SUED FOR PEACE (The Kurtherian Gambit Book 11) (31 page)

This one was dressed in dark green with a gold filigree of a leopard on her right sleeve.

The second woman, very attractive, sat down on a seat across from him. Zedong noticed another man entered the plane, closed the door and went up front and sat down in the pilot’s chair.

“General Sun Zedong,” The woman across from him spoke, her voice was pleasant, if a little cold, he thought. He bowed slightly, smiling sardonically as he lifted the chains that held his hands. “We will get to those in a moment,” she told him. The plane’s engines spluttered to life and in a few moments, the pilot was receiving information and the plane was heading out of the hanger to taxi towards another runway.

“You are only useful to the Committee as a scapegoat, do you recognize this?” She asked him and Sun nodded his head.

“We are not going to Beijing?” he asked her.

“Only if you wish to stand trial. We can, of course, still make this happen.” He shook his head, knowing that way lay only to a quick and painful death.

“Then General, I have a use for your talents and your connections.” She leaned back in her chair, a small smile on her face.
 

“Who are you?” he asked.

“My name is Stephanie Lee, and I am the Leopard Empress.” She told him as her eyes glowed yellow.

Two Weeks Later - QBS ArchAngel holding by Space Station One

“If you tell me,” Ecaterina grated out, “One more time to push harder Nathan, I will grow claws and rip off your damned manhood!” The pain was not pleasant, whether she was healing quickly or not and Ecaterina was in a foul mood.

“Just think about it this way,” Nathan said, holding her hand as the doctor and nurse worked to deliver the baby, “Your mom refused to come into space, so she isn’t here!”
 

Ecaterina rolled her eyes before the doctor told her to push hard, one more time.

She yelled as she pushed for all she was worth and was rewarded with the cries of her baby a moment later. Ecaterina’s eyes teared up when the sweet, sweet sound of her baby reached her. She held Nathan’s hand, squeezing it in love where moments before she would have gladly ripped his arm out of its socket.

Her pain forgotten, she looked up lovingly into Nathan’s beautiful eyes. The doctor finished with the child, handing it to the nurse who carried the small, warm bundle to the waiting arms of the baby’s mother. There was one other in the room, watching, but standing back so she wouldn’t interfere. She was now a godmother, of sorts. Two of the people she loved the most were welcoming their first child into the universe, from the middle of space.

The first human birth in space, as far as she knew.

She watched as Nathan leaned over and kissed his baby on the forehead and then kissed his wife. Ecaterina called out, “Bethany Anne?”

Bethany Anne smiled and took the few steps to come up to the two of them. Ecaterina lifted the little girl up and Bethany Anne, surprised, reached out to hold the newborn, her own heart beating as one with the baby. “We would like to present to you, Christina Bethany Anne Lowell, our first child.”

The two parents hugged each other as they watched the tears flow down Bethany Anne’s face. Their hearing was more than sensitive enough to hear her whisper into their daughter’s ear, “I love you, Christina, and I’ll be here for you whenever you ask.” There was a pause before she finished, “And I will make sure you understand that Coke is worlds better than Pepsi.”

Nathan chuckled until his wife slugged him hard in his stomach. When the parents noticed Bethany Anne watching them, she winked.

—

The baby shower for Christina Lowell was a week later, and almost everyone was in attendance that could be. Only Lance and Frank were back in Australia. Bethany Anne and her people had kept a low profile, staying out of the news as best they could while things settled down. There was enough video footage for the world to know something had happened, but unless the Chinese Government chose to release footage of the ArchAngel, no one had a solid video of her ship, at least yet.

It would come. She knew that and Bethany Anne was ready for that to occur. However, the President had asked her to speak with other country heads regarding the Cabal, and she would try to hold on to the secret of her ship for the few days necessary to get past that meeting.

Then, she would reveal it and let the dice roll as they may.

“How are you doing, boss?” John Grimes stepped up to her side. Bethany Anne smiled at him and Jean Dukes, who happened to be speaking with him at that moment. Bethany Anne wanted to roll her eyes in frustration at the two of them. They just needed to get past this annoying dance of…

“John, Jean, how are you?” she asked the two of them.

“Good, thank you,” Jean answered, “I have to say, it felt good to fire off those big guns on the Polarus. At least our efforts to build them didn’t go to waste.”

Bethany Anne nodded and added, “No, they didn’t. However, if Max had allowed another scratch on my ships or had endangered the people just to make that happen, he and I would have had words.”

“I know,” Jean admitted, “That’s one of the reasons we follow Captains, and leaders, ma’am. There was a small risk, but the reward was great. We have a few in the Chinese Navy that will remember, and they will gain in ranks and one day, it will come back as a benefit, I believe.”
 

Bethany Anne nodded her head, accepting Jean’s opinion on the subject. Who knew, maybe she would be right and in the future, Bethany Anne would have to give Max an apology for jumping his ass.

Bethany Anne put a finger up and looked above their heads for a second.
 
John figured she was listening to TOM or ADAM. “You two, come with me,” she said and started walking quickly out of the room.

Stephen?

Yes, my Queen?

Keep everyone else in here, I just need these two for an hour, or so.

I understand.

When the three of them exited the large room where the party was being held, Bethany Anne grabbed their arms and stepped through the Etheric to her landing room near the Pod Bay, leaving Jean’s eyes popping out of her face. Bethany Anne walked to the door and opened it, “Come on, we need to jump in a Pod. Let’s go, people, chop chop!”
 

John allowed Jean to go ahead of him and noticed Bethany Anne’s eyes had just a little red to them. She called out, “Bay Engineer!”
 

“Ma’am!” One of the men came running over, “Which Pod is ready to go, full load out?” He turned and pointed to three off to the side, “Those three right there, ma’am. Complete load out, both space and ground.”

Bethany Anne turned towards the three and told TOM to open the doors on the first one, “In here you two,” Jean started to get in while John hesitated a second, “John! I don’t have all damned day; I’ll give you an update on the way.”
 

John nodded his head and turned around, sitting next to Jean and started buckling in quickly. Bethany Anne closed the door and nodded to the Bay Engineer with one finger up. He requested clearance from ArchAngel for one Pod to be released.
 

The Pod started moving out as Bethany Anne smirked,
I promised I would get even with you, Mr. Grimes.

She continued smiling as she started walking back towards the party, desiring a moment to herself.

ADAM, patch me through to the Pod.

>>Done.<<

“John, Jean, this is your Queen speaking. I have decided that you two need to grow a pair and admit how you feel about each other. ADAM will be listening to figure out if you are honest.” Bethany Anne smiled, imagining the howling in anger the two must be having right then over her chicanery. “The Pod has supplies to last a week. However, it also has a private beach location plugged in that would allow you a little time should you so choose. Be safe.”

Bethany Anne walked back towards the baby shower, her steps a little lighter.

—

Jean’s face lost all color as she heard Bethany Anne’s voice come through the speaker system. She heard Bethany Anne say that John might have feelings for her, but now she was stuck. Was she going to be one of those women who spoke a big game, but failed to play?

“Jean,” John turned towards her, “I’m sure Bethany Anne means well, but you don’t have to say a word. Just because I like you, doesn’t mean…mmgphff,” John heard Jean struggling to release her harness straps as her lips crushed his. He was pulled tight against his straps by her grabbing him and trying to pull him close.

She finally unbuckled the last strap, stopped kissing him and damned near crawled to get closer to the man who looked like he had just been shocked out of his socks.

“John Grimes,” she looked into his eyes, waited a momemt and then slapped him lightly, “Focus!” He smiled and put his arms around her as she snuggled in as close as she could. “John Grimes, I’ve got but one heart to give, and I’m willing and want to give it to you, but let me be clear,” she put her head against his chest, hearing his heart beating quickly. “If you hurt it, I’ll rip your dick off.” She reached around his massive chest and pulled him in tight.

She owed her Queen, and some day she would pay her back.

Five minutes later, Bethany Anne confirmed with TOM that the Pod was going down towards Earth.

—

Ten o’clock that evening, according to ship’s time, Marcus was working in his office on the ArchAngel, when an annoying continuous beep got his attention. “What the hell is the problem,” he groused as he turned first one way, then the other to find the source of the noise.

He stood up and worked his way around a tall group of shelves into the second area of his office and noticed one of the monitors brought up from the Colorado base was squealing.
 

It was one of the monitors that was tasked to look for ships that might enter their system. It wasn’t showing anything at the moment, but the alarms had been tripped.

“Oh…fuckity fuck,” he murmured. They had visitors.

finis

Michael’s Notes (SUED FOR PEACE - The Kurtherian Gambit 11):
 
Written July 27th, 2016

Thank you,
I cannot express my appreciation enough that not only did you pick up the ELEVENTH book, but you read it all the way to the end, and NOW, you're reading this as well.

I’m writing these author notes four weeks and one day after the last release.

So, thank GOD Stephen Russell is kinda mostly back.
 
He has made enough of a recovery to go home.
 
For a short while, he had to be in a form of not-in-the-hospital-but-still-needed-to-recuperate location that was driving him
fingsane
. (Yes, I totally copped a new word (that is a new word, right?)).

While he is pushing through challenges due to his hospital and surgery and recuperation, he’s a bad-ass-mother-fucker-who-won’t-take-bad-prose-from-any-one…

Well, actually, he really helped take the load off and allowed me to get this book out this month, instead of early next month.
 
So, THANK YOU STEPHEN! (And the rest of the team that probably appreciated Stephen working the editing side and not me…Cause…
impatient
!

That should be my middle name…Michael “
Impatient
” Anderle.

I wrote up on Facebook I was Words Complete on Tuesday morning (yesterday)… or afternoon.
 
One of them.
 
I think I mentioned last night we would be out in 72 hours.
 
Then, a fan in Australia asked if that was true for them, as well.

HAH!
 
I figured out I shouldn’t SAY a day (It will be out on Friday).
 
Why? Because those fans in Australia and England brag about how they are IN the future, while we here in Texas are just catching up to their speedy @5535.
 
So, I would hit my day here in Texas, but it was already 1/2 into TOMORROW in Australia.

So, my response was to ask if now+72 hours was the same here in Texas as it is there, because, shenanigans if it isn’t.

Shenanigans, I love that word.
 
It rolls off the tounge and is just the coolest.

Ahhhh, so now we got to some cool stuff going on in this book.
 
China receives a (Queen) bitch slapping, those pesky other Kurtherians are up to something, the ArchAngel makes an appearance (ought to be fun to see how the world reacts to that beast in the next book) and we have whatever Marcus found tripping his monitors.
 

Oh, plus John and Jean, the Calendar (which didn’t get done yet, poor Mark Koeff) and the ‘other’ calander.

Speaking of Mark Koeff, I want to sincerely thank the man because he is real, his professional name he goes by is Mark Jordan, and he totally gave me so much great information to make that snippet of the book real.

Because it was…real I mean.
 
Here is a little background on him
http://markjordanphoto.com/about-mark-jordan-photography/
.
 
By the way, those people I mentioned he had met in the last book?
 
Yes, he has met them and so many, many more.
 
I first became friends with Mark while I lived in Southern California where he and his wife live. I’ve been to his house once - That Mac is really there and his backyard is really small compared to the large lots here in Texas.
 
So, the Pod scene is accurate. For Orange County where each foot of ground is at a premium, it is nice sized.

He is the most calm man I think I’ve had the pleasure to spend time with in the last ten years.
 
So Zen, I love chatting with him.

I emailed him at the beginning of this book and told him I needed a photographer character again, would it be ok if I used him?
 
Oh…Since that was ok, would he mind giving me some ideas of what he might say if he was talking to a group of four big huge beefy guards? LOL