Chapter 652

The shooting session over, their weapons cleaned and returned to the lock boxes, Selina and Morales went up the stairs to be met by Diana.

“Ready to go for your run?” she asked Morales.

Since he thought he had missed out on running this morning, Morales was not as happy now as he had been a few seconds prior.

The Clan Queen smiled at him. “Jeff and your wives are waiting in the living room. He has already had Little One go over their muscles. As soon as she has soothed yours, we’ll go for a short run.”

“Short?” Morales hopefully asked.

“Sure, four miles,” she sweetly said, but Morales had expected it after hearing how quickly the distance had gone up with Aiko and Kei.

“I dread this,” Morales worried aloud.

Diana smiled over at him as they hurried toward the living room. “You’ll do better this morning — I promise. After the run, the Sergeant will begin your pulse rifle training in earnest. I presume that the four of you can field strip and reassemble your rifles in the dark with no problems, right?”

“We all can,” he assured her, “but the rifles are still on Ship, unless my wives...”

“Taken care of. Your rifle is here in the Retreat along with theirs.”

When they entered the living room, Morales’ wives came over to hug him. “How did the language mapping go?” Jasmine asked.

“I ... it seemed to go great. We left Lobo and Lila in the healing chamber. Ship says the installation, expansion — whatever — of their vocal cords will go smoothly. Selina took me to the range to pass the time, but she’s gone back to Ship to check on the wolves’ progress now. I ... got the idea that Ship didn’t want me around just yet.”

Diana smiled back at him. “Picked up on that, huh? Nothing like a worried parent to get in the way and make the patients nervous.”

“But, I wanted...”

“To hear them say Da Da,” Diana teased before hugging the big man. “Maybe she wants them to practice a bit before you’re there. After all, this will be their big debut.”

“Oh, crap. I see what you mean. I never thought about it like that.”

“And don’t forget, this couldn’t happen if not for Ship.”

“I’m going to do my best to thank her properly.”

“Good. Ship does a lot for all of us. So, why don’t we get started on our run?”

“I’m ready if my wives are,” Morales said as he turned to them. When they nodded, he turned back to Diana and humbly said, “I just never thought of how Lobo and Lila would feel. Thanks for reminding me.”

“Are you going to run with us?” Morales asked when the Prime walked up, but as soon as it was out of Morales’ mouth, he felt like kicking himself. “Uh, I didn’t mean that you would run with us. I just thought you might start your run when we began ours.”

Jeff chuckled. “Mr. Morales, you will be running a respectable distance in no time, so stop being embarrassed. Everyone has to start somewhere. In a few weeks, you’ll be practicing on the obstacle course.”

That’s what I was afraid of, Morales thought. Shit. I’ve got to get better or my women will embarrass me even more when we get on that thing.

At the bottom of the driveway, Diana shut the Escalade off and got out. While they were doing their stretches, she smiled and said, “Arlene, Ann and their charges are ten minutes or so ahead of us.”

“So we don’t have to worry about being in someone’s way,” Morales said but caught the frown from Diana. “Sorry,” he said. “I didn’t mean to sound negative. It’s just those two miles day before yesterday brought me to my knees.”

“And so will the four miles today, but the first two will be better than they were the other day. If you’re going to be able to pass the obstacle course in a couple of months, you — all of you — are going to have to push to the limit. That means that we’ll go up two miles a couple of times per week. Come Sunday morning, we might jog down to Martha’s for breakfast...”

“Don’t tell me,” Morales said. “I don’t even want to know how far it is.”

“ ... and back,” she added.

Diana chuckled as she waved to Security while leading her little group onto the roadway. “It won’t be long before you will begin to be proud of yourselves, and soon, you’ll get to meet some very nice people at the restaurant.”

“But I’m a prisoner. They won’t be pleased to have me there...” he began, only to receive Diana’s instant glare.

“Yeah, sure,” she said while drawing the word out. “We always give out pulse rifles to prisoners and teach them to fire them. Now shut up,” she teased, “and get your butt on down that road. I want to follow for a while so I can critique your running styles. We don’t want anyone putting their feet down wrong. Are all of you familiar with the terms supination and pronation?”

Jasmine was, since she had run before, but none of the others were sure.

“For simplicity, let’s just say that supination happens when you put too much weight on the outside of your feet when they touch the pavement. Pronation occurs when you put too much weight on the inside of your feet. With Little One having enhanced all of you, I doubt if any of you will have either problem, but I’ll check just in case. Better to find something now rather than after you begin having knee or foot problems.”

Morales had started out griping as a kind of joke because he was self-conscious about his ability, or lack thereof, in running, but he realized he had gone too far. He really was self-conscious because any of the Matthews Clan that he had seen run, had done it with such seeming ease.

I’m not fat or weak. I’m just fucking big, but by damn, if I have to run that obstacle course, I will do it.

Morales put his head down, shut his mouth and focused on Christine’s ass in front of him.

“Two miles,” Diana called out as she jogged in place while they made their turn and started back up the mountain.

“Looking good,” Diana complemented Morales while jogging beside him for a moment. “A couple of weeks from now, you’ll be laughing about four miles. Now, let’s get this running over with so we can get to the gym and get started with the other exercises.”

Morales smiled. That I can do.

“After you finish with your beginning pulse rifle training, we’ll start on some personal combat courses. I wish Arlene and Ann weren’t tied up with the parade, or they could teach the class. Even with your size, Ann might surprise you,” she said with a gleam in her eye.

I hope she’s kidding. Surely she’s kidding. I don’t think my ego could take that little lady kicking my ass.

Later, he subtly motioned for Diana to come near as they made their way up the mountain. “Look,” he tentatively said, “I’m sorry about the prisoner comment. I was sentenced to 2214 for life, but never in my wildest dreams, did I expect to ever leave the planet. I feel like I have ’Prisoner’ written across my back. Your entire family has been more than good to me, but I just can’t seem to believe all this is happening. I mean, just look at them,” he forced out past his ragged breathing while nodding toward his wives as they all struggled up the mountain. “I have three beautiful wives in addition to a great place to live. I was sent there for life, and the guards made sure I knew what my life expectancy was. Yet, I have you guys, who sent me equipment, rifles, ammunition, food, and you have installed electricity and water, a bathroom, on and on,” he gasped out as he determinedly jogged up the mountain. “Besides all that, you’ve had me and mine enhanced so that we will live a long, long time. Diana, I don’t deserve any of it.

“You know ... I never expected to live past the first night, and by rights, I shouldn’t have, either. If one of those saber tooth tigers had happened by, I would be cat compost now. Without the wolves, especially Lobo, I still would not have made it. I just don’t understand how all this could happen to me. I was raised scrambling for everything I ever had, and sometimes, I still wouldn’t get it. Then I screwed up yet again and was sent to a prison planet for life. A planet that usually makes that sentence short. Yet somehow, I survived. You guys came, and it got better and better — way more than I deserve, and the good things just keep happening. I’m sorry I griped. I’ll keep my mouth shut and do my best from now on, but I still don’t understand why you people have helped me so much.”

Diana reached over to pat him on his shoulder. “My husband likes you, and so does the General, and that includes me and my sister-wives as well. Certainly, your wives love you very much, indeed. And... I have never heard a single word of dissension from anyone concerning you.

“Maybe the good things happened to you because it was time, and Mr. Morales, my husband wants you and your wives on this trip with us — and I do too. He also wants you and your wives trained. Sometimes, Jeff sees things well before we do, so I think there is going to be a particular need for you and your women at some point in the future. Trust me. It will all make sense at some point. I’ve pushed him, more than once, about why he does something. Sometimes, it’s a year before something he did suddenly makes sense.

“I sometimes think he can see things happening way in the future, but he laughs and even teases me when I try to talk to him about it. He says it’s just coincidence, or he just made a good guess, or that I’m rationalizing things, but I’ve learned the hard way not to talk him out of doing something that he really thinks should be done at the time.”

“So, he sees the future?”

“No, I didn’t say that, he ... just sometimes makes decisions that seem wrong at the time, but later, they’re the absolute perfect solution to the problem. Oh, crap. I can never explain it, so let’s change the subject.”

Morales tried to chuckle before saying, “At least, for a few minutes there, you got my mind off wondering if I’m going to die while jogging up this damn mountain.”

After a smile, the Clan Queen sped up for a few steps so she could chat with Jasmine and her sister-wives for a few minutes.

When the little group finished their jog, Diana led them through a few stretches while they cooled down.

As they entered the Escalade, the Clan Queen, in a very bright voice, said, “Shall we go check on Lobo and Lila?”

Instead of stopping at the back door of the Retreat, Diana drove on to the fake building. A couple of minutes later, the group entered through Ship’s hatch nearest the building. As soon as they were aboard, Ship spoke, “The vocal cord expansion and nerve routing was successful, but both Lobo and Lila have asked that you wait until late this afternoon before seeing them since they want to practice saying words before you hear them.

“Remember, you began learning to pronounce words as a baby, and it still took you years to become proficient with the language. Unlike a child, the major part of the language is in their minds already, but each has to learn how to pronounce each word. Also, unlike a child, they have to think about what they are going to say, then try to make the sounds. They are highly intelligent — even when compared to humans — and I am confident the process will quicken with time and use. However, they are self-conscious and apprehensive that their beginning words will be ... less than impressive.

“I have assured them that you are very proud of them and understand that it will take time, just as it would take time for you to learn a different language, but they have asked for you to wait until time to leave before you come for them. Again, they are fully healed and are in no pain; rather, their spirits are very high, indeed, and they are teasing each other as they try to learn simple sentences.”

Morales’ wives had tears in their eyes, and his voice had grown slightly gruff as he said, “No problem. So, what’s on the agenda, Diana?”

The Clan Queen didn’t bother holding back a grin, knowing there was a deep friendship between Morales and the wolves.

“Okay, calisthenics, a little weight work, then some self defense. You excelled at calisthenics last time, and I’m sure you will today. Then lunch before pulse rifle training. And remember, do what the Sergeant says and only what he says, and you’ll stay on his good side. Of course, that involves focusing and improvement. No improvement, which to him means you were not focusing enough on his teaching, or anticipating a command, might well cause you to encounter his wrath. Wrath tends to involve sit-ups and pushups — and running,” she said as her eyes focused on Morales, who cringed.