Juliette Parrish and Mike Donovan sat at a back table in the Club Creole. They sat looking at their hands. They were coping, Donovan thought. He looked at Julie and opened his mouth to speak for the hundredth time. They hadn't spoken to each other in almost a week now. The year had gotten off to a horrible start.
"It wasn't your fault." He finally said, for what seemed like the millionth time.
Julie glanced up. "I called her back. That was my decision." She sighed. "I should have let her stay in Chicago."
Donovan could not say much to this. Julie had made up her mind and once that was done, there was nothing anyone could do to change it. She would feel responsible about the death of Elizabeth Maxwell for the rest of her life.
It was almost one o'clock in the morning. The Club had been closed since that awful raid on the Mother ship. The door opened and Donovan and Julie reacted. They grabbed their weapons and slipped into a shooting posture, arms on the tabletop.
Donovan couldn't believe his eyes. The neon behind the bar lit up the face of one of the four people who had entered the Club Creole in the dead of night. The hard brown eyes looked over at Donovan and Julie. Donovan relaxed for the first time in almost a week.
"Tyler" he breathed his relief.
Ham Tyler looked at Julie then looked Donovan up and down, "Gooder." He said.
Donovan could not see who Tyler had with him, until a thin figure turned on the lights. He then saw that a woman with very light brown skin, he thought he should know, but could not place turned on the lights. He knew the other two people, though. As large as ever stood Chris Faber, Tyler's partner. And ....
"Robin," Julie croaked. She dropped her gun, stood and staggered over to Robin, who met her halfway and took Julie in her arms, where Julie sobbed. "All my fault. I'm so sorry Robin."
Donovan noticed Tyler and the woman he'd brought with him looking at Julie with something like disgust in their eyes. He thought he recognized this woman. He looked at her closely. The most striking things about her were her very long hair, which came down to her knees and her green eyes. Suddenly it hit him. "Gem." He said. "Where the hell did you find her?" he turned to Tyler.
Tyler raised an eyebrow. "Under the same munitions dump I crawled out from under." He said simply.
Gem nodded at Donovan. "Gooder." She said, still not smiling. She looked again at Julie, who was still sobbing on Robins shoulder. "Take her somewhere and get her under control." She told Robin. Robin shot a glare at both Tyler and Gem and led Julie out of the main Café and into a back room.
Donovan could see that Gem hadn't changed much. She was just as hard as she had ever been. More probably. It was a close call as who was harder, Gem or Tyler. Donovan thought of that old saying, 'Hell hath no fury'.
"We came as soon as we heard." Chris said, speaking for the first time. "Robin insisted." He had a touch of sympathy his old buddies lacked.
"Good." Donovan said. "We need you."
"Get some sleep, Gooder." Tyler said. "You look like hell. We'll talk in the morning."
Donovan started to protest, but realized that Tyler was right. He hadn't slept much in the last week. No one had. He turned and headed for his room and slept soundly for the first time since before Elizabeth Maxwell had been killed.
Donovan woke late in the morning. He showered and dressed and went down into the Café. Caleb Taylor was behind the bar with Willie. Polly and Katie Maxwell sat with their sister and Julie.
Caleb looked up when Donovan approached. "When did Robin get back?" he asked.
"Last night around one." Donovan said. "Tyler and Chris brought her back."
At the mention of Tyler, Willie dropped a glass he'd been polishing. Willie was terrified of Tyler. He would never forget that Tyler wanted to use him to test the original Red Dust on. Willie was one of the few who had not missed the presence of Ham Tyler over the last ten years. He quickly bent and cleaned up the shattered glass, muttering apologies.
"Who is that?" Caleb said, appreciatively. Donovan turned and saw Gem had entered the Café. She looked radiant even though she was dressed simply in blue jeans and a t-shirt, which showed off her curves very nicely, even Donovan had to admit. He thought it was the hair, long and beautiful and down.
Donovan motioned Gem over. "This is Gem." He made introductions. "She arrived last night with Tyler and Chris."
Willie stood and looked nervously at Gem. She looked back; not glaring Donovan was glad to note, but not smiling either. Her face was a mask. She nodded when she was introduced.
"Is she like him?" Willie asked, nervously.
"Pretty much." Came a voice from the direction Gem had come from. Chris entered. He shook Caleb's hand and nodded to Willie.
Willies eyebrows rose and he sighed. He went and sat down at the end of the bar.
"Where's Tyler?" he asked.
"He's on his way." Chris said, and sure enough Tyler walked into the room.
Everyone sat with Polly, Katie, Robin and Julie. Caleb brought coffee, creamer and sugar.
"Better?" Gem asked of Julie. Donovan looked at her sharply. There was the smallest hint of gentle concern in her voice.
"Yes." Julie said, embarrassed at her show of emotion the night before. She was finally getting a good look at Gem. "You must be Gem. Robin told me about you."
Gem looked at Robin with a half smile on her face. "I'll bet she did."
"She told me you're worse than Tyler, here. Crueler." Julie glanced at Tyler. "She says you are all business, like Mr. Tyler. She also said something about you and Tyler being married?"
Donovan and Caleb stared at Tyler. "Married?" Donovan marveled. "What? When?"
Tyler looked at Donovan. "Yes," he said. "I got married. Ten years ago. Don't look so shocked, Gooder. You knew we would." He gave Donovan an amused half grin.
Donovan grinned. "Well, I guess I did, come to think of it." He said. "She's your equal."
"More." Tyler admitted, glancing at Gem. Donovan thought he saw a flash of something like affection there. "Enough about us." He said. "Would someone like to tell us what happened?"
Julie quickly looked into her coffee cup. Donovan told the story. They raided the mother ship, attempting to rescue important political prisoners in danger of Conversion. Four of them went on Diana's ship. Gregory, Diana's chief of security killed Elizabeth and Kyle Bates. Their bodies were burned beyond recognition. And they hadn't freed any of the prisoners.
Julie looked up and turned to face Robin. "I'm so sorry, Robin. Elizabeth insisted on coming along. I shouldn't have let her." Her voice was trembling.
"It wasn't your fault, Julie. I don't blame you." Robin said, soothingly. She'd matured a great deal in Chicago, Donovan thought. Or maybe it was just that she had matured since her daughter died. But then again, it had been ten years.
Gem went into a pouch hanging from the belt at her hip. She removed a small packet and held it out to Caleb. "Brew this for her." She told him.
"What is it?" Caleb asked, eyeing the packet suspiciously.
"Tranquilizer." Gem said.
"I don't need a tranquilizer." Julie spat. "I'll be fine."
"In six months, maybe." Tyler retorted. "Take the tea. If we're ever going to get on with things, you need to calm down."
Donovan gave Caleb a nod, and Caleb left the table and headed for the bar, where he emptied the packet into a cup and poured hot water after it. He stirred the contents and brought it back to the table. Gem took it from him and placed it in front of Julie.
"Take it, Julie." Robin urged. "Gem is no better than Tyler, in most ways, but she knows her herbs. The tea will help you."
Julie took the cup and looked into it. "What is it?" she asked again.
"Lemon Balm and Chamomile." Gem said.
Julie drank. Her insides warmed immediately. Donovan looked at her carefully for a couple of minutes.
Gem turned to Donovan. "What are your plans now?"
"None, right now." He said. "We've been sort of shocky."
"Diana." Tyler growled. He had loathing in his face and murder in his eyes.
"Forget it, Tyler." Donovan said. "Diana is too well protected now. You'll never get to her."
Tyler just glared.
They moved to The Lab later that day. The Lab was positioned in the hills south and west of LA. Donovan took the opportunity to ride with Tyler, Chris and Gem while Julie rode with the others. Julie was still upset, but she was far better than she had been over the last few weeks.
Donovan looked in the rearview mirror. It had been almost fifteen years since he'd last seen Gem, and ten since he'd last seen Tyler. Tyler had lost more hair. Had another facial scar. Somehow he looked crueler than anyone Donovan had ever seen before. Gem also looked colder, crueler. Her hair was still long and beautiful with the addition of a long gray stripe somehow confined to a couple of inches on the right side of her head.
"How was Chicago?" Donovan asked, attempting conversation.
"Cold." Chris laughed. "I actually missed LA a time or two. But we haven't spent all our time in Chicago, you know. We spent about half that time all across Canada. We were back in Chicago less than a year when Robin contacted us about getting her back here. That's how we found out."
Donovan nodded. "When did the Trio reunite?" he asked, glancing at Gem.
Gem returned the gaze. "They joined me, actually. We met up right after they came to Chicago. You heard about the sabotaged vaccine?"
Donovan had. The Visitors had begun dropping like flies. Plans were being made to pass the vaccine on to the other Resistance fighters when Chicago was isolated. Not every Visitor had been given the vaccine and those who died were quickly replaced. The fighting in Chicago was among the worse seen anywhere since the Visitors had landed.
Gem continued. "We were sent to Canada a few years after that and moved all around the country, helping out. It seems we are on their international most wanted list now. Have been for quite some time." She grinned.
"I heard about that. There is quite a bounty on your heads." Donovan said.
"Regular king's ransom." Tyler said. "We kept moving between Canada and the Midwest. We got back to Chicago just after Elizabeth left, aparently." He frowned.
"Julie didn't want her to come along. She insisted." Donovan said, defensively.
"I'm surprised Julie is still alive." Tyler said in a low growl. "And on this side."
"Don't start, Tyler." Donovan warned.
"Gooder." Gem said. "There have been all manner of interesting reports out of this area about your leader." She said.
"Julie is fine. She's led us for fourteen years now."
Gem nodded. "We'll see." She said. "I haven't been impressed so far though. I know, I know," she said quickly "Poor dear has had a bad time of it lately." She shook her head.
Donovan drove the rest of the way in silence.
Donovan awoke with Julie beside him. He tried to get out of bed without waking Julie, but she stirred, opened her eyes, smiled and said "Mornin', what time is it?"
It was past nine o'clock. They slept quite late, for a change. They showered and dressed and headed for the dining hall where they got a cup of coffee and then walked towards the workout room in the same building, where a crowd of people was gathered in the doorway. They made their way through the crowd and into the room, where they found Caleb, Willie and Chris off to the side watching Tyler and Gem, fascinated.
"What the hell?" Donovan said.
"Can you believe this?" Caleb said, watching. "They've been at it for half an hour now." He shook his head. "That's some woman. He's giving it to her like she was a grown man and she's taking it and giving it right back to him."
Tyler and Gem were in a fight. Donovan returned his attention to them just in time to see Gem kick Tyler, not once, but twice in the side of the head, knocking him down. He threw his legs around and caught her legs, bringing her around. They both quickly found their legs and Tyler caught his wife in the middle with a punch that forced her back onto a weight bench. She bent her knees and gave him both her feet in his own gut. Tyler remained on his feet, fists ready. Gem swung at him, but Tyler caught her arm and whipped her over his shoulder where he mounted her back and put her in a full nelson.
"She'll never get out of that" Caleb said.
"You have to stop him!" Julie said, looking at Chris.
"They know what their doing." Chris said, keeping his eyes on Tyler and Gem.
Gem threw her head back and Tyler was knocked backward. She rolled away, found her feet and delivered an uppercut to the jaw, followed by a kick to the jaw, followed by another punch.
Willie was looking wide-eyed. Caleb had his eyebrows raised. Gem backed off and stood ready. Tyler looked at her a moment. He gave her half a grin. "OK, OK." He said. He straightened up and said, loudly enough to be heard outside the room "Shows over folks." And the two of them walked over to Chris.
"Lovers' spat?" Donovan said, grinning.
"We do this all the time, Gooder." Tyler said, out of breath.
"You didn't think we were serious?" Gem asked, looking amused.
"It sure looked serious to me." Julie said.
Gem actually laughed. "No." She said. "If we'd been serious, one of us would be dead now. We just needed a little workout."
Julie, Donovan, Caleb and Willie all looked astonished. Gem kept smiling. "What's breakfast and where's coffee?" she asked, as she Tyler and Chris headed for the dining hall.
Donovan watched them walk towards the dining hall. He watched people watch them. They all stared, mostly at Gem. She was wearing black jeans and boots and an army green t-shirt. She was strong, but you couldn't tell from looking at her. She had, Donovan noticed, a great figure; small waist, nice chest, nice ass. Feminine. You would never know, looking at her that she was capable of giving Ham Tyler his money's worth in a fight.
They both got coffee. They were about to sit when Julie said, suddenly. "Let's all walk." Tyler and Gem exchanged looks and looked at Julie, who simply turned and walked out of the building.
Julie led Donovan, Tyler and Gem toward a place that overlooked a great valley. They could just see LA and the mother ship above it.
"What did you do before the Visitors came?" She asked Gem, with no preamble.
Gem raised her eyebrows. "I worked with Tyler and Chris." She said, simply.
Julie looked impatient. "I know that, but I hear you are more than the explosives expert they are. What was your part?"
Gem was so silent for so long, Julie thought she was not going to answer. But Gem said, "I also poison people. Lizards and collaborators, mostly." Julie noted the emphasis on 'mostly'.
"Where is this going, Julie?" Tyler demanded.
Julie glared at him. "We need to capture Diana." She said, looking at Gem. "I hear you're good at kidnapping people, among other things. Think you can do it?"
Gem was looking amused. "I can do it." she said, simply.
"Can you capture her without killing her?" Julie asked, causing Donovan to look at her as if she had lost her mind.
"I can." Gem said, expressionlessly. "I don't know why you would want that, but yes, I can do it." she grinned. "There is a single problem with it, though."
"Oh?" Julie asked.
"Killing Diana would take myself and perhaps one or two other's I know in the area to help." Gem explained. "Capturing Diana? That's more complicated. Might require an armed assault."
"Diana has a wealth of information we can use. We must have her alive." Julie said, ignoring Donovan's look and Tyler's glare.
Gem snorted. "Ten years ago you had Diana and she escaped. You got a better way of containing her this time?"
Julie tightened her jaw. "You get her and I will guarantee she not escape this time."
Gem looked at Tyler. They stared at each other for quite some time before Gem spoke. "I'll find out when Diana will be on Earth again and I'll get a team together to collect her."
"We have Fifth Column that can tell us when she'll be on the ground again." Julie snapped.
"Whatever. Just get me the information as soon as you can. In the mean time, I'll use my own sources. I have no faith in yours." Gem said.
Julie turned and stomped off. Gem turned to Donovan. "You keep a close eye on her when Diana is here. I'll bet you anything Diana can still control her. I don't care how many years it's been."
Julie sent for Gem three days later. Gem walked into the conference room, flanked by Tyler and Chris. Her hair was unbraided, flowing to her knees. Julie felt a surge of something she thought might be jealousy looking at this beautiful and deadly woman. She squashed it and spoke. "Diana is giving a speech at the main Visitor Headquarters in two days."
Donovan walked in the door with Polly. They carried several rolled up pieces of paper. They walked to a long table in the middle of the room and laid the pieces on it. Julie noted how Donovan looked at Gem. I can't allow myself to get jealous, she isn't a threat, Julie told herself.
"This is the floor plan of the Visitor's HQ." Donovan said, unrolling the pieces of papers, revealing the blueprints.
Gem moved to one side of Donovan while Tyler took the other. Julie stood on the other side of Gem. "The speech will be given here." Donovan pointed to a third floor balcony.
"She'll never give a speech." Gem said, pulling out the first floor plans. "Where will her craft land? What route will she take into the building? Where are the guards going to be?"
Julie began telling Gem what her Fifth Column contact had told her. Gem never took her eyes off of the floor plans.
"Six guards surrounding her." Gem said, nodding. "Tell me who will be stationed where on balconies and roof."
Julie gave the information, irritated by the tone of Gem's voice.
Gem stared at the map. "OK, I'll need Ham, Chris, and Donovan." She looked sideways at Donovan.
Julie sputtered. "I should go too." She said angrily.
Gem looked at her, eyebrows raised. "No." Gem said, emotionlessly. "I don't trust you. I don't want you on this. You aren't coming."
"How can you not trust her?" Donovan said, looking at Gem with annoyance in his eyes, Julie was relieved to note. "You wouldn't even know what your dealing with if it weren't for the information Julie just gave you."
Tyler waved a hand dismissively. "We got our information last night."
Gem glared at Julie. "Most of this information is useless to us, in any event."
Julie glared. "You son of a bitch." She breathed. "I thought you at least would trust me."
Tyler shrugged. "I didn't when I left ten years ago. I don't now." He said. "I used my own sources."
"Still not a team player, Tyler?" Donovan asked, a touch of anger in his voice now.
"I have never worked against you." Tyler said. "I work with my own team. That was Chris the last time we were together, Donovan. Now it's Chris and Gem."
"You want Diana alive and well and you'll get her alive and well." Gem said, making eye contact with Donovan. "If not, we'll go and kill her." Her eyes shifted to Julie. "In any event, Chris, Tyler and I will be leaving this comfy little camp tomorrow night. You decide if we'll have Diana." She straightened up and walked straight to Julie, their faces almost touching. "Your information is either phony or from a lousy source. I don't trust your Fifth Column contact and I don't trust you." She said in a very low voice.
Julie made to hit Gem. Gem caught her hand and threw her over the table. She flew across the table, picked Julie up and punched her in the jaw.
Donovan ran to stop the fight and was restrained by Tyler and Chris.
"Let me go, goddammit!" Donovan roared. He was ignored.
Gem threw Julie backwards onto the table and from nowhere produced a knife, which she put to Julie's throat. "Don't ever try to hit me again." Gem said, quite mildly. She backed off of Julie and stood straight, putting the knife away behind her curtain of long hair. "Why did you give us incomplete information?" she asked, glaring down at Julie.
Tyler and Chris let go of Donovan. He straightened his shirt, but Julie noticed he did not come to her side. She pulled herself into a sitting position on the table. "I gave you all the information I had." She said, defiantly.
"Lying to me is a very unhealthy thing to do." Gem said, eyes locked on Julie.
Julie tightened her jaw. "I'm not lying." She said. "The Fifth Column contact I use is usually very reliable. He must have lied to me."
Donovan looked on, beginning to get a very uneasy feeling in the pit of his stomach. He tried to brush it away, but it held. He looked sidelong, first at Chris and then at Tyler. He could read nothing from their faces and cursed them inwardly.
Gem looked just plain dangerous for a moment, then she relaxed visibly. "OK, Julie. I'll believe you this one time. It won't affect our plan anyway." She turned and walked to Donovan. "We are leaving here tomorrow, just before sunset." She said to him so they could all hear her. She put both hands on his shoulders and leaned into him, placing her mouth near his ear as if to whisper something to him, but no words came. She leaned back, nodded to Chris and Tyler and they left the room.
"What a bitch!" Julie spat, once they were alone. She waited for Donovan to speak, but for the longest time he just stood there looking at the place where Gem had disappeared. When he finally turned to look at her, she saw doubt in his eyes. "You don't believe her, do you?" she asked incredulously.
"I've known Gem for a long time." Donovan replied, very slowly. "She has," he paused, searching for words. "I've never known her to be wrong before." He finished lamely.
Julie glared daggers at Donovan. "You'd rather believe that little bitch than me?" she spat, the poison in her voice making Donovan step backwards. "I have been with you, by your side all these years." She stopped, closed her eyes and took a deep breath. "What's going on, Mike?" she finally asked. "You have never doubted me before. Suddenly Gem shows up and it's like I don't know you anymore?" Her eyes narrowed. "Is there something I should know?" she asked.
Donovan raised his eyebrows, feeling anger rising. Now was not the time for another fight between them, but he spoke anyway. "You know how I feel about you." He paused and stepped closer to Julie. "There is no reason to be jealous of Gem."
Julie's eyes absolutely flared. "I'm not jealous of her!" she lied, knowing both of them knew it. "All I know is you trusted me until she came along. What happened to change that?" she demanded. "What makes you trust someone you haven't seen in God knows how long over me?"
Donovan sighed, struggled with words, but they failed him. He just shook his head and sighed. He couldn't explain. He turned and walked from the room. Julie neither spoke, nor came after him. She spent that night in her own quarters.
Around two o'clock the next afternoon Ham Tyler stopped him on his way from the conference room, where he was hoping to see Julie. He hadn't seen her all day and was beginning to worry.
"She left early this morning." Tyler said, without preamble.
"What? Where?" Donovan demanded.
Tyler just stared at Donovan and made clear his thoughts. Tyler believed Julie had turned traitor.
"No!" Donovan said, shaking his head.
"We know she left this morning and was picked up about ten miles from here in a Squad Vehicle." Tyler said simply. They began to walk.
"You were having her watched?" Donovan said incredulously.
Tyler opened a door for Donovan and they left the building. "Of course." He said simply. They turned and began walking away toward several parked vehicles. "Don't start, Donovan." He said, causing Donovan to close his mouth on the words he was about to speak. They walked over to a large passenger van, where Tyler opened the side door and told Donovan, "Get in and we'll explain everything."
Donovan peered into the van and saw Chris behind the wheel and Gem in the back seat. The rear most seat had been removed. Robin, Polly, Katie, Caleb, Maggie Blodgett and Willie were all seated on crates on the floor. Donovan looked over his shoulder at Tyler a moment, and then got into the van without a word. Tyler got in the passenger seat and Chris started the van and started driving.
They drove in silence for about half an hour before Donovan finally said "Tyler, what the hell is this all about?"
Tyler turned around and looked at Donovan. He seemed to be considering the question very carefully. Finally he spoke. "We were notified while we were in Canada to return to Chicago about a week before that botched raid Julie planned. We were told to take Robin back to L.A. and stop the raid, anyway we could. Elizabeth was not to go on that raid and it was our assignment to stop her."
Donovan's jaw dropped. "You told me you left as soon as you heard about Elizabeth."
Chris looked at Donovan through the rearview window. "I lied." We found out the raid happened sooner about halfway here."
Gem looked at Donovan. "Julie changed the time of the raid, didn't she?"
Donovan looked at Gem as if never seeing her before. He didn't speak for a long minute before he finally sighed and said "Yes." He ran his fingers through his hair and added, "She said her contact said there had been a change of plans on the Mother Ship and we would have to go immediately. Elizabeth must have overheard us, because she immediately barged in and demanded to join us."
Gem nodded. "Elizabeth was somehow tempted to go on the raid with Julie. There were no hostages on the Mother Ship at the time in question."
Caleb spoke angrily. "How do you know that?"
Gem looked back at him. "We have very good sources of our own." She said without elaborating.
"Julie's not converted." Donovan said with confidence he didn't really feel. "She's been with us for fifteen years now. It's just not possible."
Tyler looked at Donovan. "Julie's been, at best, half converted for over ten years now." He said. "You know it and so does everyone else here. Don't tell me you forgot what happened on the raid on the Mother Ship when we dispersed the Red Dust."
Donovan said nothing. Everyone in the van was silent again, lost in his or her own thoughts.
"I hate to say it, Mike," Caleb began. "Tyler might actually be right this time. He may have been right way back then. All those bad luck raids over the years."
Donovan said nothing, just shook his head. He remembered all the bad luck raids. How many people had died? Julie couldn't have been responsible, could she? He found himself second-guessing everything that had happened since Julie came from the conversion chamber all those years ago. He remembered the Mother Ship when Julie had allowed Diana to get away. It was impossible to tell whether Julie just let Diana get the jump on her or whether Diana was controlling Julie. He lowered his head into his hand. He heard one of the women in the back crying. Polly? She had grown closer and closer to Julie over the years as she grew into a very good fighter. The doubts being raised would devastate the young woman.
They continued along in silence once again. Donovan looked out of the window to see that they seemed to be driving away from Los Angeles, not into it, as he had assumed. Before he could ask, Katie spoke his thoughts.
"Where are we going?" She asked, quietly.
"Desert." Chris answered.
"The desert?" Caleb said. "Why?"
Tyler turned around in his seat to face those in the back. "Have you noticed that you are the last surviving members of the L.A. Resistance that released the Red Dust?"
Caleb gaped at him, then looked around at the group in the van.
Katie said, "Oh my God, he's right!"
Robin said, "Are you saying there is some sort of a plot to kill all the original Resistance Fighters?"
Tyler nodded. "We think she was going to insist upon going on this raid to kidnap Diana so she could be there to make sure there was at least one other death. She probably set it up so that all of us would be walking into a trap."
Donovan felt his head shaking denial when Gem asked him, "Who did Julie have in mind for this kidnapping party?"
Donovan thought a moment, and then stared openmouthed at Gem. "The only people she'd planned on having come were the people in this van." He said quietly, completely deflated.
The uproar in the van was almost deafening. Through the din could be heard snippets of "No!" and "You have to be kidding" from the last of the original L.A. Resistance Team.
Chris, Gem and Tyler remained silent until the din died down. Robin was next to speak. "Why did you all come back with me? It's not just because I needed an escort, is it?"
"We came back to find out who the leak in the L.A. Resistance was and take care of the problem." Gem said.
"'Take care of the problem'" Robin said, incredulously. "What the hell is that supposed to mean?"
Gem did not reply. Polly spoke instead. "They are here to kill Julie. Probably Diana, too." She said quietly.
Another din of exclamations broke out. Caleb made himself heard above the others. "You can't do that to Julie."
Tyler looked Caleb right in the face. "We are here to remove the threat to the L.A. Resistance movement. That threat is Juliette Parish working with Diana and they will both be neutralized."
Donovan looked at Tyler. "God damn you, Tyler." He said, still sounding defeated. "You have never trusted Julie. You aren't one of us. Let us handle Julie."
Tyler shook his head. "No." he said simply.
Chris looked again into the rearview mirror. "All due respect, Donovan, but you are all too close to this whole mess. Best let us handle the problem."
Donovan just shook his head. He was suddenly too tired to argue. They drove until past sunset, deep into the Arizona desert. It was full dark when they finally stopped at a large group of tents. Two men and a woman met them.
Donovan, Robin, Polly, Katie, Caleb, Maggie and Willie were led to two tents along the edge of the encampment where another man stood guard, armed with some sort of automatic weapon unidentifiable in the dark.
"These are your hosts this evening." Gem said grimly. She began nodding to the armed people around them. "Fred and George" she indicated identical twin men, so blond they're hair seemed to be lighting the area. "Ren" she nodded to a flaming redhead with a full beard, even in the heat of the Arizona night. "Lavender" she nodded to a woman so black she seemed to melt into the darkness even as the blondes lit it. All four nodded their introductions. "If you need anything, just ask and they will see to it."
The ladies were led into one tent and the men into another. Their four guards surrounded the two tents. There was little talk as everyone fell asleep, fully dressed, exhausted by the trip and the information they were trying to absorb.
They were not awakened until late into the next afternoon. They were given desert camouflage and then their guards led them to a largish tent, which seemed to be a mess and meeting tent. Here they were served large filling meals and made very comfortable. They discussed very little about what they learned the night before, they all still seemed in shock. They were able to see more of where they were, however. The camp comprised of about fifteen tents, the one they were in being the largest, followed by another directly across the camp from it. The other tents were roomy enough for four people to call home. The mess tent was filling up little by little, but the entrants did not stare at the newcomers. It seemed like just another day.
Two men walked in spotted the group and walked over to join them. They looked very serious. They spoke to their guards, who nodded slowly, then the two newcomers, joined the others in breakfast. Donovan asked, "Now what?"
Ren looked at Donovan a moment before replying. "We have found out where Julie is. She's with Diana and they are hiding out in the mountains, heavily guarded."
Caleb looked the redhead up and down. "The man asked, 'Now what?'" he said, seriously.
"A group has gone into those mountains to take care of the problem." Fred, or George, said.
"Tyler?" Polly asked quietly.
"He was one of them, yes." Lavender answered. "He, Diamond, Chris and seven others."
One of the blonde twins relaxed his posture a little. "Listen," he said. "Why don't you folks just try and relax. I know it won't be easy. You've had a pretty hard time of it."
Lavender also seemed to relax. "You are free to move around the camp. You are not prisoners here. But a guard will be placed on you at night."
Their four guards took one last look at their charges and walked off, getting their own meals. They returned and sat with them. "I guess we're sort of a welcoming committee now." Fred, or George said.
Polly was looking at the your twin men with fascination. "How do you tell you apart?" she asked.
The twins smiled identical mischievous smiles. "Most people just ask." One of them said. "People say I'm the more serious twin, if that helps any." He took some coffee. "I'm George."
Fred spoke then. "Others just wait until mealtimes. I don't drink coffee." He laughed with them all as he dunked his tea bag repeatedly.
Lavender spoke up. "George has the scar, as you can see." She pointed at a very small scar along the Georges jaw line. "Other than that, there is no way to tell, far as I can tell. Only a few people can tell the difference, and they are the twins themselves, Ham and Diamond."
"Who is Diamond?" Maggie asked, willing to participate in small talk to get her mind off of things.
"You know her as Gem." Ren said, grinning.
"I forgot that was her real name." Donovan said, also willing to allow his mind an escape.
"Not many people know that." Lavender said. "The four of us are probably as close to those three as anyone. That's why we were chosen to guard you your first night here."
Over their early dinner, they learned that their four companions had, at different times, worked along side Chris, Gem and Tyler.
"We knew them before they got married. Way before." Ren said, grinning and nodding to Fred and George.
"I don't believe Tyler got married. It's just too," Caleb was struggling for the words.
George laughed. "Just seems to impossible?" he asked and laughed harder at the nod Caleb gave him. That was enough to break the tension between the groups and for a long time all they did was laugh.
George and Fred exchanged looks. "Oh what the hell!" Fred exclaimed. "Worse they'll do is kill us." And he nodded towards his brother.
"We've known them the longest." Said George. "Met Mister Clarence Hamilton Tyler just after they sent him down to South America to put that Special Team together. We were also part of that team, which split into two parts once all the training was completed. Me and Fred and Ren went one way and Chris and Tyler and Gem went another."
Lavender had apparently heard this story before, because she was already chuckling into her coffee. The rest of them leaned forward, the remnants of their meal forgotten.
"Ham Tyler had a chip on his shoulder the size of Texas when we first met. This was just after the incident with his wife and daughter. He was closed up tight and didn't intend to let anyone in. That's why we were all selected for this particular Team. We weren't people to get overly emotionally involved, but the rest of us were just plain chipper compared to Tyler and then Gem." Fred continued.
"Gem hadn't even managed to finish Boot Camp when she was plucked by the CIA and sent to us. At first, Tyler couldn't stand her because she was a woman, girl really, she had to be young to be fresh out of Boot, right?" George continued. "Tyler drove her like a rented horse from day one! Within three months he would have treated the rented horse like a thoroughbred, he was on her so hard. But Gem is a tough cookie!! She took everything he gave her and returned it with at least as much." He looked around the table. "You've seen those sparring matches they get into?" When everyone nodded, he said. "Those are playtimes compared to what they went through during the formation of our team! Between the two of them, they broke a dozen ribs and dislocated half a dozen shoulders. And still fought like a couple of half starved pit bulls!"
Ren picked up the story here. "He started calling her Di, which pissed her off more than a wet cat. She retaliated by calling him Clarence." Ren had a heavy southern accent. "For a while there I thought they were just going to do us all a favor and kill each other. Then he found out her real age. And he went straight to the Higher Ups with it, thinking he finally had her out of his unit and off his team. Then word came down that the CIA knew exactly how old Gem was and it didn't make a bit of difference to them. He was so enraged, not even Gem dared to approach him. We all just sat back and waited for the storm to pass."
"How old was she?" Willie asked, forgetting himself and speaking for the first time, betraying his race to these strangers. However they did not even flinch.
"She had just had her sixteenth birthday when Tyler found out." Fred said, picking up the story again. "Nobody else on the team could really understand why Tyler hated Gem so much. He'd been sixteen when he'd joined up, so it couldn't have been that. Chris and I knew though." He grinned into his cup of tea. "My brother and his friend just don't have the poets hearts Chris and I do." He said, ducking the swats that came from both his brother and Ren. He looked at Maggie a moment before continuing. She had half a smile on her lips.
"Anyway, Chris and I were able to see beyond the thrown punches and kicks and told everybody that it was obvious that those two had the big time hots for each other. More than that, they were falling big time in love with each other. I think that they were fighting they're developing feelings for each other more than they were fighting each other."
George took up the story again. "Well, it made some sense, after you thought about it a bit. The two most closed people of the whole six of us were Tyler and Gem. Tyler was feeling all guilty because his wife and baby had died in that church and here was Gem, a woman who would never allow that to happen to her or her kid. A woman who was the exact opposite of his wife and he admired her for her nerve and her strength, inner and outer. The admiration I could see, but it never occurred to me he was falling for her."
Ren said. "Gem was a tough kid from the streets of Chicago. Half Black and half Italian and grew up in both worlds. Her mother abandoned her when she was born. Couldn't handle having a mixed kid is my guess. Rose up by the Italian side of her family. She spent a lot of time between Little Italy and the Black neighborhoods, but she felt most at home in Little Italy, because she was more accepted with her light skin and green eyes. Rival mobsters shot down her father when she was really still a little girl. She told me all about it all them times I wrapped her ribs and relocated her shoulders. I was the team medic, see." He grinned into his now empty cup of coffee. "Funny, I suppose we should have hated each other more because she is a Yankee and I'm a good ol Southern boy. But that's not what happened at all."
"It was a solid year of training before we finally got some R&R." Fred began. "Me, George, Chris and Ren had a bet going on. Me and Chris said they'd be lovers before R&R was over. Ren and George said they'd kill each other in the streets of Rio or something. They finally accepted their fate and I made five hundred dollars!" he whooped, slapping his brother on the arm.
"They were very professional about it, but they didn't try to hide their relationship from us for very long." George said. "We were one big happy family and you can't hide that stuff from family." He looked up to see that Lavender had gone for more coffee and she refilled everyone's cup, except for Fred's, he was given more hot water.
"Once they became lovers they became one well oiled machine." Ren said, admiration thick in his voice. "They seemed to know each others thoughts. It was almost as weird as Fred and George, the way those two were. I'm not one to believe in Heaven and all that mess, but if there ever was a match made in Heaven, they had it." He sipped more coffee. "We split into teams and Chris stayed with them. Just before the Lizards landed, Gem got transferred to Chicago. No one knows why, but neither of them fought the transfer. Chris and Tyler are a great team, don't get me wrong, but they are almost clumsy compared to the team Tyler and Gem make, if you know what I mean." He watched the nodding heads at the table. "Anyway, their team got split, the lizards landed, all hell broke loose and we sort of lost track of each other. We heard about the mess in Chicago and it had Gem's name written all over it. She knew her chemicals. If anyone could cause the mayhem that happened in Chicago, it was her. I had been able to catch up with the Doublemint Twins here and we all headed out for Chicago. We found Chris, Tyler and Gem all there, like they had never split their team. And on top of all of it, Tyler and Gem had finally seen reason and gotten married. The six of us were back together, traveling all over the upper US and Canada and then we get this call about all this mess." He stopped here a moment. "The rest, you know." He finished.
The story had succeeded in taking their minds off of Julie, but like all stories, it ended and reality came crashing in on them.
Maggie heaved a heavy sigh. "I wonder what's happening." She said, quietly.
Chris, Tyler and Gem had stopped long enough to hand their charges over to their guards, grab some coffee and a small meal, and change into black camouflage before they were back in the jeep leading a convoy of four similar jeeps loaded with the supplies they needed and headed right back to California. Tyler drove this time, having slept plenty on the drive into the desert, allowing Chris and Gem to sleep. Chris was out immediately, but Gem took time to braid her long hair and tuck away her assorted carbide weapons into the long, thick braid. When she finished, she turned to her husband. They looked at each other for a long time before she nodded grimly, getting the answer to her unspoken question and was asleep within two minutes.
Tyler drove silently almost the entire way. He wasn't nervous, or anxious. Simply determined. He woke Gem with a hundred miles remaining and they switched places without stopping the jeep. Tyler slept until his wife woke him when they'd come within ten miles of their destination. The ten of them hid their vehicles and opened the crates of ammunition they brought with them. Pistols and rifles. Silencers. Crossbows. Enough ammunition to do the job three times over. They went over their plan one last time before they split up in pairs and began working themselves into a position so the ten of them would be surrounding the mountain retreat.
The sun had fallen by the time they were all in position. Tyler and Gem were, of course, working as a team. Gem was up a tree and Tyler was secured behind it. Their strategy was a very simple one. Annihilate everything. There were two squad vehicles sitting in front of a large, two-story log cabin with a single door in the front of the house. Regardless, people were positioned to guard the back of the house. The were in position less then five minutes when the squad vehicles exploded within fifteen seconds of each other.
The first of the guards came running out to see what happened. Six of them were picked off immediately. Two returned inside, likely to save their lives and report they were under attack. Gem, using the telescopic sight on her crossbow, set a flaming bolt into the hand of the Visitor attempting to turn on the radio to call for backup. A simply broad point went into the head of the next person she sighted on, a Brownshirt.
The Desert Team began closing in on the log cabin. Gem dropped to the ground once Tyler and three others appeared in the clearing, shooting out windows with pistols and killing at least four other Visitors and/or Brownshirts before they hit the steps.
Shots behind the house told Gem a hail of bullets was keeping someone inside. She sprinted up the steps and into the house, pistol ready. Five people, all from her team, were inside the house. The first floor was being cleared. There was no basement. They headed up the stairs. There was a door at the head of the stairs that was wide opened. They cleared the room, and then took cover in it. Directly in front of them was another door, the only one that was closed. The team of five cleared all the open rooms while working their way towards the closed door. The silence was deafening. That the shots behind the house had ceased, told the team that the only people remaining in the house had retreated to the front upstairs' room.
Unintelligible talk came from this room as they approached the door. Suddenly the door splintered inward as a body fell backwards, stumbled and fell, dead, over the banister and cracked it's neck on the stairs below.
"Come on out, Diana." Tyler said, not yelling, but loud enough to be heard.
A cold, cruel laughed answered. "Mister Tyler. Is that you?" Diana's voice sounded quite pleased. "You've made quite a mess of my house, haven't you?" she said, her laughter fading away. "I'll have to take it out of your hide, so to speak."
Tyler was on the right side of the now splintered door with two men behind him. Gem was on the right side, where the hinges were, with one man. Gem knelt, leaned carefully into the door, took careful aim and shot the first piece of fabric she saw, and then pulled herself back. She heard a male screaming.
Gem looked over at Tyler. They stared into each others eyes for almost thirty seconds before they both nodded and took deep breaths. Tyler quickly threw himself into he room, taking quick and accurate aim and shot Diana in the shoulder of the arm holding her laser pistol. At the same time, Gem shot Julie in the sternum, throwing Julie backward, through the closed window. She quickly located Tyler and Diana then she located the leg she'd shot. It was attached to a young man who was writhing on the bed, his laser pistol out of his reach on the floor. She went and picked it up anyway and tossed it to the first man that entered the room after her, a brunette with blue eyes named Sam. He caught it and took it from the room. Tyler, Diana, Gem and the young Brownshirt were alone.
"You are a lucky man, Mister Tyler." Diana purred, breathing a little heavier than usual. "You managed to capture myself, Miss Parrish and the poor hapless Sean Donovan all in one fell swoop."
Tyler started, just barely. He tightened his jaw. "We haven't captured anyone, Diana." He said with a deadly calm voice.
Diana looked surprised. "You've caught us fair and square, Mister Tyler." She stammered.
Gem stepped forward and took the pistol Tyler handed straight back to her. He advanced on Diana, a half smile on his lips. "I have waited a long time for this day, Diana." He said.
He backed Diana into a corner, grabbed her shoulder and swung her around. He placed his left hand on the top of her head and his right hand under her chin and twisted her neck until it snapped.
He slowly turned until he was facing the Brownshirt on the bed. "Yes." He hissed. "Sean Donovan. It's been a long time, boy."
Sean squirmed on the bed, thinking fast. "Thank God you found me!" he squealed. "I've been trying to get away for years and years, but Diana would never let me out of her sight!" He said, looking directly at Tyler.
Tyler shook his head. "You never wanted to get away, Sean." He said, softly.
Sean reached behind his back and slowly brought out a pistol. He held it non-threateningly. "See, I mean you no harm. I just want to go home. Back to my father." He cried, although no tears came from his eyes. He looked at Gem, pleading. "Please. Take me back to my father."
Gem looked at Tyler, who looked back. He made to take the gun from Sean when it was suddenly pointed at his heart. "Don't move." He hissed.
Tyler spit out a short laugh. "You never were too bright, were you, Sean?" he whispered, as Sean suddenly realized that Gem had her pistol in his ear.
Sean twitched. Gem pulled the trigger and blew Sean Donovan's head off.
Back on the ground floor, Tyler and Gem made sure Juliette Parish was, in fact, dead, before they carried her back into the log cabin along with the rest of the bodies. They wired the place from top to bottom and set a timer. They were just getting into their jeeps ten miles away when the place blew up and began burning out of control. By the time they returned to the desert camp, the fire and just begun to die out.
The Desert Team that went into the California Mountains after Diana slept the clock almost. They emerged the next afternoon, ate the first solid meal they'd had in days, showered, shaved and went on with life as usual. Tyler, Chris and Gem, went to the last original members of the Los Angeles, who had been congregated in the mess tent by their four guardians.
Fred, George, Lavender and Ren all stood at the four corners of the table while Chris told the story. Silence descended for many long minutes as the story was told and absorbed.
Donovan cleared his throat. He opened his mouth to say more, but closed it again, got up and left the tent. George made to go after him, but stopped at a hand motion from Gem.
Mike Donovan went for a long walk in the late afternoon desert. The weather was mild, even for January. He walked for hours, heading back only when it was almost too dark to see. By the time he returned to the camp, it was full dark and the camp seemed to be settling in. The tents where he and the ladies were staying was lit up. He saw figures he knew to be his friends and their guards/companions, but did not enter the tents. Instead he kept walking until he found the tent he as looking for. They'd been given a tour and he knew he was in the right place. This tent was also lit and he stood outside it for a moment before he heard a voice inside say. "Come in, Mike."
He bent slightly to enter the tent, but could stand at his full height once inside. Gem and Tyler were sitting at a folding table in the middle of the tent, drinking some steaming liquid from a thermos. Gem poured one for Donovan and he sat and accepted the offered cup. The tea was some sort of herbal blend. Sort of like lemons and apples and mint all mixed together. He drained the cup and put it down. Gem filled it again.
"My own blend." She said quietly. "Chamomile, Lemon Balm and Spearmint."
Silence fell. After a long pause, Tyler said, gentler than usual. "We can't apologize, Gooder."
Donovan signed and raised his hand. "I know, Tyler." He said, and then took a long drink of the tea. It was relaxing and invigorating at the same time. "There really isn't anything to apologize for. You were right. The whole time. The rest of us were blinded somehow. Probably by love of Julie. We couldn't see." He sighed again and looked into his cup. After a moment he looked at the couple sitting with him. "I came here to tell you that. You most likely saved all of our lives. We owe you."
Both Tyler and Gem were shaking their heads. "It sounds cliché," Gem said, "but we really were just doing our job."
Donovan laughed. The tension eased some more. They finished off the tea, and spent the rest of the evening talking about everything else.
"It wasn't your fault." He finally said, for what seemed like the millionth time.
Julie glanced up. "I called her back. That was my decision." She sighed. "I should have let her stay in Chicago."
Donovan could not say much to this. Julie had made up her mind and once that was done, there was nothing anyone could do to change it. She would feel responsible about the death of Elizabeth Maxwell for the rest of her life.
It was almost one o'clock in the morning. The Club had been closed since that awful raid on the Mother ship. The door opened and Donovan and Julie reacted. They grabbed their weapons and slipped into a shooting posture, arms on the tabletop.
Donovan couldn't believe his eyes. The neon behind the bar lit up the face of one of the four people who had entered the Club Creole in the dead of night. The hard brown eyes looked over at Donovan and Julie. Donovan relaxed for the first time in almost a week.
"Tyler" he breathed his relief.
Ham Tyler looked at Julie then looked Donovan up and down, "Gooder." He said.
Donovan could not see who Tyler had with him, until a thin figure turned on the lights. He then saw that a woman with very light brown skin, he thought he should know, but could not place turned on the lights. He knew the other two people, though. As large as ever stood Chris Faber, Tyler's partner. And ....
"Robin," Julie croaked. She dropped her gun, stood and staggered over to Robin, who met her halfway and took Julie in her arms, where Julie sobbed. "All my fault. I'm so sorry Robin."
Donovan noticed Tyler and the woman he'd brought with him looking at Julie with something like disgust in their eyes. He thought he recognized this woman. He looked at her closely. The most striking things about her were her very long hair, which came down to her knees and her green eyes. Suddenly it hit him. "Gem." He said. "Where the hell did you find her?" he turned to Tyler.
Tyler raised an eyebrow. "Under the same munitions dump I crawled out from under." He said simply.
Gem nodded at Donovan. "Gooder." She said, still not smiling. She looked again at Julie, who was still sobbing on Robins shoulder. "Take her somewhere and get her under control." She told Robin. Robin shot a glare at both Tyler and Gem and led Julie out of the main Café and into a back room.
Donovan could see that Gem hadn't changed much. She was just as hard as she had ever been. More probably. It was a close call as who was harder, Gem or Tyler. Donovan thought of that old saying, 'Hell hath no fury'.
"We came as soon as we heard." Chris said, speaking for the first time. "Robin insisted." He had a touch of sympathy his old buddies lacked.
"Good." Donovan said. "We need you."
"Get some sleep, Gooder." Tyler said. "You look like hell. We'll talk in the morning."
Donovan started to protest, but realized that Tyler was right. He hadn't slept much in the last week. No one had. He turned and headed for his room and slept soundly for the first time since before Elizabeth Maxwell had been killed.
Donovan woke late in the morning. He showered and dressed and went down into the Café. Caleb Taylor was behind the bar with Willie. Polly and Katie Maxwell sat with their sister and Julie.
Caleb looked up when Donovan approached. "When did Robin get back?" he asked.
"Last night around one." Donovan said. "Tyler and Chris brought her back."
At the mention of Tyler, Willie dropped a glass he'd been polishing. Willie was terrified of Tyler. He would never forget that Tyler wanted to use him to test the original Red Dust on. Willie was one of the few who had not missed the presence of Ham Tyler over the last ten years. He quickly bent and cleaned up the shattered glass, muttering apologies.
"Who is that?" Caleb said, appreciatively. Donovan turned and saw Gem had entered the Café. She looked radiant even though she was dressed simply in blue jeans and a t-shirt, which showed off her curves very nicely, even Donovan had to admit. He thought it was the hair, long and beautiful and down.
Donovan motioned Gem over. "This is Gem." He made introductions. "She arrived last night with Tyler and Chris."
Willie stood and looked nervously at Gem. She looked back; not glaring Donovan was glad to note, but not smiling either. Her face was a mask. She nodded when she was introduced.
"Is she like him?" Willie asked, nervously.
"Pretty much." Came a voice from the direction Gem had come from. Chris entered. He shook Caleb's hand and nodded to Willie.
Willies eyebrows rose and he sighed. He went and sat down at the end of the bar.
"Where's Tyler?" he asked.
"He's on his way." Chris said, and sure enough Tyler walked into the room.
Everyone sat with Polly, Katie, Robin and Julie. Caleb brought coffee, creamer and sugar.
"Better?" Gem asked of Julie. Donovan looked at her sharply. There was the smallest hint of gentle concern in her voice.
"Yes." Julie said, embarrassed at her show of emotion the night before. She was finally getting a good look at Gem. "You must be Gem. Robin told me about you."
Gem looked at Robin with a half smile on her face. "I'll bet she did."
"She told me you're worse than Tyler, here. Crueler." Julie glanced at Tyler. "She says you are all business, like Mr. Tyler. She also said something about you and Tyler being married?"
Donovan and Caleb stared at Tyler. "Married?" Donovan marveled. "What? When?"
Tyler looked at Donovan. "Yes," he said. "I got married. Ten years ago. Don't look so shocked, Gooder. You knew we would." He gave Donovan an amused half grin.
Donovan grinned. "Well, I guess I did, come to think of it." He said. "She's your equal."
"More." Tyler admitted, glancing at Gem. Donovan thought he saw a flash of something like affection there. "Enough about us." He said. "Would someone like to tell us what happened?"
Julie quickly looked into her coffee cup. Donovan told the story. They raided the mother ship, attempting to rescue important political prisoners in danger of Conversion. Four of them went on Diana's ship. Gregory, Diana's chief of security killed Elizabeth and Kyle Bates. Their bodies were burned beyond recognition. And they hadn't freed any of the prisoners.
Julie looked up and turned to face Robin. "I'm so sorry, Robin. Elizabeth insisted on coming along. I shouldn't have let her." Her voice was trembling.
"It wasn't your fault, Julie. I don't blame you." Robin said, soothingly. She'd matured a great deal in Chicago, Donovan thought. Or maybe it was just that she had matured since her daughter died. But then again, it had been ten years.
Gem went into a pouch hanging from the belt at her hip. She removed a small packet and held it out to Caleb. "Brew this for her." She told him.
"What is it?" Caleb asked, eyeing the packet suspiciously.
"Tranquilizer." Gem said.
"I don't need a tranquilizer." Julie spat. "I'll be fine."
"In six months, maybe." Tyler retorted. "Take the tea. If we're ever going to get on with things, you need to calm down."
Donovan gave Caleb a nod, and Caleb left the table and headed for the bar, where he emptied the packet into a cup and poured hot water after it. He stirred the contents and brought it back to the table. Gem took it from him and placed it in front of Julie.
"Take it, Julie." Robin urged. "Gem is no better than Tyler, in most ways, but she knows her herbs. The tea will help you."
Julie took the cup and looked into it. "What is it?" she asked again.
"Lemon Balm and Chamomile." Gem said.
Julie drank. Her insides warmed immediately. Donovan looked at her carefully for a couple of minutes.
Gem turned to Donovan. "What are your plans now?"
"None, right now." He said. "We've been sort of shocky."
"Diana." Tyler growled. He had loathing in his face and murder in his eyes.
"Forget it, Tyler." Donovan said. "Diana is too well protected now. You'll never get to her."
Tyler just glared.
They moved to The Lab later that day. The Lab was positioned in the hills south and west of LA. Donovan took the opportunity to ride with Tyler, Chris and Gem while Julie rode with the others. Julie was still upset, but she was far better than she had been over the last few weeks.
Donovan looked in the rearview mirror. It had been almost fifteen years since he'd last seen Gem, and ten since he'd last seen Tyler. Tyler had lost more hair. Had another facial scar. Somehow he looked crueler than anyone Donovan had ever seen before. Gem also looked colder, crueler. Her hair was still long and beautiful with the addition of a long gray stripe somehow confined to a couple of inches on the right side of her head.
"How was Chicago?" Donovan asked, attempting conversation.
"Cold." Chris laughed. "I actually missed LA a time or two. But we haven't spent all our time in Chicago, you know. We spent about half that time all across Canada. We were back in Chicago less than a year when Robin contacted us about getting her back here. That's how we found out."
Donovan nodded. "When did the Trio reunite?" he asked, glancing at Gem.
Gem returned the gaze. "They joined me, actually. We met up right after they came to Chicago. You heard about the sabotaged vaccine?"
Donovan had. The Visitors had begun dropping like flies. Plans were being made to pass the vaccine on to the other Resistance fighters when Chicago was isolated. Not every Visitor had been given the vaccine and those who died were quickly replaced. The fighting in Chicago was among the worse seen anywhere since the Visitors had landed.
Gem continued. "We were sent to Canada a few years after that and moved all around the country, helping out. It seems we are on their international most wanted list now. Have been for quite some time." She grinned.
"I heard about that. There is quite a bounty on your heads." Donovan said.
"Regular king's ransom." Tyler said. "We kept moving between Canada and the Midwest. We got back to Chicago just after Elizabeth left, aparently." He frowned.
"Julie didn't want her to come along. She insisted." Donovan said, defensively.
"I'm surprised Julie is still alive." Tyler said in a low growl. "And on this side."
"Don't start, Tyler." Donovan warned.
"Gooder." Gem said. "There have been all manner of interesting reports out of this area about your leader." She said.
"Julie is fine. She's led us for fourteen years now."
Gem nodded. "We'll see." She said. "I haven't been impressed so far though. I know, I know," she said quickly "Poor dear has had a bad time of it lately." She shook her head.
Donovan drove the rest of the way in silence.
Donovan awoke with Julie beside him. He tried to get out of bed without waking Julie, but she stirred, opened her eyes, smiled and said "Mornin', what time is it?"
It was past nine o'clock. They slept quite late, for a change. They showered and dressed and headed for the dining hall where they got a cup of coffee and then walked towards the workout room in the same building, where a crowd of people was gathered in the doorway. They made their way through the crowd and into the room, where they found Caleb, Willie and Chris off to the side watching Tyler and Gem, fascinated.
"What the hell?" Donovan said.
"Can you believe this?" Caleb said, watching. "They've been at it for half an hour now." He shook his head. "That's some woman. He's giving it to her like she was a grown man and she's taking it and giving it right back to him."
Tyler and Gem were in a fight. Donovan returned his attention to them just in time to see Gem kick Tyler, not once, but twice in the side of the head, knocking him down. He threw his legs around and caught her legs, bringing her around. They both quickly found their legs and Tyler caught his wife in the middle with a punch that forced her back onto a weight bench. She bent her knees and gave him both her feet in his own gut. Tyler remained on his feet, fists ready. Gem swung at him, but Tyler caught her arm and whipped her over his shoulder where he mounted her back and put her in a full nelson.
"She'll never get out of that" Caleb said.
"You have to stop him!" Julie said, looking at Chris.
"They know what their doing." Chris said, keeping his eyes on Tyler and Gem.
Gem threw her head back and Tyler was knocked backward. She rolled away, found her feet and delivered an uppercut to the jaw, followed by a kick to the jaw, followed by another punch.
Willie was looking wide-eyed. Caleb had his eyebrows raised. Gem backed off and stood ready. Tyler looked at her a moment. He gave her half a grin. "OK, OK." He said. He straightened up and said, loudly enough to be heard outside the room "Shows over folks." And the two of them walked over to Chris.
"Lovers' spat?" Donovan said, grinning.
"We do this all the time, Gooder." Tyler said, out of breath.
"You didn't think we were serious?" Gem asked, looking amused.
"It sure looked serious to me." Julie said.
Gem actually laughed. "No." She said. "If we'd been serious, one of us would be dead now. We just needed a little workout."
Julie, Donovan, Caleb and Willie all looked astonished. Gem kept smiling. "What's breakfast and where's coffee?" she asked, as she Tyler and Chris headed for the dining hall.
Donovan watched them walk towards the dining hall. He watched people watch them. They all stared, mostly at Gem. She was wearing black jeans and boots and an army green t-shirt. She was strong, but you couldn't tell from looking at her. She had, Donovan noticed, a great figure; small waist, nice chest, nice ass. Feminine. You would never know, looking at her that she was capable of giving Ham Tyler his money's worth in a fight.
They both got coffee. They were about to sit when Julie said, suddenly. "Let's all walk." Tyler and Gem exchanged looks and looked at Julie, who simply turned and walked out of the building.
Julie led Donovan, Tyler and Gem toward a place that overlooked a great valley. They could just see LA and the mother ship above it.
"What did you do before the Visitors came?" She asked Gem, with no preamble.
Gem raised her eyebrows. "I worked with Tyler and Chris." She said, simply.
Julie looked impatient. "I know that, but I hear you are more than the explosives expert they are. What was your part?"
Gem was so silent for so long, Julie thought she was not going to answer. But Gem said, "I also poison people. Lizards and collaborators, mostly." Julie noted the emphasis on 'mostly'.
"Where is this going, Julie?" Tyler demanded.
Julie glared at him. "We need to capture Diana." She said, looking at Gem. "I hear you're good at kidnapping people, among other things. Think you can do it?"
Gem was looking amused. "I can do it." she said, simply.
"Can you capture her without killing her?" Julie asked, causing Donovan to look at her as if she had lost her mind.
"I can." Gem said, expressionlessly. "I don't know why you would want that, but yes, I can do it." she grinned. "There is a single problem with it, though."
"Oh?" Julie asked.
"Killing Diana would take myself and perhaps one or two other's I know in the area to help." Gem explained. "Capturing Diana? That's more complicated. Might require an armed assault."
"Diana has a wealth of information we can use. We must have her alive." Julie said, ignoring Donovan's look and Tyler's glare.
Gem snorted. "Ten years ago you had Diana and she escaped. You got a better way of containing her this time?"
Julie tightened her jaw. "You get her and I will guarantee she not escape this time."
Gem looked at Tyler. They stared at each other for quite some time before Gem spoke. "I'll find out when Diana will be on Earth again and I'll get a team together to collect her."
"We have Fifth Column that can tell us when she'll be on the ground again." Julie snapped.
"Whatever. Just get me the information as soon as you can. In the mean time, I'll use my own sources. I have no faith in yours." Gem said.
Julie turned and stomped off. Gem turned to Donovan. "You keep a close eye on her when Diana is here. I'll bet you anything Diana can still control her. I don't care how many years it's been."
Julie sent for Gem three days later. Gem walked into the conference room, flanked by Tyler and Chris. Her hair was unbraided, flowing to her knees. Julie felt a surge of something she thought might be jealousy looking at this beautiful and deadly woman. She squashed it and spoke. "Diana is giving a speech at the main Visitor Headquarters in two days."
Donovan walked in the door with Polly. They carried several rolled up pieces of paper. They walked to a long table in the middle of the room and laid the pieces on it. Julie noted how Donovan looked at Gem. I can't allow myself to get jealous, she isn't a threat, Julie told herself.
"This is the floor plan of the Visitor's HQ." Donovan said, unrolling the pieces of papers, revealing the blueprints.
Gem moved to one side of Donovan while Tyler took the other. Julie stood on the other side of Gem. "The speech will be given here." Donovan pointed to a third floor balcony.
"She'll never give a speech." Gem said, pulling out the first floor plans. "Where will her craft land? What route will she take into the building? Where are the guards going to be?"
Julie began telling Gem what her Fifth Column contact had told her. Gem never took her eyes off of the floor plans.
"Six guards surrounding her." Gem said, nodding. "Tell me who will be stationed where on balconies and roof."
Julie gave the information, irritated by the tone of Gem's voice.
Gem stared at the map. "OK, I'll need Ham, Chris, and Donovan." She looked sideways at Donovan.
Julie sputtered. "I should go too." She said angrily.
Gem looked at her, eyebrows raised. "No." Gem said, emotionlessly. "I don't trust you. I don't want you on this. You aren't coming."
"How can you not trust her?" Donovan said, looking at Gem with annoyance in his eyes, Julie was relieved to note. "You wouldn't even know what your dealing with if it weren't for the information Julie just gave you."
Tyler waved a hand dismissively. "We got our information last night."
Gem glared at Julie. "Most of this information is useless to us, in any event."
Julie glared. "You son of a bitch." She breathed. "I thought you at least would trust me."
Tyler shrugged. "I didn't when I left ten years ago. I don't now." He said. "I used my own sources."
"Still not a team player, Tyler?" Donovan asked, a touch of anger in his voice now.
"I have never worked against you." Tyler said. "I work with my own team. That was Chris the last time we were together, Donovan. Now it's Chris and Gem."
"You want Diana alive and well and you'll get her alive and well." Gem said, making eye contact with Donovan. "If not, we'll go and kill her." Her eyes shifted to Julie. "In any event, Chris, Tyler and I will be leaving this comfy little camp tomorrow night. You decide if we'll have Diana." She straightened up and walked straight to Julie, their faces almost touching. "Your information is either phony or from a lousy source. I don't trust your Fifth Column contact and I don't trust you." She said in a very low voice.
Julie made to hit Gem. Gem caught her hand and threw her over the table. She flew across the table, picked Julie up and punched her in the jaw.
Donovan ran to stop the fight and was restrained by Tyler and Chris.
"Let me go, goddammit!" Donovan roared. He was ignored.
Gem threw Julie backwards onto the table and from nowhere produced a knife, which she put to Julie's throat. "Don't ever try to hit me again." Gem said, quite mildly. She backed off of Julie and stood straight, putting the knife away behind her curtain of long hair. "Why did you give us incomplete information?" she asked, glaring down at Julie.
Tyler and Chris let go of Donovan. He straightened his shirt, but Julie noticed he did not come to her side. She pulled herself into a sitting position on the table. "I gave you all the information I had." She said, defiantly.
"Lying to me is a very unhealthy thing to do." Gem said, eyes locked on Julie.
Julie tightened her jaw. "I'm not lying." She said. "The Fifth Column contact I use is usually very reliable. He must have lied to me."
Donovan looked on, beginning to get a very uneasy feeling in the pit of his stomach. He tried to brush it away, but it held. He looked sidelong, first at Chris and then at Tyler. He could read nothing from their faces and cursed them inwardly.
Gem looked just plain dangerous for a moment, then she relaxed visibly. "OK, Julie. I'll believe you this one time. It won't affect our plan anyway." She turned and walked to Donovan. "We are leaving here tomorrow, just before sunset." She said to him so they could all hear her. She put both hands on his shoulders and leaned into him, placing her mouth near his ear as if to whisper something to him, but no words came. She leaned back, nodded to Chris and Tyler and they left the room.
"What a bitch!" Julie spat, once they were alone. She waited for Donovan to speak, but for the longest time he just stood there looking at the place where Gem had disappeared. When he finally turned to look at her, she saw doubt in his eyes. "You don't believe her, do you?" she asked incredulously.
"I've known Gem for a long time." Donovan replied, very slowly. "She has," he paused, searching for words. "I've never known her to be wrong before." He finished lamely.
Julie glared daggers at Donovan. "You'd rather believe that little bitch than me?" she spat, the poison in her voice making Donovan step backwards. "I have been with you, by your side all these years." She stopped, closed her eyes and took a deep breath. "What's going on, Mike?" she finally asked. "You have never doubted me before. Suddenly Gem shows up and it's like I don't know you anymore?" Her eyes narrowed. "Is there something I should know?" she asked.
Donovan raised his eyebrows, feeling anger rising. Now was not the time for another fight between them, but he spoke anyway. "You know how I feel about you." He paused and stepped closer to Julie. "There is no reason to be jealous of Gem."
Julie's eyes absolutely flared. "I'm not jealous of her!" she lied, knowing both of them knew it. "All I know is you trusted me until she came along. What happened to change that?" she demanded. "What makes you trust someone you haven't seen in God knows how long over me?"
Donovan sighed, struggled with words, but they failed him. He just shook his head and sighed. He couldn't explain. He turned and walked from the room. Julie neither spoke, nor came after him. She spent that night in her own quarters.
Around two o'clock the next afternoon Ham Tyler stopped him on his way from the conference room, where he was hoping to see Julie. He hadn't seen her all day and was beginning to worry.
"She left early this morning." Tyler said, without preamble.
"What? Where?" Donovan demanded.
Tyler just stared at Donovan and made clear his thoughts. Tyler believed Julie had turned traitor.
"No!" Donovan said, shaking his head.
"We know she left this morning and was picked up about ten miles from here in a Squad Vehicle." Tyler said simply. They began to walk.
"You were having her watched?" Donovan said incredulously.
Tyler opened a door for Donovan and they left the building. "Of course." He said simply. They turned and began walking away toward several parked vehicles. "Don't start, Donovan." He said, causing Donovan to close his mouth on the words he was about to speak. They walked over to a large passenger van, where Tyler opened the side door and told Donovan, "Get in and we'll explain everything."
Donovan peered into the van and saw Chris behind the wheel and Gem in the back seat. The rear most seat had been removed. Robin, Polly, Katie, Caleb, Maggie Blodgett and Willie were all seated on crates on the floor. Donovan looked over his shoulder at Tyler a moment, and then got into the van without a word. Tyler got in the passenger seat and Chris started the van and started driving.
They drove in silence for about half an hour before Donovan finally said "Tyler, what the hell is this all about?"
Tyler turned around and looked at Donovan. He seemed to be considering the question very carefully. Finally he spoke. "We were notified while we were in Canada to return to Chicago about a week before that botched raid Julie planned. We were told to take Robin back to L.A. and stop the raid, anyway we could. Elizabeth was not to go on that raid and it was our assignment to stop her."
Donovan's jaw dropped. "You told me you left as soon as you heard about Elizabeth."
Chris looked at Donovan through the rearview window. "I lied." We found out the raid happened sooner about halfway here."
Gem looked at Donovan. "Julie changed the time of the raid, didn't she?"
Donovan looked at Gem as if never seeing her before. He didn't speak for a long minute before he finally sighed and said "Yes." He ran his fingers through his hair and added, "She said her contact said there had been a change of plans on the Mother Ship and we would have to go immediately. Elizabeth must have overheard us, because she immediately barged in and demanded to join us."
Gem nodded. "Elizabeth was somehow tempted to go on the raid with Julie. There were no hostages on the Mother Ship at the time in question."
Caleb spoke angrily. "How do you know that?"
Gem looked back at him. "We have very good sources of our own." She said without elaborating.
"Julie's not converted." Donovan said with confidence he didn't really feel. "She's been with us for fifteen years now. It's just not possible."
Tyler looked at Donovan. "Julie's been, at best, half converted for over ten years now." He said. "You know it and so does everyone else here. Don't tell me you forgot what happened on the raid on the Mother Ship when we dispersed the Red Dust."
Donovan said nothing. Everyone in the van was silent again, lost in his or her own thoughts.
"I hate to say it, Mike," Caleb began. "Tyler might actually be right this time. He may have been right way back then. All those bad luck raids over the years."
Donovan said nothing, just shook his head. He remembered all the bad luck raids. How many people had died? Julie couldn't have been responsible, could she? He found himself second-guessing everything that had happened since Julie came from the conversion chamber all those years ago. He remembered the Mother Ship when Julie had allowed Diana to get away. It was impossible to tell whether Julie just let Diana get the jump on her or whether Diana was controlling Julie. He lowered his head into his hand. He heard one of the women in the back crying. Polly? She had grown closer and closer to Julie over the years as she grew into a very good fighter. The doubts being raised would devastate the young woman.
They continued along in silence once again. Donovan looked out of the window to see that they seemed to be driving away from Los Angeles, not into it, as he had assumed. Before he could ask, Katie spoke his thoughts.
"Where are we going?" She asked, quietly.
"Desert." Chris answered.
"The desert?" Caleb said. "Why?"
Tyler turned around in his seat to face those in the back. "Have you noticed that you are the last surviving members of the L.A. Resistance that released the Red Dust?"
Caleb gaped at him, then looked around at the group in the van.
Katie said, "Oh my God, he's right!"
Robin said, "Are you saying there is some sort of a plot to kill all the original Resistance Fighters?"
Tyler nodded. "We think she was going to insist upon going on this raid to kidnap Diana so she could be there to make sure there was at least one other death. She probably set it up so that all of us would be walking into a trap."
Donovan felt his head shaking denial when Gem asked him, "Who did Julie have in mind for this kidnapping party?"
Donovan thought a moment, and then stared openmouthed at Gem. "The only people she'd planned on having come were the people in this van." He said quietly, completely deflated.
The uproar in the van was almost deafening. Through the din could be heard snippets of "No!" and "You have to be kidding" from the last of the original L.A. Resistance Team.
Chris, Gem and Tyler remained silent until the din died down. Robin was next to speak. "Why did you all come back with me? It's not just because I needed an escort, is it?"
"We came back to find out who the leak in the L.A. Resistance was and take care of the problem." Gem said.
"'Take care of the problem'" Robin said, incredulously. "What the hell is that supposed to mean?"
Gem did not reply. Polly spoke instead. "They are here to kill Julie. Probably Diana, too." She said quietly.
Another din of exclamations broke out. Caleb made himself heard above the others. "You can't do that to Julie."
Tyler looked Caleb right in the face. "We are here to remove the threat to the L.A. Resistance movement. That threat is Juliette Parish working with Diana and they will both be neutralized."
Donovan looked at Tyler. "God damn you, Tyler." He said, still sounding defeated. "You have never trusted Julie. You aren't one of us. Let us handle Julie."
Tyler shook his head. "No." he said simply.
Chris looked again into the rearview mirror. "All due respect, Donovan, but you are all too close to this whole mess. Best let us handle the problem."
Donovan just shook his head. He was suddenly too tired to argue. They drove until past sunset, deep into the Arizona desert. It was full dark when they finally stopped at a large group of tents. Two men and a woman met them.
Donovan, Robin, Polly, Katie, Caleb, Maggie and Willie were led to two tents along the edge of the encampment where another man stood guard, armed with some sort of automatic weapon unidentifiable in the dark.
"These are your hosts this evening." Gem said grimly. She began nodding to the armed people around them. "Fred and George" she indicated identical twin men, so blond they're hair seemed to be lighting the area. "Ren" she nodded to a flaming redhead with a full beard, even in the heat of the Arizona night. "Lavender" she nodded to a woman so black she seemed to melt into the darkness even as the blondes lit it. All four nodded their introductions. "If you need anything, just ask and they will see to it."
The ladies were led into one tent and the men into another. Their four guards surrounded the two tents. There was little talk as everyone fell asleep, fully dressed, exhausted by the trip and the information they were trying to absorb.
They were not awakened until late into the next afternoon. They were given desert camouflage and then their guards led them to a largish tent, which seemed to be a mess and meeting tent. Here they were served large filling meals and made very comfortable. They discussed very little about what they learned the night before, they all still seemed in shock. They were able to see more of where they were, however. The camp comprised of about fifteen tents, the one they were in being the largest, followed by another directly across the camp from it. The other tents were roomy enough for four people to call home. The mess tent was filling up little by little, but the entrants did not stare at the newcomers. It seemed like just another day.
Two men walked in spotted the group and walked over to join them. They looked very serious. They spoke to their guards, who nodded slowly, then the two newcomers, joined the others in breakfast. Donovan asked, "Now what?"
Ren looked at Donovan a moment before replying. "We have found out where Julie is. She's with Diana and they are hiding out in the mountains, heavily guarded."
Caleb looked the redhead up and down. "The man asked, 'Now what?'" he said, seriously.
"A group has gone into those mountains to take care of the problem." Fred, or George, said.
"Tyler?" Polly asked quietly.
"He was one of them, yes." Lavender answered. "He, Diamond, Chris and seven others."
One of the blonde twins relaxed his posture a little. "Listen," he said. "Why don't you folks just try and relax. I know it won't be easy. You've had a pretty hard time of it."
Lavender also seemed to relax. "You are free to move around the camp. You are not prisoners here. But a guard will be placed on you at night."
Their four guards took one last look at their charges and walked off, getting their own meals. They returned and sat with them. "I guess we're sort of a welcoming committee now." Fred, or George said.
Polly was looking at the your twin men with fascination. "How do you tell you apart?" she asked.
The twins smiled identical mischievous smiles. "Most people just ask." One of them said. "People say I'm the more serious twin, if that helps any." He took some coffee. "I'm George."
Fred spoke then. "Others just wait until mealtimes. I don't drink coffee." He laughed with them all as he dunked his tea bag repeatedly.
Lavender spoke up. "George has the scar, as you can see." She pointed at a very small scar along the Georges jaw line. "Other than that, there is no way to tell, far as I can tell. Only a few people can tell the difference, and they are the twins themselves, Ham and Diamond."
"Who is Diamond?" Maggie asked, willing to participate in small talk to get her mind off of things.
"You know her as Gem." Ren said, grinning.
"I forgot that was her real name." Donovan said, also willing to allow his mind an escape.
"Not many people know that." Lavender said. "The four of us are probably as close to those three as anyone. That's why we were chosen to guard you your first night here."
Over their early dinner, they learned that their four companions had, at different times, worked along side Chris, Gem and Tyler.
"We knew them before they got married. Way before." Ren said, grinning and nodding to Fred and George.
"I don't believe Tyler got married. It's just too," Caleb was struggling for the words.
George laughed. "Just seems to impossible?" he asked and laughed harder at the nod Caleb gave him. That was enough to break the tension between the groups and for a long time all they did was laugh.
George and Fred exchanged looks. "Oh what the hell!" Fred exclaimed. "Worse they'll do is kill us." And he nodded towards his brother.
"We've known them the longest." Said George. "Met Mister Clarence Hamilton Tyler just after they sent him down to South America to put that Special Team together. We were also part of that team, which split into two parts once all the training was completed. Me and Fred and Ren went one way and Chris and Tyler and Gem went another."
Lavender had apparently heard this story before, because she was already chuckling into her coffee. The rest of them leaned forward, the remnants of their meal forgotten.
"Ham Tyler had a chip on his shoulder the size of Texas when we first met. This was just after the incident with his wife and daughter. He was closed up tight and didn't intend to let anyone in. That's why we were all selected for this particular Team. We weren't people to get overly emotionally involved, but the rest of us were just plain chipper compared to Tyler and then Gem." Fred continued.
"Gem hadn't even managed to finish Boot Camp when she was plucked by the CIA and sent to us. At first, Tyler couldn't stand her because she was a woman, girl really, she had to be young to be fresh out of Boot, right?" George continued. "Tyler drove her like a rented horse from day one! Within three months he would have treated the rented horse like a thoroughbred, he was on her so hard. But Gem is a tough cookie!! She took everything he gave her and returned it with at least as much." He looked around the table. "You've seen those sparring matches they get into?" When everyone nodded, he said. "Those are playtimes compared to what they went through during the formation of our team! Between the two of them, they broke a dozen ribs and dislocated half a dozen shoulders. And still fought like a couple of half starved pit bulls!"
Ren picked up the story here. "He started calling her Di, which pissed her off more than a wet cat. She retaliated by calling him Clarence." Ren had a heavy southern accent. "For a while there I thought they were just going to do us all a favor and kill each other. Then he found out her real age. And he went straight to the Higher Ups with it, thinking he finally had her out of his unit and off his team. Then word came down that the CIA knew exactly how old Gem was and it didn't make a bit of difference to them. He was so enraged, not even Gem dared to approach him. We all just sat back and waited for the storm to pass."
"How old was she?" Willie asked, forgetting himself and speaking for the first time, betraying his race to these strangers. However they did not even flinch.
"She had just had her sixteenth birthday when Tyler found out." Fred said, picking up the story again. "Nobody else on the team could really understand why Tyler hated Gem so much. He'd been sixteen when he'd joined up, so it couldn't have been that. Chris and I knew though." He grinned into his cup of tea. "My brother and his friend just don't have the poets hearts Chris and I do." He said, ducking the swats that came from both his brother and Ren. He looked at Maggie a moment before continuing. She had half a smile on her lips.
"Anyway, Chris and I were able to see beyond the thrown punches and kicks and told everybody that it was obvious that those two had the big time hots for each other. More than that, they were falling big time in love with each other. I think that they were fighting they're developing feelings for each other more than they were fighting each other."
George took up the story again. "Well, it made some sense, after you thought about it a bit. The two most closed people of the whole six of us were Tyler and Gem. Tyler was feeling all guilty because his wife and baby had died in that church and here was Gem, a woman who would never allow that to happen to her or her kid. A woman who was the exact opposite of his wife and he admired her for her nerve and her strength, inner and outer. The admiration I could see, but it never occurred to me he was falling for her."
Ren said. "Gem was a tough kid from the streets of Chicago. Half Black and half Italian and grew up in both worlds. Her mother abandoned her when she was born. Couldn't handle having a mixed kid is my guess. Rose up by the Italian side of her family. She spent a lot of time between Little Italy and the Black neighborhoods, but she felt most at home in Little Italy, because she was more accepted with her light skin and green eyes. Rival mobsters shot down her father when she was really still a little girl. She told me all about it all them times I wrapped her ribs and relocated her shoulders. I was the team medic, see." He grinned into his now empty cup of coffee. "Funny, I suppose we should have hated each other more because she is a Yankee and I'm a good ol Southern boy. But that's not what happened at all."
"It was a solid year of training before we finally got some R&R." Fred began. "Me, George, Chris and Ren had a bet going on. Me and Chris said they'd be lovers before R&R was over. Ren and George said they'd kill each other in the streets of Rio or something. They finally accepted their fate and I made five hundred dollars!" he whooped, slapping his brother on the arm.
"They were very professional about it, but they didn't try to hide their relationship from us for very long." George said. "We were one big happy family and you can't hide that stuff from family." He looked up to see that Lavender had gone for more coffee and she refilled everyone's cup, except for Fred's, he was given more hot water.
"Once they became lovers they became one well oiled machine." Ren said, admiration thick in his voice. "They seemed to know each others thoughts. It was almost as weird as Fred and George, the way those two were. I'm not one to believe in Heaven and all that mess, but if there ever was a match made in Heaven, they had it." He sipped more coffee. "We split into teams and Chris stayed with them. Just before the Lizards landed, Gem got transferred to Chicago. No one knows why, but neither of them fought the transfer. Chris and Tyler are a great team, don't get me wrong, but they are almost clumsy compared to the team Tyler and Gem make, if you know what I mean." He watched the nodding heads at the table. "Anyway, their team got split, the lizards landed, all hell broke loose and we sort of lost track of each other. We heard about the mess in Chicago and it had Gem's name written all over it. She knew her chemicals. If anyone could cause the mayhem that happened in Chicago, it was her. I had been able to catch up with the Doublemint Twins here and we all headed out for Chicago. We found Chris, Tyler and Gem all there, like they had never split their team. And on top of all of it, Tyler and Gem had finally seen reason and gotten married. The six of us were back together, traveling all over the upper US and Canada and then we get this call about all this mess." He stopped here a moment. "The rest, you know." He finished.
The story had succeeded in taking their minds off of Julie, but like all stories, it ended and reality came crashing in on them.
Maggie heaved a heavy sigh. "I wonder what's happening." She said, quietly.
Chris, Tyler and Gem had stopped long enough to hand their charges over to their guards, grab some coffee and a small meal, and change into black camouflage before they were back in the jeep leading a convoy of four similar jeeps loaded with the supplies they needed and headed right back to California. Tyler drove this time, having slept plenty on the drive into the desert, allowing Chris and Gem to sleep. Chris was out immediately, but Gem took time to braid her long hair and tuck away her assorted carbide weapons into the long, thick braid. When she finished, she turned to her husband. They looked at each other for a long time before she nodded grimly, getting the answer to her unspoken question and was asleep within two minutes.
Tyler drove silently almost the entire way. He wasn't nervous, or anxious. Simply determined. He woke Gem with a hundred miles remaining and they switched places without stopping the jeep. Tyler slept until his wife woke him when they'd come within ten miles of their destination. The ten of them hid their vehicles and opened the crates of ammunition they brought with them. Pistols and rifles. Silencers. Crossbows. Enough ammunition to do the job three times over. They went over their plan one last time before they split up in pairs and began working themselves into a position so the ten of them would be surrounding the mountain retreat.
The sun had fallen by the time they were all in position. Tyler and Gem were, of course, working as a team. Gem was up a tree and Tyler was secured behind it. Their strategy was a very simple one. Annihilate everything. There were two squad vehicles sitting in front of a large, two-story log cabin with a single door in the front of the house. Regardless, people were positioned to guard the back of the house. The were in position less then five minutes when the squad vehicles exploded within fifteen seconds of each other.
The first of the guards came running out to see what happened. Six of them were picked off immediately. Two returned inside, likely to save their lives and report they were under attack. Gem, using the telescopic sight on her crossbow, set a flaming bolt into the hand of the Visitor attempting to turn on the radio to call for backup. A simply broad point went into the head of the next person she sighted on, a Brownshirt.
The Desert Team began closing in on the log cabin. Gem dropped to the ground once Tyler and three others appeared in the clearing, shooting out windows with pistols and killing at least four other Visitors and/or Brownshirts before they hit the steps.
Shots behind the house told Gem a hail of bullets was keeping someone inside. She sprinted up the steps and into the house, pistol ready. Five people, all from her team, were inside the house. The first floor was being cleared. There was no basement. They headed up the stairs. There was a door at the head of the stairs that was wide opened. They cleared the room, and then took cover in it. Directly in front of them was another door, the only one that was closed. The team of five cleared all the open rooms while working their way towards the closed door. The silence was deafening. That the shots behind the house had ceased, told the team that the only people remaining in the house had retreated to the front upstairs' room.
Unintelligible talk came from this room as they approached the door. Suddenly the door splintered inward as a body fell backwards, stumbled and fell, dead, over the banister and cracked it's neck on the stairs below.
"Come on out, Diana." Tyler said, not yelling, but loud enough to be heard.
A cold, cruel laughed answered. "Mister Tyler. Is that you?" Diana's voice sounded quite pleased. "You've made quite a mess of my house, haven't you?" she said, her laughter fading away. "I'll have to take it out of your hide, so to speak."
Tyler was on the right side of the now splintered door with two men behind him. Gem was on the right side, where the hinges were, with one man. Gem knelt, leaned carefully into the door, took careful aim and shot the first piece of fabric she saw, and then pulled herself back. She heard a male screaming.
Gem looked over at Tyler. They stared into each others eyes for almost thirty seconds before they both nodded and took deep breaths. Tyler quickly threw himself into he room, taking quick and accurate aim and shot Diana in the shoulder of the arm holding her laser pistol. At the same time, Gem shot Julie in the sternum, throwing Julie backward, through the closed window. She quickly located Tyler and Diana then she located the leg she'd shot. It was attached to a young man who was writhing on the bed, his laser pistol out of his reach on the floor. She went and picked it up anyway and tossed it to the first man that entered the room after her, a brunette with blue eyes named Sam. He caught it and took it from the room. Tyler, Diana, Gem and the young Brownshirt were alone.
"You are a lucky man, Mister Tyler." Diana purred, breathing a little heavier than usual. "You managed to capture myself, Miss Parrish and the poor hapless Sean Donovan all in one fell swoop."
Tyler started, just barely. He tightened his jaw. "We haven't captured anyone, Diana." He said with a deadly calm voice.
Diana looked surprised. "You've caught us fair and square, Mister Tyler." She stammered.
Gem stepped forward and took the pistol Tyler handed straight back to her. He advanced on Diana, a half smile on his lips. "I have waited a long time for this day, Diana." He said.
He backed Diana into a corner, grabbed her shoulder and swung her around. He placed his left hand on the top of her head and his right hand under her chin and twisted her neck until it snapped.
He slowly turned until he was facing the Brownshirt on the bed. "Yes." He hissed. "Sean Donovan. It's been a long time, boy."
Sean squirmed on the bed, thinking fast. "Thank God you found me!" he squealed. "I've been trying to get away for years and years, but Diana would never let me out of her sight!" He said, looking directly at Tyler.
Tyler shook his head. "You never wanted to get away, Sean." He said, softly.
Sean reached behind his back and slowly brought out a pistol. He held it non-threateningly. "See, I mean you no harm. I just want to go home. Back to my father." He cried, although no tears came from his eyes. He looked at Gem, pleading. "Please. Take me back to my father."
Gem looked at Tyler, who looked back. He made to take the gun from Sean when it was suddenly pointed at his heart. "Don't move." He hissed.
Tyler spit out a short laugh. "You never were too bright, were you, Sean?" he whispered, as Sean suddenly realized that Gem had her pistol in his ear.
Sean twitched. Gem pulled the trigger and blew Sean Donovan's head off.
Back on the ground floor, Tyler and Gem made sure Juliette Parish was, in fact, dead, before they carried her back into the log cabin along with the rest of the bodies. They wired the place from top to bottom and set a timer. They were just getting into their jeeps ten miles away when the place blew up and began burning out of control. By the time they returned to the desert camp, the fire and just begun to die out.
The Desert Team that went into the California Mountains after Diana slept the clock almost. They emerged the next afternoon, ate the first solid meal they'd had in days, showered, shaved and went on with life as usual. Tyler, Chris and Gem, went to the last original members of the Los Angeles, who had been congregated in the mess tent by their four guardians.
Fred, George, Lavender and Ren all stood at the four corners of the table while Chris told the story. Silence descended for many long minutes as the story was told and absorbed.
Donovan cleared his throat. He opened his mouth to say more, but closed it again, got up and left the tent. George made to go after him, but stopped at a hand motion from Gem.
Mike Donovan went for a long walk in the late afternoon desert. The weather was mild, even for January. He walked for hours, heading back only when it was almost too dark to see. By the time he returned to the camp, it was full dark and the camp seemed to be settling in. The tents where he and the ladies were staying was lit up. He saw figures he knew to be his friends and their guards/companions, but did not enter the tents. Instead he kept walking until he found the tent he as looking for. They'd been given a tour and he knew he was in the right place. This tent was also lit and he stood outside it for a moment before he heard a voice inside say. "Come in, Mike."
He bent slightly to enter the tent, but could stand at his full height once inside. Gem and Tyler were sitting at a folding table in the middle of the tent, drinking some steaming liquid from a thermos. Gem poured one for Donovan and he sat and accepted the offered cup. The tea was some sort of herbal blend. Sort of like lemons and apples and mint all mixed together. He drained the cup and put it down. Gem filled it again.
"My own blend." She said quietly. "Chamomile, Lemon Balm and Spearmint."
Silence fell. After a long pause, Tyler said, gentler than usual. "We can't apologize, Gooder."
Donovan signed and raised his hand. "I know, Tyler." He said, and then took a long drink of the tea. It was relaxing and invigorating at the same time. "There really isn't anything to apologize for. You were right. The whole time. The rest of us were blinded somehow. Probably by love of Julie. We couldn't see." He sighed again and looked into his cup. After a moment he looked at the couple sitting with him. "I came here to tell you that. You most likely saved all of our lives. We owe you."
Both Tyler and Gem were shaking their heads. "It sounds cliché," Gem said, "but we really were just doing our job."
Donovan laughed. The tension eased some more. They finished off the tea, and spent the rest of the evening talking about everything else.