by S. R Russell
“Okay, Arthur, Abby, and E.” Anne nodded at each in turn. “For those of you who don’t know, this is Stephanie Kasyanov, though she prefers to be called ‘Stevie.’” The young woman blushed. “She’s here for a job interview. Time will tell if she becomes part of the team.”
Peter cleared his throat to gain everyone’s attention. “I’ll try to keep this short and make it sweet,” he said, looking at Anne. “You will have one of these three,” he motioned to the Guardian and the Marines, “on-duty and near or with you at all times when you are in the interior spaces of the MR. This includes school, mess, and any other interior areas you are visiting or working in. If or when you go to the outer edges where aliens have access, you will take at least two of your team with you. And before you make a fuss,” Peter pointed his finger at Anne, “these are Bethany Anne’s rules, not mine.”
“Okay, let me see if I’ve got this straight.” Anne held up one hand and started ticking off fingers with the index finger of her other hand. “If I’m in the human spaces of the station, I only need one guard. If I go into places that aliens have access to, then I need at least two.”
“Correct,” Peter confirmed, smiling at her. “We’re not going to have any issues, are we?”
Anne shook her head. “I hope having security with me will mean I don’t have to kill anyone else because they’ve done something stupid.”
Anne could feel Stevie’s eyes on her as Peter asked, “How are you holding up?”
“Jinx has suggested that I probably need counseling,” Anne admitted. “I’ve been having some terrible nightmares.”
“I guess the million-dollar question is, do you agree with Jinx?” Peter asked, observing Anne.
“Yeah, I do. Look at the mess my mother turned into because of her untreated issues. I really don’t want to go there,” Anne said with a slight shudder.
“We have a couple people who are trained to handle PTSD. Anyone on your team,” Peter once again indicated the guards, “can tell you how to get an appointment when you’re ready.”
Anne nodded as she replied, “Thanks, it won’t be very long. I don’t imagine it’ll stop the nightmares, but if it helps me get a handle on them I’m more than willing to talk to someone.”
“Right now I really need to talk to Stevie, so she can get home before she gets into trouble.” Anne looked at the Were who had been introduced as ‘Arthur Connors.’ “Tell me what I need to know about how the security detail is going to work.”
“While you are home,” he answered, “there should always be one of us outside your door.” He pointed to the door in question.
Jinx chuffed in amusement. “I’m glad you clarified that.”
“Doh, I guess that was a little overboard,” Arthur admitted. “On school days, one of us will accompany you to and from campus. We’ll be stationed in the office while you’re in class so we can monitor the school’s security cameras. When you need to go into the more public areas, please inform us at least sixty minutes in advance.”
“Well, that’s going to put a kink in my binge retail therapy.” Anne pouted.
“Gott Verdammt,” Arthur muttered. “I’m not carrying your bags,” he stated emphatically.
Jinx chuffed, then actually howled with amusement.
Arthur looked at Peter, then Jinx, and finally a now-giggling Anne. “What?”
“Men!” Stevie said derisively.
“What?” Arthur repeated, now looking at the female Were.
She pointed to the couch and coffee table. “She had to drag extra chairs in from the kitchen. What is there about this space that suggests she some sort of shopaholic?”
“Oh, um…” Arthur looked uncomfortable as he held his hands up and shrugged.
Peter stood, and motioned Anne’s new security team toward the door. “Why don’t we get you people set up while the ladies take care of their business,” he said as he followed them. “Talk to you later, Anne. Call me if you have any issues.”
“You got it.” Anne smiled and waved to the backs of Peter and her Guardian Marine team as they headed into the corridor.
—
Anne waited until the door closed, then moved to Peter’s chair and turned it to face Stevie. “Anything I can get you before we start our discussion?”
Stevie looked somewhat embarrassed as she answered, “I could really use a trip to the bathroom.”
“Sure thing. Down the hall, first on the left.” Anne pointed her in the right direction. “Can I get you anything while you’re taking care of business?” she asked as Stevie stepped past her.
“No, I’m good,” Stevie said, shaking her head. “I just hadn’t expected to be here this long.”
“That makes two of us,” Anne admitted.
“Three,” Jinx chuffed.
Stevie washed her hands and checked herself in the mirror. She hadn’t really needed to use the facilities, but it gave her a few minutes’ privacy to get her thoughts in order. Finding out that a prospective employer had been assigned her own security team by the Empress herself had been a shock. Hearing that she had recently killed someone required a few private minutes to digest. While Stevie was somewhat of an anomaly in that she tried to avoid conflict, Weres as a race were a violent people. She had, of course, heard stories as she grew up about Were-on-Were and Were-on-human violence, but none of her acquaintances had done more than get into a few scrapes. Exiting the bathroom, Stevie squared her shoulders and headed for the common room to find out what her future might bring.
“Everything all right?” Anne asked when the Were returned.
“Yep, everything’s good,” Stevie replied as she resumed her seat. “So, what do you have for me?”
“Unfortunately there’s not a whole bunch I can tell you right now. I’m not trying to be difficult, but I’m doing some top-secret work for Bethany Anne.” Anne wore a slightly embarrassed look as she admitted this.
“As in an ‘if I tell you I’ll have to kill you’ secret?” Stevie teased.
“Pretty much,” Anne said, now looking very serious. “At the least, it’s the type of top-secret that requires you to have a pre-employment interview with Ranger One.”
Stevie had always been proud of her self-control, but she couldn’t stop her eyes from widening at the mention of Barnabas, Bethany Anne’s first Ranger. “You’re not pulling my leg, are you?”
“Nope. Orders came straight from Bethany Anne herself,” Jinx inserted.
“Well, crap. What can you tell me?” Despite any apprehension about an interview with Barnabas, Stevie found herself becoming interested, even intrigued.
Anne took a sip of her Coke and idly twisted some of her hair around a finger. “Sorry, but this has to be vague. I was doing some testing and ended up with a totally unexpected result. Now I have the task of attempting to make something workable out of my mistake. The trouble is, I don’t have a clue how or where to start. I talked to Jean Dukes, but she is too busy to help me. However, she suggested I talk to the Empress about doing my own R&D, so now I need to find some crazy smart people. I just don’t know if crazy is more important than smart in this instance.”
Stevie raised a finger in the air as if she were in school and wanting to ask a question.
Anne nodded to her.
“I feel I’m fairly smart and I admit to being a nutcase, but why me?” Stevie gave voice to the question that had been banging around in her head for the last few seconds.
“It was W.” Jinx chuffed in amusement. She was proud of her play on words, which originated from a movie she had seen that had some guy called “Q.”
“W?” The confusion was evident in Stevie’s voice.
Behave yourself! We don’t want to give the girl so much of a hard time that we scare her off, Anne warned Jinx. “She’s being a smartass,” Anne informed Stevie. “She means William from Team BMW. You know those old James Bond movies with the guy called ‘Q?’”
“He was the guy who invented all of Double-Oh-Seven
’s goodies, correct?” Stevie confirmed.
“Yep, that’s the guy.” Jinx nodded her head in an imitation of human behavior, as she answered. “And, hey, don’t blame me for using it. I wasn’t the one who came up with ‘Team BMW.’”
Stevie looked at the German Shepherd. She had heard all the stories about how intelligent the dogs were, but this was the first time she’d personally experienced it. She glanced at Anne. “She’s right.” She nodded at the dog. “I can see how it fits.”
Anne groaned and put her face in her hands. “Oh God, don’t encourage her,” she muttered through her fingers, then lifted her head and looked at Stevie. “So that’s it, basically. Jean was too busy, and someone suggested that William, or ‘W,’” she pointed her finger at Jinx, “might have heard of or know someone who would be able to help us. Bethany Anne had no idea who we’d find. She just insisted that any potential new team members be verified by Barnabas.”
Anne watched Stevie’s face start to turn red with offended outrage. Anne held up her hand to stop the Were before Stevie even got started. “I’m here today because Bethany Anne rescued me from a booby-trapped bed. My own father was blackmailed to leak secrets from his work.” Anne’s voice went flat as she delivered the last sentence. “You can see why the Empress might insist that anyone allowed access to sensitive information doesn’t have any conflicting loyalties.”
Stevie sat quietly for a moment, absorbing the information Anne had just given her. “Barnabas?”
“It’s either him or Bethany Anne, and Barnabas is easier to get time with,” Anne explained.
“It’s just kind of creepy, having him read my mind,” Stevie said with a small shudder.
“I don’t think you have to worry about him going through your fantasies or anything like that.” Anne noticed an interesting blush on Stevie’s face. “I imagine he’ll just ask you one or two questions that will allow him to pinpoint your loyalties.”
Stevie looked relieved. “That makes a certain amount of sense,” she admitted. “When do you think I’ll be able to see him?”
“Seshat, is Barnabas currently on the station?” Anne asked her EI.
“Meredith says he is in his quarters,” Seshat informed her.
“Would you please ask him when he would be available to do a security scan?” Anne requested.
Within several seconds Seshat informed them that, “Barnabas says he is free right now.”
Anne noticed Stevie’s exaggerated gulp from the corner of her eye. “Would you prefer a different time?”
Stevie shook her head. “Now is fine. Just let me message my parents so they know I will be home late.”
“Go for it.” Anne gave Stevie a thumbs-up. “Seshat, please ask Barnabas where he wants to meet.”
“Barnabas says he is on his way to meet you here,” the EI informed her.
“Well, that is convenient.” Anne waved to get Stevie’s attention. The young Were was talking to her mother, and when she looked up Anne motioned to herself and pointed to the kitchen.
Stevie nodded briefly to Anne to indicate that she understood, then she returned to the conversation with her mother. “Really, Mom, it’s a job interview.”
“Turn your tablet around so I can see the room,” Stevie’s mom demanded. After Stevie had complied, her mother scowled. “That doesn’t look like a business to me!”
Jinx could hear both sides of Stevie’s conversation, and she went over to stick her nose into Stevie’s tablet. “That’s because it’s a new business and we don’t have official space yet,” Jinx growled to Stevie’s mother. Jinx then chuffed her amusement when Stevie’s mother moved her tablet to arm’s length and her eyes widened in shock.
“Which one are you?” the woman asked.
“I’m Jinx. I’m partnered with Anne,” the dog exclaimed proudly.
Realizing that Jinx’ entry into the conversation had changed her mother’s attitude, Stevie set the tablet on the coffee table so that both she and Jinx were visible. “Anne is currently in the kitchen. I’m guessing she’s putting together some sort of snack tray since Ranger One is on his way over.” It was excellent timing that just then Anne reappeared from the kitchen carrying a tray with three Cokes, along with some sort of chips and dip. Stevie pointed at her tablet and then motioned for Anne to come into the camera’s range. “Mom, meet Anne. Jinx and Anne, this is my mother, Irina Kasyanov.”
“Nice to meet you, ma’am,” Anne said as she bent to slide her tray of snacks onto the table.
“You truly have work for my devochka?” Irina asked.
Anne realized that she’d have to be careful about what she said. “Yes, ma’am. I’ve known the Empress since before we left Earth, and a few weeks ago she asked me to do some odd jobs for her. I’ve discovered that to complete some of them, I need someone who can make me some tools. All the adults were too busy with their own work to have time for mine, so I needed to find someone who could help me out. Your daughter came quite highly recommended, so I’m hoping we will well work together.”
The woman in the tablet started shaking her finger at her daughter. “You behave, and don’t embarrass…”
>>Anne, my exterior camera shows that Guardian Marine Abigail is talking with Barnabas.<<
Stevie noticed that Anne was heading toward the door. “Mom, I’ll be on my best behavior, but I have to go right now.” She shook her head as her mother kept telling her that she needed to behave and be polite and… “Mom. MOM! I have to go, or I’ll be talking on my tablet instead of greeting Ranger One.” Stevie waited until her mother clicked off before smiling with the satisfaction that she had finally found a way to get her mother to end the call.
CHAPTER TEN
Abby Himmel didn’t know why Anne needed a bodyguard, and luckily she didn’t need to know why to do her job. After being introduced to Anne, she and her cousin E had briefly discussed their rotation with their Were partner Arthur Connors outside the apartment. Abby had drawn first shift, and a quick scan of the environment identified an area with some shadow that still had a clear line of sight to the door. It wasn’t dark enough to hide her from a Were or a vampire, but most humans and a lot of aliens would walk right by and never know she was there.
She’d been on duty for almost an hour when she observed a man walking down the hallway toward her. She’d seen the man before, as Barnabas would sometimes visit their workout area to spar with the troops. Abby moved from her corner to take up a position that was in sight of the door. She had noticed a camera over the door earlier, and her new location would ensure she was visible to whoever was monitoring the camera feed. Watching the vampire approach Abigail was once again fascinated by the man’s movement. Barnabas’ gait was pure economy of motion; the man had turned walking into an art form.
Barnabas approached the address that Meredith had told him was the residence of the young woman Anne. He slowed slightly at the sight of a woman standing outside the door, but a quick mental scan identified her as a Guardian Marine. Barnabas was curious. She wore a light jacket, but didn’t seem to be armed.
He stopped just a few feet in front of Abigail. “Good evening, Marine Himmel. Is this a weapons-free zone?” he asked, then added with a slight smile, “If a person spends several hundred years walking everywhere they go… Well, let’s just say that practice makes perfect.”
In her own form of “practice makes perfect,” Abby’s hand twitched from where it had been resting at her hip and produced an Uzi. “No, sir, not weapons-free, although this isn’t my favorite at the ranges we’re talking about here.” Abby tilted her head toward the hall behind Barnabas. “This should make a real mess of anything not wearing armor.”
Barnabas eyed the weapon in the Marine’s hand with interest. “Uzi?”
Abigail inclined her head. “Uzi Pro, to be exact. This was the latest iteration when we left Earth.” She extended the folding forearm brace, displaying the weapon to Barnabas. “It can empty a thirty-round magazine in under two seconds
, and the forearm brace provides excellent one-handed control. At these short ranges, the nine-millimeter cartridge is reasonably effective on soft targets.”
Abby strongly suspected that even thirty rounds in two seconds would only piss the old vampire off. With that in mind, she folded the forearm brace back against the body of the weapon and slid it back behind her. “May I see some identification, please sir?” Abigail asked in her politest voice.
Barnabas smiled and tapped his temple as he watched the Marine conceal her submachine gun. “I think you’re right. I’d probably survive it if you shot me, but I imagine it would hurt like crazy. And ID? You already know who I am.”
“That may be, sir, but I don’t have any Jedi mind tricks, so it is in my job to ask for identification,” Abigail stated firmly.
Barnabas chuckled as he pulled the old-fashioned leather case from a pocket and displayed his Ranger One badge. He approved of the dedication the Marine was displaying. “Is this sufficient?”
“Absolutely, sir. You’re here to see Anne?” Abigail remained formal.
“I am, and if you knock and announce me quickly, said young lady won’t open the door on her own initiative. This way I can explain the proper protocol, which will save you from having to inform her that she has broken a rule she doesn’t even know about.” Barnabas waved a hand toward the door to hurry Abigail along.
Abby turned and knocked on the door—which opened instantly, thus proving the old vampire’s point. “Ranger One is here to see you, ma’am.”
Anne looked at the bodyguard. She hadn’t even known someone was out there until Seshat had told her she was talking to Barnabas. “Ma’am?” Anne couldn’t stop her eyes from widening as she asked.
“I could do ‘Miss’ if you’d prefer,” Abby offered.
Anne nodded vigorously. “When you use ‘ma’am’ I expect see my mother.”
“Very well, Miss.” Abby’s training allowed her to maintain a straight face. “Ranger One is here to see you.”