Do not cross the Maggie
Sarah stood quietly while Oprisa did her thing. She wasn't sure what was going on. A quick look at her mom produced a similar minute shrug. She checked her chrono- She kicked herself mentally. On Earth, they called it a 'watch'. The warning she had set for how long until she needed her next dose of psi blocker was not flashing yet, but it would be soon. She had an hour or so, Earth time. This was not something she wanted to test however.
Being a psi really, really sucked on occasion. Being a newly emerged one was worse. In the course of her training, she had seen others pass the same threshold, so she knew the basics. But this was far beyond anything that anyone might consider 'basic'. Never in her worst nightmares had she ever envisioned the possibility of being a precognitive. Just the stories were horrific enough, but she could almost... feel... She squashed that. She would not reach out with her mind. Not here. Not now.
Without thought, Sarah moved a half step closer to her mom as a swarm of uniformed forms stomped in and took charge of the two bogus agents who had attempted to accost the trio. The supervisor's explanation was terse and brief, but none of them as much as glanced at Maggie or Sarah. Instead, most of them looked at Oprisa who was still talking into her phone quietly but earnestly.
"Get these imposters out of here and into secure lockup." Supervisor Rapriro said with a growl worthy of a Rylan sand dweller when its burrow was threatened. "Nobody talks to them until I hear back from DC. I don't care what their authorization says. These jokers had guns and threatened us all. That is a breach of my security and I want to know how they did it now." He didn't raise his voice and Sarah couldn't help but admire the quiet intensity that he projected. He shook his head. "The Canadians are just going to love this."
"Not a problem, Supervisor Rapriro." Oprisa said as she closed her phone, pulling the earbud out and stowing it somewhere. "My boss' boss is still on the phone with DC himself and now they know all the facts. This was planned carefully by someone else. I was just told in no uncertain terms that this whole mess is now above my paygrade and to 'butt out'." She made a face. "I hate politics."
"It can be barrels of fun at times." Rapriro said with a nod. "So..." He urged.
"I told him we have a third party trying to mess up relations." Oprisa shrugged. "True, in as far as we know. I can only hope they would have left you two alive. Me or my charges?" She shook her head. "I don't know. If they wanted us dead, they probably would have fired as soon as they entered. Right now? I don't care. We have places to be. My boss has ordered a transport on standby if you need us to remain, but a military transport plane is hardly covert."
"No." Rapriro shook his head. "Nothing in the regs says we have to detain you. Two witnesses saw what happened here and everyone saw what happened before. Koros..." The junior agent stiffened and nodded as the supervisor looked at her. "Get them to their flight. Now."
"Sir!" The agent all but snapped to attention, nodding to the three women. "Come with me."
She started for the door. After a wave from Oprisa, Maggie followed the agent. Sarah did not quibble. She followed her mother as Oprisa brought up the rear.
Sarah's mind was whirling as she walked. The agent leading them wasn't running, but she wasn't dawdling either. The crowds had thinned a bit, but the smell was just as bad as it had been before. Somewhere nearby a child was crying and she- She jerked as Oprisa laid a hand on her arm. She looked at the agent as they walked and Oprisa shook her head.
"When we get to the gate, we will need to freshen up if we have time." The alien agent said quietly. "I booked us coach seats, so it will be cramped. Two sets on one side of the aisle, one on the other. I am in the middle. You okay?" Sarah frowned slightly and gave a minute head shake. Lying to the psi was pointless. Oprisa nodded. "I want to grab a newspaper and see what the Congressional election results were."
"You don't care about the presidential race?" Koros asked as they started up an escalator quickly. The few people on it saw her uniform and moved to the side, allowing the four hurrying beings to pass.
"Not really." Oprisa shrugged. "No matter how good or bad the American president may be, they are limited to his power. While I may have reservations about the current president elect, he is unlikely to be able to start a world war with a tantrum like some dictators I might name." Koros turned an incredulous glance at her and the agent shrugged. "The Polish say it well. 'Not my circus. Not my monkeys.' He is not my president. This will cause problems, but any president has the same things happen when they are elected. People are going to test him. Good, bad or indifferent, they are going to test him." She paused as the group slowed for a man who didn't look up. A cough from Koros had him waving at them dismissively.
"Move." The agent didn't bother to wait and see if he did. She simply started walking again.
They had almost passed when the businessman reached out with a hand and patted Maggie on the rear end.
"Nice ass, honey." The man had a New England accent and he leered, only to freeze as Maggie spun to glare at him. The rest of the group stopped and turned to glare at him. "What?"
"Maggie..." Oprisa said softly. "We have two minutes to get to gate before they start boarding. We do not have time for this."
"They won't leave you. Boss called the gate as we left." Koros had a look on her face that might have been akin to someone discovering an ugly bug crawling on their shoe. A wide circle of silence had gathered and two large uniformed airport security guards were approaching. "While I do not and cannot condone anything that might jeopardize the safety and security of this facility, if he had done that to me, he would on the ground. Maybe holding a broken wrist."
"He wouldn't have." Oprisa said flatly as the airport security arrived. "You are in uniform and even a moronic letch usually knows better than to commit sexual harassment with a uniformed agent. Maggie." She hissed as Sarah's mother raised a hand. But instead of making any kind of obscene gesture, she showed the ring on her finger.
"I am sure your parents, whoever or whatever they are, are quite proud of you." Maggie said into the sudden stillness. "After all, a man who obviously cannot get it up on his own has to find opportunities somewhere besides the shower stall with his hand. But be very glad my husband is not here. You would have lost that hand."
"Do you know who -?" The businessman started, only to be cut off as Maggie laughed.
"I don't care who you are." Maggie snapped. "You have proven to me that you are a lust driven teenager. A stupid one at that." She pointed at the airport security whose impassive faces spoke volumes. "Please tell me you got that on video."
"We did, Ma'am." The larger guard said with a nod.
"Good." Maggie frowned."While I would love to press charges, I have a plane to catch."
"No problem, Ma'am." The guard replied as he took hold of the businessman's arm. "We have been watching him since he arrived. You are the third he has groped, the first we caught on camera."
"Three strikes?" Maggie asked, a grin slowly crossing her face. "Please tell me your jail has a really nasty cell?"
"Sorry, Ma'am." The guard replied, also grinning slightly. "Cleaned daily."
"Pity." Maggie turned her now evil smile back on the businessman who was gawking at her, trying to pull away from the guard who had him. "I always found the best results when people used toothbrushes to clean them."
"Ah, that is cruel, Ma'am. They don't let us do that." The guard was smiling openly now even as the others relaxed.
"You trollop!" The businessman snapped. "I will sue you and this whole place for everything it is worth!"
"Does your lawyer help you in bed too?" Maggie asked sweetly. She stared from his face down to his legs, then back and shook her head. "Ah, he must."
The man's face purpled and he jerked free of the guard who held his arm. He swung an open hand at Maggie, but that was when his day went off the rails. Sarah didn't move, Oprisa didn't move. Maggie blocked the pitiful strike and lashed out once with an open palm. The blow to his sternum only looked gentle. The man staggered back onto the arms of the security guard who had released him. The guard took a firmer hold this time. Maggie froze and dropped her hands from the instinctive guard position she had assumed.
"Ah... Oops." Maggie frowned, looking around. Oprisa just shook her head as Sarah grinned openly.
"He was swinging at you. Assault with intent to commit battery." Koros said mildly. "You defended yourself. Nice strike. What belt?"
"Brown." Maggie replied instantly, relaxing a little as both guards took hold of the stunned businessman. "I do it for exercise, not to get into fights." Sarah made a noise and Maggie half snarled at her. "Don't start, girl. You are not too old to spank." More than one of the quiet crowd that had gathered snickered at Sarah's 'Who me?' expression.
"Show is over, people." The airport guard who had been speaking declared and the crowd started to disperse. "We got it on video from two angles, Ma'am." He reassured Maggie. "He struck first. Tried to anyway." He chuckled and then sobered. "You may not want to press charges, but the other two are."
"What?" The businessman started to yell as the other guard cuffed him. "You cannot do this to me! She hit me."
"Says the man who has been harassing women all day." The guard said with a shrug. "Go on. We have this."
Maggie nodded and turned back to Koros who gave a tight smile and started off again. Oprisa, Maggie and Sarah followed. The all ignored the shouting behind them as the man was led away.
As they approached the gate, Koros shook her head.
"Not all Americans are sexist jerks." The agent said softly as they saw the crowd gathering to board.
"Statistically, very few are." Maggie replied when Oprisa nodded slightly. "But those few..." She trailed off, made a face and Koros shared it. "Thank you for the escort, agent. I hope the rest of your day is less exciting."
"You and me both. The paperwork for this is going to be a pain." The TSA agent said flatly. "Three for the flight." She said to the man behind the kiosk. "No luggage."
"Yes, the desk called, said you were on the way." The boarding attendant nodded. "Ah, one thing. They said to upgrade your seats."
"What?" Oprisa asked, concerned. Koros just shook her head and the alien masquerading as human shook hers. "So much for being quiet."
"Least we could do for the inconvenience." Koros actually smiled as Oprisa looked at her. "And if your could tell your boss that I hope never to see you again? No offense."
"None taken. I do tend to wear out my welcome fast." Oprisa said with a smile that faded. "I hope this doesn't splash on you, agent."
"Me too." Koros said with a grin and held out her hand. Oprisa took it and they shook once. Then the human agent turned and left without a backward glance.
"Let's get you aboard." The boarding agent said with a smile as the rest of the passengers vanished into the loading ramp.
"And you are off to the sunny US of A."
Airborne, fifty minutes later
Sarah hadn't expected this part of the trip to be fun and it wasn't. She could almost feel the minds crammed into the tiny plane around her. She could certainly smell the body odor. Her mom had told her over and over that many humans didn't think such things were important, but Sarah hadn't really believed it. Oh, she remembered smelling nasty things the last time, but she hadn't been crammed into a tiny steel box with a horde of minds that she was desperately trying to keep from reading.
Oprisa's first act on sitting was to give Sarah a quick once over, both physically and mentally. Sarah did not resist at all. While it was technically possible, it would hurt. Oprisa was far more experienced in such things and she was also thoroughly ruthless when it came to her job. She couldn't use a hypo injector here in public, so she slapped a patch onto Sarah's arm that was supposed to be for motion sickness. It wasn't the full psi blocker, but it helped the girl to cope.
Thankfully, the flight wasn't that long. For someone used to interstellar distances, the span of a few thousand kilometers was laughable. But the speed at which the human aircraft flew was also laughable. Sarah envied her mom. Maggie sat down, put her head back and was almost instantly asleep. She wasn't so lucky. She jerked as Oprisa's hand touched hers.
You okay? The psi's mind voice was worried. Physical touch allowed Oprisa to bypass the blocker, putting her words directly into Sarah's mind with little effort and letting her read the responses the same way.
I don't know. Sarah admitted. I never wanted to come back here.
I know. There was little about Sarah that her mentor did not know, but it didn't worry her. She knew Oprisa almost as well. Almost. You can ask here. No one will hear us talk.
Did you really pretend to be Jane Bond? Sarah asked, trying hard to keep the disbelief out of her mind voice. She knew Oprisa would feel it anyway.
No. Oprisa replied. That was all legit. We have worked with the Foreign Office. Somewhat. Also with the CIA, SVR, Mossad... the list goes on and on. Where do you think I got the latest intel from? Sarah's eyes went huge at that and Oprisa laughed in her mind. Hey. Not all humans are clueless. Remember that.
I will. Sarah said slowly, forcing herself to relax. That was Rylan wasn't it? What that terrorist was swearing.
Yes. Oprisa had a thoughtful tone in her mind now. I had scans up, he wasn't targeting you specifically. But if there are Xurians here...
Where there is one there are more. Sarah grumped. Like Earth cockroaches.
Pretty much. Oprisa shook her head.
So... who did the two fake agents work for? Sarah asked. I saw you stunt hem before you shot them. Did you get a scan?
Didn't have time. Oprisa said with an audible sigh. The list is long and varied. I don't think they were mercenaries, but they were not Zandozans either. They were human.
Good. Sarah fought to stay calm. Her mother and father had told her stories about the assassins that Xur had sent after Alex when he had gone back to Earth during the first Ko-Dan invasion. But we cannot underestimate anyone.
True. A projectile from a human weapon will kill just as surely as high power energy pulse. Oprisa said with a small nod. I knew they were off the moment they entered. Didn't think they were stupid enough to bring firearms in there. If they hadn't?
If they hadn't had firearms, you would have let Mom handle it. Sarah quipped and Oprisa smiled. 'Brown belt'...Yeah right.Oprisa shared Sarah's mental chuckle.
The primary style of unarmed fighting taught to all Legionnaires only had one belt. It was brown, but denoted master class. Maggie had been studying it alongside her husband for decades and was better than him in many ways, since he focused on gunstars more than hand to hand. Like Earth Aikido, it was not a tournament art. It was for defending oneself, often against multiple foes. Maggie was one of the best in the Legion at the art and had repeatedly shown her ability to do amazing -and terrifying!- things with her body in the service of the Legion. Only once had anyone dared to challenge her to physical combat outside of sparring. The challenger had been almost seven feet tall and mostly muscle. By the time Maggie was done with said challenger -the female alien had aggravated the human quite thoroughly- said female alien had spent two weeks in the Legion infirmary recovering despite the best League medical care. Being a psi had taught Sarah's mom a lot about using her mind and body together and few could match her when she got angry, as the psionic agents had discovered to their cost.
Funny thing, said alien was now one of Maggie's best friends and a staunch defender of the Legion Logistics Commander to anyone, anytime.
So... We get in and... What? Sarah asked. You said we are being met?
Your uncle Louis is meeting us at the airport with his family. Oprisa said quietly. They are not cleared for everything. Not yet.
And when they are? Sarah had to smile, remembering the two rug rats who she called cousins. They would be twelve and ten Earth years old now. Bobby and Lisa are good kids.
I hope we have time to break all of the news to people gently. Oprisa frowned. But with this new election, parts of the US are going to go nuts. Even discounting the League's intent... This may not a good time to be in the US. She said and patted Sarah's hand as the girl slumped a bit. It is handled. If we need to run, we can. I have extraction resources on call.
At what cost, Oprisa? Sarah asked. The other psi did not answer. Indeed, the other withdrew her hand as the flight attendant started her rounds.
I don't want to hurt my family.
