by S. R Russell
Anne and Bethany Anne spent another hour fine-tuning their control in an attempt to synchronize their efforts, but finally Anne wiped away a tear. “If we’re going to try this, we need to do it now. I’m toast.”
Bethany Anne, who was experiencing a nasty headache herself, nodded carefully in agreement. “Let me splash some water on my face while Stevie is setting up, and we’ll give it the old college try.”
She noticed a confused look on Stevie’s face as she headed for the bathroom and heard Anne say, “It’s old-people talk. My dad uses several of those.’ Bethany Anne was certain the extra buzzing in her head was TOM trying his hardest not to burst out laughing.
After they had all visited the bathroom, Bethany Anne sat beside Anne and they focused on Stevie’s V-shaped construct.
CHAPTER TWELVE
Arthur Connors had been very pleased when his team had been offered the bodyguard job. He hadn’t been told what the young lady was doing to make her a possible target, but his briefing had indicated that both she and the dog Jinx could be abduction targets. Having the Empress herself show up for a meeting with the girls in the apartment had been a surprise. Whatever they were doing was obviously way above his pay grade.
He and his Marines had set up a six-hour shift rotation. One of them was always with the girl while a second was on standby. The second could grab a bite or just kick back and relax, but they had to be ready to respond if the situation required a two-person team. The third team member’s job was to sleep. As he stood guard, Arthur clenched and released muscles in his legs and arms to keep them loose without moving around enough to attract attention. He had just put his hands on the small of his back to stretch it when movement caught his eye.
—
“TOM says that Bethany Anne had started to wonder if she could get away with stuffing a few of the bureaucrats into the Etheric,” Matrix said, to explain why he and John were walking to Jinx’ place. “Instead of following through with the idea, she claimed she had an appointment and headed here to talk to Jinx and her person.” Both John and Matrix noticed the Guardian as they approached the target apartment.
John offered his hand as the Guardian stepped from the shadows. “Connors, right?”
“Arthur Connors. We’ve only met during training. It will be nice to shake your hand without getting tossed across the room,” he stated.
—
“Ready?” the Were asked the two vampires.
“Born that way,” Bethany Anne responded at the same moment Anne muttered, “As I’ll ever be.”
“Three, two, one, now!”
Their practice paid off. There wasn’t even a half-second’s difference in the two gems flaring to life. Stevie clenched her fists. It was working! When the rubies burnt through a level and dropped onto the sloped tile underneath, they shifted toward the center slightly before burning the next hole in a downward vertical path.
No one could have predicted what happened next. For the first time since they’d started experimenting, one ruby moved instead of burning into the substance it struck—Anne’s ruby bounced sideways toward Bethany Anne’s.
Bethany Anne didn’t even blink; she didn’t have enough time. She wasn’t sure what was going to occur when the energy fields generated by the rubies met, but she didn’t want to be in the same room.
Bethany Anne switched into her fastest vampire speed as she heard TOM mutter, I’ve got a bad feeling about this. A quick glance told her that Anne had her arm around Jinx’ neck.
Ashur felt his person’s emotions spike with desperation. Apparently they all needed to get out of here fast. He grabbed the female Were’s wrist in his jaws and pointed his tail toward his person.
Bethany Anne wasn’t going to place bets on whether they’d make it out alive, but seeing Ashur move toward Stevie gave her hope. She grabbed Anne, then wanted to laugh when she turned back to find Ashur’s tail within reach. Hoping Ashur had a good grip on Stevie, Bethany Anne moved them all into the Etheric.
—
Guardian Connors was being entertained by the stories John was telling him about the early days with Bethany Anne. Arthur had never fought the Forsaken, and he found himself surprised and impressed that four guys who had been baseline human in those days had survived the experience. John had just started to tell him about a situation Bethany Anne had dealt with in Las Vegas when an explosion in the apartment refocused everyone’s attention.
—
Stevie looked around at the gray nowhere place she found herself. She had been watching the test, and then Ashur had bitten down on her wrist and suddenly she was here. Stevie was glad to see Bethany Anne, Jinx, and Anne with her and Ashur.
Sorry. Ashur whined as he let go of the Were. No time to be gentle.
“It’s okay.” Stevie pulled up her sleeve to show Ashur that he hadn’t broken skin. “Just a couple of bruises that will clear up in minutes.”
“Everyone all right?” Bethany Anne asked as she checked her three passengers for damage.
“Wow, cool! We’re in the Etheric, but what happened?” Anne wondered as she looked Jinx over to ensure her friend was safe.
“No damage here, just not quite sure what happened,” Stevie informed Bethany Anne.
Once Bethany Anne had confirmed to her own satisfaction that no one was hurt, she looked at the Were. “As Anne observed, we’re in the Etheric. I’m not clairvoyant, but I suddenly felt it wasn’t a good idea to be in the same room when those fields met. Thankfully, with Ashur’s help,” she knelt and hugged her longtime companion, “everyone was close enough to grab, so we made a hasty exit.”
“What do we do now?” Anne wanted to know.
“Hang on a sec,” Bethany Anne said, then stuck her head back into the station to make sure it was safe to step into the hallway outside Anne’s apartment. Guardian Connors was pounding frantically on the door and demanding entry. John and Matrix were standing behind the Were, but weren’t panicking yet.
>>John is asking if you are all right.<< ADAM informed her.
Are you handling that? Bethany Anne asked hopefully.
>>I haven’t told him anything yet, but I will bring him up to date.<<
Returning to the Etheric, she took hold of Ashur. Thanks, ADAM. She held out her other arm, telling the girls to grab on tightly. Making sure Anne had a good grip on Jinx, Bethany Anne moved them all back to the Meredith Reynolds.
I told you… Ashur started to say.
Bethany Anne sighed and admitted, Yes, you did tell me. She reached down and gave the spot behind Ashur’s head a good scratch. Dogs, whether they were Kurtherian-enhanced or not, had a hard time scratching that spot themselves.
“I suppose you ratted me out?” she asked Matrix.
“Nope, no rats involved. I’m dogging your steps,” Matrix snarked as he checked his sister.
“Oh, jeez! That stinks worse than wet dog.” Bethany Anne couldn’t hide her smile. “Evening, Mr. Grimes.” Bethany Anne batted her lashes at John.
John managed to refrain from smiling. He just shook his head at Bethany Anne, doing his best to look disapproving and disappointed at the same time.
Seshat, would you open the door please? Anne requested.
>>I’ve sent the signal to the door, but it’s returning an error message. The explosion destroyed my camera, so I no longer have video of the interior of the apartment.<<
Explosion?
>>I reviewed the video. There were several changes as the rubies got closer to each other, but at a distance of zero-point-one-three millimeters they exploded.<<
“Seshat says there was an explosion and her commands to open the door are returning an error message,” Anne informed the small group outside the apartment.
“Can she see if it’s blocked, or…” Bethany Anne’s query came to a halt when Anne shook her head.
“It appears the camera we devoted to Seshat’s use is no longer functioning.”
Bethany Anne thought for a few seconds, and made a decision
. “Hold on, I’ll be right back.” She spoke for the benefit of the group, but looked at John.
Bethany Anne stepped into the Etheric, then moved carefully to where she thought Anne’s kitchen should be. She cautiously stuck her head into real space, and found she had guessed correctly. Given that the door was not responding Bethany Anne had expected some damage to the interior, but what she observed shocked even her. There was a small hole right through the wall between the kitchen and common area. Peeking into the common room, she found the whole area slagged. It was obvious why the door wouldn’t open: the rock of the interior surface of that wall had fused.
Bethany Anne stepped through the Etheric to her own apartment and entered her weapons room. She picked up the hilt of her Etheric sword, then went back into the realm. After taking a quick peek at the hall in front of Anne’s apartment, she emerged behind the group who were loitering around the doorway.
“Make a hole, people,” Bethany Anne commanded as she walked toward the door. Once she had a clear space, she energized her Etheric sword and cut all the way around the door. After deactivating the blade, she secured the hilt to her belt. As she turned to face the group, she mentally catalogued its makeup. Two vampires, including herself, two Weres, a heavily modified human, and three modified canines. While the dogs were impressive, none were suitable for the task at hand. Any of the humanoids were probably strong enough to move the door. To hell with it, she thought, and smiled at John. I don’t have to live with the others.
“Mr. Grimes, would you be so kind as to open the door?” Bethany Anne asked with a smile.
“Laying it on a little thick, aren’t you BA?” John asked as Bethany Anne moved aside to allow him access.
Bethany Anne glanced at the two young women, who were now giggling at the byplay between her and John. Then she looked at John and batted her eyelashes again, saying, “Why Mr. Grimes, I have nooo idea what you’re talking about.”
“Riigghhhttt.” John drew out the word as he teased back. Knowing that Bethany Anne was perfectly capable of moving the door herself, he was pleased that she had asked him to do it. John turned and put his back to the door, then crouched a little so he applied force to the middle area. He started exerting pressure, and was surprised at just how easily the door moved. Once he had pushed it inward several inches he straightened, turned, and put his hands on the edges. With that grip he simply picked it up and set it out of the way.
John returned to the doorway, and after several theatrical flourishes with his arm he bowed to Bethany Anne. “Your way is open, my Empress.” John stood clear of the doorway and gazed into the room. “Holy shi…shkabob,” he said, looking over his shoulder at the two teenage girls following Bethany Anne.
Anne reached up and patted John on the chest as she followed Bethany Anne into the room. “In today’s times neither our age nor our gender protects us from profanity. Stevie and I have both heard and said worse.” Anne turned from John and got a good look. “Holy shit!” she exclaimed. “What the hell happened?”
Bethany Anne had seen some damage from the kitchen, but she slowly looked around Ground Zero. “Not one hundred percent sure, but this is going to play hell with your damage deposit.” Bethany Anne teased, then bit her tongue to refrain from smiling at Anne’s shocked expression.
>>I have reviewed the footage. While I don’t have enough data to explain why it happened, I can describe the event.<<
“Seshat has video up until the time her camera was destroyed,” Anne informed Stevie and Bethany Anne. “She’s prepared to summarize what occurred, but she doesn’t have enough data to determine why it happened. Unfortunately,” Anne continued as she motioned to the spot on the wall where Seshat’s monitor used to be, “we don’t have the capability to run the video.”
“The video can wait,” Bethany Anne informed the girl, then started to pace. “We need to find you new accommodations. For tonight, why don’t you crash at Tabitha’s? She’s on assignment right now, but she had to leave Dio behind. He’d probably welcome the company.”
Bethany Anne continued pacing. “I’ll have ADAM contact Marcus and William and see when they can be available for a meeting. He’ll inform Seshat once we set a time, then we can all sit down and go through the video.”
Bethany Anne stopped and looked at Anne. “I’m as much to blame for this situation as you are, but we got off lucky this time. If the reaction had been a hundred times worse, we might have killed people or damaged the Meredith Reynolds.”
Bethany Anne put a hand on the girl’s shoulder. “Despite the risk involved, I’m impressed with your discovery, and I look forward to seeing what you finally develop. But—and this is a big but—we are going to have to find you a safe workspace. I can’t risk the lives of the people on the station if you end up making a bigger bang.”
Anne looked at her Empress, then nodded twice. “What should we do for workspace, then?”
How about a small asteroid? TOM suggested. Find something with the right composition and move it to within the defensive perimeter of the Meredith Reynolds, or give it enough weaponry to defend itself until assistance can arrive.
Both good ideas, but I should probably talk this over with the general and the admiral before making a final decision.
“I think our best solution would be to find a small asteroid we could turn into lab space for you.” Bethany Anne looked from Anne to Stevie. “Not that I want to lose either of you, but if you accidentally create a giant explosion it needs to happen somewhere other than here.”
“I could probably do the tes—” Anne started.
Stevie quickly cut Anne off. “Not on your life!” She looked down at Jinx. “I don’t imagine Jinx will accept being left behind, and I won’t either.”
Jinx moved to stand by the Were and looked up at her person. “What she said!”
Anne looked at the older vampire. “A little help here?”
Bethany Anne shook her head, and slowly pivoted in place to look around the room. Then she looked at Stevie and Jinx. “You know and understand the risks, right?”
Canine and Were looked at Bethany Anne and nodded.
“They’re part of your team.” Bethany Anne emphasized “your.” “Except for the ‘no experiments on Meredith Reynolds’ edict, I have no intention of telling your friends and coworkers what to do. Besides, while I don’t remember who first said it, in this instance I’m fairly certain that I should stick to ‘Don’t give an order you know won’t be obeyed.’”
Jinx looked up at Stevie, then sat and held up her front paw for a high-five. Stevie obliged by squatting and tapping Jinx’ paw with the palm of her hand. They both looked at Bethany Anne and nodded, confirming that they would ignore any order to not accompany her Etheric Researcher.
Bethany Anne clapped her hands. “All right, then.” She looked at John. “Would you please arrange for a guard on the door so that Anne doesn’t have to worry about her stuff?”
“Sure thing,” John said, and stepped outside the apartment to take care of it.
“Gather what you and Jinx will need for the next couple days,” Bethany Anne suggested to Anne.
It only took a few minutes for Anne to pack a couple of bags. Ashur reveled in the goodbye hug he got from Anne. Bethany Anne wasn’t typically a huggy person, but she accepted one from Anne.
Stevie offered her own goodbyes to everyone, then headed to her family’s home as Anne and Jinx left for Tabitha’s under the watchful eye of Arthur Connors.
CHAPTER THIRTEEN
John sighed, took one more look at the destroyed apartment, and grasped Bethany Anne’s arm. “Come on, BA, let’s get you home.”
Bethany Anne patted the back of John’s hand. “I need a bit of quiet time, so we’ll head home the old-fashioned way.”
John checked that his Jean Dukes would sit well while he walked and raised an eyebrow. You really all right?
Bethany Anne tapped her temple and smiled briefly. Yup, just need to have a conversation with
my tenants.
John smiled in return and wiggled his fingers at Bethany Anne. Sounds good. I’ll follow you.
It was a testament to how close Bethany Anne was to her Bitches that they could have that kind of silent conversation. Ashur and Matrix led as Empress Bethany Anne walked toward her residence, completely confident that John Grimes had her back.
—
What’s up with Anne’s computer? she asked ADAM as they strode toward home.
>>Since TOM financed the best hardware available, I decided to provide Anne with the best computer support possible. I didn’t create an AI outright, but I made sure the potential was there. I don’t mean to be insulting, but if I gave your father the same hardware/software combination he would never produce an AI.<<
Bethany Anne walked quietly for a few seconds, analyzing what ADAM had said. The general would just consider it a fancy computer. A mere piece of equipment.
>>That agrees with my assessment. Your father is old-fashioned enough that it would never occur to him to see it as anything other than the latest-generation computer.<<
ADAM paused momentarily, then continued. >>Anne treats people well, and she treats entities as people in the same way you treated me as an individual. I believe that being treated like a person is accelerating the process for Seshat. I wouldn’t be surprised to find out that Anne asks Seshat how her day was, or has some similar interaction.<<
That would encourage Seshat to think in the first person.
>>Exactly.<<
—
While Dio was upset his person had left him behind again, he was very pleased to have Anne and Jinx for company. Sensing that her brother was somewhat depressed, the next morning Jinx asked Anne if it was all right to skip school that day.
“Sure, but if you two are going anywhere, we need to ask our security how they want to handle it.”