Generations Beyond

Alex pushed into Murphy’s with her get the fuck out of my way look plastered on her face. Most of the people in the bar knew her; some friends, some lovers. They knew that look, and they gave her a wide berth as she stalked through the bar and into the back room.

“Zak.” She walked into the office. “Zak, I’m straight fucked.” She kicked the chair aside, it slid across the floor and hit the wall. She slammed her palm onto the desk and leaned over, her dark eyes meeting his. “Blondie was snatched, CIA style.”

Zak looked and frowned, “Jon’s gonna shit a house.” He leaned back from the ledger on the desk and shuffled through a stack of papers. “You got copies of her IDs, right?”

“Yeah, Z,” she said, reaching and plucking the correct page from the mountain of mess on his desk. “Here. She’s got an apartment in the Officer’s barracks at Belvoir, and a house in Colorado Springs with Jonny.”

“Go to the apartment. Find everything.” He sighed and looked at a phone sitting on his desk, “I’ll make the call.”

Alex nodded and jogged out as Zak picked up the phone and dialed. It rang, and connected, “Cross,” Jonathan’s voice came through.

“Hey, Jonathan,” Zak tried to sound casual.

“Z,” there was a pause. “What happened?”

“Shit, Jon.” He shook his head. “Mission accomplished. I sent Alex, but Cap got snatched.”

There was a long silence. “Thanks, Z. Work it from your end and keep me in the loop.”

“Now, boy, don’t you go doing anything stupid,” Zak warned.

“Nothing for now,” Jonathan answered in a tight voice, “not until I know.” The line went dead.

Alex’s motorcycle sped along Highway 1, ignoring petty traffic laws as Alex recklessly rocketed south toward Belvoir. The scene replayed itself in her head. She repeated the directions to Aarons’ apartment in her head. The twenty-five-minute drive took her only seventeen minutes. She rolled up to the guard shack at the base gate. She stopped the bike and pulled her helmet off and flashed a smile at the stern MP with the gun walking toward her.

“Evening, Sarge,” she said. “I need you to let me in there.” She pointed ahead at the gate. “So I can go to Captain Aarons’ apartment.”

The MP replied with a deadpan stare. “No.” Short and to the point, “Not without military ID and verification of your base access.”

She nodded. “See, here’s the thing. I’m not military, and my base access will call you in,” she looked at her watch, “thirty seconds.”

“Turn and drive away,” he said in a slow and even tone. The phone in the guard shack rang and interrupted him. His eyes narrowed and he walked to answer the call.

From her position, she couldn’t hear what he said, but he wasn’t happy when he returned. “Alexandra McIntyre?” he asked.

She nodded and produced her Virginia driver’s license for inspection. He studied it for a moment, compared the picture to her face, and handed her back the ID. “Carry on, ma’am.” He walked back and opened the gate with a sour look.

She smiled as she put her ID away and pulled her helmet on, letting the D ring and chinstrap hang. As she drove through, she waved toward the MP with one hand before speeding through the base streets to the right building. Alex picked the lock with ease and opened the door. Once inside the apartment she took a careful mental image of everything before she started her search.

She found suits, Jonathan’s size, in the closet, a safe behind the mirror, razor blades in the medicine cabinet, and an apartment looking vacant instead of occupied by an Army Captain. “Odd, Blondie. Very odd,” she muttered to herself before going to the item of real interest, the safe. It took five minutes to get open, but much longer to sift through everything inside.

Personnel files on the good Captain herself, Jonathan, and some girl in California named Gabriela. And a whole lot of information on Cheyenne Mountain. “So this is why you’re in Colorado,” she mused and thumbed through Jonathan’s file for a few seconds before she put everything back. She committed the name and address of the Gabriela person to memory and gave the apartment another pass before making sure all was as she had found it when she had arrived.

Colorado

It took a week for the call to come through. Christina called Jonathan’s cell as her plane landed, asking him to pick her up. He waited for her, arms crossed over his chest. She walked to him, shoulders back, as though nothing had happened. It wasn’t until she got into the car and they drove off the base that she let the pretense drop, doubling in the passenger seat.

“What happened?” he asked with a gentle voice.

She shook her head before she leaned back in the seat, lifted her shirt and unbuttoned her pants to expose her latest and greatest modification. Along the bottom of her abdomen lay a jagged red line, crudely stitched, bright red and looked angry. “So much for rockin’ the bikini bod,” she said, trying to manage a smile for him.

He didn’t smile, he drove in brooding silence for a long while. “Penn?” he made the name a question.

“It’s always Penn.”

He grabbed a phone and flipped it open with his thumb and pressed the speed dial. The ringing came through the car speakers and Cross set the phone on his lap.

“Heya Jonathan,” came Zak’s voice, gruff as ever, but with a thread of cheer. “My sources say your girl is on her way home to you. Still don’t know what happened, but I’m digging.”

“Z,” Cross said, “she’s here. You’re on speaker.”

“Oh, hey girlie, welcome back.” His tone shifted a touch, dropping some of the upbeat qualities. “You okay?”

“No.”

“Well, shit,” Zak said with an audible frown.

“Z. Jason Penn. General, United States Army.” Cross interrupted any further conversation. “Gather intel for me. Andrea, Neil, Chase, and Cole Aarons. Get eyes, priority targets.”

“Penn,” Zak muttered the other names to himself, “got it, kid. I’ll call you in thirty-six with a status update.”

“Thanks, Z,” Cross closed the flip phone and took a tight turn off the main road and into their residential area. “Alex is at the house. Let her take a look. I don’t like the way it looks. I don’t want it to get infected.” He glanced over and slowed the car on the tighter, narrower, streets.

Christina closed her eyes, listened to the conversation, and nodded to Jonathan. Little gauze patches covered other places on her abdomen, but nothing needed attention as much as the incision running from one hipbone to the other.

They pulled into the garage at their house. Alex waited at the door to the kitchen before Jonathan exited the car. As he got out he looked at her. “Med kit. She needs you.” Those words sent Alex into motion with a nod. Jonathan rounded the car to open Christina’s door. “Need me to carry you?” he asked, kneeling beside the car in her open door to be at eye level.

“Nah,” she rolled her head to the side to look at him, “give me a minute.” She took off the seat belt and grit her teeth as she moved and rotated to get her legs out of the car. Jonathan moved as she grabbed onto the open car door to pull herself from the vehicle. She straightened her legs and took in a sharp, pained breath. Taking another breath Aarons straightened her back, a muffled groan escaped her mouth.

Jonathan scooped her up and kicked her door shut. “Bull shit.” He carried her into the house, to the couch, laid her down, and took off her boots.

Alex emerged from the back with a duffle bag and pushed the coffee table out of her way as she knelt beside the couch. Her eyes scanned the wound as she pulled on a pair of medical gloves. “Shit, girl.” She looked toward Christina’s face. “They fucked your bikini season hard.” She dug through her bag and set supplies out in a methodical manner.

She grabbed a pre-packed syringe from a pile and ripped the package open while Jonathan finished with the boots and socks and moved on to ease her jeans off.

Christina’s hand reached for the jeans before they were off her thighs, “No,” she stated.

“Honey,” Alex said with a tone as she held the syringe and tapped it, “I have morphine here, but this still might hurt.” She looked at Christina, “Ready?”

Christina’s eyes moved to Jonathan. A crease appeared between her brows and the corners of her lips turned down. Her balled fist let go of the jeans as she looked at Alex. “Ready.”

“Oh, he didn’t say a damned thing.” Alex said, pushing the needle into Christina’s thigh and sliding the plunger in all the way. “I asked him if he knew about the blades in your bathroom. He said yes.” She moved her attention to the wound as she set the needle aside and replaced it with a scalpel.

Jonathan kept his eyes on Christina’s face as Alex cut and removed the sutures, followed by her own stitches. “These were done by a hack,” Alex commented as she placed hers far neater and tighter. “This should get you by without much of a scar if you take care of it.” She alternated stitching and cleaning with iodine; a process that took her fifteen minutes end to end. “I think you’re good to go.”

“Thank you, Alex,” Aarons pushed through clenched teeth.

“No prob, Blondie.” Alex moved and gave Jonathan room to get to Christina.

“I’m here,” he dipped to one knee and took her hand. “Rest and recover. We’ll talk later.”

“Sorry I’m late.” She gave his hand a squeeze before she closed her eyes.

“Don’t apologize.” He squeezed her hand. “I heard you stood up Z and Alex for drinks.”

She smiled, “I’ll buy ’em a round the next time we’re in town.”

Christina woke a few hours later, sore but alive. She heard voices coming from another room nearby. She knew she wasn’t dressed but a thin blanket had been tossed over her while she slept. She pushed herself up and stood with the blanket. Christina saw Alex and Jonathan in the dining room, hunched over the table. Wrapping the blanket securely around her body, she made her way toward them.

Jonathan straightened and caught Christina out of the corner of his eye. “Morning.” he smiled and walked toward her. “How are you feeling?”

“Alive and sore.” She walked closer to Jonathan. “What’s going on?”

“We’re working through exfil options for your family,” he turned, slid an arm around her waist and guided her toward the map. It was a map of the United States with notes and circles and lines across several areas.

“Before I forget, I have to ask, what’s with Jonny?” She looked between Alex and Jonathan.

“Well,” Jonathan started.

“Well nothing,” Alex interrupted, “Jonathan and me used to be a thing. Six months?”

“Closer to four, I think?” he answered, “five.”

“Anyway,” Alex continued, “he hates being called anything other than Jonathan. So I call him Jonny... ‘Cuz I know he ain’t doin’ shit about it.”

“Lex,” he sighed and shook his head.

“What?” she asked, hand to her chest in mock hurt. “Am I lyin’?”

He paused. “No.”

“Well, good to know.” Christina moved away from Jonathan and looked at the map. “Have you thought about a plan for us?” she asked.

“Z’s going to get you two through Frisco,” Alex answered and tapped the map where notes were made.

“And everyone ends up in Mexico?” Christina looked back and forth between the two of them.

“Columbia.” It was Jonathan’s turn to answer. “At least for a while until we can make it to Europe.”

“What’s the timeline we’re looking at?” Aarons looked into Cross’ eyes.

“The finish date’s been moved up by three weeks. We have until the end of July,” he said and watched Christina’s face lose all color.

“The soonest we could move on any of this would be September,” Alex said with a frown.

“Can we hold out?” he asked Christina.

“Excuse me a moment,” Christina moved away from the two and into the nearest bathroom. She pushed off the blanket as she ducked inside and shut the door.

Jonathan and Alex looked at one another for a moment before Alex headed after Christina and knocked on the bathroom door. “Hey, Chris?” she said to the wood. “You all right? Can I come in and check on your stitches?”

After a few moments of silence, a soft “Yeah” came from inside the room. Alex opened the door, took a step inside, and closed the door. Christina huddled in front of the toilet, forehead resting on the closed lid, hair disheveled from sleeping on the couch. Her eyes moved to Alex when she came into the room.

“Oh, Hun,” she said, as she took a few steps across the room and plucked the pins from Christina’s hair. “You feeling okay?” She pulled the long blonde hair back and did a loose braid, using the pins to fix the bottom of the braid in a loop at the nape.

“No,” she said, shaking her head. “I feel trapped. As trapped as before and I don’t know how to keep going.” She lifted her head and looked at Alex. After a moment, she squinted her eyes at her. “How much has Jonathan told you?”

“He hasn’t told me anything.” She brushed a stray strand of hair behind Christina’s ear. “I didn’t pry because it’s not my place to ask and not his place to tell. I figured if there’s anything you want me to know, you’ll tell me.”

Christina moved her head to the side as soon as she felt Alex touch her ear. Aarons looked at her hand and at Alex. “You didn’t ask about that night.”

“What, on the boardwalk?” Alex asked with arched brow.

“Yes, on the mission. You didn’t ask what I did, or how I did it,” Christina said as she counted and watched.

“You can do things.” Alex shook her head and sat on the floor next to Christina. “Things other people can’t do.” She shrugged. “So can I.”

“You knew?”

“I wouldn’t say knew, but when it happened I assumed.” Alex moved to lean against the cabinet. “I mean, it’s not every day people pass out from being touched.”

Christina laughed, continuing until pain throbbed through her abdomen. “My God,” she said. “I’ve always been afraid of people reacting like Jonathan did.”

“Oh, I bet it was rich.” She smiled, but Alex’s eyes dropped to the fresh stitches hiding behind their gauze and tape bandage.

“It wasn’t pretty,” she said shaking her head. “He freaked out. I came at it wrong, though. I hadn’t showed it to anyone before.”

“Yeah, I don’t show mine off either.”

“Alex? Nothing’s happened to you since you touched me.”

“Nothing has…” She broke off as she realized, pulled her hand back and looked at her own fingers. “Oh.”

“I don’t know, but can I touch you for longer and see what happens?” Aarons asked as she looked at her hand and to Alex.

“Payback for the frisking in the hall?” Alex laughed, but nodded. “Sure. Go ahead. We’ll add to the drinks you owe me.”

Christina smiled and nodded. “It won’t hurt, I promise.” She took off her right glove. Aarons held onto Alex’s hand for five seconds. “You should feel something in ten seconds.” She put her glove on.

“Something like what?” she asked.

“It will feel like you’ve been drugged.” Christina watched. “Kind of like a heavy sedative, but it won’t last too long with such a short amount of contact. The longer the contact, the heavier the dose.”

Twenty seconds passed. “Got it. But I feel nothing. Are you working?”

“We could test it on Jonathan. They’ve tried duplicating it in the lab. It’s why they keep taking pieces of me. Before we go, what do you do?” Christina started to push herself from the floor.

She reached and put a hand on Christina’s thigh. “Sit, Blondie. I’ll have him come to us,” she smiled and leaned her head back against the cabinet. “Jonathan, come here please,” she asked in a soft voice.

“Coming, Lex.” His loud voice responded.

“Neat, huh?” She grinned and stretched as much as the small room allowed. Seconds later, Jonathan opened the door and stepped into the room with them.

“Yeah, what’s up?”

“Jonathan, I need you to come over here and touch me somewhere. I need to make sure I still work.”

He stepped over Alex and sat on the edge of the tub next to Christina. “Okay,” he said, laying his hand on the side of her neck for ten seconds before he pulled his hand away and waited. He drew in a slow breath. “Yeah, still works.”

“Look at his eyes, Alex. What do you see?” Christina asked.

She looked at him and laughed. “Boy’s high as a kite, girl.”

“Alex can touch me and not get it,” Christina told him.

Alex moved and laid her head on Christina’s lap, looking at Jonathan. “Hey Jonny. I can touch your girl and you can’t. How’s it feel?”

He looked at her, “Tha-”

“Umm, Alex,” Christina said, interrupting Jonathan. “There’s something else about my touch. People… tell the truth.”

“Oh. Shit.” She looked at Christina from her laying position. “So he’d have to tell me whatever I asked him? Oh shit, oh shit, oh shit!” She laughed and looked at Jonathan. “Boy, you better be glad I like you. I’d have all your shit bare.” She looked at Christina. “When you first figure it out?”

“I was fifteen.” She shrugged. “High school, teenager crap.”

“Man, that’s some shit. Ever get to make mistakes with some boy under the bleachers?”

“No,” Jonathan answered, “she was a virgin until me.”

“Fuck, what?” Alex sat and looked between the two of them. “Okay, so…” She paused. “You two. He… You? How the hell did you manage that without vegifying him?”

“Water,” Cross declared. “Water has oleo phobic properties that creates a satisfactory barrier between her skin and mine. And a condom. We’ve also had success with olive oil.”

She looked, wide eyed, from Jonathan to Christina, “You go girl.”

“Okay.” Christina said as she tried to push herself up. “As much as I enjoy this, I think I need sleep. Alex, how long are you staying?”

Alex stood and helped Christina to her feet. “I’ll hang until you’re in better condition, but I’ll need to get back to Z soon. He’ll fuck something up at the bar without me.”

She chuckled as she accepted Alex’s help. Christina looked at Jonathan. “What’s the time?” she asked.

“Ten seconds,” he answered and stood with them. His pupils returned to their normal size.

“You got this to a science, don’t you?” Alex looked at him with narrowed eyes.

“Yeah, we’ve been trying to figure a way for her to lead a life.” He shrugged.

“Mmhmm.” She slipped an arm around Christina and helped to support some of the weight. “Come on, Blondie. Let’s put you to bed.”

“Thanks, Alex.” She leaned on the other woman and walked into her room. Christina got the covers back and slipped underneth with Alex’s help. She rolled onto her side, head on the pillow, and closed her eyes.

Alex closed the door to Christina’s bedroom on her way and left to find Jonathan in the living room, on the couch. “So, bullshit master…” she flopped on the couch with her legs over his lap, “how long you been chasing the high?”

He looked at her with narrowed eyes, “What are you talking about?”

“I saw your eyes in there. I know high when I see it.”

“Yeah, that’s what it is, but I’m not chasing anything.” He shook his head and looked toward the bedrooms.

“Right. That’s why you’re sitting there thinking about going to check on her.” She leaned and pulled his face to look into her eyes. “Either you’re stupid, or you’re lying.”

“I think about it, but it’s not the way the touch feels. It’s she’s kinda hot, in case you missed it.”

“Oh, I didn’t miss it, Jonny,” Alex said with a smirk. “She’s pretty fucking hot. But is it the real reason you work in ways to touch her?”

Cross leaned his head back against the couch cushion. “She likes the touch.” He looked at Alex. “Think of that one. You can’t touch people for your adult life and someone comes along willing to go through it? For you? It’s got to be nice for her.”

Alex nodded. “Yeah, I bet it is. But you can’t throw yourself on that altar.”

“It’s getting shorter and less severe.”

“Yeah, genius, it’s called building a tolerance. Meth heads do that shit on the daily.”

“I’m trying fix it for her. She deserves a life without worrying if she’ll kill someone!”

“And how long until you up and break her heart?” Alex swung her legs and folded them under her. “You’re not the relationship type, Jonny. We both know that. So, yeah, she needs and deserves it. You going to give it to her?” She picked his hand with the wedding ring on it, “This going to be more than make-believe?”

He sighed and shrunk into the couch. “I want to help her, Lex.” He laid his head to the side to look at her. “I care about her. She’s a friend and my partner.” He frowned.

“Oh, I get it, Jonny.” Alex stood and rubbed his head. “Think about it, okay? And in the meantime, if she wants human contact, send her my way unless y’all are going to grease up and give me something to listen to at night.” She smirked and walked toward her claimed room.