Quaranteam Dave In Dallas Ch 14 1

This story occurs within the Quaranteam universe developed by Corrupting Power. Guidance, feedback,and suggestions from BreaktheBar, Agathon, and all the chuckleheads in the QT Writer's room contributed to any excellent or at least acceptable segments of this tale.

Hello, and welcome back! If you're a new reader, you're welcome to start here, but things will make so much more sense if you start from the beginning.

Returning readers, as requested in a few comments, we'll start with...

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Cast of Characters

David Belsus -- 46 yo physics & astronomy professor at Eastfield college, a community college in the Dallas area. Prepper, survivalist, has a greenhouse in his backyard and lives in an outer ring suburb. Six foot, fit, short cropped hair.

Lupe Ramos -- 32 yo former financial advisor, Dave's neighbor, got caught out of state when the lockdowns started. She spent two frantic weeks trying to get back to her daughter. Lupe has been in love with Dave for over a year. Long, dark brown hair, medium build, and a lovely smile.

Esme -- 9 yo daughter of Lupe, prone to the occasional snarky comment. Adores Dave.

Becca -- 18yo, Lupe's babysitter, was watching Esme when lockdowns occurred. Her refusal to abandon Esme, as her mother insisted, likely saved Becca's life, since her extended family ignored precautions and died of Duo. Esme, Lupe, and Dave are all Becca has left in the world. Short, medium build, small breasts, with short blond hair and a smile that is shy with strangers and beams with family and friends.

Janice Wheeler -- 33yo, Dave's first partner to arrive, a librarian at Cedar Valley, another community college member of DCCCD. Slender build and medium height, Jance is 3/4 Korean, her paternal grandfather is Anglo. Medium length black hair often pulled back in a bun for work or ponytail at home.

Shawna Cooper -- 36yo, senior meteorologist at WFAA, Master's degree in meteorology from OU, worked at NSSL and spent time as a storm chaser. Whole hog scifi nut, beginning with Start Trek TNG. 5' 10", large breasts, medium brown skin, dark brown eyes, shoulder length black hair styled like a frizzy weeping willow.

Olivia Tyler (Liv) -- 21yo senior studying horticulture at Tarleton State University, near Dallas. Daughter of Carter and Janelle, Dave's best friends since college. Had a well-known crush on Dave throughout her teen years. Since her dad was former SF and a survivalist, Liv is skilled with several firearms as well as bladed weapons. Never failed to take a deer any season she's hunted. 5'10" long, dark brown hair, large breasts, lightly tanned, brown eyes, and a wide smile.

Melanie Ustanich -- 22yo graduate student in IT at Tarleton, Liv's roommate, recently found a passion for cooking. Spent most of her life in foster homes, Liv's parents accepted her like family the first time she went with Liv on Thanksgiving Break. 5'8" medium length auburn hair, green eyes, small mouth with a ready, mischievous smile.

Kareena Agrawal -- 18yo classmate of Becca's. Popular, not always nice. She's taking this radical change in life as an opportunity to improve herself. 5'6", dusky skin, long raven hair, dark brown eyes

Vanessa Worton -- 38yo realtor, assisting with the re-housing project in Dallas. 5'6", medium length bleach blonde hair, blue eyes.

Nicole Lassiter -- 28yo computer security expert, imprinted to Dave the night before the raid. Formerly a high school and college track star, she only recently worked her way to walking independently after a car accident crushed her legs. 5'6", dark skin, dark brown eyes, dark hair in long thin braids that reach down to her ass

Carmen Verratti -- 31yo Dallas police detective, took one class with Dave ten years ago. Carmen informed Dave of the location and prior actions of the men that attacked his home. 5'4", pale skin, raven hair, brown eyes.

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Ch 14 -- Consequences

October 29, 2020 11:15am

Just before the Blackhawk transitioned to forward flight, Dave's mind finally made the leap beyond events and people in the compound. He pulled out his phone, noticed he still had a few bars, and sent a quick text to Shawna.

-Liv and I are fine. Being taken to Dallas. Think PD or AF want to have a little talk.

After maybe ten seconds, the little dots started bouncing.

Oh, thank God. Listen, Lupe is leading a charge of pissed off ladies that are not happy with you or me right now. They'll be relieved you are ok, but emotions are high. Get back here soon baby. I love you.

And so do they, they're just a bit worried right now.

He lost signal before he could reply.

Thankfully, the Air Force troops let the medics stitch Dave up before they 'talked' with him. One suggested he not get anesthesia. One look from the nurse cut that talk off in a hurry. Dave was fairly certain they were joking anyway. Mostly.

The nurse kept him under observation for half an hour. She advised him to use acetaminophen once the local anesthetic wore off. The nurse was especially careful to emphasize not exceeding the labeled dosage instructions.

The guards escorted him from the hospital, into a sedan. They drove a few blocks to a nondescript looking building that was bustling with activity. The guards walked him into a room containing a table and three chairs. Two of the chairs were on opposite sides of the table, while the third was against one wall. The guards walked him into the room, stepped out, then closed and locked the door.

Dave wandered around the room. Whoever cleaned it did a great job. There wasn't even any dust to tell how often the room was used. It was slightly larger than a purpose-built interrogation room -- well, the ones Hollywood used anyway. No windows anywhere. Examining every detail he could focus on allowed Dave to stretch out his inspection of the room to forty-five minutes. Roughly speaking. The guards had taken away his phone, so he no longer had a way to objectively measure time. By then, his arm was beginning to ache again, either from getting shot, or getting sewn back together. Dave took a seat in the chair that faced the door and rested his arm on the table. Taking the weight off helped. He faced away from the camera in the back corner of the room.

With few other distractions available, Dave studied the surface of the table. Amazingly, it seemed to be a real wood table. Not a terribly expensive wood, he noted, but it was still wood. Thinking back to middle school shop class, it looked a lot like the white pine he'd used to make a cutting board all those years ago. The sanding and finishing were of higher quality than what his fourteen-year-old self produced way back then. Small scuffs and scratches were evident, more so when Dave moved his head to view the surface at oblique angles. No coherent patterns, though. No messages. Not even 'Tom hearts Jane'.

His shoulder was throbbing now. It was beginning to eat into his concentration. To occupy his mind, Dave began sorting through which of his partners would need dosing once he got home. Assuming he went home today. Becca. with her bright young face, was good for four, maybe five days. Reena, her friend, might be needy by Sunday, but should be fine until then. Vanessa was both more recently dosed and older, so she was good for at least a week, week and a half maybe.

Niki. Holy hell. She's probably out of imprinting sleep by now. Waking up into a madhouse and wondering what the hell she signed up for.

I better think up some great soothing one-on-one activities to help her settle in with all this crap going on. Too bad I can't invite her along on a run

.

Melanie, red-headed computer science grad, would be getting itchy soon, if she wasn't already. Not so much she'd jump him when he came in the door, but that would be partly due to her self-control. Maybe he should have made time for her before he left. This serum shit was not easy to get used to. Well, in some ways, yes, but damn.

The throbbing in his shoulder was growing. Cutting into his thoughts. He really should have better self-control than this.

The door opened. A man and a woman in plain clothes entered, closing the door after them. The man took the chair across from Dave. The woman leaned against the side wall to Dave's left. Both wore professional clothing. The man was clean shaven, his hair short and off his ears. The woman's hair was pulled back in a tight bun. Her features were severe. Combined with the bun it looked as if the tie for the bun was pulling the skin of her face back.

Dave canted in his seat slightly to bring the woman solidly in his field of view. She'd parked herself in a place right on the edge of his vision when she came in. The man and woman stared at Dave for over a minute before saying anything.

"So, Mr. Belsus," the man began, "you've been a busy boy. Between yourself and Ms Barnes, you killed thirteen men in less than an hour. For a soldier in combat, that's quite a lot of action. For anyone else, it's alarming."

Without a question being asked, Dave decided not to respond.

"What is your association with Andrew Bilk?"

"Don't know the guy. I only recognize the name because the Air Force Tech Sergeant mentioned it. He's the rich guy the raiders hit last night, right?"

"And that's the only time you've heard his name?"

"Correct."

"No other interactions between your family and Mr. Bilk?" the man pressed.

"Nothing I'm aware of. He's one of those Las Colinas types? Those folks and I don't swim in the same seas."

"Not Las Colinas. One of those 'tucked away' rich neighborhoods in the southern suburbs. That's how the boys from the compound got away so quickly. They were already on the outer edge of the quick reaction force's reach, and they didn't stay long."

The woman against the wall cleared her throat. The man immediately switched topics.

"You say you have no prior involvement with Andrew Bilk?"

"No sir."

"So you didn't hire the Brotherhood to take him out for you?"

"WHAT?! Why the hell would I?" Dave was puzzled and offended and it showed all over his face. No one with any experience in interrogation techniques -- or poker -- could miss the obvious signs of surprise etched in Dave's face.

"You know of no reason why you would want Mr. Bilk dead?"

"Never heard of the guy until this morning when your sergeant mentioned his name at the compound."

Now the woman spoke. "You take satisfaction in his death Mr. Belsus?"

Dave looked at her like she had a screw loose. "The only time I ever saw this guy, he was lying dead against a wall and a nurse was siphoning semen out of his balls." It occurred to Dave that the woman was the senior partner here. He kicked himself for not realizing it earlier. She wasn't learning and observing, she was supervising and lying in wait.

"Indeed," she intoned. "And why was that?"

Dave knew this was a leading question, but figured honesty was the only thing that would get him out of here. It wouldn't be quick, but it would get him out.

"I didn't know she was a nurse until later. I also wasn't quite sure where she stuck the needle. I saw the syringe go from green to purple, and then she stuck the needle into a woman's arm and one of the... Brotherhood?" the man nodded, "... guys imprinted her. I figured it had something to do with the reason the guys at my house had their nuts cut off."

Both the man and the woman looked uncomfortable.

With a stern, judicial sounding tone, the woman spoke to Dave, her eyes attempting to rivet him to his chair. "Mr. Belsus, you will not share with anyone what you saw or what you think you know because of what you saw. Nor will you share anything shared with you by the detective or the nurse. Failure to guard this information will result in severe penalties including confinement. Even after the serum itself is made public, you will not discuss the nature of what you have learned. Am I perfectly clear Mr. Belsus?"

"Yes ma'am, crystal clear."

A pregnant silence hung over the room. Dave fought the urge to look up for a sword dangling by a thread, or a swinging axe slowly dropping with each swing. After more than a minute, the man started asking questions again. He prompted Dave to lead them through every step of his actions since waking up yesterday in the early hours of the morning. Dave did so, his shoulder throbbing more and more until he finally relented and asked for some acetaminophen and a drink. After sharing a look, they acquiesced. The man stepped out for a few seconds and then returned to his chair.

A young airman entered a few minutes later with one of those small hospital paper cups and a bottle of water. Dave quickly downed the pills with a large swig of water. Then a second swig. He was getting dry. Then he continued answering the man's prompts regarding his and Olivia's actions. It took another half hour to finish. Well, sort of finish.

"You skipped over the part about how you knew where to intercept the Brotherhood's convoy, Mr. Belsus." The man continued to stare at Dave, who remained silent. "We already know Detective Verratti is involved in this. Don't bother covering for her. She's been getting her ass chewed since about 8am this morning. She'll be lucky if she still has a job by the end of the day."

Dave just blinked at the man. Outwardly. Inwardly, his mind was racing.

What if she hasn't confessed? What if they only have suspicions? If I fess up, then that blows things for her.

Sighing, the man pulled out his phone, scrolled for several seconds, then turned the screen towards Dave as he pushed 'play'. On the screen was Detective Carmen Verratti outlining her conversation with Dave at his house and the text messages while he was on the road.

"Yes, that's how it happened. Olivia and I left the house knowing only that the attackers were somewhere east or southeast of Athens. Verratti texted that the attackers had struck again, and were coming down 287. We got to the junction of 287 and 19 and waited for them. Once they passed, we followed with our lights off. At their compound, we saw them hauling women out of their suburbans -- like I said before -- and that confirmed these were the guys. What I saw through the window sealed that certainty."

"And then you started killing them."

"I didn't fire on anyone until life was endangered. Those first two were going to kill that woman with their cum." Dave was deliberately vulgar in his choice of words here, and it worked. The man sat back in his chair and the woman was unable to control a shiver that ran through her body. "Self-defense includes defending the life of another. Natasha's life was in clear and present danger. Law enforcement or other official responders were at least half an hour away. I removed the threat."

Dave had his eyes locked on the man as he spoke. He held no menace, no glare in his eyes, just a firm certainty that he'd done no wrong and wasn't going to roll over for some witch hunt. Which is what this was beginning to look like. Either that or an anal-retentive version of 'be sure you know everything.' Maybe both. A minute or more passed, and the man broke eye contact with Dave and glanced at his partner. Some form of silent communication passed. Then the man turned to Dave. "Okay, let's go through this again, to make sure we have all the details."

Dave's arm was beginning to throb again. He'd lost track of any sense of time by this point. He wondered if it was getting dark yet. Or already was dark. As the latest interminable run-through of 'all the details, just to be sure' wound down, the man switched topics.

"What do you know about the Oracle system, Mr. Belsus?"

"Oracle? Oh, the survey I filled out? That's all I really know. Fill out the survey. Women fill one out too. Then some program runs the results and says we could be a match. The ladies that were sent to me say they got a page with several matches, and a 'percent match' number for each one. The ones that picked me, came to my house."

"And you haven't had someone in the system steering women to you?"

"No."

"You have several requests in the system. Looks like five out of your nine partners were by request."

"They each reached out to me, asking that I choose them. According to the CDC guy that first came to my house, I had to request them for the system to work. I only asked for women that explicitly wanted me to do so."

"Four of those five are young women. Two college upperclassmen, and two recent high school grads. You tellin' me these four young women have a thing for older men, and specifically you? From where I'm sitting, it looks more like you're a pervert with power."

"Rebecca was my neighbor's long-term babysitter. We got through lockdown together. At a distance, but together. She and Lupe asked for me immediately when the CDC guy came around. Olivia is my goddaughter. Her parents were my best friends since college. She's been... interested in me since she was a teen. Melanie was Olivia's roommate for years. Kareena was a high school classmate of Rebecca's and asked to join our house. I initiated requests within the system, because that's how we were told it worked. I never made such a request without prior prompting from the woman." Throughout, Dave's voice was cold and analytical. Mind-numbing repetitions of what happened when thirteen men were dead was one thing. Pinning a 'pervert' label on him was a whole other matter.

A knock at the door interrupted any response from either inquisitor. Without pause, the door opened, barely. Dave could not see the interloper. The woman came off the wall immediately. On her signal -- a subtle hand signal that Dave nonetheless caught -- the man rose and met her and the visitor. The door closed after a few minutes of whispering. The man and woman kept their heads together, their backs to him, whispering further. The only thing Dave was sure of was that they were not happy with whatever they'd been told. He cleared his throat.

"Am I free to go? I've been here quite a while. I've answered all your questions three times already. I even kept an even keel when you decided to smear me. Unless you're going to charge me, I'd like to leave."

The woman faced him. She wore her displeasure on her face. "We can charge you with murder, Mr. Belsus. We do have several dead bodies in the morgue, all tied to you and your young partner."

"That was self-defense."

"All the witnesses are dead. We only have your word, and the word of your partner. Rather convenient."

"Wrong, Natasha was there. She can testify after she comes out of her imprinting sleep. She's probably matched by now, so it'll take a day. Also, the women in the compound can testify to their conditions."

"But they didn't see any of the shooting."

"They can verify the mentality of those men towards women and how they abused the serum."

The woman deflated. "Fine. We are releasing you Mr. Belsus. You have a date of sorts."

"Excuse me?"

"Ms Larmonov is indeed ready to be imprinted. She has asked for you. The guard outside will take you back to the hospital."

"Larmonov?"

"The woman you rescued, Natasha."

"Oh. Holy hell." Under his breath, he muttered, "Sometimes gratitude can go too far."

The man must have heard him, because he started snickering. Dave rose and walked out. Just as the door closed behind him, he heard the man asking his partner in a not-quite-low-enough voice, "Does this give us anything we can use to get around Jefferson?"

The same young man who brought the water and pills waited just outside.

"Are you my guide?" Dave asked.

"Yessir," the young man replied, then headed off down the corridor at a respectable clip. He remained silent as he made his way to an attached parking garage and an unmarked sedan. He motioned for Dave to take the shotgun seat while opening the driver's door for himself.