Houston: The Girl Of His Dreams Pt. 02

"No," Regis said. "But most burner phones are. Fortunately, that's something we've been able to keep from the public. For obvious reasons." Now she had another decision to make. She thought about it for a moment before pulling out her cell. She punched in the number and waited for the man at the other end to answer.

"Sheffield and Brown are on the move. Follow Brown and keep me appraised of his location," she said.

"On our way," the man at the other end said before ending the call. She turned to Ross and hoped she made the right decision. She was concerned about Barker, but she had bigger concerns, namely the life of a particular American agent, and two of the turncoats working with McWhorter. Ross understood her conflict and nodded his head. She made one more call.

"Hello," Houston said when she answered the phone. Roisin could tell she had been asleep.

"Houston, this is Roisin. Sheffield is on his way to your location now. He'll probably be there in about 15 or 20 minutes. We've got assets in the vicinity of the room you're in. Brown is picking up the antidote from Barker. Try to maintain until we can get there. And watch yourself. He's up to no good."

"Will do," Houston said. Ending the call, she thought about what Roisin had said. Perhaps, she thought, he would try to drug her. She looked through her overnight bag and found the small tin that held the anti-date rape drug pills she got when they were in Washington. Opening it, she took a small tablet and placed it under her tongue. Then she sat back down on the couch and waited. About 15 minutes later, she heard a knock at the door.

"Come in," she said. The door opened and Alan Sheffield walked in. She took stock of his height and noticed the slight smirk on his face.

"How's your husband, Mrs. Smith," he asked.

"He's resting for now, thanks for asking. What brings you here?"

"Well, I just wanted to come by to let you know we have a lead on that antidote," he said. "My partner, Derek Brown, has gone to Hackney to see if he can collect it and bring it here."

"That is good news," Houston said. "Have you told Roisin?"

"Not yet," he said. "I wanted to wait until Derek got here."

"I see."

"So, you think that maybe we can sit for a little while, maybe get to know each other a bit before he gets here? I know we got off on the wrong foot and I wanted to make it up to you."

"Sure, have a seat," she said.

* * * * *

John sat on his chair, watching as the strange storm came closer. He remembered always being fascinated by storms and he enjoyed watching this one come close, the lightning flashing with increasing ferocity.

Houstonia sat behind him and watched the storm as well, but she wasn't fascinated by it at all. Something about this storm didn't sit well with her at all. Suddenly, the bedroom door opened and one of the scantily-clad women came inside, bowing as she approached Houstonia.

"Yes, what is it?" Houstonia asked.

"My Queen, the corpuscles are on their way. They're in the storm clouds."

"Very well," Houstonia said. "Sound battle stations. Prepare my steed."

"Yes, my Queen," the woman said, scurrying out of the room. Houstonia walked to John and placed a hand on his shoulder.

"They're coming," she said. "In the storm. You need to take shelter." He looked at her, shocked. Surely, she didn't expect him to hide.

"I can't hide while you fight to protect me," he said. "There's got to be something I can do." She looked at the incoming storm then back at him.

"Very well," she said. "There is an armored defensive position out there on the northeastern bastion. You can man the weapon there. It works just like the weapon I showed you earlier."

"Okay, I think I can do that," he said. "What are you going to do?"

"I must prepare for battle. I will meet them up there, where I can engage them directly," she added, pointing to the sky.

"Be safe, please," he said. She smiled and kissed him on the lips.

"Don't worry, John Smith. I'll be just fine." With that, she turned and started to don her fighting attire. John left the room and found his way to the northeastern bastion. He looked at the mounted weapon to familiarize himself. It was larger than the pistol he was given, but looked to operate in the same way.

He looked and saw blobs of red already being launched at the cloud, so he decided to pitch in. Taking the weapon off safe, he saw a green indicator bar that seemed to suggest the weapon was fully charged and ready for use. He grabbed the handles and aimed the weapon at the cloud. Surely I can't miss this, he thought as he pressed the trigger.

As he held the trigger, blobs of red -- something -- shot from the barrel and headed for the cloud. He saw yellow explosions and small puffs of smoke where the red blobs had hit their targets. Like shooting fish in a barrel, he thought as he continued to press the trigger. He heard a screech and looked up to see Houstonia on the back of her giant winged steed, heading into the sky above the growing cloud.

"You go get 'em, girl," he said quietly. Suddenly, he saw green blobs fly past his position. Some of them came straight for him, but were stopped by what he thought was some kind of an invisible shield. "Oh no, you did NOT shoot that green shit at me," he said. Then he realized he had heard that line before. But from where? He quickly realized he didn't have time to mull it over and pressed the trigger, firing into the cloud with everything he had.

Soon, the sky was filled with flying red and green blobs and he could see the froggish corpuscles and their pterodactyl-like beasts falling from the cloud in great numbers. As the cloud came closer to the fortress, it split into four parts and began to surround the fortress.

* * * * *

Alan looked at Houston as the two of them sat and made small talk. He had never really thought of her as anything other than a good-looking woman -- something to be used as arm candy by her husband. Of course, he was impressed with her to a certain extent, having seen what she did to Roisin that first day. To the best of his knowledge, no one had ever been able to best the Irish woman in a one-on-one contest.

After a few minutes of small talk, he decided to up the ante and checked his jacket pocket to make sure he still had the tablets. He did, so he made his move.

"Houston, would you like a bit of tea? My treat."

"That would be nice, Alan, thank you," she said. Watching him walk away, she noticed the tell-tale bulge in the back of his jacket and knew he had a weapon tucked into his belt.

She felt her phone buzz and pulled it out. There was a message from Roisin: "DB has antidote. On way to you now." She sent a quick acknowledgment and put her phone away before Alan got back. She had a pretty good idea what the two of them had in mind and she hoped the backup assets were in place.

A couple minutes later, Alan returned with two styrofoam cups of tea and handed one over to her, checking out her body as he did so. Damn, he thought, that's one bird I'm going to really enjoy eating. He watched as she took a sip of tea and wondered if the stuff he put in it acted as fast as he had been told.

It didn't take very long for Houston to realize that the tea Alan gave her had been spiked with something. Perhaps it was Ecstasy, perhaps it was something else. Fortunately, the pill she took earlier was doing its job.

She watched Alan to see if he was going to make a move or if he was waiting for his partner in crime. She noticed that he seemed to be watching her like a hawk. Perhaps, she thought, he's waiting to see when the drug will start to affect her.

He watched to see when the pill would take affect. He began to get a bit nervous after a while. She had consumed almost all of the tea but was still showing no indication that the Ecstasy was having an impact. Maybe, he thought, he should have used more than the two tablets he put in her drink. After a few minutes, the door opened and Derek came in, holding a syringe in one hand.

"I got it," he said.

"Good, go ahead and give it to him," Alan said.

"Maybe we should wait for the doctor," Houston told them. Alan shook his head.

"No worries, luv," he told her. "Derek knows what he's doing. Don'tcha, mate?"

"I know what I'm doing, don't worry you're sweet little head," Derek said as he began to insert the needle into John's IV.

"Once Derek's done, then we're gonna take care of both of you," Alan said with a wicked grin.

"What do you mean?" Houston asked. Alan just laughed and Derek laughed with him. The door opened again and the room began to fill up as Roisin, Ross and a few other members of the team came into the room.

"What are you doing?" Roisin asked.

"What does it look like?" Alan asked. "Derek got the antidote and he's giving it to John. That was the idea, wasn't it?"

"Get away from him, Derek. Both of you stay clear of the patient," Roisin ordered.

"Or what?" Alan asked. By now, Derek had already injected the antidote into John's IV and moved to one side. Alan had positioned himself between Houston and Roisin, mistakenly thinking Houston could do nothing to him at this point. Houston took the initiative and kicked Alan in the back of his legs, causing him to go down to his knees.

Derek too the opportunity to run out of the room, prompting the others to take after him. Roisin was still in the room, but her attention was now on Derek's attempted escape. Houston saw Alan reach back and grab the pistol in his belt. She knew if she did nothing, someone could get hurt or killed. She remembered something John once showed her and hoped she had enough strength.

Without thinking, she grabbed Alan by the chin and the back of his head and quickly snapped his head to one side. She heard a sickening crunch and saw his arms go limp. She let go and watched as he fell forward, his neck having been snapped. Shocked, Roisin looked at her former colleague, his neck broken. Then she looked at Houston.

"Look at his hand," Houston said. Roisin looked where Houston indicated and saw the small, illegal, semiautomatic pistol. Realizing that Houston had probably saved her life, she looked at Houston, smiled and nodded her head.

* * * * *

John furiously fired his weapon at the dark red cloud, watching the corpuscles and their flying beasts fall to the ground. He looked at the indicator and saw it was nearing the bottom of the scale. He hoped he had enough ammunition to get through the battle.

The sky was now filled with red and green blobs as he and the other defenders fired into the red clouds that now surrounded the fortress, blocking out almost all of the light from the sun. He saw streams of fire in the sky and knew they were from Houstonia's winged steed.

Suddenly, there was a brilliant flash of light in the sky and a long roll of thunder. A light rain began to fall and the cloud began to dissipate. As it did, the few remaining corpuscles turned and fled. Soon, the sky was clear and there were no more green blobs in the air. Seeing no need to continue fighting, he let loose of his weapon just as the last bar began to blink.

A few minutes later, Houstonia landed and rushed to the bastion where John was located. He looked at her as she approached him, and he began to remember. The name Houston came to his mind and he remembered that she was his wife. But who was Houstonia, he asked himself. And why did she look so much like his wife?

When Houstonia reached him, she put her hands on his shoulders and looked him in the eyes. Then she smiled.

"The antidote has been delivered, John Smith," she said. "You are going to live." He looked back at her and noticed that she was becoming transparent. He knew he was leaving, almost as if waking up from a dream. But there was something he had to know.

"Who are you?" he asked. "Really?" She smiled before she spoke.

"You know who I am, John," she said. "Deep down in your soul, you've always known. I'm the girl of your dreams. No matter where you go, I'm with you. Here," she said, pointing to his heart, "in your heart. And here," she added, pointing to his head, "in your mind. I am always with you. And I will never leave you. Never. Farewell, my love."

"Your heart," he thought. Then it hit him like a slap to the back of the head. "Urhart." Houstonia kissed him, full on his lips. And as she did, he noticed a change. The face became real and the hair was no longer white. He was now staring into the beautiful face of his one true love, his warrior princess. The true guardian protector of his heart -- Houston. She smiled as she kissed him.

He looked around and took in the scene in his room. He saw the tall man laying on the floor. Medics were examining him and Roisin was talking to someone on her phone. He looked at the IV tubes going into his arms and shook his head to clear his mind.

"What happened?" he asked Houston.

"Oh, just the usual," she said. "Some asshole tried to drug me so he and his buddy could fuck me while you watch. So I killed him. I broke his neck the way you taught me." John looked at her in shock.

"Apparently, when Houston says 'no,' she really means it, eh," Roisin said with a slight smile. Houston smiled as she looked at Roisin. John looked at the two of them and noticed something was different between them.

"It was either that or let him pull his firearm and kill Roisin, or me. And I wasn't about to do that," Houston said. "So I reacted, the way you taught me."

"I see. So, what's the deal between you two?" John asked, looking from one to the other. "Have you two buried the hatchet? Are you best buds or something now?"

"I suppose you could say we've become mates," Roisin said. "Especially now that she saved my life."

"Mates," John said. "I see. So what's going on here?"

"Your boss explained the whole situation to us last night," Roisin said. "In very graphic detail."

"My boss?" John asked. "Alpha One is here? In London?"

"Yes," Houston said. "I followed Company protocol and informed him after you were shot. He grabbed the first flight to London."

"Where is he now?" John asked. Just then, they heard Regis' voice booming in the hallway. A few seconds later, he entered the room. A couple of orderlies came in with him to collect Alan's body. By now, the investigators with Roisin had taken their photos and collected their evidence.

"Well, about Goddamn time you woke up, Smith," he said. "Or were you planning to sleep the rest of your time here and make Houston do all the heavy lifting," he asked, pointing to Alan's dead body.

"Good to see you too, boss," John said. "So, what's going on?"

"What's going on is the case is being resolved," Regis said. He turned to Roisin. "I hope your people can manage to collar Brown before he decides to climb Big Ben."

"As do I. They should be able to get him before he leaves the hospital," she said. Regis nodded his head.

"I hope the hell so," he said. He looked at Houston.

"Are you okay?" he asked. She nodded her head.

"I am now, boss, thank you," she said.

"Well, John, just so you know, Roisin and her team have been fully briefed on the whole situation. It seems their initial briefing left out a few details. And I'd like to find out how it is you managed to get two moles on your crew without you knowing about it," he added, looking at Roisin.

"I would too, sir," she said. "But that's an internal issue."

"Yes, it is," Regis said. "But I would still like to know when you find out." She smiled and nodded her head. Just then, a doctor and a couple of nurses came into the room. The doctor went to John and began examining him. He shook his head as he tried to figure out what happened to his patient.

"Well, doc?" Regis asked. "Can he go now?"

"I'd like to run some tests first, make sure there's no lasting brain damage, if it's all the same to you," the doctor said.

"Let the NIH people do their job," Roisin said. "We can wait outside the room while they work." Regis nodded his head as Houston walked to John's side. She gave him a kiss as the medical pros went over their charts.

"I'll be right outside sweetie," she said. "Don't worry, I'll be right back. I love you so much."

"I love you too," he said, returning her kiss. Three hours later, the doctor called everyone back into the room and gave them the news.

"I cannot explain it," he said. "Whatever it was that was injected into Mr. Smith's IV seems to have worked. I can't find any trace of the original compound, and there appears to be no lasting damage."

"So John can leave now?" Houston asked.

"I see no medical reason for him to remain. He can leave after we complete his discharge papers," the doctor said. "I think it would be best if he refrained from any strenuous activity for the next day or two. And if you see any signs of a relapse, bring him back immediately."

"Sounds good, doctor. Thank you for everything," Houston said. Both Roisin and Regis were talking on their cell phones, so she pulled the privacy curtain and helped John get dressed. "Are you feeling alright?" she asked as he put his clothes on.

"Yeah," he said. "I got a bit of a headache, and I feel like I just finished a marathon. Other than that, I'm alright."

"Good," she said. "I was so worried about you. The doctor thought there could be brain damage. He said if you were out much longer it might be irreversible."

"Guess it's a good thing Derek came with the antidote when he did," John said. "How are you holding up? You don't look like you've gotten much sleep. Have you been staying here the whole time?"

"Of course," she said. "I was scared for you and I wasn't about to let you out of my sight."

"Well, when we get outta here, I want to get something to eat. I'm starving," John said.

"Of course," Houston said. Seeing that John was dressed, she pulled the curtain back.

"Are you two ready to go now?" Regis asked.

"We are, boss," John said. They left the hospital and got into Roisin's car. As they made their way to the Ham Yard Hotel where John and Houston were staying, they discussed the situation.

"Derek has been apprehended by Metro Police," Roisin said. "They caught him just as he was leaving the building. He's been charged with the murder of Clive Barker and conspiracy to do great bodily harm to the two of you. I think they're looking at some other charges, but that's not my concern. By the way, Houston, there's a DCI Tom Black from Metro PD who may want to speak with you about Alan. I explained the situation to him, but I think he wants to make sure all his loose ends are sorted out."

"Thanks," Houston said. "Did you tell him Alan slipped on a bar of soap?" Roisin laughed.

"I hadn't thought of that," she said. "Why? Is that what you're going to tell him?"

"Maybe, I don't know yet," Houston shot back.

"What about the guy who was with Barker when I got shot?" John asked. "Any word on him?"

"Wait, there was another man with Clive when you got shot?" Roisin asked.

"Yes, didn't you see him?"

"No, you and Houston were in front of me and I didn't see him," Roisin said. "Shit."

"That's alright, we'll catch up to him sooner or later," John said. "Chances are, he's long gone by now anyway."

"Didn't you get a look at him, John?" Regis asked.

"No, I didn't. They were both wearing face coverings," John said.

"Figures," Regis said. "By the way, got word that the briefing went well. The President and the Prime Minister met afterward. The head of the Task Force will give me a briefing later."

"Ah, we're here," Roisin said as she pulled in front of the hotel. "I'll pick you up at 7:00 in the morning."

"Sounds good, Roisin," Houston said. "Thanks." They carried their things to their room and put them away.

"I don't know about you, but I'm starving," John said. "I really feel the need for some meat."