Alien Mine

Chapter 27

Hello Everyone. It has taken longer than I hoped to write this chapter, but since the last one I have put on a wedding, moved my father-in-law into a nursing home, and bought a new house and moved my family across country. I also suffered an almost terminal case of writers block, probably stress due the above, so I hope you enjoy it. I took this chapter in a different direction in response to one of the comments that I was ignoring Amancia. It turned out nothing like I had planned, Amanica seemed to take on a life of her own and I just went with it.

Leave a comment if you like, good ones are my reward for writing, and criticisms help me improve.

Amancia followed a woman off the elevator into a club named Mondecci located in the heart of Hongdae, the nightlife capital of Seoul, South Korea, and was immediately enveloped in swirling cigarette smoke, flashing lights, and crashing bass sounds of a hip-hop song she didn't know or care about but her symbiont did. It flashed the artist's name, picture, and a short bio across her eyes. Amancia ignored it, her eyes tracking the target in front of her. The club she was one of the most frequented nightclubs in Seoul that specialized in hip-hop and funk tracks and attracted a diverse crowd of Koreans and foreigners, so she didn't stand out as she might have in a more local establishment. This club was on the eleventh floor of a commercial building with a rooftop lounge almost as large as the main area. The woman she was following disappeared ahead of her into the glittering lights through a crowded dance floor with sweaty bodies pressed up against each other. The binary had found little information about her target, just a name. Even her face didn't register on any database with facial recognition, and Leslie had thoroughly searched every possible social media site. The lack of information was telling; the best guess was North Korean Intelligence with an Om connection, and someone had scrubbed her from any databases, even those they had captured. Whomever she was, she was good at hiding her real identity.

Amancia thought the woman appeared weirdly familiar with the club, having stopped to talk to several people as she made her way in between bodies. Hua had found a connection working the gangs in Mexico and South America, specifically through the Tren de Aragua gang contacts. Sandy had ripped the information out of their minds, and what little they had retrieved pointed to this woman who went by the name of Du, a rare Korean female name that meant "head" or perhaps was better translated as "leader.". The connection wasn't clear, but the gang members had been receiving funding from the "Church" and were undoubtedly involved in the attempt to assassinate Rhys. What little Leslie had been able to dig up suggested this woman was the Korean contact and leader of the small but dangerous Korean congregation of the Church of the Om.

Du was a petite woman, about five feet three inches, with short black hair. Slim but pretty, she moved gracefully, her head constantly moving as her eyes swept the nightclub, looking for threats or friends. Du wore a short, tight, dark gray dress that blended into the shadows and Louboutin heels, adding at least four inches to her height. Amancia had to admit that she looked good as Du made her way across the room into a back corner near a roped-off VIP area where others seemed to be expecting her.

Amancia had to thread her way through the bodies to keep her in sight as she made her way to the bar. She sent two small wasp-like drones flying to the ceiling, and her Bob ran facial recognition patterns that danced across her eyes as she moved through the crowd, pulling in everything she and the drones could see. Amancia slid between a couple and cut in front of another man standing in line to order a drink. He started to object, but when he saw the incredibly sexy woman standing there, he paused, then surprised Amancia by offering to buy her a drink. She almost laughed at the look on his face as he eyed her, but then she did look good, no, ravishing. She wore a black and silver sheath short enough that the least movement threatened to expose any panties she might be wearing, which, of course, were a black lace thong, and her spike heels with the telltale red soles made her legs look even longer. Add to that the impressive rack Rhys had endowed her with, and it was enough to make any male pause and drool.

"Of course, you can buy me a drink,' she said in a sultry voice and an inviting smile while she directed a wasp-like drone to keep an eye on the woman she was following. The man was good-looking, she had to admit. Tall for a Korean, probably six-two, handsome features, dressed in designer clothes with shoes that probably cost upwards of a thousand dollars. Her enhanced sense of smell told her he had bathed recently, a body wash she didn't recognize, and the faint scent of another woman, perhaps from last night. He had been drinking scotch, single malt, an expensive one she recognized from the scent.

"My name is Saja. " He offered in English, "What would you like to drink?"

"

Bob, what's the local drink?

" she asked her symbiont.

"

Bokbunja, a berry wine that is reported to be most tasty,

" it said, giving Amancia the chemical breakdown and pinging her taste buds in a way that her Bob thought the drink would taste like. "Something local," she replied in Korean, "how about Bokbunja wine? I've heard it's good."

Saja made a face that said disgusting and suggested a martini instead. Bokbunja isn't very good; someone as beautiful as you deserves something better. If you want something local, how about a soju martini, dry with two olives and a small pickled onion. Your Korean is very good, by the way; where did you learn it?" Saja asked, leaning in a little closer and flirting with her. He didn't lack confidence, but then he had player written all over his actions, and Amancia detected the even fainter scent of another woman, one she had smelled in the elevator coming up. Du. He had been with her in the last few days but hadn't looked up as she entered the room.

"Friends growing up," she lied. At times like this, her symbiont seemed to take over her mouth and translate while she focused on the drone feeds and the cameras Leslie had hacked. "

He knows Du; I can smell her on him,

" she told Leslie, frustrated that she couldn't form the interlaced Binary link between the two of them. Leslie was providing top cover with a squad from the newly formed Survivor's Brigade, while Amancia ran undercover ops. Even the Binary had limitations on how many different tasks it could focus on. The survivor's brigade was only one hundred and twenty-seven men and a few women like Saida, who had been caught by the Om, and injected with Om nanos to begin their transition into Tranagrods. As a result, they moved and reacted faster than uninfected humans.

"

Be careful; he may know who you are

."

"

Possible, but if so, he is good. I don't smell any fear or aggression, but his heart rate is a little accelerated, and he is a little aroused

."

"

Of course, he is aroused; probably every man in the place who has seen you is wondering just how to get you into their bed

.

Amancia smiled to herself. Leslie was right; none of the girls could pass for anything but stunning unless they disguised themselves, and tonight, Amancia had dressed to attract attention. She had been following Du for two days, and Saja here was her first good lead, or at least he knew her well enough to have slept with her.

"Those are interesting bracelets," Saja said, leaning over to retrieve the drink he had ordered her from the bartender's hand.

"Thanks; a friend designed it for me," Amancia said, lifting her right arm with the Disrupter attached while she took her drink with the left. Two ornate bracelets were on her forearm, connected by a thin but strong strip of Drans metal, silver this time, which looked good against her darker skin.

"They look good on you, but I've never seen anything quite like it," he said, moving closer while reaching out and holding her arm possessively.

"Nor will you," Amancia laughed to herself as alarm bells started to ring. The smell of Du on him was much more pungent now that he was closer, almost pressed up against her. It wasn't yesterday he had been with her, but probably just a few hours ago, she realized, and he had not once looked at Du since she had come into the club, and she had not looked his way either. Amancia felt her muscles relax as combat mode took over her senses, and time seemed to slow while her mental processes sped up considerably. She could feel what Rhys called his beast, that place deep inside where the symbiont and primitive human psyche met, creating something more than either of them. Perhaps it was from her time in South Florida or a visit to the zoo when she was little, but a dangerously sleek panther emerged within her from the psychic melding between Amancia and her symbiont. She had never shifted into another form like Rhys, but she had felt it poised inside her during combat, but not like this. It felt exceptionally strong tonight, almost pulling her into the sleek panther she imagined the beast to be. The North American Panther, or mountain lion, was once the widest-ranging mammal in North America. Interestingly, Panthers don't roar; they scream but are silent and deadly hunters, preferring a quick ambush to take down their prey. Amancia thought that suited her, hunting prey for her master.

Her toes and fingers were tingling as if claws were trying to poke through her skin, and her gums could almost feel the fangs and tearing teeth trying to form in her mouth. And the smells, OMG, the smells, she thought as odors from the many people around her assaulted her nostrils more than usual. "

Whoa, what's happening down there

," Leslie said; the worry in her voice was unmistakable. They may not be interlaced, but the emotional link between the two of them was always there.

"

I don't know, I'm twitchy tonight, I guess. I've never felt it this strong before

," she told Leslie while another part of her brain continued flirting with Saja. Some other friends of his came over, and he was introducing Amancia; two were Korean, and one was Chinese. Bob alerted her immediately; the Chinese man must have had plastic surgery, but her symbiont could still identify him.

"

His name is Zhang, and he is Chinese internal security, and one of the men is North Korean intelligence; a nasty guy," Leslie said, looking over the bios before her eyes. "Something is about to go down, Amancia; it's probably you, and not in a good way

."

They must have picked her up in the last day or so. Amancia was suddenly furious with herself; She must have been sloppy to get identified like this. The small drones picked up movement as Du glanced her way and then headed for an exit with the five men she had been talking to. At the same time, Saja seemed to stumble against her, and Amancia felt a needle trying to pierce her skin. They may have suspected who she was but not what she was, or they wouldn't have bothered with a needle. She moved just a little, so the needle appeared to Saja to have missed her thigh, and several things happened at once. Amancia lost contact with her drones, and Sandy shouted a warning that a nuclear weapon was in play and they might be walking into a trap. At the same instant, the Chinese agent moved swiftly, a small dagger in his hand aiming for the area of her body just below the rib cage so it could be thrust up into her heart. Amancia quickly hacked the electrical system killing all the lights, throwing the club into complete darkness except for her. Her eyes let her see almost as if it were daylight, and she broke Saja's fingers, making him scream and drop the needle with one hand while grabbing the wrist of the Chinese man holding the knife with her other and crushing the bones. Amancia let go of Saja, lifted her arm, and a thin blue beam decapitated the other two Koreans. Two quick blows to the head of her remaining assailants left them unconscious, and Amancia shoved her way through the crowd and out the door, following Du.

"

Stop

!" shouted Leslie in her mind, and Amancia threw herself back just as the corridor exploded, blowing her back into the darkened room full of now scared and screaming men and women.

Amancia cursed in some sort of Jamaican dialect that Leslie's symbiont translated into "offspring of ugly rabid dogs in heat," picked herself up, and stormed over to where she had left Saja and Zhang. They were already in the hands of four men Leslie had sent to retrieve them. As she followed onto the roof, Amancia realized she was mostly naked; the blast from the explosion had blown off her clothes, leaving that black lacy thong. "I'll take them," she told the men and grabbed Saja and Zhang by the throats, dragging them up the stairs to the rooftop where Leslie and the assault craft were hovering. With little effort, Amancia effortlessly tossed both men up to Leslie, who caught them and dragged them, screaming and shouting into the craft. Amancia followed her up and into a separate compartment as they climbed away from the city below.

*******************************************

"Go," Rhys ordered Darya while he and Innassa sprinted ahead, disregarding any effort at stealth. Rhys knew he was making himself a target and alerting those in the temple, but it would buy Darya a few seconds. Sandy had warned the Binary, but if they detonated a nuclear bomb, there was nothing he could do to save them. He and Saida fired grenades, taking down the electrical barrier and sending four drones sprinting ahead. He and Saida ran and leaped over farmed terraces, and then they found themselves amongst the village houses before they began taking fire from the guards scattered around the Temple.

"

Om weapons

," Saida warned, ducking and rolling as a wall behind her took several hits, blowing out large chunks of rocks and splattering her armor with shrapnel. Unlike last time, she was wearing combat armor, and while the rounds they were firing probably wouldn't penetrate very far, she wasn't interested in testing the strength of the armor. Saida redirected a tiger drone and was rewarded with a scream as it found the shooter. She came to her feet, moving fast, and brought her rifle up and fired without slowing down, the round going through a truck and taking off the head of another one who didn't have the sense to cover and run. She noted that Rhys had used drones to chase the guards out of their covered positions and then executed them, beating her to the temple entrance, where he stopped her with a word.

When Rhys gave the command to attack, Darya ordered Innassa to kill the guards outside while her drones broke through the temple's back entrance. With a flick of her wrist, Innassa sent the thin blue beam toward the first guard, drilling him through the head. The beam continued to the left, then curved around behind a statue and took the second guard in the throat, killing him as well. Two down in 0.06 seconds. Darya thought Innassa was unnaturally good with the weapon, almost as good as Rhys, but then, that was what he had designed her for. Darya heard a scream from inside, followed by a loud shot as she followed the drones inside. She saw that one man was down, and one of the drones had a large hole through its body. "

Damn, one of them got away, and they are using big weapons," Darya said,

kicking at the closed door the target had escaped through. Surprised when it resisted her strength, she reached for an explosive projectile.

"

We need prisoners

," Rhys told Darya as he approached the front door. One of the guards had run inside when Darya attacked from the rear; the other stuck a weapon out from behind a short wall. Rhys started to fire, but Saida fired at a full run and put several rounds through the wall, killing the man behind it. Hmm, no prisoner yet.

Realizing the projectile she was about to use would probably kill everyone behind the door, Darya slapped a shaped charge on the lock and blew it open. Innassa vaulted past the blown-out door and into the room quicker than the drone and was amongst the defenders before they could react. As she leaped high over the broken door, Innassa felt like she had all the time in the world. She could see four defenders positioned around the room, all with weapons, trying to track her but moving like cold molasses. Her disrupter sliced the head off one of them, and at the same time, the pistol in her left hand found another—three shots through the heart. One managed to get a shot off, and Innassa's symbiont showed her the trajectory and projected impact point. She twisted her body in the air, and as the bullet passed just millimeters away from her neck, the blue beam shot out from her arm and sliced the man open from crotch to skull. Without looking, she fired behind her as she continued the spin and killed the remaining man trying to target her. Innassa hit the floor and rolled, came to her feet, leaped across the room, bounced off a wall, and then disappeared down some stairs. Darya cursed, close on her heels. "

Rhys wants prisoners,

" Darya said, but Innassa didn't reply. Through the link between them, Darya could feel the emotions broiling off Innassa, and it was not what she expected. The fiery and fierce determination of the warrior was there, but overriding it was an equally fierce mixture of bliss, sexual arousal, and the pure joy of combat. Darya had felt flashes of it before from Innassa, but nothing like this. She didn't dare order Innassa to stop; it might get her killed. Following in her footsteps, she just hoped Innassa would leave at least one of them alive.

Rhys took off the front door with his shoulder, not waiting to send drones in first, and Saida followed him in, weapons ready. The entrance was empty, and Rhys sent Saida up to clear the top floor while he followed the drone into the next room and down some stairs. He could see the position of Innassa and Darya on tac-grid. Anyone still alive in the building was rushing to try to stop Innassa and Darya, so the way was clear. Rhys took the steps down in one leap, bounced off the wall, and spun around just in time to see Darya disappear down another. None of their intelligence had suggested underground facilities at what was a minor temple in a backwater village. Rhys, close on her heels, followed her down, both of them chasing Innassa.

Yang Min ran down the passage under the temple, desperately trying to get a signal from her cell phone. All her communications had been cut just before the attack began, and now she couldn't contact Du in Seoul and give the order to detonate. Shouting in frustration, she stuffed the phone in her pocket and pulled out a pistol and a grenade. They weren't going to take her alive. This was all Zi Han's fault and his sudden weakness. Min had wanted Du to sacrifice herself, and the others and detonate the bomb in Seoul while they had at least one of the devil whores there, but Zi Han had suddenly developed a conscience arguing that too many people would die, and they at least needed to get Du and her team out. Min suspected that Zi Han was sleeping with the slut Du, or at least wanted to, and had convinced her that Du was too valuable to sacrifice. Min swore at herself and the others for hesitating, and now it was too late. Most of the others were dead anyway, and only she and Zi Han had survived to escape through the tunnels constructed by the Om.

Min heard a scream of terror and then silence behind her. Almost paralyzed with fear she turned and fired her weapon back down the tunnel into the darkness, the grenade ready in her hand. Min would not be taken prisoner. Scanning the dimly lighted passage behind her, she could hear someone softly sobbing. Horrified, she recognized the sounds; it was Zi Han. A sudden feeling of unimaginable terror swept over her, and she gasped and screamed in fear. The terror completely overwhelmed her, and she dropped, cowering on the floor. Min moaned in confusion as the terror left but was replaced by an even more intense feeling of sexual arousal. She lost all control as lust completely consumed her mind and body. Dropping her pistol, the grenade rolled to the floor, forgotten as her hands began frantically ripping at her clothes, her fingers plunging inside her cunt. Two, three, even four fingers inside her, but nothing seemed to satisfy the terrible whirlwind of arousal and pure lust that burned through her body. The grenade, the nuclear weapon, all her rage at the destruction of her country, disappeared into the hunger and longing that swept away all other thoughts except sexual gratification.