Release The Dogs of War Snippet 01 of xxx
Long Island, Florida – USA
“What I’m saying,” Eric said, as he and John moved among the exotic supercars,”Is we need two of these bad boys to properly support following Bethany Anne whenever she goes driving hers.”
Bethany Anne had come out of her temporary suite in the Australian Outback at close to eight thirty pm and told Eric that he and John were going shopping with her. Then, she promptly turned around and ducked back into her room saying she was changing. John showed up with Eric’s cup of coffee three minutes later and Eric informed him they were going shopping.
“Any idea where?” John had asked as they sipped their drinks.
“Not a clue.” Eric admitted, “Popped out, we are going shopping, popped back into her room.”
John stepped up to the door and knocked twice, sharply. He heard her answer ‘come in, John’ and so he poked his head and asked where they were headed.
Thirty minutes later, they were all at Ferrari of Long Island, Florida looking at the new F12berlinetta and the sales person was both shocked as hell when Bethany Anne walked in with John and Eric right at opening, and then twice shocked when he figured out who she was.
John and Eric had a moment of peace as she was sitting in the car going through the sales review. There weren’t any customers looking at cars this early on Tuesday morning. Their salesperson, Sheldon, hadn’t finished his Starbucks yet.
John turned to make sure nothing seemed amiss, “I’ve talked with Jeffrey. If she buys anything, the guys will be here right as she takes possession and upgrade it, if not earlier.”
Eric smiled, “They will have to make that three!”
John nodded with a grin on his face, “Yes, I agree, it will have to be…”
John turned from Eric when Bethany Anne stepped out of the drop dead sexy car, “I want three, all Rosso Fiorano and I want them fast.” She told her salesperson, “I am completely open on the negotiation side, and I don’t care where they are in the world. Find them, buy them and let me know how fast I can get them. Also,” She added, “there is a twenty thousand sales bonus if you get three found and ordered before close today.”
Sheldon was just able to get his voice back, “Ma’am, we don’t have three in stock and…” Her look caused him to pause a moment as he realized how his customer could help him over the hump for the vehicle’s transportation. “If you need to provide transportation, is that acceptable?”
Bethany Anne’s smile lit up the store, “Perfectly! You send any information to the email I give you and I’ll have them picked up from their location and back here within a couple of hours. However,” her face lost her smile, “if it becomes a circus because people find out?” This time, she shook her head, “You lose the sales, understood?”
Sheldon considered his comment and then went ahead, “Ma’am, you know that the price for pictures of you are going for more than fifty-thousand, correct?” He put up his hand, “I’m not telling you this to bump up the bonus, I’m just making sure you are aware there will be some that will give up a job to get a picture, and if anything happens, it won’t be me. I love these cars, and I’m building my professional career on being discreet. So, I feel it necessary to let you know.” He shrugged, “If I’m going to prove how discreet I am? I can’t do better than being discreet for you.”
Bethany Anne nodded and leaned toward Sheldon, who looked around and then got closer, “I’ll tell you what, Sheldon. You tell everyone that you have a photo opportunity for your hand-picked support people. If not a single word about this comes out before myself and the two men with me are ready to drive off? I’ll do five minutes of photos with those who helped you keep this secret. Who you pick is up to you, but don’t make it too many. Then, I’ll make sure to give you a fifteen-second video support message how you handled my purchases, deal?”
Sheldon stood back up and held out his hand, “I’ll have your car information within two hours. We have one here, so I just need two more. I’m pretty sure where they are. If I have to sweeten the deal?”
Bethany Anne shook Sheldon’s proffered hand, “Money, within reason, is not a problem. Secrecy is. So, when it comes time to pick up the two cars no one on that side can breathe a word.”
Sheldon said, “I understand, and let me tell you ‘thank you,’ you have just made my career if I don’t screw this up.” He admitted.
“No opportunity for you if you hadn’t been here early on a Tuesday morning. So, consider what it took you to be in the right place before you throw all the credit my way, ok?”
Sheldon nodded. John came over and handed him a business card, “Our contact information for this deal is on the card. It will expire within thirty-six hours, or as soon as we drive off the lot. I need you to let me know as soon as the cars are here as we need to go over them ourselves.” John’s visage turned slightly harder, “Security.”
Sheldon looked down at the card and back to John. “I’ll sleep here tonight.”
John clapped him on the shoulder and pulled the second card out, “This is my card. You ever want to talk about a different line of work, call me. People with your work ethic are hard to find.”
Sheldon held the second card with serious respect. The first card was a business deal that would help him for a long time.
The second was an honor.
To Be Continued…
FK – Bitch’s Night Out Snippet 03 of …
QBS Polarus Bridge
“No, what I am about to tell you, Fred, is based on our relationship going back twenty years.” Captain Thomas spoke patiently, hoping the Commander of the aircraft carrier strike force twenty miles away would listen. “I’m about to launch six very small craft and they are going to go over your position very fast. Don’t be alarmed and for God’s sake, don’t try to attack them.”
Captain Thomas walked over and sat down in his chair on the bridge, “Sure, if you want to try an intercept, I’ll even say ‘go’ for you.” Thomas laughed, “No, it won’t make a difference, Fred. I’ll tell you what, if you guys want a view, I’ll talk with my boss for a second and confirm she doesn’t have a problem. I’ll give you five minutes to put your birds in the air and go to thirty thousand feet. Hold position like they are planning an air raid on ISIS in Iraq.”
Thomas looked over to his operator which held up another line, “Hold one Fred, actually it might be two I’m going to try and get permission.” He clicked the pause button and held out his hand for the second phone and put it to his ear. “Boss? Thank you for letting me interrupt. I would like to allow people I know in the U.S. Navy a chance to witness the Black Eagles flying past a set of F-18’s. Although, I’d be surprised if they didn’t have at least one E2D Hawkeye up there for radar intercept.”
Thomas listened for a moment, “Ok. Which do you want to do, show we don’t have to be ugly, or show them the ridiculousness of competing?” Thomas listened again, “Well, they will want the technology no matter which way we do it. I’m sure France has already provided spec’s on your episode.” Thomas laughed, “Well, I found it funny as hell, so I’m personally glad you did it.”
“Yes, I would like to give them a chance myself. I’m guessing they already know or surmise most of the capabilities. Mmmm, no, I don’t think we’ve ever used the flying interfaces yet with the Black Eagles. The Guards can certainly think fast enough to make it happen.” Thomas grunted, “Ok, so I have your permission and you want me to tell John they should ‘have fun’? Ok, I can do that. Appreciate it ma’am, talk to you later.”
Captain Thomas cancelled the line with Bethany Anne and tossed the phone to his Comms specialist and un-muted the other before putting back to his ear, “Fred? Yeah, sorry about that. Ok, I’ve got two doors. What comes behind the door depends on how well you want to follow directions or we might get door number three and that would really, really be bad for both of us.”
Thomas listened, “Well, you’re the top dog over there, so I’ll give you the scoop and you tell me. I’ve got six of our men heading out and they have been told to ‘have fun’. Now, I can get them to come up and ride with you guys and maybe do a couple of things, but they are not in good spirits after some of the bullshit being tossed our way. If you can have some level headed fighter jocks up top, we have a chance to share some cool shit with permission. If not? Well, they aren’t real patient right now and there really isn’t anything on an F-18 that is going to catch them or pull them down. So, level heads and everyone has a little fun together. Assholes and it is just a fly by if we are lucky. Sore losers and we have an international incident that won’t go over very well.”
Thomas listened for a few seconds, “Yes, I know ‘levelheaded fighter jock’ is an oxymoron but there have to be some Goose’s up there, they can’t all be Mavericks. Mmmhmmm. Works for me. If it helps, tell the guys going topside to watch the news for ‘strange’ attacks in Iraq tomorrow morning. If this goes off well, I’ll share some personal footage we all want to see. Alright? That works, bye Fred.”
Thomas handed the second phone to the Comms Specialist as he went to go find John.
To Be Continued…
FK – Bitch’s Night Out Snippet 02 of …
—
“No, give me the long one, this short stick doesn’t feel right in my hands,” Darryl quipped.
Akio smiled, “Here, let me feel it.” Darryl handed it to him, smiling. Akio looked over, “It’s all in the way you handle your gun to get the most bang from it.”
John chuckled, “Whatever you two, get your damned sticks and whatever personal ‘fuck them up’ stuff you want.”
Dan called out from the second room over, “Anyone want some plastique?” He asked as he came through one of the doors with a lockbox, “I’ll have to open it if you do.”
“Seriously?” Darryl turned from joking with Akio, “I’ll take me some of that!”
Dan pulled out his key ring, “Seriously guys, don’t fuck me over. Bring back video, ok?”
“No worries,” John answered, “We have the helmets with heads up upgrades that have the built in video and the Pods have video that ADAM is controlling. Also, ADAM is doing an immediate download to Frank. He wants to write a story up on it immediately to put out as ‘fiction.’ Hey, here are some knives guys.”
“Someone is bound to see through that shit,” Eric commented.
“I’m pretty sure that is the plan,” Peter said as he pulled a few boxes of shells for a shotgun.
“Why the hell are you pulling a shotgun when you have those two beasts on your hips?” Scott asked, pointing to the two rail gun pistols Peter was packing.
“These pistols are accurate to as far as I can see, but they won’t make near the bloody mess a shotgun will up close,” Peter replied, putting the shells into a bag.
Scott shook his head, “Damned good reason.”
“Who needs six inches?” John called out holding a knife up in the air, “Shut-up Akio!” Everyone laughed.
Everyone chuckled some more with Akio’s retort, “I start at twenty-seven inches, John.”
“I’m out!” Scott called.
“Out.” Agreed John.
“Ouch…” Eric said, “I can’t play in that park.”
All of the men looked to Darryl who just grinned, “What can I say? Some things are true about black men.”
“Fucking liar!” Peter joked.
Dan called out, “Anyone want grenades?”
“If you do,” Darryl commented, “Mr. Grenade is not your friend, or mine, once you pull the pin.”
“I want a few explosive incendiaries,” said John, “I want the opportunity to drop them in on someone. That shit just seems funny.”
“Hey!” called a female’s voice and all of the men turned to see Jean Dukes standing behind them holding a big ass wooden box. She was even straining a little, “I’m not trying to pull the weak woman card here, but someone stop being all woman-are-equal shit and help a girl out.”
Akio and Peter were the closest, and both quickly stepped over and grabbed a handle. She let go, “Now, put that set on the bench. Those are from Bethany Anne.” she wiped her hands on her pants, “She had me make them last night.”
Peter and Akio moved the crate to the bench and Dan walked over to see what was in the chest. John looked at Dan who shrugged his shoulders, “No, I don’t know either.” He answered the unasked question.
The men piled around the box to see what Dukes had manufactured. John reached over and pulled on the simple master lock, but it held. All of them heard Jean say ‘oops’ and reach into her pocket to pull out a key ring.
Jean was going through the keys when she heard a gruff ‘no worries’ and metal snapping. She looked up to see John moving a broken lock off of the ring and setting it to the side.
She looked at the man and realized no one truly understood the power in these guys. Then, she started examining them and decided someone, or many someones, were going to have a very bad night indeed.
“Ok, I’m officially claiming Bethany Anne as my Queen….Again.” Peter said as John started pulling out a rifle, “Scott!”
Scott reached over, and John put in his hands a special made tactical railgun rifle. The grips were stipple textured on both sides as well as having deep-cut grooves, both front and back straps and a beavertail for prolonged firing.
“Oh, my. That is long enough.” Akio said as he admired the rifle in Scott’s hands.
Peter looked back to Jean, “How many shots?”
“Seventy-five,” she said, “Bethany Anne wanted to make sure you enjoyed your evening. The rifles have three settings. Normal, which will push out the rounds at typical velocities, if only a little faster. Then twice normal and ten times normal for when you seriously want to fuck something up. They are hand coded to your biometrics. So, don’t leave them around, but no one is using them against you. Any Queen’s Bitch can use any gun, but she did have me put your names on each one.”
Jean looked over to Darryl, who had received his rifle, “Darryl – she told me to tell you that yours is a quarter-inch longer, so your ego wouldn’t take a hit.” Jean winked, waved and turned to leave, “Have fun, boys!”
“God, she even makes size jokes, can there be a more perfect woman?” Darryl asked.
“Who?” Akio questioned, “Bethany Anne or Jean Dukes?”
“Yes,” Admitted Eric, “To either. Have you seen the way Dukes caresses one of her railgun barrels? You require a cold shower afterward, I promise.” He admitted.
John reached in, “Dan?”
“Yes?” He turned from looking at Eric’s rifle.
John pulled one more rifle from the box, “This one has your name on it, with a note.”
Dan grinned as he accepted his rifle and held it to open the note and read it.
“Hey!” Darryl said, “Don’t make us ask here.”
Dan spoke up, “She says she knows that I’ve got too much to do for tonight, but that she fully expects for me to be free on other occasions should I want to go.”
John grinned, “Sign you up?”
“Hell yeah.” Dan grinned, “I’m up for Bitch’s Night Out, Part Deux when it happens. Count me in.” He handed a smaller box of grenades over to John, “These are for you.”
“Thanks,” John took the box, “looks like we have a shit load of ammunition in here. I wonder how the hell she was able to carry it all?” John mused and looked back down the hallway where Jean Dukes disappeared.
“Interesting,” He thought out loud as his eyes followed where she went.
To Be Continued
FK – Bitch’s Night Out Snippet 01 of …
QBS Polarus near Argentina
“What I was told,” said Darryl as he slung his overnight bag over his shoulder, “was that Bethany Anne requested Gabrielle, Cheryl Lynn, Patricia, Ecaterina and Barb down into her suite here for a conference and no, and I mean ‘no’ guys are invited.” He sat down on the couch in the middle area that been recently renovated to hold a fifth door for Akio. Peter’s room was on the Ad Aeternitatem.
“Except Ashur,” Scott called out of his room as he reached across his bed to grab his phone. He spoke a little louder so everyone could hear him. “She even has two hand-picked female Guardians in front of her suite for protection.”
“What about Peter?” Eric asked from his room as he packed.
Scott walked out of his room and dropped his bag beside his chair and sat down.
“What about me?” Peter asked as he breezed into the main area carrying his overnight bag. “I was told by Bethany Anne to grab overnight clothes and to meet you guys here. Where’s John?” He asked as he sat across from Darryl on the matching couch and put up his feet on the coffee table.
“Did she call?” Darryl asked.
Peter shook his head, “Nope. Did the mind juju conversation stuff.”
“She’s getting a lot better with that,” Darryl remarked to Peters nodded agreement.
Eric came out of his room and shut his door, “That room is not for public consumption!” He walked over and gave Peter a fist bump before kicking his legs off the table, “Mind the furniture, shrimp.” He grumped before sitting next to Peter and crossing his feet and placing them on top of the table.
“You old Bitch!” Peter remarked before putting his feet back on the table. “Where is the esteemed High Bitch?”
“Right here, Sophomore, with our Fish,” John said as he walked in with Akio holding a sword. All of the guys raised their eyes in surprise. John had a night bag, but he was also fully decked out in ‘Queen Bitch’ dress with patches and everything.
“I think I failed to get a memo.” Darryl quipped.
Akio nodded to the men and sat down next to Darryl, holding his sword.
“No, no memo was put out.” John agreed, looking down at his five guys. “What I’ve been told, no actually ‘commanded’ by Bethany Anne was that the Bitches needed a night out. I was told to make sure that this group let out some of our energy and ‘attitude’ and to come back relaxed. Now, you guys know that Bethany Anne just wants us off this ship so we can’t figure out what she’s doing. That’s fine, Gabrielle is there, and so is Ashur. However, she is right. We need to blow off some steam.”
John looked at all of his guys, “That would normally mean we go to a bar, but I’m not sure how much that would affect us. While I fully intend to end up in a dive, I think there is only one way to get rid of the pent up aggression I’m feeling.”
“Well, considering how you’re decked out,” Eric said, “I think you believe we need to work out our aggression?”
“What I’m thinking,” John said, “Is that the best way to get rid of aggression is to fuck up some people who desperately need to be fucked up. So, I’ve had Frank help me locate a few places that need help. Now, we might not make it to all of them but by the end of the night, we will have done some major good and I’ll start feeling a little Karmic balance restored. If you guys aren’t full up, well, we will just have to schedule it again.”
Peter grinned as he stood up, “Hell yeah! How are we getting around?”
John pursed his lips, “Well, six of us, six Black Eagles are available to use…”
Scott stood up, “God, I’ve needed to fucking shoot somebody. You pussies keep getting the action after the Australian incident.”
“Oh, is that what you call running into an ambush?” Darryl said as he stood up.
“No, I call that being your shield and if you would just appreciate it instead of always trying to turn my self-sacrifice around I’d enjoy it!” Scott grinned as he punched Darryl as he walked past him.
Darryl rubbed his arm, “Make sure Scott is up front, and he can shield me all the time.” He rubbed his arm a second time, “That way, I can use my size twelves to kick his ass through the door!”
All the guys chuckled.
Akin stood back for a second and got Eric’s attention, “What are we doing?”
“Well,” Eric told him as the two followed, “I imagine John is taking us by the Armory to find all sorts of personal mayhem devices. There, we are going to make lewd jokes about how long someone’s ‘gun’ is. Then, six of the most deadly men on this planet have been commanded by their Queen to go ‘blow off some steam.’ Now, she might have known what John was going to do or she might not. Either way, John has found a list of some locations of very bad people who probably need to have an attitude adjustment. We are going to take six of the most deadly planes in the world to these locations and we are going to do very painful things to very bad people and enjoy the shit out of it!”
Akio asked, “Because this is what our Queen wants?”
Eric closed the door as the two followed the rest down the hall, “She wants us to get rid of our general bad attitudes about everything. About Michael, about stupid politicians, stupid attitudes and horrible people who want shit they had nothing to do with creating. Friends who are no longer with us and so John decided the best way to help relieve this pent up anger is to do something righteous with it.”
“Something righteous with guns?” Akin asked.
“Of course!” Eric responded as he looked over to Akio and grinned. “Righteousness at the end of a .45…” He looked down at the sword Akio was holding, “And a sword, of course.“
Eric started humming a recent tune as the guys ahead took a left towards the armory.
“Righteousness at the end of a .45…a .45…” he was singing as he and Akio followed the others around the corner.
To Be Continued
Dark Messiah 1 of …
In the beginning was pain.
Acceptance of pain was the first test.
Where there is pain, there is life.
IT’S HELL TO CHOOSE – Snippet 9 of …
TQB Base, Colorado – USA
Bethany Anne and John walked over to the main offices and through where Cheryl Lynn should have been, but wasn’t. Then she passed where Michael should have been and wasn’t as well. John reached ahead of her and put out a hand.
She stopped. She could hear everything in the room ahead, and there was no indication of trouble, but she had learned it was easier to be obedient to the hand than to give him too much lip. Besides, she was saving up all of these little indignities for a time when she could get him back.
Your time is coming, Mr. Grimes, she thought, oh yes, your time is coming.
Satisfied that everything was safe inside the room, John stood back, and his body posture told Bethany Anne she could walk ahead. Bethany Anne stepped around the corner into the room to find her two missing people. Cheryl Lynn was blushing furiously on the back row, and she noticed Michael sitting next to one of the lawyers. From his profile, he would be Jakob Yadav. She walked down the steps and into the main pit area in front of all of the chairs. She turned around and leaned against the table with her arms crossed.
“Welcome,” she started. “I understand from the people who vetted you before you arrived that your firms met all of our specific requirements.” She turned to the group from Thuresson and Guaran, “Unfortunately, I don’t recognize any of you. I will presume that Misters Thuresson and Guaran have justification for missing this meeting?”
The people at the table quickly looked to each other before the person in the chair closest to the aisle spoke, “Hello, Ms. Bethany Anne.”
Bethany Anne put up a hand, “It is just ‘Bethany Anne’. No honorific necessary.” She nodded for him to continue.
“Certainly. My name is Will Sethi, and I’m here on behalf of the firm. Misters Thuresson and Guaran were called away on urgent business for a senator and respectfully ask your pardon.” Bethany Anne caught Michael’s slightly negative shaking of his head out of the corner of her eye.
She pursed her lips.
ADAM, can you tell me where Misters Thuresson and Guaran are presently?
>>One moment, Bethany Anne.<<
“Will,” she said, “would you introduce me to the team?”
Before Will finished, ADAM came back to her.
>>Both Thuresson and Guaran are presently at a hunting lodge in Western Canada with two clients and a significant number of single ladies.<<
How the hell do you know this? I’m not doubting you; I’m just curious.
>>Mr. Guaran has the location on his personal itinerary with two client names and what company employs them. I found one of his clients are presently sending pictures to a password protected social board of the events for a group of men to view.<<
“Thank you for your introductions Will, but unfortunately, I was premature when asking for them. I don’t believe in wasting time, nor do I believe in falsehoods as a good way to start a relationship. It breeds distrust. As Thuresson and Guaran are presently not on the East Coast of the United States, but rather up in Canada enjoying themselves I can only surmise that either you don’t know, which means they lied to you. Or, you do know, which means that you lied to me.”
She looked up to John, who started walking down the steps to stand on the floor with her. “Mr. Grimes here will make sure you get to the front gate correctly.” John was talking on his little mic. He was calling Eric to come in from outside to help the people.
Will looked like he wanted to argue the point, but then just grabbed his laptop and started shoving his books, writing pad and mouse into his bag.
“Michael,” she spoke very quietly.
Yes? He replied in her mind.
Would you check out the third lady from their group? Bethany Anne noticed Michael purse his lips and look like he was studying the whole group.
She is upset. She had hoped to help win this account so she could work, at least tangentially, with this team because Jennifer loves what she has seen and learned to date. Hmmm, it looks like she has a crush on you.
What?
She has a professional crush. She has researched everything that is known about you. My, did you know how many websites have sprung up about you?
God, yes! It’s like the more I try to hide, the more they dig. I’ve had ADAM go through and leave behind some fake crumbs at times and delete stuff occasionally. He has found over seventy-two websites and four Facebook groups.
Hmm, Michael sent.
What?
It seems she has a crush on me as well, he replied.
How could she have a crush on you? What business information is out there on you?
Not that kind of crush.
It was a second before Bethany Anne came back to him.
I will rip your dick off.
Michael pressed his lips together trying to keep his humor in check. Bethany Anne had become more and more jealous sounding in her comments to him in the last three to four weeks. She never showed anything externally, but occasionally she would make comments like this one to him personally.
She had apparently decided he was off the market.
This was all right with him; he had already decided he would focus all of his attention on Bethany Anne. Should I be jealous of all the men that find you attractive?
Don’t play Mr. Logical with me – I’ll just go illogical on your ass. I’m not the one reading all the minds finding out just how bad these ladies want you.
I thought we had this conversation already? Tabitha was a fast-track course in not reading minds unless needed.
This time, it was Bethany Anne’s turn to press her lips together. When Michael finally came clean about all of the ways Tabitha had burned him when she believed he was reading her mind, Bethany Anne couldn’t stop laughing. What should have taken him at most fifteen minutes to tell took him over an hour because she would start laughing again.
God, she sent to him, don’t you dare say a word about Tabitha! It wasn’t that her mind reading and sending wasn’t considerably stronger since working with Michael so closely; it’s just that she didn’t use it often for philosophical reasons.
If you can get past your jealousy, what do you want to do about this lady?
I’m not jealous! Ok, I can’t sell that. I’m only a little jealous and to be fair, you’re my first long term boyfriend in years. You are hunky, rich, powerful, and you’ve got a nice ass. So yeah, you’re all mine.
He caught her eyes, and she quickly flashed a little red in them.
Just how fast can we get this over with? Michael asked.
Why? She asked.
I want you. Michael answered directly.
Oh. She mentally paused then asked, give me your rundown.
Jakob here is ethical, smart and he has honor.
And? She followed.
The two dill-weeds, as you are fond of saying, in front of me are thinking how much money they can fleece from the company. The other one here on the right of me is fronting another client as a spy on this trip. He is hoping for a short trip around the premises so he can drop another three listening devices around the base. There is already a bug planted in the first secretary’s room up front.
Boy, wouldn’t he be surprised to learn that room is not occupied? She quipped. She turned to look at John who tweaked just a little when ADAM came over his earpiece asking him to find a bug planted in the front office.
He took off up the stairs at a steady pace, two steps at a time. Everyone was startled at his sudden disappearance around the corner and Eric’s appearance right as he left to escort the group out. Jennifer Tehgen was surprised when her personal phone beeped with a text. She mumbled an apology as she was confident she had told everyone not to communicate with her while in this meeting unless it was an emergency. She quickly glanced at the phone and then did a double-take.
You are invited to apply personally for a position for in-house counsel with TQB Enterprises.
The text said and provided Cheryl Lynn’s contact information. She dropped the phone into her purse and turned to stare back at Bethany Anne, who winked at her.
She left the room more confused than ever. How the hell had they just pulled this off?
Jennifer passed by the man of muscle in the hall who was marching back towards the meeting room.
John stepped into the room and walked down the steps and then to the bottom floor he turned and leaned on the table across from Mr. Brimer. Mr. Brimer tried to look affronted with the expression perfected in front of judges from California to Maine. Those men of the bench had honed Brimer’s ability to stand stern in the face of adversity.
But he was sweating looking at someone extremely pissed with him who looked like breaking his back was the least painful thing he wanted to do.
“What is the meaning of this?” Marcus Mills asked. “This isn’t how you treat invited representatives from a firm as prestigious as ours!” He turned towards Bethany Anne, who was walking towards John with her hand outstretched. He didn’t look at her, but he did stick his arm back towards her and dropped something into her left hand. She caught the little item and then stepped over in front of Mills.
She placed the bug on the desk between the two men. “I will treat spies like I treat vermin, Mr. Mills.” Bethany Anne replied. “I have a very, very short fuse when it comes to shit like this.”
Mills was caught by surprise as he turned towards his partner, “Bill? What’s the meaning of this?” He reached towards the bug, but his hand landed on Bethany Anne’s.
“No, no touching the evidence again, Mr. Mills.” She replied, “We can take genetic swabs and prove who has touched it. If you do so, we will be forced to bring you up on charges as well.”
“Bullshit!” Brimer said, “There isn’t any way that you have…”
“You fucking idiot.” Sethy interrupted him, “They are on the Moon right now, and you want to argue whether they might have some other forms of advanced technology?” He had been staring at Bethany Anne’s hand before turning to his partner, “How many more do you have on you?”
“I don’t know what…” he started.
This time, it was John who interrupted him. “You can answer truthfully, or I will take every bit of pleasure out of strip searching your ass right here.” he growled.
Brimer started to splutter, “I will sue you so badly you will…”
He wasn’t having any luck at all completing a sentence, “Oh, I’ll be more than happy to represent him in court, Martin.” Jakob Yadav spoke from behind him, “So please, please sue him so I can make it four out of four wins against your useless ass!” Bethany Anne looked up to see Jakob’s face alight with open glee at the idea of being able to go to court against Martin.
I like this guy! She sent to Michael.
Why do you think I’m sitting next to him? He mused.
He probably told you to kill someone. She replied. Michael failed to respond in time, so she added, please, tell me he didn’t suggest you kill someone!
No, he didn’t tell me to kill anyone. Like I’m the problem child here – which one of us has a problem with her anger?
Oh, shut up. You’re getting me riled up and every time you do that before sex, blood ends up everywhere.
Like that is a problem?
No, I guess it hasn’t been with you. It just drives me nuts and then I wake up, and it just seems so…so…
Stephen King?
No, more Clive Barker.
Haven’t read him.
Don’t worry about it. ADAM supplied the response for me.
That’s cheating!
That’s using my assets.
Those are some very attractive looking assets.
My mind is up here, mister!
You keep telling me to catch up to the present generation and to stop being so stodgy with my actions.
Need I remind you we are in the middle of getting rid of a nationally-known and respected law firm?
Who brought up sex first?
Instead of answering, she spoke. “So you have two options. Admit to how many you have or you will be forcefully searched by Mr. Grimes here.”
“Three.” He admitted, his shoulders slumping a little.
“You chicken-shit!” Mills had started before Bethany Anne put up a hand.
“Eric will be here shortly to escort the three of you back to your vehicle. While Mr. Brimer here will be relieved of his bugs and he will provide the name of the company who employed him to accomplish this, you may all go once that is complete.”
It took another five minutes to get through the final effort by Brimer to get out of it. By the time the three left, they were yelling at each other. Eric was careful to make sure nothing else was left behind.
Bethany Anne watched the three exit the room. She turned to Jakob, “And then there was one.” She smiled at him, and he looked back.
“I don’t suppose you want me for my body?” He asked with a slowly forming smile and all five of the people left in the room cracked up.
Cheryl Lynn came walking down from the top. “That was well worth the price of admission!” She exclaimed and sat in the chair just vacated by Mills.
“I’d ask what suggested something might be going on, but I already know the answer to that.” Bethany Anne said, “So, Jakob, what brings a horned unicorn to TQB Enterprises?”
“A horned unicorn?” he asked, perplexed.
“Yes, I figured I would meet an ethical lawyer about the time I met a horned unicorn.” she stated.
“Well, I’m not sure I know what to say to that.” he replied. “But before we go further, I have to tell you I don’t know how many days I have left. I explained to Mr. Michael here that I mainly wanted to see the fireworks happen.”
“And offer to represent me if I punched out a paparazzi,” Michael smiled to Bethany Anne.
“That doesn’t sound very ethical to me, Mr. Yadav.” Bethany Anne responded.
“On the contrary, my dear. It is an effort to teach the young hooligans the fine art of minding their own damned business!” He grinned up at her, and she had the hardest time not smiling back. This man’s good humor was contagious.
“And if you were healthy enough to do this yourself?” she continued.
“Well, you know that the first rule of lawyers is to never represent yourself. So, since it looks like Michael here is in great shape, and I have the mind for it, and you carry the interest of half the world, we have a real shot at teaching a lot of young hooligans!”
At this, Bethany Anne gave in and started laughing. First, she snorted, then put her hand up to her mouth and shook herself before the chuckles became outright laughter. It took a moment for her and Cheryl Lynn to quiet down.
At this point, the two men were looking at her as if she was the mom, and the two of them were guilty of something, but both looked so damn cute, you just told them to go play outside again.
She sighed out loud, “Mr. Yadav, how much would it cost me to hire you so we have client confidentiality?”
“Well,” He started, “While I would do it for free, let’s say a dollar so we have financial consideration in place.”
Bethany Anne looked to Michael, who rolled his eyes and started reaching for his pocket. “I told you in London that carrying cash wasn’t a bad idea.” He pulled his wallet out and reached over to give her an American dollar. She told him ‘thank you’ and moved her hand a few inches and deliver it to the chuckling Yadav.
“So, what is it that needs my confidentiality?” He asked while pulling out his wallet to nicely place the dollar inside.
“Well, let me introduce you to the General. You might notice something about him that would encourage you to listen to the pitch for you to start up my In-House counsel…”
With that, the five of them stood up and left to go find her father.
IT’S HELL TO CHOOSE – Snippet 08 of …
New York – New York, USA
“Sir, Nathan and Ecaterina are here to see you.” Gerry’s secretary informed him. He punched the speaker button, “Thank you, Ashley. Please send them in.”
Gerry finished the email he was working on and stood up as the door to his office opened and Nathan stepped in, followed by his mate Ecaterina. Both smiled at him, and they met in the middle of his large office. He shook Nathan’s hand and hugged Ecaterina briefly. “Couch or desk?” He asked.
“I am thinking the couch,” She replied pulling on Nathan’s arm and changing his direction. “These shoes are beautiful, but they are not comfortable.” She rubbed Nathan’s back in passing and Gerry tried to keep the smirk off of his face.
Whipped.
He sighed inwardly, he was happy for Nathan. He was getting up in age, he shouldn’t be jealous of Nathan’s happiness. Now that the politics had been reduced substantially by Bethany Anne he might have the time to look around one last time for a significant other. Probably a human woman as a Were lady would outlive him.
The couple sat down on his small couch and Gerry asked if they wanted anything. Nathan replied that he would like a Scotch this time but Ecaterina demurred. Gerry raised an eyebrow to Nathan, who shook his head and slightly shrugged his shoulders.
That was interesting, Gerry thought. “Perhaps a water with lemon?” She agreed and Gerry made their drinks and handed them out. He made a gin and tonic for himself and sat down.
“So,” Gerry started, “how did the recruiting run go?”
“Too well, perhaps,” Nathan replied.
Gerry was surprised, “What? That’s kind of shocking. I figured with the fall-out from the last council meeting there would be a lot of bullshit cock-blocking of recruiting effort.”
“Oh, they tried that in the beginning.” Ecaterina agreed, “But it didn’t work very well.”
Gerry looked back over to Nathan for an answer.
“You really didn’t hear any news?” Nathan asked and then was surprised when Gerry grinned. “Who would have thought you would take so well to not being the top guy?” Nathan mused.
Gerry shrugged, “I was mostly doing it to keep the lid on anything Michael would do again. That massacre made an impression on me. Since Bethany Anne is heading things, I feel comfortable relaxing on this. Plus, you are my contact. If they have a problem with you, well shit – they can just complain to you!”
“You sneaky bastard, you turned off your phone!” Nathan accused.
“Not true.” He replied quickly, “I shunted anything but a couple of people off to voice mail.” He took a sip of his drink. “So, back to how you got them to get in line.”
Ecaterina cut in, “He grew furry and picked both of the alphas up and growled right in their faces. It was an exciting moment for many, I assure you.” She grinned, “The younger crowd got so excited about seeing a Procilici that anything the Alphas said went right out their ears.” She made a gesture with her hand, “Poof!”
Gerry chuckled, “Discussion through Intimidation? I thought Bethany Anne was a kinder, gentler influence on you?”
Nathan smiled, “That was Ecaterina, who told me to ‘get this dick-beating over with, it bores me.’”
Ecaterina blushed when both men leaned towards each other and high-fived as they laughed loudly. She interrupted their howling with, “I just asked myself what Bethany Anne would say…” That didn’t help any at all, now they were practically rolling out of their chairs. Finally, she stood up, “I think I will go talk to Ashley for a moment while you two boys get this out of your system.”
Nathan reached under to push her up more quickly and she popped his hand when she was standing then winked at him, “Promises, promises!” She stepped out of the room, and the two men turned back to each other.
“So,” Gerry asked, “turn into a Procilici and everything is good?”
Nathan grimaced, “Not quite that easy. Having to fight the rage that occurs when in that form is a challenge. It isn’t something that you want to provide to just any idiot with the raw ability. I’m a little surprised that Peter handles it so well.”
“Peter?” Gerry asked.
“Yes, John started calling him Peter and said that Pete was his old, younger name. It kind of caught on. Occasionally we will call him Pete within the group, especially if we are trying to tease him. But outside, and now more often inside the group, he is Peter.”
“He’s grown up, huh?” Gerry asked before taking another sip.
Nathan looked around the office for a minute, Gerry could almost see his mind replaying the incident with Peter’s dad and Nathan in this very office that decided Peter’s fate. “You know Gerry, for Wechselbalg, he is basically our chosen child. You know that?” Nathan mentioned, somberly, “He was the child sacrificed to the vampires and has risen up to become the leader of our next generation.”
Now, Gerry felt taken back to that moment. A moment which at the time had felt a lot less momentous and much more spur-of-the-moment decision-making. “Who would have thought?” He concurred with Nathan, “Now, we have three that can turn into Procilici and we are tied at the hip with one of the most powerful vampires ever to have existed.”
“The…” Nathan said.
“What?” Gerry asked, “Do you mean that she is stronger than Michael?”
“Oh, maybe not in sheer physical violence. I imagine he can still take her on in a one-on-one display. He has a thousand years of practice she doesn’t yet. No, I’m talking about her organization and what she heads up. Bethany Anne has built our group, and we are on the Moon, Gerry.” He took a sip of his own drink, “The damned Moon!”
Nathan turned to look around the room before coming back to Gerry, “We have over two hundred Wechselbalg volunteers right now, and that is the first wave. I expect by the time we finish with the U.S. and Canada, we will have close to a battalion of Wechselbalg eager to sign up.” He exhaled, “I don’t know if they are signing up because of me, because they need change or because they understand who Bethany Anne is.”
“Well,” Gerry answered, “My experience suggests no matter the original reason, Bethany Anne will focus their attention where it needs to be.”
Nathan saluted Gerry and downed his drink.
IT’S HELL TO CHOSE Snippet 07 of …
TQB Base, Colorado – USA
The lawyers from Mill, Sethy, and Brimer followed Cheryl Lynn down the hall. All of them passed a sharp dressed man lounging in the hallway. Their guide nodded her head, “Michael.” He nodded his head to her as the men stepped around him. Mr. Mill and Sethy nodded their head politely to him while Brimer ignored him altogether.
They were a couple of minutes behind the team from Thuresson and Guaran, and they had noticed Jakob Yadav pulling up in his older silver Mercedes Benz E350 behind them.
Like them, Yadav had come himself. Thuresson and Guaran were rumored to have sent a pinch hit team.
Apparently, Thuresson and Guaran hadn’t done their homework.
This account could easily add tens of millions to the coffers of their practice and between the three of them, they had over one hundred and twenty years of legal experience. The felt pretty assured that there wasn’t anything this group could throw at them that they wouldn’t be able to handle.
This was it, the final round that had started quickly in the last two weeks.
The three men were shown into the large meeting room, and all of them were surprised at the display of sophistication. The room was more of a small amphitheater with four levels of desks and screens and a large conference table at the bottom.
Thuresson and Guaran had five members already seated down at the first level of desks and to the left. Mill, Sethy, and Brimer were shown the chairs to the right on the first level.
Brimer smiled, that meant Yadav would probably get a second-row seat.
When she got back up front, Cheryl Lynn found Jakob Yadav waiting for her. He was dressed in a simple three-piece suit and had a fashionable gold pocket watch and chain. Cheryl Lynn found it cute. The man had already taken his hat off inside the office, and he was bald and had a somewhat large nose. He reminded her of the legendary NY Yankee manager Yogi Berra.
“Hello,” He reached out to shake her hand. “Pleased to meet you. I’m Jakob Yadav. I was asked to attend, but I have to be honest. I wasn’t planning on taking any customers.” He shrugged, pointed to his bare head and smiled, “Brain is good, but some cold mornings it takes more than one cup of coffee to get going!”
“Well,” Cheryl Lynn said, “as far as I know, they want you for your mind, not your body.” The twinkle in his eye assured Cheryl Lynn that Mr. Yadav had not lost any of his sense of humor.
“If you would follow me?” He nodded his agreement and grabbed his yellow pad and a pen and started to follow her down the hall. She nodded to Michael again but was caught by surprise when Mr. Yadav called out from behind her.
“You are Mr. Michael, are you not?”
Cheryl Lynn turned to see the two men shaking hands and Michael replying, “I am.”
“Good to meet you, my name is Jakob Yadav. Those hooligans getting snapshots of you and Ms. Bethany Anne when you have been on your dates have to be a right pain to deal with. If I were younger, I think I might risk getting thrown in the pokey after throwing a swing at those bastards.” Mr. Yadav released Michael’s hand and then leaned forward to gently poked him in the chest and leaned back again. “If you happen to punch one, call me. I’ll consider it a public service and I’ll represent you for free.”
Michael smiled at the much younger man whose body was rapidly getting away from him.
“I’ll tell you what,” Michael answered, “Next chance I get I will deck one of them. But it isn’t the police I’ll need you to intercede with for me. But rather my girlfriend.” He winked to Jacob, “She tends to frown at unnecessary violence.”
“Hmph.” He replied, “Rudeness taking pictures when you are having a private dinner is certainly a cause for violence. At least in my day it was.”
Michael smiled and turned towards Cheryl Lynn, a gleam in his eye. “My day as well Jakob, why don’t we go sit down together and hear what the group is going to say?”
Jakob and turned to walk with Michael. The two of them walking around the stupefied Cheryl Lynn in the hallway.
She turned her head and watched as the two men disappeared into the doors leading into the conference room. Looking back towards where her work waited for her she shrugged her shoulders and turned to follow the two men.
Michael wasn’t expected to be a part of the meeting. That he invited himself along was an indication that exciting times might lay ahead, and Cheryl Lynn would need to know the details for when Giannini grilled her later!
ITS HELL TO CHOOSE Snippet 06 of …
University just outside of Philadelphia, Pa
“I’m telling you, James; this shit is getting real!” Nick looked at his computer screen scrolling through the messages in the chat room. “TxSatan99 is saying that he knows of three verified takedowns in France outside of Paris. One of the guys over there says he got the news that it was confirmed by one of the police he knows that MyNam3isADAM started printing shit out on the cops printer!”
Nick looked up over his laptop screen at his friend who was staring at his laptop screen, “God, can you imagine? This guy not only finds the dirt, but he also hacked the cops own network to print the proof.”
He shook his head and looked back down, “Woo! Satan says there is a reward for anyone who can figure out who MyNam3isADAM is by those he is shooting down. The reward just got moved up to 30 bitcoin.”a
“Shit,” James replied, “That’s only like fifteen thousand right now. There’s no way I’d turn in ADAM for any money. Besides, what kind of name is ‘Satan’ anyway?”
Nick shrugged, “I asked him, and he said Texas is hot as hell in the summer, so it seemed appropriate.” Nick kept reading the messages, “I’m not saying I want him caught. I’m saying that there is a bounty on him.”
Nick looked up from his screen and reached over to snap his fingers in front of his friend’s face. James looked up annoyed, “What the hell?”
“Do you think he wants help?” Nick asked.
“Who?” James replied.
“Adam!” He pointed to his screen, “This is bullshit.”
James scrunched up his face, “What the hell are you talking about? Is this another drop the shit on me and then run around the block thing for you?”
“No. Look, that was back in high-school you should let it go, I did,” Nick said.
James leaned back in his chair, “That’s because you weren’t left holding the evidence when the cops came up. You know how hard it was to explain all of our computer equipment wasn’t hacking stuff?”
Nick grinned, “Yes, you have given me the play-by-play at least forty-two times in the last four years.” He spread his arms, “Besides, you got out of it! I would have been stuttering and been busted.”
“You shouldn’t have been trying to co-opt the schools wireless to change your fucking grades.”
“Whatever. So, answer my question.”
James gawked at his friend, “You want to know if one of the preeminent hackers on the planet right now who has a price on his head wants you to help him?”
“Well, say it that way and it seems a little far-fetched.” Nick turned back to his screen, “Fuck it.”
“Wait, what ‘fuck it’?” James began to get worried as Nick continued typing and didn’t answer him. He stood up and walked around the little card table in the dorm room they shared to look over his friend’s shoulder.
“Oh, that ‘fuck it,’” He responded.
TQB Base – Colorado, USA
>> Bethany Anne?<<
Yes?
Bethany Anne was grabbing her suit coat and slipping on her Christian Louboutin’s. John was outside the door to her rooms, and it was approaching the time she needed to get to the meeting with the lawyers.
>>I’ve run across a situation, I wasn’t prepared for.<<
Really? Like what?
>> My hacker persona is getting requests from people asking if they can help me. <<
Bethany Anne stopped slipping her shoe on. What?
>>I have been receiving more and more requests from people on the dark web to see if they can help me.<<
She finished putting on her shoe and stood up. She moved around and pushed a chair under a table. It had a pair of Michael’s pants neatly folded and hanging across the back. The man was so neat it was like he came from a Neiman Marcus magazine – ‘Perfect Male. Wise in years, Young Body, Cleans Up After Himself.’
He had left over an hour ago to mind read and give her his impression of the teams when she was about to go into the meeting.
How many?
>> Sixteen at this time.<<
You have sixteen hackers who are seeking you out to see if you need help?
>>Yes. They want to join in the ADAM Revolution. <<
Wait! What Revolution? You and TOM haven’t started anything have you?
>>No. This was not part of my plan. I can see where they could be useful as I am dealing with more than I counted on with the stock market efforts. But, I don’t know your expectations and whether having additional help is a good solution.<<
Did you want me to help ADAM start a Revolution?
Hell-to-the-No, TOM! You two did enough with China. Lord almighty! If it ever came out that an AI and Alien backed dark web-enhanced hacker group was trying to affect society … Oh, I just shudder to think about the P.R. debacle that would be.
Bethany Anne stopped for a moment and added before opening her door, And the crap Cheryl Lynn would give me for releasing you two to do it!
But, it’s OK for just ADAM to play?
Bethany Anne nodded to John and finished her thought.
I cannot believe I’m saying this, but yes. ADAM – keep me up to date with what is going on with people, but you can communicate.
IT’S HELL TO CHOOSE – Part 5 of …
New York City, NY – USA
“I’m telling you; they have to have technology that they absolutely need to provide to the world!” Johann Pecora spoke to the assembled men and women in a sub-assembly for the Advancement of the Human Race. While it was a very auspicious sounding name, it held a group of individuals who focused on the advancement of a select group of companies. Their members.
“This group, this TQB Enterprises must have even more technologies if they can move shipping containers to the moon!” Johann continued.
The room held sixteen people. This room was in the basement of the Waldorf-Astoria. They used it whenever they needed to step away from the United Nations and meet off site. It wouldn’t be odd for any of them to have a meeting here.
Sixteen nations were represented in the group. These representatives were connected to some of the most powerful, or most influential nations in the world. None of these people personally had power, but the interests of their countries which they did represent were behind the scenes movers and shakers.
“And how,” Ms. Stephanie Lee asked, “Do you intend to encourage them to supply what technologies they have?”
Johann considered the question, “What leverage do we hold?” Johann asked. “It isn’t like this is the first time we have come up against an entity which wasn’t already a member.”
“That,” Eugene Guarran said, “Might be true. However, we have never tried to go against this group.”
Johann waved that away, “So what? We represent the combined might of twenty-two percent of the gross national product of the sixteen top countries in the world and those others we represent.” He took a breath but Eugene cut him off.
“Did you do the research on TQB?” He asked, “Just curious.”
Johann shrugged, “I’ll admit I did not. I’ve had issues settling down three congressmen and one highly upset senator this weekend. I know that part of our ability to stay relevant in the short term for two of our requested projects is going to be dependent on our ability to, um, acquire access to this technology.” He finished lamely.
Anna Elisabeth Hauser interjected, “I will provide some information, and only this much.” All heads turned to the representative of the most secretive member of the group. “Because it will be on pain of death if I am ever found out to have spoken this truth. Is this understood?”
The light skinned lady with the long blond hair looked into each eye to make sure she got a head nod. She didn’t expect any of them to listen to her, but she had to try. In her country, there were whispers about a shadowy group in the highest areas of power. She had a glimpse of the elusive leader of TQB Enterprises and hadn’t been able to shake the feeling she had seen the lady before.
At three o’clock in the morning, she had bolted up in bed and hurried to put on a housecoat. She made a special, secure request to confirm the facts of an incident which had happened years before in her country.
Anna Elisabeth had sought information on a bank heist. Not one that was successful, but one where the criminals had been captured but nobody knew how that had happened. The bank videotapes had mysteriously been erased. Yet, no one had ever been brought up on charges for failing to supply the police with the evidence.
She had seen a picture of a woman leaving with a hat over her face. It was the jawline that she remembered. Poised, it was confident, it was determined.
Her name had been on the list of those interviewed.
There could only be one answer to this question, and it scared Anna Elisabeth beyond reason. She had discounted these rumors ever since she had heard them back in her country. She had risen to this level of responsibility because she didn’t scare easily. Oh, she knew the power and strength of respect for those more influential than her, and those more desperate. But that was all aspects of the great game.
Now, this caused her blood to feel like it was turning to ice. It had taken her eighteen years to get into this position, and she was about to throw it away in a futile gesture to warn fifteen others who she had worked with secretly. This conversation was going to be debated about for either weeks and months or years. If the former, then these idiots were going to ignore her. If the latter, then they will have learned enough to use caution.
Because with some entities, a bigger stick isn’t the answer.
With all eyes on her, she started what she considered her farewell speech.
“There is a group known in our country for over a thousand years, a group that never addressed. It has been stated that those in power will kill those underneath them if necessary to keep this secret.”
Now she had all of their attention. When you are known for your secrets, it doesn’t take much to keep attention when you admit you are spilling one.
“While I have never heard of such a killing myself, I would not be surprised if it had happened in centuries past. This group has much influence and holds much wealth across many countries and in many lands throughout the world. Individually, they each hold controlling interests in many of the economies in both our nation and many of yours.”
“Surely you spin a great tale.” Johann interrupted, “If there were still such a secret society we would know about it!”
Anna Elisabeth just stared at Johann. Not only because he was an arrogant prick, but he was rude besides. Johann felt the power of those he represented spoke to his own authority, and he never understood he was a figurehead. Anna Elisabeth always recognized that and sought to be the best she could be.
Until now.
She had been able to piece together what had happened at that bank this morning and knew that the rumors, the stories, the whispers were true.
“Sorry,” he finally mumbled.
“I cannot tell you much, but I can inform you that if you choose to do something drastic, then expect severe in response. This group makes the Israelis’ eye-for-an-eye attitude seem plebian.” She looked around the table, “I share this because if TQB Enterprises is in an alliance with these people, then your directors are not safe. Your people are not safe, and I dare say your countries are not safe.”
At this Johann and two others around the table chuckled.
Well, that was the best she could do and still keep her head. “As is my right, rarely employed by my country, I ask for a table vote on whether you intend to acquire TQB Enterprise technology through whatever means necessary?”
“Whatever means,” Stephanie said, “Doesn’t always mean force, Anna.”
Anna turned to Stephanie Lee and smiled, “You will not receive the technology any other way from this group. I require a vote right now whether the group will approve using force to acquire this technology.”
In her country, Ms. Lee would be open to being more circumspect to the question. But she had learned in this group, her countries long history was little understood and even less appreciated. She raised her hand while staring at Anna, “All the way to force.”
Fourteen other hands rose up around her. Anna Elisabeth shrugged and moved her chair back. “Then I wish you the best of luck on your peaceful negotiations.” She picked up her notebook and tablet and pushed her chair back under the table.
“Can you give us any other hints?” Johann asked. She looked over to his face holding a smirk as if she was the little girl at school running from a scary story.
Fuck them all, she thought. She turned her head towards the group as she started for the door, “Yes. Don’t screw with the Arch-Angel.”
She opened the door and stepped through. They could hear the click-clack of her steps on the stone floors as she walked away.