by Michael Todd
Katie appreciated that about him, because he applied that philosophy to everyone in his life. He loved them no matter how weird, crazy, or sinful they were.
When he was done he blew out the candle he was holding and set it back on the table, slowly getting to his feet with a grunt.
Katie chuckled. “Getting old?”
“You don’t know the half of it!” He smiled at her. “I wonder if there is a retirement plan for this type of work?”
“Usually nobody makes it that long,” Katie replied with a grimace.
“Truth.” Damian sighed. “What can I do for you?”
“I need spiritual backup,” she told him. “I’m going to the Big Sleazy…Easy…shit! I’m going to New Orleans.”
“All right.” Damian laughed. “When do we leave?”
“Now.” She smiled. “Meet me at the chopper.”
“Give me ten minutes.” He shook his head as he headed toward his room. “Always a surprise with you.”
“You love me.” She waved over her shoulder as she went in the other direction.
Katie grabbed her bags and went out to the chopper. She handed Damian a set of headphones when he climbed in behind her, and they took off for the airport to take the jet to New Orleans.
“While we are in the air, I figured I would mention that I have two cases of the specialty 9mm bullets; one for us, and one for the general’s team.”
“Ugh.” Damian groaned. “Are you serious?”
“Yes, and before you ask, Korbin knows,” Katie told him.
“Do you really think this is a good idea?” He leaned forward and put his hand on Katie’s shoulder. “We are giving them the tools to wipe us out.”
“They could always wipe us out,” Katie replied, turning to him. “A bullet to the brain kills human and demon alike. If we are going to move ahead in this war, we need to get past the old animosities and mistrust. We can’t fight demons if we are too busy fighting each other.”
“That is both true and wise.” Damian sighed and leaned back in his seat. “I guess Korbin and me, we have a hard time swallowing it. We have been at this a lot longer than you, and we have been through the changes with different generals; through the animosity and mistrust. Even this new general, he wants our weapons. We know he is snooping around trying to find things out about us. It will be very hard for us to swallow a truce, much less believe that they will be forthcoming afterward. I just have a hard time trusting them.”
“Then trust me,” Katie suggested. “This is my life, my business, and my family. I won’t let anyone, government or not, take what is rightfully mine. They will have to pry it from my cold dead hands.”
“That is not beneath them,” Damian shot back.
“Right, but do you really think Pandora would let that happen?”
“No.” Damian chuckled. “They wouldn’t know what the fuck hit them.”
Damn straight, Pandora agreed. And you can believe that none of them would have their dicks attached when we were done.
Wow, always straight for the dick, Katie mused.
I call it my “Peter Principle.”
Why? I thought the Peter Principle was related to people rising to their level of incompetence?
No, my Peter Principle is, if you want a man to know you are serious, good or bad, go for the family jewels. There is absolutely no way he doesn’t know you are serious if you have his peter in your hand. The difference is only in the amount of squeezing you are doing.
So, never any miscommunication?
It’s either pleasure or pain. A binary result. And if I rip it off? That’s always bad.
Ooookayyyy… Katie returned her attention to Damian, away from the crazy dick-snatcher lady.
“You have my trust,” Damian told her. “And I will support you in your endeavor to unite the craziness and forge forward.”
“Thank you.” Katie smiled. “You’ll see why it’s a good idea. You just have to be patient.”
Korbin watched as Katie and Damian took off in the chopper. He shook his head and ducked back inside to head toward his office.
He wasn’t sure why Katie was so hell-bent on making friends with the general, but he knew she was in for a letdown. General Brushwood might be politer than the past leaders, but he was just as conniving, Korbin had seen it in his eyes when he had come to the old base.
They had been snooping; trying to get the secrets, trying to find something to hold over their heads to force the weapons from their grasp.
They are drowning out there, their military teams, and the mercs are all over it. They are trying to keep their heads above water, and making friends with the people who can do the job is the first order of business. After that, it’s all about power.
He walked into his office and sat down at his desk, thinking about the general. He wanted the weapons, but he didn’t know quite what to do to get his hands on them.
The weapons were the power in this situation, or at least Brushwood thought they were. Little did he know if the men couldn’t fight, if they were fragile humans, no weapons were going to make them better at demon-killing. They had teams of non-Damned trying to be superheroes, and it just wasn’t going to work. He shook his head and looked at a note sitting on top of the mess, which had his name written on it. He picked it up and unfolded it; it had Katie’s signature at the end.
Dear Korbin,
I knew this conversation would never happen face to face, so I figured I would write to you. Every day I watch the people on this team. I watch them laugh and cry. I watch them eat and sleep, and I watch them live…and I watch them die.
I see the power of family, and the power of friendships getting us through every part of life. I also notice the bond you and Stephanie have. It’s subtle, but everyone sees it. You guys really care about each other. You can try to hide it all day long, but that won’t make it go away.
One thing I’ve learned in this career or life or whatever you want to call it, is that tomorrow is not promised to us.
Hell, I guess no one really does, but it’s a crap shoot if we will wake up tomorrow morning.
You have a chance that not all of us will be given, and that is the chance to love again; to feel that bond between two people. I keep asking myself why the hell you wouldn’t take it.
You have to realize something: behind all the smiles, all the laughter, all the jokes, are individuals who are all missing something or someone in their lives.
Whether it is a past relationship or a congregation, we are all lonely in one way or another. Sure, we have each other; we have that family bond, but you know as well as I do that it is not the same as that deep-rooted intimacy you get from being in love with someone.
Stephanie will never push you or force you to open your eyes, but I love you both and I can’t keep my mouth shut.
Just ask Pandora.
I envy the two of you, having the opportunity to be in each other’s lives. To feel that connection with someone; that bond. I am jealous, because I am missing that in my own life.
Don’t let her get away, don’t wake up one day and wish you had loved her while you had the chance, because you may not have tomorrow.
Love,
Katie
Korbin sighed and set the letter down on his desk, rubbing his hand over his chin. He knew people had noticed the chemistry between him and Stephanie, but he hadn’t thought about it the way Katie had explained it.
He knew—maybe better than most—that tomorrow wasn’t promised to anyone, and at first that had been exactly the reason he hadn’t pursued anything with Stephanie.
He didn’t want to get close to someone he could lose at any moment. However, as time passed he had formed that bond; that connection with her that he had told himself not to. If she died tomorrow he would be just as broken-hearted as if his significant other had passed.
He cared about her, but things were complicated. They were stressful and political, and he didn’t know if it would be right for him
to pull her into that world.
He had noticed Stephanie long before she had changed back into her true self. Even as Mamacita, she’d had a spark that had pulled Korbin in like a magnet. She was loud and funny, and when she cared about something the passion was so strong you couldn’t hold it back. Still, taking the next step was terrifying.
And he wasn’t sure if he could do it.
Chapter 17
The Naval Air Station Joint Reserve Base was located just a handful of miles from the French Quarter in New Orleans. The base, which bustled twenty-four hours a day, housed several different branches of the military including the Army, the Marines, and of course the Navy.
On that day there were some third-class petty officers on deck, washing down the runways. They were gathered around the smoke deck taking a small break, watching the planes run in and out of the hangars. They all stared as the G5 jet touched down on the runway and slowly approached the building.
One of the petty officers whistled. “Would you look at that beauty? I’ve been here three years and two months, and all I’ve ever seen coming and going were military planes. This is definitely a first. I wonder who’s in that thing.”
“Probably some high-ranking captain’s wife and their snot-nosed teenage kids,” another guy offered with a chuckle. “They always get the VIP treatment around here; like this base is so fucking prestigious.”
“You’re just a booter,” the first guy replied with a laugh. “When’d you get out of basic? Like six months ago?”
“So?” he shot back. “I have my crow, don’t I? Same rank as you, and you have almost four years in the service.”
“We can’t all be fancy FCs put on light duty for a swollen wrist. I mean, how difficult is your job, anyway?”
The other guys laughed for a moment, then went silent. The jet’s stairs had been deployed and out walked Damian, dressed in his normal long coat, shirt, tie, and dress pants, hat tilted to the side. He walked down the stairs and waited for Katie, who stepped out dressed in all black, her pants tight, her shirt tight, and her body flowing with every step. She just about stunned every man who saw her. When she got to the bottom she gave a little hop, making all the guys clear their throats.
“Jesus, Mary, and Joseph,” one guy exclaimed, his cigarette barely hanging onto his lip.
“Who the hell are Father Scary-as-Fuck and his daughter, Hotter-than-Hell?” another wondered.
“I doubt that’s his daughter,” the first petty officer argued. “I don’t think priests are allowed to get anyone pregnant.”
“Like it's never happened.” The youngest petty officer stared, then shook his head. “I have to say, I’d love to be stuck in a confessional booth with her.”
“I’d say my Hail Marys every night,” another guy commented.
“You boys are pathetic,” the female petty officer as she pushed to the front. “All right, let me see who this chick is. Holy shit, she’s hot…and I like dick.”
“Fucking told you,” the younger guy said smugly. “Hot as hell.”
Pandora chuckled, since she could hear the conversation from the plane. They obviously appreciated the fine work she had put into her human; she was proud to say she had sculpted her perfectly. She purred to herself, barely audible to Katie.
My minor modifications have definitely done the trick. She snickered. The men are falling all over themselves.
What? Katie asked. What are you talking about?
Oh, nothing. Just your fan club over there in that gazebo.
Where? she asked, looking at the guys and watching them turn quickly away, acting like they weren’t staring at her tits and ass. You did this, didn’t you?
Don’t know what you’re talking about, Pandora replied, playing innocent.
I heard you. You said “minor modifications,” Katie growled. Two cup sizes almost overnight are not ‘minor modifications.’ You’ve made them so big and bouncy I can barely pull my shirt over them. I am going to have to start getting clothes specially made for me. I’m going to fucking look like Dolly Parton if you keep this shit up.
I don’t know who that is, but if this Parton lady has nice tits, then hell why not?
She’s like ninety years old and still has the tits of a twenty-something, Katie snapped. And she is respected in her community for her talent. Still, I don’t want to be known as “Tits McGee” for the rest of my life. You have got to stop it with the boobs.
May I remind you that you haven’t had to wear a bra in months unless you wanted to? Pandora scoffed. Even then, you could drape a tissue over them and it would do the same thing. At least I tried to make it so your nipples aren’t hard all the time. I know how much you’d love that.
I would murder you with my colon, Katie snarled. I’d explode my appendix so you would feel terrible.
Don’t act all high and mighty. I saw you checking yourself out in that little t-shirt dress we bought.
All right, Katie snapped. I admit it. Your augmentation of my breasts has actually been worth it. No more restricting bras, no more lines across my back, no more wires jabbing into my armpit from the bra coming undone. It has been a refreshing bit of freedom. I had to get used to it, but now that I have I enjoy it. They look good all the time.
See? I know what I am talking about.
No one believes I’m not wearing a bra, though. Katie chuckled. That lady last week at the store asked me if I was wearing one of those stick-em-on bra things. She couldn’t fathom that my breasts were just like that.
Then she asked where you got your implants done. Pandora laughed. She didn’t believe they were natural. She like argued with you for twenty minutes, ending with that lecture on being proud of who you are and the choices you made for your body. You should have just lied and given her the name of a doctor. Or better yet, given her my name and your cell so we could have caught her trying to book an appointment.
If you could do this to other women’s bodies from mine we would be billionaires. Katie snorted. We could call it “Mystic Boob Jobs.”
“Magic Tits.” Pandora laughed. Thank you for calling Magic Tits. Sorry we can’t get to the phone right now, but our boobs are too big.
Katie had to hold back her snickers as she hurried to catch up with Damian.
Dr. Handsy and the Bewitching Boob Job. Pandora laughed. I crack myself up.
“I’m Colonel Adams.” The man shook Katie’s and Damian’s hand before leading them past a building.
Katie jogged to keep up with him. She looked down the path they were walking and watched as a Blackhawk landed, keeping its engines running. She didn’t realize they would be taken somewhere so quickly, but she also had no idea where the general was.
“I’m your pilot,” he told them loudly as they got closer to the chopper.
“Where are we going?” Katie asked.
“We are going to an operation about twenty miles out of town. It started about an hour ago, and the team has already surrounded the place. The general is waiting there for you.”
Katie nodded and climbed into the back of the Blackhawk. After she buckled in she put on the headphones, and they lifted off the pad. When they had reached the correct altitude, they zoomed toward the incursion.
“Just relax,” the pilot suggested. “We will be there before you can write your name on a paper…legibly, that is.”
Katie grabbed her backpack and glanced at Damian, who nodded. They had their weapons on them, and both had their one bag. She wasn’t quite ready for an incursion, but at that point she didn’t have a choice. The general apparently didn’t play games. He was waiting for her there, and he would want to test the weapons right away. This was her life though; unexpected, always dangerous, and now political in nature.
“If you look ahead, you can see the plume of smoke,” the co-pilot told them. “That is where we are headed. One of the boiler rooms caught fire at the beginning of the incursion, but they report that the sprinkler system put out the blaze. We don’t think it had anythi
ng to do with the demons.”
Katie nodded and leaned back, holding onto the handle next to her head. As the helicopter reached the target they slowed and dropped onto a grassy area about five hundred feet from the building.
Damian slid the door open and jumped out. Katie folded the piece of paper in her hand and leaned forward to drop it into the pilot’s lap.
She smiled and winked at him before jumping out of the chopper and running after Damian.
“Oh, shit!” the co-pilot exclaimed. “She gave you her fucking number. Seriously, man, I have no idea how you do that. You said two words to her.”
“I guess I just got it that way.” He smirked.
“Are you gonna call her?”
“Hell, no! she’s one of those possessed fighter chicks. But shit does she have a nice pair of tits on her. It might be worth letting out the inner demon for that.”
“I would,” the co-pilot replied. “Fuck, I’d let anything she wanted out.”
“She’s probably a one-and-done, too,” the pilot mused. “You know, one of those girls who knows what she wants, takes it by the…dick in this case and gets hers, then no drama. Wipe your hands clean and walk off.”
“I’m already in love.” The co-pilot laughed.
They both looked out the window to where she was talking to one of the soldiers. They pointed toward the building and she nodded before glancing back at the helicopter. She smiled and her eyes flashed red as she blew them both a kiss before scurrying after Damian and the soldier.
“Be still my, motherfucking heart,” the co-pilot moaned. “I think I just came in my fucking pants.”
“That’s why you’re still single.” The pilot laughed. “You gotta finesse a woman; show her who’s boss. A girl like that secretly wants to be dominated. She doesn’t want to always be in charge. I would definitely do my best to show her who’s boss.”
“Open the note, man! See if she said anything,” the co-pilot demanded.
The pilot unfolded the note and laughed before looking down, then his face dropped and he tilted his head. The co-pilot looked confused, unsure why he was having that reaction. Finally, the pilot held up the paper—and on it was her name, neatly written five times in perfect cursive.