The Beast of Tsunam (Rev Smalley: Galactic P.I. Book 1)

by Combs, Scott A.

  “You’re telling me,” said Rev, “these women are altered because I have super sperm?”

  “Not sperm,” said Flint. “You possess a hormone which allows only you the ability to procreate with a woman once you have had sex with her. Apparently, you didn’t realize you had this trait.”

  “No,” said Rev. “How could I’ve known? First, I find out my blood kills these creatures and now I’m some kind of sex freak.”

  Flint looked sternly at his partner. “Have you fathered any children?”

  “That’s a pretty personal question.”

  Flint looked annoyed. “I already know nearly every woman you’ve had intercourse with. Does my question really bother you?”

  Rev rubbed his chin. “I guess it shouldn’t but it does.”

  “Why?”

  “Because I’ve always wanted children and it seemed the harder I tried, the worse it got.”

  “You’re being vague.”

  Rev cleared his throat. “I thought I could be a pretty good father someday but I never got the chance. My whole life has been in the service of either the military or the government. It wasn’t an ideal lifestyle to raise a family. Long periods of being absent in some God forsaken jungle or inhospitable desert fighting wars that no one even remembers.”

  Flint listened intently and then asked, “Didn’t others have families?”

  “Yes. Lots. That’s what pissed me off. I was different.”

  “You mean being eugenically created?”

  Rev nodded. “I was made to fight⁠—⁠not become a family man.”

  Flint understood. “You’re capable of being a father aren’t you?”

  “I guess so. It’s hard for me to commit. Cassie says I’m ‘difficult’ to deal with.”

  “Because you don’t express love?”

  “That isn’t the problem. I try too hard.”

  “You mean having a family?” Rev nodded. “Maybe you just need more time or a good doctor?”

  “Maybe I’m shooting blanks,” replied Rev angrily.

  “Blanks? I don’t understand.”

  “My sperm doesn’t work.”

  “Oh⁠—⁠blanks. That’s funny.” Rev didn’t think it was so funny from the look on his face. Flint continued. “Didn’t you find it odd that all the women you’ve known never bore children after you left them?”

  “I never kept in touch with them,” he said honestly.

  “None of them?” asked Flint.

  “Well,” he paused, “I wasn’t ready to settle down. Besides I didn’t age and they did which made our relationship hard to maintain. It still bugs me knowing I’m going to be young for God knows how long. I didn’t ask to be this way. I was manufactured.”

  “I see,” said Flint. “You can’t love someone because they’re aging?”

  “No,” said Rev. “I just can’t bear to think that I’m always going to outlive them.”

  “Do you feel that way about Cassie?”

  “I don’t know. It’s crossed my mind.”

  “How do you feel now that you know she could never have children unless it’s by you?”

  “What do you think?” snapped Rev.

  “You’ll have to tell her when we find her.”

  Rev didn’t like that thought much. He ran it through his mind, playing it back with subtle levels of sincerity. All led him to one conclusion. Cassie would freak out. First she would be angry, stringing a long line of curses at him. Then she’d hate him for altering her. Lastly, he would lose her forever. His expression soured with that last thought. “I suppose if I must,” he said reluctantly.

  “I’m very sorry, but you must,” said Flint reading through more of the data. “But we have to find her first. She doesn’t seem to be listed on any of these records.”

  “You keep looking for her and I’ll have another look around.” Rev wandered down the rows of women. He’d stop and linger remembering some earlier time⁠—⁠a happier time. He was filled with conflicting emotions he couldn’t quite come to terms with. Never had he felt such anger as he counted the innocents and felt intense remorse over the loss.

  The pieces to the puzzle were coming together and he ran over the facts in his head. This was turning out to be messy with plenty of violence and deception. Either the facts were wrong or he didn’t like where his gut was taking him. Cassie was still missing and luckily not laying on a slab with the rest of the women. He could only presume that something or someone knew about the experiments and interrupted the process. Cassie was removed but was she safe? His instincts hadn’t failed him yet⁠—⁠she was still alive and not far away.

  Now he knew Cassie was taken but not the big question: Why? The only conclusion he could figure was for power. Power struggles could tear governments apart. The pecking order would collapse and blood would be spilled. Whoever was the strongest with the most resources would prevail. If someone could synthesize the formula to create as many beasts as they liked, strong beasts created quickly with the serum from the women, then the shift of power could be profound. That someone would need to have a reason to resort to such a desperate plan.

  Rev knew the who⁠—⁠or at least some of the who and guessed the rest. If he was right, everyone on this planet was in danger. The struggle would start soon and Tsunam would suffer tremendously. A cold fire burned in his eyes. He still didn’t know everything but he guessed it was coming his way like a runaway train ready to derail.

  Chapter 31

  “CASSIE TOWNES,” SHE SCOLDED. “Stop your crying.” Cassie wiped the tears from her eyes and sniffed. A quick finger brushing of her blonde hair made her feel as if she had control of something even if it was just smoothing a lock of hair. Her eyes were pink and puffy and her nose glowed but she finally gained control and calmed down.

  The last thing she remembered was being dragged to some operating table, strapped down tightly by her legs and arms and inspected from head to toe by two doctors with cruel eyes. She screamed as hard as she could but that only made her assailants laugh harder at her discomfort. In the end she swore long streams of belligerent curses until she felt the prick of a needle as someone administered an anesthetic in her arm. Then there was nothing until she woke up in this place lying on the cold floor, naked and shivering.

  “Let me out,” she screamed pounding the hatch of the empty chamber. No chair, no bed, not even a toilet. What kind of prison is this? She felt like she was sealed up in an oversized Campbell’s soup can. She envisioned a label reading: ‘Human With Rice, Condensed. Just add water.’ The image rattled her for a moment; realizing she could die in here and never be rescued. What a surprise someone would get if they opened the hatch and found her. She hoped they gagged on her stench.

  She was thirsty. The desire for water grew in her mind as she licked her lips, which made her dwell on the thought of cool refreshing water even more. She wouldn’t last long without water, food or clothing. It was only a matter of hours before she would fall into a coma from hypothermia and then perish.

  She felt hopeless; no one would find her in time. She sat down on the cold floor hugging her legs to her chest and began to cry again. “All my training,” she sobbed, “and here I am crying like a baby for someone to rescue me. Some secret agent I am. I’m pathetic.”

  There was a clank and the seals on the hatch retracted. She didn’t care anymore. Those bastards could do whatever they wanted with her. She’d given up.

  The door swung free and she didn’t even look up. “Go ahead,” she sobbed. “Just kill me you motherfuckers.”

  “Hi honey,” said Rev standing in the hatchway.

  She could hardly believe her eyes. Her face beamed with relief as she raced across the chamber and flung her body into his arms. He was warm and smelled delicious. She never wanted to leave his grasp for as long as she lived.

  “You all right?”

  She nodded. “I’m thirsty and cold but I’m okay now that you’re here.”

  “Let’s get you out
of this place and comfortable,” said Rev hugging her tightly then kissing her forehead.

  When they moved out of her prison cell she found herself in a laboratory. Flint flew up with clothes in his transparent arms along with some food and drink.

  “This here’s my new partner,” said Rev.

  “Hello Cassie,” Flint said handing her the clothes. “You can call me Flint. It’s nice to finally meet you in person. Rev has told me many things about you.”

  She took the clothes from the little automaton and smiled. The clothing was obviously from a female Tsunamian. A simple jumpsuit that clung to the body and revealed her shape. She slipped into the one-piece and instantly felt better. She took the drink and downed its contents in large gulps only stopping to take in a breath of air.

  “How did you find me?” she finally asked.

  “It was Flint who found you,” said Rev. “He discovered an entry in the captain’s logs saying you were rescued and put into isolation to protect you while the battle raged.”

  “What battle?”

  “You didn’t hear any of it?”

  “Nope.”

  “Well, it doesn’t matter,” he said. “It appears you were next in line in an experiment that the alien parasites were conducting when you were rescued from them. The bad guys wanted you back so the fighting started.”

  “Then why am I still alive?” she asked.

  “The bad guys lost,” said Flint. “At least that’s what it looks like.”

  “Actually,” said Rev, “it looks like both sides lost. There were at least a few hundred losses on both sides. The Tsunamians guarding you and the alien attackers.”

  “What aliens?”

  Flint butted into the conversation. “There’s an unknown alien parasite that can infect a Tsunamian host.” She listened in fascination. “And with some type of serum derived from Earth women these infected bodies that are mildly controlled by the parasite turn into those beasts that you were investigating.”

  “I only knew of one beast,” Cassie said. “You mean to tell me there’s more of them?”

  “We don’t know how many,” said Rev, “but if there’s a serum and the parasites can mass produce it, then there could be hundreds if not thousands of those things running around.”

  Flint interjected, “My guess is from the stockpiling of potential hosts we found on the twentieth sub-level we’re looking at millions of potential beasts.”

  “One’s bad enough,” she said, “but millions would be a disaster.”

  “My thoughts exactly,” said Rev. “Flint has a theory that seems to support why they needed you to complete their plans.”

  Cassie waited patiently. Flint cleared his throat and began. “You see, um,” he hesitated.

  “Yes?”

  “It’s because you’ve⁠—⁠”

  “Spit it out,” she said angrily.

  “You’ve had sex,” said Flint.

  Cassie looked dumbfounded.

  “He means,” interrupted Rev, “you’ve had sex with me.”

  “I know you’re a great guy but you’re no Casanova, Rev.”

  “That hurts.”

  “Sorry. Don’t get me wrong but I can’t quite get the picture.”

  Flint flicked around to the other side of the couple. “Rev has a hormone that affected you inadvertently when you coupled,” said Flint.

  “I remember something he gave me,” she began with a sheepish grin, “but I didn’t see any hormone.”

  “You wouldn’t,” said Flint. “But I can assure you that you have it nonetheless and are changed because of it. This change must be why you were kidnapped and I believe it is the combination of this hormone and yourself that aids them in creating the serum that transforms the infected Tsunamians into the creatures.”

  “So, let me get this straight,” she started, “Rev and I had sex. I’ve been altered somehow and became a lab rat for some alien parasite, who wants to become a super beast?”

  “Yep,” said Rev.

  “What for?” she asked.

  “To take over Tsunam,” said Flint.

  “Okay. Even if I buy this load of crap, how did you find me?”

  “You, my dear,” said Rev, “are the only survivor of this battle. It appears the Tsunamians stopped the aliens temporarily by locking you up and planning to recover you later. Flint noticed you on the security monitor lying on the floor of that isolation chamber.”

  Flint flew over and handed her a protein bar. “We thought you were dead when we first saw you. We were both much relieved when we noticed you moved.”

  “I’m so sorry, baby, for getting you involved,” said Rev. “We’ve been looking for you for over a week now.”

  “At least you found me,” she said taking a bite off the protein bar and wrinkling her nose in disgust. “But couldn’t you bring me something decent to eat!” She chewed and swallowed the bland food.

  “I promise you the biggest steak in Texas when I get you back home,” said Rev.

  “Now you’re talking,” she said enthusiastically. “Baked potatoes and sour cream with extra butter?”

  “Of course.”

  She smacked her lips and politely tucked the protein bar under a paper on a desk next to her while Flint wasn’t watching. She brushed the crumbs off of her chest and looked around anxiously.

  “Where’s the ladies room?”

  * * *

  JIMMY’S THIN FRAME stood just inside Magnus Blackheart’s office waiting for his boss to acknowledge his presence. When nothing came, he cleared his throat.

  “Yes, Jimmy,” said Magnus looking around. “What is it?”

  “Boss,” stammered the red-headed young man. “I’m sorry to hear the news about your dismissal.”

  Magnus was pulling a picture off the wall and placing it in a box. “It’s all right Jimmy. Someone has to take the blame for the mistakes that’ve been made and that’s my job in the long run.”

  “But the Prime Minister should take some of the heat,” said Jimmy. “He’s the one who ordered you to send our agents off world.”

  “Yes, he did,” said Magnus. “But he’s also nothing more than a figurehead. His day will come when he’s caught in his own lies.”

  “Not soon enough for me,” said Jimmy. “You tried to help, sending Rev to fix things.”

  “I bent the rules a little and see what it’s got me?”

  “I broke the rules too and helped Rev as much as you did,” said Jimmy.

  “You’re not to say another word about your involvement,” said Magnus snapping at him. “Do you understand? Not a peep.”

  Jimmy nodded. “But I want to help.”

  “You can and I’m guessing you will before everything is said and done on this case.”

  “Just say the word boss.”

  “Apparently the Tsunamians have pulled out of the Alliance. They’re warning all systems to stay away while they sort out their internal problems. Rev and Cassie are still missing⁠—⁠lost inside that mess. Braz is AWOL at some unknown location. I can’t think how else I could’ve screwed things up.”

  Jimmy shook his head. “You didn’t mean for this to happen.”

  Magnus tossed an award into the packing box. “My guess, Rev’s discovered the truth on Tsunam and has Cassie by now.” Jimmy agreed with a nod. “And if we know anything about Rev it’s⁠—⁠”

  Jimmy finished that thought. “Rev’s gonna be a pain in the ass until he gets satisfaction.”

  Magnus chuckled. Jimmy smiled and he placed another picture into the box.

  “They don’t know what they’ve stirred up. Do they Jimmy?” said the now ex-director. “Rev’s like a nest of hornets when he gets pissed. If he doesn’t get killed he’s about to unload a whole bunch of unpleasantness on someone. Rev against a whole planet of unsuspecting amateurs.”

  Jimmy smiled again. “It’s about time he did. He’ll put things right or blow it up trying.”

  “I don’t know what Rev’s thinking b
ut I’m pretty sure someone’s going to get bloody,” agreed Magnus stopping and looking at the empty spot in his liquor cabinet where a bottle of scotch once sat. “We can’t have another interstellar incident so I’ve decided to join him.”

  Jimmy looked surprised. “On Tsunam?”

  “Secretly of course,” added Magnus. “With a little help from you and that woman at the Transport Department.”

  “Reese Stewart?” ventured Jimmy.

  “That’s the one. She has a thing for Rev. Tell her he’s in trouble and needs our help.”

  “Won’t it be difficult to get to Tsunam with them blocking their ports?”

  “Don’t worry about that,” said Magnus. “I have my ways.”

  “What should I tell her other than Rev needs help. She already knows him well enough to know he’s trouble. Shouldn’t I make up some big deal about the world coming to an end or something?”

  “We don’t need to lie to make things worse than they are. Just tell her the truth. We just need some time to get our people off Tsunam before their whole government collapses.”

  “Right boss,” said Jimmy. “I’m on it.” And he left in a rush.

  Magnus continued removing items from his office and packing them up remembering better times. With each item packed he became more and more furious. He gripped a picture of Rev and himself until the glass cracked. He flung it into the box breaking the glass completely. If he had it his way, he’d burn every picture of Rev.

  “Damn you Smalley,” he cursed. “You were supposed to die.” His voice carried and he wished Jimmy had closed the door when he left, he didn’t want to slip up so close to the end of his exit plan. He’d lost his position and power. Now he needed to tidy up all the loose ends before someone figured out his involvement. That weasel of a Prime Minister would pay for dismissing him from his job.

  Now he needed a replacement for Cassie. It was obvious that someone had divined the true purpose of her involvement and stepped in and complicated matters. So he needed a woman he could use to substitute for Cassie and it might as well be someone Rev liked. It made him smile to think that he could inflict one last insult into the face of the man who was standing in his way. Magnus heard Jimmy coming back.