DNA III
by Stephanie
Part 13
"Are you sure you're okay?" Jeff asked the transformed soldier. She had been waiting anxiously for news as he was being debriefed after his escape.
"I'm fine," Rob reassured the concerned woman. "I'm trained to deal with this sort of thing."
"Under normal circumstances perhaps, but what you've been through is anything but."
"It's odd, but I feel better now than at any point since that cargo crate landed on me."
"How are Paul and the others?"
"Paul and the security team are fine, or they were when I left, but they've done something to Doctor Kingston. I think that woman used the Virus on him."
"Who are they? Did you find out?"
Rob was silent for a moment. "Yeah, but I've been ordered to keep quiet about it for now while the top brass work out what the hell to do about them."
Jeff was frustrated by Rob's silence, but knew he wasn't going to be shifted on that issue. "Come on, lets go get a drink. Mandy's got a bottle of some stuff that blow your boots off and right about now we both need it."
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
"I'm going to the rendezvous point, and that's final." Anne declared.
"It's not worth the risk," Colonel Rigdon replied. "We know where their base of operations is thanks to the thug that Private Petrucci brought back. We should hit it before they have a chance to move."
"They're not going to move. Tanya... Simonds' motives make sense now. She may believe that my discovery is the greatest disaster threatening mankind, but she is driven far more by the need for revenge. She sees me as the source of all her problems. The chance to get at me will make her careless. It makes sense to strike when part of her force is out to pick me up."
"It does not make sense at all!" the colonel said in exasperation. "You know the virus better than anyone alive. I cannot allow you to put yourself at risk. We can get an agent to take a DNA Virus based on you and--"
"No! I'm not going to allow anyone to risk themselves in my place. And I'm not entirely happy about someone being stuck with a copy of my body. Paul is in danger and I'm not going to risk his life to keep me safe. I am going and that is _final_!"
* * * * * * * * * * * * * *
Simonds had to dress Michael herself. The newly transformed man had floundered very quickly with the female clothes Simonds had prepared for her. In time, she would be a little more capable in time when she settled down and accepted her new life, but she would always be dependent on someone to look after her.
Simonds wondered how much Michael understood of her predicament. She could tell, just by looking in the blonde bombshell's eyes that she was terrified and bewildered. What must it be like to suddenly be unable to think complicated thoughts, to be virtually unable to read or comprehend the world around you? Simonds thought it would be the one condition that was worse than her own, so it had been perfect for Michael.
Michael stood there in a daze, saying nothing as Simonds dressed her in sexy, black silk underwear, a tight top that displayed plenty of cleavage and a short and tight black leather skirt. Simonds opted for plain, low-heeled shoes. Trying to teach Michael to walk in high-heels, or teach him anything now, would be a slow and trying process.
"You could do with some make-up," Simonds told her, "but he isn't that fussy. With tits like that I doubt he'll even look at your face."
Simonds took hold of Michael's arm and pulled her out of the room and down the corridor. "Everything is going to plan. Tomorrow, I'll get my hands on that Chamberlain bitch and I'll let the others go. Really, though, there's no point in letting you go. You can hardly go back into research now, can you? All you're good for is pleasing men," Simonds smiled. "And women. You did really well back there with Lester."
Michael was led to a car and got into the back alongside Simonds as two rough looking men got in the front. "To Lazlo," Simonds told them.
The car maneuvered slowly over the rough ground to one of the many exits from the deserted industrial park and headed to a much more salubrious district.
* * * * * * * * * * * * * *
Colonel Rigdon listened as the units moved into position in the abandoned industrial park. There was plenty of room for cover and the criminals didn't have the expertise to watch the surrounding area carefully enough. When the time came for the assault they would have the element of surprise.
Already two cameras had been set up to give him near 360-degree coverage of the battered building. Most of his attention, and worry, was directed at a third monitor which showed Anne Chamberlain alone on wasteground over ten miles from Simonds hideout.
He wished he had never agreed to this. The simple fact of the matter was Paul Roberts, Michael Kingston, and the remains of the security team were utterly expendable when compared to Anne Chamberlain. Her death, or worse, would leave the States floundering in DNA Virus research without the massive advantage she brought.
"Vehicle approaching Site Alpha," one of the soldiers hidden around Chamberlain reported.
The next few minutes would either resolve the situation or make an already bad situation a hundred times worse.
* * * * * * * * * * * * *
Anne turned as she heard the sound of the battered car approaching.
It drove onto the wasteland she was standing on and then circled her once, raising a cloud of dust before leaving as quickly as it had arrived.
She shielded her eyes from the dust as she heard a truck approaching.
The handgun felt slippery from her sweat. She had never held a gun before,
let alone used one.
She took several deep breaths to control her fear and then waited. The truck door opened and a tough-looking man got out carrying a rifle that he trained on her.
"I'm alone," Anne called, "just as you said."
"Come over here," the man demanded. "Let's go."
"Where are they? Show me."
"Stop stalling and move, bitch!"
Anne put the barrel of the gun against her temple. "Not if all you want to take back is a headless corpse."
"You're bluffing."
"All I care about are the others. I'm dead anyway. So will you be if
you take me back to that psycho dead."
The man snarled and took one step towards her, but then thought better
of it and moved to the back of the truck and opened the doors. Two more submachine gun wielding thugs got out and scanned the area. Anne prayed that the Army knew how to hide itself. She had to stop herself checking the hiding places to see if they were still hidden.
Then five figures, handcuffed behind their backs, climbed out of the truck with difficulty. The first two were from the security team, but Anne's heart lifted when she saw the dark, lithe figure of Paul. Another security team member followed and then Anne saw the very odd figure of Arnold Lester get out last. Rob had warned her of what Simonds had done to the reporter, but she was still not prepared for the extremely incongruous sight of him wearing just a shirt, panties, stockings and heels.
"Where's Michael Kingston?" she called.
The lead thug laughed. "Don't ya worry about that. We're giving you little Miss Lester in exchange. Now get your butt over here."
What are they waiting for? Anne thought. At that moment there was an eruption of noise and one of the three guards was blown off his feet and fell still.
The other guard waved his gun around looking for a target. Anne was thankful that it hadn't occurred to him to use the hostages as a shield. The lead thug was pointing his rifle... straight at her! In that endless
second she wished that her own handgun was loaded.
Anne instinctively dived to her left as another burst of gunfire cut down the second guard. A hammer-blow hit her in the chest and she crashed
to the ground with a grunt, smacking her head against a piece of crumbling masonry. She raised her head and tried to see if Paul was okay.
Her vision was blurry from the blow and all she could see was what looked
like a tranquilizer dart rising from her chest.
Her last conscious thought was the realization that whatever was in that dart it wasn't a tranquilizer.
* * * * * * * * * * * * * *
"So what do you think?" Simonds asked, in a quiet feminine tone.
Largo ran a hand up Michael's body and gripped her breast tightly. "She is a beauty."
"I always find the best, don't I?"
Lazlo grunted, "That you do. Tanya, I don't think I've had a girl who was so willing to share me with others."
Simonds moved closer to Largo and put her arms around him. "I know I'm
the special one. These others are just little morsels. I'm the main course." She unwrapped herself and headed to the door. "When you're finished with her, I'll be waiting."
Largo pulled Michael closer and grinned at the look of horror on her face. "Just one more thing, Tanya," he said without taking his eyes off of his new acquisition, "your, ah, guests?"
"They've already left for home."
"Good."
* * * * * * * * * * * * * *
Some shapes moved in the darkness. Slowly they resolved themselves into a worried looking black girl. "Paul!" Anne cried. She made to sit up but the throbbing in her skull intensified and she lay back down again.
"Careful now, you've got a bump the size of a bus on the back of your head."
"It's good to see you again. I thought I'd lost you for good this time."
"You're never getting rid of me," Paul replied with a smile.
Anne thought back to the hand-over. "I was shot!" She tried to sit up but Paul easily held her down.
"Relax. The tranq dart didn't go through the bulletproof jacket. They're analyzing it now to try and work out what it was. You took a big risk out there."
"For you, my love, it was one worth taking. Is everyone alright?"
Paul slumped a bit. "Everyone bar Michael. That mad bitch got to him first. He's almost certainly still alive, but I'm not so sure that's a good thing."
* * * * * * * * * * * * * *
Colonel Rigdon looked tired when Anne finally got to see him. The cut on her head had been stitched and she was still feeling a little fragile.
Paul was safe, but the news that Michael was still in Simonds' hands, and with his mind half-destroyed, took the edge off the celebrations.
"We've raided every known and suspected building Largo owns."
"And?" Anne asked, but she felt she knew the answer from the look on the Colonel's face.
"No Largo, no Simonds and no Kingston."
"None of them?"
"Largo is rumored to have a few safe-houses around. We got unlucky. He can't hide forever, though."
Anne was silent for a moment. "He could. He has the DNA Virus now. If
you don't catch him soon he could just vanish into thin air!"
* * * * * * * * * * * * * *
Michael was pressed into the couch in the small, but plush, office. She could feel Largo's thick fingers teasing down her panties from under her tight, leather skirt. "A natural blonde, I see. Perfect."
The panties were quickly pulled off and joined the black bra and top in a small pile on the floor.
Michael, now only wearing the mini-skirt, tried to gain some room and
distance from Largo, but was held tight. She felt her breasts squashed against Largo's shirt and felt ashamed when she felt her nipples responding to the rough fabric.
The fingers returned and made their way up Michael's soft thigh to the crease between her legs. With surprising softness a finger slipped inside her. Michael gasped and tried to back away, but there was nowhere to go.
A hammering on the door interrupted Largo. "Sir! Sir!"
Largo stormed upright and walked to the door. "I left strict orders not to be disturbed!" He bellowed before wrenching open the door.
Michael slid over to the far side of the couch and used a cushion to cover his bountiful breasts.
"I-I'm sorry, sir," Largo's underling stuttered, "but we're under attack! Everything is being raided!"
"Fuck! Get Tanya up here now! The stupid bitch may just have killed us all."
Largo jumped up and slammed the door behind him, locking it, leaving Michael alone.
After a few moments breathing deeply, feeling her breasts push into the cushion, Michael got up and walked over to the desk. She placed the cushion on the desk and sat down in the large leather chair behind it. The desk was bare of even a telephone. The only object it held was a sleek-looking computer.
Michael leaned forward, poked the mouse and the screen lit up.
* * * * * * * * * * * * * *
"Where is she?" Largo demanded.
"She should be here soon," Largo's lieutenant replied. "Everything's gone to shit. We've lost almost everything."
Largo swore. It had all gone out of control. No influence he had with any official was going to remove this heat now. "They're not going to
stop chasing me, thanks to that stupid bitch."
"We still have the money reserves. There's no way the feds could get to it soon and we have the virus."
"Have you lost your fucking mind, Spike?" Largo replied incredulously.
"I wish I'd never heard of that shit."
"It's the one sure way to throw them off the scent."
"There's no way I'm spending the rest of my life looking at a stranger
in the mirror."
The door opened and Simonds strode into the room.
"I let them go like you asked, Largo. I don't know --" She was stopped
short as Largo punched her hard in the face.
Simonds was thrown to the floor and she sat there dazed with blood pouring from her nose.
"I've lost everything and you've reached the end of the line." Largo reached into waistband and pulled out a silver automatic. "Spike," he said as he leveled the weapon straight at Simonds, "get the car ready. We're getting out of here." He smiled coldly, "Sorry Tanya, you're not coming with us."
Simonds wiped away some of her blood and glowered at him.
In the office when Michael heard the scream followed by the gunshot she immediately dived under the desk.
* * * * * * * * * * * * * *
"You're not stopping me," Paul told Colonel Rigdon hotly. "I'm going with you."
"It could be a trap," the Colonel replied, "I can't guarantee your safety."
"I'm well aware of that, but they still have Michael and in the condition he is in, he is very vulnerable and very scared."
The Colonel sighed. Why couldn't civilians learn to stay out of danger? "Alright, but you obey my orders without question and you stay well back until the place is secure."
Anne was outside watching the troops load up. "What's going on?" she asked Paul.
"They've got a tip off. The soldiers are back-up for the FBI, but they shouldn't be needed."
"Michael?"
"I don't know. All the e-mail said was the location and claimed Largo and perhaps Simonds was there. Whoever it was knows a lot more than has been released to the press."
"Be careful."
Paul turned and hugged Anne. "I will."
Anne watched the convoy speed out of the base past the legion of
press. She saw them start to turn her cameras on her and she retreated back inside the base.
*nbsp; * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
The FBI had already surrounded the non-descript building by the time the Colonel and Paul arrived.
"What's the situation?" Colonel Rigdon barked as soon as he got out of the truck.
"We've secured the area, but we can see no activity inside. This might
be a hoax or a diversion."
The colonel nodded. "My men are ready, if you need them."
Paul watched in frustration. For what seemed like hours nothing seemed
to happen. Then a small detachment of armed agents wearing body armor moved cautiously towards the entrance.
Paul watched the building for the next few minutes. He knew it was going to take them some time to check every room on each of the five floors, but he just wished he could get inside. Michael could be dead, or
perhaps, even worse, not there at all.
The agents reported each floor to be deserted, apparently in some hurry. Paul had just about given up hope when the radio crackled into life. "Top floor secure. We have two females, medic required."
Paul closed his eyes. Michael had been excess baggage and had been left behind. But how badly was he injured?
The medic team was grabbing its gear and Paul sidled over to them. He set off behind them and was halfway towards the building before the Colonel noticed.
"Get back here, Roberts! That building is not secure."
"Sorry!" Paul shouted back. "I have to know."
He ran up the stairs and was the first to reach the top. The agents were clustered around the entrance to one room and had clearly been told Paul was on his way.
"Be careful," one of them said, "this is a crime scene."
Paul nodded and dodged around the door.
There were two others in the room apart from the FBI agents. One was slumped on the floor with a large pool of blood around her. The other was dressed in revealing clothing and was shivering in obvious shock.
"Michael!" Paul rushed over to the shaking blonde woman and held her tight. "Are you okay?" He asked slowly and clearly.
Michael managed a shaky smile. "I'm fine."
"We'll get you out of here and then Anne, you remember Anne, will do all she can to help you." Paul tried to be upbeat, but he knew Michael had the stronger form of the DNA virus, just as he did.
"Of course I remember Anne," Michael replied. "Stop talking to me as if I have the IQ of a cabbage."
"You're okay?!" Paul exclaimed. "I mean your mind?"
"Far as I can tell. That psycho thought I was mentally crippled and if she had learnt she was wrong, then God knows what she would have done to me. I just played dumb."
"You had me convinced," Paul said with a disbelieving grin.
He turned and looked at the woman on the floor. The paramedics were working on her now, but Paul couldn't see how the woman had a chance.
He moved over and looked down at the woman's face. "Simonds? What happened?"
"I don't know," Michael replied. "Largo and I were in the office," she shuddered, "and then left me and came out here and had an argument with Simonds. Then I heard a gunshot. I hacked into his computer to send for help and then hid. The next people I saw were this bunch all pointing their weapons in my face."
"So Largo finally turned on you, you psychotic bitch!" Paul shouted at Simonds.
The mortally wounded woman opened her eyes and fixed them on Paul. The
pale, fragile beauty of her face belied the ruin lower down her body. Her mouth opened and closed a few times, but Paul couldn't tell if she was trying to speak. Then her eyes rolled upwards and her mouth stopped.
The paramedics continued to work, but Paul knew she was dead as he slowly stood up. He felt empty. Somehow, he had expected Simonds' death to feel better than this.
He walked over to Michael and the two supported each other down the stairs and out of the building.
Largo had escaped, but he had never been the real threat. That had been Simonds, driven mad and blaming Anne, Paul and the others for his predicament.
Now she was dead. It was over.
To be continued...