by SD Tanner
He pointed to Isaac and asked, ‘Can ya see super hunters in your head?’
Isaac replied, ‘No.’
He pointed to Isaac again, ‘Can super hunters see you?’
Isaac paused and said, ‘Maybe no.’
He asked, ‘Can super hunters see Ip?
Isaac paused again and said, ‘Maybe yes.’
He asked, ‘Can Ip see where the super hunters are?’
Isaac looked at Ip and he waited while Isaac got an answer to his question.
Isaac speaks: Do you know where these rulers are?
Ip speaks: Their minds are mine. I see them now. If I look they show me much. But I do not like their corrupted touch.
Isaac speaks: But where do they dwell these rulers you know. I ask of their bodies and not of their souls.
Ip speaks: I do not ask and they do not tell.
Isaac speaks: Can you see where they may be.
Ip speaks: I see what they see as I saw with you. But how do I know where they see through?
Isaac speaks: You saw through me. And you found me well.
Ip speaks: I saw what you saw. Where you were I could not tell.
Isaac speaks: If that is true how could you find me so well?
Suddenly Ip stood up, grabbed Isaac by the hand and led him out of the lounge and into their bedroom. He and Pax followed them into the pitch dark room. Tapping the wall panel, the lights flickered on and he saw Isaac and Ip were looking at the mural she’d frantically drawn earlier that morning.
Isaac speaks: You drew my mind so very well.
Ip speaks: That is true, but I did not read it well. It was the noisy one who was able to tell.
Isaac speaks: I understand you saw where I dwell, but where it was you could not tell.
Whatever the two had shown one another answered his question and Isaac turned to him and said, ‘She sees what they see.’
Looking utterly confused, Pax asked, ‘What the hell does that mean?’
It made sense to him, even if it didn’t make sense to Pax. Ip could see what the super hunters could see, but that didn’t mean she knew where they were and he said, ‘I think I get it. This morning she could see what Isaac could see in his mind, but that didn’t mean she knew where he was. It was you that knew where the bridge was.’
‘Huh, so she can see what the super hunters are seein’,’ Pax repeated.
‘I think it’s more than that,’ he replied. ‘The pictures in the mural ain’t just what Isaac could see at that moment. Some of those pictures must be of things he’d seen in the past. She must be able to see memories as well.’
‘Huh, interestin’,’ Pax replied. ‘So she can see all of the super hunters in her mind. She can pick a super hunter and look into its mind, then she can see what it’s seein’ now and she can see what it has seen. It’s memories.’
Nodding, he said, ‘If Ip can see into the super hunters’ minds, then they must know it’s a question of time before Ip can lead us to ‘em and that we’ll kill ‘em. That explains why they want Ip, but not what they want her for. If the super hunters know Ip can lead us to ‘em, then why didn’t they kill her when they could?’
‘I dunno, Ears,’ Pax replied. ‘If there was someone out there who could show my enemies where I’m hidin’, I would kill ‘em.’
He agreed and said, ‘Then there’s more to this than we understand.’
Turning to Isaac, he asked, ‘Can she help us find the super hunters?’
Isaac paused and said, ‘Yes.’ Looking intently at him, he added, ‘Find me more.’
He didn’t know what Isaac meant and asked, ‘Find more of you?’
Isaac smiled happily and said, ‘Yes! More me!’
‘What’s he mean?’ Pax asked. ‘There are more like him and Ip?’
‘There were more CDCs, Pax,’ he replied. ‘So, there’s gotta be more people like Ip and Isaac. I’m guessin’ they want to find the others like ‘em.’
Pax said bluntly, ‘We gotta find the rest of ‘em, Gears. They need us and we need them.’
‘I agree,’ he replied.
They’d found Isaac and he had finally been able to communicate with Ip. He was sure there was more to tell, but trying to speak with Ip through Isaac was exhausting. Isaacs’s ability to communicate was not as limited as Ip’s, but it was still constrained. He knew he should radio Lydia and tell her what they had learned, but he was too tired to think through the implications with her. Right now, he wanted to crawl into bed and fall asleep with Ip and he thought anything else could wait until tomorrow.
Isaac didn’t want to sleep alone that night and he, Ip and Isaac fell asleep on top of the fluffy quilt on their king size bed.
CHAPTER TWENTY: Every rose has its thorns (Pax)
It was 9am and he was waiting inside the back door to the electrical store on the ground floor of the building they’d used to observe the Majors base. He’d spoken to BD that morning at 4am as he had most mornings since BD agreed to spy on the Major. She’d done well and he thought the Major was as enamored with her as he was. She never told him what she did to gain the Major’s confidence and he didn’t really want to know. Well he did and he didn’t. The part of him that felt close to her, wanted to snatch her back and bring her home. The part of him that wanted to protect the 300 or so people at their bases needed her to do exactly what she was doing.
He wasn’t used to having contradictory feelings. He wasn’t used to feeling anything much at all. He would proudly tell anyone he was about as deep as a puddle, and now having feelings he struggled to repress alarmed him. He preferred to live life in the shallow lane, bouncing from one moment to the next and forgetting each moment once he lived it. The feelings BD managed to surface in him were both exciting and terrifying. When it came to BD, he felt like he was losing control of himself. It was enough to make him want to walk away and yet his feelings for her made him want to stay.
There was a light tap on the door and he heard BD softly ask, ‘Pax?’
Opening the door, he immediately smelt her perfume waft through and felt an unwanted, but exciting surge of adrenalin at the sight of her blonde hair. Mentally slamming down this unasked for thrill at seeing her, he pulled the door open wide enough for her to slip through and said gruffly, ‘Come on upstairs where it’s light.’
He led her to the third level to a sunny office with wide windows. There was a large mahogany table and a comfortable three-seater leather sofa with two matching over stuffed leather armchairs. He sat down with her on the three-seater sofa, and rummaged in his bag for the food and drink he brought with him. With the extra reach of the bird, the scavengers found an apple orchard and brought back buckets of apples. Fresh food was a luxury and he brought several perfectly ripe apples with him.
Looking delighted, BD asked happily, ‘Oh, where did you get those?’
Delighted by her happiness at such a simple luxury, he grinned and said, ‘Scavengers found an orchard.’
While he talked, he used a small blade to cut one of the apples into segments. He was about to hand her a wedge, when she pulled his hand to her mouth and made him feed it to her. He thought it was the sexiest thing he’d ever seen, and he gently pushed the wedge into her perfect mouth.
Needing to distract himself from thinking about what else he’d like to do, he asked, ‘Ya said we needed to talk in person?’
Swallowing the apple he’d fed her, BD said bluntly, ‘Oh no, you have to compensate me first.’
Raising his eyebrows quizzically, he asked, ‘Scuse me?’
Giving him a wicked look, BD started to undo the buttons on her shirt and replied, ‘You promised to compensate me, so pay up.’
That wasn’t how he saw the conversation going, but he wasn’t prepared to argue and said, ‘Let me do that for you.’
BD tried to undo his tactical vest, but she didn’t know how. Not wanting to disappoint her, he pulled off her shirt and said with a wink, ‘Let’s start with you first.’
BD quickl
y stripped off her boots and pants until she was standing in front of him wearing nothing, but a very lacy set of underwear. Still sitting on the couch, he pulled her hips towards his face. Gently moving her lacy underwear aside and using his tongue, he started with her first.
Sex with BD had always been outstanding, but this morning set a new standard that he thought no other woman was ever likely to exceed. It was as if she’d been in a desert and he was an oasis of water. She’d hungered for his every touch and every move. It was several hours before she would let him rest, and finally they were both lying on the leather couch, naked and entwined.
With her blonde curls scattered across his chest, she sighed contentedly and said, ‘I missed that. I missed you.’
None of this lessened the uncontrolled emotions he was feeling. What the hell is this woman doing to me, he wondered? This is supposed to be about work and here I am wanting to be with her, feeling good and getting anxious about what I asked her to do. Contradictory emotions are a pain in the ass, he thought.
When he opened his mouth to answer, he was surprised when he said, ‘I missed ya too, baby.’
‘Hmmph,’ she muttered sulkily. ‘I’m sure there are plenty of women keeping you company.’
Looking down at her and tilting her face to his, he saw she was pouting and said honestly, ‘There’s bin nobody else since you.’
Brightening and then looking suspicious, she said doubtfully, ‘I’m sure that’s not true, Pax.’
Sighing deeply, he said, ‘I’ve never lied to ya, baby. Ya just think I have, but jus’ ‘cos ya think it, doan make it true.’
Frowning and still sounding doubtful, she said, ‘But you wanted to have a threesome remember.’
‘No, I didn’t,’ he replied patiently. ‘Yer slutty little friend suggested that. I was surprised, but I was gonna go with the flow. If ya remember rightly, I came to see you that day. I didn’t know she’d be there.’
‘Would you have done it, though?’ she asked curiously.
‘Yeah, of course I would have,’ he answered honestly. ‘Would ya have?’
Screwing up her face and making her nose wrinkle in what he thought was cute way, she said, ‘It wouldn’t have been the first time, but I only tried that once. I’m not really into women.’
Roaring with laughter, he said, ‘And to think ya got so mad at me! I’ve never done that even once.’
Looking surprised, she asked, ‘Really? You strike me as the type.’
‘Nah,’ he replied candidly. ‘I’m happy with one woman at a time in my bed. And you’re a handful, baby. Doan think I’d survive two of ya.’
Suddenly happy, she crooned, ‘So, you’ve been good while I’ve been working?’
‘Good as gold, baby, plus I bin busy,’ he told her. ‘We got two sites and another 120 people since you was last with us. I ain’t got time to take care of business on my own, much less with a woman.’
‘Oh, poor you,’ she said pouting at him. ‘We should meet more often.’
Still wondering why she’d insisted they meet today, he asked, ‘Is this what ya wanted to meet for?’
BD disentangled herself and sitting up abruptly, she said, ‘Don’t be silly, Pax. Last week I saw a man I recognized from the Base. He showed up a few days before I left. I think Gears brought him back from the Ranch.’
He thought he knew who she meant. It was that whiny little shit that drove Gears nuts. He couldn’t remember his name, but he remembered Gears complaining about him and he said, ‘I think I know the guy ya mean. I didn’t know he’d left the Base. What his problem?’
BD replied, ‘He told the Major you guys were just letting any old trash in. He said he didn’t like sharing his room with people who weren’t white, and he’d been told to put up with it or get out.’
‘Oh, what a surprise,’ he said sarcastically. ‘Major major asshole is a racist.’
‘No, he’s not,’ BD replied bluntly. ‘He couldn’t care less. He always says as long as a man can handle a gun, he doesn’t care what color he is, but he does want to know how to get you guys. You really pissed him off when you stole that helicopter.’
‘He had us in his targets before we did that,’ he replied bluntly. ‘His own men, that fat faced cherub asshole, made that clear.’
Nodding, she said, ‘That’s true. He was always going to try and take the Base one way or another, but he might have tried intimidation first. Now, he’s just going to take it by force and he’ll kill as many people as he can. He’s that kind of asshole.’
Worried Major major asshole might be hurting her, he asked grimly, ‘How do ya know that?’
‘I hear them talk,’ she replied. ‘They don’t do anything at the base, but the men come back from trips to the civilian areas and they talk about what they do out there. It’s bad, and people get hurt and some die, but it’s kept quiet. They want to look like good guys, but underneath it they abuse people to keep them too scared to fight back.’
None of that surprised him, but people could leave the area and he asked, ‘Why doan the people jus’ leave?’
Shaking her head vehemently, she said, ‘You just don’t get it, Pax. You and your brothers take survival for granted, but for the rest of us survival is almost impossible. That’s why the Base is so important. It’s safe in all ways. I think you guys are kinda naïve, but being naïve, you’ve created something that’s honest, decent and good for people.’
Feeling embarrassed, he sidestepped her compliment and said, ‘That doan explain why ya needed to see me. Unless it’s what we were just doin’.’
‘Don’t be conceited, Pax,’ she said sharply. ‘The guy who came from our Base told the Major about the ship, and now the Major wants it.’
‘Yeah, well he can’t get to it baby,’ he said confidently. ‘It’s a mile offshore and I doan think Major major asshole can walk on water.’
‘He won’t need to, Pax,’ she said worriedly. ‘A guy called Earl from Meridian came to see the Major a week ago. The Major was telling him what you guys did and he told him about Gears. Well Earl recognized his description of Gears and said he knew you guys. He said you guys shot his two brothers about three months ago.’
Pax sat up abruptly and said angrily, ‘That asshole’s brothers shot a man and a boy in cold blood, and they were about to kill Ip. I mean, we didn’t know who she was back then, but it was either her or them and we called it.’
Stroking his chest soothingly, she said, ‘I know you and I know you didn’t shoot Earl’s brothers in cold blood. You wouldn’t kill anyone for no reason. Anyway, if his brothers are anything like him, they were assholes too.’
Feeling his anger subside, he said, ‘So, Earl, brother of assholes who tried to kill Ip and then us, wants to kill us. So what?’
Sighing, she said worriedly, ‘Earl told the Major he knows someone who knows how to use the armaments. Earl went back to Meridian yesterday and he’s bringing the guy back with him. If he really does know how to use those armaments, then the Major will attack the Base.’
Now worried, he said, ‘It’s worse than that, baby. With those armaments they can attack the ship and we can’t move the ship to get outta range.’ Leaning back, he wondered how long it would be before they could use the armaments and asked, ‘Do ya know when Earl’s comin’ back with the guy?’
Shaking her head, she replied, ‘Not really. It’ll take Earl a few days to get back, then he’s got to get the guy and bring him back. I don’t expect he’ll be back for at least four or five days.’
Thinking through what they needed to he do, he said, ‘It’ll take the guy at least a coupla days to sort through the mess they have there, and then he’ll have to show a few people how to use the weapons. Add a coupla day’s travel to the Base and ship, and I’m guessin’ they can’t mobilize in less than a week.’ Deciding BD had fulfilled her mission and was now in danger, he said firmly, ‘It’s time for ya to come home, baby.’
Shaking her head vehemently, she said fiercely, ‘
No way, Pax! I’ve put a lot into this and I’m staying. I can tell you when the guy turns up and if he can do what Earl thinks he can do. If you have to fight these guys, then people are going to get hurt or die. If Earl is wrong about this guy, or the weapons are no good, then we don’t have to have this fight at all. Nobody has to die.’
‘You’re wrong,’ he said, equally as adamantly. ‘Gears is gonna wanna take out this threat no matter what.’
‘No, he won’t,’ she argued back. ‘Or he would have done it by now.’
He couldn’t argue with her logic. Gears would have taken the whole base out if he thought there was no choice, but until the Major could use the armaments, Gears believed they had a choice. It was still possible they could get the ship moving, get the hell out of dodge and avoid the whole issue. Learning the Major was harming the civilians meant TL would want to take on the fight. Gears would feel obligated to protect their own people at the bases and the innocent civilians. He wasn’t sure what Gears would do with the competing needs.
‘It’s not as simple as that, baby,’ he said steadily. ‘If Major major asshole is hurtin’ innocent civilians, Gears might take him out anyway. Who the hell is this Major major asshole? He don’t sound like he’s any kinda military to me.’
Shaking her head, she said, ‘He’s not. He told me he was a Major in the prison service, but he doesn’t want me telling anyone that.’
Snorting and sounding disgusted, he said, ‘I’ll bet he don’t. He’s still an asshole with heavily armed men hurtin’ innocent people. Takin’ him out is gonna be risky.’
‘Yes it is,’ she conceded. ‘Gears will need to know what he’s up against. Men with guns or men with armaments. I plan to give the people I care about whatever edge I can, and it’s not negotiable, Pax, so you might as well shut up.’
He wasn’t happy, but he admired her spirit and said, ‘I doan want ya riskin’ ya life no more, baby. I care about ya. I want ya to come home with me now. We got real fancy barracks on the ship. Hot water and a Jacuzzi.’
Her eyes widened in surprise and she asked in awe, ‘You have a Jacuzzi?’