“Julie, help her!”
Julie crouched down next to Ren and pulled out a straight blade like mine. Ren’s eyes went impossibly huge at the sight of the blade.
“NO! Wait! What are you–”
Julie shoved the blade into the floor cutting around Ren’s leg. It only took a second before she was free from the floor. Without a word, Julie began first aid and applied a field dressing to her leg.
“Well, this is embarrassing.”
“Ren, was there supposed to be a crawlspace under the house?”
“No. It wasn’t in the floor plans, and there are no access doors to under the house.”
“So why is there an open area under the house?”
About then I noticed the smell. It was that same sickening smell the immortal had at the apartment.
Julie’s head snapped up to attention, ignoring her treatment of Ren’s leg. “I am detecting movement below the house. Unable to determine the origin of the movement. It is relatively human.”
Without warning Julie hefted Ren up as soon as she stopped talking. I grunted as she dropped Ren in my lap. Julie grabbed the back of the wheelchair and darted us down the hall and out the front door.
“Hold on! What are you doing Julie?!”
“Primary objective is your safety. Neither you or Detective Michaels are in a position to be involved in a confrontation in your current states. It is wiser to pull back and regroup.”
As soon as she had us loaded up in the car, Julie sped away towards the hospital.
* * *
“I called Tanaka. He’s setting up a containment team at the house. How are you doing?” I asked as I wheeled into the clown covered exam room in the pediatric ward at the hospital.
Ren cringed in pain as Vicki stitched up the cut on her leg. The cut was high enough on her thigh that she had to take her pants off. Ren was setting on the exam table with her legs spread wide showing the world her green camouflage colored silk panties. I tried to stifle a snicker and gave in.
“I love your underwear. Army surplus?” I teased her.
Ren turned three shades redder as she pulled her coat over her lap. Vicki grabbed the coat and tossed it away immediately.
“Now quit that! You’re blocking my light. Besides, it’s not like we haven’t already seen you now.”
Ren groaned.
“Tralalalalalala.”
I looked over at the noise to see both dolls on the counter dancing with each other and singing. I giggled as they spun each other around the counter top.
“Aren’t they adorable? The kids here all love DPN.” Vicki pointed at them over her shoulder as she started another stitch on Ren’s thigh.
“DPN?”
“Double P, Double N. Pretty Princess Nurse Nicki. That’s her name. DPN for short. The kids love her, and so do the staff. I’ve already had about a hundred offers to buy her from me.”
“I had the same problem at the station. Everyone wanted to buy Chibi, or at least order their own. Some of the guys that wanted her don’t even have kids. Even the chief wants one. OW! Be careful Vicki!”
“Chill out Ren. This is the best I can do for you right now. I wore myself out a little too much healing Kieran. This will have to do until I get my strength back and can heal you properly,” she explained sounding exhausted.
“I didn’t realize you were doing so much for me Vicki. You want a painkiller Ren?”
“Please, before the torture queen here finds another nerve to stab.”
KNOCK! KNOCK! “Miss Grey, Arkon wishes to see you. He says it’s important,” Julie called through the door.
Vicki sighed, “Kieran, go meet your friend. Then I want you back in bed and resting! I mean it! You shouldn’t be out running around. And you Miss Detective! You are hereby ordered to take the rest of the day off and go home. Put that leg up and keep these dressings dry. I will catch up to you tomorrow and change them. I will also help heal you a little then. I mean it! Bed rest for both of you, or else I’ll tie you to the beds myself!”
Pushy much?
“Yes Old Mother Vicki,” I teased.
* * *
Arkon looked tired. Well, as tired as a few-thousand-year-old dragon could anyway. He groaned as he repositioned himself in his huge room, which suddenly seemed way too small for him.
“Arkon, do you ever get out to you know . . . stretch your wings?”
“Hahaha! Stretch my wings, that’s a good one. Yes young one, from time to time. But it has been years since I was able to as you say, stretch my wings.”
“So, what’s up? Got a new story for me or something?”
“Something, yes. We have received unsettling reports that politics are changing in the Vampire Council. They believe that Jacob is dead since you shot what appeared to be him back at Christmas. They have apparently renounced their support of you. In fact, if one would be to believe what our intelligence has told us, you are actually a target now. It is unsubstantiated rumor, but supposedly there have been a handful of vampiric assassins dispatched to eliminate you.”
“Bullshit. Yuric would never allow it.”
The dragon sighed, “Master Yuric has been missing for almost a week now. He still has not returned yet from his trip, and apparently he never arrived at his destination either. I fear the worse. That’s most likely why he hasn’t called you back yet.”
“I can’t believe it. Why support me one day and hunt me the next?”
“They wanted you to remove a problem they couldn’t. By all appearances you did kill Jacob. They are not interested in the fact that there may still be another Jacob alive and well in the world. Your job for them is done. You killed the one that they couldn’t, in their eyes. That makes you more dangerous than Jacob was. The Vampire Council is afraid of you, plain and simple.”
“Wonderful! What am I supposed to do now?”
“That is why you are here. I reported all of this, including our suspicions that the real Jacob is still alive, to the GCP Council. Of course they do not believe that you have lost your abilities entirely. They are worried about possibly losing one of their best Hunters however. Their response was one of two choices. First, to have you locked away in isolation until we can gather further evidence to–”
“–Not going to happen! No, way! I worked too hard to be here, I’m not going into hiding just because of a few rumors.”
“I had thought you would react like that. So I went with option two, a bodyguard. The council wants all Hunter Officers to work in a group of four, and you are currently one short without Marsala. The Council has agreed to allow you to move freely as long as a properly chosen bodyguard shadows you as your team’s fourth for the time being. Time was of the essence. I was forced to make a decision based on the short list of available candidates we had. I believe the girl I have chosen will mix with your group well.”
“And I don’t get any say in this?”
“Unfortunately, no. Your new team member will naturally move into your apartment, in order to guard you more closely.”
“No room! All the beds are full,” I blurted out with defiance thick in my voice. I didn’t like the idea of someone I didn’t know simply moving into my home because someone else said so.
“You have two rather large couches that are not currently being used, do you not?”
“The couches have sleepers on them daily.”
Arkon lifted a scaly eyebrow in my direction. “I was not intending your cats to be counted in this discussion.”
So much for the easy way out.
“What about Julie? She’s programed for combat, and I already accepted her.”
Arkon took a deep breath for his sigh. “The GCP Council does not recognize Julie as an acceptable guard, because she is an android. They do not believe she would be adequate protection.”
“Damn . . . so there is really no choice? I have to accept someone into my home, my life, just like that?”
“Yes. Emmy has met her already. She approved. In fac
t she believes you will enjoy the company of your new partner. She is gathering her things as we speak. You can take her home with you. In the meantime, do you have the doll for Cassie with you?”
I can take her home with me? Oh what fun!
I pulled out the white box from the side pocket of the wheelchair where I had put it earlier.
Arkon smiled, “Good. Romeo has finished the personality program for it. You will need to give it a name though.”
“I never got to talk to Cassie about it. She never gave me a name yet.”
“Well, I am sure you can give it a proper name. Cassie should be happy either way.”
Julie took the doll from me and connected it to Arkon’s computer through the USB cord that had been hidden in the bow of sash around her kimono, the obi. I watched the numbers count away the percent of progress of the personality download until it was done.
“What will the name be?” Arkon looked at me expectantly.
I tried to think of every name I could. Everyone should know by now that I am terrible at naming things, but they keep asking me anyway. Every movie and TV show I had ever seen filtered through my brain until I had a headache. Finally I thought of a Japanese name.
“Let’s call her Kiyoshi. I think Tanaka said once it meant pure, or something.”
“Very well,” he snorted his approval and typed away on his computer. “Wake up Kiyoshi.”
The little doll in the kimono blinked her deep brown eyes open and looked around the room.
“Cassie? Where is Cassie? Whaw are you?” she asked in the same cute little voice the other dolls had.
“This is Kieran. Cassie’s older sister. Cassie is at school right now. Kieran will take care of you until Cassie comes home,” Arkon whispered, even though his whisper sounded loud like loudest my screams.
The doll turned to face me. She bowed to me with her eyes closed.
“I am Kiyoshi. I am pleased taw meet the sister awf my Cassie. Please accept my awffer awf assistance in any way until such a time as I can be brawught taw Cassie.”
She raised up and smiled at me holding her little fan and purse close. She was almost as adorable as Cassie, almost.
“Pleased to meet you. Call me Kieran. I’ll be happy to tell you about Cassie, until you can meet her. Why do you pronounce your name different then you speak?”
“Names are prawper, and shawld be spawken in their pure fawrm. Nawt as a cute prawgraming linguistic,” she answered me.
“Not to interrupt, but your new partner is here,” Arkon boomed in his normal voice.
The main pneumatic door slid open. An athletically voluptuous young woman stepped through the door, dropping a duffel bag and a thick case that looked like a tackle box just inside.
She sauntered over to stand next to me with sultry fluid movements. Her dark brown hair fell to the back of her thighs even with the high ponytail. The loose bangs were dyed a deep bloody red and long enough to fall down the sides of her face and frame her breasts. A leather choker held a decorative silver cross on her throat. She wore a strapless leather bustier that caused a great deal of ample cleavage while leaving her perfectly sculpted mid-section uncovered. The leather was a blood red so dark it was black until the light hit it just right. Skintight, low-rise hip huggers of the same leather were painted on her legs, with splits up the entire side of the leg that were tightly laced together and tied off at the waist. If she had on underwear, it didn’t show through the open sides of the pants, or above the incredibly small patch of fabric covering her crotch. How in the hell did those pants stay up? They were low enough in the front that she obviously shaved down there, even lower than my jeans. The thick, open toed heels added a few inches to her height. She just oozed SEX.
“This is Darcy Griffith. Darcy, this is–”
“–Kieran Grey psionic shield user, Hunter Class Field Officer. The one that was forced outta her coma, right? You look positively luscious, even with the bandages and wheelchair!” Her voice poured over me like liquid sex. Not anywhere near as powerful as Sorrow, but it was still one of the sexiest voices I’d ever heard.
She sucked on her bottom lip, as she looked me over, raising her eyebrows. We shook hands. Her sharp, dagger pointed nails had a metallic chrome polish that made them look like little knife blades on her fingers. I looked up at her face. Behind her half-sized designer octagonal golden-lensed glasses, were eyes of molten gold that seemed to have ever-changing swirls in them, like vampire eyes. The deep crimson eye shadow was a pencil thin line across the bridge of her nose that extended above her eyes and clashed with the light rose shadow on the bottom when they met at the outer edge of the eye and swirled away from her eyes like little bat wings. Her deep burgundy lips glistened in the light. All in all the effect was very gothic, and extremely sexy.
“I love your makeup. It really brings out your eyes.”
“Why thank you. So, what’s this?” she purred and pointed at Kiyoshi.
“Gaawwd day, my name is Kiyoshi,” she bowed.
“AAAHHKKK! It talks?! COOL!!!”
* * *
I explained as many things to Darcy as I could on the way back to the apartment. It was surprising how easy she was to talk to. She walked around my place with her jaw open. Like everyone, she loved the spa room. In fact she would have stripped down and jumped into the hot tub if Mary hadn’t come home just then. I left the two of them to go lay down a little after Mary told us about her day. Apparently she had accidentally left her bag somewhere, and it came and found her. Great feature, but I’m sure people would think it weird to see a purse walking around on its own.
I slept for about an hour before Cassie got home. She snuck into my room and stared at me silently until I woke up.
“Hey Cassie, how was school?”
“Great! The place is so pretty, classes are neat, and the food isn’t at all as bad as Mary said it would be. We had sushi for lunch. It’s like raw fish, but it tastes a lot better than it sounds. The only bad thing is that class already started for them, so I’m behind. I have loads of homework already.”
“Anything I can help with?”
“Not really. At least not yet. The school policy says that each student must be in at least one extracurrickaktular activity.”
“Extracurricular?” I corrected her.
“Yea that’s it. Anyway, I thought I would start out slow, so I just joined the chess team. Next semester I may try something else, but I’m going to be really busy catching up right now.”
“Can you even play chess?”
“Yep. Master Yuric taught me.”
“I used to play chess, maybe I could help you?”
“Nope. I already know how to play.”
“That’s not what I meant. . . . Cassie, is everything okay?”
She all the sudden looked like she was on the verge of tears. It took a few sniffs before she started. “Please don’t tell Big Sister Emmy. I like Floaty, he has great skills, and makes a good tool. . . .”
“But you don’t like him as a friend?” I guessed.
“Nuh uh. He’s pushy, and loud, and bossy, and, and . . . I just don’t like him as a friend. Don’t tell Big Sister Emmy!”
“Alright. So, what do you want to do?”
“He’s a robot right? So he’s just really only a program?”
“That’s how I understand it. You want to reprogram him?”
“Would that be okay? I just don’t like the way he acts, but he can be great help. You know he can be invisible? So why can’t he just be invisible and follow me back and forth to school? That way he can still protect me, but I don’t have to carry him around as a ball. Then at school he can hide in my locker unless I need him or something. Would that be okay? I know he is to help protect me, but I don’t want a friend right now. I have too much to adjust to, and the kids all think I’m really weird carrying a pink volleyball around with me to each class.”
I chuckled a little. “Julie!” I called out towards my door.
A second later she popped into the bedroom smiling as ever, “Yes Miss Grey? You called?”
“Julie, is it possible to reprogram Floaty?”
“I have access to all of his original programing. It should not be a problem. What changes would you like to make?”
“Cassie, go with Julie to your room. Tell her what all you would like of Floaty. Alright?”
She jumped on the bed crushing me in a painful hug, “Thank you Big Sister!”
“Okay, off you go. While Julie works on Floaty you get your homework done. One of us will check it for you when you’re done. Oh, is Emmy here?”
“Yes, Doctor Grey arrived a short time ago.”
“Thanks Julie, could you send her in?”
“As you wish.”
They left the room. Then the soft crying drew my attention to the pillows beside me. Kiyoshi was hidden behind the pillows crying. I had forgotten I had placed her there earlier.
“She dawesn’t want a friend . . . she dawesn’t want me!”
“Not true Kiyoshi! She just started school today, and she is dealing with a lot of problems right now. She just needs time. Then we will present you to her and I am positive she will love you.”
“Prawmise?”
“Promise! Until then I will tell you all about her.”
“C-can yawu teach me chess? Saw that I can play with her?”
“Of course.”
“Isn’t that cute!?! Kiyoshi is it? What an adorable name. She is even cuter when she’s active,” Emmy beamed as she slid into the room.
“Hellaw there, my name is Kiyoshi. Pleased taw meet yawu Doctor Grey.”
“Please call me Emmy. So what’s up?” she giggled.
I smiled and moved a pillow so Emmy could sit down on the bed next to me, “Cassie wants to reprogram Floaty. She likes him as a tool, but not as a friend. Julie is helping her.”
“Good. At least she isn’t crying over it. When do you plan to give her Kiyoshi?”
“As soon as she is ready for a friend.”
Immortal Death (Kieran Grey Psionic Hunter Book 3) Page 12
