by M. Garnet
“Yes, but I will not allow the training from you. It must be from a normal training soldier from your troops.” She squared her shoulders and turned to move a box.
“I will send a couple of guards to take you to a safe place for training.” He backed out, wanting to get her last scent while he could at this moment.
Chapter Sixteen
War Protection….
Minel looked around the room that the guards had brought her for her training. It was obviously a room set up for those who would need to work out and exercise. There were mats on sections of the floor to do floor workouts.
On one side were many types of weight and exercise machines to help build strength in different types of bodies. There were floating screens for instructions or entertainment to pass the time while one did physical activity. The whole end of the room was open to the outside, covered by a force field. She sighed as she looked out the open end, thinking of the power it took to protect that wall so the individuals could just look out at an ocean. This is what unlimited funds could provide.
In her cell, someone had brought her workout clothes. They were a loose pair of pants and a snug sleeveless top. There were socks with bottoms that gripped the floors as she walked.
The Guards left her at the door. Inside were only the Heir and a male that was dressed in pants and shirt like hers. He was about the same height as her and looked to be all lean muscle in the arms and chest that showed in the snug shirt.
Uncomfortable about this whole situation, Minel had heard of the death of a climber and an attack on a very important female. This was a large energetic city, but it was a closed unit and word spread fast about any happenstance. She didn’t doubt the Heir’s words that there was a killer loose in this large cave.
Minel wasn’t really in charge of any of the females in the cell areas, but she did feel some type of responsibility. It was strange how fast many of them took to her when they got small injuries or asked questions.
Now she decided the sooner she got this started, the sooner it would be over. She could show this trainer that he wasn’t working with a beginner and on the other hand it wasn’t necessary to show everything that she had learned as an officer.
The trainer stepped forward and did a normal bow of a chief athlete. Then he spoke in the voice of a leader.
“Welcome Mistress. I am going to put my hands on your body in order to give you examples of the type of danger of this male that has been brought to our attention. Will you accept this? If so I can then show you some moves to protect yourself from this type of attack.”
Minel looked at the trainer and then around the room. “Yes sir, I am comfortable in finding out the problems facing the females here. Should I work out a little in order to warm up, like in normal exercise?”
The trainer stepped to one side and Minel did a series of the usual stretches. She was just about done when suddenly a strong arm was around her, across her ribs and holding onto her second arm. She felt a second hand grab her chin and jerk her head in the other direction.
It all happened so fast and the neck was twisted so tight that darkness set in to fall behind her eyes before she set in any motion to react. At that point the trainer released her. She was gasping and turned to fight against him. He had stepped away to give her room to struggle even if she couldn’t hit him.
Minel screamed. “You attacked me without warning.”
She stopped and drew in a deep breath when she heard the low voice of the male across the room. The male with the green eyes had been true to his words and didn’t come near her, but he had entered the room to watch
“You think the killer is going to announce his attack?”
Now Minel turned away to look out the force screen wall. She really didn’t see the ocean so far below. She just needed to think about what had just happened. The killer could take a life with bare hands very fast.
Turning back and squaring her shoulders, she did a short bow to the trainer. “You have taught me a lesson. One that I obviously didn’t like, so I ask with respect, can you teach me how to avoid or escape such this same attack?”
The trainer also bowed, but with a serious face he asked her to turn around again.
“Mistress, there are several options open to a weaker or smaller individual who is taken by surprise by one who is bent on complete damage. Let us take each one.”
He approached her and made sure her back was to him. He carefully turned her and brought her back against his chest. He then slowly brought his arm across her chest in the same manner, grasping her opposite arm.
“The thing is the shock of having someone grab you so fast. It is going to have to take practice to be prepared for an attack. It is the same type of practice that soldiers go through in hand-to-hand fight training. It is how you learn to turn away a fist that is coming at you.”
She nodded her head, feet planted apart, feeling his tight grip across her body.
“Lift both your feet.”
Without hesitation she pulled her knees up. Evidently she caught the trainer by surprise, as they both tilted forward and ended up on the mat. He rolled with her, the arm around her, but as soon as she was on top, she twisted until she faced him. Now he only held her hand and she was up.
“Excellent, soldier. But warn your females that the killer used a sharp weapon in his last attack. There is nothing better than running and yelling for help.”
The trainer continued to talk. “Your shorter females can lift their heads and hit his chin before sliding down out of his hold. Try it.”
With the same grip, very fast as he reached for her chin, she bumped his chin and slid down. The trainer was knocked backward and his hand reaching for her chin missed.
Shaking off the backward slam, the trainer walked a couple of steps. “Very good soldier. That is a very good move for smaller females. Fall down and then run. Crawl first if they have to, but get up and run.”
Minel was doing the exercises again and again in her mind. Could she teach these moves to others, why not? It would give her body an exercise and her mind something to think about beside the green eyes across the room.
She bowed again to the trainer. “Show me, sir, if there might be other moves from this killer.”
“Soldier, let’s do this one very slow.” She realized that he now wasn’t calling her Mistress. It was an honor for this trainer to call her soldier.
“The male comes at you and quickly reaches across to hold you to take both arms.” He slowly slides an arm across her chest. Since he is behind her, the first arm is tight to her body and he grabs the further arm with his hand, holding it tightly just above the elbow, pulling it tight to her body. He then brings up his other hand to reach for her chin.
“Best action would be to act before I reach your chin, but even if I reach your face, any action is good. Now the move is to turn to face me. The turn is into the first arm that is holding you, because it is going to untwist the hold.”
She felt his grip, but as she turned slowing to face him, almost like a dance step, his arm was unwrapped and she was left with him holding her left arm with his right hand. The turn had also pulled her chin away from his left hand.
The trainer nodded as he spoke. “Facing your opponent in this position you have several options. Stomp on his foot, raise your knee into his cock and balls, turn again to break loose and run. You can always raise a hand and put your fingers into his eyes. Remember to play dirty as this male will. Now let’s do it fast.”
They went through the twist exercise several times until both of them were out of breath and sweating.
Quill watch the female that he wanted in his bed and was in deep pain. He watched and wanted. How has this happened to him? He has many of the powers of his fathers, but refused to use them to obtain this one female. There are some things, he decided, that should come freely. Until she came to him freely, he would not invade her mind or force her movement.
Still, he shifted to relieve the pressur
e of his swollen cock. Whenever she moved, he wanted to move within her. When she was on her back on the mat, he desired to be above her, both of them naked as he pressed down on her.
Was it wise of him to sit in this room and watch her move in her long sweet body? No it wasn’t. Yet Quill could not leave, needing any excuse to be near her.
He wondered if he could arm her with a special weapon? He knew she was of a higher order than just a foot soldier within the military she served. She kept her position a secret as she kept so many secrets. She would be able to handle and even hide the right type of weapon. Yes, he would find the right type of hand piece.
It would be powerful, yet small, really small. Quill would want it to be smooth, without any sharp surfaces, but having the ability to fire many times. He would need to take a long time looking at the items in his mother’s armory.
Chapter Seventeen
A different war….
Baloko had moved his office outside the medical center on the second floor above the landing area. He had no idea who he had kicked out of these three or four rooms, but here he could be next to the area that housed his female.
He had teams of workers digging and restricting the rooms and hallways overnight to allow his teams to have access to him. But more important he can go in often, at any time, day or night to see the female within the force field protecting her from air borne problems.
At this moment, he was in conference with Advisor Dee. Some of his black uniformed guards were standing alert along the entryways to both his offices and the medical site. The decision was to protect not only his female, but also the healers from the evil of the killer within the city.
It was that male that he and Dee were discussing at this moment.
Baloko sat back as he spoke. “I have several trusted individuals going through the records, checking everyone within the military.”
“What are you hoping to find? This male has strength in the way he has stayed hidden.” Dee also spoke in a relaxed voice.
“Well, we are hoping to find a difference in one person. We are looking for the chance that he was accidently accepted into the military. Better still, he might have had a chance to take the place of one who was already in our military. If so, there would be something or someone that might trip him up.”
Dee took a sip of the hot drink that had been brought in by one of his black guards. “I have teams doing the same with civilians, but it is daunting. There are so many within our cave, thousands of honest and hard working individuals. Then there are the immigrants and the prisoners. Some of those beings have been here for so many turnings of our sun.”
Baloko shrugged. “It sounds impossible. This killer has been in this city long enough to know it well. He also can blend in so whatever his size or his looks, they will look like an average citizen.”
At this point Baloko was surprised and stood, at the fact that they were interrupted. This was the one individual that his private guard would let in without hesitation. It was the Heir with the dark robed Assassin at his shoulder.
Dee joined the Commander, rising to show respect to the male he had helped raise.
Quill smiled. “Great, it is good to see you here Advisor. I would guess that you two are already talking about the very problem we are here to discuss.”
Dee slid a chair over for the Heir. He nodded to one for the Assassin, but the tall black ghost had already leaned back against the wall beside the door. Everyone knew this man didn’t sit down, as he always took a position of defense, one that wouldn’t allow anyone to get to his back.
“So have you two wise men decided how to find the killer?” Quill asked the question in all sincerity.
There was a silence that was embarrassing, as Baloko and Dee looked at each other. Baloko spoke first.
“Sire, it would please me most of all to give you an instant solution right now. Lying beyond those walls is a female I am committed to protecting and I allowed him to damage her. I have every cell in my body dedicated to finding that evil. We have the latest snifters on that floor, tracing any scent of him.”
The Heir had just come from one area where he felt helpless. He didn’t need another room full of the same feeling. “Tell me as smart as he is, he left something for us.”
Dee didn’t respond, even thought he wanted to help this young male who had been deserted by his unusual fathers. He left the response to the Commander. “Tell them what you found on the weapon within your female.”
There was deep anger in the Commander’s voice. “He was careful. On the day he attacked the rescued female he was working as a distribution personnel. They are outfitted from head to toe in yellow uniforms. This prevents them from contaminating food or clothing that they take to the different levels.
Baloko’s frown deepened. “He also found a way to cover his face with either a mask or some type of cover. There are so many ways available to alter a face and eye color. He found the perfect working group that allowed him to travel anywhere he wanted to go and check out whatever he wanted.”
The Commander tapped with his first long finger a scattered group of transparent memory slides on his desk. “We have found a few closets where he hid clothes and other items. The important part was the weapon he left in my female.” There was stillness in the room that felt dangerous. “It seems to have been something he liked and worked on. It had his DNA and scent buried in the metal and the handle. Had she not hit him with the stone statue, he would have drawn it back out and we would still be left with nothing to follow.”
Quill stippled his fingers under his chin. “So now you have everything you need from the statue to identify him. How are you going to find him?”
Now Baloko threw his hands up in disgust. He even got up from his chair. “That is the problem. He is too smart to remain within the delivery groups. But we are checking every fucking yellow worker in this city. Do you know how many that is?”
Now Dee spoke, hoping this would allow the Commander to calm down. “We have eleven thousand six hundred three assigned to the west side. There are eight thousand nine hundred thirty-three assigned to the east side. We have two thousand four on the landing floor. Not all of them were working and some of them are missing due to the hits from the first bombs and damage from the landings.”
Quill could not help with workers, but he had something else. “I can give you more information.” He handed over an info tile. “This is a replication of the male that I pulled from the female’s mind as he attacked her. I would bet that he has made a great effort to change his appearance. Yet we will all agree there are limits to what he can change. He will still be within the same bone structure, so look at his neck and wrists and knuckles. He can change his eye colors often but the whites will remain as well as the small few veins that show. He is unable to change his height greatly, so there will be a proportion that we can look for between certain parameters. You will have to take a few of your best trained identifiers and with snifters, we can eliminate a great many individuals in this city.”
Dee slid the transparent tiny tile into a viewer and then hit a couple of buttons to blow up the several different views. It was obvious that the son of the Twinned Dissnue had talents he didn’t show to everyone. He had taken a view of the attacker direct from the female. What you saw was a clear face of the male with hatred showing in his black eyes as he was turning into the view.
The other views were close up of knuckles, both wrists from different angles and the feeling of his height, as the statue was swung into him.
The Commander’s voice was like a rasping file. “He is not much taller than she is. She barely comes to my shoulder. Also, look behind, the posts on the bed, we can use them as a measurement to confirm his height.”
Dee nodded. “I will get some tech engineers on that right away. We can also use the measurements on his wrists. But look at the tight muscles going up from the one that is exposed. This piece of dirt is all strong tendons. When and where does he find to wo
rk out and exercise?”
Suddenly the whisper voice from the black shadow could be heard. “I may be able to be of assistance on that. Whenever the Queen is in a safe position, I will watch for any unusual exercise activity by civilians.”
There was no need to add how he might secretly observe people. Even those in this room didn’t know when he traveled through the city.
The Commander turned, getting control of his body and he refused to stare at the black eyes in the floating screen. “I will have a meeting with my Elite Guards and give them specific instructions on what we will be looking for. My Guards are the only ones I trust besides the males in this room. I have one on watch over my female at all times. I will share with all of you any plans.”
The Advisor stood, taking the tile. “I will make you all copies of this information. I will get with my tech engineers to get all the specifications we need. We will circulate this information, first to you males and then to others that are important.”
Quill rose. “I think I might have the best results for trying to convince the Queen to take safety issues. Perhaps we could borrow a couple of the Elite Guards from extra duty.” There was as instant nod from the Commander. “I think that she could take a lot of the communications within the Royal quarters. I don’t want her to feel like she is under lock and key. We just need one less area and person to worry about.” He didn’t think it advisable to share his other plans.
The shadow didn’t say anything, just slipped out through the door.
So now there was a war inside the Royal city cave.
Chapter Eighteen
Between the Wars….
Bogdan needed to see Magda, who he was protecting. He knew from the first time he saw the female worker in the small work area against the wall, on the floor of the enormous landing area.
