Thirteen
Pace went out through the airlock in his Zerogear and stepped up to the pod, which had been secured to the outside of his ship with a claw. He entered and let Calamity know to untether.
“Right there with you, Shumuck Rogers,” she relayed back, releasing the hold. “Now, play nice and stay stealthy. I’d hate to have to drag your cold carcass back to your mother.”
“Yeah, and I know why. She’d have you mothballed almost before you could open a hatch.”
“Which is why we need to get Lola back. So you can make a new will. In her, or his, hands, I’d almost not miss you.”
Pace snorted as he maneuvered the small pod toward the building, keeping his trajectory no more than five feet off the ground. “Your mainframe would collapse without me, Clam. And you know it.”
“Let’s not test that theory. Okay, Nostra-dumbass. Just stay hidden until we rock this rock.”
“Leaving the pod now,” he told her. “I think we’ve gotten lucky. It seems there’s no outside surveillance.”
“Cretins,” Calamity huffed. “How do they expect to become successful outlaws if they don’t have the technology to back themselves up?”
“I’m sure what you have in your belly would have gone a long way toward reaching that goal. It’s too bad that’s not going to happen.”
“Too bad for them, at least. Tell me when you’re in position.”
Pace felt confident. After having seen the hideout’s glass roof, they’d devised a plan for a major distraction that would get him inside. He sidled up to the building’s airlock door.
“Okay, Clam. Countdown, please.”
“Five…four…three…two…one… Go!”
The sky lit up and Mozart, Headbangers Edition blasted as Calamity swooped in, landing lights blazing and speakers wide open. She hovered mere feet above the glass roof.
That ought to do it.
Pace inserted a metal jammer and overrode the door code, slipping inside. He punched the button on the wall to close the port behind him. The reading in his helmet showed the entry chamber filling with oxygen. When the saturation level turned his indicator green, he quickly yanked off all his protective coverings, leaving his hands-free communication device on his head.
There was no window to see into the building, so not knowing what he’d find, he pulled out and grasped the Sig Sauer from his arsenal, as well as the Ka-bar he used when getting up close and personal.
He took a few cleansing breaths and kicked the door open into the main room.
Clam had switched to some kick-ass punk metal and blasted it loud enough for ears to bleed, so his immediate entrance was not detected. He ducked down behind a pile of boxes and peered around them. Two men―one dark, one blond, both enormous―stood in the middle of the room. Their mouths had dropped open and they were clearly at a loss for what to do as they looked up, confused.
The blond one eventually shook free of his stupor and drew a strange looking gun from his flowing trench coat before tapping the second guy on the shoulder and pointing to a metal box that stood larger than the others, gesturing that his companion should head that way.
Yes! Now Pace knew where he’d find Lola.
He watched the dark guy walk to the box and throw back a bolt lock, opening the door just wide enough to step inside.
That was the only indication Pace needed. Using the crates as cover, he surreptitiously moved to his left, placing himself behind his target, the blond guy, who was five feet away. There would be no conversing with the prick. No “drop the weapon or I’ll shoot”. Calamity’s music precluded that. No, this would have to be down and dirty. He stuffed his gun into the side waistband of his pants, so he could get to it, and slunk forward, knife at the ready.
Something must have alerted the asshole to his presence because the guy spun, bringing his gun up at the same time.
Pace had been ready for that possibility, so before the cretin could get off a shot, he was already on him with a kick, dislodging the weapon from the man’s hand and sending it clattering across the floor.
Pace planted himself in a ready position, waiting for the guy’s next move.
The man howled and lunged forward.
Game on.
Pace dropped low, beneath the asshole’s clenched fists, and rammed his shoulder into the attacker’s knees, groaning at the impact.
Hell. That hurt like a motherfucker. What is the shithead built of? Titanium?
It was a good hit, though, and the man went sprawling.
Pace was taking no more chances. He whipped his Ka-bar forward and sliced deeply across the back of both his calves.
The man howled and rolled, attempting to climb to his feet. But trying to get up was useless. It was interesting what a being was limited to without his Achilles. But just in case…
Pace knelt on the guy’s outstretched arm and secured his wrists with zip-ties. “How did you know about the treasure in my ship?” he growled into his ear, yanking the plastic tight.
The man twisted his head and met his eyes with a sinister, snarling laugh. “You don’t think the officials who monitor those wristbands are saints, do you?”
Pace saw red. He knew those fucking things were bullshit.
He punched the guy twice in the head. Lights out, asshole. That should keep him out of commission while Pace went for Lola.
“One down, Clam. Keep up the noise. I’m going in for our mate,” Pace yelled into his headpiece.
“Good. I’ll dazzle you with a different tune. I’ve got an old hit from the early seventies with our lady-man’s name on it.”
Pace smirked when the music changed to a special tune by the Kinks. His blood pumped hotly through his body as he stalked forward. Leave it to Calamity.
Outside the partially open door, Pace paused with his back against the wall, listening for any sounds within. He couldn’t hear anything over the champagne-drinking and spine-squeezing lyrics blaring loudly. He was going to have to rush in blind and neutralize the threat before the guy knew what hit him.
Once again, Pace opted for his knife. Holding it at the ready, he turned the corner, pushed the door open and used momentum to slide on his knees into the center of the box. And…
He scrambled up quickly.
What met his eyes was not what he expected. Pace shook his head and dropped his blade. Leaning against the far wall was a platinum blond man, features obscured, jerking what looked to be a hose around the dark guy’s neck. The garroted man clawed at the hose, trying to pry it off, but if Pace were any judge, he’d say it was only a matter of seconds before…
Yup. Bad guy number two hits the floor.
“Pace. You came,” the victor yelled over the music.
He’d know that voice anywhere, whether coming from a male or a female, and he was damned glad to hear it.
“Lola,” he shouted back, then held up a finger and spoke into his headset. “Clam. Cut the music. I have her, uh…him, uh…Lola.”
The music shut down without any of Calamity’s normal lip, but he expected nothing less. His ship knew when to let up.
He and the Hydroxene of his dreams stood looking at each other across a five-foot divide that might have been a hundred. Lola was as gorgeous in male skin as he was in female form. His hair was shorter, his chin a little squarer and he stood at the G-Hydrox male height of five-foot-nine. His chest had broadened, and where breasts had been, hard pectorals were well-delineated by the female shirt he still had on. Strong thigh muscles had popped the seams on his pants, and it took all Pace’s fortitude not to let his eyes wander to his crotch to see what kind of package he sported.
Geezus. What was his next move? Pace knew whatever he did was crucial to their relationship. If he played it wrong, with Lola vulnerable in his male form, he might blow his chance of a happily ever after with her…him.
After a long, awkward silence, Pace did the only thing he could. With his tongue wrapped around itself and useless for speech, he slowly brought his arms up and out, wide open for a hug.
Lola launched himself across the small distance and wrapped him in a bone-crushing embrace. He still fit well under Pace’s chin and kept himself tucked up, not meeting Pace’s eyes as he spewed words that sounded like they’d been trapped inside him all day.
“I thought you’d left me. I thought I’d completely blown it and you never wanted to see me again. I meant to tell you about my male form, but I thought if you got to know my id-female first, it would be easier for you to take.” He stilled in Pace’s arms. “Or…or are you just here for a rescue, then you’ll be leaving anyway?”
Pace’s heart nearly broke at the choked-out question. “I’m not going anywhere,” he told him. “I couldn’t even if I weren’t thrilled that you’d fulfill every wish and fantasy I’ve ever had.”
“I do?” Lola pulled back and blinked tear-filled eyes up at Pace.
“You do,” Pace admitted, a peace washing over him like he’d never known. “Gerri did this,” he said. “She realized how conflicted I was on earth, wanting both males and females. But on my planet, those two genders don’t manifest within the same body. And it’s exactly what I need in order to commit to a relationship.” Pace bent and kissed his eyelids.
“Now, I want to know all about this id-female/id-male stuff, and what your Lords mean about following laws regarding pregnancy. But first, we have to call the police to take care of this mess.” He pointed his chin to the guy on the floor.
“The Sweepers,” Lola reiterated, snuggling closer, sniffing his neck. Damned if Pace didn’t feel a significant sized cock rising up in a spot just left of his balls.
“Yup…” His blood took a moment to rise into his brain. “The good guys. The authorities. The ones who come and mop up.”
“So call.” Lola closed his eyes against him again.
Before he could say any more, Calamity interrupted.
“I’m on the Sweeper thing, oh lustful lothario. You did good taking care of the bad guys. Now you just need to concentrate and tell the dude you love him.”
What?
He’d forgotten Calamity was still attached to his head, but he couldn’t think of anything he’d rather do than follow her orders. “Okay, Clam.” He tugged off his communicator and dropped it to the floor.
“What did she say?” Lola asked, reaching up to rub his cheek against Pace’s scratchy jaw.
“She, uh, said to tell the dude I love him.”
Lola’s head snapped up, his eyes going wide. “She did?” He attempted to pull out of Pace’s arms, but Pace refused to let him go.
“She did. And it’s the smartest thing she’s said in light years.” He hauled him back in and lowered his own nose to breathe in Lola’s scent, finding it highly arousing that both Lola’s bodies smelled the same.
“So…”
“So, I love you Lola. I never should have walked out on you at the hotel.”
He gave Pace a spine-cracking hug. “I love you, too.”
Pace’s heart beat strongly in his chest. “I’m probably the happiest man in space right now.”
Lola gave a delightful shiver. “I only have one question. Before you stormed away in the hotel, what did you mean when you asked if Gerri told me?”
“You’ll like this,” Pace told him, waggling his eyebrows. “I’ve never been able to settle on just one gender.”
“Meaning?”
“Meaning I’m sexually attracted to both females and males. Gerri knew that, putting us together because you fit both bills. I just wish she’d told me before I almost blew the whole thing.”
Lola squeezed again. “Something tells me, even if you had, she would have found a way to fix it.”
“That’s a pretty good supposition. But, Lola, just so you know, I regretted every minute we were apart. Even more so when I had to meet with the…pikes who run your planet. I wanted you to be there. To stand up to them and tell them to shove their laws up their rompholes.” He paused for a moment. “That is, if you think their rules are wrong. I haven’t even asked if you want to be a female forever. Maybe you do.”
Lola pulled away. Reluctantly, Pace let him go. “Would that make you change your mind? If I did?” he questioned.
“Not even close.” Pace shook his head. “You’re it for me. Even if you don’t manifest as a male ever again.”
“I like the way you think.” Lola licked his chin. “Right now, have you got something to tie this guy up? As much as I want to eat you alive, we need to talk. I want total understanding between us before we have sex.”
Lola reached for Pace’s hand and brought it down to his cock. It was as hard as a…pike, and Pace’s dick couldn’t get any stiffer if it were dipped in cement.
“Now you want to talk before you fuck? Why is it always opposite of what I want to do?” Pace grumbled as he backed away to remove more zip-ties from his pocket. After securing the comatose crook, he let Lola lead him out of the box.
“I’d say we have about ten minutes before the Sweepers arrive, so have a seat.” He hopped up on a box and indicated that Pace do the same. “Do you prefer me as male or female while we converse?”
“You pick it. I find you both absolutely adorable.”
A blue blush worked its way up Lola’s cheeks.
“But I do want to know if I need to call you by another name when you’re male.”
“Nope.” He shrugged. “When we choose to be id-female or id-male, we pick the name that best suits us.”
“Wha―”
Lola held up a hand. “Wait. Let me start at the beginning.” He wiggled to get comfortable on the box. “From birth, most of the population of Gemma-Hydrox have the ability to switch back and forth between genders. This has always been so as far back as our history is recorded. We are given two names, one male and one female. We spend our childhood and adolescent years trying on both genders, then on our eighteenth birthday, we decide which will be our identity. That doesn’t mean we can’t use our other gender. It just means we prefer to be one way more than the other. I identified more as a female, so I became an id-female and kept my gender-appropriate name, Lola.”
Pace didn’t interrupt. Did she know she’d turned back into a woman while she spoke? It was a seamless and fluid action that didn’t involve the cracking bones Pace imagined. He reached for her hand and gave it a squeeze so she’d continue.
“This was all fine up until nine rounds ago.”
“Nine rounds ago… You would have been eighteen. The year of your decision.”
“That’s right.” Her face grew hard. “A new regime of Lords was elected just after my decision had been made.”
“I get the feeling I’m not going to like where this is going.”
“A lot of us don’t. But the Lords’ word is law, so there’s nothing we can do. The first edict they put into place was the new ruling that an id-female can only mate an id-male, then they decided that after the woman in the relationship reproduces, she is no longer allowed to change into male form or work outside the home.”
“But why?” Pace questioned. “What does it get them?”
She shrugged. “Id-males remaining in charge of the government? More young ladies stuck in their bodies to go around for older id-males? Who knows exactly what motivates them.”
Pace screwed up his face. “But, Lola, can’t id-females choose not to have children?”
“That’s the thing. We can’t. We declare our gender preference based on an inner need to reproduce. All id-females know by eighteen rounds that we want to bear offspring.” She shrugged. “Some of us, such as myself, hold off as long as we can and continue to work. But at my age, I’m the exception.” She shook her head. “And even I was seeing a man I didn’t love because I felt the turn of the stars bearing down on me every day.”
“Well, the old guys can’t live forever,” Pace said gruffly.
“Exactly. And there are any number of id-males right now who would vote with us against the current administration, attempting to change the laws back. There’s not enough, quite yet, to make a difference. But the younger generation understands what they will face, and as they are able to take to the polls, tides will turn. The old Lords will die out, and a new regime will rise.”
“So you like being able to switch back and forth,” Pace stated. “You don’t want to give that up.”
“Hell no. I like being able to use my male body to perform tasks for which my female body is not suited. I hate to think of being trapped in one gender or the other.”
Pace ducked his head and stared at his hands. “So it won’t bother you that I told your Lords to stuff it? That I refused to sign the papers relegating you to being a female for the rest of your life?”
Lola punched his arm. “Don’t tease.”
Pace brought his eyes up to stare into hers. “Not teasing. I did it, and they agreed. It seems they want their riches and their alliance with earth more than they want you to stay female.”
Lola’s eyes widened. She leapt up and squealed just as the door burst open, Sweepers rushing in.
“Everyone freeze. Is there a problem here?” the foremost one, dressed for battle, growled.
“Nope,” Lola said with a huge smile. “No problem here.”