My Ride is a Bitch (The Kurtherian Gambit Book 13) (9 page)

She looked around, taking in the room one last time, “Let’s do this.”

QBS ArchAngel

“What is that?” Bethany Anne asked as she sat down at the table. Scott, Eric, John and Darryl looked down at themselves.

“What?” They chorused together.

Bethany Anne’s eyes narrowed, “That!” She pointed to John’s neck, “The silver trophy pin on your lapel?”

“Oh, this?” John answered so smooth ice wouldn’t melt in his mouth. “These are just, ahh,” he faltered when he noticed her look, “You want to see it?”

Bethany Anne’s face turned happy, “Sure!” She held her hand out, “Let’s see all of them, shall we?”

The other three guy’s eyes darted to each other, perhaps they overplayed their hand?

The men each dropped the little silver symbols into Bethany Anne’s hand.

TOM.

Yes?

Is it possible to change the energy I pull from the Etheric and turn it to heat?

Sure. Wait, why?

I want to make a point.

You know that molten metal would get into your hands and your healing would or at least should heal over the wound, making it a problem to get out, right?

Ok, how do I melt this metal?

Ummmmm.
TOM went quiet for a moment,
probably need an iron crucible, and you would use the Etheric to create an electromagnetic induction wavelength causing an Eddy current to heat up the metal.

Bethany Anne looked around the room, spotting a small mug used for decoration and took the four lapel pins the guys had given her.

Grabbing the small cup, she lifted but apparently, it was strictly decoration and some smart individual had decided to glue it down so it wouldn’t fall off if something happened to the ship.

TOM, is this thing good for me to use?

TOM explained what she would need to do to create the correct field and it took only a couple of seconds before she felt some heat in the mug.

Yup, the right stuff.

The guys winced when Bethany Anne ripped the decorative mug off of the sideboard table, “Someone should fix that,” she said as she brought the gray looking mug to the table. “So,” she started and dropped the four pins into the mug, “I know that these might have looked like little trophy pins, so quaint and cute.”

She looked around and spotted a towel, “Scott, would you mind bringing me that towel?” he turned to see where she was looking and stood up from his chair. A couple of steps there and back and they were good to go again as Bethany Anne held the mug in her right hand with the towel between her and the cup and her other hand on top.

Then, it got weird…er.

She concentrated and the guys quickly smelled melting metal as little wisps of smoke escaped out of the lid of the mug.
 

Fuck, fuck fuck FUUUUCK that’s hot!
Bethany Anne screamed mentally.
 

To the guys, it looked like she just casually put the towel and the mug down on the table. John and Darryl leaned over the table and looked into the mug.

Their four trophy pins were nothing but one puddle of metal at the bottom of the cup.

“Those,” she exclaimed, “Are not approved Queen’s Bitch’s uniform pins. Are we clear?”

“Sure, sounds good.” Eric chimed in. He noticed her look, “I mean, yes ma’am?”

She nodded, “Now that we have that little discussion out of the way, I understand you have all spoken with Barnabas?”

“Yes,” they replied.

“Suggestions?”

“Two go and protect each family. If they are attacked, step in and stop it,” Scott replied.

“There are three families and who is going to stay with me? Or, are you guys willing to leave me alone?” she asked.

“Not likely,” John agreed, “I pulled the short, ah…I mean, I am the designated lead on your protective detail.”

Bethany Anne ignored his comment, “Who makes up the three teams?”

“Darryl and Nathan for the Switzers,” John said, pulling up some notes on his tablet, “Scott and Barnabas get the McWhorters and Eric and Gabrielle have the Gants.” He sat down his tablet.

“Barnabas is going?” she asked him.

John shrugged, “It’s not like it wouldn’t be a good thing. The old man needs to get out and sometimes play, too.”

“So,” she smiled and pointed her hand in a circle, ”those who are going to go do the guard duties are looking forward to it, right?”

“Hell yes,” Darryl exclaimed, his teeth fairly sparkling, “We get to hide in the shadows, and then take out bad guys who have horrible intentions and completely fucking up the unsuspecting assholes.”

Bethany Anne’s smile stayed on her face as the men chuckled at Darryl’s enthusiasm. She turned to John and asked, her smile dropping off, “and you drew the short straw, right?”

The guy’s grins all faded off of their face.

John shrugged and smiled back at her, “Hey, we can’t leave you alone by yourself. Otherwise, you go blow up houses and shit.”

Bethany Anne shook her head and reached out to the mug. She turned it over and knocked it against the towel on the table. After a few blows, a small clump of metal dropped onto the small towel, and she put the mug to the side.

“Your pins, guys.”

She winked to the four men and stood up. Then, she disappeared.

“Ahhhhhh...Shit,” Eric groused, “I don’t think she enjoyed the little trophy pins.”

“Well,” John said, scratching under his chin, “I wonder what she is going to do when everyone in the ship wears theirs?”

Tokyo, Japan

“I know,” Yuko spoke softly, so Akio could hear her on the train, “you are not happy leaving the sword. However, I am very appreciative that you allowed me this chance to walk outside without fearing someone’s arm might get cut off.”

Akio smiled, “I think you have more concern than is warranted, little Vicereine.”

Yuko’s lips compressed, “That isn’t funny, I’m not anyone special.”

“You are now, so learn from it Yuko. I have plenty of knowledge to impart, and I am willing to do so. You can choose to receive it in a manner that is easy to bear, or you can learn from mistakes. Either way, you will learn,” Akio told her, voice firm, “There are no other options. The Queen commands it, and we will obey. That is the title she is bestowing that you control her people in Japan in her place.”

“She gives me too much responsibility,” Yuko argued.

“She gives you what you can step into, not that with which you are comfortable. Notice how much support she has provided. Take the knowledge you have learned from your many efforts to seek knowledge, and now do so again. This time, we are here to protect, to defend, and to make sure those who would look down on our Queen, by looking down on her representative, are taught otherwise.”

“Honor in life,” Yuko said, “and Honor in death.” Yuko closed her eyes and thought about what she had learned. She reached up and touched a button on her dress collar.

“ADAM?” she subvocalized.

>>Yes, Yuko?<<

“Are we confirmed?”

>>We are, Vicereine.<<

“Oh, not you too!” she hissed. Beside her, Akio allowed a small smirk to show before his continued surveillance erased the smile.

>>Why not me, too? You are still my friend, are you not? A title is a title. It could be Secretary Yuko or High Janitor Yuko, could it not? Think less of the title, and more on the project.<<

“ADAM, what would I do without your understanding?”

>>Probably whine a little more to Akio would be my guess.<<

Yuko stood silent for a moment, “Ok, both of you, I will stop whining and do my best. This is another challenge, but one in the Outernet. I am Vicereine Arakawa Yuko for her Royal Highness Bethany Anne to Japan. I will not dishonor my charge by failing to give it my best effort.”

>>And always my friend.<<

“Always,” she whispered.

—

The train pulled into the station, and two people stepped off. Around them, a few feet cushion of space occurred without any obvious explanation. Those walking subconsciously felt a strong desire to stay away from the two. The woman, attractive and walking in a fashionably cut woman’s suit followed the taller man, dressed in a fashion that was both contemporary, and yet felt centuries old. He kept his attention focused towards the front and the sides.

Few would notice the three men that followed closely in the wake of the two in front as they dressed contemporarily in suits and blended in. However, they seemed to slide through the crowd, keeping up with the two in front of them easily.
 

They were the three Elite Akio had as a backup, protecting the Vicereine’s back.

There were two operations actively in play right now for the Queen, and Yuko’s was but one. Akio had a second, and soon a third would join them.

Their Queen rarely did anything half-assed.
 

Unless, Akio thought, you count going out to search and rescue a small child without her guards. You could always depend on her to let emotions run those operations.

And, in a way, Akio wouldn’t change Bethany Anne in the least if he could.

She helped keep life interesting. Like now.

Gangnam District, Seoul - South Korea

The two Chinese men stepped out of the limousine and nodded to the driver who closed the door behind them. The streets were alive, as Gangnam had turned what was once a low-rent district to one that equated to Beverly Hills with a mixture of New York City or Tokyo thrown into the mix.

The two men were shown in through the door to the club, past those that waited to get in and then ushered around the huge dance floor. Thus avoiding the young listening to the K-Pop beats and dancing on the floor.

Neither of the two men or the gentleman leading them to the back spoke. Had they wanted to, it would have been a mostly unsuccessful effort to yell at each other.

Chaoxiang hated clubs, but this was where he and his partner were told to come and do business. His Chinese bosses, those working in the intelligence area of the military, wanted the technology it was rumored the Japanese would get to access, and no Japanese Yakuza member would collaborate with the Chinese directly.

They hated each other.

It wasn’t that the Japanese liked the South Koreans either. But, the two countries had a formidable enemy in China. As the local eight-hundred-pound gorilla, they suffered to do business with a less distasteful ally.

Now, Chaoxiang needed to hire Japanese Yakuza for a major operation, and also needed a cut-out to block any knowledge that China had a hand in this effort.
 

One major mountain range demolished was a suitably large enough warning, so his bosses didn’t want to risk another direct effort. Plus, if the Japanese ended up pointing the fingers at either their own people or the South Koreans, that would be bonus points.

The man leading them into the back pushed on a piece of the wall that opened and outlined a door that had been hard to see in the darkness of the club.

Once the three men got through the door, their ears were happy to be saved from the constant pounding of the beat of the music.

The back of the club was clean, and Chaoxiang and his partner were shown into a small meeting room. Inside, they were met by a young, attractive lady with long black hair and a ready smile. She took their order for drinks and left to acquire the liquor that wasn’t available at the small bar inside the meeting room. Chaoxiang noticed that Crystalline Methamphetamine and XTC were available as selections alongside the liquor.

Moments later, two South Korean members of the local criminal organization stepped in. Once the introductions were accomplished, Chaoxiang got down to business.

He wanted information from a certain group in Japan, and he wanted the response if the project went bad, to stay in Japan.