AN: I can see by some of the reviews that the twisting and turning has worked. Some of you weren't overly happy about the outcome of that last chapter and some got a little lost. It's intentional; I personally like a story that gets me a little confused at first and even sometimes pisses me off. It will all make sense. Also this wasn't meant as a mind fu*k in the sense that it's not about a story drive or cliffhanger. It is simply what, I believe, is how a high security company strictly driven to produce its next product would react. In reality it has been seen/done before. Coming from the military myself I have seen it from several organizations. A company with secrets has a lot to lose if those secrets get out. You'll see what I mean in this chapter. Have faith in me and read on my friends.
Chapter 17 …I was Lost.
They were here! Right in this very location!
Kjuhte struck out with her claws at the tree; cutting deeply into the soft bark. She had been stupid to let them go out alone!
"Why did they come so far out?" Sha-shui rumbled from her crouched position. "They should not have left our perimeter."
"They didn't know sister. Matthew was not aware of the sensor net we put out." Kjuhte sighed at yet another mistake made on her part.
When Matthew and his mei-jadhi had not returned the two females became nervous. Finally they struck out to search for the wayward oomans. After a considerable time they came upon the location they now stood. The scent was strongest here; after a thorough search they happened across a small spatter of blood.
"There was no fight." Kjuhte whispered.
"Perhaps he knew his attacker or as distracted as he is…he may never have noticed them." Sha-shui replied.
The tacks lead to the area she believed they loaded on transports.
She had no other clues; no leads to find them. She wasn't even sure of how long since it happened.
He could be anywhere by now!
Sha-shui stood from her spot. "Sister…we need to tell the clan."
"Our bearer is going to kill me." The hope draining from her voice.
"Us…she will kill us my beloved mei-jadhi." Sha-shui corrected.
"How!" Gahn'tha-cte roared.
Birds fled before the booming yells of the enraged matriarch.
Kjuhte and Sha-shui stood shamefully before their bearer; after several moments of relaying what had happened.
Now they awaited their fate.
"A simple task! Watch over them! That was all you were required to do!" a large chunk of stone flew across the clearing.
Every bit of plant life in close proximity had been shredded; there were few stones left as well. Soon she would move to more live targets and her mate and sons had fled.
"He was our only source of information here; no matter how small of a lead. He could have possessed it!"
The large female's coloring began to show brightly, her locks crested and the flow of her bright phosphorescent blood could be seen pumping through her arms and legs.
"To make this worse…he is a source of information against us!"
"NO! Matthew would not turn against us!" Kjuhte's outburst momentarily stunned the group."I will not accept that!" she continued.
"Do you think I believe that? I doubt this new enemy will politely ask him!" Gahn'tha-cte snapped.
Kjuhte squared her shoulders and looked into the angry gaze of her mother.
"I will find him. I will bring him back to the clan." she growled.
"No…we cannot risk the exposure. Our time here has come to an end. We have no choice but to leave them to their fate." Gahn'tha-cte turned to walk back to the shelter.
In a flash of movement, Kjuhte was sure she would not live to regret, she blocked her matriarchs retreat; gripping her senior's breast plate.
"I will not leave him! I will not fail him again! They will not have my male…no one will have him; he is MINE!" Kjuhte's chest heaved with each breathe.
Silence filled the small spaces of the camp; not even the wildlife dared to utter a noise.
"What have you done pup?" Gahn'tha-cte stalked towards her offspring; her voice terrifyingly calm.
Kjuhte stumbled back preparing herself for the onslaught. She knew that her bearer would probably kill her for this.
"I have made a choice." She finally murmured.
When there was no answer she turned and left the clearing. She would face this alone if she had to. She could not abandon him now…she knew that her soul would not allow it.
In all of the darkness she had a small light; she would go to the black warrior before she would let it extinguish.
Matt could barely lift his head. Time had passed; but how much he couldn't be sure. His tongue felt thick and heavy and his eyes were dry. Slowly he lifted his eyes to take in the dark room; they had stripped down to just his jeans and the cold was getting to him.
"What…the…fuck"? he managed to croak.
"Easy mate. We've had you under for awhile." A man's voice came from the dark. Matt couldn't place the accent.
"Where am I? What the hell is this?"
A small lamp flicked on; the glaring light burned Matt's eyes. Sitting in a chair opposite him was a short man with black hair. He was tall and skinny; his hair slicked back severely. It was the lack of emotion in his gaze that caught Matt's attention.
The stranger shrugged slightly. "You don't need to worry about where you are. The fact of the matter is you're here and that's that. As for why…to be honest I couldn't tell you. My guess is you have something the boss wants…and you lied about it."
Realization slowly dawned on him.
"I told that bitch everything I knew…I didn't lie about anything." Matt ground out.
The dark man shrugged. "Then you must have really pissed her off then."
"Where's my sister?"
Part of Matt feared the answer.
"She's sleeping in another room."
Matt sighed in relief.
"Please just let her go…she has nothing to do with this…she doesn't even understand why this is happening."
The man stood and walked towards Matt. "That's not my call friend…but I'll see what I can do; from one solider to another."
With that he walked to a phone mounted to the wall; after a few moments matt could hear him talking with someone.
"Yeah he's awake…yeah…alright." He hung up with a click.
"Let's just chill out a bit mate; she'll be down in a bit."
They only had to wait for a few minutes before the door opened and harsh florescent light flooded the room.
"Good morning Mr. Hebert."
"Well I wouldn't say it was good Miss. Yutani." Matt replied sarcastically.
"Yes well; I guess I can understand your point of view." The woman replied with a small smile.
"What are you after?" Matt could feel his temper rising.
Another small smile bloomed on her face.
"Straight to the point; I like that."
Yutani moved to sit in a metal chair in front of Matt.
"I apologize for your "accommodations" Matthew." She gestured to the shackles suspending him from the wall.
"But given your background; I can't take any chances."
Matt snorted. "If I had intended to kill you Miss. Yutani…I would have done it the first night you visited with me."
His exasperation was getting the better of him.
"I answered your questions and then your men tried to kill me and my family…correction…did kill my family."
Yutani sighed and leaned back in the chair.
"I am sorry for that mess…that's not how this was supposed to play out. Tuulios , the fucking caveman that he is, let things get out of control. He was supposed to just scare you some and move on. It was never my intention that anyone be hurt. I believed you when you answered my questions."
They sat sizing each other up for a few moments.
"Is there any way I could at least sit…your cavemen did manage to put a round through my shoulder and I'm not wearing my brace. It's starting to hurt like hell."
The woman eyed him wearily for a moment.
"Jasper; be a dear and let him sit please."
"Yes ma'am."
Matt let out a breath in relief when he could finally sit but the shackles still held him firmly to the wall.
"Thank god…that's better."
The woman smiled again.
"So what happens now?"
"Now?...well now we have a predicament.. you see I had intended to let you be. But now with this mess you are what they refer to as "a loose end". As much as I have the government in my pocket; I can't have them snooping around…yes agent Andrew did a fine job of burying things for now…but they will start poking. I can't have that…not now." Her voice trailed off as her gaze settled off into nowhere.
Matt just watched the obviously psychotic woman.
"What are you after?" he finally asked.
The same small smile crossed her face.
"The future Mr. Hebert… The next great leap for mankind. The research that my company is conducting will bring civilization into its next stage…Imagine a new existence."
Matt shook his head in disbelief.
"What in the sweet name of baby Jesus are you talking about?"
Her eyebrows quirked at his rudeness.
" I would like to take a walk; if you behave I would like you to join me."
Matt nodded slowly. He knew that he was in no condition to fight right now and he didn't know enough about this Jasper man yet.
Be patient Matt.
Marcus's feet were soaked! Wondering around the storage yard over an hour only managed to get him rained on.
"Ah here it is Agent…sorry about that; the transfer paperwork must have changed."
The port manger was short and fat.
So this is where I will spend the rest of my career.
His had been assigned one of the worst jobs ever; working with the port authority. Making sure that nothing was getting smuggled in for terrorist activity…
Because when I think of terrorist I think of fucking rainy ass Seattle! He thought bitterly.
It was the reason he stood in the pier's storage container yard…getting rained on. The huge metal boxes were stacked on all sides forming a maze around him.
The two men stood in front of one such container.
"So what's the deal with this one?"
The port leprechaun shrugged.
"Not sure; it was missing a lot of its paperwork. That always raises a red flag."
He heaved open the rusted doors.
"I was told to report any of 'em that were wonky."
Marcus clicked on his flashlight and stepped into the dusty shipping container. He stopped abruptly when he noticed the contents.
"You have got to be fucking with me." He groaned.
"Everything okay?"
"Yeah…it's a shipment of god damned toilets." His light shined on the polished ceramic.
On his way out he found the shipping labels that were supposed to be on the outside.
"Someone didn't do their job." He growled; tossing the papers at the little man.
"I'm …I'm sorry agent; I was just doin' what they told me to." He squeaked.
"It's not your fault..it's fine just let me know if anything else pops up."
Marcus walked back down the alley of metal. In a matter of moments he was completely lost; and the sun was starting to set.
"Oh isn't this just great."
Turning another guessed corner; he promptly stepped in a pothole full of icy water.
"Really! What the fuck is the deal?"
The angry man leaned against a container to try and shake the water out of his shoe.
Suddenly he found himself airborne; tossed through the air by seemingly nothing.
He slammed to a stop against one of the containers.
Stumbling to his feet he tried to pull his sidearm when something solid gripped his wrist at the holster. His throat was constricted and he felt the ground fall away beneath him.
A crackling noise followed by some sort of blue electricity slowly revealed his attacker.
The "thing" stood well over seven feet tall; it was dressed completely in black body armor and its face was covered with some sort of mask.
"You…are…Marcus…Andrew..yes?" a growling voice asked from behind the mask.
Nodding was the only thing he could manage against the crushing force on his throat.
The creature nodded and another bogey man emerged from identical blue energy.
Three red dots appeared on Marcus's chest.
"You are Andrew?" the smaller asked again; her english coming much easier.
"Yes." He managed to croak
"Good." The creature replied. "I have need of you."
Oh fuck Seattle man!