It's Hell to Choose Read online

  John was just pulling his arms out of her Pod so she looked over the edge and noticed a small cooler. The kind used to carry extra blood for her in case she needed it.

  John smiled, “I’m supposed to be your backup, right?”

  She slugged him on the arm and jumped up to her seat, slid her legs in the Black Eagle and dropped down. “You good back there Ashur?” His chuff gave her all the information she needed. She hit the close hatch button. “Let’s go fuck someone up, shall we?”

  The hatch above started to open to let the Pods leave.

  Are we going to 11 again? TOM inquired.

  Damn right we are, she replied.

  In the darkness, the ten pods could not be seen leaving.

  —

  TOM, pull me pretty close to AKIO.

  Bethany Anne could see a Pod pull out of the pack and drift in her direction. It was about twenty feet away when she reached out to capture his attention. She could feel activity, like a small wet buzzing in that direction and insinuated her thoughts into the electrical ball.

  Akio?

  Yes? Is this Bethany Anne?

  It is. I want to make sure we have mind communication figured out before we land.

  I did not know you had this power as strongly as Michael.

  I don’t like to use it as much as Michael. Therefore, I am untrained in its use compared to him. However, we don’t want to speak out loud after we land. I will leave you to command the Elite for this operation. I want blood with these deaths. Make sure that we leave a message that something very abnormal happened here. No bodies of ours, if we should have any that fall, will be left behind. No Pods will touch the ground. If there are trees, we shall jump to them and then to the ground. Anything to confuse those that will seek answers.

  Do we hide the bodies?

  Hell no! Pull them out if they are in trucks or cars. I would prefer no bullets, but if you can’t get to them, then shoot them. No one will be getting away from us tonight.

  Understood, my Queen.

  Very well, I will let you talk with your team.

  —

  Khasan was ready. For the past couple of hundred years, his people had too often been ruled by those in Moscow. With the death of Stalin, the Chechens that he had forcibly sent to Siberia were allowed to return home, but that left over ten thousand who would not return. Presently, Russia needed the Chechen land to reach both the Black Sea and the Caspian Sea. They also needed the access for oil pipelines that went through Chechen land.

  In 2006, the separatist leader Shamil Basayev was killed by the Russian internal security forces and the Chechen separatist effort was still reeling from his death.

  Khasan was ready to put his foot down and make Russia realize that Chechen independence was a bitter pill, but better to swallow it than deal with the deaths he and his people would create. Like today.

  They would meet as a group and then travel north into Elista. It was the capital of the Kalmykia Republic and had just over a hundred-thousand people. Big enough that their effort would not go unnoticed.

  Khasan was being driven in an old Toyota truck through the Caucasus mountains. The groups would meet, agree on the next location and then take off with a little distance between each vehicle. Should anyone get stopped, a quick decision would be made whether to help them or sacrifice them. Everyone understood that the decision was going to be based on whether the support would help or hinder their current operation.

  He had forty-seven fighters with him on this operation. It was ten more than he expected initially, but five fewer than the number that had agreed to help. Those five had been pulled by the local leader to support a different operation.

  It was about three thirty in the morning when their truck lights highlighted the beaten up old sign pointing to the small road of their rendezvous. The Toyota might have a lot of dents and gashes along the side, but it was a well-made little truck that could be expected to continue working even when the outside looked like it would fall apart at any moment.

  When they arrived at the meeting place, there were four other trucks already waiting. Including the van which held the weapons. Khasan opened his passenger door and got out. He closed the door quietly and walked over to greet the other men. Between the five vehicles, they had about half the number so far that were committed to show up. He went over to the van, and one of the men opened the back door for him. He lifted up a submachine gun and reviewed the barrel.

  Clean.

  He set it down and counted the five RPG and twelve IED devices that they would use both inside the school for maximum death and to fire back at police.

  Satisfied that the equipment was what he was led to believe it would be, he grunted his acceptance and turned around. Three more vehicles, one a large van, came up the little road. The road was dark because of all the spruce and fir trees; a lot of the starlight was blocked from above.

  He whistled softly in the dark, waiting for the final two vehicles, both vans, to arrive. It took a few minutes, but he finally heard the last two coming up the rocky road. One pulled in behind the last car on the right. The other turned to the left.

  He waited for the men to gather around him before he stepped on the bumper of the van with the guns and grabbed the top to stand up and get a little height. This helped those in the back to see him. For operational security, there would be no car lights running. He was annoyed with the many men smoking, but decided to pick his battles strategically.

  “We come together to make the mother bear understand that Chechens have been under their yoke, their chains, for too many years. Too many generations have been subjugated by the uncaring sociopaths in Moscow!” The men cheered the start of his speech.

  “The world has forgotten our efforts, our servitude here in Chechnya due to other events. This lack of attention is allowing those that would rule our free people the opportunity to strangle us, to keep us down and to push back into the obscurity of history the thousands upon thousands of our people Russia has killed. The thousands of our children who lost mothers, fathers, aunts and uncles. The tens of thousands who will never see life because our people never married and had more children.”

  “In twelve hours, we will make them remember the horrors their parents and parents’ parents did to us, and what their government is doing to Chechnya even today!” The roars of the men invigorated Khasan and made him feel strong enough to walk up to Putin himself and kill the man.

  Khasan continued, “In a few hours, WE will be the ones who…”

  DIE!

  The mental scream reverberated in Khasan’s brain. He looked around to find the person who yelled at him, but he could see nothing but his men, looking back at him.

  That was when those in the back started screaming and the occasional burst of gunfire cracked through the night.

  CHAPTER EIGHTEEN

  TQB Base, Colorado - USA

  Michael’s Pod arrived in the landing area. No sooner had the door cracked open, than he changed to myst and screamed through the base to arrive at the Pit.

  He found Lance, Kevin, Eric, Scott, Darryl, Cheryl Lynn, Patricia, Jakob and three others looking at data coming in. ADAM’s voice came out of the speakers.

  “I have located the bus traveling through Downtown Denver. I have not confirmed if they continued through Denver, or are located within the City limits.”

  “Thank you, ADAM,” Lance spoke. “Darryl, Scott.” The two men peeled out of the group and started up the stairs.

  Darryl called over his shoulder, “Pod or car?”

  Michael switched to a solid form, surprising everyone, “Pod.” Darryl raised his eyebrows at Michael’s sudden appearance. He nodded to Michael, as he and Scott jogged out of the meeting room.

  Michael stepped down to the bottom level and shook Lance’s hand, “Hello.”

  Lance nodded, “She called you in, I see.” Michael just nodded. “You will probably be our ace in the hole, Michael.”

  “What are you expect
ing?” Michael responded.

  Lance turned to look at a map of Denver up on the wall monitors. “I’m expecting something stupid, frankly. Jakob thinks this is an extortion effort, and Kevin thinks it is a distraction.”

  Michael looked over to Kevin, “Draw us out of here?” Kevin nodded. “Possible, very possible.” He looked at the map, “It won’t change the fact we have to get those kids away, safe.”

  “Without Bethany Anne, we don’t have any super spies but you” Lance mentioned. “Those kids are going to need your help.”

  “I agree.” Michael mused.

  ADAM’s voice spoke, “We have a ‘for your eyes only’ email coming in from an undisclosed IP address. Routing suggests it originated within the Denver area. Bethany Anne has forwarded it to you.”

  “Has she seen it?” Lance inquired.

  “No, she requested I forward to this team. They are about to spring their trap.”

  “What does it contain?” Kevin asked.

  “Video,” ADAM replied.

  “Play it,” Michael intoned.

  The video showed the bus with the children parked in a garage. Then, the camera was carried onto the bus itself, and those watching could see blood smears on the driver's seat. The camera turned to view the occupants.

  Michael heard Cheryl Lynn gasp when Todd and Tina were on the screen. Both were about two-thirds of the way back. There were three adults towards the back as well.

  “As you can see,” the modified voice said, “everyone but the driver and one other female are safe. Unfortunately for both of them, they didn’t get the memo that everyone would go home just fine when we received our demands.”

  The person controlling the camera turned around, and Michael could see the outside of the bus, and that they looked to be underground. There were brief images of other men outside and armed.

  They were expecting an attack. A car was heard, and the camera operator moved to see who it was. “PAUSE!” Michael called out.

  The video froze. “ADAM, back up the video where the person is in the car.” The video went back a second. “Can you do anything to clean it up?”

  “One moment, Michael” ADAM said. “You want the best picture of the driver, correct?”

  “Yes” he agreed.

  It took five seconds, but ADAM placed an image up on the screen. Michael walked closer to the wall and squinted his eyes, “It has been a while, Boris…”

  “You know him?” Lance asked, walking up beside him.

  “Yes, or at least I knew him a while back” Michael agreed.

  “How long ago?” Lance inquired.

  “Probably two, maybe three hundred years?” Michael mused. “I haven't worked with him personally for that long. My children have, and I've talked with Boris a few times in the intervening years.”

  “What is he?” Kevin asked.

  Michael turned to look at Kevin. “He is a Procilici, a Bear. I defeated him many centuries ago when his pack Alpha, called a Tsar at the time, goaded him into fighting me. Something is different about him, he lives much longer than any normal Wechselbalg.”

  “You didn’t kill him?” Lance asked, then thought about what he said. “Correction, why didn’t you kill him?”

  “Because he was too new and didn’t understand his emotions. His Tsar, though, I killed. He had hoped that Boris would be able to kill me, or wound me enough that he could kill me. However, I still punished him by requiring him to stay in Siberia for a century that time.”

  “Is it relevant to our plans, now?” Kevin asked. “He’s outside of Russia.”

  “No, that requirement ended many long ago. There is, however, one thing these people with him don’t know.”

  “What’s that?” Cheryl Lynn asked, her fear evident in her voice.

  “Boris watches over a town full of people in Siberia. He takes these operations to get the money to support those people. He will kill adults, but he won’t let anything happen to those children. I doubt he knew what the plan was before arriving, and he must have been given assurances that the children would be safe.” Michael tapped his lip while he thought.

  “I will take a Pod to Denver and then take out these mercenaries” Michael stated. “Eric and Scott will have to do clean-up with the authorities, but they must not be on the scene until the police arrive so they can claim ignorance and have it stick.”

  Michael pointed to the frozen picture, “He will be my support help.”

  They watched the rest of the video and received the request for the technology transfer.

  ADAM spoke from the speaker, “I have located two buildings which would allow a bus to fit underground. Based on blueprints, I believe I have narrowed down their location.”

  Michael spoke to Lance and Kevin. “Protect this base, I’ll handle the children.” Then he was gone.

  Kevin looked over to Lance “Thoughts, General?”

  Lance chewed on his lip for a moment, “Pull everyone in, Kevin. This isn't a drill, folks.”

  Moments later, a siren could be heard everywhere on the base. “This is a base lockdown, please report to your safety locations. This is a base lockdown, please report to your safety locations…”

  Downtown Denver, Colorado - USA

  Boris arrived and stepped out of his vehicle as the massive door behind him started closing. His nose could smell fresh blood. When he looked around, he could see one of the men was sporting a bandage on his arm, another had a blood-soaked patch on his ear and a brace to help his neck.

  He walked over to the one who had his ear bleeding and furrowed his brows. Something wasn’t smelling…right.

  “Vat happened on the bus?” he asked.

  Matt grimaced. “Stupid female went apeshit when we hit the bus. The bus driver opened the door and asked ‘what the problem was’ just like we figured. But as soon as I pulled my gun he reached for one as well. So, I shot him right away. Before I knew it, this girl jumps me and damn near bites my ear off.”

  He continued, “These fucking pain meds are taking too long! So, this young woman is acting like she is protecting her own cubs or something…” Matt missed the look of recognition on Boris’s face, “I react and start shooting her, too. Which, unfortunately, was a waste. Man, she was a looker.”

  Matt seemed to miss that Boris had already left, heading for the bus. Boris’ guess was confirmed even before he stepped on the bus.

  These people had been around Weres. Not just one, but many. “Idiots…” he grumbled under his breath. He turned to see what was going on around him. Birk and Patty were finishing up over at the stairwell, unrolling cord in preparation to drop the entry from above and bitching about whether they should call the police themselves. They were surprised not to have chatter about the event all over the police radio. Matt was still talking as if Boris were near him.

  Those pain meds had obviously taken effect.

  Boris stepped up on the bus and noticed many angry faces aimed in his direction. Yes, some were frightened, but not near as many as he would have expected. He inhaled deeply and found another smell he hadn’t expected to encounter.

  Vampire.

  What the hell was going on? Had he stayed in Siberia too long to understand changes out in the bigger world?

  “You know, this isn’t going to go well for you when Bethany Anne learns of it.” A teenage girl spoke to Boris from halfway down the bus.

  “And your name is vhat, young lady?” Boris responded.

  “Tina” she said, daring him to refute her.

  “And vhat do you expect Bethany Anne to do in this case?” Boris asked, interested in her answer. He had already decided that he would protect these younglings. Hopefully, the three adults would make it out OK as well, but they were not a priority of his.

  “Whatever it takes, she never forsakes her own” the young girl said. “Either she will come or the Queen’s Own.”

  “Or Michael” the boy continued the conversation, more arguing with his sister than talking to Bori
s. “If Bethany Anne can’t make it, I bet she calls in Michael.”

  Boris considered the boy's comment, the smell of Weres and Vampires was even stronger now that he was physically on the bus, “And does Michael have a name?” Boris asked the two kids.

  “Of course, it’s Michael” the little girl said.

  “No, a last name” Boris replied, his patience wearing thin.

  “No” the young boy cut in, “He doesn’t.” Now, the boy turned and glared towards Boris.