Quaranteam - AU Ch. 07

But the fact that they were unwilling to trade in flesh meant that Connors needed another solution, and fast. Eventually, a proposal was reached. The Sheikh that held the Connors debts was looking for a leg up against the 'competition'. So, in return for developing and delivering into their hands a weaponised variant of DuoHalo, his debt would be dropped. He turned his gaze towards his tablet, where Brigadier Davis, Colonel Anderson and Lt. General Hoffmann were in a conference with him.

"Colonel, the issue right now is whether these assholes are going to come for Elizabeth, now that they can't get access to what they wanted. I need to know how much danger my family is in. Elizabeth included, I have two civilian partners, which means they are not trained or equipped to deal with a threat situation. Lettie and Talia will teach them self-defence, certainly, but that won't go all that far in a short time. Add Zoe into that mix, and I have three dependents. Hell, four if Béatrice also doesn't have defence training, but I think the DGSE will have that covered."

The Colonel rubbed his chin as he thought. "Abduction for ransom, or maybe execution to make a statement. Both are very real possibilities. We do need to deal with the instigator, but again, that's a problem for my team. You've got your hands full with your patch, so just keep an eye out for possible threats. Remember that the unknowns responsible for the fire are in the wind. In the meantime, I can maybe try to leverage some of our international resources to keep tabs on the Sheikh's people and have our own watch for local threats. Brigadier, I trust you've got that covered, sir?"

"Yeah, I'll tighten up security at the base, so Tiberius, you can just worry about shoring up around your place. Tell the girls to use alternating routes to come up for a bit. Just so they don't establish a pattern. As for you, Colonel, follow up with our friends and see if any of them have been paying attention to the region." Baz was tapping away at his keyboard he spoke, obviously making notes.

Ty nodded at the two men. Though Baz was his good friend, they were in work mode. "Understood, Brigadier. General, do you have any additional instructions for me?"

The General had remained silent, his eyes closed and seemingly asleep, but both Ty and Bill Anderson knew he was just thinking. "Your Team is very interesting, boy. Australia and Israel, India and soon France, too. How...international of you. Maybe that trend should continue." The segue was abrupt, but it was obviously leading to something. The crafty old goat was always like that. The business-like mood was broken and the tension seeped away.

Eyeing the old man, Anderson shrugged. "I suspect you're going to really become Mr. International before too much longer, Tiberius. You'd best prepare yourself. Japan is chomping at the bit to get an influx of men. Almost to the point where they'll send tens of women for every man they're sent. We might be getting in on that soon, too."

Nobody but Baz noticed Ty's flinch at the mention of Japan. "You're still stuck on her, mate? Fucking hell, it was six years ago! She isn't worth your energy, mate. And let's be fair, any of your partners is a hundred times better than that heartless bitch could ever hope to be. None of them would ever do you dirty like that."

"What's this about, Barry?" Hoffmann cracked one eye open at Baz's outburst.

He sighed. "Not surprised he never said anything. The details aren't mine to tell, but the gist of it is that Ty here was in a relationship with this Japanese girl for a good long while. But suddenly she upped and left. No word, no warning, no explanation. Literally just gone one day. Her sister was the one who ended up telling Ty that she went home, but still wouldn't explain what happened. Ty was really taken with her and I think he was planning to take it further, but she went and ran. Broke his heart, almost to the point I think this dumbass developed abandonment issues."

Ty had to defend himself. "It wasn't that bad, Baz. I just didn't like that she just left without any explanation. I mean, seriously, if I did something wrong, at least tell me. Nanami, her sister, was barely able to contain her anger with me, and I still have no idea why. That's the only reason I was stuck on it."

"That tears it, boy. I'll look into seeing who we can spare to send there, and I'll send you a whole group of pretty Japanese girls. Hell, I'll send you girls from everywhere I can convince to send 'em. Once again, you will have no right to veto." Hoffmann's voice was light, but there was a note of seriousness to it that alarmed Ty.

Ty could feel his soldier's veneer cracking at the words. "Uncle Jon...you can't be serious. You already pushed Elizabeth onto my Team. The whole process is supposed to get the consent of both parties."

Jonathan Hoffmann scoffed. While he wasn't actually Tiberius' biological uncle, he had been one of his grandfather's good friends and remained a mentor to both Marshall brothers. "Your consent was given the momentI said so, boy. Strewth, of all the men I know, you are probably the only one who would actually complain about beautiful women being thrown at him. The fuck is wrong with you, boy? I know you're not gay. From all accounts, you have four very happy women in your family. So, what're you complaining about?"

Tiberius shot an apologetic look at Anderson before he let loose. "Nothing is wrong with me, ya old bastard! You're just throwing things at me left and right! I need time to adjust! I haven't had time to just sit down and process everything that's already happened, let alone handle you making jokes about sending me fucking boatloads of women!"

The silence was palpable as everyone just stared at one another. After a moment that felt like minutes, Bill spoke, the smile beginning to tug at his normally stoic face. "I don't think he was joking, Tiberius. And to be fair, I kind of agree with the idea. It'd do wonders for our political climate."

"Well fuck. Not you too, Colonel."

The smile showed itself in full force now. "Damn, maybe you're worse off than I thought. Get the stick out of your ass and call me Bill like these guys, alright? I'm not about to kill you for using my name. Might have been a thing when you were in my unit, but far be it from me to stop us from becoming mates now. The world's gone to shit and I'm running out of mates. Wait, I just got a couple of new ones, but they're pretty and I don't reckon I'll be copping a root from you anytime soon, ey?"

The atmosphere was broken, sending Baz and Hoffmann into fits of laughter.

"Fucking hell, you old buggers will be the death of me. Ok. Whatever. I'll look into updating my security, but I'm also running out of space. I'll need to call Nik and see if I can swing the cash to buy the properties on either side of mine."

Hoffmann's laughter cut off immediately and he shook his head. "No need. The Government is paying for your housing, and it's understood that you're going to have a larger than average team. We'll take care of it. Save your money for your family."

"Let me get the ok from Zoe first, yeah? One of those houses is her family's property. She's not a part of my Team -"

"Yet." Baz interjected, his grin threatening to split his face in two.

Ty just glared at him. "She's not a part of my Team, and I don't think she'll want to be. That being the case, I'm not going to just take her home away without consulting her. I'll do that today, after I talk to her about all of this. And before you ask, she'll be signing the NDA."

Baz rolled his eyes. "You can only keep the blinders on for so long, but believe what you want, mate. She's what, 19 now? And she's had a massive crush on you for years. She'll want in."

Ty heard a door open, and he checked his watch. "Gentlemen, it would appear my newest partner has woken, so I think it's time for me to head out. As I said I'll start looking into extra security measures, and I'll ensure the girls are aware of the potential threat. Baz, could you let me know when Béatrice arrives? I'll come get her myself."

He deliberately avoided bringing the thing with Grace up. If he got the big guns like Hoffmann or Anderson involved this early, it could cascade into something much bigger. Better to ask Baz to use some subtlety in private, especially if it turned out to be just a misunderstanding.

He sent the text, and Baz responded by calling him immediately.

"What the fuck is that request, Ty?"

"I'll explain later, just keep an eye on Dr. Morgan. Grace is worried about it, and I trust her instincts."

The voice that came back after the pause was filled with scepticism. "Is it her instincts you're following or her ass? I know you two had a thing."

"Jesus, Baz. Even if we did have a thing at one point, this has nothing to do with that. If that woman is genuinely concerned, we should be too. So could you just set it up please? Quietly?"

He sighed. "Fine. I'll make it happen. Just promise me this isn't about unresolved feelings."

"I promise it's not. You know me better than that."

"You dumb bugger, it's because I know you that I'm asking. Don't get too attached. She already is."

Ty didn't rise to the prod. He knew better.

"Just make it happen please, Baz. I gotta go."

He cut the call and left his office, heading downstairs to find Liz sitting at the table with a steaming mug of coffee and a semi-dazed expression. She didn't even register Ty until he started moving pans around.

"Oh! Uh, good morning. I helped myself to some coffee. Hope that's ok."

"All good, Liz. Make yourself at home. How ya feeling?"

She contemplated that for a moment. "Pretty good, all things considered. I didn't expect that I'd get off like that. I've never felt that from giving a guy head. It was pretty special."

Smiling wryly, Ty nodded. "Yeah, the ladies all said it's better than anything they've felt before. Both the priming orgasm and the one you had when I popped. Apparently, you'll get something similar every time, but without the part where you fall unconscious."

She took a deep draw from her coffee before she nodded. "Good. If I blacked out every time it'd get old fast, to be honest."

"Well, that was also part of the serum. It happens when you go into the imprinting state, so that's a one-off."

"Ok, I understand. So, we're going to the hospital today?"

"In a bit. You've got time. Wake up fully, freshen up. You can use either the central bath or the master, whichever you'd prefer. You're welcome in either, and there are ladies' products in both these days. I'll get some food going in the meantime."

"Ooh, a domestic guy. That's refreshing. You wouldn't believe the kind of slobs college boys tend to be." she cooed, throwing Ty a playful smile.

Ty grinned, then pointed at himself. "I was once a college-aged guy, though I didn't get the experience until later. But that's a story for another time. I'll get cooking, so you go get dressed."

He scooped up the now empty mug and shooed the young woman out of the kitchen. She seemed a lot more relaxed now, which was good. Hopefully she'd be even more comfortable once she was introduced to Zoe and had someone near her age to interact with.

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[REDACTED] Hospital, Melbourne Southeastern Suburbs, Victoria, Australia - October 28, 2020 - 11:40 AM AEDT

--

Zoe didn't react anywhere near as badly as Ty had expected when he explained the serum and everything it entailed. Her questions leaned more towards understanding the pairing system and how it matched partners. Though he didn't have anything like a perfect understanding, he did know enough to give her the answers she wanted, and she seemed satisfied.

"So when will I need to do my Oracle thing? The whole 'Team' thing actually sounds cool." Let alone satisfied, she was eager.

"Not until you're out of here, at least, Zoe. No sense getting you into the system when you can't go anywhere or do anything. There's no hurry anyway."

She bit her lip, looking a little put out. "It'd be something to do, at least. I'm getting pretty bored, Ty."

"Yeah, I figured that'd be the case, so I brought someone with me today. Shit happened and she was brought to me to join my Team, but she's close to your age, so I figured the two of you would get along. Plus, she was also in Sydney for Uni, so you guys should have at least that much in common."

Zoe perked up at the news. "Where is she now then?"

"Alice is doing a check up on her. She's been going through all our medical histories and getting us up to date on everything."

She chuckled. "It pays to have a doctor in the family, huh. At least you don't have to show off to a stranger. It can be pretty embarrassing."

Alice laughed as she entered the room. "Please, it's nothing a doctor won't have seen before. With family I'm just doubly motivated to make sure I don't miss anything. Anyway, Elizabeth here is in great health, so why don't the two of you introduce yourselves."

As Liz stepped around the corner, both girls' eyes went wide. Zoe's jaw dropped and Liz darted in, throwing her arms around the younger girl, almost sobbing. "Zoe! You're ok! Oh, thank God! You dropped off the planet, girl! What happened?"

Zoe was in tears as she hugged Liz back. "I'm sorry, Liz. I tried to make it on my own, but I kinda fucked up. Ran out of money and they cut off my phone. It took weeks to get back here. With my funds dried up, I had nothing to fall back on. At any time, I could have borrowed a few dollars from someone and called Ty, but I was being stubborn."

Though he was startled that the pair knew each other, Zoe's revelations took precedence. "I knew something had to have gone wrong, but what happened to Toby and Mattie's bank accounts? Did you lose the cards?"

"I don't know what happened to my parents' accounts. I never had the cards. Nobody ever gave them to me. Nobody even told me what happened to the house."

Ty's eyes widened. "What? Zoe, what the hell do you mean by that?"

"I never heard anything about my parents' will or any assets or anything like that. I didn't know if they had debts or what happened but the lawyer told me he'd handle it and asked me to sign something. I said I wouldn't sign anything until you looked at it, and he didn't look happy, but he left. I didn't hear from him again, so I thought you might have handled it."

Ty was furious again, both at the son of a bitch that had clearly tried to take advantage of her, and at himself, for not ensuring she was looked after. Barely able to contain himself, he turned away from the bed so they couldn't see his face. "Zoe, Liz, I'll be right back. I need to make a couple of phone calls. You two...you two should spend some time catching up."

He gave Alice a look and she nodded at him before he left the room and stalked down the hallway, yanking his phone out of his pocket. Scrolling through his contacts, he found a particular name and dialled, barely managing to avoid cracking the screen with the force. It only took a single ring before the call connected, and Ty wasted no time.

"Juno, I need the name and number of the lawyer who handled the Evans estate, and I need it last week."

The person on the other end paused for just a beat before the voice came through, clearly not amused. "Hi Tiberius, I'm good, thanks for asking. Bella and Mars are doing well too. You should meet them sometime. How are you?" Another pause, and the woman's tone shifted, becoming all business. "Let me pull it up, stud. Christ, just how pissed off are you to skip even saying 'hi'?"

"Volcanic. Vesuvius is a good approximation. Thename, Juno."

She snorted. "Very funny. Hold on."

"Thanks. And sorry. Hi Juno. You find a break in your busy schedule and I'll happily meet you and the munchkins."

Juno Claudius was a lawyer, and a damn good one. Though her normal field of expertise was in criminal law, specifically as a prosecutor, she was more than capable in other aspects, and thus did bits of work for Tiberius outside of that, since her mother had been the lawyer for Ty's family. Two years Ty's senior, Juno and Ty only occasionally ran in the same circles, but they had been friends. They spoke over the phone every so often, just to keep tabs on one another, but hadn't met in person in almost six years. Ty genuinely felt bad about it, since it meant that he'd never had the opportunity to meet Juno's kids, Bellona and Mars, both named after children of her own divine namesake. He sent presents for every event, but Juno was just too busy with her career and the twins' care for them to have time to get together. The perils of single motherhood.

Ty was trying to calm himself before she spoke again, having put him on speaker. "Shit. The name you're after is Parker Mason. But it'll do you no good to go looking for him. The arrogant prick died three months ago from this plague. And it looks like he tried to mark the estate as being in escrow, along with the transfer of all the accounts into another...but it never happened. He got sick and kicked the bucket."

"Escrow? Who the fuck did this guy try and sell it to?" Ty's fury returned twofold now.

There was the sound of frantic typing and a soft curse as the answer came back. "Himself. How arrogant could he be, the prick. Didn't even try to hide it. Had this gone through, it would have flagged immediately. Wait, Tiberius, the Evans estate means Toby and Matilda, right? Which in turn means their baby girl. Holy fuck. This son of a bitch tried to steal from Zoe? How did you not catch this?"

"It never went through me, Juno. From the sounds of it, he tried to take advantage of Zoe's desire to be an adult and managed to keep me out of the equation, at least until he tried to get her to sign something she didn't understand. Thank God she had the good sense to refuse." Ty let out a breath, hating his next words before he even uttered them. "Juno, I know you're busy, but can you take over this matter? Her family's estate needs to be sorted out but I don't think I can trust anyone but you. I'll pay double your normal rate."

She scoffed. "Go to hell! If you think I'd charge you to help Zoe, you're out of your mind. I actually have a nearly empty workload, so I'll happily chase this up. I'll take other work if you have any too, stud." There was another pause and then her voice returned, now considerably more sombre. "Tiberius, it's probably also about time we had a face-to-face. There's something I need to talk to you about. It's very important, and it's long overdue."

This was unusual. Juno was generally a serious person, but this sounded different. "Something private? Should we just meet for lunch?"

"No, not today. I...I need a bit of time to...sort myself out. I'll call you. For now, let me suss out this mess with Zoe. And send her my love, yeah? Tell her Auntie J misses her." She was stumbling over her words, suddenly flustered, though Ty couldn't understand why.

"Of course. Thanks, Juno. Maybe I can meet the kids at this 'talk'?"

"Maybe. That might be a good idea, actually. The kids can finally meet -" There was a bit of noise as she picked up the phone to hang up and Ty couldn't quite hear the words she mumbled at the end before the line went dead.

Feeling confident that Zoe's situation would be handled, he started to walk back to her room, when it hit him and he stopped dead in his tracks, nearly causing an accident as two people swerved to avoid colliding with him. They backed away, watching him warily, but Ty didn't even notice, too lost in his thoughts.

Juno hadn't once mentioned her long-time boyfriend, Craig. He tried to remember, but he couldn't recall her mentioning him the last couple of times they spoke either, back in June or even further back in January. Had he really been so insensitive as to not even ask after him? Had something happened between them? Was she ok by herself? And had he really been so stuck in his own head that he was ignoring his friends? Who else had he let fall by the wayside while wallowing?