Marcie smiled. She heard the tone of his voice. He was asking permission.
“I think this is a good place, too. You are going to be my liaison in this small part of the world. We’ll stop by on occasion, say hello, make sure that you aren’t messing with the population. You have jobs, don’t you?”
“Sometimes,” the second Werewolf replied. The one on the floor groaned and grabbed the other’s pant leg to help pull himself up. His two packmates helped him up.
“What the fuck did you hit me with?” the man growled, rubbing his broken cheekbone and massaging it into place as his nanocytes went to work.
“The hammer of justice,” she replied without humor, before leaning close to them. She appreciated that they rocked back from her. “The Force de Guerre is here to keep the Unknown World from turning humanity into its slaves. You can work with them, hell, they can work for you, but not as servants. They remain free, and we won’t have a problem. Do you understand me?”
“Sure, ja, we get you,” the spokesman said. The others nodded.
“Thanks, boys,” Marcie replied happily. “Keep the beer flowing. The colonel would love to come for a visit. He takes his beer seriously.”
The Werewolf shrugged. “Who doesn’t?”
“Fair enough.” Marcie turned to leave, but the Werebears blocked her way. “Don’t we have a boat to catch?”
Gene shrugged, disappointed that he didn’t get to throw the Werewolves around the pub. Bogdan was equally bummed, but they worked their way out, excusing themselves as they bumped past the patrons.
Normal conversation returned as the Werewolves straightened their table and waved at the bartender for new mugs of the warm beer.
“Next time, I get to punch one in the head,” Gene said, tipping his head back to look down his nose at Marcie. She was treated to a view straight up his nostrils.
“Fine, Uncle Gene. Next time someone needs a punch in the head, you or Bogdan can deliver the payload.”
“Bogdan,” Gene replied proudly.
Lake Michigan
Terry, Char, and Sarah started swimming, fighting against the waves that threatened to drown them. They finally gave up as they had no idea what direction they were headed. There was nothing but water for as far as they could see. The lightning crashed, showing them the endless white caps.
“Tread water!” Terry called as the three held hands, forming a small circle to help each other remain afloat.
They kicked and fought, and drank obscene amounts of lakewater. They coughed the excess from their lungs and struggled on. Sarah looked afraid. Terry and Char looked determined.
“Row, row, row your boat…” Terry started to sing, spitting out water that splashed into his open mouth as he sang.
“Are you insane?” Sarah called, turning her head away from the wind-driven spray.
“No,” Terry answered nonchalantly before he started singing a new round.
“He’s not,” Char added. “In life and death situations...” She stopped to duck under a wave that rolled over them. She shook the water from her face and continued. “He has a tendency to make light, because if you’re going to cash in, you might as well do it with a smile.”
Sarah shook her head, less frightened, but their situation had not improved any over the past two minutes. She saw no end as the storm raged from one horizon to the other.
They continued to tread water. “Looks like it’s going to be a long night,” Terry said, before starting a story about when he was in Beirut as a young Marine a long, long time before.
***
Merrit braced himself as he hung onto the wheel. Shonna tied a rope around her waist as she went forward to free the sail. She had her knife ready, just in case, although she didn’t want to cut the sail or the rope. They would have to sail back to find Terry, Char, and Sarah.
Shonna crawled upward, keeping an arm wrapped around the mast as she fought the knots with her free hand. The wind would yank the rope taut, and then drop. In between snaps, she worked at it. Finally, she jerked the rope free and the sail started to drag away from the mast. She jumped onto it and rode it to the deck, bundling it together before tying it down.
The pressure on the rudder lessened and their speed slowed. They started to get tossed about before Shonna tied a towel to the mast so they could maintain a minimum amount of forward momentum.
Merrit looked behind him, wondering how far they were from the alpha and her family. “We’re coming back for you,” he vowed.
CHAPTER SIXTEEN
The Yangtze
“The river is already polluted,” Aaron lamented, shaking his head. The team was leaning against the rail to look into the water, filled with flotsam and jetsam.
“It makes me sad,” Yanmei said. “We had come so far, just so we could hurry back to the place that we didn’t like.”
“Factories?” Nick asked, finally able to breathe without wheezing, able to do the least strenuous yoga only. Shanghai had not been kind to him.
Kimber and Auburn looked to Aaron and Yanmei for an answer. “I expect so,” Aaron said.
“Maybe there is something we can do,” Kim suggested.
“Take over the factory?” Aaron wondered.
“Maybe all they need is to be convinced of the errors of their ways?” Auburn replied.
“I believe a visit is in order,” Aaron said, looking at his team. “As Terry would say, if you have the ability to act, you have the responsibility. I never used to be that guy, an environmental activist. I wasn’t a polluter, but I didn’t act against it. I guess we have a different responsibility to our world now.”
Yanmei nodded and hugged Aaron. “Maybe we could ask a couple of the cubs to help out,” she offered.
Aaron smiled. Their six children were enjoying themselves in San Francisco. The parents had been overly protective and the litter was spoiled. Aaron and Yanmei were okay with that. They considered it their responsibility as parents.
Maybe it was time to put them to work. “I like that idea, should the factory need help.”
Yanmei looked at the water, lip curling in disgust. “They do,” she said.
The riverboat stopped in the next town that consisted of a patchwork of small houses and a massive mining and smelting operation. They could see that the water above the plant was a clear blue.
“Do you feel what I feel?” Aaron said, lip snarling.
“A Forsaken,” Yanmei replied. Nick winced as he ripped his bag off his shoulder and checked the rifle inside. He slapped a silver-colored magazine into place and cycled the bolt to send a round home, before hoisting the bag back onto his shoulder.
Kimber and Auburn fingered the knives at their waists.
“I think it’s time to introduce ourselves,” Aaron said. He wasn’t big on bravado. His natural fear of the Forsaken made his voice warble, even though he tried to sound confident.
“It can’t get past all of us,” Kim said. She and Auburn checked the rifles in their bags. “Maybe this calls for something a little heavier than a knife.”
Aaron heard the magazines being seated, and after being pulled to the rear and released, the bolts driving rounds into the chambers. “No fear, Uncle Aaron,” Kim told him.
“No fear, my friends,” Aaron said softly before they headed down the gangplank toward the shore on their way to the mine beyond.
New York City
“I hear you’ve been looking for me?” a Werewolf in human form asked. He dipped his head out of the shadows so they could see him. Any question of his relation to Timmons was answered instantly. “What the fuck?”
“I’m Timmons. My mate, Sue.” Sue nodded once. “Butch and Skippy. That’s Samantha, a warrior from the Force de Guerre.”
The Werewolf didn’t look happy. “What are you here for?” he snarled.
“The North American Pack Council. We hear that you’re in charge. We have a small pack and would like to make sure that we’re not working at cross purposes,” Timmons offered.
“Are you the alpha?” Joshua said derisively.
“No,” Timmons replied simply. “Charumati, originally of New York City. She killed the former alpha called Marcus.”
Joshua’s brows dipped as he looked at the four Werewolves skeptically. “Marcus? The one who used to be called the greatest among us? Killed by a bitch?”
“Yes. Would you like to talk with her?” Timmons offered.
“Why? It makes no difference which mouth tells the lie.”
Timmons sized up his son. He was bigger and younger. And an alpha. Timmons was in good shape, but wasn’t sure he could best his son. That thought made him feel proud.
My son the alpha, Timmons thought.
“We’re not here to make trouble for you. Not at all. I never knew you existed and for that, I am truly sorry.” Timmons looked at his son, hoping his apology would be accepted or at least understood.
“Spoken like a bitch’s beta,” Joshua spit.
“If you want to fight, we’ll strap on the gloves so you can try to kick my ass. If you win? You just beat up on an old man. If I win? I’m a legend. Let’s go then, nut-licker,” Timmons taunted, hoping that his son wouldn’t call his bluff.
Joshua screwed up his face as he scrutinized Timmons’s face. “That’s more like it, Pops!” Joshua said, smiling and waving at the Werewolf pack around him that everything was okay. “Balls the size of brass coconuts. There’s no way you can take me, old man. Maybe we’ll hit the ring later, just for a little one on one action, but for now, you’re good with me. What’s with the girl?”
“Samantha Matthews. She’s on our team because not all our enemies are from the Unknown World. She’s one of the best warriors in the world. She wouldn’t be here if she wasn’t.”
Joshua didn’t spare her a second look. “You have any other kids?”
Sue and Timmons shook their heads.
“Just as well. Kids are a pain.”
“You?” Timmons asked.
“Seven of the little bastards. Only two are Were, but the rest are tough.” Joshua made fists and shook them.
“I have grandkids. I suddenly feel very old,” Timmons said, looking for a chair. There weren’t any besides the one that Joshua sat in. Timmons leaned on the table.
“Where were you? We’ve been from Toronto to New York City a number of times over the years and never felt anyone else from our world,” Sue asked as she looked at the well-established pack.
“Way north. We all left the city when the food ran out. We went north of Hudson Bay, where the climate was reasonable. Stayed there a long, long time. Then we saw a dirigible and knew the world had returned, and it had returned without us! We hurried our hairy asses back here, happy with what we found. Moved right in and set up camp.” Joshua leaned back in his overstuffed chair.
“You can thank these two for a lot of that. Butch and Skippy made the steel mill what it was, built the subway, restarted manufacturing as a whole. Those two helped bring the city back.” Timmons pointed at the beaming Werewolves.
“Our pleasure,” Butch said in her New York City accent.
“I’ll be damned. Werewolves. Where would the world be without us?” Joshua asked.
Timmons remembered the work he’d done in North Chicago so the people could start rebuilding civilization. “Digging in the dirt and eating grubs raw,” Timmons offered. Sue jabbed a finger into his ribs. “That’s not why we’re here. We only want to make sure that no one from our world is turning the humans into slaves. Simple as that.”
“So what if we were?”
“Then you’d get to meet the alpha and her mate,” Timmons replied matter-of-factly.
“She kills the greatest of us all and then takes a mate? She sounds like a firecracker.”
“You have no idea. Her mate is the greatest of us all. He kills Forsaken with his bare hands. No Were can stand before him. His eyes glow red when he’s angry. The alpha’s glow purple, and their daughter’s eyes glow blue. Together, there is no one strong enough to challenge them. And there’s no need to. They will leave you alone if you aren’t treating the people like shit.”
“I guess they’ll be leaving me alone, then, won’t they, old man?” Joshua said sarcastically.
Timmons wasn’t sure if his son was kidding or not. If only Joseph were there so they could be sure.
Lake Michigan
No one remembered the storm ending. It just did. And they found themselves floating. Terry’s legs kicked rhythmically, keeping his head above water. He thought that he’d been sleeping.
“Time to find land,” Terry said aloud. The others came to with a start.
“The sun,” Char said, blinking at the brightness climbing higher in the sky.
Sarah flexed and stretched.
“East?” Terry asked. Char closed her eyes and reached into the etheric dimension, looking for a sign to tell them which direction.
Maybe even let them know that Shonna and Merrit were on their way.
She could barely feel anything. They were in the middle of a wasteland, but her Werewolf sense of smell told her that they were downwind from land.
“That way.” Char pointed, and they started to swim. At least they didn’t have to swim against the tide.
Terry pulled his comm device and realized that he’d missed a number of calls. It had been underwater, muffling the sound and deadening the vibration.
He called Merrit.
“I’m so glad you’re still alive!” the Werewolf exclaimed.
“Can you come get us?” Terry asked.
“We have to repair the sail first, but I have a first-rate engineer working on it.” Terry expected that Shonna was giving Merrit the finger.
“When she saves your ass, call Eve and see if she can direct you to our signal. I’ll leave the channel open. I have some calls to return.”
Terry called each of the teams. Everyone had issues, but no one had anything they couldn’t handle. The Forsaken in China concerned Aaron. He told the Weretiger to call Akio for backup. The long hesitation suggested that they thought they didn’t need Akio’s help.
“This isn’t a Chinese versus the Japanese thing, is it?” Terry demanded.
“No!” Aaron replied defensively. “What good are we if we call someone else to clean up the mess? And that’s what this is, TH. A mess. We’re getting ready to go in now and confront this big baddie. I’ll call you back in an hour. If I don’t, send Akio to collect our remains.”
Terry didn’t send Akio anywhere, but he understood what Aaron was saying.
“Good luck, Aaron. I don’t want to bury anyone else, so please be careful.”
“To be honest, I don’t want to be buried. That would suck a whole lot since I’ll still be breathing.”
Aaron clicked off.
Terry held the device up, marveling briefly at the technology that allowed them to communicate anywhere around the world instantly. He never took that capability for granted.
“Coming?” Char called over her shoulder as she continued side stroking her way ahead. Sarah was beside her, breast-stroking methodically to glide forward after a vigorous kick. Stroke, pull, kick, glide.
Terry hammered his way past, splashing the women as he rolled onto his back and started back-stroking.
He frowned at Char. “I don’t want to see how far away it is.”
Char nodded as she continued swimming.
“I’m not sure this could suck more,” Sarah offered, taking in a mouthful of water and spitting it out.
Chizhou, on the banks of the Yangtze River
The guards at the plant’s entrance hadn’t wanted to let the group in, but after a quick round of fisticuffs, the two guards found themselves unconscious.
“He’s upstairs,” Aaron told Tac Team Charlie as they approached the main administrative building. A factory nearby spewed a steady stream of rancid, black smoke into the air.
Auburn wrinkled his nose and growled at the sight. “Fuck that.”
&nb
sp; “Spoken like a true warrior,” Kim replied. “Let’s get to fixing things.”
They took one step before a figure appeared in the upper window. The all-black leather outfit gave it away. “Ni hao,” the creature called. Hello.
“That’s new,” Aaron said softly, before looking upward. “Hey there. We’d like to talk with you.”
Nick tucked his carbine into his shoulder. Kim and Auburn caught the motion out of the corners of their eyes and followed suit. They were on the front line of battle. A surreptitious approach was no longer needed.
Aaron and Yanmei stood casually, but their muscles were tense.
“No need for any of that. Come on up!” the Forsaken yelled.
“Why don’t you come down?” Aaron asked. He’d heard of and seen too many Forsaken traps to go where a Forsaken told him.
“As you wish,” the creature replied congenially. He leaned back inside and disappeared from sight.
“Spread out!” Kim ordered. Auburn and Nick ran for cover. She headed in a third direction while Aaron and Yanmei put some distance between them.
The Forsaken stepped outside, adjusted its hat to best block the afternoon sun, and slowly walked toward Aaron and Yanmei, stopping a few paces away.
“Weretigers with a bunch of humans. Interesting,” the creature said in Chinese. The Forsaken was extremely short, looking half Aaron’s size. It was blocky, but entirely unimpressive from a physical stature perspective.
Aaron relaxed, but Yanmei did not. Her experience with the Forsaken was wholly different from what Aaron had seen. She loathed the creature, despite its willingness to talk first.
“What brings you here?” it asked.
Kimber shifted uncomfortably since she couldn’t understand what they were saying. She wished for Aaron to move to give her a clear line of sight. Aaron was steadfast, so Kimber stood and walked from her cover to reposition herself where she had a clean shot.
Nick held his aim steady from the flank while Auburn had to move, choosing a line of sight between the Weretigers. Not optimal, but the best he could get without getting much closer.
Nomad Omnibus 03: A Kurtherian Gambit Series (A Terry Henry Walton Chronicles Omnibus) Page 76
