by Jan Stryvant
"I'm sure they already know about airpower, Chad. They have agents here already."
"It's one thing to hear about it; it's another thing to actually be subjected to it."
"How long do you think you're going to be able to pull surprises out of your hat once the main gate opens?"
"Is that why you sicced Adam on me?"
"Partially," Sean sighed, "but don't you think we'd rather see their surprises now, when we can wipe the field clean after the gate closes?"
"The next three months are going to be hell," Chad said, shaking his head.
"How many people do we have now, anyway?"
Chad smiled. "We now have thirty thousand lycans trained up, another twenty thousand in advanced training, and forty thousand in support."
Sean stopped and looked at Chad.
"What?"
"You heard me."
"Where the hell are they? We've got what, six thousand here, plus what Jack brought?"
"Actually we've got almost ten thousand here today, plus Jack brought another ten."
"Well were the hell are these new ones?"
"Some are training the newcomers; others I'm starting to garrison around the area for when the main gate comes along. We've got more than enough to handle these temporary gates, I'm not really that worried about them anymore. It's the big one I care about now."
"So we've gained what, a hundred thousand since the gates started to open?"
"More, actually. But our casualties in the first four months were pretty horrendous," Chad said with a wince.
"Yeah, I remember," Sean said and winced as well. "So we got what? Fifty thousand soldiers here?"
"Yes and no. Jack's people are mobile, well-trained, and very effective. The ones you, me, and Claudia have been sending in are also well-trained, very effective, and mobile. These new ones? The ones in training? I'm going to talk to Jack about splitting them between his two regiments and see if we can't get them more experience over the next few months before the big fight."
"So when did all this happen?" Sean asked, collapsing back into the chair. "Why wasn't I told?"
"It happened while you were off playing Captain Kirk and exploring strange new worlds," Chad said with a laugh. "What, you think things stopped while you were gone for a month?"
"Captain Kirk?" Sean asked, looking over at Chad.
Chad smirked. "You got the only girl on the entire planet, Jim."
Sean couldn't help himself, he laughed. "Just watch out I don't buy you a red shirt!"
"I think I actually burned all those back when you gave me this job."
"Can't say I blame you. But honestly, we have half a million lycans in the country and only, what, a quarter showed up?"
"Well, we have a steady stream of them still coming in; it's not easy for a lot of them to get here. From what the other lycan leaders have been telling me, they've sent back at least half for being too old or too young, so they've been passing the word back that only those who can fight, or support those who are fighting, should come here."
Sean nodded. "I guess that makes sense. It's way too easy to hear a number, think it's the sum total of what's available, and forget all about the other factors."
"I'm also considering sending some of the trained groups back where they came from, just in case any marauding bands show up."
Sean nodded. "Sounds like a good idea."
"So, the next window doesn't open until Friday. Got any plans?"
Sean shook his head.
"Max wants to have a barbeque tomorrow night, why not come over?"
"A barbeque in March?"
"Yeah, well, we're all meat eaters now, right?" Chad winked. "Plus the new house isn't done yet, so we pretty much have to eat outside. But I got some heaters set up and all that. So why not?"
Sean nodded. "One last time to try and pretend all is normal before all hell breaks loose, right?"
"Definitely."
"Well, I think I'm gonna hitch a ride out of here, then call Steve and let him yell at me for a while."
"How much longer are you going to leave him there, anyway?"
"I don't know. Why, do you know something I don't?"
"You did just piss off an entire country; might be wise to bring everyone back here until things cool down."
"You're right. Though I think he was having delusions of running the place."
"With Steve, you never really know if they're delusions or not, do you?" Chad said with snort.
Sean could only nod in agreement.
The trip back was refreshing. Most of the troops in the back wanted to sleep, so there wasn't much talking. Just a couple of months ago, Sean would have been one of the last to leave, wanting to check on everything and everybody. Now?
Now he'd gotten used to it, and he had other people to do that, so he let them.
When they landed, he walked into the armor room and hung all his gear up. Someone would come by to clean everything for him, the joys of support personnel. He stumbled over to the shower, washed off, then came back to where he'd dumped his clothes, which were still there, except somebody had washed and folded them, leaving his wallet and other things, like his pistol, stacked on top of them.
Shifting back to human, he got dressed and headed for the house. It was late, after one in the morning. Sitting on the couch waiting for him was Carl Mince from the Secret Service.
"Carl, you're probably the last person I'd expect to see. What's up?"
"It's Germany," Carl said with a shake of his head. "Something I'm sure you'd rather not hear about."
"What, they send you here to arrest me?" Sean asked, going over to one of the overstuffed chairs and dropping into it.
Carl snorted. "Even the US Marshals know better than to try that. No, this is something else. Did you hear about the videos we got from the security cams?"
Sean nodded. "I heard about it. Haven't seen any of them, though."
"Well, the German leadership all saw them, too. Including their chancellor. At first everyone there thought they were fakes, until the ambassador's wife showed up and told them it was all true."
"So I'm off the hook then, right?"
"Unfortunately, the German government doesn't want to share this news with the public. They're afraid it would 'cause a panic'," Carl said, making air quotes with his fingers.
"More like a loss of faith in a government that's being run by djevels."
"Yeah, that too."
"And this is my problem how?"
"They want you, or somebody like you, to help them root out those who are possessed or have sold out to the other side, of course."
Sean looked at Carl in shock. "What? They want me to help them, while they're going around trying to have me killed or captured and tried as a criminal?"
"And that's why I got 'volunteered' to be the one to tell you. But yeah, that's about the size of it. They won't tell the truth to anybody about what happened, and they want your help on top of it to boot."
"Talk about gall," Sean said while shaking his head. "The answer is probably going to be no. I've got too much on my plate here to just walk away from it all. Tell them if they really want our help, they need to repeal that damn 'lycanthrope ban' they just passed."
"They'd have to tell Parliament then, and from what we've heard, they don't even want to do that."
"Then there's no way they're going to get anybody's help. Make sure they understand that. Nobody's going to set foot in their country if it means they can go to jail."
"They're willing to guarantee the safety of whoever goes."
"Not good enough. Tell me, did the chancellor know about the attempt on my life before it took place?"
"We don't know for sure. We know she didn't okay it, however."
"But she didn't stop it either, right?"
"I'm not sure that's a fair statement, Sean. There's every possibility, in the short amount of time they had to go after you, that they went with a lower level of approval. It may even be that the ambassador did
it on his own."
Sean conceded the point. "Well, if he didn't, you can tell them to start with whoever did approve it. Did the chancellor know about the attack on my ranch?"
Carl's expression turned sour. "Yeah, they knew about that one."
"Well, Carl, sounds to me like they're shit outta luck. Because ain't no one gonna set foot in Germany until that law is repealed. They do that, and maybe, maybe, I'll help them. But not a moment before."
"What about the lycans already in Germany?"
"There aren't any. Well, not anymore. We pulled them out."
"When did you do that?"
"Right after they tried to kill me," Sean said, then smiled. "If they don't think the demons are a problem, they're welcome to fight them all by themselves."
"That's a lot of people to condemn to death, Sean. There's over 80 million people there."
"Then maybe their leaders need to pull their heads out of their asses and think of them first? Besides, like they said, the gates are over here, and there's an ocean between us and them. Anyway, I'm tired, and obviously cranky. Make yourself at home, we can talk more tomorrow, I guess. But you can tell everyone right now they gotta repeal that law, one way or the other, before anything else happens."
"Before you go, what's this about a break in the gates?"
"There's a chart hanging on the wall in the conference room; go take a look at it. I'll explain it in the morning. I know I shared it with General Baker, but I guess it didn't make the rounds."
Carl nodded. "Night, Sean."
"Night, Carl."
Getting up and yawning, Sean headed off to bed.
§
"Hey, Dad. Looks like I got a new problem," Sean said, padding over to the First and flopping down with a sigh.
"Well it can't be too bad, because I haven't heard anything from Adam or Tisha yet."
Sean sighed and shook his head. "The German government wants our help weeding out the demons and the traitors in their government. Turns out they had video on the entire fight in the ambassador's office, too. They also talked to his wife.
"So they asked our government to ask me to come over there and help them."
"What'd you tell them?"
"That I wouldn't even think of it until they repealed the lycan ban. Carl, the guy from the Secret Service they sent to tell me about the offer, said they don't want to admit to the legislature, or worse yet, their people, that they fucked up and have been compromised. So I told him, no repeal, no deal."
"I take it you haven't heard the German response to that yet?"
Sean shook his head. "No, but Carl did make a valid point, Dad."
"Which was?"
"There are over eighty million people in Germany. I don't think I can condemn that many people to death just 'cause they voted for assholes."
"Also, giving that many people to the demons to eat would make them a lot more powerful than we'd like, I'm sure," the First agreed.
Sean swore. "I hadn't even thought about that. Do you think that would affect the whole permanent gate balance problem?"
The First shook his head. "We haven't gotten any solid numbers on it yet, but a pretty sizeable percentage of the population would have to swap sides. The wandering gates are small, and they move. So I don't think they'd be able to push enough people through to make a difference."
"So eating them doesn't affect the balance?"
"No, eating them just makes them stronger. But now I have another concern."
"Which is?"
"We've known for a while, on both sides, where the main gates were going to be, right?"
Sean nodded. "That's what you and the others told me."
"But all the magic users have been prophesizing doom for Europe, and now we're learning that the demons made quite an investment over there. Both the Vestibulum and the German government were hit hard, in Europe."
"I'm not sure I follow, Dad."
"It's very hard for demons to get here when there isn't a gateway. They have to travel a very long and arduous path that most of them won't survive. Even when they get here, possessing someone is a difficult and not always successful task, unless you've prepared them for it. Finding and getting people to sell out to you is also a very difficult accomplishment."
"Okay, I think I follow so far."
"So why would they focus so much effort on Europe, when everyone knows the main gates are going to be in North and South America?"
"How many wandering gates are there?" Sean asked as he started to see where the First was going with this.
"No one's ever been quite sure. It seems to be two or three, but we know they can also open up in seas and oceans."
"What happens then?"
"No idea really, they tend to open on the seabed, so the general consensus is that the demons drown. Estrella told us she never saw any bodies of water there, or heard anyone talk about them."
"So the demons believe there's going to be a wandering gate in Europe, probably Germany, and everybody is already set to fight here. Nobody in Europe is expecting a thing."
"Oh, we have people there. However, we weren't expecting an all-out attack through one of them, either. The wandering portals are small, and they move often. It's pretty much a one-way trip for any demons coming through one."
"Yeah, but with this much food waiting for them, they probably don't care," Sean pointed out.
"I don't think they're smart enough to care," the First grumbled. "I'm going to have to talk to Estrella again."
"Why?"
"To see what she knows about the wandering portals—or rather, what the demons know. If this is part of King Sladd's plans, our lives may be getting a lot more difficult."
Sean nodded. "They sure won't be getting any easier. I'll let you know what kind of response I get."
"Good, and in any case, you're not going."
"What, Chad got to you too?" Sean joked.
"No, there's just too great a possibility that this is a trap. But you may want to make some more tag and collar machines."
"Yeah, I can see where they might be needed. Night, Dad."
"Goodnight."
See The Light
Sitting down in the visitor's room, Betty made herself comfortable as one of the sheriffs led her father out and sat him down in a chair on the other side of a piece of heavy glass, just like she'd seen in the movies.
"Betty, darling! You're okay!" her father Geoffrey said. "They told us you were shot!"
Betty nodded; they'd only just let her out of the hospital this morning. She was still weak, and still healing. She had a bandage she needed to change twice a day, and stitches she'd have to get out in another week.
"Yes," Betty sighed, "we were. That's why they let us go. The DA decided he didn't want to charge us, and without the government picking up the bill, we were all discharged a few hours ago." She looked up at her father. "I don't have any money, Daddy. I have no place to stay, and no way to get back home."
"I heard Pastor Cross got away, why don't you find him?"
"Don't you know, Daddy?" Betty said, looking at him in shock. "He's the one who shot me!"
"Hush your mouth, Betty. Pastor Cross is a fine and upstanding man! Don't you go besmirching his name because of what someone else told you!"
"Daddy! I saw it! I was looking right at him when he shot me! Best me and the other girls can figure is he didn't want the lycans getting their hands on his women!"
"What the hell are you talking about, Betty? How can you say such things! Did the devil come and tell you that?"
Betty looked at her father and was shocked at the anger she saw in his eyes.
"The only devil I know is Pastor Cross! He shot me, Daddy! Me! I was carrying his baby, and he still shot me! And I lost it because he shot me in the gut!"
"What!" her father thundered from the other side of the visiting room glass. "What foolishness is this!"
"I was sleeping with him, Daddy. He told me he loved me! He said it was my God give
n duty to give him a child! Why do you think I was always going over to his place and staying there so late all the time!"
"How dare you say such a thing! Those foul lycans got their hands on you and corrupted you! Pastor Cross is a good and humble man!"
"But it's true, Daddy! It's all true! He was lying with me, and told me he loved me! He got me pregnant, Daddy! I was carrying his child! And still, he, he shot me!"
"I told you to stop with your lies! I shoulda known you'd turn out to be no better than your mother! Begone from here! Your lies hold no sway with me! And you're no child of mine!"
Tears forming in her eyes, Betty got up painfully from the chair and made her way to the exit.
"You're just another slut like your mom! Tempting men to stray from the straight and narrow! I should never have taken you in!" her father screamed as she left the room. She would have run out the front door if she'd been strong enough. Instead she fixed her gaze on the exit, ignored the sympathetic looks from the deputies, went outside, found a bench, sat down, and cried.
She had nothing, she had no one. The other women had all gone their separate ways the moment they'd stepped outside. She couldn't even try to call one, because she didn't have a cellphone. Her father had said they were the tools of the devil. Everything her father didn't like was a tool of the devil.
And now, apparently, so was she.
#
"I'm still not sure this is a good idea," Stewart said as April, Rachel, and he shepherded the four girls through downtown Reno. He and Jolene had been working on them for almost a week now, and Jolene had told him the girls needed to get out for a while.
Both Rachel and April had been very hot on the idea; they wanted to spend some time downtown, too, and to be perfectly honest, all four of the girls were nice, even if they tended to flirt a lot, and most of their ideas seemed to always run to sex.
Stewart's next complaint was one guy with six beautiful women was just asking for trouble, especially when the word 'no' didn't exist for four of them. Thankfully Sean's edict about no one leaving the property unarmed worked in his favor there. The three of them, Rachel, April, and him, were all openly carrying pistols. That seemed to be keeping most of the guys at bay.