Probe

by Douglas E Roff

  ***

  An hour later, they were on board a private jet bound for South Dakota. Pyotr would meet up with his father, and some other people his Dad said he was now working with. Demitri would explain everything when they arrived.

  “You did good, son. I’m very proud of you.”

  “There you go again, Dad. Talkin’ like a human again.”

  “Could be a lot worse. We could be like Marsha and on our way for a friendly visit with my Gens interrogators.

  Chapter 48

  The team assembled by Rod and Cindy had arrived in Barrows Bay some forty-eight hours earlier and organized quickly based on new intelligence Edward had just received. There was no chance of damage to the project team in Barrows Bay; they had vacated months ago anticipating that this day might one day come.

  Rod and Cindy had carefully considered who was essential for this mission; they carefully chose the men they knew best and who could assemble quickly and without explanation. They mentioned that this was an important assignment for Edward St. James and that Cindy would lead the operation. Those were the only two points the team needed to know. They arrived in Vancouver, BC the next day, and were ferried over to an assembly point on the grounds of the Victoria Institute.

  Rod had brought with him a whole new set of toys, new technology and weapons; Maria and Agustin had made advances in the original nanotechnology and had weaponized those advances. Maria had improved the hardware, Adam the software and Pops the materials and payload. They could explode the bomblets, attack and kill with a deadly poison or merely incapacitate.

  Today the Black shirts were lucky. Edward wanted them alive, incapacitated and transported to South Dakota. A new uneasy accord had been struck with the Gens Collective; both parties would decide on further topics of cooperation later. But, for now, they needed each other. Demitri was on his way to the base through a procedure designed to assure that he would have no idea where he was going, how long it took to get there or what the terrain looked like.

  Rod took the crew through their assignments, each to be performed with clocklike efficiency. There were ten stations around the semicircle that was the developed portion of the Institute’s occupied grounds, being a large circle neatly, and abruptly bisected by the Straights of Georgia. From these vantage points their tech would be deployed.

  A quarter of a mile away, up in a tree with their long-time friend and fellow traveler Kirk Waters, was another old friend, Francois Armand. He and Kirk were one part of the ten-station strike team; a promise had been made to a woman that Cindy had never met but, for who she felt great love and kinship. She and Rod would keep Francois close, though his safety would never be in doubt.

  The couple loved their friend dearly and his wife. It did not begin that way.

  ***

  Every summer the new kids who came for advanced training with their operating group would do a training exercise of “locate and tag”. Fifteen men and women were sent out into a confined area while one “tracker” was sent to find and “tag” them. At night. In pitch dark, with no equipment except a small military flashlight. The two trackers this year were the two Canadians who had done so, well avoiding being tagged in the past and proven themselves in training and in operations. They were both well liked. The one was excellent, but the other was scarily formidable.

  The entire squad, even their instructors, wanted to see how this turned out; bets were placed on who would tag the most. The task was near impossible; the record for tagging in this training exercise was six. The “runners” would’ve a one-hour head start, and the training exercise would go all night. The tracker had to be back in camp at first light. The runners still in the field could come in any time thereafter.

  The foreigner with the French accent said, “You are all betting on which one? You can’t be serious. No one will ever find me. I’ll put my money on that.”

  They took his bets. Happy to take it in Canadian dollars, Euros or good old US greenbacks.

  The evening went pretty much as expected and although the foreigner, Francois, was a difficult prey to find, the tracker dropped out of the tree right in front of him.

  “Tag. Now let’s go back to camp. You’re the last one and I need my beauty sleep.”

  At dawn, the other tracker straggled into camp. “I got four. How about …?”

  The men smiled, looked sheepish and said, “Fifteen. All fifteen. Before midnight. Slept all night, then made us all breakfast just before dawn. It was tasty too.”

  “Damn. I thought I had a chance on this one.”

  “Really. No one else did.” All the crew and all the instructors burst out laughing, then they touched foreheads with the tracker, a sign of friendship and respect.

  “Well, there you all are.” A voice boomed from the direction of the mess. “About time. You boys can freshen up while I make breakfast for the new arrivals.”

  Sixteen heads all bobbed yes, then drifted off to their tents to stow their gear and come back to the mess. When they had all gathered, the losing tracker said, “You got all fifteen? Geez. I didn’t think that was even possible.”

  “With the right technique and plan, anything’s possible,” the winning tracker said.

  “Do tell. I’d like to know how I got my ass beaten by you. Again.”

  “Titty. I promised them a look at these magnificent girls, and boom, they came running as fast as you can imagine. Except that one over there, I mean. Seems he was oblivious to my high-tech titty technique. Took an hour longer but I tagged him with a kiss. He wasn’t very happy, now were you Francois? Mon ami?”

  “You were lucky, that’s all. You were obviously familiar with the terrain, while I was not.”

  “Now, now mon frere, let’s not be a sore loser. I hope you’re not a poor sport, are you?”

  One of the men looked at Francois, not liking his attitude, and said, “One or two, maybe that’s luck. But fifteen before midnight, that’s not luck. You owe the lady an apology. You lost, and you have now disrespected her accomplishment.”

  The foreigner said, “Not for this. Plus, it’s unseemly to talk of such things as ‘titty’. If that’s what happened, then this whole exercise is a fraud.”

  The other tracker said, “She was kidding Francois, you ass. Now, like the guy said, apologize. That’s not the team spirit we’re building here. You’re out of line.”

  “And who are you little man? Her protector? Or her trained pet?”

  “I’m her boyfriend and she doesn’t need a protector. If you piss her off, she’ll fuck you up. So, will I. You have ten seconds to correct your attitude and say you’re sorry.”

  “And you permit this kind of talk from your woman? What kind of a man would permit this anyway? Disgusting.”

  Rod had heard enough and placed Francois in a chokehold faster than Francois could react.

  “Apologize.”

  “Rod let him go,” said Cindy. “He didn’t mean any disrespect, did you Francois? He’s not used to the way we talk here, and English isn’t his native language. We’re just having fun. I don’t think he gets our sense of humor. Right Francois?”

  Francois mumbled something then sat down.

  The other men all walked over to Francois. One of them said, “Don’t piss him off, Frenchie. He can fuck you up faster than you can say ‘oui’. The Canadians are really nice, just like everyone says, but don’t take their good nature or sense of humor for weakness. And nobody gives a shit about your tough talk. You’re new and unproven except for running your mouth. They have proven themselves over and over again. If you last for the rest of the training, maybe you can measure up. We’ll be watching you. Cause trouble again, and we’ll go on night manoeuvers with your ass. So, shut the fuck up and show us something other than how to talk tough.”

  “And with that, I’ll make breakfast.” Cindy walked off in the direction of the mess. A few minutes later, Francois joined her.

  “I apologize. I was
being arrogant and, as you Americans would say, I am being a big dumb ass. If you will allow me, I would like to help you make breakfast. My wife says I am a passable cook. Breakfast, at least.”

  “Well, I’m Canadian, that’s the first thing to remember and, yes, I’d appreciate the help. The other boys all want to help; they just suck at cooking and only get in the way. We’re out in the boonies; but there’s no need to suffer needlessly. Now, before we begin, do you have pictures of your Madame?”

  “Oui, madame. Here on my cell. This is my Marie. She is the light of my life.”

  “She’s gorgeous. You did well my friend. Very well. I’ll spread the word. Quietly. Don’t worry, they’re all good lads and so, is my husband. You’ll have a lot more cred and a wee bit more respect.”

  “But he said he was your boyfriend.”

  “That’ll be our little secret. If they knew, they’d expect us to have sex, and want to watch. Men. You know how they can be.”

  “Oui, madame. I do. And I am one of the worst.”

  “See, Francois, I like you a lot more already.”

  ***

  The rest of the training went smoothly and by the end of the two weeks in Montana, all was well and the unit cohesive. Francois turned out the be a gem of a military mind, and he was easily welcomed into the unit. Cindy had great affection for him and they spent many evenings talking spouses, children and families. Francois was nothing like he originally appeared to be and even Rod had come to enjoy his company.

  “When you get back home, I want you and Marie to call and video conference with me. I think I’m going to love your wife a lot and we may even have some surprises for you.”

  “How so, you don’t know my Marie?”

  “I’ve already called your Marie. We talk every night. She is now my Marie now too. Promised to take good care of you. Don’t worry. It’s all good.”

  “She is a devil sometimes my wife. No sense of propriety. It was her upbringing. Very lax.”

  “I know. She’s truly wonderful, and she adores her Francois. So, we have a big surprise for you. Open it when you get home.”

  “This is going to be trouble, I know. She excels at it.”

  “You’re so right. We both excel at it and Marie and I are solely to blame. So, you’re home free.”

  “Does Rod know about any of this nonsense?”

  “Yes, all of our nonsense and, yes, he approves.”

  “At least there’s one grown up involved.”

  “Don’t be so sure of that.”

  ***

  A week after they arrived home, Cindy got an email from Marie that all was ready, and they could have their call any night.

  Rod had gone to bed early and the girls had been tucked in hours earlier. Cindy went into the study, shut, and locked the door, and turned on the computer with the wireless connection to the 54” big screen TV.

  “It’s HDTV, so I can see every whisker on your chinny chin chin, Francois,” said Cindy. She leaned forward just enough for Francois to collect a good view of what little covering lay beneath her Asian silk robe. It fell to just above her knees, and the black undergarments could be seen to just barely restrain Cindy’s ample breasts. The outline of her hardened nipples against the soft silk robe set the mood for Francois and for Cindy. His reaction was male, immediate and predictable. There was an assortment of implements beside Cindy on the table in front of her; Francois couldn’t make out what they were.

  Francois called out to his wife, now anxious to begin. Marie was perennially late for everything anyway, but she had been asked by Cindy to slow the tempo of events down. There would be no hurry, and each would’ve fulfillment more than once. Marie entered their bedroom a few seconds later, wearing a beautiful silk robe that Cindy had sent to Marie for just this occasion, covering the special outfit Cindy wanted Marie to wear. Marie instructed Francois to move their TV to the foot of the bed, and to join her reclined against the headboard, down pillows in profusion and ready to begin their transatlantic tryst.

  Marie looked at her husband, and said, somewhat indignantly, “Cindy tells me you were unpersuaded by her, what do you call them, titties?”

  Cindy responded for Francois, “Yes, my sweet, titties is what we call them and yes he said he was quite unimpressed. But, our boy hadn’t actually seen my girls, so in fairness, I think we could give him another chance to properly assess my assets. And Marie and I want to share some other thoughts we have to entertain our favorite Frenchman. And in the spirit of full disclosure, Marie and I have been practicing at night. We are quite simpatico, as the Mexicans say. You know girl stuff. Your wife is very, how should we say, enthusiastic and imaginative.”

  Cindy paused, loosening the silk tie for her robe, allowing the view beneath to be more … fulsome. She continued, “Now, Marie, did you bring all the items we discussed?”

  “Oui, Madame.”

  “Good, then we shall begin. Now Marie, you filthy fucking whore, here’s what I expect you to do. You will do everything I demand of you tonight, exactly as I command it, no matter what I say. Are we clear, slut?”

  “Yes Madame.” Her head was down, looking contrite and … submissive.

  “I will tell you exactly what to do for my pleasure and entertainment, as you fuck your man while I watch and direct every detail. And I expect you to watch me carefully as I … pleasure myself. Do you understand, slut?”

  “Yes Madame. Whatever you command. Instantly and obediently.”

  “The first thing I command is that you properly address me as Mistress. Do you understand me, whore?”

  “Yes, Mistress.”

  Cindy rose to her knees, abandoning her pale blue silk robe. She was pure Domina this night; a luscious and lascivious sight in pure black, tailored with only hints of the tiniest gossamer material hiding what couldn’t long remain hidden. For Marie, who was fascinated and intoxicated by the dominance Cindy brought to the show, this was a new experience that touched deeply her erotic core. She loved the male confidence of her husband, but being dominated completely by a woman, that was new.

  As for Francois, who normally thought of himself as the dominant one between the sheets, he knew this would be a completely new, and exciting sauce for his sexual education. He was pleased that they had conspired to carefully choreograph the evening for his immense, and intense gratification, and pleasure. He was well beyond his previous boundaries of self-imposed propriety. He had entered a new world along with his amazing wife, led by a woman he would never have thought to be such a deep well of erotic fantasy.

  Cindy was completely at ease in her role as headmistress of their private school. Marie too, the submissive plaything, and Francois, the beneficiary of the sensual interplay of two women thousands of miles apart yet acting as though they were of one mind in one place, all for one goal.

  “Now, let’s see what we have to work with tonight. First you Francois, let’s see what you have under the hood. Marie, please unwrap our toy. And take your time; I want to see the revelation of this magnificent creature slowly, as if revealing great mysteries for the first time. I will never savor this first sight again. So slowly, using all your tools. And, if he is not hard and not ready, you will be punished for my pleasure.”

  ***

  Their affair that night was the first of many journeys over many years. Often Cindy and Marie would have a “date” whenever Francois wasn’t around. Marie adored Cindy and was always willing to test her boundaries with her private Mistress. Francois approved; Rod was uninterested but, nonetheless, also approving. In an odd turn of gender bending, Rod was far less visual and far more tactile than Cindy. Cindy, on the other hand was a voyeur and Domina of epic proportions. She often wondered what it was about her upbringing and youth, nature or nurture, that produced the woman made for this seemingly unwholesome brand of cyber erotica. In her mind, wholesome had nothing to do with it.

  Rod found the whole matter amusing. His was the world of th
e real Cindy, the beautiful sexual and sensual creature of flesh and blood. Rod had his own sexual predilections, which Cindy had long supported and encouraged. He was free to express them, within the same boundaries and constraints as she. They were a modern adventuresome young couple. Their bright line boundary was monogamy, and total and complete honesty.

  “As long as you keep your fantasies in cyberspace with no video souvenirs finding their way to the internet, please get as freaky as you wish. Just don’t shirk your duties to me.”

  “I promise. Now what were the exact duties you had in mind?”

  “Did I once say you were the good girl?”

  “You did.”

  “Well, I guess, technically, you are good. Very good from all accounts.”

  “Close enough for me.”

  Chapter 49

  “So, you think today is the day?” she said. She was cuddling close to him for warmth and assurance, as she always did when they went out into the field on cold moonless nights. They had hidden themselves up in the hills overlooking the ring road of the Victoria Institute. He smiled at her, as he had every day of his life since the age of five, knowing from that moment forward that he had met her, the one woman, the one soul, who would always be with him, no matter what, who would always care for his heart, heal his pain and protect him. Protect him in every way that was meaningful. Protect him even from himself, his pride and even his foolishness.

  She, they, were safe within the cocoon of that bond forged by their love, time and sheer will.

  He had always believed that there were no guarantees in this life, no certitude that things would always endure, save one; she had always been that rock, that constancy he knew was her. She had never betrayed that role, that deep abiding trust, that one all-consuming and soul searing bond forged over a lifetime together.

  “Yes. It’s tonight, and I’s say around eleven. Yeah, tonight.”

  “How can you be so…”