TFM Chapter 2: In the Company of Friends

Task Force Moebius: Chapter 2

Several other cars parked at points around the forest. “There is no way for them to leave without us seeing them. There is no way they are getting out of this alive. The Talons will have our HEADS if they do.”

“Yeah, but if we stick around, the cops will get suspicious. In fact, we may have already overstayed our welcome. Let’s go. The Talons won’t be happy, but at least we know the boy exists.”

Once they were gone, the group, who had carefully stayed hidden, breathed a sigh of relief. “Damn, I thought they’d never leave,” Mikera grumbled. “Well, they did. And now we can at least get goin’,” Josephine replied. “Drake, load your bike in the back. We’re headin’ to Jouin-Saint-Burneval.”

While relieved to be out of the line of fire, Drake was also concerned that he was being targeted by SOMEONE. “I don’t understand. Why would they be after me? I just left the vineyard earlier this morning. I have never struck anyone in anger, or…”

Samantha put a hand on his shoulder. “Drake, listen, we need to get your training going as soon as possible. Are you okay?” Drake nodded, but still looked shaken. “Oui, Samantha, but there is so much I don‘t understand.” Mikera, who had been driving in the front, sighed. “I am sorry, Drake, we don’t know either. We don’t have all the answers.” Josephine added, “It gives ‘s all the more reason to train ya. Ye’ll need to be able to defend yeself. An’ as long as we’re talkin’, we may as well get to know each other, Drake. Startin’ with ye.”

“Moi?” Drake looked at each of the three, and sighed. “Mais oui, I can tell a bit about myself, je suppose. However, I would like to know more about each of you as well, over a dinner I will cook for you.”

Mikera smiled at the offer. “I know I wouldn’t mind. It has been a while since we had anything home- cooked that wasn’t cooked by Josephine.” Josephine smiled. “Lately, it has been mainly takeout. We only recently secured ourselves a safe house in Saint-Jouin-Burneval. Our first goal is to look for signs of Blood Moon activity. Now, that allows us to get you some basic training and to gauge your skill set, thanks to its proximity to Normandy Beach and to some ideal locales for training.”

“How do you plan to do that?”

“Well, I want to test your vehicle skills, and I may know an ideal location for it once I am sure it is vacant. Sam will teach you in firearms, and Jo can teach you basic fighting and melee training. But that can wait until you have had time to deal with your ordeal. Where are you from, Drake?”

“I am from a vineyard 20 miles west of Nice, France. I spent a lot of time weeding it, gathering grapes to make wine, helping foreign workers learn French, and helping with maintenance work on the trucks we use, on top of driving them. Ma soeur, Evangeline, also weeded and gathered, but was more involved in the…what is the word? Administrative matters, I think. She balanced the books, paid the employees, made sure the deliveries of wine to each location was on time, and always made it a point to sample the wine.”

Drake said that last part in disgust, like it was an insult, and all three of the girls picked up on it. Josephine asked first. “Drake, was she..?”

“A lush? Mais Oui, Josephine. Ma soeur drinks like a fish. But she fights like a shark,” Drake replied calmly. Samantha had to ask the next question. “She took out some things on you, didn’t she?”

Drake nodded, lifting his shirt up. Sam looked angry, Mikera looked horrified, but Jo (who was driving) could only see it via the rearview mirror, and kept a calm face. On his chest where several diagonal cuts running from the left shoulder and stopping in the middle of his chest. They weren’t inflicted recently, as they had mostly healed over, but inside, she was seething.

“Drake, why would she do that to you? Why did she treat you so badly?”

“Well, I have my suspicions. But, I think it has to do with mes parents.”

“Your parents, Drake?”

“Oui, Mikera, my parents. Ma mere died not long after I was born. She was a policewoman, whose gun I carry now. Her father had been a priest in the Roman Catholic Church. When she married my father, he condemned her to hell. Because she wouldn’t marry into the church. Other priests went so far as to have her excommunicated. My father? I know not what he did for a living, for Eva will not speak to me of it. When I was four, he told me he suspected that they murdered her, at the request of her father. I haven’t heard from my father since, and Eva blamed me for it. Sadly, she blamed me for a lot of things. Only because I look just like him.”

Samantha then asked Drake something that was on her mind. “You were running for your life, weren’t you, Drake?”

“Not so much my own, as that of ma soeur. I am hoping that without me around to aggravate her, maybe she will stay away from her Mistress. But at the same time, it is to save my own life, too. It is just…” he sighed. “…It makes me feel like a coward for running away.”

Josephine then chimed in. “Drake, you are no coward. A coward would have left Sam to fight those Bloodies alone. But I have to ask. Sam told me after we found you that you had no destination in mind. Drake, have ye ever heard the sayin’, ‘If ye dinnae have a destination in mind, life will find one for ye?’”

“That is what I was betting on,” Drake replied. Mikera replied, “Y-you were betting on it? Was your life on the vineyard that awful? Because…” Mikera looked away, sadness in her eyes, “You wouldn’t be the first…”

“Mikera?”

“I-I am all right. I think we all need to tell Drake our stories over dinner. He has more in common with us than he can even begin to realize.” Drake looked out the window, seeing the familiar sign that welcomed them to Saint-Jouin-Burneval. “Our safe house is close by. It is an old auto garage that is not being used by anyone. We have another room we can set you up in.”

“If it is okay with you, mes amies, I think it should wait until after I cook dinner for you, as I promised. Need me to do some shopping for groceries?”

Samantha replied, surprised by the offer, “We can help you pay for it, Drake. We also have some groceries at home, if you don’t feel like moving around much today.”

“I will want to see what is in the pantry first. Then we can see what we need to buy. The three of you are taking me into your homes, and are about to tell me your stories, the least I can do is cook dinner for you. I had planned to sleep outside tonight, and make a lean-to, but having a roof over my head is a much better plan.”

Once they pulled in, Drake got out and opened the back hatch of the Land Rover. He unloaded his bike and began to assess the condition of his vehicle. It weathered the off-roading he and Samantha had to do in order to escape surprisingly well. He would have to wash the bike, and check on the suspension, but otherwise, the bike handled it well.

The old mechanic’s garage had been converted into a sort of base and living area. Where the shop used to be was now a living room, a small kitchen built behind it. The kitchen was where his interest had lied. He looked into the fridge first. Well, nothing living in it, no sign of mold. We have some cheese, some vegetables, most of which are good, though I will want to wash them thoroughly. And a good number of eggs.

He then noted something carefully wrapped in butcher paper. The bacon within was fresh, and it was likely bought earlier in the morning. Ahhh, perfect! Some bacon too. I can make this work. And we also have some eggs. Hmmm, I think some omelettes with vegetables, cheese, and bacon may well be in order. I can drain the fat to make it nice and lean.

As Drake began to prepare the bacon, he was surprised to see Samantha eyeing the pan. That was when Drake remembered that she was from Israel. “Sam, do you want me to fix you a separate plate, with something kosher?”

“Oh no, it is perfect as is, Drake. I am as unkosher as you can get.” This surprised Drake. “So you don’t actually practice the Jewish faith?” Sam grinned. “Oh no, I like my bacon way too much. But it is just as Mikera said, Drake. You aren’t the first one to have to run for your life. I will let you in on a secret, Drake. We all have at some point or another. I ran to make something of myself.”

“Y-you did?”

“I was raised in Tel Aviv, by American parents who decided they wanted a child born in the Holy Land. I am the youngest of three kids, both my sibs boys. Mom had plans for me. Instead of joining the Israeli Army, she wanted me to settle down and marry a Jewish boy, and be a good little Jewish girl raising a horde of crotch spawn. Of course, in Israel, the training is mandatory if you are healthy enough for it. Which I was. I was called up to Interpol for my abilities with guns, and that got me out of my country, and away from my folks, and I am not going back. Mom didn’t understand that if I am going to bear a child, it will be with someone I love, WHEN I want a child, and WHEN I am ready, and not before. But now you know why I left Israel first chance I got. I was recruited into Task Force Moebius by ‘that woman.’”

“That woman?”

“None of us know her real name, or have even seen her. But she gives us our orders, and our destinations. You will be answering to her as a member of this Task Force. I am sure she will accept you as one of us. In the meantime, make sure you don’t burn that bacon. I will help prepare the vegetables.”

Drake smiled as he checked on the bacon. “Mais Oui, Sam. And thank you.” As Samantha began to work on cutting up lettuce for the salad, Drake cut up some peppers. The longer strips of peppers would be in the salad, while the smaller pieces would end up in the omelettes themselves, along with some hand-grated cheese.

He had realized at that point that he hadn’t eaten since before the chase began, as he had caught himself almost getting ready to eat some of it before he cooked it. “Sam, would you go into my backpack and look for some trail mix I had packed?”

“Sure thing. Mikera, wanna help chop up the salad?”

“Didn’t you want me to stay away from the kitchen?”

“Only away from the parts that explode, Mikera.” Sam laughed as Mikera thwapped her on the shoulder. “That only happened ONCE, Sam! You are never gonna let me live that down, are you?!”

“Maybe if they find the oven.” Mikera groaned at Sam’s reply. “Okay, I will help dice these up a bit more.” This left Drake curious. “Tell me, Mikera, what is it you do with this task force?”

“Oh, me? Well, I am the techie of the group, at least that is what they call me, anyway. I also do demolitions. I will be making some gadgets for you and everyone else. That oven incident was a one-time fluke, I assure you. How was I to know that overcranking the gas would send it flying?”

“What were you trying to do, mademoiselle?”

“LOX BBQ.”

“LOX BBQ?” Drake looked at her in complete confusion.

“Liquid Oxygen Barbeque. Good news was that no one got hurt. Bad news was that we never did find the oven and it took me a month to get all the soot out of my fur. As for where I am from, I actually hail from Kiev, Russia.”

“You don’t sound like it. What is it like in Russia?”

“Cold most of the year. At least, that is my thought on it. I got tired of staying in Russia and decided I wanted to see the world. My parents still clung to the ideals of Decadent Communism. I have never been clear on its nature, but I thought it better not to learn. What I did learn about my family, I had to get by hacking.”

“You broke into a computer mainframe? Isn’t that…?”

“Wrong? No more so than keeping a girl’s brother a complete secret from her.” Drake nearly tripped over himself, which would have been a very bad thing, given that he was still holding a hot skillet. He caught himself, and set the skillet back down. “You have un frere?”

Mikera nodded. “His birth name is David Michael D’Williams. But, I don’t know where to find him or even where to start looking. So I needed two things: A workplace that let me travel freely and a means to locate him.”

Drake then asked, “And you have it. So how did you end up in Interpol, mademoiselle?” Mikera grinned. “Same way I found out I had a brother. I hacked their website,” she said sheepishly, “Then I had some fun. I told them where all their holes were and made it so they had no choice BUT to hire me. They ended up assigning me with Jo and Sam to get rid of me. That woman was quite thrilled about the prospect of having me on board.”

“You haven’t met her either?”

“None of us have, Drake. The anonymity is essential given the sort of enemy we are chasing. We’ll tell you all about the Bloodies later tonight.”

“Understood, Mikera. Thank you.” Samantha came in with a small packet in one hand. “This it, Drake?”

“Oui, Merci Samantha,” Drake took the packet from her hand, tore it open, and began to eat a little bit of it. He barely finished the packet when he heard a timer go off.

He heard the oven go off, and Drake checked in it, satisfied that the bread was well-toasted. “Dinner is almost ready.” Mikera smiled as the spread looked quite good. “It has been a while since we have had something that didn‘t come home in a box. We’ll take it. Table is already set, all we have to do is serve it.”

Drake nodded as he placed each of the omelettes on the plates. He also added the salad and the bacon, using the bread to serve the bacon. He looked amused when Samantha (whose plate the others insisted be loaded with bacon), made a BLT using some of the French bread, salad, and even putting a large piece of the omelette in as well. “Drake, do we have any mayonnaise?”

“I am sorry, but we don’t now. What you had in the fridge went bad. I tried to salvage it, but it was penicillin. I am sorry.”

“It is okay, you have already done a lot, Drake. Hey Jo?”

“Hmmm?”

“Aren’t you gonna tell Drake about your jailbreak?”

Drake’s ears pinned back. “Jailbreak?” Josephine’s ears also pinned back. “I’d rather not talk about it.” Sam grinned. “We already told Drake our stories, and that was after she shared his. Your turn.” Josephine huffed, putting down her cutlery. “Fine, I will tell ‘im. But this doesna leave the room!” Drake began to eat at that remark and listened intently.

“I hail from Northern Ireland. M’parents were Catholic when most in the family were Protestant. Ye can guess what that was like. I always questioned, and did so boldly. Much to the ire of the private schools in my hometown. I was expelled from three Catholic schools before they finally decided to send me to a convent at age 14.”

“Which was when you had your first visit from Aunt Flo,” Sam said with a grin, causing Josephine to duck her head. “Yes, and they said the violent rampage I went on was so bad that it got me excommunicated. The head priest of the school showed up in an attempt to exorcise me of demons. The only demon I had was Aunt Flo. Thing is, I turn quite nasty when it is that time being a woman sucks. As that poor priest learned the hard way. He is probably still eating his meals with a straw.”

Mikera then made an addendum. “Drake, there is a list of things to get for when she goes berserk like that. Wine or chocolate tend to help take the bite out of it, but if it is a really bad period, STAY OUT OF THE WAY. We’ll make you a copy of the list and laminate it for you to keep on hand at all times.”

Jo then added, “Mikera, there is no need to rub it in.“

Mikera replied, “There is when it is our lives on the line. I am still reeling from the last time you had the time being a woman sucks.“

Jo sighed and then got back to business. “As long as we’re talking about each other, we need to figure out how Drake is going to handle his first month here.” Drake then explained, “You are forgetting, mes amies, that I was intent on traveling for months with no real destination in mind. I wouldn’t have attempted this, had I not actively saved up.”

“Are you sure you are okay for money, Drake?”

“Mais Oui. I have about 3500 Euros saved up. That should do me for a while. I had planned to sleep under the stars, but having a room and a roof over my head works well too. Will it be okay with you?”

Josephine smiled as she picked up her cell phone. “Well, we’re about to find out.” She plugged the cell phone into a speaker. “Okay, what is the verdict?” The voice, scrambled to avoid detection, replied, “He is rough around the edges, but to know for certain, I need to ask him something else. Drake, about what you did on the bike when you went offroad. Could you have done it with any other vehicle?”

“It depends, mademoiselle. I would need to know what the vehicle is capable of. If it were a -what is the term?- ‘crotch rocket,’ then non, not without extensive modifications to the suspensions, wheels, and to the engine casing to accommodate mud and dirt getting into the engine that would be more than the bike is worth. If it were a car, unless it were made for off-roading, then mais non. But, it all falls to the individual ability of the vehicle in question.”

“I see,” the voice answered. “Okay, one more question, can you learn how to pilot an airplane, or a boat, or whatever is asked of you?” Drake replied modestly, “Ca depend. Anyone willing to teach me?” All could hear the grin over the other line. “He is rough, but he passes. Jo, you have your new wheelman. Mikera, as soon as possible, take him to the nearest test track to gauge his driving skills. Sam, I want you to not only teach him how to shoot, but how to do it while driving so easily it will second nature. Use the special paint guns from our friend in Alaska to help in that matter. Jo?”

“Yes?”

“Teach him unarmed combat. Make sure he can handle hitting a girl if need be, and brief him on your enemy as soon as possible. The Bloodies won‘t wait for him to be ready.”

“Of course. We can start tomorrow. We need to move Drake in tonight,” Sam replied.

“Understood. Go back to enjoying your dinner, girls. And Drake, if we ever do meet, you will have to make me some of those omelettes sometime.” On that note, that woman hung up. And at that moment, the girls realized that they were being watched by her. “Drake, let’s get you situated. Sam, do you have the data on the Bloodies?”

“Sure do. And I managed to get my guns too. The rest had to be sent flying to the wind. Looks like I am going clothes shopping after we get him situated.” Drake smiled. I may have left the vineyard alone, but at least I am now in the company of friends.

Back at the vineyard, however, Evangeline LaGuerre was not smiling.

He left. The son of a bitch LEFT me alone. Eva had searched for him all day, checking the fields and the house, not to mention waiting for him to come home. Nothing. No call, not a word from Drake as to why he left. Of all the damned things for him to do, running away like this! I can’t just watch, I can’t just stand by and let him go! He-He will only end up like Dad!

The phone rang out, breaking the silence in the house. “Hello?”

“Hi, this is a…concerned friend. We sighted a young blue fox male with a snow leopard femme riding away on a green WWII Liberator when bullets began to fly, license plate CXZ197. Perhaps he is someone you know?”

She nearly dropped the phone when she heard that. “Where were they seen? Who is this?”

“Nice. And never mind who this is. I was unable to see them afterwards. Perhaps you can pick up his trail there?”

“Merci beaucoup, I shall seek him out.“ With that, she hung up quickly. He was in Nice? What happened there that caused him to ride away? Never mind that. It looks like that snow leopard femme is involved in this somehow. An online acquaintance, perhaps? Or someone he is seeing behind his back? No matter. I am going to find him, and that woman, and give them a piece of my MIND.

(Just outside the vineyard)

The woman smirked as she watched Evangeline take her leave via her binoculars. “Well, that was easy. Now all we have to do is follow her, and kill two birds with one stone. We’ll see what happens after that. Inform the others. Do not attempt to harm her without my orders, and do not inform Jean of this.”

“By your command, Talon.”

END Chapter 2.