The group of burly men who lived and worked as soldiers in the Scottish highlands manning a remote military installation had a secret: they had all developed tentacles during a freak accident with a hyper-dimensional energy generator that made a dimensional rift. They hide their tentacles as best they can, but they can’t hide them forever. They've found out what's behind their tentacles and now they are on the run from those who wish to kill them...or worse. For adults only.
This is the 5th part of an 8 part running series, so be sure to read the other parts first:
Men In Kilts With Tentacles and The Women Who Love Them - Book 1: Dan
Men In Kilts With Tentacles and The Women Who Love Them - Book 2: Charlie
Men In Kilts With Tentacles and The Women Who Love Them - Book 3: Secret
Men In Kilts With Tentacles and The Women Who Love Them - Book 4: Meficious
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Copyright © 2015 Suction Cup.
All rights reserved.
Published by S3 Books, visit: https://s3books.wordpress.com
No part of this work may be reproduced or resold without the author's written permission.
This is a work of fiction and any resemblance to actual persons or places is purely coincidental.
All characters in this story are over 18 years of age and are consenting adults.
This story is for adults only.
1.
Dan Bandy awoke in the charming hotel room in Cancun shortly before dawn. The warm ocean breeze blew around the white curtains, letting in the first dim glow of the day. He smiled to find Suzy sleeping contentedly beside him, looking at once peaceful and sexy in her little, red silk teddy. He got up carefully, so as not to wake her, his tentacle semi-flaccid and swinging freely. She stirred but went back to sleep after he'd whispered, “It's alright.” They were in hiding, on the run from the secret military group Dan used to work for, so it was usual for them both to be vigilant and tense these days.
He sighed and went to washroom, wishing their life could be different, wishing they could have some peace. With the baby on the way, things would only get more complicated, he knew. And what if their child had a tentacle, too? That was something he hated to consider, but knew they had to find out, sooner better than later. Maybe something could be done if they had to. There were rumors of doctors who were doing advanced gene therapies, now he just had to find them and figure out how to pay for it, if needed.
He went to use the toilet, thinking how it was funny that he still got “morning wood” with his tentacle, though it was only minor compared to how hard his tentacle got when he was sexually exited with Suzy. After he'd taken a piss, he slipped on a pair of shorts and put the strap around his thigh, with which he secured his tentacle in place to keep it from flapping around. With the shorts on that went past his knees, you couldn't even tell he had a tentacle. Which was a good thing, he didn't need anyone catching a glimpse of it; that could go very badly for him, very quickly. Not only was he in a foreign country where they might not buy his explanation of how he got the tentacle, but his enemies—the black ops military project he used to work for—were sure to be looking for him, sending out spies and paying moles who would be happy to talk about the whereabouts of a man with a tentacle.
After the washroom, Dan went to the window to watch the dawn from their high vantage point, eighteen stories above the ground. He drew back the curtain and breathed in the sea air. It smelled wonderful and made him think he was on vacation, the ocean smell taking him back to when he was a boy and his family used to stay by the sea. He looked out over the dark water, to the glow on the horizon where the sun was going to rise, soon. But it was not time yet, as there was still a growing dawn and the sun had not yet peeked over the water. Seagulls flew around and squawked, and for a moment he thought about just going out and having some fun today, maybe visit some of the local Mayan ruins, do some shopping, have lunch and drinks on the beach. He felt they were well hidden in the crowd of tourists and they'd both changed their looks; he by shaving off his beard and she by cutting her hair short. They also wore different clothes, so maybe they could risk it, he pondered.
But the man coming out of the water in the black wet suit stopped Dan's daydreams cold. The man was at the far end of the white beach below the hotel, off to the left, almost out of sight. Dan watched as he came right out of the surf and stood up, casting his flippers into the water. That alone was a strange thing to do, to just throw away your gear like that. It was also dangerous to be in the water before dawn. The area was known to have sharks, stingrays, and jellyfish, so one would be taking a big risk to swim in the dark. Unless they were on a mission...
Dan's heart started beating hard as he realized the man was probably looking for him. He eased back behind the window frame and went to grab Suzy's makeup mirror from the washroom. He stepped back to the window and kept out of sight, using to the mirror to watch the man, who was now taking off his wet suit.
Under the suit, the man was dressed as a typical tourist, with shorts, t-shirt, and a fanny pack. He pulled a pair of flip-flops out of his suit, then threw the suit in a pile on the beach. He put on the flip-flops, looked around, then made his way towards the hotel Dan was in.
Acting on his intuition and also his training, Dan swung the mirror over to the other side of the window and took a look at the opposite end of the beach. He knew that these men liked to work in teams, for backup. He saw another man throwing off a wet suit and stepping out of it, also dressed like a tourist. “Holy, shit!” Dan said.
“Mmm? What is it?” Suzy said sleepily, rubbing her eyes.
“We've got to get out of here right away! Come on, get up!”
“Huh? What?”
“Get up, honey! Get up! Now!” Dan took her by the arm and helped her sit up.
“Dan, what's the matter?” she cried.
Dan grabbed his backpack and started tossing things into it. “Two men just stepped out of the surf in wet suits. Underneath, they were dressed for a day at the beach and they don't look like tourists to me. They're coming this way. I'd say we have five minutes to get out of here, if we're lucky.”
“Oh, my God!” Suzy jumped up and started shoving things into her purse. “How did they find us? We didn't even give our real names when we checked in. We never gave them any ID, either.”
“I know, honey. I even bribed them well. If they wanted to talk, they still wouldn't have known who we were. There was no paper or electronic trail, I made sure of that with using cash. I don't know how they found us,” Dan shook his head as he packed.
“You did all you could!”
“I guess we should have gotten out of here sooner and gone to Mexico City right away, so we could really disappear.”
“We've only been here a couple of days. How could they track us down so fast?” she asked.
“I don't know,” he said. “It's not like we've been running around town or anything. We've only used cash and never mentioned our real names. Someone must have talked.”
“We did use our real names and passports to get here, though.”
“It's not like we had much of a choice. I could have probably gotten us fake ones, but there was no time. I never thought things would come to this and we'd have to go on the run.”
“I'm not blaming you, just wondering.”
“I'm wondering, too.”
They had already been half-packed, ready for just such a quick exit, so it didn't take them long to get their few clothes and belongings into their backpacks; Dan had gotten them both good packs shortly after they'd landed in Cancun, selling their luggage to some hotel employees. The packs would allow them to move around more easily and quickly, as they didn't know what they’d be facing. Though, they knew they were on the run and might have to pick up and leave at a moment's notice. Dan had even prepaid for their stay each day in cash, so there would be no bill to settle if they had to leave like this.
“Ready?” he asked, getting his back on his back. He watched as Suzy finished getting dressed and shoved the last of her clothes into her pack.
“Yeah,” she panted, slipping on a hat.
“Good, let's move.”
He led the way out of the room and pulled over the door once Suzy was out. She made her way to the elevators.
“No, the stairs,” Dan said.
“You're kidding! It's a long way down.”
“They'll use the elevator. They think they've got the element of surprise,” he whispered in her ear, not wanting to make any noise to alert their neighbors, who might happen to be listening. She nodded, knew he was right, then followed him to the stairs.
It was a long way down and Dan kept checking the flights below. At every floor he stopped and made her stop too, so they could listen. Once they heard nothing, they kept going down.
When they got to the ground floor, Suzy reached for the Lobby door.
“No, we keep going down,” Dan said.
“I thought you wanted to get out of here?” she whispered harshly, tension in her voice.
“They'll be coming in through the lobby. We'll go down as far as we can, then find a side entrance out. Come on.” he pulled open the door marked Basement and Parking Garage.
She followed him through it and they descended down the other set of stairs.
Dan was right; the two men met in front of the hotel and entered the lobby together. They smiled at the front desk clerks and presented their key cards for the security guard, the cards having been setup in advance. The two men got into the elevator and rode it up to the floor Dan and Suzy had been staying on. They didn't talk to each other on the ride up, only answered in response to the transceivers in their ears.
“Unit one in position,” one man said, touching the device in his ear to allow his voice to be picked up.
“Unit two in position,” the other man said.
Once they arrived at the right floor, the men exited the elevator and turned to the right, knowing the way to Dan's room, as they had studied the floor plan in advance. Reaching into their fanny packs, they pulled out small guns.
One of them took another key card out of his fanny pack and slid it into the lock of Dan's door. The electronic mechanism clicked open. They looked at each other. One of them nodded, then pushed the door open. They rushed it, guns pointing into the room.
But they only found an empty room, with the curtain billowing in the light of dawn.
“Dammit!” the first man said. He touched the transceiver in his ear. “They're gone.”
The second man pulled a phone from his fanny pack and flipped it on. It showed a glowing red dot on a map of the building. “They're still in the building. Under us. But I can't tell what floor.”
The first man touched the transceiver again, “Can you get us a better fix on them? What floor?” The man listened and nodded. He looked at the other man.
“Got it?”
“They're in the basement level, now,” the first man said, as he walked quickly out the door, slipping his gun back into his fanny pack. The second man followed him out, closing over the door, then hiding his gun away, too.
They waited for the elevator and then stepped on when it finally came, pressing the B button. “On our way down,” the first man said, then let his finger off the transceiver.
Dan and Suzy found a taxi in the parking lot of the hotel and were able to hire it. They took their packs into the back seat with them, refusing the driver's offer to put them into the trunk, as they wanted to be ready for a quick getaway if needed.
“Where do you want to go?” the driver asked, in a Spanish accent.
“Where's the biggest market? The most going on?” Dan said.
“That would be in Playa del Carmen.”
“Let's go there.”
“Very good, sir,” the driver said. He started the meter and drove them out of the underground garage into the now bright sunlight. Usually, Dan would have haggled with the driver to get the best rate but under the circumstances, speed was of the essence.
As they left the hotel grounds, Dan peeked his head around, looking for the two men or other signs of trouble. But it was all clear.
“Think we're alright?” Suzy gripped his hand, nervous, with a sweaty palm.
“Looks good so far. I'll feel better when we have more people around us and are far away from here.”
“What's wrong?” the driver asked. “Didn't like the hotel?”
“It was fine,” Dan said. “We just...wanted to move on. See more of this fine country!” he smiled.
The driver nodded and smiled. Dan kissed Suzy on the forehead and put his arm around her. They drove along the small, two-lane road with lush forest on either side. It was almost like paradise and would have been, if Dan wasn't a target.
He felt bad again, for about a ten-thousandth time, that he had gotten Suzy into this. “I'll make all this up to you one day, I swear. When this is all over, we'll go on a real vacation. Maybe the three of us,” he said, putting his hand on her belly, where their child was growing. She smiled and didn't say anything, just leaned against him and closed her eyes, wishing things were different and this nightmare was over. Dan looked behind them periodically, but there was no sign of their pursuers.
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2.
The taxi rolled into the busy market full of vendors, covered with brightly colored umbrellas and stalls. Suzy perked up right away, as she saw all the commotion going on. Even Dan was a bit distracted by it all, despite everything.
“Wow, look at all this!” Suzy said. The market was quite lively, the vendors selling all manner of handmade items, like traditional clothing, big straw hats to keep off the burning sun, and simple wooden toys and dolls. Food vendors sold all manner of tropical fruits, many of which Dan and Suzy had never seen before. There were also small shacks preparing food right in front of the customers.
“Smells good,” Dan said, catching a whiff of the cooking food through the open taxi window.
There were so many people, cars, motorbikes, and bicycles, that the taxi soon became lost in it all. Dan kept checking behind, but the men who were after them were still nowhere to be seen.
“I’m getting hungry after all that, let’s get some lunch,” Dan said.
“Sounds good to me,” she said, looking through the taxi’s side window.
The driver pulled to the side of the dusty road and stopped the meter. Dan looked at the number on the meter and felt it was a bit high. But he was not in the mood to argue. He tossed a bunch of a Peso bills into the front seat, even leaving a small tip, as he did not want any confrontation with the driver. All he wanted to do was get some food and some peace and quiet for a few minutes, before they would have to get moving again. He was sure the men would keep looking for them.
He looked out at the road behind as he got out of the taxi. Then, he scanned the market quickly, searching for any potential threats. Satisfied that they were safe for the moment, he took Suzy by the hand and they walked into the heart of the marketplace. He managed to steer her away from the clothing vendors; an easy task, as this was no time for shopping. They passed by several stalls cooking food and stopped at the one that smelled the most delicious. He handed over Pesos in exchange for some freshly made tacos with fish.
He figured eating fish was probably a lot safer than any other meat around there, as he already had a slight case of the runs after eating some beef from a local vendor. They also purchased a couple of bottles of water to drink with the food and a couple of extra bottles to put into their packs for the journey to come. Throughout their stay there, which had been several days so far, they had been careful to only drink bottled water and bottled drinks, neither of them wanting to risk getting a full-blown case of Montezuma’s revenge—the slight case he had contracted was enough for him. Thankfully it went away with only one dose over-the-counter medicine. They simply could not risk getting sick and having anything less than their full wits about them, as they were being hunted by seasoned killers.
Dan was nervous being out in the open, and they got into the semi-enclosed seating area that the vendor had provided. It didn’t offer much concealment, but it was better than nothing. They hungrily devoured their tacos, feeling extra hungry after the adrenaline had worn off, especially since they had missed breakfast.
As Dan ate, he kept an eye on the marketplace and watched as a man with a large straw hat picked his way through the clothing on display. The man was white, and had a large, colorful Mexican poncho slung over his shoulder, it being far too hot that morning to have been wearing it. His clothing consisted of a long-sleeved white dress shirt and military style green shorts that had many pockets. It was hard to see his face, as he had a big black beard and wore mirrored sunglasses.
“What is it?” Suzy asked. She noticed that Dan was not paying attention to her.
“That guy over there. He looks a little strange, don’t you think?’ Dan asked. She followed his gaze to the man and looked him over.
“Just looks like a tourist to me,” she shrugged.
“Maybe,” Dan said, stuffing more taco into his mouth. “But don’t you think it’s strange how he’s buying so many clothes, so quickly? He’s just walking around grabbing things and buying them.”
“People are strange, you’ve told me that many times. I tend to agree with you.”
The man made some final purchases and shoved them into the large plastic bag he had been given. Then, he left the clothing vendors and crossed over to the food stalls. He began looking over the menus, going from stall to stall.
“He’s coming this way,” Dan said. He reached into his pocket and pulled out his folded knife.
“What’s wrong?” Suzy asked, spitting out bits of taco in her surprise. Her eyes went wide, and she stared at Dan.
But Dan was watching the strange man coming closer. “We might have to get out of here in a hurry. Keep your eyes on this guy.”
Dan watched the man get closer, until he was standing right in front of the stall they were in, trapping them. Dan’s hand tightened on the knife and he brought both of his hands together in his lap, so he could flip the blade open easily if he had to.
“Hello! Would you like some tacos?” the vendor asked the man. The man didn’t say anything, he just looked over at Dan and Suzy.
Dan’s fingers worked to free the blade, as he was fearful they were going to be attacked at any moment.
Instead, the man smiled and turned back to the vendor, pulling out some Pesos. “Sure, set me up with a couple of tacos to stay, please. And a Coke.”
Dan cocked his head at the man, as the voice seemed very familiar. He looked the man over again from head to toe. “Do we know each other?” Dan asked the man.
The vendor handed the man his order and the man pointed to a seat near Dan. “Mind if I sit with you?”
“Go ahead,” Dan said, keeping his hands on the knife concealed between his palms.
“Thanks,” the man said and sat down. He took a bite of taco as Dan and Suzy stared at him.
The man whispered to Dan, “Now, don’t get excited, as we are probably being watched. But it’s me, your old buddy, Charlie. I sure am glad to find you and Suzy here in one piece, let me tell you! It’s been a hell of a journey so far.” The man raised his sunglasses and winked at Dan, and that was when all the pieces fell into place for Dan and Suzy.
“Charlie? Holy shit! What the hell are you doing here? And how did you find us?” Dan exclaimed, as he recognized that the man was his military buddy, Charlie Nevedurn.
“That’s a great disguise,” Suzy laughed. “I can’t believe you’re here!”
“I can’t believe I’m here either. This is dangerous as hell. But somebody has to save your sorry asses and it happens to be me,” Charlie grinned. He looked out over the market, searching for any threats. Dan looked out too, watching.
“I’m sure you’ll tell us all about it later, but for now we should get out of here. We’ve been here too long. We narrowly escaped this morning,” Dan said.
Charlie nodded, looking slightly ridiculous in the beard, sunglasses, and big hat, “I thought so. I went by your hotel and you were gone. So, I came here to head you off.”
“How did you know where to find us?” Suzy asked.
“I’ll tell you about it later. Dan’s right; we should get to a more secure location and out of sight,” Charlie said.
“All right, let’s go.” Dan stood up, slipping the knife back into his pocket. He grabbed the last bit of taco and shoved it into his mouth. Taking the half-full water bottle off the table, he put it into a pocket of his pack, then lifted the pack onto his shoulder. He watched as Suzy got up and put her pack on, then they followed Charlie out of the stall.
“We should get at cab,” Charlie waved at a row of taxis parked at the market. The first one started up and slowly rolled over to where Charlie, Dan, and Suzy were standing on the dusty road. It was beaten up but seemed to run fine.
Dan and Charlie kept looking around, but they didn't see anything suspicious.
“They probably won’t try to follow us directly. But you never know. I suspect they've been tracking you from a distance,” Charlie said.
“What? How?” Suzy asked.
Dan hung his head. “Aw, shit! The microchip!”
“Uh, huh,” Charlie nodded.
“Microchip? What microchip?” Suzy’s voice rose nearing panic.
“We were microchipped as part of our military service. In all the confusion, I totally forgot about disabling mine. That’s probably how they were able to track so easily. Dammit!” Dan cursed.
They piled into the taxi, Dan and Suzy in the back, Charlie in the passenger seat.
“Don’t feel so bad,” Charlie said. “There’s more to it then that.”
“What?” Dan asked, feeling weary and defeated.
“Tell you soon, when we’re alone,” Charlie said.
“Where can I drive you fine people?” the taxi driver smiled.
“Where’s the nearest ruins, where we can go see some pyramids?” Charlie asked.
“Tulum is good. It's not far. Want me to take you there?” driver said.
“Yes. How much?” Charlie flipped through his paper Pesos.
“Not that much, maybe 500 Pesos, senior,” the driver shrugged, looking them over.
“How’s 300?” Charlie asked.
“Plus a tip?” the driver said.
“350,” Charlie fired back. “Now, let’s go. We’re in a hurry!” Charlie looked through the windows with the bubbling, purplish sun film on them, feeling nervous.
“OK!” the driver put the car in gear. “I’ll get you there, fast.”
As the taxi moved through the market and back to the highway, Dan thought he saw the two men standing at the edge of the market, looking through the crowd.
“There,” Dan said, pointing.
“It's them?” Charlie asked.
Dan nodded, “Two men dressed as tourists with fanny packs. I saw them there, just for a second.”
“I'm not surprised. Probably the crowd kept them away. They'll wait for a quieter time to make their move,” Charlie said.
Suzy, scared, gripped onto Dan's arm.
The taxi pulled out and rumbled back on to the small highway, racing away from the market, further south into the Mexican countryside. They were not followed.
“Where’s Bonnie?” Suzy asked Charlie.
“Someplace safe. I can't say anymore right now, not until after I check you for bugs,” Charlie said. He leaned over and whispered something into the driver’s ear. The driver nodded. Charlie then leaned back and whispered to Dan, who nodded.
“What?” Suzy asked. Dan whispered in her ear.
Dan thought Charlie was wise to not say anything more out loud, just in case they were being listened to. Suzy stared out at the road passing by, a look of fear and concern on her face. Dan hugged her, giving her some comfort. She took his hand and held on to it.
“Hang in there, honey,” Dan said.
The clunky Mexican taxi continued on the small but busy highway towards Tulum. As they passed by the sign announcing the coming ruin site, Dan motioned for Suzy and Charlie to duck down below the windows. The taxi driver looked at them like they were nuts, thinking they were playing some kind of strange gringo joke.
“As long as you pay me. I don’t care what you do,” the driver laughed.
“Is there a big black jeep there? With two men?” Dan asked the driver.
The driver looked across the road at the ruins of Tulum as they passed by, not stopping. There was a big black SUV with two men near it. They were dressed in black and had short crew-cut hair. They both wore sunglasses, black military shorts, and black T-shirts with black jackets on—very strange for the hot weather. On their feet they both had black low-cut boots.
“Yes,” the driver said, “there are two men beside a black truck, dressed in black, too. They look like soldiers,” he said, his eyes wide.
Dan and Charlie, still ducking down, looked at each other.
“Good call,” Dan said. “They must have backup.”
“Yeah,” Charlie said. Then they both shut up again, as it was clear that someone was either tracking them or listening to everything they were saying.
Once the taxi had gone a distance away from the ruins, Dan, Charlie, and Suzy sat up again.
“Where are we going now?” Suzy asked.
“You’ll see,” Charlie said.
The taxi pulled off to another road, headed for the ruins at Coba, which was about a half hour away, northwest.
They arrived at Coba without being followed. Charlie paid the driver and they all kept quiet as they exited the car and walked towards the ancient pyramids.
Charlie led them around the far side of a small pyramid, which went up a couple of hundred feet into the air. They were glad to see that the area was fairly deserted.
There was an opening in the pyramid, a small alcove that had been uncovered, and Charlie gestured for them to follow him inside.
“What, are we going sightseeing now?” Dan huffed.
Charlie didn’t say anything, he just stepped into the opening and waved them in. Dan and Suzy looked at each other and shrugged, then followed Charlie in.
The opening was only a few feet deep, so it was still illuminated by the daylight. Charlie took rummaged around in the plastic bag for a small electronic device, which he pulled out and held in his hand. He turned it on and put a finger to his lips gesturing for Dan and Suzy to remain quiet while he waved the device over them from head to foot.
The device let out a squealing, high-pitched noise when Charlie ran it over Dan’s upper right arm, where his military microchip had been injected. Charlie took out another device about the size of his palm and held it over the spot on Dan’s shoulder. He pressed a button on the device and it made a clicking sound. Then, he again swept the detector over Dan’s shoulder. This time it registered nothing. The microchip had been disabled.
“Whew! Thank God for that!' Dan said. “Now we can...”
Charlie cut him off, “Just hold on a second.” He swept the detector over the other side of Dan’s body, finding another signal emanating from his inner elbow on the other arm.
“What the hell?” Dan said. “That's not where I had my military chip put in!”
Charlie nodded and took the other device. He zapped the area that contained the other microchip. He then took the detector and swept it over the spot, finding that the second microchip had also been disabled. He then ran the detector over Suzy and both of the packs, finding nothing.
Charlie shut off the detector. “OK, were clean now.”
“Where did that second microchip come from? I don’t remember getting it.” Dan said.
“They must have given it to you in the hospital that time, when we were in there after getting our tentacles. I had a second chip, too, in the same place. They slipped them in with the routine injections. I remember they give us some tranquilizers and also IV liquids. That’s when it must have happened.”
“Son of a bitch!” Dan said.
“Yeah, but we’re clear now,” Charlie put the equipment back into his bag.
“So, if they’ve been tracking us all this time with the other microchips they must have seen us coming here,” Dan said.
“They might have, but there's something about pyramids that may have worked to our advantage. They are known to send out an unusual energy field around themselves for a quite a distance in any direction, maybe miles for pyramids this large. That field would have temporarily scrambled the signals from the microchips. Now, I have permanently disabled your microchips, though. We should be safe from their electronic tracking. As long as they don’t spot us visually or we leave any stupid electronic trails behind us, we should be able to move undetected.”
“Pyramid power, huh?” Suzy said.
“It is, it really is,” Charlie replied.
“Good disguise, by the way. I didn't recognize you until you got up close and spoke to us,” Dan said.
“Thanks,” Charlie smiled. “Oh, that reminds me, these are for you!” He handed a plastic shopping bag filled with stuff to each of them.
Dan and Suzy looked inside the bags and pulled out wigs, sunglasses, and different clothes.
“For your disguise,” Dan said.
“Do I get a fake beard, too?” Dan asked. Suzy laughed.
“No, but you get a mustache!” Charlie said.
Dan pulled a makeup kit out of his bag, with a fake mustache. “Ah!”
“Wow, neat! This is like Halloween!” Suzy said, trying on her short, black wig, tucking her long, blond hair under it. She looked very different already.
“Yeah, but at Halloween they don't kill you when they find out it's you,” Dan said, trying on his wig, with straight, black hair. It was quite a departure for him, too.
“Speaking of which, do you think it's safe to be in here?” she whispered. “Didn't they used to sacrifice people here?”
“You're thinking of the Aztecs, I believe. These are Mayan ruins,” Charlie said.
“I hope you're right,” she said.
“You've really outdone yourself, Charlie. Great job! We should be able to make a clean escape, now,” Dan said.
“Yeah. We've at least got a better chance. When you had those microchips in place, it was only a matter of time before they caught up to you,” Charlie said.
“What about the rest of our guys?” Dan asked.
“I'm not sure. I put the word out about the microchips and how to disable them. I even helped a few of the guys out with that myself. But for some it was already too late,” Charlie looked at the dirt.
“They got them?” Dan asked. Charlie nodded.
“Who?” Dan said.
“Sammy. I went over to help him burn his chip out but they had already taken him out,” Charlie said.
Dan was quiet for a moment, then he said, “That's too bad. He was a good man.”
“He was. Now, we'd better get moving, just in case. I don't think it's safe to stay in one spot for too long. We've got to keep moving,” Charlie said.
“But how long can we keep moving? That all takes money. I spent a fortune paying off the clerks at the hotel to keep things quiet about us checking in without any ID and letting us pay cash,” Dan said. “I don’t know about you, but we’re running pretty low on Pesos here.”
Charlie pulled a thick wad of bills out of his pocket. “I've got that covered, at least.”
“Good,” Dan nodded.
“But where's Bonnie?” Suzy asked.
“She's where we're going: Argentina. I've got connections with some scientists down there. There's one doctor in particular who is very interested in our tentacle problem,” Charlie said.
“He thinks he can fix us?” Dan said.
“He's willing to try,” Charlie said.
Suzy met Dan's gaze. “Might as well give it a shot,” she said.
“I agree. Can trust them?” Dan asked Charlie.
“I believe so. Bonnie's been down there with them for a while now and she's fine. I was put onto them by some of our guys. If anyone can help us, it'll be these doctors. They've been doing advanced research into physics and genetics for a long time. Way down there they are free to do what they want. They've done some amazing things, so I've been told,” Charlie explained.
“I guess we'll find out,” Dan changed into the handmade blue denim work shirt Charlie had bought for him, putting his own western t-shirt back into his pack.
Suzy pulled the dark brown cotton dress out of the bag. “Ugly thing, isn't it?” She held the dress up. “But I suppose we don't want anything flashy. Could you guys please turn around?” The two guys turned around while she got out of her shorts and t-shirt and into the summer dress.
Dan got some help from Suzy to fix the fake mustache in place with makeup glue. Then, he put on the long, white linen dress pants.
“Here,” Charlie said, digging into his pocket and coming out with a passport for each of them.
“What's this?” Suzy asked, looking through the US passport with a woman's name but no picture in it.”
“New passports. I just need to put the photos in,” Charlie pulled a strange looking camera out of his bag.
Dan checked out his passport. It was also devoid of a picture and had a different name than his.
Charlie took a passport-type photo of each of them standing in front of a white sheet of paper that he hung on the pyramid wall. The camera spit the photo prints out the bottom of itself.
“Charlie, you're really becoming the super spy,” Dan patted him on the back.
“Like I said, someone's got to save your asses,” he grinned. The photos were the exact size to fit the passports. All he had to do was peel up the plastic on the photo pages and slip the photos inside. A firm push back on the plastic and a few hard rubs with his finger sealed the photos inside.
“What about the shoes?” Suzy lifted her dress to show off her sneakers she'd been wearing from before.
“Sorry, I didn't get to those,” Charlie said.
“That's fine. You did real good,” Dan told him. He looked down at his own sneakers, knowing that they'd have to do.
Charlie pulled another beard out of a bag, this time a brown one.
“Another beard?” Dan asked.
“Yeah. I figured I'd better change my look too, in case they spotted us already.” Charlie pulled off the black beard and started to put the new one on.
“Maybe I should put your old beard on,” Dan grabbed the black beard and looked it over. “Hmm, feels real.”
“It is. At least that's what the lady who sold it to me said. Now, whether it's from a human or not, I'd rather not know and I was afraid to ask,” Charlie said. The three of them burst out laughing at that one.
“Maybe it's better than this mustache,” Dan stroked the “caterpillar” on his lip.
“No, stick with it. They might have seen the beard already,” Suzy said. Dan nodded.
Once they all had their disguises on, they left the pyramid and hailed down another taxi.
“Where to?” the driver asked.
“The airport,” Dan said.
Once they had started moving down the small road back to the city, Dan leaned over to Charlie and whispered in his ear, “Got any guns?”
Charlie shook his head, “I thought about it, but we'd just have to ditch them before getting on the plane.”
“That's true. Still, I'd feel better with one,” Dan said.
“I'm with you on that one. But don't worry, there will be plenty to be had where we're going,” Charlie grinned a wry grin.
––––––––
3.
When they got to Argentina, the first thing Charlie did was call Bonnie from a pay phone in the airport. Dan and Suzy stood by him, looking around, on guard. After a quick call, he hung up.
“She's fine and says hi,” Charlie smiled, behind the fake beard. “Damn this thing itches,” he scratched at the beard. “And it's hot.”
“Mine, too,” Dan said, scratching at his mustache.
“Hold on you too, we'll be out of here, soon,” Suzy said.
“I'm glad she's alright. Is she far?” Dan asked.
Charlie shook his head, “No. About an hour or so. Let's get out of here and get a cab.” He led them out of the airport.
It was dark outside and still hot, maybe even hotter than Mexico had been.
“Oh, the heat!” Suzy gasped.
“We're closer to the equator here,” Charlie said.
“Wow,” Dan said, wiping the sweat that was starting to drip out from under the wig.
They came to a line of cars and spoke to the driver of the first one. He agreed to take them to the destination Charlie asked for. Suzy got in the backseat and made room for Dan. Charlie opened the passenger seat door, deciding to give the couple the backseat.
With a final look around to make sure they were not being followed, Dan and Charlie got into the cab. The driver pulled out from the airport and they were soon on the highway, headed out to the country at a good speed. The air from the windows cooled things down in the car somewhat, much to the relief of all, especially the three visitors who were not used to the tropical heat. The driver looked like a native, tanned and seemingly cool in the warm night air.
About an hour later the driver took an exit off the highway and headed for a small village called Villa General Belgrano. The village was well lit and Dan and Suzy marveled over the sight of a seemingly German village out in a remote part of Argentina.
“What the hell is this place doing here?” Suzy said.
“Did we go through a portal to the Alps or something, Charlie?” Dan asked.
Charlie laughed. “No, but many people think that the first time they come here. Welcome to Germany away from Germany!”
The place looked like a Hollywood set of a small German town, hundreds of years old. But it was not that old at all, only meant to appear so. All of the buildings were in fine repair and the road was nearly perfect. Everything was clean and well arranged, even the flowers and lawns were set with the utmost care and precision.
“Over there, the red building,” Charlie called out to the driver. “Stop there, please.”
The taxi pulled into the parking lot of the building and stopped by the front door of what looked like a hotel. Charlie paid the driver and then got out of the taxi with Dan and Suzy. They didn't say much, not wanting to take a chance on blowing their cover, in case the driver or one of the workers was watching out for them.
Charlie led them through the lobby and they all noticed the air conditioning at once, bringing them instant relief from the oppressive heat outside. He took them up the stairs to a room. He produced a key from his pocket and opened the door. Bonnie was inside, and she jumped up from the bed, laughing at their appearance.
“You look like a bunch of freaks!” Bonnie said. She threw her arms around Suzy, then hugged Dan, and next hugged and kissed Charlie.
“I feel like a freak!” Suzy sighed. “Can we take this stuff off now?”
“Sure,” Charlie said, making sure the curtains were over the widows.
Dan took off his wig and mustache. “Ah, that's better!”
Charlie took off his wig and beard. “Who wants a nice German beer!” He opened the mini fridge and pulled out four cold bottles. “They drink it warm but I put it in the fridge.”
“Good man!” Dan said, taking a beer and twisting off the top. He looked at the label. It was a type of beer he'd never seen before, with a buxom serving girl in traditional German outfit slinging mugs of beer in a beer hall.
The others popped their caps open, too, then Dan held up his beer. “A toast. To Charlie and a job well done!” Dan said.
“I'll drink to that!” Charlie said and clinked bottles.
“Me, too!” Bonnie said and clinked.
“Me, too!” Suzy said and banged her bottle with the others. They all took a swing and looked at each other, happy to be together again and safe for the moment.
After a couple more beers, Charlie showed Dan and Suzy to their own room. Once the couples split off, and they had some time to themselves, the tentacles came out for some stress-relieving sex, as they all felt strangely at ease in the odd little German town in Argentina.
––––––––
4.
After dinner was brought to their rooms, Charlie made a phone call.
“Who are you calling?” asked Dan.
“Our contact,” Charlie said, waiting for the other person to pick up. He spoke in hushed tones to the person on the phone, then hung up. Turning to Dan, he said, “The doctor will see us, now.”
Dan and Charlie put their full disguises back on and left the ladies in the hotel, promising to return in a short while.
It was only a few blocks to the doctor's house, so they didn't work up too much of a sweat. The doctor's place was another charming old-world German style house with flowers growing out front and a neatly kept property. Dan stopped Charlie in front of the garden. He looked down at the flowers in the glow from a streetlight.
“Let's take a moment of silence for Sammy,” Dan said.
“Sure thing,” Charlie said. They bowed their heads and closed their eyes for a moment.
“Thank you, Sammy. We'll miss you,” Dan said.
After they were done paying their respects, Charlie knocked on the front door and the doctor soon appeared. He was dressed in grey slacks and a white shirt, but Dan was expecting that he'd have come to the door in a white coat. The doctor quickly waved them inside without saying a word.
It was cool in the hallway. He closed and locked the heavy door behind them. Dan noticed that the door had very good locks.
“Gentleman, welcome,” the doctor spoke in a German accent. He put out his hand. “I'm Doctor Franks. Good to see you again, Charles, I think it's you under that disguise?”
“It is,” Charlie said and shook the doctor's hand. “We figured it best to keep our disguises on for the moment.”
“Probably a wise move, with all the trouble you've been through,” the doctor said. “Though I hardly think there's much need for them around here. This is a...special place, you could say,” the doc grinned.
“I know it is,” Charlie said. “Doctor, this is my commander from the military unit we used to be in together, Dan Bandy.”
“Pleased to meet you,” Dan said as he shook the man's hand.
“Thank you, me as well,” the doctor said. “Please, come in and sit down. Can I get you coffee?”
“Yes, that would be great, thanks,” Dan said.
“Yes, please,” Charlie nodded.
“Alright, this way, please,” Franks lead them into the comfortable living room where they could sit without their disguises on.
After Franks had brought out some coffee, they got down to business.
“Tell us more the tentacle lord, the alien!” Franks said.
“He knows about that?” Dan asked.
“I told him a little bit,” Charlie shrugged.
“What do you want to know?” Dan said.
“Do you know how to summon him? I'd like to talk with him,” the doctor's eyes sparkled.
“Why would you want to do that? Anyway, I think we killed him. At least I hope we did,” Dan said.
“Oh, I think he's not the only one that can be called from his dimension. And I'm sure he's not the only one of his kind. If he's even dead. Creatures like that have amazing powers of rejuvenation, especially when they move back and forth through dimensions. Probably time, also.” The doctor smiled, looking really happy and animated.
“Sorry to burst your bubble, but we pumped that guy full of as much lead as we could. If he's not dead, he's very wounded. I don't see how it could have survived all that,” Dan shook his head. “And why would you want to bring it back from wherever it comes from? Just whose side are you on?” Dan asked him, getting closer to the doctor and pointing an accusing finger at him.
“Call it a...professional curiosity,” the doctor said.
Dan turned to Charlie, “Do you know who this guy works for? Can we really trust him?”
Charlie rushed up and got between the two of them, “Just relax. He's someone that can help us, maybe the only person who can. I say we give him what he wants if he can change us back,” Charlie said.
“Is that what you want? To be changed back? Whatever for?” the doctor muttered.
“Call me old fashioned,” Dan said. “Can you do it?”
“Fine. I will do what I can and I think it may work. I've had some success with animal tests. Of course, I've never had a full-blown human specimen to work on,” the doctor rubbed his hands with glee.
“We're not projects for your lab. Let's go, Charlie,” Dan got up and turned to leave.
“And what about your little one? The one not yet born? Don't you want my help with that?” the doctor cooed.
Dan spun around, angry, “How'd you know about that?”
The doctor smiled, “You see? I have many talents that you don't know about!” He tapped his forehead. “Let's work out a plan.”
“But how? Charlie doesn't even know, yet,” Dan stammered and sat back down.
“Know what?” Charlie asked.
“Suzy's pregnant,” Dan said.
“Wow!” Charlie's mouth hung open.
“Yeah. And we don't know if it's normal or not. We haven't had time and we've been afraid to have it checked out, anyway,” Dan looked at the carpet.
“That's understandable,” Charlie said.
“Very much, so. It would be quite a shock if there were something amiss. And your regular doctors would have no clue how to help you. Fortunately, I do,” the doctor said gently. “Now, let me ask you some questions.”
“No!” Dan said. “Tell me how you knew first or I'm out of here.”
The doctor and Dan stared at each other for a long time.
Finally, the doc shrugged, “Alright, I'll tell you. But you might not believe it.”
“I've got a tentacle. Try me,” Dan looked at him sternly.
“I have been a student of the occult for decades now. The word occult simple means hidden, I...”
“I know what it means,” Dan seethed.
“OK, well,” the doctor continued. “I was born with certain abilities that run strong in my family. Chief among them is ESP. I am sometimes able to pick up on a person's thoughts.”
“You read my mind?” Dan asked.
“Yes. Or rather, I picked up some of your dominant thoughts, which happened to be about the pregnancy, quite naturally,” the doc nodded. “That doesn't mean I can read your entire mind, so don't worry,” he smiled and patted Dan's hand.
“Alright,” Dan said. “That makes me feel a little better.”
“Good,” the doc said.
“It must be a handy ability to have, sometimes?” Dan asked.
“It certainly can be. But it can also cause trouble, as we've just seen!” The doctor laughed and Dan found himself laughing, too. Charlie joined in.
“Now, would you like to see my lab?” the doctor perked up.
“Sure, lead the way,” Dan said.
“That would be great!” Charlie smiled.
“Right this way!” the doctor got up and lead them downstairs.
The basement was huge and nicely finished. He went behind the bar in the lounge and flipped a switch on the wall. The bar moved out of the way on a rotating platform, revealing a room behind the bar.
“Very James Bond,” Dan said.
“Wow!” Charlie blinked.
“Gentlemen, if you please,” the doctor held his hand out to show the way. He reached inside the doorway and flicked on the lights, revealing a large, white-tiled modern laboratory.
“Holy shit!” Charlie cried out.
“This is amazing, doctor!” Dan gushed.
“Please, come inside and take a closer look!” the doctor led them inside.
Dan and Charlie stepped inside and saw all manner of laboratory equipment, from beakers and monitors, to pieces of scary looking equipment they had no idea of. There were even what looked like glass or plastic “coffins” or chambers that a person could go into.
But what really got their attention, and chilled them to their cores, was the exact same kind of machine that had opened a portal that Meficious had emerged from.
Dan stopped in his tracks and pointed at the machine, “I know what that machine is. Just what the hell is going on here?”
Charlie looked at Dan, “I'm sorry, I had no idea...”
The doctor stood in front of the machine. “Please, gentlemen! Do not be alarmed. I said I would help you, but to do so, I need to get the knowledge to do that. Where do you think I'm going to get it from, if not from the source?” the doctor shrugged, presenting his case.
“Look, the last thing we're going to do is help you bring anymore of those things back into our world. You're playing with fire. You're on your own. Come on, Charlie.” Dan turned to leave. “I can't believe this!”
“I'm sorry! I really didn't know!” Charlie ran after Dan.
“It's OK, it's not your fault. You were only trying to help,” Dan frowned.
The doctor flipped a hidden switch under a table and the door closed, trapping Dan and Charlie inside. They pushed on the door but it wouldn't budge.
“What's the idea, doc? Open this door!” Dan yelled.
“Doctor, please! Let us out of here!” Charlie said.
They turned around to find the doctor missing from the room.
“Oh, great!” Dan said, looking around the room for something he could use as a weapon. He grabbed a scalpel from a table. Charlie grabbed a large monitor and prepared to throw it at the door.
A speaker in the ceiling clicked on and the voice of the doctor came over it, “Put that down! I can flood the room with poison gas at the touch of a button. You'll be dead in seconds if I want it.”
Dan and Charlie looked at each other, then put the things down.
“Good, that's better,” the doc said, with pleasure.
They caught a glimpse of the doctor behind a window in the wall. He was in a control room that looked out onto the lab.
“That's right, I'm safe in here and you are trapped out there. Don't even think about trying to break this glass, because you'll never do it. And there's no way out that door until I release you. So, do as I say and we'll both be happy. You'll get what you want and I'll get what I want.”
“How can we trust you now? You could just get what you want from us and then kill us,” Dan said.
“Very true,” the doctor said into the microphone he was holding. “But you really don't have any choice, do you?
Dan hung his head and shook it in a “no” gesture.
“Good. Shall we begin?” the doc said.
“What do you want us to do?” Dan asked.
“For starters, let's see those tentacles of yours!” the doc grinned.
Continued in: Men In Kilts With Tentacles and The Women Who Love Them - Book 6: Doctor