The Shift: Book II of the Wildfire Saga (66 page)

“Heart rate increasing!
 
Blood pressure’s up!" called out a nurse in the background.

Maurice was there, gripping her shoulders tight as if afraid to let go.
 
"Brenda!
 
Listen
to me—”

"Pulse is fading, BP’s dropping—we’re losing her!" a new voice warned.

Brenda’s thoughts fell away like autumn leaves.
 
Memories of her childhood disappeared as if someone was erasing them right before her eyes.
 
They swirled away into the vortex of blackness that shrank ever closer.
 
Whispering.
 
She strained to hear, needed to hear what it was saying to her.
 

The blackness closed around her until there was nothing left but a tunnel before her.
 
Cooper's face appeared at the end of the tunnel and immediately began to fade.
 
She tried to scream, but her body wasn't responding to her commands any more.
 
Everything was growing dark.
 
The tunnel before her stretched farther away as if she rode in the back of a truck going the opposite direction.

Cooper
…

C
HAPTER
33

R
EGINALD
LEANED
BACK
IN
his plush leather chair and savored the sweet bouquet of Charlotte's perfume.
 
He took a leisurely sip from the ’49 Glenfiddich and relished the delicate aromas of the expensive
aqua vitae.
He took in a deep breath that further intensified the flavors lingering in his mouth.
 

With a contented sigh, he took another sip of the scotch.
 
He looked over Charlotte's naked form, smiling as the firelight cast a soft orange glow on her perfectly rounded—

The door to his private suite crashed open behind him.
 
Someone rushed two steps into the room, stopped, and cleared his throat.

"What is it?" Reginald growled.
 
It almost knocked him out of the mood.
 

Almost—Charlotte sensed his displeasure and renewed her efforts in a most pleasant manner.

"I'm sorry, My Lord.
 
I did not wish to bother you at this…ah, delicate moment—”

"Oh for God's sake, Stefan—out with it."
 
Reginald sat up and shifted Charlotte so that she could continue her work while he half-turned to deal with the intrusion into his private life.
 
Charlotte moaned.
 
The sound in her throat sent vibrations shooting straight up his spine and Reginald’s breath caught in his throat.

“Your Lordship, I…" the young man's eyes traveled down to rest on Charlotte's upturned rump, pointed straight at him now.
 
She wiggled her hips left and right.

"Beautiful, yes?" asked Reginald as he caressed the naked skin of her back.
 
"She is a most exquisite example of what a woman can be," said Reginald.
 

“My Lord,” Stefan said as he adjusted his tie.
 
He was clearly uncomfortable.
 
Reginald smiled.

"Yeeessss?" Reginald said drawing out the word.
 
His fingers traveled the length of the girl’s flame-warmed skin, caressing, tickling where they may.
 
Charlotte quivered and muffled laughter rose from his lap.

"The sample recovery mission was a success."

"Excellent!
 
Where are my agents?” asked Reginald.
 
“Where is the blood?”
 
He took a sip of Glenfiddich and smiled as it lit up his mouth.

“Ah…there's been a complication…"

Reginald's eyes narrowed.
 
"What kind of complication?
 
No, no," he said, gently laying a hand on the luscious curls that graced his lap.
 
"I'll handle this."
 
Charlotte murmured something incomprehensible and continued.

"Only one agent survived, My Lord, but he did bring back the samples and data.
 
However, Darius has concerns that our asset-in-place—"

“What kind of concerns?
 
She is exemplary, second only to our dearly beloved Jayne.”

“She shot him and killed his partner, for one thing—”

Reginald laughed.
 
“I assure you, she is well within her right to do so—as long as it led to the completion of the mission.
 
Tell me, was the Source retrieved?”

“No, sir.”

“No?” said Reginald.
 
“That’s unfortunate.” His smile faded despite Charlotte’s best efforts.
 
“You’re positive we recovered the blood samples and data then?”

“Absolutely, My Lord.”

Reginald’s smile returned.
 
“Call it a successful mission, I say—13 must’ve had good reasons to shoot her comrades.
 
Now then, where is he, our lone, surviving hero?”

“Darius is in the hall, awaiting your…"

"Pleasure?" asked Reginald.
 
He laughed and Charlotte laughed with him.
 
He gently placed one finger on the top her head and pushed it back into place.
 
"There we are dear, that's better."
 
Focusing his attention once again on the messenger, he said: “Well, don't stand there like a fool, Stefan—send him in!
 
I should like a debriefing."

"Now, My Lord?” asked Stefan, his eyes clearly locked on Charlotte’s writhing body.
 
She must have known what he was looking at, because she wiggled suggestively and a muffled giggle escaped her mouth.

"Of course!
 
Why ever not?"

Stefan cleared his throat with a polite cough.
 
"Nothing, My Lord, I just thought—"

"I do not pay you to think.
 
I pay you to bring me messages.
 
Now run and fetch Darius, if you’d be so kind."

"Of course, My Lord.
 
I shall send him in immediately.”
 
Stefan turned on his heel and marched out of the room, his back ramrod straight.

Reginald took another sip of his drink and rolled his eyes.
 
That was the trouble with servants—Stefan in particular—they always ruined the mood.
 
Even when they had good news to impart.
 
Reginald sighed.
 
Charlotte would have to work twice as hard now.

As soon as Stefan left, Darius staggered into Reginald’s sitting room.
 
He limped on a bandaged leg and looked pale and haggard.
 

Reginald tore his eyes off Charlotte's red curls and glanced at the agent.
 
“You are to be congratulated, Darius.
 
You have succeeded where four others before you have failed.”

The man came to a stop and nodded grimly.
 
He had scratches and dried blood on his face.
 
His hand held a small box.
 
Reginald noticed bloodstained corners.
 
The man briefly flicked his eyes over Charlotte as he continued to step forward, extending his left arm to hand Reginald the box.

Reginald reached out to accept a gift.
 
"This is the data I required?”

"It is," replied the man in clipped tones.
 
It sounded as if it was painful for him speak.
 
The way he held his left arm suggested to Reginald he’d been wounded in the chest—cracked ribs, perhaps.
 

As he moved closer, Reginald noticed more bandages.
 
One wide bandage wrapped around his thigh, stained crimson in the middle—that wound was still open.
 
Yet another had been hastily wrapped around his midsection and a third wrapped on his upper right arm.
 
His face had splotches of dried blood and a few cuts over the eyes.
 

"I hope you didn't run into anything too terribly difficult?" asked Reginald.
 
He opened the delicate wooden box and ignored the exquisitely worked ebony to focus on the small flash drive in a velvet-lined canister.
 
He plucked out the drive and dropped the expensive wooden
 
box without a second glance.

The agent watched it—that box was likely worth more than his annual salary—clatter to the floor.
 
He slowly looked back at Reginald.
 
"I retrieved the blood samples as well, Earl Dunkeith.”

"I trust those have been stored properly?" asked Reginald.
 

“Aye,” said Darius, “the samples have already been delivered to the lab.
 
Your man says he should have some results for you by tomorrow evening."

"More good news!"
 
Reginald said with a clap of his hands.
 
"Just in time for me to brief the Council.
 
You have done most admirable work.”
 
Reginald felt the delicious sensation of pressure beginning to build deep down inside.
 
He needed to wrap this up quickly.
 

“You shall be rewarded handsomely, Darius.
 
Consider yourself promoted.
 
I shall double your income and give you a quarterly bonus on par with my household knights.”
 
Reginald waved his hand in dismissal.

The man's eyes went round in surprise.
 
"Thank you, my Lord!"
 
He bobbed his head as he backed out of the room.
 
“You’re most gracious!"

“Yes,” Reginald said with a smile, "I know."
 
He looked down and winced as Charlotte began to speed up her performance.
 
Sweat began to break out on Reginald's brow.
 
He raised his left hand and motioned again for the agent to leave him.
 
“Run along now—I’ve important matters to attend…”

Reginald closed his eyes and lay back against the cushions, preparing himself to release control and relinquish himself into Charlotte's care.
 

He heard a soft beep and before he could open his eyes, Jayne's voice boomed from the silence around him.
 
"Reginald!
 
I—oh, Christ—do you have to do that right now?”

Reginald's eyes snapped open.
 
Charlotte flinched at the interruption.
 
No, no, no!
 
"What—"
 
He stared at Jayne’s face.
 
Damn it all…
 

He could feel the peak that he had been rushing toward slip away like smoke on the wind.
 
Charlotte groaned her displeasure.

The look on Jayne's face and the emergency breakthrough that she had used to activate the private screen in his room focused Reginald’s attention immediately.

"You might want to be fully dressed for this.”

Reginald smirked.
 
“Really, my dear?
 
I find this supremely ironic—"

"Barron gave them his codes,”
 
Jayne blurted.

Reginald’s hand gripped Charlotte's hair tight.
 
She squealed in pain and froze—the girl at least had enough sense not to struggle.
 
"Who gave whom which codes?" he asked slowly.
 

"Barron contacted Harris… He's given over his codes—they’re unraveling everything!”
 
Jayne looked frantic.
 
Her hair, normally restrained with skill, was a tumbled mess about her head.
 
Her eyes were wide and darted back and forth as she talked, as if she were expecting enemies to appear any moment.
 
“They've already re-established satellite communications and their data uplinks—”

“Calm down, Jayne,” Reginald said quietly.

“Calm down?
 
Calm down?
 
Reginald, Harris is already getting the National Command Authority re-established.”

Reginald took a moment to process the information and admire the symmetry of Jayne’s face.
 
He could look on such beauty all day.
 
Unattainable beauty—Reginald compressed his mouth into a grim line.

Jayne’s image frowned.
 
“Don’t look at me like that.”
 

Reginald felt himself stir once more.
 
Perhaps this interruption wouldn’t be so bad after all.
 
Charlotte murmured her agreement.
 
He let go of the red curls in his hand and she resumed her duties.

“I said Harris is back in play.”
 
Jayne frowned.
 
“You might want to close her mouth long enough to figure out what we’re going to do about it…”

Reginald reluctantly shoved Charlotte out of his lap and she squeaked as her bare ass slapped the hardwood floor.
 
He jumped to his feet, ignoring his nakedness and crossed the room to his desk.
 
He quickly typed the commands to set his backup plan into motion.