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KS HOTLINE MEETINGS/HQ CHRONICLES #11
SNAP, CRACKLE, POP....BUZZZ
Part six
<At the Herkspital>
Hestia was leaving Angelika’s room. She had a worried look on her face. "Oh, I hope SHerk can keep her sane a little longer until one of my calls for help gets answered." As she started to leave she was stopped by a hand on her shoulder. "I came as soon as I could. How can I be of help? And am I the first one here?" Kull asked looking around a bit surprised.
"Oh my king. I’m so glad you’re here. Yes, you can be a great help. And yes you’re the first one here. I don’t think Sov will make it and well I have no idea what could be keeping Herk. But you are here and you can make Angelika better. You see, she panicked after hearing that nasty rumor that W**** let out about the next season of Hercules being a Kevinlite season."
"Fools. I can’t believe those scribes. I could take care of them, you know. Just might. But Angel is first and foremost. You can count on me, Hestia. She’ll be better." Kull then opened Angelika’s door and ordered with a royal tone "SHerk, you can go and make some other amazon happy. I’ll make Angel girl feel like the queen she is." SHerk kissed Angelika’s hand, said bye and left.
Angelika turned her pale face toward the voice, her eyes void of life. Kull closed the space between them. He started to stroke her cheeks gently. Then pulled the strands of loose hair away from her face. Slowly he nibbled on her lips. Gently coaxing a reaction out of Angelika. When it seems that his patient was in a deeper KSWS he had expected, Kull smiled to himself and whispered " Well, I guess the royal treatment is in order." And he started to take off his shirt and joined Angelika in her bed.
******
<Administrative area>
Kelly was getting agitated, really agitated. She was now opening and closing drawers. Fast. She was mumbling to herself "Where is it? I thought I had some here." Looking up she met Herk’s gaze. And snapped. "Oh, the Hades with duck tape, I can do this without it." Kelly rose from her chair, a cat like smile forming on her lips. She started to walk toward Herk.
Herk noticed the change of body language in Kelly. She now walked like a predator hunting. "She moves like a big wild cat" Herk thought then immediately asked himself where did that come from?
Kelly was now a few inches from Herk. She put her left index on his chest then slowly went down, until she found Herk’s pants belt. She smiled. Pulled on the pants and said " I think you and I need to have a little chat, big guy!" Herk was now looking at Kelly with doubting eyes then decided to go along with her mood. Kelly slowly stirred him toward the closet near the entrance of the administrative office. Passing Melite’s desk, she noticed a roll of duck tape on the desk. She picked it up then pushed Herk in the closet. She turned, wicked at Kendaa who was laughing so hard she had tears rolling down her face, and joined Herk.
Kendaa wiped the tears from her face. "Well, FLS *is* a good excuse to get Herk into a closet." I’ll have to remember that. Gods, that girl is good." The phones started to ring and before answering Kendaa clearly heard leather being ripped then a "Kelly watch your nails, I really don’t want to explain how I got those scratches."
**********
IMPORTANT: All the events below are happening at the same time.<Back in the delivery dock office>
Suja and Tedras were doing their best not to *THUD* too much. Picking out the new color 8 x 10 pics for KSHQ was a tough job. But someone had to do it. "Remember Tedras. Castalia wants a few Iolaus and Young Iolaus pics. What have you chosen?" asked Suja. "Tedras?"
Tedras was staring at one of the best pics of Sov from Stranger. He was lounging like a big, dangerous, wild cat on this chair with a wicked grin on his lips. "Tedras?" asked Suja again. "You are okay?"
Tedras finally looked up. "Oh, right. I’m fine. My mind went east. Sorry. You know, I was thinking of doing a portrait of Sov for the hall entrance of KSHQ. What do you think?"
"Sure. If you can have him sit still for more than 5 minutes. With chains or leathers restraints it might be possible…" answered Suja. "Or duct tape. Extra strength" replied Tedras.
One of the truck delivery door opened. Suja looked up. "Oh, I almost forgot. We are getting some more stuff. You mind finishing this up. There are still some Herk’s pics to choose. Be sure to have at least one of Gherk and some from Fancy free. Can’t have to many of those." Suja stood up and went to greet the delivery men. They looked somewhat familiar to Tedras.
*********
<In the meeting room>
SaraQuinn was talking on her cell phone and pacing around the room. "Yes. That’s right. KSHQ. I need 3 cases of grapes. Red. All red. Big, juicy grapes. 2 cases of lemonade coolers. A dozen of big feather pillows. 2 Hunting knifes. Why hunting knifes? Really. You *don’t* want to know."
Becky walks in. She’s holding a bunch of files. Her eyes brows arched. "Hunter’s knifes? Feather pillows.." she says. SaraQuinn smiles at her and continues her phone conversation. "Yes, you heard me right. Grapes, red grapes. Lemonade coolers. Feather pillows. Hunting knifes…" Becky then says "add 6 cases of duct tapes. We are running low."
SQ looks at Becky and says "thank you, I’d almost forgotten." Going back to the phone "And you can add 6 cases of duct tapes. What kind? One moment?"
SQ asks Becky "What kind?" Becky looks puzzled "how many kinds do they have?" SQ back to the phone " How many kinds to you have? Black friction tape. Okay. Good adhesion to all types of surfaces. Provides excellent protection against abrasion. That sounds good." Becky nods.
"What else do you have?" asks SQ. "Brown friction tape. High quality cotton tape. Fabric coated on both side. .Provides good adhesion to all types of surfaces. Distinctive natural rubber color. Excellent tack. Provides excellent protection against abrasion for cables and splices wires." Becky says " Get 4 cases of those." Chantal walks in.
"What else you got?" SQ waves at Chantal. "An all purpose cloth duct tape. It’s laminated cloth provides superior mechanical strength and will conform to irregular surfaces. Used for sealing joints on all types of duct work. Excellent for heavy duty applications."
Becky and Chantal look at each other, grin and say "Oh my gods. An all purpose Sov duct tape." "How many rolls per case?" asks Becky.
SQ still on the phone "How many rolls per case? 24. Okay. We want 6 cases of those. What color are they? Gray. Nice. So we have : 4 cases of black duct tapes, 4 cases of brown duct tapes and 6 cases of Sov’s, oh sorry, cloth duct tapes. Yes, we have lots of construction work going on here." SQ rolls her eyes. "When can we get all of this. 2 days. Good. Nice doing business with you. Bye bye." SQ closes her cell phone.
"Gee, I don’t think they know what a gold mine they have. So Chantal, where is everybody? There was a meeting schedule, right? asks SQ
*********
<Delivery docks>
Suja is going over the delivery envoi with one of the delivery men. A nice, young man. Tall, bright smile. Buzz cut hair style. (That’s the buzzzz part of the story btw)
"Okay. How many boxes of Herk’s pillows were you able to get? Oh, I see. 2 boxes. A few boxes of actions figures. Oh, you found some more Iolaus. Nice. What is this?" Suja was pointing to the last item on the slip.
The young man stepped closer to Suja and gave here his most charming smile. "Oh, those. I was able to pull some strings, you know being royalty does have its advantages. Sometimes." Suja was getting a little bit flush. "Oh really. So what are they?" "The advantages. Well I get to pick the best looking gal…" Suja was not getting a little red. "No, I meant the boxes…" "Oh, the boxes. Right. It’s something I heard you asked about the last time we were here." The young man took one of the mystery boxes, pulled a knife and tore it open. "Take a peek."
Suja kneeled on the floor. Her hair brushing the young man’s face. He gave her a look, a staring look. Getting her hand inside the box, Suja grabbed a round shape object. "Christmas ornament. You found Christmas ornaments." She was so happy and excited, she got up too rapidly, losing her balance and nearly dropping one of the precious , very rare Herk Christmas ornament. Jason (yes, that’s was Young Jason) caught her just in time and pulled her into his arms.
The second delivery man picked up the last box and looking at the two of them, he let out a shout " Jason, stop flirting with Suja. She’s devoted to Herk." And he left toward the back store.
Iolaus. Young Iolaus was still laughing when he ran smack into Castalia, her class and some other refugee Amazons from the back store. Castalia’s mouth opened and she started to stutter. "I-o-laus. Oh my gods. That’s I-o-laus." The blond hunter smiled at her. "Hey Cas. It’s been awhile. How are you?" Getting close he kissed her on the cheek. "And who are the wonderful and beautiful ladies with you"
Hilara, Baucis, Harpalyke, Debbie, Cleavules smiled and blushed. Cas was speechless. But not for long. A few seconds later, she had her hands on Iolaus’ face and gave him one long "hello you" kiss.
*********
<Back in the meeting room>
"Well, yes. There is a meeting but I think some of our amazon friends got sidetrack by Sov and his plaster demonstration" answered Chantal.
Seeing SQ’s and Becky’s blank stares, Chantal laughed. "Oh, don’t worry, you’ll get a look at the mess. I’m sure that it’s quite the war zone now. So let’s start this meeting shall we? I have a few exciting news and well you’re the only ones here so I guess you should be the only ones to enjoy the reward. " Chantal sat down. SQ and Becky did the same.
"Okay, first thing. Your promotion is effective as of now SQ. You are now KSHQ marketing and public relations executive. Your first project is going to be to come up with some promotional material for KSHQ. I was thinking postcard, greeting cards, posters… You know. Set up a photo shoot with whom ever you want. Bribe, threaten, pout, do what ever is necessary. We need those promotional items like yesterday."
SaraQuinn was ecstatic. A photo shoot. She gave Becky a smile. "Oh the possibilities. I’ll need help, of course." Becky giggled. "Oh, I’ll sacrifice myself for the good of KSHQ". "You two are so funny. Now, the second thing. Gazelle’s little project is green light" said Chantal. SaraQuinn and Becky let out a small "Yeah!". "It was never a secret. Was it?" asked Chantal. "Nope. Everybody knows about the Gym.So have you gotten my application yet?" asked Becky.
"Yes. I got your applications. And others too. I even got some that describes what kind of job they want. I’ll go thru them with Dicez, she will managed the Gym, and post the list soon. There’s a paint bash to organize. And Gazelle will take care of that since she’s not here to say no" Chantal added with an evil smile. "Les absents ont toujours tort" she mumbled to herself.
"Hey. Stop that. No French without translating it" said SQ.
"Oh it was nothing important. Third thing…" started Chantal "Is the answer to my question how come I did not get an assistant of the male gender. You had promised" said Becky.
Chantal sighed. "I know and I’m sorry Becky. After much considerations, I decided against it. First you would not get any work done and your office would have become Grand Station Central. But I hired some new delivery employees. Castalia is going to be so happy… so is Angelika, Kelly,… me."
SQ let out a loud whistle "You got Young Iolaus and <gulp> Young Jason to work for KSHQ. Gods, you’re good."
"I am. Aren’t I" replied Chantal with a smile. Then a cell phone started to ring.
"Yours?" asked Chantal to SQ. "Nope. I think it’s yours." Chantal started to look for her cell phone. First she looked on the conference table. Then under Becky’s files. The phone was still ringing. Finally, she looked in her jacket. Not there. Becky picked up Chantal’s bag. "Oh, I think there’s something ringing in there."
"Oups.. Sorry." Chantal got to her phone. "Hello. Yes. Oh wonderful. Nyxx, please tell me you did not use all of the water. And you did send for soap and towels, right? Of course, you did. Bright girl." Chantal sighed and closed her phone. "Okay, ladies. SaraQuinn, you go get your bar of enchanted soap. And Becky you get the chains from the weapons’ room. It seems Nyxx broke up the little plaster party…well hosed down is a more adequate description."
SQ and Becky left in a hurry and with a big big smile on their faces. Alone Chantal rubbed her left shoulder." "Oh gods, it hurts a lot. I guess I have to let Hestia or Freya take a look at it. Oh, well might as well get it over with. Oh joy. I’ll get back to you Ares." Picking up her bag, she winced. "Right shoulder, Chantal. Right, not left. Dummy."
*********
At the construction site
Josée and Nyxx had put a wet stop to Sov’s little plaster bash. All the amazons were wet and muddy. Michelle was almost fused into the plaster. She could not move. Neither could Ann, Voluptua and Andulasia. Apollena was dripping and not amused. She was furious. "First, Princess at the kissing booth on Valentine’s day. Now Josée and Nyxx. What is it with you guys and hoses?"
XMRSA’s body was glued to Sov’s. She was almost unconscious. Sov was grinning. "Oh, Nyxx. This is so much fun." He let XMRSA on the ground gently then started to move toward Nyxx. "Yep. This is going to be very very good."
Passing a semi conscious and very damped Nannyboo, Sov stopped. Kneeled besides her. He let a finger linger on her face. Then he traced a line from her temple to her half open lips. He then rubbed his finger on them. Nannyboo’s eyes shot open. "Glad you could join us again dear" Sov whispered in her ear. Nannyboo sighed. Loudly.
Nyxx had to think fast. She knew Sov would be distracted by Nannyboo only a few seconds. Then he would pounced on her. She had to get a plan. Turning, she told Josée "Call the covert center. Have them send soaps, towels. And most important chains." Josée let out a loud laugh. "No problem." She let the hose go and started to run toward the lawn and a phone.
Nyxx still holding her hose, pulled her cell phone from her back pocket. "Boss, yes. I broke up the little party. NO, I did not. And yes, I did sent for those and chains, lots of chains. And I definitely gonna go." Sov was on her in a flash. He took her cell phone and threw it away. (that’s the second one he destroys in this story I wonder why <g>) "You won’t need that anymore. And can you please give me the hose." And he grabbed the hose. Nyxx resisted fiercely. "Oh, go ahead. Fight me. I’ll enjoy it." (Note of the author: I finally found a way to use that line. I’m so happy. <g>)
Dicez and Gazelle were speechless. Cokie was still on cloud nine and quite incoherent.
******
A little later…
Chantal was walking to the Herkspital and passed the construction site. Everything seemed under control finally.
SHerk was pulling up Michelle, Ann, Voluptua and Andi. Of course, he seemed to be pull down more often then he pulled them up. But that was okay. The covert center had acted rapidly and efficiently. Josée had taken charge. She was distributing towels, soaps to Nannyboo who had finally recovered, to Cokie who had finally came back down and to XMRSA who was still quite shaken by her encounter with Sov.
SQ and Becky were circling around Sov who was enjoying Nyxx immensely. He was quite distracted. Kissing Nyxx’s throat, neck, shoulders… And Nyxx was trying very hard to stay alert but she was rapidly losing the battle. When she caught a glimpse of SQ and Becky dangling chains. Nyxx smiled and changed her attitude. She put her arms around Sov’s neck and kissed him back with a vengeance. Sov growled "Oh, this is definitely going to be good."
Then he found himself chains. By lots and lots of chains. Then he heard the loud sound of a lock. Chantal walked up to him. She let her fingers run on his quite messy chest and she said " Time to wash up. Big boy." She then went to Herkspital.
********
Inside Herkspital
Angelika had made a spectacular recovery. And she was now very hungry. (note of the author: I wonder why <g>) Kull was slowly playing with a hair. "Why don’t we go and join the outdoor lunch, I’m hungry" said Angelika. "Wonderful idea I’m hungry too. But later" replied Kull. Angelika was puzzled. "Later… you said you were hungry. Oh that *kind* of hungry…"
********
In the administrative office
Kelly had a smile a mile wide. Sitting at her desk, she was humming. "FLS, such a nice excuse to get close and personal with Sov, Ares and now Herk. I hope he gets those scratches looked at. I really do need a manicure now. "
************
At Herkspital
Chantal had gotten Hestia to look at her shoulder. "Oh that’s a nasty burn. You will need aloes cream for at least a week. And I’ll want to see you again in two days. I won’t ask any question. But you should be careful and not let Herk see this…"
"Not let me see what, Hestia? Oh Chantal, your Sov’s tattoo’s hitching" said Herk "Do you happen to have some aloes cream Hestia, I have some, euh, cuts, to heal."
Herk was now near Hestia and saw Chantal’s shoulder. "When did this happen? And don’t tell me it’s nothing. I’m not that gullible"
Chantal got up. "Thanks Hestia. I’ll take care of it. And Herk do not get involved in this. It’s between me and…." "My half brother. I know. But he crossed the line now. Look at you shoulder. That’s a very nasty burn" said Herk.
"I said do not get involved. It will make it worst. I’ll handle this my way. Don’t worry, he’ll pay for this." And Chantal left the room. Herk said to himself "Oh, yes. I’ll see that he pays. One way or the other."
*********
A little later at the construction site
Everyone was eating Gazelles most excellent catered buffet. The wash up party was in full swing. Sov was chained an tied up to one of the exterior pillar of the Apartment complex. Each amazons was taking turns at cleaning up Sov. He did not seem to mind at all.
Sponges, soaps, wash cloths were used. And when the guest of honor of this little gathering was a little too clean an amazon sacrificed herself to dirty him up all over again. Kara took the first turn. Freya was willing to martyr herself a few times. For a good cause of course.
SQ, XMRSA and Cokie took turns at lathering him up. Becky, Nannyboo and Princess (who had finally made it to the site) were slowly and patiently washing every inch of him.
After Freya had put plaster all over Sov for the second time. (Freya really got into this voluntary gig). Kelly, Melite, Deeva and Star had their way with Sov.
Castalia’s class got into the mix as Hilara rolled around in the plaster and then covered Sov with every inch of her body. Sov had to be washed …. Again. Ann, Voluptua and a few others were happy to obliged.
*********
<At Perth airport>
Laurissa was checking in her luggage. She had quite a few of them. She intended to make this R and R last as long as she could. "Oh I think I need a year off" she mumbled to herself.
Waiting in line to clear customs, she was listening to some Sarah McLachlan in her walk man. Finally, it was her turn. The custom official asked the usual questions, not even waiting for the answers.
"Where are you going? Do you have anything to declare? Can I see your passport?" But he was reduce to silence when he heard Laurissa’s answers.
"Sorboland. It’s next to New Greeceland. Declare? Let’s see: two fine sharp steel blades, do not touch them they are rare artifact from a Spartan archeological dig of one of Ares’ temples. Two silver daggers, three cases of duct tapes. Nothing unusual. Here’s my passport" Laurissa handed her passport to the custom official with a smile that would distract the strongest of man.
"Oh no, not another one of those aresto something. They had one in Sydney a while back. Just let her pass or you’ll never hear the end of it and some very cranky guy with a goatee will show up and destroy the place. I was there, I don’t really want to experience it again" another custom official said from behind.
Laurissa looked up, smiled and said "Thank you. So you heard of us, have you? She, then picked up her hand bags and boarded the plane.
*******
Much later at KS HQ, Chantal was picking up her email. One message said:
Will be at KS Head quarters early tomorrow morning. No need have someone pick me up. It’s already been taken care of.
Laurissa
Chantal smiled and looked at the dark god sitting in front of her. "Needed reinforcement, I see…" Ares just stared and disappeared in a flash of blue flames.
*************
The end or is it?
Next chronicle : Paint, brushes and …. duct tapes.
Chantal "Remember. Live. Grow stronger. Fight another day."