Revelation (M/F) (F/M) - A sequel to Devastation

[slackywacky]

I found it hard to strike the right balance with tone and the call with Sasha and Kim might be one of my favourite interactions in this tale.

It is indeed not always easy to find the balance, but I think you did very well.

[Caesar73]

It is indeed not always easy to find the balance, but I think you did very well.

I agree absolutely.

[wolfman]

Jim pulls the lead truck to a halt in view of the Eyrie's entrance and surveys the scene. "How shall we play this?"

"Even if all the troops have left, there are plenty of civilian workers and they may be armed. If only we could lock all the doors remotely and then unlock them one by one. Control the corridors and bring up limited numbers. Then instead of a bunker, we are dealing with a room at a time." Alex says with a shrug.

Jim nods thoughtfully, and closes his eyes for a moment. Alex looks at him confused from the seat behind Church. Moses sits next to him, staring into the middle distance, getting into his headspace. Carl sits behind Jim eyes closed and smiling to himself.

Jim opens his eyes and speaks softly, "I have the cameras and the doors. We control traffic on the site."

"You what?" Alex asks, confused.

"We have control of the site." Jim says, with a shrug.

"Don't ask." Carl says, with a smile leaning his head back on the seat with his eyes still closed, "What is our next move?"

"I suggest we set up a processing area out front. Mixture of Nirvana's people and local law enforement. Once everyone has been searched and identified, they are passed straight to the locals for detention until a decision is made about what to do with them." Alex says, rubbing his freshly shaved head.

Carl opens his eyes and pulls a phone from his pocket and passes it to Church, "Do you mind calling the local Police and acting as our liaison?"

Church takes the phone, making the call once a quick search reveals the number. She steps out of the vehicle for a moment to make the call.

Jim looks at his brother in the rear view mirror, "Thanks mate."

"No worries man, I figured you would want her out of harm's way." Carl says, with a wink.

"She likes you and I wish you well." Moses says, snapping back to focus, "But if you hurt her, there is no force on earth that will protect you."

"There is nothing to fear. Whatever happens, I will treat her right." Jim confirms, turning in his seat to look Moses in the eyes.

"No offense pal, but can we focus on getting this done and finding the girls, before we plan your wedding?" Alex says, with a smile and a wink.

"Fair enough." Jim nods, with a thumbs up. "Do you miss this, Alex?"

"This is one off. I stepped away from the life when I became a father" Alex says, keeping his voice even.

"Niki said Ali is with Kim and that they are ok. If you want to bow out and go to her, no one will think any the less of you. Same goes for you Mo." Carl says, checking his machine pistol, "We can handle this."
 
"No man. I gave my word, I would help and I meant it." Alex says, with a quiet resolve.

"Same here. I am in for the win." Moses says, performing a final check of his weapons.

Church re-enters the vehicle, handing Carl back his phone, "We are all set. Local heat en route and attending ETA twenty minutes."

"I will need a breach team of no less than ten guys, to enter and overwhelm each room in turn."' Alex says, thoughtfully, "Plus a four man team to escort people from rooms to processing."

"Mo what say you and I tag along with the breach team?" Carl asks nudging Moses, who gives a thumbs up. "Jim you stay up top to maintain security on site. Nat you are probably best up top to act as liaison."

When there are no objections, everyone nods and begins silently preparing, until the local police join them.



Fey parks the car in a discrete side street on the outskirts of Santander and sits back in her seat, checking her gear. 

"I can't believe Hel is with the girls." Dani says, shaking her head, with a hint of anger in her voice.

"I am just glad she is ok and the girls are safe." Fey says, glancing over at her.

"So am I." Dani says, slipping off her shoes, "I am going to kick her ass about not calling."

"Hey go easy, yeah? At least until we know what is going on?" Fey says with a smile, "If she has been sunning herself on a beach I will hold your coat when you give her a kicking."

Dani chuckles, "Fair enough. Are you sure you are going to be alright going solo?"

"Yeah it should be fine. I will keep my head down and stay out of sight. If they get to the cache before I find them give me the nod and I will head in." Fey says rechecking the map and nodding to herself.

"Just remember to look both ways when you cross the street this time." Dani says with a cheeky glint in her eye.

"Never living that down." Fey says closing her eyes and shaking her head before laughing softly.

"Sorry, that was a cheap shot." Dani says, "Seriously though, be careful. We are close to getting Kim and Hel back. Don't do anything daft."

"You too. Are you heading off?" Fey asks, itching to get on the move.

"It's time." Dani says staring into the middle distance.

"You go first, i will fold your clothes and bring them." Fey says, quietly thinking about the route she will take to search for Kim and Hel.

Dani nods, "Call you when I am set up." She says, softly, before disappearing and leaving her clothes behind.



A moment later Dani materialises naked in her room. She stands for a moment listening, "No sounds of movement, but I think the telly is on." She observes, slipping on a silk dressing gown..

In the quiet of the room, she hears the hiss and burble of the tv, unable to make out what is being said. She crouches by the bed and silently draws the handgun from under the frame. 

She keps low moving in a combat crouch, weapon raised. Like a wraith she sweeps through the her cache, clearing it room by room. Noting the four bedrolls laid out and sleeping bags neatly folded, she thinks, "They slept here, why did they go out?"

Next she enters the kitchen and raises an eyebrow, seeing most of the pots and pans have been laid out on the draining board. She crossed the room and checks the fridge curiously, "This was fully stocked and they seem to have eaten enough food to feed an army." Dani thinks, checking the food remaining in the fridge, "There is still enough to keep them going for a week, so they didn't go out for food."

Dani freezes seeing the almost empty bottle of PCS at the back of the fridge. "Please God no. Not that. They are too young." She whispers, under her breath.

Playing a hunch she checks storage bay feeling sick at the sheer amount of missing weapons and armour. "This is bad."

Suddenly feeling irritated at the burble of the tv and decides to find it and turn it off so she can think in silence. She enters the communal area and stares at the screen, unable to tear her eyes away.

Her heart sinks watching the ticker of the news programme. "Santander invaded by UN deserters......Mrenh Kongveal at war with the UN.....Mrenh Kongveal. Angels or devils? Debate at nine......Eyewitnesses talk of meeting the Mrenh Kongveal.....Mayor of Santander proposes a monument to the Mrenh Kongveal, after they apprehend over one hundred soldiers without casualty over night."

Dani takes a packet of cigarettes from under the coffee table and lights one. She flops onto the sofa and pinches the bridge of her nose, "You poor little bugger. I am sorry I wasn't here for you Darlin'." She thinks to herself, taking a deep lungful of tobacco smoke and exhaling shakily.

In her mind she begins to piece together what happened, "They were hurt when they got here, so they took PCS and ate a load of food. Then they slept and upon waking tooled up and hit the streets." She fires a plume of smoke across the room shaking her head, "Probably wanted to do a little good. Stupid little sod."

She closes her eyes and sees Kim's face from the night they first met at the gala a lifetime ago. With a heavy heart she opens her eyes and sighs, "That is who you were, love. Not who you are now." She says, as if Kim could hear her.



Dani slowly returns to her room and pulls an earpiece from her bedside table, slipping it in her ear and setting it to the family frequency. "Angel to Fey, I am in position. Over."

Fey taps her earpiece and crouches behind a wall, "Fey to Angel, Copy that. Over."

"I am solo. Signs of life, guests cleared out, raided fridge and stock cupboard. All dressed for a night on the town. Over." Dani says in a rapid fire tone.

"They tooled up and hit the town?" Fey thinks, "What have they been up to?"

"Roger that. Where was the party? Over." Fey radios out.

"Pub crawl not a party. Highlights gone global. Over." Dani says in a somber tone.

"Understood. Will see if I can join the party. Over" Fey says, breaking cover and heading for a nearby towerblock to get a better view of the area.



"Don't worry we will soon get you home." Hel says through gritted teeth fighting through the pain.

"I have no home." Tara says, sadly as she and Hel support each others weight.

Hel stops walking for a moment, cupping the young woman's face in her hands, "Kim is my niece. You are her sister. That makes you family. We will take care of you." She says, with all the sincereity she can muster, despite her injuries.

Tara looks up at her, daring to hope, "Do you mean it?" She asks, almost afraid to hope.

"You are one of us. We will look after you." Hel says, hugging the young woman.

Tara struggles to speak, only able to blurt out. "Thank you."

"Hey come on, you two. We need to keep moving." Kim says, gently.

"Just coming." Hel says, gently.

They pass the spot Lupita died and Hel cannot help but feel a pang of regret, at her former captives passing. Her attention is drawn by Ali crouching and holding up her fist.



"Movement. Alley way. Twenty metres south, between the red and yellow houses." Ali psis, staring at the alley, edging into the cover between a nearby parked car and a wall.

Anya dives for cover and takes up position behind Ali, "What did you see?" She psis.

Ali psis the memory of what she saw, "I don't know for definite, but it looked like a shadow of movement in the alley way."

"Careful, don't bunch up." Kim psis, "Hard to tell from what you saw. I will check it out."

"Trouble. Get down." Tara whispers to Hel. When Hel is crouched, behind a car, Tara draws her holdout pistol and aims at the alley way.

"Ali maintain visual. Anya overwatch, southern street. Tara, overwatch, north." Kim psis.

When everyone confirms that they are in position, Kim begins edging towards the alley way.

Tara's eyes go wide and in a panic she psis, "Behind us. Ambush."

Despite her inhuman speed, she is not fast enough to shoot the man on the rooftop before the grenade he fires strikes the car behind her. Tara yelps in surprise, feeling her arms pinned to her side and her back presses to Hel's front. Hel turns her back to the grenade, covering Tara with her body, as the grenade detonates. Shrapnel shreds Hel's back and throws them forward, for Tara to take the brunt of the landing. 

Anya begins to turn seeing a grenade, bounce at her feet and come to rest between her and Ali. Neither girl has time to react before the grenade throws them in opposite directions.

Kim freezes, unable to decide what to do, who to run to, where to shoot. In the end it doesn't matter. The fuel tank of the vehicle Tara and Hel were crouching behind explodes and throws her back into the wall behind her, smashing her helmet into the stone.



Ensign Pilar surveys the scene and hefts the six shot grenade launcher onto his shoulder pointing it skyward. "Hostiles down, team one sweep in and check for signs of life. Teams two and three, keep your eyes open, we have no idea how many of the Mrenh Kongveal are here. Over."

He keys his radio once more and crouches down, "Commander David, come in over."

"Pilar. Report." The Commander orders.

"One of the men heard a gunshot, near to where Carrillo was seen fighting a red haired woman. We scouted the location and were just about to leave then the red haired woman and four members of the Mrenh Kongveal returned to the scene. We were able to ambush them before they could get a shot off. Over." Pilar reports, with a feeling of pride.

"Excellent work. What is their condition? Over." The Commander, asks, with a hint of mirth to his voice.

"Sergeant, report. Over?" Pilar orders.

"The ones in black are alive, they appear to be wearing high end armour which protected their bodies from the worst of the explosions, the red head looks like she has been through a cheese grater. Over." The sergeant reports.

"Kill them all and lets get out of here. Over." Pilar orders.

"Belay that order Sergeant. Bring them to me." The Commander orders, his mind racing. "We will expose them to the world and vindicate ourselves."

[slackywacky]

"Belay that order Sergeant. Bring them to me." The Commander orders, his mind racing. "We will expose them to the world and vindicate ourselves."

And so they will get another chance... great chapter.

[GreyLord]

With the [mention]wolfman[/mention], great chapters seem to be endless. Great work.

"The ones in black are alive, they appear to be wearing high end armour which protected their bodies from the worst of the explosions, the red head looks like she has been through a cheese grater. Over." The sergeant reports.

Poor Hel. She deserves better. But I will not give up hope. With the @wolfman, all things are possible.

[slackywacky]

Yeah, 100,000+ views! Congrats.

[Bandit666]

Yes I agree congrats on the 100’000+ views and as always it just a gets better with every chapter. Though I admit having been forced to take a step back due to ill health it’s taken me quite a while to catch up. I still enjoy this tale so very much

Bandit666

[wolfman]

With the @wolfman, great chapters seem to be endless. Great work.

"The ones in black are alive, they appear to be wearing high end armour which protected their bodies from the worst of the explosions, the red head looks like she has been through a cheese grater. Over." The sergeant reports.

Poor Hel. She deserves better. But I will not give up hope. With the @wolfman, all things are possible.

Thank you for your kind words I am pleased you are still enjoying this tale. I hope you enjoy the next chapter when it drops.

Yeah, 100,000+ views! Congrats.

Thank you very much, mate. It has been a long road and I am grateful to everyone who has been with me on this journey.

Yes I agree congrats on the 100’000+ views and as always it just a gets better with every chapter. Though I admit having been forced to take a step back due to ill health it’s taken me quite a while to catch up. I still enjoy this tale so very much

Bandit666

Thank you very much. I am sorry to hear you have been unwell, I hope you are on the mend now

[wolfman]

"What happened?" Anya thinks groggily. "Hello?" She psis, feeling someone tugging at her clothes. She opens her eyes lazily, seeing a many pulling her MAP pads free from her NAKI suit, but it is the sight of her unconscious sisters being roughly bound and loaded into a van, that galvanises her into action.

Every part of her body hurts from the rough landing after the explosion, but the power in her heart allows her to flip to her feet. The man removing her NAKI suit, stumbles back in surprise landing on his backside. Anya clasps her hands together and slams her fists down on top of his head.

A movement out of the corner of her eye, prompts her to unleash a powerful left footed roundhouse, connecting with the jaw of a soldier closing in on her, sending his sprawling. She keeps moving, slowly spinning in position watching as more men close in. "Kim? Tara? Ali? Please wake up." She psis, with a scream.

Two men try to rush her from left and right. She spins to her left, grabbing the mans arm and placing a hand on his elbow, then heaves using their combined momentum to throw the man into the other soldiers path.

The other men form a circle around her and flick open extendible batons. Anya raises her hands defensively, keeping in constant motion. When she jinks forward to strike a man before her, he dodges back and the men either side of him, lash out striking her forearms. "Shit, that hurt." She thinks, dodging back, the bullet resistant material of her NAKI suit doing little to reduce the blunt force traum of the blow.

As she turns, a man behind her, just out of sight, darts forward and strikes the back of her left knee, before darting back. She stumbles but does not buckle. Her body burns from the pain of her injuries but she doesn't allow herself to stop.

One by one the men dart forward, striking her from behind. She bleeds from multiple wounds and angry welts mar her body, but still she doesn't endures.



Fey spots the explosions in the distance away from the main areas of T.H.I.S.'s occupation and frowns to herself. "That makes no sense. The explosions have the characteristics of a forty mill frag, which the soldiers are using but there are no positions there and they are too far from their strongholds to have been strays."

"Screw it." She thinks and leaps off of the building serving, as her vantage point and embraces the morning air. "No sense, informing Angel until there is something to tell her."'

The small emergency parachute deploys flawlessly and she glides down to the street. A few feet from the ground she pops the release on the harness and drops to the ground, rolling to her feet and breaking into a sprint, towards the sound of the explosions.



A gunshot rings out and everyone freezes. The men of the circle part to allow Anya to see Ensign Pilar, casually pointing his sidearm at Hel's head.

Anya's heart sinks seeing Hel in a pool of blood, weakly moving. With anger in her eyes, she stares at Ensign Pilar. "Stand down, young lady. You have handled yourself admirably, but this ends now." He says, calmly, "Either you can allow these men to restrain you, as they have your sisters and we will get this woman the help she clearly needs. Or, you can keep fighting until you die and I will execute this woman."

Anya stares daggers at Pilar, weighing up the options, but knowing inside that she would never be able to reach him, before she is brought down. Closing her eyes, she drops her arms to her sides and slumps her shoulders. She doesn't resist as the men close on her and pull her arms behind her back. 

A tear rolls down her cheek as she feels coil after coil of rope, securing her arms behind her and her legs together. "It's over." She thinks mournfully, as two men carry her towards the van.

She sees Hel still laying on the floor as the men start to pile into their vehicles, She twists and struggles weakly against the men wailing, "You promised to help her."

Pilar smiles gently at Anya, "So I did." He says, gently, "I will give her something for the pain before we leave."

Anya weakly resists, as the men lift her into the back of the van. She sees the unconscious forms of her sisters hanging from the roof of the van in a line up the middle of the van. Two soldiers force her onto her knees and secure her to a hook in the roof attached to the ropes holding her wrists, pulling them high up behind her.  

The soldiers take their seats either side of the line and Anya watches Pilar approach Hel, as the doors close. 



Pilar crouches by Hel and cups her cheek turning her gaze to match his, "Hello." He says softly, "I know you can hear me."

Hel closes her eyes and her lips quiver, but he stills them with a finger, "Don't try to speak." Pilar says, "Death is close, my sweet."

"My, my, my, you really are very beautiful." He thinks, admiring the curve of her cheek and swell of her breasts.

Hel's eyes widen and she twists under his touch, shaking her head in denial. 

Pilar smiles warmly down at her, "You know what I do. Don't you?"

Hel's mind fills with images of torment and anguish, not his, but that if his victims. "He wanted to kill me and the girls so he could add us to those sould he has in his mind."

"You feel your fate approaching don't you." Pilar says, almost lovingly, "Every soul has a unique taste. I am sure you will be exquisite my darling."

Hel fights with everything she has to hold on to her life, realising, "He escorted all of Kim's other sisters to their deaths and consumed them."

"Shhhhh, no need to fear. Soon you will be a part of me and I will take very good care of you." He sighs softly.

Hel senses the fear and pain of those imprisoned within him and baulks, "He does what I did to Lupita, but it lasts as long as he lives."

"Are you ready?" Pilar asks softly, ignoring her attempts to shake her head and says a silent prayer for the woman at his feet. 

"May God have mercy on your soul." Pilar says, barely above a whisper, before, he reaches down with loving fingers covering her mouth and nose with his left hand. He locks eyes with her and draws his sidearm and softly coos, "I love you. Forever.", then pulls the trigger three times, scaring birds in the area into flight.

Pilar leans down and removes his hand from her mouth, covering it with his own and consuming her last breath. He feels her enter into the special place in his mind, that houses all of the other souls he has consumed.

In the van, Anya screams seeing Hel move no more. A moment later her world goes dark thanks to a rifle butt to the side of her head.



As a van and three SUV's peel away, Fey skids to a halt on the edge of a nightmare. At its' heart a car burns, the acrid scent of explosives and burnt flesh hangs in the air. She crouches at the edge of the street, her back to a wall and takes a deep breath to centre herself, "Something bad happened here."

She risks a peek into the street and that is all it takes to confirm her suspicions, "Two primary cmbustion points, with a car being triggered as a secondary igniter." Fey thinks, feeling a sense of dread, "No signs of life."

Fey slips around the corner keeing low, moving between parked cars and vans. She knows that eyes she cannot see may still be on her and acts accordingly, slinking like a wraith around the scene, until she peers under the high chassis of a parked van. Fey cannot tear hear eyes away from the horror on the other side of the vehicle.

On shaky legs she walks around the van and stares at the body on the floor. Her heart fills with sadness, rage, numbness and loss, unable to tell where the red of the bodies hair ends and the crimson of the blood pool begins.

Fey crouches at her sisters side and despite the obvious injuries, presses her fingers to Hel's neck to check for a pulse. She closes her eyes and concentrates, willing her sisters heart to beat, but she already knows she is gone.

With trembling fingers, she closes Hel's eyes, then brushes the hair from her sisters cheek, to look at her face once more. In her mind she relives every moment she has shared with the sister, trying to build her courage.



With a heavy heart, she takes a deep breath and keys her headset, "Fey to all units." She pauses as the words catch in her throat, before she can continue, "Vixen down. Over."

Dani's blood turns to ice in her veins and she keys her headset, "Fey, repeat last message for confirmation. Over." She lights a cigarette and hates herself for having to ask Fey to say it again.

"Roger that Angel. Repeat, Vixen down. Over." Fey reports, trying to keep her voice even.

Jim and Carl listen in stunned silence, unable to speak. Nikita breaks the silence on the line, "I can be there in three hours, I may be able to bring her back. Over."

Fey swallows hard and tries to maintain her composure, "Negative Lioness. Vixen has full thickness burns and significant shrapnel injuries to her back." Fey chokes back a tear, before continuining, "In addition she has been shot twice in the heart and once in the head. Over."

"I am sorry to ask this Fey, but is there any sign of the girls. Over." Sasha asks over Nikita's comms.

"Understood, Guardian. No sign as yet, vehicles raced off when I got to the scene." Fey confesses, hating herself for not going after the van.

"Send me your location and I will come to you. Over." Dani says, rapidly pulling on underwear and a sports bra, tossing her robe aside.

"Digger and I will too." Jim says, "Pretty sure Hatchet and Bushman would like to come too."

"Negative. The Eyrie needs to be cleared." Dani says, adding authority to her tone, "Although if there is anything you can do to help us find the girls it would be appreciated. Over."

"Are we going to carry on like nothing has happened?" Fey wails, unable to contain herself, "Hel's gone."

Dani feels the pain in her sister's voice and says the only thing that feels right, "Stay there. I am coming for you." 

[GreyLord]

This is a tough chapter, [mention]wolfman[/mention]. As tough as they come. No question, it is well written. I am on pins and needles waiting for the next installment.

[wolfman]

Fey gently holds Hel's hand, trying to pass on the feeling of being alive to her. They more she tries, the more she feels the cooling limpness of Hel's hand. She nearly jumps out of her skin when she feels a hand on her shoulder.

She turns to see Dani behind her naked and raises her eyebrows, "What the hell are you doing?"

Dani reaches into Fey's pack and retrieves her gear. "I am getting you back to the cache." 

Fey shakes her head, "No, Hel is dead and the girls are missing. You need me."

"You are right. I need you." Dani says, quickly pulling on lycra shorts, "But right now, you are not you. You are so angry and grief-stricken you are not yourself."

"Please, don't bench me." Fey begs, feeling her chance to avenge Hel slipping away.

"Never." Dani says, shrugging into the sports bra, "I need you to help me get Hel back to the cache, then I will take the lead and be up front and visible. I need you in the shadows, watching my back." Dani fixes her with a serious gaze, "I need you on your best day. I feel her loss too. I feel like I have failed her."

"We all failed her, now she is gone. We can't bring her back, but we can save the girls." Fey asks, helping Dani into the NAKI suit. "What's the plan?"

"Scouting out, starting a search and if possible will bring the girls home." Dani says, zipping up the suit and smoothing out over her limbs. "I've set up an app to monitor media and social media to give us an alert if anything comes up regarding the girls."

"You going incorporeal?" Fey asks, handing Dani a fully stocked shoulder holster from her pack.

"No. If I find the girls, I wont be able to communicate and from the press reports, they have cut a bloodless swathe through the city, so no guarantee of a convenient body." Dani says, strapping on her sidearm. When the holster is secure, she turns to Fey and places a gentle hand on her upper arm, "I know you are hurting, but I really need you with me."

Fey wants to argue, but knows she is right. "I have your back babe."



Their headsets squawk into life with Jim saying, "Badger to Angel. Come in. Over."

"Angel to Badger. Roger that. Over." Dani says, keying her headset, as she and Fey approach a concealed entrance to the cache.

"Hatchet and Bushman heading to you with Digger. I am staying at the Eyrie to maintain security protocol. Over." Jim confirms, hoping Dani doesn't argue.

"Sounds like a plan. Over." Dani says happy with the solution presented, "I think it wise to have them with us. Their daughters will need them. Any luck on Tara's folks? Over."

Jim lowers the tone of his voice and keys his headset, "Tara's parents were killed the night she was taken. She has no other family."

"Poor thing." Fey says deep in thought.

"She has us." Dani says, matching her sisters thoughtfulness.

"Yes she does." Jim says nodding, waving to his brother as he drives out of the holding area of the Eyrie. "The boys are on their way."

"Good." Dani says checking the time, confirming that it is just before seven AM, "They should be here by ten." Dani says with a hint of relief.

"Nah. Carl's driving. They will be there by half eight." Jim says with a smirk.



In his mind he sees the pattern of the world and sees the fastest path to the cache. Carl pulls off of the road, a hair under seventy and picks a path between the trees. Alex and Moses exchange a glance of concern but keep their own council.

The SUV barrels down the hill picking up speed as trees and bushes whip past at ever increasing speed. They burst from the treeline and bounce across the road, into the treeline the other side. Alex quietly, checks his seat belt is secure, noting Moses looking a little pale.

Carl notices Moses looks off colour and shouts over the engine noise, "You alright back there mate?"

"Yeah all good." Moses says, releasing a breath he didn't realise he was holding, "Just thinking about my little Anya."

"What's she like?" Carl asks, keeping his tone light.

"She is amazing." Moses says, looking out of the window, "I have missed so much of her life I have missed."

"Mo, she knows." Alex says, over his shoulder.

"How?" Moses asks, sadly, "She is thirteen and I have missed pretty much all of her life. Between the army and DEA I have only seen her four or five weeks a year."

Carl catches the look on Moses' face as he speaks and calls back, "Have you ever told her that the time, with her is the best time you have had all year?"

Moses looks asken, as he speaks, "No. I told her I loved her everytime we spoke on the phone. I read poetry to her until she fell asleep and I told her how proud I was of her, everytime I saw her. I spent as much time as I could with her and her mother." The big man closes his eyes, "But I broke her heart every time, I left to go back on active duty. No matter how much she begged, I never stayed."

"That's rough, fella." Alex calls back, "I mustered out, when I knew Rachel was expecting Dean. While Ali grew up, she had to watch, as I jumped through hoops trying to put food on the table. You may not have spent much time with Anya, but it was all quality time." 

"I remember this one trip. I took her camping and she hated it, but she was desperate to please me. I taught her how to shoot and she was really good. Any way, she had this deer in her sights and I mean had it cold." Moses says quietly, "She looked up at me, almost in tears and told me she couldn't shoot and it broke me."

"Ah man, that is rough." Carl says, thinking, "Need to build him and Alex up a little.

"In that moment, I realised that she was torn between pleasing me and being true to herself and saw that I misjudged, what we should do with our time." Moses says sadly, "She had to stand up for herself and say no. A decent father would have realised and called of the hunting trip. I told her I was proud of her for the first time that day, when the truth is I am proud of her every day."

"Ali has a talent for rubgy and has been signed up for the England under 16's team, but I have never told her how proud I am of her." Alex says, regretfully.

"Steady on gents. You are going to see them again." Carl says, swerving onto a narrow road as the vehicle break cover again.

"With your driving I am not so sure." Moses says, his deep voice rumbling.

"Relax. I haven't lost anyone yet." Carl says with a grin.

"No offense mate, but this back seat is not nice enough for me to be your first." Moses says, chuckling darkly.

"How long till we get there?" Alex calls out over the engine noise.

"Maybe an hour, depending on if we get diverted." Carl shrugs.

"Going to be a long ride." Alex says with a shake of his head.

"Well, if you boys make it there in one piece, it is fates way of saying that you deserve a second chance with your girls." Carl says , dipping the accelerator to slow before the crest of a rise, just enough to keep the wheels on the ground, then slamming down hard on the gas, suging forward on the downhill. "Now, let's have some music."



Tara runs across the garden, wearing in a pretty pink princess dress. In the house friends and family chat while her mother gets ready to bring out a fifth birthday cake.

The sun is warm on her skin, as she crouches down to smell the roses in her grandad's garden. "Every time I come here it is so lovely." She thinks to herself.

She skips along the border of the immaculate flower bed, smelling roses, tulips and lavender. Her young senses explode within the perfurmed, kaleidoscope of flowers. 

Her eyes go wide as she trips over a gnome and crashes to the ground. She screams in pain, clutching her knee. 

A man sprints out of the house, to her he is about a hundred years old, but he runs faster than she can. "Oh darling, whatever is the matter?" Her grandfather says, gently lifting her.

Tara cannot speak because of the pain, all she can do is point to her heavily grazed knee. "Oh dear. We must get you to the kitchen at once." He says in an overly dramatic way, with a glint in his eye, "There is not a second to lose."

Held fast in his arms while he runs, Tara has never felt safer and smiles up at him. He sets her down on the work top and searches the drawers frantically, comically throwing various objects over his shoulders, coaxing a giggle from the injured girl. "Ahhhaaaa!" he proclaims, "I have it."

She looks confused as her produces a sponge from the drawer, "Erm Gangan?" She asks,  still unable to say grandad.

"Yes, sweetie." Her granded says, with a twinkle in his eyes.

"It is just a sponge." She says, forgetting her pain for a moment.

He runs the sponge under a stream of warm water and gently explains, "No dear, the water is just water. But this is a magic sponge." He squeezes the excess water from the sponge and gently dabs her knee, "See, doesn't that feel better?"

She nods, sniffing back tears, "Uh-huh."

He leans down and gently kisses the top of her head, "Glad to hear it." He looks up out of the window and smiles sadly, "Not a moment too soon. Your sisters are here."

Tara is no longer five, she is thirteen and dressed in a Neoprene and Kevlar Interweave bodysuit. She turns staring out of the window to see Kim, Anya and Ali waving at her from a blue and yellow bus. Tearfuly she turns back to her grandfather who is now wearing a bullet proof vest, "Do I have to go? I miss you."

Her grandfather hugs her, "Life is for the living. You need to get back to yours."

Tara ignores the bus's horn and holds on to her grandad for all she is worth, "I am scared to. My life is horrible without you."

"Oh sweetheart, as long as you remember me, I am still with you." He cups her cheeks in his hands and plants a gently kiss on her forehead, "Don't fear the storm. Embrace the chaos. Make it yours." Her grandad says, fading away and she is on the bus with her sisters.



Anya sits on the bus, quietly staring out of the window. Ali drives the bus, guiding it through an unknown city, while Kim brings Tara up to speed.

"So, we are tied up in a van and Hel is dead." Tara says sadly.

"That is about the size of it." Kim says, glancing over at Anya.

"What are we going to do now?" Tara asks, putting an arm around Anya.

"Wake up, get free and get away." Kim sighs, wearily.

"We can't let him get away with it." Ali says, feeling numb.

"Steady on babe." Anya says, holding up her hands, "We have taken a kicking and we are currently unconscious and tied up. Not to mention we have no idea where we are."'

Tara's grandad's words echo in her mind and the words "Embrace the Chaos.", escape her lips.

"Eh?" Ali asks, "What do you mean?"

"They killed Hel. So we give them Hell." Kim says, nodding grimly. "They want to put us down, we show them the error of their ways."

"We finish what they started." Tara says, with a glint of steel in her eyes. She stands tall and holds out her open right hand, palm down.

"We make sure that they face justice for everyone they have hurt or killed." Anya says, standing with Tara and covering her sister's hand with her own.

"We stand tall and don't back down." Ali pledges, putting her hand in.

"We teach them about the eleventh Commandment." Kim says, putting her hand in, "Thou shalt not escape our wrath."



As one they open their eyes and realise that there will be a delay, before their campaign begins.

[slackywacky]

> They killed Hel. So we give them Hell.

I like that phrasing. Go give them hell indeed. Great chapter. Looking forward to the campaign and to what the delay is...

[GreyLord]

Your writing is very poignant, [mention]wolfman[/mention]. You are moving us forward, increment by increment. Great work.

[wolfman]

"Get off of them."' "Leave them alone." "For Christs sake, they are just kids." The baying crowd of captive reporters scream at the assembled soldiers.

"Silence." Comander David yells, firing his sidearm into the air twice.

Some in the crowd fall silent and cower. Whilst others scream in fear for the lives and try to run before the soldiers block their path, turning them back. Once order is restored David speaks again addressing the crowd. "Ladies and Gentlemen. I present to you the Mrenh Kongveal." He gestures at the girls with a wave of his hand, signalling a spot light to illuminate him and the girls in the centre of the carvernous room, "I bring them to you so you can see them for what they are. Freaks of nature. Dangerous beyond words and a threat to the existence of every man, woman and child."

Kim glowers at him. She hangs a foot off of the ground, her arms outstretched from her sides, a rope around each wrist securing her between two sturdy metal support beams. She has a dull ache in her shoulders from the position. However the burning ache from her jaw where the thick towel tied between her lips forces her mouth open, eclipses the pain. She sighs and she thinks to herself, "Probably more palatable for the press that we only have a rope on each wrist, rather than all the ropes Anya described holding us."

She looks at her sisters who are all secured in the same way as her, as the Commander addresses the crowd. She sees no fear in their eyes, only a state of readiness. "All eyes are on us, right now." She psis, "If we keep them focused, we can keep them unbalanced."

Tara looks around the room, seeing the reporters on a mezanine before them. "This is not good." She psis, looking left and right to examine the bonds on her wrists and see Ali and Anya either side of her, with Kim on the far side of Ali. "Any bright ideas?" She psis, feeling a little worried.

"I have an idea." Anya psis, with a winking smiley face, before outlining her idea.



After taking a moment to watch the body language of the girls, Commander David steps towards the most scared looking roughly yanks her head back by her hair, "Tell the world who you are. Any fucking about and your sisters will suffer." He says in a low threatening whisper, then roughly pulls the towel out of her mouth.

Ali flexes her jaw and looks up at him tearfully, "Please let us go. Why are you doing this?"

David spins a ploughs the heel of his left foot into Tara's gut with a vicious back spin kick. "Don't play innocent with me. Tell them who you are."

Ali looks warily at Tara who is gasping for air through her nose. "I'm ok. Stitch this guy up." Tara psis with an image of her flexing her arms.

Ali looks at the crowd of reporters, "My sisters and I were on the beach and then soldiers grabbed us and brought us here." Ali says, tettering on the verge of tears, "They took our clothes and forced us to wear these rubber suits and tied us up." She remembers the feeling when she saw her brother lying motionless and lets the tears flow, "Please somebody help us." She pleads, pitifully.

"I warned you." David says, rolling up his sleeves and stepping in front of Kim, "Last chance to tell the truth."

"Tell him to get fucked." Tara psis, followed by Anya psi-ing "We are all in."

Kim twists in her bonds with a terrified look in her eyes, and psis, "Make him lose his rag. I can take it."

"Twist him up babe." Anya psis, sending a devil's face.

Ali wears a look of defeat, "Ok mister, please don't hurt her. We are Minge of the Conga Eel." 

David's eyes flash with fury and he rounds on Ali grabbing her by the throat, "Don't fuck around girlie, tell the truth."

"I am so sorry." She begs, "I couldn't remember what you told me to say."

David shoves her back by her neck and lets her go. The ropes holding her hold her fast as she bounces back and forth. David stands before Kim once more and grabs her face by the chin with his left hand, forcing her to look at Ali, "This is her fault." He says, solemnly. Without pleasure, he slams his fist into her body half a dozen times..

The assembled reporters cry out, begging him to stop. Some vomit from the way the poor girl is being beaten.

"Oh my God, it is taking all I have not to laugh." Kim psis, with the image of her striking a pose and declaring, "I am Minge."

All of the girls cannot help but giggle softly, at the same time as Commander David face turns scarlet with rage driving his savage fury.

"I wish these suits had built in trauma shielding." Kim psis, while enduring the onslaught. "I think the PCS is wearing off."

Ali begins to worry when David doesn't appear to show signs of letting up, "Please! Stop it! I will do anything. I even promise not to cry again, when you do things between my legs." She begs pitifully, drawing gasps of disgust from the press.

David stops his onslaught suddenly, and spins around back handing Ali across the face, "You lying little bitch. I have never touched you. Tell them the truth."

Ali lets blood from her quivering lips trickle down her chin and spill onto the floor, "He never touched us." Ali says, staring at the floor, "With his hands." Drawing gasps of bastard from the reporters and looks of concern from the soldiers, who realise that the reporters cameras are broadcasting live.

David leans in close and whispers softly, "When this is done, I will kill you."

Ali softly whispers back, "Funny. I was about to say the same thing."

The scene descends into chaos as David flushes red with anger and prepares to unleash an onslaught upon each of the girls in turn. 

"Be strong." Kim psis, watching the soldiers lead the reporters and their cameras out.

A moment later, the girls hang bound and alone, under a spotlight in an otherwise dark and empty warehouse, with only Commander David for company. 



"How is everyone holding up?" Kim psis, her ribs and stomach aching from the beating.

"My ribs haven't healed from Lupita's beating and I am struggling to breath, hanging like this." Tara thinks, before she psis, "I have been better and yes, the PCS is wearing off."

"My mouth hurts a bit but I am ok." Ali psis, seeing Tara's suffering.

"I am ok so far." Anya psis, not wanting to admit how badly the soldiers beat her, before she surrendered.

David snatches the towel which was in Ali's mouth, off of the floor and rams it back in her mouth, "You had a chance to make this easier on your sisters and yourself. What happens now is your fault and you get to watch."

Ali watches in dismay, as Commander David, removes his black beret and places it on her head, "I will come back for this when I have dealt with your sisters."

Tara shakes her head furiously and pulls at her bonds, trying to get his attention as he turns to face Kim once more.

He places his hands on Kim's shoulders and looks deep into her in the eyes, "I want you to know, I take no pleasure in this." He says, in a somber tone, before grabbing her by the back of the neck with his left hand, then clamps his right over her mouth, pinching her nose.

Kim squirms against his grip trying to free her face, whilst David remains resolute. She hears her dad reading a bedtime poem to her, in his gentle voice, "Rage, rage against the dying of the light." Without hesitation knows what she must do. Her thoughts melt away and she simply acts.



Commander David abruptly releases Kim's face and sinks to his knees, unable to speak. His, is a world of pain. The centre of this world, radiates out from his groin, where the girl he was trying to kill, has just kicked him. 

Kim felt something pop, when her steel capped boot hit him between his legs. She shows no emotion wrapping her legs around the neck of the Commander and begins to squeeze.

David bucks and writhes, hammering his fists into her legs, trying to break free. Kim bites down on the towel, fighting through the pain, she hangs on to the Commander for all her life is worth. Even when his frenzied efforts reach a crescendo, she refuses to let go.

After what seems like an eternity, the constant constriction of his carotid artery takes it's toll and he slumps motionless. Kim releases him, to let him collapse to the ground.

"That was beast." Ali psis, with a high five.

"I won't lie, that was badass." Anya psis and Tara adds "Are you alright?"

"I cannot believe we have taken this much of a beating, before breakfast." Kim psis, stretching her sore and aching legs, then cracking her neck. "I think I may have a way out of here, watch me and try what I do."

Kim exhales slowly and grips the rope with securing her right wrist to the beam and uses her fingers to pull herself towards the beam, taking up any slack in her bonds. Maintaining a grip on the rope, she works her arm, twisting her wrist trying to transfer the slack she has found in the ropes to the rope wrapped around her wrist. 



Dani springs off of the bike at the edge of the police perimeter, she wears a black NAKI suit with dark purple MAP's and a gun under each armpit. The attending officers draw their weapons in a panic as she strides forth, pulling an ID card. As she approaches the gate, she thinks, "They look battle weary, they need a friend. Not someone barking orders."

"Nirvana Supplemental Legal Operative Angel." She holds up the card and warmly asks, "Would it be possible to speak to someone in charge?"

The officer opens his mouth to argue but decides against it, instead speaking into his radio. A few minutes later, Joao steps forth and appraises her, "She is very young, maybe early twenties, but she carries herself like a veteran special forces operative. She looks like a manga character with her white hair, skin tight suit and armour. That said, she holds herself with a power and confidence that is rare. This is not a woman to be trifled with."

He takes her ID card, examining it thoroughly before returning it, "Ok. S.L.O. Angel, what do you want here?"

"The girls being held onsite are of interest to Nirvana and I would like to ensure their safe extraction to the UK."' Dani says, calmly.

"Nirvana is a private company. Why would we comply with this request?" Joao asks, watching her closely for a reaction.

"The UN has tasked us with the management of those with suspected empowered abilities. These girls fall within our remit." Dani confirms, scrutinising the man, "Over six foot tall, he is in good shape. Maybe early thirties. Career officer, moves like a man with experience at the sharp end. He is someone to be respected."

Joao's eye twitches slightly, but he maintains his composure, "You can watch from the sidelines, but when those girls are secured, they will be under our protection."

"But our remit...." Dani says, before being abruptly cut off.

"Your remit is worthless here." Joao says, entertaining no contradiction, "Those girls will be protected and returned to their families. The UN be damned."

"Did not expect that." Dani thinks, before saying, "Then it appears, we want the same thing. How can we help?"

"She is calm, collected and relaxed. Maybe she does want to see them home safe." Joao thinks, before asking, "You are not here for the UN, are you?"

"Nirvana has been contracted to manage all individuals empowered with abilities." Dani says, picking her words carefully.

"I understand that you are one of their people and that they have that remit. However, you are not here because of that." He says, worried about showing his hand.

Dani lights a cigarette and takes a deep lungful of smoke to calm herself, thinking, "Maybe a lucky guess. But best not to antagonise him."

"I am right aren't I?" Joao asks, watching her closely.

She exhales smoke out of the corner of her mouth away from him, "More interestingly, a police officer in a war, has the option to step back and let the UN take over and doesn't taking it. Seems odd to me."

"Give a little to get a little." Joao thinks, before leaning in close and speaking softly, "Last night I was kidnapped by goons from T.H.I.S. and one of those girls saved my life. I will do what I can to return the favour."

Dani takes another drag on her cigarette and pauses before speaking, "One of the girls, is called Kim Smith. Her step-mother is Sasha Smith."

"I am aware of this." Joao says, squinting slightly.

"Sasha is my sister." Dani says,  lowering her voice.

"Really?" Joao asks, thoughtfully. "Why should I believe you?"

Dani pulls out her phone and shows him her screen-saver, a photo of Kim, Dani, Sasha and Nikita from the day of the drone attack at Nirvana's poolhouse. Showing them all smiling.

He hands back the phone and nods to her. "Any help you can provide would be appreciated. Where are the rest of your people?"

"Mostly securing the Eyrie, with a team en route to this location. They will be here within the hour. The fathers of two of the girls and my brother." Dani says in a professional tone, before relaxing her voice a little, "Thank you."

"No problem." He says wearily, "There are at least fifty soldiers and they are well dug in. They have locked down the harbour and we have sustained a lot of casualties overnight. They have taken about twenty reporters hostage and have them broadcasting live." He leans in close and speaks quietly, into her ear, "My superiors have ordered that we hold back, they don't want us to storm the place and trigger a blood bath on international media." He pulls back and Dani notices his eye twitches slightly.

"What aren't you telling me?" Dani asks, cautiously.

"The Spanish government is considering escorting them to international waters, in exchange for their freedom." The Detective confesses.

"Really?" Dani says, softly, "Why?"

"One of the reporters is the daughter of a US senator and there is a lot of international pressure to get these men out of the country and make them someone else problem to resolve. They don't care about the girls, they just want the problem to go away." Joao confirms, keeping his voice low to avoid alerting the officers on duty.

[slackywacky]

Somebody is busy... at least the cavalry (or should I say Angel), has arrived.
Very nice read indeed.

[GreyLord]

Because of the age of the girls, [mention]wolfman[/mention], I found this to be a hard read. However, they are super heroines with great powers. The bottom line is: It is a fascinating read.

[Caesar73]

Because of the age of the girls, @wolfman, I found this to be a hard read. However, they are super heroines with great powers. The bottom line is: It is a fascinating read.

Absolutely! I imagine it difficult to write though, and they way you do this [mention]wolfman[/mention] briliant!

[wolfman]

[mention]slackywacky[/mention] [mention]GreyLord[/mention] [mention]Caesar73[/mention]

This arc is a tough one to write, hence the reduction in the speed I publish at the moment. Thank you for sticking with it.

[wolfman]

"Nnnnnggggh." Kim screams into the towel still tied between her teeth and looks at her sisters. "I ache so much. I just want to lay down and quit, but I have to keep going for them." She thinks, collapsing to the floor without the ropes supporting her. With trembling fingers, she unties the towel and discards it exhausted. "I can rest when this is over."

The warehouse echoes with the sound of her breathing and the struggles of her sisters as they try to free themselves.

Shaky arms try to steady her as she tries to stand, but her exhausted legs betray her. Kim drops to her hands and knees panting. "Just need to rest. I will be ok." She thinks, not believing it for a moment.

Her sisters watch her in dismay and redoubles her efforts trying to get the slack out of the ropes, in the way Kim did. "Hang on babe, we are coming." Anya psis.

Kim abandons her efforts to stand and picks up a length of the rope that was used to bind her. She crawls towards Commander David. It takes all her strength to turn him onto his stomach, before pulling his arms behind him. She pauses, tired from the effort and gathers her strength, before binding his wrists at the small of his back.

She scoots herself backwards and manages to prop herself up against one of the poles she was secured between. With the back of a weary hand, wipes the sweat from her brow with the back of her hand and rests her head back on the pole.

Ali pulls her right hand free of the ropes and drops to the floor, quickly untying her other hand. Seeing Anya make good progress, she rushes to Tara's side to help her.

Anya makes a beeline for Kim, when she is free and helps her stand, supporting her weight, while she gets her strength back. A moment later, Ali supports her from the other side. "Thanks guys, I couldn't do this without you."

"We are a team, babe." Tara psis.

"Besides, we are waiting for your plan, for how we are getting out of here." Anya psis with a wink.

Tara takes over from Ali, in supporting Kim, so she can jog ahead. Ali peers out of the window and psis what she sees to the others, with the message, "We are surrounded. Looks like we are in a warehouse, on the docks. Soldiers all around." Ali swallows hard, before continuing, "I have never seen so many guns."

"How many guys out there?" Kim psis, having recovered enough to stand on her own.

"No idea. At least fifty guys." Ali psis in dismay.

"Damn it." Kim psis, "It will take us hours to subdue them all."

Ali, Anya and Tara exchange a confused and scared look, then stare at Kim, as she bursts into laughter, "Behave yourselves you dopey sods. Let's go home." 

"Do you have a plan?" Tara psis, chuckling.

Kim fixes her with a crooked grin and a wink, "Working on it."



Their chuckles are short lived. Cut off with the sound of a silenced gunshot, ringing out in the silent space. They dive in different directions and frantically look at each other and soon realise that no of them have been shot.

"The Commander has been shot." Ali psis, watching the growing pool of blood, growing around the Commander.

"Can anyone see the shooter." Kim psis, trying to see any sign of a gunman in the gloom beyond the spot lights.

"No." Ali psis, searching the darkness.

"Off to the left somewhere, but I can't see them." Anya psis, keeping low.

"How many are there?" Tara psis.

"Hard to say, could be one, could be a dozen." Kim psis, "Keep low and split up, get into darkness if possible. When they shoot again, we need to triangulate their position."

Anya dives right, towards the shadows and a shot rings out. Kim psis, "Dust from that hitting the ground went in direction you are going, shooter is behind you, keep going and zig zag into the shadows. Ali, Tara, get moving. If it is one shooter, he will have to choose."

As if on cue, Tara, Ali and Kim explode into motion, scattering and diving into the darkness trailing a flurry of ricochets in their wake. They each cycle back wide.

"How many shots did he fire?" Kim psis, wanting to confirm her count.

"Seven, plus one at me and another at the Commander." Anya psis, prompting Tara and Ali to psi thumbs ups, when they check their recollections.

"The Spanish Navy use the Heckler and Koch USP. Fifteen round mag, plus one in the chamber." Kim psis, "He still has plenty left plus reloads."

"What do we do?" Anya psis.

"Stay quiet, get to the wall and work our way around. See if we can put him between us and the illuminated area." Tara psis, nervously hoping for approval.

Kim nods to herself, in silent appreciation. "Love it. Keep low and stay quiet everyone, he may have had the same idea." She psis.



They drop prone and slowly, silently inch their way towards the outer walls and move towards the north wall. "Pause and listen." Kim psis, thinking that she caught a sound near her.

Everyone stops dead and holds their breath, straining for any sound. Tara's head snaps to the left catching the scrape of a boot nearby, not seeing the man until he is almost on top of her. Tara throws up her arm just in time to block a downward strike to her head, a split second to stop the swift kick to the temple sending her dazing her instantly.

Everyone feels Tara take the hit and all move towards her location, but Ali is the least injured and by far the fastest. Slowed by her aching legs, Kim psis, "Slow down, we should take him as a team. Less risk." 

But Ali ignores her, focusing on the addled senses of her fallen sister to pinpoint which shadow is the gunman. She makes no attempt to be quiet and sprints full tilt towards her sister. She keeps low, spotting the faint reflected glint of light off of the gun barrel and launches herself at the man.

He snaps off three shots at her, glancing off of the NAKI suit. She tackles him around the waist, striking with her full body weight at almost thirty miles per hour. The man is launched backwards, his weapon skittering away out of reach. She and the attacked land in a tangle of limbs, with him winded less than twenty feet from the circle of light.

She winces feeling the point where the bullets struck her NAKI suit at her shoulder, but grits her teeth through the pain. The man flails his arms trying to get her off of him, but is shocked to find that this young woman is stronger than him. His eyes widen in fear as she bodily throws him into the circle of light.

He quickly gets to his feet and raises his hands defensively, peering into the darkness, seeking signs of the girls he would make his prey.

Anya's eyes flash with anger and she psis, "That is the man that killed Hel."

"What's he got in his hand?" Kim psis, alarmed.

Ali sees the black object in his hand and knows exactly what it is. She breaks into a run and charges at him, psi-ing "Radio."

"Pilar requesting back up. This girls are free and have murdered Commander David. Please hu....." Is all the Ensign can say, before Ali crashes into him for the second time.

The sisters lok at each other feeling the weight of his words, for a moment before Anya asks, in a heartbroken tone, "Why? Why would you say that?"

"You have about a minute before they storm this building. Enough time to kill me or run." Pilar sneers. "Clock is ticking."

"But it isn't true." Tara says, her lip quivering.

"Right now for the men outside it is and that is all that matters." Pilar says, shoving a weeping Ali off of himself and getting to his feet.

"You wont get away with this." Anya says, trying to think of a way to stop him, unaware of Ali tensing next to her.

"By the time they have executed you, I will be long gone." Pilar gloats, "You have done well, to get this far. But this ends now."

[slackywacky]

> "You wont get away with this."

Those famous words. Although I suspect in this case Pilar might not get away with it.

Sometimes, not due to the writer, but more the type of story, it takes me a little more effort to get through a chapter. Not because of bad writing or anything like that, but the fact that this story has so many characters and locations and actions. Occasionally I find myself having to go back and reread a chapter (or more) just to get up to date again.

It is an excellent story though.

[GreyLord]

"... Pilar gloats ...

But she who gloats last, gloats best!

[wolfman]

"You wont get out of here alive, if we don't kill you others will." Kim says, calculating if she could get his gun before he does.

"Easier said than done. I see you looking at my gun. You are probably quick enough to get it and if you kill me with it, your prints will be on it and a gunshot residue test will show you used a gun. If you survive that will be enough to convict an angry jury." Pilar explains, "Clock is ticking. Can you hear them coming?"

The faint crunch of sprinting soldiers can be heard coming from outside. Kim's mind races, trying to think of a way out. Ali grits her teeth and springs to her feet, smashing a rising right elbow into Pilar's Adam's apple. "That's enough out of you."

Pilar clutches his throat with his left hand, his right snatching a pen from his pocket. With almost calm detachment, he pulls the steel pen apart and thrusts it without hesitation through his throat.

The girls stare slack jawed at him, watching his self tracheotomy. "You will need to do better than that girlie." He rasps, with a malicious look in his eyes. 

"Don't worry that was the starter, not the main course." Kim says, coldly.

"You kids have no idea." Pilar chuckles, "I can see from your aura, that you have killed before, a shame for one so young. Where you have killed a few, I have taken a lot of lives."

"You will fall when your time comes." Tara snarls, imagining choking the life out of this man.

"No, I won't." He says, grinning evilly, "I take lives and keep them. I keep the souls of my victims and when I am about to die, sacrifice one for more life."

"If it means killing you a lot to free everyone. I am good with that." Anya says, at peace with the words she utters.

"I have claimed so many souls over the years. Hitchhikers, soldiers, prisoners." He says off handedly, then makes eye contact with Kim, "Your sisters, the woman who killed Lupita Carrillo."

"Let them go." Kim says in a low threatening voice.

He smiles to himself, hearing the splintering of the doors to the warehouse and the thundering stomp of the soldiers entering. "Too late, kid."



Kim swallows trying to quell the sick feeling in her stomach. The lights of the warehouse, slowly begin to blink on,  illuminating the onrushing soldiers in glaring light and plunging them into darkness by turns. 

Ali, Anya and Tara roll and flip into position forming a circle with Kim on instinct, the girls all stretch and raise their hands in a boxing stance.

"Hold the line, no one gets behind us." Kim psis.

Tara glares at Pilar, "What about him?"

"He will have to wait." Kim psis.

"He can't get away with all he has done. He has our sisters and Hel." Tara psis, with an image of the scales of justice.

"That is not a fight for today." Anya psis, warily watching the approaching troops, snaking their way around them.

"I could punch a hole through the line for you to get out of here." Ali psis, geting ready to move.

"Stand down, no one gets left behind." Kim psis.

Out of the line around them, a man steps forward. He stands tall in black Spanish Naval fatigues, at six foot three, he towers five inches over Pilar and over a foot taller than Kim. He breathes in slowly taking in the scene before him, making his large well muscled chest inflate under his shirt.

"Sergeant, shoot these girls they murdered the Commander." Pilar rasps, then points to the pen in his throat, "And they were about to kill me too."

"You lying prick, you shot him and wanted to frame us." Tara spits back.

"Please." Pilar scoffs, "Sergeant Diaz, you have your orders."

The man who stepped forward looks at the four girls who have been giving his colleagues hell all night. "So these are the Mrenh Kongveal. They are little more than children, physically at least. Their eyes tell a different story. They have the eyes of those who has seen a lifetime of war." He is pulled from his thoughts by Pilar barking, "Get on with it man."

The sergeant clucks his tongue against the roof of his mouth and rubs the back of his neck, "In case you hadn't noticed, we are deserters now. We are no longer under the Navy's chain of command. So if it is all the same to you. We are going to take them into custody, until we can figure out what to do for the best."

Pilar bristles with anger, but decides this is not a battle he can win.

Sergeant Diaz turns to Kim, "Please surrender yourselves. We have no desire to hurt you, but we will use deadly force if you give us no choice."

The air is filled with the sound of assault rifles bolts being pulled back and released. Kim looks at her sisters, "They would fight to the death, if I gave the signal. But as long as we live, there is hope."

She locks eyes with the Sergeant and keeps her voice calm, despite her emotions running wild, "Will you give me your word."

Diaz nods softly, "You have my word, you will all be treated fairly."

"We have no leverage here. If we try to fight our way out, we will lose." Kim psis.

Ali and Anya, breath a soft sight of relief, whilst Tara psis, "What about Pilar? He will get away with it."

"He may get away today. He may escape justice.  But he will never escape us." Kim psis in a silent pledge to the ascent of Anya and Ali. 

"Just feels like we are giving up." Tara psis, feeling defeated.

 "As long as we have holes in our asses, we will never give up. We are buying time." She psis, before raising her hands, "We surrender."



Soldiers close in and pull their arms behind their backs without resistance, the soldiers cross the girls wrists behind their back and tightly zip tie them, horizontally and vertically and then bind their upper arms with more ties. Diaz watches his team bind the girls, but looks away sickened. He throws his head back and sighs, "How did it come to this?"

A corporal next to Diaz notices him looking up and scanning the ceiling thoughtfully. "All ok, Sarge?" The corporal next to him enquires.

Diaz turns to the man and quietly whispers to him, prompting a salute from the man before he sprints off towards the warehouse's offices.

Kim can sense Tara readying herself, "Wait. Save your strength for when it counts."

"But, he is going to get away." Tara says, watching Pilar edge unnoticed towards the door.

Anya locks eyes with Diaz and nods towards the exit, "Where's he going?"

Diaz spins and spots Pilar trying to make a sly exit and shouts, "Hey Pilar, leaving so soon?"

Pilar turns sharply and pulls the pin on a grenade, hurling it towards the spot where the girls are being restrained. Anya breaks free from the man holding her arm and sprints forward to leap as high as she can. Spinning in mid air, Anya lashes out with her foot, deflecting the grenade away from everyone. It flies through a window and explodes outside. 

At the moment it explodes, she lands unable to steady herself, with her arms bound, behind her. One of the soldiers, catches her and stops her from landing face first on the floor.

Diaz whistles sharply, then barks at some of his men, "Drag his ass back here." He turns to the remaining soldiers and in a lower voice orders, "Lock these ladies up for now."

The four sisters are led away crestfallen. Sergeant Diaz catches the Anya's arm as she passes and whispers a soft, "Thank you."



Kim tests the zip ties applied to her ankles and up her legs and fights back tears. "Any luck?" Tara asks, likewise testing her bonds, prompting Ali to psi a crying face and Anya to prompt and image of Nicholas Cage, dropping to his knees and crying out no.

Kim shakes her head and psis, "No. I am stuck. I can't reach anything to get free." 

"It can't end like this. Not after everything we have been through, it just isn't right." Ali psis, thrashing with impotent rage against her bonds.

"I am sorry. I thought it would be easier to get free, but I just can't." Kim psis, "I have let you down."

Tara sees the pain in Kim's face and feels herself soften inside. "Behave yourself. We are not soldiers, or spies or ninja. We are teenage girls and without you, we would be dead teenage girls, so many times over. You have done nothing , except be awesome." She psis, sending an image of a massive heart. "You are an epic sister."

Anya feels a part of her melt slightly. "Your step mother and her family will be so proud of you have led us through."

"I have no one left to be proud of me. Hel was going to look out for me but even she is gone."' Tara psis, "Everyone I care about gets taken from me." Tara sniffs back a tear, "I am cursed."

Kim shuffles herself next to Tara and nudges her with her shoulder, before twisting a little and moving her bound hands to hold her sisters hand, "We care and we are here. I am proud of you and proud to be your sister."

Ali also shuffles over and psis, "Your plan to topple the water towers, was so awesome. We saved so many lives by doing that. You are a boss."

Anya gazes at Ali and psis, "Let's not forget the convoy and the absolute beast job, you did Ali."

Ali blushes and Kim takes up the mantle, "You stood up to the soldiers that came for us and fought as long and hard as you could."

"When I was trying to revive Anya, you were there. We have come so far and done so much together. Between us we have saved so many lives." Kim psis, looking each of her sisters in the eye, in turn. "I am proud to know all of you."

Ali gives a cheeky smile and psis, "We are minge of the Conga Eel and we are unstoppable."

Ali, Tara and Kim begin to laugh, but Anya shakes her head confused, "Ok I know what a Conga Eel is, but what is minge?"

The other girls chuckle and Tara psis, "Minge? Another word for vajayjay or punani." 

Anya shrugs and psis, "Huh?"

Tara thinks for a minute, "Poontang?" Drawing another confused look from Anya.

Kim hangs her head and chuckles, "It is another word for vagina." She beams at Tara, "Your language is so bad."

"Ooooh." Anya psis in realisation, "Eeuww. That explains the look on his face when you said it."

"I gotta say, it was amazing the way you twisted him up like that." Kim psis with a memory of a standing ovation from a tv show she once watched.

Tara laughs so hard, she begins to topple over. Unable to steady herself she begins to fall almost in slow motion. Ali scoots next to her and manages to prop her back un with her shoulder. Tara is on the verge of crying with laughter, "Minge to the rescue!" She cries out, prompting fits of laughter from her sisters as they all release the tension that they have held for so long.

Their laughter is cut short, by the door to the room suddenly opening and Sergeant Diaz and the man he sent running off, enter. Each man has a somber look in their eyes and carries two large holdalls.

[GreyLord]

Well done, [mention]wolfman[/mention]. Our little ninja are tough and capable. They are also smart by picking battles they can win. I keep thinking that they will have reinforcements arrive.

Waiting for your next installment.

[wolfman]

The men set the bags down and Diaz crouches before the girls, with a serious look on his face, "Who is in charge of you guys?" He asks, in a gentle and even tone.

Ali, Tara and Anya's eyes nervously flick to Kim, who hangs her head.

"Turns out that this place has CCTV. My corporal and I have reviewed the footage and confirmed that Pilar murdered the commander." Diaz explains, trying to choose his words carefully. "We have proof you didn't kill him."

Kim looks up, feeling her heart racing, "What does that mean for us?" She asks, trying to keep her voice even.

"We are getting low on ammunition and people. We are surrounded on all sides by the police and there are rumours of a Nirvana strike team en route." Diaz explains, "If we make a stand here, maybe a handful of us will survive." He pauses, taking a deep breath then exhailing slowly, "Every time you have gone against us, you have taken people alive and left us for the police."

"Is he saying what I think, he is?" Kim psis. Ali and Tara psi shrugs and Anya psis a confused, "No Idea."

"Just so we are clear, what exactly are you saying?" Kim asks, keeping her voice soft, despite the torrent of emotions racing through her mind.

"Despite all we have done to you and your sisters, I am asking you to save my men." Diaz swallows, and wrings his hands, "I am asking you to accept our surrender and escort us to the custody of the officers surrounding us. If you say no, we will release you regardless. I gave you my word we would be fair to you."

Kim stares at the massive man humbling himself before her and cannot speak. "We can end it now." She psis.

"It is time." Anya psis, with a thumbs up.

"Agreed. Enough people have died." Ali psis.

"Too many." Tara psis, "Take the deal."

"Before we accept your surrender, I have one question." Kim says, calmly, "Where is Pilar?"

Diaz finds himself unable to make eye contact. He rubs his face with shaky fingers and raises his gaze to meet hers, "He and a handful of men loyal to him have taken the reporters we were holding. They are on a bus heading out of the city. Indications are that they are heading for Portugal."

Tara shakes her head in disbelief, "Why didn't the police stop them?"

"The hostages are all wearing explosive vests. Pilar will kill them all, he has a dead man switch that will detonate all their vests, if he is killed." Diaz confirms, pinching the bridge of his nose, "We couldn't stop him. We shot him a dozen times and he just kept going."

Kim nods slowly and chews her lip, "We accept your surrender. We will escort you to the police."

An almost visible wave of relief floods the sergeant. He pulls a sharp stilleto from his boot and gently touches the back of Kim's shoulder, "Can you lean forward please?" He asks, softly, before deftly cutting the ties holding her arms and wrists behind her.

Kim rubs her arms and rolls her shoulders, whilst he frees her legs, "Thank you, sergeant."

"Call me Diaz. We are no longer soldiers." The big man says, giving the knife  and its sheath to Kim, "The gear we confiscated when you were brought in, is in the holdalls, by the time you are ready I will have the men outside and ready to go."

"Thank you Diaz, we will be out shortly." Kim says, feeling her heart racing. He nods, curtly and excuses himself, gently closing the door behind him.

A moment later, Kim cuts the last of the ties, holding Anya's ankles and stands up, offering a hand to her sister. Ali and Tara are in the process of slipping into their MAP's and readjusting them. Kim passes the bag of Anya's gear to her sister and begins the long process of donning her own gear.



"This is not a great plan." Dani says lighting a cigarette.

She sits around a table in the mobile command tent, with Detective Joao and Major Alvarez of a Spanish Army unit that does not exist.

"Whilst I respect what your organisation achieved on La Palma. This is my operation." Alvarez says, coolly in lightly accented Spanish.

"Your route is one choke point after another. If we proceed with this. Half the men will be dead, by the time we get into the docks." Dani protests.

"The part of the city that they have taken, is a cluster of choke points, there is no other way." Alvarez confirms, exhaling slowly. "Approach from the sea is out, once our men get onto the quay side, there is no cover for fifty metres and they would be sitting ducks."

"Sewers?" Joao suggests, with a wave of his hands.

"They offer good access to some areas of the city, but they are mostly flooded near the docks." Alvarez says, wearily.

Dani breathes smoke out of the corner of her mouth, "How many soldiers are left in there?"

"Indications are that there are roughly forty left." Joao confirms.

Dani raises her finger to her ear, in response to a squawk from her earipiece and nods, "Copy that Fey, putting you on loudspeaker. Go ahead, over."



High on a crumbling rooftop overlooking the harbour, Fey crouches behind an air conditioning unit. She crouches as much to hide from the soldiers, as she does to seek cover from the fierce sun. Fey speaks softly but firmly, her eyes practically glued to her binoculars, "Angel, I have eyes on. The soldiers are gathered together and getting in formation."

"Are you able to engage? Over." Dani asks, taking a lungful of tobacco smoke.

"Negative Angel. There are too many, too tightly packed in. Over." Fey confirms, shaking her head subtly and adjusting her position slightly on the crumbling rooftop overlooking the docks.

"Give me the co-ordinates. I will order a mortar strike." Alvarez orders, sharply.

Dani turns to him and leans in, then waggles her finger, "Steady on fella, first off there are civilians down there. Secondly, don't ever talk to my people as if they are yours again."

"My priority is containment. We are ending this today." Alvarez barks.



Kim listens to the exchange on her headset and takes a deep breath. "Every moment since T.H.I.S. took us, has led to this moment. There is so much I want to say, but if I start I wont be able to stop myself. I have to keep it together. Everyone is relying on me." She thinks, suddenly feeling very small, "I miss you dad. I wish you were here."

One by one, her sisters give her the thumbs up, oblivious to her inner turmoil. "Boudicca to Angel and Fey, Come in over."

The control room falls silent, not from the strength of her young voice, but from Dani's reaction to it. Dani stubs out her cigarette and licks her suddenly dry lips, "This is Angel. Come in Boudicca. Over."

"Can we erm, formally request that you don't bomb us. They have surrendered to us and we are about to bring them to the main entrance to the docks. We will turn them over to Detective Joao Rodriguez, of Santander police." Kim says, trying to keep her voice from waivering, "He is a good man and we trust him. Over."

"Hello Minh, good to hear from you. Over" Joao says, in a deep warm tone.

"I am not listening to this nonsense. Give me their co-ordinates now Fey." Alvarez says, rising from his feet.

Without looking, Dani places a hand on his shoulder and jams her thumb between his collarbone and neck, forcing him back into his chair, with a grunt. "Let them speak, Major." She says in a low, dangerous tone. "Please continue Boudicca. Over."

"Thank you Angel." Kim says, feeling her nerves start to fade now that Dani has defended her, "We will be escorting them on foot. They have surrendered their weapons." She pauses listening to Alvarez grumble under his breath, "If you wish to fire your mortars, you will be responsible for bombing one of your own cities, to kill unarmed men who were surrendering. If you would like to send me the address of the prison you will be incarcerated in, I will send a fruit basket. Over."

Dani suppresses and smile and coughs to stop herself laughing, before she speaks, "Boudicca, keep it professional. Over."

"I apologise. However, Major my point stands. If you fire, it will be a PR and legal nightmare. Over." Kim says, feeling her face turn red with embarrassment.

Alvarez scratches his chin, "Accepted." He says, gruffly, then turns to Dani and covers the microphone, "I will go along with this, but mark my words, if this goes awry, I will dump it in your lap."

Dani watches the man closely and speaks softly, "If she says she can do it. I trust her."

"Fey to Boudicca. Give a signal when you are on the move. I'm watching your back." Fey says, softly so her voice doesn't carry. "Confirm operatives on your team. Over"

Kim looks at her sisters and shrugs, "Sound off. Over."

"Vanguard reporting, over." Anya says, holding her head up high, quick drawing a pair of CAP guns and holstering them in one smooth move..

"Sage reporting, over." Tara says, weaving a complex pattern around herself with two sets on stunchaku.

"Mystic reporting, over." Ali says, making a gun disappear then reappear in her hands.

"When you have handed the soldiers over, I will have a debrief with each of you. Over." Alvarez says in an authoritative tone.

"Negative, Major. Once the soldiers are in custody, Kim, Tara, Alison and Anya will be coming with me." Dani snarls, at him. When he opens his mouth to speak, she holds up her right hand sharply and hisses, "This is not a negotiation."

Kim locks eyes with each of her sisters in turn and psis, "Don't worry, when this is done, we are going for Pilar." She takes a deep breath and says, "Copy that. We are on our way, over."

"We are waiting. Over." Dani says, warmly.

[GreyLord]

Truly great development of the story line, [mention]wolfman[/mention]. Pilar is a snake and bad things need to happen to him. But after Hel and the other souls he has taken are recovered. You are maneuvering the story in a way that feels right. Good work.