Quaranteam - Au

Quaranteam: Alternating Uncertainties

Chapter 14

Aussie Soldier - Tough Choices and Rough Truths

Hope you all had a Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays! I know. This chapter is long overdue, and to top it off, I left you all on a cliffhanger! In my defence, LIFE happened. A lot of it, at that. Had several family issues come up, and then Writer's Block. In any case, it's all finally cleared up, and here we are. Thanks for your patience, and I hope you enjoy it. 15 shouldn't take anywhere near as long.

--

Dramatis Personae

-House Marshall-

Tiberius Marshall - 35, Lt. Colonel Australian Army SASR. Black Hair, Grey Eyes. Big teddy bear, unless pushed past his limits.

Charlotte Valiant - 35, Captain Australian Army SASR, Red hair, long hair, service submissive.

Leticia Valiant - 35, Captain Australian Army SASR, Red hair, shoulder length hair, tomboy.

Talia Becker - 27, Major Israeli Defence Force, Black hair, long hair, braided, wilful, but devoted.

Alice Rai - 31, Doctor of Medicine, Black hair, blue eyes, partial Indian descent, complete submissive.

Elizabeth Connors - 21, younger sister of Jaxson Connors. University Student -- Finance

Béatrice Martin -- 32, French DGSE. Tech expert and hobby tinker. Blonde, Blue eyes.

Grace Lawry -- 33, Captain, USAF. Tiberius' old friend. Formerly partnered with Benjamin Morgan and the person who involved Ty in the Quaranteam Project.

Juno Claudius -- 37, Lawyer friend of Tiberius and the Evans'. Has two children with Tiberius; Bellona(Bella) and Mars.

Zoe Evans -- 19, daughter of Tiberius' good friends Toby and Matilda Evans and Tiberius' 'niece'. University Student. Not yet bonded, but definitely part of the family.

Addison Taylor -39, Captain, RAN. Auburn Hair, Blue eyes. Ty's latest partner and liaison with the Navy. Sensible woman who really wants a child before it's too late.

Kang Mi-Rae -- 29, Korean actress. Black Hair with blue highlights, brown eyes. Popular actress.

-Other-

Jonathan Hoffmann - Lt. General. Friend of Tiberius' and the twins' grandfather. Current highest-ranking member of the AUS military. 1 Partner.

Barry 'Baz' Davis -- Brigadier. Good friend of Tiberius. In charge of personnel at Victoria Barracks. 3 Partners.

Jaxson Connors - Major, currently under arrest for abuse of authority and attempted murder. Was working with a Sheik to develop the Assassin Variant of DuoHalo.

Nikoletta Bianci -- 35, Ty's friend and the woman managing the Vineyards belonging to the Marshall family.

Catalina Cabrera -- 34, Nikoletta's partner. Spanish, with a temper to match.

--

[REDACTED] Hospital, Melbourne Eastern Suburbs, Victoria, Australia - November 8, 2020 - 2:05 PM AEDT

--

"Nik and Cat are in the ICU. They're dying."

Even as the words left his mouth Ty could feel their weight crushing him. He'd always known that DuoHalo was a possible factor in their silence, but he hadn't wanted to really consider it. After all, would they truly be willing to call him for help when the only thing he could offer was an ersatz solution?

"What? What the hell happened, Ty?" Rayne's voice was alarmed, and Ty knew that his younger friend would jump into action if there was something he could do.

"I fucked up. They asked for space, so I gave it to them, and I neglected to place them under guard after the thing with Connors and the Sheikh. I thought they were far enough removed from the issue to not be at risk. And since only three people at the vineyards have my direct contact; the first two being obvious and the third being locked down at his family's place in Cairns, nobody could reach me to say they were missing."

There was a moment of silence on the other end of the line and Ty glanced out of the hospital window. Mid-afternoon in early November was always warm, but today's weather just felt oppressive, even in the air-conditioned building. He could even see a few people in the courtyard, enjoying the weather. It was a peaceful scene, completely at odds with the roiling turmoil in his heart. It hadn't evaded his notice that even if they couldn't reach him, nothing was stopping them from reaching out to the military to get to him. It begged the question, why hadn't they done so? And if they

had

, why hadn't it reached him?

Back in the moment, Rayne was shouting. "

Missing?

Then why the hell are you still on the phone with me?

Find them!

"

"Didn't have to. They're at the hospital. Someone, I assume whoever took them, dumped their unconscious bodies out not far from the vineyards and one of the response teams found them. Nearby surveillance apparently shows a van with stolen plates, so that's a dead end until they find the thing. I was only told all of this a short time ago, Ray." Ty felt his voice crack. "I...fuck. I don't know what I'm supposed to

do

now."

"Get off your ass and go to them!"

Ty let out a grunt of exasperation. "Where the fuck do you think I am? I'm already at the hospital. Alice and the twins are in the room talking to the docs, but they've made me wait outside." His voice grew bitter. "

For my safety.

Bah, I don't know how bad it is, or if they're even still breathing. Worse still, I don't know what the right option is here. Do I insist they get the vax and then hope you and every other country actively researching this serum can figure out how to unbind people? Or do we risk them both dying by doing nothing?"

Rayne made a small noise as he thought. "I mean, would it be such a risk to let it run its course if they really don't want this? As women, they have much better odds than a guy would."

"Maybe Nik does, but Cat's diabetic, Ray. She's immunocompromised."

"Well, fuck."

"Yeah, that's kinda not in the cards, I reckon. And it's killing me."

Rayne blurted out the comment before he could check himself. "I daresay it's not

you

it's killing, Ty."

Ty let out a long breath. "Yeah. Well.

Fuck!

"

The younger man could hear the sound of Tiberius' fist hitting something heavy, and he immediately cleared his throat, his next words sounding utterly contrite. "Ty, I'm sorry. I... that was horribly callous of me."

"You're not callous at all, dickhead. You just... occasionally have poor timing." He sighed, looking over at the door that remained steadfastly shut. "Anyway, I needed something to do, so I'll dispatch a team to do a welfare check on the Barclays. In the meantime, check in with the families of everybody on your team. Best to be safe."

"You'd bloody well better do the same."

"The ladies already are. I'll catch up with you later, Ray."

--

Ty let his arm drop limply to his side as he ended the call, his head thumping solidly against the wall behind him. He busied himself on his tablet, hoping to distract himself, only glancing back at his phone as the message came through from Rayne with the address he needed to forward. Baz would take care of the rest, he was sure.

With his momentary distraction over, Ty made as though to return to his tablet but couldn't stop his eyes from shifting towards the door. He was hoping for some sign that everything was fine and that both women were going to make a full recovery.

Though that hope drained away rapidly as Lottie came through the door, still in her hazard suit. Her expression, difficult as it was to see through the plastic faceplate, was a mask as she trudged towards him. Stopping several feet from where Ty was seated, she held out a bundle and took a shuddering breath, unable to meet his eyes.

"Suit up. Nik needs you."

Ty didn't miss the significance of what she

didn't

say, but he couldn't form the necessary words. Instead, he stood and strode straight through the doors and into the ICU, ignoring the shouts from Lottie and the protests of the doctors as he entered. Lettie attempted to intercept him, intending to stop the big soldier from running up to the bedside, but Ty was already past her, his eyes going wide.

The sight before him was heartbreaking. Nikoletta, his friend; practically a member of his family, lay in the bed before him hooked up to all manner of devices and with an oxygen mask over her nose and mouth. Her visible body was battered and bruised, her heavy mass of deep brown locks lay plastered to her face, and her chest heaving with ragged breaths. As his eyes met hers, he could see that she'd been crying despite the swelling of her face, and he felt the darkness threaten to swallow him as the fury surged in his gut.

He dropped heavily into the nearby chair and took Nik's hand, only to have a knife of pain strike his heart as she flinched at the contact. She looked at him, relaxing slightly as recognition set in. Still, she tried to pull away as she opened her mouth to speak.

"You shouldn't be in here without a suit, Ty. It's not safe." Her voice was strained, every word coming out as a rasp. Her breathing was rough, but as far as Ty could tell, her vitals were stable.

"Fuck safe, Nik. I need to be here for you. I fucked up badly enough as it is. Where..." He trailed off as Nik's grip tightened on his hand, though there was almost no strength in it. There was a wave of fresh tears before a sob wracked her body. The stabbing pain in his heart grew worse, as though someone had twisted the knife.

Lettie put a hand on his shoulder and gave a gentle squeeze, but Ty didn't want her to say what he already knew. "She... she's gone, Ty. Cat didn't make it."

For a moment, he didn't respond, just staring at her blankly. Then his shoulders just slumped as the weight of reality crashed down on them. Not allowing any emotion into his tone, Ty turned to look at Lettie. "Succumbed to Duo?"

"Yes and no." She took a heavy breath behind her hazmat suit. "The doctor said that the other injuries she suffered made it impossible for her body to fight the virus. She might have survived otherwise."

Instantly, the ball of fury in his gut flared to full life and threatened to overtake him. Because he had neglected to protect them. Because he had arrogantly assumed they'd be outside of the scope of targets. Because of his selfishness...

"It's my fault, Nik. They attacked you because of me. You were infected because of your connection to me."

The small pull on his hand brought him out of his spiralling anger. "We were already infected, Tiberius. It must have been Colette, since she's the only one we've been anywhere near, but I don't know for sure."

"That may be, but you weren't able to get timely help because of those assholes that took you. Assholes who, I can only assume, were trying to get to me, but didn't know you were infected. You would have been leveraged against me. Instead, you became a liability when you started deteriorating."

"

Vaffanculo!"

She wheezed, her expression twisting. "You aren't the centre of the universe,

stronzo.

This isn't even about

me

. It's about Cat. They took her... they robbed me of my Catalina, Tiberius. They took my heart from me. It is torn to pieces, and I don't think I'll ever be whole again."

Ty's expression broke down, his free hand moving to wipe at her tears. "I'm so sorry. We might have been able to save her if we could have gotten her paired with someone."

Nik shook her head sadly. "She would never have accepted. Cat would have rather fought it naturally or died trying than accept partnering with a man." Coughing once, she let out a shaky breath before she continued. "I'm the same. I won't bind my life to a man's, even if that man is

you.

"

Ty opened his mouth to speak but she shook her head, stopping the words before they could pass his lips.

"If you're hoping to get me to change my mind, you're wasting your breath, and mine." Her words faltered for a moment, but her gaze never wavered from his. "Make no mistake; I love you, Tiberius, but you're more like a brother than you ever will be to a lover. And that will never change. Not in this lifetime." She turned her head away at that, her shoulders shaking with her sobs.

"Please don't shut me out, Nik."

After a shuddering breath, she spoke, but didn't look back at him. "I won't. This time for sure." Pausing for a moment to catch her breath, she continued. "Anyway, the doctors say I'll live. So, I'll recover... and figure out what I'm going to do from now on. Andre can deal with the vineyards while I'm out."

"Nik..."

"Don't. There's nothing more to say. I'll be careful."

Ty sat by her bedside in silence until she drifted back into sleep, his mind far from calm.

--

Marshall Household, Melbourne Southeastern Suburbs, Victoria, Australia - November 8, 2020 - 6:30 PM AEDT

--

Ty was sitting on the porch swing, just staring across the street to where the construction crews had been hard at work preparing the frame for what would soon become his family's new home. It was colossal, spanning across nearly eight plots of land, and would definitely take months to build, but they had already laid the foundations, including for the basement areas that he had demanded be included. It would be strange, living just across the street from the house he'd grown up in, but it would certainly be easier logistically than trying to have his family spread out across a number of houses. Safer, too, he mused.

After his actions at the hospital, Alice and the twins had insisted he cycle his protection to ensure his safety, and by extension, everyone else's. He had reluctantly agreed since there were a few members of the household due for a re-dosing, but having sex out of obligation really wasn't to his taste. Still, he had done it, and now Béa and Grace dozed on his bed. In an unexpected, but not unwelcome, turn of events, the two of them had really clicked, to the point that they were now nigh inseparable. He was glad that his French and American lovers were getting along, as he had come to realise that they were almost guaranteed to be the voice of his 'international' team members.

He had finally resigned himself to the idea that there would be more, but he'd be damned if he wouldn't fight any actual additions for as long as he could.

Ty sat and let the thoughts in his head coalesce. He had messed up badly where Nik was concerned, but there wasn't anything he could do to change the reality of the situation now. He glanced at the tablet beside him that lay open at a report from the proximity guards alerting him to an attempted infiltration earlier in the day. The initial report suggested that the young men had tried to slip in with the construction crews and were simply looters looking for empty homes, but Ty was sceptical. It almost perfectly coincided with the time when he'd been at the hospital, meaning that while there would be armed soldiers outside, they'd be at some distance away and the security inside the house was limited.

Everyone in the family, barring the kids, knew the codes to the gun safe, but Liz, Juno, and Zoe had also promised not to try and handle a gun until Ty or one of the soldiers in the family had a chance to teach them properly. The eventual plan was to get them enough time on the range to get small arms certified, but that was something they'd have to address once their schedules became a little less hectic. For now, their home could turn into a fortress if it ever came to it, and they'd easily be able to last until reinforcements arrived. Assuming the enemy's goal was capture, anyway. If they came with explosives or with armour...Ty shuddered. Maybe he'd let this house become a guardhouse after the new one was built.

More importantly, there was another issue before him. If Jaxson and Al Mansouri had been the only players in this circus, then it should have been the end when they were both captured. However, the attack on Nik and Cat meant that there were still people out there actively working against him. And while it

could

in theory be a result of orders given before Mansouri's capture; the type of violence inflicted on the pair wasn't in line with that. According to Alice, who had taken him aside afterward, there had been no sexual component to their abuse, just physical. And from what Nik could remember, her captors hadn't been speaking in any foreign languages. Just English. So, excluding the idea that Mansouri had other collaborators in the country, it wasn't likely he was involved. Connors, on the other hand, was isolated. The only contact he had with others was with the doctors assigned to his care. And unless one of them was acting on his behalf, it precluded his involvement too, at least directly. His groupies, for lack of a better term, had been altogether too quiet, and that was a concern in and of itself.

Ty let the breeze wash over him as he took it all in. There was a lot to unpack, but it all boiled down to one thing.

There was still someone out there acting against him and his family. And given their methods, he had more than a passing idea of who that might be. The raw violence and callous brutality reeked of that

viper

, Jacinta Morrison. Connors' right-hand woman: she was the brains behind most of Connors' successes in the field, if Ty had interpreted the field reports correctly. But while her plans tended towards success, they were also morally bankrupt on her best days. At her worst, she'd be dancing on the far side of the line between tactics and war crimes. If she

was

, as he suspected, involved in the latest incident, he'd need to be careful. Collateral damage had a way of being

inevitable

around her. Innocents had a way of 'accidentally' getting caught in the crossfire. The frightening part was how she could make it seem like the casualties were just a regrettable accident instead of the deliberate victims they actually were.

She was no less a monster than the sheikh.

So, Tiberius would plan. He'd plan and double down on those plans. Every angle would need to be covered. And to start with, he'd need to pay a visit to a certain asshole officer. He needed to know just how deeply Jacinta was involved.

He'd been following up on Connors' condition, and it seemed that the man had stabilised enough that a simple conversation shouldn't set him off. At least as long as

he

wasn't facing the man directly, anyway. The docs had cautioned him against that vehemently and were greatly relieved when Ty consented to using a proxy. Asshole or not, he wasn't ready to send the man off the deep end again.

Not yet, anyway.

--

He had just sent off the request to General Hoffmann when he was surprised by a set of arms encircling his neck. He would have reacted badly, but he recognised the woman almost as soon as her body pressed up against him. The slender form could only belong to one person.

"Zoe?"

She said nothing, just twisting herself around his body until she came to a rest on his lap. Ty let his arms come up instinctively, wrapping around her to secure her in place.

"You ok, Zo?"

Her voice was soft as she spoke, her head nestled into the crook of his neck. "I thought you could use some comfort. I was sad to hear about Catalina, even though I didn't know her very well. But Nik must be devastated."

"She is, love. And I feel terrible that I failed her."

There was a gentle shake of Zoe's head before she responded. "You didn't fail her. Whoever was responsible for kidnapping her is at fault."

Ty could only nod, words eluding him in the moment.

Zoe continued, oblivious to his internal struggle. "Nik is joining the family, isn't she? She shouldn't be alone."

Ty felt the hope in her words and his stomach clenched. "She doesn't want to, Zoe. She said no."

"She refused? But -"

Ty cut her words off. "Zo. We can't force her to comply. It's her choice and believe me, I

tried

to convince her."