by Michael Todd
Stephanie and Katie looked at Calvin, who was still struggling to get free. Stephanie laughed hard but Katie shook her head, rolling her eyes as she walked over. She gripped Pandora’s hand and began to pry it away slowly, one finger at a time, off Calvin’s ass. Pandora struggled for a moment, then finally let go, putting her hands up and backing away. “Fine, fine. You just don’t like the fact that I am a proud white woman with a connection to this Nubian prince.”
Straight-faced, Calvin shook his head. “No. See, no, you can’t… Don’t say shit like that.”
Stephanie giggled, waving at them. “Come on, you guys. I’ll walk you to your quarters. We’ve done a few upgrades, and Pandora, we went through and completely redid the bedroom that is yours now. Tried to make a bit more like home, so when you come here, you don’t feel out of place.”
Katie and Stephanie held hands as they walked down the hall. Pandora reached for Calvin’s, but he slapped it away. They stopped and let Katie throw her bags in her room before heading down to Pandora’s. Katie was excited to see what they had done, especially since it was the only way to keep her out of her hair, at least while she was sleeping.
When they walked into the room, Katie almost gasped in surprise. It was beautiful, with long black velvet drapes and a deep turquoise on the walls. The furniture was a deep chestnut color, and the bed was a queen size, with pillows and fluffy blankets all over it. Pandora walked around, rubbing her chin and nodding.
Stephanie just smirked, knowing Pandora all too well. Pandora scoped it out for several minutes and then turned to Stephanie. “It definitely has potential. You did a good job. Now, of course, I will need to invest in a bigger bed. Gotta have room to really roll around with my lovers. And of course, one of those swing thingies.”
Stephanie tilted her head in confusion. “A hammock?”
Pandora pursed her lips, thinking. “Can you bone in a hammock? I always felt like I would go spinning around and then get stuck like that.”
Stephanie shrugged. “I mean, technically you could bone in one. I would tell you to be careful not to get cocooned, but…”
Katie rubbed her face and groaned. “She means a sex swing, the ones specifically made to bolt to the ceiling and strap in for the ride.” She turned to Pandora. “We’re not buying you a sex swing.”
Pandora narrowed her eyes at Katie. “I don’t need you to buy me one. I can purchase it on my own.”
Katie lifted an eyebrow, hands on her hips. “Oh, yeah?”
Pandora nodded defiantly. “Yes.”
“With what money?” Katie asked.
Pandora giggled, flipping her hand and walking over to her bed. “Why, with half of whatever you get for saving the world. If I’m living out here and not in you, I need my own cash, baby.”
Katie scrunched her nose. “Yeah, well, we’ll have to talk about that one later.”
Stephanie put her palms together. “Oh, yeah. Speaking about talking. I need to put my head together with you and Angie about supplies. We are running low, and figured this would be the perfect time to go over everything and revamp the budget. But it can wait until later. I know you guys are exhausted.”
Katie jerked a thumb at Pandora, who was prancing around her room. “I don’t think I’ve stopped being exhausted.”
Korbin ran his hands over the stone wall, newly constructed and very nicely done. Several of the Damned hurried beside him with pads of paper, jotting down notes as he talked. He stopped and looked up and over the wall, rubbing his chin and scoping out every inch of the place.
He pointed at the scaffolding to the right. “All of those sections need to be cleared. That is where the platform for the gun turret will go. They should be here soon to put up. Until then, I don’t want to give anyone the idea that we are vulnerable.”
The Damned soldiers nodded, making the note. They already had about five pages worth. It was a very mixed group of Damned out there, not like the other places. Most of the men wore thobes, and a few wore turbans on their heads and sported short curly beards, while others were clean shaven, donning the military helmets in case of falling debris. Korbin wasn’t picky about what they wore as long as they were on top of their game. The military forces in Bahrain weren’t either, especially with religious exemptions.
Korbin turned, putting his hands on the railing of the walkway. He peered down below, where the other workers were bustling in and out of the armory buildings and technology hubs. A man dressed in a long black trench, wide-brimmed hat, and combat boots stepped out of the shadows and glanced up, nodding to him and patting the front of his jacket. Korbin nodded back and turned to the Damned. “Take a break, then start working on what we talked about so far. I have some things to take care of. We can pick this up later.”
The guys walked off, talking to each other about the plans. Korbin glanced around and then headed down, following a distance from the guy and turning into one of the not fully completed buildings. The guy stood with his back to Korbin as he entered the room. “Did you bring the goods?”
The guy turned around, dirt on his cheek and a toothless grin. His voice was low and raspy, and he reached his long crooked fingers out. “Did you bring the money? This was incredibly hard to find, and I put a lot of work into it. It’s a good one, too.”
From all indications, they were about to complete a major drug deal. Korbin pulled an envelope from his breast coat pocket and handed it to the guy. The creeper smirked and thumbed the envelope, then opened his jacket, carefully pulling a small plant from his pocket, the base wrapped in a wet cloth and plastic bag.
Korbin grinned. “A plant for my wife’s garden. She loves the exotic ones.”
He bowed his head as Korbin took the small plant from his hands. “The Jasmine Sambac, better known as the Grand Duke Supreme. Enjoy.”
Korbin smiled as he held the small plant up. Nodding, and without another look, he headed out of the building and through the fort to his car. He jumped inside and drove back to the house they were staying in. Korbin didn’t want the plant to be exposed to the elements, and knew he had to take good care of it until he could get it to his wife.
As he entered, Brock looked up. He was making himself a sandwich. “Hey, you finally got one.”
Korbin smirked. “I did, and she is beautiful. Worth every penny.”
Brock chuckled. “You guys are strange, but I like it. Everyone is going to be at the base. Probably already there.”
Korbin nodded, setting the plant carefully on the counter. “It’s baby shower weekend, isn’t it?”
Brock took a bite of his sandwich and nodded. “Mmhmm. Should be a lot of fun. Don’t you want to be there?”
Korbin sneered. “Nah. Besides, I sent a gift.”
“I feel like this is bullshit duty. We are being put on fucking teddy bear duty,” one soldier said to another as they climbed into the empty plane.
The other soldier shrugged, walking up to an eight-foot teddy bear with limbs taller than the soldier. “Hey, at least we get to chill at the party afterward. Calvin is one tough motherfucker, and the least we can do is make the party a good one for him.”
The two soldiers grabbed the bear under the arms and awkwardly wended their way down the steps and across the base. They struggled through doorways, grunting and tripping the entire way, to the common room. The thing was freaking huge, and they could barely keep it off the ground.
Timothy moved to the side as the guys squeezed it through the common room door. The whole place was decorated from top to bottom in beautiful shades of yellow and green. There were amazing artist creations of floral blooms, vines made out of papier-mâché, and candles flickering all over the room. The tables were the same, covered with soft linens and piled with specially-made food. Curled into rose shapes, a wall of streamers provided a focal point, celebrating the unknown sex of the baby.
Calvin patted him on the back. “Looks good, brother. Thank you for doing this.”
Timothy took a small bow. “It, a
s always, was my pleasure. Can’t let this girl have her baby shower in the slums, now, can we? Had I had more time, I would have turned the whole place into an enchanted forest, but I did what I could.”
Calvin chuckled. “You did more than enough, so relax, have a drink or five, and enjoy the party. Everyone is here. Even Tweedle Dee and Tweedle Dum over there.”
Timothy glanced at Eddie and Turner, who were playing with tiny plastic babies in one of the bins brought in for the festivities. He looked back at Calvin. “Right, the riff-raff. Sean isn’t here. Not sure if he is coming.”
Calvin could tell it bothered Timothy. “He’ll come around. He’s being really hard on himself.”
Timothy snapped out of it. “You know what I’ll never get over?”
Calvin raised an eyebrow. “Tweed going out of fashion? The misuse of alligator hide for ugly boots?”
Timothy smacked his lips. “Oooh, boy, don’t get me started on those ugly-ass cowboy accessories. Damn shutting down the world, killing all the animals so we can feel fancy before we die off. But no, that is not what I was talking about. I was not, and still have not, been told whether this is a puppy dog tail or something sweet in that belly. I could have played up the sex of the baby big time in these decorations. Personally, I think your wife is a sadist, finding pleasure in torturing me.”
Pandora walked across the room, grabbing a Danish from the table and breaking off a piece. She walked up to Sofia, who was sitting quietly near a wall, looking out happily at the decor. “So, you gonna tell me that name yet?”
Sofia smiled, her eyes shifting to Pandora. “You have asked me a million times, and just like all the other times, I will have to decline. It is a complete and total secret.”
Pandora sneered. “I hate secrets. But worry not, I have faith in my abilities. I will get the truth out of you one way or another.”
Across the room, Juntto and Angie stood talking and looking around at all the decorations. Juntto shook his finger. “Humans are strange in the ways they celebrate. In my dimension, when a female started having the child, we would hold a moonlight ceremony where we would slaughter a sheeba, a cow-like creature, collect the blood, and all watch as the child was born. Then the doctor would dip the baby in the blood and show it to the moon. It was a ritual.”
Angie wrinkled her nose. “Oh, God. That’s terrifying. What if the baby wasn’t born at night?”
Juntto shook his head, reaching over and tugging the bear’s ear. “The women held the babies in until the moon rose. It was customary.”
Angie shook her head. “Sometimes I think about taking back the whole ‘coming to your dimension in the future’ thing.”
Juntto laughed at the bear next to him and snapped his fingers. Angie stood back and crossed her arms as he morphed into a giant blue version of the bear, the only difference being, his body didn’t sprout hair. Timothy stopped next to Angie and glanced at Juntto, jumping. “Good Mary, Joseph, and baby Jesus, what in the Holy God is that thing? Is that Juntto? He looks like a huge version of Sheev Palpatine without the black robe. It’s absolutely terrifying.”
Stephanie stepped up to the front of the room and clapped her hands. “All right, everyone. Thanks for coming to celebrate the new arrival. We are going to get started on our first game! On the table, you will find decorated eggs and wooden spoons. Go ahead and collect yours and line up. Your goal is to get down the line and back again as fast as you can without dropping the baby!”
Eddie and Turner were all about it, putting down their glasses and grabbing their eggs. Turner reached into his pocket, snickering, pulled out a doll’s army jacket, and put it on his egg. Eddie pulled out a small piece of fabric and tied it around his egg like Rambo.
The guys got really into the subsequent game, drinking far too much alcohol, and rooting for the frozen plastic babies in their cups, wanting to be the first to scream, “My water broke!”
Their competitiveness was amusing to everyone, but Calvin didn’t want the shower to turn into a rager. He walked over to the guys and peeked into Eddie’s cup. Eddie pointed at the frozen baby ice cube in his glass. “She’s coming, man. The foot is out. The foot is out.”
Calvin patted him on the shoulder and moved between the two guys. He reached up and firmly grasped the backs of their necks. “All right, Ricky Bobby and Cal Naughton, I need you two to quiet it down over here.”
Turner chuckled, nodding at the ice cube baby. “Sweet baby Jesus.”
Calvin shook his head. “Chill out before I put you on ice.”
Pandora strolled through the party, winking at a couple of the soldiers. She walked up to Sofia and smiled at her belly. “Look at you.”
Sofia puffed air out of her cheeks. “I know. I’m huge.”
Pandora ran her hand over the belly. “Your belly is a little high. I think that means conception occurred during doggie-style.”
Stephanie’s eyes widened. “Pandora!”
Pandora shrugged, keeping an innocent look on her face. “What? It’s logical. Right, Calvin?”
He walked back over after taming the terrible twins and just shook his head. “I don’t even know what you asked, and because of that, I decline to respond.”
Pandora waved her hands at Calvin. “Calvin’s such a prude. Sofia? Back me up?”
Sofia pursed her lips and did her best to look innocent. Suddenly Eddie yelled, putting his hand up with a small plastic baby in his palm. “My water broke! I’m so proud. Just so proud.”
Sofia giggled and Calvin groaned as Eddie held the small plastic baby in the air like Mufasa holding Simba. He began turning in a circle as Turner sang The Circle of Life.
Once they had calmed down, Sofia called for everyone’s attention. “If I could just have you for one minute. I want to make an announcement.”
Pandora walked over to Katie excitedly. “The name! It’s going to be the name.”
Katie slowly turned her head toward Pandora. “I really don’t know why you’re so excited. Do you think she’ll name the baby after you? ‘Pan’ if it’s a boy, ‘Dora’ if it’s a girl?”
Pandora kept a smile on her face, her lip flickering slightly. “You’re making fun of me, but you suck at it.”
Sofia put her hands together. “I know all of you really want to know if we are having a boy or a girl.”
Everyone cheered. Sofia patted her palms downward to quiet them. “But I will not be revealing the gender or the name of the baby until it’s born. So you can stop hounding me.”
Pandora sneered. “Killjoy.”
5
Stephanie stared down at the paper in front of her, reading through the most recent intel on the Leviathans and demonic issues cited by the World Council. She had been reading them three times a week, yet she still found more intel in Timothy’s work than she got from the big guys. It was more proof that they had been on the right track the whole time—maintaining friendly relations with the governments of the world but not putting their faith in them fully.
She took her glasses off and leaned back, rubbing the bridge of her nose. A knock sounded on the door, and Angie stuck her head around the corner. “Knock, knock. I come bearing coffee.”
Angie held up the cups and Stephanie let out a deep breath, waving her in. “You are the real angel here, lady. The real one. You even heard my prayers.”
Angie handed her a mug and sat down in the chair on the other side of her desk. “Got a lot going on?”
Stephanie shrugged. “No, not this second. I was just reading the World Council’s briefing, and it says pretty much nothing, as usual. I read them anyway, just in case. How about you? You glad to be here?”
Angie laughed. “I am always happy to be part of the family and get to see everyone. It’s nice that we can be here and not have to fight off demons, knock on wood.”
They simultaneously tapped on the desk three times, then Stephanie leaned back, holding her mug in both hands. “Yeah, I do too. I miss Korbin like crazy, but I have to say, I re
ally do love running the base. I think most of that is because we have such good people. Plus, I’m not fighting someone every day.”
Angie nodded. “I hear you. I love this position, or lifestyle as I consider it, but I also enjoy learning about myself. I’ve got my Twitch channel for video games, and that really fulfills that lingering feeling that I am not doing enough constructive stuff to feel good about myself.”
Stephanie swallowed a sip, shaking her head. “Yes, girl. I think the one thing about this and every other business I’ve owned is being a cattle herder. Wrangling people when something needs to get done. I’m sure you know how that is. I mean, you are the official herder of the group with Katie.”
Angie snorted. “Except now I feel like she is a piece of cake. Try wrangling the big blue frost giant for a couple of days, and you will feel a lot better about the rest of it.”
Stephanie rolled her eyes. “No, thank you. Mine are a bunch of grown people who often decide to retreat into their inner babies. That’s always fun, especially when you need those babies to get their shit together and get on the ball.”
Angie sighed, looking up at the picture of Stephanie and Korbin on the wall. “The things we do for the people we love.”
Stephanie put her coffee down and scooted forward. “Amen to that. I’ll just add, the things we do for all of humanity.”
The stack of papers on Stephanie’s desk was ever-growing, but luckily she was able to find her list three pages down. “So, it was good timing that you came, since we need some of the larger-type shipments.”
Angie reached out and took the paper from her. “Yeah, and Katie, of course, said to just get whatever you need. We know you aren’t frivolous.”
Stephanie smirked. “Sometimes I wish I was, but I can’t let myself do that.”
Angie chuckled. “I think you live wild enough to just pass that one by. As far as what you need, I can order all of it for you. I think I still have the ordering information you gave me a year or so ago, but if it’s changed, just let me know.”
