Rash'Tor'Ri (Soulguard Book 4), page 5
I wasn't physically tired, but mentally. The Source keeps me strong but the building of basic shields had been monotonous and mind numbing. I did find that the rage wasn't as high with the monotony as long as I had to concentrate. There were still times I had to go out in the center of the open area and bleed it off with training in both blade and Source.
"I almost woke up this morning wishing for an invasion," Prada said.
"I know the feelin'," I answered. "This has been a long three months."
"Too bloody long," Stone muttered.
"They have a hell of a defense set up," Prada said. "I'd love to see it in action."
"Just the firepower of the single gun was awesome," I said. "I would love to see five hundred of the damn things workin' at the same time."
They had set up the first Source battery. The weapon was impressive, but they didn't need us to install the weapons. We had finished the shields and the Chinese Academy had pretty much relocated to the outskirts of the base constructed around the wall. The whole area was crawling with Soulguards and Chinese military units.
"Wouldn't that be a sight, Mate?" Brighton wondered.
"That it would," I answered. "Warren called earlier this week and told me they shipped another two hundred of 'em to Kansas."
"They found enough space to add more guns?" Adaya asked.
"Bloody Americans never have enough guns, Adaya," Stone chuckled. "I tend to agree with them, these days."
"You can never have enough guns," I said.
"Case in point," he said.
"This jet is so much nicer than our normal mode of transport," Reyna said as she approached from the rear of the jet. I never got to use the Soulguard jet, but I thought it was smaller."
"The jet was damaged, a little while back," Prada said. "They repaired it but the structure was warped a little too much. They bought a new one."
"How was it damaged?" Rostov asked.
"Oh, someone kicked the door off," she answered. "Normally the door would have unlatched but the plane was a couple of miles up. The kick warped the frame around the door and weakened the integrity enough that, after several more flights, they just gave up and spent the money."
"What kind of bloody idiot kicked the door out of a jet, miles in the air?"
"I don't know," she answered Stone and looked at me with one eyebrow raised. "Who would do such a thing?"
"There were good reasons," I said.
"And then got one of your loyal Soulguards thrown out the hole."
"I wasn't even in the plane. You can't blame me for that."
"Rictor's on another planet," she said. "It's your fault he did it."
"I've heard this story," Stone said. "No one said the door was kicked out of the plane."
"Oh yeah, it was," she continued. "One of the pilots actually quit after that. The other one was crazy, anyway. The guy that quit had just hired on as a copilot. He flies for some little place that does charter flights over scenic places like the Grand Canyon."
"And I guess I get blamed for that, too?"
"No, he should have had bigger stones than that."
"I agree," I said.
"They have overrides on the planes to blow the door," Stone said. "Why didn't you use those?"
"I was in a hurry."
"So you're the reason we didn't get our yearly raise in pay this last year?"
"Of course not," I said. "Soulguard is stretched thin with the new recruits coming in."
"Sure, Mate, say what you need to so you can sleep at night. We understand, never mind us battlers tryin' to make enough to survive."
"I'll try to live with the guilt," I said with a grin. "And on that note…"
I lay my seat back and closed my eyes, placing my earbuds in my ears.
"It takes a brave soul to sleep around this group," Rostov said.
"If I stay awake you'll have to hear the music, too," I answered projecting the beginning of the song by Gemini Syndrome that had just begun.
"On second thought, sleep soundly, oh fearless leader," Rostov moved to a seat closer to me. "None shall interrupt your slumber."
I grinned and let the projected music subside. The more time I spent with this group of Mages, the more I liked the way we all worked together. A few are always loud, a few quiet, but all of them dedicated and loyal. I felt at home with them like I did with the group I had spent years with in Knoxville. It's a wonderful feeling to feel comfortable with those around you. I have lost a lot of that with others, but those closest to me… well, they were my family.
***
"Mister Rourke," Jennifer Alstead began, "Thank you for coming."
I nodded. I hated interviews but this was a necessary evil.
"I'm sure there are a million questions the viewers want to ask, but the first in my mind would be this. What, exactly happened after Cairo? There are many rumors."
"The Kresh surrendered to me," I answered.
"To you? You, personally? Why would they not surrender to the forces who were chasing them?"
"This is where some of the rumors would be correct," I said. "They say I am part Kresh. I am. This is where we need to dig up things from my birth."
I went on to tell the story of my birth to the world.
"Why I would keep this secret, you might ask. Wouldn't you?" I asked. "I didn't even know for years. Those years were spent fighting these Kresh in caves. We called them Demons because we had no other name for them. I could feel the effects of the Kresh DNA inside me. I didn't know what caused it, but I knew something was wrong. When I found out what it was, I was devastated. They had taken my mother and father and now this?"
Jennifer nodded, "This DNA has to do with why the Kresh chose you?"
"It has everything to do with it," I answered. "I took a trip through one of the gates to sneak onto their home world a little while back. I learned a few things about the Kresh. They are creations of another race to be super soldiers for some war thousands of years ago. These 'Makers' as the Kresh call them were humans. The Kresh overthrew their masters and it's ingrained in them from the moment they are born that they will never be slaves to the 'Makers' again. They would never surrender to a human."
"What did they do to the 'Makers' when they overthrew them?"
"They ate them," I said. "A few, they sent to the colonies so they could keep a steady supply of slaves to operate the machinery left by the Makers. There are fourteen colonies of humans connected to their world. Ours is the only one with the technology to face them. That and the Soulguard."
"Why did you send them back? Why didn't you imprison them?"
"We learned at First Kansas, and so did they, that without a gate open between our worlds they will die here. You may have noticed at Second Kansas they had many gates open all the time."
"Yes, I noticed there were many."
"I couldn't, with a clear conscience, lock them up so their own people might shut the gates to punish them for surrendering. I want them to go home and tell their people that they can survive if they are captured. Perhaps the next wave of Kresh may give up rather than fight to the death, causing thousands of human deaths that might not be necessary."
"This is the core of the reason," I continued. "A big part of the reason I sent them home was more personal. Am I Human or Kresh? To be the man I aspire to be, I could never kill a million prisoners of war. These Kresh are more like us than I would like to even think about. They have families, children, and homes to return to. We may be at war with them but we don't have to be monsters. Some of them are monsters, some of us are too. I choose not to be."
"I see," she said. "We'll proceed to the next question. What abilities have you gained from the Kresh DNA? There are rumors of all sorts of things."
"The Kresh were built with telepathic abilities," I said. "I found out that I could do a few things. It's gotten stronger as I age. This is how I discovered the history I learned while on the other side of the gate. I mean, really, could you imagine sitting on a rock or something sharing dinner with one of 'em?"
"I think not," she chuckled.
"Me either."
"What about other abilities?" she asked. "I saw what you did at Second Kansas. You can't tell me that's normal."
"It comes from a combination of what I am," I said. "A Soullord can see and manipulate the Source, including the Soul. The Kresh DNA made it where I could do this to them as well. Unfortunately, when I do this it has a cost. The DNA's effects are stronger after I touch their Source. So I don't do that unless it is necessary."
"You understand that many people are upset by what's happened?"
"There's always going to be someone who isn't happy with the action taken by someone else. The bigger the action the bigger the upset. I've done and will continue to do the best I can."
"Pretty good, Boss," Prada said from behind me as we watched the interview on the television in the cafeteria at the Edinburgh Academy. "You almost convinced me and I know what's goin on."
"I didn't really expect to have to use that this soon," I said.
"I guess we'll just have to see what happens," Lyrica said.
"True."
"Did you see the crap from Samson Forrest?" Prada asked.
"I don't watch his crappy show," I answered.
"Something about you being a weapons dealer and bringing your 'Demons' over to push your sales and get rich." Paige said from behind us as she entered the room. "You were right, he is a sniveling shit."
"Did you just say I was right?"
"I have no idea what you're talking about," she answered and walked away.
Chapter 9
"I can't believe they closed the Checkers down," I said, looking at the former restaurant in Murfreesboro. "It's a damn shame."
"I know," Lyrica returned. "While I don't have an obsession with food, I have to say they were some very good burgers."
"Now what are we gonna do?" I asked. "I guess we may have to go somewhere else. I wonder if Warren would throw a fit if I had him buy it and open it back up."
"That's what I call dedication to a burger," Prada said. "I know they were good but, 'buy the restaurant so it opens back up' seems a little excessive."
"Obsessed with food," Lyrica added. "That's what I'm saying."
"I mean, I guess you two international arms dealers have enough money to do it. But really?"
"There's no 'you two' in this one," Lyrica stated. "I like the burgers, but I'm not buying a restaurant just so I can eat there."
"I don't guess I am either," I said. "At least not fast enough to get lunch there today. Any suggestions, ladies?"
"You've been here more than I have," Lyrica said. "What do they have here?"
"There's a good Chinese buffet just up the street there," I said.
"Mmm, Chinese sounds good."
Lyrica may not be obsessed with food like I am, but Chinese food would always get her attention.
"Sounds fine to me," Prada said.
Prada started the SUV and we pulled back out into crappy traffic. I'd seen some bad traffic before, but Murfreesboro was right up there with the worst. At least considering the size of the city. New York was a hell of a lot worse and Atlanta was awful. Nashville was quite a bit worse, too.
It didn't take long until we found the restaurant on the left. Prada swung in with tires protesting.
"Not sure what I was thinkin', letting Prada drive," I said.
"Better than her," Prada answered. "She tends to just step out of moving vehicles to save animals and stuff."
"It was only once," Lyrica protested. "It was a while ago, too. I was just learning to drive."
"Seems the bad habits started young, then."
"You can't argue the fact that I have the cutest dog in the world, after that."
"Cute?" I asked. "That's the ugliest dog I ever saw."
"It's adorable," Prada said.
"Oh my god, the crazy is just oozing from you two."
"She has a thing for you," Prada said. "Proof enough she's crazy."
"You had a thing for him, too," Lyrica returned. "Proof enough we're both crazy."
"Now wait a minute…" I started.
"You better leave my dog alone or I may come to my senses."
I sighed.
We left the car and went into Chef Wang's restaurant. The food was good, the service was good and Lyrica managed to eat more than I did, which was an achievement all by itself.
The trip down to the factory was uneventful. I just enjoyed getting to spend the time with Lyrica. We had precious little time together since the attack on Africa. The months while I was in China and she in Edinburgh had been rough on us both. Then all of the meetings while I was in Edinburgh ate up so much more of our time. This had been our first chance to get away from it all. We had come to meet with Warren and both of us were owners in the company so we could justify going together.
There had been more building going on since I had been to the plant. We had started with one factory. The security was strong around the five plants we had now. Our IDs were scrutinized and called in to the security department, before we were let through the gate to the second plant we had built. This one held the headquarters of the company, as well as a manufacturing plant. Warren wasn't the type to build corporate headquarters in anything other than another plant.
A familiar form waited outside the entrance to the offices. He had lost some of the weight he had carried back in Knoxville, but Warren Grimes looked much the same as he did when I had opened his Soulstream back up.
"Colin, Lyrica!" he greeted, "It's been too long."
"That it has, Warren," I said, grasping his hand. "How are you doin'?"
"Couldn't be better," he said.
"I'm goin' to check in with the security department," Prada said. "You two stay outta trouble."
"I have no problem with that," Lyrica returned. "But as for him, who knows?"
"You gotta point."
"I have no idea what you're talkin' about," I said, and followed Warren into the building.
Waving at several of the folks working the desk at the entrance, we followed Warren toward the back and into his office. You can tell something about a person while looking at their office. His office was clean and tidy but it also looked well used. My office usually looked like a disaster area.
Lyrica sat across from his desk and I sat in the other chair to the right of them.
"So how's business, Warren?"
"Booming at the moment," he answered. "To be honest, we're actually having a rough time keeping up with orders."
"With five plants?" Lyrica asked.
"It's not the manufacturing end that’s holding us up," he shook his head. "It's the shields. We need more Soulguards than we have. It's hard to get extra help in that area when we're in the middle of a war. We have a hundred Soulguards working twelve hour shifts. Fifty per shift and they can't keep up with the production levels. We could use, twice that many, easy."
"We'll talk to Paige," I said. "I'm sure there would be enough volunteers to do it if she'll spare 'em."
"We've got enough injured alone to handle this," Lyrica said.
I hadn't even thought of that, "That's a great idea."
"I know," she said. "It came from me so it has to be great."
"Smart ass."
"Half of that's right," she said.
"Har dee har."
"Another reason for this meeting is that we need to procure some real estate overseas," Warren continued. "If not a manufacturing center, at least a distribution center."
"What do you need?"
"A reinvestment of a great deal of the money you've made over the last year."
"Done," I said.
"You don't even know how much."
"Doesn't matter," I said. "It needs to be done. We need our weapons easy to get to any part of the world. You've got access to my accounts. Use what you need."
"I'm thinking I will follow the same business practice as he has," Lyrica said. "We need whatever paperwork you need to use what I have as well. You've worked miracles with his money since he first met you and I can't think of a better investment than the proven methods you've already shown."
"I can do that," Warren answered.
"And as far as reinvesting in this company, whatever I have is at your service."
"Thanks," he said. "This takes a load off my mind. The payoff should be quite substantial after the initial six months."
"That should be fine," Lyrica said. "I don't even know how much money I have right now. I spend more time at Medical Centers than anywhere else. Haven't had time to spend any."
"I spend some on food but haven't spent much more than that," I added. "Speakin of food, did you know they closed Checkers?"
"I had noticed," Warren said. "It's also opening back up in August."
"Great!" I smiled. "What happened? They remodelin' or something?"
"It will be under new management," he said. "The last owners just didn't do it justice."
"I'm glad it's not out for good, I was worried."
"Since you brought the subject up," he said with a grin, "This is your portfolio for the last year. We may be at war but the country moves on. If you'll notice there were several new acquisitions…"
"Holy shit! I bought Checkers?"
"Told you it was under new management," he laughed. "Owned by someone who can appreciate the place."
"I don't know how to run a restaurant."
"Taken care of," he said. "Found a local guy who is said to be a hell of a manager. He's going to run it and, if his reputation is true, run it well."
"Isn't he awesome, baby?"
"Why do you think I'm putting him in charge of my finances?" she asked. "Unlike this one, I would like to spend some time learning how you do what you do, Warren. I hope to get to spend some time in this area this year. I would love to learn some of your magic."
"I'd be happy to teach you," he said. "Now what say you to a tour of the place? A lot has happened since you left to join the fight in Africa."
