SUED FOR PEACE (The Kurtherian Gambit Book 11) (7 page)

Stephanie answered,
Let me suggest that you starting this relationship by expecting to take over my body is not the start of anything harmonious between us.

Yang’s mind speech tenor changed to one aggravated.
Listen, you are a sub-optimal being! Our intelligence and wisdom dictate we do not submit to one such as you.

Then why,
Stephanie asked,
did you want this body in the first place?

The Leopard Empress is our Avatar.
Yin answered exasperated.
Do you not remember anything taught you as a child here?

Those fairytales?
Stephanie Lee replied,
The ones about gods and goddesses, changing to our animal spirits and … oh … my … god.
She stopped for a moment, thinking.
You have been planning this how long?

Centuries,
Yang admitted.

Why me?
 

Because you are genetically perfect for our efforts. Your children will be able to procreate and carry the gene to the next generation. Within just a few generations time, we can infect the world with our efforts,
Yin answered.
 

Stephanie asked,
What is the rush again? I remember you mentioning that.

Yin answered,
There is an avatar for one of the five here on earth. The technology we hear rumors about, and what we could learn from your memories suggests it is from a particular clan.

One we thought destroyed centuries ago,
Yang spoke.

They might be destroyed,
Yin admitted,
they could be from centuries before.

So, you guys have technology that is better than TQB’s?

Perhaps,
Yin qualified.
However, we are leaders, not technologists. It might have been a different type of role that landed here. We are not familiar with the systems. Our specialties include the manipulation of genetics for the effective growth and most enhanced abilities from our stock.

You mean humans?
Stephanie Lee asked
.

Yes,
Yang answered,
we mean humans. Remember, your species is advanced, but you are still a couple of significant levels of advancement beneath the weakest of our race of Kurtherians.

Why do you want humans anyway?

Space is large, there are many races and species which fight whether the other race cares to fight or not. Our clan, the Tre’learth, is responsible for advancing the abilities of a race more quickly to prepare themselves for the onslaught of another race.

How are we supposed to know when this will occur?
Stephanie Lee asked
.

When we warn you, of course,
Yin replied.

Stephanie Lee started biting on her lip, considered what she had learned, and what she had not. If anything, her time with the Illuminati was a doctorate course in lying by omission.

Washington D.C., USA

The President walked down to the meeting room, leaving both of his agents outside the door as he stepped in. He nodded to the man who was bald and wearing the typical Washington power suit and a dark blue and red tie.

The man, the Secretary of State’s behind-the-scenes power broker, sat ready to inform the President of what had been going on. Well, what had been happening behind the scenes once the President dropped the data in their hands and commanded them to disperse it to the correct countries.

The President sat down, “Ok, give me the highlights Jimmy.”

”We have a shit-storm,” he began before realizing what he said exactly, “Oh, sorry.”

The President waved it away, “In here, tell me straight. Bad language offends me less than kissing my ass.”

Relieved, Jimmy continued, “Well, the French are demanding how we know this. Germany is asking if we have more that we haven’t given them, and England is asking the same thing. Except, they asked it as whether they should expect another axe to fall?” Jimmy looked to the President to answer the question.

“Frankly Jimmy,” the President responded, “I don’t know.” The President almost wanted to laugh at the face Jimmy gave him. “This information was provided in a unique fashion, and I can’t demand more just show up because I want it. I suspect from what I was told that these are the major players that each country should worry about. If there is anyone bigger, well my feeling is they are already a target and won’t be a problem in the near future. If they are smaller, then they will lose their ability once the big fish are taken care of, or they will be dealt with in some other form or fashion. Or, they aren’t really a significant problem.”
 

Jimmy tried to frame his next question, “What about all of their requests that we provide how we know this?”

“Well, we could tell them the truth?” The President asked his contact. He started chuckling when Jimmy’s mouth opened and shut a few times.
 

Finally, Jimmy answered, “Mr. President, isn’t the truth we received it from a concerned party, and we don’t know what they know?” The President just nodded his head in agreement. “I’m not sure that is going to work too well.” Jimmy allowed, “My experience over the last decade suggests they would prefer to be sold a lie than told the truth, sir.”

“Mine too, Jimmy.” The President told him, “but in this case I’m going to have to provide them the truth. If we sell a lie, and the provider of the information gets wind of it, we could be in pretty hot water. I’m too damned concerned it would happen, so we need to think about that now.”

“Us?” Jimmy asked, perplexed.

“Yes, us. As in, if we aren’t ethical with the information and the truth, or non-truth, of how we acquired the information. Stay silent if you can’t tell the truth.” The President tapped his fingers against the table for a minute, and Jimmy stayed silent. He was accustomed to waiting on those in power thinking through a solution. “Tell you what. If they want to know more, then the only person who I will discuss this with is their leader. I will need to speak with him or her on the phone to know they will accept my conditions.”

“What are those conditions?” Jimmy asked.

“The leader comes alone. Transportation will be provided. When I know who is potentially coming, I’ll negotiate with the owner of the information. Should that person agree, we will make this happen and provide the information at this meeting. Those that join are not permitted to share the information to those that do not show.”

“How would we possibly enforce that agreement?”

“Well, I believe those who do come will be persuaded as I was persuaded.” The President answered mysteriously. He stood up, “That’s all Jimmy. Tell the Secretary of State and you guys get moving.” He turned and stepped back out of the small meeting room and continued to his next scheduled appointment.

QBS Battleship, Manufacturing Facility 01 - Asteroid Fields

Marcus walked into the empty meeting room on the spaceship and his two friends, with solemn faces, turned to look at him.
 
Both were sitting at the end of the table with Bobcat in the main position and William to his left.
 
This meeting room, he noticed, was carpeted in a deep red and the table was made of wood.
 
He sure hoped nothing made it this far into the spaceship or all of this wood would become tiny little shards of death for anyone in here when it exploded.

The chair to Bobcat’s right was pushed back, inviting him to sit. Marcus pulled the chair back and sat down tiredly.

“You look like shit, buddy,” Bobcat told him.

“Have you looked in a mirror lately?” Marcus shot back.
 

Bobcat turned to William, “See?”
 

William nodded sagely, “Him too, huh?”
 

Bobcat nodded and turned back to the rocket scientist and told him, “You are working too hard.”

“Do you know of any other gravitic experts around?” Marcus asked, “No, of course not.
 
I’m it, and I’m not teaching at the moment.
 
I’m doing.”
 

“This wasn’t a course on how to train up someone to take over your position to move forward,” Bobcat explained. “It’s more about two friends looking after the well being of friend number three.”

Marcus smiled, “You know I’ve been with you guys for a while, and I still have problems getting used to you two.”

“That’s because we are an acquired taste,” William chuckled, “One my mom used to say should be washed out with soap.”

“Yeah, you remember that one weekend we were supposed to show up for dinner on Saturday?” Bobcat asked while William grinned.

“I don’t,” Marcus interrupted.

“Well, it started like this,” Bobcat leaned back in his chair, “Sir can’t-hold-his-liquor here.”

William jumped in, “Hey, that was early in my drinking career.”
 

“A career you never did very well in, either,” Bobcat told him, “Lest you make me talk about the great bar fiasco in ’02?”
 

“Um, no.” William responded quickly, “and the less you mention ’02, the better.”

Marcus was slightly surprised to notice red on Williams' cheeks. He decided he would need to follow that little tidbit at another time.

“Alright then,” Bobcat continued, “See, William here invited me over to his parent's house for a Saturday afternoon lunch.
 
We were supposed to show up about two in the afternoon.
 
Seeing how his mom knew that William liked to sleep.”
 
Bobcat looked down on the floor to his left as he spoke and grunted before sitting forward in this chair and grabbing something.

A second later, he pulled a cold six pack, ice still on the sides and plopped it on the table.
 
William turned to the chair next to him and grabbed something in it.
 
He lifted a blue towel and Bobcat lifted up the six-pack and sat them on the towel William had placed on the table.

“Don’t want to get water rings on Bethany Anne’s new meeting table,” William said.

“Word.” Bobcat agreed.
 
He pulled a beer off of the six pack and handed one to Marcus, who took it.
 
Marcus was surprised to see Bobcat pull another and give it to William.
 
He hadn’t noticed William drinking very often while up here.

“So,” Bobcat continued after everyone popped their beers open, “We show up.
 
Now, we think we are pretty damned good because we get there at one forty-five in the afternoon.
 
The problem was, William starts looking around the yard as we park and muttering about there not being enough cars.
 
So, we step out, and his Mom opens the screen door with a big wooden spoon in her hand. She calls William here by his full Christian name, and I hear him say ‘oh, we are fucked’ and he starts backtracking very slowly to get into the car.”

Marcus noticed William put his head in his hand like he didn’t want to witness the completion of the story.

“I’m there looking between this huge black man and this relatively tiny black woman with what looked like a foot long wooden spoon.”

“She uses it for stew,” William added.

“Yes, the stew is amazing, but that isn’t part of this story.” Bobcat said, “So, I’m watching, and she tells him to stop and damned if this two hundred and fifty-pound warhorse doesn’t stop right in his tracks.
 
He starts with ‘Momma, what's wrong?
 
We are early!’”
 
Bobcat started laughing.
 
“She comes at him and starts using that spoon like a whip and beating William with it ‘crack! crack!’ Pretty soon, he’s hopping around trying to dodge this tiny lady and her spoon of pain.
 
I’m laughing my ass off as she begins to tell us the problem is it’s Sunday, not Saturday!” Bobcat continued chuckling as Marcus started to understand where the story was going, “We got so blitzed on Friday night that when we came in oh-dark-thirty Saturday, we slept for twenty-four fucking hours and got up for the three hour trip on Sunday morning.”

“Yeah, you thought that shit was funny until she laid into you!” William grinned back at Bobcat.

“I don’t think she put as much arm into it.” Bobcat shrugged.

“She told me later you looked a little anemic; she didn’t want to break a bone.”
 
William chuckled.

Marcus asked, “What did you do with the tiny black woman you had never met, who was beating you with a spoon?”
 

Bobcat looked over at Marcus and smiled, “I took it like a man.
 
I was taught to mind my manners around the adults and,” he pointed to William, “his mother was the adult that morning.”

“What finally happened?” Marcus asked.

“She fed us left overs from the day before,” William answered.

“God, I think I begged you for three months before you would take me back,” Bobcat said aloud, then turned to Marcus, “He made me sign a promise we wouldn’t go out drinking the night before.
 
I signed that damned piece of paper so quick you would think it was a chick asking if I wanted to have sex.
 
Hell, by then I would have told the chick no just to get your mom’s cooking.”
 
He cocked his head to the left, “I don’t think I ever understood the phrase ‘the way to a man’s heart is through his stomach’ until that experience.
 
Hell, I’d of married your mom if she was available.”

William chuckled, “Don’t think my ma didn’t know that.
 
She would tell my dad all the time if he didn’t walk the straight and narrow, there were men lined up to steal her away.”

Bobcat reached over and pulled the next three beers and passed them around before leaning back in his chair.

“So, here we are gentleman,” He said, “I’ve been talking with our boss lady, and she informed me that the three of us were officially off the clock for twenty-four hours.
 
If she found out we had defied her orders, then she would create a painful punishment to make sure we didn’t defy her orders again.”