Chapter One
Two months
Utah just west of the Honor Rising Club
Raised voices erupt as soon as we walk out of the new building that suspiciously looks like a smaller version of the Rising Clubs I visited all over the West.
I say Rising Clubs because the old MC Badass Clubs, that colonel Graywolf brought us to, were different types of buildings.
No two were alike.
I did refuse to run anything until I understand and know the job, objective, operators and command better, but I don’t think anyone took that refusal seriously.
The office I’m assigned to is in the otherwise empty building that feels like it’s waiting for a purpose.
No one has said a word about me running anything and acts like the eerily empty compound we’re on is an everyday occurrence.
This leads me to the conclusion that Badass is as crazy as my Ford friends keep telling me it is and they put the Matrix movie we watched to shame.
“Boss Seamus!”
A very tiny Ford not-kid I haven’t met is running our way with a Security guy who looks annoyed to be chasing him.
My guess is these are the voices we heard, so this, of course, puts me on alert.I smile down at Asa. “Who is this now?”
It’s not anyone that trained me at the ABSZ or here.
The Asian looking Alpha-Bit VP rolls his oddly dark eyes making the rainbow colored mohawk, earring and tattoos on those arms crossed over his chest resemble a cartoon character I grew up reading about in the daily paper.
Light chuffs, then shows a drawing of a kid with a high piss arc landing in a river as rain over a swimmer smiling as he throws a bottle to the side where other trash is floating.
I hold my laugh but show him one of their new favorite emojis of a saluting guy.
Nanoseconds of thoughts and pictures flashing through my brain is common and I’m happy to say, feels like our normal is normal again.
The whirlwind tour of Clubs, hundreds of Brothers met, lightning rounds of training and physical therapy didn’t leave much room for adjusting to new normal.
The old feels good in all the new. The partners are good at that.
“Anton, good IT work to Delta. He like space.”
Asa was my IT trainer today. He’s a funny little guy that visits a few times a week, sometimes with Laran or Alder but he’s more talkative alone.
Anton? I heard that name at lunch this week. “The one Laran said is crazy?”
I ask as the tiny not-kid gets closer.
“He push limit to everything. Pres Alder say imagination bigger than fear. I no agree, he just fuckin’ crazy.”
I laugh and bend for the crazy little guy, happy that I got living in a partial skeleton down so quickly. “I’m Seamus.”
Those little pink eyes narrow as if I insulted him. “Alpha-Bit IT know Officer, new Brother, all Club business before Club know.”
I smile at Asa who uncrosses his arms to take a swipe and hit Anton’s arm. “Show respect,”
he orders.
The little guy looks down.
“You weren’t hollering my name for nothing. What has you here now?”
I have new K-9s coming for some job from Cort Masters, so wasting time on Badass crazy or childish foolishness isn’t happening.
“Boss Leon sick. Pres Maverick say no change to schedule. I work to Delta. You dog stay to Vinny, Mark?”
For real? “You want my partners to babysit?”
“Strong one, just one, he like Brothers.”
I look at Asa but he must think I’m asking him.
“I no time to babysit.”
Asa looks sorry about that.
I almost laugh but they’re seriously crazy. “I’ve got work to do here. Someone is coming with K-9s for a job from Cort Masters.”
Now Anton rolls his eyes at me. “VP Mase come to see you. Job with K-9 he bring, not you dog. You clear bully, you dog babysit, I work.”
He says this as if it’s obvious to everyone and I’m five.
I smile like I’m too stupid to know he’s talking down to me and to hide the fact that he calls my partners, dogs and the K-9 tacticals, K-9.
“First, I don’t know the job I’m being sent on because no one has shown for it.
Second, my dog isn’t a babysitter and never did that job. And third, when you’re asking for favors, you might want to tone down the attitude because my answer hinges on the respect I’m shown from a person I don’t know.”
Shadow is showing me Mark and Vinny pictures through the chip like I forgot who they are. I put up a picture of a hand and he stops.
The air around me moves and I know Mase is here so I stand using my hands on my thighs to push me up. Sure enough, Mase and his smile are here. “You’re moving right along, Brother. Jinx still needs Champ to stand.”
I nod. “I think it’s balance for him.”
I needed help to steady when I was in the robotic brace and the first, lighter skeleton. This one is stronger, heavier and cost a mint more, according to Alder.
His nod is with his eyes on Anton. When his head shakes in what looks like disappointment, I turn to watch Anton squirm. “Pres is gonna be pissed. He told me to ask about Shadow while you’re the adult with the boys. Where are the boys now?”
Mase’s seer thing comes in handy.
“Boss Kateri,”
Anton mumbles.
“Get back to Delta. I got the boys covered. Next time, don’t commit to something and think you’ll cute your way out of work. Maverick isn’t going to trust you to show up when you’re needed.”
The tiny white head shakes a no out fast. “I do my work.”
Asa’s hand up and pointed look stops the little guy and I see his tears.Anton takes a breath and tries again. “I show to help.”
Asa isn’t having it. “Help you off. Club schedule to reason. Follow it. Go. VP Mase, Boss Seamus no play to Anton game.”
The tiny guy runs hollering about sorry and respect with his Security guy chasing him again. Mase smiles with his head shaking. “Thanks, Asa. Kateri has the kids but will need help after lunch. The older boys want to ride but she’s helping at the pool with the younger kids since Natalia is off the compound. Nimuks and Kimuks split is okay but they’re not Ops dogs.”
I nod and send Shadow the order to go to Honor at the Blackhawks and send intel back on Leon. His roger back is pointless since I track him to moving through the woods closer to Honor Rising than here.
Mase laughs. “I like the way you talk through the chip, without the hologram boards showing, it’s more like readers. Can Shadow get a message to Ops or a Prospect if he needs to?”
I nod. “Asa made them watches and taught them about the boards so they can chat with everyone. It’s similar to the chip so it was easy for them. Light made a hologram schedule for us and linked it to my tablet.”
His smile never dies. “That’s good. So, the job is with me today. This is small shit that’s more like Club annoyances. They send teams out for every little thing. Usually, it just needs a Brother or two and maybe a couple of dogs. Seth tries sending two or three full teams for every job.”
I nod thinking small teams fits with how we worked in the military. “The K-9s? I just sent Shadow to babysit kids.”
“Zeus is sending Prometheus. MB said Light trained there with him while you were at the surgery center on the ABSZ.”
Alder and another doctor connected a chip to my lower back that works the skeleton. Maiyun has something similar and stayed to watch saying she was out of it when they did hers, but in my head, she said she’s staying because they wouldn’t let Shadow and Light in and Perses asked her to. I laughed counting backwards for the anesthesia, but it showed me Alder is right, Badass protects minds and bodies.I smile. “That whole two days. When do we leave?”
Therapy took longer than the heal time.
Asa laughs. “VP Mase love you to be here. No Brother be his partner. Pres Cort say no to K-9 partner. I ride to Honor. Later.”
My eyes snap to Mase’s as I put a fist out for Asa’s little bump.
He shakes his head and starts walking toward the chopper pad.
“I’m VP and need a team, Cort said so and Justice agreed because I’m one of his Three. I’m here today and will probably be a BSC Control but I’m not on smaller jobs. ABSZ IT will monitor your data and add the K-9, or any partner’s feeds and whatever they track. I didn’t ask because I was pissed that I’m not your partner. Akai does ABSZ IT, ask him.”
The smile died and I’m not sure I like this Mase.
I don’t dare look back at him so I don’t laugh. “Will do. I didn’t have partners beside the four-legged ones. We helped other teams when called but they were usually Allied units. Mostly we worked alone.”
I call Light to fall in and see him dart out from the corner of the small Club.
The chopper lowers like our steps are choreographed to step in just as the chopper touches down.
The doors close in the same weirdly synched rhythm of our movements.
“Prometheus, I’m glad you’re on our first job.
The huge black shepherd chuffs as my ass hits the seat, carrying on the weird choreographically themed movements in my head.
I don’t know how I keep linking the Matrix movie to this place, but it fits so I keep linking the Matrix movie to this place.
Light huffs sending me a slow-mo scene of exaggerated movements with us as the characters.
I shake my head at him and the obvious AI scene but he’s funny.
Mase hits my arm.
“It’s weird but normal for us.
So, this is some dicks messing with women as they pass a bar.
It’s close to a park so it’s a daily thing lately and starting to take on an angry vibe.
The PD clocked it but doesn’t have Brothers to sit around waiting for a it to boil over.
Readers say today it’s boiling over.”
I wait for more but he makes me ask. “Orders?”
“Stop it. The owner is on the sex offender list with multiple pending charges.”
I smile. “Sex offender and stop it means permanently to me. Do I get objective here or orders and how they want it carried out?”
The Hannah woman said rape is a kill order.
“We always get objective. I’m just the messenger and a net if you need me.”
He’s clearly not happy about it so I don’t ask him more.
I throw the objective through the chip to Light and smile as he hits his new watch on. He’ll keep Prometheus in the loop.
Mase shakes his head and turns toward the engineer asking about a plane or jet.
I tune him out and read the information Light has from IT.
My eyes are on the door but I’m seeing a board scrolling in my head.
I stop it at schematics and tag a door in the back, then send ‘ gas ’, and ‘ evacuate all but owner ’ getting two chuffs back.
I’m surprised but not really, I guess. Light has always been good with the chip so the watch must be a breeze. That reminds me. “The girls done?”
Light sends me training stats so I scroll to Izzy and Fairy, then nod. “They’re back this week?”
Two shows with an X on two calendar days. “That’s good. We shouldn’t need to pull from elite K-9s if they’re ready.”
I get a thumbs up and smiling face back. “You do keep me smiling, Light.”
He bumps my arm with his nose then gives my coat a long lick up the arm. “Bloody beast.”
I push is head away giving it a cranial scratch watching that smile show on his furry face.
Mase laughs drawing my attention. “He’s more playful than Shadow.”
I like the smiling Mase better but shake my head. “No. Shadow has been going easy on me, but he’s our jester. Light is big Brother always laughing at us.”
He huffs, but they call it chuff here and hits his watch, putting up ‘ shameless, cheeky, unruly children ’ making me laugh with my fist out for a bump. He’s right, we’re barely adolescents when we’re not working and huff would correctly point out his haughty step above our shamelessness. Mase laughs when Prometheus chuffs.
I shrug. “It’s true. White Light here is our conscience, voice of reason and stickler for fair. He’s got too much funny in him for it to make him a stick in the mud.”
This happy Mase is more like it. I smile when he laughs and nod once when he throws me chin. He’s over whatever. We chat about the K-9s until I feel us lowering.
“Say my name if you need me to step in,”
Mase says standing by the door.
My partners are alert and ready. “Will do, Boss. Attention, locate, infiltrate, stealth. Only the owner in. I got the kitchen, vent and two charges.”
Light chuffs sending a similar plan we carried out overseas to Prometheus. It’s a good plan so I look for the red patch vaguely indicating a sniffer K-9 in one of his pouches. “Prometheus will be more effective.”
Light pushes my hand with his nose.
He agrees so I stick the patch on Prometheus’ shoulder plate getting a chuff from him.
Light shows him a moving plan that leaves room for him to assess and react to real time.
He’s so good about not locking our partners into a set plan that may cause them to falter over time or civilian responses.
A gunner holds powder and I point to the door so we’re all not tinted grimy.
For Light, it stops the glowing white coat from getting noticed.
For me, it would just look like newly homeless that was ripped off and thrown out of the security company that issued the good uniforms and boots.
We hop down and move away from each other, the chopper and the park that starts at the next block.
Really, I move fast before I’m hit with black powder from the blades spinning.
Within ten I throw tracking up and see my partners already close to the bar.
Light is in the back and Prometheus follows from the opposite direction.
They’re good at this.
A good minute goes by before I see anything show on Light’s feed so I know he’s got gas already building from below.
At the corner of the building, I grab plastic from the dumpster and climb up, amazed that I can and my body remembers how to work without me thinking about every movement.
Setting the first charge above the pipes and utility wires entering the building takes seconds.
My plastic goes in the vent on the roof.
It’s not a perfect seal but I need it that way.
The force of the blast will dislodge it, but it will serve as a cork for now.
I’m impressed with the recon intel, the schematics are perfect.
We didn’t always get current or correct information.
Hell, sometimes we didn’t get anything but pictures, an address and one word like ‘black or fire’ which means wipe out the enemy completely or leave no trace.
Light puts a counter up.
I see Prometheus’ feed and slide in the back with my Robogrips at the ready.
I’m glad the chopper is stocked for everything but today we just needed the pliers and my multi-tooled pocket knife.
With gas flowing and electric exposed, I send Light a thumbs up getting a low chuff.
The counter starts moving faster showing we have just over eight minutes.
Getting to the basement, that’s pitch black, I set the charge, then slide out of the bar’s back door only to walk around so I can enter through the front.
Prometheus is in stealth in the bar, meaning he’s like a ghost, but I see his feed and know few patrons are in.
One is in the bathroom and all are male.
Three men at the front are dressed casually in different grades of quality but all look tired and determined.
The thing with tired, liquor and determined is the who, what and why tends to become confused and convoluted.
The smallest man nods to me and helpfully opens the door.
“I’ll be right in.”
I nod but don’t answer.
The accents here aren’t easy.
They have every region and too many dialects in small areas.
Texas was easy with at least a majority with the central twang.
Badass is like a free for all with the states and Clubs mixing people from everywhere.
I smile sitting at the empty side of the bar.
It gives me a view of the door and just to the side of me is the door to the kitchen.
My counter says we have four minutes.
At a little over one minute on the counter, the three men from the front move into the bar. “Take care of the customers. The bitch will show.”
The biggest guy says, then looks around. “It smells funny in here, is that bleach?”
The other two mumble in the negative. I point to a beer pull and look around. “Smells like gas.”
I use a Spanish accent drawing big guy’s narrowed eyes my way.
At fifty seconds, Light barks from the kitchen and Prometheus darts out barking once loud. It’s a command that everyone but the big guy follows. I can’t believe how many people don’t find the K-9s inside odd.
“It’s gas.”
The bartender forgets my beer and starts to corral the patrons out.
The big guy knows as much as he’s ever going to learn and proves it hitting the kitchen door hard as he pushes through. “It ain’t gas. How’d a dog get in here?”
“Dogs out, Hector.”
The bartender pushes an older man out while answering his boss. I take the older guy’s arm and walk slower knowing we got the time to make it. The charge in the back will go first causing the people in front to move. Prometheus is herding anyone outside away from the building with growls or intimidating looks.
Light meets me at the front door but only to trot away after a kid crossing the road. I smile leading the older guy to a bench.
The blast sounds loud, then the basement’s muted blast goes off, then the gas explosion that happens as the building implodes on itself. I send clear and a question mark through the chip, getting a roger back. This is good, the only casualty is the owner.
I send a ‘perfect’ to Light hearing the two of them chuff. “Chopper,”
I say in German and see the order go to Prometheus. Light is so good at technology.
I’m happy to see Prometheus and Mase already on the chopper. I never saw or looked for Mase and wonder how long he’s been here. Climbing in, I stop the crewman from closing the door with a hand up. “Light is right behind me.”
The Lead steps over. “We’re officially your crew now, Captain. Our move was settled while we were out but dinner is at the new Club tonight with dogs, two handlers and Prospects. I have the Flight Crew bios for you but don’t have the others.”
He hands me a flash.