"I can't believe you survived that," GeoSix said.
Thinking back on the last mission, I had a question. "What about the clones we found?"
"Most of them were healthy," Sphinx said. "We took them off the super growth hormones, and have placed them with families or state agencies. Some of the older ones, the Agency kept and is training them as new recruits."
"How does that work?"
"They're socially not adjusted at all, so they need occupational therapy, speech therapy, plus emotional therapy."
I took a few more bites of the food. The Chor'Tan food likely tasted better. "The clones have memories?"
"Memories, emotions, feelings," Enigma said.
Nancy approached our table. She set her tray down and gave me a big hug. "Congrats, Bear."
Ben was a nice guy.
"You'll need to have your right hand redone with steel," Nancy said.
I hadn't thought of that, but she was right. "I need to run and lift weights. Kill the bot."
"Bill will help you lift weights."
Great. Mr. Torture is going to help me.
"You just woke up from six weeks, take things slow," Thomas said.
"I need to run at least," I said. "Swim."
"That's fair."
I took my empty tray and headed for the track. I ran. Pushed myself to my best and exceeded my expectations. I did a timed kilometer run and beat my best by 20 seconds. Ran for two hours. Then I swam laps for an hour. Then lunch. I ate a huge lunch.
I know they told me not to, but I went to the weight room. I beat my best reps on every machine, every exercise. Missed Xeon. My left shoulder didn't even bother me. Had dinner with the crew.
Joe came through the food line with a single ground beef patty, an apple, and a banana. He sat with us and looked at me. "Congrats on your recovery."
"Thanks, Joe." Joe was thinner, not a lot thinner, but thinner.
He started eating quietly.
"You don't eat with us, unless there's something to report," Sphinx said.
"Well, we have a clean version of the operating system, but we are still having problems getting enough hardware that's clean," Joe said. "Computer systems and network have been slow as Hell, and it's not getting any better. Really, I was just concerned about Bear."
Bear is fine. Bear is better than before.
I left. Headed towards the showers. Slept into the next day.
I was going through the food line, and the tongs to get the Chor'Tan food was in my hand. Thomas snuck up on me and said, "You don't want that."
I did, though. I put the tongs down and grabbed a nice banana nut muffin.
Thomas and I sat together. Zen, Tank, and Archangel joined us. I didn't know where Sphinx, Enigma, or GeoSix were. We ate quietly. "The technician is available today to get your hand done, Bear," Thomas said. "Then we start retraining with everything."
Joy. I found my way to the basement facility. The technician smiled at me. He wore tan slacks, a white shirt, with a white lab coat over it all. "Just the right hand?"
"Aye."
He pushed a few buttons, and a green gel-like goop pool lifted into the center of the room. I took my shirt off and stuck my right hand into the mess. Silver clouds drifted into the gel ten times, and we were done. I washed up.
Thomas sent my cell phone a text. "Range."
I went there. He was waiting. I put on a shoulder and side holsters.
"We start slow," he said.
I hit the control panel to summon a target. Slow like, I drew the pistol and fired, right on the money. Holstered it. Drew it faster. Hit the target.
I can do this. Can do it fast. Muscle memory my ass. I hit the quickdraw button again. A tiny slice of time passed before the computer drew a new target for me. I drew as fast as I could and put a bullet in that target. Right through the heart.
Thomas laughed loud and bright. "You just beat your best time."
"Chor'Taaaaannn."
Thomas took a step away from me. I blinked at him a few times. "Let's do it a few more times."
"The way you just said Chor'Tan you sounded like a Chor'Tan male."
I am a Chor'Tan male. No. I am human. I did the quick draw things a few times and rang Enigma's cell phone.
"Did they replace the Chor'Tan blood in me with human blood at some point," I asked.
"Not really."
"I want a transfusion right now."
She sighed. "You're ok."
"No, I'm not. I almost ate Chor'Tan food today. I snarled at Thomas. I need to be human!"
"Come to medical."
I ran to medical. Enigma said, "That was quick."
"Yes, I run pretty fast now," I said.
"The thing is we're never going to be able to get all the Chor'Tan blood out of you. The best we can do is dilute it."
"I think that sounds like a really good idea. I feel like I am losing my humanity."
She had me sit in a big chair. "We can give you two liters, no more."
"That's fine."
She set up an IV on my left arm, then one on my right arm. She set the left one to drain and started filling a half liter bag. She then started a half liter bag of fresh blood going into me on the right. We went through four bags on each side.
I felt so much better. I mean, maybe it was all in my head, but the Chor'Tan was changing me.
Maybe it was changing me for the better? I don't think losing my humanity was worth running faster, lifting more weight, or a faster quick draw.
I thanked Enigma, told her if she needed some easy penis to look me up, and left medical. No, I definitely did not say that to Enigma. I went to the martial arts bot. GeoSix was in the machine killing the bot, so I waited.
He exited. He didn't leave, though. "I want to watch you work."
I grinned at him and stepped into the machine. I used my hands to kill the bot each time, hitting hard, no holding back. The computer chirped at the end. "Twenty bots killed. New best time for Bear."
GeoSix squeezed my upper arm. "If we ever get in a fight, I'm just going to run."
I run pretty fucking fast now. "Have you seen Archangel kill the bot?"
"I'd run from him, too."
"Come on, let's get lunch."
Xeon came walking through the food line, and I smiled wide. She sat next to me and put her hand on my leg. I leaned in and kissed her. Needed her so bad.
Chapter Eighteen.II
It was in the evening. I lay next to Xeon. She was snoring just a bit. For sure, she snored, but it was mostly just a little purr unless her allergies were acting up.
Nancy's voice carried across the intercom in my room. "Bear, report."
Xeon sighed. I climbed out of bed and hit the video connection. Then I quickly donned a pair of pants before it booted.
Nancy was on the other end. "We need you, Bear. I'm activating you, Thomas, and Sphinx."
"And Xeon," I said.
"So be it. Thomas and Bill tell me you don't need rehab, Bear," Nancy said.
I let out a little hiss and tasted the air with my tongue seeking prey. No, I said, "I'm better than before."
Wait. I hadn't even seen Bill since the regeneration. "How can Bill even comment?"
Nancy's forehead grew lines. "You lifted weights."
"So?"
"Every machine in our gym reports to the main Chor'Tan computer we have. The airplane is waiting. I need you to fly to Las Cruces, New Mexico. I'll brief you on the plane."
I shut off the video. "Get moving, Xeon."
She groaned, but then she hopped out of bed and got dressed. I donned a shirt, and we were out the door. Ran to parking garage A. Thomas and Sphinx were waiting.
Thomas threw me the keys. "Drive."
I jumped into the driver's side and pushed the gas all the way down. Traffic was light at midnight, and we made good time to the airport. I steered into the plane, and we secured the chains to keep the van in place.
The plane took to the heavens. I pulled up Nan
cy on a terminal.
She punched a few keys on her keyboard. "We don't have much to go on. State trooper pulled over a van for failing to use a turn signal. The driver was high on MindBender. They found almost a kilo of the drug and three tied-up female subjects."
That did not explain what anything had to do with me.
Nancy continued, "The females say they were on the way to a brothel to be dropped off. The driver is not talking. Your team needs to turn the screws and find out where the man was going."
I nodded. "They've got him in the jail?"
"Yes, and he's claiming he isn't going to talk until he sees a lawyer. He's looking at 50 years on kidnapping charges. Life if I have my way."
"Am I allowed to beat his ass?"
"No! If you bruise him, you'll screw up our court case."
Why don't I just kill him in the process? Dispose of the body. The county jail is likely attached to the morgue anyhow. Then off to cremation.
"I see that look," Nancy said. "You've got to use your wit to trick him."
Trick him? Hell.
"I'll see what I can come up with," I said.
Nancy disconnected.
Thomas and Sphinx were asleep on benches. Xeon and I loaded our weapons and leather jackets into the vehicle. We cuddled for the rest of the flight. Because truly can a man and woman ever cuddle enough?
The plane descended. We piled in the van, and I pulled up the jail on the GPS. I drove fast. There was pretty much no traffic.
"You've got to do the talking, Bear," Thomas said.
Sphinx let out a whimper. "Bourbon. I was on my second glass."
I bet they were big glasses, too.
"You're both useless," Xeon said.
We were at the jail in under ten minutes.
We put on our leather jackets and 9mm in our armpits. The door to the jail had a buzzer, and I hit the button.
A voice sounded, "Agency guys?"
"That's right," I said.
The door clicked, and we pushed our way through. An officer sat at a counter. "No weapons in the jail. You have to check everything."
Shit. Their rules.
The four of us handed over our 9mms. Another man walked into the area. "I'm Detective Jenkins. You guys have names?"
We said our names one by one.
Jenkins let out a little chuckle. "Makes sense. This way."
We followed him through a door, then down a hallway then another door buzzed open for us. We were in a big room lined with cells. Jenkins approached one. I looked in the window. A young man, maybe twenty, sat at a table with his hands cuffed behind his back.
I moved towards the door, and Xeon followed. The young man looked up at us.
He had short-cropped black hair and a round face. He smelled kind of bad, and his shirt was dirty with a few food stains.
"You got a name?" I asked.
"Not until I talk to my lawyer."
"The Agency I'm with, if we decide to hold you, you'll never see a lawyer. You'll never get a phone call."
"Bullshit."
Hit him.
Xeon stepped past me. "You want to do business with us."
The man smiled. "Good cop, bad cop?"
"You'll get the same exact treatment from both of us," I said. "No good cop. No bad cop. Simply your future staring back at you. Talk to us. Maybe you won't end up in the darkest dungeon the Earth has ever known."
Xeon licked her lips. "Some cells have televisions in them. Maybe even radios. Access to the library. Aspirin if you're in pain."
"Other cells and you won't even have light," I said.
"It's not going to work!" The man shouted.
I could tell by the look on his face it was starting to work.
Chapter Eighteen.III
"Rice most meals," I said. "Beans and rice some meals, but not Cajun beans and rice, or New Orleans style beans and rice. Beans and rice with a small amount of nutritional salt."
Xeon paced around in a little circle. "You want to be able to write letters to your family? Call them? You want commissary?"
The young man started to hyperventilate.
"Our boss wants to lock you away in a secret dungeon for the rest of your life, keeping you in a state of MindBender withdrawal forever," I said.
"We can cure your addiction to MindBender with a simple daily pill," Xeon said. "You can live relatively pain-free. A once a week pill will keep you alive, in agony, for the rest of your life."
Did she just make that up? I'd have to find out.
The guy started to weep, and we had him.
"Where were you taking the women?" I asked.
"Wichita…"
"We need an address!" Xeon said.
He gave us an address. Xeon wrote it down in a little notepad.
"You've done the right thing," Xeon said.
He let out a breath of saved air. "I hope so."
We left him to the locals to deal with. Sphinx and Thomas were up and moving when we made it into the hallway. Grabbed our guns on the way out of the jail.
Detective Jenkins touched my arm. "What do we do with him?
"Charge him with the MindBender offenses," I said. "Charge him with three counts of kidnapping. Lock him up and throw away the key. Treat his addiction."
"Acceptable."
What else could they have been thinking of doing with him? Let him die from the addiction I guess. Save taxpayers a lot of money. Maybe Jenkins was thinking we'd haul the man off.
I drove fast to the plane. Our pilots were awesome enough to stock a cooler full of fruit smoothies with protein. Each of us drank two of them. Thomas and Sphinx curled up on benches and slept.
I pulled up satellite photos on the address Xeon wrote down. It looked like a multi-level mansion of some kind. With enough parking for eight cars or so, not counting what may have been a garage.
Nancy paged me. "Report."
"We got an address," I said.
"Good. Try and stun them."
Oh Hell. "No."
"The address may not be legit," she said. "We may get more information from them if you stun them."
Xeon said, "She's right."
Damn it all. "Ok."
Xeon hugged me tightly. Nancy disconnected.
"Let's get some rest," I said.
"See if you can pull up the construction plans for our building."
That was a good idea. I started pounding on the keyboard. The structure was a high-end residence at one point, with an east and west wing. Two stories tall. The odd thing about the structure was it had a number of rooms that are kind of inside the structure, with no windows or views leading to the outside. One massive kitchen dominated the center of the house, and there was a ballroom, living room, and dining room.
Xeon whispered in my ear, "Make love to me."
"Thomas and Sphinx would wake up for sure."
"Do it in the restroom."
I barely fit in that room by myself. My dick wanted to, though. We squeezed into the facility. I barely had room for a full stroke. Just did little ins and outs with my butt smacking into the door every time I made a backward motion.
It was weird being in such a tiny space and doing it, but I hoped the event wouldn't be the last time, and that it would invade my dreams.
We exited the tiny room, and Sphinx and Thomas were asleep. "Let's get some rest," I said.
"The benches are too small for us to cuddle."
"I know."
I lay down on the bench and slept. The intercom on the plane woke me. "Landing in ten, strap in."
We buckled up. The plane landed.
"Grab stunners," I said. "We're capturing everybody."
Thomas and Sphinx nodded. We put on side holsters for the stunners and kept our 9mms in our armpits. I wanted to grab some grenades so bad.
"One white phosphorous grenade?" Xeon asked.
Sphinx said, "We may need them."
"One WP grenade each," Thomas said.
I pocketed one of the delici
ous toys. Plugged the address into the GPS. Drove fast.
The structure was painted tan, with countless windows. It wasn't even dawn, and there were only two lights on inside. I pulled up to the curb. Sphinx and Thomas headed to the rear of the structure. Xeon and I walked right up to the front door.
I kicked it in.
Chapter Eighteen.IV
The entrance was a hallway. A man sat at a terminal hitting some kind of pipe. I shot him with the stunner. Xeon zip tied him.
Doors dotted each side of the passageway. I picked the first one on the right. Inside were cardboard boxes about a half meter by a half meter. Xeon followed me in. The boxes had Razdoran lettering on them and some kind of shipping label, but that was in Razdoran, too.
"Do we open them?" Xeon asked.
"No time. Do it later."
This room was big enough to span the entire wing of the mansion, and easily one hundred of the boxes stared at me. I went back into the hallway and tried the opposite door.
Gunfire erupted across the com gear. A man barreled into me from behind the door I opened. I fell, with the other man on top of me. Xeon shot both of us with the stunner. The electrostatic discharge shut down my heart for a moment, and I lay there twitching. She put ties on the other guy.
I pushed myself to my feet as Xeon stunned two more men. The room contained dehydrators, some of which had slices of meat in them. Some had dried pinkish jerky in trays. It reminded me of pork jerky. How odd.
This room didn't span the whole house, and the door at the other end opened. A man wielding an AK-47 blazed at us. I stunned him. Walked up to him to put the zip ties on him. I wasn't thinking. Looked back. Xeon was on the ground, with a hole in her face, dead.
I wanted to hit the man with the machine gun so bad. It wouldn't help Xeon. I bent down and closed her eyes. A bullet hit me on the back. I ditched the stunner and spun around drawing my 9mm. A grimy looking man was standing there with a submachine gun and body armor. I shot him in the face. He fell.
More gunfire echoed through the comm gear.
"We found something," Sphinx said across the com.
I didn't care. "Xeon's dead."
"I'm so sorry, Bear," Thomas said.
"We're in the basement. You've got to come down here and see this," Sphinx said.
Codename: Bear II: Secret Agent (Codename Universe Book 2) Page 7