Coffee, Tea, or Piracy?
By Autolycus, maynlinz@earthlink.net
A genetically altered woman battles contemporary female pirates.


This is a work of fiction. Any similarity to real persons is only a figment of
your imaginations. Let's face it, we all wish these babes were real! Anyway,
they're not, so go take a nice cold shower.

BABES IN SPYLAND IX:

COFFEE, TEA, OR PIRACY?

(c) 1998 Autolycus

Here's the deal: This is the story of a genetically altered female who is not
only a perfect physical specimen, but also has psychic abilities. She was
created by the US government to be the ultimate espionage agent, although her
creator/father, the late Dr. Smitrovich, didn't know that at the time. She was
seized by an ultra-secret anti-terrorist government agency, the Aegis Group,
and (ultimately, but against her will) trained in martial arts and other forms
of combat, although she refuses to kill anybody, which drives the head of the
AG, General Armitage Winsome, absolutely nuts. By the way, her name is Jessica
Chance and this is her encounter with a band of contemporary female pirates
led by a woman named Tempest O'Roarke.

Jessica and Lupe made their way through customs at Ronald Reagan International
Airport in Washington, DC, without too much trouble, thanks to Jessica's
affiliation with the Aegis Group. The inspectors had questioned Lupe a bit,
but eventually waived her through, too. The pair quickly collected their
sparse luggage and then retrieved the car from the parking garage and were
soon headed for Jessica's Georgetown apartment.

They were quiet as the redhead drove along, and they had been quiet for the
most part since the Spaniard's rescue from Orionna. Lupe had waited out her
three days as a werewolf in a safehouse in Taipei and then the pair had
traveled on to Casablanca in the former Morocco. There they had hoped to meet
with Rolph Stark, the man who had turned Lupe into a werewolf over one hundred
years ago, but instead had met with his son, Rolph Stark, Jr. Mr. Stark had
informed them that his father had unfortunately passed away years ago; he had
died in an automobile accident and his badly burned body had subsequently been
cremated. He regretted to inform them that he had left nothing, no note,
package, or anything else, for Lupe, and had, in fact, never mentioned her
before.

Before leaving, Jessica had used her enhanced mental abilities to render Mr.
Stark unconscious, and then she had removed a small amount of blood from him
in order to test her theory as to whether or not lycanthropy could spread from
one generation to the next by conception. And in the hope that it would
contain enough of his father's genes to allow her to adapt it for use as a
cure for Lupe's lycanthropy.

When Jessica changed lanes, as if to exit for the Aegis Group's lab instead of
for home, Lupe grabbed her arm and shook her head. "I'm tired, Jessica,
exhausted, and I just want to go home and sleep. Tomorrow I will be ready for
another disappointment," she smiled.

Jessica nodded and remained on the road until the Georgetown exit.

Arriving at Jessi's apartment they found things pretty much the same as they
had left them, with the exception of over a dozen messages from Kendra on
their voice-mail service, each more frantic than the last.

Jessica decided that she had better call her right away and spent the next
couple of hours explaining what had happened and then apologizing profusely
for worrying her lover like that. When Kendra had finally forgiven her--But
promised that the next time they saw each other in person, the redhead would
regret it all over again--Lupe got on the phone and spoke to Myrna. Lupe
related her ordeal to the young woman, repeatedly assuring her that she was
all right, and then promised that she would see her soon.

When the phone was at last hung up, after nearly four hours of use, both women
were tired and on edge. It was as if by repeating their horrific experiences
to their respective lovers, they had both been forced to relive the unpleasant
adventure all over again. As the pair sat on the living room couch, staring
into empty space with tears still wet on their cheeks, they instinctively
reached for each other.

But, just as their bodies came together and their lips brushed against each
other, the phone rang. Loudly and insistently. Sighing with deep regret,
Jessica pulled away and picked up the receiver.

"Hello?... Dr. Trotter! It's been too long, my friend. How are you enjoying
sunny California?... I see... No, I understand... Believe me, I could use a
vacation right now... Is it all right if I bring a friend?... I know you two
will hit it off... Thanks... I'll call you when we know what flight and when
it will arrive... You really don't... All right, all right, you can pick us
up... I miss you, too... (smack) See you soon! Bye."

"Jessica, I'm not sure if I'm up for a trip-" Lupe began when the redhead hung
up the phone.

"Nonsense. A trip, a real vacation, is exactly what you need right now," she
stated, smiling broadly. "Besides, you'll adore Cassandra!"

"That is Dr. Tripper's first name, no?"

"No, er, yes. But it's Trotter, not Tripper," Jessi corrected. "She was part
of the Angel Team, one of the research specialists who designed my education
and supervised my academic studies. The woman is a walking encyclopedia! But,
fun. She has a sort of wild side. Now, she writes cheap detective thrillers
and sort of fancies herself as a private eye."

"A private eye?" Lupe questioned.

"It's slang for private investigator, a sort of freelance police officer,"
Jessica tried to explain, but she was met with only blank, confused looks from
the Spaniard. "Remember Bogart's character in The Maltese Falcon?" Lupe
nodded. "He was a private eye."

"Ohhhh, now Lupe understands. Your friend, Dr. Stagger, is a dick," she
smiled.

Jessica laughed. "Well, a private dick, I guess."

"Is there any other kind?" Lupe asked slyly.

Both women dissolved into a fit of giggles and then fell into each other's
arms. Their lips met again, but this time nothing interrupted the long, deep
kiss. After a few minutes, they both got up off the couch and made their way
to Jessi's bed, peeling each other's clothes off on the way. By the time they
reached the bed, they were naked and wet with anticipation.

"We shouldn't be doing this, Lupe," Jessica mumbled as her lips locked with
those of the Spaniard.

"I know," Lupe agreed as her hands began to caress the redhead's body.

"It's wrong," Jessi asserted, sliding her lips down onto Lupe's neck and than
to her glistening breasts.

"Definitely," the brunette agreed, her fingers closing on the meager fat of
Jessi's ass as she thrust her groin into Jessica's at the same time.

"We're betraying the trust of people we love," she said, grabbing handfuls of
Lupe's hair and yanking her head back so she could cover her dark throat with
hot kisses.

"We are," the Spaniard panted, forcing Jessica to her back and then climbing
on top of her and lying belly to belly, breast to breast, and then snaking her
fingers down between the redhead's legs.

"For what?" Jessica gasped, raking her nails across Lupe's back.

"Some damn satisfying sex!" the other woman laughed, showing off her white
teeth. She slid her fingers inside Jessica as she expertly massaged her
clitoris with her thumb.

"Well, when you put it that way..." Jessica laughed and then bit her lip in
ecstasy as Lupe's other hand glided up her body and lovingly cupped her breast
as she brought her lips down to it and teased the nipple with her tongue.

Jessica in turn lifted her head and began to playfully nuzzle Lupe's breasts
as her own hands fondled the Spaniard's rear and pussy. Then, their movements
synchronized as the two lovers moved in perfect rhythm to each other and it
was obvious that they'd done this many times in the past, that they knew each
other's bodies, each other's inner chronology so well that they almost seemed
to be a single person.

Or a very well-oiled machine.

After more grinding and fondling and licking and nuzzling they both climaxed
at the same time, their souls mingling as freely as their bodily juices, and
then lay back on the sweat dampened sheets, wrapped their arms around each
other, and fell into a contented sleep.

* * * * *

The next morning, as they lay in each other's embrace, Lupe asked, "What is
the matter that your friend, Dr. Jogger, wants you to come to California?"

"When she first retired from Project Angel, she got a job as a consultant to a
film company which produces spy thrillers," Jessica explained, deciding it was
pointless to continue to correct Lupe on her friend's last name. "One of her
old associates called the other day and asked for her help."

"Why?" the Spaniard questioned.

"For the past few weeks she's been getting death threats. Her manager doesn't
take them seriously, but Cassandra is worried that someone might be trying to
kill her. And, if that's the case, Cassie is in way over her head. She just
writes about crimes, she doesn't solve them."

"Then, we had better book ourselves on the next available flight and prevent
this," Lupe stated, throwing back the covers and preparing to get out of bed.

Jessica admired the beauty of her nude body for a moment and then said, "Well,
first we're going to the lab to run some tests on Stark's blood and see if we
can't use it to synthesize a cure for you. Then, we'll go help Cassi." Lupe
turned around and frowned. "No arguments, Lupe. We've got time. Cassandra will
understand if we take a few hours to see to this."

The Spaniard sighed deeply and then slowly nodded and got up and went into the
bathroom.

"I know you aren't ready for another disappointment, my friend, but I have to
at least try," Jessi whispered once she'd gone. "Please, forgive me if this
doesn't work either." She then sat up and stretched, got up and padded into
the kitchen to fix breakfast.

* * * * *

"Well, this is it, Lupe," Jessica announced, although not exactly proudly,
holding up a syringe filled with a blood-red substance. "I've taken the basic
genetic make-up of Stark's blood and, basing it on the relationship of my
tainted blood to yours, altered it enough to where I think it's pretty close
to his father's original blood. Oh, and I was right about lycanthropy being
transmitted through conception, although, at least in Stark's case, the gene
seems to be recessive. I doubt he knows that he carries it. Anyway, this is
the closest thing we'll ever have to any of Rolph Stark's DNA to try to create
an antidote. Of course, there's only one way to be sure..." She looked over to
where Lupe sat watching her with eyes filled with hope and dread.

Lupe nodded and resignedly held out her arm, rolling up the sleeve of her
shirt as she did so. The Spaniard was tired. After a night of exhaustive, but
oh-so-satisfying, love-making with the redhead, she had come to the Aegis labs
and watched and waited for over three hours while Jessica worked her
bio-medical magic. Still, she had very little hope that it would actually
work. Lupe had long ago resigned herself to her unfortunate fate and was
unable to imagine life without the lycanthropic curse to dread every month.

Jessica bit her lower lip as she injected the serum into Lupe's arm and then
set aside the used syringe and grabbed a new one from the tray on the
work-bench. "Now, we take some of your blood and check to see if the antidote
worked," she said, sticking the fresh needle into Lupe's arm, near where the
serum had been injected.

"Shouldn't we wait a while, to give the antidote time to work?" Lupe asked,
rubbing her arm when the second needle was withdrawn.

"No need. If it worked, the change will be obvious immediately, thanks to the
enhancements I added to the serum's molecular structure to make it a
super-bonding agent," the redhead replied, placing a sample of her friend's
blood under an electron microscope. "Hmmm, interesting."

"What?" Lupe demanded.

"I certainly didn't expect that," the redhead continued thoughtfully.

"WHAT?" the Spaniard shouted, becoming frantic.

"Well, the serum definitely changed your blood. But, there are still traces of
the lycanthropy virus present in your cells. Very small traces, but they're
there," Jessi replied, gazing intently into the microscope.

"What does that mean?" Lupe whined, looking at her arm fearfully.

"I'm not sure, Lupe," the redhead sighed, sitting up and frowning. "The
lycanthropy virus might have been weakened enough that you won't turn into a
werewolf ever again. But, there might be other side effects. We won't know for
sure until the next full moon."

Lupe shook her head and then began to laugh softly. "Well, whatever you did to
me can't be any worse than becoming a wolf every month," she chuckled.

Jessica just hoped she was right about that.

* * * * *

General Winsome was not at all happy. Egan McMasters had recently been in
communication with him and, learning that Jessica was still alive, renewed his
threats to expose the General's treasonous actions of nine years ago. Winsome
was tempted to have the terrorist killed, even though he knew that wouldn't
prevent the news of what others would view as treason, but which he himself
thought of as "extreme patriotism," from reaching his enemies, including
President Hemdale himself.

Upon being informed that Jessica was traveling to the west coast for a while,
Winsome could only hope that her plane crashed or that something equally fatal
should befall the troublesome agent. But, as he was now being closely
monitored by his superiors, no doubt on the orders of Hemdale himself, the
General dared not do anything to ensure that such a fate befall her.

As it so happened, however, Ms. Chance was flying on the same flight as the
irksome Vice President's younger sister, who had been in the capital visiting
her Presidential-hopeful sibling. Winsome made a few discreet calls and then
sat back to see what happened.

* * * * *

Jessica and Lupe boarded the plane, an older Boeing 777, and quickly settled
themselves into their spacious first class seats. As they watched the other
passengers board, Lupe suddenly yawned and stretched her arms.

"Tired?" the redhead asked. The Spaniard nodded sleepily. "That could be a
side-effect from the antidote." She dug into her handbag and pulled out a
small vial. "Here, take these. They should help you sleep." She handed two
small, white pills from the container to her friend.

"Thanks," Lupe smiled, snuggling her head back and gazing drowsily out the
window. "For everything."

Jessi nodded and patted her shoulder and then continued to watch as her fellow
passengers filed onto the plane. Two, in particular, caught her eye: A tall,
leggy blonde wearing a mini-skirt, a red bikini top, and a loose blouse of
blue silk, and a shorter, bustier woman with light brown hair clad in a
skin-tight catsuit of various colors, though predominantly darker hues. The
pair of women tried to casually take note of their surroundings, but Jessi
sensed it was more than curiosity.

Both women had large carry-on bags, which they stuffed into an overhead
compartment before seating themselves a few rows ahead of Jessica and Lupe,
who were near the rear of the first class section. Something about the women
rubbed the redhead the wrong way and she decided to keep an eye on them, just
in case her suspicions proved to be more than that.

She was so busy watching the two women that she barely noticed when a young
woman with strawberry blonde hair boarded the plane with an older man in a
dark suit and sunglasses. Were it not for the tell-tale bulge in his jacket,
she might have ignored him completely. Then, looking more closely at the woman
with him, she realized she was Darla Olsen, Vice President Norwood's little
sister.

That could definitely explain a few things, she said to herself, remembering
that the plane was shrouded in the dampening frequency which nullified her
telekinetic abilities. Definitely odd for a domestic flight, she had thought.

Suddenly, a dark-haired woman in cut-offs and a tight T-shirt sat down next to
her in the aisle seat. She was wearing a pair of tiny earphones and Jessi
could hear the latest album from a punk pop band called the Vice Girls blaring
from the CD player at her waist. She was loudly chewing a huge wad of gum and
had a motley bandanna pulled down over her eyes.

Great, Jessi said to herself, settling into her seat and trying to keep a
discreet eye on the two women ahead of her.

* * * * *

Two hours into the seven hour flight, after the passengers had been served
dinner and they were all settling in for the night, Jessica got the first
confirmation that her suspicions about the two women were right when one of
them, the blonde, discreetly followed the Secret Service agent guarding Ms.
Olsen to the bathroom. Although Jessi couldn't see exactly what transpired,
she couldn't help but notice that the man returned to his seat with the blonde
close at his back. They both sat down and ignored the young woman sleeping
next to them.

Jessica was tempted to go over and sit in the seat vacated by the blonde, to
keep a closer eye on her auburn-haired accomplice, but to do so she would have
had to have literally crawled over the young woman sprawled in the aisle seat.
Deciding that would draw more attention than she wanted to at this point, the
redhead settled back into her seat and continued to watch the pair of women.

She later panicked a bit when a dark-skinned hostess approached the SS man and
offered him a drink, fearing that he'd try something heroic, like alerting the
hostess to the danger, thereby putting himself, his charge, and the hostess in
jeopardy, but he quietly accepted the glass and downed its contents. Jessica
breathed a sigh of relief as the hostess left them.

Then, a few minutes later she was amazed to see the agent's head drop forward,
as if he were asleep. Or worse.

Before she could act on the knowledge that the hostess was part of whatever
was going down, the young woman next to her began to stir and, stretching and
yawning, slid the bandana up on her forehead and opened eyes the color of blue
velvet. She stared at Jessica, frowning slightly, and yanked the headphones
off, filling the quiet with the blaring music of the Vice Girls' latest hit
record.

"What're you looking at?" the girl demanded, sitting up and glaring at Jessi's
face. "You got a problem, lady?"

"Of all the times to wake up..." Jessica sighed, standing up. "Excuse me, I
need to get up and use the restroom."

"Me, too. I hope there's more than one empty," the girl stated, leaping up and
heading for the toilets.

Jessica shook her head and casually made her way down the aisle after her,
glancing down at the brunette as she did so. The other woman smiled up at her
and lazily ran a long fingernail over her chest, laughing when Jessi turned
her head, as if flustered by the gesture.

As she passed by Ms. Olsen, the SS man, and the blonde, Jessica noticed that
Darla and the agent were both sleeping soundly and that the man's gun was
missing from his shoulder holster. She couldn't be certain it was in the
blonde's possession because the woman was wide awake and raised a
well-manicured eyebrow questioningly at the redhead when her glance lingered.
Jessi turned away and headed into the small alcove which contained the
restrooms just in time to see the black hostess disappear into the cockpit
carrying a tray of drinks.

Whatever's going to happen, Jessica thought ruefully, it's going to happen
soon. She entered an unoccupied toilet and relieved herself as she debated her
options. She wasn't sure if she could wake Lupe up, or even if she should, but
she did think it would be nice to have some help when the shit hit the fan.
What about her surly neighbor? She couldn't be more than 19 or 20, but she
looked tough enough to handle herself in a crunch, and had probably been in
her fair share of fights. Still, Jessica hesitated, not wanting to directly
endanger anyone if she didn't absolutely have to.

She'd just have to play it be ear for the time being, she decided. But, if
push did come to shove, she was reasonably sure her neighbor could at least
take the hostess in a fight as the African-American was a bit shorter and not
even as slightly muscled as the younger woman.

As Jessica exited the toilet she fervently hoped it wouldn't come to that,
though.

Jessi returned to her seat, ignoring both the blonde and the brunette on the
way, and appraised her young neighbor more carefully. She had dark, straight
hair that might have been quite long, but, since it was stuffed beneath a
ratty baseball cap (emblazoned with the words "Bite Me"), it was difficult to
tell. Her blue eyes were practically buried behind dark make-up that circled
her eyes in a raccoon-like fashion, giving her the appearance of not having
had enough sleep lately--Like, the last decade or so. Her figure was nothing
spectacular, although her body did have the curves usually associated with the
female anatomy, with large breasts and a bit of a pot belly. She had no real
muscle tone to speak of, but she wasn't skinny, either.

Just your average street punk, Jessica thought sadly.

She was suddenly jarred from her reverie by the captain's voice coming over
the PA system: "Ladies and gentlemen, may I have your attention, please. I
regret to inform you that I have been notified that there is a bomb on the
plane. Please, do not panic," he added quickly, as the passengers around her
suddenly began chattering anxiously. "I am assured by those responsible that
they are not interested in killing anyone, although they will not hesitate to
do so should anyone attempt anything heroic. All they're interested in is your
valuables. Please remove any money and jewelry you are traveling with and be
ready to hand them to two women as they make their way down the aisles. For
the love of God, people, don't resist them! Just give them what they want and
we'll survive this!"

Jessi was intrigued. Mid-air robberies were very infrequent and almost never
successfully pulled off--It was far too easy for local law enforcement
officials to apprehend the thieves shortly upon their landing. Or, if the
thieves parachuted from the plane while still in flight, which had happened on
rare occasions, it was also a fairly simple matter to alert ground-based law
enforcement and have a nice reception waiting for the would-be air pirates.
And, she couldn't believe that they were foolish enough to try parachuting a
getaway with the VP's sister in tow. Too risky. Should anything happen to her,
they would be hunted down by every agency at Norwood's command and, when they
were inevitably found, summarily dealt with.

This time Jessica's musings were cut short by the brunette as she made her way
down the aisle holding a large canvas bag, into which the passengers were
fearfully dropping their valuables. Until she reached Jessi's neighbor...

"And the CD player, kid," the woman grinned after she had emptied her pockets
of the few dollars she had.

"Bite me, bitch," the young woman said casually.

"I'll do a lot more than bite you, you little skank!" the brunette snarled,
grabbing a handful of her dark locks. "Now, put the player in the bag." The
young woman grimaced in pain and quickly yanked the CD player from her lap and
tossed it in the bag. "Good girl. Now you, red. Hand over your money and that
necklace."

Jessica placed the money in the bag, but hesitated to remove the necklace; it
had been a gift from Kendra and she was loathe to part with it.

"Didn't you hear me, fireplug? What is it with this row? Do you people have a
death wish or something?" the brunette demanded.

"Just give her what she wants, for God's sake!" a man in the next row hissed.
"Are you trying to get us all killed?"

Jessica scowled and then unclasped the necklace and placed it in the bag.

"What's with sleeping beauty?" the pirate asked, indicating Lupe, who was
still peacefully napping.

"She doesn't enjoy flying, so she took a sedative. I put her pocket book in
the bag with mine," Jessi explained.

"Good girl. Now, just give me that gold wolf's head necklace and I won't
trouble you ladies any further," the woman sneered. Jessica sighed and then
reached over and undid the necklace and placed it in the bag. "Very good, red.
A pleasure doing business with you," she chuckled before moving on to the next
row.

As the woman walked away, Jessica noticed that the black hostess had returned
from the cockpit and was seated next to Miss Norwood, who was still sleeping.

Once the two women had left first class to relieve the other passengers of
their valuables, Jessi whispered to her neighbor, "Are you all right?"

"I'm fine. Those bitches don't scare me," she snapped.

"They should scare you. They're ruthless and they wouldn't think twice about
killing you or anyone else that got in their way," the redhead said softly.
"My name is Jessica. What's yours?"

"I go by Vixen. And, I'm still not afraid of them. They don't even have
weapons," she pointed out.

"They have at least one gun," Jessi corrected. "And one of them has the
detonator to that bomb. They don't need any other weapons."

"If there is a bomb," Vixen stressed. "I think they're just bluffing."

"Sorry, but I don't think so. And, they're not just after our money and
valuables," Jessica said, leaning close. "They're going to try to kidnap that
woman in the first row. The one next to the hostess. She's in on it, by the
way."

"Who?" Vixen inquired, peering over the edge of the seat in front of her to
get a better look.

"The hostess. Think you can take her?" Jessi asked, looking thoughtfully at
the young woman to gauge her reaction to the question.

Vixen grinned. "No sweat. When do we move?"

"As soon as I give you the word. I want to see how they're planning to get
away before we try anything. I'd also like to find out which of them has the
detonator, so I can take her out of the picture first," Jessi said, lowering
her voice. "But, you'll have to surprise the hostess; I'm fairly certain she
has a gun. Still up to it?"

"I've handled worse. Trust me, even if she has a gun, she'll never get the
chance to use it," Vixen said smugly, but Jessi suspected the young woman
wasn't quite as cocksure as she made out.

When the two women returned from the rear of the plane, the hostess
immediately got up and headed back toward the cockpit. The blonde and the
brunette positioned themselves on the opposite side of the plane, near the
forward door.

"That's odd," Jessi whispered to her young neighbor.

"What?" Vixen asked.

"They look like they're ready to open the hatch, but neither of them is
wearing a parachute," the redhead explained. "What are they planning on doing,
flying out of here?"

As if in answer to her question, the two women suddenly opened the hatch,
revealing the startling sight of a smaller plane flying next to them. The
other plane's hatch was likewise open and Jessi could see a large Black woman
standing in the doorway. She was holding a heavy line with a hook on the end
and Jessica suddenly realized how the pirates planned to make their escape
with the loot and the girl.

"We can't wait any longer, Vixen," she hissed. "As soon as that hook is
secured in here, I'm going to attack these two. You head for the cockpit and
take care of the hostess, okay?"

Vixen nodded. "I'm ready, Jessica," she said, although her voice cracked a
bit.

"Are you sure? I won't blame you if you back out. I know I'm asking a lot from
someone I don't even know," the redhead said gently.

"I said I was cool. Now, just do what you've gotta do and I'll take care of
that hostess," she said sharply.

Jessica nodded and then looked over and saw that the other plane had
disappeared but that the hook was dangling near the open doorway. Using a
curved metal pole, the blonde managed to snag the cable and dragged the hook
inside. Both women quickly fastened it to the interior of the plane, just
above the hatch, and then the brunette turned toward where Darla was still
fast asleep.

"This is it!" Jessica whispered, standing up and likewise making her way over
to the slumbering woman and the Secret Service agent. "If you're smart, you'll
just take the stuff you've stolen and leave the woman."

"And if I'm not?" sneered the dark haired woman, placing her hands on her
hips.

"You'll regret it," Jessica said simply.

With a shout, the brunette stepped forward and punched at the redhead's face.
But, Jessica easily sidestepped that attempt and then spun around and nailed
her in the cheek with the heel of her shoe.

"Harley...Who the hell are you?" the blonde demanded, rushing to her partner's
side.

"Just some busybody bitch with a death wish, Bambi," Harley replied, wiping
some blood from her mouth. "And today is her lucky day, 'cause I'm gonna grant
that wish."

"We don't have time for this shit right now!" Bambi snarled. "Tempest will be
pissed off if we don't just grab the girl and get out of here."

"Then I'm afraid Tempest is going to be pissed, because the girl isn't going
anywhere," Jessica said. "I'll tell you what I told your friend: Take the loot
and leave or you'll regret it."

"Who the Hell do you think you are, red?" Bambi asked, her eyes growing wide
with disbelief.

"My name is Jessica and I think I'm the woman who's going to kick both your
asses if you don't take my advice and get out of here," she replied, her voice
low and full of menace.

The two pirates looked at each other. "I don't think so!" they said as Bambi
lashed out with her right foot, aiming for Jessi's head, while Harley went
low, sweeping her leg toward the redhead's ankles.

But, Jessica jumped up, avoiding the leg sweep, and simultaneously bent low,
also avoiding the kick. At the same time, she drove both her fists out and
caught Bambi in her ample chest, knocking her backwards. Upon landing, Jessi
reached out and grabbed a handful of Harley's hair and pulled the surprised
brunette's face into her kneecap.

While Jessi kept them thus occupied, Vixen made a break for the cockpit.

Harley pulled back and scrambled to her feet, standing next to Bambi, and
Jessica suddenly ran at them, looping an arm around each woman's waist and
then spinning them around and slamming their backs into the wall which
separated first class from the hostess' area. Then, still holding the
struggling pirates in place, her right leg arched backward and she kicked
first Harley and then Bambi in the face, stunning them.

Jessi released the dazed women and they slid to their asses, unconscious. The
redhead quickly ran back to their original seats and removed their bulky bags
from the overhead compartment. Opening them, she was shocked to see both were
filled with a new experimental explosive, ten times more destructive, and
unstable, than C4. There was no sign of the detonator, however.

"Looking for this, be ya, mon?" called an unfamiliar voice from across the
cabin. Turning, Jessica saw a tall black woman standing near the open hatch
holding a radio controlled detonating switch in her gloved hand. She was a bit
shorter than Lupe's 6', but not by much. Of course, she was wearing
spike-heeled boots which climbed up to her thighs before folding over and
spreading out. She was also wearing a pair of tight, dark bicycle pants and a
flimsy shirt of silk, over which she wore a longcoat made of dark blue velvet
and brocade. The woman had short blonde hair, no more than an inch long, and
piercing blue eyes. A golden ring in her left ear and numerous bejeweled rings
on her fingers completed her ensemble. Except for the cutlass she held in her
other hand. "Now, why don't ya just sit back down and leave us to our
business. I don't be wantin' no trouble from you, mon," she said with a thick
Jamaican accent.

"You must be Tempest. I'm Jessica and you're not taking Ms. Olsen anywhere,"
Jessi informed the pirate. "So, just take your friends and get back to your
plane before you make me angry."

"Well, you've got spirit, mon," laughed Tempest. "Precious little brains, but,
ya do have spirit. Aye, I be Tempest, Tempest O'Roarke, and me family has been
pirating since the days of Captain Morgan, and no redheaded slip of a woman is
going to stop me from continuing in that grand tradition, mon. So, just ya
stand aside, afore things turn ugly."

"I can't do that. If you want Ms. Olsen, you're going to have to go through
me...or blow us all to kingdom come," Jessica said, holding up one of the
explosive-filled bags. "Your call, Tempest."

"Oh, then I'll go through ya, Jessica, and gladly, mon," she grinned, placing
the detonator in the pocket of her coat before removing it and hanging it from
the hook and then advancing towards the redhead, sword ready.

* * * * *

Meanwhile, after discovering the other hostesses unconscious in their area
beyond first class, Vixen had reached the door to the cockpit and found it
locked. She banged on it and called out, "You coming or not? It's time to get
off this bird!"

The door slowly opened and the black hostess backed out, keeping the gun on
the two men and one woman in the cockpit, saying, "Just maintain this speed
and altitude until we've gone, or you can kiss this plane and everyone on it
goodbye, understand?"

"We understand," the man in the pilot's seat said, barely containing the anger
in his voice. "Just don't hurt anyone and we'll do as you said."

"You're in no position to bargain, captain," the hostess laughed. "Just be a
good boy and fly the plane and everything will be fine." Then, she turned to
go and the gun was knocked from her grip by a well-placed kick from Vixen as
she emerged from behind the door. "WHA? Who the Hell are you?"

"Just someone who wasn't satisfied with the service on this flight," Vixen
said, leveling her right fist at the woman's nose. "I was especially
disappointed with the whole blow-up-the-plane-if-we-don't-get-our-way deal. I
mean, what's up with that?"

The hostess, whose name tag read "Lessa," was knocked backwards by the force
of the blow, but, before the three people in the cockpit could jump to Vixen's
aid--Not that she needed any at this point--she had charged forward, throwing
a wild punch at Vixen's head, and slammed the door shut behind her.

The punch missed, but it did force the younger woman to backpeddle enough to
allow Lessa to regain the gun she had dropped.

Well, almost.

As her hand closed around the weapon, Vixen suddenly stomped down on it, hard,
causing Lessa to cry out in pain. Then, she quickly brought her fist around in
an uppercut which launched Lessa backwards into the door to the cockpit,
slamming it in the faces of the copilot and the navigator, who had opened it
to see what was happening.

But, as Vixen herself reached for the gun, Lessa lashed out with her left foot
and caught her in the face, sending the younger woman stumbling backwards into
the hostess' area. Before Lessa could grab the gun, though, Vixen leaped
forward, crashing the top of her head into Lessa's face and once again
knocking her backwards against the door, again slamming it in the faces of the
copilot and navigator. Before the hostess could even sit up, Vixen leaned back
and drove her fist deep into her belly, bringing a gasp of pain from the older
woman. A knee to the groin and several more blows to the gut, followed by a
beautiful right cross to the jaw, left Lessa barely conscious enough to hold
her head up.

Vixen grunted satisfactorily and stood up and retrieved the gun and shoved it
in her waistband. She then reached down and, grabbing a handful of the woman's
long dark hair, hauled her to her feet. After punching her a couple of more
times in the stomach, just for good measure, Vixen slung her over her shoulder
and then opened the door to the cockpit and informed the occupants that the
danger was far from over.

Then, she carried the nearly unconscious woman over to the hostess' area and
dropped her on the floor, hard. Vixen looked about for some way to restrain
her and then spied the little refrigerators they used to store the trays of
food. Smiling wickedly, she opened one and pulled the cart loaded with trays
out and then forced the still very groggy hostess inside and shut the door.

"That should keep her on ice until we land," she laughed to herself.

* * * * *

Meanwhile, as the pirate and the redhead advanced towards each other down the
wide row at the rear of first class, Jessica asked, "So, what's in this for
you? Pushing some political agenda? Not happy with the way things are running
in Jamaica? Or do you just hate the United States and this is your way of
making a statement to that effect?"

"Ya have me confused with a terrorist, mon," Tempest laughed, revealing a
single golden tooth among her pearly whites. "I've no agenda, other than the
accumulation of wealth, a great bloody boatload of it! And not for some damn
political cause, but for me! Money is the only ideal I hold dear, Jessi, and
I've nothing at all against America. Ms. Olsen will make me a lot of money,
plain and simple."

"I'm glad to hear that," the redhead nodded. "It will feel good to kick
someone's ass without them spouting their philosophy to me the whole time for
a change."

"You're a long way from kicking anyone's ass, mon, let alone mine," the pirate
sneered.

"We'll see," Jessi replied.

Then, as the two got closer, Tempest suddenly rushed in with the sword high
and brought it down in a vicious swipe that would have split the redhead from
"gullet to gizzard," as the saying goes, had she not leaped over the sword.
She sailed over the startled woman's head, grateful for the unusually high
ceiling in first class, and kicked backwards with both feet before landing,
nailing Tempest between her shoulder blades and sending her stumbling forward.

But the pirate was quick to recover and she spun around, sword held out to
meet any charge her opponent might have made. Jessica, however, was merely
standing just beyond reach of the weapon, smiling smugly. "Still think your
ass is a long way from being kicked?" she asked.

In answer, Tempest adopted a traditional fencer's pose and slowly advanced,
forcing Jessica to break ground. "Yeah, but yours is a lot closer to getting
shish kebabed," she replied, thrusting forward.

Jessica evaded the sword, twisting her body around the blade as it sliced
through the air, and kicked out with her left foot, but Tempest managed to
dodge the intended blow, although it did cause her to break ground and
regroup. "This would be much more fair if I had a sword, too," the redhead
pointed out as the two women glared at each other.

"This isn't about being fair, mon," Tempest said, shaking her head. "Like I
told you before, I'm only in this for the money; I never wanted to hurt
anyone, but, ya got in me way." She suddenly performed a balestra and the tip
of her blade actually grazed Jessi's left arm, drawing first blood.

Jessica looked down at her wound and then up at Tempest and the ferocity in
her green eyes startled the pirate. "Obviously, we're not just playing around
here, are we?" she said, her mouth forming a feral grin. "That's okay, just so
I know what the rules are."

Before Tempest realized what was happening, Jessica had dove between her legs
and mule-kicked her in the small of her back, sending her flying forward to
land sprawled on the floor of the cabin without her sword, which fell from her
hand on impact and slid beneath a seat. When the pirate stood up and turned
around, Jessica was waiting and landed a solid right cross which snapped her
head around. But, before she could follow it up with a left hook, Tempest
kicked out and struck her in the knee, forcing the redhead to use one leg to
support her weight.

"That might make it a bit difficult to do any more of those fancy kicks of
yours," the pirate said with a smirk, landing a punch of her own on Jessi's
cheek.

"Don't count on it," Jessica cried, using the momentum of the blow she'd
received to propel her backwards, bringing both feet up as she fell and
connecting hard with Tempest's ribs, catching the taller woman just below her
large breasts and knocking her to her back.

Again, both women took the opportunity to catch their breaths and glare at
each other. Jessica rubbed her knee while Tempest massaged her bruised ribs.
The redhead fleetingly considered repeating her offer to let the pirates go,
but she knew that things had gone too far between them for the Jamaican to
back down. So, she wearily climbed to her feet and Tempest likewise followed
suit.

Both knew there would be no more pauses.

Jessica, worried about Vixen's safety, and knowing that Harley and Bambi would
wake up sooner or later, charged the pirate and launched a veritable barrage
of rights to her face. Tempest, however, while doing her best to block the
blows with her forearms, managed to land another solid kick to Jessica's
wounded knee, almost bringing her down again. But, somehow, the redhead
remained standing, despite the pain, and began a merciless assault on the
pirate's bosom, throwing Tempest into a fit of rage.

"Leave me damn tits alone, ya redheaded whore!" she screamed, trying to cover
up and protect her sensitive breasts. Unfortunately, this only left the rest
of her relatively unprotected, and Jessica took advantage of her opponent's
anger and confusion.

First, she lowered her punches to the pirate's solar plexus, causing Tempest
to gasp as the air was forced from her lungs, and to lean over, curling around
the redhead's arm as it buried itself deep in her belly. In this vulnerable
position, she was ripe for a nasty uppercut which sent her flying. She landed
on her back, still gasping for breath and bleeding from a split lip.

But, since Jessica had instinctively used her left arm to deliver the last
blow, she found herself experiencing unexpected pain as the wound was
aggravated by the action. As she held her arm, willing it to heal, even
knowing that with the dampening frequency on it would do no good, Tempest sat
up and shook her head to clear the cobwebs and reached up and rubbed her lip.
She looked at the blood on her fingers and nodded. "Now we've both drawn
blood, mon. Time to finish this."

Instead of standing up, though, she surprised Jessica by somersaulting at her
and knocking her to her back in the process. She ended up sitting on the
redhead's chest and quickly placed both of Jessi's arms beneath her legs and
then proceeded to batter the helpless woman's face and chest with some
powerfully delivered punches of her own.

Jessica then startled the larger woman in turn by managing to roll over onto
her side, thereby placing her thighs within reach of the redhead's mouth.
Jessi bit down hard before Tempest realized what she was up to and the pirate
leaped to her feet, howling in pain.

While the pirate was distracted, Jessica tagged her with a powerful right and
then another, and another, until Tempest felt her knees turning to jelly.
Then, in a move which totally caught the dazed pirate off-guard, Jessi jumped
into the air and kicked her in the face with her right foot, leaving the
Jamaican essentially out on her feet.

Throwing herself headfirst into the pirate's stomach, Jessi lifted her off the
floor and then power slammed her down into an empty seat. "Please take your
seat and make sure your seatbelt is securely fastened," Jessi said, perfectly
imitating the monotone delivery of a hostess. As Tempest again gasped for
breath, she grabbed the seatbelt and fastened it tightly around her waist,
pinning her arms at the same time. Then, ripping a tray table from the back of
a nearby seat, she added, "And make sure that your tray is in the upright and
locked position," while bringing it up in a vicious swipe that connected
brutally with the side of her head.

Tempest cried out and then her head slumped forward in unconsciousness.

"Thank you for flying Global Airline. We hope you have a pleasant flight,"
Jessica said, tossing the tray aside. She then leaned down and kissed Tempest
on the forehead. "Sweet dreams, mon," she whispered as the passengers broke
into spontaneous applause.

"Cool beans!" Vixen exclaimed, emerging from the hostess' area.

"We're not out of the woods yet, I'm afraid," Jessica sighed, ripping a strip
of cloth from her skirt and binding her wounded arm as she looked meaningfully
over at the bags filled with explosives. She grabbed the bags and then strode
purposefully over to the open hatch and retrieved the detonator from Tempest's
longcoat.

"What are you going to do?" Vixen inquired as the redhead began ripping the
coat into strips and wrapping them around her hands.

"That plane must have a pilot. I'm going to get whoever it is and then blow it
up," she stated, stuffing the detonator into the waistband of her skirt. "Keep
an eye on things until I get back, okay?" She then slipped into the harness
device that Tempest had used to cross the cable and briefly hugged Vixen.

"Sure thing," the younger woman smiled.

"And make sure that the pilot maintains this course and speed," she added,
grabbing the thick cable with both hands and swinging out of the plane.

* * * * *

"Is that you, Tempest?" Greer called from the cockpit after hearing a sound
coming from the hold. She had brown hair with unmistakable red highlights,
green eyes and a pixie-like nose. Her face was still lightly freckled,
although nothing like the bright red spots of her youth. And her body was in
good shape--Tempest demanded that all of her crew be in excellent physical
condition--but it was clear that she was not really a fighter.

Not that it would have mattered much anyway.

"Sorry, Tempest is out of commission, and so is this plane," Jessica said,
delivering a karate chop to the back of her neck and knocking her out. When
Greer released the yoke, the plane immediately began to nose dive, but Jessi
quickly stabilized the flight path and then set the autopilot. She then
dragged the unconscious woman out to the hold and lashed her to her back with
some strong rope. After a glance down at the bags containing the explosives,
which were sitting in the center of the hold, she once more wrapped her hands
and then began the trip back to the passenger airplane.

This was definitely easier than her foray to reach the pirate ship, even with
the pilot's added weight, since the larger plane was the lower of the two.
But, about halfway over, the small plane began to veer away from the larger,
causing the cable between them to strain dangerously. As the cable went taut,
Jessica was suddenly whipped up and then down and she had to fight especially
hard to maintain her grip, especially with her wounded left arm. Finally,
however, she managed to make it close enough that one of the male passengers
was able to reach out and help her inside.

"Thank you," she said, catching her breath and untying the rope binding the
unconscious plot to her.

"No, miss, thank you," the man said solemnly, handing her the necklace Kendra
had given to her.

Jessica gratefully accepted the treasured keepsake and looked at him closely,
realizing with a start that he was the same man seated in front of her who had
yelled when she had hesitated to give up that same necklace. She nodded and
then looked around for some sign of Harley and Bambi. "What happened to the
other two?" she asked Vixen.

"Oh, they came to when we were all watching you cross over to their plane, but
don't worry, we take care of them," she grinned.

Jessi looked horrified. "You didn't..." she said, glancing out the open hatch.
"Did you?"

"Oh, no," the young woman laughed. "We stuffed them into the overhead
compartments."

"You didn't!" Jessica exclaimed, smiling in spite of herself.

"We did," the man who had helped her inside assured her. "Listen..."

And, sure enough, when Jessica paused and listened she could barely hear the
muffled cries coming from two of the overhead compartments.

The redhead laughed and then reached down and picked up Greer. "Why not?" she
grinned, opening a compartment and stuffing the pilot inside. She then pulled
on the cable until she could unhook it and let it go, freeing the two planes.
Walking over to where Tempest was just beginning to come around, she removed
the detonator from her waistband and then slapped the groggy pirate sharply.
"I thought you might want to see this, mon," she said, holding the detonator
in front of her face and pushing the flashing red button.

A brilliant red flare lit the sky, filling the cabin with an eerie light as
the pirate's plane exploded.

"Nooo! Damn ya, not me plane, mon! Not me plane!" Tempest raged.

"The government would have confiscated it anyway," Jessica said, dropping the
detonator and crushing it under her heel. She then headed for the cockpit to
tell the crew that everything was under control.

* * * * *

"Are you sure you're going to be all right?" Jessi asked Vixen as they watched
Tempest and her gang being led away by the federal authorities upon landing at
LAX.

"I'll be fine. I'm going to hook up with my sister and try to get a job. At
any rate, I won't be making the same mistakes I did back in DC," she added
with a grin.

"Here's the number of a good friend of mine, just in case," Jessi said,
handing her a card with Dr. Trotter's number on it.

"Thanks, Jessica, for everything," Vixen smiled, hugging the redhead fiercely.
"You have a great vacation."

"You're welcome, but I think my vacation might be cut short," she replied,
gesturing toward a group of men and women in dark suits who were heading her
way, being led by Ms. Olsen.

"I still can't believe I slept through all that," Lupe sighed, stifling a
yawn.

Jessi and Vixen laughed and then the young woman pulled back and said, "I
think I'll make myself scarce. I'm still not comfortable with figures of
authority. See you around, Jessica. Goodbye, Lupe."

"I'll be sure to extend your apologies to Ms. Olsen," the redhead promised.
"Be good."

Vixen just laughed and kept walking as Darla and her entourage reached the
pair of friends.

"Thank you, Miss Chance. I won't forget what you did, and neither will my
sister. What happened to Miss Tucker?" Darla asked, shaking Jessi's hand.

"'Miss Tucker'?" the redhead inquired, confused.

"Miss Genevieve Patsy Tucker," said one of the men. "She was the young woman
sitting next to you."

"Oh, I never knew her name," Jessica explained. "She had to meet her sister."

The man looked puzzled. "According to our reports, Miss Tucker has no sisters,
or brothers. In fact, she has no family whatsoever. Her parents died when she
was four and she was raised by a series of foster parents until she turned 18,
at which time she apparently joined one of the local DC street gangs. A recent
falling out with the leader of that gang led to her relocation to the west
coast," he rattled off without even consulting any notes.

Jessica nodded thoughtfully but made no comment. "Well, if you'll excuse me, I
have a vacation--A long overdue vacation--to start enjoying," she said,
turning to go.

"Miss Chance, I'm afraid your presence is required in Washington," one of the
suited women said, laying her hand on Jessi's shoulder. "We've been asked by
the Vice-President herself to escort you back."

Jessica sighed. "I suspected as much. All right, just let me explain to my
friend what's happening," she said, indicating an African-American woman with
shoulder length black hair who was approaching and waving excitedly. The agent
nodded and Jessica turned and hugged the smaller woman and kissed her cheek.
"Cassandra! It's great to see you again! I only wish I could stay!"

"What? What are you talking about, Jessica? You just got here," the confused
woman pointed out.

"I know. But, the good news is that Lupe will be staying with you, to help you
solve your problem," she said suddenly.

"I will?!" Lupe exclaimed. Jessica smiled and batted her eyes. "I will," the
Spaniard sighed. "I am Lupe Bacalao. Very pleased to meet you, Dr. Hopper."
She held out her hand.

"Trotter," Cassandra corrected, shaking her hand.

"No, my name is Lupe," the taller woman repeated.

Jessica just laughed and hugged both women.

The End

(For now)

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