WE HAVE CONTACT (The Kurtherian Gambit Book 12) (33 page)

Zhu pursed his lips, “Let me try, I have an idea,” and then started walking back towards the group of scientists.

“Great,” Bai said, “send the rube from the country to speak with those from the city,” he started out after his friend.

Three weeks later, QBS ArchAngel

The ladies, no men present, sat with Cheryl Lynn at the large meeting table. Each had tablets open and were watching the results of the early sales. Bethany Anne and Gabrielle had something going on up front. They were all going to Japan.

“I can’t believe I have this hunk of a man for myself,” Jean Dukes murmured as she flipped through the calendar, “Hey, peekaboo Paula is in this shot as well!” She turned the calendar around and pointed to the background, “That skank better not be trying to stalk my boyfriend, or I’ll put my size sevens up her ass.”

“Don’t get too wound up, she is in one of Scott’s shots as well,” Cheryl Lynn told her, turning her own calendar around to show.
 

Patricia, Barb, and Ecaterina looked carefully, “She looks European, maybe German,” Ecaterina commented. Ecaterina flipped through the rest of the pictures ignoring the guys. She had her own scrumptious man, and she was good with that. He was even taking care of Christina right now, allowing her some time with the ladies.
 

They had roped Bethany Anne into agreeing to watch Christina again for four hours this coming weekend so they could make a run down to New York and eat at the pizza place Nathan had taken her to when she first went to New York.

“Incredible,” Cheryl Lynn whispered loudly. The ladies all turned to her, “We just sold over two hundred and thirty thousand copies of the calendar, and that’s in Australia alone.”

Ecaterina was bothered by something, something eating at her. She picked her tablet up, “Where are the other shots that Mark gave us? You know, the main location to go look?”

Cheryl Lynn told her the internet address and Ecaterina started going through the pictures, looking for clues.

Ignoring the background conversations and the cat calls of fun, she kept looking until she finally figured out what was bothering her.

“We have a problem, sisters,” Ecaterina commented. The other ladies turned to her. She set her tablet around and showed a blown-up picture of the woman they were calling Peekaboo Paula.

“She isn’t looking to get in the guys’ pictures, she is hunting them,” Ecaterina said, her accent getting heavier.

“Well, of course! All the bitches are wanting our men,” Jean answered smiling.

“No,” Patricia said, understanding dawning, “She isn’t talking about grabbing them for a relationship, you mean hunting, hunting, right?”

Ecaterina just nodded her head in agreement, “Yes, I recognize the look in her eyes. It is the same one I use when I’m on the mountain. She is hunting, and she can’t be alone. People are chasing our men.”

“They aren’t hunting just them,” Jean said, all humor gone. “They are looking to take out the guys to get to Bethany Anne.”

“Well, they just fucked with the wrong people then,” Patricia stated, eyes going hard. “Because that shit isn’t going to go down too well for me.”

Nara, Nara Prefecture - Japan

There was a sharp knock on his door. Banri Arakawa wasn’t expecting anyone at this time of the morning. He and his wife had just finished breakfast.
 

“Yuko?” she had breathed, but his angry glance quieted her.

He made his way to the door. Perhaps it was his disobedient daughter. While he would be happy enough to see her, she had caused enough grief with her lies and her filthy ways of living on the streets to spite him. She would be expected to be docile and a proper woman for a long time before he would even provide a little of his love back to her.

He opened the door, looking to where Yuko’s head would be and instead, saw the many medals of a military officer.

“Mr. Arakawa?” The officer asked.

“Yes,” he asked, “Is something wrong?”

“You and your wife are requested to come with me.”

“Did Yuko do something wrong? Why are we in trouble for her disgrace?” He spat out, perhaps he should not have run her off.

“No, your daughter has done nothing wrong. We are to meet with high dignitaries, please dress appropriately. We have only twenty minutes before we must be leaving.”

Banri asked the officer to come inside his home as he and his wife changed clothes. The officer could hear the husband and wife speaking in urgent whispers as they changed.

Within twenty minutes, the three of them were leaving in a car. Banri was surprised when they pulled up to a small airport outside of town where a diplomatic helicopter waited for them.

A half-hour flight later, the couple was escorted from the helicopter, with many of those attending dipping their heads to the couple in honor.
 

Banri could not figure out why they were being shown respect.

The two were escorted to a large outdoor stadium and through the entrance to one side of the field where there was a large stage set up with many people on it. There were many, many thousands already in attendance and the buzz was deafening as Banri and his wife looked around.

The couple, from a smaller town and from effectively another time were overwhelmed. Moved along after a moment to see the crowd, they were in front of the Prime Minister of Japan before they realized who was shaking their hands.

“It is an honor to meet you. I am glad you are not too late!” he told them.

“Why?” Banri asked, “I have asked multiple times, and no one would say what is going on or why. What is it we have done?”

“Oh, no one told you?” he asked, a twinkle in his eye, “I believe the answer is,” he looked down at his watch, “going to be evident in just a moment.” He was still facing them when the intake of breath from thousands of people through the stadium got their attention.

Banri turned and saw those on the stage looking up. He shaded his eyes to see and noticed something coming down through the clouds.

Something large. Really, really large.

A hush descended through the crowd. A spaceship was coming closer. Banri struggled to hear the engines that must be groaning and struggling to keep it in the air, but nothing reached his ears.
 

Then, many small black ships took off out of the ship and surrounded the area.

Finally, a large pod, one that looked like a small spaceship slipped out and started to d
escend into the cleared area in front of the stage, the doors opening
. Two men exited first, walking out and looking around. Protection, Banri thought.

“Yuko!” His wife cried out beside him.

Banri turned to those who were now exiting the craft, and there was a Japanese man, dressed in a warrior’s outfit and holding a scabbarded sword, who was escorting a beautiful young woman next to him. Her hair was put up, and her clothes were exquisite.

It was his daughter.

Yuko Arakawa, the daughter he accused of selling her body on the street, was being honored. She was arriving in a stadium from a spaceship and surrounded by thousands and thousands of his fellow countryman who were cheering for her.

Banri Arakawa felt a tear start down his face.
 

He had been wrong. He had allowed his stubborn pride and his old ways to drive his demands and accusations towards his daughter. One who had tried, with respect, to get him to believe her.

Banri put his arm around his wife, pulling her in and put his head down by her ear.

“Forgive me, for I am not worthy of being the father of our child, nor the husband of her mother,” he paused. “I have been a foolish man.”

“You have been, Banri,” she replied, barely audible over the crowds chanting, “but this man has always been in you, too. So now, make amends with our daughter and apologize to her.”

He nodded his head in agreement and turned towards the two coming up the steps. Banri noticed the patch on the warrior’s shoulder. A white fanged skull on a red background, no one sought to grab his hand to shake. He greeted his daughter, eyes filled with tears, adulation coming from the stands.

He tipped his head, “Can you ever forgive me, daughter?” he asked, knowing he could not ever make up for his previous harsh words to her, his shame complete.

She stepped up to him, grabbed him tightly around his waist. He wrapped his arms around her, the tears streaming down his face and dropping to wet her hair.

The crowd’s noise, already deafening went up a notch. Yuko released her father and turned to stand between her parents, putting an arm around her mother and kissing her on the cheek.

She looked down to the craft below with four Guards coming out, “Father, Mother, I want to introduce you to my boss, the CEO of TQB Enterprises, her Royal Highness Queen Bethany Anne…”

TO BE CONTINUED IN …

MY RIDES A BITCH

THE KURTHERIAN GAMBIT 13

Michael’s Notes (We Have Contact - The Kurtherian Gambit 12):
 
Started August 29th, 2016

Thank you, I cannot express my appreciation enough that not only did you pick up the TWELFTH book, but you read it all the way to the end, and NOW, you're reading this as well.

I’m writing these author notes four weeks and five days after the last time I wrote the Author Notes for SUED FOR PEACE.

Let’s get a little Indie Publisher / Author stuff out of the way for those who like to catch up on the series and the ‘days and times of a successful (!) indie author’.

First, Kindle Unlimited.
 
There is no way at the moment, short of Amazon doing something dramatically screwy to us Indie Authors (which, they have but never when I’ve been a part of the system) can I even dream of leaving KU anytime soon if I look at income and opportunity.

KU is about a half of my income.

Those that were
preaching
‘go wide’ back in Jan-Mar are mostly admitting (not all of them, but a bunch) that the money and rank are just too good to pass up w/ KU…So, now the dark side (being all-in with KU) is a big thing in the Indie community.
 
It’s hard to argue with the money, man…it’s hard to argue with the money.
 
I wasn’t the first to raise this flag, I was merely annoyed that those pushing wide made a religion out of it.

Which has always been my point.
 
I’m not religious (in business), I’m practical.
 
I didn’t go wide because I didn’t have the time to figure it all out, and staying Amazon seemed like the right choice for me, and it has turned out to be very much so.

Now, new fans look at the quantity of books I have and join KU!
 

Last month, I was in the top 100 authors on KU for America and England for most KU pages read…SWEEEEET!
 
Mind you, based on the little bonus spiff I was near the bottom (closer to 100 - I might have been #100) but hey, that was a shock and total awesomeness for me.

I don’t think I’ve shared that with anyone but my family at home right now.
 
No author friends, no extended family, no one.

Until you!

Geez, I’m going to have a big ‘I love you fans!’ moment… Give me a second to get past it ...

So, the short of it is, I’m in KU as long as Amazon continues loving us Indie’s as much as they have.

Covers!

Have you seen the new covers for books 01-06 and We Have Contact?
 
Books 01-06 (and now 07) are done by Andrew Dobell, and I’ve talked about him in the past…Phenomenal work.

Jeff Brown of
http://www.JeffBrownGraphics.com
has done the cover for this book, and will do the covers for Books 08-14.
 
So, maybe by this time (writing the author notes) for My Rides A Bitch (TKG13) we might have new covers for 08, 09, 10, and 11.
 
If not, we will soon after!

Thank you SO much for the compliments on the new covers, it makes the $$$ that was spent feel like it was well spent!

Kindles for Military

August is going to be an excellent month.
 
Right now, the affiliate commission is just shy of $800.00.
 
That will pay for the two Kindles to purchase (#3 & #4) and make up for the other expenses for August and the shortage in July.

Now, here is the problem.
 
I’ve pulled two winners from the nomination page, and I never received info back on WHO they want me to give the Kindles to.
 
So, both times I went ahead and sent it to a Marines Group as a fall-back choice.
 
I want to send to specific military personnel who win, yet I don’t want to sit on the Kindles, either.
 
So, if you get an email from me (manderle or Mike) talking about Kindles for Forward Deployed Military, it is not spam, folks! :-)