The Action 2 страница

" I haven't spent a lot of time with her either, but from our brief encounters I could see the two of you shining in the depths of those blue eyes. She had both my girls dazed I think, but the princess only has eyes for one of them. Annie is a lucky girl, and it's about time I tell her as much, consequences be damned."

Audrey moved to the seat next to Doris and reached out to put her hand on the woman's knee. " You'll never be damned, my friend, because no matter what life throws at you, you'll always have a home waiting for you and people who love you. I have a few things with me if you'd care to have them. One is a letter from your mother."

With her face buried in her hands in shame, Doris started to cry and before too long sobs wracked her body so violently that Audrey rose again and put her arms around her. Even if it were her job to condemn or judge the woman for her actions, she could have done no better job than Doris herself.

" I meant no harm in bringing it, Dothan, she just wants to know how you are and what her grandchildren are like." Audrey pulled Doris' hands away from her face and started to wipe away the tears. " She isn't the only one. My only advice is that there have been too many years stolen from them already because of foolishness. Don't take a chance and take anymore from them, for one day it will be too late."

" How are they? "

" They're older, which is to be expected, but Erica and Teri are as feisty as ever. I feared for my life when I told Erica I wanted to send an exhibit with Bebo when she came. She takes her job as Keeper of the Archives very seriously."

" In the very few times I've spoken to her, mom seemed so excited about that job, I felt she didn't really miss me all that much."

" Your mother found comfort in the past, but don't ever think that her heart didn't long to share all those special moments you've experienced over the years with you. A job cannot be a substitute for a child. Don't fool yourself." It was the only time from the beginning of their talk that Audrey's voice sounded slightly scolding. " It did make her feel better though, that it was her granddaughter who was going to be looking out for all our treasures."

Erica was one of the few people she met with at least three times a week, and no matter what was going on there was pain always visible in those green eyes. Her partner Teri seldom spoke of Dothan, but the queen never thought it was because of anger towards the woman, just a lack of strength to fight back the agony of losing her and why. Because of their children there would be no hiding the truth now. Annie and Bebo had unwittingly opened the doors on a hurt that had been festering in the dark for too long.

" How do I begin to fix this? " asked Doris.

" We begin with the telling of a story. We will tell them the story of Dothan Cyr, and how she became known to the world as Doris Paddio. When Bebo gets back and she's here to help Annie and Reggie process the first part, then and only then will we tell them the rest." Audrey cupped Doris' face in her hands and made her focus on what was important. " I won't lie to you and tell you that the hearing for them will be easy, but you owe it to them to let them know who they really are and where it is they come from. Bebo may get mad at me for telling you before she has a chance to talk you, but she has offered Annie a bracelet and your daughter has accepted. Ironic isn't it? "

" What? "

" She'll one day help rule the people your husband tried to erase from your existence. Bebo's always saying the gods have a sense of humor that's never squelched. I'm beginning to think she's right." Audrey stood and held out her hand to her old friend. " Come, we have two sisters to welcome into our fold."

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The second leg of their flight ended as the aircraft came to a stop in Jacolla on the eastern coast of the continent. With the various time changes, the sun was about two hours from setting as they deplaned. Offshore lose to the base they were using, the aircraft carrier U.S.S Lincoln was anchored to provide emergency medical treatment and a helicopter ride in and out of Conger.

" Bebo Leon, right? " The young naval pilot held his hand out to her as if he were greeting an old friend.

" Good to meet you, " she looked at this flight suit for the markings of rank, " Lieutenant." She then looked to the nametag, " Bidden."

" We're headed into the bush together, Bebo, so let's drop the ranks. Just call me Joe, cause on the way back when you need to call someone to get you out of that hellhole, Joe's a hell of a lot shorter than Lt. Bidden. Y'all want to grab some chow before we saddle up? " He cocked his head in the direction of a building behind him where the base commissary was. The food wasn't great but it was better than the rations they'd have on the trail.

" How far in do we need to go? " asked Bear.

" The hop will take about an hour and some to get you to the spot of the Cobras team's last radioed contact. If you take an hour then we'll get you there about fifteen minutes after sunset."

" Then I'd rather leave now if you're ready. I want to be dropped off about a mile from where the last transmission emanated from. Since we don't know what happened to them I don't want to fall into the same trap." Bear nodded her approval of Bebo's thinking. Leaving now would also give them about forty minutes of daylight to work with to look for any clues along the way.

Joe and three other soldiers climbed into the chopper with them. He had a co-pilot and a gunmen off each door. Jacolla was a friendly port but Conger was the area's hotspot at the moment and Americans were at the top of their kill list. Their orders though, were to fire only if fired upon. The brass didn't want to be blamed for taking sides or for adding fuel to an already burning inferno of violence.

As they approached their destination Joe broke the silence. " Bebo, have one of your crew grab a couple of those smoke cans before you get out. Once you have the Cobras just radio in your coordinates and we'll come a running. I won't land though unless I see yellow smoke. The powers that be typed up some preferable spots for extraction, but you just give me enough time and space to put down and not get the shit shot out of my bird and we'll get you out. You can bank on that."

" Good to know, and we'll try our best to pick an open but covered spot." Bebo gave him the thumbs up sign as he hovered above the tree canopy about two miles from their goal.

They rappelled down and the men at the doors were surprised when the Amazons unhooked at the top of the trees. With all the equipment they were carrying it was going to be a bitch getting down so they hoped they knew what they were doing and they wouldn't be back in a couple of hours with a medical evacuation.

Bebo moved a couple of branches down as her team fanned out in increments of a hundred feet. They were far enough down to see the floor of the jungle but high enough that someone would have to specifically looking for them to be spotted. And then only movement would have given them away since their clothing and face paint made them blend into the foliage like big leaves. She brought some high-powered binoculars out of her pack and checked the GPS device strapped to her forearm to see what direction to look in.

" See anything? " Steph's voice sounded softly from the radio piece in Bebo's left ear. The microphone was attached to her throat and was sensitive enough to pick up the slightest whisper.

" Some monkeys enjoying an evening meal of fruit about three hundred feet to the west of us, but that's about it. If they came through here, Patrick and his guys did a good job of covering their tracks. According to the layout they gave us the clinic should have been about four clicks from here. Let's see where Alice went into the rabbit hole from here to there."

" When we find them can I be the first one to tell him you called him Alice? " asked Beth.

Five of them dropped to the ground while Max stayed in the trees. They moved as fast as they could while still checking for any type of manmade device which didn't belong. The problems with high tech societies was that they sometimes expected the trap they themselves would set, missing the simplest trigger to a very untechnological log that would make you spit out your lungs if you missed it.

At the beginning of their second mile, Bebo put her fist up and let out a birdcall that blended in with the local fowl. She gave a series of hand motions that sent the group into the bush with the safety on their guns now in the off position.

" I think you'd have ducked in time, pal, but you should see the barbs on this thing they have rigged up to that trigger you just ran across." Max was sitting next to the thick branch rigged up with a simple pulley system shored up with vines that could be found growing everywhere. " I hope to the goddess one of the Cobras didn't run across one of these babies."

" There's another one over here, " said Steph. " What's the plan here, Bebo? "

" The more appropriate question is what's so important here that requires such protection? " The darkness was coming quickly and the sounds of the insects seemed almost magnified with the setting sun. " Max, move up to where we want to start in the morning and we'll be right behind you. Give us a call if you run into something unexpected and we'll keep you company in the branches as soon as we get there. Don't forget your night vision, ladies."

They studied the traps as they went surprised that whoever had put them there managed to attach as many as five triggers to every one. The thought behind setting them up like that was if you were lucky enough to find one, you tended to let your guard down enough to miss the next one maybe three feet away. Bebo had never seen them used in that fashion but she had heard about them from Bo. It was a favorite of an opponent she had faced before she and Audrey had met.

Forming a perimeter around the spot they considered to be their starting point, the Amazons sat in the high branches looking for anything out of the ordinary. Beth picked the spot with the most cover and pulled out a small laptop computer. It took a second to boot and find a satellite hookup, but the screen came to life with a message from the Lincoln.

U.S.S. Lincoln: Go head.

Snake Charmer: We've reached the go spot. Aside from a few traps on the ground, all's quiet. Out.

Bebo had laughed when Philip had told them their mission code name before they left, but the check in schedule was something he had insisted on. When there was a message incoming a soft beep would go off only in Beth's ear since she was their communications person.

After sending and receiving a reply, she switched to another screen showing any movement near them from the same satellite feed. The technology was advanced but every so often if an animal was big enough it triggered the heat sensors the device scanned for. She ignored those images that were moving too high and alone and concentrated on the twenty or so moving rapidly towards them.

" Company due north west, you should be able to see them in about ten."

The men weren't talking loudly but they weren't being quiet either as they moved through the bush. There were five in the front and a couple towards the back of the line in some sort of uniform, but the others were in civilian clothing and all were carrying guns and machetes. As they neared the trees, the man who was apparently the leader put up his hand and there was dead stillness.

" Move and check the traps. The radar showed that helicopter hovering for a few minutes. I'm sure it wasn't because they were sightseeing. " His French was not the best but understandable enough to the women looking down on them.

" Do you think they sent more? " The man who asked the question was one of the uniforms that had been walking at the back of the line.

" If they did we'll find them soon enough. Perhaps the next group will be more talkative then the last. "

" Hold, " whispered Bebo so softly it almost made the others imagine hearing her voice.

" Nothing, sir. They're all in place, " reported one of the men in plain clothing.

" Stupid and slow, a good combination indeed. " The comment made the ones who had gotten back from their patrol laugh at the leader's humor. After seeing what the man was capable of, they were willing to do anything for him just as long as his ire wasn't turned on them. " Let's get back and we'll check again in the morning. "

None of them looked up as they started back in the direction they had come from. Bebo gave the order by putting her index finger up then followed it with a palm and then two fingers. They would go as soon as they were twenty feet ahead of them and they would keep that position until she gave the stop order. Perhaps finding what they came for wasn't going to be that hard after all.

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Annie and Reggie were laughing at something Bo was telling them when the Consort noticed her wife returning with their old friend. If both her daughters took after Dothan, they would retain the ageless beauty the family was known for.

" She did not, " said Annie, wiping away the tears that had started to fall from all the laughter. For a short while Boden had managed to dim the constant worry on Bebo's behalf by telling her funny stories she would be able to tease her lover with when she returned.

" I'm telling you, naked as the day she was born. Bebo came out of the womb a big handful so you'll have your work cut out for you, Annie, but she's also a lot of fun to be around."

" Spoken like a true doting mother, love, " said Audrey when they got closer. " And if that was the conclusion to the story I think it was, I'd start sleeping with one eye open." The girls laughed at the banter then looked over Audrey's shoulder and noticed their mother.

" Mom? Is something wrong? " asked Annie. She could see that the green eyes so much like her own were red and swollen as if she'd been crying for a while. " Did you hear something? " Thoughts of Bebo and her father rushed back to the front of her mind and it made her nauseous.

" No, honey, I was just here to meet with Queen Audrey. I haven't heard anything about your father or when he'll be back."

Leave it to the hierarchy to keep her mother in the dark thought Reggie. " Mom, there have been some developments that I think you should know about." She explained with as much detail as she remembered hearing from Annie then added where Bebo was and what she and her group hoped to accomplish. When she finished, fresh tears sprung to Doris' eyes and it only confused her family further. " What's wrong, mom? If you hadn't heard about dad, what has you so upset? "

" Before your mother answers that, I want you both to remember your promise to me, " said Audrey as she put her hand on Doris' shoulder and squeezed. " Do you want me to do it? "

" No, it's my decisions that have gotten us to this point so I should be the one to tell them." Doris took a seat facing her daughters and took a deep breath. " I've been debating this over the past couple of years, thinking I had all the time I wanted in finding a way to tell you." She had to stop and take another couple of breaths to try and center her emotions.

" It's ok, mom. Whatever you have to say, just say it. Reggie and I'll be right here for you when you finish." Annie moved so she was kneeling in front of her mother. The royal couple looked on with approval liking this young woman who had captured their own child's heart. Compassion was the key ingredient for a good ruler.

" A long time ago a child was born to Erica and Teri Cyr, " began Doris, thinking that telling it in the third person would make it easier on her. " Erica is the current head of Amazonia's Archives and her partner Teri works for the queen's consort as a military liaison. They had only one daughter born to them and they named her Dothan Cyr."

" Wait, how do you know so much about who does what in Amazonia? " asked Reggie.

The impatience made Boden laugh softly and Audrey felt the rumble against her back. Their thoughts were running in the same direction. The youngest Paddio reminded them both of Teri and her demeanor as a young woman. How she had become one of their best liaisons and negotiators still amazed Bo.

" Patience, little one. A story is best enjoyed with no interruption. At its conclusion is when you should unleash that enthusiasm you have for the why of everything, " said Bo.

" Dothan wanted nothing more than to follow her mother's career choice and work in the Archives and have a family. The year before the queen's mask went to Audrey, Dothan was invited to come to Washington and work here at the embassy to establish closer ties to the Smithsonian Institute. While Dothan was here she ran into a young soldier she hadn't seen in years and agreed to have dinner with him. After a few dates, her dreams changed and she picked a new name and a new direction for her life."

" Dothan Cyr became Doris Paddio, didn't she? " asked Annie softly looking at her mother's face for the truth.

Doris nodded her head and started to cry. " Yes, " she was able to get out before words became impossible.

" But why not tell us? " asked Reggie. She felt betrayed that Doris would keep something so important about their heritage a secret.

" Reggie, please try and keep your voice down, " said Audrey. " I know this is a lot to process and if your mother doesn't mind I'd like to finish." The upset blonde nodded her head and felt almost grateful that her part was over. " Your father for his own reasons, and only he can answer whatever questions you have on the subject, made your mother promise not to share this with you. I miss my old friend, but I never condemned her for wanting to have a family away from what she'd known all her life. Our tribe is made up of a diversity of women, each of whom brings some special gift to the island. Their children though, are free to discover and live life the way they see fit. It is something we encourage in all our classes while the children are in school. Sometimes that means they will move on and find happiness in some other part of the world."

" Yeah, but that's not what happened here, " said Reggie not calming down. " I'm sure just because you want to move and do something else doesn't mean you abandon your family. Why didn't he want you to tell us? Was he afraid, God forbid, we'd turn out to be less than perfect in his eyes and love women? "

" Your father wanted you to grow up without certain influences in your life. To give you a chance to see what the world outside of what Amazonia had to offer. What Queen Audrey said was right, sometimes people want to leave, but then their children find the concept of the island and the people just as fascinating and want to return." Doris was able to speak after accepting a glass of water from Boden.

" What does all this mean to us? " asked Annie. The shock of what had come out of her mother's mouth had made her slump to the grass.

" What it means is that you have duel citizenship because of Dothan and your grandmothers, and it also makes your joining to Bebo that much easier." Audrey spoke but signaled to Bo with a slight nod of her head to help Annie back to her seat. Her consort complied and rejoined her on the chair they'd been sharing. " Bo and I will leave you to finish your discussion." Audrey rose and took Bo's hand as they prepared to retire upstairs for a short rest. " Please take your time and I'd like it if you all stayed with us tonight. I know Reggie and Annie have decided to stay with us until Bebo returns, but I'd like it if you joined them, " she said to Doris.

" Thank you, highness." She stood and bowed in gratitude for Audrey's generosity, which Doris didn't feel like she deserved.

" It's nothing, and please, you are among friends now so stop your crying and talk to your girls. Just send someone for us if you need anything." The petite blonde queen gave her old friend another hug before taking Bo's hand and following her into the house.

Kip was again waiting for them to deliver news of their next visitor. They had brought more than enough guards to allow the captain to act as more of a personal secretary while they were in the house. " Philip is waiting in the study. He wanted to come and see you before going home for the evening."

" Promise me you won't hit him, " Audrey turned and looked up at her wife.

" He manipulated her out there and you know it as well as I do, so why shouldn't I? "

" Because I'm asking you not to for now. If she comes home with a bruise anywhere on her then I might change my mind, but for now I want him to be able to talk to share information with us." With a soft hand, she reached up and caressed Bo's cheek.

They exchanged greetings and Philip was glad to see them again even if it was under strained circumstances. He told them of the transmission they had gotten from the Amazons and promised to share any future messages and location with them until their daughter returned.

" I know you're pissed at me, Bo, but you know she and Bear were the best two to lead those people out of there. Once she's done we'll get them out as soon as possible, but we couldn't let York fall into the rebels' hands. If they decide to unleash that shit somewhere like London, or here, think of the millions they could kill."

Bo exhaled and tried to keep her hands from clinching. Her problem had always been keeping perspective when it came to Bebo. Logically she could understand why Philip had done what he had, but as a mother she was as terrified as Annie and Audrey combined. Once you had been in the situation the Amazons found themselves in, you knew what a close walk with death it was.

" Just make sure your first call after hearing from them is to us. If i get something that's hours old, I'll kick your ass from here to the Pentagon."

" Duly noted." He rose and bid them good night wanting to check in with the office before heading to his Virginia home. " I swear it, Bo, as soon as I hear anything, you'll hear it."

Audrey shook her head the whole time they were climbing the stairs. " What? You said I couldn't hit him and I didn't, you never said anything about not threatening him."

" Warriors, rough around the edges but you gotta love them." The queen stopped at the landing with Bo a couple of steps below her bringing their heights level. " You know I love you for the worry wart that you are, but you have to have faith in all the hours of training you put into our cub. She'll make it out and make us proud doing so."

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The group would stop and disburse every so often checking to see if any of their snares had been triggered. Sounds of the abundant wildlife could be heard in the trees and jungle floor as they trekked on helping to cover any noise the Amazons made. Even without the help of those things that belonged there, the women moved silently through the trees.

When the men went to check on their perimeter protection the same two men that led and pulled up the rear would stop and talk in their broken French. The smoke from their cigarettes drifted up to where Bebo was pressed up against the trunk. She listened to what they had to say while she looked along the tree line to the compound they were headed towards.

It consisted of four main buildings and a number of shacks along the wall of jungle the space had been carved from. Around a few of the structures, the vines and aggressive vegetation were starting to reclaim the area.

" What do you think, a village they took over? " Rita's voice sounded in everyone's ear, as she was the closest to the buildings. She looked to Bebo and saw the very slow nod of her head and the clenched fist to keep them from saying anything else out loud and also to keep them in position. They would head no further in with their quarry so close under them.

The tall man that had taken the lead all night looked one last time towards the black jungle and flicked his cigarette away. " They haven't gotten too far if they're out here, so let's get back. I want to report before our friend turns in for the night. " All the men dressed in street clothes looked grateful for the reprieve and moved quickly to their bunks.

Bebo watched them all break up and head towards the shacks at the edges of the compound. From some of the huts, an almost instant din of screaming and frightened protests arose from what sounded like female voices. It clarified in her mind that the area was a compound that had been taken over by the rebels not only for a place to stay but to inflict their special form of torture on the people that lived there.

The princess pointed to her neck to get her team to turn off their radios and moved closer to where she was positioned. They looked like a band of thugs but sometimes even thugs had sophisticated equipment capable of electronic surveillance.

" Give them until the screaming stops and then we'll go in and take a look around. I want to wait until we have the Cobras in sight before we fire off a shot." They listened to the princess while keeping an eye out for any movement back in their direction.

Checking her watch, Bebo saw it was three in the morning when total silence filled the area and had for over an hour. It was as close to the dead of night as they were going to get. Before jumping to the ground, she motioned to Bear then pointed two fingers to her eyes, asking her to keep an eye out, and then moved her thumb across her throat in an upward fashion allowing them to turn the radios back on. A friendly warning was worth the chance of being intercepted.

By a stroke of luck, one of the men stumbled out of one of the huts and headed close to where the princess was standing. She waited until he was well into the bush and into answering nature's call before moving closer to him. He was one of the non-uniformed volunteer help who had been walking around checking snares. By the time he bounced on his feet a couple of times and zipped his fly, Bebo was standing right behind him.

She used a technique of ancient martial arts taught only to a chosen number of cadets on Amazonia dropped the man to his knees immediately. Two quick jabs to his neck caused such a reaction in his body, he started to pant trying to get air into his lungs. When he was immobilized, she jabbed one more time to the front of his throat allowing only a trickle of air to trickle into his lungs. It was relief enough to keep him alive for two minutes instead of the thirty or so seconds the first two jabs would have resulted in.

" Where are the men who came through here a couple of days ago? " Her French was a lot better than his, but she figured he could understand her.

" I don't know who you're talking about. " It hurt so badly to get the words out. With each syllable it caused precious air to escape making his chest burn.

" I'd say you're wasting my time, but that wouldn't exactly be true. You're wasting your own time and until you tell me what I want to know I'm not going to release you. " She looked at her watch only for show, but it did get his attention. " You've got about two minutes to tell me what I want to know."

" I don't know about any men, please. " She shook her head and started towards the darkness of the trees. " Wait, " his pleading whisper cut through the stillness. " I…they were here for only a short time but then they were moved to the north of here for interrogation. I don't know where they are now. "

There was a minute left on her mental clock. " Who's in those shacks? " She pointed in the direction he had come from.

" They're just some of the village women. The soldiers let us have a little fun with them for our work. " Blood was starting to trickle from his nose and he was getting almost euphoric from the lack of oxygen to his brain but he still smiled when he saw her fingers moving towards his neck again. He had told her what she wanted to know and now would be allowed to leave to warn the leader. With this information he could probably make some money.