Chapter 14
"Well, if I was the enemy, and I wanted to eliminate two of my enemies, the funeral would be a perfect place. Diane and Chris have to go, but they won't be going alone," Ben said.
"Then we are all going. No solo heroics, Buster!" Amanda said.
"I had no intention of going alone. The question is, though, how much of a force do we need to send? How badly is Solms going to want them dead?" Ben asked.
"Threat assessment is usually handled by our planning team, but in this case I don't think we'll have time to call them in on this. So, I'll be sending Jenna Hastings and all of Alpha team along for the ride," John said.
"Well, that should take care of that; so what about the missing persons report on Asia Michaels?" Amanda asked.
"Since Asia Michaels is an adult, it should be a simple thing to get taken care of. I'll call my old boss and tell him that Asia is no longer a dependent child of Helen Michaels, and that she left of her own free will. I will also tell him that the report was an attempt by an over-controlling mother to locate her daughter. I think he'll take care of that in such a way that no one will be able to trace her."
"Something's been bothering me since we left Minnesota," Kathryn said. "When Carl Michaels tried to kill us, Ben's report said that he had 'a strange looking rifle' that Diane called a pulse rifle. If they are so indestructible, what happened to it?"
No one said a word for a few moments. "Shit! I forgot completely about that. We'll have to find out what happened to it. If the authorities recovered it, it would give the United States an almost unstoppable weapon," Diane said.
"Well, the part that's bothering me the most is that I don't think it did survive the blast. I was 'watching' the whole time, and there weren't that many pieces bigger than the end of my thumb," Kathryn said. "The rifle we saw wasn't one of them."
Diane was shaking her head. "Not possible. A pulse rifle would have barely been scratched by that explosion. It has to be still intact somewhere."
Ben closed his eyes and concentrated. He knew neither of his wives was mistaken, yet only one of them could be right. He referenced the memories he took from Carl Michaels. "Ladies, you're both correct. A normal pulse rifle should have survived the blast, but the one they had didn't. The reason is because that pulse rifle was built 'right here in River City'. Good ol' Granddad has built his own weapons facility.
"According to Carl's memories, the plant itself isn't fully operational yet; they are having trouble with the automation software as well as a couple of issues with the weapon itself. Once it goes online, and they overcome the design issues, they'll be turning out a thousand of these weapons a day at full capacity." He opened his eyes and looked at the people gathered in the room. "I also saw exactly what those weapons are capable of. If that plant goes online, Solms will be almost unstoppable."
"Lovely. Do you know how many of those things have been built?" John asked after Diane mentally gave him the specs of the rifle.
"Carl knew of fifty, but suspected that Solms had more built behind his back. Mr. Michaels didn't trust Mr. Solms; they didn't have a very friendly relationship and Carl planned on killing him and taking over as soon as he had dealt with us." Ben replied.
"Any idea on why they waited so long to attack?" Diane asked. "It would have been tactically smarter to kill the both of you before you gained your powers."
"That was all Carl's doing. Solms wanted to take us out as soon as he knew of us. However, Carl had plans. He was going to try to 'convert' us, or at least use us to take out Solms and seize power for himself. He had very definite plans for Asia and Crystal. What I don't understand about his logic is that he knew what we were supposed to be capable of. He would have had to be extremely careful in dealing with us, because we would have been able to overcome his own mind. He didn't really believe that though; he was certain that his mental defenses would keep us out," Ben said.
"But when Carl came to Hibbing after us, he was planning on killing us; he wanted us dead. What changed his mind?" Amanda asked.
"Phil DeWitt. Carl figured we were responsible for the death of one of his 'pets' and took offense to it. I get the distinct impression that he had a temper to match his ego," Ben explained. "He was going to try to take one or two of us alive, but only if it was possible to control us. He was going to kill the rest of you. However, he hadn't put a lot of faith in the capturing part of that plan."
Amanda turned to Diane. "Did you ever tell Phil about the design specs on the kids?"
"Of course not! I would never betray you like that! You asked me to keep it to myself. Besides, even back then, I didn't trust Phil enough to risk it."
Amanda smiled at her wife. "I didn't think you would, lover. I was just wondering how Carl and Solms could have found out exactly what abilities Ben and Kathryn were supposed to have. All I told them was that the kids would be 'special' and have the ability to overcome Solms and his people; I never went into detail about the design."
That silenced everyone in the room. No one could come up with a reasonable way they could have known.
"I guess that's a puzzle for another day. For now, let's get the funeral planned and out of the way," Ben said.
Carol grinned. "Actually, funerals are for internments; this is only a memorial service. Mr. DeWitt is being cremated as we speak and his ashes will be scattered over the Boundary Waters National Forest."
"Good; he always hated camping," Diane said.
John tapped a few keys on his terminal then spoke. "Major Hastings, please report to the main den for a mission briefing; place Alpha team on deployment alert. Have flight ops contact me for transportation and destination information." He turned away from his terminal to look at Ben. "We need information. If possible, you'll need to take prisoners. How many of your family will be going?"
"Diane and Chris have to go, but myself, Kathryn, Melissa and Amanda will also be going in a less then official capacity. Since we are taking a team with us, I'd like Amanda to stay with the medics. Carol and Lizzy will stay here. I'd like to borrow the big gun I used up on the roof if I may?" Ben answered.
John chuckled. "It is a really handy weapon to have; however, the ranges you are forced to deal with may be too short for it to be affective. As soon as Jenna gets here, I think we should go back down to the planning room and call up the area on the satellites to see what we're dealing with."
Ben grinned ruefully, but nodded agreement.
When Jenna arrived, they all headed back down to the planning room, and Jenna called Tabitha to join them for tactical advice. If everything went to hell, Tabitha and her team would be the ones to pull them out of it.
The briefing and planning session threatened to go all night, but Ben ended up with a smaller version of the weapon he used on the roof; this one was only a 7.62mm and had fewer options available for ammunition.
They all finally got to bed around one in the morning, and John set the departure time for ten-hundred hours later that morning. "That's ten AM for you civilians," John teased. "Now, get some sleep, you're going to need it. Jenna and Tabitha, hang back a minute please?"
After everyone left, John sealed the room again. "What do you two think of Ben and his family?"
Tabitha shrugged, "I like them. They aren't judgmental about our lifestyles, nor do any of them hit on us. Not that I wouldn't mind any of them hitting on me, but none of them do. They answer whatever questions we ask, and explain why if they can't. I haven't seen very much of them in a combat situation, but from what I hear, they are more than competent." She looked to Jenna who seemed to be thinking.
"Boss, you know what my sexual preferences are. I'm as lez as a girl can be. That being said, and up until I met them, there was only one man I would consider sleeping with. Now there are two. I think that might be clouding my judgment on this, because I'm so strongly attracted to all of them. But I've discussed having a child with Wendy, and we agree that if you won't father it, then Ben would be our other choice. We were going to ask them when everything settled down.
"As far as competence, Chris and Kathryn are two people I wouldn't want to meet in a dark ally without my team behind me. From what I've seen of Ben's skill with the big gun, I have no doubt that if he decides someone is going to die, they will. Coupled with their abilities, I would never bet against them in a fight — with anyone."
John nodded. "What about leadership ability? Do you think Ben is a good leader?"
"Well, I do think he needs more work on that, at least from a military standpoint. He simply doesn't have the experience to be that kind of leader. I do think he has the potential to be a great leader, if he gets the training," Jenna replied.
Tabitha nodded in agreement. "He seems to grasp a situation quickly, and only suffers from a lack of knowledge about deployment of, and use of, military forces. If he gets that knowledge I'd feel as comfortable with him in command as I do with you."
Again John nodded. "Okay, and thanks for your answers. I'll want to talk to the others about it too, but I'm thinking of naming him as my replacement. It's probably the mental contact I've had with him, but I feel as close to him as I do most of you. I know he's trustworthy, but I won't turn the company over to someone everyone else won't be comfortable with. I'm getting too old to go on missions anymore. Every time I send one of you out and I don't go with you I feel like I'm letting you down." He held up his hand to forestall the protests that both women were about to make. "I'm only telling you how I feel. Whether or not you agree is irrelevant, though I do appreciate your faith in me."
"John, I've spoken to Kathryn a lot about their abilities, and what they've discovered so far. Why don't you ask them about regression? It really seemed to help Master Tohie," Tabitha said. It was the first time he could ever remember her using his first name.
"I don't know, Tabby. I'll talk to my wives about it, and maybe... But it would still be necessary to turn the company over to someone for a time for the cover story to work. I still think Ben is the right person for the job. If I did regress, I would still be here; I can't imagine any place I'd rather be. However, we are getting off on a tangent here. The question still remains, how do you feel about Ben as my replacement?" John asked the two women.
Jenna smiled. "I think he's probably the best choice. None of us could do it without offending the other team leaders, and I don't even want to try. Besides, I feel it would be better to have someone in command that is trustworthy, and has your abilities. I'm pretty sure most of the other commanders will feel the same way once they get a chance to think about it."
"Absolutely; in fact, with your permission, I'd be more then happy to approach the others to recommend Ben as your replacement," Tabitha offered. "I think it might be better coming from me. They will get a chance to think it over objectively before you talk to them about it."
"I think that's a good idea. But try to keep it low key; Ben has no idea I'm even considering this, and I think he would panic if he knew. I'll also talk to Carol about a consolidation of assets. That girl is scary smart when it comes to financial issues. I've wanted her on the team for years, but she has always refused. Now I know why," John said. "She was waiting for Ben and Kathryn."
"Well, if you'll excuse me, sir. I have a thousand things to set in motion, and I'd like to get at least a couple hours of sleep tonight," Jenna said.
John thanked the women again, and unsealed the room. After they left, he sat there for a long time, deep in thought.
The flight back up to Minnesota was uneventful, but a bit crowded. Diane and Chris took Carol's private jet as originally planned, but the empty seats were filled with members of Jenna Hastings' team. In the private hanger one of Carol's phantom corporations had rented, sat a number of rented SUVs — rented by yet another phantom corporation. At two other nearby airports, a similar scene was played out as Ben and the rest of Alpha team loaded their weapons and personnel into yet more rented vehicles and headed to the funeral home where Phil DeWitt was to be remembered by his friends.
Jenna, in a special van set up to be a mobile command center, deployed her teams.
Ben, under guise of a summer semester college student getting information on cremations for a paper he was writing, gained entry to the funeral home early to speak to the director and some of his employees. When he left, he was reassured that none of the employees were part of anything that might be planned, and the building seemed to be clear of obvious explosives.
He reported his findings to Jenna and took his position to wait for the upcoming memorial service.
As they were watching the mourners arrive, Melissa contacted Ben. "Master, my mother is here."
Ben: "Are you sure, Love?"
Melissa: "Silver Lexus just pulling into the lot. I don't know who's with her, though."
Ben got Jenna on the radio. "Priority target; Helen Michaels is just getting out of a Silver Lexus in the parking lot. She has a wild card with her."
Jenna answered him immediately. "Can you ID the wild card?"
"I'm working on it. I haven't gotten a... clear view of the other person yet," Ben replied.
"Understood; let me know when you do," Jenna replied.
Melissa: "Master, can you read her? I can't get anything on her from here."
Ben: "I'm trying, sweetheart. Just give me a few minutes."
Diane: "We're going to be there in a few minutes. Any chance this other person is there to try to kill either of us?"
Ben: "That would be my guess. I think this other person is supposed to be posing as Asia Michaels. Hang on a minute, I'm about to get a line of sight on them."
Melissa: "Posing as me? Why would I be here? That doesn't make any sense to me. I hated that asshole."
Chris: "Sweetheart, everyone knows you're my best, and only, friend. It would make sense for you to be here for me."
Melissa: "You're right, I would be. I didn't think of that."
Ben: "Both Helen and the girl with her, posing as Asia, have micro-injectors that will make one of you pass out. When which ever of you hits the floor over-come with grief, a fake ambulance is waiting about six blocks from here to retrieve both of you."
Diane: "Would the drugs even work on us now?"
Ben: "Don't know and not going to find out. Pull over for a couple of minutes Diane." Ben then reached out and found Jenna's mind. He had spoken to her about the possibility of doing this on the flight up here, so he hoped she wouldn't be too surprised. "Jenna?"
Jenna: "Oh Shit! You weren't fucking kidding about the shock, were you? What's up?"
Ben quickly filled her in on everything that he found out from Helen's mind, and what he wanted to do about it.
Jenna: "That'll work fine to remove this threat, but we don't know for sure if there are more in there waiting to see if this team fails. Once the ambulance pulls out, I'll have a team try to intercept it. But we need to keep looking for threats. If I had been the one to plan this little op, I would have two or three teams in there."
Ben: "I understand. I'll implant the command and have Diane start moving again. I'll keep looking at people. I still don't like our internal arrangements."
Jenna: "We've been over that. We need you out here behind that rifle. Let Kathryn and your other ladies handle the inside."
Ben: "Okay, if you need me to call you like this again, give two clicks on the radio."
Jenna: "Just like we planned. Stay sharp up there."
Ben pulled back from Jenna and quickly implanted the commands in Helen before asking Diane to keep moving. As he watched through the scope, Helen Michaels put her arm around the girl walking beside her as if to caress her neck. The girl was surprised and quickly turned to avoid the caress. She slapped Helen just before she fell to the ground, unconscious. Helen fell beside her a few seconds later. Damn! Two for the price of one!
Just as the car with Diane and Chris in it pulled up, an ambulance with sirens wailing came screaming around the corner and pulled up in front of the funeral home. Ben had to admit, if it weren't for the absence of police and fire department personnel, he would have been fooled.
Diane and Chris slowly got out of the car as the fake EMTs pulled out a gurney. The two women were getting close to the scene of the 'accident' when one of the EMTs pulled out a small machine pistol and turned toward the two approaching women.
Ben didn't hesitate a second before putting a round through the man's head. It took a minute for the people gathering for the funeral to realize what was going on. People started screaming and panicking as they saw the dead EMT.
Ben: "Back to the car! Get the hell out of there!"
Diane: "Fuck! I'm hit! No Chris! Get to the damn car!"
Ben watched as Diane fell to the road in front of their rental car. He quickly keyed and spoke into his radio. "Wildfire! We have one down, and a free fire condition. Unknown amount of shooters!" He scanned the crowd's emotions looking for hate or anything other than panic. When he found one, he singled it out and dug into the person. He found three others in the mass of people trying to get a clear shot at Chris.
The only problem he had was he couldn't get a clear shot on them either.
Kathryn: "Control them! Get them to drop their weapons and walk one block toward the command. We'll take care of them from there."
Ben: "Done. They are on their way. Diane? Are you alright?"
Diane: "Not really. I took a round in the right shoulder. It's pretty bad. I've healed as much of it as I can do, but it's not enough. I can feel shock coming on."
Amanda: "Don't you dare! We'll be there in fifteen seconds! What about Chris?"
Ben: "She's still alive, but she's unconscious. She's hurt
really bad too."
He concentrated on healing the mortally injured girl on the far side of
the rental car. It was really difficult because he couldn't see her,
and she was so far away. Diane was screaming in anguish and he felt the
life slipping out of Chris's body as he dug deeper into himself than he
ever had before for the power to save her.