Commander

by Mel Todd

  "Excuse me, what you were listening to caught my attention. Can you tell me what it is?"

  He flashed a smile at her. "Sure. It’s a recording SETI caught. Everyone figures it is something from Earth that got reflected back to us, but no one can decipher it. They even offered a prize if you decipher it and can explain what it is. Most people are betting on an old radio or TV shows. Me, I kinda want it to be something new— different, but still fun." He offered her the headset. "Want to listen? It isn’t very long, only a minute or two. It actually sounds like a fragment, like something slipped out."

  [Yes.] Her voice came across as hard, flat, and imperative.

  "Sure." She pulled the headset on and the man clicked a key on his laptop. The strange sound played but didn’t mean anything to her. She listened to it twice, but nothing jumped out at her. "Thanks," she said and handed the headset back to him. "Good luck in deciphering it."

  "Thanks." He nodded at her then went back to listening to it.

  ~What was all that about?~

  [Later.]

  ~Wefor?~ There was no response so McKenna shrugged, too tired to fight with an AI. She got more food and headed back to the table. They all looked at her with various expressions of curiosity on their faces.

  ~No idea. Too tired to care. One last plate, then hot shower.~

  ~Yesss~ having two women hiss in pleasure in your mind created the oddest feeling and McKenna shuddered, as did JD and Perc. All of them turned to look at Toni and Cass.

  "Don’t do that."

  The two women burst out laughing even as McKenna rubbed the back her of neck trying to dispel the odd feeling.

  "Everyone ready for hot showers? We’ve found clothes that should fit you." Milton’s voice came from behind her and she wanted to sigh, but really it didn’t matter.

  "I think so, yes." Hot showers, clean clothes, toothbrushes, and hair brushes all combined to make her feel almost human. She still could have slept for a full day.

  McKenna came out to find everyone else looking much more normal. Cass in clothes really did come across as cute, and JD didn’t quite hover about her. She didn’t seem to mind.

  They looked at each other and Cass said the question out loud. "Now what?"

  "Now you come with me," responded a male's voice, prim with a tone as if they had offended him.

  McKenna turned to see who had spoken and a new man dressed in a slim suit over a body that she could tell spent a lot of time in the gym. He had cold blue eyes and she sensed a sneer hiding in his mannerisms.

  "And you are?" She asked, though already he wore against nerves frayed past any ability to tolerate anything.

  He drew himself up even taller, though Perc and JD both had at least six inches on him, and tilted his head so he could peer down his nose at her.

  "I am Assistant Deputy Carlos Milagros, and you will come with me." He cast another supercilious glance up and down them and sniffed. "I suppose you will have to do since you didn't have any decent clothes. The Secretary is ready to talk to you."

  She felt Toni about to explode but shot her a fast thought. ~It isn't worth it. Save you anger for when it will matter. We might need it later.~

  Toni subsided, but her agitation still rippled through the link. Talking to Jessi had eased much of it but the need to be home, to hold her kids, nibbled at all of them.

  ~Got it. You lead, Commander.~ McKenna snorted at Toni's comment but the wave of support and agreement from the others almost made her stumble, and worry gripped her.

  ~You’ve led us well so far. We trust you.~ Perc soft word held weight and the others agreed, even Cass.

  She didn’t know if she felt honored or terrified as they followed the Assistant Deputy to another conference room. This one had a large TV screen on one wall and a small web cam pointed at various chairs.

  "You will sit there." Carlos ordered, the sneer slipping into his voice. McKenna closed her eyes and let it go. All that mattered at this point was getting home.

  They had just gotten seated when the Deputy bustled in and Carlos instantly stepped back. McKenna felt herself relax a bit.

  "You all look much better. Ready for this?"

  McKenna snorted. "No, but we are ready to go home and the sooner this is done the better."

  "True that," he had a sympathetic grin and hit a button on the table. Tones chirped and beeped at the numbers were dialed and a minute later the face of the United States Secretary of State appeared on the screen, or at least she assumed so since everyone said ‘Mr. Secretary’ as he appeared.

  The next few minutes were spent in pleasantries. They gave him a very high-level overview of what had happened and he expressed his condolences. Then he turned them over to the ‘excellent staff at this Embassy’ and bid them farewell.

  ~This is just a lot of political BS with nothing actually happening,~ Toni groused.

  ~Welcome to my world.~ McKenna and Perc said the same thing at the same time and they both laughed, the others grinning too.

  "I really don’t see what is so amusing," Carlos huffed. He’d come up behind them and looked affronted at their amusement.

  "It doesn’t matter. How can we get home?"

  "Well, that is going to be a bit; you killed people here, after all, so we need to take your statement and make sure the government doesn’t have an issue with our releasing you. You don’t have diplomatic immunity, you know."

  McKenna hadn't realized you could sneer and look down your nose at someone at the same time.

  "Okay." covered what she had to say.

  "Come with me. You all need to be separated so we can make sure no one is lying."

  ~You know, at first this whole telepathy thing freaked me out. Now I'm pretty sure it rocks. But either way, I'm not about to disabuse him of his ideas. Though he is beginning to annoy me.~ Perc's comment resonated and McKenna nodded.

  "Yes" answering Perc verbally even as she rose looking at the man. "So, let's get this over with."

  He gave her a funny look but then whirled and strode away pointing at different doors for them, each with a person waiting for them. Most of them seemed to smile as she passed, she unfortunately was stuck with Carlos.

  He pulled her into a drab office and took the seat facing the door. As it was a square table, rather than putting her back to the door she took one on the side which apparently annoyed him.

  Good.

  Laying the folder he'd been clutching on the desk he started to ask her questions, each one in that same 'I don't believe you tone' as he went through the sequence of events.

  "So you'd never met Cassandra Border before, whereas you at least knew Percival Alexander?"

  It had been so long since she thought of them as anything other than Cass or Perc, what felt like a lifetime ago, it took her a minute to figure out who he meant.

  "No, never seen her that I know of."

  "Did she know you?"

  McKenna shot him a glance. "Everyone knows who I am at this point. So yes, she knew of me but she didn't know me."

  "Why do you think she was captured?"

  "No idea. You'll need to ask her."

  The snort he gave her clearly indicated he didn't believe her but she just ignored it. His questions just got stupider and stupider. After the third time he asked her to explain exactly how they found the house of the drug lord they 'had' to murder to save their families made it very obvious he didn't believe any of it, so she pinged the others.

  ~Are you guys getting this level of 'You're liars and I'm going to prove it' from your interviewers?~

  ~No, mine is pretty cool,~ said Toni, and Cass and JD agreed.

  ~I'm getting the same crap as you are,~ Perc said his mental voice frustrated. ~And if this guy doesn't quit implying I'm sleeping with all three of them women and maybe JD, I might really lose my temper.~

  McKenna blinked and didn't say anything as she refocused on the questions.

  "And how long have you been whoring for the men?" Carlos asked a sneer in his v
oice.

  She hadn't shut the link down and the words filtered in and she felt the rage from JD and Perc.

  ~Shush, I have this.~ Emotions, more than she normally received, filtered back down but she felt JD and Perc subside, though the two felt two different things.

  "Assistant Deputy Milagros, you've gone out of your way to insult me, imply you think I'm lying, and try cast aspersions on my character." He sat back and sneered at her. "I think we are done here."

  He snorted at her. "What are you going to do about it? You need my approval and clearance to go home. Otherwise, you're stuck here until I say so. So, sit back down and finish answering my questions." His eyes said he expected her to cave.

  McKenna smiled at him and turned and walked out the door, her temper bubbling so close to the surface that she fought to keep it on the level.

  ~We are done.~

  ~Finally.~ Toni said and the doors around her opened as her pack joined her walking down the hall.

  Milagros came bubbling out after her. "You can't walk out on me. You have to answer these questions."

  People were starting to pay attention and she saw guards approaching.

  "She is resisting valid questioning of her actions. Stop her." The guards looked confused, but they reached for their weapons.

  ~Trust me~ she sent to all of them.

  ~Always,~ the instant response made her step hitch, but she didn't falter. Instead, she turned back to the conference room where they'd talked to the secretary and she could almost feel the tension drop from the guards. She walked directly to the desk and hit the redial button.

  ~The nice thing about PBX systems, is they always have redial options.~ The sounds of the number being dialed, longer than she would have expected, came through again.

  The call connected just as Carlos burst in behind her. She didn't turn to look at him, though Perc sat on the table facing the door and away from her.

  The face of the Secretary appeared on the screen and he frowned at them, then glanced down at his calendar. "I don't believe we had a call scheduled."

  "Mr. Secretary, I'm sorry to impose but I need clarification on something. Is there an issue with our going home? We are being told we aren't going to be allowed to go home unless we answer some rather demeaning questions, including if I'm having sex with either or both of the men."

  ~You should see his face, I think he's going to be sick.~ Perc's voice had more than a bit of humor in it. McKenna resisted turning around to look.

  "You’ve what?" The secretary's face paled and then flushed.

  "I understand this is an odd situation but we've been poisoned, kidnapped, force to make a choice out of fear for our families, and damn near died. At this point we just want to go home. Our addresses are known. If there are further questions finding us will not be difficult. What do we need to do to go home?" By the end of her questions both hands were flat on the table and a low growl had started at the back of her throat.

  "Ms. Largo, let me assure you that is not the case. The Colombia government has already pardoned you of all charges. The reward for death of that person is already in the Deputy's hands, made out to you and your friends. Plane tickets have been procured and you leave in the morning." He glanced over at his computer and typed something quickly. "And various agencies have been contacted to make sure you get back into the country with no issues." He turned steel cold eyes to someone behind her. "I do apologize for any misunderstanding that might have occurred. If you would excuse me, I think I need to speak to the people behind you."

  McKenna straightened and turned to see a Carlos who had paled to the color of sour milk and Milton standing behind him looking like he would gladly murder the man.

  As they reached the door Milton turned and looked at one of the Marines standing there, torn between horror and amusement at the situation. "Will you please escort our guests," he stressed that word, "to the visitor housing."

  "Yes, sir," the man replied promptly.

  "I cannot apologize enough. Your flight leaves at nine am tomorrow. I will have more clothes for you by six am and food before we get you to the airport. If you would excuse me, I need to deal with this."

  In short order they were escorted to nice guest quarters. It had three rooms with two double beds, a small sitting area, and two full bathrooms.

  Confused McKenna looked at the clock and realized it was after seven at night.

  "Guys, I'm exhausted. If you don't have an issue, I'm headed to bed."

  Toni smiled wearily. "I'm following you. I just want tomorrow and home."

  Minutes later McKenna had stripped off the clothes and crawled into the bed naked, and alone for the first time in weeks. As tired as she was, she tossed and turned and couldn't get her body to fall into the sleep she craved. Glancing at the links she saw everyone was still awake.

  Giving up she pulled back on the t-shirt, anything else seemed like too much effort and went into the sitting area. A minute later the others had all joined her.

  "Unable to sleep?"

  "Yes, and I'm so tired I want to cry," Toni muttered and Cass hugged her.

  "Does that door lock?" She nodded to the door that lead to the outside. Perc rose and checked.

  "Yes, privacy lock at the top."

  "Good. Lock it, then everyone grab their pillows and blankets and bring them in here." She stood up from the couch she'd dropped onto and pushed it back against the wall.

  Ten minutes later a nest of blankets and pillows had been created on the floor. With a sense of relief she crawled into the middle and the others curled up around here.

  ~Wefor, can you wake us at five am?~

  [Yes. Sleep.] The AI's voice had something tingeing the edges but before she could figure it out, sleep claimed her, surrounded by her pack.

  Epilogue Part 1

  KWAK News has obtained an exclusive interview with McKenna Largo and Percival Alexander to talk about their harrowing adventure. Who kidnapped them is still a question, but we’ll find out more. Tune in at eleven for our exclusive sneak peek into the horrors they faced down in Colombia. ~KWAK News

  The office looked pristine. The only thing marring its perfection was the shattered pieces of an awards plaque laying at the base of the stairs.

  He sat at his desk, the TV blaring the information about the triumphant return home of Officer Largo. A brief note about her kidnapping and that a press conference would be scheduled in the next few days.

  Inhaling sharply through his nose, he leaned back and steepled his fingers, a pensive look on his face. The ringing of his phone pulled his attention from the TV. His unlisted encoded phone. Looking at it like it might bite him, he muted the TV and answered.

  "Yes?"

  "Willard. I assume you've seen the news?"

  Willard relaxed a bit, leaning back in his chair. "I'm not sure a blind man could miss it." Sarcasm dripped off his tongue. "So I thought you were going to kill them, Raymond."

  "Please, don't be gauche. I said I'd eliminate them, as I had some use for them. While I suspected there was a slight chance they might get information to someone, I never thought they could survive." His tone became more thoughtful. "I am curious as to how they managed to defeat my safeguards."

  "Does it matter?"

  "Right this moment, probably not. In the long run though, it would be useful to know."

  "So I have a problem again." Willard commented, his voice still flat.

  "Be honest. You would have this problem regardless. The second she did it, you knew others were going to follow."

  "True, but they were the only two shifter cops in my area, or at least clean shifter cops. I own the other one; the firefighter and Lieutenant are immaterial. It would take a while for anyone else to be able to consistently impact my business. Now that she is back I haven't finished dealing with how to avoid her nose."

  "Point. I will see what I can do though it might be a bit. I've burned a lot of capital lately" Raymond said slowly. "That and something has the bras
s here all in a tizzy. Plus, the Secretary is on a rampage for something that happened involving your cop."

  "She isn't mine," the words came out in a snarl before he sucked in a deep breath and followed up in a calmer tone. "I'll have to lay low for a bit. I haven't had time to recoup but I suspect she will have a permanent accident very soon."

  "If you arrange that, take out the jock also. I'd count it as a personal favor."

  Willard stilled at Raymond's words. "A personal favor?" He repeated each syllable crystal clear.

  "Yes."

  "I will keep that in mind. As for now, I need to step up my plans to defeat nosy cops though it should work on dogs as well. If you have a shifter you control and can loan them out for a while, let me know. I'll have to do some testing. ,"

  "I'll keep that in mind." Raymond's voice was dry, but Willard didn't care, he had some problems to remove.

  "Take care, Raymond. Mind the sharks."

  "I am one of the sharks, Willard. People need to mind me." With a bark of laughter Willard hung up and sat watching the TV, his brow furrowed. A slow smile spread across his face as he rose, cleaned up the broken plaque, and deposited it in the trash. He then rearranged his awards making sure the gap left by the destroyed object was not noticeable. With that all done, he pulled out a small journal and began to write

  Epilogue Part 2

  Department of Transportation has just released a study on the effects of shifting while operating a motor vehicle. Raising the question as to whether vehicle operator licenses should be suspended for shifters. The ramifications of this could be far reaching. If commercial driver’s licenses (CDL) are revoked, what’s next? Regular driver’s licenses? If that happens, what about shifters who are doctors? Teachers? Where does it stop? How many rights will be slowly chipped away, one safety precaution at a time. We need to organize now, before this trickle becomes a landslide. ~ Ad for Shifters are Humans

  The next morning was organized chaos but clothes and breakfast, a decent sized breakfast, was delivered by 5:30. By 6:30 they were out the door and headed to the airport. They were quiet as they were driven through the city, looking at it with interest as dawn rose. The airport had them in a separate lounge, then Marines escorted them to the gate, and their first-class seats, as the last ones to board. The special handling meant no one ever saw the hard drive that JD kept close to him, or even realized he had it.