“Good,” John said and started to follow the rest of his team.
This was going to be the finish of a lively night.
Buenos Aires, Argentina
“So, I requested Hirotoshi and Ryu to drain them. Well, I asked them to drink from their necks, but I guess I had expected the guys to kill them. So, the same thing Bethany Anne.” Tabitha spoke into the phone she had been given when calling anyone at TQB.
“No, I just got fed up with the bullshit. This is the third time someone has tried to send idiots during the day, and this crap is pissing me off, and I’m tired of using knowledge as my security blanket.”
Tabitha waited a moment, “Are you shitting me?” She asked, “Yes, I know that.” Another pause, “If you trust me, I’ll get the fucking job done or die trying. I’m sick of hiding, and none of these fuckers are going to hide from me. They want to raise their heads now that they think Michael is dead?” Tabitha’s voice dropped an octave, “Then their heads will be that much easier to take off.” She finished.
“No, I don’t need Gabrielle on this. I’m not suggesting she can’t come, just that if she is busier elsewhere, then that’s fine.” Tabitha started laughing, “Yes! I guess Hirotoshi and Ryu make me feel safe.”
Tabitha’s lips drew tight, “If that is what I need to do, then I’ll do it. I hadn’t expected to learn how to fight with swords… Yes, I understand. I have to earn the honor, not just point a weapon. I’ll make it happen.”
The front door opened, and Ryu walked in. Tabitha cocked an eyebrow, and he nodded his head quickly. “Ryu just got back from disposing of the bodies. What do you need me to do?”
She listened for a moment, “I’ll be ready for the pod in thirty minutes, then.”
Tabitha listened for a few moments more, “Yes, my Queen, I will. See you shortly.”
Tabitha clicked off the phone and turned to face Ryu and Hirotoshi, “I’m going to the Polarus to take part in a ceremony to accept Bethany Anne as my Queen. It is a requirement before she can release any additional Elite to help me take out the Forsaken that have been annoying the fuck out of me here. Plus, I am going to need to work out and learn martial arts.” Tabitha started taking off her shirt and walking towards her room, “No time like the present, I’m done hiding.” She flung her shirt one direction and reached behind her to unsnap her bra as she continued down the hallway.
Hirotoshi looked over to Ryu, who almost imperceptibly shrugged before the two men watched her ditch her bra before turning into her room.
Two minutes later, she was back in a pair of leather pants and nothing else. Both men barely raised an eyebrow, but Tabitha caught the little gesture, “One of Gabrielle's she left here. Her ass is a little smaller than mine, but I’ll be fucked before I wear that other shit anymore.” She slid on a black bra and reached behind her to hook it. Then, she started putting on an Under Armor long sleeve lycra shirt. She finished, her breasts damned near popping and noticed the two men hadn’t moved a centimeter while she dressed in front of them.
“Guys?” Tabitha asked, “Woohoo, guys?” She snapped her fingers in front of them, “What's the problem, you're all gay, aren’t you, like Akio?” Both men minutely shook their heads in the negative.
Tabitha’s face turned red as she dropped her face into her hands, “Oh fuck my life!”
Hirotoshi looked over to Ryu and winked once.
CHAPTER SIX
New York City, NY - USA
The two story was old fashioned, made out of planking along the sides. The hurricane fence had grass growing up where the weed-eater couldn’t reach too well. Both houses beside this one were boarded up with no light shining out in the morning darkness.
Scott walked down the lane as two more guys stepped out of the house in the early morning chill. They saw the six men heading their direction, but only one seemed intent, the others hanging back. Probably not wanting anything to do with what the asshole in front wanted.
Scott reached out to grab the gate, “Yo Holmes, that isn’t smart,” Mars said and pulled his cigarette out of his mouth, “Private property.” The cigarette was flicked towards Scott.
“Oh?” Scott stopped at the gate. “So, if I open this gate, like this,” he asked as he opened the gate, “and step across like this,” taking as large a step as possible and leaving the gate to swing behind him, “that you will call the cops here?” He put up both arms like he was questioning the guy.
“No,” Mars said, and reached into his pants, “but we will have to call the ambulance.” He finished by pulling out a pistol and aiming it at Scott who turned towards John and raised an eyebrow in question. Mars looked over to Scott's ‘posse’, “Don’t think we won’t shoot all six of you fuckers.” As Mars finished speaking, the other three pulled their pistols and held them down by their sides.
John considered it for a second, “Yeah, I’d call that uncivil.”
Mars was trying to understand why they were talking so casually when he realized the first guy was already running towards him. He was hit so hard that the one shot he got off was because his hand clenched as he hit the front door, on his way through it.
Scott punched the one to his left and kicked one to his right, both going down in too much pain to do anything but moan. He watched the third stare in confusion. “Get the fuck out of here, this isn’t you, dumbshit!” Scott grabbed him by the back of the neck and threw him off of the porch towards the gate. He went flying one way, his pistol the other.
The rest of the team stepped around the guy lying on the cement as they walked up to the front door hearing Scott yell out from the inside, “Mario! Get your pimp ass up, you fucking piece of trash!”
“You think we should go in?” Peter asked, as all of them flinched when a window crashed above them. They heard a body roll off the awning to fall into the grass with a thud and lie still.
“Is that …” Eric started to ask, when they heard Scott yell, ‘Mario!’ again. “Guess not,” he finished.
There were two female screams, and the men were almost run over by two young twenty-somethings running out covering their breasts with t-shirts and pants held to their chests and wearing G-strings.
Peter watched them run down the walkway and out the gate. Both hooked a left heading away from their limo. “Doesn’t that floss hurt?” he wondered, “Not that I’m complaining, no lines when the pants are tight, but still?”
The guys turned back around when they heard two pistol shots crack out and one shot in return, followed by a cry of pain.
“That would be Mario, I’m guessing,” Darryl said.
The men could hear a crying male and the ‘thump-thump-thump’ of a body as it was dragged down stairs. Scott was commenting, “No, I don’t think you have any rights, mother-fucker. This is just justice a little delayed. Well, there is attempted murder of me first, oh, and a friend you killed years ago who is going to rest easier tonight.”
John reached up and spoke into his microphone. The men turned and started to walk out when a Pod came down from the sky to the middle of the street. John turned to Scott, “Just remember you have to clean up the blood, see you back at the ship.” He smiled.
Scott looked down at the helpless man in his hands and called after John, “You would do this, wouldn’t you?”
John turned as the four others continued towards the limousine, “Do what?”
“Kill him in cold blood, no trial, no worries?” He looked back at to his boss.
“Did you see me worried about the men in the warehouse tonight?” John answered.
Scott paused a second, “No, but that was protecting Bethany Anne. I’d do the same thing.” Scott thought about it for a second, “Ok, maybe with fewer grenades.”
John nodded in Mario’s direction, hanging from Scott’s hand, uselessly trying to get away from him while trying not to move his shattered kneecap, “He’s trash, Scott. If the system does anything, it will spit him back out like it did the first time. Do I care if you kill him?”
John asked as Mario redoubled his efforts to get away, hearing John’s reference to killing him.
Scott casually took his pistol and popped Mario across the back of his head. Mario now slumped from Scott’s grip, holding the back of his head and moaning.
John continued, “No, he shot first. Look around, is anyone else dead?” Scott turned to catalog everyone. Even the one laying in the lawn was making painful sounds. “No. What use is he to society?” John asked, “But, the question isn’t what good is he for society, but rather what do vigilantes do for the four-hundred million people in this country? It messes up the illusion of a justice system, however much it feels good to do it right now. That's up to the person and is a personal decision.”
“I want justice done, John,” Scott grated out, “I can’t just drop him.”
John turned towards the limo, “Akio?”
Scott watched as Akio stepped out of the limo and quickly jogged back over to them, “Yes?”
“Do you think you can command this piece of trash to go to the police and tell them all of his crimes?” John asked.
“Yes, easily,” Akio agreed.
Scott turned from Akio to John, “Thank you, John.” John nodded and turned to walk back to the limo, “Don’t take too long guys.”
The Pod disappeared back into the sky.
Thirty minutes later, near a lonely stretch of beach six men got out of a limousine. John stepped over and shook Bartholomew's hand, “Thanks for this.”
“It was truly my pleasure.” Their driver returned, “I’ve got an hour before sunup if there is somewhere else you need to go?” He asked.
“No, what are you going to do?” John asked him.
Bartholomew turned to look at the city behind them, “Go back to my room in a basement, wake up tonight and see if someone needs my services.” He shrugged before turning back to John, “What I’ve done for the last eight years.”
“You ever wanted to know what is over the horizon?” John asked. Behind him, six Black Eagles descended from the sky, and the other five Bitches grabbed helmets and threw their bags into the back.
“Why?” Bartholomew asked.
“It’s something my Queen does, find people with good hearts and provide them a chance to do something else in life. You’ve got a good heart, Bartholomew. I can’t promise you a long life, but if you want to know what is above the horizon, I’ll take you.”
Bartholomew looked at the waves and smiled, “Mr. Grimes, you’re the first one to offer me anything like this in over six decades. I need to think about it, right now the Big Apple is all I know, and you guys have shown me there is good to do here. Can I call?” he asked.
“You’ve got the card, don’t be a stranger!” John clapped him on the shoulder and turned to go.
John palmed his cockpit lock open and grabbed his helmet. He slid into his seat and hit the close button.
John spoke into his helmet, “Good times everyone, good times. Alright guys, what happens on a Bitch’s Night Out,” John started…
Only to have Frank interrupt his comment and finish, his voice loud in their helmets, “Get’s written about in one of my books!”
Finis
Michael’s Author Notes - Bitch’s Night Out (June 3rd, 2016)
It was a dark and stormy night… Well, it was at least a gray and muggy afternoon anyway. It’s been raining like crazy here in Texas for a few weeks, and everything is soggy. When I started this book Bitch’s Night Out, it was Tuesday, May 31st and I had just released IT’S HELL TO CHOOSE five days before.
Oh… h#ly crap did I get fan’s comments from IT’S HELL TO CHOOSE! It was the first time the reviews (mostly good, thank you!) came fast and FURIOUS about death, and spoilers? Yeah, practically no one issued ‘spoiler alert’ warnings for the reviews...it was virtually all comments about the … situation (don’t want to ruin it if you haven’t read the book, yet).
I was surprised and touched that so many cried like I did. A few were wanting to throw the Kindle across the room and then slept on it before doing something so drastic.
And… a new series was born titled “The Second Dark Ages”, The first book is “Dark Messiah” and will be out sometime AFTER Book 14 in The Kurtherian Gambit as the timeline starts after book 14 and ends at the same time as book 21 in TKG.
But, I think the emotional ups and downs from writing the book and interacting with the fans over the weekend left me with a lot of pent up emotions I needed to get out. For some reason, it sparked the question, “What would the Queen’s Bitches do if they were told to go blow off some steam?” Well, that was Tuesday at lunch when that question popped up and by Wednesday in the evening, this short story was finished.
I’m continually surprised (very nicely so) when fans mention they have read the series multiple times. I had a conversation with a fan who said she had read the latest book. It’s Hell To Choose four times already...Four !?? Craptastic… But … Yeah. I had nothing to say I was so shocked.
So, I asked a question on my Facebook Page for the Kurtherian Gambit Fans to see what the ‘average’ re-read counts were… Annnnddd I was shocked again.
What I didn’t tell them was that I was going to place the answers in the back of this book as a freaking THANK YOU to such awesome fans for sharing so much with me, and loving the stories themselves.
So, THANK YOU EVERYONE, who reads this series about one woman who, given the chance, will work to save the world. For those that answered the request on FACEBOOK and are “shocked...shocked I say!” that I would highlight their answers in one my books? Well, it isn’t like you didn’t already know I pull stunts like this, right? If you ARE surprised, welcome to the family! This author might pull anything in the future again – you have been warned ;-).
I copied the answers, and they are in the order answered on Facebook.
From Michael Anderle - “Kurtherian Gambit Fans - How many times have you read the series?”
Grayson Taff working on my second reading just finished #3 & starting # 4 interrupted re-read to read #9
Tom Arnold Only once sofar, but I've done that in the last 2 weeks...
Mikkel Jacobsen Whole series 3 times except for the latest which I've just finished for the second time
Side note, might have read the first few more than 3 times
Edward Higgins Let's see, I picked up Death Becomes Her at the start of March. I'd say about 5 times altogether now? I've re-read it before the last two releases were published... and I've skimmed through chunks of the various books on and off at different points.
Sean Preston I have read it about 6 times minus the last 2
Sarah Holton Twice but each book 2-3 times when it first comes out. Have just read the last one for the third time to try to workout a general timeline of events. Am just about to go back to the beginning.
Luis Vega I read the series 6 times
Wendy Powley About 5 or 6 .. have to keep up for the next release ... ☺☺
Earl Brunner Two times all, three times some. I feel like an addict needing a fix and the snippets are like methadone. Largely not quite filling the need.
Melanie Cisneros I read them all 4 times each but book 9 just read twice. When I can't find anything else interesting to read it go back to your books.
Lyn M Kenny Actually I have had the time to start my second read through. You put out your books to fast. Between all the other authors I'm reading and your day releases just no time. How ever I plan on a second and third read through in the future.
Jeff Morris 3 times, all the books
James Griggs I've read it all the way through twice, right before release #7 and # 8. Only got through half way before #10 release. Been rereading C. R. Daems series this time
Katie Elisabeth Foster about 5 or 6 times I think.
Robert Montgomery 6 or7 times
Maria Stanley twice....and going back again. :)
Holly Moore Terry 3 times in last two weeks while waiting for the last book. Now that I read the
last book, I will go back and read again. Always find something I missed.
Lisa Lamb Diggs 2 times full 3 times partial.
Wendy Pope Raisor 2 times, but I just found them a couple of months ago
Bitch's Night Out Page 5
