The Americans: Apex Trilogy, Book 2

by Jake Bible

  “We’re not going to fall out of the sky are we?” Julian asked.

  “Um, no,” Alex said. “There have been some, well, international incidents that have occurred. We’ll regroup back at the club and go from there.”

  “International incidents?” Timon asked. “I haven’t been notified of anything… Hey, my com is not active!”

  All the VIPs immediately checked their com status and found their signals blocked.

  “What is the meaning of this, Tartarov?” the second woman, a silver haired beauty, demanded. “Pulling another of your scams?”

  “Calm down everyone,” Alex placated. “All coms have been blocked so our location could not be tracked from orbit. Hard to explain why your signal is being received at 3,000 meters, don’t you think?” The VIPs all glared, but none argued. “Again, I do apologize and all will be explained once we land.”

  ***

  Beth held her head in her hands as Heather helped her through the doors of Alexander’s private suites. The flashing strobes and thumping, deafening music of the club’s dance floor had nearly pushed her over the edge.

  “Will she be alright?” Sasha inquired, issuing the group through two more sets of doors and into a large sitting room with a view of the canal below.

  “Sure,” Heather said. “It’s just been a very…long…day…”

  “Are you alright?” Sasha asked, but was quickly answered as Heather doubled over and fell to the floor. She was soon retching up more red-black goo, but this time it had an overpowering metallic scent and even seemed to have a bit of a sheen to it beyond just the glistening wetness. “Dear God! I’ll get the physician!”

  “No!” Billy shouted. “Don’t Sasha. We can’t have anyone know we’re here!”

  “Not to worry, William,” Sasha glared. “Dr. Van Neff is very discrete. He would have to be when dealing with the prince.”

  “No, Sasha…” Heather gasped. “Billy is right. No more exposure than we already have. I wouldn’t be surprised if the LOMSD’s satellites haven’t already tracked us here.”

  “Please, dear,” Sasha scoffed. “They may have tracked you, but they have no clue you are in this building. His Highness has five square blocks shielded from any and all surveillance. You are perfectly safe.”

  “Not if they nuke us,” Melissa said. “They’re not above doing that.”

  “Nuke you?” Sasha looked puzzled. “I am sorry, have I missed something?”

  Billy laughed. “What’s this? Sasha Vernakova caught off guard? The Great Steward of the Tartarov dynasty isn’t in the know?”

  “Quiet, Billy,” Heather scolded, composing herself and taking a glass of water Melissa had fetched. “Sorry about the mess, Sasha.”

  “Nothing strange to me, dear,” Sasha rolled his eyes. “And speaking of mess, I think all of you could do with a new wardrobe.” He stepped to the door. “I’ll see what can be scrounged. Still a solid size four?”

  “As always,” Heather grinned.

  “Now the girls look more like sizes three and one.” Sasha put a hand to his face in mock conspiracy. “Beth, sweetie, eat something please. No one likes a stick.” He winked and left the group alone in the room.

  “Is he saying I’m the fat one?” Melissa scowled.

  “Hardly,” Billy laughed. “I’ve eaten scabs bigger than you. Speaking of…”

  “No, Billy,” Heather said. “You need to be clear.”

  “Hard to be clear when it feels like fire ants are crawling under my skin,” he complained. “I lost my stash in our ever so fun boat ride and beach party. I can just pop downstairs right quick. I know someone is holding. Pretty sure I spotted two growers on our way up here. One was pretty cute. She hasn’t gotten too deep yet. Those are always the best.”

  “No,” Heather said flatly and Billy shut his mouth, slumping into an overstuffed chair with a toddler pout firmly on his face.

  “Are you really married to Prince Alexander Tartarov?” Beth asked quietly.

  “Long story, but yes,” Heather frowned. “We never got around to the annulment. It’s not like I get to use the country estate or house on the Riviera.”

  “Does Alex even get to?” Billy asked. “Last I heard he was on the outs with his sis, the Empress.” Billy glanced around, appraising the room. “Although he seems to still be doing okay for himself.”

  “Yes, well, unlike commoners such as yourself, William,” Alexander announced as he shoved the doors open. “Royalty never really falls far. It’s the privilege of good breeding. But I guess Americans know all about good breeding!” He crossed quickly to Heather and gave her a quick peck on the cheek. “Wife.”

  “Husband,” Heather responded, grinning in spite of herself.

  “Ugh! You smell of vomit!” Alex pinched his nose in exaggeration.

  “And surprisingly, you don’t,” Heather mocked.

  “Well said.” The prince winked and walked over to Melissa. “My dear sweet Mel. You have grown up!”

  “Back off, Al,” Billy growled.

  “Seriously, William? Do you think me that low?” He held up a hand. “Don’t even answer, scabhead.”

  Billy rolled his eyes at the overused insult.

  “Now, who is this?” Alexander asked, taking Beth’s hand and kissing it. “We have not met. I’m Prince Alexander Tartarov, next in line for the throne of the Russian Empire. And you are?”

  “Um, I’m, well,” Beth stuttered. “Elizabeth Laughlin, next in line for the crazy house.”

  “Oh!” Alex laughed. “She’s funny!”

  Sasha came in with an armload of clothes, quickly dumping them on Billy. “There should be something for everyone in here. Food is on its way up. I have to attend to business with His Highness, but I’ll check on you in a few minutes.”

  “Right…business,” Alex said. “Duty calls. This lavish lifestyle doesn’t pay for itself!”

  “And neither do you, I suspect,” Billy sneered. “New scam?”

  Alexander glared at Billy for a moment. “At least I attempt to work for my money instead of hustling cock gobbles in the men’s room.”

  “Doesn’t make you less of a whore, Al.”

  “Boys!” Heather shouted. “Come on! Five minutes? Really? You can’t go five fucking minutes?”

  “Sorry, dear,” Alex smiled. He bowed curtly and followed Sasha out of the room, closing the doors securely behind him. “You know what is going on, right?”

  “I just heard of the attacks,” Sahsa said gravely. “Will this affect your proposal?”

  “It may well strengthen it,” Alex said. “But having them show up is too risky. Get them fed and then out the fucking door. I don’t need the LOM up my ass right now!”

  “Your Highness?” Sasha said, disappointment clouding his features. “I understand kicking the junkie to the street and I know you and Ms. Walton have a troubled history. But sweet Mel? And the other girl?”

  “How long has it been since we’ve seen her? Twelve, thirteen years? She doesn’t know us and we don’t know her,” Alexander responded coldly. “Americans are out of favor and out of power now, Sasha. Two things I refuse to be. Make them disappear.”

  Chapter Twelve

  “Turn the fuck around, Billy!,” Melissa shouted as she stripped the soiled and torn clothes from her body.

  “Jesus, Mel, calm down,” Billy said, turning his back on the three women as they changed. “I used to change your fucking diapers for fuck’s sake.”

  “Well, you never changed Beth’s, so keep those eyes averted, perv,” Heather laughed, seeing Melissa’s glare. “Calm down, Mel.”

  Heather winced as she removed her gore stained clothes. Her body felt used up; a feeling she hadn’t had since her first year of intensive Ghost training. She knew she couldn’t push it as hard as she had been for much longer. She hoped Alexander would pull through for them all and get them to Tibet with as little resistance as possible. A gasp from Melissa quickly yanked her from those thoughts.

&nb
sp; “Jesus, freak! Are those jack points?” Melissa exclaimed.

  Heather looked at Beth as she tried to quickly cover her nakedness. “Beth, let me see those.”

  Beth reluctantly let Heather inspect the 2cm diameter holes strategically placed in her chest, abdomen and pelvis.

  “What’s going on?” Billy asked annoyed. “What am I missing?”

  “These aren’t jack points,” Heather said reaching a finger towards one of the holes. “May I?”

  Beth nodded, her face and body flushed with embarrassment.

  “Do they hurt?” Heather asked, probing one of the holes carefully with her finger.

  “No,” Beth answered quietly.

  “Well, there’s no BC present,” Heather stated. “Have you always had these?”

  “Always had those? Aren’t you born with jack points? Isn’t that the point of in-vitro manipulation?” Melissa asked leaning in close. Beth frowned and Heather pushed Mel quickly away.

  “Like I just said, Mel, these aren’t jack points.” Heather stood up and tried to get Beth to look her in the eyes. “Beth, I need you to be straight with me. How long have you had these?”

  “I don’t know,” Beth answered, quickly pulling on a pair of panties and an undershirt. “As long as I can remember.”

  Those words caught Heather’s attention and missing pieces, parts of the Beth puzzle, slid into place. “And how far back can you remember?”

  Beth didn’t answer. Heather turned to Melissa.

  “How long have you known each other?” Heather asked her niece.

  “Since the start of school,” Melissa asked. “She’s a transfer. New this year.”

  Heather took a deep breath. “Beth? Answer me. How far back can you remember?”

  Beth, a pained look on her face, and her chest hitching with held in sobs, answered very quietly, “Just before school started. When I moved in with my foster family. They said there was an accident.”

  “Who said that, Beth?”

  “I don’t know, the social workers that dropped me off,” Beth answered. “They brought me to the Liecasters, gave me a duffel of clothes and left. I haven’t talked to them since.”

  “No follow up meetings? No inquiries?” Heather asked, alarmed. “They just dumped you?”

  “Yeah,” Beth responded, zipping the new jeans Sasha had brought.

  “Can I turn around now?” Billy asked impatiently.

  “No!” Heather and Mel shouted.

  ***

  “Hello, Alex. I expected you to call much sooner,” the Empress said, staring at her brother’s image on the holocom. “Too busy partying to notice the world has gone to shit?”

  The image of Prince Alexander glared. “I don’t need your bullshit, Nat. I’ve been working.” He held up a hand. “Keep your comments to yourself. Just answer me one thing.”

  “I’m the Empress of the Russian Empire, brother. I don’t have to answer anything.”

  Alexander ignored the statement. “How much of this was you?”

  Natalya pursed her lips, a frown of disapproval wrinkling her brow. “Not really a question to be answered over the com. Why don’t you come home for a bit? I hear you have a new project. I’d love to see the results.”

  Alexander kept himself composed, but Natalya could tell she had taken him off guard.

  “I’m busy at the moment,” Alexander answered flatly.

  “Too busy for family?”

  The image of the Empress on Alexander’s side was quickly replaced with the image of a severely beaten and abused Vasiliy Tartarov.

  Alexander struggled for control of his emotions as he stared at his tortured twin. “I hate you, Nat. You know that, right?”

  “And I you,” the Empress responded happily, her image returning. “Now, come home, Alex. Your family needs you.”

  The transmission was cut and Prince Alexander Tartarov took two deep breaths to calm himself before leaving his room.

  ***

  Eddie Styles busied himself at the bar by watching two barely clad women out on the dance floor grind and thrust against each other. He gulped his beer and slammed the empty pint glass down, his eyes never leaving the strobe lit women.

  “Another, sir?” the bartender shouted behind him, snatching up the empty.

  “No. He’s leaving,” Alexander hollered over the music. The bartender nodded and quickly walked away to attend to other customers. “Get your gear, and I mean your real gear, we’re going to St. Petersburg.”

  “Trouble? The VIPs weren’t impressed?” Styles asked, standing and stretching, but his eyes still glued to the ladies. “I thought you had that deal locked, even with all the crazy shit.

  “I sent them home,” Alex said. “Now’s not the time for business.”

  That got Styles’s attention. “Not the time for business? Who the fuck are you and what have you done with Al?”

  “Vas is in trouble and I need to get home now,” Alex said, taking Styles by the arm and pulling him away from the bar.

  “Whoa! Whoa!” Eddie said, pulling his arm free. “The only way your brother can be in trouble is if your sister put him in trouble!” Styles put his hands out, warding Alexander off. “I didn’t sign up for no regicidal bullshit! If you’re having family issues then you need to fix them yourself!”

  “I’ll quadruple your pay,” Alex growled, looking about the club impatiently. “But we have to go now!”

  “Ten times,” Styles replied, a stubborn smile spreading across his face.

  “Fuck you,” Alex responded immediately. “Fine.”

  “Fine?” Eddie asked, stunned, as the prince grabbed him once again and yanked him towards the private lift at the far end of the bar. “You’re giving up that easy? That means this is even worse than I imagined. I should have asked for more!”

  “Yes, you should have, but you didn’t. Now get your ass upstairs, get geared up, prep the BTT and let’s get going!”

  ***

  “You what?” Heather and Billy shouted in unison.

  “I need you to leave,” Sasha stated plainly, gesturing to the four large backpacks on the floor. “I have made sure you have provisions, supplies, clothes. Gelts here will drive you to a safe drop point, but after that you are on your own.” Sasha motioned and one of the six muscled bodyguards stepped forward and nodded.

  Heather stared in astonishment, rage rising in her throat. “You can’t be serious, Sasha! I know there’s history here, but you can’t just dump us! The entire LOM is trying to kill us! They’re wiping out all Americans!”

  “Which is why you need to leave,” Sasha answered, his composure starting to break. “The prince cannot be associated with fugitives. He’ll be seen as an enemy of the LOM. He has been working very hard on something and your being here could destroy that work. If not get us all killed.”

  “Well, can’t say I’m too surprised,” Billy scoffed, lifting one of the packs and securing it to his back. “Always knew you were a snake, Sasha. Never did trust you.”

  “I’m hurt,” Sasha responded sarcastically. “I’ve always prided myself on having the trust of all the junkies in the world.”

  Heather glared, violence twitching in her muscles. “You’re better than this.”

  “I know,” Sasha said quietly, emotion finally showing. “But the prince isn’t.”

  “Well, there’s loyalty for you!” Alexander announced, shoving past the bodyguards. “Nevermind. Change of plans!” He pointed to the remaining backpacks. “You, muscle boys, get those and your own packs to the roof. We’re all going on a trip.”

  Sasha raised his eyebrows. “Anything you would care to share, Your Highness?”

  “No,” Alexander stated. “You are staying here, Sasha. I need you to keep things working and to run interference in case anyone comes snooping around.”

  “And your destination, Prince?” Sasha asked as soon as the bodyguards were out of earshot.

  “Home,” Alex responded looking at Heather and Billy. �
�Vas is in trouble. You may hate me, but Vas has never hurt a soul.”

  “Vas? How can Vas be…?” Billy trailed off, realization dawning. “What did that bitch do now?”

  “I’ll let you all know when we are loaded up and gone,” Alex said. “We need to get to the roof now.”

  “What’s on the roof?” Melissa asked, pushing Beth in front of her.

  “The reason we’re here,” Heather said.

  ***

  “Welcome aboard the fabulous BTT, folks,” Styles said, standing in the open door to the cockpit as everyone filed into the cabin. “Tonight’s meal will be jack shit, followed by an appetizing dessert of we’re all fucked. The in flight holo will be ‘How Much More Buggered Can We Get?’ Enjoy!”

  “What the fuck is he talking about?” Billy asked, glancing sideways at Styles.

  “Mr. Styles is a bit of an aviation buff,” Alexander replied, rolling his eyes. “He thinks it's funny when he brings up ancient pop history.”

  Melissa looked about the luxurious cabin. “Where’s the massage room and spa?”

  “That’ll be part of the next model,” Alexander said. “If there is a next model.”

  Heather reached out, hesitated, then squeezed Alex’s shoulder. “I can’t believe you actually did it. All those ideas in your head finally came together. I knew you’d have something put together by now, otherwise Billy and I wouldn’t have come here, but I wasn’t expecting this.”

  “I’d love to see the schematics,” Billy said, plopping down and leaning the seat back. “Who knows, I might be able to suggest some improvements.”

  “You aren’t seeing shit, vehicle boy,” Alex laughed. “That’s all I need is your messed up head tinkering with my masterpiece.”

  Three of the six bodyguards filed into the cabin, having finished stowing the gear below, and moved quickly to the very back of the cabin. One of them hit a button and a BC wall instantly solidified, separating them from the rest of the group.

  “We’ll be right here if you need us, Your Highness,” Gelts called over the com.

  “Thank you, Gelts,” Alex responded. “I think I’ll be fine. Just be ready when we land. I doubt we’ll be welcomed with open arms or hugs and kisses.”