Cloud Rebel: R-D 3 (13 page)

"For how long? Finch is an insufferable prick, if I remember correctly."

"Dearest, I will be with you," Val spoke quietly behind me as his fingers massaged my shoulders. "He will be respectful or I will teach him manners."

"Manners and Captain Finch are polar opposites," I said. Val dropped his hands as I turned to face him. I didn't add that it wasn't fair that ass-hat Finch was still alive while Nick and Maye weren't.

"Matt, uh, asked Dr. Farrell to take Jennifer and Brett to Quebec-Shaw said they were getting restless and wanted something constructive to do. Both have training in explosives," Auggie said.

"Are they there, yet?"

"They're still in Port Aransas, but they're getting ready to board a plane."

"Tell them Val and I will take them," I said. "I think they need our presence more than anything else, right now. What about Leo?"

"He's flying to Quebec now to meet Finch's team."

"Good."

"Cori, what about you? What happened in Italy?" Auggie began.

"Auggie, I don't want to talk about that. It's upsetting."

"You know Leo won't leave it alone."

"Tell Leo we'll talk. Someday."

"Dr. Shaw may not understand the Larentii mind," Val supplied. "While Corinnelar has many human traits and habits remaining, she is still Larentii. I may ask my father to help her compartmentalize her grief and terror, in order to function at her best when needed."

"Be sure to explain that to Shaw," Auggie gruffed. "To me, Cori will always be one of us. I'm sorry if that offends you."

"It does not, although please understand that she belongs to the Larentii just as much or more than she ever belonged to any humans."

"Val, let's go get Jen and Brett," I said. "I wish I could make Farrell fly the conventional way, but I guess we'll haul him to Quebec, too."

Chapter 8

Corinne

"Rinnelar?" Jennifer looked up from her packing. She had a new, military-issue duffle, in which she was placing carefully folded and rolled clothing.

"Hey, Jen," I said. "Call me Cori. I can come out of the closet now that Rafe's not here."

"I'm sort of excited to go on assignment," she grinned. "Why is it safe to call you a different name, now that Rafe isn't here?"

"Long story," I said. I didn't say what else I was thinking-that from now on, I should probably stay away from Rafe. Every cell in my body wanted to ache and protest at the same time. I shoved down the pain of seeing and not seeing him-either way I'd come out the loser.

"Will we be briefed on the assignment?" she asked.

"I think you'll understand when you see that big hole in the ground," I replied. "Captain Finch has probably been all over the robotic delivery vehicle. Not sure if he's found anything, yet."

"Finch is sort of a legend," Jen said. "Everybody hears about him. Nobody sees him," she added.

"I've seen him and let me tell you, his reputation is put to shame by the magnitude of his insolence."

"Aww, you're spoiling the dream of my future ex-boyfriend," she laughed.

"It's good to hear you laugh," I said.

"I'm happy to be alive to laugh," she agreed. "I have weird dreams and strange thoughts now and then, but I guess that's a small price to pay for my life."

"You ready?" Brett walked in, looking as if he'd lost some sleep. Considering that he'd gone out with William and Wayne Winkler on a werewolf run during the full moon the night before, it was understandable.

"She's almost ready," I turned to Brett. "Any problems last night?"

"A few. Nothing I couldn't deal with. I don't feel uncomfortable now-like I did for the past few days."

"You have to let the wolf out," I shrugged. Yeah, I'd read plenty about werewolves in the Larentii Archives.

"I can't believe-well almost can't believe-that werewolves are real," Jen shook her head and stuffed folded socks into her duffle.

"Vampires are also real, young one," Val folded into the room. "I will arrange for accommodations while we are in Canada-the weather is unforgiving at the moment."

"What he means is there's a blizzard going on," I reassured Jen, whose eyes had widened at Val's words. "Don't worry, if Val says he's taking care of us, then we'll be taken care of."

"Thank you for your support, dearest," he flashed a grin at me. "I believe that Captain Finch is-as a human might say-freezing his ass off right now."

"Probably holed up in a tent," Brett said.

"He is. I will provide much better housing when we arrive. He may stay in a tent if he wishes after that."

"Doubt it," I muttered. Val laughed.

* * *

"From inside a warm house, the snow is incredible," Jen said. Outside, the snow was falling and blowing so hard you couldn't see more than two feet in front of you. Inside Val's Lodge, as we'd dubbed it, we were comfortable.

Even Captain Finch held his questions back after seeing all nine blue feet of Val when he transported him and his team inside.

After all, their tents had all but blown away in the blizzard. Nathan grinned and flung his arms about me when he arrived and that, I believe, also helped keep Finch at bay.

His questions would come, though, when he imagined he wouldn't be killed outright by what was surely an alien working for the government.

"We should go get Leo," I said. "He's stuck at the airport in Montreal."

"Master wolf, do you think you might keep all here in line and refraining from harming one another?" Val lifted an eyebrow in Brett's direction.

"Sure thing," Brett lifted his coffee cup in a salute.

"Very well. We will return with Dr. Shaw shortly." Val took my hand and folded space.

* * *

Jennifer Troutman, 1st Lt, US Army

"Master wolf, huh?" I wrinkled my nose at Brett.

"It's my commanding presence," he teased. "Besides, Finch doesn't outrank me." Brett sipped more of his coffee.

"Corinne says he's a jerk," I sighed. "I was hoping for something different."

"Heroes are seldom what we build them up to be," Brett agreed. "The real heroes, though, are the ones who are even better in person."

"I can't figure out who-or what Corinne is. Yes, I know they're Larentii, but there's something else there and you know it."

"I was thinking that she's one of those heroes who are better in person, and we hadn't even heard of her, before."

"You think she was part of the original Program-the one Dr. Shaw talks about?"

"Possibly. Shaw is slowly giving us information-trying not to scare us, I guess. I think he's waiting to tell us what happened to the original members."

"They have to be dead, or we'd have met them by now. Don't you think?" I couldn't keep the worry out of my voice.

"Jen, don't worry about that, all right?" Brett rubbed my shoulders. I had to admit to myself that his touch felt really good.

"What's going on?" Dr. Farrell interrupted our conversation.

"Just need more coffee," Brett held up his cup and walked out of the room. Dr. Farrell wore a frown as he watched Brett leave. Somehow, I always got the feeling that Dr. Farrell was waiting for something-expecting something, in fact-from me. I had yet to determine what it was.

She is mine
filtered into my thoughts, causing me to gasp.

* * *

Corinne

We found Leo standing at a window, gazing out at the occasional snowflake that blew past the Montreal airport. Miles to the north, that same storm system was dumping snow on the ground at an alarming rate.

"Leo?" I said softly. After all, Val had shielded us from everyone else's sight-only Leo could see us and I didn't want his reaction at our arrival to draw attention.

"Corinne?" He beamed at me when I stepped up beside him.

"Val and I are here to take you to the location," I said.

"I hope there's more than a tent waiting-I got the official weather report a few minutes ago," he held up his cell phone.

"There is, thanks to Val. And we have coffee and food there, too," I said. "Uh, how's Rafe?"

"Depressed."

"That's not what I wanted to hear," I sighed.

"I know. I wish there were a way to fix this," Leo nodded. "Come on, let's get out of here before I'm hauled in for a psych eval for talking to myself."

* * *

"So. Not dead after all," Finch groused as he took a seat at the kitchen island. Val had designed this one after what was at the beach house, so there was plenty of room for everyone.

"Not dead," I poured a mug of coffee for myself. "Want some?" I held up the pot.

"Sure. That blue guy-what's he to you?"

"He's my Larentii mate," I said, turning tall and blue to drive my point home.

"Christ," Finch lowered his eyes and shook his head. "Were you this-before?"

"Yep."

"How can you-just change like that?"

"Larentii can command atoms," I shrugged. "Hell, we can command the smaller particles, too."

"That must be handy," Finch raised his eyes and looked around the kitchen. "I guess that explains our new quarters, then."

"That explains it," I nodded.

"That guy you were with last time-he still alive?"

"Yes."

"Where?"

"I'm not at liberty to say."

"Ah. Do you know whether I could beat him in a fight?"

"You would be pulped and on your way to paper if you threw a punch in his direction," I snapped. "You have no idea who you were rude to the last time we saw one another."

"Yeah. I'm beginning to see that. What about the two who came in with you? They don't recognize me for some reason."

"Long story," I said for the second time that day. "Try to be nice, okay? Jen idolizes you-as a hero. Try to hold onto that image, all right?"

"Wow," Finch whispered. I set his coffee on the island in front of him.

"How is this place powered?" Leo walked into the kitchen. Automatically, I poured coffee for him.

"Solar power, sent from sensor to sensor from above the atmosphere to the ground," Val appeared.

"Somebody is way, way more efficient than Earth," I smiled at Val.

"It is common in both the Reth and Campiaan Alliances," he shrugged. "Worlds that failed to harness wind, solar and water power often drained and destroyed themselves," he added. "We Larentii developed this practice before anyone else."

"The original hippies," Finch said before sipping his coffee.

"You just can't help yourself, can you?" I snapped at him.

Val didn't do anything to Finch. He did do something to Finch's coffee cup-the one he still held aloft.

Its particles separated in a flash of sparks and disappeared while Finch stared at his now-empty hand in shock.

"He can do that with your body, too," I said. "Sometimes, it doesn't take stripes on a uniform to understand who's in charge."

"Show some respect," Leo barked at Finch. Well, Leo did outrank him. I wanted to laugh. Leo seldom got his underwear in a twist, but Finch had tied it in several knots, by the look on Leo's face.

"In trouble, are we?" Brett stood in the doorway. He'd heard the conversation from a hallway away, just as any werewolf could.

"Shut it," Finch snarled and stalked out of the kitchen.

"I see why he hasn't been promoted recently," Brett shook his head. "Poor attitude."

"I think the term
poor
is understating it," I said. Brett laughed.

* * *

"Those ass-wipes have struck again," Auggie huffed into his cell.

"Where this time?" I asked.

"Cordell, Oklahoma," he said. "Walked into a shop and ended up burning it to the ground. Three dead, this time-the owner and two customers."

"Dearest, they are hitting places where Ashe employed power," Val said softly beside me. We were lying together in bed after a long and exhausting day. Auggie's call interrupted our rest.

"How are they reading that?" I asked, turning to Val.

Auggie, who hadn't heard Val's comment, demanded to know what I meant.

"Auggie, hold on," I said. "I have to ask Val something."

"They may have a spelled artifact of some sort," Val said. "One that perceives spent power and works in a way similar to that of a radiation detection device. When Ashe was young, he hadn't learned to deactivate a site or shield its detection after employing his power."

"What about us?" I was worried immediately.

"Larentii power is natural and cannot be detected by any spell or artifact," he replied. "The gods and other powerful beings must shield or disguise their signature. Most already know this. The Mighty Hand was forced into his power much too soon, before he gained adulthood. Pockets of power residue are only to be expected. It should not matter, as the gates the Elemaiya use on Earth have been closed against them. These four, as you know, used conventional means to facilitate their arrival."

I blinked at Val for several seconds, wondering how to explain all that to Colonel August Hunter. "Auggie, we have problems," I said.

* * *

West Wing-Residence

He studied her. In all their time together, she'd never suspected a thing. He missed Hal's advice, but then that hadn't been Hal. He'd only known him as Hal.

"Dear, does this dress look appropriate for the OPEC meeting?" she asked.

Yes, he was Graye Sanders, the President's husband and First Gentleman-to everyone else. He knew the truth. She certainly didn't. It had taken careful maneuvering on his part, and on Hal's part while he still lived, to keep him away from that stupid bitch Corinne.

He'd shied away from the camera from the beginning, even telling journalists that he didn't want to distract anyone's attention away from his wife and her position at the White House. That had inadvertently been the best decision he and Hal had made.

It meant he was still operating in the shadows-there were goals to accomplish, after all. Now that Corinne was dead or at least gone-his wife hadn't indicated otherwise for more than a year-he felt it safe to come out of the shadows and implement the
Backup
Plan
.

* * *

Corinne

I wished for Rafe while Val, Leo and I studied the burned ruin of a small business in Cordell, Oklahoma.

Sunset had come and gone, so emergency lights were employed as local authorities and the OSBI rummaged through the wreckage for clues. Val held a shield about us, preventing our detection while we watched.

"I'll get Auggie," I said. "He should see this."

"Shield yourself," Val instructed.