Chapter 9

We couldn't tell how closely they had been watching Tink's house or even if they were so we didn't head straight there. I'm sure it would have been safe enough but I didn't want to take even the small chance of getting into a firefight. Besides I had no desire to see Cynthia right then and Tink didn't want to go back home just yet. Tink did call her to briefly say she was okay and would be home soon. Luckily I had to only hear half of that conversation.

"I'm fine, Mom," Tink said rolling her eyes. "Yeah it was bad ... Yeah I was scared ... No you're not! For one thing, Danny doesn't want to see you right now and I'm not too happy with you either ... That's not my problem, Mom ... I said that's not my problem, that's yours ... Look, why don't you go play with your new boy-toy or better yet go sit down somewhere quiet and think about how really fucked up your life is. I'm going to hang with the grownups for awhile ... I'll be back tonight, I promise. Oh, yeah, you'd better twist up the security another notch or two. I'm not going through this shit again ... Yeah, well fuck my language. I'm sending you the name of a protection service Danny recommends, I want them on the job before I get back tonight ... Yeah, well I'm telling you I'm not moving my ass from this spot until they're on the job.

"I also want background checks on all our employees, I don't give a shit if they wiped my ass as a baby ... I know you're sorry, Mom, but sorry ain't going to cut it in the big people's world ... Yeah, I know you love me and I love you too but right now I'm not sure I like you a whole lot. Tonight when I get home I'll tell you all about it. Actually it was really kold... ! I told you I'm fine, a couple of bruises and they ruined my dress ... No, they didn't rape me... ! Yeah, I'm going now, I'll be back tonight and don't forget to call those guys right now. They're expecting you. Bye, Mom. Love ya."

"You were a little bit hard on her, weren't you?" I asked as we lounged on the Katherine's aft deck. Brian and Weird were up in the flying bridge keeping a lookout. I didn't expect anything. Abadia was an immoral, heartless, bottom-feeding thug but he was also a businessman and from what I could tell more than just a little intelligent. He wouldn't do anything unless he thought it had a chance of succeeding or there was a profit in it. I was pretty confident he was smart enough to cut his losses and look elsewhere for business opportunities. I had a feeling we'd be dealing with him again sometime in the future. How and when I didn't know but I had the feeling today wouldn't be the last time we meet.

"Maybe," she admitted. She was curled up in one of the deck chairs wearing one of my t-shirts that came down to about her knees. She'd pronounced the dress a total loss and swiped one of my tee's when she'd been down below. I have to admit she looked cute as a kitten as she sipped on some twenty-year old scotch and grimaced. "Shit! How do you drink this crap? Although I will admit it does burn kind of nice."

"It's an acquired taste," Mike laughed as she tossed back half a tumbler of the liquid gold. "After the first hundred liters or so it actually starts tasting good."

"I can tell it's an acquired taste," Tink said sticking out her tongue in disgust but taking another sip anyway. "I'm just not sure why you'd want to acquire it."

"So, Danny, you still going away tomorrow?" Tink said after a short pause. "You don't have to run away, you know. I'll make sure Mom doesn't bother you."

"It's more than that, honey," I replied with a smile.

Oh sure, that was part of it still, I suppose, but it wasn't really the biggest part now. Yep, she was still one of the most beautiful women I'd even seen and there was still an ache in my soul from the loss and betrayal but honestly it wasn't anywhere near as bad as it had been. Like everybody else I'd get over it. I knew that but it wasn't taking as long as I'd thought. There must be something about adrenalin pumping through your body and a bomb strapped to your gut that helps put things into perspective and burn the hurt away. By the way, I wouldn't recommend it as standard therapy for a broken heart. There are easier ways, like getting stinking drunk.

"Captain, we got visitors," Brian called down. Almost instantly everybody except Sam and Tink was sitting up and reaching for a piece.

"Ah, Cap," he said looking embarrassed. "It's Natalie. I invited her down and kind of forgot to tell you. If you don't want her here, we can leave."

"Jesus, Sam," I said with a sigh settling back into my chair and gently lowering the flechette gun back down to the deck. "Hell, I don't mind but you should warn a body beforehand. My old heart can't take the excitement this many times a day." Luckily everybody laughed at that.

Natalie drove her tiny little eco-friendly roller-skate right onto the pier just like she owned it and squeezed out of it like a crowd of clowns coming out of a funny-car at the circus.

"Hey guys," she said as she strode across the brow and onto the deck. Her eyes scanned us but I swear she didn't even flinch when she saw the hardware we all had within easy reach. "Hi, lover," she continued plopping down on Sam's lap and giving him a lip-lock that would have curled my toes. I winced slightly trying to calculate the combined weight that chair was holding. Natalie was no small waif and Sam, well, Sam was just Sam. It creaked a little but held up just fine. I thought to myself that I ought to send the manufacturer a testimonial or something.

"Okay, what kind of trouble have you delinquents been up to?" she asked us when she finished sucking Sam's tonsils out of his throat.

"What do you mean?" Stan replied as innocently as he could. "We're just sitting around shooting the shit."

"Spewing the shit is more like it," she snapped back. "And you're spewing it in the wrong direction if you think you can bullshit me, babycakes. It may have been seven years but I remember what a team looks like when they come back in and you little lamb chops have it all over you. I don't even need to see your hardware to know you've been up to something.

"So spit it out before I have to start doing some bean squeezing and it gets real ugly. And you mister!" for God's sake she pointed right at me, "are the leader of this band of misfits so I'm sure it was your idea. Now what in the hell have you been doing with my boyfriend because if you get him shot up there ain't nothing alive or holy that's going to save your ass!"

"Look, nobody got shot at," I started to say. That was technically true, nobody on our side anyway. However before I could open my mouth again and get myself into even deeper shit Tink came to my rescue.

"I got kidnapped and Danny and the rest saved me."

"What!" Okay, maybe I wasn't saved just yet. For some reason Tink's abbreviated explanation didn't seem to console Natalie overly much. "Spit it out, kid. What the fuck has been going on? And don't you dare try to hold out on me."

"Don't get yourself worked up, honey," Sam said trying to placate the woman of his dreams who was now sitting on his lap and working herself up into a lather. After seventeen years of marriage I could have told him that was probably not the wisest move, kind of like spraying alcohol on a fire trying to put it out. I was surprised when she didn't bite his head off.

"Put a lid on it lover boy," she said pinching his lips closed, hard. "I don't want you getting yourself in more trouble than you already are. I want to hear about it from the short stuff over there. From her I might actually get something close to the truth. The old fart over there would lie like a rug and the rest of you would swear to it on your mother's grave. Give it up, kid. What the hell happened?" I resented that last remark. Okay, so it was possibly true, maybe even probably true; okay fine, absolutely true. But I resented the implication I would lie without at least a good reason.

Tink did a reasonably good job of sketching out what parts she did know from the time she was kidnapped to the time we got back here. She'd listened to the recording of the mission and heard everything Abadia and I had said and she summarized it pretty well. Other than in very general terms and what she didn't know about what her mother and I had said but she glossed over that anyway. That was private stuff and not germane to the discussion anyway.

"I want to listen to it," was all she said when Tink finished. Sam looked at me and I nodded then he mumbled a few words to Sara and the recording was sent to Natalie's com. She tapped the button in her ear and silently settled back into Sam's arms staring up at the sky. There was some nervous small talk but for the most part we just waited. Why you ask me, would seven fully trained and certified killers, any of whom could have broken this woman in half, be nervously waiting for her to evaluate our latest mission? Hell, we've had generals screaming at us that didn't faze us this much. I don't know; she's just that way I guess: a force of nature or something.

"Okay, I see it now," she said finally. "I suppose it had to be done that way. Not that I like the idea of my boyfriend playing with guns again."

"Nat," Sam said softly, "there are still bad people out there and sometimes you have to do what you have to do, no matter what it takes."

She twisted around, grabbed his shirt and stuck her nose right up against his. "I know, baby." I swear I could see a tear in the one eye I could see. "But I waited my whole life for you and I don't want to lose you now." She shook him gently and bumped her forehead against his.

"I'm not going anywhere," he whispered to her. "And even if I did would you rather me run away from something like this?"

"Hell yes, I would," she growled but then sighed. "But I know you can't. Just promise me you'll be careful."

"The Captain always brings us back," he said. "Always."

"Yeah, there is that," she said sighing again. Then she looked at me. "And as for you buster: I can't decide whether you're the biggest fucking hero I've ever seen or the dumbest dick-head." I voted for the latter. "But you know this isn't over, don't you? You got your work cut out now."

"What do you mean?" Mike asked puzzled. I had a good idea what she was talking about.

"Mr. Big Shot-off-his-mouth here told that SA grease-ball you had an organization of vets backing you up on this," she answered. "If it stays the way it is, sooner or later he's going to find out it's only the seven of you and I don't care what kind of psycho-killers you are, the seven of you alone ain't going to last against all of them and my boyfriend's going to get his ass shot off. That ain't going to happen, so what are you planning to do about it?"

"Yeah, I thought of that," I said swishing the amber liquid around in my glass before taking a swig. "When I get back I'm going to start talking to a few of the other teams, groups and even the loners around here. Maybe it's about time we vets start taking an active interest in how the country we put our ass on the line for is being run. I, for one, am getting a little tired of the corruption, petty crime and all the rest of the bullshit that's been going on. Sure, we can keep our own turf pretty clean but damn it, that shouldn't be our job. I'm thinking it's about time we actually do what I told Abadia we've already done."

"Fair enough," she said. "There's enough of us out there that are willing to help but what's this shit about getting back?"

"Danny's taking a little vacation," Tink piped in sitting up in her seat staring straight at the big woman.

"Oh, he is, is he?" Natalie stared right back at her.

"Yeah, he needs some time off, to think," Tink continued steady as a rock. They sat there and stared at each other for what seemed like a long time but really wasn't.

"Shit!" Natalie finally hissed. "Your mother again?" Tink only nodded. "You know your mother is a fucking idiot, don't you?" Tink nodded again.

"I'm sorry, Mayhem," Natalie sighed and looked over at me. "I thought the dumb bitch had smartened up this time. Looks like I was wrong. I guess I should have warned you but..." She shrugged her shoulders helplessly.

"Not your place to, Natalie," I assured her. "I'm a big boy and I'll get over it. That isn't the only reason I'm going. Tink's right: I have some thinking to do about a lot of things."

"And drinking!" Mike chimed in.

"And whoring!" Stan added lustfully. I could only shake my head in dismay.

"Yeah you do, tough guy," Natalie agreed. "And don't worry about Cynthia; the pain will pass. I've had it enough to know. Yeah, she's a great fuck, sorry about that, kid." Tink just shrugged. "But you'll have better and I know there's a better woman for you out there just waiting for you to find her; or maybe she'll find you. Hard to say, really." She sounded like she actually knew what was going to happen. The more I got to know Natalie the more I get the feeling she really does have a touch of that special something. I know! I know! Psi-talents have never been proven but that broad has turned out to be right more times than I can explain with simple luck. Maybe it's like one of those fortune-teller acts where they say something nebulous enough the receiver can mold it around whatever does happen to make it look like real clairvoyance. She's never claimed to have the Sight, but I wonder sometimes.

"Besides, there's a lot better fucks out there, ain't there, Tiger?" she said and started to tickle Sam.

"I don't know," he said still squirming. "I've never been with her." I think Sam actually cracked a joke! Not exactly the best time, place or subject to do it but I think it was an actual joke. Crap, what the hell was going on? Next thing you know Weird will be doing the stand up; if that happens then I'll really know it's Armageddon time.

"And you never will," she hissed and poked him in the side, hard. "This beautiful pecker belongs to me! It doesn't get stuck anywhere else unless I say so! Got it?"