Lover

by Valerie J. Long

  I hadn’t expected the alligator that suddenly made its way across the pest-covered asphalt ahead of me.

  Well, this was his territory now. Few humans, even fewer cars, deserted fishing grounds, no natural enemies except for the fading radioactivity and its own kind—an ideal habitat for a previously endangered species.

  Chapter Seventy-One

  Anahuac was fenced in. A robust, easily half a meter high steel-wire fence ran across the village as far as I could see, and also separated it from the lake.

  The area outside the fence was unsecured. No mines, no motion detectors, no wires—this was free alligator country. Whoever commanded this village was acting the nature lover.

  The sun had already dropped below the horizon when I approached the barrier and cautiously climbed across. Inside the fence, I couldn’t spot any lethal installations either. Only a single, clearly recognizable camera under the next roof edge showed that someone might be interested in the neighborhood at all.

  Well, I hadn’t come to say hello, so I stayed outside the camera’s main field of sight. I had to be careful not to leave footprints in the soft ground. Aw, couldn’t invisibility be less complicated?

  Soon I stood on the main road between the first houses. A sign on the fourth house announced Alligator Research Station. Clever—instead of heavily armed guards, landmines and expensive devices, they held up their cover. This was cheaper and at the same time lasting, because they could simply send unwelcome visitors away.

  Or I was wrong here.

  No, four blocks further in, beyond the channel and the 61, the gentle methods came to an end. A man-high fence with a barb-wire crown blocked further passage, a faded sign with the black rotor on yellow ground warned about radioactivity, and this time very well-concealed surveillance cameras and ultrasonic motion detectors additionally secured the barrier. Those who ignored the signs—like me—and continued would receive no further warning. I spotted fine tripwires, laser light barriers, and splinter mines in strategic spots, distributed very effectively. Quality, not quantity, so to say.

  Some way further down the street to the right, back toward Trinity Bay, two cars were parked. I could recognize one license plate, and it was from Nevada, not Texas or Louisiana.

  South of the street, I saw a large long building, from which a little light shone on the area, which was covered with low bushes. So the local high school now harbored a weapon factory?

  The next two hours, I snuck around the area twice to ensure that I hadn’t missed anything, and then I searched the next surrounding buildings. Where were the guards, where were further security installations?

  I found four machine guns that could be quickly deployed. The outwardly inconspicuous houses were armed against fire with sandbags, steel sheets and bricks from the inside. Obviously they didn’t only rely on cameras, as the guard posts were staffed. However, the guards paid more attention to gambling cards and porn movies than to their assigned road section.

  To be entirely sure, I now had to sneak a peek of the school’s inside. As the ridge roof had no hatches, I’d either have to enter through a window or use the door, and what about security there?

  Instead of complicated electronic installations, most of the windows simply had been glued close. They couldn’t be opened without damaging them. Kitchen and bathrooms were obvious exceptions—there the windows had been trellised. A pity!

  The peek inside had to be done literally. I saw strange gadgetry in different stages of disassembly, rifle-shaped objects with bulky power packs from the Frostdragon product line, construction plans with painstakingly detailed labels. This had to suffice—this was the location I had been searching for.

  Something worried me. There, near the entrance. Oh damn—that’s why they needed so little security around!

  Chapter Seventy-Two

  Gomez slept under a half-open window. On the tenth floor of the plain hotel in Houston, far away from the fire ladder, this was acceptable. Naturally, the sleek wall was no obstacle for me. Close to midnight, I snuck inside, let my nano suit slide off and slipped under the sheets at Gomez’ side.

  After forty-eight hours of continuous operation I should be entitled to feel tired.

  But sleep wouldn’t come quickly. In my head, the images of voracious cars and parking alligators mixed with Gomez’ erection that shot white bullets machine-gun-like, while at the same time I tried to imagine how I could guide a military unit safely and unseen to their target. I had examined the shoreline as well as the Bay access and the other access roads. Surely there were numerous poorly guarded options, but which was the safest for people who couldn’t become invisible and didn’t wear bullet-proof nano armor?

  The next mission’s success and the survival of its members depended on my report, my diligence. This was a different level of responsibility, and I couldn’t cope with it.

  Until Gomez turned around and wrapped one arm around me. I felt his cock at my buttocks, in rest position and still prominent, and his peaceful breath on the back of my head. That helped.

  A few hours later, I woke up from an increasing pressure at my bum—his morning wood obviously stirred slightly ahead of him. For a while, I could ignore him, even slumbered away once, until he turned on his back and began to snore heartily. Thus, he had chosen his fate—I turned around, too, and placed one hand on his erection. That stopped his snore and enticed a little moan.

  “Mmm?” he hummed.

  “Fuck me,” I whispered into his ear. More prompting wasn’t necessary.

  “And now? Have you been successful?”

  “Let’s drive and have breakfast on our way. The less we’re seen here, the better.”

  “Where to?”

  “Coast. San Diego.”

  “Okay.”

  While he checked out regularly, I left the room through the window. He arrived at his car significantly after me and sighed. “I’ll have to recharge the battery, it’s become weak.”

  “Oh, you don’t drive autonomously?”

  “Could never afford that. Fusion burners are sinfully expensive.”

  “Okaay—wait, wasn’t there a used-car dealer a few blocks from here?”

  “Maybe, why?”

  “Drive there.”

  This early in the morning, we were the first customers. In memory of my last visit to Houston, I applied another skull to the buckle of my black suit before I entered the dealer’s small office.

  “Good morning and welcome to Walter’s Wheels,” he greeted us cheerfully, then his gaze fell on my decoration, and he paled. “What can I do for you?”

  “I need a burner.”

  “Oh, that’s bad.”

  I only raised one eyebrow.

  “But let me see, there are two, perhaps we can arrange something, come with me.”

  He hurried outside, completely ignoring Gomez, and quickly led us to the rear part of his garage. In the darkest corner, two cars were parked that had seen far better times. I involuntarily asked myself whether I could risk coughing, despite the dust in the air.

  “Here,” he pointed at a spacious station wagon. “This one’s got a burner, and it hasn’t run for quite a while.”

  “Open it.”

  “Yes, at once.” He hurried to open the jammed hood. Pearls of sweat had collected on his forehead when he stepped aside. Indeed, next to the electric engine, a standard micro fusion reactor was resting, expertly assembled. On top, it showed an error code in pale digits.

  “Code fourteen,” I dryly commented. “You’d like to have us all killed?”

  “Please, how—what—I’ve got no clue, why, is that critical?”

  “Unstable envelope field? Yes, sure. Who knows how long the backup energy will last before that thing blows up. How long’s it been here? More than a year?” From dust and dirt, I’d guess much longer, but he wouldn’t admit that.

  “No, no, no more than eight months. What do you mean by an unstable envelope field?”

  “Remember the Lio
nheart and the Asia lander? Boom!” That was quite exaggerated. If you didn’t deliberately fiddle with the reactor, the worst possible failure was a very hot energy leak, enough to burn down the block, but not enough for an explosion. Ordinary people could hardly know about that, though.

  “Boom.” He fetched a handkerchief to wipe the sweat away. In the background, Gomez nervously stepped from one leg to the other. “But, what can I do now?”

  “I’ll tell you. We’ll take that beast out, carry it to the front, and I’ll take it far out of town. When I’m back later, we’ll talk about another car again. So, step aside.”

  With experienced grips, I loosened the shackles that held the reactor under the hood and unplugged the main power line. Then I lifted the heavy device and marched toward our car.

  “Come,” I told Gomez. “This is urgent. Open the trunk.”

  He nicely followed my order. As soon as I had placed my booty down, I waved at the dealer. “Until later. Brush the other burner up, won’t you?”

  The addressed nodded. We climbed into our car and drove away.

  “I don’t like that at all,” Gomez admitted.

  “Relax. That baby’s harmless, just the starter battery must be changed. For that, you can use one cell from your battery pack after it’s recharged—that’s all standardized. And afterward, we’ll integrate the burner in your car.”

  “I’ve always heard you shouldn’t mess with it. Only professionals should tamper with burners.”

  “I am professional.”

  “Really? Well, that guy almost wet his pants when you showed up.”

  “A few of the ladies in the ZONE fancy black suits with skulls. I assume they’re tampering with forbidden stuff, too, so he bought into my story. That’s how you get a cheap burner.”

  “And if it’d shown a different code that you don’t know?”

  “Then I’d have twisted his balls for trying to sell me a fake burner.” As there was no code I didn’t know. “Now let’s have breakfast while your battery charges.”

  Part Seven

  Team

  Chapter Seventy-Three

  Alan and Fiona gave me grim stares when I approached them with Gomez in my wake. I smiled at them, as became happy Ocean World visitors.

  “Who’s that guy?” Alan asked.

  “Hello, together. That’s Gomez, my agent. Gomez, these are my clients. Relax, Gomez can’t afford to go to the Cartel. If they didn’t grill him, I’d do.”

  Fiona attempted a smile. Alan at least managed to suppress his anger. “Why did you bring him?”

  “Because I trust him.” I really meant it. Strange—we didn’t know each other so well. But he hadn’t betrayed me, had even offered help when someone placed a trap for me, and hadn’t asked for money. Either he was a very hard-boiled double agent or a true friend. Something I couldn’t say about Alan, even if he’d long ago admitted his fault.

  “Okay. Hello, Gomez. I’m Alan, that’s Fiona.” They shook hands. “What did Jo tell you?”

  “Jo?”

  “Velvet,” Alan corrected himself.

  “My name’s Jo.”

  “That’s okay. I knew that your parents didn’t call you Velvet,” Gomez said and turned back to Alan. “We’ll rain on the Cartel’s parade, and it will happen in the ZONE. More I don’t know, more I didn’t have to know so far.”

  “Okay. Did you find out how to get into the ZONE?” Alan asked me.

  “Honestly said, no. I know how I can get into the ZONE, and why it’ll be difficult for you.”

  “Mmm. Then we’re still at the beginning.”

  “No, Alan. I’ve been inside, and I know where we’ll have to go.”

  “So?”

  “Anahuac, on the eastern Trinity Bay shore.” I explained how I had decided to search there, and how the village was disguised.

  “Alligators, so. Well, luckily you didn’t meet one.”

  I left that uncommented. “There are more dangerous problems.”

  “What is it? Land mines? Heavy ordnance?”

  “Guards in camouflaged armor suits.”

  All three were shocked. Finally, Alan spoke up again. “How did you learn about them?”

  “You can smell them, and you can hear them breathe. They leave footprints. It’s the same as with Frostdragon or their headquarters.”

  “You’ve mentioned that, yes. But how can you get that close without being spotted?”

  “I’m cautious. They don’t have to look in my direction.”

  “I don’t know how she’s doing it, either,” Gomez added. “But whenever we meet on the streets, I only see and hear her when she wants it. She’s like a shadow in the night. Haunting, and I don’t want to be her enemy.”

  “Yes, I understand what you mean,” Alan agreed. “So far, her enemies always got the short end of the stick.”

  “You don’t need to answer me,” Gomez said, “but I ask frankly. I know that I’m taking on the Cartel, but on which side am I, actually?”

  “No, I think we don’t need to answer that,” Alan said, but Fiona objected.

  “The question is legitimate and deserves at least an indirect answer. We’re working for a side that’s interested in reestablishing the last democratically elected government. Okay?”

  Gomez grinned. “That has to do for me. After all, I’m a crook.”

  “Okay.” Alan scratched his chin. “I’ll have to tell the team about the suits. If we don’t find a way to deal with them, the mission’s busted.”

  “But you can spot them, can you?” Fiona turned to me.

  “Yes.”

  “Can you handle a rifle?”

  “Yes.”

  “Really? But you don’t shoot at people,” Gomez asked.

  “I’m no killer,” I corrected him, “but in self-defense, I’m always willing to make an opponent unable to fight.”

  “I thought of paintball,” Fiona explained. “If you mark the suits, the team can do the rest.”

  “No.”

  “No? As a matter of principle not? Even if others do the unpleasant work?”

  “Fuck the principle. I won’t leave the dirty job to others. This is no kindergarten tour. We’re going out to kick the bloody Cartel’s ass, against armed guards and machine gun nests. People will get hurt. I can handle a real rifle, and I’ll take out the suits myself.”

  Chapter Seventy-Four

  I didn’t tend to judge other people hastily, but I didn’t like the captain from the start. Probably that was due to the fact that he suggested to me right from the start that he didn’t like me.

  “Alan assured me that your intel is reliable, and I have no choice but to accept that for now, but I reserve the right to get my own overview on location, clear?”

  “Clear. We can’t know what they’ve changed in the days since my visit.”

  “Or what you’ve missed, but what’s important from the military point of view.”

  Oh, sure, as I don’t have a clue about the military, I can’t know what’s important for you. But I didn’t miss anything you need, you only don’t want to admit it. During the briefing, you were silent most of the time. “Or that.”

  “Well then. Alan says you’ll come along because you somehow can snoop out camouflage suits. He says you can handle a rifle. Maybe that’s so. But on my team are only people of whose performance I’ve assured myself. I want to see what you can do. Clear?”

  “So what shall I do?”

  “First, I’d like to see if you can stand the pace running against one of my men.”

  “So? Fine.” Then I’d see whether his man would stand the pace running against me.

  He waved at one of his subordinates, who quickly rose and came to us.

  “You see the windmill over there. That’s about two miles. Can you do that?”

  I nodded.

  “Then go.”

  His man quickly trotted off. Without hesitation, I ran along his side.

  “What’s your name?”
<
br />   “Nick.”

  “Nick, I’m Jo. Hello.”

  “Hello, Jo.” He nodded in return. “Don’t worry. The Captain’s okay. Somewhat snappish, but not unfair. He stores great value in discipline and fitness, because he cares for his people.”

  “I don’t care how snappish he is if he only takes my intel seriously and pulls the mission through. I have no doubts about the second part.”

  “Oh, he’s much too diligent to ignore any information, but he’ll try to verify it himself.”

  “That’s okay. Ey, big man, are we doing a walk here?”

  “I’m going easy so that you can get along. Four miles are quite some, you’ll have to pace yourself.”

  “So that I can get along? Nick, until now, I’ve spared you.”

  Effortlessly—and without the aid of my nanos—I increased my pace. The performance of my muscles was still growing. Meanwhile, I could run the marathon without amplification in one-and-three-quarters of an hour. The four miles shouldn’t take me more than one quarter of an hour.

  This way, I soon left Nick far behind me.

  “Don’t go too fast, you must stand until the end!” he called after me. I only waved at him happily.

  On my way back, I waved again. “Go on, Nick, you’ll soon reach the midpoint!”

  Chapter Seventy-Five

  The Captain gave his stop watch an irritated glance when I easily stopped in front of him and smiled.

  “Did you take a shortcut?”

  “No tricks, Captain. I ran the full distance.”

  “And where’s my Sergeant?”

  “Needs more time.”

  “Then you are bloody fast.”

  “I know. I’m faster than anyone around here.”

  “Do you exercise?”

  “I run marathons.” I could hardly mention the Ironman, as I hadn’t ridden a bike for a long time. My last swimming exercises also lay a while back.