Under My Heel

by Michael Anderle

  Bethany Anne nodded sharply, a firmness entering her voice. “Ok, move them into the cave if you can. I need the children to be brought forward for transfer.”

  “Where?” Bethany Anne turned to see one of the older ladies, with a rifle, listening to her and Gabrielle.

  Bethany Anne asked, “You are?”

  “Diane.” She stepped forward, “My sister and I are two of the people responsible for twenty-two of the children in there. That doesn’t include the four others from around here.” She pointed towards the cave. “The minister has been hurt, and two other adults that were with us were killed.”

  Bethany Anne considered the ten pods. It was going to have to work. “We are going to move all of the children, and the two of you to a yacht far out into the Mediterranean where my team is right now. They are expecting you.”

  I hope, she thought.

  I’ll tell Marcus to communicate that they are on their way.

  Good! Thank you.

  She had forgotten TOM wasn’t blocked.

  You can’t block my Etheric communications, you spunking ass-packers! She thought.

  “Ladies, how many children can fit into each pod?”

  The other sister stepped over, but she was looking at the pods the whole time. “How the hell do they fly?”

  Diane threw an ugly glance towards the other lady, “Sorry, this is my sister Dorene. Too many years in the service burned through any filter she has for her mouth.”

  Dorene grunted, “Fuck-a-filter, how do those things fly?”

  Diane rolled her eyes but answered Bethany Anne’s question with a question, “For how long of a trip?”

  TOM?

  We can get them back in less than ten minutes. My ship has the path we took to get here. It can calculate the fastest path back now by just retracing everything and smoothing it out. Say, ten minutes?

  Bethany Anne shrugged, “Say ten minutes?”

  Diane looked at Bethany Anne, disbelief on her face, “No fucking way!”

  Dorene snorted beside her sister, still looking at the pods. “I’m sorry, she’s been around me all her life, no filter.”

  Bethany Anne smiled, “So, can we get them all out of here? The Nosferatu are lining up to come at us again and if we can’t, then we need a plan ‘b’ real fucking fast.”

  Diane started towards the cave, “Hell yes! If I have to cram them in, these kids are getting to safety!”

  Bethany Anne turned, “Gabrielle?”

  Gabrielle turned towards the cave and started walking, “On it.” She called out, “John, Eric, Scott with me, Darryl prep for loading.”

  Dorene noticed the big guard walking over to the pod, “I think I’ll help tall, dark and handsome!” Then busted out laughing at Darrell’s look of shock.

  Darrell replied, “Aren’t you a nun?”

  Dorene popped Darrell on his butt as he walked, “No, I just wanted to visit Turkey again and my sister and I got to go for free if we helped chaperone some children with the ministry.”

  Darrell stepped a little more quickly towards the pod, “Don’t make me call HR down on you for sexual harassment!” He was chuckling.

  Dorene started following Darrell, “Honey, you haven’t begun to feel sexual harassment!”

  Bethany Anne rolled her eyes at the antics. Then she eyed the area above, where Dan, Scottie and Lucas had settled it. She took one step and ended up a few feet above the ledge. Landing easily, she noticed that only Dan didn’t jerk at her sudden arrival.

  Seems like Dan might be getting his situational awareness back pretty quickly, she thought.

  Lucas looked back into his scope muttering quietly, “Dammit, now my pants need a clean-up.”

  Scottie just nodded his head in agreement.

  Bethany Anne ignored the muttering sniper. They would settle down once the shooting started.

  Dan looked up at her, “What’s up?”

  She looked down the valley, “Trying to get an idea how much time we might have to get the children out of here. There sure seems to be more… where the hell did David get so many?”

  Dan shrugged, “Couldn’t tell you. Not unless he figured out some way to get Nosferatu to …” Dan stopped talking.

  She looked down, “Dan?”

  He answered, looking down the valley through his scope. “Let’s just hope he doesn’t have Nosferatu creating Nosferatu.”

  “Isn’t that what the serum was for?”

  “You might ask Stephen. Michael’s children could, theoretically, create vampires which could be controlled enough to force them to create vampires…”

  She looked up, “So these higher level vampires are probably down there, too?”

  “Probably, but once they release them, Nosferatu search out food.”

  “Why don’t they go after whoever shot at us with that missile?”

  “I’d guess that, either we are closer, or it has something to do with the commands issued so far.”

  Bethany Anne looked down and noticed the children were quickly coming out of the cave. She paid attention so that TOM could see what was going on and take care of the loading as effectively as possible. The two ladies, plus one man that had to be helped out of the cave, were loaded into the last pod by Gabrielle. Then, they were gone.

  Dan watched the pods for the few seconds he could see them, “Sure hope they don’t have another missile.”

  “Agreed. I hope not. Otherwise you would think that they would have tried again, but you never know.” She looked at the three men, “Good hunting.”

  “Aye, it will be that me lassie.” Scottie affected a heavy brogue. Lucas snorted and Dan grinned. Bethany Anne shook her head and stepped off the cliff and trans-located onto the ground below.

  Stephen walked up to her. She glanced over at him and then kept her attention towards the area of the valley that the Forsaken were holding at.

  He asked, “How many?”

  She shrugged, “Can’t get a good head count, but call it three hundred?”

  Stephen followed her focus, “I’m only good for maybe the first hundred or two. How about you?” The humor in his voice was infectious.

  Bethany Anne paused and considered his comment. She smiled, “Well, I suppose I could just sit back and let you handle the bunch of them until you tag out, and then I’ll step in.”

  Stephen chuckled at her response.

  Bethany Anne asked quietly, “How are Ecaterina and Chris? What happened to Paul and where is Chet?” She had figured out who she hadn’t seen yet. All of the teams looked dirty, dusty, bloody and a little tired.

  “Paul took down a Nosferatu who had made it past myself and Tim and was heading towards the door where Ecaterina was located. By the time the Nosferatu was killed, it had already torn Paul’s throat out. Ecaterina took his place and only a few minutes later three more came around the end. Todd got two and Ecaterina shot the third, but she couldn’t stop it before it got its teeth into her and tore out a chunk of her neck. I was able to heal her enough to stop the blood loss, but to finish the job required a lot more. Chris is asleep, but OK, same as Chet. There wasn’t room in the pods to send either back.”

  “So, you told someone how to make a Were, then?”

  Stephen looked over at Bethany Anne, “You don’t seem so surprised.”

  “What’s to be surprised about? Same stupid alien species with similar technologies. Just because I didn’t spend the time to consider it, doesn’t make it any less obvious once I do. Hell, even Alexi told me how he was changed from human to Wechselbalg.”

  “Nathan can change into a hybrid now, too.”

  “Oh?”

  “Yes, he took a look at what he must have though was Ecaterina’s dead body and … it was a surprise.”

  Bethany Anne looked over at Stephen, “Was that a ‘bad’ surprise or a ‘good’ surprise?” She detected a note of annoyance in Stephen’s voice.

  Stephen answered, “It helped, but as the leader a heads up from my Queen woul
d be appreciated next time.”

  Bethany Anne considered her response, “Taken under advisement, and for what it is worth, I should have told you. I wasn’t sure it would work and didn’t want to get the group’s hopes up. Nathan can be so calm under pressure I really didn’t know if he could do it.”

  Mollified, he replied, “He makes an impressive Werewolf. I’ve never seen one bigger.”

  Bethany Anne’s face showed shock, “You’ve known other Werewolf’s that could stay in that form?”

  Stephen exhaled, “I’ve known a few. I’m over nine-hundred years old, Bethany Anne. Some very good friends of mine were Werewolves that could change into both forms. I’ve had to kill two of them when they went too far and couldn’t handle the power. It is a drug at times, this changing for them is a curse.”

  Somewhere in Austria

  David was waiting for news of his efforts. He had confirmation that the helicopter that was used to enter the valley had been successfully destroyed, before the communications stopped.

  David smiled, maybe they would make a movie, “Blackhawk Down 2 - More Useless Americans Die.” He couldn’t stand that country. He didn’t like them before, when Michael had left Europe to stay over there. But when they liberated Europe, as World War II ended, his distaste became a deep seated loathing. They had been a pivotal force that finished the Third Reich.

  And, all of his plans.

  He played with the liquor in his glass, swirling it around letting the firelight play through the amber liquid. It was a pity that Michael was back in play. There was no one to blame that on but himself. He had waited for Michael to finally understand and accept the reality of what must occur. Only, to have his opportunity to kill Michael slip through his gloating fingers.

  Then Michael had been helped by his new daughter. David’s face distorted in disgust as he threw the glass into the fireplace, flames erupting out as the alcohol burned off.

  He stared at the glass shards on the floor, reflecting the firelight. Some staff would need to come pick up the broken glass when he was finished with his contemplations.

  One of his throw-away phones rang. He picked it up, “Yes?”

  The voice was deep, clipped and precise. “Michael is in Argentina. He has taken over Anton’s home.”

  “How long?”

  “Weeks.”

  David considered this, “Very good, keep watch and report, use a different number next time. I want to know if he leaves South America.”

  “Understood.”

  There was a click and the phone went dead. David stood, his shoes cracked a few glass shards as he walked to the fire and crushed the phone before tossing the parts into the flame.

  So, it was Michael who killed Anton, not this daughter as he had originally thought. David considered this news. Michael must be stuck in South America trying to hold together Anton’s children and making sure it didn’t become a bloodbath in those countries.

  Good.

  That meant his trap had a better chance of succeeding. Without Michael, it wasn’t very likely that Stephen or Bethany Anne would have enough skill to take out everything he had set up.

  He smiled and reached for his coat.

  It also meant that he could visit his home.

  TQB Enterprises Company Jet, En Route to Colorado

  Lance was working on his laptop. There were a lot of changes required to turn the base, he was accustomed to running, into one where they could consolidate all of the research and development capabilities from companies presently located all over the world.

  Patricia had her own laptop in front of her open, but wasn’t looking at it. Rather, she was looking at the man across from her.

  She spoke up, “How can you be so calm?”

  Lance looked up from his spreadsheets and charts, “I’m sorry, what did you say?”

  “I asked, how can you be so calm with what is going on in Turkey?” She wanted to sit next to him, but the seats on this jet weren’t set up that way.

  “Learned in the service. You train your people. You set up the operation based on the best intel you have. After that, if you aren’t an active part of the operation, you focus on what you can do to move the strategy forward. We can’t sit on our hands and worry, it’s not productive and it causes ulcers. I have to trust that she has trained her teams well. And that they will take care of her and things will be ok.”

  Patricia thought about what he had said and decided he was right. Sitting on her hands when they had stuff to do wasn’t helping the bigger picture.

  Firing up her laptop, she started asking him about the different projects that were needed all across the base. Everything from modifications to living quarters, to upgrading security in certain areas. Further, they needed to refurbish old buildings and build out new services for civilians that would be on the base soon.

  At the end of the planning session, she looked at the bottom figures. “Lance, that is a hell of a budget. That’s enough to run a small country, it looks like.”

  Lance answered, “It is. The Federated States of Micronesia’s GDP is somewhere around three-hundred thirty-nine million and they aren’t even the smallest. So yes, it is a hell of a budget.”

  “How are we going to pay for it all?”

  He smiled, affecting a British accent. “Commerce, my dear Patricia, commerce!” He sobered, “Truthfully, we are going to be releasing new technologies. The licensing and manufacturing of those new technologies will bring in billions. That’s why I’m spending so much on upgrading the base. We will have three rings of security. One for getting onto the base and operating with a large contingent of the people. Then the secured areas, and finally the black secured areas. I’ve thrown in a couple of red herring locations as honey-pot traps to capture anyone looking for the inside areas. Not sure they are needed but I felt it was important. Hell, just those areas alone are five million.”

  Patricia pursed her lips, “Billions you say?”

  Lance nodded and looked back down at his laptop.

  “Budget?” She said as she went back to her spreadsheet. “We don’t need no stinking budget!”

  CHAPTER TWENTY-THREE

  Small village in Turkey near Syrian Border

  Gabrielle went into the cave and then brought out and handed Bethany Anne her katanas. Both her original and the one that Stephen had gifted her.

  Bethany Anne regarded her new katana, watching the moonlight gleam across its sharpened blade as she turned it over and back again. “Shall we dance by the pale, pale moonlight?” She asked, in a whisper.

  Stephen and Gabrielle looked over at their Queen, wondering what she was up to. With her eyes closed Bethany Anne bent her neck to the left, then slowly bent it over to the right, hearing her bones crack. Finally, she moved her neck in a circle and when she opened her eyes they were inflamed, her fangs descending. Stephen and Gabrielle stepped back realizing they were too close for her to use her swords effectively.

  She turned around, those that were with her stared, their eyes drawn to her face. “I have had enough of David’s bullshit, I have had enough of these fucking Nosferatu, we end this now, we end this here. He thinks he has enough out there to swamp us?” Her voice became louder, “He thinks a few hundred Nosferatu is enough to swamp the Queen BITCH, Her GUARDS and Her GUARDIANS?” He eyes became blood red, glowing in the night. “We do not Yield, we do not Give up, and we do NOT cower for anyone or anything!”