria watched the man she loved next to the woman that would probably steal him. She was glad the lenses of the visor were mirrored. If the crew chief looked at her closely, he might see tears on her face but she could blame that on something in the air irritating her eyes.