Midnight Squad: The Grim (53 page)

           
“I don’t know. There might be bears up here. It might not
be safe.” Mom had been using that bears line since I was a kid. She used to
tell me that I shouldn’t cross the street except at the corner because a bear
might get me. When you’re four you believe stupid things.

           
“You have bears here? They’re delicious, but a little
stringy. Don’t worry Mrs. Peterson. I’ll protect your daughter. She’s safe with
me in the woods.” Danika said with a big toothy grin.
When a
werewolf gives you a toothy grin…that’s a lot of tooth.

           
Mom just nodded and smiled as Niki and Danika trudged off
out into the darkness. Mom turned back to us and whispered under her breath,
“I’m so glad for her. It’s good to see her finally happy…It’s good to see you
happy too.” I think her eyes were tearing up with joy, but she blinked them
away.

           
I nodded and hugged Penny. Penny whispered, “If you’ll
excuse us. I need to talk to Grim for a moment.” She stood up, and walked of
into the darkness. I wasn’t far behind. When we got far enough that they
couldn’t hear us anymore Penny said, “Alhambra needs to be put down.” There was
no humor in her voice. It was vicious, and cruel. I was a little shocked by it.
“What happened?” Penny handed me a piece of the Jinn's necklace. When I didn’t
look shocked Penny asked, “you do know what this is don’t you?’

           
“Yes.” I whispered.

           
“Then why aren’t you angry?” She hissed.

           
“Janine has been picking all these up whenever Alhambra
drops them. Right now, I have about half the necklace. Janine was supposed to
tell you all the first chance she got. I guess she hasn’t had a chance yet.” I
gave her a gentle reassuring hug.

           
“Grim…she gave this piece to Melanie.”

           
“Motherfucker!
The bitch dies!”
I started storming back to the house. Murder filled my thoughts. I didn’t get
two steps to the cabin before Penny stopped me. I kept straining, but she just
held me back as if I was a spoiled child.
“Grimmy!
Focus! We don’t know why she is doing this. We need to figure out why before we
do something that makes things worse.” I really hated that she was right. I
turned to her and growled, “When this is over, and we know what she’s doing.
The first chance we get…she dies.”

           
“I’ll drink her dry myself. Now calm down before you go
back to the cabin. You don’t want to tip her off.” I took a deep breath. Penny
wrapped her arms around me. The Jinn had captured me a long time ago, and this
was the first time I’ve felt safe since then. I’m not sure what it was that
made it feel so good, but I let Penny just hold me. It’s silly, I mean we’re
about to
march
into almost certain death. We have a
member of our team that is probably about to fuck us over, but right now in her
arms none of that mattered.

           
“So what did my mother tell you?” I asked.

           
“When?”

           
“When you were bringing back desert? You looked ready to
cry?”

           
“I don’t know what you’re talking about.” Penny sounded a
little nervous.

           
“Yes you do, now spill it.”

           
“Okay, your mom just told me thank you.” Penny’s voice
strained. She was keeping something back.

           
“Thank you? What else?” I know I must have sounded
suspicious because Penny let go of me and wrapped her arms around herself
defensively. She was beautiful in the daylight, but under the full moon, Penny
was truly breathtaking. The light from the moon gave enough light to see a hint
of color, but not much more. Her normally red hair looked almost black with red
highlights. Her fine features stood out even more as the moonlight kissed her.
I couldn’t help but feel a stirring of lust, but it was more than that. Looking
at her right now was like enjoying a work of art. Sure, I felt lust, but also a
strange protectiveness. I felt friendship, and love. They all swirled around
me, and I knew I was right when I said that she’s the one. I’m not sure how
long I stared at her, but my silence made Penny uncomfortable. “Grim, I
promised your mother I wouldn’t say anything about it. If you want to know,
you’ll have to ask her. That’s all I can say.”

           
I stepped up close to her and breathed her in. She
smelled faintly like roses. I wrapped my arms around her and hugged her before
kissing her. “I love you Peniworth Doreen Cooper!” Penny laughed and kissed me
before asking, “How did you ever find out my full name?”

           
“I saw it in one of your files.
Peniworth?”

           
Penny sighed, “It was my uncle’s name, and Father wanted
a boy. He was big on boys. You know carrying on the name and such. It wasn’t
really an issue after we became vampires, but can we keep my name between you
and me?”

           
“Why? You don’t want people calling you Peniworth?”

           
“No, and I can’t stand the name Doreen.” Penny grumbled.

           
“Doreen, what’s wrong with Doreen?” I asked.

           
“Nothing, nothings wrong with it. It’s a perfectly good
name, but I just don’t like it for myself.” Penny was about to say something
when she turned her head to the east. I watched as her lips curled into a
beautiful, but mischievous smile. I got behind her and wrapped my arms around
her, “What is it?”

           
“Danika and your sister, they’re…cute together. I can
still hear them talking. They’re so sweet. Your sister even brought something
with her for the camping trip. My God! That thing sounds like a leaf blower!
She’s not really going to use that thing on…” Penny started laughing. I
couldn’t hear anything, but then again I didn’t have super powerful vampire
hearing.

           
“Grim, I really need to talk to your sister about where
she gets her toys. If Katy is going to be a part of us then we’ll need to
get…supplies.” I felt myself harden, but I kept myself under control. “So
Penny, we really have to include Katy in this?” I asked nervously. Penny turned
around and smiled, “Well we don’t have to. We could find someone else, but for
you and me to have a relationship then we’ll need a third. Otherwise, you’ll
have a very hungry lover. As big as you are, even you can’t keep me fed on your
own. I thought you’d prefer her because you seem comfortable around her, and
she really likes you. I’ve been talking to her about it, and she is very
excited by it, but a little nervous.”

           
“She’s nervous? You were there when she flashed me right,
and when she was nibbling on me. She didn’t seem that nervous.” Okay so I’m a
bit of a smartass sometimes.

           
“Her parents raised her like she was their dirty little
secret. They really instilled in her a lot of negativity towards sex. They
taught her it was a horrible act, and that it only had two purposes. The first
was to make a baby. The second reason was so her husband could enjoy himself by
taking care of his needs through her body, and any respectable woman shouldn’t
enjoy it. She’s still a virgin. Katherine knows how messed up her teachings about
sex are, but she can’t help herself. Do you know why she’s never had an
orgasm?” Penny’s voice was sad.

           
“No.”

           
Penny took a deep breath and then began, “Katherine’s
parents drilled into her that sex was evil and wrong. She knows in her head
that it’s all bullshit, and sex can be just for pleasure. She still can’t get
over what they taught her. She can’t bear the thought of touching herself to
orgasm. They told Katherine that it was a dirty act, and that her vagina is a
dirty place, and now she feels guilty whenever she touches herself. She told me
she tried a few toys, but her magic breaks the toys before she gets to finish.
Therefore, she has a lot of built up frustration. The thunderstorm let her cut
loose and forget about her backassward view of sex for a bit though. If she’s
going to be with us then it’s not going to be easy, but I care about her. I
know you care about her too. I want her with us partly because you two are so
similar in personality that sometimes it’s like talking to a smaller, cuter
version of you. I can see myself falling in love with her just like I fell in
love with you.”

           
Penny stared out into the dark again. “Well she
definitely talked our little werewolf into trying out whatever that is. I guess
we should head back before Danika catches our scent and we end up ruining her
mood.”

           
I laughed, “I don’t think anything could ruin Danika’s
mood. After all, you’re forgetting one thing.”

           
“What’s that?” She asked quizzically.

           
“Danika grew up with werewolf orgies.” I said it, and we
both started laughing. There was a mischievous gleam in her eyes. “Well since
we don’t have to worry about interrupting them, what do you say about you and
me having a little moonlight fun of our own?”

           
I couldn’t have kept the smile off my face if I wanted
to. I was still stiff, and a little sore, but I just couldn’t help myself.
Sometimes it’s a good thing to think with your little head. I laughed and said,
“Well that depends.”

           
“Depends on what?” She asked playfully.

           
“It depends on if you can catch me…Doreen!” I laughed as
I ran off into the darkness. I heard Penny gasp in mock irritation, and then
she was after me. As stiff and sore as I was, I hoped she’d catch me quickly.
Thankfully, Penny didn’t disappoint. She was just leaning in for a kiss when
she froze.

           
“What is it?” I asked.

           
“We need to get back to the house.” She threw me over her
shoulder like a sack of potatoes, and we were moving like a blur. Along the
way, she misjudged how low a branch was, and I got a tree branch across my ass
at about forty miles an hour. I yelped, and before I knew it another tree
branch across my ass. Somehow, she found eighteen more branches before we were
at the cabin. I thought she did the first one by accident, but by the end I
realized she’d done it all on purpose. I expected smoke to be coming off my
butt cheeks. Penny had tanned my ass with fierce determination. She set me down
and smiled at me.

           
“You did that on purpose.” I grumbled while rubbing my
sore ass for all its worth.

           
“You bet your cute little ass I did.” Penny teased.

           
“Why? What did I do?”

           
“I just wanted to give you a gentle reminder to keep you
mouth shut about my middle name.” Penny hugged me and then gripped an ass cheek
in each hand. She gave them both a good hard squeeze until I yelped. Then she
let go and walked inside laughing.

           
I followed her in chuckling. Once inside I realized
everyone was sitting around the television. They all had looks of horror on
their faces. It took me a moment to realize what they were watching. It looked
like some science fiction movie. Then I realized it was the news.

           
A man with a horrible comb over held a microphone and was
screaming over the gunfire, “At nine o’clock eastern a large group of heavily
armed men began taking over the capitol. They have the President captive.
They’ve either killed or captured most of congress. The White House was holding
a major event when these unnamed men forced their way in and began taking
hostages. They forced us into several groups, and there have been several
bursts of gunfire. To repeat, Washington is under siege. These heavily armed
enemy combatants have captured the President. There has been heavy gunfire.
It’s unknown if anyone has been killed.” The news reporter kept sputtering out
facts, but the camera lifted up and focused over his shoulder.

           
One of the clones was turning towards the camera. He was
big, much bigger than the ones we fought in training exercises. He wasn’t
taller. He was just…bigger. His muscles had muscles. He dressed in black
fatigues, and he wore a helmet that covered his face completely. Heavy body
armor covered his chest and neck. A mini Gatling gun mounted on one shoulder,
and it looked like they upgraded it, and tweaked a few other things as well. On
the other shoulder was something that looked a lot like a grenade launcher. On
the front of his chest was a scorpion design. Someone etched Clone Model
Scorpio into the facemask of the helmet.

           
The Gatling gun started spinning and then fired. The
bullets ripped through the cameraman, and it wasn’t long before the signal was
lost. My little sisters were crying, and Mom and Dad were in shock. All I could
think was if this was what we were up against, then we’re in deep trouble.