by Jan Stryvant
Steve felt rather proud of that.
"Morning, Steve. Is 'she who I had damn well better behave around' in yet?"
"I heard that!" Terri yelled from the small kitchenette where they kept the coffee machine.
"Ahhh, I love my wife." Steve grinned. "And trust me when I say, if you ever retaliate, I will have Sean all over your ass in an instant."
"Yeah, yeah. I know. I can't help it sometimes. This body is still subject to raging hormones at times and, well, you're prime beef. Can't even blame her for defending her turf."
Tisha fluffed her hair up and then dropped into the chair behind Granite's desk.
Granite, who was still in it, did his best not to complain.
"Teasing the poor wolves again?" Terri asked, coming out of the back with two cups of coffee, one of which she handed to Steve.
"It's not teasing if you follow through, now is it?" Tisha asked with a grin.
"She move in with you, Granite?" Terri asked, a little surprised.
Granite sighed, "Yes."
"Well, congratulations!"
"I'm not sure if that's in order," Granite said.
"Hey! I'm right here, you know!" Tisha laughed.
"One minute she's a cute bubbly young gal, and I feel like a dirty old man, then the next minute she's all mature and snarky, and I feel like I bit off more than I can chew."
"Aww, is my little woofie all insecure?" Tisha said and twisted around in Granite's lap, which showed just how limber a girl she was, and gave him a warm hug.
"More like confused," Granite sighed. "Just pick one personality and stick with it."
"I vote for the airhead!" Terri said with a giggle as she dropped into her chair.
"You would," Tisha laughed. "So, Steve, what happened with the president?"
Steve shrugged. "I haven't been able to get through to him yet. Either someone is flexing a little muscle because they're peeved, or we missed a demon or have another traitor in our midst."
"Maybe we should go meet with Carl over at the Secret Service?"
"What an interesting idea," Steve said with a smile. "Go grab your coat; I already made a nine o'clock appointment. We're leaving as soon as I finish this cup of coffee."
Tisha nodded and patted Granite on the cheek. "See ya' in a while, stud muffin!"
Granite just sighed and then blushed a little as Tisha gave him a kiss that was almost indecent.
"Yeah, definitely more than you can chew," Steve said, grinning as he drained his coffee. "But hell, you only live once, so you might as well go for it."
"So you don't approve of me and Granite?" Tisha asked Steve as they rode in the back of the limousine.
"I'm just a little surprised is all; I didn't figure you'd go for one of us, that you'd be looking for a lion."
Tisha snorted. "Sometimes a girl just wants to have fun."
"Wait, did you just imply that Granite, of all people, is fun?" Steve said, feigning shock.
"Actually, yeah, he is. He's a bit older than most of the guys I've been with of late, so he's a lot more settled. But he's a hella lot younger than any of the other lions, so he's anything but settled in his ways. I kinda like him."
"What, you've been raiding the cradle?" Steve teased.
"When your body is eighteen, trust me, none of the older men want anything to do with you." Tisha grumbled. "I haven't had a good man since I landed him, so I'm gonna enjoy the hell out of this for a while."
"Well, just don't hurt him or break him. I need him. Okay?"
"Oh, don't worry. I'll be good. I'll be very good," Tisha said with a wink. "Now, what's the story with this Carl guy?"
"He's married and older, and even though he's a wolf and one of us now, don't push on him. Sean's trying to play it straight with the government."
"Are we talking about the same Sean who had eight members of Congress turned into werewolves? Werewolves he has me ordering around?"
"All the more reason not to go around pissing him off," Steve said, grinning back at her.
"You know, I've been a lioness a lot longer than he's been a lion."
"Oh? Do they all have tempers like he does, and the unerring ability to bring a huge smack down on people who piss them off?"
"No, I think he inherited that from the First somehow."
Steve snorted. "He may have inherited the power to do it from you guys, but trust me, you give him a sword, and he'll cleave heads with it. The only thing that has ever held Sean in check is his innate sense of fair play. Those congressmen crossed it."
"And just what holds you in check?"
Steve smiled winningly at her. "What is this 'check' thing of which you speak? But seriously, Sean's my best bud. Everyone else is fair game."
"Everyone?" Tisha asked, surprised.
"Immediate family and a few other friends excluded, as long as they don't cross my line."
"What if Sean crosses that line?"
Steve laughed again. "Best buds, by definition, cannot 'cross the line'. Whatever Sean does, whatever Sean wants, I'm down with it. Best buds don't just help you bury the body; they're watching your back while you're killing them."
"You know, the First wondered why you were so quick to help Sean and never once freaked out when he showed you he was a lion."
"You kidding? It just meant that my plans of world domination now had a chance to come to fruition!" Steve grinned. "Give me five years in Washington, and I will own this town. My Dad and I are already talking about opening a new shop here."
Tisha started momentarily, a little bit concerned, until he got to the part about opening a shop.
"You know, for a moment I thought you were talking about politics, not your family's repair business."
"How do you know I wasn't?" Steve said with a wink. "Oh, look! We're here. Now, I'll do all the talking, keep quiet and act your age, your real age. Carl's gonna know what you are right away, so just be quiet and dignified."
"You know, I do know how to deal with people."
"Yes, and we don't want to terrify them with the power of the gods, now do we?" Steve got out of the car and Tisha followed him.
"Then why did you even bother to bring me?" Tisha asked, scowling.
"Because everyone is going to see a cute little hottie and think the worst about me. Until tomorrow, when Carl tells them you're a lioness, and suddenly they're all going to feel just that little bit scared about the mistake they almost made.
"Not all power plays rely on brute force, you know."
"Now I know why Terri used that cattle prod." She thought a moment and then added, "I wonder if she'd be interested in sharing?"
"Now, now. Let's not break Granite's heart," Steve chided and, walking into the building, they went up to the receptionist's desk to sign in and get their badges.
Five minutes later a serious looking man was escorting them back into the building.
"Carl! So nice to see you again!" Steve said, sticking out his hand as he and Tisha were escorted into the room. "Oh! And I assume this is your boss, Director Kensington?" Steve asked while shaking hands with Carl, and then turned to the other man in the room.
"Yes, that would be me. You can just call me Vincent."
Steve smiled. "And Steve would be fine. Oh! Where are my manners? This is Tisha." Steve looked around the room, making it look like he was checking for anyone listening in, then lowering his voice a little, he continued. "She's a lion, well, lioness actually. She's here to help me, so I though I'd bring her along today so you could all meet her."
Tisha noticed how both men's eyebrows went up and their demeanors shifted slightly. She also noticed that the secretary sitting just outside the room's entrance got up at that moment and closed the door. Obviously she'd heard it too, and was giving them a little more privacy. Apparently Steve really did know what he was doing.
"Please, let's all be seated," Carl said and motioned to the small circle of chairs around the coffee table.
Steve smiled and sat down, Tisha sitt
ing in the chair on his right as the other two sat down across from them.
"So, I take it you're here about what happened yesterday?" Kensington asked.
Steve nodded. "Yes, Vincent. The first gateway opened on the Black Rock Playa, just north of that, ummm, 'festival' they have there every year now. Thankfully we were able to contain it, this time, but because we have no idea exactly when, or where, the next one will happen, we could be facing a serious threat here in the next few days."
Kensington nodded. "Unfortunately, there are quite a few people who are suspicious about what happened and are claiming that it was just something 'those hippies' did, and they're pushing back fairly hard."
Steve nodded slowly. "I see." He paused a moment, "I think everyone needs to understand that we're about to enter a Four - Year - Long - War," Steve said, enunciating the words carefully. "Washington, the president, Congress, even the Supreme Court are all going to become targets, sooner or later. Security is going to become a much more difficult job for all of you. If you have folks who are having problems dealing with this, I'm sure Tisha here would be more than happy to explain the situation to them."
"I'll even use small words," Tisha said with a smile, noticing the slight nod of approval Steve gave.
"Let's not get too hasty here," Vincent warned.
"Oh no, definitely not," Steve agreed. "However, as I understand it, each gate opens sometime during a seventy-two-hour window. We don't know, yet, how far into that first window we were when that gate opened. But I think it's a fair assumption that tomorrow, or the day after that, the next one will open. If it were to open in the middle of that festival, well, I think you can see what I'm getting at."
"Just how long until the big one opens?" Carl asked.
"Ten months. And it will stay open for two years," Tisha said softly.
"Damn," Vincent swore and leaned back in his seat. "General Baker didn't come and visit you yesterday, did he?"
"No, he did not."
"Politics, what a pain," Vincent said with a shake of his head. "Okay, things never move fast around here until after the disaster strikes, unfortunately. Everyone's just too busy protecting their turf. I'll get you on the president's schedule; we need to have a meeting about this, and I'll see if I can't browbeat Baker into meeting with you before then.
"But there is one thing we can do, and that's work on the president's security. So how about we do that now? I want to know what kinds of threats we're looking at, and how we can best protect against them."
Steve smiled; he had his first real ally.
"Well, lucky for us, Tisha here has personal experience dealing with these demons, having fought them in the past."
"Wait, how can that be?" Kensington asked, looking her up and down.
There was suddenly a very large lioness hybrid sitting in the chair, which creaked in protest.
"Oh, did I forget to mention that Tisha is actually a lot older than she looks?"
"How much older?" Carl asked, curious.
"About ten thousand years older," Tisha said with a toothy grin. "Now, let's talk shop, okay?"
"It's so nice to be appreciated," Tisha sighed as they drove back to the office.
"Yeah, Sean told me that they're all pretty focused on their jobs in there, and they've been dealing with the magic users since they were founded, so they're a lot more open minded. Especially when it comes to protecting the president."
"I like how you maneuvered them into offering us a bribe to help them."
Steve smiled. "Ah, so you noticed that! Yeah, appealing to someone's self-interest is always a good tactic. We'll have to keep our own eyes open, however. If someone is trying to block our access, we need to find out who, and why, and of course be subtle with our response."
"Which will be to have somebody infect them, right?"
Steve snickered. "Well, what good are you if I can't use you to order the wolves around?"
Tisha shook her head and sighed. "So, what next?"
"Now we go back to the office, and I tell Sean I need a hundred swords and breastplates for the Secret Service. You can spend the rest of your day abusing Granite."
"Oh, I think I may have found someone else I'd rather abuse," Tisha said giving him a wink.
"Terri still has that cattle prod," Steve warned her.
"Maybe it's time she and I had a little heart to heart," Tisha mused.
On Edge
"It's been four days," Sean said, pacing back and forth in the house. "I thought these things opened up every three days?"
Roberta looked at the others, who all just looked back at her and shrugged.
"You said it was anytime in a three-day window didn't you?"
"Still, you'd think we'd have had another one already."
"Sit down, Sean, before you wear a hole in the floor," Roberta said and grabbed his hand the next time he walked by. Sean had been getting progressively more nervous for the last three days now; last night he'd barely slept at all, for all that the six of them had tried to exhaust him. "If the first one actually opened at the start of a three-day period. Then the next three-day period began yesterday. So there's nothing to worry about."
"I just worry about it opening up someplace unnoticed and letting a huge force in." Sean sighed and dropped onto the couch beside Roberta.
"I hate waiting," he grumbled.
"Yeah, we noticed!" Peg snickered.
"What do the other lions say?" Roberta asked.
"They're still debating if the opening of the first gateway marks the start of the first three-day period or not. A couple are wondering if the gate we dealt with last month at Pyramid Lake is the one we should really be looking at."
"Ugh, I hope not!" Roxy growled. "Then we're only days away from the second phase, and we're not every ready for the first one yet."
Sean's phone rang then; it was John's ring tone.
"At last!" Sean sighed and dug out his phone. "Tell them to fire it all up, Rox. Hello, we got another one?"
"Yup, same general location as the last one, a bit further south, though.
"Oh, shit! That puts it near the Burners!"
'More like dead center,' the First said.
Sean cancelled the call and hit the speed dial for Claudia as he ran to the bedroom to get his gear on.
"Where is it?" Claudia asked without any introduction.
"Burning Man. Probably dead center."
"Shit, that's not good! Fire 'em up boys!" he heard her yell as the line went dead.
Sean quickly ripped off his clothes, shifted, and got his gear on. Then, grabbing his phone, he ran out to the Black Hawk that was already spinning up under the clear night sky.
"Where to, Boss?" Trey asked.
"Burning Man," Sean sighed and, taking his swords off his back, he crammed his ass into the copilot's seat. "Are Chad's people on frequency yet?" Sean asked as he turned his own radio on and put in the ear buds.
"Yup. They'll be taking off in a minute."
Sean nodded and waited as everyone else piled into the back. It wasn't comfortable sitting in the front, and he had to be careful not to hit any of the flight controls, but he wanted to see what was going on out there as soon as possible.
"Maybe we'll get lucky, and with the darkness, no one will see anything," Trey muttered, then looked around the back. "We packed?"
"We're packed!" the first squad leader called out.
"Seal it up and let's go!"
Trey lifted the Black Hawk up as the doors closed and immediately took off towards the playa.
"What time do they set the man on fire?" Roxy asked from the back.
"The burn was yesterday," one of the wolves from the squad said. "We wanted to go, but we had to sit alert."
Sean blew out the breath he was holding. "Well, that's a relief. If we're lucky, most of the people will be gone."
"I don't know, a lot stay until Monday morning," the wolf said.
"There it is," Trey said, and Sean could see it. The
playa was pretty well lit up; there were obviously still a lot of people there, thousands, maybe more.
'Which way, Dad?'
Sean pointed, and the pilot banked over, heading towards a gigantic lit up wooden spiral that rose up almost like a pyramid.
"What the hell is that?" Trey said, looking over it.
"I don't know," Sean said, "but there's a gateway opening inside of it, and it looks like demons are coming out."
"Wait!" the wolf in the back said. "Did you say it's inside the temple?"
"Temple? What temple?"
"Don't land! Circle it first!"
"Why?"
"Because that's tonight's burn!"
Trey swore, hauled over on the yoke and started to warn the other pilots as, sure enough, the entire structure lit up, on fire.
"Damn! Now what do we do?" Trey swore.
"Land outside the edge, dump us all off, and we can run in and circle the place to make sure nothing makes it out of the fire."
"What about the people there?"
"What about them?"
"They'll see you!"
"Ha!" the wolf called from the back. "Compared to what's down there already, we won't stand out at all!"
"He's got a point," Sean said. "Land. Everyone, get your shit together, and we run as fast as we can. Eight Ballers!"
"Yo!" the Eight Ball lead called over the radio from the other helicopter.
"Don't get close enough to the fire to be obvious, and keep patrolling until we pull out. Fifth, Sixth, and Seventh squad, hide in the crowd for now. The rest of you, up to the edge of the fire and keep your eyes open!"
The Black Hawk flared to land, and Sean just popped the door open and tumbled out. Slinging his swords, he shifted into full lion. He didn't give a damn who saw him, and he ran as fast as he could for the fire.
He shifted back just before he got there and made his way to the edge of the crowd. The fire was really burning now, and the crowd was quiet enough that, other than the music that must have been meant to accompany it, you couldn't hear a thing over the roar of the flames.
Swiveling his ears forward and concentrating, Sean could hear the faint screams of the demons as they burned to death, coming out of the gate directly into an inferno.