by S. E. Weir
“Of course.” Cheryl Lynn nodded then they chatted about specifics before she left with a reassuring smile.
After slumping into a nearby seat, Phina sighed and made herself sit quietly. It was a good thing she had come an hour early. She took a moment to adjust her mental shield so it would block out the large number of people whose minds were currently a lot less controlled than normal. Phina had to be careful to keep the shields strong enough to block the mental clutter, but permeable enough to still intake enough Etheric energy. She let out a breath slowly when she was finished. Tonight would definitely test her mental shields and filters.
She shook her head then grabbed her tablet to move on, confirming the pizza and Coke order and time of delivery, then decided to add decorations to the apartment and made some contacts for that.
She received a message with the last approval for the honeymoon plans just as she was about to put her tablet away. A small knot inside that she hadn’t been aware of loosened. Now Phina needed to make reservations for Maxim and Alina. Thankfully, someone had decided that even though she was in a coma, she would still receive the same stipend, so she had a bunch of backlogged credits saved up. Hopefully, everything would come together and Maxim and Alina would love everything.
Phina looked around the soon-to-be-filled reserved section of the bar and reminded herself that everything would be fine. As long as Alina and Maxim had fun, that was all that mattered. None of those invited were assholes, so everyone should get along, and they were all adults, so there shouldn’t be any problems. Right?
The knot in her belly tightened up again.
Chapter Twenty-One
QBBS Meredith Reynolds, All Guns Blazing
“So there we were, racing into the room chasing the rabbits.” Craig chuckled as he relayed the story, his arm around Hallie. Maxim rolled his eyes to the ceiling and sighed. He knew what was coming, and it didn’t paint them in a great light. “Full speed, of course. Suddenly, we were asses to the ceiling, hanging by the nets that the girls had laid to catch the rabbits. Maxim gave me this look like it had been my fault, but by that time, I was following him! Of course, we were in wolf form, so I couldn’t tell him that.”
Scattered chuckles sounded from the group situated in the booths that Phina had reserved for them. Maxim tuned his friend out as he continued sharing a story. Maxim had experienced the infamous rabbit hunt, and he had also heard Craig’s version of it several times over. He couldn’t complain since he hadn’t seen Craig as often after he had moved out when he finally had made it official with Hallie several years ago.
He looked over the people who had come. Drk-vaen and Sis’tael sat together on their special seats for four-legged Yollins. They’d had their mating ceremony last year after her father had acknowledged that it was a good match. Not that they wouldn’t have done it without the male’s go-ahead, but the approval had made it easier.
Ryan sat with Celeste near Todd Jenkins, who had finagled a reason to sit with Phina, much to Maxim’s approval and amusement. Todd Grimes, who had come with girlfriend number…five, Cassy, maybe…sat near his sister, Tina who had come from her secret research base. She had her head together with Yana and Mischa, of course, both diplomats who had been out on assignment but were able to come for the wedding.
A very pregnant Mal and the girls from the clothing shop sat together, listening to Craig’s story with amusement and whispered giggles. Tim Kinley, Rickie Escobar, Joel Holt, and Joseph Greggs were sitting together, a couple of them eying the single women. Masha and Ron were speaking to each other seriously in low tones that Maxim couldn’t grasp over the other voices and noises, even with his advanced hearing.
“Are you all right, Maxim?”
He looked at Alina with a smile and tried to relax. This was a fun night out with friends. He suspected the guys were planning something later, but for now he was happy to be here with his friends and the woman who meant the universe to him. He had owned a purpose, to protect his team and follow his Empress to the end, but he had still felt incomplete before meeting Alina. He thought back to his conversation with Todd and Peter more than two years ago when he’d lamented that no one cared to see who he was beneath the surface. Alina didn’t just see beneath the surface but valued who he was and protected him in her own way as much as he protected her.
“I’m good, sweetheart. Just thinking about our friends and how lucky I am to have you.”
Alina started out giving him an understanding smile that turned to amusement. “You are pretty lucky to have me, aren’t you?”
He scooted her closer with the arm he had wrapped around her and bent down to whisper in her ear. “I absolutely am.”
“Maxim!” she protested in a whisper. “You can’t do that now. You know what it does to me.”
He grinned, happiness making it a tad wider than normal as he spoke quietly. “Just want you to be thinking about me later when you women go off on your own.”
“Holy shit!” Craig stopped in the middle of another story to gape at Maxim in disbelief. “Look at you; you’re grinning! You all see this, right? Mister Serious is showing teeth!” As the others made noises of surprise as well, Craig turned to Alina and made bowing motions with his head and hands that caused her to giggle. He stopped and grinned, chuckling with amazement.
Alina waved him off, protesting. “Oh, stop. Maxim smiles all the time.”
Craig scratched his head as his eyebrows rose. “Maybe since you’ve come in the picture. Before that, it was super rare.”
Hallie nodded, agreeing. “He’s right. Maxim always has our backs, but I wouldn’t say he smiled all that much before you came into his life.”
Amid choruses of agreement, Maxim leaned in and whispered, “See, I told you I’m lucky to have you.”
Alina’s beaming face looking up at him with happiness lit up his world.
Masha leaned closer to Ron and spoke quietly, ignoring the ruckus that usually surrounded Craig when he got going.
“Ron, I need to know if you’ve got something I can use. I’ve come across too many aliens who are bigger than I am in this form. I need an edge, and preferably something quieter and less bloody than a set of Jean Dukes Specials. I don’t always have the luxury of time to clean myself up after a shift.”
The R&D man frowned in concentration as he considered the problem. “Hmm… Less messy than a projectile, but still lethal?” He focused on her until she nodded, then returned to his mental calculations. “Well, barring projectiles and explosives, the best lethal force would be an electric current. That would be quiet and get the job done. The problem is the applicator and mechanism.”
Masha glanced at the others and suppressed a smile at the competition happening between Craig and Ryan as to who could tell a taller tale about Maxim. Those two were trouble. She internally sighed as she thought about their Academy days. It was a lifetime ago. It almost felt like another life. She turned back to Ron and leaned in again. “What about an Etheric solution?” At his look of surprise, she raised an eyebrow. “Come on, Ron. I know you’ve been working with it. Only Anne has done more at this point.”
“How did you...” Ron stopped himself and rolled his eyes in exasperation. “Spies. Of course.” He shook his head at her surprise and pointed at his face. “Genius here. I’ve been supplying you guys with creative weapons and tools. It wasn’t hard to figure out.”
She pressed her lips together but nodded. “So, can you do it?”
“Well, I can’t create something out of thin air. I need an applicator that’s conducive to… Hold on.” He blinked in thought, then turned and called across the aisle to the other group of seats. “Seraphina! Hey, could you come over here for a minute?”
The young woman in question leaned around Todd Jenkins at his call to look, who didn’t appear pleased at the interruption. Phina nodded at Ron’s question, then instead of asking Todd to move, she put her hands on the table to push herself up, used the seat to jump up on top of the back of the
booth, then flipped to the floor.
Masha’s eyebrows rose despite the long-standing and hard-won control she had used for most of her life. As a Wechselbalg, that control had been taught alongside reading, math, and manners. Masha studied Phina, speculating who would win between the two of them.
Phina ignored everyone’s surprised and excited cries at the move—although Maxim, Alina, Todd, and the Yollins appeared amused—and walked over to Masha’s side of the booth. She sat on the edge of the seat and faced Ron.
Phina’s green eyes were startling in the middle of her dark hair and olive skin tone, but there was no mistaking who she was. Phina’s features would have given it away if Masha hadn’t already known. She looked exactly like her parents.
“You can call me Phina. What’s going on?”
Ron leaned forward toward her and appeared interested, which caused Masha’s eyebrows to twitch in surprise. “What do you think of your telescopic staff?”
Ah, of course. She should have known better. Ron was only interested in his work. The other woman’s eyes sparkled with intrigue. “You made it?”
“Yes, Todd said it was for you. Is it working well? Any issues?” Ron pressed.
Phina shook her head. “Not that I’ve come across so far, and I’ve used both Todd’s and mine. Just need to get my new pants from Alina when she’s done with them so I have somewhere to keep it.”
“What do you think about adding an Etheric current to it?” he asked.
Masha’s eyebrows slowly rose at the conversation that ensued, one she understood very little of aside from that there needed to be a thing that pulled the Etheric, another thing that converted it to electricity, and a third that pushed the output. That was enough for her. It surprised Masha that Phina could follow Ron’s technical explanation with the help of a few clarifying questions. It seemed that Ron was surprised as well and was currently looking at Phina with new eyes.
“Question.” The two looked at her, surprise on Ron’s face. He probably had forgotten she was here. “How are you going to keep the current from electrocuting me? Remember, this started with me needing a weapon. I need to be able to hold onto this thing while I use it.”
“What about gloves?” Phina offered, looking introspective. “It would be cooler if you could also use them to have better grip when climbing and holding onto the staff.”
“Beats using my claws,” Masha agreed, glancing at Peter and Maxim. “We weren’t all blessed with the ability to turn Pricolici.”
Ron looked intrigued by the idea. “Jean finally gave me my own office, so I have more space for projects. I’ll play around with it and see what I can do.”
Tina leaned over the back of the seat behind Ron and banged her hand on the table, startling him. “Hey, no work talk! This is supposed to be a party, so let’s party it up!”
As the three of them joined the rest of the group, who were getting louder due to the number of beers that had been passed around, Masha eyed Phina with speculation. She had been Greyson’s first recruit. It appeared that Phina was his latest. She found it odd that he hadn’t brought Phina to Spy Corps headquarters yet to train.
Masha decided that she would have a talk with him soon and see if he would change his mind.
After speaking to Masha and Ron, Phina drifted around the group for a while, talking to the other bridesmaids about their dresses, Mal about her baby, some of the guys about fighting technique, and several people about the upcoming wedding, and Maxim and Alina in general.
She felt relieved that everything was coming together and everyone seemed to be having a good time. Also that Alina hadn’t broken out into songs about princesses finding love yet, as she tended to do when she was tired or tipsy.
The group was getting ready to separate when Maxim pulled her aside and asked about the tab. “Let me know the total and I’ll pay you back.”
Phina shook her head, grinning. “Not a chance. I’ve got it. You don’t need to worry about it.”
Maxim frowned as he looked down from his taller height. “The tab is going to be a lot for one person, and you are getting pizza and Cokes, too.”
She patted his arm as she smiled. “It’s all right. Alina is my family. You guys have the wedding covered, so this is where I can contribute. Besides, the credits are sitting there since I wasn’t spending anything for a couple of years, and I don’t need much.”
He still looked concerned but finally nodded. “If you are sure.”
Todd Jenkins turned from watching Ryan, Craig, and Rickie see who could chug a beer bottle the fastest. “I’ll split the tab with her, Maxim, so it’s not on one person.” He looked at Phina and added, “If that’s okay with you?”
Phina shrugged, not sure what she should say. “If you want.”
He smiled wryly. “Well, I haven’t been in a coma, but I have plenty of credits sitting around, too. Also, this helps distribute the check more evenly between the guys and girls.”
She nodded her agreement with the plan, then waited uncomfortably as goodbye kisses from the guys who had come with girls turned into a contest to see who could kiss the longest before coming up for air.
The single girls were all clapping and whistling. Most of the single guys hooted and hollered. Ron sighed and took out his tablet. Todd side-eyed her as he watched the scene with amusement. “Not a fan of kissing?”
Phina frowned as she considered it but shook her head. “I’ve never done it, so I wouldn’t know. But, it seems private, so I have a hard time watching. It’s the same with movies. It feels voyeuristic to me.”
Todd gave her a small smile. “I’ll be interested to see if you change your mind after you’ve experienced it.”
It wasn’t until all of the women were back at their apartment passing out pizza that she wondered if his comment was made because he wanted to be the one kissing her.
“You can’t deny the power of a well-placed uppercut,” Joel argued.
Maxim shook his head. “That works if you can get in close. Roundhouse, then a long knee to the gut.”
“No way,” Craig cut in. “Knife hand to the throat then a hard knee to the nose when they double over.”
“You need to have both hands for that to work,” Maxim pointed out wryly.
Craig waved both hands. “What do you call these, you ass?”
Todd tuned out the conversation and looked around the bar that doubled as a strip club and sighed, wishing he was with Phina eating pizza and drinking Coke. He would much rather see what he could do to move his relationship along with that one particular woman than watch a random one gyrate and contort her body. He turned to observe the other guys and could immediately see who was comfortable and who was not with their current location.
Craig, Ryan, Rickie, and Peter were the only ones paying attention to the stage. Maxim, Drk-vaen, Tim, Joel, and Joseph were talking about their fighting styles, arguing about which was better, and some of the incursions they’d been part of. Ron’s neck seemed to be perpetually flushed as he studiously read, tapped, and swiped on his tablet.
Maxim’s face was also still red from the lap dance he had been given. He hadn’t known what to do with his hands so he had held them behind him and braced himself, letting it happen because it was expected but not engaging or appearing to enjoy it. His face and neck had grown more and more red as time passed, while most of the guys heckled or gave encouragement. Peter and Ryan had taken pictures, which would probably be fodder for giving Maxim a hard time later.
The dancer had finally finished with an amused expression. Rickie had paid for another dance for himself and had displayed far more enjoyment. She’d gone off happy with a large tip while the men settled themselves around a couple of tables.
Maxim had gotten ribbed by the guys for his stiffness until he finally shrugged and said, “Alina said I could look but not touch. I didn’t want to accidentally touch by mistake.”
Todd, Drk-vaen, and Ryan, who had seen Alina on a rampage before, had winced and nod
ded and said some variation of “Good call.”
When the four who were engaged in the show turned back to the table and were debating the merits of a pitcher versus bottles of beer, Todd checked the time, saw they still had an hour and a half before Phina had said they could meet up with the girls again and decided that something had to be done.
He stood up and waved a server over to pay the bill, then turned to the other guys, half of whom were still involved in their discussions. The rest were giving him questioning glances.
“Come on, guys. Let’s go see which one of you can put your money where your mouth is.”
They looked at him with varying interest. “Where we going?” Peter asked as he got up and walked over.
Todd grinned and beckoned them to follow. “This way, boys. Let me show you some real fun.”
Forty minutes later, they joined the crowd at the fight club, yelling and hollering as Ron fought Ryan. Even though it was clear that Ryan would win, the men were surprised that Ron had some moves in him and was putting up a decent fight. He finally tapped out and Joel replaced him, eventually winning against Ryan with a quick takedown that had the Marine’s back on the mat.
Peter joined Todd on the sidelines and clapped him on the back. “Good idea.” As they watched Joseph swap with Ryan, the bigger man leaned over and nudged him. “So, when are you finally going to ask her out?”
“Who?” Todd asked as he kept his eyes on the two Guardians in the ring. The referee started them and quickly backed off.
Peter half-rolled his eyes at Todd. “Come on, man. Don’t play that game with me.”
Todd returned the look. “Like you get when a certain Ranger is mentioned?”
The other man grunted in acknowledgment. They were quiet for a minute watching before Peter finally wondered, “What’s it say about us that we’re both highly skilled, battle-hardened warriors, and we’re scared to talk to the women we’re interested in about a little thing like starting a relationship or even going out on a date?”
