“You are uncomfortable in this situation. I am to guard you from physical, as well as emotional and mental harm whenever possible. I shall rectify the situation and see to your comfort.”
“What does that meeeaaann!?!? Julie! What the hell are you doing?!?”
I went into a light shock as the android pulled off her uniform jacket. In under a minute she shed her outer clothing without a word. She popped off her bra and took off both her panties and stockings in one efficient move. Suddenly I was faced with a naked robot in my bathroom.
Her skin was flawless, just as it had been designed to be. It seemed surreal to see a body without a single blemish of any type. She was an anatomically correct representation of a woman right down to her conservative, perfectly sculpted rectangular patch of pubic hair. Even her toenails were painted with the same French tips as her hands. Her breasts seemed to defy gravity as they stood out proudly from her chest as firm as a nubile teen’s.
She stepped towards the tub, sending waves of fear and excitement through my body. Her body slipped into the water without causing the slightest ripple. I backed away from her as far as the tub would allow, only to wish that the four-man-tub was much larger.
“Wait! What are you?– Julie!”
She reached out and yanked me into her arms.
“I will relax you now.”
With that the android kissed me.
The synthetic lips were softer and warmer than any humans. With an expert’s grace, she kissed me and began to caress my body. My mind reacted to her touch and I relaxed into her arms. The caress increased with each moment of the deep kiss.
I was loving every second of my personal android’s attention.
Her hand slid up my side and crossed over the scars and cuts to cup my breast. The synthetic skin had just begun to form replacements for my missing nipples with the help of the nanites in my system. The brush of her skin against mine in that one spot brought a knowing chill to my soul.
I froze in place and forced myself not to remember what had happened. Memories of that delicate tissue being cut away snaked their way into my thoughts.
“This is not relaxing you. Your vitals indicate an increased level of fear and anxiety. I shall change tactics and rectify this situation so that I may see to your comfort.”
She held on to my shoulder and spun around my body like a pole dancer. Her legs wrapped around my waist as she pulled me back into her. The softness of her breasts cushioned me as we lay back into the water again. The android hugged me from behind with her legs and began a light massage of my shoulders. I finally gave in and relaxed against her.
The world’s problems were finally melting away under the robot’s touch. I closed my eyes and turned myself over to the pleasure of finally relaxing without worries for once.
“My, my, don’t you look comfortable?” Darcy’s voice yanked me back to reality.
Darcy was crouched down with a sly smile on her face next to the sunken tub. She had snuck into the bathroom like a good stealthy vampire.
“Couldn’t wait to get her out of her clothes could ya?” she teased with a nod of her chin to Julie.
“WAIT!!! It’s not like that! I–”
“I was just teasing. Don’t worry, I won’t say a word to anybody about you bathing with your robot,” she said with a laugh and snuck out of the bathroom as quietly as she’d snuck in.
“Kill me now,” I pleaded to no one in particular.
“To kill you would violate my guardian programing. I am unable to comply with your request,” Julie answered from behind me.
I suppose it’s time to teach her about the meaning of a figure of speech.
* * *
Mary was acting like her regular self by dinner. She placed out three full plates and a glass of clone blood before calling us to eat. Darcy was drinking blood six times a day in an attempt to not have problems with another crime scene in case we were suddenly called away. I stood at the table a second and realized how large the table was without more people at it.
“Where is everyone?” I asked.
“I’m right here Big Sister. Can’t you see me?” Cassie asked with all seriousness waving a hand in front of my face.
I took her hand and kissed it before mussing up her hair a little just for fun.
“I can see you just fine. I was just wondering where everyone else was.”
“Emmy’s working with Arkon on finding a way into the embassy. She called me from there earlier,” Darcy chimed in, once again removing the garnish from her blood cocktail.
“I haven’t heard from Mr. Tanaka or Detective Ren, but Miss Vicki left for the Full Moon Hunt a few hours ago. It’s just us tonight,” Mary added while making sure we each had our preferred condiments.
“The hunt’s tonight? Why didn’t she tell me she was going?”
“In case you missed it, she’s had other things on her mind the last few days.”
“Gee thanks Darcy. Make me feel better why don’t’cha. It’s a blizzard outside though. You can barely see past the balcony.”
I glanced out at the blanket of snow that was so thick it drowned out the city beyond.
“She’ll be fine. You don’t need to worry about everyone so much, Old Mother Grey.”
“Watch it Mary! I hold the future of your tuition in my hands,” I grinned at her with my empty threat.
After dinner, I helped Mary clean off the table. When we came back Darcy and Cassie were laughing hysterically. The little robot dolls, Vampirina and Kiyoshi, were putting on a skit in the middle of the kitchen table. The little vampire launched itself into the air for an attack, only to be stopped by a bop on the head from the others fan. They played back and forth like that for several minutes. Then they suddenly stopped.
Vampirina and Kiyoshi turned to their respective owners, and Julie stood next to me.
“We are being summoned to the Archives. A local organization has requested intervention by the GCP,” they all said simultaneously.
“At least we got to eat first,” I shrugged.
Chapter 25
I barely caught a glimpse of Nikolai, the werewolf, as he led three men into an elevator on the other side of the Demonstration Armory. The doors closed before I could even say hi.
I’ll catch him later. And once again we meet at what should be my office as much time as I spend here.
Julie held open the door as I entered the conference room. I was almost inside when I caught a glimpse of the new sign on the door. The gold plaque was engraved and mounted, and too shiny not to stop and read it.
Office of Hunter Class GCP Officers
Kieran & Cassie Grey
We’re always at work somewhere
I had to laugh. Inside the conference room, Tanaka, Ren, and Emmy were raising champagne in a toast.
“To your new office! You always said we met here enough that it should be your office anyway. So now it is!” Emmy declared, bursting with pride.
I scooped up a flute and joined them.
“So, where do I put in the mini bar?”
“It would look good in the far corner,” Ash’s voice filled the large room from the doors.
I turned to greet her and froze with questions.
“I thought the Full Moon Hunt was tonight, aren’t you going? And just what are you wearing?”
She had on a thick olive green and hunter’s orange striped parka from the St. Carver Mountain Search and Rescue Team.
“The Hunt is why I’m here, and the coat is who I represent. On behalf of the St. Carver MSRT, under Article 2336B of the Global Centurion Protectorate Mandate I am here to formerly and officially request the assistance of the GCP in a matter of life and death.”
* * *
You could have heard a pin drop on the far side of the room in the silence that followed Ash’s words. After several moments of silence, Ash stepped up between us and took a handful of files out of her briefcase.
“This evening’s Full Moon Hunt began a little
over three hours ago. We had a number of newly turned with us. On a normal hunt the new would be partnered one on one with an experienced mentor. However, due to the number of new joining the hunt this month, it was decided to place them together in groups led by one mentor each. Due to the ferocity of the storm, we have lost track of some of our new.”
She flipped open three folders and placed them on the table. On top of each of the files was a picture of the man in question. The instant I saw the three photos I remembered them as the three guys Nikolai had been leading into the elevator.
“But these three–”
“–have gone MISSING,” Ash interrupted with a glare and a slight growl. “Their mentor lost track of them in the snow. They were last seen in this region.”
She opened a topo map of the hunting grounds in the mountains. Her finger on her right hand made a circle on the map. Then when we were all looking at the map, she tapped the fingers of her left hand in another place. When she moved her hand away I got a good look at where she had been tapping with her left hand.
The Vampire Embassy.
“We have over thirty missing in the storm–”
“Vicki?” I interrupted her.
“Is fine. We believe most of the missing will be seeking shelter in the caves to the north. The MSRT will handle looking for the others, but we need your help to look for these three since they were the most likely to head south. Our teams are already spread too thin to search the entire area around the caves even in optimal conditions. With nightfall and the storm worsening, we are simply unprepared to deal with this. The GCP has access to arctic gear that we do not. What the MSRT is asking for is for the GCP to gear up a team and send them up to this area.” She tapped a square on the map midway between the hunting grounds and the embassy.
“Why there specifically?” Tanaka asked in an all business tone.
Ash put her finger on the square and then drew a line from it to the cliffs just this side of the embassy. “There is a cabin here. These three had made arrangements to use it after the hunt as a base for some rock climbing on these cliffs. They knew where it was and that it wasn’t far from the hunting grounds. It is possible that in becoming lost, they found the cliffs and followed them back to the cabin for shelter. We would like you to go look for them here. If they are not in the cabin then the next course of action would be to search along the cliffs from here to here. This was their planned climbing area. If you see any sign of recent climbing, you should ascend and search for them up top. It is also a possibility that they may seek shelter in this ski lodge if they have climbed the cliffs.”
Her finger stopped on top of the embassy and she looked me straight in the eyes as if to will me to understand. Thankfully, Ren caught on for me.
“As operating agents of the MSRT we could enter the lodge to look for signs of your missing cats, right?”
Ash breathed out a relieved sigh. With a smile she handed us each a MSRT armband. “Yes, the lodge is a vampiric embassy, but they have always been kind to us when searching for missing shifters in the past. Simply show them these armbands to prove you are working for us and there should be no problem in you going inside to look for anything that has been lost recently.”
Shit! She’s handing us the embassy on a plate! No wonder she’s being sneaky about it.
“We could be geared up and on the road within the hour,” Tanaka added.
“Good. Time is of the essence, and I am afraid the storm will make for slow progress. I am afraid that if there is no sign of them at the cabin come morning then they must have gone over the top of the cliff to the lodge. We are grateful for your help. . . . However, there may be another problem.”
Ash’s face fell from relief to dread. She pulled out another file and opened it. I’d never seen the man in the picture on the top of the file before, but I did notice the rap sheet sticking out underneath it. And even I could understand what “wanted for murder” meant.
“Tobias Markum. Age 43,” Ren read off from the top of the file before picking it up and scanning through it. “Wanted in connection to eight murders in the past two years. Known for violent outbursts. Considered lethal. Advised to shoot on site. Where does he fit in with missing werecats?”
“Tobias is a rare lycanthrope. A shifter that has no clan, or house ties at all. He is a weresnake. But, not just any snake. He’s a king cobra.”
Tanaka choked on his champagne. “Tell me you’re joking with us Ash. No king cobra has set foot inside this region for over ten years. Rybeck made sure none would ever come here again.”
“I’m missing something important aren’t I Tanaka? Who is Rybeck and what is the big deal with a king cobra weresnake?” I had to ask before I got lost any further.
Ash gave me my answer. “A king cobra gains strength with each person it devours. They become addicted to the feeling of new power, and they start killing to feed their addiction. Their favorite food is other shifters. Rybeck was the last leader of the werewolves before the recent king stepped in. The fight between him and the last king cobra lasted for nine days, and destroyed four full city blocks downtown. King cobras are ruthless, powerful, killing machines. And they regenerate fast enough that they are nearly invulnerable. Cut off an arm, and it will grow back before the severed limb hits the ground. I was given a heads up from a trusted informant that Tobias was seen in the area just before the hunt began.”
“Is he at the cabin?” Tanaka asked bluntly pointing at the map.
“I honestly have no idea. Regardless, if he is around here at all it will undoubtedly become your problem sooner or later anyway.”
Cassie gave a casual shrug. “King cobras die when you remove their heads and burn them.”
“How would you know squirt?” Darcy asked Cassie.
“I’ve already killed fourteen of them.”
“Is she serious?” Ash asked me under her breath.
“Yep. Every word. My little Cassie is a regular homicidal monster killer. She’s probably even killed a dragon sometime once.”
“No, no dragons. I did kill a thirty foot wyvern by myself once though!”
“I rest my case.”
* * *
When asking what makes a blizzard I always had a few ideas. But, stepping out of the back of the transport truck gave me a new definition. Sixty mile-per-hour winds with the occasional ninety mile-per-hour gust, stirred up the snow into a cloud of white so thick I could only see about three inches in front of my face. The temperature was already ten below, and dropping rapidly.
“Remind me again why in the hell we’re doing this!” Darcy screamed over the howling wind.
“Death, murder, mayhem, the chance to blow things up and make things dead. What other reason could there be?”
“Kieran, you are seriously mental!”
I laughed and stepped back into the truck to help the others.
Tanaka had gathered Arctic OP’s gear for us. The body suits were snug and warm while at the same time allowing for good mobility. I only found one drawback other than the suits weren’t bulletproof. For the suits to work properly, they needed direct contact with the skin. We were all naked under the thin, spongy cloth.
I pulled on my armor over the arctic suit. There was no way I was going after Jacob without full body armor, and a lot of explosives. The matte black armor wasn’t designed to go over anything thicker than underwear. It was a snug fit with the thermal suit on. One by one I snapped weapons into their places on my armor as the others readied themselves.
Tanaka opened a weapon locker and pulled out a monstrous cannon, that looked like a cross between a minigun and a pulse gun. Six futuristic looking barrels that spun faster than the eye could see when he tested the motor.
“What’s that?” I asked pointing with my chin.
Tanaka beamed with pride. “This is a Mark II pulse cannon. Same as the pulse guns, but firing at a rate of five thousand shots a minute with an initial charge of ten thousand rounds.” He smiled like Arnold whil
e holding the huge gun effortlessly in his hands. “I’ll be back!”
His Terminator impression was lacking, but good enough to make me laugh.
With the rest of my arsenal in place I picked up the last piece. The black oval cylinder covered in vampiric glyphs was one of my favorite gifts from Yuric. I could only activate it with my shields, so I hadn’t carried it with me in a while. A nudge of my shields extended the obsidian blades that were sharp enough to cut through solid steel out each end. Another push with my shields and the double bladed sword split into two separate swords in my hands.
Darcy had been watching me and let out a whistle at the black swords. “Pretty cool. Tell me though. You’ve got two swords in your hands, two more shorter blades attached to your back, swords that grow out of your hand, and a dozen other blades in various places . . . how in the hell do you choose which one to use?”
“I . . . I don’t really know. I’ve never thought about it before. I guess I just use whatever feels right at the moment.”
Darcy rolled her eyes and began to pull on her own custom made armor from the Tailor. It was one of only three outfits she owned, including her leather pants and the bustier she always wore, and a single evening dress that was cut so provocatively sinful, even just looking at it on a hanger that I couldn’t even begin to imagine anyone wearing it.
Tanaka loaded his monster pulse cannon into an empty medical supply box on top of a hovercart. The cart floated in place using the oscillating frequency engines attached to its underside. It would skim the surface of any terrain, giving its load a gentle bump-free ride. Six of the Gatling styled assault rifles; along with spare canister clips filled with ripper rounds were placed into another empty medical box borrowed from the MSRT.
On top of my loaded armor, I pulled on a white jumpsuit designed for arctic operations along with the MSRT armband from Ash. The jumpsuit looked silly with the bulges of weapons sticking out everywhere, but they were all covered by the heavy parka. It would take precious seconds to dig out the guns and blades from under the parka and jumpsuit, but they did a good job of keeping us warm, as well as hiding the weapons. That way we looked just like the rescue team we were pretending to be.
Immortal Death (Kieran Grey Psionic Hunter Book 3) Page 24
