She nodded. If only he knew. Taking the job with the organization ten years ago, money and the chance to rub her success in her family’s face had been the reason she accepted the job without researching the company. Once she started, she realized her mistake within the first ninety days, but it was too late. The first of many implants had been slipped beneath her skin.
When she graduated from high school, she joined the military and eventually went to officers training. Her family had seen her stint as an officer in the army as a desperate move by an unwanted child and mocked her. She had thought working for a large corporation would be just the thing to make them see her as more than the bastard child of her deceased mother’s lover.
Now they thought she lived an exciting life as a marketing executive traveling around the world. She sent them pictures of her in the best clothes at the best hotels and all they did was ask for more money. Not once had she been invited to any of the birthday parties, christenings or Christmas celebrations that she paid for. The only contact she had with them was through emails. No one ever contacted her to just say hello or ask how she was doing.
“Yes, Sir. I don’t ever want to be dependent on family again,” she said knowing he expected a similar response.
“Clan is not all it should be these days. You should be at the pickup point,” he said.
“Yes, Sir.” She wasn’t surprised that he knew exactly where she was, the man was a brilliant strategist and never left anything to chance. Although she was surprised when he gave her this assignment, everyone knew Asia was a loose cannon and under La Patron’s protection, she immediately accepted. “I am shutting off the pod now; the men are securing it to the dock.”
“Ah, La Patron’s plane has left, they are on their way to Minnesota. I will make sure they are welcomed.” He paused. “Let me know when she is loaded and you are ready to drive. Leave behind them and I will give you the co-ordinates.”
“Yes, Sir,” she said her mind focused on parking the water vehicle and stretching her legs. When the door opened, she grabbed her back pack and stepped out.
“Bring the cage out and store it in my van. Be careful with her, I don’t want her to wake up.” Despite Griffith’s assurance that Asia would be drugged and harmless. She had given the woman another shot as soon as they submerged. Asia had the highest body count in the organization, the woman had been around for decades. No one messed with her.
Once her feet hit land, Mélange stretched. Standing in her alligator boots near the swirling water, she watched as two men lifted the cage from the pod and handed it off to the two men on the ground. They held Asia between them and headed toward the trucks. One of the men fiddled with a palm held device and the pod slowly sank beneath the water. Mélange snorted as she followed behind the men. Griffith had always been in control of the pod. Had she attempted to do anything other than what he wanted, these men would have given her a different type of greeting.
After the cage containing Asia was locked into place in the back of the van, the men went to two separate trucks. “Sir, I am locked and loaded.”
“Good, here are the co-ordinates.”
She typed them into the GPS. “Yes, Sir they are in. I have an arrival time of two hours and forty minutes. Is that correct, Sir?”
“Yes, depending on traffic. But at this time of the morning the roads should be clear. You should arrive in time for an early breakfast.”
She smiled. “Yes, Sir.”
He laughed. “Thought you’d like that. Get moving, your clock starts now.”
She turned the key and shifted gears. “Yes, Sir, waiting for the first truck to move.” The trucks moved into position slowly with her in the middle. “Moving out now, Sir.” She had no doubt the drivers in the other vehicles were making similar comments to him now. He probably had a video installed somewhere in the van. She made quick glances around the van but nothing was glaringly obvious.
Chapter 16
A low throb at the back her head greeted Asia as she slowly wakened. Opening her senses, but not her eyes, she thanked the Goddess that she was no longer rocking on the waves of the boat. For some reason she had yet to discover, being on a boat terrified her. Somewhere hidden in the deep recesses of her mind lay the reason and one day she would have her answer. A few moments later she realized she was in a car. The smooth motion soothed her.
Sensing she was not alone, she commanded her body to remain in a comatose state while she checked things out.
Inhaling, she recognized the scent from the lab. This female was with Deets when she had been captured. Asia tried to remember what happened, everything was blank after she was placed on the boat.
“Mistress?”
“Asia?... Please tell me you are okay? Well… alive and healthy.”
“Yes, I just woke up. They gave me something while I …after I passed out. I wonder where I am. They removed the tracker. I am not sure who has me this time.”
“Silas walked me through how to lock on you so they can come to you. If we’re lucky they’ll beat your plane at the airport.”
“Why are they in a plane? Where are they going?” That made no sense.
“They are headed to Minnesota to the other lab. It was the closest one to Pennsylvania.” She paused. “Are you on a plane?”
“No, I’m in a truck or van on the road with lanes. Not a back road. Who told them there was a lab in Minnesota? The black wolf?”
“No. Leon’s mate.”
“What?”
“Yeah, things have happened since you’ve been out of touch.”
“Mistress, I have only been out of touch a couple of hours at the most, what has happened?”
“Let me get a lock on you first so I can tell Silas, I have a feeling they are headed in the wrong direction.”
“If Leon’s mate told Leon a lab is in Minnesota then that is the truth as far as he knows. One cannot lie to a mate.”
“I know that. Boy… do I know. There have been times…but that’s not important. Just because there’s a lab in Minnesota does not mean that is where you are being taken. Since they’re supposed to be rescuing you, I need to tell them where you’re headed.” She paused. “Got it. You’re still in Pennsylvania, traveling south on the interstate. Shit, that’s not good. Hold on, let me tell Silas.”
Asia could imagine La Patron’s face when he discovered they were headed northwest when she was headed southeast. Whoever planned her capture did a good job of mixing things up. She kept still with her eyes closed as she looked around. The shaded outline of the driver was no surprise. Opening her hearing to a more sensitive pitch, she took a deeper scan and was unsurprised to see three small cameras in the van. That answered her question as to who had taken her. The cameras were trademarks of her former captors. There was a tiny one, barely visible, in front of her clipped onto the cage. Another small one was on the dash board facing the driver. Without her new weird vision she would not have been able to see it, the color blended so well with the dash. A third tiny camera sat on the passenger seat visor. She was certain it was a panoramic view of the interior of the van. Someone monitored their drive.
“Silas said…well… do you have any idea where you’re headed?”
Asia wanted to laugh, but with the camera in her face, literally, she refrained. No doubt La Patron was angry and had been colorful in his expression. “Not yet, Mistress. As soon as I hear anything, I will let you know.”
“Are you tied up or something? Can you break free and jump out the car?”
Asia thought about it. “I am being closely watched. I believe if I made a move to do either of those things, there would be immediate retribution. That is the normal way things have been done in the past.”
“Huh?”
“If I tried what you suggest, it would trigger something. It could be anything from explosives to some sort of gas, or a virus … anything. There is only one other person in the van and that would not happen unless this van has been specially equipped. I have
done a few of these missions in the past. I am sure the driver has no idea her life is forfeit if I tried to escape.”
“You’d both die?”
“Yes Mistress. Whoever has orchestrated this is high up in the organization and I would like to meet him or her before I kill them. So I will rest for now. It would be nice to have some back-up,” she said not wanting to sound ungrateful for the botched rescue mission.
“I’ll tell Silas, but if you are heading somewhere nearby, they may not reach you until later.”
“I understand. I will have a chance to test my new body sooner than later. I need to tweak a few things in my arms and leg so the magnet will not work. I will work on that.”
“Okay…I wish there was something I could do.”
Warmth swamped her, reminding her she was not alone. “It is good having you here. Tell me what happened to Leon.”
With her body shut down, she began the process of demagnetizing her limbs while listening as Jasmine brought her current on Angus, Brix and Leon.
She had just finished her leg when the female spoke. “Sir, I am turning off the highway.” There was a pause. “No, Sir she has not stirred or made any sounds.” Another pause. “Yes, Sir, I gave her a shot once she was placed in the pod because she was fighting to break free and we were running out of time. La Patron had just blown the door.”
“Yes, Sir.” The van turned down a bumpy road and stopped. The female put the van in gear, and grabbed her back pack. Moments later she removed a filled syringe and exited the van. Asia commanded her body to remain in stasis as the needle penetrated her skin. Immediately she determined the composition injected had been saline water. Her captor sought to trick her into waking up. She had done that too many others over the years. When the female started the vehicle again, Asia contacted Jasmine.
“Mistress, we have turned off the main highway down a rocky road. Can you lock on my position?”
“Yes. Silas has sent Alpha Samuel since you are still in Pennsylvania. They are an hour behind you. Any idea who has you, or where you’re going?”
“No. Not yet. It is someone she refers to as Sir. That can be a number of people. I am prepared to meet my fate or destiny, Mistress. It does not matter who has kidnapped me, I plan to destroy them.”
“Well…okay, I understand that. I just don’t want you to be alone. You have pack.”
“I am usually alone, it does not bother me.”
“I know that. But you don’t have to be… unless you really want to. You and I are linked. I feel your sadness, your acceptance of everything as if there is nothing else in life. I want you to know there is much more, and I want you to experience life to its fullest. I want you to have those margaritas on the beach.”
Inwardly Asia smiled. “That sounds nice Mistress. I would enjoy that as well. Perhaps after this is over…”
“No Asia. When you leave wherever you are headed, I want you to take a trip to the beach and have that margarita. I want you to lay on the beach and allow the sun to warm you and the sounds from the waves to ease you.”
Asia envisioned the setting as Jasmine spoke it. “The waves make an interesting sound as they crash into the shore, it is soothing. The sun warms in ways that man can never fully mimic. I have never had a margarita, but I saw a woman drinking a frozen one and she looked so happy.”
“When you leave wherever you are heading now Asia, that is what you will do,” Jasmine said again, her voice stronger as if she were drilling her words in Asia’s mind.
“Yes, Mistress, and thank you. I will return to the compound first, because that is my original vow and then I will leave again to lie on the beach for a few days.”
“Good, I want to see you again. We’ll eat and go shopping.”
That surprised her. She could not remember ever going shopping with anyone for women’s things. “Shopping?”
“Yes, for beach things and clothes. Plus it will get me and mom out the compound for a few hours. I have everything locked down until Silas returns and that won’t be until he comes for you. So we’ll all benefit from your beach trip.”
Asia did not know what to say. Jasmine sounded happy at the prospect of walking in stores searching for items to wear, while Asia would rather have a tooth pulled. “Yes, Mistress.” She tried to inject enthusiasm in her voice.
Jasmine laughed. It was a good sound, one that filled Asia with warmth. “You’ll have fun, just wait. Shopping is a good thing.”
Not wanting to offend, but unable to lie, Asia remained silent.
“Silas said there are some wolves trailing the van and will lead their Alpha to your location.”
“Tell them to stay away from the van and not to interfere. They will lose their lives if they do not listen to me. This is an old school kidnapping, I did them all the time early on. The van is the weapon and it is equipped to take out anyone who attempts to stop it from the mission. Even if the driver dies, someone else controls this van and is monitoring it. If he sees a wolf close by, he can shoot with one hundred percent accuracy.”
“Oh…okay, I’ll tell him.”
Asia tried to relax, but the idea of a vacation kept her wound tight. Damn, she wanted that trip. The more she thought of the sun on her skin, and the sound of the waves the more determined she became to fight for her vacation.
Suddenly the van rocked from side to side, and then settled into a smooth ride, leaving the graveled path behind.
The next half hour or so Asia floated in a world of fantasy where she sat on the beach with a drink, basking in the sun. In some dreams she ran on the shore, her toes digging into the sand, and on others she lay and simply listened. The daydreams calmed her to the point it took a moment for her to realize the van had stopped.
“Pull it forward,” a masculine voice said. The van inched forward, reminding her of the abandoned mine, she and Tyrese had been trapped in a while back. That day had been filled with the extermination of the Bennett clan, a lot of blood and death. Although she suspected bloodshed would be a part of her freeing herself, she hoped there were not as many deaths today as it had been that day.
Once the vehicle stopped moving, she heard the clanging of heavy metal doors and then nothing. She was inside her enemy’s camp. To fulfill her daydream, she would end his life today.
“You can wake up now. I know you have been playing possum for a while now. I can tell by the twitching in your eyes. Come now, get up.”
Asia did not respond to his baiting. For one thing her body was in a comatose state. If her eyes twitched it was natural to that condition. The stakes were too high for her to show her hand now.
“Open the back of the van slowly.” Cool air spilled inside the van as the door behind her creaked open.
“Mistress I am inside the house or garage, not sure which. I have sent my body to sleep and need you to act as gate keeper. Please make sure anything that is shot into my system does not affect me. No implants, please.”
“Yes, I will be with you until you walk out the door to freedom. I have joined my energy with Silas in the past and will do the same today because we are going shopping… damn it.”
Hearing Jasmine’s voice relaxed Asia and she slid deeper into her body sleep. “Yes, Mistress. I look forward to it.”
“Silas suggests I enter your system now so that I am aware what is normal.” Warmth eased into her system. Her fingertips tingled. “I’m in. You okay?” Jasmine asked.
“Yes, Ma’am. They are wheeling the cage out now. There are two men and the woman from the lab. I have never seen any of these people before.”
“Okay, just so you know Silas is listening in so I don’t go back and forth.”
“Yes, Ma’am. Hello Sir. They are taking me up a ramp into what appears to be a large kitchen.” The room was much cooler. Her cage door opened and a sharp blade plunged into her chest. Her body arched and then slumped.
“What the hell was that?” Jasmine screamed. “He stabbed you? Why? Who?”
Asia’s
body warmed beneath her Mistress anger. “It’s okay, my body is designed to handle that, please calm down Mistress. I do not want anyone to know I am not alone.”
“Okay, it’s her. We are going to move her onto this.” Hands lifted her onto a padded gurney and locked her in. “Take her to the elevator. You…” he said in a commanding tone as he pointed, “clean this mess.”
Asia tried to get a better look, but was limited to outlines and shadows. The gurney moved slowly forward and stopped. The male stepped forward and placed his hand on the wall. It beeped. He punched something in a keypad, each key made a different sound that Asia stored for later use. A set of doors opened and she was wheeled inside. He punched in a different set of numbers and the elevator moved upward.
“Now you see why she is so valuable?” the male asked. “Imagine if I had stabbed you with that butcher knife. With all your enhancements, your body would not be able to handle it. Notice how she stopped bleeding and her flesh has healed around the blade. To pay five million for her is a mere pittance and has already been placed in your account.”
“Yes, Sir. It is impressive. You are a genius.”
BirthDate (La Patron, the Alpha's Alpha) Page 17
