The Blood Eagle In The Big Easy Part 18

"Exactly my point!" Kira looked as if she'd just won the county fair as she continued on to our destination. "For G.o.ds sake dad, I am twenty eight years old!" She threw up her hands while trying to make a point. "Your random booty call with mom doesn't exactly take the edge off of your att.i.tude for long."

That was a slap to the face. d.a.m.n she'd learned to fight way too well from her mother. "What the h.e.l.l? Seriously? Holy s.h.i.+t, I don't want to discuss this with you!"

"What? You don't want to hear from your doctor that you need to get laid once in awhile?" Kira blushed as she said it but continued. "Look I am not exactly comfortable with this subject either. The fact is you need a girlfriend!" She shook her head as she continued. "Justine's a good girl and maybe you should see what happens."

"Oh dear G.o.d please stop! I already set up a date with the girl." I felt my cheeks burning as my head swam. Lesson here is don't get all emotionally riled up after serious blood loss. "I will see what happens, but please let's do us both a favor and never have this conversation again!"

Kira shrugged as she turned the corner and up the sidewalk to Miyako's. As I stepped ahead of her and opened the doors she leaned down and gave me a kiss on the cheek. "This isn't any easier for me than it is for you! I just want you to be happy." She shrugged as she went by. "You haven't been happy in a long time. Not completely anyway."

Handing the elderly hostess a hundred dollar bill and asking for the hibachi table furthest away from the other patrons would ensure our conversation didn't make the other customers too uncomfortable. Pulling out my company credit card I asked her to charge me for a dozen plates of surf and turf to go for the office personnel, which she kindly offered to deliver while we had our meeting at the table. Gregory showed up twenty minutes later carrying several files confiscated from Smith's home, which would thankfully end any chance of my earlier conversation with Kira to come back and haunt me for at least an hour or two.

Chapter 26.

s.h.i.+fting my weight from side to side as I tried to make myself comfortable in the new chair I found myself longing for the comfort of my old one that Kira had described as lumpy. I thought of it more akin to well positioned padding in all the right places. The discomfort made it hard to concentrate on the files Gregory left me at our lunch meeting, and I was still waiting for the remaining files to be uploaded to one of the cloud drives. This was going to be a very long and drawn out process having to go through the mountains of paperwork.

Several of the files contained land deeds all across the nation. Gregory and Agent Anderson were working in conjunction with other field offices to search and seize these properties. As the reports rolled in most were abandoned warehouses but there were a few interesting blips on the radar. Several small tech firms received much of their startup capital from a sh.e.l.l corporation, sufficiently hiding Smith's involvement. It made me wonder where he had gotten the money but that answer could wait until we ended this nasty little affair. Once that was over we could focus on finding out what these firms were developing and tracing back the money trail to finally put an end to the *Church of Fenrir'.

An alert sounded letting me know that a file was currently available on the cloud drive. Opening the drive I saw that Gregory had marked the file urgent. After reading it I understood why. It was the final paperwork on a piece of property on Michoud Blvd. in New Orleans East, that they finalized just two weeks before Helena's murder. Several attached photos revealed two large cement slabs which had at one time been the site of an apartment complex. There was also a festering cesspool that used to be an olympic size swimming pool and two tennis courts that nature was quickly reclaiming.

The likelihood of finding Smith at the bottom of the pool was more than we could hope for. His car had been found in the East so I suppose it wasn't that much of a stretch to think he could still be in the area. There was something out in the East that made seemed to make him feel safe and it would be in our best interest to find out what it was, if for no other reason than to ruin that particular fantasy of his. A soft rap came as Kira pushed her head through the opening as she slowly pushed the door fully open.

"Come." I said waving her in.

She was quickly followed by Nicholas as he whispered his objection to being dragged into my office like this. She sternly ignored him until he became frustrated and waved one of his plate sized hands in my direction. "Fine, you start the conversation off since he's your father!"

Kira gave him dirty look before taking a seat leaving Nicholas to pace a few moments longer. s.h.i.+fting my weight again as I tried to make myself comfortable I waited for the show to begin. They obviously had something important on their minds but Nicholas wasn't exactly in the mood to share just yet and was clearly unhappy Kira had overrode his objections.

"I took your advice the other day and ran a few tests on the two of us before the lab got blown to bits." Pus.h.i.+ng her tablet across the desk to me she pointed at it. "As you can see you were right, we have the same growths in our ear ca.n.a.ls and at the base of our retinas as you."

Looking at the image on the screen closely I was able to discern that they were both *gifted' with the genetic enhancements. Nicholas looked as if someone had run over his favorite pet as he wrung his hands nervously while pacing the length of the office. Now that it was no longer a fantasy Kira was much more somber that she had when she discovered I was Comus. "It would appear that you both have concerns..." Kind of a silly thing to say but how else was I supposed to start this conversation? "Is there anything either of you would like to talk about?"

Kira leaned across my desk taking the tablet and reexamining the MRI. "Can you please explain to Nicholas how it is possible that we both have these *enhancements'?"

Pus.h.i.+ng my chair back I stood as I joined Nicholas in traversing the room forcing Kira to follow. "I'm sure you understand it was just a matter of genetics with you." Stopping suddenly Kira nearly ran into me as we both looked at Nicholas. "As for our friend here, well it would seem that Gullveig found a way to cheat the system."

"With the implants?" Kira asked to help the conversation along. "But she hadn't counted on there being triplets."

Nodding my approval. "That's my best guess."

"So I'm a *one off' or test tube baby, is what you're saying?" Nicholas growled.

"Well that's hard to say with any certainty but essentially yes." Thinking about how to best proceed I thought of Mir. Concentrating I called out for him. A few seconds later he appeared a few feet away giving me a quick bow as both Kira and Nicholas jumped in surprise. "Well now that's promising!"

Mir's face turned to stone as he studied the two of them.

"Who the h.e.l.l is that?" Kira demanded as she and Nicholas took a few steps back.

Nicholas however was curious as he took a wide path around the man. "Something about him seems familiar." Looking back at me and then to Mir. "Have we met before?"

Putting a rea.s.suring hand on Kira's shoulder I nodded to Mir who still hadn't moved. "This my dear is Mir." Bowing slightly I gave Mir a proud smile. "Mir this is my daughter Kira and that young man next to you is Nicholas."

The office door slammed shut as Mir began to transform his image, returning to the size I had first encountered. Silence reigned throughout the room until he finally saw fit to break it as his voice rumbled through the air like a shockwave. "Interesting." He took a tentative step towards Kira with warmth and tenderness flooding his normally granitelike features. "It's a pleasure to meet your acquaintance Lady Kira."

Kira trembled beside me, transfixed by the man before us, before she gave a slight curtsy. "Pleased to make your acquaintance Master Mir."

The two of them stared at each other for several moments longer before Mir bowed low and started circling the room.

Trying to explain things to them I grasped for the words. "Our good friend Mir is a part of someone in the royal family called the Allfather and he manages the *Organic Dynamic Intelligence Nexus' (O.D.I.N.) enhancements that we have been blessed with."

Both Kira and Nicholas were intrigued at the mention of the O.D.I.N. finally having a name for the potential that resided within their bodies. Mir seemed content studying the situation instead of helping, so I marched on clumsily doing my best to make them understand. Trying to find a starting point I reminded Kira of the clear blue stone I had kept under lock and key, and I tried to explain that it was much like the *bone' Nicholas had encountered. Neither one was what they appeared to be. Both were representations of what they had once been and made up entirely of billions of nanites. The man before us wasn't actually a physical being no matter what our sense might tell us. Since we were all a part of the Nexus he was able to appear to us whenever he wished.

Nicholas eyed Mir curiously. "So he isn't real?"

"Flesh and blood, he is not but I wouldn't go so far as to say he isn't real."

Nicholas approached Mir as he studied him carefully. "He sort of looks familiar but I can't put my finger on it."

Kira continued to study our guest at a distance before suddenly looking back at me. "He looks a little like you."

She was stretching things a bit far in my opinion but I wasn't about to divert their attention at the moment. "I don't see it but that isn't the point. The point is Mir is an important resource that we can use."

Kira turned to me questioningly. "How so?"

"Mir is sentient..." He could feel free to jump in at any moment now and save me a lot of trouble but he seemed content to just stare at us while he paced around the room. He stopped suddenly as his image wavered slightly, then faded away. Running my hand down my face in disbelief I stalked back to my seat. "It would appear that our sentient hologram has left the building."

"I'm lost here. Anyone care to fill me in?" Nicholas threw up his hands in defeat.

"The two of you should have similar abilities to mine." My head hurt as I tried to explain the basics. "I can only guess that the two of you have nanites which will prevent you from aging, allow you to access data networks with thought, and possibly even have similar s.h.i.+elding technology as I do."

As it dawned on Kira about the possibilities she was both overjoyed at the prospects of a very interesting future yet frightened at the reality. The corner of her left eye twitched as it always did whenever she got nervous. She gave me one of those pitiful sad looks as a tear ran down her cheek. "All I need to do is grow another three and a half feet and then I would really be ten feet tall and bulletproof." It was meant to be a joke to lighten the situation but it just sounded sad and hollow. Plopping herself into the nearest chair she mumbled to herself weakly. "It was supposed to be cool..."

My heart ached for her as the reality of who we were rolled over her like a freight train. "I'm so sorry honey... I didn't know." If you've ever hurt your child's feelings without intending to, multiply that times a thousand and you would start to know how I felt just now. Nothing I could say would ever make up for the innocence she had lost here today. As a parent I had failed miserably by not preparing her for this possibility.

Nicholas seemed to understand as he put a gentle hand on her shoulder. Both of them were now burdened with the curse and the blessing of being a part of a very unique family. "Where do we go from here?" He asked.

Exhausted I nearly collapsed into my chair. "First we have to deal with the fourth member of our wayward little family here."

"Four of us?" Kira looked around the room as she made a show of counting the three of us. "I only count three. How do you get four?"

Nicholas's face sunk as he spoke. "You're missing my sister."

Kira's confusion suddenly faded to be replaced once more with the heaviness of what had to be done. "Oh, her..."

"What are we going to do about my dear little sister?"

"We only have the one choice." My voice felt weak as the words left my mouth. "Gullveig destroyed the person your sister could have been moments after her birth." Nicholas stared at the floor, his shoulders slumped as the world weighed heavily upon him. "I know it isn't fair that you lost a brother and will soon lose a sister so shortly after discovering them."

Nicholas's face sunk, yet he remained resolved. "It has to be done."

He was right. It was something that had to be done yet it was hard to accept, especially in one so young. Without warning the electric storm shutters stuttered as they slowly rolled closed. The lights dimmed slightly while hundreds of thousands of runes sprung to life coursing along the walls, ceiling and floor like tiny rivers. It took me a moment to realize that the runes appeared to be a giant living circuit pulsing and humming to a distant rhythm that felt like home.

Mir appeared once again in the center of the room wearing the living armor I had first met him in as he slowly advanced on the three of us. My s.h.i.+elds instinctively wrapped themselves around me and I watched as s.h.i.+elds enveloped Kira and Nicholas. Their bodies tensed at first not realizing what was happening to them, and they fell back leaving me to face Mir's imminent arrival.

He c.o.c.ked his head to one side as a ragged smile chiseled itself across his granit features. "Good."

Stepping forward to challenge him I felt the hairs on the back of my neck stand up as lightning arced between my hands as the smell of ozone filled the air. "You can stop there!" I commanded.

Mir's helm sprung to life covering his face as he rushed me. Forcing the energy through my right hand I caught him fully in the chest, throwing him across the room and pinning him to the wall with a loud crash. Slowly forcing himself forward he peeled himself from the wall he as he pushed his will against my own. Rocking back I firmly planted my feet to stop from being toppled and discarded. Kira was first to come to my aid as she saw me struggling against Mir's might. Blue flames danced in my daughters eyes as her body glowed a bluish-green. Cupping her hands and slowly pus.h.i.+ng forward I heard the howl of hurricane force winds as they slammed into Mir, sending him sprawling across the room, slamming him against the far wall. Yet he wasn't finished with us as he forced himself to his feet once more and fought his way through the swirling winds while covered in s.h.i.+ning currents of power. Nicholas growled as he stepped forward, his eyes alight with the same fire I saw in Kira. He poured white hot fire across the void at Mir who suddenly vanished and the room returned to normal. The three of us fell to our knees, panting from the exertion. My body felt like it was on fire as it screamed its objection to me loud and clear.

"This is your idea of useful?" Kira panted.

She had a point. If he came at us again in the near future we were spent and death would soon follow. Rolling over and leaning back against my desk I wiped the sweat from my brow. "I don't understand what happened to him."

"Nothing happened to me." Mir's voice boomed through the office as I rolled to my feet to see him sitting in my chair, or at least appeared to be sitting there. "I just had to be sure we were alone before we went any further."

"Alone?" Kira growled as her eyes glowed.

Mir stood slowly as his armor morphed into a pair of jeans and t-s.h.i.+rt. "Be calm child and I'll explain." Kira grimaced as she looked at me. "While you inherited your gifts rightfully your friend here is an anomaly." Mir waved at Nicholas who looked more than a little offended at the comment but remained quiet. "I had to make sure that his sibling couldn't hear us."

It dawned on me then that he was afraid Gullveig might be able to spy on us through Nicholas. "And?"

Mir shook his head sadly. "Her code is so corrupted that she isn't even on the same wavelength as we are."

"But she will have similar abilities won't she?" Nicholas asked.

"Yes she will." Mir continued to look pensive as he lost himself in thought.

"How did attacking us ensure she couldn't hear us?" Kira stalked across the room toward Mir.

"The two things had nothing to do with one another. I was sure she wasn't on our network with a simple diagnostic." Mir responded absently. "The *attack' as you call it was to test your abilities."

Catching up with Kira I placed my hand on her shoulder as I guided her back to her chair and gestured for Nicholas to join her. Giving Mir another minute before I interrupted his thoughts I finally asked, "You seem to have something on your mind, care to share it with the cla.s.s?"

Mir looked at the three of us for a few seconds as he thought about my request. "No.. no I don't having anything solid yet but give me a day or two and I might have something then."

He continued to pace the room, lost in thought and leaving us to wonder what was supposed to happen next. "Could you at least give them a crash course in what to expect?" I asked.

Mir was obviously irritated by our continued interruptions but reluctantly gave in. He flooded our minds with images and information like he had done with me before vanis.h.i.+ng back to the aether. The two of them sat there quietly as their minds wrapped around the information. Another set of tears streamed down my daughters face as she began to realize who I really was.

She looked at me sadly as she closed the distance between us, hugging me tightly. "I didn't understand, but now I do." Nicholas was on his feet with tears in his eyes as he held a hand out. She looked at him and nodded as they seemed to convey something telepathically as she hugged me tighter.

Shaking Nicholas's hand I looked down at my daughter as I grew concerned about their reaction to what they had learned. "What's wrong with you two?"

"Nothing's wrong with us!" Kira pushed herself off me.

"He didn't share the information with him that he shared with us, is all I can guess." Nicholas spoke mystified.

Nothing like being left out of whatever was going on yet being the center of attention to quickly p.i.s.s you off. "What the h.e.l.l are you two going on about?"

Kira looked as if she were suddenly burdened with more than she could handle as she tried to explain what Mir had shared with them. He had not only given them a crash course in nanotechnology but felt a need to share my entire life story with them. Apparently they had found my life compelling as she spoke of the highs and lows of what I'd been through.

The worst fate to befall a parent was forced upon me today as my daughter's opinion of me forever changed. When she was given the knowledge of what I had done during my life she would never look at me the same way again. Whatever innocence I hadn't already robbed her of earlier Mir had crushed under the weight of a lifetime of hard choices, loneliness and the will to survive at any cost.

Chapter 27.

December 4th Waking with a start on the sofa in my new office I felt better than I had in a long time. I checked the wounds on my chest to observe that they had closed on their own accord. The nanites it would seem had taken the liberty of cutting the st.i.tches free as they fell away at the slightest touch. Tossing the bandages in the trash as I pa.s.sed my desk I headed to my private bath. To my surprise someone had left a change of cloths on the counter along with travel size toiletries to get me through till I could buy proper bath supplies. After a quick shower I was hopefully ready for whatever the day held for me.

Opening the door to the office I found Mir sitting on the couch shoulders slumped with his head hung low. Part of me was still angry with him. Correction. Not angry but hurt and wounded by what he had done yesterday. A part me knew that it was necessary even though it caused me pain. Trying to keep my voice even I greeted him as cheerfully as I could.

"Good morning." Strolling past my desk to the little kitchenette I grabbed a bottle of water.

"We should talk..." His voice was weak and shaky as he stood and faced me. "I found Smith for you."

Something told me he was dodging the heart of the matter but finding Smith was higher on my priority list than throwing a temper tantrum. "Was that all you wanted to talk about?"

"Yes... and no, but for now we should concentrate on the problem at hand which are Smith and his mistress Gullveig." He stepped around the chair in front of the desk and appeared to take a seat. "The other can wait till we have more time to sift through things."

As in nearly turning me into a villainous monster in my daughters eyes I thought?! *Yep still pretty p.i.s.sed off about that, but he was right about needing to shelve it at least for now. After this mess was all tied up we were going to hash some s.h.i.+t out and set some ground rules!' "Where can I find the pencil d.i.c.k?"

"I was able to track him to the abandoned theme park in New Orleans East, but we should talk about what makes him dangerous." Now was a great time for him to suddenly become concerned with my safety and general wellbeing. "The bones that were implanted in Helena, George, Galvez and Smith imbued them with muted abilities similar to your own."

"Muted?" How could their abilities be muted? They either had them or they didn't! I thought. Of course I didn't open my big mouth and say that, but as it turned out I didn't have to sine Mir was reading my thoughts. This was going to be very uncomfortable if I weren't able to have a private thought ever again.

Mir gave up trying to communicate verbally and entered my thoughts flooding my mind with the knowledge of what he was trying to convey. During the time that Helena, Creepy George, Galvez and Smith each had held a piece of Gullveig's cane they were gifted with certain abilities which left them at the time of their death or removal of the foreign object. Mir theorized that when the bones were removed they most probably would have died without the extra help that the nanites had provided. Their bodies would have become reliant upon the nanites to function. While each of them developed a unique set of abilities as a direct result of the symbiotic relations.h.i.+p with the nanites they were hardly comparable to a fully functional model such as myself, Kira, Nicholas or even our good buddy Gullveig.

For instance Creepy George had developed extraordinary strength and agility as a direct result of the nanites. On the flip side he had been unable to create s.h.i.+elds of any type or even manipulate the elements into any sort of viable threat. That explained quite a lot considering how easily he had thrown me around during our encounter. While it had hurt my pride at the time I had otherwise been unharmed.

Thanks to Nicholas Mir was able to use a sophisticated scanner to zero in on the frequency emitted by the nanites contained within Nicholas, the cane and even Smith. There was a bit of good news to go along with all the creepiness. The mysterious fifth member of the cult was in Mir's words *offline', which was a very nice way of saying terminated, dead, worm meat... Sorry got a little carried away there for a moment. It did put the odds more in our favor than I'd dared hope. He didn't know for how long he'd been *offline' but I didn't care. It didn't change the fact that he was no longer in the picture or a threat, which meant that when we faced them there wouldn't be any sudden arrival to save the day on their behalf. One way or another when Smith and Gullveig were put down this whole nasty little scenario would be finally put to rest.

Mir released me suddenly from our psychic connection and stood there before me with a troubled look on his face. "There's more to it than that." Mir confessed.

Son of a b.i.t.c.h! One day I was going to learn to stop thinking in such absolutes! Just when I thought there was going to be an end to this c.r.a.p I had a feeling that Mir was about to disappoint me. "Like what?"