Paladin aeolus investiga.., p.1
Paladin (Aeolus Investigations Book 3), page 1
Contents
Cover
Copyright
Dedication
Chapter 1, Prologue
Chapter 2, Surf’s Up
Chapter 3, Makeover
Chapter 4, The Weapon Shop of Isher
Chapter 5, Forever Young
Chapter 6, Labs are Back
Chapter 7, Keeping Busy
Chapter 8, Trouble on Ackalon
Chapter 9, Sanctuary
Chapter 10, Interrogation
Chapter 11, Kidnapped
Chapter 12, Here's Johnny
Chapter 13, Ron Takes Charge
Chapter 14, True Lies
Chapter 15, Knight and Day
Chapter 16, Incoming
Chapter 17, Boarding Party
Chapter 18, The Captive
Chapter 19, Hrassi
Chapter 20, High Justice
Chapter 21, The Not So Little Mermaid
Chapter 22, Building a Better Shield
Chapter 23, Water World
Chapter 24, Queen of the Deep
Chapter 25, Prince of the Deep
Chapter 26, Terrorism Under the Sea
Chapter 27, Defusing the Situation
Chapter 28, Royal Rescue
Chapter 29, Heroes
Chapter 30, Paladin
Chapter 31, Retirement
Chapter 32, Faster Than a Speeding Bullet
Chapter 33, Infiltration
Chapter 34, Things Get Complicated
Chapter 35, Break out
Chapter 36, Docking Maneuvers
Chapter 37, Kill Them All
Chapter 38, No More Reubens
Chapter 39, Final Justice
Author’s Note
Gambler, Chapter 4
Tipping Point, Chapter 1
PALADIN
Aeolus Investigations (Episode 3)
A Lexi Stevens Adventure
by
Robert E Colfax
Copyright © 2020 Robert C Kirk
All rights reserved.
The use of any part of this publication reproduced, transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise, or stored in a retrieval system, without the prior written consent of the publisher is an infringement of the copyright law.
Cover art by Dave Kirk
Proof reader Dee Bullock
Thank you
Chapter 1
Prologue
While Ron decanted three sippy-cups of a bold red wine picked up while they were on Borgol, Lexi momentarily disappeared into her lab. When she came back out, she carried a rack of three ampules. Each contained three-hundred cc’s of clear blue fluid. As she set the rack down on the table using a double-sided pad designed for holding things in place while in zero-gee, she announced, “This is what I want us to talk about this evening.”
Geena eyed the vials with curiosity. “What are those, Lexi?”
Lexi looked up from the vials, her face almost expressionless. “I’ve been thinking a lot about what we’ve all been referring to as our Borgol job for the last few weeks. I need to apologize, too. I was having issues dealing with the deaths of those people we promised to protect. I know we all were. I also know we did the best anyone could. I don’t believe we screwed up. I had to work through it to get to that realization. To attain that peace. I doubt we could have done anything differently to alter the outcome. I just didn’t want to talk about it. I didn’t really even want to think about it, so I came up with a project to distract myself. When it started to come together, I managed to get excited about working on it.”
Geena remarked. “It’s true; you haven’t been the best companion for a while. We all deal with grief in different ways, darling. We realized you needed to be alone. You were sociable enough when you came out for meals and movies.”
Lexi smiled at her. Her relationship with the older woman had changed pretty dramatically during that last job for Jadkim E’kret of Borgol The manner in which it changed pleased both of them. When Lexi was shot, she overheard Geena call her “daughter.” Geena meant it. As nice as that was, even more importantly, they resolved whatever friction existed between them concerning Lexi taking over leadership of the team from Geena. “Still, I know you guys were affected too. I could have done a better job of being there for you. I’m truly sorry.”
“We don’t fault you, love. You took it the hardest,” Ron said. “We all saw that. I don’t know why Mom, Urania and I got through it more easily.” He shrugged. “So assuming the blue stuff isn’t glass cleaner, it does look like glass cleaner by the way, what is it?”
Lexi was again not smiling as she said, “Geena and I both got pretty bunged up in our run-in with those Helgans on Earth ten months ago. Just six months ago I was shot on what was really my first case. Shoulder wounds are far more dangerous than we tend to assume. Both the subclavian artery and the brachial plexus are in there. If a shot hits either of those, you can lose your arm. It can even wind up being fatal. Fortunately, my assailant had a relatively low-powered .32. Ron, you were caught in a freakin’ mine explosion. There is absolutely nothing low-powered about that. We were lucky you weren’t killed. We could have lost you.”
She took a sip of wine while staring at her three vials. “I didn’t earn it and I’m still learning how it all works, but you’ve let me be the leader of our team. I’m going to continue to steer us toward jobs that do more than just pad our bank account. I want us to be in the business of helping people. Whether that means rescuing kidnap victims or finding the next Rose of Light or solving the Accord’s pirate problem, I want our team to make a difference. That’s what I’ve always wanted for myself, to make a difference.”
She paused. Her partners, no, her family looked to be taking her seriously, even if they were both wearing tiny smiles. “I believe this team can. We can make a difference. Realistically, if we continue in this business as investigators we’re going to continue to take damage, damage potentially more serious than what we’ve experienced since I’ve been on the team. I’ve been thinking about this a lot over the last few weeks.”
Ron nodded his head. “Sadly, getting bruised seems to be part of the job description. Winding up with injuries isn’t something new since you joined the team, kiddo. It’s always been a problem we’ve faced. I think you’re the first of us to actually get shot, but both Mom and I have been shot at. Mom’s suffered a few broken bones over the years. Lots of bruises, too. I was knifed once. I wasn’t even on a case that time.”
“Oh?” Lexi remarked, raising an eyebrow.
Ron sighed. “I helped a girl who was being hassled in a bar.”
Lexi actually smiled at him. “Did you get to go home with her?”
“No, I got to go to a medical center.” Then he smiled. “She picked me up and took me to her place once they discharged me a couple of days later.”
Lexi nodded indicating both her acceptance of Ron’s statement and her understanding. She was far more concerned he had been knifed, than that he spent time with another woman before he met her.
“I also keep coming back to the comment Jis made on Hepca,” she continued, “that what we did there was mild. Neither of you was in Kraft’s office to hear her. She looked around at the four dead men, with blood all over the place. Jis said that compared to what we’ll be getting ourselves into, that was mild. So…” She took a deep breath. “I want to make us more resilient. I want to make us harder to kill.” She indicated the vials. “Three doses. Three of us.”
Ron’s eyes, Geena’s eyes, Lexi’s eyes, and Urania’s cabin sensor all focused on the three vials. “What’s in those ampules is formulated to make adjustments to our DNA. The idea started as a replacement for our daily stay-young meds. With this, we’ll never have to take the pills again. It will completely rectify Geena’s calcium-loss problem and prevent Ron and me from developing anything similar. I’m surprised Ron isn’t already showing symptoms.”
After a pause, she continued, “Physically, Geena will dial back to somewhere around my age. Ron and I probably won’t change much in that respect, if at all. The infusion optimizes our biological ages. It accelerates healing should we be injured, although I can’t be sure by how much. We’ll just have to see. My expectations are high. If it is as effective as I think, I suspect the changes might be significant enough to cause lost limbs to grow back.” She smiled. “I’d prefer none of us get cocky and test that out.”
“Impressive, kiddo. After the concoction you used on that bastard Jameson we know you’re a wizard at manipulating DNA. It all sounds great,” Ron said. “Why do you sound hesitant about it?”
Lexi’s gaze hardened as she shifted it to the ampules and then to Ron’s face. “There’s an unavoidable side-effect. It’s a serious one. I can’t decide if it’s a good thing or a true nightmare.”
“Which is?” Geena prompted.
“My glass cleaner doesn’t just slow aging, it stops it. Permanently. If we take this we will never age. Our bodies won’t ever wear out. Potentially, we’ll all still be here when the stars burn out.”
Ron blinked. “Seriously? You’ve developed an immortality serum?”
“Yes. Fun, huh?”
“I don’t age now,” Urania remarked. “It would be nice to have you guys with me for the long haul. Frankly, I try not to think about how lonely I’ll be once the three of you are dead and gone. I’ve found myself hoping someone has children bef ore then. I won’t name any names.”
“What happens when we get bored, Lexi? Forever is a very long time.” Geena asked. Then she added, somewhat wistfully, “I might like to have another child someday.”
Lexi shrugged. “You can still die. Once you’re dead, you’re dead. A Zapper to the head isn’t going to heal. If we get you on life-support in time, a bullet to the heart might. I want us to take this, guys. I didn’t like watching you and Ron in pain for weeks like you were. I didn’t like having my arm in a sling for a week two times now. I still feel a twitch in my shoulder from the bullet I took when I use it. Frankly, I don’t like having to take a damn pill every morning. But we’re a team. I can’t make a unilateral decision, even for myself, without all of us agreeing. You don’t have to make a choice right away. The formulation is stable and will be usable for the next eight to ten weeks.”
Geena remarked, “Let’s assume your magic works. Then we need to decide who among our friends to offer it to. That’s playing god, Lexi. Can you denature it? Slow aging without introducing the immortality factor?”
Lexi shrugged. “I haven’t looked into it. I will, though.”
They all stared at the vials, sipping at their wine in unison. “Why is it blue?” Ron finally asked.
Lexi kept her expression completely serious as she replied, “So I don’t get it mixed up with the red one that melts down your body into a bubbling pool of smelly goo. Death is instant.”
Geena smiled. “I know you’re kidding, darling. One would hope my son does too.”
Lexi smiled. “Because that’s the frequency of the spectrum of light it reflects, Ron.” She shrugged. “Really though, there’s no reason other than that is how it turned out. They put dye in glass cleaner. I would have been fine if this was clear. Or green. Or whatever.”
“Will it turn me blue?” Ron persisted.
“No, Ron.” She paused, before adding, “You might wind up with a permanent tan. I wouldn’t be surprised if any scars you have will vanish. I doubt tattoos will persist once you’re dosed. None of us have any anyway. I know my pierced ears will heal if I don’t keep studs in them all of the time. I think I’ll let the belly-button piercing heal up. I liked it when I was seventeen, but haven’t worn any of my ornaments in years.”
Geena asked, “You haven’t tested this?”
“Only on cultured cells, which I’ve already destroyed. It’s specific to human DNA. Even if I used lab rats, which we don’t have, I would have to change the formula. Besides, who wants an immortal rat running around? We’d need an immortal cat to catch it. One of us, or all of us, has to test it. I’m confident in what I developed. I vote we use it. You guys can take your time thinking about it and discussing it further, either with or without me.”
Geena looked at both of them and sighed. “If we decide to do this, we test it on just one of us first. I’ll be your lab rat. If it kills me, at least you’ll still have each other. Let’s decide one way or the other before we get to Cardin’s Paradise.”
Chapter 2
Surf’s Up
The wave rolling into shore was going to be one of those great ones that even experts find challenging. Ron and Geena were clearly watching the same one roll toward them. They were a reasonable distance from her, still prone on their surfboards, but Lexi could tell by the way they were tensing their bodies. Besides, this was by far the best wave to show on the horizon in the three hours they had been out here. They all managed to catch a few good ones already this afternoon, but none like this. Neither of her partners would let this one slip by without attempting to ride it.
Considering she grew up in the United States of America, planet Earth, Lexi still found it a little bit odd to be on a surfboard buck-naked, but this wasn’t Earth and only men, as a rule, wore swimwear of any type on Cardin’s Paradise. Of course, there was that one January when she and a dozen classmates took a day off from skiing for a naked polar bear plunge in a Vermont lake. Still, that was with a small group of people she already knew. Not exactly in public like this. Here, women with more of a bosom than she carried might or might not have on something akin to a sports bra. Geena was better endowed in that area than she was, still, neither of them were large enough to flop.
Lexi and both of her lovers were tall and muscular. Especially Ron, who could have stepped right into the role of Thor in the old Marvel movies. In fact, Thor might have looked puny next to him. Most days, especially when traveling in the zero-gee environment of hyperspace, they worked out in the ship’s small gym for hours. Lexi, at six-three, was the shortest of the team. Geena Samue had two inches on her. Geena’s son, Ron Samue, came in at a whopping six-foot-seven. Despite the fact that neither of them were Earth humans, they were as human as she was. People from their planet, this one, tended to run taller on average than people on Earth; although her father was six-foot-four. Her mother had been over six-feet as well.
Slightly less than a year ago, Lexi left Earth for good, joining the others on their starship as space-threading insurance investigators, a life, despite an element of danger, she was growing to love. She smiled mentally at the thought. They didn’t exactly invite me to be a partner. After our one-night-stand at my house, I wanted to promote Ron to boyfriend status. Well, I suppose that actually came before our one-night-stand. Once I saw his starship, I knew someone had to do something. It looked like we had aliens invading Earth! So I snuck in through the hatch. Then they took off. An annoyed Geena had trouble getting past my stowaway status at first. Ron had to shift mental gears to realize he could be in a life-long relationship with a woman from another world. When I took charge, Aeolus Investigations was born.
As the huge swell charged toward her and began to crest, she ceased musing and turned her full attention back to surfing. She pointed her board toward the shore, paddling strongly as the wave began to crest behind her and settled her board neatly into the barrel of the breaking wave. As always when riding a bomber as tall as the house she grew up in, the ride was a total adrenaline rush. No wonder Ron and Geena had been so keen to teach her during their first vacation together ten months ago at this same resort. Trying to master this monster of a wave, she overbalanced and wiped out. At least she stayed up part of the way. She was getting better at staying on her board. Surfing, when you stopped to think about it, was a pretty solitary sport. Both Ron and Geena rode the wave all the way in, making it look easy. Lexi knew it was anything but.
They mutually decided to call it quits after that one, giving themselves time to head back to their suite and get cleaned up before dinner. As they were walking back, Lexi commed their ship, currently in the throes of a drastic remodel. “Any concerns, Urania?”
“None at all, dear. I like these guys. Wish I could talk to them,” came the response. “How were the waves today?” Urania was the sentient intelligence that resided in the command computer of their starship. Her sentience, for reasons they could only speculate on, had evolved over time. As far as any of them knew, no one had ever been able to design a truly sentient computer. Since her self-awareness appeared to be unique, the group decided to keep it to themselves. Prince Jadkim E’Kret, of the Accord world named Borgol, who they now counted as a friend, hired the team to find and bring home his kidnapped wife and children. Urania’s sentience proved an invaluable asset on that mission, one that contributed greatly to the team’s successful rescue of his family.
“The waves were fantastic. I wiped out on the last one, but at least I’m getting better at this. Both Ron and Geena rode it all the way in.”
