Tamsin Beech Ch. 04: Birmingham

"Shhh ..." Ross put a finger to his wife's mouth, "there'll be plenty of time for talk later."

His hand slid from her lips to Merida's bra strap, looking into her green blue eyes as he pushed it from her shoulder.

"Be careful," Merida grinned, "quality lingerie like this is impossible to come by nowadays."

Goosebumps rose all over her skin as Ross slid the other strap off, then carefully unclipped the garment at the back. It dropped soundlessly to the floor.

"I thought you said you weren't there for the customers' benefit," Ross breathed.

"Wanting to feel feminine doesn't have to be for someone else's benefit. I like nice underwear," Merida replied. Ross watched as his wife quickly removed her boots, trousers and the bra's matching panties.

"Won't you be cold?"

"Yes. But you can warm me up."

Apart from a pair of thick woollen socks, she stood naked in front of Ross as he looked at her like a predator sizing up its prey, "You're still gorgeous Merida Beech. You look as lovely now as you did when we first met."

His gaze drifted from her eyes and tumbling curls of thick red hair to her full luscious breasts rising and falling as Merida's breathing quickened. Despite being in her early forties, they still appeared as pert and firm as a teenager's. Her belly might be lacking some of the muscle tone it had once had, but was still flat.

"Thanks, but you had amnesia back then. Your recall's probably not all it should be you know ..."

Ross's hands cupped a breast as his mouth silenced her words. He kissed her long and hard, stealing her breath. Merida kissed him back, giving all the passion she had within herself.

It had been far too long, "Meri ... there's something you should know."

"If you're going to say you've slept with someone else Ross, I won't blame you and I won't hold it against you. It's all in the past ... and now we're back together, it's irrelevant."

"Okay. But for the record I haven't. I had the opportunity, but ... couldn't," his hand moved down Merida's stomach to the small mound of flesh there, parting her folds. She gasped as Ross dipped inside her slippery opening.

"Fuck," Merida exclaimed as her husband pushed his fingers inside her. His frown softened as his fingers slid faster and faster inside her.

"I want to taste you Meri," Ross helped her sit up on the shelving, spreading her thighs. He looked at the glistening wetness between his wife's legs and felt himself stir in his overalls. He had never been so turned on in his life.

"Why ARE you wearing overalls? Where've you been?" Merida asked.

"Foreman at Scunthorpe steelworks," Ross answered and dipped his head. Merida moaned as the first pass of his tongue trailed along her slit. Again and again, he lapped at her, eating her like a condemned man enjoying his last meal. Her fingers weaved through his greying hair, holding his mouth tightly against her clitoris.

The intervening years faded away as Ross pleasured her completely. His mouth devoured Merida, licking her clean, and going back for more. The salty sweetness of her sex filled his mouth, throwing him into a frenzy. His cock throbbed in his overalls to be unleashed.

"I'm going to cum," Merida cried, her legs trembling around Ross's head.

"Not just yet," Ross instructed, lifting his head from between her legs, leaving his wife trembling. He fumbled with the velcro fastening on his overalls as he'd done with Heather only the day before, as Merida writhed on the shelf.

She had never wanted her husband more in her life. All the heartache, the longing and frustration from the past four years was about to be swept aside and Merida simply couldn't wait, "Get inside me."

Tearing open his overalls, Ross's cock stood to attention in the cool air of the storeroom. Positioning himself between Merida's spread thighs, he nudged the bulbous glans between her folds, hesitating only for a second before plunging inside. His hips thrust hard, stealing the breath from her lungs as he claimed her once again.

Merida squeezed her eyes shut as his hand gripped her shoulder. Every inch of Ross slammed into her and she cried out with each powerful thrust, letting herself go in ways she had never allowed herself to. It was primal, rough, and intense, just the way she had dreamed their reunion to be.

The rumblings of release gripped them both at the same time. Merida writhed beneath Ross as his breath panted hotly against her neck. His fingers slid from her shoulder to her neck, gently caressing as she neared her orgasm.

The elation came over her in a rush. Merida trembled like a leaf as she climaxed, clenching rhythmically around her husband. Ross grunted loudly, arching his back as he erupted inside his wife. They held each other tight, afraid to let go, lingering in the storeroom as their breathing returned to normal. Until the cool air chilled their skin.

"I love you, Merida Beech," Ross panted. He gathered up her clothes and handed them to her, conscious of the noise they'd made and hoping none of the others had heard. But then what else could they expect?

Against all odds he had his wife back after four years apart.

"And I love you too, Ross Beech," Merida grinned mischeviously as she tugged on her trousers, "If only John was here too. That'd make our family reunion perfect."

The colour drained from Ross's face as the realisation of what he had to tell Merida came flooding back.

. . .

The five of them searched everywhere in Atherstone but found no fuel - diesel or otherwise, and so resigned themselves to traveling the rest of the way on foot.

"Before we set off," said Tamsin,"I'd like some answers. Just what the hell is going on Major Denisovich?"

The sky was beginning to darken, a few early stars already visible scattered like diamonds across the blue velvet of the heavens. The others, who'd been stripping the armoured personnel carrier for anything useful, looked at her then expectantly at Leonid.

The Russian blew out his breath and sat down, "Okay. I suppose you need to know the truth. All of you."

"This oughta be good," Ross smirked as he held a rifle magazine between his knees, pressing 7.62mm rounds into it to make up a full clip. He'd decided to wait until they were somewhere safe to tell Merida the awful news about their son.

Leonid turned first to Tamsin's mother, "Merida, like it or not ... you are President Zakhvatchikov's daughter," he began, "there is no denying that. Your mother - Sorrel Watchcroft ... was working as a waitress at a conference centre in Bristol ... when she met a junior Russian diplomat - Vladimir Zakhvatchikov. They fell in love and ... despite apparent warnings from his superiors, Zakhvatchikov married her and moved to the UK."

Tamsin was confused already. She'd been vaguely aware of the name Sorrel Watchcroft, but what was Bristol? And what was a waitress?

"I know all this," said Merida, "he disappeared just before Thanatos. But ... 'apparent' warnings? What do you mean ... 'apparent'? And how do YOU know so much about my mother?"

Leonid leaned forward, elbows on his knees and meshed his fingers, "Bear with me, I'm just coming to that. You were born Merida Alexandra Zakhvatchikov in the spring of 2011. Ten years before Thanatos. I know so much about your mother because she was the wife of our president. It was my business to know. Which brings me on to your father's real reason for being here in the UK."

"He was a spy wasn't he?" Ross guessed.

"Yes," Leonid answered matter of factly. He turned back to Merida, "my government had been aware of the Soteria satellite project being developed for some time. It was your father's mission to gather intelligence and identify any possible gaps in its security systems. It seemed obvious that such a capability would give the members of NATO limitless power ..."

Tamsin's head was spinning. She'd expected answers but this conversation was raising even more questions. What was Soteria? Or NATO?

Ross sneered, "So you decided to strike first?"

Leonid nodded. It was a few seconds before he continued, "Regrettably ... yes. Zakhvatchikov and all our other operatives were recalled to Moscow ... and a month later from Kazakhstan ... we launched one of our last remaining long range nuclear missiles at the rogue asteroid Thanatos. You all know the rest. Cities laid waste. Billions dead. The ... entire world burned."

But Ross hadn't finished. He was enjoying watching the Russian squirm, "So Russia basically fucked the entire planet. But ... why choose now to invade us? What does the UK have that you don't?"

Leonid held his gaze, "It is perhaps 'poeticheskaya spravedlivost' ... poetic justice, that my country suffered so badly when Thanatos broke up. Our government was wiped out and junior diplomats like your father quickly rose to positions of power. Power that many of them weren't ready for. Many of our major cities were ... annihilated during the first couple of days by meteorite strikes. Access to our natural resources was cut off by a series of catastrophic disasters that followed. Earthquakes, firestorms ... our coalfields are still burning underground even now, thirty years later. Much of our oil now sits in regions so inhospitable it's impossible to drill for. Much of our agricultural land lies irradiated by damage to our nuclear power stations."

"So you thought you'd find a new home?" asked Merida.

Leonid stared at a spot between his feet, his voice sounding hollow and devoid of emotion, "The Russian people are refugees. All of us. There are no more than a few hundred thousand of us left. We ... spread out, using what remained of our navy and air force. Some moving west across what was left of Europe, others to the south and east. We built colonies in Scandinavian countries where we now have weapons factories and farms. But ... it was President Zakhvatchikov's wish to come here. Make an easily defensible island our new home - the UK."

Merida glared at him coldly, "And instead of peaceful colonisation you decided to invade?"

Leonid said nothing.

Ross remembered rumours he'd heard of Orcadian fishing boats transporting guns, "And you started by smuggling weapons in? Sneaking into Britain gradually."

"Yes," Leonid admitted, "we began by arming our sympathisers and gathering our forces together in a small town in Scotland ..."

"Wick," Merida supplied.

Leonid nodded slowly, "Yes, Wick."

"So what's with keeping Tamsin a prisoner all this time?"

Leonid took a deep breath. This was it, thought Tamsin. The reason why Volk had imprisoned her on Lindisfarne for years with no explanation.

"We aren't nearly as well equipped as you may think. Our resources are being stretched to breaking point occupying your country. We ... allied ourselves with the then leader of North Korea - Kim Napp Jong," Leonid continued, "they have the resources but not the manpower ... and ... taking Thanatos as an opportunity, also wished to expand. We formed a ... Coalition. There are already North Koreans fighting alongside us but they are undecided as to whether or not they will stay. President Zakhvatchikov wished to further cement the alliance by marrying his daughter - you, Merida - off to Kim Napp Jong."

"Looks like I beat you to it," Ross grinned.

Leonid nodded solemnly, "Regrettable. Or so it seemed. But when we attacked Berwick Upon Tweed and it was discovered there was a daughter it was decided she would marry Kim Napp Jong's son ... on or soon after her eighteenth birthday."

So that was it, thought Tamsin. She was to be the bride in an arranged marriage to some foreign leader she'd never even heard of? Her eyes blazed as she rose to her feet, "And Volk kept me a prisoner all this time waiting for this Kim Napp Jong guy to show up?"

Leonid looked up at her, keeping his voice even, "No. Kim Napp Gylan, his son. He's on his way here now. The last I heard, his fleet is only days away from rendezvousing with the president's flagship - the aircraft carrier Lenin. Tamsin ... I cannot stress how important your recapture is to General Volk and your grandfather."

Ross was furious, "And you thought you'd put a spanner in the works by assassinating my daughter?"

"And your wife, yes. A formal alliance might still go ahead, but it would certainly be delayed," Leonid answered.

"Fuck," Ross barked. He slammed the magazine he'd been refilling into his Kalashnikov, "I should put a bullet in your head right now. Is that really the ONLY reason Zakhvatchikov is so desperate to stay friendly with North Korea? I know that look, you piece of shit. There's something you're not telling us."

"I wish it was the only reason," Leonid's expression was deadly serious, "but the truth is ... North Korea may now be the only country left in the world that still has access ... to nuclear weapons. President Zakhvatchikov has ... how do you say? A tiger by the tail."

"The president wants to stay friendly to avoid becoming a target," Merida realised.

"Then we need to stop this!" cried Tamsin.

Merida placed a calming hand on her daughter's arm, "That's going to be easier said than done, Tamz."

. . .

They left Atherstone when it was fully dark. What had once been a bustling Warwickshire market town was now an unwelcoming series of ruined streets and debris filled craters.

Leonid Denisovich went first, carrying an AK12 at the ready with one of the Scandinavian manufactured AK47s slung across his back. Behind him Ross, giving directions and keeping a close eye on the Russian. After that Merida and Tamsin armed only with a crossbow and Nasilnikov's Grach handgun between them. Merida hated guns. She'd seen too much of what they did to people and how they affected the minds of those that used them. Allowing her only daughter to carry a firearm was no longer her choice though. Tamsin was a young woman now and capable of making her own decisions.

Myrtle scampered to and fro, happily zigzagging across their path as she investigated new smells. For a dog, even the apocalypse brought new adventures.

Bringing up the rear, Craster scanned the darkness around them with nervous fingers clutching his own Kalashnikov. Leonid Denisovich had kindly shown him the basics of how to use the thing. His mind was in turmoil. After what he and Tamsin had shared in the back of the truck, Craster had been dreaming of meeting up with her again and perhaps continuing where they'd left off.

But now this tall, handsome traitor had appeared on the scene, grabbing the redhead's attention. Denisovich had a huge price on his head. But then so did both the Zakhvatchikov women. Craster was in uncharted territory, in more ways than one, and would have to use every ounce of his own initiative to decide how best to proceed ...

. . .

TAKATAKATAK!

"BROS' ORUZHIYE I OPUSTIS' NA ZEMLYU!" one second the group had been weaving in amongst the gutted remains of cars, coaches and vans blocking the debris littered B4116 road. The next second a volley of warning shots tore through the air above their heads.

"Drop your weapons and get down on the ground!" the voice shouted again, an angry sounding Russian accent. Through the darkness and pall of acrid smoke blowing across their path, Tamsin could see nothing. She pulled Merida down behind the rusting wreck of a JCB lying on its side, then finally spotted several figures rising into view some way ahead of them.

Swirls of sulphurous smoke billowed across the road and surrounding landscape, skirling through the blackened stumps of trees and reducing visibility in the gloom. The eye watering stench of rotten eggs filled the air.

"Who are they?" Merida hissed. Tempers were frayed. It had taken them another two days to travel barely fifteen miles through the shattered landscape towards what had once been Birmingham.

Tamsin shook her head and thumbed off the Grach's safety, "It's an ambush! Just stay down mum. They're either after us or Leonid. But whichever it is, it's not good."

Merida grabbed at Myrtle's collar and pulled her into cover as she caught sight of Ross rolling beneath the remains of a National Express coach. It appeared that all the traffic had been evacuating the city, the people fleeing for their lives all those years before when they were caught out in the open by some terrible calamity. Now all that remained were piles of bleached bones strewn across every drivers' seat.

"Wh-what the fuck do we do?" shouted Craster from somewhere close by, his voice high pitched and panicky.

"Just keep your head down," Ross called, "if they're Volk's men they'll need Meri and Tamz alive. Did any of you see where Denisovich went?"

TAKATAKATAK!

The coach quivered as bullets slammed into its rusted bodywork inches above Ross's head. Where WAS Leonid? The very moment the first shots had rang out he'd seemingly vanished.

"How did they find us?" Tamsin whispered to her mother. No vehicles had passed them on the road and she guessed there would be no ground troops stationed this close to Birmingham. Everyone in what had once been the United Kingdom knew what an inhospitable place the city had become. Of all the regions hit by Thanatos and its devastating meteorite strikes, only London had been affected more.

So why was her father leading them straight towards it? It made no sense.

Ross kicked the coach's underside above him in frustration, "Russian FUCKER! Looks like our friend Denisovich has run out on us, Meri."

"Arg ..."

Something garbled sounded from the drifting smoke, like a cry of pain abruptly cut off.

"What the hell was that?" Merida asked, wide eyed.

Tamsin's eyes stung as the wind changed direction briefly, wafting filthy brown smoke in her face, "Sounded like a scream. Here, take this," she offered Merida the handgun, "... in case you need to defend yourself."

Merida gingerly accepted the weapon, "Wh-what about you?"

Tamsin hefted the crossbow, "Got this. Stay here ..."

"W-wait! Where are you going Tamz?"

To be honest, Tamsin wasn't entirely sure where she was going. But after four years of simply letting life go on around her, she felt it was about time she got involved as part of it once more.

Using the smoke as a screen, Tamsin scuttled across the greasy tarmac to the cover of the next vehicle. Birmingham and its surroundings had been burning for over thirty years as fires deep within the earth went unchecked. Beneath the perpetual cloud nothing grew where sunlight was unable to penetrate.

But for now, it provided convenient cover from the eyes of their pursuers. Somewhere amid the choking clouds were more of Volk's men ... and Leonid. Had they been wrong about him? Surely he wouldn't have betrayed them so quickly.

"On zdes'! Denisovich zdes!" shouted someone off to her right.

Denisovich?

BLAM!

The clattering thud of a body hitting the ground.

"Urgh ..."

Not being able to see more than a few yards was not only immensely frustrating, it could prove fatal. Anyone could creep up close and shoot Tamsin or slit her throat before she even realised they were there. She strained her ears, tried to compensate for what she was unable to see.

TAKATAKATAK!

A figure suddenly erupted through the billowing smoke directly in front of her, wearing the MTP body armour and helmet of a Coalition helicopter pilot. Without thinking Tamsin raised the crossbow to shoulder height and fired. The bolt hit the man squarely in the sternum and threw him backwards as she hastily reloaded.

She'd not used a crossbow for years, since she'd gone on scavenging expeditions north, to the edge of Reekie territory with her brother John. It was, however, the first time she'd shot a man with one.

BLAM!

Another gunshot from somewhere ahead, followed by the sound of another body - hitting and bouncing off the side of a vehicle this time. Silence. Then all at once another figure came striding towards her out of the smoke ...