Never Forsaken (The Kurtherian Gambit Book 5) Read online

  So he did. With his back haunches pressed against the wall he attacked, aiming to take a bite of her face. Bethany Anne casually slapped him upside the head and his whole body flipped ass over appetite three times. He was on his back with Bethany Anne holding him by the neck, her red eyes and fangs starring him in the eyes. He started whining, giving up trying to best her.

  She released him and he turned back over, staying down. “If you try that shit with me again, Ashur, I will bitch slap you from the front to the back of this boat, and it is one long fucking boat.” She walked back to pick up the two towels while Ashur stayed two paces behind her.

  Gabrielle stayed by the door. “Remind me not to get into a pissing match with you.”

  Bethany Anne smiled at the vampire, “You’ve tried, remember?”

  Gabrielle thought about their sword fight when Bethany Anne had her fangs on her neck, “Yes, no need to revisit that again.”

  They laughed together and walked out of the workroom towards the front. Bethany Anne wanted Ashur to get accustomed to the ship and the people accustomed to him. If he was going to cause any trouble, she wanted to get it over with now.

  Fortunately, it seemed that one trial for dominance was all Ashur needed so far. He only snapped one time when Eric was going to pass Bethany Anne from the back while she was talking with Dan. Eric was trying to pass them in the hall. Eric jumped aside and laughed off the adrenaline charge and then continued towards the room where Pete’s group was working out.

  Hmm, it seemed Ashur had her back. Good to know.

  San Jose, Costa Rica

  Giannini Oviedo wasn’t a tall woman, she topped out at 5’ 2”. However, if you believed the talk on the streets she easily topped 6 feet. With her articles discussing two of the attacks from personal experience, the only reporter to have articles with eyewitness reporting, she had the respect of those at her newspaper and the people on the street.

  Presently, she was cleaning up her living room. She had decided to stay home for the day and take care of some normal challenges. Even her best friend had been a little embarrassed when he learned she had been saved by the Ángeles Oscuros the night he wouldn’t join her on the street.

  She had the only pictures, as dark as they were, of the team that had been in the fight at the park. The rights for printing the images had provided enough income to pay her rent for the next three months. Now, if she could use the acclaim from her exploits to move up the reporting ladder at work, she would be golden.

  The sharp tone of her phone ringing broke her out of her mental woolgathering. She took a look at the phone number and realized it was her contact from the police, she hit the accept button. ”Good morning, Super Intendent, how are you doing this morning?”

  Rodriquez’s voice was crisp but she sounded annoyed, “Good morning Giannini, I’m well thank you. I just had a visit from the American intelligence group based here in our country. Unfortunately, I wasn’t thinking, because I was angry with the agent, and mentioned that you were the one who had the information they might be needing. Expect them to be calling on you, or at least one man sometime this morning. Watch them, I’m not happy that they come here asking questions and expect us to just lay over for them. Sometimes, Americans lack common courtesy.” There was a heavy sigh on the phone, “It could be that I am just upset and not thinking well. He didn’t give me a good feeling. My meeting may have been with a low level contact and safe, but take care of yourself, okay?”

  Giannini thought it wasn’t often Rodriguez came across as caring on the phone. She was often a very prim and proper Costa Rican Police Super Intendent, so Giannini felt a little warm from the effort on her behalf. “Of course, I will pay attention and make sure that I don’t close my front door should they want to talk. Do you believe I should just close up and try to meet them elsewhere?” The pause on the other end of the line was a bit telling.

  “No, I don’t think he intends any harm to you right now. However, if you feel bad after he leaves, then call me back and we will see what we can do to help you. Your articles have been beneficial, and I appreciate you telling the story of our lost brothers and sisters who died fighting those beasts. For a reporter, Giannini, you’re not so bad.” Her smile finally broke through on the phone, “Call me later and let me know how it goes, okay?”

  “Of course, Super Intendent, I will be happy to do so.” They said their goodbyes and Giannini hung up.

  Giannini completed the cleaning of her living room and was working on her kitchen when there was a knock at her door. She set aside her dishrags and dried off her hands. Walking to the front door she looked through the keyhole to see one man standing out there, he definitely looked American. She called through the door asking who he was. The visitor answered that he was with the government and would she mind providing some additional insight to questions regarding her articles?

  Giannini noticed he failed to say what government he belonged to. Mind you, she thought, he might not want to advertise that the Americans were looking around for something out in her hallway. She cracked the door open a few inches, “Yes? What questions can I answer for you?”

  “May I come in, ma’am?” if she hadn’t known what nationality he was before, his vernacular certainly would have given him away.

  “I’m sorry, Mr.?” Giannini left the question hanging.

  Matthew wanted to kick himself, “Matthew Burnside, I apologize for not mentioning that a moment ago.”

  “Mr. Burnside, I’m sure you understand why a single lady would be concerned with allowing a strange man to enter her home, yes?” She noticed the flush on his face.

  Matthew looked up the hallway and the down the other side, he certainly wouldn’t be pushing his way into her home so he had to make a decision whether to ask his questions here in the hallway, or perhaps try to meet her at the police station or her workplace. Both of those places would probably garner him more attention than his boss would prefer. “Yes, I can understand that.”

  He proceeded to ask her questions related to both nights where she had interactions with the spec-ops team. He paid close attention to any details on the helicopter she could provide, and the makeup of the team. He was surprised to learn two of the team members were females. He asked her the same question, three different ways, to confirm this answer and she was adamant she saw two females in the group.

  “And you say they were carrying a dog back to the helicopter at the end?” Matthew was continuing to write down all of the notes in his little book. It had become uncomfortable to hold and write in his hand so he had his book pressed up against the wall next to her door to provide something to write on.

  Matthew had called his contact after his previous interview failed with the police. The contact on the phone had asked if he needed backup for this conversation in a tone which suggested Matthew had no spine. Matthew rejected the help. Therefore, he was a little relieved to be able to acquire some information that had not already been provided in the newspapers. After his debacle with the Super Intendent, he was on his best manners trying desperately not to offend this contact.

  He said his goodbyes after making sure Ms. Oviedo understood his appreciation for taking her time to answer his questions. He went downstairs and exited her building, turning left. He hadn’t made it one block before an American male a little taller than Matthew with dark hair stepped out from the side of the building and caught his attention. “Matthew?” Matthew stepped over to him

  “Yes, who are you?”

  The man gave Matthew his name and the name of the contact that had been able to get Matthew out of bed this morning. Matthew frowned, “I told your boss I didn’t need any back up this morning.”

  The man put up both hands, “Hey, don’t jump my back on this either. I was told to come down here in case anything didn’t work out. All I need to know is whether or not you got the information?”

  Matthew nodded, “Yes, she was very cordial and was willing to give me some extra information that
wasn’t included in her articles. Not that there was a lot available, her editor allowed her to print most anything she wanted. I have a few bits of information, such as the team makeup, but not a lot that we’re going to be able to use directly at this time. I’m sure we will get reports where we will be able to correlate her information with something out in the field and make a match.”

  “So, this information well is dry?”

  Matthew wasn’t sure he liked how this guy phrased his question. It could be Matthew was just tired and was getting rubbed the wrong way by having someone sent as a backup when he hadn’t needed it. “Perhaps Ms. Oviedo will remember something in the future; however, I feel confident right now she has told us everything that she knows, or remembers. Maybe something in the future will jar her memory.”

  The man looked up at Giannini’s building, as if he knew that she lived on the third floor and was looking right at her window, “Maybe something will.” Matthew said his goodbye and continued to where he had parked his car.

  Up in the apartment, Giannini slowly stepped back from her window, concerned at what she had just witnessed.

  CHAPTER TWELVE

  The Queen Bitch’s Ship Ad Aeternitatem

  Marcus Cambridge was feeling a little overwhelmed. He was in his stateroom on the Ad Aeternitatem and his whole world was upside down.

  There really were aliens and he wasn’t able to tell those who had fired him they could go fuck themselves.

  Okay, maybe he should clean up his language. But to be proved right after years and years of ridicule released a lot of emotions for him. He had met Bethany Anne, and she alone would have been mind-boggling.

  The infinitesimally small nanocytes that must have modified her body at a genetic level would be worth decades of research, the fact people labeled her a vampire was, in his opinion, an example of inaccurate associations with folklore. Well, a more accurate take would be the ignorant from a thousand years ago didn’t have the scientific knowledge to recognize the opportunity.

  She was a human with gene modifications. Although, he had to admit, her red eyes and growing fangs were pretty damn scary. It was a good thing he still had his bladder control at his age. Now, he was about to see an actual UFO, and put his hands on it. He had a meeting with the project lead, Bobcat, the one who had asked for a rocket scientist and forever changed Marcus’s life.

  Marcus hoped he would never have to go back to California ever again. At least, not because he got fired, for a scientist he was in heaven.

  He had been fired from the National Aeronautics and Space Administration, the most advanced governmental space exploration agency in the world. He had been fired from Space-X, one of the preeminent commercial space exploration companies in the world. Only to find himself involved in a group that were centuries ahead of either one of them. While he might not live to see it, his name would be vindicated in history. Even from the grave, he would certainly have the last laugh.

  He smiled, the first genuine smile he had been able to produce in months. Life was forever going to be interesting until the day he died. He got up from his bed, grabbed a light jacket and decided to be early to the meeting place with Bobcat.

  Five minutes later, Bobcat entered the conference room with a smile on his face and papers rolled up underneath his arm. They introduced themselves to each other, and Marcus found himself liking the down to earth project head. Unlike a lot of project heads who, in Marcus’s opinion, only focused on due dates and due times and how to stay in budget, Bobcat was worried about results and safety. Actually, Bobcat was more worried about safety and results be damned unless the vehicles got his people from point A to point B safely. Marcus quickly found himself tasked with understanding how to move a rocket type object with completely new propulsion systems and gravity defying capabilities. Then they started discussing the materials necessary to accomplish this feat. They discussed the second version would do everything the first version would accomplish along with going into space.

  Marcus was looking around and Bobcat asked him what he needed. Marcus answered, “I’m looking for something to drink, maybe some soda?”

  Bobcat had the first look of alarm Marcus had seen on his face, “Please God, tell me you are not a Pepsi drinker?”

  Marcus looked at him strangely. “No, why? Well, I could drink a Pepsi if I had to but my preference is either a Dr Pepper or a Coke.”

  Bobcat exhaled, “Because the head boss is strictly a Coke person. She believes Pepsi, well let’s just say that Pepsi is the devils brew. It got so bad that her personal support specialist had hidden a couple of Pepsi’s for those in the group that liked the drink and Bethany Anne found them. I wasn’t here at the time; however, I understand that half the ship woke up to her screams when Bethany Anne placed two frozen Pepsi’s against her skin as she was sleeping. Now, I’m not sure what Ecaterina is going to do, but I don’t think we have heard the last of the little war between the two women because Ecaterina has bigger balls than I do, that’s for damn sure.”

  “Why, what do you drink?” Marcus was enjoying this little story and curious which direction Bobcat went, Coke or Pepsi.

  “Beer.”

  “No, I mean for breakfast. What would you have for breakfast if you could drink anything?”

  Bob just looked at the man, “Beer.”

  Marcus smiled, “I am sensing a consistency to your answer. Am I to presume you only drink beer?”

  Bobcat smiled back, “No, I drink coffee as well but you did ask me if I could drink anything.”

  Marcus laughed at that, “Okay, you got me. Getting back on track here, what do you think our budget is for this project?”

  Bobcat laid his hands down on the drawings, “I don’t want there to be any misunderstandings with this answer, as we just had on my beer answer. So, let me make this quite clear that.” Bobcat paused, “We. Have. No. Budget.”

  Bobcat grabbed a pen, drew a triangle on a piece of paper. He labeled the top tip of the triangle “time”, the next point was “quality” the last point was “cost”.

  “They always say that you can have something that has high quality really fast, but not cheap. Bethany Anne is all about high quality and really, really fast. She doesn’t give a damn about the cost so long as we get it done by yesterday. Make sense?”

  Marcus looked down at the piece of paper Bobcat had just written on, “I feel like I just found the end of the rainbow and dug up the pot of gold. My man, we are going to design, build, and make history!”

  Bobcat glanced back down where Marcus was looking, “True, unfortunately no one is going to know about it for a while.”

  “Yes, however, they will know about it in the future and I hope to still be alive and able shove it down their throats.” Both men laughed.

  Bobcat looked up at Marcus, a glint in his eye, “Want to see a real alien spaceship?”

  The Queen Bitch's Ship Polarus

  Ecaterina knocked on Bethany Anne’s door, and then walked in when Bethany Anne called out to her. Her boss was reading on her laptop in bed, getting a better understanding of some of the businesses her father was reviewing, specifically those which were related to blood disorders. She looked up, “What’s up?”

  Ecaterina sat down on a chair, “I just had a conversation with the San Jose Police Department contact. It seems we have a potential issue with our reporter down there.” Bethany closed her laptop and gave Ecaterina her undivided attention. “Some agents from the United States are looking into our efforts to clean up the city from a few weeks ago.”

  Bethany Anne frowned, “Well, that’s a real pain in the ass. I wonder how Michael’s team dealt with this? Never mind, Frank always did it and we have been trying to keep Frank off the radar. It looks like we need to get him involved again with this.”

  “Yes, I have talked with Frank. However, he informs me that the situation has already gone too far for anything he can do in the short term.”

  Bethany Anne put her elbow on the lapto
p, resting her chin in her hand, “Why is it I get the impression I haven’t heard the rest of the appeal?”

  Ecaterina said, “Our police contact has requested our help in trying to extract the reporter. That is what you call it, extract, correct? Anyway, she wants us to help get her out of the city and away from the American agents.”

  Bethany Anne pondered this for a minute. While she had no direct connection with the reporter, she did like her spunk and the articles she wrote helped calm the city down. “Okay, we don’t forsake our own, and while she doesn’t know much about us, she has been helpful. Let’s get Gabrielle and the team together and send some people with Bobcat and Shelley to San Jose and pick her up. Who knows, maybe she can be helpful to us at the same time.”

  Ecaterina went to the door, opened it and called out to Darrell who was on station and requested he grab the rest of the team for a quick meeting.