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

[wolfman]

Dani emerges from the cool air-conditioned interior of the airport into the cloying humidity of a Hagåtňa afternoon. She shrugs her backpack onto her shoulders and strolls with purpose towards a bike rental stall nearby. Despite the loose fitting, white tank top and baggy cargo shorts, a sheen of sweat forms on her skin.

"The roads on the island are not built for the traffic and often gets snarled up, a bike is a better bet." She thinks, signing for a low end moped and crash helmet.

As she waits for the bike to be brought round to her, she pulls the dictaphone out of her pack and slips in a fresh cassette tape. "Testing one, two, three." She records, then plays back. She smiles softly, happy with the quality of the recording.

Then she takes out a small plastic badge with some writing in Russian and slips it into her pocket. "It's a risk having it here. I just hope I don't need it."

Absent mindedly, she slips a copy of the local newpaper into her pack, "Not much to go on, but in the absence of anything else, it might provide some useful local intel."

Her eyes flick to the shop window again checking the reflection for anyone hanging around. Satisfied that she is not being watched, she turns to the approaching attendant bringing her moped.



The hot and humid air is filled with the sound of honking horns and diesel fumes. Music from a dozen radio stations fight for the attention of the listener, in opposition to the calls of street vendors hawking everything from street food, to locally made jewellery. Dani ignores the cavalcade around her and carefully cuts her way through the traffic, weaving between stalled and overheating cars all fighting their own path through the traffic.

Dani's breathing is slow and controlled, at odds with the scene around her she is calm. Weaving a random path around the islands capital, just like any other tourist. With every change of course she checks her mirror's looking for signs of pursuit.

"The chances are slim that someone would be following me yet. But no sense taking chances." She thinks on her third circuit of the capital.

Satisfied for now that she is alone, she begins an indirect approach to the offices of Copraktik. Heading north initially and then cutting back down and circling around the Naval hospital.

Upon entering the street, she is struck by the number of US Navy guardsmen on the street, both clearing rubble and watching the street with weapons held low and ready. The armed men, monitor a hastily erected check point, stopping each vehicle as it passes. She waits patiently in line behind a pick up truck, slowly advancing towards the check point.

Surreptitiously, she glances up and down the street, managing not to frown. "The buildings either side are more rubble than  structure. I can see cracks in buildings up and down the street. All of them will need to be demolished. Looks like the shockwave travelled quite a way from the explosion. Looks like a temporary road surface up ahead too." She observes, calmly.

"Overkill for a gas explosion. Although, it gives me a change to have a subtle look without getting off of the bike." She thinks, lifting the full face visor of her helmet and taking a deep breath through her nose.

"Interesting. Even though it has been a couple of days, I would have expected to smell some level of trace compounds from the explosives used." She thinks, as the vehicle in front of the pick up, is being processed.

She takes a swig from a bottle of water, then stuffs it back in the pocket of her jeans, "Damn it is a hot day." She thinks, subtly looking around the street and the building the other side of the demolished Copraktik building. "It is hot but there are no scorch marks on the neighbouring building or any of the rubble strewn around." She observes, pulling up to the check point.



The chisel jawed guardsmen looks her up and down, inscrutable, behind mirrored shades, "ID please ma'am."

Dani presents the fake passport and openly stares with a look of wide eyed shock at the hole where the building used to be. "Ah jeez, what made this mess?" She asks, in a broad Brisbane accent.

Without emotion, the guardsman, whose name tag reads 'Champ' answers, "Gas explosion."

"Must have been bad to need the army to clean it up." She asks, wondering if she can get a reaction.

"Navy, ma'am. Was quite a blast, we are making sure that the surrounding buildings are safe." He answers, again without emotion.

"Lack of heavy equipment. Everything being moved by hand, which is not surprising really most of the rubble is no bigger than a football, made a mess of the buildings both sides." She thinks to herself. "Hole is larger than I thought it would be."

"What is the purpose of your visit to the area?" Champ asks, almost sounding bored.

"Trying to get to my hotel." Dani says, with a smile. "He is trying to look disinterested, but it is an act. His body is tense like a coiled spring." She thinks, subtly scrutinising him. "He is watching the cars behind me and deliberately trying not to look at the buildings across the street, I have a feeling that there are a lot of guns trained on this line.."

"Which hotel are you staying at?" He asks, passing back her passport.

"The Lander." She says, tucking her passport into one of the leg pockets of her shorts, "Have been driving around for hours trying to find it. The guy at check in said it was round the corner from the hospital. Do you know where it is?" She subtly leans forward exposing her braless cleavage. "I would be really grateful if you could help me out."

"Sorry ma'am. I am new to the island." Champ says with a shrug, keeping his gaze on her face.

"Nevermind, I'm sure I will find it evenutally." Dani says, keeping her tone light, thinking, "New to the island? Maybe brought in for this duty. He seems focused and commited to the duty in any case."

"Good luck ma'am. You may continue on your way now." He says, dismissively.

"Thank you." Dani says, beaming a smile adding, "Have a nice day." In an exaggerated mix of Brisbane and New York accents, before clicking her visor down and pulling away.



An hour later she pulls up to a picnic spot overlooking the sea. She parks her moped and claims a table with a view of the vista before her. With a smile and a wave, she orders a cold beer and a chilli dog with chilli cheese fries from one of the vendors set up around the picnic spot. 

She gazes out across the sea and lights a cigarette, letting the smoke trail off on the breeze. She smiles watching children playing on the beach and thinks to herself, "The guardsmen were in standard uniform." She stretches a little, clicking her neck, "No HAZMAT gear or decontamination protocols, so no radiation, or biohazards." 

Subtly she checks the radiation detection badge in her pocket to confirm her suspicions and feels a wave of relief, when she sees it is clear.

Sighing with relief, at the soft kiss of a rare cool breeze, she takes a sip of beer, relishing the ice cold brew and the respite from the heat of the day. 

She reflects on her observations of the street, when she was waiting, for her turn at the checkpoint, "No residual odour of explosives or scorch marks either. Which rules out gas or explosives."

The children below are darting in and out of the surf and splashing each other playfully. Dani takes a deep lungful of smoke and exhales slowly and thoughtfully, "The men were moving the rubble by hand. Not machine. They were looking for something. They have had a day or so, which might explain why there was little apart from rocks and broken bricks in the crater."

Dani closes her eyes for a moment, rebuilding the scene in her mind. She casts her mind's eye out across the wreckage of the Copraktik building. "The stone of the building and it's neighbours wasn't just broken up, it was pulverised. Most of the debris was cleared away but, it seemed to leave a bit of a ring."

"What the hell happened here?" She asks herself, staring out to sea, as if it will answer her. "A non nuclear explosive, that doesn't burn or leave any residual chemical smell, that cracks buildings half a block away." She thoughtfully stubs out her cigarette and lights another, "Then there is a secondary explosion, that shatters all the windows on the street about a second later."

Playing a hunch she pulls out the dictaphone and presses play. She listens to the static and frowns to herself, rewinding the tape fully and re-playing it. "Static again." She thinks, narrowing her eyes and nodding to herself, "The tape has been wiped of my original recording. It takes a large magnetic charge to do something like that."

She leans back on the bench staring out to sea, nodding to herself. "It makes sense. It wasn't an explosion, it was an impact." She stares at the sky. "My gut feeling is that a hypersonic projectile striking at massive speeds would replicate the effects I have seen and would explain the secondary boom." She narrows her eyes, ssquinting against the low hanging afternoon sun. "A rail gun would fit the profile and would potentially leave a massive magnetic signature at the impact point."

Dani closes her eyes for a moment, enjoying the feeling of the hot sun on her skin, "When the sun goes down. I will go to the local U.S.G.S. Office, see if the seismic sensors are good enough to track a sonic boom." She decides, wondering where all this will lead.

[GreyLord]

Dani is on the trail, sniffing to discover what happened. It seems fishy that her braless cleavage did not provoke more of a reaction from the Navy Guardsman. I expect that would have reduce me to jello.

[wolfman]

The United States Geological Survey station sits atop a cliff edge overlooking the ocean. The islands position on the edge of the Marianas islands, makes it a perfect location to monitor siesmological and tectonic activity in the area and the research done here is invaluable in the quest to determine an accurate means of predicting earthquakes and volcanic eruptions.

The building is a state of the art glass and steel building, built to resist earthquake and storms. It's interior is as modern as its exterior, with polished stone floors and flatscreen partitions between offices either showing what is on the other side of them via camera, or any presentation or screen saver that may be used to ensure privacy.

Just as impressive as the interior and exterior, is the security system. Controlled from a single point, the whole of the building and perimeter can be monitored in real time. Everything from door locks to cameras and alarms.

The problem, however, with any security system lies with the people who are responsible for running it day to day. Tonight the duty falls to Jez Johnson.

Jez was a short order cook in a diner just outside of Boston. Every day he dreamt of a life in the sun, on the road not travelled. So after a year of saving he went back packing around America, hoping for adventure and a life less ordinary. Instead he became a security guard in a government facility.

He sits back in his chair and smiles to himself, "Not a bad life really. Watch the monitors all night. Sleep till about one and then hit the beach until start of shift." 

Jez checks the clock and rolls his shoulders, "Time for a perimeter walk." He rises to his feet, stretching up to his full six feet six inches tall and slots his nightstick into the ring on his belt.

He swaggers along the corridors of the building resting his hand on his nightstick like an old school gunslinger, waiting for high noon. As he approaches the main entrance to the building, he knows something is wrong, but cannot put his finger on it. Then he sees her.



He runs towards the doors, fumbling with his key card. Terrified for the green haired girl in the matching purple hot pants and bustier, slumped against the glass of the door.

Jez swipes his card and yanks the door open, crouching at her side pressing two fingers against her neck. He breathes a sigh of relief, feeling a pulse. Effortlessly, he scoops her up in his arms and carries her inside, careful to lock the door behind him.

The woman barely stirs as he sets her down in one of the reception desk chairs and brushes hair from her eyes. "Even though the facemask covers most of her face, from what I can see is beautiful." He thinks setting down her clutch purse.

Jez takes a step back and lets his gaze wander over her unconscious form. His eyes linger on her boots, black leather, hugging her legs from ankle to just below the knee. Then up past her figure hugging shorts and bustier, taking in her arms and hands clad in long opera style gloves. "What is she doing in this area? There are no clubs around here."

He reaches down to remove her facemask and gasps in surprise as her eyes open, flashing ruby red contact lenses. The woman grabs his wrist and curls a hand behind his neck, then slams his head into the desk.

She eases his unconscious form onto the floor and uses his handcuffs to secure his wrists behind him, then with some effort she slides him under the desk. She slips his keycard and keyring from his belt and pats him on the shoulder, "Sorry big guy. You will have a headache but you will live."



Dani keeps low and moves quickly away from the guard, heading for the heart of the building. "Got to move fast." She thinks, following the blueprints she downloaded, to the main security office. The key reader beeps softly and turns green, allowing her to enter freely.

She stares at the computer terminal responsible for controlling the buildings security and after 'password1' fails, is granted access by 'Password1'. Her fingers dance over the keyboard, accessing secure files and wiping the buildings camera feed for the last twelve hours, halting recording in the process.

Dani uses the cameras to scan each desk in the building, stopping when she finds what she is looking for. She takes off at a sprint, making a beeline for the desk and skids to a halt on the polished floors level with the offices partition. With a soft beep she enters and surveys the desk, "Fast food wrappers, empty drinks bottle and I don't want to know what that is."

She ignores the detritus on the desk, instead entering the password on the poorly concealed sticky note and accessing the seismological sensor grid. "A sonic boom powerful enough to shatter all the windows on the street will be strong enough to trigger some of the seismic sensors around here. I should be able to use the sensors to track back to the source of the shot."

The logs are clearly marked and confirm the sensors on the island picked up the sonic boom at the impact site. Dani begins working her way out to nearby sensors and then further afield. She shakes her head seeing the results and rechecks the sensor feeds.

"No other sensors were tripped. Only the one on the island." Dani thinks, erasing traces of her passing and shutting down the computer, "So the projectile didn't cross over them. Could it have originated on the island?"



Quietly Dani slips out of the office and begins making her way back to the main entrance. She crouches warily, when the hairs on the back of her neck rise. Still as stone she listens with her mouth slightly open, "Footsteps, quiet and quick heading this way."

Shakily she stands and steadying herself with a gloved hand against a see through partition, letting herself sway a little, she stumbles forward. Her eyes are half closed and she focuses on putting one foot in front of the other, thinking to herself, "The secret to acting drunk convincingly, isn't to pretend to be drunk, but to be a drunk person pretending to be sober."

She waves at the two men climbing the stairs, as they come into view, "Hey fellas, where's the loo? My back teeth are swimming." She says in a Brisbane accent.

The men both halt around thirty feet from her and aim their silenced pistols at her. The one on the left barks, "Don't move."

Dani stares out of the window behind them, rather than focus on them. Regardless she is still aware that they are roughly six feet tall, in good shape and wearing ski masks. "Easy." She says, floppily waving her hand down, "I just need a pee. No trouble."

"What are you doing here?" The man on the left demands.

"He speaks English like he is familiar with it, but not comfortable. Not sure on the accent northern China or Primorsky Krai." She thinks, before saying, "I was too hot in....the club..... I stepped out for a walk.... Saw this place. I thought to myself, this is the shiniest building I have ever seen." Dani says, swaying a little and making a show of licking her lips, "The guard let me in to use the loo, if I promised him a blowie." She finishes with a giggle.

"Did you handcuff the guard?" Leftie asks, betraying no emotion.

Dani closes her eyes and tilts her head in an exaggerated gesture of concentration, then stares at the man in shock, "No."' she shakes her head, subtly staggering back, "What the hell is going on?"

"That's far enough. Come here." The man on the right says, impatiently, angrily pointing his gun at her.

"Whoa." She says raising her hands in surrender and staggering towards them, thinking, "When they want to keep their distance, test their patience and then back away. They will soon call you too them."

She stumbles a few times, tripping over her own feet. When she is around ten feet away, the two men watch her as she stumbles forward wildly, dropping her purse. They rush to her aid catching her before she falls. She rewards them by slamming their heads together with a crack.

She manages to catch their limp bodies before they hit the ground and she waits for a sign that someone else heard. A moment later she pulls the burner phone out of her bustier and lifts their ski masks, snapping a couple of photos of each. 

Dani quickly searches the men turning up little of actionable value, "No identification, generic holster for sidearms, with a spare mag. A stilleto each, no comms gear. Can use their zip ties though."

She places their weapons in a bin and quickly secures their wrists and ankles, before risking a peek down the stairs.



"Shit." Dani thinks seeing the three man team armed with silenced pistols around the reception desk, with a fourth man, beating Jez and demanding answers.

"I could grab the guns from these two and try to rush them. But there is too much of a risk of collateral damage." Dani thinks, weighing up the options, "They'll kill him, if they keep beating him."

"Whoever they are, they mean business. They might be here for the same thing, I am." Dani squints, seeking a path to take and then, exhales slowly, "Follow your own advise. Don't think, just act."

She picks up the bin and sprints with it towards the stairs. She hurls it with all her might to send it crashing into the plexiglass windows on the other side of the reception desk with a clang. The armed men turn as one towards the noise, as she dives down the stairs. 

Dani's outstretched hands catch the stair rails and she pivots her hips forward, vaulting further down, only to catch and vault again. By the time the men turn back to the stairs, Dani is in mid flight. The men begin to raise their weapons, as she slams feet first into the nearest man, sending him sprawling.

She somersaults and then zig zags to avoid the panicked shots of the men. The two closest to her start backing away, but nowhere near fast enough. She launches herself between them and with a split kick catching both of their temples, she finds only one man standing to face her.

He stands behind Jez, pressing the end of his suppressor to the back of his prisoner's head. "Stop right there." He says, calmly.

Dani locks eyes with him and in a low voice, speaks with quiet menace, maintaining her Brisbane accent, "If you shoot him, Your gun will be in my hand, In the time it takes you to aim at me and fire."

"She is dressed like some club chick, but she basically flew down the stairs and took three well trained men down in less than a second." The last man standing thinks, trying to ignore the beads of sweat forming on his brow. "My men are down, but not dead. If I fall, they are dead."

He narrows his gaze and challenges her, "Nice try. There is no way you could get over here quick enough."

Dani simply smiles at him, holding his gaze, letting her silence fill the room. She thinks to herself, "Accent is clearer than the other man, Shanxi in China or somewhere close to it. His eyes constantly flicking towards his men, he is loyal to them, that could be useful. He is a careful man, he could have popped off a few shots as I was sweeping in, instead he claimed a tactical advantage and saved his bullets."

He tries to swallow, but his mouth is too dry. "Why do I feel like a mouse, staring up at a cobra? There is no way she could get to me." He thinks, staring across the twenty feet between them, "Is there?"

A bead of sweat rolls into his left eye and he blinks rapidly, slowly raising his left hand to wipe it away. Dani smiles gently at him, "By all means, take care of your eye. I don't want you to have any excuses of being at an unfair disadvantage."

He reaches up and wipes the sweat away, then looks up to see her still matching his gaze. With all of his strength he remains calm, thinking, "She is too calm, too composed. This feels wrong. Everything about her is a deception, the hair, the eyes, the clothes, the accent. The one thing I am sure of is that she is not afraid of the possibility of me shooting her."

"He is almost there, a little push and he will go the other way. Just got to let him get himself there." Dani thinks, sighing and relaxing, as if she hasn't a care in the world.

"Even if I switch my aim to her, as soon as I start to move, she will pounce and this is over." He thinks, slowly breathing in. "My men upstairs. Are they dead?" He asks, shakily.

Dani considers lying for a moment, but decides to stick to the truth, "No. They are alive. Out cold and tied up, but alive."

"'You haven't killed any of my men, so I am going to trust you." He lowers his gun away from Jez's head and holsters it slowly and carefully. Then he holds his hands away from his sides and speaks softly. "Ok. What happens now?"



Dani feels a shiver of relief and nods to the man, without betraying any emotion, "I have what I want from this place. I will walk away and you will let me. Furthermore, you will not hurt this man any further." She says, calmly.

"What's to stop me shooting you in the back?" He asks, trying to sound brave.

"I will hear your hand grip your sidearm. By the time your weapon clears it's holster, I will be standing in front of you.  You wont be fast enough to stop your weapon from coming up, ready for me to turn it back on you." Dani says with a shrug.

She watches the range of emotions place across his face, until he relaxes and nods, "Thank you for clarifying."

"You're welcome." Dani says, with a gentle smile, slowly gliding towards the exit. He watches her every step of the way, fearing it is a trick. Waiting for her to turn on him. His breath catches in his throat as she rests a gloved hand on the door frame, "First floor. Third office partition on the left, desk with the fast food cartons and empty drinks bottle. There is a sticky note with the users password."

Confused he nods, "Thank you."

"Your welcome." Dani says with a smile in her voice, slipping out of the door. 

[GreyLord]

If I ever get into a conflict, I want Dani on my side.

[Jake78045]

Nice!

[wolfman]

If I ever get into a conflict, I want Dani on my side.

That's fair she is possibly the most competent out of her siblings, even if she is not the most dangerous.

Nice!

Thanks for taking the time to comment and welcome aboard.

[wolfman]

Flames curl around the remnants of Dani's shorts, boots, bustier and wig in the shallow dip in the sand. Dani pokes the fire with a stick and stares into the flames. "So, it seems like I am not the only one looking into this. What the hell are a Chinese operations team doing here?" She asks herself.

She lights a cigarette, the lighter briefly flaring, showing her body clad in the cargo shorts and tank top, she wore upon arrival in Guam. She listens to the waves crash, watching the surf, by the light of the moon. "Let's focus on what we know. Copraktik appears to be a Department of Defense front company. It may have been destroyed by a rail gun, the sensors on the island detected it's sonic boom, but no others. A US Navy team is performing a fingertip search of the site, looking for something and a Chinese special forces team is sniffing around."

Watching the last embers of the burning clothes die, she sweeps sand into the hand with her free hand. Ruffling the sand to camoflage the scene. "The Americans can't be looking for anything from the building, what are they after?"

She shrugs her backpack onto her shoulders and decides to go for a walk along the beach. The warm dry sand feels good between her toes. Each step feels like a foot massage as she walks up the beach towards the lights of the local bars. Hugging the edge of the dunes, she proceeds unseen, stopping when two local boys sneak between the dunes and run towards the sea.

Dani watches them, crouch in the surf and plunge their hands into the water and the sand beneath. She breathes a plume of smoke out of the corner of her mouth, thoughtfully, as the smaller of the boys triumphantly pulls his hand up with a clam. He whoops and cries out in victory.

"Of course. The Navy aren't looking for anything from the building. They are looking for the projectile." Dani says, smiling to herself.

"I need to take a look at the site, as only I can." Dani decides.



In the deadworld she rises above the island, leaving her moped and clothing in a quiet spot in the middle of the island, far from prying eyes.

She floats above the island, embracing the serenity of the night. Beneath her, like wisps, people go about their business. She glides through the air taking in the sweep of the island and hovers over the site. "The impact is much more noticable from above." She thinks, descending.

Dani flies above the outer reaches of the debris, "The buildings either side, reduce the size of the crater. However, it is clear that something hit hard." She thinks tracing the outer limits of the perimeter, making a mental note of locations in relation to it.

She floats up high once more and find the rough middle of the crater and gently descends, headfirst. She passes through the rubble and down into the earth. She feels the low vibrations of distant traffic and the tick tick of Navy personel sifting through the rubble over head. 

A dull glow illuminates her path, lit by her soul in the darkness. The ground changes the deeper she goes, pulverised rock giving way to more even layers of stone. "Whatever hit, did incredible damage. I wonder if it didn't disintegrate on impact." She wonders, slowly moving in an ever expanding circle.

"The Navy will be searching for a while." She thinks, as her gaze falls on the projectile. "Looks like once it hit and began to slow down, it changed course a bit. I am maybe fifty feet down and across the street from the impact site."

She glides around the projectile, viewing it from all angles, "The projectile appears to be mostly intact, so it must be made of something very hard and dense. It is shaped like a pointed tear drop, designed to cut through the air. The flecks of silvery metal over the dull surface could be the melted remnants of a shell. If it's depleted uranium, it would need a more magnetic metal around it, for the railgun to accelerate it."

Dani traces the path of the projectile back to the point of impact and realises that it travelled straight down before its course deviates. "That explains why no other seimographs were triggered and the debris pattern, it came straight down."

She once again floats above the scene and pulls the necrotic matter around her and shapes it into a coil gun, then scales it up to be large enough to fire the projectile she found. Pushing herself back away from it, she takes in the scale of the weapon, "You would need a weapon at least thirty metres long. Too large for a plane to carry. This thing must be orbital."



As the light of the creeping dawn, begins to softly colour the sky in the world of the living, Dani lays on the ground fab from prying eyes looking up at the stars. "Where are you?" The whispers into the breeze, knowing she would not be able to see the weapons satellite with her bare eyes.

She sits up and chuckles to herself, "Dozy sod." 

Dani absent mindedly reaches into her back for a bottle of water, instead finding the local newspaper. "It's about light enough to read, might just have a quick scan before I go in search of breakfast."

The explosion is big headlines, taking up a lot of the paper. Everything from speculation around the cause, to local government statements about rebuilding, fills the pages. But it is a list of the dead that catches her eye. She stares at the names and recalls the list of employees. "Interesting. On the employee list, there is a man named Atul Rann, but he doesn't appear to be on the list of casualties." 

She rechecks the list, confirming that he is not among the dead and pulls out her burner phone. "Lets see what we can find out about you then." She says softly, running a search.



Before the sun has cleared the horizon, it became clear that Atul Rann is a smart individual, with masters degrees in mathematics and computer science. Son of an Swedish father and and Indian mother, he was raised in Stokholm. He graduated with honours from MIT, on a military scholarship, then he worked on a number of defense contracts, before joining Copraktik two years ago. With a little less than legal search, his address is shown.

Dani crouches at the back door of Rann's upscale town house in Barrigada. Dressed in all black, complete with a black ski mask. She shrugs off the small backpack and pulls out a small but powerful electric drill, she appropriated from a careless workers toolbox. The lock yields quickly and soon she is inside the man's home.

She raises an eyebrow at the scene before her. Every cushion has been slashed open, all the carpets have been torn up, cabinets have been over turned and broken up. "It looks like I am a little late." She says under her breath, picking her way around the mess to stand in the centre of the room. "Although, no finesse or thought has been applied here."

Dani turns slowly on the spot and her eyes fall upon the fire place against the eastern wall. "Why the hell would you want a fireplace here?" She thinks approaching with caution.

She searches it inch by inch, first with her eyes and then with her fingertips. She carefully removes the logs from the hearth and gently presses her fingers over every inch, until she is rewarded with a click. A panel in the side of the fireplace slides open and she reaches into the slim aperture, pulling out a tablet.

The device boots up quickly, requiring a pin to open. She tilts the screen towards the light seeing where the streaks on the screen line up with the pin pad. Once open she checks the file listing and sees nothing out of the ordinary where names are concerned, however, there is one file whose size dwarves the others, by a significant margin. "Interesting. That is a big file and well encrypted. That needs looking into, but not now."

Continuing her search, she notes an email confirming a hotel booking in Monaco. Then spots an email from a travel company, she opens it and sees that it is for flights to Monaco. "Guam to Los Angeles, LAX and then LAX to Monaco..." 

Dani checks the flight number to be sure and runs a quick search to confirm that the flight from LAX to Monaco flew over Tuscon, AZ and blew up a couple of days ago. She runs a check on the flight and confirms that Atull Rann is amongst the missing.



"Will need some time to crack some of the file encrytions, but I think there is something useful here." Dani thinks to herself, disabling all connections on the tablet and turning it off, ready to slip it back into her pack. "I will take that." An American man's voice says from behind her.

"Turn around slowly." The voice says, with a quiet mocking.

Slowly she turns holding her arms out from her sides. Hiding her reaction, she recognises 'Champ' from the check point at the Copraktik building. "Took your time didn't you." She says in a harsh Chicago accent.

"Excuse me?" Champ asks, amused.

"I have been here for twenty minutes stomping around. What is your excuse for taking so long to show up? I was not aware that this place was being watched by blind snails." She snarls at him and thinking, "Push his buttons, make him think he is on shaky ground, get him off balance." She thinks, weighing up her options.

"Now look...." Champ begins, but is soon cut short, "No you look. Losing Copraktik was one thing and don't get me started on the mess is Tuscon. We need everyone pulling in the right direction on this. Which means no mis-steps." She says in a low threatening tone, watching his reactions closely, "It might be a long shot, watching to see if Atull or his people come back to cover his tracks, but we have to have this sealed up."

Champ lowers his weapon, almost impreceptibly, concerned with whom he is actually speaking "Agreed. Now who are you?" He asks, trying reletively successfuly to maintain his cool.

"Given that you clowns missed this." She says holding up the tablet, "I will not be identifying myself for the benefit of the listening devices you imbeciles missed."

"I must insist." He asserts, trying to regain control.

Dani holds up the tablet, between herself and his sidearm, "Or what? You will shoot me. Not only would you destroy a key peice of evidence, but you would also have to answer for my death."

Champ's eyes flick back and forth, while he weighs up his options, "Ok, we go to our surveillance command post and sort this out there."

Dani gives an exasperated sigh and shakes her head, "No. I get this where it need to go and you conduct a complete fingertip search of this property and prepare a full report on everything that has gone wrong here."

"What? No. I have my orders, you are coming in with me." Champ says, defiantly.

"Are you deaf? Or just willfully stupid. Search this place." Dani orders, lowering the tablet and taking a half step back.  

"Fuck it, I am done with you." Champ says, taking a step forward, in a shooting stance. His foot finds one of the logs, Dani pulled from the hearth and his right leg shoots from under him, over extending.

Dani snatches the gun from his hand on the way down and stands impatiently watching him, as he sheepishly picks himself up off of the floor. "Now will you do as you're told?" Dani asks, shaking her head.

Champ bow his head and nods, "Yes ma'am."

She tosses him back his pistol and shakes her head, "Put that somewhere safe. I will debrief you later."

"Erm Ok. Err Where?" Champ asks, holstering his weapon.

Dani rolls her eyes and then makes a helicopter gesture with both forefingers and mouths the word, "Bugs."

Champ berates himself for his stupidity and nods, ashamedly saying , "Find me when you are ready." He gets on his hands and knees and begins to search the room, not looking up as Dani leaves. 

Dani keeps low and sticks to the shadows, criss crossing streets, alleys and gardens on her way back to her moped, all the while thinking, "How the hell did that work?"

[GreyLord]

And we have another interesting and enjoyable chapter from the [mention]wolfman[/mention]. Being able to disincorporate is a wonderful trick for Dani to have. Well done.

[wolfman]

And we have another interesting and enjoyable chapter from the @wolfman. Being able to disincorporate is a wonderful trick for Dani to have. Well done.

Thank you for your very kind words.

As the saying goes, "And now for something completely different."

[wolfman]

Jim stands in the shower, letting the punishingly hot water, ease his muscles and wash his aches away. "Alex's plan worked like a charm. Three hundred prisoners and no casualties." He thinks, absent mindedly, as he lathers himself with a generous amount of the menthol shower gel. 

He reflects on the events of the day, "What a day. Kim and her new sisters raise hell, we secured a UN facility. It was a resounding success." Jim thinks, ruefully, "So why do I feel like I missed out?"

Taking a pumice stone and aggressively scrubbing his skin he thinks, "Has been a couple of very long days though. Will be nice to get something to eat and get some sleep. I could asks Natalie to dinner."

He smiles to himself thinking of Natalie, "She looked really good today. It was nice to spend time with her." Unbidden the thought of her smile crosses his mind.

"Maybe I will ask her out for a bite to eat." He muses and then stops himself, standing still in the shower, "Machines and technology I can do. I am useless with women. If I ask her out, I will screw it up."

"She is probably not interested anyway. Perhaps it is better to live with the dream of love than the reality of rejection." He thinks to himself, shutting off the water and letting droplets fall from his skin

Feeling cleansed and rejuvenated, he towels himself down and dons a robe, thinking about getting dressed for dinner.

He steps out of the hotel's bathroom and stops in his tracks, stunned by the sight before him.



Natalie lays on the bed, naked as the day she was born. The closest thing to clothing she wears are steel cuffs securing her limbs to the four corners of the bed and the thick cloth secured tightly between her lips. She wiggles her hips slightly, making her magnificent breasts jiggle playfully.

Without hesitation Jim releases the cuffs, both from the bed and her limbs, with a thought and rushes to her side pulling the cloth from her mouth. With a look of concern, he bends to her and whispers, "Are you alright? What happened?"

"I wish you weren't such a gentleman." She says, with a sigh.

"What do you mean?" Jim asks, confused.

"In Cambodia, I was tied up and you saved me. During the drone strike, I was tied up and in danger. Then you saved me." Natalie whispers, catching a glimpse of his chiseled torso, within the robe.

"I erm. I don't get what you mean." Jim says, confused.

Natalie looks up at his and gently sways her breasts, "I wanted to give you a special thank you."

"Oh."' he says thoughtfully, then his eyes widen with comprehension, "Oh. Right."

He slowly stands up and walks to the window, trying to slow his breathing. He rests his hand on the window frame and stares out of the window.

"Is everything alright? Have I upset you?" Natalie asks, slowly rising from the bed and walking up behind him.

He turns, unable to look her in the eyes, "No, not at all." He says, his accent becoming stronger at times of stress, "It's just. Erm. I am not very experienced." His voice trails off.

"We can take it slow." Natalie says, gently placing a hand on his shoulder.

He turns to face her, the breath catching in his throat, "She is so close, she feels like a part of me.", he thinks staring into her emerald green eyes.



Jim leans in close, in that moment, nothing else exists. Time stands still, as his lips gently brush hers. His heart races from the briefest of kisses and he feels a fire ignited inside him.

He pulls her close and their lips meet in hungry abandon. The touch of her hands, reaching inside the robe and resting on his waist, feel electric. A soft moan escapes her throat, when his lips find her neck, in a shower of tender kisses. 

His robe falls to the floor, casually discarded it's use, lost to history. They tumble onto the bed, in a tangle of arms and legs. Their lips lock again, with a fervid desperation. Jims mind is flooded with emotion, his hands rove her body, exploring every inch of her perfect skin.

She pushes him onto his back and straddles his stomach for a moment, then slips a condom effortlessly onto his member, letting her fingers linger for a moment longer than they need to. Licking her lips, she reaches down and snatching up a pair of handcuffs. He looks at her confused as she snaps one cuff around her right wrist and the other around her right ankle. Once she has locked her left wrist and ankle, she moans softly and looks Jim in the eye with a gaze of unbridled lust.

"My body is yours, do with me what you will." She says, breathing raggedly.

As if offering proof of her pledge, she slides down his body, to straddle his waist. Gently grinding herself against him, she moans softly. Jim closes his eyes and rests his head on the pillow. He feels her above him, pressing his shaft into his stomach and gasps as the lips of her labia, trace the length of his manhood.

Natalie raises herself up on her knees and then lowers herself slowly down, impaling herself. Jim feels her silken warmth envelope him and groans with pleasure. She slowly moves her hips in a figure eight, guiding herself up and down his shaft. He reaches up and caresses the smooth curve of her waist, slowly moving his hands up and fondling her breasts, revelling in their soft and firm warmth.

He sits up, still inside her and wraps his arms around her. Her full soft breasts press against his bare chest and she gasps when her sensitive nipple brush his skin. He swallows her moans of pleasure as his tongue explores her mouth. 

Jim feels something wild and unbridled unleashed inside him and flips her onto her back and begins thrusting into her. His powerful thighs and tight buttocks work in unison, to piston his manhood into her. With her wrists locked to her ankles, there is little she can do but moan and cry out in pleasure as his manhood fills her.

Feeling his rhythm and finding her own, she grinds her hips into his as he thrusts into her. Above her Jim reaches down with his right hand exploring her body, slowly kneeding and caressing her left breast as their bodies slam together. 

Natalie feels her breath catch in her throat, as if holding onto the air in her lungs to allow the fire in her to burn. Jim feels a tightening at the base of his shaft, as his stroke become faster. She feels like a thoroughbred race horse in the race of her life as he rides her onwards ever faster and harder. He feels like an ancient warrior riding into battle ready for glory, as he plunges deep inside her.

For both of them there is no fear. There is no doubt. To each of them there is only this moment and the person before them. Natalie screams in ecstacy, feeling herself overwhelmed. Wave after wave of pleasure crashes into her, smashing through her mind, erasing all thought. Jim cries out in euphoria, feeling a moment of pure bliss that eclipses all others.



Natalie pants, trying to catch her breath, but deep down knowing that, her night is far from over. Jim pulls her close and kisses her deeply. Moving quickly, his lips find her neck, gently caressing her with feather light kisses. She closes her eyes and sighs, sinking into the sensation. 

Slowly he moves down her body, kissing every inch of her skin, taking his time. Natalie purrs, thinking, "He doesn't need handcuffs to render me helpless, all it takes is a kiss." The purr turns into a moan as his mouth finds her left nipple and takes it tenderly between his teeth, teasing with his tongue.

At the same time, his hand glides down her stomach and with his fingertip, he traces the lips of her labia, before slipping his finger between them and finding her clit. She arches back in pleasure and bites her lip. "Not very experienced, my ass. He is a..... Oh my God."

Her breath quickens, as he unerringly strokes her with his finger and teases her nipples with his tongue. Her mind is free from coherent thought. All washed away before a rising tide of pleasure. She struggles to control herself, but he is too accurate, too precise. There is no escape from the pleasure he besieges her soul with and she surrenders to the sensation.

She feels the first flushes of another orgasm, at the edge of her senses, dimly aware that her hands are no longer cuffed. His hand gently parts her thighs and he tenderly enters her once more. Gone is the frenetic desperation of their first time, replaced by a slow rhythm. Their bodies move in harmony. He thrusts, she yields. She rises, he sinks into her. 

Natalie feels a dam in her break. All of the fear and pain she has held onto since Cambodia, is burned from her soul, replaced with hope for a better tomorrow. 

[GreyLord]

That was beyond fantastic, [mention]wolfman[/mention]. You resonated with my fantasies so amazingly close that you must have been in my mind. This was beautiful, tender, and powerful. Thank you.

[wolfman]

That was beyond fantastic, @wolfman. You resonated with my fantasies so amazingly close that you must have been in my mind. This was beautiful, tender, and powerful. Thank you.

Really glad you liked it. I wanted to change things up a little and introduce a little sauce and spice. But never fear Dani will be back in the action soon

[Bandit666]

What a fantastic up my friend. Like [mention]GreyLord[/mention] said it was both tender while being powerful. You never fail to delight and please as this tail progresses. Something we must all strive to match.

[wolfman]

What a fantastic up my friend. Like @GreyLord said it was both tender while being powerful. You never fail to delight and please as this tail progresses. Something we must all strive to match.

Thank you for your very kind words, it is an honour that a writer such as yourself, enjoys this tale.

[wolfman]

On the outskirts of Barcelona, Carl nurses a pint of Guiness, from the hotel's bar. "Don't get me wrong. I'm happy for him. But they are so feckin' loud and only next door to my room." He says, under his breath as he take a swig. "I think I will spend the night in the bar, tonight."

"He needs this. He pushes himself constantly. Whenever anything happens, he is straight on it." Carl thinks, shaking his head.

Carl stands and looks out across the bar, thinking of his brother, when he senses a familiar pattern approaching. He sets down his pint and steps into the lobby. With a single smooth move, he sweeps the figure inside, then steps in her path.

"Sorry Carl but I need to see Jim." Dani says, moving to pass him.

Carl counters her attempts and raises his hand. "Not tonight, Dani."

Dani implores him, "Carl, I am tight for time. I have to get moving." 

"No Dani. For once, Jim's needs come first." Carl says, indicating a seat.

Dani opens her mouth to speak, but is cut off by a distant gutteral moan from the upper floor, "Oh shit. I had no idea."

"No drama, they have been at it for hours." Carl says, ordering her a pint of Guiness. "And before, you say you haven't got time. You have."

She decides not to argue and accepts the pint, with a "Cheers." before taking a seat.

"No worries, babe. What's going on?" Carl says, sitting opposite his sister..

Dani thinks for a moment, before she speaks, "I am not here. We are not having this conversation."

"Is there anything specific, we are not talking about?" Carl asks cautiously, whilst thinking "She has given her word not to talk to anyone. Her pattern indicates that is it related to her disappearing from Nirvana Herts."

"Specifically we are not talking about this tablet and a large encrypted file on it." Dani says, pulling out a tablet.

"I see." He says, scrutinising her pattern, "What is it about this file that we are not talking about?"

"We are not discussing if it is control software of some kind." Dani says, trying to stay calm.

Dani pulls out a pack of cigarettes and Carl waits, while she lights it. "Enough double talk. Just talk to me." He says.

Dani takes a deep lungful of tobacco smoke and lays everything out for him.



"So we have a supposedly random office in Guam destroyed by an orbital weapon. The only person who is not listed among the dead is Atul Rann. This Atul Rann's financials show he received a large payment, before he jumped on a plane. That could be for the software for this weapon. Then he is in talks with a party in Monaco and his plane blows up on his way there." Carl confirms, in Khmer.

"Pretty much." Dani says in Thai, with a shrug.

"What are your thoughts?" Carl asks, draining his pint.

"Copraktik was in charge of these orbital weapons on behalf of the US Department of Defense. Atul copied the control software and sold it. Copraktik HQ was destroyed and then the flight to Monaco was destroyed." Dani explains, calmly. "But why leave the tablet behind?"

"You already know the answer. Don't you?" Carl infers, before asking, "What does your gut say?"

"I am thinking that he was a great programmer and technical wizard. My gut says that he destroyed Copraktik to prove he had the code. His buyer then triggered the payment. Then he left an obvious trail leading to Monaco and shot the plane down, to fake his death." She pauses, taking a lungful of smoke before continuing, "In the mean time his buyers have smuggled him off of the island and off to safety, so that he can collect his payment and manage the system on their behalf in the lap of luxury."

"That makes sense. Trouble is if he has gone to ground, he will be hard to find." Carl says, pouring another pint, "Might be possible to follow the money. Find out where it came from and go to the source."

"That was my feeling." Dani says, draining her pint, "I am heading to the Cayman's as soon as I leave here. He appears to be sailing from L.A.to Grand Cayman via  Panama. Less customs checks, I guess."

"Why are you here?" Carl asks, sipping his pint.



Dani runs her fingers through her hair, looking tired. "I need Jim to confirm if it is control software. Then I need you and Jim to find a way to destroy whatever it is that it controls. This weapon cannot fall into the wrong hands."

"I am guessing the person or persons compelling you to do this, might be the wrong hands, hence you are here." Carl says, exhaling slowly.

"I don't trust him and I am holding off on contacting him until this is done." Dani says, looking Carl in the eye, before getting up to leave.

"Wait." Carl puts a hand on her arm, "Sasha has formally adopted Kim and Tara. The paperwork was processed in record time."

Dani flops back in the chair, "He gave his word it was sorted and he kept his promise."

"They are all so happy. They have named the baby Liam." Carl says, thinking, "She needs something to strengthen her."

Dani softly begins to cry filled with regret, at having to leave wthout a good bye and joy, that her actions have brought happiness to those she loves. Carl hugs her and lets her cry on his shoulder.

She pulls away wiping her eyes and getting to her feet, "Thank you for telling me."

"You don't have to do this alone." Carl says, imploring her.

Dani composes herself and smiles warmly at him, "Yeah, I do. I gave my word."

"Jim and I will pull the tablet apart, if we find anything useful, we will upload it to one of the usual drop sites." Carl says, knowing she wont change her mind, "Say the word and we come running."

"Likewise." Dani says, struggling to find the words, "Thanks Carl."



Twenty Four hours later - Grand Cayman, Cayman Islands.



Dani steps out of the taxi into the warmth of a George Town afternoon. A sea breeze tousles her long, honey blonde dyed hair and she dons her oversized sun glasses, hiding the rich chocolate brown contact lenses in her eyes. The facemask covers her modesty, but does little to cool her. The garish, yellow, loose fitting, trouser suit and silk blouse lets the Grand Cayman breeze, cool her. But more importantly, it hangs loose over her body.

With purpose, she strides on low heeled shoes towards the main entrance of the Bank of Princely Virtue, thinking, "This is the bank holding Rann's money. If I have timed this right, I will beat him to the punch. Time to shake the tree and see what falls out."

The Bank's headquarters is located in an old colonial style building. Classically styled white stone, trimmed with high quality windows and doors, to offer modern security in a bygone package. The building sits like a small white palace, dwarved by the hotels behind it. 

Her loose, carefree stride, is a world away from the hardened steel of her focused mind as she approaches. "Five cameras on me and they are just the ones I can see. This place is a fortress. The windows are toughened plexiglass and the doors look like they have a steel core. I think that you would need a tank to break in here." She thinks, stepping over the threshold and into the banks lobby.



She is greeted at the door by a burly looking black man, in smart dark blue trousers and crisp white shirt. who raises a hand to stop her. He checks her purse barely raising an eyebrow at the phone, cigarettes, lighter and scissors "Please raise your hands away from your sides." He asks with a deep Haitian accent.

"No problem sugar." She says with a warm Memphis twang and a wink. She appraises him quickly, "Haitian, well groomed, manicured nails. Haircut and self care regime a little expensive for a security guard. I could be wrong, but I think he has a fingerbone on a leather thong around his neck."

The guard, flashes a smile of white teeth, before running a wand over her body. It beeps once for her watch and again for her earrings and necklace. He nods, satisfied and waves her through, "Have a nice day ma'am."

"Aw honey. There was me thinking I was gonna get a frisking." Dani says, letting a hint of disappointment creep into his voice, before gliding on her way. 



"I am Simone, how may I help you today?" The cashier in her early twenties, asks beaming a twenty thousand dollar smile. Dani assesses her quickly, "She has perfectly plump and luscious lips and perfect teeth. Skin, flawless milk-chocolate brown. Ears pinned back. Breasts enhanced, bum and legs look sculpted. Has to be tens of thousands of dollars of surgery. No way she could afford it at her age."

She forces a warm smile, "Hello Simone, I'd like to make a withdrawl, please."

"I am sorry to hear that, is there anything we can do to change your mind?" Simone asks, beaming a smile, which doesn't reach her eyes.

"Now aren't you sweet. Thank you for trying but I need to get the account cleared, before my cheating louse of a husband takes it and runs off to Thailand with his skank." Dani says, infected by Simone's smile.

"I am sorry to hear that. Would you like to create another account here with us?" Simone says, with a hint of frustration in her eyes, that doesn't affect her smile.

"Tempting, but it is all going to charity. He made his money in the arms industry, so I am going to donate it to anti gun and anti nuclear weapons groups."  Dani says, with a devillish wink

"Not keeping anything for yourself?" Simone says, with a warm conspiratorial tone, yet betraying no emotion, despite the radiance of her smile. 

Dani shrugs and gives another wink, "Well, a girl's gotta live, honey. Gonna keep something back to line my nest." 

"Good for you. Do you have your account key?" Simone asks, in a professional tone.

Dani pulls out her phone, with the key copied from Atul's tablet and hands it over and subtly watches the woman's fingers as she enters her computers password. Simone inputs the key code with practised efficiency and nods gently. "All is in order. Your key confirms access to the account."

"In an age of identity theft, they only trust their own security measures." Dani thinks before saying, "Excellent." She takes a slip of paper from her purse and slides it across to the cashier, "Can you please transfer the amounts noted to the accounts listed for me?"

"Of course. In the mean time is there anything that you need?" Simone asks, smiling brightly, but with a weary look in her eyes.

"No sugar. You carry on. I will watch." Dani says before leaning over the desk and whispering in the cashier's ear, "I like to watch." She whispers, playfully. "Once the money hits those accounts, it will be transferred a dozen times per minute for the next two days, making it disappear." She thinks, warmly.

Simone smiles at Dani, while she begins to type, feeling a little uncomfortable under the woman's gaze. Dani thinks quietly to herself as the cashier carries out the transactions with absolute efficiency, "I hate this bank. She was a naturally pretty girl and if I had to guess, the Bank forced her to have surgery to be the perfect face for their branch." 

"There we are. That is all done for you." Simone says, handing back the phone. "That leaves a balance of just under one point two million."

"Well now, we can't have that. This cat deserves a little cream for putting up with his lies." Dani pulls out another slip of paper and notes down the account number of one of the front companies behind Copraktik, "This will get the attention of the Americans." She slides, the paper across to Simone and whispers, "Could you transfer half the money to this account and the rest to an account of your choice."

"We are not allowed to do that. We can only transfer to designated accounts, indicated by our customers." Simone says, in an almost overly practised way.

"That's a shame honey." Dani says, warmly, "Drop it all in there, then." Dani watches the woman's elegant fingers dance across the keyboard, quietly noting the positions of everyone else in the bank. "I expected all sorts of alarms to be going off by now. This is eerie. I am guessing, someone will approach me outside. I hope they are not expecting me to come quietly."

Simone turns her smile back from the screen to Dani, "Will you please excuse me a moment? I need to use the bathroom. By the time I return all of your transactions will have been completed."

Dani nods and warmly says, "Sure honey. Y'all take your time." Inwardly, she cringes thinking, "I hope I am not laying it on too thick."

Simone nods and rises from her desk, "Of course ma'am."

Dani watches her leave and notes that the guard also appears to have taken a bathroom break. "My work is done here. Better get moving." A split second later she is on her feet and heading for the door.

[Caesar73]

I have some catching up to do, since I missed the last three updates [mention]wolfman[/mention] - but what I can say already: The current arc is worthy of James Bond. And now and then the tender, romantic moments in between. This mixture is extraordinary. You are weaving quite the web here.

[GreyLord]

I am so glad that you did not find it necessary to disturb Jim, [mention]wolfman[/mention]. As [mention]Caesar73[/mention] said,

This mixture is extraordinary. You are weaving quite the web here.

Wonderful suspense.

[wolfman]

I have some catching up to do, since I missed the last three updates @wolfman - but what I can say already: The current arc is worthy of James Bond. And now and then the tender, romantic moments in between. This mixture is extraordinary. You are weaving quite the web here.

Thank you for your very kind words. I am trying to change things up and keep things fresh. There are many more twists to come.

I am so glad that you did not find it necessary to disturb Jim, [mention]wolfman[/mention]. As [mention]Caesar73[/mention] said,

This mixture is extraordinary. You are weaving quite the web here.

Wonderful suspense.

I am not so cruel as to take the moment away from Jim. He, like all of his family, deserve a little happiness.

[wolfman]

Dani walks briskly away from the bank, her heels clicking on the sidewalk. With furtive glances from behind her oversized shades, she checks the windows of shops for signs that she is being followed. "This is eerie. I don't think for a moment, I am clear." She thinks, expecting someone to come for her.

She presses on through the crowds, ducking into an alleyway, between a bar and a hotel. Quickly she slips off the jacket of her trouser suit drops it in the bin, adding the rest of her clothing, leaving her naked. 

With one eye on the street, she dumps her purse into the bin, then pops her phone out of it's case, dropping it on top of her clothes. Covering the clothes with the white powder betwen the phone and the inside of the case, she makes sure everything in the bin has some on it. 

Satisfied she lights a cigarette and takes a deep lungfil of smoke, before sliding the cigarette back into the pack and dropping it and the lighter back into the bin

Dani looks away, as the cigarette, ignites the magnesium strips in the other cigarettes in the pack . The magnesium powder spread over everything in the bin, catches instantly, burning the contents of the bin to ash and molten slag.

Satisfied everything she wore is destroyed, she sidesteps into the dead world and returns to the bank.



Dani hovers in the lobby of the bank peering through across th e barrier to watch the living world. Simone sits at her desk with a blank look in her eyes and a smile fixed on her lips. The security guard stands ready, occassionally walking around the lobby, checking the doors and windows. Other cashiers sit at their desks, poised and ready waiting for another customer to enter.

"My God, this is awful. The cashiers have all had surgery and by their behaviour, they have had mental conditioning too. This is monstrous." Dani thinks, a shiver she doesn't feel, runs down her spine, that doesn't exist.

A dark skinned black man, in a heavily tailored suit, crisp white shirt and royal blue tie bearing the banks logo, emerges from an office and approaches Simone's desk. She doesn't turn, when the man stands behind her desk and whispers in her ear. She blinks as if coming to life and rises from her chair, following him into his office.

Dani drifts across the lobby following them into the office, unable to read the sign on the door. 

"Take a seat Simone." The man says, gently.

Simone claims the seat opposite his desk and folds her hands in her lap, bowing her head.

"The transactions that have just taken place at your desk relating to account JZTPRCYDAK. Were processed by yourself. Is that correct?" He asks

"Yes, Mr King, that is correct." She says, betraying no emotion. "Have I done something wrong?"

"Tell me what happened, when the lady came in." Mr King asks, gently.

"She presented the account key and intimated that the account was her husbands and that she wanted to empty it, before he ran out on her." Simone explains, in a matter of fact tone.

"Did you believe her?" He asks, leaning forward.

"She seemed nice, maybe a little forward." Simone confirms, not looking up.

"That is not what I asked."' Mr King says, opening a drawer on his desk and pulling out a syringe. She offers no resistance, as he casually walks around the desk and jabs the needle into her neck. Her eyes flutter for a moment, when he depresses the plunger.

"Now, tell me, did you believe her?" He asks, again.

Simone's eyes become unfocussed for a moment, before she speaks, "Yes. She gave no indicators of discomfort and seemed at ease with what she was saying. I was surprised when she left suddenly." Simone says, without emotion.

"Are you sure the code was verified?" King asks, conversationally.

"She presented her phone and it bore the correct code." Simone reports, calmly.

"Did you ask her name?" King asks, calmly.

"No sir." Simone says, looking him in the eyes pleading, "Our policy states that the only identification we accept is the key code. We provide and verify this and ratify it as proof of custom, to preserve the anonimity of our clientele."

"Excellent. You were completely correct to protect her anonymity. That will be all." King says returning to his seat at his desk, "Could you send in Anthony?"

Dani watches in silence from the dead world, thinking to herself, "If nothing else, when all this is over, I am coming back and destroying this place."



The security guard enters the office and takes a seat unbidden, "Mr King." He says, without a care in the world, "You asked to see me."

"Yes indeed. The American woman, did you get anything from her?" King asks, conversationally.

"Security cameras had her in view the whole time, however, she kept her sunglasses and face mask on. All we know is that she is blonde and American." Anthony says, with a shrug, then smiles, "When I checked her purse, she had a Canadian passport, which appeared fake."

"Fake passport, face hidden." King says, leaning forward and steepling his fingers, "All we know is that, she has blonde hair, which could be dyed and she was American."

"Would you like me to consult the Loa?" Anthony says, brushing the pads of his fingers with his thumbs.

King conceals a look of impatient exasperation and waves him away thinking, "Bloody idiot. If he wasn't so good at dealing with trouble, I would bounce him out of here."



"The Loa? You can't be serious." Dani asks herself, trailing behind Anthony in the depths of the bank.

The Haitian, pulls out a set of keys and opens an unmarked door, locking it behind him. Dani watches, with growing dread as he lights several candles and a large cigar, settling it on an altar. He whispers, an unintelligible prayer, pouring a glass of rum and setting it down next to the cigar.

He strips off his shirt and leans over the altar brushing the smoke against his body as if washing. Crying out and writhing on the spot, he pulls a kris dagger and slashes open his hand. The blood drips into the glass of rum.

In a frenzy he screams, "Baron Samedi, guide my hand, bring the woman I seek to me."

Dani's eyes widen and breaths that she cannot take, stick in a throat that no longer exists and she feels she cannot tear her eyes away. "Vodou. How will that affect me?" She thinks, feeling a frisson of fear.



Dani smells the faint scent of cigar smoke, as Anthony bucks and spasms in the living world. Inhuman noises cross the barrier between the life and death. The cries, reach a crescendo and Dani braces herself to leave, Then thinks about what the man is doing. "Hang on a second. He is chanting the lyrics to Down with the Sickness in French."

She considers the scene before her closely and shakes her head, "I mean seriously, he uses the name of Baron Samedi but he is faking." She says, incredulously, "He is wasting that cigar." She chuckles to herself, "And who in their right mind would pour good quality rum and put blood in it and think any self respecting Loa would like that."

Dani considers for a moment and then steps across the threshold, appearing naked behind Anthony as he cavorts blindly. She slams his head into the altar, letting him drop unconscious to the ground. She picks up the mans shirt and wraps it around her hand and snatches up the kris dagger.

Working quickly she carves the word 'blasphémateur' on the wall and drops the dagger so it sticks point first into the wooden floor. She spots several leather thongs and a horsehail brush, then smiles wickedly. Without thinking she calls them to her hand and binds his wrists tightly in front of him then lays him on his back. Working quickly, she secures his ankles either side the legs of his altar and then secures his wrists to the door handle.

With the shirt still wrapped around her hand, she takes the brush and dips it into his blood, before beginning to paint. 



He stirs slowly, numbly realising that he is bound hand and foot. A cold fear grips his soul seeing the word 'Alama', the Swahili word for marked, painted in blood. He screams and struggles furiously, pulling at the bindings of his wrist and ankles.

The stomping of boots, signals the arrival of help in the form of two actual security guard a moment before they burst through the door. They quickly help the bound man, despite his thrashing. Once freed he hugs his knees, in a cold sweat seeing the word in blood and the word carved, staring back at him like an accusation.

With fingers like steel he grips the arm of the man nearest to him and solemnly says, "I have angered the Loa. May God save my soul."

The guards are bowled off of their feet, unable to get out of his way, when he bolts for the door, "I need a Bokor." He screams in a panic.

King moves to intercept Anthony when he charges through the bank's lobby. Holding out his hands and spreading his arms wide, he speaks sternly, "Anthony! Stop right now."

Anthony grabs King by his lapels, wild eyed, "I am a fraud and I have brought down a curse upon this place."

"What are you on about man?" King says, slapping the guard.

"I took the Baron's name in vain and the Loa attacked me. This place is cursed." Anthony says, shrugging the bank manager off and sprinting out of the main doors. 

He keeps looking over his shoulder as he runs in terror from his fake altar. He is too busy looking over his shoulder to see the tour bus approaching at speed.

Dani watches amused from the dead world as the life leaves his broken body and moves to somewhere beyond. She floats back towards the bank and begins to pull necrotic matter around her, shaping it with her mind.



King stands at the main window, watching the coroner load Anthony's body in to the back of her van. His feet are a shoulder width apart and his hands are clasped behind his back. None of the cashiers look up from their desk, their eerie smiles fixed in place. The two guards who found Anthony stand quietly behind King, unwilling to speak for fear of earning his ire.

"Report." King says, with a snarl.

One of the guards, nervously steps forward and bows his head, "The door to the room was locked from the inside and he was tied up on the floor. Given the way he was bound, I don't think he could not have done it to himself."

"Thank you for your summary. Now, tell me everything in detail please." King says, maintaining his composure.

"We were having a cup of coffee in the security office and we heard screaming from the basement. We grabbed our nightsticks and ran toward the sound of the screaming. When we arrived we banged on the door and called out to Anthony to unlock the door. He just screamed, as if afraid. I put a shoulder to the door and managed to get it open. He was thrashing on the floor and bleeding from his left hand. We managed to untie him and he ran out screaming." The guard, reports professionally.

"Did you notice anything in the room out of place?" King asks, thoughtfully.

"Hard to say sir. We have never been in there. There was writing on the wall, that may have been in blood and something carved into the wall, but I didn't notice what it said." He says turning to the other guard, "Did you?" He asks, rewarded with a shake of the head.

"Turn this place upside down. I want whoever is responsible...." King begins but is cut off when Simone screams at the top of her lungs in terror, drawing the gaze of everyone in the room.



Everyone stares at the spectral shape standing in the centre of the room. The eight foot tall black man with a skeletal face stares at each of them in turn, tipping his top hat to each of the female cashiers in turn. With an exaggerated gesture he rolls up his right sleeve, revealing the skeletal arm beneath, then pointing in silent accusation at Mr King with a boney finger.

The guard who gave the report pulls a crucifix on a chain from under his shirt and wraps its chain around his hand, brandishing it like a shield. He bellows, "Begone evil one."

Unseen hands roughly yank him backwards by the belt of his trousers, throwing him through the doors of the bank. 

King looks wide eyed at the man, barely aware of the wet warmth spreading down his leg. The other guard pulls his nightstick, knowing it is as good as useless and shouts, "Ladies, leave. Now. Get Mr King to safety."

The cashiers freeze, too terrified to move until the guard slams his stick down on a desk with an almighty bang, galvanising them into action. Mr King doesn't resist when the women push him out of the door and away from the Baron and his ire.

When the other are clear the guard runs forward flailing with his nightstick at the spectral form before him. Time after time it passes through it, until it slams into its side with a thump.

Baron Samedi, casts him aside with a lightning fast skeletal slap, knocking the either brave or foolhardy man out cold.

[GreyLord]

Very good, [mention]wolfman[/mention]. A natural progression of your story, written with humor. A lot of fun to read.

[wolfman]

Very good, @wolfman. A natural progression of your story, written with humor. A lot of fun to read.

Thank you for your kind words. Dani is tough, but shaped by experience and she is smart, using every tool at her disposal to get the result she wants and she doesn't have to kill everyone to do it.

[wolfman]

Dani looks down at herself in shock, "I knew I could change my appearance in the dead world, but had no idea that it could carry over into the land of the living." She thinks, lumbering across the office.

Taking a moment to adjust to the taller body and uneven weight distribution, she pauses flexing her arms. For a moment, her mind is flooded with possibilities. "Focus Dani!" She chides herself, "You have a job to do."

Taking a seat at Simone's desk, she enters Simone's password and inputs Rann's account number. She shakes her head at herself, as she tries to chew a missing lip in concentration, whispering "Dumbass.". It takes her a moment to orient herself and make sense of what she sees on screen. 

"So, these are the accounts it paid out too." She says thoughtfully, before tracing her finger across the screen, "This must be the account that paid him."

She clicks on the number and would have raised an eyebrow, if she had one. "Bland Group? Who the heck are they?"

Dani tries a couple of searches without much success before her attention is drawn by the guard stirring on the floor. "Time to get moving." she fades back into the dead world.



She changes her appearance back to normal and crafts a suit of biker leathers, crash helmet and heavy boots for herself and floats to the security office, then steps into the living world once more. She looks down at her arms with a sigh of relief, "I don't have to be naked." Her mind races with the possibilities as she sets to work.

Working quickly, she erases the security footage for the day and disables the alarms and cameras for the building. She steps back into the deadworld and drifts back down to Anthony's altar.

Methodically, she empties the bottles of rum she finds, soaking the carpets of the room and part of the corridor. Then sets up some loose paper in a pile, resting against the wooden panelling of the wall.

Dani calmly returns to the altar room and snatches up the still smouldering cigar, blowing on the embers, flaring the back into a vibrant orange. She throws down the cigar onto the carpet, in a shower of sparks and the rum catches instantly.



Dani floats in the dead world and watches fire fighters, tend to the fiercely burning building. "Damn." She silently curses herself, "Would have been handy to follow King."

She nods silently and thinks to herself, "Have a pretty good idea what is going on and who is behind it. I think it is time I called Maerig."

Dani steps back into the living world, in her hotel room and flops into the chair by the side of her bed. Lighting a cigarette she pulls off her boots and raises her eyebrows, as they dissipate once they leave her grip.
 
“That is interesting.” She thinks to herself, removing her jacket and tossing it. The heavy leather dissipates before it hits the ground. “OK, so whilst something I create in the dead world is on me or in contact with me, it is fine. But once it is not, it vanishes.”
 
She discards the rest of her clothes and lays back on her bed blowing smoke rings at the ceiling. “What a day. Glad I feel renewed every time I step across the barrier, otherwise I would be a wreck.”
 
“It’s so nice to be still for a moment.” She thinks, taking a slow deep breath, “Shame it can’t last.” Wearily, she rolls off of the bed and stubs out her cigarette, before heading to the bathroom.
 
After a shower and chance to freshen up, she dresses in shorts and a tank top over bikini top and bottoms, before heading out.
 
 
 
Dani ducks in and out of shops and market stalls criss-crossing George Town, before settling on a beach, with an ice cream. Slipping off her tank top and shorts, she lays back enjoying the feel of the warm sand at her back and the sun on her body.
 
“I can’t rest.” She thinks sadly, “I need to get this done and get clear of this mess.”
 
She takes a small burner phone from the left cup of her bikini top and dials the number, she has been dreading calling.
 
The call is answered after two rings, but the answerer does not speak.
 
Dani waits for a moment before speaking, “Hello?” No one speaks in response but she gets the sense someone on the line is listening. “Angel reporting.  An orbital weapons system destroyed Copraktik. Indications are that USDOD contracted them to control the weapon. Atul Rann paid by the Bland Group to steal control software. He destroyed building as proof he had the weapon and the Tucson flight to fake his death.”
 
She pauses waiting for moment, before she continues, “Intel on Bland Group is limited. Please advise.”
 
“I wasn’t expecting a call so soon. Good work angel.” Maerig says, calmly but firmly, “Who has the control software?”
 
“Unclear at this time. Rann has been paid around thirty million dollars. This may be a down payment for the software. He is en route here, to collect, however, the money is gone.” Dani explains, looking out to sea, before casting her gaze up and down the beach.
 
“Risky move. He could go either way.” Maerig says, thoughtfully, “What’s your plan?”
 
“Find him and covertly surveil him initially, with a view to a direct approach. My guess is that he will either try to contact his paymasters to find out where his money is, or will strike at them.” Dani says in a tone reserved for lovers, to put off anyone listening, “Either way, we will find out who we are dealing with.”
 
“Good work. Do you need any support?” Maerig asks, supportively.
 
“Not at this time. I will let you know.” She says, thinking, “Any resources he allocates, will slow me down and may even compromise me.”
 
“Very good.” He says, nodding to himself, “Thank you for your efforts.”
 
"Thank you for keeping your word."' Dani says ending the call. She performs a factory reset on the phone, before she subtly removes the battery and sim card. Gracefully she gets to her feet and strolls down the beach, feeling almost every male set of eyes, following her progress.
 
She smiles to herself, “Even with white hair, I’ve still got it.” She sighs to herself, “I would love to see Niki get this feeling.” She thinks, warmly. “I wish she was here.”
 
 
 
Dani returns to her hotel room, after she disposes of the last of the pieces of the phone. She quickly strips and stuffs her clothing into her bag. “Rann’s boat should be arriving in the next couple of hours. He is about to have a real bad day.”

[GreyLord]

While the image of Dani naked is extremely appealing, it is also nice to see her discovering new capabilities. It is also nice to see her giving the bad guys fits. Way to go, [mention]wolfman[/mention].

[Caesar73]

The build up of the Story, your Story telling is excellent as always oh Master of Suspense!

[wolfman]

While the image of Dani naked is extremely appealing, it is also nice to see her discovering new capabilities. It is also nice to see her giving the bad guys fits. Way to go, @wolfman.

Whilst I agreed that naked Dani, is no bad thing, she now has the option of wearing whatever she likes. Her only limit is her imagination.

The build up of the Story, your Story telling is excellent as always oh Master of Suspense!

Thank you for your kind words, I aim to keep everyone guessing.