Incoming Read online

  Incoming

  Kaylid Chronicles 3

  Mel Todd

  Bad Ash Publishing

  Atlanta, GA

  Copyright © 2018 by Melisa Todd

  All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, distributed or transmitted in any form or by any means, without prior written permission.

  Bad Ash Publishing

  Powder Springs, GA 30127

  www.badashpublishing.com

  Publisher's Note: This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents are a product of the author's imagination. Locales and public names are sometimes used for atmospheric purposes. Any resemblance to actual people, living or dead, or to businesses, companies, events, institutions, or locales is completely coincidental.

  Book Layout © 2017 BookDesignTemplates.com

  Cover by http://www.ampersandbookcovers.com/

  Incoming/ Mel Todd -- 1st ed.

  ISBN 978-0-9905182-7-3

  To Doug and Ashli for my sanity, and Howard for the best beta I've had.

  The question isn't - what would you do for your world? It is - what won't you do?

  ―McKenna Largo

  CONTENTS

  Chapter 1 – Covering the Past

  Chapter 2 – The Other Shoe

  Chapter 3 – Unreal Normalcy

  Chapter 4 - Best Laid Plans

  Chapter 5 - Feelings

  Chapter 6 - Invasions

  Chapter 7 - Dream Analysis

  Chapter 8 - Bluffs Called

  Chapter 9 - Additions

  Chapter 10 - MIB

  Chapter 11 - Show Your Cards

  Chapter 12 - Change of Scenery

  Chapter 13 - Self Important People

  Chapter 14 - Options

  Chapter 15 - Forcing the Beast

  Chapter 16 - UN Bombshells

  Chapter 17 - Wrenches

  Chapter 18 - Weapons Practice

  Chapter 19 - Plans in Motion

  Chapter 20 - True Faces

  Chapter 21 - Talking Heads

  Chapter 22 - Media Presence

  Chapter 23 - First They Came

  Chapter 24 - Reactions

  Chapter 25 - Children

  Chapter 26 - Paradigms

  Chapter 27 - Skill Sets

  Chapter 28 - Circling the Wagons

  Chapter 29 - Earth Stood Still

  Chapter 30 - Hero Worship

  Chapter 31 - DTs

  Chapter 32 - Breaking News

  Chapter 34 - Girding Loins

  Chapter 35 - Once Again

  Chapter 36 - Interrogations

  Chapter 37 - Preparing for the Storm

  Chapter 38 - Special Report

  Chapter 39 - Landfall

  Chapter 40 - Walk the Path

  Chapter 41 - Pay the Price

  Chapter 42 - Glimmer of Hope

  Chapter 43 - Hope made real

  Chapter 44 - Leap of Faith

  Epilogues

  Chapter 1 – Covering the Past

  The sensational return of the kidnapped NFL Player Perc Alexander and Detective McKenna Largo has been confirmed. Per confidential sources, they were kidnapped, poisoned, and forced to go through something horrendous. But they made it to the Bogota Embassy and have been returned to the United States, along with McKenna's partner JD Davidson, as well as friends Tonan Diaz and Cassandra Borden. As you'll remember, Cassandra Borden was reported missing in a separate incident, but apparently was found with them. They were met at the airport by their children, McKenna's foster child Charley Davis, and the families of Perc Alexander and Borden. We hope to have the official story shortly. ~ KWAK News

  The entire ride home from the airport Charley didn't let go of McKenna's hand. Taking him into her home and heart had been one of her best decisions ever. He didn't say much, but the mental link glowed with relief, love, and something so primal she couldn't quite put her finger on it. When she looked, she felt the same thing between Toni and her kids. They'd offered to put off the celebration until tomorrow, but all of them needed family around, and the sooner this was out in the open the better it would be for all of them.

  Funny how life works. In so short a space of time, Toni and her kids are like family. JD is my brother, and Cassandra has become important to me also. Then there's Perc.

  No one really talked in the mindscape though she could feel all of them, feel their relief, their joy, and their stress at the words from Wefor, her in-house alien Artificial Intelligence. Which McKenna suspected might be more intelligent than they thought.

  Carina took Toni and the kids home, they'd be over in a bit. JD had come with her, while Perc wanted to stop at home, shower and change and take some time to talk to his parents, but they'd all agreed to leave out the actual story of what happened until they were all together. Cass's sister took Cass home. They would crash there as while Cass lived relatively close to McKenna, Helena did not. Cass needed to bathe also, put on clean clothes, then the sisters could use the time to talk.

  Invaders are coming. And we are the only ones who know.

  The thought echoed in her mind as she showered, dressed, and sat on the deck, Charley curled up next to her as they waited for the others.

  "Give it a break for a while, Kenna," JD said as he sank down next to her. He handed her a cider, Charley a fruit water, and had a beer in his other hand.

  She looked up at him, a bit startled, then gave him a rueful grin. "That obvious?"

  "Well, I'm fighting not to think about it. But for tonight I want to put it off."

  She nodded and stared out at the land surrounding her property and tried very hard not to think about anything.

  "What happened to you guys? You look awful. Like you've been starved for months," Charley asked, his voice low and quiet. She didn't need the link to be aware of his concern.

  McKenna wrapped her arm around his shoulder and pulled him close to her. "I don't have an issue telling you, but let's wait until everyone is here so we only have to tell it once."

  JD gave Charley a look. "And at the same time you can tell us what happened to my house."

  "Oh," Charley whispered and sank down a bit, but he didn't move, seeming perfectly happy in McKenna's arms.

  "I get the feeling you might have a better story than ours there," McKenna remarked idly, moving her hand up and down on his arm. In the end, it wasn't important. Insurance would fix most of the issues with JD's house and they were all alive. After that nothing else really mattered.

  They sat in companionable silence, soaking up the normal sounds, sounds she hadn't realized she'd missed until now. They moved when they heard cars pulling up. McKenna thought she would resent having people invading her solitude, but she could feel Toni, Perc, and Cass getting close and she hungered to see them, even though it had only been a few hours since they were last together.

  When they all got close enough for their mind links to light up, the stress she didn't realize had wrapped around her dissipated, and she sensed JD relax too as they moved to start greeting people. In no time her house was full, and she formally met Perc and Cass's families. Cass introduced her to Helena, Oswald, Troy and Laila. The kids just looking at her warily until Charley called them over, and Jess and Jamie showed up. Jamie hugged her again and showed off his bright blue cast.

  At some point we'll have to get the full story of what happened while we were gone.

  Carina gave her a bone-breaking hug, and Captain Kirk, Lieutenant Waris, and her coworkers Guinness and Laredo also showed up, dragged in by Anne.

  Kirk came in and smiled at her. "Good to see you back, Detective. My life might have gotten boring without you." He cast a sharp eye at her and JD as he let his gaze travel over their bodies. Both of them were wearing kilts, snugged as tight as they could,
and tank tops. The amount of weight they'd lost obvious.

  "I'm looking forward to hearing exactly what happened." His voice dry, but the corners of his eyes were tight as he took a good look at all the participants.

  Perc introduced his parents Daniel and Connie Alexander. They resembled their son with the same eyes, but more she could sense their faith in him and each other. She envied it slightly.

  When everyone had drinks, and JD was grilling food for all of them, they brought every extra chair she had, plus the ones Toni had brought with her, and set them up on the deck., which luckily was just big enough. They ate and talked, everyone avoiding the elephant in the room, until even the shifters felt like they had enough food to last them for a while. They all settled back with drinks while the kids wandered, and McKenna waited.

  "So spill, McKenna. What happened?" Anne asked, seated at the picnic table with most of the cops.

  And there it is. Once more unto the breach I guess.

  McKenna glanced at the others. ~How much do we say? Knowing the kids will hear it?~ She made sure the kids weren't part of that mindscape, no reason to make them feel like they didn't trust them.

  Charley and Jessi and Jamie had welcomed Troy and Laila into their world, even if they weren't shifters, but none of them was willing to stray too far away from their loved ones.

  ~Tell them.~ Cass was the first to reply. ~I already let them know I wasn't going to hide anything from them. If we are targets, the kids need to KNOW what people are willing to do.~

  Toni fiddled with her beer bottle. ~Agreed. And I think when I hear what they've done in the last week I'm going to be pushing for the martial arts training.~

  McKenna rubbed her face and got up to stand and look out at the Sierras. ~Do I tell them about Wefor? About the Elentrin?~

  ~They're the only ones who might believe us,~ JD remarked softly, and the rest chimed in their agreement.

  With a sigh, McKenna turned around to see everyone else looking at the five of them, puzzled. Perc just smiled at his obviously confused parents but shook his head at their raised eyebrows.

  "Sorry. This is going to be explained at some part in the story, but for now I needed to make sure." McKenna heaved a sigh and rubbed her face. "JD, keep me in cider because this is going to take a bit. I'll start with those bozos kidnapping us here, with the understanding that they had already grabbed Cass and must have been holding her." She saw Helena put her hand on her sister's thigh as the two kids moved closer to their Aunt Cass.

  Cass for her part just shot McKenna a smile and a wordless pulse of confidence.

  Taking a deep breath, McKenna started to talk. Going over the fragmented memories and waking up in the jungle with all of them naked. She addressed the video and the orders, then commented on the poison. Watching her friends, her family, their families, she swallowed and moved through them discussing it and deciding they had no choice. None of them could risk having their loved ones killed.

  She paused as she tried to figure out the next part, how to tell them without sounding like an idiot.

  [The phone demonstration is always possible.]

  ~No. Not now. If they don't believe and run and tell someone about this, I don't want anyone to have actual proof.~

  [You do not believe any of these people would betray you.]

  ~No, but I don't know Cass or Perc's family. How they're going to react to this.~ The conversation was carried out in the mindscape so everyone could hear it. McKenna refused to hide anything from the people she loved.

  "So the next part McKenna is going to tell you is going to sound crazy and more than a little insane. Honestly, if I hadn't lived through it, I'd probably think the same thing. I'm asking you to trust us. That we didn't lose it while in the jungle." Cass's voice held quiet strength as she caught her sister and brother-in-law's eyes.

  "What she said." Perc looked at his parents as he spoke. "Believe me, it's all true, and it only gets weirder from here."

  His father shrugged and held his wife's hand. "You've never lied to us, past your teenage years. I see no reason for you to start now."

  Perc flushed. "Hey, it was one time, and I totally didn't want to admit how far I'd gotten with Julie Miles, so yeah, I lied when you caught me sneaking in. Was I supposed to say, 'Sorry, I was having sex for the first time and totally lost track of time?'"

  Connie flashed her son a smile. "That would probably not have gone over well either. But trying to convince us you'd spent two hours trying to change a tire when you were wearing spotless white jeans proved lying would never be your forte."

  A round of snickers broke out on the deck and even the kids giggled as Perc dropped his head in his hand and groaned.

  "Fine, I rarely lied. 'Cause I sucked at it. You happy?"

  Dan chucked and patted his shoulder. "You were a good kid, and a better man." He turned his eyes, the same blue eyes as his son's, to McKenna. "So tell us that which we won't believe."

  ~Here goes nothing.~

  McKenna talked about the AI living in her head, the nanobots all shifters had, and the ability to talk via telepathy. Though she glossed over how she obtained something sharp enough to cut everyone with so they could share blood. When she explained the warrior form, she'd provide some insight into partial transformations. As they all sat there with pole-axed expressions, she added, "There's one more part that I need to share, but I'd like to save that until the end. After that we'll answer questions. Okay?"

  Only Anne didn't look as stunned as the rest of the non-shifters, but McKenna saw Kirk shooting Anne a sharp look. But everyone agreed, and with relief she continued. The fish, the snake, the alligators, then the compound were all discussed.

  By the time she reached the point in their story where they had killed the first guards and entered the compound, she'd gone through three ciders, and her voice felt hoarse.

  "So here's another part that most people don't know. Most shifters have three forms. The human and animal form everyone is familiar with. But there's a third called the warrior form. That's what we changed to for the next part."

  "We've seen it." Charley's voice almost startled her. The kids had been so quiet, listening but not making much noise as she talked. She'd known they were there, but hearing him brought it back into sharp relief. He ducked his head as everyone shifted their attention from McKenna to him. "That's how she saved us when that man kidnapped us. She turned into a wolfman like a cat, with fingers and claws, and killed them. It terrified us, but at the same time we knew she was there to protect us. She shifted to animal before anyone else showed up."

  "Yes," Jessi chimed in as Jamie nodded. "It looked like the best movie I'd ever seen, but she was real and powerful."

  "Can we see that?" Kirk asked in a neutral tone.

  [NO!] Wefor's reaction immediate and loud in their heads, and all of them winced, kids included. [You have all stressed your systems too far and the children are too young. Until you've gained back almost fifty pounds any shifting is dangerous. DO NOT SHIFT.]

  ~Okay, okay, got it. Please quit yelling. It hurts.~ And it did, her very brain throbbed from the force of the words, and she saw the others holding their heads and nodding. Though the non-shifters looked very confused.

  "Sorry. Remember the AI, we call her Wefor by the way, was expressing very strongly that shifting would be bad. With all the damage we did with the forced changes we might do some serious damage to our bodies until we all gain weight back."

  "I was going to ask about that," Helena said softly. "Why are you all so skinny? And I was pretty sure from the videos both Perc and JD were much more muscular."

  JD grumbled softly. "We were."

  "Quit whining," Cass said softly. "Could have been worse than just weight loss." Her face grave, and JD nodded, suddenly somber.

  "True. Almost was."

  The looks of confusion made her half smile. "I'll get to it, you'll understand. But Captain, in regard to your question. Ask me in a week or two. Then I'll be more than ha
ppy to show you. But until then, you'll just have to take our words on it."

  His eyes narrowed, but he nodded his head and purposefully relaxed back in his chair.

  McKenna took the cider JD handed her and took a long sip. At this point she'd need something stronger, a disadvantage to not being able to get drunk anymore. But either way the calories helped. She started the story back up with them changing into warrior form and killing the required targets. Perc and Toni weighed in with their portion of the story, and then they got to the shifting.

  "Wefor came to the conclusion that multiple shifts back-to-back would enable us to destroy the poison. So we did. But every shift takes energy." She shrugged and nodded at JD and Perc. "It burned up muscle mass on those two. Toni and I burned off every bit of fat and some muscle trying to change."

  "Every bit of fat," Toni said wryly. "At this point neither McKenna nor I even qualify as B cups."

  ~That is going to get fixed, right, Wefor? All my clothes expect me to have boobs,~ Toni asked as the people looked around, taking in the appearances of all the shifters.

  [Yes. The nanobots are programmed to restore you to optimal health which includes fat stores. However, if you wish alteration to your breasts, they can be given commands to facilitate that.]

  ~Huh, I'll keep that in mind,~ Toni said, even as McKenna sighed in relief. She had no desire to look like a boy, and not having breasts with most of her body fat gone, did tilt her that way.

  "Lucky you," Cass said, trying to lighten the mood. "I never had boobs."

  Helena didn't laugh, her eyes narrowed. "You didn't mention Cass. What about her?"

  Cass sighed and looked at McKenna.

  "Cass died."

  "WHAT!" burst from multiple throats and Helena's hands went white around her sister's knee, and her niece and nephew wrapped around her legs like octopi.

  Cass smiled, a sad, soft thing even as Helena looked like she wanted to pull her sister into her arms and never let her loose.

  "Her heart stopped. Perc and I did CPR while I forced the nanobots to repair her heart. It worked, but it was really close." McKenna closed her eyes remembering the limp figure of Cass laying on the floor. "She didn't have the mass the rest of us had, mass to fuel the changes and it cannibalized too much of her heart. All of us need to take a while to eat and let the nanobots repair the damage done to our internal organs. Cass just had less body mass, so more damage." She shot Kirk a wry smile. "Hence the no shifting for a while."