Quaranteam - North West

====================================

QT:NW continues the official Spin-Off for the Quaranteam universe originally created by CorruptingPower. You do not need to have read the original series to enjoy this one, but you really do need to start with Chapters 1-4 (I really suggest you read the original though, it's great!). Fans of the original should be pleased to know CP has approved the story and the continuity.

In this chapter you can expect imprinting, reunions and check-ins, MF, and MFF.

Returning Dramatis Personae

House Black

- Harrison 'Harri' Black - Sheriff of Black County, 'Jason Momoa-looking motherfucker' mountain man (mixed heritage), former Army MP

- Erica LaCosta - Fiancee of Harri, Leo's sister, Italian Tattoo Artist, Dark Brunette

- Kyla Bautista - Trained dancer, Phillipino Spy, Harri's Deputy Sheriff, Raven hair

- Vanessa Peters - Construction Forewoman, Daughter of Brent Peters the head of the construction project, Brunette

House LaCosta

- Leo LaCosta - Harri's best friend and former roommate, Italian carpenter, Erica's brother

Valkyrie Falls

- Josie 'Joss the Boss' Draper - Professional Wrestler, Athletically Trim Blonde

Natives

- Gertrude 'Gerty' Swiftwater - Kara's second cousin, Tribal police on the Rez, Voluptuous Native, Raven hair

- Kara Swiftwater - Harrison's high school sweetheart that ended poorly, community leader of the local Native band, Raven hair

- Tanaya??? - Kara's neighbour on the Rez

Military

- Lt Col Miriam Abarbanel - Military friend of Harri's, Air Force Lt Col, Jewish heritage, Commanding Officer for Valhalla Hills construction and the Oregon Quaranteam research project

- 'The Doc' - A female doctor from the Portland Serum Test facility. Was part of Harri's care team when he was shot, and then the emergency response team following the Hostage rescue.

Referenced Characters

- Danielle 'Dani' - Australian stripper, Brunette

- Ivy Gauthier - Quebecoise stripper, half-tattooed, Dirty Blonde anal queen

- Julia De Luca - Helicopter Pilot, former Air Force Pararescue Pilot. Friend and Client of Erica.

- Captain Laura Bloomberg - Air Force JAG serving as Miriam's second, Blonde

====================================

The Doc led me into the motel room that had been prepared as part of the Field Clinic for the Quick Reaction Force staging area. It looked like the place had been sterilised through saran wrap as opposed to chemicals or scrubbing - I felt like I was walking into Dexter's kill room and not a medical suite. The walls, the floor and all the furniture including the mattress were smothered in a couple of layers of the clingy plastic wrap, while a thin foam mattress topper seemed to be the only thing that had been brought in extra.

Gerty was lying on the bed, still in her t-shirt and sweatpants, sitting up a bit and propped up by a couple of saran-wrapped pillows. She opened her eyes drowsily as we entered and then broke into a fit of coughing. She lifted her arm weakly so she could cough into her elbow, but the fit kept going.

The Doc waved me off from approaching and went to the native woman herself. We'd both gotten dressed up in beige coveralls, though we thankfully weren't wearing the full hazmat hoods - not that I hadn't already definitely been exposed to Gerty. Still, the Doc was wearing a medical mask. She opened the medical bag she'd been carrying and pulled out a tissue box, setting it down next to Gerty and pulling a few out, offering them when the coughing fit ended. I got a brief glimpse as Gerty lowered her arm; the inside of it was smeared with mucus and viscous, red-tinged phlegm, and it was on her cheeks and chin. The Doc helped her get cleaned up, then waved me forward.

"So," she said. "Gertrude Swiftwater, I think you're well aware of it, but you have contracted a virus called Duo Halo. As you can see, it's an extremely unpleasant experience. I also have to tell you that, in women, it has a 30% mortality rate even with standard medical intervention."

"Gee whiz," Gerty sighed, her breath sounding rough. "I couldn't imagine why."

"Humour is a good sign," the Doc said with a smirk behind her mask. "As I believe you've been told in brief, Miss Swiftwater, there is a new vaccine that

is

capable of combating the virus and ridding you of it for good. But it comes with some peculiar side effects. Usually, you would receive a multimedia presentation about the vaccine and the program, and be able to ask all the questions you wanted, but to be frank - you're entering the final stages of the virus. I can't tell you for certain how long you have, but it's close enough that I don't feel we have the time to beat around the bush. The vaccine will save your life, but it will also tie you for the foreseeable future to a man and will require you to have at least weekly sexual activity with him. Without the vaccine, I will do what I can for you, but as I said, current mortality is a little under one in three women even with our best efforts. Do you want to proceed with the vaccine?"

It felt cold and abrupt, but if what the Doc was saying was all true then Gerty could be heading downhill faster than I could even imagine.

Gerty looked at me though, worry in her eyes. "It's OK, right?" she asked me.

"It's changed my life, and all for the better," I said.

She nodded, looking back at the Doc. "How- Who?"

The Doc took Gerty's hand and held it reassuringly, but turned to me to give the answer. I stepped closer, going to one knee beside the low motel bed. "Gerty, if you want, it can be me," I said. "Kara and I talked and she's for it."

"What about her?" Gerty immediately asked. "Harri, she-" she coughed, just once, and closed her eyes at the pain of it. "Kara's still in love with you," she continued after a moment. "She always has been. Splitting with you has always been the biggest regret in her life. She's just never known how to do something about it."

I swallowed at that, the knot of tension sitting in my throat. "She's going to imprint on me," I said. "So part of the decision is if you want it to be me, and the other part is if you're OK sharing a... partner with her."

Gerty closed her eyes and I thought she was coughing again, but then I realised she was chuckling a hum before looking back at me. "Lucky dog," she said with a weary smirk. "Are you OK with it?"

"I think you're an impressive woman, Gerty," I said. "And I think you have the same sort of instincts I do when it comes to protecting people. I... still love Kara too, but I've learned quickly that love is something that needs to be shared as liberally and quickly as possible in a world like this. I would be honoured if you'd let me start figuring out the special ways I'm going to learn to love you."

"God, you talk too much," Gerty said, teasing me as she smirked lightly again. She let go of the Doc's hand and reached weakly towards me, and I took it in both of mine. "So are we gonna fuck or what? I'm not exactly looking hot right now, but I guess you already saw me naked on the floor in a dungeon so I can't look any

worse

than that."

"That's a yes from both of you?" The Doctor asked for confirmation, and we both said yes. My gut clenched a little, knowing what I was saying yes to. My life was changing again - and there wasn't exactly a ton of room left in the RV. One more person in the bed, maybe, but two? Not to mention

everything else

. "Good," the Doc nodded. "Then I don't need to go out and randomly pick a soldier for you. Alright, Gertrude. Harri. The process is fairly simple. I'll administer the vaccine serum, and that should slow the process of the virus significantly enough that I'd like for you to wait half an hour before initiating the imprinting process. You'll have the privacy of the room for it - Harri, you know the drill and I'll let you explain it to Miss Swiftwater, but as a reminder - Gertrude, he'll need to reach orgasm and ejaculate inside of you in some way. Orally, vaginally or anally. The DNA proteins need to hit your bloodstream through soft tissue."

"Don't think I'm exactly in peak form here," Gerty said, glancing at me. "Butt stuff probably isn't on the table."

"To be fair, Gerty, I don't even know if regular sex is on the table," I said, letting go of her hand so I could run my fingers through her silky black hair to pull it from her face. "Oral should be enough, then we can have our first real time together be a little more mutual."

The Doc stepped out of the room, leaving the two of us alone for a long, awkward minute as I continued to hold Gerty's hand. She broke into another coughing fit, thankfully not as bad as the last one, but as she opened her eyes I saw a little bit of blood at the corner of the left one. Thankfully the Doc came back with what looked like a high-tech lunch cooler. She set it down on the saran-wrapped table in the room and opened up her medical bag next to it.

"Is this a difficult process, Doc?" I asked. "I've never actually seen it done, and my partners haven't really talked about the actual shot."

"Difficult?" the Doc mused. "No. At least not with a little practice on my part." She pulled out a strange-looking syringe from her bag that had two tubes and needles side by side, then took out a small glass bottle of liquid from the cooler and pulled a precise amount out of it into one side of the syringe. It was a bright blue colour, almost shocking in its vibrancy - I couldn't think of another medicine I'd ever seen that looked that much like slurpee syrup. "To be fair, Gertrude, if you have any problem with needles, I'd suggest you look away before I come around. But I've become very proficient with this process, so you'll feel a slight pinch but that's it."

"I should be OK," Gerty said, glancing at me again. She looked nervous rather than worried, and I realised that she had a lot of the same tells as Kara - I'd spent all of twenty minutes total with her in person, and another half hour talking to her on the phone. I really shouldn't have been able to read her so well, and it just reminded me again of the

strangeness

of the whole situation.

"Kiss for good luck?" I offered.

She smirked a little and used the hand not holding mine to pull a tissue from the box and wipe her mouth again. "Couldn't hurt," she said.

I stood up and leaned over her so she didn't have to adjust on the bed. I didn't hesitate as I approached her, knowing how much that might affect her psychologically, and told myself again that I was already well and exposed to the Duo Halo in her. Hell, I'd probably had it in my system since getting within five feet of Kara after she'd come out of that hot tub in the cult church. Kissing Gerty wasn't going to get me any

more

infected.

Our lips met and I did my best to try and let her know that even in this state, I was going to be everything I could for her. It wasn't the fireworks moment I'd had kissing Kara outside; the history there, the memories and nostalgia and pain and relief just weren't the same. But Gerty was a good-looking woman, and every interaction I'd had with her told me she was also just a

good person

. If we'd met without everything else - no pandemic, no cop stuff, no connection to Kara, I would have been attracted to her. Impressed by her. A police officer for her own community that barely appreciated the effort, a heart for helping people and a dislike of bullshit.

No tongue in the kiss, but her hand squeezed mine tighter to keep me there as our lips pressed together for much longer than a simple peck. When I finally pulled back we both blinked our eyes open and I looked into hers deeply. "You're a special woman," I told her quietly. "And I'm lucky as hell to have a chance to help."

She smirked softly, her eyes tired and a little bloodshot but also still holding those nerves. "I'm the lucky one," she said. "A big, sexy fuckin' mountain man saving my life

twice

in under an hour? And from what Kara's let slip while she's tipsy, you're hung too."

The Doc cleared her throat, standing close behind me, and I doubly flushed both from Gerty's words and the Doc hearing it. Gerty flushed as well, then chuckled softly and shook her head. "Sorry, Doc," she said.

I backed away, letting the Doc closer. "No problem," she said. "I've seen - well, let's just say I've seen all types during the trial period and leave it at that. The sexual nature of the vaccine has all of us researchers a little desensitised to the shock value of genitalia and sex acts." She took Gerty's arm in one hand and shifted her grip on the dual syringe. The other side was now filled with an orange liquid, a little paler than the blue and looking more medicine-like to my eyes. Then, without pausing or saying anything, she brought the syringes down into the fleshy underside of Gerty's forearm and depressed both plungers down with one thumb.

Gerty sniffed in through her nose at the pinch of the needles, looking away from the act and blinking firmly.

Just as fast as the Doc had started, she was done and withdrawing the syringes. She let go of Gerty's arm and pulled a gauze pad from one of her coverall pockets, pressing it to where the needles had gone in. "There," she said. "The vaccine has been administered. Harri, set a timer on your phone for thirty minutes and then you should begin the imprinting process."

"Am I good to take off the coverall?" I asked. My phone was in my pants pocket underneath.

"Yes, now that Miss Swiftwater has agreed to be imprinted to you, there shouldn't be any issues. You'll need to go through a decontamination shower again when you leave the room, though," the Doc said as she pulled the gauze away and took out some bandaids. She held them up to Gerty. "Squirrels or Black Bears?" she asked.

"What?" Gerty asked, then looked and barked a laugh before snapping her mouth shut, coughing twice and grimacing. "Um, black bears, Doc," she said when she was done. "I'm not much of a squirrel girl."

The Doctor applied two small kids' bandaids with black bears on them to the injection spots and then stood up, heading back to her gear. "I'm sorry I can't stick around and give you more information, Miss Swiftwater, but while you were the most advanced case who was rescued, there are others showing symptoms as well and they need to be briefed on their options."

"Thanks, Doctor," Gerty said.

The Doc cleaned up quickly and efficiently, heading for the door and turning back to us. "You shouldn't feel anything strange beyond the usual slight ache in your arm from an injection," she said. "If you do feel anything strange, please make a note of it for me. You should only be alarmed if something feels painful, in which case you need to call for help, Harrison."

"Got it," I nodded.

"Good luck," the Doc said with a nod and then left.

I turned back to Gerty, taking a seat on the edge of the mattress and taking her hand again. "So..." I said, not sure what

to

say.

"Yeah," Gerty said. "Awkward pause."

I smiled a little and traced my fingers over her forehead, sweeping her hair from it again. She was sweating a bit, the silky black strands clinging to her. "You tell me what'll distract you," I said. "Want to talk about what comes next, or trade embarrassing stories about Kara, or tell me about you?"

She hesitated a moment and shook her head. "Tell me what happened," she said, sitting up just a little. "With the- Those assholes. What do we know?"

I walked her through it slowly, starting with apologising for not getting their calls and texts sooner. Gerty, like everyone else, told me it wasn't my fault - that wasn't going to stop me from owning it though. I had four, soon to be six, people depending on me directly. Not to mention

two

pregnant partners, plus Leo and his family, and the Valkyrie Falls ladies, and my duties for the whole construction site. I couldn't leave my phone out of reach or hearing distance ever again. Hell - I probably needed to buy one of those stupid watches that could make calls and texts as a backup.

My story continued, running Gerty through everything that had happened. She was heartbroken for Virgil, the little boy Kyla and I had found - she'd grown up with his father, and knowing that both parents were gone hurt her. I couldn't give her details on where he'd ended up. She was also stoically horrified by the confirmation I gave her that we'd found executed people in their homes. Our best guess was that, by the time the attack had happened, most of the men and all of the teens on the Rez were either dead or dying. The militia cult members had executed any man, and any woman showing signs of sickness.

Gerty filled me in on what she, Kara and Tanaya had done when they'd heard the gunshots. All three of the ladies had snuck out the back of Kara's place and gone to try and see what was happening - it wasn't the first gunshots they'd heard through the outbreak, but the number of them was what had been most concerning. They'd found the caravan of trucks, including an old school bus, and had spied on it for a few minutes as they tried to figure out if there was anything they could do. Realising there wasn't, they'd backtracked back to Kara's trying to decide what to do. Someone must have spotted them because while they were trying to decide whether to run or defend themselves in the house several of the men broke in through the front and back doors. They'd taken the three of them at gunpoint, spouting off about how they were being 'saved.' Kara had tried to smuggle her phone but they'd been searched and it had gotten tossed into the front yard where I'd found it. Gerty felt guilty that she had hesitated and hadn't known what to do in the moment, and it was my turn to assure her that all the training in the world couldn't prepare someone to handle what she'd been faced with.

That brought the story back to me, and I told her briefly about making the deal with the Bikers and finding the Sovereign Citizens dead at the Golden Beaver. The name of the bar made her smirk and roll her eyes.

The timer on my phone went off before we could pivot back to what had happened with them after they'd gotten picked up, and part of me felt like that was a good thing. For her, not to need to think about it again immediately, and for me to not have it in my mind's eye for what came next.

"How are you feeling?" I asked.

She took in a deep breath, which was a little less ragged than before, and she shifted to sit up a little more again. "Like shit," she said. "But maybe not quite as bad."

"OK," I nodded. "Are you ready?"

"As ready as I can be, I guess," she said. "Here, help me get my shirt off. I know guys love my tits."

"To be fair," I said, grabbing both her hands and holding them as I looked into her eyes. "You're also cute as hell, and have a great ass. Erica and Kyla both commented on it the first time we met you."

"Really?" she asked with a little smirk.

"Yeah," I said. "And you're not just tits and ass."

She smiled a little and took another breath, letting it out slowly. "So you don't want to see my tits when they aren't covered in grime from a dungeon floor?" she asked.

That made me chuckle and I leaned in and kissed her again, and this time it felt a little more intimate. A little more wanting. "I never said that," I said as I pulled back.

I helped her with her T-shirt, and as it came over her head her breasts spilled out of it. They were large, maybe a bit bigger than Erica's, and hung heavily with large areolas a little darker than her naturally warm skin tone and wide nipples that each had a little crease in them.

"What do you think?" she asked, running her hands under them and hefting them a bit.