Quaranteam - Book Two (Ch. 05)

Chapter Five

December 11 ^th , 2020

Even though he was perfectly capable of washing himself, Piper stripped down with him and entered the shower alongside him, mainly because she could tell something was on his mind. "You okay, Andy?" she said as she spread soap along his back.

"Is it that obvious?"

"It wouldn't be to most people, babe, but I'm not most people," Piper said, her fingertips smoothing softly along his skin.

"That's fair. I'm unhappy that Emily is making a habit of keeping things from me right up until the moment of decision, so I can't have time to consider things properly," he sighed. "I understand why she's done it, but we can't have her keeping things from the rest of the family. I have some very genuine concerns about someone joining the family with a large chunk of her memory missing, regardless of it being for a good cause. I would've liked to have a bit of time to consider the further ramifications of that decision, and to talk it over with all the rest of you ladies, the fiancées at the very least, if not the whole household. This isn't a minor thing, you know? Someone could ask her a simple question and she could have some kind of mental meltdown."

Piper sighed, wrapping her arms around Andy's waist, pressing her tits against the backs of his shoulders, her chin nestled against his temple. "Yeah, we need to sit that girl down and have a talk with her about keeping secrets from the family. She may think she's doing us all a favor, trying to shoulder the big decisions on her own, but all she's really done is strip us of our agency in these kinds of things. I know she just wants to do right by everybody, but I'm with you on this one. I don't feel entirely comfortable having a potential mental timebomb in our household that we need to worry about either."

"You say this as we're getting ready to go bring another potential timebomb in," Andy laughed as Piper rubbed her hand along his crotch, spreading the soap all over it slowly. "But that one's okay because you gave her a pass."

"No, I gave her a pass, but I also gave everyone else in the house a chance to say no, and nobody chose to take me up on it," Piper said. "That's the difference. Anybody could've shot this whole thing down. Everything the rest of you know about Melody Park is based on what I've told you, so that'll be enough for the family. Everyone still had a chance to say no, they didn't want her around, once they had all the facts. Em sort of sprung that thing with Mali's memory on you, and only you, and that isn't fair of her, especially since she waited until Mali was just a few feet away. We'll need to have a long talk with her tonight, not just the three of us, but all the fiancées, so everyone can voice their concerns to Emily. I'm more bothered by the idea that she didn't even tell Sarah. Those two are thick as thieves and the fact that Em was keeping it from Sarah makes me wonder how much Mali must have stressed that nobody talk about it."

"Are you worried about seeing Melody again? I know you two don't exactly have the smoothest of histories," he said as he dipped his head underneath the water, letting it run over his freshly shaven scalp, trickling down through his goatee.

"I'll manage, Andy," she said softly to him, kissing his cheek. "But it's sweet that you're more worried about me than you are worried about you."

"Eh, I'm convinced that whatever's gonna get me will be something I didn't see coming, so I'm not going to worry about it," he said as he turned off the water. They'd hosed him down pretty good, but Piper had avoided getting her hair wet, so she wouldn't have to dry it afterwards. "The one promise I made to myself when all of this started was that I wasn't going to be scared all the time, no matter how dark and moody it got."

"You think you're going to be able to handle Melody? Covington certainly snapped the whip and kept all the girls of his house in line, but that's so not you, baby."

"I think you girls are going be paranoid enough on my behalf that it's going to be my role to show kindness, mercy and forgiveness. She rejected Covington remember, and I have to prove to her that there's another way for us few remaining men to be."

"But not so much that she thinks she can walk all over you..."

"No, certainly not that much. But she's seen me stand my ground against her old boss before, so I think she knows that I'm not entirely a pushover."

The two of them toweled down and got dressed again, just in time for a knock at the door to the bathroom before Niko poked her head in. "They're just about ready for you, Andy. If you two are good?"

"I thought you were driving Em and Mali back and Lexi was going to stay here."

"We decided to swap, in case Piper needed emotional support from another fiancée. Anyway, you ready?"

"Yeah, I think we're good. Piper?"

"Yep, let's go induct my wicked stepsister," the athletic woman joked.

The three of them headed down the hallway and reached a door marked 'Reassignment Induction Suite #3,' with Niko opening the door to lead them inside. "You ready, Charlotte?" she said.

Inside of the room was a sort of modified gynecologist's chair, designed to elevate and spread legs, but there were also restraints on the ankle mounts, and on the base for the wrists, something Andy knew all too well why they were needed. The one time he'd seen a woman reassigned in person, it had taken several people to hold the woman from breaking loose and just grabbing the first man that she saw. The whole thing had been more than a little terrifying, considering the woman straining at the others was Doctor Merriweather, who wasn't exactly young and muscular. Andy could only imagine what a woman twenty years her younger and in peak physical condition could do unrestrained. There was also a small wooden table and a couple of soft chairs, mainly for observers or security, Andy guessed, as this kind of thing still wasn't second-nature around the base.

"Just going over the final confirmations with Miss Park here, stressing that this reassignment is a one-time only thing, and that should she go through with it, she will be inextricably tied to you until one of the two you die, so it's not a decision to be made lightly."

There were only two women in the room before they entered - Dr. Charlotte Varma and Melody Park. Melody was dressed in a white crop top and a pair of cotton white panties that weren't meant to be flattering in any way, although Andy had to admit she still looked damn fine in them. Her hair was pulled back into a neat, low ponytail, as if it was mostly to keep her hair out of her face than in any effort to try and make herself visually appealing, not that Andy minded.

"I keep telling her," Melody said, "that anyone else is gonna be way better than Covington was, so she can stop asking. Hey Piper. I know I've said it before, but I'll keep saying it - sorry about how we treated you when you were under Covington's watch."

"You weren't as bad as Hope was," Piper said with a sigh, clearly trying not to think about her time spent at the House of Covington. "But you better know we're going to keep you on a super tight leash at first, so we can ensure that you don't have any harm planned for us or our man."

"He's going to be my man, too, Piper," Melody said, her voice calm and a little resigned, like she was prepared to have to prove herself. "But I respect your caution and skepticism. It's good to be careful and not to just trust in unproven actors, even if that is Andy's established brand. Whatever it takes to buy my place in your house, I'll do it. Covington was... well, I didn't feel much like myself while I was there, I guess because I didn't do my homework before getting imprinted on him. I'd been given the impression that it was only a temporary thing, only to find out that it wasn't after it was too late to change my mind. That... that put me in a dark place for a long while, and I turned nihilistic and defeatist. It... it wasn't like me at all, but I'd lost so many people in such a short period of time. Both brothers, my father, my brother-in-law, almost all the men of my former unit... It was like anybody I knew with a dick died within the span of just a couple of weeks, and I couldn't even go to anyone's funeral. How do you handle that sort of mass grief and loss? I went from having a support network to being alone in the fucking world. When this lifeline from Covington came, I... I should've looked before I leaped. And that was foolish of me. By contrast, I've done my fair share of homework into you, Mister Rook, and all the women of your family. Well, soon-to-be my family, I suppose. I'd better get used to saying it that way. Anyway, there's a surprising amount of information about you on the internet if you know how to look."

"What should I be worried about?" Andy asked. He'd certainly been a lot more public over the last month than he'd ever anticipated, and it seemed like every other day, someone wanted to do a short phone interview, or video interview, and Andy tried to agree to as many of them as he could without them utterly consuming his life. He knew that in some ways, they were being looked at as the public face of how people would get through this, so he felt expected to play the part.

"That's the thing, Mister Rook," Melody said with a little laugh, looking down at a tablet that Dr. Varma was holding out to her, skimming through the paperwork on it. "I don't see any of it as something to be worried about. It's kind of endearing, actually, how open and transparent you are about your life, your trials and tribulations, what sort of challenges you've been through. With the exception of the infamous poker game - which I've seen nary a whiff of anywhere, so bravo for that - you've been remarkably willing to talk to anyone about pretty much anything. I suspected the 60 Minutes would be a one-and-done for you, but you've done quite a few email and phone interviews since then. And you've been astonishingly willing to be frank and honest about your feelings, your fears, the loss of your brother... it's been refreshing seeing someone be so open, and if you do have any secrets to hide, which I assume you do because who doesn't, then you've done a phenomenal job of keeping them from even being hinted at. But you've got a very eclectic family. Whether intentionally or accidentally, you've got a wide collection of different kinds of women, from those in the upper echelons of society to people who, before they met up with you, struggled each month just to scrape together enough money to pay their rent off. Your partners range in age from 18 to 38, in height from 5'1" to 6'6"... you've got blondes, brunettes, redheads... you run the gamut. In fact, the only real surprise to me right now is that you don't have Miss Blake with you."

"Ash and I had a long conversation about both of the women we're adding today, but she didn't think she needed to be here for the actual process," Andy responded. "Whereas Emily and Piper both had stakes in these matters."

"And I'm here to make sure he's safe," Niko added.

"Ah yes, 2^nd Lieutenant Niko Redwolf," Melody said, signing her name on the tablet with a single fingertip. "You know, you might think Andy's the person Covington hates most of all in the world, but you'd be wrong." She pointed at Niko with an almost admiring smile. "He hates you more than anyone else, Miss Redwolf. More than me, more than Rachel, more than Andy. He hates you with a level of rage I cannot even begin to describe to you."

"Me?" Niko asked in surprise, seeming to take delight in her most hated status. "How the hell did I make his number one slot?"

"You maneuvered Andy into playing in the poker game, which is what really caused all of his eventual downfall. Andy would've turned down the game if you hadn't been there pressuring him to come in."

Niko chortled at that assertion. "Well, if he hadn't been manipulating the system to override people's personal preferences so that he could get whoever he wanted, he wouldn't have had that problem. I mean, he was trying to get both Dr. Varma here and her daughter, so you can imagine why he wanted that. Creepy old fuck."

"Is that why you entered the poker game, Andy?" Melody said with a dark chuckle. "And here I'd been figuring it was to try and go after Miss Washington or Miss Stevens."

"I didn't even know they were there, Melody," Andy said with a laugh of his own. He'd forgotten that everyone inside of House Covington wouldn't have known the reasons he'd gone there in the first place. "Niko had made friends with Charlotte here on the base, and refused to let Covington get his claws into both her and her daughter, Asha, whom you'll meet soon enough. I didn't know anything about who else was going to be there until I got there."

"For what it's worth, Doc," Melody said, touching her hand to Charlotte's shoulder, "I'm glad you didn't end up in our nightmare."

"You're not the only one, but thank you," Dr. Varma responded, offering a tight-lipped smile as she looked up from her tablet, nestling the handheld computer under her arm. "So the pill is on the table, but you're going to want to have her restrained first. Other than that, I think you all know everything you need to know, and don't really need me here for this, yes?"

"Thank you again, Doc," Melody said, offering her hand for Dr. Varma to shake, which she did. "See you again in a month for my checkup."

"Checkup?" Andy asked.

"We're going to revisit all reassignees after a month, make sure there haven't been any additional complications we didn't anticipate," the Doctor replied. "It's happening with everyone who's getting reassigned, so don't think it's anything specifically regarding you."

"We'll make a note of it on the calendar, Doc," Niko said to her.

"Got it, Doc," Melody said. "I think you can leave us to it."

Dr. Varma nodded, although she looked back at Niko one final time from the doorway. "Do not give her the pill until she's fully strapped in. If you do, you are entirely responsible for the consequences of your actions, and I will request disciplinary action."

"Copy that, Charlotte. You know me - I always listen when you speak."

"Yes, well... this one bears repeating. Good day." Charlotte moved outside of the door and closed it behind her, flipping a latch so it would be clear the room was in use for the time being.

"Shall we get to it?" Melody asked, looking over at the three of them with an almost nervous smile. "I could tell you more about me, but I think you probably know far more about me than I could tell you over just a few minutes. I told the General to give you as much information about me as they had, whatever you wanted. Military record, discharge papers, the files that the FBI and/or CIA I assume have on me... I told them you could have it all."

"We watched your video a couple of times," Piper said. "You seemed like you were basically at the end of your rope. You still feel that way?"

Melody looked down, a single tear falling from one of her eyes before she wiped it away, steeling back up again. "Yeah, well, I fucked up and instead of turning it around, I kept fucking up even further until we finally got Covington under control. And you'd think that going through that crisis would've made all of us ex-Covington girls form some kind of bond, but instead, we kept pushing each other further apart. Nobody in that viper's nest trusts anybody, not even Rachel and Hope, and those two share a father. It was everybody looking out for number 1, and that's no way to build a family. But you're here now, both you and Andy, so maybe that means I'm getting a bit more slack in the rope again; maybe I'm going to actually get that second chance I keep hearing so much about."

"Why'd you stop taking your dose from Covington?" Andy asked. "You mentioned that in the video, and I have to admit, that gave me a little bit of pause."

Melody's face turned into a stoic frown before she nodded. "It might not have been smart, but I had to do it. Most of the ladies were willing to keep milking Covington right up until the day they left to go and get reassigned, but there was something... so fucking smug about the prick any time we did it, y'know? Like he wouldn't let any of us forget that we still needed him, that we were still dependent on him to remain alive. We didn't let him talk but he could judge you just with his fucking eyes. But when we were close to getting surrender terms worked out with the Air Force, I decided I was just going to be done with him, so it's been, uh, about ten days since I had any of his cum, and it's really hard to think straight right now. But it was important to me that I try and endure something similar to what Piper went through. I know it isn't anywhere near as bad, because I can still talk, but it's taking everything I have to do remain calm right now, knowing that the reassignment pill is right there. And knowing that you're right here, Andy, right now. And if I do it in the wrong order, I'm basically dead. But the longer it takes for us to get there, the harder it is for me to keep the right order clear in my head. In fact..."

Melody pulled the crop top off, tossing it aside, revealing a modest pair of breasts with no adornments or piercings on her dark brown nipples, then shimmied down out of her panties, revealing a stripe of black hair above her pussy. She'd turned sideways when she did, so Andy could see the tattoo on Melody's back, wincing a little at the size of it, a large square plaque that read "Property of Arthur Covington the 4^th, Bitch #4, MELODY" in very thick ink. It was the only tattoo on the woman's body.

"I can't believe that bastard made you get those," Piper said.

"Yeah, well, once I'm settled with you fine folks, I can get it removed or blacked over or whatever you like," Melody said as she hopped up into the chair. "It's just skin. Besides, where he put it? I didn't ever really have to see it that much. He'd talked about making them neck tattoos, apparently, but Rachel convinced him it would be showing off too much to other people." She shifted to place one ankle up into each of the stirrups. "We can keep talking, but I'd really rather you strap me in now, just in case my will slips a little." Niko and Piper moved to each strap one of Melody's ankles down. The leather straps were heavily padded, as it was clear attention to the care of the patient was of the utmost importance. They then went to strap Melody's wrists down as well, and the Korean American woman let out a soft sigh of relief. "Thanks. I didn't want to do anything I might regret, and the need's starting to really push on my skull."

Niko patted one of Melody's shoulders. "Andy's big on second chances, and Piper decided after your video to give you the benefit of the doubt, but I want to stress right here and now that if you've got malice in your heart, if you ever lift a threatening finger towards my man, I will end you. I will slit your throat and stand over you watching your body until the life drains from it and I can guarantee you won't ever draw another breath. If there's any part of you that isn't sure about this, now's your last chance to back away."

"Hey, I know I haven't earned any faith from you yet, Niko, but believe me, I'm going to spend the rest of my life trying to live up to the examples that you and the rest of House Rook set for us," Melody said. "It might take that long, too, but I'm not going anywhere, okay? At the end of this, I want you to think of me as a sister-in-arms as much as you do anyone else in the household, and if that means I have to jump in front of a bullet to earn that trust, believe me, I'll do it, no hesitation. He's not just your man; he's our man, and I do not take his generosity in the face of adversity lightly. Anything else, or can we get this rodeo started? You can all probably see I'm soaked with anticipation."