Adonis and Aphroditus (13 page)

“How’d you know?” Afrod asked.

“He looks like ex-police or ex –military. We
all carry back up guns. It’s just a smart thing to do.”

The guy was trussed up like a Thanksgiving
turkey but he was still trying to get away. Afrod understood. After
all the abuse Origin’s people had dished out to the gods, he was
probably terrified of being in their custody. Good! He hoped the
bastard would piss himself. Hades and the others would be along
shortly. He examined the boss as he lay on the floor thrashing
about. He was at least six foot and of medium build. He had dark
brown hair and brown eyes. Afrod didn’t remember seeing him before,
but they hadn’t always got a good look at those that controlled
them at one time.

It was also possible he was new. Many of the
old Origin execs had run for the hills, or the third world
countries where they could live like kings. They thought distancing
themselves from Origin would absolve them of years of wrong doing.
Once the lost gods were all reclaimed and those still in the
business Origin ran were brought to justice, the search for the
others would begin. They were delaying their reckoning and some of
the older leaders might find their judgment on the other side, but
Afrod believed they’d all pay some day in some way.

Maybe he was idealistic and he oversimplified
things but it was easier to live with what they had been through if
he thought someone would pay. It was true that others had it worse
than he had, but he wanted justice for them too. He considered them
his brothers, god and demon alike. He would fight and die for them
if need be and he knew they would do the same. He heard sounds and
knew that the others were nearby. He hated to have to tell Hades
that Nettie had sent the local cops information from the computer.
He didn’t think he’d be pleased.

They rounded the corner with Hades in the
lead. Good job you two,” he said including Nettie in the
praise.

“Hades,” Afrod started.

“Yes,” he said looking up questioningly.

“Nettie sent some information to the local
cops,” Afrod informed.

“Don’t worry about that. Pluto intercepted it
and checked it out before sending it on. It doesn’t hurt us and it
helps them,” he said agreeably.

Nettie sent him a victorious look. It wasn’t
a ha-ha, I was right look, it was a see, doing the right thing will
pay off look. Afrod knew that wasn’t always the case. Origin had
taught him all about might made right and that they could control
the law and the actions of others. This was one time of many where
doing the right thing didn’t result in punishment.

“Let’s get all the files, computers, and the
big boss, here, loaded. We can arrange for Nettie’s friend to deal
with the guards. I don’t think the outside guards were aware of who
ran this place but a scare might make them more careful about who
they work for in the future. The inside guy can come with us too.
He may know something. Hurry up everyone!” Hades ordered.

“We need boxes for the files. Several of the
offices have them and I saw patient files that might help us to
track down the mothers that birthed gods. At least we can get a
count of how many babies we’re looking for and if they know
anything. I also found a file with potential facilities in New
Orleans. We may have gotten a lot of intelligence but it won’t be
useful long,” Afrod said.

“You’re right. Once they know we have it,
they’ll move and we’ll have to hunt them again. Let’s just take the
file cabinets whole. They’ll fit in the back of the SUVs if there
aren’t too many. Let’s get it done, gods!” Hades instructed. It was
obvious he was ready to move out and get back to the hotel.

Afrod wondered how he was going to deal with
Nettie and her sister. Julie needed to go with them for her own
safety and he wanted Nettie to go so she’d be near him. “What are
you’re plans after this?” Afrod asked as he and Nettie disconnected
the computer so they could load it.

“I’m taking Julie home with me where she’ll
be safe and protected,” Nettie explained.

“Do you honestly think you can keep her safe
from Origin?”

“What do you mean?” she asked as she stopped
what she was doing and sat down. She looked up at him waiting for
his answer.

“You’re no dummy. I know it’s occurred to you
that Julie might not be having the usual pregnancy.”

“You’re wrong. Gods can’t reproduce. Everyone
knows that’s true.”

“We were all born of woman from a womb. I
think Origin bred her and they’ll want that baby. If I’m right, you
can’t protect her. You can’t even tell anyone she’s carrying a
child Origin put in her.”

“Oh, dear God! Is it like you? Is it
something else?” she asked as a look of horror showed on her
face.

“I’m not positive but if they did this to
her, the baby will be a god.”

She looked relieved. “How do we find
out?”

“Come to Olympus with us. They’ll test her
and give her the care she wasn’t getting here. If it’s fully human,
we’ll fly you back. If it’s a god, she’ll have to stay there. No
one in your world can be trusted not to tell others. Both Julie and
the baby would be endangered if they aren’t secure.”

Nettie worried her lip as she thought. She
let sighed having come to a conclusion. “You’re right. We have to
keep things quiet until we know. If the baby’s human, no harm done.
If not, she’ll need your doctor and the help of your people.”

“What about you?” Afrod asked hoping against
hope that she’d come.

“My baby sister finally came to me for help.
Nothing will keep me from going with her.”

“You’re a wonderful sister. I wish I had a
sister.”

“I’m sorry. You don’t have any family, do
you?”

“That’s not true. I have brothers in the
thousands. Each one would give his life for me and me for him.”

“You guys were lucky in a way after all. Big
families are always the best. Julie and I only have each
other.”

“You have us too now. You’ll be part of our
family.” He saw the look on her face. She thought he was being
sweet but she didn’t believe him.

He moved closer and put his fingers under her
chin pulling it up into his kiss. Damn, he couldn’t keep his hands
or his mouth off this female. He deepened the kiss until he was
devouring her and he didn’t want to stop. A loud noise in the hall
where some gods were moving file cabinets made them move apart.
They needed to get their job done. They finished disconnecting the
computer in this room and carried it out. They had the third seats
down in order to have the room they needed for everything. They had
two more computers to disconnect and load.

They went to the next room and worked quickly
and efficiently. Afrod thought they worked well together. He knew
they’d do other things even better. Wicked thoughts kept rearing up
in his head. He pushed them down and kept working. They got the
computer loaded and only had one more. This computer was a little
more difficult because it older and heavier. The wires seemed to be
soldered into the computer so he disconnected the power and cut
it.

He heard a noise and looked underneath and
saw a timer. “Hades, I think I have a bomb counting down in the
first office near the outside door.”

He heard running down the hall as Eros came
in out of breath. Bomb expert, he mouthed to Nettie who looked a
little calmer once she understood him. Eros cut a wire and cursed.
That didn’t sound good. He cut another one and sighed. The count
down had stopped. Just another minor emergency deflected by
superior god know how. He was so grateful Eros had come along.

Chapter 4

Olympus

Nettie found herself drawn to Afrod more than
she had been drawn to a man, ever. He didn’t try to charm her or
fool her with sweet lies. No, he just kissed her and she melted all
over him. He was handsome, all gods were but he appealed to her on
a level she didn’t understand. He was so damn cheerful and easy
going. Nothing upset him and he seemed to take her sometimes
disagreeable attitude in stride. It was both refreshing and
aggravating because sometimes she liked to fluster people. It was
good for them to get knocked out of their comfort zone and not know
what to expect from someone. Few people ever knew what to expect
from her and she liked it that way.

He was tall and broad, built like a god. His
curly golden hair was shoulder length and her fingers wanted to run
through it. She giggled to herself as she wondered how he would
react if she gave in to her impulses. His blue green eyes would
widen but would he be delighted or step away from her? His skin
looked smooth and his muscles hard and she wouldn’t mind sliding
her body over him. When had she become so naughty? Since she met
Afrod she supposed. Looking at him made her skin heat and her blood
pump.

“Nettie? Nettie!”

She was startled out of her imaginings.
“What?”

“We need to leave now. Julie is waiting for
us,” Afrod stated.

“Lead on,” she said and gestured in front of
her.

Afrod hurried in front of her leading the way
to Julie’s car. They were leaving just ahead of the rest of the
team. They would go to the hotel and take Julie home to pack.
Nettie already had a bag so that would save time. Hades had said he
wanted them all to meet at the plane but Nettie knew he hadn’t told
Julie he wanted her to go back with them. Had he expected Afrod to
tell her?

Afrod had explained that while Julie’s
apartment wasn’t much, it would work for the two gods slated to
stay behind. They would be searching for clues on the day personnel
and the doctors from the clinic that would otherwise get away. They
wanted to get them all because they deserved to be punished but
even more, they might have information leading to more lost gods.
Realistically they knew they might not ever find all of them, but
that just made them more determined to try. Nettie felt for them
and she hoped they would find them all. She would even help them
while she and Julie were visiting. She didn’t believe Julie’s baby
was a god so she wasn’t planning on staying.

They made it back and went in to get Julie
who was sitting by Pluto and talking to him. She didn’t look much
older than he was and they seemed to get along well. Nettie
explained what was going on and Pluto started packing up his stuff
before they left. They took Julie and went to the car. Nettie knew
Afrod was thrilled to drive but wasn’t sure if he just liked to
drive or had worried that they’d put him in the back.

Afrod drove them to Julie’s place while
Nettie sat in the back so her pregnant sister wouldn’t get car
sick. They went in with her, helping her pack and then he drove
them to the airport. They loaded on to the plane and they were the
first to arrive. Afrod was solicitous and brought them a snack and
drinks. Nettie had never been on a private plane before but she had
been on a police helicopter. It wasn’t the same thing at all. The
copter was strictly functional and this plane was luxurious. Well
they said if you had to travel you should travel in style.

Afrod went outside to wait for the others
giving Nettie time to talk to Julie. “We need to go with them,”
Nettie said.

“What? Where?” Julie asked.

“We need to go back to Olympus with them.
Afrod said they will check your baby out and we can look at it like
a vacation. You’ll get to see how Apis is doing.”

“There’s more you’re not telling me.”

“They think your baby is a god. They think
those people you worked for impregnated you with god seed.”

“But I thought gods couldn’t breed? It’s been
on the news and everything. They can’t have babies.”

“Maybe not in the usual way, but they were
all carried inside a mother and birthed naturally.”

“What will I do, Sis?” Julie looked up at her
with big eyes shiny with unshed tears.

“Kiddo, we’re in this thing together and if
the baby is a god, they’ll help us out. I bet they’ll give you a
job and a place to live. Everything will work out, you’ll see.”

“What about you?” Julie whispered in a small
voice.

“I’ll do whatever I have to do to make sure
you’re okay. It’ll all work out. I’ll make sure of it.”

Afrod came back in. “The rest of the guys are
here now and we’ll be leaving in soon.”

Nettie nodded and she pulled Julie in for a
hug. “Don’t you dare worry about a thing. You understand? I’ll make
sure it’s all okay.”

Afrod came back to sit next to Nettie. Julie
yawned so he showed her how to lean her seat back so she could
sleep. She was out in seconds. Poor kid must have been wore out.
Hades and the others came on board carrying their bags but Nettie
assumed they had loaded the file cabinets and computers in the
cargo area. They sat down but they left some space around her,
Julie, and Afrod so they felt like they had some privacy. She and
Afrod spoke quietly for at least a couple of hour before they
leaned their seats back and slept too.

Nettie dreamed, not an unusual thing since
most people did. She dreamed of Afrod and her dream was sexy.
Nettie didn’t usually have hot dreams. She usually dreamed about
work. She’d be faced with a dangerous criminal and her gun wouldn’t
work. Sometimes it wasn’t loaded and the guy would laugh at her.
She wasn’t sure why the criminals in her dreams were always men,
she’d met some ruthless women on the job too. It wasn’t like the
men were attractive. She always dreamed about the ugly ones. At
least she woke up before they killed her. Their guns never seemed
to malfunction and they always had bullets, but she would wake up
just before the bullet struck. Freud, the famous albeit dead
psychiatrist, would have a field day with her. This dream about
Afrod would have been a welcome change had she had it at home.
Having a sex dream on a plane surrounded by males just wasn’t
right.

She would take a dream about Afrod over those
terrifying dreams any day, but today. She was so drawn to him it
seem unbelievable. She could usually take or leave a man or men in
general. She’d had her share of men and relationships although the
relationships were usually short. She couldn’t handle being bossed
around. It just ate at her until she sent the guy packing. She
could handle a partnership, give and take, she believed in
compromise. Men just seemed to believe in their way and no other.
She wasn’t having that, she’d just stay alone.