Conquest ~ Indian Hill 3 ~ A Michael Talbot Adventure (50 page)

“Don’t you say that, or I’ll nix this whole fucking plan, do you understand me?”

“No,
you won’t
,
but thank you for saying it. This is too important.”

“You stay safe
,
Mike, I’ll have the beer ready when you get back.”

“None of that canned shit
,” I told
him as we did our secret handshake learned so many years before.

“You got it.” Paul stepped back a pace or two as Beth came up.

I looked past Beth’s
shoulder
to
see Tracy making her way
over
. I thought Beth better say what she wanted to say quickly or the big fight was going to happen here
,
not outside.

“I’ll be waiting for you
,” she said
with a longing in her eye.

“I wouldn’t hold your breath if I were you
,” I said
it more as a joke. I was hoping to ease the fear that was threatening to make my knees start knocking into each other. She took it a completely different way as she began to cry. “I’m sorry
,” I said
.

She threw her arms around me.

“It is a surprise to me that you hu-mans can stay hydrated with all the water you
leak
out of your eyes
,” Dee said
,
looking
at
Beth.

“Not a good time for observation
,” I told
him quietly. Beth was squeezing so tight, I thought I might be blacking out due to lack of oxygen.

“Mike
,
you loved me once, can you find it in your heart to do so again
?” she asked
as she was so tightly pressed up against me we could have been
a
single entity.

Tracy made her perfect timing way up to us. She stood no more than two f
eet away. I watched as Paul sub
consciously moved away. I placed my hands on Beth’s shoulders
,
gently pushing her away. She resisted
at first. Tears cascaded down her face.

"Beth you're right I did love you once
,
more than anything on Earth or space for that matter but I've met someone who takes my breath away but also gives it back, what more could I ask for?" I
asked
, Beth looked devastated.

“You done?” Tracy asked. I wasn’t sure if it was directed at Beth or myself.

“Yeah,
I think so
,” I told
her.

I was able to get Beth at arm’s length but she didn’t move
any
farther
as Tracy came closer.

“I’m pregnant
,”
Tracy said flatly.

I fell against the close wall, grateful it was near enough or I would have gone on my ass.

“I was wondering when you were going to tell him
,” Drababan said
.

“You knew?” I asked Dee.

“I could smell it
,” Dee replied
as he went back to adjusting his uniform, no more troubled than if he had told me lunch was ready.

“And before you ask your next question and really make me mad, yes it’s yours!” Tracy shot at me.

I closed my mouth quickly, thankful she had cut me off at the pass. I think it must be a guy self-defense mechanism

“I…
I didn’t
know
,”
I stammered out. Very poetic I thought.

“Was this really the best time to let him know?” Dee asked Tracy.

I literally watched as the anger began to flare in her.

Paul
stepped back
even more
. “Bad move
,”
h
e
stage-
whispered to Dee.

He looked down at me. “I am merely saying that we are about to embark on a dangerous mission and the odds of survival are already slim.”

Beth hitched a breath and started to cry anew.

Dee continued uninterrupted. “It is imperative that
Mike concentrate solely on the mission and you have now given him news that will keep him distracted.”

Tracy jabbed a finger in Dee’s thigh, I don’t think he even felt it. “I told him
,
you oversized piece of luggage
,
because I wanted to give him reason to come back!”
s
he cried.

I still did not feel that I had recovered from the initial shock well enough to join back in the conversation even though it was revolving around me. My next question was almost ‘How?’ I’m sure that would have perfectly diffused the situation.

“Are you going to say anything at all?” Tracy asked me, unwillingly to come any closer
,
but threatening to head
farther
away if the wrong answer was i
ssued from my lips.

Beth’s sobs had diminished somewhat but they had slowed sufficiently so that she could also witness my response. The entire hallway
,
which was full of people
,
had directed all of their attention on me
.
I felt like an actor without a script. I was about to be judged on the merits of my actions in th
o
se next few seconds.

“I hope he doesn’t have your temper
,” I said
. I think I heard a piece of dust fall at the far end of the hallway and then Dee let out a large guttural laugh.

“That is funny to me!” Dee
roared.

He was immediately followed by the majority of people there.

Tracy was caught in confusion, I grabbed her before she could come to the wrong conclusion.

“I love you
,” I said
trying to whisper
,
but the laughter was still too loud. “I’ll be back
,” I said
into her ear.

Beth melted back into the crowd.

“You’d better be
,” she said
,
wrapping her at first stiff arms around my neck and then sufficiently loosening up and melting into my arms. “What about Beth
?” she asked
, pulling far enough away to see my eyes as I spoke.

“Who?” I asked and meant it.

She gripped me tighter. It was a few minutes longer before Paul tapped me on the shoulder. I looked over to him. He was pointing to his wrist in the universal, ‘We’re running out of time’ gesture.

The murmurings ceased as a tunnel guard began to spin the wheel on the exit hatch. I kissed Tracy and headed out into the day, Dee close behind. As the hatch closed behind us it once again blended in perfectly with the local fauna.

“Clever camouflage
,” Dee said
.

“I don’t feel as good about this as I once did. How are they not going to see through this? We both have to be on the Progerian most wanted list
,” I said
, now unwilling to move much
farther
away from
t
he Hill.

“We do not rely on visual cues like your species to recognize each other.
It is pheromone based.”

“Even with humans.”

“Especially with humans
,” Dee said
. “You all look alike.” And then he snorted.

“This funny for you?”

“I like humor Michael, my people should adopt more of it
.
W
e would be better for it.”

“I don’t know
,
Dee, your smiles scare the crap out of me.”

“Here
,
I prepar
ed a solution that will
mask our
scents suffi
ciently for us to gain entry in
to the compound
,” Dee said
,
handing me an old glass cleaner bottle full of a liquid that suspiciously looked like piss. I
unscrewed
the cover to get a better whiff.

“I don’t think that would be wise
,” Dee said
, looking at my trepidation. “It smells much worse than it looks.”

“Are you sure
,
because it looks like piss
,” I told
him.

“If you are referring to the waste elimination fluid
the
n you are correct.”

“What?” I
thrust
the bottle back at him. “Is this your pee?” I asked al
a
rmed.

“It is my waste water.
If that is what you are asking.
”

“Dee
,
I am not spraying myself with your waste water.”

“It has been treated to mask our scents.”

“I don’t care if it’s been treated to smell like fine cologne, it’s still piss.”

“It’s a little waste water or these
,” he said
pointing to his teeth.

“That’s a powerful motivator
,
my friend.” I reluctantly took the bottle back. “Where do I need to spray it?”

“Mostly on your head, neck and reproductive region.”

I looked at him hard for any signs of humor
.
I could not detect any.

“Are you sure? Because this is really grossing me out
,” I told
him.

He nodded.

“I’m not gonna even go into how much this blows
,” I told
him as I sprayed the top of my head
—
lightly
,
very
,
very lightly.

“You are going to get us killed!” Dee shouted, grabbing the bottle from my hands. Stand still
,
Michael,”
h
e said as he liberally sprayed me with his concoction.

I would have yelled in anger if I didn’t think he’d get some in my mouth.

“I think that’s plenty!” I told him as the front of my pants looked like I had an accident. “If I’m going to die it’s going to be with some dignity!”

“I might have overdone it
,” he said
smelling the air.

“What about you?” I told him swiping the bottle back. I was about to unleash a torrent of the stinky solution on him.

“Already done.” He smiled.

“I think you’re full of shit
,
Dee. I think you just wanted to spray me
with
your piss.”

He snorted. “That would be funny
,
Michael
,
at another time, but this needed to be done.”

I still mostly doubted him
and if we lived through the day I was going to pay him back somehow.

“Let’s go
,” I said
trying to breathe through my mouth, I did not want to smell the strong scent emanating from my body. “What the hell did you eat
?
S
mells like broccoli.”

He snorted again. “It is working, you no longer smell like Michael Talbot to me.”

“How long does this last?”

“A few hours.”

“Let’s get moving then, because I am not getting doused again. I don’t know
if I’ll able to take a hot enough shower to get this unclean feeling off me.”

“Urine is sterile prisoner
Talbot.
Let’s
go
,”
h
e demanded.

I looked back
—
he was adopting his new role entirely too well.

Two hours of some hard hiking and minimal talking, we were at the doorstep of the Dedham landing zone. A hastily erected wall had been erected around the entire perimeter.

“Dee
,
if I wet myself will that undo your
camouflaging
elixir?” I asked him as I looked over the compound
. Genogerians and some Progerians were busy scrambling around making sure their defenses were adequate for whatever the humans might have planned. I saw at least three dots up in the sky, they looked to be fighters circling the
y
were trying to find any threat or lend assistance in an attack.

“I would not recommend that
,
hu-man
,” Dee said
pushing me in the back. “Move
,”
h
e growled.

“You keep this shit up and I’m not going to name my baby after you.”