Hive

  HIVE

  SPECIES INTERVENTION #6609

  Book 4

  J.K. Accinni

  E. K. Publishing

  Lakewood Ranch, Florida

  www.SpeciesIntervention.com

  This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places and incidents either are the product of the author's imagination or are used fictitiously and any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, business establishments, events, or locales is entirely coincidental.

  HIVE

  SPECIES INTERVENTION #6609

  J.K. Accinni

  ISBN: 978-0988223660

  Smashwords Edition

  An E. K. Publishing book published in arrangement with the author, Lakewood Ranch, Florida.

  Copyright J.K. Accinni

  All rights reserved.

  This book or parts thereof may not be reproduced in any form without permission, except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical articles or reviews. The scanning, uploading and distribution of this book via the Internet or any other means without permission of the author is illegal and punishable by law. Please purchase only authorized electronic editions and do not participate in or encourage piracy of copyrighted materials. Your support of the author's rights is appreciated.

  Books by J.K. Accinni:

  Baby (Species Intervention #6609, Book 1)

  Echo (Species Intervention #6609, Book 2)

  Armageddon Cometh (Species Intervention #6609, Book 3)

  Hive (Species Intervention #6609 Book 4)

  Evil Among Us (Species Intervention #6609, Book 5)

  The One (Species Intervention #6609, Book 6)

  Alien Species Intervention Books 1-3

  Dedication

  I would like to dedicate this book to my sweet baby, Echo, who never stood a chance in her short little life. I sadly lost her as I finished this book. She only lived a few days after her first birthday. I wanted to be able to concentrate on just my little one for a while but the congenital illness she was born with stole her from me and my family. I am having a difficult time with our loss and berate myself daily for not having done more to overcome the illness. (Gosh, the tears come even as I write this.)

  I want to send a special thanks to Jill DeOpsomer and Amanda Misco for bringing her into my life. Amanda, you and I will always share a special bond over our baby. I know you loved her just as much as I did. Thank you both.

  Contents

  Books by J.K. Accinni

  Dedication

  Chapter 1

  Chapter 2

  Chapter 3

  Chapter 4

  Chapter 5

  Chapter 6

  Chapter 7

  Chapter 8

  Chapter 9

  Chapter 10

  Chapter 11

  Chapter 12

  Chapter 13

  Chapter 14

  Chapter 15

  Chapter 16

  Chapter 17

  Chapter 18

  Chapter 19

  Chapter 20

  Chapter 21

  Synopsis for Book 5: Evil Among Us

  Prologue

  Chapter 1

  Chapter 2

  Chapter 3

  Author’s Page

  Chapter 1

  2057 AD

  Abby and Captain Cobby stood shoulder to shoulder at the helm of the luxury yacht as it swayed with the waves, staring down the approach into Tampa Bay. Abby’s heart thudded, the timbre of its pace increasing as she scanned the bay, noting the positions of other nearby craft. She knew, sooner or later, another boat would spot the unusual nature of the occupants spread around the deck of the Lucky Lady. She hoped to avoid that as long as possible.

  “Cob, I’m getting scared. How in the world are we going to pull this off?” She trembled as Cobby gripped her shoulders, turning her to face him. He removed her sunglasses, braving the mesmerizing effects of her shining golden eyes to look deeper into her soul. His deeply tanned, overtly handsome masculinity blended well with all of Abby’s golden fragile beauty, the contrast of their ages belying any assumption they might be lovers.

  “My dear, you’ve gotten us this far. You can’t fall apart now. Too many rely on you. We have a child and a pregnant woman onboard. They need protection and confidence from you. They can’t see you waver. The rest of us know we can depend on you. I might not understand why we must do this, but I have no doubts whatsoever that this is the right thing to do. I know it’s our only hope.” He pulled her close, his lips brushing the golden hairs at the bridge of her noble forehead. “I’m here for you, we’ll get through this. As soon as you give me the word, I’ll cross the bay to the industrial docks. The trucks are all in order?”

  “Yeah, they’re just waiting for us.” She removed her sunglasses from Cobby’s hands, sliding them back into place as they heard the clatter of water buckets from the deck below.

  Leaning out from under their protection from the sun, they observed poor Peter attempting to distribute water to the wildlife. Sweat dripped copiously down his red face and neck, saturating his once fresh Oxford shirt. His glasses sat askew on his red nose as his body shook from fright, warring with his implant’s directions and his own fight or flight response to the threat perceived from the wild beasts.

  “He sure looks pathetic. How’s he holding up?” Cobby turned to Abby, assessing the strain in her hands as they beat slowly against her thighs. Personally, he thought Peter hovered on the very edge of madness. The fact that his lady love had turned out to be a calculating prostitute attached to a psychotic murderer had already pushed him to the precipice of sanity. And Cobby thought the guy might be strung a bit too tight to begin with. The implant Abby had used to keep him calm and do her bidding might just be enough to push him off the ledge to insanity.

  “I’m not really sure about him.” Abby’s voice faltered. “I need him to hold up. I trust him. If something goes wrong before we get back home, I can rely on him. If I remove the implant now, I know he’ll freak. I think Ginger Mae might be the first girl he’s ever had sex with. Once we’re safe and I remove the implant, he’ll still have to deal with her betrayal.” Turning to Cobby, she placed a hand on his chest, her face tilted admiringly to the captain. “You’re the one I thank God for.”

  Cobby’s large callused hand enveloped her own. “Abby, I—oh, hi.” He calmly dropped his hand from Abby’s as Jose’s head, then his body, appeared on the stairs from the deck below. His thick tawny tail flicked in a sultry fashion as if to deliberately draw attention, apparently indifferent to the sensibilities of those in the salon still reeling from the shock over the big disclosure Abby had made regarding Echo and the changes to their bodies.

  “Captain, do you mind? I’d like some privacy please.”

  Cobby felt the soft pressure of Abby’s restraining hand on his arm. Backing up slowly, he returned to the helm, making himself comfortable in the captain’s chair. If there was going to be fireworks, he didn’t want to be in the line of fire. He enjoyed Jose’s company, but was well aware of the sidelong glances he had been sending toward Abby and him since he returned from his trip. Given half a chance, he thought Abby might consider him as a lover, but for now they needed to be fully engaged in their tasks at hand. Another emotionally fragile jilted young man in their entourage could spell catastrophe. He didn’t yet know the complete story of Scotty and his traumatized girlfriend, Chloe. Maybe Kane could clue him in. The kids all seemed to be thick as thieves. Guess that beats their readiness to rip out each other’s throats a month ago.

  “Abby, do you mind telling me what the fuck is going on? I think I’ve been patient enough, and now you’ve got me scared shitless. And who are those people downstairs? And why is that poor disfigured
women with the screaming child with Peter? When did he find time to get a girlfriend?”

  Cobby could sense Jose working up to an explosion, but he refused to be drawn in. It was Abby’s baby now. He watched as Abby made shushing sounds at Jose, wrapping her arms around him and murmuring in his ear.

  “Babe, you have to trust me. There’s just no time. I’m doing this because Netty and Echo have asked me too.”

  “Netty? Who’s Netty? Does this involve Echo’s mission?”

  “Yeah, it does have something to do with his mission. And with saving our lives. We must bring these animals, and the ones from the zoo, to Echo’s hive. They claim we’ll be safe there. But they insist these animals be saved. You’ll meet Netty soon enough.”

  “What zoo? What zoo are you talking about?”

  “There’s a large zoo not far from Newark Airport. I have trucks meeting us there. I’ll send everyone on to Sussex County, except Scotty and Echo. They need to help me. If you could direct everyone else to the place you met Echo, you can wait for me there.”

  “But what about all of these animals? How the hell am I going to make them go with me into the woods?” Jose’s tone of voice gave away the skepticism he felt toward Abby’s plan. “Wait just a gosh darn minute. Are you talking about the Bronx Zoo? Is that the zoo?”

  “Yes, that’s the zoo.”

  “Are you out of your ever-loving mind? Do you know how many animals are there?”

  “Please, Jose. Everything is all set to go. Just take everyone to the Hive,” Abby beseeched him, glancing at her watch. “I need you to let everyone know we’re headed into the bay and will be docking within an hour. That about right, Cobby?”

  “Yes. We need to be ready to roll. The cops will be called as soon as the harbor master is informed by a snoop about our cargo. I think we have a window of about forty five minutes before we get hassled. If the trucks have their doors open and the ramps in place, we can get the cats and bears loaded before trouble starts. The rest should be a cinch.”

  “Okay.” Abby’s bright voice suggested the subject was closed. She leaned out over the bridge and hollered down to Peter, waving him to join them. Turning back to Jose, she begged him again, “Can you please just do this for me? We have our whole lives to sort this out. First, we just need to survive.” Her voice softened. Wordlessly, Jose turned to the stairs, ignoring Peter as he stepped aside to let him pass.

  “Abby, you wanted to see me?”

  Cobby eyed the man confronting Abby. His round moon face dripped with sweat. His clothes appeared to have been slept in for the last week, yet Cobby knew Peter to be a fastidious dresser. His eyes stared at Abby, unblinking, his face slack-jawed. Cobby’s head snapped back as he got a whiff of the odor rolling off Peter: acrid, sweet, organic and foul. It couldn’t all be the result of his exposure to the animals. Was it the smell of fear? He glanced at Abby for her reaction, but she apparently didn’t notice. Her hand rested on Peter’s arm.

  “Are you alright, Peter?”

  “No, Abby, I’m not alright. My girlfriend is a professional whore. I abetted the murder of a psycho who held a gun on me for two days. I just finished watering some cats that weigh three times what I do, and they know it. A camel spit in my face, then shat on my feet. My boss, who I cared for, just turned out to be some kind of alien freak, and we seem to be running for our lives with a boatful of hungry, dangerous, smelly creatures. And it’s hot.” He spoke calmly and precisely, his face expressionless, belying the drama of his words.

  “You think I’m an alien freak?”

  “I don’t know what you are.” He stared at Abby, his eyes unblinking and unwavering, his face subjugated and beaten. As Abby gently took him into her arms, Cobby watched carefully. He knew a close eye on this character would be a necessity. He appeared ready to go postal and, as captain, he needed to get this vessel to shore. Maybe Abby would let him dump Peter in the rush to load the animals. He planned to vote long and hard on leaving this guy behind.

  “Abby, I’m ready to cross the bay. Why don’t you take Peter below and make sure everyone is packed up and ready to disembark? Push those monkeys and the birds up on deck.”

  “Aye, aye, Captain. Come on, Peter, why don’t we go down together? I still need your help with Ginger Mae and Daisy.”

  As she guided Peter back to the stairs, she turned to meet Cobby’s steely gaze and his imperceptible nod in Peter’s direction. She slipped him a quick thumb’s up, then disappeared down the stairs.

  Chapter 2

  Scotty sat with Chloe in the once elegant salon of the family yacht, the air conditioning failing to suppress the cacophony of animal odors mixing with the smells of human sweat.

  They sat watching Kenya try to convince Kane and Ginger Mae to bolt from the yacht as soon as it hit the dock in Tampa. She paced madly, one hand on her big belly and the other gesticulating wildly as she tried to sell the idea to an indifferent Kane and a numb Ginger Mae, her swollen face and grotesquely stitched lip refusing to allow her a moment’s peace.

  Chloe sat unmoving and silent, unless Scotty happened to shift his weight. She then clutched at him convulsively, refusing to relinquish her anchor to sanity.

  As Kenya continued to rant, she failed to notice Abby and Peter as they descended into the salon from above. Peter selected an upholstered chair nearest the stairs and collapsed like a deflated blow-up doll, smelly and wrinkled with a wicked sunburn. Abby quietly stood behind Kenya as she railed at Kane, reaching hysterical proportions and refusing to concede a losing battle.

  Abby’s hand suddenly shot out, grabbing Kenya by the arm, swinging her around and slapping her across the face.

  “I want you to go sit down and for Pete’s sake, shut up. This is not good for the baby.”

  “How dare you? You’re not my mother!” Kenya held her hand up to her reddened cheek as she nonetheless took a seat. “You can bet I’m gonna report you when we get back to town, chicky, you wait and see.”

  Abby stood in front of Kenya and whipped off her sunglasses, exposing her flashing golden eyes, anger and impatience surging at high tide.

  “Don’t you get it, young lady? We’re not going back to town. How much clearer can I be? You can stay here and die with everyone else or you can come with us and live. Your baby will live. But you must stop. No one wants to hear it. And I don’t need any more problems. I have enough to worry about as it is. Got it? Now what will it be?”

  Kenya appeared genuinely frightened, but everyone knew Abby meant business. Scotty watched as Kenya scanned the room for support, finding no one to meet her eyes. With a sob, she nodded her head at Abby and leaned back against her seat, finally acquiescing.

  “Peter, I need you and Scotty to keep everyone together. Peter, are you listening to me?”

  Peter sat with his chin on his chest, his eyes shut. They flew open as Abby made her way toward him. “I hear you. Consider it done. Animals first, then we make a dash for the limos.”

  “Yes, okay. Scotty, you two good?”

  “Yeah, Sis, we’re okay. We’ll be ready.”

  “Good boy. Be prepared to make a wild dash. Just make sure all the animals make it off the boat first.” She turned back to Kenya and leaned down to gently brush her wild tresses back from her face. “It’ll be okay, hon, this is the worst part. Once we head for the airport we’re gold.” Glancing at Jose who stood with the monkeys in the galley, she gave a brave smile. “I’ll be up top if you need me.”

  Scotty watched his sister mount the stairs and disappear. He could feel the boat pick up speed. It wouldn’t be long before they had to run for it. He wanted to make an effort to stay out of the way of the tigers. He didn’t want any repeat of the previous confrontation with Caesar.

  “Hey, Scotty.” Kane rose to squat in front of Scotty and Chloe. “You ready for this?”

  “Yeah, just do what you can for Kenya. I’ll take Chloe. Jose and Peter will handle Ginger Mae and Daisy.”

>   Scotty felt a tug on his shirt from under the sofa. He glanced down to see the posse creep out from underneath, urged on by Echo, her long, slender leather-like fingers patting Mimi as she happily joined the rest of the dogs, which sat like sentinels clustered around Echo, Barney at the helm. An aura assailed Scotty, spastic with agitation.

  “It is time, Brother Scotty. I will stay with My Barney.”

  “No, Echo, I think you need to let me carry you. I can’t run the risk that you’ll get knocked around if you’re underfoot or with Barney.”

  “No, Brother, I need to be with My Barney no matter what. I need.”

  “You need? Don’t be silly, Echo.” Scotty reached down to lift the furry creature to his lap. Chloe reached over to softly stroke her head. “You need to stick close to me, girl, Abby might need us.”

  “No, no, no. I cannot. I must be with My Barney.” Echo wiggled out of Scotty’s grasp, then slid down his lap to quickly wobble over to Barney. The two stood cuddled up to one another, and Scotty cocked his eyebrow at Echo.

  “Something you want to tell me, Echo?”

  “No, my Brother. I should not bother you. We will stick close, do not worry.”

  Dismissing Echo’s odd behavior, Scotty readied himself for the next leg of their escape.

  The Lucky Lady picked up speed as she made her way across the sun-glared water of Tampa Bay, throwing out huge waves of wake from both sides of the craft. Captain Cobby’s eyes searched for the buoys marked on his map which would steer him into the private dock of a long abandoned industrial park where an old buddy from his young yacht jock days worked as a security guard. A green flag would mark the dock slated for their use. He should be able to spot Abby’s caravan of trucks, lined up and ready to accept their unusual cargo.