Chapter 457

Moreau’s Compound

Moreau sat in his office, seething. Snatching up the phone, he growled into it, “Get somebody in here to clean up this mess, and bring in another monitor now.”

Of course, he had a wall-full of monitors in addition to the second monitor on his desk, but he was in the mood to kill somebody. It was a tossup if it would be Matthews or the FBI agent who would get that prize should Moreau have the chance, but if anyone nearby screwed up, they would do.

But, even with his anger, he was aware that he had pissed off some powerful people. Not as powerful as I am, but powerful, nonetheless, he thought. Where the fuck did I go wrong? How fucking hard is it to kill one pissy little FBI agent? And how the fuck did Matthews get his ass involved in this, anyway, much less the fucking army? Fuck, they have to know who I am by now, and because these assholes working for me are so fucking incompetent, here I am hiding just like that fucking FBI dweeb is. But it’s a certainty that Matthews’ bunch is watching me. They have to be after all this time. They’re waiting for me to screw up just like I’m waiting for him to do the same.

For the last week, I haven’t been able to have someone on the roof with a rifle anymore. They keep fucking disappearing. (Snatched by Ship’s tractor beam.) How in the hell does Matthews or whoever the fuck is responsible, manage to do that? However they do it, they also take the damn rifle. Fuck, I can’t even effectively go after either of the assholes. Everybody I send winds up dead or disappeared, or what-the-fuck-ever. And ... I know that son-of-a-bitch is waiting for me to step out of this compound so he can snatch me like however the hell he must have done with my snipers. Fuck, how does he do that? And because of losing my snipers, I’m having people sneaking off during the night. Fuck, I know damn well that my security has seen some of these fucking assholes crawling across that field toward the far fence, but they’re afraid to go up on the roof and shoot them for fear of disappearing. Dammit, how the fuck does this Matthews guy take out my people?

I’ve put up cameras to watch the sniper, but the picture goes blank, and when I send someone up to check, the sniper and the fucking camera and the fucking rifle are all gone. In the last few days, that goes for most of the cameras outside as well. They disappear faster than I can have them replaced. Yet my people, with the exception of the guards, can come and go without any problems when I send them out for food and supplies. “Fuck it. Fuck it. Fuck it!” he swore. I’m still cornered like a fucking rat, but there’s nothing Matthews can do to me as long as I keep myself surrounded by all these so-called innocents. If that army of his storms the place, there is going to be a lot of dead women and kids – I’ll fucking see to that. I hate kids, and I can hardly walk for the little bastards, but there are two floors of the little fuckups and their families above me, not to mention their living quarters all around my inner sanctuary. But, dammit, I’m still cornered like a fucking rat. I have to do something before my security sneaks their asses off and abandons me.

Another thought struck. Shit, I need to make an appearance in at least my top five companies. I know they’re losing money without my constant oversight. Yeah, two birds with one stone. I’ll be out of here for a while and get some checking done at the same time. But how? Shit, I have to think. I know there’s a way to minimize the risk. While I’m away from here, maybe I can come up with new ideas about how to take out Matthews and that fucking FBI agent.

The Retreat

Back at the Retreat, Marie kissed her fiancé as she prepared to leave their suite. “See you tomorrow afternoon.”

“What? Wait. It’s too soon. Where are you going? We have things we need to discuss.”

“They have a suite ready for me, and Diana and her sister-wives have a schedule laid out. Haircut, massage, pedicure, manicure, final dress fitting... lots of things to do before the wedding.”

Kissing him lightly, she smiled and, with a giggle, said, “We have the rest of our lives to talk ... among other ... things,” she said, blushing. “And, Buster, if you think you’ve had some good loving so far, well, it’s going to be a whole lot better really soon. And, by the way, Diana told me that Mr. Wainwright has big plans for you.” With another quick kiss on the lips, “See you tomorrow night, Husband.”

As she walked out the door, she said over her shoulder, “Think of me tonight, and don’t you dare ... Well, you know what I mean. Like Diana says, weddings make women horny – particularly their own wedding – so you’re going to have your work cut out for you.”

“But...” he tried to object to no avail. She was gone.

Jeff, Bill, the pilot, Eric, the pharmacist, and Art, the FBI agent who Moreau was so intent on killing, all walked into the living room together.

With one look at Mike, the Prime said, “Yep, we have one very uptight groom-to-be.”

Mike Hall turned from his pacing before the big window. “I knew she was going to do the thing about me not seeing her in her dress before the wedding, but it’s only mid-afternoon of the day before, and she’s off hiding someplace. We still have things we need to talk about beforehand.” Stopping, he took a breath, “Crap, I’m as nervous as that proverbial cat in a room full of rocking chairs. What are we...”

The expression on Jeff’s face stopped Mike. “Remember, all you’re expected to do is show up and say I do. The women will handle the rest.”

“It can’t be that easy – can it?” he almost pleaded.

“Well, I think they’re planning a meal for the two of you just before the wedding, but she won’t be in her wedding dress then. You might want to hold the chair for her as you sit down to eat, but other than that, my previous comment holds,” he said with a grin. “But all that aside, we came to get you. Let’s go have a light workout. That should get your mind off the wedding for a little while. And don’t worry; we won’t do enough to get you sore. You’ll be in fine shape come tomorrow night.”

“But we’ve been living together for months. Marriage can’t be that different.”

Odd, but all the men thought that was absolutely hilarious.

Susan met them in the hallway, and when they told her where they were going, she frowned at Jeff. “Don’t you dare let him get hurt,” she admonished her husband. “And do not let him near any of the free weights. Marie will kill you if he’s sore tomorrow night.”

Jeff grabbed her and hungrily kissed her, holding the kiss for at least thirty seconds while obviously putting everything he had into it. When he released her, Susan staggered back a step, unconsciously putting a hand to her mouth, her nipples standing proud enough to show even through her bra and top.

“Yes, Ma’am,” he said before hurrying to catch up with the others while thinking, My wives don’t seem to understand that my knowing that Marie is going to get her brains fucked out tomorrow night makes me horny, too.

The Prison Planet

... Jasmine had expected to be insulted and teased when Morales found out about her slide down the hill, but with the concern he had shown and with time passing, it was just funny now. He hadn’t even teased her about it, but had gone on with his day as if it hadn’t happened.

There was quiet as they finished their meal. Eventually, she came to her feet. “Uh, suppose I clean up things in here so you can get started on cutting your logs?”

Morales rinsed his cup before putting it in its place. When he had his coats and weapons on, he spoke to her. “Remember, don’t go any farther than the entranceway unless I’m with you or the wolves are. It only takes one screw-up to die here.”

“So, you’re going after logs for the outhouse?”

“Well, not just yet. I’m going to start on the foundation, which means I’ll be bringing in big, flat rocks and digging them in to make a level foundation for the walls.”

“Okay,” she said. “Let me get my gloves...”

“Unh uh. No offense, but I don’t think you’re cut out for carrying rocks that weigh half as much as you do. Now might be a good time to put your shelf plastic in place and store your things. With all you brought in those two cases, it will probably mean digging out more shelves.” With a frown, he quickly added, “If you’re up to it, that is. How are your blisters?”

“They’re not bad,” she responded, realizing that she was telling the truth. “None of them popped and they don’t seem to have any fluid in them at all,” she returned as she stared at her hands. “Odd...”

“I think wounds heal faster here,” he offered.

“Hmmm. Maybe that’s something that needs to be studied by the appropriate people.”

“Hah,” he said with a frown. “Best I can determine, they don’t give a shit about this place, and they damn sure don’t care what happens to the prisoners who live here.”

“Maybe the General cares more than you think,” she said, her back straight as she stared him in the eye.

“Well, if he cared, he would give me a gun to get rid of the cave bears and the fucking saber-tooth tigers, to mention a couple of species,” he practically snarled. “This place is fucking crawling with things that want to eat my ass. Had it not been for my ballista over there,” he said nodding in that direction, “that damn cave bear would have dug his way in here practically unharmed. Oh, I shot him full of arrows and bolts, for what good it did, but I could have killed his ass with a few more ballista bolts. The one bolt I was able to fire into his big ass before my ballista died on me, did slow him down enough that I managed to bury an axe in his head. But, I’ll be the first to say that killing him was luck. Well ... luck and Lobo tearing chunks out of him to slow him down and direct his attention away from me at the exact instant I needed him to. But my ballista is a piece of shit because I just don’t have what I need to make a proper trigger that would produce a clean release of the bolt, and... not fly apart in the process. In addition, my windless, or whatever it’s called, is awkward as hell. There are pictures of far better ones, but I haven’t spent the time to even try to build one. Oh, well, what I have works for now, and with the stone wall to narrow the entranceway, a bear probably can’t get in, anyway.”

She smiled at him, now very glad of the money she had spent. “I saw your problem and talked to some people about it. I have a couple things I think you’ll like, but let me get everything out of the cases and put in some logical order before I show you what I’m talking about.”