Favored by Felix (17 page)

“Spit it out, man.”

“It’s about your daughter,” the aide said
in a rush. Now he seemed desperate to get his words out.

And run, no doubt.

“Give me a précis.”

His aide darted a glance in his direction.
His face was pale and beads of sweat had formed on his pasty forehead. “An
anonymous source is quoted as saying that you’re forcing your daughter to have
a sex change with nanotechnology. They’re saying you’ve never acted like a
father to her and that you have no use for the female sex.”

Holy phrullin’ gods.

A sliver of panic struck him in the middle
of the chest. He lifted his hand, rubbed the spot and continued to glare at his
aide. “What else?”

“That’s all, sir, but other media outlets
are picking up the story. I’ve had two reporters contact this office for a statement.”

“If anyone else contacts you, tell them
this is a mess of vicious lies, and you have no idea where the story has come
from. You tell them this office denies the allegations and we will stringently
defend our honor. Do you understand?”

His aide gulped. “Yes sir.” He backed from
the office, and he could feel the man’s relief as the distance between them
lengthened. The door shut behind him with an audible click.

Where the
phrull
was his son? He
needed a situation report stat before this entire
phrulled-up
situation
spiraled out of his control.

He could imagine his competition, smirking
and rubbing his hands together.
Phrull
, he wouldn’t put it past the man
to spread the rumors.

These people lacked vision. Females
shouldn’t be in the military. They weren’t mentally strong enough. Any fool
could see that. The idiots who kept recommending his daughter for promotion
were morons. He’d quashed the last two reports citing actions above and beyond
the call of duty. She didn’t deserve promotion. She was a
female
.

Inferior, and good for one thing.

He was doing his best for her, trying to
improve her, and look what thanks he received. She was attempting to drag his
name through the gutters of Dalcon and beyond. He’d sacrificed too much, worked
too hard to let her win this battle. His father, his grandfather and various
male relations had all excelled, taking after their proud forebears with their
military prowess. He could do nothing less than follow in their illustrious
footsteps and set a precedent for his sons.

His
three
sons.

This promotion belonged to him, and
nothing,
nothing
would get in his way.

His large-screen communicator buzzed. He
snatched the control off the corner of his desk. “General Seonaid.”

“General. Lieutenant Seonaid reporting.”
His son stood at attention, his brown eyes staring straight ahead, his
expression full of the necessary respect. His uniform fit him like a glove—the
perfect physical specimen. It was a pity his sister had received the larger
portion of brains.

“What happened? Why don’t you have Captain
Seonaid?” he demanded, getting straight to the point.

“They were ready for us. They knew we were
coming.”

The general felt the vein at his temple
pulse again, the urge to pace to dispel the tension residing in the pit of his
gut. He forced it back, not wanting his son to witness his unease. “How did
they know? You’re black ops. You go in prepared. Didn’t you reconnoiter
beforehand?”

“The resort has a fence around it, but we
saw nothing that would make us expect the ability to repel an attack.”

Gods, phrullin’ excuses.
“I want Captain Seonaid.”

A brief hesitation. “Sir, she told me you
intend to force her to endure nanotechnology.”

“I gave orders to have her sent to the
medical facility. I didn’t tell you to interrogate her for the
reason
behind the order.” He wanted to rub his temple, to coax the pulsing vein to
remain still, but instead he remained at attention, his features impassive.
“You will go back tonight. You
will
deliver Captain Seonaid to the
medical facility and contact me the minute you arrive. Keep her under control
until I arrive to speak with her.”

Lieutenant Seonaid lifted his chin, the
only indication he didn’t agree with the order. “Casey isn’t a member of
military personnel any longer. She completed her term of service and resigned.
We have no right to detain her.
Sir.
”

Huh. His son had found his balls. “Do not
question my orders!” he thundered. The lieutenant flinched, and momentary
satisfaction flooded the general. “Is that clear?”

“Yes sir.”

“I expect her to be at the facility
tomorrow morning. Without fail.” He clicked off and gave in to the urge to
pace. The general stalked to and fro in front of his window, the view of the
city not as comforting as normal.

Perhaps he should work this from another
angle. His daughter cared for her aunt and spent most of her leaves with his
wife’s sister. If he threatened Elsa, his daughter would step in line with his
wishes.

He found himself smiling and the expression
felt foreign on his lips. But he felt a sense of triumph returning, and the
promise of success.

His daughter would crack like a tree during
a Worra sandstorm if he got his hands on her aunt.

The general buzzed his aide and issued
additional orders. His smile widened, and he moved to stand at his window.
Somewhere down in the city, Elsa Torrens was going about her business. All
these years, she’d interfered in his life. It would be a pleasure—
his
pleasure—to knock her off her stride.

* * * * *

No sooner had Casey closed her eyes the
very next evening than the alarm went off, dragging her from sleep.

“If that’s those black ops guys again, I’m
gonna be pissed,” Felix muttered. “I’ll bite them.”

“If it’s black ops, I’ll be doing some
biting of my own.” Casey scrambled into her clothes and grabbed her weapon. She
hesitated before rifling through her gear for a knife, which she tucked in her
boot.

Before she reached the door, it flew open
and two strangers burst inside the suite.

“Hands where I can see them,” one ordered.

The other—her oldest brother—merely pointed
his weapon in a watchful manner.

“Drop your weapons on the floor,” the first
one said and glanced at Felix. “You too.”

Felix lifted his hands to show they were
empty. “No weapons.”

He moved to the right, and the two soldiers
tracked him with their eyes and weapons. She knew what Felix was doing—taking
their focus away from the entrance.

The ex-soldier in her wanted to chew their
butts for not covering their asses. Her brother should know better, but she
wasn’t about to warn them of the impending ambush.

“I’m not military any longer.” Casey’s
voice was calm, belying none of her nervousness. “If you kidnap me from the
resort, I’ve left full details with my friends. They will publicize the story.
While I might lose my identity, the general will lose his too—and his
job
—and
you’ll all be dragged down with him. Think of that before you try to force me
to leave against my will.”

“I don’t believe the things you told
William,” her brother Jonathan said. “You’re lying.”

“It’s easy enough to prove,” Felix said.
“Check with the medical facility. See what they say.”

“No one asked you. Who the
phrull
are you anyway?”

“I’m Casey’s husband,” Felix said. “We got
married today. And I’ll be one of the people who create a huge fuss if
something happens to Casey.”

Casey grinned. “Thanks, husband.” She waved
her hand in the air, the light catching the golden glint of her wedding ring.

From the corner of her eye, she caught a
flash of black. The cavalry had arrived.

Two black leopards stalked into position.
They glanced at each other in a quick form of communication then pounced,
knocking the two men off their feet.

Jonathan cursed, attempted to get up, but
one of the twins snarled, snapped his teeth close to Jonathan’s face. Her
brother froze.

A third black cat trotted up to Felix and
gave a grunt. He settled on his haunches beside Casey, and she reached out to
run her hand over the cat’s head. He purred, and Jonathan stared at her in
disbelief.

“You’re married to him?” he asked finally.

“Yes.”

Felix reached out to draw her against his
side and away from his brother. He let one hand settle on her belly. “And she’s
pregnant. She doesn’t consent to any medical tests that might harm our baby.”

Ooh, good one
, Casey thought. Jonathan knew what went on at the medical facility.
He had to. There were rumors…rumors about soldiers who went in and never came
out.

“He’s
really
forcing you to undergo
nanotechnology? And you didn’t consent?” Jonathan asked, a strange expression
taking residence on his face.

“No. I didn’t resign of my own volition,
either. The general forced me to,” Casey said. “He arranged everything, told me
how it would be without giving me a choice.”

“Why didn’t you say something? Tell me?”
Jonathan asked.

Casey snorted. “The general doesn’t
encourage close family relations. You don’t believe me now, and you wouldn’t
have believed me earlier. What was I meant to do?”

“I’m going to stand up,” Jonathan said.
“I’m not going to do anything stupid.”

The cat sitting beside him shifted enough
to let him move, and he stood carefully. “I want to show you something.” He
pulled back his sleeve. “I still have a difficult job believing the general
would stoop to something so…so far reaching. But I
do
know they do
radical experiments in the facility in order to make the perfect warrior.”

He turned his arm over—and Casey stared.

It wasn’t real.

“What happened?”

“I went in with a minor injury. They put me
under, cut it off and replaced it with an artificial arm. They wanted to do
more but I refused a second operation.”

“Your father is a prick,” Felix said. “He
needs to be stopped.”

“I’ll talk to William. Neither of us will
be part of any black ops team to move on you again, but I don’t know how you’re
going to stop him. The general is a determined man. He always gets what he
wants.”

Felix smiled and it held a smidge of nasty.
“He won’t this time. We’ll make sure of it—because we have a plan.”

Casey strode into the Mitchells’ private
shuttle and strapped in. Felix settled in the pilot’s seat and started the
engines.

He shot her a sidelong glance. “Are you
ready for this?”

“Not really.” She gave a soft laugh. “Is it
that obvious?”

“I know how I’d feel in your position. You
haven’t changed your mind?”

“No. The general needs to be stopped, and I
have the power to do it. It’s obvious he doesn’t care who he harms.” Her
stomach quivered at the thought of confronting the general in his lair.

Felix reached for her hand and squeezed.
“I’ll be with you every step of the way. You’re not going to be alone with him
at any time.”

“Promise?”

“You’re my wife. I won’t let anything
happen to you.”

* * * * *

“General, Captain Seonaid is here to see
you.” His aide poked his head through the door. “Do you want to see her now?”

“Show her in.” General Seonaid leaned back
in his chair and allowed himself a smug smile. He’d known she’d come around.
He’d expected her to be delivered to the medical facility, but obviously the
black ops team had come through. Ah, life was good.

His office door opened and his daughter
strolled into the room. Instead of her uniform, she was wearing a dress.

A damn
dress
, in some floaty
material, and…
phrullin’
gods…was that makeup?

A tall dark-haired man, fit and military
material, ambled after her. They both halted in front of his desk. Although
curious about the man’s identity, he was more interested in his rebellious
daughter. At last, greatness was within his grasp. Now that his daughter was
here, she was within his power. He had soldiers at his disposal.

She wouldn’t get away again.

His gaze narrowed when she stared at him in
a direct manner, and her lack of respect raised his ire. “Soldiers don’t salute
any longer?”

“I’m not in the military.
You
organized that.”

Low-level anger started to pulse in his
chest. “Saluting is a show of respect.”

Her chin lifted in defiance and challenge glinted
in her eyes. “I don’t respect you.”

Anger swarmed like insects, attacking his
brain, attacking his pride, attacking his control. “The medical facility is
awaiting your arrival. My aide will arrange your transport.”

“I don’t think so,” the man said.

General Seonaid shot him a hard scowl. “Who
the devil are you? This is none of your business.”

“This is Felix Mitchell,” Casey said. “He’s
my husband, and we’ve just—”

“I’m calling the medical facility.” He cut
off his daughter. He didn’t give a
fodo
crap what his daughter said.
“Telling them you’re on your way.”

His daughter darted forward and snatched
his communicator before he could attempt to make the call. She tossed it to the
dark-haired man, who ground it beneath his heavy boot.

General Seonaid gaped at his daughter. What
the hell? How dare she?

The man—Mitchell—went to the door, opened
it and called for his aide. “We require your help.”

“General?” His aide hovered in the doorway.

“I will not be going to the medical
facility, now or in the future. I am a married woman and have a new life
elsewhere,” Casey said.

“Don’t be ridiculous,” General Seonaid
thundered. “I’ve gone to considerable trouble to arrange this and the
results—the results will be
astounding
. You’ll be better. Bigger.
Stronger. The flawless specimen. The perfect soldier!” And he’d be famous
because of his foresight, his ingenuity, his decision to take this step.

Mitchell moved with a speed that made
General Seonaid blink. The man grabbed his collar and half hauled him out of
his chair. The easy strength of the man sent stabbings of fear, a rush of
adrenaline through him.

“I’ll have you up on charges!” General
Seonaid wheezed through the chokehold.

“I don’t think so,” Mitchell said with
confidence. “Sweetheart, do you have that statement we gave to the media? It’s
time to finish this bullshit before I end up on charges of murder for
throttling your father.”

Mitchell released him without warning, and
General Seonaid straightened his shirt, more fear stirring…until he recalled
the weapon in his drawer. And there was also a security button. Help was but a
summons away.

Yeah, he could play this game still. A
winning game.

Captain Seonaid pulled a piece of paper
from her purse. Her purse,
phrull
it. What kind of soldier carried a
purse? His bottom lip curled. After she’d shown the desire and aptitude for the
military, he should have sent her to military school. If he’d paid closer
attention to her as a youngster instead of ignoring her, he might have seen the
possibilities sooner. He wouldn’t have had to deal with this
fodo
crap
because she’d decided she should have a say in this matter.

“This is what will appear in the media
later today.” She cleared her throat and glanced at Mitchell, her gaze
softening as they exchanged silent communication.

General Seonaid snarled under his breath.
The man had turned her into an even bigger weakling. But not for long.

His daughter started reading.

“‘My name is Casey Seonaid, and I used to
be a captain in the Dalcon military. Last solar month, General Seonaid, who is
also my father, arranged for my service in the military to end—unbeknownst to
me. He called me to his office and informed me that he’d booked me into a
military medical facility. This surprised me, since I am physically fit and
have no need of medical attention. Upon telling the general this, I was told
the operation he’d arranged was an experimental one. He expected me to undergo
nanotechnology that would transform me from female to a male. I do not want
this surgery, and have repeatedly told him so, yet he continues to put pressure
on me. He believes all soldiers should be from the male sex’.”

“Lies!” General Seonaid snapped. “No one
will believe this drivel.”

“But they will,” Mitchell said. “Because we
have proof of your intentions. Keep reading your statement, sweetheart.”

“‘When I failed to show up at the medical
facility, the general authorized a black ops team to descend on the resort
where I now live to retrieve me against my will. Luckily, my husband’s resort
has very good security and we were able to thwart their mission. These
soldiers, one of whom was my brother, were sent back to Dalcon with a message
for my father.’

“‘He ignored that message, and sent another
black ops team. Once again, the team failed. My other brother was part of this
second extraction attempt.’

“‘My brother has since revealed to me that
he had previously received a minor wound on his arm. A medical team put him out
for surgery, and when he woke, he discovered his arm was no longer flesh and
blood, but machinery. The medical facility conducted cyber technology without
his permission. They performed the unnecessary operation on the order of my
father, General Seonaid’.”

“That’s not true.”

“Shut up,” Mitchell snapped. “Let her
finish.”

“‘We have discovered from a source at the
medical facility that General Seonaid has authorized several operations to test
technology on other soldiers. This must stop. It is an abuse of power, and it
is wrong for anyone to hold that sort of power over others. I submit General
Seonaid be tried by the military courts for his crimes, be stripped of his
rank, and be dishonorably discharged.’

“‘Casey Seonaid’.”

“No one will believe a word you say.”

“They already do. Jonathan has also given a
statement to the media. The story should be hitting the streets in…” She
glanced at her wrist unit. “Oh—now.”

Traces of panic tingled in his belly. No.
This wasn’t happening. He wouldn’t believe it.
Fodo
crap, no one would
believe the words of a mere woman! “You can’t do this.”

Heavy footsteps sounded in the outer office
and he almost sighed in relief.

“That will be the black ops team to escort
you to the medical facility. Believe me—you’ll thank me once the operation is
complete. You’ll be a better soldier,” he declared, desperate to regain control
of the situation. “And I’ve sent a team to retrieve that meddling bitch Elsa.
You’ll go to the facility if you know what’s good for your aunt,” he said
smugly.

His daughter stalked toward his desk, fury
twisting her face. “Not in this lifetime,
Daddy dearest
. And black ops
don’t work for you anymore.”

Without warning, she slapped him across the
face. The sharp sting rocked him back, while shock bloomed to the tune of the
sound.

“That is assault!” General Seonaid spat. He
cupped his cheek and his fingers came away with blood, his flesh scratched by
her nails. “I’ll have your head for this!”

Casey stared at the general’s contorted
face. He wasn’t mentally stable. He couldn’t be if he expected to use his
children as medical experiments. And she’d bet that was just the stuff they
knew about. He’d probably stomped over many soldiers on his way to the top.

Fiercely glad at the way they’d cut him off
at the knees—even if he didn’t yet realize the extent of the actions they’d
taken—she stared at the man who was her father.

He still thought he could wriggle out of
his troubles. She could see it on his face. He didn’t understand this was the
end. With her statement, her brother’s statement and an ambitious investigative
reporter on the case, his prized promotion would explode in his face. By the
time the reporter finished with him, the general wouldn’t have much of his
precious reputation left.

But the worst thing, Casey thought, was she
didn’t feel a scrap of pity for him. She felt for her brother and the general’s
other victims. But the general—she wasn’t going to have any trouble turning her
back and walking away. Felix’s family had shown her more love than she’d ever
had in her lifetime. And with Aunt Elsa setting up shop at the resort, life
couldn’t get much better.

Although everything had happened so
quickly, she loved Felix with a fierceness that stole her breath whenever she
looked at him. And their life would only get better.

Several soldiers entered the general’s
office. They fanned out, eyes watchful and weapons at the ready.

“Arrest her! Take her straight to the
medical facility and report back once she is under lock and key,” the general
ordered.

“I don’t think so.” General Gallagher
filled the doorway. “Arrest General Seonaid. Take him to lockdown.”

Casey watched her father, saw the punch of
shock on his face—and just a sliver of cunning as his agile mind attempted a
way to spin this situation. The general stood and the solar light streaming
through the windows struck the gold braid on his uniform.

“What are the charges?” he demanded.

“Atrocities against those under your
command and abuse of position, for a start,” General Gallagher said in an even
voice.

“Where is the proof?”

“We have proof,” General Gallagher said
with distaste. “Take him away.”

The soldiers advanced on him, and the
general made his move.

Casey had expected it. He was a proud man,
an arrogant man, and getting led away by underlings would not suit him.

Casey slid her weapon from the side pocket
of her dress. She’d previously set it to stun—and fired before the general’s
own weapon cleared his desk drawer.

He dropped to the floor, a look of surprise
frozen on his face.

“I bet that felt good, sweetheart.” Felix
moved to her side and took the weapon from her.

The soldiers secured the general and
carried the unconscious man from his office.

“How did you know he’d grab a weapon?”
General Gallagher asked. “I assumed he’d do the dignified thing when faced with
armed soldiers.”

“His pride in his position is colossal. His
arrogance is almost as large. When he comes to and when he’s faced with the
charges, he’ll still assert his innocence and try to blame someone else,” Casey
said. “I know how his mind works.”

“You should have come to me earlier,”
General Gallagher said, his stern face softening when Felix wrapped his arm
around her waist.

“You wouldn’t have believed me.”

The general gave a heavy sigh. “No, you’re
right.”

“He’s covered his tracks well and used fear
to keep everyone in line. If I hadn’t confronted my brothers, hadn’t learned
about Jonathan’s arm, others mightn’t have believed me.”

“This is gonna be a
fodo
crap
storm,” the general muttered and rubbed his hand over his face. “There will be
other soldiers out there… Gods!”

“I suspect my mother has been modified,”
Casey said. “She might know of others if you can’t get information out of the
medical facility staff. But I believe they’ll cooperate. Contact Dr. Phillips.”

“Your mother?” Horror laced the general’s
voice.

“I’m afraid so. William doesn’t know how
lucky he was, because he would’ve been next.” Casey made a mental note to
contact her mother. Maybe things would be different between them now that the
general was out of the way. Or maybe not, but she had to give her mother a
chance.

Yes, she thought, and she felt good about
that decision. As soon as things settled down, she’d approach her mother and
see how the meeting panned out before taking the next step.

“Do you need us for anything else,
General?” Felix asked.

“No, not at present,” the general said, his
mind obviously miles away.

“You can contact us at the resort if you
need us,” Casey said.

“Congratulations on your marriage.”

“Thank you, sir,” Casey said. “I’m a lucky
woman.” And that was an understatement.

* * * * *

Felix stared at the bolts of fabric filling
most of the second room in Casey’s tiny city apartment. “All of this?”