Lover

by Valerie J. Long

  “The next operation?”

  “Exactly. Leave me alone for a moment, please?”

  Steps moved away. What was Jana up to now?

  “Hello? It’s a fail all along the line. We must launch Sunrise immediately—Yes, I’ll deal with that personally—There’s a new faction. I’ll have to negotiate. Awkward types, somehow religious, but cooperative—we can still get rid of them later—I can’t facilitate anything anymore here. The location’s compromised. I recommend cleanup—Fine, I’ll activate an exterminator. Bye.”

  Chapter One-Hundred-And-Eight

  I waited until Jana had left before I commenced my way. This way, my camouflage didn’t have to struggle with the dust that her helicopter had stirred up.

  So Jana would soon travel to Japan to bring the Cartel into power there, too. And she’d do that with the aid of an awkward religious faction. The Dragon Order? Or the Dragon cultists?

  This way or that, I had to try to foil this project. I had a very bad feeling on the idea of simply staying out of it—just as I had a very bad feeling on the overall idea of Japan.

  There existed a Dragon, raised by criminals and taught their goals and ethics. I had to face this task, this enemy, while he was still young and inexperienced. I had to face this task before the Cartel could lay hands on him. I had to face this task while I could still move more or less freely in Japan.

  So I had to get to Japan as soon as possible.

  Now that I had learned how to control my power consumption better, I covered the distance to San Fernando not at top speed, but with an easy trot, and kept my arms tight.

  This didn’t only make life easier for my camouflage, but also reduced the power I needed to overcome the air drag.

  Did the grass leaves always stir like this when I passed them?

  —Confirmed.—

  Crap. That was another not-to-be-neglected side effect, after shadow-casting and footprints—the drag I created running could give me away. In the future, I had to consider that. Note.

  —Confirmed.—

  Fine.

  Where should I turn? Surely the Cartel was still searching for me, so I’d better not be seen in public venues. Jana might have a suspicion who had molested her again, but I didn’t have to poke her nose into my presence in the area. As I had separated from my unit unplanned, I didn’t have to head for one of the meeting points, either. I was out and on my own.

  Or wasn’t I?

  Where the road coming down from the mountains met the first houses, where the first larger road branched off, I recognized a familiar parked car, with a likewise familiar figure leaning on the left forward fender. Out of caution, I circled the arrangement twice, but he was alone. Nobody was watching this spot.

  “Hello, Gomez.”

  “Hello, Jo. You’re early.”

  “Why?”

  “I only expected you tonight.”

  “You waited here for me? Why?”

  “I’ve been at the meeting point, but only this Alan showed up. He said you’d be late. He said, you’d done a little detour to save the mission, and you’d probably only able to leave the next night. What’s really happened?”

  Chapter One-Hundred-And-Nine

  “Once Jana was gone, I took my French leave, too,” I ended my report.

  “You always have to have an extra, do you? And if Jana had spotted you?”

  “That wouldn’t have pleased her.”

  “As if you’d beat her. Come, get in.” He slipped behind his wheel and reached into the back while I entered from the other side. “Here, for you.”

  The bag he reached me smelled tasty. Salad, fruit, sandwiches, and right next he conjured up a Thermos bottle. “Coffee?”

  “Gomez, you’re a dear!” I praised him. “Drive on.”

  “Where to?”

  “San Francisco. I must go to Japan.”

  “You could do that from L.A., too.”

  “By ship?”

  “Why ship?”

  “Planes are under observation. Zero chance. Once I collect a ticket, I’m due.”

  “And that’s better on ships?”

  “No ticket.”

  “Oh.” He mused. “Would you like to talk to Alan before?”

  “How? He’s gone.”

  “He said, if everything’s going according to his plan, we could meet him in the evening—that is, tomorrow evening—in Fresno. If you have that much time?”

  “Let me find out when the next freighter leaves. Maybe then.”

  And maybe there’s time for a night with Gomez, too? No, I can’t wait that long. “Gomez, pull out there. I’m horny.”

  “So, here we are. Why are you so nervous?”

  Because on our way to Fresno, I had had plenty of time contemplating what Jana could meanwhile achieve. “Three days. Three fucking days until the next freighter departs. Three times stirred Dragon shit!”

  “Three fucking nights, Jo.”

  I forced a smile on my lips. “Three nights, my proud stallion.”

  Three nights to indulge in life before I’d join my probably last battle. Yes, I’d enjoy that time.

  “I’m looking forward to it. Don’t take too much time inside.”

  “We must clarify a few topics. It won’t take long.”

  Actually, I didn’t want to sneak in, I only made quiet steps out of habit. Nor did I want to eavesdrop, but of course, the talk between Alan and the Major couldn’t escape my fine ears before I reached the door to the small office.

  “Tell me one, Alan,” I heard the Major’s voice. “Who deactivated the suits out on the road? You need the programming facility in the factory for that. Oh yes—and if you line up the team recordings and compare, when and where our boys got help, these times are darn tight. Not to mention that she didn’t have trouble following our cars. Only a fully equipped suit with micro fusion reactor can be that fast, and she surely didn’t hide the reactor between her boobs.”

  “So what? There’s surely an explanation for it.”

  “Maybe. Just as for the holes she’s poked into the suits and the guards’ bodies. Nicely in groups of four, fingers- or toes-wide. Those weren’t ordinary fingernails.”

  “Hum.”

  “That’s not normal, Alan. No human can do that.”

  “What are you up to?”

  “What if the Imperatrix left some help behind back then?”

  Pardon?

  This notion was outright—Dragonish.

  Why, only why had I found exactly two ampoules of nano essence in the otherwise entirely deserted laboratory? Nicely with a note that would inconspicuously stir my curiosity and dispel my doubts? But why should the Dragon empress have expected me to return? And that I’d be good enough to overcome her security?

  Because it couldn’t have escaped an expert like her, how much I had restrained my curiosity during the tour? Because she had been able to recognize my skills by the way I was moving and attentively watching?

  Because she could become invisible and in turn watch me?

  It was possible. But she couldn’t have been sure that I’d really do it. She couldn’t have been sure that I’d manage to pull it through. She couldn’t have been sure that I’d use these ampoules.

  She couldn’t have counted on Dandy.

  Or—unholy infernal crap!—she had facilitated it? To provide me with an additional motivation to use the essence?

  Chapter One-Hundred-And-Ten

  “Good evening, boys.”

  “Oh, good evening, Jo.”

  The Major nodded at me. “Miss Meier.”

  “Gomez told me that you’re here. You must have a lot of questions. It’s better to talk about it. Covering it with the cloak of silence causes misunderstandings.”

  “Oh. Why do you say that? Did you study psychology, too?” the Major asked.

  “I’ve learned to adapt to people’s needs. During my studies, my role was that of the joker who keeps the team together. You know that any class can only gr
aduate as a whole or not at all?”

  “No—what does that mean?”

  “I’ll put it the military way—either each individual of your team reaches the destination, or the mission is failed. Dropouts aren’t allowed. Well okay, this rule doesn’t consider casualties, as a study is no war.”

  “Oh. And if anyone can’t handle the subject matter?”

  “The class fails.”

  “Hard. But I’m beginning to understand how you approached this mission. Cooperation instead of hierarchy, right?”

  “Everyone knows the goal, everyone knows the way, everyone knows his own skills and limits—and those of his mates. Everyone contributes.”

  “The Dragon principle. Yes, don’t be surprised, we’re learning about that on the academy. It’s even applied in certain special units. I should have thought of it in your case.”

  “You’ve apologized once. It’s no longer necessary. But I’m sure you have further questions. I heard the last few sentences before my arrival.”

  “About the Dragon empress’ legacy?”

  “She didn’t leave me anything. At least, I don’t know about it.”

  “But you have special skills. Who are you? What are you?”

  “I’m a whore and a thief. A very good thief. A thief who can intrude Frostdragon all without any superhuman abilities and steal their most precious treasures.”

  “Like, for example?”

  “Like, for example, the tiniest manipulators that can deactivate other nano conglomerates. Like a nano suit that can make you invisible and let you run faster. Like, for example, self-implanting nano claws.” Truth and lie were so close! In some way, self-implanting was almost correct, only not the whole truth.

  “Somehow I can’t believe that someone’s only a thief, acquires such skills and then doesn’t use them for his own good only.”

  “Believe me one, Major—to take out the Cartel is a highly selfish goal for me.”

  “Why?”

  “They’ve set killers on my heels several times.”

  “Oh. Okay. But you already had an opportunity to take out the leaders, didn’t you?”

  “I’m a thief and not a killer.”

  Alan cleared his throat. “Let’s get to the topic. Jo, you’ve already learned about our next goal. The President.”

  “Yes. You’ve got plasma weapons, you’ve got armor suits with reactors, and you have the production and adjustment facilities. You have the necessary intel about your goal. You know how to spot camouflaged suits. You’re ready to go.”

  “You could be an incredibly valuable assistance.”

  “But it works without me, too.”

  “Yes, but—”

  I cut him off. “I have a different target.”

  “Which?”

  “Jana announced that she’ll travel to Japan to push project Sunrise. She’ll take over the Japanese government.”

  “So what? Japan isn’t strategically important. Once America is free—”

  “That may take years, and Japan is strategically important. At least for me.”

  “You don’t think you alone can prevent it?” the Major chimed in again. I only smiled at him until he shrugged. “Yes, you think so. But you don’t know your ways there.”

  “She’s been there before,” Alan corrected. “Speaks fluent Japanese, knows leading Yakuza heads—Jo, you didn’t tell me why you left there in such a hurry.”

  “No.”

  Should I tell him? Aw damn, if I really failed, someone had to know why. “They have a Dragon there. I wasn’t prepared for a confrontation yet.”

  Chapter One-Hundred-And-Eleven

  Alan stared at me, aghast.

  The Major looked rather confused.

  “Is that bad?” he asked. “If the Imperatrix left us a Dragon behind?”

  “I assume she didn���t know about him,” I explained. “The Dragon only hatched after her departure and is now educated by Japanese cultists.”

  “How can that be, that she left a Dragon egg behind? Don’t Dragons care for their young?”

  “Perhaps the Dragon parents were killed? What would I know about the Dragons’ breeding behavior? But I know that the cultists defend their Dragon by all means, hoping to thereby gain access to absolute power.”

  “Well, it would remain to be seen whether a single Dragon could stand up against a score of determined armor suits.”

  “Yes. The explosive combination is suits and Dragon on the same side, when cult and Cartel join ranks.”

  “Oh damn.”

  “Exactly. I want—no, I have to prevent that.”

  “Entirely selfish, what? Do you believe you’re now prepared for a confrontation? You don’t mess with a Dragon.”

  “No, and it won’t be fun. That’s why I’m telling you. In case I don’t come back.”

  Perhaps I was also telling it for the glances and the respect therein. If I played the heroine at all, at least someone should be able to sing about my deeds later. Strange. I had always thought I’d store no value in other people’s opinion about me. As a whore, you’re despised, at best tolerated by your clients for good performance. To strive for public recognition wasn’t meaningful for a thief, nevertheless I had proudly delivered my booty to my principals. The appreciation of my study mates had been very important to me.

  It had to be that I by and by learned to know more people of who I did care what they thought about me. I no longer was oblivious to what I thought about myself. Crap, I simply no longer felt comfortable in the role of the lonesome anarchist who let the world kiss her ass—and her pussy.

  Jo, you’re getting old, I admitted to myself. Next you’ll become residential, with house and family, you’ll crochet doilies for the charity bazaar in the country club and apply for the town council election.

  The notion was so absurd that I had to smirk. Of course, this didn’t match my fatalistic statement at all and could only be taken wrong by them both.

  “You’re feeling quite sure, do you?” Alan said.

  “I’d send some of my men along right now,” the Major said. “There’s more than one who’d follow you without hesitation.”

  “How do you mean that?”

  “Jo, they’ve seen you in action. Nick, for example—he was in deep shit, and then you came out of nothing. Not only he fared like this. These men know that you won’t let them down, just as I’ve now understood. Regardless whether the Dragon empress installed you or not—do you know what it means for our people’s morale if we can tell them that the Lionheart has left us a helper?”

  “Not this hero shit again. I don’t want that,” I objected, against my own previous line of thought. Sadly, it matched exactly what Gomez had said. If these two hadn’t talked about it before, which I didn’t assume, then there had to be something to it. What was it I didn’t like about it? That I felt the pressure of having to satisfy the expectations of others?

  “You don’t need to do anything for it,” he adjured me. “It comes by itself.”

  “No. If I accept this image, true or not, then I have to act like it. We’ve lost the Dragons once, and it pulled us deep down. That must not happen again.”

  He nodded understandingly.

  “Moreover, it makes me even more a target for the Cartel. So far, they don’t know any details about my skills—if they hear I’m representing the Dragons, they’ll be able to derive a lot from that.”

  “That’s a point. Right now they shall not learn about it, right.”

  “Nobody may learn anything. You already know more than enough.”

  Alan leaned forward. “May I tell the President? He should know.”

  Should he? Oh, damn. “He should know the truth. I’ve stolen my skills for my own selfish reasons. Whether the Imperatrix had her hands in this isn’t known.”

  “Well, that has to do.” He waited for the Major’s nod. “So we’re through, aren’t we? What are you doing now? Right off to Japan?”

  “I have a fe
w days left until my transport leaves.”

  “No flight? Ah, no, they’d get you then.”

  “Ship. As a blind passenger, anything else won’t work. The distance is too long for swimming for me.”

  “Ship. Do you think they check that, too?”

  “Sure. But I’ll swim the last two miles, and the Cartel can’t control the entire coastline.”

  “Okay. And until then?”

  “I’ll enjoy life. Eat, sleep, fuck.”

  Chapter One-Hundred-And-Twelve

  “Jo, I think you’re crazy.”

  Gomez was leaning on the bed-head, one leg stretched out, the other foot placed on the floor. His cock wasn’t all the way relaxed yet, surely due to my own position—I was lounging on my back across the foot of the bed, my arms stretched over my head, the small of my back slightly pushed up, one knee bent and placed down toward him and the other placed upward.

  “What’s new about that?”

  “Aw, Jo!” He opened his arms wide. “That’s madness. You alone against the Cartel?”

  “I’ve always been alone against the Cartel. Why should I involve a third party?”

  “Alone? What about the splashers?”

  “Don’t let the Major hear that. No, that doesn’t count. I’m providing the Marines with information and then I’ll help them a little. Thereafter, I’m going my way.”

  “It looks different to me.”

  “During the last days, the collaboration’s been more intense as we had a multi-stage mission. First the ZONE, then the plant. That doesn’t mean I trust these folks. If we’re getting down to business, they have their own priorities, and there I’m not at the top.”

  “Oh.”

  “I’m not saying I’d turn down alliances of convenience or help offers—but I’m not basing my plans on it. In the end, I’m the only one caring for and tending to me.”

  “What about me?”

  “Sorry. Yes, you’re caring for and tending to me. But I won’t drag you deeper into this situation anyway.”