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Chapter -20- Tying Up Loose Ends

Saturday, December 4, 2049 - 12:01am EST Lynchburg, Virginia Lynchburg Harbor ...

Reno firmly clasped Kalen Kincade's hand."It's good to see you again, man."

Kalen nodded and returned Reno's handshake. He took Karla's hand and kissed her knuckles. Seemingly out of character for the vampire, he cleared his throat abruptly. "I'm sorry you could not find the device. We're spread so thin right now that things are becoming increasingly difficult."

Reno handed Kalen the keys to his car. "And you'll keep her safe, right?"

"I will. And it is fully charged? It can make it to Syracuse?"

"Just a straight shot up I-81 right?"

"Yes."

Reno nodded firmly. "She'll make it."

Karla frowned and asked, "Kalen, how thin are we? Can we beat Falcon this time?"

"If we close our ranks, we have a chance." Kalen ran his thumbs over the ignition key and cleared his throat again. "Evan and Patience are following an archeological lead from Patty's research. There's apparently one last great relic that Falcon has been searching for."

Reno tilted his head. "God, enough with the artifacts. Okay, so what is this one supposed to do?"

"It's a seed, or some sort of nut that comes from fruit."

Karla scoffed. "Christ, seriously?"

Reno licked his lips, thinking back to the gypsy girl, Abby Chase. "Wait. How long has Falcon been looking for this thing?"

"A very, very long time. He, or one of his people, managed to kill three people in San Francisco in broad daylight, just to procure a map. The details are a little obscure, but Falcon has been zeroing in on it for years. It's said to be the one thing he needs to restart civilization."

Karla moved closer to Kalen and spoke softly near his ear. "Did Lance really die, or am I right in guessing he's reinvented himself?"

Kalen smiled. In a soft tone, he replied, "Karla, what makes you think I know?"

Karla held her hand out to the side, expanding all her fingers. Everything grew silent from a telekinetic shell bubble around the trio. "No one is listening. Now, I've always suspected that Methos was really Niall. Is he still alive or not?"

"Karla..." Kalen cleared his throat and pocketed the keys to Reno's Chevelle. "That is ... how would it be possible? Niall was a vampire. Methos and Lance ... not a vampire."

"I'm getting tired of the secret-squirrel bullshit. Everyone thinks they have to compartmentalize their information. Methos and Niall Kincade ... same person or not?"

"What makes you think they could be?"

Karla smirked. "Natalia married Niall. She married Methos. She was close to Lance. She's working with this new guy, Peter. And of all names, Peter chooses a name resembling the actor who played Methos in the goddamn Highlander Franchise. So the way I see it, he's throwing me a hint so I'll trust him before I even meet him. That's how his mind works."

Kalen cleared his throat. "Karla, you have an active imagination."

"I was his fuck buddy," she snapped. "I think I deserve to know the truth. Are Niall, Methos, Lance and Peter the same person?"

Kalen sighed. "Mmhmm." He neither nodded, nor did he shake his head.

Karla looked around. "You think someone could be watching us? Reading our lips?"

"Anything is possible. But, there, now you have your answer. Will ou please trust my circle to help?"

Karla crossed her arms over her chest. "How did Niall make Natalia a vampire, and then die, and then become a human man?"

Kalen shook his head. "It's a complicated story. Suffice to say, he is a master of reinventing himself. Steven and Methos haven't lived as long as they did by being careless. They are masters of surviving."

Karla frowned. "When I was in Ethiopia with Conner and the others, it was a dangerous place. Evan can handle himself, but he'll be distracted with helping his wife."

Kincade nodded. "We appealed to Ulfey. She is flying to Africa to help the Balmoral family. She has prove herself to be a capable survivor."

The succubus turned to Reno and said, "Are you satisfied your car is safe in West New York State?"

Reno took Kalen's hand and shook it firmly. "I know you'll keep my baby safe."

"Thank you for your trust," Kalen said. "The two of you should return to the yacht. I understand they're already in the marina waiting." He shook Reno's hand.

Reno nodded firmly. "Good enough for me. So what's the plan? I don't mean the detailed plan. You're too careful to talk in public, but give me some sort of..."

Kalen held his hands up. "I understand your meaning, Nathanial. The two of you will wait on the yacht. My apologies about USPRI. No one knew that Watson would act the way he did."

Karla smirked. "Peter knew. He assigned some numerical values to Watson's personality and thinking style. And he guessed this would happen, meaning that Peter wanted it to happen. And that is the only reason I'm fine with it. Trust me, my first instinct was to lose my shit and kick Watson's ass. But I realized Peter's identity, and I figured this was all part of his plan."

Kalen nodded. "You're a smart woman, Karla."

She smiled. "You're a perceptive vampire, Kalen. So what next?"

"Wait on your yacht. We'll be closing ranks soon. Be prepared. Train with Tamae and Rachel. Work with Sinopa..."

"Sinopa's not available right now."

Kalen tilted his head. "Where is she?"

Karla frowned. "It's complicated. Suffice to say, she's in the Celestial Realm right now. But! I have some good news for you to tell the gang when you get home."

Kalen cleared his throat but remained otherwise silent.

Karla draped her arm around Kalen's shoulder and grinned at him. "I got Sekhmet and Heimdall to join the party. When they arrive, we'll have two hardcore warrior gods. They're reliable. Sekhmet is already a proven asset. We're going to cream Falcon's forces, and then we're going to stomp his ass into the floor."

Kalen rubbed his chin. "I will pass that information along."

"So you really want us to sit?" Reno frowned and ran his hands up through his hair. "Just ... sit on our asses?"

"For now, yes. Prepare. James Parker will be providing transport out of Africa for the Balmoral family and Ulfey. Steven and Cybil are working with Wilfred," Kalen cut his eyes to Reno subconsciously, "And they are designing a way more reliable than the bathysphere. It will take the group beneath the Atlantic. The rest of my group wishes to remain anonymous. However, they are responsible for locating Falcon's current location."

Karla kissed the side of Kalen's face. "Good work, babe. I'll be on my boat trying to clear my head if you need me." She trailed off, briefly, and then asked, "How is Natalia doing after her attack?"

"I should have been there to protect..."

"That's not what I asked," Karla said. "And you don't seem yourself, either. So how are you two holding up?"

"She is well. I, however, still have unwelcome dreams." Kalen reached for Reno, shook his hand one last time, and eased into the Chevelle. "Karla?"

She nodded and relaxed her hand. The telekinetic bubble faded away from the group and the car.

Kalen pulled the door shut, put the key into the ignition and drove up to the paved road, and headed west towards Roanoke.

"How long will it take him to get to Natalia's new place?" asked Karla.

"I don't know," said Reno. "It's a solid day's drive, that's for sure." He turned to Karla. "So Niall Kincade and Methos were the same person?"

"Yeah. I'm sure of it. But Niall was a vampire. Fangs, blood, pale skin - the whole thing. Methos was a real human being. Warm skin, hot blood, and a functioning cock - Methos was a human. So how the hell_does _that work?"

Reno tilted his head. "Seems like you're really surprised to know something you'd already guessed a long time ago."

Karla nodded. "Having a suspicious feeling is one thing, babe. But you can't heal a vampire. They're that way for life. The only cure is to leave them wounded in the sunlight or to behead them."

Reno shrugged. "Maybe it was somehow a lie? Or some sort of trick to make people think Niall was a vampire?"

"Babe, that would have to be one hell of an elaborate ruse to trick everyone. But then the question is, where did Natalia and Kalen get their blood from?"

"I don't know."

Karla reached for Reno's hand. She interlaced her fingers with his. "C'mon, Top Cop. Let's head back to the Love Boat." They teleported out of the empty rest-stop parking lot.

Moments later, the couple appeared at the Lynchburg International Harbor, overlooking the Atlantic Ocean.

Signs and plaques depicting the historic harbor told a vague story of the historical quake of 2025 that shook old Lynchburg to its foundations when the land split open, allowing the Atlantic Ocean to flood its doorstep.

Karla stopped in front of one of the plaques facing the sea and trailed her finger over the engraved words. "And the mountains, and the landscape swelled in a way that protected Lynchburg from flooding, sparing its population. The Atlantic Ocean brought the city prosperity, making it one of the most successful shipping harbors on the continental east coast."

Reno said nothing.

Karla looked up from the sign to the yacht moored to a peer up ahead. "So, we're standing in a city that, despite the quakes, survived impossible odds. And built up like a phoenix from the ashes. And now it's famous and practically rich." She looked back at Reno with a weak smile. "Maybe we'll get as lucky as 'Lucky Lynchburg.' You and I might be able to live through this whole bullshit ordeal."

He grinned. "I like how you stole my word."

She grinned back. "What if I stole it from the first Nathanial?"

"I only hope I can fill his shoes. Did you and he ever ... you know...?"

Karla nodded. "When we first met, I was in a really bad place in my life. He saved me from myself. Yeah, we had a thing for a while. But you know what's weird?"

"What's that?"

"It seems like he always knew my heart belonged to Chance. Even before I met Chance. Before 1999, he always told me to hold off for the one that will take my breath away. He always told me not to be closed-minded over age. And after Chance died, he always apologized to me for losing something special."

"So he knew you two weren't one another's soulmate, huh?"

Karla grinned. "You believe in soulmates, Reno?"

Nevada shrugged. "I don't know about that crap. Are we supposed to fall in love, or should we be out there, searching or waiting for 'the one?' Hell if I know. All you can do is take life one day at a time. And if you find a great girl, and you enjoy her company, one day at a time, until you're both old and grey ... then maybe she was your soulmate. Or maybe you were both compatible? Who cares, just so long as you make each other happy."

"Do I make you happy?"

"You were the only one who was there for me when I was in a coma. You helped me get back on my feet."

"It doesn't matter what I did for you. It matters how you feel about me."

Reno put a hand on her right elbow. "Karla, I read somewhere that true love is supposed to make a man feel unstoppable. Love shouldn't hold you back, like Eric was doing to you. Love is supposed to carry you to new heights and whatever. It's supposed to be the woman that helps you do things you never could before. Make you better, and all that stuff."

Karla looked away with a delighted grin tugging at the corner of her face. "Yeah? And I'm the wings that lift you off the ground? Is that what you're saying?"

"Yeah, actually. The day I woke up, you used telekinesis to help me walk. You challenge me to work harder, fight harder, fuck harder, and do whatever the hell it takes to get through this. And all I want to do, in return, is to see you happy. I know that sounds sappy as shit, but..." he shrugged. "Fuck it."

She gave his hand a squeeze as they walked down the dock together. "Yeah?"

"If I could kill Falcon for you, and bring back Chance, I'd do it in a heartbeat. Being in love ain't about being possessive. It's about wanting to make your girl happy. I'd fight through hell and high water if it meant we could go down there and find that guy in a tube or something. They brought Nicky Parker back to life; maybe Chance is down there, too."

Karla swallowed, feeling conflicted by her long-dormant love for Chance Howard, and the new, growing love she felt for Reno Nevada.

"You okay?"

She swallowed a figurative lump in her throat. "I'm good. I'll be fine, Top Cop. I just want to put my feet up for a few minutes. Maybe take a girl-bath."

"Right on. You do your thing." They stopped by the moored yacht. He offered his hand to her, to help her aboard.

Karla feigned a weak smile. She slapped Reno on the ass as if to deflect her emotion with playfulness. She teleported into the yacht, leaving him alone on the pier.

X

X

Saturday, December 4 - midday Romania ...

Evan Balmoral rubbed his forehead and sighed."I definitely feel more cultured."

Patty grinned. "Unlimited funding and travel privileges can certainly make you feel cultured. I wish we could have brought Haley but I'm not sure she's old enough to appreciate it all just yet."

"I'm still blown away there's a place called 'meme' in Cameroon. I've practically lost track of all the traveling we've done." He slid off a hotel room bed and stretched. "This is the last stop?"

Patty withdrew a small, leather bound book, and a pencil. "We arrived in Fako, Cameroon first. We traveled to Tshuapa, traveled to Kisangani, traveled north to Chad," she turned a page in the booklet, "took part of a dig, headed north to Tunis..."

"It was wild to see Carthage, by the way," Evan said.

"Mm, and beautiful. Then we took a flight to Croatia..."

"Home of Nikola Tesla. I can't wait to tell Reno."

"And then east to Cluj-Napoca..."

Evan grinned. "Seeing Poienari Castle and Castle Bran was a trip. Wait until I tell Kalen."

She laughed and shook her head. "We're headed south to meet with James Parker in Bucharest."

"I can't believe we're actually in Wallachia. We got to fly over Transylvania. We're going to Bucharest. Prince Vlad lived and ruled and kick Muslim butt in these parts."

"I've never seen someone become so excited over history in such a short time. You were almost bored in Africa."

"All the cool stuff happened in Europe," Evan said with a grin. "Vampires, amazing epic wars - so much history."

She smirked. "Africa has rich history, too. But none of your childhood roleplaying games took place in Africa, did they?"

"Busted," he said. Evan dressed and opened the hotel room door. "It's a shame we can't visit Târgoviste, or go sight seeing in Prague. I've always wanted to see those places."

"When our daughter is safe and Falcon no longer poses a risk to the rest of us, we'll travel Europe."

Evan brightened. He held the door open. "Deal."

Patty stepped through the door, walked up the hall to another room and knocked on the door. "Ulfey?"

The door opened. Ulfey stood in the doorway with a cellphone, reading from the screen. "Vlad roasted children, whom he fed to their mothers. He cut off the breasts of women, and forced their husbands to eat them. After that, he had them all impaled. Twenty-to-thirty thousand bodies lined the roads, causing Mehmed the Second, The Conqueror of Constantinople, to return home, sickened by the sight. Vlad was said to have dined amongst the dead, enjoying the sight and the stench of those he impaled." She looked up at Evan and Patty. "Evan, this is the guy you were excited about? He's worse than the vampire character he inspired in fiction."

Evan shrugged. "I'm not saying he was the greatest hero the world ever saw, but he used psychological warfare to halt Muslim expansion, thus protecting Europe from being forced to convert to Islam."

Ulfey pocketed her phone. "So you're saying we should all be thankful he held the line to keep the Ottoman Turks from invading the rest of Europe?"

"Yup." Evan nodded.

"You do realized, after Vlad died, that the Ottoman Empire did what they wanted to this country for a while, right? And, after six hundred years, they never conquered Europe, or Russia, or Scandinavia. So Vlad was really fighting for his right to be a voivode. In Romania, he was a prince and he dressed royally and acted as he pleased. If he negotiated political peace or surrender, he would have been nothing. A nobody."

Evan frowned. "So you read all of that?"

"Not exactly all of it." Ulfey smiled and closed her hotel door, stepping out into the hall with them. "I lived in Greece for years. Didn't you know that Athens was part of the Ottoman Empire for a while? They weren't exactly pleasant to Greece, but they didn't kill everyone either. There have been far more oppressive regimes in history than the Turkish Ottoman Empire. I'm just saying, Vlad could have handled it better, killed less people, and may have lived a longer life if he'd been a better politician."

Evan glanced at Patty, not sure what to think about Ulfey. He looked back at the woman and said, "And you're a werewolf like Rufus? You rip people apart and kick butts?"

"When the need arises. But I'm a religious worshipper of Fenris and I seek a peaceful way to resolve conflict, when possible."

Patty led the group towards the elevator. "I have a question I've meant to ask for a while now - your son is prophesized to be the Savior of the werewolves?"

Ulfey nodded. "So I'm told. And so I take his potential leadership seriously. I made it a hobby to learn about rulers. I pass what I've learned to Rama. I'm hoping it will make him a better, smarter leader if things play out how the prophecy claims. I want him to learn from the mistakes made by leaders of the past."

Evan rubbed his nose. "Wow. It's like Sarah Conner trying to prepare John Conner to lead the resistance against the machines. You just want him to be prepared for anything."

"I am not exactly sure what you mean," said Ulfey.

"Just incase the Terminators take over, you want Rama ready for war." Evan stuffed his hands into his pockets, waiting for the elevator. "That's admirable of you."

The doors opened, they took the elevator down to the hotel lobby and left through the front door. Ulfey shrugged, speaking as they walked together. "I've seen parts and pieces of some of those movies, when they air on TV late at night and I'm unable to sleep."

Evan grinned. "I made Patty watch'em with me."

Patty glanced at her smart watch. "Okay, we're supposed to be meeting James Parker soon."

"And then what?" Ulfey asked.

Patty checked her gear pack, making a mental inventory. "We get back to the States, so we can help our friends stop Dr. Falcon and his accomplices before they cause another quake ... or worse."

Ulfey frowned. "There are rumors that werewolves have the spirit of Fenris within. It has been suggested that killing the world's werewolf population will allow Fenris to break the free of the Gleipnir. If that happens, many gods will die."

Evan stuffed his hands into his pockets. "Most of the supernatural humans are already dead. That means we're the last line of defense against any surviving deities who want to come to Earth and start trouble."

Ulfey nodded. "The guy in the news who claimed to have the nukes - he said he was Loki. And if he really is, he'll want my kind to die in order to free his son, Fenris."

"That kills him, too," Patty said.

"Eventually," Ulfey said in agreement. "But what if it's true? What if we're dealing with a god who has the other gods killed, so he can attack Earth? What if he's been helping Falcon all along?"

Patty nodded with a frown. "It would explain how Dr. Falcon managed to accomplish the near-impossible - the murder of the Esoteric Community. Loki's wife was never imprisoned. She could have been the go-between for those two."

"I have a theory, but you two won't like it." Evan stretched, but kept his hands in his pockets. "Okay, let's say Loki and Falcon are collaborating. What if Loki's plan is to use Falcon's technology to put Heimdall into cryogenic stasis? Then Loki can stall his own demise."

Patience grimaced. "Loki could change the prophecy. If the outcome of the lore changes, Loki would be unchallenged for a great amount of time. But why not just kill Heimdall once he is in stasis?"

Evan shrugged. "Maybe Falcon will keep Heimdall secretly alive in case Loki gets out of control? Putting myself in Falcon's position, I would want a way to guarantee that Loki won't backstab me."

Ulfey approached the rental SUV first, glanced in through the windows, beneath the chassis, and opened the door. "I have more practice driving than either of you. I've got this."

Evan handed the keys to Ulfey. "What do you guys think of my theory?"

"It's sound, Evan." Patience kissed her husband. "I'll sit in the back. I can spread out with my research." Patty climbed into the back seat of the SUV and unpacked her laptop from her gear pack. She strapped into a seatbelt and opened the exceptionally thin notebook computer on her lap.

Evan climbed into the passenger seat.

Ulfey moved into the driver's seat and adjusted the mirrors. "Evan, open the navigation app on your phone. I want to finish up, head home, and spend some time with Rufus."

Patty smiled. "You two are growing close, hmm?"

Evan grinned. "I totally ship you guys."

Ulfey started the vehicle. "Let's just focus on staying alive. Yes, Rufus and I have a son together. Yes, we're finding out we have chemistry. Yes, I really think I'm starting to like him that way. There. Now we can focus on getting home in one piece."

Ulfey pulled the SUV our of the hotel parking lot. "I feel like we're just spinning our wheels, here. It's frustrating."

"We're just tying up loose ends," Evan told her. "We're almost done, I promise."

---

Next Chapter: https://www.sofurry.com/view/838588