by Michael Todd
“Well, if it’s any consolation, I agree with you,” Katie told him. “I don’t know if the other teams can handle a change like that. We barely handle it on a daily basis. If you questioned it at the beginning, then you know they will, hands down.”
“You’re right.” Korbin sighed.
“I can agree on that,” Calvin interjected. “Damian? What do you think?”
“I have to agree,” he began carefully. “I saw the struggle Korbin went through when it all began, and what kept him straight is the fact that he knows Katie. The fact that he cares for her as part of this team. Without that, though?” He paused for a moment. “I’m not sure they would even try to understand. Fear can be a powerful thing, and people tend to fear what they don’t understand.”
“All right,” Korbin agreed. “The other team leads are coming to the base. Well, whatever is left of it, anyway. We are going to have a confab over the weapons. It’s time they got theirs, and are made aware of the importance of keeping them secret. Katie, I want you to go out of town for a day or two, just so things don’t get dicey. I know what will happen: we will get a call while they are here. I don’t want them finding out in the heat of battle, since they’d likely strike you down without thinking about it.”
“I know!” Damian offered, sitting up. “I’ll take her to Disneyland. Buy some mouse ears, ride the Teacups, get some good food.”
“I don’t know about Disneyland,” Korbin said doubtfully. “I would stick to somewhere like Los Angeles. At least there she is less likely to be spotted as a demon since it’s…well, Hollywood, to be honest.”
Hey! Pandora exclaimed in Katie’s mind. I resemble that remark.
Katie pressed her lips together and looked down, trying not to smirk at Pandora’s comment. She was finding it harder and harder to not let it be known that her demon was talking to her. Pandora had become kind of an everyday thing for her by this point.
“I will let the LAPD know that the two of you are coming into town,” he continued. “After you guys kicked ass last time, they started requesting that we let them know when you are in town in case we are looking for something they can help with, or if they need an extra set of hands. It will also keep them from panicking that there is about to be an incursion.”
“Sounds good.” Katie smiled.
“We can go to Universal Studios,” Damian suggested. “It’s close enough to Hollywood that no one will pay attention to your beady red eyes.”
“Hey, I’m not the only one with red rings, my friend.” Katie smirked.
“True.” Damian stood up. “Is that all for now, Korbin?”
“Yep. Just be safe.”
“We would be safer if I had my damn car,” Katie grumbled as she collected her things. “Seriously, I hope my license plate is imprinted on T’Chezz’s balls. It would fucking serve him right.”
“If it’s any help, we all thank you for your sacrifice.” Calvin chuckled. “We know how much that car meant to you.”
“It isn’t any help.” Katie shook her head. “The things I do for my country!”
Korbin snickered. “A proud patriot.”
“One day you will lose something precious, and I don’t want you coming to me complaining,” Katie warned them, sticking out her tongue. “It was my pride and joy.”
“And you are ours.” Damian bowed as the two walked toward the door. “Like a shining beacon of hope.”
Katie snorted. “Right.”
Stephanie stood in the doorway of the conference room as Katie and Damian walked toward her. She had rushed from the house, having done some last-minute things to help the girls get packed up, and was running late. She knew Korbin was rarely on time for meetings anyway, so she had just tried to get there somewhat promptly.
“Am I interrupting?” Stephanie asked.
“Nope,” Katie replied, giving her a high-five. “Just discussing my car.”
“Still?” Stephanie chuckled.
“She is only in the second stage of mourning,” Damian replied with a smirk.
“Hey, that thing was like part of my body.” Katie pouted as she walked out of the office and down the hall.
Damian laughed and followed her, leaving Stephanie to join Calvin and Korbin at the big round table. Korbin smiled at her as she walked in. She was wearing jeans and a tank top with her pink Chuck Taylors. She had dived head-first back into being the woman she wanted to be, not the one she’d had to pretend to be.
“Howdy!” She sat down at the table. “What’s up?”
“I’d like you to tell me more about your land,” Korbin replied.
“Well, it’s plenty of space…over a hundred acres,” she began. “I am assuming you are going to build a base on it?”
“Yeah, that’s the plan. We have to get out of here as soon as possible, though,” he replied.
“That shouldn’t be an issue,” she said. “There is an old ICBM facility on the land that, with a little love and care, you could stay in while you build your new base.”
Calvin chuckled. “Did they leave any presents behind?”
“Yeah, a bunch of dust and trash,” she answered. “But you could build your base around it. Probably incorporate part of it into the new digs.”
“Good,” Korbin replied. “I have to admit, my first effort at finding anything—especially in our territory—has been a complete and utter failure. It’s either too close to civilization, for commercial only use, or it’s wayyyy overpriced. I need something that I can eventually build an airfield on, and I have found absolutely nothing.”
“Well, you could do that on my land, but until that comes about, there are other options,” she told him. “I suggest you invest in a helicopter instead of renting. You can either chopper to the location, or if it’s a longer trip, right to the airport. It will save time fighting traffic, and helicopters can now carry a hell of a lot of stuff. I mean seriously, it’s not like there aren’t a million choppers flying around Vegas at any given time. You will blend right in; no one will even know the difference.”
“I like that…all of that,” Korbin admitted, rubbing his chin. “I agree, we do need our own helicopter. It would make things a hell of a lot more efficient. That kind of money will have to be okayed by the higher-ups, but I am pretty sure they will be more than happy to send one over since we have been doing well.”
“You mean Katie has.” Stephanie chuckled.
“With the big ones, yeah, but whatever pays the bills.” Korbin laughed and opened his laptop. “I just want to see how close your land is to Area 51.”
He pulled up the map and put in the address, then leaned back and stared at the screen. He could see that the two places were fairly far apart and he nodded, then looked at Stephanie’s land from every direction. He had to be sure. He couldn’t build something like the facility he was thinking if anyone in the government might catch on.
“It actually looks to be a perfect distance away from Area 51,” he mused. “But let me ask you this: why do you still have that land? You are Damned, and I am pretty sure you were put into the system as deceased. I really don’t want the government to come looking for the land or the owner.”
“They won’t,” she assured him. “I bought the property under the radar from someone who needed to get out of a dire situation. I put it under my mother’s maiden name, and I paid for it in cash. As far as they know someone else owns it, and unless we give them reason, they aren’t going to come scratching around.”
He got down to brass tacks. “Okay, so how much for us to occupy the space?”
“Well, I won’t sell it, but you guys can stay there for free,” she started. “I guess ‘you guys’ includes me. However, I have one stipulation: if you ever leave, I get to keep the upgrades at no cost.”
“Wow.” He laughed. “That’s a tall order. How about you keep the upgrades at ten percent of the cost or $1,500,000, whichever is cheaper.”
“You will be living on the land for free,” she argued.
“Yeah, but the land is not even close to being worth the same amount as the structures I will be building on it.”
“Five percent,” Stephanie negotiated.
“Ten,” Korbin replied. “Not budging.”
“Ugh.” She rolled her eyes. “Fine, ten percent.”
“Good.” He smiled. “Let’s get this show on the road, then.”
“Yeah, whatever,” Stephanie grumbled quietly as she got up from the table. “You are such an obstinate sonofabitch.”
Chapter 2
Damian and Katie left the house through the front door rather than the garage entryway for the first time in a long time, taking their luggage with them for the trip.
The garage wasn’t really a safe area, so they had parked the SUVs elsewhere. Damian took Katie’s bags from her and loaded them into one of the black SUVs. When he came around to the driver’s side to get in, she was still standing where he had left her and staring at the compound.
Even Damian had to admit that the place was a complete and total disaster area. It looked like a tornado had gone through, destroying everything in its path—and she knew that part of that was because of her. Even though she had fought the demon off and helped save everyone, her home lay in ruins.
Damian reached up and squeezed her shoulder. She sighed and got into the SUV, turning her eyes away.
It could have been much worse, but still, lives had been lost and a home had been destroyed. It was terrible that it had happened, but she had to come to terms with it. She didn’t need that added stress.
On one hand she was glad that she was getting away for a day or so. On the other hand, she didn’t want to have to hide from the world because except for her team, her family—the rest of the teams, the people who were supposed to be there for her—were too caught up in past experiences to accept that she could help.
Once again, she felt as if she were alone on an island because of her demon.
“Do you think the demons will come back?” Damian asked, putting the car in drive.
Katie wanted so badly to tell him that it was all over—that the demons had given up—but she knew that wasn’t the truth.
Sure, the demons wouldn’t be coming back to the base, but that didn’t mean that everything was in the clear. There was still a lot going on behind the scenes; there was a worldwide demon infestation, and it was only going to get worse.
The best thing she could do at that point was be honest, but not so honest that it freaked him out.
“It’s unlikely,” Katie replied. “Pandora says that something of that magnitude and effort probably cost T’Chezz a lot of power. Pandora is pretty sure he decided to invade the compound on very short notice. Apparently he doesn’t have much self-control when it comes to revenge or anger, and though he makes plans, he tends to deviate from them when he gets emotional. On top of that, he is attacking all over the world. This isn’t a single effort. He’s just obsessed with us—for personal reasons most likely.”
“Great, an emotional demon.” Damian laughed.
He has no freaking clue. Pandora scoffed. You think I’m bad? Just wait for that ball of emotional bullshit. Seriously, he is like a human girl with the worst PMS you have ever seen. I knew as soon as I felt yours that I had to stop that crazy shit.
I was wondering why I haven’t been visited by Aunt Flo since I met you. Katie sighed.
“Are there other major demons involved in all this?” Damian asked, having no idea what Katie and Pandora were talking about.
“They all have their own plans in place, I’m sure,” Katie told him. “If it looks like he is getting close to world domination, he will have to deal with the guys above him. T’Chezz will make it a point to be on this side before that happens, though. In hell they can easily overcome him, but if he’s here they are less likely to try to take him and more likely to negotiate.”
“Gotcha,” Damian replied uneasily, driving through the city toward the highway. “I guess we need to be prepared for anything, then.”
“That’s the best tack,” Katie replied, watching out the window.
They drove in silence for quite a while, Katie thinking about the whole situation. It was a difficult one, rife with politics and questions. The politics, though—they were different than the ones she would normally see. Even Katie didn’t fully grasp the depth of them.
She tapped a finger to the beat of the music in the car as they drove down the 15 toward LA. She wanted so badly for it to be over. To have the chance to feel like a person again. At this point she was starting to feel like a prisoner, only her captor really wasn’t that hard to get along with—and she kept her skinny with tits aimed high into the sky, defying gravity.
She guessed it could be worse. She could have gotten an asshole demon with irritatingly bad breath or something.
“You hungry?” Damian asked. “You can tell Pandora there is a donut shop ahead.”
Nope, Pandora growled. Don’t want any.
Why? Katie replied with a chuckle. I thought donuts were your favorite.
You tricked me with those potato-based ones. They were so bad you killed it for me, she snarled. I’m still trying to decide whether you did that on purpose.
Katie chuckled, which forced Damian to look at her, waiting to hear what she was laughing about. The truth was, she actually hadn’t done it on purpose. She had just been trying to get her to taste new things, but it had seemed to work out for the better—Katie’s better.
She was starting to think that if Pandora ever left her body she was destined for diabetes and obesity, with all kinds of addictions to sugar and fatty foods. She was very glad she hadn’t introduced the demon to soda yet. Katie looked at him and shook her head.
“What?” Damian exclaimed in surprise. “I thought Pandora was a glutton for donut heaven.”
Katie laughed. “She had a terrible experience with a potato donut recently. I thought they were good, but there are still two of them left at home. I guess she didn’t have the same feelings as me, not to mention they are not very good when you warm them up.”
Damn right, Pandora grumbled. You did that shit on purpose, I know it. What’s next—bad Italian?
Whoa, Katie replied. Now, I can be devious and everything, but you are taking this too far. I would never mess with the Italian, and besides, I have to put it in my body.
Yeah, well, I don’t trust you anymore, not as far as I can throw you, Pandora told her. I guess that’s a bad analogy, I can probably throw you pretty fucking far, even from in here.
Let’s not test that theory, Katie shot back.
“You need to get that demon some good donuts.” Damian shook his head. “She needs to try Krispy Kreme. Not only do they make them fresh so you can buy them hot, but they also microwave well in about twelve seconds. It’s the king of donuts, especially for people who take them home with them.”
Pandora sniffed. Maybe.
“She said she will think about it,” Katie shared.
A vehicle pulled up outside; a blacked-out SUV, new and shiny, chauffeuring the heads of the teams to the compound for an eye-opening demonstration of the power of their new weapons.
None of them knew why they were there, though. They assumed they would discuss the destruction of the base, and the future of the demons. Korbin looked out the window as they piled out of the SUV and were greeted by Calvin. They all looked horrified; completely shocked at how badly the place had been torn up. William Hunt, Amy Brown, and Brian Hudson had all come, as had John William Smith from New York.
Korbin took a deep breath and made his way to the main living quarters to meet the team leads. He wanted to give them a tour first; let them know what happened, rather than take them straight to the weapons. When he got up to the area Calvin was talking casually with them, making them laugh as he always did. He was a good person to have as a second. He always put people at ease with his laid-back personality and calm demeanor.
Amy walked over to him and looked
around before sticking out her hand. “Korbin, I’m so sorry for all this. It looks like you guys got hit hard. Fortunately you still have living quarters, but damn! It looks like everything else is shot.”
“Thank you.” Korbin nodded, and thought about it again. “Yeah, we didn’t fare too well, but most of us are still standing and that’s what matters.”
“Korbin, it’s good to see you.” John nodded and reached out to shake Korbin’s hand. “It’s been a long time. I’m here representing the majority of the East Coast, since the others couldn’t make it.”
“Glad to have you, John,” Korbin replied. “All of you, for that matter. Let’s take a little tour while I explain more about how this attack happened.”
Korbin showed the team leaders through the compound, careful not to let them near the business side of things. They looked at the downed buildings from a distance, making the excuse that they were too dangerous to enter. He talked as they walked, giving them the general outline of the whole ordeal.
“A large and dangerous demon we have come to know as ‘T’Chezz’ opened a portal along the road leading to the compound,” Korbin explained. “He was stopped from coming through when Katie ran a car into him, knocking him back through the portal and closing it. Luckily, she wasn’t injured. However, dozens of demons had come through before we were able to shut it and they all ran at the compound, ready to fight. They were like an army.”
“We saw the tire tracks leaving the road and heading out through the sand as we were driving in,” Brian explained. “We just thought someone was playing around out there.”
“No, those were from the car she used to ram the demon.” He shrugged. “Right time and right place, I suppose.”
“And you all battled these demons?” William asked.
“Yes,” Korbin confirmed, leaving out the girls and Stephanie. “We headed some off outside, but when they broke through we battled them inside—which is where all the damage came from.”
“How big were they?” Amy asked.