Under My Heel

by Michael Anderle

  He stared at all of the men, trying to catch each in the eye, if only for a second. “Do all of you know why I know I have a budget?” He didn’t wait for the joke he could almost feel that one or two of the men wanted to shout out, “That’s because I approved the damn budget!”

  With that, he got some cheers. If there was anything these men hated, it was being asked to design plans and then, with all the preliminary work done, being told ‘there is no budget.’

  Lance continued, “Before the word gets around, I’ll tell you people straight up, I’m the reason this base is going civilian. Why? Because it is the perfect location, with the right people in place. We’re going to build the world’s safest research, development and distribution location, for the most cutting edge world-shattering technology the world has ever known.”

  He smiled, “Now, here is one more person I would like to introduce.” Lance turned around and waited as a woman, in a black turtleneck, grey palazzo pants with medium heel grey suede pumps came into view. At first a couple of the guys had no idea who the good looking woman was. As she stepped down the stairs and strode up to Lance she greeted a few of the men by name.

  Lance smiled at Patricia, “I would like to introduce my right hand woman, the lady who made all of this possible.”

  Patricia was smiling, she had dressed up for this trip. As much for Lance himself as for anyone she would meet on the trip. She had looked in the mirror this morning, she admitted to herself if no one else - she looked damn good in this outfit.

  Lance got her attention, “Patricia, there is one more thing I need you to view, before we resume looking over the base.”

  Patricia turned towards Lance smiling. It felt so good to see these people again!

  Then, the blood drained from her face as she watched Lance get on one knee in front of everyone there.

  He reached into his pocket and pulled out a small, wood box. Looking up into her tearing eyes, Lance Reynolds said in a quiet, strong voice. “For many years you have completed me in every way. I want to share the rest of my life with you by my side and in my heart. I promise to always love you, to carry your heart as the dearest thing entrusted to me and to never leave you.” Lance opened the box, a beautiful multi-carat round diamond set in a platinum ring sat on a dark blue velvet background. “Patricia Helena, would you marry me?”

  Cat-calls and shouts engulfed the two. Patricia could barely recognize Lance through the tears flowing down her face. She couldn’t speak, the lump in her throat was getting in the way so she just nodded her head vigorously and she opened her arms. Lance Reynolds stood up, grabbing Patricia in a hug that lifted her off of her feet and swung her around.

  The men, their concerns and worries from minutes before forgotten, swarmed the newly engaged couple.

  CHAPTER TWENTY-FOUR

  Kevin McCoullagh was waiting for Lance when he finally stepped out of the throng of engineers, holding Patricia’s hand. Kevin noticed she was using a tissue to dab at her eyes.

  He held his hand out, “General, or should I say, ‘Mr. Reynolds’?”

  Lance smiled at the man, and used his left to reach over and grab Kevin’s. Winking at him, Lance didn’t release Patricia’s hand so he could shake.

  Kevin nodded his approval and smiled to them both.

  “Kevin, you’ve been with me long enough, call me whatever the hell you want.”

  Patricia let go of Lance’s hand and stepped forward to receive a hug from Kevin, “Good to see you again.” Patricia stepped back and grabbed Lance’s hand again.

  Lance looked Kevin up and down, “Keeping trim I see.”

  “Trying my best.”

  “I need you here, if you’re willing.” That was Lance, ever the straight forward type with him. Kevin had always appreciated it.

  “I can be, if all of this,” he waved a finger in a circle, “isn’t just a money grab.”

  Lance’s face went from fun to frowning in a quick second, “Kevin…”

  Kevin was quick to put up both of his hands, “Sorry, General. But I needed to know how much you might have changed and you’ve answered my question.” He looked over at Patricia, “What, with you finally getting a clue about some things.”

  Lance grumped, “Had a little help with the clue. But I get your point.”

  Patricia added, “A clue that was connected to a two by four.”

  Kevin’s face scrunched up, “That bad?”

  Lance looked a little embarrassed, “Yes, pretty much.”

  Patricia came to Lance’s aid, “In his defense, it wasn’t a long time from two by four to being a gentleman.”

  Lance looked over at his fiancé, “Lady, I can’t chance you on the market! Someone without my hard head would recognize your worth and I would lose my chance. Hell no.” He reached around her shoulders and pulled her in tighter. She rested her head on his chest. He looked back over to Kevin, “I’ll bring you in as soon as you are out of the service. I don’t want a conflict of interest on your conscience.”

  Kevin put his hand out, “We out to save something big, General?”

  Lance smiled and shook his hand, “Think bigger than big, Kevin.” With that, he winked at Kevin and he and Patricia walked towards the operations area.

  Kevin let his hand drop by his side. Lance had never been much of a kidder, why would he say he should think bigger?

  Then, Lance yelled back to him as they went through a door, “You’re not thinking big enough, Kevin!” Kevin caught Lance’s wink before he disappeared.

  Turkey

  Michael had moved on once he had taken out the vampires which controlled the Nosferatu. He continued his search and found the PKK contingent. Capturing the leader, he killed the rest.

  He found the equipment that they had been using to block the communication signals. He ‘turned it off’ by picking up the hundred pounds of equipment and casually flinging it off the cliff, to land three hundred feet below, shattering it into pieces that would probably be unearthed centuries in the future.

  Bethany Anne trans-located the three snipers down from their nest. Lucas’s and Scottie’s faces in awe when they went from cliff face to ground. She had given Chris a little blood to help his brain heal. She asked Stephen why he hadn’t done so. He explained that he hadn’t been aware of the wound. Therefore, he had not realized that some action, on his part, was required.

  She confirmed for him that he was safe giving blood for just about any wound, it was the amount that was a concern.

  The pods had been back earlier for the wounded Chris, Chet, Ecaterina and finally Paul’s body. Nathan went with Ecaterina. Bobcat had accompanied Chris back.

  Bobcat had spent a few minutes with the wreckage that had been Shelly, gathering a few mementos that he found in the burned out shell.

  She went over to talk with him for a minute, to let him know what would be happening in the near future. He nodded his head in acknowledgement and a few minutes later had been back in the camp.

  Soon, the rest of the Guardians had left along with Scottie, Art, and Lucas. Leaving Bethany Anne, her Guard, Ashur and the vampires.

  Bethany Anne was looking over the town, now grey in the early morning light. She was reflecting on all of the death and despair that had been wrecked upon it by David, in his quest for power and control. Michael came up to stand beside her.

  Michael spoke quietly, “It is this which I looked upon, time after time. Sometimes created by humans, sometimes Wechselbalg, sometimes Vampires that caused me to create the Strictures.”

  Bethany Anne looked at the bleakness, “I understand.”

  Michael nodded, “I think that you do.”

  They stood there, silent for a few minutes. Taking everything it in as the light grew brighter, colors coming back into the valley, shining the ray of truth upon the scene. A truth that had left the corpses of untold hundreds. Innocent people who had been used in David’s effort to create his perfect trap.

  Bethany Anne said, in a small voice.
“He has to die, Michael.”

  Michael answered, “That was foretold a year ago already, Bethany Anne. That isn’t something I thought we would be discussing.”

  “No, not really discussing it. More like saying it so that I hear it. I will focus all of our efforts towards finding him. He can’t be allowed the time to build another trap like this again.”

  Michael looked over and down at the woman beside him, “And what about those that helped them?

  “Hmmm?” She looked up to Michael, “Who?”

  “The mole on the American Pack Council and those who wish to push their own agenda.”

  Bethany Anne pursed her lips, and considered what her teams needed to do. They had the beginnings now, the very beginnings to enable the push into space. There was so much more to accomplish. They could not afford to be constantly fighting subversive gorilla actions around the world while they were focused on saving it at the same time.

  “Well, it doesn’t please me, but I only have one answer for that.”

  Michael waited, he had learned patience.

  She exhaled, “The will either kneel, or they will die.”

  She took one more look at the valley, and turned towards the waiting pods.

  TOM, do you have the extra pod ready?

  Yes, I moved it into a low earth orbit earlier.

  Take us out of here, please.

  The rest of the teams boarded the remaining pods, Michael needing to be shown how the doors worked. Ashur jumped into Bethany Anne’s pod and growled when Michael acted like he was going to come too close. She smiled at Michael and closed the door.

  Frankly, Bethany Anne wanted a little time to herself, even if it was only the ten minutes it took to get back to the ships.

  No one was able to get any cell phone video of the pods. But, there were some people who swore that they had seen little black helicopters screaming overhead, just a few feet above the tree tops.

  Five minutes after they had left the valley, a ‘meteorite’ came flashing through the sky. It impacted dead center in the middle of that valley, destroying everything while breaking windows in little villages far away.

  CHAPTER TWENTY-FIVE

  The Queen Bitch’s Ship Ad Aeternitatem

  It was a somber crew that paid their dues to their fallen comrade, Paul Stevens, out at sea. They had played taps and gently laid him to rest in one of the pods before consigning the same to the deep.

  Bethany Anne had watched Paul’s coffin, the first of many in her long life, slip beneath the waves. It was the first death for one of her team, it was just one of a long list of grievances that she would have against the Forsaken. And against the Kurtherians, who had brought their war to her world.

  They would get a chance to meet her soon enough, she thought. She would make sure that Paul Steven’s sacrifice was honored.

  She stayed around for a while, on the yacht, before she and Ashur had taken Michael back to Argentina. She surprised him by giving him a hug and a quiet ‘thank you’ before reaching down to grab Ashur, and they were gone.

  Michael stared at the place that the two had occupied just moments before. His soft, “Your welcome” floated through the room.

  He changed into myst, sweeping through the house and out into the night. He needed to find out what his uppity technician had gotten into while he was gone.

  Stephen had held a meeting on each ship, with the crews. He wanted to make sure that everyone had a chance to review the operation. They discussed what had happened, what went well, and what could be changed.

  All of the children, Art, the two ladies and the minister had their memories tampered with, to keep the details fuzzy of what had actually occurred. Michael had worked on Art for a while, to make sure everything he planted was correct. Michael had plenty of experience with military brass who kept poking, when they couldn’t get answers they liked.

  The Polarus cruised west to arrive at Antalya before ferrying the rescued people over to a pier, using a boat from the Ad Aeternitatem.

  Bethany Anne gifted the minister, who had been chaperoning the children, with a sizable anonymous donation. One that easily paid for anything that the ministry would need, to do for the children, for the next five years.

  The two ladies received first class tickets and another two weeks paid in Antalya at one of the ritziest hotels. It was waiting for them three weeks later, after they had finished helping to get the children settled back into their homes.

  Nathan had sent an email to Bethany Anne. It had a link that showed both Diane and Dorene in a photograph. The caption was about how both women had almost been arrested, for pinching a man’s butt as he passed by. They had sworn, the article said, to be good girls for the rest of their trip.

  Art had arrived at a NATO military base riding on a bus. He could never explain how he had gotten back. It had taken him several hours to prove to be the person whom he had claimed to be.

  Both Scottie and Lucas had asked for reassignment to Todd’s group.

  Dan approved both reassignments.

  Bobcat, William and Chris gathered together in the garage on the Ad Aeternitatem and raised a toast to Shelly.

  Bobcat looked over at the original pod that William had built as he drank his beer. William and Chris followed his gaze.

  William asked, “What’s on your mind?”

  “I think we have a new designation, guys.”

  “Oh?” William was confused. “For what?”

  Bobcat pointed with the beer in his hand, “Not IZTA’s… These will now be designated ‘SHLY’s.”

  Chris asked, “What does that stand for?”

  Bobcat shrugged, “Beat’s the fuck out of me. But it sure as hell will be easier to dream up something that doesn’t have a ‘Z’ in it.” The guy’s laughter met Marcus as he walked into the room.

  As always, William had stuck with soft drinks and, unlike Chris and Marcus, didn’t have a headache in the morning.

  Key Biscayne, Fl - USA

  Bethany Anne walked upstairs, drinking a glass of milk. John had arrived and called up to her ten minutes before. She was surprised when she went downstairs to find that John had a cake box with a note attached. She put the cake box on the table and pulled off the note.

  It was from Mary, who was visiting her new home.

  Mary noted that she didn’t have much to say at the moment, but she would ‘come visit’ soon. She hoped Bethany Anne loved lemon cake, but it looked so good Mary had eaten a piece first ‘just to make sure’.

  Bethany Anne smiled while opening the box and found Mary was right on both accounts. The cake was missing a piece, and it was delicious.

  Bethany Anne walked into her suite, setting down her milk to pick up her tablet computer when a headache hit her hard, again. She sat down on the couch and rubbed at her temple.

  TOM, can’t you do something about this fucking headache? God, it’s killing me.