Storiesonline.net ------- Mayhem 4: Irish Mist by colt45 Copyright© 2010 by colt45 ------- Description: A young retired army officer scarred from the battles he fought in a near apocalyptic war is hired as security for an all-girl Irish band. They’re young, talented, beautiful, and nuttier than a bag of squirrels. Some want to rip his throat out while others just want to rip his clothes off! Add to the mix a set of bad guys threatening to kidnap the girls and a legendary SpecFor captain who wants to use him as a spy. Should be easy, right...? Codes: MF Mult rom het humor harem ------- ------- Chapter 1 I never enjoyed flying overly much. It's not that I'm afraid of flying; I know as well as the next man that it's safer to fly than walk across the street for a beer but it is a pain in the ass. Going to the airport, checking in, surrendering your weapon, all that bullshit; it's just a pain in the butt. I'd rather take the Tube or drive but that's not easy to do if you're going transoceanic so as with most unpleasant things in life you just suck it up and soldier on. It is slightly more comfortable than a troop transport at least and it gave me a little more time to study the files on my new clients; I say clients but that's not exactly true and I need to stop thinking that way or I might make a stupid gaffe when I can least afford it. I'm not a security consultant on this job, I am the security. Head of security that is, or chief as they want to call it. For six years I've been telling other people how they should be handling their security and now I get to be the one doing it. I guess we'll see if the high fees I've been charging were worth a damn. Not that this should be a particularly difficult job ― on the face of it anyway. At least it should be interesting, unique anyway. Normally I develop plans and contingencies to protect corporations against physical and electronic intrusion but for the next three months I was going to be in charge of security for a band while they're on tour. That's right, a band. Live instruments, vocals and everything. It's been out of style for quite a while but seems to be coming back into vogue. I don't even pretend to know how the music business works but from what little I do understand singers and musicians make their money not by selling their music (with prolific copying the way it is, you sell one comp-chip and you might as well put it over the net for free), but by selling tickets and royalties. Anyway I'd never heard of them before which is kind of a surprise because when I listened to a few of their tracks I found I really liked them. They're home-grown Irish, (which is why I was flying to Cork, Ireland to meet them) and play a sort of fusion of Irish folk, modern and retro rock. The old rock is becoming popular again although I'm not a huge fan even if I am a war veteran. I have nothing against it but I like my music a little softer, slower and more melodic. The boys in my company used to make fun of me for listening to my "pussy-fied" elevator music but that's all right, it was all in fun. I'm not sure I can describe the music I keep in my personal storage; most of it you can't even find anymore. I ripped most of it from music disks my mom and dad had while I could still find players for them. I doubt that I have the only copies of them but I'll bet I have one of a very few for a lot of them. But that's neither here nor there; Irish Mist didn't play that type of music any more than Natalie Bernstead sings opera and again it didn't make any difference to me whether they sang high mass or just banged two coconuts together. I was there to keep them safe on stage or off; what they did on stage was their business. It was an all female band and except for two sisters all were at least first cousins. Not only were they first cousins but their grandparents must have had a passel of boys because they all ended up with the same last name; Geallaigh. The Geallaigh clan as it were. Rachael Geallaigh was their lead singer although she also played the tin whistle and mouth harp at times. She was a tiny little thing not even coming up to my chin at about 158 centimeters. But she sure had a powerful voice for having it come out of such a small package. Blonde and pretty as a morning sky she was also, according to the gossip sites, wild, promiscuous (this seems to be a bad thing in Ireland for some reason), obnoxious, opinionated, vain, selfish, overbearing and extremely talented. In other words not much different than most of the girls I've dated over the past seven or so years. The five girls had formed an equal partnership when they formed the band but Rachael, from what I could tell, was their undisputed leader. It would be interesting to see how much of this was bullshit when I met her. If it wasn't then I could already see where potential problems were going to be. Niamh Callahan née Geallaigh was by contrast a complete opposite of her younger sister Rachael in almost every conceivable way. Two years older at twenty-six she was tall (at 182 centimeters a bit taller than I am, ) striking red hair, married, quiet and if the gab sites were accurate about as controversial as a warm cup of milk. No affairs, no parties and no outrageous drunken comments for anyone who stuck a mic or vid-cam in front of her face. Didn't seem all that happy though; the only vid-still that showed her smiling was one taken right after her wedding a few years ago. Well, not my problem; I'm in charge of security, not entertainment. She was what they called the percussionist and seemed to do a decent job of it from what I could tell for whatever that's worth. Eimile and Shauna Geallaigh were two of the cousins. Born within days of each other they also were remarkably similar looking with long brown hair and shy sweet smiles; medium height and of medium build, they were pretty but not so much you'd swallow your tongue if you passed them on the street. If I had been told that two of the band members were sisters these are the two I would have guessed; in fact they looked more like twins than some actual twins I've met. They both played a variety of instruments including violin, harp and a number of others I couldn't identify without looking them up. I had a feeling these two weren't going to cause any trouble. The third cousin I wasn't so sure about. Leanne Geallaigh was a horse of a different color and I don't mean just her looks. To begin with she didn't look anything like her Irish cousins. Her father had been stationed in the Chinese Empire in New Hong Kong (yeah, they call it the Chinese Republic but they're no more a republic than the Islamic Democracy of Arabia had been a democracy), married and had a child with one of the women he worked with. Leanne was small, only slightly taller than Rachael, and had that exotically beautiful Eurasian mix that is so enticing. She didn't get the mountains of publicity her little blonde cousin did but there was enough to give the impression she was not the demure introvert the other three appeared to be. She was the same age as Rachael but either didn't have quite the flair for controversy her cousin did or was much better keeping it hidden from the eyes and ears of the nosy newsies. I know I shouldn't make assumptions about people, especially if I haven't met them personally, but I'm only human and do it anyway. Leanne struck me as the kind who could be trouble, the lower-case T kind where you end up muttering to yourself wondering if you were going crazy as opposed to Rachael who was probably the capital T kind where you didn't wonder if you were crazy; you knew it. Although with her it probably wasn't called crazy it was called homicidal. Leanne was the keyboardist and could apparently play anything you could push with a finger. Connor Geallaigh, Rachael and Niamh's older brother, wasn't part of the actual group. That is he didn't play an instrument or sing; he was their "manager." Again I hate to make snap judgments but from his employment history (extensive, varied and normally short-lived), if he wasn't the idiot brother your parents made you hire because he couldn't keep a job anywhere else I'll eat my hat. From the gossip sites it certainly appeared he thought himself quite the ladies man although most of the "ladies" he seemed to get caught with impressed me as being the type anybody could pick up with loose change from underneath a table at the local pub. It was a good thing I was hired by the tour promoters because I had the feeling if I had to deal with this dickhead regularly on an employer/employee basis one of us was going to die. Considering the fact that I had spent over four years doing just that and he hadn't. (How he escaped the general conscription I couldn't guess. Oh, that's right, Ireland didn't have conscription during the war. Officially they were "neutral" although from what I understood on a per capita basis just as many Irish volunteers served in the British and American armies as did our conscripted ones. Their government may not have wanted to be involved in the war but the Irish people as a whole didn't seem to have a problem sticking it in when they knew it was needed.) The outcome of that little set-to wouldn't be much in doubt. The promoters had hired four security personnel along with me, all Irish and veterans of the British army. Two were rangers; we would have called them privates, one corporal and a colour Sergeant. The rangers and corporal had a couple of years' combat experience each and the colour sergeant had six which was impressive as hell! They all appeared to be good men but none of them had much experience in private security from what I could tell. That wasn't optimal but then we weren't supposed to be guarding the president or prime minister, just a gaggle of girls in a band. Hopefully the most dangerous thing we'll have to deal with will be an overzealous fan looking for an autograph. Something told me this was little more than a dope-dream; you don't hire the kind of talent the promoters did and spend the coin they had to, to keep rabid fans at bay. I never did get a truly in-depth threat assessment from the promoters which didn't give me a warm fuzzy but the gobs of cash they threw at me overruled any common-sense objections I might have had. After reviewing my new assignment for the twentieth time and feeling relatively comfortable that I knew as much as I could for the time being I was beginning to settle back in my seat when my implant warned me I had an incoming call. Like most officers during the war I'd had an implant installed allowing me to connect to my unit's combat AI (Artificial Intelligence.) The AI program I had installed in my pers-comp was an idiot compared to the army one but at least it allowed me to connect directly via implant as well as doing other rudimentary functions. I indicated acceptance for the call and a small holo of a rather rugged looking individual appeared just above the pers-comp screen. "Major Leforge, I presume?" the lips moved but the words formed in my head. I knew who it was: Daniel Mayhem. Mayhem and his team were a legend in the service. I had never met him personally either during or after the war. He was UN Special Forces and played in the Central American theater while I was a regular US army grunt and did my thing in the Mid-East sandbox. I understood he settled in the Tampa area after the war while I spent what little time I did at "home" in Savannah. I have been a member of the VBA (Veteran's Benevolent Society) for about six months although in a very inactive role so I did know who he was. Rumor was he lived through the entire ten years of the war in active combat and so did most of his team. That's not legendary, that's mythical! If half — no, strike that — if a quarter of what was said of him was true he was nobody to fuck with! "Captain Leforge, actually," I smiled at him. "The major was just brevet for the last six months or so of the war and that was long ago. I'd prefer Martin and Daniel if that is all right. This is Daniel Mayhem, is it not?" "I see my disreputable reputation has preceded me again," he chuckled. "Yeah, Dan is fine. I'm sure you're wondering what in the hell I'm doing calling you now." "Hmm ... It has crossed my mind," I answered. "I am a member of the VBS but I have to admit I haven't been very active; been on the road too much lately." "Yeah but you signed up close enough to the beginning," he nodded, "and we understand. Somebody ought to do something constructive now and then and better you than me." "Unfortunately my pension barely pays for toilet paper let alone the pot to piss in," I laughed. "What can I do for you?" "Are we secure?" he asked. "Reasonably," I shrugged. "As you can tell we're talking via my implant and your signal is scrambled. Unless someone can read your lips and nobody here is awake that I know of, we should be fairly secure." At the time I had assumed his AI was "shaking hands" with my AI to scramble and unscramble the message. I was wrong. His AI had taken over my AI and put it to sleep. Everything we did and said was going through his AI alone. Not particularly germane to my story but shocking as hell when I found out about it later. That's something only a really hot combat AI with a really good operator should be able to do, especially without either me or my own AI knowing about it. "Good, because we have a favor to ask of you," he continued. "I'll do what I can, but I'm on my way to a job even as we speak so I don't know what or how much I'll be able to help you." "We'll see," he nodded again. "I understand you were in pretty tight with a good number of the British brass while you were in the sandbox." One of my assignments during the war was as liaison between the British and American field staffs in Iran. Circumstances being what they were, I actually ended up being in charge of HQ security for one of the British generals for about five months. The Brits seemed to really like their HQs close to the action for some reason and it was an interesting (read terrifying) experience. I probably saw as much combat during those five months as I had the previous year which had not been slow by any stretch of the imagination. "I knew quite a few of them and we still exchange birthday greetings and such," I admitted reluctantly. "I suppose some of them would remember me." "Seeing how you were recommended for the Victoria Cross and were actually awarded the Distinguished Service Cross, I think somebody would remember you," he chuckled. "Yes, well, a lot of people got medals for just doing their jobs," I said uncomfortably. "How did you find out about me being recommended for the VC? That's supposed to be secret." "We have ways," he shrugged. "Anyway we were hoping if you get some time over there if you could look up a few of your old contacts and talk to them about the VBS. I understand they don't have anything exactly like us but they do have something similar. We're interested in talking with them about topics of mutual interest. We're not asking you to negotiate anything with them, just start a dialogue. If they're interested we'll give them a contact for further discussions later." "Sure, if I get a chance," I shrugged. "I wouldn't mind seeing a few of the fellows if I can." "Good, I'll send you the information and contacts," he added. "Well I guess I've taken up enough of your time." "It has been my privilege and honor to talk to you," I smiled. "Sure it has," he chuckled and then turned his head to one side and said, "Shut up, Mike! Some people have manners, you know!" Turning back he muttered and shook his head, "Want to buy a slightly used sergeant for cheap? Hell! I'll even give you Darlington here but I have to warn you the upkeep will probably break you. Ouch!" "Sergeant Michelle Darlington?" I asked. "I've heard she's gorgeous but a little too dangerous for my taste. I like my women to be kick-ass hot but I rather it not be my ass getting kicked." "Ah, now you've gone and done it," he moaned. "She's going to be fucking insufferable for at least three days now. Shit! She's already strutting and preening around here like some damned vid star! This is your fault so I think it's only fair you should come here and fix it!" "Sorry, Captain," I shrugged. "Your personnel are your problem. Besides a beautiful woman like that wouldn't even look twice at a regular old schmoe like me; anyway I'm going to be gone for about the next three months." "Christ, you just keep it up, don't you?" Mayhem wailed. "Do you know how long it's going to take me to get that size twenty ego back into that size six body? I'm signing off now before you can do anymore damage! You'll get the info soon, thanks. Mayhem out." With that the holo image faded out. I had to smile; he seemed like a regular guy. And no for your information I'd never met the infamous Sergeant Darlington but I have seen vid-stills of her with Mayhem and she really is quite good looking if you like your women tall, fashion model slim, hot as hell legs and knows how to kill you about forty different ways. Well, three out of four isn't bad. I settled back in my seat to ponder this little bit of surprising news. Not so much that the VBS would want contact with their counterparts in Briton. Actually that made a lot of sense, there undoubtedly were a lot of parallel interests between the different groups. The British military has had similar organizations for a long time although theirs were usually based along regimental lines rather than national ones and the VBS was a national organization with very strong local chapters. Still I can assume there would be much to discuss especially with the political climate deteriorating around veterans issues in the US. It seems the larger and more vocal the VBS became, the more the New Washington establishment attacked it. Looking for allies outside the US may not help but it couldn't hurt. But why the secrecy? Why not just flip on a vid and call the Brits? Having contact made face-to-face seemed so ... clandestine. Was there something I didn't know? Well that's silly; of course there was. In fact the list of what I didn't know pretty much stretched out to infinity so I suppose I should be a little more specific and say, What didn't I know about this situation? True, I'd been a member of the VBS for a little over six months. Not a particularly active member other than paying the voluntary dues but I try to read the news blurbs they send out and stop in when I'm in town, which isn't all that often. They fit me politically although I certainly wouldn't call myself politically active and I whole-heartedly support the good works they've been doing with the widows, widowers and children of my fellow service members who'd been killed during the war. The fact is I give more to that fund than I do anything else; at least they're really doing some good. The government just hands out credits and at that it's just barely enough to keep them alive. Now of course they're even grumbling about that and the support is becoming less and less every year. I wouldn't be surprised if pretty soon it'll be nothing. Of course I make a pretty good living on my own so I can't say I really need the pension they give to anyone who has over four years combat experience so I just have mine deposited in the Widows and Orphans fund. It kind of makes me happy to know even if the assholes in New Washington cut off the dependent's stipends they'll still be paying to help them. Take that, mother-fuckers! So maybe I should have been paying more attention to the politics. Given the time, and the inclination, to think about it I began to see where the VBS might want to keep its actions under the radar so to speak. The VBS had announced itself as a political party even before I had joined although that had no bearing on why I'd done it and recent events could be inferred by even the most paranoid (I'm not paranoid; hell, I know they're out to get me!) that the two major parties weren't all that happy about it. For the last couple of decades the Republicrats and the PP (Peace Party) had the country sewn up and just about evenly divided between themselves. I'm sure there were a few snickers and maybe even a scoff or two when the VBS announced its intention to compete in national politics with retired LGEN Carla Medford as their front woman. After all it had no seats in either house of congress, no elected state officials and if you looked at its base of ten million war veterans it didn't seem to be much to worry about. Of course that's before you consider the potential voters like those same widows, widowers and orphans reaching the age of eighteen (quite a few) then the numbers suddenly start to go up. It also doesn't consider that every family that was touched by the war. Now all of a sudden it didn't seem like so much of a joke. What was yet to be seen is if the VBS could get its constituents to actually vote. But with eligible voter participation hovering at about twenty-five percent, a block of twenty to thirty million people who actually voted could make one hell of a difference. I'm not even going to go into the potential sympathy votes you might get from anyone who was touched by the war, which was pretty much everyone. Anyway it really isn't such a joke after all, especially with the midterm elections coming up next year. I'm not saying the RDs or the PPs are scared or anything but you don't stay in power by letting the weeds of dissension grow in your garden. There have already been muttered whispers about trimming retired pay or increasing the length of combat required to receive it; there were some in the PP who were openly talking about rescinding the right of the vets to carry weapons. (Good fucking luck! They can have mine one round at a time!) I have to admit I hadn't kept up with what was going on, but started thinking that maybe I should. Anyway if the VBS was starting to make noise that the fat cats could hear it would account for why they wanted to be so low key about what contacts they made and with whom. It certainly isn't illegal to talk to veterans groups outside the US and I wasn't sure why they wanted to keep it on the need-to-know but if they thought they were being watched, that would be a good enough reason for me. I don't like anyone poking into my business no matter who they are even if I'm not doing anything shady which I'm usually not. I'm not a huge supporter of stupid rules or laws but I don't go out of my way to flout them either. Of course that begs the question of just how the VBS knew where I was going and what I was doing let alone who I might know from my army days. Big Brother in New Washington may not be the only one looking over my shoulder and I'm not sure I particularly like that either. I'm thinking I may have a question or two for Mr. Mayhem the next time I talk to him. ------- I landed in Cork right about 0900. Customs was little more than scanning my passport card on the way through security. I wasn't packing for the flight. Ireland was a "no carry" country and I'd sent my piece ahead along with the application for a carry permit to the Cork constabulary and I was hoping to pick it up in a day or two, so being unarmed and identity confirmed I was free to go. Okay, nobody was there to meet me. Not a problem. I knew where they were supposed to be according to their schedule and my baggage could find its own way to the hotel where the band was staying so after making sure my pers-comp was synced to the local net I flagged a auto-cab and punched in the address. In about fifteen minutes the cab let me out in front of a building that looked like it had been a warehouse in earlier times and for all I knew parts of it still could be. The street number was plainly visible over a modern doorway that looked distinctly out of place but there was no other sign in evidence. Since the address matched where I was supposed to go I decided to give the door a try and was a little surprised to find that not only did it open to my touch, it led me to a spacious and very empty reception area. Strolling I moved over to the elevator (lift, I was in Ireland after all) and glanced at the directory posted next to it. Vid-Idiot Studios, 2nd floor. Cute. Glancing around I noticed a stairwell and decided to take the scenic route. Okay, so I forgot that in a number of these older buildings the second floor is actually what we would call the third floor but thank goodness I'm not in such poor shape that one extra landing made any difference. Again the door opened easily and I found myself in a fairly grungy and dimly-lit hallway. I could feel more than hear music ― at least the lower end ― reverberating from my left so that's the way I headed. The thrumming got a little bit louder as I progressed and I have to say I wasn't all that impressed by the soundproofing. About half way down I was finally intercepted by a big, burly and I might add rather smelly boy who stuck his head out of an open doorway. "Hey, where yoo off to, wanker?" he shouted. "Ludwig Beethoven, Gaelic Vids," I sniffed. "I'm here to assess the band. You wish to view my credentials?" I asked snaking my hand into my jacket as if to retrieve them. Now about this time I would have had my 5mm pointing directly up his snout if our roles had been reversed but all he did was wave his hand and plop his fat butt back down on a stool and turn back to watch a game on the holo tank sitting in front of him. "Naw, ya studio geeks can do w'ot ya want I suppose." I took about three more steps before another voice challenged me. "Randy may have little desire to review your credentials," came the deep and deceptively calm voice. "But I do." I turned and looked up into a pair of steel-grey eyes without a hint of amusement in them. "And I'll thank the gentleman if he would reach for them very slowly." Using my thumb and one finger of my left hand I lifted my jacket away from my body, slowly just liked he ask not so much because he was being polite but more because of the 5mm service pistol pointing directly at my chest. Normally I would have found this unsettling but right then I actually feel a bit relieved. Snaking two fingers into the jacket pocket I pulled out a card and handed it to him. Glancing at it, the pistol never moved, he looked back down at me. Did I mention he was about five or six centimeters taller than I was? "It would be interesting to hear how a 'Players Club' card from the Casino Royal in Atlantic City would verify your employment in what I am willing to gamble is a fictitious recording company. Especially when one is a long dead classical composer," he looked down almost disapprovingly. "But then we will probably never hear that story will we, Major Leforge?" "I hope not, Colour Sergeant Magaoidh," I grinned and dug out my true Ident/Passport card. "I have no idea what I would have said but I'm sure it would have been witty and quite believable." "Quite," Magaoidh didn't smile but he did raise his eyebrows slightly. Without looking he pressed my Ident card against the perscomp attached to his belt and it gave a satisfied little beep. Smoothly he handed my card back to me and reholstered his pistol in the underarm rig under his jacket. "Welcome aboard, Sir," he said holding out his hand. "My pleasure, Colour Sergeant," I answered taking it. "We're all civilians now, Magaoidh. You can just call me Martin or Leforge; I answer to both." "Of course, sir," he said and I'm sure I saw just a little glint of amusement in his eyes. "Your kit all taken care of? If not I'll have one of the lads take it round." "Back at the hotel," I assured him. "Or at least I hope it is." "Very good, sir," he said stepping aside and waving me through. "I'm thinking you'll want to meet the lads and the lasses soon enough." "As soon as possible," I nodded. "I take it we have all the principals here?" "Aye," he nodded back. "The ladies are in the studio. Caoimh is in the control room, I'll take you there. Mac and Faolain are around the back. Begging your pardon, sir, but you threw us a bit loopy when you came up the stairs. The lads were securing the vehicle and the route in case we needed a quick departure. I've alerted them; they should be up shortly." "Good. I'm doubly glad," I chuckled. "First, that I caused a bit of commotion and second, for your reaction. I know you and your people are professionals and I'd hoped something like this would happen. By the way, who's the useless baggage out front?" "Randy," Magaoidh almost sneered. "One of Connor's hooligan friends. Used to be he and the other lot of wasters were what passed for security for the lasses although I'm not sure who was here to protect them against this lot. We'll probably see a few of them rolling in when they've sobered up a mite. "And begging the Major's pardon again," he continued. "But the lads and I have been doing private security for the last few years but this is a new one for us. Do you know what we're even doing here?" "Actually, no," I glanced at him in surprise. "I was hoping you would know and brief me when I got here. I was contracted two days ago and told where to go and to get there double-time but not the actual nature of the threat." "Hmm..." Magaoidh frowned. "Well we'll just muddle through until someone lets us know what the hell is going on," I shrugged as we stopped in front of a door. It had a window in it and I could see one man sitting at a long, very complicated console looking out into another room. Behind him another three men were standing easy. I recognized the other three members of the security team from their holos. "Ah, the lads made it back before us. Good," Magaoidh stated and then pointed to the door lock. "Your prints should already be in the system, Major. How about you give it a go and see if it's working." Placing my thumb on the lock scanner I heard a satisfactory click and pulled the door open waving the colour sergeant through ahead of me. "Major Leforge has arrived," he announced as he entered and instantly the three standing at ease snapped to attention and said, "Sirrah!" Whellan Faolain's hand even came up halfway in salute before he dropped it sheepishly. "As you were, gentlemen," I chuckled and walked over to them shaking each of their hands as I addressed them. For the time being I ignored the man at the console. I could hear he was talking to someone using jargon that had no meaning to me. "Brian Caoimh, Whellan Faolain, James MacGio ... MacGeeli ... Ah..." "MacGiolla Phadraig," he helped me with a grin. "Most just be calling me Mac." "Then I suppose it will be Mac for a little while until I learn how to pronounce it correctly," I smiled. "Now gentlemen, as I was telling Mr. Magaoidh just a minute or so ago we are all civilians now. I know our countries did a pretty good job of beating us into the molds of soldiers but there's no rank here now, just professionals hired to do a job." "Begging the officer's pardon, sir," Faolain interrupted. "But do you know just what our job is here? Nobody in this crew seems to have the foggiest, sir." "I'm afraid I don't either," I shrugged. "I'm sure someone from the production company will tell us soon enough. Until then we'll concentrate on perimeter control and anti-personnel interdiction (just a fancy way of saying bodyguards). As soon someone can download what you have to me I'll look it over and we'll meet to discuss it." "Fucking hell, Flynn!" came a voice over a speaker from behind me. I turned and saw there was a large glass window in front of the console. I could see a number of the band members sitting or holding instruments with one petite blonde standing in the middle with her hands balled up in fists on her hips. "Get yur head out of yur arse ya fecking eejiot! Ah still got this buzzing in me ear and can't hear a flipping thing!" "Sorry, Rache," the man at the console said. "Can't find anything on the board but I'll try looking again." The man thumbed a control and muttered, "Fucking bitch!" He must of noticed me looking at him because he grinned sheepishly and said, "Sorry, mate. The Queen of England there has me in a bit of a lather this morning." "Is she usually this ... ah ... aggressive?" I asked returning his grin. "Naw," he shook his head. "Must have been on a bit of a tear last night and she's in a wicked mood. She's just spreading the pain around 'til her medicine sticks in." "Rache, give 'er a go now. See if that's better," he said turning back to the board and flicking the switch again. As far as I could tell he hadn't touched anything other than the com button. "Better," came the sniffed reply. "Ah don't know how anybody can expect me ta sing with this fecking buzzing in me headset!" Flynn glanced at me and winked which caused me to chuckle. "How's about we run through this set a time or two and then take a break," he said to the window. "Got a Yank in here that I'm thinking is one of your security people. I'm sure he be liking to be meeting you and the lasses about that time." "Well I'm thinking he'll be wanting to meet me a damn site more than I be wanting to meet another useless Dry Shite colonial," came the response. "Ya can tell him to hump off and sit 'is arse down somewhere out the way. We'll see 'em when were good an ready a' not before!" "Right," Flynn replied. "Ready when you are." "Sorry 'bout that Gov'ner," Flynn apologized as he glanced at me again. "Rache is a bit of a prickly one at times. She'll warm to ya in time." I heard a snort from behind me; in fact it could have been a number of snorts. Obliviously at least a few members of the security detachment were somewhat dubious of this claim. "Not my job to be liked, just to keep her safe," I smiled. "Well, I'd say yer half way home then, anyways," Flynn grinned back. "And a quick worker," I replied. "I usually have to know a woman for a couple of days before she starts swearing at me like that." "Oh," he snorted. "You got the right attitude anyway. Luck to ya." "Thanks," I said before turning around to face the men. "Well since I'm supposed to be sitting my 'arse' down we might as well go over what you have set up so far." "Right, sirrah," Magaoidh replied and I swear there was just a hint of a smile on his lips. A colour sergeant smiling? Next thing you know we'll be getting a visit from Santa Claus. "With your permission I'll be sending Mac and Faolain to cover the entranceways." "Deploy as you feel necessary, Magaoidh," I responded. "I haven't even had a chance to review what you have yet. I might suggest if you have any more of those spy-eyes you stick one in the stairwell; no sense in being blind where most intruders are going to come from." "Sir?" It was Faolain. "Why would anybody be coming up the stairs and not the lift?" "Good question," I nodded. "The answer is lifts can be remotely stopped and to the best of my knowledge stairs can't. Plus most emergency stairs aren't under surveillance. The doors to each level may be locked from the stairwell but anybody who'd pose a real threat would know how to get through that in about fifteen seconds." "Oh, right. That makes sense," he said looking surprised. "We'll assume the officer knows his business," Magaoigdh admonished. "My thanks, colour sergeant," I added to soften the chastisement. "But unless we're under fire, questions are never out of order. For the most part I do know my business but that doesn't mean I'm infallible; we're not still in the army you know." That got them to grin and chuckle just a bit. "I not only encourage but demand you speak out if you don't think something is right. I've found that people good in this job have sort of a sixth sense about something wrong or out of place. Sometimes it's a prickly sensation on the back of your neck; other times it's like the world is slightly out of focus and just doesn't seem right. Surviving combat I'd be willing to bet you've run across a time or two when that's happened to you; I know it has for me. "Some people say these 'feelings' are a bunch of crap; I don't. I don't care if it's ESP, an angel touching your shoulder or just the fact that your brain is able to recognize potential threats subconsciously that the conscious part hasn't picked up on yet; I believe in it. By the way I lean towards the latter explanation myself but like I said I don't give a crap if it's a leprechaun tickling your balls; if you get that heebie-jeebie feeling, sing out. I'd rather we look foolish for jumping at shadows than get caught with our dicks hanging out of our trousers. Everyone understand?" "Aye, sir." "Yes, sirrah!" "Very good, sir." "Then, Magaoidh, post your men and let's see what you have so far." I huddled around the table with Magaoidh and Corporal Caoimh reviewing what they'd had set up so far. In all it wasn't bad but there were a few points I needed to correct. "No, this we can't have," I said pointing to the room layouts in the hotel we were presently staying at. "We can't be split up on different floors and if at all possible we need all the rooms to be together without any outsiders in between. Do you know if Connor is supposed to be included in this detail? I don't either so until we hear differently we have to assume he is." "That's not going to be making any of 'em happy," Caoimh grimaced. I looked at him questionably. "Master Geallaigh has a liking for rather loud hoolies just about every night. That probably won't be bothering Miss Rachael since she usually don'a roll in till the wee hours but the other lasses are a bit more discreet and retire early." "Can't be helped," I sighed. "At least until we know what in the hell is going on." "I believe Mr. Camberge sent a message saying he was going to stop by later today to give us a briefing," Magaoidh interjected. David Camberge was the head of the tours production team and the one who hired me, us. If anyone knew what this was all about he would. "Hopefully he'll clear up a few of the details, sirrah." "It certainly would," I frowned checking my pers-comp. "I didn't get any message but if you did, that's fine. "Anyway, we'll need to move our rooms to here and here," I pointed at the floors layout. "We need to be on the outside, both ends. Also I want all the principals to have access to any of our rooms. If something goes wrong I want them to know they can use ours as safe rooms. If anybody thinks that could be an embarrassment I'd suggest you get in the habit of sleeping with jammies on and close the bathroom door when you take a shower." "Hey, Gov'nor," Flynn yelled back over his shoulder. "I think the lasses 'er ready for you now." I thanked him and with Magaoidh and Caoimh behind me strolled through the connecting door to meet my new charges. Edited by Morgan ------- Chapter 2 I will admit I have had an entrance met with less enthusiasm before but I also have to admit those times I was being shot at. The girls were for the most part scattered around the room in no particular order I could figure out but then what I don't know about recording music could fill entire databanks. Their expressions ranged from outright disgust to mild interest with a touch of apprehension and apathy thrown in. Rachael was standing in the middle of the room surrounded by interesting and to me totally incomprehensible things that I could only guess were used to capture her voice. No surprise, but it was from her the disgust and outright animosity radiated in almost palatable waves. To her far left Niamh sat behind what even I could see was a drum set although I believe the correct terminology is "percussion generator." She glanced at me once and then ignored me. Shauna and Eimile were off to the far right with Eimile standing slightly behind her cousin shyly peeking over her shoulder while Shauna stood in an almost defensive stance, arms out protectively. Leanne was in the center almost directly behind Rachael looking at me with unguarded curiosity. "Good day, ladies," I started. "My name is Martin Leforge and I've been assigned as head of your security detail." "And just what the fuck are you supposed to be protecting us from?" Rachael demanded combatively. "Actually, I'm not sure yet," I answered mildly. "I was hoping you would know and could tell me at least until I could receive my full briefing." "Yeah, well we don't need any flipping babysitters," Rachael snorted. "I am quite sure you don't," I said and then continued before she could say something. "Actually that's all part of my getting to know each other speech. I doubt any of you have ever had security before so I want to make it clear exactly what we are and what we're not. "We're not your babysitters. We're also not spies for your parents, your producers, your boyfriends, husbands or anybody else for that matter. It's not our job to run your lives or make sure you eat all your vegetables. We don't care what you do in your private lives and hopefully will never have to interfere with them. Who you sleep with, what you drink or what you smoke is not our problem; keeping you safe while you do it is. "In fact the only reason we're here is to keep you ― all of you ― safe. We're not your mommies or your daddies and we don't need to be best friends. If you want to treat us like furniture or wallpaper that's fine with me; I don't care. I say again; our only job is to protect you. Shielding you from kidnappers, muggers, rapists and annoying holo-com salespeople; yes that's our job. Running interference for equally annoying fans —well maybe; you'll have to tell us when it's too annoying. I'll be the first to admit I don't know much about the music business but I do know it probably involves some minimal contact with your fans. You let me know when it gets to be too much; I'll let you know when I start getting nervous. "What we definitely are not is your errand boys; we don't carry your bags or run down to the corner shop when you need a pack of smokes. We also don't do laundry, screen your calls, break up with your boyfriends for you or wash windows." "So what the hell do you do?" Rachael asked acidly. "Good question," I replied noting her frown deepened. "I am hoping you will see us as guardian angels looking over your shoulders but not doing anything you know about unless we're really needed. That's probably a little too much to ask so hopefully you'll just view us as somebody who's following you around trying to keep you out of trouble. "I understand Mr. Camberge will be in later today and with any luck he'll be able to tell up what this is all about. If he can identify the potential threats then maybe we can tailor our coverage to address them while leaving you as free as possible. "Until then, I ask you to bear with us, me in particular, while we get this all sorted out. Any questions?" "Are you going to be watching us everywhere?" Shauna asked. "No," I said. "There are some places, like this studio and the hotel, where we will establish a perimeter and within that you will be on your own. Just to let you know we will be setting up quite a bit of surveillance equipment around those areas but not inside those areas. An example would be your hotel rooms; we won't be observing them nor will we enter them without your permission. However the hallways outside your rooms will be under observation. The same with here; the studio rooms aren't covered but the access to this floor is. In a while I'll be giving each of you a small alarm that can be activated vocally or by touch. It will alert us in case something happens inside those hopefully secure areas. "Just a warning though," I grinned. "It activates when you use either my name or any of the team's and say 'help.' If you want to talk about us without us hearing you I'd suggest you use something other than our names." "Like saying 'the Prick' when I want to talk about ya?" Rachael snorted. "That would work," I nodded. Her attempts to annoy me were somewhat amusing but I could see it could get old real fast. Of course if the job were too much fun they'd call it a hobby and not pay me; having irritating clients is just part of the package. "Are ya going to be with us when we go out?" Niamh asked giving her sister a dirty look. "Ah mean when were out shopping or something like that?" "Yes," I nodded. "Which brings me to another point: When you do go out — and we are not trying to keep you locked up or anything like that — it would be best if you did it in groups. Not only is there safety in numbers but with only five of us and five ― or maybe six if Connor is involved ― of you, we're going to be spread pretty thin. I'd like you to remember we're going to be covering you 24 hours a day and my men would like to get at least a little sleep or a chance to take a shower." I grinned again, "Actually I think you'd appreciate that also." At least Leanne laughed and I'm sure I actually saw Eimile covering a smile as she peeked over Shauna's shoulder. "Just a few more points," I continued. "Please let one of us know before you go anywhere and wait until one of us can go with you. Also there will be a few changes when we get back to the hotel. Right now they have you on different floors and spread out; that's going to change. We're going to be moving everybody together — no, not into the same rooms but your rooms are going to be next to each other. Your rooms will open only to your touch or one of ours but I assure you we will not be entering unless there is some indication you need us. "My team member's rooms will be on the outside of yours so there should be no 'stranger' next to you. Our rooms will open to any of your touches. If you feel the need or something has made you uncomfortable or nervous you can duck into one of them at any time. It may be a bit embarrassing if you catch one of us taking a shower..." "Or wanking off," Rachael interjected rudely. " ... but I'd rather have one of us be embarrassed and you safe than not." I ignored her but it wasn't easy. It's generally considered bad form to take one's client across one's knee and wale the shit out of her ass with a belt so I tried to push that vision out of my mind. "So unless there are any other questions right now I'll let you get back to your work and we'll get back to ours." I looked around but didn't get any more questions although I was sure I'd get plenty more in time. Turning around I walked out with Colour Sergeant Magaoidh right behind me. "That young lady needs a good spanking," he muttered. I looked at him sharply and said, "If I'm not allowed to think about that then neither are you." "Right you are, sirrah," he snorted and nodded giving me a wink. ------- "Major, Mr. Camberge is here," Faolain announced. It had been less than a day but I could already see it was going to be impossible to break my team members of addressing me by my ancient rank instead of my name. I doubted I could even get them to address me as captain instead of major. Military training when applied correctly is a wonderful thing for producing highly-trained killers; the problem is it's damn difficult to break that training even after it's served its useful purpose. "Good! Maybe we'll get a few answers now," I grunted. "Show him in, Whellan." "Mr. Leforge, it's so good to meet you," David ― Just call me Dave ― Camberge practically bellowed as he pumped my hand. Camberge was a large man with a deep gravely voice, ruddy cheeks, bombastic hand gestures and eyes that looked more like diodes on a pers-comp screen. Everything about him screamed showbiz and grandiose but if you actually looked into those eyes you knew the brain behind those eyes was strictly interested in euro-franc signs. "I'm sure you'll be wondering what all the fuss is and why we hired you big strapping lads to look over our little fillies," he continued. "It has crossed our minds," I answered dryly. "Well maybe we should find a nice quiet spot and I'll tell you about it." "I'd rather have my whole team hear it right from the source, if that's all right with you," I said before he could drag me away. "Also, is there some reason the principals haven't been told anything about this?" "Well now, we didn't want to frighten the lasses since it probably isn't anything ― really anything at all," he began speaking softer. "Wouldn't want them all nervous and such when they'll be trying to play their pretty music and all." "I understand," I sighed and shook my head slightly. "But I've seen where it's best to let the principals know everything up front if you can. That way they won't be fighting the protection and to be honest what could be more scary than not knowing what the real threat is? If they're not strong enough for the truth than I doubt they'll react any better to what they're making up in their own imaginations. I don't know these girls very well yet but I can tell you they're not stupid. They can guess how much the five of us are costing you and they're not going to believe that somebody is going to pay that kind of cash for nothing." "Mmm, I suspect you're probably right," his eyes narrowed and his accent receded considerably. It had gone from full Irish brogue to what one would expect to hear on a London news-vid. He was as fake as they come but then he was in showbiz wasn't he? "Very well, I'll tell you what I have and leave it up to your discretion as to how much to tell the girls. "Shortly after we announced this tour we began to receive demands — demands followed by threats," he continued. "Naturally the demands were for money and the threats were against the girls if the money wasn't forthcoming." "Obviously these threats appeared to be more than just the normal loony ranting celebrities always get," I commented. "Am I correct in assuming the authorities have been informed?" "Oh aye, they have," he nodded. "But ... Well, let me be honest here; I don't know how your police have recovered from the war but ours unhappily haven't." "Depends on where you look," I admitted. "With the exception of a few older veterans on the forces most of ours are either pretty young or the useless shits that weren't even good enough for cannon fodder. In general they do a fair job but they still aren't up to prewar standards." "For us also," he nodded again. "Except we have this wee prejudice against veterans of foreign armies in our police forces and since most of the competent officers volunteered ... Well, they try ― I will give them that ― but they haven't had overly much experience with this sort of thing and..." his gaze steeled for a moment, "I have little desire for my charges to become their training exercise. I'd much prefer they gather their experience with somebody else." "Yeah, I can see that," I snorted. "We had a saying in the army, 'What is the phrase most often heard right before a funeral? "This should be an interesting Learning Experience."' I wouldn't want somebody I knew to be one of those either. So I take it the police haven't been able to track down who sent the demands?" "No," he shook his head. "They've been 'working on it' but have no leads. I'll send over what we have so you can look at it." "What do you think is the principal threat?" I asked. "Kidnapping? Assault? Murder?" "We have consulted with — mmm, outside resources," he said pinching his lips together. "This is quite possibly nothing more than simple extortion and if that is the case the most probable result would be attempted abduction when we fail to meet their demands." He didn't bother to say that they weren't going to cough up the money. I didn't take him for a stupid man and only an idiot thinks you can solve this type of problem by giving into these kinds of people. If you give them money once you'll be giving it to them forever. Not only that but the amounts will keep getting larger and larger. You don't deal with vermin like that; you exterminate them the best you can while putting a shield between them and their targets. That's what we were: the shield. Maybe if we got lucky we could also be the exterminators but since that would mean they were getting close to the girls, I'd be glad to forgo that pleasure. "Got it, kidnapping," I nodded. "That actually makes it a bit easier. I wasn't sure we'd be able to cover five principals with just five of us. That brings up another question: Is Connor supposed to be inside our envelope? If he is, someone is going to have to rein him in. I don't think he's going to listen to me." "Let me address that a touch later if you don't mind," Camberge said, giving me a quirky little smile. "Let me address the question you didn't ask first: Why don't we just cancel the tour?" "I assumed it was because of the money," I shrugged. "What other reason is there for being out in public when someone is after you? Honestly I don't make value judgments as to whether or not my clients should be out where they are exposed or not. It's always easiest to hunker down somewhere behind big walls but it's not much of a life. Celebrities almost by definition have to be out in public; I guess you can say it's their job. Everybody has to make a living and people like them can't make their living holed up somewhere." "That's very intuitive of you, Mr. Leforge," he nodded. "But I would expect that of you. You do come highly recommended. "What you say is true of most entertainers," he continued obviously not expecting me to respond, "and is even more so when it comes to music. It used to be a musician ― and their recording company for that matter ― could make a fairly good living sitting in a studio recording music and selling it as singles or in compilations; they used to call them albums." "I know," I added when he paused to take a breath. "I happen to own a good number of them, some even in the old vinyl analog formats." "Really?" he asked raising his eyebrows. "I would have never thought ... Just goes to show you can never really tell. Anyway, since these compilations were the only way to listen to specific music other than from a broadcast or seeing it live, the selling of these compilations was economically feasible. An artist could play and sell music without ever having to go before a live audience if they so chose. "Of course starting in the latter half of the last century recording technology began advancing to such a point that once a piece of music was released it could be shared for free literally worldwide. Artists and companies that published and released their art were finding it was simply impossible to get paid for their work. Certainly they tried encryption but no matter what format they devised it took less time for someone else to break it. "So what did that leave them? Either they performed their art for free or they turned to other avenues to earn their living. The stereotype of a starving artist may still be out there as popular mythology, but I can assure you I have personally met very few that actually enjoyed that status." He leaned forward slightly and continued very seriously, "I can assure you I have no intention of starving for the sake of art. "So again where did that leave them? There were some small amount of royalties to be made from the broadcast still but not overly much and selling rights for soundtracks on vids as such, of course. But the real money was in the live performances. That was the only forum where they could control with absolute certainty the product they produced and the people who consumed it!" "I can see that," I admitted. "And I fully support the musicians getting what they deserve for what they do. I certainly enjoy listening and I sure can't do it so making their money from playing concerts makes sense but can they really make enough doing that? Not to knock your business model or anything but will people really pay to see someone play when they can get the music for free and listen to it at home?" "You would be surprised," he smiled and leaned back. "Have you ever been to a live performance?" "A few," I acknowledged. "It was a long time ago and two times it was the same artist so I'm not sure if I'd be a good example." In fact the only concerts I'd ever been to had been when I was in the army and the USO sponsored them. Getting to see some decent talent for free was about the only benefit I'd ever seen come out of being in the war zone. "Would you pay to see them again?" he asked. "Maybe one of them," I admitted again. "If you didn't you would be unusual," he continued. "People enjoy seeing performers perform. Even if you get a better sound quality from your own holo-tank or whatever you're playing it on, they still would rather see the artist doing it right there in front of them. And they're willing to pay quite handsomely for the privilege, I might add. "This is the initial tour for Irish Mist. Twenty-five cities averaging twenty-five hundred paid attendance ― all sold out, by the way. The average ticket price is almost two hundred euro-francs with gross revenues over eleven million. Net will be over five million and that's just for a small tour. Irish Mist is the first band Ireland can call its own since the turn on the century that has the potential to become truly popular worldwide. "That is why we cannot afford to cancel this tour and why we are paying your rather extraordinarily large fee to keep it from being canceled," he finished. I could only nod in acceptance. "Now as for your first question: Connor," he continued. His eyes got narrow and about as close to angry as I'd seen so far. "Connor is as useless a piece of baggage as I've ever seen. He has the title of manager but Valeria from my office is the one who has actually been doing the bookings and pre-work for all the venues. If you have any questions or needs, contact her. As far as Connor is concerned, if the extortionists grab him or even make a try for him they can have him with my blessing. Your job is to protect these girls; he is definitely not part of your assignment." "Got it," I nodded again. ------- "That's a load of fecking shite!" "I hope so," I answered. Naturally Rachael didn't believe a word of it. "It would make me no end of happy if all of this was going to be for nothing." "Why?" The question was almost whispered and I turned to see Eimile peeking out from behind Shauna. She had a bit of the frightened rabbit look about her and I half expected her to duck back behind her cousin any second. "Because if this is all just a hoax, then we can all get through this tour without getting shot or grabbed or anything else that might happen," I smiled at her. I was trying to reassure her and she actually popped up enough so I could see her nose. "That would be a good thing, believe me. Getting shot at is much more than just a pain in the ass and I'm sure being the guest of some kidnaper would not be fun, either." "So you think there's no danger? That this is all a joke?" Shauna asked. "Actually I assume this is very real," I replied sternly. "We all have to assume it is real." There were a number of hesitant looks although not the outright disbelief coming from Rachael. "Look," I continued. "Do any of you know how much money is involved with this tour of yours?" "Ah, a lot," Rachael muttered. I looked around. Niamh was ignoring me completely, Shauna had a puzzled look and Eimile had ducked behind her cousin again. Leanne met my gaze and gave a curt nod. I'd bet dollars to donuts she probably knew every centime that was supposed to be made on this trip. She just impressed me as the type that would. "A hell of a lot," I confirmed. "With that kind of money at stake there is always going to be people who want to share it and probably aren't too finicky how they get it. "You," I pointed to each in turn, "are going to be targets. Either by these potential bad guys wanting to shake you down for ransom or some other fool looking for an easy score." I shrugged and continued, "You ladies are famous around here and are probably going to even more famous in the future. This is part of the price you pay for that fame and you're going to have to learn to live with it. "Now, we've got three days before your first concert here in Cork," I continued. "There are going to be some changes made around here and I would appreciate your cooperation. We're going to try to do this with minimal impact on you but I'm going to tell you right up front there is going to be some impact; it can't be helped. "The first change is going to be at the hotel. Some of you will have to change tonight." I explained the how's, why's and where's of how that will happen. The only one who seemed overly upset about that was of course Rachael. "Miss Rachael, I don't care who you bring to your room," I tried to patiently explain. "I don't care how many either; bring in the whole Cork football team if you want." I got a few giggles with that. "But whoever comes in will be under observation both coming and going and I don't care if they know it; in fact it might be better if they did. People seem to act a little more civilized when they know somebody is looking over their shoulder. "I also want each of you to wear one of these." I passed out flat translucent patches to each of the girls. "What's this?" Leanne asked holding it between her fingers while looking at it from different angles. "Personal tracking and signaling devices," I answered. "You just place the darker shaded side on your skin and it attaches itself. It comes off painlessly but won't fall off by accident. It uses your body heat to produce a signal so we will know where you are at all times. It's also an emergency signal. It's set so if you press it directly in the middle three times rapidly it sends us a signal and we'll know you need us ASAP. Also saying one our names in conjunction with the word 'help' will alert us. A simple "Martin, help me" or "Help Leforge" will do it." "Why couldn't we just call you?" Shauna asked tentatively. "You could," I agreed. "Unless someone has just stuck a gun to your head and tied your hands behind your back; kidnappers are usually reluctant to let their victims call on their own." "Oh," she responded sounding a little queasy. "So big man, if our hands are bound up how we goin' to signal for the storm troopers?" Rachael quipped. "Actually a very good question," I nodded which caused her to pause and keep quiet for a moment. "I recommend you place them on the inside of your wrist." I held my hand up and pointed to the one I was wearing. "Most of the time if someone is tying you up they will bind both wrists together behind you. In most cases you should be able to reach and activate the alarm. If you can't at the very least we'll still know where you are and when you come up missing we'll be able to retrieve you. "Maybe I don't want ya to know where I'm off to all the time," Rachael complained. "I pretty much do now anyway," I explained to her. "We can track that pers-comp you have glued to your waist now. Unfortunately that's one of the first things kidnappers dispose of when they take someone. "It won't be that bad, ladies, I promise," I chuckled. "After a day or two you won't even know it's there and hopefully you'll never have to use it." I went through a few more of the security procedures such as not going anywhere alone or without a bodyguard; no gifts or packages without having them cleared first and never accepting a drink from anyone they didn't know. The standard bullshit. Most of them just shrugged and nodded but naturally you-know-who whined like we were locking her in a cloister for the duration. I had a feeling that with Rachael if she wasn't bitching she was plotting so I'd gladly take the bitching. ------- The rooms had been moved by the time they finished up with rehearsal for the day and dinner was a casual affair down in the hotel's restaurant. Rachael had a "date" that night so Mac pulled the short straw and got to accompany her. I spent most of the night going over security procedures with Magaoidh and the rest of the team; as long as we kept our eyes open, this gig was going to be a piece of cake. Well a piece of cake with a nut in it; Miss Rachael was definitely as loony-tunes as they come. (If you don't understand the reference then don't bother to ask; it's obvious your education has been so pathetic it's unlikely you could string the words of the question together coherently.) She was grouchy as a bear in spring every morning and the only thing that changed during the day was her volume increased as her hangover succumbed to the medication. You'd think she was old enough to notice the cause and effect relationship between partying herself blotto every night and feeling like shit on a stick the next morning but apparently not. I will say one thing: those girls worked hard! Not having been around the business much, I had no idea just how much practice it took to look spontaneous on stage. Every note, every gesture was choreographed and repeated time and time again until it looked natural. It made getting shot at look easy. Other than being Rachael's favorite profanity dump and doing random perimeter checks, most of my time was spent reviewing the layouts for the upcoming concert venues. It wasn't until the day before their first concert that we had a little incident. For the most part we never saw Connor which didn't disturb me greatly since he was pretty much a useless piece of shit and his "friends" didn't even rank that high on the evolutionary scale. Unfortunately one or two of them usually hung around the studio whether or not Connor could drag his lazy ass out of bed or not. He'd given them passes that authorized admittance and I really didn't have a good reason for keeping them out other than they annoyed me so they usually sat around ogling the girls and making ribald comments to each other while farting and scratching their balls. Like I said: annoying but not necessarily a problem. That was until Randy (Remember him? The fat dumb-ass I'd met on my first day?) decided it must have been unfair of him not to allow the ladies to avail themselves of his sexy manliness. During one of their breaks while Shauna was out using the little girls room he pinned down little Eimile back in a corner and was playing with her hair. She looked about as scared as anyone I've ever seen: pale and shaking, looking like a little mouse about to be eaten by some mangy dog. I know that's disparaging to dogs; he reminded me more of a slimy slug but then slugs don't eat mice, do they? Anyway the only other person in the room was Niamh but she was off in Niamh-world somewhere and not paying attention assuming she would do anything even if she did notice. Shauna would have had his balls off in seconds so it was a good bet he'd timed this little stunt for her being out of the room. It didn't take me long to be through the door, across the room and right next to them. I swear I was hoping I could get this taken care of without any unnecessary violence but as my grandpappy used to tell me "wish in one hand and shit in the other; see which one fills up the fastest." "Randy," I said calmly, "I need to speak with you for a moment." "Piss off, wanker," he replied without even looking at me. "Me an' the slapper here is having a bit of a talk." "Sorry to interrupt but I really must insist," I said reaching out and putting a hold on him right above his elbow. My fingers and thumb sunk into his flab but I could still find the pinch points. With a decent grip it doesn't take much to cause a considerable amount of pain. I had a decent grip. "Oww! Ya thick bastard, that finking hurts!" he yowled. "Then lets you and I come over here and talk privately," I responded tugging him towards one of the isolation booths. There were a number of these small rooms scattered around the studio; they use them when they want the sound from a single instrument or voice without any ambient noise interfering. The viewing window was darkened so nobody could see in although at the time I didn't know you could set it so you could see in but not see out or vice versa. All I know is I've always had a policy of praise in public but admonish in private and this seemed like the perfect place to do it. I opened the door and pushed the reluctant Randy into the room before me. I also hadn't noticed that everyone else had followed me into the studio when I left in such a hurry. ------- "What the fuck is going on?" Rachael demanded. "What's the matter, sweetie?" Leanne asked as Eimile rushed over to her. "Was that asshole bothering you?" Eimile didn't answer but sniffed and nodded. "I told ya Connor shouldn't allow these scumbags in here," she growled. "I don't believe that will be a problem again, Miss," Magaoidh said calmly. "The Major is having a little talk with the lad." "That wanker's goin' to tear that little knobjockey (homosexual) arse to teakettle," Rachael snorted. "Aren't ya goin' to help the little poof?" Either Faolain or Caoimh snickered behind her. Since it is unlikely that a corporal late of His Majesty's army would do such a thing it was probably Faolain. "What? Yer not goin' to help yer own man? Shall we call for the ambulance now?" she demanded. "We believe the Major can take care of himself, Miss Rachael," Magaoidh responded evenly. "I don't believe he desired an audience." "Fuck that!" Rachael huffed and leaned over pressing a button next to the room's view window. Instantly the window cleared and the interior was visible; they could also hear what was being said inside. The two men inside the room didn't know that since Rachael had activated only the one-way viewing feature. " ... you will not bother these girls here or anywhere, do you understand me?" Leforge said calmly, hands on hips was staring up at a scowling Randy as he massaged his bruised arm. "Ah was jest talking to the skank," Randy grumbled. "Maybe she fancies me." "And maybe pigs will grow wings and fly," Leforge snorted. "But even if she does, you will let her come to you and not the other way around. This is her place, this is where she works, this is where she needs to feel safe. If she fancies you then it's up to her to come to you. Otherwise you will leave her and the rest of them alone." "Hey, what's happening here?" Shauna asked as she stepped through the studio door. Eimile immediately let go of Leanne and ran over to her cousin as the rest of the girls put a finger to their lips and said, "Shhhhh!" Eimile started whispering in Shauna's ear and Shauna immediately started yelling, "Ah'm going to rip his fucking balls off and use the sack for a purse!" Eimile quickly began whispering again and Shauna said, "Eh? 'e did? In there? This should be educational; let's see what the little bugger has going for 'em." "This is your first and only warning," Leforge was finishing. "I believe you should go now and not return. That is not a suggestion, by the way. You can leave by the back door there; no need to say goodbye." Turning, he began to walk towards the studio door when a humiliated and enraged Randy jumped at him. "Watch out!" Leanne screamed as if Martin could hear her. "Idiot," Corporal Caoimh snorted. There were nine pairs of eyes watching what happened next. Four of them knew, understood and even anticipated the blows and throws that were inevitable the second Randy started moving toward their officer. Between the other five pairs you would have received five different stories the action being far too quick and violent from what they were used to. "Ew, that's going to leave a mark in the morning," Ranger Whellan Faolain winced. "Good form on the takedown," Caoimh nodded approvingly. "Yes, that should do it ... Oh, he pulled the punch," Mac hissed disappointedly. "Would that have seriously hurt the bastard?" Leanne asked the lanky ex-ranger. "Hurt him? No, Miss, it would have killed him," Mac shrugged and sighed. "Would have put a proper finish to this foolishness, if you ask me." "And it's just as well nobody did ask you, Ranger," Magaoidh interrupted icily. "It's best we all take heed of the Major's example: no extreme measures if none are needed. We'll not be needing the constabulary involved in our every move." "Aye, Colour Sergeant," Mac and Faolain repeated at the same time. "Good lads," Magaoidh nodded. "But 'e was just an officer," Rachael complained. "'e didn't fight." Mac and Faolain laughed out loud while Caoimh rolled his eyes. "Miss, a bit of advice from someone older and wiser," Magaoidh looked down at her disapprovingly. "You should get to know the people who are charged with protecting you. "Yon lanky rascals," Magaoidh nodded towards the two junior enlisted men, "are Rangers. A decent bunch in a scrap, I'll admit, but trained to go behind enemy lines for reconnoiter, reconnaissance, interdiction and other such little dirty jobs. Part of what they did and were trained for was taking prisoners. Now seeing as live prisoners are preferred, they are more heavily trained to disable and subdue; it's actually a little harder than ya think. "The little poof in there," he continued making it sound like a sneer even though it wasn't, not quite. "That gentleman was an Officer of Infantry." He made the statement sound like it needed no other explanation. "He wasn't trained to operate behind enemy lines; no, his job was to go through enemy lines. To kill, destroy, subdue — eliminate — anything in his path. He doesn't take prisoners; when he's finished there are none to take. "Yon poof as ye describe him has more decorations for valor than you can imagine and even more for wounds taken in combat." He paused for a moment and looked straight down into Rachael's confused eyes. "Little Miss, suffice it to say all of your security team personnel are dangerous, deadly warriors but in my opinion the most dangerous stands in that room right over there." Behind him all three of the other veterans nodded fractionally. He sighed, "Because of yer youth it is probably too much to ask for respect where respect is due but be advised," he bent down with a glint in his eye and just a touch of a smile on his lips, "yon poof is a hardman (rough, tough person) beyond any ye have probably ever seen before. It might behoove yourself to be a bit more--restrained and temperate in your dealings with him." "Ah'm not afraid of that lout," Rachael blustered. "Oh, not afraid, Miss Rachael," Magaoidh turned and actually chuckled. "Just cautious." Seeing Leforge was just about to leave the isolation room he reached over and turned off the viewing window. "All sorted out, sir?" "What? Oh, yes, certainly," Leforge nodded as he strode into the studio. "What's going on here?" "Just waiting for you to finish, sir," Magaoidh answered amiably. "Well certainly no need to wait for me," Leforge huffed. "All taken care of." He walked over to where Eimile and Shauna were standing. "Are you all right?" he asked Eimile. She was looking down at the floor but she nodded her head vigorously. "Thank you," Shauna said putting her arm around her cousin. "If that gobshite shows 'is bloody mug 'round here again Ah'm going to have 'is plums for my pudding!" "I'm sure you will," Leforge chuckled. "But don't dirty your hands with him; that's our job. I don't think he'll be back but if he does just let us know and we'll have Mac or Faolain run him off." He reached out and using one finger under the chin gently lifted Eimile's face until he could see her eyes. He noticed they were a beautiful pale violet. "You don't ever have to put up with that," he said softly. "You just say no and then signal one of us." He bent down and whispered next to her ear, "Having security can be a real pain in the ass but we do have our uses sometimes. Let us protect you." She giggled and nodded as he straightened up. "Just like having our own bully dogs," Shauna laughed. "Ah could get used to that." "Woof," Leforge grinned back. "What's that on your sleeve?" Leanne suddenly demanded. Martin looked down and saw that part of the forearm was indeed red with blood. "Are you hurt? Cut?" She grabbed his arm and began looking for any tears or rends where the blood could be coming from. "No, no, I'm fine," Martin answered embarrassed. "It's not mine. Ah, Randy had a bloody nose during our discussion and I guess some got on me." "Happens when ya smash yer nose into someone's forearm, repeatedly," Faolain whispered to Mac who snickered. "Maybe but we'll be needing to make sure; take it off," Leanne demanded. "I'm okay and I'm not taking off my shirt," Leforge frowned. "The hell yer not," Leanne said hands moving to the fasteners on the front. "Stop being such a babby even if yer not hurt we need to get that into some water before the stain sets." "You can't stain these fabrics," he mumbled as her nimble fingers undid the fasteners faster than he could redo them. Slapping his hand away she finally pushed the shirt off over his shoulders and down. When she looked at him she gasped just a little and took a step back. "Oh, Jaysus!" she sighed and looked up into his eyes. Edited by Morgan ------- Chapter 3 I'm pretty sure you can't die from embarrassment. At least I'm fairly sure you can't. You couldn't tell that by me right then. First off, it's embarrassing that a grown man can't even stop a ity-bitty girl who masses about half his weight (don't give me any crap about the differences between "weight" and "mass"; yes I know physics and yes I know the difference) from stripping off his shirt. True, given any other circumstances I wouldn't have minded one bit; she's a tasty little morsel and pretty doesn't even begin to describe her but ... It just wasn't appropriate. Add to that said girl took one look at my ravaged torso and blurted out a profanity ... Maybe "embarrassing" doesn't come close. "Work out much?" Leanne grinned up at me. "Ah, well, sure ... It's part of the job..." I tried to say. "Oh, what's this?" she asked reaching up to draw a finger along one of my many scars. "Is this from a bullet?" "Ah, maybe," I mumbled. "I kind of forget. Bullet or shrapnel maybe..." Or even sticks, stones, pieces of armor and at times a bone or two. Hell only knows what they've pulled out of me. It's all a bit of a blur and it's not like the medics made a list or anything like that. "Leanne, 'e's not a dolly ya can play with," Niamh said crossly. "Who said ah'm playing?" Leanne purred and looked up at me with a quirky little smile that had trouble written all over it. "But yer right, dear cousin. We need to get this shirt rinsed out." "I'll do it," Eimile spoke up for the first time I could remember. She had a beautiful voice, very soft as you would expect and melodious; kind of like the tinkling of tiny bells. Leanne handed her my shirt before I could grab it and she ran out of the studio with Shauna following her. Mac followed along behind both of them glancing at me and I'll be damned if he wasn't laughing! I gave him a nasty look that wiped that silly grin off his smug face. Well, I knew who had Rachael duty tonight. Let him laugh about that! "Ah thought they could fix them ugly scars and all that," Rachael said rather loudly. "They can," I shrugged. Leanne turned and gave a disgusted look to her cousin. "For the most part anyway. The army does a pretty good job to the ones on your face, arms and legs but doesn't bother elsewhere." "So why dinna ya get them fix your own self?" she asked rudely earning another look from both Leanne and Niamh this time. "I suppose I could have," I nodded. "But cosmetic surgery can be kind of expensive and..." I shrugged, "They're a part of me now; I don't even think of them." "Quite a wreck there, right good for scaring the wee ones into shitting their nappies though," she chuckled. "Rachael, that'll be quite enough," Niamh hissed. "What?" Rachael turned to her sister in surprise. "It's all right, ladies," I tried to soothe. "It can be a bit unnerving to someone who's not used to seeing something like this." "Unnerving is right," Leanne said turning back to me. "Yer cut like a damn Greek statue," she said running one fingernail over my chest which caused interesting shivers throughout my body. After that I thought I heard her mumble something like, " ... poor bugger never stood a chance," but I wasn't really sure and the other girls came back in with my shirt before I could ask what she meant. "All spiffy," Shauna announced happily holding up my shirt. The sleeve was still slightly damp where it had been rinsed but completely bloodless which wasn't a surprise; you have to really work to stain these fabrics. "Thanks," I muttered taking it from her and quickly putting it on. I have no idea what could have been so interesting about seeing someone putting on a shirt but for some reason I seemed to be the center of attention. "Ryan," I said trying to defect some of this unwarranted attention, "until further notice all personnel not directly related to the band or getting ready for the concert are no longer authorized entry to the premises. Anyone wishing an exception must go through me first. Understood?" "Aye, sirrah, very clear," Magaoidh said easily. Turning to Corporal Caoimh he continued, "Caoimh, take the lads and make a sweep of the area. Put any rubbish out where needed." "Colour Sergeant," Brian nodded and waved for Mac and Faolain to follow him as he headed towards the door. "So yer going to lock us away and keep us from our friends?" Rachael demanded. "Not at all," I responded coolly staring her right in the eyes. "But this won't happen again. You have someone you want to bring to see your practice I have no problem with that; but I want to know about it and vet them myself before they're inside our perimeter." "That's shit!" she complained. "Who died and made you God?" "It's my job, miss," I said evenly. "If you feel it's too restrictive you are perfectly welcome to see Mr. Camberge about it. If he feels it is appropriate, he can always replace me with someone else." "Back down, Rache," Shauna said with a frown. "If the man can keep the wankers out 'o here ah'm all fer it." "Aye, we got to pull our socks up and get on with it," Leanne agreed. "We'll be moving to the stage tomorrow anyway." She glanced at me and smiled impishly before moving towards her instruments. "Besides its nice having someone looking out fer our backsides for a change instead of just staring at 'em." I'm afraid I wanted to do that too but I wasn't about to say so. "Well, it's bollicks if you ask me," Rachael pouted. "Well, we didn't now did we?," Niamh snapped. "We got work to do so stop yer codding and let's be at it." Leaning towards Rachael I said softly, "I'll try not to restrict access for your friends too much. If you want people in during your rehearsal or even backstage during the show we'll work something out. I just want to see them before hand." "Fuck off, jackboot," she hissed. So much for winning friends and influencing people. ------- The next day was the official kickoff of the tour. The roadies had spent most of the night and morning moving and setting up the stage and sound equipment for the show that was scheduled to start at 2000 hours. Caoimh had been up most of the night observing the move. No, we weren't really worried about someone planting a bomb in any of the equipment but I figured so long as someone had to watch them why not a combat engineer whose specialty was making things go boom and turning big things into tiny little ones? I had been down at the local national police headquarters picking up my pistol which wasn't as easy as I'd hoped. It took hours convincing the local chief that all the proper approvals had indeed been signed and I still wasn't sure until I got my piece in hand that I was going to get it. He was a big fat fucker who I was pretty damn sure hadn't been one of the Irish volunteers. Our mutual antipathy was fairly evident from the moment we laid eyes on each other and it went downhill from there. I'd like to think his dislike was for all things military in general and not just for my own baby blues but truthfully it didn't matter. I was finally able to convince him that all required signatures were indeed there and that I hadn't forged them. What a tool. Then there was the desk officer assigned to actually find and issue my weapon. She was young as they come, cute as a puppy and dumb as a box of rocks. If this was the best the Irish police had then I can understand why Camberge wasn't overly confidant about their ability to protect the girls. Truthfully, I'm surprised they managed to find their way home every night. Anyway I was finally packing and feeling somewhat less naked with my 5mm tucked against the small of my back. I know a lot of officers tended to use the 2mm because it's lighter and easier to conceal but I've found that when you're slugging it out face to face even light body armor shrugs off a 2mm. You had to be really damn good to take someone wearing body armor with a 2mm and while I'm a decent shot in the furball of combat I wanted something big enough just in case "decent" wasn't good enough. As far as I'm concerned when it comes to the down and dirty, the term "excessive force" is redundant. Actually my personal favorite when going into combat was a 5mm submachine gun. It uses the same round as the 5mm pistol but can spew out about 500 rounds in about thirty seconds. When you're going door to door rooting out the bad guys, the only thing better is a fragmentation grenade; I used to carry those too. Yeah I know officers aren't supposed to do entry work but when you're shorthanded and everything is going to shit sometimes you got to do what you got to do. Just to let you know, we were always shorthanded and everything going to shit was just standard operating procedure. I'd done more entry work than I'd care to remember. We were trying to settle into the standard schedule for a touring band which was new to me. Equipment set up by noon; break for lunch; sound checks at 1300 and full rehearsal at 1400. It was all new to me but everything seemed to go smoothly. I didn't realize that bands didn't play just one show each night; they played two: the real show and the rehearsal. They did everything in rehearsal just like the actual show except without costumes. That's a hell of a lot of work in one day. They had some local band playing warm up and although I generally avoid disparaging remarks about others, I got the feeling most of their talent came from their volume and not their ability. For the most part everything was going smoothly which for someone who believes wholeheartedly in the power of positive pessimism is a bit worrisome. Yeah, go ahead and call me a grump but I've found a pessimist can never be disappointed and is often pleasantly surprised but an optimist is disappointed at least half the time. Besides someone who assumes and plans for the worst is caught with his pants down at the most inconvenient times far less often then someone who blissfully hopes everything is going along just fine. I'd rather be a live party-pooper than a dead life of the party anytime. Oh speaking of worrisome did I mention I had a visitor that night before the concert? No? Well I did. It was about 2200 and I was getting ready to make one final round of the hotel before hitting the rack when I heard the door signal a visitor. Surprised but not overly worried ― I hadn't heard an alert from the duty watch ― I opened the door. It was Leanne. "Hi there!" she said brightly and popped into my room ducking under the arm that was holding the door open. "Just thought ah'd roll by and see that yer doing well." "Ah, well, yes, I'm doing just fine, thank you," I stuttered. "But aren't I supposed to be the one making sure you are all right?" "Ah piff," she waved her hand and flopped down on the small couch stretching her legs out and resting them on the table in front of it. Did I mention she was wearing tiny little silky shorts, a crop top and apparently nothing else other than a pair of flip-flops that she'd kicked off. The sight was ... distracting to say the least. I think I've said before she's short but perfectly proportioned for her size with light brown skin, long coal-black hair pulled back in a pony-tail and that touch of the exotic Eurasians so often have. Her bust wasn't enormous; like I said she was perfectly proportioned, but with that top there was no doubt there was more than just a handful under it. But those legs ... My God! They looked like they were 90 percent of her body and couldn't have been more perfect. Now tits are nice and I have nothing against them but what has always attracted me to women has been their eyes first (really, I'm not kidding here!) legs second and then the ass; the size of the breasts comes in a distant fourth. In other words this young woman pushed just about every button I had. I try to be the best professional I can be but I'm only human and underneath my cool, detached exterior was the wolf howling, panting and drooling, whimpering to be let out to play. That's why it was worrisome. "Ah'm fine, everybody's fine; in fact ah think even Rache is back in already," she continued. This I knew. Faolain had already reported they were in and tucked away. Whellan had the Rachael duty that night since Mac hadn't done anything to piss me off all day. "So I've heard," I said pointedly leaving the door open then walked over to sit in a chair across from her. "So to what do I owe the honor of this visit?" "Just bored and can't sleep," she said lifting one leg as if to examine it. My blood pressure just about doubled but of course I didn't let it show. "Ah get wired the night before a concert," she continued, "and you did say we could drop by and see ya anytime." "I'm pretty sure that was more for if you were scared or needed a place to hide," I chuckled. "But you're perfectly welcome to hang out here if you like." "Kold," she grinned. "Mr. Magaoidh told us we should get to know the people who are protecting us so ah be thinking now is a good a time as any." "He did? I don't remember that," I admitted. "Oh it was while you were instructing randy Randy on proper manners," she giggled. "That put Rache's knickers in a bit of a bunch for sure and you can bet Connor's mob'll be a damn sight more respectful, if they even have the clackers to show their faces, that is." "I'm not sure what you mean," I said slowly. "I just explained to Randy his behavior wasn't acceptable, nothing more." She looked at me for a moment and then started laughing. "Oh Jaysus, they didn't tell you?" My lack of comprehension must have shown because she started laughing again causing various parts of her body to shake and shimmy in a delightfully distracting way. When she calmed down a little she wiped a tear from her cheek and smiled when she caught me looking at her ... well, everything. "They didn't? That's rich!" she grinned and I felt grateful she was ignoring my lecherous glances. Yeah, I'm only human but I should be better than that. Still grinning she flipped over on her stomach as her legs waved in the air; I do believe the vixen was taunting me! "We saw it all," she continued. "Well, we saw the end result, right enough; none of us were really sure what actually happened other than the big tool took after ya with your back turned and you put a boxing on 'is arse he won't soon forget." "You saw that?" I groaned. "Oh, shit." "No, it was fair play," she said sitting up suddenly. "What you did for Em was grand! She's a timid little thing and though Shauna does her best, she's not much more than a wee thing herself fer all her bluster. Em's been dancing ever since; thought fer sure her face would break from the smile and as fer Rache..." she chuckled. "Well it's a good thing she learn the man she be shitting on can take 'er across his knee and stripe her arse a good one if need be." "That's not in the job description," I muttered. "Maybe not," she laughed, "but no need to be telling her that, now is there?" "Well..." I started. "Enough of the Queen of England," she grinned. "Ah come over to find out about my man here." "Not a whole lot to tell," I shrugged. But I'll be damned if she didn't weasel a hell of a lot out more than I'd really intended to tell anyone. I guess I just have trouble saying no to a pretty girl. "So no wife or molly of yer own?" she asked once. "Ah not be understanding that." "Not now," I replied shaking my head. "To tell the truth the last couple of relationships haven't turned out so well." I had to continue when she cocked her head and just stared at me. "My last few, mmm, girlfriends have been a lot like Rachael," I finally admitted. "Pretty, but we just didn't mesh too well. I guess they were a bit on the domineering side and we'd just end up arguing all the time. It's a flaw in my character, I know," I shrugged, "but I don't do well being screamed at in public." "Well of course not," she scoffed. "A woman leads her man from his side or behind their own doors, not from in front." "I suppose that would work," I laughed. "Tis nature," she nodded solemnly, "and not to be fooled with." She paused for a moment and looked to the side and said softly, "Of course there are some that need to be doing a bit of screaming public or otherwise." "What?" I asked but she just smiled sadly and shook her head. Anyway we talked about a lot of things that night and I suppose if I tried I could remember most of them but it really wasn't important. The fact was I felt much more comfortable with the little china doll than I should have and it was after midnight when she finally decided it was time to go to bed. "Now ah guess you'll be looking at my legs again won't ya?" she asked saucily over her shoulder as she walked towards the open door. "I'll try not to," I sighed. "But it's not easy." "Oh I don't mind yer looking," she grinned. "A girl likes to be appreciated now and then without a bloke drooling all over his blouse, or hers. You have me permission to look all you want." "Thank you, but I will try to be discreet about it," I grimaced. "Try or not, it's no different to me," she smiled and wiggled her bottom before giggling and scampering out into the hall. I sighed as I closed the door wondering what in the hell I was getting myself into. ------- "Colour Sergeant," MacGiolla Phadraig called out as he watched the monitor. "That little fine one, the Asian lass..." "Miss Leanne," Magaoidh nodded. "Yes, Colour Sergeant, Miss Leanne," Mac corrected himself. "She just came out of the major's room." "And?" Magaoidh asked raising his eyebrows. "Well..." Mac started. "The major's room. You think they're doing the line already? The major must be a fast one, he is." "Not that it's any business of ours what they might be doing, Ranger," Magaoidh said archly. "But ah will point out the major's door has been open for the last two hours. If they were involved in any shenanigans, ah seriously doubt they would have left the door open." "Oh, yeah, right," Mac replied sounding a little disappointed. Magaoidh just looked at the younger trooper and arched his eyebrows again, this time questioningly. "I was just thinking, Colour Sergeant, if the major's a complete Guillermo (ladies man), maybe he can start slipping it to little Miss Rachael and maybe she'll be staying in a few of these nights," Mac shrugged. "Boyo, yer daft if ya think the major would be taking up with that little tart," Magaoidh chuckled. His accent had a tendency to thicken when he was with other Irish. "And as fer the wee Leanne, you'd be thick as a plank if ye didn't see who was doing the pursuing there." Then he looked at the ranger sternly, "Discretion, lad, discretion." "Oh aye, Colour Sergeant," Mac nodded the sighed. "But it does seem a bit unfair the officers get the best of everything every time." "As if you had a chance with the wee lass," Magaoidh snorted. "Besides, would you rather have yer officer not be the best at everything? Even the ladies?" "Suppose not," Mac sighed. "Just so long as he's not greedy." ------- The day of the first concert was one of continuous controlled chaos. The roadies had done a good enough job getting the gear moved and set up; there was a stage supervisor who did most of the directing for that. A few minor glitches: an instrument here rather than there, a stand not turned just the right way ... For the most part the girls worked with the supervisor showing him exactly where they wanted everything with the roadies looking on to make sure it wouldn't happen the next time and slow things down. Very professional for the most part. Except that, Oh My God! someone had substituted the wrong vocal pickup at Rachael's position and you would have thought the fucking world was coming to an end! My opinion of the little diva was plummeting faster than a cement kite on a calm day. Luckily my job didn't depend on what I thought of the little bitch—er, witch, and I didn't have to get involved in it at all. The boys and I just reviewed the hall's security plan and scoped out our pre-, during- and post-concert positions. Brian Caoimh would be up near the front of the stage backing up the hall security in case someone tried to get up there; Mac and Faolain would be on the wings; Magaoidh would be back near the dressing rooms and the rear hall entrance while I circulated around backstage. Sound checks are boring even with AI assist. The rehearsal was interesting. We went through the whole thing step by step; taking them from the dressing rooms, up through the wings, waiting for the MC to announce them and sending them on their way to the stage. A light dinner afterwards from a buffet where local newsies joined and got to talk to the girls and ask them thirty or forty times if they were excited about the tour and playing Cork; blah, blah, blah, yada, yada, yada; second verse, same old shit, just like the first. For the most part the girls were nice enough about it. Niamh seemed bored and reserved; Leanne smiling and talkative while Shauna acted as the mouthpiece for the twins. Of course Rachael was the star, a legend in her own mind. Everybody was entitled to her opinion. The newsies gathered around her like a flock of carrion birds and why not? Every time she opened her mouth the most insane garbage spilled out. It was ... embarrassing. The other girls kept rolling their eyes and Magaoidh had to keep giving Mac and Faolain the hairy eyeball to keep them from laughing out loud. Finally it was over and we shooed the rift-raff out so the girls could have a little mellow down time before the show. The warm up band had their own dressing room and area and while we kept a close eye on who came and went, we didn't do much more than that. When the warm up started playing, we left the girls alone to get dressed and did a couple of rounds in our area with one of us remaining at the dressing room door at all times. We were all plugged into our own local net with the guys using throat mics and earphones; I just used my mastoid implant and had it routed through my AI. It wasn't a particularly powerful one but it was good enough for this. The stage super gave me the five minute warning and I knocked on the door. Leanne answered and peeked out through the open crack. "Five minutes," I said. She grinned and through open the door motioning me in. I'd never seen their costumes before and I have to admit I was impressed. Gauzy, translucent, and in pastel colors they were both really sexy without being really raunchy. Except Rachael of course; she looked like a slut. Who says there isn't any truth in advertising? "Very nice, ladies," I whistled. "I see we're going to have our work cut out for us beating back the crowd." "Oh you," Leanne grinned and smacked me on the arm. Shauna and Eimile put a hand over their mouths and giggled. Niamh looked up from where she was sitting and blinked like she'd just noticed I was there. Rachael ignored me which I considered a good thing. "Ready to take your places, ladies?" I asked. "Just like we practiced." Everybody lined up in the order we'd set beforehand; except Rachael of course. "We'll be going when ah'm good and fucking ready," she said snidely still primping in the mirror. "Not my problem," I shrugged. "I just get you there and back. When you start and when you get back are yours." "Com'on Rache," Leanne yelled with a frown. "Get your arse moving!" "Fine," Rachael turned to us with a glare. I suppose she realized I didn't give a shit how late she was for the show. Like I said, it wasn't my problem, so it wasn't fun anymore. We did finally get them together and Magaoidh and I escorted them to the rear of the stage. At that point I took Leanne, Shauna and Niamh around to the left side and Ryan took Rachael and Emile to the right. I'm not going to go through a blow-by-blow, note-by-note reenactment of the concert; it was a concert. Yes it was very good. The audience loved it and we had very few problems with them and what there was hall security took care of. All in all a very good start I thought. We had a couple of people try to get backstage without the proper identification but they were just a couple of happy drunks and turned back without incident. The closest we came to an "incident" was during the show while I was roaming around backstage. Connor and a couple of his sidekicks showed up ― not Randy interestingly enough ― and I had to make it clear that while Connor could stay the other two couldn't. All three of them were getting loud and obnoxious to the point I was wondering if I was going to have to knock them out just to quiet them down when Magaoidh meandered over to stand behind me. Now Colour Sergeant's stares have been know to cause spastic diarrhea in battle hardened combat vets and cold sweats in junior Lieutenants. These three crumbled like a sandcastle against the incoming tide. Connor's two guidos took off like bats out of hell and Connor whimpered for a while but finally quieted down. I gave Ryan a thankful glance; I really didn't want to get blood on another shirt even if it didn't stain. "I'll be wanting words with you," Connor told me with what I'm sure he thought was a furious frown. "Any time you like, Connor," I answered pleasantly. "That's Mr. Geallaigh to the likes of you," he spat snapping his finger in my face. I am the consummate professional; I did not break down helplessly in laughter. As far as I know the rest of the concert went like clockwork and they finished, we gathered our little chicks up and were back to the hotel pronto. There were plenty of fans waiting outside the back door waiting for autographs and pictures and such which was a little nerve-racking but I took my cue from the girls and for the for the most part the mob was noisy but manageable. Rachael surprised me by being extremely accessible and signing anything anybody wanted and letting them take her picture with them. She may have been a bitch off camera but when onstage or with her public she was the Princess of Nice. Leanne and Niamh did a lot of signing also although I don't think Niamh smiled once during the whole thing; she handled it like it was another chore. Leanne seemed to enjoy it. Eimile stuck to Shauna like glue and practically shivered when anyone got near them. Shauna signed a few things but Eimile didn't which probably disappointed a few of the fans; not my problem but I couldn't help but think she was taking meekness to new levels. It hadn't gone unnoticed because when we got back in the bus we used going to and from the venue Rachael unloaded on Eimile with both barrels. "Christ o' a fucking crutch, Em," Rachael shouted. "Them's our fans, ya stupid little mouse! Them's paying the freight for this little donnybrook and ya stand there like a ijit treat'en like a gollier (spit)! Sign the little squigglies and smile, ya little hoor!" "Back off, ya bitch!" Shauna hissed and when she tried to get up Mac casually rested his hand on her shoulder. She looked daggers up at him but when he just smiled down at her she fumed and sat down in a huff next to Eimile. "Its part of the job," Niamh grumped supporting her sister. "Aye, but ya know Em doesn't handle strangers well," Leanne added. "Well she bloody well better learn," Rachael snapped. "Part of the fucking show it is!" "Ladies," I interrupted clearing my throat. "Maybe you should table this discussion until a later, more appropriate time." "And what business it is of yers, ya great ugly monkey?" Rachael screamed at me. In fact she screamed at me for the next fifteen minutes, right up until we made it back to the hotel. Leanne giggled at this; I don't know if she thought I'd done it to divert Rachael's attention away from Eimile and Shauna, which I had sort of, or whether she just thought it was really funny. There was an after-concert party put on by the tour producers in one of the suites on the top floor of the hotel. In fact there was one scheduled after every concert in every city on the tour. Pretty easy duty for us, actually. The suites usually had only one or two entrances and all we had to do ws make sure whoever got in was supposed to be there and lay back inconspicuously in case somebody got rambunctious. Piece of cake. More or less anyway. Shauna came up and said Eimile wasn't feeling well and was staying in her room. That was a pain in the ass since it meant one of us had to go down and watch the hall and the rooms leaving just four of us up at the party. Not a real problem, just a pain. The invitees were mostly local city politicians, music business people and other such. Connor did have a few of his crew there but anytime they started to get loud I walked over near them and it seemed to shut them down pretty effectively. Even stupid animals are trainable, it seems. It was getting near the end of the party and my feet hurt so I looked for a place to sit down for a second. There was a couch with Niamh on one end and the other side empty so I wandered over. "Mind if I sit down for a bit?" I asked. "Suit yerself," she slurred not even looking at me. "Ms Niamh has been hitting the shorts pretty heavily, Major, " Magaoidh sent to me over our security net. "Got it, " I replied. "At least she's a quiet drunk, " I added. Rachael had been drinking steadily also and was nowhere near a quiet as her sister. "Aye, sir, there is that." "That's going to hurt in the morning," I pointed out to Niamh when she scooped up another couple of drinks from a passing server, downing one right away. "What the fuck do you care?" she asked finally looking at me. Her eyes were blurry and bloodshot. "Just don't like to see anyone hurting, that's all," I answered. She grunted at me and suddenly a small body plopped down in my lap, two arms wrapped around my neck and abruptly I was nose to nose with someone and I was staring into two very dark eyes. "Hey there solider, come here often?" Leanne giggled. "Miss Leanne, as pleasant as this is I don't think you should be holding down one of your bodyguards," I tried to admonish. "But you're guarding the two of us quite nicely all yerself," she replied not in the least bit fazed by my scolding. "Ah think that is duty above and beyond the call, don't you think?" Her eyes were like two pools of black ink, hypnotizing pools of black ink. "I'm not sure how much protection I can give you with you sitting right on top of me," I said. "But ah feel ever so safe," she sighed and leaned onto me resting her face in the crook of my neck. "Don't you think ah'm very safe?" "I'm not sure I would if I was in your place," I was able to croak out. "Then that's even for the better, isn't it?" she whispered nibbling my neck sending shivers up and down my body. "I don't think this is very appropriate," I was able to squeeze out. "Especially since your cousin here looks like she is about to fall over." Leanne sat up and looked at Niamh with a frown. "Sloshed again," she said disgustedly. "Ni, you've paralyzed yerself again." Sighing she stood up and looked down at me. "We'd best be getting the fool eejit back to her room or she'll be sleeping it off here come morning. Come on, Ni. Time to go nighty-night." "What?" Niamh said groggily as I pulled her to her feet and helped guide her towards the elevators. "Punch us a lift will ya, Martin?" Leanne asked and I did. The next thing I heard was, "O' bloody hell!" I looked back and Niamh had collapsed on the floor. I could tell you there was now way in hell we were waking her up again. "Maybe we should just get a cart and trundle her down," Leanne said with a snort. "Let's just do it the easy way," I said and scooped her up just as the elevator opened. Luckily it was empty. I was glad it was a short ride since I think I've mentioned before Niamh isn't a petite little thing. Not overweight by any stretch of the imagination but no little waif. Actually she felt very nice in my arms holding her under her legs and shoulders with her head resting near my neck. I hoped she didn't throw up on me. "Does she do this often?" I asked Leanne. "Often enough," she snorted then looked up at me. "I'll tell ya about it sometime but not now, please." "Tell me or not," I sighed. "It's not really any of my business." "Still..." Leanne continued as the elevator door opened on our floor. Faolain had been stationed on the floor looking after Eimile and must have either seen us coming or been told by either Magaoidh or Caoimh since he was out in the hall. "Need a hand, Major?" he asked. "No thanks," I replied. "Just open her door if you will and Miss Leanne and I will get this one tucked in." "Aye, sir," he nodded palming the door and pushing it open. "I'll be out in a minute or two," I said walking in the room with Leanne directly behind me. I sat Niamh down on the bed before trying to leave. "Where yer going?" Leanne asked. "You need to help me get this silly cow out of her dress. Ah can't move 'er." "I don't think she'd appreciate..." I started. "Bah," Leanne waved me silent. "The fool eejit is so fluttered she wouldn't know nor care if the King's own army trooped past and saw her in the nip. She'll ruin the dress if we leave her in it," she said as if a strange man stripping her cousin was a very minor concern. "Besides, ah'm sure you've seen legs and tits before this." Still feeling very uncomfortable about the whole situation I helped prop her up while Leanne peeled the dress off. Niamh wasn't wearing a bra and her breasts were very large, very nice and under other circumstances I would have been happy to stare at them for a good while. However just as Leanne pulled the dress down off her legs ― thank goodness she was wearing panties ― Niamh started to retch and I had a damn good idea what was coming next. I didn't scoop her up this time. I just grabbed her around the waist with one arm and bolted for the bathroom. Bending her head over the toilet I was just able to grab her hair in one hand holding it back away from her face when the lady started making her evening prayers to the porcelain god. It was as impressive as it was disgusting. It took her awhile to finish but once she was we were able to clean her up a bit and get a couple of De-tox patches slapped on her arms and poured into bed. "Ah'd best be staying with her tonight," Leanne sighed. "If you need anything just give me a call," I nodded. "Especially if you think she needs a doctor..." "She needs her head scrubbed is what she needs," Leanne growled. "But that isn't going to happen tonight. Thank you, Martin," she sighed again and stood up on her toes, wrapping her arms around my neck and giving me a very passionate kiss. "Ah, it's all part of the service," I said weakly when she finally let me loose and I quickly ran away. Edited by Morgan ------- Chapter 4 The next day was moving day. I've heard how being out on tour with an entertainer can seem a little like riding a tornado without a safety belt but you couldn't tell that by me. I've heard how some tours play twenty cities in twenty days but that isn't how things are done in Ireland. Time seems less important and venues aren't always open when you want them to be. We were doing 25 shows in three months and that included a two-week break in the middle to "relax." Not exactly an arduous schedule if you ask me but then I certainly wasn't going to complain. At about three days per show we had plenty of time to move, set up and settle in. Add to that Ireland isn't all that big and the way they had the tour scheduled the distances between most venues was less than 200 kilometers, a two to three hour ride even on the abominations the Irish call roads. We'd be doing it all by coach (bus) and lorry (While I still mostly called a bus a bus, I'd been with the Brits enough that I actually started to call a truck a lorry even if it did sound weird.) Most of the sites we could have reached via Tube but there were a number of backwater burgs that weren't even connected to a Tube line. It was just as easy and probably just as economical to rent a bus and have one of the roadies drive it; we had to have a lorry for the equipment anyway. I'd assigned Corporal Caoimh to be our liaison with Camberge's assistant, Valeria, and he/she was working on revising the accommodations to my specifications. As much time as Caoimh spent talking to her I had the feeling he was trying to work his way into more than a room for the night. You should have seen his face when I told him she was 67 years-old and weighed over a hundred kilos; well I though it was funny anyway. I think Mac and Faolain peed their britches when Magaoidh finally told him I'd never met the lady and hadn't any idea what she looked like. "That isn't sporting, sir," Brian complained after he found out. "Officers aren't allowed to have a sense of humor." "Did you think it was funny?" I asked him. "Certainly not!" he replied. "Then I guess I don't," I shrugged. "Ya would 'ave if it been one of us," Mac pointed out to him. "True enough," Caoimh nodded thoughtfully. "I suppose it's one of those situational humor things." "I'll try to restrain myself for your benefit," I said dryly. "That would be most appreciated, sir," he answered just as dryly. Then he paused and asked, "So, Sir, you'll not be knowing what Miss Valeria is actually looking like?" "For all I know she could be the next Miss Ireland," I shrugged. "Now that's a thought," he muttered as he left. The roadies were dong their thing and getting the equipment loaded under Faolain's watchful eyes while Magaoidh and Caoimh retrieved our surveillance gear as Shauna and Eimile made their way down for breakfast. Not surprisingly Niamh didn't. Even with a massive dose of De-Tox I was pretty sure she wouldn't be wanting a whole lot. I remember doing that a few times myself back in my impetuous youth before realizing the nighttime buzz wasn't worth feeling like shit for half the next day. I may not be the brightest guy in the world but it didn't take too many repetitions to convince me of that. It was noted by those breaking down the gear that breakfast for two had been delivered to Niamh's room so at least someone was going to eat. The night watch had noted in the log that Rachael and a "guest" had returned very early this morning so I had no idea when she'd be rolling out of bed. That was a bit of a pain since someone had to stay up there close to her room until Her Majesty decided to come out but nothing we couldn't handle. I suppose to be fair someone had to be up there for Leanne and Niamh but it was easier to blame Rachael. I just didn't like her and among the three, Leanne being very likable, Niamh being mostly a mystery and Rachael being a bitch I preferred to blame the bitch. It didn't change my job or alter my actions one bit but it made me happier in the privacy of my own mind. So sue me. Later in the morning the hotel staff started complaining they needed to get into the rooms to clean and I politely told them to either stop bitching or find someone who gave a fuck. We weren't leaving until early afternoon and I figured not cleaning two rooms was something they could live with; we were buying their food and drinking their coffee while we waited so they could deal. A little before noon Leanne and Niamh made their way down to the restaurant. Niamh looked tired and sheepish, Leanne just looked aggravated. They came over to sit by me and I waved down a server. "Coffee, please," Niamh whispered. "Tea for me," Leanne nodded then when the server left she elbowed Niamh and said, "Well, get on with it, ya silly thing." Niamh grunted and glanced up at me then looked down again. "Ah want to apologize for me actions last night and to thank ya fer taking care of me." "You don't have to apologize to me," I assured her. "And if you should thank anyone it should be Leanne here; you're very lucky to have your cousin watching over you." She just nodded morosely. "Rache not down yet? When we'll be leaving?" Leanne asked looking over and seeing the twins. I know, they're not really twins, not sisters at all but they look so much alike and are practically joined at the hip so I naturally thought of them as one unit, "The Twins." "Still in her room," I shook my head. "We don't have to leave for a couple of hours yet." "Phew on that," she scoffed. "Ah guess we best be getting up there and sorting the princess out or we'll be forever. The useless thing can't even pack 'er own wardrobe." She stood up and signaled the twins to follow her. "Ah, Leanne," I cautioned. "She's not alone up there; she has a guest." "Oh she does now, does she?" Leanne's eyes twinkled. "Then that'll be even more fun, now won't it. Ladies," she said snapping her fingers at the twins, "we have a dosser to toss and slapper to raise." I was about to follow them but remembered Niamh was still there and would be uncovered if I did; besides Magaoidh and Caoimh were still up there. If those two couldn't handle one grumpy house guest then the whole British army probably couldn't. I gave them a heads up and Ryan gave me an amused affirmative. "I think I understood what she just said," I mused out loud as I sat there with Niamh. She actually chuckled very softly. "She said, now let me say this how you Yank's might," she started. "They have a slut to get up and a useless one to get rid of. Ah hope they be gentle about it; me cousin's a bit put out at me and looking for someone to rain down on. She may be stirring up a bees nest there; me sister can be quite a git in the morning and she doesn't always bring back the cream of the nobility, if ya know what ah mean." "Mr. Magaoidh can be very diplomatic," I assured her. "And anyone foolish enough to take a swing at a colour sergeant late of His Majesty's army will learn the error of his ways quick enough." "These colour sergeants are fearsome creatures then, Mr. Leforge?" she asked looking up at me with just a hint of a smile. "Even more so than majors?" "Oh much more so, Ms Niamh," I smiled back. "Colour sergeants are bred to be fearsome creatures. It's well known that with a mere disapproving glance colour sergeants can cause grown men ― trained killers who laugh in the face of death ― to soil themselves like tiny babies." "Go on, you!" She did laugh this time. "You'll be messing with me now I know." "Maybe just a little," I replied keeping a straight face. "But seriously, if Mr. Magaoidh supported by Mr. Caoimh can't handle one belligerent guest, or even a roomful of belligerent guests, I would be shocked beyond belief." "That is good to know," she said still smiling. Suddenly her smile fled and she dipped her eyes again. "Ah still have me apologizes to make for me behavior last night." "No you don't..." I tried to say. "Yes, yes ah do," she interrupted forcibly and then continued with a grimace. "As was instructed to me this morn. A very stern tongue lashing ah got ah'll have you know. All about how having one embarrassment in the family being quite enough and other such." "Ms Niamh, or would you rather me call you Mrs. Callahan?" That was her married name after all. "No!" she answered sharply. "No, and Niamh will do well enough." "Only if you call me Martin," I responded. "Fair enough, Martin," she smiled again. "Ah'd rather be Niamh Geallaigh if is all the same to you. Ah admit that ah'm married to Tom Callahan for all me sins but if ah could forget it ah would. "Ah'm such a sap," she sighed and looked a nothing over my shoulder. "Tom has always been a fine thing, big strapping man and smooth as a sip of Irish whiskey. 'E and I were married when ah was seventeen and ah was madly in love. What ah didn't know was that Tom was also, just not with me but with 'imself. He's off in southern Europe now, doing "research" for a book that'll never be written. Whoring and gambling is what he's doing and has now fer years. Drains the bank when ah cobble enough together to tuck a little away and calls me every month or two. A darling of the scuzzies he is. They love to plaster his vid out there with whatever two-bit tramp he's riding that day. They love it that he's off playing while ah'm here being the goodwife. "And here ah sit being the pathetic little weak thing; ah watch the damn vids and drink meself sodden," she sniffed. "Ah hate meself! "And you be wondering why ah don't just set 'es kit out the door and be done with the bad baggage, now don't you?" she demanded angrily. "I try not to judge others on what I think I might do," I responded softly. "I can't say I've had the best luck in the romance department myself. Here I am 32, unmarried, no girlfriend and without much of a prospect of one either, if I want to be truthful. I don't have much to say in that respect." "So you say now," she said and actually smiled almost a little evilly. "But still you wonder why ah don't dump the wanker and mark his name off in me book." "I suppose because you love him," I replied. "Love has a tendency to make people do strange things." "Aye it does," she nodded. "But this isn't one of them. Ah don't love the bloke, haven't fer years; ah'm just a fool too weak to do the right thing. Doing nothing has been easiest. Ah suppose you'll be contemptuous of me now." "No," I shook my head. "I feel sad that you're not happy but I don't feel contempt for you. Everybody has to handle the troubles in their life as they can, not as someone else would. I will say that from my vast experience, though, I've found the easy way has a tendency to actually be the hardest way in the long run. "Niamh," I continued and reached over and just touched the back of her hand with the tip of my finger, her hand flexed but she didn't pull it back, "you are a beautiful woman with a talent that awes me. You deserve much more than you have now and I believe that when you're ready you will do what you need to do to get that happiness you deserve. "Don't let Leanne or anyone else bully you into something you're not ready for," I added. "But don't try to drink your problems away either; that I can guarantee will never work. You just feel bad in the morning and the troubles are still there." "Aye, and ah end up being naked in front of strange men also from what ah hear," she grinned although a tear or two still rolled down her cheek. "Yes, well, that was Leanne's fault," I protested. "She said she couldn't move you to get you undressed and then you..." "Hurled all over the countryside," she snorted. "Well no, then you got sick in the toilet," I corrected. "After you dragged me there and held back me hair back," she sighed. "That must have been a picture; the big fat cow jiggling her diddies with her face in the jakes." "Niamh Geallaigh, I will say this only once and then this conversation will be over and done with," I said picking up my finger and shaking it in her face. "After I was privileged to assist you in disrobing due to your incapacity there are many words I could use to describe what I saw but fat isn't even close to any of them. And that's all I'm going to say because the direction this conversation is turning is definitely not towards one I should be having with a married woman." "You have a bit of the blarney in you, don't ya?" she smiled again. "Woman," I replied shaking my finger firmly again, "you are fishing for compliments and you of all people have no reason to do so. I stand behind everything I've said but this conversation is over with, now!" Luckily I didn't have to enforce my edict as the girls, supported by Ryan and Brian, herded a very petulant and churlish Rachael along with a very tired but happy looking young man into the hotel lobby. In no time Rachael's baggage was brought down, loaded and we were off for Clonakilty. ------- Clonakilty was a much smaller city than Cork, more of a town than a city. The hotel we were booked in didn't have enough rooms to give all us one even when we took one full floor. The twins volunteered to share a room as did Leanne and Niamh. I put Mac and Faolain together but with rotating duty it was unlikely they'd actually have to share all that much. Rachael got a room by herself since nobody else wanted to be with her as did the corporal, colour sergeant and myself; RHIP (rank has its privilege) after all. The drive was scenic and without incident. We pulled in mid afternoon and were all ensconced in our rooms well before dinner time. The hotel didn't have a restaurant but there was a small pub next door. The food was decent and the staff highly excited over having real celebrities dining with them. Even Eimile hurriedly signed a few autographs although she couldn't look the requester in the eyes. It still terrified her, I could tell since she was pressing back against me the entire time she did it and I could feel her tremble. When they were done I gave her a pat on the back and whispered how proud I was for her being so brave and she gave me a shy little smile from under her bangs. Mac had Rachael duty that night and she tore off to see what trouble she could cause. It didn't last long and even she was back and in her room alone by 2100 hours. I guess Clonakilty just didn't have the nightlife that lived up to her expectations. Everyone else had settled in early and I spent some time answering my mail and looking up some of my old British contacts. I didn't call any yet since I hadn't heard from Mayhem but at least knew where I thought I could find them. After taking a tour around the hotel and checking all our surveillance eyes I turned in myself. I'd been in bed about half an hour when my door suddenly opened and then closed again. "Lights," I said out loud. Nothing happened which wasn't surprising; I'd forgotten this hotel was so old the lights weren't voice activated; you had to hit the plate next to the door. I was reaching for my gun when somebody flung back the sheets and crawled into bed with me. Probing the other side of the bed with my hand I discovered a very slight, very soft form and after about two seconds of running my hand over it I knew exactly who it was. "Reading me tattoos with yer fingers, Martin?" Leanne asked in an amused voice. "Leanne, what the hell are you doing here?" Sure, stupid question but not as inane as my next statement. "Ah, I didn't know you had any tattoos." "Ah don't," she purred. "But ah'll help ya look anyway." "You can't be here, Leanne," I said. "Ah can't?" she asked. "But it would appear ah am therefore ah would have to say yer wrong, Martin." "I don't mean you can't be here," I babbled. "I mean you shouldn't be here." "Well now that be a matter of opinion, now wouldn't you say, Martin?" she cooed moving up against me and rubbing her body on mine like a cat marking her territory. "And my opinion is such that ah very much should be here. Again ah would have to say yer wrong." "But ... but ... I'm your bodyguard!" I insisted. "And a poor job you be doing of it so far if ah must say," she giggled and pulled my arm around her as she flung her leg over mine. "But it's not professional..." I whimpered. "No," she agreed as she nibbled on my chin and her hand fluttered down around my shorts. "But it's what ah've wanted since the first day you strode through our door, my man, and when you fought to protect Eimile..." She shivered and bit my neck; it wasn't just a nip either. "Then ah knew ah would be having you and not just wanting to." "But you really shouldn't be here..." I wasn't even close to convincing myself. The little vixen had me and she knew it. I'll give her this though: she didn't gloat; she just pulled herself up and kissed me until my toes curled. "Oh my! Now that's every bit of all right!" she gasped breaking away. I had to agree! She moved down the bed and under the covers started tugging down my shorts. When I tried to help she slapped my hands away and growled. As soon as they were off her hands were right back at my cock holding on like it was the last piece of fat-free candy in the world. "Very nice," she cooed. "It's much bigger than ah'd hoped, Martin." Like that wasn't going to inflate my ego among other things. Suddenly she was lying next to me and tugging me over on top of her. "None of the lovey-dovey silliness this time, me boyo," she panted. "We'll both be needing it hard and fast this first time." Hard and fast she wanted it and I was just the rutting buck to give it to her. She guided me into her and I pressed forward as she moaned. Maybe I pushed a little harder than I normally would have but I blame it on her aggressiveness rubbing off on me. She didn't blame me at all. The first time she came was when I smacked right into her cervix and after that I couldn't keep track; my mind was elsewhere. All I know is she kept egging me on with, "Fuck me, Martin! Fuck me hard! Ah'm not made of spun glass, fuck me!" And fuck her I did. I fucked her hard and deep and when I finally grabbed her perfect little ass and jammed myself into her as deep as I could go while spewing my seed she screamed, wrapped her legs around my waist in a death grip and bit me on the collar bone hard enough to draw blood. I didn't even feel it. I collapsed on top of her completely worn out as she petted and caressed me cooing little nothings from underneath. That first time was incredible. The second time was even better. I soon found out she knew precisely how to get a man's flag back up to full staff and the second time was as slow and loving as the first had been fast and furious. We took a shower after that and I returned her favor and found she really liked that. The third time was kind of a cross between the first two; not as outrageous as the first one ― I'm not sure any could be ever again ― but I'd got her worked up in the shower and she was definitely wanting satisfaction. Thank God we both fell asleep after that or they could have just popped me into a body bag and mailed me home right then! ------- "Colour Sergeant!" "Yes, Mac?" "She's over there again!" "Who is over where again, Ranger?" "Leanne. She's in the major's room again." "And this is different from any other night... ?" "Well, yes." Magaoidh gave the ex-ranger a look telling him he'd better expand on that. "She went in there in a robe and slippers and Ah'm for gobsmacked sure she hadn't another stitch under it!" "Oh. Is that all?" "Is that all?" he exclaimed. "She's in there giving him a ride or I'm a Jackeen!" "Well, since I know for a fact yur not from Dublin I suppose ya may be right." "But ... With the major?" "None of our business, boy. Besides we'll know where the wee thing is now for sure, now won't we?" "Yes, Colour Sergeant," Mac sighed. "Cheeky little thing waved at me just before she went in there, she did," he muttered. ------- I'm sure you're expecting that I'll be telling you that we did it all over again when we woke up in the morning ... Well sorry to disappoint but I'm not a porn star nor am I a teenager any longer; there was no fucking way I was getting it up again and besides Leanne admitted she was too sore for any play time. The shower was fun even if it didn't lead to anything more exciting; we were very clean, though. I agonized a little bit over whether or not to walk her to her room; not so much that I didn't want anybody to know we were together all night ― that train had already left the station with at least four people knowing, no, make that at least five assuming Niamh knew her cousin hadn't come home the night before. I'll admit I was a little embarrassed more from it being a lapse in professional etiquette than not wanting anyone to know a girl like Leanne had lowered her standards enough to be with a guy like me. Actually I felt like strutting and bragging but that wouldn't be polite either. She didn't seem to have a problem with it. "Why of course you may walk me home, Martin," she giggled. "'Tis a bother though that ah don't have me kit on from last night so ah can do the walk of shame properly." I pointed out she was wearing the same things she had on the night before but I was informed it didn't count. "From now on though ah'll be keeping a few of my things in your room so ah'll not be waking Niamh so early every morning," she continued to inform me. When I brought up the fact that double bunking probably wouldn't be required all that often in the future she just sighed and said that wasn't the point. "I'll meet you downstairs when we gather the mob for breakfast," she said when we'd reached her room. "Thank you, Martin," she added shyly. "It was everything ah'd been dreaming it would be. Ah hope you'll not be telling me this is was a one-time thing, now will you?" "I don't think I could even if it is bad security procedure," I sighed. "Even if it sucks professionally you, my little Leanne Geallaigh, will always be welcome by my side, in my bed and in my heart." I must have said something right because she squealed, jumped up wrapping her legs around my waist and gave me a kiss that curled my toes and practically made my head explode. I realized she must have been showing a lot of leg and since she had nothing but Leanne under that robe possibly a lot of everything else I moved to back her up against the wall. She broke the kiss and looked at me with a very satisfied gaze. "Maybe you should come in and help me get dressed," she purred. I smacked her lightly on the bottom and told her to behave. "You'll not be doing that often if you'll be wanting me to behave," she cooed but then sighed and disentangled herself. "In a few, Martin," she said as she went into her room and closed the door. I walked down to Magaoidh's room that we had been informally using as an observation post, knocked once and entered. Ryan was there and so was Faolain. "Good morning, Major," Magaoidh nodded. Faolain had been sitting in front of the monitoring station and jumped up and to attention saying, "Sirrah!" "I'm not going to be able to break you of that, am I?" I sighed. "Probably not, sir," he answered sheepishly. I noticed the hallway was on the monitor. I sighed again. "I don't suppose you weren't monitoring outside here just a minute ago, were you?" Faolain looked guilty, like he'd been caught peeking at his parents fucking and said, "No, sir." Then he quickly added, "But the major knows it'll go no further than here, of course." "Stand easy, Whellan." I waved it off. "I don't expect my indiscretions to remain a secret. I'm not exactly proud of my inability to remain apart from our charges but I'll not insult the lady by pretending it didn't happen, or that it probably won't happen again." "It would take a man of remarkable fortitude to thwart that wee lass from what she has set her mind on," Ryan chuckled knowingly. "As we can all see, I'm not overburdened with remarkable fortitude," I frowned. "A little advice, Major? Stand easy yourself," Magaoidh looked at me with eyebrows raised. "Yer both young and single and it's been my experience when a fine lass like Miss Leanne sets her sights on a man, the man in question usually don't stand a chance. And as the bard said ' ... single men in barracks don't grow into plaster saints.'" (For most of the world old Bill Shakespeare may be considered the "Bard" but to soldiers around the world that title belongs to Rudyard Kipling. If you want to understand the context of the Colour Sergeant's quote I direct you to Kipling's poem "Tommy.") "I understand my failings very well, Ryan," I shook my head. "And I'll accept anything adverse that may come my way but I don't want to see her hurt by any of it." "I'll be thinking she's a wee bit stronger than you might think, Major Leforge," Magaoidh snorted and then he cheerily added, "Besides, as I told young James last night, at least we know she's safe for sure." "Aye, but what about the major?" Faolain muttered. "A man must face these dangers from time to time," Magaoidh sighed. "'Tis life, lad." "Very funny you two, ha—ha, it is to laugh," I tried to sound angry but didn't quite pull it off. "I've sent out a message to all stating we'll be meeting in the lobby about 0900," Ryan said, changing the subject. "The hotel serves no breakfast but there is a bistro across the street that is said to be more than adequate." "Good plan," I nodded. "If the girls all go, then we're tight; if not then I leave it up to you how to cover the strays. Let me know if you need me for anything." He nodded and I left to head downstairs before any of the girls got there. ------- "Our major's a quick one there isn't 'e?" Faolain whistled. "Less 'im than the lass," Magaoidh chuckled. "And need I say... ?" "Oh, not a peep from me," Faolain promised. "Right happy for both of them, ah is." "Yes, quite," Magaoidh murmured. "However, the same might not be said of yer mate there. Last night when the lass took her little walk he was acting the green-eyes and all that." "Well that's not right!" Faolain protested. "The major didn't have no problem with Mac taking a couple hours the other night to tumble that barmaid and all. I'll be setting him square, ah will!" "You assume the major knew..." Magaoidh cocked an eyebrow. "Oh 'e knew alright," Faolain nodded. "Said it was fine by 'im so long as we had it covered. Said I could be doing the same under similar circumstances, with your permission of course." "Aye, he knew," Magaoidh nodded. "Colour Sergeant?" Faolain asked tentatively. "Pardon me asking but you being the only married man and all ... How do ya take the being away for so long?" "It's not easy, lad," Magaoidh chuckled. "My lass and I been married fer eighteen years or so now and much of it apart. But we love each other and we have an understanding; I promise to play the good boy while I'm away and she promises to not be found by the police standing over my body with a pistol in her hand asking, 'How do you reload this bloody thing?' The being away isn't easy; staying the straight is easier than you might think." "I'll remember that if I'm ever in similar," Faolain grinned. ------- The concert that night was a fucking disaster! Okay, maybe not a disaster but it was a pain in the ass. Musically it was fine; the girls sounded great and the roadies and the techs had everything set up just like it should be. No, the problem was with the halls alleged "security." I won't even try to list all their shortcomings here but suffice it to say the main problem was there were too few of them which also turned out to be a good thing since the ones that were there were drunker than most of the audience and I thought that was impossible. This must have been party time of the year in Clonakilty because as a whole they were rowdy, loud and obnoxious. Has anyone ever bothered to tell the Irish that it was actually possible to enjoy one's self without being so smashed you couldn't remember your own name? Apparently not. Mac and Faolain spent most of the time keeping obnoxious pricks from coming up on the stage with the girls with Caoimh's help while Magaoidh and I did the same backstage. There were times I wished I'd had my old battle armor instead of my suit. Getting to the after party wasn't much easier. It was being held across the street from the hall in a pub the production company had rented for the evening and I swear every one of those 2,500 beer swilling idiots was outside the back door waiting for an autograph, a vid or something else. You couldn't have found a local cop with a search warrant so it was up to yours truly and his band of intrepid merry men to see to it. Like a pack of dogs they seemed to smell the fear and zeroed in on, you guessed it, Eimile and Shauna. Eimile was pressed right up against my front with Shauna on one side, Leanne on the other and Niamh behind while Mac and Faolain tried to force a path through. Magaoidh had our back while Caoimh was doing his best to keep Rachael from throwing herself into the crowd. Situated where I was I couldn't say I was a whole lot of help but then again I didn't have much choice. When we exited, turned the corner and saw the mob, the girls gravitated toward me like iron to a magnet. At least I was able to use my hands to fend off the worst of the offenders and the two ranger boys were downright ruthless. When one boyo screamed out "Ah loooove yooou!" and made a grab for Eimile, Faolain smashed him in the face with an elbow. The prick dropped like someone had pulled every bone out of his body. Faolain just looked down at him and said, "Sorry mate, nervous spasm. Old war wound, ya know." Leanne just stepped right on him as we walked by and with her heels I'm sure that left a mark in the morning. Luckily the mob seemed to be composed of mostly happy drunks and to tell the truth the ones right next to us were probably the only ones who even knew we were there. We did make it, though, and once we were safely inside the pub I stationed Mac and Faolain on the door to make damn sure only people with invitations got in. "Jaysus, what a bag-up this is!" Leanne snorted grabbing a pint and sitting down along with the rest of the girls. There weren't too many guests yet so they didn't feel obligated to get up and do the dog and pony right away. I had Caoimh and Magaoidh move to the back of the pub and check out the rear entrance in case we needed it. There was just enough room for the bus in the alley behind the pub so I told the driver to pick us up there at the appointed time. I wasn't having the girls go out into those crazy fucking streets again if I could help it. "Still think we don't need our own protection, Rache?" Niamh taunted. "Connor's lads would have done just as well," Rachael snapped back. She was full of shit and they all knew it. In fact, to the best of my knowledge Connor and his cronies were somewhere outside in the mob hopefully getting the crap kicked out of them, but maybe that was just my wishful thinking. Over the next hour guests did filter in; or should I say ooze in since I'll be damned if I could tell any difference between them and the revelers outside except these had invitations. Mostly they were just loud and spirited but a few were just plain obnoxious. Shauna kneed one overly friendly suitor in the jewels and I had to drop him when he got upset about it. It sobered up a few of them at least when Mac dragged his unconscious body over to the door and casually threw him out; if he had a date she didn't go with him. After that the hands were kept pretty much to themselves for the most part. I tried to keep moving around the room but since Leanne, Niamh, Shauna and Eimile stayed within about an arm's length the crowd kept following me around also. This really wasn't fun, not for us and not for the girls; this was just PR. Even Rachael didn't seem to enjoy it much and didn't give us a bit of shit when it was time to go. The bus was out back right on time and we were able to make it to the hotel without any trouble. The girls went straight to their rooms while I made my final perimeter checks. I was wondering if I was going to get a visitor that night when Leanne walked in, hung up a set of clothes, dropped her robe and climbed in with me. Yeah, we were tired but we weren't dead yet. We didn't try for a marathon session like the night before but it was quite satisfactory. Very satisfactory as a matter of fact, thank you very much. Edited by Morgan ------- Chapter 5 The next few weeks were just plain work. It probably seems like touring with a popular band would be great fun and endless adventure but mostly it was a lot like combat: endless hours of boredom interrupted by moments of shear terror. Well, terror is probably a bit of an overstatement, maybe agitation and concern would be more appropriate. Anytime the girls were heading into a large crowd there was a concern; happily we hadn't had anything like the clusterfuck we'd seen in Clonakilty but still a concern. The agitation come mostly in the person of one little blonde bimbo whose every breath seemed to be directed at making life difficult for those around her. Sleeping with one of my charges already had my alleged professionalism in tatters but Rachael had the uncanny ability to shred it even further. On most nights she would head out on the prowl for booze, drugs and cock, generally in that order and I made the command decision to not be the one escorting her on these little jaunts. When I say I made the decision I mean I discussed the matter with Magaoidh and he concurred with my assessment. Any officer who makes major policy decisions without at least talking it over with his senior NCO (Non Commissioned Officer) is an idiot who doesn't deserve to be above ground and usually doesn't stay that way for long. Anyway he agreed that given the way Rachael's and my personalities meshed, somewhat like fire and napalm, it would be best if one of the two rangers did the escort duty. If I'd been with her it would have just encouraged her to do even dumber things than she was already doing; we got along that well. I won't say she was considerate of the boys but at least she ignored them once she found out they weren't going to stop her from drinking, smoking or fucking anything she wanted so long as she did it in a relatively safe environment. "Besides, Major," he winked at me, "with you here we'll know exactly where the other girls are and that leaves the remaining three of us plenty of time for planning, watching and maybe a little R&R." Oh yeah, maybe I should mention that my room or more precisely wherever I happen to be at the time appeared to be the girls' ― and by this I mean all four of the remaining girls ― favorite place also. I'm not exactly sure how it happened but a week or so into the tour I had more female company than any man could ask for. No, not like that! Get your mind out of the gutter. Leanne was still the only one who slept with me but from whenever we finished whatever we were doing for the evening until around bedtime you couldn't swing a dead cat without hitting a member of an all-girl band. Not that I'm complaining mind you, I'm just saying... How did this all happen, you ask? Good question. I'll try to walk you through it over those few weeks and maybe you can figure it out. I get the feeling it was more my music collection than my sparkling personality but that's kind of a part of it all so it's better if I put it all into context. Anyway we'd finished with that rat-hole, Clonakilty, and had gigs in Killarney, Listowel and were in Limerick when it all started. The show had gone very well and the girls were having fun at the after-party, all of them. They'd all had a drink or two and were feeling happy. Actually Niamh wasn't happy, she was closer to ecstatic but unlike the last time this wasn't a binge to avoid something; she'd just over-poured herself or had someone over-serve her. Shauna and Eimile had gone down a little while earlier with one of the boys so a feeling-no-pain Leanne and I herded a playfully drunk drummer to her room. Niamh asked me if I wanted to come in and help put her to bed and pouted when I politely declined. Leanne laughed and told me she would be down in a few after she made sure Niamh got to bed. I was heading down the hall to my room and was passing Eimile's room when the door opened. I glanced over and saw Eimile and Shauna in one of the most passionate lip-locks I'd even been privileged to see. They both noticed me at the same time and squealed. I did the only thing I could have done. "Evening, ladies," I nodded and kept on walking. I wasn't shocked and not overly surprised; it was obvious those two were tighter than two ticks on a dog so it wasn't that much of a stretch to imagine them as lovers if that's what they were. I'd just about reached my room when I heard a door slam behind me and someone running in bare feet. I'd just put my hand out to the door pad and looked to see Shauna running towards me looking, well, scared. "Mr. Leforge, ah need to explain," she gushed breathlessly. "You don't have to explain," I replied. "But if you'd like to talk I suggest we do so in here where it's not so ... public." There wasn't anyone else in the hall but I knew it was under observation and while I didn't have any problem with my crew knowing this, it wasn't my secret to tell if it was indeed a secret. I pushed open the door and let her go in. "Mr. Leforge," she started babbling once I'd closed the door. "What ya saw — Eimile and me — we..." She sort of ran out of steam and started sniffing. I took her hand in what I'd hoped was a reassuring manner. "Shauna," I said firmly and she looked up at me. Her eyes looked teary and I could tell she wanted to cry. "What I saw was a good night kiss between two very pretty young ladies, that's all. If there is anything else, that's your business and not mine." "But..." she started. "And for the record I really don't care," I added before she could say anything. "But we're cousins and all," she said a little firmer. She must have sensed I wasn't going to berate her as a harlot or a deviant. Homosexuality goes through periods of acceptance in cycles just like the fashionable length of a woman's skirt. Sometimes it's up and sometimes it's down. It goes from outrage and condemnation to acceptance and even encouragement to apathy and everywhere in-between; usually at different times in different parts of the world. Right then it was out of favor in Ireland and not considered socially acceptable; in the United States it was looked on mostly with apathy. "And she and I are..." "If it was more than a good night kiss," I said softly, "and you both enjoyed it than I am happy for both of you." "We love each other," she stated. "Em and me been together since we was born and we'd always know we'd be together. It's bad enough being girls but we're also cousins..." "Incest?" I laughed. "Don't be silly!" She looked at me like I was crazy. "Look, the incest taboo was developed long ago to minimize genetically transmitted diseases. Way back when they didn't know about recessive genes but they did notice that when close relatives interbreed their offspring had a better than average chance of having something wrong with them. This was especially true back when population centers were fairly small and the genetic diversity wasn't overly abundant to begin with. "Now, with you two," I winked and she chuckled, "I be thinking the interbreeding willn't be mooch of a problem." "Ya have a terrible Irish accent," she giggled and slapped my arm. "That was my Scottish accent," I replied feigning offense. "Then 'tis even worse," she scoffed and hit me again. "Stay with the Yank; it fits you better." "I suppose so," I sighed. "But really, Shauna, I don't care; it doesn't matter and if it's a secret, then as far as I'm concerned it still is. Okay?" "Okay," she answered in a small voice. Right then Leanne pranced through the door. "Martin," she sang then came up short. "Oh, hey, Shauna. What's ya off to with this blackguard?" Without slowing down she walked over to the closet and hung up her clothes for the next day. "Oh, ah, had a question for Martin," Shauna stuttered. "Hey, what are 'ou doing here?" "Me? Ah'm knackered. Ah'm fer bed," Leanne said lightly and kicked off her slippers, dropped her robe, pulled back the covers and climbed into the aforementioned sleeping accoutrement. As you might have guessed there was nothing but Leanne underneath the robe. "Ya coming soon, Martin? Ah think ah'm a bit fluttered and ah need ya to stop the room from spinning." "I will as soon as I'm done with Shauna here," I assured her. "And I didn't see anyone sticking a funnel down your throat and forcing you to take those drinks." "Ah just had a wee one or two with Niamh," she giggled and rolled over face down to snuggle into the bed. "Mmm, these sheets are so comfy." "And Niamh was plastered," I sorted. "I hope you slapped a couple De-tox patches on her. Did you get one for yourself?" "Ah did and ah did," she giggled again pushed the sheets down to show the patch she'd applied to the small of her back right above her butt. "All right Miss Leanne Marie Geallaigh, just what be the meaning of this?" Shauna demanded with righteous indignation as she stomped over to the bed with her hands on her hip. "Ah'm gong to bed with me fella," Leanne mumbled cracking one eye open to look up at her cousin. "And just what might you be doing in here with him, ah might ask?" "Ah ... ah was just explaining something to him, a little misunderstanding ya might say," Shauna stuttered. "Ach, caught ya snogging with Em did 'e?" Leanne yawned. "Well never you mind, Martin won't be caring a whit about that. Now go away and let me sleep." About two seconds later she was softly snoring. "What?" Shauna gasped. I gently took her shoulders and turned her around. "I don't think this is going to be a problem," I told her. "If the other girls know, it's obvious they don't mind and are covering for you. You can talk to her in the morning if you'd like but you aren't going to get anything reasonable out of her tonight." "Aye, that's a fact," she glanced at Leanne and grimaced. Then she looked back up at me with a predatory look. "And just how long has this been going on, Mr. Leforge?" she demanded. "Awhile," I answered evasively. She continued to stare at me and I finally sighed, "Since the first night in Clonakilty," I admitted. "Hmm," she sniffed. "Seems there be a lot of secrets around here, now aren't there?" "We haven't exactly been keeping it a secret," I sighed again. "We just haven't been advertising it either. It just seemed best to keep it low key in case it caused any trouble in the group." "Ah understand," Shauna nodded with a grin. "But ah will be talking to that little tart tomorrow morning..." She was interrupted by someone opening the door. "Hell-oooo," a very tipsy Niamh stumbled into the room. She was wearing a very short and almost transparent nightie. She was also carrying one of those little bottles from the room bar. "So this is where the party is," she slurred. "That's right, here it is," I said plucking the bottle out of her hand and pushing her towards the bed. She landed with a whoosh right next to Leanne. The little nightie had come up and I was seeing a lot more of her very fine legs and tush then I'm sure she wanted me too so I covered her up. "Leanne!" she exclaimed and Leanne opened one eye. "Niamh," Leanne mumbled. "Ya sleeping with us too?" She didn't get an answer since Niamh started snoring almost immediately. It wasn't like Leanne waited for the answer and soon there were two sleeping beauties in my bed. "Ah suppose ah should let ya go now," Shauna teased. "It would appear yer bed is already full." "Great," I sighed looking up. "I hope that couch is more comfortable than it looks." "Pashaw on the couch," she scoffed. "Ya have two lovely lasses right where ya want 'em." "You," I said turning her around and pointing her towards the door, "are a troublemaker." I gave her a little push and emphasized it with a slap in her bottom. She yipped and gave me a giggly glance over her shoulder. "Oh, by the way," I said before she left. "I've been thinking over our security arrangements and I've come to the conclusion that with as many rooms as we have we're too spread out for adequate coverage. I was thinking of asking a few of you to double up for the remainder of the trip. Would that be a problem?" She looked at me for a moment, squealed and surprised me by jumping up and wrapping her arms around my neck and legs around my waist. She then proceeded to give me one of the best kisses I'd had in a long time. "You'd better be careful," I gasped after regaining my lips and my breath. "Eimile might get jealous." "Ah never said we'll be liking only women other than each other," she blushed as she disentangled herself. "It's just that we've never found a man the both of us liked who liked us as well." "Off you go troublemaker," I smiled and this time just patted her bottom as I steered her to the door. "And let Eimile know everything will be all right; I'm sure of it." She grinned at me gratefully and closed the door behind her. I turned around and started looking for some extra linens and a pillow or two. ------- "Oh, me aching head," Niamh groaned sometime around mid-morning. Leanne stirred and after several tries finally propped herself up. She smacked her lips a few times and then finally stuck her tongue out and left it there. "Ah tink a cat weed in ma mouth," she mumbled. "Rise and shine, my beauties," I sang out brightly. "You'd better hurry if you want some breakfast." "Ach, yer an evil man, Martin Leforge," Leanne finally muttered. "If ah wasn't dead ah'd come over there and hurl on ya." "How ah get here?" Niamh asked blurrily as she raised her head. "Looking for a party?" I replied. She groaned and let her head drop again. "This De-tox is banjaxed," Leanne moaned. "Ah need something fer me head." "Table next to the bed," I informed her. She found the self-adsorbing analgesic patch and slapped in on her shoulder. "De-tox is a medical aid, not a miracle cure," I continued. "You have to at least keep the alcohol intake to somewhere below toxic levels." "Yes, mother," she groaned. "Ah'm off the drink forever." "Sure you are," I chuckled, then set down my coffee cup and walked around the bed to her side. Bending down I pulled the covers back and gently picked her up. "Come on my little lush, what you need is to rinse your mouth out and take a nice hot shower," I said as I carried her into the bathroom. I set her down and she scrunched up against me burying her head in my chest. "Yer too good to me, Martin," she mumbled. "Probably," I replied cheerfully as I pushed her towards the shower. "But I can't help it. Just a service I provide for all the women I'm sleeping with." I helped getting the spray started and made sure it was hot without being scalding and put her in. Leaving my little Asian princess to simmer for a while I returned to the main room. Niamh was laying in the bed with the covers pulled up to just under her chin. "When she's done it'll be your turn," I told her. "Did I sleep here ... with you?" she asked in a quavering voice. "No, you slept with Leanne. I wasn't about to get in there with you two," I snorted. "If you two were going to get sick, you were going to do it on each other, not me." "Oh! And I came in here..." "Snockered out of your mind, looking for a party," I finished for her. "At least ah wasn't in me nip, was I?" she asked. "Nope, wearing what you have on," I shook my head. She raised the covers and looked down at herself. "Oh, my!" she gasped. "That's not much better, now is it?" "Or worse depending how you look at it," I shrugged. "That's a pretty sexy nightie." "Ah'm so embarrassed," she groaned turning bright crimson. That color really doesn't look good on a redhead. "Been there, done that," I admitted. "At least you know where you woke up. There was a time or two when I didn't." "Ah feel like a fool eejit," she whined. "Yep, you're supposed to," I nodded picking up my coffee cup. "Nature's way of telling you not to do it too often." "Could ya, ah, turn aside?" she asked. "So's ah can get down to ma room and get meself ready. Not that ya haven't seen it all already that's fer sure," she blushed again. "And I should thank you for the privilege, lovely lady," I grinned and she blushed even deeper. "But no, why don't you just stay right there until Leanne is done? When she gets dressed she can run down and pick something up for you while you shower. I'd rather you not be running around out in the halls in that or you'll cause a riot and that robe of Leanne's might come down to your waist but not much further. I'll leave you alone here," I winked. "There's something for your head on the table next to the bed. "Yer a saint," she sighed. "Yep. Saint Martin, that's me. I'll be out and about here for a while. When you're both ready I'll take you downstairs and you can get a little something..." she started looking really pale and I quickly added, " ... or maybe just some coffee or tea." She nodded miserably so I went over, gave her a kiss on the top of the head and left. "Bring out yer dead!" Shauna sang loudly as my two wretched companions and I entered the small dining area near the hotel lobby. "But they're not dead yet," I said trying my best to sound like Eric Idle. "Ew, another Pythonite! The man has unexpected depths," Shauna squealed. "And you'll not be making disparaging remarks about one of the most underrated classics of this or any other century in my presence, young lady," I responded firmly. "Or I'll sic the killer rabbit on you," I warned. "What, and have me soil me armor?" she giggled. I put up my hands in surrender and deposited my two less-than-bubbling ladies at the table. Once I'd done that Eimile jumped up and hugged me fiercely, pressed her face under my chin and softly said, "Thank you." "Be happy, Eimile," I replied patting her back, "and don't worry so much about what everyone else thinks." She nodded vigorously and stepped back smiling. "Shauna got a kiss last night. Do ah get one now?" she asked shyly. "Of course," I said bending down and giving her a light kiss on the forehead. "Not much of a kiss," she pouted. "And this is a very public place," I scolded. "Now behave or you'll get the same spanking she got last night too." She skipped away laughing as I shook my head. I think that was the first time I'd ever heard Eimile laughing. She had a very lovely laugh. ------- It was Kilkenny that evening. The hotel did have a restaurant but the girls decided to try a pub down the street instead. It was a nice enough place and the patrons were civil enough to wait until the girls were more or less finished before asking for autographs or vid-shots. Of course that might have had more to do with the two lanky rangers, one pit-bull corporal and a steely-eyed colour sergeant but I'll give them the benefit of the doubt. An hour or so after diner I was going through some of my mail and messages; I'd finally heard from Mayhem and I knew most everybody on his list. I was trying to decide who to contact first but I knew there really wasn't a choice. If I could I was going to see if I could get hold of Brigadier General Morton (Monty) Clemson. His command was the one to which I'd been attached as a liaison and he was the one who personally assigned me as head of headquarters security when the major who had been doing it took a sniper round between the eyes. That was why I'd been brevetted to major from captain. The Brits can be a bit stuffy about that sort of thing; if the ToO (Table of Organization) called for a major in the billet, then by God there was going to be a major in that position! We Americans weren't quite so finicky; shit, I'd seen gunny sergeants leading companies at times with corporals heading up platoons! Of all the command rank officers, he was the one I knew best and if I could contact and talk to him, meeting with the rest would probably be superfluous. I was starting to set up a search to find him when I realized what a waste of time it would be. All I had to do was call the regimental HQ; even if he had retired by now they would know where he was or at least how to contact him. Being early evening I decided I'd wait until the next day during business hours. Sure the RHQ would have a duty officer but why get him all hot and bothered if I was just going to wait until the day to contact the brigadier anyway. Instead I decided to spend my time wisely and look through my 2-D film library and put something on to kill some time. Leanne could be a bit unpredictable as to exactly when she would come in for the night so relaxing with a good story sounded fine to me. I'd narrowed it down to two or three when I heard a knock at the door. I knew Leanne would never knock; she felt this room was just as much hers as it was mine and made no bones about letting me know it. Not that I'm complaining mind you; it was refreshing to be with a woman who you know isn't playing games, at least when it comes to the important stuff anyway. We'd only been together for a relatively short time but I was pretty sure she didn't consider this just a fuck-buddy type of relationship, I know I didn't anyway. I had no idea exactly where it was all leading, but I was hoping it wouldn't be one of those "It's been fun, Martin; see ya around sometime," things at the end of the tour. In fact I was screwing up my courage to sit her down and talk about that very same thing, soon, yah, soon. Anyway it wasn't Leanne or one of the guys; they would have contacted me via the net, so by default it had to be someone else (now you know why they made me an officer.) I got up and answered it. I was a little surprised to find Shauna and Eimile standing there, looking cute as can be in shorts, some kind of loose top with their hair pulled back in ponytails and little shower shoes. They looked like two peas in a pod. You could tell they weren't identical twins but I could have made a fortune taking bets they were at lease fraternal twins. "Hey, Martin," Shauna said as she pushed her way past me into the room. "Evening, ladies," I managed to get out as Eimile walked by grinning up at me. Leaving the door open I followed them into my room. "Lea's down barking at Niamh so we thought we'd come down and keep you company until she remembers she's got a fella and comes back to claim ya," Shauna continued. She saw the library listings on the holo-tank and said, "What's all this? Watching dirty vids until yer bird flies home?" "I'll have you know these are some of the finest artistic achievements ever produced by human beings," I sniffed trying to sound offended. "These were made back when actors had to really act and cinematography was something more than seeing how close you can get to two people copulating. "I may not have the best collection of pre-3-D films in existence, but I'll bet it's in the top one hundred," I boasted. "Fair on," Shauna replied with a grin and sparkle in her eyes to let me know she'd been teasing me. I'd already figured that out on my own. "Can we watch with ya?" "Sure. What do you want to see?" I asked. "A western!" Shauna clapped and jumped up and down. Yes it did wonderful things to those bumps under her top but luckily, being a gentleman in a committed relationship, I didn't notice. "No," Eimile disagreed. "Something about Ireland. Do you have something about Ireland?" "Hmm, an Irish western, that's a tough one," I pondered. "How about one filmed in Ireland but the star was better know for playing in westerns?" "Mmm," Shauna's eyes narrowed and then she threw up her hands in capitulation when Eimile batter her eyes and gave her a quivering lip. "God, do ya have no shame, lass? Fine, although why you'd want to watch something about the place we've been living in our whole lives ah'll never know." Shauna looked at me in exasperation, "She's such a girl sometimes!" I chuckled, "A blind man at the bottom of a cave at midnight under a new moon could tell the both of you are girls." "Why thank ye, kind sir," she replied and they both bobbed down in a kind of curtsy; it was like having double vision. I just shook my head and didn't bother to ask how they did it. So we sat there and watched the movie. Watching a 2-D film projected in a 3-D holo-tank takes some getting used to but obviously they'd done it before. Of course Shauna had at the very least seen The Holy Grail so it wasn't much of a stretch to think she'd seen others. I discovered one thing: You shouldn't watch an American film about Ireland with two Irish ladies sitting beside you. Shauna was on one side of me and Eimile the other with their heads resting on my shoulder and holding hands on my lap. "What kind of Irishman was that supposed to be?" Shauna would heckle. "They're exaggerated stereotypes of what Americans at the time thought the Irish were like back here," I tried to explain. "What? Drunk most of the time and fighting when they were and when they weren't?" she scoffed. "Yep, I'm afraid so," I shrugged. "Luckily we know that's not true. I don't seem to recall a single drunk Irishman or any fights since I've been here." They released their hand holding long enough to conduct a coordinated double-flanked tickle attack. Luckily I'm not ticklish, I just pretended to be to make them feel better; really, it's true I swear it on my sainted mother's grave. Of course mom would pop me upside the head in an instant if she ever heard me say that out loud. "An' what's this shite about 'Do ya want a stick to beat the pretty lady with?'" Shauna howled. "Some wanker comes after me with a stick and ah'll have his clackers on me trophy wall, ah will." "Actually that's pretty accurate," I needled. "The rule of thumb and all that, you know." "Rule of thumb, my arse," she scoffed. "What's the rule of thumb, Martin?" Eimile asked sounding puzzled. "Children, what do they teach in school these days," I sighed dramatically. "The rule of thumb was the law of the land in Britain back in the bad old days. I suppose in Ireland during the British occupation also. It said a man couldn't beat his wife with a stick that had a diameter larger than his thumb; anything more would be excessive." "Ya'll not be beating me, Mr. Leforge," Shauna smirked as she dug her finger into my side. "Ah'll have yer plums in a pudding right quick." "You wouldn't beat us with a stick now would you, Martin?" Eimile asked in her little girl voice. "Absolutely not!" I assured her. "I would never beat a woman with a stick. If I felt a woman needed a little discipline it would be with my bare hand on her bare bottom! Never a stick!" They both started giggling and digging into my sides. I was about to call for a truce or a surrender or whatever the hell I could do to get out of this debacle when Leanne stormed in dragging a sniffing Niamh behind her. "Martin, ah need you to straighten this silly cow out!" she announced loudly. She saw me between the two girls and did a double take. "Hey, what's on here? You two trollops making play on my fella there?" "We're watching one of Martin's pictures here and he says e's going to spank our bare bottoms with 'is hand," Shauna said quickly. "I did not!" I protested. "I said..." "But he wouldn't beat us with a stick," Eimile interrupted. "He promised." "Oh he promised did he?" Leanne raised her eyebrows looked at me and then grinned. "Well the only bare bottom getting spanked around here is me own so you two little balls of fluff best be scampering back off to yer own room. Martin has to take this silly thing in hand and get her straightened out." "That gobshite doing it again?" Shauna demanded. "Niamh, ya have got to be losing that effing blighter!" Niamh went from sniffing to sobbing. "Damn right she does!" Leanne agreed. "But the fool eegit won't be listening to me, she won't! So maybe Martin can beat it into her fool head!" "Too right!" Shauna continued. "This rot has been going on fer ages! You got to quit foostering around, girl! This whole mess is all arseways!" Niamh started crying even harder. "That's it. Stop it now!" I roared. "Niamh, come here." She jumped over to where I was and surprised me by wrapping her arms around and sticking her face in my neck as if looking for protection. "It's all right now, Niamh," I soothed. "Nobody is going to yell at you anymore." "But, Martin..." Leanne started. "Enough!" I said sharply and then pointed to the door. "Close that door and then sit down. You," I pointed at Shauna, "sit down, now!" She did with a shocked look. Actually both Leanne and Shauna looked like deer caught in headlights. Eimile looked a little apprehensive but other than casting quick glances towards Shauna looked relatively calm. There was a chair behind me next to the holo-tank. I kicked it around until it faced the couch and sat down pulling Niamh into my lap. She is a lot of woman and I'll admit she filled my lap nicely right up to the brim. I waited until Leanne had come back and sat down before I began. "Leanne," I said looking directly at her. "I love you with everything my heart has but you are going to be quiet for the next few minutes or I will be spanking your bare bottom." "Yes, Martin," she replied quietly. She knew as well as I did it was an idle threat but she could tell I was just a little bit pissed off and understood that discretion was probably the better part of valor right then. "And you," I looked at Shauna. "I know you're worried about your cousin and frustrated you can't do anything about it but you have to be quiet also for the next few minutes." "But, Martin..." she started to protest. "And you," I moved onto Eimile, "need to keep her quiet for those next few minutes. We all have some talking to do here and screaming isn't going to solve anything. Your job is to keep her quiet so we can talk. Sit on her if you have to." Eimile gave me a ghost of a smile and nodded slightly. "Martin, you can't..." Shauna began, but Eimile reached up and pinched her lips closed with her fingers. Shauna let out a startled "Yulp!" I nodded to Eimile and said, "Well done." The smile she gave me was much larger although Shauna gave her a very nasty frown. "Now, what set this all off?" I asked Leanne. "Calmly, please." "When ah got back to her room she was sobbing her eyes out," Leanne replied, calmly as I had asked. "Her fuc ... husband was in the vids again with his new slapper and their vids were all over. Ah tried to tell her, again, that she needs to dump his effing arse ... Divorce him and lose the wanker for good." "And she said... ?" I prompted. "She said she couldn't and that started the row," Leanne looked sheepish. Niamh stirred but I put my hand on the back of her head and held her firmly where she was. She struggled halfheartedly for about two seconds, sighed then relaxed. She was quiet now with only a sniff or two every now and then. "Okay, maybe you should show me this flash," I said. Niamh tensed up slightly but instead of restraining her with my hand I now stroked her hair with it; she relaxed again immediately. "No audio; just the video please." Leanne picked up the holo control and the movie we were watching disappeared to be replaced with a standard scuzzie ambush-type interview. Yes, Tom Callahan was a big handsome fellow. The pair had been "caught" coming out of some club in southern France and he was definitely in his quail hunting clothes. Shirt open half way down with plenty of gold showing. Bushy brown hair and a boyish grin that seemed to go from ear to ear. The plastic doll he had on his arm looked more like a two-dollar hooker to me than the "publishing heiress" she was reported to be. But then what do I know? Maybe it's the height of fashion for the rich and famous to look like common gutter sluts. Come to think of it if Rachael was any example, than maybe it was. "Yeah, handsome enough I suppose," I said making it sound like I really didn't mean it. "Looks like a bit of a peacock to me but I guess you women find that attractive. Never saw it myself but then I'm not exactly wired that way. I've always been a fan of the owl types myself; not as flashy, I'll admit, but they'll eat the peacock's ass for lunch. "One thing's for sure though: He's the biggest Goddamned idiot I've even seen," Niamh could feel my head shaking and she pulled back and looked up at me questioningly. "What do you mean by that, Martin?" Leanne asked and I looked over at her. She looked back and I could see in her eyes she knew what I was doing and had fed me the line. If I could have moved I would have kissed that woman. "I think it should be obvious," I shrugged. "That fool is off playing pattycake with some bimbo that looks like she's made more of plastic and paint than real while I sit here with his supposed woman in my lap. A woman I might add who is even more beautiful and real than that pitiful thing could ever hope to be no matter how much money her daddy gives her. If Niamh was my wife I doubt I'd have even left town let alone the country." Niamh put her face back into my neck and sobbed a few more times but then it slowed down and she started breathing normally. I knew she wasn't asleep because I could feel her fingers dig into my side every now and then, more for comfort than anything else, I'm sure. "Now we need to talk," I said firmly. "Lea, my love, would you turn that crap off, please?" Niamh started to stir but I held her still again. "No, you stay still; I'm talking to them right now. You'll get your say in a bit. "Niamh knows what you say to her is out of love," I started and I tried to meet with each of their eyes in turn. "I know it kills you to see her in pain, to see what this is doing to her and you want to everything you can to help her. But the fact is: You— can't— do this— for her. You can't. You've had your say, she knows what you think but you can't make the decision for her. "But Martin," Niamh raised her head up to look at me. "They just want to help..." "Hush, you," I scolded with a fake frown. "I'm on the soapbox right now and when I'm finished you can take over, but if you four don't keep quiet maybe I will have to start spanking a few pretty bottoms around here." Eimile clamped her hand over her mouth as if to hide her grin while Leanne and Shauna started to smirk like they were daring me to do it. They stopped smirking when I glared at them. Niamh rolled her face away from my neck and looked over at her three cousins. "None of us have ever been married," I continued. "But when and if we ever do I hope it'll be because we want to bind ourselves to our soul mate for the rest of our lives and not because it's a legal way to decrease taxes, protect joint property or get laid with the blessings of society. And if any of us are luckily enough to do that for those reasons, what do you suppose it would be like thinking about ending that bond? "I don't know and I hope to God I never do," I shrugged. "But it has to be devastating. Even thinking about it has to be one of the most heart-wrenching things a human being has to ever do. Yes, Niamh is hurting. She should be hurting, and don't look at me like that. No, I don't want her to feel pain but isn't that better than having her frivolously casting off the last seven years of her life like it was nothing? "I'm not going to say that you're right and I'm not going to say that you're wrong but I am going to say with absolute certainty that it isn't your choice! It's Niamh's and hers alone. She already knows what you want her to do; now you have to let her know that you'll be there for her no matter what she decides. She needs to know you'll be there to hold her if she cries, be behind her when she needs support, to hold her up when she feels weak. You're her family. Just love her and be there for her when she needs you but no more bullying! "Okay, I've said my piece. Niamh, you have a go at them now if you want." She wiggled around on my lap and sat up. First she looked at her three cousins and then back at me. Before I knew it she had twisted back, her arms were around my neck and her lips were pressed tightly against mine. My hands kind of fluttered in the air, I wasn't exactly sure where to put them! Finally they settled lightly on her back. I tried to remain passive and just accept it all; I didn't want to do anything to upset Leanne but I didn't want to reject Niamh either. Besides this was the third cousin that had my toes curling; she was sweet and tasted wonderful especially when her tongue invaded my mouth and did a little seek and destroy mission of its own. Finally I realized Leanne was standing next to us looking down with a ... Well, I don't know what kind of look she had on her face. It wasn't angry but it wasn't exactly happy-happy either; maybe it was more of a thoughtful look if you know what I mean. "Niamh, that's me fella yer snogging on," she said lightly. "Ah know," Niamh sighed. "But he's been me champion; ah thought he should get his reward." "Any more rewarding than that and yer going to be up the pole with his babby," Leanne replied dryly. "Ah'll give him back," Niamh said shyly. "Ah was just borrowing him for a moment or so." "Well ah suppose ah owe ya a treat or two since ah've been such a bitch an all," Leanne sighed. "No, ya haven't," Niamh jumped out of my lap and hugged her cousin. "Ah've been a useless, simpering thing and ah know it. The man's right; it's me own mess and ah've got to pull up me socks and clean it up." "Aye, my mans right," Leanne nodded and then looked over at me. "But don't let that go to yer head, me fella. Ah'm sure it won't happen all that often. "'Tis a fact it's yer decision to make," she continued looking back at Niamh. "But it's just as sure that we're to be here for you no matter what decision ya make. You dump the blighter, we'll be here to catch ya; you decide to keep 'em we'll be here with smiles on our faces and nary say a bad word about him. We're family, sweet cuz and that's all that really matters." "Aye and that goes for us too," Shauna said and I saw tears running down her cheeks. "Sorry ah am to be the bully but it hurts us when we see ya in pain." "Ah know," Niamh sighed. "And ah deserve the berating and ah know it. But ah think it's time for me to go do a wee bit of real thinking on me own." "Ya know where we are if you need us," Leanne nodded and then said loudly to the whole room. "And now it's time for all of ya to clear out. It's time for bed and ah plan to fuck me man until he knows as certain as there's mist on the moors that ah love him as much as he loves me. So clear out, ya baggage, unless you want a show that'll pop yer eyes out!" With that she jumped into my lap and hugged me hard. "Ah can tell we're not wanted," Shauna laughed and gathered Eimile up to leave. Niamh bent down one more time and gave me a quick peck on the lips. "Ah'll be going now to be by meself to do some thinking. Ah'll try to make you proud, Martin." "Do what's right for you, Niamh," I replied. "That'll make you proud of yourself and if you're proud of yourself how can anyone else not be proud of you." "Oh, yer a dangerous man, Martin Leforge," she chuckled as she left. It was quiet for a minute after the door had closed. Leanne looked at me and sighed. "Did you mean what ya said?" she asked. "That ya love me?" "With all my heart," I said. "I will never say that unless I mean it completely." "Good. So did I," she smiled. "We have some things to talk about, the two of us." I nodded in agreement. "But not now. Now me fine man ye are going to carry me over to that bed and fuck me until ah can't walk in the morning." "But you have a show tomorrow," I grinned as I scooped her up. "Then you'll just have to carry me onto the stage, now won't ya?" was all she said. Edited by Morgan ------- Chapter 6 So anyway after that just about every night my room or wherever I happen to be became the resident flop house for eighty percent of the band. They loved my collection of old 2-D "Pictures" as they called them. That didn't surprise me that much; most people today haven't seen one of the old flicks, they're not standard fare on the vid channels and until they've seen one they probably think they're all boring and flat. Flat they may be and not really suited for viewing in a holo-tank (I happen to know how you can adjust the tanks to make them look much better) but boring they ain't. Most people find they actually like something with a storyline and characters they can identify with. My girls were no exception and continuously perused my library. What I didn't expect was that they would find my music library so damned interesting. I think I've mentioned before that my tastes are a bit ... eclectic. Most of my collection is prewar and even pre-turn of the century. It's a stereotype, I'll admit ― but one that seems to hold some truth ― that vets favor good old rock and roll from the later half of the last century on into the beginning of the new one. I'm not saying I dislike it ― in fact some of it I really enjoy ― but my tastes stray off the path a little. A lot of what I have I ripped (transferred) from old digital disks my parents had and even some vinyl analog ones. Most of these artists' work never made it into the new formats, at least from what I could find, so although I doubt that I have anything that is really unique it certainly isn't in the popular public domain. So many of them: Mckennitt, Yani, a traveling troupe titled The Celtic Woman, and so on, names that are probably still familiar to music historians but totally unknown to the average Jack or Jill you'd meet on the street. We lost a lot during the war but maybe the real reason was because we have so much now to choose from. I get the feeling that most people are so used to being told what is good and what they should like, they don't bother to find these things for themselves. But I digress. For whatever reason I happen to have had on Loreena McKennitt's An Ancient Muse compilation (they called them albums back then) while I was working on my mail and a sitrep (Situation Report) for Camberge when one of my favorites, Caravanserai, queued up. I have to admit I was zeroed out there for a moment just letting the music flow through me flushing away most conscious thought when just before the main part of the song started I heard Leanne behind me asking, "This is interesting. Who is it? Did you pick this up in the east during the war?" I turned around and all four of the girls were standing there listening intently. "Actually it's a lot older than that," I answered just as the drums started thrumming and the entire band kicked in and Loreena's sweet, pure voice began the opening lyrics. Niamh's head was bobbing; Eimile's eyes were closed and she looked like, well, probably what I had looked like. Shauna was softly swaying from side to side as her fingers moved on imaginary instruments most likely her body trying to play along as the music flowed. Leanne was rigid like a bird dog on point but her eyes were open and clear as she hungrily stared at the source of the sound, the holo-tank. "'Tis beautiful," Eimile sighed with her eyes still closed. Suddenly they popped open and she looked at me. "Is she Irish?" I could understand the question; you can hear a soft lilt in McKennitt's voice that does make her sound like she's Celtic. "Actually she was NorAm Canadian I think," I replied. "She's been dead now for more than twenty years. This recording is about fifty years old." "But the music, it sounds ... eastern," Leanne stated looking at me like she thought I was pulling their legs. "This comp does," I nodded. "Most of her other work has more of a Celtic flavor; others..." I waved my hand, "I can't really tell you what it sounds like." "She played Irish?" Leanne demanded. "I think they called it Celtic and not just Irish," I chuckled. "But I'm not going to argue with the experts. Do you have your pers-comp? I'll give you access to my library and you can listen to any of it you'd like." Leanne dashed over to one of her bags and quickly pulled out her own pers-comp. I'm not sure how much of her gear was in my room and how much was still in the room she "shared" with Niamh but as the days went by it seemed like more of it was here rather than there. She opened it up and I quickly granted her the necessary access to my music; I even queued up She Moved Through the Fair to start up after Caravanserai ended. "Eww, I've heard that one before," Shauna exclaimed when it started. "But not like that!" There was a flurry of activity as three girls raced out of the room and almost as quickly returned, demanding to be given access to this marvelous new/old music and much to my chagrin I was pushed out of my seat and completely ignored. I watched as they huddled around on the couch and floor chattering like a bunch of three year-olds opening birthday gifts. "This one!" "No, listen to this riff!" "Where did he find that!" I finally announced that I was going to make a tour of the area and Leanne absently fluttered her fingers at me as Niamh glanced up and smiled although I'm not sure she really saw me. I did not pout even though it appeared I was being tossed aside like yesterdays laundry; really I didn't, I just had work to do. I was a grown man and grown men do not pout! When I returned I was greeted with pretty much the same enthusiasm that my departure had invoked: namely none. The giddy euphoria was gone though; in it's place were four very serious young ladies scribbling notes, listening as one or another pointed something out or asking out loud, "What is that they be playing?" "She'll never let us play that," Shauna said once. "Why not?" Leanne demanded. "We're all equals here; she's got no more say then any of us!" "Wouldn't sound right with her voice; she'll never do it." "Then we'll just play fer ourselves," Leanne huffed and they started squabbling. "It's late," I announced loudly. They all looked up at me like children told to go to bed on Christmas Eve. "You have a concert tomorrow and some of us need our sleep." I started to get the pouty faces so I told them if they wanted to continue they could go to someone else's room. That got them to break it up finally. Leanne was practically vibrating when we got into bed. She kept babbling about this song or that one and how they could make it sound different until I finally had to kiss her to shut her up. She struggled a little but I held her down until she finally sighed and relaxed. Or so I thought; suddenly all that energy and enthusiasm was transferred from music to sex and for a while there I was thinking I'd have been much better off if I'd just let her talk and put some earplugs in. Let me tell you she just about wore this old solider out! She fell asleep on top of me and neither one of us moved until the next morning. ------- And that's the way it was for the next few weeks. Well, not that bad. Sure they still spent plenty of time listening, discussing and practicing. They had these little portable instruments they could practice with just about everywhere; to me they looked like toys until I find out how much they cost. Pretty expensive fucking toys, let me tell you! From what I was told they weren't the same as playing the regular instruments like they had on stage or in a studio but it was close. They let me listen to one of the songs they were working on and it sounded damn good to me. It was a cut that I particularly liked and it sounded both very familiar and totally different; it was eerie. I never did get back to being the center of feminine attention after that; not that I needed it of course. Lone wolf, that's me. Man on the edge and needing no company ... Actually in spite of all the whining I did, luckily most of it to myself, there were very few times that I didn't have at least one or two of them attached to my side like a tumor. Leanne was there most of the time, of course. We'd had a number of little and not so little talks and while I won't go into that right here, suffice it to say I was looking forward to the end of the tour. We were very comfortable with each other and seemed to fit together like we were a matched set. The funny thing was while Leanne occupied my side just like she belonged, Niamh more often than not was on my other. I would have had to be a complete idiot or the most insensitive buffoon alive not to have felt the sexual tension between us but I can guarantee absolutely nothing happened between us. There was lot of touching, mostly from her side since I still didn't feel overly comfortable with it even though when I mentioned it to Leanne she just laughed it off. It was her opinion Niamh need the attention and had been starved for affection for far too long. So long as it was her bed (my bed?) I ended up in at night she encouraged me to tease and flirt with Niamh all that she wanted. My opinion was this was like playing with fire but I was scoffed at and unfairly derided as being afraid of a little girl. When I pointed out Niamh was no little girl but a very big beautiful woman, it got even worse. "So yer hot fer me cousin are ya?" she whispered gleefully one night while we were in bed. I was trying to point out the obvious silliness of such a thought but that any normal human male (not me, I'm well above such things) might find a tall woman with long red hair, large breasts, beautifully trim legs and an ass that wouldn't stop, rubbing up against him contentiously a bit arousing. It's biological ― can't be helped. "Ah don't care if she makes ya stiffer than a dead cat," she growled. "She can tease ya up all she wants, ah get to reap the reward," she said right before she sat down on my fully erect cock. Then she proceeded to explain that she didn't give a rat's arse who gave me the stiffy so long as she got to play with it; all this while moving her own cute little butt up and down at about 10,000 RPM. I was beginning to get the idea that the thought of her cousin playing footsie with me got my little Asian jewel just a little bit excited. This worked for me. I don't know if it was all that fair to Niamh but I tried to put that out of my mind since she seemed to be the "aggressor" most of the time. She was a big girl and knew the score between Leanne and myself and if she wanted to work herself up for nothing, that was her business. She knew she was perfectly safe; not only would I never do anything with a married woman no matter how bad her marriage was but I'd never do anything to hurt Leanne. Besides, the flirting was fun and she did have one hell of a body! The other funny thing was that then Leanne and Niamh weren't doing their best to torture me, Shauna and Eimile were there doing it for them. That's not really true I suppose; there was nowhere near the same sexual tension when they were next to me although there was enough. It seems their favorite thing in the whole world next to making music or playing bedroom games with each other was watching my old movies with one of them on each side of me. Usually they just rested their heads on my shoulders and held hands across my lap but there were times; like during a particularly romantic scene when they'd lean across me and begin going at it like two little bunny rabbits. Now on one hand I was proud that they thought enough of me to feel comfortable about demonstrating their affection in my presence, but give me a fucking break... ! Do you know what it does to a guy's libido to have two beautiful young women sitting in his lap not only sucking on each others tongues but having their hands doing nasty, naughty things to each other? I had to threaten to break out a fire hose more than once. Even worse, after I'd threaten them with the hose or dumping them into a cold shower, they'd giggle and start in on me! They'd nibble my ears, suck on my neck and run those naughty little fingers up and down my chest ... Leanne paid them to do it; I was never able to prove that but I know she did. I remember her mumbling that she had to thank them after one particularly rambunctious night as she lay there in bed grinning like an idiot at the ceiling. I warned her one day her little games were going to come back and bite her on the ass but she just grinned wider. Evil woman! Hell, evil women; a redundant term if I've ever heard one! ------- So anyway I was making one colour sergeant very happy by occupying four fifths of our charges most of the time. Did I even get a thank you? Not that I can remember. For the most part everything was going pretty smoothly which was great in most ways but kind of worried me in others. Sure there's the natural pessimism of a man who knows from experience that Karma is one motherfucking bitch and everything always tends to balance out. Anytime things are going too well you just know the Fuckup Fairy is right around the corner waiting to smack you in the balls with her magic wand. Then there was the question of so long as nothing happens how long before the promoters decide they're pouring money down a rathole in keeping security that isn't needed. You might think that after Clonakilty there wouldn't be a question about it but if you think that you don't know businessmen. With them it's all, "So, what have you done for me lately?" It hadn't happened since that night so I wouldn't put it past them to think it'll never happen again. Not that I ever heard even a hint of such from Camberge, but you never know... That was all before we had a little incident with Rachael. Faolain was her tail that night; it was about a week before the two-week break, and we were in Omagh. Rache was out for her nightly drunk-ex (drinking exercise) and cock fights when a black van pulled up along her as she and her latest long lost love were walking down the sidewalk. Three men jumped out and after knocking down her boy-toy started dragging her towards the van. Faolain got one of them right away and seeing one of their mates splattered back against the van with two 5mm holes in his chest must have upset their plans somewhat. The other two let loose of Rachael, picked up the corpse and tossed him in the van. They sped off but not before Whellan swore he'd put three more shots into their rear window; he could see the stars they made. The police were useless shits, of course. At first they tried to arrest Faolain and deny it had ever happened until Rachael's evening escort corroborated his story. After that they pretty much stood around and scratched their asses like the dumb fucks they were. Their conclusion was it was a few overzealous fans wanting to meet Rachael and they would interview them when they went to the hospital which they would have to, of course, if in fact one had actually been shot. It was pure bullshit, of course. Fans don't jump out of vans and try to drag away their crushes just to meet them for one. For another, fans usually don't drive around in vans equipped with bulletproof armored windows. If Faolain had really seen his shots star the windows, and I believe him, they were armored. Regular car windows would have been shattered by a 5mm slug and it would have rattled around inside causing all kinds of hate and discontent. The bozos didn't seem to understand that either. They weren't going to find that body; these guys were pros. Luckily for Rachael they either didn't know about or didn't see the tall lanky ranger following her. We were luckier than I had first known; Rachael hadn't been wearing her communicator/locater and if they'd gotten her in the van we would have had no fucking idea where she was. We got into one hell of a screaming match when we got back to the hotel but I have to admit at least half of my curses were meant for me for not checking regularly to make sure all of the girls were wearing them. I suppose looking back at it, someone could say the whole pissing contest was pretty funny. There I was screaming while Rachael stuck to Faolain's side like it would take a prybar to get her away. She matched me curse for curse until I finally said, "You could have got him fucking killed!" and I pointed at Faolain. She lost it then and I noticed Magaoidh was about to say something but Faolain beat him to it. "Now Major, that's not right, it isn't," he said firmly. "I was just doing me job and Miss Rachael wouldn't have been anymore at fault if I'd been injured then anyone of us. She wasn't doing nothing wrong or crazy like; just a normal night." I shut up immediately. I was seething inside and wanted more than anything to slap down this silly bitch for putting herself and one of my men in mortal danger. Unfortunately I couldn't. He was right; absolutely right. I took a deep breath. "You're right, Whellan," I said and he relaxed just a bit. I looked at Rachael. "Miss Rachael, I apologize. Whellan is absolutely correct; this was not your fault in any way shape or form. He did his job exactly as he was supposed to in a truly exemplary fashion. You did nothing to create or exacerbate the situation. With one exception you have followed our procedures as we have asked you. That exception is not a minor one but it would not have change what happened tonight at all. "I propose we talk about that little exception tomorrow when we've both had a time to cool off and think about it. We are both not without fault in this matter," I continued. "Fuckin' dick head," she snarled up at me. "Now, now, Rachael," Faolain soothed. "The major was worried about you; about the both of us. He said he was sorry and makes a good point that we can talk about it in the morning. Now we should be getting you back to yer room fer the evening." "Don't leave me alone," she wailed and I'm sure about four centimeters of her fingernails were dug into his side. "We'll not be leaving you alone tonight, lass," he said as he guided her over to the elevators with Mac right behind, hand on his pistol trying to look everywhere at once. Once they were gone I turned to Magaoidh and said, "My apologizes, Colour Sergeant. Faolain was absolutely correct and I was wrong." "No apologizes needed to me, Major," he replied with a slight smile. "You admitted yer error and said it to the correct person. Accepted or not, it were well done." "Then maybe we should get everybody else up to their beds and button everything up tight," I nodded. "We're going to need to do a thorough review of our procedures. That wasn't a couple of star-struck fans out there tonight. They meant business and it's time we really started to earn our pay." "I've got a few ideas," he replied. "But ah think we're safe enough tonight. They'd be fools to try again after tipping their hands. Sure enough they'd be walking into a bees nest and they'd know it." We took the girls upstairs and I tried to write a sitrep for Camberge after leaving a message on his vid. It wasn't all that easy to do with Leanne sitting in my lap clinging to my neck but I put down the gist of it and got it sent. We'd just gone to bed with the lights down low but not off when the door opened and nervous as I was I had my gun in my hand immediately. It was Niamh and not for the first time I felt a body crawl into our bed and something warm and soft snuggle up against me. "Can ah stay here tonight?" Niamh asked in a quivering voice. "Sure ya can, love," Leanne cooed and I found myself sandwiched between two frightened women. Yeah, it's a tough job but someone's got to do it. I thought that would be it but just a few minutes later the door opened again and I heard the patter of at least two pairs of bare feet on the floor. I'm pretty sure you can figure out who it was. "Can we sleep here?" Leanne didn't even answer. She just crawled on top of me and patted the bed where she'd been. Eimile scrunched up next to my side and Shauna spooned in behind her. I had one arm around Niamh and the other around Eimile and Shauna. It was tight, but no one seemed to mind. When I woke up we were all mixed together like a pile of puppies. I had tits, legs and hands all over me. Under different circumstances I would have been very happy. As it was it was early so I slowly crawled out of the pile through the bottom of the bed and covered the four of them up. The space I'd vacated was quickly filled as Leanne snuggled in next to Niamh, Eimile spooned in behind her and Shauna behind her. They all looked so damn cute. I took a real quick shower, got dressed, left them a note and made sure I checked my piece before leaving the room. There were monsters out there and not just theoretical ones. I intended to make damn sure they would be dead monsters if they made a try for my girls again! Mac was sitting in a chair in the hall outside of Rachael's room. He had his pistol in his hand lying in his lap. I smiled coolly; I wasn't the only one who was going to make sure nobody was going to touch ours. "Morning, Mac. Quiet night?" "So far, Major," he answered. "Rachael do better after you got her up here?" I asked. "Whellan's in there with 'er now," he motioned with his head. "Been there all night. Major... ?" I raised my eyebrows telling him to continue. "Do ya have a problem ... I mean if ... Say Whellan and me was maybe ... You know with Rache... ?" he was turning red and getting flustered. "Both of you?" I raised my eyebrows and then shrugged. "If the two of you can sit on her, keep her safe and out of my hair I would consider it a service above and beyond the call of duty." "She's not a bad sort really, sir," he said cautiously and relaxed a bit. "She's just a might taken with the whole star thing and all that." "I know," I nodded. "And whatever the three of you come up with, it's all right with me. But if it changes and she changes her mind..." I left it hanging. "I know, sir," he grinned. "We'll be careful, right enough." "Then as you were," I nodded and headed down to the observation room. "All bright and cheery," Magaoidh announced as I entered. "That's the second best thing I've heard all morning," I responded. He looked at me with raised eyebrows. "I gather Mac and Faolain have decided Rachael is now their personal priority and they've decided to split her up between them." "Is that so? Could be interesting," he murmured as Caoimh covered a laugh by coughing. "Message from the police," he continued. "They're sending one of their inspectors around later this morning wanting to talk to Miss Rachael and young Whellan." "Kind of expected that," I nodded. "Set it up. They can talk in her room or somewhere downstairs if they'd rather. "Right, sirrah," he nodded back. "The police have asked if there's anything else they can do for us. What should I tell them?" "Hmm," I pondered. "Might not be a bad idea to have them get a bomb sniffer and go over our vehicles. Probably an even better idea if we got one of those for ourselves." "Be right on it," he nodded to Caoimh who turned around and started working at the terminal. "I'm betting Valeria can get us one right away, sir," Caoimh said without turning around. "With a little of your sweet talk I'm sure she could," I winked at Magaoidh. "Message from the front desk, Major," Caoimh said after a moment's pause. "Mr. Camberge is here and would like to speak to you." "Relay that we'll be right down," I nodded and motioned for Magaoidh to follow me. ------- Camberge was standing in the lobby with his hands behind his back rocking back and forth on the balls of his feet as we exited the elevator. He was accompanied by a woman who was worth a second look at any time. She had dark red hair and appeared to be somewhere between thirty-five and forty-five but could have been as old as sixty for all I knew; I am really bad at guessing women's ages. She was very pretty and very ... elegant is the best word I come up with; elegant and sophisticated. "Ah, Mr. Leforge," Camberge exclaimed as I walked up to him. He grabbed my hand and pumped it vigorously. "Beastly night, what?" his Irish accent was drifting more to the solid British; my guess is that happened when he was nervous. "How are the ladies? How is Rachael taking this business?" "They seem to be fine, Mr. Camberge," I responded. "I haven't seen Rachael yet this morning; she's still sleeping and I didn't want to disturb her. I haven't heard anything to the contrary so I'm assuming she's doing as well as can be expected. One of the men has been with her all night so I'm sure I would have heard if that wasn't the case." Magaoidh gave a little cough that just might have been a cover for a chuckle; I wanted to kick him. "And the rest of the girls?" he asked nervously. "This must have been quite a shock to all of them." "The last I knew they were sleeping also. I'd say yes they were scared but after a good night's sleep I think they'll be fine. It's one thing to theoretically know you may be someone's target; it's quite another to actually know it, if you understand me. But these women are tough; I think they'll pull through just fine." "Good, good," he mumbled. "Oh, how rude of me; this is Valeria from my office. She's been working on the logistic details for the tour." "Ah, the Valeria," I smiled as we shook hands. "I have to warn you one of my men has quite a crush on you. It would be worth my life if I let you get away without him getting a chance to meet you." "I'm flattered, but I'm sure I've never met any of your men, Mr. Leforge," she smiled coolly. "I believe it was just your beautiful voice," I continued hoping Brian's crush didn't crush him too badly. "Well, there might have been a supposition or two about you being Miss Ireland which I can see wasn't too far from the truth." "I've never been Miss Ireland," she responded frostily. "Valeria," Camberge frowned with warning. "I was second runner up more than a few years ago," she muttered and lowered her eyes in embarrassment. "Wow!" I whistled softly. "That must have been one hell of a year if you were only runner-up." "You are a dangerous man, Mr. Leforge," she said looking up at me but now there was twinkle of amusement in those eyes. "I can see why all our ladies are fawning over you." "Not all; at least Rachael hates my guts," I chuckled and then added in a conspiratorial whisper, "Personally I think it's my movie collection and some of the old music I have, and please call me Martin." "Sure it be that, Martin" she laughed. "This is all very well and I hate to be a bore but just when do you think I can meet with the lasses?" Camberge interrupted. "I don't want to press them and we'll wait as long as is needed but I would like to talk to them this morning if possible." "I'll go up and see what I can do," I said. "Where do you want to meet with them? We can do it in one of the rooms but I'd recommend somewhere down here, if that's possible." "I'll have a conference room set aside for us straightaway," Valeria nodded and headed for the front desk with a determined stride. Camberge agreed and I went back up to the rooms leaving Magaoidh with him. The bed in my room was empty and I heard the shower running so I poked my head in to ask Leanne when she thought she could be ready. It turns out it was both Leanne and Niamh and I got quite an eye full since Niamh was bending over facing away from me. I had started to call out as I was sticking my head in and couldn't stop in time to withdraw quietly. Niamh gave a surprised yelp and turned around quickly giving me a ten dollar view of her other splendid charms. I quickly covered my eyes. "What're you think yer doing sneaking around like that?" Niamh demanded. "Sorry, I thought it was just Leanne," I apologized. The shower stopped and the aforementioned lady poked her head out. "What's up out here?" "Yer boyfriend is sneaking around spying on naked women is what's up," Niamh huffed. "You can open yer eyes now." I did, she was cinching a robe around her waist and looking very embarrassed. "I said I was sorry. I told you I thought it was just Leanne," I repeated. "So it's all right to be peeping at me cousin, now is it?" she demanded. "Of course it's all right, ya silly thing," Leanne laughed and stepped out of the stall. She had a towel wrapped around her hair but nothing else. "Martin can peek at me all he wants. In fact, ah encourage it." "I guess you do, ya little tart," Niamh sniffed. "Parading around here in yer altogether as it were." "Ah do a damn sight more than just parade around and you know it," Leanne sounded exasperated. "Since ah'm sleeping with 'im, it's a bit silly to worry about him seeing me bare arse now, don't ya think?" "Ah suppose," Niamh grumbled. "And since ya slept with him yerself last night it's a bit silly to worry about him seeing yer bare arse either, don't ya think?" "Wasn't the same at all!" Niamh protested. "Leanne," I warned and she looked back at me innocently. "That was a hell of a night and she needed to feel safe. It's nothing to tease about. And she wasn't the only one." "Martin, ah was only funning," Leanne pouted. "I know you were but it bothers Niamh," I answered seriously. "She never did anything wrong and you shouldn't joke about it even in private; that's how people can get hurt. I surprised her and she's embarrassed," I paused and gave them both a leer, "although she shouldn't be. The view, of both of you, was spectacular and made my day." Niamh blushed and tried to frown but couldn't; Leanne smiled brightly and thrust her chest out and struck a teasing pose. "However that's not what I came up here for, although it was a nice bonus." I quickly filled them in on Camberge and how he wanted to meet them. "Will half past be enough time?" I asked. They assured me it was and after telling them I'd be back then headed down to Shauna and Eimile's room. Knocking on the door it opened just a crack and I saw a pair of grey eyes peeking out; it was Shauna and she opened the door smiling. They were both still in their robes although Eimile was sitting on the bed brushing her hair. She looked up and smiled also. I told them about the meeting and said I would come to collect them when it was time and they agreed. Mac was still sitting outside Rachael's door when I came up to him. "All quiet, sirrah!" he snapped to attention. "As you were Mac," I waved him to rest. "Camberge is here and wants to meet with everybody. Do you think she can be ready by half past?" "We'll see, sir," he replied and then knocked on the door, three sharp raps and two heavier ones. The door cracked open and then swung wide. Faolain was standing there his pistol out and pointed at the ceiling. I glanced at it and nodded approvingly. Mac quickly told him about Camberge. "Rache!" Faolain called back over his shoulder. "Mr. Camberge is here and wants to see all of ya downstairs at about half past. Can you be ready, luv?" "Ah suppose so," I heard her say from somewhere out of sight. A second or two later she appeared under his arm looking up at me. "Ach, it's you." "Good morning, Miss Rachael," I smiled pleasantly. "I hope you're feeling well. If you can be ready by half past I would appreciate it. Also it would be best if your two escorts here were to get cleaned up and changed before we all go down." "Ah don't want to be alone!" she exclaimed and grabbed Faolain's arm. "Ah do need to get cleaned up," he said softly. "Then can Mac... ?" "He stayed out here on guard all night," I told her. "He needs it as badly as Whellan does." "Ah, Mac," she sighed and reached out and touched his arm. "I'll be right out here until they can come back and escort you down," I assured her. She frowned and was about to say something when Mac spoke up. "No ones going to get by the major, Rache," he said. "You'll be safe as a babe." She frowned but nodded. We closed the door and I shooed the two of them off on the double-quick. A little while later, about ten minutes early, the door opened and Rachael stepped out into the hall. We were just standing there ignoring each other when I casually said, "We don't have to like each other, you know." "Ah don't like ya," she snapped. "I know and that's okay," I answered mildly. "You don't have to like me but we do have to work together." "Ah suppose ya can't help it if yer a pompous ass," she grunted. "And you can't help that you're a spoiled brat," I replied. "But that doesn't mean a pompous ass and a spoiled brat can't work together civilly." "Ah suppose," she snorted and then added wistfully. "Ah didn't think it was real." "No one ever does," I answered soothingly. "How can a reasonable person actually believe there are people out there who would do these kinds of things? Don't be ashamed of not believing. Think of it as a learning experience and go on from there." "A learning experience," she snorted. "Ya mean grow up, pull up yer socks and get on with it." "A little harsh but essentially correct." I chuckled, "It could have been a lot worse. In the army the joke was 'What two words usually follow the phrase A Learning Experience'?" She looked at me like I was nuts. "A funeral." She snorted again but looked thoughtful. "Ah can try," she finally sighed and held up her wrist to show me the com-patch. "And I'll try to hold my temper in check and direct it towards those who really deserve it." "Pax?" she said holding out her hand. "Pax," I agreed giving it a shake. "Now, if you don't mind, will you go with me down to our op room? I have to tell Mr. Caoimh there is certain lady here that he would very much like to meet." "Ya mean Valeria?" she giggled. "The one ya told 'im was big as a barn and ugly as a dirt road?" "I don't think I used exactly those terms," I looked at her and raised my eyebrows. "But one and the same." "And is she?" Rachael demanded. "Ms Valeria is a very beautiful and charming lady," I responded. "Emphasizing the lady." I paused thoughtfully, "Although I would appreciate it if you didn't mention that particular fact to him just yet." "Yer an evil man, Mr. Leforge," she said evenly but her eyes twinkled with mischief. "Yer going to have 'im twisted in a tizzy till he can get downstairs now aren't you?" "I've heard that a lot lately but I just can't imagine where such slander comes from," I protested. "Sure ya don't," she laughed. ------- I don't know about twisted in a tizzy but Caoimh was certainly fit to be tied by the time Mac and Faolain showed up and all of us trouped out to gather up the other girls. They all looked pretty as you could get and not overly devastated by the whole ordeal. I didn't ask how one of Niamh's dresses appeared in my room; there are just some things a man doesn't need or want to know. We had to take two elevators down; I was in one with my four girls (When did they become my girls?) and the rest of the crew in another. Niamh was standing at my side when she leaned over and whispered, "Ah'm sorry ah snapped at ya this morning." "That's okay, it was worth getting yelled at," I whispered back. I could almost feel the heat coming off her face next to me. "Don't worry. Leanne doesn't seem to mind and that's all I care about." "So ah heard," she whispered and I could almost hear her smile. "Something about not caring where ya get yer appetite just so ya come home fer dinner." Now I was the one blushing. "What's that?" Shauna asked. "Nothing!" Niamh and I answered at the same time. Leanne was standing in front with her butt pressed against me; she started laughing. Niamh gave me a hip bump and giggled. The meeting with Camberge went fairly well I think. I could tell he was really concerned about the girls but there was certainly more than a little undercurrent of concern about the tour also. The girls, including Rachael were real troupers and insisted they wanted to go on. This was part of the life of a star but they were willing to put up with the bad as well as the good. The only sticky part was when Camberge started musing how they could turn all the publicity from the attempted abduction into bigger venues and more ticket sales for the second half of the tour. "Don't look at me like I'm Satan," he grumbled. "Certainly you can't believe I wanted this to happen, but now that it has we can use it to our advantage. "Besides, I'm only Satan's apprentice," he grinned. Everyone naturally assumed it was really up to Rachael since she was the one who had been directly affected by the attempt and at first she did seem a little reluctant. That was until Mac casually mused that making the tour even bigger and more profitable all due to the aborted kidnapping should really piss off the bad guys. Naturally that's all it took and she would have willingly played every soccer stadium from there to the coast. Who would have known? Mac is a genius! The concert that night wasn't one of their best I'll have to admit. There were a few missed notes and Rachael bobbled a few words but they settled down by the end and I doubt the audience could tell the difference. After that it was mostly getting ready for the break. Edited by Morgan ------- Chapter 7 We had two more concerts before the break, one in Donegal and the last in Londonderry. I had thought the girls would be nervous and a bit out of sorts but they really weren't. However the same could not be said for their security team. Wired and hot were how we looked and felt. I won't say we may have been a little bit trigger happy but our patience and restraint with assholes and obnoxious fans were nonexistent. When we were outside, Magaoidh and Caoimh walked with their hands under their coats while Mac and Faolain's elbows and knees were sharp and devastating. There was still the normal signing of autographs and vids and such but it was a lot more orderly than it had been in the past. Security has got to be the most nerve-wracking detail you can possibly get. No, I mean it! Sure you go out on patrol or are making a big push through the lines it's bullets, bombs, blood and guts everywhere but you know that going in and when it's done it's done. Security, on the other hand, is never done. You never know when you're going to get hit because you're working on the other guy's timetable and not your own. You have to be a hundred percent all the time and that's a hell of a lot harder than you think and if you do it right it takes a lot out of you. It didn't help we'd already had an incident and were wired tight and since they'd got away clean (I don't count the corpse they took with them; that was their problem) we still had no idea who, what, where or when. The girls were really good about it not getting to them. It was like they were saying this was a man's problem and they weren't going to be bothered by it. That isn't to say they didn't do what we told them or ignored security or anything like that, not at all. In fact they were perfect little angels doing just what we asked when we asked it. It's just that they did it with bright cheery smiles and a bounce in their steps like they didn't have a care in the world. Even Rachael; although I privately believe that was partly because Mac and Faolain kept her so thoroughly fucked a cosmetic surgeon couldn't have removed the smile from her face. If I'd had known that was all it took I'd have ordered a couple more guys and vetted them for the size of their dicks rather than their service records! Anyway the three of them seemed to work it out although it was confusing as hell to me but I really do believe the old saying that if something ain't broke don't fix it. I did make the mistake of mentioning the fact that I wouldn't have been able to do it to my girls and caught shit about it like you wouldn't believe! "Why Martin Leforge, ya puritanical old biddy," Leanne scolded me. "Are yer telling me ya don't approve of three in a bed at the same time?" "No, that's not what I meant at all," I protested. "I just don't think I could do it." "Ya never had two women at the same time?" Niamh scoffed. "You'll be pulling me leg ah believe." "Well, once or twice," I admitted. "But that was different." "And just how was that different?" Shauna added to the pile. "Ya big hypocrite!" "No, no!" I stammered. "I just don't think I could with another man, that's all." "Are you afraid you may be attracted to another man, Martin?" Eimile asked me with disappointment. "I thought you were more mature than that." I looked at her like my last friend had just turned on me. "No, and if the four of you will let me speak I can explain myself," I said firmly. "It may not be what you want to hear and may not be logical to you but it's what I feel so there's damn little I can do about it. Are you willing to listen?" The four of them sat there with crossed arms as if saying, "Fine, let's get on with the silly trial so we can get right to the sentencing." Hanging judges, all of them! Finally they nodded at least agreeing to hear me out. "Okay, to begin with," I pointed at Eimile, "I'm not afraid to be naked in bed with a man. I'm not afraid of suddenly finding out I have homosexual tendencies; I'm pretty sure I don't. Male homosexuality doesn't bother me, it confuses me. I find nothing sexy or attractive about men and I have trouble understanding why anyone would. As far as I'm concerned you and Shauna are the only ones with a lick of sense. How anyone could choose a man to snuggle up to over a pretty girl baffles me." Eimile smiled, blushed, lowered her hands to her lap and dropped her eyes so she didn't have to look at me. "I have no idea why an incredible woman like Leanne would consent to sleep with me and while I appreciate it more than you know, I don't understand it." The smile I got from Leanne wasn't demure at all, in fact it was smoldering hot! "No, the reason I couldn't be with two guys and a girl isn't because I'm afraid I'd accidently rub up against his naked leg or anything like that, it's much worse," I sighed. That got their attention. Their eyes locked on me like I was the last piece of red meat in the lion cage and the lady lions were hungry. "The problem is if I had any real feeling for the lady in question and I'll get to that point later — if I had any feeling for her I'd be far too possessive and jealous to share her with another man. It's a character flaw of mine, I know, but its part of me and I seriously doubt I'll ever correct it. "Leanne and I have talked about this," I continued staring straight at her as she stared right back at me just as intently. "She is a free woman in all respects. She can go where she wants, do what she wants and even be with whomever she wants to be with, but not with me at the same time. If she wants to be with me I demand absolute fidelity at all times: no compromise, no backsliding, no meaningless flings, ever. If she decides she would rather be with another man that's up to her but we would never be together again. "Harsh I know and even unreasonable some would say," I nodded. "But it's what I demand. Of course it's not a one-way street. In return I promise my absolute fidelity to her for as long as we're together even if it's the rest of our lives. Many things in a relationship are negotiable; for me this isn't one of them." The hungry look of theirs had gone right up to starvation; I swear I could almost see the drool on their chins. Leanne stood up and with her eyes still locked on mine sauntered — no, more like oozed — over to me and sat down in my lap. She grabbed my ears — really tightly — and gave me a kiss that if we had been alone would have led to ripped clothes and sex that could have left one or both of us seriously hurt. When she broke it off, we were both panting and she buried her face in my neck growling. "Oh, shit," I mumbled still dazed. "What the fuck were we talking about?" The other three started laughing which brought me a little way out of my stupor. Leanne just turned her head liquidly and looked at them with a smugness that if she had been a cat she would have had feathers sticking out of her mouth and cream dripping off her chin. "Oh no ya don't," Shauna scolded even as she laughed. "Ya don't get out of it that easily, me man. We need to hear about the times ya had two women in yer bed and how exactly that's different." "Well, I don't know about different but it's certainly changed," I replied. "I'm not ashamed of it but when it happened it was back during the war. You see during the few times we were pulled back from the lines and actually got some R&R, things had a tendency to get pretty wild. Both times I happened to hook up with a couple of female pilots and I will admit it got a bit crazy. The difference is I wouldn't do that now even if I didn't have Leanne. "I'd like to think I wouldn't sleep with just anyone now that I'm older and there aren't the pressures of war," I continued shaking my head. "There have to be some feelings there or it's just not worth it. With those four there were no feelings. It was just sex and blowing off steam. I doubt they ever even gave me a second thought after the nights we were together." "So I'll not have to be worried that a couple of yer old bedmates are going to come to claim ya?" Leanne teased. "Wouldn't happen anyway, darling," I kissed her forehead. "They all died in the war and as for the few I've been with after — let's just say they didn't believe me when I said I had to be the only one. Even if they had an inkling of getting back together with me it wouldn't happen." "Sorry," she sniffed and buried her face in my neck again. "Nothing to be sorry about," I assured her as I rubbed her back. "That's life; it happens. "So you see, it has nothing to do with the numbers actually," I continued. "It has more to do with the feelings. Hypothetically, could I have two women in my bed at the same time? I suppose so if I had feelings for both of them. But then I'd be worried about whether or not one thought I was giving the other more attention or if they would be jealous of each other ... You see that's what I would be thinking if it were the two guys scenario. I just don't see how it would work." I shook my head sadly. "They would have to very comfortable with each other and ya be understanding them very well," Niamh nodded. "I suppose," I shrugged. "Not much of a concern to me right now." "Ah want to know why ya said Leanne canna be with another man specifically," Shauna interrupted with a malicious grin. "Does that mean she can have another woman as a lover?" "You are a troublemaker!" I growled. "Then ya can spank me for it later. Oof!" she grinned as Eimile gave her an elbow in the ribs. "You just want me to admit I'm a hypocrite," I accused. "Fine, I'm a hypocrite. The thought of another woman making love to Leanne does not bother me anywhere near as much as it would if it were a man. But it still couldn't be some meaningless skank she picked up off the street. If it were say, Valeria..." I got hmms from all four of them as I had planned. " ... and the feelings were mutual among the three of us then I could ― hypothetically speaking, of course ― see something like that as being possible. "But this is all just silly speculation," I said. "I'm not looking for it and as far as I know Leanne isn't overly attracted to women..." She looked up at me apprehensively. "Ah have before, a couple of times." "Really?" I asked surprised then grinned down at her. "Maybe we can work that into our fantasy playtime, sometime. You know, tell me about it and just change the names or something like that." "Ah think that can be arranged," she smirked sounding relieved. "Leanne Marie, you've been with a woman?" Niamh gasped. "And do ya think something is wrong with that?" Shauna demanded. "No," Niamh answered slowly, "ah just never thought of it. Ah'm just surprised is all." "Don't knock it till ya tried it," Shauna sniffed and Eimile gave her a dirty look. "Ah suppose so," Niamh giggled. "Ah haven't done so well with men, now have ah?" "Niamh," I said and she looked at me, "it really doesn't matter whether it's a man or a woman that you're with as long as they make you happy." "Ah'll keep that," she smiled. Anyway it was finally decided that while I was a worrisome old biddy and a hypocrite (although the kind of hypocrite they approved of) the situation with Rachael, Mac and Faolain was more for the good than the bad so long as her attention didn't wander and the two boys could keep from killing each other. The consensus, four to one, was that my understanding was neither needed nor important. The fact that I was the boys' supervisor and directly responsible for any fallout if/when any explosion might occur was immaterial. Showed me pretty much where I stood: right on whatever spot they placed me. ------- So it was a relatively easy week; other than I was seeing bogeymen around every corner and waiting for the Rachael debacle to explode at any moment. Oh, I forgot to mention I'd been contacted by the brigadier finally. I'd called a couple of times but he was never available so I left messages. Well, he finally called me back. It was in the early evening on one of our moving days; Leanne and Niamh were messing around with some song or other while Shauna and Eimile scrunched up against my side while we watched some old thriller on the holo. I'd told Leanne about my needing to see the brigadier; hell, it wasn't a secret mission and I wasn't a spy but mostly since we were now together she ought to know why I needed to go somewhere, maybe London, for a few days during the break. She was quite adamant about the fact that she would be going with me which sounded okay to me so I told her we'd work it out somehow. Anyway the call paused the movie and piqued the curiosity of every female in the room. "Martin old boy! So good to hear from you! It's been simply ages," he said in that loud bombastic voice I think is issued to all British general officers. "So sorry I haven't been able to get back to you before now, politics and such. Such a bore." I introduced him to all the ladies and both he and they were suitably impressed. Clemson had always been my favorite general officer although there were few enough I actually liked so maybe that wasn't such high praise. He was definitely a no-nonsense, get-it-done type of guy and cool as ice under fire. I know that for a fact. During the fucking goat-rope of an attack on his HQ, the same one I received my nomination for the VC, he was sitting not ten meters from where I was fighting for mine and everybody else's lives, calmly giving orders to the rest of his regiment coordinating a front wide full attack. Just so you know, relief of his own HQ wasn't part of those orders, we would sink or swim on our own because everything else he could beg, borrow or steal was pressing in on one of the last jihadist strongholds. We did get a little help when an American company breezed by us on their way to the front but by then it was mostly mop-up work. So after the suitable introductions and mutual platitudes I asked if it were possible to meet with him sometime during our break. "Certainly, Martin!" he bellowed. Before I could even ask where would be convenient for him he continued, "Would you be able to see me up around Leanamore? I have a hunting lodge up thereabouts and was hoping to come to Londonderry for a little time off." Leanne leaned over and whispered to me that was about twenty or twenty-five klicks from where their family lived. The whole Geallaigh clan made their homes on an island called An Inis about thirty klicks out of Londonderry which was one of the reasons that particular concert was scheduled to finish the first half of the tour. I went ahead and invited him to the concert. What the fuck ― if I couldn't get him in then what was being the head of security worth anyway? "Oh, jolly good!" he beamed. "Do you think you'd be able to squeeze in four or five of my fellows if they come along?" "Not a problem. I think I can even get you backstage," I winked. So that was all set up. Sleeping was weird I will admit especially considering the conversation the five of us had. I said the girls seemed relatively unaffected by the aborted abduction and for the most part that was true. At night it was a little different story. They appeared very reluctant to head back to their own rooms when it was time for bed claiming they didn't want to be alone. No I didn't bother to point out that Niamh would have been the only one who was technically alone; if they were apprehensive I certainly wasn't going to be the one kicking them out. Sure I figured it would put a crimp on my love life for a few nights but I wasn't looking for a short term deal here so a few nights were doable. Well you can mark that up in the column of wrong ideas I've had over the years. The couch folded out into a bed and some nights Niamh and the twins would sleep there cuddled up like a bunch of puppies. Other nights Leanne and I would have visitors. Mostly it was Niamh and while I was spooned up with Leanne she would snuggle up against my back. Pretty nice I thought even if I wasn't getting laid. Or so I thought. On the third night Leanne attacked me. All in all she was fairly quiet about it, I suppose. She sort of pushed me on my back and laid her head down on my chest and before I knew it she was on top of me rubbing her bare body all over and doing her best to stick her tongue down my throat. Sure I was a bit nervous and not comfortable making out with my girlfriend with another woman in the bed with us. It sounds nice in a fantasy but when it's really you it's happening to, it's a little bit different. Uncomfortable yes but I could handle it; besides Leanne body and tongue was taking up most of my attention anyway. That was until the sneaky little vixen, and I'm still not sure how she did this, pulled her legs up and hooked her toes in the waistband of the shorts I was wearing because we had guests and pushed them down all at once. Yes I gasped! Not that it did me any good; she had one arm around my neck holding me tightly against her lips while the other was moving further down. She wiggled her hips and two seconds later I was buried about twenty centimeters in very warm and very wet woman. She broke our kiss and lifted herself up just a little as she pushed herself back and down onto me. We didn't have the lights on but I could see her face in the moonlight coming in through the window. She had the biggest shit eating grin I think I have ever seen. "You are so bad," I gasped in a whisper. "Naughty-naughty!" She didn't say a word but just started moving up and down slowly but firmly that grin still plastered on her face. Now you're saying sure, the big strong man could have stopped his itsy-bitsy girlfriend ... Right, and Santa Claus is making book with the Easter Bunny over the Toothfairy's haul for the night! If you think you could have stopped her than you're a better man than I am. Unnerving as it was, it got worse when I felt a hand touch my side and travel down to where it met Leanne's leg splayed out alongside my hip. There wasn't much doubt whose hand it was and there wasn't any doubt from the noise we were making and the motion of Leanne's body that the owner of that hand knew exactly what was going on. I was mortified. Well, that hand's owner gave a little surprised "Oh!" giggled and then turned over in the bed. So of course Leanne stopped in embarrassment ... Yeah, right! What she did was take that as silent approval and proceeded to double her bouncing up and down on my stick while letting all those moans trapped inside out to play. From her squeaks and squeals I could tell she was getting close and I knew I was too, so to punish her for her audacity I rolled the both of us over until she was below me with her legs wrapped around my waist and I began to pound into her with everything I had. I'm not sure just how much of a punishment it was although I suppose the moans she emitted could have been from pain and the wails from fear but they sounded suspiciously like ecstasy to me at the time. By then, though, it really didn't matter since I was close and so was she. One more hard thrust and I grunted and emptied myself into her waiting body as she screamed and sunk her fingernails in my sides. I collapsed and was just able to keep up on my elbows and not crush her as we kissed very tenderly. After a minute or two we released our lip-lock and just rubbed noses as I minutely shook my head back and forth. She just grinned up at me without a bit of remorse. That's when we heard the other sounds in the room. There was moaning coming from the other side of the bed and little muffled squeals from over where the couch was. After another minute or two we heard a loud "Ahhhh!" from the the bed followed by little sharp yip further away. I chuckled and Leanne giggled. I rolled off of her and pulled her into my side. A minute or so later Niamh scrunched up against my back, sniffed and whispered, "You two smell like ya been rutting fer a week in a whorehouse." "And just how would you be knowing what a whorehouse is smelling like?" Leanne giggled. Then she stretched and groaned. "We'll be needing to get ya some of that soon for sure, my dear cuz." "What? A good fucking?" Niamh snorted. "No," Leanne drawled languidly. "Ah man who will hold you down and love ya like yer the only thing in his universe." I'm not sure what Leanne was going for but I'm pretty sure she didn't get it. Niamh sniffed a couple of times and then I felt her whole body tremble as she tried to control her sobs. I let go of Leanne and twisted around quickly. I reached out for Niamh and she tried to pull away but I wouldn't let her. I held her close and tight with her face in my neck as she cried and I whispered little soothing things in her ear. Leanne was crying on me as she reached over and stroked Niamh's hair, arm and shoulder saying, "Ah'm sorry, ah'm sorry!" Soon there was a presence next to the bed and someone worriedly asked, "Is Niamh all right?" I continued my shushing sounds and reached out. Without thinking my hand hit one very soft, silky thigh. I moved my hand up along her side, over a breast, up the neck until I could tap my finger on her lips hopefully telling whoever it was this was not the time for talk. I will say she sure didn't back away from my hand any and she bit my finger, softly thank goodness. "Niamh is fine," I whispered. "We can talk about it in the morning but not tonight." By now Niamh was just sniffing into my neck and her hand was kneading my side. "All right, if ya say so." I was pretty sure it was Shauna. "But just look who's the troublemaker now," she harrumphed. It was Shauna all right. Niamh started to giggle and snort into my neck while pressing herself even closer if that was possible. I continued to hold her tightly and rub her back as Leanne stroked her hair. We fell asleep like that after a little while. I awoke flat on my back with two soft bodies pressed up against either side, not a bad way to wake up, if you ask me. I looked down and saw two heads of hair, one black and another red, laying on my chest. I was thinking that couldn't be comfortable; funny the odd thoughts you have at times. Something must have changed letting them know I was awake because they both turned their heads and looked up at me. "Good morning, my beauties! Are we feeling better?" I asked. The two smiles I received could have lit up the room. "Ah feel wonderful!" Leanne exclaimed. "And ah feel a fool," Niamh sighed. "Crying like a babby at the drop of a pin." "It's just emotions, Niamh. You're allowed to have them," I said giving her a squeeze. "We talked about it," Leanne added. They did? When? I'm usually a pretty light sleeper and I sure didn't hear them although I will admit I'd been a little worn out from that night's exercise. "It's all roses now." "That so?" I looked down at Niamh. "Ah think it be," she smiled a little sadly. "Well, we're no thinking it's roses!" we heard and turned to see Shauna sitting up in the couch/bed with Eimile curled up against her. "Ah'm going to be complaining to the manager, ah am. What sort of custom does this place have? We didn't get a winky of sleep because a couple of animals were fighting mortal! We haven't heard such yowling since that old tom took our tabby fer a ride of 'er life." "Off with ya, silly baggage," Leanne laughed and threw one of our pillows at her. "Wild animals is it! Yer just jealous." "Not so ya notice," Shauna smirked. "But we were wondering if the big fella had left ya alive, we were." "Quite alive ah be thanking ya," Leanne huffed and then got a mischievous look on her face. "Besides, maybe it be me doing the leaving alive and not 'em." "And that would be surprising no one here," Shauna shot back while Niamh and Eimile giggled helplessly. "Ladies," I announced loudly and four sets of eyes locked on me. "This is all very amusing but I need to get up and take care of some morning business." "So, who's stopping ya?" Leanne asked. "Someone stole my shorts last night," I looked right at her. "So unless you want to see me prance around here naked someone better find them." "Ooh, 'es in the nip?" Niamh cooed running her hand under the covers and over my stomach not quite going south enough to be thoroughly indecent. Naturally Leanne had no such restraint. She reached under and grabbed my now stiffening member and gave it a god tug. "Aye, he certainly is," she smirked and began waving it around tenting the covers. "Ah vote fer prancing around naked," Shauna chimed in. I gave her my most ferocious frown and she just grinned back every bit as mischievously as Leanne. "Purely fer curiosity sake of course, not being interested in the such meself." "You are a troublemaker!" I snapped giving her the dead man's glare since the ferocious frown didn't seem to be working. She started laughing! How mortifying. "Fine," I huffed. "Have it your way." I threw the covers back and scrunched down and off the bottom of the bed and marched towards the bathroom my flagstaff waving in front of me ignoring the "Oohs," "Awh's" and even an "That is impressive," behind me wondering all the while how the hell I was going to be able to take a piss. I did if you're wondering and jumped in for a quick shower while I was at it. At least I had a towel wrapped around me when I came out. The girls had picked up the place while I'd been busy. Leanne was still naked as the day she was born and not looking the least bit embarrassed by it. Shauna and Eimile had their nighties back on and as far as I knew Niamh never had hers off. Of course she had on the short little gauzy thing that made her look more naked than if she really had been but it was something anyway. "My turn next!" Leanne called. "Whoa, little girl," I said catching her around the waist and picking her up before she could run into the bathroom. "Come on, Martin, ah got to use the jakes!" She squirmed in my arms. "Before we all scatter, I think we should talk about last night," I replied. "Just like a man, always wants to be talking afterwards. What's this mean? What's the plan? How do ya feel?" she teased. "Ouch!" she yipped as I slapped her bottom. "Martin, no need fer that," she pouted rubbing herself. "Ah'm a good girl ah am." "Yes you are," I kissed her nose. "But I don't think you meant it the way you said it." "Maybe ah did, and maybe ah didn't." She licked my chest and I set her down. "Besides, we already talked about it," she continued. "We have an understanding of it; no need fer further gabbing." "Oh? And were you planning to let me in on it?" I peered down at her. "Wasn't planning to," she grinned back up at me. "'Need to know and all that.' Ya don't need to know yet so there's no reason to trouble yerself about it. All ya need to know is it's all roses between us." "I'm not sure I'm comfortable with all this not knowing," I frowned. "Good!" She patted my chest. "It'll keep ya on yer toes then won't it?" I heard three other sets of giggles. "You three are fine with this?" I asked. "Aye," "Yes," and a nod. "This is all very strange, you know," I shook my head and was rewarded with three sets of nods as a response. "I give up," I raised my hands in surrender. "I don't understand you and I probably never will but we're off to Londonderry today for the last show before the break so we'd better get ready." ------- Brigadier General Morton (please do call me Monty) Clemson was tall, thin and very distinguished-looking. The girls fawned over him and he treated all of them like his favorite granddaughters. He never once asked why I had called him which I found very curious and only confirmed the time and date of our meeting at the end of the show. Another thing I found very curious were the five men he had shadowing his every move. If they weren't SAS (Special Air Service; British Special Forces) or ex-SAS I'd be willing to eat my boots without salt and they weren't there to pick up his laundry either, I can tell you. Now why do you suppose a retired BG would need bodyguards? Good question and one I intended to ask when we next met. I invited him to the after-show party but he politely declined saying his "associates" needed to be taken home and tucked into bed. I took that to mean they would probably be a distraction and didn't question him about it. The party was fine, the biggest yet, but it was late enough afterwards we all stayed one more night in a hotel before heading to the Geallaigh clan's home turf. Sorry to disappoint you but there was no funny stuff going on that night although all four of them decided they would sleep in my bed together. This time it was Shauna and Niamh scrunched up against my side with Eimile spooning behind Shauna while Leanne lay down right on top of me. No I didn't complain but if you're thinking that this poor dumb bastard has totally lost all control of his private life I would have looked pretty foolish arguing. Leanne was still number one in my heart but each of the other three had their own piece of it and I doubt I could have told any of them no unless I thought they were doing something dangerous. Call me a wuss or a pussy-whipped Wilbur Milquetoast if you will; I earned it. It was a short drive ― less than thirty kilometers ― to the island of An Inis. Before we get to that I'd like to give you a short synopsis of the Geallaigh clan and how they're set up on their little island paradise. I call them a clan but that's really not accurate. Clans have always been a big deal in this part of the world and the Geallaigh's do not fit into what is traditionally considered the clan mold. Believe me, I know this because every time I am foolish enough to use the word I am immediately and sometimes rather forcefully berated by all true Irishmen and women within ear shot as to my most grievous and obviously foreign mistake. Especially by four rather cute ones who are nearby most of the time. No, I don't say it just to irritate them; why do you ask? Have you been talking to them? Anyway the non-clan clan ― I'm sorry, the extended family grouping ― is comprised of five brothers: Seamus, Liam, Coln, Bran and Aidan with their wives, Betty, Brigid, Mary, Caitlin and Fiona. Aidan/Fiona are Shauna's mom and pop while Bran/Caitlin are Eimile's. Each of them have a few brothers and sisters, some older and some younger, some away at school or still at home while a couple have their own wives starting their own little clans. Niamh, Rachael and Connor's proud da and ma are Coln and Mary. They also have a couple of younger testosterone bags they call brothers wandering around the homestead. Leanne is an only child which both saddens and delights her, sometimes at the same time. Don't ask me; I just live with her, it's been pointed out emphatically many times I don't have to understand her. Seamas is her father and Betty is the pretty little Chinese lady he met and wooed while he was in New Hong Kong. Liam and his bride Brigid make up the fifth uncle/aunt combo along with their kids. They all lived in a cluster of homes centrally located to the land they work. The short answer as to what they do is farming. The long answer relies heavily on politically correct mumbo-jargon like primary agrarian nutritional source producers and other such bullshit but it all means the same: they're farmers. Pretty damn good ones from what I've seen. Not all the kids stick around the family farm but enough do that they have a fair number of homes and outbuildings clumped all together. If they had a burger joint they'd probably qualify as a village all on their own. There were going to be three of us staying with them through the break: Mac, Faolain and of course myself. Ryan was spending a little time with his wife in Londonderry while Brian and the elegant Ms Valeria were spending time doing "pre-work" for the new concert venues on the second half of the tour. Oh, I guess I never mentioned that Brian and Valeria hit it off pretty well right from that first meeting. Yep, our little corporal worshiped the very air she breathed; she accepted his adoration as her due and they got along famously. That's not really fair; Valeria was obviously fond of our little pit-bull although the adoration part didn't hurt. The tech and roadie crews were given the two weeks off and Faolain drove the bus up to An Inis. When he pulled the thing into the long circular drive connecting all their houses you'd have thought each one of them exploded with the number of people who came flying out. The girls were giddy as they raced out the door into the waiting arms of their families. Faolain received what I would consider a well deserved hero's welcome and I'm quite surprised he survived the back thumping and hugs he received. Rachael introduced Mac and Faolain as "her bodyguards" and actually got rather possessive about it especially when her cousin Aileen came over to say howdy. I found out later those two had a bit of history and very little of it was good. Aileen was just as pretty as Rachael, just as blonde and had a voice that could rival her older cousin. Her age was the only thing that probably prevented Aileen from being the lead singer when the band was first formed and neither of them forgot or forgave that fact. I didn't get to know Aileen very well and really had no desire to. I've been told that their personalities were very similar and that more than anything probably ensured there would never be any love lost between the two. I did know Aileen was attending the university in Londonderry and usually seemed to have a cloud of would be suitors following her around like flies on a shit wagon. She treated them like her personal slaves, not that I felt a bit sorry for them. As far as I'm concerned if you're going to allow someone to treat you like crap then you deserve to be treated like crap. And don't give me any shit about how the other four members of the band appeared to have me wrapped around their little fingers knotted into cute little bows; that's different, entirely different. Anyway I kind of hung back until Leanne grabbed my hand and dragged me over to meet this really big man and a tiny, very pretty Asian woman. Of course identifying someone as a really big man in that crowd doesn't narrow it down much; they were all really big men and from what I've seen their sons were taking after them like a crop of clones. "Ma, Da," she said as we approached them, "this is Martin Leforge, me fella." "I'm glad you meet you, Mr., Mrs. Geallaigh," I said sticking out my hand. His big paw engulfed mine. "Pleasure, to be sure," his voice rumbled with a subtle hint of wariness and a touch of amusement. "And you'll be calling me Seamas. Call me Mr. Geallaigh and you'll be having too many to count answering ya." "I suppose I would, Seamas," I chuckled. "And please call me Betty," the tiny Asian lady smiled as she took my hand. No Irish brogue for her, she had the crisped, clipped British twang of somebody who'd learned English as a second language and learned it better than most native speakers. I was kind of surprised Leanne didn't favor her mother in how she spoke but she didn't. If you only heard her and didn't see her you'd swear she was a seventh generation Gaelic lass. "Thank you, Betty," I smiled warmly. "I can see where Leanne got her beauty from." "Where'd ya find this one, Lea?" Seamas bellowed a laugh and smacked me on the back hard enough to rattle my teeth. "Rambling the grounds at Blarney Castle down in Cork?" "Ya know too well ah found him in Cork," she laughed hugging my arm. "But not in any silly castle. He's our chief of security as ya well know and I'll be thanking you not to be banging 'em around like he was one of yer brothers. Fer one ah'd like to keep him healthy fer a good bit of time and another he's apt to tear yer arm off and stick it up yer arse fer ya. First week we had 'em, he beat the bloody dog outa a plonker bigger than you fer bothering poor Eimile." "Leanne, such language!" Betty scolded. "Oh, he did now, did he?" Seamas asked gleefully ignoring both his wife's admonishment and his daughter's crude language. "Not really the same thing," I muttered. True, Randy may have technically weighed more than Seamas although it would take a scale to call it, but where Randy was a tub of lard Seamas was solid as Irish granite. "To be sure, to be sure, they never are," he nodded, threw his arm across my shoulders and started directing all of us towards the milling crowd. "But ya should meet with the rest of the tribe, don't ya think. "Ah suppose," he rumbled as we walked with him on one side and Leanne still hanging on to the other, "that as her da I should be asking if yer intentions are honorable towards me daughter." "Very honorable," I smiled. "That's good, that's good," he nodded. "She's a woman grown now and can make her own choices but ah still want to see her happy and not hurt. She's a handful, ya know," he whispered low enough that only half the county could hear him. "Just like her ma." Betty smacked him hard on his arm with her fist; I don't think he even flinched. "Really?" I asked in astonishment. "I hadn't noticed that." Leanne hit me but I have to admit I flinched. His laugh drowned out most of the conversation as we approached the group. I was introduced around and had more names blasted at me than I could possibly remember. I do remember speaking with Coln, Rachael and Niamh's dad, though. "Ah understand yer Whellan's chief," he said loudly. "A good lad ya have there." "One of the best," I agreed. "He saved our Rachael. We be lucky he was there," he nodded. "Ah understand you were with the other girls," he said almost accusingly. "Ah have to wonder what she was doing out that night by herself." Rachael started to steam up and she stared at me as if daring me to tell the truth about what she was doing. "She wasn't by herself, of course," I started and I could see her about to explode. "She was with Faolain. I'm not exactly sure what it was about; publicity or some such thing. You know, get your face on the vids, the band mentioned in the newies. Not something I know very much about, I'm afraid. She's pretty good at that sort of thing. I don't think the other girls like to do that as much as she does." I shrugged, "I don't know a whole lot about the business; I'm just there to protect them." He just grunted and turned away. A little while latter Seamas had turned us loose and I found Niamh standing next to us. "Ah's sorry fer me da..." she started. "Don't be," I interrupted her gently. "Nothing to be sorry about." She stood next to us quietly for a few minutes until Leanne was pulled away by somebody or another leaving us alone. "Ah'm going into town tomorrow," she finally stated. "Okay, we'll see if we can borrow a car," I nodded. "If not, we'll take the bus." "Ah need to go alone," she said looking nervous. "No," I said flatly. "That isn't going to happen. I know you feel safe around here and right here," I waved at our surroundings, "you may be right. But out there ... No. We still have no idea who is after you girls and as far as we know they may have followed us just waiting for an opportunity like this." She looked miserable. "Or is it just me you rather not go with you?" I asked softly. "It's not that," she shook her head unhappily. "Not all that. Ah just ... Ah just have something private ah must do..." "You don't have to explain," I interrupted. Maybe she had a lover she was going to see and for some reason didn't want me to know about it. For some reason the thought made me feel a little sick but I had no right to deny her a little happiness. It shouldn't bother me at all, right? I had Leanne; I should be glad she was seeing someone else. "Faolain!" I yelled and he came running over. He gave me the "Yes, sirrah?" bit and I explained it to him. "Ms Niamh has some private business to take care of in town tomorrow," I said. "You will escort her. You will watcher her but unless there is danger you will not interfere. Also you will tell no one and that includes me, what her business was. Do you understand? No one. Not a word, not a sound. Rachael doesn't hear about it and neither does Mac. You're not even to tell anyone that I told you not to say anything. This is her business and only her business." "Aye, sir, perfectly clear," he answered looking at Niamh puzzled. "Will that be all, sir?" "Will that be good enough?" I asked when he'd left. "He won't let on what you're about but I can't let you go alone. I wish I could but I can't." "It's not all that secret," she blushed and smiled. "Ah just don't want it public knowledge yet. Ah can tell ya I suppose..." "No," I said putting up my hand. "I promised from the beginning that I would try to leave you as much of your privacy as I could. As your chief of security I will do everything possible to live up to that promise; how could I as your friend do any less?" "Thank ya," she said grabbing me in a hug. Then she whispered in my ear. "Ya'll find out soon enough. It's just that ah'm a little embarrassed about it now. Thank ya fer trusting me." "You do what you need to do," I said patting her on the back. "Don't worry about me. You can tell me when you're ready or never if you prefer." "Oh, ah will," she smiled. "It's mostly yer fault anyway." "Now you're just teasing me," I grumped. "A little," she admitted. "Ach, here's yer woman. Martin? Ah know this is silly but..." "You rather not have anybody know about it, right?" She nodded sheepishly. "Then we'll make sure they don't." "And what be going on here?" Leanne asked as she strolled up to us. "Ah can't leave the man alone fer one minute without some bird draping herself all over him." "Ah was thanking 'em fer a favor," Niamh answered sticking her tongue out. "And what favor be this?" Leanne continued to needled her. "Ah ... ah..." Niamh stuttered. "Niamh has some personal business to take of tomorrow and we were setting up the escort duties," I said coming to her rescue. "Personal business, is it?" Leanne's curiosity was really piqued now. "And just what sort of personal business is this all about? Ah suppose ya'll be taking me man fer this personal business, now won't ya?" Niamh started turning red again. "As a matter of fact, she won't," I interrupted firmly. "Mr. Faolain will have the honor of being her escort tomorrow. She wants to keep this matter private and that's the way we're going to keep it." "Oh, is that so?" she turned towards me with her hands on her hips. "And I suppose ya'll not be telling me what this is all about?" "No I won't, because I don't know," I stared back at her and put my hands on my hips to mimic her. "Is there something about the word 'private' you don't understand? I can see if I can get it translated into Gaelic if that will help." "And now yer thinking that because yer me betrothed ya'll be telling me what ah can and cannot do?" Her eyes sparkled in merriment. "That's right," I said taking my hands off my hips and crossing my arms. Then without changing expressions I added, "However, when I thought it, it didn't seem anywhere near as silly as when you just said it." "Lea," Niamh interrupted placing a hand gently on Leanne's arm. "Ah don't want ya two to fight. Ah can tell ya..." "No ya won't," Leanne said never taking her eyes off of me. "The blackguard has the right of it here..." "I'll try not to make a habit of it," I grunted. "Ah don't envision that being a problem," she chuckled. "Besides ah like it when he gets all manly and such." She stepped close to me, wrapped her arms around my waist and rubbed her face in my chest. Cheek still against me she looked at Niamh. "Ah'll do as ma man says this time, and leave ya be. Yer secrets are yer own." "Ah'll be telling soon enough," Niamh said apologizing. "Ah just want it to keep it to meself fer now." "Wait," she exclaimed after a moments pause. "Did ya say betrothed?" "Aye, ah did," she grinned. "We'll be married sometime after the tour." "Ah ... ah, congratulations," Niamh said looked a bit like a pole-axed steer. "Have ya told anyone else?" "Not yet," Leanne replied. "Just waiting fer the right time." She then let loose of me and reached over to grab Niamh hands. "This changes nothing, Niamh. Martin and me decided this awhile ago." "Oh," Niamh shook her head as if to clear it then looked at Leanne with a little concern. "So quickly?" "Ah knew he was the one fer me from the first day or so," Leanne grinned slyly. "Ah was not about to let 'im get away." "Then ah'll be leaving ya two alone," Niamh sighed. "Ah think not," Leanne scoffed. "He still has a few uncles and cousins to meet and he'll be need all the support we can give him. Besides he still has to meet with Aileen and ah be thinking it best if he has both arms occupied when he does." "Oh ya do now do ya?" Niamh giggled as Leanne pressed her close to my one side while she returned to her place on the other. Together they guided me back towards the throng. "Who is this Aileen I need to be fully occupied to meet?" I teased, giving them both a squeeze. "That one there," Leanne pointed to a very pretty blonde girl who I just now noticed was giving us surreptitious glances. "Has a voice like a songbird she does..." "But she's a man-eater," Niamh finished for her cousin. "Doesn't look too tough to me," I sniffed. "I think I can take her." Both girls laughed and punched me in the sides. Edited by Morgan ------- Chapter 8 Niamh got her business done the next morning. They were only gone an hour or so; if she had been meeting a paramour it must have been a real quickie. She did look a lot more relaxed but it seemed to me to be more of a relieved relaxed than a got-your-tubes-cleaned kind of relaxed. I nodded to Faolain and he just gave me a small shrug in return. Leanne made a beeline for her cousin right after they got out of the car and I just barely caught her in time. I threatened her with a bare assed whipping in public if she bothered Niamh about this and got her grudging agreement. No, I don't think I scared her one little bit. The night before had been interesting. Near bedtime Seamas announced they'd had a room made up for me, the boys were farmed out to a couple of the other houses, when Leanne voiced her dissent, loudly. "Martin will be sleeping with me," she announced in a very firm and no-nonsense tone. "Now that's just not right, Lea," Seamas replied. "Think of what the others will say..." "My room, his room or a room in town," she stated flatly. "He's my fella and where he goes, ah go." "Lea," Seamas growled warily. Right then Betty put her had on his arm and his mouth snapped shut like a trap. "She's a grown woman, Seamas," she said softly. Betty spoke softly but there was steel under that velvet. There was no doubt where Leanne had gotten her determination. I don't think I could ever see Betty yelling or screaming but there was no compromise in her voice, no room for negotiation, none. Betty didn't talk just to hear the sound of her own voice but when she did it might as well have been etched in marble. "Leanne is an adult now," she continued. "She has the right to determine where and with whom she will sleep. While this will always be her home, she is no longer a child." She looked at Leanne, "However we can hope she will demonstrate some ... discretion in the matter." "Of course, Ma," Leanne nodded with a sly smile. "Ah'll be the soul of tact and prudence." "If you do it will be the first time," Betty snorted. "However we'll leave that up to your judgment. Am I to assume this is not an unusual arrangement? Should I also assume this is known to your cousins?" "It is not our first time, Mother," Leanne giggled. "And aye, ya might say it is well known throughout the troupe." "As I thought," Betty nodded. "Very well, do try and remember to keep it down though; your father has to get up early in the morning." ------- The day went relatively smoothly other than I was continuously worried that Leanne was going to explode with curiosity. I will say Niamh didn't help matters one little bit. She hung around us with a smug little smile on her face and I just knew she was daring Leanne to ask her about her morning. I was seriously considering threatening her with a bare bottom spanking if she got any worse. That evening was when all hell broke loose. It started when Eimile went out to the stable to visit her horse ... Let me start again and I'll try to lay it out just as it was given to me later on. It was after diner and most if not all the families were hanging around while some of the girls told them about the tour so far. Eimile went out to the stables to visit her horse. Eimile loves horses and she hadn't seen hers for more than a month other than for a few minutes during the day. I didn't see her leave but someone else did. She was talking to her mare, feeding her carrots or something like that when Sean, Aileen's older brother, stepped up behind her. "Hello, Em," he said as she gasped and turned. "Been a long time." Sean had been away at school and had come back just a short while before the band had started gearing up for their tour. "Sean," she mumbled turning away. "Now, is that any way to be fer yer favorite cousin," he chuckled evilly and grabbed her arm pulling her back around to face him. "Leave me alone!" she sobbed trying to shake his arm off. "Go away and leave me alone." "Ah think not," he smirked. "True, 'tis been awhile but ya seemed to enjoy it the last time and I'm thinking with us being alone here maybe we can try it again." "Leave me alone!" she screamed this time. "Ach, they can't hear ya girl," he said pulling her close. "Yer wrong," she said calmly. "Martin, help me!" I had been sipping on a glass of very good, thick brown beer when the "Martin, help me!" flashed in through my implant. I was halfway to the door when that glass hit the floor, I never did find out if it broke. My AI was giving me range and bearing to the distress call as I was running flat out with my pistol in my hand. The stable door didn't have a lock and I'd just barely lifted the latch as I slammed into and through it. The two of them were standing in front of me; Sean looking surprised and Eimile relieved. "Let go of her," I said breathing hard. "Or what you'll be doing? Shooting me?" he sneered. I'll admit to being tempted and I'll also admit to later regretting the fact that I didn't shoot him but I blame it on the fact I didn't know then what I know now. Maybe what happened was even better than shooting the fucker though. Well, regrets are good I've been told, it means you're alive to have them. "Not this time," I said slowly. "Now. Let. Her. Go." "And you'll be making me little man?" he chuckled. Yah, he was a big boy just like all the other Geallaigh men but that meant even less to me than his crack about "little man." "Yes, I will," I said evenly. Eimile said I smiled right then but it wasn't a nice smile. More like a smile a wolf makes right before it rips the throat out of its prey. She said she wouldn't have liked to have that smile directed at her but at that particular time it made her giddy. Eyes locked with his I quickly closed and grabbed the wrist of the hand that was holding Em. Thumb to the pressure point, a twist until she was free and then I slammed the elbow back into his sternum, hard, pushing him back and knocking the breath out of him. "Are you all right, Eimile?" I asked. I barely noticed that the stable was filling up. Everyone must have raced after me when I'd run out. Mac and Faolain had their pistols out, thankfully pointed at the ceiling, and were cutting our other four charges out of the herd and pushing them back against one of the walls. All four of them looked like they wanted to run over to us but luckily by now they knew enough to stay when the boys told them to stay. She looked up at me with those huge violet eyes sparkling with tears and nodded. I felt movement behind me and heard someone who had to be Shauna saying, "Stupid fucker." I wasn't so peaceable this time. Sean's fist grazed my back as I turned into him and I'm pretty sure the only other parts of his body that touched me were his knee, shoulder, ribs and face. Oh yeah, I did knee his groin to get his face down to where I could put a couple of forearms across it. That boy was a bloody mess when I'd finished. I think the knee was dislocated; it bent at kind of a funny angle. I knew the shoulder was. The nose ― well maybe a surgeon could put it back together but right then it was kind of mashed all over his face. The crowd was absolute silent; you could have heard the proverbial pin drop, as he toppled over and landed on his back. It didn't stay quiet for long. About two seconds after he hit the ground Eimile, sweet little Eimile, meek little Eimile, was around me and kicking the dog shit out of him. "Ya fucking bastard!" she screamed and sobbed at the same time. "Ah'm no little girl ya can rape this time!" She punctuated this with kicks of her hard, pointy boots to his ribs, thighs and stomach. "Ah've got a man to protect me, ya fucking shit!" Kick! Kick! That's going to leave a mark, I remember thinking but you know right after hearing the word "rape" I didn't really give a crap if she kicked him to death. If she did I'd have sworn in court he'd got trampled by a horse. Others weren't of the same mind. "Eimile!" Liam, Sean's dad, shouted and took a step forward followed by the crowd. There's something about the discharge of a 5mm handgun that tends to make people freeze in their tracks. Liam stared down at the plume of dust between his feet where the round from my pistol hit the hard packed dirt floor and then he looked up into the business end of my barrel. "You done?" I asked Eimile casually. She grunted and gave him one more vicious kick in the ribs. "Aye, ah am now," she snorted and flung her hair back over her shoulder. She walked over to me, the side without the gun, and flung her arms around me. "Thank ya, Martin," she said pressing her head against my shoulder. "My pleasure," I gave her shoulder a squeeze. "Remind me never to get you pissed off at me." "Ah don't think that'll be a problem," she grinned up at me. "But ma toes hurt. This kicking is a hard thing." "Comes with the job," I shrugged. I was suddenly hit on my other side by a body and just barely got my gun up and out of the way. Shauna had her arms wrapped around both me and Eimile and was blubbering. I gently peeled her away and reholstered the pistol. "Eimile!" came a woman's hard, angry voice. I looked; it was Caitlin, Eimile's mom. "Did ya say this boy raped you?" "Aye, ah did," she said flatly. "When ah was fourteen the bastard caught me in this selfsame stable, dragged me up to the loft and had his way with me." "Why did ya not tell us, child?" she gasped. "Ah told him," she sneered and pointed with her chin towards her father. "He slapped me and called me a lying slut. Ah learned to keep ma mouth shut." "Is this true, Bran?" Caitlin rounded and scowled at her husband. "Now, Caitlin," he said putting his hands out to soothe her. "Ah had no reason to believe 'er. It would have been 'is word against 'ers." "And so ya didn't believe yer own daughter?" Ice could have formed on those words. "Enough!" another voice interrupted. It was Mary, Rachael and Niamh's mother, taking a step forward. "Eimile, we women would like to talk to you, if ya will." "Aye, ah will," Eimile took her arm from around me and stood up straight. "But ah have another thing to say first." Reaching over she grabbed Shauna and pulling her in tightly gave her a passionate kiss right there in front of everyone. Releasing the shocked girl she faced the crowd again. "Shauna and me have been lovers fer years and will continue to be." There was a general gasp from the crowd. "If ya cannot accept us, then we will leave and not come back." "Ah suppose this is also something we should talk about," Mary said raising her eyebrows. "Ah have something to say too," Leanne said as she walked over to me. "Martin and me are to be married. As soon after the tour as can be arranged." "Hmm, well," Seamas muttered until Betty stuck her elbow in his side. "Ah have something to say also," Niamh walked out in front of everyone proudly. "Ah have just today filed for divorce from Tom Callahan." There were more gasps from the crowd. What I didn't know then was there hadn't been a divorce in all their families for over three generations. That actually caused more of a stir than Leanne announcing she was going to marry a Yank stranger. "And now ah suppose ah should have me say since everyone else seems to," Rachael smiled and planted herself between Mac and Faolain. I noticed they both still had their pistols out so I gave them the palm down signal and they both slipped them back into their holsters. "These two gorgeous lads are my lovers," she smiled brightly as she took an arm of each in hers. "Ah missed them in me bed last night but ah don't intend to again." More mutterings than gasps this time. "It appears we have a lot to talk about," Mary mused. "Ladies, shall we go?" She then turned to the waiting men. "You!" she pointed a finger at them. "Clean up that mess," her finger moved to the moaning form of Sean. "If it needs hospital, get it! Find out what you can from him and be sure ya get the truth! We'll be taking care of this and all of ya are on notice, to be sure!" With that she turned around and started the women and girl cousins out the door. I nodded at the boys and they started to follow them. "We'll not be needing men in this, Mr. Leforge," Mary said sharply. "You pick a house for your meeting and they'll be outside it," I answered her. "Do ya think ya can keep these bounders out?" she glared at the men. "Do you really think they'll try to get in?" I asked. "They best not," she sniffed and turning stomped out. There was silence for a minute or two until someone said, "Going to need a physician this one is." "Best get a lorry around and we'll take 'im into town," another mused. "Did ya have to be so ... forceful with 'im," Liam frowned up at me from where he was kneeling beside his son. "He came at 'im from the back, Uncle Liam," one of the boy cousins protested. "Tis lucky 'es alive at all," another agreed. "The women ain't done with 'im yet," one more muttered. "He be wishing 'e was dead if 'e done to poor cousin Eimile what she says." Nobody else talked to me while they brought a truck around and loaded Sean in the back. "What'll we tell the Gardi (police) when they be asking what happened to 'im," one of the cousins who was riding with him asked. "Tripped over 'is bootlaces," another cousin offered. It was Finn, I think, Shauna's brother. "Damnest thing ah ever saw." "He doesn't have any bootlaces," a third cousin pointed out. "Ah know," Finn nodded. "That's what makes it so amazing." "Worry about that later," Coln told them. "If Sean comes to, Liam, ya best tell 'im he's got more to worry about than the Gardi and he'd best keep his mouth shut." "They won't be getting that mouth open anytime soon," someone muttered. "He'll be eating soup fer a month." "Enough of that," Coln barked sharply. "Get 'im going." We all watched as the truck drove out of sight. "Ahhh," Coln sighed rubbing his head and then looked up at me. "A fine job ya did protecting our Eimile there, lad. Ah can see our women folk are safe in yer hands." Then he added shamefully, "Better than in our hands, it would seem." "Just doing my job," I told him stiffly. "Aye, and maybe more than that," he looked at me keenly. "But that's neither here nor there." He looked up to the house where the women had gone and sighed. "There'll be hell to pay fer this, mark my words." "And ah'll be receiving most of it," Bran said and then added, "Justifiably." "Aye brother," Seamas nodded in agreement. "Ya screwed the dog on this one." "Ah know," Bran lamented. "Ah hope ah don't lose a daughter over this. And this thing with Shauna ... Ah don't know what to think of it." "If you want my advice, don't think about it. Ignore it if you can't accept it," I said. "You knew about this?" he asked and I nodded. "It doesn't bother you?" "Not at all," I replied. "And I would suggest if it does bother you, keep it well hidden. They love each other and make each other happy. Isn't that what you really want for your children?" "But 'tis a sin!" he protested. "I don't know anything about sin," I told him flatly. "But I know all about evil. I've seen plenty of that and I can guarantee you what they are doing isn't evil. I'd also be willing to bet you if you try to separate them you will lose them both; your choice to make." "Ah suppose ya feel the same way about Rachael and your two fellas," Coln looked at me questioningly. "I fear more for their hearts than I do their souls," I replied. "But they're grown men and know the risks," I shrugged. "I didn't exactly encourage it but I will admit Rachael has been much more ... pliable since being with them. I think the three of them are happy now, so I'm certainly not going to interfere." "Hmm," he grunted. "And Niamh? Did you encourage 'er with this divorce thing?" "I told her she should do whatever made her happy," I stated simply. "She was one very, very unhappy woman and she deserves better. I haven't met the man but from what I've seen her husband is a total asshole." Faolain came trotting back about that time passing the word from the women that the men were to find alternate accommodations for the night. There was grumbling but nobody was insane enough to march up there and argue the point. Mac, Faolain and I took turns walking patrol and sacking out in some of the chairs on the porch. It was a nice night so it wasn't so bad. ------- I woke to a kiss on the cheek and another on the lips. Leanne and Eimile grinned down at me. "Yer to get inside and get some sleep me lad," Leanne ordered me. I yawned and rubbed the sleep out of my eyes. "How are you feeling, Eimile?" "Right as rain, Martin," she smiled. "Ah feel like a great weight has been lifted from me back. Ah haven't felt this good fer a long time." "Kicking the shit out of someone who definitely deserved it has a way of doing that," I said yawning again. "Damn, I must be getting old; I shouldn't have this trouble waking up." "Yes, yer an old man and ya need yer sleep," Leanne teased. "Yes, ma'am," I agreed yawning again. The led me to a small room with a bed and even though I grumbled about it they both stripped me bare and tucked me in. I was asleep again before they left the room. When I awoke again it was close to noon and my clothes were gone. In their place were a robe and an old-style bar of soap. I inferred from that I was to clean myself up and putting on the robe hunted for the 'freasher. It was a real shower and I'll admit it felt good. Niamh and Shauna were waiting for me in the bedroom this time and even though I protested vigorously that I didn't need help dressing it was about as effective as my earlier whining had been. They led me out to the kitchen where food was set down in front of me as the five aunts/mothers and my four girls watched me. I was told Rachael was taking care of "her" men. "They're younger and needed less sleep," Leanne teased. "They were up earlier." I gave her the look that said she was going to pay for that later. She just laughed and wiggled her rear end in my face. "Are ya going to spank me now?" she asked cheekily. "You know," I said cocking my head to look at her. "It occurs to me if you like it, it isn't much of a punishment." "Oh, but ah don't like it," she fluttered her eyelashes at me. "Ah promise ah'll cry fer ya." "Leanne Marie," Betty scolded. "Leave the poor man be. You're playing with fire, you know, and it'll get your bum burned." Leanne just laughed. "Enough of that," Mary demanded. "We have serious business to discuss here. We talked of many things last night and we're not finished talking about all of them yet. Tis a terrible mess we have here. Eimile wasn't the only lass Sean has bothered," Brigid, Sean's mother looked sick. "Thank heavens the others were older and he never pressed them as hard. He might have been left without his plums if he had. But now we got to decide what to do with him," she sighed and looked at me. "Ya being practically the only male of ours not presently in disgrace, we'd be looking fer your opinion." "Actually that should be up to Eimile rather than me," I said looking over at Em. She looked me right in the eyes and smiled but didn't say anything. "In a perfect world you should turn it over to the police and let them handle it," I continued. "Ach, the dog-rotters willn't do a thing," Mary scoffed. "It's been too many years." "And it would be her word against his," I nodded. "I'd believe her but getting a jury to ... Not so easy." "We were thinking to banish him from the family," Mary said and Brigid sobbed. "Then the problem would be some other poor woman's," I shook my head. "Sean is a predator and they don't just stop. I'll bet if you go back to his university you'll find more cases of abuse and possibly attacks." "So what can we do? Shoot 'em?" Mary demanded. "You're asking a soldier whether violence solves a problem?" I snorted. "Hell yes it would solve it. I can guarantee he would never attack a woman again." Now Brigid did break down and start crying and even Eimile frowned at me. "However we don't usually do that in civilized society anymore," I continued. "What he needs is professional help; I mean good professional help and not the kind you'll find in your public health system unless yours is a hell of a lot better than ours. Of course he could refuse to go." "He'll not refuse," Mary growled. "But if he does you can report him for the attacks he has already committed and while they may not arrest him he would be flagged as a potential sexual predator. It'll follow him and at least he'll be watched." "It'll bring public shame to the family," Mary sighed. "The shame is not the families, its Sean's," I replied forcefully. "And even if you think it is shameful, that's nothing compared to protecting some innocent woman out there. If you don't believe me just ask Eimile." Not many of them would look at her but I did and she looked right back. She wasn't smiling this time but she nodded once sharply. "And while we're at it, most of your men folk weren't guilty of anything that I know of," I added. "My Bran is," Caitlin said coldly. "True," I nodded. "And he knows it. Last night he was more worried about losing a daughter than he was about whatever punishment he would get." "As he should," Eimile said coolly. "Ah'm not so keen on forgiving and forgetting." "No one said you had to," I smiled at her. "But if you at least keep talking to each other there may be room for that in the future." "Aye and ah'm sure he's all aflutter about Shauna and meself," she snorted. "Not as much as you might think," I answered her. "I think he's concerned what you're doing is a sin and while I told him I know nothing about sin I know all about evil, and I know for a fact what you're doing is not evil." "We're a bit worried about that ourselves," Mary grumbled. "Well you shouldn't be," I scolded them this time. "Be glad the both of them have found someone that makes them happy. I'll tell you what I told your husbands: You try to break them apart and you'll lose both of them, sure as hell." "Ah was hoping fer some grandchildren," Caitlin sighed and Fiona sighed along with her. Eimile laughed, "You'll be getting plenty from those brothers of ours and even if it was just ourselves, who said you wouldn't be getting grandbabies?" "Well I suppose they can nowadays ... With no need fer a man..." Caitlin said slowly. "And who said there'd be no man?" Eimile again laughed. "Shauna and me aren't against men in general but we'd need to find one who'll take us as a package is all." "Lucky man," I said and was rewarded by a kiss from both of them. These were real kisses and a number of the women glanced over at Leanne as if expecting her to react but all she did was sit there and beam. "Ach, well we have a course to steer," Mary said finally. "We'll weather this in time. At least we'll have some calm to work through it." Isn't there a saying about if you want to make the gods laugh whisper your plans in their ears? Edited by Morgan ------- Chapter 9 The next morning Sean was still in healing sleep (I may have put him there initially but I think Eimile kept him there) and Bran was in temporary exile with one of the married cousins. The men folk were grudgingly allowed to reenter their homes and had come in from the fields for lunch. Most of us were eating with Coln and Mary when a car pulled up outside. "Visitor," Mac called out from the front room. Coln walked out and the rest of us followed. "Oh, bloody hell," he growled when he looked out the front window. "It's Tom." We all looked at Niamh who just stood there serenely. "Ah expected this," she said. "Ah didn't expect him to be overjoyed at being separated from his dole. Ah'll go out and talk to 'im." "Do you want me with you?" I asked. "You're sweet," she said running a palm down my cheek. "But ah have to do this meself." "I'll be on the porch if you need me." She just smiled and walked out the door. The rest of us followed but stayed back letting her go down to meet him near the driveway. Tom Callahan was all smiles and had a big bunch of flowers in one hand. He opened his arms wide and tried to kiss her but she put one hand against his chest and pushed him away. "This is all just a mistake, my love," we heard him say. We couldn't hear what Niamh replied but whatever it didn't sit too well with him. First he tried pleading then when that didn't work he started yelling about how it was all her fault. Finally he started getting angry and I felt myself tensing. Leanne must have felt it too because she took her arm out of mine and placed her hand in the small of my back. Niamh didn't yell, she didn't scream but what she said must have finally set him off because he threw the flowers down and really started shouting. "There's another man!" he screamed. "Is that it? You've been sleeping around on me, you slut!" With that he slapped her hard across the face and she tumbled to the ground. I don't even remember leaving the porch. Leanne told us later Coln started coming behind me when Mary reached up and grabbed his ear. "Stay right here, Coln Geallaigh!" she ordered him. "Her man will take care of 'er." "Her man is beating 'er!" Coln grimaced trying to pull away. "No, the man that use to be her husband just beat 'er," Mary said sharply. "And 'e won't be doing that long. Her man is running to protect her. Get yer boys ready. There'll be another mess to clean up soon." Of course I didn't hear any of this. I was running as fast as I could and wondering if I should just pull down and shoot the motherfucker. I decided not to but it was a close call. Tom saw me coming, grinned and had just enough time to get into a fighter's stance. He took a roundhouse swing at me that I ducked and the rest is, as they say, history. Tom Callahan may have been a brawler but he wasn't worth a shit as a fighter. As his swing flew over my head I kept it going with a little push. Two rabbit punches to the kidney and the side of my boot to the back of the knee and he was down on his knees holding his back and yowling in pain. I moved around in front of him and I'll be damned if he didn't try to stand up. Never! I repeat, never! Hit a man in the face with your fist. It may make you feel better but I'm betting not enough to cover the pain of a broken hand. Besides a forearm works even better and you can put a lot of power behind it if you know what you're doing. One smash and he was toppling over like a felled oak. He lay there dead to the world flat on his back with his legs from the knees down doubled under him. He was out of the picture so I ignored him from then on and rushed over to Niamh. "Are you all right?" I asked breathlessly as I pulled her hand away from her face. I felt like going back and doing an Eimile on his ribs when I saw the welt he had put there and the cut lip. She looked at me kind of dreamily and then wrapped her arms around my neck and gave me one hell of a kiss. "Ah love ya," she sighed when she finally pulled back. "I love you too," I said. "But we need to get something on that." "Plenty of time," she replied smiling. Taking my hand she walked over to her unconscious husband and looked down in disappointment. "Damn. Ah really wanted 'im to hear this," she said. "Ah wish ya could hear this, Tom. This is the man ah've slept with, many times, but we haven't made love, yet. If ah ever see ya again ah'll have 'im beat ya till ya haven't a whole bone in yer bloody body." With that she turned and still holding my hand walked back towards the house. About halfway back I had to drop Niamh's hand when I was hit by a little tornado. At a dead run Leanne jumped and wrapped her arms around my neck and legs around my waist and didn't seem inclined to release either of them. Reaching out she barely touched Niamh's bruised cheek with one finger causing Niamh to wince. "Come along, luv, we need to get that taken care of," she said her head resting on my shoulder. Niamh glanced back at her husband still lying in the drive; he was just beginning to emit some pitiful moans. "Let someone else take out the rubbish," Leanne said firmly. Seeing that both hands were unnecessary to hold my little tumor I grabbed Niamh's hand again and pulled her gently towards the house. ------- "God Almighty!" Finn whistled as he, Seamas and Coln looked down at Tom Callahan with James Mac Giolla Phadraig standing behind them with an amused expressing on his face. "Is 'e always going to be leaving 'is mess behind fer us to clean up? Ouch!" he yelped as Seamas smacked him lightly in the back of the head. "Watch yer tone, boy," Seamas said casually. "Yer speaking of yer new cousin there and 'es not a good man to get riled, it would appear. So, Coln, call fer the medical or cart 'im in ourselves?" he asked cocking his head. "Don't fancy the drive meself," Coln frowned and spit barely missing his soon to be ex-son-in-law's boot; he frowned this time in disappointment. "Medical it is," Seamas nodded. "Might bring the Gardi, ya know." "Then they can lock the wanker up after fixin 'im, now can't they?" "Might," Seamas nodded. "Course they might have an issue with the Yank putting 'imself in a squabble between a man and 'is wife." "They do, then they'll have an issue with me," Coln replied ominously. "Nobody strikes me daughter like that." "Doubt it'll happen," Seamas chuckled. "Saw a number of the young ones taking pictures on their comps. It'll show clear enough this blackguard struck Niamh without provocation and Martin intervened on her behalf. Ah'll make the call." "Already on the way, sir," Mac spoke up behind them for the first time. "He's a quick one isn't 'e Mr. Mac?" Finn asked looking back towards the house. "In war there's the quick and the dead, me boyo," Mac snorted. "The major's alive. Enough said." "So, Coln, what ya think of the three of them," Seamas asked cheerfully as they heard the sirens of the rescue squad in the distance. "Ah don't know what to think," Coln replied glancing at Finn. "Ach, the boy's twenty years old," Seamas scoffed. "If 'e or any of the others don't see it, they're blind in both eyes." "Ah'm thinking ah going to stay out of it. That's what ah'm thinking," Coln snorted looking down at the body laying at their feet. "What about yerself? Yer Leanne is the one announcing they're betrothed." "Ah'm thinking ya have the better part of it and staying out as much as possible," his brother chuckled. "Leanne can take care of 'erself and she didn't appear to be overly concerned with the kiss or the hand holding. Ah'm thinking they'll work it out themselves" "It's all very strange," Coln sighed. "Aye," Seamas added still chuckling. ------- Someone had called the medics which was okay by me. I didn't think I'd broken the fucker's neck but then I have to admit I didn't really give a shit one way or the other. When we got back to the house we were immediately surrounded by a whole throng of the Geallaigh women and hustled directly inside. Niamh was given a cold compress and a couple of pain meds. It was going to look ugly for a few days but they had some things that would reduce the swelling and speed up the healing. I was bombarded by questions and comments from at least half a dozen female cousins and wives of cousins while the mothers took care of Niamh. They buzzed around like butterflies and I was beginning to get a bit dizzy when Leanne, having detached herself when we came through the door, started to shoo them off, or at least push them back a little. Eimile and Shauna pushed themselves through the crowd and stood beside me with Leanne until Eimile looked down at the sleeve of my shirt. "Ach, ya've done it again, Martin Leforge!" she scolded shaking her head. "Ya've got blood all over yer shirt! Do ya think we've got nothing better to do than clean up after ya? Off with it! Off with it!" "I don't really need..." I whined and Leanne gave me the evil eye and shook her finger in my face saying, "Now!" All three of them stripped me to the waist in seconds flat while giggling. I'm sure I turned red when I heard the expected gasps and "Oohs." You'd think they'd never seen scars before. Maybe it was the pistol holstered at my hip come to think about it. I'd been wearing my shirt out to cover it; not that it was a secret or anything but visible hardware has a tendency to make some people nervous so I usually kept it covered when I could. Out of sight, out of mind, and all that. I was pushed down into a chair while this pack of females circled me like chocolate had just been outlawed and I was the last piece left on earth. It was actually a bit disconcerting. I looked up at Leanne who was standing next to me with her hand on my shoulder and she looked back down at me with the biggest smirk I had ever seen. I had no idea what in the hell was going on. Luckily Shauna and Eimile followed by Betty came out of the kitchen with my still damp shirt. "Out of here, you trollops! Give the man some air." Betty announced shooing away the giggling gaggle. "And you," she zeroed in on her daughter, "are old enough to know better. Do your bragging some other time." Bragging? Now I was totally lost. "Ah don't know what ya mean, ma," Leanne answered so innocently butter wouldn't melt in her mouth. "You and your two henchmen here," she muttered. "Poor lad hasn't an idea at all." I was about to ask what in the hell was going on when Coln knocked on the door and asked to come in. Yeah that was strange since it was his door and his house. He said the police were outside and needed to talk to me and Niamh. I started to get up but Leanne and Eimile none to gently shoved me back down while Shauna ran back to get Niamh. "They can come in here and talk to him," Leanne said. It wasn't a recommendation or a request, it was a take it or leave. I felt movement behind me and looked back to see Niamh and her mother standing behind me. Niamh held the compress against her face with one hand while the fingers of her other hand lightly rested on the back of my neck. Two people in the uniform of the Irish police entered with Coln and Seamas; one was an older gentleman and the other a younger, although by no means young, woman. I got the feeling she was the more competent of the two. Her eyes took in my gun, my scars, the two woman with their hands on my shoulders, Niamh's hand on the back of my neck and the compress over her cheek; all in that order without a single change in expression. "You would be Mrs. Callahan, would you?" the man asked Niamh. "And you are Martin Leforge?" looking down at me. We both answered yes. "We understand you had a disagreement with yer husband, Mrs Callahan and this gentleman interfered with it," he glanced down at me. He must have just noticed my pistol because he instinctively took a half step back. "Ah prefer, Ms Geallaigh," Niamh answered coolly. "Ah am divorcing that parasitic, cheating son-of-a-bitch. He received the notice yesterday and today 'e came to try to convince me otherwise. When ah refused 'e struck me. Martin," her hand now stroked the back of my head, "prevented 'im from doing so again." "Mr. Leforge, ah assume you have a permit fer that weapon," he asked nervously. "He's our bodyguard! Of course 'e does," Leanne said dangerously. "It's in the system, Jim," the female officer spoke for the first time. "The two tall, lanky lads we passed are also permitted. You have two others around here that are also permitted to carry if ah'm not mistaken, Mr. Leforge?" "I have two others on this detail but they're not here right now," I replied and she nodded. "Are you stating yer husband struck you without provocation?" she asked Niamh before the male officer could start up again. "No physical provocation," Niamh smiled. "Ah told 'im ah was throwing 'is cheating ass to the curb and draining 'is soup bowl dry. Told 'im 'e could go back to 'is little sluts and never darken me doorway again. He gave me this as a good-by gift," she said lowering the compress showing them her bruised cheek. "Do you wish to swear a complaint against him?" the woman asked her eyes tightening when she saw the bruise. "No," Niamh answered putting the compress back. "But ah do want a protective order against 'im." "Protection fer you or fer him," the officer chuckled lightly. "So ah don't have to be hit again before me bodyguard can stop 'im," Niamh replied coolly. "Is he that stupid, then?" the officer asked with raised eyebrows. "As a box of rocks," Niamh confirmed with a snort. "Well then," the female office nodded. "We've seen the recording of the incident and yer injury. The actions taken by Mr. Leforge appear to be justified and reasonable if not judiciously restrained. You'll not swear a complaint against Mr. Callahan but ah've noted your application fer a protective order. "Ah can see no further reason fer us to be here bothering these folk," she concluded. "Restrained? But a man is heading to hospital!" the male officer protested. "And this Yank put 'em there fer having a wee argument with 'is wife." "You hit yer wife when you have a wee argument, Jim?" the woman suddenly looked angry. "Ah think not or ah'd be in ma dress blues attending yer funeral. Ah'm certain of it. Mr. Leforge could have just as easily shot the bastard and be done with it, or do you think that's a toy he be carrying on his hip? Do you think he couldn't? You think those scars his women are showing us came from playing too much cricket as a lad? Don't be daft, Jim! You take this man before the magistrate with what we have here and he's more likely to lock us up. As it is we may be ordered to force a complaint against Callahan our ownselves given what we've seen. Ah assume, Ms Geallaigh, there's a reason you don't want to swear against him?" "We'll be back on tour in a week or so," Niamh answered calmly. "We've no need fer court to muck about with the schedule. Ah just want 'im gone." "We'll note that to the magistrate and the chief," she nodded. "Maybe they'll feel he's had his punishment enough. We'll let you know if it turns out differently." The woman winked at me and smirked at the girls before pushing her still-muttering partner out the door. "Ah think she was flirting with ya," Leanne giggled as she sat down on one of my knees. "Naw, it was the gun," I shook my head. "Guns have a tendency to make women in uniform get this fuzzy feeling in their stomachs," I teased. "Is that a gun in yer pocket or are ya just happy to see us?" Shauna cooed and planted herself on my other knee. "It's giving me this fluttery feeling in me tummy and ah'm not even in uniform." She rested her head on my shoulder and batted her eyes up at me. "My Lord, have all the females in this family gone mad?" Mary exclaimed in exasperation. "You'd think it was breeding season at the sheep station. Get off of that man, ya wenches! Give 'im back 'is shirt and get on with yer selves!" she ordered as Shauna and Eimile laughed and scampered into the kitchen. "And you," she frowned at Leanne. "Ya should be ashamed of yerself." "Oh, ah am," Leanne nodded solemnly. "Terrible ashamed." "Ach," Mary sighed and muttered something under her breath. "You've known her since we came here and she was a wee one," Betty laughed at Mary. "Did you really expect better?" "She always been more circumspect, at least," Mary protested. "True, but now she's claimed her man and she doesn't care." Betty shook her head in amusement. "Mama, ah'd never willing bring shame down on Martin," Leanne protested and scrunched back against me as if looking for protection. "We know, sweet one," Mary smiled. "But these last couple of days have been trying ones fer us older folk." "Aunt Mary, yer not old," Leanne scoffed. "Sure and you'd be a perfect lady at all times," Mary laughed and then looked at me. "How are ya, lad?" "Me?" I asked surprised. "I'm fine, never better. Confused as hell but fine." "The natural state fer a male," Mary chuckled. "At least we can be sure our boys won't be trying any of their roughhouse tricks to test yer mettle. We may not have the brightest lads on the isle but they aren't that stupid. Now you," she looked at Niamh, "ya need some rest and if ya can spare me the time ah'd like us to have a talk later on." "Ah'm thinking ah'll not be getting out of that one," Niamh chuckled. "Yer a grown woman and not expected to be explaining yerself to yer mother," Mary replied. "But ah would like to talk." Niamh nodded and then bent down, twisted my head around and kissed me lightly on the lips. She looked up, smiled at Leanne and then gave her a hug before saying, "Ah'll be seeing ya both later." After she left Betty told Leanne to show me their studio so that's where we were for the next few hours. ------- There was no large gathering of the clan for dinner that night; everyone ate in their own homes although Niamh did eat with us at Leanne's. The sleeping arrangements were shifted around just a bit. Mac and Faolain were with Rachael while Shauna slept with Eimile in her house. Bran still wasn't welcome back into his home but Eimile did have a couple of brothers so at least there were a couple of males where they were. I didn't worry about it too much; there were enough dogs roaming the property and if we didn't have enough early warning there were strangers around I'd have been shocked. Leanne and I had just settled in and hadn't had time to really get started other than a lot of kissing and a little touchy-feely when we heard the front door open downstairs. We paused for a moment and heard some muffled talking and then footsteps on the stairs. I wasn't overly concerned but I did slide a little closer to my gun. The footsteps stopped outside our door and there was a soft knock. "Come in," Leanne called out and my hand was now on my gun. The door softly opened as someone entered and then closed again. "Ah was wondering if yer were coming," Leanne spoke to the darkness. "Ah couldn't stay away," Niamh sniffed. "Well get in here, ya silly thing. It's chilly out there," Leanne patted the bed between us. There was a rustle of clothes and Niamh scampered onto the bed squirming down under the covers between us. She rolled over and wrapped her arms around me and I discovered right away she didn't even have that little nightie on this time. "Oh, Martin," she sniffed. "Ah'm sorry; ah couldn't stay away." "That's okay, Niamh," I cooed softly holding her close. "We're here for you. You don't have to be alone." "That's not what she's needing, Martin," Leanne said gently from Niamh's other side and Niamh pressed her face more tightly into my neck shivering and I'm sure she wasn't cold. "She needs to be loved." "She is loved," I protested. "She needs to be loved as a woman," Leanne said more firmly. "She needs a man's love; she needs yer love." "God, ah'm being such a fool!" Niamh sobbed and tried to get up. Both Leanne and I held her down and said "Stop!" at the same time. I reached over and flicked on the light. Niamh sobbed again and tried to cover her bruise. I gently pulled her hand away and lightly kissed her there. "Battle wounds are a badge of honor," I whispered to her. "Be proud of the good fight." She gave me a wary smile and relaxed. Still holding Niamh down I looked over at Leanne and locked eyes with her. "This can only work if two things happen," I told her. She raised her eyebrows telling me to go on, there was a slight curve to her lips that could have been a smile. "First, you have to agree with this completely," I stated flatly. "No partials and no maybes. You have to know that this is something you can accept and be happy with because if we do this there isn't going to be two of us there will be three. No two and a part-time playmate, three together or none at all. "That's the second thing," I now looked down at Niamh. "This isn't for a short time just until you feel better about yourself thing, Niamh. If we make love it will be because that is what we are, in love and we plan to make it permanent. I have feelings for you and I don't think I could just let you go if you came fully into my heart now. You had one marriage and it wasn't good for you but that is what this is going to be like ― a marriage." I looked back up at Leanne again. "If we do this I will consider both of you to be my wives, equal in all respects and neither one greater than or lesser than the other. "Can you do that?" I asked looking at both of them. "Let me ask ya this, Martin," Leanne said perfectly serious now. "Do ya love both of us?" "Yes I do," I nodded. "But we haven't gone so far that we can't salvage friendship with Niamh if that is all we can have." "Then ah agree," she had that canary eating cat look again. "Ah want 'er with us; fer now and fer always. Besides, yer going to wear me out. We need another woman just to keep ya satisfied." I grunted in disbelief as Niamh sniffed and snickered at the same time. "She really is bad," I said to Niamh who nodded in agreement. "But she's said her piece and now it comes down to you. Is this something you really want and need or are you just trying to flush your husband out of your system? I'm not trying to be mean," I quickly added when she started to protest. "It's something we all need to know. You're in a very delicate situation now and I don't want you to regret it later. "After all, one of your complaints against your husband is he cheated on you. Are you going to think the same of me? I will be with another woman, right here, right in front of you. Niamh, I can't promise you my fidelity I can only promise it to the both of you." She looked at me for a long time and even glanced back over her shoulder at Leanne. Then she turned around towards me again. "Ah haven't loved him fer a long time," she started. "Ah've felt sorry fer meself but ah didn't miss 'im. Ah felt nothing but relief today, although ah could have done without the smack to tell the truth," she smiled lightly. "Ma feelings fer you have been growing fer some time now. When ah'm with you ah feel safe, complete, exactly where ah belong. Ah know ah have to share ya with Lea but ah feel good about that. She's me cousin and me closest friend. Ah don't know if ah can be with 'er like Shauna and Eimile are," she looked over at Leanne again. "But ah'm not afraid if it might happen. In fact she does feel pretty good," Niamh grinned and pushed herself back into Leanne as Leanne rubbed herself over Niamh's back. "Yes she does," I chuckled. "Ah need you, Martin, because ya complete who ah am. Ya make me whole. If ya do the same fer Lea how could ah ever think of taking that away from 'er? Yes, ah'm willing and eager to share," she said. "If ya'll have me, that is." Leanne pulled Niamh over on her back and gave her a very deep kiss. Pulling back Leanne said simply, "Welcome to our family." "Ah'm already in yer family, ya silly thing," Niamh giggled. "Then welcome to his family ya fool eejit!" Leanne grinned and started tickling her. This quickly became a two way tickle-fest with Niamh having the advantage of height and mass. Of course Leanne was quick and Niamh's greater size just gave Leanne more area to attack. The end result was a foregone conclusion as far as I could see. In just a few minutes Niamh was howling and threatening to pee the bed just before completely surrendering to her diminutive cousin. They ended up facing each other nose-to-nose, black and red hair intertwined. Yes, it was fucking hot! "Ah need 'im," Niamh told her cousin quietly. "Ah need 'im more than ah need air to breathe. Ah can't take 'im from ya even if ah wanted to but ah can beg ya to let me be one of 'is women." "It'll take the both of us to control this randy soldier," Leanne answered with a sly smile. "But ya see," Niamh whispered back. "Ah can't control 'im. Ah'm not 'is equal like you'll be. Ah'm his and ah can only be there for 'im." She turned and looked up at me, I was sitting up on my knees looking down at the both of them. Releasing Leanne she rolled on her back that gorgeous red hair framing her face like a halo. One leg snaked out and around my hip pulling me gently towards her. Her legs were very long and surprisingly strong, as the one tugged me over the other wrapped around my other hip doubling her relentless pull. Arms enveloped my neck and brought me down and our lips met. Quite suddenly I was lying on top of her, tongues tentatively touching as my cock slid along her very wet vagina. Niamh locked her ankles behind my hips and she moaned as she wiggled her pelvis trying to center me. I felt a small hand grab my cock and like it up with her sex and suddenly I was halfway inside her with no effort. "Take me, Martin!" she gasped and shoved her tongue back into my mouth. She closed her eyes tightly, groaned and I felt her body shiver and shake beneath me. I thought I was hurting her and tried to back out but her legs tightened like the jaws of a clamp pulling me in even further. Her breath fluttered a little when I finally bottomed out and I could feel the muscles of her vagina rhythmically squeezing me as the head of my cock rested against the hard rubbery barrier of her cervix. "Take me," she whispered. "Make me yours. Ya protected me, took care of me, loved me," she panted and started moving her hips back and forth and I helped as much as I could given her legs still held me in a death grip. "Take as yer woman! Ah surrender everything to ya." "You're going to make me cum," I grunted through clenched teeth. "Do it!" she ordered, she begged. "Do it! Mark me, claim me, make me yers forever!" Her legs had loosened up just a little and I now had room to do some real thrusting and I did. Unfortunately it didn't take me very long at all. I was far too worked up and her demanding pleas didn't help stave off my orgasm one little bit. I wanted to have her cum before I did but that wasn't going to happen. I felt that tingling in my scrotum and just shoved it in as far as I could causing her to yelp a little and the flood let loose. It felt like my entire insides were emptying out as her legs and arms clamped down again and she cooed in my ear but honestly I didn't hear a word she said. I was completely used up when my final shot dribbled out and I collapsed right down on top of her. It didn't seem to bother her any. I suppose it's a good thing she's a big girl, because her legs held me firmly in place as her hands roamed all over my back. After a few minutes she finally loosened up and I rolled over onto my back between them and the both of them laid their heads on my chest. "Ya two smell like ya been rutting fer a week in a whorehouse," Leanne said and burst into giggles followed by Niamh. I just shook my head. "I'm sorry, Niamh," I sighed. "I wanted you to cum also. I'll try to do better next time." "What are ya babbling about, Martin?" Niamh snorted and then rubbed her face on my chest. "Ah was coming from the second ya entered me. "Ah should be apologizing to you," she said looking up at me. "Ah know ah not very good..." I moved fast enough that Leanne rolled off my chest in surprise. I came up on my side and with one hand smacked Niamh on her bare buttocks sharply. She yelped and looked at me with a very hurt expression eyes glistening with tears as she rubbed her stinging butt. "Don't you ever say that again!" I hissed looking right at her. "You were magnificent!" Her hurt puppy look suddenly turned into one of the brightest smiles I'd ever seen. "If you ever even infer that kind of bullshit again I'm going to light up your beautiful ass like you've never felt before!" I snorted and lay back down. Leanne laid her chin on my chest and looked over at Niamh. "Ah'm thinking she'll be doing it again just fer the spanking, ah am," she snickered. "Ah don't know, Lea," Niamh replied and rubbed her bottom for emphasis. "Our man has a right heavy hand. Ah'm thinking ah'll be keeping to the straight and narrow, ah will." Leanne just scoffed. "Martin," Niamh said softly and I pulled her up so our faces were close together. "Ah'm not looking fer another spanking but ah've been told many times ah'm just barely adequate. Ah don't want to disappoint ya." "That fucking Tom?" Leanne hissed. "He's the only other man ah've ever been with," she said as if apologizing. "Well we already know he's an idiot," I snorted. "He had the best thing he could have ever hoped for back here in his own bed and he threw that away. I may not be the world's smartest man but I hope to God I'm never that stupid!" "He told me many times ah was an adequate ride but ah was never ... adventurous enough fer 'im," Niamh sniffed and buried her face in my neck. She was quiet for a moment and then looked up at me again. "Martin, what ya just done fer me was ... Ah don't have the words. Ah knew fer the first time in me life ah was a real woman, yer woman, and me man was really loving me." "You were magnificent, Niamh," I whispered. With my arm cradling her head I let my fingers stroke her cheek. "There's always time for loving and sometimes for just playing. Playtime can be fun but only if everybody involved is comfortable with what's happening. Never," I stopped stroking and lifted her chin with my fingers. "Never do anything that makes you uncomfortable. If I ever ask or mention something you don't want to do, just tell me. I won't love you any less and we'll all be happier because of it." "Besides, ah get to be the adventurous one then," Leanne piped in. "Ya should have seen the first time this brute shagged me," she grinned. "Ah thought he was going to rip me areshole to tits! It was intense, and wonderful." "I am kind of surprised neither one of us was seriously injured," I admitted. "It was pure fuckin'," Leanne smirked. "We both needed it bad. But the loving after was even better. Besides ya don't need to be adventurous to let him play with yer fun bags. Ah'm afraid he didn't get much in the way of knobbers with me." "I told you that wasn't important," I frowned at her. She ignored me. "Have him tell ya what he sees in a woman," Leanne whispered to Niamh excitedly. "Go ahead, ask him." Niamh looked at Leanne like she was nuts but shrugged and looked at with questioningly raised eyebrows. "Fine," I sighed then looked her in the eyes. "This is so silly, I have no idea why she finds this exciting but here goes: The first thing I notice about a woman is her eyes. Your eyes are the most beautiful sea-green I have ever seen. So calm, so placid, they draw me in and hold me gently with a feeling of utter contentment." She didn't say anything but I could hear little sounds coming from her throat. "After that it's the legs," I continued and reaching down I pulled her top leg up so I could run my fingers from toes to thigh. "Yours are so long, so beautiful they draw my eyes and I can hardly tear myself away from them. You're like a classic Greek statue suddenly made flesh; absolutely perfect and so soft and yet strong. Strong enough to carry all the burdens you must and yet still keep us firmly planted on the ground. "Then the bottom," I said moving my fingers from her legs over her hips to her rear end. "Your eyes and legs kindle the fires of passion but this ... This makes them burn white-hot. The very definition of the feminine form. For a man the very curve of your hip, the gentle sway as you walk screams 'I am woman, I am female; I am the reason for life, your reason for being!'" Niamh was panting softly now and staring intently at my face. "And last but not least are your breasts," I said as my hand slowly slip up her side and very gently cupped the one I could reach. "Contrary to some opinion I do enjoy breasts although I admit their size is irrelevant as far as I'm concerned. Now yours are absolutely perfect, for you. They fit you perfectly and give you that womanly shape that is guaranteed to drive men insane..." I didn't get any farther because Niamh suddenly grabbed and pulled me on top of her wrapping her legs lightly around my waist and pulling my face down for a tender kiss while moving her hips searching for my cock. "Hey!" Leanne protested. "What's yer about, ya greedy bitch? It's not yer turn." "Take me next one," Niamh moaned as she finally lined the two of us up and I slipped in. "Take me next ten," she gasped. "Take them all fer the rest of me life; ah need this now!" "Fine," Leanne pouted. "But ah'm getting mine later, mark me, and if it kills him yer going to be looking fer another man to replace him." A little advice from an old soldier: If you want to fuck some drunk bimbo you pick up at a bar tell her she's got a great set of tits. If you want to make love to a lady tell her how her eyes trap your soul, how her legs capture your eyes until you can look nowhere else, and how her breasts and bottom inflame your passion until you can barely control yourself. Beats the shit out of me why it works but it does. It's like the old saw about how does a man seduce a women? You buy her candy and flowers, give her romance, flattery and expensive gifts, tell her she is the most important thing in your life and how you can't live without her. How does a woman seduce a man? Show up at his door with a six-pack of beer, naked. The differences between man and women are enough that sometimes I wonder if we are really the same species. But I have to admit I do like the differences. Yes, Leanne did extract her due from me later that night and luckily it didn't kill me ― barely. I will admit though I was one tired puppy the next morning. Edited by Morgan ------- Chapter 10 Okay, think of the most embarrassing situation you've ever been in and then compare it to our coming down to breakfast the next morning. Not only were we eating with one of my wives/girlfriend's mother and father but the other's aunt and uncle. I'll admit they were pretty casual about the whole thing. Mostly Seamas stared down at his plate mumbling about this or that while Betty flittered about the kitchen giving us looks like — well, I don't know what kind of looks she was giving us; those inscrutable Chinese. At least Seamas had some kind of reaction I just couldn't figure out whether it was revulsion, anger or if he was just laughing at us. They had to have talked it out between the two of them beforehand because what we were doing practically invited some kind of comment. Well the girls anyway. I mean Leanne was chatting like there was no stopping her, plopping down in my lap and nuzzling my neck and generally doing everything short of stripping us down and demanding I fuck her right there on the table. If anything Niamh was worse. She had to be touching me all the time. No, I don't mean she grabbed my dick or anything like that. It was more along the lines of if we were sitting down she had to have a hand on my leg or arm; if we were standing she was right next to me with an arm around my waist or playing with my hair. It was embarrassing but I'm not going to lie and say the attention didn't make me feel good. Then there were the looks and the heavy sighs; you'd of thought they were a couple of teenaged girls going out with their first crush. Niamh had this dreamy, glazed-eyes kind of look while Leanne's was more of the feral, cat-going-crazy sort of thing. Actually by the end of breakfast I was pretty sure Seamas was laughing at me ― not at us, at me. I will say it calmed down after that, though. The next week and a half were comparatively quiet with only a few exceptions. Most days, starting at 10:00, they had scheduled practice secessions just to keep their edge for the rest of the tour. They'd all meet in the studio about a half an hour early to warm up or do whatever it is they do. Not being a musician, I couldn't really tell you. I sat back in the control booth, usually with Mac and Faolain when they came in. Rachael usually didn't grace us with her presences until about 1130 but I guess that was pretty standard since the other girls were working on instrumental things until then anyway. Honestly I didn't even bother to listen most of the time. Most of it was working on particular parts of songs and the repetition of these small sound bits is a little disconcerting to us non-professionals who just like to listen to music. I got caught up on a lot of reading about the political situation back home which did nothing good for my blood pressure. This had been a classic case of ignorance being bliss and for a long while I had been a relatively happy fellow. I was quickly becoming thoroughly pissed off at my own government; especially concerning the treatment of the widow(er)s and orphans. The support they had been receiving had been dwindling steadily over the past few years and now it looked like it was going to disappear altogether. Made me damn glad my pension was going directly into a fund that would help them out. Veterans themselves were coming under pressure also but not so directly. There were little things like a bill that would tie pensions received to the number of years in actual combat, something that would have reduced a lot of pensions and not increased any that I could see. There were also growing rumblings about rescinding the blanket firearms carry exemption veterans have; that remained mostly rumblings primarily due to a four-day "Show of Solidarity" the VBS sponsored in New Washington that shut the place down completely. There were a number of calls for the NWPD to "clear the streets," mostly in the form of prerecorded messages from legislators who just happened to be back in their home districts during the demonstration. The NWPD police chief caught some real heat but I gave him high marks for intelligence when he announced he had no intention of interfering with a constitutionally protected right of protest so long as everything remained peaceful. Intelligent, I say, because it was a sure thing that almost every one of the swinging dicks and bouncing boobies involved in that demonstration were armed to the teeth and outnumbered the cops by at least ten to one. There was no particular need for all three of us to sit in there all the time since we still had the spy-eyes set up so we had plenty of time to wander around if we wanted. Reactions to Rachael's and my somewhat less-than-traditional romantic entanglements were widely varied but generally low key. Of course Niamh, Leanne and I never made the public pronouncement that Rachael did but you'd have had to be an absolute lunatic to think everyone didn't know about Niamh spending the night by breakfast the next morning. Family opinion seemed to be split on it. The men ― and I included not only the fathers but brothers and cousins as well ― were pretty much universally confused and befuddled by the entire situation which pretty much summed up the state I was in so it was practically unanimous. The only reason I couldn't say for sure it was unanimous was because I didn't know what was going on in the Ranger brains of Mac and Faolain. They never told me and I never asked. The women however were splintered into many different groups. There were the mothers with a contradictory disapproval/tolerance/cautious optimism response to it all. They probably thought it was just a phase we were all going through and they weren't going to interfere unless they thought it was getting out of hand. Then there were the girl cousins. I think the youngest of this generation was sixteen so they were all old enough to know what was going on. They of course thought it was sooooo romantic and pestered the shit out of all of us. There was a smattering of women who had married one of the cousins and lived there at the compound; their opinion was mostly just flat out disapproval. I never did figure out whether it was jealousy for Rachael having two guys. Rachael was never particularly well liked by them which came as no real surprise, or the unfairness of two girls having to share one guy that bothered them. Maybe it was all of it in general but truthfully I never bothered to find out. Aileen declared it all disgusting and went back to school where she could ensure her bevy of suitors would pay attention to what was really important: her. The teasing was intense from all the above categories except of courses Aileen and the married cousins-in-law but the worst by far was Eimile and Shauna. For being perpetrators of "scandalous acts" themselves they felt no obligation not to bring my situation up in just about any social context imaginable. For the most part I was their main target; Leanne would just laugh and tell them they were jealous while Niamh would just give them a dreamy smile and look over at me. Me they would climb all over like a jungle-gym in a kindergarten class. They would rub all over me, tickle, ask if certain parts were still operational after heavy use and tell me I looked soooo very tired. They were scolded more than once or twice by the mothers for inappropriate behavior to no avail and I had to swat their bottoms a few times myself with about the same results except it did make me feel better for a short while. Funny, the few times I did that I received approving glances from the mothers in the area. Leanne reacted with mostly bemused tolerance; sort of like the alpha she-wolf watching a pair of pack puppies worrying her mate; every once in a while she'd snap at them and they'd scurry away for a few minutes but that was about as far as it would go. Niamh never said anything and for the most part ignored them. However if she decided she needed my attention she'd get it. Once while we were watching a movie ― yes, we still did that a lot at night ― one of the twins was sitting in my lap trying to annoy me by nibbling on my neck ― Eimile I think ― Niamh marched over and unceremoniously dumped her onto the floor and plopped herself down. The dumpee squawked for a second but climbed right back up next to me and continued watching the movie as if nothing had happened. Of course if any of the other unmarried girl cousins tried to even get close you'd think they were trying to steal the last bone from a pack of starving Rottweilers. I think Shauna actually growled once. It was all very weird. Other than that everything went pretty smoothly. We didn't stay out at the homestead all the time. We did go into the village twice, mostly for the afternoons as a group including Rachael. She enjoyed meeting people and loved being fawned over as a local celebrity. Since there were only three of us, Caoimh didn't join us until the second week when his tour of the remaining venues with the lovely Valeria was completed, I wanted the girls together as much as possible when we were out in public. I'm not from a small town but I've heard gossip is the life's blood of a close-knit community. Certainly everyone we ran into knew everything there was to know about Niamh and Tom Callahan and some of it was even true. Somehow they even knew about Niamh, Leanne and myself. The consensus among the men seemed to be: sure, Tom was a lying, cheating, douche-bag, asshole-eating, wife-beating, scum-tongued bastard. But was that any reason to divorce him? As for me I was that "interfering Yank," but that opinion was kept to themselves for the most part while I was around; around their women folk also come to think about it. Somehow one of the recordings from the whole fiasco had been leaked onto the net and I guess they'd been simply appalled that such a little feller had taken one of their local boys apart so easily. That leaked recording caused a few other problems but I'll get to that later. The women were evenly divided: half thought I should have castrated Tom and "fed 'im 'es plums fer a pudding," while the other half thought I should have skinned him alive and made a lampshade out of his hide. They were split again over Niamh; half thought she was perfectly righteous in divorcing the cad although striking up with another fella before the split was final was a little soon. The other half wondered if maybe Tom had learned his lesson and shouldn't be given another chance. Note that even this half was entirely comprised of those in the first two categories: the skinning or de-plumming groups. Yeah, I didn't get it either. The obvious fact that Leanne, Niamh and I were in some way a threesome was a delightful scandal for everybody! How would they know, you ask? Gee, I don't know; maybe it was the way both of them hung on my arms pretty much all the time. Or it could have been the kisses they demanded frequently regardless of the company or place we happened to be at the time. It could have been anything; maybe they just guessed. I will say in this particular instance Rachael was actually much more circumspect than my two ladies and that tells you just how demonstrative they could be in public. Naturally the newies, scuzzies and every scandal site on the net went absolutely nuts. In most parts of the world, especially where I was from, two guys and a girl or two girls and one guy hardly rate any airtime unless it's a really big-name celebrity or some other juicy dirt was associated with it. I'm not saying it's common but it isn't uncommon either if you know what I mean; it's not a big deal. But in Ireland right then ... Well, with these girls it was a big deal. Ireland was just coming out of one of its more conservative cycles and to discover that two of their precious band members had taken up with the same man ... Shocking! Simply shocking! I found out when Caoimh came back that Camberge almost piddled his pants, he was so happy. They'd negotiated a number of larger venues after the aborted kidnapping incident and now with a sex scandal they were selling out almost faster than they could print tickets. Of course it didn't hurt that idiot groups like Mother's for Decency or Dad's against Debauchery or some such nonsense were threatening to protest outside the concerts ... Well, I've heard that even after the sellouts the resale price of tickets doubled and sometimes tripled. I wondered if Camberge was secretly funding these fringe groups... I haven't talked much about the newies or the scuzzies for that matter. They've always been there, taking pictures, making recordings, shouting questions. The girls had been getting to be better known even before the tour so we had our own little contingent following us around. For the most part we ignored them and let them do whatever they wanted outside our perimeter. The first couple of times they tried to get too close convinced them we weren't fucking around and unless they wanted damaged equipment or bodies, they had to play by our rules. The rules were pretty simple and I explained it to them one night over a beer. Rule one: Don't touch the girls. Rule two: Don't get between the girls and their security. Rule three: Stay out of their hotels, dressing rooms or vehicles. Follow these rules and it will be up to the girls how much they want to talk to you or don't talk to you. Break the rules and I'll break anything and anybody I can get my hands on. Rule four: If I find spy-eyes, listening devices or trackers on any of the girls or anything that's associated with them I was going to buy a distorter that would fry every piece of electrical equipment they owned unless it was military grade which was illegal for civilians. I laid it out for them and said I didn't care how many pictures they took or how many questions they shouted. I was the girl's protection and not their handler; they decided who they talked to and what they said. These guys and gals were doing their job just like I was. I thought it was a pretty crummy job but so is shoveling shit on a chicken farm; everybody's got to eat. For the most part they toed the line. The got their pictures, outrageous comments from Rachael and everything was fine and dandy. After all, the girls were minor celebs at best and, other than being pretty and talented, not particularly interesting as far as scandal-mongers go. I'm not sure if they all decided to take a vacation while the girls were on break or not but as soon as the recording of the Tom Callahan incident hit the net that was all pretty much history. I never did find out exactly how it got there. It could have been from the copy the cops took or it could have been one of the Geallaigh kids sending a copy to one of his or her friends. I tend to think it was the cops, although one of the kids could have done it innocently enough. Why not the Geallaighs? Simple: Not a single word ever got out about the Sean/Eimile incident or about Eimile and Shauna's relationship. Why? Because that was family business and Geallaigh don't talk about family business to anyone but family. The mommas wouldn't allow it and I'm sorry to burst your big he-man, macho, hairy-chested bubbles out there fellas, but what the mommas say goes and what the papas say goes right out the window. I don't know about the rest of Irish society but in the Geallaigh clan the boys have the name but the girls have the power. All it took was one dickhead hitting his wife and her bodyguard doing his job and all hell breaks loose. Well, the kiss Niamh gave me didn't help; neither did Leanne jumping into my arms afterwards. Suddenly we were big celeb news everywhere. Well, probably not everywhere; I doubt we'd even be much more than filler material in the States and who the fuck knows or cares what's going on in Europe but in Ireland ... Jesus T. Christ, don't these people have anything better to do? Apparently not because it seemed like the three of us had our mugs permanently plastered all over every scandal/gossip site that catered to Irish nosiness ... It was a fucking nightmare! Well it was to me anyway. Not so it would appear to the other two principals in this demented drama. Leanne thought it was hilarious and made copies of every ridiculous bit of nonsense those talking sewers made up and spewed over the net. "IRISH MIST LASSES SEDUCE BODYGUARD!" "DRUMMER DUMPS HUBBY AND MOVES IN ON LEANNE'S MAN!" "IRISH MIST KEYBORDEST PREGNANT WITH TRIPLETS WHILE COUSIN THREATENS SUICIDE!" (Okay, maybe the first two were kind of accurate, taken out of context but the third ... Naturally Leanne didn't help matters when she borrowed one of her aunts old maternity dresses and walked around the place stuffed with about four or five pillows. She looked like a beach ball with arms and legs. The only one not laughing at her was Niamh but I'll get to that later since it didn't happen until we were about to resume the tour. Other than that little crisis Niamh didn't pay any attention to it at all.) The twins pouted and complained that they weren't included in my burgeoning harem and vowed to do something about that inequity. That riled the mommas up and the discussions held behind closed doors about that are best left there; mostly because I and every other male with more than half a brain ran away from it as fast as we could. I found out being big doesn't necessarily mean you're slow and I had to push myself to keep from getting trampled by the running of the bulls. It was mortifying and whatever professional credibility I had left was flushed right down the toilet. It was a good thing my two ladies had steady employment because I was expecting to get canned any day. Security was supposed to protect their principals, not become part of their story! Turns out I needn't have worried; Camberge thought it was the best thing since sliced bread and couldn't have been happier. This business is really bizarre. I could talk about the fun the Geallaigh men had dissuading more than a few of the more aggressive scuzzies who were under the impression they were exempt from the "No Trespass" rule but I won't. Let's leave it that the Geallaigh boys concept of "fun" and that of the bottom-feeding muckrakers were probably not the same. I will mention that Mac, Faolain and I had a wonderful time using the floaters someone tried to sneak into the Geallaigh homestead for target practice. If you don't know a floater is a civilian version of the mini-reconnaissance drones we used to use back in the war. Theirs only had video and audio, I think, and were much less capable than the ones we had. They also aren't hardened against 5mm projectiles as half a rubbish bin of them attested. Turns out with only slight reprogramming our surveillance gear could pick up their controller emissions and we could pinpoint them as they tried to sneak up on us. I guess we scrapped about half a million New Dollars worth of the pesky things before they stopped sending them. Funny, we never heard any complaints about that but then they're illegal as hell in Ireland especially on private property. They are good for impressing the womenfolk, though, and beat the hell out of a static range for tuning up your marksmanship. Those little buggers are a challenge to hit on the fly with just a pistol even if they don't move all that fast. It was the most fun I'd had with my clothes on in a long time ― well worth the inevitable squabbles over who actually got this one or that one. What I will talk about is the interesting meeting I had with Brigadier Clemson. ------- My meeting with the brigadier was set for about halfway through the break period; unfortunately after the nonsense with the scandal sites began. I was sure we, the Geallaigh homes and the girls in particular, were under constant surveillance by the scuzzies which was actually good and bad. It was without a doubt a pain in the ass and embarrassing as hell but it also had to make our unknown assailants out there think twice before they try a snatch and grab with half the world watching. But then I wasn't overly happy about the thought of them following me to my meeting with Monty. We I should say. In no uncertain terms I was informed I was not going alone. Leanne was going and of course so was Niamh, the twins invited themselves and when it looked like I was going to have to bring Faolain to help Caoimh (he was back by then) and I cover the four of them, Rachael also invited herself which meant Mac was going ... I was counting on Clemson not being able or willing to handle that many guests but good old Morty shot the crap out of that forlorn hope; he was of course delighted to have all the ladies and their escorts as guests. Out of spite I called Magaoidh and invited him and his wife to join us since they were only a few klicks away. We loaded up the bus with however many of the Geallaighs wanted to take a ride on a real live tour bus (I suppose if you've never had to ride one day after day it could be exciting) and sent them out as a decoy about half an hour before us. We left in two of the Geallaigh's cars and it must have worked because I never saw anybody following us and nothing about the meeting was publicized. The brigadier's hunting lodge looked a lot more like a small mansion to me but I guess it's all what you're used to. Monty had enough staff to run a regiment and if every single one of them weren't ex- or even active duty army I'd have eaten my other boot. In addition to the five SAS hovering around, there must have been a dozen or so more flittering around doing what looked remarkably like HQ staff work. My boys and the SAS guys started right away giving each other the hairy eyeball and I had to pull back on their choke chains before the whole mess of them got into it. My rangers are hard men and I'm proud to have them at my back but those SAS guys are nasty, tough motherfuckers and I didn't want my boys getting hurt trying to see whose dick was the biggest. Monty was the epitome of the gracious host and put on quite a spread for dinner. He regaled the ladies with old war stories embarrassing the crap out of me recounting the entire attack on his HQ. I'll admit what he told them was all true and for the most part unembellished but I never considered what I did heroic; most of it was necessary and the parts that weren't were mostly stupidity and the exuberance of youth. He did it to embarrass me and it worked; he has a nasty sense of humor. He also seemed to find certain reactions from my ladies extremely funny. A full half of his staff was female and quite good looking at that. Now them having been, or still being, military and my having worked under the brigadier just as they were doing it's natural that one or two of them might want to talk to me about old times or this and that. Every time one of them came close to me those four girls would close in like they were Secret Service and I was the president under sniper fire. Oh yeah they'd let them inside the circle all right but there were no private discussions allowed; that's for sure. Not that I cared a whole lot, I had nothing to hide but it was painfully obvious what was happening and embarrassing as hell. He'd never admit it, but I know that after the first time Clemson pointed a couple of his more attractive staff my way just to see the girls' reaction. I told you he has a mean and nasty sense of humor. After the meal and ensuing fun and games it was time for business and I was quietly asked to join the brigadier in his study along with Magaoidh. There was a minor rebellion when I tried to slip away; Leanne was having none of it and Niamh only wanted to stay by my side; I think the twins just wanted to see what kind of trouble I could get into and help it along anyway they could. Naturally I put my foot down firmly and let them know this was how it was going to be. Like hell I did! What planet are you from? I'm betting you must have just started reading this halfway through thinking you'd skip the boring parts. If you've been following along so far you realize probably as much as I do that unless there is somebody shooting at us I have absolutely no control over these women whatsoever. Leanne just narrows her eyes until there are no whites visible, just two coal black orbs staring at me, I call this her demon-eyes and Niamh scrunches in tighter to my side until I doubt a vibro-blade could separate us. Eimile and Shauna start yipping and nagging in stereo about who died and made me God and how there'll be a snowball fight in Hades before I'll tell them where they can and can't go ... You get the picture right? If not I'll send you a copy of the vid; I'll keep the t-shirt. I had two saviors, one likely and the other surprising. The expected one was Brigadier Clemson who arrived on his white horse armed with a smirk that I would have loved to wipe off his smug general staff face, SAS bodyguards be damned. Apart from thoroughly enjoying my inability to control four young civilian females I'll give him credit for being willing to enter the fray against a highly volatile, fanatical foe for whom the words surrender and compromise are just entries in the dictionary. "Ladies," he interjected suavely, "would it be possible for me to borrow Major Leforge for a few moments?" "No, not without us," Leanne answered stubbornly. "We'll not be having him getting himself in trouble without proper guidance." Niamh just squirmed in tighter until I'm sure we could have worn the same shirt. "I assure you it won't be anything illegal," he chuckled. "We won't be talking treason tonight. But I suppose since all of you are members of the VBS it wouldn't hurt to have you sit in." Leanne's face knotted up in a frown. "The Veteran's Benevolent Society," I added helpfully as she turned that frown on me. "They're the ones who asked me to introduce us to the General and his colleagues." "Ah remember very well and ya know very well we're not members of yer group," she snapped. Then she brought out the nuclear weapons. She looked up at me and her eyes got as big as saucers; I could see the glistening of tears and her lip quivered. "Ya don't trust us do ya, Martin?" she sniffed. I knew she was playing me and still my insides crumbled. "Leanne, of course I trust..." I started before I was interrupted by my surprising benefactor. "What's all this now?" It was Holly Magaoidh, Colour Sergeant Magaoidh's wife. "Yer doing it all wrong, dearie," she scoffed and hooked one arm in Leanne's and Niamh's in the other. Holly Magaoidh was a small woman, a little taller than Leanne but not by much. She was a few years older than I was which still meant she had been pretty young when she married Ryan. I had met her that night for the first time and liked her immediately. "Ya need to save the tears and quivering lip fer when it really matters. Haven't yer mothers taught ya the facts of life yet?" A slight tug and as if by magic Niamh separated from my side and she turned away from us leading two women and herding two more before her. "Ya can't use that on a man too often or they become inoculated to it. Ya have to save that fer the important things and Luv, this isn't one of them. They're going to be talking about boring regimental things and, God forbid, politics. It's not a place fer a sane person at all. Now the four of ya can overwhelm the poor thing but ya have to remember they're very fragile..." I didn't catch the rest as they moved off but it seemed the girls were about to receive a lecture on the care and feeding of their pet man. I shook my head and muttered as I turned back to Clemson. "Rather determined set of ladies you have there, Major," Clemson said with a smile as he watched their retreating backs. "That's one way to put it," I sighed. "If you also have a tendency to say the Arabian Peninsula gets a tad warm in the summer. I apologize General..." "No need," he waved it off. "They are young and just feeling their place and powers. Like a boot lieutenant, what?" "Still," I sigh. "Does every man feel as whipped as I do?" "Absolutely not," he answered gruffly but there was a twinkle in his eye. "I for one am firmly in control of my own household and I have my wife's permission to say so." I smiled wanly as he led me to the study door. Magaoidh and a couple of the general's people were waiting there. "If I don't get a chance, please make sure your wife knows how much I appreciate her saving me out there," I whispered to Magaoidh. "Best you be holding yer thanks until you find out what she's been telling them, sir," he chuckled back to me as we walked into the study together. "Holly's got her own mind on how she thinks the world ought to be run and it doesn't involve women kowtowing to their men, I think you'll find." I grunted thinking Holly couldn't possibly make matters worse and just maybe she might teach them a little subtlety. It's a nice theory anyway. Clemson walked over to a desk as one of his bodyguards pulled the doors shut from the outside leaving the general, two of his aides, Magaoidh and me inside. Clemson perched on the edge of the desk and waved for the rest of us to have a seat. "Martin, Ryan," he nodded to us. "This is Bruce Holladay and Rebecca Brighton. Bruce was with the 255th Highlanders and is still in contact with their regimental staff. Becky was part of my logistics staff through most of our part of the war I'm sure you remember her." I hadn't at first but I recognized her now. A little older and some of the sand had shifted in her hourglass figure but I recognized her. I didn't have a lot to do with logistics when I was attached to Clemson's command other than to steal — I mean informally requisition ― what supplies I needed when I could. I nodded to her and she gave me a restrained smile in return. To supply officers those of us in the line are little more than uniformed thieves doing our best to reallocate precious and always limited resources to themselves and away from where some higher command has determined they should go. It's hard to argue against the truth. I admit there are two things I always looked for in my senior enlisted: First can they lead men into battle and secondly can they help me scrounge the equipment and ammunition we'd need to stay alive and accomplish the mission once we've joined the fight. I was a very good thief and hardly ever got caught. One of the reasons we survived the attack on the HQ was that our security force had the weapons and ammo it was supposed to have but supposedly weren't available. If we were still in the army she wouldn't have trusted me to be within a hundred meters of her supply depot without an armed escort and I wouldn't blame her. "Bruce, Becky, You've seen the Colour Sergeant's record and of course, Becky, Major Leforge was with us near the end there and that little excitement we had," Clemson continued. "I remember him," she gave a slight grin. "I always remember those that lusted more for my equipment than they did my body. I had him on my special list." "Well, I was kind of busy or I would have been lusting after you like everybody else," I sort of apologized. "What do you mean special list?" "Those who were to be shot on sight if they came within two hundred meters of our storage sheds." She did grin then. It was two hundred meters and not one hundred like I'd thought; wish I'd known that. "We never did figure out how you were able to steal as much as you did and not get caught," she frowned. "I was watching you very closely." "Steal is such a harsh word," I protested and tried to look innocent. "We found all that stuff, honest. Besides, did you ever think that while you were watching me and my guys you weren't watching everybody else?" "You were quite the dog-robber," she chuckled and shook her head. "Now it looks like you're quite the cradle-robber too." "Hey, those ladies are not children!" This time my protest was real. "I know, I know," she grinned widely and put her hands up in surrender. "Just getting in a little stab for all the headaches you gave me eight or so years ago. Looks to me like you didn't have much choice in any event." "Oh, I had a choice, but..." I stopped. Did I really have a choice? Sure I could have said no to either or both of them, theoretically. In reality ... Well, it is what it is. "I loved watching my staff spar," Clemson interrupted and Becky shot him a nasty look. "However, Martin has come a long way and I for one would like to hear what our brothers and sisters across the Pond have to say." "I wasn't aware you knew what my real mission was," I admitted. "Although I jumped at the chance to see some of the people I'd served with back during the war. I was contacted on my way over here by Daniel Mayhem to see if there was a possibility of starting a dialog between the VBS and some of your organizations. Honestly I don't know what they have in mind or what they really want to talk to you about. If you knew I was here as a representative of the VBS it sounds like you have a better idea about what is going on than I do." "Quite possibly," Morty nodded. "We are not without resources. Did you ask yourself why they didn't just click on the vid-phone and give us a ring?" "Of course," I nodded. "I figured it was because they knew or at least thought that they or maybe you were being watched. Now to the best of my knowledge there's nothing illegal about the VBS talking to some British retired veterans but for whatever reason they thought it best to at least start the talking under the radar." "Quite right," he nodded sharply. "The fact of the matter is both the VBS and our own regimental organizations are being watched. There does not appear to be much inclination to overtly act as yet, but we are certainly being watched. The differences between our organizations make secrecy a little less assured on our side and I'm sure that is of some concern to the VBS." I frowned and looked at him questioningly so he continued. "You see, Martin, the VBS is comprised almost exclusively of retired or discharged veterans while our regimental organizations are an odd mixture of retired, discharged and active duty personnel. Now, while if I, as private citizen Monty Clemson, were to be called before a committee of Parliament and be asked to provide details of my dealings with the renegade Veteran's Benevolent Society I could quite rightly tell them to go pound sand. Unfortunately Sergeant Masters standing outside that door ― an active duty SAS member as you so aptly noted ― could not. He is required by military law and discipline to answer all questions his superiors, both military and civilian, might ask of him. It is one of the reasons he and his men are outside and he understands the reasoning." "That begs the question," I frowned again. "Just why do you need bodyguards?" "Two reasons," he smiled. "I have cast my virtue aside and have entered the political arena. I am running for Parliament in the upcoming election as are a number of our own veterans. Much the same as your own Ms Medford and a few of your compatriots are doing in the States. We have little or no representation as of now but have the potential to make an impact if we succeed. Given that, there are a few of the more radical types who would like nothing more than to see this aborted. They are relatively few but significant enough. They are virulently anti-military and have been doing their best to see us relegated to a mere footnote in history. "For example they want to see all military pensions reduced or completely eliminated," he glanced over at Magaoidh. "There was actually a bill introduced this session to eliminate all war pensions paid to all non-British subjects. That would be our Colour Sergeant here and those like him who volunteered for service." Ryan frowned and shifted slightly in his seat but didn't say anything. "It didn't pass but it will be tried again, I can assure you, and if it does pass there will be others to follow. "There have been threats against myself and others running which is why His Majesty's government so helpfully provided me with escorts," he grinned sardonically. "Of course their secondary purpose is to keep their eyes on me and report back to their superiors just what I'm up to. "Which is all why we speculated about your sudden contact," he continued. "An old war associate in country while employed visiting a few other fellow servicemen he served with is not particularly suspicious. One of the other reasons I asked you in here, Colour Sergeant. Meeting privately with a member of the VBS even if he is an old war comrade might be suspicious; however a meeting with a VBS member and someone wholly independent..." he spread his hands. "Well, who would be telling secrets under those circumstances? "And before you ask," he said without pausing. "I trust Mr. Magaoidh completely not to repeat what we say here. Except that part about the pensions. I would rather like to see that widely disseminated to the people here in Ireland who might be affected." "Thank you, sirrah," Magaoidh nodded stiffly. "You can be sure that it will." "Jolly good," Morty smiled. "Let some sunshine chase some of the buggers out of the bedding as it were. "Now back to you, Martin," he turned towards me. "We had anticipated the probability of the VBS contacting us and when you called it seemed like this was quite likely it. I'll admit we didn't expect our contact to be one with so little —shall we say ― instructions?" I shrugged; again you can't argue with the truth. "I believe they ― the VBS and Mr. Mayhem in particular ― saw you as the perfect target of opportunity. A member although not particularly active; a highly respected and decorated officer with personal ties to at least a few of our regimental orders and here under perfectly legitimate cover. If I could have ordered a clandestine contact from a catalog your holo would have been right next to the part number." "I'm not so clandestine now," I muttered. "I'll say you're not, darling," Becky laughed. "When you go public you don't go by half measures, do you, Leforge? Nice takedown on the wife-beating brute, by the by," she nodded and her eyes narrowed a little. "Made me wish you'd broken the rotter's neck." "I sort of worried about that for a second or two," I admitted. "But that would have caused even more trouble if that's possible. "But anyway that's where I am," I shrugged. "Not exactly a secret secret agent anymore. If you want to continue contact and have a contact point I think I can get that back to Mayhem without anyone knowing about it but I'm not sure I'll be very useful any longer." "Oh, quite the contrary, Martin," Clemson chuckled. "You'll be even more useful than ever. Remember the Purloined Letter, Martin; to hide in plain sight is the very best way not to be found. As it is Becky and Bruce have been designated as our contacts. We'll be in touch about the actual methods. I do hope we'll be able to meet rather often but I doubt it. I know my movements and communications are being monitored so we'll just have to be careful. "Unless there is something else, shall we join the other ladies and gentlemen outside?" I found my girls rather quickly or I should say they found me. I let them know I'd tell them about it when we had a chance but that I would be hearing from some of the participants over time and I pointed out Becky and Bruce. "Is that one of yer old girlfriends?" Shauna asked with raised eyebrows. "Nope," I chuckled. "True, she was a real knockout back then but it would have been too much like fraternizing with the enemy if I'd have tried anything." I had to explain the relationship between supply and line including the joke Becky made about putting me on the "shoot on sight" list ― at least I hope it was a joke. I waved Becky over to met the girls and so of course they had to ask if I was bullshitting them. "Oh Lord, no!" she sighed to their delight. "He was terrible, that one. I always knew he was one of the worst of the lot but we could never catch him. If we'd of left a Lynx self-propelled rail gun unattended for a minute he'd have had it under his blouse and out the back before the engine had a chance to cool." Becky seemed to really enjoy letting the girls know what a desperado they had attached themselves to and the girls ate it up. Eimile asked if I had ever tried to seduce her out of her supplies. "I would have been too wise for that," she replied. "I knew if he ever enticed me into bed he'd tie me up, leave me and head straight for the lockbox with the armory keys." That hurt a little. She was good looking enough I think I would of at least tried to screw her unconscious before going for the armory. I told her so and all five of them laughed so hard I thought there was going to be an accident. When it was time to go, we drove around for a little while just to make sure nobody was following us although with so much air surveillance you could never be sure. We got back with no problem and after giving me a kiss good night the twins scampered off giggling something about me trying to steal their virtue. "Ah don't have me virtue anymore, Martin," Niamh whispered to me once we were safely in bed. "But ya have stolen me heart." "Me too," Leanne echoed snuggling up against my other side. "Well, you haven't stolen mine," I said. "I gave mine to the both of you, every single bit of it." They both squealed and it turned out to be a much longer night than I had first imagined. ------- It didn't take long for me to hear from Mayhem and I again wondered just how closely they were watching me. We were watching one of my old movies, as usual. This time it was Operation Petticoat; it's a funny movie about a pink submarine during World War II. The thing that really amused the girls was a character, a young officer, a seemingly useless gadfly, who is attached to the sub under duress and assigned as the boat's supply officer. As is turns out he is the biggest thief and con artist imaginable and becomes a hero to its crew by scrounging and pilfering whatever is needed to keep them in the war. I made it perfectly clear that I was never that bad; I only borrowed things when absolutely necessary. They chose to believe my highly prejudiced accuser rather than yours truly. There's gratitude for you! Anyway near the end my pers-comp signaled an incoming call request and when I saw who it was I asked if I could pause the movie and put it up on the holo-tank. Naturally female curiosity won pretty quickly and soon Daniel Mayhem, sitting in a deck chair wearing a very loud, flower-print shirt and basking in what appeared to be the afternoon Florida sun, sprang up in the tank. "Martin! Thanks for taking my call," he said as he puffed on a cigarette. "Oops, I see you're not alone. Now who might these lovely ladies be?" "Hi, Dan," I replied. "This is Eimile, Shauna, Niamh and Leanne. They're four fifths of the band I'm running security for," I said pointing to each in turn. "Girls, this is Daniel Mayhem. He's with the VBS; remember that group I told you about?" "Of course we do, ya fool," Eimile scoffed and smacked my arm. "They're the ones yer spying fer." "Ouch! I am not a spy," I huffed. "Close enough," Shauna responded smacking my other arm. "I see you've instilled the proper discipline in your charges," Dan chuckled. "Are we, um, safe to talk?" "The girls were with me at my meeting," I informed him. "Not when I talked to — the person I was there to talk to but they know why I was there, mostly. Although they're curious as hell, they're good girls and I'd trust them with my life. If you have anything you'd rather they didn't hear, they'll understand. I'm not worried about them gabbing, but that's up to you." "Naw, that's okay," Mayhem waved his hand. "If you trust 'em then that's good enough for me. This ain't national security shit or anything like that. Besides if you listen to the scandal sites you've pretty much got two of them under your thumb anyway, don't you?" "There's nobody here under my thumb," I laughed as both Shauna and Eimile hit me in stereo again. Leanne and Niamh had come over to stand behind me when the call came in. Both of them rested a hand possessively on my shoulders. "And I can't believe you actually watch that shit." "I don't, but there's someone here who's addicted to that crap and she'd like to say hi," a long tapered leg ending in a strappy, come-fuck-me sandal lashed out and kicked him in the shin. "Ouch! Damn it, Mike, that hurt! If you don't want to talk to him just say so!" The owner of that leg stepped into view, all two klicks of leg, slim hips, incredibly fit and flat stomach and a face that probably wouldn't launch a thousand ships but could easily get a squadron or two underway; all that and about three square centimeters of bikini. "Don't listen to this dickhead," the woman said with a big smile. "I was doing research for our project." "Sergeant Michelle Darlington, I presume," I nodded towards the tank. "Guilty," she answered. "I've been wanting to meet you since you talked to the boss the last time. Liked your vid although why you didn't snap the fucker's neck when you had the chance ... Still, nicely done, if a bit crude." Interesting thing, as soon as Sergeant Mike stepped into view all four girls stopped moving but when she started talking Eimile and Shauna scrunched up tight next to me, Niamh put her head down next to mine and wrapped her arm around my neck while Leanne swung her legs over the back on the couch and Shauna's head plopping down right in my lap. It's a holograph for Christ's sake, I wanted to shout. Sergeant Mike just laughed loudly. "Damn, you're good for an old lady's ego," she chuckled. "He's definitely my type," she continued giving me a leer that made me feel a little like a plump pig in the crosshairs of a hunting cougar. "But I like them a little more ... unattached." "He's not unattached," Leanne said coolly. "Very much not unattached," Niamh added as Eimile and Shauna nodded beside me. "Settle down," I chided them. "All of you are acting like schoolgirls. Ms Darlington there is just yanking your chains and it looks like she's doing a pretty good job of it. Now behave! You're embarrassing me. Sorry," I shrugged looking at Darlington. "No problem," she grinned. "Still if you get tired of the pretty ones and want to take a walk on the wild side ... Ouch! Boss, what the fuck was that all about?" she jumped turned around rubbing her very shapely posterior. "You behave and get your big butt out of my face," they heard Mayhem say. "Big butt!" Darlington screamed. "First you say it's too skinny and now you say it's too big?" "It's a beautiful butt, absolutely gorgeous," he soothed. "In fact it's almost perfect. The only reason it's not perfect is because I can't see through it! Now get your pretty ass out of my way so I can talk to the man!" "See," she looked over her shoulder and winked through the holograph. "He thinks my ass is perfect. Bye for now." She wiggled the body part under discussion, blew us a kiss and waved her fingers while moving out of view. My girls all started giggling. "Take my advice, Major," Mayhem sounded exasperated when he came back into view. "Don't pick up and feed any stray kittens while you're out walking. They grown into cats and you can't get rid of them. Ouch! Damn it, Mike, stop it! "Anyway I've got another hanger-on here that expressed an interest in talking to your ladies before we get down to serious business, if you don't mind." I just glanced around at the girls and shrugged. Suddenly a short, blonde girl entered the view and plopped down in his lap. She had big blue eyes, a dazzling smile and a face that was in the armada launching league. "Hey girls," the pixie said. "We're kind of in the same business. I really like your stuff and I thought I'd say. I'm..." "Antigua Delmar!" all four of my girls shrieked at the same time. Suddenly I was abandoned like a day old fish as the four of them elbowed each other for position in front of the holo-tank. "Well, yeah, I guess you recognized me," the pixie laughed. "I saw a vid of your gig in Londonderry the other day and it got me shaking. Say, isn't there another one of you around somewhere; Rebecca or something like that? Your singer, right?" "Rachael, me sister," Niamh said. "She's off with 'er own fellas tonight. She don't hang with us so much; 'er an Martin get along like cats and dogs, they do." "Happens," Delmar nodded knowingly. "We singers can be a bitchy lot and these old warhorses are about as pigheaded as you can get." "Hey," came a protest from behind her; she just bounced up and down a few times as if to squelch the noise. "Anyway, your sister has a good set of pipes but you guys are awesome," she continued. "I just started working with a live band recently and it's so incredible! What a difference it makes!" "We have yer last comp," Shauna gushed. "It's so kold!" "Thanks," Delmar beamed. "I kind of like it myself. So anyway..." "Can you hear me?" my implant suddenly came to life. "Ah, yeah, sure, " I replied sub-vocally. "Good. Weird was sure he could piggyback on this signal." I was sure it was Mayhem. It takes awhile to get used to and learn to identify a specific person from the signals an implant sends directly to your brain but given the circumstances there was only one person it could reasonably be. "If your girls are anything like Tink, they could be babbling like this for hours," I chuckled. "I thought it would be good if we could take care of our own business while they did." "Sure," I answered and then told him all about my meeting with Brigadier Clemson and the two contacts they'd assigned. "Sounds like they have better ears than we'd expected and were waiting for us to make the first move," he said and then paused. "Clemson's a good man, " I interjected before he could continue. "Anybody he has working with him is going to be good also. Yeah, I don't think I surprised them a bit; they knew it wasn't just a social call." "Sharp operators, " I could almost see him nodding. I would have been able if Antigua Delmar wasn't still perched on his lap intently talking to my girls through the holo-tank. "I have to agree with them though; you're not compromised in acting as liaison, if you're still interested. The publicity is a pain in the ass and there should be a bounty on scuzzies rather than a bag limit but it all blows over soon enough; I've been there. Even with two wives I still find myself in the scandals every now and then and of course Tink is a permanent fixture. If it ever starts to get to you, give her a call. She can give you some pointers on how to handle it." "It's not so bad. I just ignore it for the most part," I replied. "Ah, did you say you have two wives? If you don't mind me asking, how's that working out? I'm thinking if I'm lucky I may have a couple myself here in the near future." "Double the fun and square the loving, " he answered simply. "My only advice is let them take control and answer all orders with 'Yes, ma'am.' They have to work it out; you can't." "You assume I ever had control, " I muttered sardonically which usually doesn't work to well with sub-vocalization. It must have been good enough this time. "Why should you be special?" I think I could actually hear his laughter. ------- The end result was I agreed to be their liaison if they could work it out and it didn't interfere with protecting the band. I made it very clear that VBS or the rest of the world could take a flying fuck at a rolling donut before I'd compromise their safety one iota. He told me he expected no less and said he'd be back to me when they'd worked out some other secure communications. He was right about the girls gabbing. I announced I was going to get something to drink and got nothing more than a little finger wave from Leanne; she didn't even turn around to look at me. When I came back about half an hour later they were just breaking up and the girls were still vibrating from their brush with super-stardom. I thought it was funny but kept my mouth shut; I am trainable. Rachael was beside herself when she heard about who the girls had talked to. Half of her wanted to pretend she didn't care; the other half wanted to squeal like a little girl. Naturally it was my fault she wasn't there to be involved. Our little break was winding down and everyone was gearing back up and ready to get back on the road again. I was reviewing our planned and alternate routes along with communications with local police departments at a kitchen table when a furious Leanne dragged a sobbing Niamh in behind her. "What the hell..." I started. "This stupid cow has bollixed everything up!" Leanne screamed which caused Niamh to cry even louder. "Now wait..." I tried again. "The silly slapper forgot she wasn't on the implant!" Leanne fumed. "She's up the pole now!" "Up the pole?" I frowned. "Oh, pregnant. Is this true, Niamh?" She wouldn't look me in the eyes but nodded as she sobbed. "Wow!" was all I could say. Edited by Morgan ------- Chapter 11 "Wow? Is that all ya can say is 'Wow?'" Leanne demanded. "Mmm, great?" I answered. "Depending on what Niamh thinks about it, of course. Personally I'm feeling a little dizzy." I stood up and hugged Niamh to me. "I'm sorry if this hurts you or ruins your life, darling. But I can never be sorry you are the mother of my child." At first she clung to me like I was the only life preserver in the middle of the ocean still sobbing but suddenly her arms were around my neck and she was attacking me with her lips. "Well, this is a fine kettle of fish," Leanne huffed. I looked at her and she was standing with her hands on her hips, one toe tapping with an expression that was both bemused and annoyed at the same time. I dragged Niamh over to a chair and pulled her down into my lap. "Are we better now?" I asked as Niamh sniffed and hiccupped. "I suppose we all need to talk about this. Okay, now how did this all happen?" I shot a look at Leanne and continued just as she started to say something. "I don't mean exactly how it happened; I've read the manuals." Her mouth snapped shut and she grinned at me. "I mean I'm surprised that we find ourselves in this situation. To begin with, do you know you're pregnant or do you just think that you might be pregnant?" "Aye, ah am, Martin," Niamh nodded apprehensively. "Ah didn't think about it until the other day when that story came out. Ya know the one, where Lea was supposed to be with triplets. Ah remembered ah wasn't on the implant. Ah finally had the chance to check this morning; it's positive." "Okay, the next question is what do you think about it? I have to admit I'm feeling pretty damn good about it but then I'm not the one who's going to have to carry the little sweetie for the next nine months," I told her. "What do you feel about it?" "It's very soon," she mumbled. "Ah could have it ... taken care of..." "Is that what you want?" I asked very carefully. "No!" she shouted. "Ah want nothing more than to have a wee babe of me own; and that it would be yer babe..." "Good, then that's taken care of," I said flatly. "Now we just need to work out the details." "It's not fair!" Leanne complained. "What's not fair?" I asked, confused. "Ah should have the first one," she frowned. "Ah have seniority." "But ah'm older," Niamh interjected. "Enough of that," I said. I shifted Niamh to one knee and wrapping one arm around Leanne's waist pulled her down onto the other one. "You two can work out this silly 'seniority' stuff between you as you want to," I continued. "But as far as I'm concerned the two of you are exactly equal." I gave Leanne a mildly stern look. "That was the agreement and that is how it will stand." "Of course, Martin," Leanne replied seemly unaffected by my stern look. "But ya can't have a household running around willy-nilly. There has to be someone to be running it. Yer a man, darling, and ah love ya dearly but that's not yer job. That's fer us women folk and amongst us there's got to be someone to make the final deciding. If not, it's like having no one at all." "'Tis true, Martin," Niamh nodded. "Ah don't mind. Lea does a better job of it than ah would. The man is the head of the family but it's the women that make it run." "Yes but there are two of you in our family and not just one..." I let my words sort of peter out. I was pretty sure I could have talked till I'm blue in the face and it wouldn't have changed their minds one little bit. "Oh aye," Niamh nodded again. "Tis a little different than what we're used to but we can make do." Remembering the advice, They have to work it out, you can't, I sighed, retreated and started working a different flank. "Okay, I give. I leave that up to you two unless there's a problem." Both of them glanced at each other and gave a sly simile of victory. "The baby is a wonderful surprise," Niamh suddenly became all moony and leaned against me with her face planted in my neck. "But it's going to change what our future plans are. And as far as babies go, I hope you will consent to having mine sometime in the future, so don't get all persnickety about who has one first," I told Leanne. "Of course ah will, Martin," Leanne sighed and lay her head on my other shoulder. "Many, in fact." "That sounds nice," I whispered. "She was just worried ya would kick us to the curb when ya found out," Niamh said from somewhere beneath my chin. "So was I. Ah was afraid you'd think ah was trapping you with it." "I feel insulted," I huffed. "As if I could do that to either one of you, no matter what you did. Besides I was already bagged, tagged, skinned and in the pot before you even had a chance to get pregnant." "We're sorry," they both said together rubbing their cheeks all over me as if begging for forgiveness. "Bah, I am so whipped," I muttered and they giggled without looking up. "Okay, so now we have to decide what to do. Do you want to announce it now or wait until after we're all married? Speaking of that, how long before your divorce is final? Since Ireland doesn't allow for multiple marriages I was thinking it would be best to do it in the States. At least the civil part of it anyway; we could always come back here for a formal ceremony if you'd like. That is if your families would agree. Come to think about it, just how are your families going to react to this? Not just the baby but the three of us and all that?" "The mothers are waiting to see what happens," Leanne said sitting up straight. "They are less than tranquil about the idea," she admitted. "But they know how happy Niamh and ah have been fer this time. And the babby ... Well, that they'll rally behind that quick enough. A grandchild does magical things fer a grandmother. Come to think, maybe we should be putting one in meself right away ― just to make things easier, of course." She batted her lashes at me. "How about if we think about it for a little longer than thirty seconds?" I chuckled. "As much as I'd love to put one in your belly right now it may not be the optimum time. As delightful a surprise as Niamh's is I think a little more thought and planning is best for the next one." "Ah could just have me implant taken out," she pouted. "Yes you could," I nodded. "And now is where I should be threatening to not have sex with you until we've thought about it. But of course we all know that would be an empty threat. You'd wiggle that cute little backside of yours and you'd be up the pole in no time." "Yer so easy, Martin," Leanne grinned and softly stroked my cheek. "That's one of the things we love about ya. But ah'll be a good girl, fer now." "I know you will," I smiled at her. "Are we all better now?" I asked a very placid Niamh. All I got was a few incoherent mumbles from somewhere around my shoulder. She shifted around a bit and let out a sigh; I wasn't entirely sure she wasn't asleep. "Poor thing!" Leanne clucked. "She's been weeping and worrying all day, even before ah found her." Leanne paused and looked sheepish, "Ah'm afraid ah didn't do her any good." "I'm sure she realizes you were scared also," I glanced at her with just a touch of disapproval. That they would think I abandon the women I loved let alone my baby ... She at least blushed. "I think we need to get this one upstairs for a nap," I said. Leanne stood up as I hooked one arm under Niamh's knees and the other firmly around her shoulders. I lifted her as I stood and carried her up to our bedroom. I laid her down in the middle of the bed and settled down beside her. Leanne stretched out on her other side. Niamh rolled over and pressed up against me and was soon softly snoring. I woke up when someone started messing around with my pants. Opening my eyes and looking down Niamh was just unfastening the front of my trousers and tugging them down. She must have noticed I was awake because she looked down at me with a very devilish grin. "I need ya, Martin," she said simply as she pulled my pants down to my knees. Her knee-length dress was hiked up around her waist and there was nothing but Niamh below it. Swinging one leg over my waist she sat down carefully so that my hardening cock nestled in the slippery crevice of her vagina. Dropping the hem of her dress until it covered both of us, she leaned forward. She was tall enough that her face was directly over mine and all that beautiful red hair spilled down like a curtain around our heads cutting us off from the outside world. "We're going to have a babby," she whispered. "I know," I smiled. "You know I love you." "Ah know," she replied as she slowly slid back and forth on my now rigid cock. "Ah can see yer feeling better," Leanne said from somewhere outside that wall of hair. Niamh flicked the hair from one side back over her shoulder and glanced at her cousin. "Ah do," she confirmed. "Our man loves us, ya know," she continued still moving on top of me. This time when she had slid up on me as far as she could go and the very tip of my dick was nuzzled between the lips of her sex she shifted her hips and when she pushed down again I was pushed up inside her. "Lord God, that feels good," she moaned closing her eyes and bit her bottom lip. "Ah need this so bad, Martin," she groaned. "Ah need ya to want me, ah need ya to love me. Will ya still love me when ah'm big and fat with yer child?" "You are so silly," I laughed quietly. "Don't you know that pregnant women are beautiful and you will be the most incredibly beautiful one of them all?" She didn't answer but started moving up and down more vigorously. "And what about me?" Leanne feigned a pout. "Won't I be the most beautiful one of them all?" "From what I've seen this week," I grunted through clenched teeth. I was trying to answer while being thoroughly distracted. "You'll look like a beach ball with legs; especially if you have triplets." "Ach, you big meenie!" she screeched playfully and started tickling my side which caused me to jump and Niamh to gasp loudly. "Oh, sorry." "No, do it again!" Niamh demanded. Leanne did and I jumped again causing a delighted squeal from my rider. "Oh— oh— oh— Martiiiin!" Niamh screamed one last time and I felt her interior muscles clamp down tight on me. That was all she wrote for me and we both froze in the rigor of release as I pumped my seamen inside her and she shook and shimmied on top. After what felt like forever we both relaxed and she slumped down on top of me, resting her head on my chest looking over at Leanne. "Ah hear pregnant women are very needy," she murmured and I could hear her smile. "How convenient," Leanne responded dryly. "Ah'll remember that. "But right now someone ought to close the door," she said and both Niamh and I looked to where the bedroom door was partially open. I doubt if anybody would have walked by except by accident but given how vocal Niamh had been there was no possible way anyone in the house hadn't heard her. Come to think about it the door being open was probably irrelevant; they would have heard her anyway. She at least had the grace to blush even as she grinned from ear to ear. "Ya two have got me all worked up and now our man has a little mistress maintenance to perform," Leanne continued. Niamh laughed, bent down and kissed me. Slowly easing herself up I plopped out as she stood and walked carefully to the door and closed it. Turning around she looked at my now flaccid cock and said, "Ah think ah used 'im up." "Ah believe ah'm up to the challenge," Leanne gurgled and licked her lips. She was. ------- The next morning it was time to get back on the road. I'd left it up to Niamh and Leanne when and where their families would be told about the clan's new addition and our wedding plans. To the best of my knowledge they didn't say anything about either at that time but with the surreptitious glances the three of us kept getting from the mothers which included narrowed eyes, knowing looks and blatant speculation, I had a feeling the actual telling when it came would be redundant. I don't know if pregnant women actually glow but there was something different about Niamh as she serenely rested against my shoulder with her eyes closed. Eimile and Shauna certainly knew something was up as they sat across from the three of us with narrowed eyes and pursed lips. They didn't blurt anything out while we were on the bus but I had the feeling we were going to get the full court press later that evening. Our first stop was Coleraine and then on to Ballymena and Cookstown. From there it would be Belfast where we would spend a whole five nights since one of the concerts would be very close in Lisburn. It didn't take us much time to get back in the swing of things. Magaoidh met us at the hotel in Coleraine when we were dropped off and Caoimh continued with the roadies and the techno-geeks to get the stage set up. We'd reduced the number of rooms booked by one; Niamh's was now considered superfluous. I suppose Mac and Faolain's could have been also but we kept it and used it strictly for our monitoring post; now everybody could have a room to themselves. We were on high alert and I'll have to admit I was as jumpy as a cat who'd stumbled into an attack dog training facility. The scuzzies were a fucking pain in the ass. I really think they outnumbered the fans who waited by the doors just waiting for the girls to show their faces and these weren't the more laid back, casual group I'd come to an understanding with on the first half of the tour. More than a few tried to penetrate up to the girls rooms. Most were intercepted by the hotel security augmented by local off-duty police but one group made it up to our floor via the stairwell. Mac just grinned at me as we watched them with our spy-eyes as they tried to jimmy the lock on the stairwell door. It took them twenty minutes but they finally got it open only to be met with three drawn 5mm's, two pissed-off rangers and one irritated corporal late of His Majesties Royal Engineers. They were frog-marched back down the stairs but unfortunately all their equipment took the quick way down via an accidental drop test over the third floor railing. It was waiting for them when they got down there at least; well, most of it was. Some of the parts had scattered but that wasn't our problem. Around dinner time the scuzzies and news-hounds were still thick as flies on a pile of dogshit so we ate in the tiny hotel restaurant. It was nothing to call home about but it was at least edible. Speaking of calling home I suddenly realized I'd better do that soon and let Mom and her husband know about my intended brides and all the crap that was going on because of it. I was hoping she wasn't catching any of the collateral damage since she'd changed her last name when she remarried; my dad had died during the troubles right after the war started. We weren't extremely close; three years in academy and four years overseas without any home time will do that. Plus, her husband and I didn't mesh well so I tended to stay out of their way for the most part. Still, they should know if there is any potential shitstorm headed their way because of what I'd done and of course Mom would kill me if I didn't tell her I was getting married, especially to two girls she didn't know. That she had a grandchild on the way could wait. The only thing I really remember about that meal was when we were ordering, Niamh casually asked for fruit juice rather than her normal glass of white wine. You wouldn't think anyone would really notice that, would you? Wrong again. As soon as she ordered Eimile and Shauna's heads swiveled together like twin gun mounts on a fire support cruiser and locked on to her like rail guns bore-sighting a target. You could almost see the wheels turning in their heads until I swear I saw smoke coming out of their ears. This was going to be interesting, I thought; a whole-company-of-drugged-up-suicidal-fanatic-jihadist-slamming-down-on-your-line-position type of interesting. Maybe I should make a security tour of the place after dinner; maybe a couple of them. Me, a coward? Yeah, and your point... ? I did but it didn't do me any good. They must have been waiting for me when I got back to the room because about ten seconds after I'd shut the door it opened again and those two marched in side by side. After slamming the door closed behind them they stood shoulder to shoulder, arms crossed glaring at us. "All right..." Eimile started. " ... what the fuck is going on?" Shauna finished. It was actually kind of amusing, looking back at it. "What do ya mean?" Niamh asked innocently. Leanne had a puzzled I-have-no-idea-what-you're-talking-about look on her face. I started backing away thinking it was a really good time to ... wash my hands. "You stand right there, Martin Leforge!" Eimile growled and pointed at me, I froze. "And you!" Shauna shook her finger at Niamh. "Ya act like ya been taking happy pills or some such nonsense. Staring up at this blackguard like 'e was the second coming of Christ, smiling lik ya haven't a care in the world; ya act like yer pregnant or something." "Ah am," Naimh sighed happily. "I'm going to have a babby." Eimile and Shauna's mouths dropped open at the same time. "Is it... ? Is it Martin's?" Eimile asked tentatively. "Of course it's Martin's!" Niamh hissed as her face clouded up. "Oh, well, that explains it, then," Shauna said looking at Eimile who nodded back. Suddenly they both squealed and raced over to Niamh wrapping her up in their arms and jumping up and down. "How long?" "How do ya feel" "Do ya know what it is?" "How did this happen?" The rapid fire questions being shouted were making me dizzy and I wasn't even the one they were directed at. Niamh just placidly looked back and forth between the two of them and finally shushed them up. "Settle down, the both of ya," she said calmly. "Ah can't answer a hundred questions at once. Now one at a time. If ya mean how long have we known? Since yesterday. Ah feel fine. No we don't know what it is and ah expect it happened in pretty much the normal way. Now, is there anything else you'll be needing?" "Ah've never heard of an implant failing," Shauna frowned looking puzzled. "Ah didn't have one," Niamh replied blushing bright red. "Oh ya didn't now?" Eimile scoffed poking her cousin in the side. "And just when did ya have that taken out?" "About four years ago," Niamh admitted. "Tom seemed to be getting restless and ah was thinking maybe a child would be settling him down. That and ah wanted one so badly. He hardly touched me since and ah kind of forgot about it." "Fool woman," Shauna snorted. "With a boy like Tom, a child wouldn't settle 'im down it'd make 'im run the faster. And you!" she pointed her finger at me. "Did ya know our cousin here was without protection?" "No, I didn't," I gestured helplessly. "I know, I know, I should have asked but I'll admit I got a bit distracted." Eimile and Shauna looked at each other, nodded simultaneously and snorted disgustedly, "Men!" "And you Mister Big Shot," Eimile came over and poked me in the side. "Are ya going to be doing right by me forgetful cousin and the wee one?" "I told her she has to marry me now," I replied smugly. "Oh she does now, does she?" Eimile poked me in the side again. "Careful there, Em," Shauna cautioned. "He's fertile as a turtle and has already taken one of us up the pole. You'll be watching what yer poking around there or you'll be getting a little belly swell there yerself." "Ya can't catch that from a little snogging, ah'm sure," Eimile scoffed. "Besides, ah'm not the slut that needs to be locked in her room to make it safe fer the decent men out there." "Slut, now is it?" Shauna squealed. "Was it me now who was climbing all over 'im the other night with me tiny top and knickers waving to the world? Playing with fire ya were! Ya just didn't know it." "Stop it the both of ya," Leanne laughed. "Yer both wicked teases," she said coming over and putting her arm around my waist. "The two of you slappers do yer best to rev 'im up; for which ah can only thank ya. Ya give 'im the taste fer sweets and Niamh and me get to fill 'im full." "Hardly seems fair," Shauna complained. "Besides how do you feel about all this? Yer man just said he's going to marry the poor fallen dove." "A little peeved, to be sure," Leanne grunted. "Ah should have been first to go increasing and make no mistake about it. But as our man says, 'It is what it is.' A babby's not something ya can wish away or put on hold. And as fer marrying," she looked extremely smug, "he'll be marrying both of us come tours end." "That we already worked out," Shauna said offhandedly. "Now, what have ya told anybody?" Those two continued chatting as I sat on the couch with Niamh. Eimile immediately sat in my lap and laid her head on my chest. "Yer a good man, Martin," she sighed. "Niamh's needed a good man forever and now she'll need one even more." "I'll do my best," I chuckled patting the back of her head. "Hey! Ah told ya yer playing with fire," Shauna hollered. "Ya sit on 'is lap too long and you'll have yer share of trouble. If ya do best not be asking me to be changing the nasty nappies of yer little brat." "Won't be any trouble," Eimile teased. "Ah'm just waiting around fer something to pop up." "If it does, ya better hope ya got yer knickers on girl," Leanne added. "Or you'll be sharing a room in delivery with Niamh." "Ah've got my implant, thank ya very much," Eimile answered sticking her tongue out. "Besides if it happens Martin will marry me too." "I will, will I?" I coughed. "And just how many wives do you think I need, anyway?" "Well how many of us are ya going to be putting in the family way?" Eimile responded immediately. "Ah think me and Lea have something to say about that," Niamh smiled. "Ya two already share," Eimile shrugged. "What's one more? "I think you'd better ask your girlfriend about that," I tickled Em's side. "Oh, does that mean ah can share with her too?" Eimile giggled and squirmed in my lap. "You are all so bad," I sighed giving up. ------- The tour continued on rather smoothly for the most part. As I said before, the scuzzies and the news-hounds were a pain in the ass and continued to be a pain in the ass. I was wondering if there wasn't somebody else in the whole fucking country they could find to annoy. For the most part we all tried to ignore them. They shouted questions, shot their vids and the girls just pretended they didn't exist. I tried to do the same with somewhat more limited success. I really didn't like when they pulled on my arms trying to get my attention. The first one who did it, I decked without even thinking but that just made it all worse. Now I was in the spotlight almost as much as the girls were; how they could stand it, I don't know. It only lasted about two seconds; we were walking from the hall to our bus when some asshole jumped a barricade and grabbed my gun arm. I swear I don't remember most of it but suddenly he was flopping around on his back dazed and confused. Naturally all of it was caught on vid and I think it ran as many times as the first one where I put down Tom Callahan. Give me a break! It really wasn't that interesting. The upshot of the whole fiasco was that I became a target of those bottom-feeding parasites as the girls were and had to be "protected" by the rest of my crew just like they did. How humiliating! Oh the boys thought it was funny, all right; just a barrel of laughs it was. I tried to emulate the girls and ignore the pests completely but all I got were the tag lines, "dangerously sexy" and "broodingly remote" when they showed vids of me. Naturally the girls thought it was hilarious. I tried to tell them just how dangerous my hand was going to be to certain sassy bottoms but was laughingly informed the only danger I posed was for bulging bellies followed by dirty diapers. I get no respect at all. Rachael was an enigma. I'd have bet a week's pay she'd have been bitchy as hell, not being the number one target for the cameras and scandal seekers, but she wasn't for some reason. Oh she certainly got the face time still; she was the group's unofficial spokesperson, mostly because everyone else didn't want to bother with it. A lot of the questions asked were about me and the girls but it didn't seem to bother her. Well why should it? She was having a ball. They'd ask a question and she'd open her mouth and the most insane, ludicrous crap would come spilling out. Half the time she said two completely contradictory things in the same sentence. She'd say of course Leanne, Niamh and I were sleeping together, but nothing happened except sleep since both her sister and cousin were still virgins. (I don't think a single one of those morons brought up the fact that Niamh had been married for seven plus years.) She also confirmed that Leanne and Niamh were both pregnant although Leanne wasn't carrying triplets ― it was only twins ― and they weren't sure who the fathers were because while I could maintain an erection I had lost my testacies in the war and couldn't ejaculate ... It got weirder from there. Watching Rachael's nightly stream-of-conscious garbage dump was a spectator sport in our room with me generally shaking my head in disbelief while the four girls rolled on the floor crying with laughter. I'd like to say I was only afraid one or more of them was going to have an accident but it actually happened a few times requiring a cleanup and new clothes. Was I mad about this silliness? Not at all. After about the first two minutes it became clear as day Rachael was fucking with them and having a great time doing it. She even came in a few times to watch with us and blushed when she received a standing ovation for one or more of her most outlandish comments. She has a hell of an imagination; I'll give her that. Yes, Rachael and I are still under the sign of Pax. I won't say we're good buddies or anything like that ― our personalities clash too much ― but we learned to tolerate each other and ignore most of what drives each of us crazy. After the break she was much less the diva and more of a human being than I had ever seen her. It might be partly due to the boys, God bless them, or it could have been when she finally got her heart's desire to talk to Antigua Delmar. Finding out that someone whose star power compared to hers was like comparing the sun to a flashlight could be a regular person bullshitting and giggling like any other girl rocked her little Me! Me! Me! world just a bit, for the better I think. We actually did get to talk with the little blonde bombshell more often than you might think. For whatever reason Mayhem decided the safest way to transmit data was through Antigua's pers-comp link. I suppose it's because the girls all had common interests ― being musicians and all ― it wasn't suspicious for them to talk to each other now and then. While they were talking, data was being passed both ways; first to data crystals I'd deliver to either Bruce or Becky (some of those exchanges were interesting and overly complex but I'm not going to bother going into them here) and then send back the data the Brits had given to me. No, I didn't know what it was and furthermore I didn't care; I was just the messenger boy and plausible deniability sounded pretty good at the time. Mayhem guaranteed the links were fully encrypted and nobody was ever going to know what was actually being passed. How he could guarantee that, I didn't know and again didn't care. There were rumors that he had someone on his team that could make AIs roll over and spread their legs like a two dollar whore on payday but that was just a rumor. Of course Sergeant Mike had been a rumor for years and look how that turned out. It all could have been done without my girls or Antigua actually talking to each other but they all seemed to get along and enjoy it so she was there quite often. Darlington was there a few times also but my girls reactions to her decreased even as her propositions to me became more graphic and ― let's be honest here ― anatomically impossible until she finally laughed and gave up. She has an interesting imagination too; it makes me shudder and cringe a little, but it is interesting. You've probably noticed I haven't mentioned Connor much lately. No, he hadn't dropped into a bog or been swallowed up by the earth or anything like that; I couldn't have been so lucky. He was still around at times although most of his worthless friends seemed to have disappeared. I figured they'd probably run out of money and couldn't follow the band any longer; it's a pity he didn't do the same. He was still technically the band's manager and there are some things a manager actually has to manage. Every time there was a situation that needed a decision and he happened to be there and someone was actually stupid enough to have him deal with it, he fucked it up every time leaving Valeria or someone else from Camberge's office to clean it up afterwards. Why Camberge didn't do something about it I never found out. Things would have gone a whole lot easier if he would have sent Valeria up to handle the last half of the tour but he kept her in their Dublin office. I'm sure it would have made Caoimh a whole lot happier too, but that's beside the point. I was under the impression from our first talk that Camberge's opinion of Connor's relative worth was at or even lower than mine but it seems I was mistaken. His decision to keep Connor on was only one of the decisions I'm sure he later regretted, but as far as I'm concerned it was a biggie. I can't say Connor and I had any real problems between us. We had an understanding: he didn't fuck with me or my job and I didn't beat the shit out of him. His incompetence and ability to fuck up anything he touched aggravated quite a few people to no end but other than having to listen to four women bitch about him continuously he was only a minor nuisance to me. I'm pretty sure he hated me but I can't say I felt the same toward him. Sure, I thought he was an almost useless parasite who could be better put to use as say flower bed mulch or chum for shark fishing but I didn't hate him; the best you could say was I held him in complete and total contempt. You may be wondering why I said he was an "almost" useless parasite. Simple. No man is completely useless; you can always use him as a bad example. The second half of the tour was turning out to be completely different than the first half. I've talked about the media scrutiny which I considered both a blessing and a curse. Mostly I cursed but I believe in general the whole circus probably made the girls safer. There were too many people and too many vid cameras following us everywhere for anyone other than a really determined or fanatical kidnapper to get a clear shot at one of them. Rachael was still the most exposed, given her tendency to push the limits of her protection but she always had at least one and usually two nervous, trigger-happy shadows with personal motivation for her safety backing her up. She'd growl at me if I tried to yank back on her choke chain but if her two puppies started whimpering she'd heel in a second. There may have been pax between us but if you don't think Rachael enjoyed rubbing my nose in the fact that she wouldn't do for me what she happily did for my subordinates, then you don't know Rachael very well, do you. And if you think for one minute I really cared then you don't know me very well either. She was as safe as we could make her and that was all I cared about. Sure, I'd grumble and fume when she did it but that was for her benefit. It made her happy to think she was getting under my skin and made her even more compliant to Faolain and Mac's directions and since those directions were ultimately mine it was one of those rare win-win situations. It was good for a laugh as a bonus. Professionally all was adequate if a bit nerve-wracking; personally my life only got better, and weirder. Better because every minute I spent with my Leanne and Niamh seemed to prove how well the three of us fit together. Other than the both of them being stunningly beautiful and sexy women they were almost complete opposites. Niamh was sweet, quiet, demure and subordinate almost to the point of being submissive. Don't start thinking she had some kind of sidewalk personality and she allowed herself to be walked all over by just anyone. Lord no! Let's just say she had her own opinion on how a man-woman relationship should be and you couldn't change that opinion with a kilo of C-12 blasting gel. For her the man of the house was the focal point of the family and everything revolved around him. It was his job to take of her and any children and the woman's job to support him and be taken care of. For example I don't know how many times I told her "Ah don't know" or "Ah don't care" wasn't on the fucking menu when she decided it was my job to order for her but I'd damn well better do it or she'd go hungry that night. That woman can out-stubborn a rock! Now Leanne is completely different. She's bossy, loud, opinionated, possessive, jealous, gregarious and totally without inhibitions (I am not just talking about sexually here; both of them can lay claim to that. Niamh rarely initiates anything new in bed but we've yet to find anything she won't do wholeheartedly if somebody else brings it up.) She likes to argue and enjoys a fight but absolutely loves the makeup sex afterwards. She's been known to pick a scrap for no reason other than she knows she'll be getting a spanking and hard grudge fuck afterwards. I have no doubt she looks at us as complete equals in our relationship although depending on the situation one of us is usually more equal than the other. Niamh doesn't; not because she truly believes she is inferior or anything like that but because she believes we have completely different roles to play. To her, saying we were equals would be like saying a cat is equal to a dog; they are two different animals and therefore not comparable. Somehow the three of us mesh like gears in a precision made machine; we complement and complete each other. I've said Leanne can be possessive and jealous. The truth is both of them are but in completely different ways and never with each other which baffles the crap out of me. Leanne can sweetly smile and watch while I do my best to fuck Niamh's brains out while waiting for her turn but let some sweet young thing with cleavage down to her navel and a short skirt up around her ass come up to me at a party and you can almost hear the hiss as her back goes up and her claws come out. Niamh's eyes just get really cold and she presses up next to me closer than a second skin. I've never been one to have a wandering eye and I know they trust me; it's just their natures. Shit, I feel the same way when some good looking asshole hits on them which happens all the time. They're just defending their territory and not usually being overly subtle about it. Which is where the weird part comes in: the twins. There are a lot of things that confuse me: bright lights, loud noises, words with more than two syllables (that's Leanne talking there) but I don't think anything confused me more than my/our relationship with Eimile and Shauna during the second half of that tour. That Leanne and Niamh were my women and I was their man was never in question and neither was the fact that Em and Shauna were a couple. They had no problems demonstrating that in our presence especially when we were all somewhere safe and private like one of our rooms. I had a deep affection for the two little troublemakers ― of that there was no doubt ― and if it hadn't been for my relationship with their cousins I know for a fact I wouldn't have been able to keep my hands off either or both of them. They were sexy, vivacious and cute as a couple of kittens. Eimile was a completely different girl from the subdued, scared, beaten down little thing I'd first met and Shauna had blossomed once she no longer needed to be her lover's shield against the world. In any other circumstance I would have sworn the two of them were hell bent on seducing me into their bed and it had me rocking and reeling continuously. What did I expect? Well, I suppose I expected it to be more of a brother/sister type of thing. I was the first one to openly know about their relationship and they knew I accepted it without reservation. They felt comfortable expressing that relationship in front of me and knew it wouldn't bother me. Well, that's not true. They knew I wouldn't judge them for it but they sure as hell knew it bothered me; it made me horny as hell and they did it on purpose! We spent a lot of time watching movies ― pictures they called them ― together. I think they loved the old movies as much or maybe even more than I did. Inevitably I'd be sandwiched between the two of them and then without any signal I could see they'd lean across my lap and start making out like a couple of porn stars. One of them and sometimes both would then crawl into my lap and the snogging would continue right there only centimeters in front of my eyes accompanied by roaming hands, moaning, pelvic thrusts and everything else you could expect to be coming from the back seat of daddy's car with a couple of teenagers out on a date. Suddenly one of them would be giving me a dental exam with her tongue and I have to confess I returned the favor with gusto. First it was one then the other and usually it turned into a three way kiss that I found rather unique and somewhat messy. At the same time their hands were all over the place and it wasn't just each other they were groping and I'll admit my two were doing their fair share. Sometimes it was a nice firm ass but often I had my hand removed and placed on a wonderfully soft breast. I avoided getting into their pretty little panties but usually other hands were there already. Their hands didn't seem to have that trouble and they had no problems playing with Mr. Happy like he was a birthday toy. Did I worry about what my two lovely ladies would think about all this? Not after the first couple of times, that's for sure. Generally they were either sitting on the couch with us or at the very least somewhere in the same room. The first time it happened I looked for Niamh and Leanne in panic but Niamh just gave me a tolerant smile while Leanne actually laughed at me. After that I just went along and enjoyed myself although I had no intention of taking it through to its natural conclusion. Normally it ended when either they or I got so worked up they'd either scamper off to their own room or I'd grab one of my women and drag her over to the bed and do my best to split her open. I told you it was weird! Yes, I tried to talk to Leanne and Niamh about it but all I got was evasive answers or questions to my questions. They did make it clear they weren't jealous which just added to my confusion. "Which one of those little sluts were ya fucking this time?" Leanne chuckled as she lay beneath me. I had just finished doing my best to nail her into the mattress after a particularly frisky round of "Let's tease the shit out of Martin." "I was fucking you, you little minx," I tried to scowl. Do you know how difficult it is to scowl appropriately right after you've had one of the best orgasms of your life? Try it. I'll bet you can't do it. "And it was a grudge fuck," I continued. "You deserve it for letting those two get me so worked up." "Works for me," she smiled smugly as she unhooked her ankles from behind my back and let them fall to the bed. "Do ah get a grudge fuck too, Martin?" Niamh grinned from her side of the bed. "I don't understand you two," I sighed and flopped down on my back between them. "In fact, I don't understand any of this. Em was dry humping me so hard I thought I was going to cum in my pants and Shauna was trying to cram as much of her tit in my mouth as she could and yet you two sat there and laughed at me." "Does this mean ah won't get me grudge fuck?" Niamh asked sadly eyeing my now flaccid cock. "Of course we don't mind, Martin," Leanne said looking up at me from where her head was laying on my shoulder. "It's Em and Shauna, not some slappers ya picked up in a pub, fer God's sake." "Ah think ah can fix this," Niamh smacked her lips and bobbed her head in a southerly direction. "Ya love them, don't ya?" Leanne asked me and I tried to concentrate as Niamh began to softly suckle on my wilted stalk and gently roll my balls in her hand. "Yes," I grunted through gritted teeth. "But not the same way I love you two." "But you've told us ya don't love either of us exactly the same way," she reminded me. It's true; we'd talked about it before. I loved each of them equally but not in exactly the same way. I don't think you can love two people exactly the same; they're different and therefore you love them differently. "Yeah, but..." I was beginning to lose my concentration as the blood exited my brain and pooled somewhere below my belly button. "And they love you too," she continued not paying any attention to me. "Different than how they love each other fer sure, but I'm thinking just as much. "Em and Shauna love each other; it's a fact," Leanne said and I struggled to concentrate as Niamh gurgled happily at her obvious success. "But ah'm thinking they're not lesbians fer real; it just happens the one they fell in love with was a girl. They need a man as much as any other woman does and ya happen to be the one they love and respect. Yer their protector, their knight in shining armor. They know what ya feel fer them and they know ya accept them fer who and what they are. That's a powerful thing, Martin." "But ... Ahhh..." I groaned as my now engorged cock plopped out of Niamh's mouth into the cold air. "Enough talk," Niamh panted as she straddled my hips pushing Leanne to one side. She lowered herself and suddenly my cold cock was warm again and she sighed as she impaled herself on me fully. She stretched herself flat out on top of me, a position I really like, and licked my lips. "Ah guess ah don't get me grudge fuck," she whispered as she slowly moved herself up and down. "No," I chuckled licking her back. "I feel too good." "Then this'll just have to do," she sighed and kissed me. We never did finish the conversation and that's pretty much how it always went. Edited by Morgan ------- Chapter 12 I think I once described the twins as being sweet and pretty but you wouldn't swallow your tongue if you passed them in the street. I'm not exactly sure when that changed. Maybe they did or maybe it was just my perception of them but I can tell you right now they are a hell of a lot more than just "pretty". If they want to they can ooze sex appeal enough to make a dead man pant and sport wood. Maybe it changed when Eimile confronted her rapist and defeated him in her own mind (along with a few really good kicks to the ribs). I think her soul was finally free and she blossomed. Of course being able to openly be with her lover, at least in the privacy of her family setting, might have had something to do about it also. Whatever it was there was no doubt when those sets of violet and gray eyes turned toward me it had an effect on me. They knew it, Leanne and Niamh knew it ― hell, everybody knew it! What was I going to do about it? Not a fucking thing. I wasn't in control and I guess I never was. Probably lost it the first day I strolled in through that studio door. I suppose I should have felt bad; being all wimpy, pussy-whipped, Wilber Milquetoast and such but I didn't. Still don't for that matter. As a man it's a lot easier and a whole lot more pleasant if you just go ahead and follow the plan the women around you lay down. All it costs is a tiny bit of self respect and believe me, self respect is way overrated. Take that night at the night club ... Yes, yes, that night club. Of course you've see the vid ― everybody's seen the fucking vid! Just another example of what can happen when a guy is stupid enough to mix his job with his social life. Actually I don't think anything would have changed all that much whether or not I had been involved with my ladies. The idiots would have still been idiots and I still would have had to ... Well, you'll see; it's really not my fault. Really! We were in Belfast for five days and two concerts. Actually the second concert was in Lisburn but it was just up the road so the schedule had us staying in the same hotel for the entire time and commuting to the second show. That gave us a whole day off between the gigs (see how easy the jargon spills from my mouth?) with no packing, unpacking, traveling or even a practice. So what did the girls want to do with a whole free day? Rest, relax, catch up on a good book, do a little sightseeing? Hell, no! They wanted to go shopping! My first thought was shoot me now but I was saved by the fact that they wanted to go shopping without me! Yes, score! Wait, why? Why didn't they want me there? Because they wanted to "surprise" me that's why. Are any of you guys out there scared yet? You can be damn sure I was. Maybe my opinion was tainted by past experience but I've found that generally surprises are followed by one of three things: heart attacks, courts-marshal or funerals. I'm not a big fan of surprises. Of course I put my foot down to stop that foolishness right away. I spent the day reviewing security procedures, napping and even snuck out to make a blind drop of a data crystal while the other four guys took the girls out shopping. A relatively productive day for me anyway. It was very late afternoon or early evening when the giggles announced their return. Leanne and Niamh hurriedly stashed a number of what looked like plastic sealed dresses, boxes and bags in the closet before wandering over to the couch where I was sitting working on my pers-comp. "Miss us, luv?" Leanne asked plopping down in my lap while Niamh sat next to me. "You were gone?" I responded looking puzzled. "Big meanie," Leanne giggled and started tickling me. "Of course I missed you," I said stopping her attack with a kiss and after that leaning over to kiss Niamh. "Did you enjoy your economic stimulus project?" "We did indeed," Leanne giggled again. "And ah think you will too." "Oh will I?" I raised my eyebrows. "Aye, ya will," she answered smugly. "But not before ya take us all out fer dinner and then a bit of dancing." "Dinner? Dancing?" "That's right," she grinned. "We've decided ya need to woo us properly. And who knows? Maybe you'll get lucky tonight." She tickled me under the chin. "Maybe I'll get lucky right now," I leered evilly and started reaching for her. She squealed and jumped off my lap. "Now there'll be none of that," she shook her finger at me. "You'll be needing to make yerself presentable. We've had yer best suit cleaned and ready fer you. Now get in there and stay until yer called for," she pointed to the suites second, unused until now, bedroom. I probably forgot to mention that because of out extended stay and the band's increasing popularity the hotel had upgraded most of us to three-room suites. Kind of a waste if you ask me since we all ended up in the same bed anyway but how can you politely refuse? Being the good boy I did what I was told and headed for the second bathroom. Checking my beard I dabbed on a little depilatory and hit the 'fresher. Clean as a gun barrel fresh from the factory I entered the bedroom proper and found my suit and everything else laid out for me. That's right, I didn't even get to pick my own underwear or socks; can't be leaving anything up to the befuddled mind of a mere male, now can we? Having been ordered to stay I stayed and watched some silly crap on the holo. I was there for about an hour and had started wondering if maybe I'd been left as some kind of joke when Niamh stuck her head in and told me it was time to go. I was looking forward to seeing how my girls had dressed up but I was in for some disappointment there. It was cool that night in Belfast and both of them had full-length, lightweight cloaks on, covering them from neck to ankle. Other than the come-fuck-me heels they both had on I couldn't see anything. "We're ready, Martin," Leanne said. "How do we look?" "What little I can see, absolutely amazing," I answered truthfully. Women are magical creatures and don't let anyone try to tell you differently. They had to have spent considerable time applying makeup but honestly I couldn't see it. Their faces looked completely them and yet totally different. Does that make any sense? I didn't think so but that's how it was. They have always been beautiful women as far as I was concerned but now they were Gorgeous with a capital "G." I could spend hours trying to describe their faces to you but I'll use their eyes as just an example. They seemed to pop out right at me, captivating, alluring with just a hint of tease with a whole lot more than a hint of promise. I could have swum in Niamh's cool sea-green or dipped into Leanne's limpid pools of indigo all night if they had let me. I think my mouth must have been hanging open just a bit. "Ah think he approves," Leanne smirked smugly as she took one arm. "Ya may be right," Niamh agreed as she took my other and with one finger under my chin pushed my mouth closed. "It's time to go; the others are waiting." "Others?" I blinked. For some reason I was thinking it would be just the three of us. If Eimile and Shauna were going also we needed more coverage; I'd have to call Magaoidh or Caoimh ... Why do I even bother thinking? Of course it was already taken care of. "All of us," Leanne grinned as the two of them steered me towards the door. "Fer shame! You didn't think we could go without Em and Shauna, now did ya? And of course Rache thought it was a grand idea so it'll be her, Wellan and James. Naturally with all of us going out we'll be needing our full complement of protection now, wouldn't ya say? So Ryan and Brian will be coming along to chaperone." "Yes, of course," I mumbled dizzily. Indeed everyone else was waiting for us out in the hall. Eimile and Shauna were covered up like Niamh and Leanne and while Rachael had her cloak on it was open in front. She was wearing a flashy red dress, short on the bottom and low on the top that hugged her like a second skin and just screamed justifiable rape. I had been completely set up by my darlings as the evil grins on both Em and Shauna attested. I glanced at Magaoidh and he frowned slightly in disapproval. At least he knew I should have been given some warning. Fie on you, disloyal one! I wanted to shout. But then there is the question of who he should be loyal to, me or the girls? I wanted to say me but if I wanted to be honest it should probably be the girls. I decided to think on that one a bit. Faolain and Mac wouldn't even meet my stare. Sighing heavily, I decided no damage no foul and let it go. They had a big limo waiting for us at the door and it was a few minutes ride to the fancy restaurant they'd picked out. It was at the cloak-check that I about had my stroke. They peeled off their cloaks and laid them on the counter and I'm pretty sure my heart stopped for a beat or two. First off, all four dresses were form-fitting and relatively short. Not too short but short enough to show off eight of the most beautiful legs you could ever imagine you'd wanted to see. And the tops ... Let's just say an alien from another galaxy would know instantly these were females; even Leanne who is not overburdened in that department filled out that dress very nicely. Niamh ... Niamh was the earth mother. Sensuality beamed from her every curve; she glowed. Leanne was darkly exotic; aloof, taunting, hinting at everything and yet promising nothing. The twins ... Well they were just plain sex on the hoof. Every curve drew the eye, every movement quickened the pulse. It was like they gave off a cloud of female essence that trapped any male within sight. One glance and a man would be panting; a long look and he would be begging and pleading to do what every man is programmed to do by nature. I was utterly stunned. "Ah think he likes them," Leanne sashayed up to my side and automatically my arm went around her. "Is it all right, Martin?" Niamh bit her lip as if she expected disapproval as she pressed against my other side. "More than all right," I assured her. "But if you ever wear that for anyone but me I'm going to kill him and spank you," I told her firmly. Her smile almost blinded me as she melted against my side. "What about us?" Shauna demanded as the two of them stood in front of me. "You two are the reason why men can never be trusted," I told them truthfully. "I repeat: never, any of them." They glanced at each, grinned then stepped in and gave me a kiss on each cheek. "We trust you," Emilie whispered. "You shouldn't," I whispered back. "Not with the way you're looking tonight." I heard a few little sighs and giggles from all of them and a four-way squeeze that just about collapsed my lungs. After they released me most of the way we were shown to our table, my queens on my arms and my princesses close in attendance. On the way I even complimented Rachael on how she looked. She said thanks and gave me one of those don't-I-know-it kinds of smirks. It wasn't as bad as it sounds and she did look good in a trashy, high-priced hooker sort of way; for all I knew that's exactly what she was going for. Rachael is Rachael and you could drive yourself batty waiting for her to change or figure her out; it makes your life a whole lot easier if you just accept what is and not worry about what might be. It was a high-class place that's for sure and I'm also sure the meal was great and the service even better. Honestly, I don't remember; I was far to overwhelmed by the feminine beauty surrounding me. There was a constant low buzz surrounding our table. The girls were noticed (unless we spent the night in a morgue the girls were going to get noticed) and recognized but either the other patrons were polite or the wait staff interceded for us since nobody came up to ask for autographs until we were finished. After that started, they spent about a half hour meeting fans and getting pictures taken. For Christ's sake, someone actually asked me for an autograph! I begged off saying I was working but that didn't fly when someone asked if they could take a vid with me and one of my four ladies. They'd promptly grabbed me and dragged me over to wherever they were just like they were showing off a new toy. I remember wondering how many of those would end up on the net as if a few more would make any difference. After that it was off to the club they'd picked out. The scuzzies were still buzzing around like a cloud of flies and following us just like they had from the hotel to the restaurant but when I saw the club's front door I knew there wasn't much chance of them following us in. Not without an armored vehicle anyway. I'm not saying the boys at the door were big only because that doesn't even come close to adequately describe their size; massive, huge or maybe just immense might do but only just. It was a pretty upscale place judging by the look and dress of the people standing in line waiting to get in. I doubted our scruffy little parasitic friends would be able to make the list. I'm sure it was all arranged in advance but there was no waiting in line for us. Although maybe not, maybe arriving by limo automatically gives you head-of-the-line privileges. Either way, we pulled up and a couple of the man-mountains rushed down to open our door and let us out. Magaoidh and Caoimh first looking for trouble not that there was much chance of that. A pack of scuzzies scurried over only to be brushed back by one sweep of a doorman's arm. He didn't even bother to look where they landed. I was next giving a hand to Niamh, Leanne, Eimile and Shauna. Mac and Faolain would take care of the diva. Niamh latched onto one of my arms but before Leanne could find her accustomed place Eimile darted in and grabbed my other arm looking back at Lea and sticking her tongue out. Leanne just chuckled tolerantly and shook her head. I don't know who caused more commotion, my girls or Rachael getting out of the limo but at least they'd all re-donned their cloaks or I'm sure there would have been a riot. After going through another heart stress-test at the cloak room we were ushered into the club proper and down to three tables near the dance floor which was already half full. This wasn't a supper club and those tables were small: big enough to put your drinks on and that's about it. You could only fit four chairs around them so the four girls and I took one with Leanne plopping right down on my lap like she owned it, which in a way I suppose she did. Of course she looked over at Eimile and stuck her tongue out in retaliation which caused the twins to cackle and put their heads together whispering up a storm while looking at us and giggling. Rachael and her two were at a table next to us while Magaoidh with Caoimh took one off the floor a ways pretty much between the two groups. We ordered drinks; water for me and I'm sure the men had something equally innocuous while Niamh settled for some sparkling fruit juice. I'm not much of a dancer but I can pretend. At least when they aren't playing some incredibly fast crazy number. Leanne can move like her hips aren't really connected to anything all the while her dark eyes stared straight into mine both teasing and promising at the same time. After the song was finished she jumped into my arms and I carried her back to the table. The next song started and Niamh stood up and held her hand out to me. It was a slow one this time and she melted against me as we moved out onto the floor. "This feels wonderful," she whispered in my ear. Niamh is a couple of centimeters taller than I am in stocking feet and with the nine centimeter heels she was wearing my chin fit snuggly into her neck. Niamh is a big girl and was a much more than pleasant armful. Having her pressed up against me as we swayed around the floor was a damn sight more than just wonderful and I told her so. "Never let me go," she begged softly. "Sorry, you're mine now," I whispered back and moved until we could look each other in the eyes. "I'll never let you go unless you run away." "Then that'll be forever," she sighed and pulled me tightly against her. The next number was kind of in between fast and slow and the twins pulled me out for their turn on the floor. They moved like a dance team that had been practicing for years and for all I knew they may have been doing just that. It's difficult to describe exactly how they danced; the first thing that popped into my mind (well, the second thing anyway, ) was a couple of hipless snakes undulating in front of me. Okay, okay, I know, all snakes are hipless but they moved like there wasn't a bone in their whole bodies. They shimmied, they shook, they sashayed from side to side and at least for me it was devastating. They'd wiggle in front of me and then rub up against me only skipping away and out of my grasp at the last second when I tried to grab them. If I didn't know any better I'd have said they were in full seduction mode and with the two of them the effect wasn't doubled, it was squared. I was damn glad I was wearing my tight undies that night or my state of arousal would have been even more embarrassing than it already was. You might be tempted to think we were pretty safe from the scuzzies and the new-hounds and if you did you'd be dumber than hell; at least I knew better. Sure the establishment kept most of them and their large high-def vid cameras out but I was sure there were quite a few patrons there that night who had a pers-com with them, probably all of them. As had been demonstrated before pers-coms have the capability to take vids, good enough to put on the net anyway. I tried not to let it bother me. I'd had my wagon hitched to a couple of rising stars heading for the celebrity "A" list and this was how it was going to be unless I walked away or they gave up performing. I knew the first wasn't going to happen and the girls were too damn good for the second. It was in their blood and how the hell can you ask someone you love to give up her art because the fame that comes with it makes you uncomfortable. You can't, that's what. As they say, what can not be cured must be endured, or killed. The last part there was an army addendum and not necessarily appropriate for the situation. So anyway I hoped my boner wouldn't be visible. However it was certainly feel-able as the squeals of delight from my partners through the rest of the evening attested. (Note: I did not squeal; it's possible I moaned once or twice but I did not squeal.) I never even had a chance to drink my water as all four girls had me out there pretty much continuously. Mostly one at a time but sometimes it was the twins together and another time it was Niamh and Leanne double-teaming me. There was a lot of rubbing, squeezing and touching especially once they discovered my condition which occurred almost immediately. Those women are pure evil, evil poured into sexy packages. I'm sure they did their best to drive me absolutely crazy and they succeeded. I noted once or twice that Rachael was spending quite a bit of time on the floor too. Sometimes it was with both guys and sometimes only one but it was always one of them. Granted, with two wolves surrounding her there weren't many brave enough to ask for a turn but the one or two that did were politely turned down. I would have never expected that from the Rachael I'd first met. Maybe she'd grown up a bit, or been shocked into growing up which happens to a lot of us. My girls weren't so lucky. Since I was out on the floor most of the time just about every swinging dick in the place thought it was their duty to make sure the girls had the pleasure of their company. For the most part my ladies handled it with smiles and polite refusals, signed an autograph or posed for a vid. Of course, there is always that ten percent that just doesn't seem to get the message. Naturally the whole incident was overblown from the very beginning. You see I was out there dancing with Eimile that time... "Mmm," Eimile murmured as she rubbed her face in my neck. It was a slow number and she was pressed up against me tight enough I thought we were going to merge. "Em, you're going to make Shauna jealous," I chuckled softly. "No ah'm not," she muttered and rolled her head until she could see Shauna sitting at the table. She was studiously ignoring a large young man eagerly trying talking to her. She saw Eimile and suddenly smiled brightly and gave her a little finger wave. "She can have her turn later." "That's not what I meant," I replied dryly. "She's going to think I'm trying to steal you from her." "Now why would she be jealous of that?" Em giggled. "Does Lea get jealous of Niamh when ya give her a ride? Does Niamh get angry when ya look at Lea like a love struck little puppy? Ah think not. Why should Shauna be any different?" "Well, it's just different that's why," I stuttered out and she just giggled and pressed even tighter against me. The song ended and we started back towards our table and my first glance told me we had the potential for trouble. The youngster Shauna was ignoring was close to her but at least he wasn't touching. There were two others, one next to Niamh and the other Leanne. I recognized them. They'd been sitting at a table on the other side of Rachael's and I'd thought there'd been four of them. Glancing I found I'd been right but the fourth was still sitting grinning as he watched the show. The lout hounding Niamh had one arm on the table and the other on the back of her chair with his face right down next to her. She didn't look happy and kept shaking her head. I saw Magaoidh and Caoimh pushing their chairs back and standing up. Faolain, Mac and Rachael were also watching intently until Rache noticed Eimile and me approaching. Her expression was one of relief mixed with a little apprehension. Faolain had also pushed his chair back while Mac had pulled Rachael's closer to his. Faolain's eyes were darting back and forth between the trio and their buddy sitting next to them. Then the bravo pressing Leanne made a stupid mistake. Well, they all made stupid mistakes, many of them but this one started it all. Leanne had her demon eyes on him and a frown that was as plain as the spreading hood of a cobra; ssssstay away! Her body language should have told him he needed to back off and if not she was going to strike. He didn't back off, of course, and instead reached out and stroked her hair. Big mistake. Leanne drew up one pretty little leg, planted her sexy little shoe with its CFM pointy heel right in his stomach and shoved with all her strength. He was a big boy so he only stumbled back a step or two but by the time he shouted, "Ya bitch!" and drew back his hand to slap her, Em and I were there and I was able to grab his arm twisting it down behind him. Magaoidh and Caoimh were on the move but so were the idiot's buddies. They came around the table while I released the dirt-bag and pushed Eimile into Shauna's waiting arms. Em was sputtering and hissing struggling to get out but Shauna held firm whispering in her lover's ear. "It's been a good night, fella's," I said putting my hands up. "How about we just leave the ladies alone and keep it that way?" "Who the fuck are you?" the one to my right screamed. "Do ya know who the fuck I am, wanker?" "No, I don't know who you are and I don't really care," I started. "As for who I am..." I'd turned to face him and wasn't really expecting an attack from the rear. Silly me, but I sensed the movement just in time to duck and the fist aimed for the back of my head bounced off my shoulder and clipped my cheek. It dazed me a little but instinctively my elbow went back and smacked into something with a satisfying crunch. A fist landed solidly in my ribs and that's when the body decided it was still back in the desert fighting a war and took over. I don't remember many specifics after that. ------- "Ya think he's got the least idea?" Brian Caoimh chuckled to Ryan Magaoidh as they watched their chief dancing with one of their charges, Eimile this time. She was tight against him and moving such that if it weren't for the music and a couple of thin layers of cloth it could have been called more of a standing fuck than a dance. "Ah don't think he will until they," Magaoidh nodded towards the table where three women were also watching the dancers with delight, "tell him to get the idea." "Poor boy's whipped from yesterday till tomorrow," Brian sighed. "But ah can't take it on meself to feel bad for 'im though. Can't say as ah've ever seen a happier victim before. Besides, it's made our job a hell of a lot easier." "Aye," Ryan nodded knowingly. "The ram being led blissfully to 'is doom. God save 'im; four of them!" They both chuckled. "Oh. ah don't like the looks of this," Caoimh nodded towards three large young men who were approaching the girls' table. The two non-coms (non-commissioned officers) had been watching everyone and everything but had been keeping a particular eye on the group of four boys who had sat down next to Rachael and the Rangers. For a bunch of young bulls on the hunt they hadn't done much other than stare at the major's women after making a play or two towards Rachael. She'd rebuffed them well enough and settled back between her two escorts who gave the unwelcome interlopers the dead-eye stare causing them to back off. It appeared that the lateness of the evening and the copious amounts of alcohol they'd consumed had finally led them to pursue the objects of their desire whether or not they wanted to be pursued. "Shall we move now?" Caoimh asked pushing his chair back slightly. "Not yet," Magaoidh replied also pushing his back a little. "The lasses have done well by themselves so far. Best to see how it plays. Stand ready though," he said grimly and Caoimh nodded. There almost wasn't time for them to do anything as the three latched onto their chosen prey. One was talking loudly into Shauna's ear as she did her best to ignore him; the other two weren't quite so circumspect. One had the redheaded drummer almost pinned to her seat while the other had the excitable Asian keyboardist in almost the same position. Magaoidh and Caoimh stood up together. Suddenly Leanne lashed out with her foot and the one bothering her stumbled back a few steps. "Ach, that's cut it now," Caoimh grumbled. "Trouble?" Mac muttered out of the side of his mouth to his partner over the head of their lover. "Might," Faolain replied nodding and glancing around. "Ya got 'er?" he asked passing the protection duties to his partner. "What?" Rachael asked puzzled and looked around. Seeing what was happening she scrunched back into Mac's protective embrace eyes darting everywhere. Mac's arm went around and down by her side. Glancing down she saw the pistol in his hand and she froze not wanting to interfere with his movement. Suddenly one of the boys stumbled back away from the table and Rachael saw Leanne, her leg up in a very unladylike pose as her tormentor drew his hand back to strike her. Quick as thought, Leforge had stopped the hand and twisted the arm behind the arsehole's back while pushing her cousin Eimile towards the waiting Shauna. Got to give the jerk credit, she thought, he knows how to fight. She sensed movement and turned toward her lover Whellan who had just placed the barrel of his pistol against the temple of the man who had remained at the troublemakers table. "That better be yer cock yer reaching fer, boyo." Rachael glanced down and saw the young man's hand was half way inside his jacket. "Because if it's not ah'm going to see if ah can find yer tiny little brain and splatter it all over the floor." From her side James, her other lover, reached out with his pistol and pushed the jacket back reveling a small 2mm pistol hugging the hip. "Oh, sorry," Faolain continued. "Ah guess it was yer cock, and a little bitty thing it is at that. Just so ya know, mine's much bigger." He reached down and plucked the pistol out of its holster setting it on the table in front of his partner and a stunned Rachael. With one hand Mac picked it up and pressed the ejection release letting the cartridge magazine drop to the table top rendering the pistol harmless. "Ya got 'um?" Faolain asked his partner. Mac nodded and kept his pistol pointed at the boy's stomach. "Good. Ah got to help the major." Again Mac nodded as Faolain in a crouch moved toward the sounds of meaty smacks, shrieks and moans. Looking over Rachael saw Leforge drive a text-book perfect punch into the sternum of the last standing bravo who toppled backwards like every bone in his body had suddenly turned to jelly. "We keep telling ya, luv," Mac whispered in her ear. "He's not a man to fuck with." "Ah believe ya," she replied quietly still staring in awe at the three bodies surrounding her panting but still standing security chief. "Ah've been a good girl," she insisted. "Aye, ya have," he chuckled and kissed her ear causing her to shiver. ------- Time seemed to slow down to normal once the last guy hit the deck. I won't go through each kick and punch of the fight because quite honestly I couldn't tell you what they were even it you put a gun to my head. It went too fast and I was just reacting; besides, you can watch the vid of it if you want to. Why not? Everybody else in the fucking world has. Anyway I turned only to be hit again, this time by three women wrapping their arms around me and speaking so fast I had no idea what they were saying. There was a lot of blubbering and sniffing going on so I'm not sure I'd have understood it even if it hadn't been at double speed. I saw Eimile over Leanne's shoulder so Shauna and Niamh had to be the other two around me. She stood there for a moment as if to make sure I was still alive and then stomped over to one of the guys on the floor. I think he was the one who'd hit me with the sucker punch first. "How dare ya hit him from behind?" she screamed. "Ya fucken' coward!" With that she gave him a vicious kick to the ribs. Safety note for the ladies: Strappy little open-toed high heels are incredibly sexy and great for making men drool, pant and do whatever the hell you want them to do but they are not good for kicking people in the ribs. If you have to do something, use the heel and drive it in like a spike. "Ouch!" she screamed and started dancing around on one leg. I sighed and the other three girls let go of me at least enough so I could move towards my valiant defender. When we got to her she looked up at me with her big puppy-dog eyes and sniffed. "Ah think ah hurt meself, Martin." "Of course you did you little ninny," I shook my head and picked her up and carried her back to a chair. The other three girls started to laugh. What I didn't know was Eimile had looked at them and stuck her tongue out as if pulling a fast one. I set her down and got on my knee to look at her foot. "Whatever possessed you to kick somebody when you are essentially barefooted?" I asked shaking my head. "But, Martin," she wailed. "He hit ya from behind!" "Yes, and now he's on the floor and I'm not," I replied. "Nothing you could have done would change that except getting yourself hurt. Well, I can't see that anything is broken but it's hard to tell with toes. We can either take you to a hospital or I'm sure the hotel has a doctor on call." I looked up at all the staring faces. "Of course I might have to call them from jail." There were five bouncers surrounding us looking really pissed off but not moving in. I think the four bodyguards with pistols drawn and waving in the air had something to do with that. Shortly a guy and a really expensive suit pushed them aside and without even glancing at my guys or their guns came over and squatted beside me. "Is she all right?" he asked. "I think so," I nodded. "Stubbed her toe during the ... discussion." "So I saw," he grunted. "David Bleaker, by the way; manager here. Sorry I'm so late but I wanted to see the security footage first. No possible doubt as to who started it, of course. Terribly sorry about all this." He looked at one of his bouncers and motioned towards the three bodies. "Check 'em out." "They're alive," one of the man-mountains grunted after a bit. "Probably need the meat-wagon fer this one, maybe all. Ah'll call it in." Bleaker nodded his reply. "Ya might want to check 'em fer more of these little toys," Faolain spoke up handing the unloaded 2mm to the club manager. "We found it on their friend; he was reaching fer it." "Oh, we don't like that here," Bleaker said sounding very angry. "Call the police also." The bouncer nodded. "Hey, what?" the fourth protested. "These wankers are packing!" "And they are permitted," Bleaker nodded. "And they notified us in advance. I fail to remember you doing the same." "This one has one," a bouncer called holding up another small gun. "Aye, this one too," another added. "This ones a bit broke," another bouncer looked up at the manager. "Ah'm not sure ah should move 'im." "Watch him then and inform the authorities he may be armed," Bleaker responded. The ambulance came as well as the police. We spent the next hour or so telling them what we thought had happened while I held a cold-pack on Eimile's foot. Our papers were checked, twice. The security vids checked three times and copies made. Reluctantly the cops agreed we ― I ― was not at fault and with the club manager pressing charges all four of the idiots were off to jail with a short stop at the hospital for three of them. Bleaker apologized so many times I was sick of hearing it but the girls soothed and assured him it wasn't his fault. Well, Rachael did anyway; the other three hovered around me whining about a cut I had on my cheek. Must be the clown who hit me had a ring on or something. It was no big deal and could wait. Eimile decided having her toes looked at by the hotel doctor would be fine and when we were grudgingly released by the cops I carried her out to the limo with her grinning like a princess and the others grumbling about prima donnas. I tried to apologize for fucking up their wonderful evening but was soundly shouted down and buried under a pile of scantily clad female flesh. Not a bad place to be actually; I highly recommend it. The hotel doctor was an older woman who scoped Em's toes in our room and said nothing was broken. She gave her something for the pain, swelling and bruising but said she should be fine in a day or so. She also sealed the cut on my cheek so everybody was happy except for Em. The doctor asked how she had stubbed her toe and three willing storytellers ― her ever-supporting lover being one of them ― told of the fight and Em's subsequent kicking of the jerk. "That wasn't very smart," was the doctor's only comment. "She's fool eejit is what she is," Shauna huffed. "Our man took care of the problem. She's just sticking 'er nose in where it doesn't belong." Niamh and Leanne huffed their agreement. The doctor sniffed her own agreement before she left. "Well I thank you for the thought, Em," I bent down and gave her a kiss on the top of the head. "But I wish you wouldn't get yourself hurt doing it. Leave that to us who already have the scars." "Will ya carry me to bed, Martin?" Eimile batted her eyelashes at me and blood was suddenly heading for places other than a bruised cheek. "Ya can walk yer own self to bed, ya thick babby," Niamh snorted as she grabbed my arm. "Martin needs a turn in the 'fresher and then ah'm getting him to bed where he belongs." Other than saying good night as I was dragged into the bedroom I didn't have time for anything else. It didn't take me long to get undressed and Niamh simply pulled the dress over her head demonstrating there was nothing but Niamh underneath. Not that it surprised me, as tight as that dress was, if there had been painted-on panties the lines would have shown. Into the 'fresher for a quick misting and scrub. She had to kiss my boo-booed ribs where someone had landed a solid punch and after a quick dry I was frog-marched straight to bed where I was forced to lay on my back. The door to the bedroom was cracked open and I could just barely hear Leanne saying to someone, " ... not tonight, it's isn't time yet. Soon..." I had not idea what or who she was talking too but I missed the rest of the conversation because Niamh's head bobbed down and her magnificent mouth made it impossible for me to think about anything for a while. Moments later Leanne came in and stripped down just about as fast as Niamh did. She walked over to the edge of the bed and looked down at me with a huge smile on her face. "Who were you talking to?" I tried to ask. She ignored my comment, came over to me on her knees and straddled my face. "Ah'm horny, Martin," she grinned and pushed her pussy right down on my mouth. At about that same time someone at my other end straddled my hips and sat down on me. Needless to say I completely forgot what the hell I was going to ask about. Edited by Morgan ------- Chapter 13 Five more concerts and the tour would be over. What would come after that would be interesting. I was going to have to return to the States and get all the paperwork ready for the marriage contract. Part of it we could work out ahead of time: time limit (none), obligations to future children, allocation and definition of common property and other standard stuff like that. I sent it to a law firm specializing in civil union contract law. I'm kind of an old-fashioned guy; I know the term marriage has no legal meaning in the United States and the document we sign will say "civil union" or "domestic partnership" but to me it will still be a marriage. I still had to apply for visas for my lovely brides but didn't think that be a problem; they're citizens of a neutral country. It's not like they're Iranian, Venezuelan or even Chinese, for God's sake. Unfortunately I have to be physically in the States to do it so I'd have to go back for at least a few days. There was a small hiccup with Niamh's divorce. Good old Tom initially decided to contest it saying he had been supporting her for a number of years before the band started making money and he wanted his cut over and above the equal shares. There's an old joke that goes something like this: What do you call the dumbest lawyer in the courtroom? Answer: "Your Honor!" Unfortunately for Mr. Callahan His Honor happened to be Her honor and she wasn't dumb. As she immediately demonstrated by demanding both of their financial records back to two years before they were married. As it turned out husband-of-the-year Tom hadn't earned a fucking centime for what appeared to be most of his life. Most of their support in their early years came from her family with a few crumbs thrown in by his. Of course all court records are public records and when it came out not only was he a wife-beater but a deadbeat wife-beater ... Well, he dropped contesting the split and settled for half her net worth at the time of her filing. Leanne was pissed at the unfairness; Niamh was unconcerned and I couldn't give a shit either way. As far as I was concerned it was money well spent to get rid of a parasite; kind of like buying medicine to get rid of a tapeworm. Turns out he'd spent most of their money as she earned it so there wasn't all that much to divide anyway. Not that it made a whole lot of difference for a civil union contracted and executed in the United States anyway. As a crime, bigamy was eliminated from US laws when we converted over to the contract system from the license system that had been part of common law for hundreds of years (thousands if you count European and other ethnic ancestral origins.) Unless a CU contract had an exclusivity clause (unusual under license systems) any other "marriage" was immaterial to the contract. If it did have an exclusivity clause it was treated as a contract violation, a civil offense. In other words the US couldn't give a shit if Niamh was "married" to one or twenty other men (or women; let's be fair here) in Ireland or anywhere else. However it mattered to Niamh and that counted more to me than anything my own government had to say. Everything was going along rather smoothly (which of course should have given me a clue that the little old lady in the Fairy Godmother department was about to take a long vacation and the temp agency was going to send the Fuck-up Fairy to take her place.) Even the confusion the twins had been creating in my mind was a little bit more on an even keel. I'm not sure what happened; someone talked to someone or they got bored or whatever, but ever since that night at the club both Eimile and Shauna severely pulled back on their sexual aggression. That doesn't mean they avoided or snubbed us by any means, not at all. They were with the three of us pretty much all the time that we weren't actually in bed but there wasn't the dry humping, groping, half-naked full body massages that were close to driving me insane. There was a lot of hand-holding, cuddling, kissing and lap-sitting, maybe more than even before, but when one of them got a little overexcited (not me, I'm a rock) the other would pull her off and calm her down. It was kind of like dating the old fashioned way with a chaperone except here the chaperone wanted in on the action too. I tried not to think about what was going to happen after Leanne, Niamh and I got married. I'd become used to their presence; it would feel just plain wrong not having them there. In the spirit of openness I tried discussing all of this with my intendeds but was met with equivocation, evasion, dismissal and distraction. Mostly distraction; it's really hard to ask a question when someone is sticking her tit in your mouth and even harder to hear the answer when her thighs are covering your ears. It doesn't do much for the unimpeded flow of communication between spouses but I can attest that as a method of derailing or deferring undesired questions it is highly effective. I can also confirm that it is difficult to complain about being blatantly manipulated in such a manner after you've been fucked into a coma. You know you should complain about something but unfortunately you just don't care anymore. So anyway before the shit hit the blower everything was sailing along pretty smoothly. Oh sure there were a couple of bumps in the road but even they seemed to work out for the best. Take the time the backup band didn't show... It was in Armagho, the next concert after Lisburn. I know Camberge had been trying to find larger places for the group to play after the kidnapping attempt but that wasn't always possible. Sometimes there were no other facilities and at others there just wasn't the population to support a larger venue. Armagho was one for either or maybe both reasons. The hotel was "quaint," i.e., a dump, and the hall small with seating for only about twenty-five hundred but it didn't faze the girls. It had a "cozy" feel they said. The only one who grumbled at all was Rachael but then as far as she was concerned a billion people spread out at her feet listening to her sing wasn't enough. She thrived on attention and the more the better. Afterwards even she admitted it wasn't so bad; the audience feedback from even a small crowd that close was exhilarating. Anyway the first we heard about it was when Camberge showed up with Valeria and Connor who was still supposed to be their manager at his heels at the end of the afternoon rehearsal telling us there had been an accident and the backup band scheduled for the evening couldn't make it. He was in a complete dither ranting and raving with Valeria trying to calm him down and Connor echoing his moans like a good little sycophant should. I just sat back and watched the show since I knew this little fuckup wouldn't affect me one way or the other. Well, yes and no... "God damn it, Val," he screamed. "The bloody audience is expecting two bloody bands and when we bloody well don't have two bloody bands they're going to want their bloody fucking money back!" Valeria tried to console him with Connor whining the chorus behind them in this little tragedy, " ... two bloody bands, two bloody bands..." Personally I thought she was right. The ticket buyers had paid to see Irish Mist and not some post high school cover band. Just ask the girls to add a couple of songs to their list for the night and let it go at that. If one or two of them asked for their money back who gives a shit. Valeria talked to the girls while Camberge and his ass-kissing monkey beat their breasts and wailed dirges in the background. I stayed out of it and intended to continue staying out of it unless my girls asked me to intervene. Naturally if they did, even if there was absolutely nothing I could do about it, I'd have to get involved and do something; it comes with the territory. Luckily that didn't happen; they worked it out all by themselves. The only time I got involved was when I got my op-orders from my boss, Leanne. "Martin," she said to me after their meeting broke up. "We'll be changing the schedule around a wee bit tonight. All of us excepting Rachael will be doing an extra set in place of the backup. We'll need to be changing the times we go onstage and add a wee bit before the main show fer some rest and costume change." "As my queen dictates her humble servant will endeavor to execute," I bowed with a flourish. "Oh you," she giggled and hit my chest softly. Afterwards she climbed my frame and with her legs wrapped around my waist we spent a good few minutes tickling each others tonsils with our tongues. "Ah thought ya said ya were going to give 'im his marching orders," Shauna said from behind Leanne. "If ah'd known that's what ya was talking about ah'd of volunteered fer it meself." "Ya handle yer serfs yer way and ah'll handle mine my way," Leanne called back over her shoulder with a smirk. "Ah find a little honey works better than the lash." "Oh, and have ya two been playing with the lash behind our backs now?" Shauna grinned. "And just who would be doing the lashing and who'd be in the receiving end might ah ask?" "Maybe we trade off," Leanne wiggled her bottom which I promptly spanked softly. "And then again maybe not," she giggled releasing her legs before sliding down to stand in front of me. "Any problem, Martin? Ah know we can't tell ya exact times..." "You just knock them dead out there, baby, and we'll adapt to whatever you need," I said bending down to give her a kiss before she scampered off. "Do ah get one of those?" Shauna asked wiggling up against me. Not knowing exactly which part she was asking for I gave her a kiss and spanked her lightly before she also skipped off giggling. I assume this is standard procedure for all security chiefs; if it isn't, eat your hearts out suckers! ------- The stage manager and the roadies were more than happy to accommodate Leanne et al. since it involved only moving their instruments a little closer together on the stage and not moving a whole other band on and off. When the time came the girls nonchalantly took the stage and the crowd hushed as very soft music began to wash out over then. "Thank ya fer coming here tonight, everybody," Leanne began from behind her keyboard. "Ah know ya came wanting to hear Expectation play," she had to pause as the laughter drowned her out for a few seconds. "But ah have some bad news. There was an accident on the way over here tonight and they won't be able to make it. "However ya paid fer two bands and me cousins and me thought ya should have two," she continued as the whispering in the crowd grew louder. "Now ya might know me cousins and me play with another wee band; have ya heard of it? Irish Mist?" The screaming and laughter got very loud. "Oh ya have? Oh, very good, well, Rachael will be coming out soon enough," that got another loud cheer. "So keep yer pants on there, fella," she pointed to a guy in the front row. "At least fer now," she winked setting off an even louder cheer. "But till then we have something a little different for ya." As she said that I heard the opening notes of the instrumental piece Marco Polo by Loreena McKennitt starting out softly as her fingers played almost absently over the keyboard. "The songs yer going to hear are mostly old and we doubt you've heard many of them. But that's only right since we got them from an old feller to begin with." She looked right at me and winked and I could only sigh and shake my head as all four of them glanced my way and laughed. "Oh," she started as if it was an afterthought, "if yer wondering what we be calling ourselves you'll be happy to know we're... The Warlord's Harem." With that she launched into the body of the song partially drowning out the screams and catcalls coming from the audience. I suppose you won't understand the audience's reaction when she gave the name of their "new" band unless you'd been following the gossip-sites during that time. It was a not so subtle reference to the scandal sites christening the four of them as The Major's Harem right after the vids from that stupid club incident splashed across the net. (I suppose I never will be able to convince anyone that I'm really just a retired captain and not a major. I wish I got the pay, screw the title.) It was reported "on impeccable authority" that I was bedding all four and at least three if not all four were pregnant with my children. Pretty quick work for one broken-down old soldier isn't it? Well, I was impressed. On second thought maybe it's best if we not follow that path where it leads. After all they were too damn close to the truth in fact if not in numbers. Besides, I wasn't overly convinced at the time that even if it might be physically possible to make love to all those girls in one night the survivability of such an encounter was highly doubtful. The fact that I was still alive or not recuperating in a hospital somewhere should have demonstrated how silly those speculations were. As the energetic end of Marco Polo came to a crashing halt they immediately launched into The Mummers' Dance and for the first time I heard Eimile sing. It was beautiful. Soft, sweet and pitch perfect, it made me want to cry. "When in the springtime of the year When the trees are crowned with leaves When the ash and oak, and the birch and yew Are dressed in ribbons fair..." "What is this foostering shite?" Rachael snorted. I hadn't even noticed she'd walked up next to me. "Just some old songs they found in my collection," I answered not wanting to be drawn into and argument with her. "Probably not your cup of tea." "Ha! That's fer certain," she huffed. "Ah suppose ya thinks she's got a better voice than ah do, now don't ya?" "It is beautiful," I smiled. "But I'd say different not better; but don't you dare tell her that" I narrowed my eyes and looked down at my little blonde bane. "Honestly, for this song I think she nailed it perfectly." Rachael huffed but I continued. "But for the songs you do ... I'm not sure she'd do quite as well." "Oh?" she looked at me in surprise. "And you'll be a music critic now? Maybe I'll tell her just to see what kind of trouble you'll be getting into." "Why doesn't that surprise me?" I actually smiled at her. "And no, I'm no music critic or expert or anything like that but I do know what I like. Your voices are different and suited for different songs." I paused and listened to the different song she was then. "This one, for instance: It's wonderful, except when she gets to the chorus..." " ... She should be screaming that out," Rachael nodded as she swayed to the music. "It needs to be wailed..." and as the chorus came around again she began to sing along. "Calling ... Yearning ... Pulling ... Home to you..." Loudly. It was amazing to me she could get such volume and power and still be note perfect when she did it. As much as I hated to admit it, she is one hell of a singer. "It always amazes me you can get that much volume being the little troll you are," I told her. "Ah think that was almost a compliment," she grinned smacking me on the arm, hard. "Not a chance," I assured her rubbing my bruised appendage. "Well, as ya say, not exactly my cup of tea. But not half bad fer just fussing around," she grudgingly admitted. "I certainly like it," I said. "Of course ya do," she snorted. "They're yer birds. You'd say ya loved it if they were banging on pots and spitting on the floor. Well, ah best be getting back to the dressing room. At least one of us needs to be ready fer the real show." With that she hit me again in exactly the same spot as before. She did that on purpose I'm absolutely sure. With that mission accomplished she skipped away, hooked her arm into Faolain's who was standing a few discreet paces behind us and headed for the dressing area. I would have loved to just stand there to listen and watch them but I had a job I actually needed to do so I took a tour of the backstage area. I could hear them from wherever I was so it wasn't like I was missing anything. I ran across Camberge, all smiles now, along with Valeria, the ass-kisser — I mean Connor and another man I didn't recognize. Camberge just nodded but didn't call me over so I didn't bother him. The new man certainly didn't look like one of Connor's hoodlum friends and was quietly whispering to Camberge so while I was curious, I didn't think it was something I needed to get involved in. The girls finished their set with an absolutely rocking version of Wizards in Winter which is a pretty energetic song to begin with. The hall was almost silent when they put their instruments down or stood up from behind them until suddenly it exploded into thundering applause. Leanne said thank you to the audience and told them they'd be back shortly and all four of them ran off the stage with grins wide enough I was sure their faces had to hurt. Leanne didn't even slow down as launched herself at me and I rocked back a step when she wrapped her legs around my waist and arms around my neck. A second or two later I was surrounded by three other chattering females talking and giggling so fast I couldn't understand a word they were saying. It was a good thing I couldn't possibly be expected to answer since Lea had her tongue so far down my throat I could barely breathe around it, let alone talk. "Lord! That was fun!" Leanne squealed when she finally broke free and pulled her head back. "It was like we was fussing around fer fun back when we were wee ones again!" "Hey there, ya greedy little thing," Niamh continued grinning as she pushed Leanne away from me. Lea unwrapped her legs and dropped them to the floor as Niamh pressed in between us and before I knew it another pair of lips was pressed against mine. Niamh's kiss was far less aggressive but no less passionate. "Hey there yerself," somebody complained as Niamh "Oofed!" into my mouth when a finger poked her in the side. "Yer a fine one to be calling greedy with ya hogging the snogging as ya are." Niamh broke our kiss and turned her head towards her accuser. Eimile stood there with her hands on her hips tapping her foot looking up expectantly. "Well, if ya insist," Niamh smirked and after another quick peck backed up only to be replaced by a squirming, seemingly very needy Eimile and after her, Shauna, Did I ever mention how lucky I am? Eat your hearts out, suckers! "This is nice," I commented after Shauna ended her kiss and sort of melted against my chest. "But don't the four of you need to get changed? Probably ought to get a little rest too, if you can. Besides you're going to wear my lips out if you keep this up." "Don't worry. If it happens we'll find something else to do," Leanne laughed and tugged on my arm pulling me towards the dressing area. I groaned at her comment and they all laughed at me. "Ah suppose the four of ya had fun out there," Rachael huffed when we entered the dressing room. "Ach, we had a grand time!" Eimile bubbled in reply. "It was like we was playing fer ourselves again, Rache. Not worrying if they like it, not afraid of messing up..." "Oh yeah, sorry 'bout that," Niamh looked sheepish. "Bah!" Leanne waved her off. "We all missed a finger here and there, Ni. The watchers never knew and seemed to enjoy it." "Ladies!" a voice loudly called from behind us. It was Camberge followed by Valeria and Connor. "That was wonderful! You saved the concert!" "Oh, ya go on," Leanne huffed. "Ah doubt we did all that. It took up some time and they seemed to enjoy it was all." "No, no!" he replied excitedly. "It was wonderful! Magnificent! You killed them out there!" Eimile and Shauna giggled as Niamh rolled her eyes at his excessive exuberance. "You know," he continued as if voicing an afterthought. "Expectation isn't going to be able to complete the tour and I was thinking ... Well I was thinking that maybe ... Maybe you'd be willing to do that for the rest of the trip?" "Ah don't know," Leanne said hesitantly. "Ah suppose we could think about it. We'll have to talk and let ya know after the show tonight. Might be we'll be too tired and we wouldn't want that everyday like." "You think about it," he said quickly and started to back out of the room. "We can always nip and tuck the concerts schedule or playlists if needed. Just think about it. It's wonderful public relations, couldn't be better. Bet it'll be all over the streets by morning. Well, again just think about it." He quickly retreated and closed the door. "So, ah see ya think ya got a new band," Rachael said angrily. "Well just go ahead and see what ah care." "Oh, Rache," Leanne gasped. "It's not that way at all. We don't have a 'new' band; that was just a joke. We just been messing with these songs because we like 'em. Remember ya said you weren't interested in anything new till the tour was over? We don't want to shut ya out. In fact if we do this again we'd love to have ya sit in with us. There's one song fer sure we could use yer little tin whistle." "Oh, oh, ya mean Trout in the Stream?" Niamh interjected excidedly. "Oh aye, that'd be grand! We couldn't figure out how to get that in there with everything else!" "Ya mean ... Ya'd want me to play with ya?" Rachael asked tentatively. "Of course!" Leanne assured her. "We'd love to have ya. It's just that we was messing mostly with the melodies and not lyrics and you didn't seem interested. We weren't really focusing on the voice, ya see..." "And you'll not be needing me to overpower ya is what yer getting at," Rachael laughed and everybody relaxed. "Well, ah wouldn't put it that way..." Leanne shrugged. "Why not? Ah suppose ah can be a bit overpowering. Ah've been told ah have remarkable volume for such a little troll," Rachael continued. "Who said that?" Niamh huffed. "Who called ya a little troll?" "Yer boyfriend," Rachael looked at me evilly. "Martin Leforge!" Niamh huffed indignantly. "How could ya be calling me sister a troll?" I started backing towards the door when Rachael burst out laughing. She was laughing so hard tears were streaming down her cheeks and suddenly the other three women started laughing also. Niamh looked at them like they were crazy until it finally dawned on her she'd been had. "Oh you," she looked at Rachael disappointedly as Rachael did her best to look the picture of innocence. She walked over to me and pressed her cheek against mine. "Did you really call me sister a troll?" she asked. "I'm afraid I did," I admitted. "Well, she is acting a bit trollish," Niamh murmured and I stuck my tongue out at Rachael which set the other four of them off on a laughing jag again. Niamh hadn't seen that and when she looked at me again my tongue was retracted and I just smiled at her. Two could play this innocence game. "Shouldn't the five of you be getting ready for the concert tonight instead of planning another one?" I asked attempting to steer the conversation away from me. "Aye, and it's time fer you to be doing some manly things to protect yer womenfolk," Leanne agreed shooing me out the door. "We'll be seeing ya in a few." ------- The concert went just as planned. The party afterwards was a little different. There seemed to be a lot more of the entertainment-type news-hounds there then usual and they all sat down for an impromptu interview for about half an hour. A lot of the questions were about The Warlord's Harem and if there were any plans to continue as a separate band. In other words did this mean Irish Mist was breaking up? "Heavens no!" Leanne squashed that right away. "That's just some music we've been playing with on our own and when Expectation couldn't make it we helped by eating up some time." Was Rachael kept out of it on purpose? "No, if we do it again she'll probably be playing a song or two." Did the name The Warlord's Harem have any deeper meaning? "Ya tell me," Leanne teased. "You're the ones been calling us The Major's Harem now haven't ya?" Further questions about specific relationships were met by laughter and wiggling eyebrows. Rachael was asked bluntly if she felt slighted by not playing with The Harem that evening. "Not at all," she assured them. "Me kin are all better musicians than ah am and they been messing with this music fer fun. All ah got is me voice and it doesn't fit well with what they been playing. They tell me they have a couple of songs that ah can play me tin whistle in and ah hope to sit in with them if ah can." At least she didn't say anything about singing trolls. Since my girls weren't giving them squat about their sexual escapades the reporters turned to Rachael for the straight poop; as if they'd ever gotten the truth from her before. "So Miss Rachael, what do you think of your security chief's little harem?" "Oh, ah think ah've said enough on that already," she responded. "Yes, but everything you've said is contradictory!" one protested. "What is the truth?" "Why, all of it," she replied. "Or maybe just part of it," she teased. "Could be even none of it. Ah have no idea what goes on in their bedrooms." "If you are going to play with The Harem does that mean you are now going to be one of his girlfriends?" asked another. "Oh, heaves no!" she laughed. "Ah've got me own harem to look after. Ah haven't got the time to be part of his!" It went on like that for a while more. The reporters knew they were being played but they went along with it. I'm sure they knew they were getting great vid-clips out of it and it's not like they really gave a crap what the truth was anyway. The up-shot was Leanne and the girls enjoyed being their own warm up band and agreed to continue until the end of the tour, with suitable modifications to the compensation package, of course. And Rachael did sit in with them for a few songs each night right up until the last concert in Dublin. That's when everything went to hell. ------- We rolled into Dublin right on schedule, took up residence in our rooms and were getting ready to head down for diner when Camberge called for a special meeting down in one of the hotel's conference rooms. We all assumed it was going to be a last minute pep talk about finishing the tour and all that crap. The girls were far too busy talking about what we were going to be doing after the tour to pay much attention and I have to admit neither did I. We were all sitting in the conference room chatting when Camberge walked in followed by a quiet Valeria, a beaming Connor and the stranger I'd seen with them in Armagho. "Good evening, everyone," he started cheerfully. "I'll make this quick as I know all of you want to get something some supper and a rest before tomorrow. "This gentleman is Pierre Desmarais." The stranger smiled briefly and waved hesitantly. "Pierre is one of the biggest tour producers in France. He tells me you ladies have quite a following over there and his production company has shown quite a bit of interest in bringing you over there for a small tour." Everyone in the room started whispering amongst themselves except me. I had a nasty cold feeling in the pit of my stomach. "I'm happy to announce we've been able to come to an agreement. We're going to extend the tour by three weeks and we've set fifteen concert dates. You'll be leaving three days from now." "What!" Leanne screamed. "What's this? We've got plans! Plans, do ya hear me? Ah'll not be going!" "Me either," Niamh added and the twins echoed her. "Now ladies," Camberge tried to sooth them. "It's only three weeks and it's fantastic exposure for the group. I'm sure any plans you have can be postponed for just that wee amount of time." "But ah don't want to postpone anything," Leanne answered stubbornly and looked over at me. "Well, you see the thing is," Camberge continued. "It's already a signed deal. We're committed to it." "Ah didn't sign anything," Leanne scoffed. "You didn't need too," Camberge said smoothly. "Your manager did for you. I'm afraid it's a binding contract now. If you don't play I'll have the law on you." Connor looked at them smugly. "Ya fucking piece of shit," Leanne hissed standing up. "Ah want to see the contract and ah want me solicitor to look at it also. And as fer you," she pointed at Connor. "Yer fired!" He suddenly looked surprised. "Ya can't do that!" he protested. "Oh, but ah can," she sneered. "Were all in this equally and ah say yer fired." "Ah do too," Niamh looked daggers at her brother. "Me too!" the twins chimed in together. "Ya see. Even if ya get Rachael to support ya yer still out on yer arse!" Leanne laughed nastily. "That doesn't matter," Camberge interrupted smugly. "I've haired him as my new security chief. He'll be with you anyway." "What?" just about everybody in the room screamed. I was stunned. Naturally that meant I was out on the street but that was secondary to a truly monumental clusterfuck. "I'm afraid Mr. Leforge isn't allowed to enter France," Camberge continued. "Some political nonsense about no entry for Americans or British citizens who were members of their armed forces. Can't be helped, unfortunately. The other four can go but," he shrugged. "My hands are tied. "Now I know this comes as a shock and that's unfortunate but given the circumstances I'm afraid Mr. Leforge your employment is terminated as of now," he looked at me coolly as Connor sneered. "Nothing personal; just business." "Ya can't do that ya rat-arsed bastard!" Leanne screamed. "I was afraid this might get a bit emotional," Camberge sighed. "I have my solicitors outside. They can explain the terms of the contract to you. Also a couple of police. Mr. Leforge, since you are no longer employed you no longer have a valid reason to carry a weapon. They will be reliving you of it when you leave the room." "If I wanted you dead, Camberge," I said coolly. "I wouldn't need a gun to do it." He turned red and took a step back. "I don't take lightly to threats," he blustered. "I didn't threaten you," I replied. "I only said if." "Martin!" Leanne wailed and ran over to me. "It's okay, honey," I whispered as all four of them crowded around me. "We'll work this out. "We need to find a quiet place and talk about it." They sobbed and nodded. "That won't be possible either," Camberge continued smugly. "It seems one of the young gentlemen you assaulted in the night club the other night is the son of the Minister of Transportation. Since you are unemployed and no longer under visa and obviously prone to violence he has requested your immediate deportation. The officers outside will escort you directly to the airport to await the next available flight." "David, this is too much!" gasped a horrified Valeria. "Shut up!" he snarled. "I will not shut up," she said firmly. "You will if you value your position," he snorted. "Ya can take yer position and shove it up yer arse!" she replied. "I quit!" "Then get out of here," he snarled. I whispered into Leanne's ear, she didn't so much smile as snarl. "Miss Valeria!" she called out across the room. Startled, Valeria looked at her. "It would appear we are in need of a manager and you are in need of a job. Would you like the position of manager fer Irish Mist?" "I do," she replied with a feral smile. "And I think the first thing I'll be doing is looking over that contract line by line." "I won't work with somebody I've just fired," Camberge shouted. "Fine," Leanne sneered. "Then release us from yer contract. But until ya do you'll not be talking to me or any of us, you'll be talking to our manager. "While ya do that we'll be going with our man to the airport," she finished. "No ya won't," Connor said coming around the table and grabbing her arm. "You'll not be going anywhere unless ah say so." Leanne looked down at the hand grabbing her arm and before he or I could react she brought her knee up into his balls hard. He squealed, released her and bent over double. Using her forearm she then smashed him hard in the nose tumbling him over backwards onto the floor. Eimile skipped around her cousin and delivered a vicious kick to his side. "Ya see, Martin," Leanne beamed up at me. "Ah didn't use me hand." "And ah had me boots on," Eimile proudly added. "You can't do that," Camberge shouted. "That's assault!" "Then have us arrested," Leanne answered sweetly. "We'll go gladly to jail. Of course ah doubt we'll be out before yer concert, but that's yer choice. "Rache," she looked over at her cousin who was staring wide eyed and open mouthed at the whole exhibition. She hadn't said a word the entire time. "We'll not be asking ya to take a side here but we'll not be working for or with this gobshite here anymore." She nodded towards Camberge. "We'll talk more about it later. Now we'll be going." "You can't go anywhere!" Camberge growled angrily. "And ya can't stop us," she answered calmly. "We're still free citizens of this country. Ya have no say over where we go or what we do at all." "You'll be at the concert tomorrow, by God... !" he started. "Talk to our manager," she sniffed and putting one of her arms in mine led all five of us to the door. ------- We left followed by Magaoidh and Caoimh. The lawyers and cops were there just as he'd said. He'd had the whole fucking thing set up. They took my pistol and got indignant when I insisted on a receipt. They also weren't happy when I told them I expected it to be forwarded to my home address immediately. I really didn't give a shit. One gun is exactly the same as any other but I wasn't exactly in a charitable mood right then. The lawyers tried to stop the girls but Leanne just waved them off and told them to talk to their new manager. That caused them to look a bit wary but there was nothing they could do. I'm not going to bad mouth the cops there; they were just doing their job and I suppose they could have been real assholes if they'd wanted to and tried to keep the girls and me separated but they didn't. One of them came with us in the limo we had the hotel call for and the other followed behind in the police car. There was a lot of weeping and blubbering but the girls held up pretty well and calmed me down. We had a couple of hours at the airport waiting for the next available flight. We did a lot of talking and a lot of cuddling. I pointed out that this wasn't so bad. I had to get back to the States and get started on the immigration stuff anyway and now was as good a time as any. "Ah don't know what to do about any of this," Leanne finally collapsed and sobbed. "Ah want to strangle that son-of-a-bitch but ah don't know how." "Then ask an expert, baby," I told her. She looked at me like I was nuts. "Who do you know that probably knows more about show business, producers, contracts, lawyers and all that happy horseshit than anybody else around?" She narrowed her eyes at me at first but suddenly they popped open and she got and evil grin on her face. "Oh aye," she chuckled. "We do have low friends in high places, don't we?" "Don't be afraid to use them," I winked. "If she can't tell you how to deal with this prick I'll bet she knows someone who can." I really don't want to talk about the rest of the time we spent there waiting for my flight. I'm sure you can imagine pretty much everything we said and didn't say. The only thing you might not know about was when the twins were sitting in my lap just before I left. Eimile whispered in my ear, "We need to talk to ya when we see ya next, Martin." I had many things on my mind so I didn't think overly much about it other than to agree. ------- The flight back was lonely, my house was empty, I was feeling sorry for myself and pissed off enough to kill. It was early evening when I finally go back. It was too late to call the girls so I went to bed and slept for about twelve hours. I was feeling a bit melancholy when I looked at the time and realized the concert was over and I wondered how it went with all the shit going on. I was working my way through State Department immigration and entry forms when my pers-comp signaled a call. It was Leanne and my heart jumped but came crashing down again when I answered it and she was crying so hard I couldn't understand her. "Martin," she finally calmed down enough to say. "She's gone!" "Who's gone!" I demanded. "Rachael!" she sniffed. "Rachael's gone and Whellan's been shot! They took her and now they say they'll kill her unless they get their money!" Edited by Morgan ------- Chapter 14 I felt like a real piece of shit but I have to admit I felt relieved when I heard it was Rachael that had been kidnapped and not one of my girls. That didn't last long though. I mean if you put my feet in hot coals and tied electrodes to my testicles you could probably get me to admit I had even started liking the little twit ― a little bit anyway. But that didn't matter. Being a kidnap victim is nobody's idea of a good time. The percentage of live retrievals is depressingly small and completely independent as to whether or not the ransom is paid. Our little songbird was in a tough spot and I wasn't sure how the hell I could help. Yes, we did ultimately find out what happened and the root cause was of course ― you guessed it ― Connor! In addition to being the stellar human being he was, he was also a gambler and as with everything else he did he wasn't worth a shit at it. Naturally he owed a lot of money to some fairly nasty people. No, he didn't arrange to have her kidnapped, I almost wish he had. He would have probably fucked that up like everything else he did and we wouldn't have had the problem. He didn't arrange a kidnapping but he did set up a private interview for these selfsame nasty people and Rachael. He was told they were big fans and just wanted to meet her and this private meeting would go a long way to relieving his debt. So right after the concert he guided her and Faolain (Faolain absolutely refused to let her go without protection; God bless the man.) to a secluded part of the theater where they were jumped and Rachael taken. In the process Faolain was shot and at this time he was in serious but not critical condition. Unfortunately, Connor wasn't although later I'm sure he'd wished he had been. "What do the police say?" I asked. "They said they'd kill her if we went to the police, so we haven't," Leanne sniffed but was calming down. "They always do," I replied. "Is Magaoidh there?" She nodded. "Put him on." "Sirrah?" Magaoidh looked calm and at ease; in a battle tested soldier that usually means he's wired hot and ready to go. "Mr. Camberge refused to call the authorities in on this." He made "Camberge" sound like a curse word. "Camberge is a fucking asshole, but this time he might be right," I admitted. "If your cops are as corrupt as ours they probably have dozens of moles in the department who'd sell out their own mother for a stiff drink. I'm willing to bet whoever these guys are they'll know immediately if the cops are called. Did she have her tracker on and have you been able to follow it?" "Sir, she did," he replied. "We were able to track her to the middle of Dublin but it faded out." That meant they probably had her underground or in a building somewhere. If it faded out it probably meant she still had it on but our equipment wasn't sensitive enough to read it. Unfortunately our gear was civilian grade and not military ... I had an idea. "Colour Sergeant! Tell the girls I'm working on it and I'll call you right back." I didn't wait for the acknowledgement but switched him off and called the one person I thought could help. "My Lord, Leforge, can't you let an old man get his sleep?" BGEN Clemson yawned when he finally arrived. "You tell my staff it's a matter of life and death ... Well I can only hope so." I quickly filled him in on what happened. "That's rotten luck for sure," he grumbled. "But I'm not sure how I can be of any assistance." "Don't you still have a mutual defense treaty with Ireland?" I asked. I knew they did. Actually "mutual defense" was a bit of a misnomer. For certain considerations Great Briton agreed to be Ireland's sole defense. In other wards Ireland had no standing army and GB had small garrisons of British troops scattered around the island, mostly Irish serving in the British army. These weren't really for defense purposes; Ireland's real defense came from being included under Briton's umbrella of naval, air and space forces. The troops were there mainly to man logistic and intelligence posts. "That being the case," I continued, "do you still run reconnaissance drones around the area?" "I believe we do," he said with twinkle in his eye. "As a matter of fact I believe we are running an exercise over Dublin proper later this night: a surprise exercise. It'll be an anti-terrorist exercise ― hostages and all that. I wonder if there is something specific we should be looking for?" "How about a hostage that has a tracker on her? Say giving off a signal in the range of..." I gave him the transmitting frequency of our trackers. "Oh jolly good! That adds a bit of realism to the scenario, now doesn't it?" "If your boys get a hit you'll need to send the location to Colour Sergeant Magaoidh," I told him. "Damn it! I wish I could be there," I cursed. "Well why not, old boy?" he asked. "Because they kicked me out of their fucking country!" I fumed. "Yes, I head about that," he chuckled. "Something about propensity for violence or some such nonsense; I could hardly believe it. You seem to have such a gentle nature to me." I glared at him. "Why don't you head down to your airport there, Martin," he chuckled. "I'm thinking that the colonel in charge of this exercise could use a bit of advice from an expert. It probably wouldn't be a bad idea for him to hire you as a consultant for a night. Of course we'll take care of your transportation and since you'd be a contractor under military control you won't need to worry about those silly little visa things." ------- I quickly contacted Magaoidh who accepted what I'd arranged with the blasé indifference of a senior NCO who expects miracles from his officers on a daily basis. Leanne was incredulous that I would be coming over so soon. If the truth be known so was I but it wasn't only NCOs that expected and planned around the ability of their superior officers to shit miracles as required. I didn't pack, I just changed into a nondescript old battle uniform without the insignia and headed down to the airport not knowing what to expect. What I really didn't expect was a British Space Service suborbital admiral's gig to be waiting for me. "Major Leforge?" the pilot saluted me and I returned it automatically. "Uh, yeah," I stood there flabbergasted. "Better get in, sir," she said cheerfully. "We have to get this bird up in the air if we're going to get back in time for the exercise." "Right," I mumbled and climbed in and sat where she pointed me. Making sure I was securely strapped in she commented, "Can't have the luggage banging about the cabin now can we?" She strapped herself in, put the control headgear on and started talking quietly to someone, probably the control tower. Seconds later we were moving smoothly down the runway and gently lifting into the air. "Roxy-doxy here," she spoke into the com. "Package onboard, wheels up, feet wet two mikes, ETA 0200 local, out." We climbed steeply to about 22,000 meters and leveled off. "Hold on to yer boys, Major," she grinned over at me. "Let's see what this lassie can do." With that she touched a pad and I was pressed back against my seat, hard! This lasted for about three minutes and the acceleration eased until I couldn't feel it at all; I did feel pretty light. "Wow!" I gasped. "Exciting isn't it?" she grinned again. She had just a touch of a Scottish accent. She was caressing another part of the pad and lifting the control harness until it just rested on her head. I wondered who was flying the freaking thing and it must have shown on my face. "This lovey flies herself," she grinned. "Don't know why they don't just give the dog wings and put him in here." I must have looked confused because she continued. "You know these things fly themselves so well they only crew them with a pilot and a dog and the pilot's only there to feed the dog." Yeah, I had to ask. "Oh, the dog's there to bite the pilot if she tries to touch anything!" she answered gleefully. Pilot humor! Give me a break! "Thanks, I wasn't expecting something like this," I said looking around at the six-passenger cabin. "Not yer normal pickup," she admitted. "But I was taking the baby out for a test hop after some maintenance and was over Newfoundland when they diverted me. Only took a few to bob on down, a sip of fuel and we're on our way." She paused for a moment studying me. "Do you mind me asking why yer so bloody important to this exercise they had to get you over to Ireland so quickly? The only way to get there faster is to strap yer arse on a ballistic missile and drop you on way over. If it's classified I'll understand. I'm just a glorified coach driver after all." "I'm not sure it's really what I'd call classified," I admitted. "I'm hoping my part of the exercise will be at the end of it." I gave her a condensed version of what had happened to Rachael and what the mostly fictitious exercise was all about. "Oh, I'm sorry to hear about the lass," she said with sympathy. "I've become quite a fan of theirs. Not a blip on the screamers (news channels) about it ... Wait! You're him aren't you!" she squealed with delight. "You're the major of The Major's Harem! I though you looked familiar! Wait till my mates hear that I flew him over!" I groaned. Fucking scandal sites! Of course after that she was chatty as could be wanting to know everything about the band, me and of course our love life. I will say she wasn't upset one little bit when I told her more than once that certain topics were private and I wasn't going to talk about them. She'd just grin and go on to the next question. I did admit to the fact that Leanne, Niamh and I were planning to get married sometime in the near future but asked her not to broadcast it if possible, especially to the scuzzies. "Bah!" she waved it off. "I wouldn't piss in their mouth if they were dying of thirst." I didn't think she was old enough to have served during the war but she sure learned the unfiltered directness of a vet from somewhere. "So what about the other two, the little brunettes?" she wiggled her eyebrows at me. "You going to marry them too?" "Well they haven't asked yet, now have they?" I bantered back. "Think yer man enough for four women, Major?" she asked elbowing me in the side. "Hell no! I doubt I'll survive the year," I replied. "But when I die it's going to be it's going to be as a soldier: doing my best and with a smile on my lips." She laughed so hard I just sat there hoping she didn't jog anything too important. A few minutes later the control panel beeped and she slammed her control helmet down in place and began speaking quickly and quietly. The whine from the engines muted slightly and the nose dropped slightly. "Twenty minutes and we're on the ground, Major," she told me when she was finished. "We'll be dropping into our airbase just outside of Dublin. There's a team meeting you on the pad." "Thanks, Roxy." She'd told me Roxy was both her name and her handle. I won't go through the landing but suffice it to say if you keep your eyes squeezed tightly shut and try to think of anything except what's going on it's not so bad. I wished I'd done it. I'm sure there were other times I was more terrified but I couldn't remember any of them at the moment ― still don't. Once we were stopped, she popped off the control helmet, helped me unbuckle and helped me and my rubber legs down to the tarmac. She didn't seem to notice that we had been that close to slamming into the ground at supersonic speeds. Pilots! There was a van waiting but before heading over there I turned to thank Roxy for the ride; not the landing, just the ride. Before I could say anything she had her arms wrapped around my neck and was kissing me with a lot of enthusiasm. Almost before it could register she pushed herself away and giggled. "I guess that means I'm part of your harem now," she grinned, gave me a little finger wave as she turned and headed back towards her plane. I just shook my head and jogged to the van. "Major Leforge!" a bright-eyed second lieutenant snapped to attention and saluted as I approached. I casually returned it and nodded. There were six of them; the second louie, four privates and two sergeants that looked like they were old enough to be Magaoidh's compatriots. "The recon bird got a chirp and we have a fix on the target," he continued before I could say anything as they hustled me into the van. We were moving before they even closed the door. "You're — ah, team — is there already. It'll only take us about fifteen minutes to get there." "Thanks, Lieutenant," I nodded gratefully. "Now, Major," he continued. "I have been instructed to inform you that no active duty personnel may take part in any simulated hostage rescue. It's strictly forbidden for any of us to interfere in what is a civilian police matter. We can be there to observe but unless fired upon we cannot become involved." "I understand completely," I nodded. "I'm grateful for any help at all but I know you have limits." "Very strict limits." He returned my nod. What he could do is relay to me all the information they'd been able to gather from the spook-bird. "It's an older part of town," he began. "The signal if coming from there," he poked a finger through the holographic image of a building projected in the van's holo-tank. "Sorry, no thermal imaging," he responded to my unasked question. "The buildings in this section are old enough they actually use steam heat. All we can see is a number of hot spots; they could be occupants or merely radiators; there's not enough movement to be sure. "We're almost there," he said as I heard the crackle of information being sent to his headset. Very few officers were given implants anymore and even fewer enlisted. There wasn't any combat to speak of and the expense was considered extravagant. "We'll be meeting with your team about a block away from the target." Right after he said that we pulled into a darkened vehicle recharging station. There were already three large cars there. I saw Magaoidh, Caoimh and Mac standing beside one. We stopped and I jumped out heading over to my team but before I could get there the door of one of the cars popped opened and four figures tumbled out. I was hit by a flurry of femininity before I could make it halfway across the parking area. "What in the hell are you four doing here?" I asked angrily as eight hands, four bodies and four sets of lips did their best to cover me. "We had to," Leanne sobbed as she clung to my neck. "You're going to save her, aren't ya Martin?" "I'm going to do my best, love," I replied giving each one of them a quick kiss and gently pushing them away from me. "But none of you should be here! This could be dangerous." "She's our cousin..." Leanne stated flatly. "Me sister," Niamh continued. "And yer our man," Eimile and Shauna finished in unison. "We had to be here," Leanne explained. "Okay, but I don't like it," I huffed. "When we go in, you four are getting into that car and not coming out for anything. Got it? Because if you don't I will have you bound hand and foot and locked in that car!" "He's talking about tying us up," Shauna sniffed and tried to smile. "Even in desperate times all he can think about is sex." Her ploy worked as the other three giggled through their tears and Eimile gave her a shot in the side with an elbow. "I just want you safe," I replied softly. "Everything I hold dear is standing right here. I have a job to do and I won't be as effective if I have to worry about you out here while I'm in there." "I think we can handle that, Martin," I looked behind the girls and standing there was Brigadier General Clemson surrounded by his squad of SAS bodyguards. They were holding 5mm submachine guns at the ready scanning the streets and rooftops through IF/UV goggles. Standing to one side was Becky Brighton in a pair of drab utilities and on his other side was a hard looking middle-aged woman in the uniform of the Irish National Police. "Becky and I will tend to the lasses while you fellows do your little task," he continued. "Brigadier," I almost gasped. "I didn't expect to see you here. Not that you're unwelcome ... But yes, I would appreciate you looking after the girls for me," I turned and frowned at the ladies in question, "and sitting on them if they try to move." "Won't be necessary I'm sure," he said affably. "By the way, Becky you know of course but I'd like you to meet Superintendent Marjorie McDillian, An Garda Siochana (Irish National Police). Maggie was at one time a Regimental Sergeant Major. I trust her implicitly. I thought it best if you had some civilian authority representation for your little foray here tonight." "Superintendent, pleased to meet you," I nodded. If this gal had been an RSM she was one tough old broad and nobody to be fucked with; being a police superintendent was actually a secondary rank. "Well ah'm not pleased at all, Major," she growled. Her voice sounded like gravel being chewed up in a grinder. "However ah'm not so thick that ah don't understand why we weren't called in at the beginning. It pains me to admit but given the low-life, arse-humping wankers we've been enrolling lately yer probably safer to do this on yer own." RSMs can be diplomatic and refined in speech when they want to but if a Colour Sergeant can make a trooper shit his pants, an RSM in a snit is enough to cause any sane soldier to die from a heart attack. "Ah've see yer intel and ah agree entry into this building is necessary," she continued. "But we're going to be doing this legally. The four of you are being enrolled temporarily as auxiliaries in the An Garda Siochana and placed under my command. We'll ignore fer the moment that yer a foreign national, Major," she actually winked at me. "Major Leforge will be entry commander with tactical control. What are ya plans Major?" "Ma'am," I nodded to her and turned to my team who were standing patiently to one side. All three of them snapped to attention and saluted and said, "Sirrah!" "As you were," I returned their salute. "Magaoidh, have you seen the plans for the building?" They were great plans and very detailed if they could be believed. If these came out of the city planning department I had my doubts. Too often what was supposed to be there ended up being more fantasy than reality but you work with what you have. "Aye, sir," he nodded. "Recommendations?" We were all moving towards the lieutenant's van; I still had my gaggle of hangers-on but everyone tactfully ignored them. The lieutenant had brought the holo-tank pad to the back of the truck so we could all see it. "There are two doors on the ground floor," he started. "Ah recommend a two-man entry for each one; here and here." I stood there and looked at it for a minute. "Could work but what if they have her on the second floor? I don't think they will; if it was me I'd want her inside as much steel and brick as I could," I started. "But if they do, they'll hear us below and that could give them time to shoot the hostage." A couple of "someones" near me started sniffling and softly crying but I didn't have time to comfort them. "Here's what I think we should do," I began. "Mac, I want you to use that Ranger training of yours and get in the top floor right here." I pointed to a window overlooking a sloping garage roof. "Once you're in place..." "Sir!" Mac blurted. "This is Rachael! Ah've got to be the first one in!" "Done much entry work, Ranger?" I asked dryly. He was struggling I could tell but there wasn't much he could say. "I know you want to," I added quietly, "but this is what I did. I may not be the best but I'm the best we've got right here right now. "I'm going in the front," I stabbed my finger in the holo's front door. "Caoimh is going to back me up. Magaoidh, you're going to be outside the back door in case I flush them out." "Ah'll be there with him," Superintendent McDillian added grimly and I nodded. "We're going to make this quick, hard and as quiet as possible," I finished. "We move to this alley and split up. You'll signal me when you're in place; I'll let you know just before we go through the door. Oh by the way ― I'm going to need a gun." "I think we can do better than that," Becky said and I turned to look at her. "Come on over and let's see what I have in stores." We all followed her over to Clemson's car and opened the boot (that's the trunk for all of us Yanks out there). Inside were enough toys to make any kid drool at Christmas. "Oww," I sighed and lifted out a brand new 5mm Rheinmetall MG33 with suppressor attached. The MG33 wasn't the exact weapon I was used to using but the Allies had pretty much standardized infantry weapons during the war and other than the shape of the stock and some cosmetic changes, it was identical. The suppressor was a nice addition. Suppressors aren't really the silencers the vids show all the time. There is really no way to completely silence a projectile moving at five to six times the speed of sound; you're going to get a sonic wave no matter what you do ― that's physics. However you can contain the noise produced from the burning propellant and that's what the suppressor does. Instead of hearing a sharp crack you hear the sizzle of the round in the air. "Hey, what?" the lieutenant gasped. "Don't worry, Lieutenant," Becky assured him with amusement. "These have never been in His Majesty's inventory. We're not handing out government equipment like door prizes." She looked over at me and wiggled her eyebrows, "See what you could have been getting if you'd been sweet talking me eight years ago." "Regrets and missed opportunities," I grinned at her just before Leanne smacked me hard in the side. "Don't ya be looking elsewhere just because some pretty thing has toys and baubles to show ya," Leanne fumed. "Not a chance," I chuckled and leaned over to give her a quick kiss on the lips which seemed to mollify her somewhat. "But if she had shown me these eight years ago ... Well, she could have had my soul let alone any virtue I might have had left." "Your soul was as black as the night," Becky laughed. "Now what would I have done with that raggedy thing? And as for your virtue, it was worth even less. Now as for your other attributes ... Well, supply officers aren't incorruptible after all..." We all laughed, even my girls. There were a few other surprises in there also. Civilian grade protective vests ― compared to battle armor they were almost worthless but here they were better than nothing. They would stop old chemically propelled rounds and probably 2mm handgun pellets but I wasn't sure about a 5mm. It might slow it down, anyway. There were also tubes of C12 blasting gel. Really handy stuff to have around; no household should be without it. C12 (not its official designation but everybody uses it) comes in tubes and you can squirt it out like a gel. It sets up quickly and is completely stable unless you ignite it with a specific detonator. Depending how you use it, you can make it explode to make a really big bang or have it burn like hellfire. I think Caoimh came in his pants when he saw it. Well, we all have our own toys we like to play with. I also strapped on a 5mm pistol just for insurance. Although these weapons jam about as often as a whore gives away a free fuck, it's nice to know that if it does happen you're not just standing there with nothing but a useless hunk of metal in one hand and your dick in the other. Right about then a medevac van pulled silently into the parking area. It was probably a good idea but I sure didn't like to think of the reason why. I've never had to say goodbye to four women before a mission and let me tell you it really sucks. There were the barely repressed tears and all four of them actually cried. Their eyes pleaded with me to stay but they knew as well as I did, this was something that had to be done and while I wasn't the only one who could do it I was the best one we had. "Ya must come back," Niamh sniffed into my shoulder. "Ah can't live without ya." "Yes you can," I whispered back. "There is someone else who needs you even more than you need me." "If ya get yerself killed ah'm going to make yer life miserable," Leanne said with her arms wrapped around my neck and legs around my waist. "Now ya go get that bitch of a cousin and drag her back by her hair if ya have to." "Martin ... We ... You ... We want..." Eimile stuttered as she pressed up against one side while Shauna pressed just as tightly against the other. "Shhh," I hushed her softly. "We'll have all kinds of time to talk when I get back," I assured her. "I already know what I want to say and I'm hoping the both of you will say yes, but not now." They both looked up at me and started crying even harder until Niamh and Leanne pulled them back. Then it was time to go. ------- The alley was dark but with our night-vision/IF goggles ― another present from our friendly supply officer ― I could see clearly. It doesn't look the same as with regular light but after a while you can get pretty good with them and I'd had plenty of practice even if it was a few years ago. An arm gesture sent Mac on his way while Magaoidh and McDillian creeped down the alley towards the back entrance. Caoimh and I made our way along the side of the building towards the front. We had debated whether to shoot out the single street light that cast a pale glow over that section of the street but decided against it. The risk that it would draw the attention of the bad guys too soon was more than the help it could possibly give us. Moving as stealthily as we could, ducking below windows, catching shadows where we could, we made the front door and Caoimh started spreading his goo. Now there are a couple of ways you can open an armored door and while I didn't think this one was hardened, I didn't want to take a chance. You can put a bead around the handle and lock, burn around it and hopefully it will just swing open. Assuming there isn't a deadbolt somewhere else on the door. If there is, you have to start all over again and you've lost the element of surprise ― not good. Personally I like burning the hinges off. You almost never find any locks or bolts on the hinged side of the door and once you burn it a little push and the whole thing falls in. Noisy but quick. I opted for noisy and hoped speed would take care of the rest. I backed up to almost the street and crouched down. When I started moving Caoimh was to start the burn. I gave the signal to Mac and the rest, started running and launched my shoulder at the door. Caoimh had done his job and the burn was pretty much complete by the time I hit the door. I got a little bit of a flash burn but that was nothing. The door flew open to the handle side but never did fall down. It didn't matter. I was in, rolling and up in position in seconds. We were alone in a foyer with just an abandoned reception desk for company. Moving quickly we were through the rear door and working our way through a maze of corridors and offices. I cold hear some music come from somewhere in front of us; ironically it sounded like someone was playing Irish Mist. We crept closer to the sound. There was light coming around one corner ― yes you can tell even when you have the goggles on, it just takes practice. I poked my head around and the first thing I saw was Rachael lying on the floor, legs tied together and I assumed her hands were tied behind her back although I couldn't see them. She wasn't gagged but from the bruises on her cheeks she probably hadn't been quiet. Rachael not being quiet? Shocking, simply shocking! We could hear them talking now. "Why don't we just fuck the bird?" one asked. "We're going to have to kill her anyway. She's seen our faces." "He said no," the other one answered. "Maybe just before we do it, he'll let us. Or maybe you'd rather fuck her after we do it. No matter. Pays too good to screw it up now. Besides he'll cut yer clackers off if ya do it before he gives ya permission." "Ahh, he'll give her to us," the first one said and then turned to Rachael. "How'd ya like that, yer majesty? Ah bet ya'd like to get fucked by two big cocks before yer laid down to rest. If ya make it good fer us, then we'll make the end quick." "Ah've seen yer little things when ya took yer wee," Rachael sneered. "Me men had bigger cocks than that when they were babes. Ya'd have to tell me when ya put it in so ah could pretend to feel it." "Fucking bitch!" the first one hissed. "Ah don't care what he says, ah'm offing this cunt now." He raised a pistol even as the other one was trying to stop him. Seeing no reason to get fancy I merely stepped out from around the corner, put my sights on the belly of the one with the pistol and pulled the trigger. I keep my weapon selected for three round bursts; it's economical and if you can't put down what you're aiming at with three rounds you probably need to start running anyway. The gun burped and three red stars suddenly appeared on my target's stomach. Quickly shifting I put another burst into his buddy's chest and started running for Rachael even before they both fell backwards to the floor. "It's about time ya fucking got here!" Rachael screamed. "Sorry. Got held up in customs," I chuckled as I flipped out my vibro-blade and the plastic restraining bands melted away from it like butter from a blow torch. "Where's James?" she asked. "How's Whellan? Ah saw him get shot trying to protect me." "Mac's around," I answered. "Faolain's fine; he's in the hospital but he'll live." "God! Get me out of here," she shivered. "That's the general idea," I started to say when she screamed. I glanced over my shoulder and saw a man stepping around the corner leveling a pistol at Rachael. Without thinking I dove on top of her just as three sledgehammers hit me in the back, hard! I wasn't unconscious yet and began thinking it might be a good idea if I did something about the man with the gun. Unfortunately my body didn't seem to want to do what I told it and right then a saw started biting into the wood. There's a reason the 5mm sub-machine gun is called a "hoser." The thing fires at about 1000 cycles per minute and holds a magazine of 500. At full auto you just pull the trigger and for about thirty seconds everything you point at will be "hosed" with hypervelocity pellets. Even some pretty tough armor can't stand up to that. It's so fast you can't hear the individual rounds being fired, it sounds like a saw cutting through wood. The man's chest and stomach literally vaporized with an almost solid stream of pellets ripping into him as Caoimh held down the trigger. It must be quite something to be able to look down and see your body come apart in front of your eyes but that's one experience I'll pass on if it's all right with you. Caoimh stopped when the upper torso finally separated from the pelvis and toppled over to the floor. I pretty much lost track of what was going on except for bits and pieces here and there. Rachael was crying and saying, "Ah'm sorry! Ah'm sorry!" I think I remember telling her it wasn't her fault. Another time someone was reporting in that Rachael was fine but the major was hit and needed medevac. I remember thinking, The poor bastard! Hope they get him out in time. Things drifted a little then until I noticed someone in medical battle dress was leaning over me. She ― I remember it was a she ― was working on my back and talking to someone else. "Got a lung, a kidney, maybe nicked the other lung," she was saying. "He'll live; I've seen worse. "Hey, Major," she looked down at me. "How are you feeling?" "Like shit," I mumbled. "That's good," she answered cheerfully. "Feeling like shit is good. Now," she held up a hypo-injector, "it's time to go to sleep." "No, I have to tell..." I was trying to say I had to tell my girls I loved them and I was sorry it turned out this way but she activated the injector and then there was nothing. Edited by Morgan ------- Chapter 15 I woke up to a pair of black eyes staring into mine only centimeters away. "I must be in heaven," I whispered. "Well," Leanne replied with a slight grin on her lips. "Ah will say of all the first words ya could have when returning from the dead those certainly saved yer arse a stern talking to." "I love you," I whispered again. "I wanted to say that before they..." "Enough," she said placing a finger lightly over my lips. "We know and that's enough." Her fingers moved up to lightly trace my cheek. "Is everybody okay?" I asked. "Rachael?" "Oh aye," she nodded and moved in closer to me. It was clear that she was lying in the hospital bed with me. I don't think that is normally allowed but then again this was Leanne. I doubt a whole hospital full of doctors and nurses could stop her from doing whatever the hell she wanted to do. "Rachael's fine; everybody's fine. Yer the only one who couldn't seem to stay out of the way of the bullets." "Where is everybody?" I brought my own hand up (yes, it worked!) to caress her cheek as she was doing mine. "Outside, here and there," she said without taking her eyes off of me for one second. "Martin, we were so..." "I know. I'm sorry," I interrupted softly. "Ya should be, ya scared the socks off of us," her slight smile disappeared. "I kind of like you without socks," I tried wiggling my eyebrows. "Well yer going to be no good to us fer a few weeks, me man," she snorted. "It'll give me something to dream about during my convalescence," I said and struggled to sit up. "Oh no ya don't," she said firmly holding me down by my shoulder. "The doctors agreed to wake you up today because we'll be leaving tomorrow but overexert yerself and they'll put ya under again." "How long was I out?" I asked as I stopped struggling. "Four days." "Four days?" That was a long time under healing sleep. "Yer not as young as ya used to be," she grinned evilly. "When I get well, I'm going to spank you," I pledged with a growl. "Promises, promises," she taunted me saucily. "Enough of this; ah'd better bring in the others before they strangle me." "What did you mean by leaving tomorrow?" I asked. "We'll tell ya when everybody gets in here." She went to the door and immediately Niamh peeked followed by Eimile and Shauna. When she saw I was awake Niamh rushed over and flung herself on the bed next to me burying her head in my neck and I'm sure sending whatever monitors they had stuck in me through the roof. I stroked Niamh's hair trying to soothe her as Em and Shauna tentatively inched their way to the side of the bed. I was on my side so I was able to put Niamh's head on my lower arm and reach out for the other two. They both grabbed it and I was able to caress their faces as tears ran down their cheeks. "I have some unfinished business with you two," I said. "And we with you," Eimile smiled. "Well go on, ya silly thing," Leanne prompted. "Ya been telling everybody in the world about it fer the last few days. It be best the both of ya be asking him now, don't ya think?" Eimile nodded and looked back at me. "Martin..." she started. "I have something to say first," I interrupted and both of them looked at me questioningly. "I love both of you. Not only do I love you but I am in love with you. Now Niamh and that pushy little thing over there," Leanne stuck her tongue out at me and grinned, "have lost their senses and agreed to be my wives. With their permission I am asking the same of you two. "Now if that's not what you two want that's okay. I'll live with it and we'll still..." I didn't get any further as they both jumped on top of Niamh and squealed doing their best to kiss every square centimeter of skin I had on my face. "Hey, watch it now," Niamh mumbled grumpily. "Be careful! Ah'm expecting, ya know." "Yer having a babby not a burst appendix," Shauna laughed and started tickling Niamh which set the whole bed to shaking. "That's enough now," Leanne commanded. "Yer going to knock him to the floor and set him back another three weeks." They calmed down and stood back up beaming down at me. "Can I take that as a yes?" I asked. "I suppose you've already cleared this with Leanne and Niamh?" "It's as you Yanks say, 'A done deal, '" Leanne stated and then muttered, "As if there was ever any doubt of it." "Okay, now that we have the important stuff out of the way tell me what's been happening and why are you leaving tomorrow." They did tell me. First about how the Rachael kidnapping happened and Connor's involvement. To say I was a little pissed off didn't even come close to the actual and I made a promise to myself that Mr. C. Geallaigh and I were going to have a little talk when I got better. Maybe we could trade places in the hospital. "Oh no ya won't, me man," Niamh laughed and squirmed around to look up at me. "Me brother has been disappeared. The only thing anybody will tell us is we can't find him and he won't be leaving there anytime soon. Anyway James and Whellan have claimed first stab at him if they think they can beat Rachael to it. She's a bit put out about being kidnapped and having one of her men shot, not to mention yerself being shot at. Ah suppose she'll calm down eventually ― in about a hundred years or so." Since it appeared that Connor was 'taken care off' in whatever manner the Geallaigh clan did these things and they didn't seem upset, I shelved the thought and proceeded on to more important business. "You're going to France?" I whined. (Did I say whined? I mean I asked in a reasonable although understandably aggrieved tone.) They were. Leanne had contacted Antigua Delmar for advice and received a pack of lawyers and contract experts in return. The contract was binding, unfortunately, but at least they now had their own legal beagles and manager to look out for them. "I'm going to miss all of you," I sighed. "But I suppose once I get out of here they'll kick me out again assuming I don't get arrested for being an illegal alien. I can go home and get the visa work started." "Of course ya will," Leanne patted my arm. "But you'll not be going anywhere. You'll be convalescing at our home where our mothers can watch out fer ya." "Oh, will Aileen be there?" I asked happily. "I'm sure she could help and take care of me." Obviously nobody told Leanne it wasn't sporting to punch a bedridden sick person recuperating from gunshot wounds. I suppose there's a slight possibility I deserved it. Rubbing my bruised shoulder I continued, "Okay, point taken, but I really do need to get those visa applications done." "It's all ready been taken care of," she grinned and helped me rub my shoulder. "By our new production company." "Really? Who might that be?" I asked. "Delmar Productions, of course," she grinned even wider and the other three snickered. "As in Antigua Delmar? I didn't know she had a production company." "Well she does," Leanne nodded primly. "Actually her ma runs it but Antigua owns it. From what we can see Cynthia Delmar is very good and knows what's what in this business." "She's also supposed to be a man-eating bitch so yer going to have to stay away from her," Niamh scolded poking me lightly in the chest. "Your confidence in my fidelity is comforting," I grumped. "Ya must admit ya do seem to have a propensity fer adding to yer harem lately," Niamh teased. "Something about giving a pilot a tip that was a wee bit more than a handshake." "That was not my fault!" I protested. "Damn, you girls are good. I can see I'm really going to have to watch myself." "Never fear, we'll be doing that fer ya," Leanne continued the tease. "But we know all about Miss Roxy Doxy. She admitted to assaulting ya, although she didn't seem overly concerned about getting ya in trouble. We agreed she could be an auxiliary member but no privileges come with it." "I can live with that," I chuckled. "If ya wish to continue living healthy, ya will," she sniffed. "Anyway we begin working fer Delmar Productions as soon as our contract to Camberge is fulfilled which will be at the end of this continental tour." "I'll bet that frosted Camberge's ass a little," I grunted. See me weeping over his bad luck. "Fuck 'em!" Niamh growled again burying her face in my neck. "He tried to take ya away from us. He's lucky he's still alive. Since she's not being able to get her hands on our brother, Rache has decided Camberge is responsible fer getting her man shot." "Ah, my bloodthirsty little Celtic princess," I chuckled. "So, who's going to be in charge of your security while you're touring? I'd like to know my ladies are safe." "Mr. Magaoidh will be while yer incapacitated, along with a few new men," Leanne replied. "After that you will be, of course. In fact you'll be working fer Delmar Productions fer the entire next tour which just happens to be in two months." "We're touring with Antigua!" Eimile practically squealed. "We'll be her opener!" "Security for Antigua Delmar?" I squeaked. "Oh aye, you'll be busy, my lad," Leanne smirked. ------- In fact I was busy. It just didn't look like it as I stood just off stage watching Irish Mist begin the first bars of Wizards in Winter which had become their signature final song. Ryan Magaoidh stood to my left and slightly behind at parade rest as Brian Caoimh just to his left confirmed the placement of the other members of our security team. They'd added three new Irish lads for the trip to France and they'd followed along with us stateside for the tour. Once here we'd picked up ten new members mostly ex-army with a few air wing special forces. All of them were vets and all of them, including the three women, were kick-ass tough. As a team we'd only been together for about two weeks and this was the first concert of the tour but it couldn't have come together more smoothly. The nice thing about working with ex-military is they know how to take orders, they aren't afraid to ask questions and are able to stay focused on task while still being able to think on their feet and react appropriately to sudden changes in the tactical situation. We'd had only three days of full dress rehearsals and from what I could tell the bands were doing well but I know for a fact security was spot on. Magaoidh lightly touched my shoulder and I glanced back to see a man with two gorgeous women, one on each arm, walking towards us. Him I recognized immediately: it was Daniel Mayhem. He lived in the Tampa area and Antigua had scheduled Tampa as the first concert of the new tour so I'd met him a number of times backstage during the workups. He and Antigua had an interesting if somewhat ambiguous relationship that I found confusing. She acted like Mayhem was for all intents and purposes her boyfriend even though I knew he was married and happily so. Since he appeared to be almost as confused as I was, I did the noble thing and pretended I saw nothing. I noticed Michelle Darlington or "Mike" as she insisted on being called wasn't with him at the moment. (Just a word of advice. When "Mike" Darlington "insists" on something I'd recommend you take it to heart like it was Gospel coming directly from the Lord. The woman is even more beautiful in person than over a holo and twice as scary. I am convinced she is completely insane but mostly harmless, unless it has something to do with Dan Mayhem, that is. Now that is a relationship that goes well beyond confusing and I wouldn't touch it with a ten meter pole. I get the feeling her blast radius goes well beyond that.) It was odd she wasn't because she's usually stuck closer to him than his own shadow but maybe the two lovely ladies had something to do with it. The most striking was the tall blonde, and I do mean tall; she was even taller than my Niamh and topped me by a good six centimeters and she wasn't wearing heels. Her height wasn't the only striking feature. Her chest easily fit into the Oh-My-God! category which would have looked cartoonish on some other woman but looked ... right ... on her. She was also very pregnant and her face just glowed with contentment. The other woman was much smaller and very Asian; much more so than my Leanne although they looked very similar. She was also pregnant although on her smaller frame it was much more pronounced. "Daniel, good to see you," I said shaking his hand after he'd taken it out from around the blonde. "Martin," he nodded with a grin. "I'd like you to meet my wives. This is Lidia," he put his arm back around the blonde, "and Sumalee. Lidia, Alee, this is Martin Leforge, the tour's chief of security." "Very pleased to meet you, Martin," Sumalee said with a smile sticking her hand out which I took gently. "We have heard many good things about you. Even Michelle is impressed." "That's good, I think," I answered. "Very good," the tall Lidia laughed and took my hand also. "Michelle likes people who impress her and its much better that she like you rather than not ― safer, anyway. Although she has been complaining that she hasn't been able to infiltrate her way past your 'harem' to really study the situation." "Argh!" I groaned. "And here I thought you looked far too intelligent to be watching those scandal sites," I complained. Silly me. I thought that once we'd hooked up with the Delmar tour, the focus would shift away from me and my girls to someone else ― say, someone like Antigua. Wrong. Now the hot speculation was on how many of the "new" girls I'd be plucking and adding to the fold. Can't a guy catch a break? I'm a married man now, very married and very happy, thank you very much. "We don't have to," she grinned brightly. "Michelle keeps us well informed." "I only watch them for research and you know it, Lidia," came a brash voice behind us. I glanced back and the subject sergeant was sashaying up. She was wearing really high heels, a dress that was probably short enough to call a shirt and a grin that gave a new name to mischievous. At the same time the girls finished the song on stage and the crowed roared. My sweeties would be here any minute which was probably a good thing since for some reason they didn't seem to trust Sergeant Mike. I still think Darlington made her little innuendos just to yank their chains but maybe they reacted like they did just to make her feel better. I think it's just a game they play. "Why would I care who's screwing who if it's not me?" she continued and I heard the clatter of boot heels and was just able to brace before I was hit first by a flying dark haired wench who as normal wrapped her legs around my waist and arms around my neck followed very shortly by my other three beauties claiming their place by my side. As excited as they were, they kept my lips occupied for a few minutes. "Eew, can I get some of that?" Mike asked eagerly. Leanne dropped her feet to the floor and turned to face the older woman, putting her arms out and pressing back as if to protect me. "Back, ya harlot," she feigned a growled. "He's ours and we have the papers to prove it." "Michelle, behave," Sumalee scolded. "I was being good," Mike protested. "I was just asking. It's not like I'd screw around with a married man anyway." There was a choking sound that sounded suspiciously like suppressed laughter from Mayhem and she quickly rounded on him and shouted, "Shut up, Boss! I don't, not anymore. "Besides I love their reaction," Mike smirked. "They make this old broad feel good." "Yer not so old and yer far too pretty fer our comfort," Niamh winked. "You see! I like these girls," Mike beamed. "So I wouldn't do nothing to hurt them even if he is a tasty little morsel," she said giving me a naughty wink. "Ya got to admit there's something compelling about a guy that would take three slugs in the back even for a little twit like that." It was no surprise Sergeant Mike and Rachael didn't get along very well. "Michelle, you're just mad you've met someone who can match you growl for growl," a new voice added from beside us. We all turned and Antigua Delmar was standing there in her concert costume looking pretty as you can get and bubbly as ever. Dan Mayhem and the rest of his crew call her Tink or Tinker Bell and I have to admit she does kind of remind me of Peter Pan's little friend but don't let that little pixy exterior fool you; she's just about the smartest person I've met of any age and an absolute demon if crossed. She doesn't suffer fools well and I'm not saying she's an unreasonable boss but you don't want to make the same mistake around her twice. I nodded to her escort, Debbie Patterson. Debbie was one of the American vets we brought on here in the States. She was about as old as Darlington but nowhere near as slim. Debbie was built like a rock and just about as tough. She stopped her scanning at my nod, returned it and started scanning again. "And leave my security chief alone," she continued. "He's too damn good to have you chase him off. Besides if he left I'd lose the best set-up band I've ever had. Great show girls, really kold! I'm afraid I'm going to disappoint them when I go out there." "Thanks and not a bloody chance of that," Leanne grinned. "So many people!" Niamh sighed. "Ah'm surprised ah didn't freeze in one place with fright." "You get use to it," Antigua assured her. "Hi Lidia, Alee," she gave each of Mayhem's wives a real kiss and quick hug. I guess whatever relationship they had didn't confuse them. "I suppose you've met everyone?" "We keep getting interrupted," I said and finally introduced my ladies to Dan's wives. I noticed their eyes dropped to Naimh's tummy which was just starting to show a little bulge and questioned her with raised eyebrows. Niamh beamed happily and nodded. They gave her that little "welcome to the mommy club" smile. What neither they nor anyone else except us knew was that Leanne and Eimile informed us the night before that they were both expecting also. It was a truly joyous announcement marred only by Shauna's pronouncement that logically since she was the only one who remained unfertilized that all my sperm was now reserved for her until she also caught. This of course precipitated a four way "discussion" that if any less affable could have been called a minor civil war. I, of course, abstained. I was hoping they'd work it all out before this abstaining went on too long, but I wasn't overly worried. "Tink, what are you doing here anyway? Aren't you supposed to be getting ready to actually work for a change?" Mayhem asked. "Like you'd know what that meant," she snorted. "And for your information, Big Meanie, I am ready and I'm just waiting for the call. Actually I'm hiding from Mom right now." I could relate to that. Cynthia Delmar was a damn find looking woman but it only took me about two seconds to figure out she was pure poison for anything other than strictly business. She did know her shit, though, and while it was strictly business she and Antigua got along just fine but if it drifted just a little bit outside those boundaries ... It was kind of like setting off a flash-bang grenade; all hell would break loose. I have no idea where a sweet young kid like Antigua learned those kinds of words but she could make a boot camp drill instructor blush. And Antigua wasn't the only one Cynthia had a problem with. She must have had some kind of run in with Dan Mayhem sometime in the past because she never ― and I mean never ― came within a hundred meters of him while he was around. I'm sure the history there was interesting but I tucked that into the strictly none-of-my-business folder and left it there. They all kind of broke down into little groups. Okay, two little groups; the women and the men; the men being Mayhem and myself with Magaoidh and Caoimh standing nearby. The women ― well they were all talking and I couldn't really make out who was talking to whom; it looked like a good place for a sane male not to be. "You look happier than a pig in shit," he said with a grin. "The only way it could be better was if I was a rich old man and didn't have to work at all; kind of like you," I replied. "Don't I wish," he sighed. "Hey, I don't think I properly thanked you for being our messenger pigeon over there." "No problem," I shrugged. "I'm just sorry I can't help you out over here. I hope you find another way to get information back and forth." "We have," he nodded. "But don't kid yourself; you're still helping out." He looked over at Antigua, "Keep her safe, that's all I ask. She's not a nutcase and she won't give you too much trouble but she can be a little hardheaded at times. Me, Lidia and Alee would take it as a personal favor if you get her back to us in one piece." "That's my job," I returned his nod. "Don't worry, as far as I'm concerned she's one of my girls now and if anyone gets her it'll be over my dead body." I suddenly realized what I'd said and started stammering, "I mean she's not one of my girls I mean she's one of the girls that are mine..." "That's okay, I know what you mean," he laughed. "Besides, believe me I have got more than I can handle right now," I sighed. "I am not looking for any more spouses." "Are you sure you don't want one slightly used sergeant?" he asked slyly. "Are you trying to kill me?" I asked rhetorically. "Ms Darlington is one hell of a woman and about as pretty as any man could hope to see but if I even hinted of such a thing ... Well, how long do you think it would take my four lovely brides to eviscerate me?" "I heard that, Boss!" Mike shouted over to us. "Just for that, I'm making the coffee tomorrow morning!" "Ah shit," he groaned. "She was listening in on the net. Fuck me! She makes the absolute worst coffee you ever had the misfortune of trying to chisel out of your cup." "I may cook dinner tomorrow too!" she shouted. With that both Lidia and Sumalee turned towards their husband and frowned. "But you I like," she said smiling at me. Then she batted her eyes and blew me a kiss. All four of my girl's heads swiveled like an anti-missile battery and locked on me. I could only shrug and hold up my hands in a helpless gesture. "Good. Now that I have the attention off me we can continue," he grinned. "Thanks for nothing," I huffed. "De nada," his grin widened. "But back on subject, there is more we hope you can do for us. Not right now but in the near future. Your ladies are too damn good to be playing second fiddle to Tink for long and I'm betting at the end of this tour or maybe the next, Mist is going to be headlining and a lot of it is going to be overseas. We're hoping you'll be our sort of secret ambassador without portfolio on some of these trips. To be honest, it doesn't even need to be that secret anymore. The gloves are starting to come off and we're not so worried if they know who we're talking to. In fact it might help to have them worry a little; makes them do stupid things." "How are things going in general?" I asked. "Good and bad," he rocked his hand back and forth. "We're set to take some seats in the House, enough to be a sizable minority anyway. The Senate, not so much but those are statewide elections and pretty tough to crack especially for your first slate of candidates. The good news is we're going to kill them in a lot of local elections: county, towns and cities. The vets have had a tendency to congregate and that puts a lot of horsepower behind our gals and guys at that level. "The bad news is the fuckers in New Washington are really starting to take notice and there has been talk of restricting entry onto the ballots for national elections. Silly shit like new parties or independents having to have petitions signed by at least 51% of registered voters to get on and other crap like that." "So you have to win the election before you can even get on the ballot," I whistled. "Can they do that?" "They can certainly try and they have their sock puppets in the judiciary, so maybe," he shrugged. "But that's the kind of stupid stuff I was talking about. They may be able to do it but can they enforce it? I doubt it. They think they have the cops and the active duty military in their back pocket but I can tell you right now they don't have as good a grip as they think they do. Sure there are some holdovers from the war that were worthless pieces of shit then and haven't gotten any better with time and they're trying to recruit as many of their own storm troopers as they can but I don't think it's going to do them any good. Unless they can find some crazy fuckers willing to nuke our own cities they aren't going to be able to play fast and loose for long." "It's beginning to sound serious," I blinked. "Serious as a heart attack," he nodded. "We make no bones about the fact we want to take over the government but we want to do it legally, through the ballot box and not the gun barrel. But if they start shooting, we're sure as hell going to shoot back. "You can see where having contacts and allies outside the States might be helpful," he finished. I was wondering what the fuck I'd gotten into. "I don't disagree with you," I answered slowly. "But I have more than myself to think of now. My girls ... My wives aren't even US citizens. I don't know if I can ask them to get involved with this kind of thing. I'd have to talk to them." "You do that," he nodded. "We trust you and if you trust them then that's good enough for us. Besides," he grinned, "hopefully it will never come to that. Our plans are to keep nibbling away at the stupid fuckers slowly enough they don't even notice they've had their legs gnawed off. But you talk to them and let me know what you decide. We have plenty of time. It's not like your girls haven't been in danger before, right? "By the way, what ever happened to that brother of Niamh's?" he asked casually. "I understand he was involved somehow in Rachael's kidnapping but he sort of disappeared. You didn't happen to have something to do with that, did you? Not that I blame you, mind, but probably not something you'd want your wife to know about. If you need any help covering some tracks or making sure a body doesn't get found..." "I didn't have anything to do with it," I laughed. "Connor is/was a total waste of oxygen but I wouldn't have done anything more than break a few bones which I think Ni would approve of. Unfortunately I never had a chance to get my hands on him. The family took care of that and I haven't got a clue as to what they did with him. I'll tell you what, you think you have women running your life it ain't nothing compared to the Geallaigh men. Their women are tougher than battle armor and merciless as a Frenchman looking for a Muslim. The Geallaigh women run that family with an iron fist and while I doubt they'd have the stupid fucker put down, I'm willing to bet wherever he is he's probably wishing they had." "Aren't all the women you're married to Geallaighs?" he asked with one raised eyebrow. "Yeah, and your point is... ?" I replied slowly. He just started laughing. ------- Connor stepped out of the mid-sized fishing boat onto the small dock and turned just in time to catch the duffel bag with his belongings thrown at him. Without a glance or a single word goodbye from the crew, the boat's engines revved and it sped away into the choppy sea. Sullenly Connor dropped the heavy bag and turned towards the foot of the dock. Standing there with his hands on his hips and a pipe stuck in his mouth was one of the largest men Connor had even seen and since he was used to full-sized Geallaigh men, that was saying something. He was studying Connor and from his expression he wasn't overly impressed with what he saw. "What ya looking at?" Connor sneered. "Ah don't know," the hulk replied the pipe clenched in his teeth barely moving. "I'm thinking maybe animal of some kind but ah can't rightly place it. Maybe if I study a bit more ah can ken yer position. Insect? Maybe ... Anyway, it's time we be getting yer things up to the house. Afterwards, we'll be looking around at yer new home." "Where on God's green earth are we and who the fuck are you?" Connor growled. "Now there'll be no need fer such language," the big man tisked and picked up the duffel with one hand with no apparent effort. The bag must have weighed over thirty kilos. Turning, he began trotting up a path leading away from the dock. "Ya'll find the ones doing the listening to ya prefer moderate tones. It helps the peace of yer soul also." "Me soul don't need no fucking peace," Connor muttered. "As fer who ah am," the man continued as if he hadn't heard. "Ah'm Thomas, yer second cousin on yer Auntie Brigid's side." "Ah'm Connor Geall..." Connor started. "Aye, ah know who ya are," Thomas interrupted. "And ah know why yer here." "It wasn't me fault!" Connor protested. "Ah was tricked! They can't blame me!" "Well, that's not fer me to say," Thomas chuckled. "Although ah understand yer sister Rachael would like to have a few words with ya. And those two fellers of hers ... Well, ah doubt they'd be looking to speak much but ah think ya might be understanding their meaning if they get a hold of ya. Then of course there's that Yank fellow yer sister Niamh married ... Not a man ah'd like to have angry with me, from what ah've heard. Right dangerous little fellow, so it seems. "All in all ya might be wanting to thank yer mother and aunts fer finding ya a place where ya can sit and peacefully contemplate yer life while staying a little bit out of sight," he turned and winked. They were approaching a small house, really more of a hut. There was a small wisp of smoke coming out of the fieldstone chimney and there was a small shed not too far away. "Did ya say that Niamh is married?" Connor asked in surprise. "Oh aye," Thomas shook his head thoughtfully. "Yer sister and that little Yank fellow along with yer cousins Leanne, Eimile and Shauna. Damnest thing ah ever heard of. Why a man would want more than one wife ... Not sensible, if ya ask me, but to each his own, ah suppose. Did the deed over in the States they say, but they'll be coming back after the tour for a formal ceremony and do; that'll be an invite to have, mark me words." "Married? The tour... ?" Connor mumbled dazed. "Oh aye, now where ya been?" Thomas looked at him with disapproval. "Locked in one room or another fer the past two fucking months," Connor spat. "Probably kept ya alive," Thomas chuckled. "But fer yer information yer sisters and cousins are touring with that little blonde lass. Now what was her name? Antaga ... No, Antique ... No, no..." "Antigua Delmar?" Connor whimpered. "Aye, the very one!" Thomas agreed happily. "And a right big to do about it is being raised back home, let me tell ya. Pity ya couldn't go with them." Connor moaned a little as they approached the tiny cottage. "So what the fuck am ah supposed to do here?" Connor grumbled as Thomas opened the door and tossed the bag inside the cottage. "Do? Ya watch the sheep is what ya do," Thomas smiled. He turned and walked out through the surrounding green pasture. "Know much about sheep?" he continued as Connor ran to keep up. "Well no matter. Plenty of books on sheep in the cot. Ya have to look after them every day. Very few animals alive are as dumb as a sheep; keep getting themselves stuck in places ya wouldn't believe." "So who else is here to watch with me? Other than yerself of course," Connor asked. "Oh, ah won't be here," Thomas assured him. "Ah've done me time and its back to the world fer me. Ya'll be here by yerself, but don't worry; ya'll get used to it soon enough. The first few months are the worst. After that it's kind of ... peaceful." "Ah'll be alone?" Connor wailed. "Well, yer cousin Sean is right next door," Thomas pointed to a small speck of green on the horizon. "But ah wouldn't try to visit. It's about ten kilometers and the water gets a bit rough and a mite cool. But ya can wave to each other on a clear day," Thomas added helpfully. Connor suddenly stopped walking, dropped to his knees and started sobbing. Edited by Morgan ------- The End ------- Posted: 2010-12-02 Last Modified: 2011-03-31 / 10:54:52 pm ------- http://storiesonline.net/ -------