Zette's Storybook

One

Baby looked across the desk at Alan and smiled brightly. "There's no way in hell," she said.

The answer apparently didn't surprise him. He nodded a couple times and flipped through the papers again. "We need your help," he said. "You're the only one who could do this. All I want is for you to get in touch with Apache. Is that too much to ask?"

"You sent her on this mission. You get in touch with her."

"We can't!" His voice rose a little this time, and a bit of color came to his cheeks. Unfortunately, the color was blue, reminding Baby that her boss was not human. "She's avoided everyone we sent, and they've ended up in rather odd, if not embarrassing, situations. We need to get in touch with her, Morning Glory. This is very important."

"I am not going to risk my life to tell Apache to call The Office. It's only been a couple months since that incident in Africa --"

"I asked you never to mention that again." His right eye twitched this time. That was a new reaction.

"Sorry. But the point is that Apache has a long memory. She told me she didn't want to see me again any time soon. I take soon to mean any time until she gets in touch with me."

"I'll give you a bonus."

"What? An early retirement with a twenty-four hour guard? You can't buy me, Alan."

"Look," he said and leaned over the desk toward her. She hadn't expected him to become so serious. "I have inadvertently put Apache in danger. I need you to get to her. No one else can."

Baby shifted in her chair, her eyes narrowing slightly. "What's going on?"

"You're not going to like it."

"I didn't like it when you called me at midnight in LA and told me to get to New York immediately. This had better be a good story."

"Well, it's a short one. I sent Apache to Japan to protect a reclusive young Japanese scientist whose work in matter transmission could be a major breakthrough in a science we don't even understand well. Only I found out last night that the -- a -- opposition has had Mishi Tanaka in their hands for several weeks. Whomever your sister is protecting, he's not the scientist."

"Ah. Yes." She blinked several times and thought about going to Apache with this news.

"When Apache took the job, she said if you showed up she'd come back here and settle it with me," Alan admitted. He looked, reasonably enough, nervous at the idea.

"Well, you are taking a chance then, aren't you?" Baby said with her best smile. He pulled back quickly. "You have to be pretty desperate to take this sort of chance. All right. I'll go."

"Here's the file with everything we know." Alan shoved the file across the desk toward her like he was offering food to a wild tiger. Usually people only reacted that way to Apache. She found it gratifying. "I'll have a plane ready by the time you reach the airport."

"Private?" she said, standing.

"Seems wiser these days. You and your sister are dangerous company. I don't see any reason to put someone else in danger. You can pilot it, right?"

"Yes, no problem."

"But you can't drive a car."

"Oh, I can drive one. I just don't have a license, and Apache says it's not safe." She picked up the file. "You know you may have to deal with both of us before this is over, right?"

"I know. I had considered stepping up my personal security, but that would only make it more fun for the two of you."

Baby laughed. He knew them too well.



She flew the plane back to LA, slept for a few hours, and then headed on to find her sister. Baby had a lot of time to think on the way to Japan. She read through Alan's report twice during the last hour.

She wouldn't want to take this sort of news to her sister under any circumstances. On the other hand, having learned the truth, she couldn't ignore it -- that Apache would never forgive either. Damned if she did, and damned if she didn't.

It took her only a few hours to track down Apache's general location since she knew her sister's peculiarities far better than any one else at FUTURE ever would. With a good amount of makeup, Baby could almost blend into the crowd at the Tokyo marketplace where she'd learned her sister frequented.

A short black wig covered her auburn hair, and tape at her temples narrowed her eyes, while dark contacts disguised their gray tint. No one looked twice at her, even when she spoke. Language was one of her few true skills, and she would have enjoyed this game except the quarry wouldn't be happy to be found.

The limp would give her away too quickly. She tried to stay in groups of people in hopes of seeing Apache first, though by the end of the first day she just hoped the meeting went quickly and remained bloodless.

This felt like the game they often play between assignments -- Hunter and Hunted. The one who lost in points had to pay the other's way to the Bahamas for a week. It passed the time and kept them on their toes. Right now that worked for Baby. She knew Apache's ways.

And it was going well except for one troubling little problem. Baby knew someone else was looking for her sister. She had seen the two men twice this morning, and might have believed they were only tourists if she hadn't noted the guns beneath their too neat sports jackets. And she'd gotten close enough to see them flash a picture of Apache at a street vendor who shook his head vigorously in denial and shut down the shop in their faces. That should have been a sign to the men that the shopkeeper knew Apache.

Apache doubtlessly realized the two men looked for her in the market. They were not subtle -- nor were they FUTURE agents. They didn't look like the sort of enemy agents they'd been dealing with lately, either. In fact, if she hadn't known any better, Baby would have sworn that they were CIA. But why would they be looking for Apache?

Well, hell. Why wouldn't they? The two hadn't had a nice straightforward assignment in the last year. She began to think that working for the aliens might be a bit more excitment than even she liked.

And she saw Apache.

As casually as she could, Baby turned and slid into the shadows of a booth while she watched her sister. Apache walked alone, moving with uncommon haste from one vendor to the next, buying various bits of food and supplies. She stopped often to look over her shoulder, obviously expecting someone to come after her.

So....

Anyone else watching would have thought Apache looked nervous, finding herself on a difficult assignment, and suspecting trouble. Baby knew better. Apache baited the opposition into thinking she was vulnerable -- and it worked. The two men followed Apache back out of the market area. Baby rather looked forward to seeing what type of trap her sister had set -- though she intended not too get too close.

When Apache turned off the main thoroughfare into a maze of alleys, the two fools followed without pause. Baby stayed back at the opening until they had turned a corner. The two had never once looked back to see if someone followed them. Fools. Baby kept as much in the shadows as possible as she followed, her hand on the knife at her side.

The alley twisted and snaked through the poorer sections of Tokyo. Now and then Baby caught a glimpse of the men ahead of her. They appeared nervous at the hostile stares of the natives, but by now they had no choice but to go on. She even caught sight of Apache twice when her sister had to slow down or lose the two men.

When Apache led them to a deserted stretch of alley, Baby knew to prepare for a trap, even if the other two didn't realize it yet. They had wandered from mid-afternoon until sunset, and in the shifting shadows of dusk Apache would be at her best.

Baby found a rough section of wall and scrambled to the top and inched her way along the foot wide top, watching for a sign of trouble below. She had chosen the far wall where her shadow fell behind her instead of into the alley. By the time she reached a good spot, Apache had already taken down one of the men, and had the other cornered. She seemed to be having a very good time of it, too. Apache held her knife left handed, and had hold of the man by his now torn and dirtied sports jacket. Apache really despised sports jackets.

"Now, either you tell me why you were following me, or I'll get the answers by dissecting your brain. And believe me, I know the people who can do that kind of work."

"Why the hell do you think I was following you?" he demanded.

"I think you followed me because you're an idiot. I suspect you have a different answer," she said, and casually sliced off a couple buttons from the sleeve of the jacket.

"We came to find out where you're keeping Mishi Tanaka and to get him out," the man said.

"Why?"

"Because it looks bad, an American kidnapping a top Japanese scientist. People are doing their best to keep this from becoming a huge international incident. Take us to Tanaka --"

"Not on your life, so to speak. I work for FUTURE. My job is to protect Mishi, not kidnap him." She shoved the man away and he hit the wall hard enough to stun him. "I don't know what you think is going on, but I suggest you check with my office in New York." She sheathed her knife and stepped back away. "Don't come after me again. I'll consider anyone who tries to take Tanaka as the enemy."

Apache reached into the guy's jacket and withdrew his gun, emptying the clip and handing it back to him. Then she turned and casually stepped over his still unconscious companion. Baby grinned -- and then saw the man reach into the back of his jacket and pull out another small gun.

This might be her only chance to do something to get in good with Apache, since she had little else going for her at this point. She pulled her knife and leapt from the wall, landing a yard to the right of the man, and in a nearly perfect line between him and Apache. She startled him so much with her appearance that he fired.

The bullet burnt against the left arm and bounced off the wall. Angry now, Baby let go with her knife. It caught him across the arm, almost exactly the same spot, and he went down with a cry of surprise and pain.

Apache had turned back and stopped by her sister, frowning. "I knew he was going to do that," she said. "You didn't have to scare him."

"I know, but I needed something to look good," she said. She went to the man, examined the wound -- which wasn't much more than a cut, and retrieved her knife. "Hi. I'm Morning Glory Sangre. Maybe you've heard of me?"

"They said she was working alone this time!"

"Never believe what you hear from other spies. Haven't you learned that yet?" She picked up the second gun and tossed it back to her sister who leaned casually against the wall. "Can we go somewhere private to talk?"

"I don't know," Apache said. She had pretty much destroyed the cute little gun in those few moments. "Do you have anything to say to me that I want to hear, Baby?"

"Not that you want to hear, no," Baby confessed. "But I think you better listen anyway."

Apache stared, still leaning against the wall.

"Look at it this way -- you'll ruin my reputation as a courier if you don't get the message they sent me to deliver. You don't want that on my faultless record, now do you?"

Apache grinned and pushed away from the wall. That smile could have meant anything at all. Baby just hoped for the best.

"Hey -- you can't leave us here!" the guy shouted, shaking his unconscious companion.

"You drew a gun on me, idiot," Apache said. She tossed the ruined little piece of junk back to him. "Find your own way home."



Two


Apache wondered what her sister was going to tell her, but she didn't ask. Not yet. They took the subway line to the Hama Rikyu Garden, with the skyscrapers of the Shiodome district glittering over them. The evening had turned dark and muggy -- and the sounds of the city grew louder even in the solitude of the park. Apache led her sister to one of the small tidewater ponds and settled there.

"So talk to me," Apache finally said, leaning back on her elbow.

"Up front and to the point -- Mishi isn't Mishi."

She sat back up. "Pardon?"

"According to Alan, the real Mishi is in the hands of ... others. The report says they're holding him in the Gobi desert somewhere."

"Mishi isn't..." Her voice off while her mind worked through this little bit of information.

"What are you going to do about it?" Baby asked.

"Why, you want in on it?"

"Why not? I'm all the way here, and it would be a shame to leave before the holiday. We've worked just about every one of them so far this year."

"What holiday?"

"Some patriot you are. Tomorrow is the Fourth of July. When do the fireworks start?"

"As soon as I get my hands on that little imposter. Come on."

"This is going to be fun!" Baby exclaimed as she jumped to her feet. "Finally, an enemy who we know is on the other side!"

"You don't seem to worry about those little details too often," Apache pointed out as she stood. "After all, you're the one who knifed the CIA agent."

"What CIA agent? Did he ever identify himself as such? We had no idea he was CIA. Remember that, Apache."

"Right. Come on. I'm going to kill the guy."

They started out at a brisk walk, but Apache noted her sister had started limping badly and for some reason took pity on her. Or maybe she didn't want to go back to the apartment and face -- whoever it was she had been living with for the last few weeks.

"I wonder what the hell this is all about," Baby said, as though echoing Apache's own thoughts. "It doesn't make sense, someone grabbing Mishi and replacing him just so you could take in the wrong person."

"And why didn't FUTURE send someone to tell me?" Apache asked.

"They...did," Baby said. She stopped and looked at her sister with growing worry. "Three other agents. They all ended up in unusual situations that got them bounced back to their home countries. You didn't arrange that?"

"No."

"But someone knew they were FUTURE agents, and didn't want you to meet up with them. Hell, Apache. I know you aren't giving secrets away, but it's going to look that way to other people. And why is this guy letting you wander around, knowing you could meet up with anyone --"

"Damn!" Apache made a quick search of her clothing. In a moment she pulled a small transmitter from her collar and held it out to her sister. She felt like an idiot. "I never mistrusted Mishi. He seemed so sincere."

"He knows we're on to him."

"You better run pretty damn fast and far, Mishi," she said into the device before she dropped it on the ground and stomped on it with enough glee to win a look of worry from people nearby.

"Well, aren't you glad I came along when I did?" Baby said with a bright smile.

"You'd be better off not reminding me why I didn't have you along to begin with," Apache said, shaking her head in warning.

"Hey, I wasn't the one who crashed the plane in Africa," she said. "Do you hear me complaining?"



By the time they reached the apartment he had already left, of course. He had even taken the time to leave a note, much to Apache's annoyance. She sat on the bed and read it aloud to her sister, who carefully watched out the window -- probably so Apache couldn't see her grinning

"Dearest Morning Star -- so sorry that our time together came to such an abrupt end, but in our line of business, short relationships are often for the best. I hope we meet again soon, and under as pleasant as circumstances. Love always, your Mishi."

Apache looked up at her sister who wisely refrained from making any comments. "The bastard didn’t even tell me his real name."

Baby looked around the room -- the flowers and candles on the table, the single bed behind the rice paper wall. She wasn't stupid. And she wasn't stupid enough to say anything about it, either.

"What do we do now?"

"I have an assignment to complete. I was sent to protect Mishi Tanaka, and I'm going to do it, even if I have to go get him from someone else first."

"He's in China. Gobi Desert. Is that going to make a difference to you?"

"No."

"Fine. What do you want me to do?" Baby asked as she took off the wig and began working her hair back out of the coil. She even washed the makeup off while Apache sat quietly, shredding the flowers from the vase one at a time. When Baby turned around she looked herself, and ready for just about anything.

Alan was crazy to put them together again, especially in a situation like this one.

"I want you to stay here and cover for me. You might even draw out the fake Mishi if you can. But I want the pleasure of maiming him, understand?"

"Absolutely," she said, lifting both hands. "What do I tell Alan?"

"Whatever you please. The truth might not hurt. Let him stay awake for a few nights, worrying."

"Like he hasn't done that from the moment he gave me the plane."

Apache nodded and stood, gathering a few of her own belongings. She checked them very carefully, but whatever his name was apparently hadn't left any more bugs -- which was a good thing, because if there had been one, she would have shoved it up his ass next time they met.

"You do realize that it's not the Chinese who have Mishi, right?" Baby said as they headed for the door.

"Yeah, I kind of figured that out. Van?"

"They're not really saying in the reports," Baby said. "But that's whom I would suspect."

"Fine. I would like to know why the CIA -- or whomever those guys work for -- think I kidnapped Mishi Tanaka. I don't need these kinds of complications.

"I'll see what I can find out," Baby said. "I left a private plane at the airport Do try not to crash it, okay? This one is on my tab."

"I'll do my best. Besides, I don't want to swim back to Japan."

"So you won't crash it before you get back."

"Right."

Baby nodded. They left the apartment together, wandering out into the busy streets. Apache thought about taking a cab, but Baby didn't appear to mind walking right now. And she was uncommonly, or wisely, quiet.

At midnight, after a very late dinner, they parted company. Apache headed for the airport, more than willing to put herself up against whoever tried to stop her. She wanted...

Damn him. She'd trusted him. There were very few people she trusted in the world, and her Mishi had been one of them. She looked out at the back window of the cab as it pulled away from the curb and felt a strange pang at leaving Baby behind. She could trust Baby.

She sat back and closed her eyes.

"Someday we're going to regret these days together," he had said, whispering in her ear.

"Regret?"

"Ah, forgive me. Sometimes I still have mistakes with my English."

Damn him... But she did regret. For very many reasons.



Three


Baby wandered back to her hotel, arriving about 3AM, worn and ready for a rest before her next step in the assignment. Someone at the front desk handed her a message from The Office. She went down to the phone bank and called in, hoping this went quickly and she could get clear of the area before the phone exploded.

Alan answered immediately, without even going through the usual check in.

"My," Baby said. "When did I start rating a human -- or whatever?"

"I always feel it wise to talk directly with you and your sister. You confuse computers and frighten secretaries. Where have you been? I've been trying to reach you for hours. Why won't you or your sister carry a cell phone?"

"Too damn dangerous," Baby said. "They explode on us. All phones explode on us, so you better speak quickly."

"I just wanted to know how you're doing!"

"Me? I'm fine thank you. But Apache is pissed as hell."

"You found her! Excellent. What about the man she was protecting?"

"He disappeared before we could get back to her hotel. I am beginning to think his entire job was just to keep her occupied and make the rest of us focus on that rather than the problem with the real Mishi Tanaka."

"You could be right. Let me talk to Apache."

"I can't. She's not here."

"Where is she?"

"My guess would be somewhere over Peking about now, on her way to the Gobi desert to get the real Mishi back."

"Gods of the worlds, tell me you're lying!"

"All right. I'm lying."

"Oh Gods, Oh Gods. Apache against the Van. They don't have a chance. She'll start an intergalactic war... Why is she doing this to me?"

"Pride mostly," Baby said. The phone started to buzz. "You know -- you sent her out on a job, and she's determined to make certain she gets it done right this time. That's what you get when you put the Sangres on a case. That is what you pay us for."

"No. I pay you to drive me stark raving mad. I better get in touch with the Council and warn them that there are going to be ... problems. Try to stay in touch, Morning Glory. May I ask what you are doing?"

"Looking for the fake Mishi and find out why other people think Apache had kidnapped the real one."

"Do they? How odd."

"That's what I thought. But remember, we had no idea they were CIA when I knifed the one."

He made a little keening sound that matched the growing buzz of the phone. Baby could honestly say she hadn't enjoyed something this much in a long time. The assignment looked better and better by the minute.

She hung up the phone.

And someone shoved a gun into the middle of her back. "All right, honey -- where's your friend hidden Mishi Tanaka?"

She looked over her shoulder into the face of the two CIA agents. Neither looked happy.

Neither was she. She reached back and grabbed the pistol out of the man's hand, and shoved it up against his nose. "Don't ever call me honey."

Then the burning and exploding phone took their attention, and Baby left again, whistling happily.



Four


Apache bought a camel. It wasn't her favorite mode of transportation, but when in Rome -- or the Gobi -- one had to go native. Camel, robes -- she had a temptation to buy a yurt as well. A good summerhouse, she thought, take it on vacation wherever she wanted to go.

Where she did not want to go was the middle of the damned Gobi desert in summer. She looked toward the distant snow capped mountains with longing, and wondered if Baby was having a better time in Tokyo. That was her curse -- that she often suspected her sister had a better time than she did.

On the fourth night she finally found what she had been searching for. Not the Van, but rather a group of goat herding nomads who reluctantly made her welcome. Reluctant, mostly, because they knew her.

Mark sat across the fire from her. He'd been an agent. So had all the rest of the tribe. Two years ago they had all quit and moved to the Gobi Desert to take up goat herding after being on a case with the Sangres. No one found this particularly surprising.

"I'm looking for something odd," she told.

"What? The UFO out in the Shamo?" he asked.

"Yes, that would be it."

"I'll draw you a map. You can leave tonight."

"Is that anyway to treat someone who pulled you from that wrecked car in Germany?"

"You didn't. Baby did. You wrecked the car."

"Oh. Well, anyway. Is that how you treat the sister of the person who dragged you out of the wrecked car?"

His left eye started to develop that tick again. "And she was the one who put the python in the bathtub and forgot to tell me."

"You should have known better than just step in to a bathtub, especially if you're sharing a room with Baby. Did you ever get feeling back in that leg?"

His right arm began to twitch. He grabbed hold of it. The others had all retired to other places. She had heard some mention of moving to Tibet.

"I'll draw you a map, give you supplies, buy you that yacht you always wanted... just leave me in peace, Apache."

"Deal," she said. "I'll send you the brochures on the yacht when I get back to civilization."

He nodded emphatically and stood, hurrying away for paper. It was so nice to work with reasonable people.



Her luck held -- all bad -- on this case. The Van had set up in the great waste of the sand desert for their work. She had grown damned tired of sand in everything, and even Clyde, the camel, looked perturbed by the forth day. She had stopped riding him and had taken to dragging him out over the desert. She wasn't sure why. Maybe just so some other creature could be miserable with her, since she hadn't brought her sister along.

But she knew she had gotten close to the Van. She could smell them.

Literally. Apparently the Van had a fondness for melted rubber and tar sandwiches. The scent carried quite a ways in the otherwise nearly sterile environment. She appreciated the ability to track them, though. Wandering in circles with the damned camel was not her idea of a good time.

As she topped the next rise she finally saw her quarry. The top of the UFO showed clearly in the last light of sunset, along with the Van sitting on it, a nice bright green in the fading light. Apache sat down. So did the camel. Time to wait for dark.



Five

She had avoided the (I didn't know they were CIA, really) men for five days. It had been fun, leading them all over the Islands, and then on a brief jaunt to Australia. But she came back to Japan. Apache would be showing up soon, and she had to get on with the business of tracking down the faux Mishi.

But...

Well, she got unlucky. Her plane got held up by weather, or maybe a flock of samurai -- she had trouble translating the last bit -- and the men managed to get in before her. She didn't know it. So when she picked up her luggage and stepped out they grabbed her and shoved her into a car. Handcuffed, not that it would really stop her, but they didn't know it. One sat inside, his arm still in a sling. My. Not happy.

Well, at least now Apache wouldn't feel so bad about her own stupidity.

The second man slid into the car beside her. Two more took the front seat. He'd picked up a few recruits.

"If you tell us where Tanaka is, we might be persuaded to just quietly put you out of the country, honey," the man who had just sat down said.

Baby bared her teeth, and he tried to back away, despite the fact they had handcuffed Baby, and they had their guns drawn. "If you call me honey one more time --"

"You'd be wise not to threaten us, honey. Things could get worse."

"I doubt it," she said, and stomped on the man's toes.

He howled and jabbed the gun in her side, but didn't shoot. She'd rather counted on it, and didn't mind the bruise. She grinned. He started to say something, then shut up and glared instead. It was a win.

But a few moments later the driver suddenly took a sharp left, winning curses from all three in the back seat.

"We're being followed!" he explained.

"You could have said that before you turned, you know," Baby said. "It's in the rules book that explaining before you do something is often allowable, even in our line of work."

"Who's following us?" the man with the gun demanded, shoving it into her side again.

Baby looked over her shoulder and saw a small car darting in and out of traffic and having no trouble at all keeping up with the lumbering caddie these people drove.

"Well? Who is it?"

"Damned if I know. Last I heard Apache was still in China."

"China?" the man said. He had a bit of a squeak to his voice.

"What are we going to do, Sylvester?" the driver asked. He turned sharply again. The car protested with a loud wail.

"Go on to the safe house," the man with the gun replied. "If her friends are following us, we can make a clean sweep and clear this fiasco up. You put yourself against the wrong people when you kidnapped Tanaka."

"We didn't. I am a FUTURE agent. You can check my credentials."

"We already did. Aside from the fact that your organization doesn't look legit, are we supposed to believe that you have a name liked Morning Glory Sangre? What kind of fools do you think we are?"

"Is that an essay question or multiple choice?"

"You can cut the cute crap. Until I hear from my superiors, you are going to be our guest. And we're going to do some talking about your work, your organization, and what you did with Tanaka."

"You've seen too many movies."

"Maybe you haven't seen enough. Sometimes they're quite inventive in how they get information from young women."

"I don't believe this," she said and leaned back, closing her eyes. "Wake me up when we reach reality."



She napped for a little bit.

"We're here," the driver said. "There's the gate."

"Drive on through. We set up a trap on the other side. Let's see what kind of accomplices our guest has."

"Yes, let's," Baby said.

They went through the gate, and drove a few hundred yards through the cluttered underbrush of a garden gone mutant before they reached the abandoned house. Sylvester threw open the car door and dragged Baby out of the car and shoved her toward the house.

The second car came up the drive. In the dim light she could see only one occupant, and she had to wonder how many others he'd left off at the gate. Time would tell. She could see shadows easing along the underbrush already, coming closer. She slowed Sylvester down.

"Come on, honey."

The bushes exploded with a half dozen black clothed, masked men who screamed at the top of their lungs as they attacked. Baby spun and kicked Sylvester squarely in the knee. He went down with a cry of pain.

"Don't call me honey again, Sylvester!"

"You dislocated my knee!"

"Yeah, and keep in mind where the next kick is going to go. Toes first, knee second -- I'm working my way upward."

He blanched as she reached down and did a quick search for the keys to the handcuffs. She removed the cuffs and wrapped them around his wrists before tossing the key into the bush. By then CIA agents had started coming out of the house, and Baby feared the men in black could hold them back. She bowed once to Sylvester, and hurried toward the car parked, and still running, in the driveway. One nice looking young oriental man waited there with his arms held out in a gesture of peace and surrender.

"Do I get to guess who you are?" Baby asked. "Apache's Mishi, right?"

"And I would have known you anywhere, Baby," he said with a bright smile. "Apache spoke so often of you."

"So where does that leave me?"

"You can stay here, or leave with me."

"What do you want with me?"

"Protection. I know Apache will come for me, and I think I would like to have you between us for that first meeting. I must speak to her, to try and make amends."

"And you have this mistaken belief that she won't kill me to get to you?"

"Not entirely. I hope only that you'll slow her down long enough that I can get the upper hand, at least for a moment."

"Well, that's straightforward enough. I knew I'd get back to reality pretty soon. Let's go."

Apache's friend nodded. He whistled and the black-clad attackers began to pull back. Baby and he took one car, and they took the other. The (I swear I didn't know they were CIA) agents were going to have a long walk back to town if they couldn't find another vehicle. Baby suspected they would be even less happy the next time she met up with them.



Six


"Stay here. Sit. Stay." Apache patted the camel on the head as she stood. It tried to bite her fingers. "If I'm not back by dawn, you're on your own."

It flopped down in the sand, looking like a forlorn puppy dog. She had, she admitted, developed a liking for the animal. She hadn't had a pet since the unfortunate water dragon... but really, she shouldn't think it unfortunate. Earle seemed to be doing rather well, there in the FUTURE HQ, with all his offspring and mates. Mutating, in fact, according to FUTURE scientists.

Maybe she'd take the camel back with her.

Apache rolled down the dune and toward the hatch. The person who had been sitting outside had gone back in a few minutes before. Apache crawled closer, wondering what kind of surveillance the group had. Perhaps they felt safe enough, being out here in the middle of nowhere. They probably just didn't like people -- or maybe they just didn't like Terrans. The lack of anyone watching might mean they even thought it unnecessary, though Apache would have thought they'd known better by now. After all, they had dealt with the Sangres before.

The door appeared to be flush with the ground, and she could find no handle, or even indentation. When she dug in the soft sand around it, she found a long tube leading down toward what appeared to be a larger craft. Fine. She tore two buttons from the bottom of her shirt, pushed them into the little hole she'd dug, and rolled away as quickly as she could. This was no time for half measures.

The ground conversed, tossing her a few feet farther. She saw the camel lift his head, and drop it back down again. Wise animal. When she looked back, the sand had been blasted away from the tube, which didn't even appear to be dented. Nor had the door opened. She cursed in a couple different languages and went back to see if she could find someway to pry it open --

The door snapped open as she stopped in front of it. The head of a green skinned, black haired woman poked out and looked at her reproachfully.

"You could have knocked first you know. We certainly would have let you in, Morning Star Sangre," she said, smiling to show a row of razor sharp teeth. Then she pulled a slim black weapon with a glowing handle and pointed it at her.

"That's not polite, you know," Apache said. And she launched herself straight at the woman.

They both fell. Apache had a brief glimpse of a ladder as they tumbled past it. Then she landed on top of the alien woman who didn't move at all after that. She grabbed the weapon and spun to her feet, only to find another woman close enough to bite -- and it looked like she planned to. Apache pulled back in haste and aimed the weapon.

"Have you had your rabies shots yet?" she demanded.

"You are an untried warrior; your skills are childish and immature."

"I'm sure that was meant as an insult, but I really could care less since obviously you're my prisoner and not the other way around," she said and took her weapon as well. "Where is Mishi Tanaka?"

"You will never leave this ship alive."

"You may not have heard, but my sister and I have a habit of not dying when people expect us to. Annoying, I know. But that's just life, so to speak. Now where is Mishi?"

"It is an honor to die in the service of the Van Army."

"Fine. I'll find him myself."

She glanced down at the weapon. The trigger went two ways -- red and blue. Hoping that the Van eyes saw the same spectrum as she did -- and that they used the same sort of color cues -- she shoved the trigger over to blue and fired. A light blue glow enveloped her enemy, whose eyes went wide for a moment before she crumpled.

Curious, Apache aimed at the wall and pushed the trigger over to red. A head-sized piece of the hull melted. Sand began to shift in.

"My, that's going to be a problem for them to fix," she said. She searched the Van's body and found a yoyo and a harmonica. She found that very disturbing and put them back.

The hall led in only one direction and that worried her as well since she could see no one else at all. Maybe they were off watching Casablanca or something.

The hall curved into another. She shot two Van there -- both blue light specials, though one of them tempted her to red when she burnt a hole in Apache's robe. They obviously stood guard before another hall, and that helped a great deal. She found the row of cells, only one of which appeared to be occupied. Unfortunately the door was locked. She examined the device and realized that it needed a palm print. Hers would not do. She went back, grabbed the smaller of the Van she had just dropped, and dragged her back, shoving the woman's hand in the appropriate place. The door snapped open. She rolled the Van back out of the way and stepped partially inside, making certain she kept the door open.

A young man lay on a bench against the wall on the far side of the cell. He sat up slowly, brushing long black hair back from his face. For a moment they regarded each other in silence.

"You're the wrong color for an alien, aren't you?" he asked.

"Huh?" She looked down at the gun he stared at and then back at him. "Oh. I'm Apache Sangre. I'm here to rescue you."

"You're who?" he said, swinging his legs off the bench and standing.

"I'm here with Ben Kenobi -- haven't I seen this movie before?"



Seven


"Her plane will be here in about five minutes," Seji said. "The report said they got delayed by an air sick camel."

Baby nodded. Seji didn't look particularly surprised by talk of camels either, but then he did know Apache very well.

"You could still run," Baby offered. It sounded odd since he held the gun placed gently at her back as they sat on the bench outside the terminal. Not that she believed he would use it, but they both had a ruse to play now. "She's not going to be happy to see you, and it's not wise to cross her when she's in that sort of mood."

"I have to tell her the truth," he said. "It was my job, and I regret that part. But I did not work for the Van, at least. We, too, were trying to find the real Mishi. We thought your people had him."

"My people? Future? Terrans? The tribe?"

"Yes." He stood and helped her to her feet, always polite at least, even with the gun. "I had a job to do."

"Don't tell me. Apache is the one you'll have to convince."

He looked worried and Baby smiled. Seji knew what he faced and he had every reason to be concerned. Baby had to admit, she had come to like him over the last week, though obviously not quite as well as her sister had liked him.

Baby went along with no trouble. Actually, she couldn't wait to find out how this meeting went. Granted, she would rather not have had such a front row seat, as it were, but still... it was going to be interesting.

Seji and Baby spotted Apache as she came out of the building in the company of a very nice looking, longhaired young man. Baby sighed at her sister's luck. It only figured that the real Mishi Tanaka was even better looking than the fake one. They came face-to-face. Apache's eyes grew large and she made a sound that sent the real Mishi Tanaka back a step. Seji held his ground.

"I told him he was crazy to try and talk to you," Baby offered.

"And you did such an excellent job of finding him for me," she said. "Why do I get the impression he has a gun on you?"

"A mere technicality," Baby said.

"What gave it away?" Seji said.

"The fact that she hasn't broken both your arms for taking hold of her. Look -- what is your name, anyway?"

"Seji is all you are going to get from me. I have friends and family to protect."

"Not on this world," Baby said.

"That is but a small matter where the Sangres are concerned. Shall we go somewhere less busy? I should like to discuss our futures. I propose a trade -- Baby for Mishi. And I can guarantee that I mean him no harm, Apache. We just want him where we can watch him."

"I've had about as much watching as I like," Mishi said.

"We are not the Van. At least listen to our offer," he said.

"Let's go," Apache said. "You have a car, Seji?"

He nodded, signaling her and Mishi ahead of him. Apache walked by her sister, giving her a glare.

"You know, this really isn't my fault. You're the one who got him involved in the first place. He wouldn't have even known me, otherwise. And since when do you tell everyone you work with our life story?"

She flashed her teeth and moved up to walk with Mishi.

"And you think I live dangerously," Seji said.

They turned a corner toward a parking lot --

"Everyone freeze! We have you covered."

CIA agents -- Rather, some men (I didn't know they were CIA), leapt out from around cars. Sylvester limped quite a bit, but he compensated for that with the submachine gun he carried. He did not look pleased. Apache shook her head and looked at Baby.

"This is not my fault. Seji's people had been handling this end." She looked at him, scowling. He had, finally taken the gun out of her back, and slipped it into her pocket.

"You aren't getting away this time," Sylvester said. He grabbed Baby and slapped a handcuff on one hand. "We want Tanaka!"

"So you have me," Seji said, stepping forward.

Sylvester paused in his work and looked at Seji and then at Mishi with uncertainty. "How can I know which one of you is Mishi Tanaka?"

"I am insulted!" Seji exclaimed. "To think that you would mistake one of Japan's top scientists for this long haired rebel!"

"Oh, of course," Sylvester said. "Is he in on this as well, Mr. Tanaka? We are going to take these two back to the US where they'll face charges for their actions here. But if there was a native involved --"

"I just met her on the plane," Mishi said, looking very nicely appalled. "What sort of trouble is this? I want nothing to do with it, orgy or not --"

"You really have to get that libido of yours under control, Apache," Baby said.

Apache growled.

"Come on, honey --"

He knew his mistake. He tried to back away, but Baby moved damn fast and the aim of the kick was perfect. As he crumpled, face a pasty white, she grabbed the machinegun from his hands. The others backed away very quickly. One took position by a concrete pillar and aimed his own gun.

"They're loose!" Seji screamed. "Don't let them take me again!"

He took off running, cutting between Baby and the weapon. The agents, torn between taking Apache and Baby or saving their quarry, took a moment too long to decide. Apache caught one at the knees, sending him crashing into the one with the gun, which fired up into the air. Apache took it away from him.

"You don't get this back until you learn how to handle it properly," she told him. Then she spun and put a nice kick to the head of the man coming up behind her. The others, wisely, decided to go after Mishi.

Sirens started wailing, and heading their way.

"We better get out of here before the cops show up," Apache said. "Even if we are on the side of right and all that, I don't want to try and explain why they are after us."

"Why don't you try to explain it to me?" Mishi asked. He leaned casually against a pillar, watching as they destroyed guns.

"Do you have a car?" Apache asked.

"Seji's," she said, and tossed a set of keys to her sister. "I lifted them from him before he took off running. I don't think he'll mind though. He still has Sylvester's car."

"I hope Seji doesn't think this evens things up," Apache said. She took Mishi by the arm and led him away. He looked quite used to it.

"How did things go in the Gobi?"

"I think I upset the Van."

"Oh, gee. That's too bad."

Apache grinned and nodded as Baby indicated the car.

"Here," Apache said, handing her an odd weapon with a black body and a glowing handle. "You're going to like this. Always use the blue setting, though, unless you want to punch a hole through something."

"Ah."

Mishi slid into the back seat. He glanced from one to the other with a look of worry. Baby slid in the front and turned around while her sister started the car.

She held out her hand. "We haven't been introduced. I'm Morning Glory Baby Sangre."

"God."

"You know, I don't know why so many people say that when I introduce myself," Baby said. "I don't think God and I look anything alike."

Mishi slid down in the seat.

They passed a cop standing at the edge of the building, his gun drawn. Baby rolled down the window, aimed and fired, enveloping him in a glowing blue light before he fell. Everyone else ran.

"It does have a certain amount of flair," Baby agreed.

They passed Seji and his (honest to God, I had no IDEA!) CIA pursuers. He waved and blew a kiss to Apache. Baby grabbed the wheel of the car and managed to keep her from running him over.



Eight


Apache leaned back in the chair and waited.

"I have a 139 page report on you two from the CIA."

"What does the CIA want with us, Alan?" Apache asked, all innocence.

He looked from her to Baby. "You can't pull that with me. I know what you two have done. I have complaints from Japan, China, and the Van."

"Tell them they shouldn't try to bite."

He started to say something and changed his mind. "We were talking about the CIA agents."

"What agents?" Baby asked.

"Don't you start. You knew they were CIA. You knifed one. The other is going to limp for a long time, and... well, he's not a well man. We are a secret organization. We need to keep a low profile --"

"Look, we completed the mission. You have Mishi, and you owe us double time for working yet another holiday. If you don't want to know about the complaints the CIA has against us, don't read them," Apache said and stood.

Alan looked at her, looked at the notebook on his desk -- and shoved it off into the trashcan.

"Is there anything else?" Baby asked as she stood.

"No. Go. I'll call if I need you, but don't expect that to be for a long, long time. Go!"

"Mishi almost has his teleporter perfected," Apache said. "He's been explaining to us how it works. It'll be good to have the time off. There's so much to learn."

Alan looked very pale when they left. And he had started mumbling in that other language again.

Their work was done. Now they just had to get Apache's camel home.


The End